Holiday Humor of a Different Sort...

This pushes my fun-button in several ways: diversity, humor, holidays, and choral music. The Seattle Men's Chorus singing the Dreidl song.

Hat tip to Velveteen Rabbi.

Christmas in the South

How to tell you're celebrating Christmas in the South: The central air keeps blowing out the advent candles.

I'm Speechless!

Florida Woman Says Former Church Plans to Make Her Sins Public

Irony alert: The name of the church in question? Grace Community Church.

Here's a link to the church's letter to their former member.

Merry Christmas!

Our White Christmas Came Two Weeks Early

An odd thing happened today ... Baton Rouge got snow. It happens once every five or six years, but rarely does it stick. Today, not only did it stick, but it's staying through the day. Elizabeth has been playing in the snow all day long, and discovering that people who live in snowy areas don't use the same cold-weather-clothes that we do. She has to keep coming in and changing clothes because everything is getting wet.

It's around 3 PM, and the snow is still on the ground. It's soggy and slushy, but it's still around.

It's odd that we get to see snow as it falls.













Our Japanese Magnolia Tree by the edge of the carport
















Our house-guest-dog, Sally, with snowflakes on her back. She was really confused!















Elizabeth and the Snowman she made with a neighbor.

Our neighbors still have their temporary fence up until they can repair the damage done by Hurricane Gustav.

























The rosebush, wondering what happened.

YAY!!!

We're so relieved that it looks like Ike is going to visit somewhere else this week.  There are still parts of Louisiana that don't have power, and there's LOTS of debris still piled up along the streets. Another storm right now would be more than we could handle.

Since we're not in Hurricane Prep Mode, I'll fly out tomorrow on my previously scheduled trip to San Francisco. It's a work trip, but my definition of a vacation, this trip counts. Vacation means two things: first of all, I can drop a towel on the floor in the morning and when I come back in the afternoon, it's gone. Second, there's no Pat Shingleton on the TV. I like Pat Shingleton, it's just that if I'm close enough to Baton Rouge to watch Pat, then I could theoretically get home and scrub toilets, do my accounting, or call clients. No Pat means no way I can get home to do those things, so I might as well enjoy myself.

So today is full of washing, packing, printing out the information for the shuttle from the airport to the hotel, refilling prescriptions, and getting the house organized before I leave. Normally I'd do this over two or three days, but I didn't decide to go until last night.

We're OK

We survived. The post below this one is meaningless, except that it tells me exactly what I was doing when the light went out. We lost power at about 1:00 Monday and were out until 6:45 tonight. For those of you keeping track, that's 5 days, 5 hours, and 45 minutes.

Our house survived. Our friend Lenora got a tree through her carport (and on top of her car) so she's living here with us for awhile until her house is livable again. I'll post pics of her house soon and I'll put a link up.

We're on our third load of laundry, we've bleached out the fridge and the freezer, changed all the sheets on all the beds, vacuumed the carpets and swept the floors.

I think I've got a crying spell coming, but I'm not sure when it'll hit. But I plan to enjoy every single second of it.

By the way...

...it looks like landfall was a little west of Grand Isle, and within the last

11:23 and all is well.

Windy and rainy, but well. Still have power and internet, as you can tell by the fact that you're reading this post. If you're not reading it, that confirms that we lost power sometime between 11:23 and whenever I hit the "Publish Post" button.

E's still watching I Love Lucy, but they're repeating episodes now. What's with that? It's only been about 3 hours.

Is it weird to hope that the power will go out sooner rather than later? I'd really prefer it not go out at all, but living with it minute to minute knowing it's going out is a little crazy-making. I'm bookmarking every webpage I view, just in case I lose it when the power goes out. I'm turning off lights in the bedrooms just in case the power goes out (so if it gets restored during the middle of the night it won't wake us up). I'm rushing Elizabeth through her cookie making just in case the power goes out.

Weather Underground has revised our projected winds to peak around 50, rather than the 60 it was a couple of hours ago.

Monday 9:36 AM ...

... and much to our surprise, we still have power and internet.

Jeaux made it in to work with no problems, and Elizabeth came and piled up in the bed with me. He said it was breezy, but not too bad. I hope he'll be able to make it home tonight, but if not, we're prepared. It's not as scary for me when the storm comes through in daylight, and by tonight things will be slowing down. We've got about a million flashlights and battery lanterns in the house and we have reading materials coming out the wazoo. And my friend Lenora bought us four new board games.

After dark last night he convinced me to let him board up a couple more windows, so my computer room is VERY dark right now. Elizabeth is playing Hostess, baking cookies so we'll have something to serve our guests tomorrow when the lights are out and several friends have planned to come over here to play games. Our Children's Director at church threw down a gauntlet yesterday by making it known that no one will play Trivial Pursuit with her anymore because she always wins. It's going to be a fun (although probably hot) day.

All four local channels, CNN, CNN Headline News, MSNBC, and Fox are all doing 24/7 hurricane coverage, so E and I finally put it on TVLand and she's fallen in love with I Love Lucy reruns. After all, we have 24/7 hurricane coverage out every single window of the house.

The Latest

It's 10 PM Sunday night and I'm about to shut it down and try to sleep. According to Weather Underground, landfall has been moved up a few hours. Ironically, that's good news. It means that the storm will have less time to build up a storm surge. The storm surge actually causes more damage than the wind in many cases.

