Ministry In Nevada: Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow

Last Saturday was a lovely homecoming at the shore of Lake Tahoe. We dedicated the Frensdorff Lodge before a crowd of over 100 people, including Wes's family and the staff and colleagues who serve with him here in that golden age of Nevada ministy. We heard warm reminiscences of Bishop Wes and Dee. It was an honor and a joy to be with all that gathered family of faith. This is what Church really is. You won't find the Church in rules or dogmas. Church is the Holy Spirit incarnate in human lives like these.<br /><br />Then it was off to St. Peter's, Carson City to ordain Kim Morgan and Mike Patteson to the transitional diaconate. What a head snap -- from Nevada's past to Nevada's future! Traditon -- traditio -- handing on. The saga continues. Praise God.<br /><br />The next morning was all about ministry here and now. We had a liturgical extravaganza at St. Peter's with a raft of confirmations and receptions, plus a baby blessing. St. Peter's not only does exciting, innovative liturgy -- the best educational programs this side of Trinity, Wall Street -- and upscale fellowship -- St. Peter's does first rate creative ministry in the community. Circles of Support doesn't just put bandaids on poverty; it helps people break free of poverty's hold. And St. Peter's is a leader in Food For Thought. They feed low income students in their public school. This is precisely the kind of partnership with schools endorsed by General Convention, the kind of partnership we are seeing develop around the diocese. My heart is full with joy at what the good people of St. Peter's are doing, thanks to God, and also thanks to the leadership of Fr. Jeff Paul who has been God's agent of change in Carson City.

Ministry In Nevada: Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow

Last Saturday was a lovely homecoming at the shore of Lake Tahoe. We dedicated the Frensdorff Lodge before a crowd of over 100 people, inclu...

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It's official, I'm on a D-I-E-T!

Call it what you want, lifestyle change seems to be the most popular term for losing weight these days, but for me, it's a DIET. I've been screwing around for months with this, up and down the same eight to ten pounds. Right now I'm up to 163. I put on my size 10 slacks this morning, the ones that run a little small but fit perfectly a couple months ago when I weighed 154. They zipped up okay, but my tummy sticks out. Even when I suck it in it still sticks out.<br /><br />Next week I'm in Tulsa for re-certification of our software that's used at common use airports. I'll be working with several software engineers that I've been emailing and talking to on the phone for several months. These guys are smart, really smart. I'm not. I'm not an idiot, but I'm not a true geek when it comes to computers. I can get by okay, but I'm kind of a fake when it comes to being a software engineer. I'm the project manager on this project, not actually doing any coding, but it's assumed that I understand the coding and all the moving parts.<br /><br />So what does this have to do with me losing weight? Everything! My self-confidence is directly linked to my weight. When I feel fat, I feel stupid. I know that probably doesn't make sense to most people, but it's how my brain works. I guess I can fake the smart thing better when I feel like I look good. I don't know if it's me or if it's how other people treat me, but when I feel confident in my looks, I feel smarter. It makes absolutely no sense as I write this, but it really is how I feel.<br /><br />My immediate plan is to shed five pounds by Monday (4 days), when I have to be in the Tulsa office of our vendor. Before you all get crazy and tell me that's unrealistic to lose five pounds in four days, I know some of my weight is water weight. I've been eating a lot of salt lately. Putting salt on my food, eating lots of Seasonsed RyKrisp (very salty), so I'm pretty sure I can drop at least a couple pounds of water.<br /><br />Goal for today:<br /><br /><strong>Workout</strong> - 40 minutes cardio & 1 hour weights (done at 5 a.m. this morning)<br /><strong>Eat maximum of 24 Points today</strong> - this will be tough, but I'm going to give it my best shot.<br /><strong>Drink a ton of water - 64 oz. minimum</strong> - with ice - lots and lots of water<br /><strong>Embrace the hunger</strong> - something I haven't been doing for months. It's something I have to do to lose weight. It's a fact of life for me.<br /><strong>Smile</strong> - it's not that bad. The results will be worth it.<br /><br /><strong>Lucy</strong><br />She went home last night, but it wasn't a total happy ending. The family is really nice and were happy to see her, but they told me Lucy belongs to their 18-year old daughter who is leaving for college next month. They need to find a home for Lucy. Someone that has the time and energy to take care of her and give her the attention she deserves.<br /><br />Unfortunately, that's not me right now. I work a lot and travel a lot for work and spend about two hours a day at the gym. My husband hates big dogs (long story), but I love them. I love all dogs. Anyway, she's home, safe in her big back yard. They promised me they wouldn't give her to anyone and they're definitely not taking her to the animal shelter. Funny thing, she and I bonded in just two days. I practically cried when I handed her over to them and then she ran back to me wagging her tail like crazy and tried to knock me over again. I really hope they find a good home for her. She deserves the best.

It's official, I'm on a D-I-E-T!

Call it what you want, lifestyle change seems to be the most popular term for losing weight these days, but for me, it's a DIET. I'v...

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Lucy is going home!

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKT0kE6CDyA0FpfLBdKBblFLJWL7Qpq0Seq8_6KYC6GFZt_PDZDTAszcgZkp4BKnhaEiqNWjaJXo2QzqatukXmnzDhyhcGXVC2Dj_pgRz38KR3yrW3uS2tf6DxFhwkabjnKC6yoIG2lLZf/s1600-h/lucy.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363973618909394658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKT0kE6CDyA0FpfLBdKBblFLJWL7Qpq0Seq8_6KYC6GFZt_PDZDTAszcgZkp4BKnhaEiqNWjaJXo2QzqatukXmnzDhyhcGXVC2Dj_pgRz38KR3yrW3uS2tf6DxFhwkabjnKC6yoIG2lLZf/s400/lucy.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a><br /><div>Woohoo! I found the owner of the black lab. It took a bit of detective work, but I was able to track him down.<br /><br />I called the Humane Society this morning, where she was adopted (AVID told me). They wouldn't give me the exact address, but said it was in the 2200 block of a street that's two blocks from my street. Best of all, they gave me the phone number that AVID had and when they called no one answered. AVID said the number must be bad and refused to give it to me.<br /><br />I kept calling it all morning and no one answered, not even an answering machine, until about ten minutes ago. Finally someone picked up. He said they were worried sick about her getting onto the busy street two blocks from my house.<br /><br />Her name is Lucy. Tonight Lucy gets to go home.</div>

Lucy is going home!

