I wrote this long post a couple weeks ago, but then erased it instead of posting it, but I think I will try to post a short version today.
I had 2 friends die this month and my 2nd dearest friend (and mission companion) suffered a severe stroke the same week and has not recovered her ability to speak or get around too well.
The deaths hit me really hard as they were my 2 friends that had diseases like lupus. When it was too cold to go out or when flu season was everywhere and I stayed home to hide, I knew my friend, Christine, would be home too and we would call and visit for hours, knowing that exactly what the other one was feeling. She ended up dying of colon cancer. She had a really tough life and in the midst of it learned to add beauty and grace to her life and the lives of those around her.
The other death was a younger man who had MS. His wife was my friend and mentor when I worked at mental health. When you share a tiny office, and work responsiblities, with someone for every day for 2 years, you get pretty close. She was Alicia's age or younger when her husband was diagnosed with MS. I remember the day and how we all assured her that with proper nutrition and stress management, he would outlive us all.... But you could see it in her eyes then that she saw the future and knew he would not want to live like a caged animal. In the end it was out of their hands as he had an aggressive form of MS and he failed very quickly. If I remember correctly, he and I received our diagnoses within a month of each other, so to see someone so much healthier and younger than I fade so fast has somewhat sobered me.
But more than that, I just feel so bad for her to have known all these years in her heart that she would be a young widow --- and just watching and waiting for it to happen. I'm so sad for her and her girls.
In the end, he died when his ATV flipped on him in a ditch and he wasn't strong enough to push it off, but it was the MS. He used to be a state champion wrestler and was really strong until the disease wracked his body.
And finally, I can't even begin to think about my dear friend, Edna, and how afraid I am for her. She has been having little strokes for years so this was not unexpected, (she just turned 85), but she is always so full of energy and light, I just can't bear to think of her struggling in a silent prison. It is one of her greatest fears, as well. Alicia says it is everyone's greatest fear, and I'm sure she is probably right.
And on top of it all, I have apparently had this year's flu... killer headache and fever for 3 weeks. I have finally had 3 consecutive days where my head wasn't killing me all day, just part of the day... I think I might be recovering.
So the upshot of this all, is that I haven't been spending time on the blogs or emailing folks - I'm kind of in a tortoise shell, hiding my head and trying not to think too much, so I don't make myself (and everyone around me) totally crazy . A very sobering month.
I'm grateful for the health that I do have and for our beautiful warm home and that Brian gets to work inside after all those years in the frozen woods. I'm so thankful for the season of properity we had this summer. I'm thankful that I can walk and talk and read and think and sing and play the piano and the organ and do crafts. and I'm thankful that I have a healthy, loving husband who takes such good care of me and never makes fun of my "sick with the flu bedhead hairdo". Truly blessed.... truly blessed.
Love, Charlotte
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Hats off to new Top Chef
YAY !!!!! New season of Top Chef. Brian read all the bios yesterday on Bravo.com and sort of rated the beginning class of losers. He picked right on who would leave at the end of the show today. We'll see if he gets the rest correct.
He likes Carla because her special ingredients are chocolate and butter and her specialty is pie making. The man loves his pies...
REgarding food: the beans that we canned dry and covered with boiling water popped a lot of their lids. Every morning we would wake up to the sound of lids popping, so we put the rest of them into the freezer. We haven't noticed any of the cooked beans popping yet. Justin's mom does hers without cooking them first, and doesn't have any problems.... but she is at 7500 feet and we are at like 40 feet. We figure that must make a difference.
He likes Carla because her special ingredients are chocolate and butter and her specialty is pie making. The man loves his pies...
REgarding food: the beans that we canned dry and covered with boiling water popped a lot of their lids. Every morning we would wake up to the sound of lids popping, so we put the rest of them into the freezer. We haven't noticed any of the cooked beans popping yet. Justin's mom does hers without cooking them first, and doesn't have any problems.... but she is at 7500 feet and we are at like 40 feet. We figure that must make a difference.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Beans
So crazy lady says, you know, it isn't anymore mess or trouble to can 35 pounds of beans than it is to do 5 pounds. We might as well do them all.
and the part that always surprises the crazy lady, is that people say, yeah, you're right. It isn't anymore trouble, let's do them all.
Crazy lady forgot that each canner took time to warm up, 90 minutes at pressure, and 30 minutes to decompress...... that's a lot of canner time - lot of time sitting in the kitchen watching little weights jiggle back and forth..
I was so going to stay up and run that last cycle of beans, but I was having such trouble staying awake, and I had sent Alicia to bed at midnight. I could just see myself falling asleep and blowing up the house, so we decided to just wait until morning to reconsider. When we got up this morning, we just decided to feed the last 5 pounds of beans to the chickens. They really enjoyed them.
I would still like to can another 20 or 30 pounds. The point of canning them is of course so that you don't have to store the water to rehydrate the dried beans. I think people store lots of dehydrated food and then forget that they also need to store the corresponding amount of water. Plus, the ready cooked beans are so handy to have on hand.
Anyway - check alicia and justin's blog for the pictures. and the rest of the story.
and the part that always surprises the crazy lady, is that people say, yeah, you're right. It isn't anymore trouble, let's do them all.
Crazy lady forgot that each canner took time to warm up, 90 minutes at pressure, and 30 minutes to decompress...... that's a lot of canner time - lot of time sitting in the kitchen watching little weights jiggle back and forth..
I was so going to stay up and run that last cycle of beans, but I was having such trouble staying awake, and I had sent Alicia to bed at midnight. I could just see myself falling asleep and blowing up the house, so we decided to just wait until morning to reconsider. When we got up this morning, we just decided to feed the last 5 pounds of beans to the chickens. They really enjoyed them.
I would still like to can another 20 or 30 pounds. The point of canning them is of course so that you don't have to store the water to rehydrate the dried beans. I think people store lots of dehydrated food and then forget that they also need to store the corresponding amount of water. Plus, the ready cooked beans are so handy to have on hand.
Anyway - check alicia and justin's blog for the pictures. and the rest of the story.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
I'm a Bette
I took the test on Alicia's blog and I'm a Bette Davis.... hmmm. Scariest movie I ever watched had her in it. It was one of the triggers that started my adulthood of panic attacks.... anyway, i didn't come here to tell you that. Just the Bette Davis part. i usually see myself as more of a Doris Day.
