Traveling the woods of Wisconsin.

My family for decades have vacationed to Northern Wisconsin in the summer. My Great Grandpa, and also my Father, have property on the lake. The lakes in Wisconsin are beautiful, the fishing is also awesome. We catch Muskies, Northern Pikes, Bass mostly. The eating is delicious. The scenery is absolutely peaceful, I love the trees. I like taking a walk around the lake with the dogs. My favorite is boating, and swimming. We have grown up going every year. My Dad, me, and the rest of the family. We make a trip to Duluth Minnesota, to watch the ships come in under the Ariel Bridge. I have many pictures for you to enjoy, this wonderful vacation spot, and I recommend it as a vacation spot. It is very peaceful, and good for the soul. The Chippewa Flowage, Spooner Lake, and Shell Lake. The lakes are clean, and clear. Also beautiful leaves in the Fall. It’s a great vacation spot for the kids. Plenty of farm animals, nature, swimming, kayaking, and playground equipment. Great learning experience for kiddos, and unplugged from technology.

World Pneumonia Day is November 12. (My awful journey through pneumonia).

I take care of the elderly population, and their immune system is suppressed. So in turn, they are sick a lot, and sometimes I catch what they have. I've had pneumonia twice in my life. It is horrible. I also have asthma, and I would smoke sometimes, that could be a factor. Smoking increases your risk for having pneumonia, and so does having asthma. I felt sick at work one day, with just a runny nose, and no appetite. I was driving and I felt weak and I was nodding off. They next day at work I was so sick, and incoherent my manager let me go home early. I accidentally fell asleep in the bathroom. She was asking me how's everything going? As in do I have all my work done? I didn't understand her, I was like work is going fine. I was so out of it. I was doing laundry for a resident and getting everything mixed up. I went home, laid in bed, and my heart was beating out of my chest. I just stayed in bed, and slept all the time, and didn't go to work. I didn't eat and lost a lot of weight. I would wake up thinking that I needed to call 911 because I couldn't breathe so I took my enenubulizer, but then that would help. I felt so sick, I told my husband to take me to the hospital, but he didn't. I think I stayed in bed for four days without going to the doctor. I get sick a lot in health care, and it is usually a virus that just goes away on it's own. I'm pretty healthy. I had a fever and I was hallucinating. I woke up out of sleep and was walking downstairs but I didn't realize what I was doing. The fever was bad, I would sweat, I just plain felt awful. Finally I went to urgent care, and she didn't really help me, she just gave me steroids, and said she "hopes that she doesn't catch it". Then I went to my PCP, and I told her about my fevers and chest pain, and she took an x-ray of my chest. She called me a day later to tell me that I had pneumonia and gave me antibiotics. I went back to work and I recovered soon. The next time I had it was last May. I had influenza A in March, then in April bronchitis, which turned into pneumonia. My place of employment forced me to work with pneumonia and I got so sick. I worked an overnight, and I slept on the couch the whole time, while my co-worker took over. I left work at 6 AM and then I came back at 2 PM. I felt horrific. After work I went to the hospital and they told me I had low potassium. Luckily the manager that forces me into work went on vacation, and the more understand one was in charge. I took a week off. My couch was horrible, and I was taking my rescue inhaler all the time. I was weasing in my lungs so bad. I've been on steroids for bronchitis for a month and on an antibiotic for a week. It wasn't strong enough to get rid of the pneumonia so I got put on another antibiotic, Levaquin. That one finally worked and cleared it up, but I had extreme fatigue. I mean extreme. I could not stay awake at all. I could sleep for days and feel like I just ran 5 miles. My doctor did a complete blood count and everything was fine, I was just recovering. I went back to work on restrictions, but they weren't able to follow my restrictions. I finally recovered, but that was rough to go through. I got a pneumonia shot, since I have asthma, I hope it helps. Fingers cross. I do not want to go through this ever again! I am so glad that I am alive this day in age, with breathing medicine, and antibiotics. When I an on Ancestry.com I see that a lot of my ancestors cause of death was pneumonia. November 12 is world pneumonia Day. 50,000 people die every year from pneumonia in the US. Pneumonia is the worlds leading killer in the world of children aged 5 and under. A child dies every 20 seconds from pneumonia worldwide. Vaccines can help prevent this.

