SPRING BREAK IS CRAZY and Prayer Request!!!!

Oh my sweet goodness...is March over yet? It has been crazy and it's not really half way over. Yikes! I'm gonna need a vacation and soon. Last week starting on Thursday the 10-2-4 Convention began with a bang with a reception at the museum. That was fine and everything went well. The T-Shirts that Mary Beth and I designed were received extremely well. (Every person who comes to the convention gets a T-Shirt). Friday was the big show where the Collections Department gave a seminar on preventive conservation for objects. Keeping with the theme of the convention, "Dr Pepper at the Movies," Mary Beth and I made a movie as an introduction to the presentation but of course we technical difficulties so we couldn't show our Powerpoint Presentation but went through it anyway while Jack, our director, ran back to the museum to pick up MB's flash drive which had the movie on it. We played it on someone else's laptop. You should check out our movie:



Pretty cool huh! Oh yeah and we made a Blooper Reel too!



We think it's funny...

ANYWAY!!!

We did that and then got ready for that Saturday which was the SWAP meet. People buying and trading and selling DP memorabilia. The Collections Department sold stuff too out of consignment. The money goes back to the department for conservation and preservation of the artifacts. BUT before Saturday rolled around a bunch of us went to see the movie 300, which was AWESOME!!!! I really want to see it again, too. Oh and by the way, did I mention I passed my first two tests to get my teacher certification? Yeah, I did and now I'm studying for the next two tests.

So Saturday in the midst of the SWAP meet I did a huge amount of errands including getting an oil change after I was SUPPOSED to get one in January. Whoops!!! Mary Beth and I met for dinner Sat. evening and then went and saw Happy Feet at the dollar theater. It was cute but not really for kids! LOL!

Sunday I basically went to church, slept, watched a little bit of NASCAR, went to Lewis' for Home Group and then went home and slept. I was soooo tired.

THIS WEEK:

OMGoodness!!!! March brings Spring Breakers. This means the museum is crazy. You know, like a trillion people in the museum and people throwing up and stuff like that. We like it when we have visitors but GOODNESS they are loud! I shouldn't complain too much. We are having the best days we have ever had at the museum. It's incredible! Today was probably the craziest day since MB and I were picking up 20 pallets for our move which had to be done in two trips which took up most of the morning (and I got an owie on my knuckle. OUCH!) We ran to eat lunch before the taste testing and then did the taste test. We tested 80 people in one hour. Wow! THEN we went to Office Max to pick up our desks for the new offices. They weighed a ton. By this time it's almost 4pm and Jennie tells me that my Southernliving at Home stuff is here in five HUMONGOUS boxes. I'm so excited 1.5 of those boxes is mine. ALL MINE!! It's exciting. I don't normally get a lot of stuff from these kind of deals. So now I'm about to go home and decorate my apartment with all my cool stuff and maybe soak in the tub and watch Season 7 of Buffy. Yay for the weekend!

PRAYER REQUEST!!!!

Mandy emailed me about Alex and Emma (my nieces). They both have some developmental issues both physically and mentally. Alex has been diagnosed with Larson's Syndrome but recent tests have suggested it could actually be a metabolic disorder. Please pray for them as they decide what to do. They've been dealing with this for over four years and I would like to see a true diagnosis so they can deal with everything properly. Here's Mandy's email. It gives some more details:

Just an update on the girls and all that is going on health wise...

I spoke with Alex's neurologist today after a confusing and vague report on Alex's abnormal MRI. He has been confused by the results because the findings are not consistant with her original diagnosis of Larsen's Syndrom. After speaking with the radiologist and geneticist at Arkansas Children's Hospital and considering the part of the brain where the abnormality was found, he is inclined to think the large majority of Alex's symptoms (lack of balanace, low muscle tone, tremors, etc) could be due to a metabolic disorder. His suggestion has been to come back in 6 months for a re-evaluation and to also bring Emma since she suffers from these same symptoms. Drew and I now have to decide whether to sit and wait or to seek another opinion for both of the girls. There are so many metabolic disorders to consider that random testing for them is not practical, but we feel that something needs to be done. Both of the girls have a well child check up with a new pediatrician next Wednesday and more options will be discussed then. We may ask about going to the St. Louis Children's Hospital since there are numerous children that go to therapy with the girls that have been treated for neurology problems there. Please keep them (and Drew and I) in your prayers as we seek answers to the girls' medical problems.

Love, Mandy

Please add them to your prayer list. I appreciate it and so do they.

I'll talk atch ya'll later!
Kitty

Foggy Daze

Oh goodness...I feel like I'm in a daze right now. I got plenty of sleep and swam for a bit today but just can't get going for some reason!!! Ugh!

Comense with the caffeine!

Ok, so last weekend was wonderful. Jason came down for a visit and it was great. Did a lot of errands and went to see the movie Wild Hogs which I thought was very funny. Later that evening we went out to dinner with a couple of friends and had a real good time. Sunday came too fast and Jason had to hop skip and jump back to OKC. By that afternoon I was feeling pretty lousy because 1) my sweetie had to leave and 2) I wasn't feeling very good.

