Christmas Pics

Here are some pictures taken during our Christmas celebrations. Let me clarify, our Christmas celebrations with my side of the family. My family tradition is Christmas morning breakfast. Apparantly, this tradidition started before I came into this world and has continued. I remember at one point in time, when I was but a small child and the grandbabies were babies, that breakfast was held at 7am. Once more granchildren were born and we begged my dad to put breakfast off til after "Santa" came for the grandchildren, he finally relented and allowed us to eat at 8am. He's an old fogey type that eats as soon as he gets up and gets dressed in the morning, say 6:30am. My son is just like him, by the way. Anyhow, for years I have tried to get him to do "Brunch" at like 9-10am, but he's not buying that. He doesn't even comprehend the whole "brunch" idea, like I said he's old-school, but I love him dearly. Now that we are 24 in number and with my step-mother's children, who number over 40+ we meet for breakfast at our church. Because obviously, it's hard to get 50+ people in one home, unless you have a mansion, which my parents don't, so we meet at Harris Chapel UMC. So, here's my entire family all the brothers and sisters, in-laws and out-laws, neices and nephews, and new great-nephew.

Hiatus

Hello loyal blog fans....apparantly I was taking a hiatus and wasn't aware of it. WHAT?!? You say? How can you be on hiatus and not realize it? Well, see first I was busy with Christmas preparations at home, then we had several worship services at church which I had to coordinate, and then we got a new computer and I must confess that it has somewhat intimidated me because this keyboard is sooo completely different from what we had, not to mention just trying to get all the stuff off the old one was just overhwhelming, which is why my darling husband got ill with me. He had asked me to get the things I needed to keep off the old one so he could import them to the new computer and to be honest, I was just unsure of what to do. See I am thisclose to being computer illiterate. But I digress. Hiatus is over!

5 Things

As "tagged" by my wonderful husband, here are 5 things you wouldn't know about me.

1. I am the youngest of 4 children, and when I say youngest, I mean YOUNGEST! The ondest is 20 yrs older than me, then the next is 18 yrs older, and the one next to me is 14 yrs older. I was what they call a "WHOOPS" baby. As my father likes to tell as his never say you'll never do something story, as he was walking my sister *the oldest* down the aisle in Dec. 1970-something, he whispered to her, thank God I'll never have to do this in my life again. I was born 10 months later. Whoops!

2. I like to sing in the car. Yes, I'm one of those people who sings to every song on the radio or cd. I can't help it, I've always been that way. As a child, I would use my hairbrush as my microphone and my blanket as an evening gown and pretend I was on some awards show singing and accepting the Female Vocalist award. I had big dreams of being the next "Barbara Mandrell", "Tammy Wynette", or "Dolly Parton". I came close, I one the talent show in downtown Estill Springs, Tn when I was 4 yrs old. The trophy was almost as big as I was.

3. I love cars. Now, I don't mean that I like to build them or fix them. I mean that asthetically I love cars. The different styles, colors, etc. I know NOTHING of what happens under the hood, it's all "greek" to me. But when a car passes, I can tell you what make/model and sometimes what year it is.

4. I am the "funny one". You know how when there's a group of friends, there's the pretty one, the talented one, the atheletic one, and a funny one? Well, I was/am the funny one, or so I've been told.

5. Originally, I wanted to be a travel agent. As a senior in high school, I had decided I wanted to be a travel agent, mainly because I always wanted to travel the world, still do, but it'll have to wait a while. Anyhoo, my Dad wouldn't let me go off to the college I had chosen, so I didn't quite make it. And that's okay because if I had gone, things might not would have worked out with my boyfriend at the time, who later became my wonderful husband.

now....tag yourlseves...

Favorite Christmas Songs

As in the "Christmas Meme" thingy, I listed some of my favorite Christmas songs. Well, it was only fitting that I retrieve some of them from good ole YouTube and share them with my loyal readers. So, sit back, click the button, and enjoy.

First up is: "Do They Know It's Christmas". Recorded in London by "Band Aid" a group of musicians, singers from the UK and a few from America, by Bob Geldog, er that's Sir Bob Geldof to record and raise money to help those starving in Africa. Ironic that tho' this was recorded some 20+ yrs ago, it's still fitting today. Please look over the 80's hair and clothing and listen to the words. How blessed we truly are!




