Tuesday, October 30, 2007

3BT

1. the simple comfort of making a new quilt and how the fabric feels in my hands.
2. the warmth of my socks as I put them on my cold feet.
3. hearing in a friend's voice that she is happy to hear my voice.

...may there be mercy and beautiful things today.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

another round

I have a pain in the neck.

No, I'm not being a pain in the neck... I have one!

I know some were thinking it and can guess pretty accurately which ones of you that would be!

About 2 months ago, I slept wrong and woke with my neck hurting. It got progressively worse. I paid for a deep tissue massage, which helped for about 24 hours... and then the pain was back, equally bad. After another 2 weeks of trying to get it to settle down by self care, I finally broke down and went to the doctor.

Verdict: arthritis flare up.

Arthritis??? Isn't that for old people? Oh... yeah... guess I am heading toward 50 at a rapid rate!

So they sent me to physical therapy, twice a week for a month. Today is the last treatment and then I go back to the doc next week. Sadly not seeing much progress in pain relief. I'm dreading the doc appointment because I expect to be told that there isn't much to be done, just learn to live with the chronic pain... again.

Battling chronic pain is not a pleasant task. It is exhausting and it can be discouraging. When life is on an “up” cycle, with health going fairly well all around, I forget exactly how exhausting chronic pain can be. Especially since I've done well for several years now.

But battle I will.

...may there be mercy and rest in the battle.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

home

Home again, home again, jiggity jig!

Yep, singing because it was such a great time in St. Louis with my amazing friends. We laughed and ate our way around.

Notice I did not mention sleep. Mostly because we didn't do much of it!

Too tired for stories tonight. Will give my 3BT for today and go to a very early bedtime.

1. The look in the eyes of a newlywed couple on my flight home.
2. The gravelly sound of the retired cop's voice as we talked on the shuttle.
3. The welcome home hug from my sweet husband.

...may there be mercy and rest tonight that refreshes.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

rock 'n' roll!!!

I've spent the day doing a bit of pampering myself with manicure, pedicure and hair appointments. Feeling pretty good on the spiffy-o-meter.

Now I'm packed and ready to relax with a good night's sleep before I head to St. Louis in the morning. At least I'm supposed to sleep... I'm too excited at this point! Getting to see so many of my friends, in person, at the same time is amazing. The anticipation has been huge. The fun and laughter will most likely be non-stop.

But I need to sleep tonight!

So I'll mention my 3BT for today and go try to bring myself down from the rafters.

1. The joy in my sweet father-in-law's voice when I asked him for a breakfast date for tomorrow, followed by a ride to our airport shuttle. When he feels needed, it's a lovely thing.
2. Red, orange and gold leaves. The colors just popped out at me today and took my breath.
3. Watching an autistic man in his determination to do a good job where he works.

I'm off... in rock 'n' roll mode... and going to bring myself down... until morning!

...may there be mercy as we all travel... and fun!

Monday, October 08, 2007

time for me

In case I haven't mentioned it lately...

... as of 5 p.m. today I am on vacation!!!

Looking forward to a couple days of relaxing and pampering myself followed by that very fun trip to St. Louis to see all my lovely friends.

...may there be mercy and refreshment in time off... and a bunch of fun!

Saturday, October 06, 2007

3BT

I'm thinkin' this Three Beautiful Things (3BT) may become a frequent "filler" post when I have nothing else to say. It's a good concept.

3BT for today:

1. the smell of coffee.
2. the warmth of the water in my shower.
3. that first yummy taste of boneless pork chops browned quickly, then braised in wine, garlic, onion and rosemary.

Add a couple more that are more of a "big ticket item" than a moment of beauty:

1. Coffee and conversation with my dear friend and almost sister, Kim at our favorite independent coffee shop.
2. A lunch date with my sweet husband, with great ongoing conversations all day... I miss him with his current work schedule being the opposite of mine.

Cool... I've got bigger day than the 3 today!

Okay, if you're up to it, play along with me... what are your 3BT for today? Remember it's about the moments... not necessarily the big stuff!

...may there be mercy as we see the beautiful things given us this day.

Friday, October 05, 2007

moments

Recently someone gave me a link to a blogger whose entire purpose for the blog is to list three beautiful things that she noticed that day.

It's not quite a gratitude journal, but a noticing of those moments in a day that make your heart smile... those moments that make you laugh... or those really simple little moments that just give you a bit of pleasure in an otherwise mundane day.

My online buddies and I decided that Thursdays would be our 3 beautiful things (3BT) day. Each week on Thursday, during the course of our normal postings to one another, we will include the 3 beautiful things from our day.

Yesterday I was in a ton of pain, so it was kind of hard to play the 3BT game with them. (I've done something to my neck, causing lots of pain and a month's worth of physical therapy... and a diagnosis of probable arthritis already. Ugh! I'm only 47!!!) But I was determined to see those 3BT's and was pleased that I could.

Some days it's so easy to see them. The 3BT turns into an entire day's worth. Yesterday wasn't one of those days! But I did find those moments and thought I'd share them here... because sometimes it's just important to share the simple moments with friends.

Thursday’s 3BT:

1.A moment of sunshine in a very black cloudy day... and the sunshine was warm on my back while I worked at my desk.
2.The sound of excitement in a friend's voice when she heard that I get to meet up with my friends in St. Louis next week.
3.That moment of a first time discovery when I actually figured out what feeling full and not overstuffed was like... way cool.

That third item is a big, big moment for me since I've never been able to figure out the feeling full mechanism in my tummy. I'm taking a class right now on stress/emotional eating issues. One of the things I've figured out about myself is that I actually trained my tummy to never feel full. I did it early in life when I never gained weight and it didn't matter.

But now it matters that I learn how to feel comfortably full. Somehow I managed to work the Weight Watcher's program, lose 50 pounds and never learn the feeling full thing.

Yesterday's moment was one of a great discovery for me!

So today, I'm going to continue watching for my 3BT and see what happens. Sometimes they are big ticket items... sometimes little moments. No matter, they improve my attitude and my spirit.

...may there be mercy as we notice those moments of beauty given to us.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

more life

Not so crabby, but oh so busy!

Taking a class and also joined a new small group. Between them it will keep my evenings a bit on the busy side.

Being very thankful right now that I'm taking extra days off next week before I travel. So I've only got 3 working days until I am on vacation. Yay!

Can hardly wait for a day to sleep in... and a little time to quilt... and to travel to see my friends!

I've got a great story to tell here, but too tired to write it out right now. Soon. Needing sleep!

...may there be mercy and restful slumber tonight.