Oops...

Sorry about the nonexistent blogging as of late... This China move has got me a little preoccupied. We've been getting things in order for our trip... I'll try my best to keep up with the blog. I'll most likely have some free time over there and some interesting experiences! :~) Jamey and I are leaving the 21st of this month and for the last week and a half we have been staying with my family in Ohio. Jamey, Ira, Philip, Lydia and I played what we like to call "barn ball" or poor man's squash! :~) That was fun! Haven't played that in a while! On Friday we'll be traveling down to visit with my sister for a day before heading back to TN. I know this is a short post, but I want to spend all the time I can with my family! :~)

Been tired...

OK, it's been a while since I wrote but a lot has gone on. Jamey and I got back from the reunion late Sunday night. I had to work Monday morning and then on Tuesday too. I survived by drinking a LOT of caffeine. :~)

The reunion went well. It was really nice to see Grandma again. I got to meet the rest of Jamey's Aunts and Uncles that I hadn't met yet. There were so many cousins there! :~) Jamey's dad is one of seven... Two of his brothers are no longer with us, but that makes a lot of family and even more cousins! There was also a lot of good food there! Yummy!

Jamey and I left right after lunch on Sunday. We went to church with Grandma. Grandma's church is the church where Jamey preached his first sermon. Jamey preached there the summer before his senior year of high school. His Dad came into Jamey's room one day and said that the church there didn't have a preacher and to guess who would be preaching there for a while... Jamey guessed his Dad. He was wrong! :~) So for the whole summer Jamey was the preacher for that congregation. So, Jamey got to preach there this past Sunday! :~) That was neat!

One of the highlights of the trip was getting to see some of the houses that Jamey lived in over the years. One of them was really small... Kinda like the one I grew up in. Then another one that was built kinda funny. Before we left GA we went to Washington, GA. Which is where Jamey spent his high school years. We got to see the high school he went to, the library where he had his first job, some other places where he spent time, the church where his Dad preached and the house they lived in. It was nice to be able to go down memory lane with Jamey... Even though they weren't my memories I enjoyed hearing his! :~)

Today was my day off. I slept till noon... Hey, I had to work when I got back and didn't get to have any down time! ;~) My day off, guess what I did? Cleaned house! What else, right? Yeah, figured since Jamey's family would be back from KY Friday around noon this would be the only time to really clean. Jamey has to take his sister to a colonoscopy tomorrow so that will most likely take the whole day, and I have to work so no cleaning then! Since the house is clean, now I'll relax! :~)

Ummm...

Yeah, I know that I haven't posted anything in a few days. It's because I have been spending the time on the computer working on my last assignment for the ESL certificate. I turned my last one in on Monday morning and got it back this morning... I PASSED!!!! :~D I got a 19.5 out of a possible 20 points!!! :~D My final score is 90.5 out of 100 possible points! :~) Yeah, I'm excited about it! Now all I have to do is wait for them to mail me my certificate. I'm going to feel a little weird not having anything to study for when I get off work. Oh well, I'll deal with it! ;~)

This Friday all of Jamey's family is going to a reunion in GA! I'm looking forward to it! It will be fun to go somewhere and meet new people... Not to mention that they will have all sorts of yummy food there. The only thing is that it's on the same day as my Grandpa's birthday and Kannel family reunion. I haven't seen some of my cousins for years now, but we knew and were planning for this GA trip way before we knew that they were going to do something for my Grandpa's birthday. Luckily, my sister will be able to go up and help celebrate. :~)

Tomorrow is one of my co-worker's birthday so I decided to make some peanut butter squares. :~) OK, so I had been thinking about them for a while now... But hey, a birthday is as good an excuse as any to make them! :~) Not that you really NEED an excuse to make something chocolate! :~)

Well, I'd better go see if they have to be cut up yet. That and I need to get going to bed cause I have to work tomorrow from 10-4. Then I have to pack. And get some sleep for Friday's long car trip to GA!! :~D

Last day of June already??

Well, I wanted to get one more post in before July... Yeah, it had to be now! :~) I haven't been that busy the last couple of days. Just been doing my ESL stuff and working. I've decided doing this ESL training that I've learned more grammar than I ever wanted to know. I had to do an activity on passive and active sentence structure... I had to look it up, know the difference between the two and how to change them back and forth. I've been trying to avoid getting this stuff in my brain for so long! ;~) Anyway, I won't be like a grammar geek... I'll always use good grammar, but won't be like a grammar know-it-all.

Yesterday I had a day off, so I went and painted my nails this melon color... It's summery and I like it. I wish I had more bright colors, but I'll make it. This color almost makes my skin look like it has some color to it! :~) I've also been using this gradual tanning moisture lotion. I don't know if it's working or if I am imagining my skin looking like it has a little more color to it. I'll keep using it cause I think it is working... At any rate I have to get rid of the stuff some how! ;~)

Last night Jamey's sister Tabitha and her husband Casey were flying into the Memphis airport. We got to go with Jamey's parents to get them from the airport and bring them back home. The plane was scheduled to land at 11pm. It actually got there at 10:45pm... We got to stay in the airport for about half an hour and watch all the airplanes! I loved it! All the lights, the planes landing, and the noise of the jet engines. Ahhh, the sounds of home! I really miss having that noise and all the lights of an airport just blocks away! :~) Anyway, Tabitha and Casey got here safely and are still trying to adjust to the jet lag...

Today we went to the Pink Palace!! :~D I've never been to the Pink Palace before today and it was really neat! It's a museum with practically everything in it... We went with Jamey's sister Sarah and her group of kids that she works with that have been abused to see all the stuff at the museum. It had skeletons of a lot of things including a hummingbird... That was small! It had a section on cells and what is in them, it had all sorts of animals that had been stuffed and posed in scenes. It had all sorts of rare gems and stones in their raw forms... Of course, it had the required evolution section. They also had a section with moving dinosaurs... The dinosaurs were actual size and made noise! All the kids liked that! The section that really got my attention was the section on when Memphis was just starting in the early 1800s. They had all sorts of trinkets and clothes. They also had a section on early doctor equipment. There was a section on WW l and WW ll, a section on the mid 1900s with more clothes and trinkets and they had a mock up of an old grocery store! :~) I think that's about it for all the stuff that was in the museum... There was so much to see, I tried to see and remember it all but I'll probably remember things tomorrow that I forgot about now.

