Being thanksful, Day #4

Today i come to my DD3.  Back in September of 2000, my Beloved felt God telling her that He would bring about healing through her daughter.  Well, at the time, we had only the two boys.  When she told me i confided in her that i was feeling led that we should have another child as well, to which she replied, "you don't understand, this is going to have to be written across the sky!"  Alrighty then.  So we both prayed about it.  The boys were too young, so we didn't mention anything to them, but about a week later, one of them said, "Dad, i want a baby sister.".  That floored my Beloved and me.  While we were convinced at this point we had a lot of traveling coming up, etc., so life sort of got in the way.  Thanksgiving family trips, and then my mother passed away.  It was not until early Spring in 2001 before we remembered. 

Where we didn't have to wait long for the boys, DD3 took her sweet time.  My Beloved ended up using about 3 at home tests, all of them came back negative. Then a blood test, negative.  Then another at test negative - all of this within the span of about 2 or 3 weeks.  Finally, a second blood test showed that she was indeed pregnant.  It was about time!  My Beloved was about 6 weeks late by the time of the positive test.  She was born post 9/11, and i was called to active duty when she was less than six months old.  It was a long 13 months.  Four months before returning home, she was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis.  Long story, but this turned out to be a 'false positive'.  While DD3 still has at least two CF "Variant" genes, and her body does not seem to absorb fatty foods, she has slowly grown in to a fine young lady.  She loves to play soccer, and animals.

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Despite my statements to the contrary... this blog has fallen into disuse... that has not been intentional.  I am in a new season of life.  I changed my position at work, the kids are growing older so there are changes there.  Both Thing 1, and Thing 3 are on soccer teams, and Thing 2 we continue to grow with and learn from.  All the while my Beloved and i continue to grow together.  Life never seems to slow down... and my own father says that it just speeds up!  *sigh*  But i don't want it to speed up.  Well, since it has been a 'coons age since my last update, i guess i will just bring things up to date about me...

Let's see - Soccer, or futbol as it is known elsewhere in the world, takes up a lot of my time.  DS1 plays for his High School team and my DD3 plays on a traveling team.  They both love to play, but it is a serious commitment to their parents in getting them to and from practices and games.  Well, not as much for the H.S. level, but the traveling team has 3 practices a week, and some times games on both days of a weekend.  One thing i have noticed is that both of them are not... a part of the "in" clique of their teams, or in school.  I am OK with that personally, but sometimes i worry about them.  I guess that stems from my own experiences at their age.

The driving all over God's creation has been a big contributor to less free time, which directly impacts my writing time.  Not just blog writing, but my short stories as well.  While i have written a few chapters, i am not near as prolific as i used to be, obviously.  I have been able to keep up with some reading though.  I am still in the middle of about 4 different books though.  I finally finished the "Path of the Eldar" series.  Very well done.  I enjoyed each and every page, and i read just this morning that Gav Thorpe is looking in to an Audio book as well.  Very cool.

I am not sure if i mentioned this in the few blog posts i had late last year, and (much) earlier this year, but i am a fan of Cam Newton.  He came on strong last year and set all kind of NFL rookie records, etc.  This year he has struggled some, but i think that is somewhat normal.  He is finding his niche within the game and still feel he will settle in to be the best quarterback the Carolina Panthers have ever had.  Only time will tell.  Despite a 6-10 record last year, and what very well could be worse this season, i think the team is on the right track overall.  Basically, i have been a fan of the Panthers since the league announced the franchise being awarded to Charlotte, i have stayed with the team through a 1-15 season... and i will stay with them through these trying times as well. A side note/observation - no team named after a predatory cat (Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars) has ever won the Super Bowl.  As a matter of fact, only two of them have ever played in the Super Bowl (the Bengals and Panthers), so, while i will remain a die hard Carolina Panthers fan - i will now be rooting for each and everyone of the Big Cat teams!  Unless they are playing the Panthers that is.

With the plethora of time i have, i restarted fallout 3 with a brand new character.  I can't stand not finishing things, and i hate starting things in the middle, so... I am also going to try and journal my 'journey'.  Why?  Well, i really like the game, even after having it for four years now, and i like to write.

