I've lost 12 bags of sugar

Eight weeks
On a healthier plan
Doing OK

No white sugar
Lots more vegetables
Fish, water, fruit

Energy is up
But no changes in pain
Not yet anyway

And it's easy
Never going back to
Sweeteners

Or dairy
Those things were
Killing me

Eight weeks in
I'm quite adjusted
Habits changed

No cravings
Making healthy choices
As much as I can

Today, scales say
Lost over twelve bags
Of sugar, cool!

Treasured Moments Linky

In February 2015, four months after I lost most of my eye sight,

I wrote a poem which flowed from the soul.

It made me realise how important it is to treasure the special moments in life.

That is how the #TreasuredMoments linky started.

Today the prompt, if you choose to use it, is Love.
After all what better theme for great moments.

Come and link up your #TreasuredMoments blog post 

and meet others who are treasuring every moment they can.

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An InLinkz Link-up

Eight years #TreasuredMoments #micropoetry #haiku

Eight years
In a blink of an eye
Gone

Gone
Into preschool happily
Great memory

Great memory
Reminds me to trust
Always

Always
Changes in our lives
Treasure

Treasure
This weekend whilst
She's on cub camp

She's on cub camp
Never would have thought
I'll encourage

I'll encourage
Every new experience
She can seize

She can seize
Life and make it hers
Always

Always
I'll be cheering her on
Love her

Love her
Even more every day
No limits

XXX

This is linked up at #TreasuredMoments

Blindness Blessings #poetry #micropoetry #diets #beauty #advertising

Blessings everywhere

You just have to look for them

Even when blind

Adverts can annoy 

Especially diet ones

Sucking us in

Size 16 is not

Really overweight

Get perspective

And fashion ads

Weird definitions

Of beauty

It's a devils dance

Selling the impossible

For majority

But now I'm blind

They can't touch me the same

Self esteem increase

Yes, that's right

I feel better about me

Now I can't see

I am celebrating the #TreasuredMoments in life
and would love you to link up your posts about times you don't ever want to forget each week.

Linked up at:

#MadVerse

#BloggerClubUK

#PicknMix

#HappyDiaries

#FabFridayPost

#WeekendBlogHop

How to pin an important post on blogger #blog #howto #poetry

I don't know about you, but I'm often forgetting the things I used to know about blogger.  Today one of the things I had to relearn was how to pin an important post to the top of my blog.  After a load of mistaken clicks and failures I thought I'd share how to do it; both so I can find it when I need it again and because I can't be the only one who doesn't remember how.

Why pin a post?
I decided it would be good to have my "TreasuredMoments linky post as the first one seen; making it easier for people to find when they land at MS Calling.  You might have a post about why you blog, or an update on something going on for you, or perhaps a sponsored post which you'd like to have higher profile.

How to pin a post?
1. Go to the dashboard for your blog on Blogger.
This is where you go to approve comments or edit posts or see blog stats
Shown below

2. Select Posts and find the blog post you would like to pin
Shown above

3. Select Edit on the blog post you want to pin
You might need to hover your mouse over the post title to show the edit link
Shown below

4. Select Published Date
This is within Post Settings on the right side of the screen
See below

5. Choose the Date to the last date you wish the post to be pinned
This doesn't immediately make logical sense
But believe me, it is the way it works
I have selected the day before the next "TreasuredMoments linky goes live
See below

6. Click Done below the calendar
This will confirm the date you have chosen

7. Click Update at the top of the page
The post of your choice will now be pinned to the top of your blog until the date you selected


Seven easy steps
One post pinned
At the top of your blog
Easy as pie
I hope that's helped
Bye for Now


Remember to spot your #TreasuredMoments and share every week at http://mscalling.blogspot.co.uk/p/treasured-moments.html

Wokingham BC Young Carers Failure #haiku #MSWarrior #Blind

Hi there
We're looking for help
For our girl

She helps me out
Every single day, in
Many ways

We're hoping
You can give her time
And some fun

Looking forward
To hearing from you
Thanks

But no
That's not working
No response

Email bounce
From the address online
No help at all

Thanks a lot
From us and our girl
Council fail!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I must update
Since I wrote this poem
They've been in touch

And come to see
Me and my girl and
Voila, help

No more fail
Now we have success
Wokingham

Fan the flames #mspoetry #haiku #micropoetry

Cat sat
On trampoline
Lady and Tramp

Lady and Tramp
That cat's no lady
Fan the flames

Fan the flames
We caught you out
Cheeky cat

Cheeky cat
Bouncing around
Then still

Then still
When we try to video
Cat sat

Link up your #TreasuredMoments at http://mscalling.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/treasured-moments-linky.html

Curvaceous #MSPoetry #micropoetry #haiku

Rounded
Beating rapidly
Curvaceous

Curvaceous
Waddling awkwardly
That's me

Time #haikuchallenge @baffled #mswarrior #spoonie #micropoetry

Sliver of Time

Before Energy Decline

Body of Mine

This was inspired by the prompt by @baffled

Can you guess which word was the prompt?

