I have always loved to write and at one time, I wanted to be a journalist (among other things). I wrote for my high school newspaper and I have written for a couple of websites and a small magazine. One of my biggest pet peeves is poor writing (something I even catch myself doing!). I find myself mentally correcting people's grammar and I subconsciously edit (and editorialize!) every news article I read.
Shocking, I know.
A friend of mine emailed this to me the other day and I thought it was hilarious!
You may have seen it before, but I just had to print it here. I rewrote a couple of the comments below, but the headlines are all original:
Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter
This one I caught in the Tribune the other day and I called the Editorial Room and asked
who wrote this. It took two or three readings before the editor realized
that what he was reading was impossible!!!
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
No way! Really? Ya think?
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Now that's taking things a bit far!
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
Can't really blame them, can you?
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
Whatever happened to a fair trial?!
War Dims Hope for Peace
I can see where it might have that effect!
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
Possibly.
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Who would have thought?
Enfield (London) 20Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
That would be my guess, too!
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
You mean there's something stronger than duct tape?
Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
He probably IS the battery charge!
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Ok....
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
It wasn't me!
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Do they taste like chicken?
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
That'll teach 'em to stay in school!
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
You think height gives them an advantage?
And the winner is.....
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
Did I read that right?
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Raisha's (EXTREMELY) Belated Birthday Party!
If you read my last post, case in point:My youngest daughter's birthday was at the end of March. It's mid-June.
Yeah, that's what kind of season it's been... I don't think I've ever been this late with the parties, but sadly, all 3 will be late this year.
Sunday evening we held Raisha's 5th Birthday party here at the house. She wanted a
"Wall-E" party so I made Wall-E and Eva cakes. There was a spaceship space-walk for the little kids and older kids got to swim. To top it off, we had a pinata shaped like a star! It was hotter than blazes, but still lots of fun.
Here are some pics from the night:
Wall-E
Eva
The Birthday Girl
Family & Friends!
Make a Wish!
Abel about to smack the pinata!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Frustrated Rant
I am just about in tears...
Some days, I really do wish I could clone myself.
I know, everyone wishes that sometimes, but lately, it's becoming a constant wish for me... I think that speaks volumes about my life right now and how out-of-control it has become.
I keep hearing Pastor Dino's many warnings against "busy-ness" and Pastor Mike Haman's reminder that God is not impressed with how much we do, and yet, I seem almost powerless to stop it.
Without hurting people, I mean.
People say, "Just learn to say, 'No!'" ...as long as it's not to them.
When I TRY to get control of the chaos -- put my family first, take care of my health, work on the book God has given me to write -- I have to say NO to people I love.
I have had to say no a lot lately.
I just can't keep going at the pace I have been.
I have friends like Carole Turner who seem like Energizer bunnies who can go and go and go. I am constantly in awe of all that she does. I start to feel guilty because I am not giving and doing as much as she does, but the truth is, I just was not designed that way. That's not who I am.
Sometimes, I think, if I ask for some time "off," I am being selfish.
There is ALWAYS a friend in need, someone who needs to talk, a project which needs assistance... And then I look around at my family and wonder when is it THEIR turn? Where do they fall on my list of priorities?
I want to be there for my friends... go to dinner, watch their kids, help them with whatever they need or are going through, but at what cost?
The funny thing is that it's a double-edged sword.
I am grateful for having so many friends and I wouldn't want to give up a single one of them; they are all important to me.
But it's almost like they don't know the others exist.
So, one is pouting because I didn't call her this week, but she doesn't know that I have been nurturing another friend who is going through something really rough. Another is mad because I didn't help her with what she needed, but she doesn't realize that I have been giving and giving to someone else that there is just nothing left.
Another friend is growing impatient for us to go to lunch again, but what she doesn't know is that I haven't had lunch (or dinner!) alone with my husband in months.
I don't want to push anyone away, but I feel like God is telling me to make a choice.
And in my heart, I know it's not even a choice.
HE comes first.
Then my family.
I hope my real friends will understand.
There is only so much of me to give.
Some days, I really do wish I could clone myself.
I know, everyone wishes that sometimes, but lately, it's becoming a constant wish for me... I think that speaks volumes about my life right now and how out-of-control it has become.
I keep hearing Pastor Dino's many warnings against "busy-ness" and Pastor Mike Haman's reminder that God is not impressed with how much we do, and yet, I seem almost powerless to stop it.
Without hurting people, I mean.
People say, "Just learn to say, 'No!'" ...as long as it's not to them.
When I TRY to get control of the chaos -- put my family first, take care of my health, work on the book God has given me to write -- I have to say NO to people I love.
I have had to say no a lot lately.
I just can't keep going at the pace I have been.
