Somewhere There's A Place

Well, I'm reading another book and it set me thinking...... Annie Freeman's Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish is a tale of 4 women celebrating the life of their dead friend. The dead friend is sending them back to the places in her life that have great meaning for her. It made me think - where are my places?

Of course, Harding comes to mind. I would love to wander on campus again and sit in a Harding swing with my sweetie. He came along LONG after I left there and we never went up there while we lived in Monticello. Outside of Searcy is Camp Wyldewood - I worked there for 3 summers. That place means a lot to me and I would love for ALL my friends to go to Bee Rock. I've tried to explain the burning of the cross to people but it doesn't translate well. Lisa, tell them it isn't bad! Do they still do it? Does the guy still say, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani!" (Mark 15:34) I would love to back there and take all my bestest friends.

Where are your places? Places that mean so much to you. Places that made you who you are. Places that if you close your eyes - you're there.

Reading is Fundamental - Part Cinco

In some ways short term memory loss is a good thing. When Jim does something annoying, I usually forget it. Kenny missed out on an antibiotics shot because I swore last time, he'd have one this time! When you (whoever YOU are) does something hurtful to me, I usually forget it.

Aside: This does not apply to my children. I. Will. Remember. and I will hate you/pray for you.

So, I'm a little embarrassed that I can't remember the fiction book I read 3 books ago. I'm sure it was from the library - I've checked my account and only books listed are the ones checked out now. I've racked my brain - I just can't remember. So I read something that I liked (pretty sure) then I moved on to a non-fiction. It was Naked by David Sedaris and it was recommended by Amy. She called it "snort-Diet-Pespi-out-of-your-nose" funny and I thought it would make me laugh at least. It did. In the first chapter, the author talks about his tics as a child. These tics put Monk to shame! I did laugh out loud then and later in the book. It's autobiographical and the author tells about his aimless life and his hilarious mother. I must say that the mother is the most outrageous character in the book. Coming from my background - any mom who smokes, drinks, and cusses like a sailor is odd. One who raised this family is past odd. It was an interesting glimspe into Sedaris's life and he has written several other books. I would definitely try another one of his.

So we have come to the end of the summer reading season. I have read one non-fiction for every fiction book I've read. I will go back to reading whatever now that I have met that challenge. There are a few non-fictions I'm still looking forward to reading - maybe I'll write abut them.

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I've been tagged, too. There's a book meme going around and my friend, Steve, thought I should give it a try. Now because of my short term memory loss - I just can't play. I can't remember 3 books ago let alone all my reading life. I'm listing others who have played - check them out! Amy, Steve, and Dee.

Signs of the Coming Apocalypse

1. Gas is below $2.50 and I'm thrilled!! I call people on the phone and tell them where to go for cheap gas (Albertson's on Buffalo Gap)
2. It's August in West Texas and the high got all the way to 84*.
3. My power bill falls below $4oo! (Not yet but I keep hoping....)
4. Denise Crawford Waldrop in the ACU Leatureship Book (picture included)

Laughing and Crying - My Favorite Emotion

I'm catching up on my blog reading and I just finished reading PreacherMike's last 5 entries. The whole breast feeding thing just made me laugh!! Yes, I breast fed my 2 kids. I was even luckier to get to use a breast pump for 8 weeks while Kenny was in the hospital. Hey, Rabbi, try pumping, driving back and forth to the hospital, and fixing something for dinner and see if YOU wanna have sex! Ya big goober!

Even funnier than making fun of such an unattractive man is following this link. Men Who
Breastfeed and The Women Who Love Them is wrong is soooo many ways.
I even went to the video, (Milk Men!) and laughed and laughed! Just the sight of all those hairy nipples......

The Queen of Denial

It's official - I have big kids. One in 3rd grade and the other in Pre-K - they aren't babies anymore. You know, Abbie's been my baby for awhile now but she had her 4 year old shots on Friday. Her birthday was in the spring so I guess I was just in denial.

Denial that I could still pick her up. I tried to pull her in the bed with me this morning and almost pulled my back out.

Denial that I can still shop in the Toddler section. Yesterday she got a new outfit for being brave and it was from the Big Girl section. (More selection - more teen styles)

Denial that I can ignore her changing body (50th percentile in height and weight.) When she tried on her new pants, I said her heiney looked good in them. She promptly stuck it out and tried to see it over her shoulder in the the mirror. Yeah, just like we do.

It's sweet and wonderful. It makes me sad. It makes me happy. It's just being a mommy.

I used up the last of the baby wipes this week, too. It's official.

Friday Fun Zone

Slo-Mo Home Depot

I don't know if this is some kind of social commentary or what but it's interesting. I like the music, too. If you get the chance, link over to YouTube to watch the Agent Exit Interviews.

If I Would A Rich Man

I've often commented how my life would be different if I could win the lottery. We'd get a bigger house, a ranch, send our children to Abilene Christian Schools, have Starbucks everyday - you know, regular stuff. I know one of our close friends would hit us up for a donation for ACU and we'd be good with that (especially if that friend got a promotion.) We'd get an unpublished phone number and take the kids to DisneyWorld.