This next one, "Christmas in Dixie", is another of my very favorites. However, I do not like the images that the word "Dixie" conjours up. The word has been misused and misunderstood, and in this case it doesn't really represent the song. Click the link and you'll understand.


Lastly, here's "Last Christmas" by WHAM! I was a HUGE!!! fan of thiers in the 80's. I just loved that George Michael. I always thought he was soo pretty, of course now we know why. He's gay! Oh well, I can still enjoy looking at him. (Sorry honey!)

Christmas Meme

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Egg Nog is only good at christmas, Hot chocolate is good all winter!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Well, DUH! Wrapped of course. Not wrapping Santa gifts is just plain WRONG!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Most times I prefer white lights

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope...and if I did, it would just die. I don't have a "green thumb". I'm trying real hard not to kill my pink poinsettia.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Usually, the day after Thanksgiving and always by the first Sunday in Advent, however this year, I put it up before T'giving because I knew I would be out of town the weekend after and the thought of coming home and not having a tree up, well I just couldn't deal with that!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Turkey and Dressing....my own of course!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
Waking up in the middle of the night to the sounds of my Daddy putting together my "Barbie" condominium, going to the living room and walking in on him in his underwear, then being forced back into bed.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?The night I caught my Daddy in his underwear putting together my "Barbie" Condo.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?Of course because we go to my inlaws and have Christmas, but I can never wait til Christmas with my wonderful hubby. We usually end up opening our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
We have a small tree so I change my decorations each year. This year, it's a white tree with white lights and tons of pink ornaments. Last year, it was blue ornaments and snowflakes, the year before it was all candy ornaments and one year we made our own ornaments and had popcorn and cranberries, a real old fashioned tree. Next year, it's going to be a white tree with silver ornaments.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love it until it happens.

12. Can you ice skate?
I tried one time with my best good friend, but found out my arches are too high or are they too low? Anyhoo, I don't do skating.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
My Barbie condo, and a Gucci watch that I was totally not expecting. More recently, my jewelry armoire that my wonderful hubby gave me. And when we first were together, a luggage set. I know, that's corny, but I had never had my own luggage. Still have it and we use it all the time.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Being with family. Hands down.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Red Velvet Cake...homemade, which I am going to attempt myself this year.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?Aside from our family traditions, our Carols, Candles, and Cheer almost midnight service at church.

17. What tops your tree?
A Glamorous pink star..

18.Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving...without a doubt!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Gosh...I have soo many. Country..."Christmas in Dixie"...Pop...Blue Christmas, White Christmas, Do They Know it's Christmas, Last Christmas. Hymms..All Earth is Waiting, One Small Babe, In the Bleak Midwinter... it's too hard for me to pick I love them all!

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yum...but they're not my very favorite.

EDIT: The Blogger police informed me that I screwed up by not mentioning who tagged me and for not "tagging" someone else. Luckily they let me off with a warning, this time. Anyhoo, I tag all those that read this blog. There!

RIP John Lennon 1940-1980

I remember the day John Lennon was murdered. At the time, I was a small child, not fully comprehending what John (and the other Beatles) meant to the world. Of course later on I came to understand his impact on society and became a Beatle "fanatic". To the point that I did my demonstration speech for a college class on "how to be a Beatle fan". But I digress, on this day take a moment to remember John Lennon and ponder how we could put his words into action. What if there was no need for greed or hunger? A true brotherhood of man? Nothing to kill or die for?

Rest in peace John.

Nativity

Some of you may have seen this photo on Yahoo!, but I couldn't resist posting it here. The fact that this "sculpture" is made entirely out of sand is amazing. The detail on it is fantastic. According to Yahoo!, this was made in Spain and was destroyed when the tide came in. Thank God that someone had aforethought to make a pic of it before it was taken by the sea. And, Praise God for the talented individual who sculpted it.

My Christmas Wish List

When I was a little girl I anxiously awaited the coming of the JC Penney Catalog and the Sears Wishbook every year at Christmas time. I would take both catalogs in my room and meticulously search through it compiling my "wish" list for my mother. I usually received one or two things from that list I think, funny how it's not the memories of the gifts that stick with you as much as the memories of all the other things associated with Christmas. Well, this year, thanks to Rev.Mommy, I'm making my wish list. So here it is.



