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 |  Fibro fog, pain, writing sandwiched in between. Quotes. Sermon notes. Encouragement. |
A Texas Sunrise  A friend, William Taylor, took this picture. He visits Surfside Beach with his dogs almost every morning, watching the sun rise while the dogs prance about at the water's edge. This is only about ten miles from where I lived in Lake Jackson, Texas. Sadly, I only visited this beach about four times in the six years I lived nearby. Each day is a challenge. A challenge to get by without thinking about the fibromyalgia pains. A challenge to stay awake when chronic fatigure wants to take over. And a challenge to navigate through fibro fog. I haven't been writing as much as in the past. For years, I wrote at least 500 words a day. Now, I'm lucky if I write 500 words in month. Sigh. For more information about what my day (or life) is all about with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, chronic pains, IBS, depression and everything else thrown in, check this out:
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| What did the baby banana say to the mommy banana? "Mommy, I don't peel well." That's me. I really don't "peel" so well.  I know it's a combination of things.  I didn't get enough sleep for days. I had to throw away some things that were dear to me because of water damage and mold. And yesterday, we found out that one "package" of pictures we brought back (and didn't check out first) were ruined. One was an oil painting of my son at about the age of 9 or 10. He looked so serious in that picture, and it was one we both loved. Now, because of the mold and moisture, his face is gone and all that's left is the lower part of the picture. I was going to throw it away, but for some reason he asked to have it. Fortunately, I do have a small picture of the same pose, so I can probably have another oil painting done for him. But not right now. Back when we had it done the first time it cost us about $80. Who knows what it would cost today...The other ruined picture was one of Derek and his dad and me. It's not that important to me, but it was to Derek. It was one of those pictures taken at church. It's not as bad as the oil painting. At least you can tell who we are. I'm sure part of it is also that a chapter of my life is finally closed. Derek and I spent about 6 years in Lake Jackson, TX. When we first arrived, my brother, my parents, and my sister, her hubby and two girls lived there. Gradually, they all moved away and we were left to fend for ourselves. It was a time of growth and change for both mother and child. It's also where I was rear ended twice (and injured once), where I received the back treatments that ended up thinning my skin permanently, and where I injured my knee at work. Not such good things. But there were good times. Lake Jackson is where I was when I started writing again after years, for more than myself, that is. Then again, it's also where my son became so disillusioned with "church folks" that it sent him off looking for a "better religion." Thoughts of the good and bad times came rushing back as I sat at the storage unit deciding which things I could keep and which I had to throw away, which damaged items might be "fixed" and which could not be. Being a single mom is never an easy task. But I never really felt burdened, and Derek has shared that for a long time, he didn't know that we might be just a bit poor. God prepared me for being a single mom, although, of course I didn't know that at the time. Back in Florida, when we were still a family of three, we published a newsletter about being frugal. Those thrifty ideas are what kept me/us going in Texas, especially once our family was gone and once I was injured and had little income. While hubby and I were in Texas, my son turned 23. I think that was only the 3rd birthday of his that I missed. I did arrange to have a piece of art from his favorite artist and a t-shirt (same artist on the front) delivered while we were away. It has never been easy to surprise my son, but I did this time. That was fun. Yeppers...I'm just not "peeling" well. I did too much. When I last worked - at Dillard's - I explained to my boss that I just couldn't work more than 6 hours at a time or more than 2 days in a row. Boy, oh boy, did I find out that was right this past week. My poor old body is screaming from standing, sitting on concrete, lifting and toting for hours, then for sitting in the car for hours and hours. And I just didn't get enough sleep. (Hey, at least I remembered to put sunblock on so I don't have sunburn on top of everything else!)Yesterday one box arrived and today another 10, I think. But I'm just too tired to deal with them right now. I have to get some of my energy back real quick. Hubby's 10-year old daughter is coming this weekend and staying an extra day because of Spring break. I can't be falling asleep so much with her here. She already thinks we're a bit boring.   |
