Weekend Wordle, etc

Click and join at Shannon's!



Ahhhhhh--I'm lazing the day away!

You would think that I've had enough of that over the last week...but no. I'm enjoying this lazy Saturday. In my defense, in 2 hours I'll be babysitting 4 boys under the age of 5...the youngest being 3 months! So lazy is necessary to prepare for all that :)

Thursday's Ten: Notable Quotes (but NOT about the Piggy Flu)

So...welcome to this week's edition of Thursday's Ten. Pardon my sniffles!
(actually I'm doing much better...just really really really tired)



I thought about doing ten awful times you've been sick (mine would have been topped by the Christmas Eve/Day illness when I was a senior in high school...the ER visit and all), or ten things about pigs...but instead decided to do something a little more relevant to all of us!

SO, ten favorite quotes. I've already done this once here, but I'm always finding or rediscovering new quotes!

"I believe in pink. I believe laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing; kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles."
- Audrey Hepburn

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”
- Dr Seuss

"a person gets to have her whole life"
(Private Practice)

"Being aware of your crap and actually overcoming your crap are two very different things"
(Grey's Anatomy)

"The fact that children can make beautiful music is less significant than the fact that music can make children beautiful"
- Cheryl Lavender

"Everything has beauty. Not everyone sees it."
-Ghandi

"The feeling remains that God is on the journey too."
-Teresa of Avila

"Use what talents you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."
- William Blake

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."
-Edith Wharton

And a bonus because it always makes me think

"I do not reject your Christ, I love your Christ.It is just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ."
-Gandhi

You're familiar--grab the button and sign mcklinky and then share some of your favorite quotes!

ALSO--next week's will be 10 things you're thankful for (and we'll do it on Wednesday so everyone can do their Thanksgiving thing). Plus, if you have any suggestions for future lists I'd love to hear them! I've been doing Thursday's Ten for years, but somehow doing lists that are relevant to more people are a little harder than just coming up with my own :)

THAT'S what I did wrong!

Avoiding the Swine Flu

Eat right! Make sure you get your daily dose of fruits and veggies.

Take your vitamins and bump up your vitamin c.

Get plenty of exercise because exercise helps build your immune system. Walk for at least hour a day, go for a swim, take the stairs instead of the elevator, etc.

Wash your hands often. If you can’t wash them, keep a bottle of antibacterial stuff around. Wear a mask when out in public places and avoid going out in public as much as possible while the swine flu is spreading. Get lots of fresh air. Open windows whenever possible. Get plenty of rest. Try to eliminate as much stress from your life as you can.

OR …. You can take the doctor’s office approach. Think about it, when you go for a shot, what do they do first? Clean your arm with alcohol.. Why? Because alcohol kills germs. So…… I put on my mask, walk to the liquor store (exercise), I put lime in my Corona (fruit), celery in my Bloody Mary (veggies), drink on the bar patio (fresh air), get drunk, tell jokes, and laugh (eliminate stress) and then pass out (rest). The way I see it, if you keep your alcohol levels up flu germs can’t get you!!!!

So there you have it. I just haven't been keeping my alcohol level up enough!

Oink, Oink (maybe)

It began Sunday morning.

I was scheduled for praise team at church and woke up stuffy and sneezy. Somehow I still made it through rehearsal and two services. Then I led a 2-hour rehearsal with the youth choir.

Then I went home and took a nap. I took my temperature upon entering my house and it was 99.7, so no big deal. 2 degrees is nothing to worry about. (my normal temp is 97, not 98 like most people)

I went BACK to church a mere 3 hours after leaving, and helped the teens sort grocery bags full of Thanksgiving meals for families in this city who wouldn't have Thanksgiving any other way. It's a wonderful thing our church does each year.

I sneezed approximately 135 times during the 3 hours we were there. (I truly don't think that's an exaggeration...believe me, there are witnesses). At some point, one of our 7th graders started turning around and giving me a high-five after particularly impressive explosions.

We went from there to A's parents house to watch the Colts and Patriots play...ohmygosh what an amazing game...and I continued sniffling and sneezing. Not quite as much though, because I had stopped at Walgreens to get some meds to help. Unfortunately, the meth users have made it impossible to get the good stuff at 8:30 pm on a Sunday night...because the pharmacist is gone and it's unlawful for anyone but the pharmacist to give me my one box of hope. So I got the not-quite-as-good stuff and made my way.

When I got home I took more drugs and waited awhile to go to bed. I hate not being able to sleep because I can't breathe, so I thought if I got tired enough I'd be able to sleep.

So I went to bed around 1, and woke up at 5.

I was FREEZING. (and the heat was on full blast)

I was thirsty.

So I stumbled downstairs and poured a glass of sweet tea that I had made the night before.

It was at this point that I realized I was burning up (even though I was freezing) and that I was awfully achy...so I decided to take my temperature before taking a drink of the tea.

101.8

Yikes.

And you KNOW that with all the hype about swine flu I *knew* that's what it was.

I was too weak to do anything except text A and my friend Mattie (who works in the office I'm temporarily at) and tell them that I was running a fever and wouldn't be leaving the house today. Mattie's response was "I hope it's not the swine flu!"

(well, that wasn't her only response. she also brought me chicken soup and throat coat tea, both of which I am VERY grateful for!)

For the next 4-6 hours my fever fluctuated between 101 and 102 and I fluctuated between sleep and delirious texting. Finally around 9 or 10 am I googled "swine flu symptoms" and thankfully landed on a pretty informative site.

Note that it's a site from the UK. They apparently are a little less stressed out about piggy flu than we are around here. I'm glad. I scrolled down to the symptoms part and read them.

