Not the best day I've ever had... and a list of things to be thankful for

Yesterday was one of the most trying days of my life. Yet, it started out so simply and great.

I woke up early and went to early church and Sunday school. One of the women in my Sunday School class brought a big bowl of fruit which I loved! After class was over, she offered to give me the rest of it which I gratefully accepted!

I came home, ate some more of the fruit and a sandwich for lunch and decided to take a nap.

I woke up a few hours later and decided that I REALLY wanted a chocolate milkshake from the McDonald's down the road. So I grabbed my wallet, my cell phone, and my sunglasses and walked out the door, locking it behind me as usual. about half a second after I shut my door, I realized my mistake. I had forgotten to grab my keys!!

So here I am in the middle of the day in the summer sun...the Florida summer sun... seven months pregnant and I can't get in my car or back in the house! I called AAA who gave me the number of 2 locksmiths. Neither of the numbers worked. I may have typed them in wrong since I was trying to listen to my cell phone and type on my cell phone at the same time.

So with no luck there, I call 411. This lady tells me that there are no locksmiths in my town (???) but gives me the number of 2 in a nearby town. I call both of them. The first doesn't serve my area and the second was out of order.

I call 411 again, get a different lady who gives me a credit for the last two but misunderstood the name of my town and gave me a listing for a similar-sounding town in the state...does me no good as they are several hours away!

I finally call 411 a THIRD time and this lady quickly puts me through to someone who does serve my area. I explain that I have been out in the sun for 30 minutes already trying to get someone to come,that I was very pregnant, and tat because of the heat I was staring to feel ill so to please ask the guy to hurry. She said she would do so and that it should be only about 20 minutes or so.

I waited 20 minutes....then a few more.... and a few more. Finally after waiting 45 minutes I call back, get someone different and explain again that I'm not feeling well and the guy still hasn't shown up. She puts me on hold and when she comes back she assures me that he is on his way and would call me shortly.

At this point it starts raining, which is good in that it cooled down everything but bad in that if forced me under my small front stoop which has nowhere to sit down. After waiting another 20 minutes with no phone call from anyone I call AGAIN. This time when they put me on hold, they can't find the guy who is supposed to be on his way. Te girl assures me that she would keep trying to call and would call me as soon as she got ahold of him. She repeated my phone number to me but had it incorrect so I correct the two reversed numbers. She wondered aloud if this wasn't part of the problem saying maybe the guy couldn't get ahold of me. I find this slightly ridiculous as the guy had my address, he could have come by and seen me standing there.

After another 15-20 minutes they STILL hadn't called me back! At this point I'm getting really mad but don't know who else to call in my area of no-where-ville. I call my friend Alexis who lives about 20 minutes away to if nothing else come keep me company, sane, and to please please please bring me something cold to drink. She came immediately and also brought snacks! :)

We sat in her car for a while when she decided to call the place for me. She got a bit more snippy than I did but really got no further than I did. At this point I had been locked out of my house for 3 hours!

After a while, she decides to check all the windows, sliding glass doors, and doors again just to be sure, and yep... all locked. 1/2 joking around, she pulls out a credit card this former Miami girl proceeds to break in my door! Because I didn't have my keys, I couldn't lock the deadbolt behind me so it was only the door lock. I would have never known how or even thought of trying to get in with a credit card in the door jam!!

Once we were in the house, she again calls the locksmith and cancels. They try to tell her that they are going to have to charge me but she flat out refuses saying we waited for 3 hours for someone who was "on the way" the whole time.

We then decided to go to dinner after all the "excitement" of the afternoon. While at the restaurant, my mom calls my cell and asks if I had gone somewhere for the day. I kind of laughed and asked her if I could call her back when I got home. She agreed and Alexis and I went back to our dinner.

Once I was home again, I called my mom back, but instead talked to my dad who told me that my grandmother had passed away earlier that afternoon and that they had been trying to call all afternoon (but obviously didn't think to call my cell phone until later).

My grandmother was an amazing woman, but had been very sick for a long time and was unfortunately no longer herself anymore. We often wondered how she had hung on as long as she had. It was a peaceful death at home with my uncle holding her hand and my cousin singing to her... she just slipped away.

Of course I am very sad and will miss her dearly, yet in a way, it is almost a relief that she is now free of her troubles here on Earth. Growing up, she lived just across the street so I was very close, both physically and emotionally, to her. When I was 5 or 6, my grandfather passed away and eventually my aunt, uncle, and cousin moved in with her to help her. This was the uncle and cousin that were there with her at the end.

In a book I recently read, a boy had been abandoned and raised on the streets by a kindly old man who took in many abandoned children (in this book, couples were only allowed 2 children so often 3rd children were abandoned at birth). This man had a profound faith in God and taught the children that whenever they were having a hard time, they should recite every good thing they can think of and end the list with, "And God loves us."

