A Place for Me

I have a couple of options for things to do tonight but I think I just might veg at home with Rayna. I've been sick and I don't really feel like hanging out. I'll prolly be in bed before the ball drops anyway. Jonathan has to work so that stinks. Now that I think about it, I can't remember what I did last year. I was pregnant so we prolly didn't go anywhere.

My friend Jenny is getting married April 3rd so that gives me 13 weeks to get slim and toned again. I have to do this. I am a bridesmaid in her wedding and I wanna look my best. I know it's "her day" but I still wanna look good. I did the Body for Life program in 12 weeks. I might have to fine tune it to better suit my new life with a baby. But I will do this. I'll prolly post my progress on here as well.

Hope you all have a SAFE and HAPPY New Year!!!

I am sick today :cry:

I hate being sick. I can't breath good and my eyes feel like if I don't concentrate they'll cross.

It's like a ghost town at work today and I wish I was home in bed sleeping. I didn't sleep much last night because of this nasty cold. I could feel the dark green infection starting in my sinuses. UGH!

Time for some more Sudafed.

Everyone at work keeps asking how my Christmas was and what Santa brought me. Jonathan and I decided not to buy gifts for each other this year. We only bought a few things for Rayna because she didn't really know what was going on anyway. I didn't even put up a tree this year because I knew my cat would be climbing it and tearing all the decorations off like she did last year. Plus I didn't want to rearrange my entire living room just to accomodate a tree. My house is just way too small. I had a small 1ft tree when I lived in Boston and I thought it was lost. I haven't seen it since I moved back 4 1/2 years ago. Somehow my mom found it so I had that. It still had the ribbon and ornaments on it too.

Christmas day happens to be Jonathan's birthday and I did bake him a cake, his favorite, carmel with cream cheese icing. I think he ate a small sliver and the rest stayed at his mom and dad's. If I brought it home, I would've eaten it all. Not good.

I did alot of cleaning this weekend and bought some stuff to organize things a little better at the house like a file cabinet and some storage boxes. I finally broke down and bought new shelving for the laundry area also. Now we have more than one shelf to store things on and a bar for hanging Rayna's clothes. Yay! It's the little things that make me happy. LOL!

I also decided that it's time for Chris to find another place to stay. She disappeared Tuesday and didn't come back until Saturday night late. She didn't leave a note or a message telling me where she was and when she would be back. Her living with us is not helping her, she's still irresponsible and selfish and I am tired of being just a "host" for her stuff. I saw her briefly this morning and was playing the episode in my head of what I would say and how she would react and whether I should say anything then or wait. Knowing her she wouldn't say anything, she'd just stare at me. Ugh, I hate when she does that. I don't really know if there is a right time or place to tell someone to move out. I have a Christmas gift for her and I'd like her to still have it. I imagined me telling her that it was time for her to move on and find someone else to live with and then handing her her stocking I made her last year with the gift inside and saying, "By the way, Merry Christmas. I would've given you this sooner, but I didn't know where you were." Part of me just really wants to tell her how hurt I am, but I think it would only fall on deaf ears. She will learn eventually I guess, maybe when she's older, how she made me feel.
For now though I think the less I say the better, I'll just tell her it's time to move on, give her a date to be out by and give her the stocking with the gift inside to open later. *sigh*

1.) Only a true Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption, and that you "PITCH" one, -- and you "HAVE" the
other.


2.) Only a true Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc. make up "a mess."


3.) Only a true Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of "yonder."


4.) Only a true Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is - as in: "Going to town, be back directly."


5.) All true Southerners, even babies, know that "Gimme some sugar" is not a request for the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl on the middle of the table.


6.) All true Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well.


7.) Only a true Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad. (If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin'!)


8.) Only true Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near" and "a right far piece." They also know that "just down the road" can be 1 mile or 20.


9.) Only a true Southerner both knows and understands the difference between a redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash.


10.) No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.


11.) A true Southerner knows that "fixin'" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.


12.) Only a true Southerner knows that the term "booger" can be a resident of the nose, a descriptive, as in "that ol' booger," a first name or something that jumps out at you in the dark and scares you senseless.


