We Live, We love
We forgive, and never give up
Because the days we are given are gifts from above
So today we remember to live and to love.
That chorus has been stuck in my head since I heard it yesterday on the radio.
Maybe there is a reason for that.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
My Soap Box
I love to listen to talk radio in the morning. Not the regular music stations with the obnoxious morning show playful banter....but real talk radio. The new topic on every station?
The TSA airport safety regulations requiring the full body scan and the "pat down" option.
Good luck trying to guess what my stance is on this subject.
1. If you are someone that seriously travels by airplane that frequently, and are afraid you will develop some horrible medical problem from all the radiation you will receive from the scans....then maybe you should consider a different career. Not only is that such a far fetched possibility, but seriously, with that kind of paranoia, how do you even leave your house? And if the sky is your "work place" that you have to spend that much time at...wouldn't you want it to be the SAFEST place it could possibly be?
IF radiation was so dangerous that daily low doses of radiation could cause horrible illness.....there would be a lot of SICK X-RAY techs. I can use this one because I was one for 10 years. I had to suffer through 3 semesters of radiation physics...and if I learned anything it is that we get more radiation from the microwave/store parking lot than we will ever get from having an x-ray taken. The reason so many people died years ago from radiation? 1. it was years ago 2. the machines were crude contraptions of metal shooting radiation everywhere 3. scientists were still trying to figure out how to make radiation the awesome diagnostic tool is it now.
I work in health care. Because of the threat of blood borne/bodily fluid "terrorists" I have to wear gloves for most everything. Sure it is a hassle and it's a total drag having to put a pair of gloves on just to apply a bandaid. BUT it keeps me safe, and other people safe, so I do it. EVERYDAY. ALL DAY.
Thought #2
For those that think the body scans are too intimate/infringe on your right to privacy/ is too invasive.
Think about the poor TSA workers that have to look at our sorry selves ALL DAY LONG, and stop flattering yourself. If I could be so lucky as to have someone want to put my sexy self all over the monitors in the breakroom for viewing pleasure.
Thought #3
For those that think the body pat down is too intimate/infringes on your rights/is too invasive.
Again think about the poor TSA workers that have to do this to earn their paycheck. YUCK. Have you seen what people wear out in public these days? People are dirty, lumpy, with food all down their front, wearing pajama bottoms and slippers to appointments. GROSS. Don't even get me started on the grooming and hygiene habits of society. I'm thinking I should write them a check as a thank you for being willing to touch me.
As far as inappropriate touching by TSA workers. Probably will happen. But can you even imagine the bazillion times a day they are going to hear the uncomfortable sarcasm from passengers, with lines such as "ooohh thank you" or "oh my, we didn't even have dinner first" or "I haven't been touched like that in years" PUH-LEEZ!
I heard the head of TSA this morning on the news telling members of government "Do I hear that you are questioning the news rules and guidelines? Yes. Am I going to change them? NO."
Can I get an Amen?
The ideas I have been hearing on the radio/t.v. as solutions (profiling people, closing borders) are just insane. Talk about infringing on people's rights. The threat of terrorism is real. A bomb on an airplane can kill, plain and simple, and terrorism is not going to stop just because we wish it would. It's time to get over "my rights as an American" and start thinking about what is right for everyone.
The TSA airport safety regulations requiring the full body scan and the "pat down" option.
Good luck trying to guess what my stance is on this subject.
1. If you are someone that seriously travels by airplane that frequently, and are afraid you will develop some horrible medical problem from all the radiation you will receive from the scans....then maybe you should consider a different career. Not only is that such a far fetched possibility, but seriously, with that kind of paranoia, how do you even leave your house? And if the sky is your "work place" that you have to spend that much time at...wouldn't you want it to be the SAFEST place it could possibly be?
IF radiation was so dangerous that daily low doses of radiation could cause horrible illness.....there would be a lot of SICK X-RAY techs. I can use this one because I was one for 10 years. I had to suffer through 3 semesters of radiation physics...and if I learned anything it is that we get more radiation from the microwave/store parking lot than we will ever get from having an x-ray taken. The reason so many people died years ago from radiation? 1. it was years ago 2. the machines were crude contraptions of metal shooting radiation everywhere 3. scientists were still trying to figure out how to make radiation the awesome diagnostic tool is it now.
I work in health care. Because of the threat of blood borne/bodily fluid "terrorists" I have to wear gloves for most everything. Sure it is a hassle and it's a total drag having to put a pair of gloves on just to apply a bandaid. BUT it keeps me safe, and other people safe, so I do it. EVERYDAY. ALL DAY.
