Simply Me...

I just tried again.....

2008-06-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

and when I click the "upload images" icon it promptly takes me to a "page cannot be displayed."

I would post something new.....

2008-06-03T17:14:00.000-07:00

but every time I do and try to load a picture it will not let me. So, I just load pictures to my flickr.

The picture...

2007-02-24T07:25:00.000-08:00

didn't post in the first blog!

Walt Disney World!

2007-02-24T06:22:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd post a little about our trip to Walt Disney World. First, I must say, I do not know why I was SO nervous/hyped up about flying! It was wonderful! I wasn't nearly as nervous once I boarded the plane as I thought I would be, I actually fell asleep on the trip there. Flying definately beats driving 12 hours to get there.
We arrived on Sunday, February 11th. As soon as we checked into our room we went downstairs and had breakfast with Goofy and Pluto. Then we toured Downtown Disney. That evening Clayton had a ice cream social for us in the conference halls of the resort. There were games, face painting and Mickey & Minnie came in for pictures with the kids. There was around 1,400 Clayton employees and their families on the trip.
Monday we went to Animal Kingdom. It started raining as soon as we got there. Not planning ahead, we had not carried ponchos or umbrellas, so we promptly spent $36 on Mickey Mouse ponchos! The park was nice and the few rides we went on were fun, but it was mainly a huge zoo/nature reserve. (Much better than any zoo I've ever been too.) Monday night we had a welcome reception and dinner at the conference center.
Tuesday we went to Epcot. The day started out sunny and warm, we were able to wear short sleeves and shorts. We rode all of the rides and saw all of the shows. The 3D shows in each park at Disney are exceptional. (If apple pie is in the movie, you actually smell apple pie, things like that.) And of course, it started raining again! We had to buy more ponchos!! The best ride at Epcot is Test Drive. 6 people fit in a car and you actually go through all of the testing a vehicle is put to at the manufacturer. (Maximum speed, skidding with your ABS brakes and without, rough road terrain, etc.) All of this is enclosed and near the end the vehicle has reached the maximum speed and you are heading straight for a wall. At the last minute doors open, you blast outside and it's just as if you were on the track at Talladega. It was great.
Not taking into consideration the date, we went to The Magic Kingdom on Valentine's Day. Before the park opens they have a welcome parade and everyone in the crowd threw pixie dust at 9:00 a.m. to mark the opening of the park. A couple had won a contest and were being married in front of Cinderella's Castle. We got to watch the ceremony and see Ryan Cabrerra sing "True" during it. They had the private reception afterwards and the couple got to stay in the castle that night in Cinderella's suite. The park was CROWDED!! We were in line for one ride after the wedding with Ryan Cabrerra. Josh saw him afterwards and asked to have his picture made with him, but his body guard was with him and he just ignored Josh and kept walking. (I told Josh if he stopped for everybody who knew who he was and took pictures he'd be there all day!) We watched the daily parade through the park which was nice. That evening MGM Studios closed early to the public and all the Clayton employees were bused into the park for a private dinner. The part of the park that is New York City had buffets lining the sidewalks and tables all down the streets. They had a live band and the rides were open to us. If we liked a ride we could get off and get right back on. No lines! (Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster is the BEST!! I rode it 3 times!) The Tower of Terror is a neat ride too.
Thursday we took a taxi out to a Flea Market someone had told us about, which turned out to be a mess of a day! It only took us 30 minutes to go through the whole flea market and the only thing we bought was a coffee cup! When we came out there was hardly anything around the flea market. We started walking up the street and found a public bus stop. Fortunately about 30 minutes later a bus going to The Magic Kingdom came along. (What luck, or so we thought!) It only cost $1.50 a person to ride which was way cheaper than the taxi ride! So, we boarded the bus with a bunch of undesirable looking people and about 5 miles into the ride one of the windows on the bus blew open with a bang. Everybody screamed cause we thought somebody had got shot or ran into the bus. Once we got to The Magic Kingdom, Julie had the bright idea that we should ride the Monorail to Epcot and then from there we could get on the free water taxi to our hotel. Well, the monorail ride was ok, now I can say I've rode it, but it let us off on the total opposite side of the park from where the water taxi loads. So, we had to get on a bus to The Animal Kingdom just to make a connecting bus to our hotel. At the Animal Kingdom the bus we were on unloaded on the opposite side of the terminal from where the bus to the hotel loaded...we had to walk around the whole terminal to reach our bus! Through all of this we've passed our hotel 3-4 times and Brett keeps saying, "Look, there's are hotel!" Once we made it back I took a nap! That night we went back to Downtown Disney and had dinner at The House of Blues. The ribs were great. We were seated next to 4-5 men obviously there on a business trip/meeting. They kept encouraging one of the men to do double shots and he was washing them down fast! He finally had to make a run for the bathroom and was gone about 30 minutes. Me & Josh got worried about him, but no one from his group ever went to check on him. Finally about 45 minutes later he showed back up and somehow had acquired a Pirates of the Carribean cowboy hat and sword. We took his picture, which he proudly posed for. (We even found out his name is Carlos.)
Friday we went back and spent the day at MGM and rode all of the rides. That night we had our farewell dinner and awards ceremony at The Epcot World Showcase. They had performers during dinner. Afterwards we were escorted to the front of the park for a VIP viewing of the nightly fireworks show "Illuminations of Light." They had a whole section of the park blocked off and had desserts, hot chocolate, coffee and drinks for us during the fireworks show.
Saturday we had breakfast and loaded up for the shuttle to the airport. I didn't sleep during the flight home, but it was cloudy and windy that day so the turbulance (sp?) was worse than the flight there, but I still made it through ok!
Well, guess that about sums up are trip. Now that I know there's nothing to flying I'm ready to pack up and go somewhere else!
Love you,
Dana