Unfortunately, we didn't stay in one place long enough to have pics and we didn't take our camera... With the kids, we had to move so they wouldn't get bored and so they could see as much as they could while they were there. After that, we went to the park to let the kids have a snack and play before going home. We had a good day! It was hot, but the museum was really neat!! :~) Maybe next time we go Jamey and I will take a lot of pics to show you! :~)

One week later...

Ok, I just sent in my fourth assignment for the ESL training!!! :~) To say I'm pleased with myself would probably be a little premature seeings how the teacher probably hasn't even seen it yet. But I'm hoping she'll like it and see just how much effort I put into this one. I also am kinda proud of myself for getting this one done in a week!!! :~) Yes, I know that I've just raised the bar, but maybe that's a good thing. The other assignments took about two weeks to do. Mainly cause I was scared of getting a bad grade, but now I just want it done and over with.

I don't have to work tomorrow. Which is good cause the two Mountain Dew type drinks I had today probably won't let me go to sleep any time soon. I haven't been sleeping well lately cause of all the stuff going on. Once the ESL is done I'm hoping that will help a little. I'm glad that I don't have to work tomorrow cause it's Family and Friends day at Peebles. Customers will get an extra 20 percent off. Most of the customers that came in today put their stuff on hold for tomorrow to get the deal. Not that that's a bad thing but it'll probably be kinda hectic tomorrow... And I get to work Saturday and Sunday. Those will probably be the worst days... I'm just glad I don't have to work the whole Family and Friends weekend! :~)

Today as I was leaving for work Jamey stopped me cause I was dragging something while I was backing out... It was a dog! :~o I didn't know it was under there! Luckily, I saw Jamey and stopped so the poor dog wasn't dragged all the way to Peebles! When I got home tonight Jamey introduced me to the dog. It was a little worse for wear but it seemed to be fine. Considering I dragged it under my car it was quite friendly to me! :~) It looks like a stray and it was all Jamey could do to not feed it. :~(

I didn't do a whole lot this week. I was either at work or working on my ESL stuff... I know I lead a boring life! :~) Jamey is so good to me!! :~) He has been tidying up the room for me while I'm at work and sometimes making supper for me. He also did laundry for me when I was at work! :~) Yeah, I just had to brag on my Baby! :~) Oh, and sometimes when I get off work he rubs my feet for me! He does such a good job of that and makes my feet feel so much better! I don't know what I'd do without my sweetie! :~) Ok, now I guess I'm done for now... I can't think of anything else right now. And maybe, just maybe I should try to settle down to go to sleep! :~)

Yeah, oops...

I do have a reason for not blogging last week. It's relatively simple too... I was working, and working a lot! :~) Although it's a good thing it left little time for much else. And when I did get on the computer I didn't have enough time or energy to blog and if I did have energy I tried to use it on my ESL. Anyway, enough about my excuses!! :~)

Today is my second day off this week. Monday was the first day off I had since last Monday. I used it to do laundry. I know, I lead a really exciting life!! I gave the girls at work some homemade cookies cause I had mentioned cookies to them and thought it would be nice if I made a batch for them... They appreciated it! :~) It was really bad weather that day so I didn't do a whole lot except watch the weather. It didn't get really bad, but there were some tornadoes up north of us. Scary!

Today I have done nothing except get a shower and paint my nails this bright pink. Yeah, I have to get some of my ESL stuff done today and other things like supper. Jamey's mom put out some chicken, so I think I'll fry it. It takes a long time to do that and it gets messy, but it's appreciated when I make it!! :~) Something else I need to do today is tidy up the room... I hate doing that! Picking up in any form is something on the bottom of my "likes to do" list.

Tomorrow I get to work 5 hours. I close. Again. Not that I mind cause Peebles doesn't close late, so I get off about 8:20pm. My boss told me the other day that she has scheduled me for about 3 days next week where I close. She said that she tried to have me close with either her or the other Lisa cause they like to close with me. She said that the others would probably enjoy closing with me too, but I said "you do the schedule"! :~) Yeah, I like my job and all the people I work with! :~) Anyway, I need to do some of the stuff that I mentioned above for my today's "to-do" list! :~)

New Hair...

I have been lazy about posting lately. Well, I thought that I would get to post once a week to start with... Then my assignment for the ESL training came back with something more I had do. Not that I mind doing more with it, it's just that I thought that I had done what I needed to do to pass it. Unfortunately, I hadn't done enough. I was really mad that day, so I didn't feel like posting... I didn't feel like doing anything! :~} I have also been working a lot lately. This week I'll be working for 35 hours. I'll work for 22 hours next week! :~) That's a good thing, but I have to get used to working again!

Something that's new... Jamey cut my hair!! :~) I'd been wanting a trim... Ok, more than a trim. I wanted my hair to end around my shoulders. Jamey was kind enough to cut it for me! :~) He did a really good job at it too! I wanted to try some curl gel that Jamey's aunt had given me for Christmas, so I tried it with my new cut... I think it looks really cute! An added bonus with the cut is that I wear it down a whole lot more and I can't get it into a bun!! :~) Jamey and I are both happy about that! I think it makes me look a little younger too. Maybe that's because it's been about 4 years since I've had my hair this short.

I fixed a swimsuit top for my boss at Peebles, and she paid my for it... I don't handle the money in Jamey's and my relationship for a reason. I went and spent the money on a cute top that was marked down at work! :~) Oops! I should probably try to settle down so I can get to sleep... I have to work about 7 hours tomorrow. Not a lot, but it will get me tired if I don't sleep! :~)

Two years...

Actually, it's a little longer than two years since I started this blog! :~) I was thinking about it the other day and thought it was about two years ago. The two year mark was May 11th. Just in case you want to go back in time...

Today I'm trying, albeit not to hard as I'm writing on my blog right now, to finish my third assignment for ESL. This is one that I thought would be easier, however, it has proven to be just as difficult as the other two. Ugh! :~} Hopefully, I will get a good grade on it. I REALLY don't want to have to do it again!

