Alexis B

What a wonderful day. 45 years ago I was born and so was my twin sister. We got 2 birthdays that year because 6 months later a wonderful couple from Cambridge adopted us.My birthday once again this year dragged on for 2 weeks.

It started out where my good friend who celebrates also on March 22 her birthday, went out for our annual birthday lunch. Sandy came to Cambridge where we met at my home. Upon her arrival to my home she gave me a wonderful bunch of fresh cut Tulips and a really cool book. We left my house to go for lunch. As we started to drive down the road we decided to go to the Blackshop Restaurant instead of just a cafe. We decided that we really should celebrate our birthdays and friendship with an extra special lunch. As we sat and shared stories of things happening in our lives, family and friends we realized that we have known each other now for 22 years. We also spent talking about Sandra’s new career at ICOL. For me this is probably one of the longest and closest friends I have ever had. Time can pass by for days, weeks, months & when we get together or connect on the phone it is like no time has passed.

I have been so blessed by Sandy and her family over the years I watched her children develop into fine adults. Both develop wonderful careers for them selves, become partners to that special someone and for Shes to become a mother herself. I have been truly blessed to be a part of that. Thank you all for accepting me into your lives and families I am truly honored to share in this.

Then moving along I decided I would like to cook for some very special friends just to say thank you for being important in my life so I did that last Sunday afternoon. Most that know me know I love to cook gourmet fancy meals. Being single I do not usually cook like that for myself. I love to entertain and to do new fun things. So off to the St. Lawrence Market I headed to buy some special items. I got blue potatoes; no one had ever seen nor heard of them before. I got the best beans I have seen in a very long time, and the best thing I got was the gigantic strawberries. They were wonderful. What a wonderful lunch and afternoon visiting and talking with my special friends.

Now Tuesday night my best friend’s son Glenn the guy at the end with hair and a beard plays in a Christian rock band Downhere and they were kicking off the introduction of their new album with a Canadian concert opening in Cambridge. Of course I wanted to go and support them. Two really cool things happened at this concert. First was I gave myself a Birthday present I wanted to give myself for a very long time! As a young child I always remember my parents had an adopted child from Can Save the Children Fund. Our adopted child was Nim Lou who my parents met in Hong Kong I think years ago. Then about oh I would say around ten years ago I started doing the Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes with my niece and nephew and then I got my mother to once again adopt a child. It has always been in my heart to do this some day. I have never made it happen. This year I decided it was time to take this on. My cousin works for World Vision, Downhere promotes World Vision at all their concerts and the World Vision commercials always break my heart every time I see them. I took action and I now have an adopted child named Alinafe Munthali from Malawi.

The second thing that happened was that Downhere's promoters CMC Distribution had a couple of raffles, one for a pair of Kingdom Bound tickets and one for a Fender Electric Guitar. Now any one who knows me and the Lav family know I gave Jonah a toy guitar for his birthday, Miles a toy piano for his birthday and for Christmas I gave to them both a set of toy drums. So me and my sick sense of humor thought it would be funny to enter their names and mine into the draw thinking we would never win in a million years. Well I won the guitar. So I ask my self over and over what I am going to do with an Electric Guitar. I kept getting the answer sell it. Now any reasonable offer I would sell this guitar. Well I will keep you informed about this guitar, as time passes by.

Wednesday was my actual Birthday. I got several calls through out the day from friends and family. Last year my friend Joan and I went out for dinner and our plan afterwards was to go to a movie. Well we had some time between dinner and the movie so we decided to have a pedicure to help time pass by, oh what a treat. So again this year I decided this would be fun to do on my actual Birthday and Joan agreed to join me for a pedicure. So I went to the Lav house for dinner and then Joan & I went for a pedicure and Glen our chauffer for the night went and saw a movie. We had decided after the pedicure we would go back to the Lav house for a chocolate fondue, but when we arrived there everyone had gone off to bed so we decided we would do this on the weekend.