Woohoo! I found the owner of the black lab. It took a bit of detective work, but I was able to track him down. I called the Humane Society t...

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Tired to the bone

I don't usually write about the weather, but come on, 100 degrees in Seattle today! That's newsworthy. Thank God I let my husband intall three monster room air conditioners this year (at $500 a piece). I told him it was a waste of money and crazy and a bit white trashy to have window air conditioners. Who knew there would be a record heat wave this year.<br /><br />Luckily I work in an air conditioned office, have an air conditioned car and now our home is basically air conditioned (kitchen, family room, bedroom).<br /><br />So why am I tired to the bone? I sleep well, but wake up exhausted. It's a cool 67 degrees in our bedroom at night, just the way I like it (hubby says it's too cold). I even blew off my workout this morning. My excuse: I was too freaking tired to get up at 4:30 a.m.<br /><br />I haven't even unpacked my suitcase from my vacation last week and need to repack for my next trip. I'm leaving on Sunday for a week in Tulsa (work). Just the thought of getting on another plane makes me crawl off to a cave somewhere and hibernate for the summer.<br /><br />I'm going to walk the dog tonight (the found dog), and post some more signs for her. She's not leash trained although she can sit and shake hands. She loves to have her belly rubbed too. No, I am NOT keeping her although she's a really sweet dog. She acts like she's never been on a leash in her life. Since she's about five years old, that's kind of strange. That will be my workout today, the dog walking me. Basically that what it's like, her pulling me down the street. Unless her owner calls for her today or I can get more information from AVID.<br /><br />I have one goal today, limit my eating and track my food. Also, attempt to get in the healthy eight eating guidelines. Surely I can accomplish this, at least for one day.<br /><br />If only I wasn't so darn tired. All I can think about is how much I want to sleep.

Tired to the bone

I don't usually write about the weather, but come on, 100 degrees in Seattle today! That's newsworthy. Thank God I let my husband in...

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I am not the dog whisperer

She's a black lab mix, big as a horse and strong as an ox, and she has that big goofy, sweet lab personality. She showed up on our front steps yesterday afternoon. We live two blocks from a busy street. If she got on that street I knew she would be a dead doggie. What else could I do but bring her into our fenced backyard? It was really a no-brainer.<br /><br />I posted 15 signs in the neighborhood at 5 a.m. No calls. I've listed her as a found dog with the Humane Society and Pet Finder.<br /><br />I took her to the vet tonight and had her scanned for a microchip. I literally jumped for joy when they said she had an AVID microchip. Then my heart sank when AVID called the contact numbers and came back on the line and said one number was disconnected and the other had no answer. They promptly gave up. I begged then for the owner's name. I'm a pretty good detective and there are ways of finding people. Something about a privacy rule.<br /><br />I wrote AVID tonight and told them what I thought about their stupid rule. I want the owner's name and the phone number that doesn't get answered. I also listed her on the AVID website as a found pet.<br /><br />After I got her home from the vet, I made sure she had plenty of water and food. Then she promptly wrapped the cable she's hooked to around my ankles and knocked me to the ground. I got so wound up in the cable that I thought my feet might get amputated at the ankles.<br /><br />She jumped on me, trying to lick me to death. I thought I was never going to get up. I was rolling around on the ground trying to get to my feet. She kept wagging her tail back and forth in a crazy frenzy, smacking me in the face, and pushing me back to the ground. I was sure she was going to knock out my front teeth with her antics. I'm strong, but she's stronger. Crazy, stupid, sweet dog.<br /><br />Moral of this story...if your pet is microchipped make sure your contact information is current. Old phone numbers that don't work aren't going to reunite you and your pet. I'll keep searching for her owner. I know someone misses her. She's a character and a sweetie. She deserves to go back to her people. And no, I'm not keeping her. I'm going to find her owner.<br /><br /><strong>Diet and exercise</strong><br />On the diet front, struggling big time. After nine days of an eating frenzy it's damn hard to get back in control. Good workouts yesterday and today, but my eating sucks. Nothing really bad, just too much of the healthy stuff. Same old story.

I am not the dog whisperer

She's a black lab mix, big as a horse and strong as an ox, and she has that big goofy, sweet lab personality. She showed up on our front...

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Suspension de certains ateliers au mois d'août 2009

<BR><br />Les ateliers <strong>CV</strong>, <strong>"Lettre de motivation"</strong> et <strong>"Préparation à l'entretien"</strong> seront suspendus durant tout le mois d'août 2009.<br /><br />En revanche, les ateliers <strong>"Recherche d'emploi sur internet"</strong> sont <strong>maintenus</strong> tous les jeudi matin de 10h à 12h.<br /><br />Pour s'inscrire, contacter la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans : 02 38 24 18 03 ou <a href="mailto:accueil@news-these-days.fr">accueil@news-these-days.fr</a>.<br /><BR>

Suspension de certains ateliers au mois d'août 2009

Les ateliers CV , "Lettre de motivation" et "Préparation à l'entretien" seront suspendus durant tout le mois d'...

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Back from vacation, and I have no regrets

I got home around 11 p.m. last night, but didn't get to sleep until almost 1 a.m. Lots of catching up with the hubby last night/this morning. Turns out he really missed me while I was gone for nine days. I should do solo vacations more often. Right now I'm exhausted. The typical I need a "vacation to recoup from my vacation" story.<br /><br />I had a really great time in Alaska, I always do. Did lots of stuff, lots of visiting with everyone, and lots of pictures (about 500 pictures--gotta love a 2GB memory stick). I'll post the pictures later, right now I'm late for work.<br /><br />No exercise to speak of except swimming every day, but not swimming for exercise. It was swimming for fun, mostly playing with the kids or floating around on an inflatable chaise lounge. Even though it was 75-80 degrees all week, the water temperature was 68-70 degrees, which is very cold. Every time I got in the water it took my breathe away. The only way to stay warm was to keep moving, so I got a little exercise.<br /><br />I weighed this morning, and I'm up to 163.4. I thought I had gained a lot more because it turned out to be an eating frenzy week. When you have kids around, there's a lot of junk food. Plus lots of family dinners with tons of food, and two Sunday brunches at the best brunch <a href="http://www.pikeslodge.com/pikes-landing.html" target="blank">place</a> in town. The brunch included 18 feet of desserts, and I had one of each. I just couldn't resist all the temptation.<br /><br />Today is back to work and back to healthy eating, counting Points and exercise. Also a detox from the sugar. I think I ate more sugar last week than I have in the last year.<br /><br />Even though it was fun eating all kinds of good food (Tillamook Udderly Chocolate is my new favorite ice cream), I'm glad to be home and back in control of what I eat. The next couple of days will be tough, but once I get through them it'll just be part of my routine again.<br /><br />I have no regrets.

