Category Archives: family

Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

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I find myself wondering…
Did I give you your due..
For all that you’ve done for me
Did I ever thank you?
For all of my childhood memories
For helping me deal with life’s stresses
For helping me accept my defeats
And celebrate my successes?
Or for teaching me the value of hard work,
Good judgement, courage, and being true
The laughter, smiles, and quiet times we’ve shared
Did I ever thank you?
If I have forgotten, I’m thanking you now
You taught me right from wrong….
I hope you know how much you’re loved and appreciated
I hope you, instinctively, knew it all along.
Happy Birthday, Dad

Happiness~ The Soundtrack Of My Life~

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Often people attempt to live their lives backwards;
they try to have more things, or more money,
in order to do more of what they want,
so they will be happier.
The way it actually works is the reverse.
You must first be who you really are,
then do what you need to do,
in order to have what you want. Continue reading →

What Would You Remember The Most About Year 2009? ~~Here is My 2009 In Review~~

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First of all, I would like to extent my sincere thanks to each and everyone of you for being a part of my new found hobby “blogging”.I started blogging two months ago and has met a lot of good,fun,smart people and became friends to some of them.I had no idea that blogging can be this  rewarding.Although blogging requires a lot of time, focus and dedication, I can clearly say, I love every minute of it. I cant wait to spend more  blogging time with all my fans and I hope this new year is going to be a great year for all of us.
Year 2009 was a year full of events,good and bad ones of-course, and we both have memorable events that we will be talking about in years to come. I decided to share some of the 2009 events  that I will surely never forget.

January 20th 2009- Barack H Obama became the 44th president of the United States of America and nation’s first African America president.

January 15th, 2009- Miracle on the Hudson-The plane, a US Airways Airbus 320 bound for Charlotte, N.C., struck a flock of birds during takeoff minutes earlier at LaGuardia Airport and was submerged up to its windows in the Hudson River. Thanks to Captain Sully Sullenberger who successfully carried out the emergency ditching of the plane thus saving the lives of all 155 people on the aircraft-150 passengers, three flight attendants and two pilots.

June 11th,2009 – Who would forget about the Swine flu (H1N1) scare? This was the day The World Health Organization raised its alert on swine flu to the highest level, in its first designation of a global pandemic in 41 years.

June 25th, 2009 -The death of Michael Jackson.The entertainer suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Holmby Hills,Los Angeles,California and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.He was 50 years old.His death was the most talked about event of 2009

June 29th, 2009 -Convicted former financial swindler Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years of incarceration the maximum current federal guidelines would allow.Once the darling of Wall Street and considered a wizard of the financial world Bernard Madoff reached the highest heights by stooping to the lowest of lows, by defrauding investors in massive twenty (20) year Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of more than $US65 billion dollars.

August 15th,2009 -My husband and I, celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, with our fourlegged son Coco by our side.

August 25th, 2009- The death of  Ted Kennedy; Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the patriarch of the first family of Democratic politics, also known as the “Lion of the Senate” died at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He was 77.

October 9th,2009 – President Obama Won Nobel Peace Prize.Norwegian Nobel Commitee said it honored Obama for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

November 5th, 2009 -The Fort Hood mass shooting that took place at Fort Hood-the most populous United States military base in the world, located just outside Killeen,Texas. -Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S Army major serving as a psychiatrist , went on rampage killing 13 people and wounding 30 others.The incident which is now being investigated as a potential homegrown terrorist attack.

November 19th, 2009 – Oprah announces end of TV talk show.Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air, saying prayer and careful thought led her to her decision.

November 27th, 2009 – Tiger Woods’ scandal, that started as a simple car accident.Tiger Woods was taken to the hospital for the minor injuries he acquired from the accident.Woods later issues an apology for “transgressions” that he let his family down.Then we came to learn that he had multiple affairs?!

November 29th, 2009- The shooting of  Four Seattle’s Police officers.The killings took place at a coffee shop in Parkland, a suburb of Tacoma. Authorities identified the victims as Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39; Officer Ronald Owens, 37; Officer Tina Griswold, 40; and Officer Greg Richards, 42.The suspect -Maurice Clemmons, 37 was later shot and killed by an officer after the suspect approached him and “reached into his waist area,” authorities said in a statement.

