We’ve got a new entry for the Grovetionary.
Bitchosaurus Rex - n. an extremely unpleasant woman.
Person 1: “She’s horrible! She is the meanest woman I’ve ever seen on the Biggest Loser.” (Vicky, I’m looking at you.)
Person 2: “Yeah. She’s a Bitchosaurus Rex.”
First things first - thanks for all the prayers for Poppa. He’s doing pretty well after his surgery - drugged up and trying to get some rest. Will keep you posted as I know more. Oh, they’re leaving him in the immobilizer for about a week I think, to give him a chance to heal first before he starts physical therapy. I’m sure it will make that more painful and difficult, but the primary concern is avoiding any problems with the healing process.
My jaw dropped when I just visited TV Guide - not one, not two, but three of the shows I watch faithfully are going to be cancelled after their 13 episodes are up this winter: Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies, and Dirty, Sexy Money. Boo! Especially for Eli Stone, which has quickly become one of my favorite shows on now. Maybe it’s not too late - tune in at 9:00pm on Tuesday nights for Eli Stone. It’s good stuff.
Joe (Tom’s stepdad) is getting his new knee tomorrow, so please say lots of prayers for him and the doctors. It’s been a horrendous year of recovery and frustration for him. He had a clean-out surgery a few weeks ago that was luckily successful so that he would be able to get the new one put in. The first one, back in February, wasn’t successful, and we need this one to be. No one should have to go through all that he’s been through this year.
As for me, I’m hanging in there. I’ve been struggling a bit with my insides lately - lots of pain and not much sleep. The happy news on the work front is that I got a promotion, so that’s great news. It’s nice to be recognized for all the effort I’ve been putting into this job.
We’re hosting Thanksgiving again this year, so we’re trying to clean up the house a bit. We got a new sofa & loveseat for the living room. That’s right - no more comfy couch. This new set is comfy couch 2.0 though - it’s got recliners on all 4 ends. Good stuff. We also got a new fridge, of the french door/freezer on the bottom variety. It’s really nice, and I like it a lot more than our old one. I’m a big fan of the layout.
That’s all I’ve got for now. I’m working from home today, so it’s time to get cracking!
Turn the sound up, and join me in loving the stain’s “noooooo” at the end.
My grandpa passed away this morning. He has been through more illness in the last 20 years than any person should have made it through - heart attack, multiple bouts with cancer, and a stroke 2 years ago. I think he survived it all because he was just that stubborn.
He was an incredible man. He was still working well into his 80’s until the stroke happened. He was super intelligent, and loved his family fiercely. He and my grandma always had an open house and open hearts to anyone and everyone. They taught me so much about how to live life fully. Anyone who met them knows that they stayed young at heart throughout their whole lives. My brother always said that they were teenagers trapped in old bodies. He was always interested in our lives, and was so supportive and encouraging.
There are so many sayings and mannerisms he had that will live on in our family. One of the most memorable grandpa moments ever was when he was playing pinochle (a family pasttime). If you don’t know how to play, it’s a partner-based game where one partner calls a suit that is trump. Their partner will pass them three cards to try to improve their hand, and then the caller passes back three cards. My dad had called hearts as trump, and grandpa was his partner. Dad picked up his three cards, and stared at the first one like it was an alien. He shows it to everyone and stares questioningly at grandpa. It was a 9 of clubs. That is THE crappiest card that he could have given him (9 is the lowest card in pinochle). Grandpa explained that he didn’t want to break up some points that he had in his hand. I think almost every time we play now, we don’t make it through the game without someone making a 9 of clubs crack. At the wake, I’m totally going to bring a deck of cards and slip the 9 of clubs into his casket.
I think back and am so grateful that my grandparents were able to make it to our wedding, and that I danced a polka with grandpa. I’m sad for my brother that he won’t be there for his wedding. My heart breaks for grandma that he’s gone. They were married for 54 years. Please say some prayers for her and the rest of the family. Even though we knew this was coming, his passing happened really quickly. I know that I’m kicking myself for not making a trip down there, but I thought I had more time. I’m sure others are thinking the same thing. I will miss him terribly, but knowing that he’s watching out for all of us from heaven just the way he did in life gives me some peace.
Tom & I were in the car yesterday when we heard this for the first time. It’s a song that Eddie Vedder (the lead singer of Pearl Jam) wrote about the Cubs at Ernie Banks’ request. Someone put together a little slideshow of photos and posted it up to YouTube. Check it out, even if you’re a Sox fan - it’s a great song.
You can download the official version of the song for $0.99 on Pearl Jam’s website.
Colon stone (n.): Stubborn fecal matter days overdue.
Person 1 [hasn't pooped in days]: Owie. It hurts.
Person 2: Did you pass your colon stone yet?
(Persons 1 and 2 are completely fictional. Any resemblence to people you might know is completely coincidental.)
Go out and buy yourself a box of the Golden Wheat flavored Wheatables, and thank me later. Learn from me though, and put some on a plate and STEP AWAY from the box. They are that good.
I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about this topic before, but I wanted to hit it again. I know that a lot of people struggle with this. My life is spent trying to manage pain. It dictates what I can do with myself, what my limitations are, and unfortunately my overall mental well-being. I have to plan for the “what if’s,” even if those things never happen. I don’t know any other way to be, really. Ever since I got IBS, which is something that can wreak havoc on your life in ways you can’t imagine, I’ve been forced to have a plan B for every single thing I do. If we go out to dinner with people, I always want to drive a separate car so that I have an escape route. It causes inconvenience to everyone else, but it’s the only way I’ll be able to remotely enjoy myself. That kind of planning and worrying is exhausting.
When I step outside of myself, I think that God has given me all the illness so that I might let go and trust Him and draw near to Him. Back when I was in high school and going to bible study every week, I had no problem with that. I knew that God’s plan for me was better than anything I could ever plan for myself.
I read an interesting message by Matthew Kelly, in which he said that there are basically two types of people, those who are engaged in life and those who are disengaged. The difference between them is simple - the engaged folk have hope: hope that the future will be better than the past or present.
I think that if I truly had that hope where my health was concerned, I would be able to surrender to God’s will wholeheartedly again. Sure, I’m an optimist at heart and I know that in certain areas of my life, God’s plan always manifests itself in a way that I can appreciate. But when I’m in the throes of depression or anxiety, I can’t see past the end of my nose to ask God for His help. I’m stuck in managing the next 60 seconds of my life, because I don’t know any other way to be - that’s the way that I’ve coped so far.
I think the more that I realize these things, the better off I’ll be. I think that if a person is completely ignorant to who they are and how they act, there might not be much hope of fixing the problems. Or maybe I’m just crazy.