Since i last blogged dear reader, i have found two new TV shows that i like, and an "old" one i have finally discovered.  The "old" one is 'The Big Bang Theory'.  I have several people tell me that they couldn't believe i was not already watching it.  But, i did give it a try once and i found it too in my face regarding things about boys and girls "hooking up".  Maybe i am just getting calloused to it, but i really enjoy it now.  I especially like how Stuart is becoming a regular on the show this season.  The two new shows are 'Arrow' on The CW, and 'Revolution' on NBC.  'Arrow' because it is based on the DC Comics character, the Green Arrow.  'Revolution', well, because it was a post-apocalyptic scenario where the power goes out all across the world.  Both of these shows are less than ten episodes on, but i am interested enough to record them and watch them as i can... usually in 10-15 minute intervals.  I am like them both quite a bit.

OK, i am not sure if these are decent updates or not, but it's what i've got for now.  Oh, and i'd like to thank Tulip for her help in making new banners for my blogs.  The one here has been around for a while, but there is a new one for the Fallout 3 blog.  8)  I am slowly trying to spruce things up.

May this find each of you enjoying God's perfect peace and grace as you read this.  No matter how disjointed it comes across.

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Overdue Ramblings

Wow, i cannot remember the last time i blogged... and i am too lazy to go back and find out while typing this one up so... i am just going to go with it.  This one may be long in the tooth as i have several notes i dropped into an unpublished blog entry - which is not being converted into one i am going to (actually) publish.  So let us begin, shall we.

Some time back i mentioned that i was going to do a "Dragon Hunt" in my favorite Facebook game, MouseHunt.  Wow, it was a miserable failure!  LOL - i had 50 pieces of bait, i attracted the beast 14 times, and caught it exactly 0 (zero) times!  That's right, none, nil, nada, zilch, diddly squat!  LOL  God is an awesome God.  He has a perfect way to ensure i do not get so full of myself that i lose sight of more important things.  Even when i jest, whenever i boast or talk smack, i get my tucas handed to me.  In this case i was 'boasting' how i was going to do so well with a fellow MouseHunter that is much more experienced than i. This has been true since... well, High School.  RAM, who i play a lot of games with over the years.  We are pretty evenly matched strategically, etc.  When i just "mind the house" and just take care of business i do pretty well, but practically every time in my almost 30 years of knowing him that i boasted and/or talked smack... he thrashes me in the event.  LOL  Maybe it's a mental block on my end... but i honestly believe it is God's grace that allows it.  And this is a good thing.  If i think about it... i will expound on how my praying for patience is working out in my life.  8)

Well, since then i have dove into the Seasonal Garden and Zugzwang's Tower.  While i enjoy the seasonal theme, i get impatient.  Because i am not willing to just throw expensive Super Brie at attracting the mice (it costs real money, or 4,000+ gold per piece) i tend to get a lot of "failure to attract" (or FTA) results.  This causing the power meter to dribble down 3% each time, while most of the mice you do catch only raise the bar 1% or so.  So it takes me a long time to get the amplifier fully boosted to 150%.  But once that is completed i am able to hit the tower.  I like the overall chess theme and the strategy involved.  What trap to use and when.  What bait and/or base to use and when.  Time is not on your side here.  Each mouse you catch the power bar you worked so hard to charge up out in the garden, drops it a percentage based on the point value of the piece (for example, Pawns drop the meter 1% while Queens drop it 9%).  You also have to catch the pieces in ascending order.  That is, you have to catch 8 pawns before the knights become available, two knights before the Bishops, etc.  However, once you have caught the 8 pawns does not mean they scamper away and hide.  No!  So you can continue to catch mice that you no longer need, all the while trying to catch the ones you do... but your power meter continue to drop with each catch (FTA).  I have made four trips to the tower so far, while my first two trips were decent, catching the King while still having 70+%.  My last trip it was in the 50's before i finally caught the King, but one one trip i stubbornly stayed until the power meter was in the 20's.  The points are great, but not as much gold to be made.  Still, this is my favorite area so far.

A week or so ago i heard about how a current trend is for churches to have some kind of door prize or raffle to draw people in the doors around Easter time.  I can see the arguments about wanting to get people in the door that normally don't attend church, especially around Easter.  Overall i do not agree with the practice.  I feel that it sends the wrong message overall.  I am not saying that God does not use it, or that He won't or wouldn't use it - because God can use anything of course.  In the end, i pray that God does use it.  The most important thing is the sharing of the Gospel, and that it takes root.

