Strength in ....

My friend Bridget is hosting the One Word Blog Carnival, and this week's word in strength.

Strength. Did you ever notice how people who truly possess strength are peaceful? They know they are strong. They don't need to bluster and bluff. I'm not really a dog person (allergies), but I'm going to compare this tendency to dogs. Please don't be offended. While man was made in His image, dogs certainly are loyal creatures, a trait I highly admire. I truly mean nothing pejorative in this comparison.

Anyways, little dogs start yipping the moment you get near them or their masters. But big dogs (unless trained otherwise), seem to be more likely to mosey up to you, sniff your hands and feet, and access whether their is any danger or not. (Those of you who have big barky dogs, sorry if I over generalize.)

As for me, what kind of dog am I? By appearance, one would think I'm a big dog. I look like I could hurt any man or woman just by tripping and landing on them. But inside, I know my bark is worse than my bite. I'd threaten pulverization in the hopes that I don't have to do anything. I'm a yippy dog.

What do I need to do about it? Am I truly without strength? As a Christian, I'd have to say that my problem isn't so much lack of strength (as His daughter, I have His attention and those of His angels He sends to watch over me), but that I forget where my strength comes from. It does not come from within, unless by within you mean that as a temple of the Holy Spirit, He is within me... Which, come to think of it, He is! I should be the peaceful pup sniffing around and ready to do my Master's bidding, rather than a yippy pup pretending she can protect herself or anyone else.

When I was part of a Charismatic Prayer Group, one of my favorite songs to sing was "The Joy of the Lord is My Strength". We sung it with less people, but I hope equal enthusiasm as the people in the video. When we are walking with Him, we can be peaceful as opposed to yippy.

My apologies if my post is all over the place today. I need to get ready for work now.

Cat Herding for Really Smart People (Not Dummies)

I went to the zoo with Summer School yesterday. When my uncle told me to "Have fun at the zoo" (seriously), my husband said that it is difficult for me to have fun while keeping track of 3 and 4 year olds. (To be fair, the principal, a couple of parents, and office personnel ended up taking the little ones, and I had 8 year olds instead. I didn't know that until that morning, though). My uncle asked if that would be hard. My husband likened it to herding cats.

We LOVE this commercial!

Many Find Me Pleasant, Others Disturbed: Putting Them Both Together for Duane's Sake

My friend DS is holding a blog carnival of his own called Pleasantly Disturbed Thursdays. I'm thinking I can do pleasant, and I can do disturbed. I am up for the challenge of putting them together.

You know why I seem shy when I meet someone for the first time. I like to pretend to be sane until I get to know a person well enough that my insanity won't frighten them eventually. I explained this to the Deacon over dinner yesterday. NOW he gets me.

I do not put syrup on pancakes. I prefer butter. And sometimes honey. I like honey on bread, pancakes, and in whiskey. Otherwise, not a fan...

Thong underwear should be renamed buttfloss. Not that I have firsthand knowledge about these things or anything like that. Seriously, thongs used to be footwear I couldn't wear because there is no place to put orthotics, and now it's underwear I can't wear because there is no wear to put my assets (technically they are liabilities, but anyway..) I see a pattern here.

If the moon were made of green cheese, it would be totally safe from the likes of me. Even I think green cheese sounds disgusting.

DS should get a cool copy and paste button for his blog carnival. I think those things are snazzy. It almost adds a picture to a post where none exists.

Here is a button to DS's website. I'd still like it better if it said "Pleasantly Disturbed" on it, but that probably says more about me than it does about him.

I keep copying and pasting different buttons from his site, and they are showing up as question marks in Preview. Well, at least we have the link at the top of the page.

I have no doubts that this post fits the disturbed criteria for this blog carnival. I hope it hasn't missed the mark in being pleasant.

Quid Pro Quo

I haven't been posting much (like, AT ALL) since I started a summer job. I am teaching summer camp / school for ages 3-7. I'll let you all know how it is going when I've spent a little more time with the kids.

