Checking out at the supermarket recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. I apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days“.
The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations“.
She was right about one thing–our generation didn’t have the green thing in “Our” day. So what did we have back then? After some reflection and soul-searching on “Our” day, here’s what I remembered we did have….
Back then, we returned milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. So they really were recycled.
We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.
Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 240 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of Wales. In the kitchen, we blended & stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
We drank from a water fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
Back then, people took the bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
It's sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Friday, June 17, 2011
Dying to Self
DYING TO SELF
by Bill Britton
When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight; but your heart is happy, counting it worthy to suffer for Christ—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your opinions ridiculed and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself-, but take it all in patient loving silence—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any unpunctuality or any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility and endure it as Jesus endured it—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude or any interruption by the will of God—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstance—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
Are you dead yet? In these last days the Spirit would bring us to the Cross. "That I may know Him ... being made conformable to his death." Philippians 3:10
For more of this and other messages, write to‑
Church In Action — Bill Britton Ministries — PO Box 707 — Springfield MO 65801
Back in October 1975, I began attending House of Prayer in Springfield, Missouri. I was desperate for something in my life. When I walked in the doors of that building I felt a strange peace - I KNEW without a doubt I'd come home. I didn't know a soul around me, except my Dad and strange as it seems, he and I were never really close.
I'd felt God calling me to return to Him for several months and finally one day I told him, "Okay - but I can't go back to the UPC church I was raised in. Please find me a place with great music, people my age and where life is real - not just rules and regulations." I'd never discussed this with my family; my sister and her husband attended a Baptist church across town that she loved, but it didn't click with me. One day Dad mentioned House of Prayer (He'd met Bro. Bill on the golf course) and thought I might try it. As I said earlier, I walked in and knew I'd found my place.
The main doors of the church opened to the building the "wide" way. Instead of the pulpit being at one of the long ends of the room, it was in the wide end so everyone felt closer to the pulpit. The pulpit was "open." Anyone could speak - even me if I wanted - but I could have never gotten up in front of anyone, ever!
There was another entrance to the building (on one of the short ends) and there in that vestibule (just outside the bathrooms) was a tract stand. The cloak area was just across the hallway. So while waiting for the bathroom or to get a coat, one could peruse the tract stand and this is where I found this wonderful poem written by Bill Britton, the founder of House of Prayer in Springfield, MO.
I used to carry several copies with me - to refer to in my early days of my recommitment to God, but I eventually gave them all away. Thank God for the internet where everything is accessible all over again.
As I re-read the poem, I see the beauty in the words and with even more clarity see how difficult they are to live by. The one who can live by those words is full of grace and beauty - just like Jesus.
by Bill Britton
When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight; but your heart is happy, counting it worthy to suffer for Christ—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your opinions ridiculed and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself-, but take it all in patient loving silence—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any unpunctuality or any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility and endure it as Jesus endured it—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude or any interruption by the will of God—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstance—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart—THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
Are you dead yet? In these last days the Spirit would bring us to the Cross. "That I may know Him ... being made conformable to his death." Philippians 3:10
For more of this and other messages, write to‑
Church In Action — Bill Britton Ministries — PO Box 707 — Springfield MO 65801
Back in October 1975, I began attending House of Prayer in Springfield, Missouri. I was desperate for something in my life. When I walked in the doors of that building I felt a strange peace - I KNEW without a doubt I'd come home. I didn't know a soul around me, except my Dad and strange as it seems, he and I were never really close.
I'd felt God calling me to return to Him for several months and finally one day I told him, "Okay - but I can't go back to the UPC church I was raised in. Please find me a place with great music, people my age and where life is real - not just rules and regulations." I'd never discussed this with my family; my sister and her husband attended a Baptist church across town that she loved, but it didn't click with me. One day Dad mentioned House of Prayer (He'd met Bro. Bill on the golf course) and thought I might try it. As I said earlier, I walked in and knew I'd found my place.
The main doors of the church opened to the building the "wide" way. Instead of the pulpit being at one of the long ends of the room, it was in the wide end so everyone felt closer to the pulpit. The pulpit was "open." Anyone could speak - even me if I wanted - but I could have never gotten up in front of anyone, ever!
There was another entrance to the building (on one of the short ends) and there in that vestibule (just outside the bathrooms) was a tract stand. The cloak area was just across the hallway. So while waiting for the bathroom or to get a coat, one could peruse the tract stand and this is where I found this wonderful poem written by Bill Britton, the founder of House of Prayer in Springfield, MO.
I used to carry several copies with me - to refer to in my early days of my recommitment to God, but I eventually gave them all away. Thank God for the internet where everything is accessible all over again.
As I re-read the poem, I see the beauty in the words and with even more clarity see how difficult they are to live by. The one who can live by those words is full of grace and beauty - just like Jesus.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Greg X. Volz - I'm Yours [N05]
I remember when Mike and Greg were working on this album and to this day, this is one of my all-time, most favorite Christian songs. Thank you Mike Schmitz and Greg Volz!
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Our Mothers' Day Barbecue
Yesterday we had a bbq for all the moms in our family. Several were here - including Bill's mom, his two sisters Kathy and Laura, Kathy's son Corey and Laura's husband Glen and his son Loren. Bill's brother, James and his wife were here. We don't get to see them often enough. Then his two daughters, Jessica with her kids Bradley and Kileigh, and Victory with Tyler. Kathy also brought her grandson, William. And of course there was Sam and William and Sam's girlfriend, Abbey.
I figured it'd be a lot of work, but it actually wasn't. We were going to grill hamburgers and hotdogs, but we saw that Woods had ribs on sale for $10 a rack, so we bought 4 racks instead. Darlene was supposed to bring hamburger, but she had a flat tire and couldn't get here, so Kathy sent Corey out to get more hamburger.
All in all, it was a great day, a bit chilly, but sunny and nice. The kids loved jumping on the trampoline and the adults sat around and talked while Bill grilled. After standing on his feet all day, he probably wishes he'd bought more ribs and just forgot the grilling.
But the leftovers made for a great lunch today.
I figured it'd be a lot of work, but it actually wasn't. We were going to grill hamburgers and hotdogs, but we saw that Woods had ribs on sale for $10 a rack, so we bought 4 racks instead. Darlene was supposed to bring hamburger, but she had a flat tire and couldn't get here, so Kathy sent Corey out to get more hamburger.
All in all, it was a great day, a bit chilly, but sunny and nice. The kids loved jumping on the trampoline and the adults sat around and talked while Bill grilled. After standing on his feet all day, he probably wishes he'd bought more ribs and just forgot the grilling.
But the leftovers made for a great lunch today.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
More Transfers:
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Serial Blunderer
Okay, you all were probably wondering when my next blunder was going to happen. Ha! Sooner than you expected, right?
The twins were getting ready to go to a friend's house, out in the country. I was busy getting breakfast, beds made, etc. Then it was time to load up the dishwasher and leave. Got all the dishes in, counters washed, etc. But I'm out of Cascade, actually been out for a day or two.
Now Bill has used dish soap in the past -- I didn't know you could do that.
Soooo, I put in the dish soap, not just a few drops, but the whole dishwasher bowl full. Do you know what happens when you use dishwashing soap in the dishwasher, especially about a quarter-cup full?
