Christmas Questions

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

I always like to have a glass or two of egg nog sometime over the holidays, but I “water it down” with regular milk and I drink it cold. I like hot chocolate and enjoy it more often, but truth be told, hot spiced apple cider would top them both. (And I make a hot almond drink that even tops the spiced cider.)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?

Santa has never been a part of our Christmas traditions.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Outside it’s all white. The main tree is all white. Some smaller trees around the house are colored, and the “COKE” tree is in red lights.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
I have a tiny sprig of “fake” mistletoe that I sometimes hang, but it doesn’t usually even get noticed when I do.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Usually the weekend following Thanksgiving, but we didn’t have Thanksgiving until Sunday this year due to work schedules, so it’s down from the attic, ready to go up tomorrow night.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Cheese Fondue. We either do fondue for Christmas or New Years, depending on the year.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
Oddly enough, at some point we started “making” our own Christmas trees. The first year it was a chicken wire cone covered with tumbleweeds, sprayed silver. Another year it was made of crepe paper and decorated with intricate egg ornaments hung by ribbons (much prettier than it sounds.) I loved it so much that I begged for it to be left up. When my mom could no longer stand it (probably about Feb. since she is a very patient woman) she told me if I wanted to keep it, it had to go into my bedroom. I kept it in my bedroom til the end of June before I could agree to take it apart. Another year, when I was in high school, we found an old dead woodpecker log that was hollow. My dad wired it for electricity and put globes on it. We loved it so much that it became our traditional tree which we used every year. Eventually we decided to leave it up year ‘round and it became our “seasons” tree. My mom still uses it to this day. We made another one like it for me and DH later, but it’s at my parents house in Colorado. Making our own tree was a great family bonding process and an unusual creative endeavor.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I was about 3. I started analyzing the whole thing, and realized it was a bunch of baloney. I asked my mom “There isn’t really a Santa Claus, is there?” She simply answered “no.” I never felt like I missed the “magic” of Christmas at all, and was always appreciative to my parents for gifts received. My mom was honest with me because she had been very hurt as a child by “believing” , but having been born into a very poor family. She wanted a bike in the worst way, but never got one because they could never afford one. Meanwhile the snotty rich neighbor kids down the road got oodles of wonderful presents. We decided not to ever start the Santa thing. Our kids learned about Santa from other kids and books, but he was always a fictional character for them. I recently asked them if they felt they missed out by not believing…answer, no. .

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
We’ve always opened one gift Christmas Eve. Sometimes I chose it (like new PJ’s for everyone, so photos would look good on Christmas morning) but sometimes they got to choose one.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
I buy the boys a yearly ornament to represent something about that year (some years, just one they liked.) DH always gets a Coke ornament (even though he is a recent Dr. Pepper convert…took me YEARS to get him there!) I buy several that I just can’t resist every year, especially from the after Christmas clearance sales at the Hallmark stores. For a while I've tried to buy something for the tree from every family vacation. We have so many sentimental ornaments that I have several small trees around the house (Coke, a mouse tree, a Disney tree, an Eskimo tree, and I may have enough S’more ornaments for a small tree this year.) Not all of the ornaments go up every year, but we all choose our favorites. When the boys leave home they’ll have enough to decorate their own trees.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
I LOVE to watch snow falling, love to stand outside and let the snowflakes fall on my face, love to walk in the snow and hear it “crunch” when it gets really cold, love making snowmen--one year on a snow day (remember I am from Colorado, and to get a snow day you had to get a LOT of snow), we made an Indian brave, and added a real feather. On the other hand, I HATE to drive on slick roads…so I LOVE snow… as long as I can stay at home. Of course, now that I live in TX, snow is like… a miracle.

