A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

Lately I've been thinking a lot about consumerism for many reasons:

• Partly because the remodel has turned me into some sort of commando shopper. Who knew you had to buy so much STUFF for a remodel?!


• Partly because I'm wrestling with what type of car to purchase. Are the environmental benefits of a hybrid negated if said hybrid is a luxury SUV?


• And partly because I have been exposed to how quickly wealth can disappear. There are so many families battling cancer who don't have insurance or can't afford to miss work to care for their sick child. Money worries add such a big burden to an already stressful situation.

Then I ran across this amazing photo essay, what the world eats, showing 15 different families from different parts of the world, each pictured with one weeks worth of food that they consume. And in 15 simple pictures, perspective once again comes screeching to my front door. I would be thoroughly embarrassed to show the food that I eat in a week. And I think even more humbling would be a photo of all purchases made in a week.

Last year I committed to go two weeks without buying a single thing. No gas, no groceries, no clothes, no bottle of water, NOTHING. Frankly, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It certainly made me stop and think before whipping out my ATM card.

I guess the question is: I know I can do with less so why don't I?

Group Share

Okey dokey, it's audience participation time my friends! No reading and running this time. By the way, I have a visit counter you know. (Granted about half of the visits are from me checking to see if there are any comments. I'll admit it, I'm a comment whore!!!) So you see, you can't lurk in the shadows. I know you're out there. Plus I can hear you breathing...

Where was I? Oh yeah, audience participation. We have this thing we do at work dinners. We ask deep and insightful questions that everyone at the table answers. Questions like "what is your all time favorite movie?" Or "what sporting event would you most like to attend?" I told you they were deep! It's a great way to learn more about each other. So in that spirit, here is my question to all of you:

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I'm not talking about what you wanted to be back when you were a kid. I'm asking about now. If you had the talent or resources or whatever, what would you like to be?

C'mon let's hear it you rock star wannabe's! What have you got to lose? You can always leave an anonymous comment so we won't know whose ridiculous ambition we are mocking mercilessly. Not that any of us would do that...

Gifted

Okay, can anyone tell me when I became such a wuss? I mean seriously, what is wrong with me? I've gone totally soft. I've never been one to cry at movies or stuff like that. Yes, you guessed it, that would break my "no crying in public" rule. But now I'm a weepy sap!

Here, I'll show you what I'm talking about. "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown" opened this weekend and it is TERRIFIC. (No, I'm not just saying that because I played an ever-so-small-backstage role in it.) I was positively beaming with pride as the gang danced their hearts out in the opening number. I let out a whoop after Snoopy, who admittedly struggled to learn the choreography in rehearsals, nailed the moves in his first solo. But once my dear friend Jennifer took the stage for her solo "My Philosophy" in the first act, I found myself actually tearing up. What a total softy I've become! Frankly, I wasn't sure what was going on. Granted, I cry at the drop of a hat these days but what the heck triggered this leakage?

I'll tell you what triggered it, seeing Jenn light up the stage with her gifts really touched my heart. Now normally, I'd be completely jealous of her talent. Her voice is so beautiful that I get goosebumps. And she has mastered her character, Sally. But watching her last night, I simply felt overwhelming pride because I truly saw the light of God radiating through her performance. God has given her these amazing gifts and rather than using them for her own glory, she shines her light in worship of the Almighty. Jennifer has taken a backseat for the past few years working behind the scenes but as she steps back onto the stage, I can see this perfect marriage of God-given talent and love of the craft. Have you ever had one of those moments? Where everything just fits together perfectly? It is a wonder to behold.

I'm so proud of Jenn. I'm so proud of the entire creative team. I'm so proud to be associated with this production. There's one more weekend in this run and I strongly encourage you to get tickets. But don't just take my word for it, here's what one audience member said today "the show is so cute and they all have amazing voices. This is my new favorite show." Okay yes, it was my mom who said it but she's got great taste!

