Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

The weekend is finally here! We're going to have a pretty good one, I think. The Band Banquet is Saturday night, so I imagine most of the Gallery pictures next week will consist of those festivities. Roxie and Josh will be spending time with some friends. Saturday, Mikie and I are planning on a breakfast date before Roxie and I spend the morning shopping and visiting great-grandparents. Sunday, of course, we'll be at church, and then back together at 8:00 for another episode of Amazing Race.

The boys' grass cutting business has cranked up again. They will have finished four lawns by Saturday afternoon, and they have three more next week. This is the only time when it gets a little tricky... when they are in school AND it rains every other day. During the summer, they have it spread out pretty well. It is definitely a good way for young men to make money. Plus, Austin has the Chick-Fil-A gig. Basically, Mike and I are planning on asking THEM to give US an allowance this summer!

Next week, I think I'll tell you the story about my trip to California with girlfriends before Mike and I got engaged. It was my first time on an airplane, and it was an amazing trip. Unless I change my mind, the next week I'll share about my second airplane trip. (Also known as the last time I got on a plane). As you might imagine, I was not a very good "flyer."

TV Review

Amazing Race - Well, a semi-villain has emerged. And she has red hair. Go figure. The reason she has the "semi" title is because I sympathize with her. I would be EXACTLY like her. She's not "good" with the foreign language thing. She's not "good" with the yucky smell thing. She's not "good" with dealing with any taxi driver thing. She's just frustrated and hot and dirty and not able to communicate (or get her nails done or have a hot bubble bath or go shopping at a mall where people understand what she's saying). She is me. That is why I cannot label her a villain. I feel her pain. (The only difference between the two of us... I KNOW I could never compete in the Amazing Race. She obviously didn't realize that she didn't have the necessary skills, a/k/a the "go with the flow" gene. I am much more self-aware and evolved than she is!)

Celebrity Apprentice - It was a very sad show. Dennis Rodman is an alcoholic and everyone confronted him about his problem in the Board Room. I thought everyone was very sympathetic and concerned and caring, so I hope he'll get some help since it was revealed in such a public forum. Of course, Dennis was fired. I really like Jesse James more and more (and not because he has a cool name and is married to Sandra Bullock). He is very smart. He doesn't say anything unless he has something worth saying (a quality I wish I possessed). Even though the men lose much more than they win, he consistently does the best job for his team. Surprisingly, I also like the obnoxious woman poker player, Annie. This will be the last time I call her obnoxious because she has totally reeled her "over-the-top" personality in, and she has become a great team player. Most people can't see their faults in time to "fix" them on these reality shows... or they are totally unable to see them at all. I give her huge kudos for "toning it down" and fitting in better (again, another quality I wish I possessed).

24 - It's not looking good for Jack. I went back and checked the news article that said he had signed up for one more season of 24, and it is in writing. But, unless something changes, he should be dead in about three hours (which is two weeks from now). Austin thinks they'll find a cure (in two hours). What can I say... It's Jack. Anything can happen. (Oh, and it was a very good, suspenseful show. I'm pretty sure that goes without saying.)

LOST - I don't know. Am I happier when I understand the show and I'm depressed... or, am I happier when I absolutely DO NOT UNDERSTAND the show and I'm frustrated? I may be wrong, but I don't think I receive any pleasure out of watching LOST (except for spending the time with Josh). Most of the time, it makes me feel dumb. The rest of the time (when I semi-understand what's going on), I don't feel dumb, but I know the "dumb" feeling is coming so I'm afraid to put my guard down. I've made a little list of "Things I Do Know" that haven't changed since the show began:

1. I don't like Jack. I never have. He's too arrogant.
2. I do like Sawyer. (I think we've established that fact.) He needs his mouth washed out with soap now and again, but he's a reader, and everyone knows I like a reader. (It is a little confusing to me why someone who reads so much has such a limited vocabulary.)
3. I do like Kate. I always have. She needs to be married (legally) to Sawyer.
4. I do like Hurley. He's simple, much like me.
5. I don't like Richard. Men should not wear eyeliner.
6. I don't like Ben. You have to think too hard to try to figure out what the heck he is going to do next.
7. I do like Sayid (except for the fact he just shot a kid), which makes no sense because I do not think I would care for trained torturers in "real" life.
8. I feel sorry for John Locke. I always have. I don't know if he's good or bad. I just feel sorry for him.
9. I think I like Juliet. I think she is in a really bad place at a really bad time.

That's it in a nutshell. That's all I really, truly KNOW about LOST... and that's after hours and hours and hours of watching it with my boy. Oh, I have one more.

