I survived the gas crisis of September 2008

Here's a funny video regarding the gas shortage in the Nashville area.

Gas Shortage Video

Well, is it accurate?

My friend, Lori, sent a link to a website that gives you a profile of yourself after selecting pictures that appeal to you.  Here are my results. 

Personality : Moods - Easy Rider

You're romantic in your outlook and love the simplicity of nature. You can be a little nostalgic and love revisiting familiar places and memories. When it comes to art, you tend to have a traditional approach. You are passionate about history and true classics. Truly great art stands the test of time. You like how music helps you unwind, and switch off. Music transports you  far away from the everyday grind.

Personality : Fun - Thriller

You love to be far away from your everyday life. There's nothing like catching some rays and slowing down - you know how to take things nice and easy. For kicks, you like to indulge and treat yourself to whatever you like. After all, you only live once. When it comes to holidays, you like to be immersed in a completely different world. It's a chance to explore activities that you don't have the time for in day to day life. And what turns you off? People who seem to be smart, until they light up and you realize they are stupid enough to be heading to an early grave.

Personality : Habits - Junkie Monkey

You switch off by switching on. You're a bit of a TV addict and like nothing more than an evening on the couch glued to the box. When it comes to drinking, you've got a bit of a sweet tooth and you don't get too hung up about making healthy choices. As for the home, you have very cool and contemporary taste. You like your surroundings to be simple and functional. 

Personality : Social - Nostalgic

You're a bit of a nostalgic deep down. Nothing beats the good times that you and your friends have shared. You're always up for a trip down memory lane. When you think of freedom, you thing of hanging out with good friends. You're always happy to make the first leap.

The only category that I feel like the test got spot on was my habits - Junkie Monkey. I love me some TV, which is not a good thing, and I don't really make healthy eating choices. I do like my surroundings to be clean and simple. I hate clutter. 

The other categories, I can see bits and pieces, but nothing that is totally accurate all around.  What do you think?

Here, Here

I am all in favor of this author's idea. Show me a President who is willing to adopt this strategy and (s)he's got my vote.

I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend. To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up.. So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend. Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00. 

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

• Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved
  
• Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads
  
• Put away money for college – it’ll be there
  
• Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
  
• Buy a new car – create jobs
  
• Invest in the market – capital drives growth
  
• Pay for your parent’s medical insurance – health care improves
  
• Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else
  

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces. If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( “vote buy” ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President. If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG – liquidate it. Sell off its parts.  Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate.  Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t. Sure it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.” But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!  How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC . And remember, The Family plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,
A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

Hanging with Brayden

We have had the pleasure of hanging out and playing with Brayden and his Mom, Julie. Brayden is a month younger than Dylan, so hopefully they will grow up being buddies (until some girl comes between them).

A Few of My Favorites

Keri dropped off my CD yesterday, and I wanted to share a few of my favorites. I can't wait until we get to take pictures with him sitting up and maybe even standing in January. That is, if Keri doesn't go into labor early. :)

Just when things were getting back to normal

sharing an email that I got with my blog readers...

***FIRE AT KINDER MORGAN'S PASADENA TERMINAL TO DISRUPT FUEL OUTFLOW

A fire broke out at Kinder Morgan's Pasadena oil storage terminal last night, and the fire is still burning early on Wednesday, a fire dispatch official told OPIS. A Kinder Morgan spokesman was not available for comment. "There was a big oil storage tank fire last night at Kinder Morgan," he said. "The original call came in at 10:42 p.m." The Channel Industries Mutual Aid has been called in by Kinder Morgan to put out the fire, the official said. It is unclear if there were any casualties from the fire so far. Traders expect the fire at the terminal to again disrupt fuel supplies to the Colonial, Explorer and possibly Longhorn pipeline systems.These pipeline systems supply fuel to El Paso, the Midwest, the Southeast and the Northeast. The terminal was shut down for about a week because of Hurricane Ike. Fuel flow out of that terminal was slowly returning to normal.

All this to say, keep your tank topped off.