I'm in my bedroom curling my hair and yelling to the boys to hurry up. I hear William in the kitchen.
"Uh, Noella? I think you need to come in here."
"Why? You guys need to get ready."
"Uh, Noella? There's suds all over the floor, Lots of suds, they're covering the whole floor!"
I groan, walk into the kitchen, and sure enough, there ARE suds all over the floor. Just across the room from the dishwasher sits our computer and that's where the suds are headed.
The boys bring lots of towels from the bathroom and I call Bill, who after hearing my dilemma, is laughing his head off. His solution is for me to get out my Rainbow and start vacuuming the water out.
Well, I get out the vacuum and I guess I didn't watch how the salesman did it 26 years ago, because when I started vacuuming the water, the motor to the vacuum starts sounding funny. Quickly, I shut it off and open it up, to find that it took out water good enough; now suds are way up in the motor. I did remember the salesman told us that if that ever happened, disconnect from the water housing and run dry. Water and oil soaked the towels on the floor. I just hope it dries out enough to use again; that was the only thing (outside of baby furniture) I got from my first marriage, not that it was all that great, I just knew it was a great vacuum and he'd probably be able to get a new one sooner than I would.
Anyway, I sopped (is that a word?) up the rest of the water from the dishwasher, and drained it. Hopefully, it too will work again.
Let's see this was July 20. When was it I mailed that camera in?
Saturday, July 29, 2006
It didn't take as long this time!
The twins and I met Bill in Springfield last night for a movie and dinner. We saw the new Garfield film (which actually I liked better than the first one) and were going to go to McSalty's to hear the band, but they're not there during "Fair" week, so we went to eat at that Mexican restaurant out West Chestnut -- La Hacienda, 4249 W Chestnut -- (which is one of the best ever). Anyway we pulled into the parking lot and drove around -- no parking whatsoever. We figured we'd have an hour or so wait so we went on down to Sonic. A bit of a letdown after looking forward to some of the best Tortilla Soup in the world. (By the way, that's a great movie too -- Tortilla Soup).
So we eat our food, get in our cars (the boys vehemently discussing who's going to ride with Bill) and head home when, while out on I-44, we run into fair traffic. Bill hates to be held up in traffic, so we head back into town and take the back roads out.
We finally get onto Highway 13 when Bill starts his games. He likes to drive in front and get very far ahead, then he'll pull off somewhere and "hide" and waits until he sees me pass. Then he'll get back on the highway and pass us up (whichever twin is in the car with him thinks that is so funny and the first time that happened, I was a little surprised myself).
So I decide to beat him at his own game. When he did it to us on this little jaunt, I told William "don't look at them." Well, they pull ahead of us and we eventually catch up to them and pass them too. I'm afraid that I speeded up a little so that I could get far enough ahead to "hide" myself. See, you can't do this on a straight-away highway, it has to be one filled with curves and hills so you can pull out of sight. Well, they pulled off again and hid. I thought, okay, guys, we'll show you how to play this game, so I pulled off the same road that they pulled onto. We could see them back behind the bushes when we passed them. But before they could catch up to us, I saw a small road to turn onto, so I whipped in and we watched as they went by.
Unfortunately, this road kept getting smaller and smaller. Yep, you guessed it, it was a very long private drive to a privately-owned salvage yard. The reason Bill and Sam couldn't see us was because of the white fence that ran down both sides of our road. Remembering my luck with fences (I hit ours while backing out of our driveway - I wouldn't have hit it if Bill hadn't been trying to tell me how to back up - anyway, that's another story), I decided to pull on ahead; I figured they had a turn-around up there. Well I get up there and it's all cars. A sign in the yard says to check into the office before pulling in any further. I'm debating whether to go ahead or try to turn around. The office looks like somebody's home.
I decide to try to back into a small space and do a Y turn. I start to back up and as I look into my rear-view mirror, there's the biggest tow truck I've ever seen right behind me. I'm not going anywhere! The driver gets out of the truck and starts up toward my car - I'm trapped! All kinds of things go through my mind, but I roll down my window and immediately start smiling and apologizing. It turns out he's a "good" guy and lets me pull ahead and turn around. Feeling like an idiot has become a familiar emotion lately.
Bill calls me on my cell to make sure we're okay. But I did feel just a little bit proud when he says, "Well, we saw you go by and then you just disappeared!"
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Share the Blame - Ultimate Blunders
Just received an e-mail from an RGQ friend (that stands for Really Good Quotes - an e-zine I get Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) regarding a tape that both of us requested from Tiger Aspect Productiions in London. We were both involved (at separate times) in a TV show called Share the Blame. The working title at the time was Ultimate Blunders. It was shown on The Learning Channel three Sundays in July 2006. The show was about "life" and the blundering way we go about living our lives. Just the fact that the producer/director asked me if I was a "serial" blunderer kinda tells you how my life sometimes goes.
So they pay for a ticket for Bill and me to fly to Chicago, put us up in a pretty nice hotel down by the lake and pay our cab to and from the airport and to their hotel for filming. All in all it was a really great trip and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really, really liked the people I was working with. So I should be happy, right? Well one would think so, but I'm not. I'm on a rant right now!
You see, the show was cut from 10 episodes to 6 episodes (guess that's show business - right?). And my episode was cut. So was Tim's episode. He's the other RGQer and I think he lives in Boston. They paid his way by train to New York, a really nice experience for him as he'd never ridden a train before.
You see, I can understand the episodes being cut. The show was "okay" I guess, made more interesting because I'd been involved a bit. What I have a trouble understanding is why both Tim and I are being ignored when we asked for a tape. I asked early on and was told that it would depend on how many others asked for a tape. Then when I got the e-mail stating my episode had been cut, I asked again. No answer.
Then I wrote and offered to pay for the tape. Still no answer. So that makes me a bit upset.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Serial Blunderer
Okay, you all were probably wondering when my next blunder was going to happen. Ha! Sooner than you expected, right?
The twins were getting ready to go to a friend's house, out in the country. I was busy getting breakfast, beds made, etc. Then it was time to load up the dishwasher and leave. Got all the dishes in, counters washed, etc. But I'm out of Cascade, actually been out for a day or two.
Now Bill has used dish soap in the past -- I didn't know you could do that.
Soooo, I put in the dish soap, not just a few drops, but the whole dishwasher bowl full. Do you know what happens when you use dishwashing soap in the dishwasher, especially about a quarter-cup full?
I'm in my bedroom curling my hair and yelling to the boys to hurry up. I hear William in the kitchen.
"Uh, Noella? I think you need to come in here."
"Why? You guys need to get ready."
"Uh, Noella? There's suds all over the floor, Lots of suds, they're covering the whole floor!"
I groan, walk into the kitchen, and sure enough, there ARE suds all over the floor. Just across the room from the dishwasher sits our computer and that's where the suds are headed.
The boys bring lots of towels from the bathroom and I call Bill, who after hearing my dilemma, is laughing his head off. His solution is for me to get out my Rainbow and start vacuuming the water out.
