Today I gave the gift of life … I donated blood!

The Military Police Battalion where I work hosted a blood and plasma drive today. I actually donated plasma, but the fact is, I donated. Having spent so much time at the hospital with George’s dad I was reminded of how important it is to give when we can. Something so simple can be a lifesaving change for someone else.

I’ve given blood before, actually used to do it regularly through college, but it was the first time that I’d given plasma. It wasn’t any more painful that giving blood, in fact they used a smaller needle. As long as I don’t look at the needle, I’m fine. they actually teased me because I had a small lap blanket in my office and my Zune, so after they told me that it would take 30-60 minutes, I went to my office and got my blanket and music, then I kicked off my shoes, climbed on the chair and got settled. Having a roomful of comical Soldiers tends to help ease the tension too.

They hooked me up to a machine that drew my blood out then separated the plasma and then returned the remaining blood to me … it left red and came back clear … Weird!!! It was pretty cool to watch though!

After I finished, I went back to the office, a little curious, so I “Google-d” while eating lunch.

Did you know: Human plasma is an essential starting material for therapies that treat patients with serious rare, chronic, and often genetic diseases such as hemophilia, primary immunodeficiency, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and autoimmune and neurological disorders. Plasma is also used to treat individuals during major surgery, who have sustained burns or are suffering from trauma.

Here are the facts about plasma:
~ It takes 130 plasma donations to manufacture enough therapy to keep one patient with primary immunodeficiency healthy for one year.
~ Serum albumin and fibrin, two proteins found in plasma, have powerful anti-shock and blood clotting effects, and are credited with saving countless lives of soldiers wounded on the battlefield during World War II (WWII). They continue to help wounded soldiers fighting in the war in Iraq today.
~ On average, a plasma donor gives .8 liter of plasma per visit.
~ Plasma-derived therapies and therapies made using recombinant DNA technology are referred to collectively as plasma protein therapies

Here are the facts about blood:
~ One out of three people will need a blood transfusion in their lifetime.
~ All blood donors are important, but if you are type O or AB, you are special because type O negative red blood cells and type AB plasma can be transfused to any patient.
~ The average adult has 10 to 12 pints of blood in their body
~ Your one donation can save up to 3 lives!
~ No valid substitute for blood so when you need it the only place to get it is from other human beings
~ Every 3 seconds, someone needs a blood transfusion, that's 16 people every minute, 960 every hour; 23,040 every day, or 8,409,600 every year
~ You can give whole blood every 56 days, single platelets every 48 hours, or a single plasma donation every 28 days


Does Your Blood Type Reveal Your Personality?
According to a Japanese institute that does research on blood types, there are certain personality traits that seem to match up with certain blood types. How do you rate?
~ Type O: You want to be a leader, and when you see something you want, you keep striving until you achieve your goal. You are a trend-setter, loyal, passionate, and self-confident. Your weaknesses include vanity and jealously and a tendency to be too competitive.
~ Type A: You like harmony, peace and organization. You work well with others, and are sensitive, patient and affectionate. Among your weaknesses are stubbornness and an inability to relax.
~ Type B: You're a rugged individualist, who's straight forward and like to do things your own way. Creative and flexible, you adapt easily to any situation. But your insistence on being independent can sometimes go too far and become a weakness.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Time Together, Lessons Learned

What a day it has been. First of all, the entire Brigade that had recently return from deployment, reported back for their first day of work. For those who don’t know, after resigning back in to post (signing off of deployment), taking reintegration classes and accounting for equipment and such the Soldiers received 30 days of accumulated leave, which the Army refers to as “block leave” when a unit is taking it versus just and individual.

So basically it’s been pretty quiet around here. Quieter than during the deployment because spouses and children often accompany the Soldiers as they visit parents and such. (The schools are very good about working with school-age children and their parents to ensure they are caught up.)

George opted not to take leave so that we can take it when we PCS in April (permanent chance in station). That will give us time to get settled and attend the parties and such for Gordon and Mindy’s wedding (who knows, there may be time to paint some pottery too!) So the past few weeks, George and I had gone from working out together 30-minutes twice a week that we’d done while his dad was sick, to an hour and a half workout five days a week.

It was a great chance for us to spend time together while maintain an exercise regiment and identifying new goals. We’d tried it before, multiple times and it didn’t end well, in fact there was a lot of exasperation (on his part) and tears (on mine). I’m happy to say that we’ve done better this time around.

We do an ab workout on Tuesdays and Thursdays, a schedule he’d started in Iraq. It worked well for us when we were taking care of dad, and helped us relieve stress with so much time spent at the hospital (and at the nearby Starbucks), yet we were still able to feel like we weren’t “bailing” on him, since we were the only Family.

