living with hope

My "Mommy" Hat

2010-04-14T08:53:00.003-05:00

A beautiful day of getting back to Mommyhood! My boys have ben gone since last Thursday. Josh and I led a student trip to DC this past weekend and since I had to fully don the hat of "Asst. Student Pastor" on that trip, I knew my boys would be out of place and would prevent me from fulfilling those responsibilities. I really missed my "Mommy" hat though. I always do. Since it is my primary daily job and the thing I love just about more than anything in my life, its always hard to relinquish those duties to someone else. They spent 5 glorious days at my grandparents' house-- spoiled as ever, I'm sure! I picked them up yesterday afternoon and gladly donned the "Mommy" hat once again.

Needless to say, the morning quickly resumed with two early-risers (well, 8 am, that's early for the Butcher kids) and immediately fixing cups of milk & juice, french toast (don't worry, they were frozen ones...I'm not that good!) and Mickey Mouse (or Ga-Ga, the term of endearment given by Cole) Clubhouse episodes. While the early start wasn't my preference, I'm glad to be back in the swing of things and looking forward to the next few months which could potentially hold some crazy exciting things for our family!

Exciting Week

2009-10-03T20:27:00.002-05:00

I have a very exciting week coming up. There are several very thrilling things happening in my life in the next week.

On Monday Josh and I are planning to drive to meet my sister Emma and her fiance Matt somewhere between here and KY to bring them back home. They have resigned full-time ministry with EJM and will be coming home to find jobs and plan their wedding. I'm so excited about this because while I am completely grateful for Emma's opportunity to travel and grow with EJM, I have really really missed her and let me just say, we are going to be laughing so much and having a blast once she gets back.

AND............

On Tuesday we have tickets to see U2 in Atlanta. Not only does this mean that we are going to soar on the wings of beautiful healing music Tuesday night, but my boys are spending the evening with my aunt Jill who is a blast and who I love so much. I will get to hang out a little bit with her when we drop the boys off and I'm really excited about that. As for the concert, do I really have to explain the greatness that it is going to be to my soul? I am looking forward to some extreme healing and ministry to come down from above. I'm sure by the end of the night I will have had my heart ripped out and be ready to change the world.

So, needless to say, this is all very exciting! I am counting down the days. Another noteworthy aspect of the next few days is my Mommy's corn chowder which I will be enjoying tomorrow evening! Woohoo!

this morning

2009-09-30T10:51:00.003-05:00

This morning has already consisted of some very typical things:

Lex joining me in our bed. So sweet.

Coffee!

Breakfast for the boys. Lex wanted applesauce. Cole got a bottle and fruit.

The boys played for a while on a blanket in the floor. They really enjoy each other's company already!
Lots of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Dora episodes. I was able to bribe Lex into watching 2 Charlie & Lola episodes. I love them!
Baby Cole (as we call him around here) is taking a nap.
Laundry
And an early lunch. Lex and I had sandwiches.

My life probably sound pretty drab to some but believe me, there's never a lack of excitement or comedy around here.

That's all for now. As for the exercise program...ha! I'm trying something different. Stay tuned for more on that.

Reinstating the Blog

2009-09-30T10:46:00.003-05:00

I spend a lot of time on facebook. I think short and to the point is generally the way to go these days. However, being someone that appreciates written word, I have decided that I do not feel fulfilled in the journaling aspect of my life. So, I am reinstating the practice of blogging in my life. I may not say anything good, but I do have a lot to say. In this area, the notes on facebook do not do my feelings and thoughts justice.

So, if you want, join me here and grow with me.

Progress? No.

2009-09-09T08:38:00.002-05:00

Soooo, I "started" my program but have not actually done a great job of following it. This past weekend was my oldest son's birthday so mixed in with partying and celebrating his turning 3 was the stress and added effort of entertaining family. So, that would be my excuse. The other part of the delay is that I have not yet established a solid routine for my workouts.

I have been sticking to my calorie counting so I have not gained any weight this week. I weigh in this morning at 128.5.

I have realized that working out in the morning or late evening is NOT going to happen. So, since the workout videos are on our computer and Josh has to burn those DVDs for me at the church, today I will do an intense yoga workout that I have here at the house. Tomorrow afternoon I will have my Slim In 6 videos on DVD. At least I will be doing something today. That is the idea. DO SOMETHING.

I will start the workouts tomorrow in Phase 2.

Starting Slim In 6

2009-09-01T10:06:00.004-05:00

So today I am officially starting the Slim In 6 program. Basically, this is a workout program where I will hopefully be able to tone up and slim down in the next six weeks. I am planning on doing my own food plan since I hate dieting menus and always spend more money that way. I will watch my calories, trying to eat about 1400 a day.
Hopefully, I can stay accountable to the program by blogging daily on my progress.

Josh will be home later and I will post measurements then.

The goal: Pre-Cole weight of 109 lbs. with added muscle tone.
If muscle mass begins to affect my weight in pounds, this will be fine with me as long as I'm slimming down and able to get into my old jeans. I was a size 4-5.

Wish me luck!

I'm grateful for my people...

2009-01-02T16:53:00.003-05:00

Just finished visiting with very good friends. Going to ATL tomorrow to visit with more family that I love so much I can't put it in words. Christmas always reminds me of how much I miss being with all those people and how precious the visiting moments are. I love these lyrics to this Sara Groves' song...

And I wish all the people I love the most
Could gather in one place
And know each other and love each other well

And I wish we could all go camping
And lay beneath the stars
And have nothing to do and stories to tell
We'd sit around the campfire
And we'd make each other laugh remembering when
You're the first one I'm inviting
Always know that you're invited, my friend

Do you believe in magic?

2008-12-22T09:18:00.002-05:00

I was involved in a typical conversation with Josh and my parents last night about other-worldly matters. A lot of families delve lightly into conversation and sometimes make small talk just to satisfy their obligation to "talk" as a family. My family plunges into the deepest of debates about existence, supernatural interactions, the differences between the qualities that make up who God is and the qualities that make up church people...ultimately, we plan to fix the world. Heavy topics and ones that would give most people indigestion or at least a headache over their dinner.

Last night we were talking about magic and the importance of the imagination. Josh has been reading GK Chesterton the last few weeks. I have not read Chesterton's writing in full, yet, but have heard various quotes from him over the years. What I have heard has touched on a deeply precious awareness I have always had of God's power and creativity. God's imagination. And His magic. Yes, I said magic.

A lot of Christians today despise that word. It's as if Christians can be sucked into some kind of inescapable darkness if they dare to think of magic. I love the term, especially in reference to God. To me, there is no other word to use when describing God's blend of beauty and power that lingers on everything He does or touches. Simply referring to Him as Creator is not enough. I can be creative. Referring to Him as powerful almost captures it but still, a machine can be powerful. It is His magic that makes Him impossible to clone or fully grasp. His "deeper magic".

I am constantly aware of the fact that my understanding of God and my analysis of God is very different from most Christians I have met. Most would probably think I am a heretic if I really felt free to be myself. It's not that I understand it all. It's not that I'm even close. (Maybe that's why I'm different-- because I don't claim to be able to fully explain God to you, nor do I think anyone should really try) Usually I find that I am different because I enjoy this life. I enjoy His creation and the fact that He chose to create me and bless me with the opportunity to interact with the rest of His creation. I enjoy the earth. I am amazed by it and I never want to leave. That's right. I never want to leave. And I hope that I've guessed correctly at God's plan, that I won't have to-- He's just going to clean it up a little and make it even better for us.
One day even our neglect and abuse to His creation will be untraceable. And, I hope we're not living on streets of gold (I'm not really that into gold-- I like silver more-- And I really don't enjoy streets). I hope I'm running through His overgrown (not mowed), green grass. And I hope the smokey mountains are smokey with the natural smoke again-- not the pollution that has replaced the natural mist. I hope my lungs will do a "double-take" at that first real breath they're able to take in, that's not coated with the film of human carelessness. No, I don't want to escape here. And more than seeing and experiencing all of that, I hope everyone I love is there with me too. No, not just my christian loved ones that have gone away. I want all my people with me. That's why I'm in no hurry to go anywhere. I have too much to do.

Life, even abundant life, is made up of all the beauty, cultural differences, even theological differences, myth, stories, humanity, the supernatural and everything in between that moves us along through our journey. It's the magic. There is no separation between these worlds and these elements. That's why its so magical. I don't have to see it to believe it. Sometimes I can't believe what I'm seeing. It's magical and it's here with us now. Sometimes, if we're awake enough we'll catch a glimpse of the stranger side of the supernatural. Sometimes the things that seem so natural are unexplainable when you really consider them. And I'm so glad I can't explain it all.

I liked this poem.

2008-12-12T10:20:00.003-05:00

This poem was in The Writer's Almanac this morning. I liked it because in a warm way it touches at the heart of what many of us are facing this holiday season.

Christmas 1963
by Joseph Enzweiler

Because we wanted much that year
and had little. Because the winter phone
for days stayed silent that would call
our father back to work, and he
kept silent too with our mother,
fearfully proud before us.

Because I was young that morning
in gray light untouched on the rug
and our gifts were so few, propped
along the furniture, for a second
my heart fell, then saw how large
they made the spaces between them

to take the place of less. Because
the curtained sun rose brightly
on our discarded paper and the things
themselves, these forty years,
have grown too small to see, the emptiness
measured out remains the gift,

fills the whole room now, that whole year
out across the snowy lawn. Because
a drop of shame burned quietly
in the province of love. Because
we had little that year
and were given much.

Sharing a poem

2008-12-01T07:50:00.004-05:00

I really enjoyed this poem included in this morning's edition of The Writer's Almanac. Enjoy and remember to share life and the beautiful grand earth this holiday season!

Six Billion People
by Tom Chandler

And all of you so beautiful
I want to bring you home with me
to sit close on the couch.

My invitation inserted in six billion bottles,
corked with bark from the final forest
and dropped in the ocean of my longing.

We would speak the language of no words,
pass the jug of our drunken joy
at being babies growing into death.

Sometimes, I know, life is stupid, pointless,
beside the point, but here's the point —
maybe we would fall

in love, settle down together,
share the wine, the bills,
the last of the oxygen and the remote.

A Black Friday Story

2008-11-29T07:37:00.001-05:00

Good morning!
I am up early this morning baking bread for our Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Also, I am enjoying the early morning to myself, having rested well and not done much at my mother-in-law's house. Her home is always so quiet and relaxing to visit.
We got back into town last night around 5:30 at which point Josh went to the church to update the website and Lex and I went to Target (yes, I know, on Black Friday) to get groceries for today and buy him a christmas tree for his room. We chose a shiny silver fiber-optic tree for him. He was highly anticipating Daddy getting back home to open it and put it together for him. They did and he gladly went to bed with it glowing beautifully in his room last night.
So, I have a funny story about the fiber-optic purchase on Black Friday. They had the trees for $19.99. The choices were green or silver. There was, of course, only one green and like 6 silver ones. Well, as we approached the trees to decide, this other lady did too (at the same time, mind you). When she saw that there was only one green, she took it for herself and put it in her buggy and then just stood there, still contemplating whether she wanted it or not. I'm not even sure she knew whether she wanted a fiber-optic tree at all but in her Black Friday madness she panicked and greedily grabbed the remaining green tree. So, she didn't know whether she wanted it but she did know one thing-- she was NOT going to let me and the adorable, wide-eyed, christmas-awed toddler in my buggy have the only green fiber-optic tree left. I decided in my protest of never "bargain shopping" on Black Friday to ask Lex meekly, "They only have silver left. Do you like that one?" He, of course, was fine with either and I secretly hoped inside that some sort of conviction came over her about her greediness (even though, actually, I was also fine with either color-- but probably would have bought green if given the choice). I had planned to go get the rest of my purchases on the other side of the store and return before checking out to see if she had put the green one back on the shelf. We didn't. We were too excited to get home quickly and decorate for christmas. I don't think I would have bought the green one if she had replaced it since the silver had since grown on me and Lex had already taken ownership of it saying continuously through the store, "my pissus tee". Still, I would have laughed...maybe even out loud.
Lex loved his silver tree and I did too. It reminds me of the aluminum trees that Charlie Brown and Linus bang on in their search for the perfect christmas tree.
My house is cozy and softly lit with christmas lights this morning. Lex went to bed before we decorated everything last night so I am anticipating his excitement when he awakes to find all the "pissus wights".

