Bad hair day

Looks like I haven't combed it all day ... I haven't ... :)

Happy New Years ! Sorry I never responded to SK 's email but I will try to start being more bloggy. Staying at moms tonight. She fell this week and bruised up her left side pretty bad. Nothing broke thank goodness. Why do our parents have to grow old? I want mine around forever .. Miss my dad and never want to miss my mom just want her here ... Happy healthy and sassy!

Posted from mom's ... In bed trying to get sleepy. :)

Politics .. Voting ...

So glad this election is over. So tired of reading the political posts on FB and hearing all of the commercials etc

Disappointed. But not surprised.

God is in control. Thank goodness they can't take that away - even if/when they try.

Pumpkin

Painting a pumpkin ... For a birthday gift. I want to do one more and do it in mixed media. It's in my head now I just have to take it to canvas.

Dear Diary

Dear Diary,

I have a problem, I have too many journals, and I don't journal ...

I obviously want to because I keep buying new journals and I must seem like a person who journals because I receive them as gifts. I love journals , I used to keep journals all the time but now the thought of taking the time to write down my thoughts on a regular basis just exhaust me.

But the lure of a new journal draws me, I see a stack of journals on sale and before I know it I am standing in front of the check out counter with my lovely newly chosen journal that I can just imagine filling full of inspiring thoughts, creative drawings and ideas and I know just where I want to keep it so it will be handy for when I have something that needs to be recorded on paper. And then a few weeks later I'll get tired of seeing it stare me down until I put it up on a shelf out of sight, so I can one fill its empty space with another newly inspiring blank book ... Which is what I did yesterday. ... It's the blue leather one with black birds on it, isn't it pretty! Maybe I'll actually write something in this one! ~.~

Painting

I went to the Ledges for a painting class with my boss' wife. Wow what a difference. First it took place in their ballroom at a huge table with lots of space. Each setting had a stemmed glass of ice water, they offered a complimentary glass of wine of your choice and there was a table of hors d'oeuvres ... I was like - YES! they finally get it - this is how a fun evening with friends and art is supposed to be ... Not crammed into a tight little space with 20 or so other ladies and barely enough room to move your elbows without bumping your neighbor ... I am officially spoiled now.

Plus I loved the teacher and I love the painting. What a fun night. It was my friend's first time to paint and her painting was awesome.

My painting looks like a river scene and hers looks like a lake scene, both at sunset. Isn't it funny how everyones paintings are always tweaked just a little different when we are all painting the same thing.

Later, V

~ FYI Post ~

We've discovered we have a male neighbor behind our office who occasionally likes walk around naked in his back yard.

Remember the diet coke commercial where all the office ladies rush to the window at a certain time to watch the hunky shirtless construction worker take his diet coke break. There he was on all of his tanned hunky awesomeness???? Well ladies, don't come rushing to my office anytime soon, this naked freedom walker is about 75 or older and as my mother says, naked old men just aren't much fun to look at! ~.~

Just so you don't think too bad of him, he does have a brick wall around his back yard, but we are on 2nd floor and well, there he was and we had to look right???

How I spent my 4th of July

When a holiday falls in the middle of the weeks it's just not much fun. You have to get up the next morning to work, plus you've worked for the two days before so you're still in work mode frame of mind ... I would rather work on the holiday and be off on the Monday or Friday before or after so you have more of a holiday feel to the day ...

We stayed home worked around the house and I painted a longhorn for my friend's 51st birthday. Trying to attach a photo to this post ... Don't know if it will work - trying to blog from my phone for the first time ...

Hope you all had a happy 4th!

A little catch up ...



What has been going on .....

I celebrated one of my best and oldest friends (Pam) 50th birthday, she lives in Houston, so it was a double treat, I got to travel for a long weekend with some good friends!

Gary and I spent our anniversary weekend in Nashville, we went on a paddle boat ride (never again ...), went to the Nashville Flea Market (loved it!), and of course went to Music Row and had a great weekend.

We went to Gary's Uncle's 90th (i think) birthday in Mobile and took a ride over the Dauphin Island and toured the Fort - it was super windy!

Then for Memorial Day week, I spent a whole week with my friend Pam at the beach, it was a nice get away!

AND a beautiful week!

And I finished her painting ...

