Random

ran·dom adj. Having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective

Do you ever feel random? As in, I feel like I have a million random things to say (not unusual for me), but I also feel rather disconnected lately ... like random things are happening outside of God's hand (an unusual feeling). Hmm.

I'm tired. And crabby.

1-2-3-4-5...6-7-8-9-10...11-12! (Sesame Street)

Marte knows the song. :)

Trish already beat me to this. Stupid jerk. I hate her.

9 things I want to do before I die
1. See my family get saved.
2. Go back to Wales.
3. Stop hating a certain personality type. (Not Trish.)
4. Be ordained as a Children's Pastor in the Church of the Nazarene.
5. Get the Lasik eye surgery.
6. Be more generous with money and time and love.
7. Have a gazillion children. :)
8. Stop gossiping. (gossipping?)
9. Die before Ryan does so I don't have to live without him

8 things I'm wearing
(...uh...right now? It's bedtime...)
1. Contacts
2. Maternity pants (remind me to tell you my theory about maternity pants)
3. Undergarments
4. Plaque on my teeth (I need to brush)
5. Deodorant
6. Some form of red nail polish on my toes - from October
7. Nothing else
8. Nothing else
(I told you it is bedtime!)

7 things on my mind
1. I'm thirsty. For Pepsi.
2. K-Mart serves Pepsi in their deli-eatery thing.
3. The Frederick K-Mart is scary.
4. I need to throw out these contacts.
5. I miss teaching preschool.
6. My mother-in-law Gail's meatball recipe is really good!
7. Stupid me wanting soda at 10:30 at night.

6 things I touch every day
1. Davis
2. Ryan
3. A telephone
4. A keyboard
5. Soap dispenser (it's important to wash your hands often)
6. My toothbrush ... I like to brush my teeth

5 things I do every day
1. Brush my teeth
2. Put in contacts/on glasses
3. Complain that our house is messy
4. Feed the cat
5. Read CNN.com

4 songs on my mind
1. Christmas Shoes - Newsong
2. Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg
3. 'Wheel ... of ... FORTUNE!'
4. "I want Pepsi" to the tune of some t.v. commercial that's not for Pepsi

3 things I think of when I wake up
1. Ugh.
2. Stupid alarm clock.
3. Stupid cat.

My 2 favorite foods
1. Pepsi
2. Dark chocolate

1 person I love more than any other
1. John Travolta ... no, wait ... Boy George ... no, that's not it ... hmm ...the baby? or maybe it's ... this guy!

Stupid caffeine.

I had half a cup of coffee after lunch today - 1:20 p.m. ish. It's now 1:05 a.m. And I'm still awake. Wide awake. Who would think 0.5 cup coffee would keep me awake for 12 HOURS?! Bah.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're leaving for Illinois after work this afternoon. We'll spend Thursday noon to Friday afternoon at my mom's then head up to Ryan's parents' house and leave there early Sunday a.m. to drive straight back. Have I mentioned that my sister-in-law Laura has a murder mystery dinner planned for the family on Friday night? I'm Florence somebody. Should be fun! :)

One sick me + a ton of library books = ugh.

Ryan just went to the library for me because I'm sick. Again. He's so good to me. (Actually, it was probably more because some of the books were due today and he hates it when I rack up fines. But I'll pretend it's because he loves me so much and wants me to get better.) :)

I'm fearful this cold will turn into laryngitis. I haven't had laryngitis in awhile because my doctor gave me a great medicine called Muccinex (sp?) and Robitussin with expectorant for when I feel it coming on. It's worked well every time since then - and the combination of the two meds cut down my last case of laryngitis from the typical week-plus to just two days. And I can't take the stuff now because of the baby. *sniff, sniff, cough, cough, HACK up a hairball like an old man*

Fun news: my April is coming to visit on Thursday!!! We're going to New York City on Saturday with Sycamore. (Heh. I just remembered how/why I started calling April Gipp my April. Rob's mom's name is also April, so I called Gippy 'my April' to distinguish between the two. And it's stuck, years later.)

