Braving my fears to "pay it forward"...

Twenty some years ago I received a blood transfusion before a medical procedure, so yesterday I finally returned the favor and made a blood donation to the Red Cross.

As some of you may know, I have anxiety issues, so this was a day of facing my fear, (no not of the needles, I've had plenty of samples drawn over the years).  They give first time donors this huge packet of questions, and possible complications, so my mind starts reeling!  What if I develop one of those rare but possible side effects, what if , what if, what if?  I made it through the interview and was deemed donor-worthy.

Now onto the odd donor chair/bed thingy.  I'm grateful to one of my daughter's friend's parents for talking to me for the first couple of minutes to help distract me, that helped a LOT!  When the fellow, (vampire, hahaha, no he was a super nice guy), started asking me if I was feeling dizzy, or getting warm, etc., I told him about my anxiety, and that it's probably best not to tell me a symptom, or I will develop it!  He was very patient and let me stay there an extra couple of minutes, because I did not want to pass out or something stupid!

Next, I made my way over to the juice and bags of cookies!  Found a bag with Ernie Keebler's smiling face, sat there chatting, ( to another lady I know, not Ernie), and munching for the required 10 to 15 minutes to ensure I was recovering.  Another gal I know walked me to the door to ease my worried mind, and my husband had the car all warmed up for me when I finally got back to him.  Whew!

I missed my nap, so it wasn't a very pleasant evening, as I was still concerned about developing complications.  I drank my fluids, watched some comedies, and read a book until bedtime finally arrived, and surprise I woke up this morning!  Life is good, and I feel that I've repaid my debt.  I don't know if I'll ever muster up the nerve to donate again, but I feel accomplished to have managed this time. 

Lent already!

Got several things I'm attempting to work on during this season, probably the most challenging is to TRY to stop being such an angry driver.  That's going to be difficult in this town, and during this time of year when the weather can change so drastically with such short notice.  I hope I get some credit for at least attempting to better my behavior?  ;)

Good luck to all of you who are trying to give up a bad habit, or start a good one during the Lenten season, I know that I'll be asking my angels for a lot of help!

Ol' Coyote, new tricks?

Woohoo!  Finally made a decision, after picking my teenage daughter's brain, and purchased a Kindle.  It's like a library in my hands, and being a major book nerd that's frickin' awesome to me!  Downloaded about 20 classics, some of which I've read, others not yet, all of them FREE!  Heaven, I'm in heaven...

Valentine's Day, hubby got me a card that in a nutshell said he loves me more than beer, if ya know him you understand what a huge compliment that is!  Ha ha ha!  Then we ran into a friend of ours yesterday, and while chatting, find out that her husband gave her the exact same card, of course his response is "Great minds think alike", yeah, okay honey!  ;)

Gotta get the girl to school, go walkin' with Mom, then hubby wants to hit the cupcakery...AGAIN, which means I'll need to walk some more!  ;)  It's a vicious cycle, but I like it!  :D

Hypocrisy in health care, insurance, and politics...

Okay, perhaps hypocrisy is too mild of a term, how about blatant sexual discrimination towards women's health issues?  That sounds more accurate to me.

I can not comprehend why it is VITAL that most insurance companies will cover Viagra and other drugs for erectile dysfunction without a second thought, yet balk at providing birth control for women!  Why is a man's pleasure more important than the ability for a woman to decide when she is ready to become pregnant?  Having a child seems to be a much bigger issue than, (pardon my bluntness), getting laid!  (Which as we all know often leads to the former.)

Politicians are constantly butting heads over how to balance the budget, and how we should or should not cut welfare and other such social programs.  Many seem to value potential human lives in eutero, but hey once those kids are born you're on your own ladies!

I am pro-choice, not because I believe in abortion, but because I believe the choice of whether or not to bare a child should be between the potential parents and whichever God they believe in, if any.  I live in a city where there are far too many children running loose, many without enough love, supervision, or discipline, but easy accesss to booze, drugs and weapons!  Their mothers chose life, yet shirk the responsibilities that go along with that choice.  Are they any better than the women who made the choice to terminate a pregnancy because they knew they were not ready, or capable of handling the responsibility of raising a child?  I don't think so.  Spare me the argument that adoption is such a viable option, for some yes it probably could be, but for most, no way.  Most folks who are looking into adoption want healthy babies, with verifiable information, not crack/meth/cocaine/etc., -babies!

Anyone in the modern world who understands anything about science knows that overpopulation of the human species is doing more damage to this planet, (and the other life forms on it), than any other factor!  Access to safe, reliable, and affordable birth control should be a very high priority issue world wide.

Okay stepping down from the soap box...

Are you ready for some football?

Super Bowl Sunday!

Honestly this year, (who am I kidding, most years), I'm all about the food!  I will be cheering for Eli and his Giants, not because I'm a big Giants fan, but because I'm the anti-Patriots fan...they beat up on my Dolphins waaay too much!!!  ;)

We've already seen many of the new commercials online, or on the Today Show, kind of takes all of the fun out of it when they release them early.  Think my favorite is the Pepsi one with Elton John, (though I was always a Coke person when I drank pop).

I'm wishing that the actual game started earlier, by the time all the hype is complete I'll be overfed and checking to see what time the new NASCAR season really begins!!!  Zoom zoom zoom!!!

Hope that everyone has a safe and fun day, no matter who you are cheering for, and please don't drink and drive, or text and drive, or sext and drive, etc., etc.