Rock and Roll Saved My Soul

11-29-19: This week has been good. I been off. I have all my kids for Thanksgiving. Time with my man and my kids. It's been great and much needed. I haven't got a family photo yet but I will. It's been such a blast!! We are going to see frozen 2 today. We are putting up the tree this weekend. We are also putting my birthday present together as well. Busy weekend for us. I just can't wait. Time with everyone!! I'll have pics next week though. 

NOVEMBER IS ALZHEIMER’S AWARENESS MONTH Every 70 seconds, another American family is affected by Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s is a complex neurological disease that is the most common form of dementia.  More than 5 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s and more than 10 million are caring for a loved one with the disease. Top Signs of Alzheimer's: 1. Memory Loss: Forgetting recently learned information is one of the most common early signs of dementia. A person begins to forget more often and is unable to recall the information later. What's normal? Forgetting names or appointments occasionally. 2. Difficulty Performing Familiar Tasks: People with dementia often find it hard to plan or complete everyday tasks. Individuals may lose track of the steps involved in preparing a meal, placing a telephone call or playing a game. What's normal? When you occasionally forget why you came into a room or what you planned to say. 3. Pr...

Thanksgiving Day, annual national holiday in the United States and Canada celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. Americans generally believe that their Thanksgiving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people. The American holiday is particularly rich in legend and symbolism, and the traditional fare of the Thanksgiving meal typically includes turkey, bread stuffing, potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. With respect to vehicular travel, the holiday is often the busiest of the year, as family members gather with one another. Plymouth’s Thanksgiving began with a few colonists going out “fowling,” possibly for turkeys but more probably for the easier prey of geese and ducks, since they “in one day killed as much as…served the company almost a week.” Next, 90 or so Wampanoag made a surprise appearance at the settlement’s gate, doubtlessly unnerving the 50 or so colonists. Nevertheless...

November 26, 2019: Life has been pretty okay, aside from the ever persistent sleeping problems. This week has been and will continue to be not a very good week sleep wise. Most weeks I never work more than three days in a row due to my issues and it's contribution to my anxiety. The more days in a row I go without proper sleep, my anxiety sky rockets. By day four or five I'm on edge of a panic attack all day long. This week I'm on a four day stretch, so I'm worried about the outcome.  I shouldn't have had this long stretch, but because of Thanksgiving (my holiday to work) I have to. Hopefully I can make it through the week without any issues. This is my first long stretch since the new diet, so I don't know if that may help the anxiety level or not. 

My family and my health -Lori M. Funny memes -Joy H. Grandchildren -Leanne Z. My best friend -Andrea M. My best friend -Emily R. The internet and google maps. I seriously don't know how we found anything or communicated in the pre interweb days! -Lisa S.

November is National Adopt A Senior Pet Month–a month dedicated to helping older pets find loving forever homes. Shelters and rescues across the country hope those looking to adopt a new furry friend will consider adding a senior pet to the family this month. If you care about sweet senior animals, help spread the word throughout November. We can help older pets find homes together. Here’s what you should know about older pets during Adopt A Senior Pet Month. Senior Pets Have Trouble Finding Homes: Many people walk into a shelter or scour a rescue’s website hoping to adopt a new puppy or kitten, completely overlooking the perfectly adoptable older dogs and cats in kennels and cages in their search. In many cases, the absolute most difficult group of homeless pets to place are older dogs and cats. Senior pets tend to spend the longest amount of time at shelters or rescues before finding their forever homes. That’s if they find one at all. Canines and felines of...

11-22-19: This week wasn't too bad as far as my depression goes. I got to go home early one night so I got to spend time with my kids and my boyfriend. That was nice. The only bad thing was I had to go back to work for a meeting at 6am. I did make it to that though, so it worked out. Now I have the next week off. Which should be good. Boyfriend has the week off too. Plus, I get all my kids for Thanksgiving! :D I can't wait for that! I did have a weird thing happen at work last night. So just before lunch was over my pinkie, ring and middle finger were all numb on my left hand. Then walking back to where we all stretch. Mt right pinkie and ring finger on my right hand went numb. I went and told the AMT and we went to the guard shack (security/EMT). They checked some stuff but with the fact they aren't a nurse or dr they weren't really sure. Not having any signs was really odd. I will have to go get check out though. I iced my forearms and at the time of icing the...

