Well...

It certainly wasn't my plan to stay away this long...smh! I have so many things to tell u, but I'll start with Atlanta carnival and "fete of the year" since that's where I left off. So cooler fete has lost its "fete of the year" title...that honour now goes to "Sunday Morning". It's the (you guessed it) Sunday of memorial weekend and starts at 8am. Wow! BESS FETE!!! It was in an open park-like area this year and at first, I was worried bout using the Soca Scooter (name given by B to the scooter) cuz of the grass but everything was fine.  I'll continue going to cooler fete because...well that's jes what I do, but it definitely has lost its appeal. Yes, it was shut down AGAIN this year altho apparently it was because of a fight or something so. All I know is that the music stopped and people started leaving, plus it was cold no ass that night (in FRIGGIN May!!!! (it's outdoors)), so there really was no reason to stick around. Steups!

Something happened that night and it's something that I've noticed here and there. Anytime I go to a party in the Soca Scooter, I lime on the outskirts so I'm not in the middle of the crowd. There were tents along the perimeter of the place and we were liming under one. Of course, regardless of where I am, people will walk by and 8/10, someone will walk into SS (and throw down my drink - GRRRRRR) and then look down and walk around.  Well this time, the gyurl walked into it and it was like she got vex that she had to walk around.  It actually was a few of us standing there at the time and when Raj reacted, I just knew they would come to blows. I heard her scream, "she's in ah fcuking scooter, where u want her go?"  LOVE my friends :-)

I also stuck to my decision and stayed home on parade day - honestly? I surprised myself; I didn't think I'd do it. From all accounts, I didn't miss anything so I believe that's it for me and Atlanta parade.

The weekend in pictures…

Cooler fete…see my jacket?  in MAY!!!

Soca Scooter

I'm taller than them :-)

Masquerader #1

Masquerader #2

Bussin ah wine in Sunday Morning

Us @ Sunday Morning

It's (almost) That Time Again

Fete of the year!!

Cooler fete is 5/17.  Is in the same place as last year so does that mean Dekalb County's Finest Morons/Assholes will leave us alone? They didn't shut it down last year so there's hope. This year should be better than ever - it's the 10 year anniversary so there's a top DJ (imported straight from Trinidad) AND a BOSS artiste.  I plan to go get my haircut and GO STRAIGHT BACK HOME! Will do my eyebrows on Friday.

Scooter is...

a "problem"? - **GASP!!!**

This year, I'll b here for Atlanta carnival on Memorial Day weekend.  I was actually thinking of going somewhere (last year I went home) but u know what they say bout the best laid plans so...when I realized that I'd be here, I had to make a decision. To go on the road or to not go on the road???

Hmmmm 2 years ago, about 3/4 way thru the route, the scorching sun and glorious heat started taking a toll on my body and my fingers started slipping off the scooter controls - that's when G started driving and...well...remember what happened??? Lol. Do I want to put us thru that again?!? Well, barring that I can go on the truck - I've done that many times before (Miami, DC)...I can more than do it right here in Atlanta.  But...do I feel like doing that this year? Quite frankly, I don't really think the parade in Atlanta is that great so...but I am a carnival jumbie so I decided that what the heck, I'll do it...but then I started thinking..."Uh oh. What about the scooter?" The DJs are okay with me on the truck...but the scooter??? I can't leave it behind cuz we hadda get from wherever we park to the band so I'll need it. It's bad enuf that they'll hadda haul my ass up on the truck but now I'll hadda ask them to haul the scooter up too? (If there's even room for it!)

I decided against it. I don't feel like asking anyone to put me and my motorbike (yes.  OB calls it that sometimes- LOL) on their truck. So for the first time in how much ever years (ever since I discovered Atlanta carnival?), I'll b liming, drinking (INSIDE A HOME), waiting "patiently" for everyone to reach back after everything done. I hope I make it.

You'll see how well I handled sometime next month when I write that post!  Lol!

Guest Post by Hannah Taylor

I was approached by Hannah Taylor, "a healthy-living enthusiast, wife and mother of 5 fur babies who runs My Claim Source (a website dedicated to offering free health insurance resources)" to write a guest post here.   this was new to me - eh?  Noone had ever approached me before, but once i looked into it,  i agreed.  below is the post from Hannah…enjoy!

Happy or Healthy?

Excellent health and happiness have somewhat become the universal gist for toasts and best wishes for many occasions. While it's true that good health fosters happiness, can we say that happiness leads to greater health? What would you rather be - healthy or happy? 

Why choose when you can be both at the same time?

Do Laugh More

• When they say "laughter is the best medicine", they don't just mean that figuratively. Quite literally, it is the best medicine. Laughter boosts your immune system, eases your fear and anxiety, relieves stress and improves your mood. Plus, it's free.

Do Spend Time in Nature

• Regular contact with Mother Nature will do wonders to your health. Enjoying time among trees and in nature can help reduce stress, lower blood pressure, boost your immunity, improve circulation, and enhance your sense of well being and relaxation. Remember, fresh air is good for you.

