Soap Box Opinions

If you know me at all, you know I have an opinion. I sometimes feel so strongly in my opinions, I think that should classify them as facts. One of my favorite things to do, is have deep discussions with Greg where our opinions on issues come out. This could have potential to become heated discussions, but mostly we have the same opinions on matters. I am going to start writing Soapbox Wednesday blogs just to make Wednesdays a little more exciting.

Here are this week's opinion based issues...in no particular order:

1) Christina Aguilera forgetting the words to the National Anthem.
Yes, she should know the words, it's only the citizen thing to do. BUT who says she doesn't? She may have just had one of those mom moments. Her kid may have just fell and busted his head open as she was walking on the field. She may have just received devastating news. OR she may have caught a glimpse of her soon to be ex-husband making out with some skank. Anything could have triggered a lapse of memory. Honestly, if we all didn't know the words we would never have noticed. She still sang her face off and never stopped. I can only think of 2 other women that could have held a candle to her performance, mess up or not. One, Leah Michelle who was already singing America the Beautiful, and the other, Mandisa, who was either on tour or they didn't want her up there because she's a Christian Artist.

2) With that said, I am a perfectionist when it comes to knowing your words. An honest mistake is one thing, everyone has those moments. Lack of preparation is another. I find lack of preparation unacceptable and inexcusable. I have seen Faith Hill in concert 3 or 4 times and she NEVER remembers her words. That's just ridiculous. She's gorgeous, she sings great, but she suffers amnesia every time I've seen her perform.

3) Did Lindsey Lohan steal the necklace? At first I didn't even care, but after I saw it on every headline and every newscast I started to form an opinion. I think she did. Her and her publicist's story has changed more times than a 13 yr. old girl picking out her school picture outfit. She's always in some kind of trouble, and she thinks she shouldn't have to pay for her crimes. She's screaming for attention and she's apparently got issues. Lindsey needs some Jesus...let's keep her in our prayers, seriously.

4) Facebook games....Playing a game here and there for entertainment is one thing...but when it's the only thing on your profile, that's another. I can't stand getting on facebook and being told who did what in farmville, or cityville, or mafia wars, or whatever. Please, if you have time for this, you have time to do something productive...like getting out and making a difference somewhere. Start a blog talking about your opinions :) If playing these games interferes with quality time with friends, family or loved ones, you have a problem. Please, seek help....somewhere other than facebook.

5) SOME republican voters behavior. I voted republican. But, I am not going to put ugly things about the president all over my car. I'm not going to go to where he's speaking and scream out profanity to him just to have my voice heard in congress. Will this kind of behavior make anyone who sees or hears this change their minds on the president? Will they read that bumper sticker and go, "You know I never thought of Obama that way, but now that someone stated it with a curse word, I completely change my mind"? Or, "you know if I vote Bristol Palin to the finals of dancing with the stars even though she can't dance, I'll show those democrats. Having her in the finals will really make them wish they didn't put Obama in office." Really republicans? Can't we just be smart and mature about this? If we stop acting like we're 5, and just sit back, the democrats will hang themselves. All the money and education in the world can't top common sense and Christian values. However, I question the Christian values of the republicans right now. I know you don't have to be a Christian to be republican or democrat, and you don't have to be republican to be a Christian. No matter what political party you claim to be a part of, don't claim to be a Christian if you aren't or you aren't willing to act like one. I don't have to agree with Obama or his ways. I do have to see him as a person, as one of God's creations. He's created in the same image I am. God sees Obama through the same loving eyes He sees me and you through. Obama may be an unbelieving leader that claims to be a Christian. Obama may be a Christian that has gone off the straight and narrow path. He's still a human being. He's a husband and a daddy. I would hate to be the wife of the president and think that some rednecks were plotting to come attack my husband, or some idiots were devising a plan to attack my daddy. It's more than getting revenge, it's destroying lives of those that are innocent.

That's it for now. Let me know your comments and opinions. I may be opinionated, but I am also open for discussion.

Sweet Treats

My Mamaw introduced me to these Old Fashioned Creme Drops when I was a little girl. She kept them in her refrigerator and would give me some whenever I was at her house. They are so good, and every time I eat them I think about her. Sometimes for Christmas my mom will put them in my stocking. I'm not sure if my mom realizes the story behind these creme drops, but I always assumed she did because she makes a point to get them for me.

Last Saturday we were out and about, and Greg found these. He surprised Kirsten and me with them during our "I'm hungry..." whine. You know the one that follows the purchase of a beverage that satisfies the, "I'm thirsty..." whine. As we opened the bag and started to devour them, Greg told Kirsten about how my Mamaw used to give this candy to me when I was a little girl. It was so sweet how Kirsten was all ears as I told her about it. She had questions like, "Mommy, did my Grandma eat these?" and "Mommy, Grandma doesn't share these with me." Where my response was "I don't remember your Grandma ever eating these," and "If she doesn't give you any, she may not eat them."

