critcal error...

on hard drive.

Not sure how this will resolve.

While I can, wishing you a great Spring Break, whenever yours may come .

Hoping for a nice fallowing time. See you in a week...hopefully.

reading now...

Have talked quite a bit about reading and the changes in the last few years. Always had 5 to 10 days by my bed, read a daily newspaper and a few magazines. Would refill my reading stash during the yard sale season and settle into winter with a bounty.

A few years ago, I discovered the fine art of blog reading and it instantly translated to no more stacks of book by the bed. Almost overnight, the pleasure of reading a paper book was replaced by 70 to 80 blogs. It took a while to see that one had replaced another. The need was the same but was being met in a different way. I didn't pick up a book other than book club for a few years. I have slowed got back into reading but most of it is done on an iPad. Right now during the Lenten season, Leonard Sweet's, Nudge is right by my bed and will stay there until Easter. Still scour yard sales for bargains but have mostly lost the love of holding and manipulating turning pages of a physical book. That said, I have noticed another change.

Still hosting a healthy amount of blog reading, now Facebook, Twitter, The Daily( iPad newspaper) with a bit of old school (Time magazine) thrown in for good measure. I have been taking Time magazine for almost a year for $20. I get a weekly dose of what is going on in the world for pennies. A subscription for The Daily on iPad run $40 a year for a 7 day a week newspaper. With video, 360 photos, the ability to save articles for later and if you choose, it will read the paper to you. This is a little of what I am reading now...

My husband Jeff walked into a Apple store thinking he could just buy an iPad 2. How Windows of him/Twitter

The 9.0 quake that hit Japan on March 11 was powerful enough to shift the earth on its axis and make it spin a little faster, shortening the day by 1.8 millionths of a second. It shoved the island nation one parking space to the east. But what felt like the end was just the beginning/Time

Let him easter in you/Nudge

I've slept with babies on my chest. I have kissed boo boos, mended broken hearts, been puked and peed on and spent sleepless nights in a rocking chair. But i wouldn't have it any other way. My body isn't perfect, but when i look in the mirror i see a mom, and there is no greater honor or blessing/Facebook

Apple's focus this week has been to troubleshoot all the iPad 2s that customers are returning to the stores. One iPad came back with a post it note on it that said "Wife said no." It was escalated as something funny, and two of the VPs got wind of it. They sent the guy an iPad 2 with a note on it that said "Apple said yes."/blog

We are always changing and the way we read and take in information, is changing rapidly and completely. We will always enjoy the long Story, the one with twists and turns that can only come out in time but we also were almost made for a 140 character world. We teach schools and churches with short Stories. Book club discussions are about 1 question at a time. It is natural and to be able to read in all these venues is a win-win to me. Time will tell, whatever your read looks like, enjoy it!

short on time...

We are all competing for time, whether smart phone, game console, tablet or home gaming machine...So, we've got to compel you to spend your limited amount of time with experiences that you can only get on our product/Nintendo

Even though this was an article about gaming and its future, the point is, it is so about our lives. It is about the time we are each given and how we spend it. For me, technology seems to take more and more time. Add a friend, follow another blog, posting tweet, they all take time. Add the fluid list of to the fixed list of The Things that take our Time. If those who are after our limited amount of time, know there has to be a plan, a strategy - Something to overcome to get the desired result then we better understand it too.

We better understand that we have limited time, that no one is out there making more time and in that understanding with emphasis on limited, we start making choices that reflect that understanding. We can't have it all, do it all or respond to it all. We are going to have to pick and choose. Facebook, Twitter, 80 or so blogs. Responding, commenting, liking. Add my time with my computer, iPad... the list goes on and on and I haven't done a thing in Real Life. For me, it is not so much about overwhelmed as hearing a retailer knowing more about me than I do. I need to understand, and spend my limited time in the best possible way - whatever that looks like on any given day. I need to be aware, now I am. Let's see where it takes me...

need...

At this point we strongly recommend holding off on giving to this relief/recovery effort (Japan)

If you read the fine print in most nonprofits appeals for this disaster, you'll see phrases such as: "prepared to assist," "readying a team," "stand at the ready," "assessing the situation." But few have actually deployed staff. And there is the very real possibility that many of the organizations currently collecting donations for the recovery efforts might not be allowed to operate in Japan.

There's a good reason for this. Just because a major disaster has occurred, does not mean that the country is not capable of responding to it themselves. Just as Chile was able to respond to their earthquake far better than Haiti...

...Right now, from all accounts, the Japanese government is doing a good job of leading the relief efforts. It's wise to give them time to assess the needs and determine which organization can best meet those needs. Once a nonprofit has official permission to work in the country, then you can donate to them./Huffington Post.

