life... powered by God

2009 is flyin' by...

2009-06-24T00:28:00.000-07:00

YIKES! It's all racing past! It's SUMMER, 2009!
I've got scrapbooking to do...
Vacations to plan... (maybe! :o)
Work to do... (for sure)
How did this happen?

Matt, working out... he's getting to be so mature... sheesh...

Our dear friend Julie & her adorable daughter, at Judi's Surprise Birthday party! It was SOOO fun that night!!

Some of us girls at the party- SO glad we took a moment to do this! I think we'll look back at this when we're 60 and say "what were we all so worried about?? Why didn't we relax a little more??!" I hope so, anyway... :o)

Tom was the lead in a wonderful play put on by Saddleback Church called "You Can't Take It With You". He looks pretty cute for an old man... :o)

Jon, on one of our cruisers; we went out on one of our tours that goes out to Desert Hills. Fantastic SHOPPING out there... school clothes! everything...
We just finished the school year AND the Variety Show! Can't wait to post those pics as well... perhaps I'll even have time to scrap them!

I've had this song in my head ALL week! :o)

2009-03-14T00:26:00.001-07:00

Crazy Crazy Old Commercial! LOL

2009-03-14T00:12:00.000-07:00

A Little Slideshow of the Family

2009-02-12T11:28:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

a different set of eyes...

2009-01-19T17:09:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have those periods in your life where everything is moving so fast? Everything is in this constant state of flux and change... you want to keep up with it all but it's difficult; you feel like it might all slip through your fingers and you'll lose it all OR you'll step up and make it through in tact and all the better for it.

Well, that's not ME at all right now but I'm just saying... have you ever?

No, I'm Kidding. That IS me right now; that's my life and it's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just challenging.

I almost don't want to go into all of the things going on right now; it might be an incredibly long and tedious read. Suffice to say I am in a state of change right now; at 44 years old I am seeing life and things and people around me with a different set of eyes.

I think a few of the following images will clarify some of the things going on...

The day the Radcliffes moved to Arizona. We were close with them, they were our next-door neighbors, but not Super close with them. I miss that time with them and wish I could go back there and change some things. We were both so busy with our families and little kids but I just wish I would have gotten to know them better. It makes me think about a lot of friends in my past and what I could have done differently- but only as a catalyst for what I should do NOW with the friends I have and how I can reach BACK to these old friends and get close again. There are so many old friends who have popped up on FaceBook, it has put me in this weird spin with wanting so badly to connect with them all again...

I just thought this was a cute picture of Colin, Tait & Annika Radcliffe. They had come over for birthday cake. I LOVED that dining room... it was so perfect. This was probably about 1999...?

I am battling so badly with my weight it's driving me to the brink... here I am on my 21st birthday- I was like 122 lbs I think... I just LOVED that weight. I want so badly to get the lap band procedure done but we can not afford it and do not have the insurance needed for it; it breaks my heart. I keep TRYING to do it on my own power and I fail miserably every time... not sure what to do. It is making me more depressed than I can bear sometimes. I try to not let it get me down though because that doesn't help ANYTHING.

Not at all the most flattering picture of me... I am on the stage here about to sing with our band, the HolyTone Trio. We were opening for a comedy show, it was sold out (!) and very very fun but herein is my quandry again... I LOVE singing; it's everything to me and on the stage singing is where I feel the most alive... BUT then, I see pictures of myself and say "What on EARTH are you doing up on that stage?? Don't you know what you look like??" It is SUCH a battle...

sheesh... not good.

I've been having so much fun with my genealogy research lately... it is a bit frustrating though because I want to to it all of the time. I want to GO to these places where my ancestors were born and do SO many more things with it. It is truly an interest that consumes me and I love the discovery of it all... it takes away from other things I could be doing and should be doing... This is my Great Great Uncle Lee Sage and President Truman. He had the farm next door to Pres. Truman's mother.

Well... not my most fun post... but sometimes life is a challenge. It's not all perfect and clean and happy. I really hope I can move to a great place from this point I'm at right now. That I can take all of these new & old challenges and new & old friends and weight battles and everything and MOVE into a good direction.

Thanks for being there.

my boys lately...

2009-01-11T22:01:00.000-08:00

This picture is THEM.
Matt is in the middle. He is The Guy; the one that everyone relys on. The non-emotional stable guy that will do ANYTHING FOR A BROTHER. Getting a punishment? Matt will offer to take it for you so that you don't have to lose out. Need someone to go upstairs with you so that you're not alone and scared? Matt will do it. I do not allow him to take other's punishments but he is always pleading on his brothers behalf... Amazing.
Jon is kind of laughing and leaning on Matt. That's Jon. Almost always laughing and being silly (too much of that!) and needing to be close.
Cole, acting as The Goof Off BUT, notice his body language with Matt- He really loves and respects him.
They're so beautiful... I might be a tad bit biased though...
:o)

Our Christmas picture this year. It's shows each one's personality SO exactly!

they're growing.
they're changing... sometimes in ways I did NOT foresee.

Cracking me up lately:

1. they want me to tell them jokes before bed. I had this idea one night to get some great kid jokes off the web and print them out and tell them at bed time- they FLIPPED. such a boy thing to do. They still want me to sing, though... which is nice. :o)

2. Cole came up with this great idea tonight!! He said they'd get themselves up and get ready and everything and I wouldn't have to say a word about it (for instance, my usual: "come on now, it's time to go" or "better hustle or you'll be late") NOTHING. I'm in shock. I told them I would be the happiest Mom alive!! We're trying it tomorrow... (praying........ please work, please work!)

3. The way they talk to each other and other guys... hilarious. (since they don't read this blog I can say this!) but their voice goes down like, 2 octaves... "see ya later, dude"... that kind of thing; it's all low and 'guy-like', SO cute. They're little men. Well, actually kind of like medium sized men.

4. Their social calendar... friend's houses and stuff, all the time.

Looking at the Christmas Catalogs this past season... they always lay all over each other- they're very comfortable that way - but it inevitably ends up in a wrestling match, of course

5. When the 3 of them get together- how they love to chat! They have so many stories to tell each other and they laugh their heads off.... I love that they enjoy each other's company so much. They have their terror moments but most of the time, they really like being together.

(Cole, at Beach Pit BBQ... reading)

2009-01-08T09:16:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

i just hope she doesn't go too far...

2008-11-05T00:48:00.000-08:00

we really need a voice like Sara Palin's around now...

it is my passionate prayer that this election will be the WAKE UP CALL to all of those strong, conservative Republicans to get out and run for office!!

Let's give Republicans someone they can vote for without feeling like they're settling; someone of whom they can be very proud!

Packages of Spit... is it just ME??

2008-10-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

Ok... every time I see the stinking Yoplait commercial about how they'll donate 10 cents for every lid you send in the mail to them... blahhhgggg.....

IS IT JUST ME OR DOES THAT NOT GROSS YOU OUT??

People are LICKING these lids, IN THE COMMERCIAL, and then PUTTING THEM IN ENVELOPES.... IN THE MAIL....

Who is opening these envelopes?? Would YOU want to open envelope after envelope of spitty licked pieces of tin foil?? Seriously??

It makes my skin crawl every time... :oP

edit: COME ON NOW... Can I get an AMEN?? :o)

William Joyce

2008-10-16T00:17:00.001-07:00

... has been a favorite of mine forever.

I read him to my nieces... they're married now...

I read him to my daughter. we started with George Shrinks.

Then Shoes. Who can forget the line "... your very own, skinny boned, wiggly-toed feet!"

Something about his art is just mesmerizing. For ME, it was the precursor to Shag Art... it was the art that got me excited first, and then I saw Shag and it continued my love for this kind of eye-catching super cool art.

He went on to do Dinosaur Bob, The Leaf Men, Santa Calls, A Day in the Life of Wilbur Robinson- which, of course, became Meet The Robinsons. He did Robots... shall I go on?? He also did Rolie Polie Olie which was on the Disney Channel and was SO cool back in the day!

Unfortunately, he's gotten TOO popular... his art has gotten watered down. Just look at George Shrinks on PBS... it's terrible. Mr. Joyce's original artwork for that book is seriously gorgeous... someone has gotten hold of it and made it bland. I hate the thought of that happening to any of his other works... although he has some new cool things coming out, I hope they don't go awry!

why does that have to happen to some things??

Why does perfect art have to change?

Why does a character in a book ever have to change...?

this has nothing to do with books but why couldn't the commercial paper market continue on?? well, I know the answer to that one but I still wish it could have... with some regulation, of course.

why can't everything just have a pause button, so that we can have a minute to figure it all out??

* sigh *

Some Swell Pictures :o)

2008-10-09T00:20:00.000-07:00

I had a craving to add a few pictures that I just really enjoy... I've always had kind of a "thing" for cool images...
this car, above, is SO cool... I really wish ads looked like that nowadays, don't you?

this one is just adorable... :o) it reminds me of our dear friend, Mr. Alan Anderson, who started out as just a neighbor and ended up as a close member of the family. His pipe smoke would waft it's way over to our backyard. When I smelled it I knew he was happy; he seemed to smoke his pipe when he was in a good mood. He died a few years ago and it was one of the saddest days of my life... I think of him almost every day and miss him so much my heart hurts.

what a beautiful, tiny little impossible house... I picture myself as a child staring at this picture and wishing I had a house just like that but then trying to figure out where all of the rooms would be in a house shaped like that...

just a really beautiful image, i thought.

what a goofy title for such an amazingly dark and mysterious painting (the title came with the image)... maybe it's not supposed to be mysterious, that's what I think when i see it- it's really beautiful, though. What do you think when you look at it??

i've had this image for years... it's, of course, a 50's drawing of the Jungle Cruise ride. I love the whimsy of it.

