2011 Resolutions Part 2

I thought of another resolution:

I WILL NOT buy any more craft type stuff until I have either used what I already have or I need it for a specific project to be completed immediately...or soon thereafter.

New Year's Resolutions 2011

I was looking back over my blog and noticed that my 2010 Resolutions are just a couple posts back. Apparently I'm not blogging as much as I thought I would. I hope to change that this year. Anywho, on to this year's list...

- Get down to a healthy weight
- Add to my savings
- Finish projects I start
- Find a church and attend regularly
- Blog at least once a week
- Not be lonely anymore
- Support a charity program
- Get more rest
- Do at least one (planned) nice thing for someone each month
- Visit grandma and granddad more often
- Keep my resolutions :-)

I guess we'll see.

The Difficulty of Giving

I was supposed to work all weekend. It didn't happen. Well, as far as the actual work goes. The system I work on wasn't working properly so I got to babysit the computer all day on Saturday in case it came back up so I could notify the rest of my team that they could start working. Make sense? No? Sorry. Anyway, I was already frustrated that I lost my Saturday so I could do, basically, nothing. But! The Help Desk informed me that the system should be working just fine and dandy (not their words) by 4 a.m. my time on Sunday. So! I hauled myself out of bed, logged on to the computer, entered the system site and....nothing. I got to drive in to work to reboot my computer just to be sure it wasn't a company computer problem. It wasn't. I called the Help Desk, yet again, and they said that it will be another 2 hours before it's working. I headed home.

But! Before I left I grabbed a couple slices of pizza from when we worked late Friday night and put them in a Ziploc bag to take home with me. Then I grabbed a Sprite out of the fridge. Let me explain at this point that I don't usually do either of those things. I never take drinks home from work. I consume them while I'm there. And if we've ordered food I don't take it home unless we had individual orders. Such was not the case. But today I felt compelled to do so. No particular reason. Just thought I might want a snack during the day while I'm working...IF I'm working.

As I was leaving the building I noticed some pretty pink clouds and wanted to take pictures. As I'm a night owl, I rarely get to enjoy a sunrise and the one this morning was kinda nice. After I took those pictures I decided to take some neat shots of the buildings and fountains, etc. It was nice and peaceful out and I was working some of the cranky off.

When I was driving away I noticed a gentleman who appeared to be one of the homeless who seek shelter downtown. He didn't seem quite to the point of emaciation but he can definitely stand to put on a few pounds. As I was passing I considered giving him my food and drink but drove on instead. The minute I passed him my chest got tight and I felt awful. I drove back around the block but he was already going up the steps to get to the other side of the little park and I really couldn't be expected to park my car, get out and follow this man. Could I? I drove on. The feeling in my chest was NOT going to let up. I drove around the block again and saw that he had stopped in a shade of trees next to a fountain. A very tranquil setting I'm sure...if you don't have daily survival on your mind. I still couldn't get up the courage (?) to get out of the car. I drove on.

I was really going to go home this time. It wasn't that I was bound and determined that this food and drink was mine and I didn't want to share it. I was just ambivalent about the situation. Why was I arguing with myself about this? It's silly! I was headed home, for sure this time, and finally ended the argument. I did NOT need this food and he did. I turned back, parked the car and walked over to him. At no point in all of my self-argument was I feeling afraid of this man. Yes, I do tend to be shy upon meeting new people and that might have been a small part of this mess but I did not fear for my personal safety. I walked up to him, offered the food and drink. He took it and thanked me over and over and told me what a nice lady I am. If he only knew. I'm glad he didn't know about the struggle I went through to give him food.

If you have seen me lately, you know I am not hurting for food. I am VERY well fed. In fact, I've been dieting the last couple months because of just how well fed I am. What is wrong with me that I had to drive around the block three times to give food to someone who needed it so much more than I? I was going to snack on it. This was a meal for him. I should have immediately stopped the car and taken it to him. When I did finally approach him I felt so much better but when I got back in my car I had to cry. This should never have been an issue. A wonderful couple I know and several people from their church went and bought Subway sandwiches, chips and drinks and took them to the homeless yesterday. They PLANNED this. They went out of their way to buy the food and then took it to people who needed it. I was already there and had the food in hand. I am so ashamed of myself today.

