Self-Labeling

Yesterday we had a guest speaker at our church, and his topic left a lasting impression on me. He discussed how we see and "label" ourselves versus how God sees us. He used the story from Mark Chapter 5 about the woman with the issue of blood. He talked about how she had gone to many doctors over the 12 years of her ailment, and had spent all that she had looking for a cure. In the time period she lived in, having an issue of blood made her untouchable by others. Can you imagine not being touched by another person for 12 years? No hugs, no pats on the back or handshakes? Nothing. This was in addition to her physical pain and suffering. Losing blood for 12 years would make you physically weak and tired, to say the least. So our speaker brought out the illustration that she must have labeled herself as sick, poor, and untouchable. Even in her state, she knew that if she could only touch a part of Jesus' garment, she would be made whole. Once Jesus felt the touch, he turned to find the one who had touched him. When she came forward, he called her "Daughter." Even though she saw herself as all of these horrible things, and felt so alone in the world, in Jesus' eyes she was His beloved daughter, His child!
The speaker then had the ushers pass out labels to the congregation - you know those name stickers that you have to wear at conventions or gatherings and write your name on them. He asked us to consider what we often call ourselves or label ourselves, and then to remember how God sees us - as His beloved child.
I really enjoyed this sermon and the illustration that he presented. I see myself as so many things, and none of them good. I see myself as lazy and sinful. But God calls me his daughter and sees me as His child - He loves me the way I love my son, except in an even more pure form that only God can attain.
What a wonderful feeling!

Sand Dollar Fun

While we were at the beach this year, we found over 300 sand dollars while digging with our toes out on the sand bar. Logan would dive and bring up 8 to 10 at a time. It was a sand dollar BOUNTY! :) So Kristi & I decided we would decorate some. I haven't seen any of Kristi's yet, but here are some of my "masterpieces" of sand dollar art. I doubt they will ever be in the Smithsonian or anything, but they are cute for a first try.
Artie & I are going to have a sand dollar Christmas tree this year for one of our many trees. We will use the plain, unadorned ones for that, but I have definitely been having fun playing with different ideas for these.
We just booked our Labor Day weekend trip, which means Artie, Logan & I are going back to Clearwater for the long weekend. We wanted one more "summer" getaway with just the 3 of us. I am very excited about it. More sand dollars are definitely in our future.

F R I D A Y!!!!!

I am always glad to see Friday come, and today is no exception. It seems the past few weeks & weekends have been a whirlwind of activities and finally this weekend we have no plans other than church on Sunday. I am very much looking forward to relaxing a little bit. It is very rare for my boss to be out of town over a weekend, so that means I won't even have to check my email or worry about work for the next 2 days. What a relief!
I would like to take Logan for a "back-to-school" haircut and maybe some clothes shopping, but we'll just see how that goes. It is always an argument getting him to go for a haircut, but as you can see from the photo - he definitely NEEDS one! He is not confident in a lot of areas, but he definitely loves his hair!
Mom had a health scare this week with her heart, and she is going to see a cardiologist next week. I am growing more concerned with her health issues, and I wish she would take better care of herself. She is diabetic, has high cholesterol, a recurrent pituitary tumor, gout, and now some type of heart issue. Her PCP did an EKG on her this week and saw something he didn't like. I was discussing with my beloved therapist last night how scary it is to only have one living parent and see them go through health scares. I don't like the feeling at all.
On a happier note, I will hopefully have time to finish tacking my quilt this weekend so that Mom & I can bind the edges on Monday night (sewing lesson night) and it will be ready for use! I can hardly wait.

The Porch Cam

I have a new obsession and everyone who knows about it thinks I'm nuts. (Well, I am nuts, but that's beside the point). I have gone through repeated phases of missing my home and family when I'm at work during the day. This became especially keen after my surgery in March (boy is that a blog for another day).
As a little prequel, Kristi & I have a link to the Clearwater Beach Pier Cam and we watch it frequently. There are 3 stationary cameras that show Clearwater Beach from 1) a condo; 2) the pier; and 3) the marina. We watch these cameras all year long, but most obsessively right before and right after vacation. These cameras gave me an idea ... and then Amazon provided the catalyst. They put indoor/outdoor monitoring cameras on the Gold Box Deal of the day a couple of months ago. So I bought one. After explaining to Artie what I wanted to do, and watching his eyes roll completely back in his head, I hooked it up. On our screened-in porch. And now I can view our screened-in porch in all its glory at any time, from anywhere, even from my iPhone.
Now, to be clear, not much takes place on our screened-in porch. During the day when I'm at work, Artie is either at work or school, and Logan is in his depths of his xbox world. So no one is on the porch then. Why would I want to stare at an empty porch?
Well, it gives me peace. It reminds me of what is waiting for me at home after a long, stressful work day. It reminds me how blessed I am to have such a beautiful home. It shows me what the weather is like at home and how many cars are across the road at the pool. And when Artie is at home from school, I can see him sitting out there reading the paper or watering the plants. Occasionally I ask Logan to just walk out there and wave at me. Sometimes he will and sometimes he'll just say, "Mom," in that you-are-so-ridiculous tone of voice that teenagers have perfected. So my new obsession is the porch cam, and whether or not you think I'm nuts, I love it!

Returning to Blog World

After a long absence, I am returning to the blog world. I tend to get lazy after blogging for a week or two, but hopefully I can stick with it.
I have a renewed interest in some of my previous crafting activities, such as quilting and cross-stitching. We will see how long my wrists can take the extra work. I got a new sewing machine for my birthday and have managed to put together my first quilt on my own. Mom has helped me pin it all together now so it can be tacked. The whole sewing & quilting process makes me feel closer to my grandmother, Kathleen Valentine, who died in 1998. I miss her every single day.
I have a very busy day ahead of me at the office, but I have lots of blogging ideas and will try to blog more later today.

Spring Update

Hello. I'm way behind on blogging, sorry. My weight loss now is 81 lbs. It has slowed down, but not stopped. We have also been going back to church - at Dante again - and trying to get Logan involved in the youth program there. So far that is going very well!
I recently had my first skin cancer removed, from my back, a basal cell carcinoma. Skin cancer has always been one of my worst fears because I have had such fair skin, so many sunburns, and such a long tanning bed history. Now I can't tan anymore, have to wear sunscreen, and follow up with the dermatologist every six months. It could have been much worse though - thank God it was not melanoma!
I've been thinking a lot lately about priorities and how out of sync they have been. I need to work on that very seriously!

Updates

Down 57 lbs now! Pretty excited about that. Mom came over Saturday and we removed 6 bins of clothes from my closet that are now too big! woo hoo!
Got the new hot tub up and running. It's AWESOME! We've been in it almost every night. It's super Cold getting TO and FROM the hot tub, but feels great once you're in.
We've met with the dog trainer once already and he is returning tomorrow night for Phase 2 - getting Princess on a leash and getting Lucy not to run away from us or run off outside. Good luck with THAT!
Kristi is back to work today after 4 weeks off from surgery. Hope she makes it this time - she returned last week only to be sent back home for another week.
Looking forward to Valentine's Day this weekend. Hope Artie has been creative. :)