Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend...Me

It's Not Easy Being Green

2009-09-19T21:42:00.002-05:00

The cheerleaders were jumping about and shaking their pom poms. The band was playing. The football players were standing proudly. The students were cheering and pounding on the bleachers. This was the scene at the high school pep rally. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, someone dressed entirely in lime-green spandex - even covering his head and face (think Fluorescent Green Power Ranger) - came running and dancing out onto the floor. The students laughed and applauded, and the principal quickly grabbed the pep rally crasher and escorted him out.

Now, had this happened when I was in high school, the offender would have likely received a D-hall, everyone would have had a good laugh, and that would have been the end of it. But it happened last week at Daughter's high school.

The Green Man, as he has come to be known, was suspended for three days. AND! He got a ticket. Yes, as in a citation from the police. Something about disrupting educational time. It's costing him $500.

Find this ridiculous? Well, you're not the only one. The students rallied behind Green Man, and one day last week, everyone wore green to support him. This is a school with over 3500 students. That's a lot of green.

I don't know the fate of Green Man. I have to say that if I were his parents I'd be fighting this one tooth and nail. Yes, he deserves to be punished. Some kind of detention, or even a day of suspension. But a $500 ticket that will go on his record? That just seems a little extreme.

I think back to the things we used to do in high school and how it would be handled today. Like the massive, school-wide game of Assassin we played when I was a sophomore. One student - I don't even remember who - was the "Godfather", and the students paid money to play. Each player was assigned another player to "assassinate" - we all carried suction-cup dart guns around with us all day, and if you saw your target in the halls, you could "shoot" at them. If you hit them, they were out of the game and you then got their person to go after. You could also fire in defense if you were drawn on. The last person standing won the pot. It was a lot of fun.

If that happened today, it would likely go down as an act of terrorism. All students caught with suction-cup dart guns would be expelled and thrown in jail. It would be all over the news.

What do we have to blame for this "zero-tolerance" attitude they have in schools today? 9-11? Maybe. But gone are the days when a couple of guys could have a fistfight after school then be buddies again the next day. Today both kids would be arrested. No disruptions whatsoever are tolerated, for fear that they be a serious threat rather than a fun game or prank.

Yes, these are the time we live in now. While I certainly want my students to be safe at school, it does sadden me a bit that punishments are so harsh for kids just being kids. I think the Green Man was kinda funny.

I'm just glad he wasn't nekkid.

Scary Stuff

2009-09-08T23:18:00.004-05:00

I am not one to follow politics very heavily - certainly not enough to spout my political views, because I'm not really sure what they are. However, when I heard about the uproar over the President's speech to America's school kids, I had to ask, "Why?"

Since then I have seen and heard the following:

Obama is a liar.
Obama is going to brainwash our children with his political agendas.
Obama is going to tell kids to have abortions.
Obama is the "Anti-Christ".
Obama is going to ask children to "pledge allegiance to Obama".
Obama being compared to Hitler
Friends who also don't understand all the hooplah being called Socialists
The speech today being called an "indoctrination"
Being "un-friended" on Facebook because I simply asked why people were opposed to their children hearing the President speak to them.

Scary stuff, indeed.

My Love Affair with Chuck Norris, Or How I Spent My Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-07T21:21:00.000-05:00

I have a "thing" going with Chuck Norris. We meet up twice a year, usually once in the summer and once over Labor Day weekend, and spend time together in the Piney Woods of Texas. We especially enjoy morning walks thru the woods. It's such a peaceful time, and we love being together. It's perfect. I saw her just this weekend, and I'm counting the days until I can see her again.

Wait. What? Yes, I did say "her".

Chuck Norris is a HORSE!

I met her about a year and a half ago, shortly after the REAL Chuck Norris donated her to Camp Allen. I go to Camp Allen for weekend retreats twice a year - a Summer Camp for Moms and a Labor Day Family Weekend. And I always ride Chuck Norris. She's my favoritest horse in the world - so well behaved and gentle, but enough spirit that she doesn't just plod along in line during the trail ride - we meander from the course a bit, and sometimes trot or even lope along. She loves me. And I love her.

We spent this Labor Day weekend at Camp Allen, the family and I, and we had a GREAT time! Two other families from our church small group went, too, and we enjoyed all the activities and even some relaxation time together. It was a nice getaway to finish up the summer.

We arrived Friday afternoon and got checked in and signed up for our various activities. Friday night at the pavilion by the lake they had a hoedown! The kids learned some rope tricks and enjoyed a friendly tug of war with the other kids before we had a delicious BBQ dinner.

After dinner we enjoyed an evening of square dancing and line dancing - cowboys' favorite ways to dance!

Saturday morning Hubby went fishing, and the kids and I rode horses. It was a magic moment when Chuck and I were reunited - as soon as they brought her out of the stable our eyes met and it was magic!

The kids enjoyed the ride, too. Daughter rode Tealight:

And Little Son rode Junior:

It was a beautiful ride through the woods and alongside the lake - what beautiful views!

After a delicious lunch, we decided to try our hands at archery. Hubby and the kids are quite good! Me? Notsomuch.

(Notice my funky hyper-extended elbow - that made for some nasty bruising on my left arm from the bow string striking it whenever I released. Ow!)

Then we did some canoeing before dinner.

The evening's entertainment was magician John Star - he was very funny and entertaining!

Sunday morning Hubby went fishing again, the kids went to an orienteering class, and I went and rode Chuck again. Then Hubby and I shot some skeet before we ate lunch and headed for home.

I hit 5 of the 25 rounds I shot. Hubby hit 1. Hee hee. (To his credit, he is an excellent marksman - it just wasn't his day.)

So we're back at home now, getting laundry done and preparing for back-to-work and back-to-school. It will be many months before I see Chuck Norris again - there is a Camp Allen "Holiday In the Pines" weekend in December, but we didn't get signed up in time, so it will be summer before I get to ride her again. Sigh. Until then, we'll always have Labor Day weekend.......

Texas History

2009-08-31T17:00:00.005-05:00

Part of living in the Great State of Texas is that our kids learn Texas History at school. They take it in 4th grade and again in 7th grade. I even took it again in college because it was so much more interesting to me than any other history course offered. I got an A.

I really love Texas history. I'm proud to be from such a great state, one that was once its own country and is rich in culture and heritage. Texas brings us the amazing stories of the Alamo, the Battle of San Jacinto, and Spindletop. We have great heroes like Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, and Stephen F. Austin. It's cool to be a Texan.

So this year Little Son is in 7th grade, and taking Texas History. He's in a magnet school for Gifted & Talented kids, and they go quite deep into the subjects they learn. He brought home a letter today from his Texas History class that goes something like this:

"Dear Parents,

This year we would like to offer your 7th graders an opportunity to enrich their study of Texas History with a field trip to Dallas and Fort Worth."

Let me stop right here a minute. We live in HOUSTON. That is over 200 miles from Dallas/Fort Worth. That's quite a field trip. When I was in 7th grade we went to the San Jacinto Monument. It's 20 minutes away.

"Students on this field trip will travel via coach bus to Dallas to experience the historic buildings and costumed interpreters of the Dallas Heritage Village, visit the Fort Worth stockyards, ride a steam train with the Grapevine Historic Railroad, visit the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, explore the assassination of President John F. Kennedy at the Sixth Floor Museum, and enjoy corn dogs, fried Oreos, and other Texas delicacies at the Texas State Fair."

The letter goes on to explain their itinerary, rules, fees, etc. I'm wondering where they're going to spend the night. Don't see that in the letter. Wait a minute. All this is going to happen in ONE DAY.

One day?!?! Seriously?!?

Now I know these educators are trained professionals, and experienced in taking children on field trips such as these. But I am having trouble wrapping my mind around them driving 200 miles to Dallas, doing all that stuff, and driving 200 miles back home in one day. Granted, it will be one VERY LONG day, but still. I just don't think it's gonna happen. They're gonna have to skip something. Hopefully not the corn dogs and fried Oreos.

Little Son, of course, really wants to go. No matter that we have family in Dallas, have been to Dallas dozens of times, have done some of that stuff already, and can do ALL that stuff on our own (and on our own time schedule!). He wants to go with his class. And I don't blame him.

So Hubby and I are talking about it. They're going to have to leave very early in the morning and get home very late at night. If Little Son is willing to get up that early to go, I know he must really want to do it. Altho I'm sure he's planning on sleeping on the bus.

Oh wait - here's something in the letter about what they'll do on the bus....

"In keeping with our studies of Texas History, we will watch the HBO series 'John Adams' based on the book by David McCullough."

Wait. What?!?!? Isn't that American History??

Hiatus Terminus

2009-08-29T22:59:00.002-05:00

Where has the time gone? I have neglected my blog for a long time. Even considered just deleting it. Just couldn't seem to find the time for it. But then it nags at me - niggling at the back of my mind - I WANT to write again - I NEED a creative outlet - and so here I am. Back again.

So what have I been doing the past five months? Here's a brief summary:

I've grown my business, and am happy to report that it is going extremely well. Much better than I ever anticipated, actually!
I've enjoyed a summer of not having to drive kids around here and there - in fact, most of the time we had no routine at all, and that was nice. Now the kids are back in school and we have routine again, and that is nice.
I've learned to knit.
I've had the flu. Might have even been Swine Flu. Don't really know.
I've reconnected with old friends on Facebook, and gotten to know new friends better - in fact, many of you I met right here on my blog! I love you all, and I'm so glad we've gotten to know each other! I've met some of you "in real life" and hope to meet more of you in the future!
I've accepted the position of Treasurer of Daughter's High School Drama Booster Club, and gained confidence that I actually CAN do it and not screw it all up!
I've discovered how much my dogs love going to the dog park, and how much I love taking them.
I've watched Daughter learn to drive.
I've watched Little Son grow to be not-so-little anymore.
I've enjoyed a visit from Navy Son, and realized again how proud I am of him.
I've toobed down the Guadalupe River, bumping my butt on rocks at times because the river is so low right now due to the drought we've been having all summer.
I've enjoyed a weekend retreat with my BFF.
I've sent Navy Son off to his sophomore year at the Naval Academy, Daughter to her sophomore year of high school, and Little Son to 7th grade. I feel old.
I've celebrated as many of my friends have turned 40 - and prepared myself for that day in October that I will join them.

The summer is technically coming to an end next weekend (altho it will be summer weather here well into October). I've blogged before about how much I love this time of year - how it is so much like New Years to me. I'm looking forward to a new year of possibilities - to seeing Daughter's drama performances and Little Son's band performances, to going to high school football games and cheering for my alma mater (it's pretty cool to have your daughter go to the same high school you did!), to a fresh start in my Bible study group, to planning Disney trips for new clients, to counting the many blessings in my life each and every day.

I resolve in this "New Year" not to neglect my blog any longer. Even if no one reads it, it's a great way for me to get all those thoughts out of my head that bungle around in there so much. And believe me, there are a lot of them!

Stay tuned. I've got a lot to tell you about.

Hey look! My blog's still here!

2009-03-25T22:11:00.004-05:00

With everything going on lately, I am glad to see that my blog is, indeed, still here! I can't even tell you where the time has gone. We are all finally healthy here at the Bubba's Sis house, and my Disney vacation planning business is keeping me busy. But the best part of my hiatus from blogging is that I got to be here:

Paradise, indeed.

I went a WHOLE WEEK without touching a computer, people. No e-mail. No Facebook. No blogs. Nothing. Didn't look at a screen or touch a keyboard. And you know what? I didn't even miss it.

Which has me contemplating whether or not I want to keep blogging. I adore all the friends I have met here in the Blogosphere, and I keep in touch with many of you in ways other than blogging now. I can't say for sure whether it is a lack of time or simply a lack of motivation, but I can't seem to get around to putting together any blog posts lately, not to mention reading anyone else's. I hesitate to give it up, because I love having a place to share my thoughts and experiences, and read all of yours. Perhaps this blogging slump will pass and I'll be back to regular posting and reading soon. Until then, be patient with me. My mind is still laying on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean....

My son made his own birthday cake.

2009-03-06T23:20:00.003-06:00

Good golly - life has been so busy that a whole week has gone by since I've posted here, and I've gotten WAY behind on reading blogs. I miss ya'll! I really do! Be patient with me and I'll get back around to everyone. I still love you!

So, the whole family has taken turns being sick. I've been planning a vacation for a client. I've been getting ready for our OWN vacation. There have been TAKS tests and orthodontist appointments, errands to run and phone calls to make. I've spent a little time on Facebook. And oh yeah - Little Son had a birthday on Monday. My baby is now 12 years old!

Yes, he did make his own cake, but not because I was too busy to do it! Geez, what kind of mom do you think I am? He WANTED to make his own cake - he's into that now, you know. And since his birthday present from Bubba and Katie Lady was cake decorating supplies a-plenty, he was in hog heaven creating his masterpiece birthday cake! He designed it and everything - and I think it turned out great! What do you think?

It was quite detailed, with musical symbols and trombone stuff all over it. The top layer was chocolate, so labeled with the musical staff with the C note on it. The bottom layer was French vanilla - with a musical staff with the F note on it. The notes to the "Happy Birthday" song are really on top of the cake. All black and white - very classy! Oh - and it was deee-licious!

The real reason I haven't been blogging? I've been stuffing my face with cake all week.

Camera Critters #47

2009-03-01T12:36:00.000-06:00

A Letter to My Dogs

Dear Jax and Tango,

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort, however. Dogs can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don't. (2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture. (3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people. (4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.

Remember, dogs are better than kids because they (1) eat less, (2) don't ask for money all the time, (3) are easier to train, (4) normally come when called, (5) never ask to drive the car, (6) don't hang out with drug-using people; (7) don't smoke or drink, (8) don't want to wear your clothes, (9) don't have to buy the latest fashions, and (10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college.

Love,

Mommy

** I found this letter over at Fleming Family Circus and thought it was so cute!

Only in Texas.....

2009-02-26T18:05:00.006-06:00

...does the morning traffic report warn commuters to watch out for horses on the freeways!

The trail riders are coming to town! It's rodeo time in Houston!

Good show!

2009-02-24T14:19:00.006-06:00

I just love watching Daughter perform in her drama productions - last weekend the drama department at her school put on the play Dearly Departed - a comedy about a somewhat dysfunctional East Texas family dealing with the death of their daddy. Ya'll, it was hilarious. Those kids did such a great job! Daughter played a bratty little girl - one of the grandchildren of the deceased. She didn't have any lines, but exhibited some most naughty behavior, and let out one really good scream!

To celebrate a successful performance, Little Son made her this peaches & cream cake:

I have amazing kids.

Camera Critters #46

2009-02-21T12:46:00.003-06:00

I just love baby animals! Isn't this baby giraffe the cutest? He lives at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida - but he THINKS he lives in Africa!

Being Moses in my 4:12 Life

2009-02-18T13:23:00.003-06:00

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

Despite the attack, I am continuing on in my 4:12 Life. I'm reading in Exodus, about Moses. In Chapter 3, Moses has gone from being a prince in Egypt to a mere shepherd in the desert. His life is defined more by what he's lost at this point than by what he's gained. Boy, can I identify with that! I can tell you the exact moment when my life began a downward spiral into desertdom (is that a word?). Life was going along swimmingly, just like it was for Moses in Egypt, then BAM! We were fleeing to Midian. And there we've been, feeling kinda lost. But you know what? God found Moses RIGHT THERE IN THE DESERT. And spoke to him in a most fantastic way through a burning bush. I wonder, would Moses have noticed the burning bush in Egypt? I think not.

