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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

new_year cliparts

Hope your 2009 is happy and blessed!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008


Dancing Santa
Graphics & Myspace layouts



Merry Christmas, everybody!

Friday, December 19, 2008

50 Things About Me

Saw this at Brenda's and just had to play along. If you'd like to play along, too, just answer all these questions and let the rest of us learn more about you.

1.Do you like cheese? Yes, with a capital “C”!
2.Have you ever smoked? No, tried once, but nearly choked to death, so decided it wasn’t for me.
3. Do you own a gun? No.
4. Do you like listening to Christmas music? Yes, but glad it’s only around once a year.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? A little, although I haven’t been to a dr. in over 15 yrs.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Good once in a while, with chili on top.
7. Favorite Christmas song for all time? O Come All Ye Faithful
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee
9. Can you do push ups? More like “flop downs”.
10. Who is your favorite Grey's Anatomy Character? Don't watch it.
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? Gold locket. Was a gift from Hubs.
12. Favorite hobby? Playing card games on the computer.
13. Do you eat "exotic" foods? Depends on what is considered “exotic”. Escargot - no. Caviar - no. Chocolate chip cookies - YES!
14. Do you have A.D.D.? Depends on what you want me to pay attention to.
15. What's one trait do you hate about yourself? Inability to stop myself from eating too many chocolate chip cookies.
16. Middle Name? If I gave you that information, I’d have to kill you so you couldn’t tell anyone else.
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? How should I answer this question. I don’t have any chocolate chip cookies in the house. Need to stop blogging and write out my Christmas cards.
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday? toilet paper, bread, chocolate chip cookies.
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Coffee, diet Pepsi, water - in that order.
20. Current worry right now? Getting thru this weekend and the Christmas program at church.
21. Current hate? Lies.
22. Favorite place to be? Home.
23. How will you bring in the New Year? Probably snoring in front of the tv.
24. Where would you like to go? Nowhere. Just like being at home.
25. Name three people who will complete this? Probably Cheryl, and I don’t know who else.
26. Do you own flip flops? Yes, are there any other shoes to wear in the summer?
27. What shirt are you wearing? Short sleeve sweater.
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, they cause you to go slip-slidin’ away.
29. Can you whistle? Yes
30. Favorite color? Pink.
31. Would you be a pirate? Would I get to wear one of those cool eye patches and say things like “Ahoy, matey”? Yep, then I would.
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? I don’t sing in the shower.
33. Favorite girl's name? Hannah.
34. Favorite boy's name? Maxwell
35. What's in your pocket right now? money
36. Last thing that made you laugh? Conversation on IM a little while ago with my friend, Esther.
37. Bed sheets as a child? Cotton
38. Worst injury you've ever had? Ripping a hole in my leg from jumping on a broken chair as a kid. One and only time I’ve ever had stitches, and it left a big nasty scar that I still have.
39. Do you love where you live? No, don’t like it very much at all. Too many people.
40. How many TV's do you have in your house? Three, but at the moment, one of them is sitting in the middle of the floor, waiting to put in the trash.
41. Who is your loudest friend? CAN'T THINK OF ONE AT THE MOMENT!
42. How many dogs do you have? None
43. Does someone have a crush on you? I seriously doubt it.
44. Do you get embarrassed easily? No.
45. What is your favorite book? The Left Behind series.
46. What is your favorite candy? See’s Nuts ‘N Chews.
47. Do you know all the words to the Fresh Prince theme song? Not all of them.
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? You Picked A Fine Time To Leave Me, Lucille. O wait, my name’s not Lucille. O well, I’ll be dead, right, so what difference does it make? lol
49. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Posting my last blog entry.
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I want to stay in bed a while longer ‘cause it’s too cold to get up right now!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Food Network In Super-Size!