December 25th, 2009- Attempted terror attack on flight 253 with 278 passengers and 11 crew.A Nigerian man who said he was an agent for al-Qaida tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane as it was preparing to land in Detroit, from Amsterdam,but he was subdued by travelers who smelled smoke and heard what sounded like firecrackers.

December 31,2009- My husband and I,celebrated the end of year 2009 and welcomed 2010, at The Cirque Event Center (Seattle).The party was hosted by New Year’s Nation.

“As the new year blossoms, may the journey of your life be fragrant with new opportunities, your days be bright with new hopes and your heart be happy with love! Happy New Year!”

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Happy Kwanzaa To All My Brothers and Sisters!

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Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States honoring universal African heritage and culture, marked by participants lighting a kinara (candle holder) It is observed from December 26 to January 1 each year, primarily in the United States. Kwanzaa is a Swahili word that means “first”.

Picture Credits to SoulCity Graphics

Kwanzaa celebrates what its founder called the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba. Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles, as follows:

  • Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
  • Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
  • Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems, and to solve them together.
  • Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
  • Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
  • Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
  • Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our state. 

Me (and Coco)Wearing an African Outfit
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Why Divorcing Rate Is Skyrocketing?

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Ever wonder what leads to high divorce rates in today’s society? Despite all the formidable benefits that a marriage provides, it is also a fact of life that divorce rate has reached astronomical proportions. In some western countries, as many as half of all new marriages are destined to end in divorce.
This shocking statistics raises the question – is the institution of marriage on the decline? Rising divorce rates are no longer a unique or alarming in today’s context. In fact, most industrialized or modernize countries are moving upwards in terms of divorce rates.
There are many factors that lead to high divorce rate as from my own perspective. Among the strongest reasons are; infidelity, women in workforce, the legal changes in divorce laws and expectation of marriages changes; people now look to marriage as a source of emotional support in which each spouse complements the other in a variety of social, occupational, and psychological endeavors. 
I also think that, Hollywood has a big role in the divorce rate especially here in the US, because of our romantic culture people are looking for that one true love story. Hollywood biggest divorces (The Gosselins-10 years of marriage, Reese and Ryan-7 years of marriage, Mel Gibson and wife-28 years of marriage, Eddie Murphy and wife-13 years of marriage, just recent divorce news, the Knowles-29 years of marriage just to name a few)….
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Here Comes The Snowball Fight!!

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I am patiently awaiting the first snowflakes of this year’s winter, but there is..No snow here Yet! I’ve been trying to keep track by following the weather podcast directory and forecasts of when am I going to see the first snowflakes of the season but all I see and hear is;
“Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs in the lower 40s. Lows in the lower 30s” for this weekend and the rest of next week. You mean.. We are not going to have a White Christmas? That’s a bummer. I still have hope though, that it might snow right before Christmas, as we all know those weather forecasters can’t be trusted sometimes. To tell the truth, I am not a fan of snow, but I wouldn’t mind getting a White Christmas. Let’s hope the Grinch is not going to steal our White Christmas.
I just love the feeling I get when I wake up in the morning to see the ground covered in a new blanket of freshly fallen snow and the first snowfall. The first snowfall is so clean and white, and if the sun is shining you can see all the little sparkles of light twinkling, and shimmering, and glimmering into your eyes.. I was looking  for a picture or a video of a snowflake so I went to Jib Jab and made this fun Elf Snowball Fight :) ..Enjoy 

What’s Under Your Christmas Tree?!

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Have you done all your Christmas shopping?I finished my Christmas shopping a while ago. I’m also done wrapping the presents too.Happy Holidays!!


Coco under the Christmas tree!

- Posted From iPhone using Blogpress

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SEASONS OF LOVE

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“Love me in January,so we can begin this journey together.Love me in February, I’ll be your Valentine.Love me in March,let our love grow stronger.Love me in April and protect me from the rain.Love me in May so we can start our love garden together.Love me in June,and we can provide shades at each other.Love me in July,let our love sparkle like fireworks.Love me in August,8 means infinity.Love me in September because you are my Morning Glory.Love me in October and let these beautiful colors stay in our hearts.Love me in November,trees have lost all their leaves but we still have each other.Love me in December,protect me from the harsh cold weather outside.” Rachel Samanyi

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EVERY DAY IS MOTHER’S DAY..I LOVE YOU MOM!!