THIS is advertising a new "executive" car that had a phone in it!! Remember that there were old cars that would have these?? Very few and far between... this was the beginning, though...

there's the sleek, polished look of those cars above, and then there's THIS... a BEAUTIFUL art-deco style ad from the 20's. Just Gorgeous!! Look at that diamond on the top of the ad, the little filagree work around the bottom edges and the choice of colors... pure poetry... *sigh*

I had to add some photos, of course!! :oD
Here's Fred & his sister Adele, before he got famous with Ginger and other partners, he started dancing with his sister. I can't remember what happened to her but I seem to remember she got married and quit show biz...

Isn't this a gorgeous picture of them?? It's funny that Betty Grable was such a star in her own right... but then you put Marilyn next to her and she just sort of fades, hmm? and Marilyn seems so happy here. It was during the filming of "How to Marry A Millionaire", one of my absolute favorite films... I've always loved the dress she wears in one of the last scenes; it's at Page's wedding... it's just gorgeous. Next time you watch it, notice and then you tell me if you think I'm wrong! :o)

SHAG...

2008-09-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

so, i just LOVE Josh Agle. His art makes me smile.

It's just so fun, quirky, odd, creative... it is, in my opinion, art that stirs emotion & feelings of some sort... it definately strikes me;

How does it strike YOU???

So, I knew he lived nearby, in Lemon Heights (I had read in an article) but never really thought that much about it until the other day when I saw him, right next to me on the road, in his car... I had just dropped Cole off for football practice at Foothill and there he was. I'm not usually a 'star-struck' sort of person but I sure was then. :oD I almost wanted to follow him- for What? you ask... I have no idea...
which is why i didn't, of course. that'd be silly.
but now that i'm in my fourties, i realize that sometimes silly is good. you lose silly, i think, in your 30's... you get all serious because you realize how serious life is; how much everyone is relying on you to take it all seriously & step up...
i NEED silly nowadays. too many things are way too serious...

You know??
but i digress...
I love Shag Art...:o)

The Comedy Show

2008-09-23T00:47:00.001-07:00

L-R (in the back) it's Cole, of course, trying to get in the picture... he did that it almost every picture that was taken that night! Then there's Eric (he played a good Ryan Seacrest!), then me, then our wonderful Jon (who said that night "there's really nothing better in the whole world than being on stage, is there Mom??" :o) then above, Jake Bergstrom, Chantelle Gibbs, Isaiah (the little blond kid in the front) then Michael Fontonesi, and Gabby Veneracion.

So, as most of you know, we participated in this new idea at Calvary... the Comedy Show.
What you may or may not know too, was that it was VERY hard for us to be in this show.

We didn't think it was funny.

There... I said it.

It's very hard to be a performer in a show and not think it's funny...
1. if you act as embarrassed as you feel, you look foolish and the show is no good
2. if you act as funny as you can, "selling" your performance for all it's worth, you end up looking like you think it's funny and then potentially you look foolish for thinking it's funny...

do you see my quandry here?? :oD
Tom & I both were going nuts... we had committed though, so what do you do?? It was an experience; it's all good. God places you in situations for a reason, and we definately prayed about that show BIG-time prior to joining the cast.
I hope the Lord was honoured there that night and that some came to Calvary who might not have otherwise, that's the whole point, isn't it?

You can't really tell here but this is when Tom is coughing up/spitting the water all over the "priceless antique painting by Thomas Jefferson" that ends up getting smeared and ugly afte he wipes the water all around and says "Did I mention it's a water color??" That was actually pretty funny...

Tony Nitz, doing his "Bunion" face. He was a BLAST...

AAaaarrrr......

2008-09-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

it be Talk Like A Pirate Day!

A New Species collected off Wassteri reef, ... - Yahoo! News Photos

2008-09-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

A Ctenophore or Comb Jellyfish collected off Wassteri reef, ... - Yahoo! News Photos
How many others have been on this Earth for thousands of years and we've not yet seen them...??

I find things like this to be very humbling... we should never begin to presume that we know all of God's creations... that we know everything He has done; just like we have NO idea what he has done for us personally in our lives.

That's my take on learning something like this.

School, Work, Performances...

2008-09-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

wOw, what an amazing time lately...
- Performances and Rehearsals for the Calvary Comedy Show (done now... SO glad)
- Vacations... (done now, NOT glad)
- 2 boys in Junior High... hmmm, not sure how I feel about that (AND the 2 in college, 1 in 5th grade)
- Cole in football practice nearly every day
- TONS of work, which is great, except for the "work" part of it
- getting back into the routine of school... huge for me
- starting Christmas musical rehearsals (SO fun!)

Matt trying on new glasses, hopefully he'll be able to see the board in the classroom this year! Did you notice how it looks like I'm taller than him... yeah, I wish- I'm holding the camera way above my head (no, don't ask me why I do these things... i just do)

On our way home from the cruise... that's JON laying across them. I love how they feel so comfortable with each other and don't mind if one lays on the other... they're really kind that way.

I added this because I look so calm and rested- this is just before Formal Night on the cruise... by this time I had let go of the stress of work, etc. and decided to just be calm... I feel "life" creeping back on me!! aaaaggghhhh.... LOL

Remember, if you're going on vacation!

2008-08-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

Stewart Travel Company
We have an incredible on-line travel web site!!
Tours to every country
Cruises (we're going on ours at the end of the month :o)
Flights and Hotels

But not just travel, there's:
Airport Parking
Flowers
Golf Tee Times
Passport procssing
Bridal/Honeymoon Registry
Tickets to events
TOO many to list...

Open Arms Backpack Drive

2008-08-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

Open Arms, an orphan care ministry of Calvary Church, is hosting a backpack drive throughout the month of August. We are collecting NEW, EMPTY backpacks and collapsible lunch pails to send to school age AIDS orphans at the Acres of Love Forever Homes in South Africa, and to local children living in foster care throughout Orange County. These backpacks will be given to children in K-12th grades.
Collections will take place on Sundays August 17, 24, and 31, at a marked table in the lobby before and between services. The church is located at 1010 N. Tustin in Santa Ana, between Fourth Street and 17th Street. HERE'S the link.

This Week!!

2008-08-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Chris, our 5th & 6th Grade Pastor at Calvary... after he got slimed with a concoction of:
- green vanilla pudding
- oatmeal (ug!)
- fruit pieces
- corn syrup
- and baby shampoo... oh my...
what a GOOD SPORT he was!!

Jon & Cole thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing...

smashing slime in Erik's face. Honestly, I don't know that they planned (he & Matt) on getting slied at all... that was the BEST part. As Matt & Erik were trying to make announcements and talk about importatn things, Chris & Ben kept, ever so quietly, smearing slime all over their heads, putting slime down their shirts and then started smearing it on their faces. It was SO great!!

Miss Penny was sick, so "Mr. Bling" filled in!!! It was a riot. Here's Matt with Mr. Bling... just chillin'.

Cole, first week of this year's football practice... here we go again! (he LOVES it secretly... ;-)

for a laugh :o)

2008-08-03T23:16:00.001-07:00

poor guy... that's pretty disgusting, actually.

that's too painful to even think about.

and you've probably heard abou these... PERFECT VICTOR FLIPS, DON'T YOU THINK??

for those late-night jogs...

2008-08-03T23:13:00.001-07:00

light-up fashion... it doubles as a lamp... seriously.

Here's their site: Rhyme and Reason

Bubble Calendar, a poster-sized calendar with a bubble to pop every day.

2008-08-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

Bubble Calendar, a poster-sized calendar with a bubble to pop every day.
i would love one of these... actually, it would make a very fun gift.

The California Trolley!

2008-07-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

How fun is this Trolley??

It is part of our fleet of vehicles now that we charter. I think it's perrrty.... :o) It's getting a new engine though, right now, poor thing! It'll be ready by early August tho.

Uncle Jerry's Birthday :-)

2008-07-26T23:01:00.000-07:00

2 great Uncles... Ron & Jerry. *smooch*

Part 1- Cole & Dylan, he needed his shoes tied and so Cole came to the rescue.

Part 2: While he was tying it, Joey was checking it all out...

Part 3: Then Joey sits down and unties his shoes, asking Cole to tie them for him... it was really cute.

Uncle Ron & Jon playing "Super Monkey Ball" on my iPhone :-)

My cousin Kyle & his wife Candy. They just started going to Calvary! I'm SO excited... if you see them, be sure to say Hi! Also, he & my Uncle Jerry are the owners of "The King of Ding" J & K Appliances - if you need appliances, go there! And listen for their ad on The Fish; very funny.

Uncle Jerry & his daughter, Ashley & my girl Paris (on the right)

Cousins Ashley & Paris

Oddly coincidentally, my Aunt Darla & her husband Shawn are best friends with Steve & Melanie Duggins and so they came with their cutie-patootey daughter, Danielle!

I love this one... Matt & Melody Duggins were just sitting there on Uncle Jerry's patio, overlooking Orange & Chapman Ave, the lights were so pretty, it was such a nice night and they were just sitting there chatting & laughing. It's nice to see my boys growing up enough to enjoy themselves with other people, you know?

I actually really like this...

