The price has been paid

I saw this sign at the gas station a couple of weeks ago, and I had to laugh. (Which was odd, since pumping gas rarely puts me in a laughing mood!) Because, yes, my gym membership probably has filed a missing persons report.

I know. I KNOW. Due to some changes in my life circumstances of late, I've not made it into the gym since, oh, before Christmas. My best intentions at schedule change have failed miserably, and I'm left with the overriding guilt that I've turned into one of those people, who pay for a membership to a gym which they never use.

But...

Yesterday, as I was driving around town, I passed the gym of which I am a member. And a thought occurred to me: the price has already been paid.

It doesn't matter that I haven't been through those doors in four months. I could, right now, scan my key and have full access to all the benefits of membership.

Because every month, they're still deducting $15 from my checking account. The price has already been paid.

And then, another thought occurred to me: that's the way salvation is. It doesn't matter who you are, where you've been, or what you've been doing that you haven't "walked through the door." The price has already been paid.

It doesn't matter if you walked through the doors of the church a long time ago and never came back, or you keep "meaning to go" one Sunday but don't.The price has already been paid.

Any time. Any day. Any where. You can "scan your card" - accept His offer of forgiveness - and receive access to all the benefits of "membership."

He doesn't care what's kept us away - He just knows how much better our lives will be once we take receive Him.

What a lovely thought for Easter!

"It was not a haphazard event, or a secondary scheme, but it was the plan of the Lord to redeem" - The Winans

Christmastime is here...

Wow. It takes a major holiday to get me off my proverbial stool of do-nothing a post to this blog! Huzzah!

Last night, as many of you know, was the first night of Advent. Now, we're not Catholic, or Lutheran, or any of those liturgical, high-church people. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) We're Assembly of God, which (for those of you who don't know) is a Pentecostal denomination. Having grown up in that sort of atmosphere, Advent was not something we were taught about.

I grew up feeling like Christmas came and went, and never savoring the season. Every year on December 25, when it was time for bed, I'd feel this huge "let down" that it was all over, and I hadn't really enjoyed it.

What I was really feeling was the secular hustle and bustle, and, although it was a "Jesus" holiday, we were just as caught up in all that as the rest of the world.

(This isn't a blame-my-upbringing post, mind you. It's very, VERY easy to let that be the default way to celebrate.)

But, as I got older, got married, and had a child of my own, I wanted to start some traditions that she would remember when she was older. I wanted her to learn to take time out during the Christmas season and really reflect on what a Gift we have been given. I don't remember when we started lighting the Advent candles, but I do know this: our first candleholder was one Jason picked up at a thrift shop, and it isn't even an "officially licensed" Advent do-dad. It's long and made of metal, and it's got reindeer heads at each end. But it had the requisite number of holes, and we were learning as we went.

Finally, I bought a nice candleholder on sale after Christmas a few years ago, specifically made for this purpose. We were official!

Every year - and I do mean EVERY year, I forget to start the whole thing. Many years, we end up doing the four Sundays (because we've not progressed to the every night thing that some have, due to our schedules) on the four DAYS before Christmas because I've forgotten that long.

Last night, thanks to a Facebook friend from church, I remembered! (Thanks, Ben!)

Unfortunately, I had to find the candle holder. And then I had to find the candles (which we didn't have). And then I had to travel to TWO stores, because the first one didn't have any tapers.

And, no, they aren't the "traditional" colors. They're white, except for one which is red. I'm sorry if that offends the sensibilities of my more traditional readers, but see my previous disclaimers. There were no purple or pink candles in the store!

I found a simple devotional online, and, to keep Anna Marie engaged, I had her read part of it. Shazam - why have I not tried this before? We had a discussion about waiting, and I asked Anna Marie how God wanted us to wait for things (and Him) and she said, "Joyfully!"

(I think I'm going to email our pastor, and suggest big fat Christmas bonuses for our children's pastors. They are making my job way too easy.)

I loved her answer - JOYFULLY. All those years I felt empty after Christmas was over, I wasn't waiting joyfully for the Advent. I was waiting impatiently for the chance to open my presents and stuff my face, and after those things were done, there was a big fat hole left in my heart.

JOYFULLY - like parents waiting nine months on a child's birth. We should be waiting on His Advent with joy, and anticipation just like that. When the baby is born, you don't feel empty that the birth is over - you feel joy that the fulfillment of the promise is here.

May we all wait, JOYFULLY, for the Promise of Christmas.

We all had a lovely time, thank you.

A very lovely time indeed.

Guess who finally got a BIG trophy at the Five Star Races? Hmm? Hmm? Betcha can't!



YESSSS!

She won first place in her age group, and she couldn't be happier. Well, I suppose she could, if she'd won the quarter-mile overall. But, whatever.

I did not race again this year, because 1. I kept hearing the scanner go off, with the EMS getting called out for people PASSING OUT because of the heat; 2. My knees were bothering me again, and 3. Having to take pictures of all the racers, and be prepared to race myself, is just too taxing. Within a 20-minute time span, I have to be in about four different places, getting photos and names of winners, and that doesn't leave me much time to psych myself out.

