Following that star

Where did my motivation go?

If 28 years ago, someone had said to me, in the year 2009 (whooaaa), you will be running(?!?) on a treadmill in a gym in Woodstock, Georgia listening to Eye of the Tiger (the hit of music class record day in 1981) on an iPod (huh?) - well, let's see, I was 8, so I'm pretty sure I would have scowled at the person and headed in the other direction. But, I'd like to think that my 8-year-old self would have wondered what twists of fate could possibly have led to THAT (which is, of course, what I am asking myself now).  When my Human Rights Brief came in the mail the other dy (a publication I used to write for back in the day), I just sighed and thought, where did my life get so off track?  I'm supposed to be sitting on the International Court of Justice at The Hague, making the world a better place.  Where did my motivation go?

Typical

We just bought Jonathan a grill, a grill cover, and a brush to clean his grill, and, of course, a bunch of food to grill.  Sears assembled the grill for free, and the plan was to pick it up today (to save the $65 delivery fee; yes, that is our nod to the recession).  Jonathan, being the great dad that he is, takes the girls to the pool (they were jumping up and down excited).  Two and a half hours later, I get a call; my car won't start.  Jonathan took my car because Vivian's car seat was out of his car because we thought we might be able to take the grill home with us yesterday when we went shopping for/bought it.  (See, we know next to nothing about grills).

What is typical you might ask?  We were finally thinking it might be about time to paint the deck - not as much rain, the hot weather drying the wood out faster.  And now we have the new grill and are about to become "this people."  "Those people who grill all the time." :^)

I was going to call our painter this week.  But then, the car breaks.  Typical.  Just when we think we will have a little extra cash to do something or other, something like this happens.  Jonathan thinks it might be the fuel pump injector because he had this problem with his car last year (although our cars are the same age, mine doesn't even have 60K miles on it while his has 95K, so I don't think it's fair for MY car to break!)  If I remember correctly, that was kind of expensive, and, of course, they will find something else wrong.  Sigh . . . . typical.

10 years of wedded bliss!

Today (today, today, today), I feel like the luckiest (luckiest, luckiest, luckiest) woman on the face of the planet! :^)

Our wedding song, Anyone At All by Carole King, plays in my head:

Funny how I feel more myself with you
Than anybody else that I ever knew
I hear it in your voice, see it in your face
You've become the memory I can't erase

You could have been anyone at all
A stranger falling out of blue
I'm so glad it was you

Wasn't in the plan not that I could see
Suddenly a miracle came to me
Safe within your arms I can say what's true
Nothing in the world I would keep from you

You could have been anyone at all
An old friend calling out of blue
I'm so glad it was you

Words can hurt you if you let them
People say them and forget them
Words can promise words can lie
But your words make me feel like I can fly

You could have been anyone at all\
And let that catches me when I fall
I'm so glad it was you

I have the best husband in the world.  He's the most wonderful person I know.  And we have a great story (in my humble opinion) to last through the generations. :^)

Some of you have heard it, probably even more than once.

We met October 3, 1997 at a Buddhist potluck supper, organized by the Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies in Cambridge, MA.  I noticed Jonathan as soon as he walked through the door.  He was carrying food, which it looked like he had made himself!  I had assigned myself beverage duty. ;^).  I made sure we sat at the same table.

The following week, I was helping with a mailing of the newsletter, Lotus Arrow, when Jonathan walked in.  My heart skipped a beat and then raced when I saw him.  I call this - "love at second sight" :^)  In that instant, I just knew.  I beckoned him over to sit next to me - of course. :^)  He later told me that he was going to ask me out that night, but I was wearing a claddagh ring, facing in (yes, I wasn't looking to date right then), so he didn't.

