Hi

Spring

There are yellow tulips on my desk.  Spring is just beginning. I hears a meteorologist say at the beginning of the month that even though the first day of spring is not till late in the month, by the weather they consider winter to be Dec-Feb so March 1 is the beginning of spring weather speaking.  

Um, someone should tell that to the weather then.  We have had below average temps and them had a decent snowfall on the 5th-6th.  Most of that is already melting away and should be gone quickly because this weekend we should be closer to the average temps and hit the 50s!  This makes me happy :)

I suppose I should not complain too much, last year we had an early warm up and hardly any snow at all and this year we were back to our normal snow amount which is good for the crops and lawns and all that grows.  While last year the weather was spectacular for the Super Bowl (Indy should host every year if you ask me, we know how to do it right), the early warm up robbed us of a true spring and lots of things bloomed too early or didn't grow right because we also went into a drought situation.  I am hoping this year will be much better.  

I'm also looking forward to spring because of changes I hope to make.  Its the whole new beginnings thing that is inspiring me I think.  I moved to my sister's house last summer and settled in pretty quickly but not completely. Oh, I have a routine and my bedroom is organized and lots of my belongings were sorted, purged or stored.  But, I have an entire second room next to bedroom to use as a living room that is just sitting there waiting.  I have an entire corner of books that need shelves (imagine that, me with lots of books haha) and another corner has my entertainment center and one bookcase with knick knacks, pictures and other useful things on it.  The rest of the room is empty though.  I have a couch, chair, TV and various other items to fill it up that are sitting at my Dad's in storage.  He got new furniture and offered me his old stuff (not that old, but sentimental to me since it is what my Mom picked out) After I moved, we still had sorting to do to make room for it and then it was winter and nasty out and now?  Well, its spring.  And there is room.  So I am hoping that sooner rather than later I can get the rest of my things and truly get settled.  

Music

I've been updating the music on my computer. I haven't bought much music lately but I realized I have quite a few CDs that I have not uploaded to iTunes and therefore they haven't made it to my iPhone. So far, Cd 18 is uploading. I'm noticing what a wide variety of music I have. Soundtracks, gospel, pop, country, rock. I'm not the only one right? We're talking Sinatra, Manilow, Dixie Chicks, Mercy Me, Third Day, Daughtry, and the list goes on and on. By far, the artist I have the most songs from is Mercy Me. I've been a fan since their early days when they did youth camps and conferences. I heard "I Can Only Imagine" long before it was recorded on their first album for a studio. I can't count the number of times I have been to their concerts, although that seems a strange way to say it. I appreciate the manner in which they share their music. It's not a show for us, the attendees, it's a worship experience we are invited to participate in. Anyway, once I get my CDs uploaded, it will be time to make some playlists and sync with my phone. Then I think I wil try out Goggle Play. I tried out some music I had on my work computer and they say you can add up to 20,000 songs for free. It appears to be their answer to Apple's iCloud and I kinda like the idea that I can log into my google account anywhere and get my music. Meanwhile, back to the music.

A Favorite Childhood Memory

A favorite childhood memory?    So the other day at work, we were all asked to contribute to a memory book for one of our colleagues who is preparing to have her first child. They asked us share a favorite childhood memory.  This is what I came up with...

Oh my, the stories I could tell.  I don’t know how I could even begin to choose. I suppose I will start with a funny one.  As a young child, maybe 3 or so, I spent a week with my grandparents who lived several hours away in western Kansas.  One night, we went out to dinner at a local pizza hut.  They got a pizza with lots of toppings, probably a supreme, which I didn’t like.  I’m told that I picked most of the toppings off and at the end of the meal I surveyed the table, dramatically wiped my hands cleaned and proclaimed loudly “look Grandpa, I maked a mess!” This ranks as a favorite memory because it tickled my Grandpa enough that he told that story over and over.  As the oldest grandchild, my statement was used to describe messes made by all the children in the family since.  You never know which moments will become “legendary” among family, enjoy them all and tell stories often.

Another favorite memory I have concerns my little sister.  My parents adopted her when I was 5 years old.   It was August and I remember being really excited.  My parents left me with family friends while they went to pick her up.  I have clear memories of sitting on the couch at their house and getting to hold her the very first time.  She was three months old. My Mom and Dad let me pick out her name.  This was partly to ease the transition to “big sister” from “only child” however; I think it was also to distract me from the fact that they gave away our two dogs, Peanut (a Chihuahua) and Susie (a toy poodle). To be fair to my parents, the dogs were both a little high strung to have around a new baby but that didn’t stop me from teasing my sister that we traded in the dogs for her and I still wasn’t sure if it was a good deal or not. I have learned blood doesn’t make a family, love does. 

