OK....Here is another one of my pet peeves--people that walk around as if they just stepped off a runway in New York, Paris, or Milan when, in reality, they look rather comical, hideous, or just down right stupid. Now, I completely understand that my name is not Clinton Kelly, but I don't think I need to be to notice the fashion train wrecks that walk around daily. Two instances from this weekend prompted this posting. One was from Friday night. We were out and about and I saw this woman wearing sandals. She looked to be a well-dressed lady that took some care about her appearance. But then I noticed her feet...the sandals were like dressed-up flip-flops and were out two inches past her heels! Does anyone not notice how tacky that is when they try them on?? Who wants to wear ill-fitting shoes?? Not to mention a trip hazard. I understand that sandals (flip-flops especially) are hard to find in a perfect fit, but 2 inches??
The next example is a woman Mom and I saw at the Harris Teeter yesterday. She thought she was "tight" but she needs to think again. She had on short-short denims and a tank-top similar to the undershirt variety. She was a petite woman but was definitely not young enough to wear the clothes she was wearing. What really caught our eyes was her makeup. It was all shimmery during the daylight! She had painted on her brows in such a way that she almost had a unibrow (It made me want to reach for my tweezers!). She started each one almost at the corners of each eye, went straight up for a short distance and then had a long, sweeping "brow" that ended what seemed a mile away from the beginning. In addition to that, she also had a shimmery band of color across the lower bridge of her nose as if she had forgotten to blend it in a rush to show the world her gorgeousness. Let's just say that Carmindy would have had a coronary. It was all Mom and I could do not to stare open-mouthed. Sometimes I wonder if people really look into a mirror before they leave their house. Or are they really so blinded by their "stunning beauty" that they fail to see their lack of it?
Which leads me to another point...Aren't we all like that to some degree? We go through our every day lives wearing what we perceive as the latest fashions and accoutrement when in reality we are wearing filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) when viewed from the eyes of God, the ultimate Fashion Designer (I am in no way using that name irreverently. Can anyone else fashion something out of nothing and create beauty from total ugliness?) Only when we see ourselves as the dirt-caked, rag-wearing sinners we are and take upon ourselves the Lord's righteous garments through the blood of His precious Son can we truly be seen as "in fashion".
Have a blessed day and take one last look in the mirror!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Cell Phones and Toilets
I have to comment on an experience I had today. After work, I had to use the bathroom really badly. As I walked into the men's room, I heard someone talking. One of my small pet peeves is having an in depth conversation in the bathroom. I do talk in there if there is a need, but I would prefer NOT to get into a lengthy discussion while standing at the urinal. Isn't there a better place??? I think so! Well, when I walked into the bathroom and heard this man talking, I became a bit apprehensive, but I really, really had to go so I sailed through the door like a trooper only to find no one readily visible. Come to find out the man was in a stall on a cell phone!!!! Immediately I thought, "What is he doing talking on a cell phone in a bathroom stall? Doesn't he realize there is an echo and that there isn't any privacy because of it???" What does the man do then??? He starts unrolling toilet paper!!! I was laughing inside at the insaneness of it all! What was the other person thinking? I know it was easily recognizable as to where the guy was. I wondered if he had a Bluetooth, but that thought was quickly dashed when I heard him close the phone after mercifully ending the call. He then proceeded to finish his business, and I made a beeline for the door as fast as I could before he came out of the stall. I almost ran over another guy trying to enter the bathroom as I was leaving. It was all I could do to not bust out laughing before I exited the room! Don't get me wrong. I am one that is all for embracing the latest technology, but sometimes technology needs to be put aside for a few brief moments of personal time. And I do believe that being in the bathroom counts as personal time. Isn't that why voice mail was created? Do people really think they are that important that they have to answer or make a call while on the toilet??? Whatever happened to enjoying a few moments of silence while taking care of business? Please, people, let your cell phones rest while taking care of the call of nature. It's really not hard to do. Thank you in advance.
On to other stuff...Work is slower than it should be for this time of the year because of several factors. One is gas prices. People are driving less and not spending the money on repairs that can be put off. Secondly, the weather here is still a bit unsettled. Who knew it would like the first part of April in mid-May? When the weather settles down, I am sure that the flag will drop and the race will be off like a shot. I hope I will be able to come out of my poll position with my engine running full throttle and not get smacked into the wall. How's that for an auto parts company/racing metaphor?
Well, I guess that's about it for this posting. I hope everyone has a blessed day.
On to other stuff...Work is slower than it should be for this time of the year because of several factors. One is gas prices. People are driving less and not spending the money on repairs that can be put off. Secondly, the weather here is still a bit unsettled. Who knew it would like the first part of April in mid-May? When the weather settles down, I am sure that the flag will drop and the race will be off like a shot. I hope I will be able to come out of my poll position with my engine running full throttle and not get smacked into the wall. How's that for an auto parts company/racing metaphor?
