Author: Lisa

Susie

Dear God – You seem to want to see Susie soon.  I don’t blame you.  She is a wonderful person with lots of caring friends and family, and we all love her deeply.    I know Susie feels your amazing love at the moment, and the love of her friends and family.    Please attend to her gently and help her to find peace.   Love, Lisa

When she was 6

Brittany would have been in 2nd grade.   Her teacher was Mrs. Asmus, and she was already getting a feel for excelling in math and spelling, and learning to hone her reading skills.   She had best friends, a group of girls she’d already known for two years.   She was in brownie scouts and loved to sled in the winter snow and romp around with her dogs at the park.   She brought home self-painted Valentine’s Day cards and loved to dance and sing.

It pains me to see the Connecticut school shooting.    Six and seven year old kids were murdered.     The Principal and other adults, psychologist, teachers, were also killed.    I don’t think anyone will ever make sense of how a 20 year old boy could end their lives.   How could he look at them and pull the trigger?        It is even more annoying that we can no longer ask him questions about what possessed him to do such a senseless thing or do anything to him to make him pay for what he’s done.    He’s taken the easy way out.    He is dead at his own hands.

I think we are all so touched by this tragedy, because we remember our own children’s (or another child’s) face and eyes and sounds of their voice as they play a game or see something interesting on TV around Christmastime, and can’t imagine them not being there anymore.    Someone has turned the lights out, and it shouldn’t have been their choice.

As we contemplate what can be done to avoid this sort of situation, I know the easy answer is to eliminate guns.  Full stop.     I don’t think that will do much good.    Plenty of drugs are illegal, but still utilized… by the criminals.   Do we really want guns only in the hands of the criminals?      The question is:  How many of the shootings are carried out by people who are utilizing a gun that doesn’t legally belong to them?    How do we stop those people from  getting those weapons?      If the gun legally belongs to them, then how is that possible?   Were they sane when they bought the weapon?

I think that people need to be screened somehow.   Been on drugs that treat a serious mental illness?   No gun for you.    Have a gun, and then have developed a serious mental illness, then maybe an annual check is in order for those situations.     Anger issues?   No. Is the applicant ok, but people in the house have mental issues: Just say No.

I don’t know…    How can you stop the insanity that ends an innocent child’s or an innocent adult’s life?

I guess

sometimes you don’t realize what really grounds you until you don’t feel grounded anymore, and you’re treading water to figure out what is suddenly missing. 2012 was a disturbing year for me, not because of my immediate family, but because some things I didn’t imagine would go the way they did… did. People I thought I could at least expect some sort of consideration from… failed.   Miserably.

And even though I have so many people in my life who are a blessing and supportive, I was treading water, suddenly “not myself” and trying to figure out how to get back to me.

My health took a downward spiral. My body started doing unexpected things. Heart beating fast. Gastic reflux. Stomach pain. And then the ears started ringing.

My medication had to go on a schedule. I became a pro at figuring out when I was able to eat so that I could take meds on an empty stomach, and not eat afterward for another hour. It was miserable. I hated my doctors for not fixing my problems. I hated myself for whatever role stress was playing in my health issues. I hated the people who caused the stress. I hated that God could let people get away with being so horrible and thoughtless. To me. What did I do to deserve all of this?

I was lost.

So I decided to go to talk it out with a random party with credentials to help sort things out. Her name is Julie. We talked about miserable things that happened and what I thought I could do about them. We talked about not exposing my mind to hateful things in the world, like “the news” and movies that were troubling. We talked about “not talking” about health problems all the time. We talked about paths to take to be healthier… get a new doctor, exercise, etc.   We talked about how I didn’t understand God anymore.

I learned that being anxious about unexpected life circumstances is normal.

One day, I found a new doctor that I don’t hate. She reduced and changed my meds, and although I still have gastric issues, they are not as bad as they were. I can eat whenever I want. I’ve started to try food with gluten, and I have not been harmed, although I do prefer some gluten-free things now (like Chebe bread and pizza mixes). I am starting to include more fruit and veg for fiber and health. I’m learning to deal with the ear ringing.

