life is interesting. i got together with my high school girlfriends over the weekend--six of us from way back when. we were talking a lot about "blips." moments that seem so huge in our lives, but after time they are just blips on the radar screen. some of our blips included boyfriends, accidents, depression, marriages, joblessness, hopelessness...they all seem like nothing now. just blips in life, little speed bumps that we really have to just get over if we want to keep on driving. but all those blips kind of pile up to make us the people that we are. i'd say the women with the most blips back then have the strongest characters now. which just means that God knows what He's doing, even when it seems like he's being kinda mean.

and that brings me to karen. she definitely wins the award for the most blips. she's always been very headstrong, smart, beautiful and she was always the most rebellious. the most apt to speak her mind and stand her ground. she was MY backbone...the one who called my work one saturday morning, said she was me and quit the crappy job.

watching her this weekend, it all made so much sense. all of the life lessons she has gone through have turned her into the most amazing woman i know. i am certain that any of us would do what she is doing, but i'm not certain any of us would do it with the same strength, compassion and grace. she is pouring it all out on her mom, and i can tell that her mom feels it. i can tell that her mom is so proud of her daughter. i was only there for a few hours, but i know my life is better for it. i feel very honored that i was able to be there. i'm so glad i was able to say goodbye this way. my friend bobbi went with me, and karen's mom said something as we were leaving. i don't think it's a statement i'll ever forget.

she said, "well, i'll either see you again here or there."

it's becominig easier and easier to see that this life is just a blip. the real living begins when we get there.

my friend susan stayed over last night. she's one of the funniest people i know, and she's got something i really wish i had. she has a memory like a steel trap. i'm not kidding. she's like cliff claven and rainman mixed together, with a brain full of names and dates and facts and addresses. she remembers the first and last names from kids in her first grade class. she remembers addresses from her childhood. we were having fun quizzing her, with questions like "what was my husband's football number?" without hesitation she answers, "41." and she didn't even KNOW him when he played football. she also remembers streets and how to get places in towns she's only been in as a kid. i don't think she even realizes how strange this is.

i think i'm especially in awe of susan because i can't remember ANYTHING that happened to me when i was six, much less what happened to everyone else around me. where susan has a steel trap, i have an eraser. she's the coolest. and if we ever play trivial pursuit (hey, it could happen), i get dibs on her as my partner.

thanks for staying over susan. i think the wine got in the way of our cookies...can you come back again?

my best friend, my soul sister, is losing her mom. those of you who know karen are reading with me daily, and praying for her just as hard as i am, i'm sure. you can't help it. her stories reel you in and make you want to root hard for the impossible. i told karen recently that i have a feeling her mom is going to outlive the very short weeks the doctors are giving her. her mom has always been a very faithful servant of God, and yet, despite all the pain, she's not ready to go home yet. i think she feels she needs to stay here for her family...to make sure they will be ok without her. and she's getting that wish. i see a closeness and a maturity and a coming together of karen's family, and i am amazed at the strength of all of them, especially karen's. but mostly, from a distance, i see karen's mom showing the world a shining example of someone who is a "super trooper;" gracious despite the pain, thankful for the little things (like lotion and chapstick) and giving of herself when she really has nothing left to give.

i would like to revise my previous post to include this incredible woman, in slot #1. she is enduring more than MY heart can take, and i am influenced by her ability to get up everyday, and keep going. she's a selfless woman, and none of this is for her. she just wants to make it one more day to make sure everyone is all right...it's her job, as a mom. and i understand it completely.

karen, hug your mom for me...until i get there. i need to come soon.

my best friend from high school and i were talking yesterday about the people who have influenced our lives without even knowing it. she said my mom was one of hers, because of something she said many years ago. i started thinking about people who have influenced my life outside of the obvious (mom, grandma, dad). i have a pretty good sized list, but i know i left many off of it. i'll probably think of them the minute this posts.

