And I'm addicted to chicken wings.

For the longest time, I never ate them because I thought, frankly, that they were too much work for too little reward. But I have in to peer pressure on day and now I can't get enough. My addiction plus the fact that the grocery store across the street now sells them on the hot bar. I got them for Super Bowl. I got them for the Daytona 500. I got them because it was Saturday. Today, I got them simply because they were there.

And this is what the ol' blog has come to...

I am alive. My head still hurts but the numbness & tingling went away after I laid down. I don't know what is up with me. I am just feeling wiped out and out of sorts this weekend. I took a nap today because I simply couldn't stay awake and about an hour later, I felt like I could go right back to bed. But I made myself walk on the treadmill for a half hour and I need to send a couple emails for work I couldn't send Friday because my evil DSL keeps cutting in & out for no apparent reason. Then it is back to bed, hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Well, it wasn't exactly a snow day - I worked from home, so I didn't have to brave the roads. I did go out in the evening and had a fun time at a penny party we go to each February. I didn't win anything (well, I did win a tube of hand cream in the Loser's round!) but it was fun just the same.

Today I had a terrible migraine for most of the day. There were some things I wanted to do but I got very little done. Now I am having some weird things happening - my left side is kind of tingly and my left foot keeps falling asleep. I know this sounds alarming - but with a rod in your spine, fibromyalgia and a migraine...not all that unusual, really, and could be any number of things related to one of those or even all three combined. I imagine I will be better by morning (the headache is already faded virtually away...just some lingering dull ache) and for now, I am going to wrap up my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow and a couple of fundraising things for workcamp and go to bed!

I feel like a little kid tonight. They're calling for some winter weather tomorrow...I'm hoping for a good storm, the kind that shuts things down & you don't have to go anywhere. I haven't any interest in shoveling and salting but staying home, safe & warm, sounds lovely.

I continued looking for ways to be a blessing throughout my trip. For some reason, I find a heightened feeling of spirituality when I am away. This is odd for several reasons (to me, anyway, since I don't particularly care for traveling) but I think the bottom line is that when I am away, I don't have the same distractions I do at home. There isn't wash to be done or pets to care for or other chores to be done. I lean more on God, too, when I travel, primarily because I am often worried or scared witless about random things....

But in looking for ways to be a blessing, I have to admit I was looking too for the blessing my pastor prayed for me. I was blessed that I was able to use my corporate card for many things instead of putting out my cash (that I don't really have), I have to admit that. But my truest blessing came when I had some down time before leaving Orlando for Atlanta. I had been upset about having to change hotels halfway through my trip but it turned out that my hotel was directly across the street from Sea World. After my conference ended, I headed back to the hotel and then across the street.

I had been to Sea World before, back when I was 12. I honestly did not remember thing beyond that I was in a terrible mood and didn't want to be there. So, I did not know what to expect...and frankly, I was not expecting very much. I walked across the street and across a huge parking lot toward the front gate. I started walking with an employee partway and she was talking to me about the park and about the new Shamu show. I knew I wanted to see it so when I got inside, I immediately checked the schedule and found that the first show was about to start shortly. After grabbing a quick (and expensive) bite to eat, I made my way into the arena. I was brave and sat down toward the front in the "splash" zone.

Watching the whales swim around was just overwhelming for me. They were so beautiful, such amazing creatures. This mingled with the feelings that I was experiencing this alone, as I do so many things, and the sadness that comes with that. Soon, though, I was so caught up in the show and simply awed. My words cannot do this show justice - it was about how if you believe, your dreams can come true. I was very moved by the story of one of the trainers who loved whales and grew up to work with them in this way and was touched by a young girl in the audience who was called down to the front because she had the same dream. Although we could not hear what was said, the trainer talked very intently to the girl and gave her a carved whale's tale necklace. Then Shamu came up beside them and she was able to touch him, which must have been quite amazing for her!

Like I said, my words cannot do it justice. Suffice it to say, this was my blessing that was prayed for.

It's been a month since I was a travelin' gal but I am still thinking back on it. On my way to Orlando, there were a lot of problems with the flight. I find this often when flying to Florida; for some reason, the airlines don't set things up for families to sit together and then there is a lot of scrambling around to make sure that children are not unattended, etc. and the flight ends up delayed. One of the families on the flight that were separated was a mom with three young boys, ranging in age probably between 4 and 8 years old. She and one son sat with me with the two older boys sat in front of us. She and I shared some casual conversation off and on throughout the flight and I learned that she had recently lost her husband. I didn't inquire because it was mentioned in an offhand way and I was not entirely sure at the moment if he had left them or had passed away. Later in the flight, she took out a picture to show the oldest boy and said, "See, I told you he comes with us everywhere we go. He is always with us." It was all I could do to not just burst into tears for them right there on the plane. So I prayed. And prayed. For this young mom who was trying so hard to keep it all together and was brave enough to take her boys away by herself for a long weekend. When we landed, I wished them a good trip and departed the plane but found myself standing with her again at baggage claim. The youngest boy was having a meltdown under the baggage carts and she looked tired and near tears. We talked again for a bit and she told me she was taking them to Orlando for the MLK weekend as a distraction from everything that had happened to them and she hoped it would be a good memory for them. I told her that I would be praying for her and I have continued to do so. I do not know her name and probably will never see her again, yet she and her family touched my heart.

My mindset on this trip was a bit different than others and I think I know the reason - my pastor prayed for me and prayed that I would be able to be a blessing to someone and be blessed as well on this trip. I hope that I was able to be a blessing to her that day and I pray that the Lord will bless her and her family, strengthening them and comforting them through this time.

What can I say? I have been out of touch. Thankfully, I slept last night. I was not feeling well at all and ended up going to be early and actually sleeping the night through. That is probably the first time in about three weeks, if not longer.

I had a comp day from work yesterday and tried to get my house back in some semblance of order. Things were still in disarray from my trip a few weeks ago. And disorder in my home creates disorder in my brain. So I am trying to both rest this weekend and create some kind of order back in my life. Slowly but surely...

Sleep is eluding me. My stress level is through the roof and I can't tell you all that is on my mind tonight. Some because I can't clearly articulate them and others because I don't know who reads this at this point...say a prayer for me!

I got unbelievable news this week when I had my first appointment with my nutritionist since before Christmas this week - and I lost 10 pounds! That brings me to a total of 13! I am not dieting but I have made some pretty significant changes in my eating & lifestyle. I am also participating in an informal accountability group with two other women at church; we share our struggles and accomplishments and pray for one another. I know this in and of itself helps to make a major difference, as does increasing my activity level. Going from nothing to even two 15 minute stints on the treadmill has definitely helped.

Whoo hoo!

Grrr.

On another note, tonight was my dear friend TomLaRom's 30th birthday. It was great to see everyone and I was so glad to see he was surprised. His wife Keri did a GREAT job of preparing and scheduling everything. It was a great night.

Earlier in the day, I kicked off the birthmonth celebrations wtih lunch with my friend, Sheri. It was great to sit and talk and debate the topics of the day...from scientology to politics to war to books.

Good day!