Seeking Camelot

I already told the story of the grandpa with the napkin on his head and that was funny, but something else very...well,...bizarre and interesting happened too.

When I first got there, J, the current server on duty, had just taken care of a couple at a booth.

They ordered an appetizer of oysters on the half shell (yuck...but to each his own...).

After eating just a couple, they called her over to their table. After a minute, I heard her exclaim something and start laughing. I didn't think anything of it and she didn't say anything to me about it when was done talking to them, so I dismissed it.

About 15 mins., later, she told me to come over and look at something. So I did.

She was holding something in the palm of her hand.

I looked and all I saw was a tiny, shiny little ball...

about the color of a grain of sand...

Know where I'm going with this yet?

Yes!

The couple who ordered the oysters found a tiny pearl in one of them!!!

Isn't that amazing?

J and I were both laughing and I thought that it was just so awesome!

And later, as I relayed the story to M, I realized a lesson in it.

We should ALWAYS be looking for the pearl.

If you don't find it the first 100 times you look for it, keep looking. It's there.

I don't know how many of you have ever seen the movie 'Cover Girl' with Gene Kelly, Rita Hayworth, and Phil Silvers, but the 3 of them work in the entertainment industry and are always looking for their big break. After every show, the 3 of them go to their regular 'haunt' and order a side of oysters. And they sit and open every single one looking for the pearl.

Their reasoning is that if they find the pearl, then it's a sign of good things just around the corner.

I'm going to take this lesson to heart and start looking for a pearl in every situation.

What about you?

Guinevere

September 19

A Tropical Beach Somewhere is Calling...

I get so tired of being busy. I get exhausted just being on the run all the time...or what seems like all the time.

Aug. 28, M went in for a hernia surgery...well, triple hernia surgery. Yeah. OUCH. I took the Friday off work and stayed home with him. He could not get around by himself at all the first and second day.

Well, the following Wed. was the day that Lexi died, so we had all the chaos and confusion from all of that going on in the background of our lives. So, then, the same week as the funeral, on a Friday, N had a dr.'s appt. to check for a hernia.

He was right. He had one.

So, the dr. told him he could come in on Monday morning for surgery (!!!) or wait a month, then come in for another appt. with him and schedule a surgery then. He was going to be out of town for the next month and he has to see the patient within 30 days before surgery. So, 2 days later, N was in the SAME hospital having the SAME surgery with the SAME dr. as his dad a little over two weeks later.

In fact, when we were talking to the dr., I mentioned that we selected him as the surgeon because M had really liked him. He asked his name and, when I told him, he said, "Oh yes! I knew that name sounded familiar!"

The only difference between M and N's surgeries, though, was how they responded to the anesthesia. M was able to leave shortly after waking up. N, however...

Wow.

He was awake at 11:30, had thrown up (ALOT) by 2 and thrown up again by 4:30.

So, they admitted him into the hospital for the night. N was not a happy camper. He kept saying, "I'll be fine. I just want to go home." I had to keep telling him the reason was so that they could monitor him and keep fluids in him through the IV.

But yeah, it stunk. I spent the night at the hospital with him. Mainly so there would be someone right there to help him to the restroom during the night. But partly because, well, I'm a mom.

Neither one of us got much sleep.

But, he was feeling much better by about 8:00 and had managed to put away quite a bit of fluid without getting sick, so I shared some contraband M&Ms with him right before bed. And the nurse finally let him have some solid food...well, jello anyway...if you can consider jello "solid food". lol

First thing the next morning, he had a bagel for breakfast and felt fine. When we got home, both of us went to bed and slept the rest of the morning. lol

He's been doing really well. We got a prescription for some pain meds, but he hasn't had to take any. He's taken a couple of Tylenol, but said that was fine.

I'm glad he's bouncing back so quickly.

On another note, last night at Rick's was just a nightmare! It was busy, but only because we were short a server and had no bus boy. If you've ever worked in the food industry, you know the HUGE benefit of having a bus boy. It was nuts.

But one singularly funny thing happened that totally cracked me up!

I had a party of 14 come in at 8:00. It was the grandpa's birthday party. Well, they got their food alright and everything was going ok, but they asked me if I could turn on the heater.

