Ordinary Miracles

sometimes a song can touch your heart in just such a way as to make you grateful for all the seemingly little things in your life. lately those are the only things that are keeping me sane.
when everything seems so uncertain and i am fearing events in the future, and feeling like my dreams will never come true... i remember to be thankful for all the little and big blessings in my life. my sister is always there to help out and listen, my mom is alive and enjoying her life despite some big obstacles, my cats make me laugh and make me crazy - which later makes me laugh. today was a sunny crisp fall day with beautiful leaves and a pinkorange sunset. those things remind me that God is surely in charge and watching over us all. so thanks to Sarah Mclachlin for this little song and for the ordinary miracles that often go unnoticed every day.


Just Another Ordinary Miracle Today

It's not that unusual when everything is beautiful
It’s just another ordinary miracle today
The sky knows when its time to snow
You don’t need to teach a seed to grow
It’s just another ordinary miracle today
Life is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday
Open up and find a way
To give some of your own
Isn’t it remarkable?
Like every time a raindrop falls
It’s just another ordinary miracle today
Birds in winter have their fling
And always make it home by spring
It’s just another ordinary miracle today
When you wake up everyday
Please don’t throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
'Cause we are all a part
Of the ordinary miracle
Ordinary miracle today
Do you want to see a miracle?
It seems so exceptional
Things just work out after all
It’s just another ordinary miracle today
The sun comes up and shines so bright
It disappears again at night
It’s just another ordinary miracle today
It’s just another ordinary miracle today

Fat furry worms can fly!

BUTTERFLY by Jana Stanfield

An excerpt from one of my favorite songs by an inspiring artist
(my favorite line is highlighted):

Butterfly, please tell me again it’s gonna be alright
I can feel a change is coming
I can feel it in my skin
I can feel myself outgrowing
This life I’ve been living in
And I’m afraid, afraid of change
Butterfly, please tell me again
I’m gonna be alright
I’m like my friend caterpillar,
afraid of that dark cocoon
Wanting to hide in the tall grass,
when change is coming soon
But all of the things we long for,
are borne on the wings of change
And losses can lead us to blessings
that we can’t explain
Butterflies remind us,
there’s magic in every life
And we can become what we dream of,
if fat furry worms can fly
So I say…
Butterfly, please tell me again
it’s gonna be alright.

I miss my Gilmore Girls!

I know this may sound silly, but I really looked forward to escaping my own world and catching up with Rory and Lorelai's world every Tuesday night. I mean, this was a really intelligent and funny show with no violence and only a teensy dose of raunchiness and the characters were all flawed in some way but quite loveable. I mean this mother and daughter really cared about each other and shared most everything that was going on in their lives. And they lived in this small town where most people knew each other and helped each other and lots of times annoyed each other... but it was a real community. People walked everywhere and hung out in the town square and ate at Luke's diner and talked to each other! Oh, nostalgia for a place whose likes I have never seen in real life but wish I had.

Seriously, though, the show was very unique. It exhibited funny, intelligent women who were just being themselves and learning from life. There were a lot of touching situations along the way. It's one of the few shows that could make me cry. There were also a few decent guys thrown in for good measure. In fact, Luke is quite handsome and charming once you get him out of the flannel shirt and baseball cap and clean up that scruffy stubbled face.

If you have never seen the show, you can rent or buy seasons 1-6 on DVD. I suggest a total Gilmore fest of watching one or two whole seasons in a weekend. No commercials and a great story to get wrapped up in. What could be better?

The only show I faithfully watch now is The Office. It is not the same as my Rory and Lorelai but makes me laugh nonetheless. I wish there were more shows like this on TV, rather than the "reality" drivel, overly sexed up dramas and crime and violence shows that clog the airways the majority of the time.

I do like OPB, though. Globetrekker on Saturday nights has been a favorite of mine for years but is only on sporadically these days.

Luckily, there are still books for escaping reality for awhile... but my Gilmore girls were a part of my life I will really miss.

Lovin' the peaceful protesters

Every Wednesday afternoon I visit mom and take her on errands or help around the house a bit. When I drive home, whether rain or shine, I see a group of people on a certain street corner with signs like Impeach, Bring our Troops Home, Enough $ and lives spent, etc. I admire their tenacity and willingness to get out there and show what they believe. I always wave and honk at them and put my peace sign fingers out the window. Sometimes I am the only car honking. I don't care. They need to wake up and see that things are not getting better, but absolutely the opposite. Go peaceniks!!

