Good Idea, BamaSlammer!

I have a Facebook account, and usually I can't figure out how to work the thing. I drives me crazy! Lately people have "tagged me"...whatever that means....with "25 Random Things About Me". Evidently, I am supposed to write 25 little known facts about myself. I can't figure out how to do it on Facebook, so I decided to copy my good friend BamaSlammer and post on my blog instead. So here we go...

1. I have never had a cavity.
2. I have never been to Disney World, which is okay with me because I hate crowds.
3. I only buy white toilet paper if I can help it.
4. I love to use white bath towels.
5. Sometimes I love to fill the kitchen sink up with hot water and Lemon Pine Sol...It's like I can't get enough of that smell.
6. I have tried a zillion times to make cornbread, but it never turns out right.
7. I could eat Chinese food every day, but unfortunately it makes my fingers swell, so I try not to eat it but once a month.
8. I like to blog because I can talk about myself without feeling guilty...nobody is forced to read it.
9. I feel guilty because my dogs need baths.
10. I'm trying to read the Bible cover-to-cover in 2009.
11. I collect loose gemstones.
12. I want to have an essay published in a magazine some day.
13. I wouldn't mind packing my bags and moving to Brooklyn, NY. My first stop would be choir practice at the Brooklyn Tabernacle (check out the video below!). I hope they would let me sing alto...that's the part I sing in my car when I sing along with all my BTC CDs!
14. When I make a pot of coffee, sometimes I drink from that pot for 2 or 3 days...just pop a cup in the microwave and there you go! It's better the 2nd day to me!
15. My car is always messy.
16. I won't stop at a gas station that does not have Pay at the Pump.
17. I sell Mary Kay just so I can get my makeup at cost. Let me know if you need something...friends and family gets a good deal!
18. Aunt Kathy and I nearly lost our lives in the ocean at Destin one time.
19. I can play the piano a little bit, but I'm very out of practice.
20. I've tried to learn to play the guitar, but it just won't happen.
21. Sometimes when I am in WalMart, I want to hit people.
22. I have way too many purses and earrings.
23. I have a secret dream of being a back-singer for a country music star...think Dolly, Alan Jackson, or George Strait!
24. I used to wear my seatbelt all the time. Then I got out of the habit. Now I'm trying to train myself back into the habit.
25. I'm planning to walk in the Throbbing Heart 5K at Goosepond next Saturday. This is a benefit for the American Heart Association.

...pretty random...

Now, consider yourself "tagged". Please leave a comment with at least one random thing about yourself!

Netty Pot Chronicle

More than a year ago I happened upon an episode of Oprah where this doctor demonstrated the use of a Netty Pot. I had never heard of a Netty Pot. All the people on the show just ranted and raved about the benefits using a Netty Pot had upon their sinuses and respiratory system. I rushed out to my local Walgreen's and bought myself a Netty Pot.

I've been a big chicken a bit hesitant about using my Netty Pot. I haven't used my now-one-year-old-and-still-unopened-Netty Pot. Not a single time...

...until last night.

My sinuses have been stopped up, my throat has been sore, and I feel myself going downhill with a winter cold really fast. I'm on a quest for better health with less drugs and medication, so I decided to bite the bullet and drag out the Netty Pot. It can't hurt anything to try, right? Maybe it will help save me a trip to the doctor, no?

Well, I did it. It was an experience, I tell ya, but the Netty Pot was not too terribly disturbing. I really could feel my head/sinuses "open up" after using the Netty Pot. I did it again this morning, and I just might go for one more dose before bed.

What in the world is a Netty Pot? you ask.

I don't think I can write an accurate description.

I would never dare video myself.

I love youtube, you know, so of course I found some freak someone who was willing to video themselves using the Netty Pot. Please be forewarned that this is not for the squeemish!!!

I plan to continue the Netty Pot for a while...will give you and update in a few weeks. So don't go rushing out to your local Walgreen's quite yet.

I repeat...this video is not for the squeemish...if you have a weak stomach, back away now. Nobody will ever know...

This is political correctness at its worst. Disgusting.

We call that 'The Big-Head'

I can make some very yummy homemade biscuits.

Usually, that is.

