AnneLyze

Oprah has her favorite things and I have mine. This is my list for 2010. Enjoy! 1. Eminem. His CD Recovery is awesome. He has matured and is clean and sober. It’s raw, intense and gutsy. “I’m Not Afraid” is my new theme song. 2. Satsuma Body Wash from the Body Shop in Colonie Center. Orange smelling and delicious. 3. Favorite TV show; Sons of Anarchy. Season 3 just ended and it was the best season yet. I’ll have to content myself with Season 1 and 2 on DVD until Season 4 starts in the fall. 4. Favorite Book of the year; Still Alice, by Lisa Genova. A story of a woman with Alzheimer’s. It’s sad, honest and very well written. Second place is A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson. 5. Smile box. It’s a computer program put out by Wal-Mart. You put your pictures on it, set it to music and you have awesome slide shows. 6. Converse All Stars. My favorite pair is black and white checkered and a friend gave them to me for my birthday. Santa brought me a pair of red ones for Christmas ...

Christmas is the holiest time of the year for Christians. I wanted to learn more about it and understand why it is such an  important holiday to so many people. Since my children were born I placed a bigger emphasis on Santa Claus. This year I need it to mean more than just loads of gifts. This is what happened according to the Book of Matthew and Luke. Mary was engaged to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter. An angel named Gabriel came to her in a dream and told her she would have a son, Jesus who would be the son of God. “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor in God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus." She had faith in God and said, “I am the Lord's servant; let it be as you say". Mary, being a virgin, was scared, but she found enough strength and faith in the Lord’s word to tell Joseph. A Holy Spirit came to Joseph in a dream and confirmed what Mary had told him and Joseph stayed and supported her. During this period, Caesar Augus...

I am feeling more and more melancholy as Christmas approaches. I have been playing Christmas music for weeks. I put my Christmas tree up last weekend.  My shopping is mostly done and it's all wrapped and under the tree.  But the sadness creeps in. It's crazy to feel sad when I take care of people with cancer and there are homeless families out in the cold. It's nothing in comparison.  But I'm trying not to dismiss my feelings and and bury them with food.  I need to face the sadness. I have so many good childhood memories from Christmas. Visions of Barbie Dolls, flannel night gowns, party dresses from Auntie Barbara, Martha and I snooping for presents, and being so excited Christmas morning I couldn't stay still, float in my head. I learned to love Christmas music from my Mother. She had her record player stacked with Christmas music from Thanksgiving through New Years Day. Our Christmas mornings always started early but with happiness and presents. Eventu...

Create your own free photo slideshow It was a nice December day, so after a busy morning I decided to go to Lark Street to enjoy some window shopping and to watch the Fifth Annual Santa Speedo 0.8k Run.  It was a gorgeous day compared to the last several and a lot of people were milling around.  The bars were busy, especially the Oh! bar. The Santa Speedo Run is a fund raising activity for The Albany Damien Center located on South Lake Avenue.  It is a community center for individuals and families living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.  The race was coordinated by The Albany Society for the Advancement of Philanthropy.  Their goal was to raise $15,000.  The race is fun to watch and everyone around me was having a great time.  Sam ran it several years ago and had a blast.  It so easy to take it all in and have fun but behind this creative fund raiser is a very serious issue.  I hope everyone today took...

Recently the Pentagon surveyed 115,052 troops and 44,266 spouses regarding Gays in the Military. The Defense Department, based on the survey, concluded “that openly gay people can serve in the US military without harming national security”. This was reported in the December 13, 2010 edition of Time magazine. The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law is 17 years old and last May the House voted to repeal it. It is now up to the Senate to decide its fate. The New England Journal of Medicine reported in their December issue, that the current “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy puts troops at risk. Because Gay members of the military fear giving full medical histories, expressing medical concerns and questions, it increases the risk of spreading disease. It got me thinking about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” things in my personal life. How many times a week do I think,”what I don’t know won’t hurt me”, or “ignorance is bliss”? Is it okay to not ask and therefore not know? And does the enormity of the action ...

On Monday I went to the Dermatologist for a spot on my eyebrow. With my family and personal history of skin cancer I thought I'd have it checked out. Usually I can diagnose myself with skin stuff but I couldn't see it without reading glasses but the reading glasses blocked my view. It was a Seborrheic Keratosis, a benign skin growth that occurs as you AGE . Not only could I not see it, but it was an old lady spot. Boy did I feel old. The next day I got a zit the size of Montana on my chin and I didn't feel so old, but it was huge. Tuesday was the season 3 finale of Sons of Anarchy and it was awesome. But it ended at 11:30 and I knew I was going to pay for staying up so late. Wednesday I was so tired after staying up late the night before,that I went home after work with a pizza for Ben and I, instead of going to 677 Prime, a restaurant that I could never afford to go to, but it was a Medical Dinner and it was free. I can't believe I picked pizza and Ben over Sea Bas...