Ramblings

My co-workers asked me to update tonight, so that's what I'm doing. They did not, however, tell me to post their quotes that I have saved up. I believe that is what they are hoping for, but they did not request it. Therefore, I am updating, as requested, but the fun stuff will wait until another time. ;D

and my quote stock is getting pretty full. So I think it's time to unload some of them here. In other words, this is a pretty meaningless post, but it's fun. Most of these are from Red's best friend, who stayed with us for a few days when her brother was sick. She can be quite entertaining... ;)

Penguin Lady: Well, I just gotta have my fix sometimes!

Penguin Lady: Hi Red! You just parted the ghost!

Penguin Lady: I have a mustache!!! ...and a flower in my hair

Red: I have butt in my ear

Penguin Lady: You dropped someone's girlfriend

Penguin Lady: Why won't my foot stay on vertical surfaces?!?

Penguin Lady: Just so you know, Red has to fart

Monkey: Red, stop hitting me!
Penguin Lady: ... I thought you said 'stop hitting ON me'

Red: I need a place for my stinking baby!!!
Everyone else: WHAT?!?!?

Penguin Lady: I'm getting a new head of hair. I should prob'ly match it to my mustache.

Red: One, two, three, four, fudge!

Gira's Mom: ...Twenty-tix sickets.

Red: I like whips!

Penguin Lady: I look like an alien... Oh! I took my mustache off!

Penguin Lady: Get out of the hole! Get out of the hole!
Red: But I like the hole!
Penguin Lady: why are YOU in the hole?!?

Penguin Lady: I want noodles! *starts walking, jerks to stop* I'm plugged in!

Red: ehhhh.... can't inhale noodles

Penguin Lady: Why are your noodles so hot?
Red: ... I have hot noodles

Gira: Something got into my sandal
Red: Something got into my foot

Penguin Lady: I need some juice for my noodles

Red: My noodles are juicy... Stop dripping, noodles!
Penguin Lady: Isn't there a cream for that or something?

Red: Penguin Lady has a juicy hand

Red: I'm losing my noodles!

Red: I wanna know how Mom knows that chews are toe-y
    (Apples to Apples game... Mom had to decide which word best represented
    "chewy" ... she chose "toes" ...Red just doesn't know how to talk ;) )

Penguin Lady: (to Brat) You forgot your pants!!
      (Brat is a church member. He's a few years younger than me, and he's, well, a brat. ;)
      kind of an inside joke; he'd understand it ;) But that's the best nickname for him.)

Brat: Or you could just unzip Penguin Lady's shirt...

Penguin Lady: I want the butt

Red: I lost me!

Penguin Lady: Stop it or I'll delete your animal!

Red: *whiny voice* I wanna sneeze really baaa-aaad....

Penguin Lady: I'm gonna hit on the squirrel. Oh, it's a girl! Nevermind.

Red: When am I not wired - er, weird?

Red: I've got a bump on my butt
Penguin Lady: You might have butt cancer

Penguin Lady: The anteater knows all!

Penguin Lady: I'm stuck in a hole - what's this weird flower-thing? It looks like it's gonna eat me

Red: I need to sink before I talk

Penguin Lady: I'm gonna sleep in your bed

Red: Ouchie. Garbage hurts.

Penguin Lady: No! Get on the bed!

Penguin Lady: Aaaaah!! You touched my no-no square!

Red: I'd only eat the cat poo

Penguin Lady: Where's my stick?!?
Gira: *laughing* Red's got it in her butt
Penguin Lady: ...thanks for keeping my stick safe in your butt.

I would have more time for myself, to talk to friends and do things that I wanted to do. There'd be no more homework to worry about, no research papers to scramble around and finish up... my evenings were supposed to be free to do as I pleased. So why am I so much busier now than when I was in college??? It's just not logical! But it's true. Between work and Grandma, Church and Youth Group, and helping people out with various problems... I have much less spare time than I used to.

