Category Archives: Family Times

July 3, 2012 · 11:23 pm

Time for “Now and Then!”

Have you ever seen Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? Your first view of the dwarfs is not at home…but at work. “We work, work, work, work, work, work, work–we work all night and day! In a mine! (echos) In a mine! (echos).” 🙂 Not surprising that their carts are full of all sorts of different gems and so easily found. Classic for sure! But with the Fourth of July right around the corner, I am remembering good days in the old mining town–Creede, Colorado.

Creede is located in the San Luis Valley…go much much farther than the city limits and you are in mining mountain territory. Growing up, the mines were not active but they had the mining museum open so you could see how the miners back in the late 1800’s mined for silver. Currently, a mine called The Last Chance Mine still operates. Back in 1889, Nicolas Creede found silver in the mountains above what is now known as Creede, CO. He yelled to his partner, “Holy Moses! I’ve found it!” and they staked their claim as the Holy Moses mine. The Last Chance was also during this era.

Then. (My sisters and I at the mining museum.)

Growing up, we went up to Creede/surrounding areas a lot during the summer months. Some of the shops close for winter, but Creede still thrived as a town during the winter months too. Thinking of the history of Creede–it is amazing that it is still alive and thriving today! The Silver Panic of 1893 left Creede in a bind. When things reopened most went to Leadville to mine for silver there. In the early 1900’s, the town went through a few fires and floods. Most of the buildings that you see today are not the originals from 1890’s but from after the fires/floods. Some, however, are still there.

Creede is best known for their Fourth of July celebrations. Big town parade, kid events digging for treasures in a saw dust pile (huge pile!!!), souvenir shops, rock-drilling contests, and of course the fireworks from the mountains above.

Creede is also famous for the Western outlaws that came for the silver rush in the 1890’s. “Soapy Smith” and his gang, Bob Ford–the man who shot Jesse James, Ed O’Keffey–the man who shot the man who killed Jesse James (lame, but that is why he shot Bob Ford), and Poker Alice. All in Creede. 🙂 Wow! All interesting characters and part of the good ol’ West!!!

 Creede Theater and Hotel. The theater has amazing play productions! My favorite: Our Town. I remember my older sister saying that we should leave after the second act. Now I know why, I cried the whole third act!

This past June, during our time in CO, my mom and I got to spend a day in Creede while the others hiked (they went to The Last Chance Mine). Mom and I finally went to the Creede Museum! After all those years…so glad we did that, because there is so much history in there! Old photographs, household items, an old saloon bar counter, and also the old Creede Hotel piano. I forget his name, but some famous self-learned piano player played for the guests at the hotel. It said on the piano that he could not read music but played by ear. He “read” a catalogue…he flipped different sections for different moods. They even had the catalogue there and a picture of him at the piano (you can see the book behind him). 🙂 I thought that was great!

During our day at Creede, we also got in on the latest of the “Hollywood gossip” about Johnny Depp’s upcoming movie, The Lone Ranger, in which he plays Tonto. They are filming part of the movie behind Creede! There was all this buzz about the movie. Some of the locals (and others in the valley) are in the movie as background people in scenes. The man who took the picture of my mom and I by the fudge shop was talking about his role that started filming that night…a night shooting scene, ooohhhh! Cool! Our family does not go to the movies often–I did a lot in college, but I don’t anymore since it is a waste of money with no captions. BUT, we did all decide that May 31, 2013…we will be going to see the new film (just because we want to see the parts filmed in CO). 🙂 This is the closest I will ever get to big time Hollywood-ness:

The road to the mines is closed for filming.

 If I see a windy scene…I will know what caused it. 🙂

I also think the whole Colorado history is amazing–how it all ties together. Nicolas Creede sold the mine in 1890 to David H. Moffat, who owned the Denver & Rio Grande railroad. There are stations all across the state where the railroad used to run from town to town. It was the biggest form of traveling. The museum had the prices for the trip routes. It took over a full day to get from Denver to Creede. Major stops were in Pueblo, Alamosa and Wagon Wheel Gap (in between South Fork and Creede). The last stop was in Creede.

The train station is now the Creede Museum.

Creede is quite the town. I think I like it so much because of the community. It is close-knit; it is genuine. They are proud of their history and welcome all travelers to share the experience. If you are ever in Colorado…the mining towns are a neat experience. Full of history and treasures. You just never know what you might find!!

