Thursday, May 31, 2007

pirates and ice cream

tonight we hit the local movie theater to see pirates of the caribbean at world's end. i'd have to give it a thumb's up. i didn't understand all of it, but boy, captain sparrow, played by johnny depp, is sure entertaining to watch. i think there were more funny lines in this movie than the last. but nothing tops the first one. if you see this movie, make sure you stay until all the credits have rolled, which is a long time. but then there's a short clip that's worth waiting for.

in the middle of the movie, jake got a call on his cell. he didn't recognize the number but he and i knew who we were hoping it would be. he picked up the message and then left the theater for five minutes. he came back in, sat down, and whispered to me with a smile on his face, "i got the job!"

you see, earlier in the afternoon, he had a job interview with cold stone creamery. he thought it went well but was told that they would get back to him soon. i don't think he thought it would be that soon. sounds like he'll start training this weekend. he's happy. mom and dad are happy that he has a job for the summer. and maybe he'll bring home some ice cream occassionally =]

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link of the day:
http://ivescrewedup.com/

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

i wonder what they're thinking




i really like the wordless wednesdays because i love photos so much. i took this photo at the zoo a few months ago. check out other wordless wednesday by going here.




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link of the day:
http://www.dribbleglass.com/Jokes/analogies.htm

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

my landscape is...

the mountains


actually, there are a few landscapes that i enjoy spending time in. but i guess i would have to say that the mountains would be my favorite.

there is something about being in the mountains that resonates with my soul. i'm just so at peace and i feel like it's where i belong. i feel closer to God. i feel closer to God just looking at the mountains from afar. i love living in colorado because i can always look to the west and see their majesty. someday, don and i would like to retire someplace in the mountains.

but i have probably spent more time on a beach than in the mountains. living in southern california as long as i did, the beach was the best place to spend your time. i learned how to body surf when i was in 3rd grade at huntington beach (big waves) and still love trying to ride the waves. i used to play beach volleyball. i would never be able to count up how many meals i've eaten on the sand. and a trip to the beach isn't complete without a walk out on a pier. yep, the beach is definitely a part of me.

hawaii is another landscape that i enjoy tremendously. it includes a beach but is more than just the beach. it's the mountains, the light rain showers, the rainbows, the sunsets, the boats, the people, and, of course, the underwater world where the fish, turtles, whales, and dolphins play. it's a tropical paradise and i love visiting as often as i can.

these are my favorites but i think there's beauty in almost anywhere you go. you just have to look for it and acknowledge that it's all God's wonderful creation.

original visual dna post here

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link of the day:
http://walk2web.com/

Monday, May 28, 2007

my treat is...

chocolate covered strawberries


what a good day to write about my treat. i have had more chocolate covered strawberries.... which is my favorite.... in the last few days than i have in a long time. almost every graduation party we went to had a chocolate fountain and i could dip as many strawberries as i wanted. of course, i either had to limit the amount or go back a couple of times. i could probably eat my weight in chocolate covered strawberries. YUM!

i would consider other things as "my treats." my second favorite desert would be a fresh strawberry pie, preferably marie calendar's. strawberry shortcake is also very yummy. i also like key lime pie and good ole fashioned chocolate cake.

but treats can be other things, besides food. here's a few; a manicure and/or pedicure, a trip to the movie theater, a nap, time spent outside enjoying the sunshine, surroundings, a little else, and time spent with friends.

original visual dna post here

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link of the day:
http://www.amazingchange.com/

Sunday, May 27, 2007

graduation time

whoa! what a weekend. and we still have one more day to go. i don't know about other parts of the country, or even the state, but around here, memorial day weekend is known as "graduation weekend." that also means graduation parties weekend. we've been to our fair share and it's worn me out. not just physically, but emotionally, too.

yesterday was the hardest but the most special. hollee, jake's girlfriend, graduated and we were present at the ceremony. jake was also part of the ceremony as a junior escort, which was a priviledged position. it's hard to believe it was just a year ago that it was dani that we watched walk down the aisle to receive her diploma. what's harder to believe is that next year at this time, it will be jake. ooohhhhh, i don't want to think about it.

after the graduations comes the parties. and saturday was non-stop. but there's something special... sentimental... and nostalgic about seeing kids, that i've know since they were much younger, as high school graduates. most of the parties we went to were for kids that we had in our junior high youth group. a lot of growing up has taken place in seven years and it's been a priviledge and blessing to be a part of their lives.

i enjoy graduation weekend. but i'm glad, too, when it's over.

