My Favorite Things: Christmas 2008

10. Jon and Kate Plus 8- Any episode- I feel motherhood just came back. I know she's rough on him but cut her a break and he holds his own so let up- it's working for them.

9. The song from TLC commercial (featuring Jon and Kate and other Family reality shows) "Beautiful Life", Fisher. It makes me happy.

8. Planning Christmas presents. It truly gets me giddy.

7. My mitten/gloves. They are two in one and long awaited for. Thank you Wal-Mart for making them and making them cost effective.

6. Anything featuring gift giving without the cost. This year America is being challenged to think creatively and the ideas are awesome. Creativity is in baby!

5. Band-Aid, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" It fuels me when I do the Toy-Give-Away, it's as close as we can get here in Alabama. And I am pretty sure God is smiling on it.

4. Genius Sidebar, iTunes. If you love music you will so love this. I am fascinated, it's pure genius.

3. Christmas movies! I can't wait to see the following:

Yes Man
Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons
Marley and Me
Bedtime Stories
Tale of Despereaux

Mark and I saw "Four Christmas's" already and let me say, "I laughed, I cried..." it's worth it.

2. My kids' ages. They are at some really fun places this year. It's pretty awesome when you truly look forward to spending one on one time with your kids because you like who they are and think they are neat. I would choose them if they weren't given to me. I am sure of it.

1. Home. I didn't know what I was going to put here until i got here. I can say my physical home and I have had some turbulence this year with the leaks and unmentionables :) but in the end i love this old house and the warmth that it has. But the home i feel when i get around my family has to top it all off. It would just be cold and old without them. I love them in a fierce way and everyday I hope to be learning more on how to be a better person at "family". God is gracious with me and has set me around so many families with awesome examples of love busting at the seams. It's a true blessing to have that "i'm home" feeling.

Who are you -really?

This cute little 30 min. deal with Christina Applegate has been on my mind today- Samantha Who? In the show Samantha has lost all of her memory and from all the snippets pulled from her memory we soon see she is much the better to have lost her old self. She's so kind and fun now where before she was awful.

This had me thinking- what would our true self be without outside circumstances interfering? I know that's impossible but lets just say those circumstances had been different. How different would we be? The only way I can respond to that is to think about who am i? I think the person I am right now is not fully who I am at heart. So not meaning to be a downer but we have to make adjustments because of other choices. And eventually you change. But at heart, are you able to be what your mind and heart leads you towards? and if so- how?

Being a Follower, I am able to adjust because there is something bigger and better I am called to do than how I might prefer to be or maybe even am supposed to be (?). I still have selfish moments where I want to express myself in a totally different way than the conformity's of my community and even lifestyle. I want to bust out and write a book or be in a play or travel to Africa and live a few months. I want to teach my kids to plant a garden and live off the land. Then i want to live in New York for a while...
Am I crazy?

So what is your heart wanting to bust out and do?

Roll Tide!

I am so proud to be an Alabamian these days I had to express myself. Seriously, I really am proud of our football team (although I am a claimed Georgia Dogs fan- GO DOGS!) but I did this canvas for the food pantry auction at Cross Point. I am so thankful and excited to announce the Outreach Group in charge of this function raised over $12,000 to feed the hungry in the Shoals. Way to go my awesome friends who were in that group! God is good! (this canvas didn't play a huge part, only a very slight fraction in fact of that total- but I had to show it off and keep record of this for myself when I am having a "you can't do that" moment...)

frank mauled

the haze isn't the picture, it's the lovely firehouse smoke that occasionally would smog over all of us. but here's a shot of one of the highlights of my night. i have to say i laughed out loud at how nervous they were. soo chatty. ken did an excellent job of of smacking Frank. poor guy. jenny got this shot of right after the hit. i can't wait to post some more pics of the night! i am getting all the pictures together but i had to go on with this.

Here goes! I hope i don't over think this because i am a bit overwhelmed thinking i have to produce 20 years before your eyes right now...

