man vs. south carolina

For those of you who have not seen the new show on Discovery, Man vs Wild, Bear Grylls hosts a show that conveys to the viewer how to survive in nature, especially in dangerous and life threatening situations. He goes all over the world to shoot these episodes.

The Husband just clicked our TiVo to one and he said, "Hey babe, this one is in Florida." The conversation proceeded to go as follows:

Me: "aaaahahahaha, Florida?! Not the Outback or the Sahara Desert? Yeah, I guess it is the worst state in the union!"
The Husband: "No, what he needs to do is do one showing how to survive in South Carolina on I-95 in the middle of the night."
Me: "haaaaahahahaha."

- for anyone who has come to visit us, you know how INCREDIBLY scary SC is. -

Me: "How would that go?"
The Husband: "It would involve showing how to disinfect and cook roadkill...how to make shelter out of tire tread from 18 wheelers...how to use metal shards to keep away the locals..."
Me: "aaaaahahahahah that would be so great."

Just another day in the life...

completely random.

This is not my Christmas update...I will do that later.

I just had this thought. I'm sitting here, waiting for the 2:30 mtg. to start and I am exhausted. The Husband and I got in around 1:15-1:30 last night and I was up again at 5:20 to get ready for work. I feel like my eyelids have anvils hanging on them.

So I was sitting here thinking about how tired my Mom's family is right now, with all they've gone through this fall...renovating the house for Mom and in general dealing with what is going on. Christmas was wonderful, but everyone was so exhausted. I was thinking about Auntie Em - running around with her two young children, "Auntie Mabel" - dealing with her health problems and bad job situation, my Mom - 'nuff said, and "Dear Jewel" who is my aging grandmother but refuses to accept her limitations and goes like a train. We were all so drained and I was wondering who really was the most tired, when it hit me.

How awesome would it be if humans had the ability to focus their ... whatever (thoughts, mental picture), and instantly switch emotions with another person. How many times have you heard one person say, "Man, I had a rough night last night." Then...another person chimes in, "Dude, me too. It was SO rough!" If you had the ability to completely take on the feelings and emotions of another person, then it could not only settle who had the roughest night, but also be able to enable people to really "feel" for each other. It would increase the level of compassion that we have on our fellow brother and remind us that there may be times when things really could be worse. (I was sitting here earlier thinking, "I could not be more tired. There's no way.")

I guess as Christians we are called to be compassionate on faith, reaching outside ourselves to look at another person's situation and trust that what they are saying is truth. "This is the hardest thing I've ever done." If someone said that to you, you have to trust that it is in fact the hardest thing they've ever done. But if you are sitting there thinking to yourself, "Oh yeah? Well, I don't believe that...he didn't go through _________ that I went through a few years ago," then you would be able to switch feelings and the person would be able to feel that there may or may not be things worse than what they are dealing with. I just think it would be a very interesting ability to have...to completely be able to be in another person's shoes.

I guess too, I just so enjoy "picking someone's brain" about things...if I had that ability, I could completely see where they were coming from. I would hear their statements, but also understand the passion with which they felt them.

Or...maybe this whole randomly written post proves that I really am the most tired and am not thinking clearly at all. Who knows. :0)

simply having a wonderful christmas time...

To shift gears a tad from the last post...

As has been expressed in previous posts, I love Christmas. Everything about it. I love the specials that come on TV. I love spending time with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I love the feeling of walking into my grandmother's dining room and counting the hundreds of cakes, paying special attention to be sure that the Lady Baltimore cake (my ABSOLUTE favorite) is right where it should be. I love putting up decorations, especially the lights, while listening to the classic Christmas tunes on the iPod. It's funny how you can take one song and have 7 different people sing it, and I still want all 7 versions.

Christmas time this year has been different...it's my first Christmas being married and it's also the first Christmas we will have without my father present. Even with all the drama that has been completely surrounding me the past couple of months, I have found time to thoroughly enjoy time spent doing Christmasey things that bring joy in a time of pain.

This year, The [wonderful] Husband and I have decorated a tree, gone to see White Christmas (the play...the movie is 100x better), ice skated, and shopped. Last night, we had our own Christmas time before we leave to go to my family's house(s). The Husband surprised me with some beautiful earrings, going WAY over the budget limit we had set, officially making all my gifts look laaaaaame, but I'm willing to take one for the team when necessary. We had cooked a delicious dinner and ended the evening by wrapping presents and baking. The Husband really knows how to crank out those gingerbread cookies! I'm beaming with pride. It was such a wonderful night, just being able to relax and savor the season.