Eat and Run

We started feeding Dylan cereal last week. The first time, he spit most of it out. I learned to thicken it up a little more and he seemed to do better with it. However, I wouldn't say he's a pro at eating it just yet. I am even thinking of waiting a little longer after he finishes this box, but we'll see how it goes.

here's Dylan eating in his car

Daddy got the high chair out and now he's a big boy

Naked Time

Harvest Fun

My friend, Dana, did a blog showing her crafting skills. Well, she got me in the mood, and since my fall wreath was falling apart and styrofoam was now the main theme, I went out and bought some more fall decor. Here's my attempt to be Martha Stewart.

www.dylanneedsahaircut.com

I recently heard the wives tale that you shouldn't cut a babies hair until they are 1 year old. Who knows why, but that means we have 8 more months. He's working on a mullet. I don't know if I will be able to. I will not be one of those mom's that never cut their son's hair.

(On a side note, if you click the link embedded in the blog, the story is about Kate Hudson's new line of hair products. They claim not to have tested them on animals. I think her son is the victim. That's why they aren't cutting his hair. He tests the products.)

Notice the hair is a quarter the way down his back...ok maybe not so much when he's sitting up.

It's like Where's Waldo, but in this case, where's his ear.

Photo bug

Here's a sneak peek from Dylan's 4 month photos. I should get all of them in a week or two. I cannot wait!

Benched

I found this video on a friend's page and wanted to share it with my readers. 


Benched from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

The Men in my Life

My two favorite men, what else can I say. My husband, Damien, is great with Dylan. Often times, on the weekends, I take full advantage of Damien, so while I clean, he takes care of Dylan. They usually hang out on the back porch together. Damien puts his iPod in one ear and sings to Dylan.  (There's only so many times you can sing Twinkle Twinkle.) They love chillaxin together. 

Farwell Farleys

I can't exactly recall the exact day that I met Lindsay, but I remember I was sitting on the hill in our backyard. It was a hot summer day, and I was watching the dogs play in the backyard as I read the Bible. From across the stream, I see this woman walking towards our house. I say woman because she was dressed up, heels and all. I thought, about time they send someone over to look at this ditch. (the drainage ditch that runs beside our house is jacked up) At the time, her house was next door to the sales office, so I assumed she was some person involved with the neighborhood community. She crossed the creek, in her heels mind you. Then I realized, she's coming to my yard, not the ditch. She came over and told me how she met my husband a few days ago, on a walk, as she recognized our dogs. We talked for a while. I mentioned that I was a project manager for CIGNA. She mentioned that her husband, Steve, was looking for a job like that. We talked for a while, about what I can't remember, but later that night, she brought Steve over to meet me. I kid her that she did a pop in and I didn't even know her.

Well time went by and I am not really sure how our friendship got started. I have the worst memory, but I am sure she can remember. We started hanging out on the weekends with the Farleys. They became members in our home group. We went on vacation to San Francisco. I even kept Lindsay company on 2 work trips to Little Rock and Memphis when I was just a stay at home wife. One day, Damien and I were shoveling dirt into our planter and they came over with shovels to help us. That had to be the nicest gesture. I mean who wants to shovel dirt and work that hard?

It was so nice to have people around our age, in the neighborhood, that we could hang out with. I truly felt God had put us in this specific house to meet them. We enjoyed spending time with them and watching Lindsay grow in her faith. Like all friendships, we had our ups and downs (more so me and Lindsay rather than Damien and Steve), but hey what would friendships be without little tiffs.

I would consider the Farleys to be some of our dearest friends. We are truly going to miss them and we wish them all the best in Indianapolis where Lindsay will be starting a new career. In tribute to their departure, I have arranged a top ten list of the things that I am going to miss about the Farleys.

10. Crossing the creek to go to their house (remember I spoke of them in a prior post)
9. Comparing hummingbird sightings
8. Being told what unique birds we have in our yard
7. Lindsay and I beating the boys in spades and euchre
6. Rescuing the lost dogs in our neighborhood and finding their owners
5. Waving to them (sometimes yelling to them)
4. Hearing Tweety squawk
3. Watching Lindsay gardening in the middle of the day when she should be working :)
2. Hearing Lindsay refer to it as "HER" house (but hey I am sure this will still happen)
1. Knowing they are at home, but just not answering the phone. I see you, pick up the phone.