13.) Only true Southerners make friends while standing in lines. We don't do "queues", we do "lines," and when we're "in line," we talk to everybody!


14.) Put 100 true Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're related, even if only by marriage.


15.) True Southerners never refer to one person as "y'all."


16.) True Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.


17.) Every true Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that redeye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that fried green tomatoes are not breakfast food.


18.) When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin '..," you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!


19.) Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it - we do not like our tea unsweetened. "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.


20.) A true Southerner knows that if you are with a couple of friends , you could be with 2 or 10. The number doesn't matter.


21.) And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say, "Bless her heart" and go your own way.

I posted a pic of Charity (sweetpea) and her family on my Photoblog. Check it out. :D

I just wanted to take a moment to say how blessed I am. I will list them all to remind myself when I have a crummy day.

1. Both of my parents are living and in relatively good health.
2. I have great relationships with both my parents and my stepdad.
3. I have wonderful in laws that will keep Rayna for me whenever I ask (my mom does the same). They and my mom do alot for us. (My dad is older and isn't able to help out with the baby, but he is still awesome.)
4. I have a good bond with my in laws. They are wonderful people.
5. I have a good husband that doesn't smoke, drink or spend too much time playing golf. He is a hard worker and provides for us.
6. I have a wonderfully happy child who is a pleasure to care for. She always has a smile for me. She is truly a blessing and a miracle.
7. I am in good health and all my parts work like they should :)
8. We have enough money to buy what we need, you know all the basics: food, clothing, transportation, and a roof over our heads.
9. My brother and I get along much better now that we are older. He even tells me he loves me now.
10. I have wonderful friends and 3 of them have been around forever. Charity being the longest running at 14 years.
11. I have a great job that I enjoy. I finally don't dread coming to work everyday. My bosses are good people to work for.
12. And last but certainly not least (this should really be the first one I listed): I have a relationship with my Savior, Jesus. He holds it all together.

I am sure there are many more I could list. But that is alot to be thankful for. I am so truly blessed!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I have had a ton of catch up work to do at my job because I took off Monday. With the upcoming holidays and being off then, it will put me further behind.

I am working like a dog to be caught up before the first of the year.

Just to fill you in, I worked until 9pm last night and will do the same tonight. I get so much more accomplished when I am here alone with no distractions. Today we had our office Christmas lunch at a really nice steak house and we were gone for 3 hours. That didn't help in the catch up process. Oh well, we had a great time and got lots of goodies.

So, anyway, back to work.
:(

Ok, I FINALLY posted pics from last week's Christmas party on my Photoblog. Go check them out!!!

Oh, and I just got the family portraits back and they are GREAT! I can't wait to scan those and post them! :D

Have a great weekend everyone!

Courtship: A Growth Experience (Part 3)
Perhaps the appropriate word to describe a good courtship is growth. A couple should experience a growing together in closeness, a growing passion, and a growing identity of “us.” Courtship is not only allowing, but also cultivating the growth of a relationship. The word courtship comes from an Elizabethan era in which the ladies of the court were wooed and won by knights and lords of the court through the process of frequent visitation, attention, gifts and compliments. A man generally asked a woman’s father for permission to court his daughter, which implied that the man seriously and openly desired to pursue the possibility of marriage. In saying yes to a courtship proposal, the father was granting the man permission to visit his daughter, give her gifts, accompany her formally to social events, etc. The two young people were rarely left alone, but perhaps were allowed to sit on the porch swing and talk, take walks together in the neighborhood, and perhaps even go on chaperoned buggy rides. In our world today, courtship is likely to be thought of as going steady. Even though the social norms have changed, a good courtship still should be couched in extreme courtesy and respect. It should be marked by sexual purity. Before you begin to date a person, you should have carefully evaluated that person’s character. Dating gives you further opportunity to get to know the person from the inside out. Courtship is the time for evaluating consistency and for deepening communication.
My Question For You:
In what ways do you feel that Elizabethan era courtship should be a part of 21st century dating?

My Challenge For You:
When you are courting or going “steady”, are you consciously using that time to evaluate your future mate in light of what God wants for your marriage relationship?

