Wednesday I will head south to lend moral support when little B. has tests done on her kidneys early the next day. I've had the same tests she's having - but I was about 22 times older than she is when I had them done. They aren't painful, but I can't imagine how they'll keep her still while they do them. One involves dye, and that's the one that has her mommy (my DD) worried. We will all be very relieved when the tests are over!
Brings back a lot of memories thinking about those tests. Ugh.
The dr. thinks it will turn out to be a fairly common condition that young children have (I can't think of the name of it to save me... but anyway it's something that does have a non-surgical cure.)
Tomorrow I'll go to the library & get a couple of books on tape to listen to while I'm driving. They make the trip go SO much faster!! I actually meant to get them today but I forgot. :-/ Ooops!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
"Expressions" toothpaste
Have you tried any of the new "Expressions" toothpaste flavors from Crest? We have the "Lemon Ice" and it is just disgusting! Been using it for a couple of weeks now & my teeth just don't feel clean to me... it's kind of like brushing your teeth with one of those tubes of colored gel that are used to decorate cakes!
So... if you'd like half a tube of Lemon Ice Expressions, just let me know! ;-) I want to go back to the old-fashioned but refreshing minty stuff!!
So... if you'd like half a tube of Lemon Ice Expressions, just let me know! ;-) I want to go back to the old-fashioned but refreshing minty stuff!!
"Big Love" on HBO
We started getting HBO about a month ago (free 3 month special deal) & I've gotten hooked on their series "Big Love". It's about some families who are polygamists in the modern day. It's not "Six Feet Under" but it is very good!
Only thing is... we weren't planning nto keep HBO after the free months end because they just keep showing the same movies over & over... BUT now that I've discovered this show... hmmm..
Only thing is... we weren't planning nto keep HBO after the free months end because they just keep showing the same movies over & over... BUT now that I've discovered this show... hmmm..
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Wasting time?
If the internet and television were to vanish tonight, I wonder how much more productive we would all be? Also, have to wonder if the divorce rate might go down since people would communicate more with their spouses. Hmm...
On the other hand, I've made some great friends though the internet, and tv can be educational, so...
On the other hand, I've made some great friends though the internet, and tv can be educational, so...
Friday, September 7, 2007
Here's some money, make 3 wishes!
If you could have 3 MATERIAL wishes right now, this very minute , what would they be? (Abstract items, such as "Peace on Earth" or Good Health for my Family" cannot be included in this list. We may do one of those another time.
THIS list is totally concrete items... price is no object, and they must be FOR YOURSELF. C'mon, be selfish, we want to hear it!
My list:
1. A helicopter so I could visit my family quickly & easily whenever I want to without having to worry about whether there's an airport nearby.
2. Money to pay off all of my credit cards. I did this just before I got married, but sadly they no longer have a balance of -0-. I HATE credit card debt... it is so stupid and difficult to get rid of because of that crazy interest that keeps piling up.
3. A beach house on Pawley's Island with lots of room for friends & family. (Yes, I know that is awfully far away, but do remember I have that helicopter from item # 1.)
Ok, now I told you mine, you tell me yours! :-)
THIS list is totally concrete items... price is no object, and they must be FOR YOURSELF. C'mon, be selfish, we want to hear it!
My list:
1. A helicopter so I could visit my family quickly & easily whenever I want to without having to worry about whether there's an airport nearby.
2. Money to pay off all of my credit cards. I did this just before I got married, but sadly they no longer have a balance of -0-. I HATE credit card debt... it is so stupid and difficult to get rid of because of that crazy interest that keeps piling up.
3. A beach house on Pawley's Island with lots of room for friends & family. (Yes, I know that is awfully far away, but do remember I have that helicopter from item # 1.)
Ok, now I told you mine, you tell me yours! :-)
Thursday, September 6, 2007
I've Seen Fire and I've Seen Rain...
While slipping on shoes to go to work, a random thought: these will be the shoes I'll be wearing today if somebody rams my car and kills me, or if there's an accident and I have to walk home, or if I must flee a burning building. "What a strange thing to think" says the logical side of my brain.
"Well, it's the truth" mutters the emotional side, which seems to have wrestled the logical side to the ground this morning, immobilizing it with a choke hold. We are all so vulnerable, both young and old. How do we stand it?
Watching the aftermath of the explosion in Oklahoma years ago, trying to explain the unexplainable to 28 children as images go across the screen of bloody, burnt babies being tenderly carried by firemen. It was on day after day on "channel 1" a 14 minute news show that we were required to have our class watch each morning. It was the school's way of repaying Channel 1 for supplying us with a tv for every room. It was in the contract.
After a couple of days, I could no longer bear beginning every day by subjecting children to constant reminders that their world is not a safe place, that they could die at any minute at the hands of some crazy person who got the instructions for building a bomb off the internet. I did not turn on Channel 1 news.
Some kids fret "won't we get in trouble for not watching it? What if they come take the tv away? Others are visibly relieved at not having it all pushed in their faces at 7:30am. Whispers are heard in the hall "their class doesn't have to watch channel 1". No channel 1 troops storm the school, tvs are not confiscated. Time marches on and the lucky ones forget, but most of us sport souls that, if studied carefully, still exhibit scars from the horror of it all.
Then comes 9/11 and buildings crash down again, this time after planes crash into them on purpose. I was so glad not to be in a classroom that day. A 2-year old says "Please, granny, sit by my bed while I sleep so the planes won't crash into our house." TWO YEARS OLD and she's worrying about this??? It is just so wrong.
As the anniversary of the tragedy is coming near, I'm torn with conflicting emotions. One is excitement because I'll be surrounded by loved ones soon as we celebrate my birthday. The other is despair for the families who lost their loved ones the day after my birthday. Their lives were forever changed, as were the lives of most of us.
