Gitz Bits 2010: Week 35

Monday, August 30, 2010

Susie left this in my basket out in the hallway.

She’s a nice girl.

And I want you to know that I did not decorate my kitchen to match the new Sonic cups. I’m not that obsessed. But it sure was nice of them to decorate their cups around my kitchen decor. :)

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Dear Rain and Thunderstorms:

As much as I love the sounds you make, and the way you make me wish I was back home at the farm listening to you while reading a book under the tin roof of our patio, you are hell on my body. It’s like having a good looking boyfriend who can sing, but then he makes you run 15 miles uphill in a dead sprint at 6:00 in the morning every day.

Sometimes the pretty just ain’t worth the pain.

I love you a little less every year,

Sara

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

That storm from Tuesday night? It made us lose electricity for a short while. And when it came back on, I thought all was well.

Until the middle of the night when I was roasting.

I got up the next day to my thermostat 10 degrees hotter than I normally keep it. This is a problem because my rib expansion isn’t what it used to be, which makes my lung capacity quite a bit lower than the average person. And for me, the colder the air is the less effort it takes for me to take it in. Which means I really needed the air conditioner fixed pronto.

On the positive side, because the furnace fan kept running, my air purifier was still operational, THANK GOD, so I wasn’t in danger of any reactions.

Anyway, my neighbor Dave came to the rescue, went outside to check on the unit and noticed the corresponding panel to reset the fuse. And sure enough, my air conditioner started running!

One problem: it was running, but not cooling. Yeah, not the miracle I thought it was.

So, I called a repair guy and he said the unit was probably struck by lightening and burned out some doohickey and yada yada yada, they’d be here in the morning to take my money. I happened to be talking to my brother-in-law Jeff at some point that day when he asked me if I’d reset the fuse on the panel inside the house.

wwwhhhhaaaaattt??? [insert ignorant and confused face here]

Yeah. The man saved me a bundle of money just by telling me there were two fuses for air conditioners. I told him he just earned himself another year in the family. Not for the saving me money part as much as the not telling me I’m a total girl about these type of things part. :)

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Hi, my name is Sara. And I’m a procrastinator.

Yep. So, YOU:create was moved to Friday last week and I waited until Thursday to do the canvases. PRO.CRAS.TINA.TION. I was sore and tired on Wednesday and figured... what the heck. I had another day. It’d be fine.

And then I was more sore on Thursday. And I wondered what I had been thinking.

But I have to tell you, while the process of painting didn’t help my body any, it really helped my mind, my spirit and my attitude. Using the lap desk to raise the height helped a lot, and I’m going to keep working on some modifications. Because now that I’m making things again, I realize how much I NEED to be making things again.

There’s something about being productive and creative that makes the effort worth it. If you haven’t been trying one creative thing a week for YOU:create, think about starting... I promise you’ll be glad you did.

Friday, September 3, 2010

This face, my friends, is what keeps me sane and makes me less lonely on a daily basis.

His peeing issues are what makes me want to kill him on a daily basis, but those eyes save his life every single time.

He’s so lucky he’s cute. :)

Saturday, September 4, 2010

As I told you in yesterday’s post, I got to spend an afternoon with Mom and my sister Laura on Saturday. And hugs from them were just what I needed.

You all know I struggle a lot with how I look because of the steroids and Cushing’s. And while I’ve now lost more than half of what I had gained, it’s still a struggle for me to be bigger... to look sick... to not always be able to hide how sick I feel behind a smile and some make up.

But here’s the thing. I barely have any photos of me and my dad together. And the last one we have was taken last November... I was huge and horrified to look in the mirror... and it’s the only picture I let be taken of me that I didn’t delete during the whole time steroids took over my body. I didn’t want Mom to take it, but she really wanted it.

I have no idea why I didn’t delete it.

I still hate how I look in it.

But it’s one of the few photos I have of just me and Dad. Which makes it one of the most important photos of my life. Even if I am the only one who ever sees it, I have it.

And no matter how I feel about how I look, I am never passing up an opportunity to freeze in time with a person I love.

Ever.

PLEASE trust me when I say this to you. Embrace your moment. Whatever it is, however it is. You won’t regret it. Even if you never show it to another soul.

And this one of me and Mom? A keeper.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Candy stopped by on Friday with a Sonic [bless her heart] and some ingredients for me to try a peach fuzzy. On Sunday I peeled a couple, followed her instructions, and...

OH MY WORD, YUM.

It doesn’t settle my stomach like the lime slush, but it made my taste buds

OH SO HAPPY.