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“Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes, by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins, comrades and friends – but only one mother in the whole world”.– Kate Douglas
Rachel,Mom and Young brother Andrew
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Occupational Therapy Has Nothing To Do With Your Occupation!

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    As I introduce myself and my title, I often hear, “I’m retired. I don’t need an occupational therapist…Most people thinks occupational therapy is something to do with  their occupation and they often want to do physical therapy instead, when asked why physical therapy? their answer..”I want to be fit.I dont need occupational therapy, I retired years ago”!One common question I’ve been asked by patients or family members is what’s the difference between Physical Therapy(PT) and Occupational Therapy(OT)? As an Occupational therapist  I’ve decided to take the time to explain the difference between  these two disciplines.

      Occupational Therapy(OT) is treatment that helps individuals with mental or physical deficiencies to achieve independence and improve one’s ability to perform daily activities by emphasizes the acquisition of or compensation for functional performance skills needed in daily living.Occupational therapist focus on small and large motor groups that contribute to self care skills such as feeding, dressing, grooming and hygiene, increase independence with toileting skills,transfers from/to bed,toilet,wheelchair. In general; to increasing one’s independence in necessary life skills

 
     Occupational therapists can also prescribe an adaptive equipment if it’s needed, for example a bedside commode,reachers,dressing sticks,shoe horn and adaptive eating utensils. Occupational therapists may also offer programs and services from Birth toThree, driver’s rehabilitation, low vision, ergonomics/work hardening and lymphedema treatment.Sometimes an OT is required to go at a person’s home to perform a home assessment/evaluation to determine if the home is safe and is adaptable to the individual’s needs.

      Occupational therapy practitioners work with different populations, diagnosis, specialities, and in different settings such as in hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation facilities,private practice, sheltered workshops,home health agencies, community mental health centers, public school systems, schools for handicapped children, adult day care programs,research facilities, for local businesses as a consultant or for universities or vo-techs as educators.

OT Areas of focus include:
- Fine motor skills: small, finely coordinated hand movements
- Visual perceptual skills: the ability to understand and interpret what is seen
- Visual motor skills: the ability to coordinate visual skills and motor skills

          Physical Therapy(PT) on the other hand,involves rehabilitation from injury by emphasizes the acquisition of basic motor skills necessary for functional mobility as well as the physical capability.Physical therapists focus on the large motor groups that contribute to walking, reaching,standing and physical activities.They work on strength, balance, range of motion and swelling as well as pain to encourage independence.

PT Areas of focus include:
- Gross motor skills: activities that use large muscle i.e walking,climb stair e.t.c
- Mobility skills: moving safely throughout the environment with or without an adaptive equipment
- Postural control and alignment needed to perform daily activities and for increasing independence in life skills

Both Physical and Occupational Therapists may address the following areas:
- Strength and endurance
- Body awareness
- Proper body positioning and adaptations
- Sensory motor skills
- Safety awareness

      Physical therapists and Occupational therapists have similar training. Occupational therapists receive more training in cognition,fine motor,oral and hand skill interventions and Physical therapists receive more training  in gross motor and postural development.PT’s and OT’s work in tandem for the best outcome.I hope this has answered some of the questions. I’ve tried to be as short and descriptive as I could , but I did talk a lot more about Occupational therapy than Physical therapy because it seems like most people are having a hard time understanding what is occupational therapy.
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Be Culturally Informed;KANGA -A Beautiful African Garment

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        Today I wanted to talk about this beautiful African  garment called KANGA. Kanga means “guinea hen” in Swahili for its brilliant colors. Kanga is a colourful garment worn by women and occasionally by men throughout Eastern Africa. It is a piece of printed cotton fabric, about 1.5m by 1m, (as long as the span of your outstreched arms and wide enough to cover you from neck to knee,or from breast to toe)often with a border along all four sides (called pindo in Swahili), and a central part (mji) which differs in design from the borders. Khangas are usually very colorful ,printed in bold designs and bright colours and  most of them do have Swahili sayings printed on them .Kangas are usually bought and worn as a pair – called a “doti”.

