I asked one of my friends for a suggested topic to write about, and she said, "Cars, or small miracles." It's funny that she would say this. In my world, they are often one in the same, this week in particular.
I like excitement and adventure. I like a good adrenaline rush now and then. I love to ski, but usually end up going down the black diamond slopes on my butt, rather than on my skis. It is the age old problem of desire vs. talent. I don't have any real athletic talent, so I have to get my thrills in more creative ways.
I drive mechanically challenged cars. Nothing gets the heart rate up, and the adrenaline pumping quite like driving a car that chronically over heats in a city with legendary traffic congestion. It is a race against the clock, and the odds. I try to accomplish all of my stops between morning rush hour and evening rush hour. I make my stops as quickly as possible, and avoid any lengthy meetings. If I am not home by 4pm, I am looking for a productive place to spend the next 2 hours waiting out the traffic.
This past week was especially challenging. The Christmas shopping craze threw off all the normal traffic patterns. My skills are sharp. I only had to pull over once to let the car cool and add some coolant. I keep my trunk fully stocked with supplies; jugs of water, coolant, a funnel, etc.
It would seem logical to buy a new one, or at least take this one to the shop and have a professional fix it, but where is the fun in that?
1. The thing is paid for. It is really hard to argue for a car payment.
2. It has a really great stereo. It's a Bose stereo with high end speakers. I can really rock out in that car!
3. I can take the kids to the beach and not worry about sand in the carpet, or any other sort of mess.
4. The last time I took it to a shop, it came back with more problems. I think it is like Mr. Burns, all the things wrong with it are in a delicate balance, keeping it alive. If I fix one of them, the rest might just kick it over the edge.
These car challenges are also great faith building opportunities. More than once car trouble has brought me to call on my Heavenly Father in prayer. Often my children have silently prayed, while I tried to figure out what the trouble was, and how to get us where we need to go. I witness small miracles regularly.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
It's Been a Year
It has been a year since I have had any caffeine. It has been a year of fewer headaches, less drugs, and more sleep. Instead of drinking a Coke, I have taken a nap, or just went to bed. An ice cold Coke is yummy, but nothing beats a nap!
Somewhere around the age of 12 I stared getting wicked headaches. Some doctors have called them migraines. Whatever they are, they are horrid. The pressure in my head makes me think crazy thoughts, like if I were to shove a red hot poker in my temple it would feel better. The first time I had one of these mind crushers I thought I had been poisoned, and was surely about to die. I was 12, and probably read too many novels. My doctor gave me some pain pills and when I awoke 2 days later on my Grandmother's couch, she assured me that I was not the victim of some assassin, just a migraine and a crazy imagination.
Since then I have had them off and on, to greater and lesser intensities. There doesn't seem to be any clear, direct triggers, although, stress is always an element. For some reason, I have never had one while pregnant, so I think hormones must play some role. The pain killers that work best for me have a heavy dose of caffeine in them. I started to see that I was getting rebound headaches after taking them, and I suspected the caffeine. The only think worse than a migraine on Sunday, is a rebound headache for the rest of the week. I had to stop the cycle.
I asked my doctor for a prescription without caffeine, and he wanted to put me on something that I had to take every day. Sorry, unless my life depends on it, I am not taking a pill every day. Who knows what the happy fun ball side effect would be from that. Not interested.
So, a year ago this week, I decided to cut out all caffeine in an attempt to prevent my head from hurting so often. I didn't make any grand announcements, just decided to stop. My headaches are not cured, but they are much less frequent. I still get them every couple of months, but if I just suffer through, and don't take my prescription, I avoid the rebound headaches. So, one day of pain, rather than a week of it. I would call that a success.
I have heard that it takes 21 days to break, or create a new habit. I was hoping that after 21 days I would not want it anymore. That isn't the case with me. Every time my head hurts I know that if I just drank a Coke it would feel better. I still want one when I eat Mexican food. I still want one with my popcorn at the movies. I guess I might always.
