OH DEER!

On the way home from northwest Indiana today, I was riding in the car with Indiana's Marketing manager. We had just completed some store visits and a very productive day.

Any time I am on the highway whether I am the driver or passenger, I am always very watchful for deer especially at dusk. They tend to run across the highway and cause lots of accidents. The other reason is that deer are favorites of mine and I hate to see them hurt.

We had just pulled out of the toll booth and tried to merge with loads of semi's plus dealing with that not quite dark snowy atmosphere when all of a sudden in front of us in our lane was a deer that had obviously been just hit. Couldn't tell much other than it was down in the middle of our path. My marketing manager swerved to the left but didn't have a lot of room with the snow built up on the side so we missed as much of the deer as we could and ended up re-running over the deers legs...and I felt every bump. It was a horrid feeling but I couldn't help but think of a scenario from the deer's point of view. What if that deer wasn't quite dead and was thinking?

"Ok, George, you got hit...and you are still alive so all you have to do is muster up enough strength to get up and get to the side.....you can do it....just try to get up before you...." WHAM!

So if the deer had any hope left....we certainly took care of that for him.

On the bright side, my marketing manager did a great job to avoid hitting and/or losing control of the car. All I can say after that event is "OH DEER".

Blast Into My Past

I have had many, many silly and strange things happen to me in my life. Giving a lot of details doesn't make any of them sound any more intelligent, so I am going to give you a summarized list of how I got to be who I am today. I hope you enjoy a Blast Into My Past :

I took tap for 15 years and appeared weekly on WSJV's DD Donovan Show in Elkhart. I danced on live Tv every Thursday. One week I danced with drum sticks, tapping and drumming except they said action and I forgot the entire routine and improvised for 2 1/2 minutes on live Tv while my mom almost passed out behind the camera man.

I am a LaSalle High School graduate. While there, I was required to take swimming. All I had to do to pass the final was to dive off the high board into the water. I am scared of heights. I put it off until I was the last one to test. I climbed up and walked to the edge. I couldn't afford to not pass so I jumped off and while in the air, I was so happy that I had done it I punched myself in the face and gave myself a bloody nose....but I passed.

While walking downtown South Bend with a girlfriend, I neglected to notice the open manhole and I fell in. I caught myself by my elbows and skinned my arms all up while dangling in my mini dress. Yes, quite embarrassing and very painful.

I choreographed an entire segment of a city wide musical production at Notre Dame. Our theme was the era of the stagecoach. I created and taught and was the lead dancer. Because of the constant dancing, I broke down all the ligaments in my feet causing them to swell beyond recognition and on the eve of the production found myself in the emergency room. I stayed off my feet, was carried into Notre Dame, and was able to dance but collapsed at the floor entrance afterwards and missed two weeks of school.

I met former Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney and his wife, Linda, at their home in St. Johns Wood , England. I was told I would never meet him and I set out on a mission which took me across the Atlantic to accomplish it.

In Chicago, after watching the Bristol Old Victoria Company's Romeo and Juliet, I tried to get autographs and was standing in the alley leading to the stage door. All dressed up I leaned on the wall because my heels were killing me. I was leaning on a service door and it opened up suddenly with me following it, landing in an office with a bunch of Englishmen drinking Champagne. Being the lady I was, and also embarrassed to tears, instead of exiting through the door, I bustled up my dress and climbed back out the service door.

While attending the ballet in Chicago, during intermission I took the elevator down to use the restroom. At that time, they weren't self service, there was an attendant that pushed the buttons for you. Having waited too long, I really was rushing to get to the ladies room, except when I got to the room with the stalls, I realized that there was a lot of extra plumbing and a row of men with shocked faces...as I had entered the men's instead of the women's. The man closest to me shouted at me and I turned and ran. I hid around the corner until I felt confident that most of the row of men had left. I pushed the button on the elevator and when the door opened, the attendant was the shouting man from the men's room.

