And hello 2006

Ok let’s take a moment and ponder the fact that it is the year 2006. Really? I don’t think so, because there aren’t any flying cars in my reality and I distinctly drawing a picture of a flying car when I was in first grade as being a reality in the “year 2000” (yes I watch Conan O’Brien and yes I thought that bit was dang funny). And so here we are 6 years after the year 2000 and no flying cars. And you know another thing that never happened, the whole “world’s gonna end” because some programmers from way back when decided to not type two instead of four numbers for the year, so every computer in the world was going to explode and we were going to be living off of bottled water and spam as we sank into a Mad Max type world (ok I may be a bit young in relative terms but I know my not so normal movies). And speaking of Spam, I would like to submit that the whole millennium bug whatever thing was invented as a marketing ploy of Spam’s mother company. Seriously, if I would have thought of it I would have bought stock in that company because you know that in the month of December 1999, Spam saw the best sales jump they will ever experience. And then I ask myself, SPAM? Really? Why not beef jerkey or Vienna sausages? Spam, is what we turned to as sustenance in the case of a global shut down. Really what does that say about us as a people?

But I didn’t bring you all here to talk about flying cars and Spam, although that is a good conversation.

I brought you here to look back on the year I like to call 2005 (you can call it that too if you would like).

So what happened in the year 2005, what set this year apart for me?

Is it sad to say that really nothing of grand substance in my life occurred? There were no new revelations; I am still the same Katie I was when the clock struck 12:00:01 on January 1, 2005. I still work at the same place, I still live in the same place, I’m still single (not that there is anything wrong with that), I’m still involved in the same activities I was involved in last year. Really I’m still me.

But as I really look at things, I realize that there are lots of little changes. Things that might go unnoticed on a countdown, or one of those year in review programs, but things that even in their simplicity and smallness, have changed my life. So I am still me but I’m different, changed, and new.

I’ve lost people that I love. I’ve met new people that I can’t imagine not being a part of my life. I’ve had some rough spots, some growing spots, lots of laughter, and many tears. I’ve taken some wacky road trips. I’ve done some crazy things. I’ve done some heart searching and poured a bit of myself out for the entire world to see. I’ve even rapped.

And in the midst of all of this I have done what I am doing now, I have put all this to paper (or computer if you must be picky) and I’ve published it in a forum where anyone can see it.

When you really stop to think about this, your mind starts to question itself. Did I really tell the world about that? Oh my gosh, is that really up there on the internet? Have I really met people online (ONLINE) and formed friendships, real friendships?

So in honor of the passing away of 2005 I offer you these few things:

The following is not a best of 2005, but more a picture of 2005, a story of this last year though a few basket full of key posts. Sorry I chose so many, but when you post almost everyday you have a lot to choose from. Feel free to read them all, feel free to read none of them.

Untitled

Talking about my America

Like a big baked potatoe

No more products

Life Lesson no. 219

Did you know . . .

Did my womb just leap?

Here comes the rain and its follow up

Dual Citizenship

Scars

Identity

Light and Life

Beauty – because it is good to show that I can be wrong, and while it is hard, I can also admit it

Duede Seriously

Puzzling

Too Funny not to share

Finally – Exploding pumpkins

No Title

Miracle

Love


And in honor of the coming year of 2006 I offer this:

Wishes of joy and blessings for this coming year. None of us know what 2006 holds, and it will likely include struggles for many of us; loss for some of us; newness of birth for others; laughter; tears; and the beginnings of new jobs, friendships, relationships, families. In all of this, through all of this I wish you joy and that you will be blessed on the mountain tops and also in the valleys.

Coming Attractions

Ok I will admit it, I am particular about certain things, call it anal if you wish but particular sounds a bit less obscene. One thing that I happen to be very particular about is movie watching. I like to get to the movies with ample time to select the prime viewing seats and to watch all the previews in their entirety (don’t get me started on the stupid commercials before the previews).

