Make the best of every moment

This is so very true especially right now. My grandfather had 2 strokes in the past month. I've been battling with myself internally for a while now just over come with emotions from everything that December has thrown at us.

We came home earlier to see my grandfather in the hosptial. Nothing hurt more then to see your grandfather sitting there with this blank stare.

His stroke caused a lot of cognitive damage. He was decent when we first saw him. At a glance it would seem all was the same. Then you started to pick up on little things. How he'd not know words, how upset he'd get. If you were talking to someone else he'd perk up like you were speaking to him. The therapist said he can fool all of us into thinking he knows what's going on, when really he doesn't.

My grandfather has always been a conversation starter. When we sat there I was stuck I didn't know what to say. In my head I didn't know if mentioning anything from the past would be forgotten, or if I mentioned the present I didn't know if he'd even realize who I was.

Our family was extremely blessed to have him home for christmas. He reminded me of a lost puppy. His hand clasped to my grandmothers at all times.

His comfort was in her and her alone. It was sweet yet so sad to watch. His blank stare seemed worse at christmas but at least he was there.

Today we heard that he is getting worse each day. Before at least he'd remember daily on goings. TOday he forgot my brother visited only 3 hours prior. Then come to find he hadn't noticed my grandmother coming to visit (3 times a day) he actually though he was visited by a man. ( My brother asked him if he'd seen my grandmother when he went to visit him.)

I've never had to go through this with a grandparent as I was to young to understand when my grandmother passed away more then 18 years ago. It's tough to think/ know that the man you once knew will probably never come back. Again at least he's still with us. I will never say that is a bad thing. But it sucks to see a 'shell' of the man you once knew. To see him so helpless and know you are a bystander who can't do anything in anyway to help him get better.

This christmas really showed me the value in the word family. I always knew it but this Christmas I FELT it. It was a comfort blanket that set my heart at ease. This is one Christmas I will truly never forget.

I hope you were all blessed to spend the Holidays with those you loved. Remember that each day is a gift. Tomorrow is never promised. So tell those you love that you love them each chance that you get. They deserve to know they are loved and you deserve to give that love and know what it feels like.

Cheers.

Weight Loss: Comfort in Company, not food.

This post is geared towards those individuals with weight issues. This is just a small topic I will touch on when it comes to the big big world of weight loss. Parties and big social events. This is advice from someone whose currently going through a weight loss journey.

Parties are filled with many finger foods and often at times alcohol and hi sugar drinks. What I have come to realize is my personal obsession with food on an entirety.

I realized as I went to our weight watchers meeting 2 weeks ago that every time the word "Party" has ever been mentioned in my life I automatically think "what will they be serving. Will the food be good. Will there be enough?". The worst part always came with actually going to the party. A girl at our meeting said something that made a light bulb go off in my head. She said "I finally realized that a party isn't about the food it's about the people. I realized it had nothing to do with the food. When I realized this I was able to actually have a fun time instead of obsessing over what to eat and what I couldn't eat.". This thing we have is literally an obsession, we obsess over it so much that it tends to take over the meaning of what party means. I would literally sit at parties as that beautiful girl at the buffet took another piece of cake while her figure remained flawless. I obsessed over the fact that she was having something I couldn't have. I found myself never truly satisfied at the end of the night.

This year with my new found mind set I will be focusing on the company not the comfort food. I will be satisfied because I choose to have that strawberry without chocolate covering on it. I choose to have that piece of grilled chicken over the saucy stake. I will choose to enjoy what I eat and take the value out of having a healthy life style and changing who I am. Because others can do it never has meant I can do it. I have always known this but was just to involved with what others had instead of being happy that I am an individual and I can beat this thing called over weight. It starts one step at a time.

Weddings : Such a huge industry

As each year passes the wedding industry gets bigger and bigger. When watching 'Rich bride / Poor Bride' they'll often bring on older couples and the general going rate that they spent on their wedding. I'm astonished to hear numbers lik 2,000 - 8,000 MAN DO I WISH! While I realize we have to account for 'some' inflation in the price lets be honest here weddings cost an arm and a leg when in reality they shouldn't.

Many brides have come to this realization as well and have started to look for other means to get a better 'bang' for their buck. With the internet being such an amazing resource this allows brides to shop around. Heck they can even YouTube some DIY ideas that will save them a lot of money in the end.

I always said if I knew now about all the things I could have DIY'ed my wedding would have been very different then it was. Not to say my day was bad by any means but there were parts where we could have made it a bit more unique. Our inviations could have been tri folds, our program fans could have been better designed, menu cards and table cards for guests. With that in mind I want to stress to any brides reading this. Even if you don't have a single crafty bone in your body with technology being what it is, this makes it possible for you to do an easy step by step craft taht will make you feel proud of what you made in the end. Also another great community that I will always suggest is Etsy.com. The wedding industry is flooded with HUGE cooperation who in general don't really take each individual customer into thought and give each customer the type of attention and personal feeling each deserves. With etsy most of the sellers are so very personable. Each product is hand made and made with delicate care. The customer service is the same person putting together your items. You can bargin and people are more apt to listen to your story and give you a deal where you may need it.

What am I babbling about really? Stop paying cooperation thousands of dollars for something that may cost them a total of $100 dollars to make and have roughly $50 worth of labor on them. Small companies are the way to go, many of the realize how outragous these prices are for brides.

That or DIY.

In the next few months I will be making a DIY website. This will be filled with an array of useful links for Brides to DIY their own items. Even those who aren't creatively gifted.

I truthfully feel that a $8,000 - $10,000 wedding is attainable. Just because it doesn't cost $20,000 + doesn't mean it won't look that way and then some.

So my rambling and incoherent rant is done for today. I promise to be more on track :D

If you would like to ask a question to me and have it answered here please feel free to comment with your email address. Please note the answer will not always be what you want to hear and as the title clearly states.. Advice hold the sugar. Please note this as a fair warning when submitting your questions.