Yes, indeed. I am so glad the weekend is finally
here. It has been a long and arduous week.

Tomorrow night is the Light the Night Walk for the
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I am so grateful to so
many people for their generous donations! I SURPASSED
my goal of raising $1000 - right now, I am up to
$1500!! That is so awesome. I am so thankful for
those who gave to this cause, especially after giving
so recently to the hurricane relief efforts.

Well, I am off to bed. I stayed up last night to
watch Without a Trace and it apparently did me in. I
like the show but last night was very graphic and
apparently my psyche thought so too - I had a
nightmare and woke up at 1:30 and couldn't go back to
sleep for an hour and a half (even with the lights
on!) No tv for me tonight!!

TTFN!

I am getting irritated. This is like the third time I've written a post only to have it tell me my blog doesn't exist when I tell it to publish. All gone.......I have to look into this!

...and I'll save you the corny joke!

It was quite an adventure. Minneapolis is quite an
interesting place...in my effort to notice things
more, you'll see I took to documenting some of the
oddest with my camera phone. Check them out below -
you've got to see them to believe them!

Other things I took notice of:

A man who looked startlingly like Johnnie Cochran. So
much so, in fact, that I wondered if it was his son or
if perhaps the stories of his death were exaggerated
and he was really living under an assumed name in
Minneapolis.

A gentleman dressed from head to toe completely in
lilac. I'm talking hat, shirt, pants and shoes.
Completely!

That a corkscrew is not a confiscatible item at
security checkpoints but completely sealed manicure
kits are.

That our shuttle to the airport did not have seatbelts
for the passengers, but did for the driver.

And finally, the icing on the cake - that my streak of
being delayed EACH AND EVERY TIME I FLY remains
unbroken! Whoo hoo.

Well, I am glad to be home. Can't wait to sleep in my
own bed tonight!!

__________________________________________________

So odd...in each upper corner in the elevators, they have hooks. Like the kind you would hang a coat on. But they are high up and close to the wall...so what in the world???????? 

The first evening, they had a martini bar for attendees. They put these flashing "ice" cubes into each glass. It was hard to focus on anything else, as we were stationed just across for the pyramid of martini glasses! 

I found it exceptionally odd that (a) there was a pool just in the middle of the hotel and (b) that they set up banquets right next to it.  

This one you had to SEE to believe! Cream puffs made into swans. It was kind of sad biting their heads off, though - but you can't let a good cream puff go to waste! 

Ever since I read that article about living in the moment and really taking time to notice things...I've noticed that I don't notice much on a daily basis. So I made a concerted effort yesterday to notice six things:
1. A fox with a really long tail crossing Yoder Road
2. That Vinnie's Pizzarama is painted red (boy, I hope it wasn't always red, because I'll feel really silly for suddenly noticing that after driving by it 800 times)
3. An old guy on a bright yellow moped
4. That where I got gas at 9:30 AM had gone down 5 cents by 1:30

Still not six things, but it's better than nothing...which is my list for today! I was trying to explain this to some people yesterday and they thought I was nuts - until I asked them to tell me six things they really and truly paid attention to and took notice of that day. Give it a try - and leave me a comment!

I'm still in the throes of irritability about my limbo-ness and all the drama of last week but I think I am on the upswing. I have to remind myself that what you do or deal with 9 to 5 doesn't define you. No one is simply a job title. We all have other things in our lives that matter, that make us happy,that make a difference in some way, even small ones

I wanna move the people on a hot summer's day
I wanna serve up the truth like it's pink lemonade
I wanna give my people what they can't deny
I wanna light up the sky like the 4th of July

Anyone know the song? Racegrrl, I know you do! : ) Gotta love Tobymac.

I recently read a series of books by Ray Blackston about some Christian singles trying to meet people. At the beginning, it starts with some quotes that tell something about each one. The main character's love interest says, "My name is Allie, and I work for God." I think about that a lot, especially in terms of what I'm doing with the children and youth at church. That's what's really important to me. Not this other stuff; that's all just stuff. Gotta keep your focus, especially when those around you are losing theirs.

I spent a while last night crafting a really long post...only to have it tell me that it couldn't find my blog to post it on. I tried a couple things and finally gave up, realizing it was all lost in cyberspace.

So let's see if this works!

Limbo (lim'bo) n.: a dance, originated in the West Indies, in which the dancers bend from the waist as far back as possible to pass beneath a bar that is put lower and lower. n.: any intermediate, indeterminate state or condition

I am in limbo at the moment (the second definition, though sometimes I feel like it's the first...but that's a completely different entry!) and it is making me crazy.

Sigh.

For the past several years, I have taken part in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night walk and will be doing so again at the beginning of October. Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's nationwide evening Walk to build awareness of blood cancers and raise funds for cures. Walkers carry illuminated balloons-white for survivors and red for supporters-to celebrate and commemorate lives touched by cancer. My team, the Nite Lights, walk in honor of survivors we know and also those who have lost their battle. I personally walk on behalf of my mom's best friend Rose, who is a survivor, and my friend Tracey's nephew, Anthony, who lost his battle at just five years old. Many others on our team walk for friends and family members who have passed away. It is a very somber event, yet we know that by taking part, we are helping to raise money that can lead to a cure for these blood cancers.

I hate to use this as a platform to ask for donations...but frankly, I think it's a good way to do it. If you are also on my email list, you might hear from me that way as well. If you would like to make a donation online, please visit my Light the Night website by clicking here. You can donate there with a debit or a credit card. If you would rather mail me your donation, please leave me a comment with your email address and I'll send you my address. Please make checks out to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Thank you for your help! No donation is too small. Every dollar raised goes to research to end these terrible diseases.

