a memorable memorial day

well...completely against my grain I decided to spend the day with an entire group of people I had never met before. literally not one person. I had emailed a bit with a guy on my friends list (paulie) who is very social and always planning some event or another and when he invited me to spend the day at Calhoun with a group I seized the day and went. I met some nice people...said hi to a ton of people I'm sure I wouldn't recognize if I saw them again in another setting and walked away with a sunburn to boot.

what a day

who doesn't need more friends...people enrich our lives if we let them and hopefully I can find ways to add value to the lives of some of the people I met today.

oh yeah and there is this great salsa I ate today that I think I must have the recipe for...yum.

kind of ironic that a day all about remembering and grieving for lost soldiers is also filled with so much life. I am so thankful for the freedoms I enjoy every day and especially today I was so thankful.

Frankly My Dear...

So I had a chance to spend one more evening with Amy before she hops a plane and takes herself back to england. We decided to go see Gone with the Wind on the big screen at the Heights Theatre...and let me tell you there is no better way to see this movie than on the big screen. I watched it once on a tv. completely the worst way to watch this movie. well, at the time I didn't know how poor of quality it was...but I do now! I finally get what the big deal was. The story is quite captivating and when you are completely surrounded by the music and it's larger than life right before your very eyes it completely consumes you and before you know it you have spent something like 4 hours in a hard chair and you can't feel your bum and you feel slightly sick from all the snacking but you don't care because you just know Scarlett will win Rhett back if it's the last thing she does! and all of a sudden the idea of romance and happy endings seems worth all the hassle. lol. maybe.
There are a lot of great lines in this movie..my personal favorite though is when Rhett says to Scarlett "No, I don't think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how." and then doesn't kiss her. oh my.
What a great flick. And what fun to see it with Amy.

beautiful day in the neighborhood

today was great...no special reason.

I started off the morning at the New Babies Tea, eating a fancy breakfast and sitting around chatting with some nice women while holding and feeding tiny precious 3 week old Amelia.

When I got home I did all my phone calling for nursery and amazing amazing people actually called me back and I found enough volunteers pretty fast.

I then decided to go shoe shopping at Target and of course that went well...and as I was driving there I saw this 200 lb lady riding a bike, rocking back and forth and slowly moving ahead...I just smiled and thought "good for her!" and then a couple minutes later I saw this really really old lady walking down the street, dressed up very nicely and looking very cute...except her skirt was tucked in her panties I think...lol...if I had been walking near her I would have stopped and told her but it was a quick pass in my jeep so I couldn't..probably would have scared her if I'd flipped a Uey and told her what was up...lol...

My neighbors were selling tomatoe plants and flowers out of their garage today so there was a steady stream of people around my house, lots of people to smile at and wave to. I saw four darling children climbing a fence...they looked like they were on an adventure. A couple houses down had a tent set up in their parking area with beautiful tables set and flowers and candles...not sure what was going on but it sure looked nice.

then I got a call from Ira and his interview went great and there is a strong possibility him and Ash could be moving back...I know it still might not happen but for today on this day that has only held good things I choose to believe they are coming home soon :-)~

you know, I did have one bad moment. trying to program my universal remote...yeah...I need a boyfriend or a brother or a dad or a really bored man who is into electronics to figure it out I think...gosh.

then I organized my closets and put away winter and pulled out summer and eliminated things I haven't worn in ages...then cooked myself a great dinner and now I'm blogging and watching StarGate and soon I will be heading to sleep.

I hope tomorrow is half as good as today was.

chicken little

so last night around midnight I hear this noise that is so loud I thought the sky was falling or maybe a tree fell on my house or maybe a car wrecked in my alley or maybe something really really big fell over or something exploded like a pressurized tank of I don't know what or something broke like maybe my water line since the night before my water had randomly stopped running for like 20 minutes and now has rust in it or maybe...yeah...I had no idea.
Then today as I was leaving for work I decided to drive around my block to look at my house from all angles in case something really had happened to my house...as I drive around the front of my house I see a man wearing a jacket that says "ARSON" in huge yellow letters on the back. He was walking up to my house so I drove around the block, reparked in my alley and walked around the front to see if he wanted to talk to me or something...he was gone but he had left a letter that said there was an explosion next to one of the garages behind my house and to call if I had any information about who might have done it.
what in the world?! I guess the sky wasn't falling...but I was close...

Something Beautiful

So I read this devotional this morning (below) and it really moved me. It seems like there is so much pain and hurt inflicted on the innocent. That breaks my heart. I wish there was a way to keep people/children from experiencing hurt but I take comfort in the fact that God does know their struggles and can take even the most hurtful things and turn them into something beautiful as only He can do.

Here's the devotional I read...


Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. - Judges 11:29a

We've all heard stories of individuals who have overcome extreme hardship during their childhood years. Children of alcoholics, orphans who never have parents, loss of parents to a fatal crash, childhood disease - these are all difficult circumstances to overcome.

Jephthah was a man who overcame his obstacles and refused to allow his circumstances to prevent him from becoming great in God's sight. He was born to Gilead , a result of his father's adulterous encounter with a prostitute. Gilead 's wife, who had bore more sons, decided to reject Jephthah, and drove him away from their home saying, "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family because you are the son of another woman." Imagine the rejection this young man felt as he was cast away from his own family.

