Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving 2008




So much for watching Oprah's Christmas List special.... I was so excited to see it. I plopped down on the couch with NO ONE around. It was heavenly. BUT!!! Someone stopped the recording of Oprah for Sponge Bob!!!! I wonder who that was!! I was a bit miffed as I wanted to get each and every one of you the "free" gift Oprah was going to show everyone.

However, my mom saw the show yesterday. She arrived at my home for Thanksgiving...fashionably late....as usual, God bless her! :) Anyway, we're all running around getting things finished up and I see a small box lying on one of the many tables we had set out. I asked my mom what it was. She said, "it's a secret". Okay...my mom loves to keep me in suspense and knows it drives me crazy. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE surprises!!! So I got about my business.

Then my family and our friends gather around in a circle and hold hands while my mom prays. After our prayer, each year it is tradition for each of us to say what we are thankful for. Well, everyone takes a turn and says what they are thankful for and then when we are all finished, my mom says to everyone that she saw Oprah yesterday. (YES!! The show I missed!!!) Oprah told everyone about a gift you can give anyone that is FREE!!! I'm thinking to myself...yes, yes, yes!!! I get a free gift....and it's from Oprah...well sort of!

My mother explains that she brought a small decorative box with small cards within. Oprah had explained to everyone that the greatest gifts that she receives are small notes from her friends. Mom asked that everyone write a note to Wayne, Riley Morgan and myself since we were hosting Thanksgiving. I was so moved by the gesture, but not as moved as I was by the notes....

Note#1 From Jeneane & Kaylee
Wendy, Wayne & Riley,
Thank you all for inviting me and Kaylee into your home! The food and the "atmosphere" is awesome! You guys ROCK!!! Kaylee wished to stay longer (I wish she could have too!) We'll come back soon! Happy Thanksgiving!

Note #2 From Lynn
Wayne,
Thank you for having us over. Love the grass! For being a great brother-in-law (except the Miller Beer needs to go (Budweiser is the best) For being a good uncle to my boys. They need a role model. And for being a friend to Dennis, especially when he felt like he didn't have any. He always loved you though! Love, Lynn
PS: I will never forget Nags Head & hope we do it again.

Note #3 From Sarah
Thank you for having us to your house. I love being around you, Riley and Wayne. The food was good.

Note#4 From Heather
May all your turkeys
forever be moist

May all your mashed potatoes
forever be fluffy

May all your eggs
forever be deviled

And may your home
forever be filled with family

Note# 5 From Nana
Hi Wayne, Wendy & Riley,
Thank you all for having us for our Thanksgiving feast. I always feel so welcome and comfortable in your lovely home. May God bless your dear sweet family. I pray God will watch over each one of you in everything you do. Remember to always give thanks to our Lord for his blessings on you. Love, Nana

Note# 6 From Lynn
Wendy,
Thank you for being my sis! For being there for me especially the past year. I don't know how I would have made it through. For the daily phone calls when I was so lonely. For knowing where I am $$ wise! For all the fun things we do together! I look forward to many more! Thanks for being close to Dennis. I know he loved you and Wayne and you could help relate to him which meant a lot. I hope 2009 is better! I want to do another vacation soon! Love, Lynn

Note# 7 From Alli
It's all written in Japanese. Alli 15 and is taking Japanese!!! Yikes!!! I cannot translate this one, but I'm sure she said I am the most fabulous person ever!!! :)

Note# 8 From Lynn
Riley Girlfriend,
I love my girlfriend, Riley. You are the girl I never had. We have had some fun times together like Colorado, Nags Head and dancing in your kitchen! Everytime we go to the mall I see cool clothes that remind me of you! I wish I could buy them all! Dennis loved you too! Don't ever forget him! Love, Aunt Lynn

Note# 9 From Aunt Sandra
You are so seet to have us to your home. Thak you for the fun and family food! None better! Love You, Sandra

Note# 10 From Danny
Thank you for being such a great family!!! Danny - "Merry Turkey Day!"

