So We're Off (In More Ways Than One)

So this could be an interesting trip for all of us. As most of my family can tell you proper punctuation and spelling are definitely not my forte. So no comments please!!!!

  I guess I should tell you a little about me. My name is Yvonne. I am the mother of three (2 biologicals {is that a word?} and 1 "step". Now before anyone gets bent out of shape about the quotation marks, I never married my partner so technically this step child isn't legally or biologically mine but I still consider him one of mine.

 I'm a pretty good cook (recipes to follow possibly). I attended Pima Community College back in the day. I never finished an associates degree, though only need about a semester to finish at least three different degrees. I also attended Pima Medical Institute and did graduate with Honors in my field of study.

As of this post I'm 50 years old (older than I ever thought I'd see). I've been close to death or dead three times in my life (stories to follow eventually). I am a spiritual person. I say this because yes I do believe in God the Father, his Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I also believe that this universe is based in Male/Female. Think of me what you will, no one says you have to read what I post.

I've raised my kids to the best of my ability. I by no means have ever nor will ever claim to be a great parent. I will say this though they did make it to 18...lol. Hopefully I'll do better as a Grandparent should I ever become one.

I'm blunt, stubborn, a leo and down right pigheaded at times. I rarely apologize because I am a leo and we are rarely wrong!!!! I had a drinking and drug problem when I was younger. I am bisexual and again I will not apologize. When I came out to my mom around the age of 29 she said and I quote " I knew that when you were in middle school" all I could think was " You could've given me a clue!!!!".

So there it is... my first post. A lot of people have told me I need to write out my life, it's better than a soap opera. I say it's worth a three night miniseries...lol.

Till Next Time Please Remember....
Tell the people in your life you love them, OFTEN, friends, family, it doesn't matter who. You never know if that next time will be the last chance you have to tell them.

The Sounds of the Season

I’ve always loved Christmas music.  I love the hymns, the carols, the newer songs – I love them all. They lift my soul and fill me with happiness.

There are five CDs that top my list.  If I can have them in my CD player, then I'm happy for the entire season.

The Carpenters -- Christmas Portrait



Nat King Cole -- The Christmas Song



Amy Grant -- A Christmas Album



Tchaikovsky -- The Nutcracker



A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 1

That's my list of my favorite Christmas music.  What's yours?

The Perfect Christmas Fudge

From Thanksgiving to Christmas I love to cook and bake.  I especially enjoy making candy.  One of my favorite candies is fudge -- any type, and what could be a better selection for Christmas than this one?

Candy Cane Fudge

Ingredients

• 2 10-oz pkgs. white chocolate baking chips
• 1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 1/2 cups finely-crushed candy canes
• red food coloring

Directions

Line an 8x8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, and then lightly coat the bottom with butter.

In a medium size saucepan, combine the chips and the sweetened condensed milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the chips are melted, or at least mostly melted.

Remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir until all of the chips are melted.  Then stir in the peppermint extract and crushed candy canes.

Spread the fudge evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan.

Dot the top of the fudge with several drops of food coloring.  Cut through the fudge and food coloring with a butter knife, making a swirl pattern.

Chill for 2 hours. Remove the fudge from the baking pan by lifting the foil from both ends. Transfer fudge to cutting board, and cut into 1-inch squares.

If you'd like some Christmas fun, check out the North Pole Community on Facebook.

My Favorite Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love pumpkin cheesecake.  In fact, I've yet to eat a pumpkin cheesecake I didn't like, but this particular one is still my favorite.  I got the recipe from a holiday article in the Herald-Citizen back in the mid 80's, and I've yet to find one better.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust:

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 stick unsalted butter, melted                                                                    

Filling:

Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

5 eggs

One 16-ounce can pumpkin puree

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons dark rum

2 Tablespoons minced crystallized ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

Topping:

1 ½ cups sour cream

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 Tablespoons dark rum

Directions

Combine crust ingredients.  Pour into a buttered, 10-inch springform pan and press the mixture onto the bottom and one-third up the sides of the pan.  Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cheese and sugar until smooth.  Continuing to beat at medium speed, add eggs one by one, beating well after each addition.

