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December 29, 2006
Colorado. (Part Three)
Friday: Ate dinner (crowded warmly into the kitchen...it was a nice size when Sister and I were girls, but now with 6 adults it's a tight fit!). Unloaded some stuff from our cars. Prepped for the Salt family's coming.*
Salts came over and the girls are old enough now to recognize us and love on us right away instead of taking time to warm to us. We had a nice little meal with them and reminisced and planned and chatted and they opened Christmas presents. Little girls are so cute opening their little gifts.
The Salts were flying to Buffalo the next morning, and Mrs. Salt wanted the girls to have baths, and everyone else wanted to watch the tape of Office (the TV show)...and I really didn't care. So I went home with Mrs. and the girls and I helped with bathtime. Then we brushed hair and put them to bed. They did a good job and I enjoyed it.
THEN all the rest of my fam came over (bearing Starbucks-caffeine!) and we played The Seafarers of Catan, an addictive and enjoyable came that's a cross between a board game and a role-playing game. More board game than RPG, though. Mr. Salt won of course. I pooped out at about 1:30, and I only intended to rest my eyes on the couch for a little time, but woke at the end when Mr. Salt was celebrating his victory.
Saturday: slept in. Lunch at Yakitori, yummy Japanese chicken kabobs. Quick stop at Barnes & Noble for last minute gifts (I bought Apples to Apples with some of my birthday money) and the line was looooong...tag-team line waiting is the way to do it. Why shop alone? There's no need. Another quick stop at SuperTarget (I looked for comfypants, but there were none that flattered), and I must point out that tag team shopping is the way to go, but it works much better if all members of the team have either walkie-talkies or cellphones.
THEN we ran up to the North Side (farther north than the new hospital even!) to see the construction site of Sister and BiL's new house. It was so nice to see their new nest! It's a beautiful house and I can just picture it for them for years. They are closing on their house today (29th) and I really miss them. I do, and I want to be there and help situate their stuff in their home before Sister starts her internship in Denver on Tuesday (2nd). Sigh. I miss them right now...but I got to see the new house and I can at least picture their home now.**
We went home, had dinner (I ordered Jade Dragon Chinese food...Dad picked it up on a field trip errand run he did), and played Apples to Apples.
Which takes us to Christmas Eve morning...
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* Remember the Salts? Father and Mother, two daughters, we spent Fourth of July at the Lake with them? They're good friends of ours and we love them. Mr. and Mrs. Salt are like brother and sister to us...Mrs. Salt was a bridesmaid of mine...their daughters are congruent in age and personality to me and Sister. Yeah.
** I must write at some point about me and Sister. We didn't grow up great friends and it's been some time in the Neutral Zone, but we've finally broken through to friendship. What a delight, and what an irony now that she's moved back to the Homeland (Colorado). Sheesh.
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Colorado to Kansas, Part Two
So we made it to Pueblo (NOT pronounced pew-blow or pyeh-blow--say it pweh-blow!). The traffic was pretty thick but not intolerable. It was the first day they were opening up the roads again, so everyone was out and about!!! We finally made it to C.Springs...but the traffic is always bad there and it was rush-hour time and everyone was out and about (!) doing last minute shopping so we took a circuitous route home.
We drove behind the moving-truck-and-trailer combo, and what with the traffic and the piles of plowed snow on the sides of the roads, we had quite a sight in front of us. BrotherinLaw cut it close a couple times.
But we drove up and Mom and Dad ran out the door to greet us all...that moment of homecoming is always magical and delightful. Hugs all around. As much as I thank God for technology and Verizon so I can call Mom, Dad, Sister, BrotherinLaw, and The Dude for free, there's nothing like a hug. Being in each other's presence. Looking over and seeing the twinkle in Mom's eye and the joy in Dad's face.
We walked in the house and there was food simmering and the tree was so pretty (hello, all the familiar ornaments!) and wonderful homey music was playing. I love that house, and I love that Mom and Dad keep things the same but also move forward, changing things they don't like and renovating and rearranging. It's the same home, but it's not frozen in the moment when Sister and I left.
That's good for now. Read more soon...
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December 27, 2006
Update...Colorado to Kansas, Part One
So, the Dude and I left Chattanooga at 4:45 am and by the time we crossed the Central Time Zone line, it was 4am again. I slept a lot and when I woke we were nearing Paducah, KY, and we stopped for breakfast. We were really excited because we were making awesome time and we passed through (through!) St. Louis by 11:30 (before noon!)!
But during this drive time, my parents and Sister and BiL and I were all calling each other with updates. Remember, Sister was moving (with a moving truck) two days before we left. There was a big big blizzard that hit Nothern Colorado and the State Patrol were closing I-70 in Colorado because they got a foot-plus of snow in just a couple hours and it wasn't slowing down. And, as it turns out, the State Patrol close sections of I-70 as the motels fill up. Seems dumb if there are NO CLOUDS to close the highway, but as Sister said "What will they do when there are 10,000 people in Oakley, Kansas?"
