All is Calm, All is Bright...

We were so wonderfully Blessed

@ Christmas this year!!

It was simple, quiet, and shared with Family & Friends

as it should be!!

(and totally "unblogged". i started the entry early but forgot to publish it)

Thanks to my Sister Susan, who drew my name, I was able to

display my first ever Nativity Scene.

Though the true meaning of Christmas

is meant to be portrayed by all Nativity scenes,

others that I've seen have always seemed over done,

and somewhat garrish.

Because of that, I have avoided displaying one at my house.

This one however, touched my heart with it's simplicity and serenity.

This one FELT like Christmas to me,

and brought a warmth to my heart

each time I looked at it and was reminded of

the REASON we celebrate Christmas.

Many Blessings to one and all!!

Nothing less than al dente will do...

Set-up: I've got a cold and I came home from work early on Monday. When the counselor got off work, he called to see if there was anything that he could pick up for me. I couldn't think of anything exotic, but the thought ran through my head that one should eat chicken noodle soup when one has a cold, so I asked him to stop by the store and and get some noodles. Not just any noodles mind you, I wanted a specific noodle and he knew just what to look for. There is only one store around here that sells these noodles, and even then you're not assured that there will be any on the shelf when you get there, so... Roger went to look for noodles.

This is where the real story starts:

When he got home, I was pleased to see that not only had he found my noodles, but he had several packs of them in his bag. I said, "I hope you got every bag they had!!"

In answer to my statement, Roger gave me this cute little sheepish grin and then said:
"I had every bag of noodles that were on the shelf in my basket, but I put 2 of them back."
When I raised an eyebrow at him, he continued:
"...well, I got to thinking. What if someone else happened to go into the store tonight with the sole intent of getting these specific noodles for someone they loved who was sick, but when they got there, the shelf was bare? ...so I left them some."

After a moment to let the mist in my eyes dry and the swelling of my heart subside, I just gave him a great big hug. Nothing I could have said would have been adequate, but it turned my thoughts to the young women out there who want so desperately to find "that special someone", (sometimes at any cost). I wish that I could tell them this: Never settle for less than a man such as this. If something as un-important as noodles can make him think of the comfort and well being of a complete stranger, how much more loving, caring and protective will he be towards the woman he chooses as his wife? No woman, or any person for that matter, should accept less!

And as I said my prayers that night, I asked God to hold Roger especially tight and keep him safe from all harm. I have been truly blessed to have been given such an amazing treasure.

Overheard at the Coffee House

sub·lime adj.
1. Characterized by nobility; majestic.
2.
a. Of high spiritual, moral, or intellectual worth.
b. Not to be excelled; supreme.
3. Inspiring awe; impressive.

coversation between the barista and a young woman who has just been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and has been given a very short time to live:

Barista: "Paula, you don't want whipped cream on that latte, do you?"
Paula: "I do NOW!!"


as·i·nine
adj.
1. Utterly stupid or silly: asinine behavior.
2. Of, relating to, or resembling an ass.

an unsolicited statement made by an ex Marine Helicopter Pilot and Vietnam Veteran, for whom I had previously held a lot of respect:

"yeah, I voted for him. Maybe a little socialism is just what this country needs."

May God continue to Bless this country with the Freedoms for which so many fought and died, and with the ability to continue to find the SUBLIME in spite of the ASININE.

UNCLE..., I GIVE..., SHE WON...

I've been holding this post for a couple weeks now, and I've read and re-read and re-re-read just to be sure that it said what I was feeling. I was going to post it this week anyway, but a couple days ago, I got some news that has really cleared up a lot of confusion as to "what" happened. I'm still confused as to "why" it had to happened, but I may never know the answer to that one. Suffice it to say that my feelings remain the same and I wish with everything I have that someday she understands!


I finally figured out some of what's been happening for the last year, with Ms. H. We've been playing a long and tiring game of "H Wins". And she has!! Won, that is. I still have no idea how it came to be, or what actually happened to start it. We're (R and I), as far as I can tell, still the same as we ever were, but something happened and it changed the way she feels, and she changed. And because of the confusion, feelings started getting hurt, and the games began, but I can't/won't do it any more. I can't stomach the thoughts of one more day of playing the games, of being reduced to being the one to prove my long held theory that you never get out of 6th grade. I hate that I've been a part of: "Who called last?" "Who can wait the longest to pick up the phone?" "Let's see if I can leave a message so that the ball will be in her court." "I called and you don't have anything to say, but at least I tried!" stupid, childish games and I should know better...

Yeah, I lost. I admit it. I played the game and I Hate myself for it. BUT NOW I quit, I forfeit, I'm done!! I lost, and it hurts about as much as anything I've ever had to endure. I lost a friend, I lost a relationship that had come to mean so very much to me & that I thought was reciprocated. I lost the nearest thing I've ever had or probably will have to being a daughter. I've lost the anticipation of nightly phone calls, "just so she can sleep". I've lost the excitement of getting to hear the smallest details of her day and the fun of sharing the details of mine. I've lost the pride of introducing her as my "almost, kinda sorta daughter" and I've lost the fun of telling people about her acomplishments and the plans for her future. I've lost the joy of sharing her with my family and friends and watching them pull her in and surround her with love because she's "mine". I've lost the opportunity to share my ideals, value's and dreams with someone who might find something they can use in their own lives. I've lost the chance to continue trying to make her understand what an amazing person she already is, and the person she has the potential to become if she'd only just find some self confidence, and be true to the person she has been in the past. I've lost all this due to some mysterious and unknown "ghost" that I can't do anything about.

