New Years Eve Phone Call to YOU
I just called my friend Laura, and spent 22 minutes talking about everything from New Year’s Resolutions to home made cashew cheese. If I could make a New Years Eve phone call to you I sure would.
This blog is for ALL of my besties who are watching a year end and anticipating the fresh NEW YEAR that begins at midnight tonight. Here’s what we chatted about:
Fitness Goals for the New Year
Joe and I got the coolest gifts for Christmas. The best part is that we surprised each other with the same gift! It’s called a Fitbit and you wear it like a bracelet. Like a step counter, but SO much more. This technology shows graphs and charts of good food, and even monitors your sleep. We don’t sleep well with liver disease, and this proves it! I wake up on an average of 12 times every night. We could totally take these graphs to our doctor.
Fitbit has turbo charged my training for liver transplant surgery. Joe and I are doing a step competition and get constant updates and cheers from each other. If I see that he has taken 2,000 steps in the morning, I will go get on the exercise bike and catch up to him. Then I can send a “taunt” or message like “Eat my dust!” This way, I’m motivated to get up off my arse and keep moving by walking from the living room to the kitchen a dozen times if he gets ahead of me!
New Year’s Rituals
Cry, Celebrate, Give Thanks, Forgive, Let Go of everything from last year. I do this in a variety of ways; writing, drawing, thinking, throwing away journal pages, emptying out drawers, moving a “not needed now” box to the garage that is filled with books, papers, or whatever. Dealing with sad feelings like Dread, Anxiety, Guilt, or Fear, is actually an ongoing battle, as you know. In fact, I’ve worked on this project all month. Even that nasty mouse nest drawer in the bottom of the back closet got cleaned.
At the same time, with centered thoughts around Abundance and Healing, I light a candle and ask The Light of the World to shine brightly on me in spite of cancer. Especially at this years end, I want to feel the warmth in my heart. I need illumination in the dark places of my mind. Sitting quietly before the candle, emptying my thoughts, and listening for the Voice that calls me beloved and cherished, there is peace, and in my New Years Eve phone call to you, I want to tell you how loved you are!
Mindfulness
I take deep breaths and let them out slowly. With each inhale I breathe in love, holding it for a few seconds to allow it to heal my inner self. Furthermore, when I exhale, the love goes out into the world to you my Best Friends. Finally, I send it right into your hearts and lives, and to my family also. Soon, love swells up in me, and then I send it to YOU.
Of course, that is following by crying. The good kind of lovey soft heart tears that makes me want to hug you all right now. Pass the hankie.
If I should die from cancer, please read this and feel loved
I curl up in my sanctuary with headphones, listening to soothing ambient music, soft Indian drums, or theta tones. Click here for my personal meditation. My favorite thing is to create or vision with God. It’s a personal time where I confront my past and also explore healing for my future.
Later tonight I’ll take at least 15 minutes of silence. After that, I’m going to write what I intend to leave behind from last year. It’s not like a last will and testament, but more like mind garbage that I’ll dump onto paper. Then, it will be torn up into little pieces and placed on a fire, in the back yard.
I don’t stay up til midnight any more. It’s easier to fight negative thoughts, like depression, when I get good rest.
New Years Plans
Plans: Kill cancer. Get a liver transplant. Write more about nutrition. Heal my body. Strengthen relationships. Love me. Love you.
Have you heard the Mary Oliver quote: “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?”
I’m off to do my yoga/pilates/rolling around in the floor workout. By moving every single day, I can modify it when I get tuckered out, but I never ever give up on myself and you shouldn’t either!
New Year’s are like new mornings, and give us fresh starts. In a New Years Eve Phone Call to YOU that is what I would say. Be Hopeful, Expectant and Renewed. I love you Best Friends. Happy Happy New Year. Xoxo Karen:)
21 thoughts on “New Years Eve Phone Call to YOU”
Happy New Karen!
I wish you and yours a wonderful 2015 of healing, blessings, love and laughter in abundance!
Tonight will be bitter sweet for me in many ways. I thought I’d be spending it on treatment to finally get rid of this ugly disease (maybe next month?) and I thought I’d be with my fiance and 3 bonus kids. But he chose to let me go back in May and I admit there are some days/nights, like tonight, where i have to admit, I’m not as OK with it as I let everyone think I am. Most days I am but he promised to get me through this and I miss my kids.