Somewhere around the age of 12 I stared getting wicked headaches. Some doctors have called them migraines. Whatever they are, they are horrid. The pressure in my head makes me think crazy thoughts, like if I were to shove a red hot poker in my temple it would feel better. The first time I had one of these mind crushers I thought I had been poisoned, and was surely about to die. I was 12, and probably read too many novels. My doctor gave me some pain pills and when I awoke 2 days later on my Grandmother's couch, she assured me that I was not the victim of some assassin, just a migraine and a crazy imagination.
Since then I have had them off and on, to greater and lesser intensities. There doesn't seem to be any clear, direct triggers, although, stress is always an element. For some reason, I have never had one while pregnant, so I think hormones must play some role. The pain killers that work best for me have a heavy dose of caffeine in them. I started to see that I was getting rebound headaches after taking them, and I suspected the caffeine. The only think worse than a migraine on Sunday, is a rebound headache for the rest of the week. I had to stop the cycle.
I asked my doctor for a prescription without caffeine, and he wanted to put me on something that I had to take every day. Sorry, unless my life depends on it, I am not taking a pill every day. Who knows what the happy fun ball side effect would be from that. Not interested.
So, a year ago this week, I decided to cut out all caffeine in an attempt to prevent my head from hurting so often. I didn't make any grand announcements, just decided to stop. My headaches are not cured, but they are much less frequent. I still get them every couple of months, but if I just suffer through, and don't take my prescription, I avoid the rebound headaches. So, one day of pain, rather than a week of it. I would call that a success.
I have heard that it takes 21 days to break, or create a new habit. I was hoping that after 21 days I would not want it anymore. That isn't the case with me. Every time my head hurts I know that if I just drank a Coke it would feel better. I still want one when I eat Mexican food. I still want one with my popcorn at the movies. I guess I might always.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Merry Christmas
I have been pondering how to get in the Christmas spirit. It is just odd here in Hawaii where it is 80 degrees most of the time. A winter storm, like we had this weekend, means rain and wind. The leaves are still green, even though lots of them are now on the ground. The physical conditioning of Christmas past is not working for me.
It takes enormous imaginative effort to recall the sharp, exhilaration of taking a deep breath of cold, crisp December air, and feeling my nose try to retreat. Or the way fresh fallen snow holds your weight for the briefest moment before crunching under foot. The scent of a real, fresh Christmas tree eludes me. I have been wandering around stores sniffing pine scented candles. If I found one that was right, I would buy a cart full. With Christmas music playing over the store sound system, eyes closed, and a pine candle at my nose, I can almost, if the store is well air conditioned, believe it is the week before Christmas.
Tonight Ryker and Quincie went caroling with the youth from church. I snapped this photo of them on the way out the door. Christmas carols and my kids - that is my ticket to feeling the Christmas spirit. Tonight my heart is full of the love that is Christmas. Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Mental Filing
I have always loved stationary and calendars. The stability of thoughts on paper is very reassuring. They can't get away so easily once you write them down. They can't dissipate like fog when the sun comes out.
Have you ever worked in an office and witnessed what happens when the filing piles up? You can't find anything, stuff gets lost, it's a nightmare. That is the sort of chaos that goes on in my brain when I don't write things down, frequently. Writing is mental filing. By writing them down, in their proper place, the thoughts go from unsorted chaos to to-do lists, reports, lessons, emails, letters, articles, poems, or stories. Mostly they end up on a list, specifically a to-do list. When I let it go too long, that is when things start to go wrong.
I need a list. Not just any old list, a good, well organized list. I need a calendar, preferably one that is tied into my list. A few years ago I tried to use one of those Franklin planner things. It's a great idea, just requires hiring an assistant to keep it totally accurate for you, or you never do anything but maintain your organization. Plus, they are big! I had to buy a bigger bag, just to haul that thing around. Hauling around that much paper can tweak your back. Thank goodness for technology. The system I use now is darn near perfect. The only real flaw is me. I still have to stop and put the information into the system.
