The Truth About Gossiping

Gossiping Sucks!

That’s all.

I’ll leave you with Horsie kisses.  (yes, I said Horsie)

unfortunately my arm wasn’t long enough to get all of Blondie’s head 🙁

Happy Halloween Eve 🙂   

**Btw, I follow my blog in google reader just to see if it shows up with every post and for some reason it always doesn’t.  Yesterday was one of those instances, so if you’d like to read a few tricks I’ve learned throughout my years of blogging, be sure to check out yesterday’s post!!!**

Why God made pets

They help out around the house

They protect our Children

They look out for the smaller ones

They show us how to relax

They “converse” with each other

They help you when you’re down

They are great at decorating for the holidays

They have “great” expectations

They are Patriotic

They are happy to “test” the water

They love their “teddies”

They know who’s “Boss”

They know when we need a good laugh!

Better Person

Sometimes I live in my own world.  
Sometimes maybe that’s easier.
My mom & my husband always tell me I live in a black & white world at that and that our world isn’t black and white but it has gray areas.  
Areas I don’t want to think about I guess, I’m not sure.  
I like clean, simple, cut forward answers and unfortunately life isn’t that way.
**via**

Add all kinds of people with all kinds of personalities and sometimes you have a mess on your hands.

I just know I want to be a better person.  
The kind of person people look up to.  
The kind of person my husband is proud of.
The kind of person my parents are proud of.
A fabulous role model for my {step}daughter.
But sometimes I fall short.
I guess that’s why we aren’t all perfect. 
Why perfect doesn’t exist.
Recently Jessica talked about life being short.
Telling your loved ones that you love them.
Giving your kiddo’s an extra squeeze.
Letting your spouse, your family, friends know you love them.
Because at the blink of an eye, it could all be over with.
Megan‘s father just had surgery.
Open heart surgery even.
Same principal.
Life is short.
Don’t take it for granted.
It can go one of two ways:
The first year is all lovey-dovey honeymoon phase and then reality hits.
or
Reality hits hard that first few days, weeks, months, years of marriage and then it is smooth sailing.
No one wants to admit defeat.
No one wants to fail.
Sometimes people fall.
It’s how they get up, dust themselves off, learn from their mistakes & move on that counts.
Unfortunately people are going to butt heads.
People are going to fight.
Personalities will clash.
But ask yourself: 
Will this matter tomorrow?
Do I really care that it takes me an extra minute to dig out the clothes hangers b/c they won’t pull them out of their clothes and place all together?
Do I really care that they squeeze the toothpaste from the middle of the tube as opposed to the end, the way I like it?
Is my way the better way?
Do I really want to bring the past up in this particular fight?
Or:
Can we move on?
Can we learn from this?
You know I really like my sleep, is this worth fighting about, in the long run?
And we can sit here and speculate that so & so has a better life than I do
or
Why do they get off easier than me?
or
Whatever the case & instance may bring…
But… do we know for sure what people are going through?
People want you to see the good… 
Not the bad.
Some days I have to remind myself of this.
It’s not an easy task.
It may even put you in an awkward situation.
But don’t worry…
God won’t put you into any thing he won’t help you get through.
So today Lord, I ask you to please help me be a better person.  Watch over my husband, my family, my friends, and even the people I don’t care much for.  Please help all of us to be a better person.  To let the little things that really don’t matter, slide.  Help us to focus on living our lives to the fullest.  Struggles may come and struggles may go, but please help us all to know that you have our back.  And when we are too tired to carry on, that you’ll pick us up and carry us the rest of the way.  In your name, I pray.  Amen.
I’m saying this prayer for you.
My friends.
I ask that you’ll please pray for me too.

Happy Good Friday

With Easter just 2 days away, and since today is Good Friday, a co-worker shared this recipe with me and I wanted to share it with you too.

I loved at Church the other day it says something about “Taking Easter back from the Bunny.”  I thought that was cute.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun to hid & find Easter eggs and to think about the bunny, but it’s also a good thing to teach our kids the true meaning of Easter!

