Bible Verse of the Day

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

The Poor Little Truck

I took off a day from work last week and, while I was off, had lunch with DH. I picked him up at his office and as we walked into the restaurant he pointed out that I was missing another hubcap. This is the third one gone! I think they disappear from the parking lot a work. I work downtown and you never know who's walking around where I park, even though we have "security" there. Many is the time I've had to shoo them out of my parking space only to have them park in the next one a few minutes later. I've come out too many times to count to find the security guard parked in the same space he was in when I left that morning, messing with the cell phone, facing away from the parking lot. I wrote a letter of complaint to our parking coordinator and ever since, whenever I drive in, that security car pulls out of whatever space it's parked in.

Anyway, I figure the hub caps disappeared there because I believe I'd know if they fell off while driving, especially since both front ones are gone. I'm not so concerned about that, though. Last night when I got off the bus, I walked to the passenger side as I usually do to put my computer in the passenger seat (it's a two-seat Sonoma extended-cab truck). Then I drove over to the grocery store to pick up a few things before heading home. Mind you, this truck was parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot all day for many days this month. (I guess the hub caps could have disappeared there, too, but I think it's more likely from the downtown parking space.) As I came out of the grocery store, I walked up to the passenger side of my truck, just like I did at Wal-Mart (another story about why I don't shop wally-world could go here) and discovered that someone in the H.E.B. parking lot had whacked the side of the truck and dented it!

Fury doesn't begin to describe the fact that they didn't leave a note, even one of apology. This is the second vehicle I've had damaged at an H.E.B. parking lot. The fury was due to my helplessness in the situation. It's a private parking lot so calling the police won't do any good and the store claims no responsibility for damage to cars, so it's totally on me to get it repaired. This little truck has less than 23,000 miles on it and until last night had not a single scratch! Just some missing hubcaps. Grrrr!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Weekend Update

Our conference holds the Adult Choir Workshop annually, usually the last Friday and Saturday in January. We went primarily because it was in San Antonio, but also because we just love going. It's a time to read fresh music and learn from a nationally known choral expert (usually). This year's workshop clinician was Dr. Eric Nelson from the Candler School of Theology Music Department at Emory University in Atlanta. He is one funny guy!

We sang a song that he arranged called "It Is Well With My Soul." It was absolutely beautiful and I'm hoping that the seven of us who went to the workshop can convince our own choir director that we need to sing it for our congregation. We only worked on three pieces, normally we'd read about six, but those three were wonderful selections and we sang them for our closing communion service on Saturday. It was very powerful. On Friday, there was a hymn festival service reviewing the music of Charles Wesley, the most prolific hymn writer in history. The man who edited the United Methodist Hymnal (the last two editions) was on hand to lead the service, Rev. Carlton R. "Sam" Young. It was quite enlightening as we learned that Wesley wrote over 6500 hymns, but he only set about 300 of them to music. And many of the lyrics that Wesley wrote have been adapted to various styles of music world-wide. Last year was the 300th anniversary of Charles Wesley's birth, so there are still celebrations like this going on.

Of course, then there was the Ring Ceremony that I wrote about earlier, but Sunday turned out to be a reinvigorating day. We went to church early, sang and played instruments, then went to Walgreen's to get DH some medicines that he forgot to take before leaving home. Then we sang and played again for the second service. DH had bought tickets for the Boy Scouts' BBQ fundraiser, but the only thing was that this troop was from Castroville, about 20 miles from where we were. We recruited DS#1 to wake up at 11:00 to go get lunch and since afternoon rehearsal was canceled, we had him bring it home. That was some of the best BBQ chicken I believe I've ever had. DH isn't a huge fan of chicken, but it was so good he ate the whole thing!

Because we had gone to bed so late, slept so poorly, and woke up so early that morning, I was very sleepy after lunch and took a 2-1/2 hour nap. That was really refreshing. I went to bed last night and slept so well that when I rode the bus to work this morning, I wasn't even the least bit tired. It started out as a great morning. I hope it continues throughout the day!

Hope you have a great one!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Congratulations UTSA Baseball

DS#1 has been anxiously waiting for tonight for nine months. We just returned from the UTSA basketball game vs Texas State University where the baseball team received their Southland Conference Championship rings. They won the title in May and had to wait until tonight for the rewards. We are so proud of him. After the ring cermony we stopped to congratulate the manager of the team, also, since he won the Southland Conference Coach of the Year award. We introduced ourselves and told them who our son was and he and his lovely wife were very gracious about how much they thought of him. She even said that she hopes her son grows up to be as sweet as ours. Can you see my heart swelling with pride?


On another note, tonight is the 27th anniversary of the night that my husband and I met at a Southwest Texas State University basketball game. Wanna hear the story? Read on.


She said--


I was a freshman music major at SWT and one of the requirements was that music majors had to play in the basketball band at least once per season and I picked that one just to get it over with. I sat with my section and played. I didn't know anything about basketball except that they shoot the ball at the basket.