Four weeks ago, I asked George if I could join him the other 3 days, which he excited agreed. I was a little hesitant since he had been doing weights and running on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while in Iraq and I was starting from scratch. But he was patient. He let me make my own goals and start where I was comfortable, not where he thought I should be. That first week was pretty sad.

The first Monday we just figured out a starting point. I was able to bench press the bar … a staggering 45 pounds … and ran for about 5 minutes before calling it quits. I was ready for him to go all “drill sergeant” on me, but he just told me to set my goals for the end of the week … and left it at that.

Wow! The ball was in my court … I didn’t know how to go about deciding what sort of schedule to put myself on, so I outline some goals to meet … bench press 125-pounds and run for 30 minutes before we leave (in April). I thought that I would really have to push to meet those goals, they seems so far away even as a former athlete. I’d gotten to the point where I thought my former sports abilities were out of reach (in high school I played basketball, soccer and softball with cheerleading when it didn’t conflict!)

The first week my goal was to run 10 minutes and complete the full circuit of upper body weights that George was doing, with less weight of course.

By that first Friday, I was surprised that I easily met those goals, but was still hesitant that it was just beginners luck. The following week the goal of an additional 5 minutes and added weight was the next step. Each week, I compounded on the previous week, knowing that at a minimum I had to do what was accomplished the previous Friday.

Some days were hard … no brutal. The ab workout obviously changed as our core muscles strengthened. I went from doing sit-ups on a flat bench to sit-ups on an incline bench with a medicine ball … now the 14 pound ball. The running got boring after a while, but my husband helped me overcome that by putting some of my favorite R&B songs along with some of his “ultimate workout” Rock songs on the Zune he got me for Christmas. He even downloaded movies to take my mind of running, like the Underworld Trilogy (I’m a secret vamp movie lover). Soon I was learning to keep going through the pain and boredom.

I’ve learned to define my strong areas- leg lifts and (surprisingly) bench pressing- as well as my weaknesses- abs and triceps. I’ve learned that setting small goals will lead me to meeting the larger one with less stress. I’ve learned saying I can’t do something is way easier than trying to do it, but also way less rewarding.

As I said at the beginning, way a day today has been. Mostly, because I reached the goal of bench pressing 125 pounds and earning a T-Shirt from the gym. According to the staff member, I am only one of 5 females to do it since they started the “Power Pit” Program rewarding women who lift 125 pounds and men who reach 400 pounds.



The hardest part of lifting today was that since we’ve been going to the gym every day at the same time, we see the same people every day, so when I did the 125-lift for the staff ‘s verification there were about 5 guys watching and giving me advice. Boy was I nervous!

Overall, It was a great experience and now I get to set another goal. I definitely did it in less time than I thought it would be accomplished. As for the running, I am up to 25 minutes and should reach 30 by Friday … wish me luck!

Until our next cup of tea …

Pottery Update ...

Hey! Today I picked up the pottery pieces. To see what we did, visit my my craft and decor blog to see pictures and read the story.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Valentine Weekend, Family Fun

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day weekend. We had a visit from George's best friend, Gordon, and his fiance, Mindy. She and I get along great together. If you've been a frequent reader, you might recall stories of shared vacations and other activities. They are our closest friends, despite distance.

Anyway, they came to visit for the weekend and we had a blast. For dinner Valentine's Day George and I made steaks, marinated for 24-hours in an AMAZING marinide, sauted green beans with garlic and onions and a cucumber and tomato salad with parmasean cheese and a basil dressing. We drank Pomegranate wine, ate by candlelight with Sinatra playing in the background. It was great! For dessert we had strawberry cheesecake.

When they arrived Saturday, they'd brought presents/ None of us had exchanged Chistmas presents, though we'd seen each other a time or two since then. We'd gotten Gordon a bottle of some Cask 16 Crown Royal No.88 and I got Mindy a cheese and wine basket with candles and glass candleholders. For her birthday (in December) I got her a beautiful jeweled 'M' charm, a velvet elephant (she collects them) and a cute book of friendship quotes.

They'd gotten us a bottle of wine that they'd made and monogrammed wine glasses. George got an Astros jersey and hat. For my birthday, Mindy had gotten me these adorable teacup notepad and 4 creme brulee dishes that I'd been wanting.

After eating and unpacking we all headed our seperate ways. The boys were going to go to the shooting range, then back to the house for some beers and catching up. Mindy and I headed out to paint pottery! Yes, this is my ew favorite activity.

Last weekend, I went with a friend Misty, who is also my Rear Detachment Commander(unit commander that stay's behind when a unit is deployed.) We painted princess plates in the MP Battalion colors (I am the 'Viper' Princess ... the unit is called the Vipers.)



