Two Boys

I think I need to call these guys two young men 

instead of two boys. I am sure proud of them!

Love to all, Lis

Stuff when you are out of the House

Lisa's Survival Kit

I have been trying to organize my "stuff" when I am not home. This is my draft #1. Please give me suggestions or thoughts in the Comment section. Thanks!

Things to have in your Car Supply Kit

Purse/Bag

- Water

- Keys

- Cell Phone

- Planner

- Pen/Pencil

- Notepad

- Drivers License

- no-SS card

- no-Passport

- Credit/Debit Card

- Gift Cards

- $20 bill

- $100 bill stashed

- Checkbook

- Stamps/Envelope/Return Address

- Coupons

- USB Flash Drive

- Sunglasses

- Chapstick/Lipstick

- Tissue or Napkins

- Spoon/Fork/Spork

- Gum

- Mints

- Candy

Purse/Bag 

Beauty Toiletries:

- Comb/Brush

- Hair Clips/Barretts

- Hair Elastics

- Nail/Cuticle Clippers

- Nail File

- Lotion

- Hand Sanitizer

- Toothbrush

- Teeth Picks

- Travel Mouth Cleaner

- Mouthwash

- Deodorant

- Body Splash

- Body or Baby Powder

- Wet Wipes

- Body Wipes

- Nail Clippers

- Mascara

- Eyeliner

- Eye Drops

First Aid:

- Benadryl or Epi Pen

- Aspirin/OTC pain relief

- Bandaid

- Alcohol Wipes

- Cough Drops

- Liquid Skin

- Mirror

- Tampon/Pad

- Tweezers

- Ace Bandage

- QTips

- Sunscreen

- Flashlight or Light

- Pepper Spray/Switchblad

Waiting Things when you have an Extra Minute

- Photos of Your Pet

- Photos of Your Family

- Scrapbook

- CD/DVD

- Kids Toy or DVD

- iPod/mp3 Player

- Book/Tablet/eBook

- Sewing Kit

- Therapy Rock

- Journal

- Library Card

- Hand Sweeper

- Clean Cloths (spills)

- Paper Towel

gramps I found the best outfit ever!

07-July-2014

we have to take a ferry to get to our beach. obviously safety is very important. I was going to ask the safety guys if I could buy an outfit but wasn't sure gramps would appreciate it quite as much as I did. enjoy!!

I could have asked him if the kooky hair comes with it. maybe we can make a Halloween costume out of duct tape.

Affirmation of a good choice

28-Feb-2014

most of you know I worked at castle hill yoga in exchange for yoga classes. the management changed their policy and I resigned. I don't need a job, I need a structure to participate with a yoga practice.

a mediocre orchid was a gift to the studio and was naked, yellow, and looked dead so I asked to take it home. it started to grow. it has three fronds of blossoms with nine lovely perfect blossoms. I believe this is an affirmation that I made the right choice. thanks for every one's moral support. 

Decoration... We hope

The first pics were, um, a disaster.

I thought maybe sleeping on it might help. 

So this is round 2:

I staggered the aquarium rocks, big rocks, blue rocks and medium rocks. Hopefully it will grow on me

Love to all!!

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Herbarium and Plant Description

I was chatting with Rob's Elise and wanted to show her this. I think I might have posted this before, but sometimes it's fun to read again.
Tony bought me this beautiful framed art for me from 1913. It is a niece named Violet and I hope someday it can be a treasure for her.

My intention is to have one for each of my nieces. Sent me on a treasure hunt. This artwork had me looking for other pages. I found a book via eBay full additional plants. These include:

* crawfoot - silver leaf

* poppy

* fumetory - dutchmans breeches

* crawfoot - anemony

* purslane - spring beauty

* violet

* lily - dogtooth violet

* trillian - wake robin

* arum - indian turnip

* violet - downy yellow violet

* capanular - bell flower

* primrose - american cowslip

* geranium

* crawsfoot - columbine

On a practical note: The project book I bought was for Mac Petersen at Sheridan High School in 1905. They received 96%. Makes me wonder what would have been required for 100%...

Oh shrubbery!

So yesterday's projects were out of doors. I have lots of pictures and feel these before and after say hedge pruning best. We can also include it as a great upper body workout!

The good of the day

I'm upset 

have been really down and feeling blue. The depth and magnitude has been alarming but the minimal longevity has me not be panicky. 

I have tons of shares and stories but am running out of oomph. 

I had a visitor today as a butterfly You might remember my saying there is nothing about a caterpillar that indicates it will ever  be a butterfly

My butterfly flitted around. First adult monarch of 2014. Joe saw it and noticed it hovered around me. Maybe a spiritual reminder of changes and basic truths of  making life work.  

An to reality: I did a Ton of yard work and swam in the pool. Weather high82 and the pool is 73. Honestly it was very refreahing. 