Back from vacation, and I have no regrets

I got home around 11 p.m. last night, but didn't get to sleep until almost 1 a.m. Lots of catching up with the hubby last night/this mor...

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Planning des permanences - Semaine du 3 au 7 août 2009

<BR><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" ></span></strong> </h2><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Permanences</span></strong></h2><br /></p><ul><li>Le <strong>Conseil Général du Loiret</strong> sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans<br />- le lundi 3 août de 9h à 12h30<br />- le mardi 4 août de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le mercredi 5 août de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le jeudi 6 août de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le vendredi 7 août de 13h30 à 17h</li></ul><br /><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Ateliers</span></strong></h2><ul><br /><li><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Recherche d'emploi sur internet</span> - vendredi 7 août de 10h à 12h<br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2009/07/atelier-situtilises-tu-trouves.html">Sit'Utilises tu trouves</a></strong> - vendredi 7 août de 13h30 à 16h30<br /></li></ul>

Planning des permanences - Semaine du 3 au 7 août 2009

Permanences Le Conseil Général du Loiret sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans - le lundi 3 ao...

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Planning des permanences - Semaine du 27 au 31 juillet 2009

<BR><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" ></span></strong> </h2><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Permanences</span></strong></h2><ul><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2007/11/boutique-de-gestion.html">Boutique de gestion</a><br /></strong>- lundi 27 juillet de 13h30 à 17h<br />- vendredi 31 juillet de 9h à 12h30</li></ul><p><br /></p><ul><li>Le <strong>Conseil Général du Loiret</strong> sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans<br />- le mardi 28 juillet de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le mercredi 29 juillet de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le jeudi 30 juillet de 13h30 à 17h,</li></ul><br /><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Ateliers</span></strong></h2><ul><br /><li><strong>CV</strong> - mardi 28 juillet de 9h30 à 12h30<br /><li><strong>Lettre de motivation</strong> - mardi 28 juillet de 13h30 à 16h30<br /><li><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Recherche d'emploi sur internet</span> - jeudi 30 juillet de 10h à 12h<br /></li></ul>

Planning des permanences - Semaine du 27 au 31 juillet 2009

Permanences Boutique de gestion - lundi 27 juillet de 13h30 à 17h - vendredi 31 juillet de 9h à 12h30 Le Conseil Général du Loiret sera pr...

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Planning des permanences - Semaine du 20 au 24 juillet 2009

<BR><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Permanences</span></strong></h2><ul><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2007/11/boutique-de-gestion.html">Boutique de gestion</a></strong> - vendredi 24 juillet de 9h à 12h30<br /><br /></li></ul><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Ateliers</span></strong></h2><ul><br /><li><strong>CV</strong> - mardi 21 juillet de 9h30 à 12h30<br /><li><strong>Lettre de motivation</strong> - mardi 21 juillet de 13h30 à 16h30<br /><li><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Recherche d'emploi sur internet</span> - jeudi 23 juillet de 10h à 12h<br /><li><strong>Préparation à l'entretien</strong> - jeudi 23 juillet de 13h30 à 16h30</li></ul>

Planning des permanences - Semaine du 20 au 24 juillet 2009

Permanences Boutique de gestion - vendredi 24 juillet de 9h à 12h30 Ateliers CV - mardi 21 juillet de 9h30 à 12h30 Lettre de motivation -...

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Pastoral Letter To Nevada Episcopalians

