Cool Word of the Day!
Thunderbolt (noun)
Definition: A single discharge of lightning with the accompanying thunder; An imaginary elongated mass cast as a missle to earth in the lightning flash; A flash of lightning conceived as a bolt or dart hurled from the heavens; A person or thing that resembles lightning in suddenness, effectiveness, or destructive power; One that acts with sudden and destructive fury; Vehement threat or censure; A startling, forceful action.
Also: The name of my brand new phone! (HTC ThunderBolt) For the first time in my whole life, I actually have something that may be considered the most advanced, modern, up-to-date, piece of techno-gear out there. Until next week. (With the fastest speeds on the best network…4G LTE with Verizon Wireless–and no, they do not pay me.) Anytimewastingtechnology…
This phone is the OTHER thing that prevents me from studying. (uh huh–excuses) Takes a lot of time to learn a whole new way of doing things especially when it’s just so damn cool. Easily distracted. What’s worse…or better I guess, is I can actually use my phone to study now when I’m not at home! Which also means…I can played Bejeweled from it too. Technology is awesome.
De-tox complete from the other night and on to today. Maybe.
Sister is having a combo party. She is kind of famous for them. This time is a triple dip although I am only bringing one food item.
Her son, turning 6…happy birthday!
My other sister’s son, turning 4…happy birthday!
And a Crawfish Boil….happy…whatever. That’s not like an official party thing. I think. I think it might have gotten thrown together kind of last minute. Not really sure because I don’t really eat the buggers. I am not a fan of eating things that require getting them out of small bony bodies. Crustacean shells. Exoskeleton. However you want to describe it. I’m not eating it.
That’s really beside the point because we are under tornado watch again, even though the weather was supposed to be clear now. The black stretch of severe thunder and lightning and tornados is scaring the bejeesus out of me. Especially since we are supposed to be driving more into it and it’s heading for where my children already are. They already had a terrible day and night of rain yesterday and it only looks like it’s going to get worse. I don’t think 3 hours of cloudy weather in between horrendous storms makes for a fun weekend. I say chuck it all and come home and be warm and dry while watching the storms from the living room couch. That may have to be my plan. Half an hour and then we’ll see.
If your weather is better…have a great weekend, but if you are in the crap belt like I am, be careful, watch the weather, take shelter as needed. And that’s not just me saying it. That’s the advice in the advisory. Watch the sky, stay away from windows, take shelter. See you on the other side.
I guess we’re next
Tornado’s just rolling across America. Here in the midwest we are waiting. I live in Chicago and I can tell you that it’s raining now. We are under watch until 1 pm central time. It’s dark, it’s raining pretty steady and I have no TV. The satellite has been lost. Obviously I have internet, but that usually blinks out too.
The rain is not coming down really hard so I may be ok for awhile. The kids are at school. It’s pretty safe there. I had to remind them that tornado sirens mean you stay IN the building and cover your head. Fire drills are the one you run outside for! Makes a big difference! That’s kind of a running joke we have because when they were little, the daycare used to do drills with the kids. It was to help them learn the different emergencies and sirens and what to do. On one particular test day, the FIRE drill went off and almost all the kids ran into the safety room and kneeled against the wall covering their heads. Except my son, who was trying to get people/kids to run OUT of the building, knowing it was a fire drill, not a tornado. Needless to say many children perished in this fake fire, except my son and daughter and a few others.
ALERT: just in case this is not absolutely clear…this was a fire drill. No actual fire occurred. No children were hurt or ever in danger of being hurt. It was only a practice drill!!
The teacher praised him for being so smart and not falling for the doubt, that most likely crossed his mind, thinking he might have been wrong. Especially since most of the kids refused to leave with him. Anyway, I was proud that day. He knew what the situation was, he tried to help the others, and he didn’t back down from what he knew to be true. My little hero! That was a long time ago and it’s funny to remember, because I haven’t thought about it in a long time.
Anyway, I will try and get some pics. Everybody loves to run outside in tornado weather and take pictures! Apparently I am no different! But I am ready, just in case. All showered, dressed, house contained and prepped if I have to hide in the closet or get the hell out of here. Luckily my son just bought a bunch of flashlights and lanterns for camping this weekend, but they will come in handy if we lose power later. I have enough coffee for the morning and a way to heat it if needed. Priorities.
I’ll be taking a break from the school stuff for a few days, at least one or two, because I am a bit burnt out. Those two days of extra classes didn’t make me feel better. I thought I had a pretty good grasp on what I know, but when I left yesterday, I felt less than confident, especially when I started getting some of the answers wrong. Without a bunch of boring, endless details, let’s just say there is a method that this class teaches and I am not really good at method learning. But I am withholding judgement, because this just may not have been the best week to jump right back in. And I did pay for it. Voluntarily. And they say it does help. I think I just need some time between classes over and new classes starting. More than three days. So we shall see.
