12/13/14

It has been brought to my attention by SL, (for this is not the sort of information I store in my head)
that today is the last day in my lifetime,  that we will have a sequential number calendar date.
So I searched for the perfect bible verse for today and found this:

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

"Now all has been heard
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
For God will bring every deed into judgement,
including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."

~~~~~

Kind of 'yikes' but worth a ponder.
I wonder if we will have the ability to feel pride about the good and embarrassment about the evil.
And I wonder how far back God goes...

In Search of the Perfect 11-12-13 Post:

Proverbs 11:12-13

It is foolish to speak scornfully of others. If you are smart, you will keep quiet.
No one who gossips can be trusted with a secret, but you can put confidence in someone who is trustworthy.

12-12-12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in trouble, faithful in prayer." -Romans 12:12

I got an email today from the er...uhm...Three Rivers MARATHON people (yes, I shouted it) announcing a 12-12-12 special!!
For  today's sequential date,  I join in the excitement about it.
I get it.  I too, like marking neat looking numbered dates.
I've written a post on each of the other sequential  dates.
07-07-07 
08-08-08
09-09-09
10-10-10
11-11-11

Due to the significance of this being the last of it...the three repeated numbers in today's date gives pop culture a positive vibe:
Make a wish!
Celebrate!
Do something significant!
Get married on this date!
Induce labor!
Make it count!

But the buzz about it being the LAST time we will experience this in our life time, has me thinking that actually, everyday is a day that we don't experience twice.
Each experience and each moment can not be preserved, not relived nor can it ever be precisely anticipated.
Each day is a first and a last and should be treated like it is special.

Make everyday count and when in Rome...

"Be joyful in hope, patient in trouble, faithful in prayer."
-Romans 12:12

Shotgun Approach To Life

I went to an acupuncturist last Friday with my friend CK, not the singer.
First-born turned 13 last Saturday. We got her a cellphone that she is ecstatic about.
Had Reiki performed on me on Sunday by my friend M.
Had Monday morning coffee with a friend K.
Left-overs for lunch and a 3 mile walk after at DZ's house still on a Monday.
2.59 mi dog walking and coffee with another newish friend, Tuesday.
Washed and folded 2 loads of laundry.
Bathed 1 smelly dog.
Vacuumed 1 house.
Did civic duty of voting with 1 husband and then went to our local watering hole where we met newish friend and her husband.
WEDNESDAY I did something huge.
So huge, I almost need three weeks to either get over this decision or prepare for what we are about to do in connection with what I did on wednesday. (explanation coming, hang on)
And then to assist me in either the getting over or the preparation, I agreed to meet SL and do the prayer walk in the evening. As the girls and I were leaving we discovered that our car was blocked in, so we hurriedly bundled up against the crisp fall eve to walk briskly the 1.20 mi distance to the labyrinth in order to make our date.
We had no pie to eat after but I did have a delicious pot of chicken adobo that I made.
Then before sleeping I watched a depressing
documentary called Marathon Boy.
It is about Budhia, a child from India--who is the world's youngest marathon runner.
(this movie is not for the emotionally fragile)
Thursday, which was yesterday, despite the cold morning, I walked Pax a mile and a half.
I also crocheted and video chatted with my Manila sister K,  in the morning.
I found a kennel for smelly dog, but in preparation for his stay there, had to make an appointment with his vet.
And then I listened to about 4 or 5
TED talks (highly recommend!)
One speaker was a guy who was in the Hudson river plane crash.
Another speaker talked about his experiment to try something for 30 days straight in order to learn something new or change behavior.
While another speaker was a ceo of SFO hotel chain that emphasized the importance of human relationships, compassion and the importance of Gross National Happiness over Gross Domestic Product
Then I napped.
When I woke, I spoke on the phone with my Chicago sister P.
Cooked a big pot of soup.
Had a bev with JB.

Today is Friday. 11-11-11.
Already I have spent a few minutes with CK-
And I am about to get dressed to attend a Veteran's Day celebration at the kids' school.