I would love to be able to say someday that this was the turning point in my life. We'll see. I just don't believe that all of the steps leading up to this were a coincidence. I could have waited until after church to go in to the office. Instead, I drove in early in the morning! I didn't need to take the food home with me. I didn't need to stop and take pictures. None of this was necessary...for me. But maybe, just maybe someone was telling me that it was necessary for him.

Faith

As a young girl I had absolute faith that I would grow up, get married in my early twenties and have babies right away. I had no doubts. It's just how things are done in my family. I am the only woman in at least three generations of my family to not have a baby in my early 20s (or in some cases, a little bit earlier). Did my faith fail me? No. I don't think so. I can't explain why I wasn't given what I wanted. I do believe that I took the fact for granted. I didn't pray for it because I knew I had it coming so I didn't need to worry about a silly thing like that. Ha! And double Ha!

Although I haven't gotten what I wanted, nay believed I would get, long ago, I still believe I'm not forgotten. I do have my days when I wonder, though. I never wanted to be an "old mom". I wanted to be the cute young mom. Oh well. But I still wouldn't mind even being the old mom at this point. I'm just saying...

I so got off the original intent of this post. Faith. When I was young I had absolute, unshakable faith. Now...it seems as if I have to work at it sometimes. And, to make matters worse, I have my days in which I question the why's and why not's. And then I have my days in which I marvel about how much faith we use in a day. For instance:

Stop signs/signals - Yes, you will get a ticket if you run one of these but not everyone cares. Yet when I'm driving, I have absolute faith that I will be able to progress through a green (or sometimes yellow) light without getting hit. While I am driving there is not an invisible wall that will prevent others from hitting me. That would be nice but it's just not there. I have to rely on absolute faith that I am going to get from where I was to where I am going safely and in one piece. I know that there are accidents and other drivers do scare me at times but all in all, I have faith.

Food - I get that the FDA checks stuff out but they can't be everywhere all the time. I blindly trust that any foods I purchase are going to be safe - if not healthy - for me. Bake sales are a big leap of faith that so many people take. You buy home made goods and just accept that they aren't going to hurt you. And then we get to the diet foods and pills. After the whole Fen Phen (Phen Fen?) incident I'm sure a lot of people were leery of trying other products. These things are supposed to help you not kill you. And after a few years people very easily hopped on other diet bandwagons. Faith...with maybe a little obsession thrown in.

Knowledge - How many people use the Internet for information? I know I do. But how do we always know that what we're reading wasn't typed by some 17-year-old kid who thinks they're funny? We don't. We take for granted that this was uploaded by someone who knows what they're talking about. I still prefer books for my information but a lot of the time it's just so much faster and easier to jump on the Internet. And how many of you have received those e-mails about certain people or companies in which they are touted as having done or said something so wrong that we are encouraged to have no dealings with them? And so many people have forwarded these messages without so much as doing a little research to find out if this is true or not? I am happy to say I always check stuff like this out before I forward it. But so many believe that since they see it in print...it must be true. Faith...sometimes unwarranted...but faith, nonetheless.

Workplace - We all think it's funny to comment about "going postal" but we believe that nothing like that will happen in our workplace nor will it follow us home. Well, most of us do. We believe that all of our co-workers have it together enough that they wouldn't harm others. And, most of the time, the thought never crosses our minds that this could happen. Faith.

Neighbors - I live in a somewhat rough neighborhood. I have heard gunshots on several occasions and have been woken up in the middle of the night by my neighbors screaming at each other on their front lawn. Let me state that I know that my neighborhood is by no means one of the roughest in the country. Not even close. There are nights, though, in which I worry that a stray bullet could hit my house or even me. Am I going to move out of this neighborhood anytime soon? Nope. One, I love my little house and two, I have faith. I do pray about it every night but it feels closer to the blind faith of my youth. I just know He's protecting me.