Somewhere in there I also went away for a ladies weekend with Sherry, Laurie, Michelle, Brenda and a few more great ladies, we painted and scrapbooked and just had a great weekend, I just don't have a photo to prove it!

.... The end   ... for now ...

RAPE

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent.

Rape can be categorized in different ways:

Anger rape

Power rape

Sadistic rape

Date rape

Gang rape

Spousal rape

Rape of children

Statutory rape

Prison rape

War rape

Rape by deception

Corrective rape

rape

noun, verb, raped, rap·ing.

noun

1.

the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse.

2.

any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person.

Man charged with rape for incident on Alabama A&M campus

 Victim of Provo River Trail rape recovering slowly

How many times do we see articles in the paper, see news reports on TV about rape; how do we react; is there a moment of instant revulsion, sadness, anger, compassion and then quickly move on, forget about it, don’t dwell on it.   You kind of have to or your mind becomes so overwhelmed with what that victim must be going through.

It is usually most every woman’s worst nightmare. 

This happened to someone I know recently, in the worst ways possible.  She is still recovering and will need reconstructive surgery for the damage he did to her when he brutally assaulted her.  A complete stranger broke into her home and did this.  For any of you who are reading this and are praying people, I request that you stop right now and say a prayer for this person for me, pray for her recovery, pray for her life, pray for her marriage, pray for her husband that he might be given the wisdom to know how to be the best for her during her recovery. 

 

What evilness there is in this world.

~ hello spring ~

My one lone tulip has made its appearance. Dad gave it to me the year he passed away so every year that it blooms I have to say "hello dad" "good morning dad" , etc., every time I pass it. Sounds silly I know, but it makes me feel closer to dad when I see it.

Happy spring everyone ... No matter what the calendar says , my dad says its here.

~ Conversations at a Mall ~

Walking through Bridgestreet at lunch time today and hearing snatches of conversations ...

... do you have to close tonight ...

... I really need to go buy a gift certificate for ... but I don't know if I have time ..

...  that makeup looks great on you ...

...  do you know where the Apple store is ...

...  so hungry, what do you feel like ...

... can I help you find anything ...

and then  (between two young women walking to their car behind me)

...  I don't know yet, but I have prayed about it everyday and I'll have an answer soon cause Jesus never lets me down ... thats just what I do ...


How refreshing.  It made me smile.

Black Clothes

I need to inject some color into my wardrobe. I seem to have accumulated about 95% of black clothes - so much so that I need to use a flash light to look into my closet to search through the sea of blackness to find something to wear. I want some pinks blues greens yellows to wear shopping is in my future ...

* Mojito Anyone ... *

Mojito ...

So simple, a little rum, a little spearmint, a little lime juice, some club soda, sugar and sliced lime, add crushed ice and yum ...  a wonderfully refreshing drink.  

I wonder if it would taste as good without the rum, because one of these just make me want another one ... 

Went to Bonefish for our 14th anniversary tonight... it was so good ...   Bang Bang shrimp, Seared Sesame Tuna, ..... yum, oh and a mojito.

 

 

Ingredients

• Ice
• 6 ounces light rum
• 12 mint sprigs, or spearmint, 8 roughly broken apart
• 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• Club soda
• 4 slices lime

Directions

Place ice in beverage shaker then add in the rum, 8 broken up mint sprigs, lime juice and sugar. Shake well and serve over ice in a high ball glass. Top off each glass with a splash of club soda.

 

 

Cheers!  V

* A New Year *

Gary bought us exercise equipment and has made a mini gym for us in a building behind our house.

Now to  get myself into the routine of using it!

Wasn't that sweet of him ...........................................  :)

I'll try to let you all know my progress, only if its good though!

Later, V

~Thanksgiving or Christimas - You choose! ~

We all gathered at my sister's home for Thanksgiving this year.  Have I mentioned that my sister loves, I MEAN LOVES, Christmas?  She has already started her Christmas decorating ...  see below ....

And she's not done.

She has a Christmas tree in every room.  She lives in an old farmhouse style home.  On the main floor, she has a kitchen, dining room, living room, parlor, two bedrooms and a bathroom.  On the top floor, she has two bedrooms, a big playroom, a small kitchenette, and a bathroom.  Yes, there is a tree in every room, plus alot of additional decorating to boot. 

