October 2003 archive:: brnwebgrrl

home::about me :: musings :: archives::contact ::

October 2003 Archive

October 31, 2003 9:25:07 AM

I'm A Pumpkin, You're A Pumpkin.
Don't You Wish Everyone Were A Pumpkin?

Being a human is much like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yuck -- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and lights the brightness inside you.

That little gem was emailed to me from a friend, so I'm passing it along. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have ambivalent feelings about Halloween. For those who are into it, enjoy yourselves safely. Tonight I'll be snuggling up with a cup of tea and a good book while Daryll takes the girls out.

October 29, 2003 3:35:24 PM

On Sunday afternoon I finished my first shawl. It is a Magical Mystery Shawl, made using a pattern I found online at a delightful knitting blog site called, Stasia's Place of Grace. I made it from some homespun because I was not able to get any Koigu. I added a tassel to each of the three corners. My sister-in-law really likes it and wants me to make her one. I wore it in to work yesterday and got many wonderful compliments on it. It really is fabulous. I work downtown and I have been seeing so many women wearing shawls and stoles and wide scarves, and I'm glad that I was able to make my own.

I can't believe that we are getting ready for Jordan's first birthday. This year has been a blurr! My baby is growing right before my eyes. She is getting so tall and now she has two little teeth in the bottom front. She has begun to mimic sounds that she hears. She says, "Uh-oh!" If she drops something on the floor or when she plops down on her bottom. She tries to say, "hello," when she talks on her little toy cell phone. Her favorite song is, 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider.' She loves to make the hand gestures that go along with it. The only problem is that if you sing it to her once, you have to repeat it about five or six times. She loves to give hugs and kisses, and when she gives kisses she even makes the whole "mwhaaah!" sound. Very cute. We're just going to have a small family gathering for her first birthday because my sister-in-law is having a huge bash for her own birthday, which is the next day. I just praise God for a happy first year with my sweet girl. She is going to be an amazing woman when she grows up.

October 27, 2003 10:33:09 AM

I survived the Walk for Diabetes on Saturday! Former Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose was one of the speakers before the walk began. I walked with a team called "The Divine Walkers," and we completed the four-mile route in two hours. There was a huge anti-war rally on the Monument grounds, so we had to wade through that crowd at the beginning and the end of the walk. I am so glad that I joined a team. They turned out to be a wonderful group of women who work at a big law firm on Pennsylvania Avenue. They were so friendly and welcomed me to their team. We had a great time, but just beyond the two-mile mark we were all feeling tired and ready to be finished. We encouraged each other to press on and we all made it to the finish.

The walk was well planned with the exception of the lunch. They provided free lunch to all of the participants, however, because they were set up downtown giving out free food, they quickly ran out. By the time we got back there was not much food left. That was the only real disappointment. Our team talked about getting together to do a fund raiser as a team next year so that we can raise even more money. Our team met our goal, which was very encouraging. Thank you to everyone who supported me financially and emotionally.

When I got home from the walk, I soaked in a hot tub with bath salts and I tried to keep stretching out my leg muscles, but despite all of that, my legs were really stiff and sore on Sunday. They are only mildly sore today, but I can definitely tell that my leg muscles are stronger. I am also proud of the accomplishment of completeing the walk, and getting to know some wonderful people.

Today is my father-in-law's 88th birthday, so we celebrated last night. He has Parkinson's disease, which is slowly robbing him of his vitality. His voice is weak and soft, and his movements are slow and halting. His eyes water and he drools sometimes because he is losing control of the muscles that control those functions. It is difficult to see him slowly succumbing to this disease. It's like watching death creep up before your eyes and it's painful to watch. His birthday celebration was wonderful. All of his children and grandchildren surrounded him and the house was filled with laughter and fun. I made a pineapple upside-down cake, which is his favorite, and he enjoyed it and thanked me for it. He had a happy time.

October 23, 2003 10:15:33 AM

I had my first session at Curves last night. I signed up and they weighed me and took my measurements, and checked my body fat and BMI--which were both dangerously high. I was giddy to see that my scale at home is off by quite a bit because according to their scale I weigh 10 lbs. less than I did that morning at home. Anyway, the Curves workout is no joke. My heart rate was right up there in the target zone, and I definitely felt my muscles working. It's a little tricky to learn the new equipment, and to get into the groove of moving along in a circuit, but after awhile it's fun. It's also great to workout in a group of upbeat women. Everyone was smiling and laughing and friendly despite the fact that these machines were kicking our butts. I'm looking forward to going again on Friday.

