Look out! Here comes tomorrow.

Sunday afternoons are when I like to sit down and look at my week ahead. I enjoy being with family and/or friends on Sunday afternoons, but I also just enjoy putting Superbaby down to nap and finding something for Lovely K and Big E to do so that I can sit down with the calender and a blank menu and my lesson planner and put the next few days down on paper.
This week is going to be busy.
What's up with the busy schedule lately?
I am one who goes out of my way to keep my family from running around all the time. I like a slower pace to life. I like simplicity. And our schedule is probably NOTHING compared to those who thrive on constant activity.
But it looks like a busy week ahead to me.

Are you very organized?

No one who knows me well would think that I am
one of those really organized people.
That is so not me.
I am naturally sporadic and forgetful and impulsive. I have a genetic clutter disorder inherited from both sides of the family (everything is genetic nowadays, right?). Neither one of my grandmothers ever threw anything away. Ever. I am battling this disease.
(everything is a disease too, isn't it?)
I have had to become somewhat organized just to keep things running somewhat smoothly with our family and our home. Whenever someone comments that they think I am organized, my first instinct is that they are being sarcastic. If I ever give off that organized vibe, well, good for me. I work at it, but it is soooo against my nature. And I am so far from being organized. I have tried different approaches. To tell the truth, sticking to any plan at all has been successful. I think just having a plan is a big part of it. But since Christmas, it seems like we have been living willy-nilly. I have felt like I was off track and didn't know what track I wanted to get back on.
So I've been laying in the ditch on the side of the road.
The hobos and coyotes keep me company.
Please don't throw any trash out on me
when you zoom by in your silver bullet
of organization and efficiency.

At our old house when there were just two children, there was a period of time when I felt like I was on top of things. I guess my life was easier then. I had only one student and she would have been just in kindergarten. I was exercising more than I ever had in my life so I felt good. I had a much smaller house so keeping up with it was not as overwhelming as it seems now. I keep wanting to get back into a good pattern like that. But that was before we had anything like ball practices and ball games and piano lessons or even our home school co-op. I don't know if I'll ever feel "on top of things" as I did then.

I was talking to this 83 year old man at church today; he was asking me how my blood pressure issues were. He said something amusing to me. "Bell," he said, "I'll tell you when your blood pressure will go down: when your kids move out of the house."
I love old men.

I have Lloyd Dobbler's parents here with me this whole week. Lloyd Dobbler will be out of town for three days. I was going to go with him, but then changed my mind. That's a good thing now that I have doctor's appointments and a bunch of other stuff to take care of. It would have put me behind to have gone with him.

Oh my goodness, it is COLD here today.

After the warmth we have been enjoying, this revisiting the Artic seems so harsh. I have a nice large cup of hot tea waiting beside my open calander and lesson planner.
I should go join them.

The Rainy Day

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

The vine still clings to themoldering wall,

But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

My thoughts still cling to the moldering past,

But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast

And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! And cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is thecommon fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

Prelude

It's Thursday night as I am writing this.
I watched the oil rigger guy get the boot from American Idol.
Do you guys watch American Idol?

I always feel like Thursday night is standing on the edge of the weekend looking it over. Fridays are usually very full and busy for me, very much like a blur. I enjoy Fridays, but I don't count on Friday as a day to get much done.
Friday is a pleasant, yet undependable friend to me.

I changed the music back from all the farewell, break-up, goodbye songs. Are you enjoying it? Hope I didn't send you into some kind of depression with all of that other music, the farewell tribute. This new selection is actually an old one that is probably no longer recognizable. I think Claire de Lune is on there still for those of you who loved it, but don't just skip down to hear that. Listen to the whole set. Remember each song is carefully selected. I love music and take it seriously. I want to share it with you. I want you to enjoy it. It should enrich your ordinary days.
But if you really hate a song, you can skip over it.

Whenever someone asks that question "which would you rather be, blind or deaf?" I always answer blind with little or no contemplation. I love music. I would rather have the memory of sight and still have music than to see everything and have the memory of sounds. Or at least that's what I think. I'd rather have neither situation thrust upon me. I'm very thankful for my faculties and my good health. I try to be a good steward of what God has given me.


