Happy Birthday

My sweet husband is 26 today. He's a youngin'. A whole 6 months younger than me :-) Funny thing is, most people think he's much older than I am. Often times if we are out and order drinks, I will get asked to show my ID and he will not. Just a few weeks ago when we were in Las Vegas, Mike was playing blackjack and I was standing behind him watching. The pit boss kept eyeing me and then about 10 minutes later asked to see my ID. He didn't even think I was 21. Quite the opposite, a couple days ago Mike went to the grocery store and bought some beer. The cashier, shockingly, asked him for his ID. As he was pulling his ID out of his wallet, he asked the clerk how old she thought he was, and much to his surprise she replied "probably mid-thirties." HA.

I love this man. He's simple. He says what he means and means what he says. He's thoughtful and funny. He's a hard worker and a big help. He's loving and romantic. He's my best friend and he gets me. I'm so thankful for him.

Happy Birthday Mike!!

Book Review: Just Don't Fall

Another story of cancer. Though, this one is much more uplifting and inspiring.

Just Don't Fall was written by my cousin, Josh Sundquist. It's a memoir; a collection of stories of how he encountered and dealt with many adversities after losing one of his legs to cancer at age 9. It's a page-turner. I finished the entire book in a 24 hour period, despite having a 12 hour work shift in between. It's emotional; raw; inspiring. He doesn't hold back. I would be laughing-out-loud one moment, and crying the next. Josh is a very talented writer, and although I was able to incorporate all the characters personalities because I also grew up with most of them, I believe someone who never knew his family would get just as much out of it. I highly recommend checking it out. It's available on Amazon, in Barnes & Noble and other local bookstores, and may even be at your local library.

Josh currently lives in Washington, DC and makes his living as a motivational speaker. Check out his website to watch some of his videos, he's so inspiring and makes you view your life in another light. He is also the creator of Less Than Four, an online social networking organization for other amputees.

Jackson

I don't know this precious young boy, but Jackson Laskowski is a distant relative of my husband and he and his family need all the prayers they can get.

Just this past week Jackson was diagnosed with stage IV Hepatoblastoma, a rare and somewhat aggressive form of liver cancer, which has already spread to his lungs. I can't imagine what this family is going through, though they outwardly appear to be extremely motivated and optimistic about Jackson's recovery. If you would like to read more about the Laskowski's and/or keep up with Jackson's progress visit their blog HERE.

Please send your thoughts and prayers to be with this family as they embark on what will likely be a very long and exhausting road to recovery.

Las Vegas

Just a few pictures from our recent trip to Las Vegas that we took for a little mini vacation and some much needed R&R. We stayed at the Encore, which is Steve Wynn's encore to the very popular Wynn Hotel & Casino. I didn't take ANY pictures of the two of us - I know, how bad... but snapped a few shots of various locations, including our room and around town. We had a great trip and were able to spend some quality time with Mike's parents. Thanks Mike & JoMarie for a wonderful week!

Haiti

These images are disturbing, but not half as bad as some of the ones I chose not to post. My heart breaks for this country on a daily basis. Being in the medical field, I have a strong urge to just get on a plane and go. I don't even know what I would do once I got there, but just to be there and offer any services I could provide. Since I know that's not feasible, there are other ways I plan to help. I know there are thousands and probably millions of people just in our country that wonder what they can do to make a difference. Haiti has struggled for a long time, way before this earthquake hit, but if there's ever a time to help, it's now. Below is a list of resources and organizations that could greatly use your help in this relief effort.

American Red Cross - initially focusing on feeding, sheltering, and supplying other basic needs. They primarily need monetary donations. Go to their website to learn how to donate, or text "haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 that automatically gets added to your cell phone bill.

Doctors Without Borders - monetary donations are going to help this organization provide immediate medical care, and eventually help rebuild medical facilities. If you're in the medical field and would like to go through an organization to provide direct medical care, this is a wonderful organization.

Food For The Poor - monetary donations and non-perishable canned goods are being accepted by this organization to provide food, water, and other supplies that are much needed.

Habitat For Humanity - donations to this organization, whether it be monetary or time, will be used for future recover and rebuilding.

Project Hope - a Virginia-based organization that provides medical care in the form of medical volunteers and medical supplies, with the commitment to help rebuild long-term sustainable healthcare for Haiti's future.

World Water Relief - donations to this organization will specifically go to providing clean water and building water filtration systems throughout Haiti for future needs.

There are many many more organizations that I didn't mention that are devoting their time and efforts to help out. For a more comprehensive list, check out this website.

All pictures courtesy of CNN.com

The End of a Decade & The Beginning of a New Year

Unbelievable that another decade has passed. Ten years is quite a long time, but when looking back it seems as though I was celebrating the year 2000 with all my high school friends just yesterday. I remember it so clearly. This past decade has probably been the most memorable of my existence: graduating high school, graduating college, graduating graduate school, celebrating milestones such as 18, 21, and 25 years old, moving away from home, having my first dog on my own, buying my first home, starting my first real job, getting married, seeing my friends get married and/or have children, becoming a Daughter-in-law, a Sister-in-law, an Aunt, and a Godmother, experiencing my parents celebrate 30 years of marriage, many memorable births and deaths, and probably many more that I'm forgetting. The next 10 years has a lot to live up to!

With the end of the past decade comes the beginning of a new year. I'm not one to make many new years resolutions, but I do try to make new general goals for myself each year. This year is no different and we'll see how it goes as the time passes. For whatever reason, the thought of a new year is so refreshing. I look forward to what the new year has to offer. These are a few of my goals for 2010:

work less, be home more

travel

eat healthier, run more

take more pictures

send birthday cards

read more, watch less tv

blog more

stress less

Bring on 2010, I'm ready!

Christmas

We had a very wonderful Christmas. Lots of snow and ice, lots of playing with Rhea and Bailey, lots of family and friends, lots of relaxation and eating yummy foods. Perfect. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas as well!