HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011



Here's my "resolution"........

Be a little kinder

Learn a little more

Spend a little less

Save a lot more

Exercise a lot more

and last but not least, get healthier

Here's hoping that this is the year there will be a breakthrough in the research and cure for Alopecia Areata!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

I can't believe I haven't posted anything for over a month! I thought I had so much to share and too much to say but suddenly I hit a brick wall and didn't want to say anything. My thoughts were all over the place! I started this blog to talk about Alopecia and bring awareness to the struggles of living with it but....after a few weeks of that I soon realized I was boring myself so why would anyone else want to read about it. I thought it would be a release for me (and some ways it is) but I find more pleasure in talking about the fun things in life like CHRISTMAS!

We had just enough snow on the ground to have a white Christmas but the roads were clean and the temperature was above freezing so it was a great time to travel to our family in Nebraska and have the kids from Arkansas come home. We had too much food and not enough time but more than plenty gifts to unwrap.

It was a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!



My husband Jeff celebrating his Wii success!

The BEST part of Christmas!! Katey and Johnny came home!

The stockings were hung on the chimney (mantel) with care

THE GIFTS

 

My new HP Laptop! (even though the camera date is still in 2002!!)

"Dance like no one is watching" a set of music notes wall decor....LOVE THEM!

That is one of my favorite sayings

Music art piece I also love!

The gifts pictured plus a beautiful silver & diamond bracelet, clothes, a lighted makeup mirror, and much more made my Christmas very special.

Hope your Christmas was spent with family and friends and that no matter the amount of gifts received, you remembered the greatest gift of all..........

.......the birth of Jesus!

Thankfulness Always

 When was the last time you thanked God for your hair? Who thinks to be thankful for their hair?! I certainly didn't. In fact, there were several times I probably cursed my hair because it didn't look just the way I wanted it to. (maybe that's why it fell out) lol

We never know what we will have to face tomorrow or the next day or next year so don't take anything for granted. Be thankful for every day you're healthy, for every day you have your children, for every day you GET to go to work, and for every day you have your parents still giving you advice.

Life may throw you curve balls but there's always a catcher looking out for you. Here's hoping this Thanksgiving you enjoy your family and friends and remember to be thankful for the little things we all take for granted.

It's the Week-End!

Here's what I plan on doing all week-end............NOTHING!

I had a major melt down at work on Wednesday and my usual "I can do it all" attitude went completely out the window. There were too many people wanting too many things and I just lost it! I hung up the phone from yet another frustrating phone call and the tears started pouring so I picked up my purse and headed out the door literally sobbing. Not very professional but at that moment it was best to walk away and concede to the fact I'm not superwoman. Never have been.....never will be. Thank goodness for a great job and understanding co-workers!! SO....I think this is just going to be a mental health week-end. Some nice warm soup, hor' deurves, and watch Missouri shuck some corn Saturday!! GO TIGERS!!

Always Nice to Be Appreciated

Just have to share my beautiful fall flower arrangement I received this week from the office girls, Alice & Amy. We've been so busy I had no clue that Friday was "Bosses Day" but apparently it was. These girls are the best! They are always right there to help with our sometimes overwhelming work load and I appreciate them so much.


Some of the flowers look pink in the picture but this whole arrangement was almost a bronze color including bronze roses unlike any I've ever seen.....GORGEOUS!

Thanks Girls!! You're the Best!

Always take time to stop and smell the roses

To Everything There is a Season........

"To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven". That scripture has always brought me solice when things don't go as planned or when I simply can't understand the "why" in life.
The promise of a purpose gives me hope but the season I'm in right now has to be by far the hardest.

Parents are getting older, in-laws getting older, no children in the house, and so many changes. I need to find a purpose again. This new season has caused me to slow down and take more time to be with those I love but it has also caused me to reflect on what my new purpose should be. I've decided to get more involved  bringing attention to Alopecia and being a support for those who are just now entering their journey with the disease.

There's always a new season in life so don't be afraid to embrace it even it's one of the hardest you've encountered. Find your purpose!

Words you never thought you'd hear

Our beautiful daughter is visiting us today because her husband's family has a gathering every year at this time in the area. She is used to seeing me around the house without wearing my wigs (quite frankly it's just too hot and confining) so I thought nothing of her being here today looking at my bald head. I'm sure it bothers her but she's very supportive and never makes a big deal of it at all.

Later in the day we were in town shopping and she looked at me and said,"oh, you have your eyebrow on". That's words you never thought you'd hear! Immediately I began to ask does it look that obvious? Does it look fake? She explained that she only noticed it because earlier in the day not only did I have a bald head but I also had a missing eyebrow.

I'm certainly not wishing to lose the other one but sometimes I think it would only make sense to not have any. At lease when you put fake ones on (yes...they make them...surprised me too) they match or if you want to draw them on they would be the same color. I've never been a fan of drawn on eyebrows but I'm less a fan of none at all.

