These past couple of years have been an adventure.  I won’t go into all the details, just enough to share what has led me to actually getting serious in working this blog. 

2018 started out pretty good, I was living just outside of Austin, Tx which I loved my tiny house, I had a job I loved, I had a handful of great friends I knew I can count on, and a boyfriend that I loved very much.  I felt like I had finally overcome a very dark period. Maybe someday I will talk about those times. But for now, let’s stick to the story at hand.  Then at 2:00 am on May 1^st I got the phone call that everyone dreads to receive. My dad passed away from a massive heart attack.  Needless to say, I did not go back to sleep, I started making plans to fly back to Phoenix as soon as I could.  Because of the job, boyfriend and my dog that I loved were still in Austin, I could not spend more than a week in Phoenix at that time. But I knew that my mom, and kids would take care of each other.  Back in Austin, I stayed in touch with everyone calling as much as I could, which I admit wasn’t as much as I should have. 

The year continued; I came to Phoenix in September then again in October. In October, I packed up mom, the dog’s aka… the burritos and brought them to stay with me in TX for a while.  Over Thanksgiving weekend, I brought them back to AZ.  2018 ended calmly

2019 started out with a bang. The first week of the month I got sick and my coworkers took me to the hospital.  There I was diagnosed with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, NAFLD for short, along with a 11-13cm cyst on my liver.  Good new is that the liver is the only human organ that can repair itself given the correct care. So, I started to educate myself with the disease and how to correct it.  That information is for another post.  In March I flew back to Phoenix for a long weekend, to attend my oldest son Matthew’s wedding reception.  Stayed at mom’s house. I could really see how she was doing. Which was not good. Before dad passed away, he had been taking mom to the doctors to find out why her memory was having issues, along with she had a delayed walk and small tremors. They had gotten worse in the 10 months since his passing. She lost major weight, her health was deteriorating, and she didn’t want to leave the house or take care of herself.  In April my daughter Kylea called and said that I needed to move back to Phoenix, mom needed to have someone live with her full time.  Over the next 2 months I planned to transfer with my job and prepared to move.  Over Memorial Day weekend I loaded everything in my 5^th wheel trailer and headed out.

June and July were an adjustment getting things situated with work and living with my mom after 30+ years of having my own home.  We started to develop routines, going to the doctors to determine what is going on with her. Just living life, missing my life in Austin.  I still have the job I love, the great friends that are always there for me, and the great boyfriend Mark. Although he had to stay in Texas for work and his family, we are making the long-distance work.  We made it through Thanksgiving, and here we are Christmas.

2019 is going out with a bang. On Tuesday the 17th I had to be taken to the hospital again. This time to discover that my gallbladder was pissed off and had to be taken out. Oh and to discover that the cyst on my liver is now 13.8 cm which is about half the width of my liver. I have been sitting at home reading and researching what happens now, I discovered that the things that help to heal the liver will also assist in making up for the missing gallbladder. The answer to that million-dollar question is diet, exercise and loose weight. All that information brings us to today. As I sit on the couch watching Julia Roberts movies; I decided that I am going to use this blog that I keep saying that I need to start to hold myself accountable and make myself healthy again. I am also using a really cool planner to write down everything I put in my mouth. Because that is a sure fire way to eat better, is to write down everything you eat. Wish me luck and I will keep you posted.