I intended this morning to be one of those days. In fact, I decided that today, some of the girls were going to learn to make yummy biscuits too...Whether they liked it or not. Last time's guest-writer, Arabian, was up for it. She peeked over my shoulder. "What's that?....Why you do that?...How much of that you supposed to use?" she questioned.

Oooo, she thinks I'm cool... the sing-song voice in my head delighted as we cut those biscuits out.

I knew I was in trouble when the first two biscuits I cut completely stuck to the cutter like mush. What-the...? What went wrong?

Well, the biscuits turned out okay, but not GREAT. They just didn't fluff up enough, and they were a little dough-ey. They were edible, and nobody complained.

"I'm sorry the biscuits didn't turn out so beautiful. Better luck next time...," I said to them at the breakfast table.

Arabian says to me, kidding of course, "Yea, and you were in there trying to teach me how to make them!"

"You know what the Bible says about that, don't you?" I asked Arabian.

"No, what?"

"Pride goes before a fall..." I said.

"What that mean?"

"You know, like if somebody thinks they're all great and wonderful, they had better watch out."

"We call that 'The Big-Head'" Arabian said.

Well said, Arabian.

I hate when I get 'The Big-Head'.

Whenever I encounter trouble in my life, I can usually trace it back to pride. Unforgiveness of others is rooted in pride. Financial problems are usually rooted in pride. Unconfessed sin is pride. For me, even depression is usually rooted in pride...the self-pity, self-centeredness, and lack of God-focus of it all...it's all pride.

When we are consumed with pride, how silly we must look to Him. He must be saying, "Life would be so simple for them if they would only do what I have told them...forgive their neighbors...give and not covet...confess and repent... seek I AM rather than themselves. But if they insist in pride, they will continue to have these falls again and again..."

"Humble yourselves therefore under God's almighty hand, and in due time, He will lift you up." I Peter 5:6




OUCH!

Guest Writer...Meet Arabian!

Tonight I would like to welcome a guest writer to Read My Thoughts. Meet my friend, Arabian....I hope you will enjoy her story of a good day...Theia

Wut it do my people of fort payne or who`s ever reading this! I hope every body is reading this! My name is Arabian for those who dont know me. Today something happen to me I never thought would happen in some years cuz i thought it was too late and i wasn`t in school . I'm so happy and proud of my self! I got my drivers permit today! Yall i couldnt believe it! I mean i was reading my book from last night till this morning and actually got the courage to go and try for it after i left the doctors office today. Only two days of studying and passed it! I mean i know what chall thinking its common sense duh any body can pass and if you are thinking it you are a hater becuz i probably got mines before you without having to go back hahaha. Oh gotta a lil off track then! But any way... at first I was scared becuz i dont know nothing about the road and driving. i mean im scared of the road, im scared to get behind the wheel of a car, and its like soon as i got my permit my house mom theia said she was gone let me test drive the van. I guess by the time i got my soft copy, i was confident enough to get behind the wheel. Its like i wasn`t scared any more. I got in the car, put my seat belt on, and soon as I heard that click of the seat belt, i was ready to go... still scared at the fact that i only drove one time in my whole life and at that time i had only drove from one street to the next . But it was like when i got on the road, i thought i was doing some thing! I aint gone lie... i was scared when i first pulled off. Then I started getting the hang off it quick. Before i knew it i was backing up, going forward, fixen my wheel, and yes people, that means i was driving! i did good for only drving in the drive way right ha ha ha! don`t hate! i was still drving a vehicle! You probably don't even know what a head light is lol! So it doesn`t matter! Just know that today Arabian Carter can legally, yes legally, get behind the wheel of a heavy mechine, for those who don`t know what that is its a car lol!!!... even though i have to have a licensed driver in the car with me ha ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awww! A Great Farewell!!!

I've been following Webutante for a few months now. I don't know her...I believe she is a professional lady in Nashville...in politics, the media, something. Nevertheless, I enjoy her blog...sometimes it's a little over my head, but anyway...

She had a FANTASTIC POST today regarding President Bush's final flight back to Texas. Check it out!!!

You're a good man, George W.

He's funny. President George W. Bush, that it. No doubt about it. Just Google him or run a search on him at YouTube and you will find clip after clip of his presidential bloopers. I just love it, to be honest.