We got this new tv for our Christmas present to each other. 42" - it's HUGE! (And it's on the Food Network most of the time-hee hee) In order to fit it in our livingroom, we had to totally rearrange the furniture. That meant everything had to be taken out of my entertainment center, everything removed from the top of the piano, in fact, everything had to be removed from every piece of furniture in the room because every. single. piece. of. furniture. had to be moved. We did this last week on Thursday. Today we finally got the furniture placed and I put stuff back in/on the furniture. Now I may actually be able to put up a Christmas tree. Not too bad - it's only one week until Christmas. Last year, after I decorated the church and decorated for our women's party, I was burned out on decorating. So at home, all I put up was a little 3' tabletop model. It was white and I decorated it with some old pink and blue victorian ornaments that I had made a million years ago. When kidlet came home from school, she said it looked more like a baby shower tree. This year I plan to put up my 7' green tree and decorate it in red and gold. I'll have to move furniture a little more in order to have a place for it, but I'm thinking tomorrow night I may actually be able to get it erected and decorated. Keep your fingers crossed! lol

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

So, I haven't done a single bit of decorating my house for Christmas, but got the church all deco'd, plus deco'd for and enjoyed the Women's Ministries Christmas party at Esther's house.
Most of the pics from the party came out blurred - again - I DO NOT know what is going on with my camera, but it's really starting to get on my nerves. Anyhow, here's some pics of the church, and I'll post a few from the party that aren't too blurry. These are pics from the lobby.



This is looking into the lobby from inside the sanctuary, one side wall (there are poinsettias inside those windows), and the communion table, which sits in front of the pulpit.



And here's Ester's front porch on the night of the party:



A few pics from inside:



So, there you have it. Now I'm bored with this post, so on to something else. Peace Out, peeps!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

A Christmas Meme

Saw this Meme over at Brenda's at It's All Good and thought it was a fun one to do.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the day after Thanksgiving, but still not up yet this year.

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually on New Year’s Day, but it has been known to stay up until February.

5. Do you like eggnog? No.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? When I was 10, my older brother bought me 5 brand new outfits for my Barbie.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Kidlet.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Hubs.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? We have a “Post Office” (a pocket holder that hangs on the wall) at church and everyone exchanges cards that way. I never seem to get around to mailing cards to people who don’t go to our church.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Cookies and hot glue sticks. From Hubs. The first Christmas after we had just bought our first home. No money, but it was the thought that counts, right? lol

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It’s A Wonderful Life.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually after our Christmas program at church is completed. Then I run out and shop like a crazy woman, and most of the time, I get it all done in one day.

14 . Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I recall.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? See’s Candy. Nuts ‘N Chews.

16. Lights on the tree? Absolutely.

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Come All Ye Faithful

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Doc, Dopey, Sneezy, Sleepy,…O that’s the seven dwarfs, huh! Lol Just kidding. Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Dasher, Donner, Prancer, Vixen, and, of course, Rudolph.

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One on Christmas Eve, then Hubs reads the Christmas Story from the Bible. The rest of the gifts are opened on Christmas morning.

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Too busy usually to just enjoy the season.

22. Favorite ornament theme or color? Red & Gold.

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? To just be able to enjoy being with my family.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Playing "Catch Up" With Pix

I know, dumb title, huh! But I got nothin' else, so there you have it! lol It's a little late and definately out of chronological order, but here are some pics that I got from my friend Esther (remember my camera made everything green, so had to borrow pix)of our September Women's Ministries meeting. We had decided to take our church Food Pantry as our project for the year, so we decorated everything with food items.


Also, the "price of admission" was to bring in at least one food item for the pantry. Here's part of the bounty:
We also ate good,
and Esther made this cute little cake to celebrate the Fall season:
I am so proud of our Women's Ministries at our church. We are a small church of about 85 people, which, in turn, means our Women's group is also small. But these ladies are so awesome! You give them a project, and they always go above and beyond the proverbial "extra mile". We provided enough food to fill 30 baskets for Thanksgiving, and we have leftovers to start on Christmas. And you saw the pix I posted of the day we put the boxes together. There were so many ladies who came to help that we were completely finished within about 15 minutes. These ladies love to give and they truly show the Love of Jesus in their giving. I love them so much. I am so thankful for the pleasure of working side by side with each and every one of them!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gobble, gobble, gobble, fat turkeys, fat turkeys. Gobble, gobble, gobble, fat turkeys are we. We're not here for living; we're here for Thanksgiving. Gobble, gobble, gobble, fat turkeys are we!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Work Day

