Wish You Were Here, Tim.... Wish You Were Here...

You know who I really miss?

Tim Russert. I miss the twinkle in his eye, his big wonderful grin, his fierce intelligence, his excitement, and his respect for both parties.... which is so clearly lacking in today's pathetic excuse for the "news media" we have (I laughed out loud the other night when I heard Brian Williams blatantly self-congratulatory remarks about quality journalism ....). PLEASE, Brian.... your arrogance is almost visible these days....

Anyway. Tim Russert would have really enjoyed this presidential race.

Rest in peace, Tim.
You are definitely missed.

Playful Puppies....

Make sure you go to my sister blog and check out the new video of our two wild pooches.
(It's been FOREVER since I've updated that blog, but now that KBL is back in the Blogistan - HOORAY!! - I felt the need to update!)

Welcome back KBL! :-)

October SunBathing Beauty

A HappyWife original.

Actually, the flower is a Hubster original, considering I have a brown thumb. (We have a joke in our house.... whenever I bring home a new houseplant, my husband looks at it and says "Welcome to death row".... unfortunately, that's almost always the case unless HE takes care of it. I have a knack for killing plants.)

However, he grew some lovely sunflowers over the past month or so and I snapped the above photo in the late afternoon. The sun was hitting the petals in such a way that it truly looks like it was painted. It's not retouched at all.... this is just the way the flower looks. Pretty cool, huh?

"Awake O'Sleeper"

Most of you who have been reading my blog for any length of time know I belong to an amazing church - 12Stone - that is overrun with 'creativity', shall we say.

The above song and video was created by our Redemptive Arts team to accompany the message from September 21st entitled "The Warrior Awakening".

Watch the above, and remind yourself that the awesome power of God can break whatever chains hold you captive.... remember God is the Author of new beginnings, and He is the Master chain-breaker.

If you're interested in hearing the message, it can be found here. ("The Warrior Awakening" on 9/21/08.)

Happy Birthday Viggo!

All together now:

"Happy Birthday, to Viggo
Happy Birthday, to Viggo
Happy Birthday, to a fabulous actor (who is also easy on the eyes) ... :-)
Happy Birthday, to Viggo!"

Hope it's a FABULOUS day, Viggo!

btw: Viggo, my friend, I'm still (patiently) waiting for you to accept my friend request on FaceBook. (hint, hint...) :-)

Really, I'm not a stalker. Just an admiring, adoring fan (who thinks you're the cat's meow).

The Trunk Monkey.... Making Life Easier for All!

Worried about car theft in your area? The trunk monkey has the answer....



Or have a teenage daughter who is starting to date? (Suz and Coach, this one goes out to YOU!) Perhaps you should install a trunk money in YOUR car....

Beautiful Braewyn

To take a cue from D'Arcy, we can all appreciate an adorable puppy.

So here is a link to the Daily Puppy (one of my favorite sites when I'm feeling 'less than Happy'...) . Today's puppy is Braewyn, the Bassett Hound, and in this lovely photo, she's admiring some daffodils.

Thank you, Braewyn for reminding us humans to stop and enjoy the flowers. :-)

Why I'll Never Run for President

UPDATE: I'm sure this goes without saying, but in no way should the below post be construed as me making fun of (or condoning how our mainstream media makes fun of) John McCain. I think our current news system is anything BUT fair and balanced, and I also think they take glee in reporting on what garners RATINGS, instead of what is truly newsworthy.
I merely am making a point that I would not want to live in the fishbowl that presidential candidates have to live in... that's all....

Can you imagine having a photograph that is this unflattering yourself on the front page of a major European newspaper? (This was on the front page of The Irish Times on Thursday, October 16th.)

No thanks. I'll pass.

And there are about 476 other reasons why I would never consider running for President as well, but this Nosferatu-looking photo tops the list for today.

"Snowden".... my current favorite song

This isn't a "new" song... and it definitely doesn't get much radio play, but I'm completely obsessed with it.

I love to close my eyes and listen to it and imagine I'm floating above the trees on a beautiful Fall day, up in the blue blue sky..... with not a care in the world.....

Fear? Anxiety? Worry?

Yup, me too. We're in some tough times these days. Watching the news makes it worse (so, turn it off). I realize the news tends to "bleed in" to our lives, even if we try to keep it out. Not only do we have our own personal stressors, it seems we have national and global stressors pressing in. It's enough to crush us, if we let it.

Kevin talked about dealing with fear/anxiety/worry today. The message was wonderful.
It should be posted up on the website later today, if you'd like to take a listen.

If the above link doesn't work - go to www.12stone.com - click on Resources, Messages, Hwy 20, then today's date (10/12/08).

"Too Late for Biggie Fries"

The ever-clever guys from our church band did this (very tongue-in-cheek) video recently.... our pastor was giving a message about taking care of your body physically...(you know.... good nutrition, exercise); and they couldn't RESIST making a funny video to tie in to Kevin's message. :-)

Prepare to laugh. :-)

A Game of Tag

The lovely, deep-thinking, wonderful Karen has tagged me.
I'm supposed to come up with 7 scintillating things about me..... hmmmm....
OK, here goes:

1. I have a degree in History, which I absolutely never use (unless I happen to be playing Trivial Pursuit).

2. I am not afraid of most creatures, except for maggots. I have an irrational fear of maggots.

3. I'm licensed to sell insurance products in the State of Georgia (fascinating, I know.)

4. There's a height difference of almost a foot and a half between me and my husband (I'm 5'1" and he's 6'5")

5. I lived in Portugal (the Azores) for 3 years.

6. Fresh blueberries are my absolute, all time favorite food.

7. I am double jointed and can do certain things that, for most people, would cause extreme pain.

The Awakening

My church, 12Stone, actively supports the arts.

We recently commissioned an Israeli artist to do a massive original work for us which now fills our lobby. It's absolutely magnificent and one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, and I wanted to share it with you.
It's called "The Awakening". I met the artist several weeks ago, late one evening when I was doing some work at the church, and while he was working on the piece. He's a fascinating individual and lives with his wife in the Judaean Wilderness. (Obviously, he spent a substantial amount of time here in Atlanta to do this piece for our church.)

The Awakening is based on the story of Gideon in the Old Testament (a wonderful story which underscores how God's strength makes the impossible..... POSSIBLE...)

Below is a YouTube clip on the piece, narrated by the artist himself. Enjoy.

Just For You..... Just Because....

Because there's SO much stress and negativity and FEAR in the world right now, these are just for YOU.

So take them, place them in your heart, put a smile on your face, and go enjoy the day.

OK? OK. :-)

Gas Tide is Turning..... More Is Coming... Soon!

This is good news!

http://www.wsbtv.com/automotive/17597733/detail.html