High
May I ask a question? What in the world is the "high" setting for on an electric stove? I swear to all heaven and earth that
every time that I turn the stove to "high" the smoke detectors go off. Perhaps
that is its purpose: to enable people to check on their smoke detector without the hassle of pushing that little button. How very thoughtful! *sigh*
Regret
Today I am most deeply regretting that I am not married yet.
This is "day 2" of my being so horribly sick that I cannot get out of bed. Except for a brief moment last night when I was sick and tired of looking at my bedroom and decided to move my furniture (dumb,
dumb,
dumb idea!). The most excitement of my day thus far has been searching for my other sock that I took off in the middle of the night...evidently the monster under my bed ate it, so now I wear only one. I haven't eaten because the stairs look too troublesome to deal with. I would really love some tea right about now...the kitchen is just too far away. This post alone will take me over an hour to write.
I need someone to
take care of me: to fluff my pillows, to deliver me tea, to rescue my sock, to keep me from killing myself while moving furniture, to change the DVDs, to talk to. I am going out of my mind here!
Pity the last telemarketer to call here. She had to listen to this whole rant and more...and do you know what she said?
"Honey, you need a husband."
I hung up on her!
Home Sweet Home
I don't remember the last time that I have so
longed to come home. Being without any mode of transportation is rather hard for me. I didn't like it one little bit. But now I have my Bronco back. And I am learning all over again just how much I loved my Explorer. My mechanic hasn't had time to look at my vehicle yet. He will get to it when he has time. Until then I need to be saving up money so that I can actually pay for the repairs. ;)
I love my family but they can be so much louder than I ever remember them being. I am glad that my family has such a sense of "familiarity" but I am so glad to have a bathroom all to myself again. I think that I have turned into a rather selfish person. Or maybe there is nothing so new about the way that I am feeling. I have just forgotten that I felt this way before.
Christmas was beautiful and wonderful. I enjoyed it wholeheartedly.
I am HOME again. And it feels
so good. I have missed it.
Within Walking Distance
I am now living in Dixon with my parents hoping for a miracle with my car. I have no method of transportation so all that I aspire to do must be within walking distance. Let me assure you that I have had quite a time. I have learned far more about Mario Brothers and Stargate than I ever deemed necessary. Right now I have stolen my mom's van so that I can grab some necessary clothes and belongings (SHAMPOO!) from my home so that I can survive in Dixon for the next couple of days. I miss my space, I miss quiet Sycamore where life is not nearly this exciting, and I miss my computer. So if you are looking to find me I will be within walking distance of my parent's hacienda.
Stranded in Iowa
The drive home from Kansas City was fine once we got out of the huge traffic delay. We were even making good time. Then as we were going up a hill I realized that although I was still pushing on the accelerator we were now loosing speed. Bummer. I pulled over. Trucks were flying past me....shaking the car. It was a little after 11pm. We called dad, and then 911, and then we waited for the police to come to help us. He was a nice police officer...he looked at my car and said, "it looks like you've killed your transmission." Great. So for the second time in nine days a tow truck was called to rescue me. They towed us to a car fix it place and we walked to the motel next door. By the way I don't recommend using shampoo that you can buy from a vending machine as it just makes your hair
really dry. The Fix it place didn't really have the time or the motivation to fix my car so my dad had to drive to Iowa, pick us up, and tow my poor, pathetic, little car back. Sad, sad day indeed. However, it was rather interesting squeezing five adults into the truck cab. Oh, and we got to ride in a police car. And tow truck drivers in Iowa are much nicer than tow truck drivers in Illinois. And for future reference I think that all candidates for my future husband should own a tow truck...it just seems like a solid investment with someone like me around.
Trip to Kansas City
I traveled with my mom and sisters down to visit our cousin Katie and her brand new baby girl in Kansas City on Sunday. We had a great trip down there...except that my sisters thought that I was quite possibly the
slowest driver in the world....I just didn't want to push my car.
Lily Grace really is the most precious baby of all time. She needed to be able to see her mom or the ceiling fan in order to be content in someone else's arms, unless that someone was me...for me she had to be sleeping otherwise she would cry all the while I held her. But I still resolutely hold to my first claim that she is the most precious little one and I love her.
We didn't plan on staying too long since Katie and her husband Josh were sick so we left early....on Monday afternoon. Tina and Whit said that I should try to go a bit faster on the way home. That was when we hit traffic and were stuck for a little over an hour in a detour off of 71 which had to be entirely closed down. They teased that they thought that this was all a part of my plan to make this the longest drive....little did they know....
Early Sonnets
1
His grace and love are as the boundless sky:
From North to South, from East to West, endless
And still we sinned, He sent His son to die.
