Diva's FUROR Over My Return to Work

Diva is, apparently, LIVID that I have abandoned her during the day.

And, if I try to look at it through her little (beautiful brown eyes), I can kind of see why.

I've always been at her beck and call, ever since she was born.

And now, I am GONE all day long, without an adequate replacement.

Anyway, she's taken her anger out on objects with the "ew" sound in them.

Here is a list of things she has managed to destroy in the first week I've been gone:

1. A bottle of Elmer's glue (partially ingested the plastic cap; ingested ALL the glue, and managed to get some of the glue on her ear and on her tummy. There's a lovely "glue spot" on the carpeting. Good thing our carpeting is already trashed.)

2. Glue sticks. (for a craft project). Chewed beyond use.

3. Electric glue gun (cord severed from gun). Now worthless.

4. Hula Hoop (chewed to the point where it is no longer round... and, thus, no longer useable. it is now a backyard chew toy.)

5. SHOES (yes, this was bound to happen. She selected my FAVORITE pair of casual shoes. Black suede mules. REALLY cute. She totally ATTACKED one of them. The other one remained untouched.

Good thing I love that dog so much. :-)

My First Week Back in Corporate America (After a 2 Year Absence....)

First of all, can I just say how frikkin TIRED I am???!!!!

OH-MY-GOSH..... I arrive home after battling the Atlanta traffic and fall asleep on the couch for 30 minutes before I can DEAL with my REAL job (Mom, Wife and Domestic Goddess).

But, really, I am SOOO thankful to be employed.... SOOO thankful!

And corporate America has remained unchanged (yes, you can smile, or smirk, or snicker....) There are still cubicles, still crazy HR rules, still office politics, etc.

But really, all in all, the first week went well. I will undoubtedly miss the Time Freedom I had when I had my own little business, and of course, being at home.

And, of COURSE, I am missing YOU, my blogger buddies! Missing my daily dose of all your bloggi-dociousness!

I'll try to get caught up on your blogs on the weekend, but right now, I'm going to have a glass of wine and snuggle with Hubster!

New Guest Craftsman on "This Old House"...

Believe it or not, I changed out a DOORBELL this morning. Including the wiring.
Yes, that would be.... ME. With NO HELP.

Miss Do-It-Herself (NOT).

Said doorbell was broken.... I realized Hubster was moving about as quickly as a 3 toed SLOTH to get it replaced, so I went to Home Depot and said "how tough is this" and lo-and-behold, it WASN'T.

I feel so.... accomplished. :-)

Someone call CNN.

Warning to my Blogger Buddies!

If you guys use check cards (debit cards), PLEASE make sure you check your account online every few days.

This weekend I found out someone had gotten ahold of my number and somehow (who knows how) made a new card... and began a shopping spree! Keep in mind my card NEVER LEFT MY POSSESSION!!!!

My bank has been very helpful and is (supposedly) crediting the money back to my account within 48 hours, still it's a huge hassle.

Since check cards tap directly into your checking account, the money evaporates RIGHT AWAY. Major pain.

I have, of course, no clue who could have done this. Up until yesterday, I used my check card for everything (except online purchases).

Not anymore, though!

Tomorrow is The Day!

At long last, I (FINALLY!) start the new job tomorrow!
Hooray!

Yes, there was a long wait between the job offer and the start date.... lots of formal hoops to jump through (and background checks to clear) but I will finally begin working again tomorrow, officially!

I'm relieved, and believe it or not, slightly nervous!
It has been 2 years since I've worked in a traditional office.... so it will be a little bit of a re-adjustment for me.

I'm sure it will be like riding a bike .... a bit wobbly at first, and then it will come right back to me.

I'm really just SO HAPPY and SO RELIEVED to have an income again! (I'm sure my creditors will be thrilled too..... ha!)

Does God Provide?

