I've always envied people who can "sleep in". It's a holiday and I didn't have to get up early, but guess who was awake at 4:30? Yep, yours truly. Part of it is my normal routine. I'm usually up by 4:15am so I can be at work by 6:15am. Being a morning person, my brain works better that time of day; it's the best time for me to have my devotions. Since Brad put the NASB on my iPod, I can listen to about 7 chapters and then spend time in prayer. As you might have surmised, getting up this early leads to going to bed really early, too. I used to think my parents were just weird for going to bed at 8pm. Company would have heard my daddy say, "Well, Sue, I think we'd better go to bed so these folks can go home." If the phone rang after 8pm, daddy answered with, "WHAT?" Now I understand why they retired early. And my family completely understands.

It will be a quiet day for me: Terry will be at work and the kids will be at in-laws' homes. It will be a good day to finish Part 2 of Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. I hadn't realized until a few weeks ago that there is a Part 2. Christian's pilgrimage makes up Part 1 and so far as I can tell from the Prologue, Part 2 is the pilgrimage of Christiana, his wife, and their four children. I read this classic when I was a teen so was surprised at how much I remembered. But I didn't know about Part 2 and I'm excited about starting it today.

I'll have to be very careful about downloading to the iPod. Pilgrim's Progress was a free download, but let me tell you, other books are not cheap. You'd think that since publishers don't have to pay for ink, paper, shipping, etc., these downloads would be less expensive. Not necessarily so. I'm trying to find some trustworthy sites with less expensive products. Cathy, if you see any downloads by some of the Christian authors you know I like - Lucado, Swindoll, Tozer, Blackaby - please let me know.

Have a happy and safe 4th.

Don’t you just love nice surprises? Monday afternoon I was working hard…smile…at my computer when I heard the front door open. I looked up (with my computer glasses on, which prevented my seeing anything except a blur) and saw a wild woman standing at the counter waving big-time. Quick! Change glasses. Oh my stars, it’s Cathy. How great is that?! She had spent a couple of days w/ her grands and was on her way back home. We only got a short visit in, but Friend Cathy, it was wonderful to see you.

This past weekend was a sweet one for our family. Katelee was baptized Sunday morning with lots of family there to share the experience. It turned into a really busy day. Some of us went to lunch after church; then L & I went to a bridal shower. At the house K & kidlettes came by twice and M dropped in for a while. WOW! How often do I get to see all my girls in one day? Not nearly often enough.

I finished my work projects that were stressing me out so much. Of course, there will probably be things to correct but it will come in smaller, more manageable increments.

I fell off the wagon last night. Yesterday was our 37th anniversary so Terry & I went out to supper. Do you know how hard it is to manage portions when you go to a place that is strictly buffet? Oh well, let’s just say it was a reward for making a drastic lifestyle change. I’m back on the healthy eating wagon again today so maybe there wasn’t too much harm. On Monday afternoon I added a cardio workout to my routine. I can tell you, about 10 minutes into the program I could feel every single one of my 57 years. Can you say “the oldies were sweating”? Oh…but I feel so much better.

It’s been an emotional week. I’ve had two large projects with a 6/20 deadline that threatened my sanity. Not one to procrastinate, the tendency on these two projects caught me completely off guard. Mine wasn’t a “drop-dead” timeline, but I was strongly encouraged to get it done. I’ll be sending off a large package Monday & finishing the rest this coming week. In my own defense, the procrastination stemmed from lack of resources – people, information, direction. Oh well, it’s almost over and I’ll find out soon enough what “they” think of my work.

An employee has been very sick – in hospital last week & then again this week. He finally got a diagnosis Wednesday and had surgery Thursday. Ramon is a lovable teddy-bear of a man and we’ve been very worried about him.

Carter & Laurie were going w/ the church group to the Creation Museum in Kentucky and to the Cincinnati Zoo Thu – Sat. Those plans changed slightly when Marlee Kupcake got very sick. She went to the doctor Tue morning and when she wasn’t doing better Wed morning (in fact, worse) doc told Mommy to bring her in and be prepared to go directly to the hospital. Yep, she was admitted. At first it was precautionary, but then tests revealed salmonella and a severe UTI in a 16-mo old. She didn’t like the IV and hated the blood pressure cuff they put on her ankle. The IV was taken out yesterday morning and she was home before lunch. She’s doing much better but still recovering.

