praising the Lord

for His awesomeness!  


carepages update for sergio the past two days has been encouraging and hopeful.  God is working in that little boy's life, please continue to join us in prayer for complete healing.  praise the Lord he is still CANCER FREE - which does not make the infections and flu that he's battling any less dangerous.  his immune system is still pphhhhttt.  he is still fighting for his life.  but being cancer free is one more mark on the GOOD side of things!  


other than a few annoyances, today was marvellous!  work went well, got to talk so some super-nice ppl, which is part of my job that i love!  lunch was interesting.  trish went out, i stayed in, and somehow got roped into a lively discussion on whose responsibility it is if a man gets caught with a prostitute.  looooong drawn out things there, that i am too tired to get into right now!  i will say this, tho - unless you're in Reno, prostitution is illegal, which means that the woman selling the use of her body is just as culpable as the man buying it.  also, LOGIC should be employed whenever a law is broken.  you can't, or shouldn't, have an all or nothing attitude toward one crime and not another.  did you know that you could be living next door to a convicted murderer and never know it, but if a guy pees by a fence, facing away from the street, and a school bus passes by, he can be charged with a SEX CRIME and put on a list of sex offenders for the rest of his life?  a person can TAKE SOMEONE'S LIFE and be out of jail living a normal life in a few short years, w/ no one ever the wiser.  and poor dude who merely made a bad judgement call about where to relieve himself has to make sure he doesn't live near a daycare or school, let all his neighbours know that he's on a sex offender's list, and risk ridicule from said neighbours.  does that seem right to you?  to me, any time you label a stupid mistake, consensual sex, etc., as a sex crime, you completely destroy any credibility. it demeans the victims of ACTUAL abuse, it equates actual abuse w/ stupid petty crap.  


sorry, stuff like that makes me see red, i tell ya!  


anywhoo...!  phil called this afternoon & said the boys would be at mom's.  i picked up some DELICIOUS noodles from Noodles & headed over to mom's after work.  : )  even though there's some drama going on, it was fabulous to see the boys & snuggle w/ leyton!  *grin*  we watched Space Buddies, which ... okay, is dumb, but cute-dumb.  like that gary coleman movie where he's an angel and comes to earth to help a football player... *laugh*  (apparently British spell checker doesn't have the word "movie" in the dictionary.  wth??)  


i must go to bed!  tomorrow i'm taking a couple hours vacation, picking misha up & we're going to see Eclipse!  excited!!  other than that, and 2 AMAAAAAZING episodes of America's Got Talent that i saw tonight, my mind's mush.  have a great one!  TTFN!

today ...

- God is love.


- true friends accept you for who you are/how you are/what you are, no questions asked.  


- i really do need to purchase an umbrella.


- i have an amazing family.


- i also have amazing true friends!


- i may be a Buffy and Angel addict, but i'm comfortable with that.  


- i still need to watch America's Got Talent, Last Comic Standing, Army Wives, Drop Dead Diva, Secret Life, Hell's Kitchen, Twenty-Six Miles, GH, and OLTL.


- i didn't watch any of those shows because i watched Angel and Buffy.

Spike makes me laugh, even when he's being all evil & stuff.

I could write a book of quotes from these shows.

I wonder how many of my favourite quotes were written by Joss?

- i need to go to sleep!  

sorry so disjointed, i am really really tired!  *laugh*  have a great night & i'll just say... TTFN!

p.s.

i updated to google chrome (which is pretty cool) and it apparently has an automatic spell-checker.  this auto spell-checker is apparently British.  and doesn't recognize the term "Google" which i just find hilarious!  : )  

later!

jumbled

what a day, what a day.  back to work, which was nice.  crazy busy, some annoyances, but nice.  : )  


one thing i've been thinking of a lot lately is this: 


Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.


