Us? Competitive?

There is a certain brother of mine with whom my competitive nature tends to show itself more often than not. I wont name any names, but he has red hair and lives next door to me.

When we were younger, it did nothing to help family harmony... now that we're grown, it brings much laughter.

In the last month we've been "helping" each other get healthier by making it a competition.

This morning, I was feeling quite smug as I started my walk at 7:15. "Really, I should get points for even being out of bed at 7:15 on a Sunday, much less walking my little feet off," I was thinking...

BLAST! Coming toward me, on his way HOME from his walk was the aforementioned brother.

When we got within yelling distance, I asked where he had walked to. He replied, "To the mini golf course... it's really dark out there at 2:00am." For those of you unfamiliar with NH geography, the mini golf course is at least seven miles from our home.

Not to be out-done I graciously informed him that I wouldn't be in attendance at church this morning, as I was walking to the Mall of NH and most certainly could not be back by 10:30.

(on a side note, when he told me where he had really walked to, I specifically went a little further, even though before seeing him I had been contemplating turning back because I was cold)

It makes me smile that this competitive must-always-beat-those-around-me gene has been passed on to his daughter. We'll be eating dinner, none of us aware that we're in a race, when suddenly Chloe will throw down her fork and declare, "I WIN!"

PS - This afternoon I am packing for my trip... and I'm not going to Haiti.

The Trip of Which We Do Not Speak

A couple of weeks ago at work, I was given a big compliment by my supervisor. He chose me out of all the trainers at our company to attend additional training. Now, instead of training employees in our call center exclusively, starting in 2008 I will hopefully be traveling to many locations to help other trainers with their facilitation skills in the classroom.

It was an incredible boost to my spirit, and a wonderful answer to prayer, as I'd just been asking God to send something along to help me cherish the special stage of life that I'm currently in.

In an effort to keep all scary stalkers at bay, I've been advised to keep the location of my travels off my blog until I return.

So, I decided to make a game of it. I leave early this Monday, and will post on my blog each day a place that I am not! ha HA!

I leave you with this... I am not going to Madagascar!

Things That Made Me Laugh This Week

Cards that come in the mail from my VA brother & sister-in-law that say...

Red Rover, Red Rover, send cute, financially stable, emotionally mature men right over!

LOVE IT!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

... go to iParty with a friend & try on wigs!! (wonder why they didn't put THAT on a throw pillow?)

Being Short = Danger, Danger!

This morning, after purchasing my iced Dunkin Donuts nectar-of-the-gods, I was walking across the parking lot to my car.

And there was a large semi trying to get out of a small place.

He was pulling out at a tight angle, and suddenly, all I saw to my very-close-right was his chrome grill!

But then he cut the wheel even more, and we made eye contact.

And he read in my eyes, "Please don't run me over, because that's not really fun for me."

And he didn't.

That is all.

A Tale of Two Cousins

DJ was born eight months before me and we've always been friends... close ones.

Growing up, he used to come and stay with our family a couple weeks each summer, and we'd spend hours talking, playing & betting Skittles on "Pass the Pigs," fighting, laughing... all the things that cousins do.

We went through Bible school together. When I was frustrated, he'd give me his arm to punch. And I'd give him my ear to talk to when he was frustrated.

There have been countless hours of laughing together. We saw each other through our first crushes, cried when our hearts got broken, and supported each other to where we are now.

When I moved back to NH, we lived next door to each other for the first four years, and the bond deepened.

There's nobody that I'll fight easier with, and there aren't many that I trust more.

If I ever stay home from work, I expect a phone call soon after 7:00, after he's driven by and seen my car still in the driveway... "Just checking in to make sure you're ok."

Or he can tell when it's been a bad week at work, and will call on a Saturday and let me know that he's ready for a ride on the bike, would I like to come along.

And this past week, when parts of my world were threatening to fall in on me in ways that I couldn't handle, he took over. He stood up for me, comforted me, drove to my house late at night, and called numerous times to get the status of my courage.

Right now, he's the happiest that I've ever seen him... and it makes me no end of happy for him.

Love you, Deej... thanks for being one of my best friends ever.

Dear Diary... My Life is Hard

1:16am - wake out of deep sleep to strong skunk odor in bedroom

convince self because of how light it is in bedroom, that alarm must be about to go off

shocked to see have been sleeping for less than two hours

in sleep-fogged mind think how to make sure skunk smell does not infiltrate clothes, bed, me

decide that air conditioner (with window space next to it filled in with cardboard/plastic, etc) is letting in a lot of skunk grossness

rip out cardboard & plastic, then realize air condition way too heavy for one person to get out of window

now stuck with large gaping hole next to air conditioner, where offending odor can wander in at will

open window tad bit more and watch air conditioner fall to the ground

feel pain and realize that left palm was in way of air conditioner as it fell, and is now scraped, pulsing and bleeding

close window

stare mournfully at fallen a/c unit

wonder briefly if skunk is in bedroom, as odor still strong

repair wounds with carebear band-aid

walk around entire apartment spraying yummy smelling deodorizer

crawl into bed

get out of bed after realizing sleep is going to elude me for awhile

be angry at late night talk show hosts never heard of who talk about asinine things

mute tv

blog about whacked-out experiences that only seem to happen to me

decide to pop in "House" DVD

hope to fall asleep on couch, lulled by the bitter diatribes of Hugh Laurie

Ten Random Things About Me

I was "tagged" on another website of mine, and figured I'd post it here as well... but without the guilt inducing of "tagging" 10 others.

And, all ten of these things are different than this post from last May.



1) My biggest fear is discovering a body hanging from my shower head



2) I am strangely addicted to reading biographies of random people and am currently reading one of a female neurosurgeon



3) Secretly, I've always wanted to be The Tollbooth Lady, repleat with obscenely long nails & multiple rings on each finger



4) My spelling is so poor that I keep dictionary.com or a Word document open all day long at work, so I can double check for typos (and that goes for at home when I'm writing or commenting on blogs)



5) Once I ran over a snake... it made a popping sound... I shiver uncontrollably every time I think about it



6) I attended W's first inauguration... but b/c I'm so short, couldn't see a darn thing. Periodically my over-six-feet-tall friends would launch me into the air for quick glances of the goings-on



7) I sang my first solo when I was five



8) In the last few days, I've probably killed over 30 crickets in my apartment



9) I have a shot glass collection, even though I don't drink



10) My Dad taught me how to make a mean egg roll!

In Which I Tell Not-Quite-All About A&P

Another Thursday night... another A&P class...

I walked into the classroom and with great relief saw that my shadow from last week was sitting several rows up from my self-proclaimed Lindsay Spot, and next to another participant.

My heart soared as I walked to my seat in the back corner of the room and put my stuff down. I would not be up-cracked in the knuckle department! I would not be subjected to attempted side conversations...