Experiencing this second pregnancy

2008-11-11T10:51:00.002-05:00

Lex- just a day old.

This pregnancy has been so interesting to me, as it is my second. Besides the fact that my life is totally different from the last time (I am not living in a trailer in the graveyard cities of hurricane Katrina, I have a toddler to chase after and my family is close), it has been a very different experience just because I have done it already once before. I know what happens from month to month as the 9 months progress. Its easier in the sense that the discomforts feel like old hat this time and I'm not as anxious about what I should and shouldn't eat or do.

Still, what has been amazing to me is my remaining infatuation with the whole thing. Some people don't like being pregnant. Some people have good reason for this because their bodies freak out and torture them the whole 9 months. Some people just really feel fearful and out of control about not being their pre-pregnancy selves anymore. They can't seem to embrace the beauty that pregnancy gifts women with. I am opposite. I LOVE being pregnant. Sure, the last month and a half are long and seem to never end but there's a reason for that. Your body wants you to be willing to do whatever it takes to shed the weight of that baby and all the extra fluid. The other 7.5 months are remarkable and beautiful.

I thought that this time I would not be able to be amazed by it...like maybe I was pregnant too recently with my first. Not so. The first kicks I felt, those private ones that no one else is able to feel, that communication that's just between mommy and baby, sent such giddiness through me. I love it that I'm the only one that can feel those little "flicks". Then this week as baby apparently moved from below the belly button to above, made them visible to all who wanted to see...when Cole got hiccups last night-- hilarious!

The most amazing part of all that still blows my mind-- the fact that there is a small human being forming wonderfully and completely inside me and I, no matter how healthy I eat, no matter how much rest I get and no matter how much I dream about it, cannot do a thing. Whether God is using his own crafty hands to form each organ, bone and muscle or whether He is just sitting back marveling every time a baby forms at the perfect system He has designed, He is in control. There's nothing I can do yet somehow there is a perfect system of living complexity forming in there. That is phenomenal!

2008-11-07T13:46:00.003-05:00

I was listening to Hillsong's newest album (i think, unless they have come out with another one this month...haha...can't keep up!), This Is Our God, and this song spoke to me this morning.

Desert Song

This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow

And we're having...

2008-11-04T20:28:00.002-05:00

ANOTHER BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HURRAY!!!!! HURRAY FOR MOMMA'S BOYS!!!!!!
Not that I know any different but they're the best from what I can tell :)

Today we had our ultrasound at a place called "Family Practice" in Madisonville. I don't mind to tell you that we paid $50 out of pocket which makes me wonder why these things cost so much elsewhere. We got more pictures this time than we did with Lex's ultrasounds. This is all very interesting to me because I'm a big advocate for inexpensive prenatal care.

I'm thrilled about being a mommy of two boys. Our new little boy will be named Wesley Cole and he will go by Cole. Why? No reason. We just like the strong names.

So, our hands are going to be full but perhaps we will save some pocket change with another boy. They will be able to share things and maybe we'll know what to do having already had a boy. They will be great enemies and great friends. So, I am officially outnumbered in our house (unless our cat Fletcher's vote already counted).

I'll scan and post ultrasound pics soon!

Changes and Memories

2008-10-18T10:59:00.005-05:00

Here are three videos from Sesame Street that I found on youTube. The first two are intros to the show: One being from episode #179, aired in 1971! The other being the new and current intro to the show that my son Lex now enjoys everyday (he calls it "Elmo"). Look how different things are! Still, its comforting to see that the urban culture has always been represented and there has always been a wide range of multi-cultural children running together to get to that wonderful street "where the air is sweet"!

The 3rd video is a great memory of mine that I would like to share from the show: Grover's The Monster In The Mirror song. I LOVED this video when I was little!!! It was weird and wonderful to watch it again for the first time since I was then.

Enjoy!

This is great! Enjoy!

2008-10-11T11:39:00.001-05:00

You have to watch this!

www.mightymendit.com

My faves are the "sit & rip", the flag and the wind (notice his pants), the wedding dress and of course, the parachute! Who does that?

Enjoy! What is your favorite part?

This cracked me up...

2008-10-10T08:55:00.002-05:00

I get updates via email from A Prairie Home Companion letting me know what's going on. This is an excerpt from that email this morning that absolutely cracked me up

This week on A Prairie Home Companion, after five thousand people showed up at last week's Street Dance and Meatloaf Supper, our neighbors on Exchange Street pleaded with us to keep a somewhat lower profile. So, this week we're back indoors...

I want to go to a street dance/meatloaf supper! Does is get any better than meatloaf and dancing???

ONE Campaigning at the UN

2008-09-29T18:00:00.001-05:00

Horton Hears A Who or "Ettant Mou-yie" (Elephant Movie)

2008-09-29T09:51:00.003-05:00

My son loves the movie Horton Hears A Who. Which I am totally fine with because it was a favorite Suess of mine when I was younger. He asks to watch it every morning when he wakes up and he usually gets to. The movie is pretty funny and very heartwarming in the end. The art is a perfect blend of the Seuss-art we all recognize and love so much and our new digital animation technology. If you haven't seen this salute to Seuss's book, you should. For the adults of us, Jim Carrey and Steve Carell are hillarious.

Last Days Ministries

2008-08-26T08:47:00.003-05:00

LDM has had a website for a while but it looks like they recently updated it. They have a beautiful new website now with more photo galleries and what-not. For those of you who don't already know, you can view every article from the magazine archives on their site. Great resources for all facets of ministry. Enjoy!
www.lastdaysministries.com

Today is...

2008-08-25T07:50:00.002-05:00

1. Fallish because it is kind of darkish and overcast out this morning. (This is wishful thinking. It's probably actually hot out.)
2. The day that I have to wash out 7 tie-dye shirts from last night's CAT meeting.
3. The first day of several days with dye on my hands.
4. A Joni Mitchell day.
5. Cleaning and organizing day at home,
6. The beginning of week 11 of my pregnancy.
7. The day I finally finish putting all this junk on eBay.
8. A day for watching You've Got Mail. (I told you I was ready for fall.)
9. A day for putting away skinny summer clothes that won't fit now and bringing out all those preggo cool-weather clothes.
10. Like the 50th day that I have needed a haircut.

Saturday..ahhhhhh.

2008-08-23T09:50:00.004-05:00

(the room Lex was born in)

So glad today is Saturday! It's not like it changes mine and Lex's day all that much. We're home running on our own schedule everyday. But, the wonderful thing about Saturday is that Josh is relaxed-- especially since we had an extremely busy day yesterday. No alarm going off this morning. No rush to get out of bed. I think we're going to go swimming today since we need to get out of the house but don't want to do anything busy.
Yesterday was just as planned except they weren't able to find the heartbeat yet. Said it was still a little too early. We're at 9 weeks and you can usually hear it between 10-12 weeks. We go back in 4 weeks so we should be able to hear it by then. Everything was good and normal though. I got to meet with the midwife, Brigitte, yesterday who helped deliver Lex so she was glad to see us and see how much Lex has grown. I'm so thankful to be able to do everything at the same place with the same people. Our doula, Barb, has moved to New Mexico but has talked to me about coming back to Tennessee for the month of March if she can work out services for another mother here. I don't expect her to do all that but would love for her to be my doula again.
One more thing-- there are a lot of new things going on at the Birthing Center. New renovation and adding a third birthing room with a full permanent birthing spa pool. That will all be ready by the time this one is born. Also, they're transitioning their way of doing prenatal exams to a more natural and community-centered format called "Centering". At the moment you have more of a clinical setup-- a midwife examining in a more "medical" feeling room (although still a far stretch from the usual doctor-patient setting). Once the new program starts, you will still have your private consultation with your midwife as scheduled except this time on a floor mat in a cozier setting. Then, you spend time in small-group sharing format with other mothers that have a similar due date. You spend this time sharing your concerns, experiences, excitement, etc. so that you're getting more input than just from the midwives. I'm excited! It sounds like the perfect addition to an already wonderful prenatal care. Going to the center always makes my week! It feels like family; like a home away from home...a place of trust, care and community-- the next best thing to having your tribal group of women guiding you through your pregnancy and birth. I think the midwives have managed to recapture some of what that would have been like but with modern study and research.
Click here to visit the center

Update

2008-08-22T07:19:00.002-05:00

Today is a busy day. We have an appointment at the Birthing Center at 1:00 in Madisonville. Then tailgating at Farragut HS's football game. Then one of our students is having a birthday party.
I guess everyone heard about the shooting at Central HS (in Knox) yesterday morning. It was kind of "minerva" as Emma would say. Our student that's having the birthday party tonight talked about being afraid of guns in schools the other day. She is starting back in regular school after home schooling for a while. She started at our local Catholic school on Monday. I know she was excited about her first week going well. I hope she's not afraid again. The truth is that sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of hell. As in, someone has made the decision to make hell a reality for us on earth that day. The hard thing is that these acts of violence are becoming more and more common in our country and we still live like we think things like this won't happen to us. Children in some countries live in this kind of hell everyday.
Enough of that downer talk. I will update after the midwife appointment today. We're supposed to hear the heartbeat today!

All the major organs are formed.

2008-08-18T17:36:00.002-05:00

The baby is about one inch from crown to rump - or roughly the size of a strawberry. Weighing in at two grams, our baby is very active, although it is too tiny to feel its movements yet. He or she now has all the major organs, muscles, and nerves. Eyelids are beginning to form and the trunk is straightening and elongating, cartilage and bones are forming, the basic structures of the eyes are in place, and the tongue is beginning to develop. The fingers and thumb are visible, albeit short and webbed.

After 8 weeks

2008-08-12T10:56:00.004-05:00

(This is not our baby pictured)

I've decided to blog through this pregnancy. I love being preggo and find every detail absolutely fascinating! Although the past few weeks have been sluggish and a little nauseating, I am still thankful that I do not spend most of my time hanging over the toilet as many women do. I'm excited about the upcoming months when the fatigue will fade away and hopefully, if all goes like last time, I'll feel healthier than ever while I'm pregnant.

Week 8

A very busy developmental stage
An ultrasound done at this stage will show the baby's fluttering heartbeat. Our baby is between 0.56 and 0.8 inches from crown to rump or about the size of a grape. Its liver is churning out large amounts of red blood cells, and will continue to until bone marrow forms and takes over this function. Week eight marks the beginning of a very busy developmental stage: the baby's face continues to change as the ears, eyes and the tip of the nose appear; the intestines start to form in the umbilical cord; and its teeth begin to develop under the gums.

Teeth! Already? Isn't that weird?

The news is out...

2008-08-11T08:54:00.002-05:00

WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!
Yep, that's a baby bump.
Due date: March 22nd
Entering our 9th week.

Seminar 08: Celebrate The Dream: Dallas, TX

2008-08-04T14:52:00.010-05:00

Me, before awards night

What can I say about Dallas? I have too much to say. So, instead of rambling, I'll briefly comment on each day...
Tuesday: My consultant friends, Kelly and Amanda and I decided to drive to Dallas to save money. This was a great idea and probably one I'll make again in the future. There was only one hang-up. We had planned to arrive late in Texarkana and find a room on Tuesday night. So when we arrived, we started going from hotel to hotel. No luck. We should have booked ahead but who would have thought 5 hotels would be booked solid on a Tuesday night? On to the ext town... there we stopped in 3 before a man at the desk of the Holiday Inn Express finally let us in on what had happened. Several months ago, if you remember, there were tornadoes in Kansas. It turned out that this is where the refugees and "Stormers" (like Josh and I used to be) were sent to find rooms long-term. He told us that it looked like there may be availability about and hour further toward Dallas. So, after driving one more hour that way, we found a wonderful room at a Comfort Suites (my favorite hotel chain). We decided to sleep in until 8 the next morning to catch up on the rest we had missed that evening. We would have a very busy schedule starting starting on Wednesday and it was 3:30 in the morning!
Wednesday: We left the ext morning from New Boston and drove the little hour and a half we had left to Dallas. We were there! We waited in what turned out to be a not-so-bad line for our room check-in and chatted with other MK ladies. You could feel the anticipation in the air! Once we were settled in our room, we took one of the MK buses to the convention center. There we met Barbara, our Director, and her husband, picked up our free product gifts equaling our $175 seminar ticket value (the new Compact Pro a complete Color 101 look and 2 of 4 new fragrances that will be out this fall). I love our company! Then we went to lunch before heading off to the MK headquarters for a tour.

