Update

LINK

THIS IS A BIG DEAL ON 1 OF MY 2 STROKE GROUPS (1 GROUP IS DEDICATED 2 THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN LOCKED IN). Dr. De Georgia WAS MY 1ST DOCTOR . Dr. De Georgia IS ON THIS LINK:
http://news.aol.com/article/ron-houben-says-he-heard-everything-for/780187

IN THE LINK, THEY MENTION LETTING OTHERS KNOW IF U CAN LIVE THAT WAY…I WOULD CAUTION HERE, BECUZ IF IT HAD BEEN EXPLAINED 2 ME PRIOR 2 MY STROKE, I HESITATE 2 THINK WHAT I WOULD’VE WANTED. THE LADY WHO DIED IN 2005–I WAS ALL 4 LETTING HER DIE, IF SHE WANTED 2…IT’S NO DIFFERENT THAN BEING ABLE 2 SLIT YOUR WRISTS. THOSE WHO R DIFFERENT SHOULD STILL HAVE THEIR OPTIONS…

BUT NOW THAT I’VE “ADAPTED” & FOUND JOY IN MY LIFE, I’VE DONE A 180. I’M GRATEFUL MY LIFE WAS SPARED, & SOOO VERY GRATEFUL 4 ANYTHING I RE-GAIN. I GUESS THOSE OF US WHO EXPERIENCE SUCH A DRAMATIC CHANGE NEED TIME 2 “ACCLIMATE” B4 MAKING A LIFE-CHANGING DECISION. PLUS, EACH DECISION IS UNIQUE, INVOLVING SO MANY FACTORS. IN ADDITION, IT IS EASIER 2 LOOK BACK, RATHER THAN 4WARD, & MAKE CLEARER JUDGEMENTS.

YOUNG WOMAN (YW)

AT CHURCH, I WAS RECENTLY ASKED 2 BE A YOUNG WOMAN (YW) INSTRUCTOR, 4 THE 1ST SUN., 4 ALL THE YW. . THIS IS MY 1ST “REAL” CALLING IN OVER 5 1/2 YRS. I CAN’T EXPLAIN ALL I FEEL, BUT I THOUGHT THESE CALLINGS WERE GONE W/MY VOICE!

THOUGH WE OWN IT, I RECENTLY TIVOED THE MOVIE “HITCH,” SO I COULD WATCH IT AT MY LEISURE. “HITCH” BEGINS W/A STATEMENT: “60% OF COMMUNICATION IS BODY LANGUAGE, 30% IS TONE, & ONLY 10% IS WORDS.” IF TRUE, WORDS PLAY LESS A PART IN TEACHING…BUT THOUGH I CAN’T BE VOCAL, I CAN STILL SIGN & TYPE—I JUST NEED 2 BE MORE SELECTIVE W/THE WORDS I CHOOSE 2 USE.

HOWEVER, W/MY FEW WORDS, I KNOW I CAN FEEL MISUNDERSTOOD, BECAUSE I WILL WRITE W/A CERTAIN TONE, WHICH IS L8R READ IN A DIFFERENT TONE, MAKING IT APPEAR FUNNIER OR MADDER THAN IT WAS INTENDED…I HEARD THIS EXACT POINT ILLUSTRATED IN AN AUDIO BOOK, AS THE AUTHOR REPEATED THE EXACT SAME PHRASE (LIKE “SHUT THE DOOR”) IN BOTH A MAD & ALSO IN AN ICKY SWEET TONE. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING HOW MUCH TONE AFFECTED THE EXACT SAME WORDS!

THOUGH I CAN’T USE TONE WELL, WE’VE TRIED CREATIVE WAYS 2 SHARE TONE (ASTERICKS IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF AN EMAIL, WARNING THAT I’M MAD, BOLDING WORDS IN ORDER 2 STRESS THEM, & SOMETIMES I COLOR CODE WORDS). THOUGH I HAVEN’T MASTERED TONE, I STILL HAVE 70% OF MY COMMUNICATION, & IF I’VE LEARNED ANYTHING, I TAKE WHAT I DO HAVE, & RUN W/IT!