It is natural to want to help. When we hear that someone loses a family member, we want to bring food. We need to bring Something. The bigger the hurt, the more we are unable to sit back and wait but maybe, just maybe, in the case of Japan's unparalleled trauma, we need to do something. Maybe we need, to be needed.

I have a different perspective after reading this article that goes beyond Japan but to the very need to give. We have the very best of intentions but frankly, collecting donated money is big business. There has been much corruption in the giving for Haiti, for those who needed it the most. The Japanese are a very proud nation, self reliant and this makes perfect sense.

Need is subjective. Some need more, some less. We all know people in both camps. Haiti and Japan and helping comes somewhere in the middle. Too much help discourages those from doing everything possible to help themselves. Not allowing gifts of love because of honor seems equally, wrong.

Help when you can.
Help because it is needed not because you need it.
Understand that not helping sometimes, is helping.

10 days. They are still finding their dead. Let them figure it out and let us know when they have had all they can take. Need will always be answered, always...

experience...

Tessa - this is Tessa at the BTS Apple Store.

me - hey Tessa, lame question but wondering if you have any iPads that I could wait in line for?

Tessa - pause, can I give you some advice?

me - please do.

Tessa - I work here and was in line at 8 am yesterday and at 9, they came out and told us what was available so we could decide if we still wanted to stand in line. They had the black 64 Wifi and white 32 AT&T model. Do you want a particular model?

me- yes, the only one I want is the black 32 Wifi.

Tessa - order it at Apple.com.
I thanked her and wished her a great day. She was able to explain what the last 5 Apple helpers couldn't. She shared her experience. There are 12 different models and the chances of standing in line for the only one I am interested in are slim. She explained that their shipments didn't even have one of each model, that I would most likely stand in line for something I had no interest in buying. She changed my whole thinking and Apple dot com, there I went.

Thank you Tessa. Experience comes in many forms, advanced age is not the lighting rod for all experiences. If you have a tech question, ask an 11 year old. If you have a marriage question, age may become a factor. I do have a 8 year old who thinks like a 50 year old who continually challenges the many questions I have about this life. Choose wisely and folow their lead...

imput...

Getting ready for this post and the phone rings...

Idaho Statesman - Mrs Dill?

me - Yes...

IS - Miss Dill, we are wondering if you would consider coming back and start taking our paper again for only $2 a week?

me - Never, ever, ever and this is why....

I go on to explain that I am now reading The Daily on my iPad that costs only $40 a year and loving it. Video, 360 photos, download free music and if I want, they will read to me.

Honey, the handwriting is on the world. You need to find a new career because it is all going digital. Her reply, OH NO, I am in school. Good Girl, you will do fine then.

This post was going a different direction but is still related. I am rereading and devouring Nudge by Leonard Sweet. This is my personal read until Easter. I will read it over and over and over until my mind is saturated. WE take in information in many forms but reading may be the most emotional and for that reason, stick with us the best.

Glad to know that the nice little girl hasn't hung all her hats in the newspaper business. Just a job to pay the bill. You could tell by the tone in her voice that she got it and she that she wasn't expecting anything more than a hang up. We wished each other a good night. Americal Idol for me, more calls for her. It is a win-win for one of us...

16 to 1...

How to make your own buttermilk because no one ever has buttermilk and you only need a little bit and pretty sure that plain milk won't work or they would say that in the recipe....Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Let set at room temperature for 15 minutes. Ready to use.

All this for SnickerDoodle Muffins. If you have ever tried the cookie, you understand. Apparently real milk can't be substituted for buttermilk. Have never seen a recipe advise you to try it so I am good with not testing fate. As I searched for the recipe to make my own, I knew vinegar, lemon juice and cream of tartar would all do the trick, but didn't know in what amounts.

There are 16 tablespoons in a cup and by adding 1/16 of a acidic ingredient, it changes the whole taste. It changes the whole texture. It basically is ruined except for hiding it in Something good. Imagine if you eat 16 different foods a day and you add 1 more food and it will ruin the whole day. I found out last week that the milkshake I have been buying at McDee's has almost 1200 calories. I sobered up real quick and have been making a milk/sugar/vanilla bean paste/ice substitute and have been just as happy as can be. No cream or fat and just a touch of sweet. Had no idea I was eating a day's worth of calories in a non-meal.

All that to say it make not take much to sabotage certain areas of your life. Not much at all. You may be so use to adding the vinegar that you don't even realize it. The lemon juice works so well in your hair in the summer, how could it hurt using it anywhere else? - try putting a few drops on a open cut. In the end, it sounds like the muffins are to die for. Can't wait to see if all that is true...

reconciliation...

Reconciliation - From Latin reconciliatio (“a re-establishing, reinstatement, restoration, renewal, a reconciling, reconciliation”), from reconciliare/


In a town of 17,000, 9500 people are missing and presumed dead.
Standing in line for an iPad 2, a woman sold her spot in line for $900.

