Relative morality....

Apparently justice is not blind....it can be slanted any which way you want it to be.

A Wisconsin man was arrested today, probably on charges of homicide....but they're not sure yet. He is accused of slipping his girlfriend the abortion pill twice, causing her to miscarry twice in the past year. And while I do believe that is murder, is it still murder to take the drug when you are the mother instead of the father?

Ah, the lines of misconstrued morality. It's all relative.....it all depends on if you are the correct parent I guess.

Sad.

I am sorry for the mother of the two lost children....and I am sorry for our culture that places such weirdly ruled value on those children.



p.s. Our mail was stolen yesterday and found in an abandoned house. The police brought it here to our house this morning. It's kind of strange, not knowing what was stolen, if anything.

Cone head

I put the cone collar on my dog tonight so we could go to church and she just stood there in her crate. Her head slowly went down until the wide part of the cone was on the floor. Then she just stood there like that. It was like a Mummenschanz performance. It looked so funny, but we didn't laugh out loud because she was so dejectified. So I dropped off the kids at church and came home to sit with the dog.

Pitiful...

Wordless Wednesday: Gingerbread guys

This is a pic of some gingerbread guys my kids decorated a few years ago.

If you look closely you'll see pirates, Jamaican dancers, clown, santa, Nate Sallie in a tux, Spiderman, karate guy, creature from the black lagoon, naked guy (he must be from Gilmore Girls) and bikini girl. They had a blast doing this.



***To see more entries or to join in and do your own, go to Wordless Wednesday or 5 Minutes for Mom.***

Dog in Recovery

Maisy is doing just fine....although she looks miserable, poor kid. I picked her up at the mobile spay/neuter clinic, where they reported that she had been 'very sweet'. I'm glad she didn't turn into an 8 pound raving lunatic or something. heh

It is very sad though. She is all blank stare eyed, trembly bodied and quite indecisive about where she wants to lie down. She lies on the floor in a nest we made for 30 minutes, then stands up and sways back and forth while eying you to lift her onto the couch, where she stays for about 30 minutes, then wants her crate. She can't shake her fur out, so her face fur is all mushed down and makes her nose look very pointy, like some character out of Ratatouie. *shudder* Oh, and she will really be happy tonight, I'm sure, when we have to put the protective collar on her. oiy

So....thank you for worrying with me. You may now return to your regularly scheduled internet surfing.

Wishing it was Wednesday....

I have so much to write about from the past week, but very little time to myself lately, so it will have to wait. I will still try my best to post something each day, at least M-F, but I don't know how entertaining it will be....cuz I am tired! Now I have only one hour left of Monday, so I'd better get this post up!

The main thing on my mind tonight is that my little pup is going under the knife tomorrow morning. She's getting spayed. It is worrying me beyond reason. She knows something is up too....very intuitive. We all keep hugging her and tonight I was carrying her around and got out her leash and vaccination papers and she wanted down. She went straight to her crate for bed. I usually have to coerce her into it with a dog treat, but tonight she climbed in without even being told it was bed time, to escape some kind of doom it seemed. (and no treat because she couldn't eat tonight after 7pm, so that probably hurt her dog feelings)

I wish it was Wednesday tomorrow instead of Tuesday.....then it would be over.

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

~Author Unknown



Thankfulness is not something God gives us.
It is not a spiritual gift and it is not a spiritual fruit. 
We can receive God's peace, joy and love,
but thankfulness is something that we give to God 
and to others.
It is a choice that we make. Let us thank Him today with songs of celebration, 
hearts of strong devotion and acts of admiration." 
[Roy Lessin]




Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare.
They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes.
This is not coincidence. ~Erma Bombeck

A week of gratefulness

Let us remember that, as much has been given us,
much will be expected from us,
and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips,
and shows itself in deeds.
~Theodore Roosevelt

It's been an interesting week for me. One that made me thankful for a lot of things I take for granted.

On Friday night we went miniature golfing with Ed and Cheryl at Castles and Coasters. It was really fun to be out with them and feeling that bond of friendship. It seems like we are so busy with life these days that we don't really LIVE it.....we are just treading water and staying afloat. It makes me feel the void of friendship.

I am thankful to you Cheryl for calling us...even at the last minute...and reaching out with friendship. I need that!

