One Fine Friday

It is a beautiful Friday afternoon in Houston. I am happy to read that Amanda writes about peace for Christmas, CourtneyS writes about joy, and Beth is writing about frustration in the Christmas season. I haven't decided the direction I am going with this post, but it could have something to do with peace, joy and frustration and a few other things as well.



This week has been a week of extremes. My work in particular has been all over the place and back. We are in the midst of finishing up all the basics for the brochures that will be coming out about Milestones and Midlink for the Winter/Spring semester. We need to get that finished up and out the door for the printer and mailing. There are loose ends to tie up and whoopee, I think it is all knitted together right now, well it was when I left the office yesterday. Jason is in and out for the rest of the year. So when he is in for a few minutes, I am talking and submitting papers for signature at the speed of light. In the midst of celebrating Christmas, we had our first meeting for Spring Loaded which is the all church event two weeks before Easter. I also nailed down our guest for Broken for You, the Maundy Thursday service before Good Friday. Well, maybe nailed down is not the right term to use for people during Easter week...we got our person booked. That is much better. The details for this week's Cafe Ascend have been taken care of and the most glorious bit of news came to me Monday. One ministry that has come under Ministries will be now a part of the Mission's office. Nothing wrong with this particular ministry except there is just one of me and their work is extensive and time sensitive and I think it will be a better fit all the way around.



In the midst of the busy week came other issues that kind of hit me all at once on Wednesday night. It is the feeling and knowledge that I have so many depending on me. Had a long talk with my Dad about future decisions we will be making for my mother. It nearly broke my heart when I visited with her after the long discussion. She could not put a sentence together and she had difficulty putting any kind of cohesive thoughts. Sometimes when I talk with my father, I ask for the gift of discernment. You have to wade through a lot of junk to find the nuggets of truth. I believe this to be truth. He goes back in January for another PET scan, because his tumor from Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma is changing. My brother's blood platelet's are down again and will probably have his spleen removed sometime soon. My parents stay concerned and worked up over his situation and his choices in life. On Tuesday evening, I was supposed to go with the BRD (Back Row Divas) to see a friend who had surgery and just retired. I ended up punting on that, had a couple things I really needed to take care of that evening and I wasn't up for it physically or emotionally to be "on" and in performance mode. Oh, BRD, we mostly met in choir years ago. We were known as the Back Row Altos, but then that would be BRA and we didn't want that on a t shirt. Had a little melt down on Wednesday evening, but back on track Thursday morning. A little tired, but back.



During the week at lunch we began to tell silly stories on ourselves. Not one being shy about re-telling some of my stupidest episodes, I told this story. When I was in college, I worked part time for ABC Baby Furniture Store. One evening, I went back to the storeroom to open up a few of the boxes that had baby mattresses in them. These boxes were well made and well sealed and it usually took two to open and then removed the mattresses. I was by myself and thought how hard could it be to do this by myself? So, I began tugging at the top of the box. Then pulling and yanking at the top of the box. In the midst of all that pulling, tugging and yanking, my hand slipped off the box and came at my jaw in fist form at lightning speed and when I hit myself in the jaw, it is then I learned I have a glass jaw, cause I knocked myself out....mama says knock you out....hard and I fell back in a dead knock out. No TKO for me. When I came to, things were a little blurry, but security had the stock boy in handcuffs and escorting him out to a waiting police car. I have EMS over me bringing me to and I am mumbling with slurred speech, "he didn't do it, I knocked myself out." Now most of the employees were scared to death of our stock boy and they tried to interpret my dazed and confused confession. "Oh, he knocked her up so he knocked her out." NO!!!!!! Finally, they listened to me and realized that scary stock boy hadn't done a thing at all. He just happened to be the one who found me. Soon all that sympathy for me changed to pity, cause who could be so stupid as to knock themselves out? I hate to admit it but I have done this several times since then, hand slip off while opening a box and hitting myself. I have never knocked myself out again, but dang I have a mean right jab.



Roy and I cannot wait for China Love to open. China Love is better known as Hunan Chef. I have no idea why we call it China Love except that the attorney Roy clerked for one summer called it that. They were located by IKEA and we are waiting for the new location in the Home Depot shopping center to open. We were in the mood for Chinese food last night. We drove by in hopes of an opening. Not to be. Close to it, but not yet. So we went to Hunan Inn. Love their Lemon Chicken. Roy had never eaten there so he got his boring usual Pepper Steak. So Jennifer was there. Of course I didn't know she was there until she made a comment on my blog that she has been reading it without ever posting. Got to love that she didn't want to come up and say, I stalk your blog. I told her she should have. So here is a little shout out to Jennifer and Hunan Inn.



I wrapping it up but need to tell this. This morning I had a 10:00 appointment with Charles to get my eyebrows done and my lip waxed. He does a great job. Oh, this all happened at The Nord. Anyway, I know you are supposed to make the eyebrows dramatic cause they frame the face, but when he handed me the mirror and I saw them, I said to myself...No wire hangers! For those of you who have no clue what I am writing about, Mommy Dearest, Joan Crawford and the enormous eyebrows and shoulder pads. I do not have shoulder pads on today. Then I looked at shoes till 11:00 and went up to the Bistro. Had lunch, studied my lines for Mildred and Gertrude tonight and then went to get my hair cut. Nice relaxing morning. I did wipe some of the eyebrow gel off, I kept scaring myself when I saw my reflection.

Got a CD of Christmas music that has Bleak Mid Winter on it. Celtic Christmas music, it is beautiful!

Peggy barely has a voice and we are doing M&G tonight for the UBA (Union Baptist Association) Christmas party. If you think of us, especially Peggy, say a prayer for her. We have such lovely voices as is.

Got my last paycheck in the mail today from the Bakers. An end of an era, but the beginning of more free time.