Resurrection Rolls:

**email from work**

Resurrection Rolls
Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 Tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (Big and Flaky)
  • ¼ cup butter, melted (you will not use all of the butter but it makes it easier to have enough to dip the marshmallows into if you have more)
  • 8 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish and set aside.

Separate crescent rolls. (Note: This is much easier if you can find the “Big and Flaky” variety. If you can only find the regular size, trim off about a quarter of the marshmallow before using.)

Give each child a triangle of crescent roll. The pastry represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.
Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus.
Have them dip the marshmallow into the melted butter and roll to coat evenly. This represents the oils of embalming.
Roll the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat. This represents the spices used to anoint His body.
Place the coated marshmallow at the short straight end of the crescent roll.
Bring the two corners up to the top of the marshmallow.
Roll up (away from you and toward the point) the crescent roll with the marshmallow and seal to make sure the marshmallow is not showing (or it will leak out when baking). This represents the wrapping of Jesus’ body after His death. 

two inches apart on prepared baking sheet and place in preheated oven for the length of time indicated on crescent roll package (around 10-14 minutes or until golden brown). The oven represents the tomb.
Remove from oven and cool slightly. Break open or bite into the rolls and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS RISEN! (The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.) Matthew 28:1-8 


I hope you all have a Safe & Happy Easter.  Remember the reason for this season too!

 

Sometimes & Always

Sometimes I have bad days {personal life & work related}.
Always I remember that God will get me through this & so will my husband.  So does my family.

Sometimes I wonder why I tried to do everything in the right order {high school, college, marriage, etc} and I feel like I get punished while others reap benefits from doing a different order.
Always I remember that it is in God’s hands, I don’t get to judge.

Sometimes I feel like I’m behind schedule to everyone else.  I got married later than it seems like most do, I still don’t have a kid at 28 years old, I’m going back to school to work on a second college degree, etc.
Always I remember that I’m on God’s time, not my own.

Sometimes I don’t want to get out of bed in the mornings.
Always I remember that I am a hard worker, and not afraid to work for what I have, I don’t take hand outs.

Sometimes I wonder why hubby didn’t want to wait for an answer to date me in high school.
Always I remember that I have him now and that’s all that matters.  This = Love

Sometimes Life is hard!
Always I remember God has my back!  So does my husband!  So does my family!

Sometimes I wonder if I should give up my blog.
Always I remember, that I am foremost a writer.  I love to write.  And if nothing else, this is a digital scrapbook.

Sometimes I want to get rid of all my problems.
Always I remember they say that if you threw your problems in a pile with everyone else’s, you’d take yours back.

Sorry, I feel like I’m a little blue and gloomy in this post.

Linking up here:

Old Blue Chair – Kenny Chesney

I’m not going to lie, but I’m sure you know, Life’s Hard! I would even imagine it’s difficult for celebrities, but man wouldn’t it be nice to have their money! Yes please!! 🙂

I especially got down the other day when I read a news article from Manufacturing Economy Daily, September 14, 2011 edition that said that poverty levels have risen in the last year. But I guess on a good note it also had an article on Maserati Unveiling an SUV to be made in Michigan.

I’ll admit, my biggest fear is being homeless and living under a bridge living in a box and there are people out there who try to make our life hell and cause us to get closer to that breaking point every day. But I’m really not trying to focus on the bad of life, I promise!

Have you ever heard that Kenny Chesney song, Old Blue Chair?

He’s talking about the way he sees his world/life while sitting in that old blue chair. Sometimes the bads in life slow us down, cause us problems, make us worry, definitely make us worry, but maybe if we had that old blue chair to look at our lives where they’re going and where we’ve been, there is always a positive to be found. Now there are definitely some of those, “Why” moments but there are good moments that come too!

A friend of mine on facebook the other day said she applied for a job a few months back and didn’t get it. She was pretty bummed, but then that job was one that was done away with in the last few days. She said she just needed to learn to trust God more because he knew what was best. Now don’t get me wrong, I will not push my belief’s off on you, but I truly believe that statement is correct. There are a lot of times in my life I need to sit back, take it one day at a time, and know that God has my best interest at heart.

