A friend in need is a friend indeed

Pray for my good friend Rose. She's having heart catherization done tomorrow and if they find anything she'll go straight to Vanderbilt for surgery. She's trusting in God to take care of her.

Lots and Lots

A lot of things on my heart and mind tonight. A lot of things I don't want to be on my heart and mind tonight. A lot of things I wish I could change. A lot of people I wish I could help. A lot of situations that I wish I could fix. A lot of confusion and hurt out there. A lot of confusion and hurt in here. A lot of things to be happy for. A lot of things to be thankful for in the midst of trouble.

Looks like I've got a lot of praying to do!

Sleepy Randomness

I'm sleepy but had to blog quickly. Had an awesome time at work tonight. It's been forever since I've been around that many teenage boys at once and we had a total blast hurling insults at one another and cutting up. Reminds me of old times with all my brothers. Mexican guy Fidel absolutely died when I told Tom to "Hush his trap!"

They cut my hours FINALLY! Manager Lady says it would not have been so bad this past week but someone was on vacation. It would have been nice to have been WARNED, though! OH well. Thank the Lord, Friday and Saturday are the only nights I'm working again this week. 19 something hours is so much better than the 32.5 hours of last week!

And, for what this is all about.... PAYDAY is tomorrow!!!

Yay. Thank you Lord for helping me. I wanna do what's right for my family. Thanks Honey for all the support. And for the note on break today. I love you. :-)

Missed Rose & Becky at work today. :-( But guess what? Brian's sis was let go too. STRANGE.

Later Y'all.

It's a very special day...

Happy Birthday Mama!

(Mama & me in 2000)

Yes, it's my dear Mama's birthday today. For 23 years I've never once wished I'd been given a different mother. For 23 years she's been the best friend a girl could ask for.
Thanks for being there for me all this time, Mama.
Wish I was there so we could celebrate together.

I Want my Daddy- I Can't Fight this Anymore

The Warrior is a Child
by Twila Paris


Lately I've been winning battles left and right
But even winners can get wounded in the fight
People say that I'm amazing
Strong beyond my years
But they don't see inside of me
I'm hiding all the tears

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armor
The warrior is a child

Unafraid because His armor is the best
But even soldiers need a quiet place to rest
People say that I'm amazing
Never face retreat
But they don't see the enemies
That lay me at His feet

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around 
I drop my sword and and cry for just a while 
'Cause deep inside this armor 
the warrior is a child

What's Happened to America?

Cookie Monster Eating Less Cookies
- By CHELSEA J. CARTER, AP National Writer
Thursday, April 7, 2005

Something must be wrong in the land of Muppets. First PBS announced that "Sesame Street" would kick off its 35th season this week with a multiyear story arc about healthy habits. No problem there; childhood obesity rates are soaring. Then I learned of changes that turned my "Sesame Street" world upside-down.

My beloved blue, furry monster — who sang "C is for cookie, that's good enough for me" — is now advocating eating healthy. There's even a new song — "A Cookie Is a Sometimes Food," where Cookie Monster learns there are "anytime" foods and "sometimes" foods.

"Sacrilege!" I cried. "That's akin to Oscar the Grouch being nice and clean." (Co-workers gave me strange looks. But I didn't care.)

Being a journalist, I did the only thing I knew how to do. I investigated why "Sesame Street" gave Cookie Monster a health makeover.

The answer would lead me into a world where television producers worked with health experts and politicians, a place where Cookie Monster does care about his health, and by association, the health of children.

The first place I headed was the Internet. On the Sesame Street Web site, little had changed. There was Cookie Monster, in all his blue furriness. He was holding a plate of cookies. He was chomping on a cookie. He still looked the same. But as we all know, looks can be deceiving.

So I searched the site for news on Cookie Monster and up popped a press release about the show's "Healthy Habits for Life" emphasis. Buried near the bottom was a one-sentence mention about Cookie Monster eating fewer cookies.

But what did that mean? Scarfing one plateful instead of two?

I picked up the telephone. "What's going on with Cookie Monster?" I asked the "Sesame Street" press office. "Why are you doing this?"

They sent me to Dr. Rosemarie T. Truglio, the show's vice president of research and education.

She said the show changes every year, focusing not just on teaching numbers and letters but also emotional and physical health. With the rise in childhood obesity, Truglio said "Sesame Street" is concentrating on the need to teach children about healthy foods and physical activity.

This season, each episode opens with a "health tip" about nutrition, exercise, hygiene and rest.

Truglio said "Sesame Street" also will introduce new characters, such as talking eggplants and carrots, and offer parodies, such as "American Fruit Stand." Even guest stars will address healthy activities, such as Alicia Keys talking and singing about the importance of physical activity.

Even politicians have gotten into the act, filming public service announcements with "Sesame Street" residents. In one taping, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist taught Elmo to exercise — jumping up and down. In another, Sen. Hillary Clinton and the small red monster discuss the various textures and tastes of foods.

But what about their position on Cookiegate?