The one thing I haven't lost is HOPE!! I HOPE she continues to WIN!! I HOPE she becomes a bright shining star in the world of tomorrow! I HOPE that she finds what she's looking for in life, EVERYTHING she's looking for. I HOPE that she finds peace and joy in the things she does. I HOPE she will be careful to surround herself with people who are good and kind and honest and GODLY and who will respect her as she deserves and not use her for their own gain. I HOPE she finds TRUE LOVE someday and that she gets to experience the joys of marriage and a life spent with someone who becomes the other half of her whole. I HOPE she knows that she always has a home to come to. And I HOPE she'll never be afraid to come home if she needs to. I HOPE that someday our relationship can be, if not the same as it was, then reborn into something better. I HOPE with all my HEART that someday she will look back and know in her soul that she has been truly loved and cared for by at least two people who have very little in the way of material things to give, but who want nothing FROM her, and wish nothing but the best FOR her. AND I HOPE AND PRAY that GOD will watch over her and guide her and keep her safe for the rest of her life.

I will not give up this HOPE. I will continue to try to stay in touch and keep up with her and always let her know that I'm out here if she needs me. And I will continue to pray!! But I WILL NOT continue to play the game.

Dear Knoxville,

So sorry 'bout the

T-eam!!

But seriously what can you expect?

though it brings you all to tears,

they're not really even athletes,

Just a bunch of Volunteers!!!!!

WAAA HAAA HA!!!

Love ya'll !!!

Another year in the life of a TOSA

Just being a Tosa


"Helping" with the Yard work


A bit "BATTY" at Halloween

At least HE'S easy to shop for for Christmas!!

Only "Bubby" could explain the full importance of having the "Blankey" in your mouth.

Life's just DUCKY except for the Ducky!!

Payment is expected BEFORE services rendered...

I went to my annual GYN appointment the other day & I have to say it was one of the first times EVER that I didn’t dread it. Look forward to it?, not so much, but at least this year I didn’t offer to trade places with the guy who drives the gut truck @ the chicken plant.

No, I didn’t dread it because I’ve got the best Gynecologist EVER!! I truly love her. If you’re ever around the North Alabama area and have the urge to get a check-up, she’s the ONLY one to go to. Wait, you can’t just go on an urge, she’s booked through Oct 2009. She’s THAT good!!

Oh, and KUDOS to her great staff members, from the front office who watch out for her so well, and to her nurses who immediately put the patients @ ease w/their kindness & professionalism.

HOWEVER… (oh, com’on, you knew it was coming…)

One of the new office policies had my blood pressure up and me stressing. Here’s what happened:

1:12pm (or so) I walked in to the office for my 1:30 appointment, signed in, and sat down
1:14pm the Receptionist calls me up gives me a clipboard and says they need updated records and a copy of my insurance card. I sat down to complete the forms
1:15pm returned the clip board along w/insurance card and sat back down
1:17pm I was already getting tired of the "stand up/sit down routine, but have come to expect it to some extent, when the Receptionist calls me up to give back my card and tells me that I need to go back and pay my co pay and then return to my seat to wait for the
nurse to call me back. . .

Me: PAY MY CO-PAY?, but I haven’t even seen the doctor… Why do I need to pay it now?
Her: That’s the new policy that was put in place back in January.
Me: BUT WHY?
Her: Well because we’ve had so many people that just walk out without paying after they’ve seen the Dr.
Me: I think if you’ll look at my records, you’ll find that I’ve NEVER done that.
Her: Well, so many people do.
Me: Why do I need to pay for something that someone else has done?
Her: That’s the new policy that was implemented in January.
Me: So what happens if I don’t get to see the Doctor today?
Her: We’ll give your check back to you.
Me: Well, how ‘bout if I just show you that I’ve written it and then I’ll give it to you AFTER I’ve seen the doctor?

I just got THE look and so I reluctantly handed them my check and went back out to the waiting room to fume. And when they took me back, my blood pressure was up. MY blood pressure is NEVER high. That fact alone was enough to make me mad.

Soap Box, PLEASE:
I am soooo tired of suffering the consequences for the things that our “beloved”, indigents, low-life’s, and generally unethical people are willing to do. I understand that MY Dr. deserves to be paid for the services she provides. In fact MY Dr. deserves it more than some just because she does such a good job and is willing to publicly give credit to God for her success. And I PROMISE THAT I WILL PAY EVERYTHING I OWE (if for some reason, I'm not able to pay, I will either not go to my appointment, or make arrangements with them BEFORE keeping an appointment) and I might even take her donuts someday as a bonus. But I shouldn’t have to meekly go along with a “policy” that was implemented just because someone else won’t live up to their responsibilities.

That being said, someone once told me NEVER to issue a complaint or criticism without also having a solution to offer, so here it is. Actually I have two of them, how’s that for a deal?

1. in this technological day and age, we use computers for everything including patient records, and scheduling appointments. The office staff knows my birthdate, my address, phone numbers and social security number. Somewhere in their system they keep up with my billing information too. They even send out reminder cards to let me know that my appointment date is coming up. How hard would it be to add a marker to those records that allows them to FLAG the persons who have walked out without paying their co-pay? Then put a system in place that says after ONE offense, THEY have to pay their co-pay up front or not see the Dr. I think one lost co-pay per patient would be well worth the GOOD WILL and peace of mind of the rest of the patients. (Remember there ARE some of us, probably the majority, who always pay what they owe so the actual loss would not be that great)

2. my other suggestion is also technological in nature. Why not use a buzzer system? A doctor’s office keeps medications and equipment and records that are highly sensitive and need to be well protected, so it would make sense that a person would have to be “buzzed” back from the waiting room to the exam rooms. The same thing could be easily explained when leaving the exam rooms to exit the office. I was in a store one time that had that exact set up. And the buzzer was remote so that the owner of the store could wear it on his belt. All he had to do was push a button to allow the entry of someone into his store, and then when the transaction was completed, he pushed the button to let them out. This was a good way to control not only who came in, but also to give him some control as to who left. In the case of the Dr’s office, a person who didn’t pay their co-pay when they left could be detained. And since they would know the system ahead of time, they would probably be less likely to allow themselves to be “buzzed” back if they intended to try to leave without paying. The rest of us (the ones who always pay our bills, again, I think we’re probably the majority) would feel safer knowing that there was a system in place to keep criminals from being able to steal the above mentioned medications, equipment and records, and we wouldn’t feel like we were automatically under suspicion when we walk into the office. Again, creating a sense of Peace and Good Will.