None of the notes above are in any certain order. I simply pulled them from the box. Each of them mean the world to us!!! Even the notes that were not written (by the shy ones).

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Oprah

I have been on FaceBook all evening!! That site is soooooo addictive!! So much fun though! :)

I'm off to watch Oprah that I dvr'd today. It's the Christmas gift show. The huge gift is a gift that costs nothing.....hmmmmm I wonder what that could be. Whatever it is, you ALL will receive one from me! Just because I'm nice like that! :)

As for me, you can all give me something small, diamonds. I love diamonds!!

Good night~

Friday, November 21, 2008

Dream A Little Dream

It's not even 9:00 p.m. yet and I am so exhausted. I think I'm going to grab my book and lay down. Hopefully I will fall asleep quickly and dream....I want to dream. I wish I could remember my dreams.

Dream experts say that if you think about something hard enough and will yourself to dream about something, then you will. I am going to try that theory out tonight. We'll see if it works. Hmmmm....let me find a photo or 2 and see if I focus on it hard enough....if I will actually dream about it.


"Fall" by Clay Walker

I've always been envious of the person that this song was written for. Wishing someone had written it for me. I cannot even begin to write Hallmark greetings but this song is for my friend is who currently struggling within. You may have said that I cheered you up a bit with my "words of wisdom" or by my silly little jokes, but this song says it all. Just fall baby!! Don't worry about C for a while... This one's for you J/S! Can't wait to see you Saturday!!!

Lyrics to "Fall". Performed by Clay Walker

Hold up there you go again
Puttin on that smile again
Even though I know you’ve had a bad day
Doin this and doin that
Always puttin’ yourself last
A whole lotta give and not enough take

But you can only be strong so long before you break…

So fall go on and fall apart

Fall into these arms of mine
Ill catch you every time you fall
Go on and lose it all
Every doubt every fear every worry every tear
Im right here
Baby fall

Forget about the world tonight
All that’s wrong and all that’s right
Lay your head on my shoulder let it fade away

And if you wanna let go baby its okay

Fall go on and fall apart
Fall into these arms of mine
Ill catch you every time you fall
Go on and lose it all
Every doubt, every fear, every worry, every tear
Im right here
Baby fall

Hold on hold on hold on to me...

Fall go on and fall apart
Fall into these arms of mine
Ill catch you every time you fall
Go on and lose it all
Every doubt, every fear, every worry, every tear
Im right here
Baby fall

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Twilight Trailer

What is Happiness?

Bath Tub Thoughts

What do you do in your bathtub? I take showers each morning, but sometimes when I really need some "me" time. I find solace in a bathroom with the door locked and a tub full of suds.

Generally I will do this to read whatever my favorite book is that I am engrossed in at the time. I’ll touch on my most recent favorite reads in a bit.

Tonight is a first. I’m actually writing my next entry for my blog…in the bathtub. No interruptions as of yet! Knock on Wood!!

Hmmm…I think I should shave my legs while I’m in here. Kill 2 birds with one stone! Right? It’s so much easier to shave your legs in the bathtub than while you’re showering. Especially first thing in the morning when your equilibrium is off anyway. You know what I mean, ladies?

Anyway, I’ve had several thoughts over the past couple of days of what to blog about. I had the best idea yet while taking a smoke break in my car at the office today. Of course that was around 10:00 a.m. Naturally my thoughts change constantly throughout the day and boy what a day it has been! It’s been super busy lately. Well, every day is busy, but at this time of year in my industry, it’s exceptionally busy.

After debating with myself, I’ve chosen to write about happiness. This was not even CLOSE to my other ideas, but after the day I’ve had, I feel the need to write about it.

What is happiness?
Webster’s Dictionaries definition of happiness is as follows:
happiness
noun 1. state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy [ant: unhappiness] 2. emotions experienced when in a state of well-being [ant: sadness]


Contentment to intense joy….Today I have experienced an intense joy. No, it was not because I was skipping down the hall today and ran into a wall (true story…most humiliating and I really was not skipping but the witness to this embarrassing incident of the wall meeting my body said I was.) And perhaps I was skipping. I did not think I was. I thought I was merely light on my feet or floating down the hallway. I felt exuberant! Till of course I ran into the wall, then I lost it and laughed for close to 5 minutes as my coworker told everyone we passed.