We're too far north to have to worry about storm surge. Most of our forecasts are still predicting that the highest winds we can expect here in this area of the parish will be 50-65 miles/hour. Pretty scary to experience, but not generally causing widespread damage.

The recovery concerns me now. Churches have been sending folks to Louisiana for three years, and now there's going to be so much more work to be done. This storm will cause a lot of damage in both the Katrina zone and the Rita zone. This actually has the potential to be worse than Katrina in terms of wind, rain and flooding. Fortunately, we learned from Katrina, and New Orleans has been evacuated, except for law enforcement, OEP personnel, government officials, and first responders. And, of course, the homeless. The ones who are too mentally ill to make good decisions for themselves.

They're letting people bring their pets when they evacuate this time. Too many people refused to leave because their cats and dogs couldn't come with them. It's easy for me to say how dumb I think that is because I have a child and I can't imagine putting her in danger for a cat. I remember a time, though, when my cat Charlie was my child, and I'm not sure I could have left him. I'm glad they're respecting those relationships and letting people bring their animals with them.

The Star is Us.

What We Can Expect

It looks now like our winds will peak at 7PM tomorrow at nearly 60 mph. This chart is based on Weather Underground's Baton Rouge forecast. My biggest concern is that Jeaux may be driving home sometime after 3 on Monday. I've told him that if he can't get out by 3:30, I'd prefer that he stay there at the hospital for the night. If he makes it home, the winds during his drive in will be around 20. As long as he allows for extra time for closed roads, that drive will be safe.

He cut portholes in the plywood for me. He knows how claustrophobic I get with all the natural light blocked.

Saturday night

The models have shifted back east, so it's likely to pass right over us.

Let's see ... the game came off without a hitch (doing my sis a favor here and not giving away the score) and contraflow is scheduled to start tomorrow morning around 4 AM.

I touched base with my friend with all the family in New Orleans, and she won't have all the folks she had last time ... just her parents, brother, and a couple of guys who work with her brother.

Jeaux got the fence fixed, and we got the patio furniture moved into the shop. The bikes and garbage cans are strapped to the fence. All the clothes are clean. The dishes were all clean at 11, but lunch caused a few of them to get dirty again. We've checked in with all our friends and family. All we have left is church and plywood. And a last run to Albertson's to see if we can find any D batteries. We've got enough to run everything we've got (plus a few extras), but Jeaux wants a spare set. Just in case.

In one of those life-parallels that keep cropping up lately, one of our last acts of coping will be going to church tomorrow. I remember sitting in church the day before Katrina hit, and thinking about Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane ... let this cup pass from me. And all the while knowing the answer. The sense of inevitability, of knowing what's coming, and being unable to do anything to change it, or even hurry it up so we can get on with the recovery. I imagine Jesus having that same thought: let's get on with it. Why do we have to wait so long? The sooner we get the crucifixion over, the sooner I can get on with the resurrection.

I'm just tired of waiting. Either bring it on, or shut it down.

Hurricane Prep, part 2

It's hard to tell from the size of this photo, but Gustav has a really cool eye. And by "really cool" I mean "really dangerous and really beautiful at the same time." He surprised us by making cat 3 before he hit Cuba, and there's lots of hot water between Cuba and Louisiana. The prediction is that he'll hit Cat 4 before landfall.

About a bazillion years ago my sister and I were in a school that was hit by a tornado that spun off from a hurricane. Ever since then I've been fascinated by hurricanes. I have no less than three hurricane tracking programs on my computer, even though the internet does all the work for you now. (Did I mention Weather Underground? I've had it open 24/7 for nearly a week.)

Today is when we ratchet up the prep work. Jeaux is Disaster Preparedness Man, so we've had our hurricane box packed since May 31. All that stuff about stocking up on water, canned food, and batteries is SOP for us. So today is for routine things we may not be able to do for a few days (laundry, washing dishes, cleaning out the fridge, charging up all the electronics), things we've put off that need to be taken care of before the storm (fixing the broken fence post that may take down our whole fence if it gets hit by high winds) and stuff that can't be done until the last minute (moving the patio furniture into the house, moving the bikes into the shop).

Kickoff for the LSU game was moved from 5PM to 10AM so that it wouldn't interfere with the evacuation of New Orleans. Because of that, ESPN had to move the game to ESPN Classic, which is only available for digital cable customers. So, along with Home Depot and Lowe's, Cox Cable was open late for subscribers who wanted to upgrade their service. Only in Baton Rouge would seeing the game be considered a hurricane prep emergency.

Three Years Ago Today...

... Jeaux had been at work for several hours and Elizabeth and I were waiting for the power to go out. As I remember, it was about 9 AM when we lost power, and about that time that we saw shingles flying around. We didn't know if they were ours or the neighbors.

Gustav's predicted track on Wunderground.com has shifted a little west. Two of the six models (the purple and red lines) show him coming close to BR. If he were to follow the blue line, he'd make landfall very close to where Camille made landfall, and will also re-damage a lot of the area that was affected by Katrina. I think The yellow line takes it near at Galveston. Read Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson for a terrific history of the 1900 Galveston storm, one of the deadliest in history.

Here We Go Again.

Three years ago this morning I sat in church in jeans, a tee shirt, and flip-flops, which I would NEVER wear to church under normal circumstances. I had taken an hour's break from moving lawn furniture inside, mounting plywood, and locking the bikes in the storage room. Katrina would make landfall in less than 24 hours.