Now previews are an entity that I find quite interesting, a 30 second to 2 minute spot to entice the viewer into shelling out up to $10 to see a movie that might not actually be viewable for up to a year. The preview serves the purpose of creating excitement and desire to watch this movie. Previews are now part of TV also, if my VCR cuts off the last few minutes of Lost (if for some crazy reason there is a life or death situation and I am pulled from my TV on a Wed night) and I miss the preview I will go into a period of mourning because I don’t know what is coming up on the next episode.

The funny thing about previews is that they are always a bit misleading. First you have the preview that shows all the best scenes, so there really isn’t anything worth watching in the 2 hour flick that you haven’t seen in the 2 minute preview. Then there are the previews that make you think the movie is a comedy when in fact it is a horror, or worse the other way around. Misleading previews are the worst. Then there is the preview that has scenes that never make it into the final cut of the movie so you spend the entire time looking for that one scene and realize that it ended up on the cutting room floor.

Now what if our lives had previews? What if every morning for 30 seconds you could get a preview of your day on channel 2? Would you miss that preview? I wouldn’t. Just tell me the time and I would have my alarm set (with a second alarm just in case the first one misfired), bound out of bed, and be waiting for that preview with anticipation.

But think about what our life would be like if we had a preview of our day. Would I decide whether to get back in bed and refuse to let the day occur if I didn’t like what I saw on the preview? And then what about the context, one five second flash of a scene doesn’t give me the whole picture of what will occur, the lead up, the aftermath, the context of what I am seeing. Would I avoid certain things because of what I saw that morning in my preview, would I make choices thinking it will cause a preview I like to come true. How would my life be different if I could see the future, would it cause my future to change because I was so bent on making certain things happen and others to not occur?

So maybe, previews aren’t all their cracked up to be. We make decisions, based on 30 seconds of film, on two minutes of a story, when the whole story really takes 2 hours to tell. Our lives are so much more than that. To decide the outlook of my day, the entire 24 hours of it, based on 30 seconds of material taken out of context.

But isn’t that what we often ask for in life. Just let me know if I am going to get this job, just let me know if I am going to get married, to have children, to have this dream of mine come true. We want those answers, simple and exact as they may be, but we want them out of context. We don’t ask for the cost, we don’t want to know the choices we have to make to get to these answers, or the paths we must walk to arrive at these destinations. We want that instant gratification of knowing what we are most focused on.

What if God gave us those answers, what if He allowed us to see the preview of our lives? Then where would be we be? We would know the answer to that most important question but we would have no context to put it in. Will I marry this guy I’m dating? The preview tells me no, so I break up with him in search of my prince charming but I didn’t see in the preview that it is through my current boyfriend that I meet my future husband. How will I die? I see a fiery plane crash, so I never fly again, but then I miss out on traveling to all the places that I might have visited.

So maybe missing the previews aren’t such a bad thing. Maybe living live without all the answers allows us to really live life, instead of moving from one event to the next.

It’s the little choices in life

I switched cell phone providers about four years ago. With my new provider came a new number. One thing I dislike about getting a new phone is transferring all the numbers stored in your phone book, it takes a lot of time and is a bit repetitive. But I quickly learned that this was to be the least of my repetitive worries.

See my new number just happen to be very similar to another person’s number. Now I realize that all phone numbers are very similar to other numbers because someone has to be in front and behind you in the cell phone number line, so it stands to reason that every once in a while you will get a phone call for these people. You just have to hope that you got in line between somewhat normal people, so you don’t get the late night drunk dial phone call with someone on the other end ranting and raving to you, or better yet crying as they pour their alcohol flooded heart out to you. Or better yet, you happen to stand behind a person who just happens to give their number out to many a person on the single scene, or maybe someone who doesn’t like to pay their bills so you get the ever-so-nice collection calls.

Now my place in the phone number line was choice in that I was not near any of the above. No I just happened to be behind a realtor. Now really, this is a bigger disaster than any of the aforementioned people, because I’m not sure I can think of another person that would constantly get phone calls and would be misdialed with such efficiency.