Thought #2
For those that think the body scans are too intimate/infringe on your right to privacy/ is too invasive.
Think about the poor TSA workers that have to look at our sorry selves ALL DAY LONG, and stop flattering yourself. If I could be so lucky as to have someone want to put my sexy self all over the monitors in the breakroom for viewing pleasure.
Thought #3
For those that think the body pat down is too intimate/infringes on your rights/is too invasive.
Again think about the poor TSA workers that have to do this to earn their paycheck. YUCK. Have you seen what people wear out in public these days? People are dirty, lumpy, with food all down their front, wearing pajama bottoms and slippers to appointments. GROSS. Don't even get me started on the grooming and hygiene habits of society. I'm thinking I should write them a check as a thank you for being willing to touch me.
As far as inappropriate touching by TSA workers. Probably will happen. But can you even imagine the bazillion times a day they are going to hear the uncomfortable sarcasm from passengers, with lines such as "ooohh thank you" or "oh my, we didn't even have dinner first" or "I haven't been touched like that in years" PUH-LEEZ!
I heard the head of TSA this morning on the news telling members of government "Do I hear that you are questioning the news rules and guidelines? Yes. Am I going to change them? NO."
Can I get an Amen?
The ideas I have been hearing on the radio/t.v. as solutions (profiling people, closing borders) are just insane. Talk about infringing on people's rights. The threat of terrorism is real. A bomb on an airplane can kill, plain and simple, and terrorism is not going to stop just because we wish it would. It's time to get over "my rights as an American" and start thinking about what is right for everyone.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Jane's answer to most everything
When asking Jane to do something....anything.....no matter how great or small......
Her new favorite response?
NEVER!
(pronounced Nehber!) said with the passion and ferocity of someone having to give up a prized possession or freedom.
examples:
"Jane, are you ready to take a bath?"
"NEVER!!!!!"
"Jane, do you want some apple juice?"
"No! NEVER!"
"Are you ready for bed, Jane?"
"NEHHHHHVVEERRR!"
then she says "gimme a minute, okay?" as she is running away from us.
Her new favorite response?
NEVER!
(pronounced Nehber!) said with the passion and ferocity of someone having to give up a prized possession or freedom.
examples:
"Jane, are you ready to take a bath?"
"NEVER!!!!!"
"Jane, do you want some apple juice?"
"No! NEVER!"
"Are you ready for bed, Jane?"
"NEHHHHHVVEERRR!"
then she says "gimme a minute, okay?" as she is running away from us.
Thanks and Giving
This is my favorite time of year. Yes, I love spring with all the new and I love summer with the playing outside and vacations and flip flops. But the months of November and December are my fav-o-rite!!
I love the cool air, wearing boots and puffy vests, the dark early evenings and Christmas shopping online at work.
WHAT?!?!?
Yep. True story. I am so blessed to be working with people who are as filled with the spirit of Christmas as much as I am. Any given time of day we can be found in each other's offices, taking a "break" and talking about what we bought our kids, our spouses, and even more fun.....our Adopt a Family. Our Med Services team has adopted a large family from a list of families that receive services through our office. It is such a blessing to work with a group of gals that are cut from the same cloth as me. Seriously. This family is going to know people care about them this Christmas when we are done.
Even better, not only am I taking part in the gift giving for that family, but The Martens 5(and grandma Ann too) adopted a family to buy for. The family has a single, very pregnant momma and two children aged 2 and 6. The third child is due in January. Yesterday The Martens 5 took a family field trip to shop and came home with a car full. What a blessing. When we got home I thanked Andy for "letting" me spend a bunch of our money on someone else. His answer? "Well we have more money now........" My finish to that sentence? "so we gotta give more........"
Exactly.
This family has the ability to give more this year than ever. It makes my loss of free time to working full time seem TOTALLY worthwhile.
Here are some other ways this family has given to others and I encourage you to do the same:
Did you know that if you buy a pound of fudge at Rocky Mountain Candy Factory they will send a pound of fudge for free to the troops overseas!!!! I don't like fudge, but my parents do......and I hope it brings some surgary JOY to someone protecting my freedom. It also brought some sugary JOY to my dad. :)
When you check out at stores this year, if they ask you to donate $1 to some charity....DO IT! It's a dollar people, and they are doing the hard work for you. I will never understand when people say NO to donating a dollar(or five for pete's sake!) or NO to letting the clerk round up your total to the nearest dollar and donating the difference to a charity. Are you kidding me?