God knows where I am. And He has not forgotten me. God will call me by name (He knows my name!) and tell me what He wants me to do. My current situation is only a chapter in a much bigger story - a story of redemption. God is still all about freeing His people from slavery - the slavery of sin. "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

God wants all of us to be Moses - to lead people to freedom from sin through Jesus Christ. Now I, like Moses, am the first to say, "Me? You want ME to do that? Surely there's someone else more qualified!" But the Bible tells me not to doubt myself - nothing is too big for God. So when I feel afraid, I must know that I need not be. Did you know it says "Do not be afraid" 365 times in the Bible? That's one for each day of the year! Awesome!

I truly believe God is leading me right now. He's leading me to a place I so desperately need to be. Is God speaking to you? Are you perhaps not noticing what He's saying? It sure would be nice if we all got a literal burning bush from which to hear God's voice! But we do have His Word, and by living in that Word, He is speaking to us every day. We just have to listen.

Wuv, Twue Wuv....

2009-02-16T13:53:00.003-06:00

This past weekend was all about LOVE - that wonderful, powerful, scary, thrilling, mushy emotion that gushes from our hearts. Of course, when one thinks of Valentine's Day, they think of romantic love. Hubby and I don't need a special day to celebrate our love, for it is there EVERY DAY, but we did observe the holiday modestly and sweetly. He is the love of my life, and not a day goes by that we don't tell each other we love each other.

But I celebrated other kinds of love this past weekend as well. Friday the 13th was Tango's first birthday! My sweet little black puppy has grown into a big, fluffy, goofball of a dog, and I love him so much! I truly believe pets are members of the family. Last year I grieved so when we lost our beloved Misty, and I still miss her. Tango and Jax are my furry babies - they love me unconditionally, and they bring such joy to my life.

Friday night D... and I enjoyed a much-needed Girls' Night Out! There is nothing like the love of a true friend. D... means so much to me. She loves me unconditionally, too (crazy girl!) and I can always count on her if I need anything. I don't have a sister, but D... is the closest thing I've got. I love her.

Saturday D... and I got to do something really special - meet some blogging friends IN REAL LIFE! We met up with Diana (forgetfulone) and Kris (It's My Life) and had the BEST time talking and laughing....it was like we had known each other forever! New friends are so fun - I love them already! I hope we can all get together again soon!

Saturday evening, instead of spending the holiday out with the crowds and the traffic and the packed restaurants, Hubby and the kids and I had a delicious dinner with Bubba's Mom and Dad at their house. We had shrimp cocktails, delicious filet mignons grilled by Bubba's Dad, salad, and baked potatoes. Little Son baked a Valentine cake - white chocolate, frosted with strawberry frosting and garnished with fresh strawberries and white chocolate curls. It was deee-licious! We enjoyed just being together, eating, talking, laughing, and playing Apples to Apples. The love of my family is like a big quilt that warms my soul. I am blessed with wonderful children who enjoy family time, and with parents that we are close to. We do so much with my mom and dad and their love and support in my life is beyond measure. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than being surrounded with the people I love the most!

Sunday morning we went to church, and I worshipped the God I love. What's even more awesome? He loves me more than I can even comprehend. He is always with me, guiding me and protecting me, even when I can't always feel Him there. He walks with me, and sometimes He has to carry me. I will spend eternity with Him. God IS love.

As I continue in my 4:12 Life, I am more and more in love with God. His Word speaks directly to my heart if I will only open up and let it. This week I am learning how to be Moses, and I believe I may have found my burning bush. More on that later.

I hope that all of you had a wonderful weekend, surrounded with love, whether it be love from a sweetheart, from a pet, from your family, from your friends, or from your Heavenly Father. I love you all for reading my blog and leaving me your comments - it means so much to me, and with each one, my heart swells. Thank you!

Sleeping With A Man

2009-02-11T13:42:00.001-06:00

We all love our husbands. We do. I love my husband more than anyone can imagine. But ladies, raise your hand if maybe sometimes - even if it's just every once in a while - you wish you could have your bed ALL. TO. YOURSELF. I mean really - the marriage bed is a beautiful thing, but don't you ever just wish that heat-radiating, snoring, teeth-grinding, cover-snatching man would go sleep on the couch?? Sure, spooning is great, until he falls asleep (which he inevitably will within 5 minutes) and gets real heavy and HOT. And he has those little muscle-spasm twitches that men have when they're falling asleep and that hand that's lovingly resting on your hip (or elsewhere) suddenly SQUEEZES and scares the bejeezus out of you! And the snoring - oh, the snoring! Don't even get me started!

So as I'm lying in bed last night, thinking of how lovely it would be to have my bed to myself for an entire night, I doze off and have a bad dream. And when I waken, I reach out to touch Hubby - just to know that he's there. And just putting my hand on his big, heavy, warm, sleeping body is a comfort. He's there. He's always there. When I'm having a bad day, I can pick up the phone and he's there. When tragedy strikes and all I can do is cry, he's there. When I'm scared, worried, lonely....he's there. And when joy overflows from my heart and I'm giddy happy and want to celebrate....he's there.

Seventeen years ago, when I was feeling trapped in an abusive marriage to a mean drunk, he was there.

Through all the ups and downs of our marriage - and let me tell you, there have been many - he was there.

When my family needs him, he's there.

When our children need him, he's there.

A few years ago, Hubby broke his leg when he flipped an ATV. But in treating his broken leg, a much bigger, scarier problem was discovered - his blood pressure was stroke-level high. As they were prepping him for surgery on his leg, the nurses were calling in doctors left and right and they told us they couldn't even think about putting him under for surgery or he would surely stroke out and possibly die. I was terrified, and for the first time since I've known him I realized that something could happen and he wouldn't be there anymore.

He's fine now. With medication, his blood pressure is under control and his heart is healthy. But I'll never forget that feeling of fear that I might lose him.

So why, oh why would I ever not want him to be there beside me? Yes, he snores. He tosses and turns and gets the covers all wadded up sometimes. He takes up more than his half of the bed. But he's there. I can reach out for him, and he's always there. And I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.

Photo Challenge

2009-02-11T12:49:00.003-06:00

Stacey over at JameeForever and Jami from the Fleming Family Circus BOTH tagged me for this one, so here it goes! I am to go to my Picture Files, go to the 6th folder and find the 6th picture and post it here. Gosh, I hope it's decent!

Awwww - it's my favorite picture of Jax!! He was still a baby - so cute!

I'm not tagging anyone, but if you want to play along, leave me a comment and I'll be sure to come by and see!

Mondays are Mine

2009-02-09T14:32:00.002-06:00

I know, I know - most of you dread Mondays. Me? I rather look forward to them. Because on Mondays, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., I am HOME. ALONE. BY MYSELF. IN THE QUIET. I never plan anything for Mondays. The kids go to school, Hubby goes to work, and I cherish my time to myself. I can sit around in my jammies, read blogs and Facebook, sleep, eat what I want (I just wolfed down two Junior Chili Cheese Frito Snack Wraps from Sonic, and a handful of cherry sours washed down with a swig of ginger ale. I think I might throw up now, but at least there won't be anyone knocking at the door yelling, "MOM?!?" while I'm doing it!). I might throw a load of wash in on Mondays - I might not. I might make phone calls or pay bills - I might not. The beauty of Mondays is that I do what I want. I think everyone needs a day like that, don't you?

Camera Critters #44

2009-02-07T14:29:00.000-06:00

Waiting for Daddy to get home......

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You - Little Ladies?

2009-02-05T08:22:00.007-06:00

In their first year of junior high (6th grade), Daughter and her BFF Lamb attended all the school functions. They were excited to get involved and to socialize! So of course that had to include the Valentine Dance. They each got new dresses to wear and looked perfectly lovely for the occasion. Like beautiful young ladies.

And they had a great time dancing and laughing and talking with all their friends! After the dance they headed back to Lamb's house to relax and unwind.....

And apparently to forget all about being ladylike!!

B Happy!

2009-02-03T22:00:00.001-06:00

D.. is playing this fun game and I decided to play along! Here's how you do it: Tell me by leaving a comment on this post, and I will assign you a letter. Then post ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter on your blog. Explain the rules with your ten things and when others comment requesting a letter, assign one to them; thus, the chain continues.

D... assigned me the letter B - a very good letter, indeed, seeing as how I'm Bubba's Sis! My maiden name also starts with B. This should B easy!

I actually thought of a BUNCH more, but here are ten things I love that start with the letter B:

1. Bubba - I wouldn't be Bubba's Sis without him!

2. Bubba's Mom - I wouldn't be here at all without her!

3. my BFF

4. Bubble Baths

5. the Beach

6. Boots

7. Bon Jovi

8. Bluebonnets

9. Blankies

10. Baseball

An Attack on My 4:12 Life

2009-01-31T20:29:00.002-06:00

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

I am certain that the moment I made my commitment to live a 4:12 Life in 2009, Satan perked up his ears. Because that's what he does - everything he can to defeat Christ's church and to turn Christians away from God and back to sin. So when I decided to spend time in God's Word every day and to grow spiritually and be fully alive in Him, Satan got to work.

I have to admit, he's smart. Satan knows my weaknesses; he knows how to tempt me, how to make me discontent, and I don't even see it coming. But he's after me for sure. I'm feeling the attack. And I have to admit, at times I haven't been very strong against it. I feel every struggle and I get downhearted and discouraged.

But I continue to read God's Word, and as He promises, it is living and active, it is applicable to me, today. I've been reading in Exodus, and from the first few chapters I know that God is with me, even through the hard times, just as He was with the Israelites during their slavery and oppression. And while we do have a powerful enemy, that enemy is no match for God! God takes the worst circumstances and brings good from them. Most of the time this takes patience, something I struggle with. But good will come from bad circumstances. It happened over and over throughout the Bible, and it happens over and over today. And so I must draw my strength from that, and resist the devil. I must stand strong in my faith, and know that His grace is sufficient for me (2 Corinthians 12:9). And I must stick with my commitment to live a 4:12 Life - for Satan will be defeated.

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You - The Bird

2009-01-28T22:45:00.001-06:00

First babies have their portraits made at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, etc. etc. There are a million pictures of them in their various stages of cuteness. Something happens, tho, and by the time the last of the babies comes around, we parents aren't as vigilant about capturing their cuteness. Poor Little Son was 18 months old before I had his portrait professionally taken. It's OK - you can gasp. I know I'm a bad mommy. Now I certainly had plenty of pictures I had taken of him at home - we're just talking professional portraits here.

So, at 18 months, I found a great photographer and we went out to a local park and captured some precious photos of my baby boy. Despite the heat and the mosquitoes that feasted upon his soft baby flesh, all the pictures turned out really good. This one is my favorite:

Notice his hand. Do you think he had a little resentment that I took so long to get around to having his picture taken?

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

2009-01-26T21:55:00.000-06:00

Today is the Chinese New Year - also known as the Lunar New Year. This year is the Year of the Ox. Little Son was born in the last Year of the Ox (1997).

According to Chinese Zodiac, people born in the Year of the Ox are patient, speak little, and inspire confidence in others. They tend to be plodding and methodical; they approach projects in the step-by-step manner that serves them best, and they never lose sight of their goal. They are tireless workers who are detail-oriented and believe in doing things right the first time. The world may perceive Oxen as being far too serious or incapable of loosening up, but as a friend, family member or housemate, the Ox makes a wonderfully strong, tender and affectionate companion who is protective and always reliable. Ox people are mentally and physically alert. Generally easy-going, they can be remarkably stubborn, and they hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster, and Rat people. (I am a Rooster.)

I can certainly see some of these traits in Little Son. He is very methodical - he has a true engineering mind - but the detail-oriented part of him shows his artistic side. He's very strict about rules - some might even say rigid. Heck, some might even say he needs to loosen up a little! He's not terribly stubborn, and he does hate to fail, but I don't see him as a "tireless worker". At least not yet! He is very very smart, and yes, very tender and affectionate.

Do you have an Oxen in your life? To them - and to you - I wish you Kung Hei Fat Choi, or Happy New Year, full of luck, prosperity, and longevity!

FYI: President Obama, who has pledged to begin rehabilitating the economy, was born in an Ox year. A good thing?

Inauguration Day Through Navy Son's Eyes

2009-01-26T00:50:00.003-06:00

I lazily spent my Martin Luther King Day shining shoes and getting my uniform A-J squared away for the big parade. I spent the remainder of the day working on homework and napping because I knew that I had an inspection at 0130. Following that, our group of 90 Midshipman was herded to the awaiting Naval Academy buses. We left around 0230 and had a police escort consisting of approximately 30-40 police cars, they were everywhere! Three hours later, which normally only takes thirty minutes, we were in D.C.. All the major roads and bridges were closed, so we utilized back roads and parking lots. It felt kind of like a police chase, with police cars everywhere and turn after turn. I dozed off to find us parked in front of a grocery store. We spent several hours sitting in this parking lot waiting. I dozed off again. I awoke to find us at the Pentagon. We were instructed to get all belongings off the bus and take our rifles through the security check point to have them screened. They swept through the buses making sure nothing was on them that shouldn't be. Then they searched us and made sure our weapons were inoperable. We loaded the buses back up and headed to the mall (the area with all the monuments).

The sight was incredible! I've never seen so many people. All people, all ages, all colors huddled together. Strike that, more of packed together. Everyone was quiet; hanging on Obama’s every word. They were packed starting from the Washington Monument and up to the steps of the Capitol. Jumbo T.V.’s on the back of 18 wheelers provided people with a view of what was too far away from them to see. Some people waved at our buses as we convoyed in. We waved back. There were American flags everywhere. It was literally too much to take in, just so many people.

We then were brought to this warming tent where we finished watching the swearing in ceremony. Around 1300 we departed the tents and formed up into our formation that we would be marching in. We had anticipated stepping off at 1430. Little did we know that there was a delay and we ended up standing out in the cold for close to 3 hours. We didn't dress all that warmly because, well we were in uniform and we wanted to look sharp. It was absolutely freezing (technically below freezing) . Slowly but surely the ranks of the formation got closer and closer as we huddled together for warmth, and pretty soon we were one big group of Midshipman clinging together for warmth. Some of us started jumping up and down and others even did the electric slide to move about and stay warm.

Finally, after many false calls, we stepped off. We marched through the streets along the parade route to hear people cheers (who were crazy to stay so long out in the cold, hopefully they dressed warmer than us!) and every block our arrival was announced over a speaker system. “Now we have the United States Naval Academy, represented by 90 talented Midshipman from each company within the brigade. The Naval Academy is the Navy’s only undergraduate school and since 1845 provided the Navy and Marine Corps with outstanding officers.” Turns out later, that one of my friends from back when I was in Sicily had announced our arrival at the first block. Throughout the parade we heard cheers of “GO NAVY BEAT ARMY!” and people thanking us for our service, a very humbling experience.

Finally, we came upon the part of the parade route where our new Commander in Chief was positioned. There were so many bright lights directly ahead of us that it was like looking into the sun. I could not see where I was going. I just followed the ecliptic outline of the person ahead of me. We were told that there were snipers everywhere, which made me kind of nervous and a bit scared to even sneeze. Barack Obama was in an elevated booth with a glass partition; alongside him was the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughhead. We received the command “EYES LEFT” and executed a left turn of the head. Very similar to what the Nazis troops would do to Hitler when they marched in front of him, minus the whole fling the arm out in front thing. President Obama and Admiral Roughhead both returned a salute. I could see Obama’s teeth, his mole on his face, just everything crystal clear. He was soooo close! It was quite the build up for such a short moment. Nonetheless, it was an awesome moment!

We finished the parade route and made our way to the buses and boarded them. I fell asleep as soon as I sat down, and we did not make it back to the Academy until 1920. It was a long, but awesome day!