Yesterday I picked up 6 more hours at Peebles! :~) Since I worked for 6 hours I got a break. Jamey came and picked me up and we went out to eat at McD's. I got a whole hour for break, so we took our time! :~) That was fun!! :~) Since I was not scheduled for work yesterday I continually thought that I didn't have to work today. I also went about yesterday thinking it was Thursday for the exact same reason. Luckily, last night I remembered that today is Thursday and I do have to work this evening... I hate forgetting about work! :~o And since I have to work tonight I'll miss softball!! :~( Oh well, at least the money I'll make working tonight can wipe away those tears! ;~)

Last night Jamey's sister Sarah brought home a lot of jewelry!! :~) We split it up and we each have like 50 pairs of earrings now... No, I don't think I'm exaggerating that much! :~o So today I'll have to coordinate my outfit on what earrings I want to wear! :~)

OK, I don't think I can avoid it anymore... I think my ESL is calling to me. Or maybe it's laughing at me, I can't tell! I'll try to make this blog a once a week thing until things stop being crazy... Well, maybe until they start to have some schedule anyway! ;~)

Wow...

This is sad... I haven't posted on here since April 23rd! :~o I really need to get into some sort of routine with this thing.

So far this week I've worked for three days. I worked Sunday, Monday and yesterday. I really like working at Peebles, it's a very clean store and busier than I ever thought it would be! I'm so cheep that even with my discount for working there I can't bring myself to purchase anything they have! :~o However, it never ceases to amaze me that some people will spend $30 or $40 for a top or purchase more than a hundred dollars worth of stuff! I needed flat shoes the other day cause I don't have any and the heels were killing me, so I went to Payless to get some. They are cute and very comfortable. They cost $20. It took me a while to convince myself to get them. I don't work again this week until Saturday. It should be even busier on a weekend! :~o

I'm also working on my English as a Second Language (ESL) training. So far, I'm almost done with the third assignment! :~) Only two more to go! This one is a little easier. It deals with planning a lesson instead of a lot of grammar which was getting me down with the earlier assignments. Hopefully the last two will be somewhat easier like this one! :~)

Last Thursday Jamey and I went and played softball with the church we used to go to when we lived in Memphis. We get to do it every Thursday evening. It's really fun! We play in this Baptist park with about four ball fields in it. We play different churches every week and at different times, but it's all in the same place. Jamey got to be in the outfield and caught a fly ball! :~) He also scored a base hit. It was my first real game of ball so I wasn't sure I could do a whole lot, but I managed to watch the ball and get on base with four balls. Then I ran like I was on fire to score a run! :~) Yay me! ;~) Tomorrow is our next game. We won that first game so hopefully we will be able to at least not get crushed! :~)

Hi!

I know that my posting has been lack luster at best lately... I don't know, maybe it's the stress of trying to find a job accompanied by the need to get the English training done. Maybe I'm just having a bad day! :~) Could happen!

Today Jamey and I went to see about a job at Krystal's (fast food for those of you who don't know what it is). Jamey got asked to come back, but they didn't have any applications for me... Oh, well! Tomorrow I'm going to try to see about the McD's around here. That should be interesting working in that kind of environment again! :~}

After that Jamey and I stayed in Memphis for a little while longer. We went to some places that we went before we moved and some new ones... It was fun being back in Memphis. I didn't realize this before, but I kinda miss it. I guess I always will have fond memories of this place since this is where my first home was after getting married.

I hope we will have that kind of attachment in China! I'm looking forward to it... I know it will be something totally different than what I'm used to, but I think we all need that sometimes! :~)

I'll do my best to keep you up to date on the job search and how we're doing. Oh, a little brag here... I passed my first assignment with the English as a Second Language course!!!! :~D I needed a 16 to pass and I got a 17! I'll try to do better with this next one, but I'm happy with the results so far! :~) Besides, they had some pretty hard questions in that first one!

Well, I should probably get some sleep so I can face the new day with a smile! :~)

Yay more blog posts!

Hi! I know it's been a while since I really blogged. I have been trying to find some sort of job and trying to do some classes on English. I've spent all my life trying to avoid grammar, but now it's coming back to bite me in the butt! :~) I don't mind too much, it's just some of those questions on the course. You'd think that speaking English would be enough. Oh, well! :~)

I've been trying to get into some sort of shape lately... And I don't mean round! :~) I've been trying to walk for an hour every night to try to get rid of those pesky pounds that have decided to take up residence on my thighs! It's been working. I've been doing it for about half a month now... I also just started to do some sit ups and push ups to tone a little. I hope to keep this up and then maybe lose those pounds that I've been putting on for the past year!! :~o

Today has been a slow day. It's something that I don't like to do a lot... Which is just stay home and do nothing. Usually I like to be doing something or going somewhere. But today, I don't know, I just want to relax.

I'll do more to post on here more regularly... I'm getting more used to the change of address, which means that I'll feel more like doing things that I enjoy. I wish it didn't take this long to get used to a change... But I'm weird like that! ;~)

Ummm... Hi! :~}

OK, I haven't felt like writing anything for a while... At least not since Jamey and I moved back to TN. I'm suffering from some blahs right now, so I don't know when I'll write more. So much for the everyday stuff, huh?

My sister's blog got me motivated to write something... So thank her. :~) I think I've got a job. Yay! It's at Peeble's. I had to take a drug test so I'm assuming that means that they want to hire me! At last my years of watching What Not to Wear has paid off!!! :~D

Well, I'll try to post more later. Maybe I'll even post everyday! :~) I'm not sure yet though. :~)

Happy Anniversary to my Parents!

My parents are celebrating their 31st anniversary today! :~) Happy anniversary Mommy and Daddy! :~) I love you guys! :~)

Today we had to take our pets to an adoption place for pets... I cried! I tried not to think about it before, but when we were there Munchkin looked so scared! She looked the same way she does when she goes to see the vet! :~( I tried to comfort her and pet her a little, but it did no good. When I gave her to the lady she meowed and looked confused... I don't ever want to have to do that again!