Anyone want to try to consider visits would always be welcome to my pool!!

I promise to bake you German pancakes (ak Dutch baby) and cakes and fruit. 

Love to all

Love

Lis

FunnyFuse Faves: Dog Bath Time

Crazy happy orchid!

My orchid bloomed again last Fall. Crazy enough, there were two different types of orchids when I thought it was only one plant. 

Phalaenopsis orchid is a super popular orchid because of its big, colorful and long-lasting flowers. It is commonly called a Moth Orchid  because of the large blooms that look like they could fly away.

Cymbidium orchid grows from very different greenery called a pseudobulb. This is what the mother plant is, and it just keeps on blooming.

The reason I believe I have such success with my orchids is I really neglect them. They are root bound. Their watering schedule is completely sporadic. Texas isn't that cold, but we turn the heat way down at night. The orchids live in a window garden so the light is very bright and the temperatures are kind of extreme. 

My Orchid

I am thrilled that my orchid is blooming for a third time! Two stems of lovely blossoms. I am very happy that orchids bloom so long, it has been lovely to look at in my kitchen, it brightens my having to do the dishes. Now if I can only figure out how to use my camera so the picture doesn't look so yellow... Anyway--Enjoy!

Beauty Plus

Why didn't I think of that? This is a new nail polish from Sally Hansen, there is a magnetic cap that you hold over the wet polish and it makes swirls as a design. Whoever thought of this was very clever!

Humor with Yoga

This is the wall with the thermostat at Krama Yoga Center. We take our mats to the wall to do headstands and inversions. Sometimes there are toenail marks on the walls from painted toenails kicking up. Today I found an adorable note.

The Case of the Missing Shoe

So we just got back from an RV trip. I brought a variety of shoes with us, including a new pair of white athletic shoes. I have a pair of purple workout pants that have white piping down the sides. With a white tee shirt and my new white shoes, I look sort of nice. But it looks much better with a complete pair of shoes, rather than only one.

How can I lose one shoe in an RV? I mean, it is only the size of a studio apartment and while it might have a lot of storage places and drawers, it truly only has a fixed number. When we arrived at our destination, I realized I only had one shoe and assumed the other would turn up. I searched high and low, in every storage compartment and drawer. No shoe to be found.

Those of you who follow my blog will remember the case of the missing oven mitt. Which ended up with its brother having slid behind the drawer where they are supposed to live and being smashed up there for several months until I emptied the cupboard underneath and found the silly thing. So much for blaming “mr. nobody,” as it was here the whole time; messing with my senility.

Back to the shoe. I searched and explored and talked to Tony about how a grown woman loses one shoe. We actually talked ourselves into believing that perhaps it got caught when we were pulling out the slide and was in a random parking lot at a Walmart when we spent the night. Which would be somewhat ironic due to the fact the shoes were purchased at Walmart. For a whopping $9.99 so the money was not the issue. My sanity was.

So today we decided to finally return the RV to the storage area. I pulled out all the towels, used or not used, and all the clothes because there is nothing worse than wondering if I lost my clothes or if I am going crazy or if I left them in the RV. Viola. There was my shoe hiding behind our clothing storage bins, hidden by a pile of jeans. I guess it’s not quite time for the funny farm yet. Thank goodness for small blessings.

Change your trash cans, change your life.

I didn't realize how much my big trash can and little recycle bin were making me nuts. The recycle bin used to live behind the door and was always in the way. So I put on my thinking cap...

My sisters are brilliant, so once again I stole an idea from one of them. Christine, in the Seattle area, has two covered cans right next to each other. So I went to my local store and bought two new containers.

Who would have thought that buying new trash cans positively impacts my mental health? It sounds crazy, but if it makes a difference, I won't knock it! Try it! You might like it!

Hugs,
Lis

So for those of you who missed the story: We were in the midst of a hard-sales-presentation to redo our bathroom for $17k, reduced down to $13k for today only, and we got a knock on the door. Yes, the broken bathtub is another story for another day.

The little Asian man (who Daisy seems to want to eat for lunch, she barks like crazy on his walks around our block) came by. He said "phone no work, please help." Two and half hours later, a call to our bishop and the missionaries to find someone who could translate Korean, which was successful. Tony was our hero in troubleshooting, and it was nice to do a good deed. They came by after it was fixed with a box of apples that are almost as big as my head! Straight to the VO cookbook and Marja's fabulous apple cobbler. Yum! Wish we could have shared it with everyone! 

Rain, rain go away... or maybe not...

We have been in Stage 3 water conservation since last summer. From this picture you would think that maybe we could move back to Stage 2? Anyway, our playground now doubles as a pond. Sigh.

A facebook album worth viewing

I hope this link works. I was touched, moved and inspired. Will take less than 60 seconds to read. The "next" button is on the top.