Not-so-fun news: Ryan's jaw surgery is costing us $4000 out of pocket. The surgeon who wired his jaw is not part of the Mamsi network, but we (I) really didn't have a choice - it was an emergency. I confess, I was not thinking of insurance at the time. I was sitting in the hospital praying for God to spare my husband's life, through miraculous healing and through doctors. Whether or not a specific doctor was covered by our insurance didn't really cross my mind. Turns out none of the OMF guys were covered by Mamsi, so it really didn't make a difference what doctor did the surgery at Morgantown. When all is said and done, we are supposed to pay a $250 deductible and 20% of the remaining bill - Mamsi pays 80%. The fine print reads that Mamsi pays 80% of in-network fees (much lower than out-of-network fees). So, for a $5500 surgery, we're paying $4000.

It's not nearly as bad as it could have been. Besides copays, deductibles, some x-rays, and physical therapy visits, this is really the first thing we've had to pay for. We have been blessed so abundantly. It's hard not so say, "But why do we have to pay this? It was an emergency - we didn't have a choice!" So I need to remind myself that we haven't had to pay much else and it could be much, much worse.

Girls, if you're reading this, we need to get together. I was just rereading the latest girl letter from Debs. So much has happened over the past year!! What are y'all doing for Christmas?

Home from vacation

Vacation was good. I craved cauliflower all week. None was to be found until Saturday when Ryan got it for me from a display. He's a good hubby. I think I'll keep him. :)

After one day back at work I'm ready for another vacation. We're redoing the website (I'm not doing any of the actual HTML/J2EE stuff - just content and some design stuff) and Gordo wants to go live this weekend. Eh. Plus I'm juggling planning a company cruise for May, a holiday open house and a holiday party. Well, the party is already done - Carol the office manager did that - but I'm 'helping' with 100 holiday bags, employee holiday gifts, etc. Double eh. (Eh eh looks funny, like I'm trying to go to poop. Or decide to get my hair cut.) (You have to be Marte to get the hair cut part. "Eh. EH. I want to cut my hair!!")

Oh, yeah, since we're back from vacation, I can say it. I'm pregnant!

I'm boring.

It's true.


You are plain everyday ROOT BEER!
Your old fashioned and you believe that oldies are
the goodies. You wish to be respected for
thinking so...


WHICH JONES SODA ARE YOU?!?!
brought to you by Quizilla

*sigh*

(Thanks a lot, Trish!)

Pet peeves

My list of pet peeves is growing. Here is the Readers' Digest version:

1. Mean people and people who think they can spell but they can't
2. Smelly things (toothbrush, toast, people, refrigerators, onions)
3. Bad words (not just swear words, but Lexpletives, too - Herberts, you know what they are!)
4. Mimes
5. Driving at night in the city when it's raining (not necessarily The City, as in DC - any city)
6. A bunch of other stuff that I can't think of right now
...and...my newest one...
7. Telemarketers that ask for coworkers' e-mail addresses. Hello! Do you think I'm stupid?!
Oh, yeah, and another one -
8. Coworkers that talk to telemarketers and answer their questions and so the telemarketers call back repeatedly and the coworkers are not here!!!!

What are YOUR pet peeves?

Sickness.

Ick. I hate being sick. I have an strange ability to get a sore throat and have it turn into laryngitis. I had the beginnings of a sore throat yesterday and it was worse today, so I stayed home from work with the hopes of preventing laryngitis. We'll see how this goes.

On a completely unrelated note, I love avocados. (Avocadoes?) Nothing gourmet. Just peeled and sliced with a squeeze of lemon juice and salt. It's good. Really good. You should try it sometime.

As for the "I know something you don't know" post - I'll tell y'all when we get back from vacation. :)

Our stupid cat.

She's such an idiot.

We went to Simon and Laura's last night to play games. I admit, we left the dining room window open (only a crack, though!!). Davis pushed the screen out sometime while we were gone and got out onto the deck. I freaked out when we walked in, thinking she was long gone. Turns out she was waiting by the deck door. Her fur didn't feel too cold, so it was possible she wasn't gone too long.

Stupid cat. She did this last summer/fall, too. She pushed out the screen and disappeared while I was upstairs. I spent approximately 30 minutes looking for her, only to find that she had somehow walked clear around the row of houses (we live in the middle of a row of townhouses) and was waiting on the front steps.

We never did get that other kitten. The cow-orker basically said we couldn't have one unless we took five. Bah. Ryan said I can get a kitten (prolly from the animal shelter) when we get back from vacation.

Oh, yeah. We're going on vacation in 12 days. With Simon and Laura. I'm excited. :)

Stupid blog!!!!

Something is going crazy. Is anyone else having issues? Grr.

I know something you don't know!

