Fighting The Sore Throat

Since Sunday, I have been battling something that can best be described as “ICK!” I’ve been running fever, have a cough that sounds like a seal bark, plus bad stuff running out of every orifice, not to mention the throat is stinging & feels like its going to close off.

I went to my local CVS yesterday to get cough drops, and I ran across a new Chloraseptic. I’ve used that product for years much to the dismay of my husband. So I bought the new offering, marched out to my car, ripped the safety wrapping & sprayed my throat. Guess what? This stuff is nasty flavoring, smells bad & actually stung worse than not treating it!!!

This products totes the word “Warming” on the label? There is no warming! It’s more like deep throating a bottle brush!!

So take it from someone who has tried this crap, don’t waste your money! Stick with the original Chloraseptic if you are into throat sprays!!!

Returning to bed now…..

K~

A New Passion

A 

So as you can tell, I have discovered the awesomeness of making my own jerky in…..wait for it……. AN ELECTRIC OVEN! 

I have even played with Bacon Jerky and sent some with my youngest and my husband on a camp-out they recently had. I think I added a bit too much honey to the marinade on that batch. But since then, I have figured out the way to a perfect Jerky. The only problem I have is the issue of control. I cannot control myself from eating nearly every piece that comes out of that oven! LOL! 

I guess that it’s facing illness that has made me realize, I am just a bit over 6 months away from being 45, and guess what? I’M STILL HERE! So in that realization, I have decided that the time has come for me to try things I have always wanted to do. Making my own edible jerky was just one on the list of many things I have set out to do before I kick the bucket and all that’s left of me is spiral notebooks filled with all sorts of things, from poems to story ideas to plain out raw journaling.

I have had so much fun living that I urge each and everyone of you to go ahead and try the roller coaster of life. You never know when you might find a hidden talent and un-lock it! 

If anyone wants me to like post recipes or something, just leave me a comment below!

Until next time!

 

K~

What I Remember About The 1980′s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was watching a show on the National Geographic Channel entitled “The ’80′s! The Decade That Defined Us.” The first part of the show was about how America changed in the one year that was 1980. From the United States winning Olympic Gold in Hockey to the election of Ronald Reagan. 

I was 12 that year. I remember the hockey games very well, I have watched both Winter and Summer Olympics every airing since I was probably old enough to climb into a chair on my own. I remember that the attitude of the Untied States started changing after the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. There seemed to be a resurgence of patriotism. But after the election of Reagan, the entire country seemed to move into consumption of electronics, home work-out videos boomed, and everyone seemed to start to pull away from each other with the advent of not only hand-held video games, but the Sony Walkman burst on the scene. (Yes I had one! I ADORED IT! Made long bus rides just go by real fast.)

Rock and Hip-hop merged with the release of the song “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith and Run DMC. We had a president that was once an actor. Computers not only changed the way businesses were ran, but they started entering homes. An upstart little cable channel, MTV, hit (believe or not) Wichita KANSAS before it hit New York City! Back in those days, we didn’t have shows on MTV, they played music videos 24/7.

Back in the 1980′s, cable was mostly out in the rural areas that didn’t have broadcasting stations like Dallas, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, etc. So today, when I think back and realize that in the small town south of Dallas, Texas (that I grew up in) got MTV before New York City, it’s amazing and nothing short of really wondering if it was fiction.

Un-employment was high, mortgage rates and interest rates were through the roof. But yet, everyone still had an endearing sense of optimism. Seems like no matter how awful day to day reality was in that time, the American Public as a whole seemed to march to the beat of the old song “Happy Days Are Here Again.”  

It just seems odd now that I am looking at the threshold of 45, that I look back on the 1980′s, back when I went from pre-teen, to in my early 20′s, that I don’t understand how everyone, myself included, could have just blindly gone to the mall, bought more and more shoulder pads, teased our hair to heights that today is reminisced in movies from that era. It was a time of being focused on the “ME” but at the same time looking at the world around us. One phone call to Germany would forever change our telecommunications. Suddenly, everyone had a cell phone. Ok, so back in the 1980′s, the cell phone resembled more of a suitcase with a regular phone handset attached to it, but if you had one, you were LIVIN!

In 1982 17,000 businesses failed. But that was the year that brought us Brooke Shields in Calvin Kline Jean ads. And just like that, if you were a teenaged girl in the sub-burbs, you HAD to have the Calvin Kline jeans, or the Gloria Vanderbuilt, or Sassoon jeans. 

Attached to this blog is a picture of me from 1987. I was 19, and yes, that is a Russian Blue Fox Fur that I had on. PETA, please don’t protest me now for it, like I stated, it was 1987 and the entire country seemed to want to live in opulence and for most of us, that fur was the status symbol that many longed for. 

Well, the National Geographic has two more nights of this special series on. I’m sure that as I watch more of it, I’ll remember more and where I was when ________________ happened.

 

Until next time!

 

K~

 

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Today marked the end of a path through a dark tunnel.

Years ago, when I first started writing blogs and columns, I would sometimes write about my kids and what they were going through. I stopped that when the kids complained that I didn’t seem to have a filter. So ever since then, I’ve been reluctant to share what some of the struggles we go through as a family.

