Tag! I'm It!

I've been tagged by Adrienne at With a Grateful Heart to share seven weird or random facts about myself.

First I have to post the rules. Then I tell you about me - what you may (or may not) want to know. The rules are:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

OK. Here goes!
1. I eat ketchup on my macaroni and cheese. Doesn't matter if it's homemade or from the blue box, I put ketchup on it. My son thinks this is hilarious - this coming from a child who was 16 before he'd eat green beans without a side of barbecue sauce!
2. My first "real" job (other than babysitting) was a combination lifeguard/dishwasher at a summer camp. There were two of us who would alternate every other week - one week at the pool, the next week in the kitchen. We made a whoppin' $15 per week plus room and board!
3. While I was working at the camp, I got to sing "on stage" with Kenny Marks. This was back in the dark ages when contemporary Christian music was in its infancy. He was making a name for himself by singing at camps and Christian coffee houses and for church youth groups. You can imagine the group of starry-eyed teenage girls ready to swoon when he asked us to join him on stage for a couple songs. He actually borrowed some sheet music from me that summer but forgot to return it. I went to see him later that year at a church in my home town. He actually remembered me and asked me to meet him at the stage after the concert so he could return my music to me!
4. I used to make costumes for Medieval Times Dinner Theater. Not the beautiful costumes that the king or queen wore. Once in a while I did get to make an occasional costume for the knights. I made costumes for the BIG stars of the show! The horses! I'm not sure exactly HOW I got stuck doing the horse trappings. I think it could be because I had the only sewing machine that would sew through the pleather they used at that time. Hey, I needed a second job. Beggars can't be choosers!
5. I dated John Hancock when I was in high school. Really! OK, I dated the guy who PLAYED the part of John Hancock in our high school presentation of the musical 1776.
6. I'm the youngest cousin on my dad's side of the family. I had first cousins who were up to 60 years older than me. Daddy was the youngest of 7 children - actually born on one of his half sisters' 30th birthday. I was a "surprise" when my parents were 43. You do the math. It was definitely a novelty at family reunions.
7. I met my husband on a blind date. We had a mutual friend who'd had a stroke. Terry couldn't remember his name half the time, but he did remember that he wanted to fix his fishing buddy up with that friend of his wife's who worked at the hospital (couldn't remember my name either). After several weeks of playing "dodge ball" figuring he'd eventually forget about it, we all decided that the best thing to do was to all go out to dinner together and get it over with. I was a year out of a bad 15 year marriage and had absolutely NO interest in dating. Tony had come to Florida to work for his parents after being laid off from his job of 7 years and was ready to pack up and go back to NY because he hated it down here and he wasn't really interested in meeting anyone either. But, we all went out to dinner - just to make Terry happy. That was on August 19, 1994. On November 19, 1994 Terry walked me down the aisle on Tony's and my wedding day!

Well, that's about as random as I can get. It's probably not as weird as I can get, but we won't venture down that path.

Since nearly all of my new friends from the land of blog have already been tagged in the not so distant past, I won't officially tag anyone except for
Sharron at Vintage Girl at Heart. For the rest of you, please feel free to leave a random, weird, or little known fact or two about yourself in my comments.

The Joy of Change

Like it or not, constant change is part of modern life. What in the world doesn't change?

1. God'l love
2. Friendship with His Son
3. The power of the Holy Spirit

When you think you've had just about all the change you can stand, reach out and take one step further into God's wide arms. Though his love, friendship and power never change, He made you with a big elastic spiritual cord that stretches with every tug and pull. He knows exactly how much give it's got. If He's calling you to stretch, He knows you've got what it takes. Reach!

God knows change can make your life richer. Live for today but hold your hands open to tomorrow. Anticipate the future and its changes with joy. There is a seed of God's love in every event, every circumstance, every unpleasant situation in which you may find yourself. Don't get stuck in a rut or hung up on an outdated blessing. You serve a God of change!

Barbara Johnson

Thrift Store Scores!

Look at all the beautiful old tattered quilts and chenille throws I found tucked away on a shelf at the Neighborhood Thrift Store today! They smelled of cedar. I can only imagine the stories they must hold in their fibers. You could tell they had been loved and used because of their tattered state. I wish I could let whomever they belonged to originally know that each piece has found a home where it will be loved and appreciated.