Do you ever just look at one of your children and realize they are growing up? I feel like I have done that quite a bit lately with my older son, Big E. He is leaving that little boy stage. I often look at my boys and find it amazing that these babies of mine are on their way to becoming men. Big E is such a sweetheart. He's gentle and thoughtful but has a mile-wide stubborn streak. And he's becoming a good athlete.
I am so blessed with the wonderful gifts
of the three children God has given me.

I'm just so blessed all the way around.
So very blessed.
What do I ever have to complain about?

Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain

It is so quiet here this morning that the sound of my fingers on the keyboard seems like it might wake up the sleeping beauties down the hall. I hope not. Those children need some extra sleep.
And what a day to sleep in.
It seems almost dark still at 6:30am because it is rainy and gray. Normally a day like this would have me reluctant to crawl out from under the covers, but my eyes popped open a while ago and I just had to get up. I mentioned that we were taking spring break this week. I am so glad we did.
When would I have had time to do school this week?
I feel like I have just been going from one thing to another this entire week. Yesterday was an enjoyable day though. It was like an escape from a lot of craziness that has been going on. My mother and I and my three babes went to College Town and did a little shopping. I had not done that in a long time. While we were doing this, my husband and our lawyer were playing a real life version of "To Tell The Truth" in front of a judge here in a local court. I am happy to say that truth prevailed and in ten days, if those little stinkers have not stirred up more troubled, this matter will be behind us.

I had a glimpse into the life of a friend of mine on Facebook this morning. This was a girl I grew up with, a classic red-head with milky white skin. She and her husband and her two baby boys are missionaries in the Sudan. At this very moment she is there. I keep thinking about that, thinking about her. I watched a brief video of her sitting in this hut with all these Sudanese people listening to a man singing. Her pale complexion, and that of her baby, stood out more than ever in comparison to those around her with skin and eyes of ebony. I watched that video in amazement. I am sitting here even now wondering what her life is like, how it must be to be mothering a baby and a toddler in a place so different from the world she grew up in. Most missionaries I am involved with today go to cities that, though very foreign to me, don't seem quite so different from the world in which I live when you look closely. But I could not identify with her world at all. It might as well have been another planet. How frightened most of us would be to go to such a place. I always think of what Elisabeth Elliott said one time, that the most dangerous place on earth is the safest place of all for you to be if that is where God wants you. And of course David told us in the Psalms that though thousands are falling all around him, with God's protection, nothing can touch him. No matter where we are, God is in control of all things. Only what He allows can happen to us. He is sovereign. Take comfort in that. Our trust should be in the great God of the universe....not in our American citizenship or our right to bear arms.


Have you thought about George W. Bush lately?
Have you wondered what his days are like now?
I find myself thinking about him from time to time. I wonder if he feels like the weight of the world has been lifted from his shoulders. I wonder if he carries that weight still. I wonder if all the horrible, disrespectful, vicious attacks he has undergone have taken chunks out of him. I wonder if he and Laura just holed up somewhere for days and slept and chilled out and just decompressed a bit. The men who have served as our presidents age so much while they are in office. He faced more than any modern president has face and it took a visible toll on him. I have not always been a fan of his every decision, but I like Mr. Bush. I hope that he is nothing like the evil villain some would have us believe he is underneath it all.

Let's see....I've talked about the weather,
the Sudan, and a former President...
...I think my work here is done.

Catch you later, dear reader.
May you enjoy the beauty of the rain today
and not feel surrounded by storms.

All By Myself

Do you like to be alone?

There are two different types of personalities when it comes to how a person refreshes themselves or recharges their batteries---I read this once, don't remember where. The extrovert types refresh themselves by being with other people. The introvert types refresh themselves by being alone. I would have to definitely put myself in the introvert category when looking at that criteria. But if I am completely alone for a long time, then I need to be with people. So maybe I am a little of both. Isn't that usually the case? It's hard to pigeon hole complicated creatures like you and I.

Which of those two categories would you fall into?