In the small town we lived in before Phoenix, I would see friends every day! I would see them at the grocery store, stop cars in the middle of the road to do a quick convo until the next car came up behind us (and sometimes waving for them to just pass on by because we were enjoying talking), I saw people at the schools and waved at the youth (I used to work with youth at that church), I made connections when I stopped by the church *often* to see Charles or to drop something off and I often had friends who dropped by our house to say hi or to ask a question and we'd sit on the porch and talk and connect. I didn't realize how much I missed that.

I'm thankful for that time in my life.....it was good to experience how it can be.

My friend Kelly was asking me on Saturday if I felt like I had any real friends here. I felt an immediate welling behind my eyes and it surprised me. We both felt like life is just too busy and we are both too tired to make the effort. blah

I need to work on that and I need make an effort because God's given me some wonderful women here to connect with....if we'll just make a call. I did make it a point to walk over to, and hug the necks of some friends at church who I haven't been connected with lately. It is no one's fault (so no feeling guilty Patrice! lol). We all feel that void and we all feel the tug of the urgent needs of day to day life stealing away our energy. (Yay for Women's retreats! Maybe we should make it a month long this year)

I'm thankful for potential friendship and the picking right up where we left off factor.

Charles and I and Kelly went to visit a woman named Reilly on Saturday. She has been consistently going downhill with MS since the mid '80's. She became a Christian then too and even though she has been worn down to a tiny smidge of a woman, can no longer lift herself out of her bed or get out of her apartment very often, she is a shining light. She has a ministry right there in that apartment to her caregivers and neighbors. She is always on the phone to a neighbor or praying with her caregivers....about THEIR struggles, not her own....and she said some pretty profound spiritual things while we were there. I felt that welling up feeling several times while we were there and that is not really like me. It's either perimenopausal mood swings or God speaking to me. Yeah, well I do have mood swings!

It made me so thankful for this body, as much as I complain about being tired and worn out, it is a healthy body and I can walk, dance, take care of my own needs and even take care of others with it. What a blessing.

On Sunday we got to know a young woman who has come several times in the past 2 weeks. She is in her early thirties and is a single mom, raising four girls. The oldest is 12 and the youngest is 3! She is full of energy and of a desire to raise her daughters right and to please God. She sat with us at the evening church Thanksgiving dinner. Another single parent joined us....hi Bill! (he reads this sometimes...please notice the rss feeds I finally put up!) He is raising 2 boys and a daughter. Then I noticed several other single parents went breezing by me during the night and I suddenly realized how many there are and hard their job must be! But they take it in stride, they love their kids and seem to be doing a great job of it.

It made me so very thankful for having a husband to help me raise our kids.....and to be my partner in life as well. I"m sorry I take that for granted so often!

Last week, a friend's two teenaged daughters (who are Emma and Bethany's ages) were in a horrible accident on a major freeway in California. They are fine except for whiplash, after their tire blew out and their car went in to a spin with semi trucks behind and beside them. The truck beside them crushed the hood of their car while missing the passenger area.

I'm thankful for God's protection every day, especially over our children. I used to worry a lot more than I do these days about their safety. I pray for them but I also remind myself *often* that God is watching out for them. He's got plans for them and I trust Him. This doesn't mean bad things will never happen. It means I trust He won't let a random event ruin His plans for them.

Finally, today we had a lock down event at the school. There was a police chase through our neighborhood and the criminal crashed into another car and jumped out of his car and ran....towards our school playground. That is as much as was reported by an eye witness before he ran in to tell the school office to lock down. When he went back out, the police were taking photos of a sawed off shotgun in the front seat of the car.

I'm thankful that we continue to be crime free since last summer (when we had a little crime spree happening here) and for our home alarm system. And thankful that no one was hurt today. What we thought was a drill turned out to be something kind of scary.....like the world outside trying to creep in on a safe sanctuary.

I kind of feel like the person...whoever they were....who wrote the poem with the line, "I complained that I had no shoes until I saw a man with no feet." It is the things we take for granted each day that we need to be most grateful for.....

....because seeing the possible complications in life, makes you suddenly see with better vision.