10. I know Josh understands WAY MORE than I ever will.

Survivor - Tonight was hard. I liked all of the members of J. T.'s tribe, and I didn't want to see any of them go. (Even Taj who definitely doesn't wear enough clothes.) And there are three members of the other tribe I would personally vote off in a minute! J. T. is still representing Sweet Home Alabama well, but when the merge takes place next week, I'm afraid the Bama Boy is going to be sent packing. And that's just not right, is it? I loved it when he took responsibility for his part in losing the challenge. That's proper Southern upbringing, but I don't think it means as much in the jungle as it does in Sampson, Alabama!

100 Things To Do Before 90

As I said yesterday, the next ten things have more to do with health, family and spiritual "goals." These are things I don't have a great deal of control over... I just have to let them happen if it is God's will. (And just so you know, there are more than ten. I didn't want to bore you.)

1. See Josh functioning and thriving (despite suffering from OCD) as a teen and an adult

2. Celebrate 25th, 30th, 35th, etc. anniversaries with Mikie (We're going for the big 5-0!)

3. See Austin, Josh and Roxie get married (Of course, if that's God's will for their lives.)

4. See my 1st through 9th grandchild (Nine is a random number. If I have 12 or 13 grandchildren, that will be fine, too.)

5. See Josh and Roxie graduate from high school (Please know some of these are out of order. I want to see the high school graduations before the marriages and the nine grandkids.)

6. See Austin, Josh and Roxie graduate from college (Same as above.)

7. Read the Bible through for each child and grandchild with notes and thoughts pertaining to that specific person (I'll give each one as a gift for a special birthday, shower, etc. I'm finishing up Austin's, and getting ready to start Josh's Bible.)

8. See my grandchildren saved and baptized

9. Take my extended family and grandchildren to Disney World, on a cruise and camping at Guntersville (Mikie is probably hyperventilating right about now.)

10. Go on at least one scrapbooking weekend with Roxie and daughters-in-law (Hopefully, it will become an annual event. I hope! I hope!)

My Thought

I shared this with another blogger last week. She was talking about mundane, everyday tasks like laundry and dishes and dusting, etc. It made me think of a man I knew over 30 years ago. He was the janitor at my church. But he was so much more. It was a small church... everyone knew everyone else very well. He was a sweet, gentle, lovely Christian man. He did his job, and he did his job well, and he did his job cheerfully.

When he died, I remember my Dad saying, "He was one of the most faithful men I've ever known." My Dad thought a great deal of this man. Now, 30 plus years later, I still remember him. I still remember what my Dad thought of him.

At 47 years-old, I wonder how people would sum up my life if it were to end right now. What one word would they use to describe me? Or you? Do you ever think about that? I'm not trying to be depressing... just thinking.

My life is simple. It is not a glamorous or well-known life. I take care of my home, husband and kids, and I'm faithful to my church. That is my life. But I've been thinking. How I'll be remembered isn't nearly as important as how I'll be received.

There's a song I remember from my piano playing days at Southside.

Little is much if God is in it.
Labor not for wealth or fame.
There's a crown and you can win it.
If you go in Jesus' name.

Yes, I would love people to remember me well and for a long time after I'm gone, but it occurs to me I should be much more concerned with how my Heavenly Father will receive me. Will He be able to say that my "little" was "much" because I put Him first in everything... even the things the world may consider mundane, ordinary or even boring? It's definitely a goal.

I had said I wasn't going to add anything else to my list of 100 Things To Do Before 90, but I think I've just changed my mind.

Books

I like any and all Corduroy books, and I like any and all Lift-the-Flap books. Nuff said. But for your little guys, I truly think you need to get in the car and go the book store and buy Corduroy's Easter Lift-the-Flap Book by Don Freeman and Lisa McCue... NOW. It's that important. It is an adorable little book.

And as much as I LIKE any and all Corduroy books, my feelings about them pale in comparison to how much I love any and all Franklin books. The colors just pull me in. They are so vibrant and warm. While you're at the book store buying Corduroy's Easter Lift-the-Flap book, I must insist you also buy Franklin's Easter: A Sticker Activity Book by Paulette Bourgeois. I mean it. If you have a two to four year old, I'm coming by your house and checking your Easter book collection. I'll give you until the weekend to make the purchases.

I first listed The Tale of the Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt in December. I declared it a "two-fer," because it's message is just as sweet and poignant (good word) at Easter as it is during the Christmas season. This would be a wonderful book to read for family devotion during the next two weeks to your elementary age children. Excellent, excellent book! (I always cry when I read this book aloud. It's silly, isn't it? It's about three trees, but when I get to the last part of the story when it tells what happens to the last tree, I begin to blubber.) SPOILER: The last tree becomes the cross upon which Jesus is crucified. This would be a beautiful book for your Easter collection.

Have an amazing weekend wherever you are. Spend meaningful, purposeful time with your family and friends. Next week will be Easter, Easter, Easter. On April 8, I will break away from my California story to tell about the Faulkner F1 tornado that hit our home three years ago. And who knows what else might pop up. Check in next week!

Talk to you on Monday.