Monthly Archives: December 2008

Brrrr…….

I am leaving for Ohio again today. I seriously think I could drive I-75 with my eyes closed. (okay, so maybe that would not be wise, but you get the idea!) I looked at the week’s weather forecast. I’m leaving Tennessee’s 45 degree high today, for Ohio’s 25 degrees. Brrrrr……. I keep telling myself that our new house will be so toasty and warm. (Once we are in it!!!) This morning might be chilly but it is a lot nicer then the Noah’s ark day we had the last time we left for Ohio. I’m getting so used to this 6 hour drive that it doesn’t seem like anything anymore. Well, I better go. I’ve got a car to pack, and pets to feed, and dishes to wash, and….and….and…..

Remember When?

Remember when you were young
and time seemed to drag on and on?
But as you got older
you blinked and time was gone?
The days turn into weeks
and weeks into a year…
Before you even knew it
the brand new year was here!

2008 will soon be history
and 2009 is yet a mystery…..

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Thank You To The Soldiers

I just wanted to say thank you to all the soldiers out there. You that are stationed all over the world….You that are wishing your families back home a Merry Christmas. I know you miss your family and friends that are back in the States. Thank you not only for your service to our country but also for the personal sacrifice of being so far away from home and those that you love. Thank you. I appreciate you….and even though you aren’t home for Christmas, you are not forgotten!

S–Strong
O–Opportunity
L–Love of Family and Country
D–Determination
I–Integrity
E–Endurance
R–Respect

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Tonight Scott read the Christmas story from the book of Luke. I always love to listen to the Christmas story. He didn’t stop there with the story that took place in Bethlehem, but continued to read about Christ’s death at Calvary and His resurrection. You see the Christmas story is a wonderful story….but it is only the beginning. When Jesus came to this earth as God in the flesh, it was miraculous….but when he died 33 years later and was resurrected 3 days after that, that is what made the difference.That, my friends, is what CHANGED the world. God’s plan was complete. Salvation, because of that, was now within humanities grasp. God loved us all so much! So as I sit and ponder what the shepherds must have felt so long ago on that dark middle eastern night, I’m reminded once again of the angels reply of, “Fear not! I bring you tidings of great joy…for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord. You will find him laying in a manger.” All the multitudes of angels sang GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST! What a thrill it must have been to see that heavenly display! But greater still to go to the stable and to see the promised Messiah…the child that was the answer to all the prophecies.
As I think about that scene–my mind goes to the rest of the story as Scott read of Christ’s death on the cross. When his last words were “it is finished.” The chasm between us and God was bridged by Christ’s death and resurrection. Now that is the greatest story ever told!

What Was That Sound?

I know it can’t be good when I go to stretch in the morning and my leg creaks so much that it resembles the sound of someone breaking a dry twig. Was that me making that sound??? For crying out loud! Then I roll over in bed and my back seizes up….I just lay there thinking, “so this is what happens the year I turn 40. This is so not fair.” It did not use to be this way. My body is not supposed to give up so quickly. I guess I need to give myself a pep talk. What happened? I finally manage to roll off the bed and hobble over to grab my robe. It will take me a good 5-10 minutes to really get moving. In the meantime I make my way to the kitchen (after my obligatory stop in the bathroom) to start the coffee and fix a little breakfast. I start to feel a little better. Outside it looks very cold and gray. The wind is blowing. At least I’m not out there…I’m nice and warm inside.