I have finally caved.  I took DD3 to Pet Smart and bought her a new fish tank and some fish.  I am just not willing to cave and get a dog, or even a cat.  My beloved and DS1 are highly allergic to cats, and dogs need to be walked and cleaned up after.  No amount of promises that "i will clean up, i will feed" were going to sway me because i know who in the end would be doing such tasks.  I like fish, even with the containment of mess, etc. not taken into account.  There is something pretty peaceful and fun to just sit and stare at them.

While i was watching a show on cable the other day i saw a commercial for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"... WHAT?!?  AWESOME!  LOL  I already own the series on DVD, however, i plan on watching it on the Sci-Fi channel just to encourage it in syndication.  8)  I feel Fox really did not do right by this series, and i am pretty sure that it will not make a comeback.  This show is just one of many that i liked that did not enjoy a long run.  Space: Above and Beyond and Max Headroom immediately came to mind.

So, 12-Apr was the 150th anniversary of the start of hostilities between the North and the South of the United States of America.  I believe it is called a "sesquicentennial"... boy that is a mouth full.  Lately DS2 has been showing an interest in seeing a reenactment.  It's not the soldiers he is most interested in, but the muskets for some reason.  He has been wanting me to take him to one for almost a year now, so... i am going to be more actively engaged in trying to find one close to home.  It really shouldn't be as hard as i am making it living this close to the Mason-Dixon line and all.  Oh, and if you can... i HIGHLY recommend Ken Burns' "The Civil War" special that first aired on PBS.  An excellent work in my opinion.

Ok, i am finally going to wrap this up.  One thing that has 'hindered' my blogging has been a tare i have been having writing my short stories.  All told i am pretty sure i've put down over 10k words.  All three of my story lines have moved some.  One has not been "published" (i.e. posted to my short stories blog site, not ink and paper), but the other two have moved along nicely.  i have even taken some decent notes on where to go with all three at this point, so in a way... even if it means my blogging "suffers" (and judging from the number of readers... it will not be missed too terribly) so i can get more writing done.

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One morning last week i got into a discussion with a friend of mine about how i feel that i need to learn to be more aggressive in some ways.  It was then inferred that i did not know what that meant, being the clueless git that i am.  I still don't know what they meant though, so i thought i'd look it up and try and figure it out.

ag·gres·sive
[uh-gres-iv] -adjective
1. characterized by or tending toward unprovoked offensives, attacks, invasions, or like; militantly forward or menacing: aggressive acts against a neighboring country.
2. making an all-out effort to win or succeed; competitive: an aggressive basketball player.
3. vigorously energetic, especially in the use of initiative and forcefulness: an aggressive salesperson.
4.boldly assertive and forward; pushy: an aggressive driver.
5.emphasizing maximum growth and capital gains over quality, security, and income: an aggressive mutual fund.
6.Medicine/Medical .
      a.(of a disease or tumor) spreading rapidly or highly invasive; difficult or impossible to treat successfully.
      b.pertaining to a risky surgery or treatment, or to a medication that has grave side effects: aggressive chemotherapy.

Origin:
ag·gress
[uh-gres] -verb
1.to commit the first act of hostility or offense; attack first.
2.to begin to quarrel.

To be honest... in the context i had intended... most of those definitions were not what i was going for.  I wanted to say that i wanted to be the initiator, the first to begin as opposed to my furtive attempts before.  Always waiting to make sure i was not offending in some way.  I am not looking to quarrel i am just trying to lead in some ways. I guess if i were to apply one of these definitions it would be from #3 above.  Although... after this little exercise... i am still not sure.  LOL 

Things at work have been a little 'stormy' of late.  Just busy and chaotic.  Last week i was approached about the possibility of some kind of trip out to the mid-west.  I was both excited and nervous.  Excited because, well, i don't do a lot of business trips.  Nervous because i would be going into someone else's "house" to sniff around.  It's a long story, and one i would not like to air out here in public.  For my take on things, i would not be going to exert any kind of pressure.  I would only be there to get a better idea of how things are working there, look under the hood so to speak, and see what we could do to interact together more efficiently.  Today it looks as if the long reconnaissance patrol has been canceled. Basically i am standing by to stand by.

