Great day? Sorry my title generator is broken.

After morning laps in the pool at Crunch Fitness and making it back home to workout at the gym, I unexpectedly woke up from a nap and was taken to lunch. I was treated to Little Nepal and Baskin-Robbins’ $1.31 ice cream, and found myself sitting on the floor of Debra Holk’s office. Oh no, on the floor Kimi, are you okay? I'm fine, in case you're wondering why I was on the floor, I feel safer and feel like I can be more animated if necessary  when on the floor; there's 0 chance for me to fall if that is where I start out, right?
Counseling was the absolute best! I have absolutely no clue what we talked about but it was extremely fun! I thought about what we had discussed as counseling for approximately 3.7 seconds when I was asked to go back to the office and meet Asad and Esam. I got there I thought oh man look at this, I could have waited to get ice cream, but I had to create a scene earlier because I am not psychic. I know sometimes I am blessed with awesome intuition, but it's not an ability I can exercise at will.
We talked for a while then suddenly my favorite Bradley showed up! I haven't seen him in so long I thought maybe he had changed stores even though I do recall asking about him and somebody telling me who's on vacation. Anyway it was wonderful to see him!
Wanting to hang out and see if any exciting stories come up as I glanced at my schedule for tomorrow I have to make sure that I'm rested so this might be cut short.. I'm so glad that  Ashley had to remind me that the office closes at 8:30 now.
Oh that reminds me I was contacted by a person interested in publishing a book…. But I will put that in tomorrow's blog.

Closing Time!

Closing Time
Waking up at 6:30 not knowing is it was a.m. or p.m., I could only see light shining from the tiny portion of the curtain left open. I could remember sending a text message to see if someone would like to be taken out to breakfast but I wasn't sure when that was, last night or the wee hours of today? I had not gotten a response so it was still up the air, morning or night? I read through a great Starbucks article  before deciding to start with the morning routine because somewhere and somehow I decided it was indeed morning. I headed to the workout room and I literally wheeled into my friend’s (Sharon’s) car as her and Lynn were parking and ready to go to the workout room as well. This caused me to become so excited because they are such a highlight to my mornings.
I knew that I had to hurry because I was informed that I would be picked up at 8 for breakfast... Do what? My favorite meal of the day? Life is good! My adrenaline was pumping and I knew that had to make me work out faster than ever before, faster than ever before I tell ya! Sadly I learned that no matter how fast I run or how hard I work out... a certain amount of time still takes that certain amount of time.  Hold fast! I potentially found a solution for being short on time… yesterday I got a little carried away with the resistance level as I only had 15 minutes and I had to make it count! The resistance level was extremely high but trust me, I was satisfied -- sweat was dripping and I could feel the burn!
After the quick workout I was brought to a restaurant that I had seen on many of my adventures but I had never eaten there. Doug’s was absolutely amazing and the company even more so! Although I didn't realize it then, and and I'm being shown the truth as I write this, God's blessings are not always received with arms wide open. This was actually a relief. I am trying to convince myself that I deserve blessings from God that look different than what I have been given, but who am I to say that I know the Lord's plan better than He, Himself? Second Corinthians explains how God's blessings are made perfect in our weakness. “In our weakness,” I think to myself. Although there are places and times that I must be strong, surprisingly, more often than not God calls me to be weak. Being weak is being strong, what? Being weak will not always look the same, but for me accepting when other people want to b a blessing in my life was difficult but it is much easier now, now that God has encouraged me to always be on he look out. Look at every event and see how it is a blessing.
How beautifully that  leads into the next fun filled excitement for the day.
Not unlike most days I went to Starbucks to get Grandpa T coffee. I didn't have the ample time that I normally have, but it was clear that it was where I needed to be. Matthew Clark, a friend who is retired firefighter who lives far away now, met me at Starbucks. We examined medication and discussed his firefighting years. It started pouring outside so I was “forced” to stay at Starbucks until there was a break in the showers. Well I thought I was there waiting on the rain to subside, but when I was leaving I ran into Jim Garcia! It makes me so excited to run into people I have met before! It makes me even more excited when I have other connections to that person, thank you Clare Mihalko!
After finally catching a break in the rain and arriving home I only had a short time before going to the Arabic Christian Church. There I finally got to meet Elias’s brother, the pastor. It was such a blessing to have a man who sat next to me and translated the entire service. Feeling God's presence as His Word was read and illustrated, this beautiful group of people was absolutely amazing (John, a middle school aged, bilingual, special needs child was my favorite)!! I am nonchalantly reminded often that summer is coming to a close-- school starts soon. I am simultaneously being reminded to keep my eyes open; it may be closing time for summer break but God's blessings do not have a closing time!

