Same Song Just Another Verse

Yesterday my flight was scheduled to leave at 7:00 a.m. That meant up at 4:30 which ended up being 4:39 since I didn't hear my alarm clock, and out the door at 5:30. I was at the airport in plenty of time. We boarded the plane pretty early, about 6:30 and then waited and waited. Finally the pilot came on that a mechanic was on his way. Twenty minutes or so later he said the mechanic had signed off and everything was good to go. Another five minutes later we pushed back from the gate and there was an awful grinding noise that kept going and going. We sat like that for about another five minutes and the taxied out and took off. We left closer to 8:00 than 7:00.

My connection in Detroit was to leave at 8:35 and I walked off the plane at 8:30. The agent at the gate said I'd missed the connection, but I hurried off to B1 from the end of terminal A. I ran up about 8:45 and while the door was closed the board didn't say the flight had left. The agent at that gate asked, "Huntsville?" When I affirmed that she said she was hoping I'd still make the flight. There was no pilot for the flight so they were waiting. She said he was delayed from another flight. I boarded and sat and sat. About 15 minutes later the co-pilot got on and said that they had called to make sure there was someone for the flight, and that pilot was in the airport on his way. All the paperwork was done so as soon as the pilot got there we could leave. About 15 minutes later the pilot came on board, stowed some gear at the back of the plane and went into the cockpit. About 5 minutes later he came on and said his original flight was cancelled so he was available for this one so as soon as they checked the weather and did the pre-flight work, we'd be ready to go. This certainly seemed contradictory to the other pilot's message. Twenty minutes later we pushed back from the gate. Sat for 5-10 minutes and then finally left.

Original arrival time was 9:24 a.m. and we landed at 10:20.

Yes, I was an hour late but I had luggage since I carried everything on and I am here for a big 80th birthday party tonight.

I wonder it's like to fly without any issues.

Thankful Thursday

Obviously not original to me but very fitting for my weekly (at least sometimes) post.

Morning Prayer
Lord, I just want to say "thank you" because this morning
I woke up and knew where my children were
My home was still standing
I'm not crying because my husband, brother, sister, mother, father, or child needs to be rescued from a pile of concrete rubble
I was able to drink a glass of water
I was able to turn on a light
I was not planning a funeral
I still have life and a voice to cry out for the people of Haiti
(adapted from a prayer one of my prayer partners shared with us yesterday morning)

???

Recently I was looking for a person on a college's website. This is how her job title was listed:

Cell Phone Dilemma

The last several weeks which seems likes years I’ve been working out the family cell phone plan I share with my parents. Which phones do we want to upgrade to, how many minutes do we really need, which text plans do we need/want, etc.? Just when I thought I had it figured out Verizon threw me for a loop by changing their phone and plan pricing structure. Basically every phone now needs a data plan which is an additional 9.99 per line and that doesn’t include texting. Dad has decided not to upgrade phones but Mom wants to text so she (and I) need phones with a QWERTY keyboard. Let’s just say more than once I’ve been glad I proofread as I would’ve sent some interesting messages otherwise.

I spent almost an hour with the csr there who was very helpful and very patient. In front of her monitor was an adorable picture of a little girl about two and a baby boy. I asked if they were her children, and she proudly showed me the picture. I commented that the little girl appeared to be pretty content with being a big sister at least at picture time. The lady replied that she was and she’d done very well. The lady’s husband was killed in a car accident in July which meant a drastic change in the little girls life and then the baby came in October. Then the little girl potty trained in early November.

I was rather blown away by it all and decided a few days of cell phone plan hand wringing really wasn’t that bad after all.

Owww, my darling clementines

I love clementines, but they may be killing me.

Periodically I get a cankor sore at the back of my mouth. I've been told that they are viral and there's nothing to do but wait them out. After two weeks of the latest one I went to the dr. yesterday. He said there are many causes and sometimes that cause isn't known. He talked about stress, a cold virus, and then mentioned sometimes food is a problem. He said pineapple, but I'm wondering if the many clementines I like to eat at this time of year are the source. So even though I just bought a new box on Saturday, I'm going to give them to the lady down the street and see if not eating any citrus for several days helps get rid of this pain in my throat. If it is the clementines then I'm guessing that grapefruit I ate on Saturday didn't help either.

And what do you think of my title?

No Tip for This Carrier

The last several days have been quite warm and by yesterday afternoon all the snow in my front yard was gone except for the piles from plowing and shoveling. Off in the grass was a weekly newspaper that the carrier apparently missed the porch by about 10 feet.

I was going to take a picture of this newspaper in its plastic wrap sitting in the middle of the yard by my helpful friend picked it up and brought it in when she stopped by this afternoon.

This was meaning from our responsive reading at church this a.m.

From Psalm 77

11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;you have made known your might among the peoples.