So I feel it is only fair that I share:

6 ounces of frozen lemonade, 6 ounces of water, 2 peeled peaches, 1/4 cup of sugar and some ice.

You’re welcome. :)

Thanks for once again sharing my week with me! Click on the button below if you want to go to Jessica’s site and check out the other participants showing off their weekly photos as well:

Weekend Winners

We have a winner!

Actually, we have winners...

Jill F.: These are beautiful Sara! And I love the quote!

and

JennyRain: ok, Hi! I'm back :) and still want a Gitz original :) yippee!

I am so relieved that I can rely on random.org to choose these for me, because I swear I’m tempted to make a canvas for each of you just because I hate not letting everyone win.

But there’s always Thursday, right? :)

I hope you all have had a great and relaxing holiday, and have eaten at least one extra hamburger at a cook out for me! I actually got to see these faces on Saturday:

and seeing my mom and sister Laura is better than any barbeque I can think of.

But you can still have a drink and a burger for me if you want to indulge. :)

YOU:create ... Week 8

Since you all were so incredibly accommodating with pushing YOU:create to Friday this week...

...and since it’s a holiday weekend and everyone is probably traveling and a bit more hit and miss with checking the blog...

...I’ve decided to make this week’s giveaway a little more winnable for you all.

Rather than just make just one of these with my favorite quote I wrote about on Wednesday...

...I ended up making two!

So, I’m going to leave the comments for this one open from now until Sunday night at 11:59pm. And if you want to win one of these two canvases, you can enter with a comment each day between now and then.

That’s three chances to win one of these two canvases!

And I’m totally going with the honor system here, so make sure you leave ONE comment per day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday ... and then I’ll announce the winner on Monday. :)

I hope you all have a great holiday weekend and enjoy the people you love!

I can’t wait to see what you guys came up with this week! Just click below and follow the instructions to link to your project. When it asks you to choose the web or a file for your thumbnail, choose web. Then it will take you to a list of the images on the page you are linking to and you’ll be able to choose a photo to represent your project.

(in)courage: As We Gather

If you’re looking for today’s YOU:create installment, it’s being postponed until tomorrow to make room for today’s (in)courage post. As we celebrate the one year birthday over at the (in)courage blog, we are focusing a lot on community. And on all of you readers as a part of that community.

Below is a snippet of my post that you can read at the site, and I also want to remind you to check out the other post that will go up after mine today, because it’s another chance at a great giveaway through Dayspring!

In May of this year, my oldest nephew graduated from high school. It was one of those moments when I realized why all of my family still thinks of me as a 12-year-old... because sometimes, no matter how much we grow up, people freeze in time in our minds. My nephew is still stuck in my memories as a little dude who would sing Blue Suede Shoes with me and make me read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie at least 15 times in a row.

Even at 18, when I ask him if he knows how much I love him, he’ll respond with, “Around the world and back, Aunt Sara.” And he says it with the same certainty he did when he was three. Knowing how I love him, you can imagine how much I wanted to be there to celebrate his accomplishment.

But I couldn’t be. I was here. As always.

There was a community of people around him, but I wasn’t one of them.

You can read the rest of the post here: As We Gather

And don’t forget to come back for tomorrow’s canvas giveaway :)

*****EDITED to add complete post:

In May of this year, my oldest nephew graduated from high school. It was one of those moments when I realized why all of my family still thinks of me as a 12-year-old... because sometimes, no matter how much we grow up, people freeze in time in our minds. My nephew is still stuck in my memories as a little dude who would sing Blue Suede Shoes with me and make me read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie at least 15 times in a row.

Even at 18, when I ask him if he knows how much I love him, he’ll respond with, “Around the world and back, Aunt Sara.” And he says it with the same certainty he did when he was three. Knowing how I love him, you can imagine how much I wanted to be there to celebrate his accomplishment.

But I couldn’t be. I was here. As always.

There was a community of people around him, but I wasn’t one of them.

When my family was taking photos at his party, my mom and sisters posed for this photo:

but it was so hard for them to do. My sister Laura wasn’t sure they should. My mom said it just didn’t feel right to have one missing. My sister Janette, who has way too much confidence in me, convinced them both that I could Photoshop myself into the picture so it would seem like I was there.

I, of course, couldn’t. But I also didn’t think I should. I think there comes a time when we need to make sure we aren’t longing instead of living.

The truth is, I wasn’t there. Photoshopping myself into the photo wouldn’t have been reality. And the reality is, even though I wasn’t physically there, physically in the photo, it doesn’t mean I’m not still a part of their community.

