My Doings in Texas

It seems almost impossible that tomorrow marks my one week arrival in Texas. I find myself wondering where has the time gone. Sue and I have been keeping ourselves busy for sure. I'll try to provide some of the week's highlights here.

Upon arriving last Thursday, Sue and I rented a car and headed to Beaumont, Tx. This was a 5.5 - 6 hour drive from DFW. The purpose of the trip was to attend the Fresh Fire International Women's Conference that was held at Triumph Church. There were 15 women speakers that shared their hearts with us. The conference ended on Saturday, but Sue and I stayed until Sunday and attended church services at Triumph Church. Both Sue and I agree that we can't find words that would adequately express what we experienced throughout the weekend. I can only say that it was one of the most powerful and anointed times that I've experienced with the Lord.

Our rental car had a GPS unit. Sue and I are now experts with the "GPS language" and we use it all the time now in her own car. I tell her "left turn in 0.5 mile, followed by ya..." We wonder what the "followed by ya" means, but could never figured this one out. The GPS would also let us know when we arrived at our destination through a loud noise that sounded like "ding dong". One time we heard the "ding dong", but it was the incorrect destination; we should have been at the church, but we were at a Chevy car dealership instead.

I'm also learning new vocubalary words. When we incorrectly arrived at the Chevy car dealership, I went inside to ask directions to the church. The person said "follow the feeder road, go through two stop lights, loop around the highway, and the church would be on the right." I questioned the person several times about the "feeder road" and she became increasingly irritated by me. I figured Sue would know what the "feeder road" was. To my surprise she didn't. We later found out the "feeder road" are roads that run parallel to the highway and loop around it so that you have access to places on both sides of the freeway.

Monday and Tuesday were spent getting ready for Restoring FemininiTea and book signing on Tuesday night. Sue has been displaying teapots in the local library for the month of February. Fifteen ladies came out last night for the tea time and book signing. One lady said that she came since she wanted to do something for herself for once.

Today was the first time that we had some breathing room since I've been here. What did we do? Shopping. Sue has been sharing with me about this great store called Stein Mart. This store has great bargains on quality clothing. I ended up walking out with 4 outfits for less than $75. This is my kind of shopping!!

That is all for now from Texas. I've posted some pictures. Hope you all enjoy them.

Some new friends I met at the conference.

Arrival Texas

I arrived in Texas yesterday. Sue and I rented a car and we drove 6 hours to attend this conference. We are still at the conference and are being filled and refreshed. We just got out of the hot tub. We will be heading back to Grapevine on Sunday after church. I'll post more when we return to Sue's house.

My To-do List

I'll be leaving work in about 20 minutes for my vacation trip to Texas.

As usual, my morning has been busy taking care of last minute details for many of my projects. One project, a trip to the emergency room, was not on my to-do list.

I arrived at the office around 6:20 AM..I know most of you were still probably sleeping. I pulled my car next to the front door since I had some items to carrying into the office. As I walked behind my car, I hit a patch of ice and my two feet went flying. I grabbed the car on the way down and gave my left side a good stretch as my feet went in the opposite direction. I banged my left elbow and knee on the pavement. Swelling ensued in both and my supervisor suggested that I go to the emergency room. My emergency room trip last 2.5 hours. The Dr. said I was okay and that I'll have some nice bruises in a few days. The swelling should go down over time.

Other than some minor discomfort, I'm fine.

I'll be in Texas until the 18th. I'll be posting updates of my trip

Summer is Coming

"I see success, I want to tell you, yesterday, the book on yesterday is closed, it's kind of like you've lived through a long hard winter, but I'm here to tell you that winter is over, summer is coming, come on, it is coming!!! …You can let the yesterdays go, you can cut yourself away from the moorings and begin to float upon the ocean of His grace, and His love."

These were words that a prophet spoke to me in 2000 and I'm just beginning to understand the meaning of them. There are two significant themes that I can see that God was speaking to me: 1) book on yesterday is closed; and 2) winter time is over and summer is on the way.

In recent weeks, I've been meditating on these words and trying to better understand what the Lord was speaking to me in 2000. This caused me to research the meaning of the words winter, spring, and summer. I know from my experience in living in NNY that in between winter and summer is spring. God said "winter was over and summer is on the way", this implied that I needed to go through spring.

Webster gives the following definitions:

Winter - a time of inactivity or decay;
Spring - come up out of something into existence; and
Summer - a period of maturing powers.

