Your Shopping Online Can Mean An Easy Donation for IFAA! Happy Holidays!

If you are planning to shop on Amazon.com for your holiday gift list. Or if like myself, everything comes from Amazon, even my sofa!  Please consider using Amazon Smile ! With the click to purchase your shopping needs, Amazon will donate 5% to our Foundation. A simple and painless way to help so many that suffer from Autoimmune Arthritic Illnesses.

http://smile.amazon.com/ch/27-1214308



Your help is always so appreciated!


Use the link above and it will take you to Amazon Smile. :)

Just a Couple of Happenings in my World to catch you up on...

YEAH!!!!!! I FINALLY got to finish the project I need to finish!!! My computer crashed out at the very worst moments of my life... I was in the middle of a "graduation project" for becoming an Active Volunteer for IFAA! I was just in the beginnings of working on it, when whatever transformer blew down the street, that took my I-MAC with it! i finally got my new I-MAC in Wednesday, and as I said I think the FEDEX man deliberately waited to bring mine as the very last delivery of the day! He always comes by 3pm. It was like 5pm before he arrived... I thought maybe he crashed his truck or something.. then of course we had to get all of my stuff off of my back up drive and onto my new one. And then settings, mail, you name it, of course, it had to be done. Plus there are SO MANY new features, that I am loving already and more I have to even learn about. So, finally after some Friday, part of yesterday and most of this morning and part of the afternoon, I finished up my research and just emailed it to Tiffany, who was the Founder, and now one of the 4 co-founders of IFAA! I also think I may get to participate in some other activities with another big health advocacy organization! I'll know more this week. PLUS HUGE news!!! I've had a couple of days over the past week almost 500!!!!! people on my blog!!!! I am so thrilled! I am so happy I didn't give up. So, I know it is something that is meant for me to do. I am also going to be a "lead blogger" on another site (one of the Lead bloggers)... there are several... and when that is official I will also post that too.... I finally feel like the work of all the advocacy that I feel it what I am here for is finally coming together! Lots of patience, lots of just waiting until the right moment, the right people, and the right time comes along... I am absolutely exhausted, but I am absolutely thrilled about all of it. 

There are some great things happening and I am honored to share them with all of you. You are the ones that make me keep going. Even when I "see" only a couple of "fans" have been here on one day, those over 400 the next makeup for it! I appreciate every one of you, and my hopes are that each of you will give in a bit off yourself, and comment on some of my posts. It doesn't have to be long and drawn out, but a few quick words about your feelings will always be welcome! As this holiday weekend winds down, and we look ahead just a few weeks until the next BIG TWO are coming soon, I hope everyone is safe, happy, and well. We always hear "take care of yourself", or we catch ourselves saying it, but most of the time, WE think we know better; and for the most part we do know ourselves better, just sometimes we don't "listen" very well!  

I hope to be back on the right track since the new I-MAC has arrived, and we shall see what the surgeon has to say about these darned hernia's tomorrow morning... I'll keep you posted...

Rhia

Have A "Game" Plan?!! IFAA Does! Rocking Autoimmune Illinesses Right Out of the Stadium!!!!

IFAA ready to kick Autoimmune Arthritic Illnesses right out of the door!

International Foundation For Autoimmune Arthritis - Standing On Your Side of the Field!

This is one of the most incredible non-profits I've ever seen! Although "small" right now, they can just about outdo any of your larger non-profits in the way they gets things going! Another HUGE plus, EVERYONE in the entire non-profit HAS ONE OF THESE AUTOIMMUNE ARTHRITIC ILLNESS OR MORE! So as you ask yourself about things such as earlier detection, earlier doctors, labs, tests, medications and even almost more than that, EARLY EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION can and will lead to an earlier remission, or even possible a chance of not even having anyone to deal with these illnesses again!!! From their "showing" at the White House, making a huge impact on Congress, to being able to have the ability to find other ways they can change the face of AAI's forever, this group refuses to take "no" for an answer! Please visit the link above and see just how the IFAA has already changed and will continue to change many lives!

From My Home to Yours...

http://www.123greetings.com/events/thanksgiving/wishes/let_us_be_thankful.html


I hope this comes up ;)

Thankful... Grateful... Blessed... A Holiday for Reflection...

What Will You Reflect Upon this Holiday Season...

