Trekking with Me

Hello from Wintery, Icy, Snow covered and now melting Columbia, SC!  What a treat for us!  Thank goodness, the forecasted ice storm turned into mostly snow and sleet for my area.  I never lost power, but I know many did. Sasha is plum tuckered out from all the running, romping and snow playing she did today.  She is right now curled up on the floor, tucked as close as she can be to my feet and the couch.  I kind of like it except for the occasional dog-stench that rises... so much for that dog-bath she got two weeks ago. It's the joy of having a critter when you see her so excited over all this white stuff.  It gave me a good reason to get up and out.  This was our second snow day, which allowed me another lovely day to sleep in with no alarm.  I tried being productive - kept the dishes washed and tried reading instead of watching another movie... so getting out was much more

I have made a new discovery. I like raisins. Raisins and I have not always had an amiable relationship.  I enjoyed them in breads, homemade GORP, or in cookies, but standing alone, we tended to keep our distance.  Though, I would try to befriend them, as they are full of iron and said to be good choice snack, yet we never really hit it off.  I thought I stumbled on one kind that I did enjoy, golden raisins, but not enough to remember them at random. Anyhow, a several weeks ago I was shopping at Earth Fare; now you must know, a trip to Earth Fare is not just any grocery shopping experience.  I enjoy it with every sense of my being, it is medicine and joy to my soul to just think about going to Earth Fare.  Indeed, I love it!  But, the fare's at Earth Fare, make these trips infrequent and sporadic.  Still, it makes my heart smile simply to walk through the wonderful place. So, my last visit to Earth Fare, I happened upon some raisins at a good pr...

Wednesday I woke up very cranky: well that's probably an understatement to be honest.  I was not happy. I had to rise early, be on someone else's schedule, to do what I normally do just fine on my own.  I fought my attitude as I took a shower, praying against the foulness swelling up in me over what should be a pleasant, delightful experience. After opening my Bible to get my "normal" quiet time reading in, I read about David dancing before the LORD, and his wife, Micah, despising him in her heart.  Not thinking much of it, I dressed and shoved my belongings into my backpack. Still unable to push the complaints from fogging up my mind, I headed for the assigned area where we were to meet at 7:00AM.   I was a few minutes late.  I felt like Yo-Sammity-Sam grumbling and cursing as I walked to the meeting area where we were to have "Time with Abba" together.  I felt like I was in kindergarten or something.  I did not need to be taught how to ...

I had a dead tree in my yard.  A tall, old, pine tree.  It had to come down before the wind brought it down on top of something that could be damaged, like my house, or my neighbor's house.  God blessed in helping me find a good price and a great guy to take care of it.  Here are a few fun pictures of the process of it coming down! UP he goes... Limb by limb it comes down... Looks like fun...  He made it look quite easy... A better perspective here... on how tall it is! From the backyard...  Coming down.... Ground crew! Isn't that sky gorgeous!? One of my favorite pictures... Tops off! Another of my favorite takes, "Nice!" Piece by piece...  ....It came down! After about an hour or so...  Bit by bit... "Hey! Can you get me a drink up here??!"   The final step.... TIMBER!!! THUNK!!! Wow... And it all came tumbling down.... The End!

Some bitter coldness is rolling our way outside and I am feeling like a true Florida gal... while NYC is powdering up with the white stuff, and somewhere out in no-man's-land it is well below freezing... I sit here in SC watching the thermometer still teetering on 50 degrees, shivering and in gridlock under my blankie. It being Friday, I figure it was a good time to share some confessions of the soul - I hear it is good for you. 1.  I don't make my bed everyday. 2.  I talk to myself and often say things in a third person comedian type of way and laugh out loud at my own diatribe... 3.  I am a self-diagnosed A.D.D or A.D.H.D. - I get distracted easily.... what was I doing? 4.  I have not been a total "no sugar" gal since New years day...though the scale scared me half to death a few nights ago and I have done MUCH better since!! 5.  I like my outfits to match somehow... like everything ... I may be the only one who knows that fact in my day, and ...

My goodness, it is PAST 11PM - and I am UP not feeling a wee bit tired; and i woke up a little past 4AM this morning... I took a tiny little napper this afternoon but nothing that gives me reason to be up now, feeling like this!  So... figured I would blog. I am working on a homework assignment for a book called The Critical Journey  by Janet Hagberg.  It blessed my socks off; it is kind of a spiritual assessment guide.  Pre-reading I had an assumption it would be a dry book.  I was wrong.  Could NOT put it down; one part I love about it is the personal spiritual journey's of the authors.  There are two; I am too lazy to bend down and get the other name.  Hagberg is the one I remember.  Reading their stories made it very alive and fresh. Anywho... my assignment is a personal one, to assess myself using the stages described in the book.  It is one of those assignments the professor says he can't really grade but invites us to be open ...

An improved version of the previous post of this video... Enjoy!

Isn't it fantastic? Blogger finally added some wonderful features to help us blogging folks look a bit like we know what we are doing... well, i for one, am pretty simple in my knowledge about fixing a blog up but i do enjoy messing around with it, making it look like "me." So, they (who is "they?" the folks behind the blogspot machine) have changed some things with the set up and design and created it so it is easy to make it more unique and beautiful! I love it! So, what do you think? Do you like my new Spring look....? Fresh huh... Anyhow, i am pleased. Have a fantastic weekend ya'll!