Grandma is doing much better, btw. The swelling in her feet has gone down, and they don't pain her so much now. Though I'm not certain we ever found out exactly what was wrong... The doctors would come up with one solution, prescribe meds accordingly, and then find out that it was wrong and start over... We're waiting for the latest test results to come back now. But she's much better, anyway.

Work, on the other hand, has turned a bit interesting. They've decided that they want at least one housekeeper on duty all week long. (Not one person, of course, but someone to be there for each day of the week.) I volunteered for the weekend shift. So, beginning tomorrow, I am working Friday-Tuesday, with Wed.-Thurs, being my new weekend. There are actually several advantages in this for us. First of all, for me, I don't have to serve meals on the weekend. I absolutely LOVE this part of the deal! :D  Then, Youth Group is on Wednesday evenings, and I had been leaving work early to get home on time for it. Now I won't have to do that, so I won't be losing that time at work anymore. And, I'm always keyed up after Youth Group, and almost never get to bed at a decent time, which makes me tired on Thursdays at work. That won't be a problem anymore either. My second job, cleaning my church, is normally done on Saturdays, but the elders ok'd a Thursday cleaning instead, as most activities happen earlier in the week. Then I can do a touch-up cleaning on Saturday evenings and not have to worry about doing everything. Finally, Grandma has been wanting to attend our church out here, but refused to let us 'go out of our way' to come pick her up. Now, Mom or Dad will be taking me in to work Sunday morning anyway, because they need the car. So they can easily pick her up when they drop me off, and bring her home when they pick me up. She's excited about that part. The only real downside for me is that I'll miss out on Sunday services. But I've been assured that I can request time off for special events and such. (I think my co-workers are just grateful that they don't have to work every weekend like I do! ;)) The more I think about it tho, the more I think I like this new plan. We'll see how it goes...

The church lady we're helping to move is still struggling a little. She's still in her house, but she knows exactly where she's going now. That takes away the majority of the stress, especially as the lady she's moving in with is a good friend - and only a few houses down from us :) The people who bought the houses and property have been very gracious and patient with her (and us) about the timeline, especially with the heat wave we had a while ago - we got absolutely nothing done at that time, because her house has no air conditioner, and a poor ventilation system. But we're getting closer, making progress, and we hope to be done soon.

One last thing, before I finish up here. Dad, being a volunteer firefighter, gets to hear a lot about car accidents and fire alarms and other problems that happen around the area. A few days ago, we listened in to a call about a house that was on fire in Stayton. Then we heard that the house had exploded - a natural gas explosion. They didn't know if anyone was inside, or if someone nearby may have been hurt. We stopped to pray for the whole situation. And then Dad's alarm went off - they were calling for back-up because it was too much them to handle alone. Of course, Dad took his pager with him, so we didn't get to hear any more about it that night. He left home a little after eleven at night. He didn't get home until after four in the morning. Thankfully, no one was hurt. The family that owned the house was out of town on vacation, and were supposed to return the following day. The firefighters got everything under control, and tho the house was destroyed, everyone was ok. Here is a short article about what happened, and at the bottom is a video of one news crew on the scene:  www.katu.com/news/52310327.html  

I think that about wraps it up. You are now up-to-date on what I've been up to (I think ;)) and now I will say GoodNight. Until next month? I hope not... :P

Grandma made it home. The first thing she did was ask Mom if she'd take her to visit Millie. Of course she agreed. So they dropped off Grandma's stuff at home, then left again to see Millie. I don't know if Millie knew that Grandma was coming home that day, but she certainly didn't expect Grandma to visit so quickly. According to Mom, Millie's face just lit up when Grandma walked in, and they had a good visit with each other. It was easy to see that they love each other very much. Both Millie and Grandma were exhausted, so the visit did not last too long, but it was long enough for them. That was on Tuesday. Millie passed away Friday afternoon. Grandma is so grateful to have made it home in time. i can see it on her face, and hear it in her voice. Thank you again, so much, for all your prayers. Goodbyes are not easy, but they feel better than having nothing there at all.