I went through my clothes today and hopefully I was very brutal in my throwing clothes in the "never have worn them" pile... I don't know about you, but I always have this thought in my head that I will wear clothes that I have that I have never worn before. I always like to give things second chances... Unfortunately, my dresser is full of clothes that I've given numerous chances to and still haven't worn! I guess I'm just a pack rat at heart! :~)

Here's the recipe... A day late, I know... But hey, I'm dealing with a move here! ;~) Now, I've tried numerous recipes for fried chicken and this is the best one that I've found! Jamey is a lover of fried chicken and he loves this recipe... And I do to! Which is good cause I'm not a fan of chicken!

Southern Fried Chicken Strips

3/4 Cup Borden or Meadow gold Buttermilk
1 Tablespoon Wyler's or Steero Chicken-Flavor Instant bouillon
1/2 Teaspoon Oregano Leaves
1 Pound skinned boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 1/4 Cups unsifted flour (Jamey likes it better with all-purpose... Although I have tried self-rising and it turned out fine)
1 to 2 Teaspoons paprika

In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, bouillon and oregano; let stand 10 minutes. Stir in chicken. Let stand 30 minutes to blend flavors. In plastic bag, combine flour and paprika. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time; shake to coat. Dip in buttermilk mixture again; coat with flour again. In large skillet, fry chicken strips in hot oil until golden on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 4 Servings

Anyway, hope you get a lot of use out of this recipe! :~) We've enjoyed it! Like I said it's the only fried chicken recipe that I've found that we both REALLY like! :~p

Well, I have to go get clothes off our bed so we can sleep sometime tonight! :~) Hopefully I'll get time to post tomorrow!

More stuff...

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but I spent about 3 hours cleaning out the closet in my sewing room... Man, I have a lot of stuff that I don't need! :~)

Today I didn't do much. Someone came to look at the TV... They ended up paying for it, but couldn't take it with them just yet. We also got another laptop! :~) When we move over seas we won't be able to take the large computer and I don't know what I would do without a laptop! :~o Isn't that sad? :~)

We went to some friends of ours for dinner tonight. That was a nice change of pace! We had a fantastic meal and played catch phrase for a while... It was so nice to be around a group of really nice people! :~) Made me feel better!

I hope that feeling better will continue till tomorrow... I'll need all the happy I can get! We are going to take Munchkin and Shorty to an adoption place in town here. I'm going to be really upset when I have to leave Munchkin... I haven't found a place for her, so I have no choice. The people that were there when we went to check it out seem like nice people, so that helps a little... But not much! :~( I'll take some last pics and maybe use the camcorder.

Anyway, I need to go to bed! It's sad that I'm tired already, but maybe it's all the stress of everything. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some tomorrow! :~)

P.S. I'll post a Tasty Tuesday tomorrow... Totally forgot about that! :~}

How fast things can change!

I've come to find out that life can change in a very short period of time... I knew that from how I got married and now this. Anyway, Jamey got fired on Friday. He stepped on the wrong toes and had to go, basically. It makes me mad, but I'm not going to go into details... It'll just upset me more to think about it! :~(

Saturday we had breakfast with some friends that live near to us which was nice and we spent all morning talking to them! :~) Then we spent all afternoon yesterday packing up Jamey's office, so that is why I didn't get a chance to post much... I was upset and tired. Not usually a good combo! :~)

Today we visited with a local congregation where some friends of ours go. It was good to see them again! Just to have a friendly face to talk to. We stayed for the pot luck they had over there and got to talk to some sweet people... That was nice! :~)

I'm having difficulty right now trying to figure out what I want to take with us and what we can sell... We'll be going to China hopefully in late summer, but we can't take a lot with us. I have so many things that have sentimental value, it's hard to choose. Just going through all the stuff this next week will be hard... Picking and choosing what feasibly can and can't go with us.

Anyway, that's what has been happening over here... I probably won't be able to post everyday cause of the moving... We're hoping to be out of SC in the next two weeks. It will be hectic, but I'll try to post regularly! :~)

A lot going on...

OK, quite a lot has been going on in the last 2 days... Jamey and I were out all day and I'm kinda tired. I need to get dinner ready for tomorrow so I'll try tomorrow to post more about the busyness that has been our lives since yesterday. Stay tuned... :~)

It's always Sunny weather...

I've been feeling quite blah today... I figured it's the weather. It's nice and warm outside, but it's cloudy. Where Jamey thrives on cloudy days I tend to mope around the house... Why? I'm not sure... It might have something to do with loving the warmth that the sun brings, or it might be that it goes back to my growing up in the third cloudiest state in the union... Where every full day of sunshine was something special. Maybe that should make me used to all the clouds, I don't know. What I do know is that when the sun is out and it's warm outside you can find one happy Priscilla! :~)

Something else that makes me feel just bad all over is having an untidy house... I know my Mommy just went into shock! ;~) When I was still living with my parents my bed was my clothes dresser and the top of my dresser was the "catch all" for just about everything I owned! I don't know what changed... But for some reason I like to have a tidy house. I get very into cleaning and when I clean the house I have to have it perfectly clean. I'm kinda like someone with OCD when I'm cleaning. However, I'm not OCD cause I can go days without cleaning and be fine... It's just when things pile up that I can't stand it! :~)

Since I had to do laundry anyway, I decided to get some stuff done this afternoon... Which helped! :~) Now I don't feel so bad and my house is somewhat tidy, not clean mind you, but tidy! :~) Now if tomorrow it's sunny and I clean... :~D

Happy Birthday to my little sis...