Over the weekend our Women's Ministries at church put together food boxes for Thanksgiving to give out to the homeless. Here we are in action:





Saturday, November 22, 2008

Storms

Don't tell God how big your storms are, instead, tell your storms how big your God is.
I just read this on someone else's blog and wanted to pass it on. I'm not going thru any personal storms at the moment, but am sharing some pretty major storms with some people who are very close to me. And I am telling those storms that my God is bigger than any storm the enemy can throw our way. The scriptures tell us that God is our Provider, our Healer, our Peace - He will supply our EVERY need, if we will only trust in Him!
So if you're going thru a storm, don't tell God how big it is, He already knows all about it. Instead, tell that storm that you have a great big wonderful God Who loves you beyond measure and will come on the scene at exactly the right moment and take you right thru that storm with flying colors!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Happy Veterans Day


Today I just wanted to give honor to all those who have, or are right now, working to defend our country and the freedom we are able to enjoy because of their sacrifice. I am deeply grateful to live in a country where I'm able to voice my opinions and live the way I choose without fear of being arrested. That is because of the bravery of our service men and women, and also their families who make huge sacrifices for their loved ones being in the military. I say Thank You and may God continue to bless America.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Monday, Monday

Today is Monday. What are you doing today? I've been working on thoroughly cleaning my house from top to bottom. Today I cleaned the top and inside of the refrigerator, and cleaned the hardwood floor in my livingroom. Wow, what an exciting day! Don't you want to read more? Are you waiting with baited breath for the next installment of my mundane little life? I thought so. lol
O I almost forgot to tell you all - had to get a new vaccuum cleaner last week. The old one puked its guts and gave up the ghost. I sent hubs to shop for one without me. I told him my only requirements were that it have attachments with a long hose and be the bagless kind. He came home with this nifty little gem:

It has all kinds of attachments, including a telescopic duster that self-cleans. It's the neatest thing - you just take it out and use it like any feather duster, then replace it back in it's little canister, turn on the vaccuum, press the lever, and badda-bing, badda-boom, that puppy twirls around and sucks the dirt right out of the duster! Does this much excitement over a vaccuum cleaner make me a total moron, or just a Martha Stewart wanna-be? I heard her say before that she actually ENJOYS ironing. I'm not saying I enjoy vaccuuming, 'cause believe me, I DON'T. But I totally lurve this vaccuum cleaner. So I haven't even minded do housecleaning. O, and MY Eureka BossD4 is flamin' red. Maybe I should paint some flames on it, ya think? :)
Peace out, people!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Do I Have To Have A Title To Every Post?

I was just going to post some pics from the summer months' activities, but as I look at the pics, the quality is so poor that I won't be posting. For some reason, my camera is turning everything green. I thought I had it fixed, cause I was able to take a few good pictures, but now it's back to doing it's "green" thing again, and I don't know what the problem is. O well.
Just turned on my computer and found an email from one of my old high school friends. I was just thinking to myself that I was going to write to her as soon as the computer booted up, because we haven't talked for a while. So I was so excited to open up my emials and find a letter. Great minds think alike, no?! lol
Okay, it's Sunday, and I have to leave for choir practice in about 1/2 hour, but wanted to post something, just to keep myself in the habit of blogging regularly. Went to lunch today after church with some "new" members of our congregation. Technically, they aren't really new members - they grew up in this church, but moved away for many years. Recently they moved back to town, and are coming back to church. It was really fun spending time with them. I love this family - they always make me laugh. I'm thanking God that they are back "home"!
Guess that's about it for now. Bye-e-e-e

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Catching Up On The Past

Way back in August (?) I said I was going to post pics from my summertime events. I'm just now getting around to it. Sorry for the delay, but I've just now got the pics off my camera and onto the computer. Something's been wrong with the camera, and I even lost some of my pics. But here goes:
Some pics from August Women's Ministry- Wedding Theme, "Extravagant Love".






