Finding Blessings In Disguise

Ugh!  Maybe it's because it's winter and my kids are trapped inside because we Southerners are sissies when it comes to the cold or maybe I'm turning into a harpie, but I have found myself asking the question, "Why on Earth did I teach my kids to talk?!"  I have honestly lost count of how many times I've asked them to be quiet or to stop talking ugly to one another (or to me) today alone.  Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and I love the sounds of them playing and laughing, but I have reached my saturation point with the backtalk and sassiness.  On the bright side (currently inspired by The Killers' "Mr Brightside"), I have a wonderful husband who picks up when I need to flake out and hide.  So, here I sit, in my office with the door closed listening to The Killers, eating my salad from Chick-Fil-A and trying to regroup.  I'm going to need it...snow and ice are in the forecast for tomorrow!

Today I learned that one of my children has sleep apnea and that she needs to have her tonsils and adenoids taken out.  The thought of putting my child through any kind of surgery is unsettling and frightening but I know that it has to be done.  I know that we will be scared, but this is a one-time thing and then we're done with it.  It's an outpatient procedure with a few days of recovery at home. Each day I open my email and have the reminders of parents who are in a constant state of fear and worry as they deal with watching their children fight leukemia.  That is a battle that takes several years and then there is the nagging fear of relapse.  I read their CaringBridge updates and my heart breaks into a million little pieces for them all over again.  Tonight I give thanks for my healthy children. Yes, we have to have surgery, but that is nothing compared to the hell that these sweet little children go through to fight the monster of childhood cancer....

Wow!  I can't believe that I actually give a crap about this year's Super Bowl.  When the Titans blew their playoff chances on Christmas Day, I pretty much quit paying attention.  Now my favorite UT quarterback is playing against the team that his father played for and the team that he grew up around.  What a great human interest angle!!  I don't particularly care who wins, but I would love for Peyton to get another Super Bowl ring so I suppose that I'll be pulling for the Colts on Super Bowl Sunday.  With the year that the Saints have had and all of the excitement that they've stirred up, it should be good game with a very exciting atmosphere.  Laissez le bon temps roulez!

I just spent the better part of an hour or so uploading the rest of the pictures from Christmas and then wondered when the last time I ordered prints actually was.  I checked my order history and saw that it was back in August.  Ugh!   So...234 pictures later, I'll be able to update my photo albums with the pictures of my kiddos.  Although that order doesn't include any of the Christmas pictures.  I still need to pick and choose from the 200 or so pictures sitting out there.  While I love the ability to tweak and delete photos, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of pictures that are taken and simply forget to get them printed.  There are some times when I miss the old days of dropping off a roll of film just to see what I ended up with on the prints.  It was much easier to not lose anything in the shuffle.  Oh, well...I'll get caught up soon and then I can worry about where I'm going to store all of these albums!

Watching the way that Conan O'Brien closed out his short run as the host of The Tonight Show, I couldn't help but be impressed with what a class act the guy is.  He moved his family, his crew, and their families across the country only to get burned by a network whose ratings are plummeting across the board and they think that giving Jay Leno his old spot will fix things.  Yes, he's getting enough money to run a small country for several years but he is also going to use his payout to pay severance packages to his people.  His words about detesting cynicism and the rewards that hard work can bring were a great message for closing out his show.  Some people would have taken the opportunity to take some bitter, cheap shots and he took the high road.  The closing bit with Will Ferrell doing "Free Bird" with the cowbell will go down in television history and I will never forget that.  It rocked!  I wish Conan the best in whatever he ends up doing seven m...

As I watched the "Hope for Haiti" telethon tonight and heard about the stories of tragedy and survival against the most heinous of odds, I am deeply humbled.  I live in a nation of freedom, immense wealth, and extreme generosity.  While I have a tendency to be cynical about celebrities and their public displays, tonight was not a night of self-congratulatory indulgence among the A-listers headlining the telethon.  It was bringing the world together to save a tiny little nation sitting in the middle of the sea and the people who call that island home.  In the midst of what has become known as the award season in Hollywood, rather than taking the swag and collecting statues, they sounded a siren for the world to hear how badly the people of Haiti desperately need each and every able-bodied person to give whatever they can afford to give.  Whether you give $1 or $1,000, every penny counts and makes a difference.

So...here is my first blog post. My intent for the blog is to share my random thoughts and rants and to find the blessings hidden somewhere in the message. Some days I may go off about the biatch who cut me off in traffic or some idiot politician or celebrity. I may share information about great bargains that I've found or my thoughts on a book that I recently read. As I stated in my "About Me" posting, there is always someone else who has it worse than I do and I need to try to always remember that. In less than an hour, the "Hope for Haiti" telethon will air on all of the major networks. I encourage you to give whatever you are able to give to aid and comfort the hundreds of thousands of people who desperately need help. There are many, many charities working diligently to help put a cork in the suffering that these people are forced to endure. Choose one that fits with your own moral compass and give whatever you are able. Even if you only have $5 to ...