So it was five years ago that my life took on an alternate identity. By day I am Katie of Kpinion but by night (or sometimes day) I become Kami, realtor. Really having a dual personality is a bit of a struggle. I never know when the change will come. I can be in the middle of a normal day and voila, with the ring of my phone, I am instantly transported into Kami.

At first this unexpected transformation was a bit annoying, especially when someone would begin a conversation with me just assuming I was, in fact, the person they intended to call. Those were fun, mind you, because here I am trying to figure out who this person is that seems to know me when in fact they only think they know me. The other problem was that I did not know why I was so blessed to continue to get wrong number calls for the same person over and over and over again. And then one day, an epiphany of sorts occurred. I was driving to work (mind you at least a year or so after I had gotten my new number and become Kami part deux), when I saw it, the answer to all my questions. There, right in front of me, was a sign, a big sign just for me. It read Kami Farfegnuten (name changed for her protection) and had her phone number 867-5309 (obviously not her real number, nor is my number any such combination of these numbers because really this is the internet and I am not about to just give my number out willy nilly people, I’m picky (read – smart) like that). So in that moment I realized who it was my alternate identity belonged to. Kami the realtor with the number blazed across signage all over my town.

So I had a decision to make. I could either spit fire at all people who call my number in error and talk to me for a few minutes before we can come to the conclusion that I am not Kami, or I could change my number and get back in the wacko wrong number lottery, or I could do what any sweet southern gal would do and kindly give the proper digits to all those who call me in error. So which one do you think I chose? All those who answered option #1 you are no longer my friends.

Well I decided to embrace my dual personality and to go with option number #3 (and all of you who chose this as my likely response are my friends forever). So for the last four years, count them F.O.U.R. I have dutifully responded with kindness when people call me looking for Kami. The funny thing is that they seem to be so surprised by my kindness and the fact that I will tell them the actual number they need to call. Has our world gotten so bad that a person being kind when a wrong number is dialed will make other people fall out of their chair in shock? Gosh, I hope not. Now I am not all saintly every moment of my life (shocking I know) so there are times when I want to resort to the fire breathing monster that gets frustrated when the same person calls back three times even though I gave them the correct digits, but I choose southern sweetness over fire breathing (sometimes with much difficulty).

So why am I tell you all this you may be asking yourself. Well, for one it is my blog and I can do what I want (much like it is my party and I will cry if I want to, because you know you would cry too if it happened to you – sorry I couldn’t help myself, it ran through my head – like it is now running through yours – see how that works, I am now free of the song and you are stuck with it), and also because I just got a call for dear ol Kami and I ever so sweetly told that person the correct digits.

Yep, so that’s what I’ve got for you today. Impressed aren’t you? And let the commenting begin.

For JCol's reading pleasure (and yours too)

The following is a transcript of a recent IM conversation I had with Jessica of Just Say Jes, regarding the location of my family's Christmas festivities:

Jessica: i forgot that you went to the state penitentiary instead.

katie: yes we do it right in my family

Jessica: when i was in middle school i toured museum of the state pen. and then told my mom that i wanted to redecorate my room to look like the jail cell, because i liked the bunk beds and chrome appliances.

Jessica: she wasn't so thrilled with my declaration.

katie: ahahahahahaha

katie: jessica you have a way of making me smile like noone else

Please note, my family did NOT spend Christmas at the state penitentiary, nor did we celebrate in any other such jails, prisons, or holding facilities. My aunt and uncle just happen to live in the city in which a certain state penitentiary resides.

And we're back

Well I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration with your families and friends. Mine was filled with famliy, food, and fun.

I'm running a bit dry on material right now - seems like a drought has come of sorts in my mind and I'm struggling to come up with blog worthy bits of thoughts and words.

So, I'm going to try and stir up some dialogue here. Recently, one of my deep thinker must reads put up a quote by John Piper regarding how God views suffering.

