Baylor wins Nationals 40-0 and Bell's palsy

     March Madness got my attention last year when A&M beat Notre Dame...I was hooked.  But nothing like watching Brittany Griner, (More on Brittany Griner) and this years Baylor Bear's Women's  Basketball team.  To use an over used phrase...they were awesome!  And 40-0 - SPECTACULAR!!!!  This is like Secretariat's record.  You know the racehorse that won the Triple Crown?  No one has ever been able to beat his record, so it is with Baylor.  Never again will another team take it to 40-0, well, it's gonna be a long, long time.  There have been plenty of 39-0 records but none reached the record of 40 wins and no losses.

I was so nervous watching the game.  But having watched Odyssey Sims lead her team in other games calmed me.  I knew this little sophomore, who showed the maturity, composure, and knowledge of her fellow players early on would not fail her team.  After all she had brought their team to the 39-0 record.  She took it to the end fouling out at the very last...but long enough to put her team almost 20+ points ahead.  And then there was Brittany Griner, taking her cues, delivering, executing, and dominating!!!

Notre Dame was a power house but not compared to Baylor.  Baylor had poise, didn't lose their kool, kept it together all the way down the line.

And there was one more BIG factor, their coach Kim Mulkey.  Coach Muley was struck with Bell's Palsy a few days before the Final Four.  Believe me it can be painful and stress can be one of the culprit.  There was no doubt she had plenty of stress.  But she had started preparing them down  the winning trail from the time Griner was a freshman.  The only thing that Bell's Palsy stopped Coach Mulkey from doing was smiling.

Very little is known about Bell's Palsy.  It's named after its discoverer, Sir Charles Bell, a Scottish surgeon.
For more info on Dr. Bell and Bell's Palsy...

I felt for her because I have and continue to have occasional ticks that remind me of the time when I had Bell's Palsy.

Back in 1986, when I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy.  I had just given birth to my third baby, Samantha.  It was so severe they thought I was having a stroke.  It mimics a stroke because you lose all feeling on the affected side.  While it begins in the facial area, mine affected me all the way down to my left leg.  I was told there were several factors that could have caused my Bell's Palsy.

*  Pregnancy sometimes can be a factor (I was)
*  Ear infection - (I did have a slight ear infection, unbeknownst to me)
*  Going from hot to extreme cold.  (The delivery room was freezing!!)
*  Stress (Samantha was 15 days late and Ralph's ex-wife was taking him to court for the umpteenth time on the day she was born.)

I have two other old wives tales.  You might have heard of them.

*  Never sleep under a fan with wet hair
*  Especially in this Texas heat, do not go from being overheated into an air-conditioned car/room.

It took me over a year to recover and even then, I still have a 5% residue left.  I was on steroids for a year (hence my problem with weight).  But somehow (I know God intervened) he directed me to an acupuncturist. I mean really, where would I find an acupuncturist in the middle of East Texas?  Well, there just happened to be one moving into the Longview/Tyler area straight from China.  I accredit my recovery to that acupuncture/doctor and God.  I was unable to finish my treatment before we were transferred to San Antonio so that's why I still have that 5%.  But I do have to be careful.  I can detect a weather change, cold front, and rain ever since my Bell's Palsy with an uncanny accuracy.  But my main struggle is stress.  My eye will begin twitching.  It's my sign that its time to walk away and chill.

Stop smiling?   Nooooo, not me!

March Madness was a great.  Time to relax and enjoy...bragging rights for TEXAS!!!!  Great Basketball!!

The 45-minute storm...

  It's 6:00, Thursday evening.   The evening started out wonderfully and we were attending our God child's Spring concert at Audie Murphie Middle School in Alamo...

That's Norah in the center.  A little blurry but had to share.  Norah plays the alto saxophone at Audie Murphy Middle School. 

Me, Norah and Ralph

We enjoyed seeing Norah and her parents, Odie and Mary Carden, and siblings, Gabriel and Michael.  While enjoying the concert several parents commented that two big storms were headed our way.  It would behoove us to rush home.  So after a short visit, we headed home.

It's 8:20, the phone rings...it's my sister-in-law, Cleo Hinojosa.

"Are you prepared?" she asked.
"Prepared for what?" I asked.
"Well, the storm that's headed this way."  she added, "If it contains tornadoes, what's the plan?"
"Geez, I never thought about that."  I answered.  "We'll probably head for the bathroom in the west side of our home."

After exchanging a few more insights, we hung up.  I began walking around the house.  Our back bedroom had stacks and stacks of papers on the bed and on tables.  Ralph and I had been organizing our records for this year's taxes.  The first thought that came into my mind was the wind tossing everything everywhere so I quickly repacked everything back into boxes and stored them away in the closet.