In the middle of my internal joyous soliloquy, she looked around, saw me all by myself, packed up her books and came to plunk her person next to mine.

"My back row buddy would have missed me," said she.

What I said cannot be repeated on this blog.

Or rather, I smiled at her and made some mumblings of "You know it" or some such trite saying.

Hairdo Lady was in rare form again... my favorite style being most of her hair in a bun, with a rat-tail-ish thing hanging down her back... and then, heaven help us all, the rat-tail was put in a ponytail... and at various junctions during the evening, threatened to be braided as well.

I fantasized about giving her a haircut. Preferably one that left only about a half inch of hair all over her head.

Oh, and I learned stuff about A&P as well.

Cells are small.

Smaller than what we can see with the human eye. And yet, they have about 873 parts, all of which are named with names that are mighty in syllable!

But, I had my first-of-the-season Pumpkin Latte from Starbucks that I nursed through the first portion of class... and that spells L-O-V-E!

(Stay tuned for next week's post entitled "Tales from the person who sat on the professor's desk, so she wouldn't ever be distracted again...")

Because Who DOESN'T Need A Pair of These??

Not Quite A Wandering Minstrel

More like a Studying Geekstrel...

I made some flashcards to help me study for A&P.

And I decided to take a walk and study at the same time.

Until I got to the church, and heard low guttural sounds and much rustling in the bushes.

So, I made the wise choice to go back home.

And I walked around and around and around our driveway. I think ten times is a mile... I'm sure I did more than that.

Studying, studying, studying.

Who's idea was it to call the front of the leg "crural" and the back of the leg "sural?" They sound like badly named twins.

However, in my humble opinion, I think that the front of the knee being "patellar" and the back "popliteal" is just plain clever!

A & P = Good!

And so it begins! The chronicling of my classes & studies. Basic A&P started on Thursday night, and I've thought of not much else since then.

The class goes from 5:00 - 10:15, which I consider a long time, especially after a full day of work... however, the information on the first night was completely fascinating, and I loved being in a classroom setting again. At least, I loved it until 8:25, but that'll come later.

Even though I'm an extreme people person, going into new situations with lots of strangers fills me with quite a bit of angst, so when I got to the classroom, I went to the back row, arranged my books around me and tried to exude please-don't-sit-next-to-me-ness. I think I was born without that specific gene, because my life consistently shows that no matter how much I try to give off that vibe, it has the opposite effect.

The room was eerily quiet as everyone sat there, waiting for class to begin, when the door opened and in walked this girl who was probably well over six feet. She looked all around the room and started walking toward the back... and to the seat next to me. In the dead silence, she turned, smiled and yelled "HI." I about came out of my chair!

During class, I could see her in my peripheral vision, and she was constantly staring at me. I'd crack my knuckles - she'd crack seven of hers. I'd take notes - she'd start writing feverishly. At 8:25, after lots of talk of body regions, cavities, medical names of things, and other fascinating subjects, the professor said, "Now it's time for chemistry." Had my teeth fallen out of my head like they wanted to, I'm sure my shadow would have produced some as well.

"I've already TAKEN chemistry," she stage whispered to me. I tried to focus on my notes.

"I'VE ALREADY TAKEN CHEMISTRY," she said, getting closer to me. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

At this point, I was hanging onto the information being taught by a very fine thread, and couldn't be distracted by giants who had already taken chemistry.

But she & I weren't the only students in the class. There were 18 in total... and being the consummate people watcher that I am, I had to keep reminding myself that I needed to listen to what the professor was saying, instead of wondering what the life story of each of my classmates was.

One lady in the front row started out the evening with a beautiful french braid. A little while later I thought, "Hey - where'd french braid lady go?" She was still there, but had taken down her hair. A few minutes later it was up in a pony tail... then down again... the two pony tails... then down and twirled around her fingers... then up... she changed hairstyles at least 17 times during class. (And NO, I wasn't counting. I was focusing on chemistry!)

Or the person in front of me who was taping the class on her little hand held recorder. She would pick it up every couple of minutes to see if it was still doing it's job.

Or the very young person who looked at the clock almost continuously, and would sigh when the minutes weren't moving fast enough for her liking.

In Swedish Massage 1, there wasn't a lot of studying, and even less homework involved. This class will be very different, but I'm ready to take on the challenge... I'll be even more ready when the chemistry portion is over!

So - to recap:

A&P = good
Chemistry = not so much

Tonight, as I stared at the Stars...

... and once again asked God questions, I remembered this song that a friend sang for me when I was leaving VA. It was true five years ago... It's true now.

I was hoping you would write to me a message in the stars
As if the stars themselves were not enough
And I awaited your arrival here from some place very far
As if I couldn't feel your constant touch

There you are - loving me like crazy
There you are - though I am unaware
There you are - when my heart is doubting
Even there you are

I was waiting for a miracle and hoping for a sign
As if each breath I take is not a gift
And I was acting just as if the way you gave your life for mine
Didn't have my foolish heart convinced

There you are - loving me like crazy
There you are - though I am unaware
There you are - when my heart is doubting
Even there you are

I was hoping you would write to me a message in the stars
As if the stars themselves were not enough

-Carolyn Arends

Saturday Equation

DJ + Me + motorcycle + long ride = H.A.P.P.I.N.E.S.S

I suggested we keep riding... like maybe to Minnesota.
He said he had to be home by 5:00.
I suspect he just doesn't like Minnesota.

You're Fired!!

My newest little masterpiece... Love it!

A Savior Complex

In an evening meeting last week, Pastor Tad mentioned how as alive Christians we need to be able to feel other people's pain. He talked about bearing other's burdens. And I agreed... his talk excited me, because I love people and yearn to help... yet the thought also exhausted me, because I often allow myself to feel their pain much too deeply.

And as I talked with Amy about it afterwards, and continued thinking about it throughout the week, I realized the exhaustive panic comes from carrying all the pain myself. I forget to take the next step, and lay the pain down at the foot of the cross.

There are times that I am not called to go through the deep waters that others have been called to go though.

Nor have I been called to save the people who are in those waters. That was already done... by Someone much more qualified than myself.

I have merely been called to support... and to take the hurt, anger, pain, sickness, sadness, and brokenness to the place it belongs... to the cross... and then to leave it there.

The Return of The Swamp Rat

Back in June, I posted about my leaking car that turned my "I-need-to-wear-this-jacket-because-the-AC-at-work-was-on-overdrive" jean jacket into a thing reeking of swampness.

This morning I pulled out that same jacket, because Fall is fast descending on this great state!

And as I did so, I got a strange whiff... of swamp.

WHO, I ask you, in ALL OF CREATION just hangs a swamp-smelling jacket up in the coat closet without WASHING the swampness out of it first?? Just so that two months down the road, one can be surprised all over again by the joy of repelling all those around them with the stench.

Apparently, that would be me.

