There comes a time
when you cannot tell someone
you love them
anymore
because you’ve
realized
you actually mean it.

This classic clip from the Three Stooges (doubly so, as it’s in color) shows the triad with a bevy of Columbia-brand cuties getting into the mood, with a most unlikely inspiration (date and director unknown).

The Manhattan Declaration

A Call of Christian Conscience

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

http://manhattandeclaration.org/

My health aide was supposed to come today.  She switched from Thanksgiving to today. I even called the office this morning to double check. They said she would be here at 1:30. Nope. I just woke up and could smell the garbage in the can. Zeke and I marched it out to the garage in the rain. I’ve been choking ever since. My lungs are still full of crud. I wonder if my aide is OK? Now I am worried about her. She is not like the first one I had. This one ALWAYS shows up on the right day and time. I’m thinking it was her office that gave me bad info.

I slept like a log for 2 hours. When I woke up I did not know what day or time it was. Then I heard what woke me up. Doug’s son must be upstairs He sounds like a baby elephant running from place to place. I actually LOVE hearing him up there. I miss my baby.

Next thing I know, Marge is knocking on the door. She gave me ziti in meat sauce. As we were talking, Zeke zoomed out the door and down to the office. Earlier the manager and Luc had given him 3 cheese sticks. He went right to Laura’s desk for an encore. Too smart for his own good! AND…what a spoiled brat!

Instead of looking better after my nap, my leg is now neon pink. Grrrrrrrrrr….I think it’s infected again. I have been having massive chills ever since my trip to the hospital this morning. Marge was appropriately grossed out.

My only piece of mail today is a letter from the state saying I have already reached my limit of 12 for doctor visits. It says my benefit year began in August and ends in July. The letter tells me to go to the ER for further medical care. Reminds me of the $440 taxi ride to the doc. The system is NUTS!!!!!!

While in the hospital today, Zeke was an absolute perfect example of a well-trained service dog. He got a zillion compliments. If they only knew what he acted like at home!

Now I am worried about Luc. His blood pressure is 210 over some other way too high number. He went to the drug store to check it because his wife and the maintenance man made him. Luc’s eyes are getting bloody in the white part. It looks creepy and is probably a very bad thing.  Their car was still gone when I went out. UPDATE: They just came to visit. Luc’s BP was down to 110 when he went to the  doc and she told him it was nothing to  worry about! He looks like somebody beat him…nice black eye to go with the red white part. Eeeeewwwww! The good part? Beth and Luc brought me treats from town

Aleka was being a clown when I was in the living room. She lies on the floor and uses her claws in the couch to propel herself the length of the couch, turns like an Olympic swimmer and pulls herself down the other way.

Mmmmmm…just got a new batch of Cortland apples. I eat the apple, Zeke eats the cores….

Ohhhhhh…..I almost forgot! I passed the place where I will be getting my IVIg infusion and stopped in to ask how long it will take. They have me down for 3 hours! Good thing I asked!!!!! It needs to go in slower or I get very, very sick. The bummer is my date to have it done is now a couple of days later. At least I’m getting it!

I don’t know where or when I can get my swine flu vaccine. I personally know of only two people in my circle that were able to get vaccinated a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t received any notices from any of the health care providers that I use. There are no notices in my home town newspaper such as “Swine Flu Vaccine Availability Today”.

Last week I met someone from the East Coast of the US -with no health insurance who said they would not be getting the vaccine. I mean, they can’t afford to be sick, right?

I can think of at least three reasons to get this vaccine:

1. Selfish: You can’t afford the time or money to chance being sick
2. Altruistic: You don’t want others to get sick because you are ill
3. Health: You believe that vaccines work and this seems like good preventative care. (a no-brainer, right?)

A previous post alluded to the problems with both vaccine production and the fuzzy numbers around how many doses are being produced. I also worry that in the “best health care system in the world” people are drifting away from understanding the science underlying vaccines. And that others say ” I understand how you feel.”

What are the long term public health implications?

To learn more about the first vaccine ever-visit this site about smallpox. It was in the 18th century.

Heather kept telling me she doesn’t really look pregnant….she looks like she ate too many donuts. Snicker…..looks like a baby bump to me!

Happened to be a fairy tale

OMG

I think its a roadmap Mr President

i.e = http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&rlz=1C1GGLS_en-GBGB317GB317&q=dna+double+helix&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=dIgMS72WOIKr4Qb-qLyCBA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQsAQwAA#start=0&imgtype=face

Finally! The Last breath devoted to work for the week has been expunged from my body! A much needed five day vacation from the grind of dealing with other peoples problems. Needless to say I will be devoting significant time to this blog during this mini vaca( it is what it is!).

Even  though I’m happy to be off of work, I can’t help to reflect on what I have noticed in the past ten hours of my life. Every year my co workers and I assist in delivering food baskets to the needy in the surrounding areas. This year it hit me especially hard because I have noticed the increasing demand  for this service.

