Learning to Fly

Mother's Day was a really great day.

I had the "special music" assignment at church for the early service, which basically means I sing the solo during the offering. It also means I have to be at church at 8AM, leaving my husband and daughter to join me later, since the service doesn't actually start until 8:45. Since it was Mother's Day, my mom and mother-in-law joined us, as well. Following church, we all went back to my house for brunch, which I had pre-prepared on Saturday.

My mom loves to plant flowers at her house, and has quite the green thumb. So, for Mother's Day I got her some new gardening gloves, a kneeling pad and a wide-brimmed, floppy straw hat. The hat ended up not only being a good gift, but also a source for entertainment, as you can see here:

I'm not sure why we didn't get Sweeter (Teddy's mom) to put the hat on, too. We had just finished eating and were sitting around the dining table passing that silly hat around and laughing our heads off.

Sweeter's gift was a quilt Teddy had made for her out of Casey's old t-shirts from when he was a little boy. It was a wonderful gift for a wonderful lady.

After eating and opening gifts, we went to the patio and chatted for a couple of hours. The weather was beautiful and it was really nice to spend time with our moms in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. And it's always fun to listen to the two of them tell stories about their children. I never tire of hearing stories about my husband as a young boy, especially those revolving around his getting into mischief.

The moms left around 3pm, and Emily and I put our swimsuits on and spent some time by the pool.  I was lying there reading my book, minding my own business, when out of nowhere a bird pooped right on the edge of my chair. I don't know why I'm a magnet for bird poop, but if you're ever at the beach with me, I advise that you stay a few feet away, especially if there are any seagulls flying around. I don't understand it, and I certainly don't celebrate it, but I've learned over the span of my 45 years that I attract two things: crazy people and bird poop. Consider yourself warned.

But I digress.

ANYWAY... so the bird poops on my chair, and I get kinda agitated, and I look up to see that it's one of two cardinals I've noticed flying around my yard quite often the past few weeks. I had noticed previously that these birds - one a bright red male, and the other a brown female - were quite aggressive toward other birds in the yard, especially a blue jay that tried once to land in one of our trees. The red birds chased that blue jay away from the tree and out of our yard, which is something I had NEVER seen before. Blue jays are typically the aggressors, and can be really mean to other birds and small animals. I actually saw one dive bomb my dog one time. Freaked me out, to be honest.

So here were these two cardinals again, this time showing their respect by pooping on me. I had had enough! I grabbed the water hose and started spraying the top of the fence where they were perched. They flew away, and I cleaned the poop off my chair and off the concrete, put the hose away, sat back down, and noticed those darn birds had come right back to perch in the same spot. I watched them for a few minutes and realized that each bird would take turns flying away, and then return to the same spot. They would then drop down to the ground at the base of the fence, where we have flower beds topped with pine straw, and then fly away again. The male did that, and then a few minutes later the female would do the same. I couldn't figure out what they were up to, until I saw what looked like a little brown fur ball bounce up and down and the base of the fence.

I went inside and got my camera and attached my telephoto lens and saw this:

There were two baby birds! I'm not sure if they had fallen from a tree that was a few feet away from where they were, or if the mom had built the nest in this spot to begin with. But I kept my distance and captured a couple of cool shots. At this point, both the mama and daddy birds were feeding the babies, flying off to get more food, and then returning to feed them again. I was surprised to see both parents feeding the babies; I thought only mama birds fed their young.

The daddy bird was really quick and my camera wasn't cooperating, so I never got a shot of him feeding the other baby. I only caught him when he was perched on the fence.

In this picture he was watching the mama feed the baby. It really was cool. But it wasn't the coolest thing I witnessed. I wish I had been able to videotape what happened later, but if I had moved, it would've scared them. And since I had already sprayed them with the water hose, I figured I had done enough scaring for one day.

A couple of hours after I first spotted the babies, Teddy and I watched as the two parents taught the babies how to fly. It was one of the most fascinating things I've ever seen. The parents would perch on top of the fence, as in the photo above, looking at the babies. Then, as if they were saying, "See, watch how I do this," they would fly off, landing on the roof next door. Then they would return to the fence, and do it again. The first little baby started sort of bouncing, with his little wings flapping hard. He would get about two feet off the ground and then fall back to the pine straw. After doing that a few times, he got some air under him and flew up, landing on the first rung of the fence. He stayed there for a few minutes, and flew up to the second rung. All the while, the mom and dad birds were still "showing him" how to fly to the roof. He stayed on the second rung for a few more minutes, and then flew to the top rung. And then, much to our surprise and delight, he flew! He followed his mom and dad, and landed on the roof next door. They stayed there a few more minutes, as a family, and then he followed his parents - flying! - to a tree in our front yard. It was awesome!

