Perspective

One of the things I adore about this beautiful blogging community is the way it allows bloggers to communicate with each other. You leave a comment and, if you've done everything correctly on your part, I can respond to you via the email you have set to your blog name.

Can I just take the time to reiterate how you need to pair your email with your comment name? It's so frustrating when I want to respond to a question or a great comment and I have no where to send my reply. (Smeagle, this means you. Bren J, you're another one. There's more, but I'm drawing a blank right now... not enough coffee.)

Stacey is actually one too, but because she emailed me out of the blue one day, I have her email addy at the ready. I'm pretty sure it was the post that said that I wanted to know who was willing to talk to a stranger and she emailed me her number and said that she'd call when she got a chance. She was pregnant then, so I'm pretty sure she had other things on her mind. Sniff, sniff.

So. Anyway...

Yesterday, in the comments, Stacey said :

I would have done it in the pan, too. You're not the only one! As far as the
cake goes, it's not shocking that you tried to rescue it... that would have
crossed my mind for sure :o) Maybe he'll surprise you with chocolate cake one of
these nights!

To which I replied something like, "Yeah! That would be awesome!" - or something equally brilliant.

(Now you need to understand that I have my comments set to go to my work email since that's where I have the most time to respond to comments. When I send out a reply, sometimes I don't erase my work number from the outgoing emails because a) I forget or 2) I know the writers well enough via the blogs that I'm comfortable enough to have that number get into their hands.)

Stacey replied immediately with "Personally, I think so! Maybe I need to send him an anonymous tip :o) You don't know how many times I see your name and phone # below and think, 'I should just call and surprise her!' Then I chicken out and don't go through with it."

Screeeeech! Why on earth would anyone be afraid to talk to me? (Jeana, don't answer that.)

So I did what I should have done long ago. I called her... and got her voicemail. My message was short and to the point. "Hey, this is Shalee. Quit being a chicken, you big dummy." Click.

Now wouldn't that message just make you want to talk with me?

She called about 10 minutes later with a laugh and an "Alright, alright." I inquired as to why she was chickening out and she said (and I quote) "Because you're The Great Shalee with the big blog and the big audience, and I was too scared to talk with you."

Huh? Am I being Punked!? I mean, it's not like she's talking to Boomama, Shannon, Dooce or anyone like that. I'm just Shalee who puts her pants on the same way that everyone else does: by holding in my stomach and praying that the zipper won't bust. (What? You don't do that? Whatever.)

And that's when it really hit me: It's all in the eye of the viewer. Though I may feel small and insignificant at times (okay - more than I want to really admit), there are others who are intimidated by me and my 8 - 20 comments (on a good day). At least I hope that's why they're shy. It's not my breath, is it? I brush, honest! Someone who has hit the big time is different for me than it is for someone else. And that's okay. It's all in our perspectives.

Stacey and I had a wonderful conversation, by the way. It lasted at least 20 minutes, which if you know me, is a marathon in my book. She's funny, sweet and way more patient with her kids when she's on the phone than I ever am. I sure wish I had her around to mentor me when my kids were little...

Anyway, I just wanted to set the record straight. I'm not intimidating really. I laugh too loudly and I'm usually slightly higher on the wacky-o-meter, but really I'm just like you. I like chocolate, I want friends and I sweat the small stuff that doesn't deserve any attention. You know, normal. So don't be afraid to speak out on the blog or in real life. I might even answer my phone when you call. (Poor you.)

Spring Reading Thing 2008 Wrap Up

It seems quite fitting that since I posted my books late, I should post the wrap-up post late as well. I’m nothing if not consistent.

Which pretty much makes me nothing, so let’s scratch that last thought, shall we?

As a recap, here are the books that I chose to read for the SRT 2008.
Cold Sassy Tree
Citizen Girl
The Companion
Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
Anna's Book
Brave New World
Water For Elephants
All the PD James books
Cover Her Face
A Mind To Murder
Unnatural Causes
Shroud for a Nightingale
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
The Black Tower
Death of an Expert Witness
The Skull Beneath the Skin
A Taste For Death
Devices and Desires
Original Sin
A Certain Justice
Death in Holy Orders
The Murder Room
The Lighthouse
The Bible (Isaiah and Jeremiah)

I added a couple that I thought were really wonderful, but one that I would really recommend is I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron. Skip pages 90-93 and I’d call it an almost perfect set of thoughts that are funny, precise and just shy of loony. I'd also recommend to you The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James. As far as The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen is concerned, I say get thee to the library and read it now if you’re an Austen fanatic like me. It was beautiful, funny and well-written in the vein of Austen. Even though you know the ending, you can’t help buy love this historical fiction.