12. Can you ice skate?
My family drove about an hour up into the mountains to a wonderful outdoor lake (Lake Pactolus) every Friday night for years. They would flood the lake so the ice was smooth and would blade off the snow by driving around on the lake with an ancient old pick-up truck (circa 1940?) with a plow on the front. It was a big lake, and you could find your own area of the lake and do whatever you wanted, you didn’t just skate around in circles (how boring!) The AMTRAK train went right by and we’d wave to the passengers. Sometimes the wind was so strong that if we held up our coats above our heads like sails, it would blow us the entire length of the lake! They had a warming house with wood benches and we’d always take some thermoses filled with hot chocolate. It was the highlight of my week. We could never afford lessons, but in high school a friend who was taking lessons was teaching me some figures, jumps, spins,etc. and I loved it. I can still skate, but wouldn’t try any fancy stuff anymore.


13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I've never been very good at choosing a single favorite thing of anything...As a youngster it was probably my red mohair sweater or my used manual typewriter. As an adult it was my jewelry armoire or my kitchen aid mixer, both gifts from my parents, or the 35mm camera from my DH one year.

14. What's the most exciting thing about Christmas for you?
Lights and decorations. I love driving around and seeing the lighting displays, seeing how the stores decorate, visiting homes that are decorated.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Chocolate fondue with fresh fruit.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
I love singing harmony with a group a cappella, so caroling is right up there, although I guess my very favorite would have to be decorating the tree as a family. We put on our Santa hats and some Christmas music. We usually have cheese and crackers and fruit along with hot cider or cocoa. We each reminisce about every ornament as we put it on the tree.

17. What tops your tree?
Finding a tree topper that I really love has been a challenge. We’ve had a lighted star, a lighted angel, a fabric angel, a glass pointed topper, etc. I still haven’t seen one I truly love. I’ve even used just a bow with streamers coming down.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?
I am a giver. I love finding just the perfect gift for someone, and delight in watching them open it. My family isn’t very good about buying things for me or filling my stocking, but I don’t care ‘cause I’m too busy watching them anyway. I have to admit my mom usually surprises me with something wonderful, and it’s not usually on my list…she’s just great at knowing what I would love.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
As I said before…I’m never good at picking A SINGLE favorite anything…So, I decided to go with the first one that popped into my mind…On one of our Christmas records (a cheapo LP I bought at the supermarket when we were newly married) has a lively arrangement of “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night.” I’ve never heard another version I liked as much. I love traditional carols and contemporary songs equally, and I love singing along. Our church choir prepared and sang a cantata every year. Many of the songs in the cantatas used words straight from the Bible. I can hardly read the Christmas story without bursting out into song, since those words are now associated with wonderful melodies.

20. Candy Canes?
I love using candy canes to stir my hot chocolate, which looks pretty and turns my hot chocolate into mint chocolate, but I don’t eat them. I’m a chocolate or toffee girl all the way. Nothing else is worth wasting the calories on.

A to Z this week.

A is for apron. The Hallmark Christmas ornament which I chose to represent my year (I work at a kitchen store)

B is for bargains. I am definitely a bargain shopper. I got some great ones this week.

C is for clearance rack...where I find a lot of my bargains. OR Coupon clipping, another way.

D is for driveway. Mine was blocked all week by our pear tree that toppled in the high winds. Merle is always gone when these things happen. He's home and it is chopped up now.

E is for Ephesians. Pastor read the book aloud for the sermon today & I kept falling asleep. Merle kept squeezing my hand.

F is for Ferrero Rocher. My secret candy stash. I eat one or two candies each week.

G is for glasses. Had my exam in Jan. & still haven't ordered glasses. Meant to do it this week.

H is for the haircut I got Fri. She REALLY thinned and texturized it. Not sure I like it.

I is for introverted; the mood I've been in lately and I'll be glad when it passes. Or indecisive, which I nearly always am.

J is for Justin. I still haven't sent his wedding gift from July. Shame on me. On my to-do list.

K is for kitchen. Mine is full of dirty dishes tonight, but I'll do them in the morning.

L is for leg of lamb. Karla (boss/friend) made it for dinner today and invited our family over.

