Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[lookeyloo]

Speaking of names, my mother (long deceased) had the name "Selma" on her birth certificate and that's what everyone called her, I'm told.  The story goes that when my grandmother took her to register for school she said "And now your name will be Zelda" which it was from that day forward.  My grandmother also named an uncle (long deceased) Paul, but, then a while after he was born remembered she had a boyfriend named Paul that she ended up not liking, so everyone started to call my uncle "Phil" which wasn't even his middle name.  This was in the 1920s. 

[Missy Vixen]

One of the victims in the Gabby Giffords shooting in Arizona a few years back was a little girl who was born on 9/11 - the actual day in 2001. And she ends up being killed by a whackjob gunman 9 or 10 years later - wow. The stars were certainly misaligned for her, this time around. Poor little kid...

 

July 28th - you and my heroine - Jacqueline Kennedy.

I still remember that little girl's family being interviewed on one of the news channels. Her brother started to cry and the dad said something like "We don't cry, son. We're strong." I have often wondered what happened to that family. And I am sick (still) that they lost their beautiful little girl.

 

I have always been proud to share a birthday with Jacqueline Kennedy. ;-)

[Pixie Chicken]

I hesitated to post this, but I've been thinking for awhile that you all are awesome.  We have been dealing with some pretty heavy decisions lately. 

 

Everyone is fine, we're happy and healthy and all is well, but we have some decisions to make that have major life-changing ramifications for us.  Job offers, potential moves, that sort of thing.  Most of it is good, but scary, and there are some complications in the mix too.  I won't get too specific (wheeee, anonymity!) but of course nothing is straightforward.  Also, we're on one income, so any job changes for hubby feel extra risky.  I don't want to go back to work, and I wouldn't actually be able to afford child care even if I did.  (That education major really seemed like a good idea at the time.  Heh.)  It feels like we're under the gun to make some decisions NOW, but we'll see what happens.  (I also had a pregnancy scare in there--  negative.  Nursing has done wonky things to my cycle, but I took three tests over a two-week period.  I felt like a Duggar, you guys, only I felt relief to see just one line.)

 

Anyway, I don't post a whole lot since I'm usually feeding a baby while I read, and people have been posting such raw, emotional, personal stories that I don't want to say the thread is "fun" or just a "diversion," but I do pop in here just about every day and I feel like I know a lot of you, and I enjoy the little community that's here.  My heart goes out to you guys who are dealing with the tough stuff -- I may not sign in or post my condolences/support/concern, but you're on my mind and in my heart.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Pixie Chicken

[zenme]

Pixie Chicken, we could be going through some similar stuff.  Things happen for a reason, and walking into the unknown is very scary.  I always try to remind myself to not live my life in fear, but in courage. I know, so much easier said than done.  It will be okay.  (Hug of support.)

Edited November 12, 2015 by zenme

[GeeGolly]

Change is hard, whether good, bad or unknown. Sometimes it helps to look at change like a grand adventure and opportunity.

 

I know for me personally, that spending too much time contemplating change, messes with my head. I do better by weighing the facts and coming to a decision sooner rather than later.

 

Good luck Pixie & zen!

[Lemur]

Hey folks,

 

I just wanna wrapped you up in a nice, warm, fuzzy hug (and unload one of my multitude of unsolicited, hand-knitted hats on you).

 

Also, IT'S FRIDAY!!!

 

So what's making your day just a tad brighter?  Is it the end of a hellish work week?  The thought of sleeping late tomorrow?  Weekend plans?  An especially well-made cup of coffee?

 

For me, two days of not having to get on the train, of getting more than five hours a sleep at a stretch, and of making up some crock pot pulled pork sandwiches.

[magpye29]

For me, getting cast in a play after 28 years of not acting.  I have missed theatre desperately, and have been seeing shows, ushering, working crew, training as assistant stage manager, becoming a house manager, and FINALLY! getting back to acting!  I'm very happy and excited.

 

Pixie, I'm sending positive energy your way.

[Barb23]

If you all could send some positive vibes my way today, I'd be greatly appreciative. I'm going for my 6 month follow-up this afternoon for the pulmonary embolism they found end of April. I had a f/u chest CT scan done earlier in week & will get results today. I had CT scan during the summer & clot was gone but with my crazy body, you never know. I'll keep you posted.

[BrianJ62]

If you all could send some positive vibes my way today, I'd be greatly appreciative. I'm going for my 6 month follow-up this afternoon for the pulmonary embolism they found end of April. I had a f/u chest CT scan done earlier in week & will get results today. I had CT scan during the summer & clot was gone but with my crazy body, you never know. I'll keep you posted.

Best of luck, I had a Pe on 1/2/07 scary as hell.

