Prayer Journals

This morning, during my daily devotion, I was looking through my prayer journals from previous years. I came across many entries that reminded me once again that God IS indeed in control. I can look back now and see the tapestry that God has and is creating in my life. Don't we all have times in our lives (if we are willing to admit it) where we wonder where God is? Truly our human minds cannot possibly understand an infinite God. We try though. If you are anything like me you have at some point demanded to know what was going on? What is the game plan? God, why can't you give me a glimpse of what my future holds? And yet, He sometimes chooses to be silent. It is at those times when He calls me to just trust Him. Even when my understanding is so shallow. Even when my circumstances are frustrating or overwhelming. He has not called me to an easy life as His follower....but He has called me to a life of hope and joy as I abide in Him.
I want to share an entry that I wrote on Friday April 29, 2005.
"As the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are...my thoughts than your thoughts." Is.55:9
Lord, your ways are not my ways--You see the big picture--you know what I don't. What I can't possibly know. You see the future...whereas I can only live in this moment. It's just my job to trust You. Completely. Help me Lord to do Your will for my life....and to do it well. Amen

Floor Sealant

Okay people, so talking about concrete floor sealant might not be a popular topic with many....but do I care about popularity? No. So therefore I am going to dedicate today's blog, in it's entirety, to the whole glorious floor sealing adventure.
Scott and I tackled the powering washing/squeegee/wet vac yesterday to prepare our new home's colored concrete floors for the sealing today. Our floors have what I now like to call the "Tuscany" look. The floors have color variations of brown with various color shades and striations. It has sort of a leather look about it. The sealant gives it a high gloss that is just plain cool looking.
I just hope Scott and I don't each grow a third eye, an extra appendage or have our skin turn a fluorescent green color due to breathing in toxic fumes all day. All this so we can have a beautiful, unique floor in our new house. Go figure.
Our new house (when it is done--and thank goodness it almost is!) is truly unique. I like to call our house a blend of traditional (beautiful cherry cabinetry, lots of handcrafted wood), industrial (with concrete floors, radiant floor heat and large windows), and shabby chic (the melding of two houses full of junk er.....I mean stuff.)
Yes, this house building thing is probably one of the hardest things Scott and I have ever done....but we've learned endurance, focus and vision throughout this ordeal. We are still happily married and plan on enjoying our new home very shortly.....even if we had to sacrifice some of our brain cells along the way for that slick new floor.

President Reagan's Words--Echo From The Past

Ronald Reagan had the original Yes We Can!
What a difference in attitude then what we are having to deal with today. Please listen to this video...it is short, only about 4 minutes.

Smart Girl Politics

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Glaze On!

Just a short note to let my readers know that I am alive. I'm in Ohio right now at the house site. Scott and I are in the middle of glazing the wood deck around our whirlpool tub. It really turned out beautifully. I can't wait until this house gets finished so we can actually get in the tub and use it....instead of just standing in the bathroom and staring at it:)
This week we are washing and sealing our floors. Now, doesn't that sound soooo very exciting? We have colored concrete floors in this new house. (no wood flooring...no carpeting...) The floors will be very unique and pretty....but a real booger to get clean from all this construction dust. (that is an entirely different subject...about how sick I am of construction dust. It coats everything! I keep thinking of all the cleaning this will require of me! Ugh.)
So, anyway. I will amuse you with my witty banter when I get back to Tennessee. Right now, it's difficult to blog when I'm in the middle of house construction. Besides my laptop is covered in dust.....

Insert Foot

Once again our president inserts his foot in his mouth. I hope it tastes good because it seems like he makes stupid remarks quite often. The latest is his remark on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, about his bowling score being like something from the Special Olympics.
As someone who has spent a huge part of her life working with special needs individuals, I find this offensive. I don't think it is funny or a joke. It is comparing his bad bowling score with people who have disabilities being in the Special Olympics.
In my opinion this whole episode just goes to show that a Harvard education doesn't make a person intelligent.....book knowledge has nothing on true wisdom.