"Even Cookie Monster is learning to control his cookie cravings," Frist told me by e-mail. "His sage advice opened our eyes to the simple joys of a tasty cookie and now reminds us that moderation is the key to healthy living."

Cookie Monster was not available for comment. (I'm hoping he hasn't gone too Hollywood.)

"We are not putting him on a diet," said his spokesman, Truglio. "And we would never take the position of no sugar. We're teaching him moderation."
The furry one also plans to try different kinds of cookies (read: healthier cookies) rather than his just staple, chocolate chip.

But will he still scarf his food? Yes, plus the occasional object, Truglio said.

But isn't that unhealthy? Her reply: He's still Cookie Monster.

Cookie Monster appears to be happy with the new "sometimes food" song, because at the end he warbles: "Is sometimes now?"

"Yes," he's told.

So there it is. Cookie Monster still gobbles cookies, he's just a healthier version of his old self. His eyes are still googly, his fur is still scruffy and he's still messy.

Even "Sesame Street" recognizes that we all need guilty pleasures.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2005/04/07/entertainment/e123204D96.DTL&type=printable

___

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Hey guys! After researching the origins of "Easter" I am now officially calling it "Resurrection Sunday".

Here are photos Megan took of us at church... Thanks Megan! I forgot to charge up my camera battery!!!

Oh, and the unveiling of my new hairdo!








That's B.J. in the corner of that last one... Uh, Mama? Can you edit him out? Sorry B.J.!

Girl Meets Wendy's

Wendy's is working out good! I may be changing my tune tomorrow when the alarm sounds, but night two and so far so good! Actually, I kinda missed it. Just didn't realize it. It's fun to be around old familiar faces.

Came home at midnight and because I'm wound up for a while we watched the pilot episode of Boy Meets World that I got from E-bay that came in the mail today! Wow I love that show. I grew up with Cory and Shawn and Topanga. I had a crush on Eric and cried when they all graduated... went to college.... got married... went off the air. Crazy how something can be such a part of your childhood and growing up and just weave itself around the fibers of your heart. I guess TV is safe, so you let it in easier. TV people can't be mean to you, can't break your heart. So it's like a superficial make-believe kind of love.

I'm tired. I'm rambling. My thoughts are being weird and I'm probably not making any sense. Nighty night.

La la la la la

It's a weird night. I'm in a weiiird mood. But, I think, this time, it's a GOOD weird mood.

Busy day at work today. Felt insignificant and ugly for a slight time, but I quickly got over it. It was fun to giggle with Megan today.

Brad & I went over to spend some time with Becky. Wait, correction: I spent time with Becky while Brad went on a little walk and then hung out in the living room. I'm so glad that I have a husband who understands my need to be there for my friends. Not only understands, but praises and encourages. Thanks honey.

No Kasey, I'm not quitting my regular job. Tomorrow, I get off of my warehouse job in Smyrna at 4:45 p.m. Then, I work at Wendy's in Lebanon from 5:30 until midnight. I told them the earliest I could be in, and the latest I could possibly work, and told them I wanted to work 4 hrs at a time, but NO they scheduled me for 5:30 to midnight! I'm gonna tell them, NO more. 6-10 should do just fine.

Sigh. It's gonna be a long day. I'm gonna go cuddle with my honey who is losing his cuddlieness because I'm taking too long to blog he says. Poor Baby!

He's not a tame Lion... But He is Good

I love the new Chronicles of Narnia movie!

I ALWAYS have something to say about almost any movie. I'm very cautious of what I put before my eyes. But I loved this movie!

Growing up, I was a big Chronicles fan. I read all of the books, except for The Last Battle, I think.

In recent years, I've been going back and forth. See, my thought process is this:

There are two forces at work in the world around us: The power of God, and the power of Satan.

So if I'm reading about a force being at work, and that force is not attributed to God, but instead to a "Deep Magic", then which of the two forces is it being attributed to?

Now, the difference with the Chronicles is that it is intended to be a direct allegory of Christ. An alternate universe with Aslan as the Savior.

I know that, and YOU know that, but what about my kids? I'm concerned that this idea will cause them confusion.

On the other hand, I know that it is good to encourage a healthy imagination. I think my parents did I good job with me in this area. They were very straight-forward with me. I always knew there was no Santa. But we always had a lot of fun giggling and pretending we could hear hoofbeats on the roof on Christmas night. I always knew there was no tooth fairy, but we were always amused at the thought of Daddy dressing up in a pink tutu to put a dollar underneath our pillows.

Mama always said, that if I teach you that Jesus is real, and that Santa is real, and then you find out later that Santa was a myth, how will you know I wasn't lying to you about Jesus too?

Anyhow, this is just my thoughts and what my thoughts have been in the past. At one point, Brad & I threw away our whole boxed set of the Chronicles. *crying*
Oh well. I've thrown away a lot of things over the years and at the time I felt it was the right thing to do. I want to be quick to remove anything that may be a hindrance to me, and slow to hold on to something that may come between me and Jesus.

