Blogging

Someone help me out here! Yes, I KNOW. It's been over a month since my last confession my last update/post. Forgive me. It's not for lack of things to say - every night my sweet husband & I sit in the hot tub & talk for at least an hour. Truthfully, I'm the one who has to be dragged back inside. My reason? It's simple: as long as I'm out there, the real world isn't. As soon as we go back in, hello world! and problems! and going to sleep! and (the worst part) waking up!

Waking up means going to work. While I love my job, I'd rather stay at home with the cats & dogs. You know - eating whatever & whenever I want, sleeping all day, or whatever. (I think I'm more of a cat than a dog) But I work outside the home. Then I come home, "relax," cook dinner (yes, every day), and then: HOT TUB!!! We never run out of things to say out there - what's up with this medium?

Please refer back to the opening sentence of this post. Why do you blog? Why do you read blogs? Right now, I'm up to 8 blogs that I "follow" - which to me means, the blogs I read EVERY day, even checking on the weekends in case Santa Claus came (although half of them never post on the weekends).

What is it about blogs that makes us want to read them? The "up close and personal" glimpse at someone's life? The feeling that they're more glamorous/rich/pretty/thin/exciting than we are? Let me know!

If you follow me (thanks, Kami!), just happen by, or sometimes check in (like to see if I'll EVER update), make a comment & tell me why you blog/read blogs. I'd love to get to know some of you better as people.

September 11, 2001

It was a Tuesday. How do we remember these things? I guess that when such serious trauma happens, we instinctively remember little details. Tuesday morning, at about 7:40, I was driving to work, just as I always do, listening to the local DJ team tell jokes & getting call-in jokes. It was a funny, joyful, NORMAL morning. Then one of the DJs broke in to say that a plane had crashed into one of the two World Trade Towers, and that this wasn't a joke. I'll never forget it, he then said, "I don't feel like telling jokes any more today, so we're going to stop now." Right then, I was pulling into my office's parking lot, so I scurrried inside, where one of the typists had a tiny television turned to CNN. I tried going to CNN's website, but my company had blocked access (not just for today - it had been ongoing)

We stood around a tiny TV watching the picture of a jet liner (at that time, they were thinking it was a commuter jet), when we saw the second jet crash into the second tower. Live. Completely not expecting it.

What do you say? What do you do? All I could think was, "I've got to get my kids," who were all in school. Instead, we were told, appropriately, to go about our jobs. So we tried. I went to an assigned school on the other side of town, where a much larger TV was set up in the principal's office. So we watched there, to learn about the jet which went into the Pentagon, and the one which crashed in Pennsylvania. It wasn't until the newscasters said that the theory was that the Pennsylvania jet (United Flight 93) was aiming at the Capital or at the White House that I lost it. What was happening in the world? I was no good at the school (I'm supposed to be COUNSELING, for Heaven's sake!), so I went back to my office.

You need to know this: I live in Louisiana, and my office is literally across the river from Barksdale Air Force Base. Maybe you've heard of it - it's the base that President Bush was evacuated to, when all this started that morning. It's where he made his speech that was broadcast around the world, and parts of which will probably play this morning. The speech that says, "Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

President Bush was in Florida, then was scrambled to Barksdale, which was the next best thing to being surrounded by Marines. This base is TOUGH. They're serious there. Bush made his epic speech, then took off for parts unknown. I'm sorry, but no matter what your political leanings, the Secret Service did their job that day. Air Force One played hide-and-seek VERY WELL.

I was standing in the parking lot of my office, watching, when Air Force One took off from Barksdale. There was no circling of the city, no fly-by; the jet LEFT. Oh, and it was accompanied by several fighter jets. That made it real.

Was I touched by all this? YES!!!! Duh! I live in the United States - we're the invincible good guys! My security was shaken to its core. I was ready to leave & create a commune - which wouldn't have worked - my kids like city life. Did I have any personal loss? No. I have a sister who was literally in the air on a business trip when it all started; the plane was grounded, & it took her 3 days to get back home to Virginia. I have military friends who lost personal friends at the Pentagon. That's the closest I came.

