Category: Life Lessons

Mental Health Amplified by Simone Biles & Update on Me!
Life Lessons · My Thoughts · Patriotism · Recovery

Mental Health Amplified by Simone Biles & Update on Me!

Larada Horner-Miller2 Comments
Mental Health

Mental health issues—our own great Simone Biles amplified mental health at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo! So far this year in Paris, she has won three medals and will win more, I’m sure. She has won a total of ten medal—seven gold medals. So many people criticized her for her choice in 2020, but I admire her for raising the level of awareness about mental health in the world. I have had my own personal experiences I would like to share and then I will update you on dog attack.

2020 Olympics in Tokyo

During the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, with the world’s eyes on Simone Biles, she made an unorthodox choice—she dropped out of the competition after experiencing “twisties” in the first event she competed in.

“When Biles stepped down from the vaulting podium after getting lost while attempting a two-and-a-half twisting vault in the women’s team final, she knew she couldn’t keep competing.

She had a case of the ‘twisties’ – where a gymnast’s mind and body fall out of sync.”

https://olympics.com/en/news/simone-biles-bravest-act-choosing-herself

In Tokyo, Simone later rejoined the competition, and the USA women’s gymnastic team went on to win the silver medal as a team, and Suni Lee stopped up and filled the gap and earned the gold medal in the women’s all-around. Many wondered about the future of Simone in professional gymnastics—some said horrible things about her, but she worked hard.

2024 Olympics in Paris

After four years of self-care and training, Simone has taken Paris by storm on her “Redemption Tour.” In 2023, she has married Jonathan Owens, a professional football player for the Chicago Bears. Just look at her now—she’s glowing! She has won three gold medals this Olympics and has the possibility of two more on Monday. Obviously, the choice she made in 2020 was the right one. Her emphasis on mental health encouraged other sports stars to share their personal struggles with mental health issues, making them more authentic!

Simone, A Mental Health Heroine

Self-care - mental health

When Simone decided to take care of herself above all else, she became a major heroine to me. I have done a variety of therapy in my life and know that I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t. In recovery, we call that “self-care”—taking care of yourself ahead of everyone else. If I’m wounded and haven’t healed, in so many ways I have nothing to offer a relationship or the world. Yes, it’s scary to make that first call, to walk through that door and sit down, to open up about your deepest, darkest secrets. Doing this has given me the life I have today, a life I couldn’t have imagined.

Struggling with Mental Health Issues?

Struggling mentally - mental health

So many people choose not make that first call for a variety of reasons. But if life is crushing in on you right now, don’t hesitate. There are so many options today, especially with the internet tool, Zoom! Take a breath and look deep—self-care can save your life!

Finally, Lin and I have sat here and cheered our USA athletes on. This afternoon, we screamed and hollered when Noah Lyles won the 100-meter race by such a close call. Because of my injury, I’ve been a captive audience but I love it. We celebrated all of Simone Biles’ victories. My parents loved the Olympics, so I was raised in a family who watched them faithfully. Over the years, I’ve gotten too busy sometimes, but this year has ignited a deep passion in me again for them.

Thank you, Simone, for having the courage to step away in 2020, for expressing your deep concerns about your personal needs and for letting the world know it’s okay to seek help for mental health issues and to heal.

Dog Attack Update

Update - mental health

On Friday, I had the stitches taken out, and it hurt. Lin kept preparing me for it by saying it wouldn’t hurt. Then when he was holding my hand as the stitches came out, he said, “I lied!” The doctor did a close examination of the wound and showed Lin what she saw as an optimistic sign I might not need a skin graft. I have an appointment August 15 with the Wound Clinic and they will decide there about the skin graft.

I continue to have swelling if I’m on my feet for any time. The pain continues, and the nerve sensations and pain attacks come and go with no predictability. And I continue to cry!

Check out my recent interview at Southwest Writers.

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

This Tumbleweed Landed audiobook cover

Let Me Tell You a Story 

Let Me Tell You a Story audiobook cover

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir audiobook cover

Enjoy my interview on the podcast, The Writing Table

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Writer’s Regrets: I Have a Few!
Book Production · Life Lessons · My Books · My Thoughts

Writer’s Regrets: I Have a Few!

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
Paper burning - regrets

As a writer, I have regrets but just a few! Since 2014, I’ve self-published seven books and three cookbooks and recorded two audiobooks—sounds prolific! In a friendly conversation this week with a friend and my husband, we talked about our regrets. I listed a couple of life regrets but not writer’s regrets. Here’s my writer’s regrets.