These two realities, same day within a span of just a few hours. IMHO, both have had equal media time this week, depending on what planet you live on. I have The Daily on my iPad and the photos they have shared are unbelievable. In the 360 shots you get a sense of the devastation, almost firsthand. They have had some Before and After shots of areas hit by the tsunami that are hard to swallow

On the other hand, there was a photo of a homeless person whose sign read, Saving for a iPad2! Doesn't seems like we could be further apart, does it?

Answers minimal, questions galore yet, we were all made the same way by the same guy. Like or not, we are all pretty much in it together. The good guys don't wear white and even if they did, who would decide which were which? Look at the gene pool, Have you already forgot about last season's DWTS? Letting us decide is very bad idea so we go on.

We will pray and give to those who have lost so much and we will stand in line for hours and hours for things we want. Like it or not, this is who we all are...

fallow ground...

In the fallow seasons, the soil is being replenished and restocked so it can continue producing a harvest. Seeds need rich soil for nature to work. When it looks on the surface like nothing is happening, down deep everything is happening. That is why fallowing is part of the basic weather of living well.Nudge/Leonard Sweet.

Yet for most of us, recognizing that seems to be an issue. Whether perceived as being with lazy or just not enough value to warrant seeing that fallow time is a big part of helping us to move forward. For being such a black and white person, daydreaming has always been huge in my life. Not sure I saw the positive side but knew it has been a lifesaver many times.

The goal of fallowing is not to empty the mind or blank it but rather to fill the minds with good things.

When a farmer allows a field to fallow, it is customary for it to lay dormant for a year to regain its strength. A time for everything under the sun. A time to heal, a time to daydream and then, a Time to start all over again.

When your dry times comes, think about maybe taking some time to fallow your field. Whatever it takes, no pressure and then come back. Don't worry about when It is coming back, enjoy the quiet and peace now. Imagine being refreshed would help most all of us. A Time for everyone, under the sun...

capture...

I beg you…to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without ever noticing it, live your way into the answer… - Rainer Maria Rilke

There are things you can capture and others, you can't. You can take a picture, capture a Moment in time. It is real and it can be explained and documented. There are other things that you can talk, discuss and search for the rest of your life and are never, ever going to be able to explain, fully or any other way.

I am no longer interested in discussions where the one who speaks his point the loudest, thinks he wins. I do not care and won't talk about the Stuff that we can not answer, this side of heaven, It is not about hiding my face in the sand but in knowing, that there are some captures that will elude us, no matter how much of our lives we spend trying to prove them true.

Saw this quote while cruising the Barnes and Noble aisle and it totally found me. Faith is about things unseen and unexplainable. It is a way of life that does not demand instant gratification and total understanding, here and now. Faith is about seeing the end, without demanding the middle. To understand what is able to be captured and what is not, may be one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves and I am all about presents...

June 14, 1954

The last change in the Pledge of Allegiance occurred on June 14 (Flag Day), 1954 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved adding the words "under God"/Google search.

I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
one Nation under God, indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.

Ending the week with a thankful heart. Thankful for what I have, who I have been given to Love and a great country. Whose I am, where I belong and the the freedom to say so...

this week, part 2

Yesterday's post didn't make sense to me, until today. I struggled and struggled, almost didn't post it and then today happened...

An very, early text brought the news that a dear friend's mom had passed away unexpectedly. A few hours later, another text brought news of another dear friend's DH and a scare. Rushed off to the hospital and there they both were. We talked together and separately, trying to comfort both as well as one could.

Our cell phones were going off constantly. Meals were being arranged and whatever comfort we could give was offered and accepted. There is a group of us who have long histories and while we don't get together often, the roots of love run deep and we work together like a well-oiled machine.

Hard to believe this all happened in the span of a couple of hours and it was over before noon. Seems like a lifetime of days rolled up into one. Completely different outcomes. One gets to take her husband home, another has to prepare to say goodbye.. Grab Someone you love today and make sure they understand how you feel. You can never be sure what tomorrow will bring...

this week...

Most of us start our weeks with lists of penciled-in activities for the 7 days to come. There are knowns and then we fill in the rest of the blanks with the unknowns. Snow was not on my To Do list this morning but there is was. First surprise of the week.

There is a concert for Gage tomorrow night and the last of basketball on Friday and Saturday. I love the knowns. They are straight forward, you know what to expect and plan accordingly. It suits me perfectly. The unknowns. That, is where I run into trouble.

