Because of our snowfall today and the windy conditions, the school district cancelled the concert. I can hear J sounding disappointed. Not. We bought him a shirt, tie and shoes already for the concert and now cancelled.
I am not a big fan of snow or ice. If I didn't have to drive at all in it, I wouldn't mind it too bad. Back when I was in college I had an accident on black ice and have never been the same since. My friend was going to Great Bend for an eye appointment and she didn't want to drive because the doctor would be putting drops in her eyes so she couldn't see afterwards. So we left Sterling for Great Bend and driving out there was just fine. But on the way back, it was really cold. I didn't think much of it, until we ran into some traffic on the road. They were going at a snails pace. I thought they were going too slow, not aware of the frozen roads that we were traveling on and thought I would pass them.
Then my car started to shimmy a little and I couldn't stop it. I did the wrong thing by slamming on the brakes. The car went sideways and I saw another car in the other lane coming towards me. Then I saw the ditch off onto the left side and a pole coming straight at us. I closed my eyes and screamed! My friend said that she saw her life literally passing before her eyes. When I opened my eyes, my car was over the and just touching the pole. The car wasn't damaged and we weren't injured anyway, not bodily injured. Some nice people picked us up and my friend called her dad. My friend threw up after the experience and me, well I have just carried all of my feelings about that experience these past 30 years.
Her dad, who was the registrar of my college, pulled my car out of the ditch. I followed him slowly back in the car until it started to shimmy again and I went into the ditch yet another time. I couldn't drive at all. I was so petrified. My friend drove the car to her brother's house in a nearby town and I was without a car for a few weeks. It didn't matter. I was just too scared to drive.
After the accident I couldn't bare even driving on wet roads for fear it would ice up. My mom even drove to visit my grandmother in another town and took me. I was still scared when she drove on the icy roads and it looked like an impending accident.
To this day, I have to ask L if the roads are really bad to drive for me. Now, I have a new fear, driving out of town. I tell everyone that I can drive IN town but driving out on the highway scares me to death.
I know that I probably should see a therapist or take some medication for my fears. Does anyone have a plan for me on how to get over this or give me some confidence back?
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
What a busy Sunday!
I was scheduled to teach my Adult Sunday School class, traded Sunday's to read the Scripture, was involved in "cookbook" skit before worship, our family did the advent candles (we had trouble getting the thing to work to light the candles!), S read part of the scripture and I read the other half. Oh yeah, and I was baking muffins at midnight for the MYF breakfast.
I think people were getting sick of me coming up to the front. But, I kind of got used to it by the time I had to read the Scripture.
On teaching my Adult Sunday School class, I had prepared a lot of notes and had some print outs. L helped a little but I could tell he was out of his element. I was a lot out of practice teaching. And wouldn't you know it, our class was huge today, complete with a new person! When I was a student teacher teaching History, I felt for sure that I had enough lesson to cover an hour. Then when I was a teacher of younger kids, I thought that I had enough material. Thankfully, when it came to the kids, I had a craft that I could do with the lesson. It wasn't that way today.
Could you image, "All right Darlene, Brad, Cheryl, etc., let's all make a memory chain about what Mary is praising God about." Maybe if I had brought a craft to do we would still be in the classroom when worship was about to begin.
No. I didn't do that. My so-called preparation only took 20 mintues!! I could have just started at a quarter till the hour and then the lesson would have taken all of that hour.
This is the most that L and I had ever talked in this class and the first time ever that I taught Adult Class Sunday school.
Next time, if I taught class again, I would hope that we would have a smaller class. I felt a little intimidated. But thanks goes out to the class, who talked and discussed the topic. It was appreciated by me!
I think people were getting sick of me coming up to the front. But, I kind of got used to it by the time I had to read the Scripture.
On teaching my Adult Sunday School class, I had prepared a lot of notes and had some print outs. L helped a little but I could tell he was out of his element. I was a lot out of practice teaching. And wouldn't you know it, our class was huge today, complete with a new person! When I was a student teacher teaching History, I felt for sure that I had enough lesson to cover an hour. Then when I was a teacher of younger kids, I thought that I had enough material. Thankfully, when it came to the kids, I had a craft that I could do with the lesson. It wasn't that way today.
Could you image, "All right Darlene, Brad, Cheryl, etc., let's all make a memory chain about what Mary is praising God about." Maybe if I had brought a craft to do we would still be in the classroom when worship was about to begin.
No. I didn't do that. My so-called preparation only took 20 mintues!! I could have just started at a quarter till the hour and then the lesson would have taken all of that hour.
This is the most that L and I had ever talked in this class and the first time ever that I taught Adult Class Sunday school.
