OMEA All State Children's Chorus

I'm not much of a choir girl. (sorry, Laura!) At least I didn't think so. Maybe it's just been so long since I've heard a choir sing, I forgot that I really do like it. And, after hearing this group of 125 children sing, I remembered how great it can be!

I'm quite sure that I cannot describe how powerful their concert was. Dr. Sandra Snow came from Michigan State U. and worked these kids super hard for a day and a half and it paid off! They sang a song in French, Latin and a "spiritual" that made me feel like I was back in the slave days!

The composer of one of the songs was actually at the conference. When the kids finished singing her song, they gave her a huge cheer and ovation. It was really moving.

And, I do have to say the Lord answered a very specific prayer I had before we left. (besides the one I said over and over "please don't let me slide off the road.") :) I prayed for a friend for Roman. She went into this not knowing anyone and I knew it would be so much more fun if she connected with someone. And, she did! There were several girls she buddied up with, but she really hit it off with Ivy. (pictured on the left. Savanna is on the right.) They swam together and stuck together during lunch and breaks. Ivy is from a teeny town up close to Woodward. Who knows if they will see each other anytime soon, but they've already chatted on the phone!

So, what did I do all day in the hotel while Roman was in rehearsals, you ask? I couldn't leave really because they had breaks after every hour or so of rehearsing. I brought books, magazines and some movies. In Austin, my friend Penny hooked my portable dvd player up to the tv in her room and some of the boys watched a movie. Brilliant. I was going to do the same except I couldn't figure it out so I watched 3 movies on the 7 inch screen of the dvd player!!! I'm sure I'll need a visit to Dr. Chad the Optometrist very soon!

I finally got to see Mama Mia. It was OK. I'm still completely baffled that someone could take Abba songs and create an entire musical out of them!!! It was definitely a stretch. Pierce Brosnin (sp?) cannot sing. Christine Baranski is always hysterical. Prolly won't watch it again.

Have you ever seen any Tyler Perry movies? The Cutest Boy on the Block and I absolutely {love} his movies. I watched "The Family That Preys" - which was good but the ones with Madea in them are hysterically funny. "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" is our favorite.

And, there you go. As always, I want to be here for you - even for movie reviews.

I'm off for the rest of our already busy day. Roman played a soccer game at 7:30 AM this morning. Um, yeah...the Cutest Dad on the Block got to cover that one. She was guest-playing for another team so I didn't feel the need to rush out of bed for that. She had auditions for Beauty and the Beast after that and now she has an outdoor soccer practice in a little while. The weather is beautiful here today - supposed to get to 70 degrees!! So my cute toes might get to visit with their long-lost flip flop friends today.

Finally.

B.

We're Back

Roman and I are back from Tulsa and we didn't even end up in a ditch on the way up there!! Hooray! I'll share about it later but right now, I need to spend a little time with my hubby since I've been "on the road" so much.

But, I found this on one of Josh's friends Myspace. (Yes, I check Josh's Myspace regularly. I delete the sleazy girls' profiles and get on to his friends if they have inappropriate things on their pages!! I am the Myspace police. Josh knows this and accepts his lack of privacy on the computer at his tender age of 12!!)

I hope you can tell what this is. It cracked me totally up!!

Be back soon,

B.

Snow Day

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love snow days. It's such a treat to get an unplanned day out of school.

Today is the second day of no school. It should be called an ice day because even though this photo looks like a huge drift of snow - it is pure sleet so it's like sand. This drift is about 2 1/2 feet deep on our back porch.

The other pictures are of the neighborhood kids all sliding down our driveway on disks and skateboards that Josh removed the wheels from. Even though it was bitter cold, they played outside for hours.


Please say a little prayer for Roman and me. We're leaving in just a little while for Tulsa and the roads are still not the greatest. I'm sure wishing for that huge tree trunk that my dad used to put in the back of my Chevette to help me have traction when I was in college!