When I think of community, I think of Matthew 18:20 when Jesus said, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” To me, the part that stands out is that they are gathered in His name.

The people I love, the people who are in the community of my heart, are those who are gathered with God in their hearts. Because we all share that common bond of love and belief, we are all tied together whether we are physically together or not.

I thought of that as I looked at the photo of my beautiful mom and sisters... and they are my community. I think of it as friends online, who I will most likely never meet, share their lives and hearts with me... and they are my community. I think of it as friends take me along in their everyday lives with video or take photos during their vacations just so I can get a glimpse of what they see... and they are my community.

I thought of it as I was once again separate from my family as they gathered for my dad’s funeral, as I watched and loved them all from my computer screen here in my condo. I am always going to be physically separated from the rest of the world. I am always going to be isolated and homebound here in my condo.

But I don’t have to be without community. I don’t have to choose longing instead of living. Because we are gathered in His name, because we love and believe with hearts that love God more than ourselves, we are a community. A living, breathing community who has learned how to share our lives over any distance.

Jesus told us to do this life together, as a community. And because of Him, there are no boundaries.

There is only the common bond of belief and love.

What Speaks to You?

***QUICK SCHEDULING NOTE: I’m going to have to move YOU:create and the canvas giveaway to Friday this week because my monthly (in)courage post has been scheduled for tomorrow. On the upside, it gives you one extra day to get your YOU:create projects completed! :)

I can promise you two things: that the (in)courage post will be worth the delay, and the canvas will be a direct reflection of this post. So you will definitely want to be ready to comment for a chance to win on Friday. :)

I have had people email me over the past few years, asking me if there is a quote or verse that I go back to over and over again. If there is something I tell myself every day in order to keep myself in a position to choose joy. To accept my life. To keep moving forward when forward seems crazy.

This quote is just that:

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.                                         ~Victor Hugo

A few years ago, Mom had seen this quote written on my wall of doodles and loved it too, so I made her a canvas of her own. A year and a half ago, when her sister Judy died, I made another canvas with that saying for my Uncle Jon to keep as well. And a year ago, when my mom's best friend Sally was dying, Mom said those words to her every night of the mere 40 nights she lived after the cancer hit her. Mom would whisper in her ear, "Go to sleep in peace, friend. God is awake." Now that Dad has died, it’s what I hold onto myself as I so often feel like everything in life is out of my grasp.

Beyond my reach of understanding.

For me, the quote grounds me. It is filled with lessons and comfort. With knowledge and peace. It gives me instructions on how to take action in my life, and direction for when to let go of the notion that I have any power. It has taught me that I have a well of courage and fortitude inside of me for when trials beat on my door unceasingly. And I have a well of patience at my disposal for those moments in life that are just that - moments - unless we choose to give them power and weight with our own anger or pride or justifications.

The quote tells me that I will see these difficulties daily, that I can't run from them or hide inside myself until someone else braves them for me. They are my battles to fight, my joys to relish, my burdens to face with grace and patience. They are my daily tasks that I must face and complete. But at the end of the day, because I have faced my life for what it is... with courage and patience and reverence for the gift that God provides... I am able to go to sleep in peace.

I am able to rest without fear and worry because I have finished what God asked of me that day, and because He never sleeps. He is awake... walking the path I will take tomorrow so that He can show me the smoothest way through the dark valleys. So He can lead me by the restful waters that He has placed on my path. So He can restore my soul.

I can rest because He is awake.

That brings me peace. That feeds my joy. That allows me to accept my life. That lets me move forward when forward seems crazy.

What about you?

Is there a verse or quote that models how you want to live?

Gitz Bits 2010: Week 34

Monday, August 23, 2010

Considering his new contract, I thought I’d start the week off with the compulsory photo of Riley.

Wasn’t it nice of him to smile for the camera? :)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

My friend Jess sent me these in the mail last week and I’ve been diving into them bit by bit. First of all, what a great pick-me-up to send... some days move at a snail’s pace around here and these are a great diversion. Secondly, I am SHOCKED by how many episodes I haven’t seen before. I could have sworn I had seen the majority of I Love Lucy reruns, but I was sorely mistaken.

I’m glad to say I am now rectifying that.

It’s also a very ironic gift, as my good friend Mandy calls me the Ricky to her Fred quite often. I love when little coincidences like that fall into life.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Speaking of sweet little gifts, I forgot to show you guys what Mary brought me when she and Annalyn came to visit a few weeks ago. Isn’t that cute? She has the mistaken notion that I’m like Wonder Woman [although I did believe myself to be the Bionic Woman as a child] and found this fun little necklace to drive home her point.