So I think I am going to take some of your advice, let things go (as much as I can) and look forward to a better 2015!
Hugs and love,
Jahna
Hay sweetie,
One of my new things is to feel the pain. I know it sounds like old advice, but to actually feel it and name it. I’ve done a lot of that the last few months. We ARE strong women and that’s the vibe we put off. But part of our strength is admitting that we feel disappointed and lonely. You know what? Maybe you were meant to go through treatment alone? Maybe you will discover a whole new set of strengths. Your family and friends will always be there for you. So in that sense, you’re Never alone.
I know it hurts. I also know that next year is going to be amazing for you dear one. Sending love and hugs right at you. xoxo Karen:)
Thank you so much! May 2015 be an amazing year for you. Thank you for all you do for us!
Hay girlfriend! I love to hear thanks. It really touched my heart. I feel all blushy and shy. I wish I could do so much more. It does feel good to know that my words help. It means a lot coming from you. We’ve been in this together for a while now. Much love to you in the New Year! xo K
You are quite an inspiring women, I wish you your new liver and speedy recovery, I am changing my diet to even more serious , I felt wonderful when I did alkaline raw, but part were not healthy, any advice with starting out almond milk , do u make your own that cashew cheese?? Do you boil your beans or use cans??
THanks so much! I love the alkaline too. It’s not always easy. (i love oatmeal) I use almond milk or rice milk all the time. I got totally off of soy. I have several friends who soak their almonds overnight and make fresh almond milk in the blender. They strain it for recipes, but use it all straight up for shakes and cereals. I haven’t found a brand of almonds that is that economical yet. They shop Trader Joe’s and we don’t have one in Tulsa.
Laura was just telling me about the cashew cheese this morning. I’ll ask her to comment on this and see what she’s up to. She’s trying different recipes to use in her hot tea! As far as beans, I usually buy dried organic. I keep some cans of no sodium in the cabinet for when I”m in a pinch. I soaked garbonzo beans all night and have them on cooking now for some hummus! I need to post that recipe!
Happy New Year!
xo Karen:)
Happy new years Karen!!
Wishing you all the best in 2015.
I myself have not thought about how to deal with a new year fighting to stay healthy and alive.
I’ve recently have had a set back. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and waiting on surgery in the early new year. Which as you know puts me back to square one for a liver transplant. I have to be cancer free for 5 years before being able to be on the transplant list.
Worried…..would be putting it mildly.
At times I feel desperate, I just don’t know what I can do to help myself.
As far as my liver function test they have been very stable. At one point my bilirubin went from low 70’s to 29.4.
I really don’t understand that kind of a jump but I do wish that it would stay at 29.4.I don’t know if it was just in my head but it seemed like I was feeling much better when my bilirubin was lower.
But anyways, I’ve vented enough to you.I just really needed to get it off my chest.
once again have a very Happy New Year and I will be checking your blog and checking in with you from time to time.
your sister in the fight
Della LeBlanc
I’m so sorry to hear about your new diagnosis. Dang it. I hate cancer. This mess takes worry to a whole new level. It is insane the amount of fear that can come over us. I’ve been really focused on dealing with it lately. THat’s kind of what Laura and I were talking about this morning too. I shared some of the things I’m doing to battle anxiety or fretfulness. She suggested I share it on the blog. I argued that my mind is so OUT there that it may not sound coherent. lol. Laura assured me that we all feel that way at times. I may get bold and blog my best ideas for dealing with the dispair. In the meantime… know this: You are not alone. I’m tossing and turning too hunnyo.
I hope you’ll visit the blog for encouragement again. Venting, rambling, and incoherent prayers are always welcome here.
I am Your Sister in the fight. We can do this. Love love and more love, Karen:)
Happy New Year Karen! I love everything you wrote above, I am going to print it out to remind myself.
I have a bad habit of looking backwards and I need to look forward.
I love your site and appreciate you creating it for us.
You are such a wonderful, compassionate person.
I just got a fitbit too! Wow I am not sleeping well. I am not moving enough.
I think this fitbit is going to get me going.