This is the post:

http://www.brokenmessenger.com/2005/12/how-does-god-view-suffering.html

My response was the following:

Thinking out loud, so here goes . . . . I realize as I complain (oh yes I complain) about why God allows certain things to happen that are hard, that bring suffering, and that are the product of evil and sin I forget that the miracle is that God does allow it to happen, he allows life to go on, men to walk the earth, and sin to inhabit this world for a short time. I always forget that God made a choice in the garden of Eden, He showed grace and mercy in that one moment, to allow Adam and Eve to continue on in the now sin infested world, He allowed them to suffer, to struggle, but more than that to live. God could have ended it all there, He could have washed His hands with creation, He could have stopped the effects of sin in that one moment by destroying His creation, but He didn't. He allowed us to live and the struggles, the calamity, those are also pictures of His grace and mercy because we are able to experience them. So yes, there are struggles, and sin, and pain, and that is life in this world. How wonderful His grace and love that He allows us to live in it, with a promise of a future without it.


So in light of all of this, talk to me, tell me what you are thinking.

What child is this?

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:10-14

Is there anything more amazing than those words? “Today . . . . a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord.”

So often I bypass the impact of Christmas for the bang of Easter. I guess in my search for a moment to really solidify the ‘why’ behind my faith, Easter gives the most straightforward answers. This was the commemoration of Christ’s mission, this was His sacrifice, and this was the act that we were to put our faith in for our salvation. But as I ponder faith, what it means, and think about the “who” being more important than the “what”, I realize that Christmas is a celebration of faith.

Think about it, we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, the BIRTH of a sovereign, holy, eternal, perfect Deity. BIRTH. That right there is faith, an amazing act of faith. Because when you think about it, the cross was the culmination of Christ’s work here on earth, but His birth was the inception of that work. He CAME to earth. He took on the form of MAN. Christ, part of the triune God, present at creation, reigning in Heaven at the right hand of the Lord, came to earth as a BABY.

A few posts back I asked people what their definition of faith was, and I came up with one simple word, ‘knowing’. With that definition in mind, then I know this baby; I know He alone will be my answer, my salvation, my life. I don’t even need to know all the miracles He will perform, or the wonderful teachings He will give, or the unconditional love He will show, because all that is wrapped up in this one act that He begins His life on earth with. He is born, as a man, into this earth. God comes down and meets us in ourselves. He comes just as we come into this world, naked, helpless, small, and living mortally in the body of flesh.

Christ could have easily come to earth as a grown man. He could have descended from the clouds in glory and begun His ministry with a bang. Think of the impact, the immediate reaction that would have occurred if Christ would have just appeared on earth and started preaching. But that wasn’t the way that God wanted salvation to come to man. He wanted a Savior that could relate in all ways to those He was saving. God wanted Christ to be fully man, to experience all that man experienced, and to be the perfect substitution for the price of our sin. So Christ came, not as a man but as a baby, as a helpless, innocent, newborn. He was born into this world and He was taken from it by death. He lived as we live.

It isn’t the man at this point, it isn’t the miracles, it isn’t the visible sacrifice. It is a baby, wrapped in cloth, lying in a place of humility, this is where my faith begins, and this is who my faith is placed in.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas. I pray that you will be filled with the peace and wonder of the celebration of the birth of our Lord. I pray that your faith will abound as you remember that Christ came to earth as a baby, as one of us, as our salvation wrapped in cloth, lying in the arms of His mother, helpless, small, and yet worthy of our faith and our love.

Some of the greatest sermons have been given in this season. Some of the most wonderful words of truth are spoken to commemorate the day that Christ came down to man. And while I could have posted great words by great theologians I decided to go with something much simpler. I hope you take from this the truth that is so humbly given and that it touches your heart in the same way it touches mine.

I found this video on another blog, and unfortunately I closed the window before getting the address so I could properly give credit to the man who made this. So this is a thank you to Mr. Dixon for putting together this little video.

Hello to all

Ok I have a Christmas post (you knew I would), but it isn't quite ready yet. If (and this is a big if) you are so inclined to return tomorrow on the eve of this day we celebrate our Lord's birth I promise (PROMISE) to have a post up that is a bit more in the vein of Kpinion's "thinking" side.