2008-07-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

very well done, funny, clever. there's a part in Act Two that I really would prefer the kids didn't see but other than that I found everything to be really FUN. Neil Patrick Harris is VERY good in this. You can download it on iTunes.

Dr. Horrible - web site

LOVE IT!

2008-07-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

found this on my friend, Susie's blog... (click HERE)
i laughed SO hard. love it...

I Love Summer Because....

2008-07-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

SOME of the reasons I LOVE summer...

time at the beach... here's matt & cole testing out the waters. it was a perfect day in laguna (diver's cove). we did some snorkeling (schools of fish and sand sharks!), boogie boarding and putting our toes in the sand... my fav.

having time together... jon & cole licking the cake-batter spoons :o)

date nights with tom! here we were at the Kodak Theatre seeing Ricky Gervais... he was pretty funny. then we went to dinner, see below:

so we found this place at the Hollywood & Highland Mall called "U-Wink"- it was REALLY cool! every seat has a touch-screen and you can play games alone or with the whole restaurant- here above was our score... we were pretty happy with that score! :o)

having time to visit the library... here's cole at the katie wheeler library, chillin... :o) he's just too-cool-for-school...

time for football practice to begin... here's cole at the Mater Dei Football Camp; you can't tell but he just tackled the wild dummy bag to the ground! you show 'em, cole!!

summer is time for paris' birthday!! my girl is 21... *sigh* we went to lunch at maggiano's, her fav, had champagne and steak (mmmm) and then went makeup shopping at sephora! nice...

hanging out with friends!! here's our beautiful & funny friend vienne & jon cracking each other up... it was at their fourth of july party at their house. i DO SO love hanging out with friends... i miss that in the 'busy-ness' of the year...

... kids are more fun in the summer... it's just a proven fact! here's caleb and the boys, trying to kill cole, as usual, and then it looks like the girls just can't quite understand WHY boys act like that... :o) (I don't blame you girls)

fun summer camps.... the boys started the Concordia Basketball Camp today- it is really well done.

but that's just me... what's YOUR favorite thing about summer???

Farewell Tour!!

2008-07-20T19:56:00.001-07:00

Oh man...
July 22nd at the Pacific Amp... The Stray Cats Farewell Tour - the ONLY date they will play in the whole of AMERICA!
Can you believe it. At least we can still see Brian & his Orchestra but still... it's the end of an age. They were IT. I just found this picture on their blog- it hadn't ever been published I guess- I thought it was kind of fun.

Some of my favorite pictures... (for now!)

2008-07-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

love these, thought i'd share... ;o)
above is one of my FAVORITE actresses ever... Carole Lombard
she was funny and talented and just so great...

Louise Brooks, of course :o)

don't you LOVE this one of Myrna Loy?? Can you believe she could look so glamorous and cool?? She always kind of looks like a "harried housewife", you know?? A little irritated and in a rush... not HERE, that's for sure!

Sarah Bernhardt... what was it like to see her on the stage, hmmm? As good as the hype, do you suppose?? I'll bet.

Bing Crosby & Al Jolsen - wOw... I would have LOVED to have been there, seeing them together!

A very young Buster Keaton

a little older now... ;o) (every detail is so perfect- the sloped shoulders, the floppy bow, the puckered green vest... just great)

General Custer!! What a striking figure and yet seems like a scrappy red-headed, freckle face kid, all at the same time. I'll bet it was like standing next to a stick of lit dynamite when you talked to him. This picture was found at a very cool web site, Shorpy.com.

I've got lots more but that's it for now... just wanted to stroll down Nostalgia Lane for a bit; thanks for coming along!! :oD

New York, Philly and life lately...

2008-07-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

On the road to Tom's cousin Jimmy's house

enjoying the sunset at Jimmy's house :o)

Tommy, Tom, Matt & Jimmy - what a fun bunch of guys!

Cole, returning from camp! We got home from New York about an hour before they arrived on their bus... whew... that was close.

5th & 6th grade Pool Party! What a blast- here's Tom going down the slide with Jon. PLUG that nose, Jon!!! :oD

The gorgeous spire atop Independance Hall :o) I'm SO glad we rented a car and drove there... it's a beautiful and thought-provoking place to visit. You really need to see it.

The beautiful Quacker Bank down the street from Independance Hall.

Matt at the New York Stock Exchange... Tom's cousin tried to get him on the floor but it fell through, rats!!

The street where my man was born... who'd have thought he was just a country-boy?? (Peekskill, NY)
loved the trip- wish i had more time to talk about it - gotta go!!!

How did He do this???

2008-07-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Amazing Camoflage
If you ever think that you BEGIN to comprehend how incredible our God really is, look at this... He MADE this creature...
I can't WAIT to study this type of octupus, and those that were in that Planet Earth series that glow in the dark. That will be a BLAST!! :oD

New York

2008-06-24T21:55:00.000-07:00

New York was really amazing... I'd never been. I found it to be so contradictory. Like this beautiful tile "14" above... it's in the subway at 14th street. There were markers at every stop (LOTS of markers, not just one be at least 2 dozen on each side!) and they would be these incredibly intricate signs, beautiful signs, and all around it would be pretty gross... although I must say I liked the subways; I like how you can go anywhere- I liked the smell of the steam and tar - it reminded me very much of the smell when you go through the railway tunnel to view the "Prehistoric Land" at Disneyland... you know, the one where that dinosaur has been chewing the same 'cud' for so long?? It smells just like that... there weren't any crazy people or "OTHER SMELLS"... if you catch my drift!! :o)

Here's Tom as we're dining in Little Italy at his cousin Anthony's restaurant. What a GREAT place, Little Italy!! All the streets were just like that scene from The Godfather where they have that festival with the parade and Robert DiNiro has just shot the important guy in the white suit...
it's just like that!

Here we are with our "Tustin News" to submit to the newspaper, on the Staten Island Ferry.
way too much going on right now to post, but i'll add more later...

More Cicada Club...

2008-05-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

Had to add a few more...
Janet Klein was just SO fun to watch, even more fun to listen to!!
This couple in the 2nd picture could take an eye out with the way their limbs were flying all over the place!! :o) They were great, but they certainly cleared the dance floor!!
That last photo was taken from up on the Mezzanine... there is a cool bar/lounge up there where you can sit and watch or talk quietly.
They are one of the only places EVER that I've seen serves Pink Ladys!! :o)

Click on this last one (above) to see it better...

Maxwell DeMille's Cicada Club!!

2008-05-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

oh man... was that ever the coolest thing ever!!!
you've GOT to go. First, the building... The Oviatt Building (circa 1928). Sheer beauty.
Then there's the music... Janet Klein & Her Parlor Boys... absolutely ADORABLE!! Get her albums from her web site (a complete discography) or there are two on iTunes!
Then there's the whole "event".... it's The Cicada Club, every Sunday night it happens, right there, 45 minutes away. It's a blast; bring those men!! They'll have a good time! (Don't let them tell you otherwise!! :o)
Tom was the BEST date EVER! He was SO generous and took such good care of me and made it the most fun... he's fantastic!!
There was a couple that got engaged right there on the beautiful stairway behind the band, during a fabulous Ella Fitzgerald song.
It ROCKED.
Oh, and there's also The Food: it was REALLY good, right up there with any nice restaurant, very good quality! Check out the menu on their web site!!

Cole's Birthday!!

2008-05-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

Itinerary:
Picked up most of the kids from school in the Cruiser
Picked up Eli from his house
Picked up Matt from his school
Waited for one of the boy's mom to come and get his for a baseball game
Went to The District to see "Indiana Jones & the Crystal Skull"
Went to Balboa to have dinner at Ruby's on the end of the pier in the pouring rain... it was very cool
The boy who left early for the baseball game joined us there for dinner after his game was done.
Left there, went home just after there was a major power outage in Balboa; the whole pier, the restaurant, all of the homes... eek.
Home for a while to play Wii and other games
Then out "Forking" (the hundreds-of-plastic-forks-in-the-lawn version of Toilet Papering) 2 houses
Then bed by 12:45 a.m.
Then up at 7 a.m.....
you get the picture!!
whew!!! What a weekend!! What a PARTY!! :o)

2008-05-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

Our Cruisers... it's been really fun/hard/interesting owning these things. It's been SUCH a learning experience- something totally unexpected in my life, that's for sure!
The first picture is an event we did last Sunday - the Balboa Island Art Walk... there's our girl, working the booth! We gave them a full day of a shuttle for their guests & they put us on all of their advertising - t-shirts, posters, flyers, everything. Was it worth it?? Not sure yet; if we get some calls from it, we'll do it again next year. So far, not much from that event.
The other pictures are Tom & one of our drivers, John, working on the buses at our bus yard in Anaheim. If we don't keep those buses beautiful and in perfect shape, who KNOWS what could happen??
Maybe something like our buddy, Bob, who also runs a transportation company- he was supposed to have his driver pick up a wedding party last week to go to their reception after the ceremony - the bus got there and immediately didn't work anymore!! It was a DISASTER... we sent one of our Cruisers over there to pick up the screaming Bride for him... :oP

this is so beautiful...

2008-05-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

This is the first photograph of a person.
Philadelphia, November 1839. "Robert Cornelius, self-portrait facing front, arms crossed. Inscription on backing: The first light-picture ever taken. 1839." One of the first photographs made in the United States, this quarter-plate daguerreotype, taken in the yard of the Cornelius family's lamp-making business in Philadelphia.
I love his face... the way he is looking at the camera.
Do you think he has ANY clue about what's to come??
How much what he is doing will change the world??

