Posts Tagged ‘cookies’

19
Apr

Lessons Learned Because of Kim…

woman's hat

Warning: Get 2 beverages first.

Special Note: Once again, I am editing this as I reel from the horror of what has happened to West, TX, just 81 miles from my home. Please pray for healing and all resources necessary to combat this tragedy.

Note: Today is a tough day for me. My good friend, Kim, used to celebrate her birthday on this day. Those of us who were privileged to know her and love her still miss her helpful presence in our lives. This was first written after her memorial service in early 2010, after Kim passed away from Stage IV breast cancer, at the age of 51 (It may help to read last Wednesday’s post first!):

You knew it was coming, so buck up, grab your hanky if you must, grab a beverage while you’re at it, and then read on…it’ll be okay.

1. 98% of women diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer survive for at least 5 years. That statistic went up 3% since Kim was diagnosed.

2. 15% of women diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer survive for 5 years. The average length of time a Stage IV breast cancer patient lives following diagnosis is 2 years. Kim lived 2 years and 3 months after diagnosis at Stage IV.

3. The Susan G. Komen organization has funded nearly all of the studies that have led to huge breakthroughs in breast cancer research over the last 30 years.

4. 410,000 breast cancer patients will die this year and every year and yet, breast cancer is not the # 1 killer of women. Heart disease is, but even though I have a personal vendetta against heart disease, it never took my best friend away from me. In comparison over 200,000 people passed away one time from an earthquake in Haiti. Just sayin’.

5. A real friend tells you when you aren’t thinking correctly.

6. A real friend reminds you that you are worthy of respect, honor and love when it seems like the whole world is against you.

7. A real friend loves your kids even when you’d like to smack one of them upside the head and reminds you why you love them, too.

8. It is a privilege, an honor and a learning experience of the highest order to be Kim’s friend.

9. I can’t drive down or up Hwy. 281 (the highway that led to our certification classes) anymore without bursting into tears.

10. I’ve permanently lost my I-ness. (This is something only she and I understand—sorry—you had to be there!)

11. You can solve all the problems in the world on a round trip on a Saturday morning to work on your mutual certifications.

12. The PH is the one to consult for the perfect prom dress.

13. I cannot walk past the Engineering Technology building at our local university without looking for my Scottish stiff upper lip. Unfortunately, my assigned GA parking spots are right beside it. Thank you so much, University Police.

14. Do not take 2 helicopter moms to Texas Tech for new student orientation.

15. I will miss “I need therapy” distress IMs.

16. Roasted red pepper hummus dip should be its own food group, as should homemade guac and Texas caviar.

17. If you want some AD deviled eggs at Thanksgiving, get there early.

18. If you want AS Derby pie at Thanksgiving, do the dishes and stick close to the dessert table.

19. Never introduce 3 husbands to another fryer.

20. No food is safe from the fryer when the above 3 are in the same vicinity.

21. Normally uncommunicative males will yak more than women when deciding what to fry for Thanksgiving. Cell phone bills will be demonstrably higher and they will blame that on their teenagers.

22. A USA and a USDA has nothing to do with a government or a governmental operation.

23. Our little town lost their “hostess with the mostest” on January 26, 2010.

24. You don’t love your family and friends..…you lurve them.

25. I now know that the women that Kim loved were all uniquely special women.

26. There is no family like the Big Family.

27. I should not cough in the presence of my Big Family Children…unless I want to catch up with my doc soon.

28. Cookies are not something you eat, but they’re just as sweet.

29. Hydrocolloid Band-Aids are my friend.

30. Moleskin and a pair of scissors are better than chocolate. (Yes, I said that.)

31. Snoozing on a bed of acorns can actually be therapeutic.

32. There is no garage sale like a Kim’s Krew garage sale.

33. My buddy, Peggy, can hang clothes faster than Superman.

34. The real steel magnolias live in my town and there’s a slew of them.

35. Kim’s daughter is meant to be a nurse…all you had to do was watch her interact with her mom to know that.

36. No one loves a mom the way my AS loves his mom and she knew it and loved that.

37. No one loves a woman the way Kim’s husband loved his wife.

38. A wife and mom can reduce two seminary-trained ministers to “reaching for adequate words.”

39. No one loves youth the way our former youth director loves “her kids.”

40. No one loves a daughter the way my  adoptive parents loved their daughter.

41. Your biggest problem when a family member dies in in our town is how to deal with overwhelming expressions of love.

42. The tears at her funeral are enough to make me seriously think about investing in Kimberly Clarke.

43. The PH  does know how to cry after all.

44. The eldest DS has a very long memory.

45. The DD identifies with her sister all too well.

46. The youngest DS would rather go to a funeral home than play percussion.

47. I am very angry…but not at God, as some might think, but at a disease that has the temerity, the audacity, and the insolence to think that it can take my buddy away from us and think it will survive much longer on this planet.

48. I look like heqq after I’ve cried for 24 hours straight. Yes, 24 hours straight.

49. I now know the importance of telling my friends I love them and overcoming my stoic Scot side to give them a hug.

50. Her death does not go unnoticed. From now on there will be donations and other forms of support for those I know who continue to wage war on this vicious disease.

51. Breast Cancer: You’re gone…you just don’t know it yet. Do not mess with me or those she loves. Do not mess with our Big Family.

Tomorrow’s Post: Poetry Day!

05
Apr

These Cookies Aren’t Exactly Nestle Toll House…

cookies

It never ceases to amaze me what “intelligent” software (web-ware?) seems to think would be of interest to me in my email inbox and on FB. Supposedly, because of “cookies” (These apparently aren’t my beloved chocolate chip cookies–they’re some kind of cyber chip instead, which I have never found to be as tasty as the homemade wonders.) created from everywhere I visit in the internet universe, the “powers that be” should have a pretty good idea of what I tend to peruse, use and abuse. I tend to disagree. Here’s why I think the cookies are “out to lunch,” since this is a smattering of what I regularly delete out of my inbox and ignore on FB:

1. Enlarging various body parts I have never had and never intend to have. I’m into “shrink wrap” when it comes to my body parts these days. Enlarging things doesn’t usually interest me all that much.

2. Inviting me to become a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Women’s Society…I’m Methodist. I don’t oppose the Lutheran women, but ummmm…since I’m rather delinquent about helping the United Methodist Women right now, I probably won’t be helping the Lutherans much, either. I’ll probably get an ad asking me to come to the Methodist’s Men’s breakfast next Tuesday.

3. Emails in which I apparently have hit the jackpot for scholarships to grad school, should I ever decide to go back to school. Where were these people when I was applying to grad school in 2008? These folks apparently have never read my status statements on FB.

4. Photography software ads – Have they seen the pics I take? Oh. Maybe that’s the point.

5. Forklift ads. Yes, you read that right. Forklift ads. Is this an insinuation that I still need to lose more weight? If so, guess what….I won’t be buying any forklifts from them. Maybe it’s an indication that they’ve seen the messes at my home?

6. Cat Litter Ads. Considering that even entering a home where a cat resides generally sends me to the nearest ER, I think we can safely assume that I have no interest in litter of any kind, particularly the feline kind. I hate to break this to them, but I really don’t care whether it clumps or crumbles.

7. The vendor newsletter from the guy who very rudely insulted me for merely relaying a message to him from my former boss. (I might add that I apologized profusely and relayed the information as tactfully as possible.) He suggested that I didn’t have my act together (Trust me–this is the nicest way to put this.). I would like to suggest that he doesn’t have his act together if he thinks I will patronize his business after the insult. Even Freud (another person who probably didn’t have his act together) would conclude that this man is probably the “poster boy” for projection.

8. The emails from a photographer I’ve never heard of who claims that I have placed an order through their establishment. They’re “concerned” because my “free shipping window” is about to expire if I don’t complete my order with them soon. Note to photographer: If I haven’t responded, you can cancel my imaginary order. When a free shipping window closes, a free shipping door usually opens anyway. And I have always preferred walking through doors and not climbing through windows when shipping.

9. The ads for a laptop I already own. In fact, I’m deleting their emails on the very laptop they want to sell me. How many laptops does one person need? I know I write a lot, but since they makes good laptops (That’s why I bought one!), I don’t think more. Now watch my keyboard die tomorrow…..Maybe I’ll leave that one in the deleted file for a while.

10. The Planet Fitness ads. I’ve spent a particularly large sum of money to have my own indoor gym. And I don’t really like leaving Earth to get fit.

11. Wedding ads. In case they hadn’t noticed, I’ve been married for 30 + years and the DD got married last year. I don’t have any real plans to get married again unless Brad Pitt decides not to stay with Angelina. I think even the PH might forgive me for that one since Angelina would be back on the “market.”

12. Expensive purse ads. My purse collection includes the $ 5 number from Wally World and the $ 7 one from Sam Moon. Don’t think I will be buying Dooney & Bourke in the foreseeable future. Unless Obamacare goes through. If so, I want mine in navy blue.

13. The FB ads for online stores where I must give my email address in order to see if I want to be on their email list. I have to confess that I’ve succumbed to a few of these and here is the kicker: After I discover I really do hate what they have to offer (which usually takes all of about 5 seconds), there is no easy way to extract myself from their incessant emails. This would explain why I have about 1000 unopened emails in my inbox. And it doesn’t matter if I delete them today…tomorrow they will send me 1000 more.

14. The ads telling me I haven’t ordered from them in 2 years. They are greatly concerned that I will be dropped from their email list. I am greatly concerned that I will put a fist through my computer screen. See # 9. Maybe my laptop company is smarter than I think.

Have to go now…my laptop wants to know if I really want to delete the email from its very own company. And one shouldn’t miss out on the 40% off Forklift Sale. Those I do tend to buy online because of the free shipping window. One can never have enough forklifts. What colors do they have? I prefer navy blue. See # 12.

Point to Ponder Challenge: How much money have you needlessly spent this year on items that were clogging your inbox or cluttering your home pages? What better things could you do with this money? Fund a retirement account? Save for college? Save for a wedding? Give to a charitable cause? Buy a new home? What actions could be taken to limit their advertising effect on you? What actions could be taken to minimize the deluge of advertising you encounter each day? Take five minutes today and work on those actions. Your Dooney & Bourke purse and Fossil wallet thanks you.

Tomorrow’s Post: Forgot the invitation?