Priorities

So I see it's been two months since I've posted. I tend to stop doing a lot of things during the first few time-intensive months of school.

This year I resolved again to follow healthy priorities and adopt the Mary Kay motto: "God first, family second, career third," and I think I'm getting better at reaching this goal.

I'm attending an incredible Bible study unlike any previous Bible studies, which has given me a new perspective when reading Scripture. I crave historical background, which is exactly what this study provides. Beautiful strong, caring, and inspiring women learn alongside me (19 last week!).

Spending time with my sister, brother-in-law, and baby niece during these precious months we have before their move to N. Carolina is one of my highlights. Though my heart breaks for Holly as she's separated from Sammi, I'm thrilled that I've gotten to see Holly more frequently than in the past and get to know Sammi and Tyler better. Knowing how quickly Sammi grows, I treasure my time squeezing her cheeks and hearing her petite, baby sigh. We've got 2 more weeks before they move....

I'm also being more intentional about my marriage. Every day I swear I fall in love with Lee even more. Maybe there's something special about the third year of marriage, because I thought I loved him to full capacity before, but now I'm overflowing. I think some of that has to do with praying together and appreciating each other. We've also worked on pursuing truth rather than avoiding conflict, and the result is acceptance and more authentic interaction. Something is different now, in a way I can't exactly describe. It's odd to say that when I never thought we were missing anything before, but this new depth is incredible.

Finally, I try to hang out with just myself a little bit every day. Right now I'm sitting here with a Citron and Ginseng warming mask on my face. Mmmmmmmm. Relaxing music is now part of my music library, and I've even been known to participate in that "breathe in, breathe out" relaxation from time to time. I make more frequent visits to my friends, the masseuse and the pedicurist (word?) which I believe help to reduce the frequency of my migraines.

These days, I'm working on a new goal; to let down my guard when I'm around others. I think I initially became weary of new relationships after Amy died and judgemental about what is/isn't interesting at the expense of pursuing honest relationships with others. There's also a part of me that believes one shouldn't be a whiner, which leads me to hold back when people ask how I am. It's not really fun to hear about headaches or job stresses (or at least I decide people don't want to hear about that), so I tend to downplay those things even if they're my most pressing concern. I remember accompanying a friend to the store on a night when I was slightly feverish and just out of sorts. At the end of the night I apologized for not being very funny, to which my friend told me I didn't have to be funny all the time, and that she loved me anyway. That was such an awakening, and it really got me thinking about the pressure I place on myself to be an entertainer or say something interesting. I want to just "be" with friends the way I can just "be" with Lee, my family, and myself. I'll get there...

As I work on accepting myself and being grateful in every circumstance, I'd like to share some song lyrics written by a beautiful friend of mine, Heather Richardson.

You didn't change my circumstance
You changed me from the inside

I've got no reason to stay here

These lyrics struck me in a particular way as I try to leave poor habits and attitudes behind and replace them with healthy, loving ones. They reminded me of how deceptive habits and attitudes can be; comforting in such an empty way. Here's to a fresh start.
Dear Love, I'll miss you much

I'll miss your smile, and I'll miss your touch

But I've found a place where I can erase my past

Maybe someday when you're old and gray

And your hair falls out and your tattoos fade

You might see me standing hand in hand

I have to go away

I've got no reason to stay here

You said someday you'll change

But even a fool will tell you

Someday never comes

-Brandi Carlile

(metaphor)

Brave vs. Cowardly; Selfless vs. Self-seeking

I'm sickened by the Greyhound decapitation, but more disturbed by the elapsed time before fellow passengers came to the aid of the victim. What if it were me? What if it were you? Wouldn't you want several passengers to join together in your defense? Regardless of their ability, they could throw purses, cell phones, anything they have to startle the attacker before charging together. Of course, there is a high risk someone else would receive stabbing wounds, but how many of us would want our fellow passengers to organize and execute an evacuation before coming back onto the bus? Don't we all want others to be willing to risk injury so that we might not be killed?
Sometimes people wait a split seconds too long to see if someone else will step up, and in this case, one person on the bus instructed everyone to get off. What would have happened if that person had yelled, "Help! Fight him!" Likely the women and children would have exited the bus once awakening and realizing danger.
I've read other blog posts this morning and do concede that none of us know what we'd do unless we were in that specific situation. Given that, there will be many unique situations to come, and I'd like to have far more confidence in mankind that even if we do not know each other, we will come to each other's aid. I believe we must demonstrate an increased level of respect for all human life, both by not killing each other and by rendering aid, even in risky situations.