The latest 5-day forecast for Gustav shows him passing just west of Baton Rouge at 2 PM Tuesday. (WUnderground.com is the coolest weather website ever.) At least it'll be daytime, and at least we'll have a weekend to prepare. Jeaux will probably have to be at the hospital for the duration of the storm. Nurses don't fall into that "nonessential personnel" cateogry that always gets to stay home for storms. School will, in all likelihood, be cancelled, and the entire population of New Orleans will head this way. Of course "entire population of New Orleans" is a much smaller number than it was in 2005, right?

There are no available hotel rooms in town since LSU plays the season opener in Tiger Stadium Saturday. The governor has prepped us for contraflow and evacuation. my friend Lauryn is clearing out her guest room. Jeaux has packed up all the ice from the ice maker so that we'll have some reserve ice if we need it.

Yuck.

Falling In Love On a Mission Trip

This post made me laugh!

I have a teenager now, and it scares me, because I remember how stupid I was at her age. Every once in a while, though, something comes along to remind me of the up-side of the chemical onslaught of adolescence, and all I can hope is that she comes out of hers with a few good memories.

The blog is called Stuff Christians Like; the blogger is Prodigal Jon. In this post he talks about how teenagers always fall in love on mission trips. I propose that the same is true of church camp, choir tour, or any other time when kids, busses, and sleeping bags are involved.

Reading the post, I remembered my first church camp in 1975. I had just finished 9th grade and was getting ready to move to the High School when my youth director bribed me into going to Camp Istrouma for a week-long Senior High camp. I took my guitar (because I always took my guitar; it was my identity; The Girl Who Always Has Her Guitar) and discovered another guitarist there: Jimmy Phelps. He was cute, and he played well, and all the girls loved him. We spent some time together that week, and even dated once or twice after camp was over, but it didn't take long for us both to realize that any idea that we would have a real relationship was absurd. We had nothing in common other than the guitar, and we lived an hour away from each other. He was conservative, I was more liberal, and last I heard he had headed to a very conservative military boarding school to finish high school.

But man, camp was fun that year!

***

Scan report:

Total slides: 1015
Scanned to date: 692
% complete: 68.2%

Rededication

About five years ago I started scanning in all my old photos. I got my first camera when I was 14, so I've been taking pictures for 36 years now. My first digital camera was about 3 years ago, so 33 years of photos are either on paper or slides. Heaven only knows how I paid to get all these photos processed!

The scanning job has been an on-and-off process. Other things take priority and my photos get pushed aside, then I pick them up again for a few weeks, then something else comes up. But I REALLY want to get these things finished up. Several years ago my sister and her family had a fire in their house, and I don't want to lose these things. Even plowing through them at breakneck speed has brought up memories that I had long forgotten.

I'm working on slides now. I just counted everything, and I've got a total of 1015 slides. Of those, 596, or not quite 59%, are scanned in. I'm planning on blogging my progress, so if you don't see anything posted for a while, send me an email and tell me to get busy.

Addendum: I tend to scan in batches of 12. If I can do a batch a day, I'll be through before I go to San Francisco in September! (Through with the slides ... the paper photos haven't even been counted yet.)

A Trifecta!

Three things that I enjoy:

• A day with no appointments
• Having the house all to myself
• Rain.

Today I got all three. I've gotten so much done, and I've managed to have some time to just enjoy my day at the same time. The task list isn't clear, but it's a little smaller than it was this morning, and I'm satisfied with that.

Elizabeth is job shadowing at the hospital today. She started last Friday job shadowing the Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech Therapists. So far, her favorite has been Occupational Therapy in Rehab. It seems that helping people with ADL (Activities of Daily Living) appeals to her. Yesterday she helped patients bake bread, cut up apples, eat, and take a shower. She's been so excited every day coming home that I think she may be on to something! I told her if she was interested, I'd see if we could get her into Woman's so that she could see how PT's and OT's work with babies.

I remember having a PT and an RT there the first time I fed Elizabeth. I was feeding her breastmilk out of a bottle, and there were two or three nurses, the aforementioned PT and RT, a nutritionist, and about 297 other people standing around monitoring as I gave her a bottle. One of them remarked about how well I was doing for a first time mother, so I told them she was the first one I had given birth to, but she certainly wasn't the first one I'd fed. I'd been feeding babies since Connie was born when I was not-quite-3.

So back to today ... I've still got about two hours before Joe and Elizabeth get home, so I'm going to take a shower and read. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

101 Questions

I saw this on another blog and stole it.

1. How many keys are on your keychain?

• One for each car, one to the house, mailbox, office, file cabinet, and a good friend's house. The trouble is that I also have two remote-entry-devices (again, one for each car), a compass, a stress-ball, a purse hook charm, and a little metal emblem for my networking club.
  

2. What curse word do you use the most?

• Probably the s-word.
  

3. Do you own an i-pod?

• Yep. Don't do much music, but I'm all about the podcasts!
  

4. What time is your alarm set for?

• Usually 7, but it varies from day to day. I'm usually up before that, but that's my absolute latest option.
  

5. How many suitcases do you own?

• Two that can really be called "suitcases" but several tote bags, briefcases, etc.
  

6. Do you wear flip flops even when it’s cold outside?

• I don't wear flip flops at all. They don't give my foot enough support, so my feet hurt after wearing them for more than 10 minutes.
  

7. Where do you buy your groceries from?

• Mostly Albertson's, but sometimes Target or Ralph's. Occasionally Sam's or Whole Foods.
  

8. Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture?

• Take pictures, definitely!
  

9. What was the last movie you watched?

• I can't remember.
  