Crowns, Homemade Soup, and World Peace

2009-01-24T22:28:00.004-06:00

Tonight was to be a big night - the Annual Miss America Party! Every year Bubba's Mom and I, along with our closest beauty queen friends, gather with our crowns on to eat, drink, be silly, and watch the Miss America pageant on TV. But alas, this year I am sick. And no one wants my germs. And I feel like ca-ca. So no party.

Bubba's Mom made a big pot of homemade soup tonight, so I went to her house, ate soup, curled up on her couch with my crown and sweats on, and watched the pageant. There's nothing like having your mama when you're sick, is there?

I must say, the pageant was much better than last year. Miss America has changed so much over the years - some of the changes good, some not. We miss the days of a September crowning in Atlantic City, of Bert Parks singing "There she is....." But we still got to see the swimwear, the beautiful evening gowns, and the always entertaining talent competition (our favorite part!). They still answered relevant interview questions, altho not much was said about their platforms. In the end Miss Indiana was crowned Miss America 2009, and we were good with that. They even played a recording of Bert Parks singing that famous song as she walked the runway. But we missed Katie Lady and D... - we'll do it next year, girls! Keep those crowns polished!

Camera Critters #42

2009-01-24T12:10:00.000-06:00

Isn't this little guy cute? We saw him and his other sea otter friends at the Texas State Aquarium when our family and D...'s family spent a long weekend in Corpus Christi a few summers ago. Other than the fishy smell, I think an otter would make a fun pet!

"Be careful!"

2009-01-23T20:19:00.004-06:00

So I've been watching the American Idol auditions for Season 8 the past couple of weeks, and this week they were in Louisville, Kentucky. One of the contestants, a guy named Mark Mudd, sang a not-so-great rendition of Johnny Cash's "White Lightning" - and the judges told him he just wasn't right for the show. For some reason they seemed a little intimidated by him from the start, asking him if he was wearing a gun when he walked in (he wasn't). But as he left he kindly told them "Thank you" and then said, "Be careful!"

Ya'll, the judges wigged out. They thought it was a THREAT! Paula said, "You just don't say that to people!" They were serious.

Apparently these Hollywood big-wigs don't fully understand the South. "Be careful!" is one of those things we just say when we're saying goodbye - it's not a threat, but a loving kind of "see you later". I say it all the time! I'm certainly not threatening people! Hubby and I just looked at each other in confusion when the judges freaked out about it. Apparently they need to spend more time with some GRITS so they'll fully understand the lingo when they come down here!

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You - Dining Out

2009-01-22T00:10:00.006-06:00

Cooking has just never been my thing, ya'll. I'm not good at it, and I don't enjoy it. My favorite thing to make for dinner? Reservations! (Ba dump dump!)

As a little girl, I did a lot of pretending - I loved playing dress-up and pretending to be a mommy with all my dolls, or a cowgirl riding my "horse" (which was really my bike). I never pretended to be cooking, tho. I didn't stand at my mother's knee and watch her prepare our meals, learning each step as she did it. I didn't have a little toy kitchen with pots and pans of my own. No, even as a child I knew better. When it was pretend time? I ate out.

"Yes, I'm ready to order."

"Oh, the service here is fabulous. I'll have to be sure to leave a nice tip."

Hey, I am who I am. Someone has to be the cook, someone has to be the diner. I'll choose the latter, thankyouverymuch.

Proud Mama - Part 2

2009-01-20T22:47:00.006-06:00

Talked with Navy Son tonight - he had quite a day! It was cold, it was crowded, he had to wait a L-O-N-G time........but he said it was AWESOME! He left a comment on my post below, but he's also going to write up a blog post about his experience today and I'll post it on here soon. I watched TV All. Day. Long. What an emotional, historic day! I did finally see Navy Son - at 4:45 p.m. my time he marched past President Obama - only I couldn't tell which one in the group was him. Oh well. I knew he was in there, and I was busting with pride!

And now I must take the opportunity to brag on my OTHER son - commonly known here as Little Son.

Little Son has many talents and interests. He's brilliant, really, and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mama. Ask D.... and she'll agree. The child is scary-smart.

His most recent interest has been baking - he made a homemade apple pie for Thanksgiving, and now he's into cakes. His favorite show on TV (besides Mythbusters) is Ace of Cakes. I gave him a cookbook for Christmas that is all cakes. The boy LOVES to bake, and what kind of mother would I be to stifle his creativity and interests? I let him bake, and I ~~snarf up~~ sample the products of his endeavors. It's tough, but someone has to do it.

Since Christmas he has been bugging me and bugging me to try using fondant. I've heard fondant is hard to work with, and as brilliant as he is, Little Son is still just 11 years old. I've been putting him off. But the other day Bubba's Mom bought him some pre-made fondant at the craft store - all he had to do was roll it out and create his edible work of art. He was thrilled.

And so yesterday he got to work on it - and here is his final creation:

Check out the detail on the rose:

And the best part? It was deeee-licous! I think this kid is onto something. Perhaps he'll be the next Chef Duff.....

Proud Mama

2009-01-19T23:28:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow is a big day in our country's history - the inauguration of our nation's first black president. Much hooplah and fanfare has already begun, and tomorrow it will be non-stop. While I was neither strongly for or against Obama, I am hopeful that he will be a good President. I plan to watch the festivities and ceremonies tomorrow - but I have another motive, as well.

Navy Son has the honor of marching in the Inaugural Parade with the United States Naval Academy! While I don't know that I'll be able to pick him out of the group on TV (they tend to all look alike), I'm sure gonna try! He will be a part of history - he can say he was THERE on this historic day. What an awesome experience for him! I can't wait to hear him tell about it.

If you watch the parade tomorrow, be sure to look for him! Maybe he'll wave and say, "Hi Mom!"

Camera Critters #41

2009-01-17T23:51:00.002-06:00

We ate some delicious seafood tonight at one of our favorite restaurants; living on the Gulf Coast we get some really yummy critters from the sea! Little Son's favorite is boiled shrimp - peel 'em and eat 'em! That's a tasty critter!

I'm Published!!

2009-01-17T10:54:00.006-06:00

I've had my writing published before - as a kid I won a couple of writing contests, and my poem or short story was printed in the local paper. I'm currently on staff with a local magazine writing articles for their "Faithful Families" section. It's a quarterly magazine, and I've been writing for them for about a year, so I've done about four articles. I'm currently working on one for the spring edition, which comes out in March. Really gotta finish that today.....

BUT....I have never published a book. Until now.

My dearest, bestest friend ever (guess who it is?) took all of our Amazing Race blog posts - her pictures and my writing - and had the whole saga published in a book! A REAL book! Check it out:

Is that cool or what?!? AND? It's not just a book for me. Oh no. ANYONE can buy a copy of our book! I'm thinking by summer it's going to be on the New York Times Best Seller List. Better hurry and get your copy today!

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You - Reparation

2009-01-15T18:25:00.003-06:00

In all fairness to Bubba's Mom....

Taken with the same cell phone!

My 4:12 Life So Far

2009-01-13T21:45:00.002-06:00

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

My one resolution for 2009 was to live a 4:12 Life - to steep myself in God's Word and to grow spiritually thru it. Last week, at my church's prompting, I read and studied Psalm 119. It is the longest chapter in the Bible, and at first seemed very repetitive. But it was a good start to my 4:12 Life because of its message of the beauty of God's Word. The Bible is a guide for life - a road map, so to speak - a flashlight to guide our path thru this dark world ("Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105) While this chapter speaks repeatedly of God's laws/precepts/statues, it also speaks of freedom in obedience to these laws. Contrary to what we often expect, obeying God's law does not inhibit or restrain us - instead it frees us to be what God designed us to be! Indeed, studying God's Word and obeying His laws brings great peace ("Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble." Psalm 119:165). And who doesn't long for peace in their hearts? I know I do.

So what does God want me to know? I believe He wants me to know that His Word is good, true, and powerful - and relevant in my life. What does God want me to feel? He wants me to feel the peace that comes with knowing His Word and experiencing freedom in Him. What does God want me to do? I believe He wants me to study His Word, to read it and "hide it in my heart" (v. 11), making it a guide in everything I do.

This week starts a new study for me, thru our church, so I am reading Exodus 1, and Genesis 1 & 2. The focus of the study will be on Exodus, so that is the main focus of my reading and studying this week. I'll let you know how it goes!

Christian Panties

2009-01-12T17:43:00.000-06:00

Been There, Done That, Bought the T-Shirt

2009-01-12T11:50:00.003-06:00

I've seen this one going around the blogs and decided to get in on it, too -

Here's what you do: Copy and paste to your blog then boldface the things you've done.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (I guess I can't count our family Guitar Hero World Tour band.)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/World

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris (Does Paris, TX count? I've been there!)

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child (Navy Son!)

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted (not painted, but drawn - so I'm counting this one!)

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business - Check it out! www.magicalgetaways.vpweb.com

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia (Can I count my "Amazing Race" experience?)

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Gotten flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma (I don't weigh enough!)

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book (stay tuned for a blog about that!)

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the paper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox - That's right, I've NEVER had chickenpox!

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a lawsuit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Became a child of God

Camera Critters #40

2009-01-11T13:21:00.002-06:00

I love watching all the birds that come to my birdfeeder, but this guy is my favorite!

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You - My PHONE is also a CAMERA!

2009-01-08T20:04:00.003-06:00

When I bought my current cell phone, it was my first time to have a camera phone. Of course I had to show off and take pictures of everyone and everything with it.

"Look how easy it is to use, Bubba's Mom! Smile!"

CLICK

And here's what I got:

She is so impressed with technology.

Happy Birthday, Elvis

2009-01-08T12:30:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday, Elvis - you would be 74 years old today. You'll always be The King.

Wow! Check out my website!

2009-01-07T13:36:00.001-06:00

Magical Getaways

Tell all your friends!

I did it!

2009-01-05T21:02:00.006-06:00

Today I got my DBA and I am now officially the owner and operator of Magical Getaways, personal vacation itinerary planning for an unforgettable Disney experience! I am quite excited! My eight (soon to be nine) trips to Disney World give me experience and expertise that can save people valuable time in planning their Disney vacation. I will offer recommendations and booking for all resorts, dining, park tickets, attractions, etc. - all my clients have to do is show up! If you or any of your friends and/or family are planning a trip to Disney World soon, drop me an e-mail at magicalgetaways@comcast.net!

Living a 4:12 Life in 2009

2009-01-04T22:26:00.000-06:00

OK, I said no resolutions for me this year. And I meant it. But I am taking one of my resolutions from last year and choosing to focus on it for 2009: reading my Bible more.

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart."

Did you see that? Living and active. That's what I want to be! Fully alive in Christ Jesus! Studies have shown that the most powerful catalyst to spiritual growth is the Bible - and I want to grow spiritually this year, I want to have that daily relationship with God that I so long for, I want to know what He's saying to me. I love how the study notes in my Bible explain this verse:

"The Word of God is not simply a collection of words from God, a vehicle for communicating ideas; it is living, life-changing, and dynamic as it works in us. With the incisiveness of a surgeon's knife, God's Word reveals who we are and what we are not. It penetrates the core of our moral and spiritual life. It discerns what is within us, both good and evil. The demands of God's Word require decisions. We must not only listen to the Word; we must also let it shape our lives."

This will take discipline, for sure. It's very easy for me to say I don't have time, or that it's too difficult to read. Those are lame excuses, tho. I truly believe that spending time in His Word each day will change my life. Why wouldn't I make the time for that??? And the more I read, the more I study, then the more the Holy Spirit will open up my mind to understanding. God WILL speak to me thru Scripture. I don't know exactly how yet, but I tell ya what - I'm gonna find out!

At the prompting of my church, I'm reading Psalm 119 this week (yes, I do believe it's the longest chapter in the Bible!). I'm going to pray for God to speak to me thru His Word, and when I read it I'm going to ask myself three questions: What does God want me to know? What does God want me to feel? What does God want me to do?

It's the first step in the right direction - and toward a new way of life.

Camera Critters #39

2009-01-03T11:21:00.001-06:00

Hey! Whose bed is this, anyway?

Disney On My Mind

2009-01-01T12:25:00.003-06:00

As many of you know, I love all things Disney. I've been to Disney World 8 times (6 times with my kids). People always ask me, "Why don't you ever go anywhere else?!" Well, we do - we've been several other places, actually. But we always go back to Disney. One of the trip-planning newsletters I receive in my e-mail from Deb's Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide has a great article in it this week that pretty well explains it all - here are some excerpts from the article, written by Amy Warren Stoll:

I'm sure this won't come as a big shock to anyone that many of us go to Walt Disney World in search of a little magic. After all, don't we use our Magic Your Way ticket to enter the Magic Kingdom, to watch the SpectroMagic parade, enjoy Mickey's PhilharMagic, and take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours? Aren't we even magically transported from the airport to our resort by Disney's Magical Express?........

I'm confident that long before the Disney advertising juggernaut spewed forth the notion that WDW is "Where Magic Lives," a great number of us already believed it. How else do we explain how Tinker Bell flies in the Magic Kingdom, how an entire audience can be shrunk in Epcot, or how we can enter our very own Twilight Zone at The Studios?........

Certainly we've all found our little bit of magic in every trip we've taken. Perhaps it was in the goosebumps we got as the drums sounded the beginning of IllumiNations, or in that "little something" in our eye as the music swelled and fireworks lit up Cinderella Castle, or maybe it was just in a simple hug from our favorite character........it's become clear that countless numbers of us believe that there is magic to be found at WDW, and that when we find it, we want to tell others about it. How often do we arrive home from our trips to The World anxious to tell anyone willing to listen (and a few who are just in the wrong place at the wrong time) about our Magical Moments? We want to tell them about how our little girl was enchanted by a conversation with the real Cinderella, how we had the chance to sit quietly holding hooves with Eeyore, or how our grandfather got choked up (although he'll never admit it) when his whole family gathered for his birthday during his first-ever trip to Walt Disney World........

You should note that we don't call them "special" or "incredible" or even "really cool" moments. No, we call them magical, and we wouldn't have it any other way. But what makes a magical moment? Is it a special event that's been meticulously planned and engineered, perhaps with the help of a cast member? Sure it is. Is it a trip that's been anticipated for months or even years before finally setting foot in the middle of the magic? Of course it is. Could it be a forgettable day made unforgettable by someone seizing the moment and spontaneously making some magic? You bet it is. Or maybe it's a moment when everything stands still, when you see nothing but your friends or family and the expressions on their faces, and in that instant you know that there is nowhere else you'd rather be. Oh yeah, that's one of the most magical moments of them all........

We all know that the cast members at WDW go the extra mile in making our visits as special as possible. We all know that it's often that extra mile that keeps us coming back again and again. And, of course, we all know that without the cast members there could be no Disney magic. Looking back through the ALL EARS® archives of readers' Magical Moments, I read again and again of the memorable things that cast members have done for guests. Sometimes the cast member had clearly gone out of their way to create some magic, even commemorating it with a "Magical Moments" certificate. Sometimes they were going above and beyond trying to remedy a trip gone awry, and sometimes there seemed to be a little luck, or coincidence, or (dare I say it) a little magic that brought everything together in just the right way to touch the guest and spark what would be an indelible and unforgettable moment. But I also noticed something else. While most of the writers told us of magic that had been fashioned at the hands of a cast member, there were other types of magic that piqued my interest... and got me thinking.

