30 Day Blog Challenge – Day 7 – what makes you happy?

There are many many things that make me happy.  Things that help me feel content.  I am going to share a few pictures and  write a little about it.

My daughter and family make me very happy.  She makes me feel alive.  She is silly, energized, smart, beautiful…….                                                                              Katey and my mom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little kids are amazing.  Their smiles and giggle are contagious.  Here is a picture of my daughter Katey and also a picture my good friend Meagan’s daughter, Maddy.

                    

Katey

Maddy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LifeChurch.tv makes me smile.  They are a bunch of amazing folks who love the Lord.  It’s not about religion, it is about a relationship with Jesus!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My group of friends that I have right now are amazing!!  Dedicated people who love me just as I am…flaws and all.  Catching up with old friends from high school and from college has been wonderful.  I still love them just like I did then.

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gerber Daisies make me happy.  I just think they are happy looking flowers.  🙂

Being “random” makes me happy too.  It kinda throws people off from the regular routine of life.  It’s fun to do random acts of kindness too.

Camp makes me very very happy.  Such wonderful memories.  They make me smile and reminisce about what kinds of things we did “way back in the day”.

Riverside Lutheran Bible Camp

 

EWALU Bible Camp  

one year ago today

Another sleepless night for me.  It’s well after 3am…almost 4 actually.  I have been tearful most of the day.  I have been wracking my brain to figure out the sadness.  Then it really dawned on me.  One year ago today, I miscarried.  I lost a baby that was between 6-8 weeks along.  I know that isn’t very far along in a pregnancy, but it was a baby never the less.

Early in the morning, a year ago, Dr. Ortiz performed a D&C on me.  I remember being scared.  I had a nurse there with me.  But it wasn’t the baby’s father nor was it my mom.  I didn’t expect ‘him” to be there since he was angry and all that with me, but I was hoping my mom could come.  I felt so alone.  A baby.  gone.  Why God?  Why did you take this little one from me?

I remember waking up with some intense cramping pain.  They took me back up to my room.  I stayed there most of the crying and sleeping.  Imagining what could have been.  What should have been.

I know God does things in His time.  Guess I wasn’t ready for baby #2.

Today, I am stronger.  I am stable.  I am all in for God.  I trust He will let me know the time.  IF there will be a time.  I often say, I do want another baby.  I am too old for a new baby right?  I don’t know.  But I do know it takes the other half the equation to have one.  And I have yet to find that.

Somewhere.  Sometime.

♥ Baby Olson 7/2010 ♥

30 Day Blog Challenge – Day 6

Wow….this one is all about PET PEEVES!!  I haven’t thought about it for awhile.  hmmmmm

One of my pet peeves is people who chomp their gum with their mouth open.  It often sounds like a cow chewing it’s cud.  How do I know?  My dad used to have cows out on our farm when I was growing up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pet Peeve 2 = People who make promises and don’t keep them.  Like people who totally blow me off for one reason or another after making plans with me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pet Peeve 3 = You know when you ask someone a simple, straightforward question and they spend ten solid minutes rambling on about everything in the world EXCEPT the answer to your simple, straightforward question? I hate that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pet Peeve 4 = If you are able to drink everything but one little drop of milk or juice, whatever…DON’T put it back in the fridge!  Same for food, if there is just a little left in the pan…Just finish it.

I am sure I have many more.  I just can’t think of them at this time of the “night”.  Leave a few of yours in the comments section.   🙂

30 Day Blog Challenge – Day 5

Day 5 = Song that inspires me

This song pretty much sums of my life right now.   I am alive.

Alive by Jennifer Lopez

Time… goes… slowly now, in my life
Fear… no more… of what I’m not sure

Searching to feel your soul
The strength to stand alone
The power of not knowing
and letting go
I guess I’ve found my way
It’s simple when your trapped
Feeling lucky just to be here tonight,
and happy just to be me and be alive

Love, in and out
of my, my heart
And though life, can be strange
I can’t be afraid

Searching to feel your soul
The strength to stand alone
The power of not knowing and letting go
I guess I’ve found my way
It’s simple when your trapped
Feeling lucky just to be here tonight
And happy… just to be me… and be alive

I guess I’ve found my way
It’s simple when it’s right
Feeling lucky just to be here tonight
And happy… just to be me… and be… alive….