QUOTES

HEARD & LIKED THIS:

“With nothing to buy and no one to impress,” she said, “I set out to discover what mattered most. What I learned is how little one needs to be content and how much of life’s bounty is free if you open your eyes and use your imagination.”

“Perhaps we can try to unclutter our lives and slow down enough to enjoy nature’s gifts. In a demanding, complex world, it might not be easy, but truly meaningful things seldom are. Maybe we can try to remove some of the undue busyness from our lives and focus less on what we can buy and more on what we already have. A sense of contentment comes if, even for only a moment, we open our eyes to the marvelous bounty around us.”

HERE’S MORE:
“DO NOT LET WHAT U CANNOT DO INTERFERE WITH WHAT U CAN DO” BY JOHN WOODEN, BASKETBALL COACH

Alix Kates Shulman, “Finding Joy in Frugality,” Parade, May 10, 2009, 13.

perhaps a better measure of success might be what happens along the way: the strength revealed, the lessons taught, the sacrifices made
“Music and the Spoken Word,” from “Before Our Journey’s Through”

Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference. –?

“when life hands you lemons, always ask for sugar” ?

DETERMINE THAT THE THING CAN & SHALL B DONE, & THEN FIND THE WAY – ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Never compare your inside with somebody else outside.”
Hugh Macleod

“We cannot always control everything that happens to us in this life, but we can control how we respond.”
–L. Lionel Kendrick, “Strength During Struggles”, Ensign, Oct 2001, 24

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
Mahatma Ghandi

I gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which I must stop and look fear in the face…I say to myself, I’ve lived through this and can take the next thing that comes along.
-Eleanor Roosevelt

HOW R U?

IT’S ALWAYS FUNNY WHEN I’M ASKED HOW I AM, OR WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING, BECUZ I’VE BEEN INCREDIBLY BUSY, BUT IF ASKED HOW, I’M NOT SURE WHAT 2 SAY…

I THINK SOME PEOPLE IMAGINE I HAVE “THE LIFE”, & SCRAPBOOK ALL DAY. NOTHING’S FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. I HAVE 2 SCHEDULE IT IN, JUST LIKE ANY1 ELSE. IT’S JUST HIGHER ON MY “2 DO” LIST, SINCE IT’S MY HOBBY.

SO, WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING? MY CAREGIVER & MARK CAN ATTEST THAT THERE’S ALWAYS A PROJECT, & SINCE I “TYPE TALK” ALL DAY (VERY SLOWLY, W/1 FINGER, I MIGHT ADD), I PLAY NO COMP. GAMES, DO NO INTERNET SURFING, & ONLY SHOP IF I GET AN E-MAIL AD, OR VIEW A U-TUBE VIDEO IF LED THERE BY SOME1. I HAVE A HUGE “2 DO” LIST, INCLUDING ORGANIZING & OF ALL SORTS OF ODD PROJECTS. I’M VERY MUCH LIKE OTHER STAY-AT-HOME MOMSS (I HELP W/HOMEWORK, SUPPORT BY ATTENDING KID’S EVENTS, ETC.), BUT I CAN’T DRIVE, MUCH OF WHAT I COMMUNICATE IS TYPED (UNFORTUNATELY,I’M SLOW), & INSTEAD OF CHORES LIKE LAUNDRY, I DO DIGITAL CHORES–I CAN DO PHOTO STUFF, BUT THAT CAN ALSO BE 4 MY FAM. (LIKE “SPECIAL KID OF THE WEEK” 4 SCHOOL)–I OFTEN FEEL I HAVE NO TIME 4 JUST ME (WEIRD, HUH?), SO I’VE SCHEDULED “SCRAPBOOK TIME,” WHERE I CAN ONLY SCRAPBOOK!

HOWEVER, WHILE I LOVE EMAILS (ESP. 2 HEAR HOW OTHERS R DOING), MY BLOG, WILL SAY WAY MORE THAN I EVER CAN TYPE! LOL

EXCITING NEWS!