I’m not talking about the most common depiction of the “needy” during the holidays that some of us might have. I talked with people in line who had good jobs and still could not figure out a  way to makes ends meet to put food on the table for their family.

The funniest thing  I saw and heard today that referenced this was a lady talking about an man who pulled up for one of the baskets in a BMW!

The smirk on her face, followed by the the snide comments to her friends was sad. It reminds me of an church service that I attended (it’s been awhile). You can never discount the blessing of another man! You have no clue what that person had to go through  and still goes through to receive this blessing.

Now I know some of you may be thinking ” That’s not a blessing” and ” he shouldn’t have an BMW if he is seeking help” . I tend to look at it from an different perspective. I would like to think that this man is doing what he needs to do to feed his family, that he’s a hard worker and that he has probably has had some troubles of late.

I know this is seeming more of a rant than an observation. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that on this Thanksgiving Holiday; be thankful for what and who you have in your life. Fight for everything that you want. Never settle and don’t look down on someone unless you are ready to look down on yourself.

I like to imagine that this man is refusing to let life’s obstacles bring him down……….

P. S. ” what you don’t see with your eyes, don’t witness with your mouth” -Old Jewish Proverb

I’m curious if fear of Russian government spying compelled this searcher to reach out to the DoD for help to battle his/her affliction:

синдром AND хронической AND усталости AND вирус AND герпеса [translated it reads: syndrome chronic AND fatigue AND AND AND herpes virus]

Спасибо

*Helmi, Kelmi, Anselmi,
Uolevi ja Ernesti,
Iivari ja naapurit
ne vauvaa vaivaa yökaudet.
(Ihan vaan hermojen rauhoittamisloru, kun olet saanut nukkua viime yönä alle kolme tuntia vähintään neljässä eri pätkässä: ei ole helppoa vauvallakaan, häntähän se hammaskiusa sattuu.)

*Tässä on jalkoja kaksin kappalein,
oikea ja vasen yksin tein. (Pyöritä jalkoja toistensa ympäri, heristä vuorotellen)
Tap tap taputtavat jalat toisiaan, (Taputa jalkapohjia yhteen)
varpaat sanoo: Nyt me pussataan! (Taputa varpaita yhteen)
Varpaat sanoo: Nyt me pussataan!
Äiti Myyn varpaita suukottaa (Suukota varpaita)
ja kutitusta jalkapohjiin puhaltaa (Päristä varvasväleihin ja jalkapohjiin)

*Huh-huh-huijaa pikkusta muijaa
joka lentää kauhean korkeella,
huh-huh-huijaa pikkusta muijaa
joka kävi lintujen portilla.
(Lennätä vauvaa jalan päällä, hyppyytä ylös ilmaan, liidätä kuin lentokonetta… mikä vaan teillä toimii.)

*Hätä ei ole tämännäköinen,
hätä on ihan pieni ja punainen.
Ei se ole vauvan syy jos sitä vähän hätääntyy,
kun ei hammas millään ilveelläkään tule suuhun Myyn.
(Tai: kun ei maito ensi imaisulla ehdi masuun Myyn /
kun ei uni kutsumallakaan tule luokse Myyn/
kun jotain mikä toimii teillä ja rimmaa mukavasti vauvan nimen kanssa.)

Juu. Ei olekaan järkeä. Väitinkö että olisi? Eivätkä ole kovin taiteellisesti tasokkaita. Mutta vauva tykkää. Jalkalorua on tehty ihan pikkuisesta asti ja vau ojentaa jo kinttunsa valmiiksi kun aloitan “tässä on jal…” ja nauraa ihan hervottomana.

Näitä lauletaan lorusta riippuen rauhoittavalla tai riekuttavalla sävelellä. Sitten on vielä “hetken lapset” joita ei tule kirjoitettua ylös, kun ei niitä muista – tulevat ja menevät. Ai niin, ai niin, yksi vielä: PIERURÄPPI!

Puuppaa tuuppaa
kun punertaa kuuppaa!

Paino alleviivatuilla, Risto Räppääjä -tyyliin. Ja muuten naurattaa. Isoveljen mielestä äidin paras ehkä ikinä. Mieskin hirnuu aina uudestaan.

Viime yönä tosiaan pääsin nukkumaan puoli yhden tienoilla. Vau söi vartin vaille yksi, ja heti uudestaan niin, että nukahti vasta kahden maissa. Heräsi taas syömään ennen puoli neljää ja uudelleen ennen puoli viittä. Valvoi yli kuuteen. Kello soi seitsemältä. Alkaa hitaasti mutta varmasti hajota pää. Onneksi on sentään etätyöpäivä. Ja onneksi tuo nukkuu kolmen ja puolen tunnin päikkäreitä – saapahan vauva parka itse edes pidempiä unipätkiä.

