Pacific Coast Rest-Stop

[RachelM]

I knew it had to be something simple. Feel just did not sit well as a place name. Now Sane is an all together different matter. Ya ya... I have been in Sane.

Haha!!! Me too.

[Shann]

Wait a second Pup-a roo did you just say I was only interesting when I was asleep? First Amy, then I hear Becky agrees with Amy and sent her a text saying oh man you so called it Shann is boring! and now you only say I'm interesting when I'm asleep. Well i HAVE JUST ONE THING TO SAY TO YOU...TAH!

[Rebecky]

TAH!

You're welcome!

[Allison]

Please pray!

The director of the children's musical at my church fell off the stage steps during dress rehearsal tonight. She was coherent and talking and conscious the whole time, but cut her head pretty badly in two places. She was taken to the ER via car. It happened right at the end as she was giving final instructions, so it happened in front of all the kids. Performances are tomorrow (2) and Saturday.

[RachelM]

I'm praying, Allison. What a terrible time for an accident.

[violin4jesus]

A very "random" accident, Allison. Glad she's not seriously injured.

Honestly, Rachel, I haven't looked into too many online writing courses, but Jan's Writing Basics are a huge help to really boost your skills. You can still look over the old lessons, and she's got a document that she can send with even older lessons back when it was called "Jan's Master Class" because everyone wanted to know how to write like the master EC writer Jan. It was a major victory if your EC could be ranked higher than Jan's back in the day. After her big reveal this week that she had been submitting under a pseudonym, I went back and looked at my EC's from last year, and sure enough, my 2nd place EC (Pinteresting) had beat hers at 4th place. I know pride is a sin, but let's just say I was happy to have placed higher, even if it is a fraction of a point. But seriously, if you practice her suggestions, it will improve your writing for sure.

I submitted to the Challenge just under the wire this week last minute on my phone (literally at 10:59am NY), and then I checked it this evening and I had hastily written the title and it was not the word I wanted to use. Now the title doesn't make sense with the piece so I've probably blown it.

Lesley and I had a good time hanging out and encouraged each other in our writing. I also have some more specific opportunities to pray for her. She's definitely near the end of her rope so may be more open to the gospel, though time will tell. I enjoy spending time with her as a friend, and we may not share the same faith, she is not atheist by any means, and we have mutual respect for each other's beliefs. It's hard to relate, though, or communicate why I have such deep friendships with others who share my faith. There's a depth to a friendship built on mutual love for Christ that really can't be comprehended by those on the outside. Believing that friendship will continue in eternity with those who are believers makes the pain of separation somehow less acute, and magnifies the joy when you're able to spend time together. It also explains why we can have such amazing friendships and deep love for those we've never met in person, and why the FW conference was more than just some instruction in writing - it was a family reunion. I know she wants that kind of friendship and unconditional love, and though I can give her the unconditional love, without that shared faith, I'm not sure I can ever be someone who understands her completely. Nor can I personally make her understand God's love. Only the Holy Spirit can open her heart. My old pastor once said, "I wish I could inject with a needle in your heart the Father's love." That phrase has stuck with me; it really does come down to a personal revelation that only God can create in a person's soul - we are only messengers. My goal in my friendship with her is not to convert her, though. It's to be a real friend, no matter what - to show her that unconditional love that won't give up, even if she rejects me. And it's great that we share so much in common besides writing. Intellectually we are very well matched, and it's great to have someone with whom to discuss philosophy, religion, and politics, since most people are afraid of those topics.

Shann, you are NOT boring. Must have been an autocorrect gone wrong. I think you are very interesting, and we should write a book together! Women are still having babies the same way they've always had babies, and it doesn't change much even with technology. I don't think we've had any real breakthroughs in technology for labor/delivery in the last 20 years. The equipment may be new, but it's the same basic technology. I've also just learned to rely on my gut a lot more now, and to read a woman's progress by how she behaves, rather than by exams and monitors. There's a level of experience one reaches when you can intuitively know what to do next. I'm not 100% there yet, and I'm still learning, but I'm catching glimpses of it here and there.

Well, I was supposed to work extra tonight, but I'm on standby, and I turned down extra shifts both last and this week in anticipation of working today, which sucks. I should have never agreed to it. Maybe my body needs the rest, and God knew it. I do know that they called in the other person already, so it's possible if they get busier that I'll be called in. We could use the extra money.

Off to make myself do something productive.

[Allison]

Update -- the director has a badly sprained ankle, a small cut, and a contusion on her arm. No concussion or anything serious with her head. It could have been much worse, I think. Praise the Lord!

[Shann]

TAH!

You're welcome!

Oh thaT'S IT! YOU AMY AND PUP ARE ALL GROUNDED!!!