The tour was awesome! We even got to see in Mary Kay's office!
That evening Kelly and I attended a reception in our National Sales Director, Nan Stroud's suite. She lovingly held our hands and told us how proud of us she was and that she had been watching our progress and she knew we could do this! Much like her dear friend Mary Kay is famous for saying. After all, Nan learned from the best! It was an emotional moment since Nan will be retiring this year and will no longer be with us as our NSD. I'm sure she's excited though since her retirement will be worth well over a millionaire's salary. Later that evening we ate at a delicious Tex-Mex restaurant on the Dallas strip.
Thursday: This day was packed with a Morning General Session followed by a lunch and the Afternoon Session. We ate all week in Cadillac style since we are a Cadillac-driving unit. It's the difference between waiting in a long line for your box lunch and sitting down immediately to plates of delicious food! Thursday night's dinner was with our Stroud Family of consultants and directors. Another emotional time since it would be Nan's farewell speech to us. I will never forget her words.
We ended the night in Barbara's suite where we had a small awards ceremony for those who had attended from our unit. I was awarded Unit Most-Improved, #4 in Sales, #2 in Recruiting and the most prestigious- our unit's Ms. Go-Give. I was so surprised! What an honor!
Friday: Friday started early with breakfast and two sets of rank-specific break-out sessions. It was full of inspiring stories, words and priceless training tips.
Friday night was, of course, Seminar Awards Night. This night cannot be described very well in words. I saw women my age, with 3 more children than I have, crowned Queen of Sales and win the much-coveted and anticipated Top Director Trip for the year (this year will be to Munich and Prague). These trips are laced with top first-class treatment and ridiculous amenities. Next year they are taking the top directors to Italy. Maybe we'll get to go!
Saturday morning was the closing session where we heard from the top directors in the Pearl Seminar and their words left us inspired and ready to work our tales off in the most exciting and fun business anyone can be a part of!
I may not have been one of the one's receiving a diamond this year but I'm so glad I went because next year that will be me!

Our limo to awards night

Consultants and Directors from our Unit with Barbara

Top Director portraits in the lobby. Mary Kay is on the left. Our National Sales Director, Nan Stroud is on the right. We are #1 this year!

Me, trying out the Pontiac Vibe, my first car

Before Nan's Family Dinner

Dinner!

All decked out in my ribbons!

MK Headquarters

Me in front of Mary Kay's office! It was so feminine! I love it!

Dining in style!

Fallish Please.

2008-07-05T07:53:00.005-05:00

I never thought I would say this but I'm ready for Fall. Usually I really love the summers but this year has been stressful, yielding no vacation. Plus, I've done none of my favorite summer activities this year. Today it is rainy and dark and when I woke up this morning it felt like fall.
Of course, here in the South, it is hard to call what we experience in the late part of the year, Fall. Our leaves are only pretty if you drive through the mountains, and you have to catch that on the right weekend. We are not overrun with pumpkins and most families are completely against Halloween. It doesn't really get cold until almost Thanksgiving which means most of us could probably get away with a t-shirt and flip-flops up until then. We don't have Autumnish things like stone fences and our weather seems generally wet instead of dry and crisp-- making dead leaves on the ground a nasty mush of black dirt and soggy wilted things. We do have football but going to the weekly games down here turns out more hot with only a few last chilly games-- if your team makes it to the play-offs.
No, I usually prefer the warmer months but these are the elements of fall that I start thinking about this time of year and it's this time that I start thinking about New England falls, I renew my LL Bean subscription, look up the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA, online, and trying to think of reasons to buy school supplies.
Do you have a favorite fall memory? Are you also ready for fall?

Happy Birthday Helen Keller

2008-06-27T09:01:00.002-05:00

Today is Helen Keller's birthday (born in 1880). The first biography I ever read was Helen Keller's in elementary school. I went on to read several about her because I was so amazed at her story that I couldn't read enough versions of it! Every book that I had about her had chart in the back with the brail alphabet and the ASL alphabet. That was awesome to me when I was a kid!
I remember watching The Miracle Worker. I remember it was always eerie to me the way they walked over to the window where she was in a bassinet and discovered that she couldn't hear them. She wouldn't respond to their voices. It was so scary to me! Then, I remember being flabbergasted at her behavior at the dinner table. While the family sat around the table with Annie and Helen just spends the whole dinner pitching a fit and walking around eating off everyone's plate. Even a handicapped girl shouldn't be allowed to do that! I was probably amazed at her behavior knowing what I knew my grandmother would do if we acted that way at her dinner table. Table manners are a big thing to my grandmother. Then the tear-jerker part where she says "water"!-- What joy and relief! I could not have been as patient as Annie Sullivan.
I have not read the books or watched that movie since I was little so these are the raw memories of my childhood experience with the biography of Helen Keller.

I shall keep singing!

2008-05-21T07:45:00.003-05:00

by Emily Dickinson.

I shall keep singing!
Birds will pass me
On their way to Yellower Climes—
Each-with a Robin's expectation—
I—with my Redbreast—
And my Rhymes—
Late—when I take my place in summer—
But—I shall bring a fuller tune—
Vespers—are sweeter than Matins-Signor—
Morning—only the seed of Noon—

Do you know a lot about Emily Dickinson? Do you know that she never intended for these poems to be published? How humiliating! If someone takes my journal when I'm dead and publishes something from it-- I will come back and haunt you! Not that anything you'll find will be as spectacular as Dickinson.

Good Movie

2008-05-17T05:45:00.002-05:00

Last night we stayed at Marmie & Pop-Pop's house. It was fun and relaxed. Thanks Marmie for the Corn Bread Salad. I have needed my fix for a while. It was delicious!
We (mostly Mom and I) watched Becoming Jane (A fictional account of what Jane Austen's life might have been like and a love affair she might have had). From what I remember, not much is known at all about her real life and since most of her characters have such absurdities, we can only gather that most of them are not a reliable source of speculation about the author. I do remember that she was most likely a clergyman's daughter. Hmmm, must be why I'm drawn to her.
In the movie, part of the plot line leads her to meet Ann Radcliffe, a gothic writer of the same time period who Austen often quotes in her novels. Northanger Abbey is most noted for this. She uses several references to The Mysteries of Udolpho. Radclifffe would have been, I would say, the more typical example of a female writer during that time. Austen, not so much. Austen's light-weight fiction, silly conversations and sarcasm in her writing almost reflect a comical tone. Radcliffe and most others of that time were much more wrapped up in the gothic-- dark figures, mysterious situations, moments of the sublime, architecture descriptions, nature, etc. So, it makes me wonder if Austen was quoting Radcliffe in her novels as a sign of respect or envy of the depth of her work-- or was it more humor related since Northanger's Catherine faints every time she reads a segment of Udolpho. Perhaps this was Austen's way of teasing about the cultural desire for so much meaning among so much frivolousness. Nevertheless, as soon as this DIQ thing is over, I'm reading Udolpho again. You should read it too! It's fun!

Gospel Graffiti

2008-05-14T09:53:00.001-05:00

This goes out to my cousin Joel-- the best urban artist I know.
The rest of you can enjoy.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T07:28:00.002-05:00

I've copied and pasted this from The Writer's Almanac (with Garrison Keillor). If you don't get that email and you enjoy literature, you should subscribe. By clicking here
It's a good way to stay refreshed on your high school/ college English classes!

It's the second Sunday in May, which is Mother's Day here in the United States. It's Mother's Day in other countries, too, including Denmark, Italy, Venezuela, Turkey, Australia, and Japan. It's the biggest day of the year for long-distance telephone calls.

A woman named Anna Jarvis was the person behind the official establishment of Mother's Day. Her mother, Anna Reeves Jarvis, had a similar idea, and in 1905 the daughter swore at her mother's grave to dedicate her life to the project. She campaigned tirelessly for the holiday. In 1907, she passed out 500 white carnations at her mother's church, St. Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia — one for each mother in the congregation. In 1912, West Virginia became the first state to adopt an official Mother's Day, and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson made it a national holiday.

Anna Jarvis became increasingly concerned over the commercialization of Mother's Day. She said, "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit." She was against the selling of flowers, and she called greeting cards "a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write." Nevertheless, Mother's Day has become one of the best days of the year for florists. When Anna Jarvis lived the last years of her life in nursing home without a penny to her name, her bills were paid, unbeknownst to her, by the Florist's Exchange.

In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde wrote: "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his."

Updating you on my life

2008-04-27T07:37:00.005-05:00

Here are the things I've done since my birthday...

SNOTE (Sunday Night Out To Eat) at Sonic

Michael & Dustin at the drive-in in their car

Chloe & Leslie

On the way to see The Lion King in Atl

Family Pic at The Lion King

We were bored in the car and that always leads to taking pics

Happy Birthday!

2008-04-15T06:57:00.005-05:00

Well today is my birthday. I'm 26.
It's also the birthday of Henry James, who wrote such pieces as Daisy Miller (1878), Washington Square (1880), and The Portrait of a Lady (1881). You would have read at least one of those in school. Big part of our American literature. If you're more of a movie buff-- in Notting Hill, the film that Hugh Grant recommends that Julia Roberts play the part in, is "a Henry James".
And it's the birthday of Leonardo Da Vinci. I hope you know who he is.
Happy birthday to us! And a GREAT day to you!

Strength! Courage!

2008-04-14T08:32:00.003-05:00

This morning when I woke up, I knew it was Monday and on Mondays there are certain things that I expect of myself. I expect myself to jump to it! It's not the weekend anymore and God has given me a fresh week so I'm not to waste it. This can be both exciting and wearisome sometimes. It's exciting when you know you have a chance to make it a great productive week! It's wearisome when you know it just means another week closer to your deadline and you're having to pick up the slack from last week. This morning it was a mixed bag. I called Barbara, my MK director to check in. She's my coach through this and she's been where I'm at before. She gave me this scripture reference to go back to. I hope it helps you as you start your week as well!

Joshua 1
(The Message)

(v.1-9) After the death of Moses the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses' assistant:

"Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I'm giving to the People of Israel. I'm giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It's all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I'll be with you. I won't give up on you; I won't leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take."

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

2008-04-10T19:24:00.000-05:00

William Wordsworth

2008-04-07T08:42:00.003-05:00

Today is the birthday of William Wordsworth, one of my favorite English poets. My favorite poem by Wordsworth is Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey (1798). It's long (159 lines) but if you're up for a very beautiful, very English and very spiritual reading, here's the link to the poem. Enjoy!

Click here.

What actually happened today...

2008-04-06T20:15:00.002-05:00

1. Nursery was great. We have some great little ones in there.

2. Today was still Sacajawea's birthday.

3. Tonight was Sabbath Sunday. Went to the pastors' home and cooked-out.

4. It was a beautiful day. No Jack Frost so far.

5. Still need to schedule some skin care classes.

6. Still need to go to Hobby Lobby.

7. Still haven't cleared out the dishes and same here, Kim. That's usually the only problem with my house clutter.

8. Paula's roast will be tomorrow.

9. I still miss Emily.

10. The cooking-out and eating Dairy Queen outside earlier today will count as taking Lex to the park.

Good day. Hope tomorrow is productive. I need it.