congress can't abridge my free speech, so why do some ppl think they should be able to?   do you believe in the correctness of actually being free to speak/write/produce whatever is in your heart and mind?   do you believe in someone's right to their thoughts, to express those thoughts and beliefs - even if they don't agree with your thoughts and beliefs?  both sides do it - the left and the right, democrats and republicans, christians and athiests - believing they are absolutely right and the other side is absolutely wrong.  i think character is revealed, tho, and true love of the Lord and understanding of His will are shown (in the case of Christians) in how a person reacts to an opposing viewpoint.  


where did we come up with this idea that we have to fight in order to change ppl's minds?  did God command us to brow beat ppl into believing in Him?  did He tell us to call someone stupid for having a differing view?  what example did Jesus give us?  i'm not here tonight to answer these questions for you, only to pose them.  here is one more in that same vein of thought - can you share your thought/belief in a non-judgemental way?  can you listen to someone else's belief in the same way?  i'm not trying to say that every way is the right way - there certainly are absolute rights and wrongs.  each person just has been granted the free will to choose what that means for them, and we are blessed to live in a country that acknowledges that we are free to share our choices.  


sometimes things happen that have nothing to do with free will, however.  sometimes little boys get sick, and need transplants.  sometimes they get a transplant, and recover, and then all of a sudden are not recovering and are having a VERY scary time.  i just don't understand why kids get sick, and in particular why THIS kid?  why this family, this loving, giving, generous, amazing family?  not that i would wish sergio's situation on ANY family, of course.  *sigh*  things aren't looking so hot for sergio right now, but i know God is a God of miracles, and of healing.  i am praying for both.  every day, several times a day.  i've seen the other side of a prayer that's answered differently that you wanted, and so i'm praying for quite literally a miracle of healing.


thus endeth my jumbled thoughts for the moment.  my pillow is calling to me.  i can hear it now that i've turned off hulu, after watching burn notice, royal pains & persons unknown.  all great escapist television, which i just needed tonight.


take care, hug your loved ones, and ttfn.  

Fantasy Monday

just a quick little blurb about today.  it was fun!  finished season 3 of Buffy, and decided to watch season 1 of Angel next, then i'll go to season 4 of Buffy.  : ) 

mom picked me up about noon & we went to The Olive Tree Cafe for lunch.  sadly, i wasn't expecting to go to a new place.  my camera was still on my desk from uploading pictures instead of in my purse.  so, no pictures from the cafe!  *pout*  i'm sure i'll go there again, tho, it was pretty tastey (for a Coke place, lol)! 

i wanted to see eclipse or toy story 3 - mom & i had talked about seeing both of those last week.  however, apparently she saw it w/ aunt jan over the weekend, because she forgot our entire conversation.  i felt ... sad.  i mean, half the time i feel like she doesn't listen to me, but to have it so blatantly proven... idk. 

anyway, so we saw the last airbender, which was okay.  there were some really great aspects, and some not so great aspects, but all in all i enjoyed it.  mom, not so much, but she didn't like eclipse, either, and she even didn't really like toy story 3, which i think is just craziness!  *laugh*  oh, i tell you what - i am so NOT impressed by the way Rave runs things.  this theatre has been around for YEARS, and i've been going there quite often since it opened in this location.  when it was showcase, when it was national amusements, (when it was PEPSI, lol) it mostly made sense.  altho, the NA phone system was crap - couldn't ever get a straight answer for showtimes, they at least had those showtimes on their handouts.  the Rave handouts are ridiculous.  for example, the current one says it's for shows July 1 - September 30.  Then 1/2 the shows don't list ratings, and there are NO times listed.  WTH??  how is this helpful?  they're now a Coke establishment (but to be fair, it's good Coke).  and today, their management didn't anticipate the volume (hello, holiday monday??) of customers.  apparently they RAN OUT OF ICE and alllll their ice machines broke and they ran out of root beer, and 2 managers walked off the job!!?!!?  seriously.  oye.  we said okay to the no ice in the coke, but then it wasn't even COLD coke.  oye again. 