Let Me Tell You a Story Regret

Let Me Tell You a Story - regrets

During the spring of 1987, I had visited my parents in southeastern Colorado. As usual, we went out to our family ranch and revisited many favorite spots. The Phillie Place always topped my list as my favorite, a homestead belonging to Philadelphia Cardenas.

Charlie Garlutzo was working for the County Sheriff Department. Bob Gleason had “Phillie” (Philadelphio Cardenas) up on cow theft. Charlie got the one hundred and twenty acres bought from Phillie for seventeen dollars and fifty cents an acre while he was scared him about the charges. Garlutzo had the choice of selling the land to either Horner or Doherty. He chose to sell it to Horner.

Phillie was sentenced for a one-year term but got out in seven months for good behavior. Had Garlutzo not got the land bought from Phillie when he was scared, he would have been right back out there, back in business.

Larada Horner-Miller, Let Me Tell You a Story, (Horner Publishing Company, 2016), 17-18.

When visiting my favorite spot that time with the folks, I found a blue marble at the front door, between the door jam and a rock out front.

I asked Dad, ”Who do you think it belonged to?”

“Probably someone out fossil-hunting and rummaging through this homestead.”

That answer didn’t satisfy me. I stashed that marble in my pocket, and the question whirled around in my head the rest of our visit. When I returned home to Denver, Colorado, creative juices flowed and I wrote, When Will Papa Get Home? feverishly, staying up late into the night, writing on my 2-E computer in my two-piece bathing suit after visiting the swimming pool at my mobile home park. I completed it in a couple days, but it went in a file deep inside my computer to be forgotten until 2015, publishing it November 26, 2015! Twenty-eight years later! My busy life took over, and I forgot about this story.

Why not now - regrets

When I took it up in 2015 to revise, I researched the setting and the timeline, and it became a much more solid story.

This Tumbleweed Landed Regret

This Tumbleweed Landed - regrets

In June 1992, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I participated in the Rio Grande Writing Project, a national professional development workshop for teachers. Teachers from all concentrations took part—math, science, social studies and yes language arts and literature! Being a language arts/literature teacher, it was a natural fit for me.

For one writing exercise, the instructor shared a children’s book and told us we could use children’s books in our classrooms as inspiration for students to write. She had a tub full of books and asked us to select one to read and then base a writing on it.

I selected Cynthia Rylant’s Waiting to Waltz, A Childhood—I love to dance so the title attracted me. Cynthia wrote poetry about Beaver Creek, familiar grown-ups and kids she knew. Her short, sweet vignettes in poetry form about where she grew up and the people there excited me. I could do that, and I did.

Again, I went home and the poems flowed about my hometown of Branson, Colorado, the lively characters I grew up with and the different places in Branson and on our ranch that had touched me so.

At first, sometime in 1993, I felt more positive that it could be published by a traditional publishing company, so I sent a query letter to one of the big five publishers. I received a request for a manuscript—Wow! Every author’s dream. I sent it off and received a rejection note which devastated me. Then it went in a file deep inside my computer to be forgotten, again!

On July 12, 2014, I published this manuscript, This Tumbleweed Landed, my first self-published book. It took me twenty years to publish it. Because of a workshop I’d taken in Santa Fe, New Mexico in December 2013, I added a few essays about ranch life to the book. I felt this suggestion enriched the manuscript and became the prototype I used for three of my other books. So, in this case, I feel the delay helped the end product!

Finally, and sadly, yes, I’ve had regrets as a writer, but only a few. If I had gotten a book published thirty-some years ago, I can’t imagine how different my life would have been—“shoulda, coulda, woulda!”

In the end, the long delays improved each manuscript and had its purpose. I can see that now!

Allow for delays - regrets

Have you ever delayed in a project and later seen the benefit of the delay?

MAJOR SALE: Buy my first book, This Tumbleweed Landed, at a 60% discount at my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft!

Enjoy my recent interview on the podcast, The Writing Table

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Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir - regrets

~ Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir available in audiobook format at the following places:

~SHOP TODAY FOR YOUR AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ANY OF MY BOOKS! Shop at my Etsy Shop or my Shopify Store

2023 is Here, Thank God!
Gratitude · Life Lessons · My Thoughts

2023 is Here, Thank God!

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
2023 is here!

2022 is gone, and I’m glad 2023 is here!  2022 has been a hard year for me, but I always believe in the positives amid trouble.

2022 is gone-2023 is here!

In 2022, I faced shingles in April and ended up with postherpetic neuralgia (nerve pain on face, scalp and ear) ever since—still nine months later. Because of the ongoing pain, I have had to continue pain medication, gabapentin. At first, I took higher dosages but recently have continued taking it three times a day at a lower dose. I hate the side effect of a fuzzy mind. This last week, I changed to Lyrica because my doctor thought it might help with the fuzziness.