No weigh in this week to report. ummmmm I haven't been a good eater this week - I'm on hormones all the time now, after 15 years of not being on them, and my family is sort of afraid to see what will happen if I don't eat the stuff I'm craving. I definitely know it is the hormones because I have been craving stuff that I literally have not even thought of in 15 years since I quit taking them.
So to all you out there, within my reach, we just have one thing to say: BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID....... (you might think i'm joking, but i'll let my roommates tell you if it's a joke or fear). Big Sigh.... I love being a guinea pig .
No weigh in this week to report. ummmmm I haven't been a good eater this week - I'm on hormones all the time now, after 15 years of not being on them, and my family is sort of afraid to see what will happen if I don't eat the stuff I'm craving. I definitely know it is the hormones because I have been craving stuff that I literally have not even thought of in 15 years since I quit taking them.
So to all you out there, within my reach, we just have one thing to say: BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID....... (you might think i'm joking, but i'll let my roommates tell you if it's a joke or fear). Big Sigh.... I love being a guinea pig .
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Weigh In Wednesday
I finally dug the scales out of hiding after the big remodel and reluctantly got on them. SURPRISE ! ! ! I'm still at a minus 15. YAY !! I was totally shocked after not weighing for 3 weeks that I had maintained the loss. Very excited.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Flat Stanley here to visit
Flat Stanley is here to visit again. This FS belongs to Taylor Gulley - the younger sister of the Flat Stanley we had last year. He wants to visit all 50 states, so we'll have to work hard and fast to get him around the country quickly.
He was going to go snow machining here this week, but it warmed up to 50 and all the snow melted. It is still supposed to snow for 5 more days, but with the temp so high, I don't think it will stay. Justin will be sad, but I think there will be enough winter left for him to enjoy, later.
Anyway, Taylor is in kindergarten in Georgia and they have only lived there a couple years and they miss their grandparents and family in Ohio, so we want to do everything we can to help Taylor with her Stanley project. Hope you are all willing to help again... we did a good job last year for Taylor's sister.
By the way - Gulley's are cousins of Brian's on the Carper side. We met thru genealogy. Really nice people - good people to call friends and family.
He was going to go snow machining here this week, but it warmed up to 50 and all the snow melted. It is still supposed to snow for 5 more days, but with the temp so high, I don't think it will stay. Justin will be sad, but I think there will be enough winter left for him to enjoy, later.
Anyway, Taylor is in kindergarten in Georgia and they have only lived there a couple years and they miss their grandparents and family in Ohio, so we want to do everything we can to help Taylor with her Stanley project. Hope you are all willing to help again... we did a good job last year for Taylor's sister.
By the way - Gulley's are cousins of Brian's on the Carper side. We met thru genealogy. Really nice people - good people to call friends and family.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Maunder Minimum
I read a really interesting article last week about the lack of activity on the sun and about the lack of solar winds. They say the sun is quieter than it has been in decades and may be heading us into a small ice age like in the 1700's. I know you folks in the lower 48 have roasted this year, but we have had the coldest "summer" on record - which is a bummer since we have had 2 polar winters on either side of the missing summer.
I wish I could find the article to post it here - it was very educational. Even if we don't go into an ice age, the lack of solar activity should help cool the earth a little and give some comfort to those who are freaked about global warming. (Don't flame me - I'm not saying we shouldn't be environmental caretakers, I'm just saying, we're freezing our tushes off up here.) It has snowed in Homer three times this week.
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Alicia found the article. But it was in the NY Times and they wouldn't let me copy it - so here is another one. This one doesn't talk about the cooling effect this event could be predicting, but it is still interesting.
Spotless Sun: Blankest Year Of The Space Age
enlarge
Left: A photo of the sun taken Sept. 27, 2008. The face of the sun is "blank," i.e., completely unmarked by spots. Right: The sun on Sept. 27, 2001. The sun's face is peppered with colossal sunspots, all crackling with solar flares. (Credit: ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO))
ScienceDaily (Oct. 7, 2008) — Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 is now the "blankest year" of the Space Age.
As of Sept. 27, 2008, the sun had been blank, i.e., had no visible sunspots, on 200 days of the year. To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go back to 1954, three years before the launch of Sputnik, when the sun was blank 241 times.
"Sunspot counts are at a 50-year low," says solar physicist David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "We're experiencing a deep minimum of the solar cycle."
The image taken on Sept. 27, 2008 by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) shows a solar disk completely unmarked by sunspots. For comparison, a SOHO image taken seven years earlier on Sept. 27, 2001, is peppered with colossal sunspots, all crackling with solar flares. The difference is the phase of the 11-year solar cycle. 2001 was a year of solar maximum, with lots of sunspots, solar flares and geomagnetic storms. 2008 is at the cycle's opposite extreme, solar minimum, a quiet time on the sun.
And it is a very quiet time. If solar activity continues as low as it has been, 2008 could rack up a whopping 290 spotless days by the end of December, making it a century-level year in terms of spotlessness.
Hathaway cautions that this development may sound more exciting than it actually is: "While the solar minimum of 2008 is shaping up to be the deepest of the Space Age, it is still unremarkable compared to the long and deep solar minima of the late 19th and early 20th centuries." Those earlier minima routinely racked up 200 to 300 spotless days per year.
Some solar physicists are welcoming the lull.
"This gives us a chance to study the sun without the complications of sunspots," says Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center. "Right now we have the best instrumentation in history looking at the sun. There is a whole fleet of spacecraft devoted to solar physics--SOHO, Hinode, ACE, STEREO and others. We're bound to learn new things during this long solar minimum."
As an example he offers helioseismology: "By monitoring the sun's vibrating surface, helioseismologists can probe the stellar interior in much the same way geologists use earthquakes to probe inside Earth. With sunspots out of the way, we gain a better view of the sun's subsurface winds and inner magnetic dynamo."
"There is also the matter of solar irradiance," adds Pesnell. "Researchers are now seeing the dimmest sun in their records. The change is small, just a fraction of a percent, but significant. Questions about effects on climate are natural if the sun continues to dim."