I'm sure there are a lot of other things we take for granted that when we stop to think about we realize that we are acting on complete and utter faith. Am I sad that God didn't give me what I knew He would nearly two decades ago? On occasion. Do I think He's forgotten me and left me to make it through this world alone? Again, when I'm at my lowest I do entertain those thoughts. And then, there are days like today where I realize that if I truly, deeply felt that way, then what would be the point of carrying on? Why shouldn't I just give up and let the world carry on without me? Oh yeah...Faith.

P.S. It really makes me laugh that atheists can make it through each day. They have no higher power in which to put their faith and yet they are just as certain as I am that they are going to get where they're going, be able to eat what they eat and that they won't get shot at work. I wonder if they would throw the fit of the century if they realized that multiple times throughout each day they rely solely on faith. Isn't that just a kick in the pants?

New Year's Resolutions - 2010 edition

Okay, so I didn't do well on last year's resolutions. Is this really surprising? I've decided to go with a really short list this year. Are you ready?

- Lose 80 pounds
- Keep house clean for more than the length of my parents' visit
- Find and join a church
- Get married and start a family

So the last one is more of a wish than a resolution. But I am resolved to try. The good thing is if I keep the first three it will get me well on the way to achieving that wish. At least in my mind it will.

BTW, I have not had a Coke or any type of brown soda (pop? I'm from OK where a lot of us call every type of brown cola Coke) since New Year's Eve 2008. See? I kept at least one resolution. Woo-hoo!

State Fair of Oklahoma

I LOVE THE STATE FAIR!!! Just a little bit. Ask me why and I couldn't narrow it down to just a couple of things. I've gone almost every year since I moved back to OK and I nag Spike (the name has been changed because he doesn't want me to blog about him) months ahead of time to take me. To the fair. Let's get that straight. It doesn't really float his boat and he is usually hesitant about going but he goes for me anyway and ends up having a good time. So there. To show you a little about why I love the fair I've included some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Let's peruse, shall we?

First in our guided tour is a pic I took of the arch through the window of the tent containing the guy who turns wooden bowls. Why would you put a window in the top of a tent? I don't know. Go ask him and keep your questions to yourselves. Just kidding. But really.


Next we see a couple examples of Okie fashion.


Okay, so we don't all dress like this. I would, but I'd look like the guys in the first pic...but like a girl...not a guy. Are we clear on that? Moving on.

This is my friend Carol. Carol is holding a blue ribbon. Why? Did she win something? Does she just like carrying around blue ribbons? These questions will be answered later. And please raise your hand before speaking. Let's keep this civilized. I think a few of you might like to explain to Carol why it is sooooo not cool to wear a T-shirt representing a state whose fair your are not attending. I'm just saying is all. Lurve ya, Carol.


This is Josie. Josie is Carol's daughter. Josie likes sea lions and they seem to like her. Wait a minute! Did Josie steal Carol's blue ribbon? Again, all questions will be answered in due course. But, I would like to take a minute to tell Josie that I'm a tad jealous that the sea lions hugged her and not me. That may have something to do with the fact that I didn't try to get them to. Whatever.


Next we move to three gentlemen sitting on a bench.

Why are we looking at three men sitting on a bench? Why do we care that they're sitting on this particular bench? Okay, so I'll answer these questions. It's not that we care that they ARE sitting on this particular bench, it's WHY they're sitting on this particular bench that is causing all the hubbub. Let's have a little quiz. Which of the following is the reason these men are sitting here...on this particular bench:

a) They're watching a hog calling competition
b) They're watching a food eating competition
c) They're at a cattle auction
d) None of the above



If you answered d) then you are correct. These men are sitting on this particular bench watching Irish dancing.
Doy!

Next we come to a trailer selling...wait a minute! Gross! It can't be! Ewwwww!!! If you don't know what these are, I'm not going to tell you. Go talk to The Pioneer Woman. She loves talking about these. Blech!