Well, I guess that's about it for this posting. I hope everyone has a blessed day.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Busy weekend!
What a weekend! As I mentioned in my last entry, I was making desserts for today's Homecoming at church. My plan was to start relatively early (for a Saturday!) and get a lot of it accomplished and then read my novel while the oven did it's thing. Well, that didn't exactly happen.
We were still having trouble getting reception on our new TV. Mom called the store where they bought it and they said to bring it back and they would give us a new one in a box (They had purchased a display model because it was the last one of its kind in the store). Well, I knew where the general location of the store was but didn't know the exact location. Well, around 11:30 am, off we went down the road with me driving. Mom suddenly remembered she forgot her phone and the list of ingredients for something she was making for homecoming, but she still wanted to forge on to our destination. As I neared the location, I asked Mom which side of the road it was on. She said she couldn't remember because Dad had come another way and she was turned around. She said, "Left," and that's where I went. It didn't take us long to realize we weren't going to find it on the road we were on because the road ended. We went back around again and made another left, this time going deeper into the shopping area of this location. After a second futile attempt at locating the store, we stopped and asked a Petco employee where this store was located. She told us it was across the highway! We only had to make a RIGHT! And guess what....we found it after crossing the highway!
When we actually get into the store with the TV, we realize that we left the remote control at home! The first question out of the manager's mouth was "Did you bring the remote?" We had to laugh because it was certainly getting comical at this point. Immediately upon starting the conversation with the manager, another employee of the store walked up and proceeded to tell us the proper way to hook up the TV. I really felt like an idiot but in my defense (weak as it is), I didn't have a manual because they are all online now, and I didn't know that I was hooking up cables in the wrong ports. After we received our schooling, we left with the same TV we came with. Naturally, Mikayla, who was with us, had to go to the "little girls' room". Mom took her while I waited in the car. When she came back, she told me that she found out in the bathroom that she had had her phone the whole time! My brother-in-law had called her and she and Mikayla were the only two in the bathroom! HAHAHAHAHA! We could have prevented 15 minutes of time-wasting if we had called Dad!
As we head home, I was cruising down I-540 and suddenly realized that the road looked newer. It dawned on me that I had missed the I-40 exit and was heading for Highway 55! We laughed over that and went way out of our way to get to the grocery store. After getting home and eating lunch, I started on my desserts. Things went pretty smoothly, but obviously much later than I had planned. The only potential problem was with the Carrot Cake. After the layers were baked and cooled, I tried to remove them from the pan. I did spray them with non-stick spray, but they didn't want to cooperate. After a little help with a spatula, I was able to get them out in one piece. They were a little cracked, but still manageable. I found out by doing a little research, that I hadn't mixed the batter exactly right and that was the cause of my problem. Oh well, one has to make mistakes in order to improve. Next time, I will mix properly.
This morning, I got up early and make the frosting. I was nervous because I had visions of the cake splitting in half while I was frosting it. Gently I applied the frosting to the bottom layer (the worst of the 3) and then stacked the other two on top. After using all the frosting, the cake looked pretty good. I'm not very good at frosting a cake! HAHA! I didn't cut the cheesecakes until I was at church. The Almond Joy Cheesecake was not very cheesecake-like to cut, so it ended up being more of a hack-job than a slicing. After Homecoming, I was told that the Almond Joy Cheesecake was a keeper! And I also received several compliments on the Carrot Cake. I was happy after that because I didn't know if it would be good or not.
After cleaning up, we came home and crashed while listing to symphonic music on satellite radio. Isn't that stuff great?? Going from one piece of music to another without commercials! Gotta love it! By the way, I was able to get some reading in today! HAHAHA!
Here's a small update on the bluebirds...Three of the eggs hatched. The last I saw, they were really young. I haven't checked lately to see how they are faring. We seem to be attracting a lot of animals lately. Wesley found a Southern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina carolinensis) yesterday and came here to show us. Mom was less than thrilled. I heard Brittany call several times this afternoon and Molly and Rolly are visiting everyday now. Some days they bring Daisy and Duke. I'm not sure what they like so much about our backyard.