My name is Josh and I am 18 years old

This should be an awareness campaign. 46k shares in Facebook and counting.

Feels so good to be well!

I went to yoga yesterday. To quote Jen, it kicked my trash! I took a nap in the afternoon for about an hour.

Last night, we went to be a little early. Then I woke up around midnight and was fully awake. So I got up. I updated our whiteboards and the house honey-do list. I organized my paper pile. I wrote several emails. I worked on my Landmark project. I texted with Joe (my almost 22yo) who was quite shocked I was up in the middle of the night. It was fun.

I went back to sleep about 3am. It feels so good to be well!

This last week I wrote an email to my Dad that felt really good. Acknowledging him for who he is to me and how much I appreciate him being my dad. I also was able to reconnect with a friend from 19 years ago. One of my first statements to him was that one thing Landmark provides to me is to pick up a friendship after 19 years exactly where we were back then. Except a little more foxy grey hair. I am present to how miraculous my life is. Yoga, Landmark, 2012, or friendships, it doesn't matter why, what matters is that it is fantastic!

Daisy the ThunderDog

Today is unseasonably warm. That is nice. The puppies just informed me that my doing Yoga does not count as a daily walk to them. Rats. Yoga is kicking my trash! I had to take the emergency blanket out of the back of the car and cover the driver's seat to get home from the class I just took. My clothes are that soaked. At least workout sweat doesn't stink like emotional sweat...

So Daisy has been more clingy than usual. The vet, some friends, and the web all recommend a thing called a Thundershirt which works on the principle of swaddling and pressure points. At first she didn't move, but now she is getting into it. The sales material says she can now be called a ThunderDog. Look out world, we now have a new canine superhero.

Hugs!

Brilliant Siblings

I could go on and on about how brilliant my siblings are. So today my spotlight share is on my sister Christine. We call her Chrisqueen. I love her dearly.

My breakfast was inspired by her and the food made me really happy. It was vanilla yogurt, applesauce, flax seed, and wheat germ. Very tasty and I expect it is even good for me. Try it, you might like it!

Hugs!

Playlist of the week

Iko Iko - The Belle Stars
Train in Vain, Stand by Me - The Clash
Salisbury Hill - Erasure
Say what you need to say - John Mayer
Tattoo - Jordin Sparks
Live like we are dying - The Script
Never find a love - Natasha Bedingfield

Enjoy!

Wellness

In 2012 I am working on how I speak. Rather than saying depressed, I might say un-well or not-well. I realize that might or might not be grammatically correct but Mark Twain used to say that it was a close-minded person who could only spell a word one way. I say that applies to grammar, too.


I created a Depression Self Report some years back. When I am not well, I sleep a lot. I cry. I have no energy. I don't want to do anything. I don't listen to music. I don't get ready for my day unless I have somewhere I to go. I tend to stay home. And I usually don't reach out to others. Another effective tool to validate my mood is telling someone else a rating on my mood. 10 being fantastic and 1 being suicidal. My husband, Tony and my eldest, Joe support me with this.


So today I am announcing Lisa's Wellness Report and Rating. These are the measures or indicators I recommend the people in my life use to notice how I am doing and give me feedback. Ask me how I am doing because that causes me to be aware of my mood.

• I wake up without an alarm clock. My dreams are not disturbing.
• I am eating healthy foods. And drinking lots of water. And taking my fiber daily.
• I get up and get ready for my day. Fly Lady advice. /http://flylady.com/
• I exercise at least three days a week, and target up to six days.
• I attend Yoga at least two days a week. If you are in Dallas, come join me!! http://www.kramayogacenter.com/ 10 am class is my favorite so far.
• The puppies are walked six of seven days a week. By someone, might or might not be me.
• I am assisting in some form or fashion. Maybe with Landmark Education, maybe not. I have offered to be a free personal assistant to four friends. If you would like to take advantage of this limited time, free offer, contact me!
• The state of my home is inviting and we can accept unexpected visitors without embarrassment.
• My craft room induces completion, fun, happiness and Creativity.
• I listen to music and have a song stuck in my head almost all the time. This tends to drown out the automatic negative thoughts. 
• I try to laugh every day. I enjoy comedies as measured by a true LOL: laugh out loud. Tony gets to say if this measure is satisfied or not.
• I make a difference in my world. This is expressed in several Operative Practices:
• I say bless you when I hear someone sneeze.
• I acknowledge people I interact with who provide service. This could be as simple as saying "don't work to hard." I leave public restrooms in a better state than I found them, usually by wiping off the mirror and the front of the sink with the paper towel I used to dry my hands.
• I flat out work to be great with other people.
• I unquestionably love my life and am present to the many, many blessings and talents I have.

So now you know the symptoms of Lisa doing Well!