Wikipedia Encyclopedia also provides additional information about the seasons:

Winter - some use winter to describe death and period of hopeless;
Spring - A time of growth, renewal, and of new life being born, and it is a period where severe weather most often occurs due to the southern warm air clashing with the northern cold air;
Summer - a time when plants are in full growth.

I spent many years of my life in the winter season. It was a time where I felt like I was dying and I had no hope for living. I'm glad that the Lord spoke to me in 2000 and told me that winter was over. Nevertheless, I had hard time understanding what season I was in between 2000 and now. I initially thought that I was experiencing summer, but the Lord showed me recently that I've been in the spring season.

The past eight years the Lord has been pulling out weeds in my soul that were not right. The weeds were things that were rooted in my "yesterdays" that needed to go in order for me enter His summer season for me. My spring season has been a time where severe weather occurred. There were times of clashing when I was afraid of letting go of the "yesterdays" and embracing the new life that God was leading me to walk in. I now know that it was necessary for me to let go of the "yesterdays" in order to come out of my winter season and enter into God's summer season.

The Lord is leading me to do a few more things to let the "yesterdays" go. Once I do them, I truly feel like the" book on yesterday" will be closed forever; I will never have to go back and look at any of the pages again. I'm cutting myself away from them and will enjoy floating upon His grace and love for me. I'm looking forward to my summer season with the Lord. I feel like it will be a time where God will continue to mature me and I'll come into the full growth of His plan and purposes for my life.

The Many Uses of Duct Tape

As you can see, duct tape needs to be a part of a garbage handler's first aid kit. Fortunately, we have not had to use our duct tape for this use.

Community of Akwesasne Cares

Last weekend one of the Tribal employees lost everything that she owned in a fire.

I was unaware of this until I called the main Tribal Office building on Tuesday. I made the call since I needed to talk to my accountant that handles the budgets for my projects. While I was on the phone with her, I heard all this talking in the background. I asked her what all the "buzz" was. She then proceeded to share with me that my Supervisor's sister lost everything in a fire and that the ladies in the community were talking about ways to help her. I thought how great that people were going to help her.

Two days later I get an announcement from the Tribe's Public Information Office that a shower has been arranged for the person and she is registered at Wal Mart. We are encouraged to go buy a gift for her and come to the shower. I've never heard of having a shower for victim of a fire, but I thought what a great idea.

The reaching out of the community to help one their members is an indication of a cultural tradition that runs deep with the Akwesasne community. It is a tradition that many people outside of the community aren't aware of. What is this cultural tradition? It is one that places a high value on family and helping those in need.

I've been working for the Tribe for 14 years and this is one of the reasons why I like my job so much. Mohawks are caring people and will come to help when someone is in need with no regard for the cost or time. I've witnessed this numerous times during my time in the community. Several examples come to mind: Mohawk Iron Workers helping with the rescue at the Twin Towers; Tribal Council providing funding to special cleanup projects that are needed; providing assistance to the elderly; etc. etc. I could list others, but I think my point is clear in that Mohawk people care.

I honor the community of Akwesasne for holding on to the cultural tradition that places a high value on family and helping those in need. I hope they never lose it and pass this tradition on to their younger generation.

Celebrating 70 Years of Living

My mom experienced one of those special birthdays last week when she turned 70. Although I wasn't able to be with her on the exact day of her birth, I did travel to the 1000 Islands this past Monday. I took her out to lunch here and we then we had coffee at one of my favorite spots, Lyric Coffee House. Since we couldn't find two deck of cards to play Nertz, we decided to play checkers. The Lyric Coffee House is quite nice and I highly recommend it if you are ever in Clayton.

I'm so thankful that I got to celebrate mom's birthday with her. I pray that she has many more that we can share. I treasure moments like these and grab them while I can. Thanks for sharing your day with me mom. I love you.

Breaking the Rules

Since my friend Nancy broke the rules for the Internet tag game, I decided that I would do the same. I'm listing Fact # 8 about me: I'm a die hard NY Giant fan.

I grew up watching the Giants play every Sunday. I faithfully cheered them on even when they couldn't win a game and there season ended 0-15. I was a committed fan regardless of how bad they were beaten or that they couldn't win a game in a season.

I am still a dedicated fan and was cheering them on during the NFC Championship game on Sunday. There were moments that didn't look good for them, but I was right there keeping a watchful eye on them and hoping that they would win. Win they did and now I get to cheer for them one more game this year. I'm looking forward to an upset. Go Giants! Go Giants! You can defeat the Patriots.