We're going to the OMEA Convention where Roman will sing with the All State Honor Choir I think I mentioned she made it in to. The weather is worse in Tulsa but........the show must go on!!!

Have a great week and stay warm!!

B.

WARNING: Shameless Bragging Ahead

Feel free to exit right out of this post right now because I'm fixin' to let loose with more bragging about my little Joshie than your screen might be able to take!

Let me just start from the beginning...12 1/2 years ago in the wee hours of the morning I went into labor...

OK. Not that far back. :)

When our coach decided to go to this tourney in Austin, TX, I really just rolled my eyes. Texas is notorious for tough soccer teams and we've not ever done that well at their tournaments. So, now we're going in January - a time when we haven't been practicing much since November and to a town where they don't really have to stop practicing because of weather. KWIM? All this to say my expectations were low.

But greater than that, I {heart} staying in hotels and eating out all the time so I was ready to go, regardless of how the boys would do! And remember the forecast for Austin was beautiful upper 60's. It was 83 degrees when we arrived Friday night. Perfect.

The first game was at 9:20 Saturday morning which meant we had to be there around 8:30. A cold front had come through during the night and the temp was 40 degrees with a windchill in the 30's and the wind was blowing like crazy. No flip flops and capris for this chickie. It was cold all day - the sun never came out but the boys won both games that day. After dinner, we hit the outlet mall where I bought the CUTEST b/w floral rainboots for $6.25. I'll post a pic of them soon. They were worth the trip by themselves!

Our bracket was set up as a round robin i.e. it was based on points and there wasn't a semi-finals or final/championship game. We won our first game Sunday morning (much better weather - no wind, sunny and mild. Still no flip flops. Cute toenails have yet to see the daylight.) which made us tied in points with the team we were playing in the afternoon. So the last game did turn out to be a championship game after all! But, we had to win. Even if we tied, the other team won 1st place because they had scored more goals in their other games. (confusing, I know.) So the other team was playing heavy defense because they just needed to keep us from scoring and they would win the tournament. Every time our forwards would get the ball they would cover them up with defenders so we weren't being very successful. Josh is a forward and had gotten off a few weak shots but nothing really close to scoring.

Now let me back up a little. After the first game, I knew something was wrong with Josh. The boys usually spend all their time riding the elevators and roaming the halls going between each other's rooms. Josh was laying on our bed watching Mythbusters while everyone else was coming in and out. Red flag. He said he was just tired with a little sore throat. Yeah right. I gave him ibuprofen then and some tylenol when we got back to the fields.

Back to the game. It was 0-0 at halftime. About 13 minutes into the second half, Josh goes to kick a corner kick. (For you non-soccer peeps: he was kicking from the corner of the field which is even with the front of the goal. The object is to get the ball to all your players that are packed in front of the goal so one of them can head it or kick it in to score. It's a big scramble for the ball and always a good scoring opportunity because of the chaos.) Josh usually takes the corners because he's got a "big foot" and can get it there and put it in good position. Well, he kicks it alright.

And he scored from there!!!!!!!!!!! It bent out a little and went right in the upper 90 of the goal!!! No one else even touched it. It was absolutely amazing and something rarely seen in our sport - especially from a 12-year-old. We ended up winning the game 1-0. It was so much more than exciting!

Our friend got the whole thing on video so when he gets it to me, I'll post it and you can see it for yourself!

I don't think there is anything at this point in my life that could bring me more joy than seeing one of my children basking in the glow of a moment like that! His team gave him the team trophy and the tournament director even spoke about it at the medal ceremony. Definitely a moment to remember.

Then, the sore throat settled back in and he was pretty miserable all the way back to Oklahoma. I kept him home from school yesterday because I was sure it would be strep! Thankfully, it wasn't. But now we're all home together again because we have ICE everywhere!! It looks like a blanket of snow but it is sleet. Pics tomorrow!

So, if you're still reading, thanks for hanging in there! I hope you can feel the butterflies in my stomach as you read about Josh's big play!

Time to play in the piles of sleet!