The last favorite memory concerns a book.  It was my favorite storybook as a child, one that was read over and over.  It was one of those “Little Golden Books” called The Monster at the End of this Book and it featured Grover from Sesame Street.  I remember my Mother reading the book to me complete with dramatic voices as Grover pleaded and pleaded with the reader to stop turning the pages because of the Monster waiting on the last page.  There were no profound truths or lofty nuggets of wisdom to be found in this book.  Unless you count the idea that maybe what you are scared of sometimes is not really so scary after all. Oh, wait.   I also remember reading this book to my little sister, imitating the voices my mother used when she read it to me.  Years later, I had the privilege of reading the same story to both my niece and nephew.   I guess maybe trading the dogs in for a kid sister didn’t turn out so bad.

Grandma's Pearls

Wearing my Grandma's pearls to church this morning. Cause really, why not? Who says I have to save them for special occasions? Of course, isn't every time we worship God kinda a special occasion? It is spending time with the creator of the universe and all.

Saturday Night Randomness

I put in a lot of hours on the road every week. Which means lots of time to observe other drivers. One thing (among many) that bugs me is tailgaters on the highway. Today a car just couldn't wait to get past me in the fast lane, so I got over to the right. Instead of passing me, he moves up and paces himself right next to me. Drives me insane! I ended up tapping my breaks to let him get past me and of course he gets in my lane and proceeds to slow down. //end rant

Ah well, at least it was a nice sunny day and I followed my rule of not engaging the stupid. Think of the Internet rule "don't feed the trolls." Same principle.

I'm trying to write more these days. Not just in my sorely neglected blog, but in other venues. One of my dreams is to someday write a novel. There won't ever be a novel if I don't start writing something.

I'm going to be 40 in three weeks. How the heck did that happen?

If only gas were cheaper. I would put into practice the line of a county tune I heard today. It's the perfect time of year to "put a little gravel in my travel" and take a drive through some backcountry. Sounds so good to me right now.

I ate cereal for dinner. This is what happens when you don't get home from work until 9pm.

There's a new season of tv starting next week. NCIS, Castle and Chuck are just a few I'm looking forward to.

Did I mention I'm almost 40? One good thing about a birthday in the fall? Red Lobster's endless shrimp. So who's taking me?

Yup. Randomness.

Goodnight everybody.

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There's a Magnolia Tree in the front yard

I had fun today taking pictures with my iPhone of the Magnolia tree in the front yard. It was nice outside today but the forecast for Tuesday is storms and high winds. Pat suggested getting some pictures before all the blossoms get blown away. Its a nice full tree and most of the blossoms are still intact.

I have also discovered Instagram as a pretty nifty iPhone app for editing and uploading photos. I like the shading on this one.
I

I circled the tree snapping lots of photos. This one I took with my back
to the road standing under the tree

That's a lot of flowers! I hope the storms don't blow them all the way.

I have no explanation

Today was the second day of spring. It was a little overcast, but warm. Low 70's I think. I took advantage. A few months ago, we split up and packed up some of my mom's stuff. At the time, my storage unit was inaccessible so I left my boxes in dad's garage. Over the weekend I picked up most of the boxes and today I took them to the unit.

After I unloaded the car, I cleaned and sorted some stuff in my trunk. I have a lot of CDs. As I sorted them, I came across some I hadn't listened to in years. I ended up reloading my cd player. It holds six discs in the trunk. None of these are in my iTunes library. That must change. I left in the new cd I got a couple weeks ago by Group 1 Crew and added two dc Talk CDs, I daughtry cd and two Dixie Chicks CDs.

I. Have. No. Explanation.

But with the warm spring day, just driving home with the windows down and the music loud was not enough. If gas prices weren't so high, I might have just kept going. Maybe tomorrow.

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How is it possible?

March? Really? This year is flying by. I have plans for a vacation to make. I have things to organize and move into my storage unit. I need to get my car to a mechanic. There's no way it is really March right?

So I guess I need to get started. I am a procrastinator at heart. I take forever to make up my mind. I weight the pros and cons for so long, they become useless. One thing I wanted to do was write more. You can see the length of time between this post and the previous one to know that is so true. I have recently re-discovered the world of fanfiction. What is that you ask? Its exactly what it sounds like. It is fictional accounts written by fans of established books, movies, tv shows etc.. People pick up on a character or event and run with it. It could be a simple "one shot" short story that the writer thinks should happen or a complete story arc with multiple chapters. Many times, fanfiction is the writer's dream of what "really" should have happened, especially when they dislike the way the original story plays out. They can create the happy ending in their own fictional universe. Most stories have an explanation up front describing when and where the story fits into the time-line of the original. Others are noted as AU (Alternate Universe) or non-canonical.

