I got tagged!

I was tagged by Jen, so here we go:

The Rules: Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog. or Share the 5 top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list. or Share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when your were 25 years old. Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.

1. I was in the Navy for almost 5 yrs, which is where I met my wonderful husband, Rick.

2. Rick proposed to me while we were in Italy (the exact location has been disputed for over 20 years) He says it was on a train from Rome to Naples, I say it was under a street lamp not far from the train station in Naples. After 20 years, does it REALLY matter - fact is, there is no dispute that I said "Yes!!"

3. I was also in the flag corp in High School just like Jen and Robyn!! Who knew! I also played the flute in High School band. Holcombe Pryor was our band director, who lead very accomplished bands over the years. For those of you who may not know the significance, Holcombe's son (who graduated in my sister's class) is Bill Pryor, 11th Circuit Federal Judge (my brush with "fame"). I thought the lawyers in my circles would know him, anyway!!!

4. I LOVED softball as a kid and always have!!! I played 8 years as a child and 2-3 years since Rick and I have been married. My back issues have forced me out of the game, but I still ache to be back on the field. It was not until I came to Montgomery that I was exposed to fast-pitch!!! Man, that would have been fun to learn to play!!!!

5. I claim to be a chocoholic, but my kids are not convinced. I can have chocolate in the house and not DEVOUR it, but.........when the craving HITS (and they always do!!) if my chocolate is not where I left it, I can be VERY difficult to pacify.

6. I love anything mechanical! In that respect, our marriage is reversed. I love to fix things and Rick LOVES to cook. I have replaced brakes, done tune-ups, replaced garbage disposals, a water heater, and completely gutted the sink/vanities in our old house and replace it all (starting at the pipe coming out of the wall, everything!!!) I love making things work!!

Ok, these were very weird, and very random. Enjoy. Trying to find someone in this loop who has not been tagged is tough, so let's try Rick, Cait, Brett and April, and......wait a minute, everyone else has been tagged!!!! Oh, well. I may have to e-mail the tag to other friends that have not joined the world of BLOG!!!!

Everything is Good!

Mom's exam went well yesterday - the doctor said her valve leak did not warrant open heart surgery. She was released and told to see her heart doctor in a few weeks. I want to thank everyone for your prayers. Please continue to pray for my Dad as he tries to battle his pneumonia/pleurisy. His ribs were very sore yesterday,

Sandwich Generation - update

Ok, here's the latest. Dad is home with pneumonia and pleurisy, but not productively coughing like he needs to in order to clear his chest. While it's painful to cough with the pleurisy, it is a necessity in order to clear the pneumonia. It's a process he must endure.

As for Mom, when she was in the hospital, one of the tests revealed she had a heart murmur (which had not been identified before now). She saw her doctor yesterday and it was confirmed that she has a leaky aortic valve. She is schedule for a TEE (Trans esophageal echocardiogram) Monday at 10:30am. She has asked me to come down, which I will do.

Please keep both of my parents in your prayers as well as my travels. Rick and the kids could also use prayers as they adjust while I'm away. If all goes well, this will only be a day trip, but I am packing a few days' clothing just in case.

Food for Thought

This is interesting info... You are what you eat, so eat well. A stupendous insight of civilizations past has now been confirmed by today's investigative, nutritional sciences. They have shown that what was once called 'The Doctrine of Signatures' was astoundingly correct. It now contends that every whole food has a pattern that resembles a body organ or physiological function and that this pattern acts as a signal or sign as to the benefit the food provides the eater. Here is just a short list of examples of Whole Food Signatures.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and science shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Grapefruits, Oranges, and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

Update

Ok, Mom was release Friday evening, but she is fine - no damage.

Then, Sunday my Dad was taken via ambulance to the same hospital with pneumonia. Mom was relieved it was not more serious, but at his age, this is serious enough.

We are in hopes that Dad will be released Tuesday - please keep them in prayer.

Thanks

The Sandwich Generation

I got a slight scare last Thursday night when my Dad called from Mobile to tell me my Mom was in the hospital due to chest pains - long story short - she thinks it was a reaction to something she ate. I can see that, since she and I have both had our gall bladder removed. Not having one, there are some foods that produce high volumes of cilium (gas) that is difficult for your body to break down without the gall bladder. I have experienced VERY intense chest pains myself and knew what it was that I ate that caused it. Since Mom had 3 stints put in Sept 2006, they were taking no chances.

She passed the stressed test well (took effort to raise her heart level to 120) so she was released around 6pm Friday.

Today, I received a call from my brother after we got home from church asking if I received his 3 previous messages - now I'm worried. But it's not Mom - it's Dad. He was taken to the hospital this morning via ambulance due to chest pains. They have ruled out heart trouble (which is good - he had a heart attack while in ICU May 2005). From what my brother is relaying, Mom is saying "it's just pneumonia". While we are grateful it is not his heart, my bother and I are both concerned given my Dad's general health these days.

Please keep both my parents in prayer. I may also be traveling to Mobile so keep that in prayer too - my road time and time away from home.

Down for the count (almost!)

Well, it was bound to happen, but the timing could have been worse. Just as I returned to work Wed, the drainage started in my throat. By the time we were settling back in after church, the scratchiness was really bad. I did the usual to take care of it, but I was already done for - I have not been back to work since. I really need to be back Monday because we have registration - we'll see!

This one really hit "fast and furious"! But I think I was just as quick on getting the meds into so I hope the healing is just as fast.

What a New Year's!!!

On a last minute whim, I bought late gifts for the kids when I found out Trans-Siberian Orchestra was going to be at BJCC New Year's Eve. Rick had heard the ads, but had not considered going. I knew he and Sean were fans of their music and Cait and I enjoy it too. So, I got the tickets. It was GREAT!!!!

We had hoped to have dinner in Bham before the concert since it did not start until 9:30pm, but my work delayed our departure, so it was McD's on the way (boo!) We arrived and parked by 8:45pm so it was a relaxed time to get to our seats and get situated. The kids were in awe of the balloon nets surrounding the arena! And that was before the first note was played!!!
Let me just say that we all really enjoyed the concert. I like the music, but the show, lights, pyrotechnics, all if it was well worth the money. I'm not sure what either of us expected, but we sure got our money's worth. As predicted by the presence of the balloon nets, the concert was timed to stop just before midnight to countdown until 12:00 then the balloons were let go, but that was not all - confetti seemed to come from EVERYWHERE!I was excited for the children and was all set to head on back to Montgomery, all filled with a great evening together at a great show - but..... we were asked to have take our seats again - the concert then continued!!! I thought ok a song or two to wrap up and then we go, but NO, the show went on for another 45 minutes!!! Then the GREAT pyrotechnics REALLY began - the picture does not come close to doing this justice!

Ok, we're done, overflowing with satisfaction - BUT THEN.......

Tommy Shaw (lead singer from STYX!!!) came out and did two numbers - "Blue Collar Man" and Renegade". We were completely OVERWHELMED!!!! We received our money's worth in abundance!!!!! I was so shocked that I only have a short clip, but you get the gist - Tommy Shaw with Trans-Siberian Orchestra!!!

What a night!!! The kids were in awe, we were in awe, but that's not it! We stayed for the "meet and greet" afterward and the kids had a program signed by members of the band. The guitar players had pics and we all got one from each guitar player (I gave my set to Sean!) And they were not what I expected (cold, distant, robotic...) Each person we saw was kind, interactive, and seemed genuinely glad we came to the concert as a family.

We did not get back home until 4am, but Sean's last words were "Mom, Dad - you rock!!" Can't even express how that made us feel - we all enjoyed the show and had a great New Year's 2007!