I started thinking of my list yesterday to keep my spirits up (and my anger down):

I had my cell phone with me so I could call for help.
The rain cooled everything down so I didn't get too hot and started to feel better.
I have a great friend in Alexis who dropped everything to come help me out.
As Alexis pointed out, I didn't have a small baby with me, or have my child locked in the house while I was locked out.
I was able to eventually get in my house and into the AC.
My grandmother is no longer suffering with her illnesses.
Grandma is in Heaven with her Lord.
Grandma was surrounded by those who love her.
...and God loves us.

Happy 4th of July!

Run the Disney Marathon in 3 minutes

Feel the energy... This is why I love to run marathons, and can't wait to start training for Disney Marathon 2011...

Daddy's Little Girl

From holding me in a small white dress, to holding me in a long white dress, my dad has always been there for me.

When I was little he taught me how to shoot a BB gun, ride a bike, ride a horse, and anything else I wanted to learn. He never said, "Little girls don't do that" instead, he would usually laugh, say something along the lines of "Don't tell your mother" and off we would go.

We went to the beach several times every summer. While Mom was sitting on the shore or looking for shells, Daddy was in the water with my brother and I playing, splashing, and pretending he loved us climbing on his back to jump off.

When I was in high school, he worked for the phone company and drove from house to house repairing the phone lines. I was a swimmer. At that point in my life, that was about the only way I described myself as everything I did revolved around swimming (I ran track to stay in shape for summer swim team, I did summer swim team to get ready for the high school team...). Swimming was my life. Daddy knew this, but he was rarely able to take off on Tuesdays and Thursday for my swim meets. However, if it was a home meet, my dad would drive around the pool as often as he could to ask me how I was doing. If I was about to swim, he'd pull over and park so he could stand by the fence to watch, even if it made him a little late to his next appointment. Those few minutes of him being there meant more to me than the parents who showed up to every meet, every time, because they had the time to do so. It was something he didn't have to do, he did it just for me, just to support me, just to say, "that's my daughter out there!"

In 2003, we found out that Daddy has cancer. Mantle Cell Lymphoma. Rare. Aggressive. Hard to treat. Scared the crap out of me. Suddenly the man I thought was as solid as a rock wasn't, or so I thought at first. I vowed to be strong for him, as strong as he had always been for me... but I soon realized, that he was still a rock, he was still strong, and he was still holding me together. Even when the doctor told him he was considered terminal and probably had only 3 years to live, he never gave up. He never gave up in himself, in his doctors, or in God.

Many things will forever stick in my mind about my dad but probably the most important one was what he said to me while he was laying in a hospital bed as I started to cry.

"What are you crying for? There is nothing to cry over. I haven't shed a tear or lost a moments sleep and neither should you. God is taking care of this. It's in His hands now. If He needs me here, He'll leave me here. When He wants me home, He'll take me home. It's out of our control so why worry?"

He was right, there was nothing to worry about. My dad is still strong, still fighting, and still going long after the doctors said he should have passed. He has had chemotherapy, radiation, stem cell transplants, more clinical trials than I can count ("Even if it doesn't help me, if it helps them find a cure for someone else, my job is done."), and finally last year, a bone marrow transplant from an anonymous donor - who we found out this year lives in GA.

I remember praying that God allowed my dad to see me get married and to hold his grandchildren. God is great, and he has answered my prayers with a resounding YES. My dad not only saw me get married, but mustered up the strength to walk me down the aisle and dance with me at the reception. In October, he will see my child born, his newest grandchild (my brother already has 2 sons so I can't say "first grandchild").

God is great, but my daddy comes in a pretty close second! Happy Father's Day Daddy, I love you!

For Today...

A friend of mine did this the other day so I followed the link to the Simple Woman's Daybook as well and decided to play along!

FOR TODAY JUNE 12, 2009

Outside my window... The sun is starting to set on another beautiful day.

I am thinking... that I can't wait for one of my best friends to come visit tomorrow! I haven't seen her in a few years and I've missed her!! She and her husband can probably only stay a little while but I'll take what I can get :)

I am thankful for... only being on a "modified" bedrest where I can still get up and do what I need to as long as it isn't for too long or too strenuous. I can't imagine being on full bedrest for a long period of time. I would go insane - and my house would fall apart haha! :)

From the learning rooms... I've put off my homework until the weekend, it's due Monday. I work best under pressure, or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

From the kitchen... While Chris and I were in St Augustine, I bought 3 cookbooks from the Columbia Resturant gift shop. Orange Recipes, Key Lime Cookin', and Key Lime Deserts all by Joyce LaFray. I have a tree in my backyard that has both key limes and lemons on it (it must have been spliced). I've never really known what to do with the key limes other than key lime pie, which I love, but now I should have pleanty of new ideas! I should have plenty of ideas for all the oranges I pick from my parents grove as well (other than just peeling and eating - which is probably my favorite way to eat an orange!).