lyrics by Patty Griffin

Sometimes I lay down
No more can I do
But then I go on again
Because you ask me to

Some days I look down
Afraid I will fall
And though the sun shines
I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice, oh
Oh, come and then go, come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so

"It's Botox for You, Dear Bridesmaid" -from the NYT

I'm simply aghast at this article from the NYT.  Is this really the direction in which brides are heading?  I cannot imagine telling my mother-in-law that she'd look better in the wedding pics with a little Botox!  One bride requested that her bridesmaids have breast implants (there was a 4 for the price of 2 discount, after all!), while another insisted her bridesmaids fake bake to the same shade.  Why don't these brides hire models?  Isn't that what they're really after?

Chillax

It's time to stop and lay down for a bit, like Buddha, my new sister-in-law's brother's dog.

Life lately has been spectacularly busy and mostly wonderful. Lee & I took a vacation of pure relaxation on the white sand beaches of Vieques, Puerto Rico. (If I have the time, I'll devote an entry to that later.) Once home I returned to all things bridesmaid and rehearsal-dinner related for my brother's wedding, which was Saturday. The rush up to it was so hurried, at least for me, that I can hardly believe it's over! At least things are not completely back to normal; we still have some relatives in town. Holly, Tyler, and baby Sammi are also in town. (hello, baby fat!!!)

Even though it seems like I should have all this free time on my hands, what with not working during the summer and all, I seem to be busy, busy, busy this summer, even this week. My strategy with doctor's appointments is to cram all my check-ups, etc into the summer so I don't have to take as much time off during the school year. I've been more proactive about that this summer, so that accounts for some of the business. I also became certified in two more areas, English as a Second Language and Elementary General Education.

The next thing on my plate is seeing my little sis off to Officers' boot camp, as well as inservices and the start of school. These are not exciting things, so I believe I will throw something fun into the mix...

something fun, but cheap. or just fun, but I'd sell things on Craigslist to compensate. :-)
It's time to start planning, my favorite part!

Puerto Rico!

We're having a relaxing time in this undisclosed part of Puerto Rico. I have SO looked forward to the respite and rejuvenation between school years. Vacations are high on my list of blessings! More video and pics to come soon!

Marnie & Chris pics

They're here!!!  I finished uploaded them on Flickr, though for some reason Flickr is intent on ordering my pics in reverse.  Does anyone know how to change that?  Anyway, enjoy.  I did the mass upload, so I haven't had time to pick and choose the best shots yet, but you're smart.  You know how to peruse. :-)

Wedding pics

Living in the lap of luxury

This baby's got it made, I tell you. She's got Auntie Lora wrapped around her fingers to the point where she headed to the pool with more accessories (apparently necessary for safety purposes) than I've ever had in my life! :-) She even turns Uncle Lee into an old sap. I just think back to how hard I was working a week ago today to finish end of the year paperwork, and I thank God for family. Holly's an awesome mom. Lee's fulfilling his uncle duties in nice form. Even baby Sammi's indulging us with her easygoing spirit.

I'd say her first swim was an overall success. She didn't drown, contrary to Grandpa Ross' fears. We never let go of her (of course). She frowned in the beginning out of confusion and at the end out of hunger, and that was it! Of course, we owe the success of the excursion to Lee inflating her baby cabana. :-)

Uncle Lee nervously holds Samantha for the 1st time

STYLISH UVA/UVB protection

Sweet Uncle Lee blew this up for 30 minutes

What are you doing to me?!?!?

Ahhhhhhh
Now THIS I could get used to...

Uncle Lee says some of my facial expressions resemble old men


Thank heavens for the impromptu pedicure last week
Excess or safety? Either way, this'll prevent wrinkles.
He really is good with me, I'm just hungry.

So funny :-)

Chris & Marnie's Wedding

Here are a few of my favorites. What a tear-jerkingly beautiful wedding! I'll insert a link to my Flickr page when I post the rest of the photos.

Unbelievable!

Yesterday the Texas Education Board threw out an English curriculum created by board-recommended teachers and education experts during the course of two and a half years. They then submitted their own version, created by 1 company, and approved it in less than one hour. The Chair refused to allow concerned board members enough time to read during a rapid-fire page by page review of the "new and improved" curriculum.

