Nurse

Nurse Blair.........has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? That's my daughter. Nurse Blair. I am so proud of her. She worked hard and now she has accomplished Phase I of her dream to work in pediatric oncology. She has more work to do but I know she will do it. She battled some hard things to get where she is. She faced some things that I never had to face. But, she is an overcomer and was determined to succeed.

I just thought you should meet her.

25 Days

It is only 25 more days until NG7. (You know, my annual get together with my sisters-Nettie's Girls) As can be expected, I am always excited beyond words. And this year is no different.

That's a lie. Well, not a lie really. Maybe just a misstatement. (Is that a word?) This year IS different. I am looking forward to this NG in a way that I haven't before now. It seems that most years we have been coming together after facing some life-altering experience since the last one-the death of our mother, Nettie; the death of our father; the first flood at my house; the death of our baby sister. Add in births of grandbabies, ups and downs in jobs and any number of other things and you have four women who need some down time, some rest and relaxation.

But, this year I am anxious for NG because I feel like it is my life preserver, the knot at the end of the rope, my last hope, the light at the end of the tunnel. I need NG more right now than ever. It is a phenomenon unlike any other that, as soon as the four of us are together, life and all of it's insanity will fade into the background. The pure joy that we experience when we are together is indescribable. And, it makes me feel just a little sad for any of you out there that don't enjoy this with your family.

So, twenty five days from now, that sound you hear, that collective sigh of four fabulous women, will mark the beginning of NG7. And, four days later we will part, sadly, but stronger-recharged for one more year.

I cannot wait!

I Swear it's the Truth!

The Honest Scrap comes with a caveat or two. First, you have to tell your readers ten things about yourself they may not know, but they have to be true. Second, you are supposed to tag ten people with this award. Third, let all the people you've given the award to know they have received it-leave a comment on their blog. Finally, link back to the person who gave you the award. Whew.

1. I wanted to join the Air Force after high school and my dad said that nice girls weren't in the service.

2. I cried when my mom told me I was too old to ask for a baby doll for Christmas. I think I was in the 6th or 7th grade.

3. Lest you think otherwise from those first two comments, I had the most wonderful parents and miss them every single day. I wouldn't have traded them for anyone. They were the best.

4. I used to collect clowns-clown statues, clown pictures, clown notecards, clown everything. I even decorated Aaron's nursery with a clown theme. His nursery had the biggest ceramic clown lamp you have EVER seen. It was the size of a midget and he was holding an umbrella. This monstrosity sat on the dresser in that poor baby's room.

5. I love creamed tuna. It is a delectable concoction of white sauce, tuna and boiled eggs. Lots of salt and pepper. Serve it over toast. I craved this when I was pregnant with Aaron.

6. We lost Blair when she was two years old. I was on a softball team and we were at a big park. After the game she wandered off while everyone was getting all of their stuff together. Dennis went into super-charged panic mode and everyone was running all over the place looking. This ballpark was right by a freeway on ramp and our minds went to scary places. Many long minutes later we found her. She was sitting in the cab of our truck waiting patiently. She was so short no one noticed her as we scoured the parking lot.

7. I used to sing with my sisters Debe and Vicki. Our sister Nora was our biggest fan. She thought we were fantastic. (We weren't.)

8. For awhile when I was a child our family travelled in a Volkswagen bug. There were 7 of us in the family. Mom and Dad sat up front, three oldest sisters in the back seat, and my little sister and I in the teeny tiny compartment behind the back seat.

9. Staying with the car theme, I fell out of a moving car when I was about four years old. Yep, they turned a corner and out I tumbled onto the street. I wasn't hurt. Well, falling on my head might explain a few things.

10. I still think the Air Force would have been cool.

Thanks Lori for tagging me. Check her out at http://www.fresh-faced.blogspot.com/.

Okay, I am tagging Jessica, Amber, Becky, Casey, Katie and Megan.