Most sites have categories of stories as well as ratings. This is the internet after all and people can post all sorts of junk. My advice is to narrow any search you do by limiting ratings and if I were you, I would stay far far away from slash. (you'll have to take my word for it or go google it) Trust me, we are talking brain scrubbing here people.

Some fanfiction is really good. Good writing, actual plots, believable. The rest is a combination of terrible writing, trashy plots, and just plain not plausible. And all of it at times can be extremely funny. For example, yesterday I stumbled across a short 6 chapter story that was based on the tv show Criminal Minds. The premise was what if all the characters were on facebook. It. Was. Hilarious! One of the funniest things I have read in a long time. I was in tears from laughing so hard. The author was dead on with the attitudes of each character, though it wasn't completely based on "canon." Maybe I will take a shot at writing some fanfiction myself. Though if I post it online, I don't know that I will publicly acknowledge it here. :)


So if it is March, that means Spring is around the corner. And not soon enough! I really want to get outside and walk. I am so over wearing a coat all the time. I need sunshine and green grass. I need warmth. I need longer days. Who's with me?

One last random note, I have been wanting cupcakes forever and I finally went on Saturday to the Flying Cupcake, in the rain no less, and grabbed a couple to take home and share. They were all good.

The cupcake box complete with raindrops. The sacrifices I make people!

And here we are. Red Velvet Elvis, Pucker Up, Salted Chocolate Caramel, and The Bart Simpson (butterfinger, get it?)

Yum! We cut each in fourths and so we could all have a bite or two of each one.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! or is it too late for that?

My laptop currently has a love hate relationship with the Internet right now. I find myself writing posts in my head and then not able to get them online so I'm trying to make use of my phone to email a post.

I enjoyed the holidays and was blessed to be able to see friends and family, even got to go to my first Colts game.

It's that time of year again. You know, the part where you are sick of the snow and cold weather? That's me right now. I wouldn't mind it at all if I was hanging out in some remote mountain cabin with a fireplace, a hot tub and a fully stocked pantry with nowhere to go. Or a chauffeur. It's the driving in the snow and ice that I really don't like. I would never make it if I lived any further north.

Today marks one year ago that my eye froze on me. Happily, it is all better now but I'm still dealing with the weight gain caused by the meds I was prescribed. I have been trying to get motivated to get some exercise, but I think I have been secretly afraid that if I overdid it, my eye would mess up again. Yes I know that makes no sense, but I remember walking on the treadmill around the same time and feeling really bad afterwards. I don't know if it was before or after the eye thing happened, but in my mind, they are associated. I need to move past that and get active or I'm going to have more health issues to deal with.

I'm not a big resolution maker but think this year I want to challenge myself. I want this to be a year of moving forward, taking risks and making changes. So we'll see how that goes.

Speaking of changes, I'm new to this o e space after a period thing instead of two. It's hard to stop doing it when that's how you've always done it. Anyone else having trouble with this?

That's all I got for the moment...

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It's Friday Night...

And I am happy to be relaxing... This week I
1. Had a sore throat on Saturday

2. Felt better Saturday night

3. Had a yummy belated birthday lunch with friends on Sunday in which I might have eaten 44 shrimp. Burp. Excuse me.

4. Took a four. Hour. Nap. To the sounds of thunder and rain. sigh.

5. Woke up Monday feeling much better.

6. Cooked PioneerWoman's fried round steak for dinner.

7. Outraced the storm on Tuesday morning.

8. Went to work on Wednesday

9. Came home sick again. Never boast that you didn't get as sick as everyone else. You will eat those words.

10. Stayed home from work Thursday.

11. Started dog/cat/house sitting for friends.

12. Went to work today and almost lost my voice.

13. Am sitting on the couch watching an NCIS marathon with a sweet puppy snuggled up next to me.

And that's my week. Here's to getting healthy and puppies that cuddle. I miss mine.

Oh Happiness

WooHoo! One of my favorite shows, NBC's Chuck, just got picked up for an additional 11 episodes which means a full 24 episode season! This makes me happy. Yes, it can be a little implausible and over the top, but what show isn't? Even reality shows aren't "real" anymore. Last season I so excited that more people from Chuck's life found out about his secret spy gig, especially his bestie Morgan Grimes, slacker with a heart of gold. Morgan's reaction was classic and just what it should be when one finds out their best friend is a genuine CIA agent. Even better, Morgan himself is now part of the team, a spot he earned for sure in last night's episode. Awesome and Ellie, Sarah, Casey and even Jeffster and Big Mike make this a fun, silly, and geektastic hour of entertainment and I'm glad we get to have it around a little while longer.
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hmm...

