Learning Something I Already Knew

It's not been much of a secret that I've not been in the most cheerful mood this week. I can't really pinpont why, but I've just been in a bit of a funk. For the most part, I've trie to keep to myself so that I didn't rub my crabbiness off on anyone else -- I hate it when people are in a crappy mood and it rubs off on me, so I try to avoid doing the same to others.

Anyway, I had to attend a Chamber of Commerce banquet tonight and wasn't exactly thrilled. I knew that it would be interminably long and, most likely, incredibly boring, so even thinking about it kind of added to my unhappiness.

I decided to leave work at 4 this afternoon, ostensibly so I could have a while to relax, change clothes, and freshen my hair and make-up before leaving. On the way home, inspiration struck. I had a sudden unbearable urge to hit the gym for a good, hard workout. I looked at the clock in my car and knew that I had time to get in at least a partial workout, as long as I hurried; I had to make sure that I had time to shower and get ready to leave on time. I flew home, changed clothes, and headed straight to the gym. As I opened the door, my enthusiasm waned - especially because I saw a couple of people there who really annoy me -- but I forced myself to get moving. I wasn't able to get in a full and complete workout, but I did get in between two-thirds and three-quarters of one.

As soon as I was done, I got in my car, rolled down the windows and opened the sun roof, and headed home. I was a couple of blocks from the gym when I realized that my major case of the crabbies was gone. I wasn't mulling over silly things. I wasn't stressing over trivial things. I was no longer focused on the bad. Instead, I felt amazing. I felt better than I've felt in about two weeks. My stress was gone and it was replaced with the normal Meg.

I have always known that working out makes me feel better, both physically and emotionally. I'm sure that there's a long, detailed scientific explanation about endorphins and whatnot, but that doesn't really matter to me. All that matters is that I FEEL better. Lighter, somehow -- and I don't mean pounds wise, although that'll hopefully come very soon.

I've been lecturing myself about getting back in the gym, but have been resisting going. I don't know why. All I know is that my relatively short workout this afternoon has provided the incentive I needed -- I still, several hours later, feel a lot better and I'm proud of myself for going. This feeling is good enough to make me want to hit the gym or go running regularly again!

Proof Positive

Here's concrete, well ice and plastic, proof that I do, indeed, need a helmet. It's also proof that I shouldn't be the one driving the short bus, but rather, one of the passengers.

Full five gallon bottle of Culligan+brutally cold temperatures and ice=




A rather large explosion that was so loud it woke Tess from a deep sleep and caused mass panic in her little dog body.

Shrapnel...



The pieces literally landed here after the bottle exploded on my porch.

Guess that's one bottle deposit I won't be refunded! I'm half tempted to save the bottle to show to the Culligan man and see if I can get a good laugh. Now, if someone can tell me where to purchase a helmet, I'll be in good shape.

Confession Time!

Okay...confession time! I watch the trashtastic piece of videography known as "Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels". I should be hanging my head in shame, but hey, sometimes it's nice to see that there are people in this world who are more screwed up than I'll ever dream of being!

So I watched the first two seasons, too, and haven't been quite as disgusted as I have been this season. Sure, Bret Michaels, while being the singer of one of the BEST hair bands ever, is sick for going after women who are nearly young enough to be his daughters. But that's part of the trashy glory known as VH-1 reality TV. This season, though, just takes things to a new level of nastiness. I truly feel like I need a full body condom just to watch it. But, it's addictive...I can't seem to turn away!

Amazing People

As I posted about a week ago, a young mother and her four children were found murdered in El Reno. This woman was a Redlands student, and as there were approximately 1,000 people expected for the joint funeral today, we agreed to host it on campus. I've spent much of the past week helping prepare for this service. Nothing, but nothing, could have prepared me for something I experienced today.

As we stood outside awaiting the arrival of the funeral procession, I could hear the roar of engines and feel the rumble of the ground. I immediately recognized the unmistakable sounds of motorcycles. I've seen photos of the Patriot Guard attending funerals before, but I've never seen it first hand. The roar I heard today was not the Patriot Guard, but rather, BACA (Bikers Against Child Abuse). This contingency of nearly 100 riders took the day off of work and spent their day escorting this funeral procession. They spent their time trying to offer a sense of comfort and solace to this grieving family. When the first riders pulled into the parking lot, I was overwhelmed by emotion. These individuals are so caring. So loving. So dedicated to their cause -- preventing child abuse and doing anything and everything within their power to comfort the victims of child abuse.