For some time now PUMPKIN (DD3) has been wanting a puppy REALLY bad.  Before i say anything else, i love dogs.  I like the comradery , the unconditional acceptance, and the incredible faithfulness of the canine species in general.  But in the end, i am not ready to have a dog in our home.  Dogs require a lot of care.  I do not want to get a dog and then neglect it in some fashion.  Of course she says she would take care of it, etc., but i know the truth.  Next winter when it is snowing i am going to be the one out there walking the dog and cleaning up the yard.  Then, there are the medical bills, etc. that eventually arise.  Due to allergies etc. a cat is out of the question too.  Note: unlike some dog lovers i am not opposed to cats.  I like cats for their independence and how they can (generally) clean up behind themselves.  They can also get in trouble and create messes too, but again... i am leery of the additional expense of having a cat.  Animals deserve, and require, care and one should not assume the responsibility of ownership of a pet unless you are prepared to care adequately for them.  As a compromise i went out and bought a starter ten gallon fish tank. We have it set up in her room to allow the water to balance out and we will be going to get the fish later this week.  I had never heard that the ratio for fish is generally 1" of fish per gallon of water capacity of the tank.  I am still pretty sure i will be the one who ends up taking care of the thing, but at least the fish won't smell up the house or tear up the yard.

I deferred my Dragon hunt in MouseHunt due to a special event where the amount of scrap metal dropped by the various mice was doubled.  "Farming" for scrap metal in MouseHunt is a test of endurance and patience.  I recently constructed a powerful base, but it took 200 pieces of scrap to make it.  I am pretty sure the cumulative time it took me to gather it all up was literally a month or so. Now, i am not sure what else i might need it for, or if there is something coming up that will needed it, but one cannot ignore such events on just the off chance it will come in handy.  Anyway... i have begun my Dragon hunt in earnest as of Monday.  If i catch two Dragons will be happy... if one of the two should happen to drop the blueprints for a very powerful Hydro trap... i will be ecstatic. Once this brief run (50 pieces of cheese maximum) is completed, i am finally beginning my run through the Seasonal Gardens and Zugzwang's Tower.  I have so been looking forward to this region because i LOVE chess... even though i am not very good at it.  In preparation i have already purchased and crafted the traps i am able to use at this level.  If i can get the Heat Bath blueprints from the Dragons i will be even more prepared.  Unfortunately i had to smash my one Chess themed trap that i did have to craft the even more powerful one... but i will save up to replace it.  I am going to shamelessly post each chess piece i catch on my facebook profile.  I apologize to my friends in advance for, perhaps, unwanted game advertisements.

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The changing of seasons

I am pretty sure i've mentioned it before... but i am not a big fan of change.  And yet... the one thing that is consistent IS change. "Everything in the universe is on time, and everything is subject to change."

THUMPER heads to High School this year.  He is really a good young man.  I worry and dread and all that stuff, but for the most part he really does make decent decisions and has a direction and he is moving towards his goals - even though they don't include the military (so far)... i am blessed to have him as a son.  He's already talking about a job he would like to have next summer.  Of course that includes driving...

PIRATE will be starting band this year.  This one caught me by surprise.  He will be playing the saxophone for the first time.  This makes me nervous because he is not one to like practicing, and he has a low tolerance for mistakes... in himself or with others.  Like me, he does not do well with change, although he is getting better.

PUMPKIN has been practicing with a girls only traveling soccer team, and we even hosted two of the coaches who came from the United Kingdom to help teach the kids (it's a summer job type of thing for them).  She took is going to a new school.

After fourteen years seven months and a handful of days and hours, my Beloved is returning to the work force.  BY God's amazing providence, it is the same position that she left to become a SAHM just before THUMPER was born.  I could tell she had been getting antsy... well, for a while now.  A year and a half ago she worked part time in the evenings, but it was not really her 'cup of tea'.  We are pretty sure that this is a job that she will not have too much trouble with.  God willing, we will be able to get some money saved for the upcoming expenses like... cars and car insurance... college... weddings... maybe even a 20th anniversary trip of some kind.  The hardest part for me is that her hours will be flexible depending upon the need, etc. and also having to make sure all three munchkins are where they need to be and homework and chores are getting done.  I am most nervous about my expectations... i once heard a Pastor say "Disappoint comes when expectations exceed experience".  So true.