For more readings and interests:

http://www.lastchancemine.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ford_(outlaw)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210819/

http://www.creede.com/

http://www.denverandriogranderailroad.com/

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June 22, 2012 · 12:16 am

Start of Summer

I am sure you all have heard of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18. It starts with, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” I have a hard time understanding Shakespeare, but besides that point…here is my (unquote) Shall I tell thee of Mel’s summer days?! (unquote). 🙂

Wednesday was the first day of summer. Although the day was full of fatigue, a bloody ear and headache, work and a nap…it ended with sunshine, helping my mom pick greens from her garden and then watching Lord of the Rings: A Fellowship of the Ring (disk one). Pretty pleasant day indeed. 🙂

Yesterday started out early. I did not have to rush drinking my coffee, actually had time to put on all my makeup and leave on time for work. My mom surprised me by saying “hello” at work during the busiest hour. And when I got off work, we went to Pier 1 and found a cute little patio table that is decorated on the top with tiles of mosaic colors/patterns. Topped it off with grilled chicken and green peppers for dinner (delicious!!!). Not a bad summer day! But the best part of the day was seeing the new baby blue birds in the bird house. I stood on a chair and used a flashlight to peek inside. My mom thinks there are three baby birds, but I think I just saw the tiny head of one in the back. Talk about bed head!! 😉 The blue birds here are beautiful! The males are a vibrant color! I also enjoy seeing the Golden Finches too…but they are yellow. 😉

Speaking of trees, it is now time for our answer to the “What am I?” game I posted about a week ago. I know your eager minds must be anticipating the results (LOL)…so let’s give it up for Cynthia and Marilyn who answered correctly! [Applause] I asked, “What am I?” to this picture:

Answer: Aspen trees!!!

I love Aspen trees! They are tall, thin trees with bark like chalk. It gets your hands and clothes white if you lean up against it. But they are beautiful trees! Each has their own personality. We saw some funny ones in Creede. Thanks to my mom for the pictures. Mine did not turn out as detailed.

Four eyes (literally)

Sad cyclops.

 

A jolly fellow winking.

 Nature’s mascara

See what I mean? No two trees are alike. In the fall, Aspen trees turn a bright yellow. The mountains just light up! I feel this will be especially true of this year, because most of the pines are being destroyed by the beetles. We drove over Wolfe Creek Pass and most pine trees are dead. Sad. Here is a picture I took on a horse back ride my senior year of high school. Not bad for a film camera. 🙂

 See the yellow trees? Such a pretty sight!!! What is your favorite tree?

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June 17, 2012 · 10:38 pm

Father’s Day!

At lunch today, Mom asked if I would say the blessing for the food. I start out saying thank you for Dad and all he has done for the family…”please help him to relax today and resist the temptation to mow the grass….” (I see my parents start to laugh.) Half way through lunch, it starts to rain. Dad took a nap this afternoon. 🙂

Dad is a hardworking man. I can talk to him about any subject and he knows something about it. I ask him my hard questions. He also appreciates my dry humor and understands my disease better than I do. When we are at doctors appointments, he is the one to ask the questions.

He is my inspiration for balancing my checkbook every month and did not condemn me when I came home my sophomore year of college extremely in the hole. Instead, he sat me down in the kitchen and helped me go through my piles of receipts and bank statements and somehow managed to guide me back to figuring out my current (dollar and cents amount)…notice the (-). LOL. Right before we started he said, “Now, when you get in situations like this the first thing you do is…” but I cut him off figuring he would say something about writing every transaction in my check register book. He looked at me and said, “No. You eat ice cream!!!” And then proceeded to scoop the ice cream and added chocolate syrup and sprinkles on top. 🙂

My dad has also chosen to serve the Lord. You recall how Joshua (in the Bible) was commanded to walk around the city of Jericho? God calls us to do things that might not make sense or at the time seem relevant, but it is the act of obedience that God rewards. I have seen God work in my dad’s life. Somethings were hard and did not make sense at the time, but God has remained faithful. Joshua 24:14-15 reads,

Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.  Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Although I never knew Daddy Cory, God has blessed me with my dad. I am so proud to be his girl! I also thank God for the blessings of my three Grandpa’s. Happy Father’s Day to you, Grandpa P., Grandpa F., and Grandpa M. And Happy Father’s Day to my dad!!! I love you so much!

Most recent picture…hiking to Treasure Falls in Colorado.

❤

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June 16, 2012 · 11:59 pm

A day in Pompeii.

Have you ever seen the early ’90’s classic TV show called, Saved by the Bell? I find the show reruns to be very humorous. Anyway, on the show…Zach Morris is the main character. He is the one who comes up with the schemes and plans that usually get him into trouble. When things start going haywire, Zach says, “Time out!” using a “T” motion with his hands and the screenplay freezes while Zach talks about a new direction that the conversation or series of events should go about.