How about that HAIR?? This was way before mousse and gel... nice... :oD

"Centennial Bulb" still burning after 107 years : Ben Patterson : Yahoo! Tech

2008-05-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

"Centennial Bulb" still burning after 107 years : Ben Patterson : Yahoo! Tech
and i thought i might be the only one mourning the loss of incandescent bulbs, i see this article...
this bulb even has it's own WEB SITE... :o)
www.centennialbulb.org

UL3-1212

2008-05-14T23:36:00.000-07:00

It's gone... It's the end of an age.

I know cell phones are prevalent, but to get rid of "Time" and get rid of most of the pay phones... I just don't get it.

Do you?

I have been known to call "Time" quite often... I LIKE calling Time.

What if your cell phone is dead or not working?

Today: I ran out really quick to run an errand and didn't have my cell - I HAD to make a call but could I find a working pay phone - let alone a pay phone AT ALL?? It was horrible.

How do you feel about this?? This "Time" thing... did you know about it?? I've known about it a long time; because, as i've noted, i call Time alot.... :oP

Did you call it "Time", also? Did you think of the number as "UL3-1212??" Does that just show how old I am?? :oD

A Cool Download For Your iPod

2008-05-14T23:16:00.000-07:00

It's a full broadcast day from September 21st, 1939... it's awesome.

Just pop it in your iPod and it's just like you're there!! (and by now you know how much that appeals to me!! :o)

Since We Live In FREEWAY LAND...

2008-05-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

I remember once reading about how they number the freeways in California... I always wondered what the rhyme or reason was behind it- here it is...

One and two digit route numbers:
Odd. North/South, lowest numbers in the West.
Even. East/West, lowest numbers in the South.
Multiples of 5. MAJOR interstates that typically go cross-country.

Three digit route numbers:
First digit odd. Spur into metropolitan area (at time of route adoption).
First digit even. Spur around metropolitan area (at time of route adoption).
Last two digits. Indicate the route from which the spur or loop diverged.

i love tha photo... look how small the freeways seem (read: narrow), don't they?? That look like it might be the I-5 perhaps... ?? back before they made it a SUPER HIGHWAY...

I'll never forget- years ago, my brother was telling me about how he was driving down the 5 on his way to work in LA and he saw his binoculars sitting next to him on the seat so he decided to see what it would be like to drive while looking through the binoculars BACKWARDS. I laughed pretty hard at this (picture driving 65 mph while looking through the wrong end of those things...) andyway, I laughed even harder when I read this post in a weekly human interest column in The Register saying: "Spotted: a guy driving down the 5 fwy while looking through binoculars- BACKWARDS!!"

I thought that was pretty funny... ;o)

oh my... I've found something WONDERFUL

2008-05-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

In doing a little sleepy web browsing last night I found this:

Maxwell DeMille's Cicada Club in Los Angeles!!

I found it as I was looking at Janet Klein & Her Parlor Boys- (http://www.janetklein.com/) Their sound is pure 20's jazz, absolute perfection!!!

I downloaded her album immediately on iTunes!! It's so great!

The neat thing is, I often will try to find old music wherever I can because I'm such a fan- here's a band playing the same thing and I could actually GO SEE THEM! That's novel... I like a band that is actually still alive!! :o)

We're going to the Cicada Club on May 25th to hear this band and have dinner!!

Wanna Come???!!! :o)

p.s. Check out that link above for the club- you'll flip.

when i go to new york...

2008-05-07T16:41:00.000-07:00

I'm heading here...
The Village Chess Shop
I think I'd be too intimidated to actually play anyone but wOw... how cool would that be to check it out??
They've been open since 1972 in the same shop in the middle of Greenwich Village. People play until midnight every day. very cool...
I often day dream about carving my own chess set... It's one of those things I think about. I would make huge pieces that would be as long as the length of my hand and about 2-3 inches in diameter... I'd carve out a hole in the bottom in which to insert a nice weight, so that they're weren't too "light" feeling...
anyway, that's my plan... when I get the time!! :op

A New Fav....

2008-05-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

I found a new blog that i've been enjoying -

The Saratorialist

it combines my love for photography, fashion and my love for faces/ for people and - finding the beauty that is in our everyday lives.

i love how photographs capture a moment, a split second and it stays there. I know i've spazzed on this before but it's so wild - you can listen to an old radio broadcast or look at an old photograph and it's THAT MOMENT. It's captured there, just for you to be a part of it, or for anyone who wants to 'take in' that moment as well...

why on earth does that kind of thing appeal to me so much?? :op

a little hip hop.

2008-04-25T23:51:00.001-07:00

so, the two youngest boys have started a class.... it's VERY cool, very hip, very fun....

the only problem is - they're the ONLY boys in the class.

except for the teacher.

A dance studio nearby was offering their Tuesday night class for FREE for boys- it's a Hip Hop class- it's a blast - they did GREAT. i just hope they can have the guts to stick with it and ride out their embarrassment. it really does drive them crazy that it's a room full of girls. they can't quite appreciate that yet... i'm SO glad about that!
Jon cracks me up: some girls came up to them in the middle of class and asked the boys names (as girls do) and Jon says "why do you need to know that??"... he's such a cranky old man sometimes. :oP btw... the photo is odd because i took it with my iPhone and have just recently changed computers and don't have my beloved Microsoft Digital Suite program in here yet (I can't FIND THE DISC- WAAAAAA) I LOVE that program- it rocks. Anyway, I can't make my photos look great without it... so i thought i'd go for an 'artsy' look... what do you think??

As an aside: Cole auditioned for a play at Calvary today... will he get it?? we'll see...

Hmmm, this is interesting!

2008-04-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

So I took this "What Book Are You?" quiz online... this is what it says and my comments about it in red... you should take it too, if you have a blog...

You're Anne of Green Gables!

by L.M. Montgomery

Bright, chipper, vivid, but with the emotional fortitude of cottage
cheese, you make quite an impression on everyone you meet. (Hmmm, not sure about this one!) You're impulsive, rash,
honest, and probably don't have a great relationship with your parents. (Well, this wasn't true until they decided that being Jehovah's Witnesses was more important than having a relationship with me...)People hurt
your feelings constantly, but your brazen honestly doesn't exactly treat others with
kid gloves. (am I brazen? I hope not... I just hate the whole "fake" thing... Brazen? please tell me if I am- but don't tell me in a brazen way! I'm TOTALLY kidding... :o) Ultimately, though, you win the hearts and minds of everyone that matters. (Gosh, I hope so! That'd be nice...)
You spell your name with an E and you want everyone to know about it. What's odd about this is that I DO spell my name with an E on the end and am always having to tell people- I really DONT like my name without it's proper E at the end... :op

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

i really am flippin over these...

2008-03-19T20:12:00.001-07:00

you really have to check out these photos...
they're just amazing.
i added a BUNCH of neat "tags" to this one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2162708699/

i really hope you'll check it out. when you move your mouse over the photo, the tags appear. (when you're in the link above, not the photo on my blog here)

This is another funky story you should check out:
http://www.keisterphoto.com/cemeteries/tom_davis.htm
you know... just one of those odd things you come across when surfin'...

i just had to post this....

2008-03-11T10:39:00.000-07:00

ok, so this is SO wrong on SO many levels but I just had to do it...

19

i saw it on victor's blog and couldn't resist... ;o)

Super Smash

2008-03-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

so the boys had a bit of a party last sunday after church...
it was the 1st day that SUPER SMASH BROS BRAWL came out for the Wii-
they had friends over for pizza and all kinds of "kid junk" and to play this new game that everyone's been waiting for- it was really fun.

It's a very cool game- not for ME, mind you- I really only like games that aren't "timed"- the pressure of fighting games kind of defeats the purpose for why i like games in the first place- to reduce my stress and get my mind engaged and away from "the day".

I got the distinct priveldge of singing in church again this last sunday... the songs were SO amazing, they're still rattling around in my head over and over. escpecially "glory to the Lamb"- it's so gentle and then you get to sing with your whole voice toward the end- there is NOTHING-
NOTHING, i repeat, that is more wonderful to me than singing worship with a few thousand people. You just CAN'T sing that way from your seat in the audience- SO full-voiced like that-

because you know it's not about "being in front or "on the stage" that's the exciting thing- that doesn't even matter-

it's getting to sing and praise God with your whole voice like that- with the whole orchestra or band, the whole congregation singing right toward you-

it's awesome.

There Will Be Confusion...

2008-02-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

oh my.... paris & i saw "There Will Be Blood".

sheesh-loueesh. i don't know what to say...

the acting was impeccable.
the sets and scope of the film were perfect.

the story??? it fell flat in SO many ways for me. and i really wanted to love this film. i really did.

what a tragedy, this man's life; an epic failure in so many ways.
as paris & i were sitting there, dealing with this gritty, raw, definitely "Guy Movie", i whispered, "27 Dresses is looking pretty good about now, isn't it"?? :o)
would that we had...

but then last night, tom & i saw "No Country For Old Men".

i wish SO badly that i could say that seeing that movie made up for the lack in "T.W.B.B." but sadly, NO, it only made my angst at recent movies worse...
Did you get the whole "thing" about this movie? If you did, please tell me! Nothing got resolved, everyone- oops, i won't spoil it. but seriously, help me understand why this movie was made!! :op

NOT a color found in nature.