Don't ever lose touch and we hope that you are able to visit us when you are in the Tennessee. We will hopefully get to visit you in Indy. We can always meet up for another vacation.

Celebration Sunday - Embrace Eternity

Our series, Live Like You Were Dying, came to a close today. I have to say, today's message, Embrace Eternity, had to be the most moving for me. Yeah, we can love deeper, speak sweeter and give forgiveness, but if we aren't doing it all without thinking about eternity, then what's next? Pastor Rick quoted someone by saying, we aren't living to die, we are dying to live. Wow!

We got to watch a video interview between Pastor Rick and John Reed. John was diagnosed with cancer around the age of 42. He received all the treatment that the medical world could give him. However, the cancer was still there. The interview was so inspiring. I could tell you all about it, but I couldn't do it justice. To hear the wisdom of a man, who knew he was going to die, it meant so much and it reminded me of my friend Stephanie who passed away in January of this year. She too, battled cancer and was following Christ's example up until her last breath. John died in June, and as he stated, "got an early out". He no longer has to be in this world. He gets to be with God every day.

The message today meant so much to me, that I would love for this message to be played at my memorial service when I get my ticket out. If you have about 35 minutes, I urge you to watch it. Go to http://pclive.org/ and watch the 9-14-08 date. It may not be on there for a few days, so check back if it's not there. If you want to see all of the series, start on 8-17-08. Also, check out Stephanie's caring bridge journal and see her faithfulness through the chemo, the pain, and the struggles. It will truly move you to tears. 

As a part of celebration Sunday, we had several baptisms at church today. Our friends, Nick and Dana were among them. We were elated.

Get Your Motor Runnin'

Thanks to our friend Bobbie, who passed this little hot rod down to us. It cracks me up!

4 months

Dylan had his 4 month check up today. He weighed 15lbs 3oz and was 26 inches long. That puts him in the 60th percentile for weight and 85th percentile for length. Of course, I had to mention to the doctor my concerns regarding him sleeping on his tummy. She assured me that he had great head control and that he would be fine. That the risk for SIDS is pretty much gone. Hopefully, I can remember this, so I don't go upstairs every time I wake up. 

I can't believe how fast he is growing. He is such a great baby. God truly blessed us by choosing us to raise him.  Before you know it, I will be blogging about him going to college.

A Night Under the Stars

Thanks to our dear friends, the Browns, we found out about a little known local secret this past Saturday night, Arrington Vineyards. They celebrated their 8 years of marriage last week and invited a few of their friends along to celebrate everyone's marriage. I thought how fun, but were we in for a treat. Every weekend, they have artists playing and everyone is invited to bring food and enjoy the festivities, of course, you have to buy your alcohol on the premises. The event, get this, is free!! We love free. It would be an ideal place to take out of town visitors, have a nice date night or for a night out with friends.

When we got there, it was like we were on vacation. This place does not look like it's in Middle Tennessee. It had rolling hills plastered with grape vines. It truly was spectacular. I suggest you check it out for yourself. If you get there early enough, you can grab one of their tables otherwise, bring a blanket or chair, relax, enjoy the atmosphere and the company. We did!

A view of the land

Damien and I at sunset

Jill, Lauren, Kelley, Stephanie and Andrea at the entrance

The girls

The guys

Irresponsible Parents

If there was a parents of the day award, we would not have gotten it today. No, we didn't do anything to Dylan, but our 4 legged kids are another story. 