Today I got to be alone for a bit and I just loved it.

LOVED it.

Last week I got some unclaimed time to myself
(thanks to a lovely friend of mine)
and I spent that time with my friend who is leaving

(and her departure
is the theme of all the
new music over there,
--is it depressing you?).

Today I had to leave the kids behind because of a doctor's visit. There was supposed to be two doctor's visits but the second one fell through (the doctor called in sick!) so I had extra time that was unaccounted for. I drove around alone. I ate lunch alone in the van. I ran quickly in and out of the shoe store because I was alone. I went to the grocery store alone. I went to the drug store alone. It was so lovely. And it really does refresh me to have time ALONE.

Do you know what I want to do?
When my kids are grown, I want to be mindful of the craziness of the season of life young mothers are in.
I want to make myself available to them and help them.
I have had some women do that for me and it is just like being handed a pot of gold.

I read something else
---and I do remember where I read this:
I read it on my bottle of water today. I love for companies to post little tid bits of information on their products. I LOVE THIS. Like the brand of shampoo that has a little trivia-like question on it and the answer is somewhere else on the bottle or the boxes of tea that have lovely little paragraphs on them to feed your brain. Today on my bottle of water it was talking about ways to cut out sugar. Rather than just saying "drink fewer sodas" like I've heard a million times, it shared this little nugget of information: a 12 ounce can of soda has the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar in it. Ten! Oh my. That is going to stick with me. Makes me feel better about my sweet tea drinking. And now every time I start to drink a coke, I am going to think about that. Ten teaspoons of sugar.


I hope you are having a lovely day, dear reader.
Thanks for checking in on my ordinary days.
I like to share them with you.

Pistol Packin' Mama

When I was a kid, my grandfather was already bedridden. In his room he had an eight track player (it was the 70's, okay---there was also a CB radio in there at one point, good buddy, over and out). He had this recording he used to play for me of old country and western songs. There were some real jewels on there too: Ghost Riders in the Sky, Dear John, and of course It Was Not God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels. Oh my. One of the songs on there that I learned very well, knew all of the lyrics, was Pistol Packin' Mama:

Lay that pistol down, babe.
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' Mama,
Lay that pistol down.

Sunday afternoon Lloyd Dobbler and I went to a shooting range for a brief time. I was living out that song. I got to shoot the gun for the first time and I am glad. Before that, my only gun experience was when I was about 14 babysitting a 6 year old boy and he showed me how to shoot his b.b. gun. Does that even count as experience? I sure wasn't going to bring it up to the guys there at the range. This one dude was some kind of international mercenary or something, talking about when he got shot in Angola and how boot camps in the U.S. are so much easier and more plush than those in other countries. He didn't look like the type of person to get squeamish over cutting up a chicken, if you know what I mean. If I'd said "once I shot a b.b. gun!" he would have used one of the lines Curly says to Billy Crystal in City Slickers.

That wasn't the line I was hoping to find. It ends in
"bigger than you"
if you know the movie.
But it's not a very lady like thing to say.
Let's not talk like a bunch of
cattle rustlers here on the pristine pages
of Bell's Ordinary Days.

I think I did okay for a complete novice. I can see how people really get into that. I like competitive things like that (individual as opposed to team effort). I'm just such a silly, absent-minded person. I don't know if I'm the type who should ever be in possession of a gun. But I do need to get comfortable and capable with all of that. That's just a wise skill to possess.

Okay, so me and my fluctuating blood pressure are going to make the announcement in a minute to the babes that we are, after all, going to take a week of for a sort of spring break this week. I've never done this, taken off a whole week (except of course at Christmas, but that's not in the spring, is it?) because I'd much rather have the freedom to take off days here and there as the need arises.

But the more I look at this week,
the more I realize that it seems almost necessary to take a break.
I'm supposed to be "laying low"
and "taking it easy" right now.
My house has gone downhill so very fast in the last two weeks since all of this began. It's bad. I've got to go to the doctor tomorrow and he's already threatening to send me on to some other doctor. I've got to go to the chiropractor in the tiny town and hour away. Wednesday is already committed to the legal system. I was supposed to have already gone to buy some spring attire for my children who are wearing tattered jeans and shoes that are almost too small. Ball practice has started and there's piano practice and Lloyd Dobbler has started Big E in Scouts.