As we keep walking we come to the Footsie Wootsie machines. Put a quarter in and it's supposed to massage your feet...through your shoes. I say that because I've never seen anybody put their bare feet on one of these machines. Actually I think the only thing this machine really does is make 12-year-old boys scream like girls. Hey! I don't make the news. I just report it.

And speaking of odd machines I would like to state for the record that I find this one particularly disturbing. It's just not right! Downright shameful is what it is. Okay, imagine all that with an Okie twang and it's much funnier. Maybe not.


Next is something the OK State Fair wouldn't be the same without. Yup, you guessed it. Tractors!!! Woo-hoo! I know nothing about tractors except that they're shiny and kinda pretty. Don't tell me I'm weird. You think I don't know?



Now I think my friend Spike told me that this thing is called a Thresher. I could be completely wrong. It happens on occasion. It pulls up corn stalks and ties them together somehow so you can buy them to put on your front porch. I don't really know about that last part. It just sounded good at the time.



Here we have a picture of me taking a picture of Carol taking a picture of me. Got it? Good. Why is Josie walking away so quickly? I'm not stalking her. Really!




Here we are at the dog show. This gentleman, whose name Carol told me but I forgot, is balancing a dog on his hand. Why? Why not. And moving on....hold it right there! He has Carol's ribbon. What is with you people today?!!! And it's in his mouth! Now that's just not sanitary. I don't care who you are.

This tour is getting to be a lot longer than I anticipated so I'm just going to show you a few more pictures. Next we see a couple of geniuses who put a lot of thought in to what they would wear to the Fair.

You know, when I'm going to be walking around the State Fair all day the first thing I think to put on my feet is either flip-flops or cowboy boots. I mean, why not? Nothing says comfort like those two choices. I can see the podiatrists rubbing their hands together and grinning now. Mwahahahahahaha!!!

Warning! If you are anything like me the next couple of pics are going to be dangerous for you. You could get kicked out of the State Fair of Oklahoma for doing what I was wanting to. I really, really, REALLY needed...excuse me, wanted...to take one of these home with me.



I'll take this one. I'll call him Bacon. What?

And here are a couple of the Oklahoma State Fair Life Guards.

I feel safer already. Take a look at their feet. The gentleman on the right is going to break his ankle if he stands up too quickly and the other is going to trip. BTW, I have a very strong respect for police officers in general. Please don't find ways to give me tickets because I made fun of you. Please?

Finally we come to the reason for the blue ribbon that's been sneaking up in a few of these pics. That blue ribbon brought about the ultimate procurement of this:


Isn't it pretty? This ribbon was won by the person who took the pics of Josie and the dog balancing guy (dang, what on earth is his name?). See? They didn't steal that ribbon. The competitors of this particular (I seem to like this word today) contest were given a few hours at the Fair to take pictures BUT the blue ribbon had to be in each pic to make sure that you didn't take the pics ahead of time. The two pics that I have shown you were the ones that were chosen between for the final entry in the contest. We have a question!!! Thank you so much for raising your hand. You ask, who took the pics and which one won? I'll think we'll check out the final pic to get your answer.



Congratulations Carol! You are so cool. And way to go dog balancing guy!

I love the State Fair! Other State Fair blogs to follow.

Goodbye Jack

You were loving and loved. You never met a person you didn't like. You licked my tears when I was sad. You cuddled with me on cold winter nights and even sometimes when it was hot outside. You waggled your tail and ran to greet me with your ears flapping in the wind when I came home. You made me laugh by howling at noon every Saturday when the sirens sounded. You flopped over on your back when I was near so I could rub your belly for you. You fell asleep in my arms while we were watching movies. You loved to sit in my lap when we went for rides in the car. You bounced impatiently for me to put new straw in your house and jumped in to get it settled before I was finished. You slept beneath the rosebushes with the sun shining on you. You didn't complain when you got sick. You still wagged your tail and tried to show you loved me when I got home to take care of you. You let me say "Goodbye". I love you for that even though it hurt. I will miss you, my sweet Jackie.