In a mixing bowl combine pumpkin, vanilla, rum, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Mix until smooth.  Add pumpkin mixture to the cream cheese and beat to combine.

Pour the filling into the crust and bake for 1 ½ hours, or until set.

Whisk the sour cream, sugar, cinnamon and rum together and spread over the cake.  Allow to cool and then chill for at least five hours before serving.

Can be made up to two days ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.

#ISpeakForPain

My pain journey began with a bicycle wreck at the age of 10.  As children will do, I went speeding down a hill, hit some loose gravel, flipped over the handlebars, landed on my knees, and did a terrific slide along the pavement.  My knees were torn up, but I think I got about a 5.9 for style.  The girls at school all thought my knees were gross because they broke open and bled every time I bent them to go up the stairs, but the guys thought I was cool, at least for a while.  Anyway, the skin grew back over my knees, but my leg pain never went away.  My mother, who has always been an incredible advocate for me, took me to doctors, including ones at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which is the number three children’s hospital in the nation, but we were always told the same things.

•          We don’t know why her legs hurt
•          It’s growing pains
•         Or, my favorite, there’s nothing wrong with her, so don’t encourage her or she’ll grow up to be a hysterical female.

What that taught me was that my pain wasn’t important, so I taught myself to suffer silently, to hide behind a smiling face.  On the days that I couldn’t do that, I hid in my room, or up the crabapple tree with a book, where no one could see my tears.

As I grew up and out on my own I learned to manage my “mystery illness.”  On those occasions when it would flare up beyond my control I would seek yet another doctor.  Again, I was told such things as

•          We can’t find anything wrong with you.  Why don’t you see a psychiatrist?
•         Who would say, I can’t find anything wrong with you.  Go back to your doctor.
•          And, my new favorite, you’re a woman, you’re going to hurt, get used to it.

Once again I was taught to hide my pain behind a smile, to suffer silently in public and save my tears for when I was alone.

Finally, after moving to Nashville in 1997, 24 years after my chronic pain began, I found a doctor who listened to me.  He was honest and told me he had no idea what was wrong with me, but he vowed he would find me someone who could figure it out, and he eventually did.

In 2007, after having been bedfast for nearly 16 weeks thanks to my latest flare, my primary care doctor hospitalized me for something like the twelfth (maybe it was just the seventh) time that summer so I could get a rheumatology consult, which my mother-in-law had urged me to request.  The rheumatologist asked me a few questions, poked on some pretty painful spots on my body, looked at me and said, “You have fibromyalgia.”  I sat there and thought to myself, “So…this monster DOES have a name! And if it has a name I can fight it.”  While this was running through my head the doctor silently wrote a prescription, handed it to me without a word, and turned to walk out.  I asked, “Is there anything else I can do??”  He tossed, “Find someone to talk to,” over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

I only knew one person with fibro, so I called my mother-in-law.  Shelia and I had always gotten along well, but because of fibro we became friends.  We thrilled in conversations about our weird symptoms because there was finally someone who understood, someone who just GOT it. 

Once, during one of our talks, Shelia said, “There have to be more people out there.  Why don’t you find them for us?”

I put an ad in the paper, found a meeting place, and set up everything.  No one came.  I tried it again.  No one came.  I wanted to give up, but Shelia encouraged me to give it one more try.  It worked.  We found three other people who “got” us.

That’s how Fibro Friends began, and today we have over 500 members spread over 8 groups that either already meet or are forming in Tennessee.  That’s 500 people who understand what it’s like to live with chronic pain.  We get it.