Make a Difference

Members of a cancer community share and support each other in good times and in bad. Sadly I'm finding that there are more bad times than good when cancer is involved.

Frederick is a handsome 7 month old little boy with a rare brain tumor called ATRT. He was born with this tumor and has truly been battling cancer every day of his life. Frederick is full of heart melting smiles and loves to play with toys. His family just found out that despite a complete resection, the tumor has returned. The doctors say he will be home with Jesus in a matter of weeks.

Lexie is a beautiful 7 month old little girl with the same rare brain tumor as Frederick. Doernbecher has only seen 2 cases of ATRT and they are Frederick and Lexie, babies born just 15 days apart. Lexie is fighting hard and we are praying for complete healing. There have been a few set backs of late but we remain as always, hopeful.

Please pray for Lexie and Frederick and their families. They need to feel God's arms around them now more than ever. These are just a few of the recent events that make me want to crawl under the covers and hide. But at the same time, we have also had some victories in my cancer community.

Maddie is CANCER FREE! Her little brother Owen bravely donated his bone marrow and has saved his big sister's life. He was just 20 months old when he donated his marrow...are you as brave as Owen? Have you signed up for the marrow registry?

Gabriel is officially CANCER FREE! He was diagnosed in April 2006 with a rare type of Leukemia. One of his treatments was a drug called Gleevac. The American Cancer Society created Gleevac. I am so proud to support the ACS through Relay for Life. Gabriel's victory fans the flame in me to get out there and raise $!

I'm not trying to use these families to plug cancer causes. I'm just heartsick for Frederick and Lexie and I want to do something. I want to show you that the marrow registry and donations to the ACS really do make a difference. They make a difference in the lives of kids that I actually know and love.

I don't want to see any more families lose their babies to cancer. So I pray for God's healing hands on all of the kids in my cancer community AND I ask everyone I meet to support a cancer organization. Just pick any cancer organization and give your time or your money or your marrow or your airline miles or a toy or anything. IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE!

Alert: Kitchen Thief Still At Large

I left town on Monday and when I returned, I was horrified to discover that someone had stolen my kitchen. Don't ask me why anyone would want to steal laminate coated mdf cabinets and louvered doors but they did. It just goes to show you that there is no accounting for taste, even among thieves. I just wish they had taken the laminate island, parquet floor and track lights while they were at it. Maybe I'll leave the doors unlocked tomorrow and see if they might return for the rest.

Anyhoo, I guess this means the remodel has officially begun! Adios 80's, there's a new decade in town.

Tradition

Our family has a tradition for Father's Day. We drive up a long, windy dirt road to the Dixie Mountain Grange and devour obscene quantities of homemade strawberry shortcake. I'm talking about a literal trough of strawberries and cake and real whipped cream. All served in an old fashioned grange whose walls are adorned with handmade quilts.

Though the drive is ridiculously long, I never stopped to question the logic of this tradition because it's...well, a tradition. But if I step back to think about it, it is pretty crazy. Are we so lazy that we couldn't make our own strawberry shortcake? With gas prices at a ridiculous high, why would anyone drive so far for dessert? I really can't explain this tradition in any logical terms. But my Dad looks forward to it and it is yummy so what the heck. And there is poetry behind the humble surroundings and simple fare.

I have learned the value of traditions, even the crazy ones. They connect the generations. Just check out Nana & Papa swinging my little Lily-bean on the walk from the car to the grange. Weeeee! And when strawberry shortcake is involved, traditions also give you something to lord over non-local relatives. Hey Traci...nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah...yummy fresh strawberries...thick whipped cream...and you can't have any!

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there. Here's to homemade ties and burnt toast in bed and all the other wacky traditions that make this day, and everyday with your family, special.

Chaos

It's been a while since I last posted! Partially because I've been bizay (it's pronounced phonetically and means "crazy kind of busy") and partially because I haven't had anything to say. I wouldn't want to post just to post. How boring would that be?

