Bad hair days and crooked tiaras...ALL righted by God's grace!!

It was typical stormy night at our house- my husband, Marshall was glued to the television watching for any tornadic occurrence in our area and I was settled into bed sleeping soundly.  When he felt the reported tornado was close to our house he came  in and woke me up and moved me into the hall bath tub which he had prepared with numerous pillows and cushions.  I climbed into the tub with our little dog while Marshall ran back and forth from the front to the back door watching for the tornado. Now, do not misunderstand, my heart breaks for those individuals that have suffered devastation and loss from a tornado and I am also appreciative that I have a husband who wants to protect me from harm, but I am confident that if I survive the tornado-he will most definitely not. He will certainly be blown away as he watches for it.   At that point I would have preferred to be sleeping comfortably in my bed instead of uncomfortable in...

Due to the ever increasing size of my waistline, and the recent appearance of some type of topping spilling over my already existent muffin top, I decided that it was time to get serious about this weight loss thing.  Somehow it just doesn't seem right that someone that enjoys eating as much as I, should have to worry about this.  I mean, good metabolism should automatically be given to those of us who love to eat!!  My, how I love to eat!! It would be nice if I could be like my husband who will often announce at dinner that he forgot to eat lunch.  Really?  Come on?  Who forgets to eat lunch?  I wake up in the morning already thinking about what I will have for lunch,dinner and mid morning and afternoon snacks! In the past I have done well by not eating any sugar and limiting my carbohydrate intake-so that is what I decided to try again.  All the chocolate was eliminated from the house, but 48 hours later I was like an addict coming o...

Those who know me well would tell you that I have a tendency to be somewhat of a hypochondriac. Occasionally, prior to bedtime,  I will tell my husband about some type of pain that I am experiencing so that if something happens to me in the night and I am unable to relay my complaint to the medical staff, he will be able to inform them of my earlier malady.  In 2001 events lead me to believe that I had contracted an illness that was sure to make me a statistic.  In the weeks following the September 11 attacks several news media offices and U.S. Senators received letters containing anthrax, a refined white dry powder which when inhaled initially caused the person to develop a sore throat, mild muscle aches and fever. Approximately 5 people died and a little over a dozen were infected.   News agencies warned citizens to watch for any suspicious substance in which they may come in contact. Prior to any knowledge of the aforeme...

March 12, 1955-April 14, 2010 Last year after a long and courageous struggle with melanoma I said goodbye to my dear friend of 21 years, Elaine Hines. Her struggle lasted over 3 years and for the last year and half  the tumors left her with severe pain and lack of mobility in her left leg and right arm.  For 21 years I celebrated the day of her birth with her.  This year I celebrate that day by celebrating my memory of her. On Wednesday morning,  April 14, 2010, Elaine looked straight in the face of Jesus and started walking on streets of gold and raising her arms in praise to the God whom she loved. Elaine came into my life 23 years ago  when I came to our office as a graduate student and subsequently worked along side of her for the years that followed.  Little did I realize the impact that she would have on my life.  Not only was she my mentor, but she was my friend. There are m...

A few years ago Marshall and I had the privilege of traveling to Sydney, Australia.  We  arrived at our hotel in Sydney absolutely exhausted after the 15 hour flight from Los Angeles. Without even unpacking we headed to bed in hopes of getting a good night's sleep before beginning sight seeing the next day.  Sometime in the night my exhausted, confused and jet lagged husband got up to go to the bathroom.  He tried to orient himself to the unfamiliar environment, but as he approached the bathroom door he suddenly let out a loud shout.  I sat straight up in the bed and saw him standing in front of the mirror on the outside of the bathroom door. In his confusion he mistook his own reflection for that of someone else and was initially afraid that we were not alone in the room and that he was going to have to 'take on' our would be attacker.   He didn't even recognize his own image reflected in the glass.  ...