While sitting in a Hardees restaurant with my three teenage children eating, a familiar song came over the music system. It was the classic "Life is a highway.....I wanna ride it all night long". Well, being the cool mom I was, I started singing only I should have checked my lyrics book first because when I sang it I accidently substituted the word "you" for "it"....go ahead, sing it to yourself. Quite the blunder. Well, I am surprised my teenagers talked to me after that one. Oddly enough, they still wanted to be seen out in public with me. Now that is true love.

While in Florida at Sea World, the kid's dad and I were in the audience of about 2500 watching the water skier show. Now they passed back and forth with formations that grew taller with each pass. I was so into this show and was so amazed by the skills displayed that I forgot there were many people around me. During the final stunt, they were making their final pass by to end the show which prompted the music "ta-da". Well, they weren't the only ones taking their final moment because without realizing it, I stood up, arms straight up in the air and I yelled, "ta-da".... and then realized I was the only one standing. That was embarrassing!

I directed all of the talent shows and musicals at the jr. high I worked at. The talent shows were productions with production numbers, themes, sets, and were quite elaborate. This particular one had a Disney type theme of a jungle and many of the songs from Lion King, etc. I had taught two of the participants who had taken tap, a routine and they were surrounded by the cast as they danced. What they didn't know was that they would be joined by another dancer the night of the show. I snuck in the back, put on a full gorilla costume and while they were dancing, I sauntered onto the stage and joined them. After it was over, I exited back stage and hid my costume. No one knew who the gorilla was for months. I finally confessed. It was great fun.

So there you have it. Just a glimpse into the life of Dixie through the years. I do have sane moments but if you can't laugh at yourself and share your stories, what good were they. We grow through each and every experience we have.

I stopped for now but I have many more and there will be a Blast into My Past sequel.

Stay tuned!

Birthday Reflections of My Son

I enjoy talking about all my kids. Today is Jon's , my middle child, birthday. The big 28. Hard to believe.

When Jon was a baby, people would stop me and just stare at him. He had the biggest blue (from my mom) eyes and the little john-john haircut (named after John F. Kennedy's little boy's hair) and it was whitish blond and so silky. He took in everything when we went out. He always looked like he was in awe of it all. He was very striking for a little one. Today he is a man that I can say from my heart that I am very proud of. He is awesome at his job, he loves and respects his wife and their marriage, he is a hard worker, loves his family, loves his friends, loves his nephew, and really is a great role model and mentor for others.

His love of sports and the game of football led him to a coaching opportunity this year. I went to one of the games and to be quite honest, I didn't watch the game at all. I was so impressed at how he coached those high school kids, it was crazy. He brought out the best in them each time he interacted with them. You could see the kids' trust and respect for Jon.

So, I am grateful that I was able to spend some time with him today. Just one on one time to talk, laugh, and share. I started the day off with breakfast with Jon and his lovely wife, Elena. I must say, for still being sick, sharing today with Jon helped a bit.

I love him. I am proud of him and I know that life will treat him well because of him striving to be the best man he can be.

Happy Birthday, my son!

I Have The Bug...(Shutter Bug That Is)

I have been on a kick lately to "capture moments" not only in writing but mostly in pictures. During some of those "moments" I actually have tried to use my brain like a digital camera.....staring so hard as to permanently embed the images in my brain for the most realistic "recall" of the moment. Like bad film though in time the images fade. The one thing I hate about regular pictures you take is that they are flat, one dimensional, and well, not very candid. Since I am an avid Disney Experience fan, when I am down there, I would much rather capture some one's tear during the sentimental fireworks then us standing in front of something smiling. It is all about moments and it is all human emotions, feelings, and events.

I found out that if you have a really good camera, not only can you get up close and personal, but you can also get the most dimensionally detailed picture showing more of the atmosphere.

When you are starting from scratch and you know absolutely nothing about such technology, it is frustrating and intimidating. I have to say that I am lucky to be getting some pretty terrific advice and classroom quality teaching to help me as I research and choose a new digital camera.