| As my loyal readers know, hubby and I were gone for days, so I'll probably have plenty to write about. I just may not do that all in one chunk. We left Cincinnati on Monday morning and drove all the way to Texarkana, TX where we spent the night in a Motel 6. Then we drove to Lake Jackson and stayed with my sister on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night. We were still there on Friday night, but we spent that night in a Motel 6. (Guess we had worn out our welcome at my sister's house. Actually, her youngest daughter was home from college for Spring break and wanted some time alone with her mom.) We got up early on Friday morning - 6:30 (me) and 7 (hubby) am - and worked until about 4 p.m. Then we got gas and cold drinks and headed to Memphis. I think we arrived there about around 5 am, but there were no motel rooms because of a drag race.  Now about those teasers I posted earlier... As I was driving along, I asked hubby to "un-fog" the window. Of course, I knew it should be de-fog. I think he nodded off for a while, and I pondered the use of "un" and "de". (See? Undies. ) I wondered who makes the rules and why we say "de-fog" and "untie". Anyone know? I suppose we were both a big goofy by then because of our lack of sleep, so we ed quite a bit about the "undies."When we left Memphis, I had to make a pit stop and we did need some gas. The gas station/convenience store we found was about 40 miles outside of Memphis, I think. As hubby gassed up the car, I located the girl's potty and was quite surprised to see a metal detector at the entrance. I've seen them in courthouses and such, but never at the entrance to a restroom in a store. Yes, it did give me the creeps, but I had no choice at that point. I had to use the restroom! After we were on the road again, I told hubby. We found a motel room about an hour away from Memphis and when we finally settled down to sleep a bit, we had both been up about 24 hours. We slept for maybe 4 hours, then set off back to Cincinnati. I drove again. (Hubby makes a great navigator. Besides, he kept nodding off, and I didn't want him driving!) I took some caffeine pills and drank some coffee and was just fine. Fried pickles? We ate those at a restaurant in Lake Jackson the first night we were in town. My sister and my niece and hubby and I ate together that night. Fried pickles was one of the appetizers. We had never heard of them, but they were really quite good. I guess that's not on hubby's diet, but since we didn't eat much the whole week, I doubt it hurt him this one time. The moldy, smelly, buggy stuff we found in storage after 4 years? I guess I could write a bunch about that. I'm just glad that I found my jewelry box with my grandmother's antique cameo pin in it, and some of my writings from...the late 70's and early 80's. That should make some interesting reading.  |
| Yes, we're back in town. Now I have to unpack the car and find places for everything. The rest of the stuff we retrieved will arrive by UPS and USPS, (supposedly) on Thursday and Friday. I'll be back later to tell all about our trip... Including: un's and de's (undies?) being awake for 24 hours metal detector to go potty and fried pickles... Plus the moldy, smelly, buggy stuff we found in storage after 4 years. Thanks for all your prayers for our trip. We had no problems at all with the car or weather. Bye for now. |
| Shorthand version of things so far. Maybe a longer version later. Trip down was pretty uneventful. We stopped in Memphis to see Allison (Derek's former long time girlfriend). I'm glad we did. Our motel in Texarkana was fine. Well, except for the lousy coffee in the morning. Mapquest, Google and Yahoo maps all sent us from Cincinnati through Memphis, through Texarkana and down 59S to Houston. That's why we picked Texarkana for our first night's stay. Unfortunately, 59S is NOT an interstate highway and it IS under construction in quite a few places. AAA doesn't have an office anywhere near Lake Jackson, but their web site does provide a very different route and that's probably the one we'll choose for going back. Whenever that is. There was water damage in my storage unit. It looks like there might have been 2 inches or so. So, all the boxes on the bottom were squished and, yes, there is some moldy stuff. Pretty smelly. So far, most of what we've thrown away has been clothing, sheets, towels. We've lived without them for 4 years, so I don't think that's much of a tragedy. This is quite a job, though. I'll explain more about that later. If we can get done with the storage unit today, then we'll be on the way again on Friday. If not, it will be Saturday before we leave lovely Lake Jackson. It is a nice place. Some changes after 4 years. But just being back makes me remember the good stuff. It's a town of....well, I guess I don't know. When I lived here there were about 25,000 people. Still, it has a good sized mall, a wonderful college, great libraries and museums, even a planetariam. And it's only about 50 miles from Houston and 45 from Galveston. Now...it's time to get back to packing and sorting and throwing stuff away. Yippee. |
| Hey, y'all I'm gonna miss ya. All y'all. (Just practicing talking to Texas friends. ) Be praying for our trip. But while you're it, put in a few for our kitties. The issues they both had have not been resolved. Now we're concerned about their kidneys. Yes, they were eating the canned foods that were recalled. Our news last night said even more foods had been recalled, and if your pet ate these foods take him/her to the vet. We really need to get on the road bright and early. In case you've missed this one, these foods have been decided to be the cause of kidney failure in pets. Some dog foods were also recalled, but I haven't paid much attention since we don't have any dogs right now. Hopefully my son will be observant about the cats' activities. Now, I'm off to finish getting me ready and stuff packed (foods). We'll be on the road by 8 a.m. (earlier if I have my way). I'll tell you all about trip in about a week. Probably won't be around before then, unless just to peek in to say howdy. |