Blessings

Retail Therapy

There is nothing like a little retail therapy and a time of fellowship with one of your best friends (we've hung around together for so long that people think we're sisters) to bring sunshine to an otherwise cloudy week. My friend Peggy's oldest daughter is getting married in less than a month. We had gone shopping for Peggy's dress a few weeks ago, but I wanted to wait a while to get anything for myself because of my weight. I've been on a downward slide since I was diagnosed 8 months ago as being a diabetic. Well, with MWHITW out of town this week, we decided to plan a girls' night out. Of course I went with a specific style and a specific color in mind. First store . . . . NOTHING! Well, nothing as far as dresses go, but we both found Aigner sandals for 80% off! Hey, these are the gals who love hand-me-downs, rarely shop in "real stores" for clothes and absolutely refuse to pay full price for ANYTHING! So, when a pair of designer label shoes costs $8.49 . . .that's cause for excitement. Second store . . . . NOTHING! By this time it was almost 8:30. Everything closes at 9, so there's no use in stopping anywhere else, right? Well, maybe just one more. A quick run into Sears just to look wouldn't hurt. A parking place right in front of the door was waiting for us. Hmmm!? We walked into row after row after row of CLEARANCE dresses! We looked (here's one but it's way too small), and looked (ooooh look at this one, but it's way too big), and looked (this would be a great church dress but I'm not looking for a church dress) and looked (hey! this isn't even close to the color I wanted and the style isn't something I would normally chose, but what do you think?). A rich, dark green kind of a moire tone on tone with tiny black jet beads on the lapel and a little flounce detail on the skirt. Peggy loved it! I loved it. Right size? Well, maybe but my butt has been shrinking at a much slower pace than my top half so the skirt is iffy. "Attention Sears shoppers, the store will be closing in 5 minutes". Drat! No time to try it on. That's OK. I'll go ahead and get it and if it doesn't fit, I can always bring it back, right? Off to the cash register. There was one lady in front of us so I used the time to check the suit over to make sure there are no hidden flaws. NO PRICE TAG! 50 gazillion dresses to chose from and I found the one with no price tag! A quick run through the racks to check for another one like it. Nope! OK . Deep breath. I'm the last customer of the night. The clerk can't hate me for bringing a price-less item to her. When we stepped up to the register, I explained my dilema to her. Not a problem. "Manager to women's apparel". Nobody came. Then this sweet little cashier said, "hang on". She checked the label, ran off to the racks, grabbed a dress with the same label (not a bit like the one I had, but it had the same label) scanned it and said . . . are you ready for this . . .wait, can you repeat that? . . . . "will $14.90 be OK?". Peggy and I looked at each other and said "uh huh, that sounds fine". I paid the sweet little cashier and we calmly walked out of the store. Once we hit the parking lot. . . . well, all I can say is that there were two usually very calm, cool and collected middle aged women doing the happy bargain dance and high fives all the way to the car.

Dinner out $7.50. Shoes $8.49. Dress $14.90. Time spent having fun with your "sister" . . . PRICELESS!

P.S. Tried it on when I got home. The skirt fits like a dream! I'll need to make a couple quick alterations to the top, but basically IT FITS!!!

Blessings!

Farewell

Many, many thanks to all of you who expressed your love and concern for our buddy Buck. It is with a heavy, yet thankful heart that I must tell you that Buck passed away peacefully in his sleep last night. He evidently never regained conciousness and he didn't suffer - for that I am thankful. As I'm certain everyone who has a pet (no matter how big or small) knows, these furry four legged family members leave their paw prints permanently imprinted in our hearts.

Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers!

Moanday, Monday

It's Moanday! Usually Monday is no big deal to me. Just another day in another week. Today, however . . . . well let it suffice today that if this is any indication of what the rest of my week is going to be like, I may have to seriously consider getting in my car and running far, far away from home! MWHITW and our friend Arthur (pronounced ahtha - he's a teensy weensy bit - OK he's a LOT British) left at 6AM bound for Kentucky with a load of stuff to put in storage and to finish up the plumbing on our friends' new house. I was a little worried because their trip up I75 was going to take them directly into the path of severe storms. All is well, though. They ran into a little bit of rain. Nothing severe, though, and shortly after they crossed the Georgia line the storms stopped. (Insert heavy sigh of relief and a big Praise the Lord). Alrighty then! They sent part of my work through early. Great! I can get a jump start on things. So, with both furry animals outside enjoying the beautiful weather, I sat down to type. 5 patients worth of dictation later I heard the most pathetic, heart wrenching howl/screech/yelp. I looked out the window and saw the big dog on the ground. Long story short . . . I'm home alone with a 65 pound dog who has possibly had a stroke and is having seizures, a 10 pound doxie who wanted nothing more than for her big buddy to get up and play and not a neighbor in site. I was finally able to get to the phone and call my handsome, talented son who hopped in his trusty steed (a.k.a. the Kia Sportage) and was here in less than 10 minutes. Now the fact that he was here in less than 1o minutes would usually give me grounds for a lecture because he lives 10 miles away with at least 5 stoplights and a long stretch of town where the speed limit is only 40 between us. However, under the circumstances, I was just so glad to see him I'll save that lecture for another day. We were able to roll Buck on to his blanket and lift him into the back of my car just before the downpour came. I rode in the back with him and wonderful son drove us to the vet's office. Fortunately the rain stopped just as we pulled into the parking lot and we were able to get the big, furry one inside. His temperature was over 104, which in doggy degrees is about 4 degrees high. He was totally unresponsive. They took him immediately to the bath tub and bathed him in cool water in an effort to lower his temperature as quickly and safely as possible. The vet said they were going to give him IV fluids, run a battery of tests and observe him at least over night. When we left him (which was really a hard thing to do) he was still unresponsive. A phone call from the vet a while ago wasn't all that encouraging either. His blood sugar was 40, his liver enzymes are extremely high and he's still having mini seizures. They've got him on IV glucose and fluids and Valium (can you pass some of that Valium to me, please?). She didn't sound very hopeful. He has been a part of our family for 12 years - the same length of time we have lived in this house. I have a feeling this is going to be a really, really, really long night.

But the Greatest of These . . .

Love bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

endures all things.

Love never ends.

So Faith, Hope,

Love abide;

But the greatest

of these is Love!