othersomethings.com

I have been driving for about 10 years, and i’ve never been in an accident while behind the wheel.

I’ve been in a few with my mom driving though, specifically one when I was about 5, and I went to the ER in an ambulance with her, and felt important because they asked me our address and stuff like that, and then I waited in a room with a really big male nurse who talked to me about ice cream and cartoons until my mom came back from getting xrays.

And specifically one today, on 528, where there was a ladder in the road and a truck parked right where we really needed to swerve to, and where no one was hurt but that fact is really quite amazing. A few more inches into the treeline and it’d be “blink once for no, twice for yes” for me.

I don’t know how people can operate with the assumption that God is not involved in their lives. Even in my overly logical, nay, Vulcan-ish mind the presence of a divine being and the concept of that being actually involving itself with my existance on a daily basis is so deeply seated in the core of my consciousness that literally the reverse is unfathomable. Not in a “wow, we’ll never know just how big the universe is” but more of a “black is not white” kind of way.

It doesn’t take a hard day to make me consider these things. I thank God for his mercies and grace regularly. However I do thank him a little more effusively when I realize the detail that goes into his delivery.

I still kinda feel like I have tiny shards of glass on me though. I wonder if it’s psychosis?

If I didn’t know that cats loudly scream in exactly the same fashion as what I’d imagine a woman being beaten with a hot branding iron sounds like…I would be calling 911 every stinking night to report domestic disturbances.

This neighborhood has a cat problem.

Nice for when Ella has a random sighting and yells out “cat!”

Not so nice when 11pm rolls around and I have to remind myself that we have nice neighbors, and too many cats.

5:00pm
I say “small caramel frappuccino”

5:10
He hands me a small Caramel macchiato. Because he thought I said “cappuccino.” and a macchiato is close, right? Well, it’s too hot to drink (it always is) so I leave it in the car.

7:00
Back in the car, I finally drink that coffee. It’s still warm. Because Starbucks coffee is brewed on the sun.

10:30
I finish a show on hulu, and think “well, it’s actually 11:30″ and decide to go to bed.

10:35
Take pills, get clothes out of dryer, climb into bed.

10:45
Ponder how dumb the time change is. I think America would handle a time change elimination just fine, if we gave them the chance. Farmers can go fly a kite.

11:00
Get up to change the clock in our bedroom, cause I forgot. Now it’s “12.”

12:00
Back in bed, I play 3 games of settlers of Catan on my phone.

12:35
Play a game of gin rummy. Then search Twitter hash tags for #cantsleep. (disappointing. Don’t bother.)

12:50
Get up to take advil.

12:55
Pray. Mostly selfish prayer, please help me sleep. Safety, family, etc.

1:10
Play two more games of settlers. Download some new games. Delete two of them, Cause they are dumb.

1:45
Phone down. Counting backwards from 100, a deep breath with each number

2:00
Just laying there. Will each muscle to relax. Realize it’s not a body problem, it’s a head problem. Thinking about shirt I wanted to try on. Thinking about getting 2nd load of clothes out of the dryer. Thinking about places that might be available for rent. Thinking of people I know with empty houses. Thinking of checking bank account. Thinking of taking allergy medicine for the sleep effect. Thinking about how I’ve taken pills already, just leave it be. Thinking about an outfit for tomorrow. Did I wash those pants? Thinking I’m thinking too much, this is a problem.

2:30
Get up to use bathroom.

2:40
Start a words with friends game with a new opponent.

3:00
Think about if I should just get up and do something.

3:03
Think if I’m still awake at 6, I’ll just get up and go get breakfast at Denny’s or something.

3:30
Laying there.

4:00
Laying there. Change blankets cause it’s a little cooler now.

4:30
Pick phone back up, read rss, read digg stories.

5:00
Pray some more. For sleep. For Guidance with housing. Thankyous for stuff.

