Once again (as in 2007 and 2008), we here at Felipe Beach are happy to present you with sage advice (no pun intended) for you as you prepare your family’s Thanksgiving feast, as presented by a friend at my former elementary school workplace.  Maybe these families should stick with takeout this year…

Poor Mrs. V! She has to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year!   To help her out, she asked a team of expert chefs—her second graders—how THEY would cook a turkey dinner. Here’s what they said:

 *Invite people over for dinner. Put the turkey on the stove. Put it in a turkey roaster. Put some butter and water on it. Warm up the oven for at least ten minutes. Cook it at 50 or 60 degrees. Set the timer for at least 10 minutes. Put a thermometer in to see if it’s done. It’ll look cooked if it’s done. Make pumpkin pie. Put a pumpkin in it. Smoosh the pumpkin up. Put some crumbs over it. Bake it and it becomes pumpkin pie. Have bread and butter. If you put the bread in the toaster, it gets crunchy, and that’s good. Have ice cream, too.

 *I’ll tell you how my family does it. We roast a turkey. Put it in the middle of the table. Cook it first, though. Put it in the oven. Set the oven at 3 degrees. It might take an hour or a half-hour. Make mashed potatoes and green beans. Open a can of beans and pour them in a bowl. They’re already cooked!

 *You should ask your mom how to cook it. I would go to the store and get a turkey. Cook it in the oven for 40 minutes. Have pumpkin pie. It has one pumpkin and some strawberry filling in it. Have some meat, too.

 *First you get a turkey from a store. Then you put it in a brine. (That’s a kind of a pan.) Put it in the oven. Cook it for 15 minutes. Take it out and stuff it with stuffing. Stuffing is made of meat and a tiny bit of carrot and a little lettuce. Make mashed potatoes. Peel off the brown part and mash them and then bake them. Cook a can of beans. Turn it over and drain out all the water. Put salt and butter on them and cook them in the microwave. Make a pumpkin pie. Make a crust with flour, sugar and water. Put it in a pie pan. Put in the pumpkin parts. Put a round piece of dough on the top and put some whipped cream on it. Then you bake it.

*Go to the market or go to Safeway and get a frozen turkey. If it’s not Thanksgiving then put it in the freezer. Thaw it out on Thanksgiving morning in the microwave. If it has any feathers left on it, take them off. Put tinfoil in the oven so it won’t explode. Then when it’s done cooking and it looks brown enough, let it cool off. Set it in the middle of the table. That’s how to get the turkey ready. Have cranberry sauce. My mother crushes the cranberries and sometimes she adds sugar and honey. Mash it again to mix that in. There should also be mashed potatoes. Get a potato and take a knife to skin it. Take out the bad parts by carving them with the knife. Do one or two potatoes. Crush the potatoes by squishing them in a bowl. Mix them around. Put butter in and mix it all around. Some people have peas. Buy some and thaw them out, and they’re ready to go. Now for yams. First you buy some yams from Wal-Mart. Skin them with a knife and take off the bad parts. Put it in the oven and cook them. To make them sweet, put honey, brown sugar and cinnamon on it. Then your Thanksgiving dinner is ready!

*Buy a turkey at the store. Cook it over the stove for 30 or 20 minutes at 10 degrees. When it’s all brown, it’s done. Have corn, green beans, and peas. Set out everything like the forks and the food and the spoons and the drinks. For pumpkin pie, take a pumpkin and take out all the gooey orange stuff inside it. You also need to add bread and cook it.

 *Get the turkey at Safeway. Put it in the microwave to cool it off a little bit. Take it out and put it in the oven to cook at 350 degrees. Cook it for 50 minutes. Cook peas and corn, mashed potatoes and Jell-O. Make the table nice with flowers on it.

*Buy some stuffing. It’s made of some kind of brown stuff. Buy a turkey. Put the stuffing around the turkey in a pot and cook it on the stove for 30 minutes. Put some butter on the turkey. I stuff bacon in it. I put some vegetables in it, too, like chopped-up carrots. Put a little bit of salt and pepper on the turkey. That’s how I make it at my house. We usually have some home-made corn. We get corn and pick off all the green stuff. Put it in a pot on the stove. Spray it with non-stick spray first. Put two chops of melted butter in it. Let the corn heat for 10 minutes. Then have some mashed potatoes. Use nine potatoes. Peel off the skin and mash them up in a medium-sized pot and make home-made gravy. This is our kind of gravy. Get chicken broth and mix it up with salt and pepper. Pour it on the mashed potatoes. Make a little hole first. Then we’re ready to eat! Have three scoops of ice cream in a triangle shape for dessert. Get that from the fridge. Put whipped cream on the top and use a little bit of every kind of sprinkle you have.

