It's Bad to Run Out of Money

While I was sitting in the airport terminal in Atlanta yesterday, CNN was on. The report was on the shrinking retirement funds of many Americans. I heard one woman who was interviewed say:



"It's bad to run out of money before you run out of life"



I don't know why that struck me funny, but it still makes me laugh when I think about it! LOL

Nostrils of Fire!

Author:  Katie




I am giving fair warning that this blog is about my nose. I invite you to read at your own discression!



Today I went to get tested for allergies. I have had constant sinusitis for over a year now. One test led to another and finally I get the appointment to get tested for allergies. I thought I'd be allergic to everything. Turns out I AM ALLERGIC TO NOTHING! It figures! This is the story of my life. After telling me that I am allergic to nothing, the doctor proceeds into some explanation of how my body is supposed to have natural antibodies to fight off allergens. For some reason I don't have the antibodies I need to do that or they just are lazy or something because the job is not getting done. So, if my body doesn't have the ability to fight off allergens.......wouldn't that make me allergic? Not according to the doc. Anyhow, maybe I just didn't get the picture that he was trying to paint. It's usually that way with me and doctors.



So, here's the quick fix! (NOT!) I get two prescriptions. The first is a steroid (Flonase). Before using the Flonase I have the most exciting task to fulfill. On a prescription sheet, my doctor gave me a recipe. It consists of 1 tsp of salt and 1 cup of warm water. I blend it until the salt dissolves and then guess what? Nooooo I don't drink it! The object of the game is to flush the sinus cavity. You figure it out. The recipe says to flush until ALL of the solution is gone! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!!!!



Anyhow, imagine what it feels like to go swimming at the beach and accidentally get water up your nose. Now, imagine DOING IT ON PURPOSE! Not once but ohhhhh 10-20 times over!



Why can't it ever be simple? Why can't I just take antibiotics for a couple weeks like any other normal person? Why can't my body just accept the antibiotics and HEAL????



Okay so, next week I go on vacation. I'm going to visit my family that I haven't seen in 5 years. When I went up there the last time I had a horrible cold and kept kleenex with me wherever I went. This time I am supposed to flush daily while I am there! WHAT IS MY FAMILY GOING TO THINK OF ME? I'm sure they will start investing in Kleenex! I imagine I'll get handkerchiefs from everybody for Christmas between now and then! I'm thinking I'll get my next invitation on "tissue" paper!



The good news about all of this is that the doctor told me that there is hope for an end to this vicious cycle. Since it's not allergies, a liftime of treatment will not have to be endured. Once this is cleared up, I should be healed! Oh how I pray that this is so!



I just loved it when I concluded my conversation with Sue's mom tonight and she said Have a good day tomorrow and have fun SNORTING!!!!! To quote Charlie Brown...."AUUUGGGGHHHHH!"



Speaking of Sue...she is coming home tonight so for those of you who have been expecting to hear from her, she has been in sunny Florida on a business trip. She is staying at a luxurious hotel resort in Orlando. Wish I could be there! Anyhow, I wasn't all that worried about how she will do when we (the kids and myself) are gone for 10 days. But, I have been a bit lonely in the evenings. I miss the sounds of puter keys being punched. I miss the sound of hearing her say to her dog "STOP LICKING ME!" AND "WHAAATTTT DOOO YOU WANT FROM ME??" as he sits at her feet annoying her for attention every moment she is home. It's been eerily quiet in the evenings. The kids miss her and so do I. I think about how it's been for us in just a few days. Sue will be here without me OR the kids for TEN days! At least I have the kids with me when she's not here. She will have only the dogs and the pig for 10 days. I'm sure she'll party at first but that'll get old quick. I guess I will hope for all the bloggers to send her emails and lots of notes! LOL. I'm sure she'll keep busy. Okay now that I have sufficiently bored any readers to tears I guess I better wrap it up!



I love to write but I really have been having a massive dry spell these days. I think of things I want to blog about all day but by the time I sit down to do it.........gone. Oh well. That's life. I have no idea how to wrap this up so I'll just stop now. That's all folks!

Watching Lizzy

The daily biscuit comes in handy for me today as I recognized a weakness in my life. My daughter is a pre-preteen at 10 years old. She has started the pre-teen process a bit earlier than I expected. Her body is telling her she is one age while her mentality is still 10 years old. Sometimes I treat her like she is older because she looks older. What I mean by this is that I sometimes expect her to behave more maturely and handle things more responsibly than she is capable. So, I thought a mother/daughter day out would give me the opportunity to talk with her about this situation. We went to see the Lizzy Mcguire movie that she has been wanting to see ever since it came out. It was a really cute movie and it took me back to when I was her age. I remember when I would see movies like that as a kid. I would always leave with stars in my eyes and I knew the excitement and desires that were being stirred in her as she watched Lizzy's dreams come true in Rome. It was kinda cool. So, I asked her if she felt that way after the movie was over and of course, she did.