M is for mother-in-law who visited last week and is having shoulder replacement on Tues.

N is for notes. I have to leave them everywhere to remind myself of things I need to do or buy.

O is for:What's round on both ends, & high in the middle? O hi O. Where Merle was this week.

P is for poppy seed muffins. Only 2 left. Did you know that Costco will repackage muffins into single flavor packs? Since I found that out, I only buy the poppy seed ones.

Q is for quiet. I love how quiet and peaceful my neighborhood is.

R is for repo. We think our neighbor's house got repo'ed. Horses gone. All 4 yard lights are out.

S is for stitches. I went with Merle to get his removed yesterday ( skin cancer surgery.)

T is for Terri, who called and talked for 2 hours tonight. They will be on staff at Grace and spend 6 months a year with the Chi Indians in Peru, and 6 in Denver.

U is for unlimited long distance. I am thankful I can call my mom daily and talk for a long time, even though I didn't today.

V is for video clips I've been trying to upload this week, but the bugs in videoegg.com have been driving me nuts!

W is for the wool socks I am wearing tonight instead of slippers. They keep my toe-sies toasty warm.

X is for exhausted. What I will be tomorrow if I don't go to bed NOW!

Y is for yellow. The trees dressed in yellow are beautiful in the morning sun and the tranquil scene with the white goats feeding beneath them beckons me to linger at the window.

Z is for Zach (age 8) who willingly hugged me today so he could zap me with his buzzer. I'm happy that he feels free to tease me.

Decisions, the battle within.

Some people make stupid decisions.
Some people make quick decisions.
Some people struggle to make decisions.

I am a struggler. Not sure why. I like to blame it on my Mom. She trained me to look carefully at BOTH sides of the fence. She helped me to see that there are always good reasons on BOTH sides.

Some people would say that difficulty in decision making is due to the fear of making the wrong decision. I suppose that's always true to some extent. But I struggle on even simple decisions like which color of stockpot to buy. Now there's not really any reason to fear that decision is there? No one will get hurt if I make the wrong decision. (unless I get so upset over the color that I throw the pot at someone.) Can there even be a right or wrong to that decision? OK. Some decisions are easy. I ruled out the orange-flame and kiwi green colors right away. That left Red, Blue, Black. Red is bold and fun, but will I tire of it? Does it trap me into a color scheme everytime I want to use it? Blue. Blue would look great in my kitchen....but what if I change my kitchen decor, would it still look good? Which color would chili look better in? The red one. What about clam chowder? Oooh now the answer is definitely blue. What about the black? I know black is basic, and never goes out of style...but I am tired of black. Everything has been black for an entire decade....appliances, luggage, clothing. I like black, don't get me wrong, and I have plenty of black in my wardrobe, mostly cause it looks good on me, in contrast to my white hair, but black is boring.....but then, sometimes. boring is good. You don't get tired of boring as fast as you do bold. Which shirt am I most tired of? The plain black one or the polka dot one? Do you see how my mind works? I agonize over the stupidest things. Well, not so stupid, since this pot is going to cost me almost $200 (working in a gourmet kitchen shop is a bad influence on my tastes) and it should last me the rest of my life.

How should I get my hair cut? What should I make for dinner? Which photo of the family is the best shot? Life is full of decisions. You'd think by this age I'd have had the tiger by the tail....but by the end of the day I have spent so much energy making decisions that I wish I could delegate that responsibility to someone else...I'm "decisioned out" (is there such a word?)

A biggie that has been weighing on my mind for too long now....do I accept the invitation to be the speaker at an all day women's conference? After leaving all my ministries behind when we moved from Colorado, I asked God what kind of ministry I could do for Him here in Texas. It's been over two years, and I still haven't found an opening in anything yet that seems to match my abilities or passions.

