My brother emailed me-he says, so here you are. "lollygagging" on vacation, and you haven't posted one time yet. Ok, ok. Here ya go. I had thought that I might post several times, but if he keeps nagging me...
The last 3 days have whirled by. Saturday we had Angel Food distribtution at church, and then celebrated my youngest son's birthday that evening with chicken and noodles and potato soup. Oh, and a peach cobbler that Lydia got a hold of while it was cooling. She ate the corner of it, so most of it could be saved, but I'm telling you, I'm not used to having a dog around who steals food. We are much more watchful, and Rebekah is teaching her the concept of "Leave It!" I've been working with her too, but you have to out think Lyd because she's smart enough to be sneaky about her food stealing. She's probably way too smart to live with THIS family.
Sunday our little choir presented our Christmas cantata at church, "Hope Has Hands". It was a day of highs and lows, one of the lows was me screwing up my part of the piano/organ offertory duet. Sigh.
Monday, which was yesterday, I hosted a "girl's lunch" for some of the younger women in our extended family, and a good time was had by all. Lots of conversation and laughing, and getting to know each other better. It may become a holiday tradition. Then my daughter and I braved the streets and did a little shopping and ran some errands. We went by Starbucks and bought a Cranberry Coffee Cake to replace the one Lydia consumed a couple of weeks ago. Home, and later in the evening, my kids, my son in law, and a young couple not related to us but who call me "mom" came over for a game of "Imagine If". Quite fun, if I do say so myself.
Today I'm sort of cleaning, organizing, listening to Christmas music, doing laundry, and just bumming around the house. I think I'll go have lunch with my husband today as he has to brave the crowds at his second job tonight. Someone asked me if I felt guilty being off this two weeks while he still has to work his two jobs. I sort of do...I wish he were able to take off more time than what he is. I also have heard from friends who have sent Christmas cards, and it is my intention to write or email them back-I do appreciate hearing from everyone! I do not send Christmas cards out, but I do enjoy getting them, and hearing what is going on with everybody. We even heard from my husband's brother and his wife this year.
It's cold, cloudy, and windy again today, but doesn't seem to be as bitter as it had been the last 2 or 3 days. I'd love to see the sun again, and hopefully this week it'll make an appearance.
So that catches me up to today, Tuesday, December 23. A happy belated birthday to my sister Linda and her daughter, Anna. Most of us women wouldn't want to spend our 40th birthday in the hospital giving birth, but 11 years ago yesterday, Linda did, and we're so glad Anna's here!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Cold and hearing "things"
So, after reviewing comments on my last posting, and after my sister informed me that she wrote some comments which I never received in my email, and thus I wasn't able to post them, I removed the comment "moderation". I hope that people may feel more free to leave their comments-I understand that it is annoying to post a comment only to be told that it has to be approved by the blog author. There ya go...dive right in there and comment!
To say that it's cold is an understatement. It is FRIGID. When I left for work this morning it was 4 degrees, with a 2 digit below zero windchill-I don't remember what exactly it was. I came home for lunch to take care of Lydia, as I left her on our enclosed porch. She has a heating pad (made especially for dogs, mind you) in a box that shelters her, but still, she is chilly by the time I get home. She's always glad to see me and likes coming in to get warm. When I got home this evening, she was shivering, but very energetic! When I went with her out to the backyard, she wanted to play, and I stayed out there with her about 5 minutes-that was all I could stand it. She has been staying inside at night, and is a good girl-she sleeps right by the bed and as far as I know, she stays right there.
Kids are at school 4 days this week, starting their Christmas vacation on Friday. I have to go on Friday-it's a "teacher work day" and I've got paperwork to catch up on, so that'll be nice to be able get some of that done. My work remains interesting and challenging. Last week a disturbed student fashioned a weapon out of a metal paperclip and launched it at her/his teacher, barely missing the teacher's eye. The student is being dealt with in a severe way-this incident is the newest in a long list of difficulties she/he has had. I am seeing another student privately to help with some issues, and it seems that every day is different, with different things to think about. (I just heard on the news that the windchill current is -1).
