Category: friendship

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Verizon / Samsung Preview Party

That’s So Cool

People tell me all the time how cool it is that I get to review new tech for Verizon. I tell them it’s cool and fun, but remind them that I have to return it all, and I’m left wanting the newest item. That part isn’t so fun.  I recently experienced another perk of being a tech reviewer for Verizon: The Private Preview party.

I was given a date and was allowed to invite a few tech savvy friends for this event. I wasn’t sure what to expect, just that it was going to be a rep from Samsung Mobile USA, the Verizon Wireless store employees and us.

The Event

VWZ Party1

We arrived and were greeted by the store personnel, who locked the doors behind us, preventing party crashers. There were donuts, water, and orange Juice provided, and after introductions, we were allowed to wander and explore the store. We asked questions – tough questions. Tried on, played with and drooled over the latest products on the market. Andrew Epperson and I, along with the Samsung rep, theorized about new products expected to launch.  I made a wish list of all the gadgets I wanted.

 

More Than Phones

VWZ Party5

There were more than just phones. We played extensively with the Galaxy Gear (WANT SO BAD) and the Galaxy Note 10.1. We inquired about the staff picks on bluetooth sound systems and headsets. We were given an education on the hotspots, home wireless and the Samsung AllShare Cast.<– If you haven’t seen that, you should go check it out.

 

 

 

Swag

VWZ Party4

As we left, we were given some cool Samsung mobile swag.  The best part is, I get to do it again! Not sure when, but near or just after another big product launch, I will see what I can do to secure another date.

 

It Could Be You

My party guests this time included: Missy Bentley, Andrew Epperson, Cathy Finch, and David Sobotka. Would you want to be included in the next one? Comment below: Leave your name, current carrier, current phone model and product line you would be interested in previewing (Samsung, Motorola, LG….) VWZ Party3

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People Skills

Today’s blog is a guest post from my son who turns eight today. He had a writing prompt in school asking him to write about a valuable lesson he has learned.

I was reading it again, and while, yes it is the miss spelled, run on sentence, hard to read scribbles of child, it is a valuable lesson for us all:

BE NICE

Take a moment read his philosophy and find a way to apply it today.

 

Learning to get along was a valuable lesson because later in life you might need people skills. Like if you’re having a fight and it gets intense, some people skills  are be nice to others, obey your parents, respect your elders, and those are only a small amount. So, BE NICE!

 

 

Go on…. Go be nice and use good people skills!  

 

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A Day of Rest

I wasn’t as if I had been making the world or anything. I attended two meetings and ran a few quick errands. There was even at least one whole hour of lying down, full-blown rest time in there.  But, yesterday completely wiped me out.

 

As luck would have it, today was a snow day and, even if I hadn’t been so tired, I would have stayed indoors anyway. Even if this had not been a snow day, I would have been stuck here. But I was most definitely not alone.
The Boys

I have two very entertaining boys who were not in school today. We enjoyed some time together, making and eating cookies, and watching Narnia, Prince Caspian.
The Friends

I had  texts from concerned friends when they did not see me online. Ok, I’m either an addict or this is my career. I’m standing firm on the career, but there seems to be a slim line.
Twitter Love

I didn’t totally stay off line. I tweeted here and there and made a few Facebook posts. But again, I received both public and private requests asking how I was feeling. I was really hesitant about this Blog-a-thon and my choice to talk about this procedure openly.  But it has brought me closer to some friends, brought me new ones, and even brought to light a need.
Finding support

I mentioned in the history of all of this that I have Medullary Sponge Kidney (MSK.) Through my efforts to reach out to others with Kidney Stones, I have found at least one other with this problem.  I’m sure there are more, but I found a friend who truly understands the type and extent of my pain.  How many people are out there suffering by timing mind-numbing drugs? How many doctors out there treat MSK like other stones and don’t look at other possible treatment options? Is research being done to find better ways to treat this condition? I don’t know any of these answers, but I know  @LeeAase , Director, Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media.  I’m asking him, and anyone in the medical field, specifically in urology or nephrology to comment on this post and connect with me, with us. We want to find out more.  We want to do more.  We want to be more than drugged up zombies.

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Just Start / Keep Blogging

Finding inspiration is hard

It’s 8:50 PM and I’m still trying to come up with my inspiration for blogging today. I have blogged every day with the exception of Christmas Day and Christmas eve, including the days of my procedures.

Giving other people courage

There have been more and more people telling me that they’ve been inspired to blog.  They’ve seen my dedication to posting daily, but more than that they’ve seen other people, and their dedication to blogging. I don’t think  it’s that we’re doing it every single day that’s inspiring these people; it’s that we’re choosing to find things that are meaningful in our lives we feel worthwhile to share. I think because we have the courage to let our guard down, and share intimate thoughts, that gives other people the courage to do the same.