Normally every year for years I plan my own birthday party and it usually consist of a bunch of my friends getting together for dinner and bowling or something fun afterwards. This year I decided I just wanted to spend it with my Sunday lunch gang. We all went for Thai food and it was great. The restaurant turned down the lights and brought ice-cream with sparklers, singing happy birthday. I was so embarrassed but at the same time thought it was cool. Then Joan had us all back to their place for the chocolate fondue and she surprised me with a cake.

I was so touched. Like my friend Sandy and her family I have been so blessed by the Lavender Family as well. You all have accepted me into their lives unconditionally and I cherish all the special times we have together. Thanks to you all for being in my life and for sharing your lives with me. I so love all the warm hugs and kisses from those two adorable little men. It has been so neat in the short time that you have been in my life to see you 3 become parents, and to watch and be apart of their lives as they grow and develop into little men. Thank you for giving me the gift of friendship.

And I think or hope that my final birthday celebration was tonight at my older brothers home. He had all my siblings and their spouses and children for dinner. Jamie does this every year and it is so very nice of him. He and his wife Marlene are fabulous cooks and we always have a great meal. The kids are always so much fun to play with. They are all getting so excited cause in about 3 weeks we leave on our family cruise. All 18 of the Bennett clan are off to the Cayman Islands and Jamaica on a cruise supplied by our parents for their 50th wedding anniversary. Thanks mom & dad what a wonderful gift to all of us. It was nice to end such a wonderful week with my family, sharing, laughing and just being together. My niece Kate who is gong to be 20 is away at 2nd yr in University, Mike just turned 18 and is school captain, & chair person for his school for the Relay for life. Oh how they grow up and make ya feel so old. Benny 12, turning into a teenager this November is off to high school this fall. MacKenzie and Rob are not far behind. And well they others they just are still at that young funny silly age. So much fun to be with. God may have not Blessed me with my own children but he sure Blessed me with a wonderful niece and wonderful nephews. MacKenzie loves music and is hoping to get a small band together of his friends; he has an acoustic and went nuts to hear I won an Electric Fender Guitar. So guess who know owns it. Yes MacKenzie. He has been taking lessons for over a year and he is buying an amp from a friend. He made me a deal i could not refuse, he is a wheeler and a dealer and I am just glad to see the smile on his face when he went home tonight. I makes it all worth while. He is so excited he is probably sleeping with his new guitar as we speak.

Well thanks to all who helped me to celebrate my Birthday.

You all made it so very special and I do thank you for that.

Till next year, wait maybe I will start counting backwards from now on.

Well another year has come and will be gone as of Wednesday. As they say it s..... To be me. Lately I have had several reminders that I might be getting old and that things are changing for the better in my life.

I have been 9 yrs with out drugs or alcohol, and the past is in the past. From time to time some of the people from the past pop up in my life. All I have to do is speak to them for a few short minutes to realize we are not on the same pages any more and that my book has gotten a whole lot more interesting.

Just over 4 yrs ago I gave my life back to Christ. It was rocky at first but these days things seem to be on a whole lot more of an even keel. Things that use to disturb me for long periods and send me into hibernation (depressions) for weeks only last for days or hours now. When I trust the Lord he seems to never let me down but to carry me forth. He seems to be my driving force these days.

I am doing things today in my life that I never in a million years thought I would be doing. I go to home league at the church every Tuesday. Most of the women are older than me, but it is very enjoyable to socialize and share with them. I run a bible study every Sunday morning at the church. It is awesome. We have been following the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. It is a 40 day study that we are doing over 40 weeks. We are on week 17 and thus far we have learned so much of what God is asking us to do. It is also giving me an opportunity to meet and bond with 7 other women that maybe under normal circumstances we would not meet and get to know. I also have had the opportunity to be a youth leader of the older youth, unfortunately most of those youth are so busy in school, with work and life that they do not want to spend time at youth group but with their boyfriends/girlfriends, friends and just plan socializing.

I never dreamed that I would ever be this involved with the happenings at my church. I use to feel like an outsider sitting looking in but never as I belong. Today I feel I do belong and that people respect me and value me as a member. It takes a long time but eventually as they see you in action, people start to warm up to you.