we rounded out our day of fun at the DQ for some blizzardly treats.  yum!  : ) 

when i got home, it was back to the dvd's and getting started catching up on the blogs i missed over the weekend!  i'm saddened, tho, because one of the blogs i follow has disappeared!  and i can't even get to the profile to send challis an email to see what happened!  *pout* 

back to work tomorrow.  one more episode of Angel & then i must get to sleep!  i hope your monday went well!  ttfn!  (oh yes, and i got this nifty post card in the mail...woot!  love it!) 

the super-long novel about my weekend (with pictures!)

twas a fun & happy weekend, but i'm sooooooo happy to be home!!  : )

i wrote a whole post from joy's yesterday, but it apparently did not post!  :(  and it didn't save, either, so idk what i wrote!  *laugh*  i have a very dichotomous brain - is that even a word?  i'll look it up later. (**yes, it is!**) anyway, what i mean by that is this - i hardly ever re-write anything exactly, and once i write something it is both gone and impressed.  i write in the moment, words flowing from my mind thru my fingertips onto the screen or piece of paper, when i'm writing about me or a letter or post card or something.  unless it's a form letter (like at work, where i have emails that go out that are standard & i only change the number of days requested or amount of claims processed, etc.)!  and i usually remember what i've written or what i've read (semi-photographic memory there).  however, i tend to forget it as well, unless i need it.  especially if it's a highly emotional something i'm writing.  it's like therapy - get it out & forget about it! 

but, for this post... i guess i'll just go back in time and start from the beginning of the trip!  : )

the Lord brought healing upon me (thank You, Lord!) and my tummy was much better by the time i left on friday.  the whole trip to omaha was amazingly beautiful - blue skies and some really neat sites along the way! 

i got to town around 9, i think, and stopped at the doubletree to see about a room friday & saturday.  the rate would have been okay, except they wanted a $50 "security deposit" for paying in cash.  CASH.  yeesh!  anyway, so i didn't have quite that much cash on me for 2 nights, the deposit, and spending money!  lol  i booked for saturday (or, held, can't really "pre-book" w/o a credit card) & headed to joy's.  stopped at runza first, and actually beat joy home (she had to run to the store), so chatted w/ jon & dee while i ate.  william was the first to come out of the bedroom, where the kids & a friend were watching Labyrinth.  he ran up & said, "Aunt Carrie!" and gave me a big ol' hug.  : )  kathryn didn't come out til later & william mustn't have told her i was there, cuz she, too, was surprised & ran yelling at me to give me a great big squeeze!  : ) 

had a nice night of visiting & whatnot, but sleeping was not so comfy!  joy'd turned the thermostat down ("not quite icebox," she said, "but to 70.") but apparently gracie turned it back up (cuz no one ever admits to messing w/ the thermostat!  LOL).  it was kinda warm for me!  i did eventually get to sleep about 3, i think.  and i wasn't achey or anything, so apparently the couple hours of sleep was okay!  heh. 

saturday, joy, omahamama & i went to WM for some groceries & the like.  i also picked up my Rx, which i'd been 1/2 way to des moines before remembering i'd forgotten at my WM!  interestingly, it was cheaper in NE!  hmm.  anyway, it was a nice little shopping trip, filled 2 carts of stuff, and lemme tell ya, i almost didn't come back today, because the stuff they were getting for their cookout was YUMMY!  they had kabobs!!  : )  after we brought the groceries back, we hung out for awhile & the kids semi-napped.

then, it was Party Time!  we loaded up the cars & headed to a really neat park for kathryn's birthday celebration.  everyone had lots of fun, and the weather was nearly perfect!  the kids played & played & played, i took lots of pictures, we had cake & ice cream, william buried stuff in the sand and climbed things, there was lots of spinning... heh.  good times!! 

it was very breezy, so no candle lighting!