I do, however, want to share a funny little story.

On Saturday Janice turned four. When one of the teacher's told me this on Friday, I congratulated her.

HRM: WOW! Four years old! Soon you are going to be older than me!

Janice nods.

HRM: When you are older than I am, will you read picture books to me like I am to you?

Janice nods again.

So there you have it: my attempt at scintillating conversation with a three (VERY soon to be four) year old, and her promise to read to me when I'm younger than her. I plan on holding her to her promise, too! ;-)

Happy Father's Day

When my Dad first came to America, this song was very popular. He loved this song. We'd watch this movie together, and he'd sing along with Debbie Reynold's. We'd actually sing this together on car trips! (Yes, I know how odd that is....)

If he was still alive, I'd rent this movie and we'd watch it together for the upteenth time.

Happy Father's Day. I hope you Dad's out there are enjoying a day with your kids, and giving them memories....

I'm Guest Posting at Connecting to Impact Today

Just when you thought it was safe, I have one more post where I talk about my adventures at Pirate Fest. The variance is that it is not on this blog, but on my friend Jason's blog. I invite you to check out my guest post, and wander around on his territory for a while. His writing style is more of the inspirational variety.

His blog is called Connecting to Impact.

We Didn't Start the Fire....Part 3

Part 1

Part 2

..... I got out of our van to ask if it was over, since they were allowed to get their things.

“Not exactly…” One of them replied. “The fourth floor is completely filled with smoke and the air is unbreatheable.” (I did not think to ask him how he knew this.)

“You mean there really is a fire!?” I responded.

The young man nodded. “Yep. Apparently a waste basket caught fire…”

“So some idiot threw away a cigarette they thought they put out correctly, and hadn’t?” I said.

“Exactly.” (Again, I did not think to ask how the young men new any of this.)

They drove away, and we climbed in our van and waited another half hour or so before we were let in. Yes. We were all able to return to our rooms. Whether we could sleep was another story. God was looking out for all of us, though. Only two rooms were unusable, and those were on the fourth floor. The hotel desk clerk was making arrangements for the couples who occupied to sleep in other rooms while I waited behind them to ask her for some Ibuprofen. So no one was injured during the fire. (I do feel bad for them that they most likely lost some property, but considering this was a HOTEL FIRE, everyone getting out safely and only two rooms being ultimately affected are blessings.)

I’m sure you never saw a friendlier bunch of strangers eating in the breakfast room of a hotel. Few people were able to go back to sleep, and we were all early for our continental breakfast at 7 am. We discussed whether the fire was set on purpose (I insisted that everyone makes stupid mistakes at one time or another, and that this was someone’s stupid mistake. So yes, the culprit lives, and I am typing this from the comfort of my own swivel chair at home.)

We all discussed religion and politics like old friends, good naturedly giving each other permission to be wrong. We had been through a fire together. Even though most of us didn't need to deal with the actual fire and smoke, we shared in the evacuation, and the shock of finding out it was all real. While we won’t be holding any reunions, we were bound together in happiness and gratitude that every person who had been in the building was accounted for and fine. We didn’t exactly hold hands and sing “Kumbaya”, but we shared an intangible bond that I’d never shared with anyone I just met on the spot in my life. And I forgave Bob for spending and extra thirty bucks to reserve a room on the nonsmoking floor, which was directly below the floor where the garbage can caught fire.

And, just when you thought I'd milked this fire for all it was worth....

All of us have been through "fire", but not necessarily of the literal kind. When my mom died, I was going through a metaphorical fire of sorts, but had the camaraderie of cyber friends and Church friends, and most importantly, their prayers, to help me through. These people CHOSE to walk through the fire and smoke with me, and I thank them.

