Yes, I'm still alive.  It's time to start updating this blog, as I am starting an online business.  I will be drop-shipping organic clothing.  I just registered my domain name, loyallyorganic.com, but I still have to design my page & stock my store.  So, more info coming soon!

Boy, am I prolific

Well, not really. This is the first time I've posted in almost 2 years! Where has the time gone? Now both girls have graduated, Sarah will be a sophomore at Baylor University this fall, and Becca will be a freshman at University of North Texas. Now I just have to figure out what I want to do. Once they go I'm no longer tied to Conroe. Whatever shall I do? Wherever shall I go? The possibilities are endless. Unfortunately the funds are not. Need to find a way around that little limitation.

Something I've been facing recently, in light of my impending freedom to "move about the world", is how comfortable the familiar is. As unappealing as the Houston area may be, I've lived here since I was 7. The idea of starting over in a place where I know no one is scary. As much as I might like to live in a more pleasant climate, I just hate the work of making friends. Especially if you have to start from scratch. With that in mind, I could merely consider areas where I already know a few people, like the Atlanta area where Lisa lives, or the Chattanooga area where most of my cousins live. Sarah wants to go to northern Arizona, but I only know one person in Arizona.

I would love to just keep a place here, and have some kind of position that allows me to travel the world. I have yet to find the best way to do that. Travel writing is an obvious one, but descriptive writing is not something I enjoy. Tour guiding is another option I've considered, but haven't decided if I'd actually enjoy shepherding a random group of people around Europe or Turkey.

And then, there is Turkey. There are many possibilities there, but figuring out a feasible one within my interests and abilities is the difficulty. And again, even though I do have some friends there, I think it would stretch further beyond the comfort level that I could handle.

So, what can you take away from all of this rambling? I'm restless. I want some kind of change. Perhaps though, I should start with baby steps and not dive into a huge life-altering decision.

Rebecca's Tonsilectomy

My younger daughter Rebecca had her tonsils out on August 8th, then on Sunday the 17th, started hemorrhaging and had to go to the emergency room. They took her into the OR around 1 am and cauterized the wounds, and she got to go home Monday evening. Tuesday afternoon she started bleeding again, so we went back, had more surgery, they also put in stitches and thought that would be it. Thursday evening, while still in the hospital, she started bleeding again. So back to the OR for more cauterizing and more stitches. It's unusual to bleed at all, rarer to bleed twice, and unheard of to do it 3 times. They gave her meds during the 3rd one to help with the clotting, and gave her a unit of blood & 2 units of platelets on Friday. We stayed until Sunday afternoon. She's been home since then, and praise God, no more bleeding. Until the current scabs come off with no bleeding, we'll keep praying and she'll stick to soft foods.

Blogger

Why is this site so d*mned difficult to navigate? Why can't I just post my stupid picture from Photobucket? The picture on there right now is the only sorry picture I have on my computer at work, and I was tired of being faceless. When I tried to do Chad Darnell's 12 0f 12 last month I had editing issues. Actually, editing them on Photobucket wasn't that hard, but getting them on here was a whole different ball of wax. I'm sure if I had all day, I could read through the help sections on here, but I might or might not get what I need. I tried the "share" feature on Photobucket, which put a giant picture of my face, pores and all in a post. It took me another 5 minutes to figure out how to get to the edit post function to delete it. While I'm not as savvy as the average teenager, I'm not computer illiterate. Really.

No more attempts at simplicity

I deleted my other blog. It was one where I intended to chronicle my attempts to simplify my life. I posted it on January 1, 2008...and that was the last post. So, instead of feeling guilty, I just got rid of it. You know what? Life is simply f**king complicated. (irony intended...don't think it quite counts as a pun, does it?) There are no two ways about it.

Children grow up. They're smart. They want to go to college. They start to drive. They want cars—need insurance and gas. And don't even get me started on gas prices. I'm sure there's nothing I could say that hasn't already been said.

Kids get sick, you want to go on mission trips to "do something significant....live out your faith"....but it all takes time and money.

Okay, enough ranting. The point is there is nothing simple about my life. Sometimes I wish I were a cat.

Chad Darnell's 12 of 12

Finally! I remembered, had my camera available, and actually did it! So, I'm a little late getting it posted. Dial-up. Enough said.



This is the time I remembered it was the 12th. I had actually been up for about an hour.



Mmmmm. Becca, my youngest (15) made scones!



Perfect Spring day.


All that's left after paying the bills.


Time to freshen the color.


Dropped off Becca and her best friend at The Woodlands Mall.

On to Market Street to hang out. It's one of my favorite spots.


Prom night for some.

More Market Street. That's Tommy Bahama's behind the trees, and Borders to my right.


Jamba Juice for dinner. Regular Mango Mantra with an immunity boost.


The fountains with several soaking wet children playing in them. It was getting a little cool with the sun going down.


Home at last for a couple of episodes of Veronica Mars, season 3.

Fat AND Old

Last Saturday night was our company Christmas party. As a party favor, they give you a posed photograph. Last year I just didn't get one. This year, I did, and had my two closest co-workers/friends pose with me. I know I'm way overweight. But what I didn't realize is how old I'm starting to look. I've taken pride in the fact that most people guess my age to be 4-6 years younger than it is. In that picture I look every minute of my age. And since both of my friends have much darker skin than I do, (in the winter, anyway) and I was wearing black,I also look very pale. I might get brave enough to scan the pic and include it here. But then again, maybe not.