Good News, finally :)

So, enough negative family crap.
I'm going to be working a Chrysalis Journey with Amber this January. This is similar to a "spiritual renewing/retreat" for youth ages 15 to 24 (or 25)I'm really excited about it. It will be extremely tiring, but it will be worth the effort. I was asked to do an inspirational type of talk at the Journey. I have found that preparing for the talk has helped support me in my own personal spriritual needs. I'm looking forward to Halloween and deciding on a costume to wear. My music class, which has been extremely busy, is now slowing down (thank God LOL). I'm passing the history class and my job is going well. I have no complaints and I'm so greatful that my kids and their husbands/boyfriends are all doing well.
I had a Bone Marrow Biopsy done last Friday and will get the results on Oct 27. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had pictured in my head, which is a good thing. I did start to lose consciousness because my blood pressure fell to low, but all ended up good. I'm really not worried about the results at all. I'm pretty positive I don't have anything major going on and I'm hopeful they can tell me what I do have going on. If they can't find anything,then at least I know I don't have a major illness, just some type of inflammation disorder. Life is good.

Crazy Family

I have decided that with the exception of a select few (you know who you are) that my family is totally and completely insane. They run their lives purely on emotional responses. They don't take responsibility for their actions and expect others to "help" them out when they choose to live their lives selfishly with no consideration for others and then they end up screwing up. I have great difficulty believing and accepting how some people make the crazy, yes CRAZY, decisions they make. I understand all the psychology behind their actions, but not the logic. I also am tired of people calling the "Fajardo" bank every time they make a bad decisions then getting pissed at us because we didn't bail them out. People need to be responsible for their own lives. Family member's should help each other if emergencies happen, but not because a bad decision was made (drinking, drugs, rash spending) It is so, so sad. I really miss being a young, naive, person who seen only the good in family, having great times singing, playing games, cooking out, laughing. I so very much miss that part of my family. I miss that family so so much!

Busy, busy, busy.

Well, my mom left yesterday to visit my little brother in Florida. She and her husband appear to be taking control of their lives and this has relieved me of much stress. Nothing has changed regarding her problems, but it is a good thing for people to take responsibility for their own lives. So, regarding busy busy busy.
I'm taking two college classes this fall. This normally would be no problem for me, except I'm working and this basic "music 101" is so darn busy. I have a 2-3 chapter test or written report due every week. This is in addition to the twice a week classes. I'm also taking a European History class, but this one is online and no assignments (yea!) I just read the book, watch slide shows and take the tests. Now, this should be very easy to do, except that I'm working fulltime. So, it is all ok, but I'm tired of my every mement being school work LOL. In the meantime though, I'm quite satisified with myself for both my grades and my effort to continue my education. I do have a bowling league once a week, which is quite fun, so I get a little break. I've also been quite healthy and feeling better, so that is good :) That is all. Off I go to study again :)

oops, here are more pics

Camping Pics

Camping with Loved ones

Last weekend, my husband and I, Amber and Carlos, Ashley and Gabe all went camping. It was wonderful. There is no phone service up at the top of the mountain where we were. It was green, beautiful, fresh and fun! My daughter's always have a way of making me laugh and that Friday while sitting around the camp fire I laughed so hard I cried. To this day I still don't remember what I even laughed at, but I know it felt wonderful! On Friday night we roasted wieners over a camp fire, visited and laughed. On Saturday, we made breakfast burritos of sausage, potato, egg, green chilie and cheese, cooked fresh outdoors. We fished in a small lake, which is on the indian reservation where we camped. Ash, caught the first fish, Gabe the second and Carlos the last and longest. This was Carlos' first time to ever catch a fish as well as Ashley's. That evening we made "foil" dinners, buffet style and cooked the "catches of the day" in foil on the camp fire. Later in the evening we roasted marshmellows and again laughed and relaxed. Sunday we had outdoor cooked blueberry pancakes and bacon. At lunch, Amber and Carlos made chicken salad sandwiches. They were delicious. We then packed up and headed back home. I wish I could have stayed up there another week, it was so lovely. I will attempt to put some pics on here to view.