I've always LOVED being a Sunday School teacher. I love being silly with the kids. I love teaching them something they don't know and having fun while doing it. I love their open honesty and excitement. Adults, well they are a whole different story. Reserved. Quiet. Masked. They already know too much, or at least think they do. Not a good idea to be silly. Must share something really profound. Speaker at a Ladies' conference. I tried it once, 12 years ago. Utter failure. I swore I would NEVER do that again. I Could. Not. Connect. I was Boring. I wanted to crawl into a hole and pull a rug over the top.

Feeling like wanting to crawl in a hole and pull a rug over the top... I remember another time I felt like that...Yeah. Like that time we did special music at our church in Florida. We'd practiced and practiced the week before. Got up there....Smile. Merle started playing the guitar intro. I started singing. THEN I realized that it was WAY too high for me...I am an alto. I looked at him with frightened eyes, stopped singing and said "that's not right!" OK. Start over. Intro. Start singing. Darn! That's STILL not right. I can't sing it that high! What is wrong? You won't believe this, but it actually happened one MORE time. By then, I no longer wanted to sing. I wanted to find the nearest exit. I wanted to die. I was thoroughly embarrassed. At that point he FINALLY realized he was playing it in the wrong key. I still don't know why he didn't realize that before he'd done it 3, count them, 3 times. And what's more, why I couldn't tell that he kept starting it in the same key, but, he finally changed the key. We sang. I don't remember much except wanting it to be over. I still remember which song it was, and that was 30 years ago. You'd think we'd never have sung that one again, but we did. We sang that same song a few years later in West Virginia at our church there. (Yep, WV.... We've moved around a lot.) Well, they knew we sang and they asked us to do special music. OK. Well, I have never sung to a less responsive audience. STONE FACES. No smiles. No toe tapping. Are they angry? They don't like us! No, it's worse that that, I think they HATE us. I want this to be over! Well, honestly, I think they were just in shock. We were later told that it was fine for us to sing, but to please use the piano, NOT the guitar next time. Guitars are for evening services, but are not formal enough for Sunday mornings. (Ok folks, remember this was 25 years ago!) We never sang a special on Sunday mornings again. We have to practice a song 300 times and change the key several times to find the right one to fit our voices. What accompaniest would be willing to do that? But the youth...they remembered it. We were heroes. We had dared to play the guitar. Honestly, we were never the rebel type. We would have just refrained from singing. Those stone faces. They were just afraid to let anyone know they were enjoying it I guess. That's exactly the way it felt when I taught at that ladies conference years ago. Stone faces.

But, I digress. Back to the decision at hand. To teach or not to teach. That is the question. I KNOW that God will give me HIS words if (but that is a much bigger word...IF) that is what He wants for me to do. Moses said "But I don't speak well, Lord." God said "I will put the words in your mouth." Moses didn't believe him, so Aaron got the job. I believe He can.... He would IF. See, at least Moses knew for sure what God was calling him to do.

At church on Sunday Pastor Dave's sermon was on using your spiritual gifts to edify the body. He said to just DIVE IN and try something. Then you'll find out if it's the right place for you. If you find FULFILMENT. If you find FRUITFULNESS. Then that is the right place for you. If not, try something different. Well, I tried it 12 years ago. I did NOT find FULFILMENT or FRUITFULNESS. So does that mean I should smile and say, sorry, I think you've got the wrong person? I tried that once. I did not find fulfilment in teaching adults. Or is that being like Moses, and saying, Nope. Sorry LORD. Can't do that. Nope, not even with your help. Is once enough to establish whether or not you are God-gifted in that area? Do you try again, or move on? If we had stopped singing after one horrible experience, we would have denied ourselves the blessings of music over the years. So, maybe once isn't enough to throw in the towel? Do I risk the embarrasment again, knowing I will cringe everytime I remember it?

Yes, I did study and prepare last time. Yes I did pray that I would speak His words last time. Looking back I don't know what I could have changed. I cringe. How did I get in the way of God's message last time? I don't know.

