ALS Walk in Las Vegas

Thank you to everyone that walked "in memory of" my father, Craig Mackey on September 13th. We were back in our home town of Las Vegas, Nevada. We really had a nice turn out. I am not exactly sure how much money our team actually raised but I do know that every penny helps.
I really wished that things were different, and that we would have been walking "in honor of" my daddy, but life has a way of changing in an instant. He has always and will always mean the world to me!
Daddy...I love you and I wouldn't be the woman I am today if it weren't for you in my life.

Tuck N Roll

"We always walk home"

Some of you may have heard of "Tuck N Roll"...for those of you that have not, it is a bowling that consists of my boyfriend Keith and his best friends Tyson, Spam (Ryan) and Hair (David). They have been "Tuck N Roll" for the last 5 years running. I believe that this is the first year making it to the finals. So congratulations boys!!! Go get um!!!

Their victory Jeger shot!

This is my favorite time of the year!

I love Thanksgiving. It is by far my favorite holiday in the whole world! I love it because this is the one holiday that my family gets together. We don't have small children in the family anymore. So there really isn't a need to have the great big Santa Claus surprises like we used to. I guess when you are a little older cooking and eating all day long is a lot more fun!

Usually in the Mackey/Betty households my Nane and I are in the kitchen cooking and preparing all day. Mom will squeeze in after the Turkey is in the oven and help with all the fixens. Then there is the crucial nap time for everyone. Soon after our nap, Alex will begin making the cocktails. By the time we are ready for dinner and wine we are all a little sauced. It really is a great tradition! With football in the background and snacks all day long...I just don't know why this only happens one time a year!

Unfortunately, this year, and every other for that matter, we will be missing one very important ingredient.

Just Love!

I just love my mom! I think that she is the most amazing person I have ever met. I am so lucky that I was able to grow up with such an amazing role model. She has givin me so much strength and courage in this life! I couldn't have ever asked for a better mother, friend or role model.

I love you mom xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

10 Year Reunion Weekend

At the begining of the October I went to my 10 year high school reunion. I have to admit I was very nervous...so nervous that I almost didn't show. I was surprised but it actually turned out to be a good time! There were around 100-150 people that showed up so not too bad of a turn out. Unfortunatly, there were alot of people that were not able to make it. I graduated in a class of almost 700, so there were quit a few no shows. In the end it was a good time and it was fun to see some faces from the past. After the reunion, I met my mom in Vegas. I took her back to Phoenix with me for a few days. We took a short trip up to Sedona and stayed the night there. After a ton of shopping and relaxing, we made our way back to Phoenix.

I did get the chance to take her to my hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Phoenix. We had a very nice lunch and I got to show her off to all my friends! I had such a great time with her. I am so glad that she got the chance to come and see where her little girl is living.

My Father

Where can I start? This is now my fourth rough draft. I have been trying to write something about my father and his life, but there are not enough words to describe him. Everytime I try to write something about him, nothing ever seems to describe him well enough. For those of you that knew my father, you know that he was the most amazing man. I could go on for hours on end with stories about him and his life. I could go on for hours talking about all the amazing things that he did for our family and friends. I could just go on talking about him forever.

I wish there was a way of putting in words how much my father will be missed. I have not gone a day without thinking about him or without crying. People say that life gets easier but never better. My family has been through so much pain and struggle through the last 2 years. Somedays I don't know if I will ever make it through this without him! I know that he will always be with me, I just want to hold his hand one more time.

In memory of Craig Melvin Mackey
He was a loving son, brother and uncle; the best father a girl could ever have and the perfect soul mate that my mother has ever known.

Empowering

So as many of you may know my life has been turned upside down recently. I am currently working on turning it right side up again or at least getting some kind of handle on things. The main focus of my life at this point (other than my family) is myself. I have been working on rediscovering Janna and what is important to me. I have realized that I do not need a man in my life, or anyone for that matter, to make me happy. Making me happy is my job and as long as I am concentrating on me and my needs, the rest will fall into place.