November Thankfulness

For the month of November, I'm going to list 30 things that I am great full for in my life. Being great full is good for your brain. It rewires your brain not to think negativity and helps with depression. Day 1: I'm thankful for my husband. He is very kind hearted and sweet. He takes good care of me and my daughters. I was a stay at home Mom for 7 years, while he supported us. He takes the girls to school and picks them up after I work late at night, and doesn't make me get up and take them when he is off. He will do anything I ask, and cooks for us. I am very blessed to have a great husband, with a nice disposition. No wonder we have been married for almost 16 years. Day 2: I am thankful for my two daughters, that are 2 years and 9 months apart. They fill my heart with love, they make every day count. They have truly blessed my life. They are so sweet and funny. They each have their own personality. Day 3: I love my parents so much. I am so grateful for them. They have been so supportive of me all my life. Both are so supportive emotionally, and my daddy is a handy man, he doesn't have to, but he works on my house, like fix the furnace and put the swamp cooler in. He has installed new lights. They baby sit my kids, and without this I would not be able to afford day care. I will take care of my parents as they age, since I work in assisted living, I want what is best for them. I will definitely take care of them as they have taken care of me. Day 4: I am thankful for my job. That I have a job to support my family. I am an caregiver for the elderly. It is very rewarding, and brings meaning to my life, but at the same time exhausting, and there ratio to caregiver to resident isn't what it should be, it can be stressful. I am glad that God blessed me with this gift to have patients to care for the older population, and make their last days count. Day 5: I am thankful for the friendships I have. I have fun with them, and I feel connected when I have someone I can relate to. Social support is wonderful. It's nice to have someone to rely on. Day 6: It's 30 degrees out and drizzling. I'm freezing. I am thankful for the heater in the car, and the furnace in my house. Thankful for heat, and a job to pay the electricity bill. Day 7: I fell today, so I am thankful for my massage chair. HAHA! Seriously I am, because it helps me with pain. My job as a caregiver gives me pain from improper lifting techniques, when I lift the elderly. Day 8: I am thankful for my furbabies! My dogs that knocked me down yesterday! They are so fun and playful. They give me a good exercise, (they are my jogging buddies) keep me entertained and have protected my kids from someone that has tried to attack them. They fill my heart with love and offer companionship. I am thankful for my loving cats that purr at me and cuddle me in bed. They are so sweet and funny. Day 9. I'm thankful for the ability to walk, and be physical because I have a friend that is a paraplegic, and I have taken care of a quadriplegic. I am very active and cannot have a sit down job. I feel depressed if I cannot get up and walk. I can't even sit through a movie unless it is interesting, but it really has to catch my interest. I must have ADHD like my daughter. It was hard making this post, I need to learn to have gratitude more.

Homelessness in Denver

I took my daughters to the park. This is a park we have been going to since they were born. It is a very nice park, with a pond, geese, large playground equipment and lots of grass to run around and get their energy out. After I let them play on the playground, while I went for a jog, I told them “Let’s go walk the dogs around the lake”. Midway through the walk a homeless lady was sitting down at the picnic table with her mates. She sees us, and she gets up and storms towards us. She starts yelling at us. Lucky, I have my puggle with me, and he scared her away, thank goodness. My girls, and I walk away. My poor daughters were in tears. They are not used to this kind of situation, because it has just recently changed so much in Colorado. I was at Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, with my family and a lady was panhandling my elderly sick Dad. She was starting to get aggressive. I became very protective, and I was so pissed. I walked up to them and she took off. I had a homeless man that is regularly around my house, he came in my backyard and tired to get in my house, lucky my dog scared him away. These instances are new for me. I have lived here all my life. I used to leave my doors unlocked, and I used to go anywhere, anytime and nothing happened. The homeless population is increasing rapidly in Denver . I am not sure why? I read an article that homelessness is increasing because they are coming here for jobs and not because of the legalization of marijuana. I don’t know what to think but I still love Denver, and I just think I need to beware of my surroundings and carry pepper spray. I’m not used to this though. I like to go wherever and not have to worry, and pay attention, and do my own thing.

Christmas is coming!