B.

No Blog Zone

Welcome to the no blog zone. That's where I'm living right now. Besides not having anything to really talk about, I find myself with little time to put my thoughts together and form a post. I don't know about y'all - but it takes me forevah to write a post.

And, now (literally, in 10 minutes) I'm off to Austin for a soccer tournament with Josh's team. Go Celtic 96!!! More than the soccer that I {heart} so dearly, it's going to be warm. I'm so excited about that. I think it's going to be in the 30's here! I painted my toes, packed my flip flops and I'm ready to go. Oh yeah, and the sunscreen. I am the one that will burn in January!!

I'll be back and ready to gab on Monday. It's been strange not visiting your blogs and writing about the comings and goings of the Wrights. But sometimes you gotta take a vacay from the computer that sucks you into its vortex and never lets you out...

Have a great weekend!!

B.

True{ish}

We have entered into a wonderful world at Life Church. The world of Saturday night services. WOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!! That's right......I'll be sleeping in tomorrow morning cuz I've already been to church tonight!! In the words of the criminal-but-still-da-bomb Martha Stewart, "It's a good thing."

So, Pastor Craig started a new series tonight which has got to be one of the most relevant topics in the Christian world today, in my opinion. Satan, the father of lies, bombards us with almost-true statements all the time and if we don't know the source of truth - Jesus - we might just believe those lies.

I "grew up" in a church (I was saved the summer after my 7th grade year and stayed at this church until I was 20-ish) where the pastor didn't seem to want to step on any toes. He talked "around" things. It wasn't until I married The Cutest Boy on the Block and came under Bobby Boyles' teaching that I truly learned to stand on God's word, to not compromise. God's word really is black and white. If I choose to live in a gray area, it's not because God has failed to give specific direction in that area of my life. I'm pretty sure I just choose to see things my own way.

So what do you do with the truth? It says in John 1 that Jesus came from the Father, full of grace and truth. I'm sure He was the perfect balance of the two. Not one without the other - which is exactly how we should be. Enough truth to know what we believe and enough grace to love others so they can know that same truth. Not so much truth that we're prideful and arrogant and not so much grace that we blend in with all of society. Man, my Jesus did it the right way.

We already had some great discussion with JTA in the car on the way home. I think our children's generation is definitely at the most risk of being deceived by things that are true-ish. There are things that are so accepted these days - our kids don't even question sometimes. This is gonna be good!

I'm off to bed - LC gave us IBC rootbeer and I'm hyped up on caffeine, I think. I'm sleepy but my eyes won't close. blech. Oh well. I forget I don't have to get up early tomorrow! :)

Sweet decaf dreams to you all,

B.

Chin Hair

This is not my chin. But, I do have chin hair. Not hairs - a single chin hair that grows out stiff as a boar's hair. I first noticed it soon after Josh was born. I remember it because, Rosie O'Donnell (used to be a fan, not so much anymore.) had a chin hair that she talked about on her, then, new show. She was growing her one hair out so she could put a bead on it so I decided to do the same thing. Hey, I was at home all day nursing a new baby. I had to find some kind of excitement, right? So, I grew it and grew it. It probably got to 3/4 of an inch when I just couldn't take it any longer and plucked that sucker right out of there. It comes back every now and then. I don't let it stay very long.

Why am I talking about my one random chin hair??

Because I shaved my legs today. (Private note to Richard, the Cutest Boy On The Block, - Honey, I shaved my legs **wink wink**) And, I had been having an un-official contest with myself to see how long I could let my leg hairs get. You must first know that the hair on my legs grow at warp speed. I shave, I sneeze, I have instant stubble. The Cutest Boy On The Block never complains about my legs. I always complain about his stubble - but he, obviously, is much more tolerant than I. And it is -50 degrees here so there really isn't much leg showing these days. That's how I was able to have this secret contest.