[BrianJ62]

1.2 billion Catholics vs a handful of people who give their kids unique names: Jim-Bob, Spurgeon, Billy-Sue, etc.. It's like an NFL team vs a high school team. And I'm sure us Catholics have more than a few unique names.

Edited November 13, 2015 by BrianJ62

[Almost 3000]

Hey folks,

 

I just wanna wrapped you up in a nice, warm, fuzzy hug (and unload one of my multitude of unsolicited, hand-knitted hats on you).

 

Also, IT'S FRIDAY!!!

 

So what's making your day just a tad brighter?  Is it the end of a hellish work week?  The thought of sleeping late tomorrow?  Weekend plans?  An especially well-made cup of coffee?

 

For me, two days of not having to get on the train, of getting more than five hours a sleep at a stretch, and of making up some crock pot pulled pork sandwiches.

ahhh hand knitted hats. My aunt used to volunteer making them for cancer patients. She was a lovely lady and your post made my day brighter by reminding me of her. Thx!

[Lemur]

ahhh hand knitted hats. My aunt used to volunteer making them for cancer patients. She was a lovely lady and your post made my day brighter by reminding me of her. Thx!

I knit for the local NICU, except for when I get bored of doing tiny hats and start knitting bigger hats.  I have to finish off my niece's and nephew's this weekend, then back onto a scarf, and the afghan that's a year in the making and still only half way done. 

[lookeyloo]

I knit for the local NICU, except for when I get bored of doing tiny hats and start knitting bigger hats.  I have to finish off my niece's and nephew's this weekend, then back onto a scarf, and the afghan that's a year in the making and still only half way done. 

A while back there was a website that gave a pattern for tiny tiny hats and where to mail them.  I made a whole slew of them and sent them off.  It was satisfying.  Now I'm not into knitting that much.  It will come back I'm sure.

[allonsyalice]

You guys have reminded me that I definitely need to do some hats before it gets too cold here. I also want to do a few to leave on statutes and stuff for people who really need it.

[NewDigs]

Anyone else remember the NZ penguins that needed sweaters?

Talk about good intentions gone awry.

[HundFan]

I look EXACTLY like Angelina Jolie. As a matter fact, people often stop me on the streets to ask for my autograph! ( I am sooo joking.)

 

Candice Bergen here. The young, thin version. (Not.)

[BitterApple]

Lol, am I horrible for thinking the penguins looked rather dapper in those sweaters?

[NewDigs]

Lol, am I horrible for thinking the penguins looked rather dapper in those sweaters?

I especially liked the little guy sporting the sweater with the Penguin Books colors complete with the penguin logo.

No wonder they had an overload of sweaters.

[ChocolateAddict]

There was a similar situation here where koalas needed cotton mittens after the bushfires.  The poor things would be running on the burning ground to escape the fires and would burn their paws. They asked people to sew cotton mittens (it was literally just cutting out two pieces of fabric, sewing them together and putting some string on) so that they could treat the burns but also keep them clean since the bandages needed to be changed really often.  They ended up getting hundreds of thousands of them to the point where they had wayyy more than they needed although I'm sure that there will be plenty of need for them in the future.  

Edited November 13, 2015 by ChocolateAddict

[Tabbygirl521]

Hey folks,

I just wanna wrapped you up in a nice, warm, fuzzy hug (and unload one of my multitude of unsolicited, hand-knitted hats on you).

Also, IT'S FRIDAY!!!

So what's making your day just a tad brighter? Is it the end of a hellish work week? The thought of sleeping late tomorrow? Weekend plans? An especially well-made cup of coffee?

For me, two days of not having to get on the train, of getting more than five hours a sleep at a stretch, and of making up some crock pot pulled pork sandwiches.

I am excited because tomorrow we are going to pick up many boxes of bamboo flooring, which will be installed soon to replace some sad carpeting. It may be lame but I have been looking forward to this for a long time!

[NewDigs]

Friday is my Monday. Bah.

But a pulled pork sandwich would be good!

Tabbygirl521, I'd be excited too!

I remember when we tore up our tired old berber and put wood down.

We have an open plan and it was almost like getting a new house. I didn't even want to put the furniture back cuz I just wanted to look at the floor.

Enjoy!

[Barb23]

Good news - my CT scan was negative & embolism/ clot is gone. I can stop blood thinners (yeah!!) & take daily aspirin. Feels so good to be able to stop a medicine, esp a blood thinner, instead of being on them forever. And I was sooo happy to see "the" People magazine in my mailbox featuring the Benessa happy family. (Just kidding). I really thought my subscription stopped with last weeks magazine & was a little upset I didn't get to see this one. Now my day is complete.

[amitville]

Good news - my CT scan was negative & embolism/ clot is gone. I can stop blood thinners (yeah!!) & take daily aspirin. Feels so good to be able to stop a medicine, esp a blood thinner, instead of being on them forever. And I was sooo happy to see "the" People magazine in my mailbox featuring the Benessa happy family. (Just kidding). I really thought my subscription stopped with last weeks magazine & was a little upset I didn't get to see this one. Now my day is complete.

