I've been Tagged (again!) LOL

ClaireBoe tagged me for this meme. This should be fun!

Here are the rules:

1. You must post the rules before you give your answers.
2. List one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name).
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details).

E - enjoys riding motorcycles through the country
L - loves hanging out with my girlfriends!
I - I am not a worrier and it drives my husband crazy...lol
S - seashells, shoreline, seaspray, sunshine, seaweed, salty smell of the ocean - my favorite SUMMER sights and smells
A - always seeking to glorify God in everything I do and hopefully let the light of Christ shine through me.

Okay, I tag:
Sniz (I know you get tagged all the time but I only have so many people to choose from! LOL)
Monica
Binx (this is an easy one for ya!)
Sandy (maybe this will jumpstart your blog again!!

Well, I'll have to leave it at that because the other people I would choose have already been tagged or for sure wouldn't do it anyway so why bother ya know what I mean? LOL
Have fun ya'll!

The Vote is In

Yes, we are in Florida which means we had our Primaries yesterday. I am not into politics at all. I hate having to decide who to vote for! I end up asking my family members and close friends their advice and then I research as much information as I can online - mainly through Focus on the Family and Christian Coalitian websites. I can always tell right away who I am NOT going to vote for and I'll narrow it down to about 2-3 people and then agonize over which one to finally choose.

It's actually quite funny talking politics with family members. I lived with my dad and step-mom as a teenager and they are of the mindset that you don't talk about who you vote for. It's a "very private matter" to be guarded until you breathe your last breath so no chance finding out who THEY actually voted for.

My mom and step-dad on the other hand are very open about their choice and will defend their choice to one another because they don't always agree on the same candidate.

I sent away for absentee ballots this year for Greg and I just because I liked the idea of filling it out at home and not having to worry about going somewhere and standing in line to vote on Tuesday, 1/29. I filled mine out and sealed it while Greg was at work. After he filled his out he asked me who I voted for. I jokingly said "I'm not telling you!"
He said "I know who you voted for. You're so predictable."
He guessed and he guessed right....turns out we were on the same page because he voted for the same person. :-)

Anyway, I didn't vote for McCain or Clinton but that's who won in our primaries :-(

Fascination with Poop

After reading my blog friend Sniz's latest post on "POOP" it reminded me of this horrible game we played at my daughter's baby shower. I am sure some of you have played the dreaded dirty diaper game! I couldn't believe when the host of her baby shower announced we were going to play this game. It about made me sick to my stomach when they started passing these diapers around and all these women were putting these nasty melted chocolate "poopy-looking" things up to their noses and smelling them to try to guess what flavor chocolate bars they were! GROSS!! Needless to say, I sat this game out....my stomach couldn't handle this little game.

Meet the Spartans

Okay, so Dakota has been waiting for weeks for this movie to come out. He has literally been counting down the days until 1/25/08 - because that was the day this movie was going to come to the movie theater.

Well, when I saw the trailer for this movie I said "uh uh, no way! I am NOT going to see this movie....this is a DADDY movie!" LOL, yeah, sounds good, I'll pawn this movie off on daddy!!

So I tell Dakota that I have plans Saturday night to go out with a friend and perhaps he and daddy could go see this movie then. He asks his daddy and daddy agrees. (LOL - little did daddy know what he was getting himself into at this point.) Sometime after I fell asleep last night, my dear darling husband wakes up and begins watching television and he sees an ad for this movie. Oh no! When we go to breakfast (our regular Saturday ritual) he tells me he saw the ad...(gulp)...and he is NOT about to go see this stupid movie. He can't believe I told Dakota that HE would take Dakota to see this movie! LOL

Anyway, to make a long story short....we got Dakota to call around and find a friend to go with him and we dropped him off and after the movie we took the young man back home - clear across the other side of town - but it was soooooooooo worth it! It saved us from sitting through this disastrous movie and the boys loved it!

Rick and Bubba

My husband listens to the Rick and Bubba show on the radio. I was sad to hear that Rick's 2-yr-old son, Bronner drowned Saturday. I listened on the radio this morning as they played Rick's speech from his son's Memorial Service this past Tuesday. I was amazed to hear what he had to say about this precious little boy and his death. I don't think I'd be able to speak at my own child's funeral service much less with the passion and strength Rick spoke with! This is worth sharing with all those you love. (It is a 3-part video)

He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
1 Thessalonians 5:10

Dumb & Dumber (follow-up)

If you missed my previous post about Dumb & Dumber you might want to catch up on that before reading this follow-up story. I was referring to a friend of ours, Bob who has two brothers who fight like crazy.