My gratitude for these individuals got me to thinking how I wish others who hurt had the same support available to them. I know most of my Church friends through being involved in my Church with CCD, Respect Life, ICF, etc. But what about people who aren't involved? What about people who just need prayer, and someone to walk through the fire with them? I and couple of friends decided that we need a women's prayer ministry to meet this need. (We are starting with women only right now because frankly, those of us starting this are women, and feel we can better minister to women than to both at this time. How this grows and whether it does depends on the Holy Spirit.)

Tomorrow is the first day for this prayer meeting. Actually, it is a prayer meeting / organizational meeting. I'd really appreciate your prayers for the start of this ministry.

Thank you for walking through the fire with me, and encouraging me and giving me the strength to want to reach out and do the same for others. God bless you.

And That's Why He's Called Cliff Hanger!

Time for

and

This week I had a story about being in a hotel fire. I left off on parts of the story to be continued at some future date, creating a cliffhanger. When Katdish referred to it as a cliffhanger, I thought of this cartoon character from Between the Lions. I hope you have as much fun with Cliff Hanger as I do.

Safely in the Parking Lot (Part II)

My friend Duane has become the hero, and ransomed my post.

If you have no idea what the above sentence is all about, you need to read my post from Monday, which I suppose you may call a prequel to this post.

When we left on Monday, I was yelling at Bob to unplug his Cpap machine because I believed that was what was making all the racket. I was wrong. His machine had already been unplugged.

He gets up and checks the sitting room (I don’t know why) while I put on my shoes (I have difficulty walking without my orthotics) and grab my eyeglasses from the nightstand. I know the precious seconds I spend doing that actually save me time I’d waste fumbling around if I didn’t. Bob puts his pants on and grabs his shirt.

By now we have figured out that it is the fire alarm going off. You’d think I’d be a little scared, but instead I was annoyed. I was a teacher for 13 years. My first thought was “Why in the world is the fire department conducting a fire drill in a hotel? Is this town nuts? “ It occurs to me while I tie my shoes that it’s probably just me who is nuts. Obviously it’s not a fire drill. Some kid pulled the fire alarm. Oh well. I always taught my students that each fire drill is to be treated as if it was a real fire so that we know what to do if it is ever necessary. I remember reading in a hotel room once that if the fire alarm goes off, I should feel the door to make sure it isn’t hot. I forgot what I was supposed to do if it was, but decided I could read the door containing fire instructions if the door felt hot. Better to waste a couple minutes than to panic and do the wrong thing. My husband, God bless him, did not even ask why I was feeling the door. (It turns out that one should NOT open the door if it is hot, because there is a fire in the hall.) After being married to me for almost fourteen years, he has learned to just deal with the oddness that is I, and I have done the same for him.

The door was not hot, so I did not bother reading any directions, I just opened the door and walked out into the hallway. Standing in front of the elevator was an elderly couple arguing. He wanted to take the elevator, and she wanted to take the stairs. I stopped being a teacher a few years ago, but that bossing people around habit in me never died. I pointed out the sign on the elevator stating that in case of fire one must take the stairs, and suggested that following directions when the fire alarm was blaring was the safest bet. This couple was sprier than me, and beat me to the stairs; I’m shamed to say.

Another elderly woman in the hall asked me if I thought we were in any danger. I said that the only person in danger is the kid who must’ve pulled the alarm, because I was going to gut him like a pig and have a wienie roast in the parking lot. She asked if I really thought it was a prank. I said it doesn’t matter, the fire department will demand that we leave once they arrive, so we may as well move at our own pace now.

Bob is a sweet husband who tried to wait for me along the stairs, even though I kept yelling at him as if he was one of my second graders “GO! GO! GO!” It did occur to me somewhere between the elevator and the stairs that there was a possibility this could be the real thing.

Since Bob had his pants on, he had the keys to the van, so we climbed in it to wait out the ruckus. Several minutes later we see two young men leaving the building with their packed things and entering their van. I got out of our van to ask if it was over, since they were allowed to get their things....