For all my friends that are Cowboy fans and remember watching all the games at the Story's, here is a picture to remind you of the Giants:

Tag - I'm It

Too my surprise, I was tagged by Darlene to share 7 random facts about me. Here they are:

1. I like driving garbage trucks...the bigger the better;
2. I was the first woman to appear on Bill (Senior) Saiff's Rod & Reel show;
3. I eat six times per day and still lose weight sometimes;
4. I like adventure and especially road trips...just ask Nancy;
5. I was a student pilot while I was in college. I flew a single engine Cessna. During my first solo flight, the nose wheel broke when I landed and the plane skidded off the runway. I survived an airplane crash - thank you Lord. I flew many more times afterwards before I decided that flying was too much like going to college;
6. I was a bridge painter for the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority;
7. My favorite pass time is having coffee and visiting with friends.

Here are the rules for the game:

• Link to the person that tagged you
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

Here are my tagged people: Nancy, Lore, Michele, Tonya, Nancy C., Connie, and Sue.

Embracing My God Ordained Femininity

I've been reading a new book lately. The book is written by a good friend of mine, Susan Chapman Brown. The title of the book is "Designed for Destiny."

Paragraphs from the first section of the book sums up what the book is about:

Too often and too easily, in the declining culture of today, women lose sight of the design, the grace, the beauty, and the purpose in which God destined for each of us to live. Our desire is to restore women to that place of knowing God and His plan for them; exposing the feministic lies of pits, pedestals and power and releasing them in the balance and dignity of God ordained femininity.

Through the use of teas, teapots, and teachings, God has revealed a key that begins to open a place where we, as women, were destined to dwell. Here, we begin to see our femininity is His design. Just like little girls in their tea party play, we begin to let down our guard, stepping right over comparison and competition, into the royal court of His presence, where we can put on and walk in His lavish treasures.

The book is set up to be read as a devotional. Sue actually has trademark the phrases "FemininiTea" and "TeaVotional" since all of the devotionals are based on teachings that God has given her using teapots and tea cups, and the teachings are designed to restore God ordained femininity to ladies.

I've been reading sections of the book each morning before going to work. God used the "teavotional" that I read yesterday to show me that I am the beautiful woman that He created me to be and that circumstances in my life don't change this.

After I finished reading yesterday morning, I felt led to listen to a song that sings about how beautiful Jesus is. The Lord spoke to me during the song about how beautiful I am to Him. It was a time were God deposited a fresh dose of recapturing my God ordained femininity. I was feeling like a real lady in God's kingdom as I got into my car. I began driving down the road when I heard an unusual sound coming from the right front side of the car. It sounded like an issue with the brake. I turned around and went back to my house so that I could check it out. I got my brightest flashlight from the house and began my inspection of the brake. I found a branch that had wrapped itself around the my wheel and was rubbing against the brake pad. The surgery to remove it involved me getting my hands behind the wheel and pulling the branch out.

With dirt and grease on my hands, God still reminded me of my God ordained femininity and that this didn't change even though I had dirt and grease on my hands. How so true...that my God ordained femininity doesn't change with circumstances. There have been many circumstances in my life where my God ordained femininity was stolen from me. I'm so thankful that God is in the business of restoring this identity to me and that He allows people like Susan Chapman Brown to speak His truth to me. I'm excited to embrace His truth and be released in the balance and dignity of my God ordained femininity. Thank you Lord.

A Welcome Home Gift

I drove down my driveway last night when I returned from CA and discovered a welcome home gift. The gift was from mother nature and it wasn't even wrapped in fancy paper. It was chunks of ice covered with snow.

The ice fell from my roof and transformed the front of my house into a glacier. Their were chunks of ice that were 4 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 1.5 feet in depth. My walk to the front door was blocked with ice and snow. I was able to walk on top of the mound and jump on to my front porch. After donning my ski pants, snow boots, winter coat, hat and mittens, I spent the next 30 minutes clearing a path between my driveway and front door. It was waist high deep as I was shoveling.

I spent a good part of the day shoveling the snow and ice away from my front window. I could stand on the mound and touch my roof before I knocked it down a few feet.

So much for my enjoying the CA weather that I had become accustomed to. Thanks for the welcome home gift, mother nature, and reminding me of what winter is all about - snow, ice, and shoveling. Oh, by the way, it has been snowing all day and we got another 8-9 inches. It is suppose to get colder too later in the week. How cold? The highs will be in the single digits.