But that movie blessed me.

Weird Mood... Again

Why do I always end up blogging recently when I'm in a weird mood? Oh well. It's a good way to get my thoughts together, and express what I'm feeling.

We finished up watching "The Father of the Bride" tonight. I love that movie, but it was a bad idea. Brings back too many memories. And just when I thought I'd gotten over it...

I bought thread to make a skirt out of fabric that I got for costumes for the Africa booth. Don't worry, it's not very African, but the best I could find out of the $1.00 a yard bin at Wal-Mart. I found a cheap pretty pattern and I can't wait to get started on it! Maybe next weekend.

This week is busy. I'm supposed to start part-time back at Wendy's this Tuesday evening. I'm half-tempted to tell them no, I changed my mind... I am NOT looking forward to it. But I guess I can do it for now and keep looking for something else that I'll enjoy more. Oh well.

Pray for my friend Becky that I've posted about before. She found out Friday that the baby hasn't been growing at all. Just the placenta and an empty sac. It was so sad. I spent all Friday afternoon with her. We didn't leave until 11:30. She's been a good friend and I hate to see her go through this after she was so looking forward to being a mommy. She has had a couple people make really insensitive comments to her about it, so Monday everyone at work had BETTER not say a thing! I hope I can be an encouragement, but it's just hard to know what to say. I can just be there.

Money & Food

Kasey is being so positive about Brad Moore's situation. Thanks Kasey, for uplifting my faith with your own.

I think I'm gonna ask my boss if we can do a bake sale at work for him. I think she'd agree.

In other news, I made a BIG checkbook mistake and we're paying for it. Things like this make me feel like a total failure as a wife. I beat myself up for it, no one knows how much I take it to heart. And when people say things like, "Why don't you have a budget?" it breaks my heart. I try my best and then something like this happens and I'm portrayed as a money squanderer without a lick of sense who can't even add two plus two. Like I'm not calling myself enough names already.

Sigh. BUT the Lord is merciful to me in my mistakes and He's taking care of us. We are going to be OK!

The good thing is that I have become extremely creative in the kitchen. I hardly ever cook from scratch anymore, but rather than go grocery shopping, I've been using the raw materials I already have. So far, this week for dinner, we've had... Southwestern Chicken Stroganoff, Beefy Noodles with Steamed Broccolli, and Cheesy Chicken Spanish Rice Pilaf, and Butter Pecan Cake with Penuche Fudge icing. It's sad it took us having a financial crisis to be able to eat like a king and queen!

Anyhow, it's late because I've been working on an updated BUDGET (take that, HA!) and I needed to vent a bit. Goodness, I'm getting to be as brutally honest as Wendy! Yikes! :-)

Emotional Trauma

I have very mixed emotions tonight. Brad Moore is laying in a hospital bed in ICU at Vanderbilt on life support.

We went to the hospital for a few minutes at lunch today and talked with some of the familly, and then tonight we went for about an hour. They started visitation at 8:30 p.m. but they were only allowing 2 people at a time and there was so much of his family there, so we decided to go home without waiting to see him. I felt like everyone there should see him before we did. Don't get me wrong, we love Brad, but I know everyone else has known him his whole life.

Plus, I think we're both kind of scared to see him. It all just seems like something on TV.

I'm just glad that I know that he loves Jesus. I know where he's going to be.

It scares me too because it makes me feel very fortunate to not have had any major family emergencies. And I wonder if it's just a matter of time. I hate to even say something like that. But at the same time, I know that God knows. I can trust Him. I know I can.

No title this time... Oops! Too Late!

Happy Saturday Night!

Well, I wanted to go to Ladies' Day today, but it didn't work out. My good friend Rose asked me to come out to her house today and help her do some cleaning, said she'd pay me. Well we are BROKE like a joke but I feel guilty taking money from a friend when I really needed some companionship today. She gave me way too much. She's a sweetheart. But it was a very good day, I got to hang out with Becky too. Her baby is due October 28th, she says I'll have to put more pictures of her on my blog when her tummy gets humongous. :-)

I gave Brad a haircut today... I am not very familiar with the trimmer he has so I put it on a shorter setting than I realized. So I took one buzz straight down the middle, and said, "Oh Dear Lord!" Brad says, "Uh, that can't be good!" (Reminded me of the time I did that to Micah. I skunked him! Except it was a lot shorter in Micah's case. He was practically shaven straight down the middle, so I had to try to blend it in with the other hair that I cut a bit longer, but it didn't quite worked. He looked skunked for a while. Poor Micah.).

But anyway, even though it was shorter than I intended, I think he looks awesome with his new buzz for the summer! And no, I'm not saying that just to cover my behind.

I think Kasey misunderstands me. I have nothing against redneck people! They are great people! But I really want to maintain a semblance of sophistication in my life... I don't think it's working though. Not when I regularly say "ain't" now.

I'm sleepy so I'm gonna go get ready for bed. I'll have to post pictures of Brad's new do tomorrow.

Later Gators.