One that I always go back to when thinking of things like this happened a few years ago with a very hard break-up. I couldn’t see why at that point in my life things happened the way they did, but God knew. So I prayed really hard every night to if nothing else, ease the pain. I didn’t want to go back to the way things were, I figured if that was what was to happen, well it would happen, I just didn’t want to cry myself to sleep every night so I asked for some ease of the pain. And then the stranger from the past re-appeared into my life, as if out of the blue. You can say God intervened, you can be skeptical and say it was coincidence, you can say it was fate, you can call it what you want but I believe in my heart that was God’s doing!

But I digress just a bit.

Last year when we bought our house, there was this old ratty looking aqua chair in the tree line just sitting there, wearing away with the hands of time. It was such an interesting chair that I dug it out of the fence row and moved it into the front yard for decoration. And for the last year I’ve been telling hubby that I wanted to paint it blue.

I wanted my blue chair so that if I got down on the state of the world (which is easy to do with the news media) or life started seeming “hard” that I could go sit in my blue chair, reflect on my life, look at all that we have, all that we work for on a daily basis, and just the beauty of life.

If you remember back to September 1st I had my first A&P test. I was really stressed out by that test too, maybe even more than I should have been (so stressed out that in fact I answered 2 questions wrong and I knew the answer, duh), but when I got home that night, I pulled in my driveway to see this waiting for me.

After a year of claiming I would paint that old aqua chair blue, hubby raced home one night to have this waiting for me when I got home.

So whether you have a blue chair or not, if life seems hard on you, just find a spot, sit and look at all the good and wonderful things in life, I’m sure you’ll find more than one thing you can be happy about.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3-_omoYPsI]

Dear God via the Dog

Dear God:  Here is a list of
just some of the things I must remember
to be a good Dog:


1. I will not eat the cat’s food before he eats
it or after he throws it up.


2. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish,
crabs, etc., just because I like the way they smell.


3. The Litter Box is not a cookie jar.


4. The sofa is not a ‘face towel’.


5. The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.


6. I will not play tug-of-war with Dad’s
underwear when he’s on the toilet.


7.  Sticking my nose into someone’s
crotch is an unacceptable way of saying ‘hello’.


8. I don’t need to suddenly stand
straight up when I’m under the coffee table.


9. I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before
entering the house – not after.


10. I will not come in from outside,
and immediately drag my butt across the carpet.


11. I will not sit in the middle of the living
room, and lick my crotch.


12. The cat is not a ‘squeaky toy’,
so when I play with him and he makes that noise, 

it’s usually not a good thing.

Something to Share

I’ve debated for a while now on sharing this or not. I was actually blogging when it happened and I chose to not make a big deal out of it and still truthfully I’m not but since the fiance and I were discussing it yesterday I thought I might share.

My fiance proposed to me on February 12th of this year. It was funny because we already started making the bigger decisions that day and the weekend (the 12th was a Friday). We had it narrowed down to my grandma’s church (which I am a member of) and his dad’s church (which he was a member of). When it came down to it, my church was the prettier of the two and it is the larger of the two so we wanted my church.

I’ve never been married, never talked to my friends who have gotten married on how you proceed to book a church/minister, etc. Once we decided on the church I called my grandma, who is very involved in the church, and just asked her if she happened to be in the church this next week, ask them what we need to do to proceed in reserving the church for our wedding date. That way we could get all our I’s dotted and T’s crossed. She told me she was going into the church the next day (Tuesday) to be exact so she’d go talk to the secretaries to find out what we should do. Awesome! :). Now I wasn’t asking her to do any of the work, I just wanted to know where to start.

She came home that night and left a piece of paper and a book in my mailbox for us. She then called and said she talked to one of the secretaries. They looked at the calendar wrote us down for Sept 4, 2010 at 11am (I didn’t specify the time, my grandma did) and we just needed to fill out the paper and read the book. Okay, that works.

So we sat down and started reading the book when we ran across a section that talked about Holiday weekends. It stated that you were not allowed to have a wedding in the church on a Holiday or a Holiday weekend and then it listed out: New Years Eve/Day, Christmas Eve/Day, Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, oh and wait, Labor Day. Well crap, we chose the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. But they wrote us down on the calendar so we were extremely confused. I finished filling out the paperwork and then PC said he would take it to the church the next day and while he was there he would ask to make sure.