Do Eat Well

• Clean eating is essential in maintaining good health. Eating various ranges of healthy foods ensures that our body gets all the nutrients it needs. It can reduce our risk of various diseases and help us feel our best. Healthy does not mean boring and bland. Cooking and eating well will give you the opportunity be creative and have fun with your food.

Do Sleep Well

• Getting enough quality sleep is important to our overall health and well-being. When we sleep, our body heals and restores itself. It's relaxing and rejuvenating and it keeps us on our toes and doing our best.

Do Exercise Regularly

• Physical activity and exercise are good for you. There are lots of fun ways you can stay fit without going to a gym - run, rock climb, bike, play an instrument, drum on the kitchen counter, play tag with your children, walk the dog, swim and the list goes on. Staying active improves endurance, strength and flexibility. It helps us look and feel better everyday.

Whether you love dancing or treating yourself to that occasional square of dark chocolate, your path to better health and wellness can be fun-filled and doable. Getting healthy for more years in your life is sometimes just a matter of putting a smile on your face and a little spring in your step.

thanks Hannah for this…these are things we all (sick or not sick) can benefit from!

Lent and...

It's over and I failed miserably. I ended up forking over $17.25...sm - was it really "miserable"? Definitely was a failure!  There's something about cussing - sometimes, it really drives your point home and is completely necessary!  One of the most painful things that I (and one or two people close to me) have had to endure is a cane falling on my toe/foot - seriously, it hurts like hell. Once or twice, it happened during lent...I screamed out the "F" bomb and then when it occurred to me that I wasn't supposed to b cussing, I'd say,"shit!". So right there I'd hadda give up .50c one time. STEUPS!!! Anyway, it's done so I can cuss freely now if I choose - and I choose :-)

The other night I dreamt AGAIN! UGH! This time tho, I was at an Expo of sorts on my scooter and for some reason, I got off to go do something.  When I got back, it was COMPLETELY stripped. All that was left was the shell (it wasn't like my actual scooter so "they" were able to take parts and leave back a shell)...no wheels, no seat, no cup holders, NOTHING. I had the shell.  I couldn't believe it!  I woke up soon after - I think - but that in itself was a FRIGGIN NIGHTMARE!!  lol I eh go lie, I've actually had a thought of driving it to my car, leaving it parked in the deck and heading out but that was a fleeting thought and something that I'll never ever do. If I'm feeling out of sorts and I'm by myself, I'll just stay in.  I'm not sure what I'll do if I get back and it's not in the same spot - just thinking bout it makes me ill!

Anyhoo...as you were, I gone so!

Stacey

The Walk (in pictures)

We happened upon this straggler at the start :-)

Coke's newest model

LOVE!!

I don't have one of mine…but I know you can figure it out

Sprayed my hair again

The kiddies

Seasoned walkers

Bank of America representin

Orange mohawk

This year i had a partner in crime

Alex gave me a flower

Jammin dong d road

We made it!

d Limerz Crew

He was jealous of my scooter so he had to get one too!  his was a Mac Daddy scooter tho…we raced - i lost :-)

EVERYBODY wants a scooter!

The Walk

came off without a hitch.  we couldn't ask for a better day (weather wise) and all who came out had a good time.

 have to use the notsocool basket on this day because i always have stuff to carry!

Walk MS 2014 selfie

More pictures to come…

Saturday April 26th

The Walk MS Atlanta is this weekend. If you're in the Atlanta area, it's in Piedmont Park - check it out. d Limerz Crew will be there in all our glory...only thing left to do is to figure out where we limin after cuz we just cyah go home after it done :-)

HAPPY HAPPY EASTER

happy Easter to one and all!

…every Easter, i crave hot cross buns (Easter tradition at home) and every Easter I get ZILCH.  this morning i decided i going home for Easter next year - i sure to get some there!

Bad Day

Last week Friday wasn't a good day for me. I was in a funk for most of the day - "feeling sorry for myself".  I think it's okay for me to have those days (i'm only human) - luckily they're few and far between so I guess that makes it better - I s'pose. Was supposed to go out that night...sure didn't.  I wish that I can do things on a whim without thinking bout whether or not the place/situation is "Stacey friendly". If needed, I always do my "due diligence" to find out but it gets old sometimes and those times I just say, "FiretrUCK it, I cyah bother go/do".

Weird Freaky Sh**

2 Friday mornings ago,  I woke up (at whatever ungodly hour) to pee and realized (I can always tell when I getting out the bed if it'll end in drama) that "uh oh. This may not end well"...and it didn't. I slid off the bed instead of getting up and off.  Sometimes when that happens, I can't get up right away (it takes a number of tries and deep breaths) but luckily this time I made it in one try, and finally got to the porcelain goddess but all along I just wasn't feeling right.

anyhoo...I organised my business and walked back to the bed and...oh shizznit, I couldn't get back in - won't bore u with the details, but I eventually got back in and went back to sleep.  Woke up to "go" to work and SAME FRIGGIN THING happened. At this, point, I start to worry because nothing is working how it should, including my hand that jes refused to open - I couldn't even finish washing my face because I couldn't cup the water in the hand. Geez, what fresh hell was this now???  

