BLOG CHALLENGE #5: VACATION MEMORY

I have taken a lot of vacations in my 39 years. And with the exception of one, I have enjoyed all of them. Some more than others of course, but there has only been one that I couldn't wait to get over with. That was the houseboat vacation we took in Kentucky when I was 7 months pregnant with Claire. It was the most boring vacation I have ever been on. I was stuck in a boat on a lake with nothing but a couple of John Grisham novels, my parents, my husband, our 4-yr-old, a VCR and three video tapes (one of which was "Arthur's New Baby" that we watched close to 50 times), some Barbie coloring books & crayons, six days of 90+ degree weather, two nights of severe thunderstorms, fishing, fishing and more fishing (which gets old very quickly) and it sucked. When the highlight of your week is a trip to Walmart, you know it's BAD. And when you are trying to think of any reason whatsoever to GO TO WALMART, well, then it officially qualifies as the worst vacation ever. I have vowed to never go on another houseboat vacation. Put me on a cruise ship to the Cayman Islands, but don't even think about trying to get me on a houseboat on a river. Not gonna happen.

BLOG CHALLENGE #4: MY SUMMER SONG(S)

This has always been one of my favorite songs to sing along loudly with. It's just a fun song. The lyrics are good for sure, but the music is fun and catchy and always gets me in a good mood. This is not an original Nicole C. Mullen song, but I think her version is the best. Of course, pretty much any song she sings gets my blood pumping. She's an amazing artist. Enjoy! [this has a short intro, wait a minute for the actual song to start - couldn't find a better video. also, you may need to click the pause button (>ll) on my MINiPod to stop that music from playing if it's actually working today]



And here's another one of my favorite summer songs. I have been belting this one out for as long as I can remember. It's an oldie for sure, but it energizes me to sing it (and it brings back some fond memories of the summer before college and my freshman year of college). The video is priceless. Be sure to notice the "Happy Rainbow." Wow, stage sets and effects have come a long way, Baby! Not to mention the hairstyles which, oddly enough, look an awful lot like what the high school girls are wearing today. Oh, and pay close attention to the guy who is announcing the band. Those eyebrows - oooowweeeee! Tweezers? Wax? Lawnmower? Anyone?? Anyway, enjoy the video!

BLOG CHALLENGE #3: SOMEONE/SOMETHING I LOVE

Here are my favorite "someones to love": my beautiful daughters, Caitlyn & Claire, my cutie-patootie son, Garrett and my handsome husband, Keith. These are the four people on this earth who can bring me incredible frustration and immense joy. Wouldn't want to do life without them.


Hmmm... and some things I really, really like (I'm trying to get out of the habit of using the word "love" when it's not really what I mean):

1. Orville Redenbacher's Tender White Microwave Popcorn. This is the most amazing popcorn - my absolute favorite! It is lighter tasting than yellow popcorn and the salt-to-butter ratio is perfect.

2. I've always wanted a red 1965 Ford Mustang convertible. My mom and my step-dad got me one for my 16th birthday. Too bad only GI Joe could fit into it. I recall unwrapping that small gift just sure there were car keys inside. But no, I actually found a whole car in there. Bummer. As a side note, I did end up getting a red Ford Mustang as my first car, but it was the newer 1985 version rather than the 1965 one and was not a convertible. Did I mention it was a stick shift? All my friends thought I had a cool car, but I was disappointed. I was an idiot.

3. Cade's Cove driving tour located in Smokey Mountain National Park, TN. If you ever get a chance to go there, do it. The first time we went was in mid-October, 1995. The weather was perfect so we could park the car and explore each area of the settlement. It was breathtaking! Plan on spending the better part of a whole day there. Cades Cove

4. Purple hyacinths are one of my favorite flowers. I just think they are so pretty and they smell great too. I'm always amazed by God's creations. God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther

5. I am extremely fond of fried green tomatoes - yum! yum! They taste so good when they're made with fresh green tomatoes from our garden. I can eat them until I get a stomach ache. And just for good measure, here's a link to my favorite recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes: Recipe