Saturday was very, very relaxing, since a miracle happened and the cleaning we did last weekend was kept up on a daily basis! I KNOW! Who would have ever thought that the "pick up after yourself" thing would actually work?

And yesterday, I did another sugar overload, as Amanda came to have lunch with us and my parents and brought not one, but TWO cakes from her job. One, called a Frankly Scarlett, was a miniature red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. "Happy Father's Day" was written on top, and they couldn't get a hold of the person who'd ordered it, (and they would be closed for the next two days) so she brought it home.

(Yes, apparently REPEATED attempts at contact were made. I'm pretty sure they aren't in the habit of taking paid baking goods home without their due diligence.)

The other cake was a MASSIVE, three-layer number called the Cindy Lou Who. Each layer was a different color - pink, yellow, or purple - and it had pink frosting with coordinating "polka dots."It was a birthday cake, but the patron who'd ordered it insisted she had canceled the order the next day. It was vanilla flavored cake with vanilla buttercream, and it was sinful.

I'm "detoxing" today, because I need to be on my Ps and Qs in anticipation of our Press Association convention this weekend. Wohoo! It isn't at the coast, but at a casino about half an hour from here - which I guess was fortuitous, since none of us know what the condition of the beaches will be from one day to the next.

Fortunately, there don't seem to be any family functions on the horizon, so Amanda shouldn't be bringing $40 cakes to tempt me with!

Best.Valentine's.Ever.

Sweet lawd, I've had an awesome Valentine's Day. Or days, since my celebrations started Friday night.

(I know there are some anti-Valentine's people out there. I am very sorry for you, because even if you either don't have a sweetheart, or think a day of forced affection is dumb, you can still celebrate love in general. You do love SOMEONE, right? RIGHT?)

Friday, Jason had to work unexpectedly, due to Tuesday's "weather situation" here in the Midsouth. He came home from work and, in a surprise move, said that my mom had offered her babysitting services if we wanted to go out for an early Valentine's date.

(Mom offering her services wasn't the surprise here. It was Jason wanting to go out after he'd been at work since 3 a.m.)

Somehow, we gathered our collective strength and went out to dinner at Logan's. Man, I love a good steak and a sweet potato!

When we got out to the parking lot to go home, he pulled out a huge red bag. Guess what was inside - can you guess? Well, can you?

Here's a hint: I'm typing on it right now!

That's right - he got me a netbook! A cute little 10" emachines, and I love it so much I'd probably marry it if I wasn't already spoken for.

(KIDDING, dear!)

But seriously? Having my own computer rocks. So many times I have to wait for Jason or Anna Marie to get off the desktop or the laptop before I can do something I need to do. No more! This baby is all mine!

(He gave it to me Friday night, because he knows me pretty well after all these years, and he correctly guessed that I'd be too distracted by the thought of a new toy during this morning's service to get anything out of it. He hit the nail on the head, as usual.)

Anna Marie had a look I can only describe as "crestfallen" when she saw it and realized it wasn't for her. I've never actually seen her so openly envious, and it made me very sad. I explained that it would keep her from having to wait for me to get done with one of the other computers, and that if I took good care of it, it might be passed down to her one day.

She was down with that.

Today, we had church, and Amanda met us at Cici's afterwards for lunch. We had some really good coupons (naturally) and I figured it was Anna Marie's turn to get a Valentine's treat, so we went to one of her favorite places. Amanda brought the dozen toffee bars I'd ordered Jason from her job, and surprised me with a dozen of their famous "pucker up" lemon mini cupcakes and Anna Marie with a little apron and a box filled with "love potion" cookies and a "baby pie."

Yes, we're all going to have horrible sugar hangovers in the morning. Did I mention that I'd already gotten Anna Marie a little box of chocolates this morning, or that she had a whole bag left over from school Friday? Or that Jason asked me to bake him a caramel cake last night?

We're all going to need a detox tomorrow. This might possibly be worse than Christmas.

Anna Marie also had her dance class's annual performance at a nursing home, and a handbell/choir concert tonight. Amanda came down to do laundry and spend time with The Kid, and they had a couple of rousing games of Battleship between them.

We have been busy, busy folks today.

It's raining/snowing again outside, and I'm not even sure if we'll have school tomorrow. The temperatures are supposed to drop into the mid-20's, and I'm a little worried about all that precipitation on the roads freezing.

At least if we get snowed in, we'll have plenty of sugar calories to sustain us.

Editor's note: Don't worry about Jason only getting toffee bars while I got a netbook. He's got a surprise winging its way from Amazon.com, if the weather will allow it to come through!

Living on the edge

(I've had that song going through my head since yesterday morning at choir, when the Music Minister told us to come to the edge of the risers. They aren't really choir risers, so they're much too wide, and we needed to concentrate our sound. I started singing it when he said that, and he started singing along! Guess he was thinking it too.)

(But I digress.)

I'm not living on the edge, unless you mean "the edge of how much food I can squeeze out of my house without going to the store."

Y'all, I have not been "for real" grocery shopping in over two weeks! Talk about living off my stockpile - my cupboards are looking a bit bare!

