• The most recent workteam to Nicaragua reported to us, which was challenging.
• The fellow from LBE was too longwinded, though.
• The worship music went surprisingly well (from my p.o.v.) and Dorothy did a great job as WL.
  
• We learned that Tammy is sicker.
• A truly lovely individual told me something that I didn't want to hear. <sigh> God speaks through our interactions with people, and sometimes He says, "No, please do not take a break from WT" and you can tell by the look in His eye that He thinks you should perhaps not be sighing about it, and that you might need to take a teeny tiny look at your attitude.
  

Mid-life is when you look at your attitude-challenged, eye-rolling, sleep-deprived teenager and think: "For this I have stretch marks?"

• delicious souvlaki chicken (with baked potatoes and greek salad)
• delicious apple pie (which she didn't make but did SHARE with us)
• delicious tostadas and tacos
• delicious dark-chocolate-cream pie

• staff meeting this morning, and some work in the office

• World of water
• library
• mailbox
• bank
• groceries

• bake
• process materials for church library
• vacuum
• wash dishes
  
• ascension research
• make supper
• alter Kinetic blouse
• clean bathroom
• try to convince my laptop to recognize Zen (digital recorder)
  
• correct Todd's schoolwork
  

Howie Mandel was on Ellen today.
He is very open about OCD, which I appreciate
He seems to be very affected by it, but he also has mysophobia, which likely compounds his issues.

Howie doesn't shy away from talking about his struggles - they're just a fact of life, and he still has a good life. He's been married for 27 years, and he seems happy.

from http://www.austin360.com/tv/content/tv/stories/2007/03/29howie.html

Q: You suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but having OCD hasn't slowed you down one bit. Talk about living with OCD.

A: Yeah, it has slowed me down; maybe not professionally, but it's something that takes a lot of time and effort in my life. I get professional help. I'm in therapy. I deal with it. I'm functioning, and I'm happy that I'm able to talk about it. As much as I make fun of it and I can't shake hands, it's tough at times. But I'm supported by a loving family and great friends, and I'm doing fine.

Q: How has it slowed you down?

A: Just in life. I won't go to certain places. I'll make decisions on where to go based on how I feel. It's not pleasant.

Q: Do you ever watch "Monk"?

A: I live that. I've seen it, and it's wonderful. I wanted to read for it. When I read the script, I thought not only can I play this, I am this. But Tony Shalhoub does an amazing job.

from http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2006/edition_10-29-2006/Howie_Mandel

Howie attributes some of this manic activity to psychological conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and a germ phobia, that he has had to work through and around his entire life. Even hosting Deal or No Deal, he never shakes hands but merely bumps fists with the contestants.

“I’ve got ADD, I’ve got OCD. In fact, I’d like to buy some more vowels,” he jokes. But then he turns serious: “I think life is just coping, and a lot of people out there have far worse problems than anything I’ve got.”

from http://www.nbc10.com/entertainment/9081482/detail.html

Mandel explained that when he goes into a hotel room, he orders 26 towels and lays a path on the carpet of his room.

Mandel has also been known to be obsessive about hand-washing and showering -- not to mention that his hairstyle screams of Mr. Clean -- he keeps it clean-shaven.

"A hairstyle? You call this a hairstyle? For my germ phobia, it kind of helps me. It feels cleaner and it's low maintenance," Mandel said.

Even his wife likes the look, he said.

"I walked in and she looked at me and she said, 'That is so sexy.' I felt good and then I thought, 'What have I been all these years?'" Mandel said with a laugh.

from http://www.channelguidemag.com/articles/mandel.lasso

How are you doing with your OCD?

I'm out here. I'm functioning and I'm actually OK. It's pretty cool, because I know there are a lot of people who suffer from it, and they're not [functioning]. My heart goes out to anybody who's not and isn't functioning. I'm surrounded by great people and great family and I seek help for it. I deal with some of it with a sense of humor, and some of [it] I just take care of.

But you touch people all the time on the show?

No. No. No. That's such a small part of the deal. Shaking hands is my one, and it's not that I never do it, but it's a little bit of an issue. I can hug and I can touch. It doesn't intellectually make any sense to other people, or even to myself, but it's part of what I deal with.

When did this all start?

From the time I was a kid. I did the talk show and I shook hands, and I've shaken hands, but how it affects me and what it does to my mind is different, so if I don't have to [I don't]. … On this show, I'm more myself than I've ever been.

Even more so than your talk show?

Yeah, because I had to shake hands and they didn't want to deal with that issue. This is me, and you're seeing every side of me — from dramatic, hopefully at times funny, to a little bit flawed in the sense that I can't shake hands. [Until now] I've never been able to just be me on television.