It said:

If you or a member of your family has a fever or high temperature (over 38°C/100.4°F) and two or more of the following symptoms, you may have swine flu:

• unusual tiredness,
• headache,
• runny nose,
• sore throat,
• shortness of breath or cough,
• loss of appetite,
• aching muscles,
• diarrhoea or vomiting.

unusual tiredness? check
headache? my head felt like it could roll off my body from the weight. check.
runny nose? do the 30 tissues in bed with me give a clue to this? check
sore throat? hell yes. check
shortness of breath or cough? eh, not more than usual
loss of appetite? check
aching muscles? oh my word yes. check
diarrhea or vomiting? thank goodness no.

Yeah, according to that list I might have the swine flu.

Thankfully the site also said that it's pretty mild for most people and gave this checklist of reasons to go to the doctor:

Call your GP directly if:

• you have a serious existing illness that weakens your immune system, such as cancer,
• you are pregnant,
• you have a sick child under one,
• your condition suddenly gets much worse, or
• your condition is still getting worse after seven days (five for a child).

So as long as I haven't gotten progressively worse by Saturday-ish, I'm good. None of that other stuff applies to me at all.

Thankfully my fever broke mid-afternoon and there have been no signs of it going sky-high again. I'm playing it safe and staying in again today, but it looks like this piggy flu (if that was indeed what it was) is not going to keep me down!

Plus, A brought and prepared dinner and then kept me company for awhile. TBS had a Family Guy marathon on, so between that and our two Macbooks we were set :)

However if I'm not back in the swing of things around the blog for awhile, you'll know there's a pig to blame.

Maybe when I get my appetite back I'll put some REAL sausage in one of my recipes. :P

Wordle, etc

(visit Shannon to join in the fun)



Enjoying a beautiful Tennessee fall day!

(visit Cate to join in the fun)

Thursday's Ten: I Truly Believe

Hi all! Welcome to this week's edition of Thursday's Ten. Today's list is called "I Truly Believe"

you can be serious
silly
or do a combination of the two (which is what I did)
and please include pictures if you can!



1. That all coffee should be this pretty
2. That I should not see the moon on my way home from work at 4:30
3. That rain is for dancing in...and kissing in.
4. That there is healing power in cuddling a baby
5. That freshly grated cheese is MUCH better than that store packaged shredded crap
6. That men are just as attractive when they show their nurturing side...and that they ARE born with it.
7. That the Colts may just go to another Superbowl this year
8. That hearing children sing may be one of the most beautiful sounds on earth.
9. That a person (especially this person) should see the ocean at least once a year.
10. That I am blessed beyond measure.

You know the drill! Grab the button, sign MckLinky and share your list with us!

Recipe of the Week: Almond Frost Jack

Thank goodness for facebook! I became a "fan" of Jack Daniels a few months ago. (ok, I was already a fan, but facebook makes it official, right? ;)

Anyway, they posted a recipe on facebook a couple of weeks ago, and I just HAPPENED to have a friend over a few nights later (right before our 5K!) We decided to try the recipe and I think we were both pleasantly surprised by how much we liked the Jack in it's alternate form!

Now, straight up Jack and Jack and (diet) Coke are going to be the staples...but this one will be a good "go-to" for fall especially!

Almond Frost Jack

1½ oz. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey (I use Gentleman Jack)
½ oz. amaretto
2 oz. cream
1 teaspoon super fine sugar

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass or serve over ice in a rocks glass. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

If all goes well...

My friend Sam (more about him and his wife) gets to go home tomorrow!

His counts are going up, and although he will continue to be closely monitored, his immune system has developed enough to return to his own home!

Praises...

You know, all day long I've wanted to post a blog and couldn't figure out *what* to write about. I guess I was just waiting for the good news!

Here's a song he posted on his blog the other day. Perhaps you've heard it before; I grew up singing it in church as did he:

Whatever It Takes

There’s a voice calling me, from an old rugged tree
And it whispers draw closer to me
Leave this world far behind,
There are new heights to climb
And a new place in Me you will find

For whatever it takes, to draw closer to You Lord
That’s what I’d be wiling to do
And whatever it takes, to be more like you
That’s what I’d be willing to do

Take my houses and lands,
Change my dreams and my plans.
For I’m placing my whole life in Your hands.
And if you call me someday,
To a land far away,
Lord, I’ll go and Your will obey.

For whatever it takes to draw closer to You, Lord,
That’s what I’ll be willing to do.
And whatever it takes for my will to break,
That’s what I’ll be willing to do.

Take the dearest things to me, if that’s how it must be
To draw me closer to Thee
Let the disappointments come, lonely days without the sun
If through sorrow more like You I’ll become.

For whatever it takes to draw closer to You, Lord,
That’s what I’ll be willing to do.
And whatever it takes for my will to break,
That’s what I’ll be willing to do.

I’ll trade sunshine for rain, comfort for pain, that’s what I’d be willing to do.
For whatever it takes to be more like you, That’s what I’d be willing to do.

Um, so if you want to hear a rough version of it, turn off the music player and click the video. It's me, rough chords because I don't have sheet music and had to play it by ear, a couple of big boo-boos, and distracting moving as I sing (can you promise not to WATCH the video and just listen? lol) and I can't promise that at 12:30 am I was completely "on" for the whole song. But, it's there. Gentle, dear readers :0) (there are more of you now than the last time I posted myself singing!)

Anyway, I'm so grateful for this miracle. No, his journey with cancer isn't over...not even close...but this chapter is coming to a close.

LaLaLa (HaHaHa)

I am NOT a Taylor Swift fan...but this literally had me laughing out loud!