Not the kind that bees live in, the kind you get from an allergy. And I've got them.
Apparently I am allergic to something. My best guess is that the culprit is yet another anitbiotic since I am allergic to several already. The worst part is that it is making the palms of my hand extremely itchy. If you have every had itchy palms, there is just no way you can alleviate it - the skin is just too thick - and of course the itch is so bad.
So now I am on a steroid so I can gain even more weight before my nephew's wedding and an something that is supposed to get rid of the itch. And it isn't working very well.
May 31, 2008
May 22, 2008
The Confirmation Circus
Monday night I experienced what the parish we are merging with does with their sacramental mass - and I wasn't impressed one bit. In fact, it was, as my title indicates, a circus. Well, kind of like circus combined with Chinese New Year.
Our parishes are definitely different. While we prefer to do things simply and elegantly, the other parish tends to make major productions out of everything. Our Confirmation was a simple affair with the church decor consisting of beautiful floral arrangements and white pillar candles, decorated by the confirmandi, were lit and placed in the windowsills. Do you get the symbolism of fire and Confirmation? The other parish, uses flags, the kind you find in a Chinese New Year parade, carried by some students, to escort the children into the church. Adorning the walls (the beautiful marble walls that are clean and polished) are banners hanging and making the walls look like a cabana striped umbrella. Definitely not our style. Did I mention that they wanted to put the ugly flags in the sanctuary? I put the kabosh on that idea when I informed them that the woman who does the flower arrangements for our church had already planned the sanctuary decor and the flags wouldn't work nor fit. It took me kind of putting my foot down to convince "Sister" that it wouldn't work - she finally relented, but of course made it sound like it was her idea.
Needless to say, I wasn't pleased with Confirmation, but then neither was our new pastor. So, changes will be made and next year, Confirmation will be much different that what they are used to, and much better.
Our parishes are definitely different. While we prefer to do things simply and elegantly, the other parish tends to make major productions out of everything. Our Confirmation was a simple affair with the church decor consisting of beautiful floral arrangements and white pillar candles, decorated by the confirmandi, were lit and placed in the windowsills. Do you get the symbolism of fire and Confirmation? The other parish, uses flags, the kind you find in a Chinese New Year parade, carried by some students, to escort the children into the church. Adorning the walls (the beautiful marble walls that are clean and polished) are banners hanging and making the walls look like a cabana striped umbrella. Definitely not our style. Did I mention that they wanted to put the ugly flags in the sanctuary? I put the kabosh on that idea when I informed them that the woman who does the flower arrangements for our church had already planned the sanctuary decor and the flags wouldn't work nor fit. It took me kind of putting my foot down to convince "Sister" that it wouldn't work - she finally relented, but of course made it sound like it was her idea.
Needless to say, I wasn't pleased with Confirmation, but then neither was our new pastor. So, changes will be made and next year, Confirmation will be much different that what they are used to, and much better.
May 17, 2008
I got implants!
Hah, made you look! No, not that kind, the ones that go into you mouth.
Thursday, I spent two hours at the oral surgeon getting two implants put into my bottom jaw so I can replace two teeth that had to be removed. I was a bit apprehensive as the dentist is my least favorite type of doctor, but with a family history of weak teeth, I decided that implants were the best way to replace the teeth and to prepare for the possibility that, like both of my parents and my oldest brother, I may one day need to have all my teeth removed and will need a full plate.
Several years ago, my mother had to have her bottom jaw rebuilt because years of wearing dentures with no teeth in the jaw to support bone retention, had caused her bottom jaw to whither to less than a quarter of an inch. Needless to say, the surgery was quite extensive and during it, she had several implants put in to support her new bottom plate. Thank God, her surgery was very successful and she is now able to eat with out concern for a broken jaw (the ultimate deciding factor in whether to have the surgery was when the surgeon told her that she could shatter her jaw eating something as soft as an egg salad sandwich, at which point her jaw would not be able to be fixed and she would be on a liquid for the rest of her life!)
Two weeks ago, my father had two implants put in too. He had finally (at 85) lost his last two natural teeth and decided that he was not interested in struggling with a loose bottom plate that might keep him from enjoying things like corn on the cob and ribs, so he opted for implants and will have a bottom plate made that will support his bottom plate.
I am hoping that my son (who had his first filling in his permanent teeth just recently) will be spared the problems that I have and will continue to have strong teeth.
By the way, the procedure was not nearly as bad as I thought and I am recovering nicely with no discomfort, only an annoyance at the stitches that keep tickling my mouth - a small price to pay for dental health.
Thursday, I spent two hours at the oral surgeon getting two implants put into my bottom jaw so I can replace two teeth that had to be removed. I was a bit apprehensive as the dentist is my least favorite type of doctor, but with a family history of weak teeth, I decided that implants were the best way to replace the teeth and to prepare for the possibility that, like both of my parents and my oldest brother, I may one day need to have all my teeth removed and will need a full plate.
Several years ago, my mother had to have her bottom jaw rebuilt because years of wearing dentures with no teeth in the jaw to support bone retention, had caused her bottom jaw to whither to less than a quarter of an inch. Needless to say, the surgery was quite extensive and during it, she had several implants put in to support her new bottom plate. Thank God, her surgery was very successful and she is now able to eat with out concern for a broken jaw (the ultimate deciding factor in whether to have the surgery was when the surgeon told her that she could shatter her jaw eating something as soft as an egg salad sandwich, at which point her jaw would not be able to be fixed and she would be on a liquid for the rest of her life!)
Two weeks ago, my father had two implants put in too. He had finally (at 85) lost his last two natural teeth and decided that he was not interested in struggling with a loose bottom plate that might keep him from enjoying things like corn on the cob and ribs, so he opted for implants and will have a bottom plate made that will support his bottom plate.
I am hoping that my son (who had his first filling in his permanent teeth just recently) will be spared the problems that I have and will continue to have strong teeth.
By the way, the procedure was not nearly as bad as I thought and I am recovering nicely with no discomfort, only an annoyance at the stitches that keep tickling my mouth - a small price to pay for dental health.
May 12, 2008
See, I do want my parish merger to work...
Your Thinking is Abstract and Random |
 You are flexible, adaptable, and creative. There's many ways that you can learn - and you're up for any of them. You relate well to other people, and you do well working in groups. You can help people communicate together and work with each other's strengths. You don't work well with people who are competitive or adversarial. You prefer to work toward a common goal... not toward conflicting goals. |
May 05, 2008
Walk towards the light,,,,
I am seeing the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel." Today was the closing Mass for CCD at my parish. It was the final closing Mass before the July 1 merger of my parish with the other parish in town. With only Confirmation left later on this month, my official tenure as CCD coordinator will be over.
But, since meeting with the Religious Ed staff at the other parish last week, I have started to re-think whether this is the best choice for the children from my parish. Having met with their staff, it has become apparent that our parish needs a strong voice to be certain that the children are not "left out."
So, in the next few weeks I will spend some time praying on whether to continue to be involved or to stick to my original plan and walk away. There are pros and cons to each side of this internal struggle, and I will need the Lord's guidance to do the right thing.
But, since meeting with the Religious Ed staff at the other parish last week, I have started to re-think whether this is the best choice for the children from my parish. Having met with their staff, it has become apparent that our parish needs a strong voice to be certain that the children are not "left out."
So, in the next few weeks I will spend some time praying on whether to continue to be involved or to stick to my original plan and walk away. There are pros and cons to each side of this internal struggle, and I will need the Lord's guidance to do the right thing.
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