I've got to get ready for the State's Fair
since we are 100% not ready---
the kids don't even know yet
that I just ditched the state of Alabama
and have moved us on to display our affection for
the District of Columbia.
So we'll probably be making
a paper mache version
of the Washington Monument at some point.
What food do you associate with D.C.?
I've got to have a food sample to give away.
Is there a food, candy, drink, or
anything edible
associated with D.C.?

My in-laws are coming in on Friday
and staying for a week or more.
There are many things I need to
"take care of"
before they are here to help.
I've got a lot to do without school.
If I try to do school on top of all of this,
there will not be any low blood pressure readings,
with or without a little pill.
So as Head Mistress of this school,
I am calling for an impromptu week of Spring Break.
Let the games begin!

Also....this is the week of sadness
as my good friend is leaving.
Thursday they will
drive away
from Tennessee.
I'm so sad about this.
I wish it wasn't happening. But it is.
And while I know they are doing
what they feel
God has led them to do,
I am going to miss this friend very much.

Sigh.

Do you know what I haven't been devoting much time to lately?
And this could be
the entire source
of all my woes----
I have not been making sure
that I'm getting the right amount
of chocolate in my life.
I don't know when I last talked about chocolate on here.
Chocolate holds that whole food pyramid together;
it's the goo that keeps the bricks
of healthy food
from sliding out of pyramid form.
No wonder I've been feeling lousy!
I must go remedy this right now.

Don't Copy Cat

by Mark Twain

Don't, like the cat, try to get more out

of an experience than there is in it.

The cat, having sat upon a hot stove lid,

Will not sit upon a hot stove lid again.

Nor upon a cold stove lid.

O What A Night

It's three in the afternoon and I am in my jammies.
At least I'm very cute about it.

Last night I got to pay a visit to the local ER. I heard ER was ending and that George Clooney was going to make surprise appearances, so I thought I'd give it a shot. There was no George Clooney. And for the record, let me just say that the doctors I have encountered in emergency rooms never have enough personality to get a role as an extra in a Verizon Wireless commercial. I will also say that the nurse I had last night was the best male nurse I have ever seen in my life. He seemed very intelligent and capable and not at all gay.

So, it was the blood pressure thing again. I got these crazily high readings (for me, they are crazily high. I guess if you have high readings all the time, they might be your norm, but they are not my norm and I feel lousy when I'm getting those). We debated about what to do and finally Lloyd Dobbler just called our wonderful M.D. (who we love) and he thought we should go looking for George Clooney.

One thing they did was give me some blood pressure medicine to bring the numbers down and that made me feel so much better. I hate medication and avoid it with a passion, but if it's going to take being on something like that for a while to keep me from being messed up, I will probably do it. I have just felt so bad lately. So tired and kind of weak. I'm getting behind on everything. You should see my house right now. Oh my. But as soon as that pill had time to get inside of me and run a lap or two through my veins, I was feeling much more normal. And that's kind of what I've been missing these last two weeks----normalcy.

Friday had been such a nice day. I had returned to our homeschooling co-op after missing two weeks in a row. It was so nice just to see everyone. I brought home my friend's daughter to spend the night with us. Took the kids to McDonald's for lunch. I remember sitting there watching them playing and just thinking how glad I was to feel okay and not be stressed. I guess I saved it all up for the evening or something. But after lunch we went to the grocery store. This "spare child" I had with me just fits beautifully in with my kids. It was like I had my fourth child and she is not a bit of trouble. And she looks like my boys.

When we went to check out, the kids were all laughing and having a big time when I started putting the groceries up on the checkout stand. The cashier asked if these were all my children. I told her three of them were and asked if she could tell which one was not my child. She immediately guessed Lovely K (and that's probably the obvious guess since the other three were blond and blue eyed). Their second guess was Superbaby, but you know he's mine for sure. So finally on the third guess, when it was down to two children, they picked out the non-Bell child.