Psycho blog! When I click 'Publish Post' it goes through the 0% thing a gazillion times, then it listed the same post three times (hence the two blank posts timed at 6:33 p.m.). Grr. Has anyone else had this problem? I use Mozilla, and this is the first time I've had this happen.

Anyway, I was trying to say . . . I know something you don't know!

I love saying that. And it's true, too.

The Seven Dwarfs

Six of the seven dwarfs are sitting around the house one day . . . . . . when Sleepy rushes in and says, "Guess what guys, I've won a trip to see the Pope!" Everyone gets all excited and chants, "We finally get to ask him! We finally get to ask him!!" The next day, they are standing in front of the Pope, Dopey out in front of the other six. All the other six start pushing Dopey and saying, "Go ahead, Dopey, ask him, ask him!" The Pope looks at Dopey and asks, "Do you have a question to ask me, young man?" Dopey looks up shyly and says, "Well, yes." The Pope tells him to go ahead and ask. Dopey asks, "Well, do....do they have nuns in Alaska?" The Pope replies, "Well, yes, I'm sure we have nuns in Alaska." The others all keep nudging Dopey and chanting, "Ask him the rest, Dopey, ask him the rest!" The Pope asks Dopey if there's more to his question, and Dopey continues, "Well, uh, do they have, uh, black nuns in Alaska?" To which the Pope replies, "Well, my son, I think there must be a few black nuns in Alaska, yes." Still not satisfied, the others keep saying, "Ask him the last part, Dopey, ask him the last part!" The Pope asks Dopey, "Is there still more to your question?" To which Dopey replies, "Well, uh, yeah.....are there, uh, are there any midget black nuns in Alaska?" The startled Pope replies, "Well, no, my son, I really don't think there are any midget black nuns in Alaska." At this, Dopey turns all kinds of colors, and the others start laughing, and yelling, "Dopey kissed a penguin! Dopey kissed a penguin! Dopey kissed a penguin!"

Must have ....

... salty foods!

I'm such a salt addict. I know, I know, it's bad for me. I try to fool myself and say my blood pressure is low, but I've noticed it has gone up a few points (?) in the last few years. But salt is so yummy! Life would be boring without it.

Okay, so for all you who use this blogspot thingy, do you have the same problem I do? It takes me ten minutes every time to figure how to add a new post. I'll figure it out some day. In about fifteen years.

On a side note, the big event at work went well today! But, it reminded me why I got out of conferences. So much work and stress for a one-day event. I'd much rather invest that time and effort into a classroom of children and their future.

AND!!

Only eleven months until my birthday.

:)

My Redeemer is Faithful and True

Phooey. I started this post then hit a wrong button on my mouse and lost it. Let's try it again.

This is an old Steven Curtis Chapman song (1987, I think). Thanks, Cris, for first introducing me to SCC! Our local Christian station, WGTS 91.9, plays it every so often. And I love it. It's cheesey, but I get teary-eyed when I think about how faithful and true He has been to us this past year. Last summer was a low time for me emotionally; I really struggled with irritability and such. I saw a Christian counselor weekly for several months but discontinued the sessions due to insurance issues. It was, and continues to be, a huge revelation to me that, even though I am saved by God's grace, I am still human and therefore will never be perfect. God made me and knows my many, many imperfections. He does not wish for me to stay as I am, though, and brings situations and people into my life to guide me to holiness. (A great book, by the way, is Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. The subtitle is something like, "What if God intended for marriage to make us holy, not happy?". I picked it up from the library right after Ryan's accident, and let me tell you, that was not a happy time for me. God used the time of caring for Ryan's needs to shape me and mold me.)

Here are the lyrics to the song:

As I look back on the road I've travelled,
I see so many times He carried me through;
And if there's one thing that I've learned in my life,
My Redeemer is faithful and true.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

CHORUS
My Redeemer is faithful and true.
Everything He has said He will do,
And every morning His mercies are new.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

My heart rejoices when I read the promise
'There is a place I am preparing for you.'
I know someday I'll see my Lord face to face,
'Cause my Redeemer is faithful and true.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

(chorus)

And in every situation He has proved His love to me;
When I lack the understanding, He gives more grace to me.

(chorus)

PS - Trish, is the ?". right after the book subtitle? :)

NFL Football

Ugh.

And so the four months of "football-widowhood" begins. This year I let Ryan talk me into joining a fantasy football league. ("It will give us more to talk about," he says. "It will be fun," he says. What was I thinking? Football is ALL he talks about from September through January. I just nod and smile. Fun. Yeah.)