Work, Work, Work

I'm a working girl. I never really set out to be one. It just kind of happened. When I was a youngster (really, that word just doesn't get used enough) I had visions of what I would be when I grew up: a doctor, a teacher, a secretary, a mommie. But, I didn't put a lot of thought into it. I didn't really have time for a lot of career thought since I got married at 17. And, I went to work. Life was so simple. Dennis and I worked. We came home to our sweet little apartment in Norwalk, CA. We got involved in the church next door (which happened to be Dennis' church before we were married). We went places on the weekend. We went to the beach. We went to Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. We took a couple of classes at the local community college. We played tennis. We moved back and forth from Norwalk to Fresno 8 times in our first 2 or 3 years of marriage. Settling in was a difficult concept for us. But, through it all, I worked. I was a store auditor for Montgomery Wards, clerk at the Fresno Bible House, secretary at La Mirada Christian movies (this was back in the day of the giant 16mm movies-churches would order them and we would ship them out. A lot of that job was tracking down the movies from pastors who couldn't remember who was in charge of shipping it back!), accounts payable clerk for an industrial company, babysitter, Avon lady, took in ironing, receptionist for an accountant, radiology clerk at a children's hospital, secretary for a pediatric developmental clinic, oh so many things! We moved to Oklahoma with the intention of me staying home. I did that for a year but circumstances forced me back to work. That's when I started at the bank. I was a teller, then a loan secretary and now the compliance officer. It is a great job and a great place to work. They have treated me wonderfully over the years. They have been with me through many stages of my life-unexpected pregnancy at 40, becoming a grandmother five months after having my third baby, family deaths (four in two years) and two house floods. With all the ups and downs, work has been a constant.

I find myself thinking about what it would be like not to work full time. This is probably because of the stressful schedule I am juggling at work. Two big work projects are happening simultaneously and it is about to get the best of me. I find myself not even knowing what day it is sometimes because I spend so much of my time checking my calendar for the next meeting, the next deadline, the next assignment due. The idea of getting up, taking Katie to school and coming back home is very appealing. The idea of being at home in the summer when Katie is out of school is even more appealing.

It's just not going to happen right now, though. So, I have to find a way to stay focused. I want to do my job and do it with excellence. I just sometimes have misgivings about my ability to do that anymore. Has this old dog run out of tricks?

It's a New Attitude

In my last post I said that it was time for something new. I am taking small steps towards that end. After removing all the Christmas decorations were packed away the house seemed bare and drab. The most glaring void, at least for me, was the dining room table. It had been all red and white and glittery and now it was just .....brown.



Katie and I went shopping on New Year's Day. Don't worry, I still got my bowl of black-eyed peas:


Creole Black Eyed Peas, in fact. My favorite way to fix them. But, I digress.

While shopping at Target I realized, quite to my surprise and pleasure, that the dishes I had admired (read coveted and salivated over) were FINALLY on clearance! Katie and I commenced to mix and match and remix and mix again and came up with this:



Who can resist a soft, soothing canvas of blue and brown with some crisp white thrown in?


The plates are from Target, but I didn't like the bowls at Target so I bought the three different plates and thought I was going to be on a long mission to find the right bowls. Within the hour, while shopping at Belk, I came across these fabulous bowls that were 75% off! The plates are melamine. Don't judge me. I like them. But the bowls, ah! the bowls are not! They are Oneida bowls and I only paid $1.12 each for them! And, they were perfect.

I was still looking for something for the center of the table. I promised Katie that we would just make a quick run through Kirklands because, after all, they don't have any purses or cute t-shirts, duh! While there I came across the most adorable ceramic bird and candle holders. I snatched them up-CLEARANCE again.



I must admit that I do not like the placemats but haven't found what I do want. I didn't want to keep these packed away until I found the perfect ones so here you have it:

Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I walk in there and turn the light on just to look at it.

Yes, a new attitude.

Boxed up and Bare

Our Christmas tree was only up for about three and a half weeks. So, why does the space look so bare now? It's back to the way it was before but seems so desolate. All the snowmen and candles and baubles and pretties are packed away in their red and green boxes. I think I need to decorate for the new year. I think our new year needs a theme and a motif. I'll get back to you on this. Happy New Year!

Complete

I got the Christmas tree put up a couple of weekends ago but I didn't have a tree topper for it. That's why this shot of my tree cut the pinnacle clean off-there wasn't anything to see.

I tried putting the star from last year's tree on it, but it was too heavy. My new tree is one of the slim variety and wouldn't support the weight. So, what to do.

My tree is done is golds and whites and, in my opinion, is very Christ-centered. There are nativity ornaments....

Cross ornaments......

Words like .......

and .....



and .....



But, I continued to be stumped about what to put on the top. I wanted something that continued the story my tree was telling--the nativity ornaments were telling that He came as a baby; the crosses were reminding us of His sacrificial death...what else could the tree say? One night it came to me out of the blue. I wanted a crown for the top! Yes, a crown. The conclusion of my tree's story was that He is the King of Kings! I looked online everywhere and finally took a leap of faith and ordered one from amazon.com. It arrived today and I couldn't be happier>>>>

I know that it is very untraditional. You are used to seeing stars or angels or pointy things, but I love it. It says what I wanted it to say............

I will let one more ornament speak for my tree:

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!