Thank you
All my love (((KAREN)))
Dorene
I love it that you got a fitbit! I”m having a blast with it. It tells the total truth about how we sleep and move, right? I’m so happy that you have one too. We can compare. I got 6 hours of sleep last night. Only 563 steps yesterday though. Just tired.. xo K
Dear Karen,
Thank you so very much for the living inspiration you give to us all. I appreciate your love of life. I also love my life and do not take it for granted. As you may know I am stage 4 awaiting a treatment of Solvadi and Ribavarin most possibly around March of this year. I am genotype 3.
Susan Z.
Susan recently posted…New Years Eve Phone Call to YOU
Susan,
The geno 3 has been a long time in coming! We do appreciate life more when it’s threatened. Every day is a gift. Sometimes I feel sorry for people who don’t feel there is a reason to live. We sure don’t just exist on this planet. We embrace every moment of life!
Much love to you and this awesome year to be rid of the virus!!!!!! xoxoxo Karen:)
http://www.nutritionstripped.com/nut-milk-three-ways/
Recipe for Cashew Milk in three ways
Here is the link for the Cashew Milk. Thanks Laura!!!
Quitting is never an option. I love this blog post. Happy New Year and God bless!
It was a chatty one. I’m really happy that you enjoyed it! Much love sent your way. A whole years worth!!! Make that a lifetime. xo Karen:)
Karen, I’ve just discovered your blog today, and will certainly visit often. I think we’re going to be friends. (I got myself a Fitbit for Xmas!)
I’m a 53 year-old working mom with a FT job and assorted freelance work to pay the bills. Meaning, I have no time to catch a cold, much less anything more serious. And yet, something isn’t right with my body and all those years of blithely assuming I’ve got the constitution of a horse (or possibly mule) seem to be coming to a close.
I’m at the tail end of all sorts of tests (CT scans, MRIs, sonograms) from my brain all the way down to my intestines. I sure have gotten a good look at my insides! Many scary things have been ruled out, but nothing definitive has been identified — except fatty liver, which was noticed only coincidentally during a lung scan.
Unlike many of your readers, I actually don’t know WHAT might be going on in my liver but I certainly do know about that dull aching pain – esp after meals. Which is how I came to your site initially.
Thank you for this site. It’s obviously a labor of love and a ton of work. Please know that your words are being read – at 4 am – by women like me who are sitting here wondering, Am I really sick with a capital S? Is this pain normal? What do I do now?
It means a lot to know I’ve found this place. It’s going to be hard to cut down on red meat, salt (OH, MY BELOVED SALT), bread and sugar… but at least I know I’ve got an ally as I take the first steps.
Happy New Year to you and your family.
What a thoughtful reply. I love your voice and think we are great friends already. lol. Fatty liver is not necessarily a fast moving problem, but it can wreak havoc on your digestive system for sure! Pain of any kind is just scary business.
Yes! I wrote this with those middle of the night worriers. I love it! By the way, if you come up with a great essay on fatty liver, I would love to publish and add it to the blog roll. I understand if you’re too busy. Sometimes I find that by writing about a topic, I learn more and am able to apply it in my life more easily. You’re always welcome!!
Happy New Year to a new friend, xo Karen:)
Donna, I am so sorry to hear that you are ill and trying to find out what it is. I remember going through that. I hope you don’t mind me asking but have you had your gall bladder checked?
When you mentioned that you feel ill after eating it reminded me of a close family member. If she ate any kind of fat she would get sick and have pain near the liver.
It was discovered to be her gall bladder. Luckily all she needed to do was to watch her diet.
I hope you find out soon what is going on, it is frustrating to know something is wrong but not know what it is.
Take Care
D
karen you seem like someone I would want to be best friends with! You radiate positivity and help others which is incredible. Do you have an email or respond to direct messages? I have some questions that I think you could help me out with a lot! Thank you so much!
Joan,
What a sweetheart thing to say! I am not able to read all the email every day. That’s one of the reasons that I try and cover everything in a blog post. My email is ihelpc.com@gmail.com and I will try to get back to you asap. This is really the best way to get with me unless it’s too personal for you. M
Many times what one person asks in a comment is really helpful to others! Let me know what you need girl and we are best friends now!!
xo Karen:)
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