Truthfully, I was not real impressed with Kroger's sales these past two weeks. I didn't need a turkey (since we didn't host Thanksgiving, and Jason will only buy the breast anyway) and I'm not a big from-scratch baker, so there wasn't a whole lot for me.

It helped that we had Thanksgiving dinner at church last Sunday night (so no cooking for me), and ate so much Thursday at my Aunt Esther's house that we didn't eat dinner that night (ditto for last night, when she hosted her granddaughter's third birthday party), and we ate smoked turkey provided by my parents on Friday night. And I don't have to cook Tuesday night, because I'm going to our church's Women's Ministries Christmas banquet.

(I hit the gym HARD this morning, y'all! I have to go to the doctor for a checkup in a couple weeks, and it'll be the first time I've stepped on a scale in months, so I'm super motivated!)

I did get some milk at Sam's last night on the way home from the party, and last week one of our local store had Del Monte canned vegetables for $0.39 a can, including the no-salt varieties, so I got a few of those. I picked up two boxes of Kelloggs Frosted Mini Wheats at Walgreens last week for $1.50 each, and Jason made pancakes a couple of nights on the NEW electric griddle he bought last week!

I ran by Walmart this morning, and picked up a Jennie-O Turkey Roast (with a coupon) and some already-sliced ham that was on for a good price. Jason is supposed to order some chicken breasts for us from the food service, since they have a really good price and he likes their uniform portion sizes. Hopefully, that will get me through until this weekend so I can shop for real!

We had a really, really good Thanksgiving this year. Maybe the best yet. And I realized something that never quite hit me before - no matter how bad things were financially around my house growing up (and believe me, they got pretty bad) I never had to worry about what I was going to eat for Thanksgiving dinner. Whether it was God's provision or my mom's big family dinner (or a little of both) we never went without.

I may have missed a meal because I was too busy, but I've never missed a meal because I couldn't afford food to eat. And that, my friends, is something to be truly thankful for.

Thank you candy corn, thank you Mike and Ike . . .

Thank you, THANK YOU Smarties!



And thank you, Amanda, for finding this so I could. (She grabbed the audio off of this a couple years back, and I totally listened to this on my iPod while I was on the elliptical the other day.) Enjoy!

"Mama this is happy Halloween, to you . . . "

With a hip hip, and a clippity clop…

Anna Marie and I watched Ichabod and Mr. Toad last week, and I forgot how much I loved those old Disney cartoons. But that is totally not what this blog post is about.

First, let me explain how the car lines works at our school.

We pull up to a covered, curved walkway in front of the school, and there are four or five ladies on the sidewalk, which is on the passenger side. A group of cars stops, and the ladies go down the line, each opening the doors of two or three cars before that group pulls away and another several pull up.

Now, on to what happened this morning:

The truck in front of me had stopped, and one "crossing guard" (that's what they're called, even though no one is crossing anything) opened the door. Anna Marie was getting out at the same time, so I was half paying attention, when the other crossing guard screamed.

Apparently, someone in the truck was wearing a mask, and she was startled - which brought back some elementary school Halloween memories for me that I hadn't thought of in YEARS.

For me, in elementary and middle school, it got to the point where eventually my mom let me stay home on Halloween. Between the boys scaring the bejeezus out of me with their ugly masks, and the librarians telling ghost stories in the library (WHO'S GOT MY GOLDEN ARM?), I didn't sleep well for weeks.

I hope Anna Marie was having a better time of it today, and I suppose she would - she's not as easily frightened when I was her age.

Case in point: when we were watching the movie last week, and Ichabod Crane was trying to get over the bridge and get home. Every time Ichabod would get scared by something, she'd say, "Dude. It's just a tree." Or, "Dude, it's just a frog." Or, "Dude, it's just some plants beating on a log."

No joke.

So this weekend, as you're eating more chocolate than the law allows (and believe me, I've gotten a head start on you) don't be scared. Just remember: Dude. It's just the wind.

<<< Needs a break from her break

Ever feel that way? My three-and-a-half day weekend (I left work at 11 a.m. on Friday and didn't return until yesterday) left me feeling a bit exhausted.

Truly.

A "day off" is never a "day off" in my life, at least not until the week when Jason and Little AM go to South Carolina.

(i.e., NEXT WEEK!)

Jason ALWAYS has something for us to do. Always.

Friday afternoon, we took these two to the groomers for the first time. They both returned clean, fresh, and be-ribboned.



Yes, both of them. Lucky included. I think he paid them back, though, by "watering" a plant and the concrete floor of the front room.

Saturday, we went to Southaven (the town in our neighboring county where our church is located) for their Fourth of July celebration. Our church was in charge of lining up the entertainment for the evening, and our praise team was on stage last before the fireworks.





(That's Lauren. She's in our small group. I love her! And the guy behind her, on the guitar with the do-rag? He's in our small group too, and that do-rag is no stunt. He rides his Harley to church whenever he can, because he has to be there so much earlier than his family for band practice. And Saturday night, he was JAMMING up there. I'm kinda biased towards my music team, can you tell?)