Last Day in California

Yesterday was our last day in California. We went here for church. After church, I went out to lunch with the Pastor and his wife at the Mission Inn. The rest of my family also went to the Mission Inn, but to a different restaurant that is located in the Inn. Afterwards, my family and I went shopping for a winter coat for my brother. He is traveling to Minneapolis, MN next month and needed a winter coat for the trip. Our shopping travels too us to the Burlington Coat Factory at the Ontario Mills Mall. We also visited the Rainforest Cafe. I had never been to a Rainforest Cafe. It was a lot of fun. I couldn't resist sitting on one of the animal chairs and play with its tail; picture above. The day was completed by going back to my brother's house and just hanging out.

My mom and I boarded a plane at 12:30 AM PST and flew home today. I got about 2.5 hours of sleep. This is why I'm signing off now - sleep. I'm glad to be home and am looking forward to getting back to my routine.

Adventures in Santa Barbara

Our travels yesterday took us to the Santa Barbara area. Our first stop was at the Cold Spring Tavern for lunch. This is one of those places that you wouldn't expect to find in southern California, but here it is. It reminded me of a rustic restaurant that I would find in the Adirondacks. We walked in and it was cold. I mean so cold that we all kept our jackets on and I even asked my brother to get the blanket out of the car for me. I've come learned that places in southern California don't heat their businesses even when the temperatures are in the 40's. Yes, I wrote right, the 40's. I'm surprised that it gets this cold too. The food was great and we had a wonderful time at the Cold Spring Tavern.

Our next adventure took us to places north of Santa Barbara. It is pretty countryside with lots of rolling hills and mountains. We stopped at several shops and just enjoyed our time walking around. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Mom and me outside the Cold Spring Tavern.

I couldn't refuse this picture because of the sign.

A red peppercorn tree. I never knew peppercorns came from a tree.

Red peppercorns on the ground. They are slippery to walk on.

A gigantic Christmas tree. Mom and Irene are standing next it.

They do have cows in California.

A nice prickly pear cactus plant.

A prickly pear cactus. You can eat them.

Can you see the object of interest in this photo?

A Visit to the Huntington Library

Our travels yesterday took us the Huntington Library. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Mom & Adam

Pictures from the Japanese Garden

My brother (Wayne) and my nephew's wife (Cami)

Cami in action.

A beautiful flower in the rose garden

Adam & Cami

Christmas in CA

I must admit that spending Christmas in CA was nice. I like the weather - sunny and highs in the 60's. Jiwon and I treated ourselves to a late night visit to the outdoor hot tub on Christmas Eve since it was so beautiful out.



I spent the afternoon outside participating in a new Christmas family tradition. This new tradition is throwing knifes into a pumpkin. I never have thrown a knife before, but it was fun and I actually hit the pumpkin several times. We had a tournament with the girls challenging the guys. There were Jiwon, Cami (my nephew's wife), and me against my nephew (Adam), brother (Wayne) and Jong. It came down to sudden death and the guys beat the girls by 2 points.



We also spent time singing Christmas carols around the piano. Jiwon played for us and we all sang. Everyone truly enjoyed Jiwon's musical gift and she truly blessed us.



The evening was ended by making a ginger bread house. When I left my brother's house to return to Jong and Jiwon's, the glue on the house was drying. It will be interesting to see the finish product when I return tomorrow.



Tonight is my last night at Jong & Jiwon's. I have truly enjoyed staying with them and their company. They are great hosts if you ever want to visit southern CA.



Here are some pictures.

My nephew (Adam) & sister-in-law (Irene)

California - Here We Come

I'll be leaving in about an hour. My final destination is Los Angeles, CA. In route, I'll be stopping by my mom's house since she is going with me too.

We are both excited to be spending Christmas with my brother and his family, in addition to leaving the snow and cold of NNY. The forecast for the LA area is sunny and temperatures in the 60's. I can handle that.

For the family of CFC, I will also be spending time with Jong & Jiwon during my visit. I'm actually staying at their place for a few days since there is no room at my brother's house. In addition to mom and me, one of my nephews and his wife are visiting too. My options for sleeping were a nice room and bed at Jong & Jiwon's or an air mattress in the middle of the living room floor at my brother's. I opted for the nice room with a bed. Jong & Jiwon live about 30 minutes from my brother's house. Jong & Jiwon will be spending Christmas with us too.

