I don't know if I'll actually sit down again to write before Christmas, so I'll just say it now... I wish you a Very Merry Christmas! I hope it brings you joys and happiness along with peace and a nice, big, honkin' Triple Grande Almond Latte from Starbucks... Oh wait, that's MY wish! :) I got confused for a minute. Anyway, have a great holiday.
Congratulations to Lori and Ted, who have received their referrel to a precious little Abenezer. He's adorable! :)
With much love,
Stephanie
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Eight minutes to Bliss
Eight minutes is all it takes to get my Starbucks fix. At least today! I thought I would play this little fun game tonight. "How long does it take to get my glorious, precious cuppa joe?"
3:47 Leave my house
3:48 Stop at Red Light 1 - Luckily I timed it just right, near the end of the cycle.
3:50 Stop at Red Light 2 - Not a big deal, we're almost there!
3:52 Turn into Target parking lot
3:53 Don't be picky with parking! Just PARK! And walk swiftly toward my prize! (And because it's cold too!)
3:54 Walk right in, first in line, Cashier ready for me!3:55 Enjoying my First Sip of my Special Sumthin'... YUM!
And get this... My Cashier - I cannot remember her name for the life of me. I'll remember later on, I'm sure! I was in there so often over the past week - two weeks asking for the Almond Flavoring, she remembered me! She said, "You've been asking for this for a while, haven't you?!" I was a little taken aback because I didn't think I was THAT impressionable. Hmmm. Maybe I leave my mark in more ways than I thought. Interesting. I mean, I know I made my mark a while back. I made a friend, Blair, at this Starbucks counter, and since has moved on into management of some sort, so I never see her. She was even filling in at another location one day and we had a sweet little conversation over there. (She remembered me, I remembered her... we talked!) Isn't that the way you want your Barista? (for those of you NOT enjoying this topic - that is the person making my little slice of heaven!) Anyway, it was nice to be remembered.
So, there's my story of getting my fix. Melissa told me that it's been *prepare yourself* over FIVE days since her last drink. We need an intervention here!! I don't know HOW she's still surviving!
Okay, I need to get down to business. I went to the doctor today. Feeling a little woosey lately.. Turns out I'm anemic, have low blood sugar along with low blood pressure. Hmm. I need to pay closer attention and keep up with myself here. I've also got a bit of a pinched nerve (or some similar situation) in my shoulder. So, I'm taking another round of steroids to see if it'll relax enough for me to get rid of the pain. Hope so!
And I have to pay extra close attention to my iron pills, to take them daily. (I slacked for a while, so I've gotten dizzy, black out spells coming and going.) And with my normally low blood pressure, that mounts up to be quite a bit! Then with my low blood sugar, that should (SHOULD) be an easy fix. I just have to continue to eat throughout the day. I've gotten to where I don't eat regularly through the day, so I tend to fade and have a sugar-low a lot. I get shaky, sweaty, dizzy, light-headed, my heart pounds... it's not a pretty thing. You'd think this in itself would be enough of a bother to make me keep up with it!! But I just get busy and don't pay attention. Note to self: EAT, EAT, EAT!! And then eat some more! Plus, to add insult to injury, I am losing hair again. This is because I'm not keeping up on my protein! By the handfuls! I have very large, fuzzy "hamsters" when I get out of the shower again. We should start naming these boogers! Big balls of hair that are just totally tear-inducing! (Not quite, but almost!) So, now I have some beef jerky and turkey jerky that I'll continue to munch on. It just takes all day long to get enough protein in! I was just starting to get my hair to thicken up a bit. Now, I have to start all over again. UGH!!
So, lesson for today... Eat protein, and lots of it. That will take care of the low blood sugar and the protein deficiency! *SIGH*
My prayer for today: "Dear Lord, Please give someone the ability to create a protein chewable that has 60 grams of protein in it. One that I can get past my gag reflex, one that I would enjoy, that tastes decent, one that is inexpensive. One that I'll have NO excuse to not take!! Amen!" That isn't so much to ask, right?
My "Thank you Lord" conversation topic today will be my friend, Amber. There for a while, I was addicted to Amber. Maybe I even stalked her a bit. (sorry about that!). But I am so thankful that I have Amber. When we first talked, I had the extreme pleasure to share with her my most-favorite book of all time. Ruth, the novel by Lois T. Henderson - in case you forgot! This book has come and gone through my years and each time, I learn so much about myself through it. Ruth was an inspiration - you remember the story, right? Through many conversations with Amber, the words I was giving her (that she might've needed at the time) were really shedding a light on me. These words seemed more for me than for her. So, Amber, thank you for lighting my road on this journey! Even if you didn't know it or realize it at the time. You helped me through that path, at the time I needed it most! Funny how things work, huh? I thank God for you. You are a blessing to me. I hope I have helped you (even in just a small way) over the past year!
