Introducing Zoo Borns...The Ultimate "Feel Good" Find

Today, I just wanted to share some "feel good" things because...well... who doesn't like to feel good?

First and perhaps most importantly, I've recently discovered my all-time favorite website: ZooBorns.com!! This site is devoted entirely to announcing the birth and development of baby animals in zoos around the world. As the Seattle Post Intelligencer wrote, "ZooBorns pulls off the difficult task of being cute and interesting for people of all ages while also being informative." It has become a daily treat for me and, if you're also an animal lover, I suggest you bookmark it. There's an amazing update nearly every day.

The second and third thing I want to share also relates to ZooBorns ( I sort of have a one track mind when it comes to baby animals). First is a short video of two tiger cubs and their loving mama at the Pittsburgh Zoo. What really gets me here is the way the mother clearly adores her cubs and cleans them so thoroughly. The other video is of a baby elephant playing during bath time at the Houston Zoo! I dare you not to smile while watching this...enjoy!

[Note: If you can't see the full videos below within the parameters of this blog, just double click the videos themselves and they'll expand to fit your whole screen.]

Sticking with this "feel good" theme, Chronicbabe.com's latest blog carnival is LIVE and the topic is Show Me The Love - a collection of posts "about the love of friends, family, spouses and lovers." This carnival offers a variety of voices that all "show us the power of love that can come from the most unexpected places to change and heal us in powerful ways (and some of the posts show what happens when love goes away). The carnival also includes my February 17th post about my amazing brother.

Okay, and ONE last smile...(gosh, I hate hair days like this one)

Love,

Maya

Happy Valentines Day & My 25th

Happy Valentines Day, my wonderful readers!

I know there is a plethora of "Valentine's haters" out there, but I must confess that I've never been one of them. In fact, I love all things pink, heart-ridden, sugary, and overly sentimental! Even during those times when I was without a significant other in my life, I just liked the thought of a day reserved for "love" - love for my friends, love for my family, and even for myself. Sure, there are cheesy parts of Valentines Day, but then again "cheesy" is a big part of my character description. Therefore, I'm sending all of you the biggest, love-filled hug today. Thank you for being part of my life!

In other news, I had the greatest 25th birthday imaginable. It's actually felt more like a "birthday week" (something I firmly believe everyone is entitled to). Even though my actual birthday was on Saturday, it actually began with an awesome dinner on Thursday. I had made plans a couple of weeks ago to have dinner with Jodi and our friend Ali (whose spotlight will be coming soon), but little did I know that they planned on making it a sweet birthday meal for me. Jodi even travelled downtown to buy me gluten-free cupcakes from Babycakes, a famed vegan and gluten-free bakery in New York City! It was a fantastic way to kick off the weekend ahead. On Friday, I had lunch with Billy Fong... a friend I've had since Colby, and now we both go to Columbia for graduate school! He helped me indulge in a birthday milkshake and then refused to let me pay. On Friday night, I met one of my closest friends (Becky) and some other incredible women for a yummy dinner and a midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show! I'd never experienced Rocky Horror before, but for those of you who have attended a live performance... I'm sure you know just how CRAZY it is! We rang in my 25th with lots of laughs and some crazy dancing! The best birthday present was being able to dance without pain and waking up the next morning feeling well.

After getting into bed at 3am the night before, I slept in on my birthday and kicked off the day by calling my grandma who promptly reminded me that I was the "best gift she'll ever receive." I treasure sharing my birthday with her and, with each passing day, I realize more and more just how lucky I am to have her. After hanging up with her, I signed online to find all kinds of great birthday love in e-mails, Facebook messages, and blog posts...and then the phone calls started! Birthdays are so conducive to feeling on top of the world and remembering just how lucky I am to know the people I know. Probably my favorite message came from my brother: Happy Birthday! Thanks for being the best friend and sister I could ever ask for." Short and sweet, but so wonderful. I headed up mid-afternoon to see my parents for a couple of hours. They gave me amazing presents, cards, and lots of hugs. I also had a wonderful meal on Sunday with the rest of my amazing family, including my grammy - my"birthday buddy" - and even got some more awesome cards and presents in the mail from other people I love.