Now on to the wrap up!

Did you finish all the books you had planned to read? If not, why?

I finished all the chosen reading except for my Bible reading. Why? Well because I’m a BIG HEATHEN. I have no idea why I didn’t get it done. I think that for some reason I’m having a little reading rebellion against God and I can’t explain it, other than I need to let God give me a little talk. I love it when I read it, but I’ve walked by my Bible time and time again and ignored it. This is not good and I’ll be doing something about it tonight...

Do you think the challenge helped you read more? Or maybe helped you read books you otherwise wouldn't have?

The challenge certainly didn’t help me read more as I’m a reading fool. I did love the commitment needed, well except where I chose not be committed. Because I have issues as I’ve just said in the previous answer.

What was your favorite book you read this spring? Least favorite?

Favorite? Oh well, I don’t have one. I had several that I loved this time. I really recommend Water For Elephants, Cold Sassy Tree, Anna’s Book, I Feel Bad About My Neck and The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen. They were awesome and should be on your next reading list if you haven’t read them yet. I really liked The Companion, which is one of the few I didn’t review because I. AM. LAZY. But it was a clean mystery set back in the 1900’s. It had wonderful characterizations and great plot lines. It reminded me a bit of Jane Austen books, not so much because of the writing but because it was detailed without being explicit and the writer caused me to be engrossed in the characters without making me do backbends to get there.

And for the love of all that is holy, good and right in this world, don’t pick up Citizen Girl lest you want to waste time hoping that someone will come gouge your eyes out so that you will never make that kind of reading mistake again. Seriously. It was awful. I’m still trying to purge it from my mind.

Did you discover any new authors or genres that you now love?

Yes. You might too if you peruse some of my reviews. (No pressure, just a suggestion.)

Cold Sassy Tree
Anna’s Book
Water For Elephants
PD James (Adam Dalgliesh series)

What did you learn about your reading habits or interests?

I’ve learned that I’m not great at being disciplined. (See Bible reading commentary above.) I love trying new authors and hoping for great reading. I’m not one who gets thrown from the reading horse and then refused to get back up when it hurt to read a book. I just pick up another book and continue on my merry way. I also wish that PD James would write her next in the Adam Dalgliesh series, because man, I love that entire collection – even if it didn’t go the way I wanted it to go in the series. Lastly I’ve learned that I don’t sleep enough. I gotta cure that one, even if it means less reading.

Are you interested in another "Fall Into Reading" challenge this fall?

Heck, yeah! You bet I’ll be there, just as soon as I start scouring the other readers’ blogs for more reading material.

Thanks again Katrina for hosting the reading challenge. I can’t wait to discover new material for my summer and fall reading… What is your recommendation for my reading? Go on; don’t be shy. I mean nothing can be as bad as Citizen Girl (except Happiness Sold Separately and that’s saying something…)

You Have Questions; They Have Answers!

Remember when I told you about the Q&A regarding skin, breast, and cervix cancer?



Some answers are in! Some because the doctors were overloaded with good questions and they needed longer than a week to answer them. They're working on them though!

Part One deals with the questions about skin cancer so head on over to Karen's place to find out the answers that you need to know.

Part Two, which will answer the questions regarding breast and cervix cancer will be answered next week.

Speaking of breast cancer, today I received a call from a friend of mine who is having a biopsy done in a couple of weeks on a "suspicious mass." Would you please say a prayer for Rachel? She is incredibly worried about it. She doesn't go to church, but she called me to request to be put on a prayer list. There's no bigger list that I know of than the internet!

Nip and Tuck This Info Away

Did you know?

