Meet My New Friend

I have had my Yamaha Clavinova for 20 years now.

She has served me well. I still love her very much.

But today, a new friend has entered my life.

My hubby bought me this piano today.

This is not me playing (obviously) but the sound you are hearing is the reason why I had to have this particular model.

It's a beautiful thing.

Cute-o-meter

The only thing cuter....

than these pink butterfly shortalls

with heart shaped buckles

that I snagged at a resale shop for $1.00

 is the kid wearing them.

Unashamed

When I finish a delicious meal, I compliment the chef and the deliciousness of the food.

 When Sydney finishes a fantastic meal.

 She licks the plate.

Now, THAT'S true appreciation.

Bunco-Rama

I've never played Bunco before, but have been asked to sub many times, and always turned it down.

I was asked again this week to sub and for some reason said, "Why not?"

It was meant to be...My husband got home early (which never happens) and he was able to watch the baby so I could have a night out with the girls. Had a marvelous meal, complete with dessert and coffee, and then it was time to get down to business.

I had a WONDERFUL time. Took me a couple minutes to figure out the game, (since I don't do numbers...I'm a letters person) and I spent a lot of time in the dungeon, but once I got to the winners table, it was GAME ON!

It's all in the wrist, you see. The slight flick of the right pinky just as the dice are flying to the table top. That's the secret you know. I saw several others trying to copy my technique.

I bunco-ed 5 times, got to wear a smashing pink light up cowboy hat, and won the big bucks! WAHOO!

But, the best part about my night out was that I laughed and cut up with some terrific ladies that are an absolute hoot.

I hope I get called again to sub soon. Thanks, Janice, for asking me to fill in!

Long Live the QUEEN!

Road Trips

We are planning out our summer.

So far, we have 2 trips on the books.

Next week, the hubby and I are going to Chattanooga, TN for the State H.O.G. Rally. Sounds like a get together for a bunch of pigs, I know...but H.O.G. stands for Harley Owners' Group, of which Chris is a proud member.

We will be taking the big bike of course...the one designed for lengthy trips. Sydney is staying here with friends and grandparents. Pray that I don't go CRAZY being away from her for 5 days. I may need medication on about Day 4.

I told Chris that if I was going to ride THAT far on a motorcycle that he was going to ensure that the accommodations were top 'o the line. We are staying at the Sheraton in a big honkin' room. We better be...

Tennessee is a beautiful place and we'll have lots of sight seeing to do and attractions to visit. I plan to stop by the Tennessee Aquarium. It is one of the highest rated aquariums in the country and I can't wait to check it out. I have always been a sucker for sea life and stars, so observatories and aquariums have to be included in my vacation.

I plan to blog while on the trip, so tune in for updates on all the fun we will be having.

Then, in July we are going to Kentucky Lake to see my uncle, my brother, and my grandmother. It is my brother's 30th birthday and he lives by himself in Chicago. It will be great to get the fam together!

We will be taking Sydney on that trip, so if anyone has ANY advice about traveling with a 17 month old, PLEASE SHARE. I'm a little nervous. No, I'm a lot nervous. She has not been the best traveler lately.

Summer, here we come!

Freedom

Can't wait to go to church tomorrow. My church is exciting.

I'm so glad I attend a church who knows what the word "freedom" means.

Freedom in worship. Freedom in expressing your love for God. Freedom from sin and all of Satan's hindrances. Freedom from tradition. Freedom from ritual and legalism. Freedom from staus quo. Freedom from judgmental spirits and eyes. Freedom from captivity. Freedom from the fear of man. Freedom from "what is so and so going to think."

Freedom from the belief that church has to be done "exactly this way" and we have to take up the offering "at precisely this time" and we must have preaching "every Sunday" and announcements "must be given" even if it interrupts what God is doing.

FREEDOM

Because sometimes the presence of God is so strong that my pastor doesn't get to preach.

And sometimes we completely forget to take up the offering because God is moving so mightily.
And announcements are given before church starts so they are out of the way and do not interfere with GOD'S ANNOUNCEMENTS of deliverance and salvation.

And sometimes my pastor preaches first, and then we sing, and then we just let God move.

And the coolest thing about all this freedom is that

people are being saved
and filled
and delivered
and healed
and touched
and changed
and rearranged

and it's all because God is not put in a box at our church. He is allowed to do whatever He wants, whenever He wants, however He wants...and it works. It really works.

God has His way because we aren't insistent upon having "OURS."

FREEDOM

Hand, Foot, Mouth, Elbow, Wrist, & Toe Disease

It's official.