(All of the following to be said in that voicemail lady's voice...by the way, where did they find her?) "This morning I got up and had some yogurt. Then I went to work. It was nice. Then I went home and had a salad for dinner. Then I went to rehearsal. It was fun. Then I went to bed."

Oh yeah, that's exciting stuff! Now I wish I would have posted! Doesn't that make you want to check out my blog every day...no, every hour...to see what other thrilling thought I've decided to share?

Anyhoo, things are a bit nutty right now. As I overheard Jeff saying on the phone "she always has something going on." Too true. But right now, I have several somethings going on. Here's a list:

• Relay for Life - Wow, there is a lot more to this thing than raising some dough and showing up to walk. Each team plans activities, on site fundraisers, decorates their campsite, donates to the silent auction, decorates luminarias...and more. Frankly, I'm not sure I knew what I was getting myself into. BUT, it feels great to do something productive for the greater cancer community. And the event sure sounds like it's going to be fun. (Fun in the cry-your-eyes-out-in-between-activities kind of way.)
• YAGMCB (aka You're A Good Man Charlie Brown) - Less than 2 weeks until the show opens! I'm out of town next week so this is the last week for me to help with any dance stuff. The show is REALLY cute. And I'm not just saying that cause I'm a part of it. The cast is incredibly talented and the script is very funny. I'm usually a "smiler" at shows. You know, the type of person who just smiles (and maybe does the little breathy "ha" through the nose) when something is funny. But this show is making me laugh out loud. Seriously, you should get tickets.
• Remodel - After a year and a half, we are finally moving forward with remodeling the kitchen and master bath. This isn't any cosmetic remodel, we're gutting it and building new. And my wonderful hubby gets to play the role of GC/framer/drywaller/flooring installer/etc. We're about done getting bids from subs and then we're getting out the sledgehammer and bidding a fond farewell to the 80's!
• New Car - Jeff has a vendetta against Dodge for reasons I won't go into right now. He doesn't think my Durango is running well and insists that we get rid of it before it costs us any major cash. I suppose he's right considering the stupid "check engine" light has been coming on and off at will over the last year despite the fact that the dealership can't find anything wrong with it. And hey, who am I to argue about driving a new car?

Is that it? Oh yeah, there's this work thing. Shout out to my work peeps! And trying to work out. I tell ya, I HATE WORKING OUT. I've often said the following regarding exercise: I only run if someone is chasing me; I'm not prejudice, I hate all exercise equally; No one gets injured sitting on the couch watching tv. Yet I drag my lazy keister down to that dumb treadmill a few times a week grumbling the whole way.

Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, lots going on. Pastor John said something in his sermon this weekend that really hit home. Of course, it wasn't the main point of the sermon but what can I say? When it hits home, it hits home. Genesis 1 tells us that God stepped into the darkness and formless void and spoke life into it. That he breathed order into the chaos. I realize that God does that for little old me too. Despite the chaos that surrounds me..or more accurately...the chaos that I inflict upon myself, God breathes order into my life. There's a song that says "sometime He calms the storm and other times He calms His child." I'm so thankful that the Creator of all things takes the time to breathe order into my chaos. Sometimes by surrounding me with peace and other times with giving me peace from within. So despite all this kookiness, I'm doing okay. I feel productive and peaceful and perpendicular (it's the only other "p" word I could come up with.) Have you felt the calming breath of God lately?

iAuction

Every notice how things are cooler when you put a lower case i in front of them? Well, in keeping with that spirit, I am announcing an iAuction. To raise money for my Relay for Life team, I will auction a brand spanking new Nike+ bundle including a Nike + sport kit, Nike sport armband AND an 8GB iPod nano. Yep, you heard me right. All this could be yours during Crazy Lori's iAuction. Now let me tell you nice folks at home about what you could win:

• The Sensor and Receiver enable your Nike + shoe to talk to your iPod nano with every step. Your iPod nano tells you your time, distance, pace and calories burned while you run. (Yes, I'm quoting this directly off the box.)
  
