Sweet Granny UPDATE

I got a call at noon today with the news that my Granny is unresponsive and has been for 2 days. She is 93 and tired. So tired. Her pulse at noon today was 30 and her blood pressure was super low.

Look at that beautiful face. Can't you just feel her sweetness and love oozing from her? She's precious. She's my Granny. I love her forever.

Fly to Jesus, Granny. I don't want you to go, but I'll see you on the flip side...

UPDATE: she rallied tonight and I talked to her. She was incoherent, but at least I got to hear her soft voice and tell her I love her. I hope to get to see her tomorrow, Lord willing.

The Dentist

I had the illustrious privilege of witnessing a horse have its teeth floated. At least, I think that was what was happening. That's the horse's tongue the vet tech is holding in her hand. They sedate the horse and then file away.

I feel a little like this in the dentist chair. People are doing ungodly things to my mouth, the sedation is not enough and when it's all said and done my tongue doesn't fit in its proper place anymore.

I'm just sayin'.

I don't even know how to title this post. We've just been very busy around here.

The King was gone to the NW states for a week and is now home. We got serious about putting our house on the market. We haven't lived in it for a year and have been too busy to navigate paralysis episodes, work and emptying our old house. Besides, I love that house and all our memories. It makes me a touch sad to button it up for another family. It's my house, afterall.

Ok, so maybe I need counseling in addition to the other things on my list. I'm really not as materialistic as I sound. Or maybe I am. Ugh. I think it's just that, as a woman, I have "nested" in that house and I hate to tear up my nest.

So, there are 5 other houses for sale on our street being represented by 5 different real estate agencies. We thought since we are one of the few 1 story houses in the entire (huge) neighborhood that we probably wouldn't have to list the house ... not yet anyway.

Sunday, 45 minutes after putting a FSBO sign in the front yard, we had a call. We showed the house 4 hours later. That was 4 days ago. It's only been 4 days, but this morning I began to contemplate our options. We got a call at noon today from a lady who is dying to look at our house. We show it tonight. It helps to have a one story house on a highly desired street. I really hope we don't have to list it.

In the meantime, we've put the steam on. We're trying to get the last of the stuff out of the house. If you have moved, you know the feeling we have right now. I'm better today, but over the weekend I wanted to pour gasoline on it and toss a match to the whole mess. Persistence pays off and we have a routine now. We have been going over every evening after work. We all three hit a room and work as a team. We are getting a lot done this way and we are teaching Princess how to work. It's amazing how we model a strong work ethic for her on a daily basis, but she still has to be shown HOW to work which, I guess, is pretty normal for kids.

GoTo123

I've read this before and each time it makes my heart thump and tears well in my eyes. In story form, this tells a more memorable truth than any amount of words I can share with Princess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get on-line. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:

ByAngel213:Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home today. It was really weird!

GoTo123:LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?

ByAngel213:Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.

GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't done that have you?

ByAngel213: Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.

GoTo123: Did you have a softball game after school today?

ByAngel213: Yes and we won!!

GoTo123: That's great! Who did you play?

ByAngel213: We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! They look like bees. LOL

GoTo123: What is your team called?

ByAngel213:We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are really cool.

GoTo123: Did you pitch?

ByAngel213: No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be done before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. Bye!

GoTo123: Catch you later. Bye

Meanwhile.......GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew about Angel so far.

Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985
Age: 13
State where she lived: North Carolina
Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall. Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon until her parents came home from work He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey. He knew she was in the eighth grade at the Canton Junior High School. She had told him all this in the conversations they had on- line. He had enough information to find her now.

Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the ballpark that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from walking home from the softball games. Parents were always overreacting and hers were the worst. It made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't be so overprotective.
By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her.

Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her. It was then that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second base position to see a man watching her closely.

He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he smiled when she looked at him He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed the sudden fear she had felt.

After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found her.

Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was only a few blocks to Shannon's home, and once he saw where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his car.

Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to Shannon's house. He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to make his move.

Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the living room.
"Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded upset and she couldn't imagine why. She went into the room to see the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa.

"Sit down," her father began, "this man has just told us a most interesting story about you."

Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents anything? She had never seen him before today!

"Do you know who I am, Shannon?" the man asked.

"No," Shannon answered.

"I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123."

Shannon was stunned. "That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14. And he lives in Michigan!"

The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. You see, Shannon, there are people on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But while others do it to injure kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids from predators. I came here to find you to teach you how dangerous it is to talk to people on-line. You told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me to find you. You named the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze."Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't live in Michigan?"

He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh. It made you feel safe to think I was so far away, didn't it?"
She nodded.

"I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into giving out information a little here and there on-line. Before you know it, you have told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it again. Tell others about this so they will be safe too?"

"It's a promise!"

Lawyers

I typically don't get into stereotypical bashing. However. I'm making an exception.

But, before I make my exception, let me make a tiny disclaimer. I love certain lawyers. I have a couple of lawyers that are near and dear to me... just precious.

