We've all been there. You sit there waiting for the other driver (who clearly got to the intersection first) to go and eventually you're both motioning for the OTHER to go, then you both begin to pull forward at the same time, stop, and both motion again. This could go on for awhile.
I especially (dis)like the driver who stops in the MIDDLE of the intersection while deep in conversation on her mobile, pretends to look both ways and then pulls ahead oblivious to the other people around her!
It's an easy concept, people--one that should've been learned early on in driver's education!
1) The one to arrive first at the stop sign is the one who gets to go first.
2) If more than one car arrives at the same time, the driver on the RIGHT has the RIGHT-of-way
If you're unsure who arrived first, get off your cell phone and pay attention!!
Life's short...don't cut it any shorter by getting caught in a road-rage war.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Life's Short...Embrace the Hardships
...but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4
Time flies when you're having fun. As the anniversaries of my birth pile up, the years seem to pass faster than ever, and the phrase about time flying proves quite true. Just the other day, I was re-reading several friend's holiday greetings and found that same sentiment about the rapid progression of time echoed throughout many of their letters.
I'm certainly not one to wish ill or hardships on anyone (enemies included), but when I find myself in a situation out of my control and extremely painful to bear, time seems abundant. Time spent waiting for tests or court dates to be scheduled; waiting for outcomes, results, or resolution--I'm inundated with timeless phrases from people like, "This too shall pass;" and "Whatever doesn't kill us, will surely make us stronger." I ,myself, am guilty of throwing the latter of these two phrases around recently to a friend who is going through a divorce and painful custody battle and reaching out for words of wisdom and hope.
Life has its trials and tribulations, but life is short--turn worry into prayer and persevere.
Time flies when you're having fun. As the anniversaries of my birth pile up, the years seem to pass faster than ever, and the phrase about time flying proves quite true. Just the other day, I was re-reading several friend's holiday greetings and found that same sentiment about the rapid progression of time echoed throughout many of their letters.
I'm certainly not one to wish ill or hardships on anyone (enemies included), but when I find myself in a situation out of my control and extremely painful to bear, time seems abundant. Time spent waiting for tests or court dates to be scheduled; waiting for outcomes, results, or resolution--I'm inundated with timeless phrases from people like, "This too shall pass;" and "Whatever doesn't kill us, will surely make us stronger." I ,myself, am guilty of throwing the latter of these two phrases around recently to a friend who is going through a divorce and painful custody battle and reaching out for words of wisdom and hope.
Life has its trials and tribulations, but life is short--turn worry into prayer and persevere.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Life's Too Short to Sleep Through It
I understand that sleep is necessary to keep your body functioning at peak performance. However, unless you work the third shift, I don't understand sleeping the day away and then staying up all night. Maintaining a regular-business-hours schedule to accomplish activities necessary to being a functioning citizen of the community is a concept foreign to my 21-year-old (much to my dismay and disappointment).
I've never been an early riser unless my job demanded it, but sometimes the early morning hours provide breathtaking and spectacular experiences. I will never forget watching the sun come up over Lake Superior as the freighter approached the lift bridge in Duluth; or the way the smells, sights, and sounds overtake your senses and draw you into the magic of Disney World in Orlando at dawn. The natural phenomenon of the hoar frost on the trees and shrubs on a crisp winter's day after a night of fog can best be seen during the early daylight hours. As a photographer, I understand that lighting plays a major role in capturing a subject at its best. Sometimes that means being an early riser.
A good share of the general public is awake during daylight hours which means to interact with said public, you must be awake then, too. Naps are for toddlers and nursing home residents. In the prime of life, don't miss out on prime time activities...stay awake!!
Life's short...if you blink, you might miss it!
I've never been an early riser unless my job demanded it, but sometimes the early morning hours provide breathtaking and spectacular experiences. I will never forget watching the sun come up over Lake Superior as the freighter approached the lift bridge in Duluth; or the way the smells, sights, and sounds overtake your senses and draw you into the magic of Disney World in Orlando at dawn. The natural phenomenon of the hoar frost on the trees and shrubs on a crisp winter's day after a night of fog can best be seen during the early daylight hours. As a photographer, I understand that lighting plays a major role in capturing a subject at its best. Sometimes that means being an early riser.
A good share of the general public is awake during daylight hours which means to interact with said public, you must be awake then, too. Naps are for toddlers and nursing home residents. In the prime of life, don't miss out on prime time activities...stay awake!!
Life's short...if you blink, you might miss it!