Pesnell is NASA's project scientist for the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), a new spacecraft equipped to study both solar irradiance and helioseismic waves. Construction of SDO is complete, he says, and it has passed pre-launch vibration and thermal testing. "We are ready to launch! Solar minimum is a great time to go."
Coinciding with the string of blank suns is a 50-year record low in solar wind pressure, a recent discovery of the Ulysses spacecraft. The pressure drop began years before the current minimum, so it is unclear how the two phenomena are connected, if at all. This is another mystery for SDO and the others.
I wish I could find the article to post it here - it was very educational. Even if we don't go into an ice age, the lack of solar activity should help cool the earth a little and give some comfort to those who are freaked about global warming. (Don't flame me - I'm not saying we shouldn't be environmental caretakers, I'm just saying, we're freezing our tushes off up here.) It has snowed in Homer three times this week.
************
Alicia found the article. But it was in the NY Times and they wouldn't let me copy it - so here is another one. This one doesn't talk about the cooling effect this event could be predicting, but it is still interesting.
Spotless Sun: Blankest Year Of The Space Age
enlarge
Left: A photo of the sun taken Sept. 27, 2008. The face of the sun is "blank," i.e., completely unmarked by spots. Right: The sun on Sept. 27, 2001. The sun's face is peppered with colossal sunspots, all crackling with solar flares. (Credit: ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO))
ScienceDaily (Oct. 7, 2008) — Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 is now the "blankest year" of the Space Age.
As of Sept. 27, 2008, the sun had been blank, i.e., had no visible sunspots, on 200 days of the year. To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go back to 1954, three years before the launch of Sputnik, when the sun was blank 241 times.
"Sunspot counts are at a 50-year low," says solar physicist David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "We're experiencing a deep minimum of the solar cycle."
The image taken on Sept. 27, 2008 by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) shows a solar disk completely unmarked by sunspots. For comparison, a SOHO image taken seven years earlier on Sept. 27, 2001, is peppered with colossal sunspots, all crackling with solar flares. The difference is the phase of the 11-year solar cycle. 2001 was a year of solar maximum, with lots of sunspots, solar flares and geomagnetic storms. 2008 is at the cycle's opposite extreme, solar minimum, a quiet time on the sun.
And it is a very quiet time. If solar activity continues as low as it has been, 2008 could rack up a whopping 290 spotless days by the end of December, making it a century-level year in terms of spotlessness.
Hathaway cautions that this development may sound more exciting than it actually is: "While the solar minimum of 2008 is shaping up to be the deepest of the Space Age, it is still unremarkable compared to the long and deep solar minima of the late 19th and early 20th centuries." Those earlier minima routinely racked up 200 to 300 spotless days per year.
Some solar physicists are welcoming the lull.
"This gives us a chance to study the sun without the complications of sunspots," says Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center. "Right now we have the best instrumentation in history looking at the sun. There is a whole fleet of spacecraft devoted to solar physics--SOHO, Hinode, ACE, STEREO and others. We're bound to learn new things during this long solar minimum."
As an example he offers helioseismology: "By monitoring the sun's vibrating surface, helioseismologists can probe the stellar interior in much the same way geologists use earthquakes to probe inside Earth. With sunspots out of the way, we gain a better view of the sun's subsurface winds and inner magnetic dynamo."
"There is also the matter of solar irradiance," adds Pesnell. "Researchers are now seeing the dimmest sun in their records. The change is small, just a fraction of a percent, but significant. Questions about effects on climate are natural if the sun continues to dim."
Pesnell is NASA's project scientist for the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), a new spacecraft equipped to study both solar irradiance and helioseismic waves. Construction of SDO is complete, he says, and it has passed pre-launch vibration and thermal testing. "We are ready to launch! Solar minimum is a great time to go."
Coinciding with the string of blank suns is a 50-year record low in solar wind pressure, a recent discovery of the Ulysses spacecraft. The pressure drop began years before the current minimum, so it is unclear how the two phenomena are connected, if at all. This is another mystery for SDO and the others.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
ooops
Alicia accidentally dropped her beautiful perfect cell phone in the bathtub last week and the screen fried. She had to change to a different phone and all our contact numbers are in her old phone, so if you were expecting us to call you about something and we didn't.... it is possible, your phone number is in her phone, circling the bath tub drain.
Would you drop one of us an email with your cellphone or office phone or home phone - what ever number we usually call you at? Thanks
Would you drop one of us an email with your cellphone or office phone or home phone - what ever number we usually call you at? Thanks
Poor sick Daddy
I have been trying to convince Brian to get a pneumonia shot for several years now. He and Alicia fight pneumonia every winter, but his personal physician last year said a man of his age didn't need the shot..... my doctor would have told him to get it to protect me, but his doc doesn't know he lives with a loopy lupus patient.
Also lots of students up here don't have shots - between the earthnics and the Russians that grew up around the world and the natives.... so Alaska leads the country in TB and whopping cough. A couple years ago, our dear Bishop, who was principal at a Russian village school, contracted whopping cough from his students and it almost killed him.
They have now come out, just recently, saying that adults our age should get that Tetnus, Pertussis, Diptheria booster again. When we got shot as kids they thought it would last us a life time, but they are finding out it doesn't.
so I had mentioned to Brian that he needed to get a new vaccine now that he is working directly with kids.... On Monday, they unexpectedly brought a vaccine clinic to school for the staff, so being the loving husband he is, he got the pneumonia shot for me, and the flu shot, and the TDP.
I was surprised when he came home and said he had gotten all 3 shots - and I was really surprised today to find out he got them all in the same arm - his good arm, no less. How did I find out he got them all in the same arm, you ask? He can't straighten it, or move it. He has a terrible fever and aches and pains. Last night he tossed and turned all night and would go from overheated to literally shivering in bed at a moment's notice. Poor sick daddy. I tried to convince him to stay home today, but you know Brian.
A lot of the high school staff got shots - I hope for the student's sake they are on good behavior for the next couple days. A sick daddy is sometimes a grouchy daddy.
Also lots of students up here don't have shots - between the earthnics and the Russians that grew up around the world and the natives.... so Alaska leads the country in TB and whopping cough. A couple years ago, our dear Bishop, who was principal at a Russian village school, contracted whopping cough from his students and it almost killed him.