A few things about today

2008-04-06T07:54:00.002-05:00

1. I'm watching the nursery at church this morning.

2. Today is Sacajawea's birthday.

3. Tonight is Sabbath Sunday night so no church this evening.

4. I'm glad to hear the birds outside this week. Hopefully Jack Frost doesn't come and freeze them to death.

5. I need to schedule some Skin Care Classes.

6. My house has wintery decor in it. Need to go to Hobby Lobby.

7. Dishes are piling up again. Does that ever stop?

8. I'm going to make Paula Deen's Pot Roast tonight. Look out arteries!

9. I miss my friend Emily and want to meet her new little baby.

10. I would like to take Lex to the park today if it doesn't rain.

Diary of a Church Mouse

2008-04-05T10:08:00.004-05:00

by John Betjeman
(reprinted in the Writer's Almanac for April 5, 2008)

Here among long-discarded cassocks,
Damp stools, and half-split open hassocks,
Here where the Vicar never looks
I nibble through old service books.
Lean and alone I spend my days
Behind this Church of England baize.
I share my dark forgotten room
With two oil-lamps and half a broom.
The cleaner never bothers me,
So here I eat my frugal tea.
My bread is sawdust mixed with straw;
My jam is polish for the floor.
Christmas and Easter may be feasts
For congregations and for priests,
And so may Whitsun. All the same,
They do not fill my meagre frame. For me the only feast at all
Is Autumn's Harvest Festival,
When I can satisfy my want
With ears of corn around the font.
I climb the eagle's brazen head
To burrow through a loaf of bread.
I scramble up the pulpit stair
And gnaw the marrows hanging there.
It is enjoyable to taste
These items ere they go to waste,
But how annoying when one finds
That other mice with pagan minds
Come into church my food to share
Who have no proper business there.
Two field mice who have no desire
To be baptized, invade the choir.
A large and most unfriendly rat
Comes in to see what we are at.
He says he thinks there is no God
And yet he comes... it's rather odd.
This year he stole a sheaf of wheat
(It screened our special preacher's seat),
And prosperous mice from fields away
Come in to hear the organ play,
And under cover of its notes
Ate through the altar's sheaf of oats.
A Low Church mouse, who thinks that I
Am too papistical, and High,
Yet somehow doesn't think it wrong
To munch through Harvest Evensong,
While I, who starve the whole year through,
Must share my food with rodents who
Except at this time of the year
Not once inside the church appear.
Within the human world I know
Such goings-on could not be so,
For human beings only do
What their religion tells them to.
They read the Bible every day
And always, night and morning, pray,
And just like me, the good church mouse,
Worship each week in God's own house,
But all the same it's strange to me
How very full the church can be
With people I don't' see at all
Except at Harvest Festival.

I liked this line...

2008-04-02T06:56:00.003-05:00

From a Walt Whitman poem,

Once I pass'd through a populous city imprinting my brain for future
use with its shows, architecture, customs, traditions..

I've done this before. I'm constantly "imprinting my brain for future use". I'm a mental pack-rat. Sometimes a literal one too. But, I know a lot of random, useless information and I've been a lot of places and done a lot of things. That's better than knowing how to do math.

More jazz...(or) Sound Baptism

2008-03-27T08:50:00.005-05:00

Don't skip over the Sarah Vaughan tribute below if you're just reading this first...

I wasn't planning on blogging more but my youtube discovery led me on one of those infamous internet searches that never ends. I was looking for John Coltrane videos on youtube and much later in the search I happened upon this interesting find. Some of you Seminary folk may know about this already. But before we follow the link, let me qualify some things...

First of all, I don't want to be misunderstood as putting any weight in what these people believe.

However, second of all, I must request that if you've never listened extensively to Coltrane, don't be quick to judge their assessment. Besides the fact that he's just a music machine, Coltrane is one of my favorites because he taps into the spiritual realm (positively, not negatively) when he plays. He believed in and practiced the power of music to heal, uplift, transcend, and bless. As we all know, his life-long search for truth led him to some weird places (but it's done that to all of us I think). Nevertheless, I admire his passion and persistence to reach God and I absolutely can't deny the Spirit moving in his music.

That said, watch Coltrane play here...and then check out this church I found!

Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church

You have to read the story on the first page about how the church was founded!

Happy Birthday Sarah Vaughan

2008-03-27T08:05:00.005-05:00

As most of you know, I'm a huge fan of jazz. If I was going to make it in vocal performance, this would be the genre I would choose.

It's the birthday of jazz singer and pianist Sarah Vaughan, born in Newark, New Jersey (1924) who sang gospel music as a child and learned to play on a church organ. She was 18 when, on a dare, she entered a talent contest at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, sang "Body and Soul," and won. She was spotted by singer Billy Eckstine, who recommended her to Earl Hines, a bandleader with a remarkable ear for talent, who hired her as his band's relief pianist as well as singer. She sang "Misty," "Tenderly," "All of Me," and made dozens of other classic jazz recordings with Count Basie, Cannonball Adderly, Lester Young, and Oscar Peterson. Her hits include "It's Magic," "Send in the Clowns," and "I Cried for You."

She had a range of four octaves, as wide as an opera singer's. When she died in 1990, Mel Torme said, "She had the single best vocal instrument of any singer working in the popular field."

(The Writer's Almanac, March 27, 2008)

Here's a very rare video of Sarah Vaughan singing Misty

And then an incredible rendition of one of my personal favorites of all time, Summertime. Sing it Sassy!

Bubble Wrap To Pop

2008-03-24T08:56:00.001-05:00

Click on the title if you're stressed out. The only problem is that you can't fold the corner together and get a bunch at one time. But, they did their best.

Easter Morning

2008-03-23T08:39:00.004-05:00

"We are not pacifist hippies but passionate lovers who abhor passivity and violence. We spend our lives actively resisting everything that destroys life, whether that be terrorism or the war on terrorism. We try to make the world safe, knowing that the war will never be safe as long as millions live in poverty so the few can live as they wish. We believe in another way of life-- the kingdom of God-- which stands in opposition of the principalities, powers, and rulers of this dark world (Eph 6.12)"

A quote from The Irresistible Revolution: Living As An Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne (A Maryville, TN boy gone radical for Jesus)

Haven't read it? Read it.

I read this passage from it this morning. Easter Sunday morning.

I think a lot of christians need to re-evaluate. That's all I'm going to say.

Also wanted to share this because it's beautiful...

2008-03-17T09:10:00.000-05:00

A Fantastic Surprise

2008-03-17T08:40:00.004-05:00

I've had a frustrating week this week. Lex and I have had some sort of allergy attack. Frustrating since I've never had allergies and I don't do medicine or doctors. It better not be a sign of things to come. Other things have been aggravating too.

So, you might imagine my surprise when the apartment office called us yesterday to say we had two packages that hadn't been picked up. Hmmm. Had a small clue what it might be but I was actually wrong. You'll never guess what it was! A set of DVDs from Disney Movie Club that I had ordered back in September! It was......drum roll please....

School House Rock (THE WHOLE STINKIN COLLECTION!!!!!!!!)
and Donald In Mathmagic Land

How great is that surprise!?!? I had just assumed that the order got lost in internet space somewhere and when I later searched for the DVDs to try the order again-- alas, you cannot buy it anymore. It's in the vault.

BUT NOW I HAVE IT...AH AH AH AH AHHH! (That was kind of a Count laugh)

Obviously we stayed up all night watching the School House Rock videos. These are sacred to me since it is how I learned my multiplication tables (thanks to Cheryl Bacon's video). And also how I understand the little I understand about our government today. We were able to teach Leslie about the Electoral College. That is a story all in itself.

Well, we're watching Donald now...

Rewrite This Tragedy

2008-03-12T07:43:00.003-05:00

by Sara Groves

Tonight I forgot a line in the play that you and I
Have been rehearsing since the day we met
It made me put down my script, made me look around a bit
And wonder how we came to play these roles

I'm here to re-write this tragedy
One line at a time
Hold on, I'm changing all the scenery
It's okay we'll be fine
Cause we know how this ends

Sometimes it's hard to tell what to keep and what to kill
What of this makes us who we are
All that we love the most, all that we cannot let go
How much of change can we survive?

I'm here to re-write this tragedy
One line at a time
Hold on, I'm changing all the scenery
It's okay we'll be fine
Cause we know how this ends
We know there's a better story

There's a better story
Of true love of true grace
There's the hope of glory
And our first chance to be truly brave
It's the place we're going
When we can't stay where we are

I'm here to re-write this tragedy
One line at a time
Hold on, I'm changing all the scenery
It's okay we'll be fine
Cause we know how this ends
We know there's a better story

Carey

2008-03-07T10:25:00.006-05:00

Lex is having his lesson on Joni Mitchell's album Blue today. Here is your own lesson:

by Joni Mitchell

The wind is in from Africa
Last night I couldn't sleep
Oh, you know it sure is hard to leave here Carey
But it's really not my home
My fingernails are filthy, I got beach tar on my feet
And I miss my clean white linen and my fancy French cologne

Oh Carey get out your cane
And I'll put on some silver
Oh you're a mean old Daddy
But I like you fine

Come on down to the Mermaid Cafe and I will
Buy you a bottle of wine
And we'll laugh and toast to nothing and smash our empty glasses down
Let's have a round for these freaks and these soldiers
A round for these friends of mine
Let's have another round for the bright red devil
Who keeps me in this tourist town

Come on Carey get out your cane
I'll put on some silver
Oh you're a mean old Daddy
But I like you

Maybe I'll go to Amsterdam
Maybe I'll go to Rome
And rent me a grand piano
And put some flowers 'round my room
But let's not talk about fare-thee-wells now
The night is a starry dome
And they're playin' that scratchy rock and roll
Beneath the Matala Moon

Come on Carey get out your cane
I'll put on some silver
We'll go to the Mermaid Cafe
Have fun tonight

The wind is in from Africa
Last night I couldn't sleep
Oh you know it sure is hard to leave here
But it's really not my home

Maybe it's been too long a time
Since I was scramblin' down in the street
Now they got me used to that clean white linen
And that fancy French cologne

Oh Carey get out your cane
I'll put on my finest silver
We'll go to the Mermaid Cafe
Have fun tonight
I said, Oh, you're a mean old Daddy but I like you
But you're out of sight

An account of the Mermaid Cafe:

The Mermaid Café did exist back in 1969, when I was in Matala. It was at the far left of the bay as you faced out to sea. There were two cafes: Delfinis, which played that scratchy rock and roll, and the Mermaid Café, which as far as I can remember had traditional Cretan instrumentalists playing, and in the mornings served the nearest to an English breakfast you could get in that place at that time: bread, marmalade and instant coffee, with a fabulous view of the bay and out to the little island where St Paul was shipwrecked.

The Matala caves in 1969

I believe that Joni Mitchell stayed in Matala in 1967 or 1968. She probably would have stayed in one of the Minoan burial caves, just as I did a year later, and would have scrambled up and down the cliffs alongside the freaks who formed the troglodyte community there. It was the days of the Greek colonels and there were soldiers coming and going in that area. The people who lived in the caves had often sold their passports, were dope-dealers, or were passing through. While I was there, Julian Beck and the Living Theatre were rehearsing Medea up on the cliffs. To get to the Mermaid Café you had to scramble down the striated rocks and cliff to the bottom, then walk along the street to the end of the bay hence maybe its been too long a time since I was scramblin down in the street - you could stay up in the caves for days - even weeks - without coming down.

-Yvonne Whiteman

No other company...

2008-03-04T23:02:00.005-05:00

I am so excited because I have decided to move up in management in my Mary Kay career! I already have a sales team of 6 amazing women that I work with and I am on the look-out for the sharpest women that I know. I have 3 months to make this happen and it's GOING TO HAPPEN! I was thinking the other morning about my career and about the experiences I have had in other jobs. I wouldn't call myself an over-achiever. I like to achieve but it's really got to be worth it for me to stress myself too much about it. However, with every job that I have worked in the past, I find myself always in the predicament of being the one in the office that does a little of everything. I take on more and more and before I know it, I'm caught up doing everyone else's jobs and everything falls apart if I'm not right in there to do it all. I have a problem saying no. I take on everything because I feel like someone's got to do it. But you know what? I don't remember ever truly feeling like I was making enough money to match all the effort and responsibility.