Life as Is

Well, my family's visit came and went. They are really cool family members and we really enjoyed the kids.
From the date of July 28th to the date of Aug 29 My husband and I had attempted, with my mom's permission, to regulate, as per dosed by Dr, my mom's perscription medications. We did this because for the past three years she has been giving her meds to her husband David (or he was taking them, either way). Well, her last monthly prescription was filled on Thursday Aug 26th (two days early from expected date of 30 days apart). She said we could help with the daily dosing again so she wouldn't run out early due to David, etc; however upon us recieving the bottles of meds the evening of the 26th, she had already removed 30:180 percocet pills and 5:90 oxycontin pills. The morning she recieved her prescription (Aug 26th) my husband and I gave her the last of her normal prescription dosage. That Friday, we left for Ruidoso and left her three days dosage (Friday, Sat, Sun) in individual plastic daily dosage containers which stated the time of day and day of dosage. The dosage was three oxycontin per day and 6 percocet per day. She called 7 times on Sunday, when we were out of town and phone range, and stated we didn't give her enough meds and that "how could we do her this way" and that she didn't want us to control her meds/dosing any longer. So, on Monday, John took her all her pills and told her to not call us when she runs out and also not to call us for help with money if it is because she had to pay cash for her meds due to Dr. hopping for extra meds during the month (she had been Dr. hopping and getting extra meds for three months prior to our taking over dosaging).
Well, now it appears, she has told family members we said we didn't want her to call us "ever again" and that we won't help her with "anything". This isn't the case. Both she and her husband are drug addicts and are dependant and codependant upon each other.
This has been extremely sad for me, as I see my mom slowly dying and her relationship to David being the reason for her early demise. I have been too too stressed by her problems and as much as I love her, I MUST separate myself from this situation. FYI, I did try to call her to rectofy the situation last Tuesday but whoever picked up the phone hang up on me. My husband John also tried to call last Wed and someone hang up on him too. I'm really sad that this came to this, but Drug addition is SOOOO bad and it obviously changes a person. Mom only cares about herself and David and has no gratefulness for all we have done for her. It is sad that she will probably die like this and there is nothing I can do to save her. It is so so sad.

Yeah I get family coming over!

I'm ready for company for Jenn, Tucker, Finley and Theresa to arrive. I have a friend who is loaning me any baby equipment I need. She has baby beds, strollers, playpens, high chairs swings,etc. I don't think we need all that stuff but she willing to loan it if we do. My friend has about 12 grandkids, who all live out of town, but use these things when in town so they should be good items.
I finally have my stuffed closet cleaned out of the guestroom and I have made a place for the baby bed in the office (our office is actually a third bedroom made into an office). We will shampoo the carpets next weekend, must have clean floors for baby to be on :) I bought a cute "whale" swimming pool and a cute "ball throwing" sprinkler. I have the coolest fire engine and a few other toys to play with.
It sounds like I'm only visiting with kids and of course I will visit with the mom and grandma, but this is the first time I've had little kids in my house since mine were little so playing with the kids is special LOL.
So, welcome to my home you guys! John and I look forward to your visit!

So, this week I applied for admission to get a bachelors degree in Sociology. It is all "online" courses, so I'm hoping to be able to achieve it that way since the University is in Las Cruces. I still don't know if they have recieved my transcripts or if I've been assigned an advisor, which I greatly need. I really need someone to say you need to take "these specific classes" to get your degree. Then I can begin the long process :)

I'm looking forward to my family's visit. Theresa, Jenn, Tucker and Finley are all going to visit the first of August. Amber and Carlos are coming down the last two days of Theresa's visit, so we will have a wonderful houseful :)
If you read this then just pray that I can handle the next two/three weeks of my mom running out of pills and having problems that I can't control. This will make me very happy :)

We are going camping the last weekend of August, yeah! I'm am really looking forward to this event as well. NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING (to me) beats camping.
The nature smells, sounds, starlit nights, fires, outdoor cooking, hiking in the woods, perhaps a little fishing (but not with worms LOL) and yes, even rain makes camping the best break a person can have from the little troubles in life.

