Trying to learn how to put new links in my list

Widow's Walk OK ... so that is Christine MaggieO's blog. But I want it in the list of blogs or sites on the side of my blog. Let's see. Publish ... and ... ???

Just once, Lord; just once

As I was watching Fr. Pacwac last night, bemoaning in my mind ... how tired I was, it came to me 'just once, I would like to stay in bed beyond daybreak'. NOT because I am sick (remember last 2 weeks, I would NOT stay in bed) ... and certainly not because I am dead.
NOPE, got toooooo much work to do. Of course, I bet, when we die, we will not be tired again.
Yesterday was a big day for me after over 3 weeks of not doing much except stablizing my head against a high back desk chair (where I am now) or ... stablizing my head against a high back recliner in the living room.
At the table this morning (HL seldom eats the same time as me, but did today) ... he said 'why am I so tired. I spent plenty of time in bed resting and sleeping.' He has a TV in the bedroom and a bed that you can raise the head. So most days, at 6pm when the Mass is on EWTN, he goes in there and stays until the next morning. ;-) (That gives me 2 or 3 hours in the living room ... watching what I like.)
Soooooo, where does this leave us. Someone told me once, that the more you exercise, the less tired you are. Soooooo as soon as I am 'good to go' with this head of mine (which is lotzzzz better today) ... am going to try to start my walk-a-robic exercise again. That helps keep my FBS under control and there are other health benefits also.
Ya'll have a nice day. DIEU TE BENISSE!!! GOD BLESS!!!

Another week; progress??? Ugh!!!

Yes, again; I am whining. Weighed today even though I 'snuck up on the scale yesterday' because I always weigh on Saturday. Another 3 pounds lost; but is that really progress ... after the way I have been nauseated all week. Yesterday, the vertigo was more worse than any other day this week. Soooooo crackers and milk and a boiled egg ... was the menu of the day. I made myself an scrambled eggbeater sandwich on raisin bread ... and just the smell of that bread ... led me to put it in a plastic ziploc bag and store in fridge.
Sooooooooo ... this morning ... decided to eat half of it. HL still wants to go eat at that 'Cajun buffet' ... and if I can stand up ... I will.
Sooooooooooo ... on with the day. A little housework ... turn on the washer ... get dressed ... and Ooooooooops!!! Rush back into the bathroom to upchuck. My stomach has been threatening to do that all week, but a cold wet rag on my neck had prevented it.
Now the question is ... DO I HAVE TO COUNT THAT HALF OF SANDWICH ... AS FOOD THAT I HAVE HAD TODAY??? AND WHAT ABOUT THE DRAMAMINE??? SHOULD I TAKE MORE???? NOPE, NOT GOING TO DO THAT.
So I sit here at this machine and am shaking inside and out. HL is back from Mass ... and freezing. %---{ Why run the central heat ... while he is gone, if I am overly warm?
The washer just finished the rinse spin ... but will wait a while before attempting to stand up. Now ... do not fret; as HL says 'get to the dr' ... and I remind him that I have been having vertigo since the late 60s; and no dr has ever prescribed anything except Antivert ... an expensive brand name chemical that translates to ... YEP; Dramamine.
Stay tuned for an update; and ... YA'LL HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!!!
DIEU TE BENISSE!!!

To eat or not to eat; do not starve your vital organs; YUCKS!!!