The last couple of weeks my mental filing has gotten way out of hand. I have a pretty good excuse. I have had a rotten cold. I don't remember the last time I have been sick for this long. It wasn't anything serious, just annoying enough to render me mostly useless. I finally sat down and updated my list. It is a long list. It is kind of frightening. I have to get my courage up just to look at it.
After filing away all the business of life onto the list, I am still left with all those other thoughts that need writing down. While lounging endlessly on the couch for days I have had many interesting thoughts that need a bit of writing about. Too bad I was so lazy that the thought of writing them out was too daunting. I am afraid that many of them may be lost. I should at least try to make a list...
1. The Christmas Spirit - how to find it when it is 80 degrees and pouring rain
2. Families - missing them and the opposite of that
3. Why do kids grow up, and we stay the same?
4. Carl and I have been married 20 years this month - how did we accomplish that?
5. I want to write a story about all the lost shoes you see hanging on wires, and lying about on the road or in a parking lot. Who did they belong to and how did they get lost?
6. Am I prepared for a real tropical storm? What is the emergency plan for a flood?
7. It has been a year since I have had any caffeine.
8. Why do I think eating lamb sounds gross when I have never tried it, and beef, pork & chicken are ok?
Look for thrilling posts on the above topics soon. :-)
Have you ever worked in an office and witnessed what happens when the filing piles up? You can't find anything, stuff gets lost, it's a nightmare. That is the sort of chaos that goes on in my brain when I don't write things down, frequently. Writing is mental filing. By writing them down, in their proper place, the thoughts go from unsorted chaos to to-do lists, reports, lessons, emails, letters, articles, poems, or stories. Mostly they end up on a list, specifically a to-do list. When I let it go too long, that is when things start to go wrong.
I need a list. Not just any old list, a good, well organized list. I need a calendar, preferably one that is tied into my list. A few years ago I tried to use one of those Franklin planner things. It's a great idea, just requires hiring an assistant to keep it totally accurate for you, or you never do anything but maintain your organization. Plus, they are big! I had to buy a bigger bag, just to haul that thing around. Hauling around that much paper can tweak your back. Thank goodness for technology. The system I use now is darn near perfect. The only real flaw is me. I still have to stop and put the information into the system.
The last couple of weeks my mental filing has gotten way out of hand. I have a pretty good excuse. I have had a rotten cold. I don't remember the last time I have been sick for this long. It wasn't anything serious, just annoying enough to render me mostly useless. I finally sat down and updated my list. It is a long list. It is kind of frightening. I have to get my courage up just to look at it.
After filing away all the business of life onto the list, I am still left with all those other thoughts that need writing down. While lounging endlessly on the couch for days I have had many interesting thoughts that need a bit of writing about. Too bad I was so lazy that the thought of writing them out was too daunting. I am afraid that many of them may be lost. I should at least try to make a list...
1. The Christmas Spirit - how to find it when it is 80 degrees and pouring rain
2. Families - missing them and the opposite of that
3. Why do kids grow up, and we stay the same?
4. Carl and I have been married 20 years this month - how did we accomplish that?
5. I want to write a story about all the lost shoes you see hanging on wires, and lying about on the road or in a parking lot. Who did they belong to and how did they get lost?
6. Am I prepared for a real tropical storm? What is the emergency plan for a flood?
7. It has been a year since I have had any caffeine.
8. Why do I think eating lamb sounds gross when I have never tried it, and beef, pork & chicken are ok?
Look for thrilling posts on the above topics soon. :-)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
No More Smelly Laundry
Ah, Irish Spring clean, scrubbed head to toe, lathered and slathered. You turn off the water and reach through the steam for a soft, fluffy warm towel. "EWWWW! That's not going anywhere near my clean face!" you exclaim. You drop the towel in the hamper and reach for another, but they are all the same. The ones you washed and folded last week smell just as awful as the one your spouse hung to dry this morning. You wash, you dry, you even use fabric softener, but still they stink. How does this happen? More importantly, how to make it stop?
