Donor quilts

This is one of the most memorable pics from the tranplant games.

The halls of the hotel that was hosting the event was lined with donor quilts. So many that it was awe inspiring. Each square was made by the family of an organ donor. Many of the squares had pictures of the donors and words of about their lives and what they meant to their family. Most of the squares were dedicated to children and young adults as they are often organ donors. I really can't come up with the right words to describe the feelings I had while looking at these quilts: thankful, sad, touched, grateful, fortunate...

Overall it made me commited to continuing to spread the word about the importance of organ donation.

The sisters

Here is my mom and all her sisters (from left to right): Maureen (the birthday girl), Rosemary, Ellen, Pat, Maureen and my Mom! Those are a bunch of attractive women and I am happy I have inherited those genes!

Libby

This is my Aunt Maureen's dog, Libby! She is a a 2 year old brindle boxer and she is a real cuttie - but a bit wild! The kids had little balls that they were playing with that she bacame obsessed with! She was in Drew's lap trying to get his away from him. I stuffed Gracie's ball way down into the bottom of my computer bag thinking it was safe from her...nope...a little while later we realize she has stuffed her big floppy dog lips into the bag to drag it out!

Grandparents

This is my Grandpa Pete and his bride, Pat. They got married two years ago when he was 90 and she was 82! They are the most delightful couple in the world!

Sluggers

Here is a pic from the Louisville Sugger Museum. We went on a tour of how they made the bats - which was really cool. And the boys played in the batting cage! That's my cousin Matt in the pic with Drew and Jim.

The Gold Medalist!

Here we are celebrating my Dad's Gold Medal in Kentucky! Still waiting to hear if he won a second one.

Tupac Chicken Man

This is one of four of my cousin Jess', dogs. This is the smallest and Drew's favorite. His name is Tupac Chicken Man! He is a sweet little dog - even though we are a big dog family!

Morning run....

I am back home and in my running routine. I so enjoy the brainless first thing in the morning rythym of a run. This morning, I had to dodge baby frogs that are coming out of the creek looking for a home. They are about the zixe of a nickel and there are 100's of them! Next, I saw a big fat smooshed California king snake in the middle of the road. Ick!

A weekend in Illinois

We spent the weekend in Illinois for my Aunt's "surprise" 50th Birthday Party. "Surprise" is in quotes because she is the last of 5 sisters to turn 50 and there has been a surprise party for all of them. So, she has been waiting for the last month for the "surprise" to occur. She said she was so happy that is is finally over because her eyes hurt from looking all over the place for her sisters -- she said she looked at the grocery store, at a neighbors bonfire -- everywhere she went for the past month! We did the official surprise at the dog park on Saturday moring. Our whole family was scattered all around the dog park and she spotted two of my aunts before she even got out of the car! Her husband told here it wasn't them and that she was crazy! But then we sent Drew and Gracie up to her and she knew we were all there!

After the "surprise" we went to my Aunt Rosemary's house for a delicious cookout. Her yard was beautiful and the food was wonderful.

In the middle of the party I realized I had left my camera on the table at the dog park. So one of my Uncle Jim's (I have five Uncle Jims!) drove me out to look for it - no luck - it was gone with a weeks worth of vacation pics on it - including the ones of my Dad with a gold medal. The next morning my Aunt Maureen put out a lost camera sign and by noon someone called who had it. It was an 80 year old man whose life is the dog park - he goes a couple times a day! My Aunt packed up a plate of cookies for the man and one of my other Uncle Jims went over to pick it up! That is proof that there is good in the world!

All in all, it was great weekend - we felt so fortunate to be able to be visiting with family - especially by grandparents who are 83/84/84 and 92!!!

A kid from California in the mid- west

The funniest thing happened last Friday nite.

We went to a restaraunt in Waukegan, IL that my parents have been eating at for 40 years. It is called the Quonset Hut. It is a famous place for our family because my parents think it has the best pizza in the world and my brother and I have always thought that it was disgusting! And now that we have spouses our spouses agree with us. The pizza crust is thin and tough - like cardboard - and the cheese is greasy. And if you get sausage it is even greasier! And the mushrooms they use are canned! Ick!

Anyway, it also tends to be a bit of a dive. So we go there on Friday nite with my mom's whole family and after dinner we were all sitting around chatting and Drew taps me on the shoulder and says "what's that?"..... and points to an ashtray! The kid is 10 years old and has NEVER seen an ashtray. He honestly did not know what it was!

Off to Chicago

We are getting ready to head to the airport to go to Chicago for the weekend. Not sure I will have access there to update the blog but just so you know, the big plan is trying to figure out how to get into the city to buy some Garrett Popcorn - which is the best carmel corn/cheese corn in the WORLD! Jim's number one "to do" is to spend 8 hours at the Bass Pro Shop!

We heard it is hotter then hell at home. But not to worry....the chickens are being cared for by "Lani the Wonder Mom/Chicken Watcher" and she has been putting ice in their water! She has also been chased around the yard by Maverick, the mean hen. And word on the street is her husband was laughing too hard to help her!