Man, was it ever hot! And by "hot" I mean "humid beyond all reason." I felt just icky for most of the night, and get a load of Anna Marie. She spent most of the evening on the hill at the back of the amphitheater, playing with her cousins and some other kids from church, and only occasionally coming back to our seat for a drink.



That's her with her cousin Kaitlynn, who just turned 8 on Monday. Oh, did I forget, we went to her party on Friday night? And then we got stopped by a roadblock just outside of town? Where they only glanced at Jason's license, and didn't even check his insurance card?

And where Anna Marie got freaked out by the lights, and wanted to cover her head with a blanket?

"Oh no you don't," said Jason. "They'll think something is wrong back there."

Anyways, after the fireworks (or in the middle, since we left early) we drove to the church, where I assisted with the check-in for those going to camp. As in, the "lice check" part of the check-in. None of our kids had bugs, thank goodness!

It was after 11 when we left the church, and the kids (who were spending the night, the better to be there to leave at 6 a.m. Sunday) were just getting started. I did NOT envy those who were staying with them!

Speaking of the chaperones, one of them told me that Anna Marie nearly left several days' worth of clothes at the church. I had packed her outfits in Ziploc bags, so that all she had to do was pull one out each day. Sherilynn said as the kids were loading on the bus, she found several of the bags in the room where they'd slept.

"Whose are these?" she'd ask.

"Those are mine," Anna Marie would answer.

This went on about three times, and finally Anna Marie admitted, "I'd have gotten out there and not had any clothes to wear!"

Indeed.

They're coming home tomorrow, and then she and Jason are leaving Friday for South Carolina. It's like a two-week vacation from being a mom, except for the part of being a mom where I worry whether she's eating her vegetables and putting on her sunscreen.

Guess that'll be Jason's department next week.

Monday, my "actual" day off, was spent (of course) helping Jason do some prep work at the auction.

Of COURSE it was. And next week, while he's gone, I have to be "him" at the auction again. Like I am every year. And like he NEVER is for me, at my job. Hmph.

I hope that y'all had a more "relaxing" weekend than I did, and I promise to regale you with stories of camp, once I get my kid to stop traveling long enough to hear them myself!

So, now that I've lost all my loyal readers

(You know, due to not posting. Out of sight, out of mind!)

Really? A week and a half I've been gone? Really?

Because it doesn't feel like that long. Four, five days, tops.

I hope all you gals had a marvelous Mother's Day, whether you:

A. Are a mother,
2. Have a mother, or
D. Are a bad motha (shut yo' mouth!)

Mine was, well, it had its moments. Like the moment when I opened a card from Jason, to find the exact same gift I'd gotten my mother, an O'Charley's gift card. You know, so my mom wouldn't, as Amanda said, be trying to figure out how to feed all of us on her $25 card.

(I still don't know where or when he bought mine. I bought mom's Friday night, at Sam's. He's being sneaky!)

Or, the moment when I got into an argument with my sister over whether a 30-45 minute restaurant wait was reasonable on Mother's Day.

(For the record, we waited exactly 30 minutes for a table, which was just about how long we'd waited to eat Mexican the week before. You know, when it wasn't a holiday.)

Ahem.

Or, the moment when I got what I'd actually asked for, a pair of New Balance I'd found at Sam's for $35. They're sharp, but I'm doing the responsible thing and saving them for gym-only wearing.

Just like "they" say you should. Whoever-the-heck "they" are.

I guess the best "moment," though, was when Anna Marie handed me her obligatory handmade cards. One of which said "Thanks for being a 1st place mom!" Complete with a medal she'd drawn all by herself with my gel pens.

Because of all the words I could use to describe my job as a mother, "first place" isn't one that readily comes to mind.

The sermon at my church yesterday was entitled "Jochabed's Mothering Seminar" and focused on Moses' mom. She was a lady of great faith, and courage, but she was also a lady of great influence. She didn't just raise Moses to be a great leader, she raised Aaron and Miriam to be leaders as well. The Children of Israel were delivered out of slavery because one woman feared God more than she did Pharaoh.

We have such an awesome responsibility, and while I can look back over the past seven and a half years and see how far I've come both as a person and as a parent, I don't know if I'll ever feel like I'm doing enough.

But, does any mom, or dad, or aunt, or anyone who has influence in a child's life ever feel like they're doing enough?

I guess that like anything else in life, it's the little things - making a French Toast casserole tonight, and making sure she's brushed ALL of her teeth, and that she's done her homework - that add up to the big results.

Seeing how she'll turn out - well, that's the scary part. And the exciting part. All sorts of emotions wrapped up together.

The challenge is trying to take advantage of all the little moments in between the big moments, when all those moments seem to go by both excruciatingly slow and mind-numbingly fast at the same time.

Happy Easter!

This is going to be short and sweet, because I've been up since 5:15 a.m. and I have a sinus headache and it's about time for me to get to bed.

And the 5:15 wouldn't be so bad, except we had to be at church at 7:45 because we had an 8:30 service and we had to sing in both that and the 10:30 service.

At the beginning and end of each service, so we had to stay for all of both. On the platform. No sneaking out for a bathroom break!

(Thank GOD they put some chairs up there for us!)