This post may be subjected to modification as needed.

Pink Dog

It might be of interest that there are human medications which may also be used on canines. Benadryl for allergies and sneezing, Dramamine for motion sickness, and Pepto Bismol for upset digestive tracts.

Our sweet Daisy May Mane (I like saying her whole name out loud) woke me up because she had a gurgle- y stomach in the middle of the night. I got the puppy syringe and gave her some pepto. Then I went back to sleep. In the morning, she was pink on the side of her muzzle and scattered down her body. I had turned my dog pink. And it doesn't show up well in photos so you have to use your 'magination.

At least it was the girl dog and not the boy dog.

We expect a full restoration after her next bath. Keep us in your thoughts. 

Temperature

So I expect humanity had to "measure" temperature long before thermometers existed. This morning "I can see my breath." I heard that Eskimo have many different words for snow, so it sounds logical that I can see my breath is right around freezing.

And I checked it with my iPhone. Yes it is exactly 32 degrees. But Friday, Sunday and Monday have an expected high of 73 degrees, so I am LOVING it!

Bread Pudding

Many people in my family know about my french toast debacle. The final bread pudding was pretty enough that I needed to post a picture.  I already blogged about this once and somehow erased it. When that happens, it feels like I already released my creative writing. Rats. Back to the bread pudding, it wasn't sweet enough so when I served it, I sprinkled sugar and then poured on half and half. Anything with half and half has to be good, right? 

Sleep

How would it be to sleep this well? Or even be able to be this relaxed? My Baby Sagey (male maltese) has such a cute black nose you will see on the right. He is on his back with all his little paws in the air. He is completely sprawled out. I guess I should be happy that he is so comfortable.
If you had told me I would love a dog this much, I would have laughed at you! He and Daisy are truly my babies.

How well do you tip?

Standing at the checkout counter of Sports Clips:
He got a haircut. We have a coupon.
She asks the stylist, a cute Asian girl, to break a $10. Gets two $5 back.
He takes out a $10. He and she look at each other confused.
He gives the stylist $15 and the coupon. The stylist gives her the receipt. Thanks, happy chit chat, we leave. He and she walk out, get in the car, she is thinking.
She "do you always tip that well?"
He "well I try to, why?"
She looks at the receipt "that was a very generous tip!"
He "what do you mean? the stylist did a good job and she knew her football!"
She "well that was a $17 haircut with a coupon that says new clients get a FREE haircut and return clients get a haircut for $10."
He "so $10 haircut and $5 tip, right?"
She "you told her you have never been to that location," looking at the receipt that had a seventeen dollar haircut and seventeen dollar credit.
He, getting excited, "are you telling me that I just gave a $15 tip? I just paid a hundred and fifty percent tip??"
She "um..."
He, calmly but worried, "well can we go back and get my $10?"
She, laughing hysterically, "no. Kim, your stylist, will remember you forever, you will always get great haircuts."
He, disappointed, "it was a good haircut, but not 150% tip good!"
She, giggling, "well just pretend you paid $10 for the haircut and gave a 50% tip. No worries"

Today's Playlist

I used to do a "song'o'the'day" and remember that being fun. I don't think every day is realistic, but posting some playlists might work. It's a new year, which is the perfect time to try a new idea. Enjoy

Best Days - Matt White
Why Can't I - Liz Phair
True - Ryan Cabrera
Because You Live - Jesse McCartney
Oxygen - Colbie Caillat
Come On Over - Christina Aguilera
It Is You - Dana Glover

Cuter than Cute!

Since I have one sister who has Identical Twins,
and another sister who makes the neatest things,
 http://www.etsy.com/shop/FabricIsMyBag

I have to post this from a friend in FaceBook.

I am missing my family! Love and Hugs, Lis

Hidden Pool

If I were rich, I would buy one of these for each of my sibling's families. Way unexpected!
Hidden Pool - youtube

A Big Ugly Bug

Sorry there are no pictures. Only a great story. *** side note, I found a picture on the internet ***

Tony was driving, Lisa next to him, Austin behind me, Alexis behind Tony. We were driving on the North Dallas Tollway, at the posted 70 mph. The twins are chatting and all of a sudden Austin starts screaming like a little girl. He screams for Lisa to get the "bug." Tony thinks it is a joke and while driving, he looks at Austin who apparently had a very scared, open eyes, look on his face, in between screams. Lisa looks over and there is some bug on the back right shoulder of Tony.

Now, keep in mind that Tony is allergic to bee stings. I don't know if wasps also cause a reaction, but I wasn't interested in trying out that hypothesis. This bug was a flying bug, with regular, not colored wings, slender body and back end like a wasp with a red stripe. A nice pointy, stingy end.

