Gustav's A Comin'

As of now, Gustav is over Cuba and is a category 4. Goodness. Pray that people will be sensible and evacuate where they should.

Mammogram Results - More Information

So, I picked up a hard copy of the results today to carry in to my appointment next week. Really interesting reading. Funny even....
*TMI Warning*

BILATERAL DIGITAL SCREENING MAMMOGRAPHY WITH CAD: 08-20-08

This is the patient's initial visit. She gives no history of familial breast cancer or other significant risk factors. We have performed CC and MLO views using the Logic Digital System. CAD was utilized. CC and MLO views have been obtained. The breasts are normal to small in size with normal skin and erect nipples. Several cutaneous moles are marked with radiopaque markers. A small axillary lymphadenopathy is noted. Breast parenchyma has a normal appearance. We see an 11mm slightly lobulated ovoid opacity which is better visualized using magnification but does appear to be a true abnormality. Using the features available on the Logic workstation, acuity was increased in the ML view and the mass can actually be measured at 16mm in that view. It also is much better seen and appears to be well circumscribed. There is a vague fibroadenoma but other possibilities exist. Further evaluation by ultrasound is needed. No other abnormalities are identified.

*laughing where indicated by Italics*

Mammogram Results

There is a mass. Maybe I will know more next week.

Wordless Wednesday

Gustav's A Comin'

To evacuate or not evacuate. That is the question. We shall see.

We Have A Winner!

The winner of my 200th post modest giveaway is Emily at Chatting At The Sky! Congratulations Emily! (Really, I think her house could be featured in one of these magazines!) I hope you enjoy them!

Thoughts On A Plane ~ Denver To Dallas

• Thank you, bladder
• God is good
• All the time
• I wish my jaw would stop dropping open when I zonk out
  

Thoughts On A Plane ~ Boise To Denver

• It's pretty bad when you can't even keep your eyes open during take-off.
• Are the flight attendants going to make it to me with the drink cart before I zonk out?
• Why does Coca Cola taste different on an airplane?
• Wow, that rainbow stripey design on the upholstery is just not pretty.
• Did I do enough for Ray?
• Oh crap! I forgot to turn off my cell phones.
• How is my brother older than me, yet has no gray hair?
• Dear bladder, please don't make me use the airplane lavatory.
  

WIW - Goofball Vlog edition

HisGirl and S4J ~ speaks for itself really. :)

WIW - Saint Alphonsus Edition

Cousin Angie, Brother Ray, Me

Greetings all! I am rightnowthisminute blogging from the hospital. I left HisGirl at the hotel with a headache (poor dolly)(smooches A!) My brother is currently receiving his dialysis and resting quietly. How cool is it that they have Wifi?! I came to see him on the promise that he was going to take me to a movie and buy me anything I wanted at the theater! Well, the stinker decided that he wanted to hang out with his friends at the hospital. It's been a very long day for him and I am so thankful to see him resting. I am staying the night with him just to hang out. The time is so quickly approaching when I will have to get back on the planes and head home. Ray is such a sweet and tender soul and he is FUNNY too. Super funny when he is feeling well! Thank you for all your prayers on his behalf. I know that many of my family members think I am a kook and possibly even some of them think I am a 'religious nut', but I cannot care about that. I love my brother so much and I want him to know Jesus and be able to feel that peace that comes along with Grace and looking forward to a happy,healthy,wonderful eternity. So, even if it makes people scoff, possibly including my brother, I will ask you again, to please pray for him. That he will find the relief he seeks in Jesus. And that this time that we have together will be glorifying to God.

It's A Vlog!

WIW - Thursday Afternoon

11amMDT/12amCDT/10amPDT
ITZA bowl and a new cap!

1pm MDT/12pm CDT/10am PDT
Sitting on the plane toward my final destination watching Chicas of Faith worship videos!

2:15pm MDT
HisGirl!!!!

Jenn figured out that I was in Dallas today, and Gretchen figured out that I was also in Denver today! You super sleuths! But....
Where are we now??

WIW - Thursday

5am CDT/3am PDT
Somehow an expensive bed looks the same as any other after it has been slept in

7am CDT/5am PDT

A breakfast of Champions. This is DFW!

9am MDT/10am CDT/8am PST
Layover! This city has free wifi so I am broadcasting right from the airport!



I caught up with HisGirl's adventures here! She's been a busy bee today!

Nope. I Wasn't Kidding About The Game

Well ~ I can't get there from here! So, I have to hit the road....

Proof of mammogram(Notice that they think I am RADX2!!)

1pm CDT/11am PDT
I am starting late because the 'girls' went over-time with their 'outing'



3pm CDT/1pm PDT
FINALLY picked up my sleeping pill rx and can now be on my way

5pm CDt/3pm PDT
Had to stop for a potty break. Got some gum. Ate some. Saw this church...