They have now come out, just recently, saying that adults our age should get that Tetnus, Pertussis, Diptheria booster again. When we got shot as kids they thought it would last us a life time, but they are finding out it doesn't.
so I had mentioned to Brian that he needed to get a new vaccine now that he is working directly with kids.... On Monday, they unexpectedly brought a vaccine clinic to school for the staff, so being the loving husband he is, he got the pneumonia shot for me, and the flu shot, and the TDP.
I was surprised when he came home and said he had gotten all 3 shots - and I was really surprised today to find out he got them all in the same arm - his good arm, no less. How did I find out he got them all in the same arm, you ask? He can't straighten it, or move it. He has a terrible fever and aches and pains. Last night he tossed and turned all night and would go from overheated to literally shivering in bed at a moment's notice. Poor sick daddy. I tried to convince him to stay home today, but you know Brian.
A lot of the high school staff got shots - I hope for the student's sake they are on good behavior for the next couple days. A sick daddy is sometimes a grouchy daddy.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
good weekend
The heritage dinner at church was really good. Our ward isn't that good at cooking usually, but this idea really got everyone excited and we had some good food. We were most seriously blessed to eat fresh baby carrots from Heather's very own garden. hehehe (sorry it's a private joke about being seriously blessed, but the carrots were really good and did make me want to dump out my tiny tators and try to grow carrots before winter comes)
I had just talked to my sister, Earlene, and she had told me that her daughter-in-law's mother had fallen off their church stage and shattered her leg and after the dinner this woman, new to our ward from Hawaii, was up in the front of the curtain, on the stage, teaching us about hula and i was just holding on to the table, hoping she wouldn't fall and break her leg, too. She didn't, but I was sending good vibes to Nicole and her mom, hoping she heals soon.
We had a luncheon at church today (after eating dinner at church last night) and then we watched the Relief Society broadcast. Last couple years, they have tried to get us to drive up to Soldotna, but not very many of us want to, so they went back to having a luncheon and having us watch in Homer.
At first, it was just a regular broadcast and we were starting to get disappointed, especially after being sooooooo spiritually fed at Time out for Women a couple weeks ago.
But then President Uchtdorf spoke and WOW ! ! ! If you missed it, as soon as it is available at lds.org, go watch it. He had very specific, but new ideas for how we can fill the full measure of our existence.
In a nutshell, CREATE and be Compassionate. Create anything - even it is as simple as creating a warm smile to share with someone, or as difficult as a beautiful garden, or a baby, or a painting or music.... Just Create - He said, "We are royal daughters of the most creative being in the universe.... it is in our genes to create."
And of course, we need to be compassionate to others to find true happiness.
It was so inspiring. i was taking notes as fast as I could scribble and trying to not cry because it touched me so much. In the end, I cried and wrote. It was really special.
Also, on a different vein, we are going to go ahead and order the carpet from the cheapest place we can find and then hire an independent carpet layer. Everyone we have called has quoted us 300 to 400 dollars, instead of the $2000 that Home Depot came up with. (which if you are keeping track is TEN times higher than the preliminary bid). I wonder if they have connections on Wall Street or something.
I had just talked to my sister, Earlene, and she had told me that her daughter-in-law's mother had fallen off their church stage and shattered her leg and after the dinner this woman, new to our ward from Hawaii, was up in the front of the curtain, on the stage, teaching us about hula and i was just holding on to the table, hoping she wouldn't fall and break her leg, too. She didn't, but I was sending good vibes to Nicole and her mom, hoping she heals soon.
We had a luncheon at church today (after eating dinner at church last night) and then we watched the Relief Society broadcast. Last couple years, they have tried to get us to drive up to Soldotna, but not very many of us want to, so they went back to having a luncheon and having us watch in Homer.
At first, it was just a regular broadcast and we were starting to get disappointed, especially after being sooooooo spiritually fed at Time out for Women a couple weeks ago.
But then President Uchtdorf spoke and WOW ! ! ! If you missed it, as soon as it is available at lds.org, go watch it. He had very specific, but new ideas for how we can fill the full measure of our existence.
In a nutshell, CREATE and be Compassionate. Create anything - even it is as simple as creating a warm smile to share with someone, or as difficult as a beautiful garden, or a baby, or a painting or music.... Just Create - He said, "We are royal daughters of the most creative being in the universe.... it is in our genes to create."
And of course, we need to be compassionate to others to find true happiness.
It was so inspiring. i was taking notes as fast as I could scribble and trying to not cry because it touched me so much. In the end, I cried and wrote. It was really special.
Also, on a different vein, we are going to go ahead and order the carpet from the cheapest place we can find and then hire an independent carpet layer. Everyone we have called has quoted us 300 to 400 dollars, instead of the $2000 that Home Depot came up with. (which if you are keeping track is TEN times higher than the preliminary bid). I wonder if they have connections on Wall Street or something.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Stupid Home Depot
So here we are, half way done in our great room remodel. The tile in the kitchen and entry are lain or layed or laid. Anyway, Justin finished setting the kitchen tiles this evening. He has grouted the entry and it is done and he will grout the kitchen in a couple days when they have completely dried.
We paid $200 for a man from Home Depot to come and measure for the carpet. We picked out a very comfortable carpet that will last for decades, knowing that we won't ever do this extensive project again. And you know, Home Depot has that $199 to lay the carpet in your whole house (tiny print - whole house means 2 rooms).
Really really tiny print - they charge extra every cut they make in the carpet: 3 stair posts, 5 thresholds, one stove pipe, pets in the house, stairs in the house, particle board on the floor, another $100 service call because we are in Anchor Point (I already paid an extra $100 for the service call for the measure guy to come) and 12 other things that I can't remember. Bottom line, the laying of the carpet would cost us $2000. Just for the layer and what it would cost to cover all the stuff he requires us to do so he can lay the carpet.
That isn't the price of the carpet and might not be the cost of the pad. The tile already cost twice what I had planned and now the carpet is so far out of the budget, we don't know what we will do. In the end, since we have the tools and the set-up paid for we will probably tile the whole room, which is what I wanted in the first place.. Lots more work for Justin but since it hasn't stopped raining since April, he is home a lot now until it snows and he can go snow machine riding.
The tile is so beautiful - just takes your breath away. Good one on Justin and Alicia and THANKS !!!