Oh, and did I mention my coffee maker, which I haven't had quite a year, didn't work well this morning, at 5:15? That instead of 4 cups of coffee, it made one really, really strong cup?

Just like the other one that it replaced?

(Thank GOD I'd gotten some Senseo pods on clearance at Target last week, so I had a Plan B!)

Not surprisingly, there was a Harley in the sanctuary this morning.

Yes, on Easter.

No, no one was riding it. It was covered in a white sheet. I make that clarification because we have had people ride theirs into the sanctuary, on Biker Sunday.

It was part of the Pastor's sermon, about how that the value of an item is set by the buyer, not the seller, and that Jesus deemed us very valuable when he bought us with His blood on the cross.

Anna Marie went into childrens church for the first service, but decided she'd come into the sanctuary for the second.

(No, I didn't get any pictures this year. We had to be at church at 7:45 people! With less coffee than usual! I'll get pictures next time she wears her outfit!)

She did really well, sitting on the front row where I could see her (and next to her friend Chloe and Ms. Sandra, one of the more mature ladies in the church.)

After church, we went to my Aunt Esther's new house. And, just like at Christmas, I pretty much ate beyond all reason. Spiral ham? Check. Chicken and dressing? Check. Banana pudding? Check.

My mom had spent the night there, and my aunt and uncle from around the corner (who is my uncle twice over, I guess, because he used to be married to one of the other sisters who passed away), my Aunt Esther's younger daughter, and a couple of other family members showed up. Anna Marie was the only kid, but she survived.

(It helped that she had Cartoon Network, and her DS, and a Star Wars Clone Wars game for her Leapster.)

We finally left, and Jason said, "I think I ate too much ham."

I was all, "Dude. I know."

I can't believe this day is finally over, and what a good Easter week it's been. It started with last week's musical and then small groups, and ended with today's double header of a service and time with the family.

It didn't matter that the temperature dropped 15 degrees from lunchtime until we left, or that it's rained all day. We were inside, a family, something that sadly doesn't happen too much outside of funerals these days.

I'm testing my coffee pot, and loading myself up with ibuprofen and allergy meds, and soon I hope to be all snug in my bed.

I hope that all y'all out there in blogland have had a blessed Easter too.

He is risen, y'all!

Help for my procrastinating peeps

Hey, Melz-Worlders!

Have you gotten your kids their Valentines Day cards yet?

No? Are you like me, and you don't really care for the overly-priced, overly-commercialized fare at your friendly neighborhood Big Box Store?

Or are you making them by hand, lovingly crafting each and every one with your scrapbook supplies?

(LOSER!)

Well, never fear. I have rounded up a few FANTABULOUS, PRINTABLE Valentines card ideas!

(Ok, so I can't take all the credit, but I'm passing the printable goodness on to you!)

These are really cute, and if I'm reading the info correctly, they're FREE! Etsy also has several designs that are inexpensive to download. Man, do I ever wish I was this talented!

I love these too, and they even come in a version that you can color. Fancy!

I kinda wish I'd seen these like, two days ago, before I did Anna Marie's cards. They're tres chic!

Alas, I did not see those, but I saw these and they're the ones I pulled into Quark, put her name on, PDF'd, and printed out. I cut them out last night while I was watching TV, and voila! Instant Valentines!



(It does help somewhat that the teacher requested that we not put the kids' names on them, just our kid. I don't know what is up with that, but I'm not complaining!)

Yeah, I do work somewhere with access to all sorts of graphic stuff, and I could've designed them myself, but this year, I figure I'll leave all that designing to people who are, you know, good at it.

Now, if we could just figure out some resource for the men in our lives who wait till the last minute, we'd really be in business!

Found it! Found it! Found it!

(Ok. So I only found it after asking Jason where it was. But still! He only told me where he'd laid the memory card. I still had to look on the desk and find it my own self!)

This time last week, I was at the Pink Palace with Anna Marie and three busloads of first graders.

(And also, several busloads of kids from other schools. Who coordinates these things anyway?)

More precisely, at this time last week, I was waiting in line at the museum's IMAX theater, which is under the front lawn, and which is impervious to cell phone signals.

(I know. I tried to check my email before we went in. UNDERGROUND! NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM! OR SEND YOU A TEXT MESSAGE!)

Before we descended into The Abyss of No Cell Phone Coverage, we ascended (the escalator) to the Festival of Trees.

The general idea is that different organizations decorate trees, and the entrance fees are donated to charity.

Here were a few of our (meaning Anna Marie and my other charge, her BFF Madi) favorites:



Hannah Montana, of course. But what is up with that creepy head at the top? Could they not have used something a little less grotesque? Is there no end to The Creepy at this museum?



I liked this tree, with its gold and white and musical instruments and "JOY" ornaments. Just plain pretty.



You knew this was coming, didn't you? You knew SOMEONE was going to put a High School Musical tree together. This was, obviously, the very favorite of the two girls I had in tow.



While I am not a big fan of satin-ball ornaments, I did very much like this tree. I wish I had somewhere that a white tree with bright ornaments would work at my house! It would be FABULOUS.