We sinned, and still, He loved us more, not less.
As Savior, God sent His begotten son,
Into a world, within the Romans' rule,
To give Jews freedom from the Evil One,
But they rejected him, as if a fool.
Betrayed, crucified, mocked, burried, doubted, dead,
Then three days later he arose, alive!
Now all one need do is but bow his head,
And God, his soul, will instantly revive!
God showed us mercy, grace, redemption, joy--
All through His son, His perfect baby boy.
2
As I alone in dark despair do lie,
Through sleepless night await the dawn of morn,
No comfort comes in dread thoughts passing by,
And blackest brooding leaves me tired and worn.
With sleep a distant thought I rise from bed,
And start to pace a path across the floor,
I think life may be easier when dead,
And thinking this I head sraight to the door.
I envy you who left me to this life,
I'm haunted by your memory so dear,
And all alone I face this constant strife,
Just wishing you were there to draw me near.
But finally I do return to rest,
And dream of you holding me to your chest.
3
A mask which hid my dark and sullied past,
Now hides the present, darker me tenfold.
While I deprive my soul in Godless fast,
I sell it not to demons or for gold.
Then what obsession leads me to this state
of blood-filled, smoke-filled, lust-filled life?
Not that I love, but rather wholly hate,
And hating, love, for all I know is strife.
Yet I once hoped for God and thus for rest,
This speck of peace I think in me doth grow.
How specks or hopes will guide my earthly quest,
I will not live to speak on this or know.
For chains of drakness finite to me seem,
If God forgiv'n his impure child doth deem.
4
O, how shouldst men conduct themselves to bear
Defeat and shame, when wounds o're them are spread?
Yea, show me, Thou who once wast slain, though ne'er
A charge wast found for what Thou didst or said.
When mocking crowds iunsult my humbled state,
Or anger-driven words at me are hurled,
My nature is, in turn, to grow irate,
Allowing foolish pride to be unfurled.
In desperate hast I cast my soul on Thee
For grace found only at Thy mercy seat.
Thy Word dost come to me and now I see,
As I upon my knees, my God, entreat!
"A gentle word canst anger drive away,
And prudence crown thy thoughts and tongue each day."
Car in Snow
White Out
Tonight was my work Christmas party and I was the center of attention. Just because I was there.
I had gone to a Scholastic Book Sale in Bloomingdale with Barbara, Bettina, and Lauren. The sales were incredible, the selection was large, and the line was lengthy. But after an hour drive to get there and a couple of hours spent making our purchases...we all agreed that it had been worth the trip. But the trip was not over yet. We stopped at a McDonald's for some much needed coffee after a long morning of shopping. That restaurant had quite the time getting our order straight but I amused my passengers with my ability to converse in a drive through and then we were back on the road. We had just passed through Virgil when I started to notice the drifts getting deeper.
In the midst of one such drift the car in front of me started to swerve. I saw the front end wobble and the back start to fishtail. I let off of the accelerator in order to increase the gap between us. I wanted to give him as much room as possible.
Then he over compensated and started turning in the opposite direction. He was in trouble and I needed to slow down. I had just unlocked my 4-wheel drive because it was making my brakes lock up in the parking lot. Dumb idea! I wasn't slowing down fast enough and his car was doing 360's in front of us. I was sure that he was headed toward the west bound ditch which looked pretty steep. But even if he was going to pull out of that tailspin I was getting too close to keep from sliding into him.
I decisively moved into the opposite lane: smooth and rapidly losing speed. But I was looking oncoming traffic dead on. The way I see it I had a few choices. Hit the spinning car in my lane, hit oncoming traffic head on, or go for the opposite ditch. You had better believe that I glanced at my passengers, who had silenced the conversation, did a rapid seat belt check (not that I could have done anything about that if they hadn't been buckled...but thankfully they were), and I went deliberately into the ditch.
As with most snow impacts this one was silent and greatly cushioned. As soon as we hit the shoulder my front end nose-dived throwing a blanket of snow over my windshield. White out! Great! Now I can't see. I tried to keep moving as I ploughed up the embankment, the snow blanket fell out of view and we came to a very sudden halt. Darn. I am going to need a pickup truck and a log chain.
Immediately I notice that we are at a startling angle. Looking from the driver's side to the passenger side was like looking
way down. I looked at the coffee that I still held in my right hand amazed that I hadn't spilled a drop. From here the details get fuzzy for a while.
I remember apologizing a couple of times and feeling light headed and shaky. We all laughed for a moment assuring each other that we were all fine. I climbed out of the Explorer to assure the concerned witnesses that we were all fine as my cell phone equipped friends called AAA.