Well, I get out the vacuum and I guess I didn't watch how the salesman did it 26 years ago, because when I started vacuuming the water, the motor to the vacuum starts sounding funny. Quickly, I shut it off and open it up, to find that it took out water good enough; now suds are way up in the motor. I did remember the salesman told us that if that ever happened, disconnect from the water housing and run dry. Water and oil soaked the towels on the floor. I just hope it dries out enough to use again; that was the only thing (outside of baby furniture) I got from my first marriage, not that it was all that great, I just knew it was a great vacuum and he'd probably be able to get a new one sooner than I would.
Anyway, I sopped (is that a word?) up the rest of the water from the dishwasher, and drained it. Hopefully, it too will work again.
Let's see this was July 20. When was it I mailed that camera in?
Saturday, July 29, 2006
It didn't take as long this time!
The twins and I met Bill in Springfield last night for a movie and dinner. We saw the new Garfield film (which actually I liked better than the first one) and were going to go to McSalty's to hear the band, but they're not there during "Fair" week, so we went to eat at that Mexican restaurant out West Chestnut -- La Hacienda, 4249 W Chestnut -- (which is one of the best ever). Anyway we pulled into the parking lot and drove around -- no parking whatsoever. We figured we'd have an hour or so wait so we went on down to Sonic. A bit of a letdown after looking forward to some of the best Tortilla Soup in the world. (By the way, that's a great movie too -- Tortilla Soup).
So we eat our food, get in our cars (the boys vehemently discussing who's going to ride with Bill) and head home when, while out on I-44, we run into fair traffic. Bill hates to be held up in traffic, so we head back into town and take the back roads out.
We finally get onto Highway 13 when Bill starts his games. He likes to drive in front and get very far ahead, then he'll pull off somewhere and "hide" and waits until he sees me pass. Then he'll get back on the highway and pass us up (whichever twin is in the car with him thinks that is so funny and the first time that happened, I was a little surprised myself).
So I decide to beat him at his own game. When he did it to us on this little jaunt, I told William "don't look at them." Well, they pull ahead of us and we eventually catch up to them and pass them too. I'm afraid that I speeded up a little so that I could get far enough ahead to "hide" myself. See, you can't do this on a straight-away highway, it has to be one filled with curves and hills so you can pull out of sight. Well, they pulled off again and hid. I thought, okay, guys, we'll show you how to play this game, so I pulled off the same road that they pulled onto. We could see them back behind the bushes when we passed them. But before they could catch up to us, I saw a small road to turn onto, so I whipped in and we watched as they went by.
Unfortunately, this road kept getting smaller and smaller. Yep, you guessed it, it was a very long private drive to a privately-owned salvage yard. The reason Bill and Sam couldn't see us was because of the white fence that ran down both sides of our road. Remembering my luck with fences (I hit ours while backing out of our driveway - I wouldn't have hit it if Bill hadn't been trying to tell me how to back up - anyway, that's another story), I decided to pull on ahead; I figured they had a turn-around up there. Well I get up there and it's all cars. A sign in the yard says to check into the office before pulling in any further. I'm debating whether to go ahead or try to turn around. The office looks like somebody's home.
I decide to try to back into a small space and do a Y turn. I start to back up and as I look into my rear-view mirror, there's the biggest tow truck I've ever seen right behind me. I'm not going anywhere! The driver gets out of the truck and starts up toward my car - I'm trapped! All kinds of things go through my mind, but I roll down my window and immediately start smiling and apologizing. It turns out he's a "good" guy and lets me pull ahead and turn around. Feeling like an idiot has become a familiar emotion lately.
Bill calls me on my cell to make sure we're okay. But I did feel just a little bit proud when he says, "Well, we saw you go by and then you just disappeared!"
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Share the Blame - Ultimate Blunders
Just received an e-mail from an RGQ friend (that stands for Really Good Quotes - an e-zine I get Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) regarding a tape that both of us requested from Tiger Aspect Productiions in London. We were both involved (at separate times) in a TV show called Share the Blame. The working title at the time was Ultimate Blunders. It was shown on The Learning Channel three Sundays in July 2006. The show was about "life" and the blundering way we go about living our lives. Just the fact that the producer/director asked me if I was a "serial" blunderer kinda tells you how my life sometimes goes.
So they pay for a ticket for Bill and me to fly to Chicago, put us up in a pretty nice hotel down by the lake and pay our cab to and from the airport and to their hotel for filming. All in all it was a really great trip and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really, really liked the people I was working with. So I should be happy, right? Well one would think so, but I'm not. I'm on a rant right now!
You see, the show was cut from 10 episodes to 6 episodes (guess that's show business - right?). And my episode was cut. So was Tim's episode. He's the other RGQer and I think he lives in Boston. They paid his way by train to New York, a really nice experience for him as he'd never ridden a train before.
You see, I can understand the episodes being cut. The show was "okay" I guess, made more interesting because I'd been involved a bit. What I have a trouble understanding is why both Tim and I are being ignored when we asked for a tape. I asked early on and was told that it would depend on how many others asked for a tape. Then when I got the e-mail stating my episode had been cut, I asked again. No answer.
Then I wrote and offered to pay for the tape. Still no answer. So that makes me a bit upset.
I'm transferring part of my MySpace blog to here - mostly the "blunders" part. You'll notice I have a lot of blunders in my life. But we have a lot of funny stuff happening in our family too.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
That Stuff
I have a problem sometimes trying to remember words when I'm talking to people. Most of the time the conversation will have something to do with whatever is happening at the time. For instance if I'm cooking dinner and I need salt for a recipe, I might ask Bill to hand me the salt, but I'll forget the word and I'll say something like, "Will you hand me that stuff there?" He has no idea what in the world I'm talking about. It makes sense to me, though, because it says "salt" right there in my recipe.
The other night I told Bill we were having shrimp for supper. Sam, one of the twins, hates seafood, and most everything else unless it's chicken nuggets or pepperoni pizza.
Bill loves to "mess" with me, so not knowing that the twins knew about the shrimp, a little later on he told Sam to ask me if we were still having that "stuff" for supper. Sam's immediate response was, "Dad, I hate that stuff."
Now Bill thinks the twins and I have this other language going on. Turns out, the whole conversation "messed" with him!
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Thanksgiving Shopping
Well, I did it! This is the first year that I decided to bite the bullet and go Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving! What an experience. I might do it again next year, depends on the sales.
This year my introduction was to Toys R Us. I don't know if that was a good choice or not. They had $60 MP3 players for $30 and a Robo Sapien for $30, both of which the boys wanted.
My step-son Sam went with me. He'd set his alarm for 4, but it went off at 3, so he was awake/asleep for an hour. I got up at 4:11, got dressed, went in and woke him up. He was already dressed.
We pulled into the parking lot at 5:18 and never in my life would I have believed how difficult it was to get a parking spot at that time in the morning. Finally, we found one, I parked and we went into the store. Bedlam! First off I found a clerk and told her I needed only three items, where were they? She directed me to the other side of the store. In Toys R Us merchandise is set up so that you can't cut across the front of the store to the electronics department. No, you have to go around to the middle of the store and then across, and in this case, crossing through all the checkout lines. We finally make it to the right area, fighting our way, elbow to elbow. When I ask the clerk over there where my items are, he tells me they're over on the other side of the store where I just came from! Luckily, I argued, telling him that the clerk over there sent me to him. He double checks, and sure enough there is a Robo Sapien right there under his nose. I take it and go on to get the MP3 players. Apparently they're sold out of the advertised ones already, but have substituted another one, supposedly better.
