Monday, November 24, 2008

Rite of Acceptance

Yesterday was the Rite of Acceptance for the RCIA and RCIC at our church. It did not quite go off as planned - however, it is done and over and we will move on and do what we can to correct the future Rites so that they go off smoothly!

It was very nice to see Gaven up there - being a part of the process. I feel blessed to be a part of it as well. My kids did great and were excited to be a part of it.

My brother and soon to be sister in law were supposed to be there, considering that they are Gaven's godparents - but I never heard from them (we had talked on Thursday and they said they'd be there). Mom never heard from them either - so I can only assume either Ariana was sick or they completely forgot about it!

The kids were all presented with Bible's at the end of the Rite. The RCIA people just got their Bibles still in the plastic wrap but I wrote a little note to each of my kids.

That's it for now. Happy Monday!

Hospital

It was an interesting weekend -
Friday I got to work and within 30 minutes had been called by the school. Brendon had come inside from before school recess, accompanied by Gaven because he was having trouble breathing and said it felt like someone had grabbed his heart and was squeezing.

For most of you, the knowledge that Brendon has Pulmonary Stenosis and has had surgery is there, for the rest of you, that's an important bit of information.

SO- we went to the ER...the whole heart feeling like it was being squeezed was enough for me!

They did an array of tests and came to the conclusion that it's due to a combination of things, but basically is this:

Due to the cold (it was 16 degrees Friday morning) it caused his breathing to be labored (due to the lung damage from being on the resperators when he was first born) which in turn caused his heart to labor more thus causing the pain.

Conclusion: He should stay out of the cold; especially for long periods of time.

Is this not what I told the school at the beginning of the year - that forcing them to have to walk a mile and a half in the extreme cold would be potentially harmful due to their heart condition? Yes I did!!!
I have to talk to their cardiologist today. I'm going to push for him to write a letter to the school for all 3 boys that they have to be picked up by the bus (mainly in the winter months - in the fall/spring/and what part of the summer they go - it's not a big deal - I don't mind riding them to school.
I do however, not want them having to walk/ride in the winter (cold weather) and then being in the hospital day after day.

I also think this is a damn good reason to consider moving to warmer pastures!

Safe and Happy Riding. We have snow today!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Just sick...

That's what I am. I've been sick the whole week and it doesn't seem that I am feeling any better again this morning. I had hoped that all the warm liquids, chicken soup and rest on the couch after work would have me shaking this thing much faster than I am. That's not been the case at all. It's almost impossible to ride the bike because I can't seem to breathe these days, so I've been grabbing rides.

My throat hurts which is making talking a little difficult - I have to pick up some cough drops before I go teach my class tonight.

I am looking for poetry publishers - so we will see if I can find one - that's my secret passion - the one I haven't shared with many people through the years. I have notebooks of poetry that I've written. I had more but somehow they have been lost or ruined over the years. So, I am strongly considering putting them all in type and submitting them to be published. It would be nice - it could help the financial situation. So, if you want to know what I want for Christmas -or for the new year- I want a publisher to say YES! to my poetry.

Okay, going to try lying back down for about 30 minutes - head is pounding and I have to go to work again today, when all I want to do is send the kids out of the house and wrap up in blankets on the couch and sleep!

Ride safe!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Bad Dogs...

This morning I woke up to find that my dogs (well I'm pretty sure they were both involved in the deed) had overturned the garbage and strewn it through the kitchen and the family room sometime in the night. I was totally out - this cold is kicking my butt - so I didn't hear a thing. When I walked down the steps they both looked at me and ran to their room (the game room in the house doubles as the room that the dogs cages are in). So, they totally knew they had done something wrong - which makes me think the idea that my dog can't understand that they did a bad deed for more than 10 seconds is total crap!

New Read this week: Ain't Misbehavin' (a book about well trained dogs and how to get them).

