Verbally vomiting

Ever feel really sick to your stomach, nauseous but unable to expel? Those of us who at one time in our lives drank beyond excess can probably relate, also those of us who survived a horrible stomach virus can too. I personally can say I have been a member of both of those clubs and the worst part was not being able to BEGIN throwing up. A trick from the bulemics has helped me…stick your fingers down your throat and help open the flood gates. After a good puking I always felt better, until of course the next wave of nausea would set in, but it would usually be easier, no fingers necessary…just assume the position over the porcelain puke receptacle and nature would take it’s course. Once the “evil” was completely expelled, I always felt so much better. It was cathartic. So, I warn you “gentle readers” that I am using this blog as a “porcelain puke receptacle” for my mental and emotional nausea that has been plaguing me for a while now…Could I get a volunteer to hold my hair?

  • I HATE MY HOUSE. I don’t like being IN my house. I have had many evil thoughts about my house. Why?
    a) We purchased this thing in 1995 thinking that we could fix it up. Well, we ran into a couple of snags. Lack of skills and lack of funds. So, here we live in a constant state of looking under construction when in reality it is truly construction halted. I can not keep it clean to save my life. Between kids, pets, “construction”, lack of time and utter lack of excitement about the house…It is what I have come to call “the pit”. I have come to the point of wishing, longing if you will, to entertain in my house. It would solve some of my other issues (see below) but I can’t. The only people who are allowed in my house are my parents and friends that met me prior to 1995. They understand the REASON behind “the pit”. Thank God I have a feral dog or I would not have an excuse for people to not come over…Hope I get the house done before she dies. b) The location now sucks as well. It used to be a nice neighborhood. A couple of years ago some idiot sold part of a cornfield to allow another idiot to build some low rent apartments on the other side of the park. Then another city official idiot decided it would be a grand idea to destroy an ancient “creek” and another cornfield so that the apartment complex would have an east entrance…meaning they extended our street to the @$$ end of the complex. Now we live at the starting line of the Indy freaking 500. I used to enjoy sitting on my porch reading in the spring and summer…hunh, so much for that. The noise from the cars and the “music” emanating from them are quite the distraction, not to mention the undeserved wolf whistles and such from the testosterone loaded punks in the souped up pieces of crap that they drive…ever seen a rust bucket driving down the road with about $1000.00 invested in the rims, HUGE amps in the back seat…NO? That’s because they live in that apartment complex and only stay in my neighborhood.
    c) There is nothing to do here anymore. The grocery stores are of the “minimalist” variety. The shopping centers all closed down. I have to drive to a different part of town if I want something as simple as a plain white T-Shirt.
  • I HATE MY TRUCK. We purchased the truck because it was a V8 with low miles. I am the type of person who will drive a vehicle until all that is left is frame, so a good strong engine is what I look for. I loved my truck. That was when gas was floating around $1.30 per gallon. Today it is $2.80 per gallon. Now it is my nemesis. I sink at least $120.00 in fuel in that thing every two weeks to go to work, take kids to and from school, grocery shop, attend meetings, attend services or serving opportunities at the church, and pick kids up from extra curricular opportunities. Notice there was no, drive to a friend’s house, go to a movie, dinner, lunch, beach, etc…you get the picture. I would sell it for a smaller car at this point, but I can not even GIVE my truck away…it has V8 ya know.
  • I NEED MORE SUN TIME. I spent most of my early life living on the East coast where a beach was always minutes away. I am not a sun bunny, I burn and peel. I use SPF 60 and have still been known to burn. There is no tanning and golden complexion for me. I am still a fan of the sun, and I like it at the beach…very few bugs at the beach. I hate bugs. So when I want my sun, I do not want to be in woods, or grass where bugs spend their time. I want dry sand. The closest decent beaches around here are in Michigan…which takes me back to the reason I hate my truck.