Now we have to pay for them. But we have to go to the back of the line. So we follow the check out line throughout the store, believe it or not, all the way to the back and then to the front at the end of the line. We stand in line for almost an hour. The people in front of us are getting cell phone calls from their friends wanting to know where they are because they've already checked out. Apparently they got to one of the registers before it was roped off.
We finally get to the front and pay for our items and head over to Staples where they have flash card drives for $14.95 and USB sticks for $8 (definitely good buys). We quickly find that these items are being handed out, one to a customer. And I get one of the last ones left of each. We're in line there for probably another 30-40 minutes. They sell out while we're there.
Sam is hungry so we walk over to Wendy's which is closed, and the next place is McDonalds. I think I even don't like McDonalds for breakfast anymore.
I've got something in mind to buy David, my older son, something and so we head over to Penney's Home Store, but there's no parking. I drive around the lot and end up parking close to TJ Max and remember that they might have that jelly that comes in pretty glasses that can be reused. I've got only three and I want more. As it turns out they do have the jelly now (they didn't my last three visits). Sam and I look around in there for a while and then check out. Then over to Penneys. I don't find what I'm looking for there, but Sam finds a blanket he likes and it's only $8 - I buy it.
Then on to the Mall. I understand it's been recently remodeled and I want to see what it looks like. I go to the shop and find David's present and then to the candle store to get some candles for myself. And of course, I can't leave until we visit Auntie Anne's for their cinnamon-sugar pretzels and lemonade.
By this time I figured that I'm getting tired and it's noon. It's time to head home, but on the way, we stop by Lowe's where they have the 8-drawer tool chest for $88 - another good buy. The first sales associate sends me over to his left and down some aisles - no chests. I ask further back in the store and they send my from Aisle 00 to Aisle 16 all the way to the front of the store. Believe it or not, the associate there takes me back to the door where I walked in and there are the chests right there in front of the entrance door. It would be really funny, but by then my feet are really hurting! Oh, well, what do they expect for probably $5 an hour employees.
I thought I'd include a nice little shot of Sam while we were at TJ Max's that I took with my phone. I love the picture.
Monday, March 19, 2007
For me
I had my son 26 years ago and he is as beautiful as ever. However, that saying that one forgets the pain afterwards is a bunch of "bunk." I still to this day remember the pain. And though my labor was not exceptionally long (started about 3:45 a.m. and he was born at 2:15 p.m.), the last four hours of it was what I could only call extremely, EXTREMELY intense. On the way to the delivery room I made the remark that I would never be able to understand why anyone would want to do this again!
He was born the day before my 35th birthday. Since I had pre-eclampsia, I had to stay in bed for the last six weeks of my pregnancy. The doctor wanted to hospitalize me, but as we had no insurance at the time, I was allowed to stay home. Now I don't know about anyone else, but when you feel fine and you're hungry and there is no one there to get you food, you're going to get up and get it. After two weeks, I even went to our new house and walked upstairs to measure for curtains. Luckily, I had a doctor appointment immediately afterwards and my vitals (BP, urine and blood) showed full-blown toxemia at that time. I was told to drive immediately to the hospital. I was admitted and further tests showed everything as normal. The vitals at the doctor's office though qualified us for assistance that was given to women who developed toxemia and we had to pay only 20% of our bill as a normal insured couple. We only had to allow access to my medical records for "study."
As it turned out he came three weeks early - which was fine.
In the hospital, I was weighed every day and after a week, I got on the scales with water running down my legs. I thought "My God I wet myself,." and I'm embarrassed and apologizing all over the place. Of course, I'd just woken up and wasn't quite "with it" yet. The nurses were very kind and did allow me to take a shower while they were changing my bed. As it turned out my water had broken, and I "leaked" all day. And wouldn't you know it, I had the inside bed and the girl beside me - her husband was there all day long. Since my water had broken, I was only allowed to wear the hospital gown, which as you know, leaves a lot to be covered at times. I was extremely uncomfortable walking past this guy who just wouldn't go home!
That evening, a girl who said she lived next door to me (in the house I was moving into - we hadn't even moved in yet) came to visit me. She stayed and stayed and stayed and in the meantime, I'm getting wetter and wetter and wetter. I'm praying, "God, please make her leave!" By the time she left, I had to call the nurses to come and change my bed again and I had to go clean up, again walking past that dumb man sitting in that stupid chair.
About 3:45 the next morning, I began to feel "weird" twinges and they kept up continually. I finally called a nurse and asked if I'd started labor. After feeling my abdomen, she assured me that I had. By 8:00 a.m. I had to again talk them into letting me take another shower. They said I could if a nurse stayed at the door with me. I went back to bed and the twinges increased and I was taken to the "labor" room. There I was assigned a male nurse (the indignities never end) who wanted to give me an enema. As my water had broken I wasn't allowed to use the bathroom like a nice girl, He gave me a bedpan and stood there and waited. Well, nothing happened. And nothing happened - five gallons of water and nothing! He won't leave me laying on the table because I might fall off. So he waits! And I wait, my bowels refusing to budge! Finally I win, only just a little though. He agrees to leave the room and all is fairly okay with the world again - a little privacy at last! He does then at least have the sensitivity to call a female nurse to shave me.
Now the labor room was just that - a room where you labored and the more you labored, the worse it got! My husband came in and asked me did I really want him there all that time, it was just going to take a long time with nothing happening, and he was bored and hungry. I was in no mood for him to be pestering me, so I told him to just leave and I'd be fine. My parents came soon afterwards along with some friends. Plus my husband came back. (by the way, we are now divorced - see above).
My saving grace was hands. For some reason I needed another person's touch. If they took their hands away from my back, the pain increased about 10-fold.
Now I don't remember having "contractions." I remember hell. There was the pain and then there was more pain (I suppose that was the contractions). That pain never let up like I figured it was supposed to do, but then came even more pain. From the beginning it took about 8-9 hours to reach 4 centimeters. And then within 30 minutes I was at 10. Then I hit what I supposed is "transition."
All of a sudden there was this urge to push. However, the doctor hadn't arrived yet, and the nurses are telling me, "no hold it, don't push!" Yeah! like right!
The nurses see that I'm still pushing (how in the world do you stop?) and are gloving up and finally the doctor comes in and is all nicey nice to my husband, who by this time I hate!
Finally, when the "doctor" is ready, he tells me I can push - whew - what a sweet guy! Two pushes and the baby is here. I'll never forget when they laid him in my arms, loads and loads of black hair and weird wadded up ears! A total stranger who all of a sudden I realized I had no idea who he was or what he liked or even if he would like me, etc.
Then they told me that they were going to give me a sponge bath and a massage! I thought, oh, how nice - I don't have to work at anything anymore, I can rest now. I envisioned a nice dimly lit room with people around my bedside attending to my every need and a wonderful bath and massage!
Whoaaa! Reality check!