Join us

If you’ve been thinking about taking the blog-a-thon challenge, but you’re too intimidated to do it every single day, just do it. Start today, make that commitment. Maybe it’s not everyday, maybe it’s once a week, or every other day. Whatever it is, make a commitment to YOU.   Start up that blog, and share with us the things  you need to say. Share the things we need to hear.

You Matter

If you’ve been blogging, please know the things you’re saying are reaching people that desperately need to hear your message. Please continue even if you’re struggling with it. We’d love to hear from you, feel free to share your blog in the comments, or to share another blog that has touched you.

 

If Today Was Their Last Day by Dan Perez

This blogger is not one of the blog-a-thon participants,

but this post moved me today.


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Medical update:

Like I said I am finding this easier to blog about other stuff than to blog about what I am going through.  At the start I thought I had it under control, (an illusion I know.) I knew what to expect as I have undergone this very procedure before. I even told several people that I knew what to expect, and that I was not going to kid myself about the am

ount of pain and the amount of time I would be out of commission. I also followed those statements with “but this one won’t be as bad, because they (my kidneys) are cleaner than they were the first time, and it is only one side.”

I was so wrongIn the days preceding the procedure, I had some significant kidney pain on the left side. So on the day of my scheduled cleanout, I told the doctor about it and asked that he look into it. I remember him saying “good call on the left kidney” when I woke up. Turns out they did clean out both sides. Over the next few days I had discomfort.  I expected discomfort. What I did not expect was that my pain and discomfort would get worse over the passing days. I wrote it off with the rationalization that you always hurt worse 24-48 hours after a crash.

Gaining more than expected

So I started retaining water, or so I thought. My torso started swelling and over the past few days I have grown to look a solid 8-9 months pregnant! So on top of the pain of the kidneys being beaten from the inside out, and the discomfort of having hard plastic crazy straws stuck inside me, I now had the pressure and discomfort of being pregnant!

I have had x-rays and a CT scan. I have no answers yet. But the doctor did wish to remove the stents tomorrow. It is a bit early and I still have lots of stone fragments that will need to pass. Maybe it is my body rejecting or revolting about the stents. Maybe it is my bottom of the barrel revelation that I do not want to be fat (or pregnant) ever again.  Maybe there is another medical reason for me to be so swollen.  But that is the hardest part: The Uncertainty. I just don’t know what is going on.

Thank you to all my friends for your continued help, support love and prayers.

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It Matters

Content Matters

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NMA_zMSzyU&fs=1&hl=en_US]

Below are some of the bloggers participating in the Blog-a-thon.

Name                                              Blog

Stacey Shanks       www.YogaAndLife.com

BgKahuna           www.bgkahuna.com

Zachary Long        www.fenglongphoto.com/blog

Shanna Hall       www.healthyfitandsexy.com

Bonnie Schnautz       www.brenewed.com

Paula Diaco       www.signaramavt.com

Jennifer Tallini        www.yogawithstyle.com/blog/

Mary Biever        Real Life in the River City

Mandy Gregory        www.mamasowngreenclean.com

If you are not on here send me a link to your site and I will add it.

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Reaching Out to Others vs. Allowing Others to Reach Out to me

As I mentioned yesterday I tried to reach out to others who were suffering in order to offer hope and encouragement.  I didn’t really let me guard down, express the anxiety I was feeling, and talk about what I was going though.

Wednesday night I let my guard down. I privately DMed my pastor @DaleBeaver

 “Please pray for peace/calm, starting to freak out.”  

 He replied within minutes with a Bible verse that was spot on what I needed to hear. I thought maybe others need to hear it too. So I thanked him and tweeted it publicly. As a side note for those who don’t know me: I am a Christ Follower, but I DO NOT post much “churchy” stuff. I hold more to the – practice kindness talk to people and show your love than the preach it method- that is just WHO I am.)

Much to my surprise this sparked several side conversations, and more DMs from other people. So I posted it on Facebook.

“THANK YOU!! To Dale Beaver who sent this to me via Twitter, at a moment of top stress about tomorrow. (I really NEEDED to hear it) Philippians 4:6-7 “

 

 Again, this is WAY out of norm for me.  What I found was more and more outpouring of love compassion and caring.  Many more started telling me stories of things they have endured and things they have suffered. And more than one THANKED me. Thanked me for saying I was scared? This seemed off to me, for them to thank me for posting, I was the one who was getting what I needed to hear not them.