Now we just need to get Grandma settled back in at home. She's still very tired from her trip, and her feet are very swollen. Mom and I keep telling her to stay off them, to rest for a few days, but Grandma doesn't know how to do that. Her feet were absolutely purple a couple of days ago, and it worries us. We finally got her to make an appointment with her doctor; at least she'll get them looked at. Her feet have bothered her before, but they've never been this bad. She goes in on Wednesday morning. I hope it's a simple problem, and that we can get her to take the necessary actions (or inactions, as the case may be) to get better. 


In other news, one of our church members is being kicked out of her house. She lives in a manufactured home on her son's property. She came home from a doctor's appointment (last week, I think?) and found a "For Sale" sign in front of her house. Her son decided to move, and didn't bother to warn her first. She was originally told that she had two weeks to get out. Basically, her son was kicking her to the streets, because someone bought his property faster than he expected. Since then, however, we've been told that the buyer is willing to allow her to stay until the first of August. That still isn't much time, especially when she has a hard time getting around, and has no idea where she's going to go. And she's a packrat. And not a neat one. Mom has been going over to help her out as often as she can, and I've helped out some too. But it doesn't look like we've done anything except take a few pictures off the walls. She's going to put everything in storage until she finds a place of her own, but first, we've got to get it all boxed up. So what spare time I do have is generally spent helping her out, and it'll be that way, probably for most of the next month.

So much for enjoying all the high-speed internet fun! I can't seem to get more than a few minutes at a time to be here! :P But I can't complain too much. My non-computer life is worthwhile, but I do miss talking to everyone here!

Grandma's still in Montana. She'll be home on Tuesday. And Millie is still here. She astonished the doctors, and seems to be doing quite well. Her time is short, but they have not put a limit on it this time. Millie has been moved out of the hospital and into a care home, where they are making her as comfortable as they can. She is visited or called daily by some of our residents and staff; everyine misses having her around. Maybe Grandma will make it home in time to see her after all. I hope. Your prayers are sooo appreciated, thanks guys. *hugs*

Grandma's on a road trip. She is off to visit her brother in Idaho, and sister in Montana. Currently, she's in Montana. Her trip is not going so well tho. Before she left, she had a sore on her foot. It's now infected. As if she wasn't having a hard enough time with that, I ended up being the bearer of more bad news for her today.

I was told today at work that one of our residents is in the hospital. Millie is an amazing woman, always with a smile, everyone's friend, ready to help out whenever needed, and always willing to offer a shoulder to cry on. She's one of Grandma's closest friends. And she's not expected to live through the weekend. The managers decided to let me decide whether or not I wanted to call Grandma and let her know, or let her try to enjoy the rest of her trip and tell her when she returns. Either way, she isn't likely to get home in time to say goodbye. With that in mind, and after talking it over with Mom, we'd just about decided to wait and not spoil her visit with her siblings. But then, as we continued talking, we realized that Grandma has already made plans to return home earlier than originally planned. She is currently to return on the 23rd. And she's truly not having a great time, especially with her infected foot. And, if Millie passes away in the next couple of days, then randma probably won't even be home in time for her memorial services. And she will want to attend those at the very least. So we changed our minds, so that she might try to return a little earlier.

That was the hardest phone call I've ever made. Grandma's in pain, I could hear it in her voice. And I can't even run over and give her a hug. She is supposed to fly home, and cannot get an earlier flight. If we had the means, we'd drive up and bring her home. That would take only four days, tops. And Grandma wished it were possible too. Desperately wished it. I keep wracking my brain, trying to figure out how we could do it. Mom would have to go, as Dad and I can't get the time off work on such short notice. But she could do it. But she'd have to rent a car, because we need ours here, and then there's the gas bill. It sounds almost hopeless right now - I'm down to less than $30 in my account, and my parents are no better off.

She wants to come home. She's in pain, physical and emotional. And I want nothing more than to wrap her in hugs. Please keep her in your prayers, especially if she has to wait until the 23rd to come home.