The sponge bath WAS very nice. But that massage! Was I in for an education. There was no way on earth would I ever believe that some little nurse was going to come in and jump up and plop herself on my stomach four times for the next hour (at least that's what it felt like, and that's exactly what she did!). (Supposedly this is to make sure that the womb is cleared of everything.) Luckly by the fourth time, I knew what was coming and it did get a little better. But that first groan (which was more like a scream) I will always remember! I don't know why they don't tell us this stuff! And as I lay there waiting the next 15 minutes for her to make her rounds of unfeeling manipulation, I could hear the groans and screams of the other ladies who had also unknowingly entered this hell.
The next morning, I went down to a special class to learn how to take care of my little baby and I'm in this room with 40 other women. The room is about 10 by 12 and crowded. I don't know how they knew to bring inner tubes along to sit on, but nobody gave me one and it was extremely uncomfortable and HOT! I finally figured out that in my earlier years I'd played with dolls enough that I could figure out how to change a diaper and asked to go back to my room. I'd barely gotten back when all these ladies came into my room for a surprise baby shower. Normally, I would have been so pleased, but I was just tired and was guiltily wishing they would all go home!
The next day, (I think it was, it's been so long ago) they put me in the sitz bath and that WAS nice. And then the next day I got to go home.
The nurses at the hospital were so very nice though. One even bought a little gift to send home for the baby.
The "baby" is now 26 and off busy doing his thing. He loves to travel and has decided he's going to get as much travel in as he can before he turns 35. That's when he's decided to marry. No one in mind yet though.
I forgot to mention that I had been told I would be given medication to block most of the pain. But since I went from 4 to 10 so fast, I was given nothing. No one ever suspected that I would go 6 centimeters so quickly, but it seems to be the way of our family as my niece did the same thing. I supposed that in hindsight that was best!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Shrimp Scampi
Last night I fixed Shrimp Scampi for supper. 11-year-old Sam hates seafood and wouldn't touch a bite of it.
Today the boys came home from school and immediately wanted to know what we were having for supper tonight. I told them that we were going to have "Food! Isn't it wonderful? We don't have to starve!" I was a little humorously sarcastic I thought.
After watching American Idol Gives Back, William, Sam's twin brother, tried to remind Sam that a lot of those children in Africa would have loved that Shrimp Scampi. And Sam said, "Well, send it to Africa then. Send a letter with it and tell them to dig in!"
Thursday, June 21, 2007
he somehow got "saved"
12-year-old William and Samuel's big brother Lyle came by on the "spur of the moment" last night and asked if they could go to church with him and his girlfriend. He stated that it was a "revival." So Bill and I said "sure." He said they'd be home around 8 or 8:30 which was okay as they'd still have time for showers and bed.
Around 8:30 they came back in and William who is the talker and story teller, came in all excited:
"I don't know how it happened, but somehow we got 'saved' tonight."
We asked what happened and he was only too glad to tell us.
"Well, a couple of little old ladies came up to us and asked us if we were 'saved.' We said no and they just started bawling and crying. So we had to walk down front in front of EVERYBODY! We had to get down on our knees and everyone started praying around us. They were really loud and everybody was crying and hollering."
I said, "I thought you got saved three years ago at Vacation Bible School." But Bill asked them how they felt about that and they both said it was okay. William said he didn't really feel much different, but Samuel said he got a "warm" feeling inside.
Bill said, "Well, that's really nice. Now maybe you guys won't fight with each other so much."
You should have seen the shocked look on William's face as he cried, "What!!!!????"
Monday, July 09, 2007
Eureka Springs trip
We're back from our trip to Eureka Springs. We spent a night at the haunted Crescent Hotel again. This time we took the boys. They were excited to get to witness (maybe) ghostly activity. We took hundreds of pictures while we were there (a benefit of digital cameras and 1 gig cards).
We got there about 3 p.m. and checked in. We were on the second floor again, this time Room 205. The ghost tour would have cost $70 for all of us, so we decided to forgo the tour and do our own tour (plus we figured we could buy the book and save a bunch of money). And having stayed there before and visiting several times, we kinda knew most of the stories.
The first time we stayed, I woke up in the middle of the night hearing a child cry. When I mentioned it to the staff, they told me there were no children staying there that weekend; and after making fun of ghosts in the dining room, the French doors that were locked open, shut banging on Bill as we were leaving the restaurant. So we had interesting experiences the first time.
Then in November 2005 we were there for a visit and while I was purchasing a book in the gift shop, Bill took this photo of me. He swears that it has not been photoshopped. Notice the eye underneath my hand, and the orange glow just above my hands. The tall black thing on the counter is a lens for my camera.
After visiting the hotel lounge, around 10 p.m. we took our cameras and went ghost hunting. It's hard to tell if we get any good pictures until we get home and get them up on our computer. Bill looked at his first and found these green dots in several images (this one is of me and the boys walking down the hall); they are near the bottom of the picture on the left-hand side of the hallway. (All the "anomolies" were only in this one hallway.) He uses a Canon 10D.
So, as you can imagine, he was pretty excited to get these anomolies. Then he set about to take pictures that were "set up" - the boys walking during a long exposure to get a ghostly effect.
After we looked at his pictures, we looked at mine. I didn't see anything in my pictures until I came to the same hallway. This is what I captured:
The very same anomolies captured with two different cameras - mine is a Canon 20D. And I can swear that these are not photoshopped in any way whatsoever other than reducing image size.
I got the same anomolies in a picture of the front of the hotel later on that night, they are under the two middle windows on the bottom:
Maybe somebody can explain it.
Oh, then in the middle of the night Bill did encounter a "ghost." He got up to go to the bathroom and since there was streetlight coming into the bathroom he didn't turn on the light. As he was leaving the bathroom, he was shocked to see an image standing in front of him; so much so that he "cried" out! Then he couldn't figure out how to get out of the room. Turns out it was a full-length mirror on the door. It's funny how even though we like to say we don't believe in stuff, when we're in a situation where we "might" encounter something, our emotional being takes over our intellect.
The next day we took the boys on the different trolleys that run through the town and ate at a local restaurant. I would advise that you read your receipts really good. The menu said that a gratuity would be added for parties of five people or more; There were only four of us. Our bill was $74. We didn't feel the service was all that great so we only left an $8 tip. When I got home and was adding the receipt to my checkbook, I found that they'd already charged a $10.75 tip, so in reality we paid over $18 tip for service we really didn't care for - plus the food wasn't all that good either.
We visited the Passion Play site where William laughed at himself falling on his Heelys and hurting himself while he was looking at the "big Jesus."
We went to Thorncrown Chapel which is an awesome place - a chapel built in the woods. All the construction is of steel and glass. There are 425 windows and over 6,000 square feet of glass in the chapel. I would love to go to a service there. We first saw it when we were on our honeymoon, but it was closed. This is the first time in all our trips that the chapel was open and it was definitely worth the wait!
Then to top our trip off, as we were checking out, the staff offered us a kitten that was born there at the hotel. As much as I wanted a Crescent Hotel kitten, we said no. We left and the boys kept pestering their Dad until he finally relented and we turned around, went back and got "Casper" the kitten. We're not sure whether Casper is a boy or a girl, but he/she has two brothers now, Sparky - the dog, and Speedy the cat.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip that did not last anywhere long enough.
