Happy New Year, y'all!

Autumn Bradford Pear I

I've started a second one to go along with this one, but I have several major projects hanging over my head that absolutely have to get done first, so it may be a while before I get that other one done. Or I may continue procrastinating on those other things. You just never know. I gotta go with the inspiration when I get it. At least that's what I tell myself.

I found out a few days ago that a local newspaper is doing a feature story on me and my art classes. Today they interviewed me and took some photos. I think this will be coming out some time next week, so I'll share the article and pics with you then.

Regular school is done on Friday afternoon, but I really don't get to completely let my hair down for several more days after that. A teacher's work is never done, and the cover of the yearbook is due, so I'm going to be concentrating pretty hard on that until it's done. It would be simpler if it were just dependent upon me getting things ironed out, but I am also dependent upon submissions from others, and those items are just not dependably forthcoming.

I can't really even think about Christmasey plans yet. I was hoping I'd get to do some Christmas baking for the first time since we moved into this house 2.5 years ago, because today my oven finally arrived (!!), but Rick fell down the stairs the other day and broke some ribs, and he's absolutely unable to do the labor required to remove the drop-in cooktop so we can install the stove. I've waited this long, I guess I can wait a little longer. He really is in a lot of pain, so I'm not going to be mad. At this point, I'm just hoping to have a working oven by January 1. If it happens before then, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

We've been really struggling with the chaos of living with a mentally-ill teenager, too. It will be necessary for us to do as little socializing as possible during the lead-up to Christmas because it just sends her over the edge. After the Big Day, it will be easier to deal with her, but she just can't cope with anticipation and expectation and excess. Her moods have been pretty severely swinging. Right now we have given her only five changes of clothes to manage, because there are some pretty unspeakable filth issues she refuses to deal with (including her own body). Limiting her choices is pretty much our only option in this matter. I wish things could be different... I wish she could be like the other kids her age and have a celly and go have sleepovers at friends' homes and things like that. She just can't cope; she loses all mental cohesion and slips into complete delusional mania. What's the most frustrating is that she SEEMS like any normal teenager to everyone else around us. Nobody sees the transformation but us. So we seem like irrationally restrictive parents. I really don't care what most people think, but it's tiresome when we have to continually re-argue the point with her because she can't remember and learn from past experiences. Every day's new, and if she's been "good" for the past hour, that should be enough to make up for everything. Then when we don't give in, she begins swearing like a sailor's parrot, and then later remorsefully cries and insists she can't help being that way, so we should give her what she wants because she can't help it. It wears me down.

I need a private vacation. Preferably one involving warm sunshine and a massage therapist named Viktor who specializes in River Rocks and Aromatherapy.

A word from the prophet Isaiah

from Isaiah, chapter 9, in the New Living Translation:

1 Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

2 The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine.
3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
and its people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest
and like warriors dividing the plunder.
4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery
and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor's rod,
just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.
5 The boots of the warrior
and the uniforms bloodstained by war
will all be burned.
They will be fuel for the fire.

6 For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven's Armies
will make this happen!

Health update

Got a call from my hematologist this week, who looked over my labs from last week. My iron is at 22 (she wants it to be above 40) and my ferritin is at 5 (she wants it to be at least 10). So I have to have four more rounds of IV iron, starting this Friday. Each infusion takes about an hour or so, which means I get to take my Nook e-reader and enjoy a quiet hour in a recliner hooked up to what looks like a bag of liquified rusty nails.

Back a few weeks ago, my hematologist had ordered a pelvic MRI to determine the nature of some nodules in my groin. Those turned out to be nothing, but they did find that my ovaries were full of cysts. She recommended at that time that I really should see one particular gynecologist about this. I kept putting it off, of course -- I already knew that my ovaries were cystic, and I was just so doggone tired of doctor's appointments and procedures and crap. Well, since then, I have gained about twenty pounds. This is not okay! Granted, I really had gotten a little close to the edge of being too thin (who would've thunk such a thing possible?), but twenty pounds is just not okay in this short of a time. Plus, my face and chest and shoulders and back have broken out in severe acne. So obviously there is something seriously out of whack with my hormones, which would explain the strange weight gain. The gynecologist's office staff is supposed to call me back when they get all my records so we can make an appointment to be seen.

I wish they'd just go in and take all that reproductive machinery out. I really do. It's totally screwing up everything, and it doesn't work properly, and it's a cancer risk thanks to the stupid cysts. Of course, if they did decide to do that, it probably wouldn't be in this calendar year, which screws up the finances even worse. I've already met my deductible for 2010. I wish I'd just gone ahead and made the appointment back a few weeks ago. Grr!

Today, I received my second round of botox injections to treat a fissure that refuses to heal. Fissures and hemorrhoids really are incredibly undignified afflictions.

