Almost to 20,000!

Since my blogger count is almost to 20,000 views (some people have 20,000 views each day and I'm excited that I will hit this mark in a year and a half;)) and really all I do is ramble on and on...and on about whatever I am thinking about when I get the urge to write, I figured I would see if any of you, the crazy people that read my scribbles, have any questions or topics that you would like me to write about or attempt to answer.

It's not that I'm having a writer's block because I'm full of, well, shit, but if you have any questions that you would like answered, here's your chance! 

(DISCLAIMER: I'm not going to attempt to answer questions like "what's the cure to cancer?", "why are people stupid?", ect...A-hole friends that will still probably send questions like this, I'm sure I'll laugh at them, but I'm not going to answer them)

Email the questions or possible topics to me at lstrongl@yahoo.com and I will try to answer them for you! 

When in Doubt, Call!

It has been a crazy morning at the office.  I am writing to unwind a little bit, stop shaking, and hopefully make my hives disappear while I'm at it.

Recently, one of the partners from our firm moved to Tennessee.  He was one of the attorneys that hired me and I have worked in a small firm atmosphere with him for seven years.  Quickly we started a friendship because in his words, I have "spunk".  He is more than 30 years my senior, but there is no age barrier when we communicate.   I have attended concerts with him and his spunky wife, enjoyed cocktails in his basement bar, they stop by when they drive through Woodville.  He is more than my boss, he is my friend.

When he told me that he was moving, I was excited for him.  His wife, Diane, is wild and crazy.  She wears flamboyant clothes, she says what's on her mind, she thinks outside of the box.  I think Nashville fits her personality perfectly!  Ed still plans to work remotely and I am his primary contact.  I gave him a big hug and reminded him that he still owes me a trip to the Village Idiot.  He assured me that the next time they were in town, he'd pay up.

This morning he called for assistance in filing a document.  I formatted the document and asked another attorney to sign the pleading on Ed's behalf.  The attorney had a question about the pleading so we called Ed. 

Ed has a heart condition.  He had a mild heart attack a few years ago. He has "in case" pills (nitroglycerin) that I tease him about when he gets worked up.  His face turns red when he's mad and when I can tell he's in a "mood", I tell him to give me his keys so that I have his "in case" pills when he needs them.

When we called him this morning, he admitted to the other attorney that he had taken a couple nitroglycerin pills and was feeling similar to how he felt when he had a heart attack.  They wrapped up their conversation, but they were supposed to talk again in just a couple minutes about the revisions to the pleading.  We called him a couple times before the alarm bells went off.  Then Dave asked for the contact numbers.

Ed JUST moved two weeks ago.  We don't have his current address, they don't have a home phone, Diane was at work and not answering her cell, Ed's cell went straight to voicemail, neither of his sisters answered the phone.  We called a friend of Diane's here in Toledo and she had their address and knew which hospital Diane works at.  We put in an emergency call to Diane with the hospital and called the Police in Nashville.

I told the attorney here that Ed was going to be pissed at him and he told me that he didn't care.  I'm not sure that before this incident I would have called the emergency squads simply because he didn't answer the phone when he was supposed to. Dave was confident in his decision and told me that if it was a false alarm it wouldn't be the first time he looked like a fool and certainly wouldn't be the last!

I am losing hope quickly that it was a false alarm.  Diane is supposed to call as soon as she can and it has been more than an hour now.  I have two great big hives, I'm still shaking and I want to throw up.  The lesson that I learned today is when in doubt, call.  Dave didn't hesitate for a minute in the crucial time.  He had me contacting people as soon as Diane didn't answer the call to her cell.  He called the police as soon as I had the number and their address in hand.

UPDATE:  They are admitting Ed for observation, but they don't think he is actively having a heart attack.  He turned the paramedics away when they arrived and told them he did not call them.  When I talked to Diane she jokingly asked me, "Are you surprised?".  I chuckled and told her no, but I was happy to hear that he was being his stubborn self because that is a good sign.  She forced him to make the trip to the ER and he personally called to thank us after he talked with the doctors.  I think he was calling more to make sure we were filing his pleading:)  Great big sigh of relief. 

UPDATE 2: Angiogram today.

My pray list is enormous right now...can everyone just stay safe for Easter, please!!!!

Can't wait to check fb!

Busy, but good weekend:)  Lunch with the Mights and the Clyde girls...only one thing that I HAD to do all weekend and it actually went very smoothly!  After delivery I drove around BG for a few minutes just because...lots of memories there!

CAMILLE IS PLAYING SOCCER!! So proud of my shy, little sweetheart!  She repeatedly said no when we asked her if she wanted to play, so we didn't sign her up.  One of the teams needs another player and somehow I convinced her to try it...and she LOVES IT!  Yay!