Every year I procrastinate, and get my Christmas cards done late. I'm just so busy, working, taking care of the kids, the house, my husband. I need more balance to my life. ha! I make Christmas cards through Adobe Photoshop, but I am not that great at it. I was browsing online and I saw personalized Christmas cards that I can buy and send to my big family. I am so excited to get these this year and send them to my big family that mostly out of state. What a fun update for them. I want to go through either evermine.com, Zazzle, or even on Etsy.

Pet Card

 Custom Holiday Cards 

Custom Holiday Card 

Joyful Christmas 

World Mental Health Day.

Today is World Mental Health Day. I've struggled with anxiety and depression for nearly two decades. I've taken anti-depressants, such Paxil, Zoloft, and Prozac for the past 17 years. It is caused by either a chemical imbalance or trauma in the past. Environmental vs biochemical. I treat both with counseling and medication. I am doing great in life, thanks to the help of my doctors, and counselors. Medication isn't the only answer though. Here's what I do to make sure I am the best for my family and not down in the dumps, wasting my time away in bed. I get adequate sleep. I try not to stress out, I try to look at the big picture, and not let little things bother me. Ignore negative people and do not let them get to you. Try to find things I enjoy. I like hiking, and taking my kids to the park, or going to the mountains. Get out and about amongst people also helps. Talk to family and friends as well. I get a relaxing massage. This is a huge stress reliever. Exercise boost serotonin. I try to exercise, it helps a lot. Also trying to eat healthy. Reach out for help if you are feeling overwhelmingly depressed or anxious. I go to the doctor and therapist for cognitive behavioral therapy. As time goes on, I learn how to cope better. It does get better and do not give up! There is help out there, seek it, and reach your full potential. Depression and anxiety doesn't make you weaker, overcoming it makes you stronger. World Mental Health Day 2019 National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255 >

Dealing with pregnancy nausea...

When I got pregnant with my first born daughter, morning sickness, struck me at about 6 weeks into the pregnancy. Not just in the morning, but more like 24/7. I was sick all the time. I remember going to bed after working night shift, I went to bed, then I woke up vomiting. I didn't stop until she was born. I had hyperemesis gravidarum throughout my entire pregnancy. Hyperemesis is extreme nausea and vomiting throughout your pregnancy, where I lost 15 pounds and I was in the ER getting an IV due to dehydration. I took Zofran the whole pregnancy, which is now not allowed by doctors, because it can cause heart defects. My daughter is doing well, she's vibrant, intelligent, and very healthy. I had to quit my job, it was like having the flu the whole time! I got through it, it ended in 9 months with a beautiful baby girl, that blessed my life, and I couldn't image a better blessing. With my second born, I only got sick once. I took Zofran throughout the whole pregnancy, which once again isn't allowed anymore. So, how did I get through it? Hyperemesis is rare, so I am one of the lucky ones... If you are dealing with pregnancy nausea and vomiting, try your best to keep a little something in your stomach every two hours throughout the day so that your blood sugar doesn't drop. Crackers, or just anything that you are craving. I had crackers and 7-up or ginger ale which worked better, by my bed the whole pregnancy. Try popsicles and jello. Try to stay away from fried foods, that makes it worse. Try sipping ginger, and peppermint tea. I also used peppermint essential oil. There is also motion sickness bracelets that you can buy, I tried that I was desperate. You can also get acupuncture. Try to eat 6-8 small meals a day, to keep your blood sugar up, so that you don't get a dip in your blood sugar and get sicker. Try chewable kids vitamins instead of prenatals but talk to your doctor for recommendations. Vitamin B-6 is supposed to help as well. I also took liquid calcium and magnesium, which was recommended by my midwife, for leg cramps and constipation, and it worked. This post isn't intended to replace a doctors advice, it is what I did under the supervision of my mid wife. Always confirm a supplement with your midwife or doctor. Hope this helps, I've been there done that. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

National Coffee Day...

National coffee day was this Sunday, September 29. Seriously, I wouldn't be able to get out of bed without it or let alone live! How do you like your coffee? I just take it black with milk. I'm not picky. I don't see a point in buying Starbucks. I gain weight to easy with all that cream and sugar. I'm happy just having the coffee. I work night shift so I wouldn't be able to survive without it. When I did 23&me DNA testing, it said I am likely to consume more caffeine. You got that right! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Juniper Senior Living Community is Now Hiring!