I hope everyone has a blessed day! Today's words-of-wisdom--if you find a shrew, let him go. They don't do well in captivity. :-)
We were still having trouble getting reception on our new TV. Mom called the store where they bought it and they said to bring it back and they would give us a new one in a box (They had purchased a display model because it was the last one of its kind in the store). Well, I knew where the general location of the store was but didn't know the exact location. Well, around 11:30 am, off we went down the road with me driving. Mom suddenly remembered she forgot her phone and the list of ingredients for something she was making for homecoming, but she still wanted to forge on to our destination. As I neared the location, I asked Mom which side of the road it was on. She said she couldn't remember because Dad had come another way and she was turned around. She said, "Left," and that's where I went. It didn't take us long to realize we weren't going to find it on the road we were on because the road ended. We went back around again and made another left, this time going deeper into the shopping area of this location. After a second futile attempt at locating the store, we stopped and asked a Petco employee where this store was located. She told us it was across the highway! We only had to make a RIGHT! And guess what....we found it after crossing the highway!
When we actually get into the store with the TV, we realize that we left the remote control at home! The first question out of the manager's mouth was "Did you bring the remote?" We had to laugh because it was certainly getting comical at this point. Immediately upon starting the conversation with the manager, another employee of the store walked up and proceeded to tell us the proper way to hook up the TV. I really felt like an idiot but in my defense (weak as it is), I didn't have a manual because they are all online now, and I didn't know that I was hooking up cables in the wrong ports. After we received our schooling, we left with the same TV we came with. Naturally, Mikayla, who was with us, had to go to the "little girls' room". Mom took her while I waited in the car. When she came back, she told me that she found out in the bathroom that she had had her phone the whole time! My brother-in-law had called her and she and Mikayla were the only two in the bathroom! HAHAHAHAHA! We could have prevented 15 minutes of time-wasting if we had called Dad!
As we head home, I was cruising down I-540 and suddenly realized that the road looked newer. It dawned on me that I had missed the I-40 exit and was heading for Highway 55! We laughed over that and went way out of our way to get to the grocery store. After getting home and eating lunch, I started on my desserts. Things went pretty smoothly, but obviously much later than I had planned. The only potential problem was with the Carrot Cake. After the layers were baked and cooled, I tried to remove them from the pan. I did spray them with non-stick spray, but they didn't want to cooperate. After a little help with a spatula, I was able to get them out in one piece. They were a little cracked, but still manageable. I found out by doing a little research, that I hadn't mixed the batter exactly right and that was the cause of my problem. Oh well, one has to make mistakes in order to improve. Next time, I will mix properly.
This morning, I got up early and make the frosting. I was nervous because I had visions of the cake splitting in half while I was frosting it. Gently I applied the frosting to the bottom layer (the worst of the 3) and then stacked the other two on top. After using all the frosting, the cake looked pretty good. I'm not very good at frosting a cake! HAHA! I didn't cut the cheesecakes until I was at church. The Almond Joy Cheesecake was not very cheesecake-like to cut, so it ended up being more of a hack-job than a slicing. After Homecoming, I was told that the Almond Joy Cheesecake was a keeper! And I also received several compliments on the Carrot Cake. I was happy after that because I didn't know if it would be good or not.
After cleaning up, we came home and crashed while listing to symphonic music on satellite radio. Isn't that stuff great?? Going from one piece of music to another without commercials! Gotta love it! By the way, I was able to get some reading in today! HAHAHA!
Here's a small update on the bluebirds...Three of the eggs hatched. The last I saw, they were really young. I haven't checked lately to see how they are faring. We seem to be attracting a lot of animals lately. Wesley found a Southern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina carolinensis) yesterday and came here to show us. Mom was less than thrilled. I heard Brittany call several times this afternoon and Molly and Rolly are visiting everyday now. Some days they bring Daisy and Duke. I'm not sure what they like so much about our backyard.
I hope everyone has a blessed day! Today's words-of-wisdom--if you find a shrew, let him go. They don't do well in captivity. :-)
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Garden Anyone?
Well, here I am again after a short absence. Where does the time go?? I used to think that was such a stupid question when I was growing up because time goes to history, but the older I get, the more I ask it! HAHA
Well, we have finally finished the first garden bed!!! Can we all say YEE HAA??? If I wasn't so tired, I would do the Happy Dance. As of 8:44 PM today, the potatoes and beets have been planted. Of course, they are planted 5-6 weeks later than they should have been planted. But who's concerned over the timing of the annual garden planting? Certainly not I! ;-) Dad was using a Bobcat to fill the beds. It was very different from the one he used to use on the farm. He had a little trouble with the first few buckets and managed to slightly mangle one corner of the new bed while dumping the first load of dirt. There was only one rebar in that section and I think he bent it slightly. I hope we will be able to make it look straighter! After that, he got the hang of the machine and sailed through the rest of the dumping. If that had been me, we would have ended up with firewood for Steve's and Kellie's wood stove. I'm not good with machinery.