Monday, August 27, 2007
camera
Okay, I just read through my blogs and the last one (which is really the first one) said something about mailing my camera in.
Explanation:
When Bill bought my 20D for me, he also purchased a warranty agreement which supposedly covered camera cleaning. It’d been a year and I figured the camera needed cleaning, besides it had these funny spots on my pictures. Now I’d never owned a digital camera before and I didn’t know about "dust spots" on the sensor, so I sent the camera in for a cleaning.
Being that it was a fairly expensive camera, I also purchased insurance for the box as it was being mailed. So, I enclosed the $10 repair plus insurance which was about $20-$30 (really expensive, I thought). I get to the post office and mail everything off feeling very proud of myself that I had packaged it so well.
I get home and do some stuff around the house and decide to go check my e-mail at the computer in the kitchen. The desk is a little cluttered what with the mailing supplies, etc., so I’m cleaning my desk off, putting stuff away. I put the tape in the tape drawer, the pens and pencils away. Move the pictures to where they’re not taking up a lot of space, place the phone back on the phone stand and put the coffee cup in the dishwasher. Move the camera to the camera bag and put it away.
I’m reading my e-mail and all of a sudden it hits me! Move the camera to the camera bag???!!!!???
What DID I mail in that big stuffed box? Well, the check, the copies of the warranty info, the papers I printed from the internet site that gave me my claim number! But no camera!
I had to make another trip to the post office and mail the camera in again, purchasing insurance again!
Don’t you just love it!
Monday, February 01, 2010
Waubonsee Community College -- News & Events
http://www.waubonsee.edu/news_topic_summary.php?Ne...
Waubonsee Community College -- News & Events
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He stole our medical premiums which left us with thousands of dollarsof medical bills, didn't pay for the last several weeks of work before they closed their doors! I hope Waubonsee Community College watches their safe - otherwise there'll be a lot of students who paid tuition, but won't get their education because he stole it!
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
That Stuff
I have a problem sometimes trying to remember words when I'm talking to people. Most of the time the conversation will have something to do with whatever is happening at the time. For instance if I'm cooking dinner and I need salt for a recipe, I might ask Bill to hand me the salt, but I'll forget the word and I'll say something like, "Will you hand me that stuff there?" He has no idea what in the world I'm talking about. It makes sense to me, though, because it says "salt" right there in my recipe.
The other night I told Bill we were having shrimp for supper. Sam, one of the twins, hates seafood, and most everything else unless it's chicken nuggets or pepperoni pizza.
Bill loves to "mess" with me, so not knowing that the twins knew about the shrimp, a little later on he told Sam to ask me if we were still having that "stuff" for supper. Sam's immediate response was, "Dad, I hate that stuff."
Now Bill thinks the twins and I have this other language going on. Turns out, the whole conversation "messed" with him!
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Thanksgiving Shopping
Well, I did it! This is the first year that I decided to bite the bullet and go Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving! What an experience. I might do it again next year, depends on the sales.
This year my introduction was to Toys R Us. I don't know if that was a good choice or not. They had $60 MP3 players for $30 and a Robo Sapien for $30, both of which the boys wanted.
My step-son Sam went with me. He'd set his alarm for 4, but it went off at 3, so he was awake/asleep for an hour. I got up at 4:11, got dressed, went in and woke him up. He was already dressed.
We pulled into the parking lot at 5:18 and never in my life would I have believed how difficult it was to get a parking spot at that time in the morning. Finally, we found one, I parked and we went into the store. Bedlam! First off I found a clerk and told her I needed only three items, where were they? She directed me to the other side of the store. In Toys R Us merchandise is set up so that you can't cut across the front of the store to the electronics department. No, you have to go around to the middle of the store and then across, and in this case, crossing through all the checkout lines. We finally make it to the right area, fighting our way, elbow to elbow. When I ask the clerk over there where my items are, he tells me they're over on the other side of the store where I just came from! Luckily, I argued, telling him that the clerk over there sent me to him. He double checks, and sure enough there is a Robo Sapien right there under his nose. I take it and go on to get the MP3 players. Apparently they're sold out of the advertised ones already, but have substituted another one, supposedly better.
Now we have to pay for them. But we have to go to the back of the line. So we follow the check out line throughout the store, believe it or not, all the way to the back and then to the front at the end of the line. We stand in line for almost an hour. The people in front of us are getting cell phone calls from their friends wanting to know where they are because they've already checked out. Apparently they got to one of the registers before it was roped off.
We finally get to the front and pay for our items and head over to Staples where they have flash card drives for $14.95 and USB sticks for $8 (definitely good buys). We quickly find that these items are being handed out, one to a customer. And I get one of the last ones left of each. We're in line there for probably another 30-40 minutes. They sell out while we're there.
Sam is hungry so we walk over to Wendy's which is closed, and the next place is McDonalds. I think I even don't like McDonalds for breakfast anymore.
I've got something in mind to buy David, my older son, something and so we head over to Penney's Home Store, but there's no parking. I drive around the lot and end up parking close to TJ Max and remember that they might have that jelly that comes in pretty glasses that can be reused. I've got only three and I want more. As it turns out they do have the jelly now (they didn't my last three visits). Sam and I look around in there for a while and then check out. Then over to Penneys. I don't find what I'm looking for there, but Sam finds a blanket he likes and it's only $8 - I buy it.
Then on to the Mall. I understand it's been recently remodeled and I want to see what it looks like. I go to the shop and find David's present and then to the candle store to get some candles for myself. And of course, I can't leave until we visit Auntie Anne's for their cinnamon-sugar pretzels and lemonade.
By this time I figured that I'm getting tired and it's noon. It's time to head home, but on the way, we stop by Lowe's where they have the 8-drawer tool chest for $88 - another good buy. The first sales associate sends me over to his left and down some aisles - no chests. I ask further back in the store and they send my from Aisle 00 to Aisle 16 all the way to the front of the store. Believe it or not, the associate there takes me back to the door where I walked in and there are the chests right there in front of the entrance door. It would be really funny, but by then my feet are really hurting! Oh, well, what do they expect for probably $5 an hour employees.
I thought I'd include a nice little shot of Sam while we were at TJ Max's that I took with my phone. I love the picture.
Monday, March 19, 2007
For me
I had my son 26 years ago and he is as beautiful as ever. However, that saying that one forgets the pain afterwards is a bunch of "bunk." I still to this day remember the pain. And though my labor was not exceptionally long (started about 3:45 a.m. and he was born at 2:15 p.m.), the last four hours of it was what I could only call extremely, EXTREMELY intense. On the way to the delivery room I made the remark that I would never be able to understand why anyone would want to do this again!
He was born the day before my 35th birthday. Since I had pre-eclampsia, I had to stay in bed for the last six weeks of my pregnancy. The doctor wanted to hospitalize me, but as we had no insurance at the time, I was allowed to stay home. Now I don't know about anyone else, but when you feel fine and you're hungry and there is no one there to get you food, you're going to get up and get it. After two weeks, I even went to our new house and walked upstairs to measure for curtains. Luckily, I had a doctor appointment immediately afterwards and my vitals (BP, urine and blood) showed full-blown toxemia at that time. I was told to drive immediately to the hospital. I was admitted and further tests showed everything as normal. The vitals at the doctor's office though qualified us for assistance that was given to women who developed toxemia and we had to pay only 20% of our bill as a normal insured couple. We only had to allow access to my medical records for "study."