What do you do when you experience intense joy? Obviously most of you do not run into walls like I do. And how about contentment? I do not picture contentment as a meaning of happiness. I think of contentment as so-so. You’re not happy, nor are you sad. You merely exist in your world. You’re comfortable, safe.

I do not want to have that kind of happiness. I want the happiness that makes me feel like I can do anything! The type of happiness that inspires creativity! The kind that raises your endorphins where everyone can see this light beaming from you by the way you carry yourself, the expression on your face or if you’re on the phone, the way your voice sounds. While emailing, you may use a smiley face to show how you feel. You don’t do these things when you’re merely content. I feel like writing Webster’s and demanding that they change the definition of happiness! People overwhelmed with elation, euphoria and a supreme sense of well being is what happiness is all about, not humdrum contentment.

I experienced a true sense of happiness reading the last 2 novels I read over the past 3 weeks. They are both by Karen Kingsbury. The first is One Tuesday Morning and the sequel is Beyond Tuesday Morning. They were both inspired by the World Trade Center attacks. I cannot tell you how many times I cried throughout each of these books. Karen Kingsbury watched the tragedy of that day unfold on television. During that awful day, she immediately thought of the story for her first book. Exploring the way so many people felt while they were in those towers. The way the firefighters heroically marched up those stairs in the South Tower while the building was shaking knowing that they were literally walking into a death trap. She walks you through 2 families lives that were shattered by this awful tragedy and the good things that came out of it. They are both amazing reads and I highly highly recommend reading both of them. Trust me, you will not want to put them down!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Needle And Pins

I thought about you, Jahnay when Riles and I were reading tonight. One thing we read were poems from Falling Up by Shel Silverstein. Needles and Pins reminded me of the first story you shared with me that you wrote.

Needles and Pins

Needles and pins,
Needles and pins,
Sew me a sail
To catch me the wind.

Sew me a sail
Strong as the gale,
Carpenter, bring out your
Hammers and nails.

Hammers and nails,
Hammers and nails,
Build me a boat
To go chasing the whales.

Chasing the whales,
Sailing the blue,
Find me a captain
And sign me a crew.

Captain and crew,
Captain and crew,
Take me, oh take me
To anywhere new.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Beautiful

What a gorgeous day it is today in Virginia!!! It's 70 degrees, the wind is blowing and my windows are open throughout the house!!! I love it!! The leaves are absolutely beautiful. I love the fall!

Riles spent the night with Lynn and her cousins last night and Wayne left prior to the crack of dawn today for Opening Day of Hunting Season!!! Woo Hoo!!! I got to sleep in today!!! I could not sleep too long though. I had to run some errands, the main one being to pick up hair color. My roots are horrendous!

It's girls night out tonight!!! I am going to see a bunch of girls I went to school with that I have not seen in well, I guess almost 20 years!!! I'm so excited, I cannot wait!! I've been looking forward to this for weeks! Thank you so much, Lynn for watching Riles for us! You're the best sister ever! :)

Well, I'm off to touch up my roots, pick out my clothes and dance to my blogs music while getting ready! I feel 21 again!!

Until next time.....

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Seether

100 posts today and I'll celebrate it with a video "Rise Above This" by Seether. I heard of them about 6 months ago and have fallen in love with this band! They're amazing and this video is phenomenal!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Wayne & Riles working on the big pumpkin. We settled for the easiest carving this year since it was so late at night.

Photo of Wayne and Riles at Lowe's trying out the lawn mowers.



How To Carve A Pumpkin~

Daddy and Riles "carving" the small pumpkin with a drill.





We Have Grass!!!

I never thought I'd see the day that we would have grass in our front yard! Well look at this! We're all very excited!!





Pickin' Pumpkins!