I got this in my inbox last night from a Michelle Billingsly. Never heard of her so I was a little concerned. This is exactly the way it was sent to me. Typos and all. I am curious how she got my email address. I was afraid to click on the site. Could be something nasty if you know what I mean.

The reason I post this is because I read Rosie's blog about the weird email she got. Wonder if they are somehow connected? I just thought it was very strange, so I figured I would share it with you.



Hi

I saw oyur email online. How are oyu, I have a new site that has cool stuff to help you get more out of surfing online,

so please check it out

http://www.angelfire.com/ab7/passwords/" title="http://www.angelfire.com/ab7/passwords/" target="_blank"http://www.angelfire.com/ab7/...

laters

Michelle

First of all, if you are going to send emails, especially "business" ones, they should be professional and free of errors. There are so many mistakes in this email it is ridiculous.

Second of all, don't close your email with "laters".

I tried replying to the email and putting unsubscribe, but got a message that the email could not be delivered. Hmmm.....

I got home yesterday from work and decided on a whim to put up lights outside my house. I went in the attic, found the lights (6-7 strands), tested them and put them up with no problems. It took less than 45mins and it looks fabulous. :D

Hmm, why haven't I ever done this before?

I did discover one thing though, on the base of the trim around the door is some really soft wood. Our area is known for termites so it could be that. Thankfully we have a termite bond on our house so it would be covered to have the wood replaced. I called the company who we have the bond with and they are going to come look at it. She said it could be "moisture damage" which woud not be covered by the bond. In other words, if it was moisture damage we would have to foot the bill to have the wood replaced. Hmm, now that I think about it, I wonder if homeowners covers that? Must call to find out.
:?

Me and my friends do this thing called the ghetto smack, where you make a smack sound with your mouth like girls in the 'hood do when they talk. Anyway we do that and one of the phrases I say alot is "Whatchu talkin'!".
Well, Rayna can do that ghetto smack and it's hilarious. She was doing it over and over the other night and I was just cracking up. My friends Jackie and Caldwell heard her do it and they both said that I must have done it so much that she just learned how. I said, "Watch her first sentence be 'Whatchu talkin' momma *ghetto smack*'" LOL :lol:

I hate the photolab at the Walmart by my house. They are always rude and never have my pics ready in time and one of the machines is always "down".

I went there last night to get prints made from the ones I took at the party and after standing at the machine for about 5 mins trying to figure it out I asked if someone could help me with it. I got a "Digital machine is down" response without anyone even stopping to look at me. Hello! Anyone think of putting up a out of order sign! Geez! :x

10) Crunch all you want. We'll make Trina
9) Try Trina. You'll like it.
8) Show me the Trina!
7) Takes a Trina, but it keeps on Tickin'.
6) Trina: the other white meat
5) Nothing comes between me and my Trina
4) Trina: the Freshmaker
3) Is Trina in You?
2) Turn Loose the Trina

drum roll please

the number one Trina slogan is:
1) An Army of Trina

The party went great. I took about 20 pics or so and will have them up on my photoblog sometime this week. It was mostly couples there, but about 3 single people there also. We took photos of all the girls, all the guys and then couples.
We started the party by passing out a reindeer clothes pin to everyone .If you crossed your legs in any form someone could steal your reindeer. The one with the most by the end of the night would win a prize. I think I was the first one to lose mine. My brother ended up winning with 9 reindeer. The prize was a travel mug and a candle from Yankee Candle Co. He gave me the mug (for my hot tea *grin*) and he gave the candle to his girlfriend Emily. Before we ate, we gathered in the living room and went around the room saying a little something about ourselves (there were a few there that didn't know everyone) and how God had blessed us this year. That was nice and it was good to hear all the good things happening in everyone's lives. Then we prayed/said the blessing and ate. I had to take jonathan some food right after that so I didn't eat much. Then when we got back we played the Dirty Santa. I had drawn the last number and so I had my pick of almost everything. There were some really good gifts this year. All pretty much unisex. There was a floor lamp, an Amor-All car care kit, several DVDs, a quesadilla maker, a fondue kit, set of frames, cash, gift certificates, and more. I ended up with the cash :D.
So, we had a really good time and enjoyed seeing everyone together. Can't wait for next years party! Hmmm, maybe we should throw an annual Luau.....something to think about.