Unbelievable. Talk about egos and a lack of respect for those currently in the field. And Texas wonders why it loses so many of its teachers each year????

Texas education board passes new standard with 'no opportunity to review it'

Maria Sue

Steven Curtis Chapman and daughter, Maria Sue (picture from www.shaohannahshope.org)

My heart aches for the Chapman family following the tragic death of their 5 yr-old daughter, Maria Sue. I searched for more to read online, hoping headline would change. It didn't.

Of course only God understands His plan, and while it's hard to comprehend, Maria is happier than ever in heaven.

One prayer of mine is that this agonizing loss will lead to some good. Prior to Wednesday I'd known that the Chapmans had adopted, but I hadn't known of their family story and adoption ministries. I had no knowledge of organizations like theirs, which financially assists couples seeking to adopt internationally, encourages churches to begin adoption ministries, funds an orphanage in China for children with special needs, and profiles older children waiting to be adopted.

The Chapmans have requested donations to this organization, Shaohanna's Hope, in lieu of flowers. If you would like to donate or learn more about Shaohanna's Hope, you can do so here:
Shahannah's Hope

Did the oil exec's mention this on Capitol Hill???

(not my pic)
Peak Oil is a self-evident truth, if you aren’t a stickler about just when it should happen. Most experts agree that petroleum and fossil fuels are exhaustible resources. They are nonrenewable unless you’ve got millions of years to spare. Peak Oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum production is reached, after which, the rate of production enters its natural decline. In laymen’s terms, we start to run out of (cheap) oil. If consumption isn’t reduced and/or alternatives discovered and developed in time before the peak—whenever that happens, it is simple economics that prices rise, and an energy crisis will ensue.

As you might imagine, lots of variables intervene. The moment you predict Peak Oil, you’ve got a laundry list of caveats to make. But let’s consider a few that might affect things. Take consumption rates. Do you think those are coming down? Nope. Has the world’s population stopped growing? Nope, it more than doubled in the last fifty years. World crude oil demand has increased far above predictions a few years ago, driven by an insatiable need from China and India. China’s oil consumption has grown 8 per cent per annum since 2002, and its economy is still experiencing oil shortage. As huge energy consumers impact the market, they will compete for a dwindling, nonrenewable supply and hence drive up energy prices. As many other economies enter a similar stage of economic development, energy needs will skyrocket and add to the pressure.

I’m sure run-of-the-mill monetary inflation is much to blame for price increases at the gas pump, but folks you need to start getting a little more sophisticated (or at least read the big print writing on the wall!). Don’t wait for the government to tell you, much less do anything about it. The Bush administration isn’t exactly known for its candor with the American people (it’s all a state secret, or Executive prerogative); or for that matter competence and being proactive (Katrina, War in Iraq, etc.). Global oil production actually already hit plateau in 2005, when Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens predicted that we probably reached the proverbial Peak Oil point.

Even if you don’t buy that, and many experts don’t, we’re just quibbling over the next ten years and your favorite colored deck chair on the Titanic. At an energy conference in Houston this past month, the Peak Oil prediction was 2015. Nine of the world’s twenty-one largest fields show decline, and some fields are beginning to accelerate downward. Even more skeptical observers will concede that discoveries peaked around 1961 and have long since failed to replace the full amount of oil produced. Oil is being depleted in other words, we just can’t say how fast; the train is careening, but it may not go off the tracks for a couple more presidential election cycles.

It is important to consider what we’re talking about: Peak Oil for Le Monde, the World. We already passed it for the United States back in 1970, for North Sea oil production in 1985. In fact, Peak Oil production has been reached in almost every oil-producing country in the world, except three notables: Iraq (may not reach it until 2018); Kuwait (predicted peak in 2013); and Saudi Arabia (predicted peak 2014). Of course, I didn’t mention another big oil producer—Iran, because we don’t really know, and probably won’t get to the supply short of military invasion (which could happen). Moreover, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries have every reason to overstate their proven reserves and probably have. If you look at the frantic pace at which Saudi Arabia and the entire Gulf is diversifying economies, one wonders if the United States and other developed countries shouldn’t be reducing dependency on Middle East oil at least that fast.

