Prayers for Japan

Sometimes when disasters happen, we look at the people as just people.  We've seen scenes like this before.  There was the Phuket tsunami, Chile, Haiti and more.  Then in our own homeland, many disasters (natural and otherwise) that tend to blanket people into one lump sum.

But people aren't one mass. 

We need to step back, pull the faces from the mass photos and know that at the very least, they are the daughter or son of someone.  The missing, injured and ones affected are fathers, mothers, grandparents, friends, co-workers and more. 

So many of the missing won't be found. 

I remember when the Oklahoma City bombing happened.  I was in between class and going on to work.  I worked at a psychologist's office with my mom.  She had been pulling the earlier shift.  I remembered seeing the devastation.  One particular child touched my heart.  There was a fireman carrying a rag doll of a little girl.  Shortly after the photo of Baylee was taken, she passed away.  That image has stayed with me forever.  In fact, our Bailey was named because of Baylee. 

My heart goes out to Japan.  Earthquake.  Tsunami.  After shocks.  Potential nuclear meltdown. 

We need to wrap Japan in our loving and prayerful arms.

Nothing but humor will carry us through.

The winter that will never end.  Just read what I pulled from the National Weather Service at 10:45 AM.

A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM EST THIS
EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING.

THE RAIN ACROSS NORTHERN OHIO WILL CHANGE TO WET SNOW LATE THIS EVENING FROM WEST TO EAST...AND ACROSS NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE HEAVIEST SNOW MAY BEGIN AROUND MIDNIGHT TONIGHT AND WILL CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE WATCH AREA COULD POTENTIALLY SEE 6 TO 10 INCHES OF WET SNOW...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS UP TO 12 INCHES...BY FRIDAY EVENING. THE LATEST MODEL TRENDS INDICATE THAT THE BEST CHANCES OF THE HEAVY SNOWFALL ARE GENERALLY NEAR AND NORTH OF AN INTERSTATE 76 LINE.

THE EXACT TRACK OF THE LOW AS IT DEVELOPS OVER NORTHERN OHIO IS STILL UNCERTAIN AND WILL HAVE IMPACTS ON WHERE THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL WILL OCCUR. ANY CHANGE IN THE PATH OF THE LOW WILL INFLUENCE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS. STAY TUNED TO THE LATEST FORECASTS FOR ANY CHANGES THAT OCCUR THROUGH THE DAY.

At least they are saying it is wet snow. Wet snow = snowman snow. K- and I are planning on building a whole family. What more can we do? It's our version of making lemonade out of lemons.

Lenten sacrifice

Up until I was 8, I was Catholic.  I did the baptism, First Holy Communion and CCD.  When my parents divorced, we left the Catholic church and joined the Baptist church.  (Yes, quite a huge difference.)  The church that I grew up in and the church that we attend now do not do any type of Lent sacrifice through the season of Lent.

If I'm not saying all of this right, just be patient. 

At any rate, my friend Rachael has proposed on her blog that she will be getting off ye ole box for Lent.  Not all together, but she won't be on the amount of time she usually is.

Rachael and I talk all the time.  Sometimes we're on at the same time. 

So, I've decided to buddy up with Rachael and do a bit of Lenten-ness myself.  The box?  I'm not turning it off all the way.  I am, however, not going to be so pressed about hoping online and frittering away the time that I do.  My comment on her blog was that I feel like I was doing really well.  Then, we were slammed by a winter that will never end.  The evenings that we would usually walk have been replaced by homework.  K- is in bed between 8-8:30 PM, Hubs and I either watch a movie or split ways and he plays video games and I fritter time away on the box. 

Daylight savings time is coming this weekend (HOORAY!) and that signals my time to be a bit more productive. 

Last night, K- was suffering from an ear ache.  I'm happy to say that it is feeling better, but she just wanted to snuggle into her bed and read.  And read.  And read.  She read almost all of Junie B and the Stupid Smelly Bus.  (Yes, she knows that stupid is not a word that is okay.)  I think that I logged her reading for an hour and a half.  She read to Hubs and me.  I took a bath and she read to Hubs.  He took a shower, then she read to me.  He had to get up before 5 AM, so he got into bed early and she came in and read to him and me again.  Then, she read in bed to herself for probably another half hour.  It is important for her to read to herself, but it is also important for her to read to us.  That's not only for the atagirl, but the correction of a word or two when she struggles. 

If I'm on the box, that can't happen.

The blogging?  It'll be not every day, but I'll be around. 

Have a great day!

Tales from the Trenches: Blog legal family portrait

All of you that are regular visitors know that I don't post photos of my child's face on the blog.  Well, here's one of the sneaky ways that I am able to do that:

They had a spiffy heat sensing camera and monitor at Carnegie Science Center.  When I called Hubs and K- over to it, all Hubs could say was, "I see this going on the blog."

Right-o, darlin'. 

Smiles in my day:
-  K- has moved on to reading chapter books.  Now, there are a few words here and there she doesn't know, but she was pounding out a really good job at Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus.  At first, she tried, hit a word she didn't know and said, "Mom, I can't do it."  "Sure you can!  I want you to try."  Try she did.  Makes me happy!

Have a great day!

Apparently, I'm a millionaire.

