2013

New set
 

New bedding, meatless Mondays and fish on Fridays, these are the big changes happening around here this first month of  2013.


The new comforter set and lamps in my bedroom, really weren't supposed to be a "big" change, however, the ten year old nearly had what's known as a conniption fit when he saw me replacing my eight year old comforter. He said, clearly I didn't understand the sentimental value in the picked and faded one. I apparently also missed the value he found in the decorative pillows that are now most certainly NOT decorative, after years of actual use . No matter how hard I tried, I was unable to convince that dear husband of mine they were to be seen and not thrust between his legs  as he slept nor were they for him to hug close to his chest all through the night. Even though I bought, and we keep, seven pillows on our bed for just such purpose. Ahhh but I digress.... back to the obviously distraught boy, W. rescued as many pillows as he could and they now fail to decorate his bed.

the old pillows


I didn't run the purchase by Sparta so his was ,in fact, the reaction which worried me a little. He took the change in stride and as an added bonus, he didn't ask me how much it ( or the matching lamps) cost.   I kind of wish that he would ask, if he knew how much a pillow cost it might encourage him to look and not touch the new ones.

I also intend for us to eat a bit healthier in the coming year. We shall call ourselves "flexatarians" ( love, finding new terms and the "flex" one means eating both meats and vegetables but I didn't realize it needed a special word). We will have one meatless dinner and one fish dinner per week plus I will introduce some less kid friendly vegetables.  So far, so good and yes, I realize it's only the second week. We like broccoli soup. We are not fans of asparagus, but will keep having it anyway.  Eggplants and beets, ummmm maybe but I'm not sure they're even adult friendly. Wish me luck on our quest of healthier eating.

Parental Guidance Suggested

Well, Christmas has come and gone and I am thankful for the new laptop my dear husband gave me.  It means I can blog again. It does wonders for my psyche to be able to vent my frustrations for the world to see (or maybe just my 50 or so friends and followers). 

Christmas day the weather here was miserable, it was so bad in fact that we opted out of our traditional trip to the theater.  I really wanted to see "Parental Guidance", it looked pretty cute and I like Billy Crystal.  I also am strangely addicted to all things Bette Midler primarily because a bar fight once ensued over my being told I looked kind of like her and the person I was with found that rather offensive, although I don't know why, I think she's attractive enough.

Anyway, I've been thinking about the term "parental guidance" and am wondering what might constitute "unparental guidance".  I imagine it must be things like telling the kids to run with scissors or not to bother with chewing food well before swallowing.  How about telling them not to change underwear or brush their teeth?

Those are some pretty silly examples, what's not so silly is the have breakdown of morality and  the complete disregard for human life that so many in today's world seem to have. I believe there must be some serious long term  unparental guidance for which we as a nation are now paying a price. I'll spare you the sermon but suffice to say the absence of God as a real presence in the lives of many leaves them with no higher moral authority, no true accountability.  People are not by nature good, we are selfish and sinful and in desperate need of some guidance from our earthly parents and our heavenly father.

My MRSA

A few weeks ago I wrote about not being able to bathe while I was in the hospital.  Now, I want to share with you why I was in there and what I learned from the experience, as you can see from the pic, I had a pretty nasty staph infection just above my ankle. The thing is I don't have any idea how I acquired it. My experience was a small pimple formed on my leg on a Friday, by Sunday I had gone to the urgent care medical center due to the pain and increasing size of the pimple.  The doc prescribed antibiotics and sent me on my way.  Well, by Tuesday the spot had not only not improved it was spreading and looking kind of scary, so I went back to doctor thinking I needed a different medication. This is where the Dr. frightened me to near panic levels, he walked in looked at my leg and said , "you need to be in the hospital". He left the room and came back with a fast pass admission (anywhere else that would be a good thing, Six Flags,movies, DMV). I could have used a little more sensitivity,  where's Dr. Welby when you need him? Turns out I had MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). Very scary indeed, especially with the cases of flesh eating bacteria that had been featuring prominently in the news this past summer now playing in my mind's eye.