A couple of days later I tracked him down at work.  I called his office and asked if they had a Jonathan working there and if I could have his email address.  Then I emailed him and asked him out on a date! (A copy of which is preserved in the book we compiled for our wedding).  He, obviously, said yes, and we set our first date for October 18, 1997, after he got back from a business trip

I laid out my life plan for him on our first date - none of which involved marriage or children as I recall. :^)  Something about becoming an Olympic fencer and serving on the International Court of Justice in The Hague, I believe?  Aah, to be young and dream!

But, a month later, Jonathan had asked me to marry him and we had moved in together.  He had said he wanted to talk to me about something, and I told him I knew what it was, and when he asked me, I told him - "You're going to ask me to marry you."  And I was right. :^)  We didn't get officially engaged until April 24, 1998 because I told him I would need the ring.  And then I was starting law school, so we set the date - May 23, 1999 in Bermuda.

Without intending any offense to other married persons, I had the best wedding ever!  Beautiful location, menu selection (which is key and basically never seen before or after by me - so far), morning and evening receptions, the best wedding dance I've ever seen (it was choreographed and well-practiced and we did it PERFECTLY on the day!), the funniest karaoke I have ever seen in my entire life.

Jonathan goes above and beyond to be kind and helpful and understanding and patient.  He just gets it.  He gets it and I know that I am the luckiest person on the face of the planet.

Thank you, honey, for being you, and for picking me!

 

Emails in the South

Kind of like Postcards from the Edge? ;^)  I present to you, in the least mocking way possible:

This forwarded email is to provide you with information. You can either sign the petition &/or contact your representatives &/or delete it.   

 

Secondly, Bill HR1913 "The Hate Crime Bill"  has passed the full House vote. Next, "dropped" at the  Senate  eventually to President Obama (whitehouse.gov... states his support) for his signature. This bill has no protection for Christian communicators. All amendments for Christian protection have been denied. Bottom line:  If your pastor or you proclaim any of the counsel of God about marriage, sexuality, Islam, life & etc... an "offender" could be charged with a Hate Crime, if anyone has perceived offense by your expression.  HR1913 will limit our right to expression of religion and is an assault on Freedom of Speech. There have been cases in the UK, Pennsylvania, & Wisconsin. Less than 5% of our population through activation have changed laws about prayer, bible reading, & the limitation of  the display of the Ten Commandments.

Lastly, if you believe in the infallible book of Revelations (end times prophecy...believe Jesus is coming back to establish permanent peace),  The Department of Homeland Security has considered you a "person of concern" (actually DHS used stronger words).   

So, what will you do?  What a time to be alive!  We can either standby or be involved.

2 Chronicles 7:14 "...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

The weekend's big event

Jonathan and I celebrated our 11-year engagement anniversary last Friday by taking out my wedding dress and trying it on! :^)  I'm relieved to say that I can get into it and zip it up - although I won't be taking any deep breaths in it!

It's hard to zip at the very top.  Jonathan doesn't think there is much I can do about that - because that is my ribcage we are talking about.  There is no fat on my upper back.  And my breasts do NOT need to be getting any smaller! ;^)  I'm still going to try to lose weight before May 23rd.  I mean maybe even a quarter inch off my waist will free up a teeny, tiny smidge of material up above?

I need to ask a friend who sews about my theory.

And I need to buy some new crinoline to wear under the dress . . .I know it wasn't full crinoline so my southern belle crinoline for Vivi's first birthday party won't work . . .

Sad and Glad Vol. 1 Issue 6

Glad - that my days as Edenwilde tennis coordinator are officially over!

Glad - that I called Delta and got Jonathan and I exit row seats for our Punta Cana trip; now this swine flu virus just best not become an international pandemic in the next 3 weeks!

Sad - that yesterday's front page of the AJC had a story of an 11-year-old hanging himself in his closet because he couldn't live with being bullied at school any longer; makes me very nervous about sending Naomi to first grade in August . . .

Sad - that I still have to go to the gym today (sorry, I know that is not at all on par with sad #1)

The Stoughton Trip

We spent Spring Break up in MA seeing family and friends. Two of my very favorite parts were re-connecting (thanks to FaceBook!) with a childhood pal, Jessica, whom I had not seen since 1995, and a college friend, Frank, whom I had not seen since 1993! 

