Merry Christmas! Crissy kindly took our family pics this year. I am so pleased with the 
results--thanks fri
end!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
New pics of us
Merry Christmas! Crissy kindly took our family pics this year. I am so pleased with the results--thanks friend!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Chris's work party was the other night. I was at work for most of it, but got invited to come up and sing with Adam when I got home. Found out that while I was not there, my child party crashed in my place. He had those folks laughing so hard Crissy told me. Every 5 minutes, he would go back for more food, and all the grandmothers in the room were right there to help him if needed. Crissy finally had to tell him no more food or he was in trouble. haha. I am so glad she and I have that kind of relationship. I told her she shoulda just told him to GO HOME. But she said he was too entertaining.
As far as the entertainment goes, singing with Adam was a BLAST. Thanks Adam for letting me sing backup. It has always been a little dream of mine to do backup singing in a band. I can do solos ok, and I do enjoy them. But I am a team player, and love to do things with other people. I think that's why I enjoyed being a choir teacher so much. (Although that comes with its own stress).
Speaking of team playing, I auditioned for a show last night. "Into the Woods", a Sondheim musical; which is basically like "fractured fairy tales" on Rocky and Bullwinkle. It combines Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and maybe a couple others. It takes a humorous and sometimes cynical view of what happens after "happily ever after".
The audition was actually a lot of fun. I wasn't too nervous. I got to read the parts for Red Riding, Jack's Mother, the Witch, and the Baker's Wife. Jack's Mother was my favorite. I'd forgotten how much I love to perform in musicals and stuff. I've been thinking of doing a show lately, as I think it helps in teaching. It gives me a better perspective as I am trying to get certain concepts across to my students and it keeps me on my toes. I won't know until after Christmas if I made it into the show but I'll let you know. I went with my boss (the owner of the music studio) and my sister. I would love it if we all made it into the show together. I am not keen on doing a show "by myself", with no friends I mean. It is hard to do a show or be a part of a group when most or all the folks around you are non-believers. Been there done that.
I think it will be good for me too as I've been feeling a little restless lately. Not sure, but thinking it's probably the health and emotional things we've gone through lately. I think the show would be a healthy and fun, well, not diversion, but a therapy, so to speak, to get me back on my feet and give me something fun to help me move on. God has given me a gift and I'm thinking this would be a fun way to use it.
Christmas it coming faster and faster every year. How come it is not still the first of November? or the middle of October for that matter? My mom and dad are going out to see Jacob for Christmas so we will celebrate with them a little early. But good thing for us is that Tracy, Justin and Solomon are coming out for 2 weeks, yippee! I can't believe they will be able to stay so long. I am looking forward to having a long time to visit and catch up. We won't have to play family tag either, as my family will be gone for 8-9 days. So I will have plenty of time to hang out with Frank's family.
Well, speaking of my mom, gotta go so I can get to her house today. Catch you later!
As far as the entertainment goes, singing with Adam was a BLAST. Thanks Adam for letting me sing backup. It has always been a little dream of mine to do backup singing in a band. I can do solos ok, and I do enjoy them. But I am a team player, and love to do things with other people. I think that's why I enjoyed being a choir teacher so much. (Although that comes with its own stress).
Speaking of team playing, I auditioned for a show last night. "Into the Woods", a Sondheim musical; which is basically like "fractured fairy tales" on Rocky and Bullwinkle. It combines Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and maybe a couple others. It takes a humorous and sometimes cynical view of what happens after "happily ever after".
The audition was actually a lot of fun. I wasn't too nervous. I got to read the parts for Red Riding, Jack's Mother, the Witch, and the Baker's Wife. Jack's Mother was my favorite. I'd forgotten how much I love to perform in musicals and stuff. I've been thinking of doing a show lately, as I think it helps in teaching. It gives me a better perspective as I am trying to get certain concepts across to my students and it keeps me on my toes. I won't know until after Christmas if I made it into the show but I'll let you know. I went with my boss (the owner of the music studio) and my sister. I would love it if we all made it into the show together. I am not keen on doing a show "by myself", with no friends I mean. It is hard to do a show or be a part of a group when most or all the folks around you are non-believers. Been there done that.
I think it will be good for me too as I've been feeling a little restless lately. Not sure, but thinking it's probably the health and emotional things we've gone through lately. I think the show would be a healthy and fun, well, not diversion, but a therapy, so to speak, to get me back on my feet and give me something fun to help me move on. God has given me a gift and I'm thinking this would be a fun way to use it.
Christmas it coming faster and faster every year. How come it is not still the first of November? or the middle of October for that matter? My mom and dad are going out to see Jacob for Christmas so we will celebrate with them a little early. But good thing for us is that Tracy, Justin and Solomon are coming out for 2 weeks, yippee! I can't believe they will be able to stay so long. I am looking forward to having a long time to visit and catch up. We won't have to play family tag either, as my family will be gone for 8-9 days. So I will have plenty of time to hang out with Frank's family.
Well, speaking of my mom, gotta go so I can get to her house today. Catch you later!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
bothering
Something's been floating around in my head bothering me lately, so I think I'll get it off my chest and feel better. I know you understand.
I am not a good picture taker. I have not taken nearly enough pictures of my children. Then I think 'what's enough'? I went back to work not long after Steven was born and had suffered post-partum depression mess, so I just didn't care for awhile. Another part of me doesn't consider myself a good photographer, and it's an insecurity--therefore an excuse to not take pictures. Also, every time I go to use the digital camera, I've used it so infrequently that I can't remember how to get the pics onto the computer once I've taken the pictures, can't remember how to charge the stupid thing when it's going dead, and can barely remember how to turn the dang thing on.
But something got me thinking the other day. I've finally got our home in order and pulled out all the pictures we had stored while away and put them back out. Steven went around to see all of them and kept asking me: "mama, is that one me? is that one me?" over and over. And I saw that most of them are of Frankie! Agh! A terrible sense of guilt washed over me as I realized that I have slighted Steven by not taking any pictures (or as many) of him. What's bad is his babyhood is a little blurry to me as we were trying to get enough money to go to school and I was working sometimes 50 or 60 hours a week. Frank pretty much was raising the boys during that time. (Thank God that time is over!)
So I went into the cedar chest and pulled out every picture of Steven I could find and framed about 4 pictures and set them out. Even the newborn picture. When they get home from grandparents on Saturday I plan to take him around and show him all his pictures.
Anyway, I have a renewed sense of duty to my youngest to make sure he knows that he is loved as much as his brother. Even if I have to resort to good 'ol archaic film camera. I know how to use those! Anyway, y'all gotta help keep me accountable.
thanks.
I am not a good picture taker. I have not taken nearly enough pictures of my children. Then I think 'what's enough'? I went back to work not long after Steven was born and had suffered post-partum depression mess, so I just didn't care for awhile. Another part of me doesn't consider myself a good photographer, and it's an insecurity--therefore an excuse to not take pictures. Also, every time I go to use the digital camera, I've used it so infrequently that I can't remember how to get the pics onto the computer once I've taken the pictures, can't remember how to charge the stupid thing when it's going dead, and can barely remember how to turn the dang thing on.
But something got me thinking the other day. I've finally got our home in order and pulled out all the pictures we had stored while away and put them back out. Steven went around to see all of them and kept asking me: "mama, is that one me? is that one me?" over and over. And I saw that most of them are of Frankie! Agh! A terrible sense of guilt washed over me as I realized that I have slighted Steven by not taking any pictures (or as many) of him. What's bad is his babyhood is a little blurry to me as we were trying to get enough money to go to school and I was working sometimes 50 or 60 hours a week. Frank pretty much was raising the boys during that time. (Thank God that time is over!)
So I went into the cedar chest and pulled out every picture of Steven I could find and framed about 4 pictures and set them out. Even the newborn picture. When they get home from grandparents on Saturday I plan to take him around and show him all his pictures.
Anyway, I have a renewed sense of duty to my youngest to make sure he knows that he is loved as much as his brother. Even if I have to resort to good 'ol archaic film camera. I know how to use those! Anyway, y'all gotta help keep me accountable.
thanks.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
movie quotes
Since we've been sick, there have been many movies watched over the past couple of weeks. here are some of my favorite quotes; see if you can guess which movies they came from:
(whoever guesses them all will receive a hearty congrats comment from me to their blog.)
"But I don't want to go among mad people..."
"Hey! Now those were alphabetized!"
"You gots to puckah up yo lips like dis..."
"Virtually indestructable, yet breathes like Egyptian cotton."
"I think it would help, if you'd sort of open your umbrella and say, 'tut, tut, it looks like rain'."
"If he were here right now, I'd kiss'im--right in front of everybody!"
"Some children just don't know when to stop pretending."
"Are they gone yet? My cheeks are killing me! I think it's time for a little break..mm-hmmm...time for a little break..."
"Let's go meet the Pansies!"
"Are we THERE yet?"
"We get there when we GET THERE!"
"Hey fellas....we got ourselves a nodder..."
"You must pull yourself together! Go! Fight! Win! and call me in the morning, dahling--you know I love our little talks..."
"I'm just thinking about the first time I laid eye on you."
"She just loves me for my body."
(whoever guesses them all will receive a hearty congrats comment from me to their blog.)
"But I don't want to go among mad people..."
"Hey! Now those were alphabetized!"
"You gots to puckah up yo lips like dis..."
"Virtually indestructable, yet breathes like Egyptian cotton."
"I think it would help, if you'd sort of open your umbrella and say, 'tut, tut, it looks like rain'."
"If he were here right now, I'd kiss'im--right in front of everybody!"
"Some children just don't know when to stop pretending."
"Are they gone yet? My cheeks are killing me! I think it's time for a little break..mm-hmmm...time for a little break..."
"Let's go meet the Pansies!"
"Are we THERE yet?"
"We get there when we GET THERE!"
"Hey fellas....we got ourselves a nodder..."
"You must pull yourself together! Go! Fight! Win! and call me in the morning, dahling--you know I love our little talks..."
"I'm just thinking about the first time I laid eye on you."
"She just loves me for my body."
News
We have been sick for almost 2 weeks now. This is the second Sunday in a row that we've missed church. I hate that. Paige M. and I had a conversation that even when you miss one Sunday, you are completely out of the loop. It started on halloween with Steven coughing and throwing up. ( I knew they must have called it the devil's holiday for some reason). Then Frankie got a fever, then it spread to Frank and then to me. I guess I could be thankful that we weren't all sick at the same time and I was at least able to take care of my boys. My sickness is the tail end of it I think, with a bad cough, sore throat and post-nasal drippy mess.