Today was shaving day. Why today? Don't know. But, I bet those hairs were almost 1/2 inch long!!! Ewwwwwwwww grooooooooosssssssssssss! Yet, kinda interesting at the same time!! I had to do the double passover on some spots. One more thing to add to my "I'm Thankful For..." list - Skintimates Shaving Gel. (I think it was already on there!! Now I'm REALLY thankful!!)

All this to say........it's been a slow news day here in The Great Adventure!! Maybe I should have talked about that plane crash in NY...

Over and out,

B.

Did Ya See It???

No. Not the cards.....American Idol!! It was the audition show from Kansas City which is where Patrick auditioned. I haven't seen it yet (my family made a pinkie-pact to wait until tonight when we could watch it together) but I wondered if anyone caught a glimpse of me - umm, I mean Patrick!!

We did see the previews at the end of Tuesday night's show and saw all those crazies I just KNEW would make it on TV because of the way they were dressed. Those cheerleaders.............need I say more???

The audition shows for AI are so difficult for me to watch. Some of those kids are completely shell-shocked to find out they really stink!! Did you see their faces Tuesday night? It was the first time they've ever been told the truth - but it still makes my stomach hurt and I watch a lot of these shows the same way I watch a scary movie - through my fingers covering my eyes and ears and wincing the whole time!

Gonna be an interesting season!!

Now to the cards. Yesterday was my stamp day with The Girls. We start at 9:30 and stamp til 3-ish only stopping to eat some lunch. I love to rubber stamp but I really love the conversation that is non-stop the whole time with this group. The topics yesterday ranged from TMJ to meth to all the *ED* commercials on TV. It's really fun.

These (at the top) are the cards I made. I can see now that there was a running theme to my creativity yesterday. None of these are original creations - I am not that creative. (When I create something, it takes me all day to do one card. THat's how slow I am in that department.) These are my versions of cards that I've seen other places. I would give credit to the original designers if I knew who they were!!

I just have to share one thing from the past few busy days. Sunday night, Roman stubbed her little toe on her left foot. It was bad - very painful. Swelled up right away. We've all done it - I'm sure some of you just cringed when you read that because you've been there. Well....she can have a little drama in her. (gets that from her dad, I'm sure.) She hopped around. Asked for her crutches. Couldn't wear a shoe on that foot. Dragged her foot behind her like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. See what I mean? She never really whined about it but just wouldn't walk on it. I gave her Tylenol and ice but sometimes having a nurse for a mom gets you very little sympathy. It stems from caring for very sick patients that make a hangnail seem insignificant. Anyway, I rolled my eyes at her drama several times over the next few days, told her if it were broken it would be bruised and more swollen than it is and said "If you can't wear a shoe and walk on it for school on Tuesday, you won't be able to play in your soccer game Wednesday night." That will snap her out of it, right?

She did fine on Tuesday. I decided I should take another look at it since I hadn't since Monday a.m.

IT WAS BLACK AND BLUE AND STILL LOOKED LIKE A SNAUSAGE!!!

Not a proud moment for this mama. I really think it might be broken!! Of course, she wanted to play in her game last night so I lovingly, and with much attention, taped it up for her and practically carried her to the car!!! Aye yi yi!! She had a great game. Her team lost but at least she wasn't in danger of being hit in the head by a mad little boy throwing his cleat after he lost!

Mom of the year,

B.

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Even at 21, he's still a goofball! He gets this from me - everytime he eats anything with any color to it, he smears it on his teeth and smiles like it's not there. Dork. (My bff from college, Mindi, and I would do this with brownies in the cafeteria and just talk to people like we had NO idea our teeth were black. That's so Guthrie...)

It's been a crazy weekend of NO INTERNET!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Which, at our house, means no phone and no TV because we get all this through Cox. I spent most of Sunday waiting for the fix-it guy and then on the phone with Cox because the fix-it guy still hadn't shown up at 7 pm that night. He showed up right in the middle of Brandon's surprise party. Must have smelled the cake.