1. my kindergarten teacher, mrs. sandsted. she was beautiful and nice, and she hugged me tight one day when a boy made fun of my homemade polyester pant suit. that was back in the days when teachers could actually hug kids without getting in trouble. i was influenced by her kindness.

2. a girl named shannon, who went to grade school with me. she got pregnant in 7th grade and had the baby. she held her head up high every day and never once let the world see how scared she must have been. i was influenced by her courage.

3. my best high school friend, whose life has been like a soap opera. look at her now. i'm influenced by her grace, her faith and her friendship. and her cooking skills.

4. a guy named mark smither. he was my first "mentor" and taught me why some headlines suck and some don't. hearing his name always makes me smile. i was influenced by his ability to make the best of me.

5. a man named doug lee, who is an example of someone who can live by faith and still walk in the world. i am influenced by his light.

6. my friend anne. she can out-martha martha, and she taught me the value of quality, simplicity and using bleach wherever necessary. she also gave me my first bible, and is someone i think of often. i am influenced by her attention to detail.

7. my sister-in-law kathy. she's amazing and beautiful and absolutely full of life. she's my role model for raising boys, and for honoring mother nature and making the most of every day. i am influenced by her coolness.

8. my bobbi. she's the most talented person i know on this planet, and she knows me inside and out. i was influenced by her the day i met her, and the reasons change daily.

9. the woman in church who lost a son. she manages to smile every day. i am influenced by her strength.

10. this may fall into the "expected" role, but my husband is the person who makes the biggest influence in my life. he never says a bad word about anyone. i've never met a man who loves his kids more. he is good at absolutely everything he tries. he is not a quitter. he's also humble and kind and patient and best of all, he loves me and isn't afraid to say it. i am influenced by his constant good moods and his ability to put up with me.

we've got a dilemma. my 6-year-old is hooked on playing video games on my computer. we limit his time, set rules, make him earn minutes and generally exasperate him when it comes to this very sore subject. in his perfect world, we would all just leave him alone so he could play on the computer forever.

so for the past month, on the weekends, he gets up at around 5 am and tiptoes downstairs for his peace and quiet time with the computer. we usually bust him and make him go back to bed, in a flood of tears and door slamming.

so today, a friday, there is no school. i wake up at 3 AM to the sounds of mario brothers coming up the stairs. are you kidding me? i tell him it's three in the morning and to go back to bed. an hour later, he's sneaking past my bedroom on his way back downstairs. i give him points for persistence, but man. i honestly wish i could ban all evil electronic devices from this household. if my kid was getting up at 3 am to do something constructive, like practice hockey or read a book, i might actually be proud of his ambition. but i'm not. i hate video games. no, i don't hate them. I HATE THEM WITH EVERY BONE IN MY BODY.

just had to get that out. whew. i feel better now.
have a great day.

Cooking 103
This series is entertaining, informative and designed to expose you to a myriad of cooking techniques. Instructor John Gilbertson, who is certified as an Executive Chef by the American Culinary Federation, uses his 25-plus years of cooking experience to present the basics of modern techniques before you jump into the kitchen to apply them to classic
recipes. This class will feature various vegetable preparation including seasonings.
Tuesday Nov 27, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. $12.00 Must be 21


ok, this is where i'm starting. i have officially decided to learn how to operate a kitchen. this poor man does not know what he's in for. at any rate, i'm signing up for a cooking class. they have a series of them at hy-vee on minnesota avenue in sioux falls. some of them look too fancy for me, but this one looks like it has possibilities. i'd feel a little better if that 103 was a 101, but we'll see. who's with me? i'm also taking applications for guniea pigs...who's going to be the first brave soul to have dinner at my house? to apply, you should have all your shots updated and no history of food-related diseases.

wish me luck.

are ya kidding me? all you have to do is walk around in your hockey uniform (again), ring doorbells and people pour buckets of candy into your big plastic pumpkin?

sweeeeeeeet.

look close and you can see big j lost another tooth...his philosophy, "well, all that sugar can't rot my front teeth if i don't have any..."