I am wearing... the most comfortable thing I can find. It's amazing howquickly this baby is growing! Things that fit me last week are getting snug this week.

I am creating... a beautiful baby (girl?).

I am going... to travel the world one day. Besides, I have lots of friends/family all over the world that I need to visit! At this very moment I have friends/family in Japan, Korea, South Africa, the UK, and Prauge. Chris can probably dig up some more old military buddies that are stationed overseas too.

I am reading... Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince...again. Every time a new HP book or movie comes out i feelthe compulsive need to read the entire series all over again from the begining. Because the movie of Half Blood Prince is coming out next month, I had to do the traditional re-reading!

I am hoping... like every expectant parent and family member, for a happy, healthy baby for both myself and my sister.

I am hearing... the clackity-clack of my keyboard, the air conditioner, oh and there goes the leaky toilet refilling that my husband is supposed to fix! lol!

Around the house... I just redid the small guest bathroom and, for the moment at least, it is my favorite place in the house! Light tan walls and white trim (this was already done, I didn't repaint) now with dark brown towels, light blue hand towels, a white/tan/brown/dark brown/light blue checkered rug, light tan soap dispencer and tissue box with light blue outline flowers and dark brown trim, and misc art of the same colors. I love it!

One of my favorite things... other than my newly redecorated guest bathroom, is my new iPhone 3G. I may be a bit iPhone dependant at this point as 1/2 my life is on this stinking thing - all my phone numbers and many addresses, a list of my daily blood pressures for my ob/gyn, grocery lists, other shopping lists, to-do lists, all my music, and of course my newest addiction...scrabble!


A few plans for the rest of the week: It's summer break and I'm on modified bedrest...so my plans include a lot of sitting with my feet up reading, watching movies or TV, and sleeping. Perhaps some light cleaning now and then in short bursts, and of course my homework for my online class!

Here is picture thought I am sharing... my newly re-decorated guest bathroom!

Baskets, baskets, and more baskets

I love baskets!

This is a fairly new realization, as I didn't really know just how much I love baskets until I started reorganizing a few things and realized how many things I actually have in baskets. I have baskets of books, baskets of candles, baskets of towels, baskets of gizmos, baskets of cords, baskets of cleaning supplies, baskets of remote controls, baskets of purses and bags, baskets of running and other exercise equipment, baskets of bath soaps and salts, and even a basket full of soon-to-be-used Winnie the Pooh baby stuff. Then of course there are the required laundry baskets too.

(These are only SOME of my baskets!)

My husband, on the other hand, likes to store things in old ammo cans. There are ammo cans galore in the garage full of...well... some actually do have ammo in them although not the original ammo that came in them, and who knows what else is in there. But the funniest is when he decided to reorganize the pantry and thought it would be good to use an ammo can to store the packets of flavored rice and noodles...

Oh well, at least he tried to organize! :)

Locks of Love

A few years ago I cut my hair in front of a classroom full of students for Locks of Love. The class read a book (I can't remember the name of it now - sorry) about a young girl with a disease causing her to lose her hair and preventing her from regrowing it. Her best friend, at the end of the novel, chose to cut off her long beautiful hair to donate to Locks of Love for a wig for her friend. It was the first time I had actually donated my hair, in fact, it was the first time I had ever cut THAT MUCH hair off!

It was a great experiance and I'm glad I was able to share it with some of my students.

It was such a great experiance that I did it again, but this time I waited until after school was out to cut my hair. Last Friday, I walked into the local Hair Cuttery and chopped off about a foot of hair! I forgot to snap a "before" pic prior to having my hair washed so the best I have is my wet hair hanging down my back before the cut.

I have to say, I LOVE MY NEW SHORTER HAIR! I keep forgetting that it is short though. I go to hold it back while getting a drink from a fountain, I keep brushing my neck forgetting that my air doesn't extend down that long anymore, and I often get way to much shampoo or conditioner in my hand before washing (what's left of) my hair. I cant remember a time that my hair was this short before, but I think I really like it!

It is so much easier. It really is a wash and go style. My long hair was kind of wash and go,but it was more of a wash, fight the tangles, firght to dry, go, get annoyed with it, tie it back in a ponytail. This is literally wash, comb (easily) and go. It dries pretty quickly on its own so I don't even bother dragging out the hair dryer unless I really need to.

