EEK! I almost forgot!

I almost forgot to blog today! Glad that I remembered!

I've been tagged by two people for a meme, but I'll get into that tomorrow. Don't really feel like it tonight!

My friend Cookie and I have been talking about how we love to watch true crime shows on A&E like American Justice, City Confidential, and Cold Case Files. I really liked Growing Up Gotti and Dog the Bounty Hunter, but unfortunately those aren't on anymore.

One of my all time faves to watch is Law & Order: SVU. I'm watching an old episode tonight that I have seen at least once before so I totally know what is gonna happen, but I love it anyway! I want to BE Olivia, and yes, I'll admit it, I have a secret crush on Stabler! *blush*

We had about 4 inches of snow this morning! We took the boys out to sled and make a snowman, and have a snowball fight before it started melting. Yes, we were out of school, and are out tomorrow as well! Can't beat a 4 day weekend, can ya?

We finally took the Christmas tree down today! Yes, it was still up....I just hate taking it down! It is awful, I know.

And for those who are following along, there has been a positive development in the situation that has had me torn up over our church. So thank you for your prayers! I am certainly feeling them!

So there is today's random post!!

Ridin' along in my automobile....

How cool is this car?! Wouldn't your preschooler love it?


Well, you could win it! Just hop on over to 5 Minutes for Mom, who are giving away this cool retro Mustang! OR you can go buy it at Pedal Cars and Retro Collectables! Check it out...they have lots of cool stuff there!

We had such a nice night!

My friend Robin, whose birthday I blogged about the other day, had an evening out tonight! Boy, don't those make you feel so much better about life?! I feel SOOOOOOO much better about school, church, even about my bad dream that dh was leaving me! We went to a local Japanese restaurant for dinner, then we did our usual--drive around and laugh and gab! We stopped by Target to get a Starbucks (and I must say that the Carmel Apple Cider is tres yummy!) and were waited on by a wierdo--which is so typical for us, we must look like we're gonna be nice to you no matter what or something, cause we seem to attract them! Then we drove around giggling about the good ol days when we were college roommates, and for old times' sake we stopped by Krispy Kreme. I am stuffed still, but ahhhhh, it was so nice to get to laugh until I cried over NOTHING and just do something for ME.

Oh, and here is a question that came up...have you ever been to one of those Passion parties or whatever you call them? Have you hosted one? Have you bought anything?!
We want to have one but both our our houses are pretty small, so we're trying to think of someone else to host it! LOL

I did buy something at one called Pure Satisfaction, and it...um, works. That's all I have to say about that! :D

Ahhhhh.......

we had a blissfully BORING day at school today! Didn't know how nice those were til they disappeared there for a while!

Do you ever, when faced with a controversial subject or after having had some conversations about controversial issues, just get so tired that you can barely keep your eyes open? Or am I alone in this coping mechanism? I discussed some 'issues' concerning our church with my mom for about 30 minutes, and then discussed the same issues with my sister for 30 more minutes, and I am WORN OUT! I am physically drained!

And being that the situation is in the Lord's hands, we all need to stop rehashing things and go to Him in prayer. We need to trust that He has the situation in control and that in His time, changes will come. There is no MAJOR problem, but it is affecting my parents big time...things aren't being done the 'Methodist' way, and it is driving them bonkers. And because it is bothering them so, it bothers us, too. However, my goal right now is to pray instead of complaining and judging. I need to go to the Bible and to the Lord in prayer, and let God do what He does best!

Reminds me very much of the Serenity Prayer:
God, Grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Sorry if this seems vague and sketchy. I don't really want to go into more detail because a)I've already rehashed it for an hour and my eyelids keep wanting to close even thinking about it again and b)it is so...unexplainable, that when I try to explain it to someone outside my family, it doesn't make much sense. Does that make sense? Probably not, but thanks for reading anyway!

This first blinky is in honor of those of you that commented on my last post! LOL

7 wierd things about me

Here are the rules, as given to me by Christie!

Link to the person who tagged you. Check!
Leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours. Check!
Post the rules on your blog. Check!
Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog Doing that next!
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post Gonna do that too!
Include links to their blogs. Gotcha!
Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Off to do that soon, too!

7 random or weird facts about me
1. I'm the only left handed person in my family.
2. Eve Plumb--yes, Jan on the Brady Bunch--is my cousin. Her dad and my grandfather were brothers.
3. My husband, both my sisters, my mom, my sister-in-law, and my father-in-law are/were all educators. My father in law was Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Commonwealth of Virginia for about 18 months.
4. I'm the only member of my family that was baptised, married, and had my children baptised in the same church.
5. I have a cat who ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifdopted our neighbor after Isaac was born. He decided Isaac was too noisy and now rarely comes into the living areas of our house!
6. I'm running out of stuff! I bite my fingersnails. I know I shouldn't but it is one habit I've just never been able to break.
7. My birthday is in 25 days. I'll be 35.