20 years ago, Oct. 15th, 1988-

I am a freshman which means I am playing basketball and am about to crank up my first season. I am singing loudly in gym with Holly Sewell, "Mr Big Stuff" if i am hearing it right...I have pictures of Michael J Fox all over my butterfly bedroom (harvest gold and burnt orange with green shag carpet) I had begun my mix tape collection and recorded most of my music straight from the radio so i caught a lot of DJ talk. It was something I worked daily. I kept a daily journal and would write in it every night before bed. I would give myself advice for when I had kids someday. I should go look that thing up.

10 years ago, Oct. 15, 1998-

I have an 18th month old Gates who is so totally awesome and I am very pregnant with Spencer Grant (aka- Joseph Riley). I am actually sitting on the couch watching life pass me by. Little Spencer/ Riley tried to come early and I had to sit out the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy. I am feeling a bit powerless but my friends are awesome and would even come and worship with me. Gates is very independent but doesn't say much yet. He is fast and furious and I can't wait to be able to take care of my house again.

5 years ago, Oct. 15, 2003

Sadie and Riley are now additions to the Killen Kids and life is going along day by day. Sadie is about 13 months old and i think she's beautiful and amazing. The boys are probably feverishly planning their Halloween costumes. I am working at Darby Drive part time officially as the Children's Minister. We are about to have our first Harvest Festival.

1 year ago, Oct. 15, 2007

I have a 5th and 3rd grader and my baby is finishing up her last year in pre-school. I am working still and finally after 6 years as a CM the rhythm of it comes easier. I am getting used to the idea that my kids are getting big. I officially do not have a baby. We moved to the big city and are loving our house. The kids all have their own room. The additions are all complete and we are settled in well. I am attending a lot of functions at the McGee farm lately.

Yesterday, Oct. 14, 2008

I packed three lunches and no one complained about the contents (amazing) and took all the kids to school. I dropped them off and went in in order to get a receipt for a donation from Heavenly Ham for Pumpkin Day. Then i went to said HH and got the $15 gift card, met up with a grandmother in whom i did not know and sent her on her way with the card then went straight to CPCC for a staff meeting which led me straight on to the rest of my day.

Today, Oct. 15, 2008

No lunch making because its chicken strip day Wednesday. Woo Hoo! Met up with Erin H and Krista for a lovely day of painting yellow. Had lunch with Cort and then back to painting, alone this time. I pick up the crazies at 2:50 and then we are back home for a moments peace before church tonight. Sat thru the latest Beth Moore video and was bonded with my lovely Christian lady friends with a very huge shoulder to shoulder prayer. Little awkward but big on purpose and felt hugely encouraged. And now I am here, decompressing a bit.

Tomorrow, Oct. 16, 2008

I plan on packing 3 lunches, cheese and bread i guess because i need to get groceries. I will be taking the kids to school again because i have to drop off my pumpkin day basket items. I then will be prancing off to said grocery store then back to paint with Amanda this time. We may have to just get rooms ready to paint and maybe have time to walk 5 miles. too much info? Then kids, karate and make supper and bedtime. I am tired just thinking about it.

McGee Farm on Benadryl

I had to share this. Sadie has been suffering from some allergies so it only made sense to give her a Benadryl tablet before going to the McGee Farm and being around dust and hay all day. I guess I didn't think it completely through. She obviously still didn't get the most out of the trip to the patch.

(Above she is showing me her collection of cotton. Anything to dodge my camera.)