Now, I HAVE to get busy around here. I have some work to do. Dinner to make. A couple gifts to wrap. And some reading to do!! YAY!
3:47 Leave my house
3:48 Stop at Red Light 1 - Luckily I timed it just right, near the end of the cycle.
3:50 Stop at Red Light 2 - Not a big deal, we're almost there!
3:52 Turn into Target parking lot
3:53 Don't be picky with parking! Just PARK! And walk swiftly toward my prize! (And because it's cold too!)
3:54 Walk right in, first in line, Cashier ready for me!3:55 Enjoying my First Sip of my Special Sumthin'... YUM!
And get this... My Cashier - I cannot remember her name for the life of me. I'll remember later on, I'm sure! I was in there so often over the past week - two weeks asking for the Almond Flavoring, she remembered me! She said, "You've been asking for this for a while, haven't you?!" I was a little taken aback because I didn't think I was THAT impressionable. Hmmm. Maybe I leave my mark in more ways than I thought. Interesting. I mean, I know I made my mark a while back. I made a friend, Blair, at this Starbucks counter, and since has moved on into management of some sort, so I never see her. She was even filling in at another location one day and we had a sweet little conversation over there. (She remembered me, I remembered her... we talked!) Isn't that the way you want your Barista? (for those of you NOT enjoying this topic - that is the person making my little slice of heaven!) Anyway, it was nice to be remembered.
So, there's my story of getting my fix. Melissa told me that it's been *prepare yourself* over FIVE days since her last drink. We need an intervention here!! I don't know HOW she's still surviving!
Okay, I need to get down to business. I went to the doctor today. Feeling a little woosey lately.. Turns out I'm anemic, have low blood sugar along with low blood pressure. Hmm. I need to pay closer attention and keep up with myself here. I've also got a bit of a pinched nerve (or some similar situation) in my shoulder. So, I'm taking another round of steroids to see if it'll relax enough for me to get rid of the pain. Hope so!
And I have to pay extra close attention to my iron pills, to take them daily. (I slacked for a while, so I've gotten dizzy, black out spells coming and going.) And with my normally low blood pressure, that mounts up to be quite a bit! Then with my low blood sugar, that should (SHOULD) be an easy fix. I just have to continue to eat throughout the day. I've gotten to where I don't eat regularly through the day, so I tend to fade and have a sugar-low a lot. I get shaky, sweaty, dizzy, light-headed, my heart pounds... it's not a pretty thing. You'd think this in itself would be enough of a bother to make me keep up with it!! But I just get busy and don't pay attention. Note to self: EAT, EAT, EAT!! And then eat some more! Plus, to add insult to injury, I am losing hair again. This is because I'm not keeping up on my protein! By the handfuls! I have very large, fuzzy "hamsters" when I get out of the shower again. We should start naming these boogers! Big balls of hair that are just totally tear-inducing! (Not quite, but almost!) So, now I have some beef jerky and turkey jerky that I'll continue to munch on. It just takes all day long to get enough protein in! I was just starting to get my hair to thicken up a bit. Now, I have to start all over again. UGH!!
So, lesson for today... Eat protein, and lots of it. That will take care of the low blood sugar and the protein deficiency! *SIGH*
My prayer for today: "Dear Lord, Please give someone the ability to create a protein chewable that has 60 grams of protein in it. One that I can get past my gag reflex, one that I would enjoy, that tastes decent, one that is inexpensive. One that I'll have NO excuse to not take!! Amen!" That isn't so much to ask, right?
My "Thank you Lord" conversation topic today will be my friend, Amber. There for a while, I was addicted to Amber. Maybe I even stalked her a bit. (sorry about that!). But I am so thankful that I have Amber. When we first talked, I had the extreme pleasure to share with her my most-favorite book of all time. Ruth, the novel by Lois T. Henderson - in case you forgot! This book has come and gone through my years and each time, I learn so much about myself through it. Ruth was an inspiration - you remember the story, right? Through many conversations with Amber, the words I was giving her (that she might've needed at the time) were really shedding a light on me. These words seemed more for me than for her. So, Amber, thank you for lighting my road on this journey! Even if you didn't know it or realize it at the time. You helped me through that path, at the time I needed it most! Funny how things work, huh? I thank God for you. You are a blessing to me. I hope I have helped you (even in just a small way) over the past year!