Last time I posted, Dumb was sitting in jail and Dumber was furious at Bob for trying to help Dumb out so Dumber was trying various legal tactics to seek revenge on Bob. Craziness I tell ya!

So today the whole circus group arrives at the court house for their day in court. I went along as a character witness for my friends - turns out though Dumber made enough of an a$$ of himself on his own that my friends didn't need any character witnesses for themselves. All charges were dropped against Dumb and he was given permission to live at Bob's house. The judge threw out everything and told Dumber & wife that they needed to stop the foolishness. The funny thing was, the more Dumber spoke, the people in the courtroom started getting ticked off at him and telling him to Grow Up, Get A Job, Quit Being Stupid and various other comments. I kept waiting for the judge to call order in the court!

As I stood in the hallway talking to Bob & Sue afterwards several people passed by (who had been in the courtroom) and told Bob & Sue how sorry they felt for them with all the craziness going on between Dumb and Dumber...and they sincerely hoped things would get better for all involved.

Tattoos

I can remember growing up as a child and thinking that tattoos were only for men who were in the military. Those were the only people I knew that had them. When I was in my 20's (and going to nightclubs) some of my women friends I hung around with started getting them. I was always shocked and couldn't believe they were doing that to their bodies! In my 30's (I was now in church full-time) - a few of the women I knew at church went out and got tattoos. WHAT!? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Women just don't do that...especially NOT church women!

Two years ago, my twin daughters upon turning 18 yrs old, went and got identical tattoos on their hips. The meaning behind their tattoos was really sweet. Hmmm, that's kind of neat. I like that. Could I be changing my mind about these artistic works of art? Nah, I wouldn't go that far!!

(I did tell Greg next time I go see both my daughters together I want to get a henna tattoo painted across my lower back and not tell the girls and see how long it takes them to recognize it! Now THEY would just die if I showed up with a tattoo!! LOL)

For all you tattoo lovers out there, here is a Tattoo Design place where you have access to unlimited designs and can print out what you like to take it to the tattoo parlor.

The Carlton Dance

I love watching Nick at Night! This is what I watch before I go to bed everynight. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and George Lopez are my two favorite shows!!
Carlton cracks me up...

Letting Go

Today I spent some time on the phone with my very best friend, CJ, listening to her and crying with her as she talked about the last 3 days since I've seen her. I haven't seen her since Saturday night at 11:00 pm when we were both at the hospital with her boss of 20 years - an elderly gentleman named Gordon who was 77 years old. Gordon & CJ have a very special relationship. Up until the last couple of weeks Gordon was not saved and CJ, being the strong Christian woman she has always been, has spent the last 20 years praying for Gordon and loving him and being there for him through all of his trials and tribulations when he had nobody else to turn to. Gordon, in turn was like a father to CJ...and a year ago when she and her husband decided to adopt a baby boy, Gordon's heart began softening and his crusty bitter exterior began to melt the more he hung around with his "adopted" grandchild.

I had the privilege this last year of working with Gordon on several occasions and he loved to talk and tell me stories from his past. He was such an interesting man. He began having some health problems about six months ago and he has been in and out of the hospital constantly. CJ has been there for him and had taken over the role of his caregiver.

When we left Saturday night they had just given him a sleeping pill for the night so he could get some rest. The hospital called CJ early Sunday morning and told her he wasn't going to be around much longer and she needed to come back up there. He kept hanging on until she finally gave him permission to "leave" around 5:00 pm Sunday afternoon...for the last year she has called him every morning as soon as she wakes up and he answers with "Yes, I'm still alive." She said the last two mornings have hit her hard when she goes to get the phone to call him and she realizes he is gone. She has a peace about one thing though....my sweet friend prayed her cranky old boss into heaven - he DID accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior a few weeks ago so she knows she'll be seeing him again one day.

The Little Car that Could

Until March of last year, Greg and I only had one vehicle. I have been a stay-at-home mom for a long time and this wasn't something we needed. If I ever needed the car, I would take him to work so I could use the car for the day...other than that I'm home all the time. Dakota and I are pretty much homebodies so this worked for us.