On another note, the Church Christmas Bazaar was yesterday. I had a jewelry booth and did pretty well--so for the past couple of months, my life has not been my own. It has belonged to this crazed woman who is up at all hours of the night trying to put together jewelry sets to sell at the bazaar. I haven't added up my costs, but I came home with $140 more than what I started with. Yippee! I notice that more of the less expensive necklace/earring sets sold, and lots of the earrings sold. Which doesn't surprise me: most people are like me--they like to spend 10 dollars or less at a booth at a craft show. That's totally fine with me. I am good with bringing home 140 bucks. I will just use the sets I didn't sell as gifts. Oh, I also got about $50 worth of orders; that helps too.
Sometimes I am missing California. My friend Deannah had given me a bunch of cute clothes before we left, and most of them were winter clothes, so I've been wearing them every day. It makes me miss her so much. Thanks Deannah! I think of you every day when I put on your clothes.
The other day I got an email from Sandra, Alison, and Amy. They were goofing off in the office and were dressed in halloween clothes. It looked like so much fun! I miss you guys! I remember Dave loves to play practical jokes and last halloween, I got to work that morning and there was a huge (fake) tarantula on my cup of pens. I did do a double take (Dave I know you are laughing right now!). Then it took us all day to try to figure out who left the tarantula. For the longest time I thought it was Martin, who is notorious for having a laugh on other co-workers...then I though it was Albert, James, or Dan, who are all deceptively quiet but have evil senses of humor. I knew it couldn't have been Robert, who is just too nice with his Texas charm. But, eventually someone (I think it was Karin) spilled the beans that it was really Dave. Haha. Thanks for the laugh!
The other day I was making one of my necklaces and I thought of Jackie too, as I made one very similar for her right before we left. Jackie, hope you and Marc and Max and Noelle are doing ok--keep in touch!
A little birdie told me Alison is on a trip to Hawaii with her husband for their 30th anniversary...Congratulations Alison and Mike!!! Hope you have had a blast!
Abraham is back in India. Sangeetha should be giving birth any day now...Frank talks to him about once a month. I think Abraham is glad to have put school on hold for awhile and be back in India with his wife. I will let you know about the baby as soon as we hear anything.
Frank is immersed in his job as a Biology/Science/Bible teacher at a Christian school. The stories he comes home to tell me!! Nothing like a first year of teaching. Makes me so glad to be teaching music lessons where I get ONE kid at a time, for ONLY 30 minutes at a time! Whew! I couldn't have any of this 50 minutes at a time with 30 kids cooped up in one room! And he does this all day. I pray for him daily: that he won't get burned out, and that he won't fall asleep in the car driving to or from work. It is a 1.25 hour drive, as the school is 55 miles away. He generally drives 55-60 mph only, as you can get up to 50 miles more to a tank of gas. Pretty cool. But he is learning a lot about teaching, kids, and himself. Needless to say, he may be looking for something a little closer to home next year.
Frank's class at BTS is going really great though, from what he's told me. I think he's even ok with it being from 6-8am on Mondays, because his students actually WANT to be there. (Not so with the high school kids). And he has a lot of fun teaching something he truly loves: Apologetics. His students are all adults and like to make him think.
My parents are planning to go see my brother for Christmas in Monterey, CA (northern). I don't know if I'd told you already, but Jacob is in the Air Force, learning Chinese at a language school out there. He will either get a job in Intelligence, or go on for Officer Training School. He and Tansy and Ashlyn will be out there for another year and then will be deployed to Maryland, Hawaii, or Japan. Their wish is Hawaii of course! I wish we could go back out there for a visit, but it will be a while, as it is expeeeeeeensive! Email and phone will have to suffice.
Steven tells me every day: "Mama, I need to tell you something." And I'll say, "What?" His reply: "I love you!". Now we all say it to each other. Each child has his own way of showing affection, it is so funny to see their personalities come out.
ok, I think that's mostly everything....
On another note, the Church Christmas Bazaar was yesterday. I had a jewelry booth and did pretty well--so for the past couple of months, my life has not been my own. It has belonged to this crazed woman who is up at all hours of the night trying to put together jewelry sets to sell at the bazaar. I haven't added up my costs, but I came home with $140 more than what I started with. Yippee! I notice that more of the less expensive necklace/earring sets sold, and lots of the earrings sold. Which doesn't surprise me: most people are like me--they like to spend 10 dollars or less at a booth at a craft show. That's totally fine with me. I am good with bringing home 140 bucks. I will just use the sets I didn't sell as gifts. Oh, I also got about $50 worth of orders; that helps too.
Sometimes I am missing California. My friend Deannah had given me a bunch of cute clothes before we left, and most of them were winter clothes, so I've been wearing them every day. It makes me miss her so much. Thanks Deannah! I think of you every day when I put on your clothes.
The other day I got an email from Sandra, Alison, and Amy. They were goofing off in the office and were dressed in halloween clothes. It looked like so much fun! I miss you guys! I remember Dave loves to play practical jokes and last halloween, I got to work that morning and there was a huge (fake) tarantula on my cup of pens. I did do a double take (Dave I know you are laughing right now!). Then it took us all day to try to figure out who left the tarantula. For the longest time I thought it was Martin, who is notorious for having a laugh on other co-workers...then I though it was Albert, James, or Dan, who are all deceptively quiet but have evil senses of humor. I knew it couldn't have been Robert, who is just too nice with his Texas charm. But, eventually someone (I think it was Karin) spilled the beans that it was really Dave. Haha. Thanks for the laugh!
The other day I was making one of my necklaces and I thought of Jackie too, as I made one very similar for her right before we left. Jackie, hope you and Marc and Max and Noelle are doing ok--keep in touch!
A little birdie told me Alison is on a trip to Hawaii with her husband for their 30th anniversary...Congratulations Alison and Mike!!! Hope you have had a blast!
Abraham is back in India. Sangeetha should be giving birth any day now...Frank talks to him about once a month. I think Abraham is glad to have put school on hold for awhile and be back in India with his wife. I will let you know about the baby as soon as we hear anything.
Frank is immersed in his job as a Biology/Science/Bible teacher at a Christian school. The stories he comes home to tell me!! Nothing like a first year of teaching. Makes me so glad to be teaching music lessons where I get ONE kid at a time, for ONLY 30 minutes at a time! Whew! I couldn't have any of this 50 minutes at a time with 30 kids cooped up in one room! And he does this all day. I pray for him daily: that he won't get burned out, and that he won't fall asleep in the car driving to or from work. It is a 1.25 hour drive, as the school is 55 miles away. He generally drives 55-60 mph only, as you can get up to 50 miles more to a tank of gas. Pretty cool. But he is learning a lot about teaching, kids, and himself. Needless to say, he may be looking for something a little closer to home next year.
Frank's class at BTS is going really great though, from what he's told me. I think he's even ok with it being from 6-8am on Mondays, because his students actually WANT to be there. (Not so with the high school kids). And he has a lot of fun teaching something he truly loves: Apologetics. His students are all adults and like to make him think.
My parents are planning to go see my brother for Christmas in Monterey, CA (northern). I don't know if I'd told you already, but Jacob is in the Air Force, learning Chinese at a language school out there. He will either get a job in Intelligence, or go on for Officer Training School. He and Tansy and Ashlyn will be out there for another year and then will be deployed to Maryland, Hawaii, or Japan. Their wish is Hawaii of course! I wish we could go back out there for a visit, but it will be a while, as it is expeeeeeeensive! Email and phone will have to suffice.
Steven tells me every day: "Mama, I need to tell you something." And I'll say, "What?" His reply: "I love you!". Now we all say it to each other. Each child has his own way of showing affection, it is so funny to see their personalities come out.
ok, I think that's mostly everything....
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Time for a new post...
Things are going great here, but I know I need to update you on what's going on in our lives. My apologies for taking so long--we've been so busy! I know, you say "Cry me a bucketful, why don'tcha?" hahahaha...
Anyway, here goes...
I guess the biggest thing is that although the job was going fine at the funeral home, there was something still not sitting completely right with me. I've been wanting to be at home with the boys for awhile, and have been half praying that it could work out. you know what I mean, more like wishful thinking b/c you can't bring yourself to believe that God would be able to work it out for you etc. A.K.A. lack of faith. I started to seriously consider what I could do in order be with my children more. We were also struggling with the school system here. Birmingham school system is not that great. In fact, it is pretty low on the totem pole of schools in general. We will also be moving the middle of September to another district (next-door to my best friend, yippee), and were worried about dealing with changing schools in the middle of a term. I carried around a general sense of unease, like, 'I don't know what to do about this, and I don't want to think about it right now.' I was discussing my options with Crissy one day a couple months ago, and she brought up homeschool. At first, a host of insecurities jumped up: I am not smart enough, disciplined enough, lack of socialization, I'm too selfish, etc. I finally told her that if God wanted me to homeschool, then He would put it on my heart--just like He did when we decided to move to California to go to school. Heehee. I guess you probably know what's coming. Suffice it to say that we have been homeschooling successfully for the past 3 weeks, and it is going fine. There are ups and downs, but it is definitely worth it.
So, bout 6 weeks ago, I put in a 3-week notice at the funeral home, and started signing up voice students. Thanks be to God, I am bringing in the same amount of $$ I was working 40 hours/week, except now only working about 15 hours! (I could still use about 5-6 more students, so pray when you think about it.) Now I teach some week-day afternoons, and Saturday; and am home most of the day with the boys. The interesting thing is, the girl they hired to replace me at work was from California and had moved to AL a little before we had! I had a week to train her, and it went well! She has a lovely little girl, and after talking with her a while, found out she's a believer! So, she is visiting our church. Very fun.
Speaking of church, we are attending Community Presbyterian. Never been Presbyterian before. It is such a great church--I love hearing the Gospel proclaimed to me every time I cross the threshold. Thanks CPC folks--you guys are great!
I have been able to reconnect with several great friends--KimH and Naomi--we've gotten together and hung out a couple of times; so much fun!!!! I see Crissy, Kim and Terri every Friday night. And lots of new faces that I am getting to know. We are also moving earlier than expected--our old home became available sooner, so we're moving this weekend. It will be nice to be in comfort zone again.
I am looking forward to a trip to California in a week and a half. Going to serve as an attendant and sing at Deannah's wedding. She has become one of my closest friends from out west. I am excited to see all my friends again and catch up. If you are reading this from L.A.--I miss you and will see you soon!!
Well, that was a lot, but I feel like it doesn't really even half cover it. Oh well. Thanks for sharing in my life. Leave me comment and let me know how it's going.
Anyway, here goes...
