I improved it with writing and blogging tips, a photo gallery Moments in time, Summer 2015. I added a 25 percent coupon off on summer blog design, a schedule of upcoming events and partner badges. Look for it in your in boxes and if you haven’t yet subscribe to it on the main site EW Emma’s Writings at http://emmapalova.com
The design on mailchimp is simple with themes available. However, I do find some of the steps cumbersome, but it is a great free service with most features until you get into analytics and automation.
Grand Rapids, MI- It’s been exactly a year since I’ve had surgeries to remove cataracts from both eyes. The process took close to two months at the Verdier Eye Center in Grand Rapids.
In May, I went almost completely blind to a point where I could no longer drive or write because I couldn’t see the computer screen or the windshield. And that’s exactly what a cataract is- a dirty windshield or lights on the car. Some cataracts take years to develop, mine only took two years from the first consultation. They don’t necessarily just strike older people, which is also one of common misconceptions.
Dr. David Verdier, a recognized eye surgeon
I couldn’t see the TV screen, so I couldn’t do my yoga practice. I cried hard. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to see my son Jake and daughter-in-law Maranda at their wedding on Oct. 25.
I knew Dr. David Verdier from earlier stories that I had written for Advance Newspapers and Gemini Publications about his worldwide work for Orbis. He is a well-known eye surgeon who brought to West Michigan subspecialty skills of modern corneal transplantation and external eye diseases, cataract removal and intraocular lens implantation.
Dr. Verdier is recognized by his peers as a member of The Best Doctors in America, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in Medicine and Health Care and Who’s Who in American Education.
As such other ophthalmologists have to recommend you to get to him. I asked my eye doctor Holzer that I want Dr. Verdier to do the surgery.
“You’ll have to wait to get in, but he’s worth waiting for,” said Dr. Holzer.
The whole process took several visits to the eye center, but it was well worth it. I overheard some patients waiting for the surgery say, that it is a frivolous surgery.
I would never call any surgery, a frivolous affair. It was done under local anesthesia and with an anesthesiologist present. The prep time for it took two hours.
After eye surgery
Today, one year later I still don’t need eye glasses because Dr. Verdier also implanted lenses into my eyes that corrected the vision. I carry patient lens implant identification cards on me.
I am grateful to Dr. Verdier for his expertise and for “Taking my eyes to heart.” I even got a plant Kalanchoe to get well. Both, the plant and my eyes are doing well.
Here are the links to last year’s stories grouped in a mini-series “New Eyes with Dr. Verdier.”
Education: associates degree in health sciences-respiratory therapy, certificate in health coaching from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Oct. 2014
Residence: Gainesville, Georgia
By Emma Palova
EW Emma’s Writings
Lowell, MI – Leigh Ann Dickey wanted to share her story of losing 35 pounds when she joined the nutrition school. Dickey started out with a page on facebook, Instagram and a blog on WordPress two years ago using tutorials and mentors.
“I developed a nice site,” she said.
Coach Leigh Ann Dickey loves helping people.
Dickey was offering a weight loss product. But when she sustained a head injury on her bicycle, Dickey took the site down.
Since she has always liked design Dickey wanted to master WordPress. She already had a great feather in her cap; 12 years of HTML coding. Dickey completely coded her animal charity site herself from the start.
She took a WordPress class to get up to speed in 2013 & 2014. Dickey joined the Learn to Blog in 2014, but found out that she already knew a lot of the stuff from the WordPress classes.
The biggest challenge of blogging for Dickey was targeting her niche.
“I felt tossed around,” Dickey said in a Skype interview last week. “I was posting and sharing trying to target my niche. I went all over the place.”
She tried health & fitness, business coaching and design. It wasn’t until recently she found that her real passion was teaching and coaching. So, Dickey launched her Soulpreneurs this week. Soulpreneurs is a membership site on the Genesis framework.
But, before that Dickey started a WordPress support group on facebook.
“It used to be enough to have a facebook page two years ago, but now you have to create a group,” she said.
Two years ago with a budget of $150, Dickey could increase traffic to her facebook page to 3,600.
However, two years in an online business is eternity.
