Lessons About Funeral Sex

The first time it happened I didn't realize it had happened. Well, until much later. I was one of those people. You know. Not many people even talk about it. I had funeral sex. Now, its something to bank on. Well, almost.

Okay, if you don't know what that is, don't freak out. Its not necrophilia. *shudders* Funerals sex is the sex that happens AFTER the funeral. Apparently its a pretty wide spread phenonmenon. Its a time when you are looking for something or someone to cling to. Looking to FEEL alive. Needing to connect. So why not your partner?

I suppose I find it a little...well...weird. I know. Hypocrite! lol. Just thought I would post a little something inappropriate for those of you who have missed that. :-D

Lessons in Doing Something About It

Usually I just blog and whine. Today I'm blogging and doing something about it. Nina passed away last night.

Today, I've created a team for Memory Walk. This walk raises funds and awareness for Alzheimer's research. CLICK HERE to donate, walk with me or just to learn a little more.

Alzheimer's Lessons

This disease sucks. I saw a movie a long time ago about a woman who had Alzheimer's and slowly began to forget those she loved. I was so sad then thinking about the possibility of something like that. As an adult I watched an aunt fall to it...s l o w l y. It was so sad. There were points when she was still coming in and out of remembering when she would be so scared.

She knew in those lucid moments that she was forgetting and she was terribly afraid. She couldn't remember why she was living with my parents, how she got into the clothes she was wearing and eventually she couldn't "remember' how to chew and swallow. Due to some other medical issues she was in pain as well. The pain medicine helped, but it didn't take it away completely. So she laid and babbled. Sometimes she would talk to us like we were her parents, friends that had passed away years ago or people she saw on television.

This disease SUCKS. Why is there so little known? Why isn't there better screening? We need a cure.

Why am I ranting about this. Well there are two reasons. The first: Forgetting is one of my greatest fears. Alzheimers is one of those things I read about often and wonder if I'll be one of those that slowly slips away. I hate that. The other reason? One of the sweetest couples in our church has been dealing with it for a long time.

Her name is Nina and she's married to a kindly man named Al. I have never seen them NOT together. When Nina started getting to the point where she babbled about anything she heard they stopped attending services except an occasional Sunday or Wednesday night when there were fewer people and a more casual atmosphere. A few weeks ago they had to stay home completely. Home health and hospice were called in and things looked even more grim.

Last week Al was completely unable to take care of her at home anymore and decided that the best thing to do was to admit her to a nursing home. He has spent 12 hours a day with her there every day. This Sunday Jason popped into visit them. He said that she just sat in a chair and stared vacantly, that she could remember no one anymore, not even Al. As he prayed with them he saw Al cry for the love of his life, the faded woman in the chair next to him that couldn't remember that he loved her. My heart breaks for him and for her.

Tonight Jason is with them. Nina is in the last stages of this disease. She has lost the ability to speak and is losing the ability to control her muscles and movement. The doctors say that she doesn't have much time left.

Alzheimers sucks. :-(

A Lesson in Colors

So, at my Weight Watchers meeting this morning we were challenged to eat three different colors of fruits and veggies EVERY day this week! So, I went shopping to make sure that I could do it! lol. So, I have a gigantic bag of broccoli, portabello mushrooms, button mushrooms, carrots, grapes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, zucchini, bell peppers in red, yellow and orange, tomatoes, corn, apples, vidalia onions, a big flat of peaches, strawberries, what's left of a whole watermelon (i've been eating on it all weekend!), spinach (already in the fridge) and some frozen veggie mixes and cauliflower. :-D

I have the supplies, now to just fix them nutritiously and actually consume them. LOL. It shouldn't really be that much of a problem as I'm always trying new ways to add more fruits and veggies into my day. I mix spinach with scrambled eggs, eat lots of veggie omelets, put everything but the kitchen sink (veggie wise) into my salads, try fancy cutting when tossing veggies in my stir fry and grinding up veggies and chickpeas to make burgers. I also bake crunchy zucchini fries and snack on tomatoes like they were apples. So, I'm trying. The weight loss seems to be at a stall, but I'm still consuming the healthy stuff. Lifestyle change. This is a lifestyle change. *repeats to herself over and over*

So on the menu this week:
Stuffed peppers (gonna use tofu crumbles, rice, peppers, onions and tomatoes inside)
black bean soup with zucchini and tomatoes
chicken lo mein (with cabbage, zucchini, onions, peppers and mushrooms tossed with a yummy teriyaki sauce)
apple and carrot salad (cut into matchsticky shapes and toss with poppy seed dressing)
stuffed zucchini ("stuffed" with onions, peppers, garlic, tomatoes and feta)
portabello burgers (never made these myself exactly, but it shouldn't be toooo difficult *crosses fingers*
Shrimp skewers and corn on the cob hot off the grill

Any other yummy veggie laden recipes to try?

A Lesson in Peeing like a Man

You know, the only thing I keep thinking over and over about this project is that I will be able to write my name in the snow. LOL.