Playing in corn... everything she formed in the loose corn involved a bed or pillow of some type.

the closest i got to an actual smile

i have a numerous amount of things on my mind. the sad part is none of it is worthy of keeping track of someday in order to blog about. it's this time of my life that i will look back on and either not remember or not like myself because i was so all consumed that i don't recognize who i am.

i am trying hard in my conversations to God to limit the complaining. there are so many things going right. but mostly those things are things i don't even know i am so blessed with (ex. kids being healthy, home, bed, friends) because i have never truly had to do without.

so here i sit. bogged down, overloaded with work at church, school and home and satan strikes like he always does. this time in the form of eliminating the ease of flow of these easy blessings (i am going to term them)

for example, sadie started complaining with a headache and is stuffy, sinus infection i am sure. sick. one strike
rileys bed broke, clean in two parts. we need a new bed. strike two
the house has had, well i will just say, some trials. she's old and tired and needs some adjusting, which costs us. strike three.

petty petty petty. i should stop and delete but i am hoping to find a point. i think satan sees us a beutiful red target when we overload ourselves. and strikes while we are down. i have asked God with my white flag waving to send in His warriors on my behalf. but when said with a bad attitude, not sure that will be exactly how He will choose to work it.

but this time Satan decided to nag me. which led me to a temptation i haven't felt in a while, I am ungrateful. maybe i am always ungrateful, surely i am in some ways but mostly I am trying to find the good things and make some peace about that. but not lately. i am thinking "what good things?!" i can't let Satan have a foothold, i know better. and i know if i focused on the verse about being still and resting, my life wouldn't have such control over me.

i haven't anyway to close these thoughts, i am still in the middle of them. i want to say pray! for me, and i hope you will but some part of me says get up, you know what to do.

Color Me Inspired

Sorry if you have heard this story. I really want to keep this blog sort of like a journal or scrapbook so I am trying to make it cuter and keep up with the things i don't want to forget even if it's just for me.

This summer after a scary and loud thunderstorm in the mountains God left this little reminder. The cool part, he let it fall on another reminder. Sadie and Annie, my niece saw it and ran downstairs screaming "rainbow!". We all grabbed our cameras. These pictures just don't do it justice. It was a true God moment!

i have discovered i am not a great "self-starter" so they say. i like things to be exciting and begun. i was thinking how most of the time my job as a children's minister is sort of just that. exciting and begun. but not always. there are these transitions and beginnings that i have to ignite myself and sometimes the match won't strike and i sit here at a screen and all i can think about it how i really want to be an anthropologist. mark and i are in season 2 of Bones and if you know me, i fall in love a little bit with characters. this one surprisingly is not the lead, hot guy "Booth" but the nerdy guy who loves dirt, "Hodges", i am not struck like i was/am with House and Keifer. But i am looking forward to when his turn to be onscreen comes around. i really want to research crime scenes and of course it all rolls back around to me wanting to be a detective...

can you miss your calling this badly? and there really is no way to combine my true calling to this fantasy. that just wouldn't be good now would it?

i also would like to dance like those kids on "so you think you can dance" but i am letting that one go. if i am calling the contestants "those kids" i am probably too old for that dream...

one of my favorite moments this summer was when the little girls in my cabin at camp did our skit. i loved seeing that come together- i felt that swelling up of pride. i am not sure if anyone in the audience including adults understood the skit, but those girls did. for those of you who care we did Michael Buble's "Everything" with the words being about a little girl and her first love, Jesus. They dance. It was a true moment for me. I will post some pictures and the lyrics.

------------------- Michael Buble's Everything-------now be thinking about Jesus!

You're a falling star, You're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.

And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute.
Ah, When you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.
Cause you can see it when I look at you.

[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.

(now Jesus speaks)
And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La

[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along.
'Cause you're my everything.
Yeah, yeah


If you have made it to here, you deserve to know i am such a sucker for drama and to add to that I don't have a little 5 year old red headed shadow with me everywhere and my mind is rolling all the time about what can i do next. i know i need to strike that match and get my next trimester in place. i wish i could do it like they do in the movies and sing and twirl around to catch the suspected prospects for the winter term. Or maybe i could find clues that led me to the right people...pray God will make this part exciting for me :)

Leave it to Gates to take the ordinary game of Jenga and turn it into the hill where all eternity was forever changed. Am I silly to say this is a proud moment for mom?

well yesterday was the big day and we all made it ok...