Dr. Haibach , at Spalding, was wonderful. She explained to me that this super-bug is now pretty much everywhere.  We determined due to the location of mine there is a strong likelihood that I got it from shaving my legs. 

After four days of IV antibiotics I was released .  The doctors did say I am now colonized so more lesions are probably in my future. 

So here are tips on preventing your own MRSA infection.  Change razors frequently.  Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize. Bleach is your friend. (weekly bleach baths, in the laundry and on any surface that it won't ruin)Clean your wounds, use hydrogen peroxide and a Neosporin type ointment, then keep them covered. Don't share towels with anyone and wash your pajamas and clothing and towels after each use.  Recognize that any pimple like lesion with a white head is staph but not necessarily the really bad kind..Don't pop them, do seek medical attention if there is any spreading of the redness, pain, or opening/draining of the wound. It's nothing to mess around with folks.  When I went back for my follow up visit, the doctor said I was lucky not to have lost my leg, it's that serious an infection. Take care of you!! 

Filled to the Max

In my Christian walk, God at times feels nearer to me than others.  There have been times when I have not only felt His presence but actually known that He is speaking to my spirit.  In those moments I have cried out to Him to reveal even more of Himself to me because I want to know all of Him.  The same sort of feeling I have when I taste something so delicious that portion control is out of the question.

 I feel that He has answered my plea time and again. At times His Holy Spirit has overtaken me and the joy I felt has been so overwhelming that I then recant my plea and say "Please stop. No more, I can't take anymore".  

I eagerly  await  the day when I shall talk to my God not from far away and not in this mortal body but in His kingdom and there I will be able to experience a completeness of  knowledge that this flesh won't allow.

David says it well in Psalm 63:5 when he says of God, "You satisfy me more than the richest feast." and I might add even more than a second helping of  chocolate cake.

My Week of Horse Baths

Horse what? You may be asking, well let me tell you.  When I was a little girl growing up in rural Alabama  and there was an ice storm, the power would go out. It would go out and stay out for days at a time. Even when there's no power (i.e. no hot water) a body must be washed. My mother would fill one of those old multi-purpose metal dishpans with water, (if you grew up in the south like me you probably shelled some peas or broke some beans in one too).  I vaguely recall she would heat it on top of the wood burning heater we had for a time.

I remember she would set out the pan with it's water and a wash rag, that's country speak for washcloth,  and tell us to wash off.  She called it a "horse bath", that's what it sounded like to my young ears. I could never figure out why a horse would be washed like that. Seems like not enough water for such a large animal.  Okay, so maybe she said "whore's bath" and either I misunderstood because my sweet mama would never say anything vulgar or because I was sheltered and really just had never heard that word before.  Anyway, you didn't submerse any body parts. You start high, then go low, then a quick swipe where the two meet, a "horse bath".  I'm ashamed to tell you how long it took me to figure out what she really said but I was mom myself by that time and a horse bath sounds much nicer. Weirder, but nicer.

Memories come at the oddest of places this particular one came tumbling out this week after a brief and unexpected hospital stay.  The nurses came and went the iv remained attached and there was no time to take a shower without a little help. Because of this I spent four days taking my special baths.  I know I never got to stinking, I  had my Bath and Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom, shower gel, lotion and spray and everyone who came in the room commented on how nice it smelled there.  Come to think of it they said the room smelled good, not me. We'll pretend I smelled as fresh as a daisy too.

After four long days and three sleepless nights (sounds like an anti-vacation promo), I was discharged and the very first thing I did was not hug my husband or kids, it was to take a long lovely hot shower.  I have a feeling they are thankful I did first things first.

Unequally Caffeinated

So, I was thinking about coffee today. Well, not coffee so much as how much I like coffee. Piping hot in the morning and iced in the afternoon. Although I can drink it black, I prefer mine a lovely shade of taupe and with a bit of sweetener.  Yum!