*Get a turkey from the grocery store. Put it in the oven for an hour or two. Set the oven at 20 degrees. Make some stuffing. Stuffing is made of rice and tiny chunks of green things. Some kind of spices, I think. Put it in a little bowl and put it on the stove and turn it up just a little bit high. Put buns and butter on the table. Get some dark brown liquid—gravy? That’s got a tiny drop of water and something brown. You could make mashed potatoes. Get a normal potato. Cut off the brown part. Put it in a bowl (the white part) and smash it up a little bit. You might need more than one potato if there are a lot of people. Have blueberries and raspberries and strawberries all cut up over ice cream for dessert.

*My mom cooks the turkey. Cut it open and put honey in it. Cook the turkey for 50 or more minutes. Set the oven 20 degrees. Have stuffing. Stuffing is rice and other things. Have mashed potatoes and gravy. Gravy has milk and butter in it. For dessert you might have ice cream. We’re bringing pies to our Thanksgiving dinner, like strawberry pie and apple pie.

*Make a turkey. Buy it and cook it in the oven. Cook it for one and a half hours at 60 degrees. Open the oven, and if it’s brown and hot, it’s done. Have rice and beans. Put vegetables like broccoli, carrots, and lettuce in a bowl. For the pumpkin pie, you could buy it or you could make it. There’s things like apples inside it, but it’s more different. Apple pie is sweeter than pumpkin pie. That’s my favorite! Put fruits in the middle of the table.

*Get a turkey. You can get it from Safeway in Lynden. Bake it. You should put it on 30 degrees. Check it after 10 minutes. If it looks like chicken, it’s done. Make baked potatoes and pumpkin pie. Put pumpkin seeds inside it. My favorite part is the turkey!

*You usually buy a turkey. Stuff it with stuffing. Stuffing is meat with cheese. Put it in the oven for at least one or two hours. Set the oven at “a little hot.” Put out placemats, forks, knives and milk for everyone. Make pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

*First get a turkey at the store. Drive it to your home. Get it in the oven. Get it hot. Not too hot, just “normal hot.” (That’s about 5 degrees.) It takes 3 minutes to cook. Make pumpkin pie. Put pumpkin all cut up in a pie with whipped cream. Have punch to drink. And have cookies and toast.

*You have to buy the turkey first. Put stuffing in it. Stuffing is made of some type of cracker and some potatoes. Cook it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Make ham, too. Have chocolate cake for dessert.

*First you buy a turkey from the store. Then you roast the turkey in the oven. Set the oven at 10 degrees. It takes an hour. Set the table and take the turkey out of the oven. The timer will beep when it’s done. Have mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, and pumpkin pie. Buy that from the store and put it in the oven. Buy some water and apple cider.

*Get a turkey from the store. Go home and put it in the sink. Get the stuff ready to make it, like pineapples to put on it. Put it in a pan and put it in the oven. The oven should be at 99 degrees. It cooks for an hour. Get silverware and plates. Make mashed potatoes and olives and pickles. And buns with butter, too. Make pumpkin pie for dessert. First you make the dough. Then get a pumpkin and put it on top of the dough and put it all in a pan. In an hour, take out the turkey and put the pumpkin pie in to bake. The pumpkin pie bakes for half an hour. Get it out and set the table.

*You don’t know?? Well, buy a turkey from the store, or kill it if you go hunting for it. If you hunt it or kill it, you have to pluck up the feathers. Cut the head off and get all the blood out. Then you put it in the microwave for an hour. Heat it to 140 degrees. Make mashed potatoes and rice. For dessert, have apple pie or some other kind of pie. Get the house all cleaned up, and decorate the house with chickens.

*Buy a turkey. Set the oven to 350 degrees. When it’s at 350 degrees, put the turkey in the oven. Cook it for 25 minutes. Put it back in if it’s not done. It’s done when it’s golden colored. It’ll take about an hour and a half. Make the stuffing. It’s got dough in it. Have cranberries and mashed potatoes and gravy. You can get gravy mix at Safeway. It’s called “Turkey Gravy.” Have pumpkin pie for dessert. If some people don’t like pumpkin pie, you can have apple pie, too.