Once I Was Afraid - I Was Petrified...

I signed up to take Basic Anatomy & Physiology. And I was really excited about said class. It begins in just a few weeks, so I decided to get a jump-start on learning. I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday and scoured several A&P books... and realized that I'm completely screwed!

Who even named these stupid muscles that we have?? Was there a ban on easy when they did so?

For those of us who are not confident spellers, it seems like some sort of sick joke that not only will I need to know where the Sternocleidomastiodeus muscle is and what it does, but that I'll also need to SPELL IT??

After seeing names like Flexor Digitorum Longum and Supraspinatus, I almost kissed the page on which I found the hamstring!

If anyone needs me in the next four months, I'll be the one rocking back and forth, eyes wide in terror, mumbling softly to myself... but don't be surprised if you can't understand the words I'm saying... they're probably just the names of the muscles that I'm using to rock back and forth.

Homesick

The dictionary defines being homesick as "longing to return home." How then can I explain being homesick for a place that I've never been?

This morning as I drove to work, the sun was absolutely beautiful as it broke through the clouds. The glow was stunning, and I felt as if I had been granted a glimpse into Heaven. And I was so homesick, I cried...

Another part of the dictionary's definition is "acutely longing for one's family or home." Perhaps that's where homesickness comes into play when thinking about Heaven.

This morning's sunrise made me feel like it was just a matter of stretching my arms out a little further and I would be dancing with Mindy... or getting to know Grandma Springer on level different than I could as a third grader... or being wrapped in one of Uncle Lloyd's better-than-anyone's hugs... enjoying Andrew's wonderfully dry sense of humor... laughing at the bluebirds with Mrs Holland... enjoying the mutual admiration society of being around Aunt Jan... hugging nieces & nephews that have been whisked away from earth before we had a chance to hold them... and best of all - throwing myself at Jesus' feet, and feeling Him wrap His arms around me, lift me to my feet and hearing Him whisper in my ear, "Well done..."

You're in a better place,
I've heard a thousand times
And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you
But the reason why I'm broken,
the reason why I cry
Is how long must I wait to be with you?

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways
The reason why I wonder if I'll ever know
But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same
Cause I'm still here so far away from home

In Christ, there are no goodbye
And in Christ, there is no end
So I'll hold onto Jesus with all that I have
To see you again
To see you again

And I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

- Homesick by MercyMe

Dr Laura Says...

... that mothers and daughters shouldn't be best friends. She says that there should be a closeness, but not a best friend relationship.

I disagree...

I've always loved my mother, and always looked to her for advice, but in the last 15 years she's become one of the people that I most love talking with, spending time with, and just being with.

Because of geographical distance, giving her hugs is not a part of my daily life, but there are other things, like daily phone calls, that keep us close.

So on this day, an anniversary of her birth, I say, "Happy birthday, Mom. I love that you're my best friend!"

Pity we wont make it into any of Dr Laura's books :)

Satirical Happy Book

Years ago I went through a nice long stage of keeping my spirits lifted by writing down at least three things I was grateful for/ happy about before going to bed each evening. It was a good way to wind down, and got my thoughts in a better place before drifting off.

During that time, with the help of a cleverly resourceful friend, on the not-so-good days, we resorted to a satirical happy book... and to tell the truth, this was often times much more fun. We'd chortle with glee at each new entry, and it did just as much to raise the spirits as the real-live happy book.

When I lived and worked in VA, another friend and I would email back and forth things we were happy about, when the days seemed especially hard or long.

At work, I've been dubbed Pollyanna, and today as someone was complaining about the horribleness of this particular Monday, I knew I'd be taking my life in my hands to try the whole "How about think of things that you're happy about, and we can write them back and forth to each other."

So, I pulled out the satirical suggestion, and it once again amazed me how quickly irritants can become laughable when sharing them in satire!

(Somewhere, niggling in the back of my mind, I wonder if I've blogged about the satirical happy book before. How awkward and embarrassing if it turned out I was plagiarizing myself!!)

I Love Despair.com!

A Classy Establishment

Amy & I frequent a yummy restaurant in Manchester... and on the way back from our last trip, we saw this. Tells you a little about the area our fave food is in. But the burritos are amazing! What can we say?

Things I Love...

* Being pampered

* Uncle Rick & Aunt Kath

Things I love a LOT

* Being pampered BY Uncle Rick & Aunt Kath!

(this past weekend was spent in Maine... drinking coffee on the swing looking at the lake, going out to eat, napping in the hammock, going out in the kayak, tubing, swimming, l-o-n-g afternoon boat ride, movie watching, lots of wonderful chats, and being LOVED by two people whom I adore!)

Pool-y Challenged

You've read about the pool before... that I got stuck inside it while we assembled it.

However, there is a new development.

I'm beginning to wonder if I am the butt of some cosmic joke... if the pool gods are truly against me.

This has been a storm-filled summer here in NH. We've had countless rainy days, varying from short little showers, to severe thunderstorms that wreak havoc.

And these storms have ALL been at times that I've wanted to get in the pool!

During the work week I try and get outside at every break and lunch, just to see the sun, and remember that there is more to life than what happens inside those big walls. And when I go out, it's so hot and sunny, that I spend the rest of the day, back at my desk, thinking about going home and getting in the pool.

For the last few weeks, almost without fail, by the time I get home it's either already raining, severely cooled down, or threatening to rain.

Today was very hot and very sunny. I went to my river spot after church, and got so hot there that I came home to get in the pool. Chatted with Jill for a bit, and changed into my swimsuit. By the time I got into the pool, the grey clouds had completely obliterated the sun, and there was a pretty steady (read: very chilly) breeze.

I quit!

My New Wheels - Insert Loud HURRAHS!

Love Those Kisses!

Diary of a Me

Inspired by the loquacious and bullety format of her cousin, our blogging heroine will now regale with what's been going on in her life since her post l-o-n-g ago....

Buckle seat belts, and... GO!

Sunday, last - Flew home from trip-of-a-lifetime with four of my nearest and dearest. Was so happy to be home that I giggled while crawling into bed that night.

Monday - Slept in, and then got a new car.

(Oh, do you want more details? It's true! I will no longer be writing posts about windows unzipping on the highway, rain pouring in, or how much fun it really was to drive with the top down on the way to the ocean. I will now be writing posts about having a reliable four dour with a hard top that I can actually take through a car wash! For those of you who know or care about car-ness, it's a '00 Pontiac Sunfire that had only 69,000 miles. Yay Paul! PS - it's gold)

Tuesday - Woke up feeling as if I'd been tossed against a wall repeatedly. Jetlag is an amazing thing. Slogged around for most of the day, then took a friend out for dinner.

Wednesday - Went back to work, and my email box was full, full, full! Sorted through that, chatted up my peeps, and got not much else done.

