Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Change of Address:
10:06 PM | 
Posted by
Mandi
I was having too many technical difficulites (and trust me, with my life I don't need any more difficulties. Thank you.) here on blogspot, so I've upgraded to a dotcom!
You can now visit me at http://www.deputydelirium.com/
Same ol' quirky, random, OCD me but in a new and improved happy place. Ahhh. Do you feel the sun on your face, the whisper of the wildflowers blowing in the breeze, and a faint hum of a dragon fly passing by? Me neither, but it was worth a try.
Also, you will need to re-follow me (or as I am calling it being my Fan since Follower has such a stalker feel to it) PLEASE!!! You have no idea how my self esteem is boosted when I see that someone is my fan. Invite your friends too! I understand that you'll have to sign up for a Google account to be my fan, but I will well make it worth your while. :)
You can now visit me at http://www.deputydelirium.com/
Same ol' quirky, random, OCD me but in a new and improved happy place. Ahhh. Do you feel the sun on your face, the whisper of the wildflowers blowing in the breeze, and a faint hum of a dragon fly passing by? Me neither, but it was worth a try.
Also, you will need to re-follow me (or as I am calling it being my Fan since Follower has such a stalker feel to it) PLEASE!!! You have no idea how my self esteem is boosted when I see that someone is my fan. Invite your friends too! I understand that you'll have to sign up for a Google account to be my fan, but I will well make it worth your while. :)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Miss Me?
10:50 PM |
Posted by
Mandi
Have you missed me? ;)
Recently I have had blog ideas in my head like you wouldn't believe! However, I have been very sick for a while now and am experiencing some difficulties in getting all of those ideas on here. [insert BIG sad face here]. I am hoping that I have reached the worst part of what I'm dealing with and will be back to myself in a couple of days. Then watch out! It's going to be a Blogapalooza!!!
Recently I have had blog ideas in my head like you wouldn't believe! However, I have been very sick for a while now and am experiencing some difficulties in getting all of those ideas on here. [insert BIG sad face here]. I am hoping that I have reached the worst part of what I'm dealing with and will be back to myself in a couple of days. Then watch out! It's going to be a Blogapalooza!!!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Which Crime Fits the Bill? (get it? bird, bill?)
11:38 AM |
Posted by
Mandi
A) Someone really does not like the items I use for decoration and has a morbid way of telling me.B) The bird did something truly awful and deserved what it got.
C) Future hunter in the family?
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
It's A Blog Eat Blog World
7:26 PM |
Posted by
Mandi
I have enriched my sitting on the couch time lately with browsing through various blogs. (notice how I made my laziness seem productive?) Have you done this? Well, do it when you don't care what time it is or when you have other engagements to tend to. Like going to the bathroom or feeding your children. Pop some popcorn, cube some cheese, and slice up an apple - a well balanced meal you don't have to feel guilty of while you 'research' all there is out there.
What I have found is that perhaps I'm not a very good blogger. I mean, there are some people out there that offer up templates on how to make your own swinging bed (yes, I'll be making one cause they're so cool) there are people who teach you how to turn rummage sale finds into things that look like you paid high prices for them. There are sewers that want me to make a monkey felt hat for my kids this winter. And perhaps even send them out as gifts. If I sewed I'd be tempted. But I can't even thread my machine let alone run the thing! I've downloaded recipes for a lime chicken marinade, laundry detergent that fits in a 5 gallon bucket and makes over 600 loads worth. I have been shown how to do behavior boards, ribbon clips, and the perfect tie for the little man in my life. Brain Freeze!!!
Is this what blog seekers want in a blog? I'm not good at anything enough to teach it to you. Besides, you probably already know how to do everything I know how to do and I'd be thoroughly embarrassed to she you my way. The only thing that I feel I have done a superb job on is my kids. And I sure as heck ain't gonna teach you how to do that! I love blogs that let me into peoples' lives so that I can feel a comraderie. I want to know about people's everyday struggles and how they overcome them. I like to read my friend Ali's blog because she leads an ordinary life but the way she writes about it has me laughing so hard I cry! (Her button is on the left, The View From the Johnson's) I also love to read http://www.newthingmonday.com/ that another one of my friends writes. I've never met him, but he has taken me in somewhat like a sister. He does something new every Monday then reports about it. I live vicariously through him.