We lost our innocence, our assumption that living in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, would keep us safe. Sounds trite because it has been said so many times before, but it is true.
"Oh, let's all wear red on Fridays! Let's all fly the flag on the 11th! Drive with your headlights on during the day to show you remember 9/11" These are the forwards that are swooping into my mailbox like mosquitoes to the tender skin of a baby. Sure, we can do all that, and will do all that, but it won't bring those people back.
"Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain, I've seen sunny days when I could not find a friend... but I always thought I'd see you baby, one more time again..." The voice of James Taylor singing this song in N.Y. at the concert in the park to honor the victims of 9/11 will always echo in my mind.
It had only been a few days since it happened... people were afraid to gather in large groups because who knew if another madman would come attack, but these souls gathered anyway. All around the country we joined them in honoring the survivors and remembering those who perished. James (yes, I can call him that, he has been part of my life for decades) sang and I sobbed, fetal position in the recliner with a quilt pulled up to my nose. DH looked slightly puzzled.
I think some of us feel things more deeply than others. We are more aware that we never know when we could lose the ones we love, or could be lost ourselves. Does this mean we are anxious? depressed? overly emotional? "Just shake it off" we may be told. "It wasn't even anybody you knew."
Well, no, but it could've been. my son. my daughter. my granddaughters. my sister. the list goes on... those people in Oklahoma... in New York city... had no idea, when they left home, that they would not be coming back.
Sometimes it's almost too much to bear.
"Well, it's the truth" mutters the emotional side, which seems to have wrestled the logical side to the ground this morning, immobilizing it with a choke hold. We are all so vulnerable, both young and old. How do we stand it?
Watching the aftermath of the explosion in Oklahoma years ago, trying to explain the unexplainable to 28 children as images go across the screen of bloody, burnt babies being tenderly carried by firemen. It was on day after day on "channel 1" a 14 minute news show that we were required to have our class watch each morning. It was the school's way of repaying Channel 1 for supplying us with a tv for every room. It was in the contract.
After a couple of days, I could no longer bear beginning every day by subjecting children to constant reminders that their world is not a safe place, that they could die at any minute at the hands of some crazy person who got the instructions for building a bomb off the internet. I did not turn on Channel 1 news.
Some kids fret "won't we get in trouble for not watching it? What if they come take the tv away? Others are visibly relieved at not having it all pushed in their faces at 7:30am. Whispers are heard in the hall "their class doesn't have to watch channel 1". No channel 1 troops storm the school, tvs are not confiscated. Time marches on and the lucky ones forget, but most of us sport souls that, if studied carefully, still exhibit scars from the horror of it all.
Then comes 9/11 and buildings crash down again, this time after planes crash into them on purpose. I was so glad not to be in a classroom that day. A 2-year old says "Please, granny, sit by my bed while I sleep so the planes won't crash into our house." TWO YEARS OLD and she's worrying about this??? It is just so wrong.
As the anniversary of the tragedy is coming near, I'm torn with conflicting emotions. One is excitement because I'll be surrounded by loved ones soon as we celebrate my birthday. The other is despair for the families who lost their loved ones the day after my birthday. Their lives were forever changed, as were the lives of most of us.
We lost our innocence, our assumption that living in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, would keep us safe. Sounds trite because it has been said so many times before, but it is true.
"Oh, let's all wear red on Fridays! Let's all fly the flag on the 11th! Drive with your headlights on during the day to show you remember 9/11" These are the forwards that are swooping into my mailbox like mosquitoes to the tender skin of a baby. Sure, we can do all that, and will do all that, but it won't bring those people back.
"Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain, I've seen sunny days when I could not find a friend... but I always thought I'd see you baby, one more time again..." The voice of James Taylor singing this song in N.Y. at the concert in the park to honor the victims of 9/11 will always echo in my mind.
It had only been a few days since it happened... people were afraid to gather in large groups because who knew if another madman would come attack, but these souls gathered anyway. All around the country we joined them in honoring the survivors and remembering those who perished. James (yes, I can call him that, he has been part of my life for decades) sang and I sobbed, fetal position in the recliner with a quilt pulled up to my nose. DH looked slightly puzzled.
I think some of us feel things more deeply than others. We are more aware that we never know when we could lose the ones we love, or could be lost ourselves. Does this mean we are anxious? depressed? overly emotional? "Just shake it off" we may be told. "It wasn't even anybody you knew."
Well, no, but it could've been. my son. my daughter. my granddaughters. my sister. the list goes on... those people in Oklahoma... in New York city... had no idea, when they left home, that they would not be coming back.
Sometimes it's almost too much to bear.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Front line or support staff?
A funny thing happened today at work. I was sending in a change of information sheet for an employee who has direct deposit & has switched banks. I typed up a quick cover letter to go with it, complete with blank for signature and title written below the name... and the name was mine.
In my current position I rarely send out letters in my own name. (E-mails, sure, and plenty of them, but letters... no.) So, it was the first time in a l-o-n-g time that I'd "officially" signed a business letter. The thing is, it felt right. Like I was back in a position of authority. It felt good.
Seven years ago I left my career field willingly, happily, with a sense of relief after having so much responsibility for so many years. (Not just responsibility for paperwork - but for people's lives, success, self-esteem, important things like that.)
Today the simple act of signing a letter made me realize that maybe, just maybe, I am ready to make a change* ... but then again, maybe I'm just ready to write my name a lot. :-)
* Having written this, I'm feeling panicky because I said I'm ready for a change... guess I must be thinking that the Blog Police will come running in and force me to change positions whether I want to or not! (job positions, that is -- not my current "position" which is in the recliner with the laptop balanced precariously atop one leg.)
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