Because of the fuzziness and pain with the neuralgia, I had to stop my next book, along with the audiobook of Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? I was recording. Before the shingles hit, I had recorded the entire book, but working my way back through chapter by chapter required concentration I didn’t have. Also, when I sat down to work on my next, I Said Yes, a how-to write a biography book, I stared at the screen and struggled to even get a sentence written. In fact, I sat that as my goal—write just one sentence a day, and I couldn’t do it!

When we returned from our second cruise on December 8, Lin and I were diagnosed with COVID. I experienced worse symptoms than Lin and ended up with a sinus infection, so my doctor prescribed a strong antibiotic that bothered my stomach. Also, the COVID intensified the neuralgia pain on my face, so my recovery has been slow!

Also, last month, my sister passed away unexpectedly. She had some health issues, but I had just talked to her and was expecting an update on her health.

So, yes, 2022 hit me hard, but I want to focus differently with you, my friends.

Group looking at a tablet-2023

Positives I Experienced in 2022

  • Because I got to Urgent Care quickly after I suspected I had shingles, I got the antiviral medication quickly, so the break-out on my head and face were reduced.
  • Also, my eye doctor demanded I receive a second week of the antiviral medicine when I saw him that first week, and I’m sure that helped.
  • Regardless of how I felt, I wrote this weekly blog.
  • Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? won the 2022 New Mexico/Arizona Book Award for Body, Mind & Spirit category.
  • I joined an international meditation group in April and have taken part regularly. I have also led the group a few times, which stretched me completely.
  • I wrote haikus after my meditations. They came so easily from the meditations.
  • I stayed dedicated to my daily Quiet Time and Morning Pages almost every morning.
  • I thoroughly enjoyed Lin’s garden, and we hosted a garden party in July and had 25 attendees come and celebrate his garden.
  • I had a lot of quality time with my 19-year-old cat, Jesse. Any time I sat on the loveseat, he thought he should sit on my lap.
  • I had several trips to our ranch in Colorado and spent time with my brother.
  • Yesterday, I finally became the winner of the Cribbage tournament Lin and I enjoy each year. He has beat me for 11 years! I won by one game!
  • Two wonderful cruises
    • 1st cruise Lin and I started in Barcelona, Spain. We traveled to France, Italy, Greece and then back to Rome, Italy. You can read about this cruise in my previous blogs.
    • 2nd cruise, Lin and I started in Rome, Italy. We cruised to Italy, Spain and Portugal. We ended up in Lisbon, Portugal, and I will write about this cruise in the coming weeks.
    • I had the joy of cruising with my husband, Lin, who makes every trip an adventure.

Finally,

As another year ends, I often sit and ponder what the past year held, and I’ve learned to look at all of it—both negatives and positives. As I face 2023, I also have high expectations for this new year—it’s a clean slate with all kinds of possibilities. However, I’ve learned in recovery an expectation is a premeditated resentment, so I’m careful with too high of expectations. I look forward to what 2023 holds for me and you!

What are your expectations for 2023?

News, News, News!

~2 Big Sales to start the new year!

~For me, it’s Christmas all year long! Here’s a variety of Christmas greetings from Flippo & Neeca, featuring his song, “When It’s Christmas Time in Texas”: https://youtu.be/mpJCUGffU3A

Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? meme

~My new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? WON the 2022 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in the Body, Mind & Spirit Category. Have you bought your copy yet? Vist my website: laradasbooks.com

Just Another Square Dance Caller: Authorized Biography of Marshall Flippo

~Have you bought a copy of Flippo’s biography yet? Believe it or not—it’s been two years. Go here for your hardback or paperback: https://www.laradasbooks.com or at Amazon.

Shingles: The Result of Procrastination!
Life Lessons · My Thoughts

Shingles: The Result of Procrastination!

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
Asleep on the couch - shingles

I have shingles, diagnosed seven weeks ago and the pain, itching and burning continues. I meant to get the vaccine many times, but kept procrastinating. So now I suffer!

On Friday afternoon, April 1, Lin and I colored my hair, getting ready for our first square and round dance festival in two and a half years. I wanted to look good, and I hadn’t colored my hair in several months.

After Lin rinsed the color off, I jumped into the shower to rinse more thoroughly and take my shower before the evening dance. In drying off, I noticed some red bumps on my forehead, but I didn’t notice they were only on the right side. I wondered if I had gotten allergic to the hair color!

We had a delightful time at that festival (I wrote about it on April 3 for my blog), but I didn’t feel right—just off. We danced Friday night, Saturday afternoon and evening, and Sunday morning. After the festival on Sunday afternoon, I attended the funeral of the wife of a dear friend and met another friend from out-of-town there, then we spent the rest of the afternoon together. As time went on, I felt sicker.