Thursday & Friday - See Wednesday... only add in a couple meetings, a little more productivity and a little less fullness of the email box

Saturday - Went to Panera with Evan and the kids, and the beach with Amy.

Sunday - Church, phone call that makes me smile every time I think about it, and Martina McBride concert (yup, it was amazing!)

Monday - Went back to work, along with a skeleton crew. This week is the week to be on vacation, boy howdy. Guess I jumped the gun by being out last week.

Tuesday - Worked a full day, and was interrupted by people going my desk on their way to start the holiday early, whispering, "Just leave early... I wont tell." Clung on by my fingernails until 4:15, when I leapt from my chair and flew to my car. Went to an amazing fireworks show in Portsmouth with Amy, and my face is still hurting from smiling so much. They were STUNNING!

Now, you have been updated on the events of my life, and I no longer have guilt.

PS - Happy 4th!

The Long Awaited Journey

On Wednesday, Drewey, Amy, Craig, DJ & I flew out of Boston at an ungodly hour to the great state of CALIFORNIA!!
Our trip has been a wonderful success! We've seen the sunset on the ocean twice, laughed so hard we cried way more than twice, been to San Fran, hugged the groom, met the bride, prayed together on the beach, taken more than 700 pictures (and that's just Drewey!), eaten at the best taqueria on the planet, put many miles on our rental Jeep Liberty, made fast friends with the Starbucks folks, and have had many other memory-making moments.

YAY for friends! YAY for weddings! YAY for California! YAY for God's very evident fingerprints on this trip!

Thinking It Through

This afternoon Evan, Jill & I assembled a pool for the backyard!

As we were putting it up, in my ultimate wisdom I had the idea to get inside the pool to straighten out the bottom while they raised the sides. It worked like a charm! The bottom of the pool was nice and tidy and smooth, and then...

HOLD THAT THOUGHT!

I was STUCK! The sides of the pool were completely raised, coming up to my chin. There was no way out!

So, I stayed in there for 45 minutes while they assembled a ladder to rescue me.

Good times!

PS - Happy Father's Day, Daddy! I think you're pretty much the bomb diggity, and I'm a lucky little girl to be your daughter!

So, Last Wednesday...

Craig, Drewey & I spent the day in Boston...



And that night, I went to Fenway for the FIRST TIME!

How was that day spelled?

H-A-P-P-I-N-E-S-S!!



(my first glimpse of Fenway)

My "ER" haircut

This past week I got an ER haircut.

I went shortER and blondER.

In fact, I went so blonde that I felt my IQ drop several points.

It Only Took Me 28 Years!

This weekend I ran into someone who I haven't seen in several years. It took them about three seconds to notice my nose ring.

Their comment:

"Well, that's the first cool thing you've done!"

WOW!

The rest of the weekend I was making mental lists of other "cool" things I've done, to try and validate my existence for the last 28 years.

Then, in a rash case of insecurity, I wrote them all out in bullet format to post on my blog.

But then I realized, I don't need to rationalize my life so that I'm marching to the beat of someone else's drum.

I love my life... except, of course, when I'm being mocked by "cooler" people.

So, I'm not going to post the "cool" things I've done in my life, but there was one that I thought of this morning that I never blogged about, and it makes me laugh every time I think of it... so below, for your viewing pleasure, the one thing that made me "cool" before last weekend's piercing!

Attempting to drag race (yes, in my Tracker) two strangers in their souped (you're welcome, Drewey :) up Honda in the middle of Manchester. Through the open window, as I gunned my accelerator, I heard them shout in disbelief, and then fly past me. Amy & I were laughing so hard we were both in tears for a good ten minutes afterwards!

And tonight, I got to put ice on Spiderman's boo boo, and I bet not even the aforementioned mocker has gotten to do THAT!

Ocean's Thirteen

Hmmm... I was disappointed.

I really liked Eleven, laughed out loud a few times at Twelve, but Thirteen was not what I would call a favorite... at all.

If you find it worth it to spend money for a ticket, popcorn and a soda to see a few shots of George Clooney's exceptionally long eyelashes, by all means go.

But if you don't, in my humble opinion, this new one in the series is certainly a renter.

Sad me.

Tales From A Swamp Rat

Yesterday was SO hot at work. I don't know what was going on, but the AC was not really doing it's job.

So, today, when I saw that the sun was shining, I dressed for it to be very warm outside and in. The sun was deceptive, and the AC had begun working.

No worries! I have a jacket in my car for such emergencies. Over break I ran to get it.

I forgot that my car sometimes leaks when it rains, and my new found warmth came with a bad surprise.

It smelled like swamp! Therefore, I smelled like swamp.

Because You Asked So Nicely

This is seconds after it happened... you can even see a little fuzz left over from the cotton ball she used to clean it.

Let the record show I was NOT CRYING. My eye was merely watering...

Things I Never Thought I'd Hear My Nephew Say

"Have fun getting your nose pierced!"

But, he did.

And, I did.

Pollyanna Is Not Dead

Generally, I try and see the good side of life. I try to make a conscious effort to focus on the "pro" side of a graph, rather than the "con," referring to it as my Pollyanna side.

Today was a day where I just couldn't rise above it. Work was so heavy, and I couldn't focus on anything positive. I sent an email to a friend stating "Pollyanna died in her sleep last night."

But, she didn't die... she just decided to stay home from work today.

She met me as a little blonde two year old, running to me with lit up face, so happy I was home from work. She wrapped her dirty-from-being-outside-all-day arms around my neck, and held on for dear life.

She was also in a wonderful summer-is-almost-here dinner of corn on the cob and salad.

And my precious apartment, that stays so cool when the weather is turning warmer.

No, Pollyanna is not dead!

Hurray!

Thoughts On This Tuesday

Today I had a conversation with a friend at work, and came out of it more convinced than I have been in a while that waiting for the one that God has for me is really what I want to be doing... not settling, not jumping the gun, not whining... just being patient.

I'd lost focus these last few months, and had been struggling with major feelings of discontent. And I wasn't used to that. In the last five years, I felt like I had a corner on the contentment market. Of course there were days where it wasn't fun to be single, but for the most part, I was living my life to the hilt, regardless of my status.

This past week I've been very sick, and for most of that time, I was really afraid. There were doctor's appointments, ultrasounds, phone conversations with doctor's offices, and no one knew what was wrong with me. Thankfully, they ruled out tumor and leftover gallstone from last fall's surgery, but then I was left with, "Sorry you're in pain, but we don't know what it is, so track your symptoms and keep us posted."

Thankfully, with the help of WebMD, I was able to figure out that my pain was coming from side effects of a medication that I'd been taking for several months. Yesterday was the first day since last Tuesday that I thought I might actually live!

As I was telling my co-worker this story, explaining my fear at two different appointments when they called in second opinions, he asked, "And were you all by yourself for this?"