We went out to my parent's house today, like we do every other Sunday. Turbo wanted to go outside, so I let him out. Usually Turbo just goes out in the yard and hangs out. If he leaves the yard, he goes up to my Grandparents house, which is right next door. After about 20 minutes or so, I said, I am going outside to look for Turbo. I started yelling for him, he didn't come. I walked around the house looking for him, no sign of him. Then I went up to my Grandparents. Granddaddy was sitting outside, he hadn't seen him. I start walking down the street in one direction as my Dad goes the other direction. Turbo appears 2 houses down. Mind you, this is in the country on a street that is posted as 40mph, but people do about 60 seeing that they are not in the city limits and county police are not usually on our road. I was terrified that he was going to get hit. I crouched down by the side of the road and yelled for him in my sweetest voice. (all the time trying to be non threatening) As soon as he came to me, he got a spanking. He knew he did wrong. I released his collar and he ran into the yard. Needless to say, Turbo will not be allowed in the yard anymore, unsupervised. He's never done that. Unless, you count the time my parent's smoke detector kept beeping and finally he had enough. He jumped up on the door, opened it and took off. My parent's dog, Bandit, made a get away with him. Turbo took off down the street, but they were able to rally him back. 

Then, when we got home, I brought Dylan in as he was super fussy, as Damien unloaded the car. About 30 minutes after being home, I started fixing me a pizza. Usually when I shuffle around in the kitchen, the dogs are right there. Turbo was the only one waiting for cheese or a pepperoni, so I yelled for Sophie. Nothing. I said to Damien, where's Sophie? He said I guess she's in the back yard. I said, you just leave her out there. He opens the door and turns on the light, no Sophie. I go out in the garage to see if she's still out there...nope. Damien says open the garage door. I open the door and she comes running in. She was outside the whole time. Luckily, she didn't run away. 

All this to say, when you have a kid, you don't seem to notice what the dogs do as much. 

Happy Birthday Dora....I mean Eliza

I told my neighbors that I was going to write a blog about something in their backyard. Immediately, they started looking around like uh-oh what could it be. I told them it wasn't anything bad, it's more something about me. I finally told them as I asked for permission to use Eliza's picture. See they have this Dora play house in their yard. It use to be more towards our yard, and we could see it from our driveway. Often times, we would pull in, and at first glance, I thought Eliza was in the play house. Then I'd remember that it's just ole Dora's picture. 

See how I could mistake her for Dora.  She's turning 2 years old today, and she is a Guatemalan pricness.  I love me some Eliza, and she loves her some Burbo (Turbo).

Wordless Wednesday

Speak Sweeter

This past week, in our Live Like You Were Dying series, we covered speaking sweeter.  In Rick's sermon, he identified 3 ways to speak sweeter.

- Appreciate People

• say thanks to people that serve you 
  
• say thanks to people that shaped you

-Encourage People

Hebrews 3:13 "But encourage one another daily as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness"

-Pray for People

Ephesians 6:18 "Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere."

I am going to be honest and admit that speaking sweet is sometimes difficult for me. It's not something that I have been accustomed to, and it's very difficult to teach an old dog new tricks. Seriously, as we get older, we don't generally get nicer. Typically, the older you get the harder your heart gets, unless you are diligent about being an encouragement dispenser. I know for some people, complimenting people or speaking encouraging words comes easily. For me, I sometimes feel that if I say things of this nature, that people aren't going to think that I am being genuine, seeing that I usually joke around. Thus, I am going to start being intentional...less joking, more encouraging. Also, I am going to try and make it a point to say I love you more, so family, get ready to be weirded out. (This is not something my family normally does. I remember when I was in school asking my mom why we didn't.) I want three things to be achieved from saying I love you more...1-I want to remove any doubt.  2- I want to teach Dylan the importance of sharing his feelings 3-I don't want to have any regrets.

Lastly, a bit of advice that Rick provided to us. Before you speak ask yourself: is it true? is it kind? is it necessary?

This week...Love Deeper - I look forward to seeing how we can love deeper.

Holy Hair Loss Batman

I cannot take credit for the title, as one of the girls on my baby board started a thread with the same title. I liked it so much, I stole it....(was it you Holly or was it Sarah?)

Anyway, I have officially started losing my hair. I know while you are pregnant and a few months after delivery, you don't loose a lot of hair. Then it starts falling out in clumps. I have doctored this pictured so that the hair actually stands out. This was all in one sitting of blowing drying and flat ironing my hair. I am going to be bald soon if this keeps up.