Too much to put all in one post, so maybe I'll be able to do one event a day until I get everything posted. TTFN!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Car Crash


Just as I was about to post my last entry, kidlet called and said she had just been involved in a car accident. My worst fear! She’s been driving for about 6 months now, and she’s not exactly the safest driver in the world. But, this time, it was not her driving that caused the accident. She was sitting at a red light, and got rearended, and the impact pushed her into the car in front of her. So, she became a car sandwich. I thank God that she, nor anyone else, was injured. Her cute little car got pretty narlied up, though. Hubs and I raced to the scene of the accident, and found that her car was the only one that seemed to have any real damage. Great! Well, at least everyone involved has insurance. And again, I’m thankful to the Lord that no one was hurt. Cars can be fixed - not always so with lives. And, just maybe, this will make her be a little more safe in her own driving. Well, one can hope, right!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

My Thoughts About The Election

Two days later. I've been hearing a lot on the news and hearing and reading other people's thoughts on the election. So, I decided to "voice" my own opinions. I did NOT like the outcome of the presidential race. I do not like the fact that, as a conservative living in California, my vote virtually never counts, as California pretty much always goes to the democratic liberals. But, in this particular race, well in every race, I believe God is in total control. The scriptures teach us that no one gets into a place of power without God's knowledge and permission. It's all part of His Divine plan. That gives me comfort. I believe that these next four years are going to be a very bad time for America, but my trust and faith is in God. It's really exciting living in these times, because we are seeing Bible prophecy unfold before our eyes and that let's me know the time for Jesus' return for His Bride is growing closer each day.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Just Blow My Brains Out, Please!

O, did anyone go to the sale at Joann's last week/weekend? I went early in the week and was going to buy some fabric to make tablecloths for an upcoming dinner party I'm hosting. I picked out the fabric, then couldn't decide if I wanted to use the idea I had or not, so I put it back and thought I'd wait til later in the week. I was busy all week, so on Saturday (last day of the 50% off sale) I decided I'd better go get the fabric. Oh. My. Goodness, what a zoo. First of all I couldn't find a place to park, which should have been my first clue. Once inside the store, I headed straight for the fabric dept. There were so many people waiting to have fabric cut that I decided to take a number and then shop around the store. Good thing, even after I chose my fabric and looked around for a while, I still stood in line for 1/2 hour before my number was finally called and I could get my fabric cut.
Next, I went to the floral dept. and chose some silk flowers. Then I proceeded to the register to check out. Another long line, although not quite as bad as the first line. Finally it was my turn to check out. The lady at the reigster was very nice, and we chatted as she rang my purchases. After she totalled it, and I paid, it occurred to me that it was way more than I had anticipated. So I questioned it. Sure enough, she had charged me three times as much for the fabric as it was supposed to be. So she was trying to figure out how much to refund to me. I DO NOT KNOW what in the world was going thru that woman's mind, or how she learned to do math, but I was so confused I just wanted to blow my brains out. To me, it was a simple thing - just void the purchase and start over, this time charging the correct price for the fabric. I must have been there in that line for another 30 minutes, watching her write number after number on a piece of paper, none of them making sense or coming to the correct amount. Finally, a manager came up to the register, and handed me $5 bucks and some change, and asked if that was the correct amount I was owed for the overcharge. I said yes, I think so, and so she said to me that if I was happy with that amount, they were happy with it, too. So I took the money and left. I actually think I was owed a little bit more, but at that point, I said to myself that it's just not worth it. Even if it were a hundred dollars owed to me, I think it just was not worth the hassle. By the time I fought excessively heavy traffic to get home, I just walked in the house and told hubs, "Could you please just shoot me and put me out of my misery? Thanks, honey."
Later that evening I went to the grocery store to buy some pantyhose for church the next day. One little item - that's all! Every single register was a long line of people buying LOTS of groceries. I chose the shortest line, which had two people in front of me. The person at the front of the line was about to pay, when they noticed something wrong with their price total. Could this have been any better "payback" to me for what I had caused at the fabric store a few hours earlier? I just leaned back against the counter and said under my breath, "Could someone please just blow my brains out?"