i am doing my best to keep myself busy and it's not all that hard. i do have a job :) today sadie got in the car after day two of kindergarten (with mrs. mills by the way) where she immediately goes thru her folder and lays all her papers all over the car. she, riley and gates are all back in action and i am beginning to see the future of my winter months. calm them chaos, calm them chaos, and on it goes until the weekend that works out to be all chaos. i hope i can get used to the calm.

this year i am feeling so completely blessed and content with where the kids are and who they are around. it doesn't hurt that two of my children are with my Cross Point sisters (and even my for real sister in law, Lisa). God is so good. Gates came home with one less tooth thanks to yet another Cross Point sister. i am feeling the joys of a small town. i know the smallness has it's bad side but today i am riding the waves.

here lately my tears are right on the edge. i almost don't want to share this because i know what will happen. i will sit here at my laptop and sob and waste a good night by myself. i know there are more things i could be worked up about that could possibly be more justified of the emotions but tonight i don't care. let me just take a minute to tell you what's going on in my mind. sit tight...

sadie sharpened her pencils tonight. every single one of them. her purple pencil case that she sooo wanted is now full of super sharp number two's. why am i sobbing? her kindermat is folded and had already been laid on while she watched tv, played "littlest petshop" and did prayer time. she knows what she wants to wear on the first day of school and she's (her words) going to be happy with whoever she gets...(mrs. adcock or mrs. mills- and she says mrs. mills instead of summer now)

i actually caught her playing "eny, meny, miny, moe" with her small collection of paint brushes. she couldn't see that her new watercolor set had one in it already. my throat choked up as i opened it for her and she said "oh, i thought i needed one and i didn't know which one to pick." the yellow one had won and now she had two brushes because that made sense to her.

we obviously shopped for school supplies today and she was so precious. surprisingly she didn't want everything she saw but she was so grown up. so willing to wait while we picked out rileys protractor and gates magnetic locker pencil holder. she loved everything purple and chose wisely on her lunchbox. she now has her cute little name on everything all stacked up and ready to go

for one week from today

(she got that from her daddy)

i am crazy about her. pray for me and my soon to be empty house.

I think i am going to take a break from the updates of my life- most of my readers (that just made me chuckle susan and julie) know i have been consumed and obsessed with peace, love and eternal life. (Go VBS 08! woo hoo!)

Before that I was all consumed with school and the end of the year then our vacation. It is so much more fun to take our kids to the beach now that they actually like it.

Now i feel a bit more like myself. I get to relax, read a blog or two and maybe be a little about me if just for a minute.

here are my so far this summer observations:

-kids are usually happy when they are wet. double happy when they are wet and in their clothes.
-plaster of paris is useful but very...hard.
-harrison ford has still got it
-a giant panda CAN make you laugh
-there are tv shows for any type of home repair or improvement. i am in love with hgtv.
-cube cheese goes a long way
-patrick dempsey could pick his nose and i would pay $8 to see it
-Alabama houses some serious sized beatles that freak me out
-A lot of people are getting married this summer and thankfully they like chicken.
-i think the brady bunch sings our summer theme song...i never would have thought that could happen

orange beach

all i have time for is a few pictures. it was fun. i ran into bill and simpson on the beach so we headed to Lamberts with the almons!

i am in a bloggy mood...how about a top 10?

top 15 things i have come aware of lately: in no particular order

1- dance dance revolution in not as easy as one might think
2- i really like listening to the radio, it's so surprising
3- when i pray more, i want to pray more
4- 20 miles a day is going to be harder than i thought
5- i think i like my bangs
6- i think i like broccoli in casseroles
7- la fondas isn't really family friendly
8- i think i don't want to give birth to any more children
9- boldness is a good thing but can be a bad thing. moderation goes across the board.
10-i need a vacation
11-i use that little mirror in my van to check on the kids
12-i am addicted to caffine but water is boring me. what do i do?
13-i might wear too much blush. somebody tell me, no don't! ok tell me...
14-summer frightens and excites me.
15-when i organize i get seriously confused

searching for symphonies

g'morning.