I read several stories of guests actually creating magic for other guests. A few mentioned the simple act of fellow guests giving away their FastPasses, another spoke of a family sacrificing some of their park time to "stay put" and guard the belongings of strangers when they realized the poor souls had walked away without their bags. And one related the incredibly sweet story of a husband buying an entire bouquet of balloons for his new wife just so she could give them away to the children around her! Goodness, tissue please.........after hearing so many other examples of guests taking magic-making into their own hands, I'd like to think that spending a few days immersed in the magic of Disney makes us happier, freer, and gives us the idea to do those nice things that may not come to mind during the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. Or maybe we just know that any kind or thoughtful act in that environment is a potential magical moment, and fuels the secret desire that some of us have to be a cast member making Disney magic.

Another type of Magical Moment that intrigued me was the magic that we make for ourselves. I was delighted by the stories of parents surprising their children with a so-called "last-minute" trip that had actually been secretly planned for months and months, and of a family spending their entire day at the Magic Kingdom "chasing" Tinker Bell around every corner and going to great lengths (a.k.a. golden cake glitter) to convince the youngest in their party that Tink was just mere steps away. I was heartened by the story of the large family who took the time to let their "number one planner" know how special he was for making their family gathering at WDW possible, and was struck by the countless stories of those whose magical moments were simply the emotion they felt when they were finally in the middle of the magic, surrounded by those they hold dear, and seeing the experience through their loved ones' eyes. Hmm. I didn't throw away that tissue, did I?

I'm not sure if I know why the images of magic that people found in themselves touched me so deeply. Perhaps they reassure me that we carry imagination, wonder, and magic with us everywhere we go, that we're not dependent on others to create it for us, and that we have within us the ability to make special memories for ourselves and others. Of course, it's certainly easier to lend ourselves to magic-making when we're surrounded by others doing the same. So for that, we have to thank the hard-working cast members who put all the pieces together. They give us a place to gather, they welcome us with a smile, they entertain us with thrills and whimsy, then they wow us with spectacles of music, light, and fire. In all of this, I think they give us permission to suspend reality and forget many of the cares we have at home, to see the magic in the moment, and to delight in those people who are most important in our world. Then I guess it's up to us to recognize those moments, then remember them, relive them and share them when we return home.

So the next time we experience a magical moment, perhaps we should thank Walt for creating a place where magic indeed lives... in the stories, in the characters, and in the people. But the next time we create a little magic of our own, maybe we need to be grateful that Walt's dream is a place that inspires us to believe, feel, and know that magic also lives in us.

That, my friends, is what keeps us coming back.

Part of the fun of Disney for me is planning the trip. Months in advance of our actual vacation, I start planning out our days, our meals, our activities. I love it! I have helped a few friends plan their Disney trips as well, and now my friends are telling me, "You could SO make money doing this!"

So that's what's been on my mind lately - starting my own Disney-trip-planning business. I can recommend resorts, restaurants, etc. and make all reservations. I can recommend which parks to go to on which days, which rides and attractions must be seen and done, and which ones can be skipped if time is crunched. I can share all the tips and tricks I've learned over the years from our own Disney trips. And - I can get paid to do it!

I haven't decided for sure yet. Starting my own business is a bit scary for me! But I'm seriously considering it. A new venture for a new year. Could make for a magical 2009!

2009!

2009-01-01T00:00:00.000-06:00

A Look Back...

2008-12-30T22:20:00.000-06:00

I did a fun "looking back at the year" post last year in which I posted the first sentence from the first post of each month of 2007. This year I'm putting a different spin on it - I'm posting the title of a post from each month of 2008 that I feel was significant or most representative of that month for me (or maybe just the most fun!). You can click on the link to read the full post. Let's look back at 2008, shall we?

January - How a tiny plastic baby messed up my plans. And a very important message. Read on.

February - Ten Favorite Restaurants for Bubba's Sis' and D's Ladies' Night Out

March - Misty

April - Priceless

May - I feel pretty, oh so pretty.....

June - Hope

July - Rested, Relaxed, Restored, and Rewarded!

August - Haiku: Resolve

September - Home Safe & Sound

October - More Scary Stuff

November - Where were you?

December - Winter Wonderland

2008 was a bumpy year, for sure - I lost two beloved pets, but got a new one that I adore! We had to move unexpectedly, but we have a beautiful new home and it enabled Daughter to go to my old high school. We were hit by a major hurricane but we also got snow! God was with us thru the hard times AND the happy times - despite the hurdles, we are blessed.

So bring on 2009! I can't wait to see what it has in store for me! Happy New Year, everyone!

Who am I kidding?

2008-12-28T22:21:00.002-06:00

It's that time of year - time to start thinking about "resolutions" for the new year ahead. Let's see how I did on last year's resolutions.....

#1 - get our finances in order and stay on budget

I don't even want to discuss this.

#2 - read more

Umm....I read 3 books this year. I am ashamed.

#3 - read my Bible more; I need to spend more time in God's word.

I probably did a little better with this one. Not as much as I should have, but better.

#4 - worry less

Ummm....yeah.

#5 - get more exercise

Does Dance Dance Revolution count? Does it count that I've only been doing it the past 3 days?

#6 - travel someplace that I've never been

I did go to a family camp that I've never been to before - that is a 1½ hour drive from home. I hardly consider that "travel". I think I've got this one covered for 2009, tho - our Spring Break Disney Cruise goes to the Bahamas, and I've never been there before!

#7 - take more pictures of our everyday lives and not just holidays and vacations

Hmmm.....I may have done OK with this one. I started carrying my camera with me, like D... does, and when I remember I have it, I use it!

Well, it seems I'm not an overwhelming success when it comes to New Year's Resolutions. I think to avoid embarrassing posts like this one next year, I just won't make any resolutions this year. That way, neither of us is disappointed in me!

How about you? Are YOU making any resolutions for 2009?

"You are made out of Awesome!!!"

2008-12-27T23:43:00.002-06:00

That was Jenny's comment when I posted on Facebook that I am better at Dance Dance Revolution than Guitar Hero World Tour. Oh, how I wish that was true, Jenny! But we have had a great time the past couple of days playing both of these games on the Wii.

We've got the family band going on Guitar Hero World Tour - we're called Ponderosa. Daughter is on guitar, Little Son on bass, Hubby on drums, and I sing. Little Son is the most musical of the family - he can actually play any of the instruments, and not at just the "Beginner" level. Daughter is doing quite well with the guitar - she picks things like that up quickly (picks - ha ha!). Hubby - well, let's just not talk about his drumming. Let's just say we're doing real good to get all the way thru a song without "failing". And me? Well, I'm not much of a singer, but I think I do alright. The Wii thinks so, too - which is why I love it so much! I've given all the instruments a try and I think I'll stick with singing. Until the neighbors complain, anyway.

But Dance Dance Revolution - now there's a game I can play!! Ya'll, I gots the MOVES! OK, so I can only do the dances on the first couple of levels, but I'm learning! I'm working my way up! I am GROOVING! Dancing is where my true talent lies. I. Am. A. Dancer. Now if someone would only remind my knees and ankles of that, I'll be in good shape. Off to take some Advil now.....

Believing

2008-12-26T13:15:00.003-06:00

My kids - 14 and 11 years old - told me this year that they don't really believe in Santa Claus. Which is odd because I think Navy Son still believes. I told them if they don't believe he doesn't come. They just rolled their eyes like, "yeah, Mom, whatever" - so I told them I would just wrap all the presents I had for them and there would be no "Santa" gifts Christmas morning. They were totally OK with that. They didn't even hang their stockings. My heart cracked a little bit.

On Christmas Eve, Daughter started to feel a little bit sad about not believing. I told her that if she truly believed in her heart of hearts, that he would come. I told Little Son the same thing. And I saw the slightest hint of a sparkle in their eyes.

Yesterday morning when we all got up, Santa had left a Guitar Hero World Tour for them - and their stockings filled to the brim! The looks on their faces said it all. Santa is real, alright. His magic never fails to arrive with Christmas.

Yes, ~~Virginia~~ Daughter and Little Son, there IS a Santa Claus!

My wish to you all....

2008-12-25T00:01:00.001-06:00

Christmas Spirit Award

2008-12-24T21:09:00.003-06:00

Forgetfulone gave me this beautiful Christmas Spirit Award! Her blog is so festive for the holiday - she even has snow!!

The rules are easy. List five things you love about Christmas, then tag whomever you want. Oh, and have fun!

Since it's Christmas Eve I won't tag anyone, but here are five of the many things I love about Christmas:

the smell of a live Christmas tree
O Holy Night
Baby Jesus in the nativity scene
the movie White Christmas
the look on my children's faces Christmas morning

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my Blog friends! I love you all!

'Twas the day before Christmas.....

2008-12-24T20:22:00.003-06:00

In H-Town again,
But instead of snow,
We only got RAIN.

Not very Christmasey weather 'round these parts - temps in the 70's and rain all day. A Bad Hair Day to say the least! One could very easily get into a Bah Humbug mood with weather like that.

But we have had a lovely Christmas Eve - a delicious meal of gumbo, salad, and hot bread with the family (Bubba, Katie Lady, and Drew Bear are here!), scrumptious mudslides to drink, one present for each kid to open (guess what was in there??), birthday cake for Jesus.....music and laughter and love all around. And tonight while we sleep? Santa comes!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Camera Critters #37

2008-12-20T22:51:00.001-06:00

A couple of my favorite critters, all dressed up for Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You - Getting Wiggy!

2008-12-18T14:03:00.006-06:00

Twenty-something years ago, when Bubba's Mom lost her hair to chemotherapy, she wore wigs. She hated them because they were hot and they gave her a headache, so as soon as she had enough hair grow back in to feel like she was "presentable", the wigs were stashed away at the back of the closet.

A few months ago we found them, Bubba's Mom and Daughter and I. So we put them on and acted a little silly - and of course Bubba's Dad captured the moment. (BTW, Daughter HATES this picture!)

I think we look rather cute, don't you??

Dear Santa,

2008-12-15T22:10:00.004-06:00

I know times are hard this year, Santa. The economy is in the pits, and you likely are having some difficulties yourself. I don't want much this year, but Santa - if you are able at all to get down my chimney on Christmas Eve, could you please bring me a new computer because this one is SO DAMN SLOW I'M READY TO THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW!!!!!!!!

Thank you,

Bubba's Sis

P.S. I also want World Peace.

I love it when the good guy wins!

2008-12-15T08:43:00.001-06:00

Congratulations, Bob! I was rooting for you the whole way!

Camera Critters #36

2008-12-13T22:42:00.000-06:00

Jax in the SNOW!

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You - Sucka!

2008-12-11T00:52:00.002-06:00

In honor of Hubby's birthday, I'm going to feature him in this week's Sincerely 'Fro Me to You. Because it's not always all about me; one day of the year I let it be about him. Happy Birthday, Baby!

A few years ago, when Daughter was entering Junior High, our church had a parent/student meeting about the Junior High Ministry program. It was both informative and fun. One of the games had a couple of parents and a couple of students get up on the stage - Hubby graciously volunteered to participate. Go, Hubby! The object of the game was to put a Tootsie Pop in your mouth and then say some phrase that I don't even remember. Then each contestant would add a Tootsie Pop and say it again. And so on and so on until one person was left standing.

Everyone started off well. At about four Tootsie Pops the first person dropped out. I noticed the girl next to Hubby gagging a bit, and prayed she didn't lose it. They were all starting to drool. It was hilarious. At about six Tootsie Pops another contestant dropped out. This left Hubby and the gagging girl. I was hysterical with laughter, and yet a bit worried at the same time. Dude had a LOT of Tootsie Pops crammed in his mouth. Of course, I had to get a picture.

I don't remember how many exactly he ended up with in there - I'm thinking about 8. Gagging girl beat him, and she didn't even throw up! But they both had drool all down their shirts and very sticky lips! He won some sort of prize for second place - and made his daughter so very proud! Or was it embarrassed? Whichever. We were ALL quite impressed!

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-10T23:37:00.011-06:00

Bear with me, my friends from the North - it's a good story!

It was a cold, wet, miserable day here in H-Town - 35 degrees and a steady, drizzly rain. A sharp contrast to the muggy 75 degree day we had yesterday. I felt bad for Hubby that he got such crappy weather on his birthday.

When I picked the kids up from school they were all a-twitter, saying that everyone at school said it was going to snow tonight! I reassured them it was NOT going to snow. It only snows here once in a blue moon, and since we had a Christmas snow several years ago, it didn't seem likely to happen again this soon.

At about 5:00 the rain turned to sleet. Sleet! We got all excited and ran outside to take some pictures. We don't even see sleet much around these parts.

By 5:30 the sleet was turning to snow! "I told you so! I told you so!" Little Son sang as he danced around. I told him to calm down - it certainly wasn't going to last long. Still, we better get some more pictures before it stops.

But ya'll - it kept snowing. And snowing. And snowing! For the next 6 hours!!! We were in utter amazement - it looked like a snow globe outside! I was like a giddy kid running outside and taking pictures every 10 minutes as the scene would change!

We have a Christmas tree outside on our deck this year - look how beautiful it is with its REAL flocking!

Of course we went out and played in it - we threw snowballs at each other, and even saved one in the freezer! Every time I would come in and warm up, I would look outside and see it still coming down and have to go back out there with my camera!

Tomorrow it will all be gone - nothing but a memory of an amazing December night. The night Hubby got snow for his birthday! What a gift!

I never would have believed it until I saw it. Wow.

Haiku: Doodles

2008-12-10T12:29:00.002-06:00

Melting in my mouth,

Sugary cinnamon bliss,

Snickerdoodle love.

**This is for the "Doodles" prompt at One Single Impression this week - be sure to stop by there to see all the wonderful poetry!

Life - What an Amazing Race!

2008-12-09T20:30:00.000-06:00

Life is such an adventure - from the moment we are born and God says, "Go!", He lays out our journey before us. There are twists and turns, much like the adventure D... and I have experienced these past 10 weeks.

"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1

Life isn't always easy - there are choices you have to make, tasks you must accomplish, and scary things you must encounter. Satan will try to throw you off-course, but with faith you persevere.

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

Sometimes life is fun - you see amazing things and experience thrills that take your breath away; you can be silly and laugh; you can bask in the love of a true friendship.

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy...." Psalm 16:11

For some the journey is long; for others, shorter than they planned. But in the end, it is the journey that matters, not who finishes first. We're all winners, and we all get a prize at the end; we all will be welcomed into our eternal home to the cheers and hugs of our loved ones that have gone before us.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord....will award me on that day - " 2 Timothy 4:7

That, my friends, is victory.

The Finish Line - Amazing Race Final Leg!

2008-12-08T20:11:00.002-06:00

After five continents and nearly 40,000 miles, we're down to the final leg of the Race!! D... and I are so excited we can hardly stand it! It has been an amazing adventure for us.....

The first leg of the Race had us leaving Los Angeles and flying to Salvador, Brazil - in Leg 2 we went to Fortaleza, Brazil. Brazil was beautiful, especially the beaches. We were having a great time!

Leg 3 sent us to La Paz, Bolivia, where we struggled with the altitude, but managed to stick it out and stay in the Race.

We finally left South America in Leg 4, and flew all the way to Auckland, New Zealand! I was still working on my fear of flying, but fortunately I had brought along a lot of Xanax to help me stay calm. We loved New Zealand and had a great time there - we'd love to go back someday!

Leg 5 of the Race brought us to Siem Reap, Cambodia, a place we do NOT care to go back to! D... had some fun with me on the plane, and even tho we were a little skeeved by our surroundings, we did well, with one of our best finishes in the Race!

We spent Leg 6 and Leg 7 of the Race in Delhi, India. We didn't get to ride and elephant OR do any Bollywood dancing, so it was really a disappointment for us. We were getting tired, and the traffic and crowds really got to us. But we persevered!