Jiwon and I are looking forward to having nice long talks over many cups of coffee. When she lived in Potsdam, we would spend hours at Scoops drinking coffee and talking. I really miss Jiwon and am looking forward to seeing her.

Because He Loves Me

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. (Luke 2:8-12)

As I reflect about the birth of Jesus this Christmas Season, I realize more and more of His love for me. Yes, Jesus was born because God so loved me that He sent Jesus so that I may not parish and have eternal life with God (John 3:16). Spending eternity with God is something that will occur when I die. But, what about now...here and now as I walk through the journey of my life? There must be more about the birth of Jesus than just spending eternity with God after I die.

Isaiah 61 describes the year of the Lord's favor. Throughout this chapter, I read about an exchange process that God wants me to experience: instead of ashes..bestow a crown of beauty; instead of mourning... give me the oil of gladness; instead of a spirit of despair..give me a garment of praise; instead of shame..give me a double portion; instead of disgrace...give me my inheritance so that I will inherit a double portion and everlasting joy will be mine.

God has taken me through many trials and tribulations this year. Through it all, I have come to realize and experience more of God's love for me. I also recognize that God took me through these experiences because He loves me too much to have allowed me to remain captive to the prison chains that bound me. In some cases, I didn't even know that I was being held captive, but God in His ever gentle way, revealed truth to me and I was set free (John 8:32). I experienced God's exchange process as described in Isaiah 61.

This Christmas season I will not only celebrate the birth of Jesus as it relates to my eternal destiny, but also as it relates to my journey in my life. Thank you Lord for loving me so much that I can experience the very riches of You on this side of heaven.

Snow Bound

This Sunday has been unusual since a winter storm blew in last night and has dumped about 14 inches of snow. Church was cancelled and I've had the day to myself. What does one do when snow bound? Here is a list of things that I did:

• watched football - this is the first time all year that I watched a game
• ate some good food
• caught up on sleep by taking two naps
• paid my bills
• completed some paperwork that I've been avoiding to do
• prayed and spend time reading my Bible
• made chicken soup, which I'll definitely enjoy throughout the week

It is nice to be snow bound every once in awhile, but I am looking forward to venturing out tomorrow. Of course, this is after I shovel all the snow off my porch and my plow man comes to clear my driveway.

Traveling Observations

I have a habit when I travel - I watch people in the airport and on the airplane. I don't know why I do this, but I do chuckle at some of the observations that I see.



On my flight home on Monday, I was amused by this couple that traveled on the same plane as me. The flight was delayed by about 30 minutes. When the call came to begin boarding the plane, I observe this couple, probably in their 40's, begin to approach the gate. The man ran as quickly as he could to the front of the line while leaving the woman behind. When he got to the front, I might add by barging in, he looked back at the woman. He motioned her to get in line with him. She did. Before I knew it, they were walking down the Jetway and they were gone. I didn't really think too much about them until I boarded the plane and realized that I would be sitting across the isle from them. I cozy up in my seat for the 2 hour plane ride home.



The gentleman was reading a newspaper the whole flight. He would flip through the pages and ripped some ads out and place them into his pant side leg pocket. He must have done this more than 20 times. I began to wonder what the ads were and how many could he fit in his pocket. I also wondered what he was going to do with all those ads.

The plane landed and everyone was waiting to deboard. I was standing in the isle minding my own business when the gentleman began rising from his seat in front of me. Without a word, he nudged himself into the isle and I had to step back or he would have been standing on top of my toes. He opened up the overhead compartment and took another newspaper out. I thought "oh, no he is going to rip out more ads and stuff them in his pocket." He didn't, though. The couple ran off the plane as quickly as they ran on. I didn't see them again. I do wonder what he did with all those ads. Do you have any ideas of what he did with them?

I'm Traveling

I'm sitting at the Syracuse Airport waiting to board a plane to Dallas, TX. This is a personal trip to visit friends and to help them plan for future expansion with their ministry.

I'm excited about this trip. The last time I checked the weather will be sunny and in the 70's. This is a far cry from the -2 temperature that occurred in NNY last night and the blinding snow storm (lake effect) that I drove through 2 hours earlier. I'm also excited since God is leading me to help out with the ministry in Texas. This is one of my dreams to come true - to be able to use my administrative gifts to help expand God's work through a ministry.