Sadly, Shelia passed away last month, the day after Mother’s Day.  In her honor, and to raise funds for awareness and research, we’ll hold the first annual Shelia’s Walk in September 2017.  We chose September because if you know Nashville then you know that we have numerous walks in May when Fibromyalgia Awareness Day is, and we don’t want to get lost among them.  But we also chose September because Shelia’s birthday was September 2^nd, and it’s Chronic Pain Awareness Month. What could be more appropriate? I feel Shelia’s Walk is the least I can do for Fibro Friend number one, the least I can do to thank her for being my friend.

What I now take away from my pain journey is the importance of support and understanding.  I could not have made it this far without Shelia, without any of my Fibro Friends for that matter. 

I live with chronic pain, but I am not an addict.  I am a daughter, a sister, a mother, a friend, a volunteer, a pain advocate.  I am not seeking drugs.  I AM seeking a better quality of life.  To cope with a life filled with chronic pain we need support and understanding, not just from each other, but also from the medical community and our government.  This is where the National Pain Strategy comes in.

Studies from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Department of Veterans Affairs reveal that 4 in 10 American adults and 80 percent of veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom suffer from chronic pain, at a cost of more than $600 billion annually (Institute of Medicine, 2011; Lew HL, et al., Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 2009). Despite this significant toll, plus the fact that pain remains the number one reason that people seek care from a health care provider, our nation continues to invest meagerly in chronic pain research (only 4 cents per patient in 2015); poorly trains and educates our health care providers on the proper assessment and management of pain; and provides minimal to no reimbursement for multidisciplinary non-pharmacologic pain management strategies – a key recommendation called for in the new CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.

Implementing the objectives of the National Pain Strategy will change this! The NPS provides a clear and actionable roadmap that will generate critical population research and health services data; advance prevention and pain care strategies; address disparities in pain assessment and treatment; improve pain service delivery and reimbursement; improve health care provider education and training; and foster public education and communication strategies. Further, the NPS clearly delineates short-, medium-, and long-term deliverables, identifies key federal and non-federal stakeholders, and recommends strategies to measure impact.  

We need the National Pain Strategy.  #ISpeakForPain, and I speak for the #NationalPainStrategy. 

Why don’t you speak, too?  Take a photo of yourself holding a sign that says #ISpeakForPain and tell why you are speaking out, and then post it to social media.  If you live in Tennessee, send a letter to Senator Lamar Alexander asking that he send a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services by the end of June requesting a written implementation plan and corresponding budget from them to be submitted within 60 days of the Committee’s request.  If you live elsewhere in the United States send a letter to you legislative health aide asking them to contact Sen. Alexander about the NPS.  

Together, we can change the face of pain in the United States, but we must act now.  It's as simple as saying #ISpeakForPain.

For more information on fibromyalgia or chronic pain, check out the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association.  You can also e-mail me at TnFibroFriends@gmail.com.

Note: This post combines an excerpt from presenation given in Memphis, Brentwood, and Knoxville, TN, to kick off the #ISpeakForPain campaign, as well as a portion of the letter sent to #SenatorLamarAlexander to request that he speak up for the National Pain Strategy.

Senator Alexander -- Please Request the National Pain Strategy

June 14, 2016

Senator Lamar Alexander, Chairman
U.S.Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

428 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington,DC 20510

Re:Implementation Plan for the National Pain Strategy

Dear Senator Alexander,

As your constituent I thank you for your longstanding leadership in addressing the substantial public health crises of chronic pain and opioid abuse, and seek the your continued support in ensuring that the newly released National Pain Strategy (NPS) is implemented in a timely and coordinated fashion. Developed by six federal agencies, along with 80 experts from the medical, scientific, patient and advocacy communities, the NPS is the federal government’s first coordinated interagency plan and roadmap to achieving a system of effective, safe, high-quality, evidence-based pain care in America.This improved system of care is critical to reducing the burden of chronic pain, as well as ameliorating the nation’s opioid abuse, overdose and addiction crisis.