I guess the biggest thing is that although the job was going fine at the funeral home, there was something still not sitting completely right with me. I've been wanting to be at home with the boys for awhile, and have been half praying that it could work out. you know what I mean, more like wishful thinking b/c you can't bring yourself to believe that God would be able to work it out for you etc. A.K.A. lack of faith. I started to seriously consider what I could do in order be with my children more. We were also struggling with the school system here. Birmingham school system is not that great. In fact, it is pretty low on the totem pole of schools in general. We will also be moving the middle of September to another district (next-door to my best friend, yippee), and were worried about dealing with changing schools in the middle of a term. I carried around a general sense of unease, like, 'I don't know what to do about this, and I don't want to think about it right now.' I was discussing my options with Crissy one day a couple months ago, and she brought up homeschool. At first, a host of insecurities jumped up: I am not smart enough, disciplined enough, lack of socialization, I'm too selfish, etc. I finally told her that if God wanted me to homeschool, then He would put it on my heart--just like He did when we decided to move to California to go to school. Heehee. I guess you probably know what's coming. Suffice it to say that we have been homeschooling successfully for the past 3 weeks, and it is going fine. There are ups and downs, but it is definitely worth it.
So, bout 6 weeks ago, I put in a 3-week notice at the funeral home, and started signing up voice students. Thanks be to God, I am bringing in the same amount of $$ I was working 40 hours/week, except now only working about 15 hours! (I could still use about 5-6 more students, so pray when you think about it.) Now I teach some week-day afternoons, and Saturday; and am home most of the day with the boys. The interesting thing is, the girl they hired to replace me at work was from California and had moved to AL a little before we had! I had a week to train her, and it went well! She has a lovely little girl, and after talking with her a while, found out she's a believer! So, she is visiting our church. Very fun.
Speaking of church, we are attending Community Presbyterian. Never been Presbyterian before. It is such a great church--I love hearing the Gospel proclaimed to me every time I cross the threshold. Thanks CPC folks--you guys are great!
I have been able to reconnect with several great friends--KimH and Naomi--we've gotten together and hung out a couple of times; so much fun!!!! I see Crissy, Kim and Terri every Friday night. And lots of new faces that I am getting to know. We are also moving earlier than expected--our old home became available sooner, so we're moving this weekend. It will be nice to be in comfort zone again.
I am looking forward to a trip to California in a week and a half. Going to serve as an attendant and sing at Deannah's wedding. She has become one of my closest friends from out west. I am excited to see all my friends again and catch up. If you are reading this from L.A.--I miss you and will see you soon!!
Well, that was a lot, but I feel like it doesn't really even half cover it. Oh well. Thanks for sharing in my life. Leave me comment and let me know how it's going.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Stuff
It’s raining. And the rain is making me very happy. We’d come home to about a 6-month drought. The locals informed us that we were down 18 inches for the year, and that it was a state record. But it is finally raining. Well, Texas is finally sharing, that’s all…
After living in the land of eternal sunshine and concrete, it is nice to hear the rain on the roof, and see all the green here. I found it interesting that last week, the Governor of AL, Bob Riley, called for all of us to pray collectively as a state for rain. And the funny thing is, or miraculous for that matter, is that our fervent prayers were answered, and God sent some rain over from Texas. Thank you Jesus.
Well, bout time to go cut some grass…
I have some exciting, stupendous, and marvelous news that you will never believe. After months of battling, pleading, praying, and yes, unashamed bribing, my son is pooping in the potty!!!! (and there is a heavenly host in the background singing in 4-part harmony!!!) And it was nothing to do with me or his dad, or his brother. It had everything to do with his being ready. It was if a light switch went on from night to day—I am not kidding. One day he was using a diaper, and the next day he was going potty all day and wearing underwear. He told me he’d gone while in Sunday School (we’ve been putting him in pull-ups when we go out), but his teacher didn’t tell me, and I half did not believe him. But then that night, he asked to go again, and he actually produced! Of course that prompted a quick trip to the store to get the bribe—a ring pop! Which Frank gladly went to get. And ever since, he’s been going all the time. Decided he’s a big boy now, and talks about it to anyone who will listen—even (and especially) in public. But, I am so thankful. Now on to driving…
My brother is graduating from BASIC Air Force Training this weekend in Lackland, Texas. I am so proud of him! Now he will be off to language school in Monterey, CA, where he’ll learn an Asian language (most likely Japanese or Korean) and then be trained to work with one of those countries’ intelligence departments. Oh yeah, top secret stuff, baby! And trips to the Orient to visit family. I am trying to be optimistic and think, what a great opportunity for Jacob, Tansy, and Ashlyn, and wow, how cool will that be to go and visit them in Japan—and not think: I won’t see my brother and his family except maybe every 5 years!!! But, I could never be selfish and hold him back. He is so excited—please pray for him when you think about it.
After living in the land of eternal sunshine and concrete, it is nice to hear the rain on the roof, and see all the green here. I found it interesting that last week, the Governor of AL, Bob Riley, called for all of us to pray collectively as a state for rain. And the funny thing is, or miraculous for that matter, is that our fervent prayers were answered, and God sent some rain over from Texas. Thank you Jesus.
Well, bout time to go cut some grass…
I have some exciting, stupendous, and marvelous news that you will never believe. After months of battling, pleading, praying, and yes, unashamed bribing, my son is pooping in the potty!!!! (and there is a heavenly host in the background singing in 4-part harmony!!!) And it was nothing to do with me or his dad, or his brother. It had everything to do with his being ready. It was if a light switch went on from night to day—I am not kidding. One day he was using a diaper, and the next day he was going potty all day and wearing underwear. He told me he’d gone while in Sunday School (we’ve been putting him in pull-ups when we go out), but his teacher didn’t tell me, and I half did not believe him. But then that night, he asked to go again, and he actually produced! Of course that prompted a quick trip to the store to get the bribe—a ring pop! Which Frank gladly went to get. And ever since, he’s been going all the time. Decided he’s a big boy now, and talks about it to anyone who will listen—even (and especially) in public. But, I am so thankful. Now on to driving…
My brother is graduating from BASIC Air Force Training this weekend in Lackland, Texas. I am so proud of him! Now he will be off to language school in Monterey, CA, where he’ll learn an Asian language (most likely Japanese or Korean) and then be trained to work with one of those countries’ intelligence departments. Oh yeah, top secret stuff, baby! And trips to the Orient to visit family. I am trying to be optimistic and think, what a great opportunity for Jacob, Tansy, and Ashlyn, and wow, how cool will that be to go and visit them in Japan—and not think: I won’t see my brother and his family except maybe every 5 years!!! But, I could never be selfish and hold him back. He is so excited—please pray for him when you think about it.
Monday, June 25, 2007
The Drive Home
This is my first chance to talk about how the trip home went. We didn't get going on time: the goal was 6 a.m. that first morning and we didn't actually leave til about 8:30, but we only needed to make it to Phoenix by 4:30 p.m., so we did ok. About halfway between Los Angeles and the CA/AZ state line, I got a call from my sis (the one that lives in TX), that went something like this:
Me: "hello?"
Sarah: "hey."
Me: "what's up?"
Sarah: "I have some good news."
Me: "oh?"
Sarah: "Yeah. I'm tired of living in TX; the EMT thing's not working out; Subway's not working out, and I'm coming home. Just thought I'd let you know."
Yippee!! Couldn't have heard much better news than that! See, she'd moved out to TX back in September to go to Paramedic school, but didn't know til after she moved that they wouldn't pay her schooling (like she'd been led to believe); they'd only reimburse her after the fact. So she got out there and got stuck working at WalGreen's and Subway. And was totally miserable. I was so happy to hear she was coming home!!! So, by the end of our conversation, we'd convinced her to load her stuff up with ours when we got to her place, and we'd take her home too. Which we did.
So great news by the time we got to AZ. We stopped at a cousin's to attend a graduation--incidentally, it was over a hundred degrees when we got there; hot as you know where. Only a precursor for the rest of the summer too. But no humidity, so my hair did great, haha.
We left out the next morning for College Station, TX. Mapquest said it was supposed to be a 16.22 hour drive from Phoenix to College Station. Well, we decided to go for it. Left at 7:30 that morning and trucked on towards our destination. 16 hours later we'd barely made it to somewhere around San Antonio....uh oh. So, about 11 p.m. CA time, Sarah called and said "hey, are y'all getting close?". Um. no. But, we decided to stop and grab a bite to eat and then keep trucking. So yeah...we finally pulled into her place at 3:30 a.m. CA time--5:30 CST! We'd been going straight for 20 hours!!!! By the last hour or 2, we were doing everything possible to stay awake! haha. Playing the radio loud, and talking and trying to stay awake. (and praying). But thank the Lord, we made it ok, and Sarah had beds waiting for us. We slept for a few hours and then got up and packed her up. We didn't have any room left in our truck, so we rented a little U-Haul and hooked it up to the back of our Honda; which is how we'd moved to CA in the first place. We started on the last leg of our trip on Saturday morning, and pulled into Birmingham about 9 p.m. that night. So, 40 hours/4 days later, we made it home safe and pretty uneventful.
I know we had several folks praying for us...thanks so much!
Me: "hello?"
Sarah: "hey."
Me: "what's up?"
Sarah: "I have some good news."
Me: "oh?"
Sarah: "Yeah. I'm tired of living in TX; the EMT thing's not working out; Subway's not working out, and I'm coming home. Just thought I'd let you know."
Yippee!! Couldn't have heard much better news than that! See, she'd moved out to TX back in September to go to Paramedic school, but didn't know til after she moved that they wouldn't pay her schooling (like she'd been led to believe); they'd only reimburse her after the fact. So she got out there and got stuck working at WalGreen's and Subway. And was totally miserable. I was so happy to hear she was coming home!!! So, by the end of our conversation, we'd convinced her to load her stuff up with ours when we got to her place, and we'd take her home too. Which we did.
So great news by the time we got to AZ. We stopped at a cousin's to attend a graduation--incidentally, it was over a hundred degrees when we got there; hot as you know where. Only a precursor for the rest of the summer too. But no humidity, so my hair did great, haha.
We left out the next morning for College Station, TX. Mapquest said it was supposed to be a 16.22 hour drive from Phoenix to College Station. Well, we decided to go for it. Left at 7:30 that morning and trucked on towards our destination. 16 hours later we'd barely made it to somewhere around San Antonio....uh oh. So, about 11 p.m. CA time, Sarah called and said "hey, are y'all getting close?". Um. no. But, we decided to stop and grab a bite to eat and then keep trucking. So yeah...we finally pulled into her place at 3:30 a.m. CA time--5:30 CST! We'd been going straight for 20 hours!!!! By the last hour or 2, we were doing everything possible to stay awake! haha. Playing the radio loud, and talking and trying to stay awake. (and praying). But thank the Lord, we made it ok, and Sarah had beds waiting for us. We slept for a few hours and then got up and packed her up. We didn't have any room left in our truck, so we rented a little U-Haul and hooked it up to the back of our Honda; which is how we'd moved to CA in the first place. We started on the last leg of our trip on Saturday morning, and pulled into Birmingham about 9 p.m. that night. So, 40 hours/4 days later, we made it home safe and pretty uneventful.