Say No to Artificial Sweeteners & High Fructose Corn Syrup

Diabetics, pre-diabetics and pretty much all the rest of us should eliminate or severely restrict this substance in our diets. It is an altered substance. It starts from corn but ends up as something totally foreign to our bodies. Read on to find out why we should avoid it. By the way, read the ingredient list on Wheat Thins, Kikoman's Teriyaki Sauce, Heinz Ketchup, Yoplait Yogurt, most soda pops and about 50,000 other food products, and then you'll see why we are all getting too much of this stuff, many times unknowingly.

Go ahead and Google it and you may come to the same conclusion I did - small amounts of plain old cane or beet sugar (organic or raw) is the best way to go. Artificial sweeteners and scientifically altered fructose are foreign to our bodies and may cause us to eat more, crave more sweets, store more fat, and there are theories about these substances being linked to cetain types of cancer.

For more information on this, please see "We're drowning in high fructose corn syrup. Do the risks go beyond our waistline?" by Kim Severson, in the San Francisco Chronicle.

SOME FACTS:

In 2001, each American consumed almost 63 pounds of high fructose corn syrup, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A low-fat, fruit-flavored yogurt, can have 10 teaspoons of fructose-based sweetener in one serving.

Because high fructose corn syrup mixes easily, extends shelf-life and is as much as 20 percent cheaper than other sources of sugar, large-scale food manufacturers love it. You'll also find it on the labels of many frozen foods. It is used in bread products as well.

Studies by researchers at UC Davis and the University of Michigan have shown that consuming fructose, which is more readily converted to fat by the liver, increases the levels of fat in the bloodstream in the form of triglycerides.

And unlike other types of carbohydrate made up of glucose, fructose does not stimulate the pancreas to produce insulin. Peter Havel, a nutrition researcher at UC Davis who studies the metabolic effects of fructose, has also shown that fructose fails to increase the production of leptin, a hormone produced by the body's fat cells.

Both insulin and leptin act as signals to the brain to turn down the appetite and control body weight. And in another metabolic twist, Havel's research shows that fructose does not appear to suppress the production of ghrelin, a hormone that increases hunger and appetite.

So, I will stick with the common sense advice of moderation and using just a little real sugar once in awhile. If it is altered or created in a lab, I try to keep it out of my system.

We need to win this election, people!

NOTE: It seems that my beloved John Edwards is not going to be a candidate in the upcoming presidential election. However, I would still welcome his as Vice President. One thing is for sure, I will vote for Hillary or Obama, whichever one is the chosen candidate.

I was just hoping John Edwards would win the nomination. Yes he is pretty much part of the status quo, but he seems sincerely interested in more than his own pocketbook and power to me. Plus the way he supports his wife in every way is endearing. Makes one think he would do the same for our country. And I am sorry but I CAN'T take any more Bushish people running things. Ever again. Seriously people. I am so not kidding. We need to frickin' win this time.

I just don't think this is the time for a revolution. I have no qualms about voting in a minority or a female president. Just why right now??? Most Americans are not open minded or mature enough for that yet. I am a realist. I am not selling out. I am a feminist and yet I don't think this is the time to try to vote a woman in. Not with so much riding on this. We have to turn this danged country around first. A woman in the White House will be fine with me after we get a sure winner in for awhile. Sorry, but I am a realist this time. When I was an idealist and worked my buns off for the campaign, we lost. Have I mentioned we have to win this time? WHY? Let's see: war, education, health care, war, killing, greed, corruption, our economy shot to hell, working people getting poorer every year, war, idiocy, stupidity, GREED, WAR... Enough said.

Build Your Own Sand Castle!

Here is where I would like to be right now (a lovely beach) and also a castle I built. You can do the same with the link on the page.

http://www.virtualsandcastle.com/castle/viewer.aspx?code=U8A5L8

Ours is in big trouble

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” ~Mohandas Gandhi

I just saw on the news that a family pet had been found with an arrow through its neck. People are sick. Luckily a good and kind person got the animal to a vet and they did surgery and he is recovering well. He is up for adoption. I would surely love to adopt him, since he has been through so much and yet is so so sweet and trusting. That made it clear to me that he had belonged to someone. I have no space for another animal in my home, as I already have 2 furry kids. Why didn't this precious pet have on a collar with identification? Why did he wander around for a week while infection was raging in the wound inflicted upon him? Thank God someone found him and helped him.

I am really worried about and saddened by a society that thinks nothing of harming innocent beings.

FAT GIRLS RULE!!

QUEEN said so:

Oooh, you gonna take me home tonight
Oooh, down beside that red firelight
Oooh, you gonna let it all hang out
Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go round!

So, I dedicate this to all my fat girl friends. Don't buy into the lies that society tells us every day. You are beautiful. You deserve to be treated well. You are awesome! Check out Joy Nash on YouTube if you haven't seen in already.

PEACE 2 u!

This little cutie found a home last night!

I am so happy that the last kitten of the six has found her forever home! Here she is while staying at her foster home.