He's been criticized for many things in the last 8 years. As imperfect as he is, as we all are, I still believe in my heart that he's a good man. Certainly I am learning in my own life that quite often, when a person tries to do the right thing, especially when the right thing is difficult, he will attract much criticism....

President Bush stuttered and stumbled through many speeches, but at least once, I remember when he spoke most clearly with a spark in his eye....you likely will not find this on YouTube...

"I recognize that in the eyes of [the] Almighty, I am a lowly sinner, and I ask for strength and wisdom and I pray for calmness when the seas are storming, and I pray for others. I pray a lot for families who have lost a life. I went to Walter Reed [Army Medical Center], was struck by the braveness--bravery of our soldiers, and kind of got a quiet moment afterwards and prayed for them and their families.

The other thing about America that is amazing is a lot of people pray for me. Little old me. Seriously. And it's a powerful thought when you think about it. I'm not so sure how you translate that into would I behave differently or not, but it gives me strength and humility, to think others would take time to pray for me.

You know, my faith is an integral part of being who I am, and I'm not going to change." --George W. Bush [September 2003 in a FOX news interview with Brit Hume]

You've done a good job, President Bush, in an era like no other. Be proud of yourself. Enjoy your retirement. Enjoy your family. I will miss you....probably more than I even know right now...

Uncle drives "THE TRUCK"

Look who I spotted today at 5-Points!

NO-SIR-REE-BOB, Not Me!

I know I didn't do this.

Nope. No way. No sir-ree-bob.

Not me.

Never, ever.

Here's what didn't happen the other night.

I actually was in my room doing my new Biggest Loser Boot Camp workout dvd. The girls were going in and out of the pantry just outside my door, peek in at me, pop a cookie in their mouths, and walk away. (Note to self: It's HUGE MISTAKE #1 to do an exercise video with your bedroom door open for teenagers to watch at their discretion.)

In walks Arabian, our truth-teller girl, the call-it-like-you-see-it gal, the straight-shooter-sister. Arabian looks at the tv then looks at me. She looks back at the tv then back at me. "You doin'at?" she says in disbelief.

Here's where the unbelievable didn't really take place...

"Yea, girl. Get in here and do it with me!" Oooo, I'm good! (Another note to self if, of course, this had in fact really happened: Pride goes before a fall).

Then, I know Arabian didn't look over at my coffee table to nose around. And I know that she didn't spy my last piece of dark Christmas chocolate. "What's dat?" she definitely did not say.

Busted....NOT.

If I had really been doing the Boot Camp dvd, Bob the Trainer would have been having me do the HOOK/UPPER-CUT boxing move right at that moment.

I swear, I did not say "Come here Arabian."

She did not walk closer to me, and I did not say "I need a punching bag" as I practiced the HOOK/UPPER-CUT in the air with all my might.

Arabian then DID NOT scurry her pregnant belly out of my room.

Nope. Not me.

I would never threaten a pregnant lady with a stiff HOOK/UPPER-CUT.

Now, where's my food diary and how many calories are in dark chocolate???

It's time to bite the bullet...

...and I hate it.

I have officially hit the dreaded plateau on my journey to better health and weight loss, and I know what I must do next. And, yes, I hate it.

In my whole life of yo-yo dieting, I have always rebelled when it comes to keeping a food diary. Weight Watchers. Nutritionists. Doctors. They all require it.

I don't know what my hang-up is with writing down everything I eat and drink. Perhaps it's because writing down what I eat feels a lot like looking at myself in a swimsuit under that hateful florescent lighting. It's just all out there, you can't hide it.

Ugh.

There's no hiding it when I write it down.

When I write it down, I know the truth.

When I know the truth and acknowledge the truth, I am sure the Truth will set me...

...you know the rest...

For some reason, blogging about this junk feels like the first baby step in getting honest. All my favorite people hit this site daily...so now you know.

Telling the truth about my disdain for the food diary just makes me want to spit and stomp my feet. The thought of writing it all down makes me whine and groan. Childish, I know, but I will get over it...hopefully sooner than later.

In the words of my good friend BamaSlammer, "this is my blog for the day".