7pm CDT/5pm PDT
Had another piece of gum
Took the cloud pic for Jenster...

This is supposed to be my 9pm CDT/7pm PDT pic, but - a huge debacle ensued and this is more like my 11pmCentral pic.

You can follow this link for more clues! I'll be putting more clues here tomorrow!

It's A Big Day

Today is it. THE day. It's time to get squished! Here's a small sampling of what I have to look forward to....

On the day of the examination, do not wear talcum powder, deodorant, lotion or perfume under your arms or on your breasts.

Do you think they'll be bothered by the giant bandaid currently stopping the gushing flow of blood from the mole I just sliced while shaving my pits?? And do you think that mammogram technicians have exceptionally thick nose mucous?

During mammography, a technologist will position the patient and image the breast. The breast is first placed on a special cassette and gently compressed with a paddle (often made of clear Plexiglas or other plastic). This flattens the breast so that the maximum amount of tissue can be imaged and examined. Breast compression may cause some discomfort, but only lasts for a brief time during the mammography procedure.

This FLATTENS the breast? Fun.

The technologist will step behind a special shielded glass or may leave the room during x-ray exposure. The patient is asked to hold their breath and remain perfectly still for a few moments while the technologist makes the x-ray picture.

Are there people who can actually move while their breast is flattened between a 'cassette' and a 'paddle'?

I'll let you know.

Also, today begins "The game".....more to come on that.

And don't forget to scroll down to my 200th post!

200th Post!

Whoa! What do you know?? This is my 200th post since I joined bloggyville. In addition to celebrating with the cutest button EVERKNOWNTOMANKIND made by my very creative, talented AND for-hire BFFIRL, HisGirl ~ I am also doing a small giveaway. I have and am willing to part with THREE Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazines, and ONE Martha Stewart special issue for Parents and Kids (lots of decorating ideas - so cute). You can find a sampling of that below....



You don't have to be a regular reader of my blog(although you should become one) ~ or be present to win. Haha. If you're interested in having these gems of visual delight, leave a comment saying something to the effect of, "You are so great AND I want to have those magazines" If you don't care about the magazines at all, you can still leave a comment to tell me that I am great.

Tomorrow, I am thinking, begins a game. For those of you who already know the answer to the game, you are on notice that you are not allowed to give it away!

18 August 19??

Today is my man's birthday. *Waves* Happy Birthday Honey-Oat-Bran!
If good looks were minutes, you would be an hour. You're so smart you could have been a school book!

17 August 1991

17 years ago today, I was standing a few feet from my very best friend, being attacked by bees, as she said her vows. She wrote the BEST series ever that culminates today. You can read it here.
Happiest Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. HisGirl!

Singing In The Rain

It's not too often that a summer storm comes through without being accompanied by lightning and thunder. Today after school we had just such a storm and the kids took advantage...

Search Me - Google MeMe

Okay, here are some Google searches that have led people to my blog...How fun is that?


"bowling cake"
"pecan is a curse word"
"chicas amish"
"teen bliss"
"bifocals"
"ankle crutches pictures site:blogspot.com"
"worship rehearsal structure"

and my personal favorite....

"living with hunchback"

It's 12:43am Do You Know Where Your Chocolate Chip Cookies Are?