The sickness got worse with a scratchy throat and congestion and I could tell I was not going to be in the mood to get up early for work. So I txted MB to tell her I was going to be late. I stayed up late Sunday night writing invitations to Angie's bridal shower. Oh man, my fingers ached!! I watched Quigley Down Under to give me something to listen to. I love that movie. I also printed out envelopes on the computer which went by very fast and then drugged myself and went to bed at 12:30.

The next morning was not so good. I couldn't breath at all!! Um, yeah, I didn't go to work. However, I really didn't stay home to rest either. I ran around town for a little bit to do some shower stuff and felt better. I think it was stressing me out and I didn't realize it. I'm not a great delegator and tend to try to do everything on my own. But thankfully I passed on some of the responsibility of the shower to three other ladies. Thank you!!! My eye stopped twitching. I can tell I'm stressed when my left eyelid starts to involuntarily twitch. It's wierd but a good indicator.

I also rented the movie Babel and it was good. Then I had a PEO officer's meeting at 4:30 and got that over with and since I was out again I called Angie to get her professional opinion about a dress I had spied. I don't have many dresses. I'm not sure why but I usually wear pants. But recently I have felt like dressing up or just needed a change. I looked at my clothes and realized that most of what I own I've owned for two years or more. I need a clothes overhaul!! This leads me to a thought that has been rumbling in my head for the past several days. It's very shallow but still could be thought provoking to some: Why do women love shoes? I love them! They're so cute. Do I have a lot of shoes? Compared to who? I think I'm probably average. Most of them are practical but a few are dressy. I still don't know why I like them. It could become a nasty addiction but thankfully I don't have a lot of money. But that never stopped Carrie from Sex and the City from buying a $400 pair of shoes. Yikes!! Anywho...if anyone can enlighten me on my question, please let me know.

I better get back to work...the annual Dr Pepper Collector's Convention is upon us and the museum has to get ready for it!! AAAHHHH!!! Let the madness begin!

"Later," she says, while blowing her nose.

Padre Visit

This weekend was cool. My Dad got to come down for a visit. We watched movies and ran around town looking at my museum, the zoo, the dam and trying to keep the dust out of our hair...yeah right! Not with 60mph wind gusts!! We also went to Home Depot to see if Dad's first cousin was there and he was!! I almost forgot he lived here. It was good to see him and I know we shocked him. The look he gave was classic!

It was a good visit and just made me miss my family more. What are you gonna do? Go see them, of course! When? I don't know...that's the bad thing. I will eventually. I usually do.

Later taters, gotta go do some work.

No Subject

Well I wanted to blog about something but I forgot what it was about, so I'll just update you on my life.

1) Last weekend I had the privilege of spending time with Jason's sister, Ruth and her husband, Cliff, her two boys, Devon and Bryce-man, and Cliff's niece, Jesse. We went up to Dallas to watch Medieval Times Friday night. It was awesome. I hadn't been in 12 years. I think I was more excited than the kids. We rooted for the yellow knight and we had the loudest cheering section due to the fact that the National Championship Junior High Cheerleaders were there. "Spirit Fingers!!!" The next day we roamed the Bass Pro Shop, lost a kid, found the kid and then went to Grapevine Mills Mall and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. That was cool. Never been there before. If I see another volcano with a sparkler...

2) My friends Lewis and Heather are engaged and getting married fairly soon. Congrats to them. Found that out Sunday!! Yay! It's a year for weddings...let me tell you...

3) Extremely busy at the Dr Pepper Museum. I got to crawl in between the first and second floor of the museum stringing a data cable from the router to our office. That was fun. We're also gearing up for two major events. The 10-2-4 Club Covention. It's when Dr Pepper Collectors gather together for a good time swaping, selling and showing off their collection. The museum participates heavily. This year I will be shooting my first movie for our convention seminar. It will be interesting... The second major thing we are gearing up for is the move of the museum's collections to another building. I can't wait to drive the forklift...watch out people!!!

4) My Dad is coming in to town this weekend. It is a last minute thing and I'm glad. I miss my family.

5) 27 days until I find out my test scores, so I can begin the next phase of my teacher certification... I hate waiting.

Check out the pictures from last weekend:

The Crew

The Lords and Ladies


The Convocation


The Procession


The Yellow Knight


At the Bass Pro Shop

Valentine's Day

Well here it is. I can officially say I've been on both sides of the coin so to speak. What I mean is that I've hated this day and I've loved this day. I remember getting this funny balloon in the shape of a heart with arms and legs and it would hover over the ground looking like it was standing up. That was from my dad. Cute!! I also loved Val's Day because in elementary school we made boxes to put Valentines in. Gosh I loved that!!! (I'm a dork!) In the past I've hated this day because I had not been the recipient of valentines from a boyfriend because I didn't have one, and of course that upset me and actually made me bitter! Ugh!! I eventually moved past that and became neutral. It was just another day. You realize you can and should show someone you love them any day of the year, not just Valentine's Day? Anyhoo... Honestly, this year I wasn't sure what to expect. I have learned that expectations can be good and bad. You certainly should have expectations of your friends and loved ones but not overly exaggerated to the point that if you don't get what you want, you'd be disappointed every single time. I would say I have done this on more than one occasion with disastrous results. Then I was miserable and felt sorry for myself. So all that to say is that I'm learning how to balance what I need to expect and what I want to expect. I hope this all makes sense. Hey! It does to me! So with that being said I will tell you about my Valentine. He's handsome and sweet and he did the wonderfullest thing for me! I drove up last Friday to OKC and met Jason at the high school because he was announcing the varsity basketball games. I got there just before the girls halftime. During halftime Jason and I met up the first thing out of his mouth wasn't Hi!, How was your trip? or even a hug!! He gave me his keys and said I needed to bring him a piece of paper from the front of his car. Ok. And of course I would do it, but I'm thinking to myself, why can't he do it? Well I'm walking out to his car and even before I get to the door I can see the beautiful bouquet of roses (see pictures) in the front seat and I drop his keys because I was so surprised. I really was floored. By the time I get back to the stands...I have a huge grin on my face and so does he. He did a good job and I love him for it. I, on the other hand, gave him a Jeff Gordon chocolate car. It's his favorite driver in NASCAR and they keep making cute stuff with his logo on it. I also sent him a card in the mail and I hope it gets there today!!

So the moral of the story is that everyday is special and if you have friends, family and special loved ones, tell them how you feel and not just on Valentine's Day.

Do you know the history behind Valentine's Day? Follow the link to the History Channel. Also check out these interesting facts on the economics of today.

Wandering...

So I was driving along a flat stretch of Interstate when to my left I saw a huge oil refinery. It was dusk so its lights were on and it looked like a small city. To my right I saw a state trooper out of his car aiming a speed radar at the cars going past, so of course I slowed down. Not two seconds later I was walking down the empty streets toward yet another oil refinery just right of the other one. I thought that was odd for some reason. Why are there two oil refineries so close together? Then all of a sudden I hear the Pink Floyd song "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" playing in my ear. Well that's interesting...oh yeah! Wake up!!! Yes, I was asleep while dreaming something very weird and then Jason called me (he has the Pink Floyd ringtone). It wasn't late, in fact I was asleep around 8:30 due to a HUGE headache, maybe even a migraine. I don't know. So Jason talked awhile and then I couldn't go back to sleep just yet, so I read a little. I'm reading Treasure of Khan by Clive Cussler. Pretty good so far, and I like it even better because there's a character in it from Arkansas who has a Razorback hat. Go figure...HAH!

Nothing much else going on...it seems forever ago that Christmas and the New Year was here. The months seem to be zooming by. I went up to OKC to take my first two competency exams to become certified as a teacher at the secondary level in social studies. It won't be until next month that I find out if I passed or not. The first test was pretty easy but long (OK General Education Test). The second was World History/Geography test. A little more difficult...

I, of course, saw Jason while I was there and it was nice because I hadn't seen him in five weeks!! I don't think I could do that again.

Now I'm just playing a waiting game. Waiting on test scores, waiting on construction at the museum to finish so we can move collections, waiting on job opportunities (museum and teaching), waiting on whatever...I'm tired of waiting.

I've been really busy with getting ready for the move. Crunching numbers for moving expenses, setting up a time line for the next several months, counting shelving units, deciding where everything is going to go...it's been pretty hectic and my apartment has suffered because of it. I'm doing a little bit here and there for cleaning up but it's slow going. My brain doesn't want to think about anything when I get home.

Random thoughts:

• I watched a movie the other night called Beowulf and Grendel. It was pretty good actually.
• Found a quote from a 1921 annual from Waco High that I love: "It was his chiefest ambition to graduate in knickerbockers." I don't know if he did but sure is funny imagining it.
• I've been listening to country music in the evenings lately (while putting together a puzzle) and I like it for the most part. There are some tearjerkers to say the least and ones that I weren't expecting to be either...they're pretty sly. Last night I heard one called "Drugs or Jesus" by Tim McGraw. Good.
• The weather. I wish it would just gradually go from cold to slightly warm consistently.

Anywho...that's all I know for right now....I'll write something later.

The Suffering

No, not the Coheed & Cambria song, which is really good, btw. I'm referring to the suffering that everyone must go through. People must suffer...it's part of life and life is also about how you deal with suffering. You can deal, I think, in two different ways: medicate (cover up your suffering any number of ways, not just medication) or by opening up your self to the pain and share it with others so they can help you through it. I think people think the goal in life is to be happy. I think that's part of it but not the essential part. We worry about finances, our hair, our makeup, who's Cameron Diaz going to be with now that she and Justin are broken up. These are superficial things that the world wants us to pay attention to and not the things that are really important, like our souls. In the end, does it matter what we looked like when we died or what people said about our character. I'm not saying it's wrong to wear makeup and try and look our best. I actually think it's important to take care of ourselves and look our best but not to the extreme that society pressures us into...I don't know if it's the same for guys as it is for girls, so I'm just writing from the female perspective here.