Lord. I am asking you to show me clearly if YOU are calling me to do this ministry. If you want me to do this, I am asking for a message that I am passionate about. And I am asking you to help me make a connection with these ladies so that YOU can touch their hearts.


EPILOGUE:
I FINALLY decided that I would go ahead and teach at the retreat, but before I called to tell my friend, she called me to say that the event had been postponed indefinitely and they were pursuing another option. (They set up a booth at the Govenor's Womens' Conference)

Best Friends

One of my *Best* friends, Stacy, encouraged us in her blog today to write about our lives. She said that even if our lives are ordinary, they need to be celebrated. She bemoaned the fact that so many of us start a blog and then don't continue. She thinks she's writing her blog about an ordinary life, but really, it's extra-ordinary, and what's more, she's talented enough to write about it with creativity and humor and it's a delight to read her blog, (and would be even if you don't know her!) It's nearly the one year anniversary of my blog, and this is only my 5th entry. Even though I'm NOT a talented writer, it's still a shame, isn't it?

1. My *Best* Friend growing up is Debbie. Our dads are best friends, so we've been best friends since we were 3. We talked "double talk" so my little brother and her little sister couldn't understand what we were saying. We went camping together every year. We worked on projects together til the wee hours. We were pregnant at the same time and later took our babies for outings together. Our sons became great friends too. We've shared our whole lives with each other. We are too much alike. We LOVE an adventure. We LOVE life. We live whirlwind, pack-it-in, see-it-all, don't-leave-anything-out lives. Everyone else thinks we're nuts, but thrive on hearing about our adventures. We live in different states now, but still email and see one another as often as we can. I've lived here for 3 years, and she's been down to visit me 3 times already. Who, other than your *Best* friend, would drive all the way from Colorado to Texas when she only has a 3 day weekend? (Drive one day, spend one day, drive another???) Another time she and her husband drove ALL night to get here, then managed to drive with us to sightsee in San Antonio until midnight of the next day. We have shared so many memories, and enjoy all of life together. Debbie is my *Best* friend.

2. My *Best* friend from Jr. High is Linda. They changed the boundaries of the school attendance areas the year I was a freshman and I had to attend a different school than all the kids I grew up with, including Debbie. I was lost on the first day of classes and couldn't find the choir room (which was accessed by a staircase behind the lunchroom, which felt like being in a dark alley at midnight.) Linda was the kind soul who helped me find it, then sat by me in choir, and immediately we became friends. We did all those teen things like shopping and slumber parties. She was my maid of honor at my wedding. We talk on the phone and spend hours on end talking together whenever I get to go home. We've lived through her first husband's infidelity, their divorce, her second husband's unexpected death of a heart attack and her daughter's battle with anorexia. We've shared life on a deep level. She is my *Best* friend.

3. My *Best* Friend from college days is Lois. We were both married the same summer and lived in the same married student housing project at Colorado School of Mines where our husbands were students. We spent so many nights playing games, and camping together. No matter how many moves we made, we always kept in touch and made trips to see each other. We went to see them once and ended up spray painting our car in their garage, and she had yellow paint spots on her washer and dryer forever afterward. When they came home to visit family in Denver, we were ALWAYS invited. At first her siblings were jealous, but eventually came to consider us to be family too. We watched them become Christians, go to seminary, become a pastor and his wife, and raise 4 beautiful daughters for whom we were god-parents. We've been able to drive to Utah to attend all four weddings. We always pick up where we left off and have shared life on a spiritual level as well. She is my *Best* friend.

4. My *Best* friend during our early years of marriage was Deb. We moved to eastern Colorado and I thought I recognized her husband while attending a church basketball game. I knew him from Bible camp as a teen, but he'd lived in California, but attended our camp near Colorado Springs because his uncle was camp director. It had to be a God-thing to meet like that in a podunk eastern CO. cowtown . We had great times together on their dairy farm dreaming of self-sufficient farms together. We did everthing together. Then we went to Bible college in Florida and they worked at Fellowship Ranch in Missouri for Overseas Christian Servicemen's Centers. We went to visit them there. They told a couple who were volunteering there that their *BEST* friends were coming to visit. The couple was Lois' parents---small world, huh? Lois' mother said "They can't be YOUR Best friends, they are Best friends with my daughter!" Deb died a few years ago of breast cancer, but she was my *Best* friend.