Christmas in The Smoky Mountains..

2006-12-28T04:49:00.000-08:00

here are a few pictures from our trip to Gatlinburg. Mama is probably going to have to soak her feet for a few days, but we had fun!

Santa gave us for Christmas...

2006-12-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

one case of pneumonia and one sinus infection!
And looking at this pic I definately need to save up
for an eyebrow lift for my other eye!!

SURPRISE!

2006-12-17T15:41:00.000-08:00

This post is dedicated to my brother who proves you're never to old to enjoy a good swingset every now and then!
I LOVE YOU!
Dana

Birthday Pictures...

2006-10-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a little something I threw together with some of my birthday pictures.
Josh carved the pumpkin for me and him and Shelby baked the cake.

More PhotoShop learning...

2006-07-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

here are a few more pics I've been playing around with the past few days. Once you learn the 'layers' of PhotoShop, you find there are many different things you can do with them.

Two for the Road

2006-06-30T03:40:00.000-07:00

Here are two pictures I played around with of Marty over the past few days. Had to put him in two of his all time favorite movies...Smokey and The Bandit, and Oh Brother Where Art Thou? Of course, he had to say..."I always thought I looked a little like George Clooney!"

Gone to the Beach!

2006-06-30T03:26:00.000-07:00

We're off to Summer vacation today!! Yippee!! We've waited for today to arrive and now I'm like a little kid again, it's 5:30 a.m. and I'm already up drinking coffee in anticipation of leaving. Our first stop will be in Juliette, Georgia to eat some Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe. I wonder if we'll run in to that old "Bee Charmer" Idgie Threadgood? From there we'll head on over to Augusta, Georgia for the night, then it's on to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a week. I've got a total of 3 cameras (2 digital and one 35mm) and one camcorder. I wonder if 11 rolls of film for the Cannon AE1 is enough? lol I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to post when we get back. Wish us luck (we've got 2 cars loaded down with luggage and there's 8 of us going...I picture in my mind one of the trunks popping open and all of our clothes flying out all over I-20!) and pray we get there and back safely!

Julie and The Simmons' Boys

2006-06-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

A little more PhotoShop learning....my you get around Julie!

Our Angel...

2006-05-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

well, being she's the only girl in this family, Melissa has to be our only Angel. Guess I'll use this blogger account just to post my progress (or lack there of) with PhotoShop. This is today's project.

Last one for now, I promise...

2006-05-29T10:41:00.000-07:00

it's Memorial Day and these kids are driving me crazy to "go somewhere," so I guess that's a hint I need to stop playing around with PhotoShop and get off my butt. Couldn't resist posting this picture first.

