Homeless and sick? C'mon over. I need someone to talk to.

It's not that I don't want to sleep or that I'm deliberately doing things to stay awake - it's that I simply have a brain that's set on nighttime. That's when I'm most awake and functional. I obviously work at night, every other night at a minimum actually, so I guess on the nights I don't work my brain runs wild with all the things I don't have time to think about when I'm working or spending time with my child. Sometimes I do chores, sometimes I pay bills, sometimes I watch television, sometimes I read, and lately I've become ever so slightly addicted to an iPad game! What I need to be doing is shopping. I've got the tree up, with Hal & Sarah's help. Already had lights up outside. Probably need more. I even put a little decoration on my door. When you have a 7 year old little girl, you just have to be in the Christmas spirit. There's really no getting out of it. Not that I've had a ton of trouble with it this year but I've struggled in the past. (We watched the Disney version of A Christmas Carol this afternoon just as a safeguard!).
It's hard to get excited about spending a lot of money when somebody's out of a job, or there are huge bills looming and needing to be paid. A lot of people are suffering right now. I meet people in the ER who desperately need basic healthcare, food, clothing, and shelter. But not every homeless or desolate soul is there from simple bad luck. Many people actually choose to be homeless, to live a free and unencumbered life, and to take advantage of the resources that are available for the poor. That was hard for me to understand when I first met someone like that. But think about that. You trade a potential big house with big debt and live in the woods with others in a commune of sorts - and you don't have to work. You get free meals from the local churches, and "free" health care from local clinics and ERs. Heck we even give out donated clothing at our ER. I wonder how bad being homeless actually is: until the weather gets wet and cold or you break a foot or really get sick. How much sympathy do people deserve when they've put themselves in that position? But this is a question that can't be answered tonight. Here's what lies in my mind in the wee hours. Got a show about a serial killer on television in the background. All I need now is a stiff drink and some pretzels.

I like these Apples.

I have a new toy! It's an iPad and right this very second I'm trying to use the on screen keyboard - feels like keyboarding class all over again. I am not one to spend a lot of money on myself but I couldn't resist the black Friday deal offered by Apple. I wanted one of these last year, of course, but I couldn't justify the expense versus our financial obligations and bring home pay. Thankfully this year is much different for us - and let me say again how very grateful I am that Hal's three year stretch of unemployment and underemployment ended early this year. We don't have an incredible excess but we have enough to pay all of our bills on time, eat well, and get the things we need - and that's enough for me. I am reminded of my father actually. We lived a very humble and frugal life when I was a child, and he in fact still does...but he believed very strongly in the power of a proper education so we had a Apple II C desktop computer with a dot matrix printer attached! Our house was very small but that computer had a front-and-center place right in the living room where my brother and I were encouraged to sit and play with the educational games, type papers and projects, and bask in the discovery and the cool things it could do. Now this iPad has a coolness factor that has exponentially blown me away but here I am in my house, sitting on my 14 year old scratched up leather couch, typing away. In this case the Apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I worked my way through school enough to be able to have a few things but more importantly, I have a true appreciation for the things I'm able to have. Thanks Dad.

Lindsey Buckingham rocked the house!

 

Hal and I went to the Lindsey Buckingham concert at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta - and wow it was totally worth it!  The traffic, the ticket price, the broken parking meter that resulted in all of us getting parking tickets...he was amazing!  That man can SING and can do all sorts of things to a guitar.  He's a true musical genius and it was left brain mania to hear him for 2 hours!