"Yes," I replied, "but I was ok with that." (In fact, for the ultrasound, several people had offered to go with me, but I chose to go by myself)

He kept saying how sorry he was that I had been by myself, and the more I tried to reassure him that it had been ok, the more I felt myself being reassured. It almost felt like I was saying the words to myself, and he was just eavesdropping.

Then he began asking the whole, "Have you found someone yet?" questions, and then "Well, is there anyone on the horizon?" followed by "Would you be open to seeing someone outside of your faith? No... well, you do know that narrows the field, don't you?" (YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT??)

This unwillingness of me to open up myself to other faiths caused a silent shaking of the head, and he wanted to know why. When I explained a couple of the reasons, he still shook his head, and explained that he and his girlfriend are making it work. Fantastic! My heart is abounding in joy for them! However, I think theirs is a much-in-the-minority relationship in that aspect.

This type of conversation happens so frequently at work.

"He's cute - you should date him." (Sure cute would be nice, but far from my highest priority)
"He's nice - you should go out with him." (Yes, nice is something that I'm looking for, but once again, not the only characteristic)

But during today's conversation I finally got to use the sentence I've been wanting to for quite some time... "You know, people are actually capable of being happily single & content."

And this evening, my heart is thankful, because in trying to convince my friend that my life was still worth living, I saw that it really is... regardless of what's on (or not on, as the case may be) my left hand.

If You Think...

... that because I got tagged by two people, I'm going to list FOURTEEN random things, you're wrong. However, here are my seven.

1) I just had the opportunity to listen to the story of Jonah being put on in skit format by my niece & nephews outside my bedroom window. (The trampoline was the boat... Pastor Daddy was directing)

2) Lilac season makes me so happy that I tend to get a little teary when I smell them!

3) Topping the list of things I never want to hear my doctor say again: "Um, I'm going to get another doctor in here, because I'm feeling something I shouldn't & I'm not sure what it is." (That happened this morning, and after being convinced for five minutes that I had the-word-everyone-dreads-to-hear, the other doctor confirmed I have "low ribs" and they were just feeling the tip of my lowest one)

4) Last week I had an epiphany that I no longer hate my job!

5) Though I've been an avid "American Idol" fan for several years, this year has just not grabbed me, and I couldn't care less whether Blake or Jordin wins.

6) My free piano is in the midst of being fixed... bringing the cost of it's free-ness to over $1300.

7) I am so very, very rich in the friends that God has given me!

And if you like this type of thing, consider yourself tagged :)
If you don't, well then, consider yourself un-tagged!

Of Kilts

I like kilts! A lot!

When Darren & I were in Scotland (ten years ago this month) we saw lots of them, and I loved it! Never had something so boring as going to a grocery store been so much fun! I mean, I never see kilts in the Bedford Hannaford's!

Today as I was upstairs at work, out of the corner of my eye I saw a guy in shorts. "Not legal!" thought I. But then I looked closer... and he wasn't wearing shorts. He was wearing a kilt.

And he should not have been!

Some guys can pull that look off. He can't/couldn't/didn't.

Shudder.

Happy Feet!

Aaaaaaaaahhh!

Once a Big Brother...

... always a big brother.

My big brother flew up from VA this morning. And flew back this evening.

He and Evan went out for lunch. I got to leave a little early from work to spend time with him.

All of us took the kids to the park before I drove him back to the airport.

The four of us adults chatted while the kids played.

The sun was shining, the kids were laughing, my heart was full, and...

He even pushed me on the swings. For old time's sake.

I don't know that a girl ever out-grows her adoration of a big brother.

I sure haven't... for either one of mine.

Just Another Normal Tuesday

So, I was driving home from work.

And I had my foot peeking out the window to catch the breeze.

And I caught a bug in between my toes.

But then it stung me.

Wonder if I'm the only one that happened to today.

So, This is Kinda Funny

I heard of this quiz from one of my friends, who shall rename nameless, and thought it would be funny to do :)

Lindsay -- [noun]: A real life muppet 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

PS - want to know the definition of the aforementioned friend's name? "A person who falls into an outhouse and dies." I guess I should feel lucky to only be a muppet!

The Fate of My Knight

I finally met my knight in shining armor... we were happy, as you can tell!
Then Craig's stupid dragon ate him.

The end.

Yay For Filled-up Love Tanks!

This past Sunday, I went to see a play that several of my peeps from "The Boys Next Door" were either performing in/directing/stage managing... and we got PICTURES! The cast has stayed close, and have made it a point to support each other when we're performing.



John, Mary, Jason, Me
My beloved director, Tim
MARY!!! She was the Sheila to my Clara! :)

Just the Three of Us

The Real Me

Yesterday, Amy, Drewey and I were talking about recent events that have occurred in our country.

We started off laughing about silly old Don Imus and the remarks that got him fired.

Then, Drewey said that she had heard some radio commentators saying that one of the girls who Imus had referred to stated she had been “scarred for life” by what he had said. Sure, it was offensive, inappropriate and rude, but enough to scar someone for life?

And hearing that on the radio made Drewey think that the events of VA Tech were of a proportion to scar someone for life, not an insensitive racial slur.

All last evening and today I couldn’t stop thinking about that. There are events in life that can scar, and there are ones that hurt, but need to be looked at as just that… hurt, not scars.

In the last couple of weeks several things that have happened that caused my last blog post. A past relationship had resurfaced bringing much confusion and sorrow, someone I love had been hurt, and I was reeling with pain.

And I decided that my blog was too open for speculation, and I didn’t want to be scrutinized while dealing with the pain. So, I stopped writing. But I dreadfully missed the outlet that writing brought.

Several of my close friends closed ranks and sent me messages, reminding me of God’s faithfulness. When I mentioned on another website that I was struggling to remember that God knows what He’s doing, one of my world traveling friends wrote,

“God DOES know what He is doing! Always! Way to choose to believe it yet again...
And remember:

Give to the winds your fears; hope, and be undismayed,
God hears your sighs, and counts your tears.
God shall lift up your head.
Through waves and clouds and storms He gently leads the way!
Wait for His time, so shall the night soon end in joyous day!

Still heavy is your heart? Still sink your spirits down?
Cast off the weight! Let fear depart and every care be gone!
He everywhere has sway, and all things serve His mind;
His every act pure blessing is:
His path, unsullied light.

Leave to His sovereign will to choose and to command;
With wonder filled you then shall own how WISE, how STRONG His hand!

Thought maybe you could use a refresher course, my friend!”


Another friend, who knows me all too well, wrote saying, “Don’t retreat, Lindsay.”


So, this morning as I was thinking about events that do or do not scar for life, giving my fears to the wind, remembering that God “everywhere has sway”, not retreating, and missing the outlet that my blog brings, I thought, “Events in my life can only steal my joy if I LET them. And I don’t want to let them.”