On my birthday, John had quite the evening planned! The best part was seeing how excited he was to make me happy. When I arrived, he immediately had me open my gift and, as I tore back, the paper, I saw this amazing face staring back at me:

This is a photograph taken by Sharon Montrose - one of my very favorite artists who takes amazingly adorable (and often hilarious) animal shots. I'm pretty sure I let out a scream because I told John about her work nearly a year ago. He remembered! Although the giraffe would have been more than enough, I looked down and found this gem stacked under it...

How adorable are these furry donkey ears?? Donkeys are definitely one of my top 5 favorite animals and I'd say their ears are a big reason for that. Just as I thought I was done and was preparing to hug my thoughtful boyfriend, I saw one last face looking up at me...

I'm in love! John did all the framing himself, which definitely takes a lot of visual planning and time (something he's lacking, being in medical school and all). As a die-hard animal lover, I honestly couldn't imagine a better gift and what made it that much more special was that he remembered what I wanted. After the presents, we headed out to an awesome sushi dinner with his roomies followed by dessert afterwards. It meant a lot that they wanted to celebrate with me too! When we got back to the apartment, John brought out gluten free brownies that he'd baked - another incredibly thoughtful gesture. I was worried that, on my gluten free diet,  I'd have to go without a real birthday treat this year. But John thought of everything...which leads me to this:

 

Happy Valentines Day John!!! I love you more than you could ever know.

xoxo,

Maya

Animals, Hope & Pain Relief...Oh My!

Today I have a few important things to share that aren't necessarily related....

***NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION OPPORTUNITY ***

Want to help homeless animals in 5 seconds a day?

I thought so. 

I want to pass along a website that I believe in and personally verified... The Animal Rescue Site. This  organization gets FREE FOOD donated every day to abused and neglected shelter animals. How does it work? Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. All you have to do is click on the purple box reading: Click Here to Give". You can click AS MUCH AS YOU WANT and this doesn't cost you a thing! Go ahead and  make it your homepage so you don't forget.... it's an amazing and easy opportunity to help in 2011.

FACT: The Animal Rescue Site has actually given 431,314,349 bowls of food since July 2002! (So PLEASE click as much as you can.)

Secondly, today I read a short, but powerful article from the website United Voices For Ankylosing Spondylitis - just one of the many great resources I've found online. It was a comforting thing to hear someone verbalize my morning thoughts..." Do we attempt to get out of bed knowing that pain may be in our agenda for the day?" It's all about hope, poignantly reminding us:

"Hope is powerful. Hold on to it as if tomorrow when we wake, the pain will be relieved forever."

Also, I finally busted out last year's holiday present from my brother (something I completely forgot about...sorry Josh). The gift is Brookstone's Pain Relief Wand, a "clinically proven infrared light technology delivers soothing, temporary relief deep beneath the skin into muscle and joint tissues where pain lives." Just like you, I was skeptical since I experience my pain as anything but "minor". The other night, however, I felt very stiff and had deep spinal pain. My mom moved the wand along by entire back and I definitely felt relief.  I was less stiff and the pain was noticeably decreased... I even slept easier that night. My mom also had a tension headache radiating form her jaw. After fifteen minutes with the wand, it was nearly gone. Yes, it's an investment, but I think it's a solid product - especially for smaller, more concentrated areas such as the jaw, neck, knees, etc.

Lastly,  I've heard from several new readers lately and connecting with you guys is one of my favorite things in the world. So please don't hesitate to drop me a line. I hope 2011 is kicking off well and thanks for reading!

Love,

Maya

Saying Goodbye To A Best Friend

 I've written before about how crucial I believe animals are to our emotional well-being, especially those of us coping with chronic illness. They have ways of sensing our pain like many people never could. They have the ability to empathize with us in profound and surprising ways. Suffering doesn't feel so much like suffering when they're beside us.


In this March post, I first introduced my two wonderful pups - Riley and Lily. If you've spent any time with me, you know I can't go very long without mentioning something about them; you know they're on my mind and my heart constantly. It's hard to explain just what they mean to me, but they're my family... and I think that says it all.