I have friends like Carole Turner who seem like Energizer bunnies who can go and go and go. I am constantly in awe of all that she does. I start to feel guilty because I am not giving and doing as much as she does, but the truth is, I just was not designed that way. That's not who I am.
Sometimes, I think, if I ask for some time "off," I am being selfish.
There is ALWAYS a friend in need, someone who needs to talk, a project which needs assistance... And then I look around at my family and wonder when is it THEIR turn? Where do they fall on my list of priorities?
I want to be there for my friends... go to dinner, watch their kids, help them with whatever they need or are going through, but at what cost?
The funny thing is that it's a double-edged sword.
I am grateful for having so many friends and I wouldn't want to give up a single one of them; they are all important to me.
But it's almost like they don't know the others exist.
So, one is pouting because I didn't call her this week, but she doesn't know that I have been nurturing another friend who is going through something really rough. Another is mad because I didn't help her with what she needed, but she doesn't realize that I have been giving and giving to someone else that there is just nothing left.
Another friend is growing impatient for us to go to lunch again, but what she doesn't know is that I haven't had lunch (or dinner!) alone with my husband in months.
I don't want to push anyone away, but I feel like God is telling me to make a choice.
And in my heart, I know it's not even a choice.
HE comes first.
Then my family.
I hope my real friends will understand.
There is only so much of me to give.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Happy SWEET 16 Nadia!! <3 <3 <3
I can't believe I have a 16-year old~! How did that happen??
It seems like yesterday that THIS PICTURE was taken:
Happy Birthday to my intelligent, beautiful, sweet 16 year old -- Nadia!
It seems like yesterday that THIS PICTURE was taken:
Happy Birthday to my intelligent, beautiful, sweet 16 year old -- Nadia!
I Love You!Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Circle of Life
I have not posted in a week, partly out of respect for my friends' loss and partly because I just didn't have the heart to write anything.
I have been so sad this past week, achingly sad for my friends -- Herman and Lisa and their other 3 children -- in losing their precious 2 yr. old angel, Vivian. I have grieved and I have cried until there are no tears left. And yet, my life goes on relatively unchanged.
Not so for them.
Their lives are forever altered by the events of a few horrible minutes.
Lisa has been posting on Vivian's Caring Bridge site, using it to journal her thoughts and feelings during these first few days of raw emotion and crushing defeat. Reading her courageous words and realizing just what lies before her humbles me beyond belief.
How can any mother endure such a loss?
At Vivian's funeral last Monday, they played the song, "Circle of Life" (from The Lion King) and it seemed so apropos.
With Vivian's passing comes the renewing of other lives.
By making the choice to donate her precious organs, Lisa and Herman have guaranteed that one or more other babies or young children will LIVE.
Somewhere -- during the same week when we were all fervently praying and waiting -- there were parents hovering over their own children's hospital beds, anxiously awaiting news of a miracle -- praying those same desperate prayers for mercy and intervention.
Sometimes the answer, inexplicably, is "No."
But sometimes when God says "No" to one prayer, He is actually saying "Yes" to several other prayers.
I'm sure this brings minimal comfort to Herman and Lisa at this time, but just knowing that Vivian's death was not in vain -- that somewhere, parents are rejoicing and praising God that their own child will live -- gives hope for the future.
It really is the Circle of Life.
I have been so sad this past week, achingly sad for my friends -- Herman and Lisa and their other 3 children -- in losing their precious 2 yr. old angel, Vivian. I have grieved and I have cried until there are no tears left. And yet, my life goes on relatively unchanged.
Not so for them.
Their lives are forever altered by the events of a few horrible minutes.
Lisa has been posting on Vivian's Caring Bridge site, using it to journal her thoughts and feelings during these first few days of raw emotion and crushing defeat. Reading her courageous words and realizing just what lies before her humbles me beyond belief.
How can any mother endure such a loss?
At Vivian's funeral last Monday, they played the song, "Circle of Life" (from The Lion King) and it seemed so apropos.
With Vivian's passing comes the renewing of other lives.
By making the choice to donate her precious organs, Lisa and Herman have guaranteed that one or more other babies or young children will LIVE.
Somewhere -- during the same week when we were all fervently praying and waiting -- there were parents hovering over their own children's hospital beds, anxiously awaiting news of a miracle -- praying those same desperate prayers for mercy and intervention.
Sometimes the answer, inexplicably, is "No."
But sometimes when God says "No" to one prayer, He is actually saying "Yes" to several other prayers.
I'm sure this brings minimal comfort to Herman and Lisa at this time, but just knowing that Vivian's death was not in vain -- that somewhere, parents are rejoicing and praising God that their own child will live -- gives hope for the future.
It really is the Circle of Life.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Happy Memorial Day
In Honor of Those Who Served
An officer spoke briefly at our church yesterday morning, but something he said really hit home with me:
"It's not just about KEEPING peace; it's about
MAKING peace."