He said--


I was having a bad day at work and decided to go to the basketball game at SWT. That's where I graduated from and even though I wasn't a music major, I was very involved with the marching band and jazz band. I knew that they didn't care who played with the band at the game, so I took my sax and just showed up. I figured that since I didn't know too many of the people there, I would sit by the prettiest girl there, which happened to be this cute clarinet player. So I sat next to her.


She said--


This guy I didn't recognize sat down next to me with a saxophone. We eventually started talking and when the game was over, we packed up our instruments and got ready to leave. As we were walking to our cars in the parking lot, he asked me if I would like to go out to get some dessert and tea somewhere. I figured what the heck. I like dessert. So we got in his car and drove around looking for a place to get dessert and tea. We drove past a Mexican restaurant and decided to stop there.


He said--


We went to Pic-a-taco and after we were seated learned that they didn't have any dessert items left, so we ordered nachos and tea.


There you have it. We met at a basketball game and went out for tacos and tea afterward. I have to admit that I didn't actually interview him for this post, but I've heard the story so many times that I made it up from memory. It's pretty accurate. We're still married after all these years. Perhaps I'll tell you more of the story later.

Friday, January 25, 2008

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

I saw this on Pam's blog.


You Are a Plain Ole Cup of Joe

But don't think plain - instead think, uncomplicated
You're a low maintenance kind of girl... who can hang with the guys
Down to earth, easy going, and fun! Yup, that's you: the friend everyone invites.
And your dependable too. Both for a laugh and a sympathetic ear.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

What Does President Bush Think?

A friend sent me this hilarious video of President Bush at the White House Correspondent's Association Dinner. I don't know when it took place, but it is quite entertaining. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Winter

This is for Suzanne's YITL Challenge #2. The word is "winter." Winter in South Texas isn't idyllic by any stretch of the imagination. It's kind of frustrating that all of the winter scrapbook supplies include snowflakes, snowmen, things of that ilk. Here, winter is brown and dull. Although the live oak trees still have their leaves, the leaves are old and getting ready to fall in the spring (yes, it's backwards, but at least they're green). Don't get me wrong, most of the other trees have lost their leaves, but the evergreens and live oaks are still nice to look at. You know how in spring the green is "new" looking, kind of light, and fresh? The green now is that dark, old green.
The sky is usually bright blue, except on days like today when it's overcast and gray. The grass looks dead, but it's really just hibernating. It's brown. So in honor of that lack of freezing precipitation much of the rest of the country enjoys, here's my "winter" card.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

YITL #3

I know I'm out of order on this, but somehow last week just slipped past. I didn't get last week's word done, but I will. The picture a week I posted was really lame (a monogram stamp I created), especially compared to the baby pictures from Bonny that showed up the next day. Oh well. I did get this week's word done.


I've been working on wedding invitations for some friends who mean a lot to me. Justin and I have been singing together in the choir for many years now and we sing in the praise band together. We were even in a "real" band, for about a year, called 104:33. It's in Psalms. "I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live." Anyway, Ehron came back to church after getting her master's degree and I just knew that they should get together. He needed a girl and she needed a guy. They ended up dating and they tell me it's all my fault. Now they're getting married and I'm handcrafting their invitations (for the most part). The colors of their wedding are spring Texas wildflowers. The background picture they chose was bluebonnets. They wanted paper that would go with the bluebonnets, so I chose the paper my word this week is on. I also used a bit of the ribbon on their invitations.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The Holiday I Dislike the Most

From Suzanne's Blog Challenge, Blog challenge # 3
Rant and rave! What holiday drives you nuts? Think of a holiday people fuss over. Write about loving and/or disliking that holiday.

What holiday drives me nuts? Any of the ones that causes merchandise for that holiday to be put out two months in advance of said holiday. Valentine's Day, Halloween, even Christmas. I love Christmas, but I despise the fact that you can find Christmas decorations before the Halloween stuff is even off the floor, much less before Thanksgiving is over. And speaking of Halloween, what happened to kids getting dressed up to snag candy from the neighbors? Now it's all about adults (kids who haven't grown up) having an excuse to be someone else, get drunk, and act like fools because they're a different persona. And Valentine's day. It's ONE FREAKIN' DAY! Why is the candy (which makes us fat) and the hearts and the jewelry all out by January 1st? And why does the price of roses go up 5 times normal? Just because the greedy corporate people can and the rest of the suckers, I mean people, are too stupid to just tell their sweetheart they love them. I personally don't need flowers or cards or candy from my husband to know that he cares. The fact that he works, helps pay the bills, helps raise our sons, and treats me with respect is proof enough!

That's probably enough ranting for now.