That's right. My little sister isn't so little anymore... Not only is she almost as tall as I am (which isn't much!) she is no longer a kid, but now an adult. I can't think about that too hard cause I remember when I was her age and it doesn't seem like that long ago. In reality it wasn't, but it doesn't seem right that my siblings are getting older without me being there. I suppose time goes on... It was bad enough with me turning 24 last year... Anyway, Happy Birthday Lydia! :~)

Tonight while I was making bacon something interesting happened. My microwave just stopped! It was in the middle of a rotation and it just up and quit. I'm not sure what happened to it... It's not like we abused it, in fact I've been starting to NOT use it as much! This microwave was second hand from good friends of ours in Memphis but it wasn't that old... We've had it for a little over a year. So since our microwave decided to die on me I had to cook bacon on the stove top... I've never done this before, but it wasn't that bad. I remembered during the cooking of the bacon that I had kept the microwave that was here when we moved in! :~) I had put it in the closet in my sewing room where things that I don't know what to do with go to die! So after supper (which was yummy by the way) I went to unearth it... It's one of those old ones that don't rotate... It doesn't have a plate in it, I'm not sure if it didn't originally or if the previous owners took it. Either way, I'm going to have to adjust to this one for a while... Not to mention clean it! :~} Luckily I have Mr. Clean for that job!! :~) Well, I'm off to my task! :~}

Singing and Snowmen...

I'm not sure what I'm going to talk about today... But as my family knows, I always think of something! :~}

Today was normal... A little less than normal. I didn't really do anything like I thought I would today. But you have to have some days like that or you'd overload! :~) I'm trying to figure out how to post video on my blog from my video camera... I tried using a USB cable, but nothing happened. I'm thinking that I might need to get a fire wire, but I'm not sure... Our camera has a USB port on it. Any tips on how to go about doing this would be appreciated! :~)

On other notes... Snowmen don't live in SC for a reason. What was once a vibrant snowman is now just a shadow of his former flaky self. They both are shrinking... They probably won't survive the weekend. Very grim diagnosis: Heat wave... Fatal to all snowmen. What was a winter wonderland last Sunday is promising to be a spring lovers dream... They are calling for 70 degree weather come Friday. Not that I'm not looking forward to the warmth, I just find it hard to believe that it goes to such extremes! I guess I'll get used to it one of these days! :~) Unfortunately, my snowmen won't have that chance... ;~)

Tonight was singing night at church. I love singing night! I love to sing! It reminds me a little of being back with my family and singing with them. Although I love to hear Jamey sing with his bass voice, I also like to think back when my brother, sister and I went and sang in front of people. I don't sing at the piano as much as I used to, but I do have some other responsibilities... I did like the song selection tonight. It included: At Calvary and Redeemed (a couple of my Daddy's favorite songs). Some other songs that I can't remember, but I enjoyed singing them as well. It always lifts my spirit to sing... Even when I'm in a bad mood, singing something will almost always get me in a better mood. Granted that sometimes I just want to be grumpy (ask Jamey he knows all to well). With Jamey being in a choir at college and my love for singing, I hope that one day we'll be able to pass along that love for singing to our children! :~)

Tasty Tuesday!

OK, here's the deal... I'm going to try to post yummy recipes on my blog on Tuesdays. Hey, I needed something to post about today! :~)

Also this is my 100Th post! So, Happy 100Th to me! ;~) I've enjoyed posting on this and letting my family in on my life. It's hard to be so far away... But doing this blog helps me feel closer to them! :~)

Anyway, back to Tasty Tuesday! :~) I figured that since I've gotten better at cooking that I could share some of my recipes that I've enjoyed making! For the first posting of recipes I've chosen a tried and true one... Every time we have this recipe it's always a hit! It comes from the Taste of Home's Cooking for 2 magazine... I've told my sister about this one but never shared the recipe, so here it is!

Chicken Alfredo Stromboli

1 French bread baguette (5 ounces), halved lengthwise
6 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 teaspoons butter, softened, divided
1/3 cup canned mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Place bread, cut side up, on an ungreased baking sheet. Broil 4-6 in. from the heat for 2-3 Minutes or until lightly toasted; set aside.
In a small skillet, saute chicken in oil and 1teaspoon butter until juices run clear; drain. Add the mushrooms, salt, garlic powder and pepper; cook for 1-2 minutes or until heated through.
In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, Parmesan cheese and remaining butter; spread over bread halves. Top each with 2/3 cup chicken mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Yield: 2 servings

It'll take maybe a little more than half an hour to fix after you get used to the recipe... Or at least I had to get used to the recipe before I could do it in that time! :~} Maybe it's just me! ;~) Hope you like this recipe! :~)

Yay for Snow!!!

Yep, it's still here! But it is starting to melt... Ahhh, the life of a snowflake in SC! :~) I got up earlier than I normally would because my Mommy said something about it might be gone in the afternoon! :~o So I got up and started making snowmen! It wasn't that cold outside and with rolling snowmen I definitely didn't need all the layers that I had put on originally! I put on a new coat I got from a friend at church, but that didn't last long! I rolled all the snowballs but needed some help from Jamey to lift them up on top of each other! He also found the pine cones used for their mouths and noses... Aluminum foil was used for their eyes! I was only going to have one, but the second ball I rolled ended up being larger than the first one! :~o It took about two hours to make both snowmen... After that I came inside cause I was wet! The snow started to pack better but only cause it was starting to melt... So I got wet from melting snow!! :~} Anyway, here are some pics!!! :~) I won't put all of them up here but you can see the rest at Photobucket! :~)

These are the neighbor's trees with all the snow weighing them down!

Look at all the pretty trees I can see from my front yard!

This is the tree that fell down the other day... It's larger than most of the other trees so I wonder why it went down!

This is me in my homemade hat, mittens and scarf... Trying to not look dorky with my jeans tucked into my boots. Yeah, like that's the only thing making me look dorky in this pic!!! :~D

The bottoms of the snowmen....

Yay! They have torsos!! Jamey had to help me put these on...

Look, they are the same size as me! Jamey helped with the heads too...

So you can see their faces, an up close and personal shot!

Our stylin' snowmen... Don't they look chic? :~D That's my black hat and one of Jamey's ball caps.