6. One of my favorite vacations involved a little side trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. This was the home of the George Vanderbilt Family. It is amazing, especially when you think about the time period in which it was built. I mean, really. It is an 8,000-acre estate and the "house" has 250 rooms. This place has an indoor Olympic-sized swimming pool with a hallway of private changing rooms, bathrooms with flush toilets and bathtubs/showers, an indoor bowling alley, several kitchens, the most amazing stairways and so much more. The grounds and gardens are fabulous too. Plus, there is a winery and six restaurants on the property. We ate at the Stable Cafe. The atmosphere was pleasant and the food was very good. Plan to spend a whole day here too. No need to rush. There is just too much to see and appreciate. Biltmore Estate

So there you have it, a few people and things that I love and that make me happy. I'm sure I could list a few dozen more, but this will do for now. : )

BLOG CHALLENGE #2: REFRESHING

Our second challenge is to add a photo of something refreshing:



I am a water drinker. Have been as long as I can remember. I much prefer water over soda, juice, iced tea, etc. Every once in a while I like a killer margarita or a nice glass of sangria, but I definitely prefer water. And much to my husband's annoyance, I am not a "sink water" drinker. City water (aka chlorine from a spout) is nasty, well water tastes mostly like dirt and well, who knows what's in there? And soft water, which is what flows from our tap, literally makes me gag. So yes, even though we are on a well at our house and do not pay the city for water, I spend our hard-earned money on something I could get for free from our faucet. And to make matters even worse, I am extremely picky about my water. It can't have any taste whatsoever. That cracks Keith up. He's of the opinion that there is no purpose in drinking something that doesn't taste like anything. Which I guess is why it doesn't bother him one bit to drink city water or well water or soft water. I have tried all kinds of water and my favorite above all others happens to be Fiji brand artesian water. Coming in a close second if I can't get Fiji or don't feel like paying for it is (and I'm sure you'll get a chuckle out of this) good ol' Kroger brand Spring Water. It has absolutely no taste at all if it's icy cold. If it's kinda of warm it tastes a bit like the plastic jug it comes in. Ew.

To me, there is nothing that can quench a thirst or is as refreshing as water. Soda and juice and tea always have an after-taste which leaves me thirsty and needing more to drink. I think it's because of the sugar in it, but I'm no expert so don't quote me on that. Tea can be an acceptable alternative because I don't drink sweet tea, but I don't like the caffeine in it so unless I can get unsweetened, decaffeinated tea, I won't bother. That's hard to do unless you make it at home. Or unless you're my mother-in-law who is very thoughtful and always makes me my own jug of tea for family gatherings. She also keeps bottled spring water on hand for me too.

What do I order at restaurants you ask? It's funny because I order ice water with lemon. That is the only acceptable flavoring for me to add to water that generally comes from a tap and tastes like, well, chlorine or dirt typically.

Something else that gets Keith's goat is that our kids won't drink sink water either - except for Garrett who would basically do anything his father does just because his father does it. But even Garrett prefers bottled water if Keith isn't around. Funny boy. And believe it or not, we go through a minimum of 6 gallons of water each week around here. I love the refreshing taste of H2O!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

So I'll just admit right off I am on a tangent tonight. I'm mad. In fact, I'm so angry I'm sure there is steam coming out of my ears and the top of my head is probably going to blow off any minute. It frustrates me when companies don't exactly lie to consumers, but they don't exactly divulge all the facts either. In my book, the omission of important details is the same as lying.

Let me give you a little background info for a minute. Last month Keith and I finally decided to upgrade our broke-leg cell phone and to add another line and phone and upgrade our plan. We have had the same cell phone for the past 6 years as well as the same plan. I don't use my cell phone much so we didn't really need a high-end calling plan. Now that our oldest daughter is 14 and entering high school and has a quite active social life we have decided she should have a cell phone at times. So the solution for us was to get another line and phone so that Keith and Caitlyn could share a phone. Keith usually has the supervisor's cell phone at work so he's never really needed one all the time, but on occasion it would've been handy. So we call Verizon and upgrade our $24.95 per month plan (seriously, that's what we've been paying for the past 6 years) to the 700 Minute Select Family Share Plan. This is to include 700 anytime minutes to share between the 2 lines, unlimited nights & weekends, unlimited text messaging (very important when you have a teenager), unlimited domestic long distance, no roaming charges, no activation fee, etc., etc. all for the fairly reasonable price of $99.99 per month. Now that was kind of hard for me since we'd been paying 1/4 of that cost for so long, but I went ahead and made the switch.