When he got there the next day the minister was out for the morning so PC gave the secretaries the paperwork and pointed out the fact the book said what it did. The secretary looked at him and said, “Oh well I’ve never read the book. I guess the minister will have to get back to you about that.”

When I found that out I thought that odd. A lady scheduling the church should know these things but okay…. So we waited for the phone call from the minister. (this was Wednesday, I’ll help you out with a timeline :))

As of Monday we still hadn’t heard back from the church so PC called asking for the minister who was out at the moment. PC said we needed to talk to him and explained again what was going on. Okay he would call PC.

On Tuesday the minister calls PC, chews him out for being so rude to his secretaries and tells him that rules are in place for a reason and we are not going to be ones to break the rules. We aren’t allowed to have the wedding at the church. PC tried to explain that we saw that and that’s why we were calling but the minister cut him off, told him that things were done incorrectly, that we should have contacted him first before ever reserving the church and just went off on PC. PC thanked him and immediately hung up the phone before he went off on the preacher.

Called me but I was in a meeting at work so he called my mom who was working in North Carolina for that week. My mom told him to call my grandma and get her involved. He wasn’t real sure he liked that idea. In the mean time I get back to my desk from the meeting to many missed calls, voicemail, and messages on Google Talk to call him so I’m worried. I called him and asked him what was up and he proceeded to tell me what happened.

I was floored. My grandma has nothing but good things to say about this minister and for as much work as she and both my great aunts do for him I just was completely shocked. I knew there was a misunderstanding there some where, I wasn’t completely sure where but I was going to get to the bottom of it. PC told me not to but I said, No honey he if nothing else owes you an apology.

I grabbed the phone book and proceeded to call the church and got one of the secretaries. I told her I needed to speak to the minister. She said he was out getting his hair cut would I like his voicemail. I told her no I needed to speak to him now. She said well he isn’t here. I said okay well here’s the problem I have and I told her a brief overview and told her I needed to speak to the minister NOW. She said she wasn’t the one that PC spoke with and that the minister wasn’t there but she’d take down my name and phone number and have him call me the minute he walked back in the door. I gave her my cell number and said please do and let him know I want to talk to him NOW.

Now if you knew me, I’m a non-confrontational person. I HATE confrontation. I wish there was a word worse than hate because that describes my feel for confrontation. I’ll sometimes suck it up sometimes to avoid confrontation. That being said I was upset. I knew there was something wrong and I was going to get to the bottom of it.

I really didn’t want to get my grandma involved but by this point I was upset, especially since she raves about this minister so I called my great aunt’s house, where my grandma spends a lot of her days. Aunt Ellen told me that she was at the church. I knew that’s where I needed to head so I went to lunch early, jumped in my car and took off for the church. On my way there the minister called me.

I told him my full name and who I was (pulled grandma’s name out) and told him I was extremely disappointed with him. I told him that he spoke very rudely to my fiance and I was getting to the bottom of this to see what really happened because my grandma does nothing but talk nice things about him but I truthfully wasn’t seeing it right now. In fact I was so upset with the way things were handled that I wasn’t afraid to tell my grandma what I thought of him.

I started to tell him how we got into this whole mess and he went to cut me off which was just fuel for my fire. I stopped him in his tracks and told him he wouldn’t give my fiance the time of day to explain our side of the whole situation so by golly he was going to listen to me. He told me to proceed so I started from the beginning of the whole mess from our side of the story. Once I was finished he proceeded to harp on me a little bit. I went to cut him off and he said, I listened to you now it is your turn to listen to me. He proceeded to tell me about how “rude” my fiance was to his secretary and he wasn’t about to allow anyone to treat his secretaries that way. Once he was finished I said, were you there? Did you hear how he spoke to your secretary. Of course he said no. I said, okay so you took her word, didn’t find out anyone else’s side of the story and just proceeded to jump my fiance. How does that really look on your part? I said I heard his side and now you can see that I’m on the phone with you trying to figure out what happened, did you do that? No you cut him off and then tried to cut me off. Then he proceeded to call me Young Lady. Oh I hate that, that’s what my dad did when I was younger and in trouble. It upset me because he’s not my father, he’s a preacher, a minister, not MY father. Only MY father can get by with that and that’s because well what can I say to him… LOL.