The Struggle is Real, Lighten Up!

The Struggle is Real, Lighten Up!
I woke up this morning and was absolutely livid about things that did not occur last night but then realized that it was no fault of her own. There were so many thoughts racing through my mind and they were not all good things-- I wanted to cry. What keeps me from crying is that I keep remembering the doctor telling me how amazed he was at how well I am doing and that he can't believe that I I'm on my own, hold a job, and function like I do. As much as I want to give up and let my brain injury take over, I can't. I think of all the people who are dealing with this with me. I think of Jaimie Jennings. Jamie was in the very first math class I took (2000?) at UCCS. She also has a brain injury and understands more than I can imagine about how life is struggle. After I totally panicked waking up text messaging and freaking out, her calm response with exact details reminded me that she understands. Not everybody understands or even wants to understand, but I smile as I think of the amazing people in my life who have accepted the differences, and allowed their life to grow in learning about this new way of life.
I was about ready to close out because rain is coming when I received a phone call. It was a friend who has moved because of the military, he was having a rough day but after he was reminded of the awesome person that he is, he assured me that things were better.
Dealing with this is on one hand, a very serious issue, but as I had my tea refilled and the barista told me about my fashion issue my headband being the top of my head around my ponytail instead of my forehead) it's not always that serious :-).
I entered Starbucks this morning being completely sad but as it happens everyday, God showed His face in the simple things and my day has gotten so much brighter.
I definitely understand that some things in life are serious but we are, on a grander scale, all dealing with the same struggle and living the same life. (however let me go ahead and tell you that when you try to tell me that we are all fighting the same battle and you are dealing with the same thing I am, there will be an issue :-)). My train of thought I'll probably have jumped the track and not remember what you're talking about. And for you to decide when I'm going to remember something is not your place, and what I found out is it's not even mine! Thanks Doc! Yes this life is a struggle and it is real, but sometimes… lighten up!

Procrastination or Justification?

Procrastination or Justification?

Putting off going to Walmart because the neighborhood Walmart did not have any WD-40 I found out was not procrastinating at all. It was actually letting p my brain digest the options which I thought were nonexistent. I had and it gone to King Soopers and was sad when all they had were smaller bottles of WD-40. As I was waltzing down the aisle with an employee, he suggested something. I had completely forgotten about. I explained the situation to the employee and he said why don't you go to Ace Hardware, it's right across the parking lot! Oh my lanta! How and why did that never cross my mind over the past couple weeks I have been putting off going to Walmart Supercent. Come on weeks Kimi? You have not been on summer break for that long, you've only been thinking about this for days and maybe only hours! I went to Ace Hardware and that was so much fun! There was a man in there who was very loud and made sure that everyone else could hear every line he thought was funny and every comment he had to make about every item to look at... Especially a $200 lunchbox his son thought he needed for high school at Doherty? I didn't stay around to hear about that but as I had explained, I could hear about it no matter where I went in the store.

I did find WD-40 and actually could have purchased at King Soopers but I suppose I needed a little excitement to blog about and God knew this.

I decided to stop by Starbucks on the way home even though it would only be for a little while. I rolled in and I was greeted by. Essam,  my awesome friend from Iraq and his friend, Assad. It really warmed my heart to talk about Elias, the man who introduced me to both of them. Especially because Elias has since passed away.

I was able to see Sherry but either she was busy or I was busy so we were not able to talk much. She is such an amazing woman; no, her being a petite little Japanese women and the excitement I get when I think of Bachan, a petite little Japanese women have zero correlation.

I am glad that I spend so much time at Starbucks because today I have been shown in several different ways how important it is to remember the student's names when I see them at school and especially outside of school. Whether it was on my trip to King Soopers or when I was recognized by a Starbucks barista who was leaving for the day, I was on cloud nine!

