Too Many Appointments...Ugh

It has turned very cold.  The low this morning was 34 degrees.  TOO COLD to get out there and do the gazebo. 

I have a cold anyway.  Ugh.

I went to my six month post cancer treatment check up on the 18th of October.  I told him about my knee pain and shortness of breath and he looked at my blood work and signed me up to go to two new doctors, get a pet scan and get an MRI of my knee. 

I'm really not used to that.  I have to be careful what I complain about.  Usually, you go to your family doctor and tell them about something and they say we'll watch it for a while or they'll give you meds for it.  I spent about 6 hours last week in scans and Dr appointments.  All this on top of the two tooth doctors I've been going to...I could end up with my job being to go to the doctor instead of actually getting any work done.  The pet scan is because he saw something in my blood work that alarmed him.  He obviously needs to take some 'calm down' medicine.  Actually, I am glad that he is on top of any possible cancer growth.  It would be worse to have a complacent medical oncologist. 

Tom just asked me what time we were supposed to take my car in this morning for the oil change...I leaped up out of my chair realizing it is 9:15 and we were supposed to be in Fayetteville at 10:00 (which is an hour away).  I might have said a few frustrated expletatives because I knew we had missed the window of opportunity.  I called them and asked if we could do it this afternoon and he said that no they close at 2:00 and they were filled up for the day.  So, I rescheduled for next Saturday morning.  I just can't seem to keep up with all these appointments.   ARGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH.

Well, I am hoping that it warms up this afternoon so I can paint the stencil design on the floor of the gazebo before he starts building it.  Much easier to spray paint before the gazebo is there than to wait until after and try to keep the spray off the walls of the gazebo.  I'll post a picture of it when I FINALLY get it painted.  8-)

Here is a little Max for today and he's given us some big words...

"Encourage One Another

By Max Lucado

When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need—words that will help others become stronger. Ephesians 4:29

You have the ability, with your words, to make a person stronger. Your words are to their soul what a vitamin is to their body.

Do not withhold encouragement from the discouraged. Do not keep affirmation from the beaten down! Speak words that make people stronger. Believe in them as God has believed in you."

By Grace Alone -

Teresa

Arrival of the Crate

We've been busy...wow.

We got our HUGE crate filled with the gazebo parts last week.  I thought we were going to have him put it in our 3rd garage space but nuh uh...no way was he going to get it into the garage.  The main reason was that he had a huge long truckbed and he couldn't get it turned around in order to drop it into the garage.  The driver and I stood there looking at the huge box on the truck for a few minutes and I said...well, let's just line it up to the middle of the driveway on the grass.  I figured that would give Tom and I plenty of room to walk around it while we emptied it.  Plus, he wouldn't be hitting any sprinkler heads with it when he dumped it off the truck.  As you can see on the side of the box, it weighed 1764 lbs and was 85X86X58 inches.  It was shrink wrapped in a tough plastic material that I had fun cutting off.  Here is a visual for you...

I was home before Tom so I had cut off the plastic and started taking the crate apart before he got there.  I had my little flat head screwdrive and hammer and I was breaking apart those 4 inch staples that were holding the wood together with much much much effort.  After about 30 minutes of diligent labor, I finally got the first board broken off.  Then Tom came home and he went out to the shed and got a crowbar and a 4 lb hammer and proceeded to rip the other three into separate pieces in about 5 minutes.  Sigh.

Tom and I unloaded it and stored all the parts except the roof in the garage.  The roof we put out in the shed.  More on the building of the gazebo at a later date since we haven't built it yet...LOL.

I absolutely HATE to fire someone.  I always get these people to clean my house and then when they deteriorate, I let them know what I need done differently (which I also hate to have to do but I want to give them a chance to get it right) but I will let months go by before I will give up and let them go because I hate confrontations.  I got really lucky with this one.  When I called her, her daughter answered and I asked if her mother was there and she said "No" so I left a message and told her that I was able to clean my own house now and thanks for her services.  Whew...(I know...I'm a wuss.)

Don't we all enjoy knowing that we're unique?  That we are the only one like us that God made?  (Much like a snowflake...)  Max reaffirms this in today's devotional.  (I am still looking for the one thing that only I can do...lol.)

"You are Unique

By Max Lucado

Each of us is an original.  Galatians 5:26, The Message

There are certain things you can do that no one else can.  Perhaps it is parenting, or constructing houses, or encouraging the discouraged.  There are things that only you can do, and you are alive to do them. 

In the great orchestra we call life, you have an instrument and a song, and you owe it to God to play them both sublimely."

By Grace Alone -

Teresa