*Disclaimer* This is not me at my best and I DO see how wrong my behavior is. I may even get in trouble from my husband for posting this, but here it is ~ me in all my lovingchristianwifeness in the middle of the night.
Here's the backstory... I had shared my chocolate chip cookies with my husband some time back and asked only that he leave me 4 for just that time that I would need them. Just before that time came, he ate them.
The following is an excerpt from the IM conversation I just had with HisGirl
S4J: sadly
S4J: so sadly
S4J: I am still awake
HisGirl: so sadly?
HisGirl: I am so sorry
S4J: I did the wrong thing
S4J: again
S4J: partially out of spite
S4J: again
HisGirl: oh no
HisGirl: not spite
S4J: I found something chocolate-ey
HisGirl: you did?
S4J: and mocha-ey
HisGirl: ick
S4J: and I knew it would be caffeine-ey
S4J: and I drank it anyway
S4J: because I was mad
S4J: and desperate
HisGirl: man.
S4J: I'm so pleasant to be around.
S4J: and, somehow, I managed to let hubby know that all of these things were his fault
HisGirl: oh good
S4J: yes
HisGirl: bet he feels all warm and full of love
S4J: he actually said, "Isn't that loaded with caffeine?"(or something to that effect)
HisGirl: uh oh
S4J: me = yes! BUT IT'S THE ONLY CHOCOLATE I COULD FIND IN THE ENTIRE HOUSE SINCE YOU TOOK MY ONLY OTHER OPTION
S4J: and then he actually said
HisGirl: why did he eat ALL FOUR
S4J: (I'm sayin)
S4J: "Did you just use that mochachocolatemilk to swallow a sleeping pill?"
HisGirl: hahahahahahaaha
HisGirl: lmbo
S4J: "Why did you take a sleeping pill??"
HisGirl: rotfl
S4J: me = WELL GEE, HONEY, LOVE OF MY LIFE, MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE TOTAL TOE-LINT BECAUSE I STAY UP LATER THAN YOU
HisGirl: oh no
HisGirl: this is not going well
S4J: me = YOU WANT ME TO GO TO SLEEP WHEN YOU GO TO SLEEP AND IF I DON'T YOU COMPLAIN
S4J: me = YOU WANT ME TO BE NICE AND YOU EAT MY LAST PIECE OF WHATEVER I AM SAVING AND YOU DO NOT REPLACE IT
HisGirl: oh dear.
S4J: AND THEN YOU BADGER ME WHEN I TRY TO FIND A REPLACEMENT FOR MYSELF
HisGirl: oh dear
S4J: so, of course, what is my only respite?
HisGirl: is it wrong that you are making me laugh?
S4J: I be stupid and spiteful
S4J: and now, who is suffering?
HisGirl: you.
S4J: not the man
S4J: he is asleep
S4J: with a full belly of chocolate chips
HisGirl: oh no
S4J: maybe tomorrow's post will be a copy/paste of THIS im conversation
HisGirl: haha

I am tired. I am going to try again to go to sleep so I can get up in 5 hours to go to church and be holy in front of the whole congregation.

*Sigh*

Today is our oldest child's 17th birthday. Goodness. Today finds me pondering independence. More on that later. But for now I will say, "Happy birthday most precious child of God."

The Color of Money And Hoarding

This is the color of money. The color of fear. The color of hoarding. The color of loving things. The color of my Father's love for me.

Anxiety over getting rid of stuff. This is what I have been struggling with since we have begun putting the newly renovated rooms back together in our house. God has been prompting me for several months to simplify. And I was even able to make an agreement with my husband that if I purge now and a project or a need came up, I could purchase the supplies I needed ~even at full price ~ at the time I need them. So what is the problem? I know that my Father loves me and wants only good for me. I know that my husband loves me and will keep his word. WHY am I having stress over getting rid of embroidery floss? I don't know all of the psychology of it. I do know that God has made me to be a person who thinks to the future and prepares. He intends me to be preparing for the return of Jesus, and preparing for situations here on earth. . Satan has been working to twist this into a fear of being found lacking and into stockpiling things I haven't touched in three years(or - gross truth - longer)until there is no room to walk .
"But S4J, you are being too harsh on yourself. Don't you still do cross-stitch? Why get rid of that box of embroidery floss?? It's SOOO pretty!"

Because. I also have this





And I also have this


It has to stop. Even if we were in a fallout shelter for 17 years, I could not possibly use all of that floss for the projects that I am inclined to do. Yes, perhaps, I could use it for my whole family to floss their teeth with - but seriously - I will have enough of actual dental floss in the fallout shelter to handle that too.
After going through my crafting supplies, ONLY the cross-stitch related items, I found that I had 3 bins of floss. Approximately 8 pieces of AIDA/Linen fabric. TWENTY-SIX complete and unopened kits. And EIGHT opened and begun projects. I cannot possibly fit all of my stuff into the new space allotted to crafting by our renovations. I figured out that I had somewhere around $200.00(at full price) worth of unopened kits.

I have now Nine unopened kits (2 of which are specifically gifts for others)(Plus 9 that are going to the forever house in Texas that are the sweetest garden markers for herbs ~ which I can work on when I am visiting there), Five started projects, 1 bin of floss (which is the bin that my Aunt and my Cousin gave me as a Christmas gift many years ago where they meticulously wound and labeled the floss themselves) 1 gallon size Ziploc bag with whatever fabric would fit in it, and various hoops.
That was a really really difficult process(although it shouldn't have been) (I was actually physically shaking last night while going through my things), made easier by prayer, tough talk and sometimes patient and encouraging decision assistance from HisGirl.

I'm still working on going through my craft supplies and figuring what I really want to keep and how to fit it into the newer, prettier-but-smaller space we have allotted for it. And just thinking of that is making me breathe harder and tense up. Chill out girl! Look at this promise and claim it!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

I'll Fly Away

In loving memory of my uncle David Madden who passed away suddenly on 5 August 2008 leaving behind his wife, children and grandchildren.

