R.I.P. Andrew Koenig

Andrew Koenig, best known for playing "Boner" on 'Growing Pains,' had been missing since February 14th after taking a trip to Vancouver and missing his return flight home. He parents knew that he was depressed and had not been acting like himself lately and flew out to Vancouver to search for him themselves. Unfortunately, the police located his lifeless body in the park and announced that there were no signs of foul play and that "Boner" had taken his own life. This is so sad to me because suicide is not such a rare event these days; In 1997, suicide was the 8th leading cause of death in the U.S.1 Specifically, 10.6 out of every 100,000 persons died by suicide. The total number of suicides was approximately 31,000, or 1.3 percent of all deaths. Approximately 500,000 people received emergency room treatment as a result of attempted suicide in 1996. And this statistics continue to grow. It makes me think about how many people are hurting right around me. If you don't play close enough attention you may walk away from someone who really needs your help. Makes you think about who you ran into today and how you treated them.

Moving

Moving is something I both love and hate to do. I hate packing up all of my things and moving it from one place to another and I hate unpacking even more. On the other hand, I do love the excitement of calling some place new, my home. Before I have this new baby we have decided to move closer to our family. The fact of the matter is that through all of this I am going to continue to try to go to school full-time, baby and all. I know it can be done, but my husband and I are trying to strategically locate ourselves at a place that is convenient for everyone. This is a tricky situation being that all of my family is in New Jersey and our school is in NY. My dear mother, whom will be doing most of the babysitting is not coordinated enough to drive to NY which leaves us with the only other option of moving to NJ and commuting to NY for school. OK so not that we have that part figured out we must figure out what city and so on. Not to mention my pitbull puppy that will be coming along with us needs to be accepted in the new home as well. So yes we have a lot of work to do in a little amount of time. Can you say stressed out ha ha.

California On My Mind

I was born and raised on the East Coast, New Jersey mostly and in the same house from birth until high school. Straight out of high school I joined the Navy and was stationed a few different places in the United States. I went from Chicago to Florida, for a year and a half to San Diego, California where I spent nearly five years. After I finished my contract with the Military in 2006 I remained in San Diego while my husband finished up his contract. We were there until March 2009, almost an exact year ago, when we made the decision to come back to the East where we both were raised. We thought it would be nice to both be close to our families and have a support system for our children while we were in school and working. While it is nice to be close to everyone again the memories of the life we had in California still weigh heavily on my mind. California is a beautiful place with lots of different things to offer. I miss the beautiful weather and the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors so much more often than here. I hate the restlessness of the city and the fact than any plans you make usually require a whole day once you calculate the traffic and the crowd you will encounter. I missed the laid back pace and the beautiful beaches and even the food. I would go back there in a heartbeat, but it is not such an easy move to make with a family and on top of that it is such an expensive place to live.

Insecurity

Have you ever not liked something about a person and eventually realized that you may possess this characteristic yourself? How ironic that it is so much easier to find things we don't like about others rather than pointing out what can be improved from within ourselves. It reminds me of the quote "you can not hate others without hating yourself". If we can find hate in our hearts for the people that we barely know, it usually stems from our own insecurities. It takes a humble individual to admit their own faults. I realized today, that I needed to take more responsibility for my own thoughts and actions. The more we accept who we are and take action to better our self the more confidence we will gain and the more fulfilled we will feel. I want to be whole and I want to be proud of who I am and where I come from . Insecurity is a sign of weakness that we are usually to embarrassed to face even when alone.

“Hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated.”

My Bucket List

Although, I hope that I have a long life ahead of me I wanted to share with you some of the things that I hope to do before I die:

1. Go Sky diving.

2. Write a Book.

3. Learn to play the guitar.

4. Get my Master's Degree.

5. Climb one of the world’s Seven Summits. Climbing a mountain would be so much fun (this includes being in good enough shape to make it the whole way.)

6. Visit Las Vegas.

7. Buy my own home and spend time decorating it the way I want to.

8. Vacation in Australia, take a hike through the Australian Bush.

9. Scuba Dive (if I can make it through, while being slightly claustrophobic).

10. Go on a cruise not funded by the US Navy.

11. Set foot on each of the seven continents. Antarctica might be a tough one but traveling the World is a huge dream of mine.

12. Buy a boat and learn to sail.

13. Witness a Solar Eclipse.

14. Take an African Safari.

15. Visit the Great Wall of China.

16. Meet my Grandchildren.

17. Learn French.

18. Go Parasailing.

19. Open a Family Business.

20. Another cross country road trip with much more time and a bigger car.

The Parable of the Pencil

I love this Parable because it teaches us that we all have a purpose in life. It also reminds me that in a way all people must overcome obstacles. There is not one person who really has it easy. Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish. Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change.

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

"There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand."

"Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil."

"Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."

"Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside."

"And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.


Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

Fun Pregnancy Facts

Since today happens to be one of those days that I am feeling energetic and enthused about my pregnancy I decided to search the Internet to find some fun and interesting facts about pregnancy....please enjoy!!!

1. The average age for a first time mother these days is 25-29 while it used to be 21 in 1970!

2. When a women is pregnant, her senses are all heightened. (Which explains why I can smell what my husband is eating even when I am not in the same room as him)

3. Your feet may grow 1-2 sizes during each pregnancy. ( I could not find out if they would go back to their original size, which on a positive note may mean lots of shoe shopping!!!)

4. Pregnancy messes with your hair growth pattern, causing you to have a fuller head of hair during pregnancy and experience increased hair loss afterward. Don't worry, your hair returns to its normal growth pattern about six months after delivery.

5. Each year in the United States, there are approximately six million pregnancies. This means that at any one time, about 4% of women in the U.S. are pregnant.

6. The largest surviving baby ever born weighed 14 pounds, 13 ounces and was nearly 23 inches in length. (That baby was born a toddler LOL)

7. While not all pregnant women will crave pickles and ice cream specifically, pregnancy cravings are rooted in the body’s extra need for minerals and comfort-inducing serotonin. ( Since I have been pregnant, I have been drinking nearly a gallon of orange juice a week...so delicious)

8.During pregnancy, the average woman’s uterus expands up to five hundred times its normal size. ( Try not to think about this one too much)

Tuesday is the most popular day for babies making their arrival in the world. ( we shall see if this is true for me).