As it turned out he came three weeks early - which was fine.
In the hospital, I was weighed every day and after a week, I got on the scales with water running down my legs. I thought "My God I wet myself,." and I'm embarrassed and apologizing all over the place. Of course, I'd just woken up and wasn't quite "with it" yet. The nurses were very kind and did allow me to take a shower while they were changing my bed. As it turned out my water had broken, and I "leaked" all day. And wouldn't you know it, I had the inside bed and the girl beside me - her husband was there all day long. Since my water had broken, I was only allowed to wear the hospital gown, which as you know, leaves a lot to be covered at times. I was extremely uncomfortable walking past this guy who just wouldn't go home!
That evening, a girl who said she lived next door to me (in the house I was moving into - we hadn't even moved in yet) came to visit me. She stayed and stayed and stayed and in the meantime, I'm getting wetter and wetter and wetter. I'm praying, "God, please make her leave!" By the time she left, I had to call the nurses to come and change my bed again and I had to go clean up, again walking past that dumb man sitting in that stupid chair.
About 3:45 the next morning, I began to feel "weird" twinges and they kept up continually. I finally called a nurse and asked if I'd started labor. After feeling my abdomen, she assured me that I had. By 8:00 a.m. I had to again talk them into letting me take another shower. They said I could if a nurse stayed at the door with me. I went back to bed and the twinges increased and I was taken to the "labor" room. There I was assigned a male nurse (the indignities never end) who wanted to give me an enema. As my water had broken I wasn't allowed to use the bathroom like a nice girl, He gave me a bedpan and stood there and waited. Well, nothing happened. And nothing happened - five gallons of water and nothing! He won't leave me laying on the table because I might fall off. So he waits! And I wait, my bowels refusing to budge! Finally I win, only just a little though. He agrees to leave the room and all is fairly okay with the world again - a little privacy at last! He does then at least have the sensitivity to call a female nurse to shave me.
Now the labor room was just that - a room where you labored and the more you labored, the worse it got! My husband came in and asked me did I really want him there all that time, it was just going to take a long time with nothing happening, and he was bored and hungry. I was in no mood for him to be pestering me, so I told him to just leave and I'd be fine. My parents came soon afterwards along with some friends. Plus my husband came back. (by the way, we are now divorced - see above).
My saving grace was hands. For some reason I needed another person's touch. If they took their hands away from my back, the pain increased about 10-fold.
Now I don't remember having "contractions." I remember hell. There was the pain and then there was more pain (I suppose that was the contractions). That pain never let up like I figured it was supposed to do, but then came even more pain. From the beginning it took about 8-9 hours to reach 4 centimeters. And then within 30 minutes I was at 10. Then I hit what I supposed is "transition."
All of a sudden there was this urge to push. However, the doctor hadn't arrived yet, and the nurses are telling me, "no hold it, don't push!" Yeah! like right!
The nurses see that I'm still pushing (how in the world do you stop?) and are gloving up and finally the doctor comes in and is all nicey nice to my husband, who by this time I hate!
Finally, when the "doctor" is ready, he tells me I can push - whew - what a sweet guy! Two pushes and the baby is here. I'll never forget when they laid him in my arms, loads and loads of black hair and weird wadded up ears! A total stranger who all of a sudden I realized I had no idea who he was or what he liked or even if he would like me, etc.
Then they told me that they were going to give me a sponge bath and a massage! I thought, oh, how nice - I don't have to work at anything anymore, I can rest now. I envisioned a nice dimly lit room with people around my bedside attending to my every need and a wonderful bath and massage!
Whoaaa! Reality check!
The sponge bath WAS very nice. But that massage! Was I in for an education. There was no way on earth would I ever believe that some little nurse was going to come in and jump up and plop herself on my stomach four times for the next hour (at least that's what it felt like, and that's exactly what she did!). (Supposedly this is to make sure that the womb is cleared of everything.) Luckly by the fourth time, I knew what was coming and it did get a little better. But that first groan (which was more like a scream) I will always remember! I don't know why they don't tell us this stuff! And as I lay there waiting the next 15 minutes for her to make her rounds of unfeeling manipulation, I could hear the groans and screams of the other ladies who had also unknowingly entered this hell.
The next morning, I went down to a special class to learn how to take care of my little baby and I'm in this room with 40 other women. The room is about 10 by 12 and crowded. I don't know how they knew to bring inner tubes along to sit on, but nobody gave me one and it was extremely uncomfortable and HOT! I finally figured out that in my earlier years I'd played with dolls enough that I could figure out how to change a diaper and asked to go back to my room. I'd barely gotten back when all these ladies came into my room for a surprise baby shower. Normally, I would have been so pleased, but I was just tired and was guiltily wishing they would all go home!
The next day, (I think it was, it's been so long ago) they put me in the sitz bath and that WAS nice. And then the next day I got to go home.
The nurses at the hospital were so very nice though. One even bought a little gift to send home for the baby.
The "baby" is now 26 and off busy doing his thing. He loves to travel and has decided he's going to get as much travel in as he can before he turns 35. That's when he's decided to marry. No one in mind yet though.
I forgot to mention that I had been told I would be given medication to block most of the pain. But since I went from 4 to 10 so fast, I was given nothing. No one ever suspected that I would go 6 centimeters so quickly, but it seems to be the way of our family as my niece did the same thing. I supposed that in hindsight that was best!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Shrimp Scampi
Last night I fixed Shrimp Scampi for supper. 11-year-old Sam hates seafood and wouldn't touch a bite of it.
Today the boys came home from school and immediately wanted to know what we were having for supper tonight. I told them that we were going to have "Food! Isn't it wonderful? We don't have to starve!" I was a little humorously sarcastic I thought.
After watching American Idol Gives Back, William, Sam's twin brother, tried to remind Sam that a lot of those children in Africa would have loved that Shrimp Scampi. And Sam said, "Well, send it to Africa then. Send a letter with it and tell them to dig in!"
Thursday, June 21, 2007
he somehow got "saved"
12-year-old William and Samuel's big brother Lyle came by on the "spur of the moment" last night and asked if they could go to church with him and his girlfriend. He stated that it was a "revival." So Bill and I said "sure." He said they'd be home around 8 or 8:30 which was okay as they'd still have time for showers and bed.
Around 8:30 they came back in and William who is the talker and story teller, came in all excited:
"I don't know how it happened, but somehow we got 'saved' tonight."
We asked what happened and he was only too glad to tell us.
"Well, a couple of little old ladies came up to us and asked us if we were 'saved.' We said no and they just started bawling and crying. So we had to walk down front in front of EVERYBODY! We had to get down on our knees and everyone started praying around us. They were really loud and everybody was crying and hollering."
I said, "I thought you got saved three years ago at Vacation Bible School." But Bill asked them how they felt about that and they both said it was okay. William said he didn't really feel much different, but Samuel said he got a "warm" feeling inside.
Bill said, "Well, that's really nice. Now maybe you guys won't fight with each other so much."