2008-02-12T20:50:00.000-08:00

omgosh... have you ever seen Flaming Hot Cheetos Puffs??

that is NOT natural. Not at all.
We should bring them to "Man Night"... see if any of the boys can eat them- or would WANT to...
speaking of Man Night- here's Chris and Ben jamming after sunday service... they're really great guys. (chris is the boys 5th & 6th Grade pastor)

Breakfast with Jude

2008-02-12T20:27:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend, Jude...

we met today at The Filling Station in the cirk- i love her! You know those people who you are just SO comfortable with? To say anything to and you know they won't flip out because they know if you're just in a weird mood or just feel like venting...??

i love that about her. she's a freak herself so there you go... i've got yer back, jude!!!

are you a SPAZ like me???

2008-02-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

I just FLIP OUT over great old photos...

They take me back, body and soul, to another time... i just yearn to talk to them - to find out what it was like to live in that world... that totally different world...
it's amazing... they were SO beautiful... buildings were beautiful, cars were beautiful.

"Public office is the last refuge of a scoundrel." That was said by this gentleman above, Senator Boies Penrose, a Republican from Pennsylvania. I love that quote... ;o)

This is the state funeral of Maurice Berteaux, French Minister of War, born 1852, died 1911.

I don't know what it is, i just think these images are amazing- it's like listening to a recording of Al Jolson singing, or an old recording of Roosevelt's fireside chats... it takes this moment in time and freezes it there; if you close your eyes you're there, in that time. it's cool.
My grandpa might have shopped in this store when he was a young man... it's in Lincoln Nebraska, taken in the 40's. Can you believe the color?? Just gorgeous.

The Library of Congress started posting some of their public-domain images on Flikr. It's fantastic...

Have You Got Sole?? :o)

2008-01-26T15:39:00.000-08:00

Collecting: New tennis shoes & athletic shoes!
For: Orphans in Ethiopia

See our church web site for details!!!
The goal is 2000 pairs- we can DO this.
If you can't get to the church, please e-mail me and I'll help!
BrookeInTustin@yahoo.com

sick.

2008-01-25T16:23:00.000-08:00

yuck.
i'm totally sick.

i hate it. i can't even think straight.
example:
i told tom, yesterday "oh, don't worry about opening the shop this morning... paris is there"

o.m.gosh.....
she WASN'T there.
i had told her the night before to not worry about coming in until noon!!!!

there was NO ONE at the post office, NO ONE at the visitor's center...
what a maroon.
sheesh.

a few things i've noticed lately and wanted to share:

-The latest ShagArt show is about to leave the Laguna Art Museum. Check it before it's gone. (the above picture is one of his "California Sun" prints- i just LOVE his work)

-This guy KILLS ME. It's sort of "guy" humor but i totally love it for some reason. www.AskANinja.com you can download the video podcast on iTunes for free. it shows awesome on the iPhone, btw...

-top 10 strangest lego creations.

-have an iPhone?? check out these games created specifically for it.
but this is an even better site for iPhone Solitaire (as if ANY of us need that kind of diversion... but you know... sometimes you just need to chill)

-and, since we're on the subject, did you know about these web apps for iPhone?? now that we can save web page icons to our main screen, it comes in handy to have these things for your phone! they're pretty cool.

-Do you listen to "This American Life" in podcast yet?? i've been listening to this show for at least 10 years now... it's sometimes funny, sometimes sad, very poingnant and just very cool. it's a free podcast on iTunes. you can hear it on the radio but who can schedule their day around when something's on the radio?? i can't- that's why i'm a POD-HEAD.
i just made that up.
it's kinda stupid but then... like i said, i'm sick.
so there you go.

My favorite podcasts i listen to regularly (in addition to This American Life):

-Car Talk

-Ask A Ninja

-News from Lake Wobegon

-The Tech Guy (Leo LaPorte)

the cool thing is that they're interesting AND they're free.
you've gotta love that.
they're great to listen to while you exercise or .... not.

edit: i can't, for the life of me, turn off that large type up there... sorry. i keep trying but i guess it's just gonna look like i'm screaming. sorry.

this weekend.

2008-01-21T20:56:00.000-08:00

here's a little sumpn-sumpn for ya... a few pics from our kick-ball baseball game sunday (5th & 6th Grade sunday school class).

it was really fun-

kids against the parents. yikes.

chris got absolutely creamed by all of the kids... and by tom.

i drove the shuttle out to desert hills this last saturday- figured i'd check out palm springs while the customers shopped...
what is your feeling on these wind-power generators?
i don't mind them- i know some people do.
i kinda liked this shot, too.
if you ever want to know more about them, guess who knows all about them??
our good friend, tammy harris. can you believe that?
she used to work for a company that started them.
very interesting...

big decisions coming up with our business... please keep us in your prayers!

life.

2008-01-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

I miss a regular pace.

holidays and school vacations really do a number on me lately. i'm finding, as i get more into this journey that is "My Fourties", that I like routine.

Never did before.

But school is back in and all I have to say is, "Whew"! Now we can get back to work and a bit of a structured day.

I wanted to add a few assorted pictures - above is a shot i took with my phone as I pulled out of my neighborhood this morning... i love the fog. it rolled in SO quickly.

This is our lovely congregation at the christmas eve candlelight service. i wish it was better quality but this was the best my little phone could do with no light. it still captures the essence of being there... it was beautiful.

This one's for YOU, Beth! it's from last summer- i've just never posted it and really wanted to. i think it's so sweet- everyone was at church to send off the kenya team- you can see, even in sepia, that Alyssa & Amanda had been crying... they're SO adorable.

ok... now you'll see the weird side of me. Remember in Airplane (the movie) when they're in the helicopter and they look down on San Onofre and the guy says, "Every where I look, I'm reminded of her..."
well, i'm driving down Irvine Blvd. the other day and THIS shot was in front of me... i just HAD to take it. Call me crazy but I totally laughed!!

This one is Matt, reading. He's just SO cute I had to take it.

one a different note: we've totally revamped our site for telling people about this incredible travel business- it SERIOUSLY is the best deal I've EVER heard of lately.
I was SO incredibly skeptical when I first heard about it- THEN I saw it for myself- wOw!
I'm really excited about this year!!
Here's the link: www.TravelAgentBuilder.com
work from home or anywhere for that matter- people travel, they book online, they might as well book from YOUR site!

It's seriously awesome.

here we go again...

2008-01-06T22:11:00.000-08:00

we've gotten in the habit of taking a group shot of the kids at Christmas... like you saw about a month ago in this blog. well, here are the pics of this year.
the problem is that as the years go by they get more and more goofy... :op
the second one is our little daisy... gosh, we love her!!! isn't she just the cutest little thing?? :o) we got her at the pound last mother's day. what a blessing!
and to all of the cast- WHAT A PARTY!!! omg, that was one of the best parties we've ever had!! the banquet that you all brought!! the fun, the laughs!! you guys ROCK!! Let's do that WAY more often... (although going to bed at 2:30 wasn't my favorite thing... :o)

wow...

2008-01-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

its been quite a while!
Just like you, there have been SO many things going on!
I can't WAIT to post pictures- my modem is acting up lately- I'm posting this from my phone... With the tiny little buttons!! :0)
hopefully soon! Happy New Year!!

STUFF LIKE THIS MAKES ME WANT TO...

2007-12-19T13:20:00.000-08:00

Oh, I don't know what it makes me want to do but it makes me pretty mad!!!

U.S.News & World Report
FAQ: The End of the Light Bulb as We Know It
Wednesday December 19, 11:01 am ET
By Marianne Lavelle

The incandescent light bulb, one of the most venerable inventions of its era but deemed too inefficient for our own, will be phased off the U.S. market beginning in 2012 under the new energy law just approved by Congress.

The article, which you can read in it's entirety here, goes on and on with these inane excuses and reasons for why we should be happy about this.

I'M NOT HAPPY, BOB. NOT HAPPY.

This is what happens when Democrats get their way. Ug.

Why can't we CHOOSE what light bulbs we will use??? I HATE, as a photographer, HATE florescent bulbs. I hate the green light they emit.
I LOVE incandescent bulbs and will go out of my way to find a good bulb. I love me a good light bulb... :o) Why can't they just make the choice irresistible for consumers, so that the market will dictate what is the better and more popular bulb, while still allowing consumers the choice over which bulb they'll use?? We don't need government to tell us what light bulb to use, for Pete's sake.
I'd like to say that this is why I vote Republican, except there aren't too many Republicans I like in office right now. I wish, more than just about anything, that I could run for office but no money= no votes. Maybe one day.

the end...

2007-12-11T12:48:00.000-08:00

the end of the play...
what a sad thing to type.
it's been an incredible ride - having such a small cast (6 people) makes it
SO personal.

This group has been awesome to work with.
Here in this photo is: (left to right)
Kerri Jones, Mike Liles, Tom Stewart, Jim Stratton, Angela Parry & Duke Rausavljevich (Duke, that was from memory that I typed your name!! GO Me!! lol)
thanks, guys, for making this such a fun couple of months, working (playing!) together with you, side-by-side to make an incredible play.
I'll never forget it.

Have you ever wondered...

2007-11-27T17:07:00.000-08:00

Is it Christmas??

bloopers...

2007-11-25T22:44:00.000-08:00

so, i was making my new title picture (above)...

do you like it?

Lest you look at that picture and think they are all such angels, consider what i had to go through in order to get that "lovely" shot:

whew... i kept threatening but the more i did, the more they would 'mix it up'... the older ones know me too well.

And then they give me a shot like this:

Cole is still being goofy but this shot fits their personality so much. I just wish Matt was in it.

