I am 51 years young.  I was a single mom since March 1991.  I raised 3 sons and a daughter without a husband...not easy I assure you, and sometimes worked 2 jobs to make ends meet.  I have always struggled with weight gain, since high school.  After having children, it was really a challenge.   I was also a heavy smoker back then.  I didn't think it would ever hurt me or affect me in any way.  Wrong! 

    Almost 4 years ago, I suffered a stroke. I suffered another stroke 2 years after the first one.  My right coradid artery had been blocked 100% and could not be fixed.  The doctor told me I would have to change my whole way of life.  I cried, because I was so scared.  I thought I was going to die, and I said a prayer in my hospital bed and prayed that God would let me live, and I promised God, I would quit smoking that very moment and never touch another cigarette as long as I lived.

     Today I am smoke free, and alchohol free.  I don't miss either one of those things at all.  I do love food, and have a tendency to replace one habbit with another;  when I gave up the smokes, I turned all of my ashtrays into candy dishes, and thus developed a sweet tooth.  Oh my!

      It's easy to get into a slump, crave foods we love and gave  up in the past,but  feeing better we think it is ok to eat some of those foods again, then before we know it we've  gained a lot of weight, and our cholesterol rose high once again...That is the truth about what happened to me. 

      I am still struggling with ways to cut back and still enjoy some of the foods I love.  I bought a diet and exercise diary recently, and I am seriuos about getting more on track than I ever have before.

After I recovered from the first stroke, something dawned on me:

  My zest for life was even stronger than ever...I didn't want to miss a thing.  I didn't want to miss seeing my grandchildren grow, and spending time with family.  I have an appetite for life that is enormous!  I love this earth and most everything  on  it, and I have not finished what I was put here to do, so I need to get healthy so I can continue this fabulous life!

I'm very creative, I write, I paint beautiful paintings, I have a love for poetry and music , and history.  I also love taking pictures more than anything, and making slideshows with them.  I am very creative, crafty, and loving.  I Sew, knit and crochet, and also love cooking.  I like to fix things up around the house and make them look new.

I believe beauty is in the mind, heart and soul.  We are all beautiful. 

I like to give home made gifts, as they come from the heart. I made Christmas tree ornaments for family and friends this past Christmas, photos of their loved ones inside of a gold framed ornament.  I decorated them with red and green ribbon and Christmas fabric on the back to complete the ornaments. I got just as much out of giving those to my loved ones as they did in receiving them.

     I like to help people in need.  I love animals, and my favorite colors are every color in life's spectrum.

     The last thing I bought for a friend was groceries.  My friend is struggling like many of us, and she is taking care of her daughter who got into an accident a few years ago and two of her grandchildren.  She is on a limited income, and can always use a hand one way or another. 

    Besides that one good deed, most of my gifts are home made.

I also love your show.  Watching your show, "The Doctors" has given me much valuable information and helped me in many ways.  One more thing, I love to share, so I will tell all of my friends about this marvelous website!