Ok it’s quiet again here and the TV is back. Still under tornado warning. Still 1 pm. I hear birds! Crazy birds out there chirping all around, hopping in that wet grass and drinking up those puddles of water. Now is a good time to go survey the yard and take out some garbage. Be back later.
Storms are rolling in…
And it is dark at 4 o’clock. I posted yesterday morning but I never did come back. I apologize to all those breathless to read more about my long, boring, days of summer until school starts again…it’s a me thing.
I did complete Day 22 and Day 23. That would be some chest and back–so misleading–when it’s just endless push-ups and pull-ups and ab exercises–and Plyo, the jump stuff. I managed to half-ass my way thru that too today. I have a theory on my lack of energy and it’s not pretty. Reading the books that come with the program (P90X–got it in there for ya’ Amanda) They talk about the diet, eating healthy, I get that. They also talk about eating enough. Yes, eating more than you want to because you are burning the cals and you need the food to help you make it thru the workouts. I thought that was a load of crap. I have plenty of food stored in me that I should be able to go for many more days without any extra. But I might be wrong. Hardheaded. It’s all written. I read it. Didn’t believe it.
Here’s the unpretty part: (Turn away if you are squeamish, it’s about to get too personal) This is my first period, menstrual cycle, whatever you want to call it, while doing this program, and since I am a bit older than I’d like to be, things can be fast, slow, heavy, light, if you get my drift, AND I was trying to burn up the cals with some double workouts (got one tonight) and some leaner eating–by which I mean NONE. No food. Just some fruit and a chicken breast with some steamed beans…like literally, I cut my cals by three-fourths. Well, lo and behold, I can’t get up and once I do, I can’t do the exercises. I can’t get the same intensity because I have no energy. Like none. It’s strange. No food in, lots of draining body fluids (sweat and other things, sorry) and I am dogging it. My booty is not lifting, as much as sagging, around the living room trying to keep up with the gang on the TV.
But I think I got it now. I’ll increase the food or at least go back to my normal diet. Normal, healthy, low-fat, no-dairy, diet, I mean. Of course.
I’m excited though because I weighed yesterday too. I am trying to do it about every two weeks. Nothing drastic. Slow and steady. It’s good. I am down 5.5 lbs in 27 days. It is not noticeable on me whatsoever. It’s just the way I’m shaped I guess. And I’m not starving myself or starving at all. My appetite is less lately. Although that could also be because it’s 90+ degrees every day now and that kills any urge to eat or move or breathe. But I don’t care anyway because it’s for the long haul and I don’t have alot of years left to be getting down to little old lady size. Gotta do it now.
Last night we did dinner with the family. Pizza–so good. Tried to eat the smallest, crustiest pieces I could, as slow as I could. I even had dessert. Key Lime pie. Not my fav but it was ok.
Here is a fun fact for you: One eighth of that pie had 450 calories. I wasn’t cutting so I tried to get a small piece, but isn’t that alot?? I thought so. Sometimes all that labeling is evil.
So hopefully I will go to the gym again tonight and run my miles…do I even dare try the 55 mins.? I don’t know. I’m scared thinking about it. Have to do something as my sister Amanda and my friend Beth are trying to kill me in the next two days. Garage sale tomorrow, nice and early, all day and an hour away…I have to get up sooooo early and I don’t even get any of the money!
Then Friday is my cardio-fitness-trainer-tag-a-long workout with Beth. Again with the early. 7 am. People are crazy. Who can exercise that early? I’m really not an early morning kind of girl for doing stuff. Any stuff. I like to lay and drink coffee until my eyes open better. I am already overly worried about my school schedule and I still have three weeks! I’ll be getting up early for sure, but it’s mostly moving the kids around and putting on clothes. Then driving in the car. The nursing part is not nearly as hard as balancing on half a ball for a minute holding dumbbells and jumping 50 times. Or sitting at a garage sale in the sweltering sun bargaining down my sissy’s belongings, praying for death or at least a big rainstorm. (Just kidding…I’m sure it will be fine. And fun!)
Anyway…I’ll wrap it up for today. It’s longer than I thought, as always. I can’t even shut up typing! And the sky has cleared. I’m going to go back outside and finish sitting in my chair, looking at the backyard. We have hummingbirds!
There’s some pictures around because I took them and it looks better than just all words. I may be back. (She says mysteriously) Later.