So, if you read my last post about the start of my Colorado trip added with the excitement of showing you more pictures and the “What am I?” game–in keeping with the football theme–I would like to call a time out. 🙂

Yesterday, my mom and I set out for Cincinnati for an appointment. Although this time it was not at Children’s Hospital but the Good Samaritan Hospital a few minutes down the road. There ended up being more one way streets than we anticipated so a few times around the block passing a huge high school (think High School Musical look) and the University of Cincinnati, we finally found our destination. The appointment went well and fast (just an occupational therapy test, so no worries of much going on). Since we were on a different section of town, we decided to check out the Cincinnati Museums Center.

Here it is: home to several museums, Cincinnati Amtrak and a research library. Also home of the Pompeii exhibit until August 12, 2012!!  I liked the structure of the building. On the front by the doors it has in the stone an inscription of 1931 along with information of the time capsule there.

You view Cincinnati from the parking lot…

…but it is the inside that captures your attention!

We each ate a slice of pizza and made our way down to the Pompeii exhibit by 1:30. Phenomenal! It reminded me of touring a museum in Greece. Seeing the artifacts up close…most of the styles were mimics of Greek art anyway. Pompeii was a Roman city during Emperor Vespasian. The city was filled with temples to the gods, mostly to Baccus–the god of wine and vegetation–because the area was very fertile there with grapes, olives, grains. Also, Neptune–the god of the sea and Apollo–god of the sun were very popular, but you saw mamy different statues. During the exhibit, there were also a lot of fauns.

The displays were set up like you were walking through a section or street of town. They showed how they did laundry (definitely not how we do it today…be thankful someone invented bleach!); their markets, how they cooked, their private rooms, how they bathed (extremely clean people…the women even wore makeup!); the amphitheatre with gladiators and their armor; the house structures and gardens. They even had a system of pipes to bring clean water into the house while another section of the pipe went out to their gardens. Their foyer areas when you walked in the house set the tone of the house. One had a tile art of a dog and the inscription said, “Beware of the dog.” Interesting, huh!? I think the house structures were my favorite to learn about. They even had a pool in that front foyer area that would collect rain water. They had artifacts of all things: pots, pans, wine vessel, water buckets, dentist and doctor tools, jewelry, mirrors, garden statues and pillars, and statues of the gods. To think all this and the people were frozen in time all these years.

As you went through towards the end, the mood started to shift. It became more quiet. Then they had this video that played continuous about the last 24 hours of Pompeii. It was set up like you were viewing the city looking at Mt. Vesuvius. The morning around 8am looks normal, then by 1pm it is raining balls of ashes that was burning the city. By the end, you hardly see anything. It is said that what killed most people of Pompeii was the pyroclastic cloud which basically just suffocated them almost immediately. Pompeii was lost under almost 13 feet of ashes. It was not rediscovered until the mid 1700’s! When they started finding the bodies, they made a plastic cast of the original and that is what we saw. The detail. The expressions.

This one might have been a slave. See the shackles on his feet? Those are real.

This one is a dog. The sign talked about how the owner probably had chained the dog to guard the house and then it tried to escape. The metal rings on its collar are real.

Pompeii and Herculaneum were completely destroyed yet preserved when the volcano erupted in 79 AD.

The exhibit quoted much of Pliny the Younger’s letters to Tacticus (who was a historian). I read that Pliny the Elder (uncle of Pliny the Younger) was killed in Pompeii. Pliny the Younger wrote two letters…they would be a great place to start reading if you are interested for more information. He gives eye-witness accounts. I own Tacticus’ The Annals of Imperial Rome, but hope to get to read Pliny’s letters soon. The amount of things to read never ends. That is why I find history so compelling!

I got a little silly when we left–

Here I am imitating a way that a person of authority would pose in a manner when they were about to make an address to the peoples. You see it on statues all the time:

When I got home, I announced to the family that the next time we are eating dinner and I want to say my two cents worth in the conversation, I will raise my hands like this…just wait until I do it at a restaurant. HAHA.

Ceasar demonstrates speaking to the crowd at the ampitheatre.

More to come…

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June 13, 2012 · 10:18 pm

Kick off.

Sorry if you were expecting a post about football. Although being in Broncos territory for 11 days was fantastic! In fact, I just put a Broncos bumper sticker on my car next to my “Colorado” bumper sticker. 🙂

During my time in Colorado, I had many thoughts. It was a time of reflection. My conversations with friends were as if I had never left. And, I realized that while all my years of looking at the mountains for my sense of direction was brilliant, I took them for granted. They never seemed so big to me as when I stared at them during the trip. I kept thinking of the verse in Psalm 97 where it reads:

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.