Now I was driving into the church this whole time. I would say the church is 6-10 miles from work depending on which route you take and I’m not sure one is faster than the other.

Other questions that got asked and statements that were said, and no I’m not completely happy with everything I said but I never once cussed :). Go me! But he asked me how many times I had been to the church since he’d been a minister there. I was like, here lately quite a few. He said well I’ve never seen you. I said that’s because I sit in the back with my great Aunt Ellen and Floyd. I also told him I have been a member of this church longer than he’d even thought about being a preacher here. I also told him if nothing else, rules were there for a reason and I understand that but he owed my fiance an apology and by golly he was going to give him one. I also started in by saying if you are a preacher then you preach every Sunday and he tried to cut me off by saying we aren’t going there, and I said oh yes we are going there, you are a preacher and preach every Sunday that we are to do right by everyone and not judge anyone but you sure did judge my fiance by a hear say version of what happened and didn’t get both sides. I said I know my fiance and that doesn’t sound like him.

By this time I’m sitting in front of the church, just sitting in my car talking on the phone to him. He made the comment, I hate talking on the phone, I’d much rather talk in person. I said great I’m sitting outside, would you like me to cross the street and come talk to you in person? He said you are where. I said in the parking lot across the street from the Fellowship hall entrance and I’d be more than happy to come in and speak with him. He proceeds to tell me that’s fine and to bring my grandmother in with me. I told him she didn’t need to be involved in this, it was between the fiance, him and me but he insisted. I told him I wasn’t getting her and he said that he would. So about the time I get in fellowship hall he gets my grandma out of the kitchen and I follow them to the office. My grandma had no idea what was going on or even that I was behind her until we got to the office. When we went into the office and sat down he told me to tell my grandma everything he and I had discussed on the phone.

I sighed, apologized to my grandmother that she was being brought into this and proceeded on with the story again.

By this time my nerves were shot, I was so upset I was shaking and started crying, it was a bad deal but I never backed down. He owed my fiance an apology if nothing else for the way he treated him. Again I reiterated the fact that rules are there for a reason but by golly he owed my fiance an apology for judging him based off another person’s view point and not seeing both sides. I said I could leave here upset because that’s how I am right now, I could tell the next 5 people I see how rude and inconsiderate you are, do I believe that, no, I’m mad… but they wouldn’t know any different unless they knew you so they could believe it. You took your secretaries position over my fiance’s and we’ve been trying to get ahold of you since last Wednesday. He said well they didn’t tell me that. I said well I’m here to tell you that paper was brought in on Wednesday and we were told you would give us a call. We’ve been making all the moves until today.

Eventually he looked at me and said that he was impressed by me. I never backed down and I stood my ground backing up my fiance. He also said that he was the minister of the church, I called him out when he didn’t act rightly and that being the minister he could break the rules that were set. He granted us permission to get married at the church on Labor Day weekend, but being a holiday weekend we’d have to pay the custodian more money than a normal weekend wedding. but I agreed. He also agreed to call my fiance and apologize to him. That’s truthfully all I wanted out of all of this. I believed he deserved that.

Then all the sudden he looked and said I need to apologize to you both. I looked at my grandma with a huh? look because I thought everything was cool. He proceeded to tell me that he thought I was my cousin. The cousin who got married in 2004, the cousin who became a bridezilla, the cousin who disowned her mother. He said that his wife and my aunt had become extremely good friends during her divorce and they “knew” (again one sided story) of all that happened and he thought I was my cousin.