In their defense - this is the first time they've done this in over a year...still not okay though - I hate picking up garbage...

the only good thing that came out of that was that I found some bear bottles that the people on Sunday had failed to put in the recyling bin.

Ride safe - it's cold today here in Northern Illinois - and we had some snow flurries yesterday:( I still don't understand why my mother, who is from a tropical island, would move to this place...someplace warm would have been preferable to me! :o)

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Packers Win!!!!
















The Packers won today. To say they won would be an understatement in a big way! The Pack kicked butt today.










It was fun. We had the family over and some friends.










I was feeling a bit under the weather and now am in full blown illness. Headache, sore throat, body ache, runny nose! UGH!










I'm going to bed - I feel like crap and need to restore my wellness!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Packers/Bears Game...

is tomorrow. I'm making a ginormous pot of chili and lemon cake for this occasion. Some friends from work and some family are coming over to hang out, watch the game and talk crap. Some of us are Packers fans (that would be those of us who are smart), and some of them are bears fans (boo). LOL! It's all good fun! We still all love eachother. It should be a fun day.

That's it for now. Going to go downstairs and throw in a DVD to watch with the family!

Ride safe!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Thank God it's Friday...

This morning I took off from the house with some spare time before needing to be at work so decided to head through N.I.U. on their bike path to get to work. It was pretty warm out (still needed my coat and gloves but pretty mild). So I get a little over a mile and a half down the bike path when I realize I have just gone flat. Back tire!

Let me say, I have changed 1, yes that is it, 1 flat tire in the entire time I've been riding a bike. The only other flat I had was a front tire flat on a ride and the guys fixed it for me in like 2 minutes.
The flat I changed before was a rear tire but I was sitting on my front porch taking my sweet time with two spoons as tire levers.

The reason for that little bit of information is to clue you, the reader, in on the fact that I am not good, quick or efficient at changing a tire. SO, I pull to the side of the path. I take off my coat because I know I'm going to get warm doing this - take off the helmet and hunker down. I was aware that it was going to take a while.

So, I get the tire off. Accomplishment #1. I manage to wrestle the tire off the rim and pull the tube out. I was on a roll at this point! Now for the shameful part - it then took me about 20 minutes to get the new tube and the tire on the rim...Yeah pathetic! I know! I'm totally investing in tire levers! So, I start to air it up and my tire pump (it's one of those little compact thingies) breaks. WHAT THE HECK? ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME? Yeah, I think I may have dropped a few curse words at this point. Keep in mind how dirty my hands were from messing with this bike tire - I haven't cleaned this bike really well since early summer!

Okay, plan B! I get into my panniers, pull out my bag and start rummaging around for my cell phone...WHERE IS THAT STUPID THING? A few more obcenities may have come from my mouth at this point. I look in the little bag hooked to my handle bars...nope not there either...I grab my coat off the ground - perhaps I stuck it in the pocket...OF COURSE I DIDN'T! So, I'm on the bike path with no cell phone and a broken air pump and a partially flat tire.

PLAN C...I put my coat back on, put my helmet onto my bars and start walking...I go to the gas station - I walk up to the counter and the girl says (before I can say a word) 'Oh my God, what happened to you? Are you okay?' I haven't yet seen myself other than my hands which are FILTHY! So, I say, "yes, but may I please use your phone?" She hands it to me with this look on her face...and I call the girl from work who always is offering me a lift on rainy days - I figure if she offers and I turn her down almost all the time maybe she'd be willing to pick me up this time. Sure enough she says she'll leave and pick me up...I have 10 minutes to spare so I decide to go wash my hands....Walk into the bathroom - OH MY GOSH! No wonder the poor girl at the counter was concerned - there was dirt all over my face...so, I attempted to wash this off with soap and water - unfortunately they didn't have papertowels - just that air dryer for your hands - so I did the best I could, which I have to say was pretty good and walked back out to wait.