So, I realize I this is my third post today (yep I can count to three LOL), but I wanted to say a little about our Dallas/OK trip while I have time to type.
We went to Dallas June 10. We seen relatives there and had a wonderful visit. Kathy, our host, was so very fun to be around. Her house was peaceful and so comforting. If I ever need to go somewhere for peace and comfort, her house would be ideal.
We then went to Oklahoma. I seen my brother Steve there and his wife Judy. They were very sweet and their home also very peaceful and comforting. Judy was a very caring host. We enjoyed hearing Steven sing and play guitar. He played one of my favorite tunes called "Vincent" and also yodeled. LOL I didn't know he could yodel.I will include video of this at another time (if its not to large a file to download).
I also got to see my biological dad, Ralph. I met his new wife and his oldest daughter Debra (He has another daughter, Dana and one son Doyle). Truth is, his second/current wife and children didn't know I was his kid until about 3 years ago. So, this was an interesting meeting, but it went well. I didn't discuss anything about it and let them get to know me a bit for who I am as a person, not for who I am as a new and surprising family member. They started out being cautious, but soon warmed up. The details of this can be discussed at a further time.
I will say we had a wonderful trip. John was wonderful as usual and supportive in every way during this whole trip to see family. Well, I guess that's it. It was all good, and I needed to get away, so it was wonderful. :)

These are pictures we took while in Galveston. I loved the beach house sign. We were literally driving around the beach house area and found this house with the sign on it. I thought it was a great description of the place since it literally is just "some dudes beach house" LOL.

Health update

So, I went to MDAnderson cancer center for a second opinion and biopsy of my thyroid nodules. They said they were benign. Yeah! The Dr in Carlsbad said they were benign but wanted to take the thyroid out or "watch" them every 3 to 6 months. The Dr At the cancer center said my Thyroid hormones are normal and that they currently don't recommend I do anything. Just leave them alone and have an ultrasound once a year to check for new ones or growth of the old ones. They also informed me that if they are benign, they won't "turn" cancerous. So, that was a relief.
I'm still coughing alot and getting hoarse but one thing at a time, at least this isn't due to thyroid. :)

I had been having some "lady problems" but I wasn't sure if these were due to my thyroid or not. I now know that since my thyroid hormones are normal, I'm "officially" going through pre-menopause. Which is fine with me, at least it is a normal function. I love the idea of "normal" because there are more "fixes" for normal problems then rare ones LOL.

I need a break! LOL I must be careful what I say, or I'll break my leg.

So, I've been having neck pain for a while, then last Monday evening I began getting a sore throat. Wednesday, I began getting a cough and mild fever. Thursday, my Dr. tested me for Mono (test results aren't in yet). Friday (today)I have the same symptoms as the last week but now my eye is running and getting Pink. Yep, it's pink eye. I went to the Dr again today to have it verified. I was supposed to get a massage tomorrow, but I had to cancel due the contagiousness. Then my mom called, it medication issues again. I need a break.
However Amber will be visiting me next weekend and we are going to celebrate "mother's day" a little late. We already did, but my gift was a mother/daughter pedicure. So, I will get a break next weekend, yea!
I need a break, Yep a good break, but I will walk carefully until I can relax next weekend. :)

Good News

I'm really excited, I recently found out that my niece, Jennifer and her two cute little boys are going to come and visit with my sister Theresa. This is really, really cool! It is so very rare in my family for people to get together, unless there is a wedding or funeral. I have really miss the opportunity to share in my niece's lives. This will be a wonderful celebrative occasion.