This being Bettina's first winter in Illinois she is rather excited about the snow. We joked about how she must be so excited to be enjoying her first "ditch experience." She did make a couple of calls that were quite humorous to assure everyone that she was ok...but in a ditch for the first time!
As fate would have it the car that witnessed this beautiful thing was a former student of mine who was with his mother. By Monday, I can assure you that the whole school is going to know about this incident that involved three of his teachers. I think we should milk it for all that it is worth and go in with neck braces, ace bandage wraps, and crutches.
A tow truck stopped but wanted $95 to pull us out. We said that AAA had already been called. He laughed saying that we would be waiting for a while.
A creepy guy with a van pulled over and insisted on helping. He told my passengers that they should get into his van claiming that he had "treats." Barbara said that her mother had told her never to get into a stranger's car,
especially if they offered you treats. He was of no help. He left.
He came back about a 1/2 hour later. This time with his kids and some nylon rope stuff. It is pretty heavy duty. My dad uses it for stuff like this. But my car was seriously burred. In order for me to lock in my hubcaps I had to wade through thigh high snow, dig just to find the front tire, dig even deeper to find the little lock thing. Needless to say...after trying to dig me out, shove rugs under my tires for traction, and breaking his tow rope...he left again. Confused that he had been unable to save the day. He declared that I was going to need a "serious rig" to get out of that mess.
Enter the useless sheriff. I don't know how this guy thought he was being helpful, but after asking if we wanted to file any sort of a report, he just sat in the squad car. He did however, suggest that we call AAA back to get the company's name so that he could call and hurry them along. We had already been in the ditch for over an hour at this point with no sign of them.
Next came the guy with the BIG truck. He was interested in helping. Especially once I had tried to explain that it was pretty hopeless due to the last failed attempts. Challenge a man's ego and he will do anything for you. ;) This guy was pretty impressive. He jumps into the truck bed and produces a shovel and a real tow rope. I thought that this just might work. We broke his tow rope
twice. He just wasn't willing to give up.
The police officer then tells us that the company that AAA was "sending out" was not yet on their way because they were waiting for some sort of confirmation or something. Did they think we were joking about being stranded in a ditch buried in snow?
We decided to cancel the AAA call and get
any tow truck that could come. The police officer mentions that it may still be a while since the driving conditions are so bad out.
The nice guy with the BIG truck (whose name I never did get) told me at this time that he was going home (20 min away) to get his log chains and that he would be back here in 40 mins to get me out unless the tow truck got here first.
The tow truck got there about 5 mins later. Low and behold it was the same $95 guy that had first stopped. He laughed at me and told me that he had been right all along. He had me out in 5 mins tops. 5 mins. = $95 I am going to quit my job and become a tow truck driver.
It felt so good to be on the road again after sitting in a cold ditch for over 2 and a half hours. I had been up to my waist in snow which had melted, soaking my jeans and then freezing them to my skin. I actually had to tear them off my body (ouch!). I cannot tell you how good
heat felt.
I felt really sad that guy with the BIG truck didn't make it back on time to save the day. I really kind of liked him. And I really DIDN'T like being laughed at and hearing, "I told you so!"
I rode with Barbara and her husband to the Christmas party tonight: thankful to be a passenger. Our story
was the conversation of the evening. Being the center of attention isn't everything that it is cracked up to be.
I wish that I could say, "Thank-you" to the guy that tried to help me. I may have to employ some stalker-ish tendencies...
I checked my car and I didn't notice any damage other than a missing "Ford" emblem. And yes, my spare keys are still safe..."Those things are amazing!"
Snow Day
Last night, I was kinda hoping that there would be a "snow day" today and I wouldn't have to go in to school. But this morning it was so beautiful! I just had a positively wonderful day! I for one don't mind driving in the snow. I don't have any place to be so urgently that I need to rush about. I just take my time and all goes well. And while I normally dread shoveling there is much to be said about the joys of living with a married couple, I don't have to shovel...or take the trash out for that matter. Snow is so enjoyable if you have the time to do so. I bundled up and went for a "walk" last night that involved making snow angels and attempting to travel in straight paths. And it is never so cold right after a snow. At least not like the crazy temperatures of earlier this week. Anyway today was lovely to me. What a beautiful snow day. And we don't even have to make it up in June. ;)
Pride and Prejudice
Exactly. What an excellent story! I greatly enjoyed this movie and I am in the midst of enjoying the book. I cannot believe that I have been so hesitent to read Jane Austin in the past. All of that has changed because of this movie and a couple of other hints allong the way. ;) If you have an opportunity, see the movie, or if you are interested in classic English romance then read the book. Both are well worth your time.