last night i watched "august rush" again and decided that movie has to be the sappiest movie designed for music lovers who believe in romance before the basics of life itself. yes, yes, it is one of my favorite movies but i realized last night not for that sappy romance musicy reason alone (although that just really gets me...) i think the idea of that movie is awesome...that a child can believe in something so strong and not give up no matter what he's being told.

then i asked myself, what do i believe? the passion i could fall back on was my passion in Jesus and how God is so amazing. i know passion stems from belief, of course i believe in Them. but i am not writing symphonies here and i am not bringing life full circle. i know it is a movie and unfortunately people don't walk around with such grounded belief systems, but what if we did?! what if we responded to criticism with belief? what if we walked away from a bad day NOT discouraged but charged with belief?

i know little August cried. he had his moments where life got to him, but he never dropped the music, the belief.

i woke up feeling like the "almost" girl. (if i were a super hero my name would be...)

i feel like in just about everything, i either don't get it right, or almost pull it off. wow, that sounds so negative and i truly don't mean to be. i am trying to figure out if these two concepts are related. if my belief in myself, in Him thru me, were stronger- i doubt i would feel like i could write the next "almost girl" comic line.

back to August. music came natural to him. he composed in seconds after learning what notes meant. some of us search our whole life trying to figure out "what comes natural" to us. what a waste. i just don't think it can possibly be that hard to figure out. the hard part is that we keep searching for symphonies instead of accepting that what comes natural may be organizing clothes for the friendship center or reading with expression to a child. i am guilty. aren't symphonies and organizing all the same? finding your gift may be your passion too, but it may not be at first.

i believe God nestles us in nicely when we surrender ourselves. i guess we shouldn't be alarmed if we aren't working with passion because i figure we are still holding on to what we wish were our gift. how silly coming from the almost girl. maybe i should just chunk the almost feeling and grab hold of my pen and write the next symphony. i think that translates for me, prepare my Sunday night lesson for little kids then put another load in the wash. but today i am going to give myself some props- i think i may be onto something.

how's your symphony coming?

I am walking...

i am walking in the Atlanta 3 Day Walk to raise money for a cure for breast cancer- not big news to my readers but that's what i've been working on a lot lately so i thought i would experiment with my blog and see if any of the people that pass thru here have a story to share about cancer and how it's effected their life.

mom had cancer when i was in the 4th grade. obviously she survived but not without a lot of personal trial. my memories of it all are simple because my parents wanted us to not be worried. looking back as a mom now i assume she was going thru the whole "will i survive and get to raise my kids?!" thing. not easy or simple.

she was in the hospital while my grandparents stayed with me and tony. then she came home with a huge scar on her upper thigh from a skin graft. dad had to tend to it every night and i would painfully watch. the skin was grafted onto a 5 x 5 spot they dug out of her leg where a malignant mole was removed. crazy to say but she was blessed. she was able to catch the melanoma before it spread.

her dad died just shortly after he heard the news he had cancer. he was in his 40's. her mom (mauma) just died of ovarian cancer. i really don't like how cancer has just barged in to our family and sometimes i get a little freaked out because i am of those obvious vulnerable genes.

however, i didn't agree to walk because of all that. i am walking because, well, this is where God has me right now. in this spot, raising money with these people for this awesome cause. next year i hope i might get to be placed here again, but He may have me somewhere else. and that's good too. i am blessed to have a chance to be a part of this effort. i realize there are sooo many efforts out there that are worthy. if you are being pulled and have this on your heart, you can help us reach our goal by clicking on the upper right hand part of the screen.

thanks and pray for a cure! i am curious to see how cancer has effected any of you. let me know if you have a minute. thanks.

spring break, day one...

thankfully, today we have a project. dying eggs. as you see in the picture above, riley takes some coaxing to get motivated but he comes around (as did his shirt- i think it got twisted when he was doing this number on the floor)

it is interesting to see how your kids react to creative projects.