7 People I tagged:
Robin http://www.dixonchicks.blogspot.com/
Lotus http://sarcasticmom.com/
Misty http://mistywagner.blogspot.com/
Randy http://aquietplaceinmymind.blogspot.com/
Rachel http://www.all-she-is.com/
Cylithria http://whynotright.com/
Imaginary Blinky http://www.imaginarybinky.com/

I've been 'carded'--twice!

I'm so thrilled that I am making enough friends to have been tagged TWICE! How fun! I know that someday I might tire of such things, but not yet!

My 'soul sister' Amanda over at OhAmanda! tagged me, knowing I've had a rough week. I appreciate you, Amanda!

I did this not too long ago, so I tell ya what, I'll just link ya up to when I did it before!

I won't tag others on this one since I did the first time, but if you'd like to join in, just let me know in the comments so I can come see!

Who wouldda thunk?!

I was getting Adam ready for Isaac's first Upward basketball game this morning, when I noticed he had these spots all over his legs, and that his feet were red and swollen. I showed it to Chris, and I tell ya, he kept breaking out as we were watching him! His arms and hands started getting spots too, so we decided I'd forgo the ballgame and get him to the doctor! I told him that if he started feeling like he couldn't breathe to tell me. His hands and legs started itching too. They got us back pretty quickly when they saw on his hands the way he was broken out.

The doctor said that it was just a different way that a virus was presenting itself. He said that since he'd had a stuffy nose and cough earlier in the week, and because the spots were blanche-able?, that was what he thought it was. He said he'd never seen the hands and feet present that way, and to keep an eye on him and if he got worse to bring him back. He said to give him Claritin, too.

We ran by Target and his spots disappeared as quickly as they appeared. He is supposed to be going to a birthday party this evening...that will remain to be seen!

trying week/Happy birthday, Robin!

First let me say Happy Birthday to my fellow blogger and dear, dear friend of many years, Robin. We have celebrated many of her birthdays together, one of the most memorable being her 21st....where we shared a 2-liter bottle of Purple Passion and swore we were going to go on a road trip to Graceland the next day. I can't believe it has been 14 years since then! It feels like yesterday! Happy birthday, Tat, and know how very much I love and appreciate you!

It has been a rough week around here. Today was equally as draining, if not more so, than the rest of the days. Today, we had mad parents putting homeade t-shirts on their children supporting the disgruntled employee, and then pitching fits on teachers and the principal. We had picketers. Basically we had a bunch of redneck parents who know very little of what they speak showing themselves today. But it still brings anxiety and frustration. Hopefully, this will be the end of it.

This hasn't done much for my poor sensitive stomach, as you can imagine. I haven't been this thankful for a weekend in a while.

I do hate that someone is more than likely going to lose her job, but I know that she was given many chances to redeem herself. I really hate that her replacement and our principal have been given such a hard time. And I hate that our students have had to see adults acting in such an ugly manner.

TGIF--and I do truly THANK the Lord!

still in a funk

'cause that is what adding a touch of stomach bug to the mix will do to a person, ya'll! I slept all day and have watched the boys this evening while Chris went to Lions Club, so now I'm ready to go back to sleep. I'll be back with bells on tomorrow!

I am, therefore I blog

I'm not in the best of moods. I haven't been sleeping well, there is some controversy, not involving me directly thank goodness, but controversy nonetheless, at work and it is bringing me down. Things at church are very cliquish and I'm not in it and not really feeling as though anyone outside my family cares either way about me being there, yet I'm expected to keep certain duties going.....see, told ya I wasn't in a good mood. So this is it for the evening. Nothing significant, but enough to count today as a blog.

Would you like to know about other Pay It Forward giveaways?!

Of course you would! Overwelmed with Joy has posted all about the three books that she is sharing this month, but also about several other giveaways. Hop on over there and check it out! And don't forget to sign up for my own Pay It Forward giveaway below!!

Scattergories--blog style!

Scattegories - Bloggity Style

Laura at Laura Williams' Musings shared this post on her blog and it looked like fun, plus I didn't have anything earth-shattering to blog about today!

Here’s how you play. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following categories. They have to be real places, names, things…nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same first initial. You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question. Here goes nothing.

What is your name? Christi (it is really Christine, but I don't know who you're talking to if you call me that. It is NOT Chrissy!)