When I got home, all I wanted to do was to collapse in a chair. I was thrilled to find that Daryll had cooked dinner already. I ate a tiny bit of dinner, braided Leila's hair and climbed into the bed. I knitted a little bit on my shawl as I watched the West Wing. I tried to stay up for Law & Order, but I fell asleep exhausted but feeling good from my workout.

October 22, 2003 12:26:07 PM

My days have been so busy that I have just not had the time to blog much recently. We had a pretty good weekend. On Saturday, I did a little bit of light housework and then joined Jordan on her morning nap. When Daryll got home from a project at work, I went by myself to shop for some new sneakers, and to the fabric store to look for some fabric that you can put through the printer. When I got to Hancock fabrics, I was pleasantly delighted to discover that they now carry almost the complete line of Lion Brand yarns. A few skeins of Homespun jumped into my basket as I walked by. I found the printable fabric, and it comes with the adhesive already on the back. All you do is put it through the printer and then press it on with the iron. Pretty cool.

I started a shawl for myself with the Homespun, and I've made some good progress on it. On Sunday, We drove to Camp Crowell, which is a Girl Scout Camp, to teach a knitting class. The whole family came and they played in the woods while my class was going on. It was a beautiful setting in the Northern Virginia woods, and we had a lovely afternoon.

Last night on my way home from work I finally stopped by to check out the new women's gym called, Curves. I've been seeing the ads on TV, and my mom belongs to one in New Hampshire, and she raves about how much fun it is. I have been wanting to join a gym, or take a class, or do something to get my behind moving. I have been on a plateau as far as my weight loss goes, and I need to kick it into high gear. The location is convenient, and it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. It's a 30 minute workout that is a combination of aerobic and resistance training. I'm going to join for a month to give it a try and see how I like it and how I can make it work with my insane schedule.

Well, our new devotional book, Fuel, arrived last week. Brianna and I have been doing the devos in the morning because she and I are the last ones home in the mornings before school and work. Some mornings it's like pulling teeth, but we're pushing through. At the end of each devo, which we usually do while I eat and she does her hair or prepares her lunch, I ask her three questions that she must think about and bring the answers to the next devotional time. There has been much whining and eye-rolling and huffing and puffing, but she is doing it. My girl is so much more confident and sure of herself than I was at her age. She is a natural leader and I am trying to impress upon her the opportunity she has to set a good example for her friends to follow. The book is great and I definitely recommend it if you've got a teenager and you want a good resource to maximize those 'sacred seconds' of teachable moments with them.

I just realized that we have only four more years with her at home. I can feel a heightend sense of urgency to make sure that she is equipped and prepared to handle life on her own beyond the protective walls of our home. The only thing that gives me peace about it is the fact that I know that the Holy Spirit will always be with her to guide her and comfort her when I can't be there.

October 17, 2003 5:00:39 PM

It's late on a Friday afternoon and I'm looking forward to the weekend. I'm finally feeling better after being in bed for two days with an icky cold. Now Jordan has it, and she HATES being congested. This morning she kept sputtering awake and swatted angrily at her nose because she was so stuffed up. I got her some decongestant, which should help her (and me) sleep a little better tonight.

No big plans this weekend Since I did a lot of cleaning on last Monday, and laundry this week, I plan to kick back and chill a bit this weekend. I need to get a new pair of sneakers so that I can break them in this week before my big Diabetes Walk-a-Thon next Saturday. I'm looking forward to it.

On Sunday afternoon, I'll be teaching knitting at a Girl Scout event in Virginia. The girls have organized this event themselves. Several people have volunteered to teach those cadets to knit who don't already know how. Then the girls will be knitting squares that will be sewn together into blankets that will be donated to a mission in Mexico. For the past two weeks I've been knitting up a bunch of these squares in my spare moments, so I'll have a nice little bag full to donate when I get there. I was a girl scout, so I try to help them out whenever I can. When Leila is in first grade, I'm going to see about starting a Brownie troop at her school.

Whilst I was rooting through my dwindling stash of yarn I came across a baby sweater that I had started for Leila but never finished. I tried it on Jordan and it fits perfectly. I added a little crochet edging to the hood and the sleeves, and I'll add a zipper and it will be ready to wear. It's an adorable, red, seed-stitch cardigan with a hood. I also found a couple of other abandoned projects that will be salvaged and made into hats that I can donate to charity. I am determined to use up all of this yarn that I have been schlepping through life with me. I won't say that the real reason I am clearing it out is to make room to acquire more yarn. . .

