Give Me Five Monday Meme #30

Monday, July 21, 2008

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five fun summer vacation memories from your childhood.

We are having Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our church this week and it is bringing up all sorts of great old memories from my childhood! All those hot summers of my youth, playing outdoors and swimming and family vacations....ok, I'd better start my list before I give it all away!

1. VBS & Camp. I remember VBS's held in the country at my grandma and grandpas church as well as up here in the city at our church and what I remember most is all the fun! Plenty of singing, skits, snacks, games and on and on! Good times, if your local church has a VBS, please take your kids. It's such a great opportunity for them to get some structured spiritual education during those summer months off from school. They can make new friends and even some that last a lifetime! Church camp is the same thing except it's much more entailed. The staying overnights and so on makes it much more suited for the older kids. But it was definitely one of my favorite things about summer time. I still sing some of the songs I learned at camp! Great lifelong memories have been secured there for me.

2. Family vacations. Our family may have been very disfunctional in many ways but we always did the road trip family vacation atleast once each summer. I guess that's maybe why I enjoy the National Lampoon's Vacation movies so much. I can relate to: not getting along with your sibling in the back seat, getting lost and traveling through unfamiliar roads to get to new and interesting and fun locations, visiting extended family and so on! My favorites were any that ended in me going swimming or to an amusement park of some sort :) Of course we also visited the country every or every other weekend so going camping or on float trips or boating on the lake and such were always a favorite too.

3. Summer sitters. At different ages, my parents hired different people to come stay with our family to watch over my older brother and myself. One of the first was my aunt Wanda, so they say, I must have been too young to remember that. Once it was a girl from church, she was an older teenager. She was fine but kinda weird. Once it was my cousin Christina, that was fun! Oh the stories from that summer! Sometimes we went into daycamp program at the local Salvation Army, that was also a blast! And sometimes we would spend the entire summer (well, it felt like the entire summer) at my grandparent's house. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Gamma and Gampa but it felt like a long time to not be home is all (translation: a long time to be away from my mommy!). Usually, my parents would use this opportunity to do remodeling in the house and of course, they visited every or every other weekend :)

4. Summer fruits. I heart watermelon and peaches and strawberries and cantaloupe and plums and grapes and bananas and all the fruits that just seem to taste better in the warm summer months. Yum, yum eat-em'-up! Summer is like 1/2 over!!!

5. Week-long sleep overs. Once we were old enough to be at home without supervision during our summer vacations, I would always take breaks from the usual neighborhood activities and have like week-long sleep overs at friend's houses. Sometimes they would stay with me too but mostly I liked to be away from th every impending drama at my house so I stayed with them. None of my friend's parents minded since it got their kid out of their hair for a while. It was always interesting to see how someone else's parents made the rules for living. At one friend's house, you had to do things this way or that. Of course there was no xbox 360 back then so we would have to be creative in order to entertain ourselves and not get bored of each other for that long. It was also sort of challenging to remember how I was expected to act in their house at the same time remember how my mom expected me to act even if I wasn't at home. It was a great way to get out and experience life and see the way others live their lives. I suppose it's why I still enjoy being at other people's houses for visiting. I've always been a traveler and loner since I was a kid. I was the only girl in our neighborhood for years and years so I had to learn to play alone at home or go somewhere else for companionship. All in all, there are many many great childhood memories to focus on when those not so nice ones come creeping along. Oh to be young again!!! I'd just enjoy a 3 month vacation from work! LOL
Give Me Five Participants

1. Tammy 2. Stacey@Real World Mom 3. Kwizgiver 4. Beverly

5. Crystal 6. Joyce T. 7. Penny Lane 8. Tina Kubala

9. JB 10. Melody

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Majesty!

Here I am humbled by Your Majesty,
Covered by Your grace oh friend.
Here I am knowing I'm a sinful man,
Covered by the blood of the Lamb.
Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine,
Since You laid down Your life,
The greatest sacrifice.

Majesty, Majesty.
Your grace has found me just as I am,
Empty handed but alive in Your hands.

Here I am humbled by the love that You give,
Forgiven so that I can forgive.
So here I stand,
Knowing that I am Your desire,
Sanctified by glory and fire.
And now I've found the greatest love of all is mine,
Since You laid down Your life,
The greatest sacrife.