(verse 5-6)

My time in Denver was amazing! I got to see so many more friends and places than I was anticipating. It was during those days that I asked God, “Remind me again why I moved from this place and all these people that I love?” I don’t think God really answered my question, because I already knew the answer. So, I just enjoyed every minute of each day. Here are some highlights of Denver: my best friend from my home town renewed her vows on their 2nd year anniversary. It was a beautiful mountain wedding ceremony. In church on Sunday, I surprised the people in the Deaf section whom I had known. They had no idea I was in town and were so surprised when I walked in. 🙂 I got to meet Baby M for the first time!!! He is SO CUTE!! I got to see my old professor and a few old roommates. And I got to see my dear friends from Westside during a dinner at Senior Burritos!!!

On the way out of Denver, we stopped at “Grandma G’s” to say hello! Then we took 285 south to my hometown area in the San Luis Valley. I snapped a bunch of pictures of the scenery! The sky was so blue. I spent the next three days seeing my sister and brother-in-law. We all stayed at a cabin in South Fork. We went to Creede, hiked to Treasure Falls, did some fishing (well, I sat and talked to my sister during that time) and enjoyed a bit of mountain air (I could not get enough of it…literally, I was wheezing!) We also visited our home church during their VBS and I got to see my friends at my old work place.

Friday morning, my parents drove me up to Pueblo for another wedding. It was my roommate of 5 1/2 years during college days. Another beautiful wedding! We had a fun time hanging out in the city of Pueblo. I enjoyed getting to know their families, because I had only known the bride and groom. It was a great way to end the vacation.

I am so thankful for the renewing time in Colorado. I am excited to get to share with you more stories and pictures in the days to come. 🙂 But first, our kick off will be a picture game. It is the game of “What am I?” See if you can guess what the picture is. Ready?

Can you guess what I am? 🙂 Hint: One of Mel’s favorite things in Colorado! (Besides the mountains! LOL).

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May 31, 2012 · 2:32 am

Colorado

My thoughts the past few days have been consumed with memories. Colorado. Mmmm, it has been a long time since I have sat down and been totally overwhelmed with thoughts, especially of my favorite things, people and places. Sort of like a noun…a noun can be people, places, things or an idea. There is also proper nouns. Colorado. It sort of fits in all those categories! That is a pretty good noun!!!! 🙂

Blue skies, no humidity, snow peaks, sunsets, friends, family, and my favorite city in the world: Denver.

I love Denver. I loved the neighborhood I lived in…it put me ten minutes from the mountains and less than ten minutes from Downtown. People would ask where I was from. “Denver,” I replied. It sounded so cool. Denver is home of my favorite sports teams, coffee shops, and parks. I also thought the art museum was amazing, bonus free admission on the first Saturday of the month. Denver on the map makes sense. The streets are numbered horizontally and most streets going vertically go from farthest north to farthest south. Sometimes I would just get in my car and drive around the city. By the time I left, I was a city driver! I could even parallel park Downtown!

There is so much about Denver that I love. Most of my thoughts this week were of Denver. Of my “family” I left behind. Thoughts just came at different moments during the day…the fun memories, the bad memories, the places I visited often or drove past daily. College memories. Post-grad life. My old roommates and the times we had together. Walking across the street to my best friend’s apartment to hang out. My first paintings. Going to work in the morning with the sun rising in my rear view mirror…while I was looking towards the purple mountains and blue sky out of my front windshield. Hanging out with my downtown ministry on Thursdays…there is not a day that goes by where I do not think of those kids.

It is hard to believe that a whole year has come and gone. It was last year during this week that I was saying my goodbyes. The year has been a crazy one! Far more than I ever dreamed of, but still…Denver holds that title…”Home.” I think it will just always have that title.

But there is so much more of Colorado to see past the cities. Although I must say Colorado Springs was another favorite place!! You get past the cities to the small towns in the mountains (or at least surrounded by mountains). The ranches, cattle, crops, rodeos!!! My sister and I shared a room that faced the crops across the road. There was nothing like falling asleep to the sound and smells of fresh-cut barely to the hums of the combines. Then the cows in the pasture out back would take on the encore…not so beautiful. LOL.

Looking back, the town I grew up in was perfect. Growing up I did not think that way…it actually took moving to Denver for me to realize that fact. 🙂

Our hometown was like the song of Cheers…

Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.

Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn’t you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go,

Where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.

You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same;

You wanna be where everybody knows Your name.