Must pass background check. You also get $500.00 bonus after 90 days only if you are in good standing with the company. Tell them Michelle Gast Sent you so you can get your bonus. Click here to apply online 6 positions listed on ziprecruiter

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National daughter day

Yesterday was National Daughter Day. I have been blessed with two daughters, girls and girls only, since we are done having children. I will never forget when I had my first born daughter. She was absolutely beautiful and I can tell she was intelligent. Same thing with my second daughter. They are two years apart. They are either best friends or worst enemies. One minute they hate each other, and one minute they love each other and are holding hands. I know they will upalways have each other's backs in life. They have each other by their side and have someone to play with. They are complete opposites. My first born is a tom boy. She is into video games, wears boy clothes, doesn't like make up, wears her hair short. My second born is very girly. She loves singing, dancing, makeup clothes and boys, God help me. Having a daughter is like having a best friend, and always having someone to talk to. They are constantly talking. We have so much fun. They love them so much and they mean more to me than anything in the world. Girls rule the world!

I definitely have a teenager and tween.

I picked up my kids from school, after not seeing them for a day due to my work schedule. I really missed them, and wanted to reconnect. I told them I missed them, asked them how was your day, did you see your cousin at school, what did you do while with your Dad while I was working? Silence, I look over, and both of them have their earphones on listening to music! They didn't hear a word I said. How did we get so distant? I used to stay at home with them. Such a big adjustment. They are older and I am not that exciting. I'm going to take them to the park today, so we can spend quality time, hopefully. I need to limit their screen time and break their technology addiction. How do you connect with your teenagers? They will be grown up soon, I cannot believe it.

National Comic Book Day

This morning, Alexa told me it's National Comic Day. I have never really got into comics but when I was growing up I read Archie and friends. That is the only comic I have read. Remember Archie? I also read online that in May there is a National free comic book day. Wondering if my daughter can get free comics on that day? She reads them.

How to get rid of cockroaches yourself and not spend thousands on an exterminator.

How I got rid of my worst nightmare. So disgusting. This summer, I saw a bunch of bugs on the kitchen counter, I thought to myself... What are those? Then I kept seeing them. They were scary looking. Then I told my husband, "OMG, we have cockroaches". He didn't believe me. He is from Florida. He was like we don't get cockroaches out here like we do in Florida. Absolutely disgusting. How did I get them? I live in a Townhouse. We're they from the neighbors? We're they from a cardboard box? We had a pipe leaking water, I read that this can cause cockroaches to invade your house. Where ever they came from, they needed to leave, and never come back, and I was going to be sure of that. I hate bugs, especially cockroaches. I was mortified. I wanted to stay with my parents. The year before, I successfully got rid of bed bugs. Here is a link to how I got rid of those nasty creatures: https://www.mylifecom.net/2019/09/that-time-i-had-bed-bugs-and-how-i-got.html I researched on the web on how to get rid of them. I cleaned my house thoroughly with bleach. This suckers carry e coli, disease, and nasty germs in general, since they crawl around everywhere, like the trash and the sewer, and so on. They breed and they lay eggs fast. Just like bed bugs, you gotta be on top of it, and kill them and their eggs. I could not have roaches crawling on the counters and getting my kids sick. So repulsive. I would have nightmares at night. So, after I cleaned my house, I bombed it, fumigated it. When you bug bomb your house, read the instructions thoroughly. You need to blow out the furnace and water heater pilot lights, and unplug all your appliances. I had my husband do all this. I used: Cockroach fogger. You leave the house for three hours, take the pets out, all living things, return 3 hours later, and air your house out. Then I sprayed the house. I sprayed the baseboards, the walls, under the sinks, under the toilet, in dark places, and the crawl space. You also need to spray outside. I sprayed the whole exterior of the house, 6 inches up from the ground. I used: Ortho Home Defense. This spray doesn't have a nasty odor, or bother my asthma. The other sprays do. Then we put out combat roach bait The roaches eat it, and take it to their nest. Roaches eat dead roaches so this is really effective. Then we put out roach gel my friend from Texas recommended this. Then we put out diatomaceous earth This is fossilized powder that cuts their exoskeleton and dehydrates them and they die! This is awesome for getting rid of all bugs. It comes with a sprayer. You spray it around the baseboards, I put some on the counters since it is food grade and safe. They also sell it at the health food store for consumption but it has to be food grade. I clean it up with a broom and reapply in 3 months. They are not allowed back ever! Essential oils! We have a diffuser. They hate the smell of peppermint. You can also put peppermint essential oil on the counters to keep them away. They also hate lemongrass, and citrus. You can also mix baking soda, flour, sugar, and borax laundry detergent. They will be attracted to the flour and sugar, eat it and die. Put it on the floor, along with the DE. I haven't seen any cockroaches in a long time. I am going to keep spraying the bug spray at least once a week with my weekly cleaning. I also spray with other cockroach sprays I will not have this happen ever again. There you have it. Michelle the exterminator. I should get a job as an exterminator. HA! Don't think so.