Except for this: I died a little on that day. I died a little every time I heard of yet another daddy who wasn't coming home that night; or another fireman who stayed behind & fell with the buildings; or a mom who was on a plane. You all know the stories. You were alive then. You have your own stories. Some of you have true, personal losses. I am sorry. None of you asked for this.

There's one thing I do want to say, & it's in keeping with (in)courage's theme of "Hope" this month. Anne Jackson posted this bit on 9-10, and it smote me with the truth of God:

"The hope that was given to me through the encouragement of others. Because once someone gets a gift like hope, it's now a responsibility to pass on.
To give it away. I can promise you this: if you don't need hope right now, there's someone around you that does. And if you are the one who needs hope today, please take mine.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is a God who is faithful to give you exactly what you need.
The grace.
The love.
The rest.
Whatever it is.
He'll provide it for you, when you can't take it anymore."

Hope (in)courage

There's a little dangle-thingy attached to the ribbon in my day planner. The ribbon is there to keep my months separated. The dangle-thingy is there to keep my stress separated. What does it say? "Hope." Just that - hope. One of my all-time favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 40:31, which in the NIV reads, "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

There's a lot going on in my life right now, & it's SO easy to give up & lose hope. The thing is, God never gives up on ME. He's always there, right beside me, loving me. Even when it's so dark that I can't see anything but the bad, He's there. He's holding me up. Loving me. Waiting on ME to see Him.

It's hard to remember that all the time. So I attached "Hope" to my planner, so that even when I'm in the pit, I'll see the dangle & remember to hope in the Lord.

What's your hope? Go to (in)courage and get some hope - they've got a lot to spare!

(in)courage

Hey, guys! There's a new website that I found from Angie Smith's blog that's all about encouragement. So, here's my attempt to talk about encouragement: what encourages me? Let's see.....

Knowing that other, Godly, women are praying for me totally encourages me. Just the thought that there's someone else out there lifting my need(s) up in prayer gives me the lift I need to keep going. Plus the knowledge that I'm not alone in my struggles doesn't hurt, either!

So, what encourages you? Go to (in)courage & read about courage and (in)couragement. It's a site by Christian women, designed to help us all. Later!

Had a Wonderful Time; Wish We Were (still) There!

Yes, we made it and back to Cancun in one piece. However, it took another 18 hours for 3/4 of our luggage to make it home. Ahh, airlines - gotta love them. NOT!!! But, on the flip side, if it weren't for airlines, I'd be stuck in Louisiana forever. Not a good thing when the temps average 100. Degrees. With 100% humidity.

Enough about the bad stuff: here's the good stuff. We had a GREAT time down there! My husband didn't gain a pound; I did - 5 of them. :( Conversely, the food is most excellent (there's a cause and effect thing there, I think) The resort we stayed at, for the second time in a row, was Excellence Playa Mujeres

Playa Mujeres (Beach of Women) is directly opposite Isla Mujeres (Island of Women, though I did see lots of men on it.), reachable by a 20-minute ferry ride across the Caribbean. Lots of people; lots of tourist-y shops; LOTS of sun. The Isla, I mean. The resort is our favorite one of the 4 we've been to. We had our own rooftop terrace with a private (unheated) plunge pool & 2 lounging beds. So we plunged. And lounged. A lot.

Want more? Here's another view, this one looking toward the Sea:

We spent almost all of our free time (when we weren't eating, SCUBA diving, and sun-bathing on the beach) up here. Major relaxation going on.



But, as another perk, we had dinner on the beach one night - very romantic - especially with the saxophone player serenading us....

And we did other things. Like long walks on the beach. Eating. Sailing. Eating. SCUBA diving. Did I mention eating yet? And SCUBA was so cool!

Look closely. That speckled thing at the bottom of the screen is a Moray eel. A LONG one. Hubby kept hanging around trying to get a better picture, & Mr. Eel started snapping at him, which scared me to death! But all was well, & we saw tons of fish.
So, all in all, we had a great time - so great that we both choked up when it was time to leave. We call this our second home - when I'm not calling it Heaven!