RECENTLY, I HAD A TALKING DAY: FIA WHINED ABOUT A COLD WAFFLE, & I SAID THE OBVIOUS —“WAARM IIT UP!” JUST POPPED OUT, SO VERY CLEAR (BECAUSE IT WAS A FLEETING THOUGHT, BUT IF I’D TRIED, I COULDN’T SAY IT WELL OR AT ALL). I WISH I COULD HARNESS WHATEVER HAPPENS! (WOULD U BELIEVE THAT THE VERY NEXT DAY, ANY SOUND WAS TOUGH 2 GET OUT?!?)

I WAS ESP. SURPRISED BECUZ IT WAS SO CLEAR SO EARLY IN THE DAY, & I TEND 2 NEED 2 “WARM-UP” VOCALLY & PHYSICALLY (I OFTEN NEED 2 SAY SEVERAL WORDS 2 GET MY VOICE GOING … OR TYPE, B4 PLAYING PIANO, 2 “LOOSEN” FINGERS & STOP “CLENCHING” MY FIST.)

THAT NIGHT, I EVEN FINISHED THE LYRICS 2 A CHURCH SONG—BUT WAS TRYING SO HARD NOT 2, BECUZ MK WAS WAITING 4 THE KIDS 2 SAY IT…BUT BY THE 3RD TRY, I GAVE IN FIGURING THEY DIDN’T KNOW, & COULD TRY 2 FIGURE ME OUT, INSTEAD…IT WASN’T AS CLEAR, SINCE I’D SURPRESSED IT, BUT WAS DECENT!

IN OTHER NEWS, I’VE BEEN PRACTICING SUCKING A STRAW, BUT I DO IT IN A WAY THAT GRAVITY IS NOT A FACTOR. NORMALLY, I HAVE A SPORTS WATER BOTTLE THAT SOME1 ELSE SQUEEZES DRINK OUT OF A STRAW 4 ME. THURS. NIGHT , IT WAS 1/2 FULL, & I WAS WAITING 4 THE REST SO I DEBATED ASKING 4 IT, BUT IT WAS W/IN MY REACH IF I COULD LEAN FWD (I NEVER KNOW IF I CAN–SOMETIMES IT’S EASY, & SOMETIMES NOT…I SEEM 2 NEED 2 BE SITTING RT…)

ANYWAY, I LEANED FWD, GOT IT, & SUCKED & LIGHTLY SQUEEZED, & FED MYSELF 1/2 A BOTTLE OF WATER–LIKE 12 OUNCES! SO EXCITED! I’M GETTING STRONG ENOUGH 2 FEED MYSLF W/O SUPPORT, & NOW I CAN DRINK 2! ANOTHER CHEER 4 MMORE INDEPENDENCE! GLAD I DIDN’T ASK 4 HELP, OR I’D NEVER KNOW I COULD DO IT! (I THINK IT’S MY MOTTO 2 TRY, PROVIDED THEREE’S TIME—BECUZ I’M SLOW, & IF I FAIL, I TRY HARDER…BUT THE TRICK IS KNOWING WHEN 2 STOP TRYING, & GET HELP!)

I WAS ALSO EXCITED SINCE I WAS REALLY DOUBTING MY SWALLOWING ABILITY—WATER IS THE THINNEST LIQUID, & I’VE MANAGED 2 SUCCK UP & SWALLOW THICKER LIQUIDS, BUT WORRIED I’D JUST SUCK THIS UP, & GAG OR DROOL (GRAVITY IS NOT ALWAYS MY FRIEND, & MY HEAD WAS DOWN…). BUT I SUCKED UNTIL MY MOUTH WAS FULL, KEPT MY MOUTH SHUT, & LOOKED UP 2 SWALLOW. IT DID PRETTY WELL—I STILL SOMETIMES DROOLED, BUT MY BIB HAS BEEN WETTER BY OTHERS, SO I CONSIDER IT A SUCCESS!

IF I CAN DO WATER, THEN I’D HOPE I CAN DRINK THROUGH ANY STRAW AT A RESTURANT OR DRIVE THROUGH, PROVIDED I HAVE A BIB & I’M NOT AWARE OF AN AUDIENCE (JUST LIKE BLOWING OUT CANDLES, I SMILE, & CAN’T PUCKER IF I EVEN FEEL I’M BEING WATCHED!)