things i am thankful for

that i finally was able to get my mammogram and it wasn't half as bad as i thought it would be.

that we have 2 cars so that we can still get around even though hubby's car in in the shop.

that we have enough money to pay the astronomical bill for hubby's car to be fixed.

that i have a friend who is willing to talk to me when i am freaking out even though she has lots of other things to deal with herself. (thanks pobble)

that i inherited my grandmom's rolling pin and could use it to make the pie crusts to go with the pumpkin pie.

that my brother and his wife, slick, we able to come north for thanksgiving and that they only had to deal with the traffic caused by the major accident (God be with those whose lives are affected by that tragedy.)

that my uncle will be at the thanksgiving table with us today.

that i didn't have to clean my whole house to host dinner today and that my parents are such wonderful hosts and that my mom is such a fantastic cook.

that slick is making the apple pie. my mouth is already watering.

that my dad is making his cranberry relish. mouth still watering.

that the princess kitty loves to bake, even though she makes a huge mess in the kitchen.

that the silent prince has learned how to wave bye-bye.

that my hubby is my hubby.

and that i have so many blessings... including all of you.

God's peace y'all and happy thanksgiving!

remembering

this is the prayer that i spoke last year at the veteran's day service here in town.


O God, today we give you thanks for brave men and women throughout the history of our country.

We give you thanks for those who yearned for the ideal of liberty and independence.

We give you thanks for those who struggled to keep a divided country united.

We give you thanks for those who stood against the desires of madmen and their bloody solutions.

We give you thanks for those who answered the call to serve on foreign soil in nations divided by civil war.

We give you thanks for those who came home unappreciated and scorned.

We give you thanks for those who were captured by our enemies and those who were lost and remain missing, but not forgotten.

We give you thanks for those who give aid to our allies, for those who fight to protect not just Americans, but people of all nations, for those who wear a uniform many of us can not.

We give you thanks for those who have paid the ultimate sacrifices so that the ideals of liberty, independence, freedom, and justice are not just ideals we hope for, but realities we live.

We give you thanks, O God, for our veterans who have given of themselves in times of peace and in times of conflict.

We lift them up to you and ask for your blessing on them and on this day of remembrance.

And we pray for a world of such peace that their work and courage will never have been in vain.

Amen.

God's peace y'all

stealing a tag

i always enjoy a good tag, even when i steal it from someone else.

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night?
the princess kitty did while blowing her nose. hubby believes children should not have noses until they are 18 and out of the house. listening to her blow her nose makes me agree 100% with him.

2.What were you doing at 0800?
heating up the water for my morning cup of tea so that i could then have my morning cup of coffee.

3. What happened to you in 2006?
do you know how hard it was for me to remember who made me laugh last night?

4. How many beverages did you have today?
tea, coffee, water, sip of hubby’s juice, and a sprite

5. What color is your hairbrush?
black

6. Where were you last night?
at home, heating up dinner, putting the kids in the tub and bed… then off to watch house and a very creepy law and order svu.

7.What color is your front door?
wood

8. Where do you keep your change?
in a little flapped compartment in my purse

9. What's the weather like today?
cold, but sunny. It finally feels like new england weather for this time of year

10. What's the best ice cream flavor?
ben & jerry’s marsha marsha, marshmallow

11. What excites you?
i don’t know? are the kids sleeping yet?

12. Do you want to cut your hair?
no, but I’ve been considering some color. Perhaps dark auburn

13.Are you over the age of 25?
nope, i’ve just been celebrating my 21st birthday for several years now

14.Do you talk a lot?
hubby often says i am stealing oxygen from people in 3rd world countries. do you think that means i talk a lot?

15. Do you watch the OC?
no

16. Do you make up your own words?
for suraly.

17. Are you a jealous person?
not at all

18. Name a friend whose name starts with an 'A'?
can’t think of a one and now i am sure i will be offending someone.

19. Name a friend whose name starts with a 'K'?
the fabulous kat-kat

20. Who's the first person on your received call list?
you mean i have to get up and check my phone? ok, hold on…. ah, the fabulous father of kat-kat

21. What does the last text msg you received say?
from the pobble… comments about her “boys” beating my “birds” in reference to the cowboys – eagles game last sunday.