This is a picture of Erick & his daughter Ericka, part of one of our favorite families! We went to the movies last year after Christmas Eve service at church and I was able to catch this beautiful shot in the Anaheim Hills Multi-plex... go figure. Could Ericka look any more lovely??

i love beautiful photographs of family and friends... don't you?

Eek... I feel OLD.

2007-11-23T23:11:00.000-08:00

So last Saturday night Tom & I went out to dinner with a couple that we are just beginning to know-

He is Tom's golfing buddy, She is his long time girlfriend.

First off, I'm EXHAUSTED before we even leave for dinner... I've been working all day. all I want to do by 6:30 is get in my jammies and cuddle on the couch where it's warm. oh well.

We went to Las Brisas in Laguna Beach (it's FREEZING there!) and then they say they have tickets for the show at House of Blues in Downtown Disney.

omg. It's 10 o'clock.

I'm so tired I can't even think straight.

We GO to H.O.B. and it's the wildest 80's Hair Band... see picture above.

2 songs was all we got to hear. Then their set was done (darn it! ;o) and we went home!!!! Yeah!

of course I'm (sort of) kidding... I love going out on dates with my wonderful husband... but sometimes I just want to STAY HOME.

I sound SO old saying that though, don't I??

Tonight we were meeting the Ronks at the District to see "Enchanted" (very funny, cute movie) and here comes that old fart thing... I just wanted to stay home! Tom kept calling me a "pooper" though and got me out of my cranky mood- we went- it was very nice.

As nice as snuggling on a warm couch though??? Not sure... :o)

Here are some more of the "Pastors & Elders" Photo Assignment shots... I like these. They're so fun and not at all like the traditional ones on the web site. I just hope they are what Tammy is looking for. Below is Chris Gniffke, our 5th & 6th grade pastor (the pastor for my Matt & Jon)

Josh Simpson & Nikki Smalley (below) ... they're awesome!
(secret: these are actually "staged" shots... I didn't want to interrupt the Jr. High group Wednesday night so they agreed to pretend for me after it was done. They Rock)

BIG week coming... starting Sunday we have rehearsal or a show every night until the following Sunday. This is going to be an amazing musical.
Click here for more info.

My Photography

2007-11-19T16:39:00.000-08:00

So, when I was 12 and a budding photographer, my father asked me to help him with his part-time wedding photograpy business.

I would travel with him all over, being his extra camera, his 'shot arranger', etc.

At 13 I got my first job at Briar Photography in the circle, developing and printing black & white photos & film. We also built a darkroom in our basement where we could process all of our own stuff.

I also started taking lots of portraits of my friends.

I then worked at Albert & James Photography for years, in their black & white lab making custom b&w prints. It has always been such a passion of mine but you know how it gets... you get married, have a ton of kids and all of your interests get pushed aside.

It's been really fun getting back in to photography lately, especially learning how to do things digitally to a photograph which, previously, had taken YEARS to perfect in a darkroom! (All that time dodging and burning and color tinting... now it's a few clicks...wow. I'm bummed and amazed all at the same time!)

Anyway, I love what photography DOES... it captures a moment and holds it there. It's like listening to Ella Fitzgerald sing, or seeing "Birth of a Nation", it's like you get to grab hold of time and show something about it; something you and others can remember later when it's gone.

But I digress... ON to the point of all this:

I've been asked to take on different photo assignments over this past few months and thought I should have a Flickr site showing my work.

HERE is that link.

amen.

2007-11-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

You Are 44% Open Minded

You aren't exactly open minded, but you have been known to occasionally change your mind.You're tolerant enough to get along with others who are very different...But you may be quietly judgmental of things you think are wrong.You take your own values pretty seriously, and it would take a lot to change them.

this was an on-line quiz i took. i felt the bend was, of course, to praise those who's minds are like flapping shutters, swaying and blowing open whenever the winds of society say they should...
there are SOME things, SOME points on which you should not bend.

how would our country have started without men who's minds were made up?

why is it ok to be "open-minded" now as opposed to then and

where will this take us?

pastors & elders assignment

2007-11-09T23:15:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love Jeff?? He's an unbelieveable treasure at our church.

Hmmm... two plates?? jk victor ;o)

Matt & his lovely Marilee

Eric & Matt

I get the distinct priveldge of taking the new photos of the pastors and elders at our church, to be used in the web site. the photos above aren't really the ones for my assignment but I thoguht they were fun!

below is another assignment I recieved- taking the photos of the people involved in the christmas play - to be used in the program. another fun thing to do :o)

it really is going to be a great play - you should come!!

friends :o)

2007-11-09T22:45:00.000-08:00

at the District with the boys - seeing Bee Movie

what IS IT about being somewhere totally mundane, like a grocery store - but when your friends are with you, suddenly it's a party! :o)

Below, at Jude's house... just playing

Mike & Matt, at rehearsal being silly

it's all fun and games...

2007-11-08T10:50:00.000-08:00

lots of fun going on around here lately... above is Oct 31st, early morning- Jon's 11th birthday, we went to Ruby's for b-fast before school...

Cole at "Light The Night on Halloween Night, knocking a kid off his "perch"

the boys with Jon's friend, Grant, before going trick-or-treating in the neighborhood... we had a whole big group come join us - that always makes it more fun!!

Tom & Angela singing "The Gifts of the Magi" around the piano

We have SO much fun in rehearsals!

Jim, the Newport Beach Bum... (now THAT'S one Lucky Bum!! {One of the lines in a song he gets to sing, fyi})

Kerri & Mike are always up for a laugh!

i can't remember WHAT happened here... it's just a funny and cute picture of Kerri

Mike & his musical spoons...

Mike's got a bit of an "Elvis" sneer going on here, huh?

it's a roll of tape, SEE????

Doug & Jesse Brown, celebrating their 10th blender they've recieved as a wedding gift! (jk)

Our Life... in pictures

2007-10-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

The "Magi" cast in rehearsals... from left: Angela, Tom, Duke, Mike & Kerri

"Soapy" the lovable bum... (Jim)

Soapy getting kicked out for free-loading

An incredibly animated Duke... I'm glad I caught this on camera!

Paris on Hollywood Blvd, after seeing our movie at the ElCapitan

The organist, playing before the movie. I just can't tell you how much I love that theatre! The architecture is SO incredible...

Having a chocolate malt at the soda fountain next door to the theatre.

BroomBall with the 5 & 6th Grade group (Calvary). The kids had a blast- it was "SuperHero" themed; Kelcey came with us- she won for Best Girl's Costume! She was Bat Girl, Matt was Bat Man, Jon was a surgeon, because those are the best super heroes of all... ;o)

Chris Gniffke... Ninja Turtle Dude.

are we in the clear?

2007-10-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

the fires came SO close to our house... literally less than 2 blocks away.

God sure did have us in the palm of His hand because we did not hear until it had past that we were in a mandatory evac zone. THAT's kind of frustrating.

Thank you Lord for taking such good care of us!

Are we done now?

We aren't unpacking the car yet, I'll tell you that. :oD

so sick....

2007-10-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

oh my gosh... i am SO sick; i feel like death warmed over.

i don't have time to be sick.

please PLEASE pray for me that i would get better to be able to sing at the women's retreat saturday. i'm supposed to be a soprano and right now i'm more like a bass-baritone... yikes. and if someone could take this elephant off my chest, i'd be much obliged...

2007-10-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

"`If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
Mark 9:23

In my Bible study this morning I came across this verse- we know the story... we know that when Jesus responded to this father in regard to his demon-possessed son, that He was speaking about more than just healing the man's child... that He was speaking to all of His children.
But am I living my life like I believe it? Are you?

Jesus longs to do great things through us - In fact, he promised he would do even greater things through us than he did himself because he is now at the Father's side helping us! (like it mentions in John 14: 12-14)
WHY am I not living like I believe it???

Saturday I was SO blue... SO down; feeling like a failure in every sense of the word and truly having a ridiculous pity party but it felt real of course. Then, when I finally call out to God to PLEASE help me, my dear friend Judi Singer calls me... she was right there with prayer and comfort and a listening ear.
What an AWESOME GOD we have, huh?? How many things has He put in place for us, his children, so that we are taken care of?
Do we really realize what He can do? Or what He has done for us so that our worship to Him is a sweet fragrance and not the stench that it would be without Him???

So I think it's time I quit talking about what I can't do, and start believing in the One who can do great things. Paul said it best when he said: God can do "more than we can ask or imagine by his power at work in us." (Ephesians 3:20-21)

What scripture has convicted you lately?? :o)

my dog's tongue...

2007-10-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

i just caught daisy trying to chew open a bottle of Anbesol; you know the stuff that numbs your tooth when you've got a tooth ache...

this raises questions in my brain:

1. how does a dog feel about having a numb tongue? Do they think about it?

2. how did she get the bottle in the first place?

3. what would have happened to her had i not caught her before she opened it?

oh well... such is my life right now.

it's like the time when the boys were little and i caught them painting the car with yellow paint & paint brushes. how did they get the brushes? where was i?

I think the real question is: How do some people just have very simple, ordered lives and ours is always, always a 3 ring circus... ???

Don't get me wrong- it's a fun 3-ring circus but there's always SO much about our lives that's not "set", you know??

