Jeepers.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

I am TIRED! Labs and appointments (lots) this week!

*Heavy-ish, taboo subject ahead that's avoided around here*

Some moments are rough. Even though I KNOW there are NO guarantees in life for anyone, I always made an exception (because I can do that, you know!), "Except for my kids, which will live long and healthy lives and I suppose myself too, because I need to be there for my grandkids, to spoil them rotten... well, it goes without even saying to add my husband to that list because he's my best friend and I can't imagine life without him... oh, and while you're at it..." It's weird when it hits me that there really are no guarantees in life. And that moment comes more often than I'd like, in the form of Gregory's condition.

It's hard that there's no prognosis for intestinal lymphangiectasia (couldn't they have shortened that?!) but I'm also grateful for it. Once in awhile I'll wonder what his life will be like after high school, those dreamy plans for my boy, you know! But instead of my mind automatically thinking "when" he's post high school, sometimes it's "if". Those moments always take me by surprise and make me sad. Really, it could be anyone at anytime. Nobody knows what tomorrow might bring. Gregory could live a fairly long life (there are people with his condition that do), it all depends on the illnesses he catches and... fate, of course. It just stinks being aware of it and I wish I knew of a way to ignore it and make it easier. I like oblivion. And I love the happy, sassy, forgiving, sweet boy in the picture. Can't you just tell he's up to trouble?

I got my turkey nap and what's your favorite Christmas tune?

Friday, November 27, 2009

Thanksgiving is over with. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday (and nap)! We spent it at my aunt and uncle's in the cities. The food was awesome and the company wonderful. My uncle Marcello is hilarious- he wore random hats throughout the day(one with a braided ponytail) and put a fake person in a chair to puzzle the little kids. All the while he's deadpan and acts like it's normal. It reminds me of many of my relatives on my dad's side! I love that humor... when nobody really says anything but then smile or snicker for weeks after when they think about it. Maria is really genuine and funny too, so they make a great couple.

The only downer with events now- Gregory runs around everywhere which means we need to be one step behind him because of his allergies. Crumbs of food on the floor are a big deal and he is really fast. It made for a shortened stay, Andrew was sweet and spent 75% of the time watching him so I could catch up with relatives but I could tell by hour three that he was getting tuckered out... So we went home and I took a two + hour nap. Huh? Well, in all fairness, we had Gregory's infusion the night before and it didn't get done until almost 1 a.m. Guess who slept during it (husband) and who stayed awake (me!)? That's my defense. Never mind that I also got to sleep in. I'm spoiled. :)

So, I'm going to be downloading and making a Christmas CD. A few of my favorite holiday & winter tunes are:

*Do You Hear What I Hear? by either Third Day or Vince Gill

*Two Step Round the Christmas Tree by Suzy Bogguss (heard it when I was young and I loved it ever since)

*O Holy Night by Josh Groban!

*Silent Night by Brad Paisley

*River by Sarah McLachlan - slightly depressing but beautiful.

*Christmas with the Rat Pack- a mixed CD sung by Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, etc. Love those tunes! One of my favorite CD's ever.

*I grew up on Statler Brothers Christmas CD's (okay, cassette TAPES.) Christmas isn't Christmas without them and many other country Christmas CD's.

So, those are a few of mine. Trust me, I'm holding back here. Do you have any favorite Christmas CD's and songs? Please do share. Because I'm sure I'm missing some. :D Hope you're all enjoying your wonderful, long(?) weekend!

Three lessons.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

When Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.

Later the pupil was caught in a similar act, and again Bankei disregarded the matter. This angered the other pupils, who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that otherwise they would leave in a body.

When Bankei had read the petition he called everyone before him. "You are wise brothers," he told them. "You know what is right and what is not right. You may go somewhere else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave."

A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire to steal had vanished.

---

A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who was the father. At first resistant to confess, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter's accusation, he simply replied "Is that so?"

When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. "Is that so?" Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child.

For many months he took very good care of the child until the daughter could no longer withstand the lie she had told. She confessed that the real father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect. The parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby. With profuse apologies they explained what had happened. "Is that so?" Hakuin said as he handed them the child.

---

A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it."

The teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years."

Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?"

The teacher thought for a moment,
"20 years."

Slurfing and cheering, winter and summer.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Ages ago, when snowboarding was still a relatively unknown sport, some of my siblings and I would bundle up against the winter weather, grab our sleds and head out to "steep hill" with whichever neighbors happened to be done with their chores. Being we were young and not so intelligent, we didn't realize that sledding conditions were almost always poor and with stir-crazy parental encouragement, we'd truck a good quarter mile for often lackluster sledding but we always managed to have fun.