Deciding I better head home because the rain clouds are coming, before I close this blog I just want to praise God for Rebecca Freeland! While I was going to complain about my tiredness and not sleeping well, God put her post in front of my journaling ability. I was about to complain about not having adequate sleep, Rebecca has not had any sleep for the past 4 days because her special needs child! Rebecca please know that I am praying for you guys! Thank you for being so open and vulnerable about your life struggles.

In closing I would like to say that I do not procrastinate, if I would have fed my need for instant gratification and gone to Walmart Supercenter I would have not realize there's a store in wheelchair distance from my house carried the needed product, WD-40. What many would call procrastination or justification, I subconsciously know the truth.

Not only Colorful Colorado, Care-ful Colorado

Not only Colorful Colorado, Care-ful Colorado
I was off on my adventures this morning and around 10 was already headed back to my house from the grocery store. I wasn't listening to music, I wasn't listening to another person talk, I wasn't doing anything that should have distracted me from driving. Oh and I had my groceries on the back of my wheelchair and a 12 pack water bottles down on my foot pedals in between my feet. I went over a bump. I didn't think it was that big so I guess I was going a little too fast and the water bottles jostled. Alright maybe a little more than jostled because the package broke open and bottles shot in every different direction.
I was fine picking up the water I just had to reach a little on a couple that rolled back down to the curb. “No biggie, it's just a thing” I thought. A few minutes later I was trying to arrange the package that what is now useless on my foot pedals. Within a couple minutes a man drove over to me apologizing that no one had stopped to help me. He said he was going down the other side of the street and saw what happened and he turned around.
No sooner did we get all the bottles put on the wheelchair did I have more excitement. This time I was by a restaurant when I ran off into the rocks. Rocks inhibit my progress and if I try to get out of them they reverse my progress. Luckily a nice lady a British accent and a few other people helped me.
When the first man helped me with my water bottles everywhere he seemed sort of discouraged because no one had stopped by the time he came back. It was really nice because he was trying to encourage me not knowing that it's just a thing that did not phase me at all.
I am so grateful for these amazing people! I wish the first man could have seen the second event occur. More often than not there are people who are not preoccupied with their daily agenda and are able to lend a helping hand. Colorado is  such an amazingly colorful state but it is also full of people who care.