What is this white stuff??? :~D

Yeah, it looks like the sky could use a dose of extra strength Head and Shoulders! :~) March is definitely coming in like a lion this year! The natives say it hasn't snowed like this in 5 years! :~O It started snowing about 4:30pm and just stopped! We have about 3 and a half inches... Which to me is really almost nothing but for SC it's nothing to sneeze at! :~) I really have missed it... I miss having it to play in and it lets me know anyway that winter has arrived. It's been about a year or more since I was able to really get out in a good snow. It's really hard to go through so many months of cold when there is nothing to show for it! Also, the plus is it's not so cold when it's snowing! I really don't want to hear the natives going berserk, but I'm enjoying it! I'll post some pics tomorrow! :~) Right now I'm trying not to think about the trees next to our bedroom that are dropping branches... Needless to say, we are sleeping in another room tonight! :~O

On another note... I'm going to try to post something everyday this month! Note the try in the last sentence! :~) You'll have to forgive me if I miss a day, right? ;~) I think that's about it for now... Really, I have to pace myself! ;~) Welcome March Madness!!!!! :~}

Two Years!!! :~D

Yes, it's been two years of wedded bliss for me and Jamey! :~) Can you believe it? I know it's hard for me to comprehend it too...

It seems like just yesterday we were standing in front of Jamey's dad promising that we would love, honor and cherish each other till death. Two very nervous people... Yeah, you should have seen us before the ceremony! :~} The only thing we were sure of was that we didn't want to go through life without the other there by our side...

I'm still sure of that! I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than right next to Jamey helping him and being there for him. I love him and he's a wonderful husband that I don't deserve... I'm hard to love sometimes and crazy other times (however, I have stopped dancing and singing to the music in the grocery store!) but he loves me anyway... He loves me and I love him. We like it that way, it's worked well for us! ;~)

I thought I would wear the clothes I got married in today... Well, the shirt (my something new - back then it was new) anyway. The jeans (my something old) made my thighs look huge so I chose not to wear them out of the house! :~} I wore the earrings that I wore that day... Blue rose ones (um, yeah that would be my something blue!) that I had gotten from Avon. Jamey was wearing his high school ring today so I couldn't wear it (that was my something borrowed). Hey, getting married wearing normal clothes has its advantages! I could go out in my wedding clothes and not look like I was crazy! :~)

Today was an amazing day, we got to just enjoy each others company and just have fun! Jamey took me out on a picnic lunch and we played monopoly all afternoon! :~) We then decided to go to a Chinese Buffet (my favorite place to eat!). When we got home from that we discovered that someone had crashed into a telephone pole and we had to have our power off for a while! :~O I think the people in the crash are going to be OK, though. So with our power off we decided to go see a movie - Taken. Before the movie started Jamey took me to go get some ice cream at this Marble Slab Creamery next to the movie theater... I always seem to want ice cream on the colder days of the year! :~) Before long I was shivering and enjoying every bite! Then we got to see the movie... Which was really good! After that we went home to relax after the full day that we'd just had! :~)

We had a really great anniversary celebration today! This last year has been a great one and I'm looking forward to this next year together... Hoping and praying that it will be as good if not better than the last! :~)

Been a while...

And it's all my fault, I know! :~) Well, I had to get back in the swing of things and to tell the truth I'm not completely there yet... But here goes!

This is a summary of all that happened at lectureship... I'm going to try to get the notes that I wrote, but that will be for another post! :~}

Let's see... Freed lectureship! :~) We got to Jamey's parents house around 5:30pm their time. We left at about 7:30am our time, so it took about 11 hours! We were able to relax on Saturday. The only thing going on then was a dinner with Jamey's family that went really well and we all enjoyed it. We also had a delayed Christmas gift exchange.

Sunday was church. We went to Jamey's parents church for morning service and also went with them to the nursing home service at 2:30pm. We didn't get a chance to have dust collect cause after that Jamey, Jason and I went to Memphis to visit our old church. It was a blast seeing everyone again and we also got to stay for a Super Bowl party at one of the members houses. We had a good time in the sense that we enjoyed it but also were bummed out cause we knew we weren't going to be back in a while. We didn't end up getting home till about midnight! :~) Which, in retrospect, was a bad thing cause we had to get up early the next morning!!!

Monday we - Jamey, Jason and I - started by getting up at 6:30am so we could get a good start on all the lectures. We didn't leave the house till 7:30 and didn't get to Freed till 9. We were able to catch a good lecture before chapel. Then after chapel we were free to go to the dining hall... That was an experience! I had fun listening to Jamey and Jason reminisce about how bad the food used to be and how spoiled the kids were now cause they got pizza everyday! :~) Our schedule was full from then on with lectures and workshops. We got to eat at Bell's for supper which is like the social highlight of Henderson. The food was good, and the service was friendly! :~) We didn't get home until late this night too because we stayed for the congregational singing and the late lecture. I had an absolute blast!!! :~) I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Tuesday was more of the same except for the fact that Jason wasn't with us. I got to sit in on a ladies lecture which was really good and recommended by a friend... That friend was the lady from Memphis that helped me get my driver's license and was someone that I connected with when we were living there. Anyway, she was there at the lecture so I got to catch up with her a little bit. That was the highlight of the day for me! :~) Back to the lecture though, the lady was really interactive with the crowd and spoke on the Psalms... About prayer, praise and getting to know who God is. It was a three part lecture that went on from Tuesday till Thursday. I enjoyed it and learned a lot! :~) We stayed for the congregational singing, late lecture and also got to stay for the chorale. At the end of the chorale singing they invited all the previous members to come up and sing the last song... Jamey used to sing with them so he enjoyed going up and singing!! :~)

Something that I also got to experience was an open forum... I did not know that there were so many people that could comment on the same topic and say exactly the same thing as the previous commenter. :~} It was interesting and they got into some very controversial stuff. Jamey went up to comment on one of the days and he used something that I had said to him... There was an argument about Christian contemporary music and if we could sing along because these were not Christians that made the music and we should not participate in their false worship. I made the comment to Jamey that if that were true we really couldn't sing almost all the songs in the hymnal cause they weren't written by Christians! Anyway, that made me smile! :~)

Wednesday was a little shorter for the simple fact that it was church night and Jamey's Mom was making some deliciousness that is Louisiana Lasagna! :~p We got to listen to a few good lectures and the open forum then had to leave in order to make it to Jamey's parents house in time for church!

Thursday was a little like Wednesday we got to go to chapel, eat in the cafeteria and hear a few great lectures... However we had to go before open forum because we were going to eat supper with Jamey's family at Shoney's. It was mostly cause Jamey's sister Rachel could only make it that day... We had a good time and I got to talk to his sisters a little more.