I wish I could be more like some of the wonderful people I've met on Alopecia World who are not afraid to live life to the fullest bald head and all but I just can't do it.......at least not yet. So for now it's fake hair, fake eyebrows, and I might as well add the fake nails. It's a different world with no hair and as much as I would give almost anything to have my real hair back, I must admit there are times when it's pretty nice not to have to color, curl, or cut. Doesn't mean I don't have a "pity party" from time to time but then what good does that do?

                                           Never take anything in life for granted

                                               

 

Finally FUN TIMES!

If you have not been to Branson, MO you must plan a trip. We had so much fun!! Many summers of my childhood were spent camping around the Branson area. Not that I'm old or anything but I actually remember when Silver Dollar City was FREE and only a crowd of (maybe) 100 people per day visited. We were smart enough to stay away from there this year but we weren't smart enough to stay away from Branson Landing on a Friday night! Not just any Friday night.....the Friday night before the Iron Man was to begin. There must have been 10000 people on Branson Landing for a concert of some VERY LOUD band that was playing less than desirable music.

The rest of our trip made up for Friday night however. The best part of our mini "staycation" besides seeing our daughter and her husband was seeing my 75 year old parents on a zipline!! Yes, I said zipline! They had so much fun. They are only a speck at the bottom of the picture because they were going so fast but here's a picture to prove it (even though the date on our camera still says 2002). Maybe we'll change that some year!

All I can say is sometimes you just have to get away and do something you've never done before and enjoy life while you can. You never know when those moments will not be there for the taking.

Vacation

Today I'm running in circles trying to wrap my head around the fact we are actually leaving in the morning for a long week-end. Vacation is suppose to be relaxing isn't it? Then somebody tell me how to make that happen. It sounds good on paper in planning stages but beyond that let's be honest, it's hectic! We will have fun though. WE WILL HAVE FUN darn it!! :)

The best part of this mini-vacation will be seeing our lovely daughter and her husband on Sunday. Can't wait to see you Katey!!

I need to learn to relax and just be spontaneous. All this planning is unnecessary, and as much as I know that, I'm still a Type A personality and old habits are hard to break.

RELAX.......RELAX.........RELAX

Too Blessed to Be Stressed.....Really?

Deadlines at work, deadlines at home, packing for a long week-end trip...yikes....how is it all going to get done? Stressed out!
Then I realized how much the little things make me smile. I am blessed! Even a lily popping out in my fish pond will bring me joy for days.




Hope you don't get too stressed to be blessed!

What a Monday!!

There's only about twice a year that I oversleep and usually not by much but today I woke up THREE hours after I normally would have left the house. Not good! Fortunately I have a somewhat flexible job and I won't get fired for being late but in my early morning foggy mind it's the end of the world.

There usually is a blessing in everything but I don't normally see any blessings in being bald....however....on a Monday morning when you're running late (really late) it's a huge blessing to know that your hair is clean and styled just the way you like it. All you have to do is grab it and throw it on your head!  :)

Hope you found a blessing today!

Sunny Sunday

Woke up this morning to a beautiful day! Sunday.....off to church and see some friends and family today. Not much to say other than I wish you all the best today and hope you enjoy the new fall temperatures. I personally wish these temperatures would last year 'round but of course winter is coming and we will have to adjust here in the midwest. After living in California for 9 years I can't complain because I begged to have my four seasons back.

Have a great Sunday!

Beautiful Saturday!

Today is Saturday and the sun is shining with temps in the mid 70's so who could ask for anything better? My first post was last night and truthfully I went a little deeper than I had intended. Every day is an awareness that I my head is bald. The front of our house is mainly all windows so as I pass through the kitchen or dining room I can't help but wonder who is out walking or driving by that sees me standing in my house bald. I know that sounds silly to some but it's the truth. If someone knocks on the door my first thought is where's my "hair". If someone pulls in the driveway I dash for the "hair". Curtains are great but of course I want them open to the beautiful sunlight. As soon as the sun goes down however the curtains are drawn so I have the freedom to walk about my house with the lights on and no one can see me. No one but my husband. That leads to another whole post. How can he love me when I look so different from the girl he married?

Have a great Saturday! Tell someone how much you love them no matter what they look like. We all have our burden to bear.

Introduction into my world..........

I'm assuming if you read my profile you already know that this is a release for me and to bring understanding to what living with Alopecia Areata is all about and the turmoil that happens within while you're smiling on the outside. I don't want to be gloom and doom but the reality is that it hurts...it hurts to be a woman without hair. If you're sick people know it and have compassion. If you lose your hair it's your "dirty little secret". 
My close friends and family now know but they have no idea how it has destroyed who I really am. When I'm making jokes about it I'm actually crying on the inside because I'm pretending to accept it when in fact after fifteen years I still have not accepted it at all.

I beat myself up for having these feelings however because I don't have cancer, I don't have diabetes, I'm not dying nor am I ever going to die from baldness so how dare I feel bad about this disease. It's a struggle to know how to feel. I certainly don't want pity so what is I want? I think it must be just validation that people understand.