Saturday, January 31, 2009

25 Random Things About Me

Okay, this is the first time I have been tagged. My first thought was "Wow, this is going to be hard", but it wasn't that bad. Here goes:

1. Poetry is really not my thing. I usually don't "get it" - but I do have a favorite poem and I will be posting it on my blog someday. It is called "I Am A Christian" author unknown.


2. I have been asked before what kind of music I have on my IPod. I will also be doing a post on that someday. But for now I will tell you that I love the Bee Gees.


3. I always wanted to be a teacher....


4. ....but never thought I was smart enough - low self-esteem. (kids I am not trying to make you mad - just speaking the truth)


5. I love my cat, Abby. I do not like to see animals mistreated.


6. I secretly want a tatoo. I know what I want, but am too scared to get it. And I worry about what people would think.


7. I enjoy wearing my toe rings and ankle bracelets.


8. I do not mind people being "different". That's what makes the world go round!


9. Some days I still miss my mother so much it aches.


10. I DO NOT tolerate lazy people. It makes me mad. I believe God put us on this earth and let us live another day to do something!


11. I always read the last couple of pages in a book first. If it is not going to end happy I do not want to read it. The very reason I will not watch many movies without hearing if they have a good ending.


12. I love my purple PT Cruiser.


13. If I had enough money I would adopt a child. I think of it often.


14. I am scared of large amounts of water. Anything over a gallon!


15. I am very scared of heigths. Anything over a foot!


16. Favorite Bible verses: Anything with LOVE.


17. Favorite hymn: Anything fast.


18. I enjoy shopping, even if I do not have money to spend. I love just walking and looking.


19. Games I enjoy the most are Rummykub, Phase 10 and Ticket to Ride.


20. I get tired of dieting and weighing and dieting and weighing and dieting and weighing. Done it since 5th grade.


21. I like mayo on a homemade, grilled burger - but give me mustard on a bought burger, thank you.


22. I do not like for people to ask me my favorite color. I do not believe you can really pick one favorite color.


23. I do not like to be the one asked where to eat in a group. I do not care, I will find something to eat - you pick.


24. I hate skunks. I really do not know why God thought they needed to be here.


25. I can make very good homemade ice cream.


26. I am still waiting for my son-in-law to comment on my last post.


Gratitude: I am so thankful Kalyn and BJ are safe.


Prayer: This had nothing what so ever to do with this post, but I am asking all who read this blog to please pray for Kalyn and BJ and their safety and all Kentuckians during these winter storms. I love you kids. Dad and I are praying.

Monday, January 26, 2009

BJ, Let's Play a Game!

A couple of post back I said that I would be writing on the three men in my daily life in the next three posts. So I wrote one on my dear son and then one on my dear husband. Next in line - my dear son-in-law. Just like the first two entries in this "series" I can say again "I love this guy". God blessed us with a wonderful son-in-law. He "fits".


This little memory I am going to write about is probably not exactly what he would like for me to put down in writing, but it cracks me up. It was so funny and of course I need to write it down so I will never forget it. I need one of these stories floating around in my mind so if I need something to throw out at him from time to time it will be there!


B.J. is a big game player. He loves playing games and our family has always played games. It is good fun family time. One of the first few times he came to our home with Kalyn we sat down to play. We were playing card games and things were going well, UNTIL he had a bad hand. He threw his cards down, in anger, on the table and I was shocked and my eyes bugged out and I started shaking (okay I didn't start shaking, but I want this to sound really good!). All of a sudden he got a funny little grin on his face and looked at what he was thinking might be his future in-laws?! He said something like this, "Oh no, what did I just do. I sometimes take games serious." John and I cracked up. Kalyn started grinning and then burst out laughing. B.J. went on to explain that his family really does take game playing really serious. We are very competitive also - we understood. We still let him in the family! And we are glad he is around.


I wish he was here right now, we would play a game.


Gratitude: B.J. - I am truly thankful for my daughter's spouse.


Prayer: I pray that we will get to play many more games together and make many more happy memories. (and an equally good daughter-in-law someday).

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Little Debbie's Don't Count

I do not know if I can tell this story as good as it really happened. It may be one of those moments when you "needed to be there". But anyway I am going to try. Here goes.

My boss and I started Weight Watchers a couple of weeks ago together. She wanted to start and I was planning on restarting after the new year, so we are going on this journey together. Both of our husbands were excited about this because they both need to shed a few pounds also. In WW you count points. So on the morning after we had signed up I started writing everything down that I put in my mouth. I started a separate list for John. He gets a few more "points" than I do because he is a man and is more active on his job.


We had breakfast and then off to work we went. At lunch, I wrote down the coffee with creamer that I had had and my 16 more ozs. of water I had drank and then I looked over at John and asked, "Honey, what have you had since we left for work this morning?" He turned and looked me straight in the eye with a glare and said, "We are NOT counting my Little Debbie that I have every morning." I doubled over laughing and asked, "Why not?, You had a Little Debbie?" John - "I lost weight last time having my Little Debbie and I will not count it!"


He meant business.

I do not count his Little Debbie's.


Besides, it's one of the lower calorie ones he did inform me.


Gratitude: I am thankful for a husband who will eat what I put in front of him, even diet food, without ever complaining. He does support me. And I am thankful for the pleasure Little Debbie's bring my dear husband.


Prayer: Please help with my will power and help me to reach goal this year.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

An English Major for a Son

Men. I have lots of men in my life - husband, son, son-in-law, brothers, bro-in-laws, uncles, nephews, friends. I love them all. The next three posts I do are going to be dedicated to the three men in my daily life, my son, husband and son-in-law.

We will start with my son. My first born. God could not have been kinder to me. I love this kid. He has brought me lots of happiness. And very little pain.