Oh, and roomie stopped by around 3:30 Saturday afternoon before the party. It was good to see her but it is clear we don't have much in common anymore. I could tell she really didn't want to stay overnight, she had made plans to go on to Atlanta that night and stay there for about a week. That was fine. It was good that she at least drove thru and saw me. I of course got a picture of us and will post it with the party pics later.

Hope everyone's weekend was wonderful! :wink:

Sweetpea is my friend from 6th grade and she has now joined the blogging world. Visit her site (link on the LEFT) and welcome her. :D

My feet are cold. I have a heater under my desk and I just turned it on. You know the smell of burnt hair? That is what this heater smells like. Ugh, but it's keeping my feet warm so oh well.

Jonathan just called and he was telling me about a peanut butter pie recipe he saw in his mom's cookbook. Then we starting reminiscing about the peanut butter/chocolate squares they used to serve in the lunchroom at school. Those were so good. Anybody else's school have those?

The big Christmas party is tomorrow night and I am excited. We are playing Dirty Santa and I bought a quesadilla maker to take. I hope I end up with it because Jonathan wanted one for our house so that way I won't have to buy another one. *grin* Unfortunately he has to work all weekend and won't be able to make it to the party. That bums me out. He said I should leave the party sometime after Dirty Santa and bring him some snacks since he won't be able to be there. I prolly will do that. I know he's bummed about having to work this weekend. I already don't see him during the week, so this cuts out more of the time I get to spend with him. The only upside is the overtime. We need it to pay for Christmas this year.

I was thinking earlier today about people not revealing their real names on blogs. They use other names like LittleGirl, BlueEyes or whatever. I never thought about that when I first set up my blog on Mblog. I never thought it might be *smart* to hide who I really am. I guess I am naive at times. I think all people are decent and that no one would stalk me if they knew how to find me. I know that happens to people on occasion and maybe I should be more careful, but I like sharing who I am. My name is a part of me and if I didn't share that, I wouldn't be sharing the whole me. Does that make sense? I never had a desire to be anonymous. I am not bashing anyone that chooses to do that (not reveal their name), that is their right. I just never knew that some people would want to remain anonymous.

Anyway, I need to get back to work. I have fiddlefarted too much today. (My mom uses that word, I think it's funny *hehe*).

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

My old roomie called me last night to say she should be in town Saturday night. She is currently visiting some folks in Texas. The only problem is that it's the night of our annual Christmas party that me and my best friend throw each year. I would be the only person she knows there and I don't want her to feel out of place and I don't want to feel I have to entertain her while we are there. Anyway, the conversation was a little awkward. I haven't spoken to her on the phone in almost 5 years. Anyway, she said she would think about it and call me when it was closer. Man I'm nervous.

Anyway, I posted about 9 new photos on my Photoblog (link is on the left side of my blog). Check them out.

Here's a pic of roomie.[image]trina_1369095666.jpg[/image]

I caught [u]The Mothman Prophesies [/u]on HBO last night when I got home. Weird movie, but it didn't freak me out as much as I thought it would. :shock:

Strange because I was talking about loving to study prophesy yesterday and then I read that billyryan is afraid of moths. And I NEVER watch HBO.....interesting. :wink:

You represent... kindness.
You're a very gentle, kind, and caring individual.
You truely care about people and are generally
well-liked. Though sometimes you may be
perceived as weak, you truely have a strong
heart and a good desire to help others.


What feeling do you represent?
brought to you by Quizilla

My rommie that I lived with in Boston is coming thru Alabama next week on her crosscountry trip back to MA from Cali. I haven't seen her since I moved back here. We have emailed off and on but I haven't SEEN her. You have to understand: the person I was when I lived with her is NOT the person I am now. The reason is because I rededicated my life to the Lord. She knows this but I am not sure she really understands how big a change has taken place. Anyway, she is coming thru and I said it would be neat to see her again and she could stay at our place. I am SO nervous about her coming. I mean, I know her lifestyle and language is far from dainty (and ladylike) and I want it to be a good visit. I have recruited my best friend to hang with us so I am not outnumbered (she will have a "trip companion" with her).