Friday, October 31, 2008

Some Recent Exploits

I've been away so long that I almost didn't remember how to get to my own blog! In fact, it's been so long, that I've even been considering just scrappin' this blog and starting a whole new one. But, I guess I won't.
Well, how's everybody been? I've been checking up on some of you from time to time, but lately haven't even been doing that. I've been spending most of my online time lately on YouTube, looking up new songs for worship at church.
About 3 weeks ago, we hosted our District Leadership Conference at our church. I prepared a continental breakfast each day for everyone who attended. That turned out pretty well. Also got to see some old friends that I hadn't seen for a few years. Our District spans North to South from San Diego to McFarland, and West to East from Ventura to Ridgecrest, about 75 churches total. It was a fun week and we were blessed by the teaching.
Just the week before the conference, (the Friday before, to be exact) we got new carpet installed in our Fellowship Hall. That meant that everything had to be removed from the room, then put back after the carpet was installed. Right before that, I decided to redecorate our church foyer. I stripped off wallpaper, hubs textured the wall, then I painted and rearranged furniture, and made new floral arrangements. I think it turned out pretty nice.
Since my last post I've also done the decorations for 2 women't meetings, the last of which I had to also be the speaker, as our Women's Ministries Director was out of town. I also put up all the fall decorations inside the church, and had my friend Esther, make two wreaths to put up on the double doors that lead from the foyer to the sanctuary. Also, I shopped my head off to find things to "spruce up" the bathroom, the Men's in particular. I was looking for things that would look nice, be durable in a men's room, and ABSORB SOUND! I'm sure you all get my drift, right? Thought so! Anyhow, got a lot of nice little accessories for both restrooms.
We also began choir practice last Sunday afternoon, for this year's Christmas Program. I had to re-learn all those Christmas carols that I haven't played since we finished last year's program. We'll be rehearsing every Sunday afternoon til Christmas. Ugh!!!
I wanted to show you all some pictures of what I've been doing, but haven't loaded them off my camera onto the computer yet, so I guess you'll just have to wait longer to see what I've up to all summer and fall.
Okay, I've made this long enough for one post, so I'll close and do another post tomorrow.
TTFN and all that jazz! :)

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Computer Instructions-Installing A Husband Program

INSTALLING A HUSBAND

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as:
· Romance 9.5 and
· Personal Attention 6.5...
and then installed undesirable programs such as :

· NBA 5.0,
· NFL 3.0 and
· Golf Clubs 4.1.

Also Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and Housecleaning 2. 6 simply crashes the system.

· Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail. What can I do?

Signed,
Desperate.

DEAR DESPERATE,

First, keep in mind,
· Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html and try to download Tears 6.2 and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Please note that Beer 6. 1 is a very bad program that will download the Farting and Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5....0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend
· Cooking 3.0 and
· Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck!
Tech Support

Monday, August 25, 2008

I'm Still Here

I'm a very bad blogger lately, aren't I. I haven't been here in almost a month! Well, actually I have been here, and have been reading your blogs, just not commenting. I've been really busy lately. I've also been really lazy, lately. Every day I tell myself, okay, today you need to write something on your blog. And every day, I never get around to it. Guess someone needs to send me one of those little gizmos, huh! lol You know, a 'Round Tuit'. Then maybe I would get back to regular posts.
I have been doing so many parties/events lately (decorations and food) and I have taken so many pictures that I want to post, but I don't know where to begin. I'm so far behind I may never catch up! All my pios from the last two months are still on my camera. I've got to get them onto the computer this week, though, because I have to get the camera cleared for our upcoming family reunion, which I'm also in charge of. I'm making a photo booth with a fun hawaiian picture that you just stick your faces in the holes and then your face is the 'person' on the backdrop.
Hopefully, after Labor Day, I will start posting some of the pics. Please don't think I'm not part of the bloggyland anymore. I promise I will get back to posting regularly. And, remember, even if I don't comment, I am still reading your blogs.
TTNT, Peace Out! :)