• Melanoma - Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of pigment-producing cells. One American dies from melanoma almost every hour (every 62 minutes) and is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common cancer in adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old. If detected in the early stages before it reaches the lymph nodes, melanoma has a 99 percent five-year survival.
• Breast cancer - Excluding cancers of the skin, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women. An estimated 40,930 breast cancer deaths (40,480 women, 450 men) are expected in 2008. Early detection remains the single most effective way for combating the disease with regular mammograms suggested for women once they reach age 40. When detected early before it spreads, women have a 98 percent survival rate after five years.
• Cervical cancer - Cervical cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form in the cervix or the lower part of a woman’s uterus. While cervical cancer was once a leading cause of cancer death for women, the number of deaths has decreased dramatically due to prevention and early detection. When detected early before the cancer spreads, women have a 92-percent survival rate after five years.

About three years ago, Mr. Right had moles removed, tested and diagnosed as the worse cancer a mole could contain: Melanoma. Couple this discovery with this statement: “Although the incidence of melanoma is lower than other types of skin cancer, it has the highest death rate and is responsible for 79 percent of all deaths from skin cancer,” you could see why I would be “slightly worried.”

Do you want to take a gander at how often I was praying for a change? Not just me, but the church, friends, family? That pray without ceasing thing was finally understood by me. We had many friends who offered to help pay for tests and to do whatever it took to ease our burdens. We have mighty good friends is all I can say.

When Mr. Right went back to the doctors, the specialist was amazed. After rerunning the tests a third time, the moles weren’t just benign; they were shown to be healthy, with no hint at all that cancer was present. So not only did God remove the cancer, he sponged away any insurance comments that would have been left on a record. That God… he sure is good.

Now I have a new pray without ceasing moment: My gynecologist ordered that I have a hysterosonogram and an endobiopsy due to some abnormal results that "just don't look right" and some pain with my menstrual cycle. God’s been really good to me because I really don’t think about it. I have a good peace right now and I’m not worrying about it, but you know that I’m going to be there, checking things out despite the impending bills we’ll receive. Some things are worth the cost, especially knowledge.

So with that memory and my up-and-coming procedures running around in my head, I want to encourage you to head over to Karen’s place, Simply A Musing Blog. She has a wonderful Q & A idea that involves our asking questions and some doctors at Texas Oncology answering them. She’s doing all she can think of doing to “nip cancer in the bud with early detection.” Hey, like she says: “If we are only able to help save one life with early detection, it will be WORTH it.”



Here are a few details about the event, but please head over to her place to post your questions.

Her objective is to promote early detection and yearly screening as the best tool for preventing the deaths of thousands of women from skin, breast, and cervical cancers by taking is taking questions straight to the doctors at Texas Oncology to have them answered.

Leave your questions/send your questions to Karen starting today through Sunday. Comments will close Sunday, May 18 at 9pm central. By Friday, May 23, you can find the answers your questions back at Simply A Musing Blog.

We blog about all sorts of fun things, tidbit and memories. We share tips and recipes. Why not share something that just may help save a life or two or possibly yours?

Green Detergent That Saves Some Green (Free Sample!)

Back in the days before I made my own detergent, I used to buy Purex, mainly because it cleaned really well at a fraction of what Tide, Gain or All cost. I was always pleased with its scent, its cleaning power and its price.

A week ago, I received a sample bottle of the new Purex Natural Elements Apple & Melon scented detergent, a laundry cleaner derived from 100 % natural cleansing ingredients and natural fragrance. I had high hopes about this detergent. I wondered if it could still live up to its reputation of cleaning really well while being gentle on the environment.

I can honestly say that after umpteen loads of laundry, I am extremely please with the results. It really is tough on dirt while it’s still softens the clothes and makes them smell fantastic! This detergent is concentrated, so I still have many capfuls left after all my washing. And being the rebel that I am, I always just poured the capful into the tub when I started the washer and threw my clothes into the washer immediately. I’ve had clean clothes every single time.

So if you’re looking for a way to go a little greener without it costing an arm and a leg, I would recommend this detergent. If Apple & Melon aren’t for you, there’s also Linen & Lilies or Cherry Blossoms & Vanilla. You can find a 100 oz bottle for about $7. So not only is Purex going green, it’s saving green too!

If you want to know more about this product, check out this Purex site. In addition to tips and product information, the site is home to an auction of celebrity designed t-shirts with eco-friendly slogans with all proceeds going to the Earth Day Network (check out Jaime Pressly and Bette Midler’s designs among others). Consumers can also get involved by entering the national design contest and creating a virtual t-shirt with your own original design. Every person who enters the contest will get a free sample. The winner will have their design produced for sale on the Web site (with all proceeds going to EDN) and will win a smart-for-two car from Mercedes Benz.