Our gorgeous Bernese Mountain Dog, Riley, was diagnosed with  Canine Lymphoma in 2007 - a form of cancer that is all too common in this breed. Although I was starting my senior year of college and couldn't be home during that time, my mom took him for regular chemo treatments (he was such a good patient that he even offered his paw to get the IV!). With fantastic medical care and the love of our family, Riley beat cancer and still managed to remain the goofy, amazing, and affectionate dog he always was. To this day, our vet calls him her "poster  boy." In our hearts, we knew that every day we had with him was a gift, but it was easy to forget about the possibility of his cancer ever returning.

Lately Riley has been unwell - he's had eye infections, an odd cough, and has just seemed sad. We've taken him to the vet several times recently, but there was no definitive answer until last week when his lymphnodes began to swell. On Friday it was confirmed that his cancer had, in fact, returned. We were devastated, but still hopeful that another round of chemo might do the trick. I spent the day with him on Friday and, as the day progressed, he had a harder and harder time breathing. All I could do was talk to him and try to soothe him, but it hurt to watch him suffering. By the time we brought him for his first treatment that same night, his lymphnodes were so swollen that he just couldn't breathe. It all went so terribly fast. As my mom and I watched our sweet bear pass away, it was easily one of the worst nights of my life.  We are all heartbroken.

No matter what else was going on, Riley's sweetness and warmth remained constants in my life. I knew I could always return home to him bounding toward me, overjoyed by the simple fact that I was there. Riley could brighten any moment and had a certain look that made you feel both comforted and adored. He even stood up on his back legs to hug us! He reminded me to enjoy the simple stuff in life. For example, I'll never forget his favorite pastime:  repeatedly barrel rolling down the hill in our backyard just because it filled him with joy. I loved how he fancied himself a lap dog (all 110 pounds of him) and always positioned himself perfectly for back rubs. His passion for food was unparalleled (who else could put away 13 bagels at a time?). Riley was truly one of a kind and anyone who met him knew that.

 Although the void is tremendous and I'm missing my Riley every minute,  I need to focus on what a gift he was. I am so much better for having loved him.

Love,
Maya

Ps: My blogging will become more regular soon - I'm working hard to get everything back on track...

"Awwww"-Worthy Alternative Medicine!

I've had such an awesome response to my post, Simple Joys & Must Haves of A Sick Chick, that it became quite clear just how universally important laughter is! Sick or not, we all need to find the humor in each and every day because that's where the light is. That's where living is done. So, on that note, I thought I'd share some of my all-time favorite YouTube videos that I turn to regularly for an immediate smile. Is anyone surprised that they all involve animals in some capacity? I didn't think so.

Enjoy and please feel free to e-mail me some of your favorites too! I'm always looking for a laugh (especially lately)

Love,

Maya

Puppy First Howl (Cute Overload)

Where's Bee? (Plus a little bonus reenactment)

Tickling Slow Loris! (I had never heard of a slow loris, but now I would love to wake up to one every day. If any readers know how to make that happen, let me know haha)

Sloth Crosses The Road & Falls Asleep In The Process! (Even if you don't find sloths particularly *cute*, I guarantee a laugh)

Baby Rips Paper & Finds It To Be The Funniest Thing On This Planet (Thought I'd throw one in relating to my own species)

My "Amazing Lady Tour" of Upstate New York

Me and the grill master

I spent the week on an "Amazing Lady Tour", as I like to call it. It had been a year since I last saw Miss Mary Bowers , my former camper and current friend who I first met at Sunshine Camp  8 years ago. She lives just outside of Binghamton, NY, so the drive up from John's apartment was just under 4 hours. I spent the evening catching up with Mary, her awesome mom Pam, and her lovely greyhound Kato. We enjoyed a phenomenal home cooked dinner and, on top of her other talents, I found out that Mary has quite the knack for grilling.

Kato's model shot

I was planning on visiting Mary this summer anyway, but when I found out she had her bi-annual medical appointments in Rochester (15 minutes from John's family's house), I jumped on the opportunity to take her up. Why not coordinate a little camp reunion, right? The morning after I arrived, we woke up at 5:15am (admittedly, the whole plan seemed a little less fantastic to both of us at this hour) and set out on our road trip. I had a blast with Mary as always and quickly remembered just how hilarious she is. The best part of the trip was the good medical news she received from her doctors (Go Mary!) After that, we could both fully enjoy our time.