Leg 8 brought us to Almaty, Kazakhstan - a place we'd never even heard of! But we had fun there, dressing up like a cow and parading thru the streets. Mooooo!

Our last destination before the finish line was Moscow, Russia - Leg 9 and Leg 10 were both spent in this fascinating city. We got to see and do some amazing things here - we loved it!

We left the Pit Stop in Moscow at 2:28 a.m. - the clue told us to fly to our FINAL DESTINATION - Portland, Oregon! The earliest flight was at 7:05 a.m., so we spent another night in the airport.

Fortunately all the other Teams were on our same flight, so we were on an even keel when we landed back in the good old U. S. of A. When we landed, we had to make our way to the Tilikum adventure camp to find our next clue.

Adventure camp? Uh oh. I knew the scary stuff was coming!

Our taxi driver had a bit of a hard time finding the place, but we got there in third place and found the last Detour of the race; our choices were High and Dry or Low and Wet. In High and Dry, both Team members had to climb 30 feet up a tree, traverse a 40-foot log, and then leap through the air to retrieve one half of their next clue. If either Team member fell off the log without nabbing a clue, they had to start over from the beginning. In Low and Wet, Teams had to walk 850 feet across a floating log bridge over the water to a clue waiting on shore.

We knew High and Dry would be faster - but we could see Ken & Tina and Nick & Starr already climbing the trees, and dude, it was HIGH! I was skeered. D... tried to calm me down - even told me to take some more Xanax! - but I was out of pills and my nerves were getting the better of me. We did Low and Wet, and we did it just fine. Slow and ~~lazy~~ steady and all that, right?

We finished with no sign of the Frat Boys, so we knew we were still in it!

We ripped open our clue that instructed us to travel to the Bridge of the Gods and take a ride on a zipline 2,000-feet to an island below.

Oh. Sh*t.

Let me tell you, THAT was a taxi ride! D... spent the whole time talking sweet to me and rubbing my back and telling me I would be OK. I was hyperventilating and trying not to throw up. I asked her, "If everyone else jumps off a bridge, does that mean WE should do it?" "For a million dollars - YES!!!" she said!

When we got there, this is what we saw:

So beautiful. From the ground.

OK, I had to do this. Deep breath. We decided that maybe there was one last Xanax buried in the bottom of my fanny pack....

No such luck. I was going to have to do it on my own, without the benefit of modern chemistry.

D... was so great - she just kept talking to me and telling me I could do it. She made me go first, I think so I wouldn't chicken out after she went. Oh, the view!

But you know what? I did it! And D... was right behind me! We did it! It was a big, hugging celebration when we had our feet on the ground!

But we didn't have long to celebrate - we had a Race to run!

We opened our clue to encounter a task challenging our memory of the events we completed in the first ten legs of the race. Working together, we had to choose a game board with ten game pieces, each representing a leg of the race. Then, beginning with the first leg of the race and working in chronological order, we had to remove a game piece revealing a symbol underneath. The symbols represented Route Info, Roadblock, Detour, or Pit Stop. We then had to enter a field containing 150 clueboxes, each containing a picture. We had to search for the correct picture of the task, denoted by the symbol we revealed, which we had completed for the leg of the race the game piece number represented. When we entered the correct piece in the game board, a green light would turn on.

Gosh, memory isn't our strong suit - we both suffer from CRS Disease - but we were excited and exhilarated and ready to go for it!

Ya'll, this was HARD. In our excitement we were getting the legs all mixed up and forgetting what we did in which place. Ken & Tina and Nick & Starr were running back and forth and getting everything right and we were just flustered. So we took deep breaths, concentrated hard, and finished the task. Still no sign of Team Dandrew, so we were OK.

Opening our next clue, we learned that we needed to travel to downtown Portland, find the Portland Building and a green dinosaur located across the street in the Standard Plaza. We jumped in our taxi and we were off!

When we got out of our taxi downtown, we immediately saw Ken & Tina running out of a building across the street, and we spotted the green dinosaur in a window on the second floor of the Standard building.

Opening our clue, we discovered they had to travel on foot to Alder Street and search among food carts for the country from our last Pit Stop, Russia. We quickly looked at our road map of Portland and found exactly where we needed to go.

The Russian cart was easy to spot, and the nice lady gave us our next clue.

"Find the place where 'the magic is in the hole'.” Asking a local, we figured out that the clue was a slogan for a shop called Voodoo Doughnut. WE LOVE DOUGHNUTS! I hope we get to eat one! The nice person told us exactly where to find it, and even tho our legs were getting tired, we pushed on and found it. There, our clue told us to GO TO THE FINISH LINE AT PITTOCK MANSION!!!

We jumped in a cab, forgetting completely about eating doughnuts. Well, not completely. But that didn't matter.

Pulling into Pittock Mansion amid the cheers from the eliminated racers, minus mother and son Toni & Dallas who were still stranded in Moscow, we discovered that Nick & Starr had won the Race. We were genuinely happy for them - they ran a fantastic race! Ken & Tina had come in a close second, and Ken surprised a tearful Tina when he brought out their wedding rings that they hadn’t worn the entire race and placed them back on their fingers, asking her to start their marriage over. After accepting, Tina commented, “People do change. So much today people just throw marriages away so quickly, without really working hard at them. I’ve tried to hold onto the fact that, at Kenny’s core, he is a great person and he has so many wonderful qualities. I think he’s shown me on the race that I’m important to him; our marriage is important to him.” Ken added, “This has not been an easy relationship. It’s never been smooth. If we’re gonna be married, we want it to be a great marriage so there’s going to be work. It could be amazing and we’re going to make it amazing.”

D... and I were in tears, and not because we hadn't won. It was a beautiful moment, and we take back all the bad things we said about Ken being a rat-faced cheater. We feel kinda bad.

So we didn't win, but we came in third, and that's nothing to sneeze at! We were so proud of ourselves, proud of all we had accomplished, proud that we finished, and proud of our friendship.

Some final thoughts from me:

I can't believe we did this! I love D... and can't imagine doing this with anyone else! She is the Best. Friend. Evah. and her love and support and encouragement got me thru the hard parts. I love all the pictures she took and edited for our journal - she's an amazing person, and I'm so proud to call her my friend!

Some final thoughts from D...:

We did the Amazing Race as a SisterChick adventure. Something where we could be proud of ourselves. While I hoped we'd cross the finish line, I wasn't really sure we would. But we proved that we can do anything working together. There is no one I can imagine doing this race with other than Bubba's Sis. I am incredibly proud of her. She conquered So Many fears and did it with laughter in her voice & Xanax in her system. I'm ready for the next adventure now!

Women! Show this to your husbands!

2008-12-08T13:22:00.001-06:00

Are you a Pajama Mama?

2008-12-06T23:23:00.002-06:00

You Are Flannel Pajamas

You seek comfort above everything else. You rather feel good than look good.

You are a very relaxed person, especially when you're surrounded by your favorite things and people.

You are a homebody. Home is the place where you can truly be yourself.

You are likely to wear pajamas a lot. In fact, you often change into your pj's the minute you get home!

What Kind of Pajamas Are You?

While I don't actually wear flannel pajamas (hot! hot!), this truly does describe me!! What kind of pajamas are YOU?

Camera Critters #35

2008-12-06T13:05:00.003-06:00

This is Bubba's Mom's dog Charlie - who turned 9 years old this week! He's getting into the holiday spirit!

Some holiday thoughts...

2008-12-03T22:30:00.001-06:00

Yesterday morning when I took the kids to school it was just below 40 degrees and there was frost on the rooftops. When I picked them up in the afternoon, it was 70 degrees. Today we topped 80. Tomorrow the high isn't supposed to get out of the 50's. Wacky Texas weather!
A flyer left on my door: "Make your neighbors jealous! Let us hang your Christmas lights!" Is this truly the holiday spirit??
As I loaded groceries into the back of my car today, I noticed a little girl about 3 years old crouched next to the car parked to my right - she was peeing. When she finished her puddle, she pulled up her panties and got back into the parked car. I'm wondering why her mother couldn't have just taken her into the store??
Listening to Christmas music on the radio the other day, I heard a song, "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas, Only a hippopotamus will do...." Has anyone ever heard this song before? Who comes up with this stuff?
Our small group at church is collecting food for donation to a place in Houston that is a homeless shelter for abused women and children; they offer food, clothing and shelter as well as rehabilitation. It is basically a place of hope and renewal for many in need - they show people what the love of Christ is and it is an amazing place. A Christmas meal consists of certain items on a list, which we bag together and hand out with a turkey; I picked up the items when I grocery shopped today. When I got home I added up the cost of them - just over $7 (not including the turkey - those are bought separately). Seven. Dollars. I can certainly feed several families for that. It doesn't cost that much to make a difference in someone's life - please consider giving of yourself this holiday season.

Haiku: Welcoming

2008-12-02T22:55:00.003-06:00

Warmth and laughter here,

Twinkle lights and mistletoe,

My holiday home.

**This is for the "Welcoming" prompt at One Single Impression this week - be sure to stop by there to see some beautiful poetry!

Still in Moscow - Amazing Race Leg 10

2008-12-01T21:59:00.019-06:00

D... and I were pretty bummed at the Pit Stop in Moscow - we had come in last place that leg, and were only still there because it was a non-elimination round. What frustrated us most was that the only reason we had come in last was because we took a time penalty for both of us doing the Roadblock. We are the only 2-woman Team left in the race, and the task was a physical one - too much for either one of us to do alone. We think the other Teams had an advantage by having a man on the Team. But we're still in the race, and more determined than ever!

After our mandatory rest period, we started Leg 10 of the race still in Moscow - and still in last place. That meant that at some point during this leg of the race we would have a Speed Bump - an extra task that only we would have to complete. If we weren't speedy, that could knock us completely out of it. We had to have our A-Game on!

We tore open our clue to find we had to travel by taxi to a retired Russian nuclear submarine. Once there, they had to descend into the bowels of the ship, search for the sonar room, and find an actor who appeared in the 1990 film titled The Hunt For Red October. We arrived at the submarine as all the other Teams were leaving, but we moved quickly thru the submarine thanks to D...'s experience being on subs - both her daddy and granddaddy were stationed on subs, and she has been on frequent "tours"! We found the guy lickety-split and got our next clue!

Next we needed to travel by taxi across town to the place known to locals as the Graveyard of Fallen Monuments. We were fortunate enough to find a taxi driver that spoke ENGLISH (hooray!), and he had a GPS unit! Things were looking up!

Arriving at the Graveyard of Fallen Monuments we encountered a Roadblock, a task that only one person can complete, with the question "Who's good at solving mysteries?" We decided I would do it, since we were headed into the last legs of the race and were concerned a Roadblock would come up with something scary in it that D... would need to do. Cuz she totally has to do the scary stuff because I'm a big chicken.

In this Roadblock, I had to scour the park filled with Soviet era monuments, counting the statues of Lenin and Stalin. To help correctly identify each statue, I was given the Cyrillic spelling. After joining the two tallies together to create a two-digit number, I had to head to an antique bookstore and tell the number to the shop owner, who would give me a book. If I got the number wrong, I had to wait ten minutes before making another attempt. Then, using the correct tally from the statues, I had to turn to that page in the book where I would find information that would lead me to my next destination, the apartment building of a famous Russian author, Mikhail Bulgakov. That is where D... would be waiting for me.

There were other Teams there searching, so we knew we were still in the race! I searched quickly but thoroughly, and double-checked my math - there were six Lenin and two Stalin figures.

I jumped in a taxi and headed to the bookstore - should I tell the lady 26 or 62?? I decided on 62, and........it was right!!!! Woot!!! I rushed to the apartment and there was D..., waiting for me!

She had exciting news....Toni & Dallas had lost all their money and their passports when Dallas accidently left them in a taxi! With no money, we knew they wouldn't get far. We weren't out of it yet! The next clue directed us to Sokol’niky Park to find a woman with a Shetland pony. We love ponies! We were off!

We arrived at Sokol’niky Park at the same time as Toni & Dallas, who had taken the subway because they didn't have enough money for a taxi. Because the clue specified that they had to take a taxi, they had to go back and return in a cab. We had finally hit our Speed Bump. Snap! We had to perform with a group of traditional Russian dancers through one song. Once we had completed the dance to the instructor’s satisfaction, she would hand us our next clue.

Dude, dancing is my THING! I've grown up dancing! This should be a breeze! D... and I did awesome - and we looked cute, too!

In no time at all we had our next clue, which told us to go back to the lady with the Shetland pony. The clue she handed us was a Detour, a choice between two tasks, each with its pros and cons. In this Detour, Teams had to choose between Ride the Rails and Ride the Lines. In Ride the Rails, Teams had to make their way on foot to the Sokol’niky Metro Station where they had to catch the metro to Ulitsa 1905 and find a marked snack shop to receive a traditional pastry known as a samsa. The wrapper of the samsa would direct them to another train to Kitay-Gorod Station in order to find the statue dedicated to the man who created the Cyrillic alphabet. A nearby babushka, in exchange for the pastry, would hand Teams a postcard with the name and picture of their final location, VNDKh Park Station. In Ride the Lines, Teams made their way on foot to a bus stop near Sokol’niky Park and hop on a trolley bus to a station called Krasndsel’skaya. Then, they had to find a key maker who would give them a storage locker key before hopping on another trolleybus to a station called Rizhskaya. When they arrived, they had to search the station for a locker that matched their key, open it, and also retrieve a postcard with the name and picture of their final destination, VNDKh Park Station.

Wow. These tasks are getting more complex!

This one was a no-brainer for us, too. D... has had lots of experience navigating subways on her various vacations, and she's quite good at it! Besides that, it was definitely the faster choice.

Have you ever seen such a beautiful subway station?

Thanks to D...'s expertise, we made it through the confusing maze of stops and transfers with ease. Arriving at VNDKh Park Station, we found our next clue directing us to travel on foot to the Pit Stop at VNDKh Park, built as a tribute to the achievements of the Socialist state. Stepping onto the mat, we learned from Phil that we were in SECOND PLACE, and had secured a place in the final leg of the race! We were so excited!!!

Nick & Starr had come in first for like the gazillionth time; they are definitely the Team to beat. Poor Toni & Dallas, who had to beg for money for the rest of the day after losing theirs in the taxi, came in last and were eliminated from the race. We were sad to see them go. I hope Dallas and Starr will stay in touch - they make a cute couple!

Can you believe we've made it all the way to the end?? This has been such an amazing experience for D... and me! The best part? We have stayed true friends throughout the whole race, never fighting once. We're cool like that.

Be sure to tune in next week for the big finale - will we win it all, or will we fall short? Wait and see!!

Where We've Been:

Leg 9 (Moscow, Russia)

Leg 8 (Kazakhstan)

Leg 7 (Still in India)

Leg 6 (India)

Leg 5 (Cambodia)

Leg 4 (New Zealand)

Leg 3 (Bolivia)

Leg 2 (Brazil)

Leg 1 - We're off!

Team Profile

Huh? Wha happened?

2008-11-30T23:24:00.002-06:00

I don't know how it happened, but suddenly I blinked and it was Sunday night already! What the....?!?!? Where did my holiday weekend go? Did the tryptophan put me in a turkey-induced stupor and I have lost all track of time? I know I did some stuff - my house is all decorated for Christmas, and there's a load of laundry drying in the dryer. But I didn't blog. I didn't e-mail. I didn't grocery shop. I could swear I have another day of weekend left before we're back in the swing of things. I just can't believe tomorrow starts a whole new week.

What? A whole new MONTH???