| For some reason, I thought about the phrases "traipsing around" and "prancing around" today. When I was a kid, those phrases were used quite a bit, and usually interchangeably. They aren't really the same thing. According to dictionary.com, traipsing means, "to walk or go aimlessly or idly or without finding or reaching one's goal, to tranp, or a tiring walk." Prancing, on the other hand, means, "to cavort, to move in a lively or spirited manner." I wonder why those two words popped into my head this morning...and have refused to leave. We're leaving in the morning for that trip to Texas to finally empty out my storage unit. Are we going to traipse? Or prance? Not likely. We'll be driving - and observing the speed limit all the way. One of Dad's phrases also came to mind today. Mom used "traipse" and "prance" more than Dad did. Maybe I was thinking about words that they each used. Perhaps I was remembering a bit about the months I spent with my parents before hubby and I married. I don't know. But I do know that Dad - for years even before I lived with my folks - always talked about eating "snick-snacks" in the evening. I thought it was something peculiar to him, but not long ago I discovered that lots of Pittsburgh folks say "snick-snacks." Now, I really do have to get back to packing. |
| Grrr. I decided that a bit of sleep was required at about 1 p.m. My body was gradually doing its "automatic shut-down" thing. That "bit of sleep" turned into about four hours. I really didn't have time for that, but I guess I needed it. I have been having to wash laundry that was waiting in the basement when the hose broke the other day. Whatever was down there got wet and no matter what else needs washed, those wet things took priority. Fun. While I was sleeping I had a dream...that woke me for a few minutes. (Usually only nightmares wake me!) Perhaps if I had stayed asleep it would have been a nightmare. I mean I did wake up because both bees and flies were swarming - together - and a fly ended up in my nose. It was a strange dream. In it were my family, my church friends, and some WDC friends as well. Some of the folks who are WDC "friends" don't show their pictures in the ports, so in my dream those folks were just a bunch of suitcases (in various colors) with legs. I laughed in my dream, realizing that I had entered a kind of cartoon world, or something Alice in Wonderland-ish. We were on some kind of field trip or vacation together. We visited museums and amusement parks and zoos and concerts. I think it was at the zoo, in a picnic area where were eating, that the swarming bees and flies arrived. They were following some WDC friend (a yellow case). First we were concerned for our friend, then we were all being chased, and that's when a fly went up my nose and I woke up. Okay, now that I think about it, I guess that was a nightmare. Or the beginning of one. What's weird, though, is that I'm pretty certain that the sound of the swarming insects was actually the sound of our kitty purring loudly next to me. My dream thoughts have the ability to change with the noises I "hear" while asleep, which, obviously, makes them quite interesting. Our kitty, at some point, had joined me in the bed. After making sure there really wasn't a fly up my nose, and talking to hubby and kitty, I was back to sleep. But I didn't continue where I left off. I guess that's a good thing. I have probably said these kinds of things before. In fact, I think I have one or two items in my portfolio that talk about how our words can impact the world around us or far from us. But in an email exchange today, I said: The written word can be so many things - an introduction to love and friendship, a rebuke, kind, angry, confusing. Without the benefit of facial expressions and voice tone, our written words strike out on their own and sometimes, as hard as we have tried, they don't really impart the message of our hearts. True, huh? Sometimes, even writers, have a difficult time writing just the right words or conveying the message just like they would like it to be received. I am sure that's why if we're Dad's kids we sometimes are just allowed to take dictation from the Master and not allowed to venture out on our own. Not when the words are meant to be about Him, anyway. And that important. Don't forget. Bright and early on Monday morning, hubby and I are beginning our trip to Lake Jackson, TX. That's about 60 miles south of Houston. Start your praying engines now, okay? That we have a safe trip. That the weather is good (warm would be nice!). That we don't have to stop every two hours for potty trips. Once we get to my sister's house, we may be able to check in. Or we might hop over to the library so we can both log on at once. But that's starting Monday and, thankfully, it's still Saturday now. I really need to get to the store to buy a few things for the trip. I just hate leaving the house IN THIS COLD. The weather really teased us the other day, getting up to 76 or something. Then the temperatures plunged back down to the 30's. Grrr. I mean BRRRRRR. Okay, I'm off to make list of what I need to buy... |