I have been 'fat' most of my life. But since I am having several health issues that would more than likely be solved if I would lose a hundred pounds, I had a talk with myself ... and said ... do it ... one day at a time.
#1: the NutriSystem offer I got in the mail was touted as 'less than $10 a day'. Ohe, my lands; HL and I together do not eat half that much in a month.
#2: I got a 'challenge' from Slim Fast in an email. Too much sugar, I find.
#3: We bought a new frost free freezer ... and you would not believe all the veggies that I found under that ice in the old one. I can eat on that for months without even going to the store. :-)
Soooooooooo, here it is ... January 12 ... and I am still trying to 'figger' out ... just what I will do with myself at meal time. Let's have a banana split and think about it. Well, yeah; a half of a banana, strawberry ice cream (low fat), butter pecan ice cream (low fat with no added sugar) ... a dab of chocolate shell ... and to top it off ... light and sugar cream whipped topping. There goes my Sunday dessert.
I should have remembered that my motto for a long time was ... 'if I crave something, wait a day, and most of the time, that craving will go away'. Oooooooops!
I was told by a dr in Tennessee once ... a long time ago ... do not diet on the weekend, because your bodies metabolism will shut down because it thinks it is winter time ... and hibernate like an old Grizzly bear. ;-) That is why when you first start a weight lost program, you lose a lot and then hit a 'plateau'. But I only cheat (more food, with Diabetes exchanges in mind) on Sunday at noon ... and on grocery buying day ... so it is spread apart. Some folks cannot stop eating wrong if they start. A lady I know does not eat all day, (dr's orders) because once she starts, she keeps on keeping on until bedtime. I think she needs some willpower training. That is sad. Leslie, an e-pal extraordinare of mine ... talked about not being able to eat lettuce, so salads were just not 'salad'. Sissy and I cannot eat iceberg lettuce; and do you know, some restaurants charge extra for Romaine or Spinach. %--p And there are always other greens. I love raw mustard greens, turnip greens, radish greens; etc. And when I had a tooth ache one day, I remember that a sis-in-law used to grind her radish in a salad blender. I even do that with cucumbers with the skin on; all that fiber is good for you. And I cook apple and oranges with the skin on.
Leslie mentioned in her blog that she is a 'sloth' when it comes to food.
Just to make sure I knew what 'sloth' was ... I looked it up. Yep, Leslie is not a sloth; no way. Geeeezh, she drives 2 hours one way to get to work and back. Sooooooo she is not a sloth ... and sometimes that drive is harder than the work she does ... especially in severe weather. Definition ... disinclination to work (she is NOT that) ... or exert oneself (NOT) or ... lazy (definitely NOT); >>>AND<<< NOT ... a slow-moving, tree-dwelling South American mammal who hangs upside down from a tree branch. *giggle* NOT!!!
So ... now a question ... if we are full of sloth about food ... must we add gluttony to our list of things to confess? I think not; because if you are lazy about eating, then you probably tend to eat less, just foods with higher calories, if handy.
Is that what you meant, ma cherie?
HL sometimes does not know what he wants to eat for lunch until breakfast is over for an hour or two. I like to plan my meals WAY ahead of time; like when I am making a grocery list. And if the ingredients are frozen, I sometime take them out of the freezer and defrost them over night in the fridge.
I tend to under eat most days ... (and there is a weight loss support company in LA (CA) THAT TOLD MY COUSIN ... that is worst than overeating) ... because ... not only do you not lose, you do not get your needs met ... so fasting for long periods ... will cause your body to eat itself; and it eats muscle as well as fat). >>>I actually had a silent heart attack ... while living on a 500 calories or less ... per day ... for 8 months. Ohe, I lost weight ... but ... was so malnourished that I landed in the hospital for several days. Since I was dehydrated, they gave me IV drip, and put me back on my feet. Then I got pregnant and gained back that weight and more. And me, at 39 and counting, should have known better. %--p
MJ is working on the Cajun Country Card website ... and I hope to have it up and running soon. But so I can post this on my ... aol ... blog, I will close for now, and hope to report a good weight loss and a smooth system to my eating ... on that site.
Je t'aime and DIEU TE BENISSE! GOD BLESS! Macile

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR; THIS IS WHAT JESUS WAS THINKING OF