Majesty, Majesty.
Your grace has found me just as I am,
Empty handed but alive in your hands.
Singing Majesty, Majesty.
Forever I am changed by Your love,
In the presence of Your Majesty.
Majesty.

We're singing Majesty, Majesty.
Your grace has found me just as I am,
And I'm nothing but alive in Your hands.
We're singing Majesty, Majesty.
Forever I am changed by Your love,
In the beauty of Your Majesty.
Majesty.

"Hancock" movie review

Spoiler alter!!!! If you haven't yet seen this movie, be forewarned I'm about to discuss some details about it.

**********************************

Still here? Good! Tonight I went to see Hancock. I am not quite sure what I had in my mind that it was going to be about but it was a bit different than I was thinking it would be in the end. No, it had nothing to do with Wilmington real estate, silly! I had heard that Will Smith plays "Hancock" a black super hero who is an alcoholic so I knew to expect that part. What I didn't know was the background. Now that I've seen the movie, I still don't *really* know the background.

They don't go into great detail about who made them or where they were made or why they were made strong unless they were with their pair-mate which made them mortal and vulnerable. It seemed almost as if their background wouldn't be questioned and they threw in partial descriptions as an afterthought?

And what was the deal with the eagle, just that he could fly? That was most certainly not explained even though someone specifically asked him. Maybe I missed something? Perhaps if I could have seen this movie along with someone and could have talked about it a bit afterwards, things would have made a bit more sense. The movie had some nice action scenes full of fast flying sequences. It was entertaining but I feel like it left a little bit to be desired. I think Jason Batemen did a great job but his character never showed the kind of emotions you'd expect if you were to find out your wife was already married...oh and that she happened to be some sort of immortal superhero that's been alive for 3,000 years oh and that she will never age. He never questioned if Mary would go back to John or still loved him. He seemed to bounce back pretty quickly in my opinion. Perhaps a few too many scenes hit the cutting room floor on this one? It just fell a little flat on the plot.

Charlize Theron was beautiful as usual, just don't call her 'crazy'. Personally, I was left with a couple of questions but all in all it was a pretty good movie. It was entertaining even if I didn't get all the background and never really *bought* it all the way. The final hospital scene was kind of ... weak. She was able to feel what was happening to him but then she died and he was still ok, wouldn't he have died too? Why could she feel his an not vice versa? Perhaps my OCD makes me too literal in situations like these but it feels like they didn't do a good job selling some parts of it. The website said 'Hancock...often misunderstood'. I could see that. This is the kind of movie that is best on the big screen, but then again, I think that of all movies! Have you seen it? What did you think? Can you offer any explanations to help me 'get' it more?

What is wrong with people?

Seriously, I'm asking, what is wrong with people?

Ok, I know I can be a stickler about some things...but we all have our ways. I took my car in this morning before work (yes, I actually got up EARLY!) to my local Firestone for an oil change, new fuel filter and tire rotation. I use the same store where I bought my tires earlier this year.

In conjunction with making sure they will perform all necessary pre-arranged services to my car, I specifically mention to the man that I have a cloth steering wheel cover that they need to be especially careful NOT to mar or dirty up with their black mechanic hands (not in those exact words but he got the point). He stated that they use steering wheel protective coverings to guard against this. Somehow I still wasn't convinced but somethings you have to trust.

He checks in my car, I walk 2 doors down to the Jack-In-The-Box to have breakfast and get started on my homework for my bible study. An hour and a half later (keep in mind, I was only getting 3 small services done) they call to inform me that I am ruining my tires by not getting an alignment. They keep pushing me to get the 'lifetime alignment' @ $150. Huh! I inform them that I have a source to get a free one when I need it. By the way, 2 other trusted mechanics I've spoken to makes it sound like alignments aren't as often needed as these guys make it out to be. "You could hit a pot hole and need another alignment!" Whatever.)