This experience taught Jephthah to become a hardened warrior. Today he probably would have been part of a street gang. As he got older, his reputation as a warrior became known to those in his country, so much so that when the Ammonites made war on Israel , the elders of Gilead went to Jephthah and asked him to be their commander. Jephthah had to fight off those feelings of rejection from previous years.

"Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house?" he responded. He overcame his hurt and pain, and responded to the call God had on his life.

It is said that if we were to help the butterfly remove itself from the cocoon, the butterfly would not be strong enough to survive. It is the struggle that prepares the butterfly to become strong enough to fly. Without the struggle in the cocoon, it could not survive as a butterfly.

The Lord prepares each of us in similar ways. Some of our childhoods seem to have been harsh and born from a seemingly unloving God. However, the Lord knows our struggle and will make our life an instrument in His hand if we will follow Him with an upright heart. He does make all things beautiful in His time if we are willing to be patient.

blah

ever have a kind of bad day and then it gets worse because of what someone says to you? that's my day today. I wish people wouldn't criticise from a distance but would say things to my face and instead of just complaining they would offer to be part of the solution...but I guess I can't have it all! needless to say I am left feeling blah and the people who shall remain nameless are probably having a great day today now that they've "gotten that off their chests." double blah.

signed, sealed, delivered

So my sister recorded a live CD and DVD on friday night and I got to go...even though I've sung back up for her on 2 albums and we are sisters thus seeing eachother pretty regular I still had never seen her play a show. So it was a treat to be there and she did a crazy good job. There were a couple hundred people there and the dance floor was filled. She sang her heart out and Jake recorded every last second of it all for prosperity and hopefully sales :)

There were a couple funny moments worth remembering...like my mom dancing all night and somehow ending up wearing a crazy hat (lol). Ashley being danced with by one of Jessi's friends whose job it was to get people on the dance floor. her face was priceless. (lol) Ira standing there wanting to dance-especially between sets when Shania started singing "Man I feel like a Woman" (lol). Ashley finally convincing him to dance with her...it was that or dance with that one seriously funny but very drunk lady whose name I have now forgotten who was persistently after him to dance. (lol) When I had jessi sign my stomach because she's always signing people in the funniest places and telling me about it later or showing me pics that are quite funny. (lol) When Jessi's friend Mark realized "that tall girl over there" was her sister. (lol) when I was video taping the band and this lady next to me yells out about the drummer "that's my boy" and I yelled back "that's my sister" and we high-fived. (lol)

gosh there were a ton more moments but I just know Ira is already annoyed by all my (lol)ing lol lol lol !!!!

Jessi looked radiant and it was fun to see her excelling in the gifts God has given her. Can't wait to get the CD and DVD !!!!

oh yeah, and the next night Jess won 2!!! Madison Area Music Awards...she's on a roll!!!!

with the rents..

sat by my dad in church tonight. he's been home for about a week now and the reality of his lack of mobility has left him a bit of a bear to live with..he's healing though so that's good. he won't ever be the same but at least he's healing.
and now I have to go thump on my moms head (don't ask..it has something to do with the yeasty beasties...I merely do as I am asked) before I go to sleep...
tomorrow I get to see Ira and Ashley and the kiddo's. and jessi's show will be great. I'm sure I'll have stories to tell later...heck, I have stories from today but I'm to tired to formulate thoughts so I'll save them for later...

that came out wrong

so today I was in a meeting with all the pastors and Tom announced that he was speaking at a funeral directors luncheon and then pastor s stated that he had lived in a funeral home once and I asked him if he'd slept in a casket (haha, yes I laugh at my own jokes), then greg says he's not creeped out by dead bodies any more because of all the funerals he's had to do now but his wife still gets a little creeped out, then Tom showed us the publication about the luncheon he was speaking at and someone noted that it was sponsored by the casket organization and I started thinking about how amazing it is that there are all these different things that go on on a regular basis that have to do with funerals and death and so I blurted out "it's like there's a whole underground world..." lol and then burst out laughing after I realized what I had said...but seriously...it's like a whole world having to do with funerals that most people don't know about or think about until they are forced to. very interesting. and strangely fascinating.
ps. if I ever die (pretty much guaranteed) I have my funeral planned, just look in my recipe box under "F" for funeral. that way someone else doesn't have to and people know what I'd want. you're welcome.

sigh...of relief

so I'm about to go to bed and I remember I haven't checked my mail (yeah, I know, it's after midnight) so I do and I have a letter from my doctor about my biopsy results. I am cancer free. phew. I figured, but anytime I have these things checked out I get a little nervous that it could be more...so I will sleep easy tonight.
figured since I blogged about going to the doc I should update the results...as paul harvey would say...that's the rest of the story!

g'night kids.

unexpected fun is the most

So last night I stopped by a friend from church's birthday. I thought it would be a quick get together and be pretty tame. lol. let's just say by the end of the night I laughed so hard my stitches hurt (always wanted to say that), I'd eaten from a chocolate fountain and there was candle waving as I karaokeed to "wind beneath my wings" and a few other things I can't put in print...

the best part was that it was unexpected fun...which is the most fun if you ask me :)

I msis my fmlaiy

I ralely msis my fmlaiy tdaoy. Wsih I cluod cdudle up wtih eive and hvae erevy one esle tehre too. I konw I wlil see erevy one in a week but its not soon eoungh. taht's all.

balme Ira for how I am wtirnig tihs mseasge. it's cdoe.