I'm typing this post on my new laptop that I just picked up this morning. So far, so good. I like the feel of the keys and the smooth operation of the system. I was brave and am using Windows Vista. I use it at the office and like it. All my coworkers think I'm nuts because I like Vista.

Okay that is all for now from the airport.

Its Not a Good Day

Yesterday started out as a normal day at the office, but ended very differently.

My driver called me shortly after lunch and I could tell that something was drastically wrong. He proclaimed "it is not a good day!!" I said "why, what is up?" He then proceeded to tell me that the tire studs came off. "Tire studs," I thought, "we don't have studded snow tires." I then realized he was talking about the studs that hold the tires to the truck. I now understood why it wasn't a good day. After making sure that he wasn't in accident and that he was okay, we began to make plans of how to handle this situation. He was okay and fortunately he noticed that something wasn't right and pulled over before the wheels fell off. Yes, that is right. When the wheel studs shear off, the tires fall off. Not a good situation when the truck is moving down the highway.

Upon arriving at the scene, the driver had the right side rear wheels off and sure enough not one wheel stud was there. We then agreed that I would relieve the worker at the transfer station so that he could bring the new truck (wheels fell off our old truck) so that driver could finish his collection route and the other guy could stay with the old truck waiting for the tow truck.

I went to the transfer station and monitored the rescue operation via two-way radio communication. All was going well at the transfer station until I stepped outside to close our main gate at closing time. After hearing the door slammed behind me, I realized that my keys were inside and I was locked out. I went to the gate and the gate was frozen. I couldn't move it. My driver's comment "its not a good day" was coming back to me. I hoped that I hadn't locked the window to the scale house. Upon checking it, it was unlocked and I was able to open it from the outside and jump back in the office; this was only after I placed a couple of tires underneath the window to give me height to jump through the window. I called the guys at the truck and told them that I couldn't close the gate because it was frozen. One of them came to my rescue 15 minutes later. We closed up the facility and went back to the truck.

The truck was not looking good. They had just got it on the flatbed. It was sitting lopsided without rear wheels on the right side. They couldn't raise the flatbed to its horizontal position since it was too much weight for the hydraulic system; did I mention that the truck was full of garbage? They got another tow truck to help raise the flatbed. It took a few minutes, but they finally got it to the horizontal position.

The whole rescue mission took about 2 hours and occurred in a snow storm on Route 37. My driver and transfer station worker then had to finish the collection route with the new truck. They are dedicated since they worked until 6 PM.

Lesson learned: beware when your garbage truck driver calls and says "its not a good day." This means that it probably is not a good day in the wonderful world of garbage.

Garbage Truck Arrives

I know you probably think I'm a little crazy getting excited about the delivery of our new garbage truck, but for a garbage guru like me this is exciting!!

The addition of this truck to our fleet means that our program continues to expand and we can now offer more services to the community. Believe or not, the box that you see on the back can come off and we can put a roll-off box on it. A roll-off box is an open top container that allows you to throw all your junk in; comes in handy for special cleanup projects around the house.

I guess I'm so excited because 13 years ago when I began working for the Tribe, the Tribe offered no solid waste management services. They hired me to put their entire program together and here I am today managing a transfer station and curbside collection program for them. God has and continues to bless me in my job and for that I'm thankful for. I give all the credit to Him, because without Him, I wouldn't be here marveling at the accomplishments and enjoying my new toy - the blue/white garbage truck.

Office Decorating Contest

Several weeks ago the staff at the Environment Division agreed that we would hold an office decorating contest. The winner gets a day off with pay and the runner up gets half a day.

Since I like having time off, I decided to seek some creative ideas from my mother. I told her that I wanted to do something that reflected the work I do at the Tribe. She came up with the suggestion of making a wreath from a garbage bag. So here are some pictures of what I came up with. Thanks mom - all the people in the office thinks it is a cool idea.

Today is also an exciting day for the solid waste program. We get our new garbage truck!! I've already seen it this morning and it is sharp. Check back later for pictures.

I'm Here

I'm here learning about this. Sounds fun, right? It is.

On the way home tonight I'll be making stops at Wegman's and Wal Mart Super Store since we don't have these stores in the north country.

Break is over...back to training.

My Day At Work

To the surprise of some, I do work. This may be surprising because I'm blessed with a job that allows me much flexibility and a lot of time off. I guess this comes with being at the same job for 12 years.