The second baby bird was a slightly slower learner, but he eventually made it out after nightfall. I haven't seen the cardinals at all in the past couple of days, but I hope I will always remember them. I learned several things about those birds in the few weeks they inhabited my yard. I learned that they will aggressively protect their young, that both the mama and the daddy do the work and feed their kids, and that they will not abandon their children until they have successfully taught them how to fly.

If all parents of the human variety would do those things for their own offspring, our world would be a much better place.

Luckily, Teddy and I both have mamas that love and care for us. And I try to be the best mom I can for my daughter. I vigilantly protect and care for her. I have worked hard her whole life to keep a roof over her head, and food in her belly. And I've done my best to be a good example and to teach her how to fly. I just hope I'm still around when she's all grown up so I can witness her incredible flight.

So, 45 hasn't been too bad thus far...

Yep, today marks my 45th year on this earth. And I have to say, I've had a pretty fun day so far.

I have to be out of town for a couple of days starting tomorrow, so when I got to work this morning, I knew I'd be really busy trying to get ahead on this week's duties. I was "in the zone" when I heard a knock at my door, and a very handsome man entered carrying these.

What you can't tell from the picture is that this arrangement stands about 2 feet tall. It is the most beautiful arrangement I've ever seen. Oh, and my precious husband was the good looking guy who brought them to me. Teddy + Flowers = Very smiley, happy wife.

Shortly after receiving the bouquet, I finished my work and met the hubby and my precious friend, Dr. G for lunch. As always, a fun time was had by all. Before heading back to work, I ran by my house to grab something, and found this next to my garage.

 

I'm not sure if you can tell, but there is a card tied around the first flamingo's neck. It is the best card EVER. See if you agree...

I'm still laughing! Isn't that a great card?! After much thought, we finally figured out that Dr. G and his lovely (and hysterically funny) wife must've left this for me while I was away. They also left another funny item (which I cannot share on a public forum) in our backyard next to the pool last night while we were at church. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have friends like these two. And for real, when I got out of my car and read the card attached to the flamingo I literally laughed out loud. Right there in the front yard. I was still laughing when I walked into the house, and am laughing now after reading it again. Made. My. Day!

It's been a good day so far! Now all I need is a piece of cake. :)

A Few Little Things

I can't believe I'm writing again so soon, but here I am! I've had a really busy, but truly great day. And I just have to say this... I love my job. I love the work I do, I love the people I get to work with, I love my office... it's just a really great place to work. The coolest part of all? Pretty much everybody else who works for my company would say exactly the same thing. Our culture is something that's really special, and unlike other businesses that use "culture" as a buzz word to replace "customer service," ours is clearly defined. My title is Culture Communications Officer, and it's my job to make sure that the communication, both internal and external, reflects who we are. Today I had the opportunity to direct the filming of a video that will explain our culture in definitive terms, and it was so much fun! So there's that.

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So, I'd like to share a few thoughts, two of which I mentioned in my last post. I'll make them as short as possible, and I apologize if I offend any of the 5 people who will probably read this post. Please feel free to share your views in the comment section below!

1. I was nearly killed last Wednesday night. I was driving home, in my little Toyota Camry, when I had to come to a complete stop and wait for traffic to clear in order to turn left onto my street. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a white suburban barreling toward me, not even beginning to slow down. There was a woman driving (I could tell from the height of her hair) and when she finally looked up and slammed on her brakes, her car fishtailed and the tires squealed. Luckily, there was no one stopped in front of me and I was able to hit the accelerator to get out of the way. I was freaked out about that incident for two days. I realize I got out of there unscathed, and for that I am extremely grateful. But all I could think about for those two days was what would have happened if that had been Emily in her little Honda Civic. I can tell you. She would not have been looking in the rearview mirror, the woman would have hit her going about 45 miles per hour, and it would have propelled my child's car either into one of the telephone poles that are about 15 feet from that spot, or into the ditch, or into an oncoming vehicle. What in the world could have been so important in a residential neighborhood that would keep you from paying attention to the road at 5 pm when the traffic is heavy?! I'm fairly certain the woman was messing with her phone. I prayed about the incident that night and the day after. I prayed that the woman learned her lesson, and won't endanger anyone else's life. I also prayed that I would learn from her mistake, as well, and be more careful driving.

