Arthritis

I've had rheumatoid arthritis for 21 years. I was first diagnosed with the disease a few months before my wedding. I asked my husband if he was sure he still wanted to marry me and he said he was committed. Little did he know the trials we would face together. In the '80s they didn't treat RA aggressively like they do now and as a result I have several deformities--most noticeable are my hands. It has also affected my feet and hip. Over the years I've had many surgeries on my hands and feet and a hip replacement. I'm having my hip replaced again in December.

The disease came on with a vengeance. I'm not one to complain, but it was very painful. One of the hardest things to deal with was having to change my lifestyle. I couldn't do the things that I was once able to do--no more active sports, loss of energy, loss of strength. I questioned God and asked Him, "why?" I didn't accept the disease and my situation until I thanked God for it. That's right, I thanked God for allowing this disease to happen to me. If it wasn't for my faith in God and there being a purpose, I think I would be in deep depression.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV).

I'm so grateful for a husband who has stuck beside me through it all. The Lord blessed me with a wonderful man. The Lord has also blessed us with a beautiful daughter. One is all we both could handle. I'm thankful for where I work and my co-workers who don't judge me on whether my body is perfect or not. I'm often embarrassed by my deformed hands and fingers. But God doesn't see them. He looks at my heart and sees beyond crooked hands and feet.

I look forward to the day when I will have no more pain and no more disease. My body will be new. It's all because of what God offers me through his Son, Jesus, that I can look forward to heaven and a renewed body.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true" (Revelation 21:3-5, NIV).

For now on this earth, I will look for the humor in life, it's a gift from God.

Chris Brown - Dreamer (Official Music Video)

I love this song and video from Chris Brown. I'm going to miss the Olympics!

My Top 10 Motor Vehicle Mishaps

1 Taking a corner too tight in a Winnebago and ripping off the sides. I didn't realize I had done it until someone beeped their horn and when I looked in the rear view mirror, I saw a pile of aluminum on the side of the road by the fire hydrant.

2 Starting up an exotic Italian sports car in gear and jumping the curb. The car got stuck on the curb on a hill. They had to call a tow truck to move it so that the bottom of the car wouldn't sustain any further damage. The front desk receptionist announced it to the whole building over the intercom.

3 Backing up and scraping the side of my car on a truck bumper. I didn't realize it was scraping until it got to the rear door. It cost big bucks to repair. No damage was done to the truck.

4 Taking another turn too tight. This time in a pickup at a drive-thru. I cut the corner too tight around those brightly colored yellow poles and put a huge dent in the side of the truck, along with some yellow paint.

5 Backing out of the garage too quickly. I ripped off the driver's side mirror. I had to use duct tape to get it to stay on. The only color tape we had was bright orange and red.

6 Standing beside our scooter, starting it up on the kick stand, then revving the engine and pushing it off the kick stand while still holding on. It drug me a few feet and fell over. I cut and scrapped myself up pretty good. Smashed the turn signal lights and scratched up the sides of the scooter.

7 Getting pinned between the rear bumper of my car and the bumper of a van in a grocery store parking lot. The driver of the van drifted into me while I was putting groceries in the trunk of my car. After repeated yellings and banging on the hood, she finally realized what happened and backed up. Went to the hospital and was treated and released. No broken bones or leg cut off at the knee.

8 When I was 16, I let our neighbor drive our car home from a carnival. The road was wet and she took the corner too fast. We smashed into an embankment. I drove the car home and had to wake up my parents and tell them what had happened. I was grounded until I was 30.

9 I pulled our work van into a gas station in California after a long day of shooting video. The fuel door was on the wrong side of the pump. I backed up and turned around. I pulled up to the pump. The fuel door was on the wrong side of the pump, again. One more try and guess what? The fuel door was on the wrong side. I got out of the car, yelled, "I HAVE HAD IT!" and let one of my co-workers drive the car up to the correct side of the pump while I sulked off.

10 I pulled out of the gas station and forgot to remove the fuel hose from the car fueling door. I bent the fuel hose and got yelled at by the attendent. He said to just get out of there, women did it all the time.

Don't let me be the only idiot out there, share your driving mishaps!