Every tree is beautiful.  She decorates for other people too.

It is like a Christmas wonderland.   She loves Christmas.

I don't have my tree up yet.

But I am thinking about it.

Thanksgiving was fun at her home, but I kept thinking we should be opening presents too, or at least singing a Christmas carol!  ~.~

Til later, V

~ An afternoon outing ~

Went to my grandson's 4th birthday today.  
At my ex-husband's house. 
Always a little uncomfortable when I'm around the ex, with his slim pretty wife (and also very nice)  in their big perfectly clean and orderly home ...
Didn't help much that his dog bit me as we were leaving ....

If it weren't for that, it was a great little birthday party.

Shitty ending though!

Never surf the web at work ….

Never surf the web at work ….



Yeah, I know you shouldn’t but sometimes the temptation is just too strong. You need a break from the tedious and mind straining – a mental health break is how I have heard it referred to, so I clicked over to one of my mind clearing web sites (glamour.com this time)  just for a quick peak and there is this eye catching article jumping out at me …" 51 guys tell the truth " … how to be good at sex … so, of course, I had to click on it, I mean, I still need to know this stuff! So I open it and have just read the first two suggestions, when my employer comes walking down the hall and I know he’s headed my way, so, I casually move my mouse to the “x” kill button, and nothing happens, the next entry slides across my screen, and I click again on the “x” and still nothing, my employer is coming closer, my mind is racing, how do I explain this, I can’t even drop my screen, click! click! click! aachhk!, finally, as his shadow is starting to darken my doorway, the screen drops and I am safe, my boss turns into his own office, not mine, and now I am starting to wonder what those next 48 suggestions are … and really, considering the stress of trying to cover up my net surfing, it really wasn’t much of a mental health break. So, one more time …  ~.~

~Church and Demons~

So, I was at church Sunday, me and my guests, you know my little personal demons, namely, resentment, distrust, anger, distraction, just to name a few.  I have this problem alot here lately at my church, trying to put aside the fact that I really don't like all of the changes that have taken place in my church over the last year, and focus on all that I do like about it.  Sometimes my "guests"(you know ... the demons) talk louder than the music, louder than the minister, louder than the person trying to shake my hand and say hello during the meet and greet time, that I have to just tune out.  This particular Sunday, when these voices were disturbing my ability to worship in His house, I took a time out, sat down and turned to a couple of verses in the Bible which come to my mind alot here lately ...  namely:

Revelations 4:6-11

... In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. ⁷ The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. ⁸ Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’^[b]
who was, and is, and is to come.”
⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
¹¹ “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”

I've been thinking how overwhelming and powerful that must feel to be in the middle of all of that praising, love and worship, so anyway, I started reading this passage, actually read it several times, then God began to place people in my heart and I began to pray for them, people that aren't my friends, just people I "know" and some that I have just been told about, one whom I only met for one quick weekend about 15 years ago, for our ministers, our music leader, for me, and more,  and as I continued to pray, and I could gradually feel my load begin to lighten, my guest demons were slowly releasing their talons and slithering off my body and hopefully out of the building, and then I became more aware of my surroundings and the sounds around me and was amazed to hear the  music, they were singing:   "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come ...."  my verses which God took me to were being sung back to me  - now just how awesome is that?  I think its pretty awesome.   My church service went much better after that.

Click on it, be blessed with me.

Revelation Song

Til later y'all!  V

~ Turkey Sighting ~

For the past few weeks I have been seeing two turkeys on the small grassy patch on the side of Hwy 72 as you are getting to the top of Chapman Mountain (headed East).  Sitting in traffic, or creeping over the mountain in extremely slow traffic, I have had the opportunity to view these birds quite often.   I have imagined them as being mates for life and built up a turkey love story in my head, yes, I am bored on my way to work in the mornings!  So I finally researched the turkey and the mating history, turns out, they do not mate for life, nor even for one season, they are quite the promiscuous little things.  So now I have to think up a whole new story for them ...  a hot torrid tryst until the next one comes along I guess.  They just don't look "hot torrid" they look like an old familiar and relaxed couple out for their morning stroll, and evenings too (I have spotted them around the 5 PM time too), like they probably know each others likes and dislikes, etc.  I've most likely spent way too much time thinking about these little philandering trollops, but it did add interest to my morning drive ...

Til later, V