As we were driving home I shared some thoughts with her about life and some issues that needed to be dealt with and it all went well (although I don't know if it actually sunk it at all). Then, I began to think about the time we had at the movies. I recalled a prayer from earlier in the day when I asked the Lord to help me in the area of affection towards my children. As we sat watching the movie, I felt a bonding thing happening, something I haven't been feeling very often since the divorce. I remember when I used to want to cuddle and snuggle. Something has changed that part of me. I seem to try to distance myself from everyone. It's like something in me has gone defective. I have never had a problem with affection in the past. Anyhow, there was a bonding sensation when we were watching the movie, sharing popcorn, soda and candy (there's something bonding about having a junkfood sharathon). I felt the need to hug her and tell her how much I love her and that I am glad we are having this time together.



So, with the power of Christ made strong in my weakness the thing I most want to change about me today is....



I want to be able to love less selfishly. I want to be a mom who can satisfy the need her children have for affection. I want to be more encouraging, less critical, and more hands on with my children. I don't know where I lost the desire. I don't know when it became a chore to hug, hold, pray with, talk with, and share in the lives of my children. I'm thinking it began with the stress of trying to be a Christian, a mom, a dad, a student, a homemaker,a teacher and a friend all at the same time. I still need to be all of those things and I need to do it effectively but I can't do it in my own strength. I also need to do better with my list of priorities. I need to be a Godly Mom first. I need to edify more and criticize less. More than anything, I need to give a heartfelt, loving, motherly hug more often. If I want my children to grow up to be affectionate, loveable spouses and parents, I need to see to it that they experience it from me... now.



That is what I want to change about me.......TODAY. Help me, Lord.

Chewing Ice

I hate when a fork scrapes along a ceramic plate. EEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK! Oh, my teeth hurt! I cringe! I can't deal! Since this is such a problem for me I am very careful about the placement of eating utensils on my plate and how I use them. Others, I have learned, don't even notice things like that. Kids are especially bad about it, they cut back and forth and scrape, unhindered, the food up from their plate. (That is when they actually use utensils)



So the other day Katie accidently scraped her fork on her plate. I immediately reacted, rather involuntarily, to that...that...that....sound. I grit my teeth and cringe and try not to think about it. It's like fingernails on the chalkboard kind of thing for me. Anyway, she thought it was funny and preceded to stab her plate and intentionally force a sccrrrraaaaaaaaaapppe! OUCH!



Well, I know my friend and sometimes there's nothing better than a little taste of her own medicine. I promptly, yet secretively, went to the freezer to get ice...(for my drink?). I walked over to her and made sure she saw what I was about to do so I waited for her to start talking to me. As soon as she looked my direction, I did it. I bit down on that ice cube like I was biting down on a piece of watermelon. Katie can't stand that!!!!!!!!! LOLOL She hates when I chew ice...like when I eat popsicles! LOL



So it began...while I chewed ice rather aggressively, she scraped her plate with a vengence. We both started cracking up hysterically. We are whacked!

Daily Biscuit

Owen at Gooddogbaddog offers up some thought-provoking fun with his "Daily Biscuit". I've read all of them since he started this a couple of weeks ago and also read the answers that a few fellow bloggers have supplied at their site, but I haven't participated until today. So...here I go!







Take a bite of the Daily~Biscuit




With the power of Christ made strong in my weakness the thing I most want to change about me today is . . .



Owen asked those taking a bite at the Daily Biscuit to answer with integrity. I wonder if that means that I shouldn't ask to use the power of Christ within me to heal my cold?



Ok, seriously, I actually ponder this question daily when I ask God to make me more like Christ. Most days I feel so defeated because I just can't live up to the standard Christ set. Then I am convicted for feeling that way because I am not required to live up to that standard. God doesn't make it a requirement. I do. God doesn't see my failures. He sees me through the blood of Christ which makes me clean. So clean that I can stand before Him as righteous. Blows the mind!



In the meantime, before I get to see Him face to face, I am being transformed into the likeness of His Son. (Another mind blower!) and I think what I would most like to change about me today is that I could get out of the way of me. By this I mean that I often focus on my faults. I have even said to myself, and while talking to Katie, that "What good is it to even try to be a good Christian? It's impossible. It can't be done. Heck, the Bible teaches that there is no one righteous. Not one. So why bother?"



I have a pride problem. "I can do all things..." is how I live, but the Bible teaches "I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me". I have a difficult time yielding to His power and authority. I want to tap into the humility of Christ. For me, that is where all the power is. In the servitude. Seeing others as greater than myself. Getting me out of the way and letting Him have at it. Letting Him actually be Lord of my life. That is what I want to change about me today. I want to allow Him to change me, transform me, and use me as a display of His awesome power. I want to move out of the way and watch Him work. His best work has been done through the humble, through those with willing hearts and minds. I want to be that to Him. Humble, willing and He will make me able.



Chew on that!

What's Burning?

While surfing blogs tonight I discovered something rather amusing at Scott McGerik's Weblog. The entry is titled "Crispy, Dead Squirrel" and if that doesn't peak your interest I don't know what will!

Post ID

WOW! See that post ID number on these new Blogger posts? It's like 18 gazillion digits long! I guess they are planning on having every person in the universe start blogging and they didn't want to run out of numbers! LOL



Oh, and the permalink problem appears to have been resolved...cool beans.