| Some folks think I'm Irish, but I'm not. Mackenzie is Scottish. March 17 is special for me (and my family) because my brother was born on this day in 1956. My grandmother also died on this day in 1980. The one who lived with us for most of my young life. I'll probably come back later to write something. Or maybe not. My baby sister and her hubby stopped in Friday afternoon. Knowing that she was coming then instead of today meant that I TRIED to get some cleaning done. (Both of my sisters are clean freaks. I call each of them Mrs. Clean.) But, boy oh boy, our kitty didn't want to let me get much done. I put the cats' food and water bowls on the floor so I could clean off the mess Opera had made of their normal feeding place - the bay window. She was running around the house, as usual, but when she tried jumping over the bowls, she caught her tail in the water bowl. That made her jump a bit, which knocked over the food (dry) bowl and scattered it all over the living room. Then she decided to play hockey with the scattered pieces. When I tried cleaning the bathroom, she was right there trying to help. I swear, she's worse than having kids around. Today and tomorrow, I really need to get my act together to make sure we have clean clothes to pack, food to take with us, maps, etc. Plus I need to make sure hubby has paid things that need paid before we go, since we'll be gone for almost a week. ********* Remember a few posts (or more) back when I was lamenting people respond to questions by asking a question? In my pretend converstion, I mentioned that blueberries are supposed to be the best food for us. Well, that was what I read. They're chock full of anti-oxidants. But here's a new list of 6 superfoods. Guess what's #1. Pomegranate. http://www.prevention.com/article/0,,s1-3-71-108-7834-1,00.html?cm_mmc=Spotlight... Some "facts" about milk: http://site.vocalpoint.com/milk/thefacts.html How about this. The headling says, "Literary Legend Learns to Type at 92"http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2025178,00.html You know...if he can learn to type at the ripe old age of 92, what can we learn to do at 30, 40, 50, 60??? |
| I had something really cool to share with you about Monday, March 19. I had the link to prove that I'm not crazy too. Silly me. I had it right here in this little box when the computer froze. Now it's lost. But here's the deal. Monday is (and now I'm not sure of the "official" name) Wash Your Coffee Cup Day. Years ago I worked with a guy who never, ever washed his coffee cup. This day is for him and others like him. Some DJ in Indianapolis, IN started this once a year Wash Your Coffee Cup Day (or whatever it's called). What really makes me mad is that the link was from a site with all kinds of weird holidays and celebrations. And I've lost it.  Oh well... How about this. This link is for an article called, "A Conservative Who Could Win" by Doug Patton. Does the name Fred Dalton Thompson ring any bells for you? Today, he plays District Attorney Arthur Branch in NBC's “Law and Order.†But from 1994 to 2002 he was a TN. Senator. And a long, long time ago - three decades ago, in fact - he worked behind the scenes to investigate the corruption and deceit that became known as "Watergate." Thompson was a conservative Republican and a Southerner. He worked along side a liberal Democrat, Hillary Clinton. Word has it that Thompson might run for President. Wouldn't it be neat if Hillary and Fred, who worked together on the Watergate issue would be running against each other in the 2008 election for President? http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=19689 I may add something more later. I may not. I really need to be getting ready for that trip to Texas. Meanwhile, I think I have to squeeze in a trip to the chiropractor first. Having that knee bother me HAS made my other parts scream out in pain. And I think my sacroilliac joint is all out of whack. Grrr.  |
| Absolutely Incredible Kid Day® - Camp Fire USA suggests that adults write letters to children about how much they are loved and valued. (since 1997). http://www.campfireusa.org/a_i_kid_day/mainpage.html |
| Seriously, I don't do a bunch of whining. Or at least I try not to. But today, I have set aside to do a bit of whining. So...if you dont' want to hear it, run for the hills.......... N O W !!!! Okay...as we wait for THEM to leave, I'll try to be nice first. So THEY don't catch a word or two of whining that THEY don't want to hear. I now have two, count them, TWO, Easter baskets. Nanny-nanny-boo-boo.   I got one from intuey   and one from winter - both very, very special ladies. Thanks again!  ya both!Okay. Are THEY gone? Are you sure YOU are up to hearing me whine? Rememer, it's not something I do every day, so once the flood gates are opened, I might not be able to stop. Well, that's not true. I can stop. But I want to start right now... Some days, I'm really tired of hurting. Oh, I know. I won't die from hurting. I guess that's what keeps me going. I know this isn't anything serious that I have. It won't kill me. And when there are others - here at WDC, even - facing life-threatening illnesses, I feel like such a wimp for even bringing it up. That's why I don't often complain. Much. Maybe it's the flip-flopping weather that's getting to me. Yesterday it got up past 70 and today it's back down to the 30's. What's up with that? And it's damp outside, so my muscles and joints are just screaming. Grrr. If you've never hopped over to my hubby Incurable Romantic  's port you might not have discovered his/our disabiltiy forum or the blog he's keeping of his/our aches, pains, doctor visits, sleep habits, etc. So, maybe you've never heard me say this.If you see me here late at night, it's because I'm avoiding going to bed. One would think that lots of rest would be good for me. And it is, since with the chronic fatigue