10. Do any of your friends have children?

• Nearly all my friends have children!
  

11. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would buy?

• After I paid off all my debt and put up enough money for my kiddo's college (and grad school, if she decides to go) I'd buy the time of a professional organizer to come in and help me get my library and craft areas set up.
  

12. Has anyone ever called you lazy?

• Probably, but not to my face.
  

13. Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep faster?

• Not prescription meds, but I do use over-the-counter meds occasionally.
  

14. What CD is currently in your CD player?

• None. The one in there most recently was Disk 7 of Michael York reading Brave New World.
  

15. Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk?

• Regular.
  

16. Has anyone told you a secret this week?

• Yes.
  

17. When was the last time someone hit on you?

• I was never very good at figuring out what was "hitting on" and what was not. I guess the last time someone hit on me and I knew it was DH.
  

18. What did you have for dinner?

• Fresh green beans and new potatoes.
  

19. Do you wear hoodies often?

• Nope.
  

20. Can you whistle?

• Yes, but not well or loudly.
  

21. Who was the last person to call you?

• My daughter.
  

22. Have you ever participated in a protest?

• Yes.
  

23. What is your favorite ride at the amusement park?

• Space Mountain. (What? There are amusement parks other than Disney? Surely you jest!) (Edited, 7/2/08. That should be "Splash Mountain." The rest of the statement is completely accurate.)
  

24. Do you think people talk about you behind your back ?

• I'm sure they do, but if it's behind my back, how would I know?
  

25. What area code are you in right now?

• 225
  

26. Did you watch cartoons as a child?

• Still do. I have my collection of the best Bugs Bunny cartoons on my iPod.
  

27. How big is your local mall?

• I have no idea. I only go once or twice a year.
  

28. How many siblings do you have?

• Two sisters.
  

29. Are you shy around the opposite sex?

• I'm a little shy around everyone, no matter what their sex.
  

30. What is your biggest regret?

• Probably being to scared to take a risk.
  

31. When was the last time you laughed so much your sides hurt?

• A couple of days ago reading this blog post on mental_floss.com, and the web page it refers to. To which it refers. Whatever.
  

32. What movie do you know every line too?

• None, but Star Wars is probably the closest I come.
  

33. Do you own any band t-shirts?

• Nope.
  

34. When was your last plane ride?

• Chicago, last October
  

35. How many chairs are at your dining room table?

• Four, with two near the wall in case we need them.
  

36. Do you read for fun?

• Yes, whenever I can. Right now I'm reading The Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and The Sunday Philosophy Club series, both by Alexander McCall Smith.
  

37. Can you speak any languages other than English?

• Very rusty French. VERY rusty.
  

38. Do you own your own dishes?

• Well, yeah.
  

39. What color is your bedroom painted?

• Tan, with green accents
  

40. Have you ever cried in public?

• Yes.
  

41. Do you have a desktop or laptop computer?

• Desktop
  

42. Which do you make, wishes or plans?

• Both.
  

43. Are you always trying to learn new things?

• Yes.
  

44. Do you shower on a daily basis?

• During the summer, yes. It's miserably hot here. During cooler weather, it's every day & a half to two days, unless I do something physical.
  

45. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoos?

• No, but I've kind of entertained the idea of getting one for my birthday this year. Probably won't, though.
  

46. Do you believe that guys should pay on the first date?

• I believe that stating what other people "should" do is the fast track to disappointment.
  

47. Can you skip rocks?

• Only every once in a while. Usually it doesn't work.
  

48. Have you ever been to Jamaica?

• No, but I'd love to go.
  

49. What do you snack on at the movie theater?

• I usually just get a drink.
  

50. Who was your favorite teacher?

• My daughter.
  

51. Have you ever dated someone out of your race?

• No, but then I haven't dated anyone in over 20 years.
  

52. What is the weather like?

• Hot. Yuck.
  

53. Would you ever date someone covered in tattoos?

• No, I don't think my husband would approve. :)
  

54. Do you have an online journal?

• I have this blog, but it's not really a journal. My journal is on paper, and NOT online.
  

55. What was your favorite class in high school?

• Choir.
  

56. Do you enjoy traveling in airplanes?

• I don't mind it, but don't love it, either.
  

57. What personality trait is a must have in your prefered gender?

• A sense of humor. As a matter of fact, a sense of humor is a must-have in a spouse, partner, friend, sibling, boss, or employee.
  

58. Have you ever been attracted to someone physically unattractive?

• I think it's hard to even define "physically unattractive." Unattractive to whom?
  

59. When was the last time you slept on the floor?

• Probably sometime in the mid 1980's.
  

60. What is your favorite alcoholic drink?

• Barefoot Wines' Pinot Grigio. It has this really crisp Green Apple-y flavor.
  

61. Does your closest Starbucks have a drive through?

• I don't know. When I want coffee-shop type stuff, I frequent a local one.
  

62. Do you like your living arrangement?

• Yes. A great husband and a really cool teenage daughter.
  

63. What is your mothers hometown?

• She was a preacher's kid. She moved a lot.
  

64. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?

• Function? 5. Function as an adult, without looking stupid? 8.
  

65. Do you eat breakfast daily?

• Yes. Usually a fruit smoothie.
  

66. What was the last thing that scared you?

• Getting a call from my dad's cell phone yesterday during a meeting. My daughter is with them for a couple of weeks this summer, and Dad doesn't call on his cell phone as a rule. I was afraid something might be wrong. It wasn't. It was Elizabeth telling me that she could see seven different states from where she was standing.
  

