A little bloggy sabbatical

I'm taking the next couple of weeks off from blogging. Except for the blog on my Mix 102.9 page because keeping that one current impresses the bosses. Keeping up this blog impresses no one but my own self and I'm tired of me. Ha!

And I looked at my schedule for the next several days and it includes five holiday parties/year-end meetings, a couple of outside appointments, and slightly more than 70 radio shows that I have to prepare and send to other markets. I'm hoarse just thinking about it. But as always, I'm grateful for opportunity when it knocks.

So I'm just plum out of time. Busier than a one-legged woman in a butt-kicking contest. So busy I don't know whether to scratch my watch or wind my butt. And you're probably so busy you don't have time to read this, so my efforts would be in vain anyway. Let's reconnect after the holidays. Then I'll have fun pictures to post of Jada and Ciara's visit (I think the rest of my family is coming too. HA!), and I'll talk about all the exciting things we did like drink egg nog, wear flannel pants, and sit on the couch because our bellies are full. I don't have any of those exciting things to talk about right now.

Merry Christmas!!

Tis the season

Angela took me to look at Christmas lights last night. She drove to Starbucks first and picked up two hot chocolates, and then we drove around for about an hour. It was a special evening. :-)

Have you seen the lights in Frisco Square? (Near Dallas Parkway and Main, across from the soccer stadium.) If you see them driving by they're pretty, but they look a bit like they've short-circuited because they're flashing at irregular intervals and then they briefly go out. But when you're in the square you can set your radio to a certain frequency and the flashing is synchronized with the music. Sometimes they even have fake snow. They've gone all out! It's way cool.

So we drove around in the square, and then drove around our neighboring subdivisions. I've always loved peering into other people's houses because it makes me feel warm and cozy inside, and this time of year everyone seems to be inviting the nosiness. Warm and cozy indeed.

Yay for quality time.

Materialism is weird sometimes

Photo courtesy of Canon USA.

The new diamond studded luxury camera.

I just have one question. Why?

It must take really great pictures.

Shopping cart ettiquiette

It's the holiday season and I'm finding it incredibly difficult to concentrate on my usual disciplines! All of that stuff that I do in addition to my job, like write this blog for example. All I want to do these days is roll around in tinsel and mistletoe and make Christmas candy! But I trudge on.

I went to Target today and I tried my best to effect shopping cart change, but it didn't catch on. I spent a lot of time back in the toy aisles shopping for my nieces, and naturally those aisles were jam packed with moms shopping for their kids. All of them forced their shopping carts into that already-crowded space. But not me! I took my wallet out and left mine a few feet away next to a rack of bermuda boxers. I've been feeling kinda bloated lately, but I still managed to squeeze between peeps and weave my way up and down the crowded aisles just fine. I was cart and burden-free! I moved between the See-N-Says and Potato Heads with ease, and I wasn't in anyone's way. I felt like I was doing a great service to the other shoppers there, but evidently they weren't feelin' my vibe. They clung to their carts like Gwyneth Paltrow clings to Moses when she's trying to ward off the papparrazi. Oh well. I did what I could.

And maybe these cart-clingers were onto something. As I neared the area where I had left my cart unattended, I saw that a Target employee was in the process of scooting it toward another unattended cart in an effort to clean up the place. He was about to return my cart to the front of the store when I mentioned that I was just trying to create more aisle space and left my cart there on purpose. He apologized, I took my cart back, and we went our separate ways. And from that point on, I started clinging. I even named my cart Moses. And I bought my niece Jada a Noah's Ark play set since she's so into animals. She can't read yet, so I feel safe in putting it out there. Shopping cart issues aside, I love the holidays!

Become a part of Team Jess

Lisa Thomas, my friend an co-worker needs you. She's being completely open about everything she's going through right now, so it is with her permission that I relay this info. On one condition of course; you must pray your heart out for her!

A few weeks ago I got a call from our boss 45 minutes before Lisa's midday show was to begin, saying that she was having a medical emergency and asked if I could fill in for her. Of course, I was happy to drop everything and go. She was about seven months pregnant, and the doctors had just discovered a tumor on the baby's brain. Since then, Lisa and her husband Rudy have been to the doctor several times in search of more info, better news, a birth plan, etc. and the waiting has been understandably tough. The tumor is the result of two blood vessels fusing together and forming a mass during development. The good news is, the tumor is not cancerous.