So I pack up my books and papers, refill my drink and walk back over. I check out and retrieve my keys. Once I am back in my car, I am instantly enraged! Guess what!? That's right a big permanent black mark on my beige colored cloth steering wheel cover! What the H man? Have they blown all their brains from between their ears by standing too close to the air tools? If they can't even do this right, after I made a *specific* request for them to be extra careful....and to top it off, they already supposedly have a system in place which would guard against such things.....hello! It's like they did it on purpose! Is this too much to ask now, to be careful when handling someone else's possessions?

So I called the guy and let him know I wasn't happy that I brought it to their attention specifically ahead of time so this wouldn't happen...the guy acted like it was a surprise to him because "they use covers so that wouldn't happen." I was like, "Well, I don't know what to tell you. This morning it wasn't there and now it is. Covers or not, now I have to stare at it forever. It's not the end of the world but I just wanted you to know it's there." He reluctantly offered to replace it at his expense, of course, but I said that's not the point. There's a principal here. It's something so simple. SO SIMPLE and they didn't get it right.

I am not sure I want them working on my car anymore.

Touche'!

Some headlines are, well, interesting to say the least. Jay Leno has a segment on his show where they take headlines with odd wording and bring them to light. For instance "Arsenic in city water nothing to worry about." Yeah right! Or one like this "Fire destroys truck full of fire extinguishers." Nice! Here's a headline someone should send in to Jay's staff for consideration, perhaps it could have used some editing before going to print?

"Dick jailed on drug, sex charges"

Wowser! What has the world come to when human body parts are thrown in jail for doing what they were designed to do? Next we'll be throwing hookers out of the lobbies of reno hotels! Poor Andy Dick, someone in the newsroom was just waiting for this to happen!

Anyway, just goes to show, a little editing goes a long way...oh, also that spell check hasn't got a clue!

Wordless Wednesday - Redneck Seafood Dinner

Give Me Five Monday Meme #29

Monday, July 14, 2008

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five summer time TV shows you enjoy.

It's not a secret that I am addicted to TV and summer time is no exception. It's an addiction I am trying to ween down off of but for now, I thought I'd see what everyone else is watching! My problem now is trying to pick just 5 of my faves!

1. So you think you can dance. (Fox) I love this show! I cannot dance even a bit but I still love it. I really enjoy watching the performances and seeing the choreography and creativity. The contestants dance in other genre and do a great job!

2. Design Star. (HGTV) This is another creative show I enjoy. I always find it very interesting to see the outcome when they are put to a task or given a set of rules and then let go to create! Very interesting.

3. Top Chef. (Bravo) I love to cook and learn new things. This show reminds me that I won't ever be a chef (that's ok, I sweat when I'm around heat for too long) but its really fun to see the flavors they put together and I actually learn about food prep along the way!

4. Black Gold. (Tru TV) This is a show about the oil drilling rigs in West Texas. It may seem odd to you that I enjoy this kind of show but there's just something about learning about the process that entices me. I always wondered how those drills were able to find oil and now I know!

5. Intervention. (A&E) This show tugs at my heart strings and usually ends in me crying and clapping and literally praying for the person at the focus of the show and their family. It's fantastically raw and painful and triumphant! I love to hear updates about prior guests and see how they are progressing towards a new life without the constraints of addiction in their lives. It always breaks my heart when I hear they aren't doing well. Your heart just goes out to these struggling people and to think it could happen to any of us if we were to make a few different choices. It really is a powerful show. I guess you could say I enjoy *real*ity TV. So what summer shows are you into?
Give Me Five Participants

1. Beverly 2. Nina (Things in General) 3. Tamy ~ 3 sides of crazy :) 4. Kwizgiver

5. Anna 6. Crystal 7. Amy @ Tiny Blessings (1st time) 8. Shannon

9. Tammy 10. Toni 11. Mariana 12. Penny Lane

Learn more about Give Me Five here.

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Alot on my mind lately

It's difficult for me sometimes to express on this blog the many different things that go on in my life. I feel the need to stifle alot of topics and not personalize my posts as much as I would like because I know a few different people who read my blog (and I want them to) are not people I can be 100% open with. My beliefs and issues are not shared and I tend to shy away from certain posts because I don't want those people to completely stop reading my blog. Also, some of the people I am talking about will know who I am referencing in those type of posts even though I would never use names and in essence would make it appear I am gossiping-which I would not be. What I am picturing is a second blog to be primarily used as a diary of sorts. I will not link the two blogs. I will probably not even promote it. If people happen by, then they just do.

