Back to the old grind...

Hello!  The summer is finally winding down so hopefully I'll have more time to blog and other things.  It has been a crazy whirlwind of a summer, with craziness reigning supreme.  Hopefully things will slow down so I can take stock and figure out what I should be doing and what I will actually be doing.  I'm sure the world is waiting to hear...not to mention my poor boss, and my job I have let slide while medical appointments and life in general has shoved to the back burner.  Me thinks I'm in a bit of trouble there, since the boss has been a bit cautious (shall we say) about assigning me hours.  In my opinion he needs me so it's only his own nose he is cutting off considering I did nothing intentionally.  At this season of my life I can only do what I'm capable of, and he'll have to learn to hear the word "no" from me in a way he hasn't in the past.

I was thrilled to attend this year's Woman of Faith event in Washington, DC.  Quite a switch from last year when a hurricane was bearing down on us!  We stayed till the very last song was song and word was spoken, but it was a wild ride home last year, let me tell you!  This year the weather was perfect, the speakers were fantastic, and the people they brought in to sing were amazing!  We heard from Sandi Patty, Mandisa, and Amy Grant along with the regular worship singers.  Ballet Magnificat were there as well to dance and inspire us.  Our speakers this year were outstanding, Andy Andrews, Brenda Warner, Christine Caine, Marilyn Meberg, Patsy Clairmont and Sandi Patty.   

I learned you can have contentment even if you have a bob cat in your bird bath! Forgiveness doesn't make the other person right but it does set you free! Those that are planted in the Lord shall flourish. Contentment is achieved by what you think, maintained by what you believe, and sustained by what we do. God reclaims, reframes, and renames. God speaks through unexpected people in unexpected places. Nagging is NOT a spiritual gift! Discipline a child when he is young or you will ruin his life. We matter to God! It was a great growing experience!! Can't wait to see what I will learn next year!!

So...here are a couple of "monkeys" I sat with at the conference.  We call each other monkeys because of one of the speakers last year telling us this story about an experiement they did on monkeys...by sticking one monkey in a room filled with loud noises and obnoxious lights and then testing his stress hormone levels in his blood.  They next put the same monkey in the same room but added another monkey so he was not alone.  When they tested his stress levels then, they were cut in half.  Having a monkey share your traumatic experiences lowers the stress of those experiences.   We have been calling each other monkeys ever since.

We had a scrumptious dinner at a restaurant near the Verizon Center in Washington.  I'm trying to remember the name but it escapes me right now.  Anyway, here is my main dish and my Monkey's dish as well, doesn't it look too pretty to eat?  (Mine is the smaller one with the orange garnish on top)

One thing I took away from this conference is that our children will cherish memories and memorabilia after we are gone.  I know many people my age and older who love reading the messages and notes left in the margins of Bibles and books.  I keep a small notebook of notes I have taken during sermons, conferences, and from my own Bible study.  I don't know if Ben will ever appreciate my thoughts (some of them, as you know, can be a bit off the wall!), but I keep taking them none-the-less.  I like to revisit memories, and record hard lessons I hope my experiences will  keep my loved ones from making in the future.  One of the speakers kept two Bibles and made the same notes in each one, one for each of his sons.  I thought that was an excellent idea!!

I don't think I showed you what was waiting for us when we got home from vacation last post.  Our cat sitter is the best!!  It's wonderful having someone you can trust take care of your pets, houseplants and other things while you are away.  He always goes above and beyond and has a heart of gold!  That's why we usually tip him so well, because he has come through for us so many times on short notice.  When we arrived home after our last trip we found this picture waiting for us with a note that he was inspired by Wyland.  I have a number of cross stitched pieces with whales in them, so I'm pretty sure he knew we liked whales!  LOL  Wasn't that thoughtful?  And isn't he TALENTED???

While we were back in NY visiting relatives, DH's brother surprised him with a paint by number picture that his Dad had painted many years ago.  My father-in-law was a man of many talents and one of the kindest people you would ever meet.  DH doesn't have many things of his father's and this is now a prized possession.  Looks like I'll be busy framing in the very near future!

I'm sorry to say I haven't got any updated photos of any stitching I've been doing.  That's because I haven't been doing any.  I have been diagnosed with rapidly advancing carpal tunnel syndrome, brought on by the Tamoxifen I was taking.  I stopped taking it about a month ago when my doctor told me I could stop for two weeks and see if another issue I was having cleared up, and I just never bothered to restart.  I've found it was damaging my liver and causing glucose levels in my body to rise.  It's effecting muscle performance all over my body and a number of other things.  I've been told I will have surgery after they give me a  nerve conduction test to see how advanced things are and how much they will have to do during the surgery.  I can see degeneration daily and even typing hurts as well as many of the things I do at work.  I hope they can fix this soon!!  Wish me luck!  Hopefully I'll be back stitching soon!  And the reason I'm hoping that is because....look what Hubby bought me for our 28th wedding anniversary!!

I can't wait to get my  hands on that!!


And on that note, I bid you a fond adieu.  Thanks for stopping by and as always it's lovely to hear from you!  *Hugs*