Hurricane Katrina initially wiped out 15% of U.S. refining capacity, which was strained and still is. This resulted in a price spike of 100% as the price of gasoline went from $1.50/gallon to $3.00/gallon in just a few days. When the Iranian revolution occurred in 1979 and crude oil prices doubled, world oil consumption dropped 15% and a worldwide recession lasted until 1982. There isn’t much resiliency in the energy supply chain, and domestic storage capacity is less than two months. And we’re really talking about a much bigger problem.

Civilization probably won’t end short of a big meteor hitting the earth, but if you’re going to do anything constructive to mitigate problems our economy will face after the world hits Peak Oil, you need at least ten years to get busy. Suggesting a bigger picture, consider that most farm equipment depends on oil and diesel, what that means to food prices and food availability. Nearly all fertilizers and pesticides are made from oil too, as well as most plastics—used in everything from computers, mobile phones, to pipelines, clothing and carpets. Metal production, such as aluminum, depends on oil; and even things like cosmetics, hair dye, ink, and common painkillers. The construction of a single car takes at least 20 barrels of oil.

It behooves us therefore to have an energy policy, unless your policy is simply to endure economic upheavals. You might want to foster conservation, R&D, transition to alternatives—particularly other liquid fuels (alcohol, esters, vegetable oils, etc.; and liquefied petroleum products from natural gas and coal). You might want to invest in infrastructure too, say, in storage, pipelines, rigs and rail transportation. You should at least want to talk about it. Now I’m not really one to run around like Chicken Little, yelling “The sky is falling, the sky is falling,” but oil production really is. Our country faces an immense and unprecedented risk management problem, yet no presidential candidate seriously addresses it. To the Republican candidate, it is probably a state secret like everything else. To Democrats, it just makes their heads hurt. Which leaves our national policy, deliberate or otherwise, essentially to suck it up: the easy oil first, and the economic consequences that follow for failure to prepare for anything else.
_____________________
Wesley Allen Riddle is a retired military officer with degrees and honors from West Point and Oxford. Widely published in the academic and opinion press, he ran for U.S. Congress (TX-District 31) in the 2004 Republican Primary. Email: wes@wesriddle.com.

***from lora*** I tried to casually slip "peak oil" into a conversation with Lee today and sound more intelligent, but he responded, "Oh, did you read Jonathan Blundell's blog, too?"

I can't get anything past that guy!

Honesty

My husband mentioned that he's returned to blogging again (and I didn't even realize it!) I'm blown away by the honesty with which he writes; I'm just now getting to the point where I can be honest with myself. I don't think I'm brave enough to reveal all via Al Gore's invention yet, and I'm okay with that (just reflecting on the differences, I suppose).

I suppose I can reveal this much: People who don't know me very well think I'm easygoing, friendly, and open. Those who are closer to me realize it takes me a long, long time these days to get to know someone well and allow them to get to know me. This process seems so much more difficult than it was in high school and college, and I'm not sure if it's because I devote so much time to work and Lee, or if I've shied away from new friendships subconsciously since Amy passed away. I do know I'm so looking forward to the summer so I can have some "me" time, and I'm hopeful I will be able to create a healthier work/life balance with my new position.

Crazy

I'm thinking our politicians are just trying to pacify us by halting the oil reserve filling, thereby saving us a whopping 2 cents/gallon (according to NPR). I'd rather continue paying the measly quarter per fill-up for the reassurance that I'll have oil in the event of a national crisis.

However, I would have liked to see our congressmen and women take a harsher stance with the oil execs who pay themselves hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses. Imposing windfall profit taxes or eliminating the huge bonuses during times like these (not all bonuses- I'm not anti-capitalism- but there is a point of excess.)

I personally wonder if we should rely on, say, 3 different ways to power cars so we don't run into extreme supply and demand issues. Currently we don't even have a majority of cars powered by ethanol, and food costs are already affected.

Any other ideas?

Samantha's Baptism

Samantha was baptized and dedicated to the Lord on Sunday at The People's Church in East Lansing, MI with water from the River Jordan.





Samantha was dressed in the gown made from Mom's wedding gown.


Proud parents Tyler and Holly promised to teach her about Jesus.



Auntie Lora relished a few moments with Samantha (If you want to hold this baby, you've got to get in line!)



Dad and Tyler continued their theological discussions.



How many people does it take to change a light bulb??? (or a diaper???) 2-4, in this case.



What a weekend! Happy 6 weeks birthday, Samantha!