There are things of a small town that I love. For one, we knew everyone at school in all grades. Yes, that is possible…and we were not that small of a school but small enough. I still regularly chat with my close girlfriends from those days. Others will send me emails to ask how I am doing. I think that is special. Which brings me to the main point of small towns…everyone knows everything about everyone else. In other words, word travels fast. 🙂

There are so many fun things to do in the surrounding mountains. Every summer we would take a camping trip. Camping…in a tent and most of the time where there were no outhouses. Yeah, nature’s luxury at best. Hiking, canoeing, and my not so favorite of fishing. There is an old mining town about an hour away…that is my favorite mountain town!! In the summer, they set of 4th of July fireworks from the mountains above town. Sitting on a hill on the other side was always cold but had the greatest view. There were a bunch of tourist shops…best coffee and fudge around!

I am sure by now you might be wondering about all this random chat about Colorado. First, I think it is because I realize that God has his own unique way of answering my prayers. I wanted to move closer to family but did not realize at the time how hard adjusting would be after spending my whole life (minus the first 6 years) in Colorado. But looking back over the one year here, I have seen so much family! I love my family. And now part of my family is back in Colorado…talk about vacations!!! Whoo hoo!

Speaking of which, I should be packing. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE TIME HAS COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 As of a few hours, I will be IN COLORADO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My thoughts have been so consumed with this all weekend!!! I could not focus last night…so I sat down and read Psalm 139. It really is an amazing Psalm about God knowing us from even before we are born…he knows the plans he has for us (Jeremiah 29:11). I wanted to read this Psalm mostly because I wanted to control my anxious thoughts. Verse 23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

So there I sat. I just started talking to God about all these things in my head…I was trying to plan out what I could see in my short time there…but my anxious thoughts were becoming overwhelming. It was almost like driving in the mountains but you spend the whole time reading a book (which I will refrain from doing. I am only taking it for the plane rides and for if we go fishing. 🙂 ) But do you see what I mean? I finally realized the best way to go to Colorado is to let go of my past memories and take in new ones. I can stop planning because I don’t have to see everything…there is not enough time anyway. But I can enjoy what I do see and the people I see it with. My anxious thoughts are calm, but I still can say, “I can’t wait!!!” 😀

P.S. I do hope to see one of these. 😀

We liked this song growing up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwARpaKHx_w

References:

http://www.denverartmuseum.org/

http://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/cheerslyrics.html

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+139&version=NASB

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May 18, 2012 · 10:07 pm

Running the Race.

Last week, I finished Kathy Van Riper’s autobiography called, A Race Worth Running. A friend had given me the book as a birthday present last year and I put off reading it for obviously a good year. I am not sure if that was God timing, but I think I got more out of it now–being a year later–as I have been through a bit more experiences in my physical body, such as the blood clot. I was so emotional reading the book that after I finished I was talking with my mom and just started crying (a variety of things), but I pointed to the book on the couch and said, “I don’t know why this book has made me so emotional.” Mom looked at me and said, “Probably because you can relate to what she went through.”

I thought about this. It is probably true. If you compared my life to Kathy’s life, there are some extreme differences: she was married, had two kids, battled an extreme case of breast cancer for ten years, and lived in CA her whole life–and yet we also had similarities: We both loved running (I can’t physically anymore, but love walking!); we both had treatments on the same chemo called Avastin (although she went through ten other different chemo treatments; I have only been through two.) We both had a blood clot with all the blood thinner shots and pills that follow; we both lost our hair; we both had radiation; we both were (and I still am) supported by an amazing circumference of family and friends who love endlessly and share support during the good and bad times; we both had to switch hospitals and doctors after years of care offered by another one; and we both have faith. Kathy’s faith is now complete. I am still on the journey.

Kathy’s “life verse” was Hebrews 12:1-2,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

I put in bold the phrase that she quoted most often in her journal entries that were at the end of the book. Kathy was a runner. Unlike myself who ran cross-country in high school but hated the races, Kathy thrived in races–anything from 5k, 10k to marathons. Whether you run or not, running as if in a race is almost the strength and perseverance mind-set for life: “[Forgetting] what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13b-14.

When I ran cross-country in high school, training was what got me through the races. For training, we would run on a variety of things during the week: grass, sidewalks through town, and other times, run up the mountain. I remember this one place…not quite sure where exactly in the mountains…but all of a sudden after you “warmed up” running the road, it just turned into a straight shot up the mountain. Rocks everywhere, so steep. It was literally a “breath-taking” view! 🙂 Coach always encouraged us to never stop. Never. So even though I was bringing up the rear end of the team while running slower than most people’s walking speed, I never stopped. After you got over that huge steep hill, things leveled out. Sure, it was still a mountain, but it was more like the hiking paths and less gruesome. Even after all this training, sometimes during the races I would want to give up. But then I would remember and say to myself, “Pull yourself together. You trained harder than this.” And I would not stop. Mental determination. The finish line was my goal. And that was the best part, because as you near the end you start to hear the cheers from everyone at the finish line. You pick up the pace, knowing that the finish line was just ahead. You forgot about the rest of the race…how much pain or how many people passed you. You strived to the end with all strength left in you. The verse that was so special to Kathy fit her life–her personality, her faith, and her race against cancer. The common phrase for people who have died from cancer is, “They lost the fight.” Indeed, our lives are worth fighting for but after reading Kathy’s book…I would not say that she lost the fight. Rather, she finished her race.