For Art: Yes, that's the new Mazxa RX-8. He loves it and looks totally hot driving it. He would just need to get a hot blonde to ride with him...


For Tad: This child is eat up with anything and everything Star Wars and Lego related.


For Me: Well, Art would use it too. Actually, it would probably be Art using it more than me since he is the one with a computer science degree and all..

For Shelby: What is it with women/girls and their love of smelly things, lotions, and potions?


Of course, there are many other things I would wish for: Peace on earth, goodwill towards all people, no hunger, etc. etc. yadda yadda, blah blah... those are overrated. No all kidding aside, I would wish for those things. Of course, my next wish would be for a way to implement them and make them "stick". As Elvis sings, if everyday could be just like Christmas, what a wonderful world this would be. Amen, brother Elvis, Amen.

Great Aunt Stacie

Ok, it's official! I am now a "Great Aunt",, tho' if any of my faithful blogees (all 1 of you) call me that, I'll have to physically harm you!! His name is Kirk Michael and he was born this morning 11-28-06 at 5:30 am *early little booger*. He weighed 7lbs, 11ozs. and was 20 1/2 inches long. Mama and baby are doing fine! Praise God for this little miracle

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

How lovely are your branches! Here's our Christmas tree. Yes, it's a small one. Partly because our home is small, but mostly because it allows me to change decorations every year. And since I am a person that likes variety, this works perfectly. This is the first year that we've had a white Christmas tree and personally, I LOVE IT! The decorations appear to be red, but they are in fact a vibrant pink! Now, normally I am one of those people that refuse to put up the tree until after Thanksgiving, but this year since we were going to be out of town I just couldn't bear the thoughts of coming back home after Thanksgiving and not having the Christmas tree up, so I put it up last weekend. And since I'm not one of those folks that take the tree down the day after Christmas, this gorgeous pink tree will stay up until Epiphany Sunday. For you non-Methodists out there, that's January 14th. With the tree up, I think I'm really getting into the holiday spirit. Now, I've just got to compose my Christmas list and get started buying the gifts. Oh vey!

What a Week!

Whew! Am I ever glad this last week is over! The first of the week was spent in Nashville for a "training" exercise for work, then in the middle of the week, preparations for Thanksgiving *YES, I cooked*, and then the end of the week was spent rehearsing, decorating, and preparing for my nephew's wedding. (Pictures coming soon.) Now, Craig and Danielle are hitched, the party's over and now it's time to relax. Well, sort of, because coming up next at church are our annual Advent activities. It cannot be time for Christmas yet! Where does the time go?

Ban Religion?

Elton John says we should ban religion. I don't think this is something that will ever come to fruition, but I can certainly see his point! He's right. Religion has promoted hatred and bias against homosexuals, and also against Hispanics, African Americans, , women, and I could go on and on. Some would disagree with Sir Elton and say that religion doesn't discriminate, but when there are "so-called" religious groups that stand on the roadside and shout "God hates fags" or protest at soldier's funerals claiming that their deaths are our punishment because we have accepted homosexuality, or when shooting at an illegal immigrant attempting to cross the border is considered acceptable, or when keeping an entire race of people enslaved for a century, or when a gender is excluded from teaching, pastoring, sheperding a flock, for no other reason than because of their gender, then one must stop and say "HELL YEAH! religion has promoted bigotry!

Why do we, and by we I mean those of us who are accepting and compassionate towards these groups, allow such things to happen? How can we enact change on the parts of those who are discriminating? I don't have a clue as to how to change people's minds, but I don't think banning religion is the answer. Any ideas?

Too Many Irons

I'm sure everyone has heard that old saying "too many irons in the fire". Well, that's exactly how I've felt the last couple of weeks. From planning the Laity Sunday worship service, to planning and leading the Wednesday night bible study of Acts 2, to planning the church's Fall Festival, to finding appropriate wedding attire for Shelby, Tad, and myself, not to mention all the practicing I've been doing on the piano, to preparing for an event at Eastern Star....well, to say I'm too pooped to pop is an understatement!