I will soon be the proud owner of just such a camera and then, when I push to shoot, maybe I will capture those "moments" to look at and remember in the most vivid, dimensional way.

This is one "bug" I want to have for quite a long time to come!

9-1-1 & Your Cell

Working in the cell phone industry, I always look for ways to utilize cell phones not only as social vehicles, but also as a life enhancement. More and more are using cell phones for play, work, business tools (i.e.: conference calls, etc.) but also now, the replacement for landlines.

Being a mom first always, I think of things such as youngster education when it comes to using the cell phone in an emergency. With landlines, it is easy to pick up the handset and press 9-1-1 for help. With cell phones, there are additional steps.

Also, if emergency personnel would need to get a hold of family, where would they search for the right contact? There is a national emergency initiative to place as a contact the name "ICE". Under that contact name, you can usually add on most handsets several numbers. Utilizing this contact information could speed up the process of getting family notified in case of an emergency. It also is a way for little ones to know by using a speed dial number who to call in case of an emergency.

My company, U.S. Cellular, is a regional company whose prime focus is to be about our customers and enhancing their lives with a great network, service, products, and our first priority of great customer service. We want our customers to feel confident that we are there for them throughout their relationship with us. Safety and education is important to us too. It is vital that everyone knows how to utilize their cell phones to their full potential.

Take the time to educate the little ones so that if you need them to help you, they can with confidence. Taking the time to set up ICE on your cell phone ultimately helps you if you find yourself in an emergency.

It is all about knowledge and utilizing our "toys" as also life-saving, vital parts of our lives. This proved itself on 9-11 when those on a flight to disaster used their cell phones for those critical last calls to their loved ones.

Ok....so i tried teaching my five year old grandson about 9-1-1 and calling for emergencies. I had to use a little dramatic license to make sure he didn't test out the system for himself just to see what would happen. So I told him about two former students who decided to call the number during lunchtime just to cause a scene. "They went to jail". Well, the police did come and took them home which after school suspension it was almost like jail. His eyes got really big and he asked if they had to live in jail. I told him I wasn't sure. He said that children do not go to jail and then almost passed out when I told them there is big peoples' jail and little peoples' jail. He promised he would never do that....but his final thoughts as he walked away definitely sent up warning flags.... "I just wonder who all would come if I called that mergency number".

Great plan.... and now I pray for good judgement.

The Buzz at Church

So, my son and daughter-in-law, my daughter, and I decide to attend church (my second time this weekend). I always remember how important it is to respect those around you and to turn off your cell phone.

I work in the industry and work day and night with cell phones and their capabilities. So, because I am "sorta" on call for my agents, I usually put my cell phone on vibrate so that I know when a call or message is incoming and not have to impose on others when they do come in. I had changed the setting on my phone and put it in my left coat pocket. When we entered our row, people had actually followed us as the auditorium was filling up quickly. So, I sat down and everyone else did too. Since my son's arm is awaiting surgery once again, we are all protective of him to make sure others do not bump into him. Our concentration initially was on that.

We stood and sang to amazing worship songs. The entire band did a great job. I love upbeat praise songs and these were definitely upbeat. The lead guitarist was just really into it and because I love the beat, I appreciated and enjoyed the drums and their drummer as they were just popping ....I loved it!

We sit back down for the message and mind you, we are all in pretty tight quarters what with winter coats and us spreading out a little more to accomodate space for my son's arm. I didn't realize it but the lady to my left sat down after me and was sitting on my coat a bit....yeah, you know where this is going, don't you?

Right in the middle of Mark's message, my phone vibrates and the lady is actually sitting on that part of my coat. That's right, she got "buzzed" and she jumped about a foot into the air.... Then the giggles started. I apologized and just as the giggles had subsided, the missed call left a message which meant, that's right, it buzzed again due to the voicemail alert which started the giggling all over again.

There is something to be said about the "buzz" about church. She definitely "felt" the message.

Happy Birthday 5 yr. old, Here is a Bazooka!