after a couple hours, everyone was ready to get cleaned up & take naps.  i headed to the hotel to check in, but the room wasn't quite ready, so i read for awhile.  then, when it was ready... an hour & a half of quiet resting in a lovely iceboxy room, watching iron chef battles on the Food Network.  : )  went back to joy's at dinnertime & the four of us went to subway for eats.  Yummy, right?  well... okay, i know it's joy's WM, but i was not impressed.  i should've had the meatball sub like she & the kids had.  however, i ordered my seafood & crab.  w/ a little onion & a little spinach & a little mayo - all of which the guy making the sammich put too much. 

we watched the new Alice in Wonderland when we got back to joy's, waiting for fireworks time!  excited!  unfortunately, either the sammich or a random flu bug hit me about 20 minutes into the movie.  :(  so i headed back to the hotel, not sure if i'd make fireworks.  i moaned & groaned (and, interestingly, watched more food network...) and got directions to the show.  sadly, when joy texed me that they were leaving, my tummy was better but i had the start of a headache & fever.  WTH?!?  i was thinking it might've been heat exhaustion or whatever the cool kids are calling it now days.  i was really disappointed about the fireworks, i'd been looking forward to them all day!  so, i took some tylenol & went out on the balcony for a smoke...

and God gave me fireworks!!!!  : )  : )  : )   FOUR shows of fireworks, in fact!  there was one straight ahead (probably the ones joy was at) and then 3 other shows going on elsewhere.  i love being on a high floor at the hotel!  it was an amazing show, and i felt so blessed.  i know, to some, fireworks might seem like a small thing to get excited about.  aside from the fact that they are pretty and sparkly and generally make me happy, there's also this - much like a lot of things that i'm emotionally tied to, i have many special fireworks memories of dad. 

after the shows, i pretty much crashed!  comfy, comfy night's sleep.  i adore the doubletree bed, soooo sleep-friendly!  mr bear thinks so, too.  ; ) 

got up at 9 & breakfast was delivered 1/2 an hour later.  not impressed w/ the waffles, but the bacon was good!  however, they overcharged me.  d'oh!  i got it taken care of when i checked out, but i wonder how many ppl order the same thing & never even notice the extra $$?  and, even when i got the refund, it was just for the straight overcharge, not for the tax & tip, which are based on the total of the check.  (i did think of pointing that out at the time, but decided not to.)

i stopped by joy's to say goodbye (more hugs, love hugs!!) & hit the road a little after noon.  stopped at runza again for tastey goodness, too!  heh.  the drive was quite different from friday's!  rain rain rain, clouds, rain, following me... sometimes rain is kinda hypnotizing, ya know?  but it does make for awesome pictures, yes?  : ) 

it started to get sunny after des moines, and at a rest area after iowa city, i saw my cousin dawn & her hubby & chatted w/ them for awhile.  they were on their way home from a car show.  i love things like that!  (well, car shows, yes, but running into ppl i know in odd places.  *laugh*)

i made it to aunt nancy & uncle gene's at 6:30 (it took much longer to get home than to get to omaha, because i did a lot of stopping!  *laugh*  oh!  speaking of - this is one of the places i stopped - perfect day for it, too!)

so anyway, there wasn't really much food left by the time i got to the cookout, but i did have a cheeseburger & a really big gooey marshmallow that uncle frank made for me.  Yummy but messssy!  lots of visiting and playing and some sparklers and ... as always, it was a good time with family.  aunt patti & cousin rachael were there, visiting from kentucky and i got to chat w/ cousin amy, too.  she, btw, has this really neat watch from the museum of art or something.  : ) chatted w/ johnna & matt & took some cute pictures of them & nathan.  he's such a doll.  anthony & leyton were there, so of course lots of pictures!  i am the paparazzi!  lol 

(he wasn't sure if he liked it or not...)

SO CUTE!

