I'm Still Around...

Just a quick update to say that I'm still around but life has thrown me more curve balls!

I'm trying to deal with things.  I'm trying to work on myself and my stress, anxiety, and depression.  I have taken a step to work on that.  In the last couple of months - DH had a set back from his surgery and battled an infection.  We lost my step-father-in-law.  My mother had 2 surgeries to take care of her skin cancer.  

My sleep issues aren't really getting better which contributes to even more problems.

Having said that...there are some great things happening and things to be grateful for!  They were able to get my mother's skin cancer in ONE LAYER.  She's healing now.

My niece is keeping things interesting and joyful.  I get a kick out of her.  She really IS my world.  I adore her more than words can express.

This group of ladies has been a real comfort in trying times.  My Zontian Sisters!  This is a bunch of us celebrating Zonta International's 100th Birthday.  We received the traveling flag and signed it.

I'm really feeling YOGA calling my name the last several months to a year but I'm having a hell-of-a-time getting back into it.  I'm trying to at least start with 1-minute breathing/meditations.  I'm not sure that has really helped, to be honest.

My pain has returned but I'm convinced it's stress related.

Sorry to be such a Debbie-Downer.

Hopefully, I will be my crazy blogging self again soon!

Life, Loss, and Lengthy Posts

April.  Has it really been since April when I last post?  A lot has been happening.  I needed a blogging break.  Among other breaks.  Blogging was one thing I could actually break from - whereas - the rest I wasn't able to.

It's been a hard several months.  In April, I lost my mother-in-law to Small Cell Lung Cancer.  It was an awful 3 year battle or so.  After the first year, they did preventative so it wouldn't spread to her brain.  Because of that preventative treatment it fast-forwarded Alzheimer-like symptoms.  Cancer Sucks.  I've said it before and I will say it again.

In May, we also lost Charlie.  He was about 19 years old and for those of you who I've known for a while - knew he was feral since the time he was a baby and was a rescue.  He battled strange issues throughout the years and we had always dealt with them.  The last couple of years he was deaf, too.  In the past year, we had watched him get smaller and smaller and he got to the point where many things he once loved were difficult for him.  Things just started shutting down and the vet assumed there was cancer somewhere but didn't want to put him thru all the tests and anxiety.  For the first time since I was 3 years old I'm without a cat in the house.  It's strange.  Our fur family is the smallest it's been in a long time.  Riley and Cricket are still around but we have been having problems with Riley and his natural aging process, too.  He's about 18 or 19 years old now, too!

In June, we found out the company we work for had been sold.  We've been dealing with the change ever since.  It's mostly been good with more changes on the way but it's been a non-stop world-wind of things happening one after another.

Also in June, my mother found out that the sore on her face near her eye was skin cancer.  From what we can gather, everything should be ok, but we had to wait over 3 months for her to be seen again.

With everything going on, I have been unsuccessfully trying to deal with my own stress.  My chronic pain issues seem to come and go like they have in the past BUT now I am dealing with a few other issues I haven't dealt with before.  One being a scalp issue.  I have been trying to treat it with coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, etc.  Just when I think I am making some progress it comes back with a vengeance.  I'm pretty sure it's some kind of psoriasis or eczema of some sort.

I try and keep this blog positive and happy and try and learn things and archive them but it's been so hard with this post not seeming to do any of those things.  I have been doing a TON of volunteer work and between that and seeing my niece when I can those seem to be the only two things keeping me somewhat sane.

I chopped off all my hair.  It's time for me to do it again.  I've gained weight again and need to shed about 20 pounds.  I think I would feel better if I did.  Winter is coming and that is when I struggle even more with not being as active and on-the-go.

I have a lot of things to blog about but am afraid I just don't have the time.  Because of Riley aging and reverting back to his separation anxiety years I'm not able to sleep in bed anymore.  I have to sleep down in the recliner so he won't bark.  Sleep has been few and far between because of it.  I know it's taking a toll.

I'm trying to start my days earlier so I will have some time for myself but then I just start jumping into work and not doing the non-work things I need to be doing.

I need to re-work my time.  I need to start listening to podcasts.  I need to shake the negative and focus on the positive.  I need to spend less time with the people and things that make me feel bad and start realizing I'm not that bad of a person.  That's been hard for me my entire life.  Certainly something I need to work on.

I have a lot of photos over the last several months I need to post and blog about here.  Many of them have to do with volunteering and new vegan finds but I'm also trying to take more photos of my surroundings and BREATHE.  I won't share those in this post but I hope to in near-future posts.  I just wanted to update you on where I have been and why I haven't been posting.  I need to start posting again...I think it will help me in the long run.  Thanks for NOT giving up on me.