We aren't going to the farewell shin-dig for my moving away friends this afternoon. My kids are still gone (my mother came and got them sometime when I was asleep or gone or something) and like I said, I'm still in jammies. I hate to miss that, but I don't want to go and sit in the corner like a dishrag when the point would be celebrating these lovely people and letting them know how much we will miss them. I'm also not a big fan of goodbyes. Just yesterday, the pal and I slipped away from the home school co-op during our free period and went to the home of the Whopper. We got to talking about the fact that they are moving and there were tears. I just am not a big public weeper. And I hate to see these friends go.

How do you like the new music over there? I assure you that the songs are carefully selected by your original Bell here. I am enjoying the Frim Fram Sauce myself (Is there such a thing?) and the crazy Louis Prima's Angelina. I wish I had a better version of Sheep May Safely Graze for you---but I use what is there. I just think that is such a cool thing to be able to use anyway. I love my music.

And it's officially spring now, dear reader. I was going to do something about that yesterday, but other things got in my way. I do have plans for sharing some poetry that I have loved through the years with you. And then I thought maybe we could go around the room and tell each other what Tupperware products we already own. And then I am going to give each of you one roll of toilet paper with which you are to design a wedding gown.

Isn't this fun?!?

Optimism.

The glass is half full.

The best is yet to come.

These are the good ole' days.

A friend of mine is dying.

I'm talking about a long, drawn-out,

ugly, horrible thing.

But that lady has

the most beautiful smile

and she is rarely without it.

She is full of

tangible hope and joy.

"Peace that passes understanding."

Another friend of mine is moving

far away

and I suddenly find myself

thankful

for technologies that I have always

cursed more than blessed.

Let me say

I LOVE YOU

to the Internet

and Facebook

and all the blogs

in the world.

They are bridges.

Our friendship is not ending;

it's just taking on a different form

(having said that,

I have to say that

I am REALLY
going to miss
going to the movies

with her and covering my entire chest

with pop corn

and laughing like I am in Jr. High again

and us showing up

on each other's doorsteps

with Starbucks frappacinnos).

I prayed for a friend in a time

when I was feeling

very lonely

and God blessed me with this friend.

God picks out the best friends for me!

There's this big,

complicated legal and financial thing

looming

on my immediate horizon.

It's been in the distant future

for some time and now that future is

next week.

While it could be a big stinking pile of stinkiness,

depending on how it turns out,

I'm also just so glad to be getting to it.

I'll just be so glad when it is done.

I want to move on,

get past it,

to know where we stand.

The just shall live by faith.

Hope springs eternal.

Look on the bright side of life.

This world is not our home.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Praise Him,
all creatures here below.

Praise Him above,
ye heavenly host:

Praise Father,
Son and Holy Ghost.

....And if you love somebody
tell them.
Love's a better roadmap
for trucking down the years
than Rand McNally ever made...

from "Atlas" by Rod McKuen

I love Ethel!!!

I have often felt like Lucy (as in "I Love Lucy")
when I have found myself in various crazy,
embarrassing or awkward situations.
The frequency of these events
seems to have lessened in recent years.
I am so grateful for this.

There is a blog I have read off and on for some time
by a completely lovely woman who has
great taste and immense skill at making the world
around her a more beautiful place.
She amazes me with all she does.
This week she amazed me
by making me feel like I could totally relate to her.
She tell a story here that could have easily been
me and any one of my friends.
(Only I don't work at a bank
or wear stiletto heels on a regular basis.)


Can you identify with this?
Do you ever find yourself at the end of a conveyor belt
shoveling chocolates into your mouth
to keep up with production?

And isn't it great to have Ethel by your side?
I love all my Ethels.

Do you hear that Ethel?

Magically Delicious!

I hope your Irish eyes are smiling today!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

And don't start scowling at me and telling me you're not Catholic or something. I don't care. You don't have to be Irish or Catholic or anything to enjoy this day. Put on a green shirt and just be happy, for crying out loud. Take what you want from the holiday and leave the rest. You don't see me with a green beer in my hand, do you?

Don't rain on my parade.

