Just a quick thought.....

One would think that by now, if they can vaccinate against all manner of childhood diseases that used to cripple, maim and kill --- and if they can now vaccinate against a strain of virus that can be a cause of cancer ........

Just when are they going to make a vaccine for migraines?

I am truly blessed not to have severe migraines that make me nauseous and knock me cold for hours or days on end. But I seem to have ones that just remain at a level 4-6 .... just irritating enough that they never fully develop and don't seem to ever fully go away. As the weather gets warmer, my headaches will either worsen or become more frequent. Something about the heat must be a trigger. That's the one nice thing about winter; I don't get nearly as many of these PITA headaches.

As much as Excedrin Migraine helps, I know that it's reaching a point where it will no longer be enough. I'm not looking forward to the day I go for testing. I know it's going to happen. I'd just like to postpone it as long as possible.

Out, out damn headache!

The best laid plans.....

Yeah, take it to mean the spring cleaning didn't even get started. I ended up napping a little Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon as well -- less than an hour each time, but apparently I really needed the sleep.

And I had planned to do some organizing at work today too. Well, that didn't happen either. We're getting ready to do open enrollment, and there were some things I needed to coordinate with our insurance broker instead of organizing myself. Plus another thing I needed to get done today, or at least close enough to it. The other thing I had planned for the afternoon ..... ha ha haha haha hahaha. Yeah. You know what happened.

I have a two-hour meeting tomorrow morning. So tomorrow afternoon..... I am locking the door. I am putting the phone on DND, and I am getting something D.O.N.E. I have to.

Today is the day....

My original plan was to spend yesterday doing spring cleaning. I mulled over doing the Azalea Festival 5K, and then was going to do cleaning. I did the 5K alright (click on the link for details), but the cleaning? Nah. It didn't happen.

But today, I at least have to start organizing some things again. And once again, I can see the Goodwill bag getting full. Maybe not as much as last time, but there will be some things for certain! So in about 5 minutes, I'm going to start on Sunday lunch (baking a meatloaf), read the morning paper (which I didn't get to do since I cantored the 8:00 service), and then after lunch, start cleaning / organizing.

Organizing: one of the many skills that I just don't take the time to do as I should. But that's another story.

Help. Help me. Something is very wrong.

I don't know what's wrong with me. Something has come over me and I don't know how to stop it. I feel a strong urge to not only do this but (gasp!) plan for it:

Spring cleaning.

Stop me before the disease grows! BWAAAAAAAAAAH!

The Lord is risen; he is risen indeed!

Okay, I don't normally write spiritually-oriented stuff on my main blog. I have a separate private blog for my spiritual/religious thoughts, and I try to limit it to that part of cyberspace. But today is Easter, the holiest of holidays in the Christian church, and today, I feel the great joy of the resurrection. I would not be true to myself if I did not acknowledge that. My faith is very much a part of who I am. Perfect? Heh. You read the blog; you know better. Forgiven? I believe so -- if not, then I would be most miserable of all humanity (to paraphrase St. Paul).

The season of Lent is a wilderness experience, to learn how to depend on God for our needs, and to prepare ourselves for our own passion-death-resurrection experience. While we will all face the ultimate PDR experience, we can experience them on smaller scales in our lifetimes.

Since mid-February, my life has been given a few twists and turns, and I'm still trying to sort through everything. I am trying to simply keep treading water and not drown! I have some new responsibilities, new learning of all kinds, new adventures and challenges -- and at a few times, the same old level of self-doubt. But I know that deep down I am a hardy girl and I will not only survive but thrive.

During the times when I feel that I simply cannot continue, that I can't last even just one more moment, I think back to a thought shared with me by Jill Connor Browne THE Sweet Potato Queen: "The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot sustain you." A few years ago at this time (when Jill shared that thought with me), I was in a wilderness of self-doubt. Mostly, I needed to rediscover the person God meant me to be. I had no idea that within a very short time, that would be exactly what would happen. All this time later, I find myself looking back at that desert experience, my time of temptation when it would have been easy to give up --- and to look ahead at the Easter garden that surrounds me now.