Warren County Fair From Different Eyes

I have at least 4 posts I will be doing from the Warren County Fair Week but I thought I would ease into it with a few 'behind the scenes' type photos to start.

This was taken Sunday Evening as I was just getting back from WNY VegFest.  The sky was so beautiful!  I couldn't resist taking a photo of it.

I tried to get to sleep early that night because we had to get up around 3:30am to prepare for the Morning Show.  We did double air shifts Monday thru Friday that week!  Then all of the other festivities that went along with being a volunteer and board duties my hubby had that week, too!

We can't help but think of a friend of ours during fair time (and every day we are at work for that matter).
He's been gone for a few years now...I actually can't believe it's been that long!  He will always be missed!
 
This was his saying!  A friend of ours found this mug and gave it to Dale the first day of Fair.  He got pretty choked up about it.

We talked about our friend and co-worker often that week.  It would have also been his birthday, too!

Cancer is an awful thing.

This year we installed a park model that was found for a wonderful price.  It's in the backstage area for the entertainment who visit our fair.

This was a photo taken from the deck.  Many people worked on the space throughout the summer to make it look nice.

We had some wonderful feedback about it too!

I will probably have more photos of this space down the road.

This was my view from Monday after the Media Lunch was over.

You'll Always Be The Queen Bee ~ Suzie RIP

I really tried to prepare myself for Suzie's passing.  I think no matter how hard you try - it doesn't matter.  It didn't seem to lighten the blow. 

Eventho in the back of my mind I knew something wasn't right.  Saturday Morning we took her into the vet and they did some X-rays.  The scans showed that she had fluid throughout her body...her stomach, by her heart, near or even in her lungs.  They discovered a Heart Murmur that had gone unnoticed until then.  There were shadows in a few areas on the X-rays in the stomach that they didn't confirm as cancer but had a hunch they were.  Similar shadows were near the liver.  With further tests they could determine if her liver was failing, if it was liver disease, or cancer in or near her liver.  Even more apparent were the masses that showed up her Suzie's heart.  There were several.  The vet was confident those were cancerous tumors.  She told us that in could be days or a week but the end result was the same.  It wasn't a matter of 'if' but 'when' Suzie would collapse. 

Suzie has always been and will always be the Queen Bee in our family.  That was her personality.  She was always strong.  Always the LEADER of the pack.  She's had a lot happen in the last 5 or 6 years and always bounced back.  Some bounces were harder than others...especially the last surgery she had about a year ago to remove 2 more 'fatty tumors'.

We adopted her a year after we adopted Sammy.  At that time Sammy was over 10 years old and Suzie was around 2.  Suzie's been a part of our family for about 12 years.  She loved Sammy and Sammy loved her.  We adopted Riley about 7 years ago.  Sammy was very protective of me but tolerated Riley.  Suzie was the buffer usually.  I can't believe it's been about 6 years since we lost Sammy.

Riley always idolized Suzie.  I'm worried about him - I know he will miss her terribly.  Paco entered our lives about 3 and a half years ago.  Paco thought Suzie was pretty freakin' cool too...and again...Suzie was the buffer in the house hold.  The older Suzie got the more acceptable she was of most other animals in the house and outside of the house, too!

Suzie loved to snuggle under blankets when we 'turned in for the night'.  She loved laying on blankets.  She enjoyed wearing sweaters eventho she only had two or three of them.  When we started Paco's collection of sweaters - she seemed to have a renewed interest in her sweaters.  Since she was mostly Jack Russell - she was always on the go - walking around the house - and was quite the spitfire. 

She's been gone since around 10am on Saturday.  It's been hard for everyone.  It's been quieter.  The sofa and bed seem bigger.  For the first time since we adopted her - I'm now the only "Bliss Girl" remaining in the family.  The boys have taken over.  I've told them not to gang up on me!  It's been a rough year.  We went from 7 Bliss Family Members down to 5 in less than a year.  Dale and I are trying to give extra love to Riley, Paco, and Charlie.  Paco's still having to go to vet appointments every couple of weeks for his ITP, including another one today at 2.  Suzie is missed and always will be missed.  She was an incredible WOMAN...and I do mean that with emphasis.  She will always be the Queen Bee...no matter what.  Rest in Peace my sweet Suzie.  I'll continue to sing CCR's "Suzie Q" with wonderful memories of you, darling!

RIP My Precious Gabby

I've been going over and over in my head how I was going to start this post...how I was going to write it.  Just like the decisions that were made...none of it is easy.  As some of you know I took Gabby into the vet yesterday and she didn't leave with us.  I had an overwhelming feeling that the news wasn't going to be good but I didn't think she wouldn't come home with us either, you know!?