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

I'm All Shook Up


That's right, folks, I live in So. California and we just got All Shook Up by a 5.4 earthquake. The epicenter was about 15 miles from my house, so we got a real good shake here. All my poor little animals are freaked out and my heart is still beating about a mile a minute, even though it's been approximately 45 minutes ago. Only felt one aftershock and it was very slight. When the quake hit, I was here at my computer. Remember all those decorative jars I bought last year? They are all sitting up on top of my computer desk, just inches above my head. Let me tell you, when the shaking started, I thought, "O no, those jars are going to come down right on top of my head!" So I quickly got out of the way, and, thankfully, none of them came down. I did have one vintage plate fall off the top of my kitchen cupboards and break, plus an antique teacup given to me by Hubs fell down off its shelf and broke. Our damage was extremely minimal compared to what it could have been. I have glass containers and china ALL.OVER.MY.HOUSE! Hubs and kidlet weren't home, we've all been in touch with each other and everyone is okay. My animals, other than just being scared half to death, are all okay. And things? They can be replaced. For those of you who've never experienced and earthquake - the good thing is that they only last seconds, not hours like when you're dealing with a tornado or hurricane, and once the shaking stops, you know if you've survived it or not! I dont like earthquakes, but I'll take earthquakes any day over the above mentioned types of storms that occur elsewhere in the country.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Training For Congress

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand and pulling a male buffalo with the other. He says to the waiter: 'Want coffee.' The waiter says, 'Sure , Chief. Coming right up.'
He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee. The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp, turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun, causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere and then just walks out.
The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand, pulling
another male buffalo with the other. He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter 'Want coffee.' The waiter says 'Whoa, Tonto! We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday. What was all that about, anyway?'
The Indian smiles and proudly says ...'Training for position in United States Congress: Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, leave mess for others to clean up, dAsappear for rest of day.

The Invisible Mom

This was sent to me by a friend this week. It comes at a particularly appropriate time for me.
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix
this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!?
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:
'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. ; ; And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it. And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Monday, July 14, 2008

B-Day Celebration Continues

According to Cheryl, one is supposed to celebrate their birthday month, not just their birth-day. I love that idea. It hasn't been a month yet, but I have been celebrating. On my actual birthday, I received several phone calls from friends, wishing me a happy birthday. Then Esther (who has a blog, but I can't get her to post on it anymore - hee hee) took me to lunch at a local restaurant that has THE BEST!!!! coconut cake! We went there specifically for the cake, but after Esther told the server it was my birthday, she brought out a brownie sundae with a candle on top. Then the coconut cake came out, and I was so full from my lunch and the brownie sundae that I could only eat a couple of bites of the cake. We shared one piece, but between the two of us, we couldn't finish it all. Esther also gave me this card,
with a check inside that cute little pocket on the left side.
On my birthday, Hubs was doing a side job in another city and didn't make it home until almost 7 p.m. Then on Friday morning he had to be at the hospital with a member of our congregation for a surgery, and left the house around 5:30 a.m. I was having myself a nice little pity party 'cause Hubs wasn't acknowledging my b-day, but when he arrived home from the hosptial around noon-ish on Friday, he brought me these
beautiful flowers and, I think the sweetest card he's ever given in 28 years of marriage. It made me cry. That night we went out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Oh. My. Gosh! I ate SOOO much I thought I was gonig to be sick afterward. But I couldn't help myself, because the food is so incredibly good there. I ate SO much, that the when I woke up the next morning, I was still FULL!! O man, between the browine sundae and the fabulous coconut cake on Thursday, then the Lemoncello Creme Torte on Friday, it's a wonder by Saturday that I could even get out of bed!
Then came Sunday. Every year at church on my birthday, the congreation receives an offering for me. Plus in our Sunday School class, we always celebrate each other's birthdays. So I received several more beautiful cards filled with LOTS of cash and checks, a Micheal's giftcard (one of my fave places to shop!), and this
gorgeous hand-painted birdhouse. Oh, yeah, and another cake! This time chocolate, just one of my many favorite flavors of cake. In fact, the lady that brought the cake asked me if I liked chocolate cake. I told her I've never met a cake that I didn't like and wouldn't eat! lol Can you guess what I had for breakfast this morning? And can you guess where I've been this morning?
So the celebrating continues!
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me-for-a-whole-month-(cause-Cheryl-said-so), {take a big breath here) happy birthday to me! TTFN