I guess I should start posting on a more regular basis.  I just looked at my stats and had no idea that I could see how many times my blog has been viewed by someone.  Guess I should give you something to look at right? 

I have rearranged some things and made it easier for me to access this blog in order to post, both from a computer and from my iPhone, so hopefully I will be much better at adding content here.  My eyes have improved to the point that even after staring at a computer at work all day, it doesn't bother them to stare at one when I get home :)

Last night I went to my small group Bible study at Amy and Isaac's house. We have been going through Francis Chan's book Crazy Love.  Good stuff.  Good discussions.  I'm being challenged.  

The rest of my weekend will be busy too.  Going out with Amy and Kim to dinner tonight then heading to my Aunt Peg's after church on Sunday for a family gathering/photo session.  My cousin Marchelle is gonna take some photos.  I'm excited.  Have you seen her work.  Its good.  Really good.  And I'm not saying that just cause she's my cousin.  Here, take a look for yourself.  Marchelle Mosley Photography

See.  Told you she was good.  

Allright,  lunch hour is almost over.  I'll be back soon, promise :)

Awesome News!!!

I know I know, it's been forever since I posted, but I wanted to share some news. My ten year old cousin Maeci was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma this spring. She has been fightin' like a girl ever since! Her motto has been "God's got it" and she has put her hand in His this entire journey. Yesterday she had a PET scan and today we found out it was clear!!! WOOHOO MISS MAECI IS CANCER FREE!!!!!!!

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Hi, It's been awhile...

Hi, Remember me?  I'm still not 100% health wise, but I am back on track and the end is in sight.  I mean that literally.  I can almost see correctly again.  Just a little double/blurriness when I look far off.  In fact, right now I am not wearing the prism and can see my computer screen just fine.  So here's the rundown...

The Bad...

not happy with the drug pushing doctor who won't take time to explain ANYTHING!  Seriously, I asked him if the high level of antibodies in my blood could indicate a disease other than the one he thinks I have and he just looks at me and says very smugly, well the type of antibodies you have are not present in healthy people.  you are very sick, but don't worry, we are gonna get this fixed.  EXCUSE ME WHAT???  Did that answer my question at all?  I wanted to smack him.  Don't worry, I do have an appointment for a second opinion, unfortunately not till June. 

I have gained way too much weight because of the meds making me ravenously hungry all the time.  Plus they make me tired and I am afraid to exhert myself by doing actual exercise, seeing that normal activity makes my heart feel like it is going to jump out of my chest. (Don't worry, its the drugs, I check my heart rate and pulse on a regular basis)

I'm running out clothes I can comfortably wear.  

The Good...

I big puffy heart with glitter love love love my opthomologist Dr, Yang!  She LISTENED to me.  She cared about my medical history and my similariteis with my mom.  She correctly diagnosed what happened to my eye.  She knows my mother's longtime neuro-opthomologist, Dr. Purvin.  She studied under Dr. P and told me we would watch out for signs of psuedo tumor and that if she couldn't fix me, she would send me to Dr. P.  I also heart Dr. Shah, the neurosurgeon who consulted for the intial skull problem they saw on the MRI.  He agrees with Dr. Yang's diagnosis on my eye and told me what to watch out for if the skull deformity becomes a real problem. 

I went shopping a couple of times at Kohl's (see above clothing complaint) and now have three cute new shirts, two pairs of capris, 1 pair of jeans and two pairs of sandals.  All the clothes came from the petitie department.  Pants are easy for me to find in the petite section, but shirts that fit right are rare, so it was a big score to find them.  Plus, between sales, kohl's cash, and discount coupons I only spent about $85 for all of the above.  My last trip was the most profitable, I got two shirts and a pair of capris for less than the original price of just one of the shirts!!

The contracts were up on the cell phones and I got an iPhone.  love it.   still playing with it.  need ideas/ recommendations for apps you can't live without.

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Just testing mobile posting. You may return to your regular web browsing. I repeat, this is only a test.
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I am my mother's daughter

WANTED: Normal life, must include good health, enjoyable job, great friends and loving family. 

Well, three out of four ain't bad.  Don't get me wrong, I am vey grateful for the blessings in my life.  I do have much to be thankful for.  However, I am dealing with some health issues and the complications from them. 

My eyes are playing games with me.  It was both of them at first, but now it is mostly my right eye.  Which explains why my left eye is now my new favorite eye.  Righty is not listening to me. 