As a woman, I always wanted to be given the gift of jewelry. To me jewelry is something that has meant a lot with my family. We have very precious items that have been past down from one family member to the next. So I have always held jewelry very high in my book of things to cherish. I have also always waited for someone else to give these gifts to me, thinking that I could not obtain them for myself. Well I am turning over a new leaf. I am realizing that I am the one that has the power to make me happy. I went out and bought myself my first piece of real jewelry. And let me tell you...that was the coolest, most empowering thing that I have ever done for myself!

Happy Birthday Alex!

Happy Birthday Alex! On May 30th I went to San Diego to celebrate with Alex and his friends. It was so good to get out of the Phoenix heat and away from life for a while. We spent a lot of time at the bar Alex bartends at...Martini's.

We had a nice dinner for Alex's Birthday...a little sushi...a little sake. We also had the best birthday cake ever!!! I could eat that stuff for the rest of my life it was so devine.

Then, for the Birthday celebration a big group of friends went to a water park. How great is that!?! I hadn't been to one of those in ages. The entire group had a blast! Hats off to the funnel slide, we spent most of our time on that little slice of heaven.

And then to top it off, after the water park we went to see "Sex and the City". A great movie, had some laughs, had some tears. Now that is what I call a great time! Thanks Alex for getting me out of town. I love you and hope you had a great Birthday!

ALS Walk May 2008

On May 17th, 2008 at the Sparks Marina, we walked for my father. With the support of many friends and family members, we were able to raise $10,000. This experience was one that my family and I will never forget. The love and support that all of us felt was overwhelming it brought most of us to tears. In a day and age with so many struggles, it felt great to have so many people stand with us in this fight.


The money that was raised goes to help the families in Nevada that are affected by this horrible disease. It goes to pay for much needed medical equipment, hospice care, really anything that the families need help with.


I want to thank all of you that donated and all that came to the event. You gave us hope. Hope that one day we will find a cure. Hope that one day people will not have to suffer. Most importantly you gave us your love and support. Thank you.

"We do not remember days, we remember moments"

Cesare Pavese

Taylor Janna Lee

Welcome Taylor Janna Lee... she is the new addition to the Lee family. Two of my best friends, Lisa Baird and Russ Lee, from college married each other, despite the late night meetings in the Blue Stone laundry room or maybe they married beause of :) Well anyways, they just had their first baby. She is so beautiful and I know that she will be loved! And spoiled!!! If not I will come down there and do the job!! So I want to say congratulations to the new Lee family. I wish you all the luck, love and happiness in the world.

By the way... I hope you all notice how beautiful her name is! I hear "Janna" is a good name :)

Keeping me busy!!!

Lately I have had time on my hands (in between working so much)...I seem to be picking up hobbies all the time now! Other than my new hobby with this blog, facebook, and my high school reunion web page, I have started to make jewlery! I love it! It is so much fun to me and I love going to work with something new to show everyone. There are some people at work asking me to make them something nice. So I wanted to share with everyone what I have been doing. I have been making my own jewlery boxes too...I think they are cute. Sometimes I take a step back and realize that I am such a nerd but thats okay. At least I am entertaining myself!

This is my cute little jewlery box...I know I am a nerd!!!

Beautiful Babies!!!

My girlfriend Lindsay James just had her little princess Kayleigh Nicole on April 7th. Life is so crazy, it seems that the majority of people move at about the same pace. For a few years all my friends were getting married...now it seems that they are all having babys! I am so happy for all of my friends that are starting their lives with the one they love and all the friends that are starting families one beautiful baby at a time.

Family Ties

As many of you know, my Father was diagnosed last year with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). My family has been fighting this disease every step of the way. Now we are trying to raise money in hopes of finding a cure and treatment for this horrible disease. On May 17, 2008, there is a "Walk and Roll" benefit in Sparks, Nevada to raise money for the patients in the state of Nevada. This money not only goes to research, but it also helps the families in Nevada that need support (medical equipment, hospice, ect.) in their homes to survive and live a somewhat normal life.

Since this fundraiser is in Sparks, we will be able to take my father. He is in a wheelchair now and has a hard time moving around. But with this being so close to my parents home and the support of everyone going with us, he will be able to share in this amazing experience. We are setting up a team in honor of my father. Our team will be called "The Mack Pack". We would love all the support we can get. If you want to donate money, please write your checks payable to "ALS of Nevada". Any amount will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my new blog. I will be updating all the time with new pictures and new news.