CELLULITE ON A CHILD?

I don't watch Toddlers and Tiaras, I've just heard about the show.

I know there are child beauty displays - I even have a friend whose girls compete in the local Cinderella pageant.

I am equally horrified by each.

Judging ANYone by their physical appearance runs counter to every standard I believe in.

I honestly think we should love ugly creations as well as physically beautiful ones.

(And yes, I think this is all heavily influenced by the fact that I personally am not anywhere close to being considered beautiful - perhaps not ugly, but plain at the very best).

And I believe that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should young critters be told/labeled/called ANYTHING regarding their proposed/imagined/societal gradings.

Four year old girls then begin dieting - and exercising.

This all began from an appalling observation about my six-year old granddaughter; my super skinny, extremely physically active and healthy-eating 6 YEARS OLD grandbaby.

That she had CELLULITE on the back of her legs and LOVE HANDLES.

Please, please don't begin a child on a life of anorexia, body hatred and unrealistic concepts of beauty.

ACHIEVING ZEN WHILE SWEATING

I got into running while living in Hawaii.

Some friends at work challenged me to run in the annual Great Aloha Run with them.

My first experience of trying to run a mile-loop around Ala Moana Park was laughable; but my jogging buddies kept encouraging me, and I finally got so I could put a few miles down at one time.

Our race time was never anything to brag about except to each other, but simply running 8.25 miles in one stretch was an incredible accomplishment for all three of us.

And I continued running in between our annual group run, getting up to an average of 4 miles a couple of evenings a week.

(And yes, my children were young - I found a mile loop on a military base where I could see them the entire time I was running).


But now I'm back to simply walking on the treadmill at the gym again.

And I am not achieving the Zen-like state that I used to reach fairly easily in my younger years.

Is it because I am only walking?

Is it because I am older (like almost 20 years older)?

Or is it simply not having the clear Hawaiian skies to run under?

IS IT THAT TIME OF NIGHT ALREADY?

I've always been a night-owl.

I loved working nights through college. The funniest things always seem to happen around 2 a.m.

Even meals at Denny are lovely at 3:30 a.m.



Reality as a whole becomes something completely different after you've been awake over 24 hours.





And it's true that sleep deprivation can make you criminally insane.


But even now I end up staying awake much later than I know is good for me.







Only because I know I can go back to sleep after I feed the horses in the morning.



So why am I writing this?







As an excuse to stay up just a little bit later.

HOSTILE, ME?

My family can tell you that I am simply not competitive.

I cheer for whatever team currently has the ball.

I'm legitimately happy regardless of which team wins.

My blood doesn't boil when someone passes me while driving.

I don't have to be at the very front of the line.

I'm pretty passive.


At least I thought so.

Today I was one the treadmill between two gentlemen I know (both from church), and somehow outlasting them suddenly became extremely important to my happiness.



True, they were running, and I was only walking, but somehow I needed to stay ON the treadmill longer than they did.

Thank goodness they stopped before me.

I guess I do have some aggressive inclinations after all.

NEW BEGINNINGS

You don't have to wait for a new year.






Not even a new month.






Every morning is a bright new opportunity to begin anew.





Why is it so hard for us to grasp this concept?





Me, especially?

STRAIGHT BUT NOT NARROW

I get impatient when I hear people bringing up the "sanctity of marriage" whenever gay rights is discussed (discussed is a much more polite term for some of the yelling and screaming which is actually what can occur. isn't it?).

Does a gay couple having the right to be wed somehow affect the 50% divorce rate of regular hetrosexual marriages?

With the great majority of people having sex before and outside of marriage, who is keeping track of how many of them just might be of the same sex? 

I believe in marriage -- and the old-fashioned no-sex outside of marriage, till-death-do-us-part deal -- and I even believe in the one man, one woman bit.

But allowing a homosexual couple to be legally bound, to have the same spousal rights as I have, doesn't threaten my marriage.

If the sanctity of marriage is your beef, then please, before you jump on gays trying to get married, work on troubled marriages - consider spousal abuse - address abused children.  Worry about the couples who get hitched for 48 hours and then get divorced. Talk about people who are married 3, 4, 7 times.

While my definition of sleeping together generally means the cat and two dogs are on my bed, I can accept that with most of American society, that means having sex. And going steady means having sex. Heck, even dating means having sex.

Can anyone consider that THIS is affecting marriage, or what we define as marriage, so much more than gay marriage?

This is more than a little bit babbling, but I hope you are seeing my point.

TEMPORARILY STUCK

Is it asking too much to want a temporary glue?

I can switch off a light - why can't I turn off something sticky?

I was helping a friend tape up boxes.

And the tape kept trying to achieve a Zen attitude - becoming one with itself.

And I did NOT want this.


So someone out there - come up with this for me; a glue that only glues when you want it to - tape that sticks on command - velcro that can un-velcro itself.

TEARS

Today was a day for crying.


Some of being shocked and horrified - a friend of mine is awaiting a biopsy for possible cancer, while her husband has just lost his job, they are losing their house, and are being forced to move within the next two weeks.




Some of sheer joy - leading one of my favorite hymns of all time, but being completely unable to sing and just had to stand there directing with tears running down my cheeks.






Some of simply feeling humbled and receptive to the spirit. Learning once again how much I have to learn. Recognizing that it can only happen with God's help.









Sweat and tears sometimes seem necessary - today I got a lot of both out.

FACE TOWARDS THE LIGHT

Lyrics from R.E.M.'s song "Stand":

"If you are confused, check with the sun,

Carry a compass to help you along,

Your feet are going to be on the ground,

Your head is there to move you around..."

Today is another day when I have realized that I am the one who determines which way I am facing.

I decide which direction my feet are pointing.

I may not have a lot of choice about where everyone else is heading, but I can figure out for myself where I am going.

FELINE VS CANINE

We have a new cat, fresh from the animal shelter. Sweet, friendly and NOT afraid of dogs.

But we also have a dog who persists in chasing anything smaller than herself.... which includes this cute new kitty-cat.

This may become an interesting story.

FLASHING BEFORE MY EYES

I don't think of myself as a reckless person.

I wear my self-belt.

I take my vitamins

I look both ways before crossing the highway.

I even drive the speed limit. Really, I do - with a line of highly irritated drivers on my tail wherever I go.

But I do play around with horses a lot.

Even after having my head and left hand broken by 'em.

And tonight I almost had my life flash before my eyes.

I had a rope around my shoulder as I was taking a halter off of Najale when I suddenly realized Rue had grabbed part of this same rope in his mouth, and had it right in that handy spot where you normally put a bit in the horse's mouth.

Which meant that I could not simply pull it out of his mouth without Rue being willing to open his mouth - and since he is just a baby, he had no idea of what I needed him to do.

So he was backing up, confused about what was going on, still with the rope in his mouth. And the rope is suddenly tightening around my shoulder.

Now, Rue is just a baby, but he's a baby who weighs around 650 lbs.

So I got that rope off my shoulder faster than I thought humanly possible.

And then slowly and calmly convinced Rue that he needed to get the rope out of his mouth.

But I almost got caught in what could have been a very, very bad situation.

Wasn't quite a "my entire life flashed before my eyes," but I definitely saw the last two days.

LET'S HEAR IT FOR AIR CONDITIONING

I like to think of myself as a advocate of warm-weather.







I grew up in Southern California - I lived in Hawaii - the ideal temp for me is always around 82 degrees.






But something blows up just a little when it gets over 100 degrees.







It's not so much sweating - I don't really mind that - it's just the blast of furnace heat that is difficult to breathe.




Today I'm grateful for the ac in our house.