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Feline Acne

That's right, folks, Feline Acne...or the Case of The Cat With A Fat Lip! Who has ever heard of Feline Acne before? Certainly not me. But the other night my cat, George, who is a big goober anyhow, looked like he was sticking his tongue out at me. I thought, o, how cute he looks. Upon closer inspection, though, I realized that it was not his tongue sticking out, but his bottom lip. I held him down and pried his mouth open and it was, indeed, red and swollen, and even a little "puss-ish" (that's puss, as in the nasty stuff that oozes out of an infected sore, not puss, as in cat. Just thought I'd throw that in for good measure.) Anyhow, I figured one of the other cats had probably nabbed him with their claw to make him leave them alone, and that it had probably just gotten infected. So, I held him down again, put some hydrogen peroxide on a q-tip, and cleaned it. Next day, it was a little bit worse. So, I cleaned it with the peroxide again. Yesterday, it was still getting bigger and by then, he was starting to look like one of those Ubangies in Africa who put bones in their lips to make them jut out like a bowl under their mouth. Well, maybe not quite that bad, but it ws starting to concern me that it was more than just a scratch. So this morning, I called the Vet and took him in. The doctor took one look at him and said he has Feline Acne. And, it's not curable. Managable, but not curable. So, doctor gave him a shot, and a prescription of steroid tablets that I have to give him every day for a week, then every other day for a month. And, doctor said that it will probably flare up at least every few months, if not immediately after finishing the steroid prescription. He told me, "We're going to become very good friends over the course of the cat's life." The cat is just 2 years old, and my last cat lived for 17 years. O, and by the way, don't cats have 9 lives? So if their life expectancy is somewhere between 15 and 20 years, and they have 9 lives, wow, I can't even do the math right now, but I'm quite sure I won't be around long enough to outlive him! Here's what he looks like: I feel sorry for him. My little Boy George.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Happy Birthday To Me!


Today is the 52nd anniversary of the day I was born. Wow, I'm more than half a century old! How great is that?! I've never considered myself as getting old. Just old-er. Growing up, I remember hearing people lamenting the fact that they were 30, or 40, or older. I always wanted to turn 50, because at 50, you've lived long enough to, hopefully, have gained a pretty good wealth of knowledge, and yet, still young enough to enjoy the knowledge you've gained. So, I've been 50 for 2 years now, and I think it's just getting better. I definately would NOT want to go back!

Monday, July 7, 2008

I'm Still Waiting...

I did what you told me . I sent the email to 10 or more people like you said .
I'm still waiting for that miracle to happen.
To all my friends who in the last year sent me best 'wishes', chain letters, 'angel' letters or other promises of good luck if I forwarded something,
NONE OF THAT CRAP WORKED!
For 2008, could you please just send money, gasoline vouchers or airline tickets instead?
Thank you!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Car Wash


Okay, so I don't look or sound like Rose Royce, and it's a pretty sure bet that after today, I would never get hired to work at a car wash, either.
I was there, bee-boppin' along, washing away on my car, when all of a sudden, the power washer hit a "spot" on my car that sent the water straight back into my face, just like a waterfall! It shocked me to suddenly get hit in the face with a blast of water! I quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching. Thankfully, no one saw me. At least I hope they didn't. I'm a total dork, standing there in my shorts, white legs glaring in the sun, with my hair now totally soaked and water dripping off my chin. So, I don't think a job at the car wash is a likely career for me! :)

Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy 4th of July!