Good thing I didn't sign up for NaBloPoMo in November.

Why I stay home on Black Friday....

2008-11-28T22:39:00.005-06:00

"A man working for discount retailer Wal-Mart was killed on Friday in a
stampede by frenzied shoppers who broke down doors and surged into a Long
Island, New York store, a police spokesman said. The 34-year-old man was at the
entrance of the Valley Stream Wal-Mart store just after it opened at 5 a.m. and
was knocked to the ground, the police report said. The exact cause of death was
still to be determined by a medical examiner. Four shoppers, including a
28-year-old pregnant woman, were also taken to local hospitals for injuries
sustained in the incident, police said."

What has this world come to? Are wide-screen TV's and video gaming systems worth this type of behavior? Worth someone's LIFE? It just makes me sick.

To all my blog friends......

2008-11-27T12:23:00.000-06:00

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

2008-11-26T11:45:00.001-06:00

Congratulations Brooke and Derek!!! You deserved the win!!!

Moscow - Amazing Race Leg 9

2008-11-24T21:25:00.012-06:00

Just a few Teams left and D... and I are still in the Race! We didn't spend long in Kazakhstan - a mere 24 hours and we were outta there! At 10:47 p.m. we tore open our clue that told us to fly to Moscow, Russia! When we landed, we had to travel by taxi to the Krutitske Podvorye Monastery and light a candle to receive our next clue.

With the only flight to Moscow being offered by Air Astana departing the next day at 6:05 a.m., we all had time to hang out together at the airport. Dallas and Starr spent a lot of time together - you'd almost think they were a Team!

Stupid frat boys Andrew & Dan had left their shoes at the puppet theater in the last leg, so they started this one wearing hotel slippers that they took from the maid. What dorks! As luck would have it, the shoe store in the Kazakhstan Airport was open in the middle of night, so they spent a big wad of their money on new shoes.

D... and I slept as much as possible so we would be well-rested when we got to Moscow. And it's a good thing we did!

Wow - Moscow is beautiful! Have you ever seen anything like this????

We didn't have long to sight-see, however - we had to jump in a taxi and head off to that monestary! Communicating with the taxi driver was hard - he didn't speak English and we certainly don't speak Russian! But somehow we managed to get there, light our candle, and receive our next clue.

The clue told us to take a taxi to the outskirts of Moscow and find Kolosok Camp, a decommissioned military base. Our taxi driver had waited for us, so we quickly got back in the car and were off!

It was a long drive in heavy traffic (again with the traffic!!) but once we were there it didn't take us long to find the clue box - and the next task was a Detour - a choice between two tasks, each with its pros and cons.

For both sides of the Detour, Teams had to properly don a military uniform including traditional foot wraps. In Boots, Teams needed to join a training squad and learn a traditional parade march. When they thought they were ready, Teams had to fall in line with a troop and march one full lap of the parade grounds. If the drill sergeant was satisfied with their performance, they would receive their next clue. In Borscht, Teams walked to the mess tent to serve borscht (bleah!) to a company of 75 Russian soldiers. Once each soldier received a bowl of borscht, the teams would receive their next clue.

We quickly decided to do Boots - I was in the drillteam in high school, and D... was in the marching band (nevermind that she couldn't march and play at the same time - she marched and faked playing, so she looked good!). We wrapped our feet in the foot wraps (dude, someone needs to teach those Russians about SOCKS) and put on our uniforms. We looked SO CA-YOOT! We were like G.I. Jane, except not bald. And we marched like pros!

Dan & Andrew had all kinds of trouble, and we saw them trying to march. Dan has ZERO coordination, and he looked like a such a dork trying to march! Even the Russian soldiers began snickering and outright laughing at the strange contortions Dan made with his body as he tried to march in rhythm with everyone else. They finally gave up and went to serve borscht, but it cost them a lot of time.

Our next clue told us to travel to the town of Zhukovsky and find the Zhukovsky Bakery, where we would find our next clue.

Another long taxi ride later, we arrived at the bakery to find a Roadblock, a task that only one person can perform. In this Roadblock, that team member had to unload fifty 55-pound bags of flour from the back of a truck and deliver them into the bakery.

Dallas was already there, hauling two of the large, heavy bags at a time off of the truck and into the bakery. It wasn't long before Rat-Faced Cheater Ken showed up and started in right after him. D... and I didn't know what to do - neither of us is very strong, and we both have bad backs. This was not good. Whatever would we do????? We began thinking that this task could do us in. Finally we decided to take a time penalty and BOTH do the Roadblock. It was the only way we were going to get it done.

We were exhausted and covered in flour, but we finished. Yay us!! That scary Russian lady handed us our next clue - travel to the next Pit Stop, the library at Neskuchny Sad Park, a popular park in Moscow’s city center! As we were leaving, Dan & Andrew showed up, and Dan was moving quickly unloading those bags. He may not be able to march, but he's a good work-horse. We were worried.

We got to the Pit Stop ahead of Dan & Andrew, but with our time penalty, they got ahead of us, making us........last. We were crushed.

But then Phil told us it was the second NON-ELIMINATION ROUND!!!!! WOOT!! We were still in the Race! We will have to face a Speed Bump in the next leg - an extra task that only we will have to complete - but we're thrilled to still be here!

We don't know where we're headed next, but tune in next week to find out!

Where We've Been:

Leg 8 (Kazakhstan)

Leg 7 (Still in India)

Leg 6 (India)

Leg 5 (Cambodia)

Leg 4 (New Zealand)

Leg 3 (Bolivia)

Leg 2 (Brazil)

Leg 1 - We're off!

Team Profile

It's not Turkey Day!

2008-11-24T11:43:00.002-06:00

This week as we prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, the turkey and dressing and cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie and oh my goodness could we have MORE food?, the Macy's parade, the football, the family, the sales...........please remember that NONE of that is what this holiday is about. Thanksgiving is about - duh - GIVING THANKS. Please take time to thank God for the many blessings in your life. Times are hard, indeed, but the mere fact that you are able to read my blog tells me you are blessed. A fun tradition is to put three kernels of corn beside each plate at the Thanksgiving table, then go around the table and for each kernel of corn, each person must name something they are thankful for. I could go thru a whole bag of corn, I'm sure, but these would be my three things this year:

I am thankful for my health and the health of my family.
I am thankful that I have my family close to me.
I am thankful for the many friends I have that love me.

I could go on and on - when you stop to think about it, we can be thankful for SO MUCH. Going thru a hurricane this year reminded us of how much we truly have to be thankful for - things we often take for granted. My prayers are with those who lost so much in that storm, for those who are losing jobs because of the economy, for those who struggle with health or financial issues - but even those people are blessed in some way. I pray also that they are able to see that.

Blessings to you and yours this week - enjoy all that the holiday has to offer, but most of all, thank God for all that He has offered you.

Camera Critters #33

2008-11-22T12:00:00.001-06:00

I thought ostriches had legs???

There's No Place Like Home

2008-11-21T19:31:00.006-06:00

I found this fun meme over at Forgetfulone's place - she didn't tag me, but I decided to play along anyway!

This meme allows your Bloggy neighbors to get to know a little information about the town or city you live in. State the name and then post 10 facts or observations about the town you call home.

Home for me is Clear Lake City, TX - a suburb of Houston. Been here all my livelong days!

Clear Lake City is located about half-way between downtown Houston and Galveston Island.

Clear Lake City was originally developed by the Friendswood Development Company on land sold to Humble Oil and Refining Company (now ExxonMobil) by James Marion West in 1938. James West's mansion still stands, overlooking Clear Lake; for years, the Lunar and Planetary Institute was housed in the mansion until it moved to a bigger, more modern building. The property was recently sold to former basketball player Hakeem Olajuwon's property management company for future development; it now sits vacant.

The city was named for Clear Lake, a lake south of the Johnson Space Center that separates Harris County from Galveston County and connects Clear Creek to Galveston Bay.

Clear Lake City was annexed by the city of Houston in 1977 despite a grass-roots campaign by its residents to stop it. When Kathy Whitmire was elected Mayor of Houston in 1982, in large part because of voting support from Clear Lake City, she promised to disannex us; she did not keep her promise, so technically I live in Houston.

Clear Lake City is home to NASA's Johnson Space Center, where my daddy worked for 40 years (his entire career). I grew up with astronauts' children, and know several astronauts now.

Because we are adjacent to Galveston Bay, we have delicious seafood, a huge boating community and beautiful nature preserves.

When I graduated from high school in 1987, there were two high schools in the school district; the area has grown so much there are now four high schools, with plans to build another. My husband graduated from my rival high school in 1983; I didn't know him then.

My granddaddy built the first movie theater in Clear Lake City - it had 2 screens, and we always got in for free. The building was turned into a country-western nightclub, and that is where I met my husband. Now it is a Chinese restaurant.

The Clear Lake Area is also home to Ellington Field, formerly Ellington Air Force Base. The airport supports the operations of the United States military, NASA and a variety of general aviation tenants. The field is a base for NASA's administrative, cargo transport and high-altitude aircraft, which also includes NASA's fleet of T-38 Talon jets, the Shuttle Training Aircraft, and an NKC-135 aircraft known as the Vomit Comet, a zero-g trainer. The Texas Air National Guard, Texas Army National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard also maintain a presence at the base, with the Coast Guard facility known as Coast Guard Air Station Houston. Ellington Field is also home to the largest flying club in Texas and the annual "Wings Over Houston" airshow.

Living in Clear Lake City gives us the best of both worlds - we are close to the big city of Houston, and also the quaint, historical sea-side city of Galveston (granted, they're not the most beautiful beaches, but I still love living near the water!).

Since I wasn't tagged for this, I won't tag anyone, but if you'd like to play along, please do! Leave me a comment so I can come read about YOUR hometown!

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You - Cousins

2008-11-20T01:26:00.003-06:00

My dad's parents had but one granddaughter - ME! They also had two grandsons - Bubba, seven years younger than me, and our cousin, two years older than me.

I was about 9 when this was taken. Do I not look thrilled to be having my picture taken with the boys?

Haiku: Courage

2008-11-18T19:31:00.003-06:00

Life's hardest battle,

Three times fought and three times won.

She is my hero.

**This is for the "Courage" prompt at One Single Impression this week - be sure to stop by there and see all the wonderful poetry!

Kazakhstan - Amazing Race Leg 8

2008-11-17T15:51:00.015-06:00

It's getting down to the nitty gritty here on the Amazing Race - there are only a few Teams left, and D... and I are excited to be one of them!

We cleaned up as best we could at the last Pit Stop - then spent another day in India resting and recuperating. After our mandatory 12-hour rest period, we were able to finally leave at 10:43 p.m. We ripped open our clue to find we had to fly 1,000 miles to Almaty, Kazakhstan and travel by taxi to the Alel Agro Chicken Factory.

Um....Kazak-what? Sounds Russian. OK, we're off.

Twenty-four hours later we landed in Almaty. Only three other Teams were on our flight with us - the rest caught later flights. We all rushed to the taxi area and got to that chicken factory as fast as we could. And damned if we didn't get there to find out it doesn't open until 7:30 a.m.! We spent the night camping out at the entrance, where, of course, the other Teams all caught up. Snap! To kill time D... and I told jokes about why the chicken crossed the road. We were cracking each other up. Everyone else? Notsomuch.

Finally they opened the gates and it was a mad dash for the clue box. D... tripped some people so we were able to get to it first. The clue was a Roadblock, a task that only one person can perform. Before we decided who would do the Roadblock, we also discovered the second of only two Fast Forwards on the race. For the chance to skip all other tasks and proceed to the Pit Stop, a Team had to travel by taxi to a restaurant where they would join in a traditional Kazakh feast. What they would find out at the restaurant was that the main ingredient in the meal was the fat from the rear end of a sheep. When both Team members finished their serving, they would win the Fast Forward.

D... and I are not stupid - we know not to attempt anything that has to do with food, and having to go to a restaurant was a good tip-off that this was NOT for us! Besides that, two other Teams took off to go for it. Since only one of them could win, that would mean the other would have to come back, so we were automatically ahead of them. We were going ahead with the Roadblock.

It was D...'s turn - she had to enter the marked chicken shack and search among 30,000 chickens (ew!) for one of only seven golden eggs. She was nervous - D... has this phobia about roosters. When she was 5 years old she lived in Corpus Christi on a horse ranch and farm; she went into the chicken pen one day, and the rooster jumped on her and started pecking her chest!!!! But these were chickens, not roosters, so she was OK.

And she did GREAT! It didn't take her long to find the golden egg, and we quickly received our next clue - search the grounds of the chicken factory for a giant crane truck, then use it to travel to Koktobe Arch at the foothills of the Tienshan Mountains. Then we would have to follow a marked path that would lead us to a Mongol warrior, where we had to wait for our next clue to arrive.

The marked path was very steep, but beautiful. When we reached the Mongol warriors, we were amazed to see a trained eagle leave its perch in the distance and fly over to us. It landed on a warrior’s arm with a clue attached to its foot. D... ducked - I think she thought it was going to land on her and peck her chest. She's definitely had enough birds for today.

The next clue was a Detour - a choice between two tasks, each with its pros and cons. In this Detour, Teams had to choose between Play Like Mad or Act Like Fools. In Play Like Mad, Teams had to travel by taxi to the Museum of Folk Musical Instruments where they would learn to play a simple Kazakh tune using two traditional instruments, the Dombra and the Shan Koby. When the instructor felt they learned the song well enough, he would send the Team to the park to play for tips where they would have to earn the equivalent of one and a half dollars for their next clue. In Act Like Fools, Teams had to travel by taxi to a puppet theater, find the wardrobe department, and put on a two-person cow costume. Then, dressed as a cow, they had to walk the streets of Almaty to a marked stall where they had to drink a glass of milk. After finishing the milk, they would find the name of the next destination printed on the bottom of the glass, Zelyoniy Bazaar. After traveling in costume to the bazaar, the Teams had to locate a butcher stall where they would receive their next clue.

We didn't even have to think about this one - D... and I are good at acting like fools! Remember this?

And this?

Oh, I could go on and on. Good times.

OK, so Act Like Fools it was.

There was some discussion over which of us would be the front of the cow and which would be the...um...rear. We did Rock, Paper, Scissors and I got to be the head. But that in no way means I think D... is a cow butt. Just sayin'. We had the Best. Time. Ever. walking around dressed up like a cow! We really played it up, mooing and making people laugh! I drank the milk up lickety split, and we headed off to the meat market (ew!). There, the butcher gave us our next clue - travel by foot to the next Pit Stop at Old Square!

Still dressed like two halves of a cow, we took off - and we came in SECOND PLACE!

Nick & Starr had won the Fast Forward and come in first for the fourth time in a row. Those dumb Frat Boys Andrew & Dan came in fourth, but then found out they had not read their clue correctly and had taken a taxi to the Pit Stop - they had to go all the way back to the meat market and come back to the Pit Stop on foot. They were so mad! But they managed to get back in time to retain fourth place - Terence & Sarah came in last, and were eliminated from the Race.

So here we are in Kazakhstan, waiting to see where the Race will take us next! I think D... is doing a great job with the pictures, don't you? We're having a blast. Tune in next week to see where we go next!

Where We've Been:

Leg 7

Leg 6

Leg 5

Leg 4

Leg 3

Leg 2

Leg 1

Team Profile

As You Like It

2008-11-14T16:14:00.003-06:00

Last night was the opening night of Daughter's first drama performance in high school - Shakespeare's As You Like It. Only four freshmen made the cast - the rest is upper classmen. Daughter didn't get a speaking part this time, but she plays both a villager and a forester (thus the "dirty face" look in the picture, from living in the Forest of Arden). She does several dances and is on stage quite a bit. Of course, I thought she was the best one!