Sydney has the yucky blisters in her throat and on her feet.

She is pretty cotton pickin' miserable.

The doc said yesterday that she had ulcers in her throat and that if she started refusing to eat/drink that I needed to call her. I assured her that she was fine and was eating great. Heck, I didn't even know she was sick.

Well she decided today that eating and drinking was just too painful.

So a phone call was made.

Medicine was called in and given.

And this mama will be busy babying her baby this weekend. I've worked quite a bit this week and I think we just need to hang out.

'Cause sometimes you just need your mama...no matter how big you get.

Don't Wanna Go

I should have known that today was going to be tough due to Sydney starting to fuss in the first 15 seconds of pulling out of the driveway to head to Nacogdoches for her 15 month checkup. Nacogdoches is 80 miles away. There are no pediatricians in Jasper and Chris only trusts Aggie doctors, so we drive to Nac to see Dr. Huggins who is a wonderful, kind, brilliant, and genuinely good person. I don't mind driving to Nac. I like Nac. I have friends in Nac. But, apparently my child doesn't like to travel so much these days, so my formerly peaceful drive to Nac is very stressful.

It just seems like these visits get harder and harder the older she gets. We walk in the cheerful office and Sydney starts to stiffen up. She knows...yes...she knows...this is where her legs get poked.

Throughout the visit she cries and fusses and cries and fusses. I can't even hear what Dr. Huggins is saying. I start to get flushed and irritated and frustrated with my child. I don't understand why she's having such a meltdown. Sydney has a blockage in her right ear and it must be removed. She really enjoyed that part..oh yeah.


Then, come to find out, she has ulcers in her throat. It's just a virus but can make usually pleasant children very unpleasant. Joy.
Then, here come the shots. They give the shots 2 at a time so it is over with in a hurry, but still makes my child really ticked off. She screams, thrashes around, and acts like she is being tortured. Lovely.
We get in the car and the fussing continues....all the way back home. I end up having my dad drive (Pawpaw came along for emotional support and extra arms) so I can sit in the back seat, shove fruity Cheerios in her mouth, sing to her, amuse her, and attempt to keep her from screaming. I usually can't ride in the back seat due to car sickness, so that adds to the excitement.
We finally arrive home after a fun-filled day at the doctor's office. I pitch her in the crib and crash out myself.
The kid sleeps for 2 hours. She wakes up, happy as a clam...like nothing ever happened.

Goody goody... I can't wait till we go back in August.
Yippee.

15 Months

Happy 15 Month Birthday, Sydney Lou Lou

Whatever are you doing these days?

A better question is...what are you NOT doing?

You continue to chew on EVERYTHING.

I'm wondering if you aren't milking this whole "oral fixation" thing a little too long.

Maybe it's cause you still only have 4 teeth and you feel the need to massage those aching gums.

Here you are chewing on one of MawMaw's scraps from her beloved scrap basket.

 You love books. You love books. You LOVE books.

You prefer page turning over any other activity.

You like to look at books while we're going down the road, and I don't really know how you do that without getting nauseated, because I definitely can NOT read and ride, but apparently you can. What talent.

 You are climbing into everything.

The dishwasher is one of your favorite haunts.

Here again, you are gnawing on a spoon. It's probably a dirty spoon that I neglected to take out of the dishwasher while unloading it. Here's hoping you have a bang-up immune system.

Here we are first thing in the morning before heading off to work. You are so engrossed in watching Baby Einstein that you can't even take a picture with your dear old mama.

The latest thing you do that is so cute I could just die is shake your head "no" back and forth furiously.

You can say: Da-da, da-dee, dee-dee, dee-da, hey daddy, hi da-dee, da-da-dee-dee, da-dee-da, bye daddy, by da-da, by dee-da, and bye bye daddy

You call me: Nanna

WHAT? I get the grandma name and you say every variation of Daddy that is humanly pronounceable?

Yes, indeed.

Back in the Saddle Again, Part Deux

Taking pictures/video from the back of a motorcycle takes skill, precision, guts, and lunacy

Isn't it cool how you meet people "by accident" and then realize that maybe it wasn't an accident that you met them? I think it is more than just coincidence.

That's how we met Dr. Henry Armington, the pastor of Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Shreveport, LA.

Chris & Pastor Armington

It all started when my husband decided to sell his first motorcycle, a maroon '01 Ultra Classic. He put the bike on Ebay and waited for a nibble.

No nibble. He waited a little while and then decided to relist it. Shortly thereafter, he was contacted by Dr. A through the Ebay message center. They corresponded and the deal was done.