My Life--A Meeting

I feel like my life has become one huge meeting. Lately, that seems like all I'm doing--going from meeting to meeting. A friend, Myron, has a theory about meetings. He says that meetings are designed to assign you more work. I think he's right. And, if you're not being assigned a new work project, the meeting is keeping you from working on your projects. I'm an editor by trade, so when I'm in a meeting, I'm not editing. If I'm not editing, I'm not meeting my deadlines. Not meeting deadlines is driving me crazy. Some meetings are necessary. I just can't stand meetings that have no good reason for taking up my time!

Bigfoot a Hoax!

I'm bummed! It turns out the body of Bigfoot found in the North Georgia mountains was a rubber costume. I was really hoping that these two guys were on the up and up. Turns out they were paid to tell the story. The nerve of them jerking us around!

The New World of Coke

Josiah & Rebecca at the New World of Coke

Last month my cousin and her son were here for a visit. While they were in Atlanta, they wanted to see the Georgia Aquarium and The New World of Coke. Unfortunately, I was working when they went to the aquarium (I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but I haven't been there, yet.) On Saturday, we went to the Coke museum. We had been several years ago when we first moved to Atlanta. The museum was OK and we figured a one-time visit was plenty. But, here we were going back, again. This time it was after the renovation.

It was very crowded

Jessica & Josiah

Rebecca & Josiah go to the Coke 3-D movie

It was much better than our first visit and if you're in to Coca-Cola, is worth a visit. They have an animated movie that shows you what happens inside a Coke vending machine when you put your money in (it's an expanded version of the commercial and pretty entertaining), a 3-D movie, and plenty of Coke memorabilia to gaze at. The best part is still the tasting room. They even give you a free glass bottle of Coke for visiting.

Has a Bigfoot Really Been Found?

I for one for would love for this story to be true--that a real Bigfoot has been found. Two guys from Georgia on a hike deep in the north Georgia mountains came across the dead body of a Bigfoot. They held a press conference on Friday and told their story. They had a few sketchy photos to share and say they're storing the body at an undisclosed location to keep out any unwanted visitors. They said that while they were hauling the 500 pound body out of the woods, they were being watched by other Bigfeet.

Back in the 70s, I remember hearing about a Bigfoot spotting near our home in Maryland. I was scared to death! It was BIG news.

If this discovery turns out not to be a hoax, I wonder if the Bigfoot species is a very hairy human mixed with an animal? They were shunned by normal people and forced to live deep in the woods to avoid ridicule. I guess time will tell. The guys say that a scientist is conducting an autopsy, so stay tuned.

Getting Orientated

I may not be able to spell "gnats" correctly, but I spelled orientated that way on purpose. We recently went to high school orientation for my daughter, Rebecca. We arrive on time. She goes to her homeroom to get her schedule and run through a practice day. I go to the cafeteria. I thought we were going there to have a presentation. No, we, the parents, were to wait in line to get our kid's schedule, locker assignment, and text books. The line stretched from one end of the school to the other. It was kind of like being at Disney World. You know, you get to what you think is the end of the line only to find out it wraps around another corner (except here there was no exciting ride to get on). After waiting for half an hour and not getting anywhere, I decide to go wait it out on a bench in the foyer. Why stand, when I could sit? I decide to make a quick run to Hardees for a milk shake since Rebecca hadn't had breakfast and her teeth were killing her from getting braces the day before. Thought I'd surprise her.

After an hour and a half, the line is reasonable. I get what I'm supposed to in the cafeteria, then head to the gym to get her text books--more like anvils. I had to stop several times on the way to her locker to take a break. I go where the lady said to go and her locker is not there. I go to the office, up a flight of stairs to wait for my daughter. She can help carry the anvils and find her locker. I'm sweating profusely. We meet, she takes the books and we find her locker. It doesn't work. We trudge back to the cafeteria to get another locker. The locker lady has left. They page her. Someone finally comes back with what's left of the available lockers. She gets her new assignment. It's back at the front of the building and up a flight of stairs. We successfully unload the books.