Got to work without any more problems LOL! She gave me a ride home at the end of the day and here I sit. My bike is on the porch - I'll go look at it in a little bit - I'll use hubby's air compressor to put air in it!

Lessons learned today:
1. A person who rides a bike pretty much year round should really be more efficient at changing a tire.
2. A person riding a bike year round should invest in a good air pump or CO2 cartridges.
3. A person riding a bike year round should TAKE HER CELL PHONE WHEREVER SHE GOES!
4. It's good to have friends at work.
5. It could have been worse!

Have a good day and Happy riding!

Monday, November 10, 2008

While I was at Mass....

I found out today, someone had taken my debit card information and used it to buy tickets to London - effectively wiping out my account. Adios paycheck!

I called the bank - guess who gets to go through filing the dispute and an investigation.

I certainly hope that the person who took my card number and bought those tickets had a great reason for needing to go to London.

I was upset, to say the least this morning...sitting at my desk bawling, would be a more accurate assessment of my situation. I spent about 45 minutes feeling very sorry for myself before I realized that nothing I do is going to have the money back in my account today - therefore I went ahead and relaxed...Let God's will be done!

Later in the day my boss (the big deal around there) came into my office (he had spoken to me earlier in the day to find out what happened because he saw that I was upset) and handed me an envelope - with the amount of money missing from my account. He told me to pay him back when it gets straightened out or little by little...WOW! How bad do I feel for everytime I've gotten really ticked off at him? To say that I really appreciate him doing that would be an understatement. HOnestly, I can't afford to have a good chunk of my paycheck stolen.

So, I am grateful and very thankful - to my boss and to God!

I was so peaceful on the ride home that I didn't notice that the day hadn't gotten warmer than 36 degrees!

Ride Safe!

Sunday, Sunday....

Yes...I'm on a weird thing with doing song titles as blog entry titles. Don't worry - I'm not a master song guru like my husband so this little game will stop soon I'm sure. If you don't believe me just as him - I know lots of lyrics but often can't bring up the words unless I have atleast a bar of the music to go along with it.

Sunday was a great day. The kids and I went to Mass. It was actually a very wonderful mass and a very good homily. One that makes a person think, particularly about the direction of their life - about the priorities that they hold.

After Mass I went and spent an enormous amount of money on groceries (and if you ask Bob there is still nothing to eat in the house). I didn't even buy much as far as processed food except for those mini-taco's that everyone loves to snack on, and that was only 2 boxes.
I also went to the Mexican Grocery store after leaving Aldi, and Walmart, and got Carnita's (YUMMY).

After coming home I began preparing food - Sunday is the day I throw it down in the kitchen as my family would say. I cook, alot! So, dinner was a good thing.

We watched some football - Green Bay lost :( I'm not even going to begin discussing the game - I will get riled up all over again! lol.

Okay, that's about it - it was an uneventful but satisfying weekend.

Now, time to get geared up for the ride into work - currently it is 22.6 F* not much of a wind though (Thank you Lord!)

Ride safe my friends!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Somewhere over the Rainbow...

Today was a busy day. I woke up early and was sitting here watching Fox News (which is probably the most unbiased reporting I've seen in years), when it suddenly dawned on me that today was Parent Teacher Conferences...which in and of itself is no big deal except that I realized I was expected to bring in bread or some sort of thing for the teachers. YIKES! I ran into the kitchen, opening cupboards and slamming doors - trying to figure out what I could throw together - I managed to bake a large lemon cake which I cut to make look like a lemon bread. WHEW! Crisis Avoided!
Except I then had to figure out how to load the plate onto my GF Wingra (this proved pretty easy considering the rack on the bike and the straps from the panniers. I added a bungi cord and was good to go.
I left work in order to make parent teacher conferences - as I was leaving the school I noticed a rainbow. I took the pic which amazingly turned out pretty good. It had rained most of the day. I was very lucky to have made it to work unscathed by the rain and then back to the school and back home without as much as a drop! LUCKY ME!
Ride safe!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The Day After...

