Current mood:

calm

" 'The time has come,' the walrus said, 'to talk of many things...
...of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings.'" (From THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER - don't remember the author's name at the moment--maybe one of one of you literary folk can refresh my memory)

So, here I am, to talk of many things.

First of all, I finally have closure on my heart-related issues. I turned in my heart monitor a few days after Christmas. Dr. Morrow (the cardiologist) said that while the ultrasound of my heart didn't show any blockages or leakages, I do have mitral valve prolapse (I wasn't surprised because my mom has it too). Basically, that means I have a floppy valve, but it doesn't leak (which is a good thing). So these "sensations" I was having, where it felt like my heart wanted to do the Daytona 500 was just me feeling the effects of the floppy valve. She gave me a card to keep in my wallet to show to my dentist so they will know that I will need to take an antiobiotic prior to certain dental procedures. I've being doing that in the past anyway due to the fact that I have a functional heart murmur. Oh, and I also did one of those treadmill stress tests - I made it the whole 9 minutes. 9 minutes doesn't sound like a lot, but when it's at a rate of incline that feels like you're climbing a mountain, even if it's only at 3.4 mph, it definitely feels a bit longer than 9 minutes.

I went to see my regular doctor on Thursday, and she had me do a round a bloodwork to check my thyroid levels and see how that's doing (hopefully it won't take 2 weeks to get the results like last time!!). And I went back to the gym this past week for the first time since late October, which was when all this stuff with my heart got started. Dr Morrow said it was okay to go back, just don't overdo it. So I kept the treadmill at around 2.6 mph instead of the usual 3.4 that I was doing before.

My younger brother Eric killed his first deer today. I don't know who got him interested in hunting (I think maybe some of his fellow ambulance drivers), nor do I know how long he's been into it, but he finally got one. During the week between Christmas and New Year's, my 6-year old nephew Will went with Eric one time. Eric had explained to Will the importance of being quiet, so as not to frighten the deer away. Mom said they had been at the stand about half an hour, and Eric texted her on the cell phone saying he had forgotten to explain to Will the importance of being still. Eric said the only thing he killed that day was a good hour.

On the church front, we're still hanging in there--still surviving. About 20 or so men attended last week's meeting to discuss the budget. They're having a meeting of all the men after tomorrow morning's service to discuss the finalized budget before presenting it to the entire congregation on the following Sunday. There are going to be quite a few cutbacks, including cutting out the van program. The ladies who have been riding the van will be picked up by other members of the congregation. This means those who have been driving won't have to spend 45 minutes to an hour both before and after services doing the pickups and dropoffs. This makes for a very late suppertime for us on Wednesday night since Patrick is the Wednesday night driver. This budget is on a six-month basis with pretty much only the bare necessities involved. As long as the congregation is still in existence, I guess Patrick and I will be there. Though, I do miss our friends who have gone to other congregations over the past 5 months or so. I wish I could go worship with them, like "old times" but I still feel a loyalty to the congregation we're at now.

We have recently learned that one of the retired couples in our congregtion will be moving, as in out of the state. The woman and I have been sharing teaching the 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders on Wednesday night. We don't know when they will be moving (I'm not sure if they know exactly when it will be or not), but when they do, that means I'll be back to teaching by myself on Wednesday, in addition to the fact that I'm teaching the 2nd & 3rd graders on Sunday morning.

Work is going good. When we had our Holiday Party/Awards Banquet last month, I got a small trophy and a certificate for Perfect Attendance for the Year. Also, my team leader and supervisor had given me a certificate last month for "Outstanding Work Ethic" and I was nominated for Employee of the Month for December. It sure it nice to be appreciated and acknowledged for your hard work.

Well, I better go. I got a message block a few seconds ago asking me if I wanted to stay online, so somebody must have been trying to call in. To all of you, Happy New Year, peace to all, goodwill toward men, and may God bless you.