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord."
[Psalm 92:1]

Friday's Feast #169

***Go to Friday's Feast to learn more or to do your own spread.***

Appetizer
What was your first “real” job?
In my junior year in high school I worked at THE MALL. I worked at a Waldenbooks bookstore. It was a good job except for the nazi boss I had. She would sneak in on Sundays to see if we were breaking the rules. No trust.....or much respect. I think I lasted 3 months there. My next job, at another mall, was a relief. I worked at Pixy Portrait Studio in JCPenneys and I got to take portraits of children. We only photographed children. Very fun people to work for and fun work....making kids smile. Perfect job for me. (I just had a revelation...or is that an epiphany?) hmmmmm

Soup
Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity?
My sister's (and BIL's..lol) cabin, a secluded place in the woods. And it would be winter, during a snowstorm....or in summer during the monsoon season. Weather inspires me....as long as I am inside just looking at it.

Salad
Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when…
......I feel like I"ve done the wrong thing or said something stupid. It could be any hour of the day. I do a lot of embarrassing things....and I have embarrassing children sometimes. (well I think that is paybacks for when I was a kid) I'm even somewhat embarrassed by this question.

Main Course
What values did your parents instill in you?
Compassion for the underdog, respect, honesty, love of God and home.



Dessert
Name 3 fads from your teenage years.

Oh my! The seventies were full of fads.

~Clackers....glass balls on the ends of a string with a metal washer in the middle of the string and you hold the washer and raise the thing up and down until the ends are 'clacking' away in a butterfly-ish pattern. You could get those pups going so fast that you couldn't see the balls anymore. They were banned at my school after several incidents of breakage and flying broken glass balls.

~Pogo sticks....I never could do it. It's one of my embarrassments.

~Clothing: track shoes, cut off jean shorts like Daisy Duke wears, bell bottomed hip huggers, smock blouses, peasant tops, tie dye anything, platform shoes (for guys or girls), Levi 501 button up jeans (I loved those), earth shoes, berets, bandanas, knee socks, maxi skirts, vests, gauzy shirts.

Thanking God....by name

Well....

...the turkey is bought.
...the dressing is made and in the freezer.
...I have studied the gravy making tips on allrecipes.com and in my November Better Homes and Gardens magazine.
...the ingredients for pies and appetizers are in the cupboards and fridge.
...the tiny pumpkins (white and orange) for the centerpiece are in the fridge and I'm hoping they stay fresh for one week.
...my head hurts and I want to go to sleep now, even though it is only 7:30pm.

Oh and here is a cute Thanksgiving story. Today my second graders were working on their rough draft of What I am Thankful For essay. One little boy, G, came over to me and proudly showed me his paper. It said,

"I am thankful for god because he is the ruler of the whole word!"

I wanted to jump up and down because he knows, with that childlike faith that there is a god and that is who we are thankful TO. But I contained myself and said, "Yes he is! But you need to add an 'l' to world and capitalize God's name when you write it." He took a step back to his desk, and then whirled around dramatically and said with a face full of wonder, "That's his NAME??"

heehee, I said, "Yes and you need to capitalize his name always." He looked very serious and said, "Okay, I will!"

This is the same boy I rushed to the nurse a few weeks ago, thinking (I can say it now) that he had that staph infection, MRSA. Thankfully (to God) it was reported back to us that it was not MRSA, but it was an infection and he had to use a prescription cream and oral antibiotics to get rid of it. *yikes* I"m so glad he is alright. He's a sweet kid....

....and he knows that God is the ruler of the whole world!

Don't believe everything you see...

Okay, from the comments I got on that WW post, I think I should explain the photo below! lol

If you notice, you cannot see the ends of the log Hannah is holding. That is because it is resting on some fallen trees. She is not lifting the log. She is just posing under it. ;)

Good one huh?

Wordless Wednesday: Strength

Hannah helps Charles cut wood for winter heat, 2004.

Click to enlarge photo.

***To see more entries or to join in and do your own, go to Wordless Wednesday or 5 Minutes for Mom.***

Alice and The Rock

Phoenix has it's share of celebrities who live here. The people I know of have been Dick Van Dyke (a friend of mine went to high school with his daughter), Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke...I remember her on television talking about animal rights), Glen Campbell, Leslie Nielsen (who now does very silly commercials for a local bank), Charles Barkley, Loretta Young and Linda Ronstadt. But one of our most infamous natives, as well as a current resident, is rocker Alice Cooper. In the '70's my sister had a purse that was made by Alice Cooper's roomate. She dragged it everywhere....literally! It was a leather purse (with beads I think) with 3 foot leather fringing. heh She was a hippie.