I must have the luck of the Irish today---or else one fabulous friend (and that's what is true)---for I am getting to go out today while my lovely friend comes over and does school with the kids and holds down the fort. I have been so excited about this. And it's turning out to be a real blessing all the way around because I am getting another chance to be with my dear friend who is moving away (next week!?!?! Oh no! That's so soon!). In the next tiny town over, an Irish coffee shop has its grand opening today and we are going there during my sweet escape. I'm so excited about that. So a big fat thanks to my good luck charm, my sweet friend who is coming over this morning!

In case you've been on pins and needles, my blood pressure is not back down to normal but it hasn't been that 160/100 that caused raised eyebrows from my doctor. I'm not having the high blood pressure headaches constantly. I'm trying to pay attention to what is going on in my life. I'll just tell you there is an impending date on our calender this month and once that matter is taken care of, I hope that one lingering stress in my life will be resolved. Hopefully for the benefit of my family.

Maybe that's been what has stressed me out and I didn't realize it.

And now, in other news:
A girl I went to school with is expecting her first baby. She recently found out the baby is a girl. She always said she wanted to name her first child after her best friend, Spring. She also said during this pregnancy that if the baby was a girl, she would name it after her grandmother Iris. So there was a chance that baby could be named Iris Spring. What do you think of that name? I'm sure that is one baby who would be fresh and clean as a whistle!

Picture This

Here's a great visual to help us understand
how much money our
government is tossing around.



Can somebody please stop the bus and let me off?

Have I learned that in whatever state I am in, therewith to be content?

This year my off spring and I are participating in The States Fair at our home school co-op. This is where a family or a student selects one of the fifty states and we have a "fair" to show the displays we all make about our state. All the displays are set up in the gym and you visit each one and there is a trivia game and a parade of characters. It's a great idea. Last year was the first one. My lovely friend Ms. Marathon is in charge of it and she does a great job. Not as good a job as her sister would do, I'm sure, but still, a great job.


So even now as I am reviewing last year's States Fair in my mind and recalling what a great job some of those families did, I am wondering why on earth I signed us up. What was I thinking? My only consolation is that if I do a really stinky job, I picked a great state to make look bad. I picked Alabama. Now if you are sitting in Alabama right now as you read this and you are thinking to yourself "What's wrong with Alabama?!?" The biggest thing wrong with Alabama is that it is not Tennessee. I was talking with someone from Indiana about this just today. In trying to explain it, I pointed out that Alabama is to Tennessee what Kentucky is to Indiana. If you get this, you totally understand. If you don't get this, I don't want to plant these seeds in your mind so just never mind.

I have lived in a total of three states in my life: Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Florida. It is almost unfair to say I lived anywhere but Tennesee. I lived in Pensacola, Florida only the length of one college semester. Couldn't get out of there fast enough. And then I spent about nine months in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. That would have been okay except that we missed our family and friends and we just didn't "get" people from Pennsylvania. Maybe I'm just prejudiced and think that Tennessee is the center of the universe. I was never like the kids in school who couldn't wait to graduate and "get out of here!" Even in my tiny little town, I have been content. I like small town life. I like simplicity and the old fashioned ways of the rural setting (see song #4 over on the juke box there---only that is NOT the best recording of that song, but it's the only one I could find). Living in an apartment in a city is as foreign to me as living on the moon. I wouldn't know how to do it. I don't even want to live "in town" in my tiny town. I live outside the "city limits." And believe me, there is no city to our city limits.

Where have you lived?
Have you called many places home
or are you like me,
with deep roots in a single place?