“Pressing on towards the goal”–I have shared Kathy’s favorite verse. I would like to share with you now my favorite verse. It is from II Corinthians 12:9-10,

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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I had started running in the 7th grade…slacked off here and there, and in college, I started going to the gym every night. Not much kept me from the gym each night in college. I think it was my own way of “pressing on” during those times. I loved it. Something happened after I graduated, I stopped exercising every night and lost a little determination for a bit. I lived close to some different parks in my neighborhood and started walking there. I loved seeing the season changes and talked to God while I walked a few miles. My old job was also connected to a mall which had an indoor mile lap and I would often walk during my lunch breaks. Please understand me when I say this…as this pertains to my life and mental determination: When I either give up exercising, or can’t exercise from health reasons, I see a change. Like my attitude changes about how I see things in life…big struggles seem even harder, and even little things seem so hard. I told my mom about Kathy’s life during our conversation that night I finished the book–how she would go on mile runs a few days after chemo treatments. I said, “I don’t think I could do that,” as if it made me feel guilty for not getting out for walks lately or getting a few other things done that were stacking up in my room (which it sort of did). Mom said I didn’t have to. We were all made different.

Then I thought back to times in Denver. I worked Thursday-Saturday eight hour shifts. The weeks of chemo I worked Thursday, chemo Friday and then back to work Saturday-Sunday. Regardless of how much I tried to talk to work about changing this schedule, it never did. For months this happened. I think that is where my favorite verses really set in…”When I am weak, then I am strong,” because it was almost my reminder of my semester in college when I was on chemo pills. I don’t know how I got out of bed then, or on the weekends of work after chemo. Definitely not on my own…but on God’s strength.

The thing is, most people look at me and say the exact thing of what I said about Kathy’s life, “I don’t think I could do that.” And I would tell you, “You don’t have to. We are all made different.” God gives me strength to endure, just like he gave his strength to Kathy. He gives it according to our need. I think that is what makes life so special. We all have our own race–our own life worth running…enduring through pain, encouraging others and in return receiving it, rejoicing with those who have crossed the finish line, and striving for what lies ahead.

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May 17, 2012 · 2:54 pm

Chickpea Nibble Recipe

I think the Disney movie, Ratatouille, made a great point: “Anyone can cook.” Although there are some such as myself who stretch the line a bit, it is a great motto for any persons new in the kitchen. In the movie, Remy (a rat) helps the new garbage boy, Linguini (sounds like a pasta, lol), to create wonderful recipes while in secret working from under Linguini’s toque. I always laugh when Linguini runs around the kitchen holding up spices to his hat so Remy can smell them. HAHA. 😀 Although I cannot run around the kitchen and smell things, I did decide to try a recipe I found in an old Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

Ready for more name humor? The recipe is called “Chickpea Nibble.” 🙂 I just found that so funny, I actually took time to read the small paragraph of the recipe. It seemed so simple, so I put it to the test. They turned out EXCELLENT! So delicious! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

19 oz can of chickpeas [I used two 15 oz cans and it worked just fine!]

2 Tbs of extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp of salt

A pinch of ground pepper [but I added a good-sized amount because I love pepper!]

1/2 tsp of your favorite dried herb or spice [I chose oregano]

Instructions

Drain, rinse and pat dry the chickpeas.

Toss in a bowl with the other ingredients listed above.

Spread them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. [I had put down parchment paper on the bottom of the pan, which was so genius!]

Cook at 300 degrees and stir occasionally until they have browned and begin to crisp. [The recipe says it would be around 50 minutes but mine took a little over an hour. Just keep checking them and taste testing. There is a difference when they start crisping.]

That’s it!!!! So easy and SO GOOD! Healthy too. 🙂 I like to eat them plain, but tonight we are going to finish them with salads!! Big salads of different greens, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and I hope the big red pepper I just noticed in the refrigerator!!! Yum!!!