Well, we have recently been going through some trials and tribulations. A diagnosis of cancer again, (that I am seriously thinking about a second opinion!) but our youngest has been walking down a dark path for a while now. And it all came to a head finally.

He’s a wonderful kid, he’s the one that brought back my Christmas spirit just this past year. But because he sings and dances, and he’s VERY talented at it, he’s getting picked on at school. Now before you start in, I know that schools now in Texas, all have this “Rachelle’s Challenge” about signing a pledge against bullying, and the teachers and principals are pro-active. BUT, when you have a child that is not only smart, but talented, no matter what we adults want to say to ourselves and each other, if another kid wants to, they will find a way to down-right harass your child to the point of physical illness. 

I have been at my wit’s end since December. We had a principal change at school, I know that the new principal at this particular school is going to be AWESOME, but the problem at the school is that they have been through several principals ever since my youngest was a kindergartener there. A major change in leadership like that in an elementary school setting, where you have a group of kids that are targeting other kids over grades and extra-currecular activity? It is just ripe for things to not go well.

I’m not faulting anyone, other than myself, I was active at the school. I did volunteer in the library and I did talk to the 5th grade about what writing a novel was like. But I think that not only having an active Momma at school, but always being in a predominate performing spotlight? Yeah, my kid didn’t have a chance. 

This morning, the light at the end of the tunnel was surrounding us as we walked into a fine arts academy FILLED with kids, just like my kid. All of them talented as they can be, the specials are TARGETED towards things that my kid LOVES! Everyone was open and friendly, and he already knew several kids from our church and several through scouting. 

He is in his element now. Hopefully the anxiety and anger he’s been having secretly build up will ease up and help us to recover the normally happy dancing child he’s been since the day he entered this earth. 

My advice to others who may be going through the same thing? Don’t give up and keep your eyes open on the internet and especially through your district. They may have schools of choice and you might shed a few tears in the School District Office. But if you know there is a better school for your kid, fight to get it. 

New Frontiers

So I have been thinking about a new project. I have a great short story that is written, to turn that short story into a traditional novel, I’d have to ruin the beauty of the simplicity of the story as it is. Or I could develop more short stories and put out a book that is a collection of short stories. But I have a DIFFERENT idea for that!

I would LOVE to be able to hook up with someone who is a good artist, isn’t weary of not only gore, but fantasy as well and turn that short story into a graphic novel! How much fun would that be? Plus it would have a toe into new water for me. 

So, if you think you have what it takes to kick out something that is like nothing no-one has ever seen, hit me up and let’s see what you can do!

Oh Christmas Tree!

You might be wondering as to the decor of my tree this year. We had help with the ornaments, our elf “Remington” decided that the bottom part of the tree didn’t need the ornaments that the rest of the tree had. He has pulled nearly every ornament off the bottom and we have had to crowd the top in order to keep his furry little self from eating the glittery snowflakes.

I have the craziest cat on the planet!

But as I sit at night, looking at the white lights on the white tree bounce off the blue sparkly snowflakes and icicles, my mind floats back to Christmases past and I wonder what happened to the aluminum tree that we had when I was about 3 or 4. I wonder why those aren’t in fashion anymore.

Then I think back farther and wonder when Christmas Trees became in style and what the people of ancient times would think if they saw some of the trees of today. Would they approve? Would they think we are stupid? Would they look in awe at the lights and look in awe at some of the organza bows that adorn some trees?

I wonder what Noah or Queen Ester would think to see some of the tree decor that I have seen on Facebook and Pintrest. I also wonder what they would think about the internet.

Yeah, I think odd things at times, I wrote a blog about it back when I started writing and Useless Knowledge carried my ravings.

Want to see some of the early works of Kaycee Nilson? Check out http://www.kayceenilson.com to read what I’ve written over the years.

And on that note, I am wishing you and yours a VERY joyous Holiday Season……

My Christmas Spirit Has Been Restored

Grand Prairie Farmer’s Market

Recently, my laptop was stolen from my home. I can tell you that working on novel #2 and then having that happen was enough to make me want to set fire to each and every Christmas decoration I saw. But on Friday, November 30, 2012, my spirit was restored when I watched my youngest sing in a choir of 270 elementary kids. Even though we had faced adversity, that kid went in front of the entire town, including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor and put the biggest smile on and performed like he was born for the stage.

Watching him sign as he sang “In This House” brought back what had been taken from me. I realized something, it’s not the materialism of the entire season, it’s the emotional connection that should be there. It’s the realization that even though we were violated and things taken from us, the most important thing was that our family was together, we were able to still sleep with a roof over our heads, and we did know where our next meal was.

I then felt selfish as I realized that in this world, there are mothers who are holding their children for the last time as they may lay dying from starvation. That moment there were parents receiving word that their child had died in an armed conflict. Parents wondering where their child could be. Children wondering where their parents could be. Children wondering if the next morning they would be eating.

Seeing my child put the horror of the past week behind him and sharing that simple song, renewed something in me. I no longer wanted to kick a puppy. I knew that in this house, there is love, not only that night, but each and every night to come after that fateful Friday and the performance.

He helped me to believe again…And that is the best Christmas Gift any adult should ever want or need.