And now, it's time for Thanksgiving! WHAT?!?!!!! It is so hard to believe that Thanksgiving is indeed only a week away. By this time, I've usually decided what dishes I'm fixing and have even started Christmas shopping. This year I just cannot seem to get "in the mood". I normally love this time of year, but for some reason... I'm lagging, stalling, however you want to put it. I don't even have a Christmas list written down yet, let alone started buying anything! Although, I do have my decorations purchased and ready to go up, we're going all PINK this year...woohoo, I'm sure my husband is going to hate it, but oh well. We had his favorite color last year...blue! Not that pink is my favorite color (it's green, btw), but when I saw these decorations, I got a wild hair and decided that was what I wanted. Maybe after I get the tree put up, I'll get more in the spirit. At least I'm hoping so.

Honored

What an honor! Craig, my favorite nephew (one out of five) called me up the other evening to ask if I would be willing to play the piano at his wedding. I was thrilled, nervous, but thrilled. Of course, I immediately said "YES!" My next thought was "OH CRAP!" I don't have a lot of wedding material, so I went out and bought some. As if being asked to be the instrumentalist wasn't enough, Craig also asked if Tad could be the ring bearer. Well, this was soo sweet because Craig was the ring bearer at my wedding... here he is at about the same age Tad is now. Ain't he cute?

Not great quality on that picture, but I had to make a picture with the digital camera and then well, you know the rest. Anyhoo, I think you get the picture here. ha.. Now, it's a rush to find Tad a tuxedo or suit or something decent for a wedding and I've got to start practicing...

From Preacher to ???

Ok, as if preaching a sermon wasn't enough, I was tagged to lead Bible Study tonight as our pastor is away in Mexico with a mission team building churches, ministering to the people, and engaging in worship services. My adoring husband nominated me for this job last week at Bible study. I reallly didn't want to accept this job, but as no other person was willing to, I was trapped! Lucky for me, we are studying the book of Acts and chapter 2 in particular. Seriously, I lucked out on this one. The Pentecost story is one I'm well familiar with, having planned Pentecost worship services in the past. So, we talked about the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and ran down a few denominations. No, really we didn't speak derogatorially (is that a word?) of other denoms, we accepted that they may have different interpretations of Scripture than we do and that that's okay! We also talked about how different our world would be if all Christians were united by the Holy Spirit as those believers were on the day of Pentecost and in the days following. Imagine it if you can.... no hunger, no homelessness, seeing all as a brother or sister. What a wonderful thought....too bad that's all it is.

To Preach or Not to Preach....the Final Edition

Ok, so "they" finally convinced me to preach. "They" being my fellow Sunday School classmates, my pastor, and my nagging husband. Here I am ...

Was I nervous? I didn't think I was, but after spending most of the early morning in the bathroom, I reckon subconciously I was nervous. But, I had planned and prepared the entire service and it seemed to flow seamlessly. Not to brag or anything (cough), but the dialogue went really well. I had more comments at the end of the service and from people that I never expected. I even heard tonight at choir practice that this was the best Laity service we've ever had at Harris Chapel UMC. I'm impressed that they thought so much of it, and to brag again, I feel validated.

And I must say that my husband really didn't "nag" me, he just gently coaxed me. Apparantly, he saw in me the ability to do this and I thank him from the bottom of my heart for his support. Thanks Honey!

Now I just have to stave off the demands of the peeps for more...ha, as if. But seriously, preaching is not something I feel "called" to do. I feel it's something I could do if I had to, but I know there are other's that are better suited for it than me (Art, I'm talking to you!). It was definitely an experience, one that I am glad chose to be a part of.

We're Baack!

Well, vacation is over and of course we were bummed to have to come back home. We had a marvelous time just being alone together. I couldn't get over how quiet it was, apparantly I forgot how rowdy and loud our children can be.
My husband is a picture taking fool, but I'm glad that he is becuase I can share the fruits of his labor with you. Here we are on the beach
and then here we are waiting outside our favorite restaurant in Gulf Shores, Al...the "Original Oyster House" If you don't get there at the right time *4:30pm til 5pm* you could spend up to an hour and a half just waiting to be seated, but the food is definitely worth it!
In my humble opinion, the most beautiful sunrise and sunset in the world is in the Gulf of Mexico.

A few more pictures of the beach

All in all, this was one of the best vacations I've ever had. And it's all because My sweet husband was with me!

Birthday

Thanks to all who stopped over here to wish me a "Happy Birthday". Most of you came because my sweet husband told you to, but still I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This has been the best birthday ever! My husband went over and beyond what was called for, I could not even begin to list all the things he gave me, but the thing I am most grateful for is him! I am the luckiest woman in the world...because HE loves me!