Lots going on here but right now I have to jet. Gotta go to the grocery store, deliver flyers, get to Hobby Lobby, yada yada yada.

Peace, love and polka dots,

B.

More Than A Blog

Even these cupcakes couldn't help the Sooners last night! What a game!! I'm really about the snacks more then the actual game, anyway! *wink* You can't tell in the photo but these diet-busters are red velvet with cream cheese icing. Have you ever wondered HOW you make a red velvet cake? It's a pretty standard cake recipe but you have to add 2 ounces of food coloring!!! If you don't have an allergy to red dye before eating one, you prolly will after. And, just a word of warning, wear all black or be completely naked when preparing these! Enough said, right?

A friend sent me an e-mail about my blog to say that she never knows what she will find when she visits "my little corner of the world." I think she thought the word "random" would hurt my feelings. It so won't. Random is my life.

She also asked me about the title of the blog. I chose "My Life - This IS the Great Adventure" based on a Steven Curtis Chapman song "The Great Adventure." The lyrics all apply to me - except the "saddle up your horses" part. I don't really ride horses. But, he does say "This is a life like no other - this is The Great Adventure." So true. Forever, when I've listened to this song, I've always thought "You haven't seen anything, SCC. My life is truly the great adventure." This is what we were created for - this adventure following our leader into the glorious unknown!

So, my friend's e-mail got me to thinkin'. (on the ADHD freight train, of course) I want my blog to be more than just my random thoughts. (play violin music here) I want you to expand your horizons with me. If you need an idea for a cupcake - call me. If you need to know how to embarrass your pre-teen son - call me. If you have questions about rubber stamping or scrapbooking - call me. If you want to know what to cram up your turkey's rump to make it moist for Thanksgiving - I'm your girl. If you want to know what happens when you add Mentos to Diet Coke - call me. Soccer questions, health questions - why google?

And, if you want to know what distilled water looks like after it has passed through a gal's nasal passages.............get ready................wait on it.......................you won't be seeing that here!! bwahaha

But here is a photo of the nasal rinsing system I am using. Yes, that huge bulbous top on that bottle goes against your nostril. If you could have seen me the first time I used it...

It says to just keep your mouth open but I was doing some heavy duty panting to make sure nothing would go into my lungs! And, I kept my eyes squeezed shut. Don't know why, but I did. It says to blow your nose gently afterwards but I blew the heck out of mine to get all that water out. Here's what it feels like - sorta - ya know the feeling you get when you jump into a swimming pool without holding your nose? It's a little pressure, weird sensation. That's the feeling. It wasn't all that bad - I didn't drown. whew. And, I did feel like I had fewer boogers and less congestion the rest of the day. So there's your consumer report for the day. Better get on over to Walmart and get yourself a system.

You could be booger-free by the end of the day!

B.

Boomer Sooner!

Go Sooners!!!!! Beat the Gators!!!

New Socks

I am wearing new socks. Nike socks. I just can't think of many things better than having on new socks. So, I started thinking about other things that just make you let out an "ahhhhhhh...that's good" and here's my list:

A few of my favorite things
**Obviously, new socks. :)
**The way butter looks when you first take the lid off. (this goes for sour cream and whipped cream)
**The smell of a freshly peeled orange
**Driving on a newly paved road
**The sound of a rain shower through an open window or door
**Laughing so hard you can't breathe
**Dust collected on my purifier filter

Ain't that so purdy????!!! Finally...proof that my shiny, new air purifier is really doing something. See those stripes? Those are from where it touches the front grill. See that dark spot? That's where it fastens to the velcro thingie! All the other white-ish area is the dust that has gathered in its final resting place. I hope there are a lot of allergens in there, too!

I can't say that I'm feeling much relief from my allergies. But, that most fabulous and knowledgeable Lisa M. is sending another remedy my way: NASAL RINSING. She hasn't gone wrong...YET. I'm very afraid of this one. All I can think of is being told in grade school by some psycho kid that you can drown in a teaspoon of water and she wants me to squirt distilled water in one nostril and let it swish through and out the other one???!!! Aye yi yi. I'll be buying the "kit" in the morning. I hope it works. I really do.