You should have seen the shocked look on William's face as he cried, "What!!!!????"
Monday, July 09, 2007
Eureka Springs trip
We're back from our trip to Eureka Springs. We spent a night at the haunted Crescent Hotel again. This time we took the boys. They were excited to get to witness (maybe) ghostly activity. We took hundreds of pictures while we were there (a benefit of digital cameras and 1 gig cards).
We got there about 3 p.m. and checked in. We were on the second floor again, this time Room 205. The ghost tour would have cost $70 for all of us, so we decided to forgo the tour and do our own tour (plus we figured we could buy the book and save a bunch of money). And having stayed there before and visiting several times, we kinda knew most of the stories.
The first time we stayed, I woke up in the middle of the night hearing a child cry. When I mentioned it to the staff, they told me there were no children staying there that weekend; and after making fun of ghosts in the dining room, the French doors that were locked open, shut banging on Bill as we were leaving the restaurant. So we had interesting experiences the first time.
Then in November 2005 we were there for a visit and while I was purchasing a book in the gift shop, Bill took this photo of me. He swears that it has not been photoshopped. Notice the eye underneath my hand, and the orange glow just above my hands. The tall black thing on the counter is a lens for my camera.
After visiting the hotel lounge, around 10 p.m. we took our cameras and went ghost hunting. It's hard to tell if we get any good pictures until we get home and get them up on our computer. Bill looked at his first and found these green dots in several images (this one is of me and the boys walking down the hall); they are near the bottom of the picture on the left-hand side of the hallway. (All the "anomolies" were only in this one hallway.) He uses a Canon 10D.
So, as you can imagine, he was pretty excited to get these anomolies. Then he set about to take pictures that were "set up" - the boys walking during a long exposure to get a ghostly effect.
After we looked at his pictures, we looked at mine. I didn't see anything in my pictures until I came to the same hallway. This is what I captured:
The very same anomolies captured with two different cameras - mine is a Canon 20D. And I can swear that these are not photoshopped in any way whatsoever other than reducing image size.
I got the same anomolies in a picture of the front of the hotel later on that night, they are under the two middle windows on the bottom:
Maybe somebody can explain it.
Oh, then in the middle of the night Bill did encounter a "ghost." He got up to go to the bathroom and since there was streetlight coming into the bathroom he didn't turn on the light. As he was leaving the bathroom, he was shocked to see an image standing in front of him; so much so that he "cried" out! Then he couldn't figure out how to get out of the room. Turns out it was a full-length mirror on the door. It's funny how even though we like to say we don't believe in stuff, when we're in a situation where we "might" encounter something, our emotional being takes over our intellect.
The next day we took the boys on the different trolleys that run through the town and ate at a local restaurant. I would advise that you read your receipts really good. The menu said that a gratuity would be added for parties of five people or more; There were only four of us. Our bill was $74. We didn't feel the service was all that great so we only left an $8 tip. When I got home and was adding the receipt to my checkbook, I found that they'd already charged a $10.75 tip, so in reality we paid over $18 tip for service we really didn't care for - plus the food wasn't all that good either.
We visited the Passion Play site where William laughed at himself falling on his Heelys and hurting himself while he was looking at the "big Jesus."
We went to Thorncrown Chapel which is an awesome place - a chapel built in the woods. All the construction is of steel and glass. There are 425 windows and over 6,000 square feet of glass in the chapel. I would love to go to a service there. We first saw it when we were on our honeymoon, but it was closed. This is the first time in all our trips that the chapel was open and it was definitely worth the wait!
Then to top our trip off, as we were checking out, the staff offered us a kitten that was born there at the hotel. As much as I wanted a Crescent Hotel kitten, we said no. We left and the boys kept pestering their Dad until he finally relented and we turned around, went back and got "Casper" the kitten. We're not sure whether Casper is a boy or a girl, but he/she has two brothers now, Sparky - the dog, and Speedy the cat.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip that did not last anywhere long enough.
Monday, August 27, 2007
camera
Okay, I just read through my blogs and the last one (which is really the first one) said something about mailing my camera in.
Explanation:
When Bill bought my 20D for me, he also purchased a warranty agreement which supposedly covered camera cleaning. It’d been a year and I figured the camera needed cleaning, besides it had these funny spots on my pictures. Now I’d never owned a digital camera before and I didn’t know about "dust spots" on the sensor, so I sent the camera in for a cleaning.
Being that it was a fairly expensive camera, I also purchased insurance for the box as it was being mailed. So, I enclosed the $10 repair plus insurance which was about $20-$30 (really expensive, I thought). I get to the post office and mail everything off feeling very proud of myself that I had packaged it so well.
I get home and do some stuff around the house and decide to go check my e-mail at the computer in the kitchen. The desk is a little cluttered what with the mailing supplies, etc., so I’m cleaning my desk off, putting stuff away. I put the tape in the tape drawer, the pens and pencils away. Move the pictures to where they’re not taking up a lot of space, place the phone back on the phone stand and put the coffee cup in the dishwasher. Move the camera to the camera bag and put it away.
I’m reading my e-mail and all of a sudden it hits me! Move the camera to the camera bag???!!!!???
What DID I mail in that big stuffed box? Well, the check, the copies of the warranty info, the papers I printed from the internet site that gave me my claim number! But no camera!
I had to make another trip to the post office and mail the camera in again, purchasing insurance again!
Don’t you just love it!
Monday, February 01, 2010
Waubonsee Community College -- News & Events
http://www.waubonsee.edu/news_topic_summary.php?Ne...
Waubonsee Community College -- News & Events
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He stole our medical premiums which left us with thousands of dollarsof medical bills, didn't pay for the last several weeks of work before they closed their doors! I hope Waubonsee Community College watches their safe - otherwise there'll be a lot of students who paid tuition, but won't get their education because he stole it!
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Renewing my driver's license
In Missouri we renew our driver's license shortly before or on our birthdays. The new law requires that one has to show their birth certificate before the license can be renewed.
I'd planned to renew right on my birthday in my hometown, but my husband decided to take me out to a nearby city that day. In the middle of our outing, I realized that this was the last day to renew my license, so we decided to go to the license bureau. Right as I stepped into the office I realized that I needed my birth certificate. Rather than drive 30 miles home to retrieve my birth certificate, I decided to just go to the Health Department to get another one.
My trip to the Health Department actually was humorous when I realized that the only ID I needed to get my birth certificate was my driver's license.
So get this - the License Bureau would not accept my current driver's license - I needed my birth certificate. The only ID I needed to get my birth certificate was my current driver's license! Go figure!
I'd planned to renew right on my birthday in my hometown, but my husband decided to take me out to a nearby city that day. In the middle of our outing, I realized that this was the last day to renew my license, so we decided to go to the license bureau. Right as I stepped into the office I realized that I needed my birth certificate. Rather than drive 30 miles home to retrieve my birth certificate, I decided to just go to the Health Department to get another one.
My trip to the Health Department actually was humorous when I realized that the only ID I needed to get my birth certificate was my driver's license.
So get this - the License Bureau would not accept my current driver's license - I needed my birth certificate. The only ID I needed to get my birth certificate was my current driver's license! Go figure!
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