Anyway, I was chatting with a fellow bible study regular and she commented that she could tell how nervous I was about the upcoming visit by how I was talking. When she said that, I realized I was talking really fast and bouncing my legs up and down. Isn't it funny how our body reacts to certain emotions? Well, I didn't realize I was as nervous as I am about it until she said it. :?

So I just hope it goes well and I hope the Lord uses me to shine a bit of Truth in her life.

This will be a boring post to most of you, but such is my life sometimes. Last night I went to weekly bible study and Donna had made potato soup. Yum, I love potato soup. It is such a wonderful comfort food. Anyway, I had dressed Rayna in this red velvet footed onesie that was very festive. She is so funny trying to crawl in those things. She ends up getting both legs on one side of her outfit and she can't move. So I decided to unsnap the leg part so her legs could hang out and she could crawl better. Well, when I did I got a peek at her diaper and it was COVERED in red fuzz balls. I thought it was funny, but maybe you had to be there.....

Anyway, bible study was good and I am excited because we are going to be getting into more of the prophetic books of the bible soon, like Daniel and of course Revelation. I love to study prophesy.

We do prayer requests before we get started and it seems like there are always so many. Usually someone always mentions a sick loved one. I hate hearing about people who are suffering in their bodies. My aunt is in the hospital having problems with her colon. The doctors think they may have to replace her colon with a bag. It has a name but I can't think of it right now. Who knows when she will get to go home. She has suffered so much mentally and physically, but she is still holding on. Also Jonathan's parent's neighbor has pancreatic cancer and he is not doing well at all. I don't think he will last much longer. It's so eye opening. Life is so short and anything could happen to us at any moment. We are not promised tomorrow. Remember this and be thankful for what you have in life, good or bad. The bad things happen to make us stronger.

These are the posts that reveal who I really am. When I just start typing and not try to think of what to say. So here I am.

What is courtship? (Part 2)
Courtship is the time when you begin to date one person exclusively, frequently, and with the purpose of determining if this is the person with whom you truly want to spend the rest of your life. Courtship begins with a decision to date only one person and ends in a formal engagement or a definitive dissolution of the relationship. In other words, the end of courtship is either an engagement or a breakup. A good courtship can be exhilarating and joyful. A courtship that is conducted poorly or ends badly can leave a person feeling bitter, angry, frustrated, disappointed, discouraged, and even depressed. Therefore let’s do courtship right! The Song of Solomon will give us useful guidance on courtship over the next several weeks.
My Question For You:
When entering a dating relationship, have you contemplated that it might lead to courtship? Do you thing about the differences between dating someone and courting them?

My Challenge For You:
Consider that the person you are dating could become your mate. Are you investing the time in this relationship to determine if you should move into the courtship phase of your relationship?

We had a wonderful holiday and the baby traveled well (we went to Mississippi to visit Jonathan's family). It was the first time for most of them to see Rayna and they all just loved her. She was such a good baby the whole time. She only got really upset one time in her carseat so that was a blessing. It helped that the inlaws rode with us as they were able to entertain her. It was a nice visit but it's good to be home again. Taylor, one of Jonathan's second cousins (who is 7), just adores me for some reason and he had a calendar counting down the days when we would be there. His parents said it was all he talked about for two straight weeks. Jonathan was teasing him telling him not to try and steal his woman. LOL! He's really a cute kid and it's funny that he adores me so.:?

Ugh! I have got to quit spending money. It's so close to Christmas and I am wanting to buy stuff for me instead of buying presents. Don't get me wrong, I love to give gifts but only when it doesn't seem like such an obligation. It's so much easier to buy stuff for yourself because no one knows what you like better than you! *grin*

For those of you giving me gifts this year, I accept cash and WalMart or Target gift cards. *grin* (just kidding of course but a girl can dream can't she?):D

Oh, and one last thought. If our next baby is a girl we are naming her Rianna (pronounced Ree-anna). We'll probably start trying again when Rayna is about 2 or so.