We paid $200 for a man from Home Depot to come and measure for the carpet. We picked out a very comfortable carpet that will last for decades, knowing that we won't ever do this extensive project again. And you know, Home Depot has that $199 to lay the carpet in your whole house (tiny print - whole house means 2 rooms).
Really really tiny print - they charge extra every cut they make in the carpet: 3 stair posts, 5 thresholds, one stove pipe, pets in the house, stairs in the house, particle board on the floor, another $100 service call because we are in Anchor Point (I already paid an extra $100 for the service call for the measure guy to come) and 12 other things that I can't remember. Bottom line, the laying of the carpet would cost us $2000. Just for the layer and what it would cost to cover all the stuff he requires us to do so he can lay the carpet.
That isn't the price of the carpet and might not be the cost of the pad. The tile already cost twice what I had planned and now the carpet is so far out of the budget, we don't know what we will do. In the end, since we have the tools and the set-up paid for we will probably tile the whole room, which is what I wanted in the first place.. Lots more work for Justin but since it hasn't stopped raining since April, he is home a lot now until it snows and he can go snow machine riding.
The tile is so beautiful - just takes your breath away. Good one on Justin and Alicia and THANKS !!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Shout out for my DAD
We have been having a fun email exchange this week about the Oregon Ducks football team and I found out something pretty amazing about my dad that I didn't know. He was on athletic scholarship to the University of Oregon in 1948 - and they passed him up as quarterback for Norm Van Brocklin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_Van_Brocklin
I looked him up on Google and have given you the link above. Pretty impressive that my dad played football with him. My dad quit school and then got married, so he still has eligibility left to play college football. We're saying that someone who came in second to Norm should be out there - but my dad says if they didn't want him in '48, he doesn't see why he should come back and help them now... He says it's sour grapes. I think he has just changed his allegiance to the Utes or BYU and doesn't want to admit that he isn't truly a Fighting Duck anymore. He probably spends every Saturday in blue and white with a Giant Y on his chest and we just aren't there to see it. hahahahaha
(okay, don't kill me, Daddy, I know you would never wear a BYU shirt). LOVE YOU
I looked him up on Google and have given you the link above. Pretty impressive that my dad played football with him. My dad quit school and then got married, so he still has eligibility left to play college football. We're saying that someone who came in second to Norm should be out there - but my dad says if they didn't want him in '48, he doesn't see why he should come back and help them now... He says it's sour grapes. I think he has just changed his allegiance to the Utes or BYU and doesn't want to admit that he isn't truly a Fighting Duck anymore. He probably spends every Saturday in blue and white with a Giant Y on his chest and we just aren't there to see it. hahahahaha
(okay, don't kill me, Daddy, I know you would never wear a BYU shirt). LOVE YOU
Freezer - operator error
Way more than you need to know about our refrigerating and freezing problems:
If you go to Alicia and Justin's blog, you can see the pictures of the freezer the day they thawed it out. It sits in our upstairs -right as you come in the front door and all spring and summer and fall, the sun shines on it in the afternoon, in the warmest part of the day.
The freezer was supposed to be smaller and fit next to the refrigerator in the kitchen, but we didn't measure, and it was a rush job to buy it 3 years ago - Brian was on the way home with a bunch of moose meat and we already had 2 full freezers. so we ran up to Home Despot and got the biggest freezer we could afford - which had always worked for us before. We just didn't know that they made freezers bigger now.
It is kind of timely that this issue came to light this week. The reason we have to replace the kitchen floor, is that Alicia and I had tried to move the fridge and the giant freezer into place by ourselves and we gouged up the kitchen floor, really badly. We used to have a freezer in that spot in the kitchen and we just couldn't understand why this one wouldn't fit. So we just kept dragging them in and out and arranging them until we had ruined the floor and ended up putting the freezer in the living room next to the front door.
Not that convenient at Christmas time because that is where the Christmas tree is supposed to go. But it is handy to have a freezer on the main level of the house when it is time to cook.
So this year while Brian was hunting, we knew we had to defrost both big freezers to make room for the new meat (which he didn't get)... we hadn't looked in the freezer in the living room for a while because it was such a pain to relocate the duct tape every time.... so it was quite a shock when we opened it and it looked like one giant ice cube.
So we went back to Home Despot and talked to them about getting a new gasket or a new door for the freezer, because obviously, it was malfunctioning. They gave us a number to call and a booklet of how to get a hold of the company. Then Alicia went and tracked down the warranty book to find the warranty and the model information = and right there, it said it was supposed to be defrosted at least once a year, more often if ice formed on the shelves and such.
I had NO IDEA that they still made freezers that had to be defrosted. TOTALLY SHOCKED ! ! ! but then it all made sense. Ever since we got this freezer, the ice built up on the shelves and on the food and we thought it was just because we had to buy a cheap freezer and had gotten an off brand we had never heard of and because it was in the sunny window. Boy, is my face red.... Redder even now, because I had thought about defrosting it, but didn't know what to do with all the melting ice in the middle of my living room carpet... Come to find out, there is a hose underneath freezers now, and the water just drains into a pan that you empty, no water flooding all over the floor.
SIGH
So now, where the freezer has been for 3 years, we have this beautiful tile floor that Justin is laying (again, check Alicia and Justin's blog). And we all like the look without the freezer sitting there, so we are going to take the freezer downstairs and empty it out and put it in the kitchen and then take all the food out of the freezer which is sitting in the middle of the dining room now and take it downstairs and put it where the littler freezer sits in the food storage room. It's all very over whelming, but in the end, we will have a freezer in the kitchen and a beautiful new tile floor and a place for the Christmas tree and most importantly, we now possess the knowledge and skill to defrost. hehehehe
One of the next big appliances we are hoping to replace is the refrigerator - it is the last appliance we bought 15 years ago. If we have a free standing freezer in the kitchen, we want to replace the classic fridge with a free standing refrigerator. It doesn't make any sense to have that little freezer above the fridge if you have a full freezer right next to it. Our friends have the two different appliances, and we really like the functionality of it. But, I still want to get a new satellite dish and have to get the new crown for my broken tooth, so it probably won't be this month. I would say with my PFD next year, but if the stock market keeps dropping like a giant boulder off a tall cliff, our PFD will be like 20 cents, next year.