On the NBC Nightly News on Friday, December 14, 2007 … the Making a Difference segment … brought tears of joy to my eyes. I hope it effected most folks like that also.
A man, wrongly accused of a crime many years ago, was proven innocent by DNA testing; and he was awarded a large sum of money … over $300,000. And THEN … what did he do?
He started a foundation to help other inmates, whether proven innocent and released … or released when their time was served. And … how is he helping them?
He visits the prison (s) [not sure if more than one, or which, probably near where he lives] … AND … he finds out who is getting out soon; what they want to do with their lives; and then finds them the training and/or job that closest matches their dream.
NOW, folks … that is what Jesus was talking about … when he said ‘love your neighbor’. And we can all do that. BUT this man … went way beyond what most folks would do.
It was such a pleasure to watch some of the folks that he had helped. One man, a chef (not a fast food cook, but a chef) went on saying, over and over, ‘I would not have made a good life if it were not for him'. That man was working in a nice restaurant, with high white hat and all. ;-)
The man the story was about … had no time for revenge, not even for the prosecutor, saying … ‘he was doing his job with the evidence that was made available at that time. It was 20 years … in the coming to truth and justice, but he seemed to believe … ‘it was GOD’s plan’.
How awesome if more of us lived each day believing that no matter what problems befall us … GOD does have a plan. When we work through our troubles and suffering, we are stronger … and can help others … as they need some human … talking them through their hills and valleys.
As our son, MJ would say ‘pray … but pray with an ‘attitude of gratitude’ and ‘trust in the Lord’ that he will get around to the positive answer … when and if we are ready to accept it.
Je t’aime and … DIEU TE BENISSE!!!

A HOLY OF HOLY DAYS; OF OBLIGATION

(I began writing this on Dec. 7, 2007) Did I say I have been busy?
TOMMOROW IS THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION … ANNIVERSARY … OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY BEING CONCIEVED IN THE WOMB OF ST. ANNE.
That is how Mother Angelica started her program, this week on Tuesday, which was actually December 4, 2007. It was a rerun of a program done on December 7, 1998 (I think). Which ever it was, I was soooooooooo pleased to watch that program and hope a lot of folks saw it both times.
As she mentioned, lots of folks think this is the announcement to Mary … by the archangel, Gabriel … that she had been chosen to be the human mother of the Son of GOD. Boy, as Mother said ‘that would have been even more of a miracle; gestation lasting less than 20 days’. ;-)
I THINK … one reason for that … is the Annunciation story is read as the Gospel of this day.
I have often wondered ‘why’. It should (and probably is) be read on March 25, 9 months before Christmas day. But then, who am I to tell the Magistarum what to do … and how to do it.
In talking about this subject … of course, Mother talked about Anne and Joachim … and their joy in being given a child. The gospels also talk about … Elizabeth and Zachary; starting from the beginning of the story of the conception of John, the Baptist … in their old age. To quote from a website … ewtn.com/Mary and Elizabeth/library … One day, while Zachary was serving in the temple, the Angel Gabriel appeared at the right of the altar, and announced that a son would be born to Elizabeth. It was in the sixth month of her pregnancy that the Virgin Mary came to visit her—a touching and beautiful scene pictured by many great artists. The Angel Gabriel, having lately announced to Mary the destiny that awaited her, also told her that her kinswoman Elizabeth was with child. The Virgin Mary, eager to share in Elizabeth's happiness and to confide that she too would bear a child, traveled down the dusty road from Nazareth. On Mary's arrival, she was amazed when Elizabeth, having foreseen knowledge, greeted her as "mother of my Lord." Elizabeth's salutation was in these words: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And how have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, the moment that the sound of thy greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who has believed, because the things promised her by the Lord shall be accomplished."
Mother talked about Zachary telling the archangel all the reasons that he was wrong. At the end of his objections, Gabriel struck him mute, according to the wishes of GOD, the Father. He would not speak again until his son was born and named John, as instructed by Gabriel.
I often wondered if Mary spent the whole three months with Elizabeth and was there when John was actually born. She lived a great distance away, which made it reasonable that she would do that.
Of course, since she was newly pregnant when she went to Elizabeth, she would be no where near her own delivery date, when he was born.
Many folks talk about the ‘worship’ of Catholics … where the Blessed Mother is concerned. A friend of mine wrote recently in her blog … ‘Did you know that one of the earliest known prayers to Our Lady comes from the THIRD CENTURY? Now, let's put this into perspective, historically - the third century spans the year 200 a.d. to 299 a.d. approximately. Our Lord was crucified and rose again in the year 33 a.d. (approximately), correct? That means that this prayer was being used by the ONLY CHURCH anywhere from 167 years to 266 years after that monumental event.
Now, after getting this type of historical perspective straight in our minds it is easy to see why the argument that Catholics 'worship' Mary or that it was some sort of manifestation of the phenomenon in the Middle Ages of a corrupt Church hierarchy can be easily refuted. We do not 'worship' her...we love her. Our attitude is, if she was good enough for Jesus she is good enough for us. Here is the prayer: "We flee to your protection, O virgin Mother of God. Despise not our prayers in our need, but you, who alone are pure and blessed, deliver us from all danger."
Leslie goes on to say that the Blessed Mother is one of the main reasons that she came back to the Catholic Church. And not only … did she come back, she came back full force; RICA teacher, daily adoration of the Eucharist when possible, Mass lotzzzzz, during the week; and teaching a lot of folks what the Church means to her, including her niece, Jillian … and her nephews, Ryan and Stephen.
Soooooooooo, give this some thought, folks. And remember, September 8 is Blessed Mother Mary’s birthday. Je t’aime and DIEU TE BENISSE!!!!