*First you take the turkey’s feathers off. Take off even the feet. Hang them up. When you’re finished all that, then you cook them. Cook them for two hours. They’re done when they’re so hot. Put lemons on top. Make corn and have some water to drink. Have some chips. Have a piñata that has spicy candies inside.

*Cut a hole in the turkey. Dig all the bones out of it. Stuff it with stuffing. Stuffing is made of relish. Cook it in the oven. Set the oven at 60 degrees for 20 minutes. Set the table. Make vegetables and have milk. Have ice cream for dessert.

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“First fruits.”

Ever heard this phrase before?

From an academic stance, it refers to a command God gave His people when they were just beginning their long road ahead (back when God was still laying down the ground rules by way of basic, broad-sweeping commands; kind of like the first week of Kindergarten). 

He instructed them to take fruit from their harvest and bring it to the alter (from whence I’m not really sure what happens).  Not the leftovers, after their families had been comfortably fed.  The first; the good stuff; the best; the stuff we’d assume we have first dibs at…

North American churchgoers hear this term a lot in church.  Especially when it’s tithing pledge time.  When we’re asked to give to various ministries & organizations (an act which, done with a loving heart, should really be a joy).  At those times, we hear a lot about our first fruits…

But not much more than that…

At this time of the year, when holiday celebrations are beginning, and preparations are teeming in the air, most churches stay auspiciously quiet on this topic.  We kinda like to hold on to the good stuff…

I see two sets of possessions(material/financial, not family or other relationships):

“First Fruits (or, stuff we hold on to tightly),”

and “Meaningless Fruits” (or, stuff you really don’t know why you have)  Let’s go over the difference:

“First Fruits” represent the best of what we’ve been given; giving them up would be a significant inconvenience, and would require effort on our part.  The thought of letting these things go generally scares as; we’re conditioned to believe that we need  those things, and if we let them go, we’ll never get it again.  Gifts of these nature are quite meaningful gifts…

“Meaningless Fruits” are things that are afterthoughts, discards; gifts of this type mean nothing to us.  We often don’t even think about these when we have them, and don’t miss them when they’re gone.  These gifts are less a selfless act of giving, and more a convenient clearing of pantry/closet space…

Here are some examples I found lying around in my pantry:

This nice can of soup I was hoping to have for lunch sometime = FIRST FRUIT

This weird can of coconut milk (“Lite,” no less) that I bought for a recipe one time, but then never used = MEANINGLESS FRUIT

This shiny new box of my favorite cereal = FIRST FRUIT

This old box of Onion Soup mix for yet another unrealized recipe = MEANINGLESS FRUIT

 This new bag of pasta from Trader Joe’s (my favorite store) = FIRST FRUIT

This little bag of instant mashed potatoes (of which I have a full shelf-full) = MEANINGLESS FRUIT

 So, why am I so concerned about this whole thing? 

Well, imagine yourself (if you’re not already) in a situation where you’re really struggling this year, and need to use a Food Bank to make ends meet.  Poverty is a pretty humiliating experience; it forces people into awful living conditions, limits life options, and takes away dignity. 

If you ever found yourself in such a situation, and were forced into the already-humiliating position of needing to ask for help feeding your family, tell me: wouldn’t you rather know that others valued you enough that they gave you their best?  Or their meaningless leftovers?

I’m going to try to keep that in mind this holiday season, knowing how much I’ve been given in life…

Got you excited there, huh?

Well, let me bring you back down.  There is no prize.  You will not receive a prize in the mail, nor should you have expectations of such (a statement which frees me from any legal obligation to send you anything ). 

I will say this, however: my two favorite holidays of the year are coming up this month.  Neither of them gets a lot of press for what they actually are, but has come to take on different associations with those “celebrating” them.  And both are generally trampled by the overconsuming machinery of the big retail holidays that are Halloween and Christmas.  People (kids, specifically) hear that those holidays are coming, and they think “Yeah!  I’m getting candy!” or “Yeah! I’m getting presents!” or “Yeah!  I’m getting one of Uncle Phil’s world-famous peppermint chocolate chip cookies!” 

I’m  speaking primarily to my fellow Americans on this, as you Canadians do these holidays right.  But, for too many of us, we know Veteran’s Day as one of those days when grandpa’s dust off their old army uniforms and tell stories at their grandkids’ schools, and some of us get to sleep in, too.  (American) Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is all about the turkey, football, and enjoying/putting up with family (whichever the case may be). 