Our choir at church, combined with another church choir, presented a Christmas cantata (called "Hope Has Hands) at the other church last night. It sounded pretty good-sometimes the more voices, the better - both churches have small choirs, so this was nice. One of the things you deal with when you sing in a choir and practice a work for several weeks is that you hum bits and pieces of the songs you've learned as you work, drive, wash dishes, whatever. Those songs stuck in your head (they're called "earworms") can be frustrating, but I really don't mind them too much. I learned from Wiki just now that a neurologist in 2007 suggested a more scientific name for this phenomena- "Involuntary Musical Imagery". Other research suggests that earworms are more prevalent in women and musicians. Top 10 earworm list as documented by 559 students participating in a study:
1. Other - (students named their own worst earworm
2. Chili's "Baby Back Ribs" jingle
3. "Who Let the Dogs Out"
4. "We Will Rock You"
5. Kit-Kat candy bar jingle ("Gimme a break...Gimme a break...etc")
6. "Mission Impossible" theme
7. "YMCA"
8. "Whoomp, There It Is"
9. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
10. "It's a Small World, Afterall"
Any of those bothering you yet? (ha)
To say that it's cold is an understatement. It is FRIGID. When I left for work this morning it was 4 degrees, with a 2 digit below zero windchill-I don't remember what exactly it was. I came home for lunch to take care of Lydia, as I left her on our enclosed porch. She has a heating pad (made especially for dogs, mind you) in a box that shelters her, but still, she is chilly by the time I get home. She's always glad to see me and likes coming in to get warm. When I got home this evening, she was shivering, but very energetic! When I went with her out to the backyard, she wanted to play, and I stayed out there with her about 5 minutes-that was all I could stand it. She has been staying inside at night, and is a good girl-she sleeps right by the bed and as far as I know, she stays right there.
Kids are at school 4 days this week, starting their Christmas vacation on Friday. I have to go on Friday-it's a "teacher work day" and I've got paperwork to catch up on, so that'll be nice to be able get some of that done. My work remains interesting and challenging. Last week a disturbed student fashioned a weapon out of a metal paperclip and launched it at her/his teacher, barely missing the teacher's eye. The student is being dealt with in a severe way-this incident is the newest in a long list of difficulties she/he has had. I am seeing another student privately to help with some issues, and it seems that every day is different, with different things to think about. (I just heard on the news that the windchill current is -1).
Our choir at church, combined with another church choir, presented a Christmas cantata (called "Hope Has Hands) at the other church last night. It sounded pretty good-sometimes the more voices, the better - both churches have small choirs, so this was nice. One of the things you deal with when you sing in a choir and practice a work for several weeks is that you hum bits and pieces of the songs you've learned as you work, drive, wash dishes, whatever. Those songs stuck in your head (they're called "earworms") can be frustrating, but I really don't mind them too much. I learned from Wiki just now that a neurologist in 2007 suggested a more scientific name for this phenomena- "Involuntary Musical Imagery". Other research suggests that earworms are more prevalent in women and musicians. Top 10 earworm list as documented by 559 students participating in a study:
1. Other - (students named their own worst earworm
2. Chili's "Baby Back Ribs" jingle
3. "Who Let the Dogs Out"
4. "We Will Rock You"
5. Kit-Kat candy bar jingle ("Gimme a break...Gimme a break...etc")
6. "Mission Impossible" theme
7. "YMCA"
8. "Whoomp, There It Is"
9. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
10. "It's a Small World, Afterall"
Any of those bothering you yet? (ha)
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Minutia and a question
It's Saturday evening, and I'm watching "Huckabee" on FOX, and just "chilling out". I've had a busy week and it's nice to just sit here! I need to go clean up the dishes and do some other chores yet though, so I shouldn't get too comfortable.
Lydia update: She had another vet vist today and is parasite free. Ears are still infected, and one reason is because it's such a chore to treat them. It takes two people, and I often am the only one here. I only got them "doctored" 3 days last week, so I need to be more faithful in doing that. She is continuing her food scavenging behavior, unfortunately, and the vet says she always will. She is at a good weight now, and really doesn't need to gain more, but this dog is in continual food hunt mode. Her taste buds really got spoiled when she lived on her own- I would imagine she ate all kinds of things she shouldn't have, but which taste good to dogs. We had a cranberry coffee cake on the table which was from Starbucks, and which was given to my husband by a grateful client. Lydia was happy to help herself to this coffee cake when I was in the bathroom getting ready for work-she was able to drag it off the table and tear the plastic wrapper off of it. More than half the frosting was gone when I caught her and scolded her good. She put her tail between her legs and looked at me like, "Who, me? I didn't do nothing..."