Aging got me like...

What is this? Nose hairs, and they are black, totally obvious. I'm scared to wax my nose hairs. I used to never have them. They keep germs out of your respiratory system. They have a purpose, besides making me feel ugly. I guess I can cut them.
 Grey hair? I have white hair. I like to pluck it out. I don't like the reminder that I'm approaching 40. But grey hair means wisdom. I am getting wise with all my life experience. HA! I wonder what color I should dye my hair when I go grey, my natural brunette color or go blond?
Back pain, hip pain, arm pain, everywhere pain. Arthritis runs in the family. I lift up and transfer humans at work, it is taking a toll on my body. Exercise; like stretching helps this. Exercise in general is supposed to keep us young and healthy. Who has time for that? Between work, taking the kids to school, cleaning the house, taking care of my parents. I gotta make time. Take care of yourself and your body will take care of you when you age. That's what I've learned from being a caregiver in assisted living.
 Fatigue. I'm exhausted all the time. Besides being a working Mom, am supposed to be this tired? Exercise again, and good diet helps. It is so difficult to make time for this.
I don't have wrinkles yet. I don't know why. I love to be in the sun. I forget to wear sunscreen. I have age spots and freckles though.
My Mom is approaching 65. She looks incredible. She looks about 40. I honestly thinks she looks better than me some days. Advice from her for skin care: use beauty cream with SPF 30, wash your makeup off at night, use aging serum, also aloe vera oil from the plant lol. Say what? Drink plenty of water, and try not to stress. Let's see if I can look half as good as my Mom when I'm her age.

Jimi Hendrix

48 years ago, (on September 18, I'm a few days late), we lost a rock in roll legend. My late Uncle introduced me to Hendrix at the young age of 11. His music was different to me when I was young, but I loved he way he played guitar. I learned later in life, he played with his teeth, and he was also left handed. He claims to be self taught. I'm mean I wouldn't doubt it, he's awesome! His music is incredible. I can never get tired of listening to him. In my opinion, he is the greatest guitarist of all time. I grew up listening to him, I was raised by hippies. HAHA. Now I like to clean the house while listening to him. There could never be another as great as him!

How I quit smoking....

I am a former smoker, thanks to Nicotine Gum. It may be expensive, but in the long run, I am saving, due to the health issues smoking causes, as everyone knows.

How did I start? I was at my neighbors house having a drink. She is a smoker, and I started socially smoking. Not good I have asthma. 

I woke up the next day, after drinking and smoking with my neighbor, and I was craving a cigarette. So, off I went to my neighbors house I went for a cigarette. Almost all my co-workers smoke, so it's a social thing as well as addicting.  I kept smoking for 3 months. 

My husband was mad, I would wease at night, my asthma was bothering me. Then I had pneumonia. I was so sick. This definitely taught me a lesson. I went to the store and bought Nicotine gum. It is pricey, but it definitely replaced the nicotine cravings! 

I would smoke one in a while, I think it's a social thing.

I had the Jakle and Hyde thing you go through. Oh I can't have another cigarette, I need to quit, but I'm craving one so bad! Just drove me insane. Thank goodness for this gum. 

I have been chewing nicotine gum for 4 years! I spend about $30.00 a week on the gum, but it works and I have not smoked in three years. I don't care how much I spend, I don't want to be a smoker, I want to be able to breathe.