Worn out in Kentucky!

Wow - it is hard work being a full time tourist. I have not been able to blog lately due to our busy schedule! And due to the fact that my time on the computer has been spent working!

Some highlights of the last few days:

* A few nite ago there was a HUGE thunder and lightening storm. And to us Californians, it might as well have been an Oscar Award Winning Show! We loved it! We sat out on the porch watching for an hour. The rain was incredible too.

* We went to Kentucky Kingdom (their amusement park). It has a pretty decent water park where we spent most of our time because it was hotter then hell! The wave pool was the kids favorite. I went down some straight drop off water slide and thought I would die! There was four of us on a raft and we got shot out, dropped straight down and then went back and forth in a giant funnel. I screamed like a girl!!!! The Kentucky Kingdom was great because we got to see a lot of Kentucky Hillbillies - including an 8 year old with a pierced lip and lots of size 22 women in size 6 clothing!

* The kids and I went to the Kentucky Horse Farm and went horseback riding with Jess and Nat (my cousins) while the rest of the crowd went to a Bourbon Distillery.....I think Jim is now a bourbon drinker - Oy Vey!

* We got to meet Jess' "zoo" which includes 4 dogs, 2 cats, 4 chickens and many fish! Our love of animals is genetic. Jess has a new/used beagle named Emma who I think would be a perfect girlfriend for Chad. The only thing is it would require a relocation for Chad!

* We had to make another trip to the doctors because Drew is sick with a sore throat. I swear it is never a dull moment! Being here with Grandpa, we needed to get it treated instead of letting it fester like we would have at home!

The best news is we have a new niece!! Little Amelia was born on tuesday, June 20 and is happy and healthy, as is her mama! Thank God for that!

It's a.....

GOLD medal for my Dad!!!! Yesterday he won the gold in individual golf. And he said he wasn't even on top of his game. He plays again tomorrow in the team event with another guy with a heart transplant from Northern California.

Last nite we caught lightening bugs - also known as fireflies. It was the first time the kids had ever seen them. It brought back great memories of when I was a child and caught them in New Jersey!

Check back again because we have a new baby being born tomorrow in our family!!

Opening Day

Opening day of the Transplant Games was yesterday.

We spent all day at Churchill Downs which is the racetrack where the Kentucky Derby is run. We had a ball betting on the the horses, watching the magnificent horses and eating great food. We won on every race except for the first one. We had a very scientific method for picking the winners - we chose ones whose names we liked. For example, in the last race, we chose "Tahoe Warrior" in honor of my beat to hell warrior sports utility vehicle! In another race we chose "Naughty No" because I always call Daisy Mae "naughty" when she is acting up.

Gracie and I had a great time in the gift shop - we got her halloween costume - she is going to be a jockey! We got her a hat, goggles and a horse. We already have a jacket (thanks to Auntie Patty) that will be her "silks" - that is their shirt. And Grandma and Grandpa are going to make a riding crop out of a kids size golf club. It is going to be darling!

After a day at the races, we headed off to the opening ceremony out at the fair grounds. There were 8000 people there. 1200 were athletes and there had to be close to that many donor families and living donors. The ceremony was a real tear jerker! At one point there was a woman who had met her donor family for the first time that day. First the donor family came up and talked about their 19 year old son who died in 2006 and gave 5 organs. Then the woman who received his liver came up and talked. She talked about how at first she was scared about talking in front of 8000 people and then she stepped back and said talking in front of 8000 people is not scary when you compare it to facing death when you are a single mom to two young daughters. There was also a guy who had been blind for 30 years and recently had a cornea transplant that allowed him to see his wife again after 30 years and 11 days!! Unbelievable.

It was really inspiring to see 1200 athletes who had each faced death honoring all the families and living donors who helped them. It is one of those life changing moments!

The youngest recipient was a 3 1/2 year old girl who got a liver 3 years ago. The oldest was an 84 year old man who got a kidney 13 years ago! There were also people who had been living with transplants for over 30 years! WOW!!!

Just a reminder - if you have not talked to your family about your wish to be an organ donor - now is the time!!!

More to come later......

Greetings from Kentucky

We arrived safe and sound in Kentucky on Thursday nite and have been having a wonderful time. For those who don't know, we are here with my folks for the US Transplant Games in which my Dad plays golf. This is our first time to the games, but Drew has been before when my folks took him in 2000 to the games in Florida.

Last nite we went to the Northern California Team dinner. There were about 80 people there that included athletes, spectators (families like us) and donor families. It was so touching to see donor families there. Once family was a mom and dad whose son was a northern California police officer killed in the line of duty who donated his organs. This family comes to all the transplant games to honor their son!

I met a guy who had 2 heart transplants - one in 1999 when he was terminally ill and lived for 6 months with a experimental "bionic" heart. He was an FDA experiment and survived long enough with a mechanical heart to get a new one. In 2000 he got a real heart transplant and is healthy enough to compete in the US Games, the Candian Games, the UK Games and the World Games!