Lots of things in the news to comment about-the unfortunate incident where the man providing security at a WalMart lost his life on Black Friday; bailouts for the auto industry, a Wichita man arrested and charged with more than 100 counts of animal cruelty as he had numerous pit bulls chained up and starving on a farm in Okahoma; OJ going to jail; neighbors; working with children who don't know when they'll eat next at home; going to the Mosely Street Melodrama today for a Christmas party; etc etc etc. Blogs can serve many purposes-people can write about the minutia of their lives and they can express opinions about current issues. Blogs can be useful in following someone's career and daily activities. Blogs also allow people to have a glimpse into others' thoughts and feelings, and you can get to know someone fairly well from reading their blog if they have truly shared from their heart. Discussion often ensues from a posting, and this is not a bad thing-discussion is communication.
I'd like to ask those who read my blog-why do you read it? And if you have your own blog, why? What do you hope to accomplish with it? Let's discuss!
Lydia update: She had another vet vist today and is parasite free. Ears are still infected, and one reason is because it's such a chore to treat them. It takes two people, and I often am the only one here. I only got them "doctored" 3 days last week, so I need to be more faithful in doing that. She is continuing her food scavenging behavior, unfortunately, and the vet says she always will. She is at a good weight now, and really doesn't need to gain more, but this dog is in continual food hunt mode. Her taste buds really got spoiled when she lived on her own- I would imagine she ate all kinds of things she shouldn't have, but which taste good to dogs. We had a cranberry coffee cake on the table which was from Starbucks, and which was given to my husband by a grateful client. Lydia was happy to help herself to this coffee cake when I was in the bathroom getting ready for work-she was able to drag it off the table and tear the plastic wrapper off of it. More than half the frosting was gone when I caught her and scolded her good. She put her tail between her legs and looked at me like, "Who, me? I didn't do nothing..."
Lots of things in the news to comment about-the unfortunate incident where the man providing security at a WalMart lost his life on Black Friday; bailouts for the auto industry, a Wichita man arrested and charged with more than 100 counts of animal cruelty as he had numerous pit bulls chained up and starving on a farm in Okahoma; OJ going to jail; neighbors; working with children who don't know when they'll eat next at home; going to the Mosely Street Melodrama today for a Christmas party; etc etc etc. Blogs can serve many purposes-people can write about the minutia of their lives and they can express opinions about current issues. Blogs can be useful in following someone's career and daily activities. Blogs also allow people to have a glimpse into others' thoughts and feelings, and you can get to know someone fairly well from reading their blog if they have truly shared from their heart. Discussion often ensues from a posting, and this is not a bad thing-discussion is communication.
I'd like to ask those who read my blog-why do you read it? And if you have your own blog, why? What do you hope to accomplish with it? Let's discuss!
Monday, December 01, 2008
Medical Missionary
In the Friday, November 28 issue issue of the Wichita Eagle, on the front page, was an article about a man named Kevin Raymer, who is the first doctor to participate in the "International Family Medicine Fellowship", the first program of its kind to help train doctors to practice medicine in developing countries. This program is housed at Via Christi Regional Medical Center here in Wichita.
I checked out his blog, and was amazed to read of some of his experiences, as he practices medicine in a rural hospital in Zimbabwe. He is also a man of faith, and shares freely about that as well. I invite you to check it out, but a little warning-some of the pictures he posts are not for the faint of heart.
The blog address is:
http://internationalfamilymedicinefellow.blogspot.com/
In other news, after some difficulties with my washing machine drain, my two brothers are coming by this evening to work on it for me. Words are inadequate to express how grateful I am that I can call these guys to help out, and to help out with a pretty grimy job. I'm making them dinner, but that seems so inadequate! Thanks, Jay and Kevin, for all you do.
I checked out his blog, and was amazed to read of some of his experiences, as he practices medicine in a rural hospital in Zimbabwe. He is also a man of faith, and shares freely about that as well. I invite you to check it out, but a little warning-some of the pictures he posts are not for the faint of heart.
The blog address is:
http://internationalfamilymedicinefellow.blogspot.com/
In other news, after some difficulties with my washing machine drain, my two brothers are coming by this evening to work on it for me. Words are inadequate to express how grateful I am that I can call these guys to help out, and to help out with a pretty grimy job. I'm making them dinner, but that seems so inadequate! Thanks, Jay and Kevin, for all you do.
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