I'm addicted....

2006-05-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

I know I still have A LOT of learning to do when it comes to PhotoShop, but basically you can't learn anything without just sitting here playing around with it. And now I must admit, I'm addicted to it. Marty thinks I'll probably never get off the computer again. Here are some samples of what I've played around with today.
Julie will be surprised to find she's been to Hawaii with Jeff Gordon, and well, maybe Mama took a little too much medicine!

My PhotoShop Journey...

2006-05-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's not perfect, but here is my first complete PhotoShop project.
Don't Josh & Jessica fit the "Elvis & Priscilla" fashion statement?

Self Stylist

2006-05-10T06:56:00.000-07:00

Ok...if any of you happen to be wondering why on this earth Brett's hair looks SO hideous in the Easter post this is why. One night while I was totally absorbed on the computer, Brett decided to get the scissors and cut his own hair. He was proud of himself and came into the den to boast of his accomplishment. Of course, like any mother would I spanked him and threatened to 'tear his tail up with a belt' if he ever got the scissors and prodeeded to cut his own hair again. Sulking, he went back to his bedroom (or so I thought) to contemplate just why Mommy didn't think his hair cut was wonderful. In reality, he waited until I wasn't paying attention again, got another pair of scissors and proceeding to finish what he started. (no, I don't keep scissors just laying around!) Shear boldness brought him back into the den to show me he had cut some more. This time he did get a spanking, and to make it worse I used HIS belt. From the pictures above, you will see he is STILL smiling, even after the spanking. Shaving his head was about the only thing to solve this scenerio...and to make matters worse he had "cap & gown" pictures made at school two days later. The proofs came in and he looks absolutely evil...as if he might take the diploma in his hand and beat the snot out of you with it. Needless to say I didn't purchase them! (Maybe I should have to use as torture when he gets older!)

And..another "modeling/photography" attempt...

2006-04-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

Here's one more picture. Another self attempt at photography for me and modeling for Melissa.

Easter pics...

2006-04-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

since I don't post regularly, I thought I'd atleast take a few minutes to post a few Easter pictures for those of you who might happen to stop by my blog. (And maybe that dreaded ad will go away!)

Our new doggy....

2006-03-30T06:13:00.000-08:00

well, had to get the "Intimate Area Shaver" ad off my AdSense, so here's the only thing I knew to post.....a picture of our new dog. I had a hard time thinking of a good name for her, since my cat is Addie Pray from the movie Paper Moon, I was thinking of movie character I could name her after...the choices were "Scout" from "To Kill A Mockingbird" or "Idgie" from "Fried Green Tomatoes." Well, Idgie won out so here she is!

Analyze this.....

2006-03-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

Ok, here's one from the "Howard Family Dream Disorder" files. I had this dream just the other night and it is still VERY VIVID in my mind. I promise, I am not making this up.
Here goes:
I had not shaved my legs in FOREVER (in the dream!) so I decided it was about time to do something about that. I went to the bathroom, got the razor and shaving cream and was all set to take care of the two overly hairy lower extremities of my body. When I went to make the first shave I realized I had little bean sprout looking things emerging from my legs! They weren't just sprouting, they were about to bloom open!! Oh my, how in the world did this happen?? I started shaving ever so carefully, hoping, praying, they would come off with the razor while not taking half my leg with it. When I got to the knee one of the 'sprouts' was ingrown!! What should I do?? I decided to gently scraped the razor across my knee...when I did the skin on my leg opened up and I realized I had a whole plant growing downwards inside my leg. I started to pull it out, it had grown all the way down to my ankle. Yet, oddly it did not hurt. (Although, in the dream the feeling of this plant being slowly pulled out of my skin was SO vivid!) Once completely removed, where there was ample space to blossom, I held in my hand one of the most beautiful flowers!! Oh no, now my skin will be all stretched out!! But, when I felt my leg, everything was fine. End of dream.
Now, here's the kicker....just this past Sunday in church, while Bro. Grey was preaching, I looked at the pulpit and realized...those huge flowers standing next to the podium look just like the flowers that were growing in my leg in my dream. I even had to nudge Marty and tell him. I promise, the only substances that go in this body are prescribed by a doctor and unfortunately the addiction to nicotine.
Now, once you've quit laughing hysterically, don't go looking up the number to the nearest loony house...I swear I'm sane!!
Care to analyze it??