Yet another white tree. This one had a snow/penguin theme, and it's a little hard to see, but there was a giant snowflake as the tree topper.

(CAUTION: we are now entering the super-secret part of this post. I was all snap-happy taking pictures, and wondering why I didn't the last time we came, and then I realized that I wasn't supposed to be taking any. View at your own risk, and if you're caught, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your existence.)

Let me remind you: these decorations were used at least 30 years ago, because that's about how long ago my parents took me to the basement of a downtown department store to see them. They spent several years in storage after the store closed, and when I was in high school, they were moved to an agricultural exposition center. A few years ago they were moved to this museum, and here they stay.

That being said, on with the cheesetasticness.







There was, of course, more to look at, but The Man got all hot and bothered about the photography going on. Some of the stuff moved! And everything! I promise!

(Those elves - they're the main thing I remember from seeing this stuff as a toddler. Scarred for life!)

Now that that's over, I have one more, really scary thing to show you:



Not so scary, you say? What if I told you that each one of those stuffed penguins had set someone back $50? What say you then? Sure the money went to charity, but that's a lot of Benjamins.

(Or is it Hamiltons? I honestly have no idea whose picture is on the $50 bill, because I haven't seen one in so long.)

And how many kids do you think actually heeded that sign telling them not to touch the penguins. Yep, just that many.

Perhaps later today, I'll get around to telling you about Anna Marie's Christmas list, which she compiled on the way to church on Sunday, and which involves both her teeth and a plant.

Maybe by "plant" she means "money tree," because that's what it's going to take to fulfill her wishes!

All she wants for Thanksgiving

Is her two front teeth.

And maybe some pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let's make this Christmas mean something this year

Why yes, I HAVE started listening to my James Brown Funky Christmas already, before Thanksgiving even arrives!

(That album, by the way, was one of the best purchases of holiday music I've ever made, which is saying a lot, because I have purchased a lot of holiday music in my time.)

By the time the actual Thanksgiving gets here, it will be the third such dinner this week - and that's only if Jason doesn't bring home leftovers from the auction dinner on Tuesday, for us to have on Tuesday night.

(Not that I'd complain about that, mind you. The foodservice he uses makes a mean dressing.)

Last night, we had our church's Evening with the Turkeys - and I laughed so hard, and so often, that my face was sore by the time it was all said and done. But Anna Marie? Not so much! I guess most of the humor was over the head of a seven-year-old, because on the way home she gave me her list of ingredients for a funny skit:

1. Someone falling down.

2. Said person getting bandaged.

3. And having rocks in their mouth.

4. And pretending to swim.

A tall order, yes, but apparently guaranteed to make even the most dour-faced elementary school student laugh her tail off.

She was sitting with friends, not with us, and as we were leaving she said (VERY loudly!) "I didn't laugh the whole time!"

Apparently, the sight of our pastoral staff in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? mode was funny, but not quite funny enough to get her to laugh. But, if one of them had fallen down, well then, Katie bar the door, she's going to guffaw until next week.

Our office will be celebrating our Thanksgiving dinner today, in about an hour or so. It's catered by a local shop, and it's one of the best spreads this side of the Mississippi - or the other side, for that matter.

I still have no idea what we're doing on Thursday, except that Jason finally told his mom that we weren't coming to Georgia this year.

(Yeah, he's a last minute guy like that. He waited until the invitations were nearly printed to tell her that we were getting married at my church, in Mississippi, and not at her church, in South Carolina. Her reaction? "You're paying for it. You can do whatever you want.")

(Insert slightly disgusted look here, by the way.)

But, I was wondering - do multiple Thanksgiving dinners take all the meaning out of Thursday? Back when I was a kid, it doesn't seem like we did this much celebrating - but we've already eaten it once, last night at church, and I'll do it again today, and Jason will have some tomorrow at work, and then comes Thursday.

By the time the real holiday rolls around, I may just be in the mood for a hamburger!

Oh, nevermind - I forget, I'm married to the man who wanted turkey and dressing for our rehearsal dinner - and we were married in July.

Gobble, gobble, y'all.

I'm ready!

I'm ready for the holidays to be here!

Don't get me wrong - I haven't bought a turkey (HAHAHAHA! Like I'll even cook one! That's what Cracker Barrel is for!) or baked a pie, or truth be told, even cleaned off my dining room table.

I'm ready for it to be the holidays. I spent part of Saturday at our town's Christmas Open House, and now I want to put up my tree! I've got so many new ideas (not to mention a big container of brand new ornaments) that I want to try out.

No, I haven't bought a single present, but I'm ready for Christmas.

And I'm ready for it to be Thanksgiving, too. Not ready in the "got all the ingredients for my world-famous stuffing" (HAHAHAHA again!) sense but ready in the "I watched Food Network this weekend and I'm ready for some turkey and dressing" sense.

That kind of ready.

I'm ready for next Sunday night, when we'll have dinner and lots of funny skits at the Evening with the Turkeys. I'm ready to bake a dessert, and fix a side dish, and (if last year's reports are to be believed) laugh until my stomach hurts.

(Hey! It's cardio!)