Go-Girl

A Lesson in Micromanagement

So, the start of school is still a month away and already that sinking, icky feeling in my stomach appeared just briefly this morning. For the last two years we have had a Superintendent (who is clinically mentally ill) and a principal (who used to be the 6th grade Comm Arts teacher that I did not like...she was promoted by the mentally disturbed superintendent). This year the board decided not to renew the contract of the superintendent and decided to just let Mrs. Principal do EVERYTHING with the help of her blonde trio of secretarial and bookkeeping power. Now, although I did not like the idea of the Superintendent being there another year, this power hungry, vindictive administrator working ALONE is not my idea of a great plan either.

Don't get me wrong. She's not Satan. Not yet. She just has no regard for the arts or for professional development of said teachers. She targets teachers she does not like (although I am at least three or four teachers away from that nonsense...*giggle*). She is BIG on micromanagement. She wants to rearrange every detail of lots of projects, procedures, etc. I'm not completely sure why. Perhaps it is improvement, but often it seems that she just wants to alter things enough to take credit for them. *shrugging* I guess that's what you get to do as an administrator. Anyway, she annoys me.

This year we have a big state review coming up. This means shift her annoyingness into high. It started today. Just a little thing. A thing brought to my attention indirectly. Annoying.

So, how do I plan to get through this year? Duck and cover. Blog and bitch. lol.

Lessons from the Half-Way Point

Well, my summer break is about half over. *sad sigh* But I'm trying NOT to focus on that! Okay...I so am! Anyway, it's been a pretty full week or so and I'm enjoying our mini-adventures. With Jason's paycut we can't really afford any kind of vacation (It's not like we ever have anyway...I just thought that THIS might be the year! lol)

Fun Things We've Done in the Last Week-ish
1. Saw "Annie" at the Muny. PERFECT weather!
2. Great doctor's visit. I had lost about ten pounds since he last saw me and things are going well. He is still resistant to schedule surgery to repair my hernia, but I think I'm really OK with that as I'm feeling healthier and still losing weight.
3. Saw "Transformers 2" and "The Proposal"
4. Grilled and shot fireworks at a friend's house. That was fun. And yummy!
5. Drove a million miles to an awesome little pizza joint and to see John Travolta as a sexy bad guy in "Taking of Pellam 123".
6. Church! Always a good thing. Okay...not always...you know there's always church drama for the preacher's wife! But this Sunday was pretty good. :-)
7. Created a Summer Bingo game for Joey. It's sort of like a behavior modification plan that I TOTALLY love! It has activities like reading, math, exercise but also fun things like "play a board game", "read a book in a blanket fort" and so on. This is so genius. I may use it every summer.
8. Created some awesome stir fry that will hopefully help me stay on the wagon this week. The last two weeks I've been eating like a baby elephant. lol.

This week will be one that we mostly spend at home because we are broke and also because it is going to be pretty hot. Hopefully we'll get to use our waterpark passes and get in some pool time. I have got to get my tan on honey! I am still pretty pale! *giggle*

I've also been scrapbooking a bit more which makes me really happy! I'll post some layouts later.

K. Consider yourself alllll caught up!

Lessons from Independence Day

Today is an odd holiday. See, I usually have standing plans with my family to go to my Grandma Poe's and try to set each other on fire. We sit on the carport and chat, eat BBQ and I take tons of pictures. Grandma isn't feeling well lately, my mom made plans with her church (which has an "i hate fags" mentality...i know...stupid and a post for another day...needless to say I'm not going to go there), and well....usually Grandma's on the 4th is awesome. But this didn't work out.

So, my back up plans were to eat and hang out with college friends. We get to do this so rarely it is something that I crave. Those plans fell through about Wednesday. Jason then decided that he just didn't want to travel anymore. He's been running most days this week to St.Louis and/or Cape-each an hour or hour and twenty minutes. I was disappointed. :-( Another college pal decided to host a little get-together, but Jason seemed less than enthused. He loves them, but again...tired of running. He sucks.

So, our plans are to go and eat a nice meal with a friend of ours and her grandkids. Joey will be able to shoot fireworks in her yard (we can't do that in town) and we'll have a pleasant time hanging out and playing with the babies. We'll leave early enough to be back in Farmington in time to watch the fireworks here. It's actually a pretty good plan and we'll have fun and eat yummy yummy food.

I'm just bummed that my family is falling apart on so many levels. :-( AND it's raining. lol. It hasn't rained for weeks and now on the day we don't want the rain....lol.

Anyway...all this rambling was just to wish you a happy Independence Day! Now...I must shower and put on something festive!

Lessons from this Moment

June 29, 2009

Outside my window... The sun is casting shadows on my lovely birthday flowers.

I am thinking... working on some school stuff and putting in a chick flick.

I am thankful for... my wonderful husband and amazing son.

From the kitchen... I just finished a bowl of black bean soup with tzatziki sauce. Earlier I had a yummy seafood pasta with squid, octopus, shrimp and surimi.

I am wearing... capris and a polka dotted shirt.

I am creating... some paperbag scrapbooks for church on Wednesday. We are calling it our "Down Under Scrapbooking Social"

I am going... skip the gym tonight because I love my husband. (Don't ask.)