Studies from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Department of Veterans Affairs reveal that 4 in 10 American adults and 80 percent of veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom suffer from chronic pain, at a cost of more than $600 billion annually (Institute of Medicine, 2011; Lew HL, et al., Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 2009). Despite this significant toll, plus the fact that pain remains the number one reason that people seek care from a health care provider, our nation continues to invest meagerly in chronic pain research (only 4 cents per patient in 2015); poorly train and educate our health care providers on the proper assessment and management of pain; and provide minimal to no reimbursement for multidisciplinary non-pharmacologic pain management strategies – a key recommendation called for in the new CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.

Implementing the objectives of the National Pain Strategy willchange this! The NPS provides a clear and actionable road map that will generate critical population research and health services data; advance prevention and pain care strategies; address disparities in pain assessment and treatment; improve pain service delivery and reimbursement; improve health care provider education and training; and foster public education and communication strategies. Further, the NPS clearly delineates short-, medium-, and long-term deliverables, identifies key federal and non-federal stakeholders, and recommends strategies to measure impact.  

Millions of Americans – many of whom have bravely and honorably served their country – are counting on Congress to see the National Pain Strategy through to completion. We can’t afford to stop now.  As your constituent, I urge you, Chairman Alexander, to help transform the NPS from words on a page to meaningful change in the lives of Americans by sending a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services by the end of June requesting a written implementation plan and corresponding budget from them to be submitted within 60 days of the Committee’s request.

A copy of the National Pain Strategy can be viewed at:http://iprcc.nih.gov/docs/HHSNational_Pain_Strategy.pdf. If we can provide further information or assistance, please contact us by email at info@ConsumerPainAdvocacy.org, or contact Jan Chambers by phone at 801-200-3627.

With sincere appreciation,

Donna L. Marsh

Yvonne J. Clark

A Day in the Life of the Hounds of Hell ... and a Couple of Crazy Ladies

Several times a day, and often once in the middle of the night, Lil Bit, the Music City Chihuahua, goes outside, stands on the porch, and barks. At nothing. Or maybe at bugs. Or maybe she's just sharing her status with the neighborhood. *bark, bark, I'm awake, bark, bark, I just ate, bark, bark, I pooted, bark, bark.*

While this is going on, Brighid, the World's Most Adorable Corgi, stands in the house and barks at me. *bark, bark, Lil Bit is barking, bark, bark, she's still barking, bark bark, she's barking some more, bark, bark.*

Then Titan, the Awful Weimaraner, goes running outside at a breakneck speed, skids to a stop in front of the gate, and gives a deep, big-dog *woof, woof.* As usual, he doesn't have a clue what's going on. He just wants to join in the festivities.

This is about the point at which Yvonne, the other Crazy Lady, loses it. "What in the ^#$#%& are those dogs barking at now???"

I have no idea. I get up and look out. I see nothing. I hear nothing. Well, nothing except for barking dogs and a stressed roommate. I get the dogs to come inside, and of course they all look at me like I should give them a treat for being good dogs and alerting me to the presence of oxygen in the air. I settle them down. I settle down the other Crazy Lady. Then I settle myself back down to what ever it was that I was doing.

And I wait for it all to begin again.

Oh, and on a side note. That's Lil Bit, the Music City CHEE-wa-wa. Gotta pronounce it right. She's not just any Chihuahua. She's a Southern one.

Ode to a Baby Brother on the Anniversary of his Birth

Today is my brother’s birthday. Yep, he turns the big 5 – 0 today. It’s hard to believe he’s that age because I always remember him as my little brother. That’s quite funny, though, because he became bigger than me when he was 3 and I was 6, and I was never able to look down at him again. Yes, he may be 3 years younger, but he’s a good foot taller.

Life with a little brother can be interesting sometimes. Mine wanted to go everywhere I did, which is aggravating when you want to go to a slumber party with your friends. He was fascinated with fire for a while, and I lost two sets of pompoms because of it. He always loved to build things, and he learned to use a hammer by hitting me in the head with one.

