BLAST From the PAST!!! Yes it is Really Me!

Hi Everyone! I can't imagine you all could even possibly remember me anymore. I think the only ones who can even like me anymore are those I keep in touch with on Facebook. And that is who I blame. Facebook. It has made me lazy. It has taken away my writing capability. And for that I apologize.So much has happened in the past two years since I posted. Well for one - I hit my goal weight! I have lost a total of 265 pounds! I know it is like the size of my husband I lost! LOL! I tell him like I lost your existence. He is 6'5". It is hard to comprehend. This is a picture I took at one of his wrestling events. Those are wrestlers behind me. I tried to crop them out. I need to do another before/after collage. I am down to a size 8. I don't think I ever was a size 8 in my life. I went from a husky in grammar school to a size whatever in high school. LOL! I don't ever remember single digits!

I went vegetarian back in January of 2012 and actually went for the gusto and went vegan in April of this year. I did it for more than health reasons (which you will read about in paragraphs below). As you all know I LOVE animals & I just could not continue to eat meat. Every once and a while I will have tuna or a piece of shrimp. But other than that in almost a year I have not consumed meat. As for dairy, I was never a "milk" person. The most I ever had was 1/2 a cup of skim in my cereal and some fat free half and half in my coffee and cheese and frozen yogurt. So it wasn't that much I had to give up. Now for substitutes. I love, Love, LOVE almond milk. Blue Diamond Original is my favorite. That is what I have in my cereal. For my coffee I have Organic Valley soy creamer. For cheese, I use substites Daiya shredded cheddar or pepperjack and slices a company called Galaxy International Vegan cheese slices in American or pepperjack flavor. So I am set. A future post about this and "How I get my protein" will follow because a lot of people don't get it and I would love to share.

Let's see what else has gone on. Back in the summer of 2011, I started not feeling well. I got really strange symptoms of numbness in my hands (mainly fingertips) and severe vertigo. I will spare you the back and forth of doctor visits. My gut told me I had MS. So I went to an MS Specialist/Neurologist. After MRIs of my head, thoracic and cervical spine and the good old spinal tap for good measure it was confirmed in October of 2011 that I indeed have Multiple Sclerosis. They found "white matter" (or lesions) in my brain (none in my spine luckily).

I immediately went on medication. I take a daily shot called Copaxone. My daily symptoms I have are still some numbness in my fingertips and I sometimes get vertigo. I sometimes have some cognitive issues as far as if I'm tired I'll drift off into la-la land and not comprehend something if it a really 'hard' subject. I have extreme cold sensitivity. I thought it was the weight loss but it goes beyond that. I am always cold. I get migraines. I get them bad. I am on a preventative medication for it called Topomax that has helped control them somewhat. I really cannot complain because a lot of people with MS have it so much worse. I just went for my first anniversary MRI/EEG check and I am proud to report "no new lesions" so my disease has not progressed! It has stayed the same. So the doctor said what ever I am doing, I am doing right. He said I am living a healthy lifestyle and taking my medicine daily and following his orders. I sound like Montell Williams but "I have MS, but it doesn't have me!!" And...the one thing I am blessed with is I have my mobility and I will do EVERYTHING in my power to keep it! As a matter of fact, this past April I participated in the MS Walk 2012 which was 5K and I even ran part of it!! Jodi..run? Yep! I'm sorry. Seeing the word's I and run in the same sentence is quite comical

It is with a BROKEN heart that I write that the love of my life Harley passed away on May 20, 2012. It was oddly the 21st anniversary of my blessed Mom's death as well. It was like she was welcoming him into her arms. That day was seriously the worst day of my life. I will not go into detail because it is just too painful for me to put into words. I will tell you all this. I promised Harley that he would never have a painful day in his life. He lived 19years and blessed me every day. I knew he would give me a sign when the time was right. He gave me a sign on the 19th. Now you all know Harley really did not like to be loved. The night before I brought him to the emergency vet, he let me hold him in my arms all night long. That was our time. Our time to say goodbye for now.

When we got to the emergency vet she assured me that fluids would only keep him alive for a few more days and we would have to bring him back and with his age his quality of life was not there. His body was a step away from shutting down. I would not do that to him. I promised him no pain. So I had to make the hardest decision in my life. The vet was SO incredibly patient. She allowed me to hold him the entire time before, during and I stood with him after. 19yrs is a long time.

I had him cremated and have his ashes in a special place along with his collar and photos. I also added to my wrist tattoo of his name and have his face above it. Larry got that for me for my 40th birthday in June.

I said I would NEVER --- EVER get another cat again. I was too heartbroken. I was actually almost in a state of depression when Harley died. Then something just clicked and I went and looked at this shelter website. I saw a picture of this cat that looked like Harley. I went to see him. It was just too eery. I said I am doing this for all the wrong reasons. He looks like Harley and then guess what. The cat bit me! LOL! Yeah, too much like Harley! LOL!!! My heart told me I needed to get another cat that looked nothing like Harley and one that was younger that I could train the way I wanted...so I should think of looking at kittens. I knew they were alot of work. So the lady said they had a few kittens if I wanted to see them. They were all rescues from overcrowded kill shelters. I walked into the room and my eyes look into this gorgeous orange and white 3 month old tabby kitten's eyes and he reached his paw out of the cage to me. SUCKER!!! I was sold and it was love at first sight. The name that they gave him was Brave Heart. We changed it to Daniel. If anyone has seen Mister Rogers, he is named after the puppet Daniel Striped Tiger because his body has stripes and spots too! He is just the sweetest things and he was able to bring back love into my heart. This kitten LOVES to be loved. He actually comes up to you and cries to be picked up. When you kiss him, he throws his head back so you could kiss his neck. He sleeps with me every night. He actually "spoons" with you. It is unbelieveable. I know this may sound weird, but I honestly feel like Harley had "his paw" in on this. He knew I needed love and affection and saw too it that I found a kitten who would accept the love I had to give and would reciprocate.

And lastly in big news...first there is Elvis and John Lennon ...then there is Kenny Rogers and if I cannot meet Elvis or John Lennon for obvious reasons, my ultimate desire would be to meet Kenny Rogers. And guess what?! I did!! I had the ultimate experience this October. I was able to meet him during his book tour. I told him that I loved him my whole life and he told me that I "should have caught him in between marriages". If only!!!!! Me and his wife are only 2 years apart in age!!! I met her there and she and him have a HUGE age difference. He wasn't kidding! It could have been possible. LOL!!!! He is still SO handsome. Truth be told, if we both weren't married, I would have taken him right there in the biography section. 34yrs my senior or not. LMAO! If you click on the picture it actually shows it to you in a bigger size and you can see how happy I am. It was one of the best days of my life. If I smiled any wider I would have had to have sought medical attention for lock jaw.

On that note my old friends. I am so sorry that my post has taken 2 flippin long years to write. So much has happened. For those of you have kept me on your blogroll thank you!!!! I will try to keep this updated more regularly.