(my battery was dying, so not a lot of CLEAR pictures from the cookout! *pout*)

i left around 9 & stopped at shell for gas & dew, then drove around looking at fireworks for awhile, before my bladder demanded i come home.  *laugh* 

(joy took a way better picture last night w/ her PHONE!)

all in all, this was an awesomely blessed weekend, and i'm so glad i have tomorrow off to recover!  : )  i hope you had a fun holiday, as well!  leave me a comment about what fun things you did, if you wanna.  ttfn! 

travel

(okay, idk why this is giving me a weird background color, and idk if it's gonna show up when i post. there's no "normal" option!  LOL)

anyway!  today is my day of travel!  it's a BEAUTIFUL day and i should really be looking forward to the trip, because it's going to be a terrific trip!  but my tummy is acting up and it's really annoying me.  :(  so, praying that'll shore up here.  i have an hour... i'm all packed, mr bear & my pillow are ready to go, blanket is still in the trunk, camera & phone are charged - and i'm bringing the chargers with, just in case.  i need to stop at WM & murphy for gas ... trying to decide if i want to get snacks there, too, or go to kwik shop (50 cent 32 oz drinks, that 32 oz will last me to almost omaha... usually!)? 

i cleaned out my purse - i have lots of sonic mints in there!  *laugh*  i almost left them out, but then i remembered that recently i've had occasion to need something at odd times.  so, they stayed! 

nothing too profound, i know, but i was watching the first episode of Fame the series & got distracted about what i wanted to write before i left!  *laugh*  oh well, Lord willin' i'll have lots of fun pictures to share when i get back sunday night!  : )  ttfn!!

bug.

so far my goal of getting to bed by midnight has tanked all week.  it's like time moves really slow for the first hour i'm home, and then speeds up to crazytime from 8 til 12!  suddenly i'm looking at the clock, saying, "oh, it's midnight already, okay i need to do one more thing & then sleep."  except one more thing turns into two ... three... and here i am at nearly 1 a.m., still awake and knowing tomorrow is a BUSY day!  bad nightowlcarrie, bad!  lol 

anyway, so this will be quick.  it was a pretty good day.  the only horrid awfulness was that a BUG was in my HAIR for an HOUR and i didn't notice until it moved.  !!!!  i was outside at 2 for a couple minutes.  then back inside.  visited the loo.  fixed a snack.  worked.  3 o'clock comes around & maurice comes over to show me the latest toy he created for me (in excel, love it!).  suddenly, my head itches, i reach up to scratch it, and FEEL A BUG.  *shudder*  i admit it, i panic a little, but only because it's been an hour since i've been outside and that means this thing has just been hanging out on top of my head for that long!  *boggle*  why didn't i feel the lil buggar before that??  oye.  anyway, thankfully maurice crushed it & threw it away in dave's trash can for me.  : ) 

ummm... after work i met mom & leyton at applebee's.  spinach artichoke dip & chips was yummy!  chicken strips were yummy!  fries sucked.  i think they changed from seasoned fries to regular or something, plus they were cold, which was annoying.  it was nice to hang out, tho, and leyton was snuggly a bit, so that is always a fun thing!  anthony didn't join us because he spent the night elsewhere.  as we left, leyton asked if i had any quarters (he loves the little machines, as all children must...including me when i was little, i know!) and then debated about a mini puppy or the plastic dice/ball/yoyo.  he went w/ the latter, and out popped the tiniest, cutest yo-yo!  : )

when i got home, i immediately prepared & hopped into the shower, washing the last traces of bug from my hair.  oye!  *laugh*  then i chatted w/ april for a bit & watched some much-needed comedy reality in the form of America's Got Talent (oh, howie!  oh, piers!  sharon's cool, too.) and Last Comic Standing.  good times!! 

i also wrote out several postcrossing post cards, and one for micaela, too!  : )  oh, and one of the ladies who i'm sending a card to loves giraffes!!  she would probably get a kick out of this picture:

AND she mentioned a project someone's doing, from (norway? sweden? somewhere like that) europe called the million giraffe project.  check it out - there are some CUTE artworks! 

oh goodness.  tomorrow the plan is to work til noon & then run errands & be on the road by 3.  please pray for a safe journey (no deer!)!!  : )  also, thank you for your prayers for sergio, please continue to keep him on your list. 

*hugs*  goodnight, bloggies!  ttfn.