The story is a confusing one, as are many of Shakespeare's, with numerous plots and sub-plots. But the underlying theme is LOVE, and who doesn't love a good love story? It helped to bring me out of my funk, and to realize that my life really is as I like it. Because even tho "how full of briers is this working day world" (1.3.13), I know that "sweet are the uses of adversity, which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head; and this our life...finds...good in every thing."(2.1.13)

Like being pecked to death by a chicken...

2008-11-12T20:28:00.002-06:00

I'm out of sorts tonight for no good reason. All the little things in life are just getting to me. No one big thing has me down, but the little things are ganging up on me it seems. It feels like I'm being pecked to death by a chicken. And that's no fun.

I have a blessed life for sure. I have nothing to complain about, when you get down to it. But those little, nitpicky annoyances of day-to-day living are just more than I want to deal with some days. A lot of days lately. So my tolerance level and my motivation level are both running low.

I think I'll go soak in a hot bubble bath until I feel better.

Maybe I'll be out next week.

STILL in India - Amazing Race Leg 7

2008-11-10T17:11:00.013-06:00

We hate India. I'm sure there are plenty of people who like India, who find it fascinating and interesting and who would love to visit, but D.... and me? We don't care if we ever come back. It's nasty here. And we haven't gotten to ride an elephant OR do Bollywood dancing. This sucks.

We were disappointed when we opened our clue at 9:10 a.m. to find that we were staying in Delhi. Sigh. It told us to travel through the congested streets of Delhi to find the central park of a sprawling apartment complex called Deshbandu Apartments. We quickly found a taxi and took off.

The traffic here in unbelievable. D... and I were having Hurricane Rita Evacuation flashbacks, and it wasn't pretty, let me tell ya. We BOTH had to pop a Xanax right there in the taxi. We saw an entire family riding on a motorcycle - a man and his wife and TWO kids, one of which was an infant! Craziness! We thought this was interesting, too - wonder why the woman doesn't get a helmet?

As we ran into the central park of the Deshbandu Apartments, we saw an explosion of color and festivity. From first appearance, it looked pretty fun! Little did we know....

Our next clue was a Roadblock, a task that only one person can perform. The question on the clue read, "Who's ready for a colorful experience?" We decided I would do it.

In this Roadblock, I had to take part in the traditional Indian celebration known as the Holi Festival. I had to make my way through a crowd of revelers who were pelting me with powdered dye and water in the festival’s tradition. When I reached one of three ladders at the center of the celebration, I had to climb the ladder and search through hundreds of envelopes marked “Try Again” to identify one of only six labeled THE AMAZING RACE. This specially marked envelope contained our next clue.

Ya'll, this is the most ridiculous celebration/ritual/WHATEVER in the world. I was PELTED with the powdered dye and water - it was crazy! My hair, skin, clothes - everything was covered. It was in my eyes, nose, mouth - it was horrible. D... even got pelted with the stuff just waiting for me to finish! Thankfully I found the envelope pretty quickly and we didn't have to stay long. I don't think Kelly & Christy read their clue right, because Kelly kept running in, grabbing an envelope without even looking at it, then running back to Christy. Since she wasn't looking for the marked envelope, she had to go back in several times. When we left she was in tears, and we felt kinda bad for her. But we were ahead of them, so we didn't feel TOO bad. It IS a game, you know.

The next clue told us to travel to Old Delhi and find the Charity Birds Hospital, a haven for injured birds, and search through the cages for our next clue. Fortunately we had asked our taxi to wait for us, so we were on our way quickly!

The Charity Birds Hospital is in a temple, so we had to remove our shoes to go in. Walking around amongst all those birds in our bare feet was a little bit skeevy. I kept thinking I had bird poop between my toes. But the chirping of the birds was beautiful, and thankfully D... had a quick eye and spied the clue in the bird cage before too long. We tore it open and found a Detour.

A Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its pros and cons. In this Detour, Teams had to choose between Bleary Eyed and Teary Eyed. In Bleary Eyed, Teams made their way to a street corner to help the Department of Power. From street level, Teams had to follow a power line keeping track of the small numbered tags that sporadically appear. Then, they had to find a man with a sewing machine and give him the list of numbers. If their list was correct, the man would direct them to a shop across the street where they would plug in a musical Ganesha to receive their next clue. In Teary Eyed, Teams had to make their way to a spice market, pick up two 40-pound bags of dried chilies, and deliver them on foot one quarter mile to Sharwan Kumar & Sons. Then, they had to use a mortar and pestle to make enough chili powder to fill up a container to the designated line.

Now, D... and I are Texas girls, and we know all about chili peppers. Which means we know not to mess with them. Anyone who has touched a hot pepper of any kind and then touched their eye can tell you that. Hot peppers are not to be trifled with. So, even tho it sounded hard, we chose Bleary Eyed.

The power lines in Delhi are nothing like what we have back home. They are a tangled, jumbled MESS!

We tried to stay focused, and followed along the line, writing down the teeny tiny numbers as we saw them. We were doing really well - keeping up with Nick & Starr and Toni & Dallas (who were working together, but wouldn't help us!!!) - and then this guy distracted us:

So we had to start all over. But we got it our second time thru, and finally received our next clue: travel to the Pit Stop at Humayun’s Tomb, a 16th Century collection of mausoleums commemorating past emperors.

We grabbed a taxi and off we went! The traffic was horrible, and we knew we were behind Nick & Starr and Toni & Dallas already. Where were the others? We would soon find out.

When we stepped on the mat at the Pit Stop, Phil told us we were Team number THREE!

What a relief!! Terence & Sarah came in right behind us, and they had done Teary Eyed. And they definitely were teary eyed! They looked horrible! Sarah told me, “If somebody said to me right now, ‘Put cow manure on your body and it would make you feel better.' I would lather myself up with that.” We told her to go take a long shower and she'd feel much better. We're sure glad we didn't do that one!

Kelly & Christy were the last Team to arrive, and they were eliminated from the race. D... and I liked them - they were funny and witty, and we got along well. Sorry to see them go. But not too sorry. It IS a race, you know.

Tune in next week, when hopefully we'll be getting out of India and on to greener pastures!

Where We've Been:

Leg 6

Leg 5

Leg 4

Leg 3

Leg 2

Leg 1

Team Profile

Soul Food

2008-11-09T21:50:00.001-06:00

I love my church. We are there nearly every Sunday, and not out of a sense of obligation but because we love it and we want to be there. But this morning as I sat in church, my mind wandered. As we prayed, I thought about how I need new jeans, and wondered if I could work that into the budget this week. As we sang and the words of the praise songs came out of my mouth, I thought about how maybe we could work an Astros spring training game into our trip to Florida next March. For some reason, I just wasn't "into it" this morning.

Then our Director of Women's Ministries got up to give the sermon this morning, and once she began, I was rapt from word one. Because - and I swear this happened - she said, "Bubba's Sis, this message is for YOU, because it is something YOU need to hear! So pay attention!" I looked around to see if anyone else noticed. They didn't appear to. But her words rang so true to my personal life right now, I'm certain she was speaking straight to me. How could this be? How could she know that, like the Samaritan woman at the well, I am thirsty? How could she know exactly what I struggle with, and that the "well" I go to Every. Day. is not quenching my thirst? That if I would only realize it, Jesus is waiting for me at that well, waiting for me to accept the Living Water that only He can give me, the only thing that will quench my thirst? Her words cut so deep into my soul that tears sprang to my eyes, and I could not keep them from spilling over. Yes, God truly spoke to me this morning thru her, and fed my soul so much of what it needs right now.

I love it when that happens.

After church, we went to lunch - and it was soul food of a different kind! Delicious fried green tomatoes, crawfish etouffee, and sweet tea. I love living in the South because the food? Is heavenly. I even had enough left over to bring it home and eat it again for dinner.

I love it when that happens, too.

Yes, my soul was fed today, not once but twice. That's a good day, indeed.

Camera Critters #31

2008-11-08T10:50:00.001-06:00

Victory is sweet!

2008-11-07T23:09:00.002-06:00

Big fun at the Homecoming game tonight, and my team won! Hubby is taking it well. He's such a great guy!

P.S. He did sit with us!

Homecoming Spirit

2008-11-06T22:40:00.000-06:00

home·coming (hōm′kum′iŋ)
noun
1. a coming or returning to one's home
2. in many schools, colleges, and universities, an annual celebration attended by alumni

This has been a fun week celebrating Homecoming at my old high school - the school my daughter now attends. She has had fun stuff going on at school all week, the businesses in the area have their windows painted and decorated to support the team, and last night we attended the big Homecoming parade, pep rally, and bonfire!

The parade was a fun one - led off by the ROTC, followed by the band, the drillteam, the cheerleaders, the Homecoming Court, the football teams, and various other school teams and organizations, each with their own float, throwing beads and glo-sticks and candy, candy, candy! More candy than the crowd could even collect - we brought home so much it looked like our trick-or-treat stash from years past, and when we left there was still candy all over the street. And good stuff, too - Reese's peanut butter cups, Three Musketeers, 100 Grands! Laffy Taffy, Skittles, Air Heads, and Tootsie Pops! You could smell the sugar in the air - we were giddy!

The crowd followed the end of the parade to the junior varsity football field just as darkness fell. Hundreds of glo-sticks shone in the night, and as we filled the stands on one side of the field, we could see the school's name spelled out in luminaries in the stands on the other side of the field. As the band played, they turned off all the lights, and for the whole pep rally all you could see were glo-sticks and the luminaries. It was awesome!

Then the band led the crowd to a nearby field for the bonfire. Can I just say that there's nothing like walking along to the drum cadence of a marching band! I felt like I was rushed back in time to my drillteam days, marching along with them. As the spirited crowd awaited the lighting of the bonfire, the kids started breaking their glo-sticks and sprinkling the insides all over themselves, making glowing glitter on their clothes, skin, and hair. Then they started throwing them up into the air so the stuff inside rained down on the crowd like glowy stardust, and we all had tiny glistening specks all over us. It looked like we were all covered in fireflies! The bonfire was lit and the band played some more, and not until the final embers were burning out did we leave for home.

Daughter and even Little Son had a great time last night - and if you couldn't tell, so did I! Tomorrow is the big game, against the rival high school, and you can bet we'll be there cheering on our team! And of course, there is a Homecoming Dance.

It's funny how even tho it has been 20-something years, certain things can just bring me right back to my high school days. I can't remember what I did last week, but I can remember high school like it was yesterday. Some of those memories are good, some not-so-good. But it seemed like such a simpler time. I'm sure my parents felt the same way. And some day my kids will, too. I hope that someday they are doing this with their kids. That, like me, they'll celebrate coming back home.

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You - Homecoming!

2008-11-06T00:13:00.001-06:00

I know I've posted this pic before, but this seemed like a good week to bring it out again and ~~laugh at it~~ fondly remember. For this week, my friends, is my old high school's HOMECOMING!

I believe I have also mentioned here before that Daughter now attends my old high school. I'm loving it! We've got school spirit out the wazoo around here at the Bubba's Sis house. Well, except for Hubby. He went to my rival high school. I didn't know him then, but still. He's one of them. Back when we were in school, there were only two high schools in the district - his and ours. So of course we were bitter rivals, and even tho there are now four high schools in the district, that original rivalry continues today. And guess who my alma mater is playing for their Homecoming game Friday night? You guessed it! Them!

Twenty-two years ago, I was a senior in high school. I was on the drillteam; my boyfriend was on the football team. And of course, we went to the Homecoming Dance.

I'm diggin' that gold belt. And those matching gold shoes. I believe I'm also wearing some massive gold hoop earrings. I'm sure I carried a gold purse. Ooooooo - shiny!

Tonight was this year's Homecoming parade and pep rally and bonfire - more on that later. Friday night I'll be at the game - just as I was 22 years ago - cheering my team on to victory! I told Hubby he has to either cheer for our team or go sit on the other side with his team. I'll let you know what he decides!

Beat 'em up! Beat 'em up! Rah! Rah! Rah!

Where were you?

2008-11-05T12:10:00.002-06:00

Last night as history was being made in our country, as the American people voted into office our first black President, I was not at an election party celebrating victory or even bemoaning defeat. I was not at home watching non-stop coverage of this momentous occasion. No, on Election Night 2008, I was grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.

I hate Wal-Mart. With a purple passion. But dammit, their prices are just lower. And when our cupboards are looking like Mother Hubbard's and we're all sharing the last roll of toilet paper, a Wal-Mart trip is the economically smart thing to do. Sigh.

I took the whole fam-damily with me last night - why should I have to suffer thru it alone? But bringing extra people does exponentially increase the amount of time it takes to get thru the store. And no, the kids are not really the problem. It's Hubby. I'm just sayin'. We were in Wal-Mart for Two. Hours. When we finally got out of there, I needed a drink.

By the time we got home, America had elected a new President. It was an historical election, to be sure. I made sure to impress upon my children that they were witnessing history. As they unloaded our haul and put things away. So years from now, when this is one of those "Where were you when.....?" moments, we can all say, "When Obama was elected President....we were in the Wal-Mart!"

God bless America.

**Well Behaved Krissy has a great post up this morning about the election results - go by and read it - you'll be glad you did.

Election Day

2008-11-04T05:00:00.001-06:00

I'm so glad today has finally come. Why, you ask? So I can cast my vote for the candidate I support and believe in? Nah. Just because I am Sick. And. Tired. of all this election crap, and I'm ready for it to be over. Done. Finished. Shutupaboutit already.

Found this political funny over at Jenny On The Spot and thought it appropriate for today. So Happy Election Day, everyone - get out there and VOTE so we can get this damn election over with!

WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD??

SARAH PALIN: Before it got to the other side, I shot the chicken, cleaned and dressed it, and had chicken burgers for lunch.

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One! that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where’s my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he’s guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn’t ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

India - Amazing Race Leg 6

2008-11-03T16:18:00.018-06:00

By the time D... and I got to the Pit Stop in Cambodia, it was lunchtime and we were POOPED! We ate a strange but tasty meal, and took a good, long nap in preparation for the next leg of the race. And it's a good thing we did! When we left at 11:34 p.m., our clue told us to fly over 2,000 miles to Delhi, India! Once there we had to travel by taxi to an area called Zamrud Pur and find Moonlight Motors.

India? We better get to ride an elephant or do some Bollywood dancing. Cuz we can't think of anything else appealing about India.

All the Teams caught up at a travel agency, where we all got tickets on the same flight to Delhi, that arrived at 4:15 p.m. We had a lot of time to sit around and do some internet research on Delhi, eat, talk ~~about~~ with the other Teams, and even take another little nap. I stayed awake on the flight after what D... did to me last time. That Sharpie mustache was just starting to be not-so-noticable. D... and I noticed a little flirting between Dallas and Starr - we think that's so cute! Too bad Dallas' mom was hanging around so much. She probably doesn't make the best wing-man, if you know what I'm sayin'.

When we landed in India, the first thing we noticed is it is HOT there! And CROWDED! The traffic was absolutely crazy, and it's a wonder we both didn't toss our cookies in that taxi. Between the heat and the smells.....ick. And there are cows EVERYWHERE! Since they are considered holy in India, they know they will not be harmed, so they go wherever they please!

Craziness. We were lucky to get a taxi driver who knew where he was going - I think some of the other Teams weren't so fortunate. When we found Moon Light Motors we discovered a Roadblock, a task that only one person can perform, with the question, "Who's got an artistic flair?" D... and I are both pretty artistic in our own ways....she with her photograpy, me with my writing...but this had something to do with cars, and since my Hubby is a car man, we decided I should do it.