We're watching these short films - one per week - at church. They are amazingly well done. I wanted to share the trailer with anyone who is interested. I'm sure, eventually, the films will all be free to view online at Crown's website.


God Provides Film Series Trailer from Crown Financial Ministries on Vimeo.

A Real Life Miracle

Y'all know I love miracles.
I have seen a miracle occur in MY life (my son, who was born 16 weeks early and is now a strapping soon-to-be 13 year old!).

I love, love LOVE true, inspirational, real-life miracle stories, and love to SHARE them with you, my loyal blogger buddies.

So, it's with great delight that I introduce you to Shaun, a 29 year old who lives here in Atlanta, who, with his wife, just planted Courageous Church, a church in downtown Atlanta a couple of months ago, and is himself a living, breathing MIRACLE.

Here's the story. Enjoy!

(For more on Shaun, check out his blog, or the link to his church.)

TEA Party, anyone?

Did you guys see coverage on (or, better yet, attend) any of the TEA parties going on yesterday? There was a very large one in Atlanta, down at the State Capitol building. Estimates were 15,000 - 20,000 people were in attendance at the Atlanta TEA party alone!

Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and Independents were all present. Anyone who is concerned about our BROKEN tax system in this country....

Hubster and I were unable to go, but we did watch coverage of it on Fox News (the big 3 networks only gave it a cursory mention). Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a "taxpayer revolution" which will get our irretrievably broken tax system THROWN OUT and a new more FAIR TAX system put into place.

"A Satisfied Taxpayer"

Below is courtesy of MountainWings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Internal Revenue Service:
On this April 15th tax return due date you will find enclosed my 2008 tax return showing that I owe $3,407.00 in taxes.
Please note the attached article from the USA Today newspaper,dated November 12th, wherein you will see the Pentagon (Departmentof Defense) is paying $171.50 per hammer and NASA has paid $600.00 per toilet seat.

Therefore, I am enclosing four (4) toilet seats (valued @ $2,400) and six (6) hammers (valued @ $1,029), which I secured at Home Depot, bringing my total remittance to $3,429.00.
Please apply the overpayment of $22.00 to the "Presidential Election Fund," as noted on my return.
You can do this inexpensively by sending them one (1) 1.5 inch Phillips Head screw (see aforementioned article from USA Today newspaper detailing how H.U.D. pays $22.00 each for 1.5 inch Phillips Head Screws). One screw is enclosed for your convenience.

To recap my enclosures: Four toilet seats, Six hammers, and One screw.
It has been a pleasure to pay my tax bill this year, and I look forward to paying it again next year.

Sincerely,
A Satisfied Taxpayer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's a Bird... It's a Plane.... It's..... SuperMan and a Hershey's Kiss!

Once upon a time, many MANY Halloweens ago, my baby boy was Superman and my baby girl was a Hershey's Kiss. We never made it trick or treating that year due to tears and tantrums, but we did get some sweet pictures. :)

If memory serves, this would have been 10/31/98.

Mommies, enjoy your little ones. They grow up in the blink of an eye!

Cliche? Or TRUTH....

Our creative arts team at 12Stone kicked off yesterday's Easter services with a new video (yes, another original production - they're so talented!)

Here it is..... we're starting a new series called "Cliche".....

A virtual toast for Navy SEALS!!! And a big HOORAY for Capt. Richard Phillips!

What a wonderful Easter gift for Capt. Phillips and his family!
And thank GOD that this nightmare scenario has finally ended!

(I thought I was going to have to charter a plane out there and go kick some pirate ass myself! Damn!)

Happy Easter!

I hope each of you has a beautiful day today!
Here's a beautiful, peaceful song to start your day. :)

Some Recent Family Photos

Today is my Daddy's 79th birthday. 79!! Isn't that great?!

Below are some photos from tonight. We had a great dinner over at his house, despite the fact that Atlanta was under tornado watches/warnings all evening, and we could HEAR the hailstones as we were dining. :)

Other than that, it was a lovely evening!
Enjoy the photos!