I know we had several folks praying for us...thanks so much!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Graduation
I've been wanting to post pics of Frank's graduation from Talbot so y'all could see, but I realized he did it for me on his blog. Check it out here.
I'll post more later bout how our trip home went.
I'll post more later bout how our trip home went.
I've been tagged...
Oops. This is the first chance I've gotten to sit down and catch up on other friend's blogs, and I realized Abbey tagged me back on May 3. For heaven's sakes. Where is my head? Anyway, lest I fail as a true quirky friend, let me post my seven:
1. I do not like sand between my toes. Or in any other crevice of my body for that matter.
2. I was born with a form of club feet. Yup, wore casts and all, til I was 2 years old.
3. I work in a funeral home.
4. I have been a dental assistant, a music teacher, a restaurant server, a student, a finance secretary, a grocery store cashier, an opera chorus singer, and an advocare representative.
5. I hate to excercise, but love how I feel after it's over.
6. I have a secret fear of meeting new people. I know you don't believe me...But once the ice has been broken, I'm fine.
7. My grandmother and I have the same pinkie toe.
ok, there's my seven.
I tag:
Kim H.
Crissy S.
Sandra N.
Alison A.
Megan J.
Miriam A.
Kim P.
Jenn C.
Jawan M.
Deannah E.
Jackie C.
Now we'll see who's keeping up with Amber....ok, all you Biola folks, good chance for my AL friends to meet you, teehee. If you don't have a blog, please leave your seven in the comments section. Let the fun begin!
1. I do not like sand between my toes. Or in any other crevice of my body for that matter.
2. I was born with a form of club feet. Yup, wore casts and all, til I was 2 years old.
3. I work in a funeral home.
4. I have been a dental assistant, a music teacher, a restaurant server, a student, a finance secretary, a grocery store cashier, an opera chorus singer, and an advocare representative.
5. I hate to excercise, but love how I feel after it's over.
6. I have a secret fear of meeting new people. I know you don't believe me...But once the ice has been broken, I'm fine.
7. My grandmother and I have the same pinkie toe.
ok, there's my seven.
I tag:
Kim H.
Crissy S.
Sandra N.
Alison A.
Megan J.
Miriam A.
Kim P.
Jenn C.
Jawan M.
Deannah E.
Jackie C.
Now we'll see who's keeping up with Amber....ok, all you Biola folks, good chance for my AL friends to meet you, teehee. If you don't have a blog, please leave your seven in the comments section. Let the fun begin!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Back in the Habit
Well, I'm back. Sorry it's been a while. I've missed posting, but haven't had a lot of time, as I got a job TWO DAYS after I got home. Agh! Talk about not letting any grass grow under my feet. Anyway, we got home Saturday night, 6/2; I was over at my mom-in-law's the next day checking the Sunday paper want ads, called on Monday to apply to the funeral home for receptionist position; had one interview on Monday; a second on Tuesday morning, and by Tuesday afternoon, had a full time job with benefits! yippee. I almost didn't take the job, just cuz they offered so quick! I felt a little jinxed or something. But, I'd prayed for several things:
1. To find a job with professional people who would be nice to work with
2. To find a job close to home, so I could go home every day at lunch (which doesn't happen very often in Alabama)
3. To find a job with benefits.
4. To find a job that was not too stressful, so I could leave it there at the end of the day.
5. To find a job quickly
Every stipulation was answered, thank you Jesus! The folks seem pretty nice (so far...); the job's only 4 miles away from home; it has great benefits; I got it quickly; and it's not terribly stressful. Weeeeelllll, I say not too stressful, except the day I started, Monday, the funeral home had 13 new cases come in over the weekend, which was a record for them. Needless to say, it was a tad crazy my first couple of days. I made it ok--nothing like jumping in with both feet! but, it helped me learn their phone system quicker, which was probably the hardest part of the job.
So, I think everything's ok...It seems about like working in a medical office. It's mostly answering phones and creating files for the cases (dead people). The work is nice and boring (Shelley, I know you get me!) But instead of working with doctors and nurses, I work with funeral directors. I think I've hit it off with them ok; they like my perky personality. Most of them are a lot older than me. Maybe it'll help liven the dead folks, who knows. I know you are probably wondering what it's like to work at a (ew) funeral home? It's not that bad, actually. Although I am front line, I get to pass the folks off pretty quick and don't have to deal with too much.
I'll let you know if anything else interesting pops up. more later.
1. To find a job with professional people who would be nice to work with
2. To find a job close to home, so I could go home every day at lunch (which doesn't happen very often in Alabama)
3. To find a job with benefits.
4. To find a job that was not too stressful, so I could leave it there at the end of the day.
5. To find a job quickly
Every stipulation was answered, thank you Jesus! The folks seem pretty nice (so far...); the job's only 4 miles away from home; it has great benefits; I got it quickly; and it's not terribly stressful. Weeeeelllll, I say not too stressful, except the day I started, Monday, the funeral home had 13 new cases come in over the weekend, which was a record for them. Needless to say, it was a tad crazy my first couple of days. I made it ok--nothing like jumping in with both feet! but, it helped me learn their phone system quicker, which was probably the hardest part of the job.
So, I think everything's ok...It seems about like working in a medical office. It's mostly answering phones and creating files for the cases (dead people). The work is nice and boring (Shelley, I know you get me!) But instead of working with doctors and nurses, I work with funeral directors. I think I've hit it off with them ok; they like my perky personality. Most of them are a lot older than me. Maybe it'll help liven the dead folks, who knows. I know you are probably wondering what it's like to work at a (ew) funeral home? It's not that bad, actually. Although I am front line, I get to pass the folks off pretty quick and don't have to deal with too much.
I'll let you know if anything else interesting pops up. more later.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
May be the last post for a while...
So, some random thoughts before I go:
Ok, getting down to the end now. I've been busy packing everything we don't use on a daily basis, i.e. books, knick-knacks, special appliances/dishes, cold-weather clothes (since we don't have real winter here, only occasional cold weather), etc.
Mom, Gran and Maw-maw got here yesterday. Everything went well on the flight out. Maw-maw did ok despite her hip. They are all in fine spirits and it is good to have them here.
We're trying to eat up the last of the food. We've had mashed potatoes 3 days in a row trying to use up the box...I think my family is going to rebel about mashed potatoes and we probably won't have them again for six months.
Still have to shovel out my bedroom. It is the junk-collecting place, as it's the last room that anyone sees. So, you know, you throw everything you don't have a specific place for in there, til you can deal with it later. Well, later is now, unfortunately for me.
American Idol: Kinda bummed Melinda got booted. I really liked her and thought she was very professional. So, if I hafta choose between Blake and Jordin....definitely Jordin.
LOST: Hmmmmmm.....I am probably going to miss it tonight. Several reasons: Frank is still working on that final paper, and doesn't have time to watch it. And I can't very well watch it without him as that would just be wrong. And I wouldn't do that to him.
Also, American Idol finale is on tonight and I can't very well miss that either. So....ABC posts some of their shows online, including LOST. We'll just watch it later when we have time...hahaha, if that ever happens.
Speaking of papers, yeah. Frank has one 25 page paper left on Bioethics. He liked the class but I think has been secretly dreading the paper. (Is there anyone who doesn't dread 25 page papers on Bioethics?) Anyway, I think his topic is Invitro and genetic engineering or something like that. you go babe.
Busy trying to get in time these last few days to say good bye to my friends here. I wish you all could meet Deannah, Jackie, Alison, Sandra, Miriam, Jenn, Jenn (there are 2 of them), Shelley, Megan, Heather, etc, etc, etc. These are all women that have been there for me and have prayed for me, laughed with me and encouraged me while I've been on my 2 year trip. And now I have to say good bye. I'll be back in September to serve as an attendant in Deannah's wedding, which I am very excited about!!
I love them all dearly, and want you all to know that I was in good hands while in CA...
Last tee-ball game is tonight. Tee-ball and I have had a love-hate relationship these past few years. It is p'haps the most boring thing I've ever had to endure. but, know what? It has been so good for Frankie. He is so ok in a group now, and he used to be really shy. He loves to "show off" for family members, and I do have to say, he has an excellent slide. He has also earned the "game ball" 3 times this season! (Best player per game earns the game ball.) And, it's getting not as boring b/c the boys are getting older and more experienced, so it more closely resembles a real baseball game. This year they also graduated to no tee. So we can't even refer to it as tee-ball anymore. I better start enjoying it, b/c I'm afraid I'm stuck with it for awhile...Steven has been begging to play for the past 3 years, and will finally be old enough spring '08. the story of my life...
We will also miss our housemate, Abraham. Please pray for him: his wife is expecting their first baby, and he would very much like for her to get here before she delivers (she is still in India). They are working on a visa, but the U.S. Embassy can be very stubborn. Please pray that God will soften their hardened hearts and let Sangeetha come be with her husband.
Abraham and Frank have hit it off with this sarcastic, funny, guy kind of relationship, and I know we'll really miss him.
We keep telling people that they have friends in AL now, so they should come visit. That would be so cool if some of our CA friends could come visit the South. Lots of people out here have never been to the East coast. I think it was so good for us to get out of our comfort zone and move to a "foreign" land. Our horizons are definitely broadened, and I find that I am not nearly as self-centered as I was before, and I have a new appreciation for different cultures.
Ok, well I'm tired now and I can't think of anything else to say. Pray for us that we get packed up ok, get all the details wrapped up and that our trip will go well. We leave early morning, May 30th, with stops in Phoenix, AZ; College Station, TX, and then home. So maybe pull in sometime Saturday morning?....we'll see....
See you soon!
Ok, getting down to the end now. I've been busy packing everything we don't use on a daily basis, i.e. books, knick-knacks, special appliances/dishes, cold-weather clothes (since we don't have real winter here, only occasional cold weather), etc.
Mom, Gran and Maw-maw got here yesterday. Everything went well on the flight out. Maw-maw did ok despite her hip. They are all in fine spirits and it is good to have them here.
We're trying to eat up the last of the food. We've had mashed potatoes 3 days in a row trying to use up the box...I think my family is going to rebel about mashed potatoes and we probably won't have them again for six months.
Still have to shovel out my bedroom. It is the junk-collecting place, as it's the last room that anyone sees. So, you know, you throw everything you don't have a specific place for in there, til you can deal with it later. Well, later is now, unfortunately for me.
American Idol: Kinda bummed Melinda got booted. I really liked her and thought she was very professional. So, if I hafta choose between Blake and Jordin....definitely Jordin.