So back to the soul? How's yours? Are you suffering so deep but still wear a smile on your face? Why do we think we have to hide our pain? We should share it but that is a very uncomfortable thing to do. But talking about it can relieve so much of the burden, it's really unbelievable. But then you have to deal with your pain. Are you going to let it drown you or are you going to let it shape you to be a better person? It's really up to you and if you have a higher power, aka your faith, God, you have that strength to draw on. Don't be afraid to have a little help from your friends...that's what we're here for.

You may be wondering to yourself...why is she being so introspective? Well, this week is revival at our church...I'm not into the big revival thing, but at the last minute I decided to go last night. I'm glad I did, it just reinforced what I have learned, sorta jump started me a little about communication and hurting. And just because I wrote about relying on your friends and being able to communicate pain/suffering to them doesn't mean I'm the best at it. Far from it...I'm not very good at it...at all...but at least I know it and want to do better...but I don't get credit for knowing and wanting, I actually have to practice it. I probably won't do it on my blog, but rather in person or over the phone...so GET READY!!! LOL...no just kidding, but don't be surprised if I do.

-Kitty

Hi, My name is Jessica and I'm addicted to....

...Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. Yes, I'm a dork, but I like it. This past weekend I was a homebody and, well, stayed home and really didn't come out. I've been borrowing the Buffy series from a co-worker and I'm almost done with season six. By watching this series I have affirmed and reconfirmed that I am a total NERD!!!! First, if I was a character on Buffy, I would totally be Willow in a non-witch, non-lesbian way. She is shy and very studious and color codes her notes...which I have done in the past.... Just paint a big N on my forehead. THEN to make it worse was the fact the villains, three dorky guys, make references to Star Wars and Star Trek and I caught every single reference. Nerd factor just went up 3 points... So basically all I did this weekend was try to keep warm, watch Buffy and pick up a knitting project I started eleven years ago...that's right knitting... Didn't know I could do that did ya!?! I can crotchet too. Ahh the skills I have.

Keep warm, folks and pray for those who don't have power....

-Kitty

Christmas blues and the beginning...

...of a new year, of course. I mention the Christmas blues because the anticipation of the day and then the day is HERE and then the day after is very anti-climatic. Except when you have family spread out and you just go house to house and the giving and receiving keeps on going! YAY! Anyway, as usual Christmas was disjointed and dramatic (always is when you have dysfunctional families). No more than usual. Even better, in some ways.

Christmas started with the packing of the suitcase(s). It was a little different this year since I was flying home from DFW because I met my Mom who had surgery the Wednesday before I met her and was flying back from New Orleans so I flew the rest of the way home with her and helped her out around the house for a few days. (Longest sentence ever!) SO I had to whip out the largest suitcase for presents and the essentials but still didn't have enough room for my shirts/sweaters so I packed those as a carry-on for the plane. Oh yeah. Our flight was delayed for about 2.5 hours. But when we finally arrived home, the brother and Jason were there waiting for us. That was nice.

Watched a lot of TV, took part in the the Bond-a-thon that is always on, cooked my first turkey (turned out pretty good, if you ask me), ate lunch with Dad and actually had Christmas with everybody on Christmas eve. Jason stayed as long as he could and participated in the "cornucopia of greed" (reference to the ever famous "A Christmas Story"). He gave me a BEAUTIFUL ring with three rubies in the shape of hearts, the middle ruby being a little bigger than the other two. *sigh* Thanks, sweetie! He then left for OK to be with his family.a Patrick acquired a beautiful Siberian Husky whom he calls Beowulf. Apt name. Smart dog. He keeps finding new ways to get out of the back yard, including jumping through the screened in back porch. Eeeeppp!!!

After Christmas in AR, I flew back to DFW and drove up to Comanche, OK. But first I had some car problems, like it being totally dead. I vaguely remember turning on the overhead light to look for something in my purse before I got out. The service to jump my car was most excellent, super friendly and super fast. I only had to wait 10 minutes. What took so long after that was the toll operator trying to figure out how to discount me for the parking space (I got to park in the terminal parking lot for the same price as express parking). Yippee! Then by total accident I took the wrong exit and started heading in the wrong direction for OK. I had to backtrack a couple of miles. No bigee. I did finally make it to Comanche where I was greeted warmly by Jason's family and attacked by his nephews!! The gifts kept on coming and was surprised by a beautiful leather jacket from his parents. Nice. The next day Jason and I drove up to OKC and just vegged pretty much and ran a few errands. Got to see Jennifer (finally!) while I was there and checked out her new digs and went to see Eragon. A little cheesy but I liked it.

Also went to a New Year's Eve party and had quite a bit of fun. Learned how to play The Great Delmutie. Very fun! Stayed up late jabbering and just having a good time! I enjoyed it a lot AND it was cold outside. Anywhoos, you probably didn't want to know all that but there ya go.

