All Aboard the Candyville Express

Another of my favorite ornaments is from Hallmark, early 1980's.

It's called the Candyville Express.

Remembering back to those days, as a young child I always felt giddy with this ornament. It looked like candy, and the sparkles on it were somehow magical.

I even remember licking this ornament once just to see if it tasted good.... notice I said "just once."  Behind it in the picture is the famed candy garland... I LOVE the candy garland.

Here is the much deserved close-up.

How on earth mother allowed me to have the candy garland is beyond me. She should have kept it for their tree, but I'm not complaining! This has ALWAYS been on my Christmas tree, growing up until now. I can't fathom a tree without it.

And another favorite ornament!

Here is an ornament with a picture of Taylor as a baby. I love this ornament - he's so cute!  Taylor didn't come into my life until a little over 7 years ago, when he was 12.  I cherish this ornament because it's one of the only pieces I have of him as a baby.

Today, we celebrate Dad's birthday. Craig drove down from Dallas and we ate a delicious homemade meal. Uncle Lee even joined us! 

In searching for an appropriate picture of Dad to post, I found the one below. It is a picture of the Bess family from about 10 years ago... In it, we are re-creating the 1974 family portrait that mother holds in her hand. If you click on the picture, it will bring up a larger copy.

And here is the picture of our family today:

Ducks and wrestling?

Another favorite Christmas ornament, compliments of my talented husband! I love it that he cross-stiched this ornament (1991), proving once again that I married someone who can do ANYTHING!

And below is another picture in the continuing saga at the Brown household...For as long as I've been in their life (since 2002) the boys and their dad have arm wrestled, leg wrestled, body slammed, etc.  Rick has always, always been top dog.

I can't divulge who won this round, but maybe you can figure it out!

Rumor has it there is a youtube video out there of this event, but I'm sure I don't know where it is!

3 Wise Men and the Rockettes

The 3 Wise Men are a pretty close runner up for 1st place among my favorite ornaments. Granny needlepointed these in 1976. I love them so much... they remind me of my Granny.

Today we took my mother and Rick's mother to the Rockette's Christmas Spectacular. Lots of fun - I highly recommend it. "The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" was by far my favorite - where they are dressed up as soldiers and march around in precision, ending it with their famous slow-motion fall back. Simply amazing! 

The last number of the show was called  "One Solitary Life" and involved a living Nativity. I read in the program that this presentaion has been a revered part of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular since 1933. We were all very impressed that the presentation of the true reason for Christmas has not been scrubbed out of the show over the years. It was a great way to end the program.

I'm off to finish some holiday baking now...

My favorite ornament, Cowboy Group, and tennis

Here is a picture of my favorite Christmas tree ornament. Mother hand-made this little gingerbread man in 1972, and it has always hung on our tree. A few years ago, she let me pick some of my favorite ornaments from the family tree and place them on the Brown family tree. This was the first one I chose.

I've got pictures of some of my other favorite ornaments and will share them over the next couple of weeks. Last year, a friend of mine posted a picture every day in December of a different ornament on their tree. I'm partially borrowing that idea here (thanks, Chris!) EXCEPT, I know I won't be posting every day. I'm just not that disciplined.

And speaking of friends, the Cowboy Group celebrated Christmas together last night. We enjoyed a savory steak dinner at the Club, and then a fun gift exchange. Here is our group picture for the year.

2009 Christmas picture. Love this group of friends! Love, love, love them!

And just for fun, below is the picture from last year's Christmas party. Tiffany was pregnant, very pregnant, in the picture and you can see the product of that in the picture (above) from this year. Funny thing... she's pregnant again this Christmas. Just not showing like she was last year. Congrats, Tiff!

2008 Christmas picture (with funny faces)

Ok... We are heading out to spend the night in Dallas tonight. Collin is playing at 8am in a tennis tournament, and thanks to mom's rewards points, we'll not have to drive from Athens EARLY in the morning. (Thanks mom...)  Really looking forward to watching Collin play tomorrow. He's really great!

Recap of last weekend.

It's Wednesday, but feels like Friday because of Thanksgiving tomorrow. I'm looking forward to time with family and friends over the next couple of  days.

Thought I'd share a few pictures from last weekend. 

We helped with the monthly meal and activities in a local neighborhood. Our church participates with several groups in bringing a presence of hope and love to this neighborhood.

This picture shows some of the clothes available for anyone who could use them.

Here are the ladies dishing up a homemade Thanksgiving meal.

Rick, below, has a helper handing out hygiene kits.

This is Larry Partridge and me on the porch of a house in the neighborhood that we are going to turn into a kids afterschool clubhouse, and in the evenings have it available for adult programs. It's a longtime dream coming to fruition for our church to have a presence in this