In the mean time, I wish you all a joy filled Christmas Eve eve. As always, comments are welcomed, if not begged for(hahaha).

Gosh you sure are patient with me, and keep coming back even though I've been pitiful in my postings of late. Thanks for your fun banter in the comment section, you all make me smile and laugh daily.

Because I guess I really don't have to be here

Hey guys, sorry I've been MIA for the last few days, but you, my friends, kept the party hopping without me here.

Hmmmmm so there is a blogger boy band in the works it seems? And in the vein of NKOTB, how lucky can a girl get. Will you have posters, and buttons, and pillows. If you need help with the dance moves, I'm a pro (and yes people I'm admitting that i know boy band dance routines - occupational requirement when working at a youth summer camp).

Captain SOS made a cameo, although I'm not sure if it was the real Capt'n or a faker.

Everyone came out of the woodwork to post on a non-post. And I didn't even have to do anything to get this much of a response. WOW, maybe i should post non-posts more often, I seem to get a bigger response.

So this really isn't all that great of a post either (sorry) but I promise to get something up tomorrow that is of some sort of worth.

In the mean time, please feel free to comment at will.

To all my boycotting readers I offer a heartfelt "hello"

Ok Logan you asked for it

Dear Logan,

Kpinion asked me to inform you that a boycott does not just mean witholding comments but an actual boycott of the site alltogether. This means that repeated checking back to see if the boycotting instigator, one Steve Sporre, has called a cease and desist to his boycotting campaign does in fact nullify your boycott. Remember that Mr. Sporre's boycott was caused because I caught him in the act of repeated check-backs, therefore I have the technology to see you on my site even if you don't comment. And while we appreciate your 'got yo back' brotherhood attitude for your 'older friend' (you called him this first) Steve, lurking in the shadows quietly, does not a boycott make.

AHAHAHAHAHA

Again, we thank you for your shout out on Stephanie's blog. You may be receiving the full series of Happy Days so that you may edumacate yourself on all things cool (because Fonzie was the epitomy of cool).

Thank you for your patronage at Kpinion. We hope that you will continue to return AND COMMENT and all future boycotts will be avoided.

The Management

This is what I get for being a smart mouth. You'll need to refer to the comments on my last post to understand this.



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Because it's my blog and I can do what I want

The following was a comment thread on Impatient Chicken's post and I wanted to ask Ben what he meant and then maybe entice some conversation.

Me:

got here late but I offer prayers post-test (hey God isn't bound by time so you never know)

Ben:

Katie-Wow... that comment was crazy-deep.That's what I like about you... you ALWAYS make me think.

New post

Arrrrggggghhhhhhhh.

And no, I am not practicing my pirate call.

This is the cry of frustration, or better yet, anticipation.

Have you ever had something float around in your head for days, if not weeks, on end and yet it is just out of reach to fully verbalize or get down on paper? Like a memory that is clouded in shadow, this thought is there but shrouded in darkness and unreachable.

So I'm waiting (not all that patiently) for the shadows to retreat and the details to become visible and the entirity might one day soon be seen and known.

So . . . . .

I'm driving to school today and I pass a group of what must be middle school kids waiting for the bus. The girls were huddled together talking about things like fashion, who is dating who, who likes who, who doesn't like who, and who is mad at who for liking someone they like (I use to be a teenage girl so I know things like this). The boys were lined up on the street waving at every car that drove by.

So I pull up to the intersection and begin to make my turn and the boys start waving. I'm a nice person so I wave back and then this one boy decides to shoot me the universal sign for "call me" - you know the thumb and pinkie extended as he brings his hand to his face. I busted out laughing that this boy, who might be 13 or 14, was giving me (old lady compared to his young pup age) the "call me" sign.

And then it struck me, wow that is the most action I've seen in forever. And that of course made me laugh even harder.