22. Do you chew on a straw?
no, i suck on them otherwise no liquid gets through.

23. Where's the next place you are going?
downstairs for a soda

24. Who's the rudest person in your life?
right at this moment, the princess kitty who insists on reading me a book while i type this. (still waiting for the announcement that i’ve won the mother of the year award.)

25. What was the last thing you ate?
pizza with bacon topping

26. Will you get married in the future?
i certainly hope not since that would mean that i’ve lost the spouse i have currently

27. What's the best movie you've seen in the last 2 weeks?
buffy the vampire slayer. it’s been a slow 2 weeks (though i do love that movie)

28. When was the last time you did dishes?
i stuck some glasses in the dishwasher this moring, does that count?

29. Are you currently depressed?
no, why, has something happened?

30. Did you cry today?
almost, while watching an old M*A*S*H episode where colonel potter shares a bottle of brandy with the rest of the cast after his last war-buddy dies and he inherits it.

31. What was the last thing you said aloud?
“’ohana, stop it!” the dog is driving the cat crazy right under the chair i am sitting in.

32. What car do you drive and what Bumpersticker(s) do you have on it?
chevy blazer; one bumper sticker that reads, “women who behave rarely make history.”

33 Why did you answer this and post it?
i stole it from $2 because i’ve been having blogger’s block. a good tag always makes me happy.

God's peace y'all

BOO!!!

God's peace y'all

the cow says "moo"

we had the best time ever yesterday (saturday.)

my chiropractor suggested that we take the kids to one of the local farms the last time i went to see her. she had just taken her kids and they had a really good time. "you take a hay ride, feed the cows and then pick out a pumpkin." she told me. the only cost was the cost of the pumpkin.

well, it was even better than that.

we went out to lunch and then headed out to the farm after the princess kitty's soccer game (yeah, her team crushed the other team 4-1). we made it just in time to hop onto the hayride before it took off. we wound up on the second trailer with otter, the black lab and other families out for the day.

the silent prince sat between my legs and when i asked him if he was having fun he shot me the biggest grin ever! we rode through some rough farm terrain, over hills and through streams until we saw the cows. at first i figured the pathway the hayride took went right through the herd of cows, but then we stopped so that we could scoop up the hay and feed it to them. i helped the silent prince feed some of the bigger cows while hubby helped the princess kitty reach down to feed the calves. well, really she didn't need much help at all! and we all got a kick out of being able to pet them. the silent prince really enjoyed that part of it.

then we moved on to the pumpkin patch where we picked out the biggest pumpkin we could find. daddy chased the kids around while i guarded it as we waited for the next ride to pick us up.

while hubby had the pumpkin weighed and paid for i took the kids to pet the sheep and see the biggest pig i have ever seen in real life. it must have been over 300 pounds! (it certainly smelled like it weighed that much!)

i think hubby and i enjoyed ourselves as much as the kids did.

then it was off to target to get halloween costumes. i usually make them on the sewing machine (last year the princess kitty was a fairy cat and the silent prince was an apple slice with a worm), but i'm still suffering from the bursitis which makes sewing a bit difficult. this year mommy and kitty will be witches and the prince some sort of vampire/ghoul (or whatever i can create out of the cape and makeup we bought for him.)

tonight grandmom and grandpop came over for ribs and grandmom explained that in her day hayrides were for the teenagers to go on so that they could smooch to which hubby replied... "yuck!"

thanks dear.