“That was old school,” she laughed. “Start a facebook group not a page. Find like-minded people. Join other groups inside of facebook.”
Dickey offered a lot of advice for newbie bloggers. Number one on the advice list is determining your niche.
“It all starts with ourselves knowing what we enjoy doing,” she said, “And then turn that into business. People should ask themselves what is it that they enjoy doing all day long.”
According to Dickey, the advantages of realizing what you really like to do are the following:
You best will know a lot about it.
It will be easy to develop products and services around your niche or like.
Then you have to boil it all down to specific types that is; rather than pets narrow it down to dogs and then go further, different breeds and such.
In response to what she likes about blogging, Dickey was very spontaneous.
“I enjoy the process of creating that plays into my geeky side telling the story,” she said. “I enjoy helping people.”
Blogging was a life changing experience for Dickey who had suffered a head injury.
“Blogging helped me get past something and I relate that to overcoming obstacles in business and in life. It’s just human nature to get that feedback.”
The second part of Dickey’s story with more valuable advice will appear later this week. Stay tuned and feel free to comment with your advice.
Lowell, MI-I would like to wish everyone a happy Easter from the EW team. So, you can enjoy it with your family and friends like we do. Our family had to celebrate early, because of our multicultural differences.
Czech Easter traditions and symbols.
We had a great time with Maranda, Jake and Josephine Palova. I even got my weight lifting in by throwing her up and down in my arms. She weighs exactly what I lift, that is 20 pounds.
For our Easter meal we had fried turkey loins with potato salad. Our appetizer featured open-faced sandwiches and classical Walachian salad or fleisch salad.
Czech Easter whipping custom.
In the afternoon, we practiced the Czech whipping custom. In turn for whipping, Maranda and I gave shots of plum brandy to the men.
“This is great mom,” said Jake. “Just like at home.”
Easter dessertsEaster eggs.
Well, back in Czech Republic, the big day is Easter Monday. Yet to come. Happy Easter to all.
In my memoir “Greenwich Meridian,” I write about Czech and Slovak traditions that I have witnessed while living in Czechoslovakia with a touch of nostalgia. Some of them disappeared along with the old regimes, but most have survived mainly in villages and small towns preserved by enthusiastic small groups of people. Festive costumes for the holidays and special events reflect these traditions, as well as music, dance, food, and customs specific to each village and town.
We lived in Zlin, Moravia, which is the central part of former Czechoslovakia embedded in traditions. Both as a child and an adult, I lived and visited with my grandparents in Vizovice, a treasure trove of traditions.
Cousin Bronislav Pink ready for “schmigrust”
Easter celebrations in Czech and some other European countries are longer by one day, and that is Monday.
We have always indulged in lavish preparations for the long Easter weekend. That meant having enough meat, desserts, eggs, and beverages for three days. There were long lines just like before any major holiday. I spent a lot of time standing in lines and listening to what the old broads had to say.
“I am not going to tell him how much I spent,” a woman wearing a scarf and a fluffy skirt shook her head defiantly.
The other one with an apron over her dress smelled of burnt dough.
I thought, she must have burnt her kolache, a traditional festive pastry with plum butter.
The broad leaned closer to the first one and whispered something into her ear. Then they both laughed, until their bellies and chests were heaving up and down. I learned a lot standing in lines. The longer the line, the more I learned.
So, the culmination of it all is Easter Monday known for its “schmigrust,” an old whipping custom.
Traditional Czech festive costumes.
On that day, early in the morning ,large groups of boys and young men head out into the streets with their braided knot-grass whips or oversized wooden spoons decorated with ribbons. The day before, they spent many hours skillfully braiding their whips out of willow twigs or scouring the house for the biggest wooden spoon.
The boys go door to door, reciting traditional Easter carols like “Hody, hody doprovody,” asking the lady of the house for painted eggs. Then, they whip all the present women in exchange for decorated eggs and ribbons. Single women, and girls tied ribbons on top of the whip. I always wondered about the whipping custom, long before I ever set my foot out into the world. One day, grandma Anna finally explained it to me.
“It is supposed to resemble the whipping of Christ before he died,” she said.