Doing A Whole Lot Of Nothing

Yesterday I took my life in my hands at the Walmart. (notice in the south we call it THE Walmart…not that it is the only one, but it is the one we are at so therefore it is THE Walmart) Shortly after my husband and I got married he made a comment about me saying THE Walmart. I told him after having lived in the south for over 20 years I decided to go with the flow….. I also said things like “I’m fixin’ to go to THE Walmart.” Now, fixin’ means different things to different people, but as far as I can figure it translates as I’m getting ready to go and do something. Some prime examples of this verbiage are as follows: “I’m fixin’ to leave for the store.” , “I’m fixin’ to get dinner ready.” , or the ever popular, “I’m fixin’ to get angry if you don’t get moving!” (this said after waiting for ones teenagers to get out to the car so you can actually leave) I like the word fixin’. I will definitely keep this word in my repertoire.
Now having grown up in the mid-Atlantic state of Maryland I have a mixture of accent/drawl/slang. Growing up it mattered not what your gender was, everyone was “you guys”. Down here in the south it is ya’ll. I do not really say “ya’ll” as I am deeply ingrained with “you guys”. This causes some stares in my general direction….but stares have never really stopped me from anything. One just learns to smile and move along. (the gracious smile is something I learned in the south….also add a “well, bless your heart” and everything is forgiven.)
When I first moved to Tennessee in the mid 80’s I was accused of talking way to fast. People couldn’t understand me…..I needed to talk s-l-o-w-e-r. I got lots of chuckles when I said “on”…as in “turn on the lights.” I was told I was saying, “oi-n”…. To this day I still get laughs at my Maryland accent. I have given in and learned to add more syllables to words to make them longer….even if they are short words. In the south it just works.
Please, my accent is nothing compared to my Georgia friends. One day my friend asked me for a Coke. I assumed she meant Coca Cola you know the classic?? Well, no she didn’t mean that at all. She wanted another type of soda entirely. I said, “you asked for a Coke”. She said, “a Coke is generic for any type of soda.” Well, that is just stupid. How am I supposed to figure that out? To which she replied, “duh. Everyone knows that is how it is.” Uh…not me. Another friend from Atlanta told me that his milk was “runt”, when we were having breakfast one day. I said, “runt?”. How can milk be a runt? After much back and forth I finally figured out he meant ruined. His milk had gone bad. Hallejuah! I felt like I had just won Jeopardy. Woo hoo. I figured it out!!!!
Now, I’m getting ready to move to Ohio. I think they call soda, pop. I’m not really sure about all the language peculiarities in the midwest….but I’m fixin’ to find out! I will be a mix of mid-Atlantic, southern and now mid western accents. I consider my accent to be flavorful and interesting. I’m going with that:)

A Love Hate Relationship With A Store

Yes, I’m talking about Walmart AGAIN. I know Walmart makes excellent fodder for by blog. I can’t help it there is always something going on at Walmart. The good, the bad, and often times the ugly.
I just got back to TN. from OH. yesterday evening. I was FORCED to go to Walmart today…well, if I expected my family to eat, or have any food “treats” for Christmas.
Now, today just a few short days until Christmas the store is like a bee hive. People everywhere…and I do mean everywhere! I had approximately 5 tons of food in my cart, and wouldn’t you know I’d have the squeaky cart with the one wheel that wobbles?? I’m attempting to “drive” the cart without having a serious accident in the middle of the frozen food aisle. A rather large man was right in the middle of the aisle. He wasn’t budging. (Hello!!) I couldn’t get around him with my load of groceries in tow. For one split second I had an evil thought of rear ending him with my cart. I figured if I got enough momentum I could shove him clear into the fish sticks. Calm down. I didn’t actually do it. I SAID it was only a brief, fleeting thought. I wonder if there is such a thing as grocery aisle rage?? Kind of like road rage, only with a grocery cart? If so, I might require some therapy.
After schelpping (I’m not sure how to spell that) all over the store I finally got to the check out. By this time I had worked up a sweat. (I still had on my winter coat and sweater–which if I had any sense I would have taken off in the store, the coat, not my sweater!) I’m slinging groceries on the conveyor belt just wanting to be done with it all when I realize that I forgot crackers!! I had the sharp cheddar cheese ball for snacking but no crackers. There was no way I was going back for them, I had already gotten to the finish line. Arrggghhh! I guess the family was just gonna have to eat the cheese straight up. This is so the story of my life. Just when I think I’ve got it all together….and Wham! I forget the crackers.
You know what this means don’t you? I’m going to have to drag myself back to Walmart on a cracker run. Ugh.