2. I really don't want to get on a political rant. But I just don't understand why politicians, primarily our president, are supporting legislation that would cut Social Security. They are calling SS an entitlement. So let me get this straight... Since I was a teenager and had a job, the government has taken money out of my check. They've taken federal income tax, state income tax, and they've taken Social Security. But they've always told me that I would get that Social Security money back... that they were just basically borrowing it and would give it back to me when I retired. It's supposed to be like a savings account in the government's bank. Since it's my money that they are taking from me... since I PAID for Social Security... it is NOT an entitlement. But those people who do not work and get paid to do nothing? That's called Welfare. And Welfare is an entitlement. They didn't pay money out of their paychecks because they aren't earning a paycheck. They aren't working. Those of us who are working are paying them to not work. That's an entitlement. And it's not fair. It's not right. And the non-workers are NOT entitled to take my money away from me. If the government is going to continue to take that money, but not give it back to me, then quit calling it Social SECURITY. Just call it what it is... more income tax. If they are going to cut entitlements, then cut the programs that give people something for nothing.

3. Medicaid -- See # 2.

4. In Ruston, where I live, we have a large number of people who have taken to the roads to get in shape. They're doing this on bicycles. And they're doing this on two lane roads with heavy traffic, four lane highways with even more traffic, two lane country roads with lots of hills AND lots of traffic. Now, I am 100% in favor of people riding bicycles. But I do not pay taxes on my vehicles so I can nearly crash my car trying to avoid a person on a bicycle who happens to be riding less than 5 miles per hour on a road where I am allowed to drive 45 mph. Neither are the people driving the 10 cars behind me who cannot get past the person on the bicycle. It's dangerous and it should be against the law. Again... my daughter drives a car here, too. As a 17 year old driver, who is by all accounts very careful behind the wheel, Emily often drives on these roads. What if she, or any other young driver, driving the speed limit and as carefully as possible, comes around a curve, or over a hill and accidentally hits a person on a bicycle who is riding at 3-5 mph on a road designed for automobiles? What if that bicyclist dies? How does a 17 year old get over something like that? How does she ever get behind the wheel of a car again? She would have done nothing wrong, but still endure all the blame, and tremendous survivor's guilt. And why? Because the person on the bike cared so little about anyone else on the road that they felt it was just fine to block traffic and to endanger young drivers. There are bike trails, and there are larger residential roads that have extra space for joggers, bicyclists, and other folks who are getting on the roads to get healthy. If bicyclists think it's unfair that smaller cities don't have bike lanes on major thoroughfares, then they should campaign to have the cities create them. Until that time, it should be illegal to ride your bike on high traffic roads and highways. (I'm not hard-hearted, and do have compassion and sympathy toward the hypothetically dead cyclist's family and loved ones. Just sayin'.)

5. I have become addicted to a substance that is so incredibly good and probably really, really bad for me.

Oh, my sweet heaven, this stuff is like crack. (I'm guessing here. I've never actually partaken of crack.) Even my precious hubby, who is a black coffee with just a half teaspoon of sweetner kinda guy, likes the stuff. I have found myself to be even more caffeine-jittery than usual, because I've been carrying it with me in zip lock bags to work every morning, AFTER I've already had a cup at home. Use this stuff at your own risk!

I guess that's it for now! Feel free to leave a comment. If no one comments, I'll just take it for granted that all of you agreed with me. :)

Hello Again!

My mother-in-law always says she can tell how busy I am by how often I post to this blog. Obviously, then, my lack of recent posts should communicate that I've been uber busy. But that's a good thing! I was just talking to a co-worker today about how happy I am with my new job due to the facts that I have numerous, diverse tasks that involve creativity and writing. I am also able to get out of town once in a while and not be stuck behind a desk or in an office. I'm happiest when I'm busy, so things are fabulous!

On the homefront, the renovations continue. We now have grass in the backyard replacing the mud (WOOOO!!!!), the patio is covered, and my precious hubby is working on the landscaping. Indoors, I still have some painting to do, but there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. I have finished the painting and tile work in both bathrooms, refinished/antiqued three sets of cabinets (one set I did a second time because I didn't like how they turned out the first time... yeah, I'm THAT girl), painted the hall walls, trim, and interior doors. As the hubby says frequently, "urban renewal is a process!" I still have to paint the trim and interior doors leading to the kitchen, which I will do in the next couple of weeks. Those are all the short-term projects. In the long term, I also plan to paint my bedroom and do something fun with the laundry room. (Not to be confused with doing something fun IN the laundry room. I mean, really, how fun could doing laundry possibly be?!) I can be creative in there with paint and textures, and possibly even murals... maybe bubbles? I don't know. It's still brewing in my head. Since it's a down-the-road project, I'm not in any hurry to figure it out. Perhaps I'll get to that in the fall, after I've enjoyed the swim season!