In addition to learning more about lung, pancreatic and stomach cancer this month, November is also a great time to learn more about carcinoid tumors and other neuroendocrine tumors. If you don’t know much about these tumors, Carcinoid Tumor Awareness Month and Neuroendocrine Tumor Awareness Day can be a great opportunity.  Raise Awareness For Carcinoid Tumors All Month Long Since carcinoid tumors are the most common type of NET, the entire month of November is dedicated to raising awareness. Approximately 12,000 new cases of carcinoid cancer will be diagnosed in 2015. Roughly 8,000 of these cases will be cancers of the GI tract, and the remaining 4,000 being in the lung. Since carcinoid tumors grow in the neuroendocrine system, they are different from other forms of cancer in that form in the GI tract or lung tissue. Carcinoid tumors are typically very slow growing, meaning that symptoms often do not appear for many years. Symptoms are often only noticeable when th...

November 18, 2019: The only thing that's really plaguing me currently is my insomnia. I wish I could figure out a way to cope with it, but nothing really helps. Though I don't know if it's more insomnia or just fatigue or a combination of both. It's frustrating though. To never feel rested. And everything that goes along with it.  I know these next few weeks are going to be hell because of my work schedule. I hope I survive. Though I'm sure that all I'll do is work and sleep. Pray for me. I'll need it. 

World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children's Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare. November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 1990, World Children's Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the Declaration and the Convention on children's rights. Mothers and fathers, teachers, nurses and doctors, government leaders and civil society activists, religious and community elders, corporate moguls and media professionals, as well as young people and children themselves, can play an important part in making World Children's Day relevant for their societies, ...

This story is more than just giving my favorite singer a book. This was a very special book. This story begins a long time ago. I was at work and a song came on the radio. The song was “Give Me Something” by Scars on 45. I fell in love instantly. The year was 2011. That was the first time I saw them live, too. It changed my life. I just didn’t know how it would. Only time would tell on that.  Over the course of the years I saw them a few more times. I got to know them, not just as musicians, but as people. They became friends. I’ve seen a lot of bands over the years, more than I can even begin to count or list. Some of them became friends like that for a time, but this time something was different. Something came alive in me.  Fast forward to winter of 2014. I had a book idea--an idea that came from one of their songs. That very same song that I had first heard three years ago. One book turned into two and then a series. I now have one book completed, five more p...

Our upcoming anthology, Notes of Dreams will benefit BRO-AM!  BRO-AM Gives Back and Invests in the next generation of youth: The SWITCHFOOT BRO-AM Foundation is dedicated to giving back to the San Diego community by heightening the profile of and providing grants to nonprofit organizations that provide services to homeless, at-risk and disadvantaged youth, with a special focus on programs related to music, art and surfing. OUR STORY: Over a decade ago, we sat on a flight home from Australia and talked about some of the amazing places we had visited around the globe. We kept coming back to a single truth - the place that meant the most to us, our favorite place to be, was HOME. Sunny, beautiful San Diego has been an integral part of the people and musicians we have become. Music, art, surfing, access to the outdoors – these outlets kept us out of trouble and offered us a way to think about the big questions in life. The communities we grew up in believed ...

November is Stomach Cancer Awareness Month November, is a month known for the pleasure of eating, is the ideal month to raise awareness about gastric cancer. There is a great deal of focus on food, nourishment, and family at this time of year, and that can be challenging for people dealing with stomach cancer, and for those living without a stomach. In 2010, NSFC successfully championed and celebrated the first official Stomach Cancer Awareness Month in the U.S. Additionally, the Surgeon General has committed to making Thanksgiving Day National Family History Day, emphasizing the importance of knowing one’s hereditary risks for disease, clearly one of the risk factors for stomach cancer. November is Stomach Cancer Awareness Month, however, raising awareness about stomach cancer is important all throughout the year! Stomach Cancer Awareness Month Goals: The goals of stomach cancer awareness are to: Raise awareness and support efforts to educate people about s...