Higher life insurance premium because my Dad died from cancer.  Isn't it enough that he died from cancer!? I have to pay more because of it...what a kick in the face. UGHHHH. 

Really over cancer in general this week.  Continued prayers for Connor AND his family.  Kudos to Sarah for not exploding on the gentlemen that commented on Connor's mohawk haircut...I would have lost it! I heard a saying that I'm sure I've heard a thousand times, but when I heard it yesterday I thought of dear Sarah.

"God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."

Your positive attitude is inspiring. Your love for your son is so very obvious in each word you write.  It breaks my heart to read your words, but I hope you know that your courage and strength is admirable.  It pushes others to give that extra kiss and squeeze when they're late for work.  I hope you can feel the love that everyone is sending to you!!

Prayers for the Mights...not looking forward to seeing Ry and Ady this week. They think I have unlimited knowledge on the subject of death and dying.  I managed to dodge the questions this weekend, but I'm sure they will corner me soon, especially since Smoky died so soon after their puppy was killed.  It's hard to answer the type of questions they will ask.

Lots and lots of prayers for Mugga and the rest of the Bowen clan.  One of the sweetest ladies around town, who is giving and kind to everyone she knows.  Prayers to my aunt, uncle and cousins as they stand strongly united in the waiting room...oh, how I hate the waiting room. Prayers to my pseudo aunts, uncles and cousins and Grandpa Bowen as well.

Facebook Withdrawl Week 5

Super sore from square dancing...pathetic!  Clark was surprised! Had a nice time meeting their friends:)

Beautiful baby shower, beautiful Mommy, wonderful friends.

My cousin should be a party planner.  Cowboy boots two nights in a row...YEEEEEHAAAWWW!

Loved the fork decor for the soon to be Jessica Fork!  Adorable, packed house for a super sweet friend:)

Time with my Texas girl makes me smile...I was in a MOOD on Sunday.  Laura and Jess turned it around for me;)  Don't know what I would do without all of my girlfriends!

So sick of losing in volleyball! Last week-acceptable.  This week-NOT.

DO NOT stop by my house this week...it's trashed!  No time to clean or put things away or breathe! (Nevermind, started the cleaning frenzy last night, to be continued tonight and in shape for drop ins the rest of the week:) I even swept out my car...passengers understand how badly needed this was!)

Special prayers for couple ladies this week. I hope they can feel the extra love.

That's it.  I hear bits and pieces of things on fb...I'm ready to be back on the grid!

My reminder. Always always always.

All powerful. All knowing. Ever Present. 

 Grace. Mercy. Forgiveness.

Faith. Timeless. Hope. Limitless. Love. Infinite.

God

His understanding has no limit (Psalm 147:5). He searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought (1 Chronicles 28:9). His love endures forever (Psalm 136).

Since my days of dorm rooms with stereos booming Dixie Chicks, I have wanted a tattoo. On spring break one year I even went to a tattoo parlor with my closest friends. I was going to pick one of the cute girlie designs and go with it.  I was feeling rebellious that year and ready to mark my independence with a meaningless design. The shop we selected randomly, didn't tattoo feet.

As we walked out of the shop, I pretended that I was disappointed and deflated. Honestly, I was relieved because I didn't know what I wanted! I wanted it to mean something, but what in my life meant enough to have it permanently embedded on my youthful skin?  I have always wanted one, but could not think of the perfect design.  So, yes, mother, even though I'm not eighteen, I still wanted one and even though nobody believed I would actually follow through, I did!

I stumbled on the design on Pinterest of all places. You can check out her blog here: http://amorestef.blogspot.com/2011/02/ggpwn3d-7-failing-flesh.html  Her reasons are part of why I LOVE the design so much.  IMMEDIATELY I knew that I wanted this design. For more than a decade I have thought about what design I would like enough to last forever. A design that will stand the test of time, tell my story, remind me of the scars and the glory.

I LOVE IT!

PLUG: Dominic at Infinite Art 419-292-1990.  I printed a picture of Stef's blog post picture and he drew it up on the spot, kept me calm and it looks amazing. I laughed and used my favorite word quite a few times, but actually it didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. I screamed "I have a tattoo!!" all the way home...and, no, I did not have anything to drink before he started! A special memory with Ashley and Wendy that will last forever! 3/21/12

For me, the design starts with the words at the bottom and ends with the words at the top of this post. 'It' and 'that' which can only be explained by God. 

My journey to Him.  A reminder to myself, always always always.

Question. Believe. The Story. The characters. Perceived. Real. Life. Death. Prophesy. Known.