Both days could be days of reflection and gratitude.  Instead, we tend to look at them for what we can gain from them.

And that whole thing just kinda makes me sick…

When’s the last time you thanked a vet (any vet) for their military service?  And, to that end, when’s the last time you just stopped complaining about something you were mad about, and, instead, found things you could be thankful about in it? 

Halloween’s over.  Christmas can wait.  Please take some time (which you have been given as a gift) to be grateful, to remember, and (better yet) to give cheerfully this month.  You will be happier for it, and others will be honored and blessed by even the most simple acts of gratitude and giving.

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(if you’re still reading this, here’s your prize: some great info about Vet’s Day that I borrowed from a friend.  Enjoy!)

What Do You Know About Veterans Day?

A Brief History of Veterans Day
Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. In legislation that was passed in 1938, November 11 was “dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.’” As such, this new legal holiday honored World War I veterans.
In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress — at the urging of the veterans service organizations — amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

In 1968, the Uniforms Holiday Bill ensured three-day weekends for federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. Under this bill, Veterans Day was moved to the last Monday of October. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holiday on its original date. The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on Oct. 25, 1971.

Finally on September 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed a law which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of Nov. 11, beginning in 1978. Since then, the Veterans Day holiday has been observed on Nov. 11.

Celebrating the Veterans Day Holiday
If the Nov. 11 holiday falls on a non-workday — Saturday or Sunday — the holiday is observed by the federal government on Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday). Federal government closings are established by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management — a complete schedule can be found here. State and local government closings are determined locally, and non- government businesses can close or remain open as they see fit, regardless of federal, state or local government operation determinations.

United States Senate Resolution 143, which was passed on Aug. 4, 2001, designated the week of Nov.11 through Nov. 17, 2001, as “National Veterans Awareness Week.” The resolution calls for educational efforts directed at elementary and secondary school students concerning the contributions and sacrifices of veterans.

The difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day
Memorial Day honors servicemembers who died in service to their country or as a result of injuries incurred during battle. Deceased veterans are also remembered on Veterans Day but the day is set aside to thank and honor living veterans who served honorably in the military – in wartime or peacetime.

…and, after a long radio silence, I can happily confirm the boring-ness of my latest MRI scan!  No new tumor growth, and just some normal post-surgical fluid weirdness on the outside (have run it by several doctors, and none of them have any concerns, so I’m good with that).  As my oncologist (cancer doc.) put it, “Boring is good in this office.”

Thanks to all of you who prayed for those results, and haven’t got tired of my drama-queen head and its occasional health tantrums…

A funny thought occurred to me on the drive home…I’ve had a lot of people praying for these non-results each of the past 3-4 times I’ve had these scans done, each of which builds up to that big “….So?  What’d you find out?” moment after each one.  In reality, I’ve only had one scan that ever showed any kind of tumor growth activity, which was followed by a big fat surgery that took out every visible piece of it they could find; what wasn’t visible was hopefully blown out of the water by radiation and chemo. 

So, in theory, if those initial treatments did their job, there shouldn’t even be any cancerous cells to watch for; things should pretty much be back to normal, making a “tumor watch” something like staring out your window for Pres. Obama to walk up and ring the doorbell (a physical possibility, but not very likely).

If we all prayed for healing, and it worked, why do we go through the drama of praying for someone each time they’re going to (hopefully) receive confirmation that what we asked God for in faith, actually happened?

…I stuck on that question for awhile, and might still be a bit.  The best I can come up with is that, every time we’re reminded of our own powerlessness and need to rely on God for that moment’s strength and provision, then we’re put in a position of having to understand the nature of this whole “God and Us” thing.  We don’t make the rules; we don’t know the outcomes; we don’t have the ability to make our “good thoughts” change things (unless you’re some kind of comic book hero, perhaps). 

What I’m driving at is, perhaps, the whole point of needing to have our faith tested is to merely have our faith tested, so that the next time we have our faith tested, it’ll have already passed through some tests, and we’ll be able to trust God with more and more of our lives, something that brings us closer to Him in general, and keeps us more and more in the loop of what He actually wants us to be doing down here (rather than what we’d like to do, which is usually control things and worry about things out of our control).

(how’s that for a run-on sentence?)