“But, grandma that’s evil,” I cried.
Grandma just shrugged, and turned away. Later in life, I knew better than to question a tradition.
Easter desserts
Women of the house offered shots of plum brandy, usually home-made or acquired through bartering to the “schmigrust” groups. Even family members took part in this ritual. Uncles and cousins visited for coffee, festive desserts such as kolache, shots and meaningful conversation.
On a good year, and especially when I was a teenager, we got anywhere around 100 passionate revelers. Sometimes, I ran out of ribbons. The boys and young men, competing against each other, took pride in the number of ribbons they got. The craft stores had to stock up with meters and meters of ribbons, plain or embroidered. The hens, of course, felt obligated to produce more eggs.
I have created a monthly newsletter so all can stay in the loop. It highlights news from my Emma Blogs including the flagship EW Emma’s Writings site on http://emmapalova.com
I will always feature in it: the current editorial calendar and excerpts from the editor’s picks for each month. The editor’s pick for the month of April is the story “IW Hiker babe walks 4,600 miles in memory of daughter.” I will also include valuable blogging tips both in content and in design. Eventually I will add marketing tips as well.
You can find the story on the company blog/website Emma Blogs on http;//emmablogsllc.wordpress.com
Blogging is a constantly evolving story. You can send your story with a link to your blog. Why did you start blogging?
Happy Easter and blogging to all from
Emma and the EW team
Note: This is the second installment in a feature series about Inspiring Women. It is dedicated to all women who are trying to make a difference and better other people’s lives, as well as their own. In putting together this feature series, I was inspired by several moments in life that in particular stand out.
No.1 A dedication of a Relax, mind, body & soul book by Barbara Heller from my son Jake: “I dedicate this to my inspiring and motivational mother.” Kuba
No. 2 While on a story prior to Mother’s Day, I dropped in at Ace Bernard Hardware to talk about the prizes with owner Charlie Bernard. We talked also about the Lowell Area Chamber and its director Liz Baker.
“You know what I like about Liz, she keeps re-inventing herself,” Bernard said.
No. 3 Again on a story prior to the International Women’s Day I talked to Sow Hope president Mary Dailey Brown.
“If you want to make a difference in this world, seriously consider helping impoverished women. Helping women is the key to unlocking poverty.”
No. 4 At a parents teacher conference at Cherry Creek Elementary in Lowell in mid 1990s: “Mrs. Pala, we do not give up,” teacher Karen Latva said.
Lowell city clerk battled cancer with positive attitude
Name: Betty Renfro Morlock
Position: city clerk
Residence: Lowell Township
Family: husband Sam, daughter Jamie and four grandsons
Hobbies and interests: wrestling, soccer, football and camping
Betty’s story
By Emma Palova
Lowell, MI- “I’ve had a few bumps in my life.”
Now, that’s Betty Morlock’s way of looking at life’s blocks, setbacks or just pure tragedies.
Lowell city clerk Betty Morlock
As the Lowell city clerk since 1988, Morlock has been through highs and lows, mostly in her personal life. She is also a highly visible and accessible person, and that’s not just during the elections.
Two major tragedies early on have pulled the family together. Adopted grandson Tyler Morlock, 4, was diagnosed with cancer in January of 2000. That same year on April 28th, son Steven was killed in an accident on a quad.
“I have that silver lining,” she said. “I am a people person. I love my residents and my community.”
Always vibrant, equipped with enormous energy, Morlock has navigated the city politics well. Twice, she was the president of the Rotary, and she traveled to the Dominican Republic, as part of a program to ship ambulances to the country.
Morlock has enjoyed a successful career, by the side of only two city managers, current Mark Howe and past Dave Pasquale, until the biggest challenge of her life hit hard.
While visiting her sick mother-in-law in Reed City on Dec. 29, 2013, Morlock started feeling increasingly sick herself. After throwing up due to an internal bleeding, Morlock was transported to the Reed City Hospital, and then transferred to Blodgett in Grand Rapids. She was diagnosed with cancer in her ulcer.
Morlock lost weight the hard way. To date, Morlock lost 68 pounds. She had to undergo a surgery that took away one third of her stomach much like in the bariatric bypass surgery.