Tomorrow is a follow-up visit with the GI doctor. He's a nice man, but he gets really freaked-out if I tell him that I'm taking naproxen every day for pain... but he doesn't offer me anything viable as an alternative. Sorry, dude, but Tylenol just doesn't do it. So I keep taking the naproxen, and I just don't tell him. He wants to freak out on me? Let him suffer for A YEAR AND A HALF with an open wound that re-injures every time he goes to the bathroom and delivers knife-like stabs of persistent and unending PAIN. Then we'll talk. Until then? I'm taking naproxen. I swear, it took a fargin' act of Congress to get the man to prescribe a tube of lidocaine so I could find a few seconds without pain every so often. What is so hard about a TUBE OF LIDOCAINE? Can someone explain that to me? I shouldn't even need a bleeping PRESCRIPTION for that.

Can you tell I've not been at my best? [eye roll]

On the other hand, I have generally maintained a cheerful front. I saw a cute saying today: Be as happy as a bird with a french-fry. I like that visual.

And I have decorated my classroom door for Christmas, even though I'm the only one this year (nobody initiated a decorating contest)... it's just lights and student-made ornaments, but it's festive and bright and cheerful and Christmasey. And I've been playing Christmas music in class, which adds to the holiday mood. I'm also putting together a care package for a former student who's deployed in Iraq right now, which has been delightfully fun. Other teachers have contributed to the effort as well.

I guess that's enough of an update for now. Merry Christmas, y'all!

Happy December 1st!

It may be Christmastime now, but...

It is still FALL around here:





Saw lots and lots of blazing Bradford Pear trees today, most with all three colors (brilliant green, brilliant yellow and brilliant red) on the same tree at the same time.

Today was spent at the Baptist Retirement Village near Madill, Oklahoma, sharing a Thanksgiving meal with most of the members of my dad's family, the Young clan. The food, as usual, was beyond wonderful, and there was lots of laughter and snarky humor and goofy children.

My dad has five siblings in all. Here's me with his two sisters, my precious Aunty Lea and Aunty Sookie:




Tomorrow we'll have ANOTHER fantastic Thanksgiving meal, this time down at my mom's with Grandmother and Granddad (mom's parents). I love Thanksgiving! Hopefully on Saturday we'll get to put up our Christmas tree. Wheee!!

OK, now Christmas can officially begin!

The first thing I do after finishing Thanksgiving dinner is listen to George Winston's album December. It's been around more than 20 years now, and I think I've probably listened to it every year since it came out.

The next thing I do? I find a way to listen to the B. C. Clark jingle:




This little ditty has been around longer than I have, and it hasn't changed one teensy bit. Because my growing-up years were spent in Oklahoma, this was a Christmas fixture on par with watching Charlie Brown Christmas and tinsel on the tree. As soon as the internet made it possible to listen to -- and eventually watch -- the B. C. Clark commercial jingle, I did so, and have done ever since, even though I have not lived in Oklahoma for many many years.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all

Thankful for:
My awesome kids: Martha, Alice & Isaac
My awesome family: Too many to name
My awesome friends: Y'all know who you are
My awesome job: Art & Journalism Teacher, Ballyhoo High School
My awesome town: Ballyhoo!
My awesome state: TEXAS!
My awesome country: USA! USA! USA!

Got any...

Resolutions?

Mine:

1) Laugh about something every day.
2) Every day, tell someone that I love them -- and mean it.
3) Cook something new at least once a month (thanks, Anata, for the subscription to Cook's Illustrated -- that will figure heavily in this resolution, and you rawk for doing that!).
4) Get out of debt. And stay out.

How about you?

Lego-Man

Isaac has completed his Lego projects that he received for Christmas... I think he pretty much worked from daylight til bedtime on them until he completed them. The airplanes are from the Raiders of the Lost Ark Lego collection, and obviously the other one's a Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back vehicle. That one's even motorized. It was for ages 14-up, but he's such a Lego-head I figured he'd be up to the challenge.

Chinese dumplings

I've done steamed dumplings for my own brood several times and had a blast doing them. Tonight I got to share them with the extended family.





Ingredients in this mega-batch: a pound each of ground turkey, ground pork and ground beef... minced garlic... chopped fresh spinach... black sesame seed... sesame oil... soy sauce... beni shoga pickled red-thread ginger... grated fresh ginger... chopped water chestnuts.

This was a particularly tasty batch. I loved the extra little bit of pungency from the double ginger commingled with the garlic and the sesame oil. They weren't overly greasy at all, since I used very lean meat in it, and the spinach added lovely color as well as nutrition and flavor.

The whole family agreed, these are GOOD EATS. Beth & Brian also now have a new skill in their culinary arsenal, and they intend to use it. Beth was already plotting some filling ideas using cilantro and jalapeno.