Happy New Year! Life's Too Short to Make Resolutions
"If you spend New Year's Day consumed with a specific activity, you will likely repeat that activity more often throughout the year." This was a theory I had heard about that I have tested and proven to be untrue time and time again. One New Year's Day I cleaned out all my expired coupons and vowed to use coupons more often--that didn't happen. Another New Year's Day, I wrote down a list of resolutions like eating right, exercising, learning something new each day, blah, blah, blah! Guess what? Those resolutions didn't become a daily routine any more than me getting closer to my doctorate without going to school.
New Year's Day is just another day that should be made the most of just like every day of the year. New Year's Day can be a good time for reflection and goal planning, but like Albert Einstein pointed out in his definition of insanity: "Don't expect different results by doing the same thing over and over again."
Life's short. Make each day count--even New Year's Day!
New Year's Day is just another day that should be made the most of just like every day of the year. New Year's Day can be a good time for reflection and goal planning, but like Albert Einstein pointed out in his definition of insanity: "Don't expect different results by doing the same thing over and over again."
Life's short. Make each day count--even New Year's Day!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Life's Too Short -- Schedule a Mammogram!!!
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:33-34
Mammogram – Early Detection is Your Breast Defense
When I emerged from the booth with my cape on, I lacked my super powers as well as my dignity. Perhaps because it was the changing closet in the hospital radiology department instead of a phone booth and the cape (held on by one well-worn Velcro tab) read “PROPERTY OF MERCY” instead of “S.”
One of those necessary evils of womanhood: the annual mammogram. As if gravity wasn’t doing a good enough job, the mammogram takes what little you do have and smushes it beyond recognition. For those of you who haven’t experienced one yet, those stories you’ve read and laughed over about comparing a mammogram to laying on the cold garage floor and having someone drive over your left one with the car or standing in the kitchen trying to close your boob in the refrigerator door is not so funny once you’ve actually been there done that.
It boggles the mind that a man can land on the moon, but the discomfort and humiliation of the “routine” mammogram doesn’t improve over time. You know you live in a small town when someone you know personally and not just as the nurse on duty is the one manipulating your breast on the Plexiglas table. Now you don’t just have small talk about the weather, but you can catch up on each other’s kids, the community, and the latest school board vote, all while you’re holding onto the handle of the X-ray machine and the corner of the table is being jammed into your armpit.
I’m so glad they keep a stack of out-dated magazines in the changing booths for something to occupy our time while we wait to see if we “smiled enough” in the pictures before getting dressed. At least the recipes are already ripped out.
Meanwhile, back in the doctor’s exam room… One of the most helpful resources to be placed in the physician’s office is surprisingly not the rack of pamphlets with descriptions and diagrams, but the three boobs that hang on the wall. No it’s not a sculpture of Larry, Moe, and Curly, but actual three-dimensional breasts. They are labeled: “no lumps, normal lumps, and lumps.” I just wonder who’s monitoring the hidden camera that captures those of us feeling up the silicone models. Actually, knowing the difference between an actual lump versus fibrous tissue can be very beneficial when doing that recommended self-exam. I highly encourage you to feel up—I mean, check out this wall hanging if your doctor’s office has one.
The follow-up letter stating the radiologist sees no abnormality is better than receiving a refund check from the IRS. It’s that dreaded phone call in-between; however, that one never wants to get stating they “need another view.” Then when another view leads to an ultrasound appointment “just to be sure,” and you start fearing the worst. In all seriousness, when the next recommendation becomes a biopsy, the nerves can really run high. The news sends you into a tailspin and makes you realize it can happen to anyone. Yes, it’s scary, and yes, I was just recently scared out of my mind, but thankfully the diagnosis for me was good news. If the news hadn’t been good, at least it would’ve been caught early. It’s best to schedule that uncomfortable appointment and be certain. Do it yearly.
Life is too short NOT to do self-exams and schedule the dreaded but necessary annual mammogram.
Mammogram – Early Detection is Your Breast Defense
When I emerged from the booth with my cape on, I lacked my super powers as well as my dignity. Perhaps because it was the changing closet in the hospital radiology department instead of a phone booth and the cape (held on by one well-worn Velcro tab) read “PROPERTY OF MERCY” instead of “S.”
One of those necessary evils of womanhood: the annual mammogram. As if gravity wasn’t doing a good enough job, the mammogram takes what little you do have and smushes it beyond recognition. For those of you who haven’t experienced one yet, those stories you’ve read and laughed over about comparing a mammogram to laying on the cold garage floor and having someone drive over your left one with the car or standing in the kitchen trying to close your boob in the refrigerator door is not so funny once you’ve actually been there done that.
It boggles the mind that a man can land on the moon, but the discomfort and humiliation of the “routine” mammogram doesn’t improve over time. You know you live in a small town when someone you know personally and not just as the nurse on duty is the one manipulating your breast on the Plexiglas table. Now you don’t just have small talk about the weather, but you can catch up on each other’s kids, the community, and the latest school board vote, all while you’re holding onto the handle of the X-ray machine and the corner of the table is being jammed into your armpit.