Don't Say The "G-Word"

My mom sent me an article this morning that I found very interesting. The gist is that a chaplain in Boca Raton, Florida is no longer able to say the word "God" at staff meetings/assemblies anymore. She is one of the chaplains at the hospice facility. Long story short she resigned over this. I give her kudos for standing up for what she believes in and not turning her back on the God she serves.
Does anyone else think that is ridiculous that a chaplain is forbidden to use the name of God? I guess it is not PC to mention the name of God as the holy, sacred name that it is. I suppose it wouldn't be so bad or offensive if it was used only to swear or curse. That is so sad.
What has become (or is becoming) of our society where people have become so "fragile" that they cannot even hear the name of God without being offended? A spokesperson said that some people sitting in the staff meeting didn't even believe in God and were uncomfortable with the use of that name. Just maybe that feeling of being "uncomfortable" is their heart trying to tell them something.
How many times have all of us sat in a meeting and someone said something we disagreed with? Or didn't really believe? I just let it pass and ignored it. I didn't get all cry baby over it. Are you getting the picture of how sick and tired I am of the PC police censoring everything these days?

HERE IS MY TAKE: It is true the name of God is offensive to many. The name of Jesus even more so. Christianity is an exclusive religion in some ways. We believe that anyone can come to Christ. Race, color, age, male, female, doesn't matter. BUT we believe that Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father. There are NOT many paths to get to God. Jesus said, "I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life. No one comes to the Father but by ME. If you knew me, you would know my Father as well." (John 14:6-7) That is what makes it exclusive. That is what makes Christianity different from the other religions of the world.
I can no more deny the name of my Lord and Savior then I could deny who I am. He has changed my life. He is not just a name. He is a person. It is a relationship.

There Is Nothing On TV

Tuesday nights are a dud for me. I don't really watch many shows on the actual TV, but I'm bored and flipping channels. I can't settle on anything. News. Boring...or sad. Home shopping. Not anything I'm even remotely interested in. I'm watching a little CMT for now....but country songs tend to make me sad, so that is no good. HGTV is something I've already seen.
Another beef I have while I'm at it, commercials....I have never in all my life seen a woman dancing around with a Swiffer while she does her housework. Dusting is never that much fun. Or what is the deal with the chick in her pajamas talking about going to college? She annoys me. So pick a college already! And no I don't want to hear about Cialis, Viva Viagra, or any of those other "remedies". Good grief people! Does the general population need to see men sitting around singing about it? Dare I say, NO! And lastly, the Taco Bell commercials are making me hungry.
Maybe I just need to go to bed. Lay in the dark and stare at the ceiling. But I'm not sleepy yet....so I probably won't be able to actually go to sleep. UGH. It is just one of those nights.

Don't Destroy Them!

As many of you who know me, or have been following me for any length of time, know that I am a full fledged, unapologetic bibliophile. A lover of books, both old and new. This past weekend I carefully packed books. Part of my packing entailed boxing up my collection of children's books. All the books I bought for my son when he was very young, some I even bought for him before he was born! I love children's books with their sweet words and beautiful illustrations. I could never put these books in a yard sale or give to a used book store. These beautiful hard back books are filled with Winnie-the -Pooh, The Hungry Caterpillar, and Choco who longed to find his mommy. I plan on saving these books to read to my grandchildren one day.
Having said all this you can imagine my horror when I read this article. All my beautiful, old books are being outlawed! No more Uncle Wiggly, or The Velveteen Rabbit. Older versions of Alice In Wonderland or The Children's Bible Story Book are on the hit list. In fact any child's book published before 1985 can possibly be destroyed!
This just makes me sick....the history that will be thrown out saddens me. I know that people who don't really have a love of books probably don't understand my upset. I just think that this new law under CPSIA is so restrictive. Yes, there might be traces of lead in the paints that they used (before 1985) to use in illustrations...but it is such a small amount that it is ridiculous to even think about. Have any of you heard of any child, EVER getting sick from story book illustrations???

Sweet Voices Of The Past

While packing things up in my bedroom I came across a little treasure that I had stored in one of my "memory" boxes. My niece, Hannah, when she was very young gave me a birthday gift with her singing to me. (an ornament that one can record a message on) Her sweet,voice was singing Happy Birthday to Aunt Dawn. A voice that echoed back from the past. Hannah will be nine years old this summer, her voice no longer sounds like the 2 year old that sang to me all those many years ago. I must have listened to her two or three times, her childlike Happy Birthday ringing in my ears. Precious memories.
I also found an old answering machine that I haven't used in years. On the small tape I heard the voice of my young son. He was about four or five when he left me a message. "Hi, mom. It's me! I just wanted to say hi. I love you! Bye." My son will be 14 in just two short months. His voice is deeper now and he is no longer a little boy.....but I cannot bear to part with his sweet young voice. It still touches my heart.
Some people would call me sentimental.....and I guess they would be correct. I am. I have boxes full of memories. Things I can't let go. Reminders to me of all the things that are truly important.