I almost can't believe it. We set a goal with the kids to raise $500 on Saturday at the car wash/bake sale. We made it. Exactly. In large part, thanks to Cadence (Many hugs and thanks!!!). The church also sold a playhouse that we've been trying to get rid of for a long time. The couple that bought it paid $150 for it, when the thing wasn't worth more than $50... They said the cost was no problem as long as the money went to the kids' camp program. With all that, we now have nearly $1,900. I almost can't believe it. The two kids that can't go without a full scholarship will get to go to camp this year. The rest of the kids will have the majority of their way paid as well, and will not need to come up with more than $50 each. I can't wait to tell the kids on Wednesday; they'll be so excited! At the beginning, it seemed impossible to raise so much money in such a short time (We got quite a late start on the fundraising for this year, since we just started our Youth Group). Some of the kids were fairly well resigned to wither not going or having to pay most of their own way. But we did it, with God's support and the love of our neighbors. It's amazing, an absolutely wonderful feeling. These kids are going to camp! :D

So much for being able to sign online more often :P High-speed internet is wonderful. But I think I've been online even less than when we had dial-up... *sigh*  but that's because life is busy right now. I've gotta go to work, of course, and then there's my involvement with my church - cleaning, powerpoint, and youth group. And Youth Group is taking up most of my spare time right now. We're tryng to send ten kids to camp this summer. The total cost (not including transportation) is almost $2,500 for all of them. There's a possibility that a couple of them won't go (parents have not yet confirmed), but they want to go, and we want to be able to send them. We've raised $1,141 so far, but we only have one more (combined) fundraiser left to do before we need to send in the camp registrations. We're having a car wash and bake sale on Saturday. Hopefully, we'll raise enough to at least cover half the cost for each child. The only problem is that there are at least two of our group that won't be able to go unless they get a full scholarship. I really want to see one little girl in particular go to camp this year. Her dad is out of work, and she has several siblings. She's Monkey's age, and such a hard worker. If any of our kids earn the right to a full scholarship, she's at the top of the list. I just hope we bring in enough this Saturday for us to give her that scholarship.

I will do my absolute best to be online tomorrow evening. I make no promises - seems like something always manages to pop out of the walls that has to be done ASAP, and I end up not getting online when I plan to. But I hope I'll have a little break tomorrow evening. Right now, it's open. I hope it stays that way :P

First of all, my brother may not be going to Afghanistan after all. Or it may just be put off for a little while longer. He'd injured his ankle while he was in S. Korea, and it hasn't fully healed yet... and the intense training he's been through recently hasn't helped it any. But the story we're getting keeps changing :P Sometimes we hear that the ankle won't prevent him from going, sometimes we're told that they'll wait until it's healed, and other times that he won't be sent over at all. I guess we're stuck in the wait-and-see arena for now.

Now for the fun stuff. ;)  Mom and I have started a Youth Group at our church. We started it for the younger kids, 'cause they were feeling left out when our older ones were going to another church for Youth Group (we started it with just four kids - we've now got up to 20 at any given time, 'though it's usually somewhere between 10-15 kids). But since then, the older kids have joined our group, so we have quite an age range, and a lot of fun :D  But with summer coming up, we've begun to think about summer camps - and the cost of sending the kids. It can get pretty expensive. Fourteen of the kids are interested in going to camp this year, so we've been planning some fundraisers. We'll be doing a car wash tomorrow! and the weather's supposed to cooperate, so the kids are pretty excited about it ;) We've got another one next month, as well as a spaghetti dinner (the kids will sell tickets). We've done the car wash in the past, and we've managed to raise quite a bit of money from it. There are a lot of generous people around here - last time, we had several stop to say that they didn't have time to get their car washed, but "here's some money anyway." It's amazing. We managed to raise enough in the past to cover the cost of camp for each of the kids that wanted to go. Of course, I don't think we've sent more than five kids to camp at a time before... I hope we do well this year, because many of our kids would be attending camp for the first time. Monkey is old enough this year and is soooo excited about it. I want to be able to send each of them, because I know I had a lot of fun when I got to go. Wish us luck, and pray that all turns out well. Fourteen kids is a lot to raise money for in this little place!

My brother got his orders. He's heading to Afghanistan sometime in the near future. 2-5 weeks from now. They can't tell us exactly when. But he's going.