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link of the day:
http://www.flixster.com/widgets/movie-board/create

Friday, May 25, 2007

my music is...

best heard
through a good pair
of headphones

there's actually a lot to write about when it comes to music and then how it is a part of me. i will try to be brief.

let me start by saying that although i like music, it's not my life or i can't say that i can't live without it. i think that's more for the younger generation.

experience with music in my earlier years included piano lessons, singing in a church choir, singing the old hymns in church, listening to my grandmother sing and play her organ at the same time, and listening to my parents listen to the artists of their time.

i bought only a few albums and had favorite artists in middle and high school. it wasn't until my early adulthood that i started collecting albums, going to concerts, and having my favorites. of course, record players became obsolete and all those albums were sold at garage sales.

i enjoy listening to a variety of music genres. my favorite would be good 'ole rock and roll. i love the old stuff - the stuff i grew up with (70's and 80's) as well as christian rock. i also love listening to someone playing the piano. that must be from my own experience with playing the piano. i'd also have to add to the list; old hymns (nostalgia), show tunes, and acapella groups.

nowadays, all one's music can be stored on an ipod or a similar mp3 player. i do have an ipod, but to be honest, i don't use it all that much. most of my music listening time is when i'm driving. i mainly listen to a contemporary christian radio station (way-fm).

another form of music listening is live shows. i have gone to many concerts in my day but, again, i'll be honest. although it's fun being at a live performance, i don't think the music is as good. so, it has to be one of my favorite groups/artist for me to want to go to their concert. my son is in a band and i have gone to all of his performances. he plays at smaller venues than the big time artists, so i enjoy going to hear his band. every performance is a little different and i like that.

so my favorite way to listen to music is through a good pair of headphones. not the little kind, but the ones that totally covers your ears. you can hear every instrument and every little nuance of the piece. the problem is, i just don't do it very often.

one more thing... i'm not a good singer, but i do enjoy singing. but the only time i do that is in my car (usually by myself) or praising the Lord. the bigger, faster, and louder the praise time, the better.

original visual dna post here

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link of the day:
http://www.music.com/

Thursday, May 24, 2007

my art is...

photography


i've been interested in photography as long as i can remember.

my dad was always taking pictures of my family and whatever event that was deemed worthy of preserving in pictures. if you would have asked me at the time, i would have told you how annoying it was. and if you ask my children now, they would tell you how annoying it is for me to be constantly snapping up pictures of them. so to my dad... sorry for all the times i must have complained and made it hard for you.

i a photography class my first semester of college and loved it. not only did i enjoy learning how to develop the film and make prints, but i found a passion in composing and taking the pictures. the love only grew more when my kids were born and, as a parent, i couldn't take enough pictures. my kids are 16 and 19 and i'm still at it. the development of the digital camera and my introduction to scrapbooking has only made it easier to preserve and store my countless photos. i love to scrapbook and it is another form of art for me.

i like other forms of art as well. i'm actually an artistic person. i took a graphic arts class at a vocational school during my senior year in high school. once computers became more mainstream, i learned how to do desktop publishing and started my own business producing newsletters, brochures, flyers, and even a magazine. i've produced such things for my church, also. now the big thing is web design. i would love to be able to design cool looking sites, but it's been harder to learn. i'm still working at it.

(this post is part of my attempt to blog my visual dna. you may read the original post here)

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link of the day:
http://www.trolleyracer.com/

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

visual dna




a couple of days ago i put up a daily link to something called your visual dna. here's the link in case you didn't check it out when i first posted it :-)

i've been thinking about this site ever since i stumbled across it. it gives you a choice of fourteen photographs in which you're to pick one for each of the categories they give you. there are 13 categories and they are:

my art...my music...my treat...my landscape...my freedom...my love...
my gross...my like to do...my exciting free time...my holiday...
my vice...my bedroom...my drink

after you have gone through and picked a photograph for each category, you're given a formualated analysis of what kind of person you are. interesting, but still, just a formula.

even though the photographs they offer is a decent variety that goes well with each category, there may not be a photo that best depicts your personal answer. not only that, but their may be a photo given but you may use it as a different answer than the one they use for their formula.

by now, you may be saying, "so what!" i just thought it would be interesting to know what other people's responses might be to each category. i also thought i could maybe come up with better photos that would better depict my own answers.

so i'm going to blog about these 13 different categories over the next couple of weeks. i invite anyone who wants to join me by either blogging it on their own site or commenting my posts with your personal answers to each category.