Kika is playing her flute.
I am very very very very very very very pre-menstrual but I am determined to keep going.
Then tonight I am going to see 
a benefit concert with M, DZ and Steve.
My shotgun approach to life is to try everything accessible to me in order to facilitate this.
Starting with the long hot shower that I am about to take.

Be Well.

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

"thank goodness my sewage pipe is going to be repaired."
As I look at the 10 foot deep excavation on my driveway.

It's 10-10-10.

09-09-09

As the youngest of NINE I could not pass up the opportunity to write.

Did I tell you that I am fighting the urge to just sleep all day?

But I have been good.

I have been doing laundry,

walking the dog,

cleaning,

and eating everything in sight

PLUS I quit coffee.

I quit coffee because my exaggerated PMS was giving me tender mammary glands.

(and rather large and perky ones, may I add)

THEY say, caffeine makes it worse.

My 25th Maryknoll High school reunion was last weekend.

I wanted to go, but I could not. Logistically, it was just not possible.

It was held in Manila.

As I viewed all the videos and the pictures of the event I was left goose pimply

and wistful all at once.

Everyone looked so happy to be connecting with one another.

It made me ache.

Ache to connect.

So in lieu of a logistically impossible trip to Manila, I am going to try and connect with my husband of 16 years with a wedding anniversary weekend.

You know all those activities they do in that cheesy  TV show called 

'The Bachelor'?

I am planning to woo Steve with activities like that for our anniversary weekend.

-Zip lining

-Ropes Course

-Skeet shooting

-Horseback Riding

-Hummer Course Driving

It all adds up to a cheaper trip than going to Manila but yet the ultimate in Redneck Vacations.

Not that Steve is a redneck.

I mean he might be considered a redneck if he hunted, chewed tobacco and listened to country music... wait...okay,  scrap that.

I am going to write more tomorrow, when it is not 09-09-09.

There is just too much pressure to make this worthwhile.

08-08-08

"Let me see your hands!"
Is what the cop of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection ordered of the Lobster people.
They were skindiving on the eve of the two-day spiny lobster season in preparation for the next day's dive.
The officer was checking to make sure that there was no preemptive lobstering going on.
Do not mess with them--the Law enforcement officers of the DEP--I mean.
They will stalk and hunt you down.
We learned this eleven years ago when Steve and I were vacationing at the Keys with six other people.
We had rented a boat and started diving for stone crabs and spiny lobsters.
We touched and fondled every underwater sea creature that surrounded us, collecting some starfish and conchs along the way...in awe of the underwater sea creatures that surrounded us.
We had inadvertently wandered into the protected waters of Bahia Honda State Park hence the abundance and the ability for us to squeal "I got another one!" over and over again.
By the time we got to the marina, the cops--salivating-- were waiting for us.
They barked:
"You are hunting in protected waters and you will be fined $750.00+ for each specimen found."
"Open your live well."
Unbeknownst to us, Steve made the executive decision to empty out our live well.
(To this day we are not sure why he did this, perhaps he knew if we kept it...HE would have to cook it)
Imagine the cops surprise and (our relief) when there was no contraband to be found.
After issuing us a warning citation and Steve's name (whom the boat was rented by) put on a "watch" list for 10 years, we were let go.
That was in 1997.
Steve, you're clear to go lobstering again.
(Pictures from that trip are posted here.)


The Lobster People 2008.

(Pictures from Key West 2008 are posted here)

07-07-07

I am at the beach.
Steve found San Miguel Beer at Faustos.
There is something about filipino beer and tropical heat in the U.S. that seem familiar and foreign at the same time.
Despite the 9300+ miles distance between the original setting and the substitute, the buzz is still the same.
And I am not talking about the beer either. (*wink*)



I started this blog exactly one year ago.
On my first entry I spoke of the need to equalize.
The other day as I was snorkeling in the ocean, I dove down to retrieve a shell.
(I was not about to waste the opportunity to test the old skin diving skills.)

The depth did not require any equalizing.

Isn't this so true, even in life?
There is no need to compensate if you keep life simple.