A long time coming!

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It feels like home

I've been thinking a lot about home lately. Mostly I think I've been thinking about it because of family birthdays. My nephew and my dad just had birthdays, and my brother and sister-in-law just had their anniversary. I suppose I've been thinking about it, because my family is all so close together now, and I'm well I'm on the other side of the country. Chad and I have been married for almost 9 months and there are still boxes to be unpacked, items that need a place to live in a cabinet or drawer that still haven't found there way yet. But yet, this is our home small and unfinished as it may be. I made a loaf of bread for the first time last week it seems there is always something lovely about bread baking in the oven. For a few minutes it made this tiny apartment feel more like a home. The smell of fresh baked bread had an easy time reaching every corner of our place and it was truly lovely. It made me remember the good smells of my mom baking all kinds of goodies when I was a kid. That and the ongoing fight between my brothers and I when I wanted M&M cookies and they wanted anything that was all chocolate. But it makes me ponder home. What makes a place home? For for 21 years home was the same smallish town in Clermont, where my parents had grown up and both of my brothers and I grew up. But now, I'm far away from that, learning to make a new home. A home far from the home I've known and different in nearly every way. Yet, I'm realizing it isn't just me. There are a lot of people I know and love doing the same thing. I have friends who are preparing to add to their homes with a baby for the first time ( a few actually, guess there is something in the water in dear old Clermont). I have good friends who have recently moved, and the new place I'm sure doesn't quite feel like home yet. I have former youth who are moving into dorms some for the first time, others for the last time. So what makes a place feel like home. For me, home is where my husband is and that is the simple answer. But I can remember things that made it feel more like our home, like this past weekend we finally finished getting one room put together with the purchase of a lovely shower curtain for the bathroom ( I know this sounds small, but to have one room finished really feels good) Comfy sheets are very homey, fresh baked bread ( or really anything baking), my bed makes me feel at home ( when you have spent nearly 4 of the last nine months sleeping in some other bed because you are traveling it makes you appreciate yours).
So what makes you feel at home? And if its a person...have you told them lately?

Do you hear what I hear?

So, its day two of me having barely any voice to speak of ( more of a croaking sound...Improvement from no sound at all yesterday I suppose) and this no talking is a strange thing. Living in Los Angeles, there is always noise. But, when you can't talk you hear more of it. Like, the apartment building next door is getting a new roof ( I hope their roofers work faster than ours did), and I-10 is always full of cars. Then there are the occasional squeals of children running around the building ( and me hoping one of them doesn't step on a nail the roofers next store are sure to have flung into our buildings driveway). But, these are all new noises in some ways. Growing up in a fairly small town, you hear things like birds, and school bells, things I don't hear out here. In fact, I can't remember the last time I heard birds in LA. But in Los Angeles, I get to hear my husband laugh and the sound of instant messages coming in from good friends who are now far away. Not being able to talk is making me appreciate those sounds so much more, and it makes me wonder what else I'm not hearing when I can talk.

A small victory

I washed the dishes today. I even unloaded the dishwasher. Some would be like…well that’s great Kat but…umm what’s the big deal?! The big deal is that this was a small victory that warrants celebration. The big deal is that for almost a week I’ve been in bed. Not really able to amble about to take care of the little things we always take for granted. The antibiotics seem to finally be kicking in, but I worry that this may mean my body is building a resistance to the antibiotic I’ve now been on at least 4 times in the last 6 months. But I washed the dishes today. I even put a roast in the crock pot to make sure that this evening after a week of my husband sacrificing his rest time to take care of me ( and doing it with no complaint) on this day my husband will come home to a dinner he does not have to cook and a kitchen he does not have to clean.

I think we sometimes take for granted those little things. The way clean laundry smells, the way your favorite dish soap smells as you’re washing dishes. I know its been a while since the scent of yummy pot roast has wafted through our abode. But today all that is different. It’s a new day and a day where things that have fallen by the wayside are being done.