aspect, I can often just shut down with only ten minutes notice. BUT...the worst pains I experience are when I'm getting into bed at night and trying to find a comfy position and first thing in the morning as I try to get out of bed. Just getting into bed and easing myself into the best sleeping position or sitting up in bed at the beginning of the day makes my whole body scream with pain. If you've ever been to a doctor who inquires about the level of pain you're experiencing, they usually use a scale of zero to ten. Ten is the worst pain level of all. When I'm getting into or out of bed, I think my pain level reaches about a 12 to 15. Seriously. During the day, my pain level is always between three and eight. It never, ever goes away completely. (That's why I've said that I'm probably the only person around who looked forward to having a colonoscopy...because now they drug you so that you not only don't feel what they're doing to you, you also forget what they did. It works on my fibro pain too for that time.) My worst pains are in my left lower back and my left knee. Both of those were places I injured in the past. It figures that my fibromyalgia pains would migrate to there. That doesn't mean I don't have pains anywhere else. I DO! In my right hip, my right knee (not quite as bad), my ankles. That's just the bones. I also have pains in my muscles in my legs, arms, neck and back. My ears. The outer portion of my ears feel like they are on fire, or maybe like they've been frostbitten. Even in yesterday's 70+ degree weather, they pulled that on me. You know they weren't really frostbitten. My stomach hurts almost all the time, and they can't find anything wrong. I guess we - the doc and I - are going to just accept that it's the fibro and forget about it. Easier for the doc than for me. Those knees? The left one - the one I injured in 2002 - actually it was on 3/16/02, so it's almost 5 years (surgery was 4/22) - is now not only hurting but each time I put weight on it I feel like I'm going to throw up. That, of course, makes me tread lightly on my knee, which causes me to put more weight on the other one. That will probably have a negative effect on my other knee and my back. Yikes. Yes, I know that God has the power and ability to heal me. God and I have spoken about this quite often, in fact. But... ...okay I'm going to leave the rest of my aches and pains and whining for another day. Because, I have something else good to share. Y'all can come back now. I'm done whining. Whatever the reason that God is allowing me to experience this malady, I do know that people have been and are being helped. Just today I heard from Nada about my Wednesday Wisecracks entry. Remember that one? I included the link to the Spoon Theory. Nada thanked me and said that sharing that helped her understand what someone close to her is going through.That, I'm sure, is why I'm here sharing the good times and the bad. Because along the way, someone is going to learn something. Someone is going to be touched. Someone is going to be helped. And that's what sharing is all about. Okay, I'm done. Later gators. |
| Wisecracks? Well, maybe so, maybe not. But you know me. I love titles and using the same ones each week would get boring. For me, anyway. It's turning out to be quite a week and it's only half over. Or as hubby pointed out when he called and I commented that the day was only half over, "You can look at it from the other direction. It IS half over." Right. The glass. Half full? Half empty. I got it. Anyway, today's adventure involved the washing machine. When Derek came home from work, he promptly started doing some laundry. Not long after that, he yelled, "Mom, I need help!" When I opened the basement door, the sounds of the washer and water just weren't right. Turned out that the hot water hose had broken or split and it was spraying hot water all over the basement. It seemed like lots of time went by, but you know it didn't. We had to put a bulb in the overhead light fixture and I handed him a flashlight so he could see what was going on. He turned off the hot water and then we started mopping up water. It covered his turn tables, his TV and lots of CD's and DVD's. What fun. Once we had that under control, he restared the washer, using only cold water. But he commented that the cold water hose appears to be rather brittle too. Probably so. It's probably been there since the washer and dryer arrived, and I have no idea when that was. Wonder if hubby remembers. I'm just glad that Derek didn't toss the laundry in the washer and head off to bed. Thankfully, he was still in the basement when water started spraying all over the place. I probably would have noticed a different kind of sound coming from the basement...eventually. But the mess might have been greater. ******* I was trying to catch up with my Yahoo emails today. I have not finished. I think I still have 177 in my inbox that I have not yet opened or tossed. Serves me right for not checking there daily. I think I get about 120 in my inbox there each day and about 600+ in my bulk mail. With that many in my bulk mail, I just empty it, even though some "good" mail may end up trashed. ******* One of my newsletters, The Rick Scarborough Report on the War on Faith, mentioned something that happened at William and Mary College. They reported last October that the new president of the college ordered the removal of the 18-inch cross which had been in the Wren Chapel for 75 years, based on the complaint of one student. Readers of this