So putting on my magical mommy reflexes, Lisa flicks the "bug" off Tony. That solves the one problem of Tony getting stung, but creates a new problem of where the *bleep* did the bug go? Alexis hates bugs with a passion. Austin didn't know what or where it was so he is still screaming. Thank goodness for the heroic karma which had the bug land on Lisa's shirt. She, quick as super-mom, rolls down the window, cups her hand and shoes it outside, closing the window quickly.

Please also realize the family is still all screaming, This entire event has occurred in about 4.25 second or less. Austin was screaming from the beginning, Alexis after she sees the bug and Tony while he tries to figure out what is going on without wrecking the car.

Luckily Lisa isn't joining the noise brigade and tells everyone the danger is over and to calm down. While she is full of adrenaline. Very full.

And in case you didn't notice, today is our wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary to us. ROFL

Home Ownership. [sigh]

Last year, 2010, was a year of home improvements. I completed numerous projects that I am very pleased with. Built food storage under our stairs complete with a light and a switch. Redid the decor in our master bathroom. Painted the kitchen a happy yellow. Repainted the jack and jill bath a nice soft blue color. Painted Alexis' room a pretty lavender. Replaced all the toilets with dual flush high efficiency ones. Put new tile in all the bathrooms. It was a good year for home stuff. The nice thing about improvements is they are by choice and on my own timeline.

Now I believe we are jinxed in 2011. Our AC has gone out for the 3rd time. The natural gas line to heat the pool in the winter rusted clean through. I really should post a picture, it was quite alarming. We are planning to fix it ourself but aren't sure how to get the black pipe replaced in the middle of the line. Now that I write this, it seems that those two issues are not so bad. The pool itself is going to need attention sometime, but hopefully not this year.

And our heat! I promised not to complain because the winters are so mild in Texas compared to Utah. I just checked. DFW is at 13 days and counting of triple digits, over 100. Today is supposed to be 104 with a heat index of 110. I finished mowing the lawn, while it was a balmy 95 degrees, after getting more gasoline. Talk about drenched in sweat! The poor flowerbeds are screaming for attention, but not today. Maybe tomorrow morning!

Blog - a contraction of the term "web log"

So why am I blogging? What am I up to? This started as lists in a steno pad, which is my current notebook of choice. Then I realized that I enjoy writing and it makes a difference to sort out the thoughts in my head by getting them down on paper. But in this day and age, down on paper means recording on the internet and sharing with others.

Do I consider this a journal of sorts? Not really. I view this writing as my own stubborn methodology of getting my life to work. Because right now listening to the voices in my head doesn't work. So if this can be an outlet and can assist me to manage my boredom and my apathy, then more power to me.

I don't petition followers but I do want the people who love me to have a chance to hear what is going on in my life. My observations and relationship to food. My pet peeves and how I react. Things I love and dreams I have. My commitment to conquer paper clutter in my life. My love for my friends and how we each impact each other's lives. The comedy of breakdowns and breakthroughs. The Life in my life.

This came out of my goal to scrapbook my autobiography, which started as an exercise in The Wisdom Course with Landmark Education. As a scrapbook instructor, I love to see the breakthroughs and confidence of my students. I am committed to Preserving Memories and Creating Legacies and one expression of this includes Me! You could say this blog is a bold experiment to then be able to make a difference for others.

Mom loves Two Boys

I have called my sons "Two Boys" since they were little. It occurred to me recently that they have become two young men and I shouldn't call them two boys any longer.

My Joe is 21 and is on an LDS mission for the Mormon Church in Atlanta, GA. His mission includes Alabama and he is doing fantastic with his growing maturity and his love for people in general. I am so proud of him. He returns in Nov 2011 and has said he would like to attend BYU Idaho when he returns.

My Rob is 19 and is on an LDS mission for the Mormon Church in Kampala, Uganda. His mission includes Ethiopia where he is currently serving. He was called to an English speaking mission but has been working on learning the languages of Africa. I am so proud of him. He left in May of this year and will return in May 2013.

Because their missions overlap, they won't see each other for almost four years. But I think it was the perfect choice for them to serve when they did. Tony says I am positively beaming when I get our weekly emails from them. Yes, I think that is true.

They both are over six feet tall. They are maturing and growing into the potential husband and fathers that I have hoped they would be. It will be interesting to see where everyone ends up logistically. The largest percentage of the Jan Van Clan now live in Utah County. Another interesting tidbit: I am the oldest and 13 years older than our only brother, who is the youngest, John Hirschi Van Orman. JHVO was 10 when Joe was born. JHVO and his wife, Jen, are expecting their first baby this September. So it is likely that Joe and Rob as cousins will be regarded more as Uncles to those kids. I hope we will all be able to see each other often.

