The Challenge: Read 12 books of 200 pages or more in 12 months. That's one book per month.
The Time frame: January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011
The Reason: Studies have shown that reading helps keep your mind healthy and active. The mind you save may be your own.
Books I've Read So Far:
January
Sisterchicks Say Ooh La La! - Robin Jones Gunn
Sisterchicks in Gondolas! - Robin Jones Gunn
Sisterchicks Go Brit! - Robin Jones Gunn
One Tuesday Morning - Karen Kingsbury
Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes! - Robin Jones Gunn
Sisterchicks Down Under! - Robin Jones Gunn
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
What I'm Currently Reading
Redemption
Karen Kingsbury
Book Count 2011: 6
I couldn't resist the title. The only thing Barbie and I have in common is that she has Malibu in her name and I drive one. A gently used, 2009 Seafoam colored Chevy Malibu, to be exact. My brother got me a really sweet deal on it. REALLY sweet. Considering I don't work, how he got me financed was nothing short of a miracle.
Corri and I have named my car Foamy, after Foamy the Squirrel, but also in honor of the color. Al has named every car we have ever had, (my last one he named "Maureen" and before he gets a chance to name this one, I beat him to the punch. Foamy it is and will forever be. Take THAT, Al!
The car rides like a dream, and I am babying it, although Corri and I did go out and toodle around town to buy her cigarettes and pick up my shampoo and conditioner. Then on the way back home, I stopped to feed Foamy and now his tummy is all full and happy. The fullness won't last long though, I'm certain of that.
This morning I overslept. Corri had to come into my room and wake me at 6:30am for our morning meditations. I would've gotten up on my own, except I woke last night at about 1am, discovered Al was home from work not long before, so I sat up and talked to him for an hour. Then I took a tranquilizer and went back to bed. It knocked me on my butt. I'm sure I needed the sleep.
Corri had coffee brewing when I got up and we settled in for our morning cup and meditations right away. I love spending this quiet time in the morning with her and having this little ritual between us. I've supported her all the way through her battle with alcoholism and into her recovery and I'm not about to stop now. If that means I get up early, which I usually am anyway, to share some quiet, reflective time with her to continue to support her, then that's what I'm going to do.
She took a really quick shower, and then I jumped in when she finished, and both of us got ready to start our day. Once we were ready, I woke Al around 8-8:30am so he could begin his day. We had much to do this morning.
The three of us were out the door by 9:30am, stopped for gas in Al's car, then dropped Corri off at SAP, which started at 10am for her. Al and I then drove an hour to Wisconsin to pick up my car. That whole process took almost an hour. I felt like I was buying a house with everything I had to sign. Then we turned around and drove the hour back with Al and I parting ways once we got back over the state line and I knew where I was going. He went straight to work and I went directly home.
Corri beat me home because she took the bus from SAP to the house. I gave her bus money last night, just in case I wasn't back in time to get her. She called me to let me know she was safe and sound in the house just after we crossed back into Illinois, so I was only about 15 minutes away. 20 minutes tops.
When I got home, she came to the door and oohed and aahed appreciatively over my new wheels. She loves the color, and honestly, so do I. It's a color I'd have chosen for myself, I think.
So after we discussed the new addition to the family for a little while, Corri filled me in on her day. Her SAP sessions are going to be Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:30am to 12:30 pm, and I'll be driving her both ways. If for some reason I can't drive her or pick her up, at least we know she has the bus option as a stand-by, but I can't see making her pay to ride the bus when I'm here with her and can easily take her there and pick her up afterward. It's not a big deal. Every Wednesday evening at 5:30pm, she has a family counseling session, which I'll be attending with her. She said Mom didn't sound too thrilled about the prospect of having to attend family sessions, but when she called Dad, he was happy she called and asked him to go. He said he'd talk to Mom about it tonight when she gets home from work.
Mom tends to live in denial land, and also in the land where it's fine as long as it's Corri doing all the work, but not so much if she's got to work at things, too. Corri told me later she doesn't think that Mom and Dad truly have any idea how hard this has been for her to work through. I think Corri is probably right about that.
Corri took a brave step and called our brother Bob today. I'm so proud of her. She misses him, the way they used to be so close before her drinking and him becoming such an asshole to her. They talked about how much she's accomplished and what she's doing now, and she left it with asking him if she could go out to dinner with him and Cheryl some time. He said, "We'll see. I have to talk to Cheryl," about that, which left her feeling a bit depressed about how the call went, but on the other hand, he did tell her that he is proud of her, so I told her to hold onto that and let that be the positive step she was looking for.