4 letter word: comb

Vehicle: Corvette

City: Chicago

Boy Name: Cole

Girl Name: Chloe

Occupation: cook

Something you wear: clothing

Celebrity: Chris Rock

Food: cucumber

Something found in a bathroom: cold cream

Reason for Being Late: chatting

Cartoon Character: Captain Caveman

Something You Shout: C'mon!

Want to play along?

Let me know if you are playing along by leaving me a comment so I can come check yours out. Leave me the link and I'll update this post with your link.

If you don’t have a blog, just play along in the comments.

I wish you had known my grandparents!

I had trouble coming up with something to write about today. I went back to NaNoBloMo and looked up the writing prompts group and found this.

My grandparents--how I wish that my children had had the chance to know any of them! They were all very special people. I didn't get to know my grandfathers as well as my grandmothers, but I have heard many stories about them.

My grandfather C. was born and raised in Panther Springs, a section of Hamblen County, Tennessee that, at the time, was not far from Morristown, TN (now it IS part of Morristown!) He worked as an adult in two different businesses: for Keener Dental Supply and for Hamilton Bank. He was frugal man, but I am sure that came from the time when he lived: he actually kept his job during the Depression, and I can only imagine how that affected him. One favorite story of Pawpaw is how Mawmaw gave him a pair of pajamas for Christmas. He thanked her and put them, still wrapped, away in his drawer. So the next year, Mawmaw wrapped up that same pair of pajamas and gave them to him for Christmas. Again, he thanked her and placed them in the drawer. The third year, he caught on...and was not amused!

My grandmother C's name was Emma Amanda, but she always wanted her name to be Emily instead. She was the second oldest child, and was very young when her mother passed away. Her older sister, Maude, had already married when their mother passed away, so the duties of the woman of the household landed on her. She helped raise her siblings, especially Douglas and Miles, who were the youngest. All of her siblings are gone; only Miles' wife is still living.

Mawmaw was a housewife, and was a world class gardener. Her yard was always filled with beautiful flowers. I am told that she was a fantastic cook, but she had started declining by the time I remember her cooking much for us. She came to live with us when I was 13, and would live with us part of the year each year until her death when I was 17. We got to be very close. She was my confidant and my buddy, and I was the one who took care of clothing her each day. I could pursuade her to do things that she wouldn't do for Mom and Dad. I have very fond memories of this time, and miss her to this day!

My grandfather P. always lived far away from us, and I only got to see him 3 or 4 times in my life. He lived in Dallas, TX. He was a graduate of Georgia Tech, and in his younger years was in Big Bands with his brother. He traveled the south playing and conducting bands. The problem with this was that he and his brother were both color blind, and in those days, traffic lights weren't uniform with the placement of the colors! So they had to watch traffic to see when to go and stop.

Granddaddy Bill was a very smart man and invented many things, such as a part to convert from wrapping loaves of bread in bread to plastic. He sold his patents to the companies for which he worked, so unfortunately, we aren't inheriting millions from this and his other inventions!

We called my grandmother P. Sing. Her father had called her that as a child, and she didn't feel as though she was old enough to have grandchildren when my oldest sister was born. So instead, she instituted us calling her Sing! By the time she was older, though, she wished that we had called her something more affectionate.

Sing was a very determined lady. She worked for the Army as a civil servant after WWII, and was sent to Occupied Japan to work. She couldn't take my mother with her at the time, but she worked until she was able to send for her. This was very much unheard of in the 1940s! She was a women's libber before her time! She and my mother also attended college together years later.

Sing was not without her idosyncracies and such---there were times that we really struggled to get along. Looking back, part of our struggles were the same as her struggles with my mom--we were very much alike! She suffered from depression for many years, but unlike me, only realized it late in life. Had things been different, I believe she would have been much happier lady.

OK, well.....that is a note about my grandparents! They helped shape me into who I am today!

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y night!

Anyone around that remembers that Bay City Rollers song?? That's an oldie but goodie! LOL

So I promised that I would share with you the things that I had won on the internet, and lo and behold, I got a comment saying I'd won something! Doesn't that rock?! I've been pretty lucky on this. 6 years ago, I won $500 by entering a survey. More recently I have won 5 books, some Listerine white strips, a beautiful handmade pendant, a Baby Einstein movie...I think that is it. I love it though! That is why I want to offer some giveaways of my own, because I have so loved entering contests and winning things myself! So keep your eyes open, my friends! More giveaways will be coming!

I did a thing that I don't usually do today--I took the day off from the computer. I spent the day playing with the boys and trying to read some magazines in order to clean them out somewhat. I also went to Curves with my mom, and took a nap. And this evening the whole family went to the high school basketball game together. That was the first time I've attempted a basketball game since Adam was an infant--crowds+small child+bleachers=a nervous mommy, so I didn't put myself through it needlessly. He did really well tonight though, so we'll go back!