LOST: Hmmmmmm.....I am probably going to miss it tonight. Several reasons: Frank is still working on that final paper, and doesn't have time to watch it. And I can't very well watch it without him as that would just be wrong. And I wouldn't do that to him.
Also, American Idol finale is on tonight and I can't very well miss that either. So....ABC posts some of their shows online, including LOST. We'll just watch it later when we have time...hahaha, if that ever happens.
Speaking of papers, yeah. Frank has one 25 page paper left on Bioethics. He liked the class but I think has been secretly dreading the paper. (Is there anyone who doesn't dread 25 page papers on Bioethics?) Anyway, I think his topic is Invitro and genetic engineering or something like that. you go babe.
Busy trying to get in time these last few days to say good bye to my friends here. I wish you all could meet Deannah, Jackie, Alison, Sandra, Miriam, Jenn, Jenn (there are 2 of them), Shelley, Megan, Heather, etc, etc, etc. These are all women that have been there for me and have prayed for me, laughed with me and encouraged me while I've been on my 2 year trip. And now I have to say good bye. I'll be back in September to serve as an attendant in Deannah's wedding, which I am very excited about!!
I love them all dearly, and want you all to know that I was in good hands while in CA...
Last tee-ball game is tonight. Tee-ball and I have had a love-hate relationship these past few years. It is p'haps the most boring thing I've ever had to endure. but, know what? It has been so good for Frankie. He is so ok in a group now, and he used to be really shy. He loves to "show off" for family members, and I do have to say, he has an excellent slide. He has also earned the "game ball" 3 times this season! (Best player per game earns the game ball.) And, it's getting not as boring b/c the boys are getting older and more experienced, so it more closely resembles a real baseball game. This year they also graduated to no tee. So we can't even refer to it as tee-ball anymore. I better start enjoying it, b/c I'm afraid I'm stuck with it for awhile...Steven has been begging to play for the past 3 years, and will finally be old enough spring '08. the story of my life...
We will also miss our housemate, Abraham. Please pray for him: his wife is expecting their first baby, and he would very much like for her to get here before she delivers (she is still in India). They are working on a visa, but the U.S. Embassy can be very stubborn. Please pray that God will soften their hardened hearts and let Sangeetha come be with her husband.
Abraham and Frank have hit it off with this sarcastic, funny, guy kind of relationship, and I know we'll really miss him.
We keep telling people that they have friends in AL now, so they should come visit. That would be so cool if some of our CA friends could come visit the South. Lots of people out here have never been to the East coast. I think it was so good for us to get out of our comfort zone and move to a "foreign" land. Our horizons are definitely broadened, and I find that I am not nearly as self-centered as I was before, and I have a new appreciation for different cultures.
Ok, well I'm tired now and I can't think of anything else to say. Pray for us that we get packed up ok, get all the details wrapped up and that our trip will go well. We leave early morning, May 30th, with stops in Phoenix, AZ; College Station, TX, and then home. So maybe pull in sometime Saturday morning?....we'll see....
See you soon!
Friday, May 04, 2007
Been Awhile
Ok, been gently reminded by my good friend Jawan (otherwise known as the "Blog Cop" *grin*) that I need to post again. Well, it's cuz I am so busy is all...we're coming down to the end, and it's starting to get, well, a little crazy. Here's what's going on:
--Frank is down to 2 and 1/2 papers.
--Both of us searching Monster and madly posting resumes and hoping for emails and phone calls offering us the most perfect jobs in the whole wide world.
--Setting up the truck rental through Penske. We are driving the truck and our car. Plan as of today is for my mom, Frank's mom and grandmother to come out and see us for graduation. Then, Frank's mom/grandmother are going to fly the boys back home while me, my mom, and Frank will drive across the U.S. Plan is to leave early 5/30 and go to Phoenix, AZ and stay with Frank's family. Then 5/31 get up and drive to College Station, TX to see my sister (16 hours to get there, ugh.) Then we'll only be 12 hours from home....so we'll see how it goes.
--Looking for someone to fill my post here in Accounting at Biola. So far, no one. But we do have one possibility.
--Madly getting everything together at work--creating a manual, just in case they don't hire someone before I leave--which it's looking more and more like that everyday....
--Pumping the boys up about going home...they are getting excited, although I don't think Steven remembers much...Frankie, however, has the memory of an elephant.
--Catching as many days of Angels' Baseball and Disneyland as we can before we go...
--Getting to all the rest of the tee ball games before we go...
--Getting sad and glad all at the same time. Sad to leave friends we've made here. Glad to be seeing family and friends when we get back.
So, 25 days and counting...
--Frank is down to 2 and 1/2 papers.
--Both of us searching Monster and madly posting resumes and hoping for emails and phone calls offering us the most perfect jobs in the whole wide world.
--Setting up the truck rental through Penske. We are driving the truck and our car. Plan as of today is for my mom, Frank's mom and grandmother to come out and see us for graduation. Then, Frank's mom/grandmother are going to fly the boys back home while me, my mom, and Frank will drive across the U.S. Plan is to leave early 5/30 and go to Phoenix, AZ and stay with Frank's family. Then 5/31 get up and drive to College Station, TX to see my sister (16 hours to get there, ugh.) Then we'll only be 12 hours from home....so we'll see how it goes.
--Looking for someone to fill my post here in Accounting at Biola. So far, no one. But we do have one possibility.
--Madly getting everything together at work--creating a manual, just in case they don't hire someone before I leave--which it's looking more and more like that everyday....
--Pumping the boys up about going home...they are getting excited, although I don't think Steven remembers much...Frankie, however, has the memory of an elephant.
--Catching as many days of Angels' Baseball and Disneyland as we can before we go...
--Getting to all the rest of the tee ball games before we go...
--Getting sad and glad all at the same time. Sad to leave friends we've made here. Glad to be seeing family and friends when we get back.
So, 25 days and counting...
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Garage Sale Tips from Living on a Dime
I love garage and yard sales--"yard-sailing" as my mom calls it. Here are some good tips from the experts:
Ten Garage Sale Shortcuts
1. There are two kinds of garage sales - the ones where people want to make money and the ones where people want to get rid of stuff. The object is to find the ones where people want to get rid of stuff.
2. Get a map and newspaper and map out your route. Photocopying a map from a phone book or printing one from the web works great. Using this method, you can easily visit 25 sales an hour. If you're a beginner you might hit neighborhoods you are familiar with first.
3. If at all possible, leave the kids at home. If you must take them use a baby backpack or an umbrella stroller to make it easier. Give older children 25 or 50 cents and let them see what good deals they can get. Kids love picking out gifts for grandparents, siblings, parents and other family and bargain hunting helps them learn about money. Bring snacks (animal crackers, cereals, crackers in plastic bag works well) and cold water for everyone and plan ahead for potty breaks. If you have children with you, it's best only to plan on hitting about five sales until you see how they do.
4. Wear cool, comfortable clothes. Bring lots of change and one dollar bills. Put your money in your pockets so you don't have to worry about carrying your purse. Also bring a tote bag in which to carry your finds as you walk.
5. When you find something you're not sure you want, pick it up and carry it around while you continue looking. Otherwise someone else may take it while you're trying to decide.
6. Always ask politely if they will come down on the price. Most of the time they will. Every once in a while some things are so reasonable that I do not feel right asking for less. Finding women's sweater's at $1.00 each isn't bad, but I still ask if they will take 50 or 75 cents. If I find a name brand sweater in perfect shape for 25 cents, I don't ask for less.
7. If there is something you really want, but the seller is asking more than you want to pay, offer them a lower price. If they say no, leave your name and number and ask them to consider selling it to you at your price if they still have it at the end of the day.
8. Always check items well for hard to see tears, stains, or breakage. Remember it is a garage sale so everything won't be perfect.
9. It is best to go early, but don't panic if you can't. Sometimes you get the best buys after lunch when sellers are tired and don't want to have to drag everything back into the house. It's great to go on the last day of a sale because most sellers will almost pay you to take things so they don't have to keep them.
10. If you don't have success in one part of town, try somewhere else the next time. Sometimes the best garage sale neighborhoods are the ones you don't expect.
Don't be embarrassed about buying at garage sales. Some of the wealthiest women in the world love garage sales - Martha Stewart and Oprah are among them! When you're done, go home, put up your feet and have a nice glass of ice cold lemonade. Grab the phone and call someone who will share the excitement and appreciate your good buys. Garage sales are like old fishing stories. Die-hards always brag about the one that got away!
Ten Garage Sale Shortcuts
1. There are two kinds of garage sales - the ones where people want to make money and the ones where people want to get rid of stuff. The object is to find the ones where people want to get rid of stuff.
2. Get a map and newspaper and map out your route. Photocopying a map from a phone book or printing one from the web works great. Using this method, you can easily visit 25 sales an hour. If you're a beginner you might hit neighborhoods you are familiar with first.
3. If at all possible, leave the kids at home. If you must take them use a baby backpack or an umbrella stroller to make it easier. Give older children 25 or 50 cents and let them see what good deals they can get. Kids love picking out gifts for grandparents, siblings, parents and other family and bargain hunting helps them learn about money. Bring snacks (animal crackers, cereals, crackers in plastic bag works well) and cold water for everyone and plan ahead for potty breaks. If you have children with you, it's best only to plan on hitting about five sales until you see how they do.
4. Wear cool, comfortable clothes. Bring lots of change and one dollar bills. Put your money in your pockets so you don't have to worry about carrying your purse. Also bring a tote bag in which to carry your finds as you walk.
5. When you find something you're not sure you want, pick it up and carry it around while you continue looking. Otherwise someone else may take it while you're trying to decide.
6. Always ask politely if they will come down on the price. Most of the time they will. Every once in a while some things are so reasonable that I do not feel right asking for less. Finding women's sweater's at $1.00 each isn't bad, but I still ask if they will take 50 or 75 cents. If I find a name brand sweater in perfect shape for 25 cents, I don't ask for less.
7. If there is something you really want, but the seller is asking more than you want to pay, offer them a lower price. If they say no, leave your name and number and ask them to consider selling it to you at your price if they still have it at the end of the day.
8. Always check items well for hard to see tears, stains, or breakage. Remember it is a garage sale so everything won't be perfect.
9. It is best to go early, but don't panic if you can't. Sometimes you get the best buys after lunch when sellers are tired and don't want to have to drag everything back into the house. It's great to go on the last day of a sale because most sellers will almost pay you to take things so they don't have to keep them.
10. If you don't have success in one part of town, try somewhere else the next time. Sometimes the best garage sale neighborhoods are the ones you don't expect.