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link of the day:
http://disney.go.com/disneyinteractivestudios/

Monday, May 21, 2007

i'm sleep deprived

i really don't have anything to write about tonight. maybe it's because i'm so tired. at 4:00 this morning, our puppy decided he didn't need any more sleep. i ended up getting up, letting him out, and then trying to go back to sleep on the couch. he awoke me at 5:00 by barking at some shadow that was evidentally spooking him. i let him in and endured another half hour of sleeplessness until he finally closed his eyes and fell back asleep. but, of course, he's up at 6:45 to be fed. let's hope he sleeps longer tomorrow morning.

i could have gone to bed earlier but we taped the season finale of 24 (2 hours) and then watched it once my daughter got home. let me just say, in case you're a 24 fan, i was disappointed with the ending. and now we have to wait until january to see the next season. ok, enough of that.

i did read an interesting post today. it was written by a guy who used to work for disneyworld in orlando and it's all about the world of tunnels built underneath the famed park. i found it fascinating. walt was a genius in more ways that one.

sorry... that's all i got today. let's all hope tomorrow is a better day.

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link of the day:
http://www.whogets.com/

Sunday, May 20, 2007

a different kind of prayer

"heavenly Father, help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and was rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

help us to remember that the pierced , tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really out to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together." (anonymous)

i use this prayer to remind me that things aren't always as they seem and/or that the world doesn't revolve around me. i really do try to live by the golden rule; treat others as you would want to be treated (matthew 7:12). but there are situations that come at me too fast and my first reaction isn't how i would want to be treated.

so my prayer is that i be able to look beyond the circumstances and to the heart of the person (or people) that i come in contact with. my prayer is to be more like Jesus - loving and compassionate. as a christian, it's important for me to treat others as Jesus would treat them. i have to remember that i might be the only Jesus someone else sees. i might be the only bible that someone reads.

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link of the day:
http://dna.imagini.net/friends/

Saturday, May 19, 2007

prom night

tonight was prom night for all the local high schools around here. my son, a junior, took his girlfriend of nine months. the four friends went to a very nice restaurant and then on to invesco/mile high stadium (where the broncos play) for the prom. after prom was held at a local fun center. as i write this, they're probably on their way there. if they stay the whole time, they won't be home until 5:00 am. then i'm sure they'll sleep all day tomorrow. here are a few pictures.

(left) here's jake with one of his best friends, sam. sam came over early in the day to jam with the band and then stayed the rest of the day and got ready here. they were both ready to go way before the girls showed up. they were so funny. i think they were a little nervous.


(bottom left) the foursome: sam, erika, hollee, and jake


(bottom) jake and hollee. her dress was so pretty. prettier than these picture make it look.



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link of the day:
http://www.allchocolate.com/

Friday, May 18, 2007

dolls

kelli, over at there is no place like home, hosts a friday show & tell. when i read and see what others "show" each friday, i try to think of something that i might have to show. i've never been much of a collector so i don't have much that's old or noteworthy. but then i remembered my cedar chest. so today i opened it up and took a walk down memory lane. i would like to share some old dolls that i've kept from my childhood.


i keep these dolls in a special box within my cedar chest. they were either my favorite to play with or ones that were given to me from special places.

i remember playing with these three dolls the most (except for barbies). i don't remember where i got the one on the left. it may have been someone else's before it was mine because it's older than the other doll. she is proclein. i'll have to ask my parents if they remember. i remember buying the one on the right at disneyland. she was my favorite. another cool thing i remember is that my paternal grandmother used to make clothes for these two dolls. some of the dresses she made were in the box with the dolls. the third doll, the one in the plastic bottle, is what was called a "kologne kiddle." i loved this doll, too, but mainly because she was small and she smelled good. in fact, when i opened the bottle today, there was still a faint scent of what was once much stronger.

these three dolls are "special," but to be honest, i don't remember much about them. again, maybe my parents can shed some light on what i can't remember. i didn't really play with these. instead, they were either left on the shelf or fringe members of my doll play time. i do know that the doll on the right was sent to me by my father when he was serving in the viet nam war. but i think it's originally from thailand. i was in the 3rd grade and i remember studying this doll and trying to figure out how people, living a half a world away, could look like this doll.