More news on Medicaid of Iowa

Here is the link for the info that I have posted:  http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/IA/4428012/Please-help-reverse-WLS-coverage-suspension-in-Iowa-This/#36628326

Eric Klein, Founder, ObesityHelp.com, met with some bariatric folks today.  Here are a few things he suggests everyone and anyone interested in helping get the word out about how much medicaid is needed to help pay for bariatric surgery to save the lives of those that need this surgery. Please help me in the fight to save this program.  I am one of those that will very much benefit from having this surgery.  I want to live not only for me but also my daughter, my family and my friends.  I don’t want to continue to live with pain, high blood pressure, GERD, fibromylgia, arthritis, and a few other medical things.  Thanks you all for reading and helping.  ~Julie

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Good news.
I just met with bariatric center staff (including Kari at Dr. LaMaster’s office), and we’re starting to get coordinated. More info to come by next week, but for now, here are some things you can do:

1) Start doing background research on these individuals here:
http://www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/Committees/Committee.aspx? id=53
This is the rules review committee. These elected officials will be influential in the near future. More details later.  If you could organize any research on what types of health related bills they might have voted for or against in the past, that could prove useful.

2) Share your full story!
Click here to tell your full story (as you can at this stage of your journey):
www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/profile-admin/upda te-survey.php
This is behind the MyOH tab, under “Survey”.
Please go into as much detail as you can about any expenses or lost work productivity or lost taxpayer contributions that you feel have resulted from morbid obesity. Medications, their names and possible costs. Health conditions. Lost productivity.  We’re going to be compiling these stories and sharing with lawmakers. The survey above was just one tool to help guide individuals toward before, or before & after stories, wherein we could collect as many histories as possible of WLS resulting in cost savings and other improvements.

3) Research any health writers in Iowa. Below is a list of newspapers in the state. Within these, and any orther publications, can you identify any writers or journalists with any history of covering public interest stories addressing health issues?

Ames Tribune                                    515-232-2160
Fort Dodge Messenger                 515-573-2141
Globe Gazette  (Mason City)     641-421-0524
Sioux City Journal                             800-397-3530
Quad City Times (Davenport)

Iowa City Gazette                            319-339-3101
Council Bluffs Nonpareil
Marshalltown Times Republican                641-753-6611

 

More soon….

30 Day Blog Challenge – #4 My Parents

This I the only picture I could find of mom and dad at the moment.  It was taken in 1997 at church.  (Gotta love Olin Mills).  My parents are Jim and Judy Olson.   They were married in 1967.  There is 3 of us kids.  My brother, Jerry is the oldest.  Then me, and then my sister Jodi.  My parents own a farm up in north Iowa.  My mom still lives there.  In 1999, my dad was diagnosed with skin cancer.  It progressed rather quickly as he passed away in May of 2000 at the age of 57.  My dad was a very strong man.  Good sense of humor, quick to help others, and very generous.  He loved his grand kids and Case IH tractors.  My mom is the best cook ever!!  When we were younger she worked as a cook at the elementary school in town.  Was kinda cool to see mom everyday.  My mom is still a cook but works at the Senior Center…and also makes food for the Meals on Wheels program.  My mom is pretty awesome.  She is giving and sensible.  She is ready to help out when needed.  My parents we also part of those “good Lutheran” folk.  Ready with a hotdish and other goodies.

30 Day Blog: #3 My First Love

I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s.  Actually graduated in 1988.  Seems like eons ago.  When I was going to high school….there wasn’t a whole lot to chose from.  LOL  I went to a small farming community school.  I think there were a total of 38 in my graduating class that year.  But my first love struck me when I was a sophomore.  His name is Steve.  Of course he was good friends with my brother who was the same age as him.  They were seniors.  Steve was a football player, wrestler, and I even think he was on the track team at that time.  (I would have to get my year books out to see).

This a picture of him I grabbed out of a yearbook… so anyway, memories.  Well I have some really fond memories of him.  Our lockers never were locked.  So that lead to many “love” notes and little things that he put in my locker that were treasures from him.  Awwww young love.

I remember going to prom with him, his senior year.  I am sure I have that picture somewhere around my house as well.  Prom was good.  Dancing to the hair bands and all that.  Even post prom stuff.  But what sticks out in my head about that night was that he had his motorcycle….me in my prom dress, him in his suit….we busted out of Northwood to a little bitty town in Minnesota called London.  We sat on some swings there and just talked until the sun came up.  From London you can see my parents farm….so it didn’t take long to get home.  It was a good night.  Steve is a good guy.  Have no clue where he is now, but I bet he is still a good guy.