Great new glad all is good.  Treat yourself to something, does not need to cost a fortune. 

Edited November 13, 2015 by amitville

[Love2dance]

Good news - my CT scan was negative & embolism/ clot is gone. I can stop blood thinners (yeah!!) & take daily aspirin. Feels so good to be able to stop a medicine, esp a blood thinner, instead of being on them forever. And I was sooo happy to see "the" People magazine in my mailbox featuring the Benessa happy family. (Just kidding). I really thought my subscription stopped with last weeks magazine & was a little upset I didn't get to see this one. Now my day is complete.

What great news! Celebrate and have a Happy Dance!

Edited November 13, 2015 by Love2dance

[Vaysh]

Oh my god I can't believe what is happening in Paris right now. Death toll keeps rising and there's a huge hostage situation involving maybe a hundred people with gunfire and explosions. I can't imagine how terrified those poor people must be.

[ChocolateAddict]

It seriously puts Spurgeon in perspective doesn't it? Watching it live now with my heart in my mouth.  I can't even imagine how confusing and terrifying it would be in Paris at the moment.  

[kalamac]

It is a horrible situation. I hope things don't get worse for everyone over there.

[NewDigs]

Very sobering. Perhaps 100 dead w/in the music arena.

I think we also need to hope things don't get worse for everyone everywhere!

Disturbing and very frightening.

Never like to hear the word "sophisticated" re: attacks.

[Readalot]

I was offline for a few hours getting ready for and getting yet another U/S. I got online while I was waiting to talk to a nurse and read about Paris. Tragic is such an understatement! I'm glad the hostage situation is now over. I have to agree with Obama, this was an attack on all humanity! This could happen here, anywhere! Pure evil these monsters are.

[crazycatlady58]

There are no words for the things happaning in Paris. I cannot even imagine the fear of the people going through this.

[BrianJ62]

I was in Iraq (fall 03) as a contractor we got mortar'd and shot at by Al Qaeda frequently, its scary as hell, I can only imagine what these people in Paris are going through. My prayers go out to all those affected.

[Love2dance]

Such a terrible, terrible tragedy in Paris. I left my computer right after my last post and had no idea about the terrorism until just now. Hug your loved ones tight, fellow small talk friends. It is a scary world we live in.

[Readalot]

I was in Iraq (fall 03) as a contractor we got mortar'd and shot at by Al Qaeda frequently, its scary as hell, I can only imagine what these people in Paris are going through. My prayers go out to all those affected.

I can't even imagine, glad you were not physically affected. When hubs left the Navy in the late 90's we could of went to that region for a job. Great untaxable pay. But my hubby thought the anti-American stance (that he experienced when he was there) at that time was not worth it.

[emma675]

I can't even wrap my mind around the level of sophistication and planning it took to carry out those attacks in Paris. It's terrifying. And it really is a global attack--they hit a stadium hosting a soccer match between France and Germany, a concert hall featuring an American band, a Cambodian restaurant. Just horrifying.

[Micks Picks]

Giraldo Rivera's daughter was at the soccer stadium ( maybe 2 daughters) and he was on the phone with one daughter who made her way home (there for a semester of college) and she said "Daddy, come get me"   Heck, I'd do the same.  

[BrianJ62]

Giraldo Rivera's daughter was at the soccer stadium ( maybe 2 daughters) and he was on the phone with one daughter who made her way home (there for a semester of college) and she said "Daddy, come get me" Heck, I'd do the same. Sorry about the bold. I tried a few times and can't seem to shut it off.

Your just a bold type of person!

[Micks Picks]

Good one Brian, and I'm so glad you were not one of the contractors who was drawn and quartered and hung from a bridge.  And if I hear of any more soldiers being disciplined for taking out civilians at the same time as the enemy, when the enemy deliberately quarters themselves with women and children (if not using them directly), I'm going to scream and shout and go on TV and raise a stink and a half.  One incident in particular still more than infuriates me.

Edited November 14, 2015 by Micks Picks

[ChocolateAddict]

Maybe let's not go into warzone ethics concerns... I feel that maybe the Prayer Closet isn't the place to discuss American discipline in the Middle East.  

[Micks Picks]

Sorry Chocolate and Kalamac.

[ChocolateAddict]

Hahaha all good Micks Picks :) 

[BrianJ62]

Maybe let's not go into warzone ethics concerns... I feel that maybe the Prayer Closet isn't the place to discuss American discipline in the Middle East.

Edited November 14, 2015 by BrianJ62

[frenchtoast]

The point is to not discuss politics/policies etc here as it is bound to create bad feelings. Please don't. Posts will be deleted as this a forum wide guideline. 

