Hoopfest

For the first time in our 20 years in Spokane, Richard and I went to Hoopfest this weekend. In the past, we have always avoided it because of the crowds. We were wacky. This year we went, and we had a great time. In fact, we had so much fun, we went both days. The best part of all wasn't watching the pro's compete. The best thing of all was watching the kids. Here is my photo.

OMG

I went to the doctor's office today to get a referral to the Ortho for my knees. They made me get on the scale. OMG I weighed in at 198 lbs. That's 11 pounds heavier than Richard. I have NEVER been heavier than Richard before. I never thought I would actually get up in the 200 lb. range. Shit Shit Shit Shitshitshitshitshit!!!!!

This will never do.

The only diet that has ever worked for me is the Adkins. It's miserable to get started. You just starve and suffer the first two weeks. But then your body kicks over and starts to burn the stored fat, and you feel great and you lose the weight. So be it.

Writing "The Diary Of A Child Molester"

They say you should write what you know. Well I guess I know pretty well what it's like to be an abused child. But it's not easy to write about it. Yet it is a subject that needs to be written about. A subject that hides in the shadows and needs to be taken out into the light and looked at. Looked squarely at, without turning away. And decisions need to be made.

So the story unfolds. And writing it takes something out of me.

Don't Use Proflowers

Recently I ordered flowers for my Mom through Proflowers.com. The flowers were delivered and my Mom reported they were lovely. However, somewhere in the process of ordering them online, I inadvertently agreed to join a service called "Easy Savers." I had no idea I had agreed to anything, and no idea what Easy Savers was. But on the first of June, a charge appeared on my debit card for $14.95, the monthly fee for membership in Easy Savers.

To get rid of this, I had to have my bank cancel my card and issue me a new one. There is some fine print somewhere in the ordering process at Proflowers that commits you to this membership, and they are adamant that you agreed to it.

Avoid this scam. Don't order from Proflowers!

A Day Of Rest

Yesterday I simply could NOT stay awake. Richard says he kept track. He thinks I was up for a total of six hours the whole day. When you consider I fell asleep in the car, in the movie theater, and went to bed as soon as we got home, I guess I wasn't awake very much. I totally missed our visit with Tre. It was a very strange day. I did manage to do the crossword puzzle, between naps. Maybe that was what put me to sleep to begin with. And I caught up on my 100 words entries. Hey, it wasn't a total loss.

When we got to the theater in Cheney, we found out we were a few minutes late, and they were sold out. But for a few minutes we were just standing in the darkened hallway, waiting to see if we could get into the show. And the walls were moving, in and out, in sections, as if they were breathing, but not as one. Each section, doorframe or whatever, was moving as an individual breathing unit. It was so beautiful I was mesmerized. I could have stayed standing there for a long time, watching, but of course the theater staff showed up and told us all to go on our way.

So we went downtown to see Paris 36, but I fell asleep over and over again. I just couldn't pay attention to it. All I can remember from it is a woman with deep red lipstick. I hope I didn't snore. That would have embarrassed Richard. Maybe it was just boring.

Read This Book

I just finished reading a great book. It's called "You Don't Have To Die When Your Doctor Says." It's written by David Elliott, a New Zealander who has been given a terminal diagnosis of cancer, but is living in the belief that nothing is inevitable, the future is unwritten and the statistical data on his condition is really all about the past, and doesn't necessarily apply to him.

This book should be required reading for anyone who has a life-threatening illness, certainly. But I think it should be recommended reading for everyone, and especially anyone who wants to grow spiritually. David builds his arguments around some basic beliefs, among them the belief that we are responsible for our own lives, that we create our reality. He is particularly interested in how our beliefs about ourselves can create health or illness, and the distinct possibility that belief is decisive in healing. I personally find this to be a very encouraging notion. There is no place for a victim mindset in David's concept of recovery. On the contrary, what is needed is to take responsibility for your own condition and your own healing.

The principles and ideas David explores are relevant for anyone who wants to have more power and freedom in their life. Even many healthy people live as though they haven't got a choice about many aspects of their lives. Whether you have a short time to live or many healthy years ahead of you, that is no way to live them.

Why wait until you are facing the likelihood of imminent death to discover your personal power? Read this book now, and enjoy living more for the rest of your life, however long that may be.

A Happy Day

Today was such a happy day for me. Allyson was happy to know who I was and wants to be in touch with her Dad and the rest of her family that she hasn't had contact with for so long. I've spent quite a while today searching out photos to send her of the family, so she can see us and get an idea of who we are, at least what we look like. She wrote back that she was in tears from how full of joy she was to see us all.

What an incredibly wonderful day. Needless to say, my brother is thrilled. He is getting his baby back. It's like the karma of the whole family shifted today.