And so I’m back… choosing to not be one who says “This little thing scarred me for life,” choosing instead to revel in the joy of being one who knows, that regardless of life’s experience, that my God is on the throne.

To Be Continued

My blog will be on hiatus for a little while.


"Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation."
Habakkuk 3:17-18

Toosday

"You can't help respecting anybody who can spell "Tuesday,"
even if he doesn't spell it right;
but spelling isn't everything.
There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn't count."

-Winnie the Pooh (A.A. Milne)

Yesterday...

... we said goodbye to Melo, who's on his way to Iraq.

We played and we prayed, and now can't wait until the welcome home party a year from now.

(Picture provided by Drewey)

My Life is Worth The Living

Just because He lives!

This day I've been reminded that:

• God is a God of second chances
• We have Hope
• Jesus lives to make intercession for me
• My risen Lord does a better job of carrying my burdens than I do
• He is a personal Savior who loved surprising Mary at the tomb those many years ago - just like He loves to surprise me with His nearness when I need it most

Happy Easter - enjoy basking in the joy of this day, and all it stands for!

Aunt Octopus

This morning Jed, Chloe, (sporadically) Tucker & I had a coloring party.

It was interrupted by a squalling Jack, who needed some lovings.

As I sat on the floor holding the baby, Jed kept making please-come-back-and-color noises.

I let him know it was still a coloring party, as I was only three feet away from him, and that he could continue, and then he quietly said,

"I wish you were an octopus."

Yup - I Quit

Not my job... not life... just photo week :)

Reason being:

1) How does one surreptitiously put one's cell phone in a stranger's face and ask them to stand still for a picture?

2) I didn't have three Claires to photograph in my home!

Since Lindsay Doesn't Have A Digital Camera

She is doing this picture week with her camera phone.

And because her camera phone is far from being color & black/white compatible, she had to think outside the box.

Hence, this picture! (Does she get any points for creativity?)

Count Me In...

... on this photo week. (See Liane's blog) Sorry that I'm a day late.





Here's a corner of my house & my self portrait.

Thirty-Five Years Ago...

... two people whom I love and respect said two words that would change their lives.

"I do."

In a world where marriage is now often scorned, and commitment is something that many don't seem to comprehend, these two have weathered the storms that have come their way.

And if you ask them, it just gets better every day.

Thank you, Mom, for respecting and honoring Dad. Thank you for teaching me, by example, how to stay under authority without losing who you are as a person

Thank you, Dad, for cherishing Mom and loving her as Christ loves the church. Thank you for giving her wings to fly, and for supporting who she is.

Thank you both for showing me what a real partnership looks like - for making marriage seem like a desirable option, and not something to fear.

I love you both so much!
Happy Anniversary!

Basking in the Joy of Friendship

God has given me an incredible network of friends... and I'm grateful!
This is one of my favorite pictures of all time!

And Then There Was The Time...

... I woke up at 3:45 one Wednesday morning, and couldn't get back to sleep.

That was a good time.

Remember That I'm In The "Adult Education" Field

Each Monday I have my classes fill out goal setting forms. They are composed of four sections...

1) Last Week's Successes...

2) Last Week's Challenges...

3) My Goals for Next Week are...

4) Where I need help/support from the Trainer...

Tonight as I was going over them I read this under one participant's number four:

"Nothing yet. Just understand if I look bored and not paying attention it's not true, that's how I learn."

(This from the person who was in their email so much today, that even after I addressed it about six times this afternoon, there was no change. I resorted to my secret weapon. I sent him an email asking him to close his! He shrunk down in his seat with red ears, and practically ran from the room when I dismissed them several minutes later.)

Somehow I don't think that "Bored & Not Paying Attention" is going to make it big as the fifth adult learning style!

More Fun In Target

Cute us!!!

We were trying to strike a pose, but instead the pose struck me... as incredibly funny!!

Tiny Morsels

My new class is really smart and a lot of fun... with the exception of one dear soul.

On the second day of training (this past Tuesday) she said, "Um, could you please use smaller words, because it's the afternoon and I'm tired."

The End.

Spring Has Spru... NO It Hasn't!! This is NH!

Yesterday was so beautiful... for a few hours! I opened my door to see the sun shining and the air all Spring-ish. I walked to my car to retrieve some items and said aloud to myself, "It smells so good out here," and made very many I'm-happy-it's-almost-Spring noises.

Then, my feet found a patch of ice, and my happy chantings changed instantly to an enraged Lindsay, sprawled on all fours howling about how much I HATE Winter!

I am now sporting bruises, scrapes & bumps on BOTH KNEES & BOTH HANDS!

PS - I was telling Mom & Dad about this over the phone, hung up, and promptly shut my finger in a kitchen drawer. Good GRIEF!

RSV-less Jacksteroo!

Courtesy of Aunt Lindsay's cell phone, hence the non-stellar quality picture. At least the smile is stellar!

Somehow I Think...

... that clicking these shoes together wouldn't take me to a place like Kansas!

(Oh the fun that can be had in Target!)

If I Weren't Me...

... I'd be annoyed at my lack of postings lately!

HOWEVER, because I am me, and know the reasons* for the lack of postings, I'm too tired to even care!

(*reasons)

1)Jacksteroo in the hospital for five days
2)Playing Aunt Lindsay while #1 was happening
3)Getting over a very nasty cold
4)Working almost 50 hours both last week and this
5)Hosting a game night (which was SO much fun!)
6)Whining about how tired I am :)

And yet, also realizing that there is a lot to be thankful* for...

(*thankful)

1)Continued answers to prayer for strength
2)A good new hire class that started last week
3)A few warm (ish) days
4)Beautiful sunrise today
5)Friends who pray
6)Jack home from the hospital
7)Friends who still love me even when I don't blog faithfully :)

A Regular Old Whodunnit

I got home from work to a beautifully cleared walkway...

After dinner Evan said, "I didn't shovel your walkway. It must have been Amy."

("Oh yeah," I said to him. "I was going to thank you for that!")

So I called Amy and started leaving a message for her, thanking her for being a snow-shovelling goddess. She picked up in the middle of the message, and asked me why I was saying that... no, she had not shovelled my walkway.

The two of us decided that maybe it was Cherilyn, so I put in a call to that household. She answered, and mistook my question. She thought I was asking her to shovel my walkway. After I got done laughing so hard my stomach hurt, I explained the issue... She too was among the "didn't shovel Lindsay's walkway" crew.

We brainstormed and thought maybe it was Alden... when I called him, he stated it wasn't him, but suggested perhaps a guardian angel or my knight in shining armor had done it. Riiight. I have my doubts about that one!

So then I called the F-----s and spoke with the Dad. He said no, they hadn't done it, but with these phone calls I'd now have 15 people who would automatically shovel my walkway at the next snowfall.

And I called Wes, but he was in school.

And I called DJ, but he was still at Fernwood.

And I called Aaron, but he said their family hadn't done it either.