All the organ recipients had their own personal stories, no one less amazing then the next. Lots of liver and kidney transplants. The guy next to me at dinner was a 13 year kidney transplant survivor who received his kidney from his younger sister.

After dinner we went over to the hotel to register for the events. Lining the halls were rememberance quilts with each square made by a donor family in memory of their loved one. Truly a humbling and touching experience. I can't even put words to it. Watching Drew was an experience in and of itself. I think it is the first time he realized the significance of his Grandpa's heart and the sacrifice that someone made for his grandpa to live. There were lots of questions about living donors and cadaver donors.

The opening ceremony is tonite and it is sure to be a tear jerker.

The ladies...

This picture cracks me up. It reminds me of a formal portrait...of chickens. They are all posed in perfect positions. In case you don't remember, Maverick is red, Rowdy is tan and Betty is black and white.

We have been experiencing some significant chicken issues. You see....our egg production has dropped to one egg a day. That is one egg total - not one egg per chicken. I was consistently getting 3 eggs a day. The ladies are too young to have their egg production fading, so I started doing some research and I think I might have found the answer.

I think they have been eating too many chicken "snackies". They are like little kids, if they fill up on low nutrition junk food, then they don't eat enough of the good stuff at their meals. And when they don't eat enough high protein layer crumble, then they stop producing as many eggs.

It has been a week since I figured this out and they have not had any snacks unless they are high protein (eggs, meat) or unless they have found them around the yard (our cherry tree is dropping cherries and they LOVE them!). So far we have had a couple of days this week where we have harvested 2 eggs. So the scientific experiment will continue for a few weeks so we can see if we can get back to 3 eggs a day. If not....it is to the frying pan with them! Just kidding!

San Jose Arsenal

All in all Drew's first season in competitive soccer was good. Here he is with his team. He is the one it the red goalie shirt. He played nothing but goalie all season and did well. The last game was a bit brutal - they lost 7 to 0. A little hard on a 10 year old ego. He likes it and is going to play in some tournaments at the end of the summer and in the fall league starting in September.

My new haircut

Just got a cute new haircut and wanted to share with a couple friends, who:
a. love cute haircuts
b. realize how important a good "do" is
c. have the same hair stylist as me and
d. appreciate a "stunning" new look (Susan - you know who I am talking about!)

This is also a good pic to show what I look like when I work from home. This is me sitting in my office with no makeup, and in a sweatshirt in the middle of summer because it is like an icebox office.

All the grandkids...

When my Dad got his new heart Drew was his only grandchild - Drew was about 18 months old at the time. Since the new heart my Dad has been lucky enough to have 3 more grandchildren and he has one more on the way! The new baby will born in 12 days....if not sooner!

Happy Heart

Here is a pic of what a healthy old guy with a young heart looks like! Happy 9th year heart anniversary Dad!

Good Heart -- Bad Heart

Here is the dessert that we had at my Dad's Heart Celebration. The happy heart represents the new, healthy heart the old heart represents the sick heart that was replaced. The red blobs represent the heart attacks. Both were quite yummy!

June 8th - 9 years!

Today is a wonderful anniversary for our family. Nine years ago today, my Dad was blessed with a new heart. The heart turned out the be a perfect match and thankfully he is healthy and living a full life with his new heart. Tonite we will celebrate with family and friends at my parents house.

This day is always a little bitter sweet because I think about the family who lost their loved one and so bravely donated his organs. I pray that this family has a sense of peace based on their decision to help others. I would want them to know that we think of them often as we live our lives and try to honor their loved one by giving back in our own way everyday - whether it be giving blood, helping someone who is lost, donating food or volunteering with seniors.

Organ donation is one of those true miracles in this world. Use this as a reminder to tell your loved ones that if you no longer can use your organs, to pass them onto someone who can make good use of them!

Why we make a great couple....

This morning during my workout, I pondered about why we make a great couple. This thought process started because people often tell us what a mismatch we are because he is a big fisherman/hunter and and I am a vegetarian. So I started thinking about why we make a great couple after almost 16 years of marriage and this is what I came up with:

* I make pineapple upside down cake and he likes to eat it! (add the name of any type of sweet and the statement is still accurate)
* He always supports me in my latest hair-brained pet scheme - although sometimes he has to pretend to put up a fight! This includes Lucky Hairy Legs the tarantula, Newty the California Newt and Lucky Hairy Feathers the baby dove.
* We both hate coconut
* We both find his mother's family tradition "red cabbage" dish disgusting!
* He loves my chickens and even sometimes refers to them as "his" chickens
* He likes a good "brewski" and I don't drink, so he always has a built in designated driver
* His hunting skills come in handy when there are rats and mice around the chicken coop - he goes "hunting" with rat/mice traps!
* He can build/make anything requested including a hen palace, a new home and an outdoor fountain

So when I break it down, we compliment each other perfectly - we each bring different skills to our family unit which, when put together, form the foundation of a really great team.