I called my grandmother that night because I was embarrassed that she got brought into all of this. I was hurt for her too. My grandparents and my whole side of the family were also disowned when this all happened but my cousin is still my grandmother’s granddaughter. My grandmother was hurt to think even my cousin would have been treated that way. All I could do was apologize to my grandma and she kept telling me no apology was needed on my part. She was just glad I did the right thing and stood up for my fiance and what I believed. I told her that PC was scared that she was upset with him, I was scared she was upset with me but she told us both not to worry about it, she was sort of upset with the minister and had he not apologized to PC (which he did) that she would have quit helping at the church. She couldn’t believe what happened did. I told her I’m okay with rules and I understand but what upset me was the fact he wouldn’t listen to our side. Just sided with her and went on.

We got it all worked out and this is the minister that is marrying us. One thing he has done is compliment us every time we’ve been in there. The skeptical side wonders if it wasn’t because of what happened, but I truthfully believe that has all been forgotten and not swaying how he treats us because he treats us even different than he did when this all happened.

We also made it a point to go to church that next Sunday and went through the hand shaking line before leaving to prove we actually did come. Usually we just bi-passed that line.

Life throws lots of curve balls, all I have to say is you have to work together and not against each other. A question that has been weighing on my mind a lot lately is every time you turn around a new person getting engaged is So Happy and Marrying their Best Friend and The Guy they want to be with the Rest of their Life… if that’s the case, why is the divorce rate so high?

I already let PC know that divorce wasn’t an option for us 🙂 I’m not changing my identity more than once. Doing it this first time will be pain in the butt enough!

I’m sorry this was so long and if you made it through, Good for you. The next post will have lots of pretty pictures, Promise! 🙂

Peace, Love, and Making Mistakes

I love you Baby!

Can you believe it, it has been a whole year.

Taken at 3am with his Blackberry

I love you with all my heart baby! One year ago today we went on our first date. The date that changed both of our lives. I’m not sure I could imagine being where I would be today with any other person.

Taken again with the Crackberry

Really in what short of time we’ve been together, we’ve been through a lot too, but I wouldn’t change it for the world although sometimes I wish we wouldn’t have had too, but that’s pointless because it’s already happened, can’t change it so might as well just smile and say, “We made it through!”

Playing around with his Nikon PAS

As I’m sure you’ve seen I’m trying to get our story down. I’m trying to be as accurate as I can and some days it is hard to remember a year ago.

Dinner Club – Roswitha’s – German Restaurant

Other days it comes way to easy! It’s odd how I can still hear conversations or certain phrases that have been said when I think about it.

Playing with the Crackberry again

With our wedding date approaching fast the time seems to be flying by. I don’t want to lose this time, or forget all the feelings that have gone on from day one.

Practice shots with my new Canon XS at the Church we’re getting married at.

I’m just as excited to see what the future brings us as I am scared out of my mind!

Thanksgiving at my Aunt’s house.

It’s crazy how in just one short year we have moved from friends from long past to engaged to be married.

Packed and ready to head to Ft. Worth

And I know I’m marrying my best friend.

@ Joe T. Garcia’s in Ft. Worth

The one who knows me best.

Taken by his ex-wife’s mother at Christmas when Tbug got her new saddle.

And the one who has seen me at my worst.

Yucky Snowy Missouri Weather!

And I couldn’t or wouldn’t ask for anything more. You have been there for me through thick and Thin.

Will you marry me?

And put up with crazy thoughts and ideas to some of the most brilliant we’ve dealt with.

Branson on Valentine’s Day Weekend

And I truthfully don’t believe we’d be where we are today had we gone on that date all those years ago. We were to young and foolish and wouldn’t have seen the best thing that has come our way.

Rain Forest Cafe in Nashville Tennessee Easter Weekend

I sure hope we are as crazy about each other “Someday” as we are now.

cooking dinner together at my parents house.

Because you truly mean the world to me. And I thank God every day that he brought you back into my life. When I needed someone the most, no, when I needed YOU the most!

Engagement photos

And I know we will endure some tough times through out our marriage but I plan on sticking by your side and making it through. We’ve been through tough times already and are still going strong. Here’s to the next year and the next chapter of our life. Who would have thought 1 year ago today would have changed our life, would have been what we needed? Not me but I’m sure glad it did!

I love you baby! I’m So glad you are in my life!