I was in a greeter's meeting for church and Josh was talking about how people always park on the same side at church, always like to walk in the same door, etc. and I was thinking "do they really?? is that what 'normal' people do? because that's not even a thought in my head; to do things the same way all the time like that. why am i not like that? hmmmm... i don't know. i DO like order, i do like logic and a well-thought-out plan, but i don't thrive on doing it the same all of the time.

did you get to see ANTM? the Yale girl was a good choice to go... she didn't want to be there anyway. i almost thought in the beginning that she was going to be an 'undercover' type girl; wanting to infiltrate an industry that she thought was bad and try to make some sort of political statement by screaming out on some live broadcast about "the industry"...

Maybe i'm watching too much t.v....

But I think if Heather can hold it together despite her Asperger's situation, she could go a long way... also Chantal- i think she could win. They seemed to deliberately pick a bad photo of her last night... there had to be something in one of the other shots. weird.
although i like this week's shot of her.
They sure did hit the nail on the head with their assessment of ebony, though... don't you think?

but seriously- if you're a girl, you should go to the women's retreat on the 20th. click here for details... it's going to be FUN, we've got a rockin girl's band! we're called "10"(maybe...). (Bea & I decided that we're all going to wear our hair in cornrows...) jk

WHOLE FOODS AT THE DISTRICT.

2007-10-05T19:46:00.000-07:00

Oh My Gosh.

GO THERE. Today.

It's amazing.

I'm SO Excited!!!!!

2007-09-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

Here's your NEW place for booking all of your flights, hotel rooms, rental cars, etc.!!! And it's comparable or LESS than all of the others AND it uses all of the same up-to-the-second databases to get you the best flights.

It is a new business of ours:
Your Vacation To Go.com

We are SO excited!!!
Please check it out. And keep in mind- the rates quoted for flights INCLUDE the fees and taxes in the upfront quote, unlike Expedia and Travelocity who add them at the end.
I KNOW you'll LOVE it!! Thanks for giving it a try...

It's (almost) ALL ABOUT MATT

2007-09-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

So this week was Matt's 12th Birthday... Hooray!!
Matt is seriously one of the kindest, most gently-hearted boys I know.
He's hilariously funny and quick, SO selfless and generous.
I love him more than.... well, whatever you can imagine that's unmeasurable.

Above he is heading off to his first day of Junior High...

Above: he's being silly like a girl, excited about going to the Game Store at The District to get a new video game

Here's Matt & Daisy... at 60 mph... jk

This is the "almost" is was talking about earlier... my girl Paris and I got to have the COOLEST day ever last Friday -
Downtown Disney
Shopping
Getting our makeup done at Sephora
Having a yummy lunch at the Italian place
Then going to the movies!!!!

She rocks, big time.
I took this pic with my phone... I could NOT see what I was shooting - we kept trying and trying to get a decent shot... oh well!

oh my....

2007-09-14T23:20:00.001-07:00

2,247,000

Mingle² -

The Lews

2007-09-08T19:45:00.001-07:00

i LOVE these guys... they are SO cool, so nice. They're neighbors that we were SO blessed to meet. Cole & their son are great friends; they're just so neat. I loved taking these shots of them. I hope you like them, too. Click on each shot to see it in the best way.

Chomp & Our End of the Summer Party

2007-09-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

The end of the night... everyone was pretty goofy by this time, some had gone home... we didn't want anyone to go; it would mean that summer WAS over and there was no turning back. Can't wait to have another one at the end of the next summer!!!

In the jacuzzi... I love the feet sticking up - do you see them? Adorable...

I LOVE this shot of Kelcey. There were lots of people in the water behind her but they were too distracting so I took them out. I LOVE digital photography.

He caught this one!

It's an Onion Volcano (that's leaking on the bottom!) Very cool though.

We had a great End-of-the-Summer Party with a gang of kids at our house. It was super fun!

I'm posting some pics here - but the night before school started we celebrated by going to this cool restaurant in Fullerton called "CHOMP". It was really fun. :o) The chef kept trying to throw rice at everyone so that they could catch it in their mouths... he got more rice on our clothes than anywhere else, but that's ok!

the dog days of summer...

2007-08-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

Mia, our friend and neighbor, at Disneyland with us yesterday

Above: Matt at his new locker!!

Crave The Wave (above) {Chris Gniffke hanging out with the kids}

Above: Kelcey, Jon, Matt & Cole at the Dog Beach

Jon & Cole hangin with the Dinosaurs in Palm Springs

Jon at Soak City, Palm Springs

Daisy, after her "dip" in the ocean... she hates going in the water at the beach. Needless to say, Cole put her in.

The boys, body surfing...

Lately: Having a good time, trying to get the boys ready for school...
we're having a Big Back-To-School Party tomorrow... I'll post later about that. 26 kids... eek.

VBS!!

2007-08-11T20:10:00.001-07:00

This is the end of VBS... we were all a little crazy by this time... here's Miss Penny with the boys

Chris & Ben "Ned & Jed"... they were awesome...

Vienne looked so cute on "Champagne", Nadia's horse. I took this portrait of her, along with a bunch of her and her kids; can't wait to give them all to her.

This is a pic of Nadia... isn't this a great shot?? :o)

Just before the water came and sprayed all over us!! I had no idea that those long tubes would be spraying water everwhere... thanks for the warning, Matt!!

jon & his group at snack time

cole & his group at rec time (he's the one with the big mouth...)

cole & jacob

matt & erik at the closing session friday

Shoeless Joe and other great stories...

2007-08-08T01:24:00.000-07:00

Here's Eric Wakeling preaching at church on Sunday... he did an awesome job... it was really good.

But, you may ask, WHY are you sitting WAY BACK THERE???

Well, Matt, the "would-lose-his-head-if-it-weren't-screwed-on-but-I-love-him-to-death" guy, forgot his flip flops at home. We pull into Fruit Street and he looked at his feet and gasped. I was NOT going back home at that point.

So we sat waaaayyyy back there, trying to hide his feet from the congregation, but they're so big... oh well. The odd thing is: sitting back there is a whole other realm.... you get alot of people who, God bless them- they want to be there, but it seems that they are all trying to hide back there, in the corner, in the darkness of the sanctuary. No one claps, no one sings, no one really laughs at any jokes (although Eric said his hilarious (albeit misguided) comments about the Mac vs. PC and I laughed really loud and everyone turned to look at me as if to say "don't you know?? No one laughs here..."

I've been in that place; when you want to be there at church because you know you need to be in God's presence because you are so dark you can't feel that He is with you... it's hard to remember that He is, when you feel so blue. But you know if you could just get there; get in the door... hear the music - perhaps that will help. I don't want to assume, though, that every one sitting there was feeling like this, but for many it seemed to be the case... the look on their faces when they slipped in the door...

VBS this week... what a blast. AND I'm 43 today... it's good. It's been a nice quiet birthday. I like my 40's - alot. I just need to get this weight off. I'm getting SO desparate I don't know what to do.

My dear friend Judi and I went to Bed Bath & Beyond (you have to say that like Superman!). Here we are goofing around with some massagers.

here's a cute picture of Jon... he's such a nice guy.

Speaking of nice guys... don't you just LOVE the Hankins?? Aren't they just SO cute?? Here's Janice and Cassie. I took this while Bill was fixing my old 1940's phone!! I'm SO excited that it works again...

and here's my little Coley with Daisy; this is her favorite place to be... in your arms with her paws on your shoulders, snaggled up against your cheek... what a lovey.

My Dinner Party

2007-08-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

In response to Eric's challenge to list whom we would have to dinner if we could pick 6 people, dead or alive, to have at our table ( and Jesus doesn't count in the 6 because we would all have him, of course). So here goes:

1. Martha Washington; I'd love to know what that time was really like... the day-to-day thing, of how life was, how they really felt about being thrust into such a role, etc.

2.Walt Disney; What a great guy to have at a dinner party... he'd probably tell so many great stories, I'd love to know what he was really like.

3. Leonardo DiVinci; just because he's AMAZING.

4. Judy Garland; It would be nice to just sit with her, talk with her about everything; hear her stories about everything she saw and did, even as a kid.

There are so many incredible people... I'd love to invited some that made this area great and talk to them about what southern CA was like when there was no one here yet, when it was still just ranchos...

(above is a picture of Clodomiro Sepulveda and Peregrina Rosa Yorba, 1885 - their two family's ranchos combine into what James Irvine later purchases and makes into Irvine Ranch- but prior to that: what was this area like? What was it like to stand on top of the hills on the Yorba rancho and look out over the land?? i wish my eyes could see what their eyes saw.)

I'd love to talk with Peter Minuit who negotiated with the Indians for posession of Manhattan - what did it look like?? How did it grow? What troubles did you encounter?

Anyway, I'll finish my list eventually....

Who would YOU choose??

HE WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD!!!

2007-08-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh... Andrew got SHOT in the HEAD!!

He is one of our tour drivers for our Beach Tour -

his brother has been involved in gangs and the other night he was outside his house and there was a drive-by shooting! eek...

A bullet went right through his front temple and out the back...

He's totally fine!! He came in the shop yesterday, talking, walking around, everything... wow.

It's a neat testament, too, because he used to be VERY involved in gangs years ago and now is out; he holds Bible studies at his house and is a great witness to all who meet him. Now it seems God has spared him so that he can continue his work!!

Way to go, Andrew!!!!

I've been remiss lately...

2007-08-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

way too busy lately... and too blue for some reason. the weight of the world is on my shoulders sometimes. that, and the fact that the kids are driving me to drink! :op

Here are the kids at "Crave the Wave" with Ben - they love it (and Ben too!) They're here with Sabrina Faire and some friends they brought, Eddie and Andrew.