I've never seen anything like it; I'm in awe of these individuals and this organization. As I sit here typing this, I have tears in my eyes again. These bikers, many of whom have professional jobs - lawyers, accountants, doctors, prison guards, and more - make it their mission in life to prevent the abuse of children. What an amazing mission. What amazing people.

Here's a link to BACA's national Web site, if you want any additional information about this organization: http://www.bacausa.com/

In-Awe-Guration

I had the opportunity to watch the majority of the inaguration this morning. I remember watching bits and pieces of different inaugurations in the past, but until today, I'd never watched the entire event.

As I sat in my office, surrounding by my co-workers, huddled around my computer, and listened to President Obama speak, I got goosebumps. My goosebumps had goosebumps. And I had tears in my eyes. I can't explain why, but I think it's because I feel such a sense of hope. A better tomorrow. I'm proud to be an American.

This Makes Me Sick

I'm relaxing at home this evening, in anticipation of a very long, and most likely rough, week. I've been flipping channels and came across a show on TLC that's making me want to vomit. No, it's not a medical show, or even a show about snakes. It's worse. Much worse. It's about child beauty pageants.

This is disgusting! Women have babies -- and I mean babies, some of whom are probably not even 18 months old yet -- made up like two dollar hookers, wearing huge hair pieces, and wearing swimsuits that might, just might, be appropriate for teenagers; yes, there are slightly older little girls participating, too.

One little girl was crying because she didn't want to go on stage. Her mother dragged her backstage and basically threatened her. She forced the child on stage and then was pissed beyond belief when the child wouldn't "perform" to her expectations. The poor little girl stood there on stage, looking horrendously upset and scared out of her mind.

What on god's green earth are we teaching children by parading them on stage like this - covered in pancake make-up, sprayed down with spray tan, and even wearing false teeth "flippers"? We're teaching them that they have to try to be something that they are not. We're teaching them that they have to conform to someone elses idea of "beauty". In fact, I just heard one mother, as she was pinning a giant hairpiece into her daughter's hair, claim, "Sit still. We have to make you beautiful." Seriously, hef own mother doesn't think that she's already beautiful?

This disgusts me. You truly can't tell me that most of these little girls enjoy being on stage. The mothers, most of whom appear to be overweight middle aged women, seem to living their fantasies through their children. Some of them claim to have been "pageant girls" when they were children and they talked about how much the loved it. Whatever.

This is sick. Whatever happended to letting kids be kids? Sure, when I was a little girl I played dress up, which included wearing "fancy" dresses and even playing in make-up sometimes, but this is just wrong. Let kids be kids. Quit forcing them to grow up before they're ready. Children should be innocent and care-free, not worried about upsetting Mom by not performing up to her expectations on stage.

Sadness

Two days ago, a young mother and her four children were murdered within miles of my house. A young woman. Four innocent children. Babies, really.

They have a suspect in custody, and from what I've heard, they have a solid case against him.

What is this world coming to? This woman, only five years younger than me, did nothing to deserve to die. These children - young, innocent, sweet children, didn't need to die. Their deaths are completely senseless.

When did the world become such an ugly place? I can usually find so many things that are beautiful in the world, but tonight, so much seems ugly.

Get OVER Yourself!

I'm not much on awards shows and think that, for the most part, actors/actresses are full of themselves;p I think these awards shows are primarily just another avenue for these over-inflated egos to be further stroked.

That's why, when I heard about this little clip today, I about vomited:



YUCK! Get over yourself, Megan Fox. Everyone knows that you're gorgeous and you know it. But apparently you like to fish because you were so very obviously fishing for compliments. You can only wish that you were in the same category as Alan Alda. Sorry, but with this little clip, I no longer think you're beautiful - I think your ego is way too big, which doesn't make you a very pretty person.

This is NOT a Video Game!

After several hours of playing Mario Kart on the Wii this weekend, two things happened -- first, I became, for the first time since the original Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt combo game, totally obsessed with a video game, and second, I damned near forgot how to drive a real car.

As I was driving home tonight, I swear that I had the strongest urge to continually push a nonexistent button on my steering wheel to make my car go faster and, when going around the large curves on the turnpike, I really felt the need to reach for and push the "B" button on the backside of my steering wheel so that I could drift the curves with greater ease. Jason and I also joked about it being funny if someone got boxes, colored them, added question marks, and tossed them randomly in the middle of the street.