Now I need to wean myself off the gum, but I love this gum. It's a stress reliever. I have done research, I don't know the health effects, but my doctor told me it's not good for your cardiovascular system.  

It burns your throat at first, but give it a try! For your health.

My journey though debt consolidation. National Debt Relief review.

My husband and I are not good with money. My parents really are but I didn't follow in their footsteps. My husband is the type to want to spend all the money faster than making it. My husband is great though, don't get me wrong, we all have our downfalls.
For the past ten years we have been using credit cards and paying them off. Now that I am approaching my 40s and he is approaching his 50s, we finally learned our lesson the hard way. Right now we are going through rough times but it is well worth it. We are tired, we are working overtime, we miss our kids but we are going to be able to give them a better life and put them through college.
When I went back to work after being a stay at home Mom, and looking back I never needed to go back, but I wasn't used to having all money to spend. I got a lot of credit cards because I could afford the minimum payment. Huge mistake, one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. Do not ever do this. I went to town. I like going wherever I wanted buying whatever I wanted but didn't need and spoiling the kids. Now I need to teach my spoiled second born needs before wants. Now we all make mistakes and learn from them. I have a difficult job as a caregiver and I have sure learned my lesson.
My husband and I have about 15 credit cards. Absolutely ridiculous. The first way we tried paying it off is he went to a credit Union and transferred the credit cards onto another credit card from the credit Union. Big mistake if you don't have self control and discipline. Then we maxed out the cards we payed off.
Then after that we took out a home equity loan but it didn't count against us as in if we miss one payment we lose the house. Don't ever do this. Then again, history repeats itself, we maxed the cards out that we payed off. Both of us must be hard headed. Finally, when we couldn't make our monthly payments we called National Debt Relief. They were very friendly, supportive and helpful. They found all of our debts for us by looking them up. They consolidate with your creditors and come up with monthly payments that are less than what you were paying beforehand. They settle your credit card balance and you pay less than what you owe! You just pay national debt a monthly payment.  We got sued by a creditor, and I was freaking out! I was freaking out! I was looking for a second job, and side hustles. I thought I was going to lose my house, get garnished and so on. No, no, no, this didn't happen. I was worried for no reason, they went to court for me and made a settlement with my creditor. I didn't lift a finger. National Debt Relief is exactly what they say they are, a HUGE relief. Your credit score will drop drastically but you can always rebuild it. We bought two new cars so that we are set before this and we also refinanced the house beforehand.  I have one more year left. I cannot wait. I will be saving so much money and be able to rebuild my credit. It is a good alternative to bankruptcy. It is the second to the last alternative with bankruptcy being the last alternative. I heard that you have to pay taxes for the credit cards that you pay off but we'll be fine.
This has definitely taught me how to work hard. I've been pretty spoiled my who life.
I recommend having self control when it comes to finances. Please learn from me. Don't get credit cards if you don't have self control. Use credit cards only if you can pay it off right away. For example, you save up for a computer, put it on the credit card and use this saved money to pay the credit card balance off. This will build your credit. I recommend the snowball effect by Dave Ramsey. Start by paying off your smallest debt first and keep going. Also try working overtime or a side hustle or a second job, to pay off debt. Do this while you're still young. Make sure you have a 401k and are saving up for retirement before you are too old to work. I work with some 60 and 70 year old caregivers. Trust me you don't want to be working that hard when you're older.

Animal Checks

How I got pregnant after two years of trying. Trying to conceive tips.

I got married at 21. My husband and I were trying to have a baby. I took us two whole years for me to get pretty with my daughter. So for those of you who are trying to conceive, here is what I did.
I got an ovulation calendar off of the web. I followed what it said. It got with my husband one day before ovulating, according to the calendar. My cycles are pretty regular.
Before we did our deed I put a pillow under my lower back so maybe my cervix was more tilted. I don't know if this helps but it worked.  After we did our deed,  missionary position, I also put my legs up for about 20 minutes against the wall so the little spermies could get to the egg. I was pretty determined after two years of trying, we thought we were infertile. Two kids later and no more, we were wrong.
Lo and behold about 3-4 weeks later, I was exhausted and smells grossed me out. My husband said "I think your pregnant". I took a first response test and I was indeed pregnant. The sixth week I was so nauseated and sick to my stomach, fatigued, quit working and quit school. I had hyperemesis, where you are extremely nauseous and sick to your stomach.
Everything worked out fine and I have two happy, healthy, intelligent, beautiful, not so baby anymore, girls.