 

Also that's not a funny joke, and I find it rather offensive. I'm hoping that wasn't the point.

[BrianJ62]

Sorry for the off color attempt at humor. I'm Catholic but I have Jewish blood relatives, I'm not Anti-Semitic.

Edited November 14, 2015 by BrianJ62

[leighroda]

Boy have times changed. When I took my nursing boards almost 30 years ago, we "sat" for our boards--2 tests lasting 3 hours each for 2 days (total of 4 tests over 12 hours). And then we didn't get our results for about 8 weeks. But, unlike the computer tests now, we could go back and recheck and change answers.

Best of luck on your boards..

Thank you so much!! I have until February to take the NCLEX It's a lot different now, it's computerized and you have 6 hours for the whole test, the minimum number of questions is 75, but you can have up to 265. So if you get to 75 and have missed a lot it'll fail you right then. The questions get easier or harder based on how well you are answering, and there are 4 levels of difficulty. So say you get a level 1 right, it'll move on to level 2, and you get that right, it'll go to level 3, but say you get that wrong, since it's a harder question it'll give you another level 3 just to see if you really don't know or just made a mistake, and it cycles through that throughout the whole test. Also it has different areas of study like peds, ob, psych, etc, and it cycles through those too, so say you miss an ob question it'll keep asking you ob questions to see again if you just missed one or you are deficient in an area, and vice versa if you get one right you may see a couple more questions in that area, but it'll move on... Basically you need a test just to know how to take the NCLEX. You don't get the results until 2-3 weeks later, but there is a sneaky way to find out if you passed (this test is pass fail for those who are not familiar...oh and we're talking about the board exam to be an RN, I brought this from another thread because it was off topic, but I just realized nobody probably knows what I'm even talking about) anyway, the sneaky way can be don I think a couple of days after the test, if you go online and try to register for the test, if you passed it'll say you are not eligible to take the test, if you failed it'll let you sign up.

[BOOgen3]

We have been in Turkey for the past twelve days and a fair number of our group are set to fly on Monday to Paris from Istanbul to change planes. A rather subdued group this morning, to say the least. Earlier this morning we received the notification from the US state department to avoid the areas surrounding the Istanbul marathon on Sunday. This afternoon we will be touring Ankara, the site of a terrorist attack about a month ago. Scary times but we are not going to hide, just move about with extreme caution. I will admit I was petrified to fly over here and was extremely grateful for all the levels of security in the US airports. My heart goes out to all those families that suffered unimaginable loses.

[SomePity1066]

Safe travels to you and your family, BOOgen3. You'll be in my thoughts, and hope to see you right back here letting us know you're all home, safe and sound. 

[BOOgen3]

Thanks for the kind thoughts, SomePity. Fortunately we are staying on in Istanbul for a few days by ourselves and are avoiding Paris, as we have a direct flight from Istanbul to Logan. At least armed with my iPad while traveling, I can focus on the bizarre world of the Duggars and ignore the frightening international state of affairs. (Although the name Spurgeon for a sweet innocent baby is pretty damn terrifying.)

[mbutterfly]

We have been in Turkey for the past twelve days and a fair number of our group are set to fly on Monday to Paris from Istanbul to change planes. A rather subdued group this morning, to say the least. Earlier this morning we received the notification from the US state department to avoid the areas surrounding the Istanbul marathon on Sunday. This afternoon we will be touring Ankara, the site of a terrorist attack about a month ago. Scary times but we are not going to hide, just move about with extreme caution. I will admit I was petrified to fly over here and was extremely grateful for all the levels of security in the US airports. My heart goes out to all those families that suffered unimaginable loses.

Prayers for a comfortable return home for you and yours. 

[JenCarroll]

My heart is heavy with grief for Paris, the world's most beautiful city, where I have spent some of the happiest times of my life. So much pain for the people. I was reading the French papers for a bit, but it's nearly unbearable. And there was also a train derailment in another part of France, near Strasbourg, with at least ten killed. It was just an accident, nothing to do with the terrorists, but what terrible timing.

People are slipping into the attack areas to leave flowers and memorial items, even though they're supposed to be closed off. What makes people do that, do you think?

On pleure.

[amitville]

We have been in Turkey for the past twelve days and a fair number of our group are set to fly on Monday to Paris from Istanbul to change planes. A rather subdued group this morning, to say the least. Earlier this morning we received the notification from the US state department to avoid the areas surrounding the Istanbul marathon on Sunday. This afternoon we will be touring Ankara, the site of a terrorist attack about a month ago. Scary times but we are not going to hide, just move about with extreme caution. I will admit I was petrified to fly over here and was extremely grateful for all the levels of security in the US airports. My heart goes out to all those families that suffered unimaginable loses.

Please be careful and safe travels.