5. My *Best* friend from my boys' school years is Caleen. She was Phil's first and second grade teacher. She encouraged learning with a creative and challenging method. She let him choose his own spelling words because he could already spell all the words on the third grade list for the year. She told me that Phil had to be INWARDLY movtivated, that outside motivation was never going to work with him. (Time has proven her to be a prophet in that regard.) We talked about life together and became friends outside the classroom. I helped her create a family heritage scrapbook photo album. I shared life with her as she fell in love, and married the pastor of an inner city church. She encouraged me to homeschool Mark (contrary to what MOST public school teachers would do) when we figured out that his learning style was a 1 percentile style, and public school wasn't working out for him. She allowed him to come into her classroom and do Science Guy type of talks and demos from 5th grade all the way through high school graduation. I've shared her struggles to deal with aging parents and uninvolved siblings. We love going exploring together or just sitting and talking for hours. She is my *Best* friend.

6. My *Best* friend in Texas has been Becky. On my first visit to a Ladies Bible Study I introduced myself and said I needed to make friends in my new community. She promptly invited me to lunch. We started meeting for lunch regularly and soon started doing things together as couples as well. We eat meals together, are in the same small group Bible study and go to plays, movies and concerts together. We all spent a weekend helping Katrina victims in Louisiana and have planned a canoe trip next month. My son is dating her daughter, but we didn't even introduce them to each other. He was home from college on a short break, attended a youth group outing to a baseball game and said she was the only one who would talk to him. Now they've been dating over a year and even attended the same Bible college in Iowa. Becky's mom told me that I am an answer to prayer, that Becky needed a *Best* friend.
I see a long future for Becky and I as *Best* friends.

7. My *Best* friend at work is Karla, my boss. We are in the same small group Bible study. When she was getting ready to open her store and was feeling overwhelmed by everything, I volunteered to help her, not as a job, just as a friend. I did help her set up the shop, but ended up being employed even before the store opened. I love working for her, she is a great boss. We talk about everything and just enjoy being together. She takes me along on shopping trips (like to the World Trade Center and one this week to Texas Hill Country.) She is training me to be able to run the store if the need ever arises. We spend hours talking about most everything. She told her husband I am her *Best* friend. Yup. She's my *Best * friend.

8. My *Best* Scrapbooking friend is Stacy. She's everybody's best friend. She is open and genuine. We connect on many levels, scrapbooking is only one. She and her husband coached us when we needed to move here from Colorado. She encourages me when I feel hesitant or inadequate. I admire her and love to be with her. We have lunch together, but not nearly often enough. We can talk about anything. I share her life more than she shares mine because I read her blog. She says the things we all wish we had the talent to say. Maybe I should share my blog with her.

9. My Mom is my *Best* Friend. We are so much alike. We even say the same things, with the same tone of voice, at the SAME time. When we are watching old home videos we say "Did I say that, or did you?" We talk about everthing, we work together perfectly as a team. We create masterpieces together like the huge collage of photos at their church, that years later still attracts attention. We talk on the phone EVERY day for as long as we dare. We can complain and grump about life or relationships all we want and know the other understands and can deal with it. We love traveling together, working together, chatting together. She is not just my Mom, she's my *Best* friend.

10. My husband is my *Best* friend. There are no secrets, no barriers, just open loving arms. We dream about the future, we reminisce about the past. We have philosophical discussions. We are an unbeatable team in the kitchen! We encourage each other and yet give one another space. He is kind and gentle and understanding. He is God's incredible, wonderful gift to me. He is my *Best* friend.