I don't want to bring the desert into the garden ... and yet I have to do so. It is because of the wilderness/desert experience that I can appreciate more fully the lush green pastures and beautiful flowers of the garden of today. I have to bring a piece of the desert with me, to remind me of how far I've come, and what I may have yet to face again. I do not know when the garden may wither. I do not know when I will find myself in the wilderness yet again. I do know that whatever happens, my hope and my security is because of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.

I know that there is nothing in this world that is greater than the love of God, love so powerful that it can correct even the greatest injustice and bring life from death. Fr. E (one of our priests) said these words this morning: "In Easter, life is proclaimed where death is expected."

The women went to the tomb expecting to anoint a cold, dead body. What they found was a messenger proclaiming the triumph of life and an empty tomb. Their world was once again turned upside down in just a matter of hours; only this time, their hearts were full of joy and wonder instead of grief and darkness. There was no question in their minds -- he had risen, just as he promised.

As Easter people, we can be no less joyous. We must proclaim life boldly where death is expected or even embraced.

Surrexit Christus, alleluia! Cantate Domino, alleluia!

Oh me of little faith ....

This morning, I shared with our choir director the saga of the great Portable DVD Player search of Yesterday. She said, "Oh hang on, let me call my husband, he won one of those things and I know he'll lend it to you." Bless their precious, sweet, kind, loving hearts.

I am stopping by their house on the way out of town to borrow it. I'm taking the DVD player I bought JUST in case; I mean, you just never know.

And I got some great advice from my buddy Talmadge about connecting my DVD (just in case).

YAHOO! It's good.

Frustrated and futile...

a/k/a My Search For A Reasonably-Priced Portable DVD Player

So, I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon for a 2-day business conference in northeast Georgia. Since I am not familiar with the town, and don't feel safe or adventurous for leaving my hotel to walk through town, I got the idea to take a portable DVD player in order to do some exercise in my hotel room. My hotel most likely doesn't have a fitness room; nothing in the amenities list mentions it. I could have stayed at the hotel where the conference is, but swear to y'all, there was like an $80 difference (and that's WITH corporate rates). Okay, I'm a bit cheap, but who isn't these days?

Anyway, after my WW training ended this morning, I went all over hell and half of G-vegas in search of said portable DVD player. Again, I wanted something that I would consider a reasonable price, because I only really plan to use this DVD player for travel. If it were something I'd be using on a more regular basis, then I would choose something a little sturdier, and of somewhat higher quality.

So I searched at a nearby Fred's: nothing. I went to Big Lots: nada there either. So I decided to head home and began to rack my brain for a Plan B or even a Plan C. Now, keep in mind that NEITHER of these plans involved getting anywhere near a Wally if at all possible. On the way home, there is a K-Mart and I thought, "Okay, as much as I don't want to....." so I went in. They had one -- but for a higher price than I was willing to pay (and especially for an off-brand). No. No, no, no. Then it hit me that occasionally, Belk or JCPenney will have some personal electronics. So I stopped: and again -- NOTHING. I wasn't going into Radio Shack just because I kind of figured they'd be there but more $$. So home I went.

I checked Craig'sList, and yeah, there were a couple listed. However, the sellers are in the completely opposite direction of where I'm heading tomorrow. So that wasn't going to work. I even checked Wally (again) just to see if there was one available in-store. And yes, they had one, but again, not at the price I wanted to pay. Call me cheap; I can take it.

So on a lark, I called the Fred's store here in my hometown. "No ma'am, we don't have any in stock." So I called the next town up: "Yes ma'am we sure do." I go flying up there....... I asked the manager where they were and he asked me with whom I'd spoken to get this information...... I gave him a vocal description (this poor employee had a bad sore throat, so it was pretty easy to describe a gravelly voice). He sighed and said, "Oh, that was my cashier. Well, unfortunately, we don't have them and I hate that you wasted a trip due to misinformation."

Well, it wasn't an entirely wasted trip. What I have done was to buy a refurbished DVD player that they had on sale, a connecting cable, and my plan is to hook the DVD player up myself when I get to the hotel.

After I return, I'll let you know if I've added "electronics wizard" to my skills set .......... BWAAAAAAAAH!