Please create your own blog!

One of my best friends is the most talented and articulate writer that I know. Even her e-mails are poetic. I'm trying to encourage her to start a blog because, if anyone needs to or has the talent to, it's her. I think she has a lot to write about including her personal experiences, thoughts about art and pottery (in which she's also talented!) and observations about life in general.

I know I would be an immediate fan and follower. So, Jenn, when are you going to do it?

Alas, where the time goes...

I started a new job in March of 2011 and quite enjoy it. My family is doing well; my children are healthy (knock on wood) and I'm content.

There, I wrote it: I'm content. So why do I feel that I said too much, that I've just jinxed myself that something terribly wrong will happen now?

Are you superstitious or careful about what you say and/or write? I certainly am.

Thirteen months later...

New resolution: write in my blog at least once a month. (I'll see how long that lasts.)

So in the past 13 months:
-I've returned to work from my final maternity leave and still trying to cope with work/family balance.
-Went to Disney World to celebrate my 40th birthday.
-My best friend got pregnant and is due in October (yay!)
-Gave up sleeping.

Two years worth of updates

Has it really been two years since my last update? Well, let's see. I had another son (yay!) My husband lost his job (boo!) He found another great job only 10 minutes away from our home (yay!) I'm trying to find the right balance between family and other activities (boo! ).

Ups and downs. I guess that's what life is all about.

How's your life been treating you?

Being a bone marrow donor

This past Monday, I went to the blood lab and gave a sample for HLA testing for inclusion in the world-wide bone marrow donor list.

I felt I needed to do this because of what has happened in the past to my family.

In 2002, one of my sisters was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer, Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia. In fact, it's so rare that for her age (38) and her being a female, her chances of getting it were one in one million.

The news was devastating of course. She had two small children, a husband, and a home with a hefty mortgage.

So they started chemo treatments, which did nothing for her except make her sick.

Her oncologist suggested a bone marrow transplant. So her four siblings (me included) went for HLA testing to see if one of us was a match. I was the perfect match for her and the procedure was scheduled. In January of 2005, my sister received my bone marrow, she stayed in hospital for three more weeks and, to this day, has made a full recovery (knock on wood).

Every day, I'm thankful that I was able to help my sister and that I was able to do this one small thing for her.

Although I donated the marrow to my sister, I was not automatically put on the global bone marrow donor list. I had to do that separately and that's why I had my HLA testing done on Monday.

Is anybody out there?

I have to wonder if anyone really reads these things. Do people search blogs looking for connections or do bloggers just send out their URLs to their friends and families for viewing?

What are your blogging reading patterns?

Sad stories

I've been thinking about death a lot lately. Perhaps it's because my life is changing ~ for the better, mind you, but still changing.

Today, I went to the lawyers to sign house-ownership papers. At the end of the signing, my husband asked the lawyer about drawing up wills and powers of attorney for us. The happy paper-signing event turned into a not-so-happy reminder that all of us, one day, will die.

Or maybe it's because I've come across some blogs where the authors were dying or have died. It saddened me to read this one in particular.

In any event, I hope my death thoughts start to go away.

How often do you think about death?