Imagine my surprise when we got our first bill tonight in the amount of $287.08. Yep, that's right, almost $300. I nearly went ballistic! I started clicking on links and looking at all the charges and I was getting angrier and angrier by the second. For one thing, they charged us a roaming fee on our OLD phone in the amount of $13 (an account that we paid in full at the end of April), $60 worth of activation fees, and some kind of "get it now" download fees for things that were supposed to be FREE. I kept looking at that and thinking, "Okay, that's bad. But even with all those added fees, it still shouldn't add up to almost $300. So I called Verizon and this very sweet and sympathetic customer service girl told me, "I'm so sorry. I can certainly understand why you're freaking out about your bill; I would be too. The bad thing is, Verizon charges you for the first month, plus another month in advance on your first bill. I don't know why they do that, but they do. I think they just want to make sure they don't get stuck with someone who doesn't pay." Whatever. That's fine for first-time customers, but we've been with Verizon for 6 years and always paid our bill in full and on time.

Wow. In the hour or so that I was on the phone with the customer service rep who was "helping" me upgrade our phone/plan she never once mentioned we'd get billed for two months on our first statement. So yeah, I am more than a little ticked off about this. It's ridiculous for companies to misrepresent (by omission) their services. Would I still have ordered the new phones and upgraded the plan? Certainly because we needed to do it. I wouldn't have liked it, but I would've done it. The difference being that I'd have been expecting a big bill the first month rather than getting this huge, unexpected shocking billing statement.

Well as it turns out, the gal I spoke with was very helpful and apologetic. Of course there wasn't much she could do about the double billing but she did help me out some. She removed the activation fees that weren't supposed to be there and took off that crazy roaming fee that shouldn't have been there (after confirming with me that I wasn't anywhere near Canada on May 2nd - I was just over the IN border in southern MI and hoping they weren't going to consider that CANADA for billing purposes!) so when it comes down to it, we still owe Verizon $216.03. Yikes! I'm still mad but what can you do? If we cancel our service saying we were misinformed they'll charge us $250 as an early cancellation fee. So I'm going to suck it up and pay it and consider it a lesson learned - the hard way. I hate those.

And just for the record, I did not get nasty with the customer service rep I spoke with tonight. I refuse to take my frustrations with companies out on the people who work for them. I realize it isn't their fault and they can only do so much. I've also found through experience they are much more willing to try to help you find a resolution to your problem if you treat them with respect and kindness.

There's my vent. I'm still not liking the facts, but I'm over it and moving on. Let's see what surprises tomorrow has in store. ; )

DOMINION

I don't do a lot of book reviews but I feel compelled to share my thoughts on the book I most recently finished reading. For starters, let me say I came across Randy Alcorn quite by accident. I was searching our very limited church library for something, anything, that wasn't the Christian version of a Harlequin Romance when I stumbled upon a book titled, Safely Home. The back cover synopsis intrigued me so I took it home. I read that book in two days and found myself completely engrossed in the story and often in tears. I tried to read it in public once and found it too difficult because I couldn't keep my emotions in check. But I am getting off course since this isn't about that particular book. However, since reading that book I have purchased and read every fictional work published by Randy Alcorn. The last book I read, Dominion, is amazing and thought-provoking on so many different levels. Where do I begin?

Well, here's the basics of the story as written on the back cover:

A shocking murder drags black newspaper columnist Clarence Abernathy into the disorienting world of inner-city gangs and racial conflict. In a desperate hunt for answers to the violence (and to his own struggles with race and faith), Clarence forges an unlikely partnership with detective Ollie Chandler. Despite their differences, Clarence and Ollie soon find themselves sharing the same mission: victory over the forces of darkness vying for dominion. Filled with insight - and with characters so real you'll never forget them - Dominion is a dramatic story of spiritual searching, racial reconciliation, and hope.

All of Alcorn's novels have affected me in many ways. However, Safely Home and Dominion have had such profound affects on me that I find myself thinking in radically different ways than ever before. Dominion is a superbly written mystery/detective story containing lessons in racial relations in America, gang dynamics, Christian values, spiritual warfare and even angels. I see these issues in a new light and I will never see them the same way again. The story is written in a way that literally brought these characters into "being" for me. There are uncomfortable moments in this book, but they are real and thought-provoking. After all, sometimes it takes an uncomfortable moment in life for us to really "get it."