I don't do resolutions. Why do them at the beginning of the year when you can make a resolution when you think of them? BUT I read a blog this morning that should be read by all so I'm gonna link it HERE. It's about your happiness.

First Turkey cooked by moui!

Purty ring I got!



It was a redneck Christmas, fo sho!



Alex and her new baby.



Emma in her cute outfit.



Beowulf on top of his dog house!

Christmas Carols

Even though I ranted about the commercialization of Christmas, I do love it. Some aspects at least. I love going to church to sing Christmas carols. There is just something inspiring and humbling to hear songs about the birth of Jesus sung by hundreds of voices that can utterly make me speechless ergo emotional. Every year I have a "favorite" carol. It's hard to pick from. I think this year is Carol of the Bells. Lots of different versions can be found and I like them all from the classical to the Mannheim Steamroller version. Doesn't Trans-Siberian Orchestra have a cool rock version of it? Anyway, that's my Christmas story of the day. Heh Heh, A Christmas Story...now that's one of my favorite Christmas movies. But that's a story for another day...

Moviepalooza

Well the weekend proved to be a regular weekend with some entertainment. Friday afternoon I skipped out of work early because I had to work on Saturday so I went to the matinee showing of Apocalypto. Pretty good, pretty gory and violent. Thought provoking if you let it be. Did some final purchasing of odd n ends for Christmas and bought some groceries too. Saturday I worked and then went home for a nap and then went to the dollar twenty-five theater to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It was good, again. Next I went for a walk on the treadmill at the YMCA starting about 6:30pm and realized ESPN was showing the Heisman trophy winner at 7pm and thought I would just walk until they announced the winner. But I realized they weren't going to come out and say it until the end so I went home and watched some Buffy. The ONLY reason I even considered watching the Heisman thing is because Darren McFadden (a Razorback) was nominated and in the top three. Well it didn't matter anyway, he lost. Maybe next year!!!

Sunday went to church, went to lunch, went to nap and then went to see The Holiday with Mary Beth and Jennie and then to eat dinner. It was a cute movie but totally unrealistic. It was very chick flick. The only possible way for any of that to happen is to have tons of money and fortunately for the people in the movie, they did.

I did a little cleaning but vegged in between everything else.

Looking forward this weekend! I finally get to see my sweetie! It seems so long ago that Thanksgiving ocurred. Well that's about it...for now.

Later taters.

Brrrrr.....I like it!!!

Ok, so my last blog was a complaint and I ain't complaining any mo! It DEFINITELY feels like Christmas FINALLY! There's even been some ice which was a nice touch, especially down here in Texas. This weekend was slightly uneventful but was nice. Did some grocery shopping, Christmas shopping, Christmas decorating and gift wrapping. I'm officially done with Christmas gifts. It's a miracle for a procrastinating girl like moui. Well, to be honest, most of my shopping I did in July in China.

Other things I did: Picked out recipes for the annual baking frenzy I do for family, friends and coworkers. I bought a fire log and preceeded to burn it without checking to make sure the flew was open. It wasn't. So I had smoke and my annoying fire alarm go off. I aired out the apt. and took the battery out of the alarm. All good. Went out with Anita and watched the downtown Christams parade at night. That was fun. Kids going crazy and grabbing for the candy. Cute...there were about five Santas. It confused me, I can only imagine the other kids were confused too.

Before we left to go to the parade, though, I noticed my left rear passenger tire was low, but I forgot about it until after church the next morning. By that time it was REALLY low! I slowly made it to a gas station and saw that it was $.50 for air. FIFTY CENTS FOR AIR!!! I remember a time when you could get it for free. Well I didn't think I had any cash on me so, great, I was going to have to buy a soda to get cash back. But thankfully when I was getting my air pressure gauge I found...wait for it....exactly fifty cents. Praise be! So I aired up that tire and checked the front driver tire and it was slightly low so I aired that one up as well. The other two were just fine. Similar thing happened to Jason last week. I think it's the weather. I hope it's the weather and not a nail in the tire. Eeeek!!! I've been monitoring it and it seems to be ok, for now.

Saturday evening I watched the Razorbacks lose. WHHHAAAA!!! Sigh. Maybe next year. But Florida was tough and I don't think we were doing our best. So I switched back and forth between the Hogs and the Sooners. At least they won. But I'm not sure which bowl game the Hogs got...let me check...CAPITOL ONE BOWL? It doesn't sound very presitgous but at least we got one. Oklahoma is in the Fiesta Bowl...at least that one sounds...festive.

I also watched that all time Christmas classic: Ace Venture Pet Detective. Yeah, that's what you get when you don't have cable.

That about wraps up my weekend. In the Christmas spirit, enjoying the weather, missing my sweetie (big time), and preparing for all the Christmas baking in the next coupld of weeks. YAY!!!

It's not beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Ugh!!! This is just a complaint that it is way too hot for Christams... It's November for goodness sake!!!! It's not supposed to be freakin' 80 degrees!!!

Ok...I'm better...it will be a-ok.