Also, last night, we got a call from my sister, The Artsy One, notifying us that a new member of our family had arrived. You see, when we went home a couple of weekends ago, we picked out a new little critter to join the family. Her name is Sadie and she looks something like this:



We are getting her from a breeder near my Mom's house. We knew she would be ready sometime this week and we were hoping it wouldn't be until Friday (the breeder said she'd hold her until she sold the other puppies), but she came last night. Currently, she is awaiting our arrival. The Husband is so excited...he's wanted a puppy ever since he was a wee little boy. I'm very happy that he's going to be getting something he's wanted for a while.

We're also going to the Christmas Eve service at Good Shephard again this year. I'm VERY much looking forward to going this year (long story for another time). Maybe I'll just link to the posts that Auntie Em writes, if she ever will.

As it stands right now, the long and the short of it is this: I have grown up in the Southern Baptist church - and by two amazingly consistent and Godly parents. They have truly lived their faith before me every day of my existence. However I have increasingly been feeling the leading of the Lord to step out of that and spend a season seeking Him about how He sees His world - His children - His Church. It has led me to places I didn't know were there. It has been a road of seeking, weeping, searching, praying, reading, laughing, writing, begging for answers, finding those answers, and mostly it has been a season of true growth and revival for my soul.

It's awesome what God has been teaching her in her life, and subsequently in the lives of other family members, this past year. It's been so wonderful to be able to talk to someone close to me who is going through much of the same thing I am, in that way. That's another post for another time. Suffice it to say, it's going to be a very wonderful service. I feel it in my bones, and I am so excited about going.

So, I guess I'll say, even with the overcast of deep sadness and pain that me and my family are dealing with, it is good to be able to experience these wonderful other things in my life. I hope that whatever you readers are experiencing in your lives that you find joy in Christ and Christmas this season.

"Comfort, Comfort my people," says your God. Isaiah 40:1

well, it's about time.

I realize that it has been quite a while since I have posted something to the musings section of my blog. This has not been because I haven't been musing, but because there has been so much else going on in my life that I haven't had time to really put together a good post. For those who don't know, my parents separated about a month (give or take) after our wedding. If you are reading this for the first time and are thinking, "WHAT? WHY didn't she tell me?" it's because there's just hardly a good time for that kind of news. I always feel like the conversation is going to go like this:

Me: Hey! It's good to hear from you? How are you doing?
You: I'm good, I'm good. Went ______ the other day, had a really great time. So life is good! How are you??
Me: Well, I've been better. My parents just separated.
You: Oh...

I just feel like regardless of when or how I tell people, it's going to be awkward. So I've just avoided it. But I don't mind talking about it, so if you have questions, just ask.

But this post is about something I have been thinking about for a long time now. Years, in fact. I was talking to The Twin about this last night. Here it is:

I think that non-Christians are more honest than Christians.

Now, maybe I should say that non-Christians are more honest than Southern Baptists, since when I say Christians, that's mainly been my experience. However, I still have been pondering this for a while. This thought has been thrust to the forefront of my mind lately in dealing with my parents' separation.

I told The Twin last night...when bad things happen around non-Christians, from my observations, they tend to acknowledge the situation for what it is. They aren't afraid to "feel their feelings", as I like to call it. If they're angry, then they are. If they're happy, then they are. If someone has been mean, then they are not afraid to tell it like it is...mean people are jerks.

When bad things happen around Christians, I feel like they do damage control. For example, if someone gets separated from their husband, the non-Christian would sit around and play Independence Day by Martina McBride, eat ice cream and just laugh/cry as the emotion in the situation changed. A Christian would respond by immediately trying to get the two back together, regardless of what that takes and regardless of the issues that are within the marriage. Sometimes there is a need for a break. That's okay. I think that's what the world sees and wants. They don't want someone to come in and say, "Here's the answer and we need to be working toward that as hard as we can." There needs to be time for rest. I think they want someone to sit beside them for a period of time with a carton of Ben & Jerry's and say, "This REALLY sucks..." and mean it.

And there may be a deeper issue at stake here. I don't know if Christians think, "If there is failure, then that means that God isn't in control." Failure isn't in "God's will". The words "failure" and "in control" are so subjective. I was telling the Twin last night, the only thing I know about God's will is that he strongly desires a personal relationship with each and every person. That is abundantly clear through the merciful and loving sacrifice of Jesus. However, the manifestations of the relationship are very different for each person. You cannot say that just because someone teaches Sunday School and is on 3 committees within the church and they are a Deacon, that they are in a good place personally with God. And isn't that all that matters? Where they are personally? Are they having an affair? Are they abusive to their children? All that matters is what is in the heart.