Don't be embarrassed about buying at garage sales. Some of the wealthiest women in the world love garage sales - Martha Stewart and Oprah are among them! When you're done, go home, put up your feet and have a nice glass of ice cold lemonade. Grab the phone and call someone who will share the excitement and appreciate your good buys. Garage sales are like old fishing stories. Die-hards always brag about the one that got away!
Cool new eating ideas we've picked up here
Several things we eat now that we probably never would have tried back home:
Edamame' (ed-uh-'mah-may) Usually find them as appetizers at Oriental Restaurants. (Btw, no one says "oriental" here--the term is "asian".)
Anyway, edamame is just steamed soybeans in the pod--usually lightly salted. They are so good! I found them at the Trader Joe's and felt as though I'd found a treasure! Also, the good thing about soy, as most vegans know, is that it's a complete protein, like eating meat. It tastes kind of like peanuts and looks like peas in a pod. And, it's kinda fun to eat.
Soy milk Ok, I know you are all going, like, ewww!! haha. Well, the older I get, the more sensitive I've become to milk and milk products. I also believe that it's not the lactose in the milk, but the protein itself; as the lactose pills don't seem to help. But I am a big cereal fan, and wanted to find an alternative. I tried rice milk, but it just didn't do it for me...so... soy milk was the next alternative. The taste is definitely acquired, but doable. The only thing I can't do is brownies and soy milk, but I just stick with water when eating a brownie, as, 1. don't need the extra calories from milk, and 2. I know the pain that cow's milk causes is NOT worth the taste of the milk with the brownie.
Ground turkey There was a sale at the grocery store not long ago, so I thought I'd try it, as poultry is better for you than red meat. I have to admit, I wasn't impressed at first. I tried making hamburgers out of it, and it has kind of a gamey taste as compared to regular hamburger meat. I didn't want to throw out the remainder, so I ground it up and put it in spaghetti. It was a little better, but still didn't do it for me. Then I decided to add a little beef bouillon to the meat to help along the flavor. Aha! that was it! Now it tastes like a very mild beef. We've pretty much completely switched, except for hamburger steak. So tacos, spaghetti, and beef skillet fiesta are now all turkey based. Not sure how prices are back home, but here ground turkey is cheaper than ground beef.
Enchiladas Never knew how to make them back home, and never used soft corn tortillas. But, everyone here has some variation of enchiladas, and I've come up with my own version as "enchilada casserole". mmm-hmmmm. It is good. Maybe I will make them for the next get-together when we get back home and you can let me know what you think.
In 'N Out Burger Only THE best burger joint ever invented. Everything is fresh and homeade, like a mom'n pops, but it's a chain out here. Kind of like Chick fil A for burgers. The fries are also homeade and they have a window next to the drive-thru where you can watch them putting the peeled potatoes through a potato-dicer 'thing'. So much fun! In N Out also has great benefits for their employees and pay higher wage than minimum wage. So their employees tend to stick around and are very friendly. I've seen the same people working there as long as I've been here.
Indian Cuisine Most of you know that we have 2 house mates: Brian and Abraham. Brian is from MI, but Abraham is from India! yup, you guessed it--we have been treated to Indian food a few times and LOVE it! Their spices are good--a lot of hot, sweet spices, like curry and ginger. They have a great bread, called 'paratha', made with some kind of oil and grilled in a skillet. Looks like a pita or tortilla, but has a richer flavor (as it has more fat). My favorite Indian dish is "chicken tica masala"--a chicken dish made with yogurt and spices, served over rice. I know it sounds weird, but it's real good.
So, we have definitely had our culinary horizons broadened. Just gives me more meal ideas for when I get home. Now I just need to get a Trader Joe's in B'ham...
Edamame' (ed-uh-'mah-may) Usually find them as appetizers at Oriental Restaurants. (Btw, no one says "oriental" here--the term is "asian".)
Anyway, edamame is just steamed soybeans in the pod--usually lightly salted. They are so good! I found them at the Trader Joe's and felt as though I'd found a treasure! Also, the good thing about soy, as most vegans know, is that it's a complete protein, like eating meat. It tastes kind of like peanuts and looks like peas in a pod. And, it's kinda fun to eat.
Soy milk Ok, I know you are all going, like, ewww!! haha. Well, the older I get, the more sensitive I've become to milk and milk products. I also believe that it's not the lactose in the milk, but the protein itself; as the lactose pills don't seem to help. But I am a big cereal fan, and wanted to find an alternative. I tried rice milk, but it just didn't do it for me...so... soy milk was the next alternative. The taste is definitely acquired, but doable. The only thing I can't do is brownies and soy milk, but I just stick with water when eating a brownie, as, 1. don't need the extra calories from milk, and 2. I know the pain that cow's milk causes is NOT worth the taste of the milk with the brownie.
Ground turkey There was a sale at the grocery store not long ago, so I thought I'd try it, as poultry is better for you than red meat. I have to admit, I wasn't impressed at first. I tried making hamburgers out of it, and it has kind of a gamey taste as compared to regular hamburger meat. I didn't want to throw out the remainder, so I ground it up and put it in spaghetti. It was a little better, but still didn't do it for me. Then I decided to add a little beef bouillon to the meat to help along the flavor. Aha! that was it! Now it tastes like a very mild beef. We've pretty much completely switched, except for hamburger steak. So tacos, spaghetti, and beef skillet fiesta are now all turkey based. Not sure how prices are back home, but here ground turkey is cheaper than ground beef.
Enchiladas Never knew how to make them back home, and never used soft corn tortillas. But, everyone here has some variation of enchiladas, and I've come up with my own version as "enchilada casserole". mmm-hmmmm. It is good. Maybe I will make them for the next get-together when we get back home and you can let me know what you think.
In 'N Out Burger Only THE best burger joint ever invented. Everything is fresh and homeade, like a mom'n pops, but it's a chain out here. Kind of like Chick fil A for burgers. The fries are also homeade and they have a window next to the drive-thru where you can watch them putting the peeled potatoes through a potato-dicer 'thing'. So much fun! In N Out also has great benefits for their employees and pay higher wage than minimum wage. So their employees tend to stick around and are very friendly. I've seen the same people working there as long as I've been here.
Indian Cuisine Most of you know that we have 2 house mates: Brian and Abraham. Brian is from MI, but Abraham is from India! yup, you guessed it--we have been treated to Indian food a few times and LOVE it! Their spices are good--a lot of hot, sweet spices, like curry and ginger. They have a great bread, called 'paratha', made with some kind of oil and grilled in a skillet. Looks like a pita or tortilla, but has a richer flavor (as it has more fat). My favorite Indian dish is "chicken tica masala"--a chicken dish made with yogurt and spices, served over rice. I know it sounds weird, but it's real good.
So, we have definitely had our culinary horizons broadened. Just gives me more meal ideas for when I get home. Now I just need to get a Trader Joe's in B'ham...
Friday, March 09, 2007
Kids say the darndest things
Frankie: "If you don't stop, I'm gonna get on your nerves!"
Steven: "Huh! My nerves are strong enough to handle you!"
Steven: (in a LOUD outside voice at church) "Mama, I passed gas! I didn't poop!"
Steven: "Mama, can I have flappy peanut butter and jelly sandwich?" (As opposed to toasted)
Me: "Oh, you mean a 'floppy' pbj?"
Steven: "NO Mama! A FLAPPY peanut butter and jelly sandwich! And can you switch the jelly to honey?"
Steven: "Brian, why are you naked?" (after walking in on Brian as he was getting out of the shower.)
Frankie: "Mama, the Tooth Fairy forgot to come last night." (Oops. Shoot. We forgot to switch his latest tooth for a dollar.)
Frank: "That's ok, buddy. Maybe the Tooth Fairy's working the day shift."
Steven: (after Frank walked in the door wearing new shoes) "Daddy, your shoes are beautiful!"
Steven: "Huh! My nerves are strong enough to handle you!"
Steven: (in a LOUD outside voice at church) "Mama, I passed gas! I didn't poop!"
Steven: "Mama, can I have flappy peanut butter and jelly sandwich?" (As opposed to toasted)
Me: "Oh, you mean a 'floppy' pbj?"
Steven: "NO Mama! A FLAPPY peanut butter and jelly sandwich! And can you switch the jelly to honey?"
Steven: "Brian, why are you naked?" (after walking in on Brian as he was getting out of the shower.)
Frankie: "Mama, the Tooth Fairy forgot to come last night." (Oops. Shoot. We forgot to switch his latest tooth for a dollar.)
Frank: "That's ok, buddy. Maybe the Tooth Fairy's working the day shift."
Steven: (after Frank walked in the door wearing new shoes) "Daddy, your shoes are beautiful!"
Monday, February 26, 2007
American Idol
hahaha. there are so many things I've been keeping from you! Never would have known, but now I have my claim to fame:
I did it! I tried out for American Idol back a few months ago--and not once, but twice! For all of my friends who always told me, and believed in me--yes, I tried it. Been there, done that. I wasn't going to tell anyone, but now I've got the proof: I made it to the website:
click here .
So, I'm famous for just a moment--a mere snapshot.
But I know, I know--you want to hear the whole story, right? and why I didn't show up on T.V....
Well, it's a lot different than you might be aware of...16,000 people showed up in B'ham to try out, and less than 30 made it to Hollywood. That's about 1 in 600. Also, about 99% of the people that show up CAN sing. So you're fighting for a chance to be heard, but almost everyone is just as good as you or better. So, for the most part, only the bad and the ugly make it. The first audition I attended, B'ham, was a learning experience. As you can see in the pic, I didn't do anything special--kept the look you all know and love. The girl pictured with me is Beth, whom I met on the plane back to Birmingham--a believer, and really sweet girl from Ohio.
Anyway, the producers set up about 16 booths with tables and 2 judges, down in the arena and start lining up people 4 across in front of the tables; about 6 rows deep. So, 24 people standing in front of 16 booths--384 people. So there are as many as 16 people singing at the same time across the arena. In that way, it only takes about 10 hours to process 16,000+ people! It was very hard to concentrate to say the least. Then, as the auditions progress, you realize that nobody is making it. Then you hear through the grapevine that you don't even see Randy, Paula, and Simon until the 3rd round! So, Sarah and I tried out together and neither of us made it.
Well, I did see that more trendy folks were getting thru, and I hate rejection--so I wanted to try one more time. I chose Memphis, b/c it was on a Sunday, and I could catch a red-eye (overnight flight), and be back to work on Monday. (Frank, btw, was very supportive of the whole thing.) I got help from my artsy friend, Deannah, who straightened my hair, gave me makeup tips, and helped me come up with trendy outfit and jewelry. Well, I felt like a million bucks. But, unfortunately, Memphis was like B'ham. Too much talent, too few spots.
I was disappointed at first, but the longer I've dwelt on it, the more I've come to terms with it.
