This 'N' That

To be added to throughout the day as I get time ...

• Extremely stressed right now. I don't know why I consistently forget that the week before a retreat is so busy, so active, so full of little things that have to be done. Perhaps for the same reason that we forget about childbirth pains after the baby is born. The actual retreat (or baby!) is so wonderful and such a gift that the hard work beforehand is not a factor in the overall equation.
  
  
• When stressed ... watch Firefly. Always sure to take my mind off my to-do list. Not sure why. But when you consider that Aliens is my other "go to" in times of stress then I guess Firefly is positively light weight!
  
  
• When watching Firefly it may take a while to notice that the tornado sirens are sounding. Of course, this also may stem from the fact that the Lakewood neighborhood tornado siren sounders are a bunch of wimps if you grew up in Kansas. Some rain and high winds do not a tornado make. They do not even an Official Tornado Warning make as I found out when I turned on the news. Although you know how you grab what matters most when it is an emergency? I would have been hiding from the tornado in a closet with ... wait for it ... my iPod and earbuds. I'd have been entertained to the end if nothing else!
  
  
• AND I'd have had a light source, as I discovered when I was going around turning off computers and the lights went out. My handy, dandy, all-purpose Nano has one heckuva powerful light. You can use it to walk by, thereby avoiding the cat and dog, who are huddling around your feet to tell you that they do not like this bad weather and would you please turn it off!
  
  
• Love this comment that Penni makes about what a difference blogging friends make in one's life:
  
  Blogging has had such an impact on my life these past 4 years that it is really a difficult task to describe how much these people (some of whom I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting in person) have meant to me during some very trying periods of my life. They reached out through cyberspace and helped to comfort me in my world and allowed me to enter into theirs. They have added an incredible life experience which is again, impossible to describe to those who don’t blog. But it is real and I would love to have an hour, at least, not simply five minutes.
  
  Absolutely. She has hit the nail on the head and she would be on my list without question.
  
  
• It warms a mother's heart to read #7 from Hannah's "25 Things About Me" list ...
  
  I love being with my family. They’re awesome. And that is not just me. My friends can attest to the fact that they rock. ...
  
  Whew! So far, so good ...
  
  
• It also warms my heart that my mother was annoyed that retreat prep kept us from going to Austin to join in with the bloggin' bunch hosted by Darwin Catholic. No matter how old you are it is wonderful to know that your mommy's still lookin' out for you. Even if it is simply in being annoyed.
  
  
• I can forgive Laura for not loving Nutella when she tells the story as entertainingly as this ... here's a little, go read it ...
  

  So after a long trip to the grocery store (I have a really hard time asking for help... and I had a hard time finding the stuff...), I returned home with my jar of Nutella. I quickly derobed and got into my best Nutella-eating outfit. I couldn't wait to have my first Nutella experience.
  
  Removing the lid and peeling back the seal, I dove in. "Oh my goodness," I thought to myself. "I am SO excited. This is going to be great! Oh, Nutella, my love! We meet at last!"



• The Kindle ... not having the space or travel situations which would make a Kindle attractive, I find the idea of spending $360 for a device that then requires $10 per book additionally ... to be more than a bit of a waste of money for me. I mean to say, I rarely even buy a book that costs as much as $10. And I don't have to recharge the battery on my regular books.