It leaves me to wonder how many things we pay little attention to until they go undone. There are some things which are far bigger than a few dirty dishes in the sink. Like when is the last time I looked at my husband and said “I love you” and not just in response to him saying it first…I mean when is the last time any of us looked at one of the incredible people in our lives that bless us so much and said “I love you?” Moreover, when is the last time we earnestly said a prayer of thanksgiving for those who have blessed us. Yesterday was Father’s Day and I got to tell my dad that I loved him and as I went to sleep I thanked God that I had such a wonderful mom and dad, who did their best to raise me right.

Every Monday morning Chad gets up early to head in for staff meeting and every Monday morning he wakes me just enough to kiss me goodbye and tell me he loves me before heading off. Every Monday morning just before falling back to sleep I thank God for my husband and ask Him to be with Chad that day and be with us. I did the same thing today. Then I got out of bed, got my bowl of honey nut cheerios, enjoyed the cool breeze coming through the window and embraced a new day. A day in which the process of being sick, is now giving way to healing. I went to the kitchen and washed the dishes thanking God for good smelling dish soap and thought that I should sit and write. If only to take a few moments to be thankful for this day and the new beginning it brings. Here’s to hoping I’ll stay well this time. If not, here’s to finding peace in knowing that even as Chad and I go to doctors again and again, God will not ever leave us and He indeed will give us the strength to get through to another good dishwashing day!! So celebrate your small victory today, afterall small victories are victories, sometimes we just take them for granted but today they need to be celebrated!

Where's the Beef?

I was remembering the old Wendy's commercial yesterday as we walked out of church. While the music was great and the people were wonderful the sermon well, I felt like the old lady's in the Wendy's commercial asking about the aforementioned food.

I'm guessing a lot of people have had experiences like this. Be it the movie you've been dying to see for months, only to be sorely disappointed when you realize the plot is lacking completely ( much like the way I felt about Oceans 12). Or the way you feel when you've looked at some piece of furniture online only to get to the store to find out its the most uncomfortable thing you've ever sat on in your life.

I went to church yesterday hungry to hear the Word. After a rough week...very rough week. ( Allergy testing apparently involves 37 injections in my back then two in my arm to keep me breathing, but I'm recovering well thanks for those of you who were praying.) However, what I found was a sermon that lacked in anything really. It was a guest speaker not the norm for the service we've been attending and I guess the guy was just having what felt like an off day. But both Chad and I left hungry. We'd come to a place of comfort a place of a good spiritual meal yet it seemed while we were expecting a feast what we got was in fact, coffee and donuts. The good news though, was it sparked my husband and I to talk about what we were missing. And in some way, our conversation became the food we were longing for. Of course it probably helped that we had this conversation over barbecue in one of the only places we've found out here that's actually serving it! But, it was a beautiful thing. Apparently my husband and I can actually talk ( always good) and if we get out of the way there is plenty of the proverbial spiritual food we were longing for.

So here is to being hungry when leaving church and finding out that you've got what you need to make a good meal on you own...I'm gonna go find that old Amy Grant song "Fat little baby" and finish cleaning up spilled flour in the kitchen (why is flour so difficult to get clean).

Hope you're all well fed and talking amongst yourselves...we've all got so much to learn from each other....
Blessings to you all

Coincidence...I think not...