Yesterday we had a missionary at our church and I was mesmerized with the information he shared. I see the lives of people in other countries and it just makes me understand why the U.S.A. is seen as a country of fat, lazy, selfish people. I feel like Jerry asking George, "What are we doing? What kind of lives are we living here?"
(and the fact that I am referencing Seinfeld just amplifies what I am saying).
But what kind of lives are we living when we are praying for new furniture or a lap top when there are people elsewhere in the world right now being beheaded for admitting that they are Christians? There are people starving to death and we hope to muster up some self control so that we can lose weight. A church in Lebanon was destroyed and the pastor beaten and we complain because our nursery isn't decorated very well or the flooring in the church kitchen is out of date.
I just sat there thinking of how much money we spend on things that are truely frivolous and we don't even see it as that. We think we are struggling and doing without and yet we have so very much. I have a friend whose husband is unemployed and she loves to tell the world how hard a time they are having--and I know they are having a hard time--but she was talking about how she was not willing to give up their cable TV and their "unlimited texting" because some things are just basic necessities.
We don't really know what
necessities are in this country,
do we?
And this missionary talked about people who give sacrificially. Do you know anyone who really gives sacrificially? I don't. I mean, what are we willing to give up for others? And I'm not yelling at you, dear reader. Don't get me wrong. I am looking at my own life. It's so easy to get caught up in the materialism and not even realize it. It's easy for me to look at people with a lot more money and feel better about myself because I am not as wasteful or silly as they are. But why am I comparing myself to them? Why not compare myself to the people in India who went without their basic necessities to see that the visiting missionary, the fat man from America, had adequate food while he was visiting their village?

There was a little verse I learned when I was a kid that just came to mind:

Lord, help me to live from day to day
In such a self forgetful way
That even when I kneel to pray
My prayer shall be for others.

I have just been thinking a lot this weekend about how as Christians we are supposed to be servants, but it seems like we only want to serve ourselves. It's such a rare thing to see someone willing to serve someone else. Yesterday at church someone offered to give of their time to me in a way that just brought tears to my eyes. It was like the most meaningful gesture and it really is a rare thing in this day and age. Why don't we all do more for others? Serve one another in love---that's straight from the instruction manual!

And it was good!

I made Mrs. Popsicle's chicken and it was good.
My kids even had to admit it was good.
I'll be making it again.
Here it is:

Cranberry Almond Chicken

cooking spray
4 boneless,skinless chicken breasts
2 shallots (rinsed)
1 leek (rinsed)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup Panko bread flakes
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

1) Preheat oven to 450F. Coat 2-quart baking dish w/cooking spray. Place chicken in dish: bake 20 minutes. While chicken bakes, chop shallots coarsely, slice bulb and lower leaves of leeks finely (1/2 cup). Place butter in small bowl to soften.

2) Combine in small saucepan, vinegar, syrup, nutmeg, shallots, and leeks: bring to a boil on medium-high.

3) Reduce heat to medium-low, cook 10 minutes or until liquid is thickened and has reduced by about one-half. Stir remaining ingredients into butter until blended.

4) Remove chicken from oven. Pour hot maple sauce evenly over chicken, sprinkle w/cranberry topping. Bake 5-10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165F. Use a meat thermometer to accurately ensure
doneness. Serve

a one-legged man in butt kickin' contest

It's hard to type like this.
Not just with the
missing appendages,
but being all
carved out of stone.

Do you know how hard I had to look for a picture of Venus de Milo that was strictly PG? Do you think that I spelled Venus de Milo correctly the first time I searched for it? Do you ever find these ancient beauties to be so much more ancient than beautiful?

It's Friday!
Yeah---Friday!
End of another week. This week has just evaporated. I have spent it going to appointments and having guests and being on an absolute tare going through my kids clothes and toys. And schooling. We did manage to get all of our school work done this week except for a spelling test that is yet to be done.

So, I went to the doctor yesterday. You probably guessed that I did not actually get anything amputated as I insinuated with the above picture. My doctor didn't even suggest amputation. He listened to my whole long story full of details and he checked out various things. We did an EKG and it was normal. The one thing that baffled him was my blood pressure. Before I had kids, I was so skinny that my blood pressure was this elusive thing. Very few people could even get it to register. It was LOW. And then I gained weight with each pregnancy and now I have blood pressure. It's usually great--like 100/70. When the nurse took it, it was 148/98. My doctor just thought that was odd and after I'd been there a while and, as he said, "had time to relax," he took it again. It was 160/100. So I'm supposed to be monitoring my blood pressure and I'll tell you what, I've already had trouble out of it. No hall pass this morning. Chewing gum. Should I start handing out the demerits? The issues with the arm, we all agree are related to my neck (Dr. A thought it was a disc issue) so I'll be going back to the chiropractor this week to get x-rays done on that and some more work. Whoop-dee-doo.

