Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome!!!

First off, let me just say welcome to my new followers and to my friends that I made come check out my site! Blogger shows me where the traffic comes from (don't worry, it just says the country, feel free to stalk and read all you want, I don't know who you ACTUALLY are!! Or do I? No, really, I don't!!!) and I've noticed that I had new readers from the UK and Germany!!! Wow!! I am delighted!! I'm guessing you're here because of my Multiple Sclerosis posts and will hate all of my, "Wow, it's supposed to be 80* again in SoCal. Bummer for us..." posts. I kid, I kid. I'm so amazed that something I wrote was read by someone so far away! May I just say, I've always wanted to go to Europe. Where, you ask? All of it. Maybe because I'm a European mutt; I'm English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, German, Dutch (?, maybe Danish? Mom, Dad?), and French! I'm also part Native American (Blackfoot). Go America and Europe! Go World!! I'll get there one day. Any rich men reading this.... Can't hurt to ask. ; )

So, anyhoo...
Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome!
Fremde, etranger, stranger.
Gluklich zu sehen, je suis enchante,
Happy to see you, bleibe, reste, stay!

What? I didn't tell you I am HUGE dork? I should have... you're right. Oh well, too late.. You're already reading. Might as well stick around. ; )

Real quick: re-reading my past posts, I've noticed how many typos I do. I apologize after the fact and before I do it again. Because I will, in all probability, do it again. And again. As I said before- It's the plaque!!

But truthfully everyone, it's a very overcast, gloomy day here in SoCal. I'm doing my laundry, procrastinating on my cleaning, and just was truly amazed that I had someone read this from Germany and the UK!! So cool!! It makes me want to watch my Pride & Prejudice DVDs with Colin Firth instead of clean. Of course, I'd always prefer to watch that than clean, but you get the idea....

I have to tell you that I am a huge fan of Harry Potter (books and movies), Jane Austen (books and movies), and Monty Python (books and mov... wait a minute...). I knit and crochet. Because we like, totally like need scarves, for like those cold California nights. ; ) It actually does get cold here in winter. Not Europe, Charles Dickens' winter cold, but it's not always warm. I'm just sayin'. I wish I could go see Top Gear tape live. The real British Top Gear. Not the crummy American version. Sooo not funny. I am also reading currently reading Possession by A.S. Byatt. Oops, I just realized I totally forgot to update my reading list. See, it's the MS plaque!! Grrr. :) I already owned it and had just never gotten around to reading it, so I'm feeling very English at the moment. I'll have to start spelling everything that we Yanks spell with a "Z" with an "S" (I apologise instead of apologize). Ohhh, it's going to be so much fun! I'll pretend I have a horrible Eliza Doolittle accent. That's the only one I can do... :(

So, all European readers, I just wanted to say, "Welcome!". I hope you found something that might have helped you. Please feel free to leave me any comments with questions, I will answer. I have to figure out how you can contact me on here. I'm still a total newbie at this. I would also love to hear if you are experiencing the same thing. Well, I would hate to hear that, that sucks, but I would love to know if you, yourself, are blogging and I can in turn follow you.

To all my beautiful friends who I asked to come check this out, thank you. Again, you're all awesome.

Any other readers who are here in the US that might possibly feel left out, please don't! Welcome to you too! If you're actually here... are you? I have no idea who reads this unless you sign up to follow. Welcome to my followers! Amazing people one and all. Friends and those who are strangers who are friends that I just haven't met yet.

I hope you have a wonderful day. The sun is trying to peek it's head out. I guess it time to clean. In my Labyrinth shirt. What? You didn't know I owned one? Oh yes, I am that AWESOME!! (Haven't seen the movie? I suggest reverting to your childhood innocence and enjoying David Bowie and crazy Jim Henson puppets. You're welcome.)

Take care all, and here is my quote for the day, courtesy of the amazing man who wrote Winnie the Pooh:
"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
-A. A. Milne

Illegitimi Non Carborundum

That Latin phrase that is the heading of this post? It's my quote of the day. I'll translate it at the end. Even though it's kind of a fake Latin phrase, it's one of my favorites. It has to do with how I feel about my blog subject today.

First, I'll explain that I LOVE a good quote. About anything. Life, love, books, learning, dogs, basically anything brilliant that someone has said in the past, I'll write it down in my journal (or now this blog) or on a Post-It note and refer to it as needed. I love brilliant minds.

Today is pretty darn hot for a Southern California day. My Internet says 79*, but it's muggy and gross outside. I think it's wrong and it's hotter. Thank you Jeebus for A/C and my momma for letting me run it. And no, Jeebus is not a typo. Google it if you have time. My fellow Simpsons fans will get it. So, I'm chilling inside, watching some 30 Rock and decided to write. Ahhh... 30 Rock. Good place for quotes. Not necessarily inspirational, but amusing and they make me happy nevertheless.

Now to today's blog entry: I really don't love talking about my Multiple Sclerosis. It brings up bad feelings. It makes me remember that I have it. I like the whole, "Out of sight, out of mind" motto. Maybe in my case it should be, "Out of mind, out of my damn brain!". Even if it doesn't make it true. I don't even like to really read books about MS. I will, but I'd prefer to read a nice novel and get swept away to another life. However, I was just speaking to someone about my MS and I thought I'd just write a quick note about how I, personally, deal with it. I did okay talking about it. I hope! It has taken a looong time. Six years. It's still no picnic. But I can do it. That, in itself, is a victory. It's also nice to be able to tell someone something that might possibly help them. Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that doesn't have a lot of support. I do not mean to belittle other diseases. They ALL suck! But we really don't have a lot of places to turn to. That can be really hard.

First, I try not to think about it. Sound stupid? Probably. You know how they say that there's the power of positive thinking? I know I feel better when I do not focus on it. I'm not saying to ignore it, or to not educate yourself. I've read tons of books on the subject. I just try to not let it rule my life. I do better when I wake up not thinking, "I have MS." but rather just waking up and thinking, "What am I going to do today?". The more days I have where I can forget for awhile that I have MS? The better I feel.

But, when you do have to think about it and read those books and do that research, stick with uplifting things. Montel Williams is a hero of mine. A fellow MS patient, he is so optimistic. I can read his books and be inspired, not depressed.

I play with my rescue puppy Sid. I saved him from the pound. He had a tough life before he came to live with me, but now there's no more spoiled dog on this planet. Maybe Paris Hilton's dogs. But he has a better mom than they do. In my very biased opinion anyway. ;-) He makes me smile like no other. He relieves stress when he grins at me and flashes his Billy Idol toothy smile. Yep, he's a recurring theme here.

I do yoga or I meditate. I try to find my center in my wobbly world. I am a weeble. But remember! Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down!!

I read. I escape to another world. I love my Kindle. My eyesight is okay at the moment, but the Kindle allows you to change the font size to REALLY BIG if you need it. Or listen to an audio book!

So, that quote for today, "Illegitimi non carborundum", it means: "Don't let the bastards grind you down."

Don't let them. Don't grind yourself down either.