Oh - and the airline flights? I called to confirm the day before, just as they recommend you do. Hear me - CALL the day before!!!! Our return flight had gotten changed again - back to the 3:05 departure. Which meant that we could stay at the resort until 1:00, then race to the airport. But, with delays for the flight from DFW, we didn't get home until 12 hours after we left the resort. Yuk - 12 hours in airport mode. I don't know how people from Great Britain do it - it takes them a day & a half to get there. Maybe that's why they stay for 2 - 3 weeks.
I'm a destination person - I don't like the journey. I know, I know, life's the journey. I'm working on it!

July Dreams

As so many of you have asked about my little side bar thingy that's titled "Dreaming of July," and as it is NOW July, it is time to share. In 2 days, or 36 hours or so, my sweet hubby & I will be on a plane, wending our way to our dream home of the Riviera Maya, aka Cancun. It has been SO long in coming, this year, with the economy being what it is. And, it is not without some serious stress coming down to the wire - this morning, we got an email notifying us that our return flight had been changed - again. When we originally booked back in April, we were scheduled to leave Cancun at 4:30 in the afternoon. Well, that changed about a month later, to 3:05 p.m. Today's change? Our flight leaves at 12:30 on our last day. And, thinking about just how early you have to get to the airport now to clear security (thank YOU, Osama), it really cuts into our last day of freedom.

So, I'm a little bummed right now. Yes, we're leaving in 2 days for a week, but now we don't have much of a last day, just a last morning. I will not say what airline did this - everyone has a horror story about every airline out there - but the economy has got to get better, or there won't be any more recreational flights left. I'm just saying.

But, as the Bible study I'm going through right now keeps telling me, "focus not on 'what if,' but on 'what is.' " What is, is Cancun here we come!

Independence Day, and Snake Saga, part 2

Update: As my 21-yr. old daughter, PWTH, pointed out in a comment to this post, there is a certain irony to drinking English Breakfast tea on Independence Day. So, yes, I'm out of the closet - I drink tea. From England - I have it shipped directly from London to Louisiana. There you have it.

Original post: When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary.... and the rest of it, brilliantly written by Mr. Jefferson. Here's hoping all of you and yours are having an excellent Independence Day! I've never understood the media's penchant for calling it the "Fourth of July," rather than what the actual holiday is. Our local paper had a banner across the front page wishing us all a happy Fourth of July. Hey, Times, ENGLAND has a Fourth of July! So does FRANCE! What they don't have is an Independence Day that falls on July 4.

I have really seen the actual Declaration of Independence (before Nicholas Cage stole it) in the National Archives - twice. To say that it is awe-inspiring is too mild. The document is humbling. What great minds we have had in our brief history.

And, on a totally different subject, it's time to share the next installment of our ongoing (apparently) saga of Pools versus Snakes. (Daughter, stop reading here) This morning, I opened the back door to go fetch the newspaper (the one proclaiming Happy Fourth of July), and stopped dead in my tracks. Yep. Another snake. A LONG one. He was fairly occupied, as he was in the process of using his mandibles of death to swallow what turned out to be a frog. For those of you who may be tender-hearted, don't worry. No one dies in this post.

I VERY calmly went back into the house to get my son, WD, who is the bravest one of us all. He just needs a big stick & he's ready to rock & roll. He put on some glasses, I got the .410 shotgun, & we went back out to the carport, where said snakie was still using his mandibles as designed. After much discussion, looking (from afar) of the head of said reptile, AND after the dog ran into the carport & scared it into the storage room (which is when the frog escaped), we identified it as a non-poisonous snake. And, as it turns out, it is the same (breed? race?) type of snake that I helped dispatch back in May, a yellow-bellied water snake.

It's like this - if a snake is still, I'm pretty OK (translate: calm). Once that thing starts moving, and they're FAST, that's when I start the dance. You know, the "up on tiptoes, high-C singing, MOVING AWAY" dance So, to complete the story, yon snake tried hiding in the storage room off the carport; WD rooted it out (while I high-tailed it down the driveway for the paper), and the snake scampered off for parts of the yard with more ground cover, presumably to find another frog.

WD came back in the house to tell me that the monster (it truly was at least 3 feet long) had a yellow belly, a very long tapered tail (I saw that part), and its head was in no way that massive arrowhead shape that a moccasin is famous for. Plus, its mouth was pink - not cotton.

So I put away my shotgun (I was ready to save the world), went back to bed, & read my paper while I had my English Breakfast tea.

Happy Independence Day, y'all!