Next thing, I asked Ralph if we had masking tape.  Off he went and came back with several rolls.

It's now about 9:00 p.m.

"Start taping the windows." I said.

No sooner did we begin and hail started hitting the front side of our house which faces north.  At first it was like slow popping popcorn but it wasn't long before it sounded like tommy guns firing.

In the midst of all this, in our hall entrance we have a picture frame with Jesus Christ set in the middle.  The Jesus figurine popped away from the frame and I caught it.  I looked at Ralph, Ralph looked at me.  I held on to sweet Jesus, praying the Lord's prayer the entire time we were moving our furniture and taping.

Marble size hail was blowing in a straight line into the front of the house.  We taped the windows and I covered them with sheets and moved furniture in front to keep any debris out...if the windows broke, I thought.

The news report said it would last about 45 minutes.  It as the longest 45 minutes of my life.  Within 15 minutes there was a foot high layer of hail in our foyer.

The hail pelted the roof, the sides and demolished pretty much everything in its way.

This was out our garage drive way...the icy river.  Our neighbor across the street (you can see his garage door open) yelled out that there was about a foot of ice on our roof.

Thirty minutes passed and the onslaught began to slow down.  I placed my puppies in the west bathroom.  Sandy remained with us as we continued taping as many windows that needed it.

Thirty minutes later, it was over.


The aftermath...

Our yard, front and back, looked like cutter ants had cleaned every tree bare.  Our potted plants and bushes looked like someone had taken a machine gun and randomly shot everything in sight.

Bobo's and Pande's tree - a few hours earlier it was an umbrella of shade in  our back yard...all the leaves were gone.

I don't know if you can see but we have a lot of cacti...it was  systematically "gunned" down...but  the Blessed Mary stood tall and untouched.  Our lemon tree that was full of new lemons was picked clean...so was our valencia oranges and grapefruit trees.  I was unable to load the pictures.

Electricity went out at 11:00 p.m. and came on the next day at 6:00 p.m.  We were so blessed.  The front windows were chipped around all the borders...only two window panes cracked but held together.  Our left front light got busted, the roof needs to be replaced, the fence looks like it got pressure washed and best of all we were fine....but not my sister-in-law...

She told me that she felt so secure that after we hung up she sat down to watch TV.  When the pelting started she thought they'd be ok.  The shutters covering the windows on the north side of her home gave way and windows broke...ice and water started going in.  Her neighborhood was the worst hit.   Water started seeping in through the front door.  No problem, Cleo said, she began placing mats, towels anything to absorb the incoming water.  Thinking it was over and  under control, my brother-in-law opened the door when a fire truck went by.  The next door neighbors had an explosion and fire.  In rushed dirty, murky water.  Their entire house was under four inches of water.  Their three cars outside...totaled.  It was devastating.  Arturo's once pristine yard looked like Louisiana swamp land.

We attempted to go to their home since we couldn't communicate with them but were unable to make it.  (Police kept turning us away.)  Luckily, Gloria, my other sister-in-law and her husband, David, stepped in and helped Cleo and Arturo clean up.

We visited them Saturday night and found them in good humor, blessed to be alive.  Their home will probably be gutted or leveled and their automobiles totaled...but as Cleo said...WE"RE ALIVE!!!

I have never been more scared than I was that night...but Jesus Christ in my hand held us together.  Cutter ants have taught me, the strong will survive and if it does, it will come back better than ever.

The storm prepared us for what would happen Sunday morning...

I love you, Sandy...

We weathered the storm, and thought the worst was over.  But in the still of the long, dark morning, our dear friend and companion of 13 years passed on.  Sandra D, our sandy-colored chow-chow, left us.  She didn't want to go evidenced by her desire to stay by our side, but her crippled body couldn't take it much longer.  It was time, she had served us well protecting our home, our children and loving us unconditionally as only her kind know how.  We will miss our furry child, our sweet Sandra D.

Sandra D
June, 1998 - April 1, 2012

This photo taken in our living room and  was the photo used for 2008 Christmas card.  She was the only family member available at the time and she said she would pose for that year's Christmas picture.  We love her very much so we wanted to share her with everyone.  Everyone else were in different places, doing busy things.

Sandy's whole life was spent defending our fence and our home.  She spent her early days, playing, roaming, barking and guarding our domain; every dog's dream.

She served us willingly, everyday, and gave us unconditional love at any given moment.  She suffered from arthritis and hip dysplasia but she bravely took her suffering so she could be with us.  She reminded us of how simple life can and should be.

Even though our hearts are broken, we will miss you, baby...we know you're in a better place - running wild with Keasha.  Someday, we'll be together again.