67. Are your days full and fast paced?

• Yes, too much so.
  

68. Did you ever get in trouble for talking in class?

• Not really.
  

69. What is your favorite fruit?

• Raspberries.
  

70. Do you pay attention to the calories on the back of a package?

• Sometimes. If it's something I'm indulging in, I don't pay attention.
  

71. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?

• 50!
  

72. Are you picky about spelling and grammar?

• Yes. I have to bite my tongue to keep from correcting other people's grammar. Spelling not so much.
  

73. Do you believe in life on other planets?

• I have no idea.
  

74. Have you ever been to Six Flags?

• Yep.
  

75. Who was the last person to piss you off?

• I don't remember, but I'm sure it was very meaningful at the time.
  

76. Do you believe God has a gender?

• No. I think we assign God a gender because our brains aren't really capable of imagining a living thing without a gender.
  

77. What was the last thing you ate?

• A peanut butter sandwich & chips.
  

78. Do you get along better with the same or the opposite sex?

• I get along better with people who don't take themselves seriously, regardless of their gender.
  

79. What did you dress up as on your first Halloween?

• Heaven only knows! I remember a witch costume, though. I was probably 4 or 5, and Mom made matching witch costumes for my sister and me. I think the youngest sister had not been born, or at least she wasn't old enough to participate in Halloween.
  

80. How did your parents pick your name?

• I always believed it was a shortened version of my mom's name, but when I told her that as an adult, she didn't remember that being true.
  

81. Do you like mustard?

• Only mixed with honey and poured on a salad, or dripping from a chicken strip.
  

82. What do you tell yourself when times get hard?

• I try to organize things when times get hard. It usually doesn't work.
  

83. Would you ever sky dive?

• No.
  

84. Do you sleep on your back, your side or your stomach?

• My side.
  

85. What character from a movie most reminds you of yourself?

• John-Boy Walton. Or at least he would if he were John-Girl Walton.
  

86. Have you ever bid for anything on eBay?

• Yes. Got it, too. Then never used it.
  

87. Do you enjoy giving hugs?

• Only to people I really, genuinely care about.
  

88. Would you consider yourself to be fashionable?

• No.
  

89. Do you own a digital camera?

• Yes ... and it's one of my favorite things.
  

90. If someone you had no interest in dating expressed interest in dating you, how would you feel?

• Relieved that I'm married and therefore obliged to say no.
  

91. What celebrities have you been compared too?

• I can't remember ever being compared to a celebrity.
  

92. Who is your favorite Star Wars character?

• Probably Obi-Wan.
  

93. Does it annoy you when someone says they’ll call you but never do?

• Only if I really wanted them to call.
  

94. What books, if any, have made you cry?

• The Red Tent, Memoirs of a Geisha, Bag of Bones (yes, that's right. I cried at a Stephen King book.) Dozens more I can't remember now.
  

95. Do you think you’re attractive?

• See question #58
  

96. What are you allergic too?

• Stupid people.
  

97. Are you a jealous person?

• Not really.
  

98. What is your opinion on sex without emotional commitment?

• It's nothing compared to sex WITH emotional commitment.
  

99. Do you feel guilty about eating meat?

• No.
  

100. If you had been born the opposite sex, what would your name have been?

• The story is that I would have been named Robert Wayne, but see Question #80 for my accuracy for stories about my own birth.
  

101. Is it lunch time yet?

• No, the question is, "Is it bedtime yet?"
  

Warning. Political Content Ahead.

Loved this video!

Where to start???

I'm finally at home after three trips in five weeks! The first was to Chicago for a Vermont Oxford Conference, the second was to my nephew's graduation in Brentwood, Tennessee, and the last one was to the United Methodist Church Annual Conference in Shreveport. There are so many things I want to write about that I'm having trouble getting started. It's just too overwhelming.

While I was in Shreveport, I ran into more old friends than I realized I would. It's been a lot of years since I've attended Annual Conference, so I didn't expect that too many folks from my past would still be around. In the preparation for Conference, though, I ran into John and Betty Blackman, youth counselors from my youth group in high school. Among other things, I learned that they're great-grandparents!

Emails and Baptism

It's scary having someone who's not like you who may end up as the President of the United States. I've received all the Obama emails, and I struggle with how to respond. Do I respond with righteous indignation? If anything justifies indignation, it's blatant racism. Do I respond with Active Listening? I could tune in to the feelings of the writer (or, more likely, the forwarder): fear, anxiety, their own anger. Do I respect my elders (and many of the forwarders are my elders) and allow them their opinion? For them to be my elders, they've got to be on up there, so what are the chances they'll change at this point? And how much influence can they really have?

Questing Parson posted a wonderful email addressing the subject. You can find it here.

Discovered while reading Alan R. Bevere's weekly roundup of the MethoBlogoSphere.

God's Language

Found this great post on Enter the Rainbow ... all about what our response should be to people who speak other languages. And it starts with a Children's Sermon story. I'm a sucker for stories about Children's Sermons.

NO BRACES!!!!

Elizabeth got her braces off this morning! This does not mean she's through with the orthodontist, though; she goes back Thursday for her retainer, she's got to see the dentist to clean up some leftover glue and a small cavity that developed, and then there's a whitening treatment that Dr. Hiller's staff recommends. (According to them, it's not unusual for teeth to look dull when the bands come off.) The first two photos are the BEFORE shots, and the last two are AFTER.

