D.I.Y.

Frequently we see on ads for Lowes and Home Depot the letters "DIY". They refer, of course, to "Do It Yourself". Homeowners sometimes need to be encouraged to try and "fix" their own problems, be it at home or garage or otherwise. I'm not sure that the ads would encourage making your problems, although, of course, that is why you're trying to fix them. After my experience this week, I can be the poster child for "DIY Food Poisoning". It's really not difficult to creat your own problem. We've all been doing it for years. Just make some cream puffs; leave the cream stuffing out of the refrigerator "too long"; and make it your goal to finish the leftovers. Then prepare (or not) to spend the next day and a half in close contact with your sanitary facilities...and your bed. All is now well...but it was questionable for a while!

That Day

Ah, yes. I remember it well.

I called the pastor's wife to ask if son could spend the night at their house after school.
I picked up my "ready-to-go" bag.
I called my husband to let him know where he could find me.
I stopped at the doctor's office, since my water had broken.
I drove to the small community hospital and checked myself in.
And I waited for Baby #2 to be born.

K-9 trooper husband had an appointment to speak at a PTA meeting.
He asked if he should cancel, but there was no expectation that he would be needed here, so he went.

At 10:04 pm, our little girl made her appearance.
When I saw her, I thought there was some mistake.
She had black hair and dark eyebrows and eyelashes.
Her brother was so fair; I had assumed "all" my babies would look the same.
Silly me.

Her father made his appearance at 10:05.
It was a long meeting and lots of questions.

We had no names picked out.
Since I had named her brother, I told husband he should name the little girl.
He suggested "Jo", after an older lady in his college class.
I remonstrated that "Jo" was too short, so he suggested "JoLee".
I liked that!
So, her name is "JoLee Raye" ("Raye with an e because she's a girl")--Ray for her father and Lee for her mother. She can't get away from us.

Happy Birthday to our little, all-growed-up-and-still-spontaneous, daughter!

White

Winter 2012 came in with a vengeance this week. ICE Thursday, with all its related joys and woes. SNOW yesterday, with limited visibility, slippery roads, and personal desire to hunker down. This morning the temperature is below zero in selected spots. And this is only the first week of "Real Winter". Oh, well. As I've heard, "Every day is closer to Spring."

What if....

What if....your quarterback was limping on broken left ankle, your coach was out of the game in induced coma, your center had an ankle injury, your safety couldn't play in the game because of sickle cell issues, your nose tackle was out with knee inury, and your defensive end had a groin injury that made him unplayable? And what if your team still took the game to overtime?

I'm thinking you might want to offer a big vote of CONGRATULATIONS to the Pittsburgh Steelers for their gutsy performance for 4 whole quarters! (Well, and the whole 2011-2012 season)

Have a healing, healthy 2012, Guys!

do-over

Today is a holiday. People are celebrating the beginning of the new year.
Yesterday was the actual first of 2012, but since today is a work holiday, it must mean that we can still take on the resolutions and the partying.
January 1 brought a phone call that a friend's husband had passed from this world. Maybe today we can start over. Of course, he started over yesterday.
Calendars and celebrations do not mask the fact that real life happens every day.
God Bless all New Days.