They say that boys follow their wives who like to be close to her family. Tony asked me where I see myself living in my old age. As much as I object to living in Utah, I desire to be close to family and that may end up back in Utah. And for those of you who don't know, I consider my home to be Arlington, VA, just outside of DC, since I graduated from High School there. So many people just assume I was born and bred in Utah, and I wasn't.

I am pleased that I haven't ever wanted more kids, I look forward to being Grandma Lisa someday. And maybe the Scrapbook Lady. And definitely a puppy mom to two maltese.

Me and My Lists

My mom used to write lists on the back of used envelopes. I found a book of lists I started in 8th grade, at the ripe old age of 13. I have been the goddess of lists for much of my life. At Landmark Education, people would comment on my notes, writings, and lists. I am not sure what compels me to go on and on with lists, but I do. I complain that at any time I could write a list of 100 things to put on a to-do list, and I embarrassingly share that is accurate. Productive lists are beneficial. Being all consumed with keeping it all straight is exhausting.

I could be considered an expert in the philosophy of Franklin-Covey. And Time Management with Mission Control. I participated with The Communication Program with Landmark Education to the point of being a very effective coach.

This is how I feel:
http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/time-management-mind-map

If you have any epiphanies, please feel free to share!

Welcome to Join Me

Sometimes it just helps to write. I want a blog that can assist me to clarify my thoughts. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want out of life. There are so many goals I have set and achieved. I look at my life and feel that I am hitting the half way point: just as much life in front of me as behind me.
I am so proud of my boys who are serving missions for the Mormon church. I love my husband and I worry about his health. Frankly, I worry about my own health, also. I am pleased to share that I caught up my health checks: mammogram is fine, bone density is improving (yeah!), blood work is normal or good. Now if science could only test for brain chemistry balances, we would be golden!
Thanks for sharing my life and coming by!

Ears follow-up

I did go to the doctor. My ear is red, but not infected. My nose is badly inflamed and so I have a anti-histamine nose spray that I am supposed to use daily for a Month! It leaves a weird aftertaste that I get the pleasure of experiencing all day. But at least I am not infected, for the time being. Thanks for all the good thoughts for me out there.

Ears

I begin by saying the dates and ages are from my memory, so I reserve the right to be inaccurate. My grandpa, my father’s father, had ear problems in his twenties, and had his entire inner ear removed from one side, I think it was his left. So he was completely deaf in that ear. The grandpa I remember had chronic hearing loss and hearing aids you could hear buzzing when you hugged him. My dad got his hearing tested around age 45 and was told he had the hearing of a 70-year old. He has not accepted hearing aids yet. His poor hearing is a great source of upset for him. My mom has had chronic ear infections, and ongoing ear problems for at least the last fifteen years. I am proud of her for getting hearing aids, and she loves them and highly recommends them. Actually they are kind of cute.
So I usually don’t mess around with ears. For the last ten years or so, if I have any pain at all, I get right in to the doctor, and ninety-eight percent of the time they say, yes you have some inflammation, but no infection, thank-you for your co-pay and have a nice day. So I have been trying to be less of a hypochondriac with my ears.
I have noticed over the years that I can’t hear as well as I used to, so in July 2008I broke down and got a hearing test and a hearing specialist. They said, yes, you have hearing loss, probably genetic, enough of a loss that you qualify for a hearing aid with your insurance, would you like to see our multi-thousands-of-dollars choices? I said thanks for the info and I will get back to you. On one hand, knowledge is power but knowing this does what for me? I am able to tell people so when they whisper to me and I ask them to repeat themselves, I have a good reason for it. I have a good excuse for turning up the volume on the TV when the dialogue is too quiet, even though the music and the commercials are ridiculously loud. But that is another subject for another blog entry…
Back to my ears, over the Christmas holiday, we took a road trip to Utah, me, Tony, and our two puppies (full grown dogs, but we call them our puppies). I got the sick, maybe January 1st, during the trip, with my usual post nasal drip, sore throat, clogged ears, and a mild cough. I was mildly sick for what seemed like forever, but was likely less than a week.
In my letter to my missionary son, January 6th (I like to use different fonts in my letters to keep the letters exciting):
Monday night my right ear was itching, so I figured that I could scratch it with my pinky finger. I thought if I wasn’t using a q-tip, I should be okay. I was wrong.
It kept itching so I kept scratching. I don’t know if I have scraped the ear drum or what I have done but it really hurts now. The thing is, if I went to a doctor, they would just tell me I have hurt it and it needs to heal. I can still hear. If I broke the ear-drum it would have bled. So I am stuck with knowing I hurt myself and it is my own fault.
January 9th my letter said my ear is finally trying to equalize and is making popping noises. I haven’t really thought much about my ear for the last two weeks, except when I take the puppies for a walk. When the weather is chilly, I notice my ears are cold and the right one hurts a little. But when I get home and warm up, I forget about it. I can hear okay, so I have not really thought about it.
Now this morning, January 27th, I woke up with ear pain. As I sit here typing I am in pain. I broke down and called the doctor and have an appointment in an hour. I hope it is all in my head, thank-you for your co-pay, and have a nice day. I guess this post will need a follow-up, huh?