11-15-19: This week hasn't been too bad. I got upped on my meds. I think I will have to start taking two of my meds for my head. This week I have had two headaches one I woke up with. My depression has gotten better. I been streaming games again. Which I missed and the amount of love and support I have been shown after being gone for a month has been amazing. I certainly am glad I am doing better. Just hope I have have more good days than bad days. That is was worries me. I just try to take each day one at a time. Can't change the past and I don't know the future. So I just live in the present.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, when we as a community shine the brightest! It is yet another occasion for us to celebrate our survivors and honor loved ones who have fought this disease. There is also a unique opportunity this month to raise awareness, educate the world by sharing our stories, raise money for research and let patients know that we will never give up. The Hirshberg Foundation strives to guide and embrace each patient, support every family and fund the foremost cutting-edge researchers who will yield results and turn the tide. We accomplish this by funding Seed Grants, providing patient services and giving communities opportunities to unite through our events. We couldn’t do any of it without you, especially in November. Show your support this month by joining our November awareness campaign: Celebrate, Participate and Dedicate! Each word represents an action you can take to make a difference in the fight against this disease. It remains the...

11-13-19: I'm still finding my way with this new added "illness", if you can call a food allergy an illness. If I eat it, it makes me physically ill, so I think that qualifies. Anyway, I've ventured to many grocery stores now in the month that I've been gluten free to find different things to try. So far I haven't found anything that I dislike, so that's a plus! Other than that the insomnia is a beast. And winter is always bad due to my nerve damage. The cold makes the pain worse. But, I haven't had a migraine in a very long time! Or even a headache. So I'm wondering if that was all due to the gluten allergy. Either way, no headaches is something I can get on board with. Fingers crossed it stays this way. 

All images from:  https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/world-kindness-day

I  initially wrote a shortened version of this story for my bookstagram account. rrsmsbookstagram if you'd like to follow me. Anyway, I thought I would write it out for the blog.  Let me start by talking about how Frank Turner ties into RRSMS. Before Rock and Roll Saved My Soul even existed, I was a fan of Frank Turner. I heard him on a local radio station around the time his album Tape Deck Heart came out. In the coming months I spent a great deal of time listening to that album and all the previous albums. Countless listen later, the song "I Still Believe" hit me hard. And I started thinking about what the song meant to me and what it would mean to others. And that's where RRSMS was born. The song talks about the power of music and how it can change and save lives.  "And I still believe (I still believe) in the saints. Yeah, in Jerry Lee and in Johnny and all the greats. And I still believe (I still believe) in the sound, That has the powe...

Veterans Day is a well-known American holiday, but there are also a few misconceptions about it — like how it’s spelled or whom exactly it celebrates. To clear some of that up, here are the important facts you should know. 1. Veterans Day does NOT have an apostrophe.  A lot of people think it’s “Veteran’s Day” or “Veterans’ Day,” but they’re wrong. The holiday is not a day that “belongs” to one veteran or multiple veterans, which is what an apostrophe implies. It’s a day for honoring all veterans — so no apostrophe needed. 2. Veterans Day is NOT the Same as Memorial Day. A lot of Americans get this confused, and we’ll be honest — it can be a little annoying to all of the living veterans out there. Memorial Day is a time to remember those who gave their lives for our country, particularly in battle or from wounds they suffered in battle. Veterans Day honors all of those who have served the country in war or peace — dead or alive — although it’s largely intended...

Independence Day (Khmer: បុណ្យឯករាជ្យជាតិ) is a national holiday observed annually in Cambodia every 9 November. The date celebrates Cambodia's Declaration of Independence from France on 9 November 1953. The site to celebrate the ceremony is at Independence Monument. The vital celebrations are held in the capital city, Phnom Penh although there are some celebrations in many provinces. History: France started controlling Cambodia in 1863. After being colonized around 80 years, King Norodom Sihanouk began claiming dependence from France in 1949. In 1953, he was successful to gain full independence, and France agreed to decolonize the whole country. Due to this accomplishment, Cambodian citizens viewed him as "the father of independence (ព្រះមហាវីរបុរសជាតិ – ព្រះបិតាឯករាជ្យជាតិ)", which depicts that he was the hero of the country. He made the country to develop rapidly. Celebration: Every year, Independence Day is a very special and happy day for the whole ...