newsletter, plus most likely other Christian media (like Focus on the Family), plus alumni bombarded the college with letters, phone calls and emails. Some of the alumni threatened to withdraw donations, including one individual who had pledged $12 million in donations. The president changed his mind. That same college president allowed the college to partially subsidize an exhibit of paintings produced by "sex workers" -- prostitutes, strippers and porn stars. He thought the cross was offensive, but the art exhibit showed tollerance. Right. ******** From another email/newsletter I received today: Over the past 52 weeks, fewer than 15 percent of the books on the New York Times non-fiction best seller list were authored by women. Since the majority of non-fiction books (up to 70% by some estimates) are purchased by women, this disparity led eWomenPublishingNetwork and Content Connections to launch a national, comprehensive study on the reading, recommending and book buying habits of women. The study also investigates the factors that can help more women become successful, published authors. Women, click here to find the survey: http://www.womenandbooks2007.com/ It will take a few minutes, but it's worth taking. ******** From 48 Days Newsletter: The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both. - James Michener And... John Wesley was an Anglican priest and leader of the great Weslyan “Methodist†revival of the 18th century. In his lifetime he rode 175,000 miles on horseback to preach 40,000 sermons. As his health failed near the end of his life, Wesley complained that his doctor would only allow him to preach 14 times weekly. He wrote in his journal, “I fear laziness is creeping in on me – there is a growing desire to sleep in until 5:30 AM.†Hey, I was raised a United Methodist. I love John Wesley...******* Someone commented the other day that I seem to be “better.†No, I’m not really better. I just don’t always complain. If it appears that I have been online for most of the day, it’s more likely that I just forgot to log off while I went to take a nap. I probably provided this link long ago. I know I’ve shared it in our disability forums and hubby shared it in his fibro blog. But it’s worth sharing again. It’s the Spoon Theory. The woman who wrote it has Lupus, but what she experiences (and explains really well) applies to many people who have chronic illnesses. http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/2007/02/the_spoon_theory.php#more |
| Click here for a list of anthologies seeking submissions. Paying $0 to $300. http://www.absolutewrite.com/freelance_writing/anthologies.htm |
| I'm sure I'll be back later today to add something. Seriously, though, what does 24/7 mean to you? About 3 or 4 days a week, as I pick up my son from work in the morning, he'll ask that I stop at our local Kroger store. He might want a fresh donut. Or he might be out of cereal. Or he just might have a hankerin' for something that we don't have. (He buys most of his own foods, thank goodness!) Kroger is supposed to be open 24/7. Today, people were standing around the doors rather confused because they didn't just open when they stepped up to the door. (It would have made a great Candid Camera show. )We did notice that someone was letting in a few people now and then. There must have been a bunch of employees who started at 7 a.m. and they were let in. While Derek was at the door, being told rather rudely, "Employees only!" I was calling the customer service desk inside. I very nicely asked why the store was closed to customers and inquired if they realized that they had a number of customers standing outside without anyone bothering to explain why they could not come in. Perhaps mine was not the first call this employee answered. Or perhaps she had been in the store all night and was tired and ready to go home. Still, her rude response to me on the phone was not good business. The employee informed me that there was a sign on the door. (There was not on the door where my son stood.) It turns out that the store had completely stripped all the floors and washed and waxed them and the floors were not dry yet. Now, I have never worked in a store that was open 24/7, but I have shopped in a few over the years. When THEY needed to strip and wax floors, they usually did just part of the store at a time and blocked that part of the store while they worked. Even if they really needed to do the entire floor at one time, wouldn't you think they would have arranged to have the job completed before 7 a.m.? Normally when my son runs in to the store, I sit in the car and watch people. One day, I counted the number of people coming out with Starbucks coffee. (There were 22 in a ten minute period.) I wonder how the Starbucks counter felt about losing customers this morning... If my son had known that the Kroger store would not be open, he could have purchased a box of cereal at his own store before he left (Target). But rather than go back, we proceeded on towards the house and he stopped at Walgreens instead. Of course, instead of spending $2 for a box of Kroger brand cereal, he spent at least twice that much for a box of national brand at Walgreens. But you know, he was hungry. That rude girl at the Kroger store had told me that theywould probably open in 15-20 minutes give or take. Did they really think people were going to stand around and wait? I'll probably have to drop a note to the Kroger store about this. Don't worry. I know how to complain nicely. What a segue, huh?