Words Of Wisdom From The Farmer's Almanac

"They say you are what you eat.
Nuts must be more common in diets
than we thought."

Amen to that! I couldn't have said it better myself.

The President Was Rude and Thoughtless

When recently meeting with the British Prime Minister, President Obama made a very careless mistake. As is custom when dignitaries meet, they give gifts. Gifts that should have meaning and symbolism to the receiver.
I hope the Brit's don't hold our president's ridiculous idea of a gift against us. Please forgive us for HIS rudeness. Britain has been a friend and ally to this country for many,many years and this lack of forethought on our president's part is completely unacceptable to many Americans.

A newspaper reports on March 3,2009:


Let's hope he's a Star Wars fan.

President Obama on Thursday gave British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a set of 25 classic American movies to mark his historic visit to the White House.

Brown, the first European leader to visit Obama since his Jan. 20 inauguration, was presented with a "special collector's box" of DVDs during his two-day visit to Washington.

Downing Street, which reportedly tried to keep the present a secret, declined to say what movies were included in the set.

"One reason for the secrecy might be that the gift seems markedly less generous and thoughtful than the presents taken to Washington by the Prime Minister," London's Evening Standard newspaper reported.

The Daily Mail, however, reported the movie set included ET, Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz and was produced by the American Film Institute on "special request" from the White House.

Brown, who is not known to be a movie buff, gave the president and his children several uniquely historical gifts.

The first of which is a pen holder fashioned from the oak timber of HMS Gannet, a Navy vessel that served on anti-slavery missions off Africa.

Another treasure given to Obama is a framed commissioning paper for the HMS Resolute, a Royal Navy ship that came to symbolize British-American goodwill when it was rescued by the U.S. from icebergs and given to Queen Victoria. It is the sister ship of the HMS Gannet.

Finally, Brown gave Obama a first edition of Martin Gilbert's seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill, whose World War II partnership with President Franklin Roosevelt symbolized the U.S.-Anglo alliance.

For Sasha and Malia, Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, gave each an outfit from Topshop, a British chain of clothing stores, and selected six children's books by British authors which have yet to be published in the U.S.

In return, First Lady Michelle Obama presented the prime minister's two boys with toy helicopters modeled after Marine One.

Obama was so touched by the gifts, he called Brown on board his plane on Thursday to thank him. The call was placed after Brown addressed a joint meeting of Congress, the White House said. The two reportedly spoke for 10 minutes.

The White House later issued a press briefing to put on record how much Obama appreciated the gifts.

"The pen set is being displayed on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and the books are in the President's personal study adjoining the Oval Office," the White House said in a statement.

During Brown's first trip to America in the summer of 2007, he was given a fur-trimmed brown leather bomber jacket by President George W. Bush.

The prime minister's reaction to the DVD set is not known.

A Fashion Statement All My Own

If all I'm going to do is more of the same....packing 'til my eyes begin to cross.... why should I care what I look like? Comfort should be my ultimate goal, correct? So what if I look like a psychotic yard sale shopper? I have on a pair of leggings with a pair of cut off shorts over them and a T-shirt with an over sized sweater over it. The sweater has a hood attached to it...and I sometimes like to wear the hood because it makes me resemble an elf. Some pointy ears, and I could pass. Not a stitch of makeup on and my hair, well let's just say it is in it's "natural state". I think you are getting the picture.
I have a killer headache today....this time change thing has thrown me for a loop! So not only am I dressed like a vagabond, but I'm fighting the headache with extra strength Tylenol. At least I'm not having to take Benadryl. A couple of those pills and I am completely zonked out. I'm not kidding. I get loopy and then I fall over asleep. What can I say? One time when I had some really bad springtime allergies going on, I took a couple of Benadryl and was out of commission for a good 12 hours.
Well, I guess I should get back to work. If I have too. If I must. By the way, while packing I've noticed I own enough socks to cover the feet of a small army. I have a sock "thing". I fully admit it. I guess as far as addictions go that is relatively mild.....and one never knows when a good pair of socks will be just the thing to brighten a day. I already know I'm weird. Hey,don't make fun of me.