I am working at the transfer station today. What does one do at a transfer station? Answer: weigh vehicles as they come in and as they leave, and then receive money from the customers. The scale is interfaced with a computer and there is a computer program that computes the difference in weight, which determines the price that is charge. Of course, the operator (me) needs to enter the correct information into the program in order for the right price to be charge based on the material that the customer brings in. So far, I haven't made any mistakes.

For the most part, the computer and scale work great. I did experience one glitch this morning with my first customer. When he came to be weighed out, the computer froze up; none of you have probably ever experienced this, right? I had to reboot, which seemed to take forever. The customer was very patient as the computer went through all that it goes through to wake back up. I was finally able to get back on the system and weigh the customer out and take his money.

Well that is all from the helm of the transfer station scale house. It is not exactly like being at the helm of the Enterprise, but it will do for me.

Signed, Captain Laura.

Cold Water Swimming

Yes, I've taken up a new sport - cold water swimming. No, I'm not swimming in any of the rivers that are located in NNY, but rather than the pool at Clarkson University.

I've been swimming there for about a month now and it seems the water gets colder each time that I go. When I initially dangle my feet over the side of the pool, I ask myself "why do I do this?" The water literally feels like ice and it sends chills all the way up my spine. It reminds me when I was at 4-H camp in my younger years and I would go swimming at 6 AM so that I could be part of the polar bear club; come to think about it I would ask myself the same question "why do I do this?"

I guess I do it because swimming is such a good exercise and I enjoy the invigorating feeling I experience afterwards as I sit in the hot tub and then the sauna. These (hot tub and sauna) remove any of the chill from my body and make the bone chilling experience worthwhiled. I just hope I can remember this when I go swimming when it is -30 this winter. At -30, maybe the water will feel warm to me. I'll let you know.

Waste Is Revealing

I get to read some interesting articles in my monthly waste journals. One of the most recent article was titled "Something in the water - science detects drugs abuse patterns in wastewater." Source: Waste News, September 17. Researchers at Oregon State University have shown that less than a teaspoon of untreated wastewater can provide a wealth of information about a community's drug use - both illicit and legitimate. If we think about, any drug that we ingest eventually ends up leaving the body...so it makes sense that these drugs would end up in untreated wastewater. This same principle applies to solid wastes too.

I've performed numerous garbage container inspections (we call this "dumpster diving" in the garbology field) in my career and I'm always amazed at how the garbage tells me information about the generators: (1) do they drink-evident by the number beer or liquor bottles found; (2) do they have young children-evident by the presence of diapers; (3) are they on prescription medicine - evident by the number of prescription bottles in their wastes; (4) what types of foods do they like - evident by the food containers and wastes; (5) are they large or small people - evident by the size of clothing in their wastes. I think you get the picture of how much information you can collect about generators of garbage.

I've also come across personal confidential information during some of my dumpster dives. I'm talking about people's ss#, bank account #'s, addresses, name - everything needed for someone to perform an identity theft. The lesson learned from this is that we all need to shred our documents that contain our personal confidential information. Many people think that their garbage and recyclables magically disappear once they put their garbage out to the curb for collection. This is not true and on the average 2 or 3 people will see it before it finds its final resting place. The question is: what are you revealing about yourself and is it information that you want other people to have access to?

Fall Time

I'm amazed out how fast the fall is passing by. This is evident since I haven't posted since before the WIM retreat at my church. My lack of posting isn't because I haven't wanted to, but more to finding the time to get on the computer and do it. I spend so much time on the computer at work that the last thing I want to do is get on the computer at home; you'll notice that I'm writing this post during my lunch hour.

Two words can sum up the WIM retreat: Wow!! Wow!! That has become the favorite saying among the ladies that attended. Susan Brown, guest speaker of the retreat, asked me what I thought after the first session. My comment: "Wow!" She then asked me the same question again after the Saturday morning session. My comment: "Wow! Wow!"

You are probably wondering what happened to invoke such comments from me. God used Susan to minister life into the ladies that were present. Ladies went home transformed and the testimonies that I'm hearing still today show that God truly cares about His handmaidens and our well-being. Thank you Lord!

Getting Back Into a Routine

I returned yesterday from a week of spending time with family, many of which I hadn't seen in a long time. It was good to catch up with my brothers, sister, and cousins. We shared many stories, laughs, and tears as we memorialized our grandma. She was quite a lady and I will surely miss her.

The next few days I'll try to get back into my routine of working, going to the fitness center, cooking, etc. etc. I'm off today and will return to work tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll be heading to the fitness center today since I've been battling a cold for 7 days.