On Vacation

Well, I've finished my "dialogue" for Laity Sunday and now it's time for vacation. As previously stated, my darling husband is taking me away for my birthday this weekend to our favorite, and most special place. This is a weekend without children, I might add. I, for one, cannot wait. It's been too long since we've gone away just the two of us, yes, I'll miss the children, but sometimes, we need alone time to "recharge". This is where we're going ...
This is what I plan on doing, well among other things..



Try not to be too jealous... ha! See you all when I get back...

To Preach or Not to Preach Redux

Sorry I haven't been posting as of late, my mind has been concentrating on the whole "Laity Sunday" thing. It has now been decided that 2 members of my sunday school class and I will be delivering the "message" for that day, meaning that I will not be preaching, but will however engage in dialogue. A dialogue that I have conceived and written. My husband, sweet, supportive man that he is, cautions me that I should submit this "dialogue" to our pastor for his inspection. I discussed this with said pastor and he informed me that that was not necessary. I think the reason my sweet husband wants me to let the pastor read it is because there's a word within the "dialogue" that to some may be profane. As I am not a preacher, my stance is that it doesn't matter what words I choose to use in my "dialogue". And besides, I am trying to get people's attention and make a valid point. Isn't that a great way to get another's attention? I thought so. Anyhoo, it's back to the grindstone as I haven't finished said "dialogue" and I need to get it finished before this weekend as my sweet, wonderful, adoring husband is taking me away to the beach for my birthday. He's a great guy!

My Daughter, the DIVA!

This is my daughter, Shelby. She is a DIVA! I do not have any idea where she gets this kind of attitude !
It surely must have come from her father! Anyhoo, Shelby went to her first middle school dance this past Friday evening after school. The theme was "Hollywood" and the kids were asked to dress like celebrities if they chose. So, we chose to take a more "casual" type celebrity look, as oppposed to some of her classmates who came all glammed out. Some of the girls really went all out and as we sat there in the "uber vehicle" watching Shelby work the crowd, Tad would comment on which of the girls was the hottest. Cute! An 8 yr old checking out 13 yr old girls. Oh well, could be worse I guess? So, Shelby had fun and survived her very first middle school dance. Now, we only have the Christmas formal dance to look forward to. Oi Vey!

Weekend Fun!

Occasionally, it's nice just to get out of the house and get into nature. Now, I'm not one of those "nature nuts", you know the types I'm talking about. Those that are constantly out hiking, biking, communing with nature, eating granola, those types. But on the rare occasion, I do like getting out there and viewing things in their natural state. And, we're fortunate to live in a beautiful area of southern middle Tennessee, so I'd like to share a little of that beauty with you.

Lastly, here are some gorgeous sunset photos just taken tonight right outside our home.Enjoy!

Not a Nerd!

I took this quiz just to see what I would score and this is what it said:

94% scored higher (more nerdy), and
6% scored lower (less nerdy).

What does this mean? Your nerdiness is:

Definitely not nerdy, you are probably cool.

Cool, yes! Despise nerds? Absolutely not!

Big, Hairy Creatures

There are some things that absolutely do not belong in a bank! Big, hairy tarantulas fall into this category. I'm not sure why this customer thought it was okay to bring her big, hairy tarantula into the bank where I work today, but she did. All I can say is, THANK GOD in heaven above that I didn't actually get a look at the thing. I might've had a heart attack right there in my chair. All I could see was my manager and some others holding up this terraririum type thing and looking inside while tapping on the glass. Only later did I find out that it was a big, hairy tarantula. Anyhow, moral of the story...People please do not take animals where they don't belong!