2006-02-28T05:37:00.000-08:00

Ok...I haven't added a post in FOREVER..but moving will down right wear you out!! I don't know which is worse, the actual act of moving, or unloading the boxes and trying to put your things where you want them afterwards. It's finally done though and you can walk through the house without having to dodge boxes and bags. Then to make matters worse, me and Brett had the flu all last week. We finally went to the doctor Thursday and we were feeling better just in time for Corey to visit for the weekend. He hadn't been down since Christmas.
Now to the title of my post. Friday night the kids (Corey, Melissa & Chase) conned me into going up in the graveyard behind the house and playing hide-n-seek in the dark with them. I know, it's childish and down right silly, but we had fun! First me and Melissa were on a team and I think she was more scared than she wanted to admit...you'd have thought we were joined at the hip. Then we swapped teams, me & Corey were to find Melissa & Chase...that was a no brainer since me and Corey think alike and simply split up and attacked them from behind! In true Melissa fashion, when it came time for me & Corey to hide she simply went in the house and left us in the graveyard! I told Corey that's probably what she'd do, and she proved me right. That girl just doesn't know how to play fair. But it gave me and Corey some time just to sit in the graveyard and talk, he's such a good kid, with big dreams and goals for his life. I know he's going to work hard to make them happen. (If everything goes as he plans, you can all come down to have him fix your cavities when he finishes college!) Anyway, I hope the kids appreciate me for spending that time with them and acting like a kid again.
The pictures are are from Saturday night, we took Corey out to eat while Melissa was at a Youth Service in Warrior. Of course I couldn't pass up the Thrift Store and WalMart after dinner. Anyone want to go shopping with us??

Moving AGAIN...

2006-01-30T19:04:00.000-08:00

well, I haven't posted anything since my pictures of Melissa Shelby. Haven't taken any new pics lately to post because we've been so busy. Thought I'd give you two (Ron & Janet!) an update. We've been praying to have a house of our own again and get out this little cracker box we're in. A couple bought a home they could not afford and put their land up as their down payment right before Marty was promoted to Manager of the Moody lot. Now the man has left her and she doesn't work and lives of SSI. The home was about to be foreclosed on. Since we both work for the company that holds her mortgage they approved us to just take over the loan, which means we get the home and the land. AND the payment is $100 cheaper than what we pay for rent here!!! Woo Hoo! I felt so bad sitting in the lawyer's office during our closing, looking across the table at this poor lady who was losing her home, but then right before she left she looked at me and said, "God sent you to me, this would have ruined my credit forever if it weren't for you. You needed a bigger home, and I needed out of my home, God put us together." Boy, did I feel better! She's SO sweet I just wish there was something more I could do for her and her young son. So, here we go moving again....our landlord here even let us out of our lease, isn't charging us February's rent AND is giving us our deposit back!! I'll live in Odenville right on 411. (Janet you'd go past 174 instead of turning on to it to go home, you'd go about 1 mile and you'll see Liberty Baptist Church on the left. Turn into the second entrance to the church and my house is right there on the right beside the church. No excuse for you not to come see us.....we're right on your way home when you're down this way! The home is exactly like the one you helped me decorate at the lot.)
Well, that's my update for now. I've been packing and cleaning all day...so I'm off to bed!

More Attempts at Photography....

2006-01-08T07:01:00.000-08:00

Well, here's yet another attempt at photography by me. I turned the lights off in the kids room, arranged Josh and Brett's comforters as my backdrop and used a small flexible desk lamp for lighting. This one reminds me of a cd cover maybe....if only Melissa could sing! I put her name at the bottom trying to make it look that way, so I posted the picture with and without her name.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2005-12-23T18:19:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything. I've been busy at work, we FedEx twice weekly to our corporate office in Maryville, TN. Well, last Tuesday's overnight was lost by FedEx. It's somewhere in Memphis, TN with our expense report (so we can get our money back!), all of our contractors bills (so they can get paid!), and some customer's payments in it! What fun trying to track all of that down, make more copies, send faxes, calling customer's who already were on the 'hotlist' because their payments were late, only to be lost now! What's so funny is that one lady cussed us up one side and down the other, then proceeded to tell us her Pastor would have to call us to confirm the number of the lost check because her church had paid this month's payment for her! Go Figure!
So, now it's the night before Christmas Eve and I've spent all day cleaning house after spending the last two days out with strep throat. All the presents are bought and wrapped, nothing to do but wait for Christmas morning now.
Anyway, tonight I was playing around with my camera and took this picture of my daughter Melissa and her boyfriend Chase, then played around with it for a while on Dell Picture Studio. Oh well, here's the end result.
Merry Christmas to All!!!