So, the Dude and I decided to head south to Highway 50 at Kansas City, and so we trekked across Kansas via a southerly route. It was dark, so I didn't get to see more of Kansas scenery*.
Meanwhile, Sister and BiL had gotten stuck in Hays, Kansas, and decided to drop south and then head west on Highway 50 to Dodge City and then Garden City. They considered heading even farther west through the night, but turned around and came back to Garden City because (1) it was as icy as a skating rink and (2) it was getting colder due to the sunset.
Sooo, the Dude and I met up with Sister and BiL in Garden City, Kansas, about 50 miles from the Kansas-Colorado border on Highway 50. It was fun to be together in that motel. We slept in a little, had continental breakfast (and if you're ever in Garden City, Kansas, you should stay in the AmericInn!), and headed out. BiL drive the moving-truck-plus-car-trailer, Sister drove the Versa, and The Dude drove our car. In that order.
It was pretty good traveling, but the stretch between La Junta and Las Animas was icy.
Well, SiL and MiL are here and want to go. Part two is coming...
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* I will not be sarcastic about Kansas 'scenery' because the Dude loves it so, and I'm trying to have an open mind about prairie. But seriously, could I have missed much? I think not.
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And another one...
I blatently stole this from funke, but I am giving her a link. Read and giggle while I write a chatchup entry...
1) Schizophrenia---- Do You Hear What I Hear, the Voices, the Voices?
2) Amnesia-- I Don't Remember If I'll be Home for Christmas
3) Narcissistic-- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
4) Manic-- Deck The Halls And Walls And House And Lawn And Streets And Stores And Office And Town And Cars And Buses And Trucks And Trees And Fire Hydrants And...........
5) Multiple Personality Disorder----We Three Queens Disoriented Are
6) Paranoid---Santa Claus Is Coming To Get Us
7) Borderline Personality Disorder--- You Better Watch Out, You Better not Shout, I'm Gonna Cry, and I'll not Tell You Why
8) Full Personality Disorder--- Thoughts of Roasting You On an Open Fire
9) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder---Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells
10) Agoraphobia---I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day But Wouldn't Leave My House
11) Senile Dementia---Walking In a Winter Wonderland Miles from My House in My Slippers and Robe
12) Oppositional Defiant Disorder---I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus So I Burned Down the House
13) Social Anxiety Disorder---Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas While I Sit Here and Hyperventilate
14) Attention Deficit Disorder--We Wish You......Hey Look!! It's Snowing!!!
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December 20, 2006
Gift List
Gift List taken from ChattaMom:
Priceless Gifts
1. The Gift of Listening... Try giving this to someone in need. And you must really listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your responses. Just listen...
2. The Gift of Signs of Affection...Be generous with your hugs, kisses and gentle squeezes of the hand. Let these tiny actions demonstrate the love inside of you.
3. The Gift of A Note...It can be as simple as "I Love You" or as creative as a sonnet. Put your notes where they will surprise your loved ones.
4. The Gift of Laughter...Just cut out a cartoon, save a clever article. Your gift will say, "I love to laugh with you."
5. The Gift of Compliment... A simple "You look good in blue" or "Good supper" can be of greatest value to those who may feel they are being taken for granted.
6. The Gift of a Favor...Help with the dishes, run an errand, etc.
7. The Gift of Leaving Alone...There are times in our lives when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Become more sensitive to those times and give solitude.
8. The Gift of a Cheerful Disposition... Try to be cheerful around those you love.
9. The Gift of a Game...Offer to play your loved one's favorite game. Even if you lose you'll be a winner.
10. The Gift of Prayer...Pray for your loved ones and let them know you pray for them.
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This might just be my New Year's Resolution.
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worried, checked the weather, whew!
Well, my to do list is doing. It's going, but I'm not sure where.
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Just got a call from Sister. She and BiL are moving to The Homeland (Colorado) right now and we've been praying like crazy for them! She called from East Central Kansas with the report that 1) I70 is closed in Colby (Far West Kansas) and 2) they are closing I70 at Salina at 6pm local time. That's in about 2 hours. Soooo, they are getting a motel room. Because it's not good to drive on an interstate during a blizzard/ice storm, especially when the gates are across the onramps. (Oh, Southerners, you may not know this, but the interstates out West [and probably up North, too...can I get a shout out Cardona? where they have truly inclement weather come equipped with gates that can close across the interstate onramps. Because snow and ice severely lower the coefficient of friction and kaPOW you're in the gutter!)