Letters for Joe

My Missionary.
I can't believe I am old enough to have a son on a mission. My Joey, Elder Joseph John Calcote, who I now address as Elder Joe (EJ for short), is in Atlanta Georgia serving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormons). He will be there until October 2011 and he is doing incredibly well.
I created a profile for Joe on www.DearElder.com/ElderJCalcote (working link on the right), and I am including this on my blog because missionaries need mail! If you go to this site and pick send a letter, you can type him a message on line and DearElder.com will mail it for you, and charge it to my account. This way you don't have to worry about envelopes, addresses, stamps, or catching the mail-person. I invite everyone to send him a message from time to time so he can get lots of support.
Thanks for your help on this endeavor. I call it my "Letters for Joe" project.

The Mystery of the Oven Mitt

When I was growing up, we had a stranger living in our house. His name was Senhor Ninguém (neighn-game is how I remember saying it). That is portuguese for Mister Nobody. He was the deviant who ate all the maraschino cherries out of the bottle. He opened the container of treats and ate them slowly one by one over time, so mom would find just a few in the bottom when she thought there was a full container. He left just a smidgen of milk in the bottom of the bottle and yet put it back in the fridge. He threw our clothes on the floor. He tracked dirt through the house and pulled the fur off the dog and blew it into the corners to become dust bunnies. He was the one who hid our things under the bed or in the back of the closet so a little brother or sister would get blamed for taking things. In fact, he took things and put them in those little brother or sister’s rooms to provoke a fight. He was always getting somebody in trouble.

The bad news: he has now moved in with us.

Tony and I have two, ratty, well used, oven mitts. Dark blue, the normal mitten style with the quilted material. One has a burn mark where it had caught on fire after touching the oven coil. One is slightly torn with the stuffing peeking out. They only work medium well, but there is one catch to them. You really need two. Two mitts for two hands. Call that the safety tip of the day.

Our aberrant friend, Senhor Ninguém, decided to take one. Usually with enough searching you can find where he hides the goods. But not this time. We have searched high and low, all the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen. The laundry and the laundry room, behind and beside the washer and dryer. Even in the garage, which enters into our kitchen. We are stumped.

So now that I have shared about our friend, I plan to go buy replacement mitts. Surprisingly, it’s not that easy. So far, all that I have found are either really expensive, or crappy quality. Oven mitts that are thin are bad news. But the silver lining inside the dark cloud is as soon as I get new ones, the old one will reappear. And we will have another story for solving this mystery from our best buddy Senhor Ninguém.

My favorite movies

I made a list and limited it to twenty. I might have other favorites that I prefer more, but this is my list for today. Yes, many are rated R, so be forewarned. In alphabetical order and with the ratings as I remember them:
• Blind Side – I am a sucker for a based on True Story movies (PG-13)
• Braveheart – adventure love story, set in historic times (R)
• Count of Monte Cristo – love the plan the revenge, adventure, romance of it all (PG-13)
• Fight Club – the twist made it worth the violence (R)
• Incredibles – probably my favorite cartoon, but some of those Disney classics are hard to beat (PG)
• It’s a Wonderful Life – my favorite classic, almost a tie with Bridge over the River Kwai (PG)
• Ladyhawke – my favorite movies as a teenager (PG)
• Pay it Forward – a classic good movie, sad but in a good way ending (PG-13)
• Pretty Woman – my favorite movies as a twenty-something (PG, but before PG-13 ratings)
• Rob Roy – similar story to Braveheart, the adventure love story set in historic times (R)
• Seven Pounds – will watch this one over and over again. It makes me cry in a good way (PG-13)
• Se7en – I would put this in a horror category, but it really made me think (R)
• Shawshank Redemption – fitting this is Stephen King and rated R, but is an amazing story (R)
• Sixth Sense – classic suspense, twist in the end, excellent movie (PG-13)
• Sommersby – amazing story. Everyone who watches it with me yells at me and asks why I made them watch it. But I love it. (PG-13?)
• Steel Magnolias – classic girly movie, makes me cry, love Julia Robert and a fabulous all star cast (PG)
• Sweet November – for my hubby, this movie reminds him of me. A carefree, out there personality who shows someone a world they didn’t know exists. (PG-13)
• The Life of David Gale – this is a less known movie that is also a thinker (R)
• The Piano – Holly Hunter, less known movie, appropriately R-rated, I am a pianist and found the story to be very intriguing (R)
• The Usual Suspects – another Kevin Spacey classic. Makes me smile to think about the plot. (R)

My Blog

I am happy with my blog, but I want more. My best friend in high school, Marike van der Veen, has a beautiful blog. She is my inspiration. I want a place to write. Which is kind of ironic because Marike was the one who wanted to be a writer, I was the one who wanted to be an engineer. In some ways, we both achieved our dreams, Marike is a writer, because she is writing, and I have an engineering degree. But want to expand my dreams.