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Music Monday - 20100726 - the evening edition

I took a long weekend to get some errands done, and to visit with my "favorite sister-in-law" and her two really cool girls.  (Sorry, no funny nick names for them yet... )  On Thursday i took care of personal errands.  Friday we headed to Hershey Park.  Wow that was hot day, but a fun time was had by all.  By the time Saturday came around my Beloved and i were feeling the lasting affects of heat exhaustion. 

I have dealt with heat exhaustion over my years.  Especially during my times with the National Guard.  I've learned to not only be preemptive, but to learn how to "push through" it.  Sometimes, no matter how much water you drink, or sodium you put into your body, it will just not handle the heat.  I've struggled with the heat since coming home with the flu from school one year.  I was so sick i didn't leave the couch i collapsed on until i went to the hospital with dehydration.  It sucks.  Not much you can do except just muddle through it and continue to drink adequate fluids and ensure proper diet.  The body will bounce back, but you have to take care of it.  Since i am more used to dealing with this i have been trying to help my Beloved stay in a rest state.  Yesterday i took THUMPER, PIRATE, and PUMPKIN to the early service and let my Beloved sleep in.  I arrived a little late to the service for reasons i shan't go into here, but at the end the worship team sung the song that seemed to express my hearts desire, and thus i thought i would use it for today:

The More I seek You
by Kari Jobe


The more i seek you,
the more i find you
The more i find you, the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet
drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breath, here your heart beat
This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming

For me it fit my desire to draw closer and closer to Christ.  I want to sit at His feet, i want to just be near Him.  And yet, unless the Father open my mind and my heart, my desire would never have been such.  I've remembered thinking how it would be to recline at the Last Supper like the Disciple John did.  To be among Jesus' followers and to walk with them, to see what they saw, and to hear what they heard.  And yet... i fall short of even my own basic desires.  I often allow distractions to interfere with my quiet times, and that is frustrating.  I long for the day when i no longer have to look as into a dim mirror.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.  When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:9-12, ESV)

After surfing around Kari Jobe's website i may have found yet another new "young" artist (i have no idea how old she is, only younger than me ) that i enjoy.  She seems to have a heart for God that, from what i can tell so far, comes through in her music.  It is wonderful to hear.

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"I Love Your Blog "

"Jingle", who has recently begun to read my blog from time to time, has tagged my blog with a "I Love to Read Your Blog" award.  Now, i think that is pretty nice.  So, i thought i would share it with whoever else happens to read these ramblings. 8)  I am honored that anyone, other than myself, would actually continue to come back and read more than once.

The rules are pretty simple, i now list 10 Things I love...

1) I love Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.  He is my rock and my sanctuary.  Since i responded to His call i have known unspeakable joy, and peace.  He is my Alpha and Omega.  Before there was time He knew my name, and He sought me out.  He was instrumental in my life when i still hated Him, and yet even then He reached out to touch and intercede for me.  Without Him, i have nothing.

2) I am deeply in love with my Beloved wife whom has been such an incredible blessing in my life.  God has used her in my life to learn and grow.  She has been an oasis in a pretty topsy turvy world.  She is truly my best friend and soul mate.  A precious gift of God, and i can never say thank you enough for her.

3) I love my children.  What an amazing source of grace in my life.  Not only has God entrusted me to teach and prepare them, He uses them in my own life to learn and grow.  Even aside from that, what a source of joy each of them are in my life.  Each one unique.  Each one amazing.  May God continue to shower them with grace and mercy (to make up for my failures), and when the time comes, may each of them launch out into the "target" God has for them, and may they influence their world for the Kingdom.

4) I love American Football.  For as long as i can remember i've liked football.  I still remember watching the Washington Redskins (my father's lifetime favorite team) take on the New York Giants on a grainy black and white television.  Not long after my dad took me to a game at Giants Stadium when the Redskins came to town.  Loved it.  I've been to several baseball games, and while i love the atmosphere at a ballpark, the franks, etc.  There is something about Football that just stirs excitement in me. There is a strategy involved, strength of will, teamwork.  It's not just 22 guys trying to knock each other down.