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the 76th Convention of the Episcopal Church is drawing to a close. It has been a benchmark in our common life, the beginning of an exciting new stage in our mission. So many things were accomplished.<br /><br />Among the most important were: The adoption of the Charter for Lifelong Christian Formation. This charter gives structure and encouragement for our efforts in the Frensdorff School. It marks the Christian life as one of ongoing learning and commits the church to being a learning community.<br /><br />We endorsed parish partnerships with local schools. Nevada’s developing partnership with Communities in Schools puts us on this track already. It is not acceptable that only 44% of our Nevada children graduate from high school. We can do better.<br /><br />Several bold steps were taken to strengthen evangelism. The most important for Nevada is a process for training and licensing lay evangelists. I hope every Nevada congregation will have a licensed lay evangelist soon and that they will form a dynamic network for sharing the gospel of Jesus with our neighbors.<br /><br />We formed a Provincial Partnership with the Church in Brazil, set up a plan for shared mission projects with Anglican churches in the Americas, and strengthened the program of companion diocese relationships. Nevada presently does not have such a relationship but we are negotiating a partnership with the Diocese of Santiago in the Philippines. This is a more important way of being a Communion than formal mechanisms and institutional structures that do not have the human ties of diocese to diocese and parish to parish bonds.<br /><br />We provided pensions for lay employees, reduced our health insurance costs, reformed the disciplinary process, and passed a budget against all odds.<br /><br />We had some opportunities to depart from the traditional faith of the church. There were resolutions deleting the word “virgin” from descriptions of Mary in our prayers and authorizing alternative forms of the Baptismal Covenant. We did not do these things. The bishops and deputies were emphatically orthodox.<br /><br />But none of this, or the many other important and constructive things we did at Convention, will capture the headlines. The journalists are exclusively interested in our actions dealing with the inclusion of partnered gay and lesbian couples in the life of the Church. We passed two such resolutions. I voted for both of them. Some of you may think we went too far. Others may think we did not go far enough. That is perfectly ok. As Episcopalians, we are free to hold different beliefs about issues of doctrine. I am not trying to convince you that we were right. But I do want you to know and to understand what we did and what we did not do.<br /><br />Some people want to interpret the resolutions one way; some, another. There is some ambiguity that is open to interpretation. We are after all Anglicans and that’s how Anglicans talk. But there are reasonable limits on fair interpretation. I want to tell you how I see these resolutions. You may want them to be a great step forward. I do not want you to be disappointed if they do not live up to raised expectations. You may think they are the worst thing we’ve done ever. I do not want you to be more distressed than necessary. These are definitely resolutions intended to affirm and include gay and lesbian persons, but I do not believe they are as great a change as they appear in the newspapers, let alone the blogs. So let me tell you about these two resolutions.<br /><br />The resolution pertaining to ordination begins with an extensive statement of our commitment to the Anglican Communion. That takes up at least half the resolution. It then says two more things: First, it acknowledges that God has in the past called partnered gay and lesbian persons into all of the orders of ministry, and that they have served us faithfully. Second, it acknowledges that God may call such persons in the future and we do our discernment of calls in accordance with the canons of our church.<br /><br />How does this change things? With regard to the ministries of laity, priests, and deacons, not at all. The possible change would be about bishops. But just how much of a change is there for potential bishops? Less than the newspapers suggest. In 2006, the General Convention asked those involved in calling bishops to use “restraint” in consecrating bishops whose “manner of life” might be contrary to the values of other parts of the Anglican Communion. I am paraphrasing. “Manner of life” was understood to mean partnered gay bishops. The consecration of such persons was not banned. The 2006 Resolution was a call for restraint as part of the discernment.<br /><br />Resolutions to repeal that restraint policy were considered and rejected before ever reaching the floor of Convention. The new resolution does not explicitly repeal the call for restraint. It merely says that we do our discernment process in accordance with our own canons, as we have always done. Gay and lesbian people were not excluded from the discernment process, even for the episcopacy, even after 2006. Some journalists have portrayed the situation as if gay and lesbian persons were excluded from the discernment process before and now the gates have been thrown open. For better or worse, the shift in this resolution is not so dramatic.<br /><br />The second resolution on same sex relationships also says two things: The first part is purely pastoral. Every resolution of the Episcopal Church mentioning homosexual persons since the early 1980’s has called upon the clergy to offer them pastoral care. The duty to afford pastoral care to gay and lesbian persons has been affirmed by the Lambeth Conference, the Windsor Report, and the Primates of the 39 Anglican Provinces. Every one of our clergy has taken vows to extend such care to “all” our people. So the principle is well established.<br /><br />This Resolution notes that there has been a recent wave of law making and law changing concerning these relationships –some laws allowing gay marriage, some laws allowing civil unions, and other laws banning such unions. This new legal situation presents new pastoral challenges to which we must respond. The resolution says bishops “may” – not “must” but “may” – offer a “pastorally generous response.” What that means depends on the situation, the context, and the judgment of the bishop. The New York Times says it means blessing civil unions. But I never heard any bishop, liberal or conservative, define it that way. It could mean a special ritual or a prayer or a phone call. It’s up to the bishop. Pastoral generosity is not defined.<br /><br />The second part of the resolution deals with developing theological and liturgical resources for same sex unions. There was no decision to authorize gay marriage or bless same sex unions. We worked with the language of the Resolution the best we could to make it clear that there is not a decision on that hard question. This Resolution requests the Liturgy and Music Commission to compile and develop theological and liturgical resources so that if and when we consider that issue in the future, we will have some examples to look at.<br /><br />In 2006, we passed a resolution calling for restraint in “authorizing the blessing of same sex unions” until there has been time for an international conversation on the issue. We have exercised restraint for three years and will continue to exercise restraint while that conversation continues. That does not mean no one anywhere will ever bless a same sex union. The Primates have recognized some leeway for conscience in these matters. Well before General Convention, I assured our clergy that no one in Nevada would be disciplined for following their conscience on this question. That is still the case. The new resolution calls for pastoral generosity on the part of bishops. I hope I was already pastorally generous to all of our people and will try to always be so.<br /><br />I hope and pray that we will respect each other’s feelings and values in these matters. We are called to love one another, not to agree with one another. In the Diocese of Nevada, we are exceptional at knowing where we stand and letting our neighbor do likewise. But not everyone is so mature. There may well be dissension in other dioceses and internationally. While this Convention was by a county mile the most harmonious Episcopal gathering in recent memory, we usually have some post-Convention uproar. So I ask you to hold the entire Anglican Communion in prayer as we come to terms with the aftermath of General Convention. Please pray also for one another and for the success of our new mission and ministry ventures for the sake of the gospel of Jesus here in Nevada.<br /><br />May God bless you richly and keep you in holy peace.<br /><br />Dan Edwards<br />Tenth Bishop of Nevada<br />This 15th Day of July, 2009

Pastoral Letter To Nevada Episcopalians

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the 76th Convention of the Episcopal Church is drawing to a close. It has been a benchmark in our common lif...

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Leaving on a jet plane...VACATION!

Finally, a week of play. Even though this is probably one of the absolute worst times for me to leave work, I'm taking vacation. As my manager put it, there isn't a good time for me to go on vacation so just go.<br /><br />I'm tired to the bone. Long hours for the last few weeks, burning the candle at both ends, catching a cold, more long hours. It has all wore me down to a deep tiredness that even a good night's sleep can't seem to shake.<br /><br />Today is laundry, packing, running a few errands, cleaning up a few loose ends for work, the gym, and then catching a plane tonight to Fairbanks, Alaska.<br /><br />These are my most favorite vacations. Complete and total downtime at my sister and brother-in-law's house that's 30 miles south of Fairbanks (on 400 acres). Staying up late talking, sleeping in, leisurely, slow-paced, relaxing.<br /><br />We'll go swimming every day in their "gravel pit" swimming pool (you have to be from Alaska to understand). The weather forecast is for sunshine and 70's and 80's all week. We'll probably drive down to our old homestead about 80 miles south of Fairbanks, where I grew up as a kid. We always go out to <a href="http://www.chenahotsprings.com/" target="blank">Chena Hot Springs</a> for a day. Plus it's <a href="http://www.fairbankschamber.org/happening/2009GoldenDays.html" target="blankd">Golden Days</a> week in Fairbanks, which is a week long celebration of the discovery of gold. People dress up in early 1900's costumes, there's the Grande parade, and it's always fun time in Fairbanks during Golden Days.<br /><br />There will be a few big family dinners with all the kids, about 15 people. My brother lives there too, as well as my two adult nieces that I adore, and their families and kids. I'm blessed with a great family. My family are people I'd be really good friends with even if we weren't related.<br /><br />Of course, there's always a couple of black sheep in every family, but they aren't my blood relatives so they don't really count. Let's see, there's the alcoholic sister-in-law and the cross dressing nephew-in-law (they both live in Fairbanks). Makes life interesting at times.<br /><br />Eating won't be a problem, my sister has been a health nut way before it was fashionable. Organic, whole foods and she eats like a bird. Except there's always candy, cookies, and ice cream, for the "grandkids". I'm not worried, that stuff doesn't bother me much lately. I've been feeling strong on the food front for some reason. I'm not sure what changed, but things like "frosting" haven't been appealing.<br /><br />I'll have internet access but I usually don't get on the computer much when I'm there except to check work emails. So I'll be out of touch for a whole week. I hope everyone has a great week. Stay strong, try to eat clean, and get some exercise. Exercise is key to this whole lifestyle. You won't succeed without it.