That time I found out I had an adopted cousin through 23& me. ( Adoption story that turned out fantastic)

It turned out more than fantastic.
I did a 23 &  me DNA test almost two years ago. It was fun and interesting to find out where my ancestors came from. Then I looked at my DNA matches, (where you view your DNA relatives). I saw my Uncle, then I saw more people I knew. I saw a close match and didn't think anything of it. Then my Mom called me up because I gave her my password to my 23 & me so that she could see my results. She told me one of your Uncle's had a baby and put it in up for adoption. I was excited but I misunderstood her. I was like "a baby"? I wanted to keep the baby, I love babies, she was like no, one of your Uncle's fathered a child that is older than you and is looking for their biological family.
So right away I logged into 23 & me, I was beyond excited, I was estatic, I could not wait to meet my new found cousin already. I wrote him and told him "Hello long lost cousin, please write me with any questions you may have it's so nice to meet you". He also had very vague information about his adopted family that matched up. He posted on his profile that his Grandpa was a principal and yes, my Grandpa was indeed a principal. So, we just talked about everything. My late Uncle who was not his Dad also contacted him and encouraged me to reach out to him. My Uncle has since passed a few months ago in July from a sudden, unexpected heart attack at  the age of 63. I got to finally meet my cousin at our Uncle's funeral.
I knew my other Uncle was his father because my Uncle on 23 & me matched him as an Uncle.
Anyway, my cousin was born to a 17 year, in the Texas cradle society, a home run by nuns, for unwed mother's. She stayed there throughout the pregnancy. This was in the early 70s. She gave him up for adoption, two days later to a wonderful couple from Mexico, who gave him a great life. His adopted  Dadowned a farm in Mexico. They were well off.
Anyway, that left me stuck in the middle. I would talk to my cousin at least once a week. We really clicked. He wanted to meet his Mom so badly. I was determined to find his Mom. I would search through sites like ancestry.com, David Grey's people finder, adoption sites and the search turned out void. I mean I poured my heart and soul into this search  I was spending a lot of time researching trying to find his Mom. It was a sealed private military adoption and she had him at a military hospital. See her Dad was a Captain in the air Force. We wouldn't be able to find his Mom no matter what we did.
After a year of talking to him, I told him to take a ancestry.com test because his biological sister and father took one. I knew his younger sister by 20 years would pull at his hearts strings and reunite everyone. So he did and a month later, his sister contacted him through ancestry.com.  She was so happy! She said she was going to talk to her Dad, my Uncle, his Dad.
So then finally all the puzzle pieces started coming together. He talked to his Dad and he said that he could ask him anything and he will answer. He asked who his Mom was. My Uncle told him. He then found his Mom. He emailed his Mom a long letter, and she replied "whoa", I promise I will email you in the morning, I need to process this.
To make a long story short, he got to go and meet his Mom and his brother. I didn't get to see it but it is such a beautiful thing. His brother cried because he always wanted a brother. His Mom too cried of course. Then he got to meet his Dad and sister. Which is obviously my Uncle and cousin. I was so incredibly happy for everyone!
I remember when my Grandma had Alzheimers she told me that there's "one that I don't know about", referring to babies in the family, then it clicked. I should of listened to her because Alzheimers patients don't always lose long term memory.
I was so glad to help him find his biological family. I wonder what it is like to be adopted and not know where you come from biologically speaking. He had outstanding parents and a good upbringing. He has his master's degree, he felt like he belonged in his adopted family but he still wanted to know where he came from for learning  his identity as a person. He is from Mexico, which is cool to me because I've been fascinated with the Latino culture. I grew up in a Latino predominant area. I can speak Spanish with him. He is so intelligent, he speaks English better than me! It's also fascinating because of the genetics vs environment factor and how much each factor plays into our lives.
I finally got to meet him. It was the most awesome thing in the world to learn that you have a cousin that you have never known about, until you are 35 years old. We had the best uplifting family reunion that words can't describe. He came out for our Uncle's funeral. My heart was just shattered. I was close to our Uncle. He died so unexpectedly of a heart attack. My cousins visiting really uplifted my spirits and brought me out of a depression. We went out to eat and to an outdoor mall, we had BBQs and visited until late hours of the night. We have a big family so it was loads of fun. I talked about what my Uncle was like, whom he'll never get to meet.
We had the most awesome 4 day family reunion. Then he had to go home and we all miss him. We will see each other again soon.
Now totally 100% recommend getting a DNA test through 23 & me, or ancestry, or both. You may have family secrets like me. You never know. I also have third or fourth adopted cousins looking for their families so I don't think it is rare. I know not all adoption stories turn out great, but mine with my cousin did, and I couldn't be happier.