Thyroid and other updates

So, I just got my biopsy results on May 19th. One nodule is "consistent" colloid nodule and one is "suggestive" colloid nodule. They said the difference basically was that the suggestive one didn't have as good a needle sample but "looks like" it is a colloid nodule. I read that FNA biopsys for malignancy is 95% accurate and for benign is 65% accurate. So, it sounds good so far. The Doctor due to my age and the characteristics of the nodules I can either 1. Have the whole thyroid taken out or 2Keep an eye on it and have testing about every 3 to 6 months. For some reason, I had thought we could just take out the "cold" nodule and leave the rest of my thyroid. I currently don't have any thyroid hormone problems and I don't want to have the thyroid taken out (which requires life-time hormone pill) if I don't have cancer or the nodules aren't causing a problem. So, since there is a chance of false negatives on FNA I am going to get a second opinion preferrably a second FNA by someone else. Then I will be completely comfortable to leave it alone until hormone or other issues arise, then have it taken out. That is the end of the thyroid update for now.

Update stuff going on

Well much has happened since my last blog, well long blog anyway. I will get right to the thing which is weighing on my mind the most at this present moment.
March 30th my Dr found a palpable nodule on my thyroid. April 1st I had an ultra sound. On April 2nd I was called by my Dr. and told to get a radioactive iodine scan, which occured on April 6th. On April 8th I was called by my Dr. and told I would need to see an ENT because I needed a biopsy. On April 15th I seen the ENT, who told me that from the test results he could see I definately would be needed surgery on my Thyroid. He said the Biopsy would tell him how much, meaning part of it, all of it or all of it with lymph nodes. Basically, he believes the nodules "look" like the kind which can be cancerous; however only the Biospy can say for sure if the cells are suspicious for cancer. So, May 6th I will have an ultrasound guided biopsy on both sides of my thyroid. I will get the results on May 13th. Either way, from my research, my Dr. is correct about the types of nodules I have and I probably will require surgery. I will get a second opinion though, just because I think if someone is cutting something out of you, you should get a second opinion. Now, I will go about my last month of work before summer break and be happy and deal with whatever is dealt to me. I know what the worse can be and I know what the best can be, all I can do now is enjoy life and see what the lord chooses to have me deal with. That's all for now. I'll post things as they happen.

I will update soon, I promise LOL

Well, I haven't kept this up lately, but I need to. I have a few things going on in my life right now, once I know what the plans are I will update the news.

One More video of Amber

Amber was sick and during these performances. She didn't feel she was performing as well as she can due to her being ill and her throat being affected, but for those of us who don't have training in voice, we may not notice too much of a difference. :)

More Christmas Pics

Amber singing in "Two from Galilee"

The holidays

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted anything. The holidays were great. I had two Thanksgivings. I made a meal on Tuesday and took it to my mom and her husband. We spent the actual holiday with Ashley and her boyfriend, Gabe, in Silver City. Amber and Carlos spent their first Thanksgiving with Carlos' family (yep time for the in-law turn taking at holidays). Prior to Christmas we went to Las Cruces and views a musical Amber was in called "Two from Galilee" She played Mary. I will attempt to post a video of her singing.
Christmas was wonderful. Amber, Carlos, Ashley and my wonderful stepson, Johnny, all came down for the holiday. This was the first time Johnny had Christmas with us in about 10 years. I haven't been able to have everyone here at Christmas for 2 years, so this was great.
I was deeply disappointed that my mother and her husband didn't come down. She sais it was too cold and they didn't really feel like coming. Oh, well. We all had a good time anyway and I took my mom her gifts from everyone after the holidays were over.
Christmas night we to a river boat ride down the Pecos River and looked at the Christmas lights on the river. I will attempt to post pictures of these as well.
New Years was spent at the ELKs lodge with my sweet husband and a couple of friends from my job. I haven't danced so much in a long time. I LOVED it!
I started a weight loss program last Sunday. I've lost 2 pounds so far. It is really a sensible plan. A balanced meal and exercise, that's about it, but I needed to have someone to keep an eye on me and motivate me to stick to something. Hopefully, I will lose a few pounds, but mostly I will get into better physical shape and have more endurance.
This was really long, but I'm done now. I need to post stuff more often and put less words. LOL