Momma cat is also doing very well and has decided the indoor life is pretty sweet.

Please remember, even if you keep your pets inside, they may get out someday. Please use ID collars and/or microchips and Please Please Please REMEMBER:
800 dogs & cats are euthanized EVERY hour in the USA.

Please spay and neuter all your pets and encourage others to do the same.

Blessings to everyone who rescues and advocates for our voiceless and innocent friends.

Stray cats and cute kittens

I have been going through some hard emotions and stress since I found a sweet momma cat six weeks ago. She is a loving girl, likes to be petted, visits me several times a day and is a cat I love to invite into my home to live with me. However, my home is a small apartment and I have two cats already and it would not be fair to bring another cat into such a small area. My Tiger cat came from a pound and it seems he was not treated too well before I got him and it took a long time to earn his trust and affection. So, mostly I felt it would not be fair to him since he already had to endure the new kitten Emmy coming along and getting half of "his" attention. Emmy was a rescue from a family that became allergic to her and they were going to take her to a shelter.

So, I have created a bond with momma cat. She didn't even mind too much when I interviewed people and brought them over to see her kittens, and eventually adopted out four of them. I believe they are all in good homes. Surely better than living outside and relying on kind people to feed them. She seemed to understand. Plus she was tired of nursing six kittens. She is barely more than a year old herself. She still liked to play with string and leaves almost as much as her babies did.

Today she has gone to the vet to get spayed and then she will go home to her new owner this evening. While explaining this to her, I cried last night and more this morning. I told her she is going to a loving home and I really hope that will be true. I know they have had cats before and they seem like nice people. During the last week, the new mom came to visit her several times and brought her treats and catnip plants. They have an older dog who has been around other cats and probably will want nothing to do with her, so that should be ok. She hasn't been around dogs much except the yip yip one who got off his owner's leash and chased my poor kitty all around the yard and into the parking lot. I kept telling the owner to control her dog but I guess she hadn't expected her to break free.

Pauline or "Paulie" for short is the new name her adoptive mom has given her. Her two remaining kittens are afraid of me now. Maybe because they saw their siblings disappear? Each one I adopted out made me really sad, but at the same time I knew they were going to a better situation. So this has been several weeks of worrying about these cats. I have checked in with the people who adopted the kittens and they all say they are doing fine. I guess I was lucky to get good people to adopt them since others said they didn't want "stray" or "wild" kittens. However, Paulie is so sweet and trusting that I know she is not feral and I think she was someone's pet. I don't know if she ran away or they abandoned her but I think it may have been the latter. And despite all that she has endured, including living outside in the cold and rain and having 2 litters of kittens at a young age, she is still very trusting and loving toward humans. This is a cat I would have really loved to adopt. If I had a house with several rooms I would have adopted her and given her a very loving home.

Now my plan is to humanely trap the kittens and adopt them out, too. One will go live with Paulie and her new mom, so that is a great thing. The other has a prospective new mom waiting for him if he is male. If he is a she then I have to look for a new mom for her, so I hope he is a he. Cause the mom I have picked out is really nice and only wants a male because her female cat hates other females and loves males. Go figure.

All this brings into clearer focus that I someday want to own a decent sized home on a piece of land so that I can take in abandoned or injured animals. I would rehabilitate them and adopt them out to good homes. I am also planning on learning some natural healing techniques and I want to get foster kids or other kids with difficult issues involved in caring for the animals. I think animals can heal us as much as we can heal them. Pure unconditional love is the greatest healer. I am praying this dream will come true.

Last but not at all least - please spay and neuter your pets. There is a low cost coupon here
http://www.oregonhumane.org/spay-neuter/OSNF_authorized_Jun07.pdf for the Portland area and if you live elsewhere, check with your local humane society. There are so many animals destroyed every year that it makes me heartsick, and we can all do something to help prevent more precious creatures from meeting that same fate.

Pet food - even more recalls on May 2 and May 3

I love animals... A LOT. I cry when I see an abandoned animal or one that has been injured or killed or abused. Sometimes I get very angry when people mistreat animals and it is all I can do to keep from screaming at them and becoming violent.

To everyone who has lost a pet or had one get sick from pet food, my heart goes out to you. I am praying that these contamination issues get resolved quickly and we never see them again.

I just read today that if your cat is sick, take him or her immediately to the veterinarian and ask them to do EXTENDED fluid therapy through an IV. They used to think if the cat did not respond in a couple of days there was no chance of survival but now they have had cases that responded well to more days of IV fluids to flush out the crystals formed in the kidneys.

Please see the press releases and links to pet food recalled products at:
http://www.aspca.org and

http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/menu05_07.html

Please look on your cans of food and bags of dry food and call their 800 numbers to find out if their protein supplement sources (especially rice and wheat) originate in the USA. All of the contamination SO FAR is thought to have come from China, though that does not mean it could not happen in other countries.