God's peace y'all

a little support

in my last post i talked about the fact that i will be getting my first mamogram soon, but the fact is i should have talked about the woman i knew in college who is now dying of breast cancer and needs more than a little support.

karen (whose story was featured on the ABC news site) and i weren't really friends, but she was good friends with my brother and his group of friends so we often found ourselves in the same circles. (my brother and i graduated from the same college together.)

karen could use prayers as well as her family and close friends. she recently had both breasts removed, but the cancer is in her bones and is now spreading throughout her body. as her doctor put it she is in between a rock and a hard place with very little wiggle room.

karen is only a year or two younger than i am and has small children and a wonderful husband and support group that cares deeply about her.

her story has reinforced a need in me to remember to take care of myself and to remind others to do the same. my last post was meant to be humorous, but this is serious stuff.

so... if you are a woman between the ages of 35-40 go get a mamogram. if you are over the age of 40 make certain you are getting them regularly. and don't forget to give yourselves self exams, no matter what age you are. if you are a mom, teach your daughters how to do them. early detection is the best hope for women who have breast cancer.

and pray for karen and all those who face this terrible disease.

God's peace y'all

getting squished

october is breast cancer awareness month and so i have finally scheduled my first ever mamogram. at my last obgyn appointment my doctor told me that it was time to get a base-line.






i have now reached the age where i need to get base-lines and doctors use words that end in "itis" when i visit.






so i am preparing to get squished. and why not, the other day i got scanned in an mri for my shoulder, not the most pleasant experience i've ever endured especially since the brace they put on my shoulder to hold it still dug right into the spot on my back which really hurts.






but october isn't just breast cancer awareness month. it is also clergy appreciation month and i've been trying to come up with a way to make both those announcements together. however i am finding it difficult to come up with a nice way of saying that the congregation should acknowledge my boobs, because every way i've tried to say it that's exactly what it sounds like.

so here is a picture of my favorite boob-shot of me instead:

God's peace y'all!

worst fortune ever!!!

we ordered chinese tonight for dinner. the princess kitty called dibbs on one of the two cookies in the bag so i ate the last one and this was my fortune:

"If it seems like the fates are against you today, they probably are."

thanks, thanks so much.

God's peace y'all and watch out for those fates.

vicoden, my new bff

this will be a short post.

i have bursitis in my right arm and i just dropped my cell phone in the toilet before i flushed (it was in my pocket.)

think it's time to take more meds.

God's peace y'all

this will be a short update.

i slept until almost 11am today due to my new bff i am sure. when i finally pulled myself out of bed i fidgeted with my phone which WORKS! of course my second new bff are clorox wipes which i used on the phone.

and as a side note... i am certain that my phone is a gay man named lazarus. lazarus because he keeps rising from the dead and gay man because i just have a feeling about these things.

God's peace y'all

a rose is a rose is a rose

i was reminded of my favorite poet today when i read crackerlilo's post. here she is painted by picasso.

for your amusement here are some of her quotes.

God's peace y'all.

not again

this post will be a rant. this is your one and only warning on that.



they discovered more lead in toys made in china. these toys are thomas the train toys. thomas the train is a big hit with children with autism. they like the fact that thomas and the other trains don't show much emotion in their faces. it makes it easier for them to relate to the characters because people with autism don't often "get" facial clues.

damnit!


children with autism are more prone to getting lead posining because they are so habitual. take the silent prince who gets 80-90% of his sensory information from his mouth. everythingnew he gets he flicks and tastes. add to this the fact that lead paint tastes sweet.



what the hell do these people think they are doing? and what the hell are we doing buying so many things from a place that doesn't care about its people or the people of other countries?


am i generalizing? no, i am ranting! (ok, that's 2 warnings.)


my mother-in-law (hi, mom) has already announced that she will not be buying any toys for christmas this year. and that's just fine with me. the kids certainly don't need any more toys, but the fact that anyone has to make that decision frustrates me to no end.

ok, i feel a little better now.

God's peace y'all

i LOVE 69

ok, first get your heads out of the gutter.

and i was born in 1970 so it has nothing to do with the year.

69 refers to the silent prince's body burden lead level.

it's been almost two years since he was first diagnosed with lead poisoning at which point the lead level in his blood was close to 60 (at a level of 70 or higher they talk about brain damage and fatalities) and his body burden level (the lead in his bones and soft tissues) was over 500.

this past week i took him for his blood test to see if the iron treatments we've been giving him helped move some of the lead from the bones and soft tissues into his blood. the brave boy didn't even flinch when they stuck him. he even laughed for the women drawing his blood. two days later we got a call from the lead clinic saying that his blood level had gone from a 29 to a 32 and that his body burden had gone from 102 to 69!

his blood level still isn't high enough to treat him, but this is the lowest his body burden has been ever!