Happy FALL to everyone. Hope you don't get snowed on today like we are supposed to. BRRRRRRR
If you go to Alicia and Justin's blog, you can see the pictures of the freezer the day they thawed it out. It sits in our upstairs -right as you come in the front door and all spring and summer and fall, the sun shines on it in the afternoon, in the warmest part of the day.
The freezer was supposed to be smaller and fit next to the refrigerator in the kitchen, but we didn't measure, and it was a rush job to buy it 3 years ago - Brian was on the way home with a bunch of moose meat and we already had 2 full freezers. so we ran up to Home Despot and got the biggest freezer we could afford - which had always worked for us before. We just didn't know that they made freezers bigger now.
It is kind of timely that this issue came to light this week. The reason we have to replace the kitchen floor, is that Alicia and I had tried to move the fridge and the giant freezer into place by ourselves and we gouged up the kitchen floor, really badly. We used to have a freezer in that spot in the kitchen and we just couldn't understand why this one wouldn't fit. So we just kept dragging them in and out and arranging them until we had ruined the floor and ended up putting the freezer in the living room next to the front door.
Not that convenient at Christmas time because that is where the Christmas tree is supposed to go. But it is handy to have a freezer on the main level of the house when it is time to cook.
So this year while Brian was hunting, we knew we had to defrost both big freezers to make room for the new meat (which he didn't get)... we hadn't looked in the freezer in the living room for a while because it was such a pain to relocate the duct tape every time.... so it was quite a shock when we opened it and it looked like one giant ice cube.
So we went back to Home Despot and talked to them about getting a new gasket or a new door for the freezer, because obviously, it was malfunctioning. They gave us a number to call and a booklet of how to get a hold of the company. Then Alicia went and tracked down the warranty book to find the warranty and the model information = and right there, it said it was supposed to be defrosted at least once a year, more often if ice formed on the shelves and such.
I had NO IDEA that they still made freezers that had to be defrosted. TOTALLY SHOCKED ! ! ! but then it all made sense. Ever since we got this freezer, the ice built up on the shelves and on the food and we thought it was just because we had to buy a cheap freezer and had gotten an off brand we had never heard of and because it was in the sunny window. Boy, is my face red.... Redder even now, because I had thought about defrosting it, but didn't know what to do with all the melting ice in the middle of my living room carpet... Come to find out, there is a hose underneath freezers now, and the water just drains into a pan that you empty, no water flooding all over the floor.
SIGH
So now, where the freezer has been for 3 years, we have this beautiful tile floor that Justin is laying (again, check Alicia and Justin's blog). And we all like the look without the freezer sitting there, so we are going to take the freezer downstairs and empty it out and put it in the kitchen and then take all the food out of the freezer which is sitting in the middle of the dining room now and take it downstairs and put it where the littler freezer sits in the food storage room. It's all very over whelming, but in the end, we will have a freezer in the kitchen and a beautiful new tile floor and a place for the Christmas tree and most importantly, we now possess the knowledge and skill to defrost. hehehehe
One of the next big appliances we are hoping to replace is the refrigerator - it is the last appliance we bought 15 years ago. If we have a free standing freezer in the kitchen, we want to replace the classic fridge with a free standing refrigerator. It doesn't make any sense to have that little freezer above the fridge if you have a full freezer right next to it. Our friends have the two different appliances, and we really like the functionality of it. But, I still want to get a new satellite dish and have to get the new crown for my broken tooth, so it probably won't be this month. I would say with my PFD next year, but if the stock market keeps dropping like a giant boulder off a tall cliff, our PFD will be like 20 cents, next year.
Happy FALL to everyone. Hope you don't get snowed on today like we are supposed to. BRRRRRRR
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Democrat to Republican
Charlotte's change from democrat to republican came about strictly because of Alaskan politics. There was a very close primary race that was truly vital to Alaska's future and since we have closed primaries up here, I switched parties to vote in that race. Up here, the democrats are more like the Green party or the libertarian party - often the candidates in the democratic races are people who switched from Green or Libertarian - so to vote for a "main street" candidate, usually the only party choice is Republican.
I haven't changed my views that much except I am very against gun control. I always was a hawk when it came to war - I always thought that the reason we lost the Viet Nam war was that we didn't fight it hard enough, so I have always disagreed with other family members who hate all war. (We all remember trying to digest dinner in Billings, in the dining room with the map of Viet Nam on the wall above the table, and Dan Rather reporting live from Viet Nam, and all the yelling and door slamming that followed ).
I like Sarah Palin, not because she is republican or even because she is a great example of what I always thought a woman politician was capable of being, I just like her because she came into the governorship and did what she said she was going to do, in a very timely manner - and in this state, that is not easy to do.
Although, I will say that since all my life I have been taught to believe that a woman would one day be president (it never occured to me when I was growing up that my sister would not be the first woman president) - so in that vein, I really like Sarah for the fact that she IS a woman, a good wife, a good mother - she isn't shrew or harpy like some women in power, she is the ideal woman candidate... the one that women like me have always been looking for.
I haven't changed my views that much except I am very against gun control. I always was a hawk when it came to war - I always thought that the reason we lost the Viet Nam war was that we didn't fight it hard enough, so I have always disagreed with other family members who hate all war. (We all remember trying to digest dinner in Billings, in the dining room with the map of Viet Nam on the wall above the table, and Dan Rather reporting live from Viet Nam, and all the yelling and door slamming that followed ).
I like Sarah Palin, not because she is republican or even because she is a great example of what I always thought a woman politician was capable of being, I just like her because she came into the governorship and did what she said she was going to do, in a very timely manner - and in this state, that is not easy to do.
Although, I will say that since all my life I have been taught to believe that a woman would one day be president (it never occured to me when I was growing up that my sister would not be the first woman president) - so in that vein, I really like Sarah for the fact that she IS a woman, a good wife, a good mother - she isn't shrew or harpy like some women in power, she is the ideal woman candidate... the one that women like me have always been looking for.
BRRRRRR - BAD BAD NEWS for Charlotte
This is our actual forecast for this weekend. It had a picture of the little snow flakes falling, but it didn't come over when I copied the forecast. I guess Justin and the muskrats were right. you should know anything Pa Ingalls taught on the prairie is true. I noticed 2 GIANT muskrat houses outside Anchorage last week. All I could think of was Pa and Laura Ingalls and the Long Winter..... BRRRRRRRRRRR
Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Patchy fog. Lows in the 30s. Light winds.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Highs in the 40s.
Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Patchy fog. Lows in the 30s. Light winds.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Highs in the 40s.
In your blood
I was just thinking of something that Blake might find interesting. The first political campaign
that Blake ever worked on was the 1972 presidential campaign.... he was part of the Pendleton office in support of George McGovern. In his stroller, he did lots of door to door campaigning, made calls and stuffed envelopes and served at the local fund raising dinner. It was kind of pathetic that the young democrats in Pendleton could only afford to put on a bean supper at one of the schools. We cleared 58 dollars, TOTAL.
On other occasions,we had baked sales and lots of campy stuff like that.
The same night as our bean dinner, the area republicans held a $100 a plate dinner--- they cleared more than $58 for each person that attended.
All the McGovern supporters were high school and young college kids. We housed a whole group that came from somewhere , Portland I suppose, that came one weekend to canvas the entire town. Blake was a part of it all - actually a very active part - he enjoyed it and helped a lot, even though he was only 15 months old.
The same night as our bean dinner, the area republicans held a $100 a plate dinner--- they cleared more than $58 for each person that attended.
All the McGovern supporters were high school and young college kids. We housed a whole group that came from somewhere , Portland I suppose, that came one weekend to canvas the entire town. Blake was a part of it all - actually a very active part - he enjoyed it and helped a lot, even though he was only 15 months old.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Home from the hunt
Brian is home from hunting. His friend from Oregon, Larry Shirley, came up to hunt with him this year. They had a good time, but didn't kill anything. Just didn't have the urge. So Larry is here for a day or two to fish and then he'll fly home on Monday.
I think Brian starts his new job on Monday - not sure.
I think Brian starts his new job on Monday - not sure.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Hats off to Levi "501" Bobbitt
I tried to post a comment on Levi's blog, but it kept restricting me to less than 300 characters, and I just couldn't say what I wanted to say in 300 characters, so I decided to post about Levi 501 here on our blog.
When I first met Levi "501" Bobbitt about 23 years ago, I remember this little white haired boy who had lots of energy and smiles. Alicia came home from kindergarten and told us there was a boy in her class named Levi 501 - like Levi 501 Jeans. I said, there is a boy named, Levi Bobbitt, is that who you mean? and she said, "no, Levi Bobbitt is someone else, I don't know him - I just know Levi 501".
So, as she told you, we have always called you Levi 501 Jeans. I don't know what that has to do with having cancer, just whenever we think of you, we smile, but now our smile sort of turns to a tear as it is breaking our hearts for you to be suffering and fighting this fight again. I wish I knew what to say.
I DO KNOW what it is like to get up every morning and look at that pill box and know how sick each of those pills is going to make you and then knowing how sick you will be if you don't take them. Every meal tasting like sawdust, but knowing you have to eat it. Hurting so much you can't lay in bed or sit in a chair or stand up - that doesn't leave any place to put your body that doesn't make you cry out in pain.
And your loss of personal relationship and setbacks at work just when you got your ideal promotion -
There aren't any words from me that are going to help you thru this but I want you to know that we do wish for you to be able to once more be that little light-hearted boy that didn't have a care in the world and didn't know what the future held for him besides running around the playground and swimming at the lake. Our prayers are with you and we are pulling for you to win this fight again.
So, Hang on, Levi 501, Hang on. Love, The Carpers
When I first met Levi "501" Bobbitt about 23 years ago, I remember this little white haired boy who had lots of energy and smiles. Alicia came home from kindergarten and told us there was a boy in her class named Levi 501 - like Levi 501 Jeans. I said, there is a boy named, Levi Bobbitt, is that who you mean? and she said, "no, Levi Bobbitt is someone else, I don't know him - I just know Levi 501".
So, as she told you, we have always called you Levi 501 Jeans. I don't know what that has to do with having cancer, just whenever we think of you, we smile, but now our smile sort of turns to a tear as it is breaking our hearts for you to be suffering and fighting this fight again. I wish I knew what to say.
I DO KNOW what it is like to get up every morning and look at that pill box and know how sick each of those pills is going to make you and then knowing how sick you will be if you don't take them. Every meal tasting like sawdust, but knowing you have to eat it. Hurting so much you can't lay in bed or sit in a chair or stand up - that doesn't leave any place to put your body that doesn't make you cry out in pain.
And your loss of personal relationship and setbacks at work just when you got your ideal promotion -
There aren't any words from me that are going to help you thru this but I want you to know that we do wish for you to be able to once more be that little light-hearted boy that didn't have a care in the world and didn't know what the future held for him besides running around the playground and swimming at the lake. Our prayers are with you and we are pulling for you to win this fight again.
So, Hang on, Levi 501, Hang on. Love, The Carpers
YAY for Alaska
First, my weight has stabalized and as near as I can tell, I gained 1.5 pounds last week.... so that is my official weigh in weight.
Second, today is PFD day plus our wonderful Governor, the lovely Sarah Palin got each man, woman and child an energy rebate of 1200 dollars that came today. She also had them push PFD day up a month so that the villagers could pay for their winter fuel before the ice freezes their ports and they can't get the fuel... So usually we have fun in October, but this year it all came in September. We feel sorry for Justin - only the people who qualify for PFD (permanent fund dividend) get an energy rebate and since Justin got here last year in April, he doesn't qualify for either.
The kids are on their way up to Kenai to get us a new washer and dryer. Our dryer is one of the 2 original appliances we bought when we came to Alaska 15 years ago today. And it is tired. And the washer is only 4 years old, but it was when Brian was out of work and it was the cheapest washer Sears makes. At the time, it was only supposed to last 3 months or less and then we were going to move, but then we stayed and Alicia and Brian have cussed that cheap piece of metal EVERY day since.
We did some research this morning and decided on a top-loading Maytag washer, called the Cenntenial. Does anyone have that washer and could give us some quick feedback on it?
We looked at front loaders, but our clothes are so dirty with the guys and their grime that we decided we'd better stick with a top loader so we can soak the dirty stuff in lots of water.