Not only would this keep people’s Blood Pressure at normal levels, BEST OF ALL, My awesome Doctor wouldn’t have to hear me gripe about the un-fairness of it all. Instead she could just concentrate on the pleasant-ness that is a gynecological exam.

… and that’s all I’ve got to say ‘bout that!!!

Do you want your change dollars or SENSE?

Here's an email I received today. I have seen it before, chuckled and just deleted it, but today it hit me a little differently. In this day when the word "CHANGE" is being thrown about so casually, I thought this was a good example of how some change IS good, but some things need to be left alone. E

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO ACTUALLY SURVIVED THE
1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?Because we were always outside playing...that's why!We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were O.K. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.No certificates for just “being there” Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
And that was before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?

Wishing on stars

Nearly EVERY time I look at the stars filling the night sky, I think of a woman that I never met. Because of something that happened several years ago, I am unable to look at the stars without thinking of Lydia. Lydia was a woman who died of cancer a few years ago. I never met her, but she was extremely important to a young girl who is extremely important to me. It was because of Lydia that I got to watch that young girl do some extraordinary things that showed what an amazing person that young girl was. The girl is Ms. H. H has a heart the size of Canada, and has a special gift with children so naturally as soon as she was old enough, she started babysitting for the people in her neighborhood, and Lydia was the mother of some of those children. I know very little about the family, or much about the "back story", I think there were two children but it makes very little difference here. What does make the difference is that Lydia had cancer, and was facing the fact that she would not get to see her children grow up. H was so touched by the family that she just couldn't sit back and do nothing. So she organized a project that involved raising enough funds to buy airplane tickets and motel costs and entry fees to send that little family to Disney World so that they could spend some precious TIME together make some memories for those children to have of their mother after she was gone. She even made a great scrapbook of the event with Lydia before she died. Needless to say, when Lydia died, H was devastated. But, evidently at one point in time, Lydia had told her that she (H) wasn't alone and that she'd always be looking down and watching. All H needed to do was look for the brightest star in the sky. As cliche as it sounds, it was a lot of consolation for H. I always felt a connection with Lydia because she seemed to understand as I did that H needed to know she was a special person was I always thankful that Lydia made sure that H knew she wouldn't be alone.

(It's funny how something said in passing can have a lasting affect on a person's life.) Ever since H told me that story, I can't help but think of Lydia. And lately I've been wondering what Lydia thinks of the way things are going now. I wonder if she hurts as bad as I do for H when she sees her turning away from people who love her, and I wonder if she wants as badly as I do to help H along her way and steer her away from some of the stuff I see her gravitating towards, and I wonder if she misses the sweet, innocent, selfless, giving child that H used to be as much as I do?
I'm hoping that when Lydia looks down she's been privileged with the knowledge that this is just a phase and that everything will work out, and that we'll see the real H come back to us before too much longer.

I wish I may, I wish I might...

HMMMM...

The Grass, as has been implied,

may actually be greener on the other side.

but from a better life, it probably ain't,

I think instead, it's usually paint.

If proof of this will pull you through,

Ask someone else, "So, How are you?"

As you listen, it's often seen

The grass on YOUR side has turned more green!!!

THAT came after THIS conversation yesterday between a client and myself:

Me: So how are you today?

Her: Absolutely Wonderful, couldn't be better!!

Me:With politics and the economic crisis these days,

what could possibly have you feeling that good?

Her: I just found out that I got on the transplant list for

a new liver...

Me: Oh...

May God Bless us, every one!

... AND THE WINNER WAS...

"Dear Colton, Love Niko..."

(a short film)

OK, so we didn't win. But hey, I've said all along, and mean it wholeheartedly, that it's not so much about the winning as about the participating in a worthy cause, and Charter Communications offered us that opportunity. Go Charter!!!

Because Childhood Cancer is so very close to our hearts and has been for so long, we were thrilled to have that opportunity, so we pulled our limited resources together and worked our butts off to create a project that would properly convey the message requested by the contest rules, as well as tell the story of a brave little boy and his best friend. And we did it!!

Our movie/short film, "Dear Colton, Love Niko", was a success, and held it's own VERY nicely with the other entries. The others were very good and they brought home the fact that there are few people who have not been touched directly or indirectly by cancer at some point in their lives. The stories ranged from heartbreaking to hopeful, and it was obvious that the film makers had put their hearts into each and every one. The sad thing is that many of them were telling the story of the loss of a loved one, in this case a child, which made the stories even more poignant and difficult to tell. There was one in particular that was so powerfully done that it was like a punch in the gut to me. It was called "Blowing Bubbles" and with any luck, we may be able to eventually find it on youtube. Had I been the judge, THAT one would have won, however, since judging is a subjective art, another great film, "Out Touching Cancer" was chosen.

Bottom line, the whole point was to raise awareness of the need to find cures for all the different types of childhood Cancers and I feel certain that if used properly by Charter Communications, these few stories will go a long way in connecting with the people in their viewing audience.

