Life In The A-Zone

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving y’all! Missing my Mom this morning. She would be bustling in the kitchen by now and getting ready to watch the Macy’s parade with us! In memory of Mom and all of you missing your heavenly mothers, here’s an article I wrote for Thrive Global a few years ago - It’s Lalicious!

Can Cooking Mom’s Recipes for Thanksgiving Fill The Void of My Mom? by Peggy Sweeney-McDonald, Host/Producer/Writer - Life in the A-Zone podcast and author of Meanwhile, Back at Cafe Du Monde... Life Stories About Food

10/28/2023

Walking today in memory of my beloved Mom Sherry Sweeney with the team Sherrys Pink Skies for Alzheimer’s Services of Baton Rouge, Louisiana

10/05/2023

Happy Heavenly Birthday Mom! My beautiful, fun, loving and joyful mother would have been 87 years old today! Celebrating her birthday today by flying to Budapest with my 88 year old Dad for a Viking cruise! I love and miss you Mom!

05/07/2023

The ultimate pink cloud moment last night at our beautiful friend’s Florida beach wedding! Blessed for these moments when I know my Mom is near! My dad and sisters love it too! Perfect for going into Mother’s Day week. It’s always tough not to celebrate with my Mom but will bring pink flowers to her grave and celebrate my sisters who are incredible mothers!

04/19/2023

So true!

It's okay to rest sometimes! 💜

04/19/2023

I experienced several moments on our Italy vacation with my husband These special moments always remind me that my mother is with me always!

04/19/2023

Check out my friend Pennie’s beautiful blog. She is a fabulous writer and her journey with her Mother’s Alzheimer’s is inspiring.

I fussed at mom but I think she was right. That I ever questioned her feels like a betrayal now. Why did I think I knew more about the mind and body that she had lived in for eight decades? She had always been in tune with her body and she saw the Bull coming from a long way off. She told us, but we...

03/08/2023

Happy Women’s Day! We are women hear us roar! Give yourself a hug today and if you are a caregiver, give yourself a double hug. ❤️

02/18/2023

Lessons of the Lake - Walking around the Lake at White Oak this afternoon, I heard an owl hooting and wondered where he was perched. Then he flew over my head, landed on a tree limb and stared down at my Dad and me! It was a special moment as I rarely see owls by the lake. I went home and looked up the spiritual wisdom of the Owl. I love this: The owl's heightened senses allow it to move with grace, ease and efficiency, even in darkness. Tune in to your own divine path in life, trust your instincts, and go forward on your life's path with strength and purpose. Thank you for the reminder my wise owl friend!

01/03/2023

Happy New Year! Embracing the stillness at our beautiful neighborhood lake in Baton Rouge on my walk this evening after a busy but wonderful holiday season! Grateful and blessed for every family member and friend who made my holiday sparkle! It was the fourth Christmas without my Mother and bittersweet. She is remembered in all our Christmas and New Year traditions… I’m blessed to have a tree full of her beautiful ornaments and a fireplace mantle with her nativity scene. I’m ready for 2023 and all the opportunities to keep sharing my stories!

12/19/2022

Big Daddy gets a lesson in cookie making from his precious great grandson! Priceless moments. My Mother would have loved this precious smart little boy!

12/14/2022

It’s been two years since I wrote this blog story on Medium of “How I Found My Sparkle During the Holidays” while struggling with the grief of my Mom no longer being with us! I think it is time to share again for anyone struggling with a parent’s loss and trying to move forward with the holidays!

Discovering the Joy of Christmas Again After a Year of Grief

12/12/2022

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Today we put up our Christmas Tree! I thought about skipping this year because we have so much going on, but my tree brings me such joy and connects me with my Mom who passed away over 3 years ago from . These are my Mom’s ornaments. Two years ago we divided the ornaments up between the four sisters. I love my tree! So many memories of my beloved mom! I decorated today while listening to Christmas music! I feel so close to her when I do this! It’s the little things…

12/08/2022

Magical moment at the Lake at White Oak yesterday! My walks around this lake are a blessing - A time to breathe, find gratitude and reconnect with my heart. “Lessons of the Lake” (episode 5) is one of my podcast stories on Life In The A-Zone. Listen on and more.

07/03/2022

It is a snowball kind of day! Getting our nectar snowballs fix on the hottest day of weekend in How can have lived this long without trying a nectar cream with condensed milk? That’s just wrong for a girl!

05/26/2022

In celebration of Older Americans Month, California Caregivers is hosting a caregiver roundtable next Tuesday, 5/31 at 4pm PST/3pm Central

I would love to have you attend and share the event with your caregiving friends! They will be taking questions from the audience and invite them to learn more from the caregivers we're chatting with. You can find more information and register here! It’s open to anyone and when registering just hit Los Angeles county.

https://www.caregivercalifornia.org/event

The California Caregiver Resource Centers consist of 11 nonprofit centers dedicated to providing caregiver support and resources. Learn more about special events!