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link of the day:
http://zone.msn.com/en/uno/zpadefault.htm

Thursday, May 17, 2007

bring on the popcorn

maybe one of my 8 random facts about myself (see previous post) should have been how much i love movies. as long as i can remember, i've been lured to the movie theater in anticipation of seeing the newest release. i won't bore you with a list of the types of movies i enjoy and those that i don't. i'll just say i like a wide variety and my favorite would be any movie that makes me "feel" something.

there are definitely dry times when it comes to movies that i enjoy. i get frustrated during these times. for me, three weeks is too long to go without visiting my local cineplex. that's why i'm excited for this summer. there are so many movies coming out that i'm worried i won't have enough time to see them all.

i started my summer viewing by seeing spiderman 3 last weekend. here are the other ones i'm looking forward to:

shrek the third (may 18th)
pirates of the caribbean: at world's end (may 25th)
mr. brooks (june 1st)
ocean's 13 (june 8th)
evan almighty (june 22nd)
the evening (june 29th)
harry potter and the order of the phoenix (july 13th)
hairspray (july 20th)
no reservations (july 27th)
the bourne ultimatum (august 3rd)
across the universe (sometime in september)

there are others that i'd probably like to see but i either don't know enough about them or they're not as high on my priority list. as you can see, if i see all of these on the list, which i plan to, i will have to plan on seeing one movie per week. yippee! i can't wait.

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link of the day:
http://movies.aol.com/feature/summer_movies

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

welcome to the 80's

although i graduated in the 70's, i did listen to popular music during the 80's. the 80's was the decade of some weird and different music. i'm not a super big fan of the music from this time but there were some artist that i liked.

i recently came across HERE'S THE 80's. here's a web site that showcases most of the artists of the 80's. the blogger gives us a video of the artist/group and a little bit of trivia and/or their personal feelings regarding those being showcased. there are hundreds of videos in the archives and listed alphabetically.

i ended up spending an hour or so on the site just because i couldn't stop watching these videos. i hadn't seen most of them. some were a "music video" while others were just a filming of a live performance. i've watched some mtv, mostly in their early days when music videos were a new and exciting thing. i'm assuming that these videos did, at some time, aired on mtv (or some other station). i just had never seen them. thus, i found them all very interesting.

if you have any interest in music in history, or loved the music from this odd era, this web site is a must see. take a peak and let me know what you think.

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link of the day:
http://www.10mg.nl/

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

8 random facts about me

susan, the penless writer, has put out a challenge to others to list seven or eight random facts about oneself. i chose to take her up on her request. so, here it is...

1. i grew up as a military brat. since my father was in the air force, we moved around quite a bit, but all within the united states. we moved every 1-2 years until i was in middle school. so, it was pretty much a new home, new school, and new friends each year. someday i will blog on this subject.

2. i only attended one year of college, and it was a junior college. this is one of only a few regrets i have in life. i've thought many times of trying to go back to get a degree, but never felt like i could handle it. my husband didn't attend college either. so we are thrilled to have our daughter going to a 4 year university.

3. my family has always been involved with the church. my mother is an ordained minister, my brother is an ordained minister, and my sister works at the same christian university she attended. my husband and i are youth directors.

4. growing up, i had always wanted to go sky diving. and so i did when i was nearly 20. it was a thrill that i will never forget. but, since i am now afraid of heights, i have no desire to do it again.

5. i used to live in southern california. once our daughter was born, we decided we didn't want to raise a family in the heavily congested area in which we lived. after weighing our options, we chose to move to the denver area. our son was born two months after our arrival here. we love it here and have never regretted our decision.

6. i love to camp. i didn't come from a camping family but i married into one. they nurtured my love for the outdoors and sleeping in a sleeping bag. my husband and i used to spend a week or two every summer camping as our summer vacation. it changed a little when the kids were little and we camped in the colorado mountains versus the california mountains. so we ended up buying a pop-up camper, which made things a lot easier. we haven't camped for a couple of years now. i miss it. and i still love spending time in the mountains.

7. i am fascinated with web design and have attempted to create my own site. i spent a couple of years teaching my self all i could about creating a web site. i know a lot about coding and even the do's and dont's. but i obviously don't know enough because every attempt i made, there were some kind of problems that i couldn't figure out how to correct. i now have new software to design a nice web site. but it's been months since i've played around with it and i just can't seem to get motivated to do create something.

