Silly Hat Day

Hey, I won this hat playing bingo. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. LOL!

Constant Change

"I try to take life one day at a time...but lately several days have attacked me all at once". Too true! We had another lay-off at work. This was the first one with me sitting in the payroll chair. I was not involved on the front-end of the process...I'm just left to mop up the mess. I so love the promises people make, when I'm the one who has to try to make it happen. But I persevere to be graceful under pressure.

Kountry

My buddy at work went home this weekend and took this picture for me. She has been picked on for her country accent. She always says: if you only knew where I grew up! Now that is country-fied! Don't y'all wish ya lived in the South?

Track and Field

We had the annual Special Olympic Track and Field events. We were fortunate to have a gawgeous day! Buddy participated in the Standing Long Jump:



And Buddy ran in the 100 meter dash:

A good time was had by all!

Frazzled Thoughts

We are frazzled females living life on the edge. My question is when did busyness become a virtue? It seems to me that running around like a decapitated chicken should indicated bad time management, a lack of discipline, poor planning or the inability to work efficiently. We, however, tend to wear it like a badge of honor. Living on the busyness treadmill with the mind on autopilot. Some women I know are earnestly striving to win the busyness competition. They rattle off all the things they do in a day. Then they raise an eyebrow to see if you can match their “contributions” to society. It is like a contest: the Amazing Busyness Race.

We as women define ourselves by what we do, instead of by who we are. We appear significant and worthy when we have a list of accomplishments. Society expects us to have a full resume. So, we are continually trying to prove ourselves, live up to the expectations of others and appear in control. All of which can be addictive, it is after all called a workaholic.

Granted we live in a speed-driven culture: do-it-all, have-it-all, over-achieve-it-all and all in less time. What, may I ask, are we doing with all of this effort of doing? We have loaded down our cart with rocks. We are exhausted from dragging all of these rocks around. If we were honest, we would admit that most of the rocks are not even ours.

We have become “people pleasers”. We seem unable to say no to a request. Since we won’t say “no”, we get busier and busier. This allows distractions to rush in and divert us from our priorities. We are tricked into thinking if we do not take care of the rock that no one else will. We take on impossible schedules and proceed to beat ourselves up for not completing all of the projects we have taken on. Stolen moments to ourselves are rarely enjoyed thanks to the guilt: it that tells us to get up and get busy.

We do not have to look far to find distractions. We have gadgets to provide noise and information over-load. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year and from almost anywhere we are bombarded with the worlds problems. Remember the good old days when the television cut off at night with the national anthem and did not resume until the 5am farm report?

So activity is bad? No, I fully agree that we should have full days of rest, activity and play. We occasionally should have spurts of activity. We, however, should not be perpetually busy. If that is the case, we are not controlling our life, our life is controlling us. It is as if life has the accelerator pedal stuck to the floorboard and is our driving our joy in life into the ground. We have become the society human-doers instead of human beings. The result of the frantic pace has been emotionally stressful, physically draining and spiritually crippling for all of us.

So is the answer is to become more efficient? We have become hyper-organized and highly efficient superwomen. So, it is not the case of living more efficiently. We just have to live more effectively. We need to spend the most time on what we value the most.

A monetary budget is a tool to track where your money is going. So, how about a time budget to see where you spend your time each day? Then use the classifications below to prioritize:
I. Urgent and Important (e.g. Family, Work)
II. Urgent and Unimportant (e.g. Email, Phone)
III. Not Urgent but Important (e.g. Prayer, Eat, Sleep, Exercise)
IV. Not Urgent and Not Important (e.g. TV, Internet, Games, Shopping)

Prioritize to identify the essential. Simplify to eliminate the rest. Perfection is not realistic, be protective of your time, absolutely positively schedule down time. When we are running around frantically, what goes first? Usually the answer is solitude! Everyone needs quiet time. But do not do it because of a rule (law), but because of grace. Make time for it. Separate yourself. Read. (deep reading…not microwave reading) Pray. And listen quietly.

Auburn vs Kentucky

Cletus and Tdawg went down to Auburn for the Auburn vs Kentucky football game on Saturday. They had great seats so Tdawg took my camera. It was cold cold and they lost but still had a great time. It is amazing to me that college football can draw 86,000 plus fans!

Golly Bob Howdy!

Saturday, Buddy and I watched the Toy Story & Toy Story 2 double feature in 3D. It was a marathon but well worth it. They previewed the new Toy Story 3 and it looks to be just as good. The premise is that Andy goes off to college and the toys end up at a daycare. I am all for supporting those who are still making family friendly movies.