I know, I know - I'm a dork. But I'm a Mario Kart-loving dork! I can about guarantee you that I'll be buying one of these for my nephew for his birthday...along with an extra steering wheel so that he and I can race whenever I'm back in Fredonia!

Did You Ride the Short Bus to Work Today?

Jason and I are grilling steaks and vegetables for dinner tonight. I needed to get a few things, namely vegetables, so I ran to the Crest in Edmond. (For anyone who might not know, Crest is a grocery store that usually rocks.) I witnessed an incredible display of intelligence. For the following story, keep in mind that I worked in a grocery store throughout high school, so I have certain expectations about common sense in clerking.

In the middle of scanning my order, the clerk called a manager over. They had a conversation which made me want to beat my head against my cart.

Clerk: "Is the name on the WIC thingie supposed to match their name?"

Manager: "Yes. WIC stands for Women, Infants, and Children."

Clerk: "No, that's not what I mean. I mean, are they supposed to sign the right name?"

Manager: "Yes, they're supposed to sign their name."

Clerk: "No, I mean, does the name on the thingie have to match their name?"

Manager: "I don't understand what you mean."

Clerk: "Does the name they sign have to match the name on the thingie? The girl signed the name Hannah and the name on the thingie was Elizabeth."

Manager: "Oh. Sometimes people sign using their middle name or a different name."

Clerk: "But even the last name didn't match. Do you think I should have asked for ID to make sure it was the right person?"

Manager: "No. They check for fraud when it comes back to the WIC office. They look to see that the name signed matches the name on the thingie exactly."

Clerk: "Well, the names didn't match and the lady acted funny."

Manager: "It's probably okay, and if it's not, I guess the government will fix it."

Okay, seriously??!?! A million years ago when I clerked at good old Ray's IGA in Fredonia, if we didn't know the person, we were supposed to ask for identification when they used their WIC. If their ID didn't match one of the names listed on the certificate, we were not allowed to fill the WIC order and were supposed to notify the health department. Now, that's been a good 12 years ago, but I would assume the rules are still, at least, somewhat the same. Obviously, if you have a name/person/ID that doesn't match anything on the WIC voucher, then you have cause to be suspicious. I'm not saying that the woman buying the WIC was committing fraud, but there's always that possibility. I just would like to know that a little more care is taken with my tax money to ensure that it's not wasted on someone who doesn't need the assistance. Don't get me wrong - I think WIC is one of the better government programs. It's just apparent that these two idiots needed some better training.

Oh - and not only was the checker slow in thinking and scanning my order, but she also was wearing a button on her shirt that said "If you don't like my attitude, then quit talking to me." CLASSY.

A Matter of Perspective

For Christmas this year, I bought my mom some perfume that she'd been coveting for a while - DKNY's Be Delicious. I think it smells wonderful and she called this evening to let me know that she's been enjoying it and has been wearing it frequently. And from the sounds of it, my nephew really likes it, too!

Apparently Mom sprayed some on this evening as she was getting ready for work. Before she left, my nephew, Adrian, was still at her house. She went to hug him and tell him goodbye and he said, "Wow, Grams! Are you wearing the new perfume Aunt Meg gave you?" She told him it was and he responded by saying, "That smells really good! You know, like the soap in a restaurant bathroom!" I guess she had a hard time not laughing and he said, "Well, you know, a really expensive restaurant."

I personally think that the soap in most public bathrooms stinks, but I guess it's all a matter of perspective. If that's what he think smells the best, then rock on, little guy. Rock on.

What's Wrong with our Healthcare System

So I received a message from a really good friend of mine earlier this evening. Her mom is quite a bit older than my mom, is diabetic, and has some other chronic health problems. She's also one of the sweetest women I've ever met in my life and she'd give the shirt off her back to someone who needed it. My friend, her daughter, is much the same way.