Yes, please!
I will still be slowing down at stoplights to give $ to people with a sign, etc. Do not rush me or honk at me.
I've got to find some Christmas pencils to put in my pencil jar at work. The good doctor and I give out fruit and pencils to kids(and their parents) that come to our office. It is amazing how much JOY a new pencil can bring a kid, and how fruit is a universal love. Fruit is such a huge part of my grocery bill each week, but some families just can't afford it. Thanks to a group effort of me, the doc, and a brown-nosing drug rep(she really wants/needs our business and I don't mind exploiting that on behalf of my people!), we get bags of fruit each week to give out.
The girls and I just finished doing some Christmas shopping in the World Vision catalog. I just bought some ducks. Not going to say who they were in honor of, just in case they are a reader.......
Get this. Do you know why they now give ducks to poverished nations instead of chicks? Because chickens drown in heavy rain seasons while ducks just swim around in the flood waters and consider it an adventure!
Now that is a solution I want to be a part of.
Did I mention that while filled with the amazing love of this season, I am also feeling a bit frantic at the lack of quality shopping time I have now? Between working every day, activities every evening, and weekends full of stuff......when does a girl have time to shop?
more on that later.
I love the cool air, wearing boots and puffy vests, the dark early evenings and Christmas shopping online at work.
WHAT?!?!?
Yep. True story. I am so blessed to be working with people who are as filled with the spirit of Christmas as much as I am. Any given time of day we can be found in each other's offices, taking a "break" and talking about what we bought our kids, our spouses, and even more fun.....our Adopt a Family. Our Med Services team has adopted a large family from a list of families that receive services through our office. It is such a blessing to work with a group of gals that are cut from the same cloth as me. Seriously. This family is going to know people care about them this Christmas when we are done.
Even better, not only am I taking part in the gift giving for that family, but The Martens 5(and grandma Ann too) adopted a family to buy for. The family has a single, very pregnant momma and two children aged 2 and 6. The third child is due in January. Yesterday The Martens 5 took a family field trip to shop and came home with a car full. What a blessing. When we got home I thanked Andy for "letting" me spend a bunch of our money on someone else. His answer? "Well we have more money now........" My finish to that sentence? "so we gotta give more........"
Exactly.
This family has the ability to give more this year than ever. It makes my loss of free time to working full time seem TOTALLY worthwhile.
Here are some other ways this family has given to others and I encourage you to do the same:
Did you know that if you buy a pound of fudge at Rocky Mountain Candy Factory they will send a pound of fudge for free to the troops overseas!!!! I don't like fudge, but my parents do......and I hope it brings some surgary JOY to someone protecting my freedom. It also brought some sugary JOY to my dad. :)
When you check out at stores this year, if they ask you to donate $1 to some charity....DO IT! It's a dollar people, and they are doing the hard work for you. I will never understand when people say NO to donating a dollar(or five for pete's sake!) or NO to letting the clerk round up your total to the nearest dollar and donating the difference to a charity. Are you kidding me?
Yes, please!
I will still be slowing down at stoplights to give $ to people with a sign, etc. Do not rush me or honk at me.
I've got to find some Christmas pencils to put in my pencil jar at work. The good doctor and I give out fruit and pencils to kids(and their parents) that come to our office. It is amazing how much JOY a new pencil can bring a kid, and how fruit is a universal love. Fruit is such a huge part of my grocery bill each week, but some families just can't afford it. Thanks to a group effort of me, the doc, and a brown-nosing drug rep(she really wants/needs our business and I don't mind exploiting that on behalf of my people!), we get bags of fruit each week to give out.
The girls and I just finished doing some Christmas shopping in the World Vision catalog. I just bought some ducks. Not going to say who they were in honor of, just in case they are a reader.......
Get this. Do you know why they now give ducks to poverished nations instead of chicks? Because chickens drown in heavy rain seasons while ducks just swim around in the flood waters and consider it an adventure!
Now that is a solution I want to be a part of.
Did I mention that while filled with the amazing love of this season, I am also feeling a bit frantic at the lack of quality shopping time I have now? Between working every day, activities every evening, and weekends full of stuff......when does a girl have time to shop?
more on that later.
Weekend Update
Time for another Martens family catch up blog. I am beginning to see a pattern here, how about you? Today I'm feeling especially inspired, so be prepared for a marathon day of posts.