Strange things happen. I have a theory that they happen more often in Los Angeles ( well maybe because its LA, maybe just because I say so who knows). Last night Chad wanted to see a movie I wanted a quiet night with my hubby where we could actually talk ( not to mention chiro and my back were not friends yesterday!). So we instead headed to a Borders to look for a docudrama that I have been wanting him to see called “Isaac’s Storm” about the Galveston hurricane, which he now really wants to see after reading the book it’s based on. Anyhoo, we went to Borders ( 4 hours of free parking with validation from a purchase! Woo hoo!!!) The really strange part though is that as were walking through the store (after just getting this yummy coffee milkshake thing YUM YUM!!!) suddenly this young woman walks up to Chad and says, “Chad? Is that you?” He’s like yea its me…turns out it’s a girl he knew from High school, the daughter of his favorite band director that we only recently discovered lives out here…needless to say, he was shocked since he remembers her as an 8th grader =) But how strange is it when things like that happen. You have one set of plans and then when you change them slightly (He really wanted to see a movie last night) something unexpected yet wonderful often happens.
LA is a big place so running into anyone is kind of like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. But, so far I know of no one I know living out here so I guess if I neglect to put on makeup when going out, I at least will be ok! =)
Sorry, its been so long since I updated, for those of you following the drama with my knee we found out Thursday it won’t require surgery, just a month or so of physical therapy to get me back on track so that’s a big Yea God!!
So anyway, I guess here’s to changing plans and trusting that God will be there whatever turns you make. Afterall, those of you who know me, know Chad wasn’t in my plans…talk about a nice surprise when plans fall through…something better waiting around the corner…maybe I should change my plans more often =)
Love you guys and miss you all too, keep in touch people let me know what strange things are happening to you=)

Be it ever so humble...

....there's no place like home. I must say…rumors of my death are a bit over exaggerated. Well, maybe the talk of the town didn’t get quite that far, but it’s too good of a line to pass up even a near miss opportunity to use it! =) Chad and I are back in Los Angeles now, his speaking tour was truly a wonderful experience for us both and we met some very lovely Godly people along the way. We also saw some very beautiful country along the road. I saw snow for what must be the first time I can actually remember ( there are pictures of me in snow when I was about 2 but I don’t remember it), I saw tumbleweed ( ok so it exists it isn’t just in movies), I saw a baby bear (thankfully no momma bear around too close), and I saw the awesome power of nature as several tornadoes came across our path ( we were very glad to hear that the churches we visited made it through the storms ok).

But in all that beauty came some very tough lessons. Lessons in pain and in trust. Pain (mostly in my knee, MRI is scheduled for Wednesday so lets keep our prayers up) and trust that God would work it out. I’ve often hear people tell of the trials they went through as they were doing something they truly knew was God’s will. Chad and I are both certain that this speaking tour was right where God wanted us to be but someone sure didn’t want us there.

In the course of the speaking tour my niece had surgery ( she’s doing much better now), we had to stop a presentation to huddle in a stair well as several tornadoes came through Pawnee Illinois, I hurt my knee, Ashland City where my brother and his family (including the two year old niece from before) was hit hard by a line of tornadoes (my family is all ok), my brother from Memphis was in the emergency room, and finally to really add a kicker, I was greeted at LAX by some lovely paramedics after becoming gravely ill on the flight home. Apparently most people ingest the toxin created by the bacteria in a case of food poisoning…I being the lucky gal I am, ingested the bacteria it self. Happy to report they have my potassium levels back to normal and other than weakness from about 5 days with a mostly pure Gatorade diet, I’m doing better. Now, I don’t want you to think I’m complaining, as I’m not. I have an amazing husband who takes better care of me than I could ever dream, and a truly awesome God who saw me through it all.

The old gospel song “The Lighthouse” has been in my head quite a bit. Because I do thank God for the lighthouse…the many ones I saw as we traveled from beautiful Texas women who cooked up a storm to dear war veterans who had their stories to tell and all them lighthouses for God giving comfort, love, and cheer to two travelers who just wanted to show them the way God is in so many things and we often overlook Him. I hear Christ in the Passover many times in this tour but more and more with every hearing, I realized that Christ is in everything, from smiling strangers, to helpful doctors, to might prayer warriors who give you some of their strength when you feel you have none.

I wonder who has been a lighthouse for you? I know many of you reading this have been one for me….Shabbat Shalom to all of you!

In the wee small hours...

