Some Recent Family Shots

A Few Puzzling Days

Okay, the hair experiment has been a failure. Well, not really a failure...maybe a success but I am not very talented at modifying my behavior. I could tell that by the end of the week it was working....and by Sunday again I had great hair. But I have not been feeling well and so, every morning I want to wash my hair because it just makes me feel better all day. But I can tell now that my hair is drier from washing it so often...so, can I break the habit of washing my hair every day?
Weather today was crazy. Dark and pouring down rain....flooding. Michelle, the NP in our office, and I had to go to lunch on the other side of campus. A fancy lunch and the water was running all over and coming up to about midcalf. We went a roundabout way to my car trying to avoid the water but our shoes filled with water. I was carrying my cowboy/wagon train/Indian umbrella and trying to shield us from the wind. Michelle gave commentary just like Man Vs. Wild and we laughed and splashed our way there and back. We took our shoes off under the fancy table and listened politely. Crazy. We might get more crazy weather tonight. Maybe a delayed opening....yay!
I have lately been wanting to step inside other people's heads and know what they are thinking. Random people and people that I know. The little old lady who works in the Bean. The girls who wear Ugg boots and short shorts at the same time. The sweet student who always holds the door for everyone as they walk into chapel.
Just wondering.
I also wonder what is going through people's heads when they think that it is okay to be nasty when it comes to politics. They wouldn't dream of talking like that about anything else but politics somehow makes it okay.
Don't understand.
Okay, doing well on the sugar fast. No sugar since Monday. Not doing as well with the water part.
And Joy.....yes, sometimes I feel it being sucked away but because I am aware, I am hanging onto it.

Hair Experiment Update

Well, here is how the week has gone as far as my hair goes. Monday-washed hair as usual. Tuesday-didn't wash but had to use blowdryer so that I didn't look crazy all day. Hair felt really dirty about midafternoon and put it in a ponytail...not so bad like that. Worked out that night and by Wednesday morning my hair was disgusting. Wednesday-felt amazing to wash my hair but all day my hair was a little frizzy. Thursday-washed out bangs because they looked terrible but all in all still saved me time. Friday-washed hair as normal and again it was pretty disgusting by then. Had a great hair day. Saturday (today)- just rinsed hair in shower and put conditioner on the ends. Doesn't look too bad at the moment. We will see how it holds up as the day wears on.
And yes, Ann, today I thought it might be a good idea, if my hair was crazy, to wear my baseball hat. Might have to resort to that later.
And John, you can always come up with a great story....no matter what. I can always count on you for that.

Another New Thing for the New Year

Okay, one more thing that I am experimenting with this new year. I need suggestions and helpful hints for this process.
Everyday since I was in intermediate school (middle school, junior high, whatever you call it) I have showered and washed my hair every morning...yes, there have been exceptions...Saturdays when I felt like being a slob and when I have to get up too early to even think about a shower. Everyday I have washed my hair and did the whole blowdry thing. I have finally found a way to do that that actually works....I was never very good at it. I have now decided to try to not wash my hair as often. My hair is very fine and seems like it is dirty way too fast but I want to conserve water and money and energy and time...so, starting this week I am only washing my hair every other day. So, if you see me and you think that something doesn't look right....that is probably the reason.
So, any ideas to make this easier or any helpful hints from your own experience. And all you guys out there with your perfectly bald heads....I don't want to hear from you. I am jealous of the ease of your bald head and I don't think that you get to give any input into this discussion.

Improvements for the New Year

I have been thinking about all the normal things that people commit to at the beginning of a new year and I already told you about the joy thing and yes, I will probably be writing about that all year but I am thinking about physical things right now.
Today Abundant Life had their health screening at ACU. It is a wellness program for ACU employees. My bloodwork was excellent but there are other areas that need fixing. I am just never sure how to go about all that....I know, I know....eat less, exercise more. Too general for me. I need more guidance than that but....too much guidance and I will fail...too many rules. So how do you approach it?
I have made some choices that will grow as the year progresses.
Drink more water.
Starting January 25th I will do a sugar fast until Lucy's birthday.
I am going to sleep more...typing fast so I can go to bed on time.
I am adding one workout to my week.

Last year without dietary changes I lost 12 pounds....just working out and being more conscious of food.
But.....this year I turn 50 in October...I am toying with idea of a 50 lb. weight loss by the time I turn 50. Again, I don't want to scare myself out of progress.

