a little bit-o-sunshine

it's a gloomy FREEZING day, here's a snap shot of something BRIGHT!

something on my heart

A week ago, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade came again. This is a sad reminder that this is a free country for only a percentage of our population. Everyday, in the United States, 3700 lives are ended by abortion. Everyday. 1.37 million a year. In the United States alone.

I know probably 50% of you who read this blog. Most of you are pro-life to the core. And I know some of you would never have an abortion, or encourage someone to have one, however you would never legislate against it.

The following website should give you plenty reason to desire with your entire being a change in legislation. I challenge those of you who value human life, but who aren't horrified at the realities of abortion enough to do something on some level to stop it.
http://www.abort73.com/
(one recommendation though: turn the volume down low when the video comes on...I had it up too loud and I thought I my heart was going to come out of my chest!)

If you say, "I can't go there". Or, if you close your eyes to the horror of abortion, are you not being like ones who could smell the wafts of burning flesh coming off the ovens of the concentration camps who did nothing? Human lives are being destroyed.

I guess my first hope is that you would be compelled first to pray. Pray for abortion providers to come to know Christ, pray for women to protect life hidden within them, pray for boyfriends and husbands to take a responsibility...start by praying.

If you have more time, see what you can do in your community.

I have a friend who calmly stands near an abortion facility on Saturday mornings. She prays. And the Lord sometimes gives her words. This past Spring, the Lord gave her enough words to speak truth to a couple who does not speak English. They decided to keep their baby. She was born this past Fall. My friend brought an interpreter (who was pro-choice, by the way) with her when she went to visit her in the hospital. The new Mom pointed to my friend and said, "She saved my baby girl". Yes and no. God saved her...through my friend. And she knows that.

Be encouraged. Be challenged. Seek truth.

Check these out:

abortion statistics

Is abortion racist? (short answer: yep)

An article Brent appreciated so much that he passed it around downtown.

why care?

he's an original (sinner)

this is miles. this is what miles said after being told

that he was going to be disciplined:

"Adam and Eve sinned and I'm a 'ascendent' of them.

So I'm always going to sin."

tagged. been "it" for awhile

I think it was a few months ago that Ramona or Allison "tagged" me. Here's the rules per Ramona's blog:
The rules:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they are tagged and reminding them to read your blog.

Okay...I think I can do the 8 random facts. Everyone has more than enough random facts to share. And, of course, I can post this. But, choosing 8 people who BLOG to do this??? I don't think I can follow through.

Here are eight random facts in long form:

1. I kinda like to take the scenic route in the kitchen. I don't use Bisquick, or ready made pie crusts or stuff like that. I don't use my microwave very often at all (it's mainly there for reheating coffee). I like to make as much from scratch as possible, but there's always someone out there who has me beat. Like my uncle (and aunt, too probably) who make their own chicken stock, or someone who makes their own pasta, or those ladies at church who grind their own wheat into flour.

2. I'm not a big fan of crew socks. I have a few in the drawer. Heck, I grew up on crew socks. But really. Either I need to go all the way...to the knee, obviously. Or, I like to lay low with an ankle sock.

3. When I introduced myself at the first dorm meeting as a freshman in college, I said as sarcastically as possible, "I'm just here to get my MRS.". Ironically, I was the first one of any of my friends to get married at the age of 20. But, I had to marry Brent. Nobody in the world has made me laugh as much as Brent. We're both pretty unpredictable when it comes to what words are coming out of our mouths next. That's how we keep spark alive in our relationship.


4. I have a half sister that was married to Nick Bollettieri at one time (she was the fifth of eight wives). I had to google him to remember how to spell his name and then I found http://www.nickbollettieri.com/ . Anyway, that means something to tennis players and enthusiasts because he's worked with Andre Agassi, the Williams sisters, Boris Becker and so on. VERY random fact...but it does put me at 3 degrees of separation from lots famous tennis players.

5. I am really bad about celebrating my friends' birthdays. Any of my friends reading this probably are nodding their heads. This is especially embarrassing because of the next random fact. Here are some friends that are nodding their heads. Sorry ladies. You are better people than me!!!!


6. I have a freakishly good memory when it comes to remembering dates. I think I'm losing my edge a little bit. But, I do remember numbers pretty well. Oh yeah. I remember phone numbers, too. My best friend's phone number (from third grade) was 962-0149.

7. I love reading. But, I didn't know that until I had kids. I think I read like 3 books for pleasure when I was a kid: Ramona the Pest, Goodnight Mr. Tom and Superfudge are what come to mind. I remember when all my friends were reading Dear God, It's Me Margaret. From everything I heard about it, I was creeped out. Jillian already reads more than me.

8. I love practical gifts. I'd get a kick out of a $1.99 pack of ponytail holders or spatula or even a storage bin. I'm just a practical gal.

There were the random facts. I'll probably come up with eight more that would have made me feel fabulous, but there they are in blog history.

Okay. I tag all of you! There. Go entertain the world with more trivia about you.

my longest rant so far..."warts and all"

Me on Thursday night...so naive...enjoying a fresh haircut.