To Preach or Not to Preach

Yes, that is the question. My pastor today asked a friend of mine and I if our sunday school class would be interested in taking control of worship for Laity Sunday. Now, I should probably explain that in the United Methodist Church, we celebrate Laity Sunday on the 3rd sunday in October and that Laity Sunday is a time when members of the Laity (you regular folk who normally sit in the pews) take over for the folks who normally do different jobs in the worship service, i.e. song leader, choir director, and of course, preaching. My sunday school class just did this 2 yrs ago and my husband's sunday school class (yes, we're in different classes and maybe I'll explain in another post) did Laity Sunday last year. Now, as my friend pointed out, there's one more ss class that could do this, but our pastor looked at us as if to say "Get real", so we kind of figured that that wouldn't happen. I should mention here that the "other" ss class is the senior adult class, not that seniors aren't more than capable of song leading, or preaching, but this group is to the point where we're just glad they're able to make it out of their homes and into the church sanctuary! So, anyhoo, as all this conversating is going on, I hear a little voice. It says, "Stacie, you preach." And I'm thinking, "WHAT?!?!" Then it says, "You heard me, You preach...You can do it". Now, was this the Lord laying on my heart or what? This whole thing makes me nervous. Not that I'm nervous to get up in front of these people, anymore that is, but the topic that's on my heart is not one that I think these folks want to hear. And I have to consider the fact that most of these people are my family, close family and do I reallly want to piss them all off? Well, not really. I suppose this is something that's going to take a lot of thought and prayer!

Entertainment

This afternoon, our entertainment consisted of our nextdoor neighbor burning up his backyard. Actually, I think he was attempting to eradicate overgrown brush, however, he let it get carried away. Nevermind the fact that you're supposed to acquire a burn permit, who can get a burn permit on a Sunday afternoon? Our neighbor is prone to alcoholic libations, so I'm sure the last thing he thought about was a burn permit. Thank God he was cognizant to the fact that he couldn't fight the fire alone and called the "G.D. fire department". Mind you, this is a totally volunteer fire dept., but I'm thankful we have one. Now, as if the fire department wasn't enough entertainment, the Sherriff came on down to join the BVFD (Broadview Volunteer Fire Dept.) Well, the sherriff didn't stay long and as far as I can tell the neighbor is still home, he hasn't been dragged off to the pokey or anything like that. I assume he'll have to pay for the BVFD coming to put out his fire, I'm sure that'll cost him way more than it would have, had he done his burning legally with a permit. Final thought: if you have to call the fire department to put out a fire in your back yard, you might be a redneck!

Where were you?

September 11, 2001... where were you? what were you doing? I think everyone in America that lived through that fateful day can answer those questions in detail. It was a day just like any other day, I got up, got the kids dressed, fed them, took Shelby to school and Tad and I were starting our first day at preschool. He, as a student, and I as a preschool teacher. It was such a beautiful day, the sky was a blue like I've never seen before. How ironic, that something so tragic would happen on such a beautiful day. I did not view the towers being hit as they happened. I received word through my preschool director. She told us of the first incident, and we had a prayer for those inside and prayed that it was just a foolish mistake. Of course, when we got word the second tower had been hit and then the Pentagon, we knew. We knew that we were under attack. I cannot describe the fear I felt. I remember calling my husband to check on him and see if he had heard, he had, and the rest of our conversation was mindless chatter. I'm sure those preschool children learned absolutely nothing that first day. Alan Jackson's song "Where were you when the world stopped turning" always gets to me, there's one line... teaching a class full of innocent children"...I pray that we teach our children love and mercy and that something like this never happens again.

Other things I remember:

American Flags everywhere, Wal-Mart sold out
Church Pews packed with worshippers
Kindness shown to others
Watching TV every waking moment
Being thankful for another day with my family


LET US NEVER FORGET!

Recollections

Why is it that spouses, s/o's, etc expect us to remember events in their lives that happened before we knew them? Apparantly, Sept. 10th was an important event in my husband's life (which you can read about here) and seeing as how this event occurred before I had even met my darling husband, I do not think I should be held accountable for not remembering the exact date on which this significant event happened for my sweetie. Now, I should say that Yes, I do remember him telling me about meeting one of his guitar idols, I just didn't recollect the date that it occurred. I would also interject that I, too have personally met a celebrity, but I don't even remotely remember the exact day that it happened. I do remember it was in a mall in Nashville on a Saturday. I think. Well, I know it was on a Saturday, and it might have been in Huntsville, Al. but that's irrelevant. Anyhoo, the point is this...spouses, s/o's, etc. don't hold it against us if we can't remember incidents that happened to you before we came along. It doesn't mean that we think they're insignificant, it just means that either 1. we're forgetful or 2. we don't like to think about/remember that there was a time before we were part of your life.