YIPPEE! WA-HOO! HA-ZAH!

God's peace y'all

where were you when...

oj simpson is back in the news. i've only caught bits and pieces of the many and various charges that have been brought against him. i commented to hubby last night that clearly what goes around comes around.

then today i read $2 who had this to say... and i think he is right. let's not give this man anymore of our time. let the authorities do their job and let us leave him to obscurity.

except that this got me to thinking. i always believed him guilty. not because of his race, but because it was clear that he was an abuser and abusers will often times kill those they abuse. the true sin of racism is that it corrupted his murder trial and inflicted new wounds on race relations back in 1994 when it was taking place.

i was in seminary during the trial and watched almost none of it, except what i couldn't escape. i worked in the refectory where we students and faculty ate our meals and remember clearly playing the radio as loudly as we could so that we could all hear the verdict before praying and sitting down for lunch. i think i was the one to pray, though i don't remember what i said.

not long after the faculty at the seminary decided we needed to have some special classes on race and i attended a forum where students and professors talked about the issues with race and racism. one of the professors, who was running the forum, introduced the topic by saying something like this:

"my generation is defined by the question, 'where were you when kennedy was shot?' this generation will be defined by the question, 'where were you when the oj verdict was read?'"

i thought it was a terrible question to be defined by. and then of course we inherited a new question in 2001, "where were you when the towers fell?"

which all begs the question, why can't we be defined by the positives that take place in our world? is it because we have so very few? is it because we disagree on what the real positives are?

can we not be determined by events like the berlin wall falling (anyone remember where you were that day?) or what you were doing during live aid?

i'm a firm believer in the power of positive thinking. i'm an ever firmer believer in the power of positive doing. and while people often come together in the aftermath of tragedy wouldn't life be better if we came together before tragedy struck so that we can ask and reflect back on questions like these:

where were you when the levies were rebuilt?
where were you when the peace accord was signed in the middle east?
where we you when our troops came home from iraq?
where were you when the law was signed that all children have health insurance?
where were you..?

God's peace y'all

i got mooned

well, not really. this weekend was the annual harvest moon festival here in town and for the second year we had a booth at the fair.

last year our tent was right next to my chiropractor's booth. which was cool because they are cool people. this year, for electrical reasons, her tent was a few spots down from us and we were next to the mormons.

yes, the mormons.

who also needed electric and so i really don't understand why my chiropractor couldn't have occupied their space. it also puzzled me because the person who organizes the fair told me last year that he doesn't like to put two booths "selling" the same stuff right next to each other.

on the first day of the fair another pastor from town was walking around with two of her kids and i mentioned this fact to her. she wondered if they were put there purposefully so that my lutheran booth could counteract their booth. whatever the reason, it was weird to have them right next to us.

now, don't get me wrong. i am trying not to be judgemental, but i often hope that this particular group of people is very suprised when they get to heaven and discover they weren't quite right about a lot of things. (this is not to say that i expect the same won't happen to me.)

it was an odd thing to be neighbors. the first day i introduced myself as pastor cats from the lutheran church. and they (who couldn't have been more than 21 at best) introduced themselves as elder so and so and elder so and so. i told hubby later that i find it interesting that the mormons only seem to pick the best looking boys, which meant they were nice to look at although i kept wondering what kind of underwear they had on.

i also realized that while i am pretty good at small talk and not necessarily good at talking to strangers about God, that they are really bad at small talk but very good at talking about God as evident in this conversation.

cats: "so where are you both from."

elders so and so: "utah."

cats: "and how long have you been here?"

elders so and so after commisterating and doing some mathmatics: "about three years."

cats: "do you like it here?"

elders so and so: "it's nice."

cats, pausing to see if they want to ask anything about her.

elders so and so: "do you know anything about our church?"

cats: "a little bit." very short pause. "well, it was nice talking to you, i'd better get back to my booth."

while they sat on the curb i asked if they wanted a chair. i had an extra. nope, they were fine. later i asked if they wanted lollypops since the day was getting long and not many people seemed interested in either the mormons or the lutherans and i was told they had apples.