8. i love chocolate covered strawberries and marie calendar's strawberry pie, with whip cream of course. i could eat these two items each and every day of my life. yum :)

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link of the day:
http://www.mychurch.org/

Monday, May 14, 2007

it's hailing

here's a picture i took earlier this evening. we had a pretty strong thunderstorm roll through. it dropped some hail on us and flooded many areas.



my family and i watched the storm clouds approaching. they did look very menacing. we kept looking for funnel clouds as the local news was telling us that we were under a tornado warning. but we didn't see anything that severe. just a little hail and a lot of thunder, lightning, and rain.

i love thunderstorms. there's different reasons i enjoy watching them. actually, it's not just watching them, but experiencing them that i enjoy.

i'm always in awe of the strength and power that drives the storm, or builds as the storm grows and moves through. i love watching the bolts of lightning. it fascinates me. it's like art. even the rumble of thunder thrills me.

you know what i really love? this may be hard for me to explain, but i'll try. i love the contrast of colors of the dark, dark sky and the neon green of the grass. i've tried to duplicate those colors, but never have been able to. i think it's all in the lighting. like the sun is still shining in some areas while the dark skies are still off in the distance.

and then there's the fact that a storm cools down the heat of the day, the smell of rain, and the beautiful rainbow that usually signifies that the storm has moved on. i love them all.

tornados, on the other hand, are scary. i've had some limited experience with them and i don't like them. but give me a thunderstorm any day and i'm a happy camper.

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link of the day:
http://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/

Sunday, May 13, 2007

from the mouths of babes

i hate continuing to post things i read on the internet or in the blog-o-sphere vs. writing my own stuff, but this was just too funny not to share. btw, i wouldn't repost something that someone else personally wrote. this was obviously published somewhere else first. enjoy.

elementary school aged children answer the following questions:

why did God make mothers?
1. she's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. mostly to clean the house.
3. to help us out of there when we were getting born.

how did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

what ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. they had to get their start from men's bones. then they mostly use string, I think.

why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. we're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

what kind of little girl was your mom?
1. my mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. i don't know because i wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. they say she used to be nice.

what did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. his last name.
2. she had to know his background. like is he a crook? does he get drunk on beer?
3. does he make at least $800 a year? did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

why did your mom marry your dad?
1. my dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. she got too old to do anything else with him.
3. my grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

who's the boss at your house?
1. mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. mom. you can tell by room inspection. she sees the stuff under the bed.
3. i guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

what's the difference between moms and dads?
1. moms work at work & work at home, & dads just go to work at work.
2. moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

what does your mom do in her spare time?
1. mothers don't do spare time.
2. to hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

what would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. on the inside she's already perfect. outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. diet. you know, her hair. i'd diet, maybe blue.

if you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. she has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. i'd get rid of that.
2. i'd make my mom smarter. then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. i would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on her back.

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link of the day:
http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/Dont_kite_surf_nearby_the_airport/?m=viewed&tf=daily

Saturday, May 12, 2007

happy day to you


In the United States, Mother's Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it "Mother's Work Day."

In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. Legend has it that young Anna remembered a Sunday school lesson that her mother gave in which she said, "I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother's day. There are many days for men, but none for mothers."

Anna began to lobby prominent businessmen like John Wannamaker, and politicians including Presidents Taft and Roosevelt to support her campaign to create a special day to honor mothers. At one of the first services organized to celebrate Anna's mother in 1908, at her church in West Virginia, Anna handed out her mother's favorite flower, the white carnation. Five years later, the House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling for officials of the federal government to wear white carnations on Mother's Day. In 1914 Anna's hard work paid off when Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.

At first, people observed Mother's Day by attending church, writing letters to their mothers, and eventually, by sending cards, presents, and flowers. With the increasing gift-giving activity associated with Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis became enraged. She believed that the day's sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit. In 1923 she filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother's Day festival, and was even arrested for disturbing the peace at a convention selling carnations for a war mother's group. Before her death in 1948, Jarvis is said to have confessed that she regretted ever starting the mother's day tradition.