Just Filling Space

I've started a new blog and seem to be neglecting this one. Not that anyone reads it but there you go. My new blog contains my reviews of movies and will also have recipes. It's www.dinnernamovie.blogspot.com. So there.

Resolutions

I have decided that I'm going to actually try to stick to my New Year's resolutions this year. "What?" you say. "You haven't stuck to them in the past?" Shocking...I know. My will-power is usually so much stronger than that. Yeah, right.

So, following is my list of resolutions in no specific order:

- I will become a member of a church and attend regularly.
- I will get back down to the weight it says I am on my driver's license. (I haven't seen that weight in a long, loooooooooong time.
- I will get enough money in savings so that I won't have to freak every time I need to buy a new tire. This does actually happen a lot more than one would think it should.
- I will stop drinking Coke type drinks. I would say I'm going to cut out caffeine altogether but I really like the occasional sweet, iced tea.
- I will ask a man out on a date. No, I don't have anyone particular in mind yet. I've whined for years about how lonely I am and it's high time I did something about it. Granted, this will actually require me doing something outside my comfort zone. Look out world!
- I will stop being such a cynic. I used to be a nice, shy, quiet person. I miss her. I want her back...to some extent.
- I will stop allowing men to make my cry. What is that saying about the man who is worth crying over won't make you cry? I need/want that guy.
- I will get my house clean and keep it that way. I just never go to the trouble for myself. I would really like to come home every day to a clean house. That would be lovely.
- I will start cooking for myself. Something other than sandwiches and frozen pizza.
- I will keep a daily journal even if it's about nothing. I need to set aside time each evening to write and get rid of any stress or be happy for any triumphs.
- I will try to become content with myself and stop letting others dictate my emotions. This one is actually going to be the hardest for me.

Yes, I do realize that this is quite a list but it's things I should already be doing. Well, minus the asking guys out. I still think guys should do the asking. I guess I'm old-fashioned that way.

Christmas

This is one of my favorite times of the year. I love to decorate and bake cookies, candy, etc. and snuggle down to watch Christmas shows. Something is different this year, though. My best friend has said for years that he doesn't like going to the different Christmas events because it's too commercialized. Of course, I disagreed because I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!! This year I have started to agree with him somewhat.

When I first moved back to OK I was broke. But Christmas must go on. You must find a way to get gifts for everyone. Now that I have a better job (which I still love, by the way) I can afford to get gifts and not have to skip spending money on petty things like bills and food. I thought this would make things easier at Christmas but instead it has become it's own difficulty. Did I get enough for one person. Did I get too much for another?

The last few years I have bought my Christmas presents throughout the year so that everything is ready to go by the time I go to visit the family or they come down here for Thanksgiving. It makes the holiday time a lot less stressful. This year, however, things that shouted "This would be perfect for...(fill in relative's name here)" did not pop in to my line of vision. So, when I received my Christmas bonus I went in to full panic mode. I had no idea what to get anyone. Because I don't live in the same house/city/state as my family and haven't for years I don't know what their new hobbies are nor much else about them that may have changed. How do you shop for someone you don't really know anymore? These are still the same people I know and love but it's suddenly become incredibly difficult to find that perfect gift.

My niece is easy to shop for. She likes...stuff. My mom is relatively easy to shop for. My dad and sister are next to impossible. My sister is picky (not a bad thing) and my dad buys whatever he wants/needs. He has been banned from doing any shopping for himself the month before Christmas or his birthday. He is a pro at buying whatever someone else in the family has just bought him for a gift. I am like my niece. The best thing about shopping for me, though, is that I truly believe that it's the thought that counts. If I know that you went to at least a minimum of trouble and thought for me I will be happy.