Last night was Lansdale Bike Night. About 60,000 people show up for this event each year, showing off their hogs and hanging out. There are bands and food and merchandise set up all down Main Street. The past three or four years, my church has had space. We do free facepainting and balloon animals for the kids (you'd be surprised how much of a family event this really is!) and giving away free popcorn. It's always a lot of fun - it's my favorite outreach that we do. It was a long night though, and I am plumb tuckered out.

I just read an article this week about living in the moment and taking time to actually notice things. The article said you should try to notice at least six things a day. This is much harder than you'd think! Anyway, I tried to do it last night and I noticed:

A man with the orange mohawk with green tips
An orange chopper with purple flames on it
That there is a tattoo parlor on N. Towamencin Avenue

So I only got three. And today...well, nothing. I have to work on this! It seems unimaginable that in a whole day, I can't think of six things I really and truly took time and notice of...

Mike & May Cape (as Leah used to say!). 

Yes, I am still finding more workcamp photos! This one was my whole crew on the first day. See the particle board behind us? They told us to SCRAPE it first before painting it...NOT a good idea! It all comes off! 

Proof that I actually DID work at workcamp!! 

This was just soooo cute. In Adventure Theater today, we were talking about David & Goliath. Zack volunteered to be David and this is him in "King Saul's" misfitting "armor". I could nto stop laughing! You'll see Esteban behind him - he was holding Zack's pants up! I wish I'd had my real camera with me. 

My dear friend Nan left a message yesterday (happy anniversary, by the way, Nan!)that her son was off to his first day of kindergarten - happy as could be and not looking back. I'm so glad to hear that he was excited to go and I hope so much that he has a wonderful experience with school. I know I did.


Me & Dwayne on our first day of kindergarten... 

This is me on my first day of kindergarten...in fact, that is the day I met Nancy! It always makes me smile to think that she and I have been friends all these years. What a blessing! Anyway, I always loved school...couldn't wait for summer to end so I could get back to seeing friends and learning lots of cool stuff. Weird, I know, but that's just me!

...meet the Urinator! 

This is Norman, the love of my life. He is the sweetest, most loving of all my kitties. And yet he is the most troublesome! He is always getting into stuff, attacking Nellie, running around like a man on fire. And lately, peeing on the floor! I've had him to the vet for all kinds of tests. I've had the carpets steam cleaned. I put plastic down on the floor. I even bought one of those stupid automatic litterboxes (DON'T waste your money! Luckily, they took it back.) The only thing that might be having any effect - and I can't tell for sure - is this stuff called Comfort Zone by Feliway. It's a plug-in like those air fresheners but it releases a cat hormone that makes them relax and feel comfortable. I had one in the room where he frequently did this and he stopped for several weeks.

But I am a bad mom and the plug in ran out and I didn't get another one. That was probably a week or even two ago. And here he goes again! Saturday and then again tonight. So I was back in the car, trekking to the only pet store around that seems to sell this. I got the refill and an entirely new plug-in for the living room. We'll see if this is the answer! I sure hope something is!

I've been thinking about what to blog about but I feel like in light of everything going on in the Gulf coast, what I have to say to the world is so minor.

One thing I will say is happy birthday to my mamacita. She is computer-challenged, so she probably won't see this, but I wanted to say it anyway. Yesterday was her birthday and, as she teased her best friend when she turned the same age, she's the speed limit now. (I told her that, in most places, it went up so she's got another 10 years until she can make that joke again.) I have to honestly say I don't know what I would do without her. Yes, sometimes she drives me bats and I often tell her what a challenge she is (and I'm sure she feels the same about me at times) but when it comes down to it, she is and always has been there for me in any and every circumstance. I talk to her almost every day about something or another. Sometimes we even watch tv together long distance. We debate the news of the day, share our views on what's going on in the world and even when we don't agree, I know she is listening. So, I love you, mom! Happy birthday!

I am still glued to news of the Gulf coast. I check in on the major news outlets all day online and all evening on television. It breaks my heart to see the conditions that people have been in, that some are still awaiting rescue, that some are still awaiting food and water in New Orleans. I hear all the terrible things that are going on there, the crimes being committed in the convention center and I think - I was there. I was there when it was just a city filled with doctors for a large convention. And now it is unrecognizable.

I keep hearing people say over and over things like "they should have evacuated when they were told to". But how do you evacuate when you have no money, no transportation, no means to get anywhere other than where you are? Or are too sick to go? Or disabled? So many factors played into what has happened. That's not to say that no one stayed out of sheer stubbornness - I'm sure there is a great deal of that mixed in as well.

I pray that order is restored soon so that they can continue the evacuations without fear of rescuers being shot at. I pray that they receive the necessary supplies and help they need soon to help these people who are tired and hungry and thirsty...and dying before their eyes. I pray that people who were blessed to not live in this area and face this devastation personally would remember to be thankful for what they have and to give to those who no longer have anything. There are so many reputable organizations to give to: the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Samaritan's Purse, Operation Blessing, the list goes on and on. They were reporting on the news to beware of charity scam artists - if you receive an email from the Red Cross or another organization like that, it is not real. The Red Cross doesn't have time to be sending out email solicitations right now or doing telemarketing - so bear this in mind.

I truly wish I could be down there. I have a heart for those in need and it breaks every time I hear another person's story or see another shot of what used to be a beautiful area. I wish there was something more I could do...in the meantime, I'll donate and pray.