There is a difference

When we drop our guard, and let people see we are hurting, or in need of friendship, we find something more special than we could have imagined.

-we find true and new friends alike.

-we find a deeper understanding of people’s beliefs.

-we find out how highly we are valued as people, not for our work, but for who we are.

-we find that through our suffering we can encourage others to be brave.

Baby Robin

If I can stop one Heart from breaking
I shall not live in vain
If I can ease one Life the Aching

Or cool one Pain
Or help one fainting Robin
Unto his Nest again
I shall not live in Vain.

Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)

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Just Ask

 Day 8 of the Blog-a-Thon

Ever feel like you should be able to do something. That You KNOW it is possible, yet no matter how hard you try, it just doesn’t work for you?

Just ask

I have a friend, Kimberly Delcoco,  who reminds me to do this often.

In working on my blog I came across a video I wanted to share and share my thoughts about. I tried and tried to embed this video. I looked for known issues and resolutions. I spent a ton of time looking for an answer.

All along, I knew my answer meant asking for help, and I don’t like to ask for help.  (I did ask for help from @eppand)  But you know in life, we are surrounded by people, some of whom are smarter than us and some who just excel in different areas of knowledge than us.

We forget that they have abilities and skills that might just be able to save us hours of frustration.  Very often people like to know that their particular skill set is needed and useful. So next time you are beating your head against the computer… don’t forget to ask. (Even asking people you don’t know. This is a great example of a way to use twitter to learn. )

What have you needed help with but were afraid to ask?

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Let’s get REAL

No seriously. I am a real person on twitter. I love to have conversations on facebook. I talk about a variety of things in my life, not just about my business.  But I have a few “off the wall” subjects.  These are things I hold to as private and I just don’t feel the need to share.

One of these topics is health. I don’t with the exception of my toe, which was not thought out, tweet or post about my health. I might mention a cough or a headache, but not much else.

So here goes. I am getting real. Real personal for me. I am going to take the next 30-45days to do a few different things.

I am going to blog daily. This is a technique I have seen others use or suggest to help build the blogging habit and to help overcome the fear of content creation. *I encourage you to join me in this 30 day blogathon. You can blog about whatever you want! I am going to need the reading material! J

I am going to blog and tweet about a health matter from the point of the patient.  So Medical fields are more and more jumping into the world of Twitter, Facebook, and youtube to get better connected with their patients.  But here is the thing; patients have been here for a long time. They find each other and use Social Media as a world wide support system.  For the next 30-45 days I am going to actively seek and have conversations with other people that are going through the same or similar situations, as well as doctors in general and doctors in the field, nurses and researchers.

I am going to try to keep a good attitude. <– That is not a promise, just a goal. This is going to be a tough journey for me physically. But mentally to open up and share what I am going through is going to be just as tough. My friend Stacey Shanks who teaches Yoga is always encouraging me to stretch. I in turn am making her stretch mentally.  So now it is time for me to do as I say and hit the downward dog with my brain.  Because she is doing the Blog-a-thon with me , it will be easier to keep the attitude in check. 

I am going to encourage others. I am going to challenge others to do this blog-a-day with me to be a better writer. I’m going to post tips, tricks, recommend books and tweeple to help us all get through this process.

Please comment on this and let me know if you want to join me (include your twitter handle and a url to your blog.)  I will update this post with the people who are on this journey with me.

Name                                                            Blog

Stacey Shanks                                  www.YogaAndLife.com

 BgKahuna                                          www.bgkahuna.com

 Zachary Long                                   www.fenglongphoto.com/blog

Shanna Hall                                        www.healthyfitandsexy.com

Bonnie Schnautz                               www.brenewed.com

 Paula Diaco                                       www.signaramavt.com

Jennifer Tallini                                www.yogawithstyle.com/blog/

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Be Nice Challenge

Be nice today and every day. Take this challenge. No need to sign up or sign on, just tell yourself you’re willing to do it and challenge yourself to be better.

What:

 Be nice to others and show you care.

How: 

  •  Post on other people’s walls or @mention them on twitter. Tell them something nice about their personality, congratulate on a milestone, wish happy birthday – or unbirthday
  • Comment on peoples posts. LISTEN to what people are saying and respond in a way that shows you care about them.
  • Share links or RT posts that help spread community events, or news.

 How long?

 I know you already don’t have time to do what you’re doing now. Do you have a purpose and a plan for what you are currently doing? Then take this plan. Take 10-15 this morning, every morning and be nice to others.

Rules:

  •  Do not post anything about you, your company or what you are selling.
  •  Have fun
  •   Be nice!!

” A tiny spark can turn into a towering inferno… imagine what a little love and compassion can do.” Anonymous