I will be keeping this blog, of course! I've made some great blogging buddies here and of course, there's the Give Me Five meme hosted here on Mondays. I won't stop finding ways to talk about video cards and things like that. I like to have quite a variety of topics here. Actually, tomorrow (Thursday) I am starting a new bible study at mom's church called "Peeking into a box of chocolates" which will be facilitated by my mom. It is shaping up to be quite a good study as much as I know about it already. I will do weekly posts talking about the study.

So there will be lots to post on this blog as well. How many of you have more than one blog and what is the purpose of multiple blogs for you?

Here's a video for a song that's on my heart at this time...

Give Me Five Monday Meme #28

Monday, July 7, 2008

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five ways to fit exercise into your life.

This week's topic was suggested by Joyce T @ Mom's Musings! We could all use a little more exercise in our busy and hectic lives. It's good for ya and keeps you in top shape to make it along your journey. I've been lacking this in my life lately. Thanks Joyce, I really, *really* need these kinds of tips right now. I am desperately needing to add exercise to my busy life! I can't stress this enough, help, Help....HELP!

1. Don't go directly to the closest parking spots. If you park farther away on the parking lot, you are adding more steps (exercise) to your shopping trip!

2. Find a friend close by that you can call up and go for walks in your neighborhood with.

3. If you have to stand and do dishes, you can do leg exercises at the same time. Switch from right to left, doing outward leg lifts.

4. Sometimes when I am laying in bed either in the morning or at night, I do leg lifts and or crunches just to jumpstart my day or to put a nice strong finish on the day.

5. Let's face it, I don't have that many ideas or I wouldn't look like this! Now it's your turn to offer suggestions!
Give Me Five Participants

1. forgetfulone 2. Michael 3. Dawn\'s Daily Life 4. Tamy ~ 3 sides of crazy :) 5. Shannon H.

6. maryt/theteach 7. Kwizgiver 8. Tammy 9. Jess~Kitty 10. Joyce T.

11. Byrningbunny 12. Beverly 13. Petula

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

A profitable day, indeed!

Well, today has been an unusually profitable day!

First, we received our paychecks today, due to the fact that tomorrow (our regular payday) is a holiday. Not only did we get out paychecks today, we got them early in the day! That NEVER happens!

Second, I found a $1 bill laying loosely atop a blanket of leaves in a corner behind my building! You can tell this is a place where the leaves and other debris gather and get trapped by the wind due to the encircled nature of the design of our building. There it lay, just waiting for someone (me!) to come along!


Third, I took my little bags of aluminum cans to the recycling station. I haven't been can "hunting" in a long time, so these are mostly cans that I/we have used. It has taken me a very long time to accumulate what I *hope* will be enough to take in.

The going rate here is $.70/lb. for 10 lbs. or more. If you have any weight under 10 lbs. the price is only $.25/lb. When I arrived to the station and backed in, there was 1 man unloading a large number of very big bags full of cans. As I waited on his transaction, I began to unload my tiny bags and set them to the side. Something to note, the recycling guys like to keep things moving along, they don't have time for you to take your time. That being said, I was standing, waiting patiently and beginning to get nervous at the thought of not having enough to be at least 10 lbs. As the employee was emptying the large flat bed scale, I began to load my bags on. 3.00 lbs., 4.5 lbs., 6.50 lbs., 8.50 lbs. By this time, another gentleman had driven up and unloaded his 2 very large black plastic bags of cans. When I went to grab the last 2 bags, he said, "You might get there, you're really close!" I said, "I hope so!!" I threw on the last 2 bags and it came to.....wait for it.....9.5 lbs. This happened one other time, I was 'just' under 10 lbs. and the employee took off his gloves and threw them on the scale to bump me up! Well, that was a long time ago and I must have had a disappointed look or something because as I was waiting for the employee to come back to check the scale, the gentleman behind me said, "Here, you can take these!" and then pushed the bags towards me!