And don't think I won't post pictures!! Ewwwwwwww.

Stay tuned.

B.

Remind Me

I think these letters are so funny! Prolly because that's how I see my fave 1st grade character, Junie B. Jones, talking to God. And that's really how I just want to talk to God. Just plain and simple - laid out there like I would talk to y'all.

One letter that I didn't post asked God "Did they really talk all fancy like that in the Bible times?" That brought to mind something that has always amazed me: how words and language and speaking styles have changed so much over the course of this earth's life and how it continues to change still. Remember when "ebonics" was a hot topic of debate? And now, the most popular language seems to be texting lingo! Slang is everywhere in our daily language but I don't really see it anywhere in my NKJV!

This really hit home to me a few weeks ago. That fabulous pastor of LC, Craig Groeschel (sp?), had done a series some time back called "30 Days to Live" and they re-played one of the messages.

(post highjack: you can go to lifechurch.tv and listen to his sermons. i know linda has done this and really enjoyed it. he's so relevant and easy to listen to. highjack over.)

Anyway...have you ever read a passage of scripture probably many times but then have it come to life when you read it in another translation?? This is what happened for me with Psalm 39:4-5. I have read the Psalms many times. I have a Macarthur study bible that is as much commentary as scripture - which is exactly what this chick needs sometimes to be able to understand a lick of what I'm reading! KWIM? I do enjoy the NKJV when I'm reading.

In Craig's message that day, he had video of a guy that was in the end stages of ALS (Lou Gherig's Disease). This guy knew his time on earth was coming to an end and it was gut-wrenching. Craig referenced that passage from Psalm. He used the NLT version - which is way different than mine - and here's how it reads:

"LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away. My life is no longer than the width of my hand. An entire lifetime is just a moment to you; human existence is but a breath."

Maybe David had just turned 41, like me, and was realizing, like me, that life is short and we shouldn't take it for granted. I mean, he used the handbreadth as a measurement which was the smallest popular measuring unit of ancient times. Would that be like us using centimeter? That is such a short time in the grand scheme of things!

So, I've been praying that: "Lord, remind me, Beverly, how brief my time on earth will be." I don't want to waste a minute! My goal this year is to make a real difference in someone's life this year - hopefully more than one someone! That David had a lot going on when he was asking for that reminder. It's time to step up!

About that reading the Bible this year and already being behind. Confession: I'm skimming my chapters in Genesis because how many times have I started from the beginning only to get through Genesis!! I've read that book a *few* times! (rolling my eyes)

Tomorrow I'll do better.

Really.

B.

It's Over, So Over

Christmas break, that is. And, I'm a little sad - really, a lot sad. I've said before that breaks from school are such a treat for me. I love having my kids home. This break was especially fun - but not for any reason I can put my finger on! It was just f.u.n.

So, before I go pack Roman's lunch and get Josh's jeans switched over to the dryer, here's some photos of the kids and their friends snowtubing in Bricktown.
They make these snow hills at the Ballpark and you get to go as many times as you can in 1 1/2 hours - which was 4 times for us. It was really crowded. But, I expected that since it was a beeeeeautiful day. We could have been wearing shorts and flip flops, it was so warm - wouldn't that be a great photo??!

Before we tubed, we got our Sonic food and sat outside by the fountain to eat. When I say "we" ate - that means us and the birds that the kids fed their french fries to! Those girls were afraid the birds would starve if they didn't share with them!

Gotta jet! I have to compulsively check the purifier filter to see if it got any "schtuff" sucked out of my air! Then I'm off to catch up on 3 days of daily Bible reading - yep, already 2 days behind! Sad, but true! Tomorrow - I'm making a new start!

Really.

B. - who can't wait to see how wacky this post looks once I hit the "publish" button!

Goodbye Box Fan

...hello air purifier.