Thanksgiving Week/end

Happy Thanksgiving people. Are you turkeyed out yet? I'm not. I didn't get any turkey sandwiches, but that's my fault.

ANYWHO!!!

I had a wonderful week/end spending time with family. Let's just start on Wednesday: My plan was to leave work at 12:30pm and arrive at Jason's parents at 5pm. Well that didn't work. There must have been a huge wreck about 50 miles north of Waco because cars crawled at no speed - snail pace for about 2 hours and we barely got 3 miles. THAT was fun. But I made it in one piece to McAlester, OK. Funny that Jason and his Dad got stuck in traffic going to pick up deer meat. Hee hee... Had a relaxing Thanksgiving Day with Jason's parents and his sister Ruth and Cliff (her husband). I think I've watched enough football to last me for about two years now.

I drove us to Fayetteville on Friday and had no problems getting there. Baked a pie and waited until the bro, sis-in-law and nieces came over. Fun times! Turkey...goood! Arkansas losing to LSU....BAD!!! We'll survive...somehow... Saturday was a lazy day...it was great. Showed Mom what I wanted for Christmas and went over to Drew and Mandy's for hamburgers with Dad and Grandma. Good to see them. Drew took me for a spin in his new Mustang...laid some rubber on the road too.

Now the trip back to Waco wasn't all that bad because I had the fore thought to pick some alternate routes that saved me some time. Except for the wreck that held up traffic outside of Waco. Fortunately I was at a place where I knew some back roads to get to the apartment. Yeah! I got home about 7pm. All in all the trip was excellent...now I can't wait for Christmas. I'm thinking of taking a whole week off, which will be really nice. I got to get crackin' Christmas is around the corner!!! Which leads me to a dilemma. Should I get the tree out and decorate or no b/c no one but me will see it? It's always a quandary. Below are a few pics of the fam:

Ok, this isn't of the family.
I took a picture of the grass waving in the wind while I was stuck on N-I35E.



Jason's Dad carving the turkey!

Awww...Jason and Emma



Alex and Drew



Princess Alex

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!!!

Don't get me wrong, Christmas is very important too. But the commercialization of Christmas has gotten out of control. I love Christmas music but for goodness sakes, don't start playing it until AFTER Thanksgiving, please! I confess I have listened to a little bit but after hearing the same song three times in one day, that's when I gotta listen to the iPod! Anyway, I wonder what people in other countries think Chirstmas is supposed to be when they observe us. I can't imagine! This is how I see it. Instead of the birth of Chirst being the center of the season, it seems to be Santa Claus, reindeer and how many lights you can put on your house. It looks like we worship the wrong gift giver. Santa Claus. Based on a true person, giving gifts to the poor? Maybe, and honorable but it seems we are on the wrong side of the worshipping. We beg and plead to get what we want, especially when we're kids. Do you realize we live in a society today that we can get what we want whenever we want it? Several decades ago it wasn't like that. It was all people could do to save enough to buy something special at Christmas. I love to give gifts. It's fun. I like to receive gifts but not half as much as giving. Seriously!! In reality this is the time to be thankful again to God who gave us the ultimate gift of redemption through his own son. I think that's why we are supposed to give gifts to one another. Almost like a mini sacrifice of money for family, friends and those less fortunate than ourselves.

WOW what a tirade!!! and I haven't even got to Thanksgiving yet!

Why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday....by Jessica Harris; Grade ?

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because the air is cooler and the leaves turn different colors (alas, not so much in Texas). It's a time to gather with your family and just be with them. Food is always involved and I like to cook too, so that's a bonus. It just gives me an excuse. I love leftover turkey. I also love to lay on the couch and snooze or watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Not all of it because it's too long...just another excuse to snooze on the couch. Granted some of the time I help with the meal, but that really should be left to the matriarch of family, shouldn't it? At my house, it's tradition to go see a movie on Thanksgiving day and if there's enough of us, we play Trivial Pursuit (guys against girls). Anyway, I love that Thanksgiving is a time where we can be thankful with out all of the hullabaloo during Christmas. That's probably what I like best. The end.

Ya'll, be thankful for what you have and don't take it for granted! Ever! We don't know how lucky we truly are.

God bless...

PS: I'm also thankful that FOX has decided to cancel the TV Special with OJ Simpson!!! Thank GOODNESS!!!

Stupid, stupid, stupid....

Ok there are two things I just HAD to blog about...

1) OJ Simpson.


I just had to have a moment of silence for the stupidity of this man. I might sound harsh (for me) but give me break. How stupid IS this guy? Honestly, have you heard the latest? Yeah, he's gonna be on TV to discuss the latest. Here's a quote from CNN, just because I can't bring myself to write down:

Fox, which plans to air an interview with Simpson Nov. 27 and 29, said Simpson describes how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman, "if he were the one responsible."

There aren't any words to describe the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life. Fox must really hard up for things to air AND/OR OJ must be feeling pretty lonely to get this kind of attention. My Dad said he thought OJ couldn't profit off his ex-wife's death according to the court ruling. So I'm wondering about OJ's motivation. Bored? All I can say is.....DEE DEE DEEEEEEE!