Do you have any physical goals that you want to achieve this year? And do you think that my idea is crazy?

Martin Luther King

"First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action;" who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season."

Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."

...

"In spite of my shattered dreams of the past, I came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause, and with deep moral concern, serve as the channel through which our just grievances would get to the power structure. I had hoped that each of you would understand. But again I have been disappointed. I have heard numerous religious leaders of the South call upon their worshippers to comply with a desegregation decision because it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers say, "follow this decree because integration is morally right and the Negro is your brother." In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churches stand on the sideline and merely mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard so many ministers say, "those are social issues with which the gospel has no real concern.", and I have watched so many churches commit themselves to a completely other-worldly religion which made a strange distinction between body and soul, the sacred and the secular.

So here we are moving toward the exit of the twentieth century with a religious community largely adjusted to the status quo, standing as a tail-light behind other community agencies rather than a headlight leading men to higher levels of justice."

Words from the jail in Birmingham 1963.

Have you missed me?

I know that I haven't blogged in forever. Sorry. Or maybe you were relieved. I am always debating about what is appropriate to put here and what is not. So, here's to hoping that what I post today is appropriate.
This last year has been good. Yes, it had its challenges but yes, it was good.
My year started with Leadership Summit with the College of Business, as it did this year also. 2010 was my third year to go with COBA to Frontier Ranch in Colorado and spend an amazing week with ACU students and be challenged to live life intentionally. Rick Lytle and Tim Johnston, you are both amazing traveling companions. You are fun and easy to be with and great conversationalists. Thanks for always including me in this powerful week.
Our country started off the year with a new president and I could never put into words how much that meant to me. Obama's inauguration was such a huge step for our country. I still love that he is our president but I am saddened by the hateful words that people are putting out on the internet about him. I don't understand it. I especially don't understand it when it is coming from people who claim to be people of faith. It makes me nauseous when I read those words that sound so angry and so afraid. What are people so afraid of?
We redid our family room this spring and both of our cats ended up being outside cats because their litter box habits needed some improvement. Then later this year, in October, Mystic died. We were sad and sometimes I still forget that she is not here and it still tugs at my heart. She was ornery but she was a part of our family for 15 years.
In February I went to Maryland and spent a weekend with Ann. I needed some Ann time and I needed some city time. I got both of them but it is never enough Ann time. I miss you, Ann, everyday....especially in the everyday.
Lucy turned 16 in February and got her driver's license. She has always been very independent but now that independence has been expanded. She has been fiercely responsible and I am proud of her for that. She is growing up and it is a delight to watch. She has great friends and is a great student and she is so much fun. We only have a year and a half until she goes to college. We will miss her being home with us.
In May, due to the generosity of a very sweet man, I got to go to California to Trudy McCall's wedding in Fresno, California. Trudy, you are a beautiful and accomplished young woman. I loved being a part of that celebration. Thank you, Mike. There are some friends who become family and they are definitely some of those friends. You have been my family since I was 11 years old and that has grown deeper through hardship and loss and I am so very grateful for those relationships.
In June I went to Colorado and reconnected with some kindred spirits. You Siggie friends filled my heart and gave me courage to move forward. I so loved those few days together. Let's do it again.
So many leadership positions changing. Mike Cope resigned in the summer and we are in the process of looking for someone to fill that space. President Money, ACU president, is moving into the role of Chancellor and they have announced the two candidates for his position....Rick Lytle and Phil Schubert. Both good men and both would do a great job.
In September we received our best gift of the year. Peyton Taylor Danley was born. She is gorgeous and sweet and we wish that we could see her more often.
December brought our whole family together with my mom included. Such a good feeling to have everyone here...gathered around the table, laughing, talking, playing...just getting reacquainted. Thank you Mom, Corey, Brittney, Ava, Peyton, Drew, Bryn, Mary Kate and Lucy for making our lives full of joy. You were all my best Christmas gifts.
Tim and I celebrated 26 years of marriage. He is the best gift of my whole life and I don't deserve him. I love him fiercely and I hope that he knows that.
Well, I am ending with two new year's questions for you.
I have a couple of times done the typical new year's exercise of what is your word for the year? Well, this year my word is joy. I will talk about that more later and how that looks throughout the year. But....what is your word for the year?
I also took many things away from leadership summit this year but the one thing that has stuck is something that I am going to share with my whole family. I want you all to answer this question....what is your big dream? (not....what is your reasonable dream but what is your big dream?)
Happy new year!