sadie began by nurturing the one egg that cracked in the boiling process. she carried it around in a napkin until it cooled and colored it pink so it would feel happy.

gates began by creating his annual "earth" egg. it's pretty cool i must admit. he uses markers instead of dye.

riley is in time out as i type because he had a slight nervous breakdown because his "mario" egg didn't take shape. he claims it looks fat...its an egg...creative projects make him an mess.

one down and 9 to go. can't wait till summer!!!

toothfairy business

she thinks she pulled it herself but it actually fell out in her hand. the day she lost it was also the day of her kindergarten open house. so my baby isn't a baby any more is she?

p*o*w*e*r...POWER

Most of you know the last few weeks of my life have been all about the musical "Power".

The Cross Point kids pulled it off and i honestly couldn't be more proud of them. They worked hard and in the end had that "we did it" look on thier face that can't be explained.

But i want to take a minute and be a mom and brag on my babies. I saw an attitude change in Riley, another trait learned in Gates and more flair added to Sadie than I thought possible!

As their mom, I am in love even more and thankful I get to be a part of seeing them develope so upfront and personal. I am blessed to not only have 3 amazing gifts from God but be bonded with some of your gifts too.

winterfest. 2008- know, see, be and share

this weekend was a force to be reckoned with. you know how Satan hates anything having to do with goodness, spiritual growth and expanding the Kingdom? it was amazing to me to see how ready he was to attack. from personal complications to overall flat out temptations from all around to be selfish and all about me. he even sent pure fear in me. something i don't honestly feel very often. and it was that sickening fear like i forgot for a few minutes that God was in control. take your breath away kind of gross feeling. satan was on his game.

but the awesome testimony is my God reigns. and He brought us over to His side with just one little nod of His head. i can see Jesus now- you know the one i like in jeans and long cool hair. He just cocked His head back one little bit and said "get over here" like in that movie 27 Dresses when the guy who wrote the wedding articles knew what he wanted. Jesus is so awesome -a nod of His head using Jeff Walling and the awesome minds of Winterfest coordinators and thousands of teens and adults were smitten. again.

at the end of the last session we were charged to share Jesus and I saw on faces of teenagers a broken spirit and renewal. it was power. it wasn't just powerful. it was power given straight from God himself to charge them and all of us "grown-ups" who truth be known needed this weekend as much if not more than some of these teens. He charged us to KNOW Him and SEE Him in other people and then BE Him in every interaction and then SHARE Him.

how do you waste your time?

what i do when i don't want to do what i need to do:

1- flip channels and watch people and think how i should exercise and eat better.
2- watch YouTube videos of video nerds film neat-o stuff and wish i could be that nerdy
3- wii- working on my backhand
4- think about what i would say to people if i could say whatever i wanted to say to them. (don't judge me, you know you do that sometimes)
5- in general, computer habits like overchecking my email or this.

your turn: top five-

let me tell you about my mauma

this afternoon my daddy called and told me mauma's gone on. we knew it was impending and hoped it was soon so she could go home. i didn't know how i would react honestly. first i told the kids and we shed a few tears but comforted ourselves with knowing she had a new body now.

then we went for ice cream. as i sat there at sonic i thought this was our small, makeshift celebration for her. she would've had orange sherbert. not surprisingly, i needed time to be alone and think and thank God for her passing and He gets to hold her now, not us anymore. still i feel sorry for me. i miss her right now, suddenly wishing i could take her big blue mesh bag of laundry back out to her and run in for a quick hello.

the last few months she and i shared moments that i will take with me till i meet her again. she's given me wisdom and strength in a gentle way. she was sharp as a tack and loved deeply. she had a big loud mouth and a laugh that would scare you. she loved wearing shirts with bright colors and was a huge harley fan. rarely did she miss the waterloo trail of tears, even from her wheelchair! i never knew if it was the motorcycles or men with long hair that drew her interest. she did love to flirt.

