Tired Girl

It's that time of year again! My Faaaaaaaaavorite time of year where we celebrate such wonderful holidays! Hanukkah, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween...

Well it's December 14th, and we only have Christmas left, and of course around this house it's total chaos! We have already celebrated Hanukkah, with the beautiful lights and wonderful prayers of thanks and all that! I had the Menorah all wrapped around my Christmas Runner on my Island in the kitchen. It looked very nice!

I love being able to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. That's a long story! Born to a Jewish mother, (the one with the bony knees) who didn't celebrate being Jewish because they really didn't know they were Jewish until it was dug up some years ago. So not until she was on her own, and chose to be Jewish did she go back to her Jewish roots. I was always raised Jewish, yet we did have a Hanukkah bush as we called it! I married a good ole Italian catholic boy, and thus my 3 kids are Catholic.

So in the Martello household we are just so busy with getting everything ready for Christmas. On Christmas Eve we hold the family event. It's with my Dad and Mom (Jacquie) and my Mama, and my family with the kids Boo and Rachele and Berto with his wife Coco and the baby Connor. We invite Rob's best friend Dale, who happens to be Coco's uncle, and his two kids and his GF Staci, so it's two Stacy's which is always fun! Lats year it was the feast of the 7 fishes. Traditional Italian meal. This year not sure what the menu is yet, but I better get my self moving!

Every year we invite friends to spend time and share space with our family. Last year we had Trish and Dr. Gregg Rubinstein. They are friends from High School, who live in Midtown Manhattan. Trish went to school with Rob from 8th grade through High School, and I really think she is an amazing person. She is also a Breast Cancer survivor. We kept in touch through the years, and recently I worked with her on her non-profit organization that helps the children of The Fresh and Green Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She began doing fundraisers and helping the children, and it has become a passion of hers and Gregg, and they take at least 3 trips to the school each year.

What amazing people! I love to see how we can give back, that is what life to me is all about. Einstein said it best when he said that "Only a life lived for others, is a life worthwhile." I like that quote a lot. To me it is past a step of selflessness. To me the person who practices this has developed a sense of self worth, a loving self, and is able to surpass that, and give automatically, without thoughts of themselves. They are in no way compromising who they are, it's the opposite, they are giving to create more giving and so on.

Yesterday while shopping at the market, I smile at strangers, get mostly smiles back because it's the holiday season and shop while humming along. While checking out with my Mom and Ray, I always ask our checker, who by the way has only 3 teeth on her bottom jaw, and her husband is on house arrest for goodness knows what, (He just got out of jail, I know this because of multiple conversations over the past year or so) how she is. Giving her my full and complete presence. I stop moving, stare her straight into the eyes and ask how she is doing. She always responds. She smiles and says "Thank you for asking." I can feel her pain. She isn't so happy this soul, but deep inside she is beautiful. She is really a joyous soul. I feel that in her. We chit chat for what seems like 10 minutes, probably only 3 min. and I always Bless her, and say thank you. Being present in our conversation, not being on the phone, because I know she needs an ear, a heart that listens. When we were finished checking out, we get these stickers for Pot's and Pans. Collect enough stickers and we get a free pan. So why not right? I have 2 FREE shiny new pots thanks to Albertsons, that I got for only spending 1800$ in the past few months. I think that is funny, but if I spent $1800 at Smiths, I wouldn't have got anything, so why not spend the money and get a free pot or pan!! I almost have 90 more stickers only 3 shy, and then I will have another cooking pan! That $2700 spent in the past months shopping for 3 FREE pots and pans. LOL I love it!

Anyway....

Well as I was collecting my stickers, the man in the line next to me reached over tapped me on the shoulder and said "Merry Christmas" and promptly handed me 10 stickers! For each 10$ you spend you get one sticker. I loved that! He could have thrown the stickers away but this guy, nope he wanted to give something away. He was around 6 feet tall, football player looking kind of guy, not one that you would expect to hand you stickers and say Merry Christmas, but he did, right there smack dab in the middle of the checkout line. It's all about sharing and giving. I felt blessed right there...