Severe Weather Wednesday
It’s all about tornado’s, fierce lightning strikes and those crackling, rumbling, low-in-the-throat, crashing, thunder rolls. And what’s worse is when the wind picks up out of nowhere, a leaf here and there, a branch on the roof, another branch…a limb…holy hell! And your BF’s friend is trying to do you a favor and fix your WW II, rooftop, chimney pipe that is crumbling to shit, but it’s pouring down rain and the clouds are moving fast across the sky looking like they are taking aim directly at the soaking wet guy kneeling on a high roof holding sheet metal pieces, a screwdriver and a drill. Not good. Pretty damn scary actually.
I appreciate the attempt, for real, but I can’t have him being killed in the effort. Rain is one thing, this was another.
And the day started out so…semi-sunny. Storms were predicted. I went to school. Got the final info before the real work begins. Have some assignments. Reading. The usual. I feel good though. It’s the same at school, semi-sunny then storms. (To definitely mix metaphors. See Zero Effect) Mind set is what they talked about today. (And by “they”, I mean all our teachers that we met today, the speeches, the handouts, and the rundown of the schedule and how the classes are actually coordinated. All the good stuff before you are bumping around in the halls looking lost and feeling like a failure. Graduation will never come.) “They” said, “Think of yourself as the nurse. In all future questions, studies, clinicals, tests…you will be referred to as the nurse. The program doesn’t ask what you will do in two years when you become a nurse, it asks what you will do right now as the nurse. That’s a tough mind game. But not as tough as this, also told in a story, (from my memory to the page):
“An evil wizard was always trying to get rid of the beloved prince. The wizard was always thinking of ways to outsmart the prince and show him for a fool to the rest of the kingdom. But the prince was smart and he knew the wizard was always tricking. One day the wizard had a plan that couldn’t fail. He would hold a bird in his hand and ask the prince if it was dead or alive. If the prince answered alive, the wizard would crush the bird to death and show the dead bird proving that the prince was wrong. And if the prince said dead, the wizard would let the bird fly away to prove his error. The plan could not fail. So the wizard, in front of all the kingdom, said, “Prince, is the bird in my hand dead or alive?” And the prince thought about it, knowing he was being tricked somehow, and answered the wizard finally, “It is what you make it.”
“This adventure, and it is an adventure, you are about to embark on, is only what you make it. You hold in your hand the power to make it anything you want. To give and take what you will from the next few years. How much effort or how little effort you devote to this goal. It’s all up to you. No one can force you to participate or not. You will have in your hands the power to care and to comfort, and the power to heal the sick. But you will also have the power to make someone even sicker and to possibly even kill them if you are not very careful. Is it scary? It should be. But it is worth all the sweat, every drop of blood, and every shed tear”
So they say.
Truly.
I may not have it written word for word, but that was the basic story and summary. The woman who spoke it is very powerful, but quiet to listen to. She is very calming, while at the same time, managing to scare the poop out of you. But I feel that it’s all true. Why would they lie? It’s hard. But the reward is great. That’s what they say. That’s all and that should be enough. Everything else after is extra. I believe it. I worried about the whole life/death, mistake/error, kill the patient thing, and the teacher said that we should be worried. We should always be a tiny bit wary and prepared for what could happen, because anything can happen at any moment and at any place. Now isn’t that comforting? Luckily, amazingly, and more miraculously, it’s a wonder things don’t go bad more often than they do. It’s a fine line.
But I think that is enough for tonight. It’s late, and my kids have their first day of school, and I need to get up to be with them. My daughter is fine. Same school, same friends, same schedule. She’s the top class now! But my son is in Jr. High. New school, the bus (again), new classes, new schedules, new teachers, new students. Small fish in the big pond!
So, the weather is calm right now, the storm has passed for the next few hours. They say the morning might be rough, but then smooth sailing through all next week. Is this a weather report or a damn soul-searching, reflection-on-a-life-yet-lived, or what? I need to lighten it up with some kind of image. This is just the thing to restore your faith in my (ill-advised representation) sense of humor and shallow/callous self.
When we went to the zoo, so many days ago, (more pictures, I swear.) we got a few pictures of the lions. The animals were really animated that day. Like, ALL of them. It was weird. I have video of the apes and they were acting crazy. (You Tube soon, I swear.) Usually they just lay around looking like they all want to commit suicide, but for some reason, everyone was jacked up and pacing or jumping or chasing or playing…whatever the various species to do to get us humans close enough to attack. And the lion was working it! He was walking back and forth in front of this “viewing” window. Right against the glass. Stopping, looking, staring (evilly and maliciously) most likely devising some way to get from where he was to where we were. Well, not us, exactly. We were waa-aayyy in the back, trying to figure out what the lion was up to. The lady lion was trying to get a ball out of the water. But the man lion had something cooking. You could just tell. Stevie would barely let me take the pictures I took because she was sure that the lion was about to chuck it all, go for broke and try to bust out of that glass and kill us all.