We don't often get the nice packing snow here- it's either soft and squeaky or the cold temperatures turn the top layer to ice. The icy snow was a riproarin' time... as long as we had sledded the hills prior to the ice and made good trails. Then we would zoooom a hundred miles an hour down! The older, braver kids would sometimes "slurf". This consisted of standing in the sled at the top of the hill, hanging on to the rope as if it would help steer, and shouting the beloved Beach Boys tune "SLURFIN' U.S.A.!" while soaring bravely down the glass-like hill. Thankfully, the huge amounts of winter layers padded anyone from major injuries because rarely did anyone make it the entire way down. Good times! Sledding and slurfing- that's how we spent most of our winters when we were outdoors.

And summer? Summer wasn't summer without quality time in the hayloft... making up "routines". We were SO good at them, we should have become Olympic gymnasts or NFL cheerleaders. My favorite routine tune, dedicated to anyone who has ever sung it (especially Laura, she was stellar), went like this:

Open the barn door
Kick out the hay
We're little (or the) girls of the U.S.A.
Turn on the radio
What do you hear?
Elvis Presley doing a cheer!
We're going to F-I-G-H-T
We're going to F-I-G-H-T
We're going to fight tonight!
We're going to fight tonight!

You can imagine the fantastic motions that went with the cheer!

From a neighborhood circus (really, we did one- I specifically recall a photo of Mindi performing), the "initial tree", all-nighter campouts, five mile bikes to town, night games and hayrides, there was rarely a dull moment growing up on or near our dirt road. Though some might feign fogginess with the details... :)

Shopping opener and other thoughts.

Friday, November 6, 2009

It's officially shopping opener weekend. Buffalo occasional stores are open (Lillian's purse, anyone?) and there's craft fairs/boutiques/open houses in our area. Yummy candles are available at the Old School Boutique. I'm not just biased because they're my mom's, they really are awesome. My husband doesn't deer hunt so does that mean I can't shop this weekend? Hunting widow-schmidow. I'm pretty sure there's a pasty from Sandy with my name on it!

-----

A quick comment about yesterday's breaking news: it's horrifying to think that someone chose to end the lives of men and women who would sacrifice themselves in a heartbeat. Especially one of their own. I'm not a vengeful person but I'm glad the man didn't die so that he can realize and face the pain that he caused. Violence doesn't solve problems. My heart goes out to all those involved or affected.

-----

With another birthday creeping up, I feel like I aged five years this past year. That's not necessarily a bad thing, now I only feel a year or two younger than my actual age. :)

-----

Sometimes I'm ready to throw this blog out the window. Well, just delete it actually. But not today. Hence another blog post. I may have mentioned my love/hate relationship with blogging before. I enjoy everyone else's blogs, I'm just consistently annoyed at my own. It's part lack of inspiration and also the introvert in me wondering why I feel so inclined to share aimless personal thoughts. On a good note, it's helped me to be more open and confident. That might not be a bad thing, if only because I no longer would rather have the stomach flu than go to a party or event. I am a bit of a dork. But I don't mind me most of the time. A step in the right direction, I reckon.

-----

Gregory apparently messed in his diaper and is laughing hysterically at his gagging older brother. He came over and pointed at "Ee-ee!" and laughed some more. He also now laughs at his own farts. At age 1 and 1/2. Yep, he's kind of a brute.

-----

I haven't been this excited for a Friday in a LONG time. I.heart.weekends.

I'm happy.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

I'm happy for many reasons but the best reason is that we *may* have hit a stable period for Gregory. These stable periods can last mere weeks or for many months.

Here's the scoop:
www.caringbridge.org/visit/gregorypaul

:)

The best magazine- Cook's Country review.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Every other month, I impatiently await the arrival of my new Cook's Country Magazine. The recipes are made to perfection (seriously) in the company's test kitchens and are down-home and scrumptious. They have a huge variety of recipes in each issue- the one I'm looking at has recipes such as: creamy chicken and biscuit bake, skillet macaroni and cheese, mixed berry streusel pie, creamed spinach with parmesan and prosciutto, crispy baked potato fans, grilled honey mustard chicken, maple roast turkey breast... I could go on and on but I know I'll end up reciting every recipe in it! One of the great things about the recipes is that they aren't ultra gourmet which equals: ingredients are reasonable cost-wise and the food is kid-friendly. Two musts at our house.

Cook's Country also makes recommendations for everything from the best skillet pan (usually not the most expensive) to the most highly recommended brands of... mustard, for instance. I rarely buy new pans but if I do, it's nice to know what's going to hold up the longest. The magazine also tackles some of the science behind cooking/baking and for that reason, even Andrew picks it up to read it. We absolutely love it over here.