[Shann]

Allison so sorry to hear about the director. Head wounds bleed like crazy so I'm sure it was super scary. I will continue to pray for her and the kids. I would think some (once they found out she was okay probably thought all that blood was cool)

I know firsthand how much head wounds bleed thanks to Q at 15 months, I went into the back room to hide Christmas presents and he looked at me, waved, then said Bye-bye. Silly me, I thought he was saying it because I was going into the room, but no he decided to jump off the 8 foot tall landing and collide with the floor, trapped between the bottom step and the locked back stairway door. There was blood everywhere. He's had like 5 or 6 concussions in his almost 23 years.

Another time was in 8th grade. The baseball coach was running late so the boys decided to chuck horse chestnuts at each other. Then one kid took it a bit farther and picked up a brick and clocked Q in the head. He was out for a few minutes. Someone ran and called 9111. I was in the hospital at the time so when the coach called and M told him I was in the hospital, he freaked and said why does she have to be there now? The brick thrower thought he had killed Q and ran off positive he would be arrested. Q had 8 -10 staples in his head and that was his last baseball game. The brick thrower was suspended at first, but when his parents complained about him missing his last Middle School game, they let him play. Ooohh that irked me, it was Q's last game too and he couldn't platy. Plus the parents never once called and asked how he was or if they could help with the ambulance and hospital bills.

See interesting right? And no Leah, it wasn't an auto correct she actually said it. Well something like: Your last part of your text was cut off, but that's okay because it probably wasn't interesting! So I had to tease her about calling me boring, and then Becky joins in and gets me in trouble for tattling! Then Pup tells me I'm only interesting when I'm asleep!!! TAH! I say TAH! I will admit my texts are pretty funny when I'm asleep. Not sure if Becky has gotten too many, I think Barb has gotten one or two and maybe Kara (back when I could still text her I miss them!) Then I wrote that one challenge in my sleep...oh the feeling in my gut when I sat at the computer and saw the page Thank you for submitting. I really worried about that one. My humor can be a tad twisted when I'm awake and it gets even worse when I'm sleep texting/walking/driving/swimming/etc.

Glad you got your challenge in. I've done that lots of time and the title isn't part of the judging so you don't have to worry about that. I'm really bad about reading titles. Sometimes I'm glad because some people will give away the ending and I love a good twist.

I do think we should write a book, though with all the stupid HIPPA laws, who knows...They go way overboard on it. Confidentiality is important (though there is no privacy between those curtains. If I have a confused roommate, I can tell the doctor more about how she is doing than the nurses) They used to hang the I&O sheets on the bathroom door. All it has is patient's name and amount of intake and output, but the state came along and made a huge fuss. I always measure my own urine so it was nice having the sheet right there so I could jot it down. I really don't care if someone knows how much I peed in a day! If there in the room visiting me or the roommate they know way more personal things than how much I drank and peed.

See interesting right? Okay I need to hang my sheets out. Ahh fresh sheets straight from the line--that's what Heaven will smell like. (It says so in the Bible I'm sure)

[Rebecky]

TAH!

You're welcome!

Oh thaT'S IT! YOU AMY AND PUP ARE ALL GROUNDED!!!

I rather be grounded than stranded... or swamped... or wrecked... or ....

[Shann]

I can swamp you!!!~!! Not sure what that means but my scary mother look should have you shaking in your boots--your swamp boots!

[Rebecky]

I can swamp you!!!~!! Not sure what that means but my scary mother look should have you shaking in your boots--your swamp boots!

Hmm.. I can't shake in my boots if I don't have any boots, so I'll just wait til I find some...

[JesusPuppy]

Now hold on there a second.

Wait a second Pup-a roo did you just say I was only interesting when I was asleep?

No. The opposite. When you are all here..(Hum, yeah) I love reading your comments, but, and this is the part you messed up.. When you are... (ummm.. asleep, yeah thats it, not "when you are gone in the head" but asleep.. yeah, that works.) When you are asleep you make little to no sense, so as to say, it is.. "Ummm.. Interesting" to say the least. Though it does add to the giggles.

Glad things didn't turn out too bad, Shortstuff. And I know I don't need to remind you to tell us how the play goes.

And Kiddo.. Quit picking on Shann... that's my job.

[Shann]

Hmm still not sure. You're not trying to butter me up so you can be the teacher's pet are you?

See what a troublemaker Amy is? She got you and Becky grounded Plus I had to give Becky the look!

I feel yucky. I'm in the middle of an outbreak and have sores everywhere and am all puffy and have green gunk draining from my eyes.

So 2 years ago tonight was the night I almost died and 3 years ago Becky had her car accident. Life is zooming by.

Congratulations Allison on placing was it 14 overall in the challenge. It was a good one.

[Rebecky]

And Kiddo.. Quit picking on Shann... that's my job.

Ok... fine. I'll just pick on you instead!


Yeah, today is 3 years since the car accident. I remember after the accident I had nightmares every night for I don't know how long. During that time because of the nightmares, sleepless nights and the pain I was in, many night I wished I had just died in the accident instead. That could have been way better than the pain and everything I was going through.

But now the nightmares are gone, even if everything else remains.

I've got a bad headache that is going from my sinuses to the back of my neck right where my spine comes up.