i could go on and on about her love for writing little notes to people all over the place. she knew the value of encouragement. she was a big fan of the group picture with her in the exact center of us all. she was also the churchlady that sings soprano too loudly. but she felt it and sang it not considering whether we liked it or not. her boldness is a strength i keep trying to recreate in me.

i missed some opportunities with her. but i know she was also a fan of understanding and forgiving me. she is the first person i have loved and lost in death. an experience i had to write about so i wouldn't forget the rawness of grief.

her butterfly loving self is feeling the wind in her hair now.

baby it's cold out there

some of my girlfriends have talked me into Facebook. so if any of you have received an invitation from me (or haven't) let me be the first to tell you i don't know what happened when i registered. everybody in my gmail account popped up and there were all these check marks and questions and all these people i am sure would not like to be involved in my life any more than they have to-

i am so afraid i might have asked ron lumpkins to be my friend. not that he wouldn't make an excellent friend. :)

ok so who out there is hot natured? (that's when you prefer to be warmer than colder- right?) it seems we are all one or the other. here's my little realization i had today- bear with me...
in my thankful mode this morning i was pondering what i really liked that i got for Christmas and didn't ask for-

first would have to be my electric blanket. even if it's off, it's warm. i think that may be because it's a blanket but i am still impressed.

second would have to be my monkey socks. i did ask for the monkey house shoes but the socks were a bonus. they now are better than the shoes to me. way to go mark!

next had to be the hair dryer. i didn't ask for this but i did buy it with my Christmas money. it has this cool button you push and it sucks up the cord. apart from the bruises on my hand when it whips around to position- it's the highlight of my day.

and it was then that i realized that the things that made me the most excited this Christmas were things that generated heat. hmmm. let me rephrase that...were things that kept me warm (?)

so i am now realizing my focus is to stay warm. bless my husband who finally broke down and lets me keep the house on a blazing 68 and purchased a heater for our window infested sunroom. i am almost tempted to stay indoors now in order to keep warm.

i realize i would never make it anywhere past north Alabama. i am such a thin skinned pansy i know. but i worry about the weather a lot when i fantasize about the Amazing Race. i know i would get stuck in the "Arctic Edition" and what then?

and then i married the short sleeves in the winter guy in your class that you always wondered if he was cold. as i speak my nose is cold. does anybody have clever ways to stay warm. i can't take this.

The Year in Review

warning: if you read this you have to do this.
You can blame this person

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? pulled a muscle playing a video game
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? i gave up dissappointing myself long ago
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? yes
4. Did anyone close to you die? no
5. What countries did you visit? NA (wake up please)
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? a dance night out with all my friends. bring it on Dance Factory.
7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Riley's cut for cancer. A bittersweet moment...i can't get the font to stop italics.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? overcoming bitterness
9. What was your biggest failure? the dissarrayed closets? HA. you know i can't narrow this down
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? still have my old lady back
11. What was the best thing you bought? my elastic waisted cargo pants.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? mine (gooooo me!)
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? mine
14. Where did most of your money go? i have no idea, probably eating out. gross i know.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? movies with closure. (!) oh and recycling and my sweet children's laughter...
16. What song will always remind you of 2007? Crazy by Akon
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? 
b) thinner or fatter? 
c) richer or poorer? a. Happier b. fatter see #14 c. see #14
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? practice my guitar
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? whining about how i can't play my guitar
20. Did you fall in love in 2007? does an iPod count?
21. What was your favorite TV program? 24 and House: tie for first then Christine, Chuck and Psych
22. What was the best book you read? Black
23. What was your greatest musical discovery? please. too little time.
24. What did you want and get? a vacation
25. What did you want and not get? a vacation (jk) my car washed more often
26. What was your favorite film of this year? August Rush, Evan Almighty and The Enchanted tie for first
27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 34 and i got to play games with my amigos.
28. What one thing that would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? if i had learned to play the guitar
29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? sloppy (and i hate that word too)
30. What kept you sane? God. iTunes and bedtime with the kids.