She's out for the evening with Jason, so I'm sitting here watching Pretty Little Liars, trying to get caught up on a few of the shows I've recorded. I'm so behind on the soaps. I swear I don't know if we'll be able to catch up. I told Corri I didn't want to have five or six episodes of each soap waiting to be watched or we'll never get caught up. So maybe tomorrow we can watch some of them before family counseling.
Al is so committed to helping her in her recovery, he has put in for a vacation day tomorrow and one for February 2nd. There's no guarantee he's going to get the time off, but at least he's trying to be there for her. If he's off tomorrow we'll never get the television remotes from him. It'll be like a weekend. We don't get the remotes on the weekends either.
I'll tell you, I'm still walking on air about the car, but at the same time, I'm kinda scared. The payment is only $50 more than I paid on my last car, but I didn't have the other bills I've got now. I told Al we need to sit down together and work out how things are going to be paid now. I also didn't plan on having to come up with another $200+ today for half the car insurance premium on the new car, but thankfully, they're going to wait until he gets paid on the first and I can pay it then. That money is gonna be in and gone. Half of it is going to car insurance, and the rest is for Shiloh's surgeries. I can't put that off any longer. As it is, the price will go up because he's a 10 month old cat and no longer considered a kitten. But worse than the price going up is the fact that he's peed on the carpet a couple of times already and he is scratching everything in the house. My poor Bears chair is all but destroyed. Al is having a fit and is about ready to pitch Shiloh outside, but I won't let him.
Did I mention that I got my Bears body pillow, finally? I named it Brian Urlacher and he sleeps between my legs every night. It's as close as I'm gonna get to the real thing. He helps keep my spine straight when I'm sleeping and I don't wake up with a sore back anymore.
I thought you'd all appreciate that little tidbit of knowledge.
It's been a good day today.
Today's theme from the devotional book is about finding God's treasures through the darkness of those less than sunny times of your life. I told my sister this morning that I have a perfect example of that.
When I was little, I adored my grandmother. I was closer to her than I was to my own mother. She was always so good and kind and I remember wanting to be like her. When she died very suddenly on February 19, 1979, I was devastated. I mean seriously devastated. I had to be given valium to make it through her wake and funeral. I was a total wreck and it was the darkest period my 12 year old soul had ever known. It wasn't until I was older, within the past ten years or so, that I've actually been able to find the treasure that came from that darkness.
On the day Grandma died, I didn't feel like going to school. I wasn't sick. I just wanted a day off. So I faked sick to get Grandma to call in for me. I'm sure she knew I wasn't really sick, but my grades were good and it wasn't something I did often (until high school), so she didn't mind calling in for me. We spent the whole day together, Grandma and I. Grandpa and Mom were at work and Bob was at school where he belonged. I had my beloved grandma to myself for the whole entire day. Then later that night, after dinner, while Grandpa was doing the dishes, she called him to come to her in the living room. The rest was a blur. An ambulance showed up and they took Grandma away. I never saw her alive again.
But how blessed am I, that God, through my "sickness," even though fake, chose me of all the people in Grandma's life, to spend her last day on earth with her? It is a jewel that no one else has. No one else can claim it. Only me. I can see it now for the tremendous gift that last day was. I will always carry with me the memories of baking and doing hair, and Grandma letting me listen to my music and dance for her, and do Grandma/granddaughter things all day long before the other family members broke in to our special time. I'm glad that God has shielded my memory from the blur of the other things that happened that night when she was gone. I really don't remember much about them. But I do remember the good part of that day, and I always will.
Thank you Lord, for being so good to me, in spite of my lie to stay home that day. You've given me many treasures, but this is the one I hold nearest to my heart.
A woman I know carried a pocket New Testament with her wherever she went. Often I would see her pull it out of her pocketbook and begin reading. One day I asked her why she seemed so intent on her reading whenever I saw her. She said, "I read it whenever I get hungry. I'm trying to control my weight, so whenever I feel a physical hunger, I feed myself spiritually instead. It takes my mind off my hunger and puts it where it should be - on the Lord." What a wonderful lesson. If we will find new ways to include God in our diets, He will turn our thoughts where they need to be!
Today's thought: There are ways to be fed (spiritually) without getting fat!
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