The other sad thing about this is that a lot of people are going to watch this and buy the stupid book... BOYCOTT IT!!!! Why are we so fascinated with this crap?

2)Playstation 3.

No, I wasn't in line. Did you hear some teenagers held up a line of people who were waiting to purchase the PS3 and shot someone who refused to give them money? I know people do very strange/stupid things, but I'm sorry, when did a game box become so important that you need to rob and shoot someone to buy it (I'm assuming that's what they were going to do). Why does it cost so much freakin' money? Ok, it's the latest in graphic technology....yada yada yada. But don't we better things to spend our money on than something that can cause us to ignore the world around us? I can say this because I've been caught up in the gaming world. I've spent hours and hours on Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (love that game) and computer games when I could have been doing so much other productive stuff, like, I don't know, cleaning my apartment, doing laundry, being outside, getting an education...

Watch the episode of South Park where Warcraft is the storyline. I think it's a pretty accurate picture of what part of our society is coming to. Just to further convince you we are going the way of the Dodo bird, here are a few more articles on the wonderful actions of crazy people after a game box:

Launch-Day Frenzy

• Customer shot while waiting outside a Connecticut Walmart. (Article - ABCNews.com)

• Three PS3 campers robbed at gunpoint outside Springfield, OR Circuit City. (Article - KMTR.com, Oregon)

• Two gunmen rob a GameStop store in Elk Grove, CA, steal several PS3's. (Article - CBS13.com, Sacramento, CA)

• Several customers shot with BB guns while waiting outside a Central Kentucky Best Buy. (Article - WKYT.com, Kentucky)

• A dentist in Columbus, GA hired 60 temp workers to wait inline for 15 systems for his grandchildren. He later ditches plan after complaints from other customers. (Article - ledger-enquirer.com)

• One customer quits job to wait in line. Another postpones buying engagement ring for his girlfriend in order to afford PS3. (Article - TGDaily.com)

• Pregnant mother ignores contractions while camping outside a Secaucus, NJ Best Buy. (Article - NJ.com)

• Various Stories (Article - Newsday.com)

P.S. on the Razorback Game...

Top Five Tips while attending a Razorback Football Game:

• Check the weather, it could be cold.
• Sub tip - wear warm clothes when cold
  
• If you do get a chance to sit down, bring something to sit on.
  
• Check the best possible and easy accessible parking spots (and alternate routes to get to them).
• Leave in plenty of time...you never know how long it will take you to climb the ramp to get to your seats in the nose bleed section.
• MOST IMPORTANT TIP: Try not to wear the opposing team's colors...you could get your head smashed in...when in doubt...wear red.

These tips are brought to you by people who have experienced the weather, sitting arrangements, parking, climbing and wearing of inappropriate colors. (Jason was most unfortunate to have in his possession a Norman Tigers coat, which happens to be orange, which happened to be the color of the Tennessee Vols, who we happened to be playing at the time.)

How 'bout them HOGS!!!!!

Well what can I say...I think they won because we were screaming at the top of our lungs. Yup, my sibilings and their significant others, as well as my own, all went with two other cousins to the Arkansas (ranked #7) vs. Tennessee (ranked #22) game last Saturday. It was awesome! Maybe not the fact that we were probably 5 rows from the very top of the stadium and way on the end, but hey, you can't really quibble with free tickets to a huge game! We were fortunate enough to get a decent parking space. Thanks to the Daggets.

It was a short but excellent trip. Jason and I met in Indianola at Jason's parents and spent the night before going to Fayetteville on Saturday. I got to see where Jason grew up and went to school. Very cool. We dropped by Dad's and said hey and then went on to Mom's where Aunt Becky and Robin were showing off their shopping purchases. Got to see the brother, which was great.

It was really fun to be there with the bros and Mandy and Alex. I think we all had a good time. It's been fun being adults talking and joking around. I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. I have a wonderful family and there just isn't enough time in the day to visit as long as I would like without going insane. I'm also looking forward to spending time with Jason's family too.

OHHH!!! Jason called me early yesterday morning letting me know he was in a car accident. Not his fault but did do some damage to his car. He's ok, a little sore, but sad about his baby. Pray that he'll feel better and that everything goes smoothly with his car insurance and getting his car fixed.

Check out the pictures from the game. We rock...HOGS all the way, baby!

"A" is for Arkansas



Go Hogs!!!

J & J

Mandy & Drew



Patrick & Alex



Becky & Robin



The Arkansas Razorback Marching Band!!!



Patrick, Alex, Drew, Mandy, Jason, Jessica, Becky and Robin

NASCAR is.........LOUD!!!!

