#searchingforbalance

[michellehartonart]

Since the Incognito 2020 charity art sale in aid of @jackandjillcf is now over and each sale selling out in minutes I can now share the third and final painting I created specially for the charity. This is "Searching For A Place Of Balance", 4x6", acrylic on paper. Thanks so much to the 3 people who bought my work. Each piece of art sold funds three hours of home nursing through Jack and Jill's unique model of home nursing which includes end of life care. It was a pleasure to be involved and I look forward to creating more paintings for again Incognito next year. . . . . . #jackandjillfoundation #incognito2020 #michellehartonart #charityartsale #postcardpainting #artforgood #searchingforbalance #contemporarypainting #irishart #malefigure #crowart https://www.instagram.com/p/CBJUuXfH-mZ/?igshid=15fyukn81t4ep

[aveteransthoughts-blog]

July 22, 2019

Yeah, I know, I started a journal/blog less than 96 hours ago, and I have yet to make an “official” second entry (this wasn’t even written in the journal). However, I have a good reason.

My father-in-law, C.P. who has had a serious heart attack last year, and also diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia around the same time, and has been living with Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis (so bad that he can only open his index finger halfway on both hands, which is just 1 of his symptoms) for the last 20 years, has been in really bad health the last three days. About 6 hours ago, my wife took him into the local hospital’s emergency room because of a cut on his left bicep he sustained that she didn’t feel comfortable changing the bandaging. He received the cut on his arm yesterday when he rode his bike to a female acquaintance’s house yesterday, and fell. Because both C.P. and his friend are retarded, she decided the best course of action was to wrap an Ace Bandage around his arm. She talked him into do it that way because she WAS a Veterinarian technician/assistant in the past (jobs she got fired from). An hour before he went to the ER, C.P. took a prescribed dose of an opiate, 30 mg of OxyCodone, to help alleviate the pain from his R.A. At first, I felt my wife was being overly dramatic. Since his heart attack, C.P. has been afraid of going to the doctor. So, about 15 minutes after they got to the E.R., C.P. started to have a panic attack. They gave him a dose of Ativan through his IV. Almost immediately, my father-in-law started to have a seizure. At the same time his CO2 levels spiked, his oxygen plummeted, he became extremely confused and disoriented, and the , lost conscience. After my wife told them he took OxyCodone, the ER staff gave him a naloxone hydrochloride injection (NARCAN) as a precaution. He again started seizing, so the Doctors then decided to put him in a medically induced coma, as they had plenty more tests to do. C.P. is extremely lucky my wife wanted to take him to the ER, especially because it was just for a bandage change on the gash on his arm.

So, please accept my apology for already dropping the ball on blogging/journaling so early into this journey. Here are my promises about this blog when things at home are less stressful:

1) I will be consistent on my journaling and blogging. I know it would be impossible to do every day, but at least every third day will be super.

2) The main topics I will cover will be my life with PTSD and the journey with it, my life before, during and after my life as a Marine, relationships and friendships I have built, my growth as a father, my journies to become an Outdoorsman, becoming an avid Bushcraftsman, and a better fisherman.

3) Maybe writing an occasional song or poem.

[mamaastraea]

Just a tree; alternately, holy shit, it’s a tree! #streetphoto_bnw #justatree #holyfuckitsatree #searchingforbalance https://www.instagram.com/p/BzINJhmhpFt/?igshid=s43bq7o5a2k0

[evinaustinhairdressing]

Magic shows, easter egg hunts, egg and spoon races, sack races and movie time. Hoping for a quiet Easter Monday.. 🤞🏻#theluckycountry, #organisedmum, #theluckychildren, #royalbotanicgardens, #longweekend, #familytime, #searchingforbalance, #heartfilled, #earlynight, #rbgsydney, #theinstrumentalsalon, #evinaustinhairdressing (at The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwguxPVgzjZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=xdz7j4e5otmz

[twinmuminspired-blog]

So this is the start of my journey. Happy wife, mum to 2 year old adorable twin girls & I have so much drive & passion. I have a vision for a future with choices, freedom & everlasting balance. Building lifelong relationships along the way & leading by example.

Are you a busy parent looking for a balanced lifestyle? What are your dreams? I’d love you to follow me here.

[aveteransthoughts-blog]

Pages 1 & 2

[aveteransthoughts-blog]

July 19, 2019

Pages 1 & 2

I found this journal underneath my wife’s desk, which is one hell of a coincidence, considering that just this afternoon, I was thinking about buying and starting one. I have no clue what this will be, nor do I have any goals. Maybe random thoughts, or a place to jot down notes. FUCK! It could just be a place for a grocery lists. I might write stories of my past year. Or future plans and/or goals. I know my wife is probably thinking I am full of shit when I asked, “Babe, is this yours? Are you going to use it? Can I have it?” She asked me “Why?” and then proceeded to roll her eyes, right when I told her, “To journal.” I’ve tried to drown before and failed, and even type my life story... THAT WAS DUMB. Writing my “Life Story” wasn’t even an original idea/thought. I came up with the idea after I read my good friend‘s, Nate, short story. It started:

“GAS! GAS!! GAS!!!”

And it basically was about one of my first memories as a 20-year-old Marine deployed to Kuwait in February 2003, as the Marine Corps unit I was assigned to prepare to help invade Iraq to begin a yet name to war. The 10 pages I wrote was shit. But still, those pages I wrote in 2009 is something I still wish I had in my belongings. Hell, with all the dead time I had during my deployment, I probably could have written an awesome novel. So, here’s to new beginnings, and not being complacent. HELL! That’s the goal: TWO PAGES IN HERE A DAY! ANY AND ALL THOUGHTS ALLOWED! FUCK YEAH!!!