Speaking of the fall, my child will begin her senior year in high school in August of this year. Sigh... I've already warned her to be prepared for me to cry the entire school year. I cannot believe my precious Punkin' is almost grown. She celebrated her 17th birthday yesterday in big fashion. (See the photo above.) Her friends threw her a surprise birthday party at our church youth building. I tell ya, I prayed hard a couple of years ago that Emi would find a group of friends who loved and cared for her, and who loved the Lord. She found them this year, and her mom's prayers were answered mightily. It's been a pleasure to hear the words, "Hey, Mom, I'm going to hang out with Bay and Mack for a couple of hours," and "I'm going to pick up Kailee for church tonight." After all the drama that high school can bring, including the fact that girls who my daughter grew up with were talking behind her back and treating her like garbage, it is such a blessing to know that she finally found a few real friends.
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So I had the opportunity to actually sit by the new pool this weekend! I gotta say... it was pretty awesome. The water was still too cold for me, but even Lily enjoyed some time in the sunshine.

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Okay, I'm gonna leave you with one more little tidbit. I attended a wedding a couple of weeks ago at a church in Minden. In the pew, along with prayer books and Bibles, was this book:

Now, I'm used to seeing the Baptist Hymnal and similar songbooks in church pews, but this one was unfamiliar to me. I picked it up to peruse the song list, and found this:

HA! I have never seen or heard of this song before, and it made me giggle right there in the church, pre-wedding. I'm sure there's a really good message behind the title, but I couldn't really find it. Probably because I couldn't read through the tears I shed from laughing so hard.

That's it for now! I plan to write a bit more in a day or two, depending on how busy I get. There are two topics that are bugging me right now, so I will try to find the time and the words to express them clearly. But here's a preview:

1. Bicycles on roads without bike lanes are dangerous, not only to the bicyclist, but to drivers on the road... especially young drivers like my daughter.

and

2. With all the talk in Washington and the media about the President wanting to cut entitlements, I just thought I'd remind people that Social Security is NOT an entitlement. Welfare and Medicaid are entitlements.

More on both later!

Thank you, Jesus

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 

2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

Swimming and Dancing

So, first things first... I didn't break a hip at the dancing event, and I made it into the top 5, so that's good! I also think my husband and daughter were surprised by how well I did. Emily was texting me while I was backstage, and giving me her thoughts on my competitors' routines. A few of her texts:

"Outfit looks GREAT!"

"LOVED IT! You rocked!"

"They didn't use the stage at all. You were def (definitely) better."

"It was a gym routine. They didn't even dance!"

And after my second round performance," It was wonderful! Even better than the first time!"

Gosh, I SO love my sweet child!

When I asked her what the hubby thought, she texted, "Teddy and Ryan (my boss) said if you don't win they will kick somebody's ass! Sorry for the word!"

It was a fun night. But I am certainly glad it's over, and I think my dancing days are done.

So in the past 3-4 weeks, my backyard went from this:

 

 

To This!

 



We still have a long way and several months to go, but it's slowly coming together. I finished the master bath and will post photos soon. We still have sod, fence, and landscaping left to do on the outside, and a whole lot of painting on the inside AND outside.  But by summertime we should be finished. And I'm looking forward to a very un-busy summer season!

So, this is what I've been doing lately...

I am one of this year's contestants. Trust me, I'm in WAAAAAYYY over my head. I thought it would be fun, but now I'm just hoping I don't hurt myself. I'm used to hearing people tell me to "break a leg," but I really hope I don't break anything at this event.

I'm dancing with a partner named Nathaniel, who is very nice and a good dancer. But he lives in Texas, which means I haven't had a whole lot of rehearsal. If this were a singing competition, the 4-5 times we've rehearsed would be more than enough time for me to have my act together. But since it's a dance competition... well, let's just say I'm not as comfortable and confident as I wish I were at this point. But I'll do my best, and it's a fundraiser for the Louisiana Delta Ballet for which my company bought a couple of tables, so I've done my part.

The event is this Friday... If I'm not too embarrassed, I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Also, this was in my backyard a couple of weeks ago...

It's been two weeks of a big ol' mud pit. But as of today, things are finally starting to shape up. I'll have post-mud pictures for you at the end of the week, if all goes according to plan!

A Few Quick Things...

Justin Timberlake may have brought sexy back...

But I'm bringing the scrunchie back! I really don't understand why they became so "uncool," and I really don't care. I like them, they don't hurt my hair, and I'm going to wear them. So there!


About eye shadow...