It's a baby boy named Jesse, and he's scheduled to arrive at the end of January. The only way I know how to help until then, is to ask you to join "team Jess" in prayer. The list of people praying for Lisa, Rudy, and Jesse is extensive, but we need you too.

Lisa has shown an unbelievable amount of strength and faith since finding out the news. We'll all continue to rally around her.

She said I could post her most recent email sent just a little while ago.

Well, we're back from Dr. Weprin's office. I'm just gonna dive right in and trust that God will not give us anymore than we can take. What Dr Weprin believes is that Jess has an AV Malformation that is a clotted fistula. He can tell from the MRI that it didn't bleed or hemmorrage and has clotted off. This is good news. It is on the occipital part of his little brain.....and this is responsible for his peripheral vision. Dr. Weprin did say that parts of Jess' brain do not look normal....such as his cerebullum....which looks small. He did say that babies brains are constantly changing though so he has ordered another fetal MRI in 3 weeks. We'll let you know the date and time of the appointment when we get it. Jess's case is one of 6 in the last 6 years here in Dallas. Of those cases, there were two operations .....1 resulted in "issues" and the other in death. The others were left alone and the children are living relatively normal lives. I pressed him on this and he couldn't give me any more specifics at this time due to HIPA rules (I hope I'm spelling this right). Neurosurgeons for Children WILL be writing Jess up as a case study as this has not been done in the past...so our son will be helping others down the road. Our birth plan is still a big unknown. We are still looking at the end of January at Presbyterian Dallas via c-section. We DO know that Jess will be a NICU baby so we need to look into all THAT involves. If anyone has any experience, holla back please!! We're newbies at this! There will also be a special doctor in the room with us that will help assess any special needs Jess may have at birth. I forget what this doctor is called but it's a neo-natal specialist I think. Sorry, still a little in shock. Dr. Weprin did say that Jess will have surgery immedately if the following occur 1) the bleed grows and starts pushing parts of the brain out of the way 2) the spinal fluid in the brain is not flowing 3) the bleed is stealing blood from other organs such as the heart 4) hydrocephalus occurs (and Jess will have to have a shunt put in immedately in this case). Dr. Reinhart will be watching our sonograms and can tell if any of the above start to happen. I feel pretty powerless at this point in that we just really can't plan for anything. Oh wait, Dr. Weprin did say we can plan on MRI's, brain scans, and sonograms from the moment he is born and for the first two years of his little life. I'd rather plan for things such as the finishing touches on the nursey...his first pediatrician's visit...his first car trip home....but okay, God, we're listening. Not a lot of answers to share with you. Sorry! I asked Dr. Weprin for a worst case....and I'm sure you know what the answer to that was....and for a best case...and that's for Jess's tumor to completely go away and for him to be able to live a normal, healthy life. Please keep the prayers up as today as I'm feeling very small. I ran into someone that I knew from the Children's Miracle Network (Mix did the Radiothon for 5 years for Children's and Cook) in the lobby as we were leaving....and she asked what I was doing there. I had to tell her that I guess it was our turn now and just broke down in tears. It really feels like a nightmare. I hold fast today to the quote that my friend Paul sent me from Florida yesterday ...."Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will."

LT

Paint makes me happy

Angela and I painted some accent walls at the house on Saturday. When we picked the color we didn't know how cool this autumn photograph would look up against it! Angela took this picture a few years ago when we went to visit relatives in Columbus, Ohio. Now it looks even more "at home."

Spending time with Angela always makes me feel sane. When we spend too much time apart (which happens every week because of our opposite work schedules), I start feeling anxious and disconnected. These small bouts with insanity always confirm the fact that I'm not as strong on my own as I think I am. :-) It's nice and humbling. When Angela and I spend time together and really talk, her words are always the emotional deep breath that I need. She is able to put everything in the proper perspective and help me realize how blessed we are to have each other. Everything else becomes less relevant and falls by the wayside.

I love it when we have the time to be constructive. We have new walls now and they're fun to look at. This is something we couldn't have done if we had gotten a positive pregnancy test last week, because the paint fumes would have become taboo. We'll continue to make the best of it.