I also made a cute cappuccino cup and saucer. It had to be re-fired so I'll have to post picks later ...

Anyway, Mindy and I went to paint pottery. I painted this cute teapot and she made a cute post-it note holder with flowers for her desk at work. After about 3 hours we headed home to greet the boys who'd skipped the range and went straight to the beer! After much amusement of watching the boys "be drunk" we cleaned up the mixed alcohol mess and started dinner.

After dinner we just hung out talking and Mindy and I made some progress on the wedding planning.

The next day, the boys decided to go to the shooting range and Mindy and I headed back to paint pottery. This time I painted a planter for some plants I brought back from (George's) Dad's house when we cleaned it out and she painted a teapot to put her teabags in. Cute idea, huh!?!

Well, all in all it was a great weekend. Being in Houston taking care his father gave us the chance to spend nearly everyday with them. So coming back home made the seperation that you often feel when you leave your loved ones at the start of your military life, vivid once again.

When I pick up the pieces after they are fired, I'll be sure to post pictures.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Facing Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th … Is it more than just a movie or is it just an old wives tale?
The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia.

"Some 21 million Americans suffer from the condition," says Donald Dossey, a behavioral scientist specializing in the treatment of phobias and credited with coining the term paraskevidekatriaphobia. "I have treated patients who won't even get out of bed on Friday the 13th."

There is no definite beginning of the legend of losing luck on this day, but many surmise that in some cultures the number 13 is an unlucky number and Friday is an unlucky day. Thus the combination of the two multiplies the bad luck exponentially.

In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve signs of the zodiac, twelve hours of the clock, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, twelve gods of Olympus, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness.

Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century's The Canterbury Tales, and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects. Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s. It has also been suggested that Friday was the day that Jesus was crucified.

In my mind the opposite is true, a baker’s dozen (13) gives you more cookies to enjoy, Friday is the end of a (often) long work week. I am one of 13 children (no joke!) and Friday’s are date night for me and my husband. How can that be bad!
I guess its all in how you look at things! This year we will have 3 Friday the 13ths occurring … February, March and November.

I encourage you to try to change your luck today and defy the superstition of Friday the 13th … It can’t hurt to try. Leave the staying in bed with the covers pulled over your head for rainy days!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Remember What Love is Really About

Well we’ve made it through January and are firmly in the “Month of Love”. Over the past few days I’ve excited talked with friends about what we may be doing this year and of course, wondering about what surprises I may find that day, but I am careful to keep myself in check.

Valentine’s Day 2008 was a tough one for me. My husband, along with so many other Fort Polk Soldiers, was deployed and we were staring at 12 months left to go in a 15-month deployment.

I knew that I could easily get bogged down with sadness dwelling on my situation, so I made a pact with other spouses of deployed Soldiers to celebrate the holiday, even if I was separated from my husband. So after leaving work, I met some of the “girls” for dinner where we laughed and shared stories of Valentine’s Days past and passed around the gifts we’ve been sent from our Soldiers. We also swapped the children’s Valentine’s Day cards, causing many laughs as we discovered who’d chosen which theme (I went with Hannah Montana!)

It was a great chance for us to remember the happier times while looking forward to the future.

I’d talked with another friend who said she and her husband each take a child out for a special night, dad takes daughter and mom takes son. It’s a chance for them to spend on-on-one time with their children and let them know that they are important on that special day too.

Another friend and her Family make a list of things they like about each other and share them with each other over dinner.

Whatever you are doing for the holiday, I encourage you to remember that it is the memories that last a lifetime, not the gifts that we give each other. Take the time to show those you love how much you care. It’s not about shiny new thing or how much money you spend that will be treasured, but the stories you create together.

So remember, whether you eat steak fancy restaurant or hotdogs and macaroni and cheese made by your children, its being together that makes the day special.

The Story of a Puppy and his Daddy

Greetings all! Its a peacefully rainy day here in the deep south and I am sitting here blogging to keep busy while my husband plays games on the XBox and the puppy snores peacfully at my feet. With this in mind, I wanted to share with you a picture of "my two boys".



George is always complaining that the puppy doesn't love him as much, but Sgt. Major is a momma's boy and as anyone with a clingy kid can tell you, sometimes it gets overwhelming. He is always under foot when I am home. When I do dishes, he sits on my feet! Well, one night last week I came into the livingroom to see why they hadn't come to bed yet and this is what I saw.

Sgt. Major had actually fallen asleep on George and he didn't want to move for fear of waking him up. Too funny!

On another note, a few of my craft/teacup readers have asked about posts of those topics. I have created a blog that is dedicated to those. Please visit my Teacup Collector's Cottage blog.

Until our next cup of tea ...