In the words of Lee Greenwood:
I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me,
And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today,
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.
Happy Birthday, America!

Monday, June 30, 2008

5 Grown "Men"

Okay, this is a post script to my "Rockstar" post. I just had to tell this funny story. Yesterday, when we were getting everything set up for the concert, I was inside the Fellowship Hall of the church working on the balloon arch. Some of the guys (3 of them our band members) were just outside setting up the equipment. One came inside looking for a place to plug in the electical cords. He tried the plug that was closest to the door. He said to me, "This plug doesn't work. Do you know where there's another one that is close enough?" I told him that that plug should work, as we use it all the time. Just then, another one of the "men" came up and said, "I just used that plug earlier this afternoon. It works.!" First guy, "I just tried it and it doesn't work." By this time 3 others have arrived and, as I'm blowing up balloons across the room, I look over to see 5 grown men all standing looking at the plug on the wall and discussing among themselves whether or not the plug works or should they try to find another plug. It just reminded me of something straight out of a comedy routine you'd see on TV, and I just burst out laughing! You see these kinds of actions on tv but I, at least, thought it was ONLY on tv and that real people didn't actually act like that! Well, to me it funny and I just had to share it with you! lol

Sunday, June 29, 2008

ROCKSTARS!!!

Today we were the "Geezer Rock Star Group", and we even had our very own "groupies"! lol Both in service this morning and this afternoon outside, our band ROCKED! Here's a couple of pics from our Freedom Concert today in our church parking lot. We have video, but have to get it edited and then I'll have to figure out how to post videos on the blog. And check out the balloon arch - first one I ever made. I made half of it, and then I showed a girl in our church how to do it, and she finished up the other half while I went out to help get things set up for our event.


Saturday, June 28, 2008

So You Wanna Be A Rock Star?

Soemtimes I don't even know where my brain goes to come up with some of the things that I think of. Does anyone else ever wonder things like that?
O well, tomorrow I'm gonna be a rock star! At least in my own mind anyhow. lol!
We've been planning for a while now for a concert in our church parking lot. Our band will be playing, along with a couple of other groups from other churches.
Our band has had two practices in the last week. You have to understand that we never, I mean N.E.V.E.R. get to practice. Our "practices" consist of us playing for worship every Sunday. But we've been practicing for this concert and we are E.X.C.I.T.E.D.! The whole band is pumped up and we're gonna be ROCK STARS! (Like I said, in our own minds.) We're really just a bunch of geezers! The youngest member of our band, our drummer, is 40. But in our minds, we are all 18 year old rock stars! Anyhow, we're hoping to get it on video, and get some pics, too. I probably won't be able to put up any video, as I don't know how. But after tomorrow night, I'll post some pics so you can see what geezer Rock Stars look like! Okay, TTFN and all that jazz. :)

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Vet's Office Today

Today I had to take one of my babies to see the doc. Prowler. He has a "cold" in his eye and it keeps scabbing over, so dr. gave him some ointment that I have to apply 2 times a day. Doesn't that sound like the funnest thing in the world to do?
So I'm showing you some pics of all my babies, just because I want to use the nifty new slideshow gizmo that I found over at Cheryl's blog.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Picnic Pics

On Saturday I was too tired to take the time for posting pictures of our Women's Fellowship picnic. So, here they are.
It's not a real picnic unless there are ants, right? And we had ants everywhere! On the tables, in the food...and this big, ugly guy smack dab in the middle of everything! As always, the food was wonderful, the fellowship was wonderful, and a great time was had by all!