My daughter, Tina had a car given to her by her grandparents when she started driving. It was a '91 Toyota Corolla. The exterior didn't look all that great but it served its purpose for her while she was living here. Last March when she moved to San Diego with her husband she decided it wasn't worth it to take the car out there - she really didn't think the car would make it all the way anyway - so she gave me the car. I've been driving it now since April 2007 - when I got the title transferred over.

Today I think my little car has seen its last trip. Greg & I drove separately to church today because he wanted to leave straight from church to go watch the Playoff games at a guy's house. I had a mission trip meeting after church so it was almost 1:00 by the time Dakota and I got out of there and we were starving! We were headed to Wendy's to grab some lunch before going home when I realized I didn't think I had my money/credit cards, etc on me....I had put them in my pocket last night when I was out and when I got home I set them in my ring box and I didn't remember picking them up this morning.

I told Dakota we were going to have to go home and try to find something to eat there (which, by the way, there is NOTHING to eat here - I desperately need to go grocery shopping next payday!) All of a sudden I remembered I had a gift card in my purse that our family had received for Christmas. It was to Olive Garden, Smokey Bones, or Red Lobster - all of which are clear across town, about 30-45 mins from our house. I asked Dakota if he wanted to go to one of those restaurants and he chose Red Lobster - he LOVES fried shrimp. We had a wonderful lunch and great conversation over lunch!

We get in the car to leave and upon starting the engine, it starts shaking and sounds terrible!! Oh great! It was a longggggggg drive home. I had to drive 40-45 mph the whole way and I tried to take as many back roads as I could so as not to have to stop at red light after red light because it seemed when I stopped, the whole car shook, rattled and rolled so hard I was just waiting for it to BLOW UP! Dakota kept saying "Let's just call daddy and get out of this car!" I knew Greg was at the game and probably wouldn't answer his phone so that option was out. I called my mom to see if she could come meet us but she had an appt she was headed to. She told me to call my dad - but he has a little 2 seater truck and the 3 of us REALLY can't fit in there so I told her I would use him as a last resort. I just started praying fervently for God to get me home (please!!) and I would park the car and kiss it goodbye. LOL
I told Dakota to sit back and be quiet because I was already stressed to the max and didn't need his worry and carrying on to add to my stress, um - concentrated effort to get home safely. :-)
The closer we got to the house the more that poor car shook and the slower it drove...but most lights were green allowing me to breeze right on through...and we made it safely home.
Praise God and Thank you Jesus!

Never Doubt The Boy

Dakota, my 11-yr-old has this saying he likes to throw at us alot! - "Never doubt the boy!" This got started several years ago because he has the most amazing sense of direction and has been able to find his (our) way around new towns and cities after being there just a day or two. Ever since he was 3-4 yrs old he's been able to point out the directions home...which way to turn, which road to take now, etc. Needless to say as WONDERFUL as this has been it also comes with a downfall - his big head!! LOL

Anytime we are bantering back and forth over which way we should go he will be right 8 out of 10 times - and he loves to "beat" me, or Greg, or my parents....whatever adult he has just given the correct directions to. So now when he is right about ANYTHING, not just directions, he'll say "C'mon, let me hear it..." and we say "yeah, yeah, we know Never Doubt the Boy!"

Thursday night my mom, Dakota and I had just left Wal-Mart and we were stopping at Home Depot to pick up one last thing before heading home. We were in my mom's caravan. She pulled up and parked and she & I both jumped out of the front seats and shut the doors. We walked to the front of the van and turned around to wait for Dakota....who was lingering at his side door while closing it. I said "c'mon Dakota, let's go!" - we had been gone all day and I was ready to get what we needed and go home. He said "um, Mimi, your van is making a weird noise...like shhhhhhhhhhhhh...sounds like air is coming out of your tire."

Again I repeated, "well, c'mon, let's go! It's probably just the car sitting next to you that you hear - they have their engine running.

He says, "mom, I KNOW what that sounds like...this is like air coming out of your tire really fast." Mom and I just started laughing and she said "Dakota, if air was coming out really fast my tire would have blown - it doesn't happen like that"

We go in the store, get what we need and head back outside. At this point I notice a young couple parking next to us and the young guy gets out of his SUV and starts looking at my mom's van...down at the tire. We get closer to the van and he says "Is this your vehicle?"