I am going to end the post here for now. Why? Because the rest of this post is about 400 words long. You do know now that I got out alive. The question remains: did I have to gut some teenager in the parking lot and serve him on buns with relish for pulling a fire alarm and waking me up at 4 am? Am I posting from prison? How is Governor Ryan anyway? The conclusion to this story will appear on Sunday. I KNOW! SUNDAY! I never blog on Sunday... I think I can make an exception just this once.

Soundtrack to My Life

Today's post was inspired by a prompt from

"1.) Soundtrack of your life: Pick 10 songs that you would have on a soundtrack for your life, pick a line from each that you most identify with and write a short statement of why this song made it."

Live Every Moment

Live every moment, love every day
'Cause before you know it your precious time slips away
Live every moment, love every day
'Cause if you don't you might just throw your love away

I like this song because it reminds me that sitting around contemplating my purpose could very well keep me from serving my purpose, and that I need to live and love in the meantime.

Here I Go Again

Tho' I keep searching for an answer
I never seem to find what I'm looking for
Oh Lord, I pray
You give me strength to carry on
Cos I know what it means
To walk along the lonely street of dreams

Lots of broken dreams lately... No babies... Mom died.... I have to redo the forms for becoming a foster parent because Mom was on them as living in our household, and while it isn't as hard to fix it as all that, I feel overwhelmed and like, "Yeah, and what will happen when I do that?"

Hot Hot Hot

Keep up this spirit -- Come on let's do it -- Feeling hot hot hot
It's in the air - Celebration time
Music sweet - captivate your mind
We have this party song - This fundamental jam

So we go rum-bum-bum-bum
Yeah we rum-bum-bum-bum
Feeling hot hot hot -- Feeling hot hot hot - Oh Lord

Because play the right song, and I will dance wherever I am at.

Have I Told You Lately

Oh, the morning sun in all it's glory
greets the day with hope and comfort too.
You fill my life with laughter, somehow you make it better,
ease my troubles that's what you do.

I am blessed to be married to a great guy with a magnificent sense of humor. This is our song. I used to tease him when we were engaged and ask "Have I told you today that I love you?" He'd say "Not yet.." and I'd reply "Remind me to mention it later...."

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its, yeah, it does

This song is very sad in it's entirety, but the refrain just makes me think how worth the pain is to gaze at the beauty of a perfect rose.

To Jesus Christ, Our Sovereign King

To Jesus Christ, our Sov'reign King,
Who is the world's salvation,
All praise and homage do we bring,
And thanks and adoration.

Refrain:
Christ Jesus Victor, Christ Jesus Ruler!
Christ Jesus, Lord and Redeemer!

2. Thy reign extend, O King benign,
To ev'ry land and nation,
For in Thy kingdom, Lord divine,
Alone we find salvation.
(Refrain)

3. To Thee and to Thy Church, great King,
We pledge our hearts' oblation,
Until before Thy throne we sing,
In endless jubilation.
(Refrain)

Sorry. Disobeyed the rules a bit here and posted all the lyrics instead of one line. This song was sung at the burial of everyone I loved who died except for my mom (different undertaker by her request). I still sung it silently in my heart as I placed the last yellow rose on her casket. No matter if it is people or dreams which die, Christ is and will forever be the victor!

D'yer Mak'er

Oh oh oh oh oh oh, You don't have to go oh oh oh oh oh
You don't have to go oh oh oh oh oh
Oh baby, ba-bee bee please please please
ah ah ah ah ah baby ah ah I really love you baby
oo oo oo oo oo darlin' oooohhhh oh
Oh baby I still love you so,
Oh baby I still love you so ohohoh, ooo, oh oh oh oh oh yeah

You caught me. I'm just testing to see if you are paying attention. I do love this song, though. And I do love you!

Blue Skirt Waltz

We danced in a world of blue  how can my heart forget.  Blue were the skies and blue were your eyes  just like the blue skirt you wore.

Where do I start?  My grandmother's favorite song... the first song my parents danced to..Mom had blue eyes,,

Those Were the Days

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.