She had been losing weight.  Not that she had weighed all that much to begin with.  I thought at her heaviest she weighed about 7 pounds but at her last visit (and it had been a while) she weighed 8 pounds.  We noticed we was losing weight so naturally I tried to give her anything she WOULD eat...TO eat.  We went with wet/canned food and she LOVED it.  Very soon her sunken flat tummy started 'feeling' more like a cat tummy that was satisfied and full.

Thru EVERYTHING Gabby didn't miss a beat.  She's always been the sweetest, happiest cat I've ever known.  Even at the vet's office she was purring and giving kisses to everyone.  Which made things even worse when it came to those choices.

The results of the X-Rays showed that her stomach was 3 times the size of a normal cats stomach but it was filled with liquid.  Long story short - after other tests and process of elimination - her vet said everything pointed to Liver Cancer.  We were crushed.  We are still crushed.

The vet said 'it' was inevitable.  Whether it was 1 day, a week, or a few.  Her little body was doing everything it could to 'get thru it' and 'fight'.  Because she was so small and lost so much muscle and because we had already been giving her wet/canned food there wasn't anything that could bring back the muscle she had lost.  When they weighed her yesterday she weighed 6 pounds.  I know for a fact she had gained weight in the past week because of the food and the uninterrupted meal time we were giving her.  We put Charlie in another room while she was eating so she could concentrate on the food.  I'm assuming that there was about 2 pounds of weight in her stomach but that is just my guess.  So I don't know if that means she weighed roughly 3 to 4 pounds when she did lose the weight initially.

The vet told us that she could 'turn' with a snap of a finger.  That she was 'walking on a cliff' and one step to the right or the left could cause additional issues.  We continued talking about everything and came to the realization with our house hold and family that she had several potential obstacles that could come into play including stairs she could fall down, another cat and 3 dogs that could play too rough with her not-knowing, as well as other issues.  DH and I both work during the day and would hate to have come home from work to find that she fell down the stairs or injured herself while we weren't there, you know!?

The vet told us that we were already doing what he would have suggested us to do.  She wouldn't get better - only worse.  Of course I was torn because she was our furkid but also because she was still purring to the very end.  It just didn't seem right.  I'm just not sure what else to say.  I cried for HOURS.  This morning I thought I was going to 'make it' until I heard the end of the song BABE by Styx and I completely broke.  The photo above is one of my faves of her - if not MY very favorite.  She's such a sweetheart.  We adopted her when she was roughly two in 2003.  We figure she was about 13 years old.  We will always remember her.

I set up Facebook Pages for each of our furkids.  This morning I changed hers to a Remembrance Page.  I would appreciate it if you would LIKE her on Facebook.  I know I try and keep this blog uplifting and positive but it's been an awful time in the Bliss House Hold.  I just really needed a place to write.  Write about her.  Write about everything.  Thanks for understanding and reading.  

I will say that we've received TONS of condolences via email, text, Facebook, Instagram, thru our co-workers, radio & VoiceOver Friends, and it's been amazing!  Thank you so much!  May our sweet, precious Gabby Rest In Peace.

The Reason I've Been 'Few & Far Between"

The main reason I have been 'few and far between with my posts lately is because last week our company and our community lost someone very special.  He lost his battle with cancer after a dozen years or more.  He was a fighter, that is for sure!  He's been with the company I work for since 1975-1976.  He was very active in the community and the boards and organization such as Salvation Army, Chamber, Kiwanis, etc.  He was a huge part of his church...a Sunday School Teacher, Youth Mentor, and much more!  He was married for 9 years to his darling of a wife.  He has two grown sons, two grown stepdaughters, and 3 grandchildren.  He was like a father to my husband.  He was a friend.  He was extremely social, funny, witty, helpful, brave, and compassionate.  Work was very strange last week.  I'm glad he's at peace but still very sad he's not around.  The service was beautiful.  The poem above is "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost.  I remember back to The Outsiders from the 80s as it was recited but it's always stuck with me throughout the years as one of my favorite Robert Frost Poems, too!

Green Garlic, Weather, Leftovers, Cancer Sucks, Buying Bulk, Bangkok Rice Crisps, Daiya Wildtree Nacho Cheese, Raw(ish) Vegan Vodka Sauce,

 I mentioned earlier this week - that last weekend - I picked up some Green Garlic at my local Farmers Market.  This was the first time I have done anything with Green Garlic at home.  According to some websites I visited while researching Green Garlic they stated the Green Garlic is a young garlic or a garlic that hasn't full matured yet.  Other sources refer to Green Garlic as Spring Garlic.  It's a little mellower than straight-up garlic but I found it to be fantastic in its own right.  By looking at it - it looks like a Green Onion.  You can read more about it at Food 52.  I had fun breaking it apart and warmed them on stove top.  YES...it takes very little to amuse me, apparently!