Had wonderful, unexpected coffee time conversation today. A complete surprise that made my day. Like most of life, it is the unknowns that challenge, delight and frighten us the most. Anything that takes us off our beaten paths, has the potential to, throw us. Some are better than others at going with the flow. I do better at focusing on the 24 hours ahead of me, instead of carrying around the 7 days of the week but find that more often than not, that is my default. Would be just as easy to pick up each day's suitcase and the others, as needed. Just like exercise, do better to just focus on today and not worry about Wednesday or Thursday's workout.

Whatever your week looks like, I wish you a good one. A wonderful mix of knowns and unknowns and the ability to flow through each of them. With a couple of suprises throw in, enjoy each and every minute...

where is your head?

Ok,it was more colorful than that but last week when Microsoft let us know that they would be rolling out a tablet in the fall of 2012 - almost a year and a half from now, WINNING was not a part of that thought.

In January during the Consumer Electronics store in Las Vegas, there was great anticipation for Microsoft's results after reporting at the 2010 show, that they were all about the tablet. Here we are over a year later with Apple ready to roll out Tablet #2 and now Microsoft is trying to get us excited about Something over a year away, which in tech time is more like 10 years.

We all can talk a good game but the proof is in the proverbial pudding. Where is your head and what are you really doing? Not what are you thinking about contemplating or what is roiling around in your head. There is a Time and Place for those ideas, cloud ideas. We would be lost without them but at any given time, there has to be Something happening.

Today
Now
it doesn't have to big, genius-like or mountain-top.

It might look like taking care of your family. Giving a word of encouragement. It is the verb in our lives. The action and where it is. Keep the cloud ideas close but live the action. Take a big bite out of the apple but not, by the window...

in a heartbeat...

After a moment in the sun as the star of the game that sealed his team's 20-0 winning streak, Wes Leonard of Fennville High collapsed on the court and later died at the hospital Thursday night. MSNBC.

This is not meant to be sensational. From what I have read about Wes, he might understand that this is being used for good.

Minutes after a joyous Moment, Wes passed from this world to the next. No warning, and in the middle of a celebration of a season's win, his Season, suddenly came to an end. In front of family, friends and a whole community, it was a unthinkable end to a unimagined season.

Having lived basketball for the last 8 weeks, I can only imagine what those on and off the court, lived last Thursday. As I cheered really out loud for each time that Gage made his four baskets, I thought about Wes's family. It must have seemed, un real. That is Something I can understand.

If you have trouble living in the Moment, as I do, look at this and remember. Remember to savor every Moment. Make plans for tomorrow with a light touch. We all know how its ends, we just don't know when. Sometimes, 16 can be a lifetime. RIP Wes Leonard...

lent...

I know very little about Lent but am being drawn to it this year. My first exposure to Lent was when a favorite boss of mine, who considered cheeseburgers, milkshakes, smoking and cursing the four food groups of his life, told me one Spring day - no more cheeseburgers for me. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It seemed to come out of nowhere, I thought he was having health issues.

Not a religious man, the idea of deep roots of childhood manifesting itself in an adult man, threw me. He took turns giving up cheeseburgers and milkshakes. This went on for many years. Not sure what he thought about during the 46 days but he was so faithful every year, hard to believe that he didn't think about Something.

The purpose of Lent is to be a season of fasting, self-denial, Christian growth, penitence, conversion, and simplicity I am somewhere in that definition. March 9is Ash Wednesday so I have a few more days to decide which direction I am going. Not trying to over think it, it needs to mean Something to me and I just haven't figured it out yet.

My church doesn't do Lent. Love that it doesn't matter. I am looking forward to these days. Days where a change will remind me of what is important. Days where withdrawal from one thing, could bring a great understanding of other things. Things that in the long run, will bring special Moments. I can hardly wait...

Special...

Been seeing a lot of those who think themselves, special. Those who think they can't be brought down. Those who think they are invincible and invisible. They think the the rules don't apply to them. Believing they are cut from a completely different piece of cloth. A special fabric used only for them. And, how is that working for them.

From Egypt to Hollywood, it matters not. They think they have the world by the tail. By thinking they are special, they miss the fundamental point of being human.

They didn't get here by themselves. They live in the same world as the rest of us and physics apply to them, as well. Having a good sense of who you are is essential to knowing how you fit into this world. The God that gave me life, gave it to the special ones, also. There is a time and place for special but when Special crosses over, and one no longer acknowledges where that being special is for each and every one of us and not a select few...you wander into dangerous territory.

The minutes you go from special to Special, you have moved yourself into the God position. You have forgotten that your Special time is short, fluid and temporary. You start to think differently and in turn, act differently. The Special goes to your head and the core of your being is changed. Special like this, has to be protected, at all costs and becomes the reason for living. As I told a dear friend today and this is a paraphrase, I didn't come this far to be Special.

For those on the Special train, do yourself a favor and dial it down. Leave Special to those who do it right. Try special on for size. Might find it works out better for you...