Here's Chris Gniffke... he's SO awesome... here is a pastor that totally cares about these kids and their hearts and their walk with God. Actually all of our pastors are like that- we really are blessed at our church to have such great people...

Here's Paris' birthday celebration!! The first is her with her friend Lindsay and then below is Paris and Ashley, our cousin:

Lately...

2007-07-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

SO many things going on lately... Tom & the boys are at camp (!) all this week so it's Daisy & me... alone for 6 days. wow!

I'm taking over for Tom at the shop... it's a big job- I admire him for what he has to go through every day and never complains about it.

I went with my Uncle Jerry and my cousin to go get the new Harry Potty book... here's a picture of her - what a cutie-pie:

They started selling the books at midnight last Friday but by 1:30 am our part of the line had not yet moved... so we decided to call it a night. I went and got the book at Costco the next day for a few $$ less, so it's all good.
My girl stayed with me last night... we got to have coffee and bagels this morning and stayed in our jammies reading until noon... totally cool.
But for now we're off to work!

That reminds me...

2007-07-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

The new logo for our new series of sermons at Calvary:

reminds me of this site:

The Visual Dictionary

I've talked about them before on this blog... they're an interesting site if you like cool visual images... I'm kind of weird that way.

If you click the link that says "Find User" my name on it is "Brookie" (don't laugh... it's what my family called me...) :o)

It's my girl's 20th birthday today!!!

Can't wait to post the party pics here!

Happy Birthday, Sweet pea!!!!

THIS is quite a song...

2007-07-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in trying to fade into the faces
The girls teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body...
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way...
A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances
Tells him that his chances are better out on the road
Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ

Jesus is the way

I'm sure all of you know it... it just killed me today, hearing it.
It's SO true.
We ARE the church, we are His hands and arms on earth...

How has God used you today?
Have you allowed Him to? Or for that matter, been available for Him to do so...
of course, I'm directing this at myself mainly... :ol

WOW! This is COOL.

2007-07-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

You really need to check out this link:
Flickrvision
It shows you what photos are being uploaded to Flickr all around the world. It's really cool. I wish there was some way I could connect it to my blog so that it showed up on the side... does anyone have any idea how to to do that??

Happy 4th of July!!!

2007-07-04T23:11:00.000-07:00

or is it.....???

Yes, that's my guy... very sad because I thought I was buying fireworks at Ralph's... when in actuality I was buying a big truck load of

POPPERS.

oh my... how was I to know this???? They looked like fireworks to ME....

Matt said "but MOOOMMMMM, the 4th of July is the ONLY time that we are allowed to blow stuff up!!!"

Oh well... sooorrrree-eeee Matt, pardon me for interfering with your pyrotechnic tendensies. :oD

We had a GREAT time though - we still honoured the "Kid's Make Dinner" Wednesday; they made some fantastic food, even making up their own recipes this time.

There is nothing wrong with America that the faith, love of freedom, intelligence and energy of her citizens cannot cure.
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 - 1969)

How was YOUR 4th????

Calvary Church | VBS - Register

2007-07-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Calvary Church VBS - Register
Yeah!! Calvary is SO techno savvy now; they've got e-reg for VBS!! Cool... you HAVE to sign your kids up if you haven't yet! It's the coolest week of the year.
(click the title above to get linked to registration)
Oh... by the way, VBS is the week of August 6th. See you there!!

What A Wedding!!!!

2007-06-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

Here are Jesse & Doug - they just got married tonight - this was so much fun! We felt SO priveledged just to be part of it!!!

I've never seen a "First Dance" quite like that before... it totally ROCKED. Don't you think so, too?? (you MUST click that link!! You'll Love it!!)

What was your favorite part of the wedding?? (There were SO many great things...)

Click Here For A Good Deal!

2007-06-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hey Tustin-ites... I saw this and thought I'd share it with y'all... it's good until August 30th so you could print it out each time you went.
I wonder if it will be a nice theatre with clean bathrooms... like my downtown disney.... what is it with me and that theatre?? :o)

Fun Fun

2007-06-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

We saw this movie last weekend at Downtown Disney, which you may know by now is my fav movie theatre.

Loved the movie; totally cute.

I can't remember there being anything inappropriate in it except the two main human characters do kiss, but it's innocent.

It comes out this Friday.... maybe you should go see it at the new theatre opening in the Tustin Legacy area; they're giving out small popcorns to every ticket holder.

You've Got To Read This Book

2007-06-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

This one:

wow.

It's not just about Veggie Tales.

It's not just about the fall of Big Idea.

It's an incredible tale about life and lessons learned; suffice to say there were some tears when I finished the book.

Also, just think about how funny Veggie Tales was- Phil Vischer wrote those and he wrote this book- the book is pretty funny.

It's a great, quick summer read- READ IT! :o)

WHAT????

2007-06-16T00:30:00.000-07:00

So, I don't know if you've heard, but Trent Lott said the other day:
'Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem'

WHAT??? And this is from a Republican Senator.
This is talk radio, who defended him when he made some stupid comments back in 2002.
Who defends the right to actually have more than one view point in America. (Since all that is spouted from the majority in government as well as the media is liberal nonsense)

And here's this guy, saying this.
One million illegal immigrants marching and protesting are called 'activists'.
One million minorities marching and protesting are called 'activists'.
But 10 million talk-show listeners calling and e-mailing their elected representatives are called 'a problem that needs to be dealt with'.

Where are our brave republican leaders????
Why aren't they screaming about this? Why aren't they yelling about FREE SPEECH? Why aren't they yelling about our current legislation not being enforced? We have great laws on the books; why spin your wheels trying to pass new legislation when there are already measures in place that could deal with the current crisis??

Why would ANYONE believe that you will implement this new legislation when you have ignored the old?

I KNOW the political game has to be played but this is getting beyond the point of no return.
It's a certainty that Republicans cannot win the Presidency in '08 but what about all of the seats?
The RNC and the Republican Party of Orange County, a Board on which I served for many years, is SILENT.

What about our freedom of speech? Especially as legal citizens. Is it wrong for us to voice our disapproval of what is going on?

We have lost the courage of our convictions, not only as a party, but as a nation. The convictions upon which this great nation was founded. We no longer have the back bone to fight for what is right. But, actually, I don't want to say "we".
I want SO badly to stand up and scream. I want to yell until someone hears me.

But that doesn't win elections. So, I'm at a loss. I've wanted, since I was a little girl, to be a public servant of some sort. I fall short though, in so many ways. I'm so imperfect and not nearly as quick witted as many.

I just have to keep giving this one to God. I just love this country SO much it makes my heart hurt.
This is a tough one for me... what are your opinions on what the Senator said?

Dear Miss Miles....

2007-06-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is a letter my funny little son, Matt wrote to his teacher; it's totally a crack up - you should read it all the way to the end.

"Dear Miss Miles,
I think that there shouldn't be any homework next week because it sucks time out of our afternoons. The afternoons these days are only 32% of our days, the other 68% being sucked up by school. Of course, if you give us homework, the percent of our time to play would be decreased. If that happened, we wouldn't do better in school. Of course, that's obviously bad for the both of us.
Another reason is that kids need their free time. Otherwise, well, they just wouldn't be kids anymore. They'd be more like captured animals. Kids would lose their "let's play" spirit and it would be replaced with a "I'm bored" spirit. We wouldn't play, be happy or find anything fun.
Another reason is because the day would go like this: get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, go to school, be at school until 2:15, go home, do homework, go to bed. Did you see any free time in there? I sure didn't. If the homework part was deleted, we would get 5 hours and 30 minutes of play time! I don't see anything wrong with that!
Another reason is that kids would have time to get something nice for his/her teacher. doesn't that sound great? Flowers, candy, fruit and anything you can think of! Awesome, huh? You'll need another desk to keep all of that stuff on!
Look, I know you say homework is important but can't it wait, just for a week? Think it over. You know where I am.
- Matt

is it just Me??

2007-05-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm a Pirates of the Caribbean fan... I'm a big Disney fan... I'm a Johnny Depp fan, even a what's-his-name-who-plays-the-other-boy-in-the-movie fan - but I've got to tell you... I was sitting there in the movie the other day going, "huh???"

Huge head-shaking. Couldn't understand so many of the edits. At all.

Was it just me? Is it because I'm nearing my mid-fourties? (although let's not push it, I'm only 42...) Is that what happens? You can't hear anything although you start mumbling about 'that new music' being too loud and suddenly you can't get basic plot lines?

dude... sup with that? (see, i'm trying to sound young... i hope you noticed that)

We went with our friends, the Luecks, and Kathy was falling askleep through the whole thing - could stand it as much as I could... but meanwhile my 19 year old daughter thought it was the best pirates yet... so i ask you: is it just me or was it confusing to you too??? :op

could you resist this pound puppy....?

2007-05-22T23:03:00.000-07:00

DAISY!!! Can you believe what a cutie she is?? Our new little puppy. (One year old) We got her from the pound. She is a little wire terrier...

she's kind and sweet and happy... and she's piddling all over the place. yuck.

Linda, can I borrow that book we were talking about?? pleeeaaaasseee.... the carpet cleaners come Saturday; she can't piddle anywhere after that!!

We made up a corny song about her... ask me to sing it for you the next time I see you. :o)

life is moving at the most incredible pace right now... it's only when i stop - take a breath and just lay my worries and burdens at His feet, that I can get through all of this "stuff"... thanks for the kind words, Judi... I appreciate you reminding me about that.

My life can truly only be properly powered by God; on my own strength I am nothing. AMEN to THAT!!