Uh-oh! Gulp! "Yes, it is, why?"

His response "Well, you have a major flat tire over here and it's still losing air - you can hear it coming out."

Dakota looks at us and says "Ah-ha!! What do you say?? Let me hear it?? Altogether now??"

We know!! NEVER DOUBT THE BOY!

Choosing Sides

The hubby and I have a couple of friends (a married couple - we'll just call them Bob & Sue) - they are really getting smacked around by life right now...they are getting it from every which way. A couple of their problems deals with their extended family. I've been spending time with Sue, comforting her, listening to her and offering advice when solicited. When the guys get together my husband just listens to Bob, never offering advice or anything. His "advice" is always to just stay out of it whereas I believe there is a time when one should step in and "help"
Here's two of the most recent situations our friends are dealing with...

1. Sue's parents have been married almost 60 years! (Wow!!) Sadly, she has suspected her father of having affairs or even another family somewhere but her mother has never said or done anything about it until recently. The last couple of months her mother has started putting some things together and is now suspecting it and is very distraught over this and calls Sue all the time, crying, asking for her help in catching him so she can confront him. Sue is not sure what to do. She loves both her parents and even though she is angry with her dad, she is fearful for her mom because her mom has no life outside of her dad....she is "old school" and he is her life. Yet right now she is miserable and unhappy and doesn't want this to continue. I've encouraged Sue to help her mom hire a private detective if she doesn't feel comfortable herself catching her dad in the act. Sue is a Christian, whereas her father isn't and she's not really sure about her mom....but Sue knows this lifestyle is wrong. My husband & I actually argued about this last night because he thinks Sue should stay out of it. It's not her problem. It's her parents problem and they need to work it out. I told him I felt like Sue's mom was reaching out to Sue because she has no friends, no church family, no husband (because he is cheating on her!) no other family...who else is she going to get help from?? Why shouldn't Sue help her?!
2. Bob has two brothers (Dumb & Dumber) who are at each other's throats...constantly! They literally want to kill each other. They have hated each other for years and years and years. The youngest brother and his wife (Dumber) have constantly used whatever legal means/lies/manipulations they could use to keep the middle brother (Dumb) in jail or tied up in court for the last 10 years! It is insane! Dumb is homeless because he has lost everything having to pay for court and probation fees so many times, etc. Well - get this--he was just arrested again last week because Dumber & wife have a restraining order against him and they actually staged a time where Dumb was working outside Bob's house and Dumber's wife got within the 500 feet distance of Dumb (prohibited by the restraining order) and then they snapped a photo!! They called the police the next night and the police arrested Dumb!!!! He is STILL sitting in jail. No amount of talking on Bob's part could convince the police that this was staged...Dumb wasn't doing anything wrong. The police said "let the judge decide." Bob tried to explain to the police "but don't you understand? Dumb is already homeless! If you arrest him, that is just racking up more court costs and attorney fees for something he didn't do!!! AND he is going to keep looking like a repeat offender." I was suggesting to Bob how he could help by going down to the courthouse and pulling the records and looking at what all has been said against Dumb that keeps getting him thrown in jail and then speaking on his behalf...yada yada yada....and my husband said "why should he do anything...it's not his problem, he needs to stay out of it"

GRRRRRRR, so tell me readers, out of curiosity.....what's your advice?

7 Weird Things About Me

My blog friend, Miss Sniz, tagged me for this WEIRD meme.

The rules are as follows: Simply link to the person who tagged you. SHARE SEVEN WEIRD things about yourself. Tag SEVEN bloggers to do the same AND include a link to their blog. Let each person know that they have been tagged and finally post the rules on your blog.

1. I love it when Dakota brushes my hair and pulls my (few) gray hairs out for me. It's so relaxing to me and I'm sure he gets a thrill at yanking, umm, I mean gently pulling my hair out.
   
2. My favorite "sinful" sandwich is white chocolate peanut butter and marshmallow creme on wheat. Add a banana to the mix and I'm in Heaven!!
   