I have allergies. This is new for me and has gotten progressively worse. Seriously, I wake up every morning at 5:07 am so I can sneeze twice. Yep, twice. Then I blow my nose for 5 minutes - completely hacked off that I am even remotely awake at that time and convinced that I won't be able to go back to sleep. For some reason, Richard thinks I AM awake and wants to have a conversation with me if he's up getting ready for work!!! I don't talk at that hour of the day. He knows that.

So, it's the end of an era here in the Wright house. Yesterday we replaced the box fan we've had for 12 years with an air purifier thinking it will help with those dratted allergies. The box promises to remove "allergens and dust mites" from the air. (Maybe it will send them to be with the dust bunnies under my bed!!)

I know you're thinking "What's the big deal about getting rid of a $10 box fan?" I also know that Lisa M. knows exactly what the big deal is. Right, Lisa? She's the one that suggested the bf to me when Josh was just a baby. It is the perfect white noise a baby needs when he has two big brothers that don't know how to "keep it down!!" Now, it's the perfect white noise we need when we go to bed and our children are still playing soccer in the front room! It's a trusted member of the family and has seen us through many loud times!

Today, I took off the front and back of the fan and vacuumed it out and cleaned the blades. It looked brand new. (not really.) And, I never cleaned it once in 12 years but now that it's going in the attic, I spent an hour on it. What is that about???

I'm not getting rid of it. You never know when we'll need it. But, for now, that purifier is PURDY! I put it on turbo mode with the ionizer on and I can practically see the "schtuff" getting sucked right out of the air!!

And, I have to admit...I slept all through the night last night. Didn't wake up once. But, I had taken Claritin yesterday. So tonight's the real test.

If it works, I'm buying one for every room in this house!

B. - who, the whole time she is typing, is wondering if anyone really cares that she has a box fan fettish!!

I Don't Need No Stinkin' Resolutions

I have a huge confession to make: I DO NOT eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day.

Not even so much as one little pea eaten in pill form (ya know, swallowed whole with a lot of water.) Not even a sniff of a pea. Really no vegetables at all unless you count the tomatos in the Rotel Cheese Dip!!

And, let me tell ya - it hasn't hurt me so far!! *wink*

I grew up eating those disgustingly gross peas every year on the first day of the year. Why would anyone think those things are going to help you for 365 days? I decided a long time ago that whatever food we eat on New Year's Day would be our lucky food. Yesterday, we had lucky grilled hamburgers, lucky baked beans (very similar to the disgusting pea but way better) and lucky left-over cheese dip. Yummo. Nobody gagged or complained so I think we are good to go!

And, I don't make resolutions. "Resolutions are for quitters" said the always funny sign at the liquor store on 4th street. (Post highjack: This store always has the funniest things on its sign. Sometimes a little on the naughty/inappropriate side, but almost always good for a laugh. I could do a whole post on that sign. {This is not an endorsement for the liquor store. Really. Now back to your regularly scheduled post.})

Anyhoo...sometimes I'm not good at sticking to things. It's been a problem for me for a while now. For example, it's why I quit working. I don't like to be tied to a schedule. I like to do things when I want to do them and if I don't want to do it, I don't want to have to tell someone I don't want to do it? Ya follow? And, when you work, employers like for you to do that work regularly - sometimes everyday!! Another example, children and meals. They like to eat on a regular basis. Aye yi yi! Talk about being tied to a schedule!! Naw...I'm just kidding about that one. Don't call DHS - I do feed my children. (Somedays it's "whatever you can find" with a vitamin on the side. I think that covers the nutrition part!!! haha)

So there will be no resolutions for me again this year. But, I am adding a little something to my plate. Life Church put out a guide to read the Bible through this year and I'm going to do it. Actually, we're going to do it as a family. I'm perfectly willing to admit that there may be days when I have to catch up for all the days I've missed, but I'm still gonna do it in 2009!

Ahhh...2009. This is going to be a great year. Even without the black-eyed peas!

B.