Sometimes, some very hard decisions have to be made and carried out in order to achieve this goal. There is not always a peaceful means to a peaceful end.
Sure, in an ideal world, there would be.
But we do not live in an ideal world.
This is our reality:
People fight and die so that the rest of us can live free.
It's horrible and wrong when atrocities are committed in the path to that freedom, but we can never let them overshadow those who fight bravely and nobly so that good is achieved.
And there are some things we should
never apologize for;
Sometimes the end really does justify the means.
God bless our soldiers, police officers, firefighters, and first responders
Those who served and who now serve.
An officer spoke briefly at our church yesterday morning, but something he said really hit home with me:
"It's not just about KEEPING peace; it's about
MAKING peace."
Sometimes, some very hard decisions have to be made and carried out in order to achieve this goal. There is not always a peaceful means to a peaceful end.
Sure, in an ideal world, there would be.
But we do not live in an ideal world.
This is our reality:
People fight and die so that the rest of us can live free.
It's horrible and wrong when atrocities are committed in the path to that freedom, but we can never let them overshadow those who fight bravely and nobly so that good is achieved.
And there are some things we should
never apologize for;
Sometimes the end really does justify the means.
God bless our soldiers, police officers, firefighters, and first responders
Those who served and who now serve.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
God Bless Baby Vivian
My heart is broken.
Sweet, little Vivian left us today, but I know that we will see her again. That is a comfort no one can take away.
Please continue to lift up Lisa and Herman and their children during this difficult time of grief and mourning. Pray that they would feel HELD.
I love this song by Natalie Grant; it says it all:
Sweet, little Vivian left us today, but I know that we will see her again. That is a comfort no one can take away.
Please continue to lift up Lisa and Herman and their children during this difficult time of grief and mourning. Pray that they would feel HELD.
I love this song by Natalie Grant; it says it all:
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sad Weekend
In case you are wondering why I haven't posted since last Tuesday or, if you are a friend in Arkansas, why you have not heard from me while I'm here...
This has been a very rough few days.
Not long after I arrived here (3 days ago), I received some horrible news.
The two year old daughter of a dear friend was found, nearly drowned, in a swimming pool.
I don't know the details -- how she got there, or how long she was under the water -- and those things are irrelevant now, but I do know it was very serious and now this baby girl is fighting for her life.
The past three days are a blur of phone calls and constantly checking my email for updates on little Vivian's condition. I feel so useless being so far away from my friends... I am cutting my visit in Arkansas short so that I can be there for anything they might need.
We have not stayed in touch like we should in the past year or so, but we have known Herman and Lisa for almost 9 years, literally since we first moved to Baton Rouge.
We were in the same homeschool group for a number of years and our children were great friends. Lisa and I were pregnant at the same time and delivered our 5 year olds just days apart.
Lisa is one of the sweetest people I know and she and Herman are wonderfully kind and generous.
After Hurricane Katrina, they opened their home to a family who had lost everything and housed them for more than a year. And Lisa has been an a blessing to me during some rough seasons of my own... when we talk on the phone, it's never a short conversation. I could talk to her for hours.
This family truly is the salt of the earth.
While I would not wish such a horrific thing to happen even to my worst enemy, it seems especially cruel that this has happened to them.
Little Vivian needs a BIG miracle and we need you to PRAY.
People ask, "Why does something like this happen? Where is God in this tragedy?"
But the truth is that God does not cause sickness and death and disease to happen. These things are in the world because sin and evil are in the world.
We may not understand why things happen the way they do or why our prayers are not always answered the way we would like, but we never have to endure such things alone. God's Word promises that we are never alone when we go through something so painfully difficult. He is always with us.
This is my prayer for Herman and Lisa now... that they would not feel alone for a minute, that they would feel His hands lifting them up and the warmth of His arms around them.
And I continue to pray for a miracle for Vivian, even as her doctors begin to lose their own faith in miracles.
Mostly, I pray that something good can come of all this hurt.
Please keep this family in your prayers.
This has been a very rough few days.
Not long after I arrived here (3 days ago), I received some horrible news.
The two year old daughter of a dear friend was found, nearly drowned, in a swimming pool.
I don't know the details -- how she got there, or how long she was under the water -- and those things are irrelevant now, but I do know it was very serious and now this baby girl is fighting for her life.
The past three days are a blur of phone calls and constantly checking my email for updates on little Vivian's condition. I feel so useless being so far away from my friends... I am cutting my visit in Arkansas short so that I can be there for anything they might need.
We have not stayed in touch like we should in the past year or so, but we have known Herman and Lisa for almost 9 years, literally since we first moved to Baton Rouge.