5) I love Elves.  I am not referring to the older Scandinavian like Sprites or those associated with St. Nicolas.  I am referring to the Tolkien type.  To be honest i am not really familiar with the smaller cousins, so i cannot speak as to why i do not prefer them over the larger ones; however, i can speak to the reasons why i love Token's version.  For one, the have a love of music (see #10 below) and the study of the world around them.  They fight ferociously against the encroachments of evil wherever it is found.  They are unhurried in their study of the world around them, and they seek to live in harmony with the environment.  They can afford to be patient as they live 'forever'.  And they have a grace of movement which is incredible.  If God ever allowed me to be something other than human, i think i would ask to be an Elf.

6) I love writing.  It is my creative side.  It's like the world i write in is all mine.  I can immerse myself into it and create whatever i want.  It is an escape for me.  One way that i can, in a fashion, still play with my "little army men".

7) I love learning about grace.  One reason i have a growing stack of books to read on my nightstand is because i do love to learn more about grace, to learn more about God and the study of His word.  One thing i do suffer from having a hard time forcing myself to reread things i may have covered.  Even if it is from another point of view.  Like my pride says, "oh, i got this, next..."  Once i trip over this landmine of my own creation i often have to reread the section.

8) I love strategy games.  I still remember playing my first two different strategy games.  The first one was (i believe) a "block game" simply called Napoleon.  It was a board war game with wooden pieces designating Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery.  I was hooked within 5 minutes of being introduced to the game.  This happened the Summer of 1980.  I could probably still walk to the apartment my cousins had taken me to to visit with their friend.  The second one, and i am pretty sure it was at the same friend's house was a game called Tactics II.  Similar, but a more modern version and a little more dynamic in regards to the maneuver of troops, etc.  Later on i learned about Squad Leader (a WWII squad level tactics game), and Air War.  While i couldn't find a direct link to Air War, i remember devouring the rules and leaning about roll, pitch, yaw, inertia and how it required the build up of energy points to make turns, etc.  If only life were less complicated.

9) I love post apocalyptic science fiction.  I am not really sure when i was hooked, but there were several influences in my life.  Gamma World (RPG), Damnation Alley (movie) come to mind.  There is something to be said about over coming life difficulties, especially after having grown up with everything one needs to survive at one's fingertips.  I think it also has to do with a latent desire to simplify my life.  Granted... life would NOT be simple in such a world.  My more recent interests in this genre are the Terminator movie series, The Book of Eli, Shadowrun (RPG).

10) I love music.  Preferably music without lyrics.  My tastes range from Classical Symphony, quartets, rock and roll solos - guitar, drum, keyboard, or in the case of Jethro Tull - flute, to Celtic Folk music (i.e. River Dance).  I have had a desire, especially after joining our High School Pipe Band (TYNIE, a serious thank you for inviting me to join ~ my only wish is that i had participated longer), and really loving Jethro Tull back then didn't hurt either, to learn an instrument.  Preferably the flute or penny whistle.  Someday, maybe i will actually achieve this dream.

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Now i am to tag other blogs that i love to read (and follow up with a comment on their blogs to let them know how much i appreciate and love their blogs).

CJ Mahaney's View from the Cheap Seats ~ While the title has CJ's name, it is also authored by Dave Harvey and a few others. 
Of First Importance ~ This is a Theological blog (author unknown to me) that seeks to share the gospel of Christ first and foremost.
Thoughts of a Wood Elf ~ This woman has a passion to follow the Lord like i have rarely seen. it is a beautiful thing.
Big Mama's Blog ~ This woman and i do not see "eye to eye" on a few things; however, she has a passion for singing and seeking. And she is open and honest enough to share it with the world.
A Lumberjack's Wife ~ A recent find of mine.  Hilarious, she has on more than one occasion induced Dr Pepper through the nasal passageways.
Monkeys are Funny ~ A fellow beneficiary of ADD as well as a public servant.  Well before her back injury, and i have found that although the body has failed in some aspect, the mind and heart have not.
Lovin' and Livin' ~ A long time internet/blogging friend.  Through storms and deserts she still persavieers.