They're so good, but best when refrigerated.

I have been feeding my addiction to Peter Pan peanut butter. I cannot get enough of this stuff. Here's a picture of my stash, but this is low compared to what I usually have. This should last me about 3 weeks.
This is my other favorite thing to eat...Special K Chocolatey Delight. So yummy, and it's better for you than a bowl of ice cream. I know, I need to add more fruit and veggies to my diet. It's not that I don't like fruits and veggies, I just like peanut butter (only peter pan) and Special K (only vanilla and chocolatey delight) better.

Snow Days

So, it's about 3 weeks in to 2011 and a lot has happened. We had our first snow/ice/winter storm of the year. Last week, and all of Atlanta was "snowed in" pretty much the whole week. Kirsten's school was closed and Greg had to work from home all week.

Our neighborhood had a pantry party Tuesday night. We all put the food we had to offer into a huge meal. We made red beans & rice with the smoked sausage, jambalaya with pork and chicken, mac & cheese, cornbread, and desserts for days. We never lost power or satellite signal, PRAISE GOD!!! The snow was so gorgeous. It wasn't like normal, it had a layer of ice about an inch thick on top of the snow. This made the snow sparkle all different irrodescent colors. People would ice skate in their driveways and on the streets. They would feature these people on 11 Alive. There's still snow in the medians and along the sides of the streets, as well as on rooftops.

I can't tell it as good as Megan McGlover, so I'll let her handle it from here.
Check her out: Peace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjGuGBiFd_s&feature=player_embedded

2010 Top 10 Lists

Since 2010 will be coming to an end in just a couple of days, I see it only fitting by bidding it farewell with 10 Top 10 lists from 2010.

Join in with the fun if you would like.

List #1
My Top 10 Experiences of 2010:
10. Deeper Still
9. Learning the art and science of couponing
8. Knitting hats for the needy
7. Participating in my first 5K & 10K
6. Greg getting a new job after we up and move to GA for the first job
5. Kirsten getting potty trained
4. Finally closing on our house after 8 different closing attempts
3. Renovating the whole house before we could move in
2. Saints winning the Super Bowl
1. Meeting Kirk Cameron

List #2
My Top 10 Georgia Experiences of 2010:
10. Lenox Square on New Year's Day
9. The Pink Pig at Macy's during Christmas season
8. Driving myself for the the first time on I-20 and I-75 in Atlanta
7. Spending days with Kirsten at Centennial Park and surrounding areas...CNN Center, World of Coke, GA Aquarium, and Imagine It Children's Museum
6. Thanksgiving Day 5K
5. Race For the Cure through Atlantic Station and midtown Atlanta
4. Season passes to Whitewater
3. Braves games
2. Meeting 11 Alive's Weatherman Chesley McNeil
1. Running in the Peachtree Road Race

List #3
My Top 10 Favorite Places I Ate in Atlanta in 2010 (not saying they're all swanky, just good)
10. Sweet Tomatoes
9. Cheeseburger Bobby's
8. Olive Tree
7. Doc Green's
6. Fabiano's
5. Gumbeaux's
4. Maggiano's
3. Cheesecake Factory
2. Ted's Montana Grill
1. The Real Chow Baby

List #4
My Top 10 Favorite things about Atlanta that MS didn't offer:
10. Lots of TV shows and movies are filmed here
9. Lots of stars live here and you can sometimes catch them out and about
8. Any type of traveling entertainment comes to Atlanta
7. We have Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel stores
6. Cheesecake Factory, The Real Chow Baby, Doc Green's, Cheeseburger Bobby's, Jim-N-Nicks, etc.
5. Coke Zero is served in almost every restaurant or fast food establishment and every vending machine
4. Dunkin' Donuts everywhere (cheaper coffee than Starbucks)
3. Chick-fil-A on every corner
2. Publix, Food Lyon, and Whole Foods grocery stores
1. 11 Alive News...not your normal newscast

List #5
My Top 10 Purchases of 2010:
10.Vanilla Coke Zero (tastes just like dessert)
9. Tuition/Enrollment to Kirsten's preschool (we're very satisfied)
8. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (it's really magic and it really erases practically anything)
7. My Coupon Buddy book (keeps my coupons organized...even if it's nerdy to you, it's saving lots of $$$$ for me)
6. My SPIbelt (this tiny belt with a tiny pocket that can hold my entire purse plus t/p and extra socks, and you can't even see it under my shirt)
5. My Polar F6 heart rate monitor (I've lost 30 lbs. since I started working out with it, and I shaved 5 min. off my 5K)
4. Deeper Still tickets
3. 2 piece removable shower head (I can get in the shower with Kirsten and bathe her without even getting myself wet)
2.. Blinds for our house
1. Our house