I'm having that Carly Simon song run through my head, about "in the wee small hours of the morning...that's the time I miss you most of all." though to be perfectly honest, what I'm missing isn’t a person...though there are many friends in the Southeastern portion of the US I am missing dearly, what I'm missing at the moment is sleep. The good news is, the second round of antibiotics seem to be forcing progress onto my feeble body…we'll know for sure when we go back and check in with the doc tomorrow, but it looks like it'll be good news. The bad news is, the first listed side effect for this antibiotic is trouble sleeping. Well...sign me up I'm the poster child! Sleep isn't something you every really think much about till you aren't getting enough of it or until you can't seem to fall asleep, then it becomes this confounding mystery of how to get to sleep. There are a million folk remedies...warm milk ( not so great for the lactose intolerant!), herbal tea ( yummy but ineffective), calming scents like lavender or vanilla. But, alas they are to no avail. My husband is sleeping ( well deserved he's been nothing short of saintly in taking care of me over the last two weeks, and he's lost a lot of sleep in the process) quietly and here I am in front of a computer writing the those who read about my lack of sleep. I'm sure by morning I'll be sound asleep when the alarm goes off making it difficult to start the day on time. Thankfully, there are no pressing engagements first thing in the morning so I've got a bit of a reprieve. I've noticed something though, in this time of being sick...the comfort of silence...knowing there is someone else in the room who you can sit with all day and say nothing...yet know everything has been said that needed to and the day was a complete success. Friends and loved ones who invite us in and welcome us to that time of silence when nothing is heard and everything is said. I hope as you read this there is someone you can sit in silence with, and if its been a while...why not give them a call, I'm sure they are missing you too....to silence and to sleep...and all the other blessings yet to come.

Leave them there

Well...Its been a while. But life, has a funny way of keeping you busy. A happy belated Purim to all. I mention Purim because I had an invite to bake Hamantachen, which I was to ill to take up on. I ended up in urgent care not 48 hours later. Have I mentioned my lungs are not friends with something here in LA? The lyric from an old church song has run through my mind quite a bit this week..."bring your burdens to the Lord and leave them there." I guess its kind of had me thinking. I should explain.

In the midst of being sick my niece has also been sick. Barely a week ago they thought they'd have to do surgery on her. Now she's at home. The fluid build up/ gunk shrank and they'll re-check her this week to make sure but she's at home, no stitches no surgery, just some icky meds. My niece my whole family really, tend to be walking examples of the power of prayer.

When people all over the world begin to pray, to intercess it is a powerful thing. Though I know the pangs of how much it feels like you aren't doing anything. As I've been sick I've watched my husband pray for me knowing its the most powerful thing he can do for me, yet seeing in his face he wishes there were more. I know my brother and his wife likely had the same look on their faces as they prayed for Annabelle( who I still say is bar none the cutest niece on the planet!).

But our worry is really vanity. Our prayers are to the living God who is also the Great Physician. He knows I am only breathing on this day or any day because of His incredible healing power. I am blessed beyond anything I can come up with by His mercy. Then again, aren't we all? I'm struck with what wonders would happen if we could all find the strength He will give us if with all our problems from the last pair of the right size pants to hours spent in coughing fits that are painful to hurting hearts....If we just completely let go of them and handed them over to God...I read a sign once it said "Give your worries to God, He'll be up all night anyway."

Well I think I'm rambling now, but before I go one last thing. Blessings to you all and those you love and may we all give them over on this night and every night and have a peaceful sleep in knowing that God is in control and there is no problem to big or to small that he cannot take care of it.

It Never Rains In So Cal...So Wrong...

Remember that old childhood rhyme "its raining its pouring" and remember all those folky rock songs pledging that it never rains in Southern California. Well, it does rain in So Cal! In fact its raining right now. Reminds me of Florida, flash flood warnings etc, though here you also have mudslide warnings ( but no worries, we aren't in one of those areas).

