Friday, August 29, 2008

Introverted, Sensing, Thinking and Perceiving ...




Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ISTP)



Your personality type is reserved, methodical, spirited, and intense.



Only about 6% of all people have your personality, including 3% of all women and 8% of all men

You are Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Perceiving.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Art Art and more Art ...

Last Thursday I went to the "Art Stroll" in downtown Huntsville around the Courthouse Square. It was great; and the art was wonderful to look at. I bought some very unique jewelry for Christmas gifts ... (yes, I am one of those!) and some awsome pottery mugs and even talked the potter into throwing in the matching saucer .. isn't bargaining great fun! They have these Art Strolls the 3rd Thursday evening of every month throughout the summer ... Sadly, that was the last Art Stroll in Hsv until next summer. However, I was looking on the "Huntsville Art Blog" which is listed on "Blogs I Read" on this page, and found that Athens is having something similar on September 6. Thought I would pass the info along, in case any of you might want to go art strolling. I wish I could go, but I have promised myself two whole weekends of nothingness after too many weekends gone. So if any of you go, enjoy! Below is an excerpt about the "stroll" or read the Huntsville Art Blog ...



ATHENS - Stroll along the Limestone County Courthouse grounds and step into a world of fine art at the third annual Art on the Square on Sept. 6. The free event is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will feature more than 40 regional artists displaying and selling their original artwork. The artists work in paint, clay, photography, jewelry, metal and other mediums.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Busy summer ...

I have had a very busy summer this year. It seems like we have something going on almost every weekend, commitments we made that, at the time we made them, sounded so much fun - and they are, but we just didn't realize how much we would be gone ...

Ms. Goofy wrote about being off by two degrees and how easy it is to stay off by the two degrees rather than correcting yourself on the right track. Sometimes when I miss being in God's house too much, I find myself going off course, and sometimes it almost too easy to veer off that 2 degrees without even realizing it. I need to be fed and I miss the comfort of worshipping with my church. It's not that I forget God when I leave Church, I don't, I still have my devotions and prayer time, but it's just something about being in the Lord's house that keeps me revived. I need it.

That said, I will miss again this next weekend, but they have church services at the campground, for which I am grateful.


Til later, V

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

STAIRS!




Stairs! They are not my enemy anymore! Prior to my airway surgery - I could not walk up a flight of stair without gasping for breath, or sometimes even stopping halfway up for a breather. So, I avoided them and opted for an elevator, if available. Since my surgery I have embraced my stairs at work and have been using them diligently and this morning I had multiple trips up stairs, down stairs, up again ... I had to go to the courthouse. I did not even get winded! So I am feeling the blessings again this morning and just wanted to share it here.



If any of you get a chance, check out http://maymemos.blogspot.com/ and watch the trailer for FireProof, a movie which starts on September 26, 2008. Looks like a great movie, one that would probably be great to take your husband to. A mini-marriage seminar of sorts, or so it seemed to me!


Til later, V

Sunday, August 17, 2008

$268,000 cooler!



It was casino weekend at the campground! So, of course we had to play; and, at the end, each couple pools their money and they have a blind auction with your winnings. Gary and I started out with $30,000 each and by the end of the evening, we had won $268,000 - we bid all of our money on the blind auction and won a cooler! And it was the nicest prize for the night! Okay, it's just play money, you pay $3.00 for $30,000 in "their" money and no one goes away empty handed! It was a lot of fun! All of the prizes were camping related.

The only down side for the weekend was that we had decided to leave our camper on an extended stay lot for the next month and when we moved the camper, the only lot they had left was very uneven and we could not get the camper level, when we were cranking the jack up to try to level it, it slid and bent the jack post, so we had to pull it home because now we are probably going to need a new jack ... yuck! Money money money ... if only those casino winnings had been real!

Til later, V

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Kudos to my Husband

My husband and I are going away for the weekend and I am looking forward to being alone with him. It's just camping again, but this time, it's just me and him. No friends and no kids. Not that those times aren't totally enjoyable too. You would think we would get enough of being alone with each other; our kids don't live with us, it's just me and him, except for every other weekend when his sons come to stay with us. My kids are married and live in Louisiana and Texas. But it seems like we are busy during the week and we just kind of co-exist sometimes. When we go away together, away from home, away from dogs, away from house chores, yard chores. etc., we talk more and we enjoy each other more. It is refreshing to our relationship and I am looking forward to it.

My husband is a pleaser and a doer and is a true Boy Scout in that he is always prepared for any type of emergency or "bump in the road". He makes me feel totally safe, protected and loved, and when we go away together for a weekend or travel of any kind, he "shines", if you know what I mean. I hope he sees something equally positive in me ... although, I have been on edge alot here lately, irritable and moody, I am on the last week of my post-surgery medication and I can't wait to throw that pill bottle in the trash. 6 weeks of steroids (prednisone)! I think I've gained 4 lbs!!! And I truly can't afford to gain any weight - I am trying to go in the opposite direction! My husband told me last night my attitude was horrible, and he is right, I have "horrible" seeping out of my pores it seems like. I am totally blaming it on the drugs! Poor G, and as they say in the south, Bless His Heart!