I have so digressed from the point of this blog. In the midst of my panic to get the perfect gift and spend as much of my bonus as possible I realized that I was freaking out about...stuff. Yes, I realize that my family would be disappointed if they didn't receive anything but do I really need to freak about it? I am a worrier so it's very important to me to get things that I know they'll love. Or at least dislike as little as possible. I have been in the spend, spend, spend mentality. I receive flyers in the mail advertising this or that gadget/movie/game/toy. Thank goodness I don't watch television or I'd probably be overinundated there also. Instead of relaxing and taking my time I went in to attack mode. I am finished with my shopping. I'm thrilled about that. But, did I put as much thought in to my gifts as I have the past years? I have no idea.

I discovered something else about myself during my shopping breakdown. I completely let go of the real reason for the season. I haven't found the church at which I'm meant to be and haven't been looking as hard lately as I should be. So I have, in a sense, taken myself out of the most important part of the season. I miss the fellowship of having Christian friends around me. I do understand this is my fault and that I can do something about it. I like to use the excuse that I'm very shy. I do have difficulty meeting new people. Once I know you, though, you can't get me to shut up. If you have known me for years and are surprised by the previous statements try to remember back to when we first met.

I am determined to bring the season for me back to what it should be. It is a time for family and giving but it's for so much more. It's a time to remember that first Christmas present. A gift that was given not through riches, parades and pageantry but through humbleness (It is a word. I looked it up). I want to be happy because of the reason for the season not because of the number of gifts underneath my tree. Actually, I just want to be happy in general. I don't think that's too much to ask. I'll work on it.

Boys are Stupid

Enough said.

Picture Pages

Mom, Dad, Tam and Kyra went to Yellowstone in July and had a blast. These are some of the pics Tam took with mom and dad's digital camera. I've decided I want this camera. Not that the camera did all the work by itself. Tam is a darn good picture taker person. The buffalo in the pics tried very hard to keep my family from crossing the bridge on which he was standing. Maybe he was expecting a toll. Or maybe he was protesting the invasion of humans on his stomping grounds. Who knows? But, when it's a buffalo vs. your vehicle you should probably let the buffalo win. They can leave a pretty big spot on your paint job.


This bird is a Western Tanager. At least I think that's what Tam told me. All I know is that it's pretty. The following pic is a moose that Tam spotted. They were all playing the "Spot the Animal" game. Kyra saw a grizzly bear but because (for some reason) they decided to keep their distance the pic came out kind of fuzzy. Or maybe that was just the bear. Anyway, Tam got credit for spotting the moose but dad took the pic.


The final pic is just a pretty spot that Tam liked. She thinks it should have scripture with it. If you have any ideas please forward. She would love feedback.


Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures. I hope to go back to Yellowstone some day. I went when I was young (I think I was 9 or 10) and all I remember is Old Faithful. Sad, but true.

I hate Fall!!!

Okay, not really. I'm just frustrated that with the change in weather I am having allergy problems. Normally this would just be a nuisance but I'm going to a SCW retreat this weekend in which we sing for hours and I'll be glad if I can muster up a soft croak. Grrr!!! However, I have found that when I get sick my voice gets deeper therefore taking me from a tenor (okay, contralto) to a low baritone. Yes, I do feel feminine and dainty, thank you for asking.

Speaking of singing...if you're one of the 2 people who read this you need to check out this blog: www.thesearemychurchclothes.blogspot.com. This is an OLD (tee-hee) friend of mine and I just logged in to see what's new in his world. Apparently, it's a song. He recorded it in his garage and I think it's pretty darn good. Despite his disclaimer. Actually, it just dawned on me that one of the two people who read this blog is the person I just mentioned so Robin, go check out Tim's blog. :-)

I just realized when I published this post that the link mentioned above isn't set so that you can just click on it. As my head is in a fog right now I can't be induced to figure out what I did wrong. Let me tell you, though, that it is worth the two seconds it will take to hi-lite, copy and paste the link into the browser.

Okay, me again...I added a link to Tim's blog in my Links section. I already knew how to do that so I didn't hurt any brain cells with the effort. I'm okay...really. Well, sorta anyway.