The only problem I have found so far is a minor one. I always knew I had two cowlicks in the front of my head making bangs difficult to say the least (which is why I don't have bangs), but Ihave now discovered yet another cowlick in the back of my head!! Luckily, this cowlick isn't too onery and will lay flat it I get it wet and either blowdry it or even if I let it dry natural, however, the next morning....POP... there it is... time to pull out my spraybottle! :)

Opinions?

Happy 5th Anniversary

Today is my 5th wedding anniversary, however, in an effort to preserve my husbands few personal days for when our child is born, we decided to take a small romantic get-away a few days early during his off-days. Since it is so close, and I went to college there, we decided that St Augustine would be the perfect place. We stayed at a little bed and breakfast right downtown called The Inn on Charlotte. It was a beautiful old house and I have to say, Lynne, the innkeeper, makes a FANTASTIC breakfast and is a wonderful host! The room was small but very cozy, private, and romantic with a beautiful (and very comfie) bed and an in-room jacuzzi tub for two!

Because we weren't staying long, just a couple of days, and because I'm pregnant and didn't want to walk all over creation, being right downtown was perfect for us. We didn't do too much, but we did visit the Castillo de San Marcos (the old fort), walk down St George Street and visit many of the shops, Walk through the Spanish Village (It was free with our military ID!), look through the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse. We also walked around the old Mission Grounds (Mission of Nombre de Dios) and the shrine of Nuestra Senoria de la Leche y Bien Parto (Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery - appropriate huh?).

I also took hubby to visit my old Alma Matter, Flagler College. It was amazing how many memories came flooding back just walking on campus. Good memories, funny memories, some I'd rather forget... I wouldn't have changed a thing about my college years though, it helped to make me who I am today. (I'm not real sure why the picture below turned sideways when I tried to add it but I couldn't get it to turn back around.)

It was a wonderful little anniversary vacation for us before the baby is born, just the two of us; my favorite person and I, in my favorite city.

Happy Memorial Day 2009

Last year on Memorial Day, I wrote about the history of the holiday and yesterday, a friend of mine also wrote an awesome post about a military hero whom he never even met. But this year, I'm thinking about funerals, military funerals to be exact.

Recently my paternal grandfather passed away. Unfortunately, I didn't know him as well as I would have liked to. Although he was a vet of the Korean conflict, he did not have a military funeral, but the flag was neatly folded there in his casket. As a sailor in Hawaii, he created maps for those on the ground out of the pictures the spy planes took.

I hate funerals. Even when you believe that the deceased has had a wonderfully full life and is going on to a better place, it is a sad event for all. The worst funerals though, for me at least, are military funerals. Even if I did not know the fallen, as soon as I hear the guns and Taps, I'm lost in a flood of tears.

Tears of sadness, and tears of pride. Pride in my country and my country's military men and women who have all volunteered and are out there standing guard to help protect me, my family, and my friends, often at great risk to themselves.

I'm afraid of many things, spiders being one of them, but my biggest fear is having to hear Taps at my husband's funeral while a sailor in a crisp dress uniform hands me a folded flag "on behalf of a grateful nation."

Unfortunately, due to my husband's chosen career path, wills and funeral arrangements are something that we have been forced to talk about at an age much younger and sooner than many. He wants a military funeral with a big party afterwards. A party, not a reception; complete with alchol and music, dancing and laughing. He wants those left behind to celebrate his life and remember the good, rather than mourn and be sad. I've often laughed (half heartedly) and told him that I'm not sure I can pull that one off. He usually just hugs me and tells me that "Teddy, Abdul, and the guys will take care of it, don't worry." Then he laughs and reminds me of the promise I made him make that he can't die until after I do anyway :)

I've gone off on a tangent again and let this post get away from me, so I will just simply end it with the lyrics of Taps, a heartfelt "THANK YOU" to all who have ever worn a military uniform and put their life in danger for the sake of me and others, and a wish for everyone to have a wonderful Memorial Day.

Fading light dims the sight

And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright

From afar drawing nigh,

Falls the night.

Day is done, gone the sun

From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky

All is well, safely rest;

God is nigh.

Then goodnight, peaceful night;

Till the light of the dawn shineth bright.

God is near, do not fear,

Friend, goodnight.

(and all other branches)

Stupid Joke Thursday

A little while back, my school had our annual talent show. One of the jokes that the 5th grade MC said has stuck in the minds (and apparently the hearts) of ALL of the kids so I thought I would share it. I doubt it will be as funny written as it is orally - especially when you see the kids who have added a little dance to the punch line - but maybe, just maybe, by posting this I'll get it out of MY head!

Ok...

Ready?

What do you get when you cross a brown chicken with a brown cow?

Brown-chick-n-brown-cow (said in the same manner as "Bow chicka wah wah")

Now...as I said... imagine first and second graders saying this and adding a little disco style dance move to it. Just picture it...and try to get it out of your mind! haha