The Grieving Insomniac

Thanksgiving is almost upon us. Last year I had no way of knowing it would be the last holiday I would spend with Nick. Thanksgiving was always a favorite holiday of mine because it meant family and being thankful and eating. This year my mom, aunt and I are going to Claim Jumper. The thought of doing a full Thanksgiving dinner was too much. Besides Nick always cooked the turkey. I'm hoping by next year I'll be willing to try it. I know his secret to making a good turkey.

I'm going to be writing a book about my husband Nick, called Unlikely Disciple. This is the start of this book: It was around noon on December 2, 2015. I was in the middle of reading a book about rocks to my second grade class when I must’ve felt the vibration from my pocket. I took out my phone and saw a message that there had been a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California near Waterman Ave and that there had been at least 2 causalties. As soon as I saw the message, from a local tv station, I knew that my husband, Nicholas Thalasinos had been killed. After I finished the chapter I was reading I gave them a math assignment they could do on their own. I began trying to reach my husband first by text on his iphone and then by text on his work phone. I kept waiting for the asterisks indicating he was responding to my message, but nothing. It was silent. I tried calling both phones as well with no answer. In the middle of this more information was coming in both by KT

My husband, Nicholas Thalasinos, was one of 14 killed in the December 2nd terrorist attack in San Bernardino. My husband was a health inspector and knew the terrorist. He actually had helped train him many years prior. My husband was likely killed first. The terrorist hated everything my husband stood for: Messianic Jew, lover of Israel, outspoken against radical Islam. When I first heard there was a shooting in San Bernardino I instantly knew my husband had been killed. G-d has a way of telling us things. Because I had hours to prepare myself when I finally found out that my husband hadn't been located and therefore in the crime scene, I wasn't surprised. By the next day the news had found me. I had ran into a news reporter in the restroom at the reunification center. It was Courtney Friel from KTLA. She was so kind and gracious so when I had confirmation I let her know. She asked if I would release pictures and I said yes. I wanted to get Nick's name out there and le

Last night my husband, my mom, my aunt and I ate an early dinner at Coco's. Afterward Nick and I came home and watched some of the NYE coverage and read. Nick went to bed at midnight. I made the mistake of staying up until after midnight...around 1 am some neighbors decided to shoot of fireworks for over an hour! It was insane!!!! Today we spent most of the day watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy. We're onto the last movie, The Return of the King now. I found my lists of books I read each year from 2006 to 2013 except 2009 and 2010. 2009 is stuck on my Blackberry and I didn't keep track in 2010. That was right after my dad died and I just didn't care that year. Each year I've kept track I've read at least 50 books. I'm writing all the lists down in a notebook so I can keep track in case my phone has an issue again. Here is the list of books I read last year: Books Read in 2013 1. Found by Shelley Shepard Gray 2. Angels all Around Us by Anthony DeStefa

I've been dealing with very bad asthma for about 5 years on and off. Prior to that, I was a severe asthmatic as a child. I also have severe allergies and sinusitis. Add to that fibromyalgia and I'm a mess. My New Year's resolution is to get healthier. To start that I'm reading several Christian self health books/positivity books. The first book I read was Joyce Meyer's Look Great, Feel Great. I like her style of preaching and often watch her show during the week. I like the idea that I, with God, can have control over my health. In Look Great, Feel Great, she outlines 12 Keys for healthy living. She recommends taking time to add each key rather than jumping into all 12 at once. So for this week I'm focusing on Key #1: Let God Do the Heavy Lifting. Joyce recommends 5 ways to trust God with your burdens: 1. Ask 2. Attend church 3. Attend a support group 4. Begin each day with an affirmation 5. Pray in moments of doubt. My action that I'm focusing o

I usually make a goal to read 50 books each year. This year I far surpassed that goal partially because I was sick for most of the end of the year. Here are the books I read: Books Read in 2012 1. The Amish Nanny by Mindy Starns Clark* 2. Plain Fear: Foresaken by Leanna Ellis* 3. Strange but True 4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins* 5. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins* 6. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins* 7. The Derailment of the Sunset Limited by Neal Hallford 8. What Would Lincoln Say? 9. The Harbinger 10. The Sister Wife by Diane Noble 11. Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey 12. Almost Amish by Nancy * 13. George Washington & Israel 14. Titanic: the Tragedy that Shook the World 15. The 8th Confession 16. Angel in the Rubble* 17. Missing by Shelley Shepard Grey* 18. The 9th Judgement 19. The Lost Years by Mary Higgins Clark 20. Gypsy Bride* 21. See How They Run by James Patterson 22. Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith* 23. Piece de Resistance by Sandra Byrd 24. Holy