Apart from its protective and decorative role, kanga is all about sending the message. It is the equivalent of the get well, greetings, or congratulations cards in the western culture but in this case the message goes a little bit beyond the normal meaning. For example, a fruit, a flower, a boat, or a bird could mean good upbringing or just the appreciation of beauty. On the other hand, a lion, a shark, or any such kind of dangerous animals could signal the sense of danger or a clear warning.
           Kangas are the perfect gift. Husbands give kangas to wives. children to their mothers, a woman may split a pair to give half to her best friend. Men can sleep in kangas, and often wear them around the house; women wear them everywhere; babies are virtually born into them, and are usually carried in a soft sling of kanga cloth. Kangas are extremely popular throughout East Africa not only for clothing but for their multiple uses; no-one can ever have too many!

Says Welcome Pres. Bush To Tanzania

It says Congratulation Barack Obama

Kanga has also been used to mobilize people in political rallies,public health campaigns as well as creating awareness to particular development projects. When words are difficult to articulate with a mouth, inscribe them on kanga and wait for the results. Although cheap in price, the power of kanga in the Swahili culture is unimaginable.

These are some of the Swahili sayings found in Kanga
  • Wema hauozi — Kindness is never wasted
  • Kawia ufike — Better late than never
  • Riziki Ya Mtu Hupangwa Na Mungu — One’s fortunes are planned by God
  • Mimi Na Wangu Wewe Na Wako Chuki Ya Nini — I have mine and you have yours — why the fuss?
  • Sisi Sote Abiria Dereva Ni Mungu — In this world we are all passengers, God is the driver.
  • Fimbo La Mnyonge Halina Nguvu — Might is right.
  • Liya Na Tabia Yako Usilaumu Wenzako — Do not blame others for problems you have created yourself.
  • Naogopa Simba Na Meno Yake, Siogopi Mtu Kwa Maneno Yake — I fear the lion for its jaws, I do not fear man for his word….

Happy Hannukah To Our Jewish Friends !!

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Wishing a Happy Hanukkah 2009 to all Jewish Brothers and Sisters. Hanukkah/Chanukah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish Holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in  Jerusalem.Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew Calendar, which may occur as early as late November to as late as late December in the Gregorian Calendar.
An important part of the Hanukah celebration is the menorah. This is a candleholder with eight candles and a shammash or servant candle. One candle is lit by the shammash for each of the night of Hanukah.After the lighting of the candles, people give gifts to one another. People sing and make merry. A popular food for Hanukah is potato pancakes, or latkes, cooked in oil in honor of the miracle.
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To Achieve The Incredible, You Have To Attempt The Impossible.

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Just Finished watching “Fly Away Home”.Today was my first time watching this movie,and I must admit ,this movie exceeded my expectations! I was so impressed by this little girl,a 14 years old kid who lead a family of orphaned geese who lost their way.
Her name-Amy, who lost her mother to a car accident in New Zealand.She then moves to Canada to live with her father, but finds her new life miserable, until she finds abandoned goose eggs from when the developers tore up the forest behind her home.
They soon hatch and Amy becomes their “mother” and takes care of them. Winter quickly arrives, and the geese must go south. But who will show them the way? It is up to Amy and her father to make sure that the young geese find their way, and with the assistance of her father’s invention, they do just that, they helped her to get the geese to migrate to a preserve. At the end of the movie, you see the geese returned back and are spotted on Amy’s porch the following Winter! 
The movie is based on a remarkable true story that happened only there really wasn’t a character named Amy or Thomas or Susan or Uncle David or Barry. But their based on real people.

Read More “Fly Away Home”

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Christmas Arrives at the Obama White House

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The First Lady chooses traditional decorations for the family’s first Yuletide in Washington.
The 2009 White House Christmas tree is an 18.5-ft. Douglas fir. It was grown in Shepherdstown, W.Va
The tree is lit with environmentally friendly LED lights and decorated with more than 800 ornaments from previous White House Administrations.The theme of the decor is “Reflect, Rejoice and Renew.”

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