Sara and Rayne

A priceless smile

We spent a great night with John's parents, his sisters Sara and Laura, and some of their friends. We also had another great meal a la John's mom. Mary and I even had the chance to watch Sara horseback ride the following morning! She rides at an amazing place called the EquiCenter in Honeoye Falls, NY.

Sara & her best bud Marian

The EquiCenter seeks to offer "a number of therapeutic riding, hippotherapy, vaulting and horsemanship (equine facilitated mental health) sessions" with the goal of "provide[ing] a safe, appropriate, productive and enjoyable environment where participants can work toward their individual goals." The pictures don't quite do it justice. Seeing Sara's tremendous smile and clear look of pride was easily worth the trip. It was incredible to watch her horse (Rayne) work with her and the instructor, gently accommodating her specific needs. It also turns out that Rayne is quite the ham in front of cameras after being exposed to so many photo sessions. The experience made me even more sure that I'll use animals in my social work practice one day. They are invaluable, calming beings and I could go on for pages about my respect for them.

Sara & part of her cheering section

Sarah & Mary, Sisterly love

After the lesson, Mary and I continued on to Syracuse to visit her older sister Sarah, yet another one of my favorite women. I met Sarah as a fellow counselor at camp the same summer that I met Mary. I was impressed with her ever since. Sarah is just so fun to be around and she recently received her Masters in Social Work. Actually, she was a big reason I decided to go for my degree. We had a great lunch, but I wish we could have stayed longer. We continued on to Mary's home where we had to say our goodbyes and then it was back home to Long Island.


Since returning home, every joint in my body has seemed to lecture me on the hazards of long road trips. I've spent a lot of time napping and in bed this weekend, but you know what? It was more than worth it. Even if the trip took a lot out of me physically, it was one of those experiences that was so emotionally and spiritually restorative that the physical pain is overshadowed. Thank you to all the fabulous women who were part of my week. I only wish we could do it more often.


Love,
Maya

A Special Bond

This weekend I succeeded in getting my parents to take some time for themselves and go out to their beach house. Since I was house-sitting, my friend Jackie came over to visit and, as we were chatting, my dog Lily (who I first wrote about in "A Fuller Picture") came zig-zagging toward us. She looked up at me with two bright, red eyes and suddenly her paws gave out from under her. She collapsed and, for the next 10 minutes, Lily just wasn't...there. Her limbs went limp and she was unresponsive to anything. Trying to keep my cool (and failing), Jackie and I rushed her right over to the vet. Sure enough, he confirmed that Lily suffered either a severe seizure or a stroke.

My poor, sweet pup. I stroked her during the exam and I think she knew I was taking care of her. We stuck by each other throughout the night and, while I can't say I slept more than two hours because I was obsessively checking on her, today she is back to being Lily and I'm recovering too. Thank you again, Jackie, for all your help yesterday. You were fantastic.

I want to share part of an e-mail I got from someone who is quickly becoming one of the most important people in my life. Her name is Kate Brabon and she lives in Melbourne, Australia. We met when she found my blog. Kate is also living with Spondylitis at the same age. While I plan to do a whole post on the amazing Kate, for now let me share this bit from her letter this morning:

"... It’s just so lucky that you were there when it happened so could get her straight to the vet...I remember reading that you said she’s so in-tune with how you are feeling and just knows when you need comforting. It sounds like there is such a special bond there and I’m sure she feels so comforted having you by her side when she’s not well..."

Kate's totally right and, as usual, she knew the most comforting thing to say at the time. I believe there's a reason Lily is my dog. We're there for each other and when I'm in pain, she is too. I think anyone in chronic pain should have an animal by their side. More than I ever thought possible, Lily knows when I'm sad or  hurting and I can see in her eyes that she wants to make things better. It's a special bond we have and yesterday it felt like I was just re-paying a friend. Here's hoping that episode was a one time thing...






Love,
Maya