List # 6
(You actually thought I would leave this list out)
Top 10 Quotes from the Real Housewives of Atlanta:
10. "Close yo' legs to married men." -NeNe Leakes (to Kim Z.)
9. "Who's gone check me, Boo?" - Sheree Whitfield (to her event planner)
8. "I just want to bring my girls up with the same morals and values that I have."-Kim Zolciak
7. "Kim, I'm weirded out that you think you can sing, I'm weirded out that you wear a wig, and I'm weirded out that you're in a relationship with a married man." -Cynthia Bailey
6. "Phaedra's baby shower was boughetto!" -Kandi Burruss
5. "*%#*# don't know when she got knocked up?" - Sheree Whitfield (about Phaedra's pregnancy)
4. "So I've made us this friend contract..." -Cynthia Bailey (to NeNe Leakes)
3. "Now I think I'm ready to do film." -Sheree Whitfield (after her 1st time acting in community theater)
2. "I guess he was in prison for six years. Maybe he murdered somebody... six years is a long time." -Kim Zolciak (about Phaedra's husband, Apollo)
1. "Just because you stripped out of a nurses costume at the Cheetah Club, does not qualify you to be a registered nurse, baby." - Phaedra Parks (about Kim Zolciak, claiming she was a nurse)

List #7
Top 10 People I'd Like to Have Lunch with:
10. Donny Deutsch
9. Ann Curry
8. NeNe Leakes
7. Dave Ramsey
6. Sarah Palin
5. Beth Moore
4. Tyler Perry
3. Hoda Kotb
2. Mandisa
1. Gina Neely

List #8
Top 10 Ways to Serve Chicken:
10. Chicken Teriyaki
9. Chicken and Rice
8. Chicken Rotel
7. Chicken Taco Soup
6. Chicken Strips
5. Chicken-N-Dumplins
4. Buffalo Chicken
3. Engagement Chicken (soaked in lemon juice and pepper)
2. Mexican Chicken
1. Chicken Parmesan

List #9
Top 10 TV Moments of 2010:
10. Simon Cowell's final appearance on American Idol
9. Conan O'Brien returns to late night TV
8. Bristol Palin makes it to the finals on Dancing With The Stars
7. Finale of Lost
6. New Kids on the Block and Back Street Boys make music history by singing together on AMA's
5. Patrick House from Brandon, MS wins The Biggest Loser
4. Betty White hosts SNL
3. University of Southern Mississippi's marching band, The Pride, performs in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
2. The miners from Chile are rescued
1. The Saints win the Super Bowl

List # 10
Top 10 List of Goals and Things I am looking forward to in 2011:
10. Get more comfortable driving on Atlanta's scary interstates
9. Getting fully moved in our house
8. Hoping we'll have or at least be expecting baby #2
7. Pay off credit cards
6. Get office set up, and kiln hooked up so I can get back to work
5. Go to Disney World
4. Studying, Jesus The One and Only Bible study with my girls
3. Catching up with some old friends
2. Kirsten will be participating in her first wedding as a flower girl
1. Celebrating 10 years with Greg

Hope you all have a Happy New Year. Be safe out there.

Christmas

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas this year. We sure did. We were so blessed to be able to spend Christmas together in our new home. After traveling last year during the holidays we decided that is definitely not the way to go. Not right at Christmas, anyway. 1 Camry, 2 adults, 1 child/car seat, 1 dog, 4 states to travel through, 8 hours of driving to Destrehan, LA and 6 hours to Benton, MS, 2 families worth of gifts, and luggage does not make for an easy going trip. We can't forget Santa Clause either. Kirsten was very good this year, and she needed to be at her house to see what Santa brought her.

I do hate that we weren't able to see family, but we were finally able to start some Christmas traditions of our own.

These are a few things we started this year that we hope will continue, and some we want to start when Kirsten's a little bit older:

Shopping at Perimeter on the 23rd

Making Christmas goodies and candies as a family

Making Jesus a b'day cake

Making reindeer food

Christmas Eve:

Doing something nice for others like serving at a soup kitchen, or nursing home, or orphanage or something

Church

homemade pizzas for Christmas Eve dinner

make cookies for Santa

put out reindeer food and cookies

Christmas Day:

See what Santa brought us

Have Christmas brunch food

Stay in pjs all day (optional)

open family gifts

watch Christmas movies

white Christmas (please)

go to movies that night

Day after Christmas:

Shop for Christmas decor for next year

We've been fortunate to have Greg home with us some this week. I'm so glad to be able to spend some time with him and get a few things done around the house that's hard to get done while he works. We needed the family time too, to just catch up. Merry Christmas!