A Dodge Go Cart

After my new 2005 Nissan Pathfinder was attacked by a stark-raving mad deer and I had to get the whole front fender replaced, our lovely insurance company provided me with a rental car. TADA! A new 2005 Dodge Go Cart, er, I mean Stratus. It's a really cute car on the outside, but while driving it, it feels like you're driving a go cart. My husband loves it, except for the fact that it doesn't have enough horsepower, torque, etc etc...blah blah, I don't understand that stuff under the hood. I do understand asthetics, I am proud of the fact that as a female, I can name the make and model of just about any vehicle. But I digress, this vehicle is sooo low to the ground and as a short, er vertically challenged person, I prefer riding up high where I can look down on, er..'scuse me, I mean where I can see everything. Well, the good news is that my Pathfinder is ready and I won't have to drive the go cart very much longer... so by this time tomorrow, and with many thanks to my adorable husband, the Pathfinder will be home!

Tad, the "Floyd" fan

This is my son, Tad. Cute, isn't he? Of course, he takes after his much beloved mother..ha! Actually, he's the carbon copy of his father, which isn't so bad. It is, however, his father's influence that has caused this sweet child to now become a Pink Floyd fanatic. Pink Floyd is my husband's favorite musical group of all time, aside from Black Sabbath of course. Therefore, we are forced to listen to various cd's and watch dvd's until even I, the non Floyd fan, can recite them word for word. Tad is such a fan that after rescuing a cricket from the school playground, he named it "Gerald" from an obscure Floyd song, "Bike". His teacher pleaded with him to let Gerald go because he was an endangered species. I, personally, have never heard of any species of crickets that were endangered, but I can empathize with Tad's teacher because girls don't like bugs of any kind!! But, here's the topper, as my child was in a compromising position the other night (using the toilet), I heard him with the door closed, down the hallway and around a corner singing to the top of his lungs ....
"I'll see you on the dark side of the moon".... he is truly his father's son!

Patience

Since I am THISCLOSE to being computer illiterate, I would ask for your patience as I continue updating my blog. Other folks, who are more computer savvy than I, are trying to instruct me. Pray for him, please. Thank you.

Confused

This chicken is confused...it doesn't know if it's Mexican or not. This chicken cracks me up everytime I see it. It resides in beautiful, downtown Winchester, aka my hometown. My husband has an item about this chicken on his blog as well. Originally, this place was a Mexican style restaurant, then they moved and another Mexican style restaurant was supposed to be moving into this building and then one day, the chicken appeared and shortly thereafter the sign changed. So, we're not sure if we're getting "Buen Dia" or the broaster chicken place. It's been this way over 6 months, so there's no telling what this restaurant will actually be when it finally opens for business. So, why does it amuse me? I reckon I'm just a simpleton that's easily amused.

Realizations

You know those "Aha" moments? Those times when a new understanding of a situation, passages of a book, even new understandings regarding people, we all have them from time to time. Well, I had one of those "AHA" moments the other day. It happened in the middle of my husband's sermon Sunday morning. Now, a little background, my husband is not a licensed minister, he is, however, a certified lay speaker within the United Methodist Church. This means he can be called to fill in for a pastor whenever the need arises. An opportunity recently presented itself, and he is now filling in a couple of times a month for another pastor. So, while he's in the middle of delivering his sermon, it hits me.... my husband is a preacher. He has a calling. I don't know when he'll officially go thru the entire process of becoming a minister, but at some point in the future, I can see it. He may only become a local pastor, do the course of study work and forgo the M.Div degree, or he may even attend seminary. I'm not psychic, but I know that at some point, he will be a professional minister. Then the second "AHA" moment...he's good at this. Not that I was surprised really, because he's one of those types of people that whatever he attempts to do, he succeeds at...normally, I hate those kinds of people, but in his case, I make the exception. But he was exceptionally good, then it hit me.. O GOD, I'm a preacher's wife! Not something I feel that I'm either qualified or righteous enough for. I think back to all the minister's wives I've known and I in no way could even be in their league. I suppose that's something I'm going to have to work on...

Just Beginning

Ok, well, my darling husband has been after me for quite some time now to start a blog of my own. As he says, I have so many opinions and so much to say that I should start sharing it with the world, well, I'm not so sure that the entire world (what little part of it will view this blog anyway) will give a poot about what I have to say, but I shall try.