Our new series at Granger Community Church is called "24" based on the television show with Jack Bauer who lives through and covers 24 hours in real time spread over the season. Jack is a special agent and is on the edge of catastrophe and chaos for the entire series of shows. Our church took that theme and incorporated it into a 6 week series based on 24 hours with Jesus as the center. It encompasses family, work, social, private, and spiritual avenues in our lives.

Tonight's focus was on family and there was a drama media that started the body of the service. The media was about a little girl's 5Th or 6Th birthday party with her family. The father decided that Jack Bauer was their hero and so the theme for the party was all about the show and what you see during the show. Her gifts that she opened one at a time were items seen in the most explosive parts of the show such as a semi-automatic gun, night vision goggles, another gun that had a super scope, and on top of her cake, a bomb which they encouraged her to take care of along with the candles on her cake.

Everyone in the audience laughed at the absurd idea of giving such violent things to a little one.

Though the message was clear within the content of the message, it struck a different kind of nerve within me. VIDEO GAMES. Those violent guns and weapons are put in our children's hands all the time with realism that is frightening from the expressions of pain and suffering and fear to the devastation of a life lost due to the violent goals of the games. So as absurd as the little girl's presents were as the message was delivered about family, the reality is that today's society puts those weapons and the ideas of violence in our children's hands every day and they call it entertainment.

My grandson is up on the technology with age appropriate learning games and fun games. He can already run circles around my video game skills but I am talking age appropriate. I feel they put the age decriptions on the packages for good reasons. I am not opposed to video games for adults.....hey if adults are "spending time together" laughing and having quality time together, then more power to it.

I am often teased about my love of Disney and my 49 soon to be 50 trips to Disney World. I am often asked why I go somewhere I have been to and know like the back of my hand. My children grew up there with the ideas that an imagination can move mountains. They grew up knowing that they could dream of being and doing anything they wanted. They grew up surrounded by family and love and a special allotted time spent with nurturing family time and enjoying that uninterrupted love. My grandson now is a seasoned Disney visitor and as a five year old, his world isn't cluttered with violent toys, guns, and the desire to hurt. It isn't driven by competitive video games with the sole purpose of endangering someone. He can sit for hours and play and imagine and his sensitivity towards others isn't clouded by a desire to win a game by "virtually" killing people.

So the next time you look into a child's eyes, think about what exists in their thoughts and dreams. As far-fetched as the media was with all of the gifts being of the violent persuasion, is that what that young mind thinks about or is that young mind thinking about wholesome dreams, visions, and actions. You be the judge.

Don't forget, children grow up and soon tire of children's games and seek more thrills only this time, it's for real.

Are You Listening?

I just returned from a Leadership Meeting in Chicago with 269 other leaders from the Midwest region. It was a long but amazing two days. The first day is what I would like to share with you.

We were fortunate to have Dr. John Izzo, an author, motivational speaker, and a very in depth human being share with us about his latest project, a book, which he turned into a whole day of self discovery for us. His project is about conversations with a group of elders in Africa belonging to several tribes. All of the elders were all over the age of 80 and shared their own philosophy while looking back at their own lives. They talked about what they had accomplished, what they didn't, what they would do again and what they wouldn't, and if they could give their life's wisdom to others, what it would be and why. Pretty stirring things.

So, without going on and on, the focus of all of their words of wisdom boiled down to four major points.

1. Enjoy More
2. Reflect More
3. Return More
4. Take Risks

The fourth one intrigued me because of this quote he shared:
"As you go on the way of life, you will come to a chasm - JUMP - it's not as far as you think"

Isn't it true? When we are faced with the unknown, don't we cower away from it, not going forward to see what is there? Life is full of chances and risk taking. If we never take that leap of faith, what will we ultimately miss? We can't be afraid.

I can think of two instances in my life that I took that jump and both times I grew and became a much better person for jumping.