Catching Up

Wow! So much has happened since the last time I had a chance to blog. I'll try to keep this at a reasonable length, but I make no promises.

Aunt Suzie got married!!!

November 13, 2010, Greg, Kirsten and I went to New Orleans to celebrate Greg's Aunt Suzie and Chris' wedding. Highlights:

Wedding

Suzie & Chris/Bride & Groom

Getting to know Chris a little better (he had me at the pink tie)

Seeing family from New Orleans we don't get to see as often as we'd like

Getting to see family from Texas we don't get to see as often as we'd like

Getting to meet Suzie's Houston friends

Wearing a dress/dressing up

Cutting up and having fun

Watching the kids/cousins have a great time together

Food (which deserves a list on it's own)

Gumbo, Crawfish etouffee, red beans and rice

Zea's grilled chicken salad with pepper jelly vinegrette

Fried Cheese Sticks

Tiny muffalettas

Wedding Cake

More Wedding Cake (I promise if Heaven had a taste, this would be it)

Copeland's Banana's Foster French Toast

Bop's splenda chocolate milk shake with a touch of peanut butter

Bop's hot chocolate with a scoop of splenda custard and whip cream

We had the best time, but our stay was definitely too short.

Kirsten's Preschool Indian Village:

My baby had her first preschool program. My parents happened to be coming through town on their way back from Charleston, SC, so they were able to attend. I was so proud of Kirsten. She did a great job. I cried as I watched her, realizing she was growing up right before my eyes and I couldn't do one thing about it, but treasure every second. She was the cutest Indian ever.

Thanksgiving:

My parents and Hayley came to our house for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving morning, Hayley and I ran in the Atlanta Thanksgiving Day 5K. It was so much fun. I'm not a fast runner at all, but I really enjoy doing these events...mainly for the t'shirts and medals. I did improve on my time from my last 5K which was back in May. My time for that race was about 41 minutes. My time for the T'giving Day 5K was 36:38. Hayley and I made it home by 9:00am.

Deeper Still:

I've been looking forward to Deeper Still since Oct., 2009. In fact, for Mother's Day, Greg got me a Deeper Still ticket along with the money to go. Deeper Still is a weekend long spiritual event for women. The speakers at Deeper Still are Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur. This particular Deeper Still was in Birmingham, AL, and guests Kelli Minter and David Platt joined the mix. The worship was lead by my 2nd favorite, only to Mandisa, Travis Cottrell and his Praise Team.

Along with being one of my greatest friends, Tracy Short is my spiritual conference buddy. We've been to quite a few of these events together, and we know what to expect from each other. I love how we can play slumber party, stay up late and share our lives, struggles, and words of wisdom with each other. We talk about what all we got out of the worship and messages from the speakers. We'll offer each other encouragement and prayer without judgement. I pray everyone can have godly friends and influences like Tracy. Sometimes, Tracy and I take others along with us. This time we went with a couple of ladies from my Bible study group. We didn't get to have our bonding time for the risk of keeping the others awake. I really missed it, so I hope we'll get a chance to make that time up sometime soon.

I went to the Deeper Still in Atlanta a couple of years ago and it changed my life. This time, I was in a totally different place in my walk than I was 2 years ago. This time, I've done Bible studies by all of the speakers, including Kelli Minter. Two years ago, I was only familiar with Kay Arthur and her studies. I didn't know much about Beth Moore since I had not done one of her Bible studies or read any of her books. She blew me away, and so did Priscilla Shirer. I suppose I was hiding under a rock or something because I was really missing out. These are some amazing women. I am so glad I was able to see them again before they stop doing Deeper Still.

Hats:

Finally, to wrap up this post, I want to share with you about my hats. I've been trying to get some sort of ministry going with knitting hats for the needy, less fortunate, and/or sick. It's been a little tough trying to get others involved, but there are a few great women who have taken on the challenge. A few friends from Bible study and I made some hats for our church's Hope For Christmas event. We teamed up with a ministry that knits scarves for the less fortunate. I am hoping that our ministries working together on this project will end all discrimination that lies between the tops of our heads and our necks, and we can join together as one ministry. We want to keep America warm one top of the body at a time, or something like that. No, seriously, there is no greater blessing than being able to do something for someone that needs it. Also, this allows opportunities to share Jesus and His love with others.

Halloween

Kirsten had a great Halloween this year. We celebrated all weekend.

We started off Friday night with Trunk-or-Treat at church.




Saturday night Kirsten met up with her partner in crime, Jacob Crane. It was only fitting the two of them went at Woody and Jessie.



Yesterday morning the kids got to wear their costumes to church. And last night, we concluded our celebrating with traditional Trick-or-Treating around the neighborhood with some friends.

I hope everyone had as much fun as we did this Halloween.