First of all, I can remember my dad singing this in Hungarian when I was little. Second of all, now that I am older, I understand my dad's wistful look as he sang this, because now I feel it too.... How naively I believed I'd "fight and never lose".

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/mary_hopkin/#share

Here I am, Lord

I the Lord of snow and rain I have borne my people's pain I have wept for love of them They turn away.  I will break their hearts of stone Fill their hearts with love alone I will speak my word to them Whom shall I send?

I was thirteen the first time I heard this song where God weeps, because I turn away. I wept when I first heard it.  I still do.

I'm getting a little hurt that you people don't think the conclusion to Monday's post is worth the ransom I set...

Pictures of Pirate Fest

These were called pirate nuts.

I am nuts about this particular pirate!

Aaahrrr.....

They let me hoist the sail.

I am still hoisting. I am the one with the glasses in the back.

I thought you might enjoy seeing some costumes.

Bob bought me hair jewelry. The saleslady is putting it in my hair for me.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of.....nevermind. It's a tin cup.

This pirate stole my heart 15 years ago!

Isn't he the cutest thing?

We have some more pictures, but I hesitate to just display strangers' pictures on the web. Maybe some other time.

See. I meant what I said! I would LOVE to finish my story from Monday, but Wendy needs one more contributor to her Life is Funny blog carnival first!

Expect the Unexpected: or at Least Plan for It

We did not stay at a Renaissance Savery Hotel. We were not even in Des Moines. I only include the above pic to show you how useful the information on the back of a hotel door is in an emergency.

When you stay at a hotel, do you read the information taped on the back of the door that tells you what to do in case of a fire? I used to, but haven't in a long time. Early Sunday morning, I was able to recall most, but not all of what I read. The gist of what is on the back of the door is:

1) Advice telling you to feel the door with the back of your hand if the fire alarm is going off. I remembered to feel the door, but forgot what to do it if was warm. Praise the Lord, the door was not warm, so it was a moot point. Had it been warm though, the directions are to NOT open the door, as that means the fire is out in the hall, and to soak towels in water and barricade these wet towels at the door, and to have one handy to cover your face if smoke gets in. There is more on this on the door, but you can read it if you are staying in a hotel for vacation. Seriously, don't assume you remember because you read it once on your honeymoon in Hawaii fourteen years ago, and maybe again at a Charismatic Conference seven years ago. Reread it each time you stay in a hotel. I am glad I didn't need the information that I didn't remember.

2) Your best escape route during a fire is suggested. If not, go out in the hall and plan it yourself. Hopefully it is a waste of five seconds of your life, but it just may be an important five seconds!

3) Do not use the elevator during a fire.

Things that are not on the door, but useful to think about are to have your shoes and eye glasses handy, and a small bag with your "can't live without" electronic devices and the room keys inside of it. If you REALLY do plan ahead, it couldn't hurt to have a flashlight in the bag.

I am contributing this public service announcement to the "What I Learned This Week" blog carnival. The "What I Learned This Week" blog carnival has been moved to

Remember, no conclusion to yesterday's post until Wendy has four contributors to her Life is Funny blog carnival! I am holding the story hostage! Don't you want to find out whether I made it out alive?

Thank God I Forgot My Nightie at Home (Oh Yeah, and That No One Got Hurt)

I had a great time at Pirate Fest over the weekend, even though Murphy’s Law (no relation to Sherri, I’m sure) prevailed. First of all, Bob’s digital camera wouldn’t work. It claimed memory was full, even though he had downloaded the old pics. He thinks he may need a new memory card. We bought a couple of disposable cameras, and I will publish some pictures on my blog in the future.

Then we realized we left the sunscreen in the car. We parked really far away, and figured it was cloudy and rainy enough to not get burned. Guess what. We got a couple of hours of sunshine, just enough to cause my arms and face to burn enough for me to feel it.