Next time, if I taught class again, I would hope that we would have a smaller class. I felt a little intimidated. But thanks goes out to the class, who talked and discussed the topic. It was appreciated by me!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
"May I help You?"
Today while I was in Wally World West I was in the book aisle looking for a particular book.
This lady with a KU key chain around her neck asks, "May I help you look for a book?" I thought, "Well sure, I so far can't find the book." So I said, "Yeah, do you have the Bill Self book?" I get this blank stare from the sales lady. Then she says, "What's the name of the author?"
I patiently tell her again, "Bill Self."
Again, a blank response. Then she said, "What's the title?"
Now I am thinking why are you even wearing that KU key chain around your neck, don't you know anything about KU Sports?
I said again calmly, "It's about Bill Self."
Once again, a blank stare.
Then I add, "It's about basketball."
The light popped on in her brain, "Oh, well we ran out of all those sports books the first of the week."
Duh. Maybe I should have asked her, "May I help you?!"
I can't believe that this person, who was wearing a KU keychain around their next, has not heard of Bill Self and the National Championship.
Maybe the clerk's favorite sport is rowing.
This lady with a KU key chain around her neck asks, "May I help you look for a book?" I thought, "Well sure, I so far can't find the book." So I said, "Yeah, do you have the Bill Self book?" I get this blank stare from the sales lady. Then she says, "What's the name of the author?"
I patiently tell her again, "Bill Self."
Again, a blank response. Then she said, "What's the title?"
Now I am thinking why are you even wearing that KU key chain around your neck, don't you know anything about KU Sports?
I said again calmly, "It's about Bill Self."
Once again, a blank stare.
Then I add, "It's about basketball."
The light popped on in her brain, "Oh, well we ran out of all those sports books the first of the week."
Duh. Maybe I should have asked her, "May I help you?!"
I can't believe that this person, who was wearing a KU keychain around their next, has not heard of Bill Self and the National Championship.
Maybe the clerk's favorite sport is rowing.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Friends
All through your life you have different friends. You have friends in your neighborhood, friends you make in grade school, junior high, high school, junior college, and college. Some you remember and some remember you. You make friends with your friends boyfriends and eventually husbands. You have friends in your job, close confidants and you have church friends.
Yesterday while making a search I ran across a daughter who was writing about her childhood and in particular her mother. Her mother was my friend.
Katherine and I met in Wichita as fledgling telephone operators and wannabe journalists. Katherine was from Oregon via California, she was a year old than me. She got married at 16 and divorced by the time I got to know her. We were as opposite as day and night. She was a smoker and I was not. She was outgoing and I was not. She was zany and well I was a little. She was the friendliest operator on the board and got compliments and I was the fastest and maybe not so folksy. We hung out together doing different activities like running in the River Run in "82. Even though she was a smoker, she still had a better time than me because she ran cross country in high school. She became the editor of our office newspaper and encouraged me to get involved. I loved it! Then eventually I took over that office newsletter and when our offices combined I remained the editor and helped get another office of operators get started on their newsletter.
She didn't join the union and I did. She crossed my picket line when we had a strike. People didn't like her so much there after, yet we remained friends. She introduced me to a string of losers for dates. She married her second husband in "83 and had the cutest children. She bought her house on the west side of Wichita in an auction. I went over to her house and still can remember what it looked like on the inside. I traveled to Oklahoma once to see her in laws and meet yet another guy (loser) to go to the Oklahoma State Fair.
Another friend (my best friend in college and still) introduced me to L in '87. We married in '88. I quit my job in '89. I would write to Katherine and called her once. She had her last child, Sarah in 1990. The last time I saw Katherine was 12 1/2 years ago. I had 2 year old S and I was pregnant with J. Sarah was the daughter who wrote about her mom/parents and childhood. I never saw her again.
Katherine died in 2002 with lung cancer. She was only 48.
------
Sarah wrote about her mom being diagnosed with lung cancer in a blog. Each time I read it tears come to my eyes. Sarah wrote from the heart. Her parents divorced and again her words touched me. I had lost touch with Katherine during those years. Sarah went through a messy divorce, the remarriage of her dad, and eventually the death of her mother. She was uprooted from her school and when she went to high school she tried to commit suicide. Her family life was upsetting and now she has moved away from Kansas to Oregon to go to college. She is starting a fresh new life.
Sarah is a lot like her mom in looks. She is a marketing major with journalism as an emphasis. Just like Katherine wanted to be.