I truly hope I am not horrible this weekend. I'm gonna try to be good!!

Til later, V

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Sips n' Strokes


Me and several of my friends went to a place called "Sips 'n Strokes" in B'ham on Saturday to take an art class. IT WAS working with golf leaf, wax and arcylics and it looked like a fun painting to do. The top image is THEIR painting ... my painting is ...

HERE ,
It is supposed to be an abstract called "lady in red" - It kind of looks like I got mad at the painting and just blobbed paint all over it ... I am not real crazy about it, but the techniques used in the class were interesting to learn about. I would not, however, ever recommend the Hwy 280 Sips N Strokes. The instructers (the two main ones anyway) seemed to be at odds with each other which made the class kinds of stressful. One instructor poured wax all over one of my friend's painting too early - she had two other processes to go through first ... then another instructor squirted out a big blob of black puff paint on another of my friend's FINISHED PAINTING and then would not even let her see it, immediately took it to the back room and said she would just paint her another one herself ... not really the reason you go to a painting class ... anyway, she wound up getting her painting back - we had to demand it ... and they gave her the one the instructor did too, but wound up having to stay about an hour longer than was scheduled ... so NO I would not recommend the Hwy 280 store, but I would like to go to another one (they have 5 stores) and maybe try one of their other classes. They have fun looking paintings and I always enjoy taking art classes. It was a fun girl's outing - we went to The Summit and ate lunch at California Pizza - yum!

Here are photos of my friends at different points in the painting process = I didn't get photos of their finished paintings - I can't believe I did that!


Bridget - who is actually an art major and a great artist already (I learned this about her that day).





Ann, one of my oldest friends - from high school. She got the hot wax poured on her painting too early.


Stephanie, she got the big black blob of paint ...



Laurie, Ann's daughter-in-law.



The web site for this place is www.sipsnstrokes.com

It was a fun day.


Til later, V




Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Dentist - Yuck!

I despise going to the dentist. I am thankful for them and glad there are people out there blessed with the skills and knowledge in the medicine of dentistry. BUT I still dread going to the dentist. I chock that up to a horribly bad childhood experience in my first memory of dental visits ... to make a long story short ... first filling, wasn't numbed properly, dentist did not believe me, called me a baby and to grow up ... and continued his painful work ... he left me crying in his dental chair with his hateful words. I was to learn later that he was SADLY going through his own personal problems with depression and other stuff and ended his own life just a few short weeks after my memorable visit in his chair. My fear and dread was already grounded in me though by then.

I had my 2nd post surgery dental visit for my crown replacement today - only one more to go! My husband gave me a Microsoft Zune for Christmas last year, which I have loaded with tons of wonderful music. I took it with me today and CeCe Winans crooned to me I Surrender All, His Strength is Perfect,Blessed Assurance and more, while my dentist - who I actually really really like - did his grinding and drilling thing in my mouth - it actually made my visit soo much easier and it seemed to go by a whole lot faster too. So, thanks G for making my dental visit better, oh and thanks CeCe for the great music too!

Til later, V

Monday, August 04, 2008

New Yard Art on my way home ...


Things I see when I am driving home ... this is the newest yard art that has been added to a house not too far from my own - kind of creepy, but unique too - huh! The house is empty and desolate looking - maybe they put it there to ward off people/would be pranksters - who knows .. At any rate, you can only get by with this kind of yard decoration when you live in the unrestricted good old southern back roads ... I do hope it is gone though by Halloween!
Til later, V

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Thankful Thoughts ...

I am so thankful for my Christian friends. Going to the lake, especially Smith Lake, always brings memories of my younger days, days that I chose to leave God in the closet and walk with the world. So sometimes going to the "lake" brings memories of hanging out with friends, and without going into detail which would serve no purpose here, just being, in general, stupidly careless with my life - I am so thankful I lived through and have been forgiven for my sinful life - not that I am perfect now, but I do try a whole lot harder, and I like to keep God out of my closet and walking with me - so he can elbow when I get out of hand!
Anyway, as I said I am so thankful for my Christian friends - going camping with them and spending time out on the lake is almost therapeutic in replacing my naughty girl memories with wonderful memories - wholesome fun and good and Christian fellowship. It is refreshing to be around people who are not ashamed to talk about the Lord, pray before their meals wherever they are - and who don't immediately put you into a "weird" category because you do!

So, the weekend camping trip was fun. The dogs survived the wilds of our backyard without us. We are tired, but good tired and it's time to go to bed. Good night!