In this Roadblock, I had to paint a black and yellow auto rickshaw, also called a tuk tuk, green to signify that they now run on natural gas. However, before I could paint, I had to mask the yellow exterior and interior with newspaper. When I finished masking and painting the rickshaw, I would receive our next clue.

This one wasn't so much hard as it was time-consuming. Some of the Teams didn't handle it so well. Terence bickered at Sarah the whole time, and Tina did the same to Ken. I was like, "Shut. Up. Already!" I had to tune them out the best I could so I could get my job done. It was hard to see because it was dark, but D... held a light for me, and I think I did a pretty good job! Yay! We finished about 3rd and got our next clue: make our way to the Ambassador Hotel and search the gardens for an Indian doorman, who would give us our next clue. Off we went!

Again with the traffic. And it's the middle of the night! This place is crazy.

The gardens of the Ambassador Hotel were lovely, and the Indian doorman easy to spot. We think he was checking out our boobies, tho. He gave us our next clue, which was a Detour, a choice between two tasks, each with its pros and cons. Our choices for this Detour were Launder Money or Launder Clothes.

In Launder Money, Teams made their way to a banquet hall and created a wedding necklace decorated with Indian money known as rupees. The necklace had to have exactly ten individual rupee notes that added up to the sum of 780. Teams would have to find ways to exchange money from their own stash of cash for the right combination of rupee notes. When the necklace was finished they had to find a waiting groom and trade it for their next clue. In Launder Clothes, Teams traveled to a laundry shop, chose an ironing station, and used a traditional charcoal heated iron to press twenty pieces of clothing. When the laundry woman determined that the clothes had been properly pressed, she would hand them their next clue.

Umm.....iron? What's that? We were confused. Having no idea what an iron was, we decided to make the wedding necklace. Besides that, weddings are fun! And would you believe that we had just the right amount of rubees in our stash that we didn't have to waste any time exchanging money! Whew!

When we got to the banquet hall we were stunned - it was CRAZY crowded with people!! Like Disney at Thanksgiving crowded. Who has a wedding reception in the middle of the dang night? Neither D... nor I do well with crowds. We're just short enough that our noses are at about armpit-level with all those crazy Indian people jumping and dancing around. It was crazy, I tell ya. Crazy. We finally got thru the crowd and to the necklace-making station. It was easy-peasy! We didn't even have to hot glue anything - it was all attached with staples! Then we had to go back into the mad crowd to find the groom. Oh, ya'll, it was bad. D... and I were being shoved left and right - we could barely hold on to each other. Someone grabbed my butt. I don't think it was D... And the smell. Oh lordie. We FINALLY found the groom and gave him the necklace, and he gave us our next clue: travel to the Pit Stop at Baha’i House, the national headquarters for the Baha’i faith.

We jumped in our tuk tuk and off we went! Nick & Starr got in ahead of us, as did Kelly & Christy (they both did that ironing thing, whatever that was). But we came in a solid 3rd place! Woot!

Ken & Tina were the last Team to arrive, but fortunately for them this was a non-elimination round, so they are still in the race. Some time during the next leg they will come up against a Speed Bump, an extra task that only they will have to complete. It may put them behind - even out of the race, but they're still in it for now. Those lucky dogs.

Well, we didn't get to ride an elephant today (altho we saw one at the wedding reception!), and we didn't see any Bollywood dancing, but we did make it thru this leg mostly unscathed. We're tired, and we need baths. And food. And sleep.

Tune in next week to see where our adventure takes us next!

Where We've Been:

Leg 5

Leg 4

Leg 3

Leg 2

Leg 1

Team Profile

Is it hot in here? Or is it just me?

2008-11-02T11:52:00.003-06:00

A letter I received in the mail the other day:

Dear Bubba's Sis,

We are a company that matches interested people with clinical trials (also known as research studies). We are currently working with a pharmaceutical company to find women who are interested in participating in a clinical trial for the treatment of hot flushes.

As a doctor, I know that women with hot flushes can feel sudden sensations of heat accompanied by sweating. Hot flushes can even disrupt sleep and leave you tired and irritable the next day.....

You may be eligible to participate.....blah blah blah.....

Sincerely,

We Think You Are Old

WTF? I'm still in my 30's (barely, but I am!). I know I am hawt, but it doesn't come in flashes yet! And there is no cure for Hawtness. I'm just sayin'.

Camera Critters #30

2008-11-01T12:03:00.008-05:00

We've been enjoying the beautiful fall weather here in SE Texas! Last weekend Hubby and the kids and I decided to have a picnic. The park was still closed for hurricane clean-up, so we headed over to the campus of U of H-Clear Lake and found a lovely spot on the banks of Armand Bayou. The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, and we enjoyed our lunch in the beautiful outdoors - but we had company. Keeping a close eye on us from the water were two of these guys:

They weren't very big - 2½ or 3 feet long maybe - but we kept an eye on them, too. They didn't bother us, tho, and we even gave them each a tater tot before we left!

Later, Gator!

More Scary Stuff

2008-10-30T22:15:00.004-05:00

Last week as Daughter and I were trying to help Little Son out with Halloween costume ideas, we started naming the scariest things we could think of for him to be.

"A dentist!" Daughter said.

"An elevator!" I said.

We certainly have our phobias in this family.

But as I reflected on this further, I realized that there are no costumes for the scariest things in life.....

There is no costume for Insecurity.

There is no costume for Widow.

There is no costume for Grieving Mother.

There is no costume for Cancer.

There is no costume for Loneliness.

Yes, the scariest things are the REAL things. Vampires, ghosts, monsters - they ain't got nothin' on Real Life. I'll take a mummy any day over a suspicious lump. I'd happily face down a witch before I'd face down being alone. Heck, I'd even ride in an elevator if it meant never having to bury one of my children.

But I know that whatever fears I have to face in my life, I can get thru them because I have a God who loves me and takes care of me. That doesn't mean that bad things won't happen to me; but when I have to face the obstacles in life, God is there with me, giving me strength and courage.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." -Isaiah 41:10

Have a Happy Halloween, everyone, and don't let anything scare you! God's got your back.

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You - Scary!

2008-10-30T00:19:00.004-05:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN to everyone this week! Here's a picture I found the other day of Halloween 10 years ago - Hubby and I went to a costume party and decided it would be cute to dress as an angel and a devil.

The scary part? I actually wore this costume - a red, spandex unitard - to a PARTY! With PEOPLE there! From our CHURCH! We were a big hit, tho. Would do it again in a heartbeat - except that the costumes have mysteriously disappeared....

Scary!

Haiku: Gift

2008-10-29T12:17:00.006-05:00

While the rest of the nation has pretty much forgotten about Hurricane Ike, things are still in disarray around here. Yes, we are cleaning up, repairing, rebuilding.....but it all takes time. Time is not something a lot of people have these days; it seems to be spent up with jobs or school or family or chores or LIFE. But this past weekend, Daughter and her youth group from church gave a whole day of their time to work with C.O.R.E. cleaning up hurricane debris from a hard-hit neighborhood. And the people they helped felt great - but the kids? They felt even better.

Reaching out in love,

Giving the gift that's priceless:

The gift of one's self.

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

**This is for the "Gift" prompt at One Single Impression this week - be sure to stop by there to see all the wonderful poetry!

Cambodia - Amazing Race Leg 5

2008-10-27T14:22:00.015-05:00

Wow! Auckland, New Zealand has been fun, but after our mandatory rest period with the other Teams, it's time to race again! This time we were off to Siem Reap, Cambodia!

Our departure time was 9:32 a.m. - finally a decent hour! But we were well behind leaders Ken & Tina, who left at 6:03 a.m. At least we got to sleep in a little bit! By the time we got to Auckland International Airport, Ken & Tina and Terence & Sarah had already gotten on a 12:20 p.m. flight. We had to get on a 4:55 p.m. flight with all the other Teams (except Ty & Aja, who were WAAAAAAY behind us). Turns out we met up with Ken & Tina and Terence & Sarah at our layover in Singapore, so we all arrived in Siem Reap at the same time (minus Ty & Aja - no telling where they were).

It was a REALLY long flight, so I took my Xanax and went to sleep. Look what D... did to me while I was sleeping! Braided my hair and drew a mustache on me with a Sharpie! I'm not amused.

Our clue at the airport told us to take a taxi to a roadside gas pumping station. We had a hard time communicating with our taxi driver, but he managed to get us there. Ya'll, Cambodia is NASTY! We don't ever want to go back there!

At the gas station we had to use a hand pump, the method most commonly used in this part of Cambodia, to fill a truck's gas tank with 25 liters of diesel fuel. Easy breezy! We had to take turns pumping, and our arms were tired, but we did it! Those stupid frat boys Andrew & Dan couldn't figure it out. We just laughed at them as we got our next clue: jump in the back of our now fully-gassed truck and have the driver take us to Siem Reap Harbor. From there we had to take a marked boat to the floating restaurant, Kho Andeth.

Several of us Teams were all in it together, and we took turns passing each other on the road in our big trucks. The same thing happened in the boats - it was definitely feeling like a race!! D... and I were worried that since we were going to a restaurant we might have to eat something gross. But thankfully, that was not the case. When we got there it was a Detour, a choice between two tasks, each with its pros and cons. In this Detour, Teams had to choose between Village Life or Village Work. In Village Life, Teams used their boats to pick up three items: a set of toy teeth from the dentist; a doll from the tailor; and a basketball from the floating basketball court where each Team member had to make one basket. Then they had to deliver the items to a man at the dock for their next clue. In Village Work, Teams had to take their boat to a fishing ground, wade into waist deep water, and search among numerous fishing traps for two filled with fish. Then they had to deliver the fish back to the dock and transfer the fish into baskets to receive their next clue.

There was NO WAY D... and I were getting in that nasty water. So we went with Village Life. It was really quite easy, and interesting to explore the floating village (but still - nasty). We had a lot of fun with the teeth, too! Wind-up chattering teeth are always fun.

We finished the task high and dry, and ahead of several other Teams! Woot!

Our next clue told us to travel to Angkor Wat, an ancient temple that was built for the king in the 12th century and has since become a symbol of Cambodia. Off we go!

Angkor Wat was amazing! And HUGE! The next clue was a Roadblock, and read,"Who has a better sense of direction?" It was D...'s turn. She may not be able to read a map, but she's pretty good with directions. She's certainly never gotten lost in a mall or anything!

She had to search the immense grounds of Angkor Wat for a small elusive room named Prassat Kok Troung, also known as the Chamber of Echoes. Once there, she had to stand on a specific spot and thump her chest in such a way as to make the sound echo throughout the chamber (creepy!), at which point she could pick up the next clue. It took her a little while - like I said,that place is HUGE! But with the help of a local, she finally found it, beat her chest like Tarzan, and got our next clue, printed on the back of a sculpture: travel to the Pit Stop at Bayon Temple, a 12th century Buddhist temple!

Off we went! We had no idea what place we were in because everyone was pretty spread out around the temple, but there were still Teams there when we left, so we knew we weren't last.

It took some searching, but finally we found Phil on the grounds of the Bayon Temple!

Imagine our surprise when he told us we were in SECOND PLACE!!!! WOOT! We couldn't believe it! What's even better is that we came in ahead of Ken & Tina this leg. They are really annoying us. Ty & Aja, who were so far behind from the beginning that they really didn't stand a chance, were last to arrive, and were eliminated from the race. They seem to really be in love; I hope everything works out for them.

So here we are in nasty Cambodia, waiting to see where the race will take us next. Hopefully out of here, that's for sure! Stay tuned for our continuing adventures on the Amazing Race!!!

Where We've Been:

Leg 4

Leg 3

Leg 2

Leg 1

Team Profile

Camera Critters #29

2008-10-25T11:38:00.004-05:00

Nice hat.

We're all in this together.....

2008-10-24T22:00:00.002-05:00

D... and I took all the kids to see High School Musical 3: Senior Year this evening - and despite the tepid reviews it has received, we all really enjoyed it! We've all been HSM fans since the first movie came out, even the boys. Altho they didn't enjoy High School Musical On Ice so much....

The movie was really cute, tho - the musical numbers were great, and they wrapped up the characters' senior year well. Now if I could just get those songs out of my head..........gah!

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You - I've Got Spirit, Yes I Do!

2008-10-23T00:12:00.003-05:00

**Scroll down for Vintage Thingies Thursday!

It's fall in Texas, ya'll, and you know what that means - HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL! I'm so excited because this year Daughter is a freshman at my alma mater! I still know the school song - the fight song - the cheers - it's like I just graduated last year! OK, it's been ~~a few~~ 22 years since I was attending football games as a senior. But I've still got that Falcon Spirit!

Last week the whole fam-damily decided to go to the game; Ike kinda messed up the football schedule, but we're back on track and we were pumped! Even Bubba's Mom and Dad came along. As we were talking about it at Bubba's Mom's house that afternoon, I jokingly said that I should wear my old drillteam uniform to the game! How funny would that be? (For the record, Daughter didn't think it would be funny. At. All.) Then Bubba's Mom threw down the gauntlet.

"You couldn't squeeze yourself into that thing if you tried!"

I sprinted to the hall closet and pulled out the red, white, and blue satin uniform - the white hat with a red band, the white, fringed gauntlets, the white boots. And I flashed back to the 80's, to dancing half-time shows on humid Friday nights, to cheering our team on to victory, to dating that cute guy on the football team.......

I was SO getting in that uniform.

Now I have never been a large person. In fact, I have never weighed much over 100 pounds (except when I was pregnant). I'm not bragging - it's just the way I am. But something about childbearing changes a woman. Changes her body. It's a mystery, really. I had to really work to get that sucker on, and then....I couldn't get it zipped.

Bubba's Mom had to help. It was a bit like Mammy trying to lace Scarlett into her corset. "Hold onter sumpin' an' suck in your breaf" she said. If only I had a bedpost to grab onto.....

But we did it! We got it zipped! All the way up, thankyouverymuch. It was a little hard to breathe, but I was IN MY 20-SOMETHING YEAR-OLD DRILLTEAM UNIFORM! Boo ya.

For some reason the hat was a little small for my head (Big head? I don't think so.). And the boots looked like they'd fall apart if I tried to stick my feet in them, so I set them aside. There used to be a belt - a big, wide, white leather belt that laced up in the front. I don't know where that is. But I was feeling proud! I was feeling the school spirit! I was feeling 17 again! I was feeling.......a little lightheaded. Much to Daughter's relief, I took it off. Back to my jeans and school T-shirt - much more comfortable for the game!

Go Team!

Vintage Thingies Thursday - More Cobalt Glass

2008-10-23T00:06:00.002-05:00

This is one of my favorite pieces in my cobalt glass collection - sadly, I don't know anything about its history, except that it was given to me by my Great Aunt B (as much of my cobalt glass was). It looks like a little milk pitcher or something. I love it!

Dinner and Dancing

2008-10-21T23:18:00.002-05:00

Every Monday night I have a date. It's a dinner and dancing date! Daughter and I go over to Bubba's Mom's house and she cooks us a delicious dinner and we all watch Dancing With the Stars! We have great fun. There are no boys allowed. Hubby stays home to watch his TV shows, and Little Son either stays home with him or tags along with us to hang out with Bubba's Dad in the study, watching weird shows on The History Channel or something. They like that kind of stuff.

But we girls! We have the best time watching all the dancing and critiquing every move, every costume, every judge's comment. We cheer on our favorites and even attempt some of the dance moves every now and then if we're feeling particularly brave. It's a great Girls' Night. I'll sure miss it when the season is over.

So, do you watch? Who are your favorites?