The problem here is mildew (mold). Molds are survivors. They thrive in moist, warm areas, like bathrooms and laundry rooms. Their microscopic spores travel through the air, and can lie dormant for a long time, until the right conditions exist for growth. They are hard to see and even harder to kill. Once introduced into your home, they will spread far and wide. A few spores float in through an open window and find a new home on that damp towel at the bottom of the hamper. A few days later you do your normal load laundry and the spores spread. Before you know it your entire linen closet, and probably your sock drawer, smells terrible.
If you are serious about getting rid of the stink, you need to remove the active mold/mildew and all of the spores. Once the problem is contained, you can then move to prevention.
1. Thoroughly clean your washer with bleach. Start with a spray bottle of bleach diluted 10:1. Spray and scrub in every nook and cranny. If you have a front load washer there are often rubber gaskets or seals to prevent water from leaking out of the door. Clean this area thoroughly. Mold can grow in all the folds and curves that trap water after each cycle. Don't forget the fabric softener dispenser. Take it apart if possible.
2. Run the longest wash cycle, at the highest water level, at the hottest water temperature with a cup of undiluted laundry bleach. Run a second rinse cycle to be sure all of the bleach is removed from the washer.
3. Re wash ALL of your linens. It is important that you wash them all. All the bath towels, sheets, wash cloths, kitchen towels, etc. Forgot some and you may reinfect your nice fresh linen and start the vicious cycle all over again. Start with all the whites. Wash them in the hottest temperature with the normal amount of your favorite soap and the recommended amount of liquid bleach. Remove them from the washer immediately after the cycle is complete. Do NOT hang them to dry. Dry them on the cotton setting, which is usually the highest heat. Dry them until they are completely dry. Wash any of the non-whites the same way, except decrease the amout of liquid bleach to only 2 teaspoons per load and make sure it is thoroughly mixed with the water before adding any fabric to the basin.
Now that you have successfully de-stinkified your linens here are some tips to keep them that way.
1. Keep your bathroom, kitchen and laundry area clean. If the caulking or shower curtain start to show dark spots of mold that are not easily removed with cleaner, replace them. This is where the spores are coming from that are multiplying and stinking up your laundry.
2. Do not store clean linen in the bathroom, or any other area that is regularly moist and warm. If you don't have a linen closet, consider adding a decorative shelf in the hall just outside the bathroom.
3. Make sure your bathroom is very well ventilated with an exhaust fan, a window, or both. Leave the bathroom door open when not in use to increase the air flow and more quickly remove the excess moisture from the air after bathing.
4. Pull the shower curtain so that it can dry. Do not leave it gathered at one end where moisture can accumulate and provide a nice home for some lurking spores.
5. Always hang damp towels to dry immediately after use. Even if you do not plan to use them again, this is important. If the towel is dry when it hits the hamper it will not be a prime host for dormant spores.
6. Wash your clothing frequently. Perspiration and normal soiling can also breed mold and mildew if allowed to sit for too long.
7. Wash kitchen towels separately from bathroom towels and bedroom linens. The germ set is different and cross contamination is not a good thing.
8. Always use the instructions detailed above for washing linens. Adding a couple of teaspoons of liquid chlorine bleach to your wash loads will not significantly fade the fabrics, but will effectively kill any lingering spores and smells. Of course, do not use liquid bleach on any fine fabrics or any items that would be damaged.
9. When your washer is not in use, leave the door open. This will allow the interior to dry. If you have small children or pets, this may not be an option for safety concerns.