Yesterday the local newspaper had an article on Richard DeVos, co-founder of Amway, speaking at a local college’s January Series. The person who introduced DeVos of course read a long list of his accomplishments. When DeVos got up to speak he said, “That all sounds really nice, but I’m a sinner saved by grace.”

Fairy Tale

This week I read a fairy tale called “One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes”. Maybe it’s a well-know tale, but I’d never heard of it. My question is “Who would ever read this to children?” The picture in my mind of a child with one eye in the middle of their forehead and another child with two eyes and one in the forehead just about grossed me out. Some of you may know what I mean when I say it clear eckled me.

Aunt Louise would be pleased. . .

This morning at work I had a training session on the machines in the sewing area. I am volunteering for a project that I will tell more about later, but this morning I made this:

I know it's not exciting, but the finished project will be. However, my sewing time isn't until March 9 so who knows what it will look like.

Haiti

There are so many amazing stories of children from Haiti being quickly united with their adoptive parents due to the earthquake. There are quite a few agencies in West Michigan that have a base of operation in Haiti so there are many local stories of people connected to Haiti in the news.

An excerpt from a friend's e-mail I received yesterday regarding Haiti:

But it does make one wonder how a country of about 9 million people can still be so poor when we have given them over $3 billion since 1996. Hopefully, the good that will come out of all this would be getting rid of corruption in the government. I hope the people are ready to rebuild and take back their country.

Thick Skin

I had two funny comments made to me today. It’s a good thing I can just laugh about them.

1. When I was walking into the building at lunch a lady whom I have never met said, “How do you get into that little car???” Multiple things went through my head such as “Why? Do you think I’m that big?” or “I just oil up when I get in so I can pop right out?” etc.
I just said, “It’s actually deceptive and there’s quite a bit of room.”

2. When painting my bowl today a co-worker I was painting with said, “Oh, that’s (slight pause) colorful.”

MLK Jr. Day

As part of MLK Jr. holiday, my company has a team that sponsored a community service activity. Anyone could come paint a bowl or mug to be sold at auction at a local event supporting a food pantry. It’s a well-known event in the area.

It was fun to go into a large room where people from all around the company were painting. Somehow it brings out a different side of people to be showing a creative or lack of creativity side.

Anyone who painted is eligible for several prize drawings. Stay tuned to see what I win.

NFL Playoffs

Go Colts!!!

Saturday

Today I got several things done that I've been wanting to do for days or weeks or even months:

1. Finally got to the bank to deposit several checks.
2. Got a surge protector for the tv/dvd player in the bedroom and plugged it all in so the dresser could be moved into place.
3. The back room is cleaned up except for my filing. That's a project for one night this week.

And, all the laundry is done!

It's a good feeling.

Ms. Ann

An old family friend died this week, and I'm reminded of the influence she and her husband had on my family.

Her husband challenged my father who at the time was a young man searching in his life for faith with a question similar to this: "Why not right now?" in response to Dad's answer of "Some day I will accept the Lord." Dad apparently said he would and began his walk of faith.

John and Ann mentored my parents during their engagement and early married life. I'm sure my parents learned a lot of building a relationship that has lasted for almost 53 years.

John and Ann helped my parents develop a burden for missions and lead to my parents moving to Alabama to work with our church's local churches there. The ways this changed our family are innumerable.

John and Ann introduced my parents to Christian education. As a result, I graduated from a Christian high school and college and then taught in Christian schools.

Ann was always encouraging to me as a young woman. When I lived in Illinois I met her for lunch several times. She insisted we meet the day after I came back from a church mission trip to the DR to hear all about it. I'm sure her excitement about missions was a big factor in my wanting to return to the DR for the summer.

I didn't write Ann often, but when I did I always got a handwritten letter with some cutout of a poem or saying from some piece of literature.

Practically, Ann was a good cook. I remember the first time I had real potato soup that she made. I didn't know that potato soup was anything other than leftover mashed potatoes heated with milk and chunks of Velveeta cheese before that.

When an older saint like Ms. Ann dies, I often think about the spiritual void left on this earth and wonder who will pick up the pieces that made her a spiritual giant and continue on.

Thankful Thursday

1. Jeffrey turned 9 this week. What a guy—he’s a bundle of energy that brightens any room. Happy Birthday, Buddy!!!
2. Dad graduated to a cane from a walker.
3. In the last week I’ve accomplished several projects at home that I’ve needed/wanted to do for several times.
4. Started boxing in WiiFit this week. It’s fun.
5. No moisture—snow or rain for several days so it makes washing my car worthwhile.
6. Picked up two more CU classes for this year. One in April and one in September. I’m sure I won’t be too busy with getting the garden ready in the spring and harvest in the fall!!!
7. Tomorrow's a shutdown day, and I have great lunch plans.

