I was all ready to write this post an hour ago and then I got sidetracked by this website. I really discourage you from clicking on that link if you don't have a few hours to play around.
Seriously . . . I'm not kidding. It is addictive.
Anywho . . . while I'm waiting for my confirmation e-mail . . . here are some kitty pictures:
Looks like a sweetheart, right?
Well sometimes she is -- and sometimes she isn't, we'll just leave it at that for now.
One thing about the change of seasons -- I am more prone to catch a cold during this time. Seems that fall has arrived because . . .
I have been fighting a cold the past couple days.
After church yesterday, I came home and napped under two blankets. It seemed to help. This morning I was feeling better but made a quick stop at the pharmacy to pick up some throat drops.
It probably won't help that I am going to bed at 11:30 tonight but I plan on sleeping in a little so maybe that will offset getting to bed later tonight.
I've said before that books sometimes force me to think through situations that have never happened (nor may never happen) to me. This books is a modern day retelling of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
Twelve years ago, Amy Halbert, eager to leave small-town life behind, demanded her share of the family money, changed her name, and dropped out of sight. Her older sister Kathy, was the one who stayed and witnessed the ripples of consequences Amy left in her wake.
Now as her father lies dying at the family farm in Kansas, Amy shows up out of nowhere. Her father is overjoyed to see her and learns that she has come to know the Lord. Before he dies, he begs his older daughter, Kathy, to be a good sister and welcome Amy back into the family.
But Kathy is struggling with the feelings of betrayal and bitterness. How can she forgive someone who brought such misery into their lives? -- Back cover
I honestly have to say that I was very sympathetic with Kathy's character. In fact several times I found myself mentally having words with Amy's character. :-)
The author really brought to light the different perspectives of everyone involved in the situation. The parents who saw their youngest child choose a path far away from them and the lifestyle their child had been brought up in. The sister who stayed and whose choices thereafter created a life path she wishes she could change. And the sister who left behind her family, life, friends, and even her name.
I think sometimes families take each other for granted. The expect and infer reactions and opinions and don't take the time to talk to each other.
That being said. What did I like about this book?
I like the characters. Both Kathy and Amy (the sisters) were so believable. Whether it was a little sympathy for Kathy or a harsh word for Amy, I found myself having imaginary conversations with them as I read the story.
I like the story. It is a timeless parable first told by Jesus to illustrate the acceptance new believers should receive into the kingdom of heaven.
I have been reading over the past couple week's posts. It is amazing to me how many emotions and moods I have had in such a short time.
And now a compilation of this week presented Wordle-style:
That took me and hour and a half to complete. I probably could have messed around with it for another hour, or two, or . . .
Anyway, my point was the highs and lows of the past two weeks have brought me to the place I am today. A little weary, hopefully a little stronger, and possibly even content.
That's all for the looking back portion of this post.
Looking ahead . . .
Tomorrow is my day off (YEA!) and since it is the last Friday of the month it is also Bookspot Friday. I am going to have an insightful book review (I hope). :-D
The next couple weeks will be filled: going to work, teaching my class, enjoying the fall weather, cleaning my house (bleah), getting my yard ready for winter, participating in church functions, and who knows what else will pop up along the way.
Today has been a long day. Or it seems as if it has been anyway.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow though. Tomorrow afternoon I am teaching my first session of Computers for Older Adults. I have 10 students so that is exciting.
I just finished reviewing my lesson plan. I have all my "props" gathered and I think I'm ready.
I have been looking for a site that I can store recipes on. I was using Better Homes and Gardens but when they switch site designs all my recipes were deleted. I was disappointed but not devastated.
So today I started to do some serious searching and found this website. You can search and store recipes as well as connect with other foodie-types. PLUS, look at this:
No, I have no particular love or hate for this recipe -- it simply happens to be the first entry into my KeyIngredient account. Yea!
And, get this, and it has a wonderful little print function so I can print it out very nicely if I would like.
I cleaned out my refrigerator today. I have been meaning to for a week or so now but I had to wait until a Wednesday because I didn't want the garbage to be sitting in my bin for very long.
