24 August 2009

These Are the Terms

Found a sticky note in my purse with some words on it that I wanted to look up many moons ago. I can't recall what I was reading at the time (probably Blindness), but I will post them in case you were curious:

reliquary n. pl. rel·i·quar·ies A receptacle, such as a coffer or shrine, for keeping or displaying sacred relics

palimpsest n. a parchment or the like from which writing has been partially or completely erased to make room for another text.

synecdoche n. A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword).

insouciance n. Blithe lack of concern; nonchalance.

And now I can finally throw away that sticky note!

Happy Monday, y'all!

23 August 2009

Post Yard Sale


We participated in the city-wide yard sale yesterday and had high hopes of offloading that cool purple locker and the mini golf cart that Emi has outgrown. No such luck! We did get rid of a few big ticket items like the pre-formed pond liner and 60 gallon tub. We'll try to sell the other big items on craigslist and donate the rest of the sale items to the first charity that will pick up.

In other news, Emi and Aubree made out like bandits with their lemonade stand and cookie sales. They got to build a bridge in the creek and swim after we closed down the yard sale too. It was a good day, profitable in ways other than monetary. We'll take it!

21 August 2009

Oh! Wow!

Definitely Bliss!
This is my Newest Obession in Monch Food. This creamy spread is so good and only contains Organic Raw Coconut Butter, Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Organic Açai, Organic Yacon, Organic Cacao Nibs, Organic Goji Berries, Organic Raw Agave Syrup. I had some of this instead of making a break for the break room and tearing into a Snickers bar.... not that I judge anyone else who might take the Snickers option...

18 August 2009

Co-co for Coconut!

Well, we are finally addressing our addiction to Carnation's Coconut Creme coffee creamer. In our home we like our coffee to taste like melted coffee ice cream and for years we used the vanilla flavor creamer. One Christmas, my friend Stacey and I quit the creamer and I lost 5 lbs within a month....off the jelly roll area! Without exercising! You'd think that alone would sway me from giving in to putting 4 large bottles of the sweet nectar into my shopping cart at Target, but doesn't. We actually make a special trip to Target because its the only store in Norman to carry the stuff. I can easily avoid transfats in every other area of my diet but have had a hard time finding a good substitute for the creamy (or non-creamy) coconut coffee creamer that I willingly encourage my family to get hooked on with me. I KNOW it's bad!!!

I've tried the soy versions and they SUCK! I have also enjoyed Jack Daniels coffee with full fat cream and organic pure cane sugar. But then JD coffee became UNavailable. *WRONG!* So I got wooed BACK into the transfat habit when Carnation introduced their Coconut Creme flavor. I attribute my love for All Things Coconut to my mother's side of the family. They owned a coconut plantation in the Philippines. I can only imagine how lovely THAT was, walking home from school stopping to take a ride on the water buffalo (caribou), with a nice view of the ocean AND the mountains, possibly stopping for some fresh mango or coconut!

My friend Stacy was over Sunday and suggested we try coconut butter, sugar and cream to flavor our coffee so this morning we tried a spoon of organic coconut oil, some organic cane sugar and organic milk and the coffee was so good!! Hoping this new healthy option will help us kick the Carnation habit and whittle our waistlines down a bit...

17 August 2009

Waymaker

Last week we attended the funeral of Emi's Granny, Alma Mae Johnson - she was actually her GREAT grandmother and she was the glue that kept the family together. It was bittersweet because she was in a LOT of pain in the weeks and months leading up to her death, so we were happy that she was no longer in pain, but we missed her.

You see, Alma was at the hospital soon after Emi was born. She was there when our extended family showed up to welcome the new baby to our family, and to comfort her granddaughter who had just given up her baby girl for adoption. She put her blessing on the adoption and because she accepted this blessing, the whole family accepted it as well. Out of everyone in the family, we visited most with Granny over the past 7 years. She called us several times a year always asking "How you doing?" in her soft voice and asking about each and every member of the family, never mentioning her condition until you asked and maybe pried a little.

Last year she told us that she had breast cancer and was not seeking treatment; she'd seen what treatment had done for other family members and she didn't want any part of that. She also suspected she had undiagnosed MS, and she was tired all of the time. By the time she'd told family of her cancer, it had spread. She was tired and told us she was ready to go. We saw her at Thanksgiving and she was hardly up for the visit, leaving soon after we arrived with the aid of her daughters, but she was happy to see that we made it to the family gathering.

The next time we saw her was in July and she'd been on Hospice Care at Emi's aunt's house for the last few months. She had just began to accept Morphine and we thought she had only days left. While her body was frail and she was in constant pain, her mind was still very lucid. While a hospice care worker was visiting with Granny in her room, Emi followed me to the bathroom and saw her Granny in her room. Emi asked "Is that my Granny?" because she looked smaller than the last time we'd seen her. Granny caught Emi's expression and it made her cry to see it. Later that visit she told me that she hated for Emi (she called her "Millie") to see her that way. So weak and unable to walk. She knew it upset Emi to see her that way. We had a nice visit and told Granny to just relax and take it all in, not to worry about having to entertain us. Her eyes were closed most of the time, but she heard us talking and I could tell she enjoyed it.

That was a few days before her 67th birthday. She made it to her birthday and much of her family, even sisters from out of state, visited her to celebrate, and say "Goodbye". She passed from this world a few weeks later, and was honored last week with many family members telling their favorite stories about her. Many of her relatives referred to her as a "Waymaker" and I thought that was very apt.

Waymaker
n. One who makes a way; a precursor.