Leaving on a jet plane...VACATION!

Finally, a week of play. Even though this is probably one of the absolute worst times for me to leave work, I'm taking vacation. As my m...

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The voices in my head

<em>There's a "good" voice and a "bad" voice constantly talking in my head. It drives me nuts sometimes. Today the conversation about working out went like this:</em><br /><br />It can't be 5am already! I just went to sleep. I'm not working out today, I'm too tired!<br /><br /><strong>Get your butt out of bed. Remember, this is how it starts.</strong><br /><br />But I think I'm getting bronchitis. I have that weird tickle thing in my lungs, like last time.<br /><br /><strong>You didn't cough all night, get up. Now!</strong><br /><br />Don't wanna!<br /><br /><em>30 minutes later I'm up</em><br /><br />I don't want to go to the gym. So tired. It's too late anyway. I need to go to work early today. No time for the gym.<br /><br /><strong>Okay, but pack your gym bag, you're going after work.</strong><br /><br />Why? If I'm too tired now I'll be too tired at 6pm.<br /><br /><strong>Pack the bag.</strong><br /><br /><em>I pack the bag anyway, but stay late at work leaving around 7:30 pm.</em><br /><br />I'm so tired, I think I'll just go home.<br /><br /><strong>No, you're going to the gym. It's not up for discussion.</strong><br /><br />No, I'm going home.<br /><br /><strong>Gym.</strong><br /><br />Home.<br /><br /><strong>We'll think about it on the way home.</strong><br /><br /><em>I eat 2 cups of icy cold watermelon chunks left over from my lunch, with my fingers, on the drive home/gym. I drink a whole water bottle of water. I'm starting to feel better.</em><br /><em></em><br /><strong>I feel better, I think I'll go to the gym. I'll get my second wind when I get there and start working out.</strong><br /><br />Really Diana, don't you want to go home? Don't you feel just a little sick from that cold you had on Sunday? You're so tired. It's hot out, probably hot in the gym too. It's so late, almost 8pm. Go home.<br /><br /><strong>Nope, going to the gym. Shut up about it because you're not going to win this argument.</strong><br /><br />Seriously, that's how it went today. This is only part of it, the conversation was back and forth all freaking day.<br /><br />I worked out for an hour and 45 minutes. Great workout even though my beloved StairMaster is still broken. I can barely move my arms they're so tired and already sore from the weights I lifted.<br /><br />I don't usually have this tough of a time going to the gym. I usually don't even think about it, I just do it. Today there was an inner battle going on inside of me. A fight, me against me.<br /><br />Perhaps that sounds weird, perhaps I'm really ready for the loony bin, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">crazytown</span> or whatever you want to call it. Or perhaps I've learned what's best for me, and to ignore that negative, stupid voice in my head that wants me to be lazy and fat again. I don't know who she is or why she thinks she can boss me around, but I think not.

The voices in my head

There's a "good" voice and a "bad" voice constantly talking in my head. It drives me nuts sometimes. Today the conve...

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The almost perfect green monster & HFCS

I keep talking about my four-part plan to get to goal, but not writing about it. I'm still working on it, but I will tell you one part:<br /><br /><strong>changing what I eat</strong><br /><br />I'm a creature of habit and in the past 17 months I've basically stuck to the same foods, with little variation. I have eaten the exact same breakfast for months and months. I can make in it in about a minute, it's pack full of protein and I love it.<br /><br />It's my skinny-downed egg mcmuffin for 6 Points. Real egg (organic, free-range of course), real 2% cheddar, Thomas multi-grain muffin, low-fat Canadian bacon. But every morning? Day after day, month after month.<br /><br />I know this is bad. I know the importance of eating a variety of foods. It's key in weight loss and in health. There's nothing wrong with my breakfast, but there aren't any fruits or vegetables in it. That means I have to pack them into the rest of my day. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't (usually I don't).<br /><br />So after reading blog after blog about the green monsters I've been giving them a try. So far I've been less than impressed. Until this morning. I figured out what I didn't like about them and fixed it. I don't like super thick, not icy cold drinks. Yucky. This morning I had a monster and it was almost perfect, just a little too sweet. Tomorrow I'm leaving out the WW smoothie mix (too many chemicals anyway) and adding another scoop of goat whey (for an extra 15 grams of protein and 1.5 Points).<br /><br />2 big handfuls of fresh spinach - 0 Points<br />One scoop goat whey protein powder - 1.5 Points<br />One WW smoothie mix - 1 Point<br />2 cups watermelon - 2 Points<br />1 small banana - 1.5 Points<br />1 cup water<br />2 cups crushed ice <-----aha! this is a key ingredient <br /><br />Total Points = 6 <br /><br />This was good, except being too sweet. It made a really large portion. <br /><br />I also whipped up a batch of fresh hummus this morning. Usually I buy it, but it only took a couple of minutes to make it. I didn't use a recipe, it was garbanzo beans, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and I threw in some sun dried tomatoes we had on hand, a little sea salt and pepper. Put all that stuff in the food processor, mixed it up and instantly had yummy hummus without any weird junk in it. No idea on the Points but I only use a little over a tablespoon on my wrap instead of mayo, so I count it as a Point.<br /><br />Now off to face the battleground I call my work place. Lately I feel like I'm getting beat to death every day. Project managing isn't at all what I thought it would be. It looks so easy but it's really not. There are so many things to worry about on a project, and I feel like I'm being pulled in every direction. The good thing is I'm too busy during the day to even think about food. The bad thing is I'm too busy during the day to even think about food. :)<br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <br />Dinner last night<br /><br />In an effort to cook more and make a variety of food, I made a stir fry last night. Onions, garlic, Roma tomatoes (squeezed out the insides so not soupy), snow pea pods, red bell pepper, and a little olive oil and then I added the shrimp. <br /><br />I couldn't decide what spices to use so my husband, trying to help, told me to try the Maui Sweet & Sour sauce he bought last weekend. I looked at the calories and fat and two tablespoons was 60 calories and .5 grams fat, or one Point. <br /><br /><strong>As I was adding in the sauce,</strong> which tasted wonderful, my husband read the ingredients on the bottle (remember - he bought this stuff). He said, "oh NO!". What? Does it contain peanuts? (I'm allergic). No, the number one ingredient was...HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. I doused our healthy vegetables and shrimp with HFCS. Nice. Yes, we ate it and yes, it was wonderful. Gotta love that HFCS.