It is all about faith, prayerful consideration, giving of ourselves unselfishly while not being selfish to ourselves in the meantime. Everyone deserves happiness, but sometimes we need to take that leap to find it. It is about walking with God and "listening" when he speaks to us. He gives us blessings and we tend to take them for granted. We have God moments when we know that God had a hand in the series of events, but we don't see or hear His message because our eyes are not open to it.

We are here for a purpose and something is different because we are here. Cease the moment, be here, enjoy life, but don't procrastinate ....for in the twinkle of an eye, you or others can be gone and the chance of a lifetime gone also.

We were asked to give him suggestions for the title for his book of conversations.

Mine was:
Retrospect......Conversations with Living Wisdom.

Mommy, when I grow up.......

I often tell my "little girl" what a special person she is. I don't get opportunities to publicly talk about this amazing woman and what she means to me.

I seem to be in an artsy mood so when I found this photo, it already looked like an oil painting. It is just how the lighting and focus caught her face.

I have always told Lindsay that God blessed this world with her heart, mind, and her amazing smile. That smile isn't any smile but the doorway to her heart. She amazes me the way she interacts with others, the way she cares about everything so deeply, the way she adores her son, the way she embraces her job and those she works with, and the way she sees into other's souls. Mostly I am in awe of her relationship with God and how everything she does is a mission to show God how much she loves him. Her faith in life and in "God moments" amazes me.

Yes, God entrusted this amazing woman to me as first that "little girl" to the woman that I am so proud to call my daughter.

SNAP! I'm a Photographer

The picture in this post is hanging on my living room wall. This is the kind of picture "I" want to
take. I am on a journey to "capture life" with my camera. My love of photography started a long time ago and believe me, I have been teased about it a lot. I used to be teased because before the evening or event was done, I would have 8 x 10's of all the action. Ok, sometimes I get carried away. It's just me and who I am.
I also have ideas for a book I wish to write. The pictures for this book need to be very special. I have some ideas but putting those ideas into play are another thing.
I have gotten some great advice from someone who does a lot of photography and those suggestions have really improved the content of my photos. I hope to keep learning so that all my pictures tell a story.
Isn't life all about learning? Maybe someday I will capture the perfect moment for all to see.

See you in the "pictures".

Lesson Learned

First of all, I had the added gift of attending GCC this morning with my son. He is feeling anxiety about his arm and the limitations he is facing for quite a while during the healing process. Please keep his recovery and him in your prayers during this time. There is a prayer written on the floor of the church under the new carpeting asking God to help both of my sons find Jesus. I am hoping that he is taking steps towards fullfilling that prayer.

Pastor Rob's message really hit a home run with me today! Rob drew a diagram showing boxes with each aspect of our lives all nice and neat in a row with a center square containing God right in the middle touching each of those neat little boxes. To anyone else the touching boxes might represent a balanced life. If he had not gone any further, I would have felt that my life and that diagram were in sinc in a good way. When Rob went on to show the wheel with the center hub being the strength for the whole wheel of spokes and that center hub being Jesus, well, it all came together in a crystal clear picture. It also showed how the nice boxes all in a row did not represent God's plan for us.

Isn't it amazing how we think we have all the answers and then in 20 minutes, clarification can change everything. Isn't it a blessing that Granger Community Church provides a source of clarification so we can make every minute of our lives count. Every day we are blessed with minutes that can pass and never be seen again or.... minutes that can impact life for hours and hours. I get it.

This morning's message sent me on a path to change my life from squares to a wheel so that from now until the end of my minutes I can have the strength of Jesus Christ as the center of my world and that each spoke I now have and each spoke I will add to my wheel will be stronger and centered on my hub....Jesus.

Amen!!!!!!

Great New Beginnings - The Power of Four

I had a great team meeting today. Not only did we officially welcome a new member, this team of four women plotted out our team meetings and special team event days for the entire year. We also had lots of time to play with our team mascot (Alison's daughter). What a little trooper. She was passed from team member to team member, bounced, cooed at, fed, held, played with all day, and not one complaint from her did we hear.