We were in the same homeschool group for a number of years and our children were great friends. Lisa and I were pregnant at the same time and delivered our 5 year olds just days apart.
Lisa is one of the sweetest people I know and she and Herman are wonderfully kind and generous.
After Hurricane Katrina, they opened their home to a family who had lost everything and housed them for more than a year. And Lisa has been an a blessing to me during some rough seasons of my own... when we talk on the phone, it's never a short conversation. I could talk to her for hours.
This family truly is the salt of the earth.
While I would not wish such a horrific thing to happen even to my worst enemy, it seems especially cruel that this has happened to them.
Little Vivian needs a BIG miracle and we need you to PRAY.
People ask, "Why does something like this happen? Where is God in this tragedy?"
But the truth is that God does not cause sickness and death and disease to happen. These things are in the world because sin and evil are in the world.
We may not understand why things happen the way they do or why our prayers are not always answered the way we would like, but we never have to endure such things alone. God's Word promises that we are never alone when we go through something so painfully difficult. He is always with us.
This is my prayer for Herman and Lisa now... that they would not feel alone for a minute, that they would feel His hands lifting them up and the warmth of His arms around them.
And I continue to pray for a miracle for Vivian, even as her doctors begin to lose their own faith in miracles.
Mostly, I pray that something good can come of all this hurt.
Please keep this family in your prayers.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Where's the Calgon?!?
Calgon, Take Me Away!!!!
Ok, so I just totally dated myself by saying that, but that really is how I feel right now.
Too much on my plate and not enough time to finish everything. I wish I could just freeze time so I could try and catch up.
First of all, I have totally destroyed our schoolroom in my attempt to "redo" it. I am trying to update it & make it a more organized, usable space, but right now it looks like a tornado came through.
On top of that, I have started exercising for the first time in over a year and lifting weights for the first time in more than two years... and I am FEELING IT!
I have had painters at the house for the past 2 weeks which (even though I wanted it) has totally disrupted my schedule. They did an awesome job, though, so I don't really mind. BTW, if you are in the Baton Rouge area and need a good painter, email me & I'll give you his name.
I am making a lot of progress on my book right now, but this is one of those areas where I wish I could just stop the clock. The desire and motivation are there; the time is not.
I have been helping the HP Women team prepare for our upcoming, annual "Pamper Night." I am assisting Elizabeth and Nikki with procuring vendors from various salons and spas in the local area.
This is a HUGE event where we host approximately 1000 women, treating them to a night of free mini-massage, mani/pedi, eyebrow wax, paraffin wax, facials, and more.
I had no idea how much work went on behind scenes, but I guess you never do until you are a part of it.
In any event, the night is going to be FABULOUS and if you are in the area, you do not want to miss it! Monday night, June 8th -- Mark your calendar!
Finally, I am trying to get the girls and myself packed for a week-long visit in Arkansas.
My niece, Tia, is graduating high school and has received a full scholarship to college! I am so proud of her.
If my posts are sparse for the next week, you'll know why.
I promise to post when I return if not before.
Until then, I'm going to continue in the *slightly* organized chaos which is my life.
Ok, so I just totally dated myself by saying that, but that really is how I feel right now.
Too much on my plate and not enough time to finish everything. I wish I could just freeze time so I could try and catch up.
First of all, I have totally destroyed our schoolroom in my attempt to "redo" it. I am trying to update it & make it a more organized, usable space, but right now it looks like a tornado came through.
On top of that, I have started exercising for the first time in over a year and lifting weights for the first time in more than two years... and I am FEELING IT!
I have had painters at the house for the past 2 weeks which (even though I wanted it) has totally disrupted my schedule. They did an awesome job, though, so I don't really mind. BTW, if you are in the Baton Rouge area and need a good painter, email me & I'll give you his name.
I am making a lot of progress on my book right now, but this is one of those areas where I wish I could just stop the clock. The desire and motivation are there; the time is not.
I have been helping the HP Women team prepare for our upcoming, annual "Pamper Night." I am assisting Elizabeth and Nikki with procuring vendors from various salons and spas in the local area.
This is a HUGE event where we host approximately 1000 women, treating them to a night of free mini-massage, mani/pedi, eyebrow wax, paraffin wax, facials, and more.
I had no idea how much work went on behind scenes, but I guess you never do until you are a part of it.
In any event, the night is going to be FABULOUS and if you are in the area, you do not want to miss it! Monday night, June 8th -- Mark your calendar!
Finally, I am trying to get the girls and myself packed for a week-long visit in Arkansas.
My niece, Tia, is graduating high school and has received a full scholarship to college! I am so proud of her.
If my posts are sparse for the next week, you'll know why.
I promise to post when I return if not before.
Until then, I'm going to continue in the *slightly* organized chaos which is my life.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
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