Brother and I were close growing up. One day we’d play with his Matchbox cars or Tonka trucks by building elaborate roads in the driveway. That meant the next day would bring my choice of toys, and I usually chose Barbies. He never quite got the hang of Barbies, though. He usually had his G.I. Joe hang Ken and then kidnap Barbie by tying her to a Jeep or something. Ken’s head never stayed on like it should have after that, and Barbie’s hair didn’t grow back, no matter how much I wished.

I learned to sew by repairing a little boy’s favorite teddy bear. I made clothes for Buzzy the Bear to hide the scars he earned by being well loved. Brudder helped me stay thin by eating faster and then stealing the food off my plate. I didn’t finish a meal until I moved into my own place.

He was never a morning person, and sometimes he wasn’t an afternoon one either. He cried when Bambi’s mother died, named every chicken we had Jody, and once named a calf after a girl he thought was cute.  (And she was flattered!)

In spite of all of his flaws, my baby brother grew up to be a fine man. He raised some wonderful children and now grandfathers eight, soon to be nine. He’s loving, faithful, and a darned good cook. I’m proud of him. Those early decades were a little rough on me, but I guess I’ll keep him now.

Happy Birthday, Michael McCormick! I love you!

Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa

I’m just going to come out and say it. I’m a sucker for the movie Steel Magnolias. I watch it each time it’s on TV. I quote dialogue right along with the characters, and I cry every single time Shelby dies. I can’t help myself. 

If you’re familiar with the movie then you may have noticed how food plays such a part in the story. There are Easter eggs (twice!), the groom’s armadillo cake, shrimp at the festival, Clairee and Quiser in the grocery store, Annelle cooking something that freezes beautifully, and then there’s Truvy’s Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake.

During one of the beauty shop scenes Clairee asks Truvy for the recipe for Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa, and Truvy replies, “It’s just a cuppa flour, a cuppa sugar, and a cuppa fruit cocktail, with the juice. Mix it up and bake at 350 ‘til gold and bubbly.” Truvy then goes on to say how rich this dessert is, so she recommends serving it over ice cream to “cut the sweetness.”

You may notice how similar this recipe is to my Mom’s Fruit Pie. The main difference is the texture, which is due to the amount of liquid. Both, though, are rich and fabulous, so enjoy!

Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup self-rising flour (Bisquick also works great.)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup fruit cocktail with the syrup (Use the entire 15-ounce can for added moisture.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Mix the ingredients until blended, and then pour into the lightly greased 8x8 baking dish, spreading the batter out as needed.

Bake until golden brown and bubbly, usually about 40 or 45 minutes.

A Cuppa Comfort

When I feel bad I crave fruity things. When it’s a dark and stormy night I crave hot comfort food. Tonight is one of those nights when it all comes together. It’s dark and stormy and I have felt much better, so I made Mom’s Fruit Pie.

About 40 years ago my aunt Joyce McCormick made a dessert for a family gathering that I just fell in love with. It was gooey, chewy, fruity, and I thought I had found my forever-favorite dessert. (This was before I discovered New York style cheesecake.) When I asked Joyce what the heavenly confection was, she said, “That’s just Mom’s fruit pie.”

Joyce gave me a copy of the recipe, and it was, sure enough, titled Mom’s Fruit Pie. I just wish I had thought to ask her if that is the actual name or if it was her mother’s recipe. I fantasize that it’s a family recipe handed down from my grandmother to my aunt and then to me, but a fantasy may be all that is.

First, the recipe as it was given to me. Then I’ll share some “enhancements.”

Mom’s Fruit Pie

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large can fruit cocktail

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put the butter in a 13”x9” baking dish and place it in the preheating oven.

Mix the flour, sugar, and milk until well blended.

Once the oven is preheated and the butter is melted, pour the fruit cocktail into the baking dish, syrup and all. Then pour the batter over the fruit. Do not stir.