Soooo they're trying to get a room. All the motel rooms are taken in Hays, so Mom is trying to find them the best deal elsewhere. I, meanwhile, called MotherinLaw. One option was for Sister and BiL to stay with them, but now the roads will be closed so there. I called Mother in Law to tell her my family was not going to come after all, but the answering machine was off. Which leads me to the next blurb.
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Here's the next blurb. Apparently they have a brownout in Tiny Kansas Town. Very very little power. No heat, no light, but since they live in town, they have water. (Country houses have electric water pumps. That's a problem for things like handwashing and flushing during a power outage.) But they have no power. Poor them!
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Next blurb. Our plan is to drive to Tiny Kansas Town tomorrow then on to Colorado on Friday, coming back to Tiny Kansas Town Sunday evening. But all this talk of weather makes me nervous. However, thanks to The Weather Channel, all looks clear and non-frozen for the hours we project driving north then west.
Hooray.
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Leaving
I left the Department Store. Now I must find another job.
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We are leaving on our Big Winter Road Trip tomorrow. So glad I married a morning person, because I try to be a morning person. (Several years ago Grandma shared a nugget of wisdom with me that went something like this: 'It only takes a little more energy to be pleasant. Even if you're not a morning person, you can still be pleasant in the mornings.') I really do try to be a morning person and being married to one is great, especially because his cheer makes me cheery and he doesn't rub it in when I'm grouchy/silent/still waking in the mornings.
But anyway...the reason I mentioned I'm glad I'm married to a morning person is because he's taking the first shift tomorrow. He set our departure time at 4am tomorrow. Gulp! That's early, but I'll sleep and then I'll drive starting at around 10, I think, and he'll crash. And we'll make Tiny Kansas Town tomorrow evening.
Yikes! Tomorrow! Eep.
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Todolist:
Email/job applications
Pack suitcases
Make pile of car-stuff for him to load into the car
clean up
one more Waltopia run:
-roll of wired ribbon
-pantyhose
-something else
ask him about any *other* gifts to put in the gift hamper ('Sweetie, do you have gifts for me? Can we put them in the hamper now?')
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Even though I must go I also just want to mention the awesomeness of my birthday. Here's a quick bulleted list of coolness:
-I wore my birthday tiara to work. All day long customers wanted to know why I was wearing a crown to which I'd respond (with that tone of voice that implies Doesn't everyone know this?) "Because it's my birthday tiara." I was excited by it being my birthday so the undercurrent of sarcasm came off as fun-loving not as insulting...so then everyone wished me a happy birthday. It was great.
-The Dude picked me up at work instead of my taking the bus. This saved time and $1.25. And I was able to chitchat during the commute instead of sitting politely on the bus.
-When I returned from errands (Post office and Waltopia) The Dude had put balloons, streamers, and a birthday banner up, in addition to laying all my birthday gifts out...his own and my parents' (those sneaky sneaks!). What a nice surprise!
-Mom and Dad gave me a nice set of blue and white with snowflakes dishes. They are so cool and I've been wanting them and I was very surprised!
-The Dude gave me [drum roll.......] a new sewing machine! Now I can sew again and finish my projects yay! (Because Heather's wedding is on its way!)
-We were going to go on a date, but by the time we got to the restaurant I was too tired and retailed out to want to spend money on something I really wouldn't enjoy. So the Dude took me back to the Church Cookie Exchange (picture all the ladies in the church sitting around and visiting...that's a man's cue to Run Away!) which I really enjoyed.
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Aaaaand now it's off to the List. One thing for sure...I have to wait till later to take my typing test because it's just NOT FLOWING right now. Grr.
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December 14, 2006
Two Bloggable Comments
The Dude to me, this morning: "Honey, I'm so glad you're not repulsive."
Thanks, honey. I'm glad I'm unrepulsive. Does that make me actually attractive?
And...
A coworker to me, yesterday: "Girl, you very white."
(Just let me say that the coworker is black and very fair skinned so many of our black colleagues tease her about 'passing' for white. So she and I are friends and a topic we always seem to discuss is black/white racial issues. And so she said to me yesterday that 'I very white.' Hehheh. Thanks for the memo.
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December 11, 2006
Love/Hate
Love the feeling of open doors and possibilities.
Hate the fear of nothing 'turning up.'
Love to 'stick it to the boss.'
Hate saying goodbye to friends I've made.
Love having the chance of something better.
Hate leaving just as I can start accruing benefits.
Love knowing 'this is my last Monday...tomorrow will be my last Senior Day...Saturday will be my last Super Saturday.'
Hate not knowing what's coming.
Love depending on the provider for provisions.
Hate not being able to depend on self.
Love having a routine (even if it's a hated routine).
Hate being stuck in a rut.
