In Memory of Flight 5191 - Please Help!

As you may know, Comair Flight 5191 crashed in Lexington a little after 6:00 am on Sunday morning. Forty-seven passengers and 2 crew members perished in that flight - one crew member, the co-pilot, survived. I knew three of those people and was familiar with many more.

Carole Bizzack - Wife of John Bizzack. My last "real" job I had was with Bittersweet Associates. John was part owner of Bittersweet. The offices were located in the farm office of Bittersweet Farm in Lexington where John and Carole lived. Carole would come into the office daily just laughing and joking. She was SO witty, and she was one of the most sincere people you could ever meet. She loved her horses and her dogs, and she loved people. She could lighten up a room just by entering it. I am SO much better for having known her. Besides John, she also leaves behind two grown children, Stacy and Jason.

Larry Turner - Larry was the neighbor of my Aunt Jane. He was associate dean of Agriculture for the Univ. of Kentucky. Before this plane crash, he had survived two near-fatal car accidents and he had survived male breast cancer.

Les Morris II - Mr. Morris was associated with the law offices of Stoll, Keenon, Ogden. I do a lot of work with this firm, and I have run into him before through both their offices and through the Bluegrass Estate Planning Council which I oversee. His wife, Kaye, was also killed in the crash.

Also, I did not know her, but the sister of Mike Browning was also killed on this flight. Mike Browning, coincidentally, is also part owner of Bittersweet Associates, along with John Bizzack. As far as I know, she and Carole were NOT flying together. They just happened to be on the same flight. As you can imagine, the whole Bittersweet office reeling from not one, but TWO losses.

Click here for the complete flight list.

On to an important issue for this post:

Amy Clay is the wife of the Captain of Flight 5191, Jeff Clay. Amy is a fellow OvuSofter (an online Mother's community, for those who aren't familiar with OvuSoft). She lives in the Northern KY area, and she had been widowed at a very young age with two small babies - one of which was just born in May. As you can imagine, Amy is destroyed right now and is especially hurt at how her husband is being portrayed in the media.

A few of us Kentucky OvuSoft gals have set up a fund for Amy and her babies to help with any expenses she may need in the short term or else to put aside for her children in a savings fund. If you are interested, you can make a donation through PayPal (http://www.paypal.com) to the address Amybethsfund@insightbb.com. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

May God bless the victims and surviving families of Flight 5191.

GONE...BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN.

Welcome to STUDY CENTRAL!

I've had my nose so firmly planted in a book lately that I think I have a flat tip on it now.

My life is consumed with everything that is CPA Exam. BOOOORRRRIIINNNNGGGGG... (Now do you see why I haven't updated in awhile - LOL!)

That's exactly what I've been up to - studying - watching DVD lectures, answering multiple choice practice questions, doing applications, reading the required readings. Only 9 more days until I take the first part...then I move on to the next part and so on and so forth until I take (and hopefully pass) them all.

I'm feeling confidant this time around. I keep telling myself that I CAN do this, and I DESERVE to have my certification. I've worked HARD. I WILL do it.

My health continues to wane throughout all of this. The less sleep I get...the more stress I put on myself...the more things that envelope my days...the worse I feel. It's catching up with me right now. I normally go to bed between 10-11 PM. I have been getting in bed lately between 11-12, and then the tremors and muscle twitches keep me up half of the rest of the night. It's a vicious process, but I have to try really hard to make it through this. It will pay off in the end...if it doesn't send me into a MAJOR flare up!

The girls are both very well...Maddie had her 4 year check up this past friday. I told her that she's perfectly square - she weighed 42 lbs and was 42" tall! She just looked at me like I was stupid. I'm sure that won't be the last time I get that look either...

She got 3 shots to finish out her pre-school immunizations. She tried hard not to cry...I DID cry! She tried SO hard to be strong and to be a big girl. Her little face was all squished up, and she had her fists firmly planted in her eyes, but she held it back as best as she could. Watching her try so hard to be a big girl made me cry in return. Ahhh...yet another vicious cycle.

She will begin 4 year old pre-school on September 6th. She's still excited...I'm still nervous.

Mackenzie is still Mackenzie. So full of life and energy and happiness! She has become quite the daddy's girl lately. Everything is "where Dah-dy?" "Dah-dy" this..."Dah-dy" that... She is very fond of men in general. She loves my Dad and Phil's Dad as well. Us women...eh...she can take us or leave us, but her guys are her guys!

In other news, we - OK, PHIL - just finished painting our two-story foyer! Our walls have been stark white since we moved in. We painted the foyer and all the way down the 2nd floor hallway a color called "Wheat Grass." It is a green color with an ever so slight hint of yellow and brown in it. It looks FABULOUS, but I'm hoping it doesn't end up being something where people walk in and are shocked. It's not bright at all, but in certain lights, it can take on a lime-colored look, which I don't like, but what do you do? I'll post pictures soon.