Well, I finally finished getting dressed, started working and things kinda started getting normal. My PT came over (I had an opportunity to get in home physical therapy so I took it), we went thru his lil routine and I was definitely back to normal by the time he left…hmmm...I started thinking…I remembered my dream.

Truth be told, I don't remember when, in the sequence of things, I had it but I dreamt that there was a strange man in the apartment and when I realized, I tried to turn over (I was actually lying in bed at the time) to grab a nearby stun gun and couldn't because I was panicking (whenever I start to panic my body shuts down and try as I might, I can't get things to work).  I kept trying to turn over  and...nothing. Eventually, I heard a voice I knew.  Now, I don't know if the man was someone I knew after all or what (u know how dreams are), but that's when I woke up. At that point I remember saying to myself,"whew was just a dream". I don't know if I actually moved when i woke up, but I know that I was alert and knew that everything was alright because it was just a dream.  

I really think that that is what had me so "in a mess" when I woke up.  Does it make sense? Nope, not to me but it's the only explanation I have. Now, I hadda be careful what I dream too? Steups!!! Come nah man MS, u cyah b serious!

But seriously, is that freaky or what?!?

So Guess What Happened

It's been awhile. In fact, the last time I remember bussin my azz was in December when one of the boots I was wearing held on to the carpet (yet another reason for me to HATE winter) altho for some reason I feel like there was another between then and now. Anyhoo, it happened last week Friday - it felt kinda weird too - kinda like I just didn't understand what was happening. 

One of the worst things that can happen if you walk with a cane is when/if the cane does not go where you expect it to go. I'm minding my own business trying to get wherever as "fast" as i can and I move the cane into position and something's in its way.  Remember, it's part of my anatomy, it's how I walk so its equivalent to a regular person's tripping on something.  Well last week I was walking on a hard wood floor (the bottom of the cane MIGHT also have been a little wet) and well, I placed it and it slid across the floor. UGH!  Of course I tried to fight gravity but it usually wins and, well, it did. It happened in front of G and K.  K said she heard it/me first, turned around and saw me go down in slow motion, yet she couldn't do anything to stop it.  G picked up the cane and looked at the bottom and found something stuck there - who knows, maybe that also contributed to it.

I banged up my elbow rhell hard, so that hurt for a while after. I also scratched it up so I currently have some scars in the area.  The next day, G and I were talking and when I showed her my elbow, she commented, "you rhell resilient yes" and she's right on some level - I've had so many bruises and scars as a result of falling; walking round looking like a lil chile with all my battle scars. 

I do marvel at the ability of the body to heal itself; the fact that everything just goes back to normal sometimes and you wouldn't even know that there once was a problem is quite amazing to me.  

Anyhoo, lemme go and nurse my elbow back to normal…hol it dong until next time!

Walk MS 2014

the MS Walk in Atlanta is on 4/26 this year…i'm organising T-Shirts for the team with Cittizen as we speak.

Walk MS - Atlanta 

Gillenya

Gilly!

So...can't really say too much bout it yet but I'll say this. As long as I continue down this path of "no negative effects", I'll keep taking it. It has a number of things going for it and is better than Tecfidera (in my book).

• First of all, it's a pill - HALLELUJAH! I remember 9 years ago (wow), sitting talking to the lady and I had 4 choices.  The bottom line?  Decide how many times I wanted to inject myself…steups
• It's once a day - just have to keep up with one pill everyday and i can take it anytime with or without food (another pill I take is extended release so I have to be cognizant of that and spread out the doses)
• It's much better looking than Tecfidera - bright aqua like colour vs pale yellow and white…i always link bright blue to poison
• It's smaller than it too so for people who cyah swallow pills, J, it easier to take I'm sure

Of course, you hadda take the good with the bad. I got my first shipment last week Tuesday, opened it up and I don't think the manufacturer packaged it with MS patients in mind.  When I get pills from the pharmacy, they are either prepackaged or come in a generic looking pill bottle (with a spin off cap) because the pharmacist had to count them out.  Well Gilly is prepackaged...in a box...u know the box with the foil on one side so u jes hadda snap out the pill? Well I don't think that packaging is very MS friendly. Luckily for me, I'm right handed and my left hand is the problem hand so I'm able to get them out without too much drama buh wha bout others who cannot?  Won't it just be easier for us if it were packaged in a bottle?  Of course!!  but you know the drug companies are all about that bottom line - they probably save a few $$$ using the box/tinfoil packaging.

anyhoo, time will tell what Gilly is all about - i'm being and thinking all positive thoughts!