The Color Of Money And Vanity

This is the color of money. The color of vanity. The color of twelve. The color of boy. The color of entering junior high. The color of special needs. The color of my love for my son.

We just got these glasses in February. They have been broken since some time near the beginning of the summer break. We tried all manner of trying to fix them and landed on this mess of glue of all glues. We always had the intention of getting him new ones to start school with. He's moving up to junior high after all and looking funny will make life harder for him. They help him see as they were designed. But they LOOK like an invitation to a festive ridicule party. Today was the day for the new exam and new glasses and because our insurance covers 1 exam per year, and no glasses ~ the whole episode was out of pocket. $308 later I feel stressed and irritable. I generally do not have a lot of empathy for matters that I consider to be vanity, but I do care for my son. There are certain things that he cannot avoid just because of who God made him. He HAS to have glasses. They HAVE to be bifocals. So the questions become, do they HAVE to be glued? Does the line HAVE to show? Do we HAVE to send him into an environment that is already fraught with yucky teenage emotion and behavior, where he is certain to be picked on for the state of his four eyes or is it within our means to help him avoid some of that burden? And, if it is within our means, is it reasonable to fork out that much money for appearances?
It was within our budget (barely, and only because I put away money every month for our visioncare needs) And today, we believed it was reasonable. And so we paid.

Do you think he will ever understand the sacrifice and love we had for him at this moment just to help him avoid pain in his life?

Will I ever understand the sacrifice and love that my heavenly Father has for me just to help me avoid pain everlasting?

"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"
Matthew 7:11

Kitchen Renovations

*Note - there are five posts in this series. I posted them so that they would display in chronological order, so keep on scrolling down through the last post of today.*

Okay, here is your view of the kitchen renovations (we are doing two other rooms concurrent with the kitchen, and I will show you the results of those too. later.)
This is the kitchen in its original state when we bought the house.



Keep going....

Kitchen Renovations ~ My Intentions

This is what I was going to use all my creative skills to create out of the kitchen we purchased and elbow grease and paint. Cause paint was all we could afford when we bought the house (well, that and the house payments)

keep going...

Kitchen Renovations First Attempt

Well, sadly ~ all the creativity of every cell of my body could not recreate our kitchen into that kitchen. Somehow I don't even seem to have a picture of the attempt at magazine perfection. I came to decide that the blue doors looked pretty horrific, but still - only money for paint. So I painted the boxes white and left the doors. It lightened up the kitchen. That's all I can say.

Blogspot won't accept the HTML code for the slideshow from Photobucket, so I will have to link you to it here...
Maybe someone will take pity on me and teach me how to do it right. Now I am really aggravated (I don't seem to have much patience with technical difficulties these days) So I have to quit. I will rebuild the next slideshow on my computer and upload it but not right now. After I have done some yoga or something. Or chocolate and soda. Or hot wings. Yes, hot wings.

Keep going...

Kitchen Renovations Second Attempt

The slideshow starts with the delivery of our new kitchen cabinets! We purchased stock, ready to finish cabinets from Lowe's. They aren't really ready to finish. They have to be sanded. I coated them with shellac (smelled like it anyway) This is the short version of the work. It's actually a fairly involved job, but saved us oodles and oodles of dollars. We did all work ourselves.(sometimes it shows)

Keep going...

Kitchen Renovations Third Attempt

*I guess I forgot to mention that we bought the house three years ago. The initial paint job and some cabinetry removal happened right away. The hole to what is now the dining room was put in maybe a year ago, and when my husband came home from Iraq this May, is when we got into the major broohawhaw. *
I was pretty pleased with the Nutmeg Brown. Until we got the cabinets up. The more work we finished, the less we liked the color. SOOOOO, we changed it. This is as current as the renovations get. We still have finish work to do. It's actually a lot more tasks, but they won't be as noticeable as the major de-and-re-construction we have done thus far.
Things really slowed way down when my husband went back to work and the children stopped going to school for the summer. When they start back up again, hopefully, I will be motivated to finish up the tasks that are mine.

My Babies

These are my babies. Our youngest. Seems like this picture was taken today. Alas, this is not the case. Today I took my babies to Junior High Back To School Days. Here is where you would see lots of Mommies posting about the sadness of knowing they would not have any more babies, never again to feel that miracle of life growing inside them, no more of seeing their little ones look at the world with wonder. You will not find that here!
I am excited for the people my children are becoming and will become and to know that we are in the downhill slope is FANtastic. "WHAT S4J? Are you saying you love the teen years???" Well, I wouldn't say that necessarily, but I love what it means for my children and what it means for their parents. They are so close to being out on their own, showing the world who they are and making their own way in life. Grab a hold of your God and go get 'em babies!