It was very difficult to leave Freed on Thursday cause I knew that we weren't going to be going back. I ended up taking quite a few notes while we were there and got the good side of college life. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and got to imagine what it might have been like had I gone to college... Course if I had gone I wouldn't be where I am today so I'm glad I didn't go, but still I couldn't help thinking about it! :~}

Jamey and I also got to go to the book fair that went on all week... It was a good book fair and also a money pit! :~) Jamey couldn't come out of there without spending some money! Hey, when you're surrounded by a lot of great books written by the brotherhood how could you not spend a lot of money? ;~) Another one of the things that I got to do was meet quite a few of Jamey's old college friends and also got to see a few of the people I knew that were going there.

Friday was spent relaxing before having to be on the road for an extended period of time. We just chilled with Jamey's family. We watched some movies and had to pack... I tried not to have our stuff explode all over the floor, but to no avail! So I spent some of the day doing laundry and packing what I could. We definitely left with more than what we came with!!! :~) All in all we had a great time and I can't wait till the next time! :~D

We had a very uneventful trip back and got home in record time. I'm still trying to get back into the schedule that I had for myself before we left... I'm doing well with the meals, it's just the chores that I'm not liking right now! Hopefully this will get me out of the writers block that I've been having. I'll try to write more later... I have ladies Bible study to write about and then just life in general! It's getting late and I have a busy week ahead so I should start thinking about going to bed! :~)

Ok, this will be short...

But sweet! :~) Jamey and I just got back from spending time with his family... We also had a blast going to the Freed-Hardeman lectureship. I enjoyed hearing all those great speakers and I got to take some notes... I'll try to let you in on what it was that I heard and let you read some of my notes! :~) I'm exhausted, we spent all day in the car and tomorrow is church... I already have things unpacked, but I need to go get ready for bed! ;~}

A full week ahead...

Just a quick blurb to say that we'll be leaving for TN tomorrow for the lectureship Freed-Hardeman is having. We'll be staying with Jamey's family so we can get as much time with them as possible while we're in west TN. I'm looking forward to pretending I'm at college for a week. I'm also looking forward to seeing Jamey's family again... Haven't seen them since at least the middle of last year.

We'll be leaving about 7 am tomorrow morning... Yeah, I'm excited to get up that early. Can you read the sarcasm? Anyway, I've been busy today trying to do laundry and pack. The hardest part about packing is that I always have this feeling that I'm forgetting something... And I usually do forget it. What's worse is the fact that I don't remember about it until we're almost there! :~}

I have to put this in here... You know that! ;~) There are some precious pics of my nephew on my sister's blog! :~D Well, I should probably go and get the dishes put away... And then fold what little is left of the laundry when it gets done.

A little update!

I just needed a title for this post... :~} Not that much has happened since the last post including the snow. What I mean by that is that there was no snow and everyone went around town like headless chickens for no reason! :~o Anyway, on the flip side of that coin we have today... I normally have a really hard time with cold and if it's not 80 degrees then I'm wearing something under a short sleeved shirt. Although I exaggerate a little it's not entirely false. So why, on this 22ND day of JANUARY am I comfortable going outside in short sleeves and no coat???? I have to say this weather is just a little crazy... (Either that or I'm getting better with cold weather. :~O) However, I do enjoy when it's unexpectedly warm like this. :~) Even though I enjoy it, I find myself hating the fact that I do enjoy it so much because it shouldn't be this warm outside at this time of year! Ahhh, the northern girl in me wants to rebel but she won't because she's having too much fun in the warmth! :~}

On Tuesday I led a Bible study at church. This is a big deal for me because I usually try to fade into the background when it comes to leading of any kind... There are only two ladies that do the class so they go back and forth all the time. I just thought since I am the preacher's wife that I should step out of my comfort zone and help out. I found it just a little odd that the first time I did teach, the part of the book that we are studying was all about how we need more people to get up and lead in the church! :~) I was so nervous! All the ladies thought I did a good job for my first time, but I had a lot of pauses and the things that I had said in my mind before going to class completely left me! We didn't finish the section we were on so I'm going to do it next month too. The only way to get better at something is to continue doing it! :~) I'm hoping that next month after I teach I can blog about the section covered!

My hair has gotten longer... It's down to the middle of my back now. That said, I've found a new love... In the form of Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship shampoo and conditioner!! :~) I saw it on commercials that it's supposed to be formulated for the longer hair. It smells so good! :~) And it makes my hair silkier than it has ever been. I actually want to wear it down more! :~) I also purchased the split ends serum that is in the same family with the shampoo and conditioner... In order to get the full effect of what the products can do. At any rate, you're looking at one happy consumer! :~)

Well, I think that's all for now... We'll be traveling next Friday to go spend time with Jamey's family and go to the Freed-Hardeman lectureship. That will be fun and I'm looking forward to being back in that area again... Hard to believe it's been a year! :~) So if I don't get to my blog for a while, console yourself with my sister's blog... She's been trying to post everyday! :~) A difficult challenge and one that I hopefully will be doing one of these days! :~)

Bring on the snow!

Since I should be doing dishes... The obvious choice for me is to write on my blog!! ;~)

Anyway, Jamey and I were at the store grocery shopping today and noticed a LOT of people in the store. I mean, Wal-mart is the social mecca of any community but today it was crowded like it was the week before Christmas and the only thing on people's list was those little yellow roll-back smiley faces! We thought it was just the fact that it was a holiday of sorts and people were off work. Then we saw a lot of old retired couples... Hmmm.

I was in Cato when I heard it over the radio... (dramatic pause) It MIGHT SNOW!!!! Tomorrow! Oh horrors! I am not impressed with this little gem of news. I've lived in a place where it snowed 2 feet overnight easy... Before Thanksgiving! Where not to have snow for Thanksgiving was unusual and to not have a white Christmas was unheard of! I enjoy seeing snow and kinda wish we could have it here like I remember it when I was a child; however, I do not want the native SC people to experience that kind of snow. Think of the panic! One friend here in SC has only experienced 4 in. of snow in her life! :~O My goodness, how many feet have I experienced? Too many to count!