Yay, Elizabeth!!!

No whining.

I've been putting off blogging for about a week and a half because my mind is full whiny stuff, and I don't want to read it, so why should anyone else? So here goes ... a no whining post.

I spent the last weekend in April in Chicago at the Vermont Oxford Collaborative. There were several things that happened during the weekend that are worth talking about. First was my chance to visit with my friend Judy.

Judy lived in Baton Rouge about 25 years ago, and we were volunteers together at The Phone. We became good friends while she was here, and kept our friendship going when she moved to New Orleans. Once she went back to Chicago and we both got married and had kids, it turned into an occasional email friendship ... we tried to keep each other updated, but time sometimes slipped by without contact. Last summer Judy emailed to tell me and her daughter, Jordyn, were traveling to Baton Rouge for a wedding. We ended up reconnecting (and introducing our daughters to each other) and had a terrific time. She also got to meet Jeaux. I had forgotten how much I loved her quirky sense of humor, and the fact that it's pretty hard to say anything that she'll take the wrong way.

So when I found out I was going to be in Chicago I emailed her and we got to spend some time together. She took a day or two of vacation, and we spent the time drinking wine on her porch and talking about life, the universe, and everything. I got to meet her husband, Jeff, and visit with Jordyn some more. They're hoping to make a trip to New Orleans next summer, and I can't wait to have the chance to visit with them again.

When Judy dropped me off at my hotel I started calling to hook up with my team from Woman's Hospital. When we finally connected, one of the team members told me she had gotten tickets to see Wicked at the Oriental Theater. And not just "tickets" but front row center tickets!

What an experience! I read and enjoyed Gregory Maguire's book, but the stage production was more than I imagined. And when Galinda (played by Kate Fahrner) descended on her bubble, with four bubble machines going at full tilt, there were bubbles popping in our laps. That's how close we were.

There. No whining. And I even feel a little better after writing it.

It's One of Those Days...

...and it's not even 11 AM yet.

I leave for Chicago at 2:15 today for the Vermont Oxford Conference. I got up and got my packing done, then headed to Tipmasters in Jeaux's car, since I don't want to leave the good car in long term parking. I came out after the meeting and the car wouldn't start. David Olinde had jumper cables, but even after a dozen tries we couldn't get it started. Kyle Jeansonne actually got under my hood. He stayed there about 45 minutes and finally found some corroded battery wires. He cleaned them off and I was back in business, at least enough to get home. And my friend Pam Bordelon followed me home to make sure I made it back safely.

Now the problem is how to get to the airport. Jeaux is stuck on the unit and can't get off until someone is there to relieve him. Jay is still house-bound from her double-ankle mishap at the beginning of February. Barbara is working, all my family now lives in Alabama or Tennessee, Lauryn is stuck at home waiting for the Tivo Installer man to show up (he's already 30 minutes late) and I can't reach any of the other people travelling with me. The car would probably make it, but we're not sure, and we'd be even less sure that it would start again Sunday night when my flight lands. So both the car and I would be stuck until Jeaux could come get us. It would mean a AAA tow to get the car back home, and it would mean paying someone to do some work that Jeaux could probably do this weekend if the car was at home.

Oh, well. At least I had the car. If Jeaux had taken it today, it would have stranded him close to dark, downtown, and Elizabeth here by herself, and he'd have had more trouble getting a ride than I would have.

Engineers & Cats

I've seen this in a couple of different places, but most recently on Reverend Mommy's Random Thoughts.

As someone who spent large chunks of my life with both engineers and cats, I just had to post it.

Walking a Black Dog

A couple of things happened in the last couple of days that have me thinking about my depression, and mental illness/health in general.

First of all, I read a blog called Walking The Black Dog that covers what it's like to live with depression. The author refers to Winston Churchill's referring to his own depression as a "a black dog." The blogger's post today was about the estimate that over a quarter million of our current military are suffering from depression or PTSD. Another quarter million suffer from Traumatic Brain Injury. That's over half a million people. And we're not prepared for them to come home. We can't handle the mental illness that's in our communities now -- how do we handle 620,000 soldiers, sailors, and marines?

The second thing that happened was that in my Bible Study class last night, we talked about the Geresene Demoniac in Mark (Mark 5:1-20. You may remember it as the one where the demon says "I am legion" and Jesus drives the demons into the pigs). That brought up a discussion of mental illness -- how it feels to be a family member of a mentally ill person, how the community feels about it, how the person him/herself feels. I didn't claim my depression during the session, but I did in an informal conversation after the class.

We don't know how to handle mental illness any better than the people of the ancient Middle East did. We're all OK with it as long as you keep it from being messy. You can be depressed, as long as you take something for it, and don't let it get all over my stuff. But don't have schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder, or something else that's not well treated with drugs.

I know this isn't anything new I'm saying. I just needed to write it down. Maybe I can write about it in a smarter, more impressive way next time.

Sad (& Kind of Scared)

My dear husband was taking call for the unit manager this weekend ... I say "was" because he doesn't get paid for "on call" when he's actually "at work" ... which he is now.

He spent all day painting the gable on the south side of the house, then we enjoyed supper on the porch. We were getting ready to wind down for the night and the hospital called. There was a nurse who no-showed, and now he's the only one available to go in. That's NOT what he's supposed to be on call for. His job as manager on call is to advise nursing services as to who is qualified in what position, and who can and should be trusted with what responsibility. For instance, if they needed to pull a nurse from another unit, he'd help NS decide which unit needed it the most, and who would make the best mentor for a "visiting"nurse.