…but I just wanted to reassure people that (a) I’m still alive, and (b) I’m still healthy.  This fall finds me mixing Grad School with full-time employment at a Middle School – a combination with a similar effect on my free time as that of mixing mentos and diet coke.  But, hey, I chose this path voluntarily (or, rather, I finally heard that it was the right one), so no whining!

Later in October, I’ll be getting my next MRI scan, with (in the words of my last report) more “unremarkable” results; I’ll keep you all posted (probably not many posts before then, though). 

How about you?  Anything interesting going on lately?  (you can always leave a comment with the words “personal note” or something like that, and I’ll delete it as soon as I read it, for you cowards that don’t like to post online ). 

Have a great week!

Looks like today marks exactly two years since this “Felipe Beach” thing has been in existence.  Why did I start a blog?  Well, at the time, I was unemployed, in near-perfect health, slightly bored, and looking for a way to keep myself in the discipline of writing (a skill which, like other skills, is lost quickly if you don’t stay in regular practice).

When I first started blogging, I think about 2-3 of you checked in once or twice a week, and that was just fine; I really wasn’t looking for an audience. 

Since then, I’ve addressed hard-hitting issues like embarassing favorite movies; free mail; Third movies; cupcakes; this & that; desk dancing;  and Thanksgiving dinners as cooked by 6-yr olds.

There have been a few serious conversations, too; like my journey in searching for ministry employment, then learning I was needed elsewhere; my dislike of using fear as a motivator toward growth; the notion of really liking sin; life plans; and what it feels like to be a single adult in a marriage-centered institution like church.

Then, now and then, something big comes up where we need as many people on our side as quickly as possible.  For that, I’m extremely grateful for the role this medium has been able to play (because, seriously, all those emails and phone calls just weren’t going to happen). 

And, when you need to change your story really quickly, we can do that, too.  Or just reflect on what God’s been pulling together through all the little things.  Or change the story.  Again.

Through all that, I’m really grateful for how something like the Internet, for all its evils, can be redeemed for good.  Well, mostly good…

Thanks to each of you who’ve read my ramblings, clicked my links, viewed my photos (or ran away in fear), shared your thoughts (or shared them offline), and have just been an encouragement to me through this little experiment I’ve tried in trying to become a better writer. 

 To a great two years! *clink**clink*

Brief Health Update – I’m doing great after my latest (and hopefully last) surgery, as my energy slowly returns to 100% and that dull pain disappears.  I’m getting ready to return to work when the school year begins in just over a week; as hard as it is to close the door on another abbreviated summer, I am actually looking forward to this school year, and all the opportunities within.  Thanks for all your prayers, encouragement, and support!

One of the few positives of being stuck in a doctors’ waiting room for an hour, is that you can actually read those articles in the magazines (rather than just skimming over the reviews of new movies and other lite fare).  My latest reading session had me stumbling across an article in Afar Magazine about the tragically-underreported Welsh sport of bog snorkeling.  Bog snorkeling?  I thought as I read. Those wacky UK folks think of all the good sports! 

Naturally curious about this, and other sports of my ancestral UK, I decided to do a little research on this and other Odd (not just) British Sports:

*pardon my all-inclusive use of “British” to include Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England, and Australia.  It’s just easier for me that way; if you’ve got a problem with that, I just had brain surgery, so back off!

**All links & videos looked fairly family-friendly at first glance, but, nonetheless, I claim no responsibility for their content.

***Any less-than-correct information I’ve got on here is the result of a very hasty research process; a simple comment stating these corrections would be sufficient, as opposed to other forms of one-upmanship that will instantly delete themselves.

Bog Snorkeling- Swimmers in wetsuits or silly costumes swim w/ flippers and snorkels through a murky peat bog, trying to get the best time for two laps of a 55m trench.  Huge in Wales, Ireland, and Australia, among other places where people like to make arses of themselves…

Wellie Wanging – There’s much more to it (including an official World Welly Wanging Association set of rules) but, basically, they throw boots.  That’s pretty much it.  One can only assume (as with most, if not all, of the other contributions to this list) that alcohol played a significant role in the sport’s inception:

Shin Kicking- Pretty much what it advertises; guys kicking each others’ shins until the last man is standing.  When did we decide that having a British accent automatically meant class and charming, ascerbic wit came along, too?