History in the Making

Friday night: the frozen tundra of HGHS (well maybe not quite frozen), history was made! After more than two-and-a-half years, the frustration ended for HG's football team, and so did the state's longest current losing streak. HG, which hadn't won since beating an out-of-conference opponent in the 2006 season finale, got 127 yards and three touchdowns for a 20-17 win and snapped the 27-game losing streak! The fans rushed the field and an impressive fireworks started the celebration! Despite freezing temperatures, no one wanted to go home: it was sweet! I was so happy for the kids, especially the seniors, to win at home during homecoming weekend!

More of the Same...

It is: Dark, Damp, Drippy, Dreary and Dismal. The forecast: more of the same, only colder. Bleech!

Tut tut...it looks like rain

I am definitely solar powered…and can’t recall the last time I saw Mr. Sun. To give it some perspective, we had 32” of rainfall in 2008. So far this year, we have received 54” inches of rain! Over 12” has fallen since the first of September. Ugh!! If you have been praying for rain, please pray for something else. If you have been commissioned to build an ark, call me and I will come help! In the meantime, all I want to do is put on my fav sweatsuit, grab a book, jump underneath the covers and pretend to read...

And...

Looking back at the posts, I also neglected to update Tdawg's eye doctor appointment. Tdawg did not understand why I thought it was so important to get his eyes checked. He understands now. He is now wearing contacts and amazed at his new high definition eyesight. It is a good thing to have 20/20 vision...especially before getting a driver's permit!

One more thing...

I neglected to add that Cletus also saw the doctor on Thursday. He no longer has the welts. The doctor did not think that they were medicaiton related since the welts disappeared so quickly. Cletus is thankful that they are gone and hopes that they never return.

Update

We are headed into week three since Tdawg was diagnosed with a concussion. He still has some nausea and headaches (although not constant) and the drag/blur when he turns his head quickly. The MRI, which could show problems such as bruising, bleeding, swelling or atrophy, came back negative for any of those. Although it did show that Tdawg still has a sinus infection, despite a round of amoxicillin. So, he started a round of Augmentin to try and clear that up. Therefore, we still do not know how much of his symptoms are concussion related and how many are sinus infection related. Technically he is still on restricted activity for another two weeks. That nearly takes him until the end of this football season. He is understandably disappointed. But realizes that his health is more important. So, he is focusing on (hopefully) playing some rec basketball next month and starting conditioning (weightlifting and running)for next football season.

Out of balance...as usual

To answer Miss Goofy’s question: No: there is not a "balance" between work and home. I have been a full-time Mom; I have worked part-time outside the home; I have worked full-time outside the home. The dilemma is that there just are not enough hours in the day to accomplish it all. I can’t imagine actually doing my job from home. I would have a split personality…trying to do both at the same time. For me, it has been a process of letting go. First, I had to resign to the fact that it is ok if everything does not get done. I try to set priorities. I do my best with those and ignore the rest. Second, I try to give 100% of my attention to whatever the task is and live in the moment. It is counterproductive to think about work at home and about home at work. Third, I try to take a couple of minutes completely for myself. Naturally, all of this is much easier said than done!

I'd rather be...

All things considered...I'd rather be some place else. I knew this week would be intense at work and a challenge with Tdawg's doctor appointments. I was not expecting Cletus to have quarter sized welts show up on Saturday morning. No clue as to what caused them. Could be food, stress or medication. The latter is my guess...but only a guess. Never a dull moment for Gracie Lucy. I can't handle a crisis, my schedule is already full!!

Lunch, Laughs and Dessert without Guilt

I had lunch with Miss Gassy and Miss Goofy today, to celebrate my birthday. We always have such a good time together, no matter what we are doing. We always manage to find something to laugh about! The Main Street Cafe has delicious food: so we ate family style and shared. Gassy had the Crunchy Chicken; Goofy had the Vegetarian Lasagna and I had the Poulet de Normandy. Poulet de Normandy (French for Normandy Chicken) is basically chicken and cornbread dressing with cheese. I'm not sure that really qualifies as french cooking. But it is now my new fav. Then we had to do the same with dessert: Peanut Butter Pie, Mississipi Mudslide and Coca-Cola cake. It was like being in heaven. I'm grateful I have true friends that know what a nut I am, and love me anyway! There is never a dull moment when we get together!! Thanks again dearies!!!!

Follow up with the doctor

I took Tdawg for the follow up appointment with our family physician. The doc administered all sorts of eye-hand coordination and balance tests. He said that after a week, Tdawg should be symptom free. But he is not. He still has pain, some nausea and sensitivity to light and sound, and some cognition issues. So, he will go to an eye doctor on Tuesday; an the MRI on Wednesday; then meets back with the doctor on Thursday. I’m concerned, but have faith that in time, he will be healed.