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Showing posts from October, 2013

Getting Our Picture Made

Good afternoon. Today, my daughter and I will be getting our pictures made at our church, Myrtle United Methodist Church ( www.myrtleumc.org ). Of course, our church is not very big compared to a lot of other churches. At first, I didn't know what I was going to write about today. I had something to talk about the other day, yet I put it off and totally forgot about it. Now, today, I tried to think what it was and couldn't come up with it. But, I realized after my first sentence that I needed to talk about respect for others and their places of worship. You are probably wondering what I am thinking about now. Well, I will tell you. With our church getting ready to do our pictorial directory, you would think that people would love to get their pictures taken and get put into our directory. This year, I have heard more hoopla than ever. These older people do not want to get their pictures taken or put into the directory. I say, show respect to your church and just take the

Energized and Yet Tired?!

Good afternoon. I hope everyone is doing well today. I am actually feeling well, also. I had one of my dialysis treatments yesterday, and I ended up lying on the couch most of the evening. I get so aggravated with myself when I come in from dialysis and lay down most of the day because I am tired. You are probably asking what I am tired from. Well, the nurses say that since the blood is outside of your body, you will have a tendency to be tired once the process is done. So, therefore, the three days that I have dialysis, I am tired. I do feel better than what I used to, but, the kicker is that I still feel tired and don't want to do much. I am getting out a little more than I used to but I still will stay home, too. The worse thing is that in order for my house to be straightened up, I have to have this energy and movement going forward. Since I don't have all of this, my house doesn't get cleaned up as much. I have a daughter that does her thing and a "husband&quo

What Does My Blog Title Truly Mean?

Ok, I am going to give you an update on my chronic kidney disease and other useful information today. Truly, I am one of many who lives with having to have dialysis to stay alive. We have to get our blood cleaned and filtered through a machine in order to stay alive on a day-to- day basis. I have to get these dialysis treatments three (3) days a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. So, if you feel as if you have had a hard day's work, think about this. I go to work every day of the week. I then go to my treatments afterwards on these three days. I also have to head home to cook, clean, do laundry, get groceries, remember dates & birthdays, make beds, take recyclables, pay bills, go to choir practice (I enjoy doing this), and deal with a moody young adult daughter, and an always-in-the-bed husband. This past weekend, though, I had to help my daughter get things ready for her weekend of selling at the Cotton Ginnin' Days in Dallas, NC. She had to be there early every

A Day to Remember

Today has been a day to remember for me. (Of course, what I mean and what I say should be the same. But sometimes my words get mixed up more so than my written words.  And I dare not say that my words are the final say. And trust me when I say that there is not a truer sentence to be said about me than this.)   I am saying all of this beforehand in case any of my words get mixed up anytime that I blog. My children and my family tell me that this tends to happen a lot. So please consider these words when you read any of my blogs.  I will explain the first words of this first blog now. The day that I had was a happy day. First off, as my younger daughter and I were checking out at WalMart this morning, someone made me feel like a person with new hope. This person made me feel younger than I turned this past Friday. (I turned 46 this past Friday.) He told me that I didn't look my age. Now, people may say that I am naive. But, I just want to say that I am not being naive, I just li

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is the day. What day, you say? Today is my 46th birthday. Wow! It's hard to believe that I have lived over half of my life already. It doesn't seem like it's been almost 30 years since I graduated from East Gaston High School with all of my friends. Oh well. We all have to get old sometime. The time has really flown by for me, though. Both of my daughters are out of high school, and I am at the age where most of us become grandmothers. But, I can say for a fact that I would not have done things over. There are no ifs, ands, or buts. What's done is done. And I wouldn't have it any other way.  Where would I be without my daughters? I truly don't know, and I don't want to know. As for plans for my 46th birthday, I have a busy weekend. Today, some friends have asked me and my girls over for dinner. Ashleigh has the Cotton Ginnin' Days in Dallas. So this means that she will be gone all three days. And then Sunday, we have church. Happy Birthda

Government Shutdown

Good afternoon, everyone. You are probably saying to yourself right now, "She has already posted today." Yes, I have already posted once today. But, the fact of the matter is that I had to do something today that they told me I had to do before coming back to dialysis tomorrow (Thursday, 10-10-13). I had to call social security to apply for medicare. I did this and do you know what they said? They said that the earliest that they could have me call them would be December 3 at 2:15 pm. And this is just the beginning. The reason is the Government Shutdown. I cannot believe the rotten luck that I have on this matter. I couldn't apply online due to my age. Doesn't that beat all? It urks me plenty....oh well, what can we do other than to get the government straightened out. Ciao for now.

Secrets & Knowing or Not Knowing

Good afternoon, everyone. I hope all is well with y'all. Everything is okay with me. In case you don't know, my youngest daughter, Jessica, is at NCSU. But I have been keeping a secret, you know. Luckily, I have been able to keep my mouth shut with this secret. If anyone knows me well, they know that it is very hard for me to keep a secret. But believe me, I CAN keep secrets. And this secret is a nice secret, too. I am getting excited about it. When the time is right, I will tell all. At first, I didn't know what I was going to write about today. Once I started the first couple of lines of this blog entry, it dawned on me what this one would be about. I guess this is the writer in me. Knowing or not knowing what to write about can sometimes be an issue with me. I think this is one of the reasons that I don't blog every single day. I try and make sure that I can write the way that I talk. Believe me when I say that it is easier to talk than to write. But, hey, writi

WORDS

Good afternoon, everyone. I hope everyone is doing okay today. As for me, it has been a boggling weekend. I will start off by saying that my dialysis treatments are going well, and the nurses are so nice and enjoyable to be around (especially since these treatments are going on for four hours). I can be my fun-loving self or I can be just a quiet version of myself. All in all, no one is there to tell me that I cannot laugh or cry. This last statement that I just wrote can tell you lots about me as a person. But the funny thing is that the words that I use in my blog or at dialysis are my own and no one else's. Take for instance that I am able to tell some of my deepest and darkest secrets to these beautiful people at the Fresenius Dialysis Treatment Place in Gastonia and they just look at me and understand or either laugh with me. I say this because there are times when I am with family and can't even tell them these same thoughts. And if I were to, they wonder why I say su

Prayers Go a Long Way

Good afternoon, everyone. It has been over a week since I last blogged. I really am trying to blog more than once a week, but with all that is going on, I really am doing good to blog at least once. Well, all in all, I had a shock earlier today. I had to order some paper today for the office here at work. When I told her that I needed to order some stuff, they promptly asked me if I was Crystal. I told her that yes, I was. She immediately told me that I was on their prayer list and that they wished the best for me. I heard that and I couldn't just believe it. Of course, I have had a fundraiser with my church, Myrtle UMC, in June. I also had all the churches that I have dealt with in the last five years to add me to their prayer lists. This also includes my mother's church, Providence Presbyterian Church, and a previous sister church, Lowell-Smyre UMC. It includes our current sister church, Faith UMC. So, in total, I have five churches praying for me. Myrtle, Faith, Providen