You know, Hubs and I are pretty simple people.  When my ATM Visa arrives, I'll use only what I need, put some up for K- for college, then share the rest with everyone.  Just look!

Attention: Sir/ Madam, (Rest assured, it is Madam)

ATM PAYMENT APPROVAL FROM THE PRESIDENCY.  (Wow!)

Following the outcome of today's meeting, with president and the Nigerian financial brands the platform for the Nigeria financial services. After due vetting and evaluation of your inheritance file by the incubate President Federal Republic of Nigerian, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. (They don't know my name or gender, but they have vetted and evaluated (whatever that might mean) my inheritance file by the INCUBATE President?  Well, at least he wasn't an incumbent!) 

After due verifications of your file he find out that you have been going through hard ways by paying a lot of charges to see your $27,000,000.00 Million is release, but due to on Godly people in the office you where passing much difficulties, with this effect Mr. President Federal Republic of Nigerian, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has approve to central bank to credited your fund true ATM visa card which will be delivered direct to your door house this is due to incessant fraud, financial malpractices and even terrorism, including scams.  (Did you scratch your head when reading this?  I had to read it several times.  Apparently, I'm going through hard ways to see my millions released, but due to what I presume are ungodly people and not on Godly people, the Mr. President Federal Republic of Nigerian, who just so happens to have the name of Goodluck, has decided to credit my ATM visa card, which I do not have, and deliver it right to my door house!  This way, we can skip all that fraud stuff, right?)

I wish to inform you that in line with the prevalent procedures here in the financial sector, the recalled fund 0f $27,000,000.00 Million for which you are the bonafide beneficiary can be redeemed only if you engage the services of ATM visa card which will be issued to you by central bank of Nigeria, this bank will empower sufficiently to render the services required to effectively have the ATM visa card approved, endorsed and thus released to you in your contact home address without any delay.  (Their prevalent procedures are just fantastic.  I can't believe my luck!  I'm the beneficiary, but some how they don't have my information.  Certainly, I want to empower the bank to sufficiently render the services so that I can have the ATM visa card approval.  Without delay?  Wow!)

this method has been adopted in lieu of existing and to clear to you that this is real and legitimate transaction now we have taking the legitimate power to see that you're fund will be transfer by ATM visa card. With this effect you are advice to forward to us with under listed information's to enable the bank perfect the delivery.  (I removed his e-mail address to keep people from inundating him with requests for millions.  I could tell by his fragmented writing in this last paragraph that he was writing with great speed, so that he could get this most important message to me.)
Your Full Name:

You're Contact Address: (You are contact address.  Nope, I am human.)

You're Office Address: (You are office address.  No, still not an address, though I have been addressed.)

You're Telephone Number:  (You are telephone number.  I am a number to the government, but not a phone number.)

You're Identification, which must be your Driving License or your International Passport.  (You are identification.  I have identification, but I'm not identification.  When I wake up in the morning and my hair is all over, I may be misidentified.  We curly headed gals suffer from that.)

With this information's the bank will successfully delivered your ATM VISA CARD to your doorstep.  (Well you know, that's certainly not too much to ask.)

Yours faithfully, (At least he isn't on Godly.)

Rev Mike Wilfred.  (Doesn't sound terribly Nigerian, does it?)
Personal Sectary to the President Of Federal Republic of Nigeria. (He's a sectary?  There for a minute, I confused him with a SECRETARY.  Silly me.)

If you'll excuse me, I have a door house to pretty up.  That ATM Visa card should be arriving shortly.  To speed things up, perhaps I should give him my bank account number.  I know that with a name like Goodluck, he has to be an honest man!

Smiles in my weekend:
-  We sacked out at home on the excessively rainy Saturday, read a book together and made a lovely dinner together.
-  Some Kind of Wonderful was on the TV Guide Channel.  I haven't seen that movie in years!  RIP John Hughes.  Hubs even sat and watched it with me.  We caught it about 1/3 of the way through, but lucky for us, they were running it again.  We didn't watch the whole movie in the traditional manner, but we did get to watch all of it.  I love, love, love 80's movies and the music that goes with. 
-  We had a great day at the Carnegie Science Center.  It is like COSI on steroids.  We had a great time, the building is built with a fantastic flow, so you aren't always competing with others and don't have people plowing you over.  COSI is like a giant warehouse (Hubs' description) and it is bit and pieced.  Flow isn't good and people aren't courteous.  Since we are museum pass holders and Carnegie is a reciprocal museum, we saved the $46.00 for admission.  Hooray for museums that partner up for admission!
- We visited IKEA, where we picked up a bookshelf for K-'s bedroom. Y'all, the child has a collection of books that she loves. Each. and. every. book. We bought her this. The child had books on her desk side bookcase, on her desk, above her bed, in the cubby of her bed, on the floor in between her bed and the wall (lovingly called the ditch), in the living room, in the car and on the table. We had to absolutely deal with the problem. Look!  (Ignore the jaundiced look of her room.  I have a splitting headache and didn't feel like tweaking with the camera for the right setting.)

-  We've got the case hung for K-'s Madame Alexander dolls.  (The dolls are a family tradition for the girls in Hubs' family.)  I'm going to make an attempt at getting the dolls dusted and in the case tomorrow. 

For now, I'm exhausted.  Have a wonderful day!