Well. I guess I should tell you about my Friday. It all started with a little pain on the bottom of my foot back in the days when I was preggers with Jillian. When I was somewhere around 180 pounds (sadly, I'm not kidding...I was huge...but it's gone, baby, gone), all I could think is that the wart on the ball of my foot would feel better when I was no longer pregnant and dropped a few pounds (50 to be exact). But, the excruciating pain and the limping persisted. I tried everything my google searches had to offer...almost (I stopped short of taping banana peels to the bottom of my foot.). Apple cider vinegar, garlic, duct tape, Dr. Scholl's home freezing and salicylic acid were all attempted. I was so determined to stay away from a doctor that, one night, I soaked my foot in apple cider vinegar and then duct taped a piece of garlic to my foot. The next morning I made a shocking discovery. The area surrounding my wart was KELLY GREEN!! I proceeded to google, "gange green". No, folks. It's "gangrene" and it's not actually green. After that incident, I backed down from all the self-help and waited for natural coloring to return. And through all these "treatments" the pain never let up.



So, finally, I called the doctor and made an appointment for this past Friday.



I dropped the youngins' off with Brent at work. When I arrived at the doctor's office, I thought it appropriate to announce I was thoroughly freaked out (as they smiled and handed me the paperwork.) Speaking of paperwork, I've never understood why someone like a podiatrist has a questionnaire begging your history of diarrhea and cancer and epilepsy. Anyway, I went in, took off my shoes and socks and thought about all the other feet (with fungi and what not) that had been in that very room. So, naturally, I asked the dr. if he thought I would contract anything while in there. No. heh, heh. He looked at my foot, validated that it was surely painful because of its location just under (over?) a nerve AND it that it was particularly...aggressive? I don't remember the word, but this bastard of a wart was seen for the bastard it was. So then, what should we do, doc? "95% of the patients I see aren't bothered by their warts" (then what are they doing going to a doctor????) "You can use a topical, which could take months to work, if it does at all, or I can cut it out right now." WHAAAAAAAAATT?????????????? I had never felt so alone. I told him that actually. I turned and looked at my foot. "Hey ol' buddy," I said audibly. What was I going to do??? I couldn't think straight. The doctor left me to see another patient while I made my decision. Tears welled in my eyes. I needed a kleenex. My hands felt dirty. I needed hand sanitizer. Where were these things??? Why are they not in this room?? I got my shoes on and wandered out to the lobby looking for these things, thinking, I'll just leave and think about it at home. Doc comes out, "You leaving? Heh, heh." No, I went back to the room, after washing my hands in a doctor's office that had no antibacterial foam or gel. (What the heck?) I kept frantically leafing through a magazine and told him, "You know I'm not really reading this. How much will it hurt?" His answer: "It will hurt quite a bit for five seconds...I'll 'fan' out the shot." Yeah, he said that as he gestured with his hand showing me that once the needle was in the bottom of my foot, he'd move it around...what, like 90 degrees or so. Yikes. In this tiny downtown office, which more and more seemed like a grey metal box in a communist country, there was this incredibly busy and cheerful man in scrubs who was maybe 5'3". It was almost surreal (like Brazil, if you know that film). He was so jolly and I enjoyed watching him get stuff out of cabinets, because he had to use a step stool and I think he was smiling all the while. And he looked like an older cabbage patch doll with blue eyes and teeth. Anyway, after hesitating for a very long time, I looked over my magazine at the doc and said, "How about Buster over there? Is he busy? I'll do it if he holds my hand." "You mean Mike? Heh." He thought I was kidding. We went on discussing the options for probably seven minutes. "No, I mean it. Get Mike. If he holds my hand, I can do this." He hollered for Mike and in came that little jolly man. I squeezed his hand, and somebody, I'm thinking the doctor, said, "ready, set, go". Maybe not. But there were some pre-shot words, and then I squeezed the heck out of his hand, looked at him, said, "I guess it doesn't really hurt that much, no it does, one-two-three-four....five....that feels weird." Mike left, we small-talked for a little bit. And then he made a gaping hole in my foot. I came home and had cereal and watched one of the best shows ever made.

All in all, I give having a plantar wart thumbs down. I do not recommend this experience. But, I do recommend Apple Jacks and Arrested Development to aid in the recovery of most any ailment.

when brent lends videos to coworkers!!!

"All the Way Home" is the first song that Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins ever wrote. They are 2/3s of Spinal Tap...a band name...and the title of one of my very favorite movies of ALL TIME. Brent loaned our DVD to a coworker who LEFT the company. great.

well, i couldn't find a clip of "all the way home," but here's a video from their "early" days...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4fCbqjWiek

mind you, Spinal Tap is a mockumentary about a mock band. i'm hoping to make a fan out of you.

All the Way Home??

What does it all mean??? "All the way home" is from a line in a movie...a comedy...from the 80s...

Can you guess which one??? Probably not...but I'll see if there are any guesses out there.

Maybe a few more hints...
1. Rob Reiner is in it.
2. It's documentary style.

Okay...enough said. Guess.

bear bottom

seriously. seriously. so cute. thank you, gap.

thank you, sheila. thank you, bears. thank you tights.

thank you, nobody. and thank you to the old lady

whispering, "hush".

and thank you, God, for jillian.