Well, all that has changed. I'm finally in a place where I am paid what I am worth! I'm not a greedy person and I can live with little but I've found a company that will pay me not only in money, but diamonds and cars. That's pretty GREAT! Granted, I think I'm still worth more than diamonds but diamonds are getting a lot closer than $9 an hour somewhere!

You might think that this ring looks gaudy and you would never wear it but maybe that's because it's not on your finger. It will be on mine this August. This is my Mary Kay Independent Sales Director Class of 08 ring that the company will be giving me when I meet this goal.

Pretty amazing! And the car's right on the horizon!

www.marykay.com/hopebutcher to learn about the career opportunity.

Dodgeball Tournament Today

2008-02-23T08:23:00.005-05:00

we shall see. this could get ugly. these are the prices i pay for being a student pastor.

Shabbachians We Are

2008-02-18T07:57:00.003-05:00

Just leaving Shabbach 08 this morning. Finally feeling better-- that figures. I have had some flu-related symptoms the whole time we have been here. Still, I made sure to enjoy my time with some of my favorite people in the world, our students and some of my family. Dad, Jill, the Lib kids-- holla. We missed you and you have to come with us next year. I'm not kidding! We talked about wishing you were here the whole time. I think Bethesda should just plan to come with us in 09. It's just your speed!
Eddie James and his group were incredible! They are always so obedient to the direction of the Lord and sadly, that's hard to find these days.
I'll try to post a video of them if I can find one.
This is no Winterfest-- this is the REAL DEAL LUCILLE!
Our kids are coming back changed and I saw some of them worship like I've never seen before.
I was dry myself. Hungry for deep times of worship and thirsty for that BIG presence of God that I wish I could feel more often. The one where no one can sit down-- not even the cripples. Where no one can contain what they are experiencing. It was GREAT!

Something I've Looked For A Long Time

2008-02-10T01:15:00.001-05:00

Another year-- NEW (for now).

2008-01-02T23:26:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about the new year. The old one really went by fast.

(Aside) I got a twinge of dread just now in thinking about that. Will the next 50 go by that fast? Faster? (shutter). Maybe you would bravely announce that you're not afraid of death...maybe you would say it's because you're a christian...well, I don't want to die. I like it here, for now, most of the time and I have things to do, if God will let me.

Thinking about resolutions a lot. We just moved and it reminded me of how unorganized my life has been the past 6 months. I've got to get it together!

Thinking about resolutions--here they are:

01. Become a Mary Kay Director SOON and drive a free car (sure beats owing Mr. greasy transmission guy $1250)

02. Keep my house organized-- HA!

03. Potty train Lex.

04. Take passy away when ready. (won't do the above two at the same time)

05. Actually SAVE some money.

06. Find a way to grow despite certain frustrations.

07. Help 50 other women discover the beauty of the Mary Kay opportunity.

08. Did I mention become a director and drive a free car?

09. Achieve room to breathe in my finances.

10. Get out of debt...which can be accomplished by numbers 1 & 8!

Good luck with your own endeavors this new year!

Never Stop Dreaming!

2007-12-18T11:12:00.000-05:00

This is Paul Potts, a contestant on Britain's Got Talent. Talk about overcoming the odds! Watch the judges faces as he walks on to the stage. You can almost see them dismissing him from the beginning based on his looks. But what if he had followed only what everyone else thought he could achieve? What if he hadn't tried out?

He went on to win the competition! I saw his cd in Target just last night! Never give up on your dreams, no matter what others might think or say about you!

Today

2007-11-09T07:57:00.000-05:00

Lex in DC, March 07

Today I...

got up at 6 & drank my coffee
checked my email

ran at 6:30 for 11 minutes (I'm proud!)...I'm training for a 5K, just to see if I can do it!

took Charlotte for a walk...she pooped on someone's driveway because she didn't wait until we got to the grass
drank more coffee
will read my Bible
will put chicken & green beans in the crockpot (my son's favorite!)
will clean the kitchen & straighten the house
will vacuum
will go copy & fold the bulletin at church
will go buy Jaden Ayers a birthday present
will go to Jaden's party
will go to Thirst night at church
will go to an Mary Kay Inner Circle party after Thirst
will hopefully sleep again at some point

That's all.

The Plan (remember when this was all my day consisted of--being cute?)

2007-11-07T07:58:00.000-05:00

The plan today is...
7:59 Lex is waking up right now
8:00 Clean out his snotty nose & change is diaper
8:01 Hold him while he wakes up (because he's just like me & Josh in the morning)
8:30 Breakfast (will consist of banana bread I made yesterday--warmed & with butter)
8:35 Walk Carlotta (my nickname for Charlotte)
9:00 Watch more Charmed episodes (I know, it's about magic, but it's good magic!)
9:01 Clean my living room, again! while doing the above
9:30 Dishes
10:00 Laundry & clean bathrooms
10:45 Laundry & vacuum stairs
11:00 Lex naps, Martha comes on
11:30 Laundry & lunch
12:00 Clean our room
1:00 Laundry (we have a lot of it)
1:01 Unclutter my house (we also have a lot of it)
1:02 Gilmore Girls comes on some time around here
1:03 Pick out music for tonight & my hip-hop costume (it's hip-hop night in youth group)
1:30 Pick out my country costume (Mary Kay CMA party to attend after youth group)
2:00 The rest is dependent on how fast I get the above done
4:30 Go to the church
etc...

Campus Choir Reunion

2007-11-05T00:03:00.000-05:00

I'm about to talk about something that few of you might truly understand. Maybe Kelly is the only one. I'm saying the following not because I want answers from anyone. In fact, I'm one of those people that believes you usually can't find THE answer, no matter how much you want to. THE answer sometimes will change as life changes, as perspective changes, as my heart changes.
This weekend was the Campus Choir 50th Anniversary reunion celebration. It was a busy but fun-filled time of singing in a REAL choir (those of you who sing know what I mean). Singing in a choir that really needed little practice because everyone could sing and let me tell you, that's a beautiful thing to feel all around your ears. I saw people I haven't talked to since I was a dramatic clueless college freshman. We showed off our children, our spouses and laughed about how crazy all of that seems. It was great. And it was all very CAMPUS CHOIRY.
What I mean is, it was like stepping back in time as we flawlessly sang the CC hits of the decades. Everything was the same. Except something was weird. No one was REALLY the same anymore. We have all changed. Our spirituality has really changed. The current CC members sang beside us and, of course, they radiated that typical CC exuberance. The rest of us weren't sure, I think, at least that's how I felt. I wasn't sure. It was a great thing to feel that warmth and look around and see familiar faces tearing up because it felt so cozy. But, the reality underneath is that CC can sometimes be a fantasy-land and most of us realize that all that hype (and I don't really mean that negatively) fades away as you leave the Conn Center doors and drive back home to Sunday morning at your home church and sometimes it loses it's effectiveness after you drive off campus and go leave the Lee bubble. It was a weird experience and I'm not sure what to think about it. I'm obviously not sure how to put it in words. It was weird. Kelly probably agrees. I think it's what Doc (Horton) was trying to teach us all along, we just never got it then.

Stuff...

2007-10-27T00:34:00.000-05:00

Your Brain is 73% Female, 27% Male

Your brain leans female
You think with your heart, not your head
Sweet and considerate, you are a giver
But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Your Love is Based on Commitment

You believe that love is something that develops and grows.
You don't believe in love at first site, and you never mistake lust for love.
For you, love is about mutual devotion, respect, and understanding.
You don't feel comfortable in a relationship, unless you're both in it for the long run.

Why your love can last: You don't take commitment lightly - or leave relationships easily

Why your love can fail: You're so committed, you often can't see the most obvious problems in your relationship

What Is Your Love Based On?

You Are 32% Nerdy

You're a little nerdy, but no one would ever call you a nerd.
You sometimes get into nerdy things, but only after they've become a part of mainstream culture.

How Nerdy Are You?

Your Psyche is Green

You radiate love, empathy, and acceptance.
You are able to relax almost everyone you meet. You are naturally comforting.
Balanced and flexible, you only seem perfect!

When you are too green: you are jealous, manipulative, and deceptive

When you don't have enough green: you feel sluggish and out of sorts

What Color Is Your Psyche?

You Are A Lily

You are a nurturer and all around natural therapist.
People see you as their rock. And they are able to depend on you.
You are a soothing influence. You can make people feel better with a few words.
Your caring has more of an impact than even you realize.

What Flower Are You?

Mary Kay Retreat

2007-10-08T05:18:00.000-05:00

So I've been at this Mary Kay retreat this weekend. Talk about inspiring! Let me tell you, if you've ever even considered selling Mary Kay, you should and I can get you the hook up. If you've ever felt disenchanted at your J-O-B or eager to move up into a higher position but felt unrecognized or unappreciated...I have the opportunity for you! Mary Kay was a God-send to billions of women. There are NO glass ceilings in Mary Kay and in many places those glass ceilings still exist just because you're a woman. I only preface this entry with a plug for this opportunity because I feel like so many women are struggling and this amazing no-fail solution to their frustration is right under their nose. Ask me about it. Even if you live hours away from me!

This retreat is doing everything I knew it would. Boosting my self-esteem (MK always does!). Giving me inspiration to get out there and help more women. And if you think selling makeup won't change the world, you should see those sad women's faces who are frustrated with their children and won't admit it because they feel guilty for not being supermom. You should see their face change when they put on that miraculous set of skin care products and for the first time in months they feel like a lady again and they start talking and complimenting the other women there. I make women feel beautiful. And if that's not enough, think about first impressions. How many of those do you get? One. And if you don't look inviting and don't look like you care about what people think, how are you going to find that opportunity to open your heart to them?

God has given me a wonderful mentor in my director Barbara. She has been so patient with me as I have gone from fickle college student to grown-up woman. She's a beautiful mentor and I'd love to introduce you to her.

If you don't like your J-O-B, ask me about Mary Kay.
If you don't like your financial situation, ask me about Mary Kay.
If you just need to get out and do something with other women that makes you feel like a woman again, ask me about Mary Kay.
If you're just curious, ask me!

Visit my website.

Have you seen this?

2007-09-18T06:51:00.000-05:00

Extra strong? What???

21 Things You Didn't Know You Can Recycle

2007-09-11T17:03:00.000-05:00

Co-Op America's List

1. Appliances: Goodwill accepts working appliances, www.goodwill.org, or you can contact the Steel Recycling Institute to recycle them. 800/YES-1-CAN, www.recycle-steel.org.

2. Batteries: Rechargeables and single-use: Battery Solutions, 734/467-9110, www.batteryrecycling.com.

3. Cardboard boxes: Contact local nonprofits and women’s shelters to see if they can use them. Or, offer up used cardboard boxes at your local Freecycle.org listserv or on Craigslist.org for others who may need them for moving or storage. If your workplace collects at least 100 boxes or more each month, UsedCardboardBoxes.com accepts them for resale.

4. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks: Send scratched music or computer CDs, DVDs, and PlayStation or Nintendo video game disks to AuralTech for refinishing, and they’ll work like new: 888/454-3223, www.auraltech.com.

5. Clothes: Wearable clothes can go to your local Goodwill outlet or shelter. Donate wearable women’s business clothing to Dress for Success, which gives them to low-income women as they search for jobs, 212/532-1922, www.dressforsuccess.org. Offer unwearable clothes and towels to local animal boarding and shelter facilities, which often use them as pet bedding. Consider holding a clothes swap at your office, school, faith congregation or community center. Swap clothes with friends and colleagues, and save money on a new fall wardrobe and back-to-school clothes.

6. Compact fluorescent bulbs: Take them to your local IKEA store for recycling: www.ikea.com.

7. Compostable bio-plastics: You probably won’t be able to compost these in your home compost bin or pile. Find a municipal composter to take them to at www.findacomposter.com.