2 in 1 The Struggle is Real- Soft Kitty - Inner Warrior Spirit

2 in 1 The Struggle is Real- Soft Kitty

     I am a pretty self-sufficient woman…  with help from everyone around. One of the difficulties since my brain injury is that I have not been able to clip my nails. Most of the time it is hard enough to have someone else clip them because my fine motor skills are out of whack my hands shake uncontrollably (intention tremors). I am often given tasks to do in my head like saying the alphabet backwards  so I am no longer intentionally trying to hold my hands still. My nails are very thin and were ripping off constantly. What could I do, What could I do? I could go get a manicure and get my nails done all pretty but I'm too rough on my hands and that would not last for long at all. There are normally friends around who I can ask for help but not then. Perhaps I'll run into somebody that just looks like they want to cut my fingernails, I thought. So I put my clippers in my purse, my huge duffle bag purse. I sat in my hot rod and was off.
First I stopped by Sally's and asked if someone would clip my nails although I thought it may be against a rule, regulation, or something to that effect. The kind lady looked at me and said we sell hair products. In my head I was thinking, “well most of the places that sell hair products also sale nail products... and know how to clip nails, right? Terrible thing to be thinking, I now know. However she did tell me that Amy's Nails was a few doors down. Well I didn't know that, for some reason I thought this was Amy's Nails. I headed out the door and went went to Amy's Nails, pulled my clippers of my duffle bag and in approximately 5 seconds later she she was done. Things we take for granted. Let me recommend Amy's Nails to anyone who gets their nails done in any form or fashion because unfortunately I do not.
Next I was headed to Starbucks to get Grandpa's coffee. It made me so excited that Grandpa actually wanted coffee again! I unintentionally ran into Megan who has two absolutely adorable boys. They were curious about me and my wheelchair. I explained my situation and read my books to her boys as they were very engaged and had wonderful questions. Megan and I were talking and she explained that her husband works for the Air Force as a civilian.
Trying to stay within my Starbucks budget,  I was jokingly throwing a fit about the total being over the normal price. Unfortunately there happened to be someone behind me (normally I order when there is no one behind me because I take a long time to make decisions) and he decided to pay for it. Robert and I talked for at least 20 minutes as alarms were were going off on my phone to be places but I have become so accustomed to ignoring them- - that makes two habits I need to break: taking forever to order at Starbucks and ignoring my alarms. I was excited to learn that Robert's daughter has special needs - - an instant connection! I became so excited! Although I told him I work for a middle school I forgot to tell him that I work with special-needs students! I was super excited at that moment but I'm sad that I forgot to mention that so he couldn't share my excitement.
I want to Verizon and have some minor repairs made to my phone - - actually I was just learning how to use it. I was later sent to Best Buy as I was told that they may have what I needed in stock. I got there and Best Buy did have what I needed. My excitement went through the roof when speaking to a cashier because she had an English accent - - I love making connections between people I've known and people I meet - - her English accent totally reminded me of my dad's next door neighbor! Then I headed back to Verizon because I recently found a clicker that I thought I remembered was for camera on my phone. I handed it to them and asked them to make sure it's connected to the new phone. They sent me back to Best Buy where the employee and I had a great conversation while he pulled a few magic tricks and figured it out! I went back to Verizon to get assistance with a phone function and as I was heading out the door and I began to cry. I had no idea what I was crying about although I wish to a thousand things in my head  but I could be crying about this time but they were all things out of my control so I just laughed. By the end of all this my head was killing me and I just needed to go home and sleep but even after I took a cat nap my head was still pounding and I needed Soft Kitty to be sung to me.
Oh wow so this is two in one because this is Friday and Saturday, on Saturday.
Saturday was not very eventful and I was totally discombobulated. I got ready to do my normal morning routine and things were altered. I got to the office and there was an amazing fifth grader who asked me about my wheelchair. I told him use my car and ended him my book and he read it to me. Talk about an amazing reader! Later I talking to the men in the comfy chairs. And they were describing meditation. Although I have not researched the site yet, one of the men explained how he was suffering from PTSD and other ailments and mentioned the Inner Warrior Project and how meditation has helped him. See the link below for more information.

https://www.facebook.com/innerwarrior8/posts/2151039554910444

They're Everywhere They're Everywhere!

They're Everywhere They're Everywhere!
My mind had so many things going on this morning I wondered if I should even go to the office or not. But then I thought, “ Kimi, you need to quit thinking about yourself and think about good things that happen at the office.” So I did my part in settling what was happening in my mind and headed down to the office. I rolled in and of course the morning rush was there although I didn't seen any of my friends. I am afraid I may have missed them. There was a lady and her children sitting at the wheelchair table but they were having breakfast and looked to be about finished so I went over to another table to collect my thoughts and not invade their breakfast time. Of course I started talking to the little girls and one of them was very shy and a little scared of my hot rod. I pulled out my children's book and their mom read “I Can't Walk But I Can Roll” to them. It was so exciting to see the little girl's face light up when her mom explained that girl is me.

On a good note, I am getting my excitement under control; even though I was so excited that when I woke up this morning I didn't text anybody right then. I waited until after I worked out and then I even told myself to wait until after I showered and I listened!?!  A lot thought sorting happens in the shower. I have been reminded at many meetings (my counselor, pastors, random counselors, coworkers) that sincerely asking for forgiveness and prayer are the most that can be done on my part when I feel like I may have wronged someone  or period after that it is out of my hands.

When I first arrived I noticed two lovely ladies but they seemed to be into their conversation so I minding my business for a bit however there came a time when speaking to the ladies seemed all the okay I heard them mention something about teachers and then elementary school. The door for conversation-- wide open! As if I wasn't excited enough, I got super excited to find out that the daughter (Kristy) of one of the ladies (Chari) will work at West Elementary next year. And the other lady (Brenda) is a retired teacher.
I expectedly, unexpectedly got to go on an adventure with my niece and her boyfriend who took me to get my medicine. Rei and were so funny--! she is the best uber driver ever!

About to finish the blog for tonight because I was feeling a little under the weather I haven't run into a person sitting at the new high chair long table Haley. Come to find out she's a history teacher at Mitchell High School! My goodness, educatord in some form or fashion are everywhere! They're everywhere, they're everywhere!

I am going to start including bullets of my random thoughts at the end of each blog.

Katie this Norwex optic cloth hanging off the side of my purse is so convenient and amazing!