We're going to try to put our's on you tube when I figure out how, so ya'll stay tuned and I'll let you know how to find it!

from 20 to INFINITY and BEYOND...

Folks say “take me back to when I was young.

Please bring back yesterday,
back to my youth and childhood,

and then let it stay that way.
I can understand their longing, but for me, I don’t agree,
because my yesterdays and childhood

were before there was you and me.

Those folks remember the days of high school,

of sports teams and dating and prom,
the days before gray hair and wrinkles,

are the memories of which they’re most fond.
And though my childhood and teen years were good,

the time MY best memories start
is the very first day that I met you

and you promptly walked off with my heart.

So bring on tomorrow, let yesterday go, I can’t wait to see what’s in store,
& knowing I’ll share my tomorrow’s with you,

please bring at least one million more.

For 20 years now, I’ve awakened each morn

knowing that God has blessed me again,
to spend one more day, in this marvelous world

with you as my lover and friend.
Each night I’ve lain down with such hope in my soul

and a peaceful smile on my face
and as I lay there beside you reliving the day,

I could simply be no better place.

No I don’t want to go back to the old days

and I don’t want time to stop or stand still,
I want the days to keep coming my way,

because every moment with you is a thrill.
Yes, you may think I’m wishing my life away,

but really, how bad can that be?
In the end, by God’s grace, is a heavenly place.

In between, it’s just you and me.

So bring on tomorrow, let yesterday go, I can’t wait to see what’s in store,
& knowing I’ll share my tomorrow’s with you,

please bring at least one million more.


EYC 9/23/08

I'm a Sheeple, He's a Sheeple...

... wouldn'tcha like to be a sheeple too?...

According to Wikipedia:
"The implication of the word "sheeple" is that as a collective, people believe whatever they are told, especially if told so by authority figures, without processing it to be sure that it is an accurate representation of the real world around them."

my next vocabulary phrase is:

Impotent Rage: (in my words) the all consuming, seething, red-eyed, vein popping anger towards something that one is completely unable to change or affect in any way.

... so in the spirit of national panic, and corporate greed, and in a high state of impotent rage, I stopped to fill up my gas tank this morning just like all the other hard working, financially strapped people out there who have heard on the news, (therefore it WILL happen, whether or not it's actually justifyable), that due to IKE, our refineries in TX will be shut down for a couple of days. Which WILL result in immediate gas shortages, (translate into PRICE HIKES) that will affect us for probably MONTHS AND MONTHS, (a temporary shortage I would understand. Price hikes, I DON'T) in spite of the fact that those refineries will probably be up and running agian by the first of the week. After all, they were intentionally built ON THE COAST so they HAD to know that there would be at least a SLIGHT chance of maybe a little hurricane or so affecting their operations, so my simple minded guess would be that they were BUILT to withstand such things to a point. (evacuating employees to save human lives, is another thing entirely, and completely understandable. again, a temporary shortage due to plant shut down is understandable) I just hope the million, billion, Katrillion dollars PROFIT that these companies have made in the last few years will pull them through.

Don't exactly know how I'm going to pull through, I don't even know for sure that this particular storm will even actually affect gas prices, but I can't take the chance because .20, .50 or even 1.00 a gallon increase will HURT ME HORRIBLY!! I'm seriously considering quitting my job until oil prices come down, because I can't freaking afford to drive to work anymore. WAIT, oil prices HAVE COME DOWN!!! WAAAYYYY down, and yet, the prices at the pump haven't seemed to reflect that fact NEARLY as quickly as they do the ANTICIPATED storms, and stock market changes, and who might have sneezed sideways in the middle east. (funny how when it's reported, in the morning, that there might be a price increase on gas for whatever stupid reason, WE see it at the pumps by the afternoon in 10 cent increments, but we've been hearing about the price per barrel going down to the lowest it's been in over a year and we've seen maybe a 2 cent decrease over a 3 week stretch. yeah, real funny, sniff sniff)

I'm just hoping that McCain will become president, not because he's my favorite, but right now, he's the best of the worst, and at least he'll have SARAH PALIN behind him to hopefully whisper some common sense stuff in his ear that at least LEANS towards helping the common man out.

Now I guess I'll just plan my weekend and the next few weeks or months around giving up a few MORE of the things that I like to do and keeping my ASS AT HOME so that I can afford to actually drive to work next week so that I can afford to buy some more gas.

(yep, this one's going to get me in trouble)

'nuff said.

oh Yeah...

... Sarah Palin reminds me of my friend Lara.

Graceful, poised, great sense of humor, well spoken, ethical, tough, beautiful, an amazing mom, and boy can she wear lipstick!!!

SPARKY FOR PRESIDENT!!!!

Think about it...

I figured out why so many "artists", (painters, writers, musicians, etc) become famous after they're dead.

Posthumous is MUCH easier.

Here's why...

Most "artists" that I know, or know of, seem to walk a fine line between absolute genius and complete lunacy. Sometimes that line is crossed and one never knows whether they'll make it back.

Soooo...

If you wait 'til they're dead, you can:

* lavishly praise, and sell for disgusting amounts of money, the stuff they did well,
*chalk the "not so good" attempts up to their "discovery period" (which also sells) and the
*BAAD stuff up to angst... (which may sell the best of all)

And best of all, you don't have to worry about...

what the heck...

they might do next!!

a riddle...

If I came up with the idea, wrote the script, provided the information, scheduled the shoots, coordinated the people and places, and did the driving to the shoots, and paid to have the project overnighted to the contest…

He filmed the stuff and did the editing (with my help) on his computer. He burned the DVD’s.

What would my title in the credits be? What about his?

Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely NO WAY the project could have been done without what he did. I don’t have the equipment, nor the technical knowledge. I AM NOT TRYING TO BE-LITTLE HIS PART IN THIS!! No way, no how!! I just wanted to know how it should be listed on the project!

with love...

Just the other evening, as I watched the clouds above me clear, and the stars began punching their way through the inky black of an endless Alabama sky, I realized that a year has passed since I sat on the front lawn with a dear young friend, watching with amazment as the heavens opened up and graced us with a breathtaking meteor shower. As wonderous as that sight was, I think I enjoyed even more the closeness and love shared with the young woman in the lawn chair next to mine. With her whole life stretched out before as bright and clear as the sky above us, she spoke of past disapointments and heartaches, and hopes and dreams of the future. With all my heart I prayed that she would be blessed with the good things in life. Love, Truth, Hope and Laughter in abundance. Just like the night sky, with each star being a bright spot in her life, and especially, THAT night sky, with not only the stars, but with grand streaks of beautiful lights and shooting stars. It was a beautiful night, and has become a cherished memory. I miss her & hope she finds her way back someday.

Bumble Bee Buffet

WELCOME TO THE FRONT PORCH!!

This is an APPLE

Those are BUMBLE BEES

There are at least 30 of them on that one APPLE

There are about 20 more APPLES lying about in the general vicinity

This is NOT the only APPLE being consumed by BUMBLE BEES

BEAT THAT ALFRED HITCHCOCK!!!

WAAAAHAAAAHAAAA HA !!!

Welcome to McDonalds... May I take your order?

... and then they said "SUPER SIZE IT"...

Seriously, this is a real live call box at the McDonald's in Arab, Al. As seen on Sunday, August the 3rd, 2008. When you pull up to it to give your order, it's the box you speak into, therefore it's right by your head when you roll the car window down. I'd say that it's about 18" X 18" in size, and if you figure in the fear factor, that means that...

this Praying Mantis is about 9 feet long and weighs 236lbs.

the name's LENKA,... Lenka C

It might have looked like an innocent walk through the neighborhood on a sunny 96 degree day. But in reality it was a crucial covert reconnaissance mission to uncover the underground movements of the "lawn boys" at the corner of Louisianna Ave. & Demorie Dr...

...Being a highly trained professional, I have devoloped a very believable "street" persona. I am usually seen as a mild mannered, almost 40yr old, plain looking, woman who likes to train and work with dogs. For this particular mission, I have set my character up properly by obtaining a real customer who has hired me to work with her dog, Banjo the Wiemeraner. I have established a pattern of walking Banjo in the neighborhood on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So it didn't seem at all suspicious to anyone in the neighborhood that Banjo and I were out walking yesterday afternoon.

Here's how the mission went down:

Dressed in my shorts and tank top with a cute flippy pony tail, I walked down "Louisiana with Banjo @ my knee" (Hey, just because I'm a highly trained tactician doesn't mean I don't have a sense of humor!!) Anyway,...

... to all who saw us, it looked as if I didn't have a care in the world, boppin' along walkin' the dog. In reality however, I was carefully assessing the situation, recalling to mind every detail that I had catalouged on my previous forays into the neighborhood. And I noticed the things that didn't seem quite right on this particular evening. Odd things such as the dead chipmunk that was squashed flat on the road right next the the UN-squashed coke can, hmmm, something's fishy... and the leaves that were piled in the gutter in front of the yard that to all outward appearances looked carefully manicured, but whose owner had failed to weed eat around the AC unit, nobody misses the AC unit. Yes, my greatly enhanced 6th sense was telling my gut that this was the evening when something would happen.

As I approached the corner of Louisianna & Demorie, memory brought to focus the fact that I needed to remember the vicious fat yellow labrador that always rushes to the street in an attempt to rattle Banjo's cage, and I started to prepare myself for the massive HILL that we have to climb. As these thoughts were running through my mind, suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. THERE THEY WERE. THE LAWN BOYS OF DEMORIE DR. I had heard of these guys. They had the appearance of harmless southern boys, but the agency is certain that they have "other" things going on. And they played their parts well. There were two of them on riding lawn mowers, and one of had a weed eater. Neither of the Mowers had on shirts, and Mr. weed-eater had on a wife beater and sunglasses. I put on my best "chick with a dog and no worries in the world" look and turned the corner. I was still far enough away that all they could make out was "here comes a person with a dog", but being men, they focused on SHORTS, TANK TOP, and PONY TAIL. (they couldn't see the almost 40 yrs old and plain looking). There was much stretching of "muscles" and sucking in of guts, and Mr. weed eater adjusted his Dale Earnhardt JR. sunglasses about 50 times. The played their parts well, but Innocent Rednecks?, I THINK NOT. I realized that I was getting too close and that they would be able to recognize my face before too much longer and then my cover could be blown. So, keeping in mind the Fat LAB down the street, I averted my face to walk past without acknowledging the stretching, gut sucking and glass adjusting.

At that very moment, weed-eater guy revved up his machine, and Fat Lab jumped to the curb. Banjo lost his cool and dodged into my feet and I began to fall. Realizing that I was going down, and knowing that Southern Boys are Brainwashed to help any damsel in distress, so would be obliged to rush to my aid, my first thought was to SAVE THE MISSION!! In one swift motion I grabbed hold of Banjo's leash with my left hand, pulled a smoke bomb out of my pocket with my right hand, grasped the pin with my teeth and fell into the smoke. After quickly convincing Banjo that I really DIDN'T want to play, I checked myself for wounds and found only a nice case of road rash on my shin, two skinned palms, a broken watch crystal, and a pretty impressive cut on my left forarm. Nothing life threatening unless an infection was to set in, but I had been trained to fight through the pain, so I used the cover of wafting smoke to get away from the Lawn Boys before they could "make" me.

