A Farewell

My final post. I would be a little sad if I weren't so excited about the new blog that I have been working on. I hope you will come take a look because it is very special to me. Happy New Year, friends!   

leanneretana.com

~ Love & Light ~

Heading Into The Holidays With A Healed Heart

Art by Henn Kim

Here I am. On the other side. It's been nearly eight weeks since my open heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. I can't explain it in words. It's one of those things that can only be experienced and if you're lucky, you'll never have to. It was a hard journey and I am so grateful it's behind me and I am feeling so much better. You guys! My heart is fixed! I still have a road ahead of me. I'm not completely recovered and now I have to get back in shape (recovery is a lot of sitting in bed and not moving). But, I am a modern miracle! I give my love and blessings to Dr. Gillinov for sewing up the very large atrial septal defect in my heart. I am eternally grateful. He is brilliant and saves lives every day. 

I also couldn't have made it through such a terrifying time without the love and support of my family and friends. You guys have been amazing! Mom, Sara, it was so nice of you to come all the way to Cleveland to be with me. That really meant so much. Alicia, you were every bit a best friend. By my side through the entire procedure and a second mother to Fox when Mark and I couldn't be there for him. I know I would have had a complete breakdown if you weren't there with me. 

The amount of love we received when we got home was overwhelming too. We were provided with meals for almost the entirety of my recovery period. Cynarra, I want to thank you especially. The meals you lovingly prepared were so nutritious and just absolutely delicious. You went above and beyond to help us when we returned home. 

Dad, I know you would have been there if you could have, and I am always so thankful for the way you stay rational and calm my fears. I know you were praying for me. I could feel it. 

I want to say that my husband has done everything for me through this entire ordeal. Until he went back to work this morning, I didn't have to lift a finger if I didn't want to. He took care of Fox and kept the house clean and made sure I took my meds and ran all the errands and made sure that we had FUN! (Which is not so easy when you're dealing with a person in pain and doped up on drugs). Mark, you are the most amazing person and I am so happy I get to spend my life with you. 

Finally, little Fox man, you are just so awesome! What a good baby. This kid sat through endless hours of boredom in waiting rooms, slept in his pack-n-play in different hotels, behaved in his car seat for hours on the road, and through it all, I'm pretty sure he found a way to make it kinda fun. 

I don't plan to write about this epic adventure I went through anymore. I'm ready to wrap up this year and start fresh in 2017. I have already started to set things up for a new blog, and will let you all know as soon as I have it up. 

Thank you for reading this and to all of you in the digital world who have supported me through the surgery,  THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU ALL! 

~ Love & Light ~

Open Heart Date

Art by Pamela Jaeger

After much waiting, I finally have a date for my heart surgery. September 15th. So yes, still more waiting. Right now I have the robotic surgery room reserved at the Cleveland Clinic, and if all of my pre-op tests check out, they will go ahead and perform minimally invasive robotically assisted open heart surgery that morning. Let's hope those tests go well and I get the robot...if you have to have heart surgery, it is the least awful recovery time (6-8 weeks).

I think I will probably do a few more posts on this blog concerning my heart surgery experience before I create a new site. It's been so much fun here on No Place Like Home, but I'm ready to focus more on the magical, witchy side of my life and less on the geographical location we live in. So, check back if you care to know how my surgery goes, and to find out where my next blog will be; and as always, thank you for stopping by and reading! 

~ Love & Light ~

P.S.  How perfect is the artwork with the Fox looking on? 😀

Broken Hearted

By now I had planned on having a new blog. I've decided I want to go in a different direction with content and just start fresh. That was the plan, but I've been a little distracted.

I won't go into the details. I'll keep it simple. I've been diagnosed with a hole in my heart (Atrial Septal Defect or ASD) and advised that it must be repaired by open heart surgery. I only got confirmation that surgery is necessary yesterday, and it hasn't really sunk in. I'm in a fog.

This post is meant to let you know why I haven't been blogging lately. I will update once I have a date for the operation. Please send positive thoughts my way.