Children. Mother.  Insanity. Still. Water. Wine. Broken. Compassion. Reflection. Face to Face.

Loss. Prosperity. Self-seeking. Charity. Sin. Salvation. Mystery. Knowledge. Confident. Humble.

Failing Flesh. God is Strength. Wilderness. Light. Repent. Rejoice. Fall. Spring. Doubt. Assurance.

Facebook Withdrawl Week 4

OH NO! I am not thinking in facebook terms at all anymore! LauraBook will be nonexistent! By Easter I might not want to log on!

Yeah right...I can't wait to get on:)

But I did not log in to Blogger much last week other than to write about co-existing.  I can't remember what I did two days ago let alone all week:) BUT, I do love Sarah's new tattoo and it makes me want mine so much worse!  Soon, dear tattoo, soon:) Love listening to live music, especially with a few of my best friends...if you missed Rockoustic last weekend, your loss! Lovin' the nice weather, grilled food, and dirty feet...that's about it!

Co-Existing Prevention Tactics



Admittedly, I often have impossible expectations. Sometimes, in my opinion, my husband isn't bringing 100% to the table. Whatever the reason is this week; both of us are irritated with each other.  Maybe we have even resorted to giving each other the silent treatment:)  We have learned that the silent treatment is more effective in our relationship than yelling at each other (and also realize it is very immature).  We will probably call a cease fire tonight as both of us have had sufficient time to get over what is irritating us, but I think most of my problems stem from feeling disconnected to him.

When you're in a committed relationship, sometimes it's hard to prevent co-existing.  When I refer to my husband as my roommate, it instantly makes him shudder.  Most likely this reaction is because he knows that this reference is always followed by my complaint that I feel disconnected to him. After you have been living with someone for a while, you each know what chores are expected of you and do them without thinking.  You know what show to turn on the television in the evening and you don't really have to ask about their day because you can tell by their body language.  The conversation dies and you co-exist.

I know that he will fold the clothes, but will not put them away.  I know that he will take the garbage to the corner, but will not empty the bathroom trash cans prior to doing so.  I know that he will take money out of the ATM, but will never check to see if it was debited twice. I'm positive that he has a long scroll of similar things that he knows and expects out of me.  For example, if I do not sleep well, I will take it out on my entire household the next evening.  Or that once a month I am irrational, impossible, and it's better to avoid any serious conversation...probably safest to simply avoid me altogether for a couple days!

How do you prevent simply co-existing and maintain a healthy, loving relationship? 

I've read articles about it, I've talked to my friends about it, I try not to let it get to the point where I feel like we are simply co-existing, but I suppose it's inevitable.  It's difficult to find time with children, work and life to concentrate on feeding the relationship with your significant other, especially when the machine is running smoothly.

These are some of the things I have heard, learned, or plan to try:

•  Exercise together...Somewhat successful. It pisses me off that he can do zero exercise and then go out and run 3 miles in less than 24 minutes...so I definitely will not be running with him.  Recreational sports are fun when I'm playing well.  I hate it when I am playing poorly and if Aaron is there, he is usually the one that gets the attitude.  When we're already fighting and we play volleyball together it's pretty comical since we give each other the silent treatment the entire match:)
•  Date Night...Guaranteed success.  Dress up, go to your favorite restaurant, watch a movie together.  Make time to focus on each other.
•  Make a list of all of the things your significant other does for your household.  This will force you to see all of the things they do to make the machine run smoothly and hopefully will allow you to appreciate them more.
• Write a love letter, poem, or give a card.  At the very least this shows your significant other that you are thinking about them and appreciate them.  (Personally, I have given up on receiving one of these, but I do give them).
• Ask about their day…and actually pay attention.  When you stop sharing parts of your day with your significant other, your relationship suffers.  Your day is important to you and you need to share it with your spouse...don't just sit silently and watch the television.
• Make a commitment to change.  When you realize the conversation is old and boring, change it! You'll probably be surprised at some of the answers you receive when you start asking about the things they like to do.
• Be spontaneous. When I order at a restaurant it is always the same thing.  When I walk in the office, I have the same routine.  Each night we attend whatever practice or game is that night, take baths, read books, etc.  Same same same. Boring boring boring.  Do something spontaneous. 

This weekend I ordered what the cutie pie waiter recommended, NOT the same thing I always do.  We went to dinner by ourselves...No children, no friends, just us! Then I begged him to take me shopping and pretend that he was my sugar daddy.  We did things out of the ordinary and HAD FUN!

I think FUN is probably the key to prevent co-existing.  I wrote this so that I would force myself to think about how to prevent co-existing, but I would love others opinions on the subject. How do you prevent co-existing?

Carpaccio appetizer per recommendation of Matt Canfield