So until tomorrow....

'I AM' Bible Study Lesson One

I found an absolutely fantastic Bible Study online, and these are my answers to my first round of questions! Feel free to join in by clicking here!

1. Are there any circumstances or relationships in your life where you can see God has intentionally placed you? What do you perceive may be at stake if you do or do not speak out for Him?

Wow, this is a deep one. I do feel as though there are some youth that I have touched in the past and had been intentionally placed so that I could do so. I still struggle with how some of them have chosen to live their lives, but I am certain that I have touched them, and that they have been brought closer to the Lord through me. I am also certain that God chose the time and place for my husband and I to begin our relationship. Too many variables fell into place for it not to have been the work of God, in my opinion! In this circumstance, the things at stake are pretty overwhelming: Had I not followed God’s plan, I wouldn’t have married my best friend or given birth to my beautiful children!

2. Can you honestly describe yourself as a woman with a 'yes' in her spirit? If not, what keeps you from this?

Most of the time, yes I can…but there are times that the ‘yes’ isn’t in the forefront of my mind. There are times that I am sluggish and hesitant to give the Whole of myself to the Lord. I don’t think it is anything short of the Devil feeding my ego and selfishness when I am not willing to embrace what God wants me to do.

3. Do you recognize any circumstances in your life which could be described as an 'unrecurring event'? Have you ever said 'no' to one and watched God use someone else instead?

Hmmm, another tough one. Yes, now that I think about it, I am afraid so. I think that if I had followed what God was prompting me to do in relation to the Children’s Ministries in our church, things might have turned out differently. But the wonderful thing is that with the Lord, it is never too late to say yes! Circumstances may be different, but if I am open to His plan, I know He will put my willingness to good use.

4. Are you in an emotionally and spiritually healthy place? If yes, how are you using this freedom to minister to others? If no, what do you feel is holding you in your Egypt?

YES, blessedly, I am! There have been many more unstable times in my life than this! I feel I am using this freedom to minister to others in my online relationships, and possibly in some of my relationships with coworkers. But in other ways, I am being held in my Egypt. I am not stepping out of my comfort zone and think of others more than myself. I’m still not sure in what capacity I need to be used, but I can certainly pray about it and listen for His guidance!

Another awesome giveaway!

Yeah, yeah, I guess I should be writing something funny and incredibly interesting, but I have a headache after having to actually teach school today! LOL Good thing I have 2 days off! So instead I'll share another fantastic giveaway that I have happened upon!

Momsational is giving away a boatload of goodies for moms and their kiddos! You will not believe all the stuff that is included here! Here are what the winners will recieve:
First Prize:

* A Wordsies shirt of your choice
* “What the Dickens” Audiobook
* Momager Calling Cards & box of stationery
* NoThrow tether

Second and Third Prize:

* A Wordsies shirt of your choice
* “What the Dickens” Audiobook
* NoThrow tether

Fourth and Fifth Prize:

* A Wordsies shirt of your choice
* “What the Dickens” Audiobook

If you would like to see all the loveliness in pictures and read more about it, please visit Momsational, and enter just by commenting!

And don't forget to visit the post below to enter my Pay It Forward Book Exchange!!

Now, for a question, so you don't just wander aimlessly away from my blog disillusioned and heartbroken...

Have YOU ever won an contest/giveaway on the internet? What have you won?

I will leave you to wonder for a day what I have won, and share that with you tomorrow!

Have a good night!

January Pay It Forward book exchange!

I am pleased to present my first giveaway! I have loved participating in several across the web over the past 2 months, so it is time for me to join in the giving fun! I am going to be joining in a Pay It Forward book giveaway, which is hosted by Overwelmed with Joy.

This month, I will be giving away a book I really enjoyed called After Long Silence: A Memior by Helen Freemont.

I happened upon this book at a book sale to benefit our local library. It is an advance reading copy, but I do believe I was its first reader given the pristine cover and pages. It does now show a tad bit of wear on the front cover, thanks to the rough and tumble that my 4 year old puts out!

Here is a little about the book that I found here:

Publisher Comments:
"To this day, I don't even know what my mother's real name is."

Helen Fremont was raised as a Roman Catholic. It wasn't until she was an adult, practicing law in Boston, that she discovered her parents were Jewish — Holocaust survivors living invented lives. Not even their names were their own. In this powerful memoir, Helen Fremont delves into the secrets that held her family in a bond of silence for more than four decades, recounting with heartbreaking clarity a remarkable tale of survival, as vivid as fiction but with the resonance of truth.