8. Computers and electronics: Find the most responsible recyclers, local and national, at www.ban.org/pledge/Locations.html.

9. Exercise videos: Swap them with others at www.videofitness.com.

10. Eyeglasses: Your local Lion’s Club or eye care chain may collect these. Lenses are reground and given to people in need.

11. Foam packing: Your local pack-and-ship store will likely accept foam peanuts for reuse. Or, call the Plastic Loose Fill Producers Council to find a drop-off site: 800/828-2214. For places to drop off foam blocks for recycling, contact the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers, 410/451-8340, www.epspackaging.org/info.html

12. Ink/toner cartridges: Recycleplace.com pays $1/each.

13. Miscellaneous: Get your unwanted items into the hands of people who can use them. Offer them up on your local Freecycle.org or Craigslist.org listserv, or try giving them away at Throwplace.com or giving or selling them at iReuse.com. iReuse.com will also help you find a recycler, if possible, when your items have reached the end of their useful lifecycle.

14. Oil: Find Used Motor Oil Hotlines for each state: 202/682-8000, www.recycleoil.org.

15. Phones: Donate cell phones: Collective Good will refurbish your phone and sell it to someone in a developing country: 770/856-9021, www.collectivegood.com. Call to Protect reprograms cell phones to dial 911 and gives them to domestic violence victims: www.donateaphone.com. Recycle single-line phones: Reclamere, 814/386-2927, www.reclamere.com.

16. Sports equipment: Resell or trade it at your local Play It Again Sports outlet, 800/476-9249, www.playitagainsports.com.

17. “Technotrash”: Easily recycle all of your CDs, jewel cases, DVDs, audio and video tapes, cell phones, pagers, rechargeable and single-use batteries, PDAs, and ink/toner cartridges with GreenDisk’s Technotrash program. For $30, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of any of the above. Your fee covers the box as well as shipping and recycling fees. 800/305-GREENDISK, www.greendisk.com.

18. Tennis shoes: Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into playground and athletic flooring. www.nikereuseashoe.com. One World Running will send still-wearable shoes to athletes in need in Africa, Latin America, and Haiti. www.oneworldrunning.com.

19. Toothbrushes and razors: Buy a recycled plastic toothbrush or razor from Recycline, and the company will take it back to be recycled again into plastic lumber. Recycline products are made from used Stonyfield Farms’ yogurt cups. 888/354-7296, www.recycline.com.

20. Tyvek envelopes: Quantities less than 25: Send to Shirley Cimburke, Tyvek Recycling Specialist, 5401 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Spot 197, Room 231, Richmond, VA 23234. Quantities larger than 25, call 866/33-TYVEK.

21. Stuff you just can’t recycle: When practical, send such items back to the manufacturer and tell them they need to manufacture products that close the waste loop responsibly.

2007-09-07T16:55:00.001-05:00

Random

2007-09-02T17:58:00.000-05:00

These things are true...

1. New haircuts are fun and give you a "new" feeling (even if they're not that different).

2. The insects are bad this summer.

3. Meg Ryan really is the most adorable thing!

4. I'm about to sing every Sound of Music song along with the movie and it will make me happy.

5. It needs to rain.

6. Fall is just around the corner and that makes me feel cozy this year.

7. This year has flown by...Lex will be one on Friday.

8. I finally got a good nap today...still not enough sleep.

9. My life is busy but peaceful right now. I will never be content, I've realized I'm okay with that and I can live in the discontent.

10. I wish I had about 10 days to spend with some of my favorite loved ones who I never get to see (some of you live in Atlanta).

Here's a shout out to Auntie Poo Jill-- thanks for Lex's giftcard! We love you!

Remember this? I had never SEEN it! Only HEARD it.

2007-08-22T13:50:00.001-05:00

Pets pets pets

2007-08-20T08:28:00.000-05:00

My pets are testing my patience. Everyday we threaten to give them away. My sister tells me they've had too many mommies and that's not fair to them. I know she's right. That's why they still live with us. That, and my son is crazy about the,. He talks about our cat when we're in the car on our way home to see the cat.
I'm not that neat of a person (although I like things to be organized). However, I do feel really strongly about cleanliness. I don't understand how anyone couldn't feel strongly about that. I hate thinking there is more hair and drool on the carpet than already exists. Carpet is already gross to me! Having pets and people constantly dropping hair on it grosses me out really bad. I vacuum a lot but it doesn't relieve my fears. There's still hair down there. I see it when I lay down on the floor and look sideways across the top of the carpet. Ewww.
Josh has been so good to take Charlotte out most of the time but we're dealing with cleaning up a lot of poop on a daily basis. Pet poop, baby poop...too much sometimes. Still, we put Charlotte in the paper and got six phone calls the next day. But I couldn't do it. I love her and I made a commitment to her. I wouldn't give Lex away just because he wasn't keeping his room clean (not that I put children and pets on the same level, but they're pretty close). It's not their fault, they're just being themselves. It's mine and maybe I need to buck up and do my job as they're adopted mom. They don't need to have to move to another home and I would be so sad.
Has anyone out there dealt with this conundrum? and how did you deal with it?

Grrr...

2007-08-18T12:11:00.001-05:00

Amazingly enough, I am still quite amazed at the selfishness of others, particularly those who dwell under the umbrella of the "christian" name. I am amazed at how someone can take something so simple, harmless and benevolent and turn it into something centering around them. My appointment as pastor over a small ministry doesn't permit me to go into specifics but I think the general tone of this entry is something to which most people can relate.
Thankfully, I know a lot of unselfish people as well. These are the people who have probably saved the necks of countless others who probably deserved what was coming to them. Oh yes, sometimes I long for these people to receive what's coming to them. Sometimes I want to be the one who gives it to them! Then I remember that there have been many times when I deserved worse and that I don't serve a God who thrives on the demise of people, but loves them unconditionally...mean girls, stupid politicians, and litterers included. How does He do it?
God help me to be more patient. Help me not to fall into participating in their foolish games. Help me remember that they are small and You are BIG!

Greetings!

2007-08-01T10:07:00.000-05:00

Wow!
My last entry caused a great stir from the "kids at heart"!
Well, we do have Josh's computer back. Yay! So, I'll be able to be a more diligent blogger now. However, at this point I'm working at the church so you'll have to wait until later.

Tribute To Kids Shows I Love

2007-06-12T08:46:00.000-05:00

This is a tribute to the most wonderful kids shows I remember and have recently come to know because of Lex...

1. Sesame Street...enough said.
2. Mr. Roger's Neighborhood...the kindest man to ever walk the earth since Jesus.
3. The Wonder Pets!...this is our family favorite these days: a guinea pig, duckling, and turtle save other baby animals from incredibly "sih-wious" situations. Preschool classroom pets by day, superheros by night.
4.Dora The Explorer...anything that teaches Caucasian American kids Spanish.
5. Blue's Clues...but only with the old host, Steve.
6. The Backyardigans...great music and dancing!
7.Charlie & Lola...I discovered this one today: a British boy and girl, siblings.
8.The Elephant Show...you remember, I know you do.
9.Reading Rainbow...there are not enough shows like this.
10.Bill Nye The Science Guy...this show was amazingly funny and interesting!

I could go on but there are 10 to start with. Do you have any to add?

Not the way it's supposed to be.

2007-06-11T13:54:00.000-05:00

I am a very independent person...at least I was until I got married. Don't worry, it's not a bad thing. I think it's just how things are supposed to be. When Josh and I are apart the world just isn't right somehow. It's had to be that way the past couple weeks and it leaves me handicapped in so many ways.
Despite your own opinions, mine is that soldiers shouldn't marry, businessmen that travel extensively on a regular basis shouldn't marry, and couples shouldn't spend too much time apart (only short term stints if necessary-- and I know this works because Mom and Dad did it and are doing it). It may sound harsh but I believe that it's wrong to start a family and then leave for 6 months out of the year...even if it is "bringing home the bread". I just don't think it's how things should be. Fathers or mothers shouldn't have to raise children without the other spouse. Children need both sexes of parental units. Men may not need women, and women may not need men, but husbands need wives and wives need husbands. That's just how God designed it and when you take those vows or when you take on role of creator (which is what having children is), you accept the fact that you are committing your time and energy to caring, nurturing, and having both emotional and physical contact with that family.
My neighbor's husband is in the military. He's been home a total of about 2 months in the past 10 months we've been neighbors. She has 2 kids, one toddler and one infant a little older than Lex. She spends a lot of time on her phone. Lonely and probably very overwhelmed. She also travels a lot. Maybe to see him (he's stationed in the states), maybe to visit family. It's all very wrong. I'm sure they have all they need financially and future-wise but it's just wrong.

Just some thoughts I've had brewing. Josh is at camp, Dad's in California and I was thinking about people who live this way all the time. Wrong.

Fat Babies

2007-06-07T07:44:00.000-05:00

So Monday I took Lex to our pediatrician for his 9 mos. check-up. Let me start by saying that I LOVE OUR PEDIATRICIAN! He has the best bedside-manner and he's one of those pediatrician's that actually has little kids...4 of them. But, the other day he was alarmed that Lex's weight was in the lower percentile now instead of the 50-75% that it has been and was 3 months ago. He wants me to increase his caloric intake now.
I'm kind of frustrated with this because, as most of you know, Josh and I both come from a scrawny-kid family. What I mean is that when we were kids, and when everyone in our family were kids, we were always those knobby-kneed kids. Not the giant ones like some of my friends have raised (I'm sorry but some of those children should not be that size!). Lex was a big baby (just like my sisters and I were) but that doesn't mean he's going to be a big or heavy kid. Chances are he'll be small, and probably tall, but that won't happen, I'm sure, until he's in middle school or so.
He eats a lot! He crawls a lot! In fact, I've been trying to give him more and he's pretty full already. Plus, in order to get the calories he has to drink all that sweet syrupy stuff and I don't want him being addicted to only eating and drinking sweet stuff.
I guess I feel like he's being compared to a weight average that I'm sure includes those obese kids and if that's who my family is compared to, well, we're just NOT going to match up! Ever! It's like when I was pregnant. I am small and I ate good, not junky (as usual), while I wa pregnant but I still gained 50 lbs. How could I not, I was sustaining and carrying a 9 lb baby on my usually 120 lb. body. Toward the end they suggested that I was gaining too fast. Like I could do anything about it at that point! If they were comparing me to the average pregnant woman that only gains a healthy 35 lbs, well that wasn't me. I had to gain more to carry more. Now, I'm proud to say that with very little effort I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight. So, see, you just can't compare people to other people. Everyone's different and everyone develops differently.
A nutritionist friend of mine suggested that I call Dr. Lin and voice my concern. I think I'll see how it goes under his direction for the next few weeks and if I don't feel better, I'll call.
Anyway, that's what's been on my mind. Well, I'm hearing someone say Mama over and over, must be time to get out of the highchair!

New Site

2007-06-05T22:28:00.000-05:00

A new site...
www.virb.com/hopebutcher

Blasted Curse On my Family!

2007-05-25T08:12:00.000-05:00

Well it's official! According to the laws of fate and justice...our family is not allowed to get sick anymore this year! We have had everything from migraines to stomach viruses to mono this week. So, if you have any bugs you were planning on giving to us...just stop right there because we've had our share of puniness for the year!
I think everyone is better, for the most part...I'm not sure about Charlotte (our dog). She's had it too. That's been fun!
Anyway, I had to make that announcement because I'm not accepting anymore viruses for the rest of the year. So there. Glad we got that out of the way.

2007-05-22T10:14:00.001-05:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Summer Music Tribute...Van Morrison

2007-05-08T09:05:00.000-05:00

I'm starting this tribute on here to Summer music. When warm weather gets here, first of all, I get really happy and I thaw. Second, it reminds me of the music that accompanies my summers. I have a soundtrack to my life, you know. And these are the songs that will warm my soul no matter how cold it is outside because this music is summer music. The best kind. So here goes...Van Morrison.