Isn't that the name of a movie?

Today was certainly interesting around work, and just about everywhere else I went. I heard lots about the Great Obama.

Okay, let me say - I don't think the guy is necessarily a horrible guy - I just don't like his politics. I take big issue with many of his ideas. Yes, I know that some of his ideas sound good - the problem is the consequences that can/will likely follow those ideas being put into motion.

You weigh out the good and weigh out the bad and then decide if it's worth doing - many of his ideas fall into the 'not worth doing' column.

I find it terribly disturbing that when I asked some of my co-workers why they had voted for Obama - the only reasons they could supply are not reasons that would have swayed my decision, indeed many of these reasons would have had me running the other way if I had been a supporter.
I was told that he is going to bring about change...okay - well, they all say they are going to change things, most don't change things - at least not for the better. I was told that he is a black man...well I was aware of that. Amazingly - however, I have never based an opinion on the color of a persons skin and I certainly wouldn't base my vote on it. I heard that he's going to take the guns away from everyone - that way there are no guns....WHAT? Genius idea - take away our basic rights - because in an effort to get safety we are willing to give up our rights and then before we know it we have no recourse...disarm and dismantle!

Those were the comments that stick in my mind...

What I know is this -
When someone comes along and promises me roses and poppies and beautiful things I wonder what the price for those things is. Call me a pessimist, but I don't believe that things come without a price.

I am aware that the government needs to change -I just don't see that change coming from the very people neck deep in the current government.
I don't believe that Mr. Obama was taken to task in the fashion necessary to get to the bottom of things by the media either - things were very quickly shoveled under the sand. I care more about Mr. Obama's personal views in comparison to those of that insane preacher that he was very close to. Nor do I feel that his sudden distance from said preacher was looked at closely enough.
According to him, once he's president my daughter will no longer need to let me know if she's pregnant and having an abortion - at the age of 16 - however, I still have to call her in sick to school because if she tells them she's sick they won't believe her. The state wants to fine me if she is truant from school - yet, she will be able to go have a major medical procedure that will kill an innocent child - AND could potentially end her own life without my husband or myself having knowledge of that? C'mon people - let's think a bit!
I could blab on for hours about how disturbing I think this all is. I feel that there is not enough known this man who is now our President - Elect. He ran on the word Change and everyone jumped on board.
It seems to me he's a smooth talker who is well educated, young, and charismatic.
Time will tell.

When what you are promised sounds too good to be true...

chances are it probably is.

Apparently the entire nation forgot about this little saying.

I have no doubt that for a minute it will seem that things are better - I just feel that ultimately things are going to get ugly!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Election Day 2008

Today is the day! After all the hype, the bad reporting and all of that - we are about to elect the next president of the United States of America.

I honestly don't think that the people of this country will pick the right person - I think people in this country believe the crap given to them by the media...there really is no such thing as unbiased reporting anymore. The people of this country haven't looked at the true source of things - they are perfectly happy pointing a finger and assuming that they are being told the truth by this person who is so charismatic.

So...I fear that our nation - indeed the entire 'global community' (as Obama put it) is in for the wake up call of their lives.

I'll keep my fingers crossed and say a prayer!

God Bless the USA.

Ride safe my friends - I will be leaving work and riding my bike to my election place and casting my ballot. Let's hope the right decision is made!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Toothache

Friday morning I woke up and realized that part of my tooth was no longer attached to the rest of the tooth...I went to work but at the end of the day I was in a lot of pain.

The pain didn't subside during the weekend...it just got worse. Last night I was awake every 1.5 - 2 hours because the pain wouldn't allow me to sleep. I called in this morning, I think I made Joyce a little angry - but seriously I could barely hold my head up! I did get an appointment and they pulled the tooth.

I'm not sure if I'm in less pain now - I'm actually in a lot of pain! So much that I can't sleep even though I should and could (since the kids are at school)...apparently I won't be napping though...