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Join LCFA in our efforts to raise awareness of the need for more research and better community awareness of this disease. 3 ways to raise lung cancer awareness in November: Help Lung Cancer Foundation of America raise awareness by trying one or more of the suggestions below. 1. Share awareness facts on social media:  You can download many facts and images via: https://mk0lcfamerica27gkeby.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/LungCancerAwarenessImages-2019.zip 2. Wear the cancer ribbon: Pearl or white – that’s the color of the Lung Cancer Awareness ribbon. LCFA invites you to be creative and make your own white ribbon. Or, if you’d prefer, help raise awareness and funds at the same time by purchasing a lung cancer awareness ribbon from Amazon, through their Amazon Smile program. Choose Lung Cancer Foundation of America for all your shopping through Amazon Smile program. AmazonSmile gives back to LCFA if y...

November 5, 2019:  I should have updated last week, but Halloween festivities got in the way. I ended up not going to my doctor appointment on the 29th, but I didn't need it. After talking with one of my nurse friends at work, I did some research about food allergies. And almost all of my symptoms fit with a gluten allergy. So I decided to try going gluten free to see if that would make me feel any better. Guess what, it did! Now two weeks gluten free I'm also symptom free. It's a relief, but at the same time it is extremely frustrating. A lot of foods I love and would eat every day are something I can no longer have. Sure there are a lot of alternatives. But let me tell you, they aren't always as good and are way more expensive. I'm still trying to find my way through this new journey.  Everything else is pretty much the same as always. Work is exhausting. At least I can make it through my shifts better now. All I want to do when I'm home is sleep...

November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month! #NEAM2019 - #StaySafeSide - It's seizure first aid! The Problem: Epilepsy can affect anyone with a brain. Each year 150,000 more people are diagnosed with epilepsy. Over a lifetime, one in 10 people will have a seizure, and one in 26 will develop epilepsy. It is critical that everyone know what to do if they see someone having a seizure so that people with epilepsy are safer and protected. ~ Phil Gattone, president & CEO, Epilepsy Foundation #StaySafeSide Highlights How Easy It Is To Help Someone Having A Seizure. This year during National Epilepsy Awareness Month (NEAM), the Epilepsy Foundation is rolling out #StaySafeSide, a nationwide effort to highlight the importance of recognizing a seizure and promote seizure first aid. The Foundation is also expanding a series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) focused on seizure first aid to include two new markets — Tampa and Los Angeles, in addition to...

Note: Melbourne Cup Day is observed in all of Victoria unless an alternate local holiday has been arranged by a non-metro council. Since 1861, the Melbourne Cup has been an official race day and, since 1877, a public holiday in Victoria. Around the nation, most of the population stops to bet on the race and watch it on TV. The Melbourne Cup, the race that ‘stops a nation’, runs over 3,200 metres at Flemington Racecourse and is for no more than 24 horses that are over three years old. On the day it’s difficult to know if the public holiday is about the horse race or if it’s about the hats and fashion. High society mixes with everyone else and the full-day event has also become known as an urban fashion parade. Although only Victoria takes the day off, around the country most businesses stop for the 3pm (AEDST) race and share ‘office sweepstakes’, champagne and lunch. Many people who don’t normally bet, get into the spirit of the day and buy a two-dollar office sweeps...

After years struggling to become known in England, the band rose from obscurity when their song "Beauty’s Running Wild" was featured in an episode of CSI: New York. The band were soon signed to Atlantic Records' Chop Shop Records label, which has been successful in getting previously unsigned bands heard through song placements in popular TV programs. The band’s single, "Heart on Fire" was selected as the lead song for the eighth season soundtrack for ABC’s top rated hospital drama, Grey’s Anatomy. Scars on 45’s first EP, Give Me Something, was released in January 2011 and yielded a hit single of the same name that rose to the top 5 of the Adult Alternative Charts and was recognized as one of the "Top 3 Singles of the Year" by Amazon.com. The quintette was also named to Entertainment Weekly's "Must List." Their second EP, which also features "Heart on Fire", was released on 24 October 2011. The band release...