6:00
Shannon wakes up, I’m obviously awake. He says well…I don’t want to miss church two weeks in a row. I say me neither. I plan on getting up as normal and just going.

7:00
My mind starts to slow down. Craaaaaaap……darkness.

8:00
Alarm goes of. Oh no. No no no. My body is tooooo tired. You can go to church without me. Or we can go tonight.

Starbucks and I are through.

The end.

Last year sometime, I was at the walmart in Ft. Walton. It started to rain pretty hard, and I, of course, am not one to go around owning an umbrella. I had a baby in one arm and groceries In the other and I’m sure I was a pathetic sight staring at the parking lot through sheets of rain.

The ever present elderly person at the door handed me a black umbrella and said “just return it next time you’re here.”

I’m sure they lose more umbrellas that way…

Needless to say, I never returned it. Always meant to, but just…didn’t. I even used it a time or two. It’s a reassuring feeling knowing you have an umbrella in the car.

At some point along the way, Shannon bought a ginormous “golf” umbrella. So I now have that in the car as well. Two umbrellas! How unnecessary. Anyway.

Today, the rain is coming down once again in sheets. (a term that is increasingly odd to me, I’ll have to look it up.) and as I drove down the road, I noticed a small family (in number, not in stature…they were of average build) standing at a bus stop. Brevard isn’t exactly on a tight bus schedule, I knew they’d be waiting awhile, and as I passed, the wife who was holding the little boys hand, leaned her head on her husbands shoulder as if she was saying “Worst. Day. Ever.”

And I glanced down at the floorboard…the black umbrella glared at me.

I kept driving. For about 2 more blocks. Then I did that thing I always do when I know my conscience is kicking and screaming, I sighed. And I did a U-turn, and drove back to that bus stop. I hopped out and asked them if they’d like an umbrella. The guy looked at me like “are you serious?” I said “I have two” and he said wow, yes, thank you. Maybe even said “thank God” but I was already running back to my car.

And he held it for his wife and son, and I drove off.

So, sorry walmart, I didn’t give the black umbrella back like I promised. I guess that’s stealing. But I did eventually give it to someone who needed it, so…are we cool?

I have several blog posts sitting in drafts waiting to be edited. However, everytime I sit down to the computer there are way too many other pressing tasks so I haven’t gotten to them.

I’m working on websites for 3 nonprofits, a portfolio site for myself, 2 logo designs, just finished a newsletter layout for my grandparents, specs for a website for my dads company, and coming soon – marketing materials for two charity events and branding for a small business.

Before we moved here, I probably did 1 or 2 projects a month. Since moving here, the projects are literally raining down and I don’t see an end in sight! I’m realizing that I have to evaluate each project carefully. The paying gigs are few, and there’s the whole “being a wife and mother first” issue, so just cause I’m doing it for free doesn’t mean it’s not still work, and taking me away from what I believe is my first priority.

I enjoy my profession immensely, I love the creative outlet, I love that there is an infinite learning curve and I have bajillions of new things to learn to do what I do better. As long as I keep up with the curve, I’ll always have a profession, whether I need it or not. I know not many women can say the same, especially women without college degrees, like myself. I can be a hobbyist if I wanted. Or a serious “up to my eyeballs in Pantone” designer. If I wanted.

So I guess let it pour…I’ll sort my plate out as it fills up.

By the way, I was just blessed with a great deal on adobe CS4. I went with the production suite cause It had more value, but if I can swing it I’m going pick up the design suite too cause I really need indesign and playing with adobe’s web products could be valuable In the long run.

I’m pretty stoked about it. Like, I’m jumping up and down, in my mind. I’m grinning from ear to ear, you just wouldn’t know by looking at me. I’m screaming like a little girl, without sound. Only dogs can hear me.

That’s me, in the corner sitting completely motionless and expressionless, being excited about something.

I don’t often have “blonde moments” but when I do they are pretty good.

