Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Here's a bit that I've worked on this week - and I'm thinking I might see if the Pope will call it a miracle. Two pages done in a week like I've had is pretty impressive! LOL



Monday, November 24, 2008

In the news today...

Cops Close Church Service

November 23, 2008 - 7:09 PM

Half the members belonging to Avondale Church of Christ held Sunday services outside today. They're singing outside because Chattanooga police shut down service inside and removed everyone from church this morning.

We learned it's part of an ongoing battle that restarted when minister Gerald Taylor along with part of the congregation came to worship today after a year-long battle over the pulpit.

"Its not the thing that usually happens at a church but keep in mind churches involve in spiritual warfare and it will show its face in different ways," says Avondale's Minister Gerald Taylor.

This church's warfare has been going on for four years.

"There have been two churches been worshiping at this church like I said one doesnt want elders, others do and some just standing back waiting for us to duke it out like Mighty mouse and fight to the finish," says Avondale Elder Frank Bradford.

Members say leadership divided in 1994 because they didn't agree on the church's direction. The dispute prompted a civil lawsuit between members of the men's business committee, church elders and Minister Taylor.

A judge eventually turned the church over to Samuel Cosely and John Tucker, who were part of the Mens Business Committee.

"The courts gave the whole church over to two men, two men one is a bookkeeper the other is a jackleg preacher. They don't want spiritual leadership they cant endure sound doctrine so they formed a social club," says Bradford.

However, some members say this fight is far from finished. Minister Gerald Taylor says the Supreme Court overturned the originally ruling and named him the rightful minister of Avondale Church of Christ. But when he came to claim his position in the pulpit it resulted in this.

"Hopefully we can begin a discussion. Toward some kind of resolution," says Taylor.

Today we tried to talk to Samuel Cosely, John Taylor and their attorney John Anderson. All three of them said no comment.


Seriously? They went to court over whether or not to have an eldership? Whatever happened to submitting to the eldership? And that whole part about having an eldership in the first place? And not taking your brother to court? I've heard all kinds of ridiculous stuff from the CoC in this area, but this one really takes the cake.

And we wonder why it seems that the church of Christ is dying out, when this is the example we're plastering across the news! (mental headslap)

Ka-BOOM!

Did you hear that?

Yeah. It was my brain exploding. Too much data. I overwhelmed it, and it crashed. . . and burned.

Ohhhhhhhh, I am so tired! I feel like I'm in an absurd race against time to cram as much information as possible into my little pea-brain over the next two weeks. I've been doing well this semester, but the finals are comprehensive, and that means a whole lot of review has to happen. I took off Wednesday so I could get at least two tests out of the way. When I get back, then I have to worry about finals. I'm going to make arrangements today to get proctors for nutrition and A&P.

I know now that my hopes for a quiet, restful Thanksgiving were merely pipe dreams. I'll be toting along the full backpack of textbooks and notebooks, and hoping to squeeze in study time between the turkey feast and Black Friday shopping. (Hey, a girl's gotta have her priorites!)

But you know, for all my complaining, whining, and general fussing, I have actually enjoyed all the insanity. It is so satisfying to be learning again - I guess I'll always be a student at heart, if not in name. And besides that, I'm feeling pretty confident in my ability to snag a spot in the program next fall. I'm excited about the shopping process - I'll have to buy everything from a laptop to a stethoscope.

For now, though, I have to get back to work. Don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a couple of weeks - there is much to do!!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Go Elf Yourself!

I jumped in the game a little too late to do one of these last year - is it not the cutest thing ever? I just wish my face didn't look so bizarrely orange. And I didn't put myself in the middle - the program did that. (Though I am kinda the boss, so maybe that's appropriate.)

Go Elf Yourself!


Wednesday, November 19, 2008

More Braeden-isms

Oh, the things a kindergartener learns!!!

I picked him up from school yesterday and made a stop at the bank. He was begging for a sucker, and I told him he could have one only if the clerk offered. She didn't. I thought the ensuing meltdown would distinegrate the floor and everything around us. I told him he could have a piece of Halloween candy when we got home. He chilled, and picked out a pack of Skittles as soon as we walked in the door.

A few minutes later, he appears with a pack of Reese's Pieces. "Please open these, Mommy."

"Nope. I said you could have one piece. That's enough for now."

"Pleeeeaaasssseeeee!"

"No."

"I'll be your best friend!"

"No."

"I don't like you anymore."

"I thought you were going to be my best friend!"

"Not now. You told me no!"


And so it goes...

Later in the evening, the dog ate Braeden's supper - the last can of Spaghettios. (Now before you start fussing, I have the pickiest kid in the universe, and I will give him almost anything if he will just eat something.) That meltdown was worse than the first one, except this time I actually felt bad for him. When he calmed down, I heard him yelling at the dog. I told him to chill out, and he said, "Mommy, Buddy is a bad dog. He disobeyed the rules. He disobeyed Jesus and God."