Do you take photos or write poems to remind yourself of those special times?

Come and link up with your #TreasuredMoments

Frozen #writtenriver #haiku #micropoetry #chronicpain #fatigue #spoonies

Sudden Storm

caught unawares

Frozen

Frozen

no more steps possible

Sudden Storm

Art by Mary C Farrenkopf

Do you take photos or write poems to remind yourself of those special times?

Come and link up with your #TreasuredMoments

Spill #haiku #micropoetry @V0Ella @v0etry

Blind and wobbly

Always spilling my load

All over the place

Do you take photos or write poems to remind yourself of those special times?

Come and link up with your #TreasuredMoments

Affinity #sensewrds #micropoetry #haiku

Affinity

Not forever, that's

Infinity

Do you take photos or write poems to remind yourself of those special times?
Come and link up with your #TreasuredMoments

Salt Garden #botaiku #haiku

www.waynesthisandthat.com

Salt garden
Growing without life
Crystal clear



Do you take photos or write poems to remind yourself of those special times?
Come and link up with your #TreasuredMoments

Treasure every moment #poetry #blind #love #treasuredmoments #photo

Treasure every moment

Every little thing

Every sight you see

Every word you sing

Because 

One day

Hopefully 

Far away

It will be

Just a memory

To recall

And re-see

Treasure every beautiful thing

Every bird in the tree

Every flower in bloom

Every joy you see

Because

You might

One day

Loose sight

And then that

Memory

So important

It will be

L.O.V.E #40acts #lent #haiku #micropoetry #pointshoot

Love means a lot of different things to different people. It might look like hanging up the bathroom towels after you use them, instead of leaving them on the floor. It might look like a special surprise. It might look like a day spent in someone's company. It might just be a pat on the back and a smile. But each of us is built to give and receive love. It's a basic need. So give it to someone today.

L.O.V.E.

Today means being

Really silly

Really silly

Getting Dressed Silently 

Dad surprise

Dad surprise

Make Rachel giggle

L.O.V.E

L.O.V.E

My girl, such beauty

And smart

And smart

Means more to me than

Clever

Clever

Means less than hard working

That she is

That she is

At everything she tries

L.O.V.E

This post of haiku is linked up at

PointShoot  #40actsDay11  ManicMonday  

Cuppa #micropoetry #haiku #snaphappybritmums #mswarrior

Here's my cuppa
Not quite what you thought?
Healthy start

Healthy start
Full of vitamins
Sets me up

Sets me up
Gets me set for the day
That's my cuppa

XXX

I haven't really blogged about my dietary changes for ages, mainly because they don't feel like changes any more, they're just life. 

It's going well and I've gained energy and lost weight which is all good.

I've tried a bit of gluten and it doesn't seem to make any difference to my pain or other MS symptoms. But dairy, on the other hand, is definitely a factor.  After a slurp of milk I suffered for three days. So bye bye dairy.

My Tree #nature #tree #snaphappybritmums #haiku #micropoetry

This is my tree
Always watching over me
Reaching my heart

Reaching my heart
With bird song galore
Blue tits in my tree

Me, myself and I #bwphotoproject #snaphappybritmums #haiku #micropoetry #rethinkchurch #lent #vision #covenant

Black and White
Kinder to my eyes, it's
Me myself and I

Me, myself and I
A covenant for ever
Infinite Vision

8am #snaphappybritmums

8am
His patience has gone
Water!

Meow meow
Come on, get out of bed
Give me water

Family #snaphappybritmums

This is our life
Family no matter what
Craziness

New #snaphappybritmums

Toy I remember
Now Rachel has one too
Creative fun

Spots #snaphappybritmums

Only you mum
No matter how ill you are
I love you

This is a haiku of a beautiful thing Rachel said to me as she gave me this love heart.  I've printed this photo to remind me not to be so hard on myself as I struggle with coming to terms with all my health changes.  This is a spot of joy which I'll be holding onto.

Fighting for our kids futures #youngmindsmatter

HRH Duchess of Cambridge this morning launched the #youngmindsmatter as guest editor of The Huff Post UK.  I was inspired to write haiku poems for over 20 of the articles which were released and tweeted them through the morning.

http://llmcalling.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/fighting-for-our-kids-futures.html

If you'd like to read them then please visit LLM Calling to read my thoughts about kids and their mental health.

RonovanWrites #HaikuChallenge #84

Glass and half milk

Mix with love until smooth

Which Chocolate?