We do however, have a leak in our roof. One which ominously awaits overhead in the living room growing in bubbles and colors with each day that passes. To say its icky, would be quite the understatement. Now were facing what they swear will be the biggest rain event of the winter so far ( for all of you in Florida think about the continuous hurricane coverage in central Florida even when they hurricane was elsewhere, the way you saw the same radar for hours on end and it was raining outside the whole time not changing because the real bulk of the storm was elsewhere) and you have our local weather people ( only ours have more botox and some occasionally odd tastes in on air fashion.

So while it rains, I'll keep watch make sure the patch on the ceiling doesn't continue to grow like the Blob ( the one from the 50's not the cheesy remake) and we'll see when the sun shines again in Southern California...maybe in time for another weekend walk on the Santa Monica Pier (BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!) though this time, I'll just have to remember the sunscreen. (pale southern Irish girl, Pacific Ocean Sunshine really need a moderator like sunblock to be good friends) Hope everyone else is having beautiful weather...we will again for about 10 minutes on Wednesday they say! =)

A trip to the DMV or The brink of insanity...

I should start by saying that if you combined every DMV office I ever visited in Florida the one we ventured into today would dwarf it. Apparently, California feels you should have more personal space while enduring the joys of a DMV visit.
For any one considering the move, know that you must in fact present nearly every piece of paper that's ever had your name on it to make it through to the picture taker and the written test giver. Also know that the written test here isn't just rules of the road. Though, after living here for a while, you begin to wonder if that was true for those who thought the tourists in the Orlando metro area couldn't drive, the drivers here will make you long for them.
Truly, the experience could have been worse. Without an appointment the whole process took about an hour and my new license should arrive in the mail in 2-4 weeks (go figure). I missed 3 questions one of which I'd like to argue with but I decided it likely wasn't in my best interest. I even registered to vote ( well I think I did, who knows given how many forms there seem to be around these parts just to do anything).
what's more, I'm totally exhausted. Less than a year out from finally finishing my degree, and a simple 36 question driving test has made my brain and body feel the way the final did in Ancient literary discourse! What power such small piece of paper with a mere 36 multiple choice questions has. Perhaps I understand the drivers here better now...a small paper test has driven them all to the brink of insanity in a place with muddy color walls,and pinkish colored booths. Maybe the cough syrup wasn't so bad afterall!

Flavored Cough Syrup

As illness sweeps through my household. First me now, my dear husband who did such a lovely job of taking care of me (he wrote the mushiest thing ever on his blog http://messyantics.blogspot.com about watching me sleep...totally keeping him). I've pondered this whole business of medicine really tasting about 37 flavors of vomitous, so that now you can get your cough syrup flavored at the pharmacy (the idea being if you can't swallow the the medicine without yarfing everywhere its really not gonna do you too much good!) However, note to all its much better in theory. So, they add a few drops of some magic wonka-esq stuff to your cough syrup. Here's the bottom line, its even more vile than when it started. So while the bargain price of $1.99 seems totally reasonable for not wasting the money on a prescription you can't swallow to start with. Grin and bear it knowing that an added flavoring will only make your suffering ten times greater! So the moral to the story is...the apple flavoring just makes you want to yack even more and then again for actually paying a buck 99 for it! Happy health and clean air to all!

So happy together...

Just write it down

So how does one become an unexpected shiksa? Well if you had asked me four years ago what a shiksa was I would have told you it was an adjective to describe a female that I'd heard in movies but that I wasn't so sure what it meant. Now I can tell you its a Yiddish term to describe a girl not of Jewish decent. I am a Shiksa.
Why does being a shiksa important? Well its a title I'd never really expected. Not to mention, my husband likely didn't expect me. A simple Southern girl a nice little Methodist girl even, but somewhere along the way I fell in love with a Jewish guy, what's more I fell in love with a Jew for Jesus.
Just over a month ago I married my love, moved to California (no one here eats grits!), and began the adventure of a lifetime. Now why I'm choosing to enter the blog world I don't really know, but I've got a feeling that there will be stories to tell, and maybe just maybe someone will be interested enough to read a few.