Sunday, September 1, 2019
Find Happy To Be Happy
I get it. I so do.
We think we can change people. You can’t. They have to want to change. You have to see what you want your future to be like an align it with people who have the same goals and views.
You can’t be happy with an unhappy person. You can’t achieve goals with someone who’s goals don’t align with yours.
Not Just A Picnic
We get together every Sunday. It’s been a tradition for as long as I could remember. We eat for hours. It started out as lunch now it’s lunch and we end up ordering pizza at night.
The kids play. The adults catch up on life. We are all really close. Sometimes our cousins join or family friends or friends. It’s a favorite.
This time we did it BBQ style. Not your typical bbq. It’s an upgraded version. Grilled lobster tails. Steak. Grilled endive. Fennel salad with pomegranate. Burgers. Sausage. Mom’s famous potatoe salad- ok not famous but it should be. Snow Crab legs. Tomatoes salad.
Everything made with love and insane. Prosecco and
Jell-O shots for the adults. Dessert for the kids and jello.
After most of us went on a 1 hour walk. Our family isn’t perfect. No one is. But we sure know how to eat, party and love eachother.
How do you BBQ?
Meditation Music...Mom What’s That Sound
During breakfast I put my meditation pandora station on. My youngest asked why is the ocean playing. I said it’s to relax us. She rolled her eyes. But then my oldest was walking down that stairs to where I was cooking and said “Mom what’s that Devine sound”. I thought she was being sarcastic but she said no really it’s beautiful.
I wanted us to have a relaxing morning together. Calm and enjoyable. It worked. Silly and no effort yet impactful. Small steps and gestures can make your world calm and zen.
September is National Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month
I can’t forget it...but then again I am reminded every morning when I wake up to take a small blue pill
to keep me alive. Sounds morbid. I know. But I don’t have a thyroid. A major function of the body that produces hormones that regulate the body's metabolic rate which is your metabolism, your heart and digestive function, muscle control, body temperature , brain development, mood and bone maintenance, controls your cholesterol levels and menstrual cycles. That’s about it...I am joking of course. I have to take vitamin d and calcium everyday. It’s a job but I am alive so I am extremely grateful. I am 6 years cancer free. I have amazing doctors I do follow ups with every 3-6 months. I go for blood work to check my levels and there’s a cancer tracer blood test I do. I go for neck ultrasounds. I am in good hands for sure.
But it’s something I didn’t even know about until I was diagnosed. I didn’t even know what a Thyroid was. Did. It’s in a shape of a butterfly. It’s in your neck. Now it’s so common to hear about Thyroid cancer and abnormal Thyroid levels. High survival rate because it’s a slow growing cancer. I had five modules. The cancer took up my whole thyroid. I had 5 millimeter of clean margins. Meaning it was only 5 millimeters before it spread to my lymph nodes and throughout my body. I was only 33 years old. Crazy but I had angels on my side. Two amazing doctors who helped me get through it. My OBGYN and my Endocrinologist. Til this day I still thank and they say they will never forget my journey. I was 6 months pregnant. Failed a glucose sugar test. My OB has a bad feeling. I asked to just repeat the test. She refused. Pushed me to see a specialist. The specialist felt my neck and ordered a biopsy right away. She said if I followered her advice and everything she suggested I do I would survive this.
So I did and she was right.
Some say it’s the “easy cancer” not a big deal. Those people never had cancer before. No cancer is easy. No call saying you have deadly disease in your body is easy to handle no matter what type of cancer it is.
We luckily live in a society where technology has come a long way. You can’t even see my scar. Back in the day the scars where awful. Treatment now is easier. Medicines are better and healthier. But it doesn’t mean you can’t look at the signs.
I had symptoms. My neck had lumps. I had a hard time swallowing my old PC said we would just keep an eye on it and was a sore throat. We didn’t. It was cancer and I have it for years before knowing. My skin was dry. Weird taste in my mouth. Bones hurt. I started to lose my hair. More frequently. My body was sending me signals and I didn’t even know. Listen to you body. Check your neck. Ask for your levels to be checked. It can save your life.
Thyca site was my go to guide for everything. The Yale surgeons were phenomenal. There’s even a separate parking garage for cancer patients. Hammers Healthcare Imaging in New Haven is the most professional and experienced imaging center I have ever been too. I went there and still do for all my thyroid ultrasounds. Amazing place.
Now living without a thyroid means taking your medicine and vitamins everyday. I don’t need a lot
of sleep anymore. I function on 6 hours. I have a high energy level. I love night time. Late nights. I used to need 8 hours of sleep. I used to just be a morning person and in bed by 9-10:00 pm. Now I can take a 15-20 min nap and function fine with little sleep. My routine has changed but I am grateful everyday to be where I am at.
Slice of Saugatuck September 7th 2019
This event Readers is by far the coolest event. It’s $15 a ticket or two people for $25. You walk downtown Saugatuck and there are vendors and restaurants handing out food to taste. You don’t pay for anything extra but liquor inside restaurants. You get a card. It lists all the participating restaurants. They have stations setup outside and you get a sample of food to
Try. You check off each location as you go. It is so much fun!!
“Saturday September 7, 2019 from 2 pm – 5 pm with over four dozen of Saugatuck's finest restaurants, shops and galleries opening their doors and inviting the community to come and sample their offerings. Walk the streets of Saugatuck Center and taste your way from restaurant to restaurant, to liquor store, to retail merchant and back.”
Learn more here:
Blues & Views Festival in Westport CT This Weekend
I took my two little ones to the Blues &
Views Festival this weekend and it was a blast. The best part is kids are free to get in. All activities for the kids are free. Face painting. Bouncy houses. Coloring station. Beads stations.
They really do a great job of having activities for the children. There’s a band playing. I got the basic tickets. The pavilion tickets are more money.
Then the food trucks and food stations are available. Delicious.... The Mac Factor is a Mac & cheese truck, Bobby Q’s, Rory’s, Micalizzi for ice cream, kettle corn and lemonade stand, a hot dog truck and a Greek food truck.
The pulled pork Mac and cheese from the Mac Factor was insane!! Comfort food in a cup is an understatement. The portion size was huge for $12. The bbq sauce was perfect on the pork. As it cooled
down the flavor got even better. Delicious!
The kettle corn pop corn was amazing. I even bought a big bag for a BBQ I am going to today. Then the Micalizzi ice cream truck had cannoli ice cream...was delicious.
Such a great vibe place. We spent over three hours there walking around. Playing. Eating and listening to music. The girls had a blast.
My middle one said it was her best day ever!
Be sure to check it out today. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blues-and-views-festival-labor-day-weekend-2019-tickets-65115072936
Happy 1st of The Month
Oh September...apple picking...festivals...vineyards..cool weather.
You had me at September ❤️
It’s Your Life. Your Decisions. Your Happiness.
It’s took some time and heartache and drama and ups and downs to say...let it all go. Focus on what you really want and it will come. You need to too!
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