A Tribute to John Lennon

2005-12-08T05:25:00.000-08:00

Was listening to the news while loading the dishwasher this morning and learned it is the anniversary of John Lennon's death. I never thought I would make it as far north as New York City, but in March of 2003 we went with my daughter on her school field trip. We started out on a Saturday morning at 6 a.m. from Moody, Alabama. Our first stop was Natural Bridge, Virginia where we spent the night. From there we toured Monticello and Gettysburg. Then it was off to Amish Country (Hershey, Pennsylvania) where we stayed two days. (I love Amish country!) We then headed on up to Philadelphia where we toured the Liberty Bell and independence Hall. From there it was New York City. We toured: Radio City Music Hall, Ground Zero (wow! what an experience!), Chinatown, Little Italy, The Sony Station, NBC Studios, The Statue of Liberty, The United Nations and Central Park. We also went to a Broadway Play which was a wonderful experience also. I took these photos on our tour of Central Park. They are, The Dakota Building where John Lennon lived and was killed in front of. (Maury Povich & Connie Chung currently live there.) And the other pictures are of the section of Central Park honoring John Lennon and appropriately called "Strawberry Fields."
We left New York City the following Friday at 6 p.m. that night and drove straight through to Alabama (on a bus!) and arrived back in Moody at 2 p.m. on Saturday. I still don't think my body has recovered from being on a bus that long...but it was worth it.

Nothing But Net!!

2005-12-07T14:57:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Nothing really interesting happening. For all who read my post regularly (besides family) thank you for your prayers for my Dad. He had his Ultrascopic Ultrasound Monday morning which came back completely clear!! Prayer works!!
As for the title of my post, well, my daughter is in her first year of basketball, she pretty much was conned into playing because of her height. She had a game Monday night and for the first time she actually played defensively, caught a rebound and tossed one in to score!! Woo Hoo!! I don't know who was more surprised...me or her. Had my camcorder with me at the time, but of course, wasn't taping at the time. Isn't that usually how it goes? Sit there and film, nothing happens, your arm gets tired of holding the camera up so you stop and then, there you go, the moment you were waiting for!! Maybe I'll catch the next one.
Way to go Melissa!!!! I'm proud of you!!! She's #11 in the picture. Maybe she'll catch on to basketball and get a college scholarship....everybody keep their fingers crossed!!

Dreams...