Happy Wife & Hubster


My Dad and My Kids

Me and My Dad

(my daughter neglected to say "say cheese", hence the lack of smiles....)

Delta's Diarrhea Debacle (a/k/a "Where Will YOU Be When Your Diarrhea Comes Back?!")

This is a horrifying story. (And really, it could have happened to anyone!)

I feel SO sorry for this man, and I think Delta owes him a HUGE, PUBLIC apology, and roundtrip tickets for him and his family to anywhere he wants to go in the entire world.

Clark Howard made a huge deal about it on his radio show today and even said that Delta should be "ashamed of themselves". Clark is right.

Diva & Ruby "Do Spring Cleaning"!

Diva grabbed my scrub brush ("as if"!!), so I snapped a quick video.
We're finally getting some pretty weather for Spring Break.

Happy Easter Week

I hope each of you has a wonderful, peace-filled Easter week.
I wanted to put up a brief, moving video.... to help us to slow down and REMEMBER why we celebrate Easter, the most holy day for those of us who follow Jesus.

Blessings & Peace, y'all.

Breaking News: Happy Wife Is Employed!

At LONG LAST, I got the job offer I was waiting on! Woo hoo!

Granted, it's a pay cut from what I was used to making.... granted, it's a LONG drive from home.... and granted, I will really miss the "time freedom" I had when I was self-employed and worked from home.... BUT ...

HALLELUJAH I'll FINALLY be making money again!! (after 5 months of NOT!)

What a relief!

My Dream of Heaven

Initially, I wasn't going to blog about this, but then Suz wrote about Mark.... and Laurie wrote about Wendy..... and Karen wrote about Katie..... and Sheye wrote about Ava..... and Kay wrote about Bubba.... and on and on.... (so many of my blogger friends have lost loved ones.....)

And I felt a press to share my dream.

So here it is.
Earlier this week, I dreamed that I died, and went to Heaven.
But first, before I share my dream, let me say that words are going to fail, miserably, to convey the beauty and the peace and the extreme BLISS I felt. And I can't help but wonder: was my dream really a dream? Or was it a vision?

Anyway, Tuesday night was a normal night for us. Stayed up, watched the late news with hubster, watched a little Leno, then fell asleep in our bed. Normally I don't remember my dreams... in fact, it's pretty rare that I remember a dream, and if I do, it's just a very vague "plot line".

However, in THIS particular dream (which I remember clearly), I died. I don't know what I died from, all I know is that I "ceased being alive". And then, after I died, I found myself in a tunnel.... but it wasn't a tunnel like we know them (in the human realm)... it wasn't narrow, it wasn't claustrophobic, and it DEFINITELY wasn't dark.

The tunnel was unbelievably LIGHT.... shimmering gold tones. Coppery tones, yellow-gold tones, white-gold tones, colors that I've never seen before and that don't even EXIST in our human experience. And they were all shimmering and vibrating together and they were beautiful. And not only were they bright, but they infused warmth out towards me. And it was incredibly PEACEFUL and I felt so filled with BLISS.... happier than I have ever felt in my entire life. In fact, the word joyous is the closest that I can come to describing it, but even that word is not accurate. And as I proceeded down this tunnel, the feelings and the warmth and the light became more intense, but not in a negative way... more intense in a very wonderful, loving way and all encompassing way. And I really wanted to continue down the tunnel.

And.... that was it. I woke up. The dream was not long, but it was VERY intense.
And I immediately thanked God for that dream because I knew, without ANY doubt, that it was a gift from him....

I hope it will be a gift to those of you who have lost loved ones. Because I believe, without any doubt, that God's love is something more magnificent and more all consuming that we can even imagine.

Peace & Love, my friends.

Soulful Hamsters!

I love this commercial. The hamsters in the car just KILL me!

The Cutest Thing I've Seen in a Long, Long Time