We're both tired and sore and grouchy. We get to the car. She reaches in the insulated lunch bag where I had cleverly stored her milk shake. IT DUMPS OUT! I'm yelling. She's yelling. Her mouth is aching. We have no aspirin and she can't find her wax to cover the brackets that are gouging her checks. We go to Hardees and get another milk shake and food. The guy recognizes me from earlier. Oh joy. We go to Rite Aid next to get some wax. They have it! We're starting to calm down.

We arrive back at the house and walk in the door. Our dog, Gracie, has opened a cabinet and gotten in to a package of Ramen Noodles. They're scattered all over the kitchen and living room floor. More joy! In fact, joy unspeakable! I leave Rebecca to take some aspirin and clean up the mess. She takes a two hour nap. I head back to work to sit in meetings and wish I was taking a nap.

"Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2" - Review

I went with my 14-year-old daughter to see this movie. She loved the first one, I don't remember much about it. I found Sisterhood 2 to be very slow. America Ferrera was excellent and out shown the other actresses. I much preferred "Mamma Mia." As far as the story lines, it deals with the real-life dramas of four friend's lives who share one pair of jeans. The stories seem pretty realistic. Maybe that's why I didn't enjoy it as much--too real. I like to escape when I go the movies. Here's my daughter's comment" "i liked it" - becaaaa!

Going to the movie and eating popcorn also confirmed that I can't tolerate movie theater popcorn anymore. I thought it was the fake butter topping that was making me ill, but it's the popcorn. It's funny, I can eat popcorn popped at home in oil or the microwave, but no more movie theater popcorn for me. I guess it's the price I must pay for getting older. Now that I think of it, I'll save some money not paying $10 for popcorn.

Buh Bye Guilt

A friend of mine told me to checkout this article written by Dr. Alvin Reid and Jonathan Merritt for Relevant Magazine. I loved what it had to say because I've experienced these guilty feelings--in fact, they've plagued me my entire Christian, church-going life. Here's an excerpt:

" ... while guilt should be a natural reaction to sin from a regenerate heart, the Christian faith should never be driven by a sense of duty, guilt or entitlement. Instead, we should be driven to lives of holiness by passion—passion for God, passion for the lost, passion for the Gospel, passion for each other. ... A guilt-driven faith will certainly go through the motions. It will drive you to action. But a passion-driven faith forces us to tell everyone we know about the great idea that can change the world. It will drive you to a lifestyle."

To the read the entire article, click on this link:
http://relevantmagazine.com/god_article.php?id=7550

If you've experienced these guilty feelings, I hope you go and check out the article. It helped me.

More Fun on the Lake

Tubing on Lake Allatoona

A Note About Animal Carcasses

I heard back from some of you to go ahead and blog about what was real and to be myself. So here goes ...

Like most cats, our proud hunter likes to bring her spoils to the door and drop them on the mat. One day a couple of weeks ago, I went out back on our deck and noticed that pungent odor of dead animal. I thought it was coming from down below. I go and investigate. Nothing there. When I come back up the stairs, I notice the carcass of a dead rat. It's obviously been there more than one day. Now, I was tired. I thought, I'll leave it for the buzzards. They were just hanging out the other day on our neighbor's house. They'll come and take care of it for me. Remember, I was really tired or just plain stupid, probably the latter. A day or so later, when the buzzards hadn't come, I decide that I better take care of the ballooning animal. Gross! Gross! Gross! NEVER leave it there. Dispose of it immediately! I won't go into gory details, but I had to hold my nose with one hand while using the shovel with the other. I'm a goof and a dork, I know.

Don't Mess with the Cat!

We have a little black cat named Kiki. She's adorable and a great cat. She loves our Vizsla, Gracie. She grooms her and jumps up to greet her--it's pretty wild. Earlier this week I noticed several times that while Kiki was outside, a gray bird--I think it was a mocking bird--would swoop down on her. The bird would kind of do dive bombs while she was on the deck or walking through the yard. Well, the other morning, I went out back to take the dog out. When I got down to the bottom of the stairs, I noticed Gracie sniffing something. I went over to look. All that was there was a pile of gray feathers. I think that mocking bird learned it's lesson--don't mess with the cat!