I would like to let everyone know that Snickers is back home and re-adjusting to being home. I don't remember if I told you that we had taken him to DB and SIL's home in Austin while we were in Las Vegas. We got back on Sunday and weren't able to get up there right away to get him. On Wednesday, SIL called and said Snickers hadn't been there all day and she just wanted to let us know if we were coming that day to get him. DS#1 went the next day in hopes that he would be back because he apparently wandered away a couple of times while we were gone, but always came back. He wasn't there, so I e-mailed photos of the dog to SIL and she and DS#1 put up signs all over the neighborhood, the store, the local vets, etc. We didn't hear anything until Sunday, someone called SIL and said they thought they had Snickers. Since DS was starting back to school and had baseball stuff in the afternoon, he coudn't go. DH had to work. It was a slow day for me, so I told her that I'd be up as soon as I got off work or earlier if I could get away. My co-workers overheard me telling her and my husband my plans and they said to go ahead and leave. "If it were my dog, I'd be on the way already." So I left at 3:30 for the two hour drive in a borrowed Ford Econoline van (another story). When I was about 20 minutes away, SIL calls and says the people want them to pick him up now, so I didn't get to see where he was.

It turns out that he wasn't that far from home. He was in an RV park with a family that had several children and they were all living in a travel trailer. SIL said none of them had a full set of teeth and all the adults had cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. They wanted to keep him, but they figured they didn't have enough room for him, so they called. It was so funny because they had left to pick up the dog just minutes before I arrived and I really needed to relieve myself. While I was in the bathroom, my niece came running through the house, "Aunt Karen! Aunt Karen! Snickers is home! Snickers is home!" When I came around the corner calling his name, he looked bewildered, but happy to see me.

Anyway, he's home now, getting back to his normal routine. He's been turning his nose up at the kibble because he was getting eggs and pancakes at the hillbilly's place, but he'll be back to normal soon. DS is planning to take him to get a harness, since the pin-head dog slips his regular collar, and get him microchipped so that we have a better chance at recovery next time.

Tomorrow I'll tell you all about the Excursion. That's another long post in itself. Have a great day!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

YITL #1

Okay, I'm going to try to keep up with Suzanne and her "Year In The Life" challenge. The first word of the year is "resolve." I made a small card to reflect what I would like to work on this year.



As part of the monthly challenges at 123-scrap, I altered an acrylic box to put my cards in. I think it turned out really cute.




It's not too late if you want to come play along with us!

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

What Does Morning Look Like?

Today's entry is from Suzanne's weekly blog challenge. I intend to go back and do the first one at some point, but when I get home, I forget about the blogosphere sometimes. Anyway, the challenge this week is:

Focus on JUST the first half hour of your waking day. Write a blog entry describing it in depth. Include details such as what time you wake up and what your mood is generally. Are you usually well rested? Do you use an alarm clock to wake? If so, is it set to music or buzzing? Use lots of descriptive words!

My alarm goes off at 5:45 in the morning. Actually three alarms go off at 5:45. On DH's side of the bed is the buzzer and his clock is always a few minutes fast. Then the Bose radio alarm comes on followed closely by my phone/PDA on my side of the bed. The radio is more apt to be on time since I set it it and check it periodically. I'll lay there for a couple of minutes and exchange morning greetings with DH.

"Morning."
"Morning."
"How're you?"
"Okay, I guess. How're you?"
"Okay."
"Did you sleep well?"

Here continues a discussion of how each of us slept through the night. After that, I'm up to put the dog outside and check to see if someone started a load of laundry during the night. Delayed start is great because they can wash while we sleep and dry while we get ready for the day. Then it's off to the bathroom for my morning ritual. Potty, shower, brush teeth, dry hair, and if I'm feeling particularly ahead of schedule, perhaps some makeup. Then it's off to hunt down clothes to wear. That usually covers the first 30 minutes of my day.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Ever Had One of These Days?

If the music on my blog-music player is coming through your speakers, scroll down and pause it before starting this video. It's got music which makes the whole thing just a riot.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Spark People

I learned about Spark People from Cindy's blog and joined up. I'm still getting my mindset for losing weight, but I wanted to share about it here. You'll find a button like this:

SparkPeople.com: Get a Free Online Diet

on the right side of my blog if you ever need or want it. I'm trying to get comfortable in my clothes again. I've seen pictures of myself and reflections lately that show just how bad off I am. So I know that I need to do something. This is my first step.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Hello Blog Fans!


We just returned home from taking the newly 21-year-old son to Las Vegas for his birthday. No more Chuck E. Cheese! His little brother made the mistake of telling the sound guy at church about the birthday party and now everyone at Cowboys, where they both work, know all about it and rag him about it. Big brother wasn't too happy.


Any way, I discovered that I haven't lost anything in Las Vegas (except a lot of money) and it's not a fun place to be anymore. It's expensive and it's not family friendly anymore. The place is a lot more upscale than it used to be, but it's sleazier than ever, if could get that way. Every show (or so it seems) has topless women, there are adult emporiums (emporia?) all over the place. And the flyers for the "girl" places show topless women now.
And the people that hand them out are just gross!


DS#1 had a great time, though. He got to gamble, playing blackjack and keno. He learned about how hard it is to push away from the table when you're ahead. I know that the whole time we were there, I just was not comfortable like I used to be. Perhaps it's because I'm not in that place anymore in mind and spirit.
This was a sight I was happy to see.