Start Something That Matters - read this book by Blake Mycoskie

Currently half way through this book - it's the really neat story of how Tom's shoes got started.  If you've ever thought about your own start up, this is a great guide with lots of awe-inspiring stories built in.  Blake Mycoskie is one smart dude.  I now own 3 pairs of Tom's shoes and Sarah has one.  We love 'em.  That means my dollars put shoes on our feet and the feet of 4 kids without shoes.  That's awesome!  Conscious buying.

http://www.amazon.com/Start-Something-Matters-Blake-Mycoskie/dp/1400069181

The Madison County Fair

This Wednesday night Hal and I decided to take Sarah to the Fair - notice the capital letters to give the word emphasis.  When I was a kid, everyone looked forward to the Fair in the Fall.  Popcorn, pizza, corn dogs, and funnel cakes and all sorts of dizzyingly fun rides - plus a night out with our friends!  I don't know about you, but I never got to go out at night!  This was one of the funnest things to do all year and lots of times we even got to go on a school night.  There you go.  Until that one year when I sat down in someone's puke.  I can't remember the exact ride but "the whirly bird" comes to mind.  All I know is I sat down in the seat and felt an oozing warm wetness and then smelled that horrible puke smell, stomach acid, half-digested food, and nasty green bile.  It was a  yucky disaster.  My dad got so bent out of shape, and we pretty much had to leave because who in the heck brings a spare set of clothes to the freaking Fair?!  Ugh.  It was awful and I've been trying *not* to remember that night or the Fair ever since.   But last week Hal started talking about it, and then Sarah started talking about it, and then I found myself pretty much being coerced into to going or facing the fact that I'm probably a crappy mother.  So I went.

The smell of hay and cows and popcorn all mixed into one was the first sensation besides the colorful lights that I experienced upon getting out of the car.  There was the Boy Scout who was supposed to be helping us park but was instead more interested in playing with the gravel on the ground at his feet.  His mother kept yelling at him and I laughed in sympathy at her frustration.  Four bucks to get in wasn't bad - we had almost $40 in cash after raiding the kiddo's piggy bank.  I decided that this was a good opportunity to teach Sarah a little bit about how spending money works.  She got to buy tickets, food, and go on 4 rides all by herself.  She saw someone she knew and got so excited that she lost herself in telling us rather than saying hi to the person she'd spotted.  Hal tried the boiled peanuts while we listened to some live country music - I snapped a few pictures and just took it all in, and wasn't terribly focused on avoiding puke.  I guess the ER has softened me a bit where vomit is concerned.  Can't avoid those sights, sounds, or smells in the ER!   I visited the cows and tried to figure out whether or not I appreciated the showing of cattle and had a whole ethical debate in my head about whether or not I really should be eating meat.  I guess at my core I really am a nerd.

There is one thing that stuck with me though: one of the fair tents had merchandise for sale - almost all of it cheap cheesy crap from China but I took a look anyway (it's a woman's right to shop no matter where she is).  There was a hanger of flags and I looked all the way through them.  There were military flags, POW MIA flags, and rebel flags but not one actual American flag.  I understand pride in where you come from but the rebel flags need to go.  To me they are a sign of ignorance and hate nowadays rather than anything resembling pride.  They are simply outdated.  Fortunately there wasn't a long line of people hurrying to buy them.  It's funny to me that the same crowd of folks that would buy leather bracelets with christian fish symbols on them would buy the rebel flag as well.  There's a reason why that particular collection of merchandise was in that tent for sale.  Consumer demand.  Sad, but true.

Otherwise enjoy the pics!

Eight bucks for this?

A couple of weeks ago while walking back through the hospital from taking a visitor upstairs, I stroll by the gift shop.  Through the glass wall I see this and I have to go in for closer inspection.  I'm all for reduce, reuse, and recycle but I must admit, I'm not for this.  This $8 "recycled" plastic coke bottle just takes the proverbial cake.  Eight bucks?  For this?  Seriously?  Even if I carried a purse, I cannot imagine ever having one of these in there to "store" things.  I applaud the sentiment behind this product but come on.  Eight bucks?  Maybe $3 would be more reasonable but I still wouldn't bite.  Would you?

Whoa! Why haven't I already found this?

Read this now.  Ever wondered what happens when you die?  Who hasn't?  This book is fascinating!  Thanks Carla Baron for suggesting I read this!