Kickin' It Old School--80's Style

Last night on Joost (on the internet) I watched Square Pegs. Square Pegs was a show that was about 2 young teen girls and their crazy journey as they attempted to become part of the popular group at their high school. The show was on the air in the very early 80's.(Sarah Jessica Parker was one of the stars of the show....a good couple of decades before her Sex In The City fame.) I used to watch this show when I was in middle school. I really felt old because these shows are under the "retro" column on Joost now. Ugh!
As I was going to sleep, I started thinking about all the shows I used to watch during that decade and all the things that were on the scene in the 80's. That great decade brought us leg warmers, and off the shoulder sweatshirts ala FAME!, big hair, and "the preppy look" with Izod. I remember Docksider shoes--with the laces curled of course, break dancing was in and Star Search is what everyone watched (yes, American Idol wouldn't be known for years in the future!). We had banana clips for our hair, and MTV was brand new--when it used to be all videos. We listened to music on cassettes, had several Swatch watches, tried to speak Valley Girl--like totally gnarly dude, and thought that Molly Ringwald was the best actress ever in Pretty In Pink. Who could figure out the Rubiks cube, and do The Lemon Twist? Did you want a pair of Ray Bans when you went to the beach? Did you wear brightly colored Jams? Did you think the Dolorean in Back To The Future would be a cool car to own? And who can forget "Bueller? Bueller?
For a trip down memory lane.....and some of you reading this might have taken this trip with me......Let's see what did we watch on TV in the late 70's and 80's? Here goes--I'll see how many I can remember. CHIPS (who didn't love Ponch and John on their motorcycles on the LA freeways), EMERGENCY!, Square Pegs, Facts of Life (fun times at the private girls school with Miss Garrett), Different Strokes ("what cha talkin' 'bout Willis?), Family Ties (Michael J.Fox as Alex P.Keaton) , Little House On The Prairie (with Pa and Ma and Mary, Half Pint,Carrie and Grace), Charlies Angels (and all the collectors cards that went with that show--not to mention we all wanted Farrah's feathered hair), The Waltons (and their large loving family living on Walton Mountain...gotta love John Boy), Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley,Hunter, Hart to Hart, Remington Steele, Rockford Files (all great police/detective shows) Hawaii Five-O (cool theme music)......and one of my all time favorites, The Cosby Show.
Bill Cosby is a big favorite of mine...and the 80's was the time of brightly colored sweaters. One could always count on Mr. Huxtable to wear the coolest sweaters while he dished out sage advice to his children.
To be honest I love the fact that I can go online and watch some of my {old} favorite shows. Even if they are considered Retro! More then just the shows....it is the memories that flood back when I watch them.
I am most definitely a child of the 80's. I was in the Spring of my 6th grade year when the 80's arrived and was a senior in college in the Fall of 1989.
The 80's are like an old friend....the kind of friend that says something and you knowingly say, "Yeah, I remember that!". The sort of friend that makes you laugh when you look back at your big, permed hairstyles and neon colored earrings. The kind that gently reminds you that you are not as young as you used to be, but it doesn't really matter because your time together was quite a ride and unless you lived through it, you just can't understand. We are in our 30's and 40's now. We might look like adults, but in our hearts we'll always be kids of the 80's!!!
If you too are a child of the 80's why don't you leave me a comment about something you remember?

Homeschoolers Persecuted In Germany

Those parents that choose to home school their children in Germany face "exorbitant fines in the tens of thousands of dollars, jail time, and court hearings to take away custody. These are the tools used by Germany to repress home schooling."
Other European countries allow their citizens to make decisions about their own children's education...but this is not the case in Germany. This is not some nightmare from the past, but is going on right now.
Germany's Basic Law (similar to the US federal Constitution) states that "the care and upbringing of children is the natural right of parents and a duty primarily incumbent upon them. The state shall supervise them in the performance of this duty."
So in other words the state feels it is their duty to usurp the authority of the parents over their own children and to force parents to put their children in a public school against their wishes.
Judge Becker, a county court judge in the state of Hessen, wrote his unpublished opinion on July 22, 2008. He states,"the general public has a legitimate interest to work against the development of any religious or other ideologically motivated parallel societies and to integrate minorities." The interpretation of the German courts is that home schooling subverts the states effort to foster pluralism and tolerance.
One German family faced the struggle to home school their children even against the odds. Eventually they had to flee their home land, so that they could home school freely. The father states that "Germans greatly trust their government or "Father State". Family is not highly valued and it is rare to hear anything positive about families from the government. Many families do not feel they should carry the responsibility of education of their children without government help."
If a family wants to home school for religious reasons they are seen as suspicious, weird, isolated and members of a "parallel society" (as was mentioned by the judge in my previous paragraph).
As a home schooler I find what is happening in Germany to be both sad, and appalling. Here in the USA I have the freedom to educate my children how I see fit. It is a right AND a responsibility that I have as a parent. I am thankful for the opportunity to teach my children at home. I hope that German parents will be able to say the same thing one day.