Besides the awful smell, mold can be a serious health issue, especially for those with allergies. Spend the time to rid your home of mold, and the prevention only takes a few moments daily. The work will be worth it when you reach for your towel and it smells just as fresh and lovely as you!
The problem here is mildew (mold). Molds are survivors. They thrive in moist, warm areas, like bathrooms and laundry rooms. Their microscopic spores travel through the air, and can lie dormant for a long time, until the right conditions exist for growth. They are hard to see and even harder to kill. Once introduced into your home, they will spread far and wide. A few spores float in through an open window and find a new home on that damp towel at the bottom of the hamper. A few days later you do your normal load laundry and the spores spread. Before you know it your entire linen closet, and probably your sock drawer, smells terrible.
If you are serious about getting rid of the stink, you need to remove the active mold/mildew and all of the spores. Once the problem is contained, you can then move to prevention.
1. Thoroughly clean your washer with bleach. Start with a spray bottle of bleach diluted 10:1. Spray and scrub in every nook and cranny. If you have a front load washer there are often rubber gaskets or seals to prevent water from leaking out of the door. Clean this area thoroughly. Mold can grow in all the folds and curves that trap water after each cycle. Don't forget the fabric softener dispenser. Take it apart if possible.
2. Run the longest wash cycle, at the highest water level, at the hottest water temperature with a cup of undiluted laundry bleach. Run a second rinse cycle to be sure all of the bleach is removed from the washer.
3. Re wash ALL of your linens. It is important that you wash them all. All the bath towels, sheets, wash cloths, kitchen towels, etc. Forgot some and you may reinfect your nice fresh linen and start the vicious cycle all over again. Start with all the whites. Wash them in the hottest temperature with the normal amount of your favorite soap and the recommended amount of liquid bleach. Remove them from the washer immediately after the cycle is complete. Do NOT hang them to dry. Dry them on the cotton setting, which is usually the highest heat. Dry them until they are completely dry. Wash any of the non-whites the same way, except decrease the amout of liquid bleach to only 2 teaspoons per load and make sure it is thoroughly mixed with the water before adding any fabric to the basin.
Now that you have successfully de-stinkified your linens here are some tips to keep them that way.
1. Keep your bathroom, kitchen and laundry area clean. If the caulking or shower curtain start to show dark spots of mold that are not easily removed with cleaner, replace them. This is where the spores are coming from that are multiplying and stinking up your laundry.
2. Do not store clean linen in the bathroom, or any other area that is regularly moist and warm. If you don't have a linen closet, consider adding a decorative shelf in the hall just outside the bathroom.
3. Make sure your bathroom is very well ventilated with an exhaust fan, a window, or both. Leave the bathroom door open when not in use to increase the air flow and more quickly remove the excess moisture from the air after bathing.
4. Pull the shower curtain so that it can dry. Do not leave it gathered at one end where moisture can accumulate and provide a nice home for some lurking spores.
5. Always hang damp towels to dry immediately after use. Even if you do not plan to use them again, this is important. If the towel is dry when it hits the hamper it will not be a prime host for dormant spores.
6. Wash your clothing frequently. Perspiration and normal soiling can also breed mold and mildew if allowed to sit for too long.
7. Wash kitchen towels separately from bathroom towels and bedroom linens. The germ set is different and cross contamination is not a good thing.
8. Always use the instructions detailed above for washing linens. Adding a couple of teaspoons of liquid chlorine bleach to your wash loads will not significantly fade the fabrics, but will effectively kill any lingering spores and smells. Of course, do not use liquid bleach on any fine fabrics or any items that would be damaged.
9. When your washer is not in use, leave the door open. This will allow the interior to dry. If you have small children or pets, this may not be an option for safety concerns.
Besides the awful smell, mold can be a serious health issue, especially for those with allergies. Spend the time to rid your home of mold, and the prevention only takes a few moments daily. The work will be worth it when you reach for your towel and it smells just as fresh and lovely as you!
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