Love having comrades and people who miss me when I'm gone.
Hate leaving them behind.
Love looking forward to the bend in the road.
Hate not knowing what's around the corner.
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Mom always used to quote this verse at me when I was afraid of the future. She said that in Bible times, shepherds used to set little candles or lamps on their sandals so that they could see, in the middle of the night, if there was trail one step ahead, or if it was just a cliff to avoid. She reminded me many, many times to trust God for the next step. "If he wanted us to have headlights, he would have given us headlights...even high beams! But he only gave us light for the next step." Anyhoo, here's the verse:
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105
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All this to say that Saturday is my last day at The Department Store. After that...who knows? I do know that it was one too many straws that broke the camel's back...and it wasn't just complaints. It was a true difference, irreconcilable. Hopefully they won't take it personally.
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December 04, 2006
Lesson Plans
Do we really believe everything is for our good and His glory??
I remember in my Educational Psychology class (which was taught by the worst. professor. ever!) learning that though we teachers will never be perfect in bringing perfect application to our lessons and units, still we try. We know that we can never take dominion over every detail in our classrooms, but we trust our Heavenly Father, the Perfect Teacher, that He brings all details to bear in our education. His goal: to make me, His student, like Christ. His methods: everything in my life. His means: perfect.
But when something unexpected comes, do we choose to believe that? Do we? When I have to change my tire and that makes me run late and my dad tells me about a line-crew-man who died at his recent professional conference (leaving a widow and a son), do we believe it?
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Your Word is a Lamp
Yesterday morning in church I sat there crying. It's such a marked difference from my workplace, to sit in a pew surrounded by people who love me and mean it. My husband, his family (they flew in for Madrigals, yay), and my church people.
I had a bad day Saturday. It's not a good place to work, and I was full up to here [points to eyebrows] but now I'm sick of it. Sick, sick, sick. I've had enough.
So I sat there crying because it's hurtful to be treated unlovingly. It's wrong. Sinful behavior hurts people around you, and Saturday it hurt me.
I wrote about this a few posts ago, and just a reminder, here's something Christ showed me during that prayer session:
But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly I will bless the LORD.
-Psalm 26:11-12
So he already showed me that my workplace is not the place where I belong, the place where I am with like-minded folks. I know that my workplace is where I am surrounded by evil-minded folks who do not love and do not know God. But when the unlovingness comes it still hurts.
So--Sunday I was crying and asking God for the answer. "Jesus, what is the purpose in this? My brain knows you have a purpose, but my heart does not. Please show me."
Here comes the answer!
The very next part of the service was The Reading of the Law, wherein we hear some portion of Scripture. Yesterday: 1 John 3. Read it, if you please.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
And the verses that stood out to me? Written in my Bible as if they were glowing, or bold, or italicised, or hyperlinked? Planned before the foundation of the world to teach me and give me new hope? Placed on the pastor's heart to read yesterday--and the pastor not knowing I needed to hear them? Read them:
Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. --I John 3:13-14
A reassurance that my sensitivity to the difference between love and not-love is a right sensitivity. A reminder that there is a real difference between me (part of the body) and Them (not). And a reminder of the Gospel, of the Truth we partake in when we eat the Bread and drink the Wine.
And then we ate communion and it was driven home again. What a blessing to be part of the communion of the Body of Christ. God is faithful.
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December 01, 2006
Various Communication Thoughts
A colleague hates the registers, and prefers unloading trucks. He said to me, "I hate the idea of servitude, being treated like a servant, like the customers are better than I am. I'd rather work with a truck crew, all of us working together to get the task done."
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Are they carts? buggies? or what? In Hawaii, they were called wagons. A Massachusetts customer told me they call them carriages up there. I call them carts and refuse to call them buggies.
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I offered a Department Store Credit card to a customer. She responded (with her head down in her cart retrieving the last of her merchandise), "I done got one." I thought she said 'I don't got one,' so I started in on my high-pressure sales...she turned around in a snit and said, "I said, I done got one!"
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So many people get thrown off when they swipe their credit cards through wrong. They get embarrassed. It's not their fault each store has its own kind of swiper. Why can't they make the illustration better?
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I used to get all flustered when my line stacked up and I was working on a price check. Now I don't care...I just do my job and remind myself that I'll get the order done when I do.
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I was told (via The Grapevine) that my cashiering on Black Friday got noticed. I was the most consistently speedy cashier of the six on my side that day. Nice to get noticed.
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If (and that's a big if!) I'm still cashiering next year, and if I'm opening on Black Friday, I'm going to sing the Parade to Post (you know, the song they play just before a horse race...da da da da-da-da da da-da-da da da da daaaa) right before they open the doors and let the Shopping Horde in. It'll get a laugh from my cashier buddies.
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