But unlike Katherine she is a non-smoker. She stated in her blog that she watched her mother smoke through her cancer diagnosis. During her chemotherapy, Katherine continued to smoke. The cancer had left her lungs. But then it was found in other parts of her body her brain, lymph nodes and her liver. She had radiation and still continued to smoke. She took steroids and became puffy that no one recognized her. She had trouble speaking and it hurt when Sarah tried to hug her or touch her. She entered hospice care then died in Sept. 2002 at the age of 48. Sarah was only 12.
Sarah wrote about her friends whom she lost contract with in middle school. She said that most of them took up smoking and they are only 18 years old.
Quote: It breaks my heart when I imagine their life thirty years from now. I hope for their own sake they don't have children. They won't live to see them graduate.
Powerful writing!! It's from the heart. Think about it.
Yesterday while making a search I ran across a daughter who was writing about her childhood and in particular her mother. Her mother was my friend.
Katherine and I met in Wichita as fledgling telephone operators and wannabe journalists. Katherine was from Oregon via California, she was a year old than me. She got married at 16 and divorced by the time I got to know her. We were as opposite as day and night. She was a smoker and I was not. She was outgoing and I was not. She was zany and well I was a little. She was the friendliest operator on the board and got compliments and I was the fastest and maybe not so folksy. We hung out together doing different activities like running in the River Run in "82. Even though she was a smoker, she still had a better time than me because she ran cross country in high school. She became the editor of our office newspaper and encouraged me to get involved. I loved it! Then eventually I took over that office newsletter and when our offices combined I remained the editor and helped get another office of operators get started on their newsletter.
She didn't join the union and I did. She crossed my picket line when we had a strike. People didn't like her so much there after, yet we remained friends. She introduced me to a string of losers for dates. She married her second husband in "83 and had the cutest children. She bought her house on the west side of Wichita in an auction. I went over to her house and still can remember what it looked like on the inside. I traveled to Oklahoma once to see her in laws and meet yet another guy (loser) to go to the Oklahoma State Fair.
Another friend (my best friend in college and still) introduced me to L in '87. We married in '88. I quit my job in '89. I would write to Katherine and called her once. She had her last child, Sarah in 1990. The last time I saw Katherine was 12 1/2 years ago. I had 2 year old S and I was pregnant with J. Sarah was the daughter who wrote about her mom/parents and childhood. I never saw her again.
Katherine died in 2002 with lung cancer. She was only 48.
------
Sarah wrote about her mom being diagnosed with lung cancer in a blog. Each time I read it tears come to my eyes. Sarah wrote from the heart. Her parents divorced and again her words touched me. I had lost touch with Katherine during those years. Sarah went through a messy divorce, the remarriage of her dad, and eventually the death of her mother. She was uprooted from her school and when she went to high school she tried to commit suicide. Her family life was upsetting and now she has moved away from Kansas to Oregon to go to college. She is starting a fresh new life.
Sarah is a lot like her mom in looks. She is a marketing major with journalism as an emphasis. Just like Katherine wanted to be.
But unlike Katherine she is a non-smoker. She stated in her blog that she watched her mother smoke through her cancer diagnosis. During her chemotherapy, Katherine continued to smoke. The cancer had left her lungs. But then it was found in other parts of her body her brain, lymph nodes and her liver. She had radiation and still continued to smoke. She took steroids and became puffy that no one recognized her. She had trouble speaking and it hurt when Sarah tried to hug her or touch her. She entered hospice care then died in Sept. 2002 at the age of 48. Sarah was only 12.
Sarah wrote about her friends whom she lost contract with in middle school. She said that most of them took up smoking and they are only 18 years old.
Quote: It breaks my heart when I imagine their life thirty years from now. I hope for their own sake they don't have children. They won't live to see them graduate.
Powerful writing!! It's from the heart. Think about it.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Catching Up
This week is really going by fast unlike last week when we had to put up with the flu bug. It seems everyone is keeping well and suffering from dry hands. Sasha, is another story. Our indoor cat contracted fleas. We have been treating him and vacuum the house. Yesterday I was searching for him all over the house and there he was sleeping in his litter box! Very strange cat behavior! I am keeping my eye on him today and will call our vet to figure this out. We may have to do something drastic if the pests don't go away anytime soon.
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Next week J has a Christmas program vocal and music. He came home with a note on what he needed to wear. Khakis, slacks, a nice shirt and dress shoes, and a TIE!! Oh my!! The last time that J was that dressed up was at a wedding about six years ago when he was 6 years old. Then I can remember one Easter we bought him a little suit complete with tie and he was only 3 or less. So this weekend we will have to go on a shopping trip. We knew that when he plays basketball for school next year then he will have to be somewhat dressed up on game days. We will be hitting New Market Square on Saturday morning to look for these items. I will have to take a picture of him (if he'll let me) once he has these nice clothes on.
