Tag Archives: life

Woop, woop, wrapping it up!

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TGIF!  It would seem this is the only day of the week I actually have a GOAL in posting…the days/weeks are flying by and fortunately I don’t get paid to blog or we’d be starving!!!    And so, I’ll just lob onto the many fabulous people blogging on @ 7 Quick Takes with Jennifer Fulwiler @ Conversion Diary.

And since our weeks are basically work, school, taxi to cheer/soccer/church, try to squeeze in some exercise, feed the family (without burning down the house and/or my fingers) and get everyone showered (mostly) and in bed (at a somewhat reasonable hour) , that would probably sound like YOUR week, so I’ll just entertain you with a few pics and words from our weekend, K?  K.

1)  Our cheerleader and I drove to Merritt Island for an early game (be there @ 7:30 a.m….it’s an hour and 15 minutes away….you do the math) on Saturday.  We did have most of the day left, so that was good….

2)  These are the cute little reminders that it is October, ladies.  (Guys, make sure the ladies in your life get theirs! ) Yes.  Go ahead.  Make the appointment.  Get the girls squashed.  Get over your dread.  It’s less than 10 minutes and it can SAVE YOUR LIFE!!!  Get your mammogram today!!!  Or at least make the appointment.  Have your bestie make one, too and then go to lunch.  WhatevAH works for you, just.  do.  it.  K?  K.

3)  Saturday night we did S’mores.  We’ve been promising since last weekend.  And then it rained on Saturday.  We resorted to the gas grill with sticks that were losing their “stiffness” and everyone still enjoyed them.  No one lost an eye, thanks to my drill sergeant persona as well as droopy sticks.  We tried out pumpkin spice marshmallows which weren’t such a hit with the kids, but for Mama (who doesn’t really love marshmallows) I LIKED ’em.  yum.  So, more for me…

4)  We went to our town’s bi-annual carnival and business expo.  The kids love it.  We tolerate it.  In small doses.  Like the sidewalk art….fabulous.  Oh to have a smidgen of that talent. What would it be like?  sigh.  I’ll never know, but I am certainly grateful that people DO have this talent!

5)  The kids love the rides.  The girls opted for a wristband and ran and rode like the wind to get their max spending power out of that band in the alloted time.  I’m happy to say, yes.  yes they did rock that band.  (The boys went Friday night with friends and promptly passed out after coming home—6 hours at the carnival is apparently too much for some….)

6)  Coke.  Ice cold.  In a bottle.   What can I say, it was exhausting watching the girls ride those rides.

7)  One more sky shot.  God paints a mean sky, doesn’t He?

Take it one day at a time

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It’s been an interesting week this week.  I must say, I’ve been looking at life differently for a few days and tonight I adjusted even more.

Earlier this week, I had a patient, a “frequent flier” (of which you do NOT want to be when you come see me at work); it was a 6 month check up for him and his lung cancer.  We’ve scanned him since he was diagnosed about 2 years ago.  28.  Firefighter.  In firefighting shape.  I’ve seen a lot of ugly, ugly cases in my time and every once in a while you get a patient that floors you.  He did.  It was an awful cancer and it took a tremendous effort to take him off the table and smile and give him the standard directions to hydrate, etc knowing full well we’d see him again.  and again.  and again.  hopefully.  Then yesterday, there he was.  Hair growing back. Skeleton replaced by flesh.  Almost back to his starting weight.  Same good spirits.  He’s running again, almost a mile.  Oh, and he’s missing a lung.  The whole lung.  He’s not even one bit short of breath.  Hoping to be back to full duty in a month and complaining that he’s not running further yet. We both laughed about that, knowing full well what a difference those 6 months made.   Medicine is amazing.  Truly amazing.  Yet, when I have a patient like this, I know medicine alone can’t take the credit for this healing.  This young man’s work isn’t done yet.  I can’t wait to see what the next 6 months bring for him!!

Then tonight, my step-dad told me of a neighbor a few doors down that passed away a few weeks ago.  A family with all boys.  The youngest 2 are our son’s ages roughly.  The older 2 are in college.  The husband and wife have never been overly friendly to me,but I’ve seen them at school, and the dad playing in the yard with his boys.  41 years old.  Massive heart attack.  The dad died.  What!?!?  They are healthy.  I see them at the gym.  He’s younger than me!  Talk about smacking your day into perspective.  You never know.  Really.

Plan for tomorrow but live for today.  Make each moment count.  The little stuff is just “stuff”.  Engage with your family.  We see it all the time.  We hear it all the time.  Life is precious.  Take it one day at a time and make every one count.

Blessings.

Home stretch…or is it?

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Photo CREDIT

The above mentioned photo cred is to an article on network marketing, however, you’ll see it has the same tools to get to ANY goal….commitment and accountability in surrounding yourself with like-minded folks.

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.

Today I find myself heading into Week 5 of the Peak313 challenge and for me, it’s been a GREAT springboard for getting my heart (mind and body, too!) back into the healthy frame o’ mind.  Instead of this being “The End”, it’s rather a beginning, to keep marching forward!

And like the article in the photo above, this challenge, along with fanTABulous encouragement through Clare, seriously make-you-sore exercises and the important scriptural foundation, commitment and accountabilty have contributed tremendously to my staying on track.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not naive and I’ve been in “this place” more times than I can count.  I FULLY expect to continue to be tempted and challenged along the way as I strive toward my “Healthy goal”, it’s a lifelong exercise……..just as it is with our spiritual Walk, budgeting goals, raising children, cultivating healthy marriages, and so on.  Anything worthwhile is worth working on!!  Each day presents its own challenges, and in facing each day as it comes, I find it’s easier for me to keep focused when I keep the one-day-at-a-time mentality.  The choices we make TODAY contribute to where we are tomorrow…we canNOT focus on the worries of tomorrow which haven’t even occurred yet!!    We canNOT focus on the failures of yesterday.  Today.  One step at a time, one foot in front of the other.