I ended up adding it to Quinoa.  I also added Diced Tomatoes and herbs.  It was very tasty!  I received one of the Traveling Tea Boxes in the mail today from the group I participate in over at Steepster.  So I spend some time with various teas and have been reviewing them as well.  The weather has been a little messy this week and it looks like it will be more of the same this weekend, too.  Hubby and I hope to attend a car show on Sunday - regardless of weather - but it will depend on the weather conditions - whether or not we will bring the Corvette.

Earlier in the week I told you about my Raw Wraps and Dipping Sauce that I made and I mentioned I would post what I did with the left overs.  Here is what I did!

It's a Stir Fry of sorts and I used that dipping sauce within it, too!

Pretty much all of the same ingredients - just in a stir fry.  I used the Collards in there too!  I just cut them up and threw them in!  This was yummy, this way, too!  I would try both dishes again!

I have more sad news to report.  This past week...2 more lives were taken by cancer in our small community.  A woman who's husband works with my father lost her battle with Breast Cancer leaving behind a husband and 2 young children.  Then, a girl I played Softball with a few years ago - and my sister played softball with her longer than I did - she lost her battle with Brain Cancer yesterday...leaving behind a husband and 2 sons.  It's getting scarier and scarier.  It seems everyone is being diagnosed these days or at the very least in our area it seems that way.  I'm going to get in touch with our cancer center next week to see which charities I can cross promote at work for families - especially children - trying to deal with the loss of a parent.  See what I can do to try and get the word out there - that there are organizations in our community that can assist children and families in their time of need.

In other news - I've been chatting with a few people about Buying Bulk.  So I thought I would post about what and where I often buy Bulk.  This is a photo of a store I frequent in the downtown area.  The store is called Herbs R 4 U 2.  The store owner, Barbie, is a wonderful lady!  She's very helpful and if she can get the products in we seek - she will!  Over the last several years I have watched her Bulk Section - grow and grow!  It's very impressive!  I've bought quite a bit from her bulk section.  I love that you can buy as much or as little as you want!  I have also bought some of these same glass jars from her for my cupboards at home.  One of the items I buy a lot of is Nutritional Yeast and I store that in one of these jars.  I can fit about a pound of it in one.  Another jar I have filled like this is my Chia Seeds stash.  I have a few alternative flours and meals in them, too.

Another place I have purchased things the last few months is Vitacost.  You can find a clickable link on the right hand side of my site, here.  Check them out!  They have LOTS of awesome items at nice prices.  These Bangkok Sweet Chili Baked Rice Crisps I bought a while back and I decided to crack them open this past weekend.  They are VERY flavorful and I really like them.  I've only had a few of them so far but I see some snacking in my near future. 

I'm so excited it's the end of the week!  But I can't believe the 4th of July is next week either.  The summer is moving way too fast.

 Check THIS out!  Nacho Cheese Sauce!  Here's what I did for this cheese sauce!  Since I had some Daiya Cheese open I wanted to use a little bit but not TOO much.  A lot of the recipes I saw online for Vegan Cheese Sauce using Daiya Cheese called for a LOT of the shreds to be used.  I cut that in about half and it turned out good!
1/3 C Daiya Shreds
1 C Almond Milk
2 T Nutritional Yeast
Wildtree Spicy Chiptole Ranch to taste
Water to consistency - or more Almond Milk

This made quite a bit and I have added it to a few different things this week.  One of them being Nachos!

How fun is that!?  If I had more produce I would have piled it high!  BUT...I ran low towards the end of the week!  I hope to get to the Farmers Market EARLIER this weekend than I did last weekend!

This was one of the best textures of vegan cheese sauces I have had luck with yet.  The liquid to 'cheese' ratio worked well!


Another thing I was pretty excited about this week is something I did last night.  I made Zucchini Pasta with a Raw(ish) Vegan Vodka Sauce.  I say Raw(ish) because I added some White Wine in there and really don't think that was raw??  But...here is what I did for this sauce - which in a way - reminded me of Vodka  Sauce.  I used 1 tomato, 1/4 C Sun Dried Tomatoes - soaked, 1 Clove Garlic, 1/4 C White Wine, 1 Date, and 1/4 C Hemp Hearts/Seeds.  It was tangy and lovely!  YUM! YUM! YUM!  I hope you have a great weekend, everyone!  Drop me a note if you can!