Well, as superficial as this is to be a morning to be thankful for so much. Right now I am very thankful my new I MAC came in yesterday afternoon very late may I say.  LOL! I sat here on pins and needles all day long, listening for the FEDEX truck. Of course I must have been the very last stop on his delivery schedule. It was almost 4pm before I finally heard that truck from down the street! I had hoped all day long that my computer was not sitting in a broken down truck, or got left in Hutchins accidentally at the hub and so forth. Well, my fears were squelched because it arrived safe and sound. Gosh, thankful?! I am thankful for so many things in my life. My husband, my family, friends, as horrible as my health seems at times, I am still up right walking, and bless people's heart I still can speak, some probably think too much!  I am much like most of us. It is purest "human nature" to fuss, gripe, whine, moan and groan. Whether it is about family, spouses, kids, finances, jobs, bills, health and healthcare for sure, and the list is endless of things that tend to grate our nerves. But, today is one day to reflect upon the many, many blessings we have in health, family, homes, kids, and in life. As I said a moment ago in a post, it is a cliche' to say, "It could be so much worse". Well, yes, in our heart's, even though there are days our minds don't quite follow, we know it could be a great deal worse. As we open our newspapers, or look at our favorite news reader; perhaps listen to the "nightly news", all around us is much, much worse. Some of it almost too terrible to even speak of. We have seen it so much, heard it so much, talked about it so much, from politics, to foreign nations, from job loss, to the horror in our nation from human willing to hurt others like themselves, that we truly have become complacent to it. Or, I don't think so much as we've become "complacent", for myself I just almost don't want to "stomach" more of the same. There seems to be very little to no "good news". We don't hear about the puppy saved down the street, or how a town completely rebuilt itself after a flood, fire or some horrific incident. Oh, we hear about the horrific incident all right. In fact to me that is the main problem ALL we HEAR and SEE are the "bad" things happening around the globe. I've questioned that numerous times, whatever happened to "good" news? My husband answers because "good" news doesn't sell. For the most part, people want the "blood, guts, and horror". Take a look at all of our movies, our television shows, the games that our kids and that some of us as grown ups play on our latest video's boxes. Is there much good anymore? What happened to "Pac Man or Woman"? What happened to "Mario"? What happened to "Pretty Woman", or "City of Angels"? Look around and yes there is violence, horror, man kind against their own, floods, droughts, fires, loss... a great sense of loss... and no one knows more about loss that each and every family with military folks. Those people know loss. Even though they may not physically have someone they "lose" as far as that route of eternity. Yet, they suffer "loss" from all sense of direction, when they come home from what they have had to endure, see, hear and do. So, as you spend time today with family, with friends, with just your spouse, or possibly maybe just yourself... let's try to reflect upon all of the true goodness we do have. Even though it "could" go away tomorrow, try in the next days ahead to "hold onto" those good thoughts. The world CAN be a better place. Just look around, and you might just see something good right at your own door step. Happy Thanksgiving, and I am very Happy to have my family, and my "online" family! Be blessed, Be safe, and please ..... Don't get too sick on all of the fantastic food!  Rhia                                                                                                           

Thanks for, A Few Thoughts, & To Your and Yours....

I'm just "stringing" a couple of posts together from FB right now. As you shall see below fingers crossed my new computer is coming today. But, as you know that is an ALL DAY affair setting it up, getting my desk back in order, transferring my files onto it from the external drive and hoping I have not lost anything.... So, I shall post a couple of things I wrote in FB the past two days, and in the morning I hope to be ready to "shine" and "scream"... well my computer to "scream" with speed, LOL, not me!!!!

So here are the posts, and I wish you a wondrous holiday... be safe and hopefully as I said in one of these "flare and as pain-free" as possible... Rhia


I just thought of one thing that I was reminded of with it being Thanksgiving Week! Some of us will be with family, friends, some home with our pets. Some of us will be right here with out online friends and family. I am Thankful for the fact that I am so far NOT lying in the hospital as I was when I was 15. I spend 7 days during Thanksgiving holidays in High School having my right knee completely cut open and the meniscus taken out. I was in traction with my leg in a huge heavy cast that was from my bed as far as it could come up in my leg to my toes. I was in that thing 3 MONTHS! Then spend a very long time getting my muscles back to where they did not look like toothpicks. So, that day, my Dad, bless his soul, came to Dallas, and forgo his turkey dinner with Mom and all the family so I wouldn't be alone while I ate mine from that hospital bed. Right now as that memory floods over me, that was THE BEST Thanksgiving of my life! And right now I miss my Dad more than anyone could ever know. He would be 91 if he were still here with us.... May all of you find that one thing you are so Thankful for.... Be Blessed, Be Safe, and Know you are LOVED! 

I've had a couple of really BUMMED days! My computer that was supposed to be here yesterday didn't make it. FEDX had not updated anything on their site until later yesterday evening. So, all day I had no clue even where it was in the delivery. It left Sacramento on Friday, and after that all it said was it was to be delivered on the 26th. I am already SO aggravated with this old laptop. I just can't do much of anything on it. It is SO SLOW, it is worse that "dial up" days I think! So, that had really thrown my schedule off. I wanted to get Thanksgiving "Cards" online out, but I have all of my cards for Xmas to make out. Plus I have NOT even BEGAN my annual Christmas Letter. I have been sending a letter in with out Xmas cards now for years. I made it a tradition a long time ago. I don't believe I've missed very many.  But I don't really even have any "software" on this old thing to do it on. We wiped this drive fairly clean and began using this computer for our music. We had Garage Band on it, and did our clips, and all of our recording and so forth on here. Then Jim can bring it in and send it to his computer where he can actually put it all together for a song. So, things like "pages"(which is like Word) and so on have been off of here for a long time. And the music files have made it very slow, but we don't want to lose any of those. Thus, we cleaned everything off we could, and set this one up temporarily for me until mine can get here. FINALLY fairly late in the evening, yesterday, FEDEX, updated their website. My computer is in HUTCHINS!!!! (YEAH!!!) So, that means it is just down the "street" from me well almost, but it has arrived at the local hub and should be out for delivery TODAY!!!! Thank Goodness! I got up yesterday and was just not about to sit at this thing and be able to not do a thing productive! So, I made my "annual" fruitcake, did some cleaning, and watched some Xmas movies last night with my two puppies... Now if the computer gets here today, then that means all day getting it set up, my desk back in order and things have way back to whatever normal is around here. My thoughts and prayers are with ALL of YOU! 
 Please be safe! I realize many may be traveling or have family traveling and weather is very bad in many places around the nation. Enjoy family and friends, have a very warm, loving and hopefully flare and pain free as much as possible holiday! And Eat a little bit of everything!!!!! We are taking Mom over to Waxahachie tomorrow to a huge buffet over there for dinner (more like brunch).  So we don't have far to travel and right now our weather as far as traveling right here is good. May all of you be blessed and overflowing with all of the things we should be thankful of. Later in the day, whenever FEDEX delivers my new computer, (I think I am still in shock) LOL!!! I'll probably be away for a bit while we set it up. But I will be "screaming" with speed when the new one is here and ready!!! WOOOOHOOOO!! I can finally catch up hopefully!