Now, I HAVE to get busy around here. I have some work to do. Dinner to make. A couple gifts to wrap. And some reading to do!! YAY!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Yall Ready for Christmas?
I was just sitting here thinking. Am I ready for Christmas? And the first thought is "have I bought all the gifts that I need to buy?" And as I'm going through the list of people and gifts, I'm realizing that this isn't what I should be thinking about, all-consumed with. Ya know? I'm sure we've all heard the stories and have been lectured by our grannies and papas... along with moms and dads, Christmas isn't about the gifts. It's deeper than that. There is so much more to it than presents.
The things I love about Christmas are the simple things. I love spending time with family. I love getting to know each other all over again over a game of "Pictionary" or "Scattergories" ... even a new one that I learned "Farkle". It's the time spent in each other's company that is important! You learn new things, you are reminded of old things. It's just the best!
I love driving around looking at the Christmas lights decorating the houses, garages, driveways, trees and all the other characters that are strewn about one's lawn. (Granted, I don't want my yard to have that over-kill look!) But I enjoy looking. I just wish it weren't so dang cold out! Brr! And not to mention slippery!
I love giving gifts. Not only that, I love giving GOOD gifts! A gift that is unexpected, a gift that says "I know you" and "I love you" and one step further, a gift that says "Your happiness is important to me".
See, I'm reading this book "Eat, Pray, Love". And so far, I do recommend it. I'm not even half way through, but it has a lesson in there for any of us. (Bet you can't just get away with learning just one lesson!!) I do think you should try reading it. The only thing I've found unnecessary is a few cuss words - I'm thinking about getting my white out and covering those words. Just because I don't feel that I want to read them. Even though they were important for Elizabeth Gilbert to put them in there, to show her emotion. I just don't feel that I want that when I read back through. Maybe I'm just being too sensitive to it. ?? Who knows.
Back to Christmas thoughts... I love looking at my Christmas tree. I love to put it up and touch each ornament. Remembering - who gave this one to me, what year I bought this one, what year we (me or the kids) made this one... I love that. I try to buy one ornament each year. One that is special in some way, one that reminds me of my year. This year's ornaments (yes I got two) are just adorable! One is a frosty-glass snowman is nestled amongst some spirals and he is just the cutest thing! The other is .... *wait for it.... wait for it....* A STARBUCKS CUP OF COFFEE WITH A SNOW GLOBE!! Yep, it sure is!! And if you look just right in some of our family pictures in front of the tree, you'll see it there! And yep, I love it! And yes, I look for it when I sit down on the couch, in front of the tv. It's there. Winking at me from afar, as if we share a secret... little does this little cup of coffee know, huh!!
Some things that makes me happy... Well, for starters a nice cup of creamy coffee! At Starbucks, I must get either an Almond Latte or Cafe Mocha. I can also do a Vanilla Latte .. Oh who am I kidding, I'll just take it any old way! Okay, back on track here... I like a nice hot cup of coffee to wrap my hands around. I like a nice book to read, a warm, snuggly blanket to cuddle under. I like Christmas music playing in the background, while I occasionally look up to find my tree glistening at me, seemingly glowing brighter at knowing it's caught my eye! And let's not forget, I like my cat snuggled up on my lap, purring - safe and secure curled up in a ball, adding the extra warmth that I need! Yep, these things make me happy. And all it costs really is about $4.00! That's cheap entertainment, man!
And one other thing, I would like to just say my "new" friend, Melissa, you have inspired me today. Your kind words and thoughtfulness has sparked my creative juices! I am very thankful for you today! I make a point to be thankful for at least one thing in each day. (There are millions! But at least one has to be given special attention! So that He knows that I'm watching! I'm paying attention! I'm living this life and I'm thankful for it!) So, here's to you, Melissa! Welcome back into my life! It's been a ton of years, but it seems like it's only been a second!
Merry Christmas, my friends and family. Please know that I love you and I am thankful for each and every one of you! I can't list you all here right now. Just know that you've all been in one of my "Thank you, Lord" conversations!
Oh, and one more thing. There are two sites that I visit daily! They're both adoption-related sites. One is my sister in law, Amy. She and her husband adopted Silas last May from Ethiopia.
http://bottomlysandethiopia.blogspot.com/
And the other is my friend, Lori - who I met through Amy's blog. I just followed her link one day, and I'm hooked. I comment alot (hope she doesn't mind that!)
http://ourownrooney.blogspot.com/
But if you have a heart for Africa, Ethiopia, Adoption, or even just to know some really good people, please visit these blogs. Leave a comment when you feel led to do so. I've taken some inspiration from these girls! You'd be blessed if you do the same!
