Saturday, November 29, 2008

It's Here!!!!

Has the Christmas season snuck up on you ~ or is it just me??? Didn't we just take all the decorations down and put them away? OH, and that Christmas fund . . . . where did that go? Needless to say, all my best laid plans of having the holiday season under control this year have gone terribly awry.

Did anyone brave shopping yesterday? I went late in the afternoon with a friend and her dear mom that was here from out of town ~ not to shop really, but to spend time with them! Her mom was looking for a jacket for her grandson and it was at Kohls. We walked in and the line was wrapped all the way around the store!!! About a 45 minute wait. No biggie, we weren't in a hurry and so we took turns standing in the line while the other two shopped. Ran in to a good friend who had an appointment and we offered to get her stuff, too (talk about owing us one!!!)

When standing in a line that long, at least in my neck of the woods, you become buddies with those around you who are also the only other poor, pitiful souls on the planet that are dumb enough to sacrificing their valuable time standing in a line to buy gifts for our loved ones.

The early bird specials ended at 1pm, but since the line was so long they extended it to 3pm. At exactly 3pm we were 2nd in line to the register. One of the managers got on the store speaker system to announce that very thing. The sweet, friendly, soft spoken women in front of us with her daughter apparently found that announcement to be disturbing. With hands on hips she marched up to the manager that made the announcement and told him, under no uncertain terms, and not so soft spoken, that she would be getting the early bird prices. I thought the next announcement might be "clean up on aisle nine, we've just had a good ole fashioned throw down". After a "conversation" between the two, the score was customer 1, manager 0!

Thankfully, the jacket and other things we'd gathered were not early bird pricing, so we were safe ~ unlike the gentleman behind us with the early bird priced vacuum. I have a feeling there was another "conversation".

And people say we are forgetting the reason for celebrating Christmas, getting too commercialized, I just don't know where they get that, do you?

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Turkey Quiz!

I'll never reveal my score on this ~ but if you do well and want to brag in a comment, feel free! Try it:

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Tag!!! You're it!

My friend, and blog mentor, Jenn posted her 800th post today and is celebrating with a meme!

I'm sharing my answers here and you can see her answers here!!! I would love to know yours!!!!

Disclaimer: these answers are not necessarily in order of preference!!!!

8 Things I love:
God
Family
My church
my friends
Popsicles
school supplies
M & M's
bible study

8 Things that give me the Heebie-Jeebies
dirty feet/toes
belly buttons
sour food/garbage smell
snakes
flying insects (especially june bugs)
coconut
scratchy clothes/sheets
sushi

8 places I've been to:
Dallas, TX
Austin, TX
Port Antonio, Jamaica
Albuquerque, NM
Nashville, TN
Columbus, Ohio
Washington, DC
Disney World

8 random facts:
I've gained way too much weight
I am a "never seem to say no" volunteer
I am obsessive about my e-mail (deleting, organizing, reading, answering, etc.)
I have enough scrap book, paper craft, stamping, crafty things to open a store
I love to read and listen to books on tape
Because I let my hair grow out too much, I realized this week that I am TOTALLY GRAY (took of that right quick!!!!!!)
There are tons of orange Popsicles in my freezer because I only like the cherry and grape ones in the package
After 22 years of marriage, hubs and I are still in love, actually like each other, and have a blast!

8 favorite TV shows:
Ugly Betty
Big Bang Theory
Two and a half men
Andy Griffith
Grey's Anatomy (until recently, they've gone too far)
Brothers and Sisters (they are pushing the envelope, too)
Lots of stuff on Discovery channels
Law and Order

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamont

Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamont was a great book! She is honest, humble, and shares her journey of faith with a candor that most would not. Writing openly about her life of self destructive behaviors makes her real to me because most of us do not have the courage to HONESTLY share with the world what we've done and how we've gotten where we are today. Her faith is real and she knows, like we all have to remind ourselves, that our faith is a journey. We cannot accept Christ and live happily ever after, but we can accept Christ, grow in our faith, learn from our mistakes, and keep blundering through life with an assurance that He will forgive, love, and accept us unconditionally.

Ms. Lamont quoted a friend 's response when she asked him what it meant to be saved. I hope she will forgive my plagiarism here, but this quote is worth sharing. He answered, "I guess it's like discovering you're on the shelf of a pawnshop, dusty and forgotten and maybe not worth very much. But Jesus comes in and tells the pawnbroker, 'I'll take her place on the shelf. Let her go outside again.'"

This will be a book I will read again, slower next time, savoring it a little more.

Check out more book reviews here on Callapidder Days in the Fall Reading Challenge.
Happy Reading!