I am so blessed to have *Best* friends and plenty of wonderful, favorite friends too!


edited May 5, 2007....I just got an email from my friend, Susan. She should have been in my list of best friends too. Our sons are best friends and we spent endless hours together talking together as the boys played over the years. This little article of reflection on types of friendships agrees perfectly with this blog entry "Best Friend" that I wrote months ago.


To all of my girlfriends.

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; this is to have succeeded! Ralph Waldo Emerson


When I was little, I used to believe in the concept of one best friend, and then I started to become a woman.

And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up, God would show you the best in many friends.


One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man. Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom. Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities. Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.

One friend will say, "Let's cry together," another, "Let's fight together," another, "Let's walk away together."


One friend will meet your spiritual need, another your shoe fetish, another your love for movies, another will be with you in your season of confusion, another will be your clarifier, another the wind beneath your wings.


But whatever their assignment in your life, on whatever the occasion, on whatever the day, or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back, or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself .. those are your best friends.


It may all be wrapped up in one woman, but for many, it's wrapped up in several.. one from 7th grade, one from high school, several from the college years, a couple from old jobs, on some days your mother, on some days your neighbor, on others, your sisters, and on some days, your daughters.

Delusion

Actually Written as a draft on 3-21-06

What? When? How? Why?

What causes anorexia?
When does losing weight stop being a goal and turn into an obsession?
How can starving young ladies see themselves as fat?
Why can't we do something about it?

What do they need to convince them?
When will we figure it out?
How can we get inside their heads?
Why is it becoming an epidemic?

Random Thoughts

I actually wrote this 3-21-06, but saved it as a draft. I should have just posted it then.

1. I was never a "cool" kid. That's OK. Cool is over-rated. If you are a cool kid, you can never relax and be yourself, because you have to maintain your coolness and are ever in danger of doing something un-cool.

2. Kids respond to attention, a playful personality, a hug. When you babysit, don't just sit. Get down on their level and play WITH them. That's all it takes to make them adore you.

3. Fund Raiser Pet Peeve. I hate these fund raisers that ask me to sponsor someone who's going on a walk, or playing golf or whatever for their charity. I really don't care if you walk or run or play golf. If you want me to sponsor you, then do something worthwhile...spend 4 hours painting or pulling weeds, or scrubbing floors at your favorite charity...and ask me to sponsor that! That doubles my donation value. If you are asking me to donate to your charity at least prove to me that you really do care about it by using that time and energy to work there, rather than to merely demonstrate your athleticism or have a day of pleasure at my expense. Who started this bizzare idea of fund raising anyway????

4. The older I get. the more I realize it's usually wise to follow every step of the instructions. I've always been the type to question the need for certain steps and tried to take a short cut. In sewing, I couldn't see the need for basting or pressing or other time consuming steps. The finished product always suffered for it. In the long run, I've learned that following ALL of the directions actually saves time and increases quality.

5. It's worth taking the time to organize. Alphabetize papers them before you file. Price it before you put it on the shelf. Spot treat it before you wash it. Preparation is half the job. It's sort of similar to #4, but still worth differentiating.

6. Inspiration only comes at midnight. No matter how early I start on a project, I just can't come up with my idea until the deadline is approaching. I am currently struggling for inspiration for a project and it is so frustrating! If I could just come up with my idea, I could be one of those people who get it done early!

7. Stuff. I have too much stuff. I want to simplify my life. But, I LIKE my stuff. I just need to figure out which stuff to get rid of.

8. Passion. I want to be passionate about something. I want to serve God with passion. Sometimes I feel so beige.

9. Fear. I fear getting old without having made a difference.

10. Caffiene is wicked. It is the drug of choice among our young people. It hurts their health more than they know. It keeps me awake in the middle of the night. I only had 2 sips of Phil's coffee and can't sleep a wink and now it's 4:30 am.

11. I should blog more often. I have to request my user name and password every time I try to log in because I do it so seldom that I can't ever remember.