Obviously it worked, Banjo and I reappeared a little further down the road walking side by side as if nothing happened and the Lawn Boys didn't even appear to have seen a thing. Although when I looked back I noticed that they were planning their next mission which must involved something humourous because they were laughing their butts off.

CRISIS AVERTED!! THANK GOD FOR GOOD TRAINING.

My next mission is to find Jacque's friend Grace and kick her ass!!

Memories...

The other day I used the ol' "You split and then you choose" line on a couple of kids. It was weird to hear them complain about it:

C - "do we HAVE to share"

Me - "yep"

G - "but he always gets more"

Me - "well I've got a way to make sure that doesn't happen"

C & G - "HOW?"

Me - " C, you split and then G gets to choose which part he wants"

C - "aw, that's lame"

G - "I don't get it."

Me - Well it's simple... and I explained the win - win situation to them.

G - with a big smile "OOOOHHH!"

C- "that's still lame"

What was funny to me is that I HAD to explain the concept. I'll never forget the first time I heard that one. It was over a piece of Dentyne gum, you know those blocky LITTLE pieces, that OF COURSE had to be shared? And OF COURSE, tony had grabbed the little piece out of Mom's hand as she handed it back for us to share. I knew without a doubt that my part would be itsy, bitsy, maybe even so tiny that I'd need to lick the paper to get the flavor of cinnamon, but I also knew that it wasn't worth fussing about because it would just get everyone all upset, when Dad said... "Ok, tony, you divide, and E gets to choose". Only the tiniest sliver of a nano-second passed when I heard the heavens open up and "WAAAA" I KNEW this was the greatest resolution to an age old dilema since Soloman threatened to split the baby!! And FINALLY it was the ONLY way that tony wouldn't win. No, it didn't have to be explained to me and I've never forgotten it and have used it many many times since. I will say, if memory serves, it took a LONG time and carefull engineering and mathmatics to rightly divide that piece of gum, but it was FINE WITH ME.

a 3 yr old grows up

These are from my trip last May to Tucson to attend my younger Brother's Commisioning ceremony. Got to say, I'm awfully proud of him.

Also had a blast visiting with Mom, Dad, Suze, Jacqu and all their attachments. It's an amazing blessing to have a loving, if somewhat crazy, family.

Here's the man of the hour:

Earl - aka: Little Bro - Gurgi - Joe - and now... SIR

Jacqu & her guy


Swearing in - by Lt. Col. Gallagher

Pinning - by the short people

Sworn & Pinned

First Salute - by Papa

2nd Lieutenant United States Army

Brother & Sisters

side notes for a slob

Entry Deleted to protect the blogger!!

It's A WRAP!!!!

We Rallied...

We Relayed...

We Rocked...

Relay for Life 2008 was a ton of fun and the culmination of a year's extremely hard work. After making a movie, hosting a cookout and gathering donations from our amazing families and friends, The "C-team" was able to add approx. $7200.00 to the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. What blessings abound when people come together and work towards a goal for a worthy cause.

Many thanks to all who helped in whatever capacity they were able. You are all Angels to me and deserve so much more than "blogged" thanks, but please know the gratitude is more than heartfelt. And don't worry, if you didn't get in on this year's fun (I can't imagine that there's anyone who wasn't roped in somehow) we'll start again next year. Just put your name on the list and rest assured you will be called upon!!

GRAPES OF WRATH

Ok, so I've been munchin' on what some people might see as sour grapes for a few weeks now. And I'm getting more and more fed up, so I’m going to spew seeds and pulp onto my blog and see if I feel any better.

I'm want to start out by saying that I have totally intended and done my best to make this whole relay for life movie thing all about WE. You know, WE worked so hard, and WE took so much time out of our daily lives and WE made it happen!! And it's all true. It was such a group effort to make the dream come true, BUT I really don't want any of the amazing people who helped with this project to have to share any of the blame for this blog entry if it is ever seen by the illustrious Cullman County American Cancer Society. (here's my disclaimer) This is MY opinion and doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinion of anyone else on my team. Here goes...

The Cullman County Relay for Life is BIG. I mean for our county size, we are one of the top in the nation. And everyone seems to go all out, which is good. But the whole thing seems to be too competitive and somewhat political, which is not good. My understanding is that the real point of the Relay is to raise money for the American Cancer Society to use in the fight against cancer, which is GOOD. Another good thing about the RELAY is that it seems to bring the community together in an effort to do something good. YEAY!!! However, our Relay seems to be as much about who has the best campsite as who raises the most money. That means that in some cases, as much money, time and attention is spent on the campsite as is raised and spent for the ACS, and that's where my "grapes" come in.

Ya'll know I belong to a wonderful Relay for Life team and that we decided to try to do something really unique and special for this year's Relay. To start off, we wrote, created and produced an original, one of a kind, never been seen before MOVIE, about a young child with Cancer. (if you don't already know all about it, stay tuned, I'm working on blogging retroactively about the whole thing) Anyway, after a whole lot of time, money, brain cells and phone calls, we finally got to Relay Night and set up the most wonderful booth. We created a MOVIE THEATRE out of an Army tent that was set up on a soccer field, and we did it without "real" electricity. Meaning we had to use a generator instead of just plugging in to a quiet outlet, (unlike the power board who somehow managed to run temporary electrical service to their booth. HMM. Imagine that) Anyway, our theatre was complete with big screen, movie projector, popcorn maker, and an great concession stand, thanks to my favorite chaplain. AND WE RAISED approx. $7200.00 to boot. So we did an amazing job.

Anyone who disagrees, is liable to get punched right in the mouth.