Alcorn's portrayals of heaven and hell are, in my opinion, biblically based but also use imagination and imagery to bring the ideas to life for the reader. Those are images I will not soon forget, nor do I want to. I must admit that I sometimes got bogged down during those times in the book when he broke away to the story that was playing out in heaven, but I think that is because I was so caught up in the story that was playing out in the Shadowlands. What can I say? I am still human and I have my faults.

My favorite character in this story was Obadiah Abernathy, Clarence's father. His character taught me that God's love is best and that forgiveness is not something any of us deserve but that we MUST extend to all regardless of the wrong that has been committed. His character is the epitome of what it means to be a true follower of Christ.

There was also a subtle but very important lesson about angels. The book's surprise ending clearly shows that a fascination with angels without a belief in Christ has the potential to be spiritually deadly. Had Alcorn's characters simply talked about the danger of angelic preoccupation, his words would have lacked force. But here, using action rather than words, albeit very little action, Alcorn gave us an unforgettable lesson.

This book is long - over 600 pages - but worth the time it takes to read it. I found myself not wanting to put it down no matter how late it was or how early I needed to get up in the morning. I highly recommend this book to everyone. In fact, I almost think it should be required reading in our high schools simply for the understanding it could bring about race relations and gang dynamics.

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! a/k/a WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

Another school year has officially come to an end and I sit here amazed. Amazed at how quickly time literally flies by. I hate to sound like my parents but the truth is, I find myself saying to my children, "Don't wish your life away. The older you get the faster time goes." I hate saying it, partly because it's what my parents used to say to me, but mostly because it's so stinkin' true. It seems like just yesterday (here I go with another one of my parents' cliches) that Caitlyn was starting kindergarten. This fall she will be a freshman in high school. Claire will be in 4th grade and Garrett will begin his last year of preschool. When did that happen? I don't feel like we've even HAD him all that long and already he is 4-and-a-half. And when did I get so darn close to 40? Forty used to seem pretty old to me and well, now, I think it's the new thirty!

In all honesty though, my own age hasn't been an issue for me. It's still just a number. But when I think about my parents turning 60 well, that hits me kind of hard. I guess I never really thought of my parents being in their 60's. That just sounds wrong.

But what makes me sad is the realization that my oldest daughter is more than 2/3 of the way through the time she will spend under our roof. Each day I look at her and I no longer see a little girl, let alone that sweet baby we once had. I see a young girl who is teetering on the edge of becoming a woman. She is certainly beautiful on the outside, but what I have been noticing more and more lately is how mature her thoughts are and how she is maturing spiritually. I am pleased because it means she will be a good and kind woman; a woman who turns to the Lord for strength and comfort. I just wish it wasn't happening so fast.

Claire and Garrett are also growing up and moving into new stages of their lives. Claire's teacher sent a handwritten note home with her today that says, "Claire is such a great girl! She has matured so much this year. I think she is very comfortable with who she is and I am proud of her!" Wow. That says a lot to me. The teacher she had this year isn't exactly known for her kind and nurturing ways. I'm not saying she is a horrible teacher or that she is mean. She just has a reputation for being the teacher who can handle the "difficult" children. We were concerned about Claire being placed in her class this year because Claire is very sensitive and she is a people pleaser. She thrives in a nurturing environment but gets her feelings hurt easily by those who are less nurturing. We even thought about having her moved to another class, but we were assured by the principal that she'd be fine. And she was. She made almost straight A's this year and never complained once about her teacher. The note from Mrs. Gray means a lot to me. But I'm still having a tough time with that fact that she's actually a 4th grader now.

Garrett will be going to Little School for his final year this fall. I remember how sad I was when Claire graduated from preschool. I cried for about a week afterward. But I have had Garrett there with me for the past three years and I'm happy to have him there for one more year. I love seeing his face light up when he sees me at school and tells the other kids, "There's my momma!" He always waves and smiles from ear to ear and I often get a big hug too. When he starts kindergarten I will miss seeing his sweet smile and getting those spontaneous hugs each day at school. It will be the first time in eight years that I will be "alone" at Little School. I'm not looking forward to that. Fortunately though I do have that one last year and I intend to enjoy every single day of it.

So that's it. Another school year gone in the blink of an eye. But tomorrow summer begins and I will have all three children here with me every day. I am going to try to slow down this summer and take advantage of those lazy summer days. But something tells me that with all the stuff around here that needs to be done, summer will be gone before I know it too. And in the fall the madness will begin again.