In recent years though, you can find Alice on the news playing in golf tournaments, hosting musical talents in his Cooperstown nightclub/restaurant or giving soundbites for public service commercials. In one he is pulled over by a policeman in his golf cart and making excuses for not having current registration. (silly) Not quite what you'd expect from an old '70's rocker who was very blasphemous in his day? Ten or so years ago, he gave his life to Christ. Now, years later, he is established in our community as a good citizen, business man, charity sponsor, television spokesman and family man. One New Year's Day, our city was burying a time capsule...probably in the beginning of the year 2000, but I'm not sure....and one of the people who offered to put something significant in was Mr. Cooper. He held up a Bible and said that he hoped that in the future it would still be viewed as the most important book ever.

On Wikipedia, I found he is quoted:

**When asked by the British Sunday Times Magazine in 2001 how a rebellious shock-rocker could be a Christian, Alice is credited with providing this response "Drinking beer is easy. Trashing your hotel room is easy. But being a Christian, that's a tough call. That's real rebellion!"**

Lately though, I've been hearing about a project he is initiating at my former college. It's a performing arts center, not only for college students, but for youth in the neighboring areas. College students would help run it and be involved in loving kids and helping them to come to know Jesus. Here is a news article on it. Read up on it yourself. It is called The Rock. And this is a Christmas fundraiser for the event called Alice Pudding.

Such a unique history here in Phoenix....but cool, you have to admit.

Veteran's Day 2007

I was listening to a radio station this morning while doing an errand. A man had called in to answer an appeal for Veteran's Day stories. He said that he and his wife went out to a nice restaurant once a week for dinner and he felt compelled by God to honor a couple there. I came in late to the story, but he knew somehow that the man was a veteran. He called his waiter over and gave him the money to buy the couple's dinner anonymously. He then felt inspired to do this each week as they went on their date, asking the waiters there to find out which patrons that evening were veterans. It became such a habit that the restaurant manager talked to him one day, appreciating this gesture to honor vets and that he was going to start doing the same thing once in a while.

And now, watching the news on television, I am inspired to look for an online tribute to share here. Our veterans are our heroes, our freedom is their sacrifice. That is worthy of so much honor.....they have done so much, sacrificed years of their lives to defend our own country as well as coming to the aid of other countries. It is important to remember...

Here is an online memorial tribute.

Friday's Feast #168

Appetizer
Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?
Large diet soda, large bucket of popcorn. That's all I need baby....and some m&m's from my purse.

Soup
What year did you start using the internet?
1996. We got a connection for $26 per month for FIVE hours a month!!If you went over that, it charged outrageous fees per minute! I didn't find much use for the net. Then we got unlimited hours. And I was on a mission to find people to talk to.

In 1996 I was a stay home mom with tiny kids and no adult friendships to speak of....so that chat room was my connection for friendship. I made many friends there and still keep in touch with several. Anyone else remember the WBS (Webchat Broadcasting System?).

Related tidbit: On Saturday I am meeting up with 2 of the ladies I first met in a WBS Christian chatroom back in '96! I'm driving up to Laughlin, NV. One of them lived, at that time, about 45 minutes away from me in NJ. So I have met her many times. The other one is from Australia! She is coming for some medical tests and is doing a bit of touring around while she is in the States!

Salad
What is your first name in Pig Latin?
Istiechray...or I guess icklcray to you.

Main Course
Name something you are picky about.
I don't like it when people (you all know who you are) leave things all over the kitchen counters. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: I ____ ____ yesterday and I ____ ____ today.
uhhhh....I am stumped...I never know the answers to these things! ;)

Wordless Wednesday: Crazy Mai

Serious Maisy (who looks like she is about to make an announcement)


Crazy Maisy....this is the face we see when we come home after being gone for a few hours. Her nose scrinches up and she smiles like a maniac! (Maggie is helping to re-enact the smile)



***To see more entries or to join in and do your own, go to Wordless Wednesday or 5 Minutes for Mom.***

ugh

This gave me a chuckle on this local election day....thinking about another huge round of it for next year. Okay, now I'm not chuckling anymore. ugh

For more demotivator posters, go to despair.com.

Get a Rhythm

We just got back from our school district's high school marching band exhibition show. Lots of colorful uniforms, feathered hats, flaglines, shiny instruments and excited kids. We were sitting with friends from our church. We represented 3 different high schools, so it was fun watching each other's kids play.