I don't know maybe I'm being too hard on people here... I mean the first time I tried to drive in snow I almost plowed into a stop sign! :~o At least there's Jamey, my family, a few from church that came from North Dakota, and a handful that have been up north in winter. At least I can talk to them about the snow! :~)

Something odd... ;~}

Well, I thought it was a well known fact that cats don't like water... Munchkin doesn't like water, but she has this moth to bug zapper relationship with it. Or at least that's what I get whenever I observe her and water! :~) So anyway, the last couple of times that I've been showering she has kamikazes her way into the shower and then right back out... Getting wet in the process and yet continues to do it again a few minutes later!! :~o Yeah, I got a smart one! ;~)

I thought that it would be a nice change to take a bath this time. I also thought for sure if there was a large body of water she wouldn't dare come near! I was WRONG! :~D She came near, played with the water and then I guess she slipped or something because the next thing I know she is trying desperately to get out of the tub!!! :~D That gave me a good laugh and it gave Munchkin something to do! For the rest of my bath she was licking herself dry!! :~) Well, she is dry now and I guess (or hope) that she has learned her lesson about the water! :~)

Ohio trip... :~D

Alright, it seems that everyone I know is posting new blog posts and making me feel bad... Just kidding! :~) Though I have been thinking about posting more, I just don't seem to have the oomph to do it. Oh, and I apologize about not having names next to the pics in the last post! :~}

Ok, here's a recap of our trip to Ohio... We got there on Tuesday night and got to visit a little with my family before we were completely exhausted. Wednesday was fun, my Mommy didn't have to work so we went grocery shopping... No, really, it was fun! :~) That night Lydia, Philip, Jamey and I went to a concert in Maumee (about an hour away) that Lydia and Philip wanted to go to. It wasn't my first concert, but it was the first time I had ever seen a mosh pit! That was just a little unnerving for me! We had a good time and they even put on the ball drop in the middle of the concert!!! :~D I was afraid we would have to miss it! After the concert, we got home at about 2am, we found that my sister Sarah, Danny and my nephew Xander were there!! :~) We talked until about 4... That's when we were all getting so sleepy that our eyelids were screaming!

Thursday and Friday were both kinda relax/shopping days. Sarah, Lydia and I went and took Xander shopping with us on Thursday. We tried to school Xander in the finer points of shopping, but he just ended up pooping! :~) Ahhh, guys and shopping! :~) Then on Friday just Sarah and I went shopping... That was fun to have some shop time with my sister. After supper Jamey, Danny, Sarah, Lydia and I went to see a movie at the local theater... We saw Yes Man.

Saturday was bowling day! We hadn't been bowling for a while and we hadn't been bowling with Danny and Sarah since all of us met two years ago! We tried to get in at the bowling lanes in Bryan, but they had a league coming in so we couldn't bowl there... We ended up going to Defiance and finding a bowling place there. We bowled for a couple hours, by the way, I officially stink at bowling! The last game we played we had to do teams and Jamey joked about having to have me on his team! :~) Yeah, we didn't win! After our defeat we went out to Dairy Queen for some frozen refreshment! They don't have Dairy Queen down in SC... So I had to live it up while I was in Ohio! ;~)

Sunday was the last day with my sweet little nephew... I have to say, he loved me! Every time I would say something he would smile at me! :~) Either that or I gave him gas!! :~} Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed it!! We had to have church at home (just like the old days back in VT) because of ice. Jamey got to bring the lesson... And here he thought he was on vacation! ;~) After church came beef stew and the realization that they were leaving. So to cope there was lots of holding Xander... Then it turned into not wanting them to take Xander away! However, I didn't have a bag big enough and they took him back with them. Not before we all had a family picture! :~D It was just a little impromptu, but it came out nicely! The rest of Sunday was relaxing...

Which brings us to Monday. Monday was a day for me to visit with some friends that I haven't seen in a while... There was a little hesitation when I went to see people at the nursing home where I used to work. Mostly because I was afraid that one of the sweetest people in there would be gone forever! Luckily, she was still there and sweet as ever! I used to really enjoy spending time with her when I worked there and it hasn't changed. I got some useful information from her before I got married about married life... She and her husband were married for 74 years before he passed away! :~o I had a really good time with her and then I was off to go visit with another of my friends...

Tamra is one of the people that I call my conscience. She was the friend that gave me that valuable advice when I needed it the most and kept me from going crazy when I was still working... I haven't been out with her for a long time, but thanks to the Internet we've kept in touch! :~) We went out to Pizza Hut (where else, really?) and then to Dairy Queen because I needed something else to compete for space on my thighs! I just had such a good time with her... I could seriously unwind and just relax.

Tuesday was the last day we were in Ohio and Jamey, Lydia and I went to Defiance to shop. Lydia wanted to go to the "mall" they have there... It really is a sad little mall, but hey, it's good enough. We spent all day out shopping and having fun. I really enjoyed going places with Lydia... I get the feeling that she misses not having sisters around anymore! :~} Then when we got home we had to pack to get ready for leaving.

We left about 7am on Wednesday morning. We finally saw some snow when we left... It snowed from where we were in Ohio all the way down to TN! :~O Oh, and I couldn't help myself with the water tower that says "y'all" on it! :~) We got back home about 9pm and were completely exhausted from travel! We were also shocked by the fact that there was a tree in our front yard. It fell over earlier in the day because the wind was just that bad! :~O

Anyway, that's our trip to Ohio... I still have to get back in the groove of doing things again! :~p Which includes but is not limited to cleaning and doing dishes! :~}

Happy New Year!!!

I know that it's been a while since I wrote on here... I've been having a blast with family and getting all the packing and unpacking done! :~) I have pics, so hopefully you will forgive me for being so tardy about writing lately! ;~) The first one is when Lydia, Philip, Jamey and me went to a concert on New Years Eve. The rest are of my visit with family and getting to know my new nephew!! He loves his Aunt Priscilla... He smiled every time I would say something to him!! :~D Anyway, I'll post more about my visit over the next couple of days, but for now... Here are the pics!!! :~D