I couldn't quite hold back the chuckle that escaped over that one. :)

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Hybrid (aka, Bi-Scraptual)

It's only natural that in our digital age, art would also take on a digital slant. This has certainly been true of scrapbooking, but somewhat like an older generation who resisted leaving their rotary phones, some scrapbookers actually seem to feel threatened by digital scrapbooking. I've heard all kinds of arguments - ranging from "digital elements will be the end of our beloved paper products!" to "It's just not scrapbooking if you can't touch it."

I straddle the fence on this "issue" - because I love both forms. I like to say I am a bi-scraptual. :) Now that I have a really fabulous printer, I can actually combine the two forms and get the best of both worlds. Until today, I hadn't made the jump because I kept over-thinking the process.

I wanted to do paper. I have missed that side of it tremendously, and besides all that, I seriously need to thin out my stash. BUT - as usual, nothing I had actually matched the colors for the week. So I mapped out the design, adjusted papers in PSE to (mostly) match, printed out what I needed, and stuck on the letters, photo turns, and brads. Voila! Except for a slight title crisis, it all came together nicely. And I have to say, I'm patting myself on the back for the clever title. LOL


Monday, November 17, 2008

Jumping through Hoops

Yup. Today my official job title is "acrobat" - because all day I've been jumping through hoops to get everything lined up for nursing school. And that's just the application process!

How's this for goofy? I have Comp 2, Honors English, and a CLEP credit for Comp 1. But because the CLEP didn't transfer, I can't graduate CSTCC. Have to have it for the degree. Doesn't matter that I'm a kick-butt writer (okay, so I'm feeling a bit high on myself today), or that I aced honors English. Nope. I had to call Harding and ask their poor records guy to dig through their closet of "old" files to find the original paperwork. Amazingly, he located it. (Bless him!)

So that's one hurdle down. Now if my high school can do the same thing for a Chemistry class I took about a hundred years ago, I'll be in great shape.

On a side note: I found my very first gray hair. And though I know it's gross, it's still laying on my desk, carefully placed so as not to brush it away. I almost feel proud of it. It's really more white than gray. I am even debating the possibility of scrapbooking the occasion.

You don't need to tell me how bizarre I am.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

I Hurt.

My feet, my legs... everything just... hurts.

Thursday I went shopping at Chattanooga's YMCA Christmas fair. Concrete floors, 3 hours. Friday I went grocery shopping and did some housework. Hard floors, 3 hours. Today I cooked. Kitchen floor, 4 hours.

Because of the heel spurs, I wind up favoring my feet and standing/walking in positions that are somewhat unnatural. This makes my legs and back hurt. Ugh.

On a more positive note, I did some fun shopping on Thursday and spent time with a friend (rare for me). Last night and this morning went relatively well, and even though it took a while, I have six delicious meals for this week - all WW Core, incidentally. Well, mostly Core. Close enough. It'll take a bit to get it all posted on the recipe blog, but you can look for it by the end of the day tomorrow.

This economy is rough. Inflation is driving up the price of everything (gas being the notable exception). I used to be able to cook good stuff for an entire week on $75. Now I can't get out of Wal-Mart for less than $125, no matter how carefully I plan the menus.

So the vegetarian thing is seeming more like a good idea... but it's going to take me a while to rebuild my recipe arsenal. So I've decided to ease into it a little at a time. That way I don't get burned out on the same dozen recipes over and over. Plus, as I learned last week, sometimes a substitution that seems like it would work can actually destroy a recipe. Gotta work on my technique a bit before I rush headlong into the world of vegetarians.

And on that note - after four hours of cooking, I smell like an odd mixture of crab, onion, chilies, squash, chicken, and roast. Think I'll take a shower now.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Struggle

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. - Romans 7:15-20

*sigh* Do you know how hard it is to accept that constantly overeating just might be a sin? I only pass judgment on myself, no one else.

Can't seem to stop myself....

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Christmas

There is one brilliant advantage to digital scrapbooking and crafting - once you design the project, you can hit print as many times as you want. Even better, you can upload it and have somebody else print it for you. And so it is that you lucky folks on my Christmas card list this year will be receiving a nice 4x8 digital card from yours truly.

I am so proud of myself for at least getting that much done! Now about those presents...

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

More Than Meets the Eye

Because my blog was looking boring . . . this is all the rage at my house right now. In fact, Jeff & I secretly enjoy Bebo's fascination with Transformers, because it means we get to relive a favorite piece of our childhood.

I did this for an ad challenge at 2ps, and I LOVE how it turned out. Not your typical Halloween page, but then "typical" has never really been the first word I'd use to describe myself. :)

Best news!

So this week has taken a bit of an upturn in the last day or two. Jeff had a rather pleasant surprise last night (don't want to go into details, but it was definitely a good thing).