The seed potatoes were already sprouting and a little emaciated, but we threw them in the dirt anyway. The beet seeds were numerous, but we have had them for several years now so we sowed them all and are hoping for a decent sprouting. Now we have to clear away the rest of the old dirt, construct the remaining two beds, fill them with dirt and composted sawdust, prepare the Earth Boxes, plant the tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, okra, and eggplant, and fill the paths with large gravel. Will we get it completed before June? Stay tuned to this continuing backyard drama to find out.
The twins are spending the night here tonight. Of course, they were all up in the middle of everything. Wesley helped with the gardening by removing the rotten lumber and helping spread the dirt as "Poppy" dumped it in the new bed. I asked him if the shirt he was wearing was old, and his reply was something along the lines of "I think so" (my paraphrase). He wasn't at all concerned over the ground-in dirt or mud-filled tennis shoes. He is so NOT like I was at his age! (My dad called me "Mr. Nasty Nice" because I didn't like to get dirty. Did that bother me? Not in the least! Who wants to walk around looking like a clod of dirt??? I really never grew out of that state of mind!) When he wasn't helping move dirt, he was trying to impress Felipe with his knowledge of Spanish. Let's just say he as a long way to go! HAHA Mikayla wanted to help, but she was too flighty to be much good. Dad and Mom were more worried about her getting in the way of the Bobcat.
Tomorrow will be bake day. I am making a Almond Joy Cheesecake, Lemon-Blueberry Cheesecake, and a Carrot Cake for Sunday's Homecoming at church. I haven't tried these cheesecake recipes yet. I hope they turn out well. I will let all you devoted fans know after the final results are in. I am a little nervous about making the Carrot Cake. It's one of my favorite cakes, but only if it's make like Mom's. No one else has even come close. I will use Mom's secret weapon to fight the tendency towards dryness. And, no, I will not give the secret away. I will also help Mom with her dishes which hasn't fully been finalized yet.
That's all for now, folks. I hope everyone has a blessed day and will take some time to roll in the dirt!
Well, we have finally finished the first garden bed!!! Can we all say YEE HAA??? If I wasn't so tired, I would do the Happy Dance. As of 8:44 PM today, the potatoes and beets have been planted. Of course, they are planted 5-6 weeks later than they should have been planted. But who's concerned over the timing of the annual garden planting? Certainly not I! ;-) Dad was using a Bobcat to fill the beds. It was very different from the one he used to use on the farm. He had a little trouble with the first few buckets and managed to slightly mangle one corner of the new bed while dumping the first load of dirt. There was only one rebar in that section and I think he bent it slightly. I hope we will be able to make it look straighter! After that, he got the hang of the machine and sailed through the rest of the dumping. If that had been me, we would have ended up with firewood for Steve's and Kellie's wood stove. I'm not good with machinery.
The seed potatoes were already sprouting and a little emaciated, but we threw them in the dirt anyway. The beet seeds were numerous, but we have had them for several years now so we sowed them all and are hoping for a decent sprouting. Now we have to clear away the rest of the old dirt, construct the remaining two beds, fill them with dirt and composted sawdust, prepare the Earth Boxes, plant the tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, okra, and eggplant, and fill the paths with large gravel. Will we get it completed before June? Stay tuned to this continuing backyard drama to find out.
The twins are spending the night here tonight. Of course, they were all up in the middle of everything. Wesley helped with the gardening by removing the rotten lumber and helping spread the dirt as "Poppy" dumped it in the new bed. I asked him if the shirt he was wearing was old, and his reply was something along the lines of "I think so" (my paraphrase). He wasn't at all concerned over the ground-in dirt or mud-filled tennis shoes. He is so NOT like I was at his age! (My dad called me "Mr. Nasty Nice" because I didn't like to get dirty. Did that bother me? Not in the least! Who wants to walk around looking like a clod of dirt??? I really never grew out of that state of mind!) When he wasn't helping move dirt, he was trying to impress Felipe with his knowledge of Spanish. Let's just say he as a long way to go! HAHA Mikayla wanted to help, but she was too flighty to be much good. Dad and Mom were more worried about her getting in the way of the Bobcat.
Tomorrow will be bake day. I am making a Almond Joy Cheesecake, Lemon-Blueberry Cheesecake, and a Carrot Cake for Sunday's Homecoming at church. I haven't tried these cheesecake recipes yet. I hope they turn out well. I will let all you devoted fans know after the final results are in. I am a little nervous about making the Carrot Cake. It's one of my favorite cakes, but only if it's make like Mom's. No one else has even come close. I will use Mom's secret weapon to fight the tendency towards dryness. And, no, I will not give the secret away. I will also help Mom with her dishes which hasn't fully been finalized yet.
That's all for now, folks. I hope everyone has a blessed day and will take some time to roll in the dirt!
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