The fireworks started late because it was raining, which meant we got to the hotel very late, very tired, and very sore. We had reserved a nonsmoking room (extra charge, but I’m grateful we spent the money) on the third floor with a king size bed. I have no idea how we ended up with a room with two twin beds, but Bob and I both agreed that it was only one night, and we’d just deal with it.

So then I open my bag to get out my muumuu, and find that I must have accidentally taken it out when I removed my bathing suit because I realized I wouldn’t have any time for the pool, so taking the suit would be a waste of space. But since I had fresh clothes packed to wear the next day, I decided there was no harm in going to sleep in the clothes I had been wearing all day. I decided it was a blessing in disguise, as I was too tired and sore to undress anyways.

I asked Bob to hand me my medicine. Silly me. I thought that since I handed him the bottle and told him to pack it with his meds, he’d have it. He had no recollection of said conversation and thus, he did not have my meds. To his credit, he offered to drive the two hours each way to go get it. I said that it made more sense for me to just take it late on Sunday than for him to drive four hours.

Then Bob plugs in his CPap machine. Beep….Beep….Beep…. Apparently the memory card was full. He removed the memory card, and at about 11:30, I had a quiet room to try and sleep in. Too bad I was sore and did not have Aleve with me. Turning to try to get comfortable was excruciating.

Several hours later, at four in the morning to be exact, BEEP..BEEP...BEEP… is filling the room. It is the loudest sound I ever heard in my life. I call out “WHUUU?” because I am too tired to pronounce the “t” at the end of the word “what”. My husband starts checking the CPap machine.

After about 20 seconds I scream “UNPLUG IT ALREADY! WE’RE WAKING UP THE WHOLE FLOOR!”

My husband calls out “IT IS UNPLUGGED!”

Did I forget to mention that today's post is only Part 1 of my nightie story? Ooops! Click above to see Wendy's blog carnival Life is Funny. Consider joining the fun and write your own LIF post! C'mon! What if I hold the next part of the story hostage? No conclusion to this story until Wendy gets four people (that is three others besides me) linking to her LIF blog carnival! Hah! C'mon and participate! Don't you want to know if I made it out of the hotel room alive?

Men Should Really Take Time to Express Themselves...

And now it is time for more Hooray for Saturday!

I saw this commercial earlier this week, and while the message is serious, the means is funny! (I just love the ♥ Bacon scarf..)

(btw, @katbrak, I am away from my computer this weekend... would you mind linking this on your blog and Shakira's for me... I won't be back until late tomorrow, and prescheduled this to come up ahead of time...)

So, How Are Those New Year's Resolutions Coming Along?

I got a call from myself a little while ago offering me and interview with me. How could I pass up a sweet deal like that?

HRM: It's been awhile...

Helen: I know. Mom was still alive the last time we did an interview...

HRM: I remember. I haven't wanted to push, and waited until you came to me...

Helen: Thanks. I know our banter is meant to be friendly, but I wasn't sure I could take the ribbing for a while.

HRM: I'll try to be gentle. Notice I haven't said a thing about the ickiness of your breath from the leftover garlic chicken you had for lunch.

Helen. Yes. Thanks for that.

HRM: Our last interview was about New Year's Resolutions. How has that been going?

Helen: Well Gee, HRMie, thanks for throwing a softball at me... It's not like people lose track of their New Year's Resolutions by June or anything!

HRM: Did that happen? Did you push your New Years Resolutions aside?

Helen: Actually, no. I sort of readjusted them.

HRM: How so?

Helen: Well, take my promise to find something new to be grateful for every day.... I have given myself permission to take the word new out of that resolution.

HRM: Huh?

Helen: If I am grateful for sunshine three days in a row, that is not such a bad thing. I still try to think of something else, but if I am truly grateful for sunshine, why fight it?

HRM: Okay.... I'm sure that makes sense to you in your head. What about your New Year's Resolution to take care of yourself? How is that going?