That's why I find this article so fascinating. I can't imagine living a depressed life when I had lots of money. I can't imagine living in a trailer either. I can't imagine not using your winnings to make MORE money. I can't imagine my husband sitting down (that's what the ranch is for - to keep him busy.) I want to reach out to this man and tell him to follow his dream! I want to tell him to move where he has some anonymity and that the world still has a place for him! I want to tell him to put himself out there in a non-financial way! It makes me sad for him.

Well, rest easy friends, our family doesn't play the lottery. We see the big signs that say "$14 million" and my son usually mentions it but we don't spend our money that way. Jim and I KNOW it's a tax on the poor - who are the target players. We KNOW it's a waste of money - even if there are commercials on TV that tell us how we're helping Texas public schools.

Maybe once......

Say A Prayer

It's just the second week of school and Kenny already has strep throat. The doctor said yesterday that in the second week it was the kids who like school. They come in with strep. In the third week, it's the kids who DON'T like school - they come in whith abdominal pain. (In an attempt to get out of school.)

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Well, tonight the Coffee Group speaks for the first time! We've talked plenty before just not in front of a crowd. Say a prayer of peace for all of us. Say a prayer that our words will be a blessing. Say a prayer that God is at the center of tonight.

I've Always Pronounced It Talledega

Well, I'm still laughing to myself. I keep thinking of how everything about that movie made me laugh! Yall, last night got me some Ricky Bobby! I know that there are people out there that don't like that kind of humor (I don't understand why ANYONE would watch the Waterboy) but Will Farrell ALWAYS MAKES ME LAUGH. That guy is so honest and becomes the crazy character he's playing! (See: Anchorman and Old School) He doesn't care how stupid he looks and he looks so stupid! One of my favorite parts last night was one of the MOST predictable - they ran. I won't explain it and ruin it for all you women out there who are dying to see what you think is a guy movie.

Most of the movie (I can't use the term"film") takes place in North Carolina and Talladega, Alabama. It was nice to see those places. The wind was blowing at Talladega - I told Jim it must have been filmed in the spring. You know, there NO air blowing in the summer in the Deep South. All those pine trees and the woods, as we always called it, were pretty.

Shake and Bake!

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Let me recommend one of the funniest blogs I read, BooMama. She has listed some of her most famous postings and this is one of my favorites! If you get the chance to read her, you'll come away laughing!

Tea Partay

Which part of this video is the MOST disturbing? White girls attempting hip-hop? Men wearing pants with whales? The word "Topsiders" in a rap song?

It's hard to decide.....

Wages of Sin

Does anybody else want to put this guy in front of a wall and shoot him?

Related info: We have been notified by mail of a s*x offender living in our neighborhood. YUCK! Now I really have to keep my child on MY block.

Now the LORD observed the extent of the people's wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil. Genesis 6:5

I Enjoy Being .....

CAUTION: GIRLY POST AHEAD!

I've never considered myself a girly-girl. I always leaned that way but rejected the title because I thought me would make me lose IQ points. I've been trying to keep the ones I have. I was in a jock sorority in college. I couldn't even throw a ball. They made me play one softball game - the girls told me that our sorority would have to forfeit all sports if someone didn't take the field. Now, I'm pretty sure that wasn't true.

Since I've moved to Abilene, my life has changed. I got my first pedicure 18 months ago. I've never looked back! I can't go out of the house without painted toenails. And, please, let them have some kind of cutesy design on them! Jim has put dots on them and I've had flowers, so far. Next month the toenail guru of South 27th is putting coffee mugs on them! I can't wait.

Yesterday I reached another milestone - eyebrow waxing. NEVER done it before. They look great and the pain is gone this morning! It felt like a bandaid - that's on there REALLY good. I'm sure I'll continue to do it every so often. Just to keep the shape.

Eyebrow waxing - $10
Pedicure - $22
Turning into a Girly-Girly - Priceless

Did He Just Say It's Time?

It's finally here! School's in session for my 3rd grader! He'll be gone for 8 hours a day! Oh yeah, he's getting a quality education. The best in Abilene or at Thomas Elementary.

Kenny reports a great first day and said he's thinking of spending the night up there. Our new teacher is young and unmarried and Kenny likes her already. Abbie wants her to meet Uncle Billy. Abbie doesn't realize how her life would change if Uncle Billy were to get married.

There are lots of papers to fill out and Kenny says he may even eat lunch there sometimes! This would make my life easier - no lunches EVERY morning. He's psyched to earn tickets for special privileges. He loved all the books in the room (many of which he'd already read.) Hurray for Ms. Kaufman!

The entire household has exhaled.

School Days

16 hours and counting......

Serenity Now!!

You Make Me Wanna Shout

I feel like I need a shout-out to my sister-in-law, Ann. For years she has sent us some of the funniest stuff out there in www. land and she is sending me all my good stuff. She has one of those jobs that keep her at a desk all day and she gets the great jokes and downloads.