Our Emma plays a snare drum in her band. She has been ratatat tatting her way onto the drumline for a year now and she is fun to watch. They are so professional and have such precision! I only worry about her back. Her drum is so heavy! It has 2 big hooks that hang on her shoulders, underneath her uniform and it weighs about 50 or more pounds. But there she is, keeping time, marching with precision and dancing too with a 50 pound drum hanging on her shoulders!

Here is a scene from one of her favorite movies for those of you who like drums.

Kitchen pics

This post is mainly for my pw friends. I keep talking about my kitchen, so they wanted photos!

This was our kitchen just before we moved in. There is a row of cabinets over the breakfast bar and a drop ceiling light panel. (some friends from church removed both of those on moving night!) Click pictures to see larger view.


Here it is with the cabinets gone, but the original wood grain cabinets.


And the picture I took today! White cabinets. I have always wanted a white kitchen! I may add a little color to the walls, but only in small areas like over the sink and behind the coffee maker on the left.


These are the samples we're choosing from for the new counters. I chose the middle to keep things simple.

Friday's Feast #167

***Go to Friday's Feast to learn more or to do your own spread.***

~~Kitchen post will be published later tonight!~~

Appetizer
How much money do you plan to spend this upcoming holiday season?
NOYB really ;)

Soup
What was the last television show you watched, and was it good?
I watched a show called Life the other night and I thought it was a very good show. It is a detective show. I've only seen it once, but it seems like a very thought-provoking, challenging show. It really drew me in. And the male main character is Damien Lewis, who has such similar looks as Freddie Highmore, the little boy who played Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (and was in Finding Neverland) that I had to look it up to see if it was his son. It is not. But once I realized who he reminded me of, the similarities were freaky! Anyway, it's an interesting show.

I also made it a point to watch House this week. I am not really enjoying it as much this season with the reality show type of team selection, but it is hilarious at times. (if you can enjoy the dark sense of humor)

Salad
If you had to paint the walls of your living room tomorrow, what color would you choose?
I like the color it is. Two walls are chocolate brown and one is white-ish.

Main Course
Name something clever or practical you have thought of that should be invented, but hasn’t yet.
Self cleaning flooring. A system that comes across the floor (mainly the kitchen floor, possibly bathroom as well) with a sprinkler that squirts the cleaning stuff, then a scrubber that whirls around (scrubbing grout and tile all at once), then it would push all residue into drains under the cabinets and squeegeed off with another attachment. (the attachments would all be on a pole that rotates to each attachment)

As you can probably tell, I have given this idea considerable thought. ;)
I love clean floors.

Dessert
List 3 things you would like to receive as gifts this upcoming holiday season.

~Some new baking dishes (mine keep falling and breaking into millions of bits on our stone kitchen tile)
~Comfy furniture for our screened in porch in back. (not likely....just wishing here)
~World peace. ;) ....of course (but only after I get some comfy furniture in my back room)

I'm sorry...it must be the cold meds coursing through my system....or something.

November 1

.....and it is still warm enough during the day to run the air conditioning.

And that is all I"m saying about that....I don't want to be a whiiiiiiiiiiiner. It's just that I"m finding it hard to get into the holiday mood. By now my house usually smells of scented holiday candles, my husband would be having little evening fires in his chiminea, and we are listening to a lot of Christmas music.

It's just unusually warm this year, even for Phoenix. I sure hope the mood kicks in soon though. There is nothing better than a nice holiday season. We're having Thanksgiving at our house this year, along with relatives and maybe a few others. The mood should be settling in while I am busy planning a menu and trying to find a good tablecloth to use. I looked at Target today but all I found were some fall decorations for half price. =) You just can't argue with a 69 cent grapevine pumpkin.....or, apparently, a six dollar set of three nature thingie covered balls the size of grapefruits in a rustic wooden box. It looks nice on my living room shelf.

My puppy got shots today. She is feeling whimpy.

I woke up with a cold in my throat this morning. bleh

My kitchen cabinets are DONE and back on their hinges!!!!! I picked out the new countertops but they will be installed at a later date. I will ask Michelle to hassle me to get the before/after pics up by tomorrow.

I took a seven year old to the nurse's office first thing this morning with a potentially school shutting down germ. I will let you know if it really is....I'm kind of worried and am about 99% sure that it was indeed the bad germ. Pray for him please.

And there you go, Michelle.....my November 1 post. ;) I almost forgot!