The almost perfect green monster & HFCS

I keep talking about my four-part plan to get to goal, but not writing about it. I'm still working on it, but I will tell you one part: ...

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Live From Anaheim VI

GLBT INCLUSION: Our Indaba Group met today for another couple of hours and did some serious negotiating over language. The end result was substantively similar to the original proposal but we adjusted the language to make it less challenging for those who were most uncomfortable with the resoltion. The substance is two fairly moderate points:<br /><br />1. All the recent civil law changes in various jurisdictions create a new pastoral situation. The church is already committed to providing pastoral response to gay and lesbian people. So how do we respond to this new situation? Answer: Bishops are authorized to make “a generous pastoral response.” What that means depends on the situation and the judgment of the Bishop.<br /><br />2. We asked the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to compile and develop theological and liturgical resources for same sex unions to be presented to the next Convention.<br /><br />The Indaba Group went to some effort to rephrase this language to clarify that same sex blessings are not a conclusion we have reached, just a possibility we may consider in the future. If we do consider that action, we will have an example to look at. As one advocate for blessing same sex unions observed, there are a lot of liturgies out there, but there is no quality control and they lack an agreed upon theological basis. So it needs work before we can even think intelligently about the question. We tried to say that. But when the substitute resolution got to the floor of HOB, there were further refinements meant to emphasize that this is not a done deal. We are studying and developing possible rituals that may be considered in the future. When the dust settled, we passed the substitute Resolution by a vote of 104 to 30 to 2 – even more decisively than we had passed the resolution on ordination.<br /><br />Bishop Gene Robinson emphasized: The caveat here is not to make more or less of the resolution than it really says. You recall I prophesied that some would misread D 025 (the ordination resolution). Well the very next day the headline of Episcopal Life’s daily newspaper covering the Convention was an inflammatory misreading of the resolution – sounding as if we had repealed B 033, the restraint resolution. Bishop Katharine apologized on behalf of the Communications Office responsible for that unfortunate spin.<br /><br />We have acted in good faith, with forbearance, restraint, moderation, and generosity. But there will be reactivity in some quarters and there will be spin. In order to keep our feet on the ground and our hearts true to the faith, I hope we can share throughout the church the spirit of mutual caring we experienced in the Indaba process. Even those who voted against the Resolution said the process had been holy and they were committed to our continuing relationship.<br /><br />BUDGET: The budget will be passed tomorrow. We just saw it today. The cuts are deep. A lot of folks have lost their jobs. However, Domestic Missionary Partnership, which funds some of our grants was cut by only 20%. I had feared it might be zeroed out. Some ethnic ministries, including Latino ministries, got increases that may actually help us. At present, my brain is mush so I cannot sort this out just yet. A few points of interest: The asking formula will be reduced to help small dioceses. Currently the first $100,000 of the budget is not subject to assessment. That will go up to $120,000. The assessment rate will be reduced by 1% in 2011, and another 1% in 2012. Convention will be shortened by 2 days. They will not publish the blue book (journal of resolutions and reports) in hard copy, just on line. Most committee meeting will be done on line instead of face to face in order to save money.<br /><br />NEW LITURGIES: We gave final approval to all 4 of the existing volumes of Enriching Our Worship. The most interesting thing for us is the EOW liturgy for installing a new rector. The EOW version clearly grounds the rector’s ministry in the Ministry of All Baptized (MOAB) so it may help to correct the general misunderstanding of their ministry that we struggle with in Nevada. We also approved the trial use of EOW 5 which is for child death and related pastoral situations. And we authorized beginning the study process for a new Episcopal Hymnal.<br /><br />LAY EVANGELISTS: We created a canon for licensing trained lay evangelists. This will help our Ministry Development Commission and Commission On Ministry to introduce this lay ministry in our parishes. I hope every parish will have a licensed lay evangelist as soon as possible. We can begin commissioning lay evangelists right away. Then we will develop the training and licensing process guided by the new canon.<br />HIV/AIDS CURRICULIUM: We adopted training and education materials for HIV/AIDS prevention.<br /><br />THURGOOD MARSHALL: We added to the liturgical calendar a commemoration date for Thurgood Marshall, a devout Episcopalian, the NAACP attorney in Brown v. Board of Education, Attorney General of the United States, and the first African American Justice on the United States Supreme Court.<br /><br />In the midst of all this legislative work, we had another fantastic Eucharist today. Bishop Steven Charleston preached a passionate call to an environmental gospel. There was a great jazz musical setting for the liturgy. Linda is singing in the Convention choir. My friend and classmate Bishop Mary Gray Reeves, celebrated, alternating English and Spanish. Tonight we went to L A Nights, an emergent church artsy worship service with evangelist Brian McClaren, author of many good books including A Generous Orthodoxy. And now to all a good night.

Live From Anaheim VI

GLBT INCLUSION: Our Indaba Group met today for another couple of hours and did some serious negotiating over language. The end result was su...