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J informed me that if he makes his reading goal then he can go to a Christmas dance. I asked him if he was going to go and take date. He scoffed at that remark, knowing I was kidding him. He is not interested in any of the girls around here. I know that that day will come soon, but that seems so far away. He's got plenty of time, he's only 12 and he does NOT need to be dating any time soon.
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How do you roll up the cord on your vacuum cleaner? Do you go up and down with it or do you do a criss-cross wrap? I wrap it up and down and when I see the criss-cross method it makes me crazy!! Not only that but the cord becomes crinkly when you criss-cross it. Word to the wise whoever uses the church vacuum please do not criss-cross the cord!
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Here's another question for you: How many of you leave your Christmas tree lights on in the house when you are not in the house or for that matter when NO ONE is in the house? I know I don't. I'm afraid of a possible fire hazard. So when NO ONE is in the "house," I unplug it. House, in this instance, applies to "the church."
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KU won yesterday. Tyshawn Taylor, the guy who wears Mario Chalmers number 15, scored a whopping 23 points! WOW! He's just a freshman. When S becomes a freshman in college, he'll be a senior. Now that's exciting!
----
I am suffering from "The Rifleman" withdrawal. This show had been on Encore Westerns until the end of the month of November. I would watch this show for an hour every night and now it's no longer on. I enjoyed watching Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford running into strangers who interacted with the McCain family. My kids even know the theme song (they hum this sarcastically, they didn't like the show). "The Rifleman," first started in 1958 and ended in 1963. When it first came out I didn't watch it either, but now being older I really liked it. Rarely there was a show when McCain didn't use his rifle. I just liked it for the interaction between the widow father and his son. They had some really good stories. Thankfully, I ordered some DVD's through Netflix and plan to watch it again. Ahhh!!
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Are you through Christmas shopping yet? Or have you started? We only have 3 weeks from today to get it done, wow!
----
Next week J has a Christmas program vocal and music. He came home with a note on what he needed to wear. Khakis, slacks, a nice shirt and dress shoes, and a TIE!! Oh my!! The last time that J was that dressed up was at a wedding about six years ago when he was 6 years old. Then I can remember one Easter we bought him a little suit complete with tie and he was only 3 or less. So this weekend we will have to go on a shopping trip. We knew that when he plays basketball for school next year then he will have to be somewhat dressed up on game days. We will be hitting New Market Square on Saturday morning to look for these items. I will have to take a picture of him (if he'll let me) once he has these nice clothes on.
----
J informed me that if he makes his reading goal then he can go to a Christmas dance. I asked him if he was going to go and take date. He scoffed at that remark, knowing I was kidding him. He is not interested in any of the girls around here. I know that that day will come soon, but that seems so far away. He's got plenty of time, he's only 12 and he does NOT need to be dating any time soon.
-----
How do you roll up the cord on your vacuum cleaner? Do you go up and down with it or do you do a criss-cross wrap? I wrap it up and down and when I see the criss-cross method it makes me crazy!! Not only that but the cord becomes crinkly when you criss-cross it. Word to the wise whoever uses the church vacuum please do not criss-cross the cord!
-----
Here's another question for you: How many of you leave your Christmas tree lights on in the house when you are not in the house or for that matter when NO ONE is in the house? I know I don't. I'm afraid of a possible fire hazard. So when NO ONE is in the "house," I unplug it. House, in this instance, applies to "the church."
----
KU won yesterday. Tyshawn Taylor, the guy who wears Mario Chalmers number 15, scored a whopping 23 points! WOW! He's just a freshman. When S becomes a freshman in college, he'll be a senior. Now that's exciting!
----
I am suffering from "The Rifleman" withdrawal. This show had been on Encore Westerns until the end of the month of November. I would watch this show for an hour every night and now it's no longer on. I enjoyed watching Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford running into strangers who interacted with the McCain family. My kids even know the theme song (they hum this sarcastically, they didn't like the show). "The Rifleman," first started in 1958 and ended in 1963. When it first came out I didn't watch it either, but now being older I really liked it. Rarely there was a show when McCain didn't use his rifle. I just liked it for the interaction between the widow father and his son. They had some really good stories. Thankfully, I ordered some DVD's through Netflix and plan to watch it again. Ahhh!!