We need to write to our congress people and ask them to pass laws calling for more careful inspection and oversight of pet food manufacturing.

Please keep checking aspca.org regularly because more information will be available as they are doing scientific investigations and also keeping up on all the recalls.

This hits me pretty hard because of my love for animals and the fact that I recently rescued a momma cat and her six kittens and now it is time to adopt them out. Handing these babies over to their new kitty moms is happy and sad at the same time. Hug Rover and Fluffy for me.

So now "illegals" shouldn't get good health care?

I just read an angry rant about how so many "illegal" women in Dallas get free and excellent medical care when they are pregnant and US citizens don't get anything for free. Well, both of those statements are debateable and highly generalized.

I agree with a small portion of what was said there (you can find the rant on snopes.com) even though I work every day helping some "illegal" patients get free medical care. But the health care system does NOT favor them over truly poor US citizens. Any US citizen who is pregnant cannot be denied medical care, no matter how much money she does or does not earn. Nor can anyone on US soil be denied care in a true emergency situation. A pregnant US citizen may have to prove her income, but if she is poor, she gets the same care the "illegal" women get. The rant said that "illegals" don't even have to prove their income since they don't have Social Security numbers. (By the way, to my knowledge God doesn't make any illegal people.)

However, it is true that many people from many different countries come here without following the legal process. Did you know that the USA allows only a certain number of Mexicans and Central and South Americans to come here each year, and that quota is a very small number compared to the number of applicants? Also it takes a lot of money and many months or years of bureaucratic red tape to emigrate legally. If a non-US citizen doesn't already have a US employer willing to sponsor her to come here, or an immediate family member to petition for him to come here, s/he cannot legally immigrate here. I have helped people fill out immigration forms and believe me, the process is very complicated. It is not surprising to me hat many poor and desperate people give up on the government's immigration process and come here any way they can.

Back to the "illegals" getting great health care in the USA... First, sometimes the poor and vulnerable people of any race or status do NOT get good care in this country. Secondly, I think there are many big problems more worthy of our attention in our health care system in the USA. There is too much overhead and time spent coding and doing paperwork. There are also very high malpractice insurance costs. If we could reduce those, we could greatly reduce the cost to the consumers. Big insurance companies don't want that to happen, though. Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel often spend more time on paperwork and coding than actually caring for patients. And don't even get me started on the huge profits made by drug companies.

Regardless of all those issues, I don't think we should be upset that "illegals" get good treatment. I think we should be upset that NOT ALL people get good treatment regardless of their race, age, legal status, mental status, or income. In fact, that is what good medical providers strive to do, despite all the obstacles they face each day. The medical organization I work for believes that our mission is to help the poor and vulnerable that other systems have ignored or treated poorly. I enjoy working at a place that really strives to help these people as well as provide excellent care for those who are lucky enough to have insurance and good jobs. That is not to say that my organization is without faults. It is made up of humans, so there is always room for improvement.

Immigration is a very complicated issue. At the crux of the issue, I know that people don't leave their loved ones and homeland unless their circumstances there are pretty unbearable and they truly want to provide a better life for their families. All of our ancestors were immigrants to this country at one time unless we are Native Americans. And the way those immigrants came and took the land from the natives was neither legal nor humane in many cases. (This is a brutal fact which pains me greatly since many of my predecessors were Native Americans.)

In the end, I feel all people are children of God, and when they are in need of medical care they should get good care. That is not to say that all our laws and policies are good and fair in this country. Luckily, we all have the power to initiate change. Sadly, very few of us actually do more than complain about the way things are. So, the moral of this story for me? Treat others as you wish to be treated and don't idly stand by and accept injustice as "just the way things are" while you drive your SUV to the mall and to Starbucks every other day. (Sorry but pollution and overconsumption are always on my mind). Finally, I do believe the quote by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - "Injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere." I hope we will all work for justice and peace wherever we see them lacking.

new year

this is a new year and i am optimistic. mom has been in the hospital for almost a month now and my family and a whole lot of loved ones and friends are praying for her and i have faith that very soon this year mom will get well and be home with her family and enjoy more happy years with them. she is only 60 so i believe she deserves more years, and that God will heal her and give her that time here on earth to enjoy her life more fully than ever before. she has been through so much, but she is very strong and i believe God will bring her through this.

as for me, i have taken some lessons from her struggle and will take better care of myself this year. i will also be there reminding my sister to do the same as we may have genetic tendencies towards the same diseases that (combined with other factors) caused all this suffering for mom.

thank you God for healing my mom and making my family happy to have her alive and well and back home to share more time with us. Amen.