Cheese Rolling- probably the most widely-publicized of the group.  The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake takes place each year near Gloucester, England, which one can assume has an excellent local Emergency Room.  Nobody really knows where the tradition came from (if Wikipedia uses the phrase, “Accurate information is hard to come by,” you know there ain’t much out there), but this silly, exceptionally-vertical sport-like tradition should probably expect to continue for at least another 200 yrs (or at least as long as we have the aforementioned alcohol):

Pea Shooting – Should you find yourself in the otherwise-sleepy town of Witcham, England on 10 Jul, 2010 (to type it the proper Brit way), and should you have brought your specialty-designed, hand-crafted pea shooter, you, too, can compete in this riveting test of skill and lung power, a sport which the likes of Patrick Swayze, Erik Estrada, and Pat Robertson have previously enjoyed (mighty fine company…).

(I couldn’t find any vids online of actual pea-shooting, but this phenomenon has apparently spurred creation of a related video game; think Madden NFL, but with peas)

Black-Pudding Throwing – Another one that pretty much delivers what it advertises…

Coal Carrying – In this test of the human spirit, contestants race carrying sacks of coal uphill for about a mile, from the Royal Oak pub to the Maypole, in otherwise-lovely Gawthorpe, just outside Yorkshire, England.  The linked article explains the origins of this confusing tradition, but I really didn’t understand it, as it was written in real phonetic England English.  Best I can gather, a bunch of guys were bored one Easter Sunday, and just started making stupid dares to one another:

Ottery St. Mary Tar Barrels  – Picture the scene: a bunch of guys running around with barrels full of burning tar on their backs, and, instead of putting those deadly fires out like any civilized person (or, in the UK, any civilised person)would, they cheer them on!  You Brits are sick!

Dwyle Flunking – According to Wikipedia, “The pastime of Dwile Flonking involves two teams, each taking a turn to dance around the other while attempting to avoid a beer-soaked dwile (cloth) thrown by the non-dancing team.”  Guess we’re not even trying to hide the rampant alcoholism thing here.

Worm Charming – Whatever else happens in my life, if I can ever gain membership to The International Federation of Charming Worms and Allied Pastimes (IFCWAP), my life shall be a success…

World Gurning Championship – Basically, people put on a horse-collar, then make the wackiest facial contortions possible.  At last, recognition of the talents of all those little kids who were always told they’d never amount to anything…

Stinging-Nettle Eating – I imagine the postgame press conferences for this one are pretty short…

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I could quite literally spend another month of research on this one, and keep finding odd little ways those wacky Brits find to entertain themselves.  Any notables I left out?

Health Update: (I hope to not have to do too many of these anymore) As I posted earlier, I’m back at home and resting comfortably following my latest surgical adventure.  The surgery appears to have been a success, with no recurrence of the infection that got me here (nor the tumor that started the whole thing). 

Of course, recovery from brain surgery (albeit, a minor form of it) never comes without it’s kinks: I ended up fighting off a bout of walking pneumonia last week, and have had the usual issues with a rapid change in medication.  Thankfully, there are still a few weeks of summer vacation left before I have any real responsibilities to carry out.

 Now, as I figure out what my body’s capable of after a year of 3 major surgeries, radiation, chemo, and a lot of pills, I hope to be able to transition away from an existance centered around doctor visits and health updates, and towards other adventures (like working in a middle school while taking Graduate level classes online.  Hmm.  Chemo doesn’t sound so bad anymore…).  Your notes, encouragements, prayers, & support have all been appreciated of late and always.

OK, on to other less-important pursuits…

As I (hopefully) walk away from these bizarre few months (in which I walked around wearing a protective helmet), I find myself strangely conflicted.  Yes, I am glad to get down to the business of feeling “normal” again.  And, yes, the curious stares & rude comments (not to mention those who saw a protective helmet and felt the need to test it out with a tap) were getting very old very fast…

And, yet, there were some fun things about having this otherwise-uncomfortable accomodation, and the journey  that preceded it. 

An instant conversation-starter everywhere you go…

A portable billboard for artistic whims…

And let’s not forget…

(well, Mom & Dad’s home, at least…)

I just wanted to let people know that I’m out of UWMC, will be back at my place tonight, and am feeling pretty good at this point.  Seeing as this was essentially plastic surgery, the recovery time won’t be nearly as long or as painful as the last surgeries;  I’m walking around (limited for awhile), and should be back up to speed before too long. 

Thanks for all your notes, encouragements, & prayers!  They seem to be doing the trick…

More soon.