Not in the mood to design a shirt? You can still get a free sample here.

You’re welcome.

Head on over to Shannon’s place for some other fabulous tips.

The Fourth Servant

Do you know the parable about the talents? The one where the master gives 5 talents to one servant, 2 talents to another and one talent to the last servant? The master leaves for a journey. The first two servants double the talents given to them, but the last one does nothing but bury it in the ground. The master is thrilled with the first two servants because they did something with the money he gave them. However, the last one earns his ire because he did nothing with it. He just sat on the money, knowing that his master was hard. He just wanted to give it back to him to avoid the master’s fearsome anger. Then the master takes the talent and gives it to the servant with 10 talents and throws the lazy servant out of his service.

What if there were a fourth outcome? What if the last servant took the money and gave it all away to some other souls who needed it more than he did, giving it away in his master’s name? I think then that the master would have been pleased in the outward effort of the servant to do some good with that which was given to him and adding praise to the lips of others for the generosity of the master, making the others long to work for that generous master too.

I really hope that when God comes to collect me, He finds me divvying out the blessings that he gives me to others who really need it. After all, the gold here will pale in comparison to the streets I’ll be walking someday.

Everyone has talents, time and money. It's what we're doing with them that will count when we want the Master call us “good and faithful servants.”

Birthday Bites

Hey, did you know that my birthday is coming up in a week? Normally I wouldn’t beg for a gift, but seeing how it’s not actually for me, I think I’m allowed this little faux pas in birthday etiquette. I mean, you would generally WANT to get something for a friend’s birthday, right? And I'm your friend, right? So I’m just going to cut to the chase and tell you want I want most in the world. And it’s probably within your grasp to provide it.

What I want more than anything in the world for my birthday - which really isn’t until next Saturday, May 3rd, but hey at least you won’t have to worry about it arriving on time - is for you to make a donation of $10 for a mosquito net. But it’s not for me. It’s for others who really need them to stop the malaria epidemic. Want to know more about it? Watch the following to find out more.



Want it in print? Head to Bite Back to find out why these nets need to be bought… now. So that we can bite back at a senseless, stoppable disease.

I would love to have the donations to be in the hundreds or heck thousands! To encourage your outpouring of birthday love (but more importantly love to families in need), I’m holding a special giveaway for those who donate for those who give me this special present. There’s nothing like a giveaway to encourage this blogging force!

Leave a comment when you’ve bought one for my birthday. And if you made a donation already, yay for you, but it doesn’t count! You have to buy one with me in mind… because buying one for someone else and then giving it to me just doesn’t have the same special feel in a birthday present. (See? I’m nothing if not self-centered, but you knew that already, I think.)

So the giveaway will work as such: for every one hundred comments that state that you’ve bought my present (on blogger’s honor of course), I will give a prize to one randomly chosen commenter. The prizes are yet to be determined because once again I’ve had a brainstorm without having all the details. But they will be good prizes, I promise… not some piece of candy that I found squished in the side of the couch. I’ll post pictures as soon as I figure out what the prizes are.

Obviously you don't have to be a blogger, but you will need to make sure that you leave a working email where I can reach you if you are one of the chosen ones. And to spread the birthday cheer, these giveaways will be open to the entire blogging world. No matter if you live in Idaho, Italy or Ireland, you give to Bite Back, you're in the drawing!

If you could go one step further and blog about my birthday present and the giveaway, asking your readers to give me a birthday present and directing their “I bought your birthday present” type comments to this post, I'd really appreciate it. (I’m only doing that so that I’ll be able to keep track of the number of giveaways I’ll need to have.) Then ask them to blog about this birthday present thingamajig to their friends… and so on and so on. Get the word out people! It’s party time, and I want everyone to know that they’re invited! And really, I want a lot of presents… because I am greedy presents are part of my love language.

I'm not going to give dates for the drawings because as soon as each 100th comment mark is reached, I will have a drawing. So it might be multiple drawings in one day or it might be a drawing every few days. The number of drawings will be left up to you and your generosity.

Personally, I’m someone who loves to celebrate her birthday. I love knowing that I’m still alive and kicking. And I really like the cake and ice cream deal too. I’m looking 37 in the face and laughing myself into a new year.

I just hope that this year I will get best birthday presents that I never got.