Should this give me hope?

Well, if this don't beat a hen a'rootin!

I don't know if I should be hopeful or be utterly depressed!

I don't quite know what to think.

107???

Seriously???

...sigh...

I Rest My Case...

For my cousin Chris....again...

Recently I wrote a post about my issues with Santa.

Now, I want you to just look at this.

I.

REST.

MY.

CASE.

the end.

I really don't care for board games much, but recently I was introduced to a game and am now addicted.



JOKER.



Ever heard of it? It's fun.



It requires 4 or 6 players to make a combination of 2 or 3 teams. It utilizes a big round board, marbles, and several decks of playing cards. Evidently it's been around a long time, but I've never heard of it.

Here is Crystal, LaKala, Jessie the Mouse Wrestler, and Crystal's husband, Joey. They're intense, huh?



Only 4.5 hours left til Joker Night gets started at Mickey & LaKala's house!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

Can't wait!

I wish that I had a funny story to write. Something embarrassing to tell on myself would be just
great about now. But I just don't have anything to offer.

All I can think of is how thankful I am for the many, many blessings in my life. I can't begin to name them all. I just want to weep over all of them. It makes me want to run to the ends to the earth to share them all.

It's one thing to know something, but it's a completely different story to understand. To witness it. To touch it. To be cut down to your very soul. To stand under it.

I have encountered people recently who have experienced devastation that is unthinkable to me, truly unspeakable. Yet they survive and even desire to thrive in life. One would never imagine the road they have walked by listening to their giggles, but if you look into their eyes, trying to see down to their hearts and souls, the wounds are evident. Raw.

I remember what I knew, the thing I thought I understood...behind every negative deed there is an unmet need, a gaping wound.

Then there's me. Blessed so much. Life has been imperfect, and I myself have been even more so imperfect, but the wonderful has far exceeded the negative.

I just don't get it...

Not at all.

Why did God do that?

This is not about a New Year's resolution. I always quit those things...or at least forget about them.

I guess I just decided that it was time for me to read the Bible. All of it.

I ran across the ONE YEAR Chronological Bible and decided to give it a shot. What's interesting about this particular publication of the Bible is that it not only breaks the scripture down day-by-day so that you can read the entire Word in a year, but it presents passages in chronological order.

Now to the question at hand....

In today's reading, God, in the process of making a covenant with Abram, instructed Abram to bring various creatures (heifer, goat, ram, turtledove, and pigeon). Abram presented the animals to God, killed them, and cut them (all but the birds) down the middle and laid the halves side by side.

Then, the Bible says "Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away."

What in the world? Why on earth did God include the part about the vultures swooping and Abram chasing them away?

This post is not a huge theological question about covenants and blood and etc., etc., etc. It's about why would that little tidbit of information be included.

Please know I'm not being critical. I know I'm dumb as dirt about most things, but that just struck me as so funny.

Imagine an old man, frustrated from chasing down a heifer, goat, and ram (and that does sound frustrating to me...), tired and likely nauseous from the killing...then completely irritated at these nasty ole vultures attempting to feast on all his hard work.

But what's the point of including the information about the vultures? I don't get it at all. Why did God do that?

Just like spiders. Why in the world did God create those?

Cockroaches? Same thing.

All I know is that He can write whatever He wants to write, and that His thoughts are not my thoughts.

Any ideas floating around out there about the swooping vultures? I would love an "ah-ha moment" right about now!

TWH Banquet set for Jan 17th

TWH's Annual Banquet is set for Saturday, January 17th at the First United Methodist Church in Fort Payne. If anyone is interested in attending, please let me know! The banquet serves many purposes...

• A celebration of what God is doing through this ministry
• Fund-raising
• A time to recognize volunteers
• Promotion of awareness of TWH ministry.
  

Dinner, music, and Christian comedy entertainment will be provided.

I'm excited to say that some former residents, LeeAnn with Zay and Za'Marea & Maggie with Amy, are planning to attend. I can't wait to see all of them!

Hope some of you can make it to the banquet!

I Ain't Never Won Nuttin'...

Have you ever heard the "best of" clip from the Rick and Bubba Show entitled "Willie and Wanda"? It's R&B's retelling of a time when they had given away a trip to California to listeners chosen from a random drawing. The winner was a lady referred to as "Wanda."