Fall

I am so ready for Fall to get here. The weather has been cool in Oklahoma the last few days and has really made me anxious to start bundling up in warmer clothes, making cold weather food and kicking back with a good book or movie. Not to mention the fact that it's nearly hockey season. I overheard someone the other day saying that some of the hockey games have been cancelled due to the fact that the games conflict with the OKC Thunder. I haven't checked yet to see if this is right but if it is I guess I'll have to find it in my heart to forgive them.

I am going to the Pumpkin Patch with my family again this year. If we can talk dad in to going it will be the first time we've all gone together. I'm sure that most people would think this is not too incredibly exciting , but I have looked forward to it the last few years. You get to walk out in the patch and pick out however many punkins you want to take home. The kids get in free if they wear their Halloween costumes so it's a lot of fun to see them all dressed up. My niece went through the corn maze last year and had a blast. She got through in no time. I would have been hopelessly lost. Somehow, last year I got wrangled into scooping out all of the punkin guts before we carved them. Oh well.

Not a whole lot else is going on in my world right now but I seem to be constantly busy. How does that happen? I know that once I'm back from the trip to the Pumpkin Patch I'll go full in to Christmas mode. I wish I knew now whether or not I am going to be able to go home for Christmas. Here's hoping.

Mamma Mia!

I saw Mamma Mia! last weekend and in my opinion anyone who is interested in it should see the play AFTER they see the movie or see only the play. I was really psyched about the movie and was highly disappointed. The girl who played Sophie had a good voice and I have always liked Christine Baranski. Pierce Brosnan is a good actor. I'll leave it at that.

I also saw Hellboy II and The Dark Knight. I loved the first Hellboy movie and thought the second one was even better. The Dark Knight was really good. I wish that hadn't been Heath Ledger's last movie. I've always thought he was a good actor(well, at least since I started watching his movies) but he was REALLY good in The Dark Knight. I forgot it was him after a while. He was an excellent villain. Heath, you will be missed.

I will never blog as much as Robin or Tim

This is the pot giving a great big shout out to the kettle! Yo! What up? You know who you are. Once again I don't have much to talk about but thought I should say something so here I am. The only really exciting things that have happened recently are a couple of vacations. In June my dad and I went to Las Vegas. We had a blast! And for 4th of July a friend and I went to visit my folks in Colorado. A good time was had by all.

Let's start with the Vegas trip. I think I gambled maybe $40. I lost it, of course. But I did play for a really long time on that $40. I played video poker. I would probably do a lot better if I actually knew how to play poker. You think? Other than that we went to 3 different shows: Mamma Mia!, Cirque du Soleil's Ka (pronounced "Ka" (tee-hee)) and Blue Man Group. Mamma Mia was wonderful. I can't wait for the movie to come out. I still can't believe they cast Meryl Streep in one of the lead roles, though. What on earth were they thinking? Anyway, if you are an Abba fan you need to see this play/movie.

Now, as far as Cirque goes, I loved it but dad...not so much. Of course it helps that I've seen the DVD's of most of their shows and this was the second show I'd seen live. It was more of a story than a circus which is what some of their shows are. I'm not even going to try to describe it because I just can't. Some of the things they did were SO cool! I realize that the "death defying" tricks aren't really because they have things to land on but still...I wouldn't do most of that stuff even if you put five safety lines on me and 200 feet of padding below me. Nuh-uh...not going to do it.

Last...Blue Man Group. Everyone knows who they are and what they do so they don't need much description. It was just really, really fun.

Next was the trip to Colorado. The family got back from a trip the same evening we got to Colorado. Mom cooked for us which is always a good thing. We spent most of Friday walking around downtown Denver. I really like that city. Just thought you'd like to know. Anyway, that evening we went to the Rockies game and if you want to know how fun that game was you should look it up on the net. It was the best baseball game I've ever been to. They came from way behind to win 18-17! It was so cool!