Here I was, trying so very hard to thank the person who did this, but instead just instilling guilt in all the people I asked who hadn't done it.

If you have any ideas of who I should call next, please let me know! Or if you are the do-gooder of a shoveller, THANKS! This has made my evening!

Screeeeeeeech!

That's my life, coming to a screeching halt, as I just got my hands on the fifth season of 24!

Adchay, a person who's identity has been changed to protect him, brought me the first three DVDs of the season on Wednesday. Of course, I had to watch one episode that night... and then a couple more on Thursday night... and more on Friday night... and then on Saturday I woke up really early, and of course, I couldn't be bored on a Saturday morning, so I watched more.

And then a favorite character was killed, and that was the last episode of the DVDs from Adchay. So, I called the local Blockbuster and scuttled over there for the last three DVDs.

I watched a very large number of episodes yesterday, and finished the season this afternoon. And I'm EXHAUSTED! For heaven's sake... the way I get into it, you'd think that Jack couldn't save the world without me! On Friday night, I was tensely curled up in my chair, watching it on my laptop when E & J's cats started howling outside my window. I about leapt out of my skin!

And then I thought of this list:

Signs That You Are WAY Too Into 24!

* You don't care if you're in jammies in Blockbuster

* You're grateful every time you start the car and it doesn't explode

* All of your dreams have to do with computer programming, schematics of buildings & people falling off things (sorry, Mom - you did fall off a v-e-r-y tall structure, but thankfully only sprained your ankle!)

* You start your phone conversations with "Is this a secure line?"

* You cry when a favorite character is killed & start yelling instructions to the other characters on the screen

* Every action that you take in real life (answering the phone, typing on a laptop, putting keys in your pocket) is followed by the thought, "Oh - they do that in 24!"

Good grief, I need to go take a nap before I file my taxes... "hmmm - I wonder if they file taxes in 24!"

Things That Make Me Give Happy Sighs!

A 45 min phone call with my west coast friend...

An affirming, I'm-still-here-for-you-when-the-world-stinks email from my favorite Navy guy

All the funny responses to Jerkopolis!

Seeing my friend's twins today - they've almost tripled their birth weight in 10 weeks and are looking mighty healthy!

Restarting our Bible Study this evening after a long hiatus

Knowing that God has my best interest at heart

Happy Sigh!!

Word of the Day

"Jerkopolis"

Noun - The imaginary city of residence of people that we're not too fond of.

Creator of word - Amy

Whole-hearted supporter of word - Lindsay

Phone Calls That Make You Say, "Count Me In!!"

On Thursday I got a message on my phone from DJ... "call me when you get a chance. I have a question for you about Saturday."

Now, Thursday was a v-e-r-y bad day in Lindsay-land, so I texted back, "Bad day - I'm grouchy - will call tomorrow."

Friday comes, I am officially un-grouchy, and I call the cousin. "How about Wes and I come over on Saturday and make you pancakes."

OKAY!!

So, this morning I had two blonde cousins come make me food. (Well, one made the pancakes, I fried the bacon, and the other one did the dishes later on... in fact the pancake-maker even pulled double duty by drying the dishes!)

Evan came in and said, "How much did this cost you? Breakfast and clean-up??"

Just cost a package of bacon!

Another Chloe Quote

She was showing me the shoes she chose to wear, advising me that they came to her from her cousin Addie.

"They came in a package that the CPV truck brought."

"Oh," said Aunt Lindsay, "UPS?"

"Yup."

"May You Please Honk!"

... heard tonight from my backseat, as my three year old niece decided we had been waiting too long at a red light.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most.
We ask ourselves,
'Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous,
talented,
and famous?'
Actually, who are you not to be? 
You are a child of God. 
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest 
the glory of God that is within us. 
It's not just in some of us;
it's in all of us. 
And when we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others."

- Maryann Williamson

And The Random Comment Award Goes To...

"You're so pure, you crack me up!"

A co-worker said this to me today, as I was expressing frustration about something, but refusing to swear.

Um - thank you?

All In A Night's Work

So, last night I was a taxi driver who was driving Rosie O'Donnell around, and had the opportunity to share the gospel with her. How about that?

Generally, I'm one of those people who doesn't dream. And when I say that, the people who facts are important to, jump up and down screaming, "Everyone dreams - you just probably don't remember yours."

Well, then, ok. I dream. I just don't remember them.

Since I've been sick, I've been taking Tylenol Cold & Flu both the day and the night formulas. The day formula has been great to keep me going at work. The night formula is AMAZING! I've slept incredibly well the last couple of nights, and the dreams have been out of control! I thought Sunday's was interesting, and then Monday's... but I think the whole taxi driver thing takes the cake!

From Abishag to Zebedee

What do you do when you've gotten three hours of sleep and are on a car trip that is taking fourteen hours when it should only take nine?

Play fun games, of course!

Me to Evan, "Let's play 'come-up-with-weird-names-from-the-Bible-for-every-
letter-of-the-alphabet.' I'm starting with Abishag... go!"

Or play multiple rounds of "Who Am I?"

Or listen to CDs... lots of CDs.

Or put diapers on your head to amuse the six & two yr old in the backseat.

Or pray that the trucks passing you and causing slush on the windshield that blinds for seconds at a time will go away!

Or keep checking the speedometer and seeing that we're still going half the speed we should be going.

Or eat all kinds of junk food... and subsequently become sick from said junk food!

And lastly (and most importantly) - daydream of the look on your Dad's face when he walks in from work and sees that you're here to surprise him for his 60th birthday weekend!

The trip was a major success, and thankfully the roads were clear on the way home, and we made it in nine hours! (In time to go to bed very unhappily, due to the outcome of "the game" last night - angry eyes at Caldwell!)

Icy Marauders

This morning at 3:30 I awoke because something was happening in my living room. Someone had just dropped something and it made a loud thud. I lay awake, my heart now doing the thudding, and it happened again! I decided I didn't want to be a statistic of someone murdered in their bed, so I got up to investigate. (Don't argue with 3:30 am logic... it's MUCH better to be in one's living room when one meets an intruder - everyone knows that!)

As you can guess, because I am writing this post, there was no one in my living room... or my bathroom or the hall closet. (Not that I checked or anything - I'm not neurotic!)

I went back to bed, and will freely admit I left the light on for safe measure.

My eyes were closed, I was almost asleep again when someone threw a rock at my bedroom wall! My eyes flew open, and my heart started that dumb thudding again. What was going on?

I calmed down, closed my eyes again, and had just gotten back to sleep when the pipes started screeching at the top of their lungs. (Please don't bother me with pipe anatomy details... I'm in the creative writing zone, and my heating pipes can have lungs if I say so!)

Now I was irritated. Not only was this marauder invisible, but it sounded like he was heating water for a cup of tea!

A minute later the same rock-thrown-at-wall sound came, except it was SIX INCHES from my head.