Into The Mystic
We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won as we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic

And when that fog horn blows I will be coming home
And when the fog horn blows
I want to hear it I don't have to fear it

And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And magnificently we will flow into the mystic

When that fog horn blows you know I will be coming home
And when that fog horn whistle blows
I got to hear it I don't have to fear it

And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will flow into the mystic
Come on girl...
Too late to stop now...

Great Site!

2007-05-03T10:23:00.000-05:00

For all you all-natural, organic mamas like me...
I added a great site to my list under my "babies, food, and health" section called Earth Mama Angel Baby. Check it out! If you know anyone having a baby soon there are some great postpartum gifts for mama and baby!

The Laaaaw (to be said like Pee-Wee)

2007-04-27T06:53:00.000-05:00

So, due to the feelings voiced on my last post, I'm thinking about going to the government about this...a law that says you're not allowed to complain about other people's yards. If you're caught doing it, it's a $500 fine. Sound good?

Oh, and you're not allowed to feed your neighbor's pet any treats either. My parents' neighbor does this because she doesn't think dogs should ever be left outside (ironic isn't it, since that's where they come from). She has messed up Charlotte's sensitive low-protein stomach countless times and left me with a pukey dog. Grr. I know, I know, it would never work...but let's just imagine this neighbor Utopia, shall we?

Nosy neighbors

2007-04-26T07:25:00.000-05:00

Okay this nosy neighbor thing has gotten out of hand! My pastor was talking about his neighbors talking about his grass and now my friend Liz was talking about her neighbor commenting on how high their grass was!!! Are you kidding me??? I asked if the neighbor was old because I feel like old people have nothing better to do than talk about and do landscaping. I don't think the Baby Boomers will care that much at that age and then all the old people will be too old to do anything and they will go crazy. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA...just kidding, I don't want them to go crazy. It's just that, for once,I would like to see a pretty green yard that doesn't look like a buzz-cut. Maybe it's a military thing...hmm. PEOPLE! Let the grass grow a little...it's nature's plan!!! It's bad enough you're cutting down our rainforest!

Unbelievable, okeeeeeeeeeeay?

2007-04-13T06:26:00.000-05:00

Four Things

2007-04-10T21:06:00.000-05:00

Four jobs I have had:
1. Master Bear-Builder (Build-A-Bear Workshop)
2. Retail Clerk (Harbor Freight Tools, Build-A-Bear)
3. Waitress (Jackson St. Restaurant)
4. Medical Records Clerk (Magnolia Mobile Dental)

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. You've Got Mail (it's great to have on in the background!)

2. An Affair to Remember (ahhh...tear, sniffle)

3. French Kiss (yep, another Meg Ryan one)

4. White Christmas (year round too!)

Four places I have lived:

1. The Outer Banks, NC

2. Gulfport, MS

3. Marietta, GA

4. Portsmouth, RI

Four shows I like:

1. Friends

2. CSI

3. Andy Griffith

4. House

Four places I have been on vacation:

1.Waikiki, HI

2. Orlando, FL

3. England

4. NYC, NY

Four of my favorite foods are:

1. Mexican (I could actually eat it everyday!)

2. Potatoes, any form

3. Tiramisu

4. Lasagna

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. visiting my family in Atl.

2. England

3. The beach...any beach!

4. Hawaii

Busy, busy, busy

2007-03-31T08:17:00.000-05:00

I finally feel like I am getting a handle on my life again! We are exhausted from going to DC and still going non-stop since then. Of course, on this lovely Saturday morning, my child (who usually I can't get to wake up till late in the morning) was wide awake and babbling at a high pitch in the bed at 7:30 am! I actually could have slept in and he was ready to get up. Ahh, such is life. I've finally updated the babysite this morning with pictures. If you're interested... www.babysites.com/sites/lexbutcher will get you there. I'm venturing out to shop for Easter clothes today. Maybe we won't get trampled by the crazy people. Normally I wouldn't be into such traditions as getting a special outfit for church but this is one I always enjoy. At least for now, that is until I can't fit into anything I like! Well, I must go get ready. Lex is watching tv, I'm still in my pjs, and Mommy and Mema will be here at 10!

Our nation's capital...

2007-03-25T00:16:00.000-05:00

I must be honest...patriotism leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Still I must admit that our nation's capital is beautiful. We're in DC. Even for the most skeptical, like me, it brings on a wave of pride when you see Lincoln sitting tall on his columned throne, the Gettysburg address stretched out across the marble.
I went through a wave of emotions Friday as we walked. The beauty of the architecture mixed with the landscaping is what first catches your eye. Thinking that people work in these beautiful buildings everyday and go for jogs on this famous ped-mall is hard to imagine. As we walked through the Holocaust museum (while I was mostly wrestling Lex) I was overcome with anger and my heart reacted first with sorrow, then violently. Those little children had to get tattoos...a thought that occurred to me as I looked at the photographs of numbered arms. Not a tattoo of a slandering adjective---a number! Their identity to many was a number. Tattoos hurt. These hurt forever.
Then, because I had to walk outside with Lex to wait for Josh and the kids, I met a homeless man. He was very very old. He was talking to Lex and smiling at him. What was he thinking as he looked with his old tired and lonely eyes at a baby who has a fresh start?
I thought about how I wanted to tell the kids that while we don't think the Holocaust is happening anymore, it is, everyday...in the way we treat people and when we don't care whether they die, or maybe just forget about them. I want to get this point across to them but I already talk too much and that will have to be another day.
Later, we walked to the Lincoln Memorial. This is my favorite monument. It makes me cry. It's so big, yet it pulls me in and tells me I too can make a difference in my small corner of the country. It reminds me of the "good side" of America. Then we walk through the war memorials. The Vietnam wall will leave you speechless. All the others try to conjure your pride, your nostalgia. This one breaks everything down. This one leaves stout gray-headed men in tears. I passed one on the walkway. He probably had a father, a friend, probably a brother. And now he doesn't. This one doesn't make me proud. It makes me afraid. It reminds me of our country's hidden, denied vulnerability. That quality that makes us go back to work and Christmas shopping the next day without time to grieve, when we've just seen our own commercial jets turned into missals. Don't let them know they've hurt us. That quality that's still killing us...the best of the best. And I have to leave it on that note because that's where it left me. Proud, but scared to be proud.
I'll talk about the services later...they've been amazing, for both us and the kids...I highly recommend this conference. Hope all is well in blog-land. I'll get back in the swing of things soon!

The perfect medicine...

2007-03-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

Today is so much better.
1. It's not raining anymore...although still cold.
2. My house is clean (although still have to do the litterbox later).
3. Lex is napping.
4. I have a great story (via last night) to add to my collection...all I'm saying right now is that it involves Lex, some Papa Johns garlic sauce, and a baby with garlic breath! Hahahahaha.
5. I'm watching friends and relaxing at home because Josh and I demanded a Sabbath from ourselves and skipped out on CPR training (we'll get it later).
6. My head is better! Yay!
7. I have Snapple to drink! Double yay!
8. Got to use my new fancy coffee pot this morning!
9. My animals are, of course, annoying but very very pretty!
10. Maybe we'll get chinese tonight...Auntie Poo Jill got me thinking about it.
So, see...things are better!

"Something is not right..."

2007-03-16T07:49:00.000-05:00

This morning something in the universe is off-kilter. Things are not going the way they should. As our favorite nun in Madeline says, "Something is not right!" (finger pointed in the air).

Here's how I know...
1. My son is whining A LOT!
2. It's cold outside again.
3. Even my coffee taste off.
4. I have a slight sinus headache.
5. No one wanted to get out of bed this morning. (this isn't really that strange)
6. We're running late.
7. Did I mention Lex is whiny and not his usual happy-in-the-morning self.
8. There is a lot of banging going on outside the window and since I slept with the window open I know that it started really really early this morning.
9. Something smells funny in the laundry room...although I think it's just the litter box.
10. We have NO BREAD so I'm having to take all the lunch stuff that goes on the bread to the church so we can fix sandwiches when we get some bread.

These are not complaints per say. I'm just showing you how I know that something is off.
This day WILL get better! Have a great day!

New Things

2007-03-13T05:33:00.000-05:00

So, I'm being very ambitious this morning. I'm up at 6 and planning to make that my usual time for waking every morning...except Mondays. It gives me a good hour for coffee and alone time. And when it gets warmer...breakfast on my patio!!! I'm starting work at the church today. I finally gave in and took the job as Admin. Assis.
It's the kind of work I like to do. OFFICE SUPPLIES! For those of you who don't know me better...my Granddaddy used to have to drag me out of Staples when I was little. I loved that place! More than that, I just love(d) office supplies!
Pastor Travis is great to work for so I'm pretty excited about doing what I can to make things easier at the church. I'm not bragging but I have to admit, I'm pretty good at this kind of job. It's because I like it. You can get stuff accomplished in one day, most days are different, and at the end of the day--- work stays at work and you can go home and not think much about it. It typically doesn't mess with your soul or your personal life.
Of course, all this means that Lex will be there too. And this means that on Tuesdays and Thursdays he will most likely be going into the Mother's Day Out program at the church. And this means that our children's pastor may see him crawl first, or talk first, or whatever but I'm slowly coming to terms with this. For the most part I will have to have full access to him anyway because I'm still a huge source of nourishment for him, but it will take some getting used to, letting someone else watch him for a few hours. I will probably cry.
I hear him talking in his bed now...so much for that hour...oh well! Must go...

Some things I know to be true this morning...

2007-03-10T09:54:00.000-05:00

1. My son is a genius...and also very strong.
2.

3. My recycling is building up again.
4. Coffee was already made when I woke up this morning...thanks Josh's mom.
5. God is good and He thinks I am too.
6. How someone treats the creation is a good indication of their opinion for the creator.
7. ONE if five people around the world live on less than $1 a day.
8. The confused and starving birdies are being fed at my house.
9. I have a lot to do.
10. I love my family.

That time of year again...

2007-03-07T23:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I bought the best thing...girlscout cookies! So delicious! I typically like them all but yesterday I bought my favorites and I will punch someone out over them too! Not really, I'm not a violent person and I don't really know how to punch but I love those guys so you better watch out!
I hate that they don't knock on your door anymore to sell them. It's all a part of that isolation nature we live with now. We used to sit on porches and talk. We used to know our neighbors' names. We used to still trust people and rely on people. We don't anymore. Not even enough to try to sell them something. Sad. I talk to my neighbor. It's important to me to do that. Her husband is a soldier. She has a toddler and a baby about a month older than mine. Her husband is home for now. She brings me diapers that her daughter grows out of so Lex can use them. That's really nice of her. Do you know your neighbor?

Silly

2007-03-05T10:44:00.000-05:00

This (Feb) has been the busiest month since December. I've had a lot to do! And a lot on my mind! And now my son is screaming at me to play, Mommy, play! Well, he's not saying that of course but he doesn't have to. I know my short-comings this week.
So, I was thinking. I believe I want to be a silly mommy. Not a serious one (although there are times when I will have to be). There are plenty of those people to fill up his relationship slots. I want to rule in silliness! How much more fun would it be for Lex if I was silly? I want him in stitches as much as possible in this life.
I come from a family who has chosen the silly over the depressing and I like that choice.
Lex, today is going to be a silly day! Right now standing on two feet, looking at Fletcher, and cracking up is silly so that is what we will do! Later we might clap our hands and crack up! We love to laugh together, really loud!

A Birthday Tribute

2007-03-02T13:35:00.000-05:00

Today is the birthday of someone very important. His name is Theodor Geisel. But you know him as Dr. Seuss. Born this day in 1904.
He has taught countless children how to read-- including myself. One of the first books I remember reading was Hop On Pop.
He has taught us that...

letting a strange cat into your house on a snow day can lead to much trouble and a scary pink stain.
fish come in all sizes, numbers, and colors.
zoos are okay but can be much more interesting.
strange things can happen on Mulberry Street...but its probably just your imagination.
green eggs might be worth a try.
everyone matters, even if they are microscopic.
life can take you to some strange places.
sometimes the one on the bottom is more important than you know.
and my personal favorite...you can read it at the link on the right...why we should also speak for the trees.