Bebo has been snorting, snotting, hacking and coughing for days now. I've been chalking it up to allergies, because I was a lot the same way when I was his age. But Jeff insisted we keep him home from school yesterday, so they made a little trip to the walk-in clinic. Bebo has a sinus + chest infection. Apparently it's a heavy-duty one, too. We're doping him up on some tough antibiotics, and hopefully will get it resolved for him. I know that doesn't sound like good news, but I'm actually relieved that the doc didn't just send us home with an OTC RX for cough syrup. At least this way we can get it fixed. Besides, he's not feeling too awfully bad, and he's not contagious. He just coughs a lot.

And... what really makes me happy.... I was up at midnight to register for next semester's classes, and both were marked as closed. I panicked - couldn't believe they had filled up that fast. But I just got an email from my A&P teacher, and she's holding A&P2 open for those of us in the online A&P1 session to have first dibs at a spot. I am thrilled. Now if I can just get the biology department to open up another slot for Microbiology, I'll be in good shape.

In related news, last night I hauled my rear over to CSTCC for an information meeting about the nursing program. I didn't really learn anything new, but I do feel better about my chances to get in the program. In fact, unless there are 40 applicants with perfect records, I think my spot is solid. I'm a little short in a couple of areas, but I should more than make up for it in others. I'm going to send off my application before the week is out, and there will be one less thing to worry about.

I can't believe this is all falling into place so neatly. Kinda scares me!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Old Pictures & Scrapbook Pages

In case I haven't already mentioned it, I am loving my new scanner! It's so much fun to drag out old photos and finally get to scrap them without fear I'll ruin the only photo I have of me in a diaper standing on the counter sucking on a popsicle at two-and-a-half years old. (Okay, there are probably a zillion photos like that, but you know what I mean!)

Jeff was making fun of me because I keep looking through these old photos of myself, but what he doesn't understand is that every time we were at Nanny & Pa's, that's what we did. It was expected, and anticipated, and maybe our favorite part of the visit. I miss having Nanny tell us stories about the pictures. So it's just natural to enjoy browsing through these old pictures today. The only difference is that now I can scrap them, too!



Monday, November 10, 2008

ENOUGH!!!!!

I've had it. Last week was the crappiest I've had in ages, and this one isn't off to a better start. I am utterly exhausted. I worked my butt off all week to lose weight, and instead gained a pound and a half. Both of the classes I need for next semester were full within 20 minutes of registration opening - and this was at midnight!! I spent $125 at the grocery store, only to have all my great-sounding new recipes be total duds. Now I'm stuck eating a bunch of crappy food all week. The house is a complete wreck, I have more going on this week than I can possibly handle, and I just want to crawl in a hole and hibernate for the rest of my life.

Could just one good thing please happen today?

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

A Prayer

Dear Lord,

Even though my heart is sick at what our country has done, I know that you are in control. I know that neither candidate could live up to the standards that your Son set for us (none of us could!), but it saddens me, nonetheless.

My insides are in turmoil, but I want to express my gratitude to you. You have given me a place to live that is free from fear, free to choose, free to express, free to just be. Our country is beautiful, with a beautiful heritage. You have given us so much to be thankful for - far too many things for me to ever remember or enumerate.

I know in my head that you are in charge, but sometimes my heart needs to be reminded, Lord. Please give me a spirit of peace and not of fear. Help me not to worry too much for tomorrow. Gently remind me that tomorrow will take care of itself.

And Lord, even though I have such an intense dislike for the man, please be with our future president. Let your precepts be his guide; lead him into decisions that are good for our country, good for its people, and most importantly, will cause your church to grow.

Our nation is forgetting you, Lord. We are brushing you aside so easily. For that, I beg your forgiveness. If hardship or a lack of freedom is what we have earned, then let us bear the weight without complaint. Give us hope for tomorrow. Please don't let our children suffer for our sins.

You are in control. Use this to your glory. I love you, and I am so grateful for the rich blessings you've given me.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Diversion

First I scrapped. Now I'm about to go do some heavy-duty exercise. Anything to get my mind of this awful election!


Monday, November 3, 2008

Pa & Me

For the color blog - wasn't I cute? :)

Color Combo 95

It's over!!!

I don't believe I can put into words how utterly overjoyed I am that Halloween is over. Yes, it was fun, but by the time I'd had two parties, a field trip, trick-or-treated twice, did two costumes, carved one pumpkin, and took a nutrition test, I was ready to collapse in a sugar-and-caffeine-induced coma. I am absolutely exhausted today, but there's a sense of relief that I don't have a major test for a couple of weeks (the psych test on Wednesday doesn't count - I get five chances to take it!)

Anyway, now I'm going to be racing toward a Thanksgiving countdown - gotta get those tests out of the way before I leave so I can actually enjoy my holiday. I'm going to try to scrap the rest of the Halloween stuff before time gets away from me. Here's one layout I did for Bebo's kindergarten book. Isn't his monster just the cutest?