Well, I had an eventful weekend. It really was a FUN weekend...I don't know why I'm surprised by it. Everything went well, which I was nervous about. For Jason's birthday, November 1st, I got tickets to see the NASCAR race yesterday....Let me back up a little... I have never been in to stock car racing...ever. There are some sports I will watch, like football and really only when the Razorbacks are playing. And of course, it's always better when you are there live. Now Jason loves sports and NASCAR and I have grown to understand it and actually there is a lot to it. It's also funny because it's like a soap opera...seriously.... You just have to be there and see it to believe it. Boos and cheers. I think people like Dale Earnhardt Jr. because his main sponsor is Bud. (Nah, it's probably because of his Dad.) Anyway! Jeff Gordon is Jason's favorite and I asked him who his second favorite was and he said Tony Stewart. Cool.

The thing I was nervous about was the weather. It was already raining when we got there and then it was sporadic. I bet I looked good in my 86 cent poncho. Woot woot! (By the time the race was over I was pretty much damp and everything I had.) We walked around looking at everything. And then lo and behold there was Ricky Bobby's trailer!!! It was awesome!! I got my picture with a gianormous Ricky Bobby. We found our seats (on the second row on the 1st turn) around 11am and waited. It wasn't too bad because there was so much to see. Dr. Phil was there! We watched the jet engine dryers mounted on trucks drying the track off. We were still wondering if there was even going to be a race. Well it looked like it was a go. The race was delayed about an hour but they did race. It was awesome and very loud. Thank goodness we brought earplugs. There were several wrecks, but the two major ones I missed because I was either 1) in the bathroom, 2) waiting in line at the ATM machine, 3) souveniers or 4) getting a subway sandwich. It's ok, I'll live. :D

Well it was pretty dramatic at the end with a checkered green flag and a restart. Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson were almost neck in neck but Jimmie Johnson couldn't catch Tony Stewart and he won!! It was pretty exciting. There were over 150,000 people there. The population of Waco. That is NUTS!!! The race was over around 7pm and then the heavens opened up and let the water spill out. It thunderstormed like you wouldn't believe. I've heard horror stories about exiting the race but it wasn't too bad really. I took Hwy 156 all the way to I-820 and then to I35W to Ft. Worth. The traffic on the Interstate wasn't bad either. I got home about 9:30pm and was asleep by 10:15. Gosh I was tired. Jason wasn't so lucky. He hit some construction just 12 miles outside of Norman...he didn't get home until 11pm. He texted me and I replied but barely remember it. Poor guy. But hey, he got free tix to something he likes and a pretty darn good blackberry pie, if I do say so myself.

Trying to park the cars at 9am.



One of Tony Stewart's cars.



Me and Ricky Bobby.



Jeff Gordon's car is the one on the right. Neon orange.



Awwww...two NASCAR fans...and earplugs.



Blackberry pie...yeah, I'm pretty proud of it.

Long Time, No Blog...

Whoa, it seems forever since I've blogged!!! I need to catch ya'll up on stuff! Let's see, what has happened? On the weekend of October 21st I went to Jason's sister's wedding. It was beautiful. She was definitely a princess! The wedding was between Comanche and Duncan on Highway 81. The drive was great. It was nice to see different scenery and drive with no one else on the road. Sweet! I met a lot of Jason's family, including his Grandmother, and a lot of Cliff's family too. Cliff was the groom. All in all, a good time was had by everybody!

So that was the weekend. What else has happened? On 10-24 was our third annual Dr Pepper oUT oF tHE oRDINARY gOLF tOURNAMENT. The turnout was ok but we made basically the same amount of money as last year. We need more players...if you are interested in golfing, our next tournament is on 10-24-07. It's always on 10-24 (weekday permitting). Because, of course, you drink a bite to eat at 10, 2 and 4!

ANYWAY!!! What else...ummmm well my Mom is scheduled to have surgery on November 6th. It's outpatient surgery indirectly related to her cancer treatments. Her next BIG surgery in on December 20th.

Last weekend was fabulous. Friday I took in a matinee. The Prestige. Pretty good! About two magicians duking it out to be the best. On Saturday I got to sleep in for once in a great while. I slept probably until 9 and then read in bed until noon. It was great. Then I went to see the movie The Departed. Pretty good, people! Based on one of my favorite films from Hong Kong, Infernal Affairs. If you get a chance to see it, do so.

Sunday started a week of busyness. Sunday was the Chili/Gumbo cookoff, which we helped set up and take down for...Monday I worked and then represented Cottey College at the HOT College Fair that night....Tuesday night was Fall Festival at Church. (Not Halloween, mind you, but you could still dress up and get candy...what's the logic behind that?) I helped serve pizzas in the concession stand...Wednesday night I represented the country China at church for Mission emphasis week and then helped Angie cook a chicken casserole for a family with an illness. Thursday for lunch I ate at La Fiesta and listened to women talk about their mission experiences. It was good but I'm TIRED!!! So tonight I'm not gonna do much...maybe pick up a few things here and there in the apartment and watch Pride and Prejudice. Gosh, I love that movie.

The next two weekend are going to be action packed, so look for a blog posting next week on NASCAR...yeah, that's right, NASCAR!

Signing off....J

Jessica the Pirate (at work)


Work gang at lunch...on Halloween...duh!
It's not usually how we dress...usually....