"you're so good." i told them.

i'll be honest and say i don't consider mormons to be christians. they have enough vast theological differences from the basic christian dogma for me to make that assertion. i would be more comfortable with the idea that they are a seperate religion than with the idea that they are a seperate sect of the religion.

i did get a kick out of all of it, especially when a reporter i've worked with in the past from one of the local papers stopped by and made this astute observation: there are some really interesting dichotomies at work here, she said. the fried food cart was opposite the booth for balanced body wellness center (my chiropractor), the old bitties who sold the crocheted goods were next to the sorority sisters whose combined age wasn't as much as the amount of years that the old bitties had been going to the harvest moon fair.

all in all it was a weird weekend which ended in complete exhaustion and a real desire for a vacation which i have no time left to take, but at least i got my fried dough with hot apple topping and whipped cream. mmm, fried dough.

God's peace y'all

one in 94

last night at about 10pm my phone rang. rarely, if ever, does my phone ring that late at night. as i reached for my purse to fish it out i looked down at my jammies and hoped it wasn't someone from the church to say there was terrible accident and could i come to the hospital to pray.

but it was my teacher-friend (tf) who had earlier yesterday watched a story on the news about autism. she often calls when she sees something pertinent to my family's situation on the tv so that i can check it out.

apparently, governor corzine (NJ-D) just signed a bunch of bills into laws having to do with autism. why? because while the national autism rate is 1 in every 152 children new jersey's rate is 1 in every 94 children.

this is pertinent to me because both kids were born in new jersey and the silent prince was diagnoised with pdd-nos (pervasive developmental disorder - not otherwise specified). pdd-nos became autism when we moved here and finally saw a developmental doctor.

i did some googling this morning and found this article about what took place.

first, it made me happy that i voted for corzine back in the day. my tf told me that he had said something to the effect of not being this affected by events since 9/11.

the new laws include helping doctors make earlier diagnoses and putting money and programs into place for children with autism who eventually become adults and are left-behind by the school system.

these two things, in and of themselves, are almost enough for me. it takes long periods of time to even get to see a specialist who can give an autism diagnosis (sometimes over 1 year) and i worry about what will happen to my silent prince once he is 21 and can't go to school any longer.

secondly, it broke my heart. hubby and i always joked that we hated the fact that are children are from new jersey. (growing up in philadelphia can give you those feelings about new jersey.) i know that i can't ask questions like: what if he hadn't been born in new jersey? because that's just a dumb thing to do. i can however be frustrated by the fact that so many children from new jersey are autistic.

and that's exactly how i feel.

God's peace y'all

the day after

6 years ago, yesterday, i remember finally leaving work and going home to see what had happened. i had only heard the reports on the radio and from the people who showed up at church needing to pray. (tuesdays were typically my day off, but i had to attend some meeting early that morning and had decided to make it a work day.)

last night as i flipped channels on the tv i remembered that 6 years ago it was a struggle to watch tv... especially the day after and the day after that. it seemed like weeks went by before there wasn't a constant focus on the pictures of those planes hitting the towers and people jumping to their deaths from burning buildings.

my favorite television moments after were the emmy's. ellen degeneres hosted and started off by saying that the best way to deal with our enemies was to have a gay woman hosting. and then later steve martin jumped up to accept someone else's award because he was tired of people not being there to accept them on their own.

i didn't watch any of the specials or news remembrances yesterday. i couldn't bring myself to do it. i suppose it stems from those days of not being able to get away from it in the one thing that is an escape (television.)

but i did remember and i know that for some people that day still hasn't, nor will it ever, truly be over.