I say "lets look to the right"  and it says, "no, I like the view of your nose better."  I say, "lets look straight ahead!"  Righty says "what did I just say?  You weren't listening were you?"  ARRRGH! 

As long as I keep Righty covered up, Lefty works just fine, so I have borrowed a trick from my Mom, who dealt with similar issues.  Its called a Redneck Eyepatch, i.e. black electrical tape on the right lense of my glasses.  I need a "Captain Jack Sparrow" wig or a parrot or something.

In the meantime, I am not allowed to drive or work (doctor's orders).  I go back to the doctor on Monday and hopefully will get clearance to go back to work (back to the blessings-I have a dad who is willing to play chauffer)    There are still many unawsered questions and I am getting a little stir-crazy, but I know that no one has a "normal" life.  It just doesn't exist.  So I will count my blessings, be grateful for what I do have and pray.

Tuesday Feb. 2nd will mark the third anniversay of Mom's homegoing.  She handled the trials she faced throughout her life with a few tears, a lot of grace and even more laughter.   I wanna be like her.


PS  Did you know you can magnify your view of an individual web page?  Its kinda helpful.

PPS Please forgive typos and misspellings, I'm only working with one eye here people :)

...randoms...

While I really do not like the snow we have been dealing with lately, I have to admit that it has been quite pretty.  Its so cold, that it is not melting.  The result is it looks like God took out a big shaker jar of glitter and went crazy!

I would love to have a fireplace.  I would then waste hours staring at it.

I am very proud of my Cinnamon puppy!  Ok so she is not really a puppy, she is somewhere around 7 yrs. old. and probably weighs around 75 lbs  She is living with my sister and brother law right now and they got her out on Thursday when the kids had a snow day and they all played in the snow.  She didn't jump on the kids and even pulled them on the tobaggon. 

Between being sick, then the holidays, then being on prednisone, I have gained weight.  It is not good.  I need to shape up literally.   I need to cut back on the amount I am eating as well as what I am eating.  I also need to get some exercise.  The treadmilll has been cleaned off and I have no excuse to not try. 

wait, what?

Its just under two weeks to Christmas and I am not ready.  Ok, no surprise there.  But I have done some preparations and even bought a few gifts.  I even have ideas for what I am going to buy to finish of my list. 

I do need to spend some time on another project pretty quickly, homemade Christmas cards.  I have the cards, stamps, stickers etc.  Now I just need something inspiring to write on them.  This is where I get stuck, my procrastination and inability to make decisions conspire to bring me down. 

I am looking forward to the holidays, not just because of the time off of work, but because I can spend time with family and friends.  My Aunt Kristy and Uncle Matt are coming up from Kansas City for Christmas so I will get to spend some time with them.  One of the fun things we tend to do is go to a movie together.  They took me to see the first Lord of the Rings movie and needless to say, I was hooked.  I'm also looking forward to Sunday because I getting together with a bunch of family for an ornament making party.  We will be eating snacks, sporting our jammies, and getting crafty.  I'm sure there will be lots of laughs and lots of pictures.  I have already made some snacks to contribute to the party, peppermint bark, dark chocolate mint almond bark, white chocolate pretzel rods,. and raspberry fudge. Is it time to eat yet?






 

Life is just one big adventure

My laptop has been revived!  I am finally (6 months was a long time) able to use my laptop again.  Hmm, maybe I will be able to blog again more regularly.   It is nice to be able to check my email and to get online when I am at home.  It is also time to start sending out another round of resumes now that I can use a word processor again.

I am settled into my new residence and Cinnamon is safely housed in her new kennel at my sister's house.  She is getting some training from my brother in law and lots of love (and treats) from Chloe and Caden.  Of course everytime I start to settle into a routine, craziness is sure to make an appearance.  Last week, I stayed overnight at my sister's to watch the kids while she and her husband took an overnight trip.  This week, my work schedule is wacky because of Thanksgiving.  I actually have to go work on Monday, can you believe it.  But I am not going to complain, because I will off from Thanksgiving day and I won't have to go back until the next Wednesday. 

Oh sorry, I got distracted there for a minute.  I am watching POC At World's End and it is the trippy part with Captain Jack Sparrow in Davy Jones' locker....where was I?

Its almost time for Robin Hood, only three episodes left.  Fun show if you haven't seen it, seasons 1 and 2 are available on dvd.  We're going to have some popcorn and enjoy the show because we are all too full from eating at the wedding this afternoon to eat dinner.   Today was the big day for my now ex roommate and her fiance.  I wish them all the best.

oh, there's Robin now! 

Later :)