Guess my ethnicity according to 23 & me and Ancestry.com

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases: I jumped the band wagon and took one of those DNA test, not one but two. Let's have fun. Guess my ethnicity. I think it is fun to guess other people's ethnicity.  I'm obviously European but from what part? Guess what kind of breakdown of regions. I'll post my ancestry test in a few days and let you all guess. Growing up I was told German, German, German. My Great Grandma's parents were from Germany and everyone else as far back as I know we're American.  I'll put some pictures of me below so you can guess.

 Ok so this is what some people have guessed. 

• Syria (according to one test maybe .1 %
• Japan ( nope, although 23&me used to say 1% East Asian and Native American)
• South African (no only . 2 Subsaharan African. 
• Scandinavian (yes 1-4 % Swedish)
• Irish (yes! 12% according to ancestry.) 
• Cherokee Indian ( .2 % Native American which is cool but I'd like more)

So what am I? A Brit, British. Not supposed but I didn't expect it because I was told I was German. Here's my test results:

 99.6 European. Big surprise! 98% Northwest European. Which it looks like these regions all share DNA. See below.

I like this part. I'm very cultured. My grandpa told me Native American. Only .2% but from where. It's such a tiny percentage. Some people don't count these percentages, but it's in your DNA. It's so small is it really there. 

.2% Subsaharan African. 

 Region breakdowns. Cool! I'm pretty much from London, the UK and part of Ireland.

Breakdown of where my ancestors are from and time range. Even cooler. 

 This is ancestry.com. more than half of my DNA is from England/Wales. My family is very American and have been here for 200-300 years. My maiden name is Miller.  Then German. My great great grandparents, we're from Germany. Then Ireland. My great great grandpa (Jemison) immigrated from Ireland. Then Sweden. No idea where or from whom I inherited this from. Then Eastern Europe. Maybe Polish because my Aunt's DNA test says Poland. Then France my 3rd great grandparents we're from France and also Italy.

 Communities. I guess this is spot on my parents and ancestors are definitely from the Midwest generations back.

Ancestry says that I am native to England ok I'll take it. Makes sense I'm an englishman. The English immigrated here years ago to escape the English government. Kings and Queens. Do I have royal blood? Maybe one day I'll find out, if I have the money to renew my ancestry membership. 

 Above is my heritage. Says I'm mostly Irish, Scottish, Welsh. It's different.

 There's that Siberian that someone predicted.

 This is my orgins. Mostly west and central Europe.

This is DNA. Northwest European again.

Which DNA test do I recommend? I like both 23& me and ancestry.com, but I think I pick 23&me because it has my haplogroup, more breakdown of regions, health reports, research, and I found my adopted cousin through 23 and me. 

Was I surprised? I recommend DNA tests if you have the money it is fun and educational to me. I thought I was German. I guess I'm English but if you look at the reports all these regions share DNA and I also read that Germany and England share 30% DNA. I don't know if this is true or nor do I have time to research. I think it is cool to have Native American and African. Even if the percentages are minute. I didn't have Native American on my ancestry.com test, but my Uncle did. You can also upload your DNA to other sites like GED.com, and other sites. Just endless discoveries and education. Oh how far along we have advanced scientifically. My husband's Mom is from Germany so he is 70% German and my girls are 50%. America is the melting pot. I have more diversity than my husband because his family immigrated sooner than my family. I think when you're family has been in the United States longer there's a chance for more diversity, but I don't know. Until next time. I'm going to be late for work.