But, the whole lot of 'em? Blech. Argumentative, bullying, unteachable, unwilling to listen, impatient and entitled. That pretty much sums up my customer support experience with lawyers. And sadly, I've listened to a bucketful of them.

Tuesday, I received a typical call from a lawyer. Instead of being like 99% of our customers, he asked his question and followed it by immediate, impatient, harrassing lanuage. He didn't even wait for an answer and then finished his tirade by asking if there was any live person at our company that he could talk to.

Um. (checking pulse in neck) Hello? Will I do?

Forgiveness

I currently need to closely monitor all the ingredients in my food. Which means I am cooking everything from scratch. I am working 50-60 hours a week around paralysis episodes and daily migraines.

One evening last week I was so tired and grumpy. I asked Princess to make Angel Biscuits for dinner and being a kid, she was getting distracted and not working with diligence. I am not always patient with childishness. I should be, but am not. So, here I am tired, I have a migraine, Princess is goofing around and the window of opportunity for dinner is closing.

Then the dog pukes on the floor.

The yeast is ready to add to the other ingredients. I have to get the green beans going.

The dog pukes again. On the carpet this time.

I lost it and crabbed to Princess about her lack of diligence and her work ethic while I scoop up dog puke.

That's when it hit me ... "Would I want to be cooped up in a kitchen trying to help someone like myself?" My attitude was terrible. It didn't matter how I felt. I needed to apologize and be gentle and kind.

When I apologized to Princess, she forgave me so quickly. Like a child does. Then I realized that I really DO like childishness. I like the quickness to forgive. I like the unconditional love of a child. I like the playfulness of a child.

The rest of dinner prep was not easy, but was so much more pleasant because I chose to change my attitude and seek forgiveness.

Works for me!

Beautiful Girl, Beautiful Arabian

Riding a horse is not as easy as it looks. Riding English is especially hard. Princess looks great in this photo. Her heels are down, her shoulders are almost exactly over her hips and she's looking ahead. Her instructor calls this "driving the horse". Princess is doing a great job!

She's leaning too far forward and has her hands on Cougar's neck, but her eyes are looking forward and she's squeezing with her knees. Leaning forward shifts the rider's weight and communicates slowing/stopping to the horse.

Cougar has a very long mane. I love to see it fly when he goes over the crossrails. Princess has a pretty good "two point" position, but she has her hands on Cougar's neck. A no-no.

Princess's body is in a good "two point" position (except for those pesky hands on his neck).


I love to watch her ride. She has so much fun! She almost fell off 3 or 4 times this lesson, which is a record. She hasn't fallen off yet so far. Cougar will buck or rear if he has the inclination. He is good for her in that he doesn't let her get away with poor riding skills. She is good for him in that she doesn't let him cheat. Friday's lesson was frustrating and there were several tears shed on cougar's neck and a bit of railing towards him. Horse riding is a great way to toughen up a person and teach perseverance.

Princess's instructor says that horses wake up each day trying to figure out how they can cheat. I believe it. These pesky kids strap on a girth around their bellies, put a bit in their mouths, and then have the nerve to make them cantor and jump when they'd much rather be in the pasture with their muzzle in some soft grass.

Socialism and the Economy

Just how bad is the economy?

Bad enough that even the most arrogant, proud, independent of the animal kingdom has endorsed Obama and his socialistic ideas.

I give you, the cat.

Am I missing something?

This is teen fiction? A partially naked young woman on the cover of a book named "Untamed"?? Perhaps that describes our society ... untamed and haunted.

I thought teen fiction was this...

But, what do I know?

Little House

My MIL made this adorable ensemble for Princess. Princess loves history and has very much enjoyed the Little House books. She did comment after wearing this for a while, "Boy, all these clothes are hot!" Have I mentioned how thankful I am that we live in the 21st century?

Dairy-Free, veggie-free diet

I have wrecked my body with stress. I now have messed up my resting heart rate, blood pressure and am completely and utterly lactose intolerant, among other things.

It is wicked hard to find good tasting, dairy-free recipes. Come through for me, Weblings! I really need some ideas!

I can have sharp chedder and lactose-free milk. That's it for the dairy aisle. Oh, and Fleishman's no dairy margarine.

Ideas? Besides spaghetti and chicken fajitas and roast beef? I'm getting kinda tired of those.

Oh and I have another dietary restriction that prevents me from eating most green vegetables. So, salads are out. So are onions, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes.

Pasta, rice and potatoes are good for me. For more helpful tips, visit WFMW.

Seattle

I have always longed to go to the Northwest USA. I love rain and the earth's reaction to rain. The lush forests and beautiful green lanscapes thrill me.

We are in the process of beginning a church plant and will be partnering with Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Thus, King has been making a number of trips to Seattle. These pictures are from his trip three weeks ago. He was dining on a boathouse. So beautiful. I hope to be able to join him this summer for a trip.