I am reading... some books by Jim Butcher. I know. You thought I didn't read, huh?

I am hoping... that the stall in my weight loss is lifted.

I am hearing... Joey playing a beta version of a game he really wants and Star Trek on the tv.

Around the house... the laundry is purring in the other room, the cats are wrestling in the floor and the fan is humming above my head.

One of my favorite things... is considering the amazing sacrifice that Jesus made for me.

A few plans for the rest of the week... include going to the Muny tomorrow night, Down Under Scrapbooking Social on Wednesday, church planning with Jason, waterpark with Joey and eventually making it back to the gym.

Romulan Love Advice

Lessons from Commander Tracy

Some Scraptastic Photos

Learning Where to Go with This Blog

Recently I had a discussion, an online discussion, about the direction of one's blog. I'm not completely sure that my little bloggity blog actually has one. You see, at first it was just a place to complain and to vent and emote in a way that didn't hurt others, but still made me feel better.
***WAIT**** Holy crap...how long does blogger keep my posts? I swear I started blogging in 04, but can't find any of my entries for the entire year of 2005. *UGH* Any ideas what happened here? Weird.

Okay...anyway...back to my normal blogging blab...I started the blog as a place to vent. I also thought that it would be a place to look back and count my blessings. I think that it has successfully been both of these things.

Other roads I've tried with this blog:
Words of Wisdom Blog
Mommy Blog
Sex Blog
Preacher's Wife Blog
Compulsive List Maker Blog
Scrapbooking Blog
Lesbian Blog
I Just Link to other Links Blog
Teacher Blog

So...nothing seems to really "fit". I think that this is my everything blog. I wonder if my scrapbooking and craftiness would be better served if I had a blog that totally focused on that. I wonder if I would be inspiring if I focused more on the preacher's wife thing. There are cool preacher's wives out there that would totally want to click in.

The whole sex blog thing would never work, because the best ones are by people with a more uhm *cough cough* varied view on the subject than I. The Mommy Blog idea is fine, but some days I have nothing to say about being a mom other than "Man, I love that kid!" and really...wouldn't that get old? lol.

Teacher blog? Yeah, I would want to kick my own butt. I don't want to focus on JUST writing about work. *bah* Lesbian blog sounds fun, but well...I'm not a lesbian. And if I AM a lesbian, I'm a reeeeally bad one. :-(

Anyway, after struggling with this issues for 27 pure minutes of torture I have decided that I enjoy this being my everything blog.

I know, you came with me on this ride only to find out that the train isn't leaving the station. LOL. *shrugs* Sorry! :-D

Lessons from My Hot Pastor

lol. Don't role your eyes! I love that guy!!!

Anyway....just wanted to quote one of his illustrations today. He was talking about serving and leading and encouraging folks to DO SOMETHING. Here's the illustration that I loved:

The next time you feel like God can’t use you, just remember...
Noah was a drunk.
Abraham was too old.
Isaac was a daydreamer.
Jacob was a liar.
Leah was ugly.
Joseph was abused.
Moses had a stuttering problem.
Gideon was afraid.
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer.
Rahab was a prostitute.
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young.
David had an affair and was a murderer.
Elijah was suicidal.
Isaiah preached naked.
Jonah ran from God.
Naomi was a widow.
Job went bankrupt.
John the Baptist ate locusts.
Peter denied Christ.
The Disciples fell asleep while praying.
Martha worried about everything.
Mary Magdalene was, well you know.
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once.
Zaccheus was too small.
Paul was too religious.
Timothy had an ulcer...
Lazarus was dead!

And God isn’t finished with you yet. You are a vessel He will and can use, if you make yourself available as each of the above did. Fear the Lord and He will bless you despite your circumstances.

Lessons in ME: Somedays...

Some days I'm motivated.
Just yesterday I got out of bed to go to a water aerobics class! Yup. That's me.
Some days I'm prissy.
Today I put earrings on to go to the pool.
Some days I am reflective.
I write in a journal, a blog and practically a dozen other places. I'm pretty sure only a hand full of people read it, buts its okay. It's for me. Mostly.
Some days I am motherly.
I am all about doing the mom thing and taking care of every little detail.
Some days I am quite the wife.
I am generous, considerate and helpful. I adore my husband and don't question his motives.
Some days I am selfish.
I really don't care how anyone else's day is going.
Some days I am hungry.
I don't mean occasionally, I mean all the frickin' time! Like a bottomless pitt.
Some days I am a poet.
I see beauty and find rhythm in nature, in the house, in their eyes and I can create with it.
Some days I am depressed.
It doesn't seem like things will get better and I am at a loss to make change.
Some days I am sad.
I miss my dad. I miss my youth. I regret. And I hardly ever regret.
Some days I am quiet.
I am lost in my thoughts and don't have much to share.
Some days I am a bitch.
I feel mean, not really like me and I do mean things.
Some days I am constantly remind of God's bountiful grace.
I spend hours praising and working on things to further the program.
Some days I don't really know who I am.
Some days.