At any rate, when you think about it like that, these pictures are kind of funny. The people are so colorfully dressed and so interested and amazed by the lion being so close, that I have no doubt, any one of them would say they were completely surprised and shocked that the nice little kitty would try to hurt them, even while he was chewing on one of their legs or ripping out their intestines. But you judge for yourself.
Curious animal/performer/vegetarian, aka, Alex from Madagascar OR bored/angry/ bloodthirsty, carnivorous lion, hell-bent for destruction?
Look into his eyes and then decide.
Oh!! Isn't he cute?!?!
All I see is: lunch, lunch and more lunch!
Won't all those colorful clothes, torn to shreds, covered in blood and scattered all over the ground, add that extra oomph! to the news story later when they pan the scene 50 times for our sick sense of viewing enjoyment??
Snack time! You know that lion is NOT posing for a picture. He's thinking, "I could get a head AND an arm."
The picture BELOW ↓, was taken after he walked away from the window to go take the ball away from the lady lion, in between canvassing for people. She would get it out of the water and he would roll it back in. But not that last time. He finally quit that bitch and took the ball and rolled it right off the rock wall, into the protective moat that separates the people from the lions. Then he went and laid on a rock. Playtime was over. That’s when I took my picture.
Dumb-ass, crazy humans. I'll kill them all as soon as I get big enough.
Feel better? Me too!!
Sweet dreams! Goodnight! Don’t let the man-eating lion bite!
Yo Soy el Pan de Vida
I am the bread of life…uh huh.
What are you doing today??
Saturday. Happy Weekend! Just trying to get in a few posts and cracks at the church, so that I can be struck by lightning later at the party we are having for my niece after it turns into a thunder-tornado-rain disaster. It’s sunny and 68 at 9 am in the city. It’s supposed to storm but let’s all ask God to hold it off. One of his devoted graduates is having a party! Come on! Please?? Pray with me now….
Anyway, the above pic is from the church song book. I thought it was kind of funny. All the songs, excuse me, hymns, were about eating and food of life and drinking the blood…and I was SO hungry. My niece’s school uses Wednesday masses to have major celebratory type events. This is from the “ribbon” ceremony. (All 8th graders get a ribbon to take with them into high school. It symbolizes a bunch of things but I was busy taking the pictures and missed the explanation.) Who does an entire Mass, with extras, on a Wednesday morning, at 9 am, during my Regis, Kelly, and Breakfast Burrito time anyway?? Selfish.
Then, one week later, on Wednesday, (again) we are back in the Church, having another Mass, but this time, the actual Graduation Ceremony is attached to it. It was long and it didn’t start until 7 pm. Morning. Night. These people are all over the place.
But she made it! Got a few awards and a diploma, so it’s on to High School! She’s doing the Public School for this round of edumacation.
All jokes aside, the party is today. Hopefully it stays nice! Come out and have a drink—you might see a one-in-a-million lightning strike! You can stand next to me!
Congratulations Jesse!
Below is a pic of Jesse, in action, walking out of the church, from the ribbon ceremony. You can see the blue ribbon in the right of the pic. I like it better than the “formal” pictures.
And then there should be a graduation picture, and one with the sign. Proof! See you all at the par-tay!
Obviously, we have a few problems in our family.
Rainy Days
1. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head / B.J. Thomas
2. Rain King / Counting Crows
3. Feels Like Rain / Buddy Guy
4. Rain On The Scarecrow / John Mellencamp
5. Fool In The Rain / Led Zeppelin
6. Like The Rain / Clint Black
7. I Can’t Stand The Rain / The Commitments
8. Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain / Willie Nelson
9. Here Comes The Rain Again / Eurythmics
10. Songs About Rain / Gary Allan
11. Who Let It Rain / Aubrey Collins
12. Kentucky Rain / Elvis Presley
13. Stand In The Rain / Superchick
14. Alabama Rain / Jim Croce
15. Singin’ In The Rain / Gene Kelly
16. Smoky Mountain Rain / Ronnie Milsap
17. The Rain / k-os
18. Only Happy When It Rains / Garbage
19. I Love A Rainy Night / Eddie Rabbitt
20. Have You Ever Seen The Rain? / Creedence Clearwater Revival
21. Purple Rain / Prince
22. November Rain / Guns N’ Roses
just shy of pretty 