What?!? I said, "No!! You don't have to do that!!" He said, "No really, it's no big deal, you take them!" He just had this look of pride in his eye, so I said again, "Are you sure?! You don't have to do that!" He was like, it's no biggie and walked away!

After putting his 2 big bags on top of my mound of small bags, the total weight went from 9.50 lbs. to 26 lbs.! I couldn't believe it! I went from 9.50 lbs @ $.25/lb. for a total of $2.38 to 26 lbs. @ $.70/lb. for a total of $18.90! (Granted, if the employee wouldn't have given me mercy and bumped me up to 10 lbs., I would have just taken my bags back and returned later when I had more.) So the kind man basically gave me $11.90 in free recycling cans! Woo hoo!

I plan to give the $1 found earlier and the $11.90 to the Lord this week as an offering above my tithe. If you aren't doing this, try it, it's very rewarding!

Wordless Wednesday - Latest style in Missouri

Give Me Five Monday Meme #27

Monday, June 30, 2008

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five topics for future Give Me Five's!

I have honestly been at a loss for topics for the GM5 meme for the past couple of weeks and therefore have not done any. It has been more frustrating than the idea of sales jobs (Yah, not interested!) From time to time our wonderful participants have made suggestions and they have been very helpful. Now I am opening the floor to you! I will do a list of 5 regulations I try to follow when constructing topics and you can use these as guidelines and come up with a list of 5 topics that I will record and possibly* use in the future! I will also give you credit on that post if I use your topic :)

1. Keep it simple. I try to keep the topics very simple and easy to come up with a list of 5, sometimes it's hard to pick just 5 to answer with!

2. Keep it general. I always look for topics that the majority of people could relate to. No politics and such. Also, since I am not a mom or a wife, I honestly try not to do topics of like, 5 fave snacks to pack in the kids' lunch boxes and things like that. Of course, I would never turn down faith based opportunities to share ;-)

3. Keep it thought provoking. I like to get you thinking of things you have forgotten or conjure up fun memories from all our pasts, those are fun.

4. Keep it inquisitive. I really like to get answers or outside opinions or advice on things I happen to be going through. Sometimes other people who are not involved can offer up very helpful insight to situations and give you options for handling them.

5. Keep it fun and friendly. I really love reading everyone's GM5 list each week. It is a great way to peek inside you heart and mind and I get to see how friendly everyone is with their answers and comments.
Give Me Five Participants

1. Tamy ~ 3 Sides of Crazy :) 2. Mom Knows Everything 3. Joyce T.

4. Shannon H. 5. Karlana 6. Dawn\'s Daily Life

7. Tina Kubala 8. Forgetfulone

Learn more about Give Me Five here.

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Vacation thoughts

It's that time again, when I begin to get a little bored of the city and long to venture out into this beautiful land God gave us. I have always loved to travel. Even if I don't have much money to make it happen, a simple trip with cheap hotels and plenty of sight seeing is better than nothing!

So I've been pondering some possible vacation destinations. Obviously the high price of gas will factor in. I'm longing to make a trip to Maryland but my friends who live there are still in England and after they return will be making a trip here sometime around the holidays. So I'll need to postpone that trip until next year.

Any suggestions for short inexpensive trips from the St. Louis, MO area?

Now that things are cleaned up...

It has been a couple of weeks now that my apartment is nice and cleaned up! I have been trying to stay on top of the problem areas as they come up and so far I'm pleased with the results. I'm sorry if I keep talking about how much I enjoy my house being cleaned. It's just that for the past few years, I've gone in and out of varying degrees of depression. While I'm down, I do no cleaning. Right now, I do feel as though I'm coming back up and having the house clean is such an intricate part of the process of that uphill climb.

Although I am happy with things being clean, I am now noticing a few unfinished projects and other items of interest that have been uncovered and forgotten amidst the clutter. Every room seems to have at least 1 area that needs to be reorganized or refurbished. Take the living room for instance, I am still using a sofa table I found discarded as my entertainment console. It is *kinda* like this one, only not as nice.