I guess I will end with a little reversion of what I remember Martha Stewart saying on her tv show (back before the new show…I am talking the OLD show! I thought they were so cool to watch!) I am going to quote this, just because it is my own version, so don’t take it as one of her real quotes. 😀

“With summer sneaking in with longer days of sunshine and green grass, the days of barbeques out on the patio served with potato salads and all sorts of goodies–remember this delicious and simple recipe. These chickpeas are sure to bring delight to all your guests whether served in a small dish or on the salad. It’s a good thing!!” 😀

*Martha Stewart Living Magazine. “Chickpea Nibble.” March 2007, page 72.

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May 14, 2012 · 12:00 am

I love you, Mom!!!!

Yesterday, I tried painting outside.  I decided next time I might just stay inside. 🙂 While I enjoyed a whole afternoon outside with my family, I did not enjoy flies landing on my wet boards, my paint drying too fast as I was trying to paint, and finding a spider crawling on my shorts. I just so happened to be painting with red! I voiced my “Mel scream”–just a big AAHHHH!!!!–and hit my leg with my red paintbrush a few times. I don’t think I killed it (although my shorts and shirt say otherwise), but at least I got it off me! Yuck. I am no fan of spiders! 😛

Otherwise, I did a set of paintings that turned out pretty neat. At first, I was not liking the colors. Somehow they looked better in my mind when I was planning them, but when I put the beads on later, then it turned out really different!! I like it. The beads are not glued on yet, because I ran out of glue. When they are set on, you can make the paintings stand up; they are wooden boxes, not canvases.

 I painted the “o” with a sponge! 🙂

My mom has the gift to see the potential in things. Yesterday, it was a small painting I was trying to do for a friend. I came in the kitchen and said, “See,” with disgust. Mom looked at it and said, “Let me think of some different ideas.” 🙂 Moms are great for that. You hand them anything you make that is not worth the potential and they see beauty in it. We would make Mom bird houses out of milk cartons when we were little and she thought they were great.

Today is Mother’s Day! Happy Mother’s Day to my grandmas! Thank you for your love and godly influence in my life. Happy 1st Mother’s Day to my dear friend–Auntie Mel can’t wait to meet Baby M!!!! 😀 And Happy Mother’s Day to my mom! You are my best friend! Thanks for listening to my thoughts, day of work stories, frustrations and tears, laughs, tacky jokes and questions. Thanks for spoiling Muffy, being with me at appointments, all the times you drove to Denver for chemo and to do fun things. The week we spent at the Hyatt (thank you Broncos!), which were the days before iPhones and GPS…all the wrong turns and one way streets. 🙂 Thank you for the encouraging notes, prayers and Bible verses that bring me hope on the days I have none. The list could go on. I love you so much, more than I could ever write on a blog post. XOXO

My first Mother’s Day

The first time Mom and I were together in Denver was in 5th grade. She was a chaperone for my class field trip to the Capitol and Nature & Science Museum. She bought me a necklace from the souvenir shop. I still have it. 🙂

Right after my surgery, December 2008, to place in my medi-port for the IV chemo treatments I had during that spring of 2009.

Right after a chemo session, 2010. We went to the Art Museum for the King Tut exhibit. Mom was pushing me in a wheel chair and I fell asleep. 🙂 Which was a bummer, because it was such a cool exhibit! Oh well. We hope to go the Pompeii exhibit in Cincinnati soon!

Most recent picture.

❤

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May 11, 2012 · 10:04 pm

[pruh-nuhn-see-ey-shuhn]

This week has been a good week. I restarted a few hours of cashier shifts. Let me clarify that…I said I would do a max of 2 hours cashier each shift. I am so glad I said that because it ended up being more exhausting than I realized. Or maybe it was due to late (LATE) nights on the weekend, because my sister was officially home from college. Much cheer. 😀 Either way, I found Tuesday’s 2 hours in cash office/2 hours of cashier consuming my energy. I came home that afternoon and found myself sitting on my bed watching a bit of tv shows on Hulu while I worked on a wedding gift. Wednesday, I just came home and took a full nap! 😀 I had today off! I am so glad! It was BEAUTIFUL outside!!! I went with my mom on some errands, picked up my bridesmaid dress for a wedding in June (more to come on that in a bit!), took a walk around campus in town and read a lot! I am finishing up an amazing book. I want to tell you about it now, but there are so many thoughts in my head and emotions that I think it is best to finish it (almost done!) and then share my thoughts. It was one of those books where once I started it, I could not put it down!! Good thing I started it Wednesday evening. I only worked 2 hours yesterday, so most of the day otherwise was spent reading. 😀

Yesterday, I got my new glasses! I think they are superb!!! And totally cute too! Here are the sides. Note the lack of eyebrows and perfect eyelashes. 😀

And here is the front:

I got a comment from a friend that they were my “librarian look” glasses. Now, people might think of this as a strange comment, but anyone who knows me–knows that I think librarians are cool (most anyway). CCU librarians probably thought I was an obnoxious student, because even if they were sitting at the desk, I would still come up and ring the bell. LOL. That is my favorite part! 😀 I thought about being a librarian. Who knows. Maybe someday I will be. But for now, I have a few things I need to work on. One–not so much that I talk loud (which is a no-no in public libraries–at least the one in my neighborhood at Denver), but I talk TOO much! So, I need to control my talking, especially when books or my favorite subjects are concerned. A librarian listens and offers good recommendations (and doesn’t reveal the entire plot or ending of books to people). 😉

Also, if I were wanting to be a librarian, I would need to take a bit more caution on my pronunciation of words. I think what is hard for me is that I do not always hear the correct sound when someone is saying the word. Or, I say it like I am reading it. Or, I just don’t know the word and the first time I say it, I say it how it is spelled. Other times, I just get my words mixed up or something with lip-reading is involved. Maybe part of it is my talking too fast or now that my lips move a bit slower on the left side (I now spit when I speak…embarrasing!) maybe that affects my speech. The latter is a bit more an excuse. I have a history with getting my words mixed up or pronouncing things wrong. The first one I remember saying wrong is when I was in junior high…maybe freshman year of high school. I was discussing hair with my dad. Not sure why we were having this conversation, but I was telling him how he should get a toupee though I said: “Dad, you should get a tapoo!” My dad was confused and asked, “What is a tapoo?” I said, “You know…” while pointing to my head. Thankfully, Dad thought it was hilarious and that was the last time I mentioned anything to my dad about a new hairstyle! 🙂

Another time, we were driving through town and I noticed a new shop that opened on Main Street. I said, “Look! Corner Mercantile.” But I pronounced it as “mer-can-til-ee”. My mom liked that one. Once in college, my roommate and I were getting ready to call it a day. She had the top bunk and I slept on the bottom bunk. I was always up later than she was so I thought she was already asleep. I had already taken out my hearing aids and taken my glasses off (the time when I feel a bit like Helen Keller) and my roommate turned over and sat up. Pretty much startled me and she asked if I could get her the vaseline from her desk drawer. Of course I read vaseline clear as day (I had her bend her head down and I stood on my tiptoes to read her lips), but for some odd reason when I opened the drawer, I grabbed the sticky notes. Confused in my brain, I went back to the bunk beds and said, “For some odd reason, ‘vaseline’ looks like ‘sticky notes’ when you read lips.” [It doesn’t. LOL] My roommate said, “That’s because I did ask for the vaseline!” HAHA. We laughed so hard about that one for a long time.

After I graduated, I roomed with several roommates over a year and a half. The last girls I lived with were really fun and made my last of Denver a great experience. I remember one time I had chemo on Friday, December 30th. I went to work the next day (yes, more to come on that in the post about the book!) and as I got home, they invited me to attend Downtown Denver with them for Cheesecake Factory and fireworks. I knew I was tired and cold, but I thought I could attend the fun. We rode the metro to the 16th street mall (first time metro ride for me), but it was not a fun experience. I got such bad cramps, I felt sick! I knew I was having a bathroom problem, so I told the roommate sitting next to me that I was about to be sick and needed to find a bathroom asap when we got off. We found a Walgreens, but they don’t have public restrooms (ugh!) So, we found a Starbucks not too far from there and thanks to the compassionate girls in line, they let me cut and that was that. My hands were so cold, I could not button my pants and just tried to buckle my belt tight. I came out in tears and my dear roommate (her boyfriend was there too) offered to take me back home. 🙂 Anyway, back to pronunciation–two of my roommates worked for a coffee shop called, The French Roaster. They had awesome White Peach ice tea. I went in a lot to read and have tea. Once, I decided to go for breakfast. I was reading the menu and decided to try something new. My roommate’s friend took my order (my roommate later told me this) but I said, “I will try your cinnamon crepes.” But I pronounced it as “creeps.” How was I supposed to know the French italic pronunciation?? LOL. I was so embarrassed after that when I saw the girl. She was so kind about it though and we had a good laugh.

The most recent one, I have to admit was only a few weeks ago. My mom and I were driving back from an appointment and we passed some restaurants, one being a Thai Asian place. My older sister has Celiac disease, so she is not allowed to eat any glutton or wheat products. I know her and her husband love Asian food and so I said, “Too bad she isn’t here so we can go to the Thai food place.” Except I pronounced it as “thigh.” Oops! 😀 Needless to say, we had a good laugh about that one!!! There have been many others, but I can’t think of anymore at the moment. Maybe with more intellectual looking glasses, my phase of mispronunciation will pass. Here’s to hoping. 🙂

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