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No drama today

I like Tony, the <a href="http://theantijared.blogspot.com/" target="blank">Anti-Jared guy</a>. He meant me no harm with his post yesterday. I know that now.<br /><br />In the past year I've watched Tony evolve into a kind and caring person, especially during the past few months. I think it might have something to do with that tiny newborn son of his that's changed him in ways he didn't expect. Babies tend to have that effect on people.<br /><br />Or maybe Tony was always like this but it just took me a while to really see him for who he is, a really good person.<br /><br />I'm not hurt, and he's not hurt. I'll continue to follow his blog. I never did stop.<br /><br />End of story.

No drama today

I like Tony, the Anti-Jared guy . He meant me no harm with his post yesterday. I know that now. In the past year I've watched Tony evolv...

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Live From Anaheim V.5

The proposal on same sex unions hit an emotional gridlock today expressed as a parliamentary tangle. Tonight a self-selected group of 30 bishops met from 9 to 11 p.m. in the Indaba Group style we learned at Lambeth. We told our stories, shared hopes and fears, described the communities in which we minister. We have just closed with prayer and gone to our rooms to pray alone and "sleep on it" quite literally, keeping an eye on our dreams.<br /><br />We will gather again and resume the process tomorrow at 7 a.m. and continue until 9:15, when we have to go back into legislative session. I don't know what will happen on the floor of the House of Bishops, but we grew much closer tonight. We were left, right, and center -- north, south, east, and west -- older and younger -- veterans and rookies. All those lines were crossed to form personal bonds. It doesn't mean we will vote the same. But it does mean our votes will not break our commitment to each other in Christ.

Live From Anaheim V.5

The proposal on same sex unions hit an emotional gridlock today expressed as a parliamentary tangle. Tonight a self-selected group of 30 bis...

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Don't want to be bedridden in your old age? Read this!

I worked until 8pm today, another 12-hour work day. Long story and I won't bore you with it. I don't really have a choice. Perhaps unemployment, but that's not really an option.<br /><br />I was home by 8:30pm, after deciding not to go to the gym tonight. I had a horrible night's sleep last night, coughing and tossing and turning, the sleep of the old and the sick. I had skipped my morning workout. This makes four days of not working out.<br /><br />I was whining to my husband that this is how it starts, miss one day, then two days, then four, next thing you know it's been a month of not working out. Four days of no gym is a near record for me in the past 17 months. He started telling me that I needed to ease up on myself, that I was going to make myself sicker and blah blah blah. We've had this dicussion many times in the past.<br /><br />As if on cue, right at that very moment a program came on PBS about Aicar and it's effect on the human body. It's some sort of 'exercise in a pill" drug (not FDA approved, yet). I was fascinated, but one part really touched a nerve with me.<br /><br />They talked about how Aicar could be helpful for the elderly that are bedridden and can't exercise. They did an experiment on a healthy 60-year old woman (remember, I'm almost 54). She stayed in bed for ten days, and wasn't allowed to get out of bed for anything, not even allowed to sit up. In ten days of bed rest her muscles aged....are you ready for this? <strong>Fifteen</strong> <strong>years</strong>! Ten days of bed rest was equivalent to aging 15 years. She had also lost <strong>two pounds</strong> of muscle from her legs alone in those ten days!<br /><br />Are you thinking what I'm thinking? OH MY GOD! These are damn scary statistics.<br /><br />If you want to watch the videos, they're <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/0403/03.html" target="blank">here</a>. The program will be online in it's entirety on July 15.<br /><br />All of it was interesting, but I was really intrigued about the Aiding Aging Muscles. Most of you reading this are mere children compared to me, but keep this in mind for when you get older. Exercise is essential, not optional (unless you want to end up in a wheelchair or completely bedridden).<br /><br />Yeah, try to keep me out of the gym tomorrow morning. No way in hell am I going to miss another workout.<br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />In a effort to prove to you guys that I eat more than enough food, I'm going to start posting what I eat every day. You'll be amazed at how much food I eat on this unintentional maintenance thing I've been doing. More tomorrow about my plan to get back on plan and actually lose weight again.<br /><br /><strong>Breakfast</strong><br />Coffee with nonfat sugar-free creamer<br />(the creamer is a bad habit that started recently and must stop) - 1<br />1 free-range organic fed chicken egg (from a friend that has chickens in his backyard) - 2<br />1 Thomas Light multi-grain muffin -1<br />1 sl. 2% extra sharp cheddar cheese (3/4 ounce) -1.5<br />4 sl. extra lean Canadian bacon - 1<br />Points = 6.5<br /><br /><strong>Lunch</strong><br />1 Light Flatout bread (sundried tomato) -1<br />5 oz. turkey breast - 5<br />Spinach, 1/2 cup - 0<br />Tomato, 1/2 cup - 0<br />Light mayo, 1 T (usually use hummus but was out) - 1<br />Points = 7<br /><br /><strong>Afternoon snack</strong>:<br />2 cups fresh blueberries - 2 .5<br />Points = 2 .5<br /><br /><strong>Dinner</strong><br />(this is unusual but it's late, almost 10pm, and I'm not at all hungry because I'm still a little sick)<br />6 oz. yam slices, baked with two teaspoons olive oil and sea salt - 3 + 2.5 = 5.5<br />1 cup 1% organic milk - 2<br />Points = 7.5<br /><br /><strong>Total Points for the day = 23.5</strong><br /><br />Without any APs, I'm allowed 19 daily Points, plus 5 weeklies, or 24 Points maximum. I was within my Point range for the day.<br /><br />This was a strange day. Too busy at work for snacks, and I'm really not very hungry. A very rare occurrence for me and one I intend to take advantage of.<br /><br />By just typing out what I ate today I can see major flaws. Not enough protein or veggies or fruits or dairy. I'll do better tomorrow.

Don't want to be bedridden in your old age? Read this!

I worked until 8pm today, another 12-hour work day. Long story and I won't bore you with it. I don't really have a choice. Perhaps u...