03/17/2022

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This was the last big celebration with my mother in 2017! It was a beautiful day for a parade and she loved every minute! She loved St. Patrick’s day! Missing her more each day! Hug your Mom!

11/04/2021

My family is planning to walk for Alzheimer’s on Saturday morning. Please come join our team Southern Sweeney’s or donate if you can! Thank you for your support!
http://event.alzbr.org/site/TR/Walk/General?team_id=2311&pg=team&fr_id=1110

Join us for our 27th annual Walk to Remember, a community event that benefits Alzheimer's Services of the Capital Area's mission to care for those affected with Alzheimer's and other dementia. This outdoor, family friendly event is a fun way to honor your loved ones while supporting current caregive...

10/29/2021

The Grand Finale - Topping the trip out on top of the Eiffel Tower with my Dad did not disappoint! Beautiful clear chilly night and no lines. Beautiful perfection! We will miss Paris!

10/06/2021

Happy Heavenly Birthday to my beautiful Mother! She would have turned 85 today! I’m still inspired by her love and passion for life every day!

Check out Episode 10 - The Birthday Cruise of Life In the A-Zone podcast. We celebrated my Moms 82nd birthday by taking her on a cruise out of New Orleans. So grateful we went as it was the last birthday we would have with her. The precious memories will live in my heart forever!

09/27/2021

Take a few moments and read this beautiful blog post by my friend Pennie Nichols. She was able to take her mother who is suffers from Alzheimer’s to Florida for vacation. I was on vacation down the road and was able to visit them last night. It brought back so many memories seeing Pennie with her beloved precious mother. Thank you Pennie for your poignant and powerful stories.

It's moments like these... I'm kicking up a cloud, scrambling to ready for a trip to the beach, close up my house —but not too much because my pets will be

09/22/2021

I am missing my mother on World Alzheimer’s Day but blessed to share my bittersweet stories of being her caregiver from the day she was diagnosed to her last breath in my podcast series Life In The A-Zone. My podcast now has over 12k downloads and is rated in the top 3% of podcasts globally. Here’s a list of other podcasts I recommend for family caregivers in a blog post I wrote for Podbean. Hope these podcasts help others going through the tough and heartbreaking journey.
For more support and resources visit and follow:
Alzheimer's Association Alzheimer's Services Of The Capital Area The Women's Alzheimer's Movement - WAM

https://blog.podbean.com/podcasts-for-the-alzheimers-caregiver/amp/

Guest Post from Peggy Sweeney-McDonald, Life in the A-Zone (Alzheimer’s) Podcast September is World Alzheimer’s Month to raise awareness andContinue Reading

08/03/2021

Thank you to my sorority Pi Beta Phi for inviting me to be in The Arrow Magazine to share my inspiration for Life In The A-Zone!

07/30/2021

Last year on my birthday July 21st I recorded the first episode of Life In The A-Zone and launched it the next week on July 29th so today is the one year anniversary of the podcast! I am so blessed! Thank you for letting me share my stories. Please remember to share with anyone going through the tough caregiving journey with their loved ones! I appreciate all your listens, likes, ratings, comments, follows and reviews.

07/24/2021

Blessed to see this beautiful review for Life In the A-Zone podcast yesterday when I was driving back from my birthday vacation in Texas! If you have listened to the podcast on Apple Podcasts please rate by stars and write a review. I would really appreciate it!

06/22/2021

Thank you California Caregiver Resource Centers for spotlighting my caregiving journey with my beautiful mother who suffered from and my podcast Life In The A-Zone. Y’all check out the website for caregiving resources!

Peggy Sweeney-McDonald is an actress, author, podcast host, producer, writer and former caregiver. We had the opportunity to talk with Peggy about her caregiving journey and how she was able to get…

05/05/2021

Thank you Jennifer Fink for having me as your guest Fading Memories Podcast! I loved talking with you about our caregiving journeys with our beloved mothers. Sending you and everyone love on this Mother’s Day!

‎Show Fading Memories: Alzheimer's Caregiver Support, Ep Telling Our Caregiver Stories - May 4, 2021

05/05/2021

A new milestone! Life In The A-Zone now has over 10,000 downloads from around the world! Thank you for listening and sharing. I am so blessed!

04/04/2021

Happy Easter y’all! Check out my Easter memories and my last beautiful Easter with my beloved mother in “a Basket of Memories” - Episode 8 of Life in the A-Zone! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-in-the-a-zone/id1525552347?i=1000492275063

‎Show Life in the A-Zone, Ep Life in the A-Zone (Alzheimer's) - Episode 8 - A Basket of Memories - Sep 23, 2020

03/30/2021

Please take a few minutes and read this beautiful and touching blog post by my friend Pennie Nichols who is going through the Alzheimer’s journey with her beloved mother. It brings back my struggle with my Mom with all the struggle of mixed emotions stirred up with so much love. Thank you Pennie!

I want to be a hero, but today isn't the day. Today is the day I bend into the sob and ask myself, "What is this?" It's a rhetorical question. I know w