2005-12-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

ok, so I'm a little slow and boring in the "blogger" world. Thought random readers might get a kick out of this post and some family who are also notorious for weird dreams would completely understand. Thought I'd share my past two nights of dreams with you......
Wednesday Nights Dream:
Man, we've won tickets to a concert where we'll be called up on stage and get to be in the bands' next music video. The only draw back? It's Brooks & Dunn (yuck!). But hey, to get in a music video I'll go whether I like the band or not! We get to the concert hall and it's crowded, packed to the gills! But we're escorted right to the front row, to big, comfortable seats! During the middle of the concert we're called up on stage and introduced. Then the music starts for the video and these HUGE lights flick on, right in my face!! I can hardly see!! Squinting, I'm blinded, can't open my eyes!. I'm standing there on stage, going to make an appearance across the world in a music video, and all I can think is "I'm going to look like a redneck hick standing here with my face screwed up, blinded by the light, yet trying to smile at the same time." Then, out of nowhere, cold water, on my face. Wait, it's sticky too!
I'm startled awake. Ends up that "blinding light" was my bedroom light, turned on by Marty to wake me up. When that didn't work he poured his leftover Fresca from the night before on my head!! I can only imagine, he's standing over me the whole time, laughing, watching me squint my eyes, yet try to smile at the same time in my sleep.
Thursday Nights Dream:
We're going to a company picnic. What fun. Maybe I'll win a door prize! Hey, I like free stuff!! But all of the sudden I feel sick. Funny sick. For some reason we buy a pregnancy test, POSITIVE!! What?? I had my tubes tied 13 years ago!! I've already got four kids, don't think my nerves can handle a baby!! Ends up for some reason there is a doctor at the picnic, yes, your symptoms definetely point to pregnancy. Now, what fun am I'm going to have at this picnic with this kind of news? I immediately left to see my doctor. Another pregnancy test, NEGATIVE!! Woo Hoo! Then, the dream jumps to another scene. We're living in these "New Age" apartments run by the Tices' (family will understand). Instead of roofs, there are nets and the walls are all glass. Everyone can see everything you are doing! Why in the heck would we move here?? But, we're moving out, and for some reason it's in a hurry. Marty is out of town, so it's up to me and my friend Julie to get everything out of this apartment in one day. One day!! We're rushing, throwing stuff in boxes, struggling to lift heavy furniture. No sleep, must keep moving, we've got to get out of here. Then, we realize there are grapevines growing through the nets, out of the glass, out of the floor. Pulling, tugging, we've got to get them all out. We must leave the apartment as we found it. How are we ever going to get this cleaned up? Dry leaves are everywhere, the dust from a "net roof" is unbelievable! Oh no, the carpet is actual grass, TALL, never been mowed grass. How could I have possible lived in this and never noticed? Finally, it's clean, the last boxes are going out, but right as we walk past the pool, Chinese men, everywhere, shooting at us with paintball guns!! Boom, the dream ends. Ok, I can only assess that the Chinese men with paintball guns stems from watching MXC on tv last night.

So, maybe I should write these dreams down, see if someone would publish them..."Redneck Woman Plagued by Demented Dreams." Hope you got a chuckle out of this, none of it was made up. Anyone care to interpret???
Thought it was only appropriate to include a pic of me napping with this post.
Good Day Everyone!

Rainy Monday Night Fun..

2005-11-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

well, it's a rainy, stormy night here in Alabama. Lots of tornado warnings. My daughter's basketball game was cancelled and our oldest made it home safely from his voice lessons. Don't know where he got it, or why, but he came down the stairs with a net (like you get apples or oranges in) on his head. Guess he was trying to scare Brett, but he thought it was funny. We figured we'd all give it a shot...so, here's how we spent our rainy Monday night.

Brett

2005-11-27T17:23:00.000-08:00

This is our youngest son, Brett. He is five years old and attends Moody Elementary School. He just started talking about a year ago and is just now starting to put sentences together. He gets off the school bus every day at our work. He even has his own Clayton Homes name badge; where it should say "General Manager" or "Sales Professional" his says "Wild Man." (His nickname given to him by my husband's sales staff.) Once he hits the door in the afternoons it's nothing but trouble. His Godmother is an Assistant Manager at Walmart, where he has his own name badge for there too....it says "Brett, Manager in Training." When we go grocery shopping he has to wear his Walmart vest and name badge and is constantly 'zoning' the aisles. (He'll tell you, "I work here," and has even asked Daddy one Saturday morning if he was gonna take him to WalMart to his work. Unfortunately, his first sentence was "big butt, bring me my beer." Daddy made the mistake of telling a joke to someone else with Brett sitting in his lap and that was the punch line.
Well, now I've posted all of my children...and the oldest has just brought "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" in with him, so I'm gonna go watch it with him....for the 5th time!

Photo Friday Yellow

2005-11-26T18:23:00.000-08:00

Well, this is my entry for Photo Friday's "Yellow" subject. I contemplated many different things...flowers, leaves, my car, even the shirt I'm wearing. Finally decided I'd just "throw something together!"

Thanksgiving Angels...