Because of her hospital stay, we weren’t sure about Carter going on the trip, but several parents said they would be glad to take care of him as their own. He spent the night w/ us and we got him to the church early Thu morning. Laurie’s talked to him and some of the adults. He’s having a great time and will be home this afternoon.

In the middle of this I took a vacation day on Tuesday. (use it or loose it) MomaG and I went shopping. TA-DA…I’m down another clothing size. The weight is coming off 2-3 pounds per week and I feel so much better. My yearly physical in August will reveal significant weight loss and I’m hoping better cholesterol and triglyceride numbers. Never one to take vitamins, it’s a necessary part of my routine now, along with a fish oil pill.

Since I don’t usually read the Comcast Cable emails I hadn’t realized until last night that onDemand has finally plugged in Exercise TV. Now I can vary my treadmill time w/ some great cardio workouts. I’m excited. Measurable results when I step on the scale serve to keep me on the straight-and-narrow. Salads, fresh fruits and vegetables, Weight Control oatmeal (which I now swear by) and lots of water have this reformed eater living a much healthier lifestyle.

5 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR CELL PHONE COULD DO
(Print and put in yourcar glove box)

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:

FIRST: Emergency
The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.

SECOND: Have you locked your keys in the car?
Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).
Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!'

THIRD: Hidden Battery Power
Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

FOURTH: How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 #. A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone gets stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people
stealing mobile phones.

FIFTH: Free Directory Service for Cells
Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial (800) FREE 411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.

The world of work is changing all the time; and with changes come longer hours with more work crammed into each of those hours. Sometimes it feels as if I don’t have a life outside the plant. Let me think….9 more years to retirement. (Who can retire before they're eligible for Medicare?)

But I do have a life outside work and it’s a good one. Family and friends are happy and well, which is an abundant blessing by itself. K is in N.O. with her youth for a week of ministry and clean-up. L is home w/ her young crew. She & Carter are going w/ the church group to the Creation Museum in Kentucky(?) later this month. Molly is subbing at not one, but two, middle schools this summer. All the guys are working hard and all the kidlettes are fine. Terry is busy even though the economy is in a slump. (Not a recession. By definition a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP, which we haven’t had, at least not yet.)

Healthier eating habits and more consistent treadmill time leads to consistent weight loss. I've reached two goals in the last three weeks. YEA! A friend has put the NASB on my iPod so treadmill time will be time well spent, in more ways than one. Thanks Brad.

Life is on an even keel. Things can change in the blink of an eye, but I'm grateful for the moment. God is good all the time; all the time God is good.

Marlee Kupcake w/ her mom (a Chuck E. Cheese sketch)

Why would someone who is so obviously imperfect have perfectionist tendencies? I just went back in my previous post and corrected a word I'd misspelled. Now why did I do that since the 4 people who read this blog have probably already read that post, noticed the error, laughed a little and moved on to other more interesting things? Who knows. Friend Cathy, do you want a crack at psycho-analyzing me? Ha! I'll bet you've already tried after all these years.

Not sure why I'm here posting; it's going to be a busy two days. I need to work on the SS lesson for tomorrow and polish up a short talk I'm giving at Parkway's Mother's Day Brotherhood Breakfast in the morning. This afternoon MomaG, my brother Darrell, his wife Kay, Terry & I, all our girls, all their husbands & kids and all their husbands' families are having a cookout at K&A's house. Whoo-Hoo!! It's supposed to be stormy but Katey assures everyone their new house is not a showcase and she doesn't mind sweeping up the dirt later.

Happy Mothers' Day to all who are mothers and to all who have mothers!

We really appreciate all who called to check on us yesterday. There's a reason they call it Tornado Alley. Laurie's family got the brunt of it last weekend and yesterday was our turn. It's amazing that an F4 tornado can come through & do surprisingly little damage. Of course, the folks that are having siding & roofs repaired don't think it's so "little". But for the size and strength of the four tornadoes, we really dodged a bullet.

In our neighborhood there are lots of uprooted trees, shingles blown off, siding torn off, portable storage buildings gone and some very fortunate, uninjured people. In the hours after the storm Terry said there were two to three hundred people in our subdivion cleaning up. And that didn't count the sightsee-ers getting in the way.

It was a difficult day for me. If you read my other blog you know I have a wounded heel. The antibiotics are causing some emotional ups & downs. (What's up with that?) And I have the responsibility of keeping 40+ people safe at work with no control over what storms do. And yesterday we had corporate company. All-in-all yesterday was a traumatic day. Only our Heavenly Father could have carried me through it all. I know it wasn't my strength.