The mom lives with her daughter and, as a result of her diabetes, has been battling major foot infections for the past year. She's had several toes amputated, but they finally think things are under control, as long as she has her bandages changed each day. Until today, they had been going to Community Care at the local hospital to have this done; today, the doctor gave them a prescription so that the daughter could do it at home. The thought was that it would be significantly faster (by nearly an hour and a half each day) and Medicare wouldn't be shelling out several hundred dollars a day to pay for a bandage change; they thought it was a good deal for everyone all of the way around. So, off they went to the pharmacy. Turns out that the medication is considered an over-the-counter medication (even though it has to be specially ordered and can only be ordered through a pharmacy) and costs a little more than $100 a tube. Medicare will not pay for a dime of the medication because it's considered OTC; they will, however, pay the entire charge for her to go to Community Care each day to have her dressing changed.

Can someone please explain to me the logic behind this reasoning? The government would rather make us, the taxpayers, shell out several thousand dollars over a month rather than pay for $100 tube of medication???!?!?! To me, something doesn't add up and I see NO logic here.

Now, I've seen some of the other reasons behind why healthcare costs so astronomically much (example: in the ER after a car wreck, I was charged $750 for ONE lortab; I filled a prescription for an entire bottle of them for less than $10), but this one just astounds me. I never thought I'd say this, but maybe Canada has the right idea with socialized health care.

Things I Love

fuzzy socks
watching my dog play, especially when she's playing with my Poppy
unconditional love
homemade fleece blankets
my Busy Bridge (one of my Poppy's favorite toys from when he was little; he gave it to me)
bottled water
twitter
foot rubs
roller-ball gel ink pens
PathWords on facebook
playing dominoes
Christmas cards
Archer Farms cranberry/almond/blueberry natural mix
full moons
purses
Wii with Jason
sunlight
laughing 'til you cry
towels that still smell like clean laundry
clean sheets and shaved legs
DVR
unexpected compliments
instant messaging
the fact that my pharmacist knows me by name and can tell when I don't feel well
old friends
new friends
a smile from a stranger
flowers
Murray's Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
cranberry bread
Christmas ornaments
flea markets
pedicures
phone calls from friends who somehow seem to know that you need to hear their voice
smoked cheddar cheese
photos of people I love
my mom's recliner (if I had a truck, I'd steal it!)
appletinis
sparkly things
the crunchy orange gum that Santa always puts in my stocking
good surprises
doing nice things for other people
my Lampe Berger
tomatoes fresh from the garden (so fresh they're still warm from the sunshine)
making jewelry
good books
original Blistex chapstick
hot tea
baking/cooking, especially for other people
V-8

List to be continued... Post a comment with the things that you love!

Reflections

It's a new year (yeah, I know that I'm about four days late, but bear with me here) and as I sit here, I'm reflecting upon the past year. For me, 2008 had some definite highs and definite lows, but the way that I see it, that's pretty much every year; what stands out the most to me, though, are the people I love the most and the good times we had together.

The good times: The entire week at the lake (and watching Matt get so distracted by women in bikinis that I think he forgot his own name). Driving around on a Sunday afternoon with Jason, with no particular destination in mind - actually, all of the amazing times we had last year. Having my nephew here for a week for Kids College. Going to Bartlesville for pedis with my mom. Playing CatchPhrase with a bunch of my colleagues from other Oklahoma colleges at OCPRA. Watching Tess chase her nemesis, the squirrel, through the backyard nearly every day. Seeing Lauren's face light up when I walked in the door and hearing her scream "AUNT MEG!" at the top of her little lungs. Sitting up half the night talking to Tree. Reading the e-mail notifying me that my office won two major regional awards. Receiving a "just because" card and a couple of phone calls from one of my old friends from pratt, Tim -- and then receiving the phone call from him to tell me that he and Carol finally were tying the knot. Singing wrong words to Christmas songs with Tamara while putting out Tour of Homes signs. Turning 30 and not feeling my age. Playing in the leaves with Tanner while trying to take photos of him for Jason's Christmas present. The Melting Pot and TSO with Matt. Reconnecting with some of my cousins, even though it was at my Grandpa's funeral. Spur-of-the-moment dinners with Steph and her girls. Watching my poppy and Tess play all afternoon on Christmas day. Wrapping a gift for Keri's baby shower, all the while having a major hunch that it would be postponed because she'd have Bridgette that day (and she did!).

The people -- I could start with a list, but chances are, I'd never end, or if I tried, I'd forget someone. There are so many people who made my life worth living last year. So many. My family. My friends. My family of friends.

So, looking back, I must admit that 2008 was a good year. I only hope that I can be as blessed during 2009!