It fits the purpose, but is completely unattractive. It's a shame to put so much time, effort and resources into decorations and then have that eye sore supporting the TV and stereo and DVD player and such. I mean, I don't want to go out and buy a brand new entertainment center and specialized audio racks just for the sake of looks! The table is a very sturdy *real* wood piece, it just happens to be designed for different use and it shows. I've thought about painting it black like the other furniture, I think that would make it 'fit in' better even though it is a different style than my other table furniture in the living room. And this is just one area of long since forgotten incompleteness. Ugh, who knew solving one problem would bring about so many new ones?

God's Pharmacy

Someone sent this to me in an email and I wanted to pass it on. I happen to think it's wonderful and thought provoking information! Enjoy

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!
God's Pharmacy! Amazing!
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye.. and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Avocadoes, Eggplant & Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries
Oranges, Grapefruits and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

You might just get cheaper rates on your NC health insurance if eating these foods can make you healthier! Of course that's not limited to just NC :)

"The Color Purple" the musical is coming to St. Louis!

As many of you know, "The Color Purple" is one of my all time favorite movies! I literally watched it again as late as last Saturday (5 days ago). Nothing makes me cry *quite* like that movie. From the opening scene, I am a basket case because I am thinking of what comes later on.

I heard some buzz a couple of years ago about a musical production well in the works. If memory serves me right, Oprah has alot to do with it, no surprise there. And why not? She has the money to do it! I remember commenting at the time, despite her involvement, I still want to see it! Looks like I will finally get my chance. I was pleased and excited to receive a Fox Theater booklet in the mail today announcing the shows for the 2008-2009 upcoming season because The Color Purple the musical is on the list! Yay!!!! The performance dates will be Oct. 21 - Nov. 2, 2008. I'd better start saving now for the tickets and the kleenex!

The Lord will provide

I have found that sometimes you can pray and pray for something and it just never comes. Usually, after some thought, I realize the thing I was praying for was not for the best anyway. I've even noticed that sometimes you are praying for one thing and get some other, often better thing instead! Now, I'm not necessarily talking about material items, like Tahitian pearls, although what a beautiful request that would be :)

I'm talking more about situations and needs vs. wants. My brother is a union carpenter and has been out of work for a while. It seems just when he's on the last plank of reserved means, the Lord provides. Someone called him today with a new work opportunity. Congrats, bro and thank you, Lord! You know what we need even before we ask. I wouldn't put my faith in anyone or anything else!

Happy to report!

I have talked to the new mommy and she said things are going much better! Apparently there were some latching on issues that a Madella nipple shield has cleared right up! So yay!!! Sorry if that was TMI for my male readers. 8-) I am going out to their house for a visit this evening and I can't wait to see the baby again. He's soooo cute and I just *LOVE* those tiny newborn noises they make. I can't wait!

Also, I'm happy to report that my house is still cleaned up! I can't believe it, it's been a week and a half since the big cleaning fiasco and things are still straightened up. My mom noticed the same thing I did, that it feels so good to have everything cleaned up and put away, we can't bear to leave anything out now! I'm also happy to report that through this process, I learned that with some deep cleaning and patience, my vacuum has been restored from a non-working dust collector to a functional janitorial aid! I was contemplating where I would possibly get the cash to buy a new one and now I don't have to worry about it! Not that I wouldn't have minded a new vacuum, like maybe a Dyson or maybe one of those Sebo vacuums, a girl can dream, right? But for now, until I get a better job, I am sooo pleased to be able to now use my old vacuum which I had previously been unable to use. It's amazing the difference clean filters will do. Also, I am lucky because the filters on my old vacuum are the kind that can be taken out, rinsed and put back in. Some of the newer vacuums have those white type filters that are rendered useless if gotten wet. So this is good!

Praying for the new parents

Have you ever brought home a newborn baby? Then you know what it's like to be so tired that you wish you had one of those shower chairs just so you could rest while getting cleaned up! I'm afraid that is just par for the course when you are brand new parents. My cousin and her husband brought DJ home from the hospital on Tuesday and the first night didn't go very well, I'm afraid.

He was nursing fine in the hospital and as soon as he got home, it didn't work out. So the first night was a bit of a tiring shocker to their system. Bless their hearts! I'm sure things will start looking up soon, it's just a big adjustment to what they are used to. So keep them in your prayers: Mom, Dad and Baby DJ.