Andy and Sarah(The parents) are super duper jolly good. This time of year is my favorite and I am really going lay the JOY on thick this year. We are so blessed and thankful for God's continued grace in our lives.
Andy is getting ready to lose a friend/co-worker to a new job elsewhere, so will be the only "regular" paramedic on his shift for a while. Pray for him that he gets some respite from running calls on the ambulance. When he doesn't get his beauty sleep at the fire station he comes home as Mr. Grumpypants for the rest of us.
Andy also has a wild hair for his turn at education. (we take turns furthering our education and it is his turn) I am excited that he has found this opportunity, and I look forward to supporting him when it is "Go" time. Here's to saving our money to make this happen! More on that later, I promise.
My job is continuing to make me proud to be a nurse. My co-workers make me laugh and my patients make me want to pull my hair out/hug and kiss my kids every day. There are some messed up families out there people, and it has been a real eye-opener for me to see that and work with them on a daily basis. I still do youth group at church, and now that this is my second year, I am feeling more a part of the group and that I belong. Hard to explain, but I am trying to put myself out there to be of service to these kids, and I hope to grow and learn from it too.
We are finally(?) settling into our semi-role reversal in this house. There is always room for improvement, and there are still days of frustration, but I think the next six months will be better than the last six. Team Martens will prevail!
let's mix it up and talk about the Middle child first...........Kate loves school, loves gymnastics, loves to play and read books, and loves to be the center of attention.....unless she doesn't want the attention in which case she becomes extremely shy and guarded. HA. That is our KATE in a nutshell. This morning, as she was quietly playing with her Littlest Pet Shop animals, I heard her say to Jane, "could I just have some alone time to play Jane?" It is becoming painfully clear how much all our girls need their own space, even though they play well together any given moment. Kate has been woefully neglected when it comes to having a bed to sleep in. She is still sleeping in the toddler bed and can touch both headboards with her hands and feet when stretched out. The cute thing is that even though she is almost five(!) she is still a petite little girl. Kate will be five next month and she can not wait. The other day I heard her singing "I wanna be a millionaire, so frickin' bad......"which is a line from a popular song on the radio. Trust me, it's really cute even if inappropriate.
Tess is turning out to be a jazzy great 9 year old. Her school pictures are freaking me out by how mature she looks...without even trying. Trust me, we are not cool parents like that. We want our kids to stay young innocent and child-like for as long as possible. Tess is growing her bangs out and they are finally at a length they can be pulled away from her face. Her style is now a cute above the shoulder haircut and it looks adorable. She is into fashion and I can say that most times she is on target with her outfit choices. Her grades were stellar, she is really picking up multiplication easily in math(hooray) and her book reports have been on point. She recently finished her last of the KC3 nominees(books that are on a literature award list for 3rd graders) and has earned a ticket to the Literature festival in downtown KC this spring! Her first formal piano and voice recital is next Sunday and I can't wait to hear her perform. She blows me away with how much she has accomplished in 2 months with this new teacher. Basketball season has started and Andy is coaching her team again this year. Different league, but hopefully the same FUN. She is blessed with coordination and brains......not to mention she is becoming a very pretty young lady.
Zaney Jane is the star of our family right now. Everyday is filled with new reasons to laugh at her and with her. If you don't spend much time around her, you will be AMAZED at how well she talks and can have a conversation with you. Not to mention she is a riot. Yesterday we were all in the car, bundled up because it was so cold, when a good song came on the radio. We were all singing and moving to the music when we hear Jane say "I'm dancing with my neck"....picture Jane buckled into her carseat so tight the only thing she can move is her neck in this gyrating, head bobbing motion. FUNNY. Jane just now shouted "Tess! Kate! Come shake your booty with me!" This after walking by me with a poopy diaper, and when I said "whew! where is that stinky smell coming from? She playfully spanked her bottom and said "it's coming from right here!" and walked away.....
If you buy something for the girls, you had better get 3! Jane is starting to say "Hey! Where's mine?" when there is one for Tess, one for Kate, and NONE for Jane. She has also learned to stomp her foot, furrow her brow and shout "That's not fair!" Most of the time she is right. She loves to dance, especially to the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie cd and will shout "Not now! I'm dancing!" if we need her to do something. I can't even type all the funny stuff she says and does. It would seem gratuitious on my part, and get boring for readers. But trust me when I say we are totally enjoying watching and listening to her grow up....even though we are starting to mourn the loss of our "baby" Jane.
Here's to more timely posts from Crazytown.