  • I CAN’T CONNECT. I am part of the connections team at work and I can not connect. It is not because I do not want to. I feel like I can’t. . I would love to go do lunch, dinner, movies, socializing in general with co-workers or friends but I always say that I cant. Lets see if I can work through why:
    a) I can’t afford it. These things usually take money, and most of the time fuel since I won’t allow people to socialize at my house a.k.a. “the pit”
    b) I don’t have time. I have a fully scheduled day and I have trouble asking people other than my husband to help with that schedule. Something as simple as picking up the kids from school, or
    c) keeping an eye on Paige because God knows I can’t leave her with Breanna for extended periods of time without World Wars 3 through 6 breaking out. PLUS I can not get past the “I decided to have them they are my responsibility” mindset. I hate asking people to watch my kids. Dave and I don’t have the type of parents that knock down your door demanding to take our kids and spend time with them. They already had grandkids before ours came along and the novelty has worn off.
    d) Guilt. If on the off chance all the planets are aligned…meaning I have money and time…Dave and I don’t spend enough time together as a couple. Now he is home every night but we are always focused on other things. We are aware of the fact that we should set a date night, we just can not seem to get it on the calendar. So, I feel guilty leaving him with the kids. Why should I have all the fun? That is my feeling.
    e) Independence / Fear …you decide. Some of you know that by the time I was a freshman in high school, I had been to 10 different schools in 3 different states. That means I had left a lot of friends. I think after 7th grade, I stopped REALLY trying. I have A friend from high school that I still speak to. Though we have been known to go for EXTENDED periods of time without contact. I can not name too many that were in my high school class. I think there is a part of me that is still afraid of trying to make friends and another part of me that is convinced that I did fine this long without too many so why do I need more? Plus, can you call someone your friend but then not want them in your home…a.k.a. “the pit”. Everyone I am drawn to or seem to “connect” with have these fabulous homes in fabulous neighborhoods (fabulous in comparison to mine). I feel like a fraud.
  • THE FUNK. Every once in a while I am victim to what I call The Funk. No it is not PMS, it is not that often and the timing is wrong. I am always aware The Funk has arrived and therefore I TRY not to talk to people, unfortunately because I am an otherwise approachable person – people try to talk to me. Usually if you are a co-worker, acquaintance, client, or general person on the street I can veil my “temporary contempt for all human beings” because the interactions tend to be brief. However, if The Funk strikes at home, and it usually does…My poor spouse and occasionally my kids are collateral damage of the war between me and The Funk. If left alone, I can usually win the battle with The Funk. Unfortunately, I am very “internally attentive” and don’t respond well to external input so the slightest comment or request or what The Funk refers to as “unnecessary distractions and demands” and I turn into the troll that lives under the bridge. Unfortunately, there are people who do not understand the way this war between me and The Funk works so they reciprocate my response with a harsh tone and attitude. {Which sets loose my “PET PEEVE” alarm. I hate it when people do to a person something that has been done to them, ONLY because that person did it to them first. This kind of response is, in my opinion, childish. The offender should be dealt with by choosing a better time and confronting them in a calm manner when both parties have settled down. A behavior can not be corrected if the person has not been made aware of it and given the opportunity to correct it.} So, during The Funk, if people respond to my behavior with their own snappy retorts my blood pressure rises, my heart rate accelerates, and my blood boils to the point of eruption… which can be a verbal tongue lashing, or storming off in a fit of tears, or BOTH. If people would learn to ignore me and The Funk while it is happening and deal with us once it has passed – life for all would be better. I am NOT saying walk on egg shells, I literally want to be ignored as if I were not present. Do not ask me to do anything; do not speak to me unless I speak to you. I am always aware of my behavior but can not necessarily control it. Once the war is over…I am always the first to approach my victims and beg forgiveness. I can only think that The Funk is a side effect of the culmination of and extreme awareness of all of the above things that are frustrating me.