Rejection is hard, but here's what I think:
1. The entertainment industry is HARD work. Touring is esp. difficult (KimHill, I know you get that!). I would just like the $$ that come after all the work! haha.
2. Thank God I find my identity in Him and not AI. I know that I can sing--I am also aware that had I made it to the big 3: R,P, &S; they would have said: "you're a good singer--but too broadway, etc." I know my style, and I don't know how long I would have been able to hold up a pop sound.
3. Don't know if I would have made it in the Industry as far as the pressures: mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. There is SO much room for moral failure.
So, now I can have a small claim to fame and say I was there when...
p.s. You're probably wondering why I didn't tell you before....well....
I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up in case I didn't make it. The fewer people to disappoint, the better. My mom was crushed pretty bad as it was. And after it was over, it became, well...not important anymore. I just didn't care. But, now that I made it to the website, I HAD to tell someone!
I did it! I tried out for American Idol back a few months ago--and not once, but twice! For all of my friends who always told me, and believed in me--yes, I tried it. Been there, done that. I wasn't going to tell anyone, but now I've got the proof: I made it to the website:
click here .
So, I'm famous for just a moment--a mere snapshot.
But I know, I know--you want to hear the whole story, right? and why I didn't show up on T.V....
Well, it's a lot different than you might be aware of...16,000 people showed up in B'ham to try out, and less than 30 made it to Hollywood. That's about 1 in 600. Also, about 99% of the people that show up CAN sing. So you're fighting for a chance to be heard, but almost everyone is just as good as you or better. So, for the most part, only the bad and the ugly make it. The first audition I attended, B'ham, was a learning experience. As you can see in the pic, I didn't do anything special--kept the look you all know and love. The girl pictured with me is Beth, whom I met on the plane back to Birmingham--a believer, and really sweet girl from Ohio.
Anyway, the producers set up about 16 booths with tables and 2 judges, down in the arena and start lining up people 4 across in front of the tables; about 6 rows deep. So, 24 people standing in front of 16 booths--384 people. So there are as many as 16 people singing at the same time across the arena. In that way, it only takes about 10 hours to process 16,000+ people! It was very hard to concentrate to say the least. Then, as the auditions progress, you realize that nobody is making it. Then you hear through the grapevine that you don't even see Randy, Paula, and Simon until the 3rd round! So, Sarah and I tried out together and neither of us made it.
Well, I did see that more trendy folks were getting thru, and I hate rejection--so I wanted to try one more time. I chose Memphis, b/c it was on a Sunday, and I could catch a red-eye (overnight flight), and be back to work on Monday. (Frank, btw, was very supportive of the whole thing.) I got help from my artsy friend, Deannah, who straightened my hair, gave me makeup tips, and helped me come up with trendy outfit and jewelry. Well, I felt like a million bucks. But, unfortunately, Memphis was like B'ham. Too much talent, too few spots.
I was disappointed at first, but the longer I've dwelt on it, the more I've come to terms with it.
Rejection is hard, but here's what I think:
1. The entertainment industry is HARD work. Touring is esp. difficult (KimHill, I know you get that!). I would just like the $$ that come after all the work! haha.
2. Thank God I find my identity in Him and not AI. I know that I can sing--I am also aware that had I made it to the big 3: R,P, &S; they would have said: "you're a good singer--but too broadway, etc." I know my style, and I don't know how long I would have been able to hold up a pop sound.
3. Don't know if I would have made it in the Industry as far as the pressures: mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. There is SO much room for moral failure.
So, now I can have a small claim to fame and say I was there when...
p.s. You're probably wondering why I didn't tell you before....well....
I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up in case I didn't make it. The fewer people to disappoint, the better. My mom was crushed pretty bad as it was. And after it was over, it became, well...not important anymore. I just didn't care. But, now that I made it to the website, I HAD to tell someone!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
10 Tips for painting a room on a budget
This article came from the website "Living on a Dime" (link: bottom left). If you sign up for their newsletter, they email articles once or twice a week with great tips on how to save money.
This info about painting a room was too good not to share, and now I can get rid of the email, cuz I'll always have the article!
One of the easiest ways to save money redecorating is to paint a room yourself. It can cost anywhere from $200-$500 to have one room painted. Painting it yourself, you can do it for under $30. Here are some tips that we have used to save money painting:
1. Check your local hazardous waste recycling center for free or low cost paint. I've painted many rooms and pieces of furniture just by checking their free paint section. I painted my entire house for $45 using three of their low cost five gallon buckets of brand new but leftover construction paint.
2. Use an old sheet or spend $1.00 for one at a thrift store to use as a drop cloth. Sheets are heavier than the plastic drop cloths at the store and will last for many rooms of painting. Hang over a clothesline or fence to dry before folding and storing.
3. When removing the outlet and switch covers, put the screws back into the holes so they don't get lost. You can also put the covers and screws in a zip top sandwich bag.
4. Line your roller pan by putting a plastic grocery sack or trash sack (inside out if it has writing on it) on the paint tray. Then you can just invert the sack when you're done and throw it away.
5. Poke four or five holes with a nail in the groove on the top of the can. That way the paint doesn't get stuck in the groove around the edge of the can and make a mess when you put the lid back on.
6. Use the paint at the bottom of the paint can when nearly empty to paint the trim. I got enough paint out of an "empty" gallon to do the entire room's trim.
7. Don't use painter's tape. Painting is just like coloring inside the lines in school. Use a small, one-inch, angled paintbrush and slowly go around the edges. It takes less time than putting up and taking down tape. Keep a wet rag by your side in case you make small mistakes. Some tape also lets the paint bleed through, so it's not a very clean finish.
8. Store your rollers and brushes in a plastic grocery sack between paintings. You don't have to clean them after each use if you keep them from drying out. Refrigerate overnight or freeze them if you are going to not be painting for several days or weeks.
9. Turn the ceiling fan on in a room to speed up drying time.
10. When you're done with your painting clothes, turn them inside out as you take them off. This way, you don't accidentally get wet paint on anything but your head. ;-)
This info about painting a room was too good not to share, and now I can get rid of the email, cuz I'll always have the article!
One of the easiest ways to save money redecorating is to paint a room yourself. It can cost anywhere from $200-$500 to have one room painted. Painting it yourself, you can do it for under $30. Here are some tips that we have used to save money painting:
1. Check your local hazardous waste recycling center for free or low cost paint. I've painted many rooms and pieces of furniture just by checking their free paint section. I painted my entire house for $45 using three of their low cost five gallon buckets of brand new but leftover construction paint.
2. Use an old sheet or spend $1.00 for one at a thrift store to use as a drop cloth. Sheets are heavier than the plastic drop cloths at the store and will last for many rooms of painting. Hang over a clothesline or fence to dry before folding and storing.
3. When removing the outlet and switch covers, put the screws back into the holes so they don't get lost. You can also put the covers and screws in a zip top sandwich bag.
4. Line your roller pan by putting a plastic grocery sack or trash sack (inside out if it has writing on it) on the paint tray. Then you can just invert the sack when you're done and throw it away.
5. Poke four or five holes with a nail in the groove on the top of the can. That way the paint doesn't get stuck in the groove around the edge of the can and make a mess when you put the lid back on.
6. Use the paint at the bottom of the paint can when nearly empty to paint the trim. I got enough paint out of an "empty" gallon to do the entire room's trim.
7. Don't use painter's tape. Painting is just like coloring inside the lines in school. Use a small, one-inch, angled paintbrush and slowly go around the edges. It takes less time than putting up and taking down tape. Keep a wet rag by your side in case you make small mistakes. Some tape also lets the paint bleed through, so it's not a very clean finish.
8. Store your rollers and brushes in a plastic grocery sack between paintings. You don't have to clean them after each use if you keep them from drying out. Refrigerate overnight or freeze them if you are going to not be painting for several days or weeks.
9. Turn the ceiling fan on in a room to speed up drying time.
10. When you're done with your painting clothes, turn them inside out as you take them off. This way, you don't accidentally get wet paint on anything but your head. ;-)
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Irritating habits I've picked up since moving to CA:
The impulse to hold items for reading at a distance. I don't know if it's because I work with a lot of people who need reading glasses, or if I'm just getting old too, heehee. But I've found that when I pick up a piece of paper to read, I hold it far away from me while studying it. Maybe I AM getting old...sigh...
The sound "mhhhm" at the end of a telephone conversation. Instead of just saying "bye", I've picked up what EVERYONE here does: "mhhhm, bye". I think it's because we're trying to be polite, and we can't quite figure out how to end the conversation, so this just seems to be the best way. I've caught myself several times in the past few days, and it is annoying as all git out. (now there's some good ol' southern slang for you.)
Several key phrases:
"Totally". That is sooooo valley girl/Southern California!
"You guys". 'Nuf said.
"yeah-no". Where you are agreeing with someone about something, esp if they are telling you a funny story.
"Hi". Everyone says that instead of "hey!".
So don't laugh at me when I get home!!!! You know it'll take me awhile to get "re-Southernized"!!!
The sound "mhhhm" at the end of a telephone conversation. Instead of just saying "bye", I've picked up what EVERYONE here does: "mhhhm, bye". I think it's because we're trying to be polite, and we can't quite figure out how to end the conversation, so this just seems to be the best way. I've caught myself several times in the past few days, and it is annoying as all git out. (now there's some good ol' southern slang for you.)
Several key phrases:
"Totally". That is sooooo valley girl/Southern California!
"You guys". 'Nuf said.
"yeah-no". Where you are agreeing with someone about something, esp if they are telling you a funny story.
"Hi". Everyone says that instead of "hey!".
So don't laugh at me when I get home!!!! You know it'll take me awhile to get "re-Southernized"!!!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Stuff I keep meaning to tell you
Don't have a lot of time, but there's things I've been meaning to share...
Got my phone fixed finally, thank you Jesus. I'd spilled bubbles on it from the boys' birthday party and the battery was damaged. Then we got a new battery and realized that the little port where you plug the battery charger in was messed up too. bummer. and my new phone too. Pink Razr and all. So my mom sent an old loaner phone so we could switch the sim card, and Frank found a desk charger/battery set on ebay. So you can finally call me now. yey!
Frankie lost his 2nd tooth yesterday. He cried at school b/c he thought it had come out while he was on the playground, and he looked for it in the grass but couldn't find it. He was sad b/c somehow he found out about this thing called the tooth fairy who would give him money if he put the tooth under his pillow...don't know where he got that one...
Anyway. He was getting a drink from his water bottle at home that afternoon and found a piece of "ice" in his bottle--yup, it was his tooth!!! Bless his heart, he has been on cloud nine ever since with that new tooth.
(I say it's his 2nd tooth, as he'd had some trauma to one of his top front teeth-subsequently the nerve died and the tooth was pulled about a year ago. so it doesn't count.)