A previous post showed the hutch I bought late last summer at an estate sale. Finally over the weekend I pulled out the china my grandmother gave me and the crystal a great aunt gave me to fill the hutch. As Renae I looked at it, she said, “It needs a light.”

That meant a trip to Lowe’s and since the shelves are wood instead of glass three lights with one for each section. They had a nifty set of three lights that all plugged into one cord to plug in. Last night we (meaning Renae mostly) drilled three holes and threaded the three cords through them. She then attached the lights above each section. The bottom section was too low to get my drill in so we (meaning Renae) will attach that light when she brings over a smaller cordless drill to screw the light in.

Here is Renae with the almost finished product:

And the basket on top is from my Christmas gift from Whitney.

Christmas in January

Every once in awhile at work we get a nice surprise. Today a dealer made a regular request but included in the e-mail that I would be "compensated". From previous e-mails I assumed that meant I'd be getting a bag of M&Ms soon. Today when the dealer airborne package came, she and the accounting team from that dealer had included 3 large bags of M&Ms for me and another person in my department. Of course, we opened one and set it out for everyone to share. We'll open one bag at a time to make them last longer.

But just before we opened that package another dealer airborne had 3 real presents for three of us. The presents were wrapped with a bow even! This is what we got:

as well as a 2010 Winter Olympics pin. They are really nice and fun to wear! I went on-line and apparently these are a very popular item and there has been difficulty finding these. I'm impressed the dealer got them and then gave some away!

Instructor Evaluation

I'm grading some work for my latest class, Foundations of Wellness. One student wrote

"At our first class, I wasw afraid that my instructor was going to be a skinny aerobic person that didn't understand the challenges normal people like I experience daily with being overweight and struggles with maintaining a healthy diet. I believe that my percent was incorrect. I was relived to see that my instructor was normal and was down to earth with realistic ideas of how to improve and maintain a healthy lifestyle."

Umm, thanks.

Friday

1. Great game.

2. I don't usually stay up as late as I did last night.

3. I'm very tired today.

4. Guy across from offered to tap my shoulder if he sees me nodding off today.

ROLL TIDE!!

Overtime Work

This is the e-mail I received from my work team leader this morning:


I'm really sorry to have to do this to you, but I have some stuff I need your help with and I'm going to need you to come in on Thursday night from about 8 til 11:30. It's the only time this can be worked on.
I really appreciate your dedication to the team.
Carole




Edited:
Yeah, right; she had me going for a minute and then I remembered there is a big game on Thursday night that she knows I'll be watching. It made for a good laugh in our office today.

This picture says it all.

Hoekstra for Governor

This quote from a holiday greeting e-mail isn't the only reason, but this certainly makes supporting Pete Hoekstra for governor easier.

"For the Hoekstra family, 2009 will be remembered as a year of transition.

The decision to leave Congress is one that I feel at peace with. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to serve the people of the 2nd congressional district.

But now we look forward with great anticipation to the doors God may open for us in the future.

We are confident in the direction of the campaign to be the next Governor of Michigan. That is what we will focus on as the calendar flips pages to 2010.

But for the next few days we will enjoy the holiday season with family and friends. The Hoekstra family will celebrate the birth of Jesus and reflect on what that means to each of us in our daily lives. We pray that each of you may use this time of year to reflect on your faith traditions and beliefs.

One Day at a Time

From a student's paper from his reading of Genesis 1:1-10:

Earth was built one day at a time. You could visually see earth coming together as you read each word. What did I learn? I learned to take each day one at a time.

This reminded me of hearing several days ago: The problem is that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't.

Random Thoughts

1. Sitting at Mocha 'n Music "grading" papers for class.

2. It's very cold here; today is a high of 15. Thankfully the sun is shining today.

3. Cracker Barrel in Michigan isn't as good as CB in Alabama. Who wants biscuits with a dark brown top? And if I ask if grits come with the meal after it's been served why would a server say, "Yes, do you want them?"

4. Happy New Year everyone!

5. I hope a change in layout isn't throwing anyone--especially those who layout newsletters.

6. The profile pic is from a long, long time ago with me, my sister, and two cousins.

7. I had a great Christmas with family.

8. My father is doing well from surgery. The hip replacement went well, but there have been a coule of other issues that have delayed his progress. It was hard to leave them.

9. For the girls at Christmas I send an MK catalog and offer them a dollar amount they can order. They also have the option of a gift card to the store of their choosing. In addition to what they ask for I add a couple of other MK things. This year they got two gift with purchase items. Their gifts go in a gift bag, and I give them to each person individually. As I present it to them I say, "May all your Christmases be pink."

10. OK, I really do need to grade papers now!

Thankful Thursday 07/1/10

1. Sweet cherries. I'm loving them for snack every day.
2. Great weekend with my father at the Worldwide Klopfenstein Family Reunion in Ft. Wayne, IN.