The one thing I wasn't hugely happy about was that I had to use a different brand of wonton skins and I didn't like them as much as the brand I usually like to buy. They had too much dusty stuff on them. I know, it's necessary to keep them separated and unstuck, but it's also kinda messy and yucky to work with. Live and learn. And eat. Because they still tasted so good, hardly anybody could quit noshing on them.

Whass happenin, hot stuff?

My sister's little punk kid, Ava, was sporting her brand-new pink boots on Christmas Day. Every little girl who grows up in Fort Worth, Texas oughta have a pair of cowboy boots. And she instinctively knew how cool they were, because as soon as she opened the box, she began trying to put them on. Girlfriend's got style and fashion sense, that's what, even at one-and-a-half years old.

Piano pals

Another family holiday tradition involves music. I've been playing the piano for nearly forty years. My niece, Ava, joined me on the piano bench to assist, and together we made some beautiful music together with a few Christmas carols to serenade the rest of the family.

The Best Christmas Dinner Ever

Yep, you read that right. We had TurDucKen for Christmas dinner! This one was also stuffed with wild rice and pecans.


The turkey's skin was coated with a spicy Cajun rub.


It comes completely de-boned except for the two turkey wings. Pop did the carving of the birds after they came out of the roasting pan.


All the meat was incredibly moist and flavorful -- perfection incarnate (pun intended, thank you). My sister and I agreed that it was probably the best holiday meal we ever ate. It was just that good.


Rick loved it.



Brian & Beth loved it.


Martha loved it. Her favorite part of the meal, though? The Hatch jalapeno garlic bread. I was quite fond of that part, too... it was scrumptious.


Granddad loved it.



And Miss Alice loved it, being the meat-eater that she is. After she cleaned her plate, she asked me if she could go back and get more meat. Of course, I told her she could. My baby girl would eat meat for dessert if given the option. And I suppose that's not a bad thing.

Merriest of Christmases to you all!

This is a Christmas card I made for a couple of new friends who I love with all my heart and who I hope to see again someday soon. T&E, y'all rawk!

I pray that each of you is able to shake off despair and find the joy and beauty that is all around you. There may be much to be discouraged about, but there is so much more to rejoice in... for we have a Savior, born to us this day in the City of David... a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

Preparations for Santa

Tonight at our house, Santa's getting some white chocolate macadamia cookies, decorated by our three punks. Here, Martha's writing "Thank You" on one of the cookies. As you can see below, Isaac decided to do her one better by writing "You Rock" on another one. Hey, anything for an edge with the Claus Man, right?

My favorite Nativity set

I picked up this little clay Nativity set in Port-au-Prince, Haiti a few years back. The stable is made from a coconut shell. I think that of all the Nativity sets I have, this one's my very favorite.

Jwaye Nwel, indeed! Merry Christmas to my Haitian brothers and sisters. I love you and miss you so much. M'vle we ou.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

The fourth Sunday of Advent

This is Ballyhoo United Methodist Church's Advent wreath; isn't it pretty? I think so. Today's theme was PEACE, and the family who were chosen to light the Peace Candle read from the passage in Philippians about the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.

It has been a year now that my family and I have been attending this church. It was difficult for me at first, to be honest; it's a different denomination than I grew up in, and I was surprised at my inherent personal biases that really surfaced for me during the year. I can now look back and see that God had a personal journey He wanted me to take. Just like the passage in Acts where the apostle Peter was confronted in a dream about his prejudices, God confronted me about mine. It kinda hurt, too, because I had this image of myself as a non-judgmental, accepting person who didn't assume things about people.

Not only am I a little bit different now than I was a year ago, I can see how this particular denomination's characteristics are uniquely suited to my personality and my beliefs. There are lots of ways in which I disagree with the United Methodist hierarchy in the way they do some things, but who ever agrees a hundred percent with any other human being anyway? In some very important ways, this little United Methodist church in this tiny little town is exactly the right fit for me right now at this place in my life.

Truly He taught us
To love one another;
His law is love
And His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break
For the slave is our brother;
And in His name
All oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy
In grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us
Praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord!
O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory
Evermore proclaim.

--Adolphe Adam
translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight

Yes, He did teach us to love one another. And it's a place in my heart that God's been working on specifically for several years now.

Christmas art projects

Tomorrow's the last day of school before the holidays. My art students have been doggedly working on their final project of the semester, a Huichol-style yarn painting with a Christmas or wintertime theme. Here's one of my favorites:


I am tickled at some of their results; they worked hard and made their projects look really good. I made some patterns available to them, but some (like this boy) wanted to design their own -- with terrific results. Thanks again to RedFish for donating the yarn. The kids have put it to wonderfully artistic use so far.