...He [Christ] will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears..." - Isaiah 11:3b

I think however, that there is a school of thought that says if you ARE a Christian, then you will act this way, dress this way...and that is simply not true. The subsequent judgement from "Christians" is ridiculous. But, I wonder if the clenched fist that surrounds this check list is somehow related to their perception of God. If God is in control and people are living in "His will", then everything will be in line. If everything is in line, then it will look this way or that way. If pastors' wives leave their husbands because their pastor husbands are being emotionally and verbally abusive to their family, then what does that do to their perception of God? Instead of working to truly allow the family to heal, they do damage control. They cannot look into the face of a God who would allow a Pastor's family to undergo such pain. The problem is that we live in a world of pain. It comes to each of us in different ways. As Christians, we are not exempt from this. The only thing we are guaranteed is that God is in control and with us, regardless of the situation. I'm not quite sure where Christians get the idea that nothing bad is going to happen to them, or should happen to them, but it is not Biblically supported.

When these bad things happen, we need to respond in love and deep concern for the well being of the person in the situation. Sometimes, this is very grey. I like to say it allows God to be God. After all, he is all powerful. I feel like Christians lose focus of that and force God to be in their image, many times. When things go outside of that image, then they do all they can to fit it back into something they can believe in because it makes sense. Well, there's LOTS to God that doesn't make sense. But that's not bad, it's awesome. And that doesn't make for a weaker "case."

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. - Galations 6:2

Basically, what I'm saying is, someone needs to buy me ice cream. Thanks. :)

Holiday mystery amuses police..[and me.]

LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (AP) -- -- Deck the Parkway? Someone is hanging Christmas ornaments with care, not by the chimney but on trees along one of New Jersey's busiest highways.

It started before Thanksgiving with two glass ornaments -- a shiny red ball about the size of a cantaloupe and a smaller red oblong with gold glitter swirls -- tied to branches of two large pines along the Garden State Parkway.

They were easily visible to motorists blasting down the southbound lanes on a stretch of highway in the Pinelands where there are no nearby houses.

Then more decorations popped up. One week it was a glitter-enhanced green ball the same size as the original red one. Next came a smaller gourd-shaped ornament with red and gold glitter.

After that, a smaller red ball with white glitter snowflakes appeared.

This Monday, a large silver bell appeared on a tree on the other side of the road. On Tuesday, it was a burgundy apple-shaped ornament about the size of a medium pumpkin.

There are no notes or any other indications of who is responsible for the roadside ornaments.

"It's a mystery to us," said state police Capt. Al Della Fave.

Joseph Orlando, a spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which operates the parkway, wondered if the phantom decorator might be some frustrated husband whose wife won't let him cover the house with any more lights or ornaments.

"This is probably some guy whose wife finally said 'Enough!"' he said.


[cnn.com]

vote or DIE.

watch out for the third fist.

If I had a big candy cane, I'd let the judicial system suck on it.

Late Wednesday night, I got an email from Dad saying that I had been sent a letter summon-ing me to jury duty in the county where I used to live. He called the county and told them that I had moved and they told him that I had to send them proof. Since we went out of town, the first time I was able to take care of this was today...also the day I'm supposed to show up in court. So...I call the courthouse and tell them the deal and ask them if it's okay to send them a bank statement. The conversation went as follows:

Me: So, I'm wondering if it would be okay for me to send a bank statement to prove that my address has changed.
Condescending Clerk: Well, do you have a driver's license or a light bill?
Me: No...I haven't gotten a new license yet and all the bills are in my husband's name since I moved in with him after we got married.
Condescending Clerk: Oh...well, okay. Just fax a copy of your bank statement attn: Witch to 666-6666.
Me: Okay, thanks so much. I really appreciate this.
Concescending Clerk: Well, I mean, it's not up to me. The judge (or whoever does that) will have to approve this. I mean, I think he will, but who knows.
Me: ::LAUGHING:: Are you serious? I mean, I guess if he doesn't I'll see you in 6 HOURS.
Condescending Clerk: Okay...well, have a nice day.
Me: Yeah. You too.


UGRHHHHHHHH. Not what I need right now. The next post may be from jail...if they come to arrest me for not showing up!

...that's what she said.

Christmas lights found with potentially unsafe levels of lead
CNN analysis: Common brands show levels high enough to be dangerous to kids

Company: "Lights are not toys, should not be handled by children"

CPSC: No danger to kids; applying standard for toys to lights "rotten to the core"

Experts: Wear gloves, hang lights out of children's reach, wash hands after use

From Ronni Berke and Greg Hunter
CNN

(CNN) -- A CNN analysis of four common brands of Christmas lights shows levels of lead experts say are high enough to be dangerous to children.