My dad always says that after a long trip and it was always a comfort to see our vehicle safely pull into the driveway of our house. I heard myself saying those very words last night as I turned the corner at the head of my block, when I could finally see my house, "Home again, home again." I was very glad to see my little house! I have been in NC for the previous five nights; what was originally a three night weekend was extended when an opportunity dropped into my lap to make some good money and use my well learned painting skills. Again, thanks goes to my wonderful dad who taught me and my brothers how to work. "A good painter always carries a rag..." kept ringing in my head as well... another of my dad's infamous quotes. That piece of advice went a long way as I painted my arms off the last two days. I marvel at how the pieces came together in the last few days. God has been helping me release my tendency to control - I really did not see myself as a ...

Classic, romantic, just one of those movies that you can enjoy with a warm cup of tea and your pj's on...and feel totally feminine. Audrey is so beautiful...recently I watched a biography of her and she really had a very sad life. Poor thing - wish she knew Jesus. Maybe she did, i don't know but the bio said she struggled with depression.... Anyhow, something in this movie struck me funny: The Nameless Cat. I thought I was the only one with a Nameless Cat! She has many sweet lovey-dovey names but when i go to the vet, I feel too embarrassed to tell them, "Putty Tat" or "My Little Goose"....yes, really - these are what come out of my mouth when I see her...and of course, "Precious Kitty" is a favorite. So, when people ask me what my cat's name is, I confess and say - oh she doesn't really have one, but I call her Baby Kitty most often. So, this is for my "Nameless Kitty" ....and Audrey Hepburn.

Iy-yi-yi - Not really anything huge on my mind but I am simply procrastinating! I have one final project for the semester to finish and I have been sitting here for more than four hours - successfully avoiding wrapping my brain around the objective of completing it. THOUGH I can say, I did move on a part of it in the last 30 minutes! I can totally relate to kids who have ADD or ADHD; it takes me a bit of unwinding and de-cluttering to focus and do! My roommate use to laugh at me when I would start working on an assignment; I would make several trips out to the livingroom and kitchen to do the oddest of things...get a snack, vacuum, do some exercises, organize my cd's, floss my teeth...LOL; then after an hour or two, I would begin engaging in my work. Once i get there, it is truly a feast of learning. So this is what I have done in the last four hours: lit the candles in the house, played different cd's (of course I spent time rummaging through boxes and storage to find...

I found this to be quite amusing! It is quite a sad fact that our sin nature pushes us to see how far we can go....and even though we live in a wonderful country, i get discouraged when i see how sick our society is getting....but this is very cute. I read this on Fox New's website, a northern town tried to use comedy to get people to obey the law - one of the simplest ones: STOP at the stop signs...unfortunately, they have to take these down but i thought it was a valiant effort! A sense of humor goes a long way! Go check it out on FOXnews website - there are more!

Women - myself fitting in that category very well - are mysterious. I am sure we all know we have our emotional cycles...i have heard a comedian say we are really only on a level emotional plain one week out of the four that fill a month! This week has been a hard week - all those horrible feelings of insecurity, ugliness, ultra-sensitive and just plain grumpiness all poured together into a long seven days(my poor sweet family and friends who put up with me deserve an award!). Last night i just had a crying fit with the Lord and found myself saying, "And i don't really know why i am so upset?!" I had to laugh at myself as i could see/hear the Lord (My Husband) smiling down in amusement and saying..."you are a woman, my dear...." I know i am not the only one who walks through the sloshy-emotional swamps - so if you can just raise your hand and say - "yep, been there, done that" - it would be so encouraging to me! :-) Thanks!

What are you reading? Melanie at monday through sunday tagged me for this meme. The Rules: 1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages). 2. Open the book to page 123. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the next three sentences. 5. Tag five people. The book I am reading right now is:.....Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis. A wonderful classic! "That is not the point in which faith comes in. But supposing a man's reason once decides that the weight of the evidence is for it. I can tell that man what is going to happen to him in the next few weeks. There will come a moment when there is bad news, or he is in trouble, or is living among a lot of other people who do not believe it, and all at once his emotions will rise up and carry out a sort of blitz on his belief." I don't know that many to tag!!

1. The last compliment I got was from __a student___; he/she said "You look cool today!" (We all like to think we look cool, Huh!?) 2. I'm reading __Living Every Single Moment, by Angela Payne (2nd time through)_. 3. I woke up today and thought ___It is FRIDAY, i get to sleep in tomorrow....! 4. Why do Friday's give you a boost so that at the end of the work day, you feel full of energy when every other day of the week, you feel like taking a long nap after work? 5. The last thing I ate was _delicious beef vegetable soup, salad and granola bar - thanks to Mary-Ann who sweetly brought me hot soup for a cold day! 6. January... __is great because it is a New Beginning___. 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to __going to my Aunts and doing laundry_, tomorrow my plans include ___sleeping in, a cup of tea and a long morning with the Lord and AP__ and Sunday, I want to __go to church, teach Sunday school, sing with the worship team and see my ki...