But tonight, he ended up going in to work. He doesn't know when he'll get off; could be 11, could be 7 AM. He promised that if he goes until 7, he'll find a place to sleep before he drives home, but this can't be a safe way to provide medical care.

I know there's a nursing shortage now, and it's tough to get nurses. It just seems odd to me that hospitals can't manage to get enough reimbursement to pay nurses what they need, but we can spend 30% of our health care dollars on paying people to come up with reasons not to pay for our medical care.

He's an excellent nurse; he's been honored numerous times by his hospital, and once by a city-wide medical publication, so I know he's going to do a better job without sleep than anyone else would in the same situation. I just hope that the night is quiet, and his charge nurse can handle most of the tougher cases. I can't imagine making the kind of decisions he makes every day, much less making them after being up for 24 hours.

NICU Reunion

One of my many hats is that of Board Member for the NICU Family Support Network of Baton Rouge. It's a group of parents of NICU graduates who have come together to offer support to current NICU parents and to advise Woman's Hospital when they need parent input. Sunday was the annual NICU Reunion, and several of the network members and our babies ("babies" being, of course, a somewhat inaccurate term in our case) gathered for a photo.

It's so cool to see all the babies thriving and doing well.

Improv Everywhere

Improv Everywhere is the group you might have seen on the news a couple of months ago. They did an event at Grand Central Station where all the participants, called "Agents" within the group, simultaneously froze for several minutes.

Their latest event was at a Little League baseball game. I've got to admit that I cringed when I read about it; I've seen so many stunts that humiliate kids -- or worse, humiliate one kid for the entertainment of other kids -- but this one not only entertained me, it also warmed my heart. These kids will NEVER forget this day!

Bishops I Have Known

In the United Methodist Church, the office of Bishop is the highest hierarchical position. A bishop presides over a Conference, which is usually the size of a small-to-mid-sized state, so most members of the church never get to meet a bishop.

The picture to the right is of me with at least three bishops. The three children are my sisters and myself (I'm the tallest one) and the three men in the photo are, left to right, Bishop Paul Galloway, Bishop O. E. Slater, and Bishop Paul Martin. At least that's who we think they are. This photo was taken about 1966 at Mt. Sequoyah in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I was about 8.

I don't remember much of the trip, but I do remember that my grandfather was in lots of meetings, and we got to spend time with my grandmother. She liked to go out onto the grounds and paint. I have a moment frozen in my memory of her easel set up on a grassy area that gave her a good view of the mountains, and my sisters and I were playing around her.

Fifteen or twenty years later, Bishop Kenneth Shamblin presided when my grandparents renewed their vows on their 50th wedding anniversary. I don't remember much about that meeting either, since we were hostessing the reception right after the ceremony. From the photo at left, you can tell that in addition to hostessing, I was photographer, and did a pretty poor job of it. Or maybe I could blame it on my cheap camera. Thank goodness my skills, not to mention the technology, have made great strides since then.

There was one other Bishop -- he was the father of a high school classmate, but he didn't become bishop until way after we had graduated and lost touch. My friend was Bruce Hearn, and his dad was Bishop Woody Hearn.

What brought all this on was that I was looking in the UMC newspaper a couple of weeks ago, and saw one of my college classmates in a group of people being considered for election to Bishop at General Conference this summer. His name is Tim Bruster, and he's the senior pastor at First UMC in Fort Worth, Texas. (I'd put up his picture, but I'd hate to steal FUMC's bandwidth with my incredibly high-traffic blog)

I remember much more about Tim than any of those other guys. Most of all, I remember our 7 AM Greek class our senior year ... a class I attended less frequently than I should have. You'd think the fact that the class was made up of me and 7 male classmates would have overridden the 7AM starting time, but that demonstrates just how much of a morning person I'm not.

I also remember that he worked as a "Dorm Daddy" at James Dorm. The doors were locked at midnight, but a male student was paid to spend the night on a cot in the lobby to let residents in and out. On Tim's Dorm Daddy night (I think it was Tuesday, but my memory may be failing me), several of the Church Careers students would often end up in the lobby of the dorm studying until the wee hours of the morning.

Tim was always one of my favorite classmates, and I'm just so impressed that he's being considered. I just think that's really cool.

The Internet as Community

I play this game online called Kingdom of Loathing. It's a spoof of online adventure games, with lots of humor and obscure pop culture references. Last week we found out that one of the players suffered the greatest loss imaginable; her young child was murdered by his father. I had never met her, in person or online. I had never heard her in-game name before it became connected with this event.

Once the news became known, several people and clans (groups of players who band together to reach common goals) started raising money by donating and selling in-game and real-life items. At least a couple of thousand real-life dollars have been donated that I'm aware of.

The internet has changed the way we relate to information, but it's also changed the way we relate to other people. This tragedy struck a woman who lives several states away from me, a woman I'd never have met except through this, and yet I find myself wanting to do something for her. I feel like I share in her loss in a tangible way. She's a part of my world, more than some family members. And it seems odd to me when I remember that we really don't know each other at all.

Kerygma Bible Study

I started a new Bible study tonight ... the series is called Kerygma, and we're starting with the Gospel of Mark. I haven't done a Bible Study in a long time. I won't say how long it's been, but I think last time was for credit for my degree.

Which I got in 1981.

Anyway, it's almost like starting over. I remember the high points, but it's been a loooooooong time.