When I got home, I slept for two hours. After that nap, I looked in the mirror and the rash on my forehead had worsened. Deep in my heart, I feared it was shingles because my dad had them in 1988 when he turned 70 years old, and it looked similar. Now I noticed it appeared only on the right side.

Back then, the medical world thought Dad needed to be in isolation because shingles were highly contagious. So, we had to don medical clothes, and it was horrible. He looked like someone had painted half of his bald head red! He suffered with his eyebrow hurting until he died.

You would think that experience would have convinced me to get the shingles vaccine, but no, I kept thinking, “Next month, next year!”

The other reason I didn’t rush to get the vaccine is I thought I had not had the chickenpox, and I had read you had to have chickenpox to get shingles. I had never broken out with chickenpox; however, when my mom’s best friend’s baby got chickenpox, Mom put my brother and I in her crib so we’d get them as children. They did that back then as preventive measures—children suffered less with the childhood diseases than adults did.

I never broke out! However, during my teaching career, we had a chickenpox epidemic at one school I taught at, and I never got them. I always thought that curious! So, I probably had the chickenpox as a baby and was asymptomatic (I’ve learned the meaning of that word since the pandemic).

On Monday, April 4, I went to Urgent Care, and the doctor confirmed what I feared—I had shingles on the right side of my face: my scalp, forehead, eyelid and under my eye. He prescribed ValAcylcovir, an antiviral medication. When I got home, I messaged my primary care physician about the location of the shingles and he immediately responded, “Get to your eye doctor this week!”

So, I saw my eye doctor on Wednesday to make sure my eye was okay and it was, but he prescribed another week of the ValAcylcovir. Lin got his first shingles vaccination that day because he didn’t want to go through what I was!

For the first few weeks, I used calamine lotion on the rash—it helped so much with the itching and burning. Then a friend on Facebook suggested using CBD oil because her husband had been relieved when he used it when he had shingles. I had so many suggestions on Facebook, but I couldn’t try them all.

During the first four weeks, I had a leisure morning, tried to work on the computer for a couple hours in the afternoon, then I had rested for a couple hours—so unlike me!

Last week, I saw my primary care physician for a checkup for the shingles. He prescribed Gabapentin for my pain. The Tylenol didn’t help with the pain anymore. As I faced the fifth week, my doctor said I had postherpetic neuralgia, a complication of pain, burning, and itching that can last an indefinite amount of time.

Then I faced chairing a square and round dance festival the second weekend in May, so I did it last weekend, but it took its toll on me. I tried to catch up this whole last week. Then I helped minimally at another festival this weekend. I just didn’t have the energy to take part the way I’m used to.

Last night, I suffered with severe stomach cramps when I got home from the dance. I slept with a heating pad and went to sleep, but the severe stomach pain woke me at 4:00 am and continued relentlessly until 6:00 am.

I’m afraid my pain medication is clashing with my stomach medication and that may cause the stomach cramps! What to do???

Shingles are horrible, and I didn’t break out as severely as many people, primarily because I got the antiviral medicine so quickly.

This is my personal PSA (Public Service Announcement): if you are 50 or older, get the vaccine even if you don’t think you had the chickenpox! After seven weeks and facing my eighth, I do not know when this will end. I had many plans canceled (an audiobook put on hold, my seventh book put on hold, life put on hold!). Don’t take a chance!

~NEWEST PODCAST to be released Thursday, March 17, 2022, discussing my new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? : Live on Purpose Podcast at https://liveonpurposeradio.com/category/podcast/

~MY FIRST AUDIOBOOK IS AVAILABLE: Go to Audible to buy my first audiobook, Let Me Tell You a Story. I’m working on Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? but have gotten stalled with shingles.

~Do you listen to podcasts? Here are three podcasts with interviews about my new book & some Flippo stories:

Just Another Square Dance Caller: Authorized Biography of Marshall Flippo meme

~Have you bought a copy of Flippo’s biography yet? Believe it or not—it’s been two years. Go here for your hardback or paperback: https://www.laradasbooks.com or at Amazon.

~For me, it’s Christmas all year long! Here’s a variety of Christmas greetings from Flippo & Neeca, featuring his song, “When It’s Christmas Time in Texas”: https://youtu.be/mpJCUGffU3A

Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better?

~What happened to you in 2020-2021 during the coronavirus pandemic? Do you care? Are you on a spiritual path? Do you want to heal from the horrible effects of the pandemic of 2020? Visit my website to find out about my new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? and my other five books and three cookbooks: https://laradasbooks.com