I'm ready for the following Tuesday, when I'll chaperon Anna Marie's trip to the Pink Palace Museum, where they have the Festival of Trees and the Enchanted Forest.

(On that note, I'll have to take plenty of pictures - that Enchanted Forest is exactly the same now as it was when I was a kid, and my parents took me to see it. It's so cheesy, it's wonderful!)

And how could I forget, I'm ready for our annual Thanksgiving dinner here at the office, with food catered by a local restaurant, and a few minutes' break from the work-a-day world.

I feel like SpongeBob Squarepants, as he stands by his mailbox repeating "I'm ready! I'm ready!" over and over again.

I may regret saying this in another week - but I'm ready for it to be the holidays!

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

A.K.A. if I'd just post these things every day or so, you wouldn't have to take a day off work to read them.

Wonder what I was up to last week (other than not losing any weight?)

There was much baking and decorating to be had:



These were done during It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! Anna Marie was supposed to be "helping," and I guess she did, if by "helping" you mean "putting sprinkles on the three cookies destined for her mouth."

(And yes, I had one(ish). It's a slippery slope, and the next thing you know, you haven't lost any weight for the week.)

But how can you possibly be sad at the number on the scale, when you have these precious pumpkins smiling back at you?



Orange-tinted cupcakes + chocolate frosting + pumpkin PEEPS = happy first graders at their Halloween party.

And, inspired by my too-cute-for-words friend Brooke (who spelled out her infant daughter's name in pumpkins last year - good thing it's "AVA" and not "GERTRUDE" because that would be an awful lot of pumpkins) I did this on my lunch break on last Monday.



Yay for Sharpies and tracing letters printed off the computer!

That picture (as well as the cookie picture) were on my camera, and it's taken me this long to find the adapter for my microSD card so I could upload them. While I was there, I also found these gems:






You didn't know Jason was a famous animal wrangler, did you? This was at a Sears appliance store back in the spring, while we were in the Jeep waiting for my dad to buy a grill (and we somehow walked out with a new lawnmower for ourselves). The duck came right up to him, and he fed it Teddy Grahams out of my mom's purse.

He reprised his role on Mother's Day, when a snapping turtle found itself snared in Anna Marie's soccer goal.





And yes, that is Jason fussing at the turtle. It had tried to reach it's long neck around and bite him, when all he was trying to do was free it.

(Don't tell PETA, but he actually hit the turtle on the shell. I'm sure the turtle didn't feel a thing.)

And finally, here are our Halloween pictures. Anna Marie staged a bit of a mutiny after I got home from work on Friday (and a mere HOUR before the festival at my mom's church started) and refused to wear the Indian dress she'd successfully worn at both her dance class and as a Warrior (the school's mascot) on Warrior Day. We finally compromised on Biker Chick, and she even designed two tattoos (using her Magnadoodle) for me to draw on her arms.





(I don't know what that one is supposed to be. I just copied what she drew - and the words say "COOL KIDS CLUB.")



All tats were approved by this guy, my brother, a.k.a. The Man Who Look Like He Fell Through A Tackle Box And A Vat Of Ink Pens.




(Yes, that's a costume, folks. He's not NEARLY so redneck in real life. Who knew that a fake rat-tail could look so real?)

I hope everyone has recovered from their sugar comas, and is ready, willing, and able to get out and do their civic duty tomorrow!

GET OUT AND VOTE!

Official Thursday Weigh-In

So. We meet again.

Let me just say, if I never see another mini cupcake again, it will be too soon.

Let me just say, I now have nearly 100 orange-colored, chocolate-iced mini cupcakes in my house, half of which will be going to school with Little AM tomorrow.

(How do I know which half? They're the ones with the pumpkin-shaped Peeps on top!)

The other half I'm trying to take somewhere (like work, or maybe my mom's church tomorrow night) because, contrary to what my husband believes, we do NOT need four dozen mini cupakes lying around.

(Oh. My weight is the same as last week - 146.5. Since I had to bake tonight, I weighed in and then went to eat hamburgers with Anna Marie and Jason. Think maybe that's why I can't lose this last 10 lbs.?)

Anna Marie's school is having a breakfast tomorrow morning for those who had all A's on their report card, and guess what - she's in! They've invited parents, but I'm going to her Halloween party at lunch so I'm trying to convince Jason to go to breakfast.

I took pictures of the cupcakes, as well as a couple of other things we've done this week (cookies! pumpkin decorating!) but I'm in bed, and some of the pictures are on my phone, and you'll just have to wait a day or two for those.

It'll give my hands time to rest after all that icing!

So, to answer your question

Did I delegate?

Heck yeah I did.

Did we finish the magazine on Friday?

Heck no we didn't.

But we also didn't stay in the office until midnight like previous years.

I'm a little tempted to go in today and work on it - oh, nevermind. The moment passed.

(That didn't take long!)

I did wake up entirely too early this morning, after staying up entirely too late last night watching the Clean House 100th episode special. Good thing Anna Marie was at my mom's, because she hates that show.

We're having a good weekend so far. On Saturday, Anna Marie and I met one of my cousins and took our kids to see a production of Sesame Street Live. Before we got to the venue, though, I got a call on my cell phone.