***************** Trying to be more serious now. I found this today on the public review page.
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| Check it out! See the awardicon on my blog? Isn't it pretty? Turns out that I won the Blog Ring's Rate 5 and Win Contest. Cool, huh? Click here for more details and to see the growing list of blogs on the Blog Ring. ** Image ID #1138290 Unavailable ** . |
| What a day I had yesterday. Busy, busy, busy. In the morning, of course, hubby and I attended church. Our pastor continued with the series about getting to know Jesus. His focus, and that of the small group I attended Sunday night, was about Jesus as the Shepherd. Did he really have to keep telling us that sheep are really stupid animals? After all, if Jesus is the Shepherd, that makes us the sheep...and stupid. But, I guess we are. We get lost just like sheep do, and we need our Shepherd to help us find our way home. As usual, the notes I made in the margins are the ones I really want to remember. God is love. Do we really get that??? People seek love through: performing, pity parties, positions of power, pleasure, possessions - none of which make us feel loved, at least not for very long. Our congregation includes: seekers, strugglers, and sold-out followers. Even sold-out followers of Christ forget about how deep and how wide God's love really is sometimes. If there was a notebook of all of your sins, how big would it be? Thankfully, our sins are forgiven and we don't have to keep carrying them with us! Do you wake up thinking, "Good Lord, it's morning" or "Good morning, it's the Lord"???? Turn on your light, reflect God's love, be an example to the world. Some of the Bible verses that we focused on in this lesson were: John 10:11 NIV I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:14 NIV I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Psalms 40:11-12 TLB My only hope is in your love and faithfulness. Otherwise I perish, for problems far too big for me to solve are piled higher than my head. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." John 1:12 NIV Yet to all who received Him to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. John 13:34-35 TLB And so I am giving a new commandment to you now -- love each other just as much as I love you. Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples. The sermon points were: The Shepherd's Role: God loves and knows me.God looks after me.God leads me.My Response: I receive God's grace and rejoice.I rest in God's protection.I resign myself to God's guidance.I will reflect God's love.Our small group focus on Sunday night was: John 10:10 NIV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Acknowledge the rescue. Accept the rescue. Appreciate the rescuer. Announce the rescuer.After both the morning sermon and the evening small group study, I realized how little time we - Christians - spend rejoicing and showing the world how much joy and peace we have because we are loved so deeply by our Creator and Father. In between the church service in the morning and the small group in the evening, I was blessed with the opportunity to serve. A group of folks from our church - ranging in age from 10 to 60 - drove across the river into Kentucky and served a meal to the homeless (and working poor). The church we visited there serves food every Sunday night to their neighborhood poor. Somewhere between 125 and 225 people show up every Sunday to eat. What a ministry this is for that church. Our church, by providing the food (one of our members is an executive for one of our local eateries and they donated the food) and doing the preparation and serving last night, allowed the other church folks to spend time outside the kitchen and to be with the people they support each week. It was good for all of us. Normally, folks line up at the door of this church just before 4 p.m. The serving begins at 4 and ends at 6. Last night, there were about 30 people waiting to get in at 4 - about 20 less folks than usual. They trickled in after that, and around 4:40 it dawned on a bunch of us at about the same time that, DUH, some of these folks that were regulars were really homeless. Perhaps they didn't realize that daylight savings time had changed 3 weeks earlier than usual. Sure enough, at 5 p.m. a bunch of folks showed up at the door. Perhaps we served about 125 people last night. There was enough for everyone to get a hefty plate of food and for seconds for those who wanted more. There was even enough for take-out plates for those that requested them. What little food was left, we put in the freezer for them to use later. Serving the homeless is something I like to do. My brother is homeless in PA and by serving where ever I am, it somehow gives me a connection to him. Besides, just hearing the stories of how people end up on the streets is a good reminder that so many of us are just one pay check away from being in the same situation. That's rather sad for a country as "rich" as ours is supposed to be. When I went to bed last night, I was thorouthly exhausted. And, yes, there were pains everywhere. Still, it was a good exhaustion and I knew that the pains would disappear as I drifted off to sleep. And as I did - drift off to sleep, that is - I was comforted knowing that God always takes care of me. I need that, because, I guess I am as dumb as the sheep sometimes. Often, actually. I almost forgot. Many thanks to shleprock for making my Easter basket and to intuey for giving it as a gift. |
| My Sunday is jam packed. I'll be sharing everything that happened...real soon. Meanwhile... Have you dropped in at
There just might be something new! |