October 8, 2003 11:38:20 AM

Part of my morning routine in schlepping the girls to the babysitter and school in the mornings is listening to Christian radio in the car. I have learned a lot and gained much insight from listening to the Bible-based, family-centered programs. Today on Focus on the Family, Dr.Dobson's guest was Joe White, who has written a book called, Fuel, which is a devotional guide for parents and teens. Also on the program were Mr. White's two youngest children, who were young adults. They talked about their experiences growing up with their parents who had strong convictions about family devotions. They had two devotionals a day with their kids, and they had four children! Two devotionals a day. The kids were very honest about the fact that these were not sit down, organized devotionals, rather they were conducted in the course of hectic mornings with kids getting ready for school and parents preparing for work. Mr. White said that just as you would not forget to feed your kids food, you should not forget to feed them on the word of God. He said that we should not worry about getting it right because we are not the ones we want our children to look up to, rather we want them to look up to and worship and revere, Jesus. That totally inspired me and convicted the crap out of me. My husband and I are both Christians. We tithe, we go to church and we pray and read our Bibles, but the one area we have been sorely lacking is in exposing our children to the word on a daily basis.

Focus on the Family is doing a 30-Day Challenge using the book, Fuel. The deal is this: spend 10 minutes a day connecting with your child around the word of God. It's as simple as that. I've ordered the book and I'm going to join in.

When I was a child, we did not do family devotions. We were at church all of the time because my mother worked in the pastor's office, and then she started a school so she was there teaching Monday through Friday. On Saturday's we were back at church for catechism class, but that was not Bible study, rather it was learning and memorizing the Articles of the A.M.E. church, crafts, and fun activities. My parents divorced when I was young, and then my mother left the church because she was disillusioned by the hypocrisy that she saw firsthand. I was about eight when she took us out of the church, and it was very scary for me because they used to constantly talk about people who did not attend church as "heathens," or "backsliders." I was never quite sure what that meant, but I knew that as long as we were going to church every Sunday we were OK. I'll never forget having the feeling that God was going to strike us down because we had stopped going to church. My mother, while her intentions were good, did not do an adequate job in explaining to us why we were not going to church any more.

She wandered around for a while looking for a church and then she found this relgious cult and joined it dragging us along with her. I was confused beyond belief. Consequently, as an adult, I had to search to find my place to believe. I knew that there was a longing in my heart for something real, and true that I could depend on, but I wandered like a blind man in the desert. Then one day I knew that it was Jesus and that He had been with me all along. He abided with me while I wandered, and he never let me stray too far. He kept me and protected me and then, when the time was right, He drew me back to Himself and to His warm embrace. I know in my heart that I will never leave Him because He has promised that He will never leave me nor forsake me.

I want my children to be secure in the knowledge of Christ for themselves. I will share the word with them and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. God's word is like a healing balm. I have a feeling it's just the thing we need to quiet the chaos that sometime reigns in our household. Amen

I saw this quote in a great Christian writer's newsletter that I subscribe to, and I had to pass it along. Be blessed.

"Say not you cannot gladden, elevate, and set free; that you have nothing of the grace of influence; that all you have to give is at the most only common bread and water.

Give yourself to your Lord for the service of men with what you have. Cannot He change water into wine? Cannot He make stammering words to be instinct [imbued, filled, charged] with saving power? Cannot He change trembling efforts to help into deeds of strength? Cannot He still, as of old, enable you in all your personal poverty 'to make many rich?'
God has need of thee for the service of thy fellow men. He has a work for thee to do. To find out what it is, and then to do it, is at once thy supremist duty and thy highest wisdom. 'Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.'"
(Canon George Body, b. 1840).

October 7, 2003 1:15:37 PM

Jordan started at her new child care provider yesterday. When I left she was sitting quietly on Ms. Beverly's lap while she fed another little child. Jordan was watching intently and appeared perfectly comfortable. I was so relieved. She has been very clingy lately, and I thought that we were going to have a lot of crying drama with the new provider, but she was fine yesterday. I dropped her off this morning, and she was good again. She was pointing at all of the toys with eagerness and excitement. I feel so much more at peace now that I know she is on good hands. Ms. Beverly has been friends with Daryll's parents since before he and his twin were born. She is a warm, thoughtful woman who exudes a sense of calmness that is reassuring. I think that this is going to be a great arrangement for Jordan and for our family. I am thankful to God that Ms. Beverly had an opening when we needed care.

I was at CVS the other day and I saw along side my low carb bars, the new Atkins Crunchers. They are actually not too bad. I was looking for a snack to fill those late-afternoon munchies that I sometimes get. I'll not be eating these too often because they are outrageously expensive, but I don't hate them, and they do make a nice little crunchy, salty snack without the guilt.

home::about me :: musings :: archives::contact ::