I officially made my team my "cheering section" by sharing my blog with them so they could keep me accountable.

Exercise Update

This morning's biking was a little tougher as my muscles are letting me know they do exist. It is amazing that riding muscles have nothing to do with walking muscles. This exercise regime really pointed that out to me. I will keep plugging away because....no pain, no gain.

An old skool phrase used to be very popular: "right on" except in my case it's "ride on"!

Under the Knife

Today I will be at the surgery center for my son, Jon. He is quite the weight lifter. Right before Christmas, he was at the gym lifting. While doing light weight curls, his bicep muscle snapped off his bone in his elbow causing excruciating pain. After calling Elena, his wife, he was taken to the hospital where the diagnosis was not pretty. He would have to undergo a MRI and surgery followed by months of rehabilitation. It wasn't the ordeal that bothered Jon, but the fact that his usual workout routine had come to a screeching halt which really bothered him the most. He is a very dedicated exerciser and lifter. He has the determination and dedication to do something everyday no matter how he is feeling. I wish I had an ounce of that in me. He is an inspiration, that is for sure. (yes I rode my bike this morning :-> ) I will update later on. Say a prayer for him as it is his first surgery ever.

UPDATE: Jon made it through surgery just fine. Such a U.S. Cellular manager at heart, his first words coming out of the anethesia was "do you have cell service" to the nurse. Very funny. Now the joy of recovery begins.... I am not sure if he will be a patient patient...but with all of our prayers, he will heal fast and be better soon.

The BIKE

Well, I said I was going to do it....and I succeeded after HOURS of shifting, nuts & bolts, lifting, dropping, wiggling, yelling, leaving the scene to compose myself, and yes, finally the completed project. I must say, when it was all done, I felt not happy I put it together..but almost exuberance like I had won the big race that no one thought I would finish. Helen Reddy's Song "I am Woman" resonated in my brain.I set my alarm, which I never heard, and with a startle, woke up and sat down on my new exercise bike. I started peddling and discovered I was too far back...so I got off....adjusted it closer, got on the bike, started peddling and still, I was too far away, so I repeated this two more times until finally I was where I needed to be. Oddly enough as I continued to peddle...I found myself stretching out more and more. Lo and behold, I just am not strong enough to tighten it tight enough to not slide back. This is something I will have to adjust.... so I am not sure if the cardio workout from this morning was riding the bike or getting on and off. I figured if I ride 15 minutes in the morning and 15 min. in the evening for the first two weeks to build up endurance, then gradually go to one longer workout, I will do just fine.Here is a picture of the completed beast...uh, I mean bike. Thanks K-Merchandise for going out of business so I could get such a good deal on this new piece of equipment of mine.

January 1, 2007

Well...here it is. A brand new year. Fresh, unused, with no markings or bruises, or broken hearts or soaring ones. It is called the beginning.

This is where I enter the year and begin my journey. It is a Monday and usually I would be already working, driving, on a conference call, etc. Being a holiday, I can just sit back and relax today. But the beast in the box awaits me in my bedroom. That is right...my exercise bike! Every last piece of it. So...after "relaxing" for a while...I and my female type tool box will head back and slash that beast open and attempt to put it together as my routine begins in the morning. My only hope after putting it together is to NOT have parts left. Yeah, with a bike..that could mean "falling down" and I don't wish to have an "accident" my first day on the trail.

I enjoyed my hot tub last night. It was quite nice. The moon and stars were out in full force and the cool wind was blowing making my chimes on the patio ring ever so gently. I am still waiting for winter to "arrive" so I can be in the hot tub with snowflakes landing on my face. Now that is a moment I am looking forward to.

My home is starting the year with a new look. I took down all the Christmas decorations. Now the living room has black and white photos of wintry trees and my grandson's black and white photos...I love the look and am glad I did it before today... New Year...New Look.... Its all about the atmosphere of beginning new and fresh.

Happy New Year to all who read this and I hope you are ready for the transformation to begin...I certainly am!!!!!