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i found the history of mother's day interesting.
if you're reading my blog and you're a mother, i wish you a wonderful mother's day. may you celebrate the special gift God has given you... the gift of motherhood.

the above history was found at: http://www.emotionscards.com/trivia/mothersday/mothersday.html

Friday, May 11, 2007

it's come and gone

i'm such a sentimental and nostalgic sap : )

i can't believe a whole school year has passed since dani started her freshman year in college. i remember, as if it were yesterday, helping her move into her tiny dorm room. rearranging the furniture, bringing in all her stuff, buying more stuff for it, decorating it, rearranging it once again, and then leaving her there to live in it. she loved her little room. she came home often but considered this room her home.

and her roommates... she loved them. i remember when the school gave each of them their new roommate's names. they talked on the phone or thru myspace. then they met for lunch. they all were looking forward to starting their freshman year and living with each other. and for the most part, they got along great and had a lot of fun together. they will always have a special place in her heart. they were her family for the school year.

and then as quickly as it started, it ended. today we helped her move out of her "home" and away from her "family."

it was a bittersweet time for everyone involved. it's a milestone in her life (and ours). she has completed her first year. she made it! she's happy and we're proud of her. she's grown up a lot. but it's also time to say good-bye to good times and wonderful memories. with each passing year, she knows she's expected to handle more responsibility and to figure out how she wants to live her life as an adult.

i'm looking forward to having danielle home for the summer. my goal is to make the summer a productive and enjoyable one for all of us. because i know that it will fly by and before i know it, she'll be gone again... to a new home and a new family.

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link of the day:
http://www.challengeday.org/

Thursday, May 10, 2007

age old debate

last night i watched nightline because they were broadcasting a debate between two self-proclaimed atheist and two christians, kirk cameron and ray comfort, on the existence of God. you can watch this debate thanks to this youtube video.

this morning i was reading through some of the daily blogs i read and found a post from penless writer where she, also, had a debate going on through the many comments to her latest post. she did a great job responding to a comment from a gentleman, directed to her, questioning why she would believe in "propaganda" about a God that he obviously doesn't believe in.

it has made me wonder how i would respond to a direct confrontation with someone who wanted "proof" of God's existence. i don't think the two christians on nightline did a very good job making their case. the host commented that he didn't think either side could claim victory, but thought it was a good thing that their was such a debate. i agree with that.

to be honest, i wouldn't feel very confident in presenting proof of God's existence. i believe in God but i do more out of faith than any evidence. i'm not sure there will ever be enough evidence that would persuade a die-hard atheist. but i could be wrong.

i do feel strongly that whenever we are confronted with such an arguement, that we should respond in love and be slow to judge. that's what we would want from the opposition, so why wouldn't we extend that same courtesy to them?

if we want to be taken seriously, we not only need to present a convincing arguement, but to be loving and respectful. as the old song goes... they will know we are christians by our love... by our love. that might be the most compelling evidence out there.

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link of the day:
http://www.arkalmighty.com/

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

did you hear...

... that there's now a camera that allows you to manipulate the content of the photo (from the camera) to make the subjects look thinner? yah - really! hard to believe, huh? as much as i would want to look thinner, i don't think this is right. our society keeps telling us that we need to be perfect; thin, rich, etc. those are pretty high standards and are impossible to meet. so why not show our imperfections. why not be honest with ourselves. why not celebrate who we are - the individual that God created.

... that george lucas announced that he will make two more live action star war movies. yah - really! but he said they will probably be made for tv. hard to believe, huh? why would he do that? he also said they won't involve the skywalker family. again, why would he do that?

... that on LOST tonight, locke was shot by ben? yah - really! and there's a new character. his name is jacob - and he's invisible! hard to believe, huh? ok, enough about lost. if you watch the show, you already know this and if you don't watch it, then you don't care.

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link of the day:

http://www.cognitivelabs.com/word_shoot.htm

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

things i learn at a band concert

i have to face reality. i need glasses.

tonight was my son's last school band concert of the year... and forever. he's decided he's not going to take band next year, his senior year. so anyways, my husband and i got there a little late and ended up sitting in the very back of the auditorium. there were a couple of reasons i didn't want to sit up there. when i mentioned to my husband that one of them was the fact that i couldn't see the students very well, he handed me his glasses and said, "here, try these."

whoa!! i put them on and i felt like a whole new world opened up to me. everything that had been out of focus was now crystal clear. i knew my eye sight was getting bad but i didn't realize how much. i've been putting off going in for an eye exam but will now schedule that for as soon as possible. i'm not really looking forward to wearing glasses all the time but i guess it will be worth it if i'll be able to see things afar again.

the other reason i didn't want to sit in the back of the auditorium was because that's where parents sit with their younger children. they sit in the back so their bored kids don't become a distraction to the rest of the audience. well, i didn't want them to be a distraction to me either. but as it turned out, they weren't. in fact, it was a real pleasure to watch some of them.

there was one little girl who did her own version of conducting the band. and a toddler boy who just felt like he needed to dance to the music. both of them were too cute. it was a wonderful lesson to me in that if we lower (or abandon) our expectations, we might find simple pleasures that we might not have ordinarily seen or experienced. that and the innocence of children that we too often overlook.