And then I realized what all these noises were. There was ice on my apartment from the recent storms, and it was cracking... and it continued to crack until I had to drag my exhausted, all nerved-up, hadn't really slept since 3:30 body out of bed for work this morning.

I'm sleeping in my closet tonight, where tea-drinking, rock-throwing, invisible marauders can't get me!!

Aunt Lindsay & Jackson

A good little snuggle after a long day!!

Tid Bits & Such

* I was thinking I'd be all clever and come up with a title called "A Tid Bit Sort of Post" and started writing that in, BUT it was already there.. as a title for another one of my posts. It's hard when my cleverness has already been used!


* Tonight at dinner:
Jed - "Do you know what amazes me?"
Aunt Lindsay - "What amazes you?"
Jed - "That you're not married yet!"
Aunt Lindsay (tongue in cheek) - "It amazes me too!"
Jed - "Yeah - I don't think you're ever going to get married."
Aunt Lindsay (in her head) - "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bud-row!"


*At church last Sunday we put out a "Suggestion basket" for music. That way if people were wanting some new music, or hated what is currently being done, or had incredible ideas, they'd feel free to write it down and I'd pick them up weekly.
I went over to the church tonight to read through the suggestions.
One caught my eye... it read

"We need lots more drums!"

Funny that the handwriting looked so similar to my pastor's!

Weowd!

The trees have buds on them, because they think it's spring.

They should think it's spring, because yesterday it hit the 70s!!

And a friend just told me that their tulips are starting to come up. Poor tulips are in for a rude awakening if winter ever decides to re-visit NH.

Hmmm...

I Pose It To You, Dear Readers

Someone in my latest class at work identified with my horror/fear/life-stopping terror of snakes... only she raises snakes, and instead is deathly afraid of spiders. It bothers her that I am so afraid of snakes, and is constantly coming up with creative ways to help me get over my phobia.

She came to me this week and said that she is so afraid of spiders that she saw a shrink to help her deal with it. "Uh oh," said I. "Please don't tell me they made you face your fear and get up close with spiders." She replied that that was exactly what was done, and she held a tarantula in her hand. She also claimed it helped her with her dread of arachnids, but then admitted she's still afraid of most... just not tarantulas.

Therefore, she said that I should come to her house and hold her snakes. Even the mere thought of that made my heart start beating faster, and my breath become shallow. I loudly declined, and will continue to do so as many times as she invites me.

But it made me wonder... Does that really work? Facing ones fears in such a drastic way... Is it healthy? And it would only work with real fears, not ones that are ludicrous, like say being afraid of someone hanging from your shower head. If ANY of you try that to rid me of my fear, I will be very angry! Heck, if any of you bring snakes to my house I'll be angry to. I'm not ready for that type of "therapy!"

So what do you guys think??

Growing Pains

When I was little, I had horrible growing pains in my legs. Now how wrong is that?!? I don't even make it to 5'2" when I'm standing as tall as I can, but I had to deal with that kind of pain.

Now poor little Jed has them pretty bad as well. The other day he asked if when I did massage I did legs as well, and I assured him that the next time he had growing pains I'd work on his legs.

Tonight during dinner he asked if I would, and there I sat on the couch, having come full circle, rubbing my little nephews legs just like Dad & Mom did mine.

I hope his growing pains are actually worth something, and somehow I think they are... seeing as at the age of six he has several inches less than a foot until he catches up with me.

Memories

It amazes me that it's been seven years without new memories of you.

I think that's what hurts the most... knowing that the memories that we made together are now the only ones that I'll have of you for the rest of my life.

Until I get to Heaven as well, that is.

Can't wait to see you again and make an eternity of memories.

I still miss you, Mindy Dawn.

H*I*L*D*A

One of my goals for this Christmas break was to laugh... hard!

And I did, mainly because of Hilda.

When I got home on Saturday night and went to hang up my coat, I saw a form hanging in the closet. With questioning eyes I dragged this being out into the light, and asked Mom & Dad for an explanation.

A dear woman in their church had made this blessing for them. The creation is about two feet tall, with blonde frizzy hair, blue button eyes, and a circle of bright pink rouge on each of her cheeks. Her hips are v-e-r-y wide, and get wider when you stuff plastic grocery bags in her skirt. She's a bag lady, of course.

We dubbed her Hilda, and she started popping up in various locations all over the house to the shock/surprise/horror of all. She was waiting for Mom in bed on numerous occasions, and then would strangely make her way to my bed minutes later. She appeared in chairs when the original sitters had moved momentarily, lurked in closets, sat patiently outside numerous doors, and even waited for us in the car when we did errands. Last night she came to the front door, ringing the doorbell and making all three of us double over in laughter.

Perhaps Hilda is a "had to be there" moment, but thankfully I was, and she sure made me laugh!

A Threefold Cord

Happy Birthday to my two best girls!

I thank God every day that He brought our lives together, and I'm trusting that this year your lives are filled with everything good from His hand.
Love you both, Drewey & Amy!

It's Pretty Much Balmy!

Greetings from a place that's supposed to be covered in snow, but where we had the heat turned down and the front door open this morning, to keep from being too hot while we cooked!
I remember one Christmas where a friend from CA (peek-a-boo, Janice!) came home, and it was so far below zero that it couldn't snow! We went to the beach to show her the red Nova Scotia sand and the waves were frozen solid. Not this year... Could practically go swimming.

Merry Christmas, friends of mine! Have a wonderful day basking in family, friendship & God's love for us all!

Jiggity Jig...

I left Chestnut Hill this morning a little before six, and drove like crazy to get to Nova Scotia for Christmas!

It rained the entire way, sometimes a little bit freezing, but the border guard was nice, and I made the trip in really good time, until...

I was less than a mile from Mom & Dad's exit when my car started doing weird things - chugging and such. Then it quit. Despite careful calculations on my mileage counter, I had run out of gas. (Garsh!)

How embarrassing to, instead of showing up on the parent's doorstep singing carols & bearing gifts, have to call them and say, "Um, I'm a mile away and can't seem to get home. Want to come rescue me?"

Thankfully, the answer to that last question was yes, so I was safe and at a gas station in less than 15 minutes!

The house is beautifully decorated, we just ate a wonderful home-cooked meal, and now it's time to hunker down and play the spoiled kid for a bit!

Tucker Therapy

On Monday night Tucker came to spend the night.

We listened to Fernando.

Lit candles.

Snuggled for over two hours before falling asleep on the living room floor.

Woke up at midnight and went to bed. (Aunt Lindsay's body is not all that cool with floor sleeping any more!)

He slept right through the night... I became aware that the words a friend of mine spoke ("A queen size bed is only as big as the person you share it with") were very true. That child w-i-g-g-l-e-s!

We both needed.

We both gave.

And we both came away with mended hearts.

God bless two year olds!