Material In Quotes is from:
Jan/Feb 2009 issue of the Home School Legal Defense Association's, The Home School Court Report
pp. 8,9,10,11

The Rush

Listened to Rush on the radio today. Can you believe that "certain people" (hint..hint NOT the conservatives) want to put a huge billboard up in West Palm Beach, Florida. The billboard will not be flattering to Mr. Limbaugh. They WANT him to see it. He laughed, and said he is used to this kind of thing, but wants to be sure this is being paid for by the dem party and NOT from taxpayer money!
Can you believe this? I mean it would be completely laughable if it wasn't so sad. There are people in the national government that sure do hate Rush because he speaks his mind....and yet so many of us love him!

Moving Lessons

I'm learning some interesting lessons as I pack the house for our big moving day. One of these life lessons came to me as I got stuck under the bed today. Yes, I've got stuff under the bed...and yes, I can't really remember what all IS under there so I had to "go under". Now wouldn't you know I couldn't reach the junk on the other side (because the bed is up against the wall). As much as I stretched I couldn't reach some of the boxes.....I thought if I just moved a little bit more....and didn't die from asphyxia from the dust. Then it happened! I got myself wedged. Thank goodness I remained calm ( I tend to be claustrophobic) as I laid there on my belly with my legs sticking out from under the bed. Seriously, my first thought was, "I have got to wiggle out from here, I refuse to be found like this....like the witch in The Wizard Of Oz when the house lands on her. That would be so embarrassing."
My newly learned lessons are:
1. Don't keep a bunch of junk under the bed.
2. Ones arm cannot mysteriously grow longer...even when stretching and straining to reach something.
3. Monsters really DO live under the bed. They are in the form of huge, sinister dust bunnies that attack when one is pinned under the bed.
4. Moving is way over rated....once I'm in this new house, I'm in for good. It would take a case of dynamite to blow me out of there.
5. And lastly, I really am blessed. I have so much nice stuff. I should never complain again.

Pizza In A Time Capsule

As most of you know I am packing up our house to move. Today I had the kids help me scoot the refrigerator out of it's little alcove. Well, besides dust bunnies the size of cats I noticed a slip of paper. After digging through the dust (No, I don't really clean behind my refrigerator very often. Don't judge me!) we pulled out a yellowed piece of paper. It was a sheet of coupons for Pizza Hut. I looked at the expiration date and it was August of 1997!!! After I got myself under control from the hysterical fit of snorting laughter....I told the kids, "we've hit a pizza time capsule". Being the ever involved home schooling parent I had the kids do a price comparison of Pizza Hut prices that we got in an advertisement flyer yesterday vs. the almost 12 year old coupons we found.
For those of you that are curious here are the results: Pizza Hut circa 1997 for a large one topping $8.99. Same pizza now is $10.50. A medium pizza any way you want it was $7.99 now that pizza is $10.50. So there has obviously been a price increase over a nearly 12 year period, but overall it wasn't as much as I expected. I was surprised.
If I find any other things wedged under large appliances, or shoved in the back of drawers, or stuffed on closet shelves, I'll let you know. I've lived in this house since '94. There is no telling the plethora of time capsule objects I might inadvertently find. The possibilities are overwhelming.

My Home Improvement Obsession

I have not blogged in a little over a week...and I feel like something is missing. How sad it that? I know I've become a full fledged blogging addict when on the drive back from Ohio I'm actually mulling over what I'm going to be blogging about this evening. I thought to myself, "Even if it's not earth shattering blogging information--I still need to type SOMETHING! My fingers are starting to twitch from lack of typing." (Is there such a thing as blogging twitch? Hey, maybe I'll Google that!)
I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret...okay, so it will no longer be a secret once I tell it, but, oh well....I was secretly excited about returning to Tennessee from my week in Ohio because I'd be able to watch HGTV at my leisure. Yes, you've heard it from the horses mouth. My husband is not a big fan of all the shows on that particular cable channel...so I don't get to watch it as much as I'd like (unless I quickly flip the channel from Fox news when he leaves the room)...but not this week. Woo hoo! I can be a home decor junkie! Even as I type I am watching Design to Sell....and yes, I love it! Rip up that old flooring! Repaint that room! Tile that old shower! Yes...I know it's a sickness. I probably should get therapy for my secret obsession....but, I really love that new hardwood flooring.