Life Continues……

 

sweetcheeks!, originally uploaded by The Rambling Rountrees.

Wow, when I look back on my blog posts for the last 6 weeks they have been few and far between to say the least. So busy providing care for my mom who suffered a stroke in September. I was supposed to go to my Ol’ Kentucky home two weeks ago, but never made it and had to reschedule my trip til later this month. Halloween came and went this past weekend with a visit with Amy and Emma, my niece and great niece. I had the opportunity to share in Emma’s Halloween adventures including Trick or Treating around my mom’s neighborhood. My mom is slowly recovering but is suffering from depression as a result of her stroke. She has made significant progress with home-based physical and occupational therapy as well as speech therapy. She still has lapses in her cognition and swallowing capabilities, but these are improving as well. A slow taxing process me both of us. She wants to be able to continue to live alone and independently and I am hoping for this as well. I will my readers updated! Ciao for now!! 

Look What the Stork Brought!

 

sisters, originally uploaded by The Rambling Rountrees.

Hello and welcome to yet another week. Today marks the 1 week anniversary of another great niece…welcome to Miss Rheia Ashlee born October 20, 2009 at 5:43 pm to my niece Nichole and her husband Will. Also welcoming Miss Rheia is her older sister Miss Rhylie! Sweetness to be exact. If there was ever a month to welcome in something new, this is the best month for that! My mom is making a slow recovery after having a stroke last month and all of my days and nights have become a blur…..but she is healing. Thanks to all of my “virtual” friends on here and Facebook, for all of your prayers! Hugs and love to you all….

Love is patient, love is kind……

at the playground, originally uploaded by The Rambling Rountrees.

Ahhhh, what a long past three weeks. AS you may know my mom suffered a stroke, unexpectedly three weeks ago, and then went into atrial fibrillation while hospitalized. Her recovery has been rough to say the least. A few days ago she left her treatment/rehab facility to return home in my and other family members care. The road has been paved with difficulties and grief. I have grown very frustrated at times and have walked on the verge of tears for the past three weeks. Care of aging parents is never easy, but I was not expecting to have to care for my mom so intently so quickly. I have mastered the art of patience many times over, but I know this has been eating at me. I am frustrated with the progress, not with her trying and all, but with the slowness of progression form her stroke. I have never meant to hurt my mom in any way and I hope that God grants me the patience I need to help her in her recovery to live an independent life once again. Over the last three weeks I have grown very depressed and have felt sorry for her and myself to have to care for her. I know this is temporary for me…as I have overcame this before. But I feel helpless that I can’t cure my mom or to make thing progress as quickly as I would like them to. I know I am in the right place and doing the right things to care for her. But I am grieving for the mother I had three weeks ago, a mom filled with happiness and independence with a fighting spirit! I want you back the way you were before mom…..please hurry back.

I would like to run away!

Red Vespa, originally uploaded by The Rambling Rountrees.

Week three of my mom’s recent hospitalization for her stroke and cardiac atrial fibrillation continues. A long road of rehab lies ahead. This will take months and months of work, and perhaps my patience is running thin. I only hope God provides a promise, that things will get better for her to be able to live a fulfilling and independent life once again. Thanks to you all, for the support you have given me throughout this ordeal.

To Hell and Back the Last Two Weeks.

mom and uncle johnny, originally uploaded by The Rambling Rountrees.

For those of you that follow me on Twitter or Facebook, the past two weeks I’ve been to hell and back. My mom suffered a stroke and then serious atrial fibrillation and has been hospitalized for the past weeks and and is now in rehabilitation for her right sided stroke of the temporal and parietal part of her brain. Please keep the prayers and kind words coming, as they have inspired to have faith in humanity. She has a long road to recovery ahead but we can do it! I love you mom and I need you back the way you were before!

Breakfast of champs!

Breakfast of champs!, originally uploaded by The Rambling Rountrees.

Try my breakfast of champs! After weight loss surgery, finding things to eat that are full of protein for breakfast is often difficult, if one can not tolerate eggs well.