It was our childrens/assistant pastor, Pastor Bob.

He said that the church had bought an ad in that county's paper to promote this weekend's Biker Sunday, but that it hadn't come out on Saturday like it was supposed to.

(For the record, it did come out on SUNDAY, but that's not my problem. For once!)

Pastor Bob said they'd been trying to get a reporter to come cover the event, but couldn't find one. And then he remembered that I'm a reporter! So he asked me to bring my camera and do a story for them to submit to their paper.

Did I say yes?

Heck yeah I did!

Yesterday's service was a blast! Anna Marie was so excited, because she got to wear jeans and a bandanna to church. Most folks were decked out similarly, except for Jason - he stuck to his old standby of khakis and a polo.

There were bikes everywhere - in the lobbies, on the sidewalks, and in a big group in the parking lot.

I thought that the volume of the praise and worship sounded louder just because I was sitting on the front row waiting for the motorcycles to come through, but Jason said it was loud further back where he was too.

Also, the set list included Evanescence and Daughtry. Slightly modified, of course, but still - we rocked.

And then, just before the sermon - three motorcycles entered the sanctuary!

And then, a big burly tattooed guy got up and told everyone how much God loves them, no matter what they've done or where they've been!

(Not the pastor, by the way. The guy in charge of the church's motorcycle ministry, who actually wears his gear to church every Sunday.)

Pastor Bob rode his bike to children's church, too. Anna Marie said he did a few laps around the room before coming to a stop.

(He also made sure that ALL the kids were seated before he drove in!)

I sent my story in to Pastor Bob last night. My pictures didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but I guess they'll realize that I'm a better writer than I am a photographer.

Last night, we had a Labor Day picnic at the same deer farm where we'd celebrated Memorial Day. Except, it was SO much hotter! Anna Marie got there and went directly to the sand volleyball court. And then on two hayrides - without us!

(My mom kinda freaked out about the hayride part, but I don't know why. She went last time, and she knew that they stayed on the church member's property, and that the sides of the trailer were about eight feet high, and completely enclosed. She's nearly seven - I think she can handle hanging out with her friends and a few responsible adults without us for a few minutes.)

The Kid was so busy playing, she didn't even eat dinner! I had to heat her up a frozen pizza when we got home.

Like I said before, she's at mom's, so I don't know how she slept. After a day filled with motorcycles and volleyball and hayrides, I'd venture that she's pretty pooped - but then again, she is Anna Marie, so anything is possible.

Speaking of being tired - I just realized I forgot to make my coffee this morning. The lack of caffeine is starting to kick in!

I'd better go remedy the situation - stat.

What is July 4 all about?

It's about the birth of our country, and those who have fought and died to keep that country free.

It's about those freedoms that were fought for, like the freedom to worship as we please, and live as we please, and (one of my personal favorites) write whatever we want in the newspaper.

Well, within reason. And libel laws.

It's also about spending the first part of the day playing with your kid in your backyard, and getting an unexpected text message from your oldest and best friend. And going back to the house that was her actual home, and your second home, when you were teenagers, and spending hours sitting outside in the breeze, just shooting the breeze.

It's about going to see fireworks, parked on the right-of-way in front of a stip mall, talking about old memories and making new ones.

And about little ones falling asleep on the way home, and being carried inside by daddies, only to wake up long enough to remind their moms to take their sandals off.

I hope you had a great, safe, freedom-filled July 4. Did I host a grand feast? Nope. Did I spend a small fortune on bottle rockets and sparklers? Not this year. But I got to spend time with some of my favorite people in the whole wide world. And my voice is tired from all the "visiting" we did. And I wouldn't change our spur-of-the-moment, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of day for all the Roman candles in the world.

That, I think, is what July 4, and freedom, are all about.

Happy Father's Day

To Jason, who is, in Anna Marie's words, the "Best Dad EVER!"

It's true. She wrote it in her card. That makes it so.

This morning in Sunday School, the pastor was "breaking the ice" by reading from a "testosterone thesaurus." I'm sure you can find it online somewhere. Except, Jason didn't fit ANY of the typical "guy stuff" it talked about. I mean, when I ask him how I look (which isn't often, I assure you) and he says "fine," I know he isn't really meaning, "Please don't try on any more outfits, I'm starving and we're late!"

Anyway.

I guess this isn't really a Father's Day observation, but it does show a bit of Jason's character nonetheless.

Our whole married life, nearly 10 years now, he's let me do pretty much whatever I wanted. Well, except quit my job and stay home, but other than that, he doesn't give me a lot of flak.

(Except - and Amanda has noticed this - he rarely raises his voice, but he ALWAYS makes his wishes known. Usually, without saying a word. And we usually know that we'd better shape up when he's disapproving. He doesn't have to say anything! How does he do that? I sure wish I knew - he's got mad skillz in that department.)

I used to think that he let me do whatever I wanted, and then the other day, it hit me.

He isn't letting me get my way.

He's giving me enough rope to hang myself.

That, my friends, is the mark of a truly wise man - and one who makes a truly wise father.

Mad props to you, Jason. You're the man.

And Anna Marie and I are really glad you're our man.