Happy reading! Merry Christmas! I pray that some day I am a part of your "Thank you, Lord" conversations! (And be sure to let me know!!!)
The things I love about Christmas are the simple things. I love spending time with family. I love getting to know each other all over again over a game of "Pictionary" or "Scattergories" ... even a new one that I learned "Farkle". It's the time spent in each other's company that is important! You learn new things, you are reminded of old things. It's just the best!
I love driving around looking at the Christmas lights decorating the houses, garages, driveways, trees and all the other characters that are strewn about one's lawn. (Granted, I don't want my yard to have that over-kill look!) But I enjoy looking. I just wish it weren't so dang cold out! Brr! And not to mention slippery!
I love giving gifts. Not only that, I love giving GOOD gifts! A gift that is unexpected, a gift that says "I know you" and "I love you" and one step further, a gift that says "Your happiness is important to me".
See, I'm reading this book "Eat, Pray, Love". And so far, I do recommend it. I'm not even half way through, but it has a lesson in there for any of us. (Bet you can't just get away with learning just one lesson!!) I do think you should try reading it. The only thing I've found unnecessary is a few cuss words - I'm thinking about getting my white out and covering those words. Just because I don't feel that I want to read them. Even though they were important for Elizabeth Gilbert to put them in there, to show her emotion. I just don't feel that I want that when I read back through. Maybe I'm just being too sensitive to it. ?? Who knows.
Back to Christmas thoughts... I love looking at my Christmas tree. I love to put it up and touch each ornament. Remembering - who gave this one to me, what year I bought this one, what year we (me or the kids) made this one... I love that. I try to buy one ornament each year. One that is special in some way, one that reminds me of my year. This year's ornaments (yes I got two) are just adorable! One is a frosty-glass snowman is nestled amongst some spirals and he is just the cutest thing! The other is .... *wait for it.... wait for it....* A STARBUCKS CUP OF COFFEE WITH A SNOW GLOBE!! Yep, it sure is!! And if you look just right in some of our family pictures in front of the tree, you'll see it there! And yep, I love it! And yes, I look for it when I sit down on the couch, in front of the tv. It's there. Winking at me from afar, as if we share a secret... little does this little cup of coffee know, huh!!
Some things that makes me happy... Well, for starters a nice cup of creamy coffee! At Starbucks, I must get either an Almond Latte or Cafe Mocha. I can also do a Vanilla Latte .. Oh who am I kidding, I'll just take it any old way! Okay, back on track here... I like a nice hot cup of coffee to wrap my hands around. I like a nice book to read, a warm, snuggly blanket to cuddle under. I like Christmas music playing in the background, while I occasionally look up to find my tree glistening at me, seemingly glowing brighter at knowing it's caught my eye! And let's not forget, I like my cat snuggled up on my lap, purring - safe and secure curled up in a ball, adding the extra warmth that I need! Yep, these things make me happy. And all it costs really is about $4.00! That's cheap entertainment, man!
And one other thing, I would like to just say my "new" friend, Melissa, you have inspired me today. Your kind words and thoughtfulness has sparked my creative juices! I am very thankful for you today! I make a point to be thankful for at least one thing in each day. (There are millions! But at least one has to be given special attention! So that He knows that I'm watching! I'm paying attention! I'm living this life and I'm thankful for it!) So, here's to you, Melissa! Welcome back into my life! It's been a ton of years, but it seems like it's only been a second!
Merry Christmas, my friends and family. Please know that I love you and I am thankful for each and every one of you! I can't list you all here right now. Just know that you've all been in one of my "Thank you, Lord" conversations!
Oh, and one more thing. There are two sites that I visit daily! They're both adoption-related sites. One is my sister in law, Amy. She and her husband adopted Silas last May from Ethiopia.
http://bottomlysandethiopia.blogspot.com/
And the other is my friend, Lori - who I met through Amy's blog. I just followed her link one day, and I'm hooked. I comment alot (hope she doesn't mind that!)
http://ourownrooney.blogspot.com/
But if you have a heart for Africa, Ethiopia, Adoption, or even just to know some really good people, please visit these blogs. Leave a comment when you feel led to do so. I've taken some inspiration from these girls! You'd be blessed if you do the same!
Happy reading! Merry Christmas! I pray that some day I am a part of your "Thank you, Lord" conversations! (And be sure to let me know!!!)
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