This stuff lives up to its name. I have never, until now, found an eye shadow that will last longer than a half hour in the creases and outside corners of my eyes. This eye shadow really does last all day and night until I take it off. I'm not crazy about the shimmer in all the colors, as I prefer matte, but it doesn't matter. This stuff rocks.


A couple more reasons why I love my husband...

Here he is up in our maple tree, with saw in hand, trying to determine which branches need to be cut so as to prevent any damage to our roof. Does it make me nervous to see him so far up in a tree? Yes, it does. But the fact that he would put forth the effort to protect our home warms my heart.

This is another reason I love my hubby. He makes me laugh out loud when I least expect it. He stacks my mail on one side of our kitchen counter, and one day this week this magazine was waiting for me. He knows I'm not crazy about ol' Reba. I read her autobiography years ago and just felt that she was being dishonest about some things. My thought is if you're gonna write your own biography then you should at least tell the truth, or don't write it at all. Plus, now she's absolutely EVERYWHERE... she has a brand of clothes, a brand of boots, she's on a TV show... I just can't get away from her! So when I picked up an envelope and found this beneath it, I practically rolled on the floor with laughter.


A sweet welcome home...

While my husband and I continue to tear out fences, and re-do cabinets, and paint, and basically demolish our living space so we can re-build it to make it pretty again, it was such a sweet surprise to find this waiting for me when I came home from work one day last week. I have always loved pink roses. My mom gave me a tiny little pink rose bush as a birthday present last year. It is still in the same pot, but has grown a lot and produced this beautiful bloom. What a happy end to the day!

Post Thanksgiving Roundup

Hi! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Mine was pretty great. The hubby and I stayed home and cooked as we have the past couple of years, and were joined for dinner by my stepson, Casey, and our friend, Malcolm. We ate at noon, napped and then ate again! Gluttony at its finest.

Seriously, though, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to really consider all that we have to be grateful for, and I have spent the past few weeks truly thanking God for all He has done in my life. Seeing how many are persecuted for even believing in Jesus Christ in other parts of the world makes me so very thankful to live in the USA where I can worship loud and proud. That's no small thing.

Here's a perfect example. Have you read the comments made by this guy?

This is Angus T. Jones, and he is an actor who plays a role on the show Two and a Half Men. He has grown up on the sitcom, and I used to watch the earlier episodes when he looked more like this:

I thought the show was funny back then, but even several years ago it started becoming pretty raunchy. I stopped watching it long ago. Last week, though, as I surfed through the channels I saw that it was on and decided to see what it was like with Ashton Kutcher as a main character. I watched maybe two and a half minutes and turned it off. It was gross... and all about sex. And it wasn't funny. It's almost like the writers have already used absolutely every joke about sex they could find and are now scraping the bottom of the perversion barrel to come up with new material. I felt greasy watching it after just a couple of minutes.

So what a ray of sunshine it was for me to read what young Angus had to say. Basically he said he thinks the show is "filth" (his word) and that he doesn't want to be on it anymore because it goes against his Christian values. (He is locked into one more year on his contract.) He even urged people to stop watching it. You can read more here:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/11/26/star-two-and-half-men-angus-t-jones-urges-fans-to-stop-watching-calls-show/

Now, my guess is that he will soon be fired from the show, so he will get his wish. His words have caused a fire-storm in the media, with most accounts saying he's "biting the hand that feeds him," and criticizing his beliefs. But the cool thing about living in America with regard to this situation is that he won't be killed by our government because of his comments. He can be as outspoken as he wants to be about God and not be arrested for it. That's something we can all be grateful for. I'm also grateful that there exists a young man working in Hollywood who my daughter can look up to. Heaven knows there aren't many.

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In home renovation news... THE FLOOR IS DONE! Woo hoo! Replacing the old yucky carpet with hard floors has made a tremendous difference. I took this picture the day the floors were finished, before I got all my decor arranged properly. The floors are pretty much the star of this photo!

 

This weekend I pulled out all the Christmas decorations, so the house looks like this now.

 

 

 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It will look even moreso when we start on the other renovations. More to come!

Getting There...

It took 7 days, but I finally got the kitchen cabinets finished. And I'm EXHAUSTED.

I think I need knee replacements.

Here are the cabinets before:

 

And here are the cabinets as of last night at 10pm:

 

 



I sanded, primed, painted, glazed, and polyurethaned them. A huge thank you to my precious hubby for removing and then reattaching the doors, which was a tremendous help.

The floors are being ripped up and replaced this week. JOY! Then I will replace that horrific green countertop and add a tile backsplash. More pictures to follow!