3. I detest the smell of raw meat and I don't want to look at it in the grocery store. If the family wants it for dinner they have to buy it. I'll cook it IF they buy it.
4. I have no problem standing on a stage and speaking in front of large groups of people and being the center of attention IF I'm in charge of an event or organizing something...but if I am just supposed to show up and make idle small talk with a large crowd of people it is extremely hard to do and 9 times out of 10 I'll talk myself out of going (or I'll make myself physically ill! LOL)
5. I have slept with a "little pillow" since I was a little girl...when my little pillow starts looking too bad I replace it with a new one because I HAVE to hug a little pillow to my chest while I sleep. I carried 2 of them with me to Brazil this last year! :-)
6. For some people this may seem weird - and I am having a problem thinking of 2 more "weird" items so here's #6 - I LOVE being at church anytime the doors are open - no matter what's going on. Dakota and I are always there!
7. I rarely drink anything but water, occasionally a glass of unsweet tea or orange juice, but mostly just water all day.

Okay, guess that's it! Now, let's hear from some other people out there. I'm only tagging 6 instead of 7 though....Binx, Monica, Erin, Sandy, Becky, and last but certainly not least (and because I can't wait to see what INTERESTINGLY WEIRD things HE'LL come up with!) I am tagging Miss Sniz's hubby Big Doofus.

Resolutions?

Here it is January 9th, 2008 and I've yet to put down any "resolutions" on paper. Traditionally I don't make resolutions. I like to call them Goals for the New Year or an "action plan" so to speak. But the last few weeks I've been in a funk I can't quite shake. I'm actually having a hard time concentrating on anything for very long and I've been very moody and angry lately.

I started writing in a personal journal this morning and it felt good to get some feelings out on paper where I could go back and read them later. I don't think I've been spending enough time alone with God lately and my attitude is beginning to reflect that.

With that said though I will go ahead and post some of my goals for this year:

1. continue working towards getting out of debt
2. raise all my money for my mission trip to Brazil in June (without my husband's help)
3. get to Hawaii to see my daughter and her family
4. continue growing an online business
5. GIVE more for all I have belongs to the Lord!

Peace...

I Am Legend

Greg had plans to go bowling with his co-workers late Saturday afternoon for a belated Christmas party. Right after he left the house a friend of mine called to see what I was doing and to see if I wanted to catch a movie. I just happened to be free since Greg & Dakota were both gone so we decided (my choice) to go see "I Am Legend" with Will Smith. I like Will Smith as an actor and have enjoyed his movies in the past.

We were racing the clock trying to get to this movie by 5:15 so I didn't have time to look it up online to see what it was about or anything. She beat me to the theater and purchased my ticket before I got there. We got about 1/3 of the way into the movie and realized we had made a HUGE mistake! This was definitely not our type of movie!! It was a very scary, suspenseful movie that kept us jumping through most of it. Neither one of us like these types of films. I was extremely disappointed in this movie!

After the movie we walked next door to a Mexican restaurant and ate dinner....and calmed our fluttering hearts! Lol

Dakota's Ski Trip

My youngest made it home in one piece last night! He had a great time on his first ski trip AND his first time staying away from home like that without us. He did say though that he didn't like skiing - it was too hard. He loved tubing and ice skating, but he can live without the skiing. LOL I'm proud of him for trying it and getting through the ski school at least!

Pcola Moms Night Out

Had another great night out with my pcolamom friends last night! There were almost 40 ladies who showed up! We met at McGuire's Irish Pub/Restaurant for dinner first then a group of them continued on to a club for dancing. I continued on to the Krispy Kreme drive-thru for doughnuts and then home. LOL Greg was asleep by the time I got home around 11:00 so he didn't get to hear all my stories. I was forced to lay there quietly and watch tv for an hour or so until the excitement wore off and I could fall asleep.

Me and one of the other ladies - Marybeth

I invited one of my best friends, Mardi and my mom, Glenda, to join me for dinner.

This was the first table that filled up with 20 women. Behind that wall was my table, with another 20 women. We had a back room to ourselves - with this small wall dividing our tables.

I'm All Alone for a few days

As of 7:00 a.m. today my sweet Dakota has gone off on his first trip with the youth group from church - they are going skiing in NC for 3 days. This is new territory for him AND for me! I've always chaperoned everything my children have done...but it was different with my older children because they were all in public school and not homeschooled like Dakota is. He practically begged to go on this trip without me. I gave in and let him go. So what I have done with my first day without a child around?
Took the Christmas tree down CLEANED house with MY music blaring!! Tomorrow I'm tackling Dakota's room...mwhahaha