Tomorrow is garbage day.
You know how sometimes you stick leftovers into the refrigerator and forget you had them in there. Let's just say I am mighty forgetful and leave it at that.
This past weekend some friends and I went out-of-town for the afternoon and on the way home we stopped at a duck pond.
The ducks were showoffs.
And very clean! :-)
There was also a goose there. He was injured. He only put his left foot in the water and not his leg because he had some kind of boo boo on his leg. He listed to the right as he swam through the water.
One of the reasons I love reading and stories is they help me to visualize what my own responses might be in a similar circumstance.
This past weekend I watched my favorite western -- High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.
The plot: As retired marshall Will Kane leaves town with his new wife he receives the news that Frank Miller, a man he sent to prison, is on his way back to town on the noon train. Before he went to prison Miller had vowed to get his revenge.
The marshall has to choose whether to stay and do the right thing. Or leave.
The movie paces quickly even with all the dialogue. It has good guys, bad guys, and everything in between. A little romance and a lot of conviction.
One of the major themes throughout this film is following your convictions -- doing what is right because it's right.
It reminded me of Daniel. A man who defied a law enacted by a group of advisors jealous of the power the king had given him and who wanted Daniel severely punished. A man who did right because it was right despite the consequences. A man who did the hard thing.
Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. Daniel 6:10
I think sometimes it is just easier for me to do the easy thing. Whether it is the right thing or not. I like things to be easy . . . unfortunately they are not.
My goal is to strive to do what is right because it is right and not because it is easy or hard. Not because everyone or no one is doing it.
I'm trying to get back into an exercise routine. This means going to bed earlier so I can get up earlie. As you can tell by the time stamp on this post I am not doing very well.
So far I have only gone to bed late, set my alarm for earlier, and snoozed until I had to get up.
I'm hoping I get tired of that soon and decide to get my butt in bed earlier! Because I am determined not to adjust the time I set my alarm clock for.
My exercise plan currently consists of aerobic/pilates/etc workouts I recorded (because there is no way I am getting up at 5 am to watch it live) off ESPN and walking to work.
Today would have been a great day to walk but I had places to be during my lunch break and I needed a little extra time to mow my lawn during my afternoon break so I drove to work today.
I am planning on walking tomorrow.
This is a good plan because I am probably gonna snooze through my alarm :-P
I have a couple posts written in my head but I just don't have the umpa to write one of them out tonight -- so I won't. :-)
I have to do a little finger dance . . . finger dance, finger dance . . . (too lazy to do anything else) and point out my brand-spankin' new tag cloud.
Over there to the left . . .
Down a little bit . . .
Little bit more . . .
There you go!
Lovely isn't it. I can't believe how well it turned out! I have been wanting one of these for the longest time! (Doesn't take much to make me smile does it?) So this afternoon I did a little searching and found website that had instructions on how to make this little beauty.
So I backed up my blog template . . . took a deep breath . . . did some cutting & pasting and a little color changing and voila!
My lovely little tag cloud.
::sigh::
As soon as I finish this post I think I might just sit and look at it a little while . . .
I put a link to the website under the Blog 101 heading . . . the hardest part is taking the breath!
Tonight was the first night of Awana. We had a "Registration Fair" which is basically carnival games and parents filling out permission forms/paying for books, etc.
I am so glad that Awana is starting up again. I enjoy seeing these kids -- they amaze me. I learn so much from them; I can only hope they learn half as much from me.
I manned the clothes pin drop booth. I had 5 clothes pins that each player tried to drop two feet into a milk bottle. It was so cute seeing some of the littlest ones figuring out how to do it. Some of the kids were great at it!
Everyone got prizes of course. And treats -- koolaid, cupcakes, and cookies -- you can't go wrong with that!
Next week we will begin our regular schedule -- games, handbook time, and a lesson.
She obviously is trouble in the making. :-)
I've said before that books sometimes force me to think through situations that have never happened (nor may never happen) to me. This books is a modern day retelling of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
This past weekend I watched my favorite western -- High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.