Here's to a world-changer. Here's to believing that the biggest change can come if we instill the right beliefs in our children. Here's to never losing that childlike imagination.

Love you Dr. Seuss!

You would never guess this but...

2007-02-24T11:46:00.000-05:00

I used to work in a hardware store. The magical world of Harbor Freight, to be exact. It was a living. Robb knows all too well. While I was there I learned the names of all these tools, parts, etc. and I can tell you what aisle they went on in the store. But, I haven't the faintest what to do with most of it. Well, I did learn some things. This is a great poem I read this morning that captures those days into words for me...I'm telling ya, it's great!

Ode to Hardware Stores
by Barbara Hamby, from Babel.

Where have all the hardware stores gone dusty, sixty-watt
warrens with the wood floors, cracked linoleum,
poured concrete painted blood red? Where are Eppes, Terry Rossa
Yon's, Flint low buildings on South Monroe,
Eight Avenue, Gaines Street with their scent of paint thinner,
pesticides, plastic hoses coiled like serpents
in a garden paradisal with screws in buckets or bins
against a brick wall with hand-lettered signs
in ball-point pen Carriage screws, two dozen for fifty cents
long vicious dry-wall screws, thick wood screws
like peasants digging potatoes in fields, thin elegant trim
screws New York dames at a backwoods hick
Sunday School picnic. O universal clevis pins, seven holes
in the shank, like the seven deadly sins.
Where are the men Mr. Franks, Mr. Piggot, Tyrone, Hank,
Ralph sunburnt with stomachs and no asses,
men who knew the mythology of nails, Zeuses enthroned
on an Olympus of weak coffee, bad haircuts,
and tin cans of galvanized casting nails, sinker nails, brads,
20-penny common nails, duplex head nails, flooring nails
like railroad spikes, finish nails, fence staples, cotter pins,
roofing nails flat-headed as Floyd Crawford,
who lived next door to you for years but would never say hi
or make eye contact. What a career in hardware
he could have had, his blue-black hair slicked back with brilliantine,
rolling a toothpick between his teeth while sorting
screw eyes and carpet tacks. Where are the hardware stores,
open Monday through Friday, Saturday till two?
No night hours here, like physicists their universe mathematical
and pure in its way: dinner at six, Rawhide at eight,
lights out at ten, kiss in the dark, up at five for the subatomic world
of toggle bolts, cap screws, hinch-pin clips, split-lock
washers. And the tools saws, rakes, wrenches, rachets, drills,
chisels, and hose heads, hose couplings, sandpaper
(garnet, production, wet or dry), hinges, wire nails, caulk, nuts,
lag screws, pulleys, vise grips, hexbolts, fender washers
all in a primordial stew of laconic talk about football, baseball,
who'll start for the Dodgers, St. Louis, the Phillies,
the Cubs? Walk around the block today and see their ghosts:
abandoned lots, graffitti'd windows, and tacked
to backroom walls, pin-up calendars almost decorous
in our porn-riddled galaxy of Walmarts, Seven-Elevens,
stripmalls like strip mines or a carrion bird's curved beak
gobbling farms, meadows, wildflowers, drowsy afternoons
of nothing to do but watch dust motes dance through a streak
of sunlight in a darkened room. If there's a second coming,
I want angels called Lem, Nelson, Rodney, and Cletis gathered
around a bin of nails, their silence like hosannahs,
hallelujahs, amens swelling from cinderblock cathedrals
drowning our cries of Bigger, faster, more, more, more.

Marco...Polo...okay, I hear ya!

2007-02-24T11:35:00.000-05:00

So, apparently, based on all the comments I got back, you are all there, just not able to talk right now. I understand. At least we're all still reading. I feel better now.

Anyone out there?

2007-02-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

What happened to everyone? People aren't posting, commenting, nothing! Where are you people?

Our tummies hurt...

2007-02-21T08:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday and I forgot to eat too much. Somehow my tummy hurts anyway and so does Lex's so maybe I still got to experience Fat Tuesday anyway. I feel fat.

I wanted to see Mardis Gras 07 in pictures this morning. Had trouble finding them. Had to go the the Times Picayune/NOLA website. Last year, because it was right after Katrina, you couldn't get away from it...and that's not just because I was living there. They were all over the yahoo news site. Oh well. I guess we were supposed to be more amazed with the still-recovering post-Katrina New Orleans being able to party like that. Don't they know that much hasn't changed as far as recovery in the past year??? I do not miss living there but for a second I can feel a little nostalgic for that place. It did seem a little magical, like another world. I will go back one day to see it somewhat rebuilt.

This year I am giving up being negative for Lent. I give up a lot in my diet already and I can't do much more since Lex still depends on my nourishment. So, it will be a different kind of Lent for me but it goes well alongside my new year's resolutions. You might say, how is that a sacrifice? Oh, don't worry, it is. I'm going to try to see the positive in people and in my circumstances. Who knows, maybe when Easter comes I won't remember how to be so negative and critical.

The best things in life are almost free...

2007-02-19T16:14:00.000-05:00

These are a few of my fav-o-rite things...

1. Sleeping on my stomach...I could count on my fingers how many times this has happened since last December.

2. Pinto beans and cornbread...I'm having them tonight!

3. Peanut butter sandwich...yes, that's right, two food things!

4. That first morning cup of coffee...this might be #1.

5. Lex's smile first thing in the morning...nope, this is definitely #1.

6. Bubble baths...an evening ritual.

7. Pottery Barn catalog in the mail...just for ideas, not to buy from!

8. Friends dvds...every gift-giving holiday!

9. Hot tea with Josh...another evening ritual.

10. Laying out at the beach...the "happy place" I go to in my mind when I'm stressed.

Nancy Drew

2007-02-19T10:34:00.000-05:00

Only a few times did I get the chance to enjoy a Nancy Drew mystery. I know some of you may have read them all, or come close to it. I love the way this poem that I read this morning captures the essence of those books...

by Ron Koertge, from Fever.
Nancy Drew

Merely pretty, she made up for it with vim.
And she got to say things like, "But, gosh,
what if these plans should fall into the wrong
hands?" and it was pretty clear she didn't mean
plans for a party or a trip to the museum, but
something involving espionage and a Nazi or two.

In fact, the handsome exchange student turns
out to be a Fascist sympathizer. When he snatches
Nancy along with some blueprints, she knows he
has something more sinister in mind than kissing
her with his mouth open

Locked in the pantry of an abandoned farm house,
Nancy makes a radio out of a shoelace and a muffin.
Pretty soon the police show up, and everything's
hunky dory.

Nancy accepts their thanks, but she's subdued.
It's not like her to fall for a cad. Even as she plans
a short vacation to sort our her emotions she knows
there will be a suspicions waiter, a woman in a green
off the shoulder dress, and her very jittery husband.

Very well. But no more handsome boys like the last one:
the part in his hair that was sheer propulsion, that way
he had of lifting his eyes to hers over the custard,
those feelings that made her not want to be brave
confident and daring, polite, sensitive and caring.

To be clear...

2007-02-18T19:24:00.000-05:00

I have had a few remarks about my last blog that suggest that I am referring to my immediate family. Let it be known that when I said

"this is no offense to those of my family who read this because you all are more like "family can be friends"",

what I meant was this does not refer to you. When I write these things I am referring to family members of mine that do not read these blogs. You know who they are, family of mine. You guys are more like friends. That is what I meant.

Love you all, appreciate you all, not referring to you in my last post. :)

Family & Friends

2007-02-17T11:56:00.000-05:00

Our friend Nic is here
(I wish his companion could be here too).

Most of you know him.

We've had a real good time and today he and Josh are skiing.

If Michele were here we would be shopping or getting a pedicure/manicure instead. We don't ski.

We vacation with them, that's how comfortable we are with them.

They don't get up early, neither do we.
They like to sit around in our pjs and drink warm beverages, not get up and get ready like we're on a schedule. Just a few surface reasons I love being with them.

Having him here reminds me of how "friends can be family".

Of course, "family can be friends" but that's a different topic.

Some friends are like family, except sometimes better...

(this is no offense to those of my family who read this because you all are more like "family can be friends").

Sometimes "friends can be family" is better because you're friends because you hit it off at some point in the past and now you've chosen to be family.

There's rarely judgment or criticism involved.
They listen because they want to, not because they have to.
They're visiting because it's a blast, not just because it's Christmas.
You can talk about anything because what have you got to lose?
--not avoid certain topics because the world might fall down around us if we bring up certain things.
You can recommend music, books, movies that you like and if they don't like them it's no biggie.
They don't think you're going to hell because you like certain things.
It's just pure fun and enjoyment.

Pure being yourself.

I love my whole family so much.
Don't get me wrong.

However, I would wager that most of us have those people in our family that most of the time are completely wonderful but sometimes, with certain subjects, you have to walk on eggshells around them.

(The COG can be like this too...check out the latest Evangel editorial!)

Family should be more like friends.

The stuffy nose is leaving...

2007-02-12T21:26:00.000-05:00

slowly but surely. I was able to sleep longer this morning. Went to the Co-op tonight and I was going to buy some Echinacea-plus tea. They were all out! Must really be going around. I'll just have to keep loading up on the supplements as usual every morning.

Finally took our recycling to the drop-off tonight. Still have a mound of plastic bags to return. Went to Target and should have remembered the Target ones...just ended up getting more to pile up.

So I finally found a bird-feeder tonight to feed the poor hungry confused birdies that I see every day grazing for scraps. The global warming is to blame for all our problems right now. Just try it-- think of a problem you, someone or something else has-- I bet you can trace it back to global warming! Back to the birds...they're confused and didn't leave this year because they thought it was still the warm season. Now the deep freeze is coming through and everything is dead. They can't find any food. Those poor NY pigeons just got plastered by 100 inches of snow! What is wrong with this world???

Well, until next time...take care, stay warm (or cold, whatever the day warrants for you), feed some birds-- they're hungry, and try not to catch that nasty cold going around. It's probably from the global warming!

A Tribute

2007-02-10T08:27:00.000-05:00

I am still fuzzy-headed and snotty-nosed this morning. I've been up since 5:30 because everyone knows you can never go back to sleep when you feel this way. So, I'm watching one of the 3 ultimate sick day movies (this excludes the classics that come on channels like USA and TNT all the time)...so here's the list of 3-- An Affair To Remember, Gone With The Wind, and You've Got Mail. I'm watching the latter and this is a tribute to what can honestly be called one of my all-time favorite movies. So, why is it a favorite?

1. The People: Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks-- does it get any better than this pair? i don't think so.

2. Location, Location, Location: New York City-- and I've visited all the restaurants in the film. These are the best spots in the city. Here's a good site in case you ever want to take yourself on the tour.

3. Bookstores: It's about bookstores-- need I say more?

4. The Dialogue: It doesn't get any better than this!

Some very quotable lines...

"So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people who have no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only 2.95 , get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall! Decaf! Cappuccino!"

"Do you ever feel like you've become the worst version of yourself?"

"Once I read a story about a butterfly in the subway and today, I saw one! It got on at 42nd and off at 59th, where, I assume, it was going to Bloomingdale's to buy a hat which will turn out to be a mistake as almost all hats are."

"I like Patricia. I love Patricia. Patricia makes coffee nervous. "

"Because we're going to sell them cheap books and legal addictive stimulants."

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms. "

"When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does. "

"Joe? Just call me Joe? As if you were one of those stupid 22 year old girls with no last name? Hi, I'm Kimberly! Hi, I'm Janice! Don't they know you're supposed to have a last name? It's like they're an entire generation of cocktail waitresses!"

"But I wouldn't expect you to know anything about that. You with your theme-park, multi-level, homogenize-the-world, mochaccino land. You've diluted yourself into thinking you're some kind of benefactor bringing books to the masses."

This movie is great. It heals you on a dreary sick day. Sit down and enjoy it someday.