“I had to have both chemo and radiation because I had cancer in the lymph nodes,” she said.
Betty Renfro Morlock
At the time, Morlock posted enthusiastically on facebook:
“Okay here’s the game plan: Twice a week chemo and then radiation.”
It was really more than that, but her optimistic outlook carried her through the serious illness.
“I’ve never been sick,” she said. “I’ve only been to the hospital to have babies.”
She underwent the treatments at the Lemmen Holton Cancer Center under Spectrum Hospital.
But, Morlock was no stranger to cancer.
“Cancer has been prevalent in our family,” she said.
Morlock lost both her parents to cancer, as well as her sister and brother, aunts and uncles.
She bought a wig, and never had to use it.
“My hair just got thinner,” she said. “I don’t think I was as sick as most people are. I got very emotional.”
The whole time during the treatments, Morlock stayed at her daughter Jamie’s house. She had a feeding tube in the stomach and it took 12 hours to feed six cans of Ensure. Morlock started dropping weight rapidly.
“Thanks God, I had a lot of weight to drop,” she joked.
Morlock received enormous support from the family and the community.
“If you’re going to get sick, Lowell is the place to be,” she said.
Morlock had to go a few times to ER because of anxiety attacks. She started feeling better once the feeding tube was out.
Now, all done with the treatments and back at the city hall, Morlock admits that the chemo and the radiation took a lot of strength out of her.
“It slowed me down a bit,” she said in a recent interview. “I continue to focus on being healthy and starting the next phase of my life, which is retirement.”
Currently, she is working on the cemetery program and the upcoming special election on May 5 for the sales tax increase.
What really gets to Morlock is the actual aftermath of the chemotherapy.
“I have something they call a chemo mind,” she said. “I forget things, I can’t focus or concentrate.
“How long can I claim this chemo mind?”
“As long as you want to, you deserve it,” said the doctor.
For Morlock, always surrounded by stacks of documents at the city hall, the inability to focus is really frustrating
And her biggest fear is that the cancer may come back. Morlock didn’t drive at all during the chemo and the radiation due to lack of concentration.
But, there were many positive outcomes from whole treatment process.
“Cancer made me a stronger person, more understanding and it taught me to value my community and family more.”
Betty Morlock
Cured, driving and working, Morlock says she was very fortunate.
“I had good doctors and support,” she said. “We’re lucky that we have the Medical Mile.”
She did have her pity parties when the feeding tube started acting up.
“I would feel sorry for Betty,” she said.
Throughout her career, Morlock had her role models like election specialist for Kent County, Sue de Steiguer.
“She is phenomenal,” she said. “All our elections run smooth, we’re lucky to have her.”
Morlock is looking to retire mid-year in June/July.
“I will miss the people, the staff and the community,” she said, “but I am looking forward to volunteering with Lizzie at the chamber.”
Morlock can’t wait to get to Tyler Creek Golf Course area to stay at the summer trailer.
And of course her no.1 love after the family is wrestling.
“I am their number one fan,” she said. “We’ve created bond ship through wrestling. The wrestling families are so tight, they made food for us when I was sick. We help each other.”
Betty Renfro Morlock- the woman behind the superwoman
Emma: What makes you feel good about yourself?
Betty: The fact that I kicked it and made the best of it. It may come back but I am ready for it.
Emma: What do you do for yourself?
Betty: I pray daily. I know God has a plan for me, and if it is to survive, I will survive. Don’t ever lose your faith.”
Emma: How do you balance all this out?
Betty: I continue to focus on my health and I want to start journalling.
Emma: Your plans?
Betty: Get well is my number one plan. Before I got sick, I overworked that might have brought it on.
Emma: Your tips and advice to other women?
Betty: It’s very important to talk to someone to get support. I love facebook. Between the family, community and facebook I kept connected.It’s good to be back. Call me if you need to talk to someone at 897-8457.
About the cover photo: Kathleen Mooney’s abstract inspired by Gee’s Bend quilting.
About the orchid logo: Photograph from the group “I love Czech Republic” on facebook.
authoremmapalova 