Serves 6

* 3 containers (5.3 ounces each) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
* 5 tablespoons honey
* 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon juice
* 1 papaya (1 pound), peeled, halved lengthwise, seeds discarded, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
* 1 package (6 ounces) fresh blackberries
* 1 package (6 ounces) fresh raspberries
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint, plus sprigs for garnish
* 1/2 cup granola

Directions

1. In a small bowl combine yogurt, 3 tablespoons honey, and zest; set aside.
2. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the ginger (no need to peel) into a small bowl. Squeeze ginger through a fine-meshed sieve or strainer placed over a medium bowl to get a total of 1 tablespoon ginger juice. Discard pulp. To the bowl with the juice, add remaining 2 tablespoons honey and lemon juice; whisk to combine. Add papaya, blackberries, and raspberries and toss gently to coat.
3. To serve: Spoon half the fruit and juices among six 8-ounce tall glasses. Sprinkle chopped mint over the fruit. Top with half the yogurt mixture and half the granola. Layer with the remaining fruit, yogurt, and granola. Garnish with mint sprigs. (adapted from Martha Stewart Living)

Each portion of this delicious concoction packs a whooping 6 grams of protein and no fat!

The pumpkin patch and other Autumn delights!

the pumpkin patch, originally uploaded by The Rambling Rountrees.

Autumn, brings the cool temperatures, apples and pumpkins! Enjoy this recipe for homemade spiced applesauce. I know have to use reduced sugar or sugar-free brown sugar, but just as delicious!

Spiced Applesauce

8 Golden Delicious apples, cored, peeled and cubed
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. water
1 t. pumpkin pie spice

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker; stir to mix. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours, or on high setting for 3 to 4 hours. When done, stir with a wooden spoon. Gently crush applesauce against side of slow cooker to desired consistency. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

The changing seasons

baby shoes, originally uploaded by The Rambling Rountrees.

Another week has proceeded by rather quickly. Lots of thing happening in life and things tend to be a bit on the hectic side. A new school year, new semester, new season approaching and another new baby on the way in the next four weeks. My niece is expecting her second daughter over the next few weeks. Another life will be added to the Klan or family is should say! Before we know it fall will be down all around us and in the meantime I will savor every moment of my favorite time of year, early Autumn.

On the weight loss side of thing I’ve hit the 63 week mark post op and things tend to be better most days. I am about 10 pounds away from my goal, but these 10 pounds have been the most difficult to loose. Still working out almost everyday with a mix of cardio and weight training. Most days I love this routine. A change for the former ultimate couch potato in my family, now people have a difficult time keeping up with me. October 19th, I have an appointment for a consult for a bilateral brachioplasty. Ouch! it does sounds painful and I have not made up mu mind yet on this surgery. So if any of my readers out there have any insights both good, bad, or ugly I love to hear about it! 

Where were you when the world stopped turning….

where were you when the world stopped turning…., originally uploaded by The Rambling Rountrees.

Today is a sad day for all. The eighth anniversary of the events of 9/11. Seven years ago I was sitting here at my desk like today, when the news was announced. Life has not been the same since. Today I am thinking of those who have lost their lives or those whose lives were destroyed on this day. Please join me in remembering today. Take a moment and do something nice for someone you don’t know, a small act of kindness will go a long way. Tell someone you love them today. Maybe someday there will be no violence in the world.

The Long Labor Day Weekend….

The Fishermen’s Monument, originally uploaded by The Rambling Rountrees.

This weekend we celebrate Labor Day here in the US. I guess if you are fortunate to have a job, then you have something to celebrate. In the land of the unemployed then the day may be a day for for family and friends to get together. Wherever you and whatever you are doing, have a great weekend~

Labor Day History

As the Industrial Revolution took hold of the nation, the average American in the late 1800s worked 12-hour days, seven days a week in order to make a basic living. Children were also working, as they provided cheap labor to employers and laws against child labor were not strongly enforced.

With the long hours and terrible working conditions, American unions became more prominent and voiced their demands for a better way of life. On Tuesday September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers marched from city hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first-ever Labor Day parade. Participants took an upaid day-off to honor the workers of America, as well as vocalize issues they had with employers. As years passed, more states began to hold these parades, but Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later.

On May 11, 1894, workers of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago struck to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. They sought support from their union led by Eugene V. Debs and on June 26 the American Railroad Union called a boycott of all Pullman railway cars. Within days, 50,000 rail workers complied and railroad traffic out of Chicago came to a halt. On July 4, President Grover Cleveland dispatched troops to Chicago. Much rioting and bloodshed ensued, but the government’s actions broke the strike and the boycott soon collapsed. Debs and three other union officials were jailed for disobeying the injunction. The strike brought worker’s rights to the public eye and Congress declared, in 1894, that the first Monday in September would be the holiday for workers, known as Labor Day.

The founder of Labor Day remains unclear, but some credit either Peter McGuire, co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, or Matthew Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union, for proposing the holiday.

Although Labor Day is meant as a celebration of the labor movement and its achievements, it has come to be celebrated as the last, long summer weekend before Autumn.  (http://www.history.com/content/laborday/labor-history/labor-day-histor)