-----
Are you through Christmas shopping yet? Or have you started? We only have 3 weeks from today to get it done, wow!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Coach Danny Manning
The KU game against Kent State was on ESPNU Monday night. The Jayhawks won 87-60. In the second half the players were scrambling for the ball. Markieff Morris started to fight for the ball and the player from Kent State elbowed M.K. Morris in the nose. Well, M.K. didn't like it at all and words were said. Coach Danny Manning came out onto the floor and silently took Morris off the court. The Kent State player (who was hardly innocent in the incident) went to shoot 2 free throws because of the technical that Morris got. I hardly thought that was fair. Morris was in there hustling for the ball and that Kent State player was the one who started it. Morris was ejected from the game.Danny Manning, in his coolness, took Markieff aside so nothing else would happen between these two players. Manning, the former KU standout in 1988 and now assistant coach of KU is doing really great in this job. I think that the kids respect his authority and they have learned a lot from him. He is the one who has taught the centers (Sasha Kaun and now Cole Aldrich) on how to play that position. Someday, Manning may move onto another college and into a head coaching job. He will be a very good coach wherever and whenever he goes. Hopefully, he doesn't leave KU anytime soon. We as fans all love and respect this man.
He's cool. :)
Monday, December 1, 2008
KU Basketball Fans
Here we are at the KU vs. Coppin State game this past Friday. We are looking happy because KU was leading by a bunch of points at the half.Our day started pretty uneventful driving up to our regular rest stops along the turnpike. When we got closer to the Lawrence area they announced there was a chance of snow...today! So we got to our hotel room and it was warm, we even got a balcony!
We decided to go to Mass Street to go shopping or window shopping in our case. Of course, the boys were bored with going into the different stores with the exception of "Joe College," and the wild t-shirts. S thought about getting a cappacino at Starbucks but nixed the idea. We then drove out to the campus.
We went to "the top of the hill" bookstore to check out their latest t-shirts, and gift stuff. We ended up buying nothing. Then we went to the Booth Family Hall of Fame. We've been here a lot of times but it never gets old. We got to see the crystal championship trophy on display.
Then we waited inside for the doors to open. We waited for 2 hours and we were glad we didn't have to wait outside. But I was packed for it. I wore 3 shirts and my heavy green winter coat. J and I played a few games of Uno while we waited for 5:30 to hit. L went out to the parking lot where he paid double to park. Last year it was only 10 to park but now it went up to 20!
We stood up waiting and L leaned over to me and said, "I don't feel so good." NOO!!! I thought we had dodged that flu bullet, he even had the flu shot. But this is the stuff that the kids had and it can't be cured with a vaccine. (Why can't scientist cure this??) He gave me money to get the food at the game, etc., because of how he was. We all hoped that he would get over it fast.
The doors opened and suprisingly the programs didn't go up in price too like everything else had. Then we raced for a seat in the general admission area. We got a better seat than in years past, we could actually see Coach Bill from the stands!! WOW! Much better seats!
When the video started about KU, Coach Bill still looked up at the large screen watching it. He still enjoys watching whether it was his first or fiftieth time. Then we could see Coach Bill in the huddle. It was pretty good!
Meanwhile, L was leaning up along the side. I asked him how he was and he said "better," whew! Better for now! Naturally he didn't eat at the game and we all had pizza, water, and popcorn. The man next to me had a hot dog and I was getting a little nauseous too! L was well enough to take pictures of us during the half so I was thankful for that.
During the game we enjoyed watching all of the team play as they were beating Coppin State pretty handily. Brady Morningstar had like six 3 pointers, he was on top of his game that night as well as Cole Aldrich who scored the most points. It was exciting to see the new players like Tyshawn Taylor and the Morris twins. It's always nice to watch Sherron Collins and Tyrel Reed.
We enjoyed looking at the people from the media as well. I saw Chris Piper, Bob Davis, Greg Gurley and Nate Bukaty. I kept looking for Dave Armstrong but didn't see him in the Fieldhouse that night.
After the game we didn't rush around like normal, we waited for the crowd to clear out. We found a spot to get autographs and saw Tyler Self along with Danny Manning's son outside of the locker room. We also saw Max Falkenstein and Lou Perkins as well as Coach Dooley and his family. Then the guys emerged from the locker room signing autographs and taking pictures with everyone. Tucked under their arms were sandwiches from Quizno's. These guys are really nice to take time out to sign for kids and that does say a lot for them/about them. Only one player didn't sign, maybe he was sick or he just had to go somewhere, but that was okay. The majority did stay around even though they had friends and girlfriends waiting on them.
We went shopping at Wal-mart after the game and by the time we got back to the hotel room L REALLY felt crummy! None of us slept well that night and when we woke up it had snowned in Lawrence.
We still needed to get back on the road to pick up my mom from the Wichita airport as she was flying in from Portland that day.
What a weekend!!! I'm exhausted just thinking about it!
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