Bake until the crust is golden brown. This may take as long as 45 minutes.

Now, the first thing you’ll notice, if you know a bit about baking, is that this is not a pie. It’s actually a cobbler. It’s also a thin cobbler if you bake it in a 13”x9” pan, but that can be a good thing because this sucker is RICH, and you’ll want smaller servings. Plus, the thinner cobbler also means more chewy and less gooey. You can bake it in an 8”x8” if you like it thicker, or you can half the recipe and use the smaller pan to make less. As I said, it’s rich.

The great thing about this recipe is its versatility. You can use any fruit in syrup, and it will work. Peach is my favorite. You can also use fresh or frozen fruit, about 2 cups worth, with no syrup. It changes the texture, but it’s still a delicious cobbler. You can also substitute Bisquick for the flour, and it works just fine.

And tomorrow I’ll tell you why this recipe may seem familiar to movie buffs.

Until then, enjoy!

Project: Warm Wishes

 Project: #WarmWishes will wish Nashville a very Merry Christmas while providing warmth to those deserving, less fortunate or homeless, via the delivery of at least 150 scarves, hats and gloves.

A team of elves will pick up donations, craft scarves, and then deliver them about Nashville on a set day before Christmas. Some elves will place scarves in the public way as gifts to the Nashvillians who find them, while other elves will deliver scarves to the homeless, the Rescue Mission, shelters and churches for inclusion in family baskets.

We're also accepting donations of yarn and fleece so that our elves can handcraft some scarves and hats for use throughout the winter, which has been forecasted to be a harsh one.

Donations are being accepted at the following locations:

• In Donelson: Vittles at 2278 Lebanon Pike.
• In Hermitage/Mt. Juliet: Mystical Heart Spiritual Center at 12020 Lebanon Pike.
• In West Nashville: Draconis Arcanum at 214 E. Trinity Lane. (They will give you a 10% discount on your purchase with your donation!)

And if you are in a particularly generous mood, please know that a small $10 donation buys the material to craft at least three warm scarves and a hat. It also goes a long way toward paying for those sneaky little expenses that like to pop up from time to time, things like printer ink, gas, etc.

Thank you and warm wishes to you and yours this Christmas season!

Yep...

We did it again.

We let a lot of time pass between blog posts.  There were things we wanted to say.  Posts were planned.  And, as usual, life and health happened.  

Why don't we try this one more time...

Chocolate Éclair Cake

I received this easy, delicious recipe from my cousin Carla McDowell, of Maysville, Ky., over 30 years ago, and it has been a family favorite since.

Chocolate Éclair Cake

Ingredients:

 Filling:

• 2 (3.5 oz.) boxes French vanilla instant pudding
• 3 c. milk
• 1 (8 oz.) container Cool Whip
• Graham crackers 

 Topping:

• 1/3 c. cocoa
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 stick (1/2 c.) butter (or margarine)
• 1 tsp. vanilla

 Directions:

Filling:

• Combine pudding mix and milk; beat. Stir in Cool Whip.
• Place a layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9" x 13" dish. Spread 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Repeat with another layer of graham crackers and pudding; then top with a final layer of graham crackers.

Topping:

• Bring cocoa, milk, and sugar to a full rolling boil; boil about 1 minute, stirring very frequently. Remove from heat and cool one minute. Add butter and vanilla; stir until butter is melted.
• Pour chocolate topping over the top layer of graham crackers.
• Refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours before serving.

A tip to make this dessert even easier is to use a can of chocolate frosting.  You can spread it right on the top layer of graham crackers or warm it in the microwave for just a few seconds and then pour it over the cake.

Personally, I like to make it with three layers instead of two.  It just seems to just give it more of a cake texture, and the filling layers aren’t so heavy. You might need a few more graham crackers if you want to try it that way. 

However you make it – enjoy!