Saying Goodbye

No, I don’t necessarily agree with every thing that President Bush did or said, but overall I like him. I think as history gets written he will be seen as a good president, one with principles and character. He showed integrity and grit even in the presence of his accusers. I think we as American citizens owe him a huge debt of gratitude for not allowing anymore attacks on our home soil since the devastation of 9/11. I think many people have already chosen to forget just how terrible that was….some years pass and people forget….they take our safety for granted. We need to be forever vigilant because that is the sort of world we live in now. I agree with President Bush that politics goes in cycles…..so we conservatives just need to hang on for the next four years. It won’t last forever.
I read the following article this morning on Drudge:

President George W. Bush speaking to U.S. troops in Baghdad last Sunday. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Bush reflects on White House days
By David Stout
Published: December 19, 2008

WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush shared some bittersweet reflections as he looked back fondly on his White House days but regretted his inability to win passage of immigration legislation and to change the tone of debate in the capital.

“Reflections by a guy who’s headed out of town,” Bush called his musings in a question-and-answer session Thursday at the American Enterprise Institute.

“An old sage at 62,” he said, “headed to retirement.”

The president, who has described himself as uncomfortable with introspection, loosened up considerably before a friendly audience of conservatives. Better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all was a theme he embraced several times.

“One such problem was immigration reform,” Bush said. “And in this case, I chose to put the spotlight directly on the issue by giving an Oval Office address. Obviously, we weren’t successful about getting comprehensive immigration reform. Nevertheless, I feel good about having tried.”

While he will miss many things about Washington, he won’t miss “the petty name-calling,” Bush said.

“I came with the idea of changing the tone in Washington, and frankly didn’t do a very good job of it,” he said. “You know, war brings out a lot of heated rhetoric and a lot of emotion. I fully understand that.”

Bush reiterated his faith in freedom and in free markets, the current financial crisis notwithstanding. While he voiced his continued optimism about the American people, he said one of his “great fears” was that troubles overseas might tempt the country to revert to isolationism.

“The world needs America’s involvement,” he said. “We’re a compassionate, decent, strong nation.”

The president spoke about big issues (Iraq and tax policy, for instance) and not so big ones, like his relationship with the White House press corps.

“I don’t like some of the things they say,” Bush said. “Of course, they don’t like some of the things I say. But we’ve had a good relationship.”

A lot of spirited intramural debate preceded the 2007 increase of U.S. troops in Iraq, Bush said, observing that “creating tension is good for decision-making, so long as it doesn’t become destructive.”

When asked about President-elect Barack Obama’s assertions that “Bush deregulation” had led to a culture of recklessness and greed on Wall Street, Bush said he was looking forward “to the true history of this financial crisis being written.”

“Just some thoughts on this,” Bush said. “The markets sometimes create excesses. We’re living through the consequences of the excess.

“I quipped in Texas that Wall Street got drunk, and we got a hangover,” he said.

But this, too, shall pass, Bush said of the current storm. When it does, he said, elected officials should remember that “markets and free enterprise is what made the country great,” and that government’s proper role is promoting entrepreneurship and prosperity, not getting deeply involved in the mortgage business or managing car companies. And, yes, he retains his faith in low taxes as the best economic stimulus of all.

Bush said the country “needs to overcome its fear about nuclear power” if Americans want to have all the electricity they will need and still protect the environment.

Bush implied that the harsh words of the presidential campaign were all but forgotten when he and Obama met in the Oval Office recently.

The departing president refused to say what advice he had given his successor but said they had chatted about something in common: “He’s a dad who will have two daughters in the White House.”

Bush, one of the least popular presidents in recent history, if public opinion polls are accurate, said the individual in the Oval Office is not that important: “Presidents will come and go with their strengths and weaknesses, but the ship of state sails on because of the institution being greater than the person.”

Political conservatives who fear that the November elections banished them to the wilderness should take heart, Bush said.

“My point is that things go in cycles in politics,” he said.

Twitter

I have recently gotten on Twitter. Twitter is a social network that involves messaging in real time. I’m really enjoying it. I have people I follow and there are people that follow me. I am on Twitters “Top Conservatives On Twitter” list. It is very interesting and quite addictive actually. I can get a feel for what is going on all over the country and even around the world. The internet truly is amazing. Who knew that I would be able to talk with people in far off countries or across time zones about politics, home schooling, being a mom, or just something I find funny? Pretty neat.