Chazown: Five Spokes

When even one of the major areas of life is not functioning the way God intended, all of life can break down. There are five important spokes, or life areas, where you can live out your Chazown.

The five spokes are:

• Your Relationship with God
• Your Relationships with People
• Your Financial Life
• Your Physical Life
• Your Work Life

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THOUGHTS ON FIVE SPOKES

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You have selected that you want to work on: People, Physical

If you feel you need to work on all Five Spokes, don’t panic, and don’t try to work on all five at once! Choose the one or two spokes that need the most work and start there. Then, take step after achievable step.

One day, we will all reach the end of our life in one of two ways:

1. With regret, saying “I could have, I should have, I wish I would have,” or
2. With no regret, having sought God’s Chazown in each of the Five Spokes – or major areas – of our lives.

Seek God’s Chazown and instead of just ending up somewhere, you will end up somewhere, without regret, on purpose!

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Watching the video of Pastor Craig talking about these five areas was indeed eye-opening for me.  I know the areas that I definitely need to work on.  My areas are PEOPLE and PHYSICAL.  In the next part of Chazown, we look at the action steps/goals to work toward with these 2 areas.  I am excited to be on this path right now.  I have many many friends from LifeChurch.tv who may have done this already or are also in the works of doing it.  The thing I have found though, is that I don’t have a lot of face to face friends here, where I am living now.  Sure I have a ton of friends, but they live all over the States and some of them even overseas at the moment.  So, I hope to incorporate finding some friends around here.  Maybe start going to a church here in town.  I have been thinking about it.  Now I need to just do it.

Regarding my physical body….I know that needs work.  I have treated myself poorly most of my life.  I am hoping with the “jump start” of the weight loss surgery, that I will come to *like* exercising more?  That is the big thing.  I hate exercising now….so I am hoping as I ease my way into walking more, taking another water aerobics class this fall, and doing some other weight lifting type exercises, I will begin to love my body more and take care of it the way God intended me to.

This is just STUFF

I wrote this to a group that I am in on yahoo.  Although no one in the group has responded….that is alright.  It’s a comment to something that another gal had written.  I will put her quote down first

This is what t Linda suggested I write down today.  “I have a choice, the power to get out of the (emotional) hole, or to slide deeper into it.”

This is what I wrote in response to that:  I think this is very true.

Next week I celebrate ONE year of being out of the hospital for mental health stuff. My therp Angie is having a celebration for me.  We are having pizza and pop and whatever at the cafeteria at Allen where she works.  We invited people who have been on the journey with me for the past 10 years or so.  I am nervous but excited about all that.

If it weren’t for better choices, I wouldn’t be celebrating this.  Thank you for writing it out.

I don’t know how to get this line back over to the left.  Guess I am not tech savvy yet.  LOL  but anyways, yes…It’s going to be a whole year since being inpatient any where for mental health reasons.  Amazing for me cuz I have spent the last 20 years in and out of the place.  It was my run away place when I didn’t want to deal anymore, at least that is what I call it now for the past few years.  I believe in the beginning it was a good place for me as I was horribly depressed and suicidal.

I have come a long way since I was 18, 19, 20 years old.  There are some very old friends who wish I was back to that same person years ago.  I tell ya, I don’t wanna be.  It was drama after drama.  I am 41 now and just starting to live.  It’s gotta get better than it was.  So far it IS better than it was just even one year ago.

Thanks to family and lots of friends, and GOD, I am here today.  To celebrate.  That’s all I have for tonight.  See you when I blog again tomorrow.  Hugs to all…you know who you are!!

30 Day Blog Challenge – Day 2

Nicknames:

Oh boy this could be fun.  I have had a boat load of nicknames through the years.  Some that haven’t been very good and others, well, have stuck around awhile.  Here are a few that have stuck, oh and I think I will throw in a few others that are just funny.

Jewels

Julsey

Grace (Thanks to my dad and family, I still get called this today!  Staying vertical is sometimes challenging)

Julio

Mommy

Hey you

Julieooooooooooooo

Crackers (thanks to camp days)

JuJuBee (thanks Sherri)

Well, my brain is obviously not working great yet today.  I know I have some not so nice ones, but I prefer not to share those.  If you can think of others, please share….I am curious to know what you remember.