And so….to wrap up this week, here is a quick summary:

Exercise:  I modified my plan according to what the day brought.  I had my “plan” and as with anything, sometimes plans fall apart.  This is where Plan B came in.  Modified.  Life changes.  Adaptation is key.  I did.  I was sore.  I got in my time!!

Food:  I planned.  I ate in moderation.  I kept cravings in check and when I simply HAD TO HAVE IT……moderation.  Case in point:  Spontaneous dinner date with Hubby Friday night…healthy choices @ dinner, but skipped the bread and ate in moderation….including the coconut cream pie.  A few bites, savored and enjoyed and I was satisfied.  Moderation not deprivation.  We have to live, people.

Scripture:  Above all things, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  Proverbs 4:23.  How true, how true.  Especially after my dear friend’s dad underwent open heart surgery this week.  Physically and spiritually, heart=life.  Guard it likewise.

And this week we have….

Wishing you much success, peace and strength in the coming week(s) ahead!  Blessings!!

Quick Takes Friday

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Friday, Friday, my favorite day of the week.  (Well, not until after 5:30pm, but it’s my favorite day of the week,nonetheless!) and so Friday means wrapping up the week with Jennifer Fulwiler @ Conversion Diary and her gang o’ bloggers….check ’em out!!

1)  It’s been a crazy week at work, so crazy I haven’t been able to take care of ANY of my personal business during the day.  That is SO wrong!!!  This whole work thing really doesn’t work for me.  I mean, it gets the PB&J on the table and supports our other dietary needs and stuff, but it really, REALLY puts a damper on my personal productivity level.  I need a secretary.  A free one, of course.

2)  In home budget cuts, we’ve decided the girls have reached the level of maturity to handle after school at home.  This is a HUGOLA savings money-wise, however, it’s a good thing for them as well.  I pick them up on my lunch break and bring them home and so far, they’ve fallen into their brother’s habits of doing homework right away with a snack, then chillin’ out until one of us gets home.  Their brothers are home with them, but it has taken a huge stressor off of me to have to constantly stress over my last patient and getting to pick up on time if Hubby is working out-of-town that day.  The other great thing, is on the days that they have practice, they are fully ready to go as soon as I get them….they’ve had their down time, their homework time, their snack time and the whining/tired/complaining pre-practice has essentially disappeared this week.  That.  Is a huge bonus!!!

3)  Rain, rain, rain.  We’ve had it essentially every afternoon.  I’ve managed to adjust my workout schedule somehow and holy, cannoli!!  It’s Friday and I am still sore!!!  A wonder of wonders how the body responds when you mix it up!

4)  The debate.  I didn’t watch.  There.  Irresponsible?  I think not.  I am so completely frustrated with our choices.  Really.  I know who I’ll vote for, because there is one person my conscience simply will NOT allow me to vote for, however, it doesn’t mean I’m happy about my selection.  I am possibly considering choice #3….throwing my vote away?  Meh.  Maybe.  There is just so much trash slinging in the ads and blah, blah, blah generalized empty promises it is draining and frustrating.

5)  For the last few QTs, I’m doing some links….one is to Jen’s Conversion Diary…see #1…super news!!  I just love other people’s baby news, stories, pictures.  It’s awesome.

6)  Next up is to Camp Patton and her post o’ woe on the arsenic hours of 5-bedtime.  Oy.  I laughed, but so definitely remember those days and when you are in the thick of it….so NOT funny or entertaining and yet, Grace makes it sound fun.  ish.  I just remember being exhausted.  And grumpy.  And counting the minutes to bedtime.  And now…….I can’t even look my oldest in the eye without craning my neck 6 inches up.  <sigh>

7)  That’s all folks.  I’ve got to wrangle these kiddos up and at ’em and get ready for the day.  Have a great weekend.  I’ll be on the road 2 6a.m. tomorrow morning to drive and hour and half to a football game. Try not to be too jelly, K?

Blessings!!

Rude gets rewarded

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Last night it was raining, not thundering and lightning, just raining.  There were still sports practices in session despite the wet stuff.  On the way to DD1’s soccer practice, Hubby and I had a discussion and I ended up deciding not to have her go.  It was wet, the fields were gross, we’ve had strep throat in the house, I was grumpy from a late patient at work and I was happy with my decision.  As we left the field (I had to pay the coach’s fee and let them know she wouldn’t be there) and drove to DD2’s cheer practice, it was raining pretty good so I made sure to MERELY travel the posted speed limit.  Apparently, there was a jeep behind me that disliked my choice and was impatient with my other choice of not moving to the right lane (since I didn’t feel I could safely move over with a car so close to blind spot) and he promptly sped past at first opportunity……FLIPPING ME THE FINGER the whole way.  First I was mad…..a)it’s raining and b)I choose to drive safely WITH MY KIDS IN THE CAR.  Idiot.  And then, I laughed.  As I continued traveling the posted speed limit, about 10.5 seconds later I saw that he beat me to the red light.  I did my pointing-oh-you-beat-me-to-the-red-light-dance and made sure he saw it.  If it weren’t still raining, I would have made sure he heard my lyrics.  With a smile on my face, he got the picture.  And he added more hand gestures.  Whatev, babes.  At least I don’t work in the ER anymore to deal with your whiney self coming in on the backboard crying because you have to pee and you’re strapped down in a neck collar….all because you were in a hurry on a rainy night…to beat me to a red light.

Vent over…..be careful out there people.  An extra 10 seconds behind a careful Mama isn’t going to ruin your day.  For realz.  Blessings!