Well I'm finally legal in the state of California. Have put off getting my driver's license switched over for several reasons: 1. My AL license was still active 2. I like my picture and my weight on my AL license 3. Just too darn scared to take a leap of faith in a foreign world and go take the test, ugh.
Unfortunately my AL DL expired and I was forced to go. Of course to drive w/o a current license anywhere is bad, but esp bad here b/c there are so many bad drivers and just too many drivers period. You can be the best driver in the world--but it's the other drivers you have to worry about. So, after about 2 weeks of being driven around, I finally went and took the test and got my CA license. The picture turned out pretty good. I look older--more like a mother I guess. In my AL pic I was skinnier and looked like a little kid. So I guess I like the CA pic better. But the weight--well...
Hopefully it won't be that way for too much longer.
Something funny that Frankie came up with: when he was little, like maybe 2 or 3, he looked at Frank one day and said, "Daddy, you're my Special!". He has always called birthdays, "special day", like instead of "someone's birthday", it's "someone's special day". And everytime we eat a dessert or snack or get gifts out of the ordinary, he always calls it a special. It's just a cute something he came up with that I don't want to forget, and thought you would enjoy.
Ok, if I think of anything else, I'll let you know.
Got my phone fixed finally, thank you Jesus. I'd spilled bubbles on it from the boys' birthday party and the battery was damaged. Then we got a new battery and realized that the little port where you plug the battery charger in was messed up too. bummer. and my new phone too. Pink Razr and all. So my mom sent an old loaner phone so we could switch the sim card, and Frank found a desk charger/battery set on ebay. So you can finally call me now. yey!
Frankie lost his 2nd tooth yesterday. He cried at school b/c he thought it had come out while he was on the playground, and he looked for it in the grass but couldn't find it. He was sad b/c somehow he found out about this thing called the tooth fairy who would give him money if he put the tooth under his pillow...don't know where he got that one...
Anyway. He was getting a drink from his water bottle at home that afternoon and found a piece of "ice" in his bottle--yup, it was his tooth!!! Bless his heart, he has been on cloud nine ever since with that new tooth.
(I say it's his 2nd tooth, as he'd had some trauma to one of his top front teeth-subsequently the nerve died and the tooth was pulled about a year ago. so it doesn't count.)
Well I'm finally legal in the state of California. Have put off getting my driver's license switched over for several reasons: 1. My AL license was still active 2. I like my picture and my weight on my AL license 3. Just too darn scared to take a leap of faith in a foreign world and go take the test, ugh.
Unfortunately my AL DL expired and I was forced to go. Of course to drive w/o a current license anywhere is bad, but esp bad here b/c there are so many bad drivers and just too many drivers period. You can be the best driver in the world--but it's the other drivers you have to worry about. So, after about 2 weeks of being driven around, I finally went and took the test and got my CA license. The picture turned out pretty good. I look older--more like a mother I guess. In my AL pic I was skinnier and looked like a little kid. So I guess I like the CA pic better. But the weight--well...
Hopefully it won't be that way for too much longer.
Something funny that Frankie came up with: when he was little, like maybe 2 or 3, he looked at Frank one day and said, "Daddy, you're my Special!". He has always called birthdays, "special day", like instead of "someone's birthday", it's "someone's special day". And everytime we eat a dessert or snack or get gifts out of the ordinary, he always calls it a special. It's just a cute something he came up with that I don't want to forget, and thought you would enjoy.
Ok, if I think of anything else, I'll let you know.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Free Stuff online
My husband just posted a great set of free (legal) resources online, including classical works where copyright no longer applies, audio books, and old computer games that we used to play when we were kids. Cool! Check it out Apologique: Really Cool Free Stuff
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Calling all 24 fans!!
Oh my goodness--y'all gotta check this out! One of Frank's friends in the Philosophy program had a cool experience: a-team
Sunday, January 21, 2007
For Anyone whose ever flown
I came across these as an email forward, and this is kind of long, but too funny not to share!
Airline cabin announcements:
All too rarely, airline attendants make an effort to make the in flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:
1. On a Southwest flight (SW has no as signed seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"
2. On a Continental Flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."
3. On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have.
4. "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane."
5. "Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."
6. As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Ronald Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"
7. After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."
8. From a Southwest Airlines employee: "Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 245
to Tampa.. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."
9. "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."
10. "Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but
we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines."
11. "Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."
12. "As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."
13. And from the pilot during his welcome message: "Delta Airlines is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"
14. Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard landing in Salt Lake
City the flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump, and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the
airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."
15. Overheard on an American Airlines flight into Amarillo, Texas, on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"
16. Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: "We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."
17. An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the Passengers exited, smile, and give them "Thanks for flying our airline." He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart
comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with
a cane. She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why, no, Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said, "Did we land, or were we shot down?"
18. After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal."
19. Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: "We'd like to thank
you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized met al tube, we hope you'll think of US Airways."
20. Heard on a Southwest Airline flight. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing and if you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."
21. A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from New York to Los Angeles. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax.. OH, MY GOD!" Silence followed,and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!" A passenger in Coach yelled,"That's nothing. You
should see the back of mine."
Airline cabin announcements:
All too rarely, airline attendants make an effort to make the in flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:
1. On a Southwest flight (SW has no as signed seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"
2. On a Continental Flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."
3. On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have.
4. "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane."
5. "Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."
6. As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Ronald Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"
7. After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."
8. From a Southwest Airlines employee: "Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 245
to Tampa.. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."
9. "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."
10. "Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but
we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines."
11. "Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."
12. "As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."
13. And from the pilot during his welcome message: "Delta Airlines is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"
14. Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard landing in Salt Lake
City the flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump, and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the
airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."
15. Overheard on an American Airlines flight into Amarillo, Texas, on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"
16. Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: "We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."
17. An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the Passengers exited, smile, and give them "Thanks for flying our airline." He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart
comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with
a cane. She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why, no, Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said, "Did we land, or were we shot down?"
18. After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal."
19. Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: "We'd like to thank
you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized met al tube, we hope you'll think of US Airways."
20. Heard on a Southwest Airline flight. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing and if you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."
21. A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from New York to Los Angeles. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax.. OH, MY GOD!" Silence followed,and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!" A passenger in Coach yelled,"That's nothing. You
should see the back of mine."
Friday, January 19, 2007
Other stuff
Mom and Phillip came out to see us for 2 weeks. We've had lots of fun. Took Fifi (P's nickname) to Disney and let him ride all the fast rides. Rode the new and improved Space Mountain--I like the changes. It's a roller coaster that is completely in the dark, and used to have spacey/orchestral music with lights that simulated shooting stars all over the place--like you were at light speed thru the whole ride--immensely fun! But believe it or not, they've made it even better. They placed black lights strategically around so that you can sometimes 'see' where you're going, and changed the music to some cool heavy metal w/electric guitars. It was rockin! literally.
On another note, it's been REALLY cold here. Mom and Fifi brought it with them I think. Normal 'winter' temp is around 48 degrees at night, but it's been getting down to low 30's. Gov. Schwarzeneggar (sp?) has declared that CA will lose over a billion $$ in lost citrus crops. Bummer. We saw on the news to expect much higher prices and more damaged fruit. I think our lemons are doing ok though. I am curious to see how high the prices will be by next summer. Oranges are really good here. I hate that the crops got ruined.
Counting down to the end. I am getting excited. For the first time, I won't be sad to put my mom back on a plane to AL, because I'll be there in 4 months, yippee!! 132 more days to be exact.
My job is very demanding. It'll be nice to be the mommy again. I think Frank will also be glad to switch back to the breadwinner role. Not that he doesn't make a great stay-at-home parent. He is really good with the boys. (I know that's why I was blessed with boys) So patient, and even helps keep up with the housework. The only time he gets bogged down is midterm and finals time--usually several papers and exams are all happening at the same time. It has proven to be a bit stressful. Thank you God that we are almost done. Frank (by the grace of God) has managed to maintain an A/B average! and that is with being a full time at-home parent! So pray we finish well. We have one semester left that will start next week, and it looks to be the easiest semester we will live thru, yey! Frank set it up that way on purpose so that his graduating semester would be the least stressful.
My mom has been cooking for the last 2 weeks. When she comes it is wonderful. Most folks would be thinking,"Your mom took over the kitchen and you're ok with that?". Yup, most definitely. As a f/t working mother, it has been WONDERFUL to come home every day to home cooked, southern meals! I sure will miss that. And the company. It's been nice to hang out with my brother too, as I'd not seen him in probably over a year. So, I'll be seeing the rest of you soon too, and we can hang out!
See ya soon! :o)
On another note, it's been REALLY cold here. Mom and Fifi brought it with them I think. Normal 'winter' temp is around 48 degrees at night, but it's been getting down to low 30's. Gov. Schwarzeneggar (sp?) has declared that CA will lose over a billion $$ in lost citrus crops. Bummer. We saw on the news to expect much higher prices and more damaged fruit. I think our lemons are doing ok though. I am curious to see how high the prices will be by next summer. Oranges are really good here. I hate that the crops got ruined.
Counting down to the end. I am getting excited. For the first time, I won't be sad to put my mom back on a plane to AL, because I'll be there in 4 months, yippee!! 132 more days to be exact.
My job is very demanding. It'll be nice to be the mommy again. I think Frank will also be glad to switch back to the breadwinner role. Not that he doesn't make a great stay-at-home parent. He is really good with the boys. (I know that's why I was blessed with boys) So patient, and even helps keep up with the housework. The only time he gets bogged down is midterm and finals time--usually several papers and exams are all happening at the same time. It has proven to be a bit stressful. Thank you God that we are almost done. Frank (by the grace of God) has managed to maintain an A/B average! and that is with being a full time at-home parent! So pray we finish well. We have one semester left that will start next week, and it looks to be the easiest semester we will live thru, yey! Frank set it up that way on purpose so that his graduating semester would be the least stressful.
My mom has been cooking for the last 2 weeks. When she comes it is wonderful. Most folks would be thinking,"Your mom took over the kitchen and you're ok with that?". Yup, most definitely. As a f/t working mother, it has been WONDERFUL to come home every day to home cooked, southern meals! I sure will miss that. And the company. It's been nice to hang out with my brother too, as I'd not seen him in probably over a year. So, I'll be seeing the rest of you soon too, and we can hang out!
See ya soon! :o)
Changed my look
How do you like it? Got bored with green and was perusing the templates and found this charming look...so...decided to pull an aol and update my look. Aol is notorious--every time I JUST get comfortable manuevering thru the site--will have located my stored emails, figured out where they put the entertainment news, and relearned how to find recently sent or deleted emails; they go and change the look again. So, just when you were comfortable with my site, here goes...
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