When she gave it to me I instantly thought of Marla, who is obsessed with scrabble tiles, because the photo is laid overtop of a scrabble tile with a “W” on the other side. People are so creative...

Thursday, August 26, 2010

This is a screen shot off of Padma, featuring my current favorite app: Pocket Pond. I downloaded this a few months ago simply because I LOVE the realistic background sounds it makes [I wish I could make an audio of it for you to hear]. If I turn it on and close my eyes, I can almost imagine myself outside by the lake... it’s subtle sounds of nature and birds and insects by the faint ripples of water might be the most relaxing sounds I’ve ever heard.

And the sounds I miss the most in life.

I also love this app because the last time Dad was here and Susie’s family stopped by, I was showing Tyler how you can tap your finger on the water to make the water ripple and the fish swim away. He thought that was so cool, and when he finished tapping it my Dad asked him if he needed a towel to dry his finger off.

And Tyler stopped for a second to look.

And Dad thought his joke was HILARIOUS.

I kind of did, too. :)

Friday, August 27, 2010

I’m pretty sure half of Twitter was watching the much anticipated release of Taylor Swift’s new video Mine on Friday night. Not so much because everyone loves Taylor as much as everyone was excited to see Pastor Pete and his family make their video debut.

They had to keep it very hush-hush, but apparently anything can happen when you live in Nashville... including getting a call from Taylor Swift to see if your family will fly to Maine and pretend to be HER family. Pete and Brandi played a young Taylor’s parents, and their three boys played Taylor’s future children at different ages.

I asked Brandi if Gage had an agent yet... just look at that cute face and those dimples! I think he’s got a future in the biz. :)

Saturday, August 28, 2010

So, this picture is kind of cheating, because I actually took it LAST week and then forgot to put it into Gitz Bits. But it was waaaaay too cute not to share with you guys so I’m using it this week instead.

It’s my blog. I figure I can bend the rules. :)

Remember the Shan Clan? This is my Yodi [aka Eliana] and I snapped this photo through my webcam while we were Skyping. I was videoed in just in time to be a part of a Fancy Conference she was holding.

You heard that right. A Fancy Conference. There were signs and admission and everything. [Speaking of which, I still owe her a quarter.] I learned a great deal about how to dress fancy and speak French as she read to us from her Fancy Nancy book. I adore being a part of this family.

Pinkies up, Dahling...

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Alright, guys... now I need some advice and opinions from all of you... because I won a giveaway on my friend Robin’s blog! I get to have three cans of Behr Ultra Interior paint [it has the primer in the paint] delivered to my door ... which means I need to choose a color PRONTO [like, by tomorrow] and decide what I am going to paint.

Let’s say, hypothetically, that this is your kitchen. Would you paint the cupboards? And if you would, what color would you paint them? And if you have painted cupboards, am I out of my mind? Is it difficult?

The other thing I’ve wanted to do forever is paint my woodwork/trim in my house some shade of white to give it that Pottery Barn look and brighten things up a bit. Anyone done this? Is it a huge pain?

What do you all think? The three cans have to all be one color, so it’s either the kitchen cupboards [no idea on a color] or the trim/doors.

Opinions, please!!! [And volunteers to paint if you’re so inclined...] :)

Thanks for once again sharing my week with me! Click on the button below if you want to go to Jessica’s site and check out the other participants showing off their weekly photos as well:

Riley's New Contract

Wowza, people. That was one seriously close vote on the logo for Blog Peep Questions! Honestly... total nail biter. :) I had a few email submissions from those who subscribe to get the blog posts in their email inbox every day, and I promised I would include their votes as well.

Final tally:

Bird Peep: 27

Cutest Blog Dog Ever: 24

I’ll be totally honest and say that I think the bird fits the theme of the posts better, too. But when I broke the news to Riley, I totally blamed it on all of you. I mean, what else could I do when I looked at this pitiful face:

He’s ok now, though. I gave him some extra pork roast to eat with his antidepressant medication tonight and assured him that his position as blog dog is a permanent one. I think he’s a little less trusting, however, because he’s demanded a new contract assuring at least one photo of him appears on here every week. And a raise in his allotted number of daily Cheerios.

He drives a hard bargain, but I’m a sucker for those big eyes. :)

So, from here on out, this remains the Blog Peep Questions logo:

But he remains the alpha:

As it should be. :)