Is it sick that I think this is so funny

http://ww12.e-tractions.com/snowglobe/globe.htm

Thanks Aimee, Aimclaim, for the giggles.


After you do a bit of shaking (why is the song "whole lotta shakin goin on" stuck in my head?) go check out Stephanie's post from yesterday. This girl is awesome and pouring wisdom from her heart.

Community Service (sort of . . . . )

If you haven't already, or if you want to again, please check out my last post HERE and leave a comment.



So I have this idea of how to serve my community during this Christmas holiday. See most people don’t realize something very important about their Nativity scenes. They’re WRONG.

I’m taking it upon myself to help all the people in my town by correcting this error. My plan is to go from house to house (late at night because then it will be a surprise in the morning) and do a little rearranging.

Now what is wrong with the Nativity scenes you may be asking? Well, take a look at the Gospels, right there in the first few chapters and try and find the error that Nativity scenes promote. Hmmmm, found it yet? Ok, I’ll help you out. See the wise men, magi, men from the Far East (take your pick of names) didn’t get to Jesus until a while after he was born. And we’re not talking hours here, or even days, it was more like years.

Most people don’t realize this, and I don’t hold it against them, but I’m all for having a correct Nativity scene. So my plan is to move the wise men down a few yards so that all the people who drive around looking at Christmas lights will see that they are a good couple of years away from the stable and newborn baby Jesus.

So that’s my plan. I’m equipped with all black clothing and my night vision goggles, because I do want this to be a surprise to these families. Just think how excited they’ll be when they awake tomorrow morning to see that their Nativity scene has been adjusted and is now correct with the wise men gone. Maybe I’ll leave a little note telling them which yard I left the wise men in or will that take away the fun of looking for their approach and wondering which way they came (duh from the east – ohhh I’ll need to pack a compass then so I get the direction right).

My only concern is that the cops who come to arrest me for trespassing and vandalism won’t know the Christmas story and it will be really hard to flip through my Bible while my hands are handcuffed behind my back so I’m thinking I’ll type out the gospel account of the wise men and tape it to my shirt.

So that’s my plan for tonight. Anyone want to do the same act of community service in their town? It could be a coordinated event and we could synchronize our watches (I love synchronizing watches). Just let me know.

Mental block

So there's this post that is brewing in my brain but I'm just not feeling it. Nothing is more frustrating to me then to look at a blank page and know what I want to say but not how to say it.

So I present to you a question.

How do you define "faith"? Please use your own words, your own life, and your own perceptions for this definition.

Ahahahahahaha

I have an announcement to make:

Contrary to popular belief, the great artist who is singing my prized "O Holy Night" rendition below is NOT our beloved rocker Steve. I can hear you all gasping right now and I am laughing my head off. I thought about pointing out the mistake at the get-go but it was too darn funny that you all just assumed it was Steve. Really people you've heard him sing, did you think this total lack of tunage could even be produced by him? Ahahahahahaha. So not only is the song a delight to me but even more joy was had when everyone jumped on the Steve bandwagon.

I really do think long notes of apology should be posted here for all you who disgraced his name by thinking he created this cacophony of sound.

Ahahahahahahahaha, I really can't stop giggling.

Bunch of wusses

Oh I'll admit it, Texas is a bunch of wusses when it comes to winter weather. It has begun to sleet a bit outside and we have parents coming in droves to take their kiddos home before the storm of the century hits (oh wait, it's only sleeting and the temp is hovering at 26 degrees with a wintery mix). So all my northern friends who have been digging themselves out of 6 inches of snow lately, who have had blizzards blow through, and who are dealing with temps in the teens and single digits, please know that I realize that we Texans are a bunch of wusses.

UPDATE: We are now sending kids home and cancelling classes.

As always, this is probably not my "real" post for the day, but feel free to comment with wild abandonment (what would commenting with wild abandonment look like anyways?).

Happy Birthday Young Man

Everyone go tell Ben HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

GO NOW.

I'm not sure what the guy equivalent to this would be . . . .

