Lost!!
Well, no I am not currently lost, at least not technically. I walked daughter #2 to school today, much to her glee! She is an outdoors girl and walking to school offers so much adventure, even if it is just a few blocks. My motivation to walk to school is a little more practical...$3/gal gasoline. Can I get an amen, sister?
So, in my sidetracked way of doing things I decide to multitask and call my accountability partner while daughter #3 and I are walking home.
Our conversation is light, yet purposeful. We discuss what is going on in each other's lives, share prayer requests, laugh and admonish one another. Giving full attention to the conversation, I walked and talked and walked and talked right past my home! When I realized what was happening I surveyed the scene. Being new to the area I kind of knew where I was...but I didn't have my van with the compass in it so I needed to stop multitasking (i.e. get off the phone) and focus! Daughter #3 assessed the situation and concluded we were lost. I looked around & figured out where we were which wasn't really too far from home.
I knew how to get home, but something kind of profound hit me. Daughter #3 doesn't have a clue how to get home. She can't read and looks at the world from 36" from the ground besides not having a built in GPS system. I pondered this thought for a minute. I was once in a situation like that--lost. I didn't have a clue how to get home. My directions home came from my loving Father in His written Word. He provided the compass, the GPS system...the way home. Today I am not lost, today I have a Compass that lives within me, thank you Jesus, thank you for leading me home.

I wanted to, but I didn't. We just moved to Nebraska and my basement is filled with boxes. Specifically boxes of books. Good books. Like Sense & Sensibility, Core 5 readers from Sonlight, my journals, nursing textbooks. There's at least 20 small boxes of books lovingly packed by the movers just waiting to be liberated from their corrugated jail. Last night I was looking for The Complete Book of Running for Women by Claire Kowalchik...I want/need to get back to running & this book is awesome encouragement. I eagerly ripped the tape off two boxes, briefly poked around and set them aside. I began to eye a third box when common sense took hold and I stopped. It was 2300 at night...I can't run at 0530 if I stay up much later no matter how motivated I am. I briefly calculated the odds of actually finding said book and concluded I had better odds at winning the lottery. So, I packed it in. I did find The Complete Guide to Pilates, Yoga, Meditation and Stress Relief, no doubt a bargain from the Dusty Bookshelf and one of my favorite books Celebrating the Christian Year by Martha Zimmerman. I was content with these two treasures so I lumbered quietly up the stairs looking through the pages. As I slipped under the covers to read, I promised myself I would launch into the rest of the boxes tomorrow.

Okay, so if you want a good laugh and need some entertainment, watch this blog. I am teaching myself how to use this communication tool and I think the learning curve is going to be pretty steep. Most of the FAQ topics i don't even understand what they are and I just figured out what a template is. HTML, URL, links, edits...whatever! I will persevere and in one year i hope to have enough information that this tool will be more useful and less energy consuming for me.

I have been checking out the community and its pretty interesting to see what people will post to go out into cyberspace. There is a lot about blog etiquette, how to write something interesting, yada yada yada. A couple sites suggested using the "f" word a lot...to get some reaction. I don't think my English Comp teacher at Colorado State would agree and it is possible she could miraculously run across this site...don't think i will do that one. The best advice i have read so far suggests not to post anything you would not want your mother to read or to be on the front page of the NY Times. That's a good, simple common sense rule. I like it.

This morning my mind was racing with all kinds of topics to write about so I put them in my notebook and I will start with those ideas. I am excited, energized and randomly focused so this tool will be a great creative outlet for me...I hope in the process others will be slightly amused and entertained, hopefully not annoyed.

Okay, so now i have figured out how to post pictures. Cool. This lovely photo is an aspen leaf taken last summer in Colorado, our second home.

Why do kids like bandaids so much?

Last night after a period of stillness in my usually busy home I found my 3 y.o. Emily sitting on the floor in front of our linen closet. The linen closet is also home to our first aid kit, medicine kit and a plethora of items that didn't fit anywhere else. FYI safety moms--all dangerous items are well above my children's theoretical reach.

As i approach the wee one i hear her breathing a little heavy and she is intently focused on something in her hands. She has a Hello Kitty bandaid mangled by her attempts to open the child/adult proof wrapper. Why are bandaids so much more difficult to open now compared to when we were kids? Remember the cool little red string that you used to tear the side of the package? The red string is no more and one must be rather dextrous to open the little wrapper now.

Emily's explanation for the need of the band aid was demonstrated as she showed off the slight scuff on her elbow that needed immediate care and the Hello Kitty band aid was the cure. I helped her open the package and she deftly applied the bandage to her ouchy.

We must go through bandaids faster than we go through gallons of milk. Not only do the girls use them, but the cat and Bitty Baby have been known to sport a bandaid as well. The bandage is excellent for a scratch or cut, especially if it is bleeding, we all know that. But bandaids can cure bruises, headaches and hurt feelings, too. I have often wondered if a sticker would serve the same purpose, but when actually applying this theory I was shot down by my hurt little patient. No a sticker won't do, only a bandage emblazoned with Dora, Sponge Bob, Hello Kitty or in an emergency Mom's hand drawn smiley face.

So, as i expected, this morning Emily announced the ouchy was better. Thanks to Hello Kitty and the inventor of the Band Aid bandage.

I have been blog crusing this evening and have deemed this blog dull. I have a lot to say, just not sure how or what to say. My husband observed once that my thoughts are so random, bordering on schizophrenic. True, I say. I am interested in so many things, from cooking to antiques to sewing and knitting. I ran today and that was a good thing. I am confident a daily dose of sweat and muscular pain delivered by thirty minutes on a treadmill is just as good as one celexa p.o. QD.

I think as I commit to writing, which i love to do, my blog will become more interesting. People are interesting anyway...don't you think? I mean, we all have a story to tell. I think this blog is a great way to tell not only my story, but the stories of those around me, too.

Out of the Mud