I dropped off our recycling at the East Street place yesterday because there was no pickup on Monday. And I recycle rather ... ambitiously. Three bags of paper, one bag of cans, and an overflowing blue bin. (It was two weeks worth, I swear!) Anyway, this older man pulled up as I was dropping off our stuff. He, too, had many bags of recyclables, and was talking on his cell phone to someone about the virtues of recycling. I noticed as he drove away that he had several "Save the Environment" type bumper stickers plastered on his vehicle ... a triple-sized, extra-long, extra-wide SUV.

Irony. For those of you who don't get it, i-r-o-n-y.

(It's late. I'm entitled to be ... like this. And use a bunch of ...s.)

(That was ...s as in, dot-dot-dots. Ellipses. Not a swear word.)

Edit: This originally posted as 1:16 a.m. It's 12 a.m. I dunno how to change the time zone.

And kitty makes four...

We're getting a new kitten!! Someone dropped off five kittens at a coworker's house and he's trying to find homes for them. He already has five cats of his own! Anyway, if anyone lives out here and would like a kitty, let me know. I already have the name picked out - Avery. (No, not after the paper products. I just like the name.) I wanted to get a boy kitty but Ryan says we have to get a girl kitty. He thinks all boy cats are like Mason. For those of you who knew Mason, I'm sorry. He was the evil, psycho, devil-cat from you-know-where that Michelle, Carollyn and I had at our Villabrook apartment. Mason loved to lay under the sofa on his back and use his claws to scoot from one end to the other. Evil cat. So, we're getting another girl kitty. I hope this will break Davis of her snobby, only-cat syndrome.

Ryan's friend Jen just got two kittens and named them Tim and Charlie. Here are some pictures. And Sara got a kitten recently, too, but I haven't seen pictures or heard a name yet.

(No subject)

I'm boring. I couldn't think of a good subject for today's post. Any suggestions?

I mentioned I dislike making decisions. For those of you that do not know, I quit my preschool teaching job earlier this summer. I loved my students and my coteachers, but I had a really hard time getting along with the director. We spoke about some of the issues and I felt like we weren't getting anywhere. Since then, I have struggled with "guilt" of sorts - as a Christian, shouldn't I be able to get along with her? I have been reminding myself that we instructed to live at peace with everyone ("If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" Romans 12:18). Ryan and I talked and prayed and talked and prayed about it and decided it was time for me to work somewhere else.

Here is where the decision comes in. I worked for Sycamore this summer doing various office stuff and I have loved it. Thursday I was offered a job to work full-time at Sycamore. While I am excited, I am also confused. I had originally decided to substitute teach in the fall and continue to work part-time at Sycamore (1 - 2 days a week), with the hopes of getting a contracted teaching position with FCPS in January. What do I do, what do I do? There are many enticing benefits to working at Sycamore, but I can't say it's what I want to do. (I would be doing different tasks - working on proposals, etc. - not the other stuff I have been doing so far.) *sigh*

Wheel of Fortune tryouts were a flop on Saturday. Everybody filled out an application that went into a big barrel. Names were randomly drawn out but mine was never picked. :( The cheesey host (not Pat Sajak, although he is pretty cheesey) said all applications are sorted through, even those not drawn, for an opportunity for final auditions. Maybe I'll still make it.

In other news, my mom is having some job issues. It looks like the newspaper is up for sale and the outlook isn't good. Please pray for her and for all those involved. Thanks!

Decisions

I hate them.

Crazy day

Aren't all days crazy days?

After much encouragement from my faraway friends, I, too, have decided to create a blog (b-log). I'm positive that most days I will be boring as I am not creatively witty like my Marte. Hi, Marte, by the way! :)

Today was a crazy day at work. We have this hugely-important grand opening ceremony coming up in three weeks and so I'm busy with that. Yes, I am again planning events. How did I get back into it, you ask? I dunno. But I enjoy it. I have training for substitute teaching on Monday and then I will sub three to four days a week and continue to work at the office one day a week.

High point for today: it's been four months today since Ryan's accident. God is so good to us.

Low point: getting a $35 parking ticket. My first parking ticket ever. And it was my fault.

Superhigh point: Wheel of Fortune tryouts are in Baltimore on Saturday! Yipee! I'll let you know how I do, since I'm sure you'll be waiting on pins and needles to know. :)