Sunday afternoon I attended a "sleigh party". Now many of you are wondering what exactly a sleigh party might be because you know I live in Texas and, yes, it was 88 degrees on Saturday (but then dropped into the 40's that night - brrrrr). So we weren't taking rides in a sleigh, but we were making sleighs, and not just any sleighs but CANDY sleighs. Yipee, girl time.

My friend Aimee (aimclaim - check her out she's a good read and needs more visitors - see Aimee you didn't have to beg for readership because I am guilt-tripping my readers into visiting you) and her sweet momma invited a group of us gals to come and make gingerbread candy sleighs, except we used cardboard so they are only partially edible.

With the help of Julie (the cake making queen) I successfully constructed my own sleigh with only a little bit of mess (especially in comparison to Leah who had a testy icing bag to contend with).

Now I know you don't know any of these gals but peruse my pics and enjoy.

For my male readership, I present a question of sorts. What would the male equivalent of this be? Submit your answers and the best one wins a suprise.

And now on to the pictures:

Hard at work. Seriously, this was hard, not as hard as brain surgery but pretty darn close. Have I mentioned that I'm a bit of a perfectionist so that tendency came out with a vengance on this adventure.

Aimee and her wonderful mom were the resident experts

Poor Leah has some trouble and she got SUMO messy, hee hee.

Major construction going on here. Check out Julie (cake decorating extraordinare) and sassy Margaret.

Here's Amy with her fun completed sleigh.

Kristie and Leah had some trouble with their icing bag and instead of offering to help I laughed and took pictures (sorry ladies)


















Margaret and Liz - Liz is 5 months preggo with a sweet baby girl.

Wahoo a bunch of good lookin gals and some kick butt candy sleighs.

Do you think this is too much to ask?

My friend Taylor and I were talking last night and we decided that we prefer God to speak to us via billboard. So this is my suggestion:

I like being your blog neighbor

I have always wanted to have a neighbor
Just like you!
I have always wanted to live in a
Neighborhood with you.
So let’s make the most of this beautiful day;
Since we’re together we might as well say,
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won’t you be my neighbor?

Ok, I’m going to make a rash statement here, if you don’t like Mister Rogers then we can’t be friends. Sorry, but there is a line that I must draw and this is it. I can accept many things – biting the heads off of chickens, running me down with a driving lawn mower, torturing me as a pre-teen by sticking my hand in a bowl of water while I’m sleeping to see if I’ll wet my sleeping bag, eating cornnuts in my presence, even teasing me for being homeless in the near future – but this, oh this, we will just not be friends if you have any disdain for Mister Rogers.

The cardigan (or sweater if cardigan sounds too girly), the slippers, the puppet, the perfectly coiffed hair, the soothing voice, and the smile, Mister Rogers was and is a childhood breath of fresh air.

So you will join me in rejoicing that I happened upon a small little book that brings such joy and a smile to my face called “The World According to Mister Rogers – Important Things to Remember”. And because this is a book about Mister Rogers, it of course has a sketch of a cardigan/sweater on the cover.

And this little book has inspired me, so you may be hearing a bit from Mister Rogers and me in the near future, because, well, he makes me think, and when I think I write, and when I write I post, and then you read and the circle is completed.

So today I venture back to my childhood, sitting in front of the television (one with a dial) and remember the joy of the opening song (sing it with me, you know you remember the tune and the words are above). Won’t you be my neighbor?

One last thing, the foreword of the book is written by Mister Rogers’s wife (I can’t call him by his first name because that almost seems sacrilegious) and she opens with a quote that he carried in his wallet. This is a great quote and one I can picture him returning to over and over again as he pulled a bill from his wallet in everyday circumstances.

So I leave you with this quote:

He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men, and the love of little children, who has filled his niche and accomplished his task, who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul, who has never lacked appreciation of Earth’s beauty or failed to express it, who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had, whose life was an inspiration, whose memory a benediction.
- Bessie Anderson Stanley

This just makes me smile. Can you guess what her first dance move is?

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