Andy and Sarah(The parents) are super duper jolly good. This time of year is my favorite and I am really going lay the JOY on thick this year. We are so blessed and thankful for God's continued grace in our lives.
Andy is getting ready to lose a friend/co-worker to a new job elsewhere, so will be the only "regular" paramedic on his shift for a while. Pray for him that he gets some respite from running calls on the ambulance. When he doesn't get his beauty sleep at the fire station he comes home as Mr. Grumpypants for the rest of us.
Andy also has a wild hair for his turn at education. (we take turns furthering our education and it is his turn) I am excited that he has found this opportunity, and I look forward to supporting him when it is "Go" time. Here's to saving our money to make this happen! More on that later, I promise.
My job is continuing to make me proud to be a nurse. My co-workers make me laugh and my patients make me want to pull my hair out/hug and kiss my kids every day. There are some messed up families out there people, and it has been a real eye-opener for me to see that and work with them on a daily basis. I still do youth group at church, and now that this is my second year, I am feeling more a part of the group and that I belong. Hard to explain, but I am trying to put myself out there to be of service to these kids, and I hope to grow and learn from it too.
We are finally(?) settling into our semi-role reversal in this house. There is always room for improvement, and there are still days of frustration, but I think the next six months will be better than the last six. Team Martens will prevail!
let's mix it up and talk about the Middle child first...........Kate loves school, loves gymnastics, loves to play and read books, and loves to be the center of attention.....unless she doesn't want the attention in which case she becomes extremely shy and guarded. HA. That is our KATE in a nutshell. This morning, as she was quietly playing with her Littlest Pet Shop animals, I heard her say to Jane, "could I just have some alone time to play Jane?" It is becoming painfully clear how much all our girls need their own space, even though they play well together any given moment. Kate has been woefully neglected when it comes to having a bed to sleep in. She is still sleeping in the toddler bed and can touch both headboards with her hands and feet when stretched out. The cute thing is that even though she is almost five(!) she is still a petite little girl. Kate will be five next month and she can not wait. The other day I heard her singing "I wanna be a millionaire, so frickin' bad......"which is a line from a popular song on the radio. Trust me, it's really cute even if inappropriate.
Tess is turning out to be a jazzy great 9 year old. Her school pictures are freaking me out by how mature she looks...without even trying. Trust me, we are not cool parents like that. We want our kids to stay young innocent and child-like for as long as possible. Tess is growing her bangs out and they are finally at a length they can be pulled away from her face. Her style is now a cute above the shoulder haircut and it looks adorable. She is into fashion and I can say that most times she is on target with her outfit choices. Her grades were stellar, she is really picking up multiplication easily in math(hooray) and her book reports have been on point. She recently finished her last of the KC3 nominees(books that are on a literature award list for 3rd graders) and has earned a ticket to the Literature festival in downtown KC this spring! Her first formal piano and voice recital is next Sunday and I can't wait to hear her perform. She blows me away with how much she has accomplished in 2 months with this new teacher. Basketball season has started and Andy is coaching her team again this year. Different league, but hopefully the same FUN. She is blessed with coordination and brains......not to mention she is becoming a very pretty young lady.
Zaney Jane is the star of our family right now. Everyday is filled with new reasons to laugh at her and with her. If you don't spend much time around her, you will be AMAZED at how well she talks and can have a conversation with you. Not to mention she is a riot. Yesterday we were all in the car, bundled up because it was so cold, when a good song came on the radio. We were all singing and moving to the music when we hear Jane say "I'm dancing with my neck"....picture Jane buckled into her carseat so tight the only thing she can move is her neck in this gyrating, head bobbing motion. FUNNY. Jane just now shouted "Tess! Kate! Come shake your booty with me!" This after walking by me with a poopy diaper, and when I said "whew! where is that stinky smell coming from? She playfully spanked her bottom and said "it's coming from right here!" and walked away.....
If you buy something for the girls, you had better get 3! Jane is starting to say "Hey! Where's mine?" when there is one for Tess, one for Kate, and NONE for Jane. She has also learned to stomp her foot, furrow her brow and shout "That's not fair!" Most of the time she is right. She loves to dance, especially to the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie cd and will shout "Not now! I'm dancing!" if we need her to do something. I can't even type all the funny stuff she says and does. It would seem gratuitious on my part, and get boring for readers. But trust me when I say we are totally enjoying watching and listening to her grow up....even though we are starting to mourn the loss of our "baby" Jane.
Here's to more timely posts from Crazytown.
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