ME; WATCH A MOVIE; THAT I HAD SEEN; NAW!

I JUST SPENT THE MOST RELAXING AND LOVELY AFTERNOON, IN OUR LIVING ROOM, ALONE … AND YES, WATCHED … ‘HOPE FLOATS’.
In 1998, I went home with Mama when her radiation in Lake Charles was over.
She and Juanita had come for her 80th birthday party. Don and Pat also came if for a few days. After a couple of weeks, Juanita went home; and Mama stayed … supposedly until February. >>>BUT GOD CHANGED HER SCHEDULE.<<<
That was one of the most precious gifts that GOD gave me; not counting our children, grandchildren and now our two awesome great-granddaughters.
On New Year’s Eve, one of our sons-in-law was the MC for a huge bash at the casino in Kinder. They even gave us a hotel room free, so that we would not have to drive home in the middle of the night (more like 2 am, when the party was over).
We had a good time … and all was OK; or so it seemed. As it turns out, Mama (who usually walked faster than any of us) was walking slowly and huffing/puffing … and white as a ghost … going down to breakfast.
To cut this short, for those of you who do not know the story … her breast cancer had returned as 16 tumors in her bronchial tubes, the largest as big as a lemon.
Fast forward to April 1; after radiation for 12 weeks here, I was going home with her so she could do chemo and ‘be sick in my own house’ she kept saying.
My return ticket was for June 15, after Pumpkin’ (Yvonne, Juanita’s granddaughter) graduated. Fast forward again … through all the good times we had, BECAUSE MAMA DID NOT NEED CHEMO … but HL insisted I stay anyway since I was already there. No sweat; there was so much to keep us busy.
Juanita loved movies. Mama and I did not want to go … until we found out that Harry Conick, Jr. was the male lead. >>>HE IS FROM … NU OILNS … YOU KNOW<<<
Yep, the one in Southwest Louisiana. ;-)
So, to the movie we went. Mama sat between us and we like the movie from the beginning … which really was sad … but just sat quietly and watched it unfold.
Somewhere along, when Gena Rowlands, Sandra Bullock’s mother … was showing signs of health problems, that she hid from her daughters and husband, I realized that Mama was holding my hand. I reached over for a kiss on the cheek, squeezing her hand as she squeezed mine, and Juanita was doing the same thing, at the same time. I guess (although I am not sure at this moment) … that Mama had made the first move and we were just reacting at the same time because of her action.
If you are reading this, not believing from the beginning … that I watched a movie that I had seen before … you are correct. Not only that, I am seldom in the living room by myself … and then … not until 5 pm, when it is time for the local news and my last meal of the day. Today surprised me … most of all. But it was soooooo nice … to not be working in this room. I know, I impose my own schedules … but it seems if I skip a few hours, I fall so far behind that it is hard to catch up.
Sooooooooooo, I give glory to our Father, GOD … for giving me this peaceful time … and the memories to go with it. To all of you …
STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES …
AND … SING GLORY TO GOD. DIEU TE BENISSSE! Macile