The next day we went to a winery...because we could and then we drove up in to the mountains. Well, not literally in to the mountains because that would hurt. We drove part way in to Rocky Mountain National Park and went to Bear Lake. It is a beautiful lake and I would have loved to spend more time there but someone had the great idea of hiking up to the waterfall. Let me just say that if I were in any kind of shape this hike would have been nothing. Apparently my lungs were not too happy with me. Go figger. However, the minute we got to the top of the waterfall it felt as if it were all worth it. It was gorgeous! I tried to take pictures but they don't do it justice. We had a really good time and were completely exhausted when we got back. I'll spend this weekend making up for lack of sleep and constantly going.

That's about all my excitement for now. I'm making curtains this week but I don't think I'll be blogging about my curtain making expertise in any future blogs. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Oh...and kettle, you and the Mrs. have a good time on your vacation.

Music

I went to Wilmont for the first time in a long time yesterday and I'm sort of glad I did. They had a guest pastor and guest music minister and they were wonderful. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with the current pastor and music minister (I can't say anything about the music minister as I don't know anything about him) but I was particularly touched by both the sermon and the music. Mostly the music though. The MM sang a song while a picture presentation was shown on the screens. Sadly, I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the song. What I do remember is that for the length of that song I left the building, the city, the planet. It drew me in and kept hold. It's been a long time since anything like that has happened. I loved it. If it were up to me there would be a lot more music in the worship service. But it's not.

Takyra sang at her church last night. She sang, "He's Still Working On Me." Her mama, papa and mema were very proud of her. I wish I could have been there. They took video of it so I'll get the next best thing.

We Made It!

It was exhausting! I couldn't breathe. My knees hurt. The hills were not as small as I thought they would be and I had to carry a bike across a river that came up to my waist. It was a blast!

On August 19, my sister and I participated in the Muddy Buddy Competition. Note I did not say that we "competed". Let's get real. We didn't have a chance in the world of placing. We were there to do...and we did. For those of you who do not know what the Muddy Buddy is, it's a race involving teams of two people each. One person starts the race riding a bike and the other starts the race running. There are obstacles along the course and after you have completed said obstacle you switch to the opposite of whatever you started out doing. Tam and I had discussed this multiple times and decided (well, I said) that I was going to start off running. We changed my mind at the last minute and I'm so glad we did. Tam ended up doing most of the running.

After the first obstacle I was running along and kept looking for Tam. It took awhile for her to pass me (please understand that she had to carry the bike up a REALLY steep hill!) and when she did I asked how she was doing. She said she was ready for this to be over. She did wonderfully. Technically the person who finished the race on the bike should beat the person who is running. This did not happen. Tam finished the race running and ended up waiting on me. Sad, but true. The person to "finish" first has to stay in a waiting area and when their teammate gets there you have to run (or in our case walk) to the final obstacle...a 50 foot mud pit. This you have to low crawl through. Lovely! As tiring as it was, we can now say that we did it. Why? Because we could.

Takyra participated in the Mini Muddy Buddy and came in third place in her age group. She's a quick little bugger!

Yes. I am still alive.

Just in case you were wondering. Life is still ho-hum. I have decided, though, that if you could make any money being a car singer, I would be rich by now. Yes, that was very random, but there you go. I am a car singer. I am that idiot you see in your rear view mirror just wailing away. In fact, I've noticed people staring at me from their rear view mirror. And the girl who hates attention just does not care. I noticed someone else singing in car the other day and thought, "You go girl!" She didn't make eye contact or I would have smiled or waved or something. I've noticed that most car singers don't make eye contact with those around them. Yes, we know we look like goobers. No, we don't want to know that you think so. My latest choice of music is church performance tracks. They're just fun. Except when it gets to the high notes. I know I probably scare people when I try to hit those. Anyway, that's the excitement in my life right now. Thrilling, I know. Hope you're having a good week.

Life Since October

Well, it's that time again. Time to write a new entry when I have nothing to say. Not much has happened since October. I've been to Dallas to see Cirque du Soleil's Corteo. That was pretty neat. Went to the top of Reunion Tower to the lounge to sit and view the Dallas skyline. Also very neat. Have discovered that I am worth the effort to very few people including my family and friends. Other than that, it's life as usual. Have a great day.