Small Business Saturday

Whether it's the corner café with the delicious dark roast or the record store down the street that sells vintage vinyl, we all have our favorite small businesses.

Let's make this the biggest Small Business Saturday yet. Here's what you can do to take part:

- GO OUT AND SHOP: Make sure to support the local businesses you love on Nov 30.

- SHARE YOUR SUPPORT: Post about Small Business Saturday on social networks to get friends and family involved.

- JOIN IN: Visit ShopSmall.com to get more ideas on what you can do for the big day.

Thank you in advance for your support. Together, we can make Small Business Saturday a huge day for all local businesses. 

Give Thanks

I absolutely LOVE November. To me it's a month of personal reflections, thankfulness, gratitude, and remembering all those who have passed, but still live on in my heart. It's a time to remind myself that every day is a good day and to not take the little things for granted. 

I've found that the easiest way to realize how blessed I am is to try and forget, to put away and ignore, all the things I don't have and focus on the things I do. The top four things I ask for every day are the following:

1. Abundance - this to me is having enough money to put food on the table, a roof over my head, clothes on my back, shoes on my feet, clean water from the tap, a job that I mostly enjoy so that I can do all these things and still have personal time to pursue my passions. It's about the work-life balance.
2. Health - this is the one I have struggled with at the end of 2013, but since my last post, I've graduated to a boot and will begin intense physical therapy next Monday. So, I'm seriously glad that I do have the majority of my health and am continuing to heal, as it could of been a lot worse.
3. Love - this isn't just about romantic love, although it is one of the many types. It's also about love for your family (even if you don't always get along with them all the time), friends, pets, poetry - anyone and anything you would look out for and can say, 'I truly love ______.'
4. A Peaceful Place To Live - this goes hand in hand with abundance and making sure the roof you put over your head is one you can afford as well as, being peaceful, serene, and a space no matter how big or small that allows you to grow as a person. I feel a lot of my self discoveries this past year have taken place under the roof my boyfriend and I have worked hard to make nice, in order to put over each others and our own heads - today, tomorrow and into the unwritten future.

Reminding myself of how important these things are each and every day provides me with a great clear view of what I do have, and makes me really happy for the rich life I have created for myself. In these uncertain times it's best to take inventory of what we do have, and not worry so much about what we don't, because in a blink of an eye it all can be taken away. So, take the time to let others know you care through your words and actions this holiday season and don't worry about getting all the latest deals or gadgets. Make something. It will be remembered longer.

What do you have in your life that you are grateful for this month? Feel free to share it in the comments below.

Where'd You Go, Kate?

Let me tell you. It's one heck of a story. Get your favorite beverage. Sit down and relax.

DISCLAIMER: The names of the people and some of the places have been left out to protect the guilty, the innocent, and myself. However, this is and should be read as a manifesto of our current state of civilization and how it has failed.

Now that we have the formalities out of the way, let me start at the beginning:

1. 9/30/13 - I was walking to my second shift of work for the day. I got to the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Oak Park Avenue. I had a solid green light, looked in all directions and saw no cars turning. So, I proceeded to walk into the intersection, via the crosswalk. I had walked about half way across, when I was struck by a car turning left. I clearly remember going up on the hood and then down on the ground. Tears were streaming from my eyes and screams were coming out of my mouth. The paramedics finally came, put me on a stretcher, and took me to the closest ER. One of the nice witnesses at the scene, took my phone and called my boss and my boyfriend to let them know what had happened. The only saving grace was that the person who hit me also stopped and was about as shaken up as I was.
2. I was at the ER for about four hours. I had a lot of lacerations (my left ankle and left knee pit were the worst) and I was in severe pain. They rolled me in a bed to Radiology for x-rays to see if I had any broken bones on my left side. The radiologist didn't seem to care that I was in pain, but he did care that I was getting blood all over his equipment. Then I was rolled back to the emergency area, where the doctor looked at me for all of five minutes, and the nurses were the ones who took care of me. They put steri strips on my ankle, cleaned out my other wounds, gave me crutches (because I couldn't put any weight on my left foot), said I had no fractures, and sent me home with a bottle of pain medicine. 
3. 10/9/13 - I'm back at the ER because my left ankle and knee pit wounds are oozing some really disgusting stuff. The RN nurse takes cultures and they come back as being staph infection. I get put on antibiotics (Augmentin - the strong stuff that comes in huge horse pill form). I have to take one pill every 12 hours, for 21 days. The RN nurse then tells my boyfriend that my wounds will have to be cleaned out at least once a day with soap, saline, then bandaged with neosporin and gauze. These cleanings were so painful, but necessary, and the antibiotics totally stripped my large and small intestine of all the good flora and fauna, so I'm on a yogurt and probiotic pill diet, until it gets better.
4. 10/21/13 - I had to go to court for getting hit by the car. I raised my hand when the judge asked if anyone had anything against this person. Then I had to crutch my way to the front of the room. The judge asked me if the person who hit me had insurance and I told him that the person who hit me wasn't able to prove insurance at the scene. Then said person who hit me pled guilty to driving uninsured and failing to yield to a pedestrian. The judge gave his ruling - 90 days probation and a $350 fine. Really, that's it?! Look, I know it's unusual for anyone to plead guilty at traffic court, but I really wish the guilty party got more then what I took to be a slap on the hand, and a pretty gentle one at that.
5. 10/22/13 - I am pre-approved by my health insurance company (thank goodness I have my own policy and a really good one at that) to get an MRI on my left ankle and foot, since there is still a lot of swelling in my leg and I cannot put any weight on my foot without yelping in pain and practically falling over. The results come back and I learn that I have a fractured outer ankle bone and two severely severed ligaments. Recommended to orthopedics.
6. 10/25/13 - Go to Westchester, IL to meet with my orthopedist. Sets left leg in a splint and orders an ultrasound to check for blood clots, since my left leg is still way too swollen. Oh, and I need to mention here that I discuss my legal options with a personal injury lawyer that came highly recommended by a trusted friend. Lawyer confirms my suspicions that the person who hit me is a turnip and you can't take money from a turnip, you know? So, it's recommended that I check and see if my boyfriend's auto insurance policy will cover my personal liabilities.
7. 10/28/13 - A medical representative from my boyfriend's auto insurance policy calls me and I answer her many questions about the accident and my injuries that were sustained.
8. 10/29/13 - Go in for my scheduled ultrasound and guess what? The results show that I have a blood clot in my left knee pit. Sent to the lab for blood work and then put on Xarelto. Honestly, I'm just so grateful they found it because during this time, a very good friend of mine, was hospitalized in Michigan for a blood clot that dislodged from her leg and went into her lungs. We are on the same blood thinner regimen and just happy to be alive. Then in the afternoon I had an orthopedist appointment and am put in a purple cast for one week.
9. 11/1/13 - Get a call from boyfriend's auto insurance company saying that my claim has been denied because I don't fit their definition of a relative, since we're not married. 
10. 11/2/13 - Drop current auto insurance like a hot potato and bundle our home and auto insurance through a new provider, which comes with a lot of savings. However, and most importantly, my name is now officially on the auto insurance, so now I have personal liability coverage, no questions asked. Emailed lawyer to see if there are any more legal options.
11. 11/4/13 - Lawyer responds back that there really aren't any more legal options to pursue. I say thank you for all of your help, great advice, and I will just work on getting back to being healthy and normal.
12. 11/5/13 - Follow up at orthopedist and get a new bright green cast. This one is lighter because it doesn't hurt when the doctor presses on my ankle bone. This will be my last cast and then I get to graduate to a boot with physical therapy. However, I'm just happy that I 'm healing and can hopefully get back to normal sooner than later, even though I will be on the blood thinners for a long while.

So there you have it. This is my rendition of what I've been up to. From here on out, I'm hoping to bring you better, happier news, as well as, continue to update my blog once a week. That's a promise! 

Thanks fans, friends, and family. Your unending support during this difficult time has allowed me to spend time in deep personal reflection in order to gather my own thoughts on the subject, as well as, get on the road to recovery sooner then expected. Here's to happier, more normal times. I will never take the small details of life for granted ever again.