Manufacturers do not hide the fact that lead is part of the PVC insulation that insulates Christmas light wiring. Lead is used legally to stabilize polyvinyl chloride so it does not crack or crumble with age. The lead also acts as a fire retardant.

But the levels of surface lead surprised Dr. Leo Trasande, a specialist in children's environmental health at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

"There is no level at which lead exposure is safe," Dr. Trasande said. "Even at one microgram/deciliter -- the lowest level in a person's blood stream that we can detect -- that level has been associated with cognitive impairment in children."

CNN's "American Morning" purchased samples of four common brands of Christmas lights and asked an independent New Jersey-based testing organization, Quantex Laboratories, to check for surface lead. Quantex analyzed three strings of lights from each brand.

The lab followed the Consumer Product Safety Commission's standard wipe test for lead in polyvinyl chloride products, including mini blinds and toys, to see how much lead in the cords' PVC coating would come off on someone's hands.

"You don't realize there's lead in it, you eat a cookie, you eat something without washing your hands, that exposure builds up in your body over time," said Dr. James Menoutis, who runs the lab at Quantex.

In the four brands of lights tested, Quantex found surface lead levels far exceeding the CPSC's recommended children's limit of 15 micrograms.

Wal-Mart brand lights had the highest levels of surface lead, with levels ranging from 86.6 to 132.7 micrograms. GE lights showed surface lead levels from 68 to 109.1 micrograms. Sylvania had surface lead levels from 59 to 70.3 micrograms. Levels of surface lead in the lights made by Philips ranged from a low of 3.2 -- well under the 15 microgram limit -- to 107.2 in another sample.

For Trasande, the high levels of surface lead in the lights are a real concern.

"I wouldn't needlessly expose [children] to a lead-based hazard that could have significant lifelong consequences for that child's cognitive capacity or their attention or other health problems," Trasande said. He recommended leaving lights off trees entirely.

In written statements, the four companies whose lights were tested all expressed concern about safety.

"The special coating around electrical wires on the light sets is necessary to pass the stringent UL safety and quality regulations," Wal-Mart wrote. "We are in full compliance with UL regulations which set the standards for electrical coatings."

Sylvania said its lights are "tested rigorously for safety and have been used safely by millions of Americans for many years."

"Holiday lights are electrical appliances. We encourage consumers to exercise common sense by keeping holiday lights and other electrical products away from the hands and mouths of children," the company wrote.

"We can make a fairly obvious common sense observation: Lights are not toys, should not be handled by children, and are not subject to the same standards for lead," wrote GE. "The CPSC guidelines you refer to are for products that would regularly be handled by children."

Philips pointed out that while the CPSC swipe test "is not a mandated measurement for our industry (it is a test to be applied to children's items and not electrical products), Philips takes matters concerning lead content very seriously. As such, the company and the industry are currently working on technologies to reduce the amount of lead in these products."

The Consumer Product Safety Commission insists Christmas lights do not pose an elevated danger of lead exposure to children. A spokeswoman vigorously criticized the CNN tests, saying that using the CPSC's methods for testing lead on blinds and toys "is like comparing apples to oranges and is rotten to the core."

But in a prior interview, not a response to CNN's tests, the Consumer Product Safety Commission advised children should still keep away from lights because they are electrical products, not toys.

"There are plenty of other things kids can do to help decorate the tree," said Julie Vallese, the CPSC spokesperson. "Lights are something that should be the responsibility of the parent."

Underwriters Laboratories, which inspects tree lights for electrical and fire hazards, said there are substitutes for lead in the insulation, such as calcium and zinc, but those options would be more expensive to manufacture.

So what's the best way to minimize lead exposure from Christmas lights? Experts say only adults should handle the lights. Wear gloves. The lights should be hung out of children's reach. And follow the instructions on the box: "Wash hands after use."


______________________________________



Attention world: Everything has lead in it. Don't put it in your mouth.

it feels like home to me...

As I sit here, barely able to keep my eyelids propped open with the toothpicks I grabbed on the way out the door this morning, I can barely contain my excitement about this weekend. The Husband and I are packing our little Element up and heading up I-95 to visit my mom and sisters this weekend. My grandmother started baking yesterday. :)

I'm very excited to get this reprieve from the hot hot heat down here and maybe have to wear a coat for once. Oh...and we're going to look for one of these while we're up there:



[yay!]

don't stop till you get enough.

classic.

i'm a pimp by blood, not relation..

Is it any wonder that my father and Jigga share the same birthdate? If only I can have a kid on the 4th of December as well...continue the tradition.

Happy late birthday to both my father and Hova.