The DH and Dr. A have been corresponding ever since. They always have good conversations and Chris enjoys hearing about everything that is going on with his church. He invited us to participate in the Jericho ride and that's how our trip came about.

Saturday morning, the weather was still threatening and we thought the ride might be canceled, but fortunately, everything was still on go. The skies cleared up, the sun came out, and over 75 motorcycle folks joined together to ride around the city of Shreveport/Bossier City and pray for God's will to be done.

We made several stops and different pastors prayed for different things. It was very powerful  to witness all different denominations, churches, and races join hands in a big circle and pray for the Lord to bring down walls of division, prejudices, and pride.

Central Assembly of God

Bossier City, LA

Stop # 2

Of all of the group motorcycle rides I have ever been on, this one was the most organized, most planned out, safest, and best-executed events ever...hands-down.

We had police escorts through the cities and the road captains were phenomenal. No one got hurt and every one had a great time.

Let me take a moment to explain group riding protocol.

(Stepping on soap box)

When riding in big groups, it is important that everyone stays together. In order to do this, the bikes ride in a staggered formation. Road captains or blockers are typically used to hold back traffic while the group proceeds through an intersection. These folks should be wearing brightly colored vests to identify them as such. As the leader approaches the intersection, he signals his blockers to positions where they can hold cars while the group moves through. Sometimes, not all car drivers will be accommodating. I have seen many a driver shake their fist or drive around a blocker and nearly cause an accident. If you are ever in that position, chill out for a few seconds and let the bikes pass. It's better than taking a chance of running over somebody.

  Road Captains in neon vests

(Stepping off soap box)

At the end of the ride, we wound up at a beautiful park where food, music, and shade was waiting. We visited, laughed, and relaxed after riding 100+ miles around the perimeter of Shreveport/Bossier City.

Chillin' at the park

Then, it was on the road again as we headed home. We experienced 2 more light rain showers and drove into our garage tired, happy, and lonesome for our baby girl.

What I learned:

1. It's good to get away and have a change of scenery. Believe you me, I saw a lot of scenery...450 miles round trip of scenery.

2. I'm not as young as I used to be and my lower quarters are not able to withstand that kind of mileage on that kind of bike. My lower quarters have been through a lot, car accident, surgery, and birthin' a baby.

3. We are headed to Tennessee for 5 days in June, and you better bet your bee-hind I will be on the Ultra. Yep, me and my Ibuprofen.

Back in the Saddle Again, Part 1

 After a nearly 2 year hiatus from any motorcycle trip of extended length, I am pleased to announce that I survived my 450 mile round trip to Shreveport, LA.

Let me first explain the significance of this feat.

We have 2 bikes. Sick, I know...wasn't my idea, buh-leeve me.

The first one is the '97 Heritage Softtail. It is what my husband deems, "a classic." It is not designed for long trips unless your hind parts are made of steel. The Heritage is my husband's most prized material possession and I know that if anything ever happens to me, he and Heritage (who is a she) will be very happy together and live the rest of their days in a blissful state. It is covered in an sinful amount of chrome and it's shininess is appalling.

Me on the Heritage at a much skinnier time in my life

The second one is the '08 Ultra Classic Anniversary issue touring bike. This bike is a Lazyboy recliner with 2 wheels. It has a bang up sound system, heated seats and grips, air shocks, intercom system, GPS, garbage disposal, port-a-potty, etc... Well, I may have gotten a little carried away, but I'm not far off. It is great for long trips, but unfortunately is in the shop getting beautified right now.

The one, the only, the Ultra

So, my DH was invited by a friend of his to participate in the Jericho Ride in Shreveport. This is a prayer ride sponsored by Rolling Radiant Thunder, which is a motorcycle ministry. We drove up Friday night after dropping off Sydvicious with the folks.

Our faithful steed. Take notice of the microscopically small and uncomfortable seat that I ride on.

Good thing my hiney is microscopically small.

We are experiencing a major drought in East Texas right now, so we weren't anticipating any rain. We were rained on 3 times while traveling to Shreveport which is about 2 hours from home. If you've never ridden in the rain while in an open vehicle, I can only describe it to you as this:

Imagine yourself wearing a tank top sitting in the back of a bass boat as it flies at unimaginable speeds across the lake. Now, imagine someone hurling hundreds of toothpicks at you while the spray is dousing you with water. Add a streaking lightning strike that makes you want to wet your britches (not that anyone would notice your pants are wet) and a tad of thunder and throw in the occasional large winged insect that splatters across your arm flinging white/gray bug guts on you, and you now know what it feels like to ride in the rain on the back of a motorcycle. If you are riding with my husband, go ahead and add to that experience the fact that regardless of your shouts, "LET'S PULL OVER!" you continue to be a wet toothpick target.