God's peace y'all

he was in the basement

first, the irony: yesterday we attended a local fair and the police were there offering fingerprinting and child information packets for kids and i had the silent prince fingerprinted.

now, the story:

sunday afternoons are family time for us. either my parents come the 25 minutes to our house or we travel the 25 minutes to theirs. since they happen to have central air and it has suddenly turned hot we made the decision to head to their house today.

the silent prince has a wonderful time at his grandparent's. he has the full run of the house and grandmom is constantly feeding him all sorts of goodies. we usually know exactly where he is just by listening for the sound of a bouncing ball on their hard wood floors (we still have hope for the nba someday because he dribbles like a pro).

we had a great dinner out on the back deck and the prince and princess kitty enjoyed ice cream treats (as did their mom). after we had filled up on grandmom's cooking grandmom took the kids in for a bath (i always pack the bedtime clothes for the ride home), hubby went to make his sunday call to his mom and grandpop and i enjoyed a few minutes sitting outside and talking before cleaning up the mess from dinner.

by the time the kids were out of the tub and dressed, hubby was off the phone, and the dishes were in the dishwasher it was time to hit the road. sunday is afterall a school night and it takes 25 minutes to drive home.

somewhere in the midst of collecting all our things the grownups all wound up in the back of the ranch-style house that my parents own and hubby asks: "where's the silent prince?"

we listen for the sound of a bouncing ball and hear none and begin to move through the house. my dad hits the kitchen first... the back door is unlocked... it is dark out... the silent prince is nowhere to be seen.

we all run out the door. hubby and the princess kitty make a dash into the neighbor's yard. the yards are all open and the silent prince likes to make life difficult by taking off towards the fish pond at the neighbor's house two doors down.

but we can't see, because it is dark. the prince doesn't talk and so he won't answer us if he hears us calling his name. he also thinks running from us when we chase after him is a really fun game.

i go around to the front of the house and scan the street. my father has gone back inside to look for the flashlight which is not where he usually keeps it. my mom pops her head out the front door and i tell her to check his favorite hiding places in the house once more. (one time he hid in the closet of the guest room for several minutes before we finally found him.)

hubby and the princess kitty emerge onto the street from a few houses down. he tells me to search the house once more and call 911.

back into the house i go, into the kitchen. my mother had looked down the basement steps, but the lights weren't on and we know how much he loves to be outside, but i am looking once more before calling the police and launching a full scale search.

i flip the light switch and take two steps down into the basement... and there he is, playing with a toy he has found in an old pile of stuff that must be going to a tag sale at church.

the princess kitty is behind me, i scream: "I HAVE HIM! I FOUND HIM! TELL YOUR DADDY I HAVE HIM!"

and i run down the steps and grab him, much to his dismay, and won't let him go. i hear hubby moments later tell grandpop, "no harm, no foul."

i can barely breathe and neither can the prince for how hard i am holding him. when i finally let him go it is to find myself in my mother's embrace. the only thing that keeps me from falling completely apart is that i don't want to upset the princess kitty any more than she is already upset.

and now both of them are fast asleep and safe in their beds and i thank God that i didn't need to use that set of fingerprints tonight.

God's peace y'all... and kiss your kids if you have them.

sing along with me

well, dondon said he expected me to have music on my blog by the time i got home from vacation. it took a little longer than that... but here it is... a small sampling of what i listen to and sing with, at the top of my lungs, while i'm driving in my car.

and yes, the princess kitty (at age 8) knows all the words and can sing along too.

God's peace y'all... i'm going to bed now.

it's the most wonderful time of the year

the princess kitty waiting for the bus to take her to her first day of third grade

the princess kitty getting on the bus to go to her first day of third grade

the silent prince waiting for the bus to take him to his first day of kindergarten

the silent prince getting on the bus to take him to his first day of kindergarten


God's peace y'all

put them on backwards and other exciting news

here's what i did...

i took a pair of old footy pajamas and cut the feet out then i put them on the silent prince... backwards!

he can't get out of them, can't pee all over the floor, can't make a mess when he poops!

i am an amazing brilliant mom!

also... i just received my first check for the work i did for my denominations publishing house. i am now officially a paid writer!!!

God's peace y'all