So, thanks Annie and keep 'em coming!

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We went to the Frontier Texas yesterday and the kids really loved it. I've promised all summer that we would go in August - so we went. This is the coolest museum and everyone who lives here should go. It made me proud to be a Texan (by marriage and residentency.)

Friday Fun Zone

Quick Change Artists on America's Got Talent

I love Bandy's face....

Trees

Check out the winners of Dee's Photo Contest! West Texas is represented!

That beautiful tree (or dying tree depending on your level of tree knowledge) is the one we sit under at the pool. Only 5 more full time days left.

Thanks, Dee, for making me a winner!

Reading is Fundemental, Part Quatro

Yes, I've finished two more books. They were both very quick reads.

Violets are Blue by James Patterson was first. I've read James Patterson before - in fact, most of the books in the Alex Delaware series. I like Alex and he's the main reason I would pick up another Patterson mystery novel. I love mystery novels. They move so quickly, the bad guy gets caught, they usually follow a formula - I just devour them. BUT James Patterson writes about some VERY bad guys. I can't read his work when Jim is working nights - it was difficult with Jim in the next room. These bad guys were vampires. (Does it seem that vampires are a trend?) I do enjoy Alex Delaware (that's Morgan Freeman in Kiss the Girls - the movie.) He's a good dad who struggles with his life. You've been warned. Read at your own risk.

Unlocking the Meaning of Lost: An Unauthorized Guide by Lynette Porter and David Lavery was my foray into non-fiction. I was trying to find something that wasn't a biography that I could finish. I kept expecting to put this one down but the writing was simplistic and I was expecting something wonderful on the next page. It read like a magazine article so it was soooo easy. It did make me go to the library and check out the DVD to watch again. It didn't give any great secrets. If you're a Lost fan, it had it's moments. Basically, read this stuff online.

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In the pop culture mode, I must tell you about the best show you aren't watching. The Closer on TNT. This is a wonderful waste of 1 hour on Monday nights. Kyra Sedwick plays Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Southerner (Georgia?) who works in LA as a homicide investigator. LOVE HER. She's funny, quirky, smart, and the bad guys always get theirs. It isn't always pretty but the bad guys get it in the end.

Gratitude is an Attitude

Gratitude leads to contentment

Contentment leads to happiness

Willard Tate said this yesterday during our Sunday School class and it set me thinking. I've noticed how ungrateful my children seem to be. I'm sure this is an immaturity thing but it makes me so sad. I'm sure this is because I lack contentment but this post is about them.

Kenny, especially, seems to be envious or jealous of other people's good fortune. The show Extreme Home Makeover drives him crazy. He has figured out (with our help) that we don't want something horrible to happen to our family so we can be on that show but still.... He wants to have fun but he doesn't want YOU to have some other kind of fun that he might miss out on. Yesterday he mentioned one of the kids in his Bible Class had an IPod. He knew I would disapprove but he still wanted me to know. Abbie is already starting, too. She wants everything she sees on TV. Even the things that she (and Kenny tells her) I don't like. (Any teenagy type thing including Bratz.)

What's a mama to do? I'm thinking of a gratitude journal for Kenny - yes, I'll be doing one, too. We'll be listing 5 things a day we are grateful for. Maybe Abbie should draw pictures? Do yall have any other suggestions?

Friday Fun Zone

Reading is Fundamental, Part Tres

Time for another book report.....

First the fiction - Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo an interesting read to say the least. In case I've never mentioned this before, I love reading about other cultures. This includes other places in the world, other eras all over the world and other worlds. This book is set in Sudan, Central Africa during the 1990's and is mainly concerned with the war that took place there then. (FYI: Darfur, that George Clooney was so vocal about a few months ago is in Sudan.) We follow the main characters over several years (with a satisfying epilogue) and how being in Sudan changes their lives.

there is no difference between God and the Devil in Africa. Whoever understands that in his blood and bones and guts, where true understanding resides, will swim in its treacherous currents; whoever doesn't will drown.

The book explores that opinion though aid workers, pilots who fly aid, missionaries, and soldiers. One of the characters goes to Africa as a Christian who buys back slaves. Her transformation into a person who does what's "necessary" was very interesting to me. As a person of faith, what did this "believer" do?

Now the non-fiction: I tried to read The Devil is a Gentleman Exploring America's Religious Fringe by J.C. Hallman. This sounds like something I would like, right? Crazy religious people? No. I really didn't want to read about Satanists and Druids. No.
So I picked up of a You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again The True Adventures Hollywood Nanny by Suzanne Hansen. Doesn't everybody love a good tell-all? The author worked when she was 19 as a nanny in Hollywood and this poor girl was taken advance of every day. I saw myself as that young woman who couldn't confront or stand up for herself. Funny, quick read.

Sorry, I've given up on Blogger letting me upload the book covers! Serenity Now!

Wordless Wednesday - 1956 Truly a Good Year!

Judy and Thurman Crawford





Avis and Don Waldrop













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