Anyway, the night of the Relay they have contests: Best team T-shirt, Best Spirit Stick, they have a talent contest and a hoola- hoop contest.

(who knows what all that has to do with raising money for Cancer research, but people respond, so…)
But the BIG contests are:
1. who raises the most money and
2. who has the best campsite?

OK, so the most money contest will most likely be won by the team who has the most members helping and works the hardest. (That's logical.) Usually that’s one of the bigger teams, for instance, the companies who have employees and do fundraisers all year long including payroll deduction etc. It’s hard for the little teams to really compete. So to compensate, the Relay organizers have come up with catagories, ie: gold, silver and bronze teams, best family team, best company team, yada yada yada. To me that means do your absolute best and turn the money in with a smile & forget the awards.

(There’s no way a team like ours can turn in $30,000 dollars like Axys. But when you think about the fact that the their team has about 400 people that means that they turned in about 75.00 per person, which would translate into about 750.00 for us IF we had 10 people actually collecting money, which we didn’t, and we wound up turning in $7200.00.)

Again, I say, we DID GOOD!

(cue grape stomping sounds)
The best Campsite contest this year was a complete farce. It has been won by the same team for year after year. Axys. (They are a huge company here in town who works on government contracts including making the mirrors for the Hubble Telescope.) I will say that they have done some amazing things in the past to win. Last year they built a “real” volcano that rumbled and roared and spewed smoke and “flames” from the top. It was cool and deserved to win, LAST YEAR. This year however, for the first time the Relay organizers came up with a THEME for the event. (they came up with the theme AFTER we were already done making our movie. coincidence?, karma?, hmm) The THEME was “MOVIES & MUSICALS” the point was to use a movie theme and tweek it to say something about the fight to find a cure for cancer. So there were campsites with everything from VIVA LAS VEGAS, to JUNGLE BOOK and SNOW WHITE, and then there was Axys who chose “HAIR”. They did a hippie theme and pulled two VW buses onto their campsite, the buses were painted all hippi-ish and they put campfires and protest signs and afghans on cots and everyone wore tie die and hippie wigs. They were protesting Cancer or something. It was cute, but…

DID I MENTION THAT WE MADE AN ORIGINAL MOVIE ABOUT A CHILD WHO HAS CANCER AND WON THE BATTLE? AND DID I MENTION THAT WE CREATED A THEATRE TO SHOW THE MOVIE @ THE RELAY? (here’s a picture)

There were some great campsites and evidently the judges did have a hard time deciding. They even came back to our campsite a couple times to look around and ask questions. And evidently they had such a hard time deciding that they asked if they could come up with an extra category just so they could acknowledge enough teams. The category they came up with is:

“Best in Capturing the True Meaning of Relay for Life – Campsite”

(aka: the “damn that’s an awesome campsite, but you didn’t contribute enough money to the cause so…” award.)

PUH-leeeze…

Let’s just call it Miss Congeniality and let it go.

DID I MENTION THAT WE MADE AN ORIGINAL MOVIE ABOUT A CHILD WHO HAS CANCER AND WON THE BATTLE? AND DID I MENTION THAT WE CREATED A THEATRE TO SHOW THE MOVIE @ THE RELAY?

Well we got 2nd place in that category. 1st place went to the Power Board whose theme was “STATE FAIR”. They did a lot of work and their booth looked good, (remember the team who just happened to be able to run their own temporary power to their campsite? Of course it looked good), but I’m still having a hard time figuring out how they captured the

“TRUE MEANING OF RELAY FOR LIFE”.

I think I mentioned: ORIGINAL MOVIE, A CHILD WHO HAS CANCER, WON THE BATTLE, & CREATING A THEATRE TO SHOW THE MOVIE @ THE RELAY?

Bottom line, next year I say just give the awards to Axys up front, and move on. The rest of us will spend our time and effort raising as much money as we can to help with Cancer Research, and maybe someday a Cure will be found and the Campsites won’t matter anyway.

Now, I really do feel better and I’m going to let it go and see if I can turn these grapes into really good wine for next year

sometimes it's the little super absorbant things...

Considering what normally goes with it, I usually grimace and shudder when I look at one,

but today,

A tampon actually made me smile!

I keep a cute little makeup case with hearts on it, under the cabinet at work so that those pesky femine products can be a bit more discreetly stored, but still be at hand when needed. Well, today I unzipped the little case and looked in and just had to smile. There, nestled with the assorted "flavors" of my usual brand, was one with a different wrapper. It was left over from my trip to Arizona and was taken without permission from my sister's stash. Upon revealing my theivery, her immediate response was: "that's what sisters are for"!!

Gosh, I love my sisters.

I think I'll leave it in there forever!!!

OVERHEARD...

I was so extrememly tired after my trip to AZ, (which was wonderful. look for blog to be posted) so after eating lunch with the counselor, I decided to spend 35 glorious minutes napping in my car at the park. Of course, there are only two and a half trees on the entire property that actually provide any shade, so all 22 vehicles were trying to crowd into a very small area. Fortunately the nap gods were smiling upon me and a veh moved just as I turned in. I gratefully took the spot which was in between a great big camo clad military guy napping in a tiny little sports coupe and two tiny little teenage blondes smoking in a great big jacked up, and beat up green pickup truck. Since the soldier was so relaxed, I decided there was probably no immediate danger of terrorist attack, so I let my seat back and got as comfy as I could in my car and closed my eyes. Just as I was about to doze off, this young blonde voice drifted through the open window. That's when I heard:

"Daddy says he won't do it again if I promise not to do it again either..."

Not sure what else was said, but I didn't get my nap 'cause my mind was spinning wildly to come up with any possibilities as to what that sentence could have been referring.