Like attracts Like! It's physics.

I was completely present in my conversation, giving full joy, as well as not judging and the energy spilled over to the football guy in the next checkout lane.

So I promptly promised to pay it forward, and wished him a Merry Christmas too!

My daughter and Mom just smiled!

I absolutely love the way that life works, even when it's not perfect, it's exactly as it should be!

Love you all!!

Stacy

I want fat knees... for the third time is so many days, I banged my knee....the right knee on some sort of hard non moving object. Once on the game table just re adjusting while playing scrabble, I winced in pain to see my family looking at me with strange anticipation of me then falling to the floor and continue to contort myself. That didn't happen, they just wanted to know what could possibly elicit a pain response so suddenly. I said "The bony knee!" Oh....ya, no biggie, no help just looked back down to the scrabble play board.

The second time, getting up from the dinner table, on Thanksgiving. Ya, had 15 people there..I just winced, then drug myself around the corner to the bathroom and continued to cuss and contort all in private of course!

The third time, in my brother in laws office where we were sleeping, banged right into the stationary HUGE black desk. Like it wasn't there what so ever. Ya, fell into the chair, only to see Rob looking at me with a bit of concern. Ya...the bony knee again I managed to squeek out between loud yelps!! UGGG... give me some FAT!!!!
He walks out of the room and as I fall to the floor, I decide to call my mother and thank her.

I am blaming her for the boney knees. My knees are so boney, why?? I have no idea. The other parts of me are not boney. I would rather take some fat from some other part of my body and transplant to my friggin knees.

They are bony knees, and not even pretty what so ever. The right knee, is always the one to bear the brunt of my bumping. Probably because I tend to move that one first! (Right Handed)

My mother said that she decided not to be catholic because she cant kneel. LOL... She at the age of 8 decided that she will not be catholic, walked straight home from Catholic school because she couldn't kneel...because of her bony knees.

LOL..

So as I called to tell my Mom that I wanted the Fat knees, she promptly told me that she is 68, and she has news for me.... "that's not going to happen!" She has had bony knees for her whole life, and actually the rest of her is bony too!! I just got the bony knees from her...thanks MOM!

I got so many wonderful traits from my mother...but the bony knees.... I give them back!!!

Well off to brunch with the family!!

Love you!!!

Hello all..

It's day 938 since my diagnosis of Breast Cancer. I remember day 1. It's been a very sobering journey, and I have met so many wonderful people.

Since I wrote last so much has happened. The most amazing and wonderful thing that has happened since I really wrote a long post was my grandson Connor was born. I watch him mostly every day. He is 13 months old now, and soo much fun!

Ok so on my Breast cancer. I am done with it. I am now helping others with my organization Fight Pink! Love it, and love to help others!

Well more later!!

Hello...

It's September 2010. What has happened this year??

Healthy, happy, baby, life, love, fun, teenager, wedding & baby, soo much.

We have been traveling a bit, and that has been fun. Went to Florida in April with my girls, and also went to San Diego, and Santa Barbara, and San Francisco.

I have to be more diligent in writing.

Met a new author Paul Samuel Dolman... good book Hitchhiking with Larry David. Awesome book. I loved it. Also we got new couches. I'm a bit tired now...and hitting a wall.

I need to rest...but have to work!

Talk to you later!

Hi....Blogger folks...

Again, it's been a long time, and I am super remiss in not writing..

Everything is A-ok with me and being sick and all...not sick anymore.

Don't expect to be sick again EVER!!!

I have my 2 year re-birthday, on April 23rd. I am looking forward to being Cancer free the rest of my life for sure...

I have had feelings, like being close to dying, or death or something like that, but I don't know why??

Like I feel such a fine line...