I may throw in a "How-To" every now and again, or a recipe that my family really enjoys. But don't decide to stick around because of those. I hope that this "Mandi Unplugged" blog puts a smile on your face just because I am a normal person living a normal life and you connect with that. Then pass me along to your friends because, to be honest, my self esteem rises a little bit everytime I get another 'follower'. :) I want to have a big-kid blog. So when I see comments and new people here that I've never met before, it makes my heart say, "They like me! They really *like* me!"
Friday, August 6, 2010
For A Good Time, Watch The Muppets: Habanera
5:43 PM |
Posted by
Mandi
may I also suggest "Ode To Joy" by Beaker on Youtube? Quite funny.
This Has Me LOLPIMP!!! (The Muppets: Pöpcørn)
5:40 PM |
Posted by
Mandi
This one is my all time favorite. Seriously, I love these guys.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
There Are No Words, And For Me, That Is Odd
10:59 PM |
Posted by
Mandi
I want to tell you a short story. I went to Lubbock High School back in the 80's. Diversity was the norm. The school was full of character and spirit. I loved it there. I had many friends and felt like I could mingle with just about any social group there. Back then, as a teenager, I had a couple of very close friends and a lot of acquaintences. This story is about one of those acquaintances whom I have grown to love as a sister these 20 years later. I miss her, admire her, cry with her, and thrive on the 'boosts' she gives me. I feel important in the small things that I have to offer. So let me tell you about this amazing woman.
This is Michelle. I knew her as Michelle Burns in high school. A quiet girl that I didn't take the chance to get to know very well. We hung out with the same people, but it was a large group of people. We talked and giggled, but we didn't get to be heart to heart. Isn't her family gorgeous? Isn't *she* gorgeous? Michelle, and her husband Joel, have three children. This picture has only two of them in it. Yes, the Duyck (pronounced Duck) family is beautiful. And their hearts are as bright as their countenances. (picture has Presley, Michelle, Joel, and little Camden)
This is Joel and Michelle's third child. Chloe. This picture is of Presley kissing her baby sister in the hospital. This was the only time Presley got to touch, or see, her sister.
This is where Chloe lived. She had a short life - just 4 days, but because of her parents, her memory and her purpose for coming to this earth remain in many people's hearts. Chloe was born with a serious congenital heart defect (CHD). Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. I'm not going to pretend I know what this is, but when Michelle and Joel found out about Chloe's condition before she was born, they became experts on it. I'm also not going to pretend to understand the grief this family felt when their daughter passed away without truly being able to hold or cuddle her. I can't imagine. If I were Michelle I would have sat down in a dark room in a fetal position and cried. I would have blamed others for not doing enough. I would be hurt and angry. Ultimately I would just fall apart and give up on having anymore kids for fear the nightmare would happen again. Thank goodness, for so many strangers out there, that Michelle didn't act the way I would have. Or so many other mothers out there. Nope. Michelle grieved, went through the motions and then dusted off her boots and started *acting* on what she knew and her experience. She started the Chloe Duyck Memorial Fund. Michelle started spreading information but that wasn't enough. Somehow she got the strength to start having events to raise awareness, and money, for research. Big events. Like at South Fork Ranch where the TV show "Dallas" was filmed. And with big names. Bands in TX that supported her. Recently Michelle has gone bigger. She has sealed a car in NASCAR. Yep, now that my friends, is big time from where I stand.
Here is the Chloe car. Hope4TinyHearts raced by Ken Wallace. It has pink and red butterflies and pink and red hearts all over it. It is girlie, and it is gorgeous as it races around the track at 100mph! Wallace has helped Michelle get the word out about CHD. I couldn't be prouder of my friend. Oh, did I mention that through this process I have had the honor of getting very close to Michelle? I love her. I love who she is and what she represents. I love how she sees herself as a person who is doing what she can to help others deal with or prepare for what she went through with Chloe. She is a rock to me, through all of what she is doing she takes time to make me feel good about what I am struggling with in my own little world. Which is *nothing* compared to her experiences! We are going to live by each other someday and create a party planning business called "M&M Parites" or something cute like that. Anyway, I digress. As if this NASCAR having Chloe's name on it and the fund and everything that it has on it isn't enough. NO! Michelle has gone a step further. The car has been updated to this:
Here is #28 all gussied up in her finest. All those words on there? You may not be able to read it, but they are the names of other CHD kids. Chloe and all her CHD buddies will be flying around the race track in Bristol proud that there is someone who has not let their stories die. Proud that their parents, with the help of Michelle, didn't crumple in a corner and fall apart, but are informing and trying to nudge science along so that other babies don't have to go through what they went through.