We are in Alabama after all...

I'm just glad I was able to serve my country in some small way. By being between the girls and the soldier, at least his nap wasn't disturbed.

FISH TACOS & FAMILY FUN

(FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY... i realized yesterday (9/08) that this had not been finished and published when it was supposed to have been. So, I finished it. I thought. Actually, for some reason it published the unfinished draft, sooooo if you saw it between yesterday and today, you've only seen part of it. I wanted to share with any of you who are interested, so I'm going to leave it here for a few days, and then I'll tuck it back into its place in May.)



I just got back from an amazing trip to Tucson, AZ!! It was so much fun despite the fact that the counselor (Roger) stayed at the "camp" with the security guard (Jiro). I truly have a wonderful if somewhat, um, well let's see... yeah, there's just no one word to describe my family, but wonderful, funny, strange, intelligent, eccentric, weird,... wait..., gotta add LOVING & LOYAL... yep, those all work. Sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed by my family, but mostly I just feel Blessed.

I got to watch my "little" brother go through his commissioning/graduation ceremony. I got to visit with Mom & Dad, another little brother, two sisters, their men, a nephew, and tons of other kids. I was also introduced to FISH TACOS for the first time: I have 3 words: MMM, MMM, GOOD!! Thanks lil' bro!! Sometimes I forget how great the hullabub can be with that many people in one place. And though it can be the sourse of a massive headache, the fact is, I miss it sometimes. Along with the noise and activity and general chaos comes the feeling of LIFE. No chance to grow stagnant because there's too much going on. Of course, I was grateful for my little office/room and some privacy, but all in all, it was wonderful!! Here are some pix of people, places and activities. (sorry if you've seen this on the family blog, but I have other people you know!!!)

Some of the PEOPLE

The PLACE

... and other THINGS

(a NOT so extreme, but lots of fun, home makeover - bedroom edition)

Always check your panties for holes!!!

1 LILLY WHITE BUTT CHEEK

+

10 MINUTES IN TANNING BED

=

'NUFF SAID!!!

Now I'm Back and Happy as a Clam!!!

Life truly is good and I'll be back bloggin' with a vengence soon. There's so much to tell. Bear with me and you'll see...

I'm BACK, & I'm a bitchin'...

What "they" Cullman Primary Care sent me on 03-04-08 with my name "filled" in the blanks:

Dear:_____You were scheduled for an appointment on___ with_____which you did not keep. We want to be sure you are all right, and of course, we would - like to complete you examinationltreatment as soon as possible. It is very important for you to notifr our office if you are unable to keep your appointment; This time can be used for another patient who is need of medical care. Will you please call our office today? The telephone number is734-3202.
Sincerely,Culinian Primary Care. P.C.
Date: ___________

What I sent back on 3/5/08 on the reverse side of their letter:

To Whom It May Concern:

While I appreciate your “concern” for my health and well being, I am not at all pleased with the reprimand that I received from your office yesterday.

If you had a better plan in place that would allow you to more adequately attend to your phones, you would have seen that I DID call to cancel my appointment. I am certain that this is not the first complaint that you have received over this problem in your office as it has been an ongoing problem for years, but just to be sure that you properly understand the situation I found myself in, let me explain.

On Thursday February the 29th 2008 at 8:00am I made a phone call to the office to see if I could schedule an appointment with my regular physician, Dr. Elliott. I do not call my Dr’s office on a regular basis and never for anything other than a real illness. I was suffering, as so many others out there are right now, from the flu. I had already visited my Dr. two weeks earlier and was still sick. I had put it off as long as I could, but finally decided that I needed medical attention. I called but held for at least 10 min. so I headed out to CPC Urgent Care. On my way there, I decided that I would give one more effort to call the office and get an appointment so that Urgent Care could have the spot for other people. After being on hold, as usual, for another 8-10 min, I finally spoke with someone who was, thankfully, able to give me an appointment for 2:40pm that afternoon with Dr. Elliott. By that time I had arrived at Urgent Care, and was feeling so badly that I went on in to see if they were way behind. Not only was I feeling dreadful, but I knew that the sooner I could get some medications, the better off I’d be, and I also knew from prior experience that if I waited until my 2:40 appt, I’d be lucky to even get back to see the Dr. before 4:00 and by that time, there was no telling how I’d be feeling. So I signed in, gave them my cell phone # (what a great idea) and went out to my car to wait. After being seen by Dr. Saltz, I left urgent care to get my prescriptions filled and to go home to recuperate from what was tested as being the full blown flu.

I’m not sure exactly what time that morning I called back to your office to cancel my appointment, but it was before noon and I lay in bed and held for at least 15 or 20 minutes, listening to the message over and over and being told to press this ext. and that ext. for different reasons. Finally, after getting no answer so that I COULD cancel my appointment and “leave it open for some other patient” I pushed either ext. 103 or 105 and left a message that went something like this: Hi, this is Elena Caudle birth date 11/3/69 and I have an appointment with Dr. Elliott at 2:40pm today. I realize that this extension is not specifically for cancelling appointments, but I’m horribly ill and can’t hold my head up to continue holding for someone to answer the other line. I figure that whomever this extension belongs to will listen to the messages and I would very much appreciate it if you would pass this message along. I need to cancel my appointment, I have been to Urgent Care and I don’t want to keep another sick person from being able to see Dr. Elliott. Thank you and good bye.

Evidently the lines of communication within the office are not much better than the lines between the office and the public.

I am sorry that you did not get my request to cancel my appointment. It WAS made and was made in a timely manner. I also understand that people are not very considerate of our Dr’s time sometimes, but I think that consideration of people’s time needs to go both ways.

Sincerely, ME
SO THERE!!!