"Now, if you just look here at the GPS, it says that we can be in Shreveport in 43 1/2 minutes and then here is the number for the hotel, and we have gone approximately 67.3 miles, but with the headwind and rain, our average speed is approximately 64.2 miles per hour, and here is the number and address for our hotel, and isn't this cool...are you listening to me?"

We finally stopped in Carthage to get our bearings and decide that we wanted to head on to Shreveport and take our chances with the weather. The scary weather. The scary weather including black clouds and lightning. Yep, I'm a thrill seeker all right.

We finally arrived safe and sound and topped off the night with some great eats at the "Blind Tiger" in the down town area. WOW is all I can say. The heartburn was worth it, yes ma'am. Cajun food is a powerful thing and as I have recently discovered, gives me a severe case of insomnia. Thank goodness for late night reruns of "Whose Line is it Anyway."

Tune in tomorrow for Day II of the saga...

Chillin' with the Church Folks

Okay, so I'm going to give my mommy a rest and do a little blogging for her today.

She's had a hard week and keeps walking around making sounds like, "Ughh...Ohhh....Mmmm."

I think she needs to lay down and take a nap.

Let me tell you about what I did Saturday night!

My mama and daddy took me to this place that I had never been before.

When I got there, I saw my church people!

I saw my church buddies, too!

There was good food and good music.

 

But best of all, there was a chair.

Just for me.

They must have known I was coming.

 It took a little work to get into it.

I prefer the foot first approach.

But once I got situated...

I was SUPER comfortable...

 Ahhh...this is the life.

"Come on, boys! Play me some more foot-stompin', knee slappin', country gospel music!

But, let me get a refill first...

Dear Lord

Dear Lord,

I know that you won't give me more than I can handle, because you know my frame and you know that I am only dust... But, lately, I wish you didn't trust me so much.

Love,

Simplistic Joy

I smiled a bunch today.

I smiled so much today that my mouth muscles are tired.

I smiled when my kid started dancing an Irish jig when the local news came on the radio this morning. She loves the intro music. It reminds me of what you would hear back in the 80's when the 5 o'clock news starts. Very cheesy. Very funny. Perfect music to dance to.

I smiled when my kid sat down on the floor and opened up her favorite book while I was folding laundry. It was obvious that I was busy, but she opened up each page and pointed and I "read" (recited) what was on that page to her. She found it astounding that I had each page memorized and all she had to do was turn the page, and I read to her from across the room. She squealed with delight. I squealed too.

I smiled when my kid climbed up on the couch with me, patted my leg, and gave me puppy dog eyes until I gave up part of my grape sno-cone. She took a slurp, closed her eyes, and opened up her mouth again like a baby bird searching for a worm. After too many bites in succession, she began to smack her head repeatedly and shake it back and forth. Funny...I do the SAME thing when I get brain freezes too. I laughed and smiled and laughed some more.

I smiled when my kid was taking a bath and her dad was helping to wash her hair. She giggled when he poured the water over head to rinse off the suds. She leaned over into the bubbles and then sat up with a long bubble goatee. She said, "hey, hey." I chuckled all over.

I smiled a bunch today. Joy. Simplistic Joy.

El Cheapo

Call me weird. Call me sick and twisted. Call me crazy...just don't call me cheap! Well, I guess you can call me cheap, but I'm cheap in a GOOD way. I guess the word for that is thrifty.

I am also one of these who has a magical ability for stumbling upon unbelievable bargains.

Just this week, I was cruising the aisles at W-M when they began rolling out large racks of men's and women's clothes. Everything was a buck. I almost got trampled, but was able to grab a couple of really nice shirts for the DH, and a pair of shorts that I will now make my permanent summer garment.

Wait...the bargains that I found this week don't stop there. I have doing some Ebaying lately. I found a little dress from the Children's Place and I bid on it thinking, "Yeah, like I'm ever gonna get that precious outfit for that ridiculous amount of money." Well, I won it for 99 cents.

And then just a few minutes ago, I won yet another high dollar outfit, for....WAIT FOR IT...

WAIT SOME MORE...

Are you sure you don't want to sit down?

I think you had better sit down...you may faint dead away from sticker shock...

Okay..here goes...

10 cents.

I didn't stutter, sister. 10 cents!!

(I need a moment to wipe the tears of joy from my eyes, please and thank you.)