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link of the day:
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/ex_panda_station.html

Monday, May 7, 2007

what time is it?

i read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and there's something that confuses me. why do bloggers have a clock on their page? this isn't meant to offend anyone. i'm just wondering. is there a reason that isn't obvious to me? i don't think it's for the readers. if they want to know what time it is, they can look down in the corner of their computer screen. so, i'm guessing it's just for looks - which is fine. i don't think i'll be putting one one here, tho.


on another note, i thought i was going to sign up to do a local 5k walk/run called the bolder boulder. i've been walking in hopes of getting in better shape and to boost my stamina in order to walk a 5k (which i've never done). but then i found out it's a 10k. my son is planning to run it (he's a runner) and he's encouraging me to do it. but i'm unsure. a 5k seemed difficult enough. now we're talking about doubling the amount of walking i'd be doing. stay tuned... i'll let you know.


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link of the day:
http://www.bolderboulder.com/

Saturday, May 5, 2007

eel vs. man


i found this video so interesting. it caught my attention because it's titled "eel bites off diver's finger." but i found the first part, where the eel is swimming in and around the photographers. it looks so tame. then after the finger is bit off (eewwww), what they did to the guy's hand (and foot) is pretty amamzing!

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link of the day:
http://www.one.org/

Thursday, May 3, 2007

i love pink flowers



here are a couple of pictures i took today. all the flowers and trees are blooming. i could take pictures all day long because there is so much beauty everywhere. and, of course, i can't do justice to that beauty. i can only hope that spring has sprung in your area and you're able to take the time to stop and smell the.... well, flowers.

i had a staff meeting today and our pastor gave us all a challenge. he would like us to spend two hours a day with God for 100 days. he gave us the guidline of S.O.A.P. the S stands for scripture. we're to pick any book of the bible and start reading. O is for observation and A for application. we're to journal our observations from what ever piece of scripture we read and then follow that with any application that we feel called to. and then P stands for prayer.

so this is how the two hours are supposed to be broken down. half hour on the s, o, and a. then a half hour prayer time for those we know that are in need and another half hour for our church (it's a young church). and then the last half hour in quiet reflection, listening for what God might be telling us.

my first thought was, "whoa, i don't think i can do that!" but after thinking about it for a little while, i'm thinking i'd like to try. i've been convicted lately to be more faithful in reading my bible and i like the idea of having to write down my observations and applications.

so, i'm gonna give it a try. i'll let you know how it's going every once in a while. who knows, maybe i'll have more to blog about.

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link of the day:
http://www.pinkmagazine.com/index.html

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

looking forward to friday

i'm planning to go visit my daughter this friday. the plan is for me to bring down some boxes, help her pack up some of her dorm, and then go out and play. a little shopping, lunch, and maybe even a movie. we're both looking forward to it.

it reminds me of when i was a young adult and my mom and i would get together for a whole day. how i always looked forward to those times. they were like a mini vacation... a day's reprieve from the daily grind. but it was more than that. it was time with my mom, which i also enjoyed tremendously.

thanks mom for those days; for the time we spent together and the fun we had shopping and eating. and for nurturing my love for movies. those days enabled me to offer the same thing to my daughter. it's a wonderful tradition to pass on - maybe for many generations.

i'll be thinking of you this friday as dani and i enjoy our day.

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link of the day:
http://www.nutsandboltsfoundation.org/

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

only in hawaii

i found this picture somewhere on the internet some time ago. i remember that there was a reference to hawaii with it. so i'm assuming it was taken somewhere within the hawaiian islands but i can't be sure about that. i've only been to maui and i've never seen anything like this. not even an area on the beach where you could do something like this. so it must be on one of the other islands.

i can't figure out if i would like to dine in such a fashion. at first, i thought it would be cool. but after thinking about it, i'm not sure i would want to eat an entire meal while being wet. and yet, you would be in a tropical paradise so the weather would most likely be perfect and therefore, the water and being wet wouldn't really bother you. i guess i would be up to trying it.

i wonder if little fishies swim around you.

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link of the day:
http://home.disney.go.com/index