All of this leaves me with quite the Stasi Eldredge, Captivating complex: Too much and yet not enough. I do want to note that I am working toward improving upon these issues. There is a light at the end of this long tunnel…I can see it…maybe that is my problem, I can see it and I am becoming impatient.

Feel free to FLUSH at anytime now.

Happy Easter

I honestly, have nothing to post unless you want to hear about a Home Interiors party that I attended last night, or about my visit to the post office this morning. Really, nothing exciting the past 48 hours. I just wanted to share a good tiding to all:

HAPPY EASTER!

Remembering the Cross —by Mykahl Thompson

Nothing special, just a post…

So, here I sit, “pen in hand” wondering what to share with the world? Why am I even here doing this? Because someone in another city (whom, I have never met) read my blog and took a moment to instant message me to ask me how I was doing after my surgery. Wow, how nice is that? No smarmy conversation, nothing illicit, just concern. (Although I did have to give him a little jab for being behind on reading my blog since that post is about a month or so old) What a nice change of pace. Thanks Jay.

Anyway, what shall I share with my fans today?

THE STUFF ON MY DESK:

The art/decor/clutter on my desk at home actually includes some really strange stuff:

  • a beanie bunnie
  • a beanie dog (doberman of course)
  • a lopsided clay masterpiece by Paige
  • a real (dead) baby shark floating in blue water (my mother purchased in Florida as a gift for my husband, I try to hide it behind a speaker but I can still see it)
  • a package of C batteries with only 1 battery in it.
  • Lots of Bride magazines (tax write off)
  • coasters
  • a blue glass paperweight shaped and frosted to look like a globe
  • pictures of my kids (several years old – note to self, update pictures on desk)
  • lots of floppys – God only knows what’s on them
  • Losts of CDs music and data
  • A package of 9 volt batteries with only 1 battery in it
  • a bumper sticker that says “I know it all, I just can’t remember it all at once” which I bought to hang up at my last place of employment but was offered a better job before I could hang it up.
  • 3 different cameras
  • toys my niece Kimberlee left during her last visit
  • books by Janet Evanovich – I highly recommend her Stephanie Plumb bounty hunter series – very funny. (It is my latest guilty pleasure. A shout out to Kelly P. – soon to be Kelly T. for introducing me to that one.)
  • Bills – big surprise there
  • VanZant CD – highly recommend for rock and country lovers alike – songs are fun but deep. Good stuff!
  • A toothbrush (??????????) does not look like any of ours…Paige just informed me that it, too, belongs to Kimberlee.
  • phone book
  • State tax booklet…HOLY CRAP, we have not sent in our state taxes! (pause while I write a big @$$ note to Dave – it’s his job to take care of the taxes)
  • a vase
  • lotion
  • glue stick
  • checks
  • 3×5 card file that I can not recall what is in it
  • the game “Mind Trap”

That about covers it….I need a bigger a desk.

A shout out to Jeff Guy!

Hey Jeff! Great to know that you read my blog. For those of you who do not know him Jeff is the husband of my wonderful boss Kathy Guy. From what I hear he is a great spousal unit. Real handy in the kitchen…can make a mean taco salad and some killer pork chops. He is also rather skilled at directing traffic at Granger Community Church. Apparently, Jeff mentioned to Kathy that I am losing fans because of my recent neglect to my blog. So, for the record…I have been really busy. I have a couple of weddings that I am planning, plus I am helping with the Women’s retreat, that on top of my day job…I got a little sidetracked and have not been blogging. So to my fans…I apologize.

Unfortunately I can not think of anything exciting to blog about so I will share something that I just heard that I found amusing to think about: (For those of you sensitive to the subject of Nudity, you need to stop reading RIGHT NOW)

From the show “Family Feud” Survey of a hundred women. What sport would you watch ONLY if the players were naked? Well, my thoughts went to things like football but I watch ND and they are rarely if ever naked, then baseball…nope nudity would not make me watch it, but many ladies watch baseball. Actually many ladies watch sports. What sports do I NOT watch…Bowling, Fishing…but have you seen the men…I would not WANT to see them naked. I really don’t believe adding NUDITY to the sport would make me want to watch it. I actually believe that the NUDITY would deter me…I would cringe at the thought of those poor guys without their protective gear getting hit with something. What amused me were two of the answers that were on the board (there were a total of 8, Football was number 1 and baseball was number 2): Tennis was on the board (I tried picturing my spouse playing Tennis nude and had to giggle.) and then there was Polo…I did not know who to feel more sorry for the polo player or the horse. Then to add to the fact that Nudity was being discussed on a show that airs before the 6pm news…The next question they asked and forgive me for having my mind in the gutter but I have to say that it was truly poor judgement on the part of the people who produced and directed “FAMILY feud”…The next question was “Name something you do with ONLY one finger” …okay, yes, pick your nose was on the board…I did not wait around for number one, I came here to update my blog and get my mind out of the gutter…ahhhh blogging is so cleansing.

Post Surgery Report

So, I had surgery on March 2nd to remove an ovary and the baseball sized mass that was attached to it. I am doing well. That being said, here is what I have learned from my first ever surgery:

  • Operating rooms are FREEZING cold. I think it is to distract you from the procedures they are about to perform. FREEZING cold, everything they connected to me, made me JUMP it was so cold. My TEETH were chattering in the recovery room.
  • Anesthesiologists are funny people
  • The surgeon likes to talk to you in RECOVERY because they know that you are not yet coherent enough to ask questions and then they tell your family the important details so that all of your information is second hand and therefore questionable.