Helen: It hit a rocky patch in February. I felt bad that I left Mom's bedside the day before she died to get rest because I was taking care of myself. But then, had I KNOWN she was going to die, I would have put her first. I really thought I was just pacing myself for when she came home..

HRM: Understandable, Helen. Understandable. I of all people know you are not omnipotent.

Helen: Still, I felt really bad about that for a while. Luckily Lent was a few weeks away, which meant giving up stuff out of love for God if not for myself. I gave up things that I felt I was at risk of leaning on instead of Him, like wine and donuts...

HRM: Friends?

Helen: Oh no! I leaned on friends plenty! They kept encouraging me with prayers and kind words. I considered them to be a gift from God, still do.

HRM: What did you do after Lent?

Helen: I started to compromise with me. I can only eat sweets or chips I make myself. It's not like I WANT to bake or slice potatoes all the time.... Maybe once every couple of weeks, and then ration the goodies carefully. If we are having company, I'll sometimes make an exception and buy a pie.

HRM: I suppose that provides for some balance...

Helen: Then I switched from white bread to whole grain wheat. I never ate wheat bread before. It is actually very tasty! Later I started to increase my water intake. In May I started exercising, but then fell off the wagon when I started my garden. Gardening leaves me sore! I hope it counts as exercise!

HRM: I'd say that anything that leaves you sore can count as exercise, but I know Wendy will TWSS that before I even hit publish! She can smell a TWSS from any computer she has ever corresponded with, I think!

Helen: LOL! I think you may be right!

HRM: So that's it?

Helen: Nah! When the weather gets warmer, I'll be setting aside at least two days a week to go to the local pool and exercise, even if I was gardening. I love the pool!

HRM: So you'll just do what you already started, but better...

Helen: Sure, why not? I also started eating more lettuce. Romaine, not iceberg. If my garden grows right, but August, I will be eating mostly homegrown vegetables! Another way I'll be taking better care of myself. I'm sort of just adding one thing a month and trying to make that a habit.

HRM: One thing a month? Will you ever actually meet your New Year's goal of taking care of yourself with only one positive change a month?

Helen: I'll make a lasting change, hopefully.

HRM: So you are going to swim in the winter!

Helen: Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe in November I'll switch my goal to using the stationary bike collecting dust in my basement. One thing at a time.

HRM: You won't be done by December!

Helen: Getting done isn't the point. There is no goal to reach here. My resolution was about a lifestyle change. There is no reason it can't continue into next year and the next. There is no reason that if around Christmas I goof and eat store bought Christmas cookies, I can't change again back to only home made goodies and get back in that habit again in January.

HRM: So you are planning to fall off the wagon!

Helen: No... I'm just saying that my resolution is working better for me as a slow process than as a list to follow immediately.

HRM: Sounds weak to me..

Helen: I thought you were going to be gentle!

HRM: That was before I knew that you were going to be a candy@$$ wuss!

Helen: This interview is over!

HRM: WAIT! Don't you want to say something to your friends out there?

Helen: Yes. Thank you, friends for all your prayers, care, and support. Your love has been a balm to my wounded heart.

HRM: You are welcome, Helen!

Helen: HEY! I wasn't talking to you HRMie! You just called me a candy@$$ wuss!

HRM: I was only teasing. You enjoyed it! Admit it!

Helen: Okay... perhaps I did....

HRM: Thank you for joining us. Don't wait so long next time...

Helen: Okay. We'll do this again when I come back from the Pirate Festival on Monday...

HRM: Pirate Festival!!

Helen: Yes. Didn't I mention that Bob and I will be getting away to Wisconsin for a bit on Saturday and Sunday? A little vacation time away..

HRM: Now THAT'S what I call taking care of yourself! Good job, candy@$$...er, I mean Helen.

Helen: Thanks...

Happy Birthday, Ginny!

Today is my friend Ginny's Birthday.

Her twitter handle is @makeadiff21

Her blog is Make a Difference to One

How about going over and wishing her a Happy Birthday.