Wordless Wednesday - #27

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GRRRRR!

I hate some surprises - like duplicate payments by your banks billpay. My house note being paid twice was the surprise I woke to this morning. After going by the bank branch and finding out that "Monthly Payments Remaining 0" doesn't necessarily mean that and after a Stop Payment issued on one check, I'm feeling better. Too bad that my mortgage company automatically processes payments so they can't pull that check out and not send it through. The good news - evidently we live in a state where they can not charge us a fee on a stop payment check. Of course that could be another surprise down the road when they do. But either way I think I'd rather pay the fee then 2 house notes in one month. What a way to start the day!

Last TNT - Hard to Believe!!

Today was our last TNT for the kids from church for the summer. We had a "Water Day." For us, that consists of setting up different game stations that involves water or water toys, and some wading pools for the younger kids. I don't know how many kids we had come. I know we had 3 teams that rotated through. I also know that I'm not as young as I use to be. Yesterday my friend Debbie helped me set up. It only took us 3 hours. This morning it took me 40 minutes to load my car. I was at the property before 9, left after 1, got the car unloaded and my shower and I'm tired and sore! But I think it was all worth it. The kids seemed to have a wonderful time - even the older ones that came to help us. Of course I had help taking everything down too. I couldn't do it without wonderful people like Debbie, Cindy and Gretchen and the kids that hung around and helped. Now on to Bible Bowl, Back to School Swim party, and a Hot Air Balloon Watch Party. After that, I guess we'll start LTC. They say that working with kids keeps you young. I'd hate to think how old I'd feel right now if I didn't work with kids! But I love it!

Wordless Wednesday - #26

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Summer Update

This Thursday is the last of my scheduled "Together oN Thursdays" for the summer. Last year we had a water day as the big last activity and everyone enjoyed it so much that we are doing it again. It is a lot of fun for the kids and a lot of work for the adults setting up and taking down. One good thing about repeating activities though is that with the first one you learn a few things and then hopefully when the second time rolls around, you remember them and it becomes easier. The biggest concern of mine right now is the weather. We've had 3 days in a row without rain, so I figure by Thursday the monsoon season will have returned and it may be a real water day!

In family news - both kids are home for the rest of the summer. Bekah got here a couple of weeks ago. It's great having them home, but it's surprising the difference it makes in little things - like how many loads of towels I wash a week. Yesterday morning I was out running errands when I got a call from Justin asking me what happened to all the towels. I told him that was exactly what I had wondered when I got ready for my bath. Seems like a lot of things are "disappearing" around here, but I'll take that any day in exchange for having them home for a few weeks.

Shopping With Jan

Tuesday I made a trip to one of my favorite stores -

It was one of my typical trips - going in for a few things, finding a few things more that I needed to pick up and ending up spending more money than I thought I would. From many trips to Target, I've got a system for paying and loading my buggy in the least amount of time. I park my buggy caddy corner at the end of the check out so that I can put the bags in the buggy as the clerk sits them up on the counter. In between bags, I insert my card into the machine and do everything - including signing the line - so I am ready to push "OK," load the remaining bags and head out to my car.

This day there was a little glitch in my system. It seems that just as I was picking up my last 2 bags, the cashier at the register next to me needed through. She was very polite - "Excuse me, ma'am" and as I looked around while grabbing my bags so I could get out of her way, I mis-judged the counter height and took out the credit/debit card machine. It went flying, breaking the plastic sign that is around it and landing a few feet away. One of the employees picked it all up and we examined the frayed wires that were left behind. I was apologizing like crazy and wondering how much one of those little things cost, when she told me not to worry about it, they have someone that takes care of those machines. As I'm gathering my bags and hoping that there is not a Target Wall of Shame, the sweet employee tells me "Have a nice day!" Now that is good customer service.

Wordless Wednesday - #25

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Fun With Chocolate

Last night I attended a chocolate tasting birthday party. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but with chocolate and tasting in the description, I knew I would not be disappointed. When we arrived we saw a table with trays of chocolate squares and other foods with them. The combinations looked a little questionable, but they came from the Ghirardelli website. We sampled (and I use the term sampled loosely, since it was really devoured) the Intense Dark Twilight, Intense Dark Citrus and the Intense Dark Toffee bars. Since they were all intense dark, they were good for us - right?! Well, anyway, they were good. The surprise came in the pairing of things such as salt and vinegar chips, cheeses, and dried fruit.

Of course the highlight was visiting with friends. It seems in the summer we all get so scattered that it is hard to maintain contact, so it was nice to have that time together. Chocolate and good friends - who could ask for anything more?!