So my friend’s new boy toy got me thinkin…..

He’s a junior, he’s attractve, he was in the military, he’s drivin, and he SINGS!!!!!!!! HE SINGS!!! (and well!!!!)

Is it wrong that I’m attracted to him? I mean I’m only human right? It’s not like I want to be with him but is it wrong that I’m slightly jealous of the aCe just because she is available to talk to him?

Don’t get me wrong……I love my fiance with all of my being but a part of me still wonders what life would be like with someone else…….or even alone for that matter.

But then he reminds me why no one else in this world could make me smile the way that he does;

how no one in this lifetime will put me at peace the way that he does;

and how in no one else’s arms will I feel as secure and loved.

No one will ever love me the way he does

and I’m happy with that!!

=]

My leg looks even worse than this Just in the last hour it started swelling up. The dent is a cavern. There are new big lumps and bumps. It itches like crazy. I’m breaking into hives again. I burst into tears and want to hide. I do not want to go back to the ER. The very first time I ever had a real DVT clot in my leg was Thanksgiving day 1984.

My leg hurts really bad….and more by the second. I just got up. My leg is hot and swollen tight all the way up my leg. I moved to the bed and am lying flat. Geeeeeeeeze…it hurts

If I close my eyes will it all go away?

This is quite possibly the best token of appreciation I’ve ever received from a colleague: SHRIMP BLING!

So...shiny....!

Notice the Sparkles!

Ok, so I’m not an IT professional.  But sometimes, lately ALL the time, I totally feel like Nick Burns.  I get the lamest questions thrown at me, usually by people with “seniority”. 

Does it take THAT much effort to click the little blue circle surrounding a question mark that is present in ALL your MS Office applications?

Yes, apparently it is.  I’ve even gone so far as to tell someone “Well, I just Googled it,” when they thank me.  It escapes them that I’ve basically  just told them to do the same thing.

And why, WHYYYYYYYYY do people do things that they think are super helpful without telling me first?  Those things usually tend to be the exact opposite: completely inane, utterly useless, and making my job even more tedious.

Even non-IT questions are starting to get to me.  I want to scream, “We have a process in place.  It is documented.  REFER TO THE TEXT.”  Well, since RFTM wouldn’t quite work here.

Chumps.

Also: when I descend the staircase here, my knee sounds EXACTLY like someone is ripping open some velcro.  I mean EXACTLY.  Sometimes the people sitting downstairs look up at me like “WTF?”

As I ASCEND the same stairs, my knee sounds like a little kid snapping.

I would not lie to you.

According to my doctor, the cartilage under my knee is worn down and my thigh muscles are uneven.  Or something.

CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRK!

Today’s searches are dedicated to the doomsayers and paranoid fanatics. First up, a southern searcher concerned about the destruction of the planet (global warming notwithstanding):

wooden it be better if yall would disarm so yall dont kill us all somday by some unfortunate accident? yall do know if yall do thta no one will care. the other planets in the universe will just say “oh, well. tough luck”

Next up, someone who must type with only one hand. And does anyone know what a “nial” is?:

we wat information, get up off the floor. you have the knowledge we ned to arrest him, you know his movements., we know the law your help in thiss mater wont go unrewarded well pay you in silver, cash on the nial all you have to do is to show us where t

Finally, I have no idea what this person is going on about. Google translator was useless:

did this wb site say a clafie of morethinb to god tim to not ne tine accure thi ad day extremly smnrt agee abd also no ove dod scaety yet nee ad dy sring tomrow right agre genraly also do rve or over decebe si because thou god ti in cae then cincinued

P.S. “TORTILLAS, TACO SHELLS AND CHALUPAS” was also a search on the site. I’m guessing someone had the munchies.

This weekend we drove about an hour west by north/west to the largest monastery in South Carolina, Mempkin Abbey.  This group of monks who follow the rule of St. Benedict in the Cistercian tradition (rising at 3am to pray, they work with their hands, they don’t speak unnecessarily among others).  Each year they offer a tour of international creches.

It was very crowded.  We would have liked to have time to reflect, draw, and think.  Here are several photos.

I should have never whined that things were “too quiet” yesterday. Afterwards I went through hours of apartment drama that I cannot put online. It involves money and drugs and a psychiatric patient, a frightened old lady and a WHOLE lot more. Waaaaaaaaaay too much excitement and drama. When things get scary, the stress goes right to my guts. I was up most of the night in the bathroom.

Zeke was in my bed when I came back from one of my trips. He looked so cute! I got in the other side of the bed and was totally amazed that he stayed. Zeke does not like to cuddle in bed. He thinks people are too hot. When I got in bed it was 7:15 and when I woke up it was 7:15. No more Dollar Store batteries! It was really after noon

I am sad that I missed church, but am also glad. I really was in no shape to drive. In the night I was sooooo sick. I still am, but feel a heck of a lot better than last night