One of my life goals is to write a book. I doubt it will be fiction, although I have thought about writing my life story and calling it “Better Than Fiction,” realistically I think changing the names will still allow people to be offended so I haven’t really pursued that writing aspiration. I have been called the goddess of lists. Or maybe more aptly the evil goddess of lists. I have thought about writing a reference book that includes some of my lists that have been helpful to me in my life. Something that could make a difference for other people. I am still trying that idea on.

Anyway, I have hesitated creating something publically since I have some people in my past I really want to avoid. That is another story for another day. What I discovered about myself if that I would rather be myself: outgoing and self-expressed, and not worry about that right now. This stems from my marriage to Tony, he is a born and raised in New York City, Dominican with all the reservation, suspicion, and judgment that comes with it. Yes, I was going to put paranoia, but that is a little strong. He is reserved and suspicious of the world, at the far end of that spectrum. Then there is me: the opposite of him, open, carefree and trusting of most everything. Between the two of us we become one “normal” person. I will trust the universe that I will gain more than I might risk by creating a blog and proceed.

My oldest, Elder Joseph Calcote, is on a Mormon Mission to Atlanta Georgia. I write him at least five times a week. I think that writing also reaffirms my desire to create a blog because it is such a good outlet to share my thoughts.

So Marike’s blog is dedicated to children, food, and the arts that turn the average mom into a domestic diva. These are the things she loves. She asserts that the blogs that work are written from the heart and are about the things you love. I can take that on. My blog will center upon family, paper crafts, and living life full out. Paper crafts will include scrapbooking and card making and all that entails. I feel a little backwards creating my blog, and then figuring out what it is about, but this is part of life! It well represents that things don’t always go as you planned, but they do always go perfectly.

In closing, the pictures above are of me and Marike, probably halloween of 1982 or 1983. Enjoy. Marike, I love you. Thank-you for sharing your life and being my inspiration.

Lisa Mane’s A-Z About Me, January 2010
A – alphabet lists are a great way to add journaling, I have not made a list of things I love in a while, thank you for this assignment swap-bot.com!
B – books, especially hand made ones are unique and wonderful
C – computer, since most people will say crafts, I will say I love my computer
D – dogs, I am a relatively new dog lover, I have two of my own
E – elephants, my mother collects them, so whenever I see one I think of mom

F – fish, tropical fish are a hobby I have enjoyed in the past, I am thinking of putting up my tank again. Also Family. I am the oldest and the shortest, I am the one in the middle. There are six kids, five girls and a boy and he is the youngest. And yes, he has hot pink hair…
G – google is one of my favorite websites, I love gmail and google earth
H – home is wonderful, I like our house, I love living in Texas, I love our pool

I – iPhone, I didn’t think I would love it but I have to admit I do
J – Joe is my oldest, he is serving a Mormon Mission in Atlanta, GA, I am very proud of him

K – kitchen is not my best place, I am better at baking than cooking.
L – love is what makes the world go round
M – Maltese, the type of dogs I have and Mane, my last name which I love, from my husband. Daisy, the girl is on the left, Sage, the boy is on the right

N – new toys, basically any craft thing I don’t have yet
O – origami architecture is a new craft I have discovered, Peter Callesen is an artist I am following.
P – purple, probably my favorite color, it is so regal and is a mix of red and blue.
Q – quick projects are some of my favorite ones.
R – Rob is my youngest, he is a senior, lives with his dad and might come to Texas (I hope)

S – sunshine makes me happy, it is the best thing about the color yellow
T – two boys is what I call my kids, I love boys, but I also love my nieces (and nephews). There are now 18 nieces and nephews (and still counting)
U – umbrellas are fun as a photography prop and paper-craft embellishment
V – Van Orman is my maiden name, it is Dutch, I am proud of my Danish and Dutch heritage
W – water, I love the ocean, our pool, SCUBA, snorkeling and all swimming things
X – eXcel is a great tool I use it for tons of things, my computer is full of files I have created
Y – yard work, I love when I am doing it, but it seem tough to get into it… The picture of our house above was proof we had snow, before Rob raked the leaves and Tony trimmed the bushes.
Z – zine, a new word I learned (from Wiki) is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images.

Welcome!

Feel free to visit www.manescrapbook.blogspot.com if you want to see my scrapbooking and card making blog entries. I have a lot of pictures and different projects.
Thanks for visiting,
Lisa