My circles of friends have changed drastically from the old days. Most of my friends today are from my church. Most of them accept me for who I am and encourage me to keep up the positive changes in my life. I have no desire for the old life and hate when the old Alexis pop in from time to time for visits. Those visits are usually short and are dangerous, but I see them more rapidly these days and nip them right in the bud.

God is God, God is great, God Loves me and I love me. Wow who would ever think I would be saying that.

I am turning 45 years old this week and I am single, never married, no children, and am on disability. This is not exactly how I pictured my life would be at 45. I think it is exactly where God wanted me to be. He is still molding me for bigger and bigger things. I am not sure what but in his time he will revel it to me. I may not have children but I have 1 niece, 7 nephews and friends with children and grandchildren, who I can share in their lives. It is so very awesome. God has blessed me with other people’s children.

Even though I am not where I thought I would be I am exactly where he wants me to be and he is building me and molding me for something. Am I willing and ready, I think so. Am I preparing for it, I hope so. In his time I will know what it is he is asking of me and I pray I am up to hearing, seeing and speaking what it is he is asking of me.

Another thing that happened in my life that I have always wanted to do but never thought it would happen did happen this year. I was able to go and serve my fellow man in the USA after Katrina hit. This was awesome. I got to speak to the people, pray with them, and give them words of encouragement. I want to do so much more of this kind of work. I believe and trust God will lead me there when the time is right.

So at 45 years old I am not sure what my life is about, but each day that I have had regrets they are starting to dissipate and I am starting to prepare for his work. What I do know even though this is not the path I thought I would be on God has taken me on this route for a reason and will take to where ever he wants me to be.

I am blessed with a wonderful family, great friends, a fabulous church and church family. I am blessed to be alive, fairly healthy and am working towards a healthier life style. So I am glad to becoming older and wiser this year.

Well anyone who knows me well knows that when I get a bug in my ear, well nothing stops me. I read in the paper last week about Bugfest 2006 at Wings of Paradise® Butterfly Conservatory in Cambridge, Ontario Canada.

Some people might ask what is Bugfest 2006 Well this is what it is:

COME EAT A BUG! Dailytasting 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m

SEE LIVE INSECTS! Jewel Beetles, Hissing Cockroaches, Millipedes, Tarantulas, and more!

INSECTS OF THE WORLD See interesting insects on display from around the world and learn how insects impact our lives!

PARADISE AWAITS Enter a lush tropical garden bursting with life!Featuring 100's of free-flying butterflies and 75 different species of flowering plants, trees and bushes

Well if you know me well you know I will try anything once. I am almost embarrassed to say that Wings of Paradise has been open for 6 years and I have never gone to see what it is all about. I have heard of Bugfest before as well but never got the courage up to go. This year I set my mind to it. I invited several different young people from my church to go with me but I had no real takers. I asked my nephews but no real keen interest, girls and sports is what interest them mostly these days.

So I got a couple of friends and off we went. They were going to have nothing to do with trying any of the bug food. Now the menu seemed pretty calm to what you see on fear factor so I was game to try. They were serving tea biscuits with crickets, grubs and some kind of worm in it as an appertizer, then grub soup, and for dessert cricket ice cream.

Now it was all pretty tasty but I am not sure if I could eat that for days on end or not.

My two friends were definitely not going to have anything to do with it what so ever. So when we were all done looking at everything and spending an hour in with the butterflies we went to the real cafeteria for some lunch. We all decided to have soup and a sandwich. I decided to go and get some more grub soup to add to my soup. While there I also grabbed a couple of the tea biscuits. I offered to one of my friends to try the teabiscuits I got with my soup. She did and loved it. So I offered her the second one. They were gone in seconds.
When I told her what she had just eaten she said she could not even tell she had just eaten a bug or two. So I just proved it was mind of matter but still could not convince her to try the rest.
They just missed out in a wonderful experience.

So lately I have been out of commission due to a flu bug and strep throat. I woke up in the middle of the night last Thursday with what felt like a rock in the back of my throat. My throat was very dry and sore. I had the chills and a high fever.

Lucky for me I already had a doctor's appointment for later Friday afternoon. I went to my doctor and he told me I had strep and he gave me a prescription for some kind of throat gargle and penicillin.