Things I learned during my time off for recovery:

  • Local anesthetics work well and therefore when the doctor suggests taking it easy, you SHOULD take it easy because when the local anesthetic wears off – you pay for it if you haven’t.
  • Moms still like to be Mom for their children at ANY age.
  • I can be perfectly content with my house in a state of disaster so long as I am busy within the clutter. However, if I am still long enough to look at it and I am not tired….I CAN NOT STAND IT.
  • My husband thinks that I don’t mind clutter at any point.
  • Either I do not know how to ask him or instruct him or my husband really does not know how to take care of me when I am “sick” / recovering. (I learned this once before when I had pneumonia but had forgotten until now) OR
  • I don’t want my husband to take care of me so I try to do it myself
  • I need to learn how to be still
  • I need to learn how to ask for help
  • I need to find someone to take care of getting my kids up and off to school when I am sick or if I ever need surgery again because it really screwed me up to have to wake up at 6am and drive them to school (I know I have a husband but he does have to be to work before 6am.)
  • Dogs want to go out more often when I am home.
  • Dogs want to come in more often when I am home.
  • Cats like to snuggle with me when I am in bed.
  • The phone only rings when I finally get to sleep.
  • Lots of people love me

I know I learned more, but those are the highlights.

Frustration of the day…

The South Bend Tribune reported today about two totally different topics and the combination made me CRAZY. I know that I have been frustrated by it before but never had it so CLEARLY frustrated me than the way it was presented to me today.

#1 NASA craft successfully enters Mars’ orbit. It’s expected to gather more data than all previous missions combined. In the fall, the orbiter will begin exploring the Martian atmosphere, scan the surface for evidence of ancient water and scout for future landing sites to send robotic and possibly human explorers. The $720 million mission is managed by JPL in Pasadena. Click here for the whole story

#2 (I can’t find the story but I know it was there) There was once again a story about the South Bend Community School Corporation needing to cut money from their programs. It was the Head Start program but still an educational program cut…$52 million. (wonder if we could borrow some funds from NASA)

Why I love the work of Dean Koontz…


“I’m happy.” I assured him….

“You’re at peace, son. There’s a big difference.”

“Which would be what?”

“If you’re still, and if you don’t hope too much, peace will come to you. It’s a grace. But you have to choose happiness.”

“It’s that easy, is it? Just choose?”

“Making the decision to choose isn’t always easy.”

“This sounds like you’ve been thinking too much.”

“We sometimes take refuge in misery, a strange kind of comfort. But no matter what happens in life, happiness is there for us, waiting to be embraced.”

“Sir, did this come to you after three bottles of Negra Modelo, or was it four?”

“It must have been three. I never drink as many as four.

-Dean Koontz, Forever Odd
(a conversation between Odd Thomas and
Chief Wyatt Porter)

Sex is a POWERFUL message

SEX. Amazing how three little letters can provoke so much…STUFF

So, who would have thought that a church in Granger, Indiana would have received so much press? Our little mylamesexlife.com promotion has stirred up quite a buzz.

The Local Fox News had this

WNDU South Bend had this

WSBT South Bend had this

There was more local news, the local radio station B100 was begging for someone from the church to call in during their morning radio show. What surprises me the most is that on Sunday a national cable program “FOX & Friends” and then again today, Fox News channel’s Dayside program picked it up.

So, the church shows pictures of feet dangling off the end of a bed and it ends up all over the news – maybe we should have worked our way into it a little by showing a little toe this year, next year a painted toenail…

The word has spread…we are so excited…I think Mark Beeson mentioned that we should set up extra chairs.

Getting over myself

Well, I found the answer to my last post. From who? From the same man who (without knowing) practically took my hand and walked me up to Jesus and introduced me to him. Mark Beeson, the Senior Pastor at Granger Community Church has a way of explaining things – for me anyway – that brings everything into FOCUS. I see things all the time but quite often they are fuzzy, and he has the ability to fine tune my vision to see things better.

Today at SWAT, which is our staff meeting, he spoke to us about investing and inviting. He shared stories with us about people he had invested seven to ten years into building relationships and offering invitations before they would come to the church. Mark has a gift, a bent – if you will, to fire people up and make them want to join him. If Mark, with his gifts, has found people resistant and still persists with his invitations…..Who am I to quit after one failure?

Thank you Mark.

I love my friend.