Brian called from moose camp and is ready to come home. We have had a steady stream of REALLY wet and windy weather systems overhead since he left. One day they were forecast to have 60 degrees, which is unheard of at moose camp - and then the system moved in and they forecast 7 inches of snow the next night. He said they didn't get the snow, but the wind and rain were miserable and he just wasn't in the mood to hunt this year. So they might come home early and fish or they might stick it out, he didn't know. Just time for a change, I guess.
Well, this is kind of a random post - go Cougars, Ducks, and Utes tomorrow - and I'll throw in a go Miami (Ohio) for the Gulleys. If they aren't playing us - and I don't think they are.
Happy PFD Weekend ! ! ! Sorry you don't live in the last frontier. My friend called and said the lines at the banks were absolutely insane. hehehe I'm so glad we went to Anchorage for our conference last week, instead of this. the stores and the traffic will be legendary. YIKES.
Oh, I know what else I got with my PFD - I got an aerogarden. I have wanted one for a while and finally saw one at Bed Bath and Beyond last weekend. We started with the salad pack and we already have little bits of salad greens up. Very exciting. I think I will get a couple more for strawberries and tomatoes and maybe herbs. After studying the design, Justin has figured out how to use hydroponics for our greenhouse next year so we don't have to buy and haul all that soil upstairs and then waste it when we are done. Anxious to see how that turns out.
Does anyone else hve an aerogarden? What do you grow in it? Do you like it?
Second, today is PFD day plus our wonderful Governor, the lovely Sarah Palin got each man, woman and child an energy rebate of 1200 dollars that came today. She also had them push PFD day up a month so that the villagers could pay for their winter fuel before the ice freezes their ports and they can't get the fuel... So usually we have fun in October, but this year it all came in September. We feel sorry for Justin - only the people who qualify for PFD (permanent fund dividend) get an energy rebate and since Justin got here last year in April, he doesn't qualify for either.
The kids are on their way up to Kenai to get us a new washer and dryer. Our dryer is one of the 2 original appliances we bought when we came to Alaska 15 years ago today. And it is tired. And the washer is only 4 years old, but it was when Brian was out of work and it was the cheapest washer Sears makes. At the time, it was only supposed to last 3 months or less and then we were going to move, but then we stayed and Alicia and Brian have cussed that cheap piece of metal EVERY day since.
We did some research this morning and decided on a top-loading Maytag washer, called the Cenntenial. Does anyone have that washer and could give us some quick feedback on it?
We looked at front loaders, but our clothes are so dirty with the guys and their grime that we decided we'd better stick with a top loader so we can soak the dirty stuff in lots of water.
Brian called from moose camp and is ready to come home. We have had a steady stream of REALLY wet and windy weather systems overhead since he left. One day they were forecast to have 60 degrees, which is unheard of at moose camp - and then the system moved in and they forecast 7 inches of snow the next night. He said they didn't get the snow, but the wind and rain were miserable and he just wasn't in the mood to hunt this year. So they might come home early and fish or they might stick it out, he didn't know. Just time for a change, I guess.
Well, this is kind of a random post - go Cougars, Ducks, and Utes tomorrow - and I'll throw in a go Miami (Ohio) for the Gulleys. If they aren't playing us - and I don't think they are.
Happy PFD Weekend ! ! ! Sorry you don't live in the last frontier. My friend called and said the lines at the banks were absolutely insane. hehehe I'm so glad we went to Anchorage for our conference last week, instead of this. the stores and the traffic will be legendary. YIKES.
Oh, I know what else I got with my PFD - I got an aerogarden. I have wanted one for a while and finally saw one at Bed Bath and Beyond last weekend. We started with the salad pack and we already have little bits of salad greens up. Very exciting. I think I will get a couple more for strawberries and tomatoes and maybe herbs. After studying the design, Justin has figured out how to use hydroponics for our greenhouse next year so we don't have to buy and haul all that soil upstairs and then waste it when we are done. Anxious to see how that turns out.
Does anyone else hve an aerogarden? What do you grow in it? Do you like it?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Not a good week for weight watching
I wasn't going to post this week, but Joanna fessed up, so I will, too. When I travel, I have to alter my medications so much that I have no idea what my poor body is trying to do now. I have only eaten 3 meals in the last 4 days, but have gained sometimes 1 1/2 pounds from last week and sometimes 9 pounds from last week.
I think it is actually that I just gained a pound or two - we walked all over and didn't eat much. I think we only ate in one restaurant. We stopped the first day and bought slim-fast and peanut butter and bread and fresh fruit. We weren't against eating out, we just didn't feel good and peanut butter sounded like the easiest thing to digest and provide nutrition.
We'll see next week. I'm not beating myself up over it because one of the things I learned this weekend was to not listen to Satan when he tries to bring me down about myself. I am trying to eat healthier and exercise more and it doesn't matter what He says or what the scales say.
I read two really good books from the Time Out for Women presenters - one by Emily Watts, can't remember which one - all of hers apply - just pick one if you haven't read her before... The other book which I finished today is by Sheri Dew - God wants a powerful people.
Her last book or two I thought were a little light on substance, but this one is packed with all kinds of day to day, concrete ideas to help you become who the Lord wants you to be. I highly recommend it ! ! !
Alicia didn't gain weight this weekend. YAY ! ! ! Better luck to the rest of us next week. Charlotte
I think it is actually that I just gained a pound or two - we walked all over and didn't eat much. I think we only ate in one restaurant. We stopped the first day and bought slim-fast and peanut butter and bread and fresh fruit. We weren't against eating out, we just didn't feel good and peanut butter sounded like the easiest thing to digest and provide nutrition.
We'll see next week. I'm not beating myself up over it because one of the things I learned this weekend was to not listen to Satan when he tries to bring me down about myself. I am trying to eat healthier and exercise more and it doesn't matter what He says or what the scales say.
I read two really good books from the Time Out for Women presenters - one by Emily Watts, can't remember which one - all of hers apply - just pick one if you haven't read her before... The other book which I finished today is by Sheri Dew - God wants a powerful people.
Her last book or two I thought were a little light on substance, but this one is packed with all kinds of day to day, concrete ideas to help you become who the Lord wants you to be. I highly recommend it ! ! !
Alicia didn't gain weight this weekend. YAY ! ! ! Better luck to the rest of us next week. Charlotte
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