| Country Woman - poetry contest - Summer Verse (picture prompt) - deadline March 20, 2007 http://www.countrywomanmagazine.com/2007/MA07/subFeature03b.asp?RefURL=&KeyCode=... Creation Illustrated - for submission information: http://www.creationillustrated.com/article.php?id=8&PHPSESSID=474877b3ac09eedbcc... I know you've been eager to see pictures of our two cats. Here's Opera with her face in the food bowl. That's her usual position.  This shot shows her face.  And here's one of Piewacket, being the serious cat.  Having to get up early to pick up my son at work has its merits. I get to see the sun come up, and in nice weather, that's not such a bad thing. Speaking of nice weather...it was 57 degrees when I got up this morning. Another strange Cincinnati weather day, I guess. The temperature will neither go up nor down today, or so the weather folks say. Just a few weeks ago it looked like this:  That's hubby - Incurable Romantic and his daughter Tiff. I think he had his back turned so he could avoid being hit by a snowball. (But he'd probably say he was making a snowball of his own. )Today the birds are really getting ready for that first big Spring concert. As I sat on the porch, I heard six distinctive bird songs. I don't know which birds belonged to which song, but I did hear six different songs. Yippeeee! Next we'll be seeing some of God's beautiful Spring colors. And I cannot wait! A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby, excitedly discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why?," they asked, as they moved on. "Because," he said, "I can't stand watching chess nuts boasting in an open foyer...." |
| I don't know. I was looking for a word beginning with "f" for my Friday title. Nothing seemed funny or unique enough. So, I made up my own word. Like it? I was going to call it...family speak. Hubby wanted me to mention some of the weird family sayings that he's discovered that my family uses. I already had one entry about some of them. Umquie (my brother's word for water) and azoo (his word for another). Aaayeeee (my sister's answer to what time is it - when she was just a toddler and unable to read time). Some of my cousins said, "I can't want to" instead of "I don't want to." And...well hubby and I talked of another one, but I can't remember. Maybe he'll leave a comment here to jog my memory. Hint to hubby: It was not one of my dyslexic mouth utterings - like, "That's very not nice." Anyway... Do you know a young writer - age 8 to 18? Here's a contest just for them. The young writer has to write about a 50 year old who is not his/her parent. (The 50 year old can be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, friend, mentor.) The deadline is March 31, 2007. Here's the link for more information: https://http//www.legacyproject.org/contests/ltalrules.html Hey! The temperature reached almost 60 today. I still don't understand how the temperatures work here. I mean the highs for the day. The other places where I have lived - PA, MI, MO, FL and TX - have the high temperature in the middle of the day, somewhere between noon and 3 or 4 p.m. Here in Cincinnati, the high temperatue is usually between 5 and 6 p.m. What's up with that? Sadly, it should go back down into the low 30's tonight again. But it surely was nice this afternoon. My car's heater doesn't work very well, so my car never really gets warm. Just mildly warm, not like other cars....like hubby's for instance. Of course, he doesn't like or need the warm. One day when were getting ready to go somewhere....maybe for our anniversary dinner....I discovered that he had his car heater turned to the blue side (AC!) instead of the red side (heat). Yikes. I forgot that my air conditioning doesn't work at all. I commented about that to my son as I was driving him to work. Something like, "Pretty soon we'll be complaining that the a/c doesn't work." His response? "No we won't. We both can handle heat more than cold. Remember? There were how many days in a row - 18 - of over 100 degrees in Texas without a/c in the car? And we survived." He's right. My car's air conditioning quit in June, 2003. I guess we've survived so far. But boy...I hope we can get the heater working better before next winter. I've been searching and searching for something I wrote to my mom at the end of 2001. I ran across it - on my computer - a few weeks ago and thought, "I should copy this or print it out, 'cause I'll never remember where this if filed." I was right. I don't remember and I tried searching myself and getting the computer to search, to no avail. Grrr. But, the good thing is that in my searching I found a few other things I had written and forgotten all about. Plus... I found this quote from Erma Bombeck, "My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first, hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint." I wish I had written that one! I always loved Erma Bombeck. Loved her sense of humor and wished I could be like her. She is missed... |
| It's not often that I make three entries in one day. I could have, certainly, just added to the others. But I wanted this to stand by itself. And when I'm finished, I'm going to retreat for the day. At least until much later. I really have things to do! Anway, in the last post, I mentioned that http://www.crosswalk.com had been reorganized and enlarged. Boy has it. Here's an excellent starting place for anyone who wants to know more about Jesus - who he is/was, who he isn't/wasn't, who he said he was, etc. It's an excellent resource. http://www.crosswalk.com/whoIsJesus/1346092/ And for those who want a good article refuting the claims that the bones of Jesus were found: http://www.probe.org/commentaries/tales-from-the-crypt-do-we-have-the-bones-of-j... I'm tired now. Exhausted, really. And I think I'll just go and take a nap. Nighty-night. |
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