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Live From Anaheim V

GLBT INCLUSION: I have been hoping there would be Inclusion Resolutions I could support. In that respect D 025 was a blessing. It is a mostly well-crafted resolution affirming our commitment to the Anglican Communion and affirming the ministry of gay and lesbian people in all orders of ministry. I could readily endorse those principles especially when held together in the same resolution. After passing the House of Deputies by a margin of about 2 to 1, it passed the House of Bishops by a vote of 99-45-2. I was pleased to be voting along with Bishop Katharine in support of this Resolution. I was also pleased to see the provisional bishops for San Joachim, Pittsburgh, Fort Worth, and Quincy support it. That’s the good news.<br /><br />The down side is that any resolutions we pass (or reject for that matter) are open to interpretation. D 025 is no exception. This resolution will be interpreted by some in divisive ways that will wound the Church and impair our mission. There will be a price to be paid in some of our other dioceses, in our international relationships, and in Anglican churches in developing nations. But the Resolution simply acknowledges what we have already discerned and affirms that we will continue discerning calls to ministry following our own canons. I feel we have done the right thing. Now it is time to pray and exercise forbearance with one another as we proceed with Christ’s mission.<br /><br />Today we took up a resolution to study and develop rites for same sex unions to be formally considered in 2012. The Liturgy and Music Commission and Theology Committee would be acting in parallel and in communication. I support this more readily than I supported D 025 – but then came the amendments and amendments of amendments. The resolution is currently caught up in a parliamentary tangle. Some folks think it doesn’t go far enough fast enough, but their efforts to amend it at this point could torpedo the whole thing. I hope we can get it worked out to the satisfaction of all.<br /><br />COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS: We have just passed a resolution encouraging parishes to form partnerships with local public schools to insure the education and well being of children in our communities. This is what Nevada has already begun this year through our developing partnership with Communities in Schools. It is great to have the whole church getting behind our mission and to know we are ahead of the curve. BTW, I did not introduce the resolution. It is out of New York. But I did speak in support.<br /><br />LIFE LONG CHRISTIAN FORMATION: We passed the Charter for Life Long Christian Formation. This is precisely what our Ministry Development Commission and the Frensdorff School for Christian Formation are about. The new Charter will give them a boost. It calls for each diocese to develop a plan for lifelong Christian education. Again, it’s good to see Nevada just ahead of the curve.<br /><br />5 MARKS OF MISSION: We endorsed the 5 Marks of Mission articulated by the Anglican Consultative Council: Proclaiming the gospel; baptizing and forming new Christians; acts of mercy; social justice advocacy, and sustaining the environment.<br /><br />LATINO EVANGELISM: We asked for the allocation $3.5 million for Latino evangelism, with a goal to increase the number of Latino congregations by 15% in the next three years and to increase attendance in existing Latino congregations by 30%. We voted to fund Spanish language curricula for church camps and for use in Province 9 (our largely Spanish speaking dioceses outside the US). Todos Los Santos in Las Vegas is ahead of the Latino ministries curve but Nevada as a whole is not. I plan to ask for seed money from the diocese to grow our Latino ministries next year, and then explore other funding options to make this a major priority in Nevada for the following years.<br /><br />COMPANION RELATIONSHIPS: We revised the curriculum of College for Bishops to help new bishops develop international companion relationships such as the one Nevada is working on with the Diocese of Santiago, Philippines. 20 Provinces around the world have sent visitors to this convention. 13 of the visitors are the Primates of their Province. We formed a Companion Province relationship with Brazil, which is particularly good because Brazil will support us in the wake of the other decisions made here. And we endorsed common mission projects by Anglican Churches in the Americas. So we should have more chances to work together with fellow Anglicans in the Western Hemisphere.<br /><br />NATIVE MINISTRIES: We endorsed a program for domestic poverty with a focus on community development projects in Native communities. We also endorsed a plan to protect Indigenous burial sites.<br /><br />HEALTH INSURANCE FOR CHURCH EMPLOYEES: A canon was passed requiring all Dioceses to participate in the Medical Trust of the Episcopal Church. Nevada already participates so this will reduce our premiums a bit in the near future and a great deal in the long run. It is a particular boon to small dioceses. We will be asking parishes to study and discuss health care issues on the United States.<br /><br />DISCIPLINARY CANONS: Title IV, the canon law for disciplining clerical miscreants, has been in the process of revision since the year 2,000. A completed new Title IV was submitted in 2006 and shot down. Now, after 9 years of work, we have it back, new and improved. This time it passed.<br /><br />EVANGELISM: Multiple evangelism resolutions passed including covenant partnerships with other mainline denominations; strategies for evangelism, and an innovators network.<br /><br />Along the way, we were greeted today by the interfaith clergy of Los Angeles. A male trio sang a blesssing for us -- a Christian in English, a Muslim in Arabic, and a Jew in Hebrew -- all singing together. Yesterday we had a great children's choir from the Bronx offering an African folk song and folk dance. I enjoyed a dinner with my bishop schoolmates (class of 08) last night. It was good to have fellowship with my friends after a long hard day of legislation.

Live From Anaheim V

GLBT INCLUSION: I have been hoping there would be Inclusion Resolutions I could support. In that respect D 025 was a blessing. It is a mostl...

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Getting old sucks!

My sister is 17 years older than me. I'll be 54 in a few weeks and she'll be 71. It's actually kind of nice having a sister so much older because in a way, I can sort of foresee my future. On the other hand I know I'm going to outlive her and that breaks my heart. She's one of my very best friends.<br /><br />The good news is she's healthy as a horse. She's also beautiful (she got the looks and the smarts), and she looks like she's in her early 50's. She looks my age. She eats healthy, watches her weight and goes to a water aerobics class five times a week, every week.<br /><br />She's has never had a major illness and has only been hospitalized three times in 71 years, for the birth of her three children. This was exactly like our mother, three kids, three hospitalizations. Our mom lived until she was 86 and went from healthy one day to a coma the next and five days later she was gone. The doctor didn't know what caused her death. It's a long story, but we think moving from her own home to an assisted living home ten months earlier is what killed her, but that's another story.<br /><br />Here's what my sister told me yesterday about getting sick when you're older. It's true that the symptoms seem more severe, that colds last longer and generally she feels much worse than when she was younger. A little cold will put her in bed for a week whereas when she was younger she went to work with a cold. Just like me, she said they knock her to her knees these days.<br /><br />So my unscientific research tells me that getting old sucks. Oh wait, I already knew that!

Getting old sucks!

My sister is 17 years older than me. I'll be 54 in a few weeks and she'll be 71. It's actually kind of nice having a sister so m...

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