Well, "Wanda's" husband was in the pen (okay, people, lighten up...I know that's not nice, that's just how they quoted her on the show...and it was funny, okay?) and therefore unable to travel to California with her. "Wanda" asked if she could take her boyfriend, "Willie," instead. Well, as "Willie" came bounding out his trailer door, leaping from the front porch into the limo in a single bound, proudly wearing his Richard-Petty-cowboy-hat-with-feathers-on-the-front, he notified them all that he "ain't never been nowhere!!!" Of course, you can guess that his trip to California proved his declaration to be true as he landed himself in jail during the R&B give-away trip.

Well, I sort of feel a little Willie-like, except I ain't never won nuttin'!!!

Until now...

It seems that Deedra over at Down on the Farm has tagged me with an award!

Aww! Shucks, Deedra! You are so sweet!

"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! This blog is exceedingly charming. This kind blogger aims to find and be friends. This blogger is not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to writers like this one and those nominated below!"

Ok, so it's my turn to hand out the prizes....and the winners are....drum roll please...

1. BamaSlammer. Shay is one of my oldest and dearest peeps who at least used to live in Florida, but she recently moved, perhaps to south Georgia, so I'm not exactly sure where she lives now! She's expecting her first baby soon! Her posts just make me laugh out loud! Love you, Shay!

2. Mary B over at Shorty PJs. Mary is a southern gal transplanted to The Big Apple. She's a childhood friend of my friend Linda (who is a character in more than one of my favorite posts), and her blog sparked my interest in the hobby of blogging. She is a published writer, and I feel hobby-bloggers like me can learn a lot from her. Good job, Mary!

Okay, BamaSlammer and MaryB, do with it what you will!

How Tall Was Goliath?

My sister-in-law did something a little different this year on Christmas Eve at their house. The kids whined, and stomped, and pouted about it at first, but upon reviewing the video, I think it turned out to be sort of fun for them all.



She asked Bible trivia questions to the kids. The first to raise their hand and answer correctly got to open a present. Eventually, of course, they all were allowed to open a gift from their Mom and Dad, but I believe little Grayson was most happy to answer his question correctly.



Now, how tall was Goliath????

Serenity Prayer

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."

The Serenity Prayer.

Who hasn't heard of The Serenity Prayer, right?

But did you know that this commonly quoted line is only a portion of the complete prayer? The prayer in its entirety is quite beautiful, and a life lived by this philosophy would surely be a good life....

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right, if I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

-Reinhold Niebuhr

I went on a long New Year's Day walk this morning. Wow, it was so windy! I had two layers of pants and two layers of shirts including a hood. The layers kept the cold out, but whoa, the resistance was just "terbel...as Miss Kinney used to say" (a few of you will get that!).

On the last stretch of my exhaustinginvigorating walk, I came across a scene that triggered a whole series of memories. There was a little old man picking up pecans from the sidewalk in front of his house and putting them in a bucket. I noticed that he had one of those little knee boards that he had been using, but at the time he was standing and bending over to pick up the pecans.

He needs one of those things that Aunt Mitty used to have that you use to pick up pecans I thought to myself. Remember that gadget....it had a box-like grabber at the bottom of a long pole. Wow. I haven't thought about that in a long, long time.

Then I thought about how MawMaw Chaffin always used to have brown grocery bags full of pecans...which I always assumed came from Aunt Mitty's house. I really have no idea it that's where the pecans came from or not, but when I was little that's what I assumed.

That led me to remember how amazed I used to be when MawMaw could hold two pecans in her hand and and crack them. I remember trying and trying to crack the pecans myself...but...tough luck. Sigh....

My next stop on memory lane was MawMaw's pecan pies. Oh my, my mouth is watering!

Hey!!! Wait a minute!!! Dad...what happened to that pecan pie that Aunt Marie sent home with you that you promised to bring to Brother's house for Christmas???? I think I need some to celebrate the New Year.

...okay...

There's something wrong with this picture. I'm walking insheer miserythe cold wind to decrease the size of my end and the walk ends with me lusting for pecan pie.

Stop the insanity!!!