So there's the medical report.
In other news,
I am making a new recipe tonight.
It came from Mrs. Popsicle and she raved about it. We shall see. It involves chicken, a leek, shallots, and dried cranberries (among other things). So I'll share if it turns out good. If it turns out badly, I'll take pictures of me dumping in out on Mrs. Popsicle's front steps.

By the way, we're not so springy here now. Cold, rainy. Lloyd Dobbler said it snowed on him yesterday in Nashville. Schools are out in TN. Not here though. I just turned on the fireplace downstairs. It's one of those damp days that just sets a chill in the air. We didn't get to go to our lovely home school co-op today because Lovely K is a bit ill. She complained of a headache all day yesterday and then last night she was running a fever. Still a low grade fever today. So we are just laying around. They watched Black Beauty this morning (thank you friend who brought over Black Beauty) and I've been chatting with friends on Facebook. That can just suck hours off your life. Not that I don't enjoy it, but you can't get off there sometimes for people popping up and chatting. I haven't even had a shower yet.
I guess I'd better get busy.



What are you up to today?

Thursday morning

Greetings, people. It's a cold, gray day here and we have the big threat of rain. Other people are complaining, but really---did you think we were heading right into eighty degree weather? Did you think the last icy wind had blown? Are you new here? I'm actually thinking maybe it'll be chilly enough tonight to excuse my lighting up the gas logs again. I so enjoy those. So enjoy a last hurrah (though it might not be the very last) with the cold weather for this season.
What do you want to do one more time? Wear that thick, cozy sweater? Sleep in those flannel jammies again? Drink hot cocoa?

Lloyd Dobbler's aunt and uncle came in yesterday evening and left this morning. They are on their way down to visit my in-laws. They are such a pleasant couple and I enjoy their visits. I always tell them I think they should move here when the uncle retires in 6 years. There's nothing to bring them here (other than us) but I would so enjoy living near them. I made fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, and corn for supper last night. For breakfast we had sausage and biscuits and eggs and the usual breakfast accessories.

I think it was good for me to have all that to do. I haven't been sitting around thinking about myself and my own little body. Fear not---in case you were fearing---for I am going to the doctor this afternoon. Still have the sluggish heart. Seems silly. At least I am in a good frame of mind for going to the doctor. It does seem silly for me, a perfectly healthy woman in the prime of life, to be concerned about my heart. I just keep having these annoying symptoms. And for my buddy chiropractor to want me to go is making me think that it wouldn't hurt anything. When it's normal, it seems silly, but when I am adding up the symptoms and wondering if I am having a stroke or a heart attack or something, then it doesn't seem so silly at the moment.
I hope I'm not turning into a hypochondriac.
You tell me if you think I am.
But soften the blow.
Maybe give me a piece of chocolate first.




Yesterday after going to the chiropractor with my moving buddy along with me, we ate lunch at this restaurant that is in an old jail. The food was okay. It wasn't anything exotic. Whenever you ask about the food at a place and people say they have really good chicken fingers, that kind of lets me know a lot about the place. If the best thing I can say about a restaurant is that they have good chicken fingers, I know it's nothing to get excited about. But we got to eat at these tables in these old jail cells. I'm talking like an OLD jail. Kind of gave me the creeps when I thought about it. People have written all over the walls in the cell. It was interesting. And oh my, the chicken fingers.....(just kidding). It was just cool to get to eat with my buddy with no kids or crazy distractions. Of course I had the timer running and had to sprint back to my own house, but isn't that always the case? Do you ever feel like you are on a leash? I do.



Okay...so I'll let you know
what the doctor says. Maybe he'll just amputate
my left arm and then it won't be driving me crazy
with tingly numbness anymore.
But I'm left handed
so I hate to have to do that.

I'd have to wear slip on shoes the rest of my life.

And I couldn't play card games.

Or balance the checkbook.