We were up in NH visiting Naomi and Vivi's great-grandfather.  We were down in CT at the Mystic Aquarium visiting Linda and Ethan.  We had horrible weather in MA, of course - what else is new?  It constantly reminds us why we would not want to live in New England again!  (Sorry Gramma . . .)

Let's see . . . I'll post a video here and then post more on the girls blogs, I think.

Did I miss something?

I picked up The Economist at the airport yesterday.  Ha, ha.  Yes, my extremely intermittent brush with what is going on in the world.  And I was just shaking my head at the article about President Obama, "Learning the Hard Way."  It was basically chronicling how he hasn't achieved what he promised, independents have already jumped off his band wagon, and the Democrats are losing faith in him.

Um, hello, did I miss something?  Have I been in a time warp of some kind and it is no longer early April 2009?  Because the man hasn't been in office for even 100 days yet, and he does have EIGHT YEARS of Republican crap to try to undo/fix.  Seriously, did people really think that he could fix EIGHT years of pathetic "leadership" by the moron, GWB, and all his corrupt, hypocritcal, Republicans in under 100 DAYS?

It is truly discouraging how Democrats have to clean-up shitty Republican goverment over and over again.  I mean after 12 years of horrible government by Reagan/Bush, Bill Clinton presides over one of the best, if not the best, economies this country has ever seen, and all people want to talk about is his sex life - which to me, well if you're that interested in someone else's sex life, you might want to try getting one or improving your own.  Because, really, what healthy, normal person cares that much about someone else's sex life?

Bu, I digress.  I didn't vote for Obama.  I didn't think he would do a good job.  And I have gone on record as saying that I will be watching for his failures and proof that he was not the better choice over Hilalry Clinton. But even I don't think it is reasonable to paint him as such a feeble failure so dramatically this early in his presidency.  Or should I say, I didn't think it would be so easy to get proof so early? ;^)

I've said all along - Barack Obama is no Hillary Clinton, but he isn't George W. Bush either.  And that should stand for something.

Sad and Glad Vol 1. Issue 5

Glad:  That the Delta check-in person arranged for Jonathan to come to the gate with me and the girls.  We never would have made it to Boston otherwise!  And now, if I ever travel by myself withthe girls again, we know this is possible - at least out of Atlanta.

Glad: That Jonathan's company is closing its new financing.  Can't say details yet.

Sad: That I still have a few more weeks as the Edenwilde tennis coordinator.  Boo!

Sad: That my parents no longer have their treadmill. :^(  How am I going to get any exercise this week?  I bought some DVDs, but I do not think they will get the job done.  Nor will the ancient recumbent bike in the cold, musty basement.  Sigh . . .

Good Breasts

Yes, you read that right. :^)  I finally went for my first baseline mammogram on Monday, after 6 months of delay (Hey, I'm still 35 and doing better than most women I would guess!).  I lucked out, I guess, because the machine was digital.  It took under 5 minutes to do the whole thing.  And the first thing the technician said as she was placing breast number one, "Oh, these are good breasts.  They will flatten down with no problem." 

Great!  I mean obviously HER definition of good breasts and MY definition vary greatly, BUT as I start to creep up toward old age, I have decided to take pride in the medical profession's admiration of my various body parts. ;^)

After all, it was about 2 years ago that I was told I have beautiful insides - all of my organs are visible and healthy-looking and "beautiful."

And, according to my tests at the gym, I have the heart of an exceptional athlete - no other skills in that department, but . . .

But, with all of the breast cancer here in Edenwilde, I'll be waiting to hear if anything comes up - because I'm paranoid like that.  The tech did say not to worry if they sent me "up the hill" for a diagnostic mammogram.  She said since this is a baseline and they have nothing to compare it to, if they see something they are not sure of, they will send me for another one.