2005-11-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

Well, Thanksgiving is over and the majority of people have spent today out fighting crowds in the malls trying to get that "must have bargain." I, for one, just cannot get into the whole "After Thanksgiving Sale, Let's Go Fight For A So-Called Bargain" game. I'd rather stay home in my nice quiet livingroom! I figure I can find it on the internet just as cheap and have it shipped right to me, or heck, give 'em money.
Anyway, Thanksgiving was a good one. I got up and cooked my first batch of traditional "Southern Cornbread Dressing." It turned out pretty good, but still wasn't a match for my Daddy's. We went to my parents' around lunch time, visited with family and ate ourselves silly. It was nice to see family I don't get to see on a regular basis. Once home I finished my Thanksgiving meal and we stuffed ourselves again. We watched "House of Wax" (not too bad a movie for someone who usually doesn't like horror films) and "Crash" which was EXCEPTIONALLY good. You have to be able to stay focused, but it was well worth it. Might just watch it again before it has to go back to BlockBuster!! I'll just say this about it, you will definately think twice about racism, ethnic boundaries and how you treat your fellow man. Everything goes full circle. We are all linked.
Anyway, the picture in this post is of my two great-nieces at my parents' Thanksgiving dinner. I rarely get to see them and they have grown SO much. Micah is on the left and Zoe is on the right. I LOVE YOU GIRLS!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!

2005-11-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

Hope you all stuff yourselves silly!

Everyone likes to dream...

2005-11-22T18:37:00.000-08:00

I've always fantasized since I was little that I lived in a late 1800's early 1900's Victorian Home. I've spent countless hours daydreaming of how I would decorate it, plant flowers in the yard, etc. I guess everyone has a dream, but I've actually "stumbled" upon that house, exactly how I've always pictured it in my mind, except for the color. If I had this house the very first thing I would do is paint it white and put up some green shutters. One Sunday while me and my husband were out taking a "Sunday Drive" we drove past it; temptation got the better of me and we pulled in the driveway for a look around. My husband has never been one to shy away from anything, so he went right up to the back door and turned the knob. Just his luck it wasn't locked so we went in. Everything about it was beautiful. The porch wraps all the way around, and the master bedroom has a door onto the porch also. The staircase and window are magnificent. Now I keep the realtor's listing in my favorites and check it everyday to see if it has sold. Guess I'll keep on dreaming until the day I check the listing and it says "Sold." Don't know why the previous owner felt the need to paint it blue and mauve, but to each his own I guess!
Good Night Everyone....off to decorate my dream house....

Melissa Shelby

2005-11-22T05:49:00.000-08:00

Here is my posting of our daughter Melissa. She is 14 years old and stands 5' 10" tall. I'm going to have to put a brick on her head if she expects to find any pants to fit her next school year. She attends Victory Christian Academy where she is on the basketball team, drama team, studying to be a student leader (there are actual lessons and bible tests you have to take before you can become a leader.) and very active in the church's youth group. With basketball practice, games and 2 youth meetings a week she spends the majority of her time at school. She also loves softball and has played since she was in the fourth grade. She is named for my first sister-in-law who passed away at a very early age from a disease called saccharidosis. She was the most giving, caring person you could ever meet. Although I was young when she married my brother she always made me feel like one of the "grown ups," writing me letters (which I still have) and sending me little gifts (which I still have too!) If my daughter can grow up to have half the personality, talent and values she had I would be very happy.
Melissa can be very mischievious too...the other night she Saran wrapped the toilet before my husband came home from work, he's usually blind as a bat, but noticed the glare from the Saran wrap, so that attempt of practical joking was foiled. Never to be outdone, she just took the roll outside and wrapped his car. You could see the glare the minute you walked out the door. Darn, another attempt failed, so she put shaving cream under his door handles. Finally, success!
She is also a big Green Bay Packers fan. (Hmm, think my husband brain washed her into that.) For Father's Day last year she put on every article of Green Bay Packers clothing she owns, down to her "Packers Girl" hat and had her pictures made for my husband's Father's Day gift. We framed them in yellow frames with green mattes and they hang in his office at work. She has hit the "boys aren't so yucky after all" time in her life, so I feel a few more grey hairs sprouting out. Regardless, she brings much joy to our lives and we are very blessed to have her as our only daughter. (Although she can be worse than all the boys put together when it comes to that mischieviousness sometimes!)
Melissa Shelby I LOVE YOU!!! Mama
Within the next few days I will post a picture of our youngest son, Brett. (Yes, he's named after that good 'ol Green Bay Packers Quarterback, Brett Favre!)