This is Michelle. I knew her as Michelle Burns in high school. A quiet girl that I didn't take the chance to get to know very well. We hung out with the same people, but it was a large group of people. We talked and giggled, but we didn't get to be heart to heart. Isn't her family gorgeous? Isn't *she* gorgeous? Michelle, and her husband Joel, have three children. This picture has only two of them in it. Yes, the Duyck (pronounced Duck) family is beautiful. And their hearts are as bright as their countenances. (picture has Presley, Michelle, Joel, and little Camden)
This is Joel and Michelle's third child. Chloe. This picture is of Presley kissing her baby sister in the hospital. This was the only time Presley got to touch, or see, her sister.
This is where Chloe lived. She had a short life - just 4 days, but because of her parents, her memory and her purpose for coming to this earth remain in many people's hearts. Chloe was born with a serious congenital heart defect (CHD). Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. I'm not going to pretend I know what this is, but when Michelle and Joel found out about Chloe's condition before she was born, they became experts on it. I'm also not going to pretend to understand the grief this family felt when their daughter passed away without truly being able to hold or cuddle her. I can't imagine. If I were Michelle I would have sat down in a dark room in a fetal position and cried. I would have blamed others for not doing enough. I would be hurt and angry. Ultimately I would just fall apart and give up on having anymore kids for fear the nightmare would happen again. Thank goodness, for so many strangers out there, that Michelle didn't act the way I would have. Or so many other mothers out there. Nope. Michelle grieved, went through the motions and then dusted off her boots and started *acting* on what she knew and her experience. She started the Chloe Duyck Memorial Fund. Michelle started spreading information but that wasn't enough. Somehow she got the strength to start having events to raise awareness, and money, for research. Big events. Like at South Fork Ranch where the TV show "Dallas" was filmed. And with big names. Bands in TX that supported her. Recently Michelle has gone bigger. She has sealed a car in NASCAR. Yep, now that my friends, is big time from where I stand.
Here is the Chloe car. Hope4TinyHearts raced by Ken Wallace. It has pink and red butterflies and pink and red hearts all over it. It is girlie, and it is gorgeous as it races around the track at 100mph! Wallace has helped Michelle get the word out about CHD. I couldn't be prouder of my friend. Oh, did I mention that through this process I have had the honor of getting very close to Michelle? I love her. I love who she is and what she represents. I love how she sees herself as a person who is doing what she can to help others deal with or prepare for what she went through with Chloe. She is a rock to me, through all of what she is doing she takes time to make me feel good about what I am struggling with in my own little world. Which is *nothing* compared to her experiences! We are going to live by each other someday and create a party planning business called "M&M Parites" or something cute like that. Anyway, I digress. As if this NASCAR having Chloe's name on it and the fund and everything that it has on it isn't enough. NO! Michelle has gone a step further. The car has been updated to this:
Here is #28 all gussied up in her finest. All those words on there? You may not be able to read it, but they are the names of other CHD kids. Chloe and all her CHD buddies will be flying around the race track in Bristol proud that there is someone who has not let their stories die. Proud that their parents, with the help of Michelle, didn't crumple in a corner and fall apart, but are informing and trying to nudge science along so that other babies don't have to go through what they went through.
If you would like to know more details about the Chloe Duyck Memorial Fund, or about CHDs and just how much more common they are than you would like, visit http://www.causes.com/causes/5487
I didn't want this blog to be about the Fund or the defects per se, because I'm not as educated about it as Michelle is. The point of this blog was to introduce you to her. To try to inspire you with her story, in whatever way you need to be inspired. Michelle and I have a favorite saying: (well it's a favorite now, among others we've loved) "So many people walk around like they are Clark Kent and they don't realize that they're really Superman" (thank you Justin Newton!)
I applaud you Michelle. You are my hero.
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