I started reading a book called, “One Thousand Gifts“, by Ann Voskamp. I decided that God was probably not trying to kill me. God loves me, and I have things to learn about life, like how to survive and be happy in an environment that is not always perfect, although it is perfect in a majority of moments. I’ll deal with the rest only when I need to. 🙂

Once these two areas of my life became more manageable, I felt empowered. I decided I probably had some sort of say in my life again.

It was all I really needed. I may not be 100% yet, but I’m about 90%. 🙂

Thank you to my wonderful family who is always supportive and helpful, even when I must really push them to the limit.    I love them.

All I Want for Christmas

This is probably the only Christmas song you’ll catch me listening to.   I’m not a big fan of Christmas.   It is a nightmare for anyone who doesn’t like a big to-do list, really.   And even though I’m not a big MC fan, I still love this song, which makes me think about my fabulous husband and the fun that Christmas usually is, regardless of the to-do list, with my family around.
http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/yXQViqx6GMY?rel=0

Don’t get smished – phone scams

SMISHING
Gift card Smishing is when someone receives an
unsolicited text message directing them to a dummy
website where they have allegedly won a $1,000 gift card to
Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc.
Instead of a gift card, scam watchdogs say the site asks for
your personal information and that of your closest friends.
By responding to the text, you’re also confirming your cell
number is real, which scammers then compile into a list and
sell on the black market to other scammers.
To protect yourself, ignore the text message and
immediately contact your provider, which can block the
scammer from sending you text messages. Scambook, an
online complaint resolution platform, says the scam will
likely peak between Black Friday and Christmas.
*********************************************
Area Codes 284, 649, 809, 876
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has
recently learned that an old long distance phone scam that
leads consumers to incur high charges on their phone bills
may now affect wireless consumers. Wireless consumers
are now receiving similar calls from phone numbers with
three-digit area codes that appear to be domestic, but are
actually associated with international pay-per-call phone
numbers. While wireless companies are working to block
suspicious numbers on their networks, some consumers
may become victims of this scam. The scam works
something like this:
• Your wireless phone rings once or twice and then
disconnects the call. When the number appears in your
wireless phone log as a missed call, it appears to be a
typical domestic telephone number starting with a “649”
area code; or you get an email or voicemail (on your
residential wired telephone) telling you to call a phone
number with an “809”, “284”, “876” or some other threedigit
international area code.
• When you return the call, you assume you are making a
domestic long distance call – as “649,” “809,” “284,” “876”
and other area codes involved in this scam, appear to be
typical three-digit U.S. area codes.
• When you dial the three-digit area code plus the number,
however, you are connected to a phone number outside
the United States, often in Canada or the Caribbean, and
are charged expensive international call rates, and may
be charged for pay-per-call services as well. (In this case,
“649” goes to the Turks and Caicos, “809” goes to the
Dominican Republic, “284” goes to the British Virgin
Islands, and “876” goes to Jamaica.)
You don’t find out about the higher international call rates
until you receive your phone bill. To minimize the risk of
this happening to you, if you do not regularly make
international calls, ask your local or wireless phone
company to block outgoing international calls on your line.

Gastro is not fun

esophIf you’ve ever had heartburn and stomach problems, you know they’re not fun.   I’ve had this problem for at least a month, trying different medications, getting an endoscopy, and freaking out a bit because I am not feeling 100% (or even 50% most afternoons).     I just want to feel 100% again.   I don’t think it’s too much to ask.

Yesterday, I approached a pharmacist at work about the liquid stomach coating stuff I’ve had to drink (the expensive stuff, by the way).  I wanted to make sure I understood when to take it.    She is probably the 4th or 5th person so suggest I get screened for an H Pylori infection.

So, I phoned my doctor’s nurse and said, “This may sound like a weird request, but since people keep suggesting it, can you test me for it”?

Consideration is underway, but I think they’ll see it my way in the end.

Hoping (and even praying) for some relief at this point, although I am a bit better than I was a few weeks ago.    You learn to cope with what you have to cope with, I guess.

Thank God for my super supportive husband and daughter.   They’re doing such a loving job of encouraging me, as always.

Design a site like this with 师尊用下面给小奶娃喂奶h.com
Get started