Driven to uncover their roots, Fremont and her sister pieced together an astonishing story: of Siberian Gulags and Italian royalty, of concentration camps and buried lives. After Long Silence is about the devastating price of hiding the truth; about families; about the steps we take, foolish or wise, to protect ourselves and our loved ones. No one who reads this book can be unmoved, or fail to understand the seductive, damaging power of secrets.

Review:
"A story of safe but costly passage from one identity to another that takes us from Europe to America via World War II....[Fremont] has the intelligence and imagination to question her own motives. This allows her to question the memoir form, even as she deploys it so beautifully." The New York Times

Review:
"Mesmerizing....Fremont has accomplished something that seems close to impossible: She has made a fresh and worthy contribution to the vast literature of the Holocaust." The Washington Post Book World

Review:
"An extraordinary tale...eloquently written....Its complex narrative weaves back and forth between past and present, the tale and its discovery." The Philadelphia Inquirer

Review:
"Riveting...painfully authentic....A poignant memoir, a labor of love for the parents she never really knew." The Boston Globe

Review:
"Fascinating....A tragic saga, but at the same time it often reads like a thriller filled with acts of extraordinary courage, descriptions of dangerous journeys and a series of secret identities." Chicago Tribune

Synopsis:
Helen Fremont was raised as a Roman Catholic. It wasn't until she was an adult, practicing law in Boston, that she discovered her parents were Jewish, Holocaust survivors living invented lives. Even their names were not their own. In this memoir, Helen Fremont recounts a remarkable tale of survival — as vivid as fiction — but true.

Here are the rules, as set forth by Overwelmed with Joy:
1) Approximately once a month, I'll pick a book to give away to one lucky reader (you don’t have to have a blog to enter). It may be a book that I've purchased new or used, or it may be a book that someone has shared with me that I really like.

2) Details on how you can enter to win will be listed below.

3) If you're the lucky winner of the book giveaway I ask that you, in turn, host a drawing to give away a book -- any book, it doesn't have to be the one you just won -- for free to one of your readers. If you mail books out using the media/book rate that the post office offers it's pretty inexpensive. If you don't have a blog, please donate the book to your local library or shelter once you've finished reading it.

4) If you're really motivated and want to host your own "Pay It Forward" giveaway at any time, feel free to grab the button above to use on your own blog. Just let Overwhelmed with Joy know so she can publish a post plugging your giveaway and directing readers your way!

So here is how you can win this book!
Just comment here on this post! Be sure that I can get in touch with you, either through the blogger email addy or leave your email in the comment. I will choose a winner on Saturday, January 26. Good luck, and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!

We got snow!

Not a lot, in fact not even enough to cancel our workday today, but still....enough that we aren't going back to school tomorrow! Wheeeee!

When I was little, we used to get REAL snow around here. I mean, a foot or so! But not anymore....my children have barely gotten to go sledding. I really hope that they eventually do get to see snow like we had when I was little, cause it was so much FUN!

So yes, I went back to work today. We had an emergency practice drill at one of the county elementary schools, and though it took quite a bit longer than we had anticipated, it was eye opening to me. It was very different to be on the 'other side' as a student (I was pretending to be one) and not have any idea what was going on. I think it will change how I react to the students in such drills or, Heaven Forbid, shall anything like that ever take place where I am teaching.

And then I went back to my school, where I chatted with my coworkers, went to lunch, and finally did a tad bit of work! That is the worst I have EVER done as far as not getting things done on a workday!

So here we are on day 2 of Blog 365! I've remembered 2 days in a row! Only 363 more to go! LOL

Oh, and I am going to add a blinky or two to describe my thoughts and what is going on in my life with each post. Enjoy!

New Habits in the New Year

Susan and Janice over at 5 Minutes for Mom are starting the new year off right! Join in for some great ideas AND some great contests! Hope to see ya there!

365 Days??!

I'm doubting that I can do it, but I joined a group that plans on blogging each day. Heck, I couldn't keep up for all of November! But I thought I'd at least give it a try!

So my sister gave me and my mom and other sister a group gift of a book to read and share. Since I am the fastest reader, I got it first! The book is The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers by Amy Hollingsworth. I started reading it last night, and boy, did it bring back some good memories of watching Mr. Rogers! I loved that show back in the day!

The first lesson is about the value of being silent. This is definitely something I could work on....just sitting still and waiting and listening to God. But I can certainly understand and see how that will be calming and helpful addition to my spiritual life!

I'll continue to share what I learn with you, and covet your prayers as I learn new lessons and try to apply them to my life! Of course, you are more than welcome to join me in these!