As he has gotten older, he has become very much more opinionated and is very verbal with his opinions - unlike his mother. I agree with most of these opinions, but not all. And that is okay, that is what makes the world go round.

I think he is funny in some ways. I really had a hard time agreeing to this blogging stuff. I really did not think I had that much to say and I am not that good of a writer. When you have an English major son who will be reading your blog, it makes a person sorta nervous about writing. You know you will be graded on everything you write. I write like I talk. I use lots of dashes and commas where I probably shouldn't. And my spelling is pretty good, but again I tend to spell like I talk also. And I talk Texan.

The English major in him can over look a lot his mother does, but there is a time and a point when he just feels the need to straighten his ole mom out. This happened this last week. I got a email and noticed right away it was from J.C., I always get excited getting a good email from family members. So I am excited, I open my mail and it says, " Mom, just thought I might mention that you are spelling a word wrong in your lastest blogs." Yep, he could not stand it, the English Major in him had to come out, grade his Mother, let her know. Straighten her out.

At least he did it in an email for only me to see and not a comment on my blog for all to see. And yes, I have corrected my errors, like a good student.



Gratitude: I am thankful for my son.

Prayer: That he will always be kind in pointing out my errors.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Signed, Sealed and Delivered

Anyone who has talked to me in the last 6 - 7 months knows my life has been dedicated to making a quilt. That is, anyone but Kalyn and BJ.


The first part of last year we were visiting Kalyn and BJ in Frisco and Kalyn made the comment that when she had company she did not have enough blankets for everyone to stay warm. So the idea was born - I wanted to make Kalyn and BJ a quilt for Christmas.


A couple of months later she was in Menard and we were looking through fabrics I had gotten from Mothers things. There was one piece she really liked and she commented on it. I kept that piece of information in my mind.


Then in June John, JC and I went to San Angelo to pick fabrics. I took that piece with me and we built off of it. She had always loved the Bear Paw pattern, so that is what I had decided I wanted to do.


I wanted it big enough to serve as a bedspread if she so desired. So I started cutting out a few more than 2000 pieces. Then sewed and quilted (by hand). Put a cute little label on it (signed), wrapped it (sealed) and gave it to them for Christmas (delivered).


There are some cute stories that went on during this 6 months. We asked Kalyn if she noticed that for 6 months her daddy always answered the phone. I was always upstairs working on this project. She said she actually did think about that once, but she figured dad had just decided that was his nightly job! One night John and I were going to start the basting. We layed the lining out on the living room floor, then the batting, and then the top. The phone rang- it was Kalyn. "Mom, tonight is a good night for me to look through the cookbook with you". (we had gotten the same book and had been planning on looking at it together) Not wanting to give anything away I said " Gooooood, let me get mine." She went through the book slowly and talked about every recipe, 1 1/2 hours later I got back to the quilt! It took us two nights to baste it. Not knowing there was a wrinkle right down the middle of the lining, because when we stretched the cotton it had given back and brought the lining with it and made one large wrinkle right down the middle! We had to take all that basting out and put in on a large frame in Kalyn's room upstairs.


Come November 1, Kalyn calls and says "Mom, I think we are coming home for Thanksgiving". I am starring at a calendar, counting the number of days I have until they show up to finish this quilt. A couple of weeks later she calls and says "Mom, guess what, we are coming the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving" I am trying to act excited about this news as I am standing before my calendar, counting the days I now have!
They did not get to come for Thanksgiving. I did not get the quilt finished either. Since she did not get to come, there was one day that she was doing something that she needed to ask her brother several questions. She would call and he would have to dive under the quilt frame to get to the phone. She called several times, he could not tell her how big a pain this was for him. We all laughed.

Now, I figure I have until Christmas. No, Odell calls, " We are coming to spend the night on December 5." I am excited and the quilt is almost finished by this time. My fingers start flying across this quilt. And I do get it quilted by December 3.


I was soooooo excited to give this gift and when it finally happened, Kalyn had tears and so did I. It was fun, special and worth all the dollars, time and love that went into it.


Gratitude: I am so thankful I have a daughter who knows the work that goes in to making a quilt. And thankful I had a mother who loved quilting and taught me so much.

Prayer: I pray that Kalyn and BJ have lots of sweet dreams under this quilt, that it keeps them warm. And that they enjoy it for many years and always remember, every stitch was shown with love for them.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Holiday Season, over

The holiday season is over - and it was a wonderful one! Ours lasted a little longer than usual this year, and we had some "first" this year. J.C. came in on Sunday before Christmas, so we got to enjoy him for several days. When Christmas Eve finally got here it was just me, John and J.C.,
this was a first. I am used to having more family here. But we had a great time. We opened gifts - one at a time (another first). And we took pictures and talked about the gifts, it was fun. Then on Christmas Day, once again just the three of us, we did not do the traditional dinner. We had roast the way Grandpa Pierce made it and mashed potatoes and veggies and pie. John did the cooking, because I came down with a 24 hour tummy bug! Then we played games, which is always fun - win or lose.


Kalyn and BJ came in on Tuesday afternoon after Christmas. We got to open gifts with them, we did the one at a time opening again - and that was fun. On New Year's Eve we made a lot of snacks and ate all night and played games and laughed the New Year in. New Years Day brought in more company and a big meal, lots of visiting, more gift opening, picture taking, game playing. It was a great day.


Of course all this fun holiday season had to come to an end sometime and anyone who knows me knows I am not good at goodbyes. It is hard. I love having those three kids and two dogs in my house. But the holiday season is over and I have so much to be thankful for - one being, having just had such a wonderful two weeks.


Gratitude: I am thankful for this past holiday season and all the wonderful memories made.


Prayer: I pray for my family and myself to live 2009 very pleasing in God's sight.