"You can't schmooze me, Barack..."

Moonlight and Mistletoe.

My roommates and I are throwing a holiday bash this Saturday...I know...the day of the SEC championship game. However, our party starts at 7..so we expect people to start arriving slowly around then, and then pick up around 8pm. The menu is as follows: (it's a little bit of a smorgasbord..)

Cranberry Baked Brie
Pampered Chef Spinach Braid
Hotz Crawfish Dip
Mini Cheese Balls
Sausage Balls
Seasoned Pretzels
Meatballs - made with grape jelly and bar-b-que sauce
Hummus
Mrs. Becky's Butter Roll
Chips/salsa
Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes with candy canes
Cookies (of course)
White Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Hot Chocolate
Christmas Wassail

(anything else I should add here?? any special Christmas-y foods that can not be left off?)

There will be a new fire pit in the backyard, and plenty of Christmas decor and mistletoe on the inside...good times. AGD taught me right. Need I say more? :)

so if you are in town, please feel free to drop by! would love to see you!!

Love Stinks.

I LOVE this movie. and this performance is hilarious. I keep wondering...which character am I? the fat guy...the lady with the side burns...or the mutants at table 9?? Enjoy. (and please notice the old man actually biting his leg at the end...priceless.)

and thank you again, Matt Ford, for teaching me how to "embed"..:)

Thanksgiving.

As Christmas is quickly approaching, Thanksgiving can easily get overlooked, becoming a holiday to "get out of the way". Instead it should be a true time of reflection and thankfulness to our Lord for the many gifts and blessings He has given us - our lives are full of them, even in the midst of suffering. I went home these past three days to have an early thanksgiving feast with my family because I work these next three days. My stepdad's dad has stage 4 lung cancer, his mom is living with alzheimer's disease, his sister is currently getting radiation for breast cancer, my mom suffers from fibromyalgia and was hobbling around the kitchen while cooking, my sister is a single mom who has been searching endlessly for a job while in school - finally found one, and then was told she probably wouldn't get many hours this holiday season, my stepdad has been searching for a job for 5 years, and is now in nursing school and studying for finals.

Life isn't always what we would predict or desire, to say the least.

But my time at home was wonderful. Everyone was in a great mood, and loving, and laughing - you would never know all these troubles lay in each heart. We went around the table at dinner and stated that for which we are most thankful - Jesus. Family. Friends. Life. and some of this was through tears. How thankful I am for these people in my life. Praise the Lord for placing me in this family. through thick and thin, they are always there. my mom is the hardest working woman I know with a heart of gold that can't be matched, I am sure of it. She gives and gives to the point of exhaustion. I love you mom. My stepdad washed my car today (a small thing maybe to some, but it served me tremendously, and was such a sweet gesture of love from him.) - thank you, Gary - I am so thankful you are a part of our lives. My sister takes after my mom - she is a hard worker herself, loyal to the core, and tenderhearted - the best sister for which a girl could ask. and my nephew, Tyler, still calls me "his shana" (or "my shana") - which completely melts my heart.

Father, thank you for the multitude of blessings you have given me, when you didn't have to give me anything - for you have already given me everything in Jesus. I love you, my Rock, my Redeemer.

FICKLE.

ok, ok. I know. but you know me. I don't have time, nor the know-how, to make my blog private. I'm too lazy. my room needs to be cleaned. laundry needs to be done. i am out of town right now. work is on my mind. when do i have time to make a blog private? details, schme-tails.

but be on the look-out, because I may get a wild whim again in the near future. i promise not to become the boy who cried wolfe, though. well, maybe. see the title of this post.

so, my work christmas party is coming up - december 10th. i asked a friend to go as my date. he unfortunately already has plans. I have come to think this is probably actually better. as much fun as it would be to have someone with me in which to dance (apparently Pegasus throws a huge bash)...i am now free to talk and mingle and not worry about another....i guess.

also, I stopped by edgars bakery today to get a strawberry cake for my stepdad - and did anyone else know they make wedding cakes?? beautiful, unique wedding cakes. why prick the fibers of my heart?

on a similar note, i made plans to go to china this october with the lady who leads my bible study and her husband - but found out 2 days ago that I can't go - there is a great 2-for-1 deal right now that would end up being $3500/person (which is manageable) - but if you are going single, it's $7000. what a let down. can't a single girl catch a break? "we don't currently have any single rooms available for this trip, I'm sorry. If you don't have another person to go with you, you'll have to pay the full price." - is what I heard on the other end of the line. booooooooooooooo.

anyone want to go to china next october? :)

and my trip to Greece/Italy is now just to Italy - which I think will be much more relaxed and enjoyable without a ton of rushing from place to place on a daily basis...we can actually walk and sit in a cafe and drink a glass of wine and laugh.

oh, and is there a threshold one reaches when it comes to rejection? does anyone hear me? anyone out there? (I get that from beth moore - she says that all the time)

run, run, run...getting started again...up to 2 miles. spending time with the Lord on a regular basis and LOVING Him more and more each day. It's so interesting to feel the peace of the Lord transcend all my understanding with my day to day life. He always meets me right where I am, and seeps His light into the depths of my heart. What sweet joy He brings!

ok, well...there's an update. love you all with this wittle heart o' mine.

To da window...to da wall....

"When you become close with someone, you develop a kind of sixth sense. You can read their moods like a book. And right now, the title of Michael's book is.. "Something Weird Is Going On...colon...What Did Jan Say? The Michael Scott Story...by Michael Scott. With Dwight Schrute."

-Dwight Schrute
(I laughed out loud when I read this quote)

Soooo....I've been thinking...and I am going rogue. I am making my blog private...so for those of you who read my blog and keep up with me regularly, and want to continue...please leave me your email address and I will invite you into my world blog-style!

Now I am going to bed...as you can see..it's time. and the song in my head is one my mom used to sing to me most every night when I was little...

"somewhere over the rainbow, where blue birds fly, birds fly over the rainbow, why then oh why can't I? where troubles melt like lemon drops, way above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me..."

A Duck'll Do.

Donna and I took the kids out to Howard Lake today to walk and let the kiddos play...as we were walking, Marky kept picking up sticks and made sure his "Aunt" Shana had one so she would be exxxxtra safe...anytime I tried to put it down (secretly), he would immediately notice (observant little kid) and say "where's your stick?"...so it was my duty to hold it annnnnd wittle Tucker while we walked...which is a joy in and of itself...sweet little Tucker boy- a cuddler to the core. There were a couple times that "it was just tooooo hard" for Julia to walk...and aunt shana carried her as well...sweet little princess.

The ducks and geese were EVERYWHERE. and they had about 20 fuzzy little babies to go along with them...one lesson we did learn today (as we fed them)....ducks are a selfish breed...no food for the babies if they couldn't get there quick enough...hmph. Tucker thinks "not feeding babies" is the worst thing he ever heard.


Here's a shout out from Mama D. Thanks Shana for coming with us today and hauling all my kids. You know I would, but, you know, if you are around you might as well. :) Thanks also for the trip to the zoo last Friday. I don't know what mommy's without Shanas do. Although it was funny how I had to convince the zoo worker that ALL THREE kids were mine and not one of them was yours. I mean, you do have a baby face.