You know the joke about the blonde who tells her doctor “it hurts here, and here, and here…” and he says “you’re finger is broken”?

I was trying on shoes last night. 8 pairs and they ALL hurt. They hurt so bad. Why does this store not have a single shoe that fits me?

Then I looked at my foot. I had a blood blister on my pinkie toe, which is where all the shoes were “not fitting me.”

It took 8 pairs.

In other news, Ella is saying more words. And she can put the letters in her alphabet puzzle in the proper spaces…I’m not raising a “special” child after all!!!!

*sigh of relief*

In an effort to take something off Cherie’s plate, I offered to pick up some water purifiers (it’s what her dad’s ministry does) that are going on a plane tonight.

I had her keys, and as I turned the key to the building, I remembered seeing an alarm keypad just inside that door the day before and realized I didn’t know the alarm code.

By the time I called her and got the code and entered it properly, the alarm had already gone off and I had a minute to get to a phone. I missed the phone call, and went downstairs to start loading the cases, I saw the policeman at the door shining his light in. I opened it, invited him in and he waited while I called the alarm company to give them the code.

To be fair, if I weren’t dressed in my church clothes and wasn’t wearing baby hair clips and tan leather dress shoes, it REALLY looked like I was doing something criminal. I was loading 6 large black cases and a red drawstring canvas bag out of a dark wearhouse onto a cart and loading it into a waiting van.

He was satisfied and went back out, I thought he left. But when I backed out the side door with the full cart, I saw the two police cars still there and the officer yelled out “what are you stealing?”

I said “water purifiers for Haiti…”

And the two officers joked about how bad it’d be for them if I really was stealing.

Then one of them grabbed the two cases that were falling off the cart and they both helped me load them into the van. The one said “I’d be in so much trouble if you really are stealing these.” and I laughed, and said “yeah, especially since these are $2000 apiece. People keep calling wanting us to donate them, and boy are they dissappinted.”

He loaded the last one, and I said “thanks so much!”

He said “have a good evening.”

He’s either a terrible cop, or I have a promising career in a life of crime.

Church at Viera, Shannon said this morning.

Shannon found the service times on their website and said “uh, the website looks cheesy.” I said “cheesy websites really aren’t a reason not to visit a church.” As much as I’d like it to be.

So we are at the 10:45 service. Got Ella checked in, their kid check-in system is rockin. Lo-fi really can be better.

Open with an interesting video in a mans deep voice saying what the church is about. Interesting. The singers step up, all 7 of them. Sing a song I don’t know and I’m not that into. Next song I know, so I’ll sing it.

Next I don’t know the next song so let me just commen on two things – greeting. Walking in the door, greeting was well done. Not just a “glad you’re here” but “wow, it’s windy today isn’t it!?” which was a nice touch. Greeting in the service, turn and greet your neighbors…wow, no one gets out of that one. I literally was greeted by every “neighbor.”

What’s with song lyrics leaving out vowels? Is it really doing anyone a favor to type “ev’rybody” than just including the E? Really?

Somebody around me smells like cheese and fruit danish.

Their announcements have this going for them: up to the minute slides, like with pictures taken from stuff on Friday. Good pics too.

Announcments include the orphange my brother is at in Haiti with pics of the water purfiers, and reports that 8 orphans got out last night. I laughed at that. Becaus.. I’ll tell you later.

Pastor steps up. I think his name is Mark. The fact that I don’t even know his name and he’s started preaching actually impresses me, and makes me wonder if this is a less pastor-centric church. I guess time will tell that.

They aren’t doing live video projection in the service, they just have one camera in the back that feeds to the lobby. Interesting choice.

He is talking about wise moves. Making wise choices. The obvious scriptures pulled out of proverbs. He says something about being righteous, and I’m not sure if it’s what he means but he makes it sound like righteousness is something we get to work for.

Anyway. He goes on at length about making wise choices and being righteous, and integrity.

