This blog has been in progress for a long time… and it’s been dormant for a long time too…
I’ve come a very long way since it started… I’ve found a lot of who I am… and I’ve found there’s a lot left to discover…
I’m almost 30… I’ve collected a lot of letters after my name on my business card… I have built a rather good reputation in the field I’m in… and I have found that there a lot of things that I love and not enough time in the day to do them all…
This blog began as a way to remember my father who I lost in 2003 to kidney cancer…
Then it just became a running tally of my thoughts, my day to day, what I cooked, what I did and honestly it was kind of boring… perhaps where life has taken me now can make this a bit more exciting now…
PNC Park – My second home in the summers
Kayaking on the Allegheny River with friends and Venture Outdoors… no better way to see the city…
My girl Minnie who keeps battling her seizure disorder. She’ll be seven this upcoming spring… for a Dane that is a full life… she is my kid… and we’ve been to hell and back… nothing is better than curling up with her on the couch at night
The woman who reminds me that life is an amazing thing… at 98 she can barely see and can only hear out of one year (with a hearing aid) yet she lives on her own… only calls me when her TV stops working and she needs help… she’s incredibly independent and all she asked for all summer was that I take her for ice cream at the new ice cream shop in our neighborhood so I took her for a sundae and we had a wonderful time… she keeps going and she never fails to tell me how proud she is of me…
While I Breathe, I Hope 
I think this blog is a great idea! Your honesty is so inspiring. Rock on, my dear friend! I love you.
Hi there,
I just wanted to say thanks for linking to my blog. You’re sweet.
Your blog is very inspiring. I lost my grandpa a few years ago and some days, I have to pull over on the side of the road because the tears fall so hard. But most days, I’m content because I know my life is making him proud. He taught me to love agriculture, so everyday I work, I know he’s smiling down from Heaven.
Keep your chin up 🙂
Christina
Thanks! I love your site… One of my bad coping mechanisms was to eat it all away so I’m redefining my relationship with food and your website has been a great help for my two personed house…!
I am so jealous of you for having a great dane! sweetest dogs ever:) good luck with your masters!
Hey thanks for stopping by my blog, I look forward to reading yours!! I love your fur baby, nothing wrong with a lot of pictures though 🙂 I feel like I am forever taking pics of my dog so I hope people enjoy them!
Also, very cool you’re from Pittsburgh! It’s one of the cities I am looking to move to. I went to college at WVU so it’s kinda like a second home to me.
i saw what I thought was a black and gold scarf on the pup on your blog! thanks for returning the visit!
Thanks so much for visiting my page and for your note. I used to live in Pgh (went to grad school there) and my husband is from there. What school are you working on your MHA at? I love Dum Spiro, Spero…what a beautiful saying!! I’m really sorry to read about the loss of your father. 😦 Death is never an easy thing to cope with. There’s a really beautiful book called “The Fall of Freddie the Leaf” by Leo Buscaglia. If you’ve never heard of it, you might want to look it up. Definitely feel free to check out my book. I actually wrote it when I was in grad school and used it as part of my thesis work with children and cancer survivors. You’re right, it’s never an easy thing to talk about. But I think we’ll be great bloggy buddies. I’m also obsessed with food, always trying to shed weight, and used to teach stress management, so maybe I can help you out…lol. Look forward to reading more!
I lost my mother to kidney cancer ten years ago. It is a horrible, horrible disease. Someone very wise told me to let grief come and give yourself permission to deal with it as you need. There is no right or wrong way to deal with grief.
that is a great way to approach grief… it took me a long time to admit that I was hurting and then how to cope with it in healthy ways… I’m still learning… The hardest is when I dream about him and he’s still alive – just been on a long trip away… and then I wake up and realize that’s not a possibility… Thanks for visiting the blog…
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First of all, I can relate on so many levels!! Originally from Pittsburgh and after my father died (worked at Heinz) my mom moved my sister and me to Florida. I was 5. Even though I haven’t lived in PA for years, I still claim it as my home. I love going back. Steeler fans all the way. heck, I still even love the pirates and go cheer them on when they come down and play the ATL Braves… I hear you on the weight gain and coping skills. I gained weight during my pregnancy but have kept it on because I am a stress eater, bored eater, and social eater. It’s definitely a constant battle but I am working on it. I discovered kickboxing and have been doing great with it. Love your blog. Think I’m going to stick around. Best of luck!
i love kickboxing! i just hate structured exercise classes lol… love hearing from pittsburghers who have stayed true to their roots!
Hey there
I loved ur blog.. drop by mine sometime
beingstellaluna.wordpress.com
Thanks… I’ll stop over and check it out soon!
Of course, I found you today through Freshly Pressed. You’ll be inundated with comments and fans. Please don’t feel any need to respond to this. I appreciate your vulnerability. Your tribute to your family is lovely. When my parents died, I read , among other things, A Grief Observed by CS.Lewis. The opening line is something like ‘I never knew grief felt so much like fear.’ I spent a good deal of time running from grief. I’ve come to the place where, for me, grief is a piece of sorrow that I carry, but one that I carry with tender remembrance.
thank you so much for the book suggestion… I always like to look into new reads that can help me through things when they get rough…
Hi again Natalie:
I just commented on your freshly-pressed post and then landed on your “about me” page. Just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear of the loss of your Dad. My Dad passed away from pancreatic cancer almost 12 years ago, and there is nothing you can read or study to prepare you for such a loss.
The funeral home at the time had some books available, and I took one which I devoured within one day. It was so helpful for me. It is entitled, “Roses in December” by Marilyn Willett Heavilin. Feel free to check it out if you like. It is probably available at barnesandnoble.com or at amazon.com.
This is not a theoretical or philosophical book on death and loss. The author herself went through much personal grief, and on her journey through it, she discovered that even during the cold and dark days in the Decembers of our lives, that there are wonderful things that we discover or see which help us through, like a rose in December.
Do feel free to look into the book. You may find it helpful, too. In any event, I think it is great that you are taking on the scrapbook project. Wishing you much joy with that!
Chris
aka kommentsbykris.wordpress.com
That book sounds wonderful… I will look it up tonight… I am so blessed to have had18 years with my father… I’m sure you feel the same way about the time you had with your father…
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