Finally, we had one last loss in our family last week. Phil's Aunt Betty died. I had written about her before...she had been on life support (feeding tube). They had previously removed the feeding tube, but then she almost miraculously recovered! She ended up taking a turn for the worse again and died on the Friday before last. She suffered with the disease, COPD, for 10 years, and she literally fought for each and every breath she took in that 10 years. She is in a MUCH better place now - and she can breathe as freely as possible now.

Thanks for reading...I'll finally end it here now. I'll update again soon!

Myokymia...what?!?

Sorry that I've been so slow in updating this blog...there has been SOOOOOOOO much going on lately.

For one, I've been completely busy with all of the work that I've had on my desk. I've finally waded through all of that and have finished most of my big projects - YAY!

Secondly, I've been studying for my CPA exam - YAY! I actually say YAY to that because I'm excited about it. I kind of feel like I've gotten a second chance - and this time I have to be serious about it. I feel like a kid in school again with the studying, partying...OOPS, I mean... : ) (Just kidding!) So I'm scheduled to take the first of four parts of the exam on August 31st at 4:00 PM. Please pray, if you are so inclined, that God's will may shine through on this.

So...on to the topic at hand. What the heck is Myokymia?

According to this website, it "...describes successive, involuntary, small muscle contractions or tics that affect a bundle of muscles. The muscle movements are usually visible under the skin and can be felt." I found this to be VERY true starting this past Thursday night. I was working quietly when all of the sudden, I thought that an Alien was going to pop out of my left arm! (Think of the "Alien" movies, if you have seen them.) My arm muscles began rippling and moving so much that you could see it on the outside. It got painful after awhile, I suppose, because the muscles were moving so much and in such crazy contorted directions.

This lasted about 3 days and even traveled into my leg, along with some lovely vibration feelings.

So...this sucks for 2 reasons:

1. This all happened on my LEFT side. Everything else has happened previously on my RIGHT side. A switch in sides typically denotes a new flare up. GRRRRR....here we go again!

2. According, again, to the above-referenced webpage, "...myokymia is seen in a number of serious nervous conditions including multiple sclerosis." Great. Just another thing to add to the growing list.

So now that we've all learned a new word today, let's all go out and use it in everyday life. ;) Or not...

Anyway, I know that I still owe you all pictures from Maddie's birthday party, and I will get them up soon. We have some really cute shots that I'm dying to share. I'll try to do that later tonight or tomorrow.

TTFN...

The MStery...

Hi everyone! Sorry to have not updated here for awhile. I've been working WAY too much, and I have decided to start taking the CPA exam again, which I will talk more about in my next post.

I just wanted to post this from an e-mail that someone had sent me. Very accurate...

The MStery
So tell me about this illness you've got,
Is it dangerous or not?
I'm telling you, you look so good,
Are you sure the doctors have not misunderstood?
Well I'm feeling fine today its true,
So perhaps I'll go dancing the night away,
And not return till the break of day.
Can you do that, is that really safe for you?
Aren't you an invalid so to speak?
Aren't there things you just should not do,
I thought you said you sometimes get weak?
Just a week has passed and how can it be,
That you are now weak and feeling so sad?
How can you suddenly be this bad?
Things really do look kind of bleak.
I don't understand it either, you know
And please excuse me if I have to speak slow,
I cannot move from out of this bed,
I don't even think i can lift my head.
How can you look so good and be ill?
I really cannot understand it still,
How is it one day you feel so fine,
And another you seem like you're losing your mind?
This MS thing is a mystery it's true,
Did you say you feel dizzy and wobbly and blue?
Do you always get tired from a walk round town?
I told you i'm up and then I am down.
Sometimes I can't feel my legs or my hands,
Sometimes I feel I'm wrapped in rubber bands,
The fatigue is a nightmare it drives you insane,
And then there is that awful nagging pain.
All I can tell you is yes its strange,
And brings along a lot of change,
But I live my life from day to day,
I keep the faith and I try to pray.
I keep my mind busy,
I eat the right food,
I try to keep positive,
Try to be good.
But without my friends,
I could never get through,
And because of them each day is now brand new.
I mean what more can anyone do??
~Author Unknown

Thank you all for being my friends...without you all, I truly could never get through.

I must go work and study more now...bleh! Can you all please keep my best friend, Tabitha, in your prayers? She is pregnant and due in October, and she's been experiencing a lot of complications. Please pray that she and baby Cameron both remain safe and well until his birth. Thanks!

I'll write again soon...