1. A Really Cool Thing

The class is being led by the woman who actually wrote the study, Dr. Carol Miller. How cool is that? She's retired now, and she and her husband Rick, both UMC ministers, decided to land here. (I'm not sure I understand why, because I'd actually like to land somewhere where, 7 months out of the year, daytime highs in the 90's are not considered a cool spell.) I admire her ability to express strong opinions without them becoming personal. That's not a skill I ever managed to develop, so I'm impressed when I see it in other people.

2. A Somewhat Anxiety-Producing Thing

If you drew a line and labeled one end "Fundamentalist" you could pretty much draw a picture of me hanging off the other end of the line, listing to starboard. I believe strongly in everyone's right to meet God wherever they are, and in God's ability to be there, no matter what. But fundamentalists scare me. I always fear that they're waiting for me to say something that they can pounce on and use to announce to the world that I'm doomed to spend eternity in Hell. And living in Louisiana, wedged between the Baptists and the Catholics, being theologically liberal is asking for trouble. Rather than run that risk, I usually just keep my mouth shut, and avoid situations where it might come up (which explains why I haven't done a Bible Study since I left college). I'm still not sure I'll be able to take the risk of speaking out. Even if I don't, it'll be interesting to watch Carol do it. Maybe I'll learn from her.

Fundamentalism

One of my recently-discovered favorite spirituality blogs is called Following Frodo. It's written by a United Church of Canada minister, and s/he recently did a series called "Why I'm Not a Fundamentalist." It's worth looking into.

Why I'm Not a Fundamentalist, Part 1, Scripture
Why I'm Not a Fundamentalist, Part 2, Virgin Birth
Why I'm Not a Fundamentalist, Part 3, Atonement
Why I'm Not a Fundamentalist, Part 4, (Bodily) Resurrection
Why I'm Not a Fundamentalist, Part 5, Jesus' Return

Silly Girls

Elizabeth's "friends" birthday party was tonight, and here's a picture of the silliness.

Lots and lots of silliness. This picture was taken on the floor because one of the girls was hiding under the counter. So I chased her until I got the picture I wanted.

Am I a Grownup?

I spent yesterday in the ER with my dad. He and Mom were driving in from Alabama for Elizabeth's birthday and he started having some lower right quadrant pain about 8:30. By the time he got into town, it was to the point that he couldn't wait for a regular clinic visit, so off to the hospital we went. I was thinking appendix, but it turned out to be kidney stones. He's had them before, but the pain was in a different place this time, so he didn't recognize what was going on.

Mom was shaken up (as I would have been had it been my husband and us both away from our regular healthcare resources) so I was trying to take the adult role, monitoring what was going on and advocating for him as well as I could, and it occurred to me that I'm a grownup.

I'm not sure when this happened. I don't feel particularly grown up. I don't feel much different than I did at 25. I have a husband, a kid, a house, a mortgage, a car payment, and a stack of bills to pay every month, so I have all the trappings of grownup-hood, but there's no grownup inside. I'm just as scared today as I was when I left for college. (Well, maybe not THAT scared, but close.) I even have some grownup things that aren't just grownup things: they're middle-aged-grownup things, like blood pressure medicine, acid reflux, fiber supplements, and reading glasses. I'm also going to turn 50 this year. And I have high school classmates who are now raising their grandchildren.

So why did I have to keep reminding myself that I was a grownup yesterday?

It means so much to me that Elizabeth is excited about her friends coming to our house. I remember when she was in day care and I'd hide behind the door to watch her without her knowing I was there, just to see what she was like when I wasn't around. I still get to do that ... by being the mom who drives them places, I hear all the conversations about who's dating whom, who wishes she was dating whom, which teachers are cool (Mr. Haywood, definitely) and which are not at all cool (no, I'm not going to name any names).

I keep thinking that one day she'll decide she doesn't want me around anymore, and I won't get to hide behind the door (or the steering wheel) and find out what her life is like when I'm not there. Until then, I'm just enjoying the time I have with her.

Easter Dinner

I loved my Easter Dinner at Outback ... Ribeye steak, shrimp, and scallops, baked potato, and sauteed spinach.

For supper ... three Peeps and a chocolate egg.

Happy Easter!

I guess the Easter Bunny is resting up from his journey now. I think he hit our house last, then headed straight home to bed. I know this because he didn't actually make it to our house until waaaaay after the sun came up, and Elizabeth was in the shower.

Every Easter we sing one of my favorite hymns:

Christ the Lord is risen today. Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high. Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done. Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise. Alleluia!
Christ has opened Paradise! Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led. Alleluia!
Following our exalted head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise. Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies. Alleluia!

I always think of my goofy brother-in-law when we sing that song. He sang "following our exhausted head" one year, and my sisters and I haven't sung the song without laughing since.

UPDATE:

Okay ... I just got back from church, and WE DIDN'T SING IT! I thought there was a law against that, or something.

Oh, well. Happy Easter anyway.

Is anyone really surprised?

It's interesting to think how I would have scored in high school ... definitely more awkward, but probably much lower in History/Literature. I can't believe I actually scored above average in the Sci-Fi/Comic one. Is that just because I knew who Jar-Jar Binks was?

One Blog To Rule Them All

This is my latest attempt at combining all my blogs in one place. I've started a mommy blog and a work blog, I'm a member of two group blogs, and I have a blog for my business. The business and group blogs will stay where they are, but everything else is going to be combined.

Really. I'm serious. Stop laughing.