Back in Sicily…

11:23 pm ByFiled UnderBooks, TV, Music & Movies, Marriage, Parenting, Family & Friendship

I just read that Estelle Getty, from Golden Girls, died today. I watched a lot of episodes of that show recently, before Annalyn was sleeping through the night. I’d feed her at 10 pm, then settle in to watch two episodes each of Will & Grace, Frasier and Golden Girls before feeding her again at 1 am. (This may explain why I still have baby weight to lose!)

I watched a couple episodes just two weeks ago (staying up late to finish Triple’s scrapbook!), and the last one I watched really focused on friendship. I mean, I know every episode did; that was the theme and the point of the show. But in this particular episode, Sophia won a community service award and gave a lovely speech, crediting her good works to the love and support of her wonderful friends. (Who, in true sitcom fashion, had been fighting over the award throughout the episode.)

So in honor of Sophia and Estelle, I’d like to take a moment to appreciate my “golden girls.” To my best friend, Smitty, and my favorite blogger, Chelley, and Triple and T-Rex and all my other college friends, to my graduate school friend (yes, just one), my church friends, my new blog friends and to my work friends, I’d like to say, “Thank you for being a friend.”

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Product Review: Fiber One Chewy Bar

4:23 pm ByFiled UnderDiet, Exercise & Weight Loss, Recipes & Food, Reviews & Giveaways

If you haven’t tried the Fiber One granola bars, I say go out and buy some now! I’ve been eating the oats and chocolate ones for a while, but today I tried the oats and apple streusel, and well, I just had to tell you about it!

No, I’m not getting paid for this blatant endorsement. I just can’t get over how tasty this granola bar was. And only 2 points, if you happen to count that sort of thing. Or, 9 grams of fiber, if that’s interesting to you.

Speaking of the fiber, though, I will offer one word of caution: If you’re not used to eating large amounts of fiber at once, you may experience some less-than-desirable results. As in, don’t eat a Fiber One bar on the same day you eat your Kashi cereal. That’s all I’m saying, but I think you get my point.

While I’m on the topic (and promoting the heck out of Fiber One), do any of you use their cereal in your recipes? Hungry Girl, a website that offers healthy tips and recipes, uses it a lot. I’ve never tried it, so I’m curious if it makes food taste funny. Or if it causes too many undesirable results!

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A Rude Awakening

7:59 pm ByFiled UnderMarriage, Parenting, Family & Friendship, Memories & Stories

While we were in Wisconsin this week, we stayed at my brother-in-law’s house. He and his wife breed Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, and they currently have eight dogs (and two cats and a lizard, if you’re counting) living on their farm. I met two of their dogs a couple years ago, so I knew how truly massive “Swissies,” as they call them, are. They’re beautiful animals, but when I say “massive,” I mean over two feet tall and an average of 125 lbs.

As we went to bed the first night, my husband mentioned that one of the big dogs was sleeping in the house. It didn’t really matter to me at that moment, but I was so glad he mentioned it later that night. Around 3:00 am, I woke up and needed to use the bathroom. So I walked downstairs, bleary-eyed even though I’d managed to grab my glasses. I opened the door to the main level, squinted at my niece who’d fallen asleep on the couch in front of the TV, and turned into the kitchen. And abruptly stopped.

Sully, the prize-winning (read: largest) Swissie of all, was standing in the middle of the kitchen. Now, I’m not afraid of dogs. I may be a cat person, and I may not want a dog of my own. But I’m not scared of them.

And besides, I know that this particular breed of dog is called “the friendly giant” because of their reputation for being so, well, friendly. But I won’t deny that as I walked calmly by Sully into the bathroom, I may have shut that door a little faster than normal! Especially after the good guard dog started growling and howling quietly but urgently.

I don’t blame him – Sully was just doing what he should. After all, I was a stranger waltzing into his owner’s bathroom in the middle of the night! As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, he may be telling his friends this very same story. But instead of talking about a brave woman persevering (yes, persevering to the bathroom) despite being startled by a ginormous dog, his story features a kind but brave dog protecting his territory from a strange human lady with crazy hair.

Of course, the ending of the story is the same. We both went back to sleep after my sister-in-law hollered, “Hush, Sully!”

* Photo from Dog Breed Info Center.

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The Business of Miracles

3:13 am ByFiled UnderFaith, Inspiration & Deep Thoughts, Marriage, Parenting, Family & Friendship

God has been very busy with our family recently. First a financial miracle and then a safety miracle – it’s almost too much for me to comprehend!

First the finances. We’ve always been bad with our money. It starts because we don’t have enough and then it gets worse because we’re not good stewards of what we have. We’ve been trying to improve in this area and have made some changes, and had started making progress last summer.

Then I got laid off right before having Annalyn several weeks early. That meant I got paid less severance package and had extra medical bills. On top of that, the best job offer I had didn’t actually pay enough to cover our monthly bills. But I had to take it anyway.

So, we’ve been barely scraping by and little by little, we’d gotten pretty far behind. We were about one month from being a full month behind on bills. (Yes, I realize this is a lot of personal info, but I want you to understand what God did.)

And then the miracle happened. A family friend who had not spoken to my parents or me in 11 years (a long story for another time) passed away. And left me enough money to pay off a good portion of our debt, allowing us to catch up and make a budget that allows our current income to meet all our monthly expenses. It was a miracle!!!

To put it in perspective – before this, on paper, we were $800 short every month. We knew God would help us work it out, but it seemed so daunting! I mean, that’s a BIG gap! But He did it!

And then, this Monday, we got a call. One of those late-night calls that nobody wants to get. The kind that comes after bedtime and begins with, “There’s been an accident.” Mark’s father was in a bad four-wheeler accident up at my brother-in-law’s farm in Wisconsin. Our 10-year-old niece was riding with him. When we got the call, we were told that my father-in-law had a broken back and our niece had a broken leg.

It turns out, our niece had a bruised lung and sore shoulder – and nothing else. And my husband’s dad did not break his back. He has a severe concussion, collapsed lungs, a separated shoulder and eight broken ribs. But he’s doing amazingly well. He’s been up and walking, is off his IV, and is in good spirits. There’s no explanation for him surviving other than – God is working miracles around here!

(Another minor – but still much appreciated – miracle is that this accident allowed Mark and me a lot of time together. Because we hopped in the truck Tuesday morning and made the long drive to Wisconsin. We’re headed home tomorrow – and I can’t wait to sleep in my bed and see Annalyn, who’s been with my parents – but it’s been so nice to have this quality time with him.)

So – God is good all the time. All the time, God is good.

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Ships Passing in the Night

12:18 am ByFiled UnderMarriage, Parenting, Family & Friendship

The typical weekday schedule for our family looks like this:
  • 7:00 Annalyn wakes up. I change her diaper and drop her in bed with Mark.
  • 7:45 – 12:30 I’m at work, while Mark takes care of Annalyn.
  • 12:30 – 5:00 Annalyn is at the babysitter’s, Mark heads to work, I’m still at work.
  • 5:00 – 7:00 I take care of Annalyn.
  • Midnight or later – Mark gets home.

So, not only do I not see my baby girl enough during the week, I don’t see my husband at all! I love that his evening shift lets him spend some great time with Annalyn (and it cuts down our childcare costs), but this week, I’m weary of this schedule. The weariness (and resulting grouchiness) will pass, but for now, I’m a little sick of it.

On a lighter note, I did find out that the phrase “ships passing in the night” comes from a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.

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