A man comes up to share a testimony about a hard lesson learned about integrity in his business life. He gets choked up a few times. Shannon and I were equally impressed with the testimony part of the service.

Message ends with a song. They’re channeling “Glee” for the baby boomers. Seriously, is this worship or show choir? Ok, the song for the offering clinches it. It’s “Rachel” from Glee. Minus the arm waving and skipping around stage.

Also noted that the band is formed entirely of over-40 men. They’re good musicians but yeah. Nothing like lack of diversity to point out…the lack of it.

Today has been exceptional.

By that, I don’t mean “amazing” or “super great” I mean…it has been the exception. To pretty much all other days in my recent past.

lets work our way backwards here.

I may possibly never get invited to a “Princess House” party ever again. Or any kind of home selling party, for that matter. And if I do, I will have to wear a name tag that says “not allowed to ask questions.”

I’m just saying, if you’re trying to sell me hundreds of dollars worth of kitchen items, I am perfectly justified in asking a few detailed questions. Right? Am I the only person in the history of princess house shows who gets the contact info for the supervisor so I can ask her how long the company projects a profit from the current business model in a recession?

Yeah, I probably am.  Poor lady, doesn’t know what’s about to hit her. I have so many questions. What IS the process for making the glassware non-stick? (Google failed me.)

Before that, we had dinner at my folks, and before that I walked past my brother-in-law at walmart, (we exchanged a surprised “hi!” but in spite of the fact that we haven’t seen each other since I moved here, we both kept on walking. Hmm.)

Here comes the exceptional part.

I worked today. Like, did stuff that helped someone and perhaps others, and so forth.

Every time I answered the phone, I had to pause because the FIRST words in my mouth were “Shoreline Church” and I haven’t worked there in two YEARS!!!! So I paused and then answered some garbled form of “air mobile ministries.” And half the calls I got were “what the soup of the day was.” If that boggles your mind, yeah, mine too.

So there have been earthquakes in Haiti. Like, a lot of them. And here’s the thing…my brother Kyle is there. He flew down on a NASCAR plane (what does that mean? I don’t know. I thought NASCAR meant cars.)  a few days after the first one, and has been…doing a lot. I don’t know what exactly, I think it can be summed up in “anything and everything.” with an orphanage there. There is a lot of damage, a lot of need, a lot of hurt people, and it sickens me to say it but a LOT of dead people. A lot of everything every family and individual hopes to never have to experience or deal with.

Kyle’s wife Cherie is 6 months preganant, and if it weren’t for that and his stern “you’re not coming” she would be there too. So instead, she is here. Manning 4 seperate phone lines from early in the morning til late at night. Her priority is 1. Kyle is still alive, 2. Supplies and DOCTORS and hopefully 1 engineer are being flown on private planes into Haiti, 3. children that have visas and are in the adoption process are being flown OUT on the same private planes, 4. a million other things that are imporatant and pressings and everything all at once because DISASTER is a big word and is spelled with two S’s.

So I handled at least one of her phones today. And I emailed for her. And had others do things. And it was good to feel useful on a not-domestic level.

And I prayed for people. And people responded. And I called people. And people responded. And I got some weird calls. And some annoying calls. And some GREAT calls. And some “this isn’t going anywhere” calls. That’s what answering a phone IS, right? “Weird, annoying, great, or dead-end.”

And before that, I dropped my daughter off at my parents house for the day. And I really did miss her. I didn’t miss her, but I missed her.

I’m probably going to have to do penance or something for the princess house thing.

I’ve always been a sufferer of allergies.

This is never more apparent than when visiting my family – whether we go to them or they come visit us, 2-3 days into it I am in misery. Despite claritin, benedryl, etc. My nose and eyes and head in general become their own entity and make a pact to produce as much liquid as possible.

So I am either literally allergic to my family, or I have a bizarre psychosis associated with visiting family.

Either way, it’s day 3 and I’m so over it.