Zoo Day

We had a fun trip to the zoo yesterday. Yes, it was hot and humid, but honestly it wasn't as bad as I had feared. There were 21 of us seasoned Louisianans that braved the temps. It was fun walking through the zoo with the kids. They get excited over feeding turtles, seeing baby animals, trying to get birds to jump, laughing at birds who have on pants, and chasing the peacocks. It's always amazing to see the animals and think of how God has made them each with their own set of survival tools.

I also enjoyed being able to walk with the moms and visit with them a little. A lot of the TNTs we have are not the kind of activites that allow that. We have such a good group of families at South of all ages. They are fun to be around and fun to watch the moms and kids together. You can see a lot of love and interaction between them. So yesterday, heat and all, was a lot of fun and a true blessing.

What Was I Thinking?

Today's our zoo trip day with the kids from church. Yes it's TNT Day and I decided to treat everyone to the pleasure of a sauna. When I put it on the schedule I had completely forgotten what a day in July is like. According to weather.com about the time we get there the temperature will be a nice 86, but it will feel like 93. By the time we leave it'll have worked its way up to 91 and 99 - so hey not at the "feel like 100" point yet. Last night I looked at the sign up sheet and we had a good crowd going. Then I had a few tell me they will not be coming after all - opting for swimming pools and air conditioning and a few that are now maybes. It'll be interesting to see how many brave souls we end up with. Personally I'm looking forward to spending a morning with the animals - both caged and uncaged.

Wordless Wednesday - #24

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Furniture Shopping

Yesterday I got to travel over to Hammond and Justin and I went furniture shopping. He doesn't need much - mainly bedroom furniture. Casey has most of the rest of the furniture for the apartment. We do have a chair we hung on to for such a need, but otherwise, it's pretty well furnished downstairs. We started out looking here in Baton Rouge at one store. In Hammond we hit 6 stores in less than 3 hours and bought a microwave. We did find a computer desk, but since I was in my Acura instead of Jack's Pilot, we couldn't buy it yet. Last night Casey went over and he took his truck and Justin to Office Depot where they bought it. Justin got it put together last night, so at least we got one piece of furniture.

I am a "slow" shopper. I like to check things out and make sure it is what I want and will suit my needs best before buying. I know that can be frustrating at times to other people and I really am trying to get better. Hey, the microwave came from the first place we looked. I figure the next thing we get should be the bed since it is the largest piece of furniture for the room. That shouldn't be too hard since it will just be the frame, box springs and mattress. At the rate I go, maybe by the end of the school year we'll have it furnished.

4th of July 2007

The 4th of July has come and gone and it was another good one. The fourth, more than any holiday, brings to mind the men and women who are serving our country. I am so thankful for those men and women who are willing to sacrifice for me. America, with all it's problems, is still the best country on earth and I thank God that I was born here.

Of course the 4th is also about fireworks. Justin loves shooting them off and each year we decide which ones we really liked and what to get the next. I mainly sit out with my camera and try to get some shots. It's not that easy to do when you are close to them and shooting straight up in the air at them. Focus is a real problem, not to mention trying to guess where the apex will be and when it will explode. But I got a few neat shots. You can see them in the slide show on this page or go to the album.

I hope that you had a great 4th and that we can all always remember how blessed we are to have the freedoms and independence that we do.

Book Review - New Blog!

I have decided to start another blog devoted to my books and book reviews. I'm sure I'll mention a few things about reading on this blog still, but it just seems that the book reviews are getting longer and longer so rather than have people wade through them, I now have My Own Little Book Corner.

Catchy name, don't you think? In fact, since I have so much time on my hands I'm thinking of starting a lot of different blogs about things that interest me. I could have "My Own Little Photo Corner", "My Own Little Sweets Corner", etc. Don't expect to see "My Own Little Cleaning Corner" though. As far as I'm concerned, that title is up for grabs - you want it, you got it!

A Good Dad!

Last night we were talking about the lines for the I-Phone when the comment was made that people stand in line for sports and entertainment tickets so how is it different? In fact, Jimmy observed that some of us had probably stood in line for something. I really couldn't think of anything that I had rushed out to be one of the first in line for. There have been a few things I've gotten on line for, but not gone out in person. However, I immediately thought of the one time I remember Jack heading out early and getting in line to be there when tickets went on sale. It was for (drum roll please) N'Sync tickets! His sacrifice of getting up early and spending his Saturday morning in line paid off and Bekah had a surprise that Christmas. One of the few since that was the year they got into the presents, but that's another story.