It took till Sunday for my fever to break. And I just got my voice back yesterday.

There have been so many people down this year with some kind of flu or sore throat. I decided I needed to look up the definitions to some key words. I always use the Webster Dictionary when I look up words.

The first word I chose to look up was Common Cold, Flu, which lead to Influenza. And because the doctor said he was going to treat me for a Strep throat I thought I should also look up what that means.

So there you have it a very comprehensive look at the definitions to winter bugs they call common cold, flu, strep and others that arrived from the original three I was looking up. If I had to sum it up in layman's terms I would just have to say I had a high fever, a very inflamed sore throat, with the chill, and a common cold that is following now that I am over the flu, & strep. I guess what this means is total rest, staying away from others so they do not get what we have, lots of fluids, popsicles. Snuggle in for a short hopefully winters nap.

common cold
Function: noun
1: an acute disease of the upper respiratory tract that is marked by inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose, throat, eyes, and eustachian tubes and by a watery then purulent discharge and is caused by any of several viruses (as a rhinovirus or an adenovirus)

flu
Function: noun
Etymology: by shortening
1 : INFLUENZA
2 : any of several virus diseases marked especially by respiratory symptoms

Influenza
Function: noun
Etymology: Italian, literally, influence, from Medieval Latin influentia; from the belief that epidemics were due to the influence of the stars
1a: an acute highly contagious disease caused by any of several single-stranded RNA viruses (family Orthomyxoviridae) and characterized by sudden onset, fever, prostration, severe aches and pains, and progressive inflammation of the respiratory mucous membrane; broadly
b: a human respiratory infection of undetermined cause
2 : any of numerous febrile usually virus diseases of domestic animals marked by respiratory symptoms, inflammation of mucous membranes, and often systemic involvement

inflammation
Function: noun
1 : a local response to cellular injury that is marked by capillary dilatation, leukocytic infiltration, redness, heat, and pain and that serves as a mechanism initiating the elimination of noxious agents and of damaged tissue
2 : the act of inflaming : the state of being inflamed

streptococci
Etymology: New Latin
1: any of a genus (Streptococcus) of spherical or ovoid chiefly nonmotile and parasitic gram-positive bacteria that divide only in one plane, occur in pairs or chains, and include important pathogens of humans and domestic animals; broadly
2: a coccus occurring in chains

strep throat
Function: noun
1: an inflammatory sore throat caused by hemolytic streptococci and marked by fever, prostration, and toxemia -- called also septic sore throat

prostration
Function: noun
1 a : the act of assuming a prostrate position
b : the state of being in a prostrate position : ABASEMENT
2 a : complete physical or mental exhaustion : COLLAPSE
b : the process of being made powerless or the condition of powerlessness

toxemia
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin
1: an abnormal condition associated with the presence of toxic substances in the blood

# posted by Alexis @ 11:05 a.m. 0 comments

Well since my last post I have been in bed with a terrible strep throat and high fever. But this has given me lots of time to do something’s that I needed to get into place.

As many of you will know June 9th and 10th is the Relay for life Walk. It takes place every year out at the Waterloo Police Recreational Association. It is a walk to raise funds to help the fight against cancer.

The first lap is always the survivors lap. Our team has 4 people walking that lap.

Here are the results for Relay for Life 2005 they were amazing, over $350,000 was raised in the Waterloo Region. This was $13,000 more than 2004. Nationally $31.3 million was raised.

This year our Team is made up of people who have lost loved ones to cancer, people who know or have family members that are survivors, and we have two members who have actually battled the fight against cancer, and I personally have my father and a family member walking the survivors lap.

One in two people are affected by this disease Cancer, so come on out and support this walk, sponsor us or if you are a survivor walk the victory lap. If you have 10 people you can also form your own team and enter the walk as well.

Presently I am looking for one more member for our team. So come join our team, we need you.

If you want to sponsor us please go to the following Canadian Cancer Society and click on the following spot Pledge a participant - search by first or last name. Then click next and then type in my name and follow the rest, step by step. Thank you for your support.

Lets Drive Cancer Out Of This World together.