imperfectionORperfection

2005-11-18T15:01:00.000-08:00

This is my entry for Photo Friday. When I read the topic I was at a loss at first. Then it came to me as I was getting out of the shower this afternoon. I retreived this little wagon out of the dumpster (yes! dumpster diving, but hey, one man's trash is another man's treasure!) at my husband's office. It had been thrown away because of the missing wheel on the front. My intentions were to make a new wheel for it and use it as a planter in my yard. Now the more I look at it I think the missing wheel gives it character and I will leave it as is. I took pics from a few different angles, but still could not get it to look how I had pictured in my mind. Hope some of you at least enjoy visiting my entry. As for me, the only thing running continuously through my mind now is that old childhood song..."you can't ride in my little red wagon, front seats broke and the axles draggin'."

Prayers for Daddy

2005-11-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

This is my sweet Daddy, he had surgery yesterday to remove his gallbladder. Then today he had an endoscopy which revealed "sludge" (as the Dr. called it) in his bile duct. Most of it was removed and a drain inserted. There is one spot the Doctor is unsure of, which may be a tumor or a spot where this "sludge" is being produced. He will have an Endoscopic Ultrasound and biopsy performed within the next 2-3 weeks. I am asking that each person who stops by my blog to please say a prayer for my Daddy, that the Lord keep him strong and well.
Thanks to all.

Good Morning from Alabama

2005-11-17T06:09:00.000-08:00

It is a cold 29 degrees here in Alabama this morning, but stepped out on my back porch long enough to take this shot of the sun bursting through the trees in the woods of my back yard.

Music & Movies

2005-11-16T15:18:00.000-08:00

Thought I would post some links to a few of my favorite sites. Like my brother, I enjoy music and also films. My oldest, Josh, is taking voice lessons and is currently learning the theme song to the movie version of "Rent." We visit the site often and play the trailer of this song. To hear it for yourself visit:
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/rent/
Click on "Enter Site," then "videos," then play the teaser trailer. He is getting pretty good at this song, but still needs some practice.
I've also discovered the world of Tyler Perry after watching "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and now I'm dying to see some plays of his instead of the movies. You can check out his webpage at:
http://www.tylerperry.com/
and the official site to "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" at:
http://www.diaryofamadblackwomanmovie.com/
if you haven't seen it I strongly suggest it. My favorite character is Madea (played by Tyler Perry). You can watch Exclusive Clips on this site.
Good Evening to everyone.

Josh

2005-11-16T05:49:00.000-08:00

This is my oldest son, Josh. I am posting this picture because it is one of my favorites of him besides some of his Senior portraits. He looks as if he could be SO quiet and serene in this photo, which is the exact opposite of his true nature.

All Pooped Out...

2005-11-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

This is my first image for Photo Friday. My favorite dog Chester on one of the kids beds after they had left for school. I especially like the way his tongue always hangs out when he sleeps.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2005-11-14T10:17:00.000-08:00

Well, both my brother and sister posted Birthday Greetings to our Mother on their blogs. Figured I would too. I LOVE YOU MAMA!!
(she's the first one standing on the bottom left, and probably the smallest, in this school photo.)

My First Blog

2005-11-14T10:04:00.000-08:00

Hello from me! I created this blog just to be able to post comments to some other blogs. Have never had a blog before, so I really don't know what to say. I'm 35 years old and have lived in the State of Alabama all of my life. Woudn't want to be anywhere else. I am the youngest of four children and the mother to four wonderful kids ages 5, 14, 15 & 18. (Yeah, what a gap!) For my age I have way too many grey hairs, but believe they started to show around the time the oldest hit his teenage years! My oldest (a boy) is in college studying to be an Accountant. He also takes voice lessons and wants to be a singer. The 15 yr. old (also a boy) is a sophomore in High School and wants to attend the University of Alabama at Birmingham's School of Dentistry after graduating. Our only girl, 14, attends Christian School where she is on the Drama Team, a Student Leader, on the basketball team (she's officially hit the 5'10" mark) and very active in the school's youth program. Our five year old son is in kindergarten and thanks to his Dad and some of his employees is a wise crack. (When ordering his drink when eating out you can always count on him to look at the waitress with a straight face and say "beer" although no one in this family drinks beer!) So I guess that's about enough for today........