On Wednesday, I'll be picking up the guest speaker, Susan Brown, for our women's retreat, which is this weekend. We are looking forward to having Susan with us and ministering to our ladies.

House of Mourning

Ecclesiastes 7: 1-4 states:

A good name is better than precious ointment,
And the day of death than the day of one's birth;
Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting,
For that is the end of all men;
And the living will take it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

I've been in the house of mourning for the past few weeks. My grandmother had been in failing health since the end of August and she passed away this past Saturday.

Ecclesiastes 7:1-3 was confusing to me. How could I understand statements like "sorrow is better than laughter" or "the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning"? My sorrow sure doesn't feel better than laughter and I certainly don't feel any wiser. Nevertheless, I purposed in my heart to believe God's word since it is the truth and began to read commentaries about this scripture. This is what I've learned:

1. House mourning is a place where I may see the hand of God and learn to examine my life; and
2. Sadness often makes the heart better.

I must admit I have examined my life a lot in the past couple of weeks and I have seen the hand of God move in my life and in my grandmother's life too. I was able to lead her to the Lord two weeks before she died. Upon leaving the hospital room that day, I asked her the question "where will you go when you die grandma?" She responded with a childlike smile "heaven." I'll never forgot that smile and the way she said heaven - it was a precious God given moment. I was also able to understand how much grandmother meant to me and with tears in eyes share with her my thoughts and feelings about her. I had never done that before.

Although I don't particularly like being in the house of mourning or experiencing the sorrow that grips my heart, I do have a better understanding of how God uses times like this to refine me and reveal Himself to me in new fresh ways.

More Pictures From My Trip

Here is a sample of pictures from my trip last week.

Double Rainbow
View from Mossy Bank - Village is Bath,NY
An interesting picture
The calm after a storm
Blue skies
You get to guess what this is
A lonely plant in a field

Birthday Celebration

This past weekend I spent my birthday with a special family who took me here to dinner:


They had Mickey and the "Fat Man" sing me happy birthday.



Since I don't eat birthday cake, I got coffee with whipped creme; I'm not sure what function the straws played, but it was interesting to see them holding my whipped creme.

So who were these special people that treated me to a wonderful outing on my birthday: the Kelloggs. Thanks for the fun time. I had a blast!!

Travel Week

I just returned from Manchester, NH last night. I was there for a meeting to discuss upgrading the software that operates the scales at the transfer station - oh yes, there is a lot more that goes into managing garbage other than throwing it into bags and have it magically disappear.

I drove through Vermont to get to Manchester. What a beautiful drive!! The mountains, I think they were the Green Mountains, were magnificent. It makes me want to go back there in the fall to take in some of the colors.

Later today I head to Bath, NY I had a trip scheduled to visit friends who are vacationing there, but my friend's sister died over the weekend and so now the trip is a combination of leisure and being there to support her and her family.

As you can see, my days are filled with driving. I'm glad that I own a Prius - the 50-55 mpg mileage is wonderful.

Oops

Here is another story from my Coffee Break Devotions: Latte book. I hope you find it funny as I did.

Bill received his copy of the newsletter at the office. The mail room had sent out eight hundred thousand, and Bill was feeling good about it. He had only been at the pharmaceutical company for a month, and the newsletter was his first big assignment. As he looked at the front page, he broke into a cold sweat. The headline was to read, "A Letter from Our President, Don T. Hinkle." Instead the CEO's name read "Tinkle"-the H being mistyped as a T. And the subject of Mr. "Tinkle's" letter? A break-through medication to aid in bladder control.

Bill knew he had to tell his boss but was especially apprehensive since he was new to the job. The boss was also responsible for proofreading the newsletter, but ultimately it was Bill's responsibility. He approached his boss, handed him the newsletter, then braced for the fallout.

The boss pondered the error. Then he looked up at Bill and began to laugh. "Guess we both missed that one," he said. "I'll apologize to Mr. Tinkle."

"I'm really sorry about this," Bill said.

"Hey, mistakes happen; I should have caught it too," his boss said. "I'm sure we'll both be more careful next time.

The point of the story is to admit mistakes, forgive mistakes, and then move on.

Family Visit

Tomorrow I'll be traveling to visit family here and hopefully going to this. I'm also planning on going fishing with my favorite guide who runs this charter. For those who don't know, Captain Russell Finehout is my dad and he taught me everything that I know about fishing. The weekend promises to be a good one.