• Made with lightweight Nike Pro Compression fabric, the Nike+ Sport Armband stretches to securely fit your iPod nano with or without a receiver, while also protecting it from sweat during your workout. (Right again, I copied this off of Nike.com.)


• And the beautiful black iPod nano holds 2000 of your favorite songs. (Okay, that's all it says on the package but I'm sure you know what a nano is, right? But note that it is the Cadillac of nano's at 8GB.)

This bundle valued at $307 will go to the highest bidder during my iAuction on Saturday, June 9th from 2-3pm. I'm going to attempt to do this iAuction on this blog in a sort of digital silent auction format. I'll leave a post to start the iAuction and then you can bid by leaving a comment with your name and bid price. Then I'll post again at 3pm to close the bidding and announce the winner.

The gloves are off folks. I want a full out bidding war! If this goes for like $10, I'm going to be very unhappy. And you don't want to see Crazy Lori unhappy. So invite your friends and family to drop by my humble blog on Saturday. The winning bid will donate their bid price to my Relay for Life team so it's tax deductible. And in return, you'll receive this incredible Nike + bundle! Can you say "win-win"? Oh, and you'll be supporting the American Cancer Society! So, it's actually "win-win-WIN"!

Disclaimer: Two posts in one day? Yep, just stalling on the first one while I confirmed that I wouldn't get fired over this fundraising scheme. We're good to go as far as the wonderful swoosh is concerned since the items were purchased at full price. Phew!

Hospital LBS

You'll NEVER believe what I did this morning. Nope, not that. Nooo, not that either. I told you that you'd never guess! I worked out. And by that I mean I got on a treadmill and walked briskly for 20 minutes. I know, I know, that's not much of a workout. But hey, I'm not training to be a world champion treadmiller. Sheesh, don't kill my buzz here people! The point is, I got my booty out of bed and on to the treadmill. That's gotta count for something. And it was enough to get me sweatin' up a storm.

And so I bid a fond farewell to my hospital pounds. It's been fun team. To the cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate from Starbucks, I'd like to say "you're delicious and I'll miss you!" To the grilled cheese and fries from the hospital cafeteria, I'd like to say "you weren't worth it at all and I don't miss you!" And to the sofa and big screen tv, I'd like to say "who are we kidding, I'll see you tonight."

After that glowing speech, let's hope I can keep this up...

Relay For Life

My new friend, Becci asked me if I wanted to do Relay for Life this year. She lost her mom, Lisa, to breast cancer a few years ago. Well, the poetry of a mom mourning her daughter and a daughter mourning her mom joining together to take action against the disease that took their loved ones is irresistible. So, we've formed the team "Walking with Angels" and we'd like to invite all of you to join us!

(Here comes the official info...) Relay for Life is fun-filled, overnight event designed to bring together those who have been touched by cancer in our community and raise money to help the American Cancer Society. During the event, teams of people gather at schools, fairgrounds, or parks and take turns walking or running laps. Each team tries to keep at least one team member on the track at all times.

(Okay, me again...) There are dozens of events in the Portland area. We have selected the relay in Lake Oswego because, let's face it, they know how to throw a good party! (Actually the dates worked the best for our schedules). It starts at 2pm on Saturday, July 14th and concludes at 9am on Sunday, July 15th. You can join our team by visiting our website or e-mail me for more info.

If you can’t join us, will you please visit the site and make a donation to support our efforts? Either way, you will make a real difference in the lives of people facing cancer – and in the lives of the people who love them. Thank you! We will put the names of corporate donors on our t-shirts for the event. Oh yes, I'm not above shameless promotions if it's for a good cause. And yes, those who join the team WILL get super cool t-shirts to wear. (Alright, we haven't designed them yet but just check out our "L-angel" logo. I'd say it's super cool!)

We are supporting this event in memory of Lillian and Lisa but also in honor of all the kids in my cancer community. We love you all and are determined to find a cure once and for all!