Green Around The Gills

Although I think Al Gore is full of something not-quite-green and I shiver at the thought of his loosely "researched facts” garnering him a Nobel Peace Prize, I do think that he has a minute point about considering our surroundings. I also think that we have a responsibility to clean up our acts - literally.

So with slight trepidation, I’m letting you know about Seattle Mom’s Earth Day Countdown.









Why slight trepidation? Because I don’t want to be considered a fanatic that places the earth above people. I think people deserve the utmost respect, yes, even above the black-footed ferret, the forests or even range-bred chickens. This earth is our home… for now. With it come some tough decisions about how we’re going to treat our surroundings.

I don’t follow most of the line of thought that “Everyone should go green!” or “Global warming is on the rise!” or “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” But I do believe that we each could be held to a higher standard in how we live and what we do with the gifts that God gives to us. Teaching ourselves and our children to be respectful and appreciative of all our blessings is a very good thing, whether it's through using things until they disintegrate, recycling or taking care of our patch of Earth by physically picking up after themselves (and other people who could care less).

For our part, we do some small, but effective, things to help. We recycle our paper products, as much as we can. If we had a recycling station that did glass, I’d probably do those too. I reuse the some of the plastic bags that I gather from the stores while the extras we take our plastic Walmart/Target bags to the recycle boxes. Sometimes I even remember to ask for paper bags at the grocery store.

Oh and speaking of going out, I try to combine most of my trips into a few trips, avoiding multiple trips to various places. One thing that helps is to make lists so that I know where I'm going and what I need when I get there. With the way gas prices are now, it's to our advantage to use our fuel wisely.

When cleaning, I only run the dishwasher or clothes washer when I have a full load, saving water and energy. I've learned the value of cleaning with the cleaners of yesteryear - vinegar, bleach, baking soda, Comet. Not only are they cheaper, they're better for the drains, not to mention the sewers.

We use things to the nth degree. By that, I mean that I don’t buy new clothes because it’s a new year. I use them all for as long as I can, or if I happen to tire of something, I donate it so that someone else can get good use of it. (We have a donation center at our church where people come for help. Excellent resource for someone in need!) Mr. Right has suggested that I give myself permission to let some things go that have been in our closet for 10 or more years. It’s hard when you have this frugal way of mind.

My jeans with a hole in the knees become summer shorts. My tennis shoes that are well-used become yard shoes. But it’s not just clothing that gets the long wear: we drive our cars until they no longer work and then we replace them with used vehicles; our tv is over 10 years old and counting; I refill our Dial foaming soap dispensers with baby soap and water to keep from purchasing new bottles, I make my own laundry detergent… just to name a few samples of finding ways to make things last longer. The kids learn that having the newest of everything isn’t what matters; it’s appreciating God’s blessings – no matter the age of it – and finding contentment with what you have. Plus it’s a great lesson on stretching your money far so that you’ll have extra to give to someone else, whether it’s for a child in another country or a homeless person around the corner.

As for our health, there are times that I would like to buy organic. But for the most part, I consider the cost comparison, and I can’t justify it in our budget. The only way I think I could do organic is if I grow my own. But knowing how I have the talent to kill anything “plantish”, I might want to steer clear of that path… And frankly I don’t have the time. Making my own flour sounds like fun, but I feel overwhelmed as it is just getting to work on time and coming home to my other full-time job.

So… we eat mostly at home from recipes made from scratch. Rarely do we get into the processed foods frame of mind. It’s good for the environment in that we’re using reusable plates and flatware, we’re not adding as much to the dump (because let’s face it, when we go out it’s usually to McD’s, Tacky Smell or some other fast food joint), and we’re getting in some good quality family time. Add to the fact that our homemade meals just taste darn good and that we’re getting in some good meats, vegetables, grains and dairy that keeps us healthy, then that’s a bonus too. (Less hospital visits is always a good thing for us! The last time any of us were at the hospital for illness was so long ago, I can’t recall the visit.)

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that we can all do our part, no matter who small that part is. We can encourage each other to find some way to help ourselves and our surroundings. After all, unless Jesus comes back soon, our kids are going to have to live on this same planet and deal with these same issues.

Got suggestions for me? Have a shout out you’d like to share? Leave a comment or do your own post, and I’ll see how you are making your world a little better. Oh, and thank you for doing your part, whatever it is.