This week the Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge reached 

#84 with the words Milk and Smooth

https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/category/haiku-prompt-challenge/

Gluten, dairy & sugar free brownies #friends #poetry

This is a little story
About friendship ultimate
This friend knew my love of cake
But understood my need for health

She saw that I was trying
To be oh so very good
And she went above
And beyond
To do the best
She could

To make me cake

My diet plan was stringent
No dairy or gluten at all
No sugar, except maple or honey
No sweetener, not even small

She scoured all over the internet
No corner left unsearched
And she found a promising recipe
But it ended up tasting like earth

Did she give up trying
No, she wouldn't give in
She found another recipe
Which also went in the bin

But on her third attempt
By which point any one else would have stopped
She found a complete success
And look at what I got

Brownies oh so yummy
Soft and gooey too
I never guessed what they're made of
And I bet you won't do too

Black beans, yes black beans
And maple syrup to be sweet
Cocoa powder for chocolate
And oats go in the mix

A few other small ingredients
But what really goes beyond
Is the chocolate chips from America
Of my friend I'm very fond

This is a little story
About friendship so complete
She made me these yummy brownies
Because she's so fabulously sweet.

XXX

You can find the actual recipe at:
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/09/06/no-flour-black-bean-brownies/

This post is linked at:

On the buses #micropoetry #selfie #haiku

Bus selfie
Had lots of fun in town
Homeward bound

XXX

On the buses
With disability card
Friendly drivers

XXX

Rach and me
Spending pocket money
Quite a haul

XXX

Folding scooter
Confidence restored
No failure

XXX

With my girl
A fabulous guide
What a team

Eyes wide #micropoetry #haiku

Adjusting
To life with a blind mum
Make it a game

 

Out shopping

Who's really in charge

Teamwork

XXX

School letters

Trust her to be honest

Proud of her

XXX

Daughter

But also now young

Carer

XXX

Guide dog

Pray I'll be selected

Release her

Not butter #haikuwordgame #MSWarrior

"Not butter
Dairy is a dirty word!"
I steamed

This haiku, based on real life with my overcoming MS eating plan, is in response to the haikuwordgame which provided the words:
Steam
Butter
Word

Every day new with MS #micropoetry #haiku #mswarriors

MS symptoms
Multiply then wane
Every day new

Blogged in response to the haiku challenge by @baffled

Micropoetry for #juniordoctors #juniorcontract #medicalvalentines

Last night I was checking Twitter before bed and saw lots of poems with the following hashtags:

#juniordoctors
#juniorcontract
#medicalvalentines

Well what better wind down activity could there be before bed than writing a few of my own knowing that it might add to their campaign. 

Junior Doctors, these are for you.  I'm behind you 100% for all you do to keep the NHS going so we all have access to free health care at the point of treatment.

Roses are red
Doctors are blue
They're not valued by Tories
But are, by me and you

Roses are red
Jeremy Hunt's blue
Junior doctors would treat him
They deserve a thank you

Rashes are red
Asphyxia is blue
We know that you'll be there
We're so grateful to you

When I'm bleeding red
What else would I do
Than go to A&E
Get stitched up by you

Heart #valentines#snaphappybritmums@BritMums #micropoetry

Heart full up
Giving gifts, time and love
Valentines

XXX

Today, at church
We celebrated a baptism
Remembering God loves us
And how we are invited
To love Him
Love others
Love the world
Love ourselves

XXX

Love is the truth
Of Valentines Day
And every day

I've also penned poems about Valentines day at LLM Calling

 

This photo shows some of the amazing gifts I received today.

Mike gave me a lovely big squashy .... Teddy!  And a speaker pillow so I can listen to my audio book in bed without getting sore ears.

Rachel made me two cards, one inspired by the Blue Peter make this week which turns and turns and turns.

And I got them photo frames each and... A trip to see the Moscow state circus next month.  They are thrilled.

Linked up at

Saturday Chillaxing #snaphappybritmums #spoonie

Golden hair
Invisible to me
On orange

XXX

Saturday
Resting is becoming
Catching

XXX

I'm on one sofa
Mike's on the other
Rachel lies on beanbags
Tommy finds a comfy corner

ZigZag #haiku #nahaiwrimo #mswarrior #notdrunk #micropoetry

Written in response to the National Haiku Writing Month prompt for February 13: ZIGZAG.

walking

precariously balanced

not drunk

Anyone who has seen me walking on an average day will know exactly what I'm talking about.  This is one of the main reasons I use my walking stick, so if I loose my balance I don't fall over, although the stick hasn't managed to save me on a number of occasions.

How MS makes us stronger - a video campaign #vlog #mswarrior

For MS Awareness Month in March 2016; Kate at MyCounterPane.com in collaboration with Heather at MS Awareness Videos are collected videos from people all over the world living with MS. Those of us joining in are answering the question

"How has living with MS made you stronger?"

Well I'm still working that out, day by day, one day at a time.
But here are my thoughts for today




This is going to be an amazing video to raise awarness about MS and what it really looks like.

Fast #nahaiwrimo #haiku #micropoetry #mswarrior #spoonie

Fast

I may not be, but

Moving

www.advneuroassoc.com

Research

Snails move faster

We're waiting

Image from: www.healthline.com

Pain

Attacking me

All over

Spoons

All used up

Gone

Warriors

Stronger Together

Community

Inspired by the prompt at