I’m so glad they keep a stack of out-dated magazines in the changing booths for something to occupy our time while we wait to see if we “smiled enough” in the pictures before getting dressed. At least the recipes are already ripped out.
Meanwhile, back in the doctor’s exam room… One of the most helpful resources to be placed in the physician’s office is surprisingly not the rack of pamphlets with descriptions and diagrams, but the three boobs that hang on the wall. No it’s not a sculpture of Larry, Moe, and Curly, but actual three-dimensional breasts. They are labeled: “no lumps, normal lumps, and lumps.” I just wonder who’s monitoring the hidden camera that captures those of us feeling up the silicone models. Actually, knowing the difference between an actual lump versus fibrous tissue can be very beneficial when doing that recommended self-exam. I highly encourage you to feel up—I mean, check out this wall hanging if your doctor’s office has one.
The follow-up letter stating the radiologist sees no abnormality is better than receiving a refund check from the IRS. It’s that dreaded phone call in-between; however, that one never wants to get stating they “need another view.” Then when another view leads to an ultrasound appointment “just to be sure,” and you start fearing the worst. In all seriousness, when the next recommendation becomes a biopsy, the nerves can really run high. The news sends you into a tailspin and makes you realize it can happen to anyone. Yes, it’s scary, and yes, I was just recently scared out of my mind, but thankfully the diagnosis for me was good news. If the news hadn’t been good, at least it would’ve been caught early. It’s best to schedule that uncomfortable appointment and be certain. Do it yearly.
Life is too short NOT to do self-exams and schedule the dreaded but necessary annual mammogram.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Life's Too Short to Procrastinate
Found the following and wanted to pass it along to my blog readers. The author is anonymous.
He was going to be all he wanted to be -- Tomorrow
No one would be kinder or braver than he -- Tomorrow.
A friend who was troubled and weary, he knew
Who'd be glad of a life--who needed it, too,
On him he would call and see what he could do -- Tomorrow.
Each morning he stacked up the letters he'd write--Tomorrow,
And thought of the folks he would fill with delight -- Tomorrow.
It was too bad, indeed, he was so busy today,
And hadn't one minute to stop on his way.
"More time I will have to give others," he'd say, "Tomorrow."
The greatest of workers this man would have been -- Tomorrow.
The world would have known him had he ever seen -- Tomorrow.
But, in fact, he passed on and he faded from view,
And all that he left here when living was through,
Was a mountain of things he intended to do -- Tomorrow.
No one would be kinder or braver than he -- Tomorrow.
A friend who was troubled and weary, he knew
Who'd be glad of a life--who needed it, too,
On him he would call and see what he could do -- Tomorrow.
Each morning he stacked up the letters he'd write--Tomorrow,
And thought of the folks he would fill with delight -- Tomorrow.
It was too bad, indeed, he was so busy today,
And hadn't one minute to stop on his way.
"More time I will have to give others," he'd say, "Tomorrow."
The greatest of workers this man would have been -- Tomorrow.
The world would have known him had he ever seen -- Tomorrow.
But, in fact, he passed on and he faded from view,
And all that he left here when living was through,
Was a mountain of things he intended to do -- Tomorrow.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Life's Too Short to be Serious
The author is unknown on these hilarious shorts, but they're making the rounds as "forwarded" email and I thought it appropriate to share here...
I was in the six-items-or-less express lane at the store quietly fuming. Completely ignoring the sign, the woman ahead of me had slipped into the checkout line pushing a cart piled high with groceries. Imagine my delight when the cashier beckoned the woman to come forward, looked into the cart and asked sweetly, "So, which six items would you like to buy?"
---
Because they had no reservations at a busy restaurant, my elderly neighbor and his wife were told there would be a 45-minute wait for a table. "Young man, we're both 90 years old, " the husband said. "We may not have 45 minutes." They were seated immediately.
Life's short. Never be too open-minded--your brains may fall out!!
I was in the six-items-or-less express lane at the store quietly fuming. Completely ignoring the sign, the woman ahead of me had slipped into the checkout line pushing a cart piled high with groceries. Imagine my delight when the cashier beckoned the woman to come forward, looked into the cart and asked sweetly, "So, which six items would you like to buy?"
---
Because they had no reservations at a busy restaurant, my elderly neighbor and his wife were told there would be a 45-minute wait for a table. "Young man, we're both 90 years old, " the husband said. "We may not have 45 minutes." They were seated immediately.
Life's short. Never be too open-minded--your brains may fall out!!
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