~ Love & Light ~ 

2016: Year Of The Red Monkey

A new year is upon us and that means it's time for a post about the Chinese zodiac. Chinese New Year begins on February 8th during the new moon and I am ready for the shift in energy. For the past two years I have incorporated the Chinese zodiac into my altar. In 2014, the year of the wood horse, I placed a small wooden box painted with a horse on the lid from my childhood, and in 2015 a small sheep cast of iron for the year of the sheep/goat. I liked having these small symbols upon the altar as a visual reminder of the influences affecting all of us. I've decided to go ahead and do the same in 2016 and have chosen a small hand blown glass monkey from the miniatures collection my mother gave to me. 

I found a great description of the monkey and its influence at apanache.wordpress.com. 

"Full of strength and determination, Fire Monkeys are excellent at not only setting goals, but in meeting them as well. Others enjoy being in the company of Fire Monkeys, even though these Monkeys want the upper hand in every situation.

The positive and negative quality of the Monkey Year 2016 culminate in a year that anything can happen. There is little point in storing up goods or planning one’s life. The influence of the Monkey puts everything into flux. Things will get accomplished, but largely through personal and individual efforts. Group movements, such as political upheaval or revolutions, will not make a mark during this year.

This cheeky animal bursts with exuberance, bringing a lightening fast pace and fantastical motivation. The Monkey increases communication, humor and wit, helping us get through stressful times with grace and ease. Business flourishes and risks tend to pan out. The Monkey’s gift is the ability to find unconventional solutions to old problems. Daring to be different can lead to success.

Talk is fast and cheap though, so be on the alert for deceptions. With so much mental energy zapping around, everyone needs to re-think their fitness program, diet and health plan. If you don’t have one, you definitely need to instigate some form of regular physical activity this year. The body was designed to move! Honor it! Stress needs to be burned off by going to the gym, swimming, yoga, water aerobics, dance, martial arts, team sports, tennis or long walks. When was the last time you did any of these things?

Although a lively, optimistic and progressive year where finances, politics, and real estate should see an upturn, there will be a decided undercurrent of insecurity. Everyone wants to work the shrewdest angle, get the best deal, and win big. However, business decisions made this year should be based on fact, not emotion. Problems and chicanery abound, so nothing this year should be taken for granted, whether politically, financially, professionally, domestically or emotionally.

A particularly auspicious time for new inventions, the Year of the Monkey is for taking risks and being rebellious, a year where agile, inventive minds, sheer guts and bravado will win out. Now is the time of courage, action, anarchy, and true devotion to even the wildest of schemes, a time to start new endeavours, for they are destined to succeed under Monkey’s influence. But a word to the wise: those who can hang on for the wild ride, outsmart the confidence-trickster, and bluff their way through will come out unscathed. Those who are dull or slow witted, and can’t handle the stress will come unglued.

On the individual level, do go ahead with your life. Move forward, make strides, and stretch out for what may lay ahead. The Year Of The Monkey 2016 is a time for business considered as risky, and here the seeds of unplanned success lays. Run with ideas, embrace the inventive, and don’t look back.

Remember that this year will reward the individual effort and those who place their trust in the group collective will face disappointment."

Little point in planning one's life? Works for me! One of the challenges I have faced after Fox was born is letting go of my rigid daily schedule/routine. With an infant the idea of a routine is almost laughable and I welcome the chance to practice flexibility, and do things differently to reach my visions and goals. It might also be the year to revamp this blog or start fresh with a different focus. 

I admit I will probably be pushed out of my comfort zone this year. I'm not the first to jump at taking risks, but as I read more about the monkey influence I'm sensing this will be an awesome year for my husband! Mark is a gutsy risk taker, one of the many reasons I love him, and I have a strong feeling this year is going to be good to him. As for me and Fox, I picture new endeavors here on the home front. One thing is certain; I am going to do my best to be present for every last drop of every last minute because lately time has a way of racing by so fast that I find myself wishing I had a pause button. This year, no matter how crazy, I'm going to embrace it all.

~ Love & Light ~