Sparta never understood my love/obsession with coffee and through the years as I went through one Mr Coffee maker after another, he would suggest that I simply quit. Simply quit.....as if there were nothing special, nothing different about the contents of the caffeine laden mug I held so tightly each morning.

Fast forward fifteen years to a career where coffee meetings had became a bi-weekly norm, and Sparta's reticence to continually draw attention to himself by declining means that we now have a shared appreciation of  Juan Valdez's Colombian brew. These days if he gets up before me that means, he's taken care of starting the pot and I get to enjoy the fruits and aromas of his labor.

When he was a non-drinker, I used to fantasize about long leisurely conversations the two of us could have out on the porch as we sipped our morning coffee,  all the while birds would be singing and a deer or two might frolic through the yard.  Silly yes?  Before becoming a convert, Sparta had absolutely no understanding of the physical and mental benefits of coffee. He could hear me sigh with pleasure upon my first sip. He could take note of my panic when the coffee maker's on light wasn't lighting. He thought he understood my need but he didn't, not really, until my need also became his own.

Lately, I've been seeing many comments disparaging Christianity; some questioning it's validity and  the sanity of those who profess it. Others have made remarks degrading believers as neanderthals with no intelligence and demonizing those who would dare to take a stand for biblical principles. I say to those posting,  as non-believers, you just don't get it and you can't.

 The apostle Paul knew this and he forewarned us in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 where he says,

14 A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit. He thinks they’re nonsense. He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them. 15 Spiritual people evaluate everything but are subject to no one’s evaluation.(God's Word Translation)

Just like Sparta didn't understand the deliciousness of coffee, the lost have no concept of the reality of God, there's nothing in them to recognize the truth of His word. I hope to remember that when my blood pressure starts rising in response to their words.  Oh, by the way  two cups of coffee daily has been shown to help combat high blood pressure. Good to know, huh?

Officer, I Can Explain

Last week I dished out close to 300 plates of spaghetti, actually it was probably a few more because several people came back for seconds.  It was the 2nd annual People First of Henry County spaghetti dinner and it was such a blessing to be able to play a small part in the event.  This year participation was better than last and in addition to the food, there was a silent auction and several raffles so even more money was raised for the group to provide activities and events for special needs families in the area.

My mother-in-law organized the dinner. She has worked tirelessly for several months garnering donations and gathering people willing to make a crockpot of spaghetti sauce.  There was a brief fear that the 30 crockpots would not be enough, but in the end there were two pots left over and I got to take one home with me, well almost home.  The crockpot made it but we lost about half the sauce when a deer leaped in front of us on the way home.  You know the old junk in the trunk saying, yeah well, now it's spaghetti sauce coated junk.

Lulu, our dog, knew she was in for a treat as soon as the trunk lid popped open.  Her tail  and tongue both started wagging and I hoped the clean-up would not be the problem I had anticipated.  She was a great help but didn't quite get the job done.   I, in my one of my ever so brilliant ideas, decided to hose the thing out to finish it. Well, I thought it was a brilliant idea until the next day when the delicious aroma of spaghetti sauce had been replaced by an odor like no other I've ever known. ICK! There were quite a few adjectives bandied about in the describing of it: rotten, gross, disgusting, rancid, putrid, nasty, etc., (FYI...trunks have no drainage system). I hope we never get pulled over  and searched while driving the car, the tomato sauce staining might cause some serious problems.  It looks like a scene straight out of CSI in there.

On the plus side it did effectively deter the 16 year old driver from borrowing my car for several days. After a can of Lysol, some special odor neutralizer, carpet refresher, and bathroom cleaner with bleach, the smell is not so bad although there is still some kind of indescribably weird, funky odor that hits you smack in the face when the door is opened.  Okay, so maybe it is still a little bad, hopefully, time will cure that too.