(On the deck, there are gas heaters on poles. In the evenings when it starts to cool off, we can turn them on and they keep the deck feeling comfortable for people to be sitting out there.)

The heaters resemble this:

The square part at the top is where the flame is and it gets totally red hot. Each heater stands about 7-8 feet tall.

Anyway, this party is sitting there and they're getting ready to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Grandpa...and I notice he has a napkin on his head.

I started thinking, "Why does he have a napkin on his head?"

No one appears concerned, so I started thinking maybe it's kind of like his birthday hat or something...

I don't know...

Anyway, right after they get done singing, one of the ladies says, "Dad, why do you have a napkin on your head?"

Ok! So, I wasn't the only one wondering! lol

Well, it turned out that Grandpa was sitting directly under the heater...

and he's bald...

and his head was getting hot.

lol

I turned off the heater...

while I giggled to myself about it.

Guinevere

September 13

Wouldn't You Just Know It!!!

Sometimes I just get so irritated with myself.

Today, I was watching 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' and thinking how, even though it wasn't hugely Scripturally accurate, there were things in it that were soooooo true...and reminded me how human I am.

For example, in one scene, Jesus and 4 of His new disciples wake up and one of them realizes that someone has stolen his cloak. Jesus teaches them about how we should respond to everyone...if someone takes your coat, give him your cloak also, etc. As they turn to get back on the road, the disciple says something along the lines of, "I don't see how THAT'S going to keep me warm." And Jesus turns and hands him His cloak.

I just laughed and cried.

Oh, how I am sooooo like that!!!

I WANT to be a good disciple, but I can grumble and complain along with the best of them!!!

lol

Every person could relate to any of the 12 disciples if they really chose to examine their individual personalities. They weren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. And you know?

I'm sooooooooo glad they weren't!!!

That means there's hope for me!

lol

If you haven't seen the movie, you must! There are so many good lines in it.

For example, Charlton Heston plays John the Baptist and, in one scene, when the Roman soldiers come to take him to Herod, this is the exchange:

Soldier:

Baptist, I have come to bring you to King Herod.

John:

I have come to bring YOU to God, heathen.

lol

I totally cracked up!

Besides, there are so many great actors in one film....wow! And just another perspective on the life of Jesus...

I just wish they would quit portraying Him as quiet and solemn all the time, though. I think He was introspective, but I also think He was (and is) full of joy and exuberance and outspokenness and playfulness and excitement!

Anyway, oops, got sidetracked. lol My whole point to this post was that M and I had the entire day free...to ourselves...and what happened? No surprise. We started bickering with one another. We had planned on going to lunch together, but changed plans. Neither one of us felt much like doing that. And it just seems to have continued on through the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Do you ever have days like that? Where you're not grouchy or anything, but nothing seems to go quite like it should and you just can't get it to quit?

Today is one of those kinds of days.

That's why it was so ironic that I watched that movie today and made those observations...right before all this "ick" started. Hmmm...wonder why it all happened that way?

lol

Anyway, now I'm just waiting it out for the kids to head to their rooms for the evening and see if I can catch M and talk. I hate it when we argue and, worse yet, when we have days that we just can't seem to get along.

Anyway...you've all caught me in one of my introspective moods tonight. lol

Hope you're having a great weekend!!!

Guinevere

September 12

TGIF...Can't Say it Enough...TGIF!!!!!

I am so thankful for Fridays! If I get on a kick and start complaining about things, would someone please remind me about FRIDAYS?

Once 4:00 hits, I'm a free woman for the rest of the evening. Every Friday. I mean, EVERY stinkin' FRIDAY. I never make ANY plans on Friday nights...unless they're FUN plans. lol

Today, I only worked a half day. I had to take N in for a dr. appt. this morning. Turns out he has a hernia (which we knew) and he's scheduled for surgery (get this!) Monday morning!!! The surgeon is taking off for a month (must be nice) and this was the only opportunity he would have to do it...unless we wanted to wait a month, then have to go through all the pre-op stuff again. No thanks.

I'm still in shock. I mean, how often does THAT happen??? lol N was even surprised, and he's not even really aware of how odd this really is. lol

Anyway, we have that hanging over our heads this weekend. It'll be fine, I'm sure, and this surgeon is good at what he does (he just performed the same surgery on M on Aug. 28! lol Once he realized who we were, he said, "I knew that name sounded familiar!!!" lol

Anyway, plans tonight? Hmmm...sit in front of the tv and catch up on some DVRed stuff. I have so many movies saved, I think it'll be 2029 before I can get them all watched. lol

(Just a side note...that song that I really hate is playing on my coworker's radio. If she wasn't on the phone right now, I'd throw something at her over her cubicle!!!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway...)

Today is also M's b-day. Not sure if we're going to do something tonight or if we're going to do something tomorrow. It would be kind of fun to go out for lunch tomorrow while both kids are at work. I'll have to run that by him tonight.

NO plans for the weekend. Just lazing about at home like a sloth, hopefully. Honestly, though, I always have to be doing SOMEthing. As much as I love free time, I have a hard time just sitting and doing nothing. And I think I have RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome), so the longer I just sit...the more I have to get up and move around. I first became really aware of it when I noticed how often I get up and walk around during movies at home. I'm always having to move around. Guess I should ask my dr. about it, huh?

Anyway, with all the craziness from the last week out there, I've totally forgotten everything I was going to post on here previously. Maybe something interesting will happen this weekend that will be blogworthy.

Until then...have a great weekend!

Guinevere

September 10

Slowly Returning to the Norm...

This has been a long week! Let me tell you!!! Yesterday, things were finally starting to feel back to normal...at least for us.

Sunday night, M, A and I went to Alexia's visitation with C, N's girlfriend. N had to work. It was unbelievable how many teenagers were there!!! Most of them were crying and it was almost like they just had to see it to believe that she was gone. You know? I saw several walk up to the casket and just stand there for the longest time looking at her.

It's been hard for us adults to wrap our brains around what happened, can you imagine being a teenager and trying to figure it out???

One of Lexi's friends set up a memorial MySpace for all of her friends from school to post memorials and messages. I kind of skimmed through them and noticed that her boyfriend had posted a message. That's the only one I really read.

I don't know what to think of it.

Seriously.

On Monday, I called both N and A's schools and let them know that they wouldn't be there for classes. The funeral was at 10 that morning.

It was cold, gloomy, and rainy on Monday.

There were over 500 people at the funeral...most of which were either kids from school or Air Force (Lexi's dad is in the AF). The whole left 1/4 of the auditorium was navy blue with a little white! lol

Our pastor's wife gave the message and it was soooooo incredible. She talked about Lexi and all the normal stuff, but then she focused a HUGE part of the message and service at the teenagers who were there. Incredible!!! I just pray that they were listening!

R, pastor's wife, knew Lexi very well and had spent a lot of time talking to her and trying to kind of "break through". But, ultimately, everything had just gotten too heavy and Lexi just decided enough was enough.

One thing I really liked that R said was that she didn't believe Lexi wanted to die, but that she just wanted the hurting to stop.

Her message was so anointed. I cried through the whole thing.

After the service, I, along with some other ladies, headed to the church to get the luncheon ready. Everything went really well and we had TONS of desserts left over!

Yesterday, everything fell back into the tracks of "normal"...for us anyway.

I wish I could say the same for the Salakar family. It's going to be a rough road for awhile.

Please keep them in your prayers!!!

Alexia, we're going to miss you!!!

Guinevere

September 04

One Heavy Heart...

I was prepared to get on here this morning and get everyone caught up on some of the things that have been going on this past week. (Seems like when I finally have some free time, I just can't get motivated to move! lol)

But, last night, after church,...wow.

After church is out on Wed. nights, a lot of times, the kids and their friends (including me and my best friend, Db) will go hang out at BK for a couple of hours. Last night was no different...except for one thing.

Db's phone rang and she excused herself so that she could hear who was on the other end. (Later, she told me that she answered it only because it was our pastor's wife and it's odd for her to call late in the evening like that.)

Anyway, next thing I know, Db is heading towards me fairly quickly. She tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Come on," and motioned for me to follow her outside. (She was still on the phone.)

Once we got outside and she made sure the kids weren't following us, she said,

"Alexia hung herself in her closet. Her mom found her."

Alexia is a 15 year old girl in our youth group. She's an A student. Quiet. Friendly.

I asked her twice, "WHO?"

I just couldn't get my brain to wrap around what I was hearing.

So, our pastor's wife was heading over to their house and asked Db to pray for wisdom and words. While Db prayed with R on the phone, Db and I held hands and I prayed in agreement.

And I CRIED.

Outside BK.

Wow.

None of the other youth know yet...well, that we know of anyway. We got ourselves together before we went back inside. And of course, we got grilled by our kids. But R, pastor's wife, didn't want to let anything out just yet. She wanted to make sure that there's a plan to letting them know. (Of course, most of them will find out today while they're in school.)

But...wow.

Why?

I can remember being 15 and thinking no one understood and the world was against me...but to end everything? Seriously?

The only thing in all of this that makes sense is that, ultimately, God is in control. Even in the chaos.

So, if you pray, please lift up Jeff and Vanessa today...along with their son and Alexia's brother, Josh.

Wow.

Alexia - We'll always love you.

Guinevere

August 22

What a Crazy Week!

For awhile on Tues., I was beginning to wonder if N was going to come home from Orlando or not. I texted him while I was at work and asked what time his flight would be in. He told me it was supposed to be about 5:30 on Wed., but said that the airport was closed Tues. and might still be closed on Wed. (Due to Tropical Storm Fay.)

Well, Wed. morning, I texted him again and he said that the airport was open and they would be flying out at about 2:00. So, I got online and tracked his flight during the course of the afternoon. We picked him up on the way home from work.

The next day, the airport was closed again. Crazy coincidence?

I think not. God knew how badly I wanted my boy home!!! lol

The last 3 days here at work have been something else!!! Every 2 years (used to be once a year), the State inspectors show up to inspect all of our records and labs. It usually takes them 3-4 days to finish up, then they come back a few days later and do an exit meeting with my boss and the other administrators here on campus and at the hospital. (Thankfully, I don't have to go to those meetings!!!)

Directly, their being here doesn't affect me...except that if one of them needs something from our records, I'm here to get it for them.

BUT the atmosphere in our office changes while they're here. They're nice enough guys, but they ARE here to audit us...sooooo...the atmosphere is just a little stressful.

It was great when they left yesterday (about 3:00). My boss, myself, and the other girl in the office all looked at each other and exhaled a huge sigh of relief. We were all thinking, "Praise God it's over!!!"

Then, the other girl suggested we go for margaritas.

My boss actually said, "Oohhh! Sounds GREAT!"

She ran back to her office and told us she needed to send an update to her boss, then we'd just close up the office early and go have a drink.

lol

We closed about a half hour later and headed out. Once we got to Romeo's, I called M and told him that I wasn't at my office and that he could pick me up at the restaurant we were at.

Ok. This part might be confusing, but it has a funny ending. Wink

I told him where Romeo's was because he's not really familiar with the street it's on. Well, it's on a 4-lane, one-way street headed west. He's coming from the east, so that's good. But, after telling him where we were, I realized that it's between 24th and 30th, so when he would get off the interstate on 30th and head over to Farnam to go west, he would already be past Romeo's.

So, I called him and told him that he would need to take 24th over to Farnam THEN head west and it's on the south side of the street. I said, "Does that make sense?"

And he said, "Do you think I'm incompetent? Is that what drinking does to you?"

I said, "Drinking has nothing to do with whether or not I think you're incompetent!"

I thought my boss and the other girl were going to die laughing. lol

M didn't think it was all that funny.

lol

I did.

Guinevere

August 18

The End of Summer...

Wow. The end of summer is just around the corner. The signs are everywhere.

Saturday and Sunday, we actually turned off the a/c and opened up the house to just let it air out. LOVE it! Did you ever notice how "old and stale" your house starts to smell after being closed up for so long. I LOVE getting it all opened up and aired out! Wonderful!

The kids are getting their school supplies. I have most of N's, but A wants to buy her own with her first check. Smile

Who am I to argue?

Besides, she told me that that way, she can get exactly what she wants. I might surprise her and just add a little extra to the "cause" when it comes time to shop for her school goodies. lol (N doesn't care what he gets, as long as he has what he needs. lol Boys are great!)

N is still in Orlando. He gets back sometime Wed. I'm going bonkers. If it's this bad now, how am I going to survive his leaving for boot camp next summer? YIKES! Confused

Then, the biggest BUMMER, N's driver's license got suspended. Sounds worse than it is. In IA, you don't get a full-blown driver's license until you turn 18. Until then, you get a Graduated Driver's License. And, if you get a speeding ticket while you have your GDL, your license can be suspended. *sigh* Well, guess what? He got a speeding ticket awhile back.

We're going to file an appeal and see what happens. Basically, what happened was he got a different car and the speedometer was reading lower than what the car was actually doing. Since he got the ticket, he's had the speedometer and all of the dash gauges checked and fixed.

By filing an appeal, he'll probably get his license restricted to work and school until he turns 18, but that's the worst case scenario. As it is, he turns 18 a month and a half after the suspension takes effect. We're going to do what we can to get this fixed. He's a good driver overall.

Anyway, that's kind of a downer note, but oh well...it's the end of summer....

and that's a BIGGER downer!!!

lol

Guinevere

August 16

Quiet Evening....For a Change

N is still in Orlando tonight...

A is working at her new job...

and M is going to be taking off soon to work on some computers.

Ahhhhhh....

It's going to be soooooooooo quiet.

I'm not sure I'll know how to behave.

What will I do???

Gosh, I could think of a gazillion things I'd like to get done while I have the house to myself, but I really only have a couple of hours, so...

I'll probably just start working on my lesson plans for N this year.

And put some of our old curriculum up for sale on vegsource.com. (I'm so totally not vegan, but they have the most INCREDIBLE homeschool for sale/swap site ANYwhere! I've sold and bought so much curriculum from other homeschool moms through that site, it's amazing!)

I think I'll make some phone calls and start planning some Missionettes functions and fundraisers that are coming up. Imagine this -

Within the next 3 weeks, we are having a bake sale AND a spaghetti dinner.

The end of Sept., we are having a sleepover with the other churches in our section...and, with me being Sectional Rep, that means I'm doing all the planning and organizing.

In October, we are selling candles for a fundraiser.

Later in October, we are having a jr. and sr. high girls' retreat...which I'm also planning and organizing.

*sigh*

Then, after the holidays are over, we start planning ahead with more functions and fundraisers for the spring.

Makes me tired just thinking about it.

The thing is, I LOVE doing this. It's really where my heart is. So, tired or not, I have to do it. When I don't, I start feeling depressed and like all I do is work and sleep. Even though M'ettes is alot of work, it's work I WANT to do.

Makes a HUGE difference.

Oh, and that reminds me, next Fri. night, the Stars Club girls will be coming to my house for a "work day". They'll finish up some of their past lessons and we'll have pizza as a bonus!

One more thing to organize this week, but I'm also looking forward to it.

Guinevere

August 13

Something's Wrong With This Picture

Tonight's going to be another busy night...like when is it ever NOT around here. lol I've got to manage to find some time to shop for some jeans for N. Since he's been going to PT with the Marines twice a week, he's dropped from a size 34/34 to a 30/34. All his pants are just literally hanging off of him. And, considering he's about 6'1", he's just a skinny twig of a kid...but what he DOES have is solid muscle.

Anyway, we have to buy some jeans tonight because tomorrow, he's leaving with his JROTC unit and going to the National Drill Team Championships...

...in ORLANDO!!!

I've tried to convince him that a 17 year old boy shouldn't be travelling that far away by himself...

...that he should REALLY take his mom along...

I don't think he's buying it! lol

Anyway, he's leaving tomorrow morning. He has to be at the airport by 11. We're still not sure how he's getting there. I don't have a vehicle and tomorrow's the first day of school so M is going to be SWAMPED at work and won't be able to get away. I told him that he needs to make some phone calls and see if any of the other guys who are going could swing by and pick him up.

He'll be gone for 6 days. They're going to hit Disneyworld while they're there. It's a crazy kind of irony. N has never been all that interested in going to Disneyworld and is still kind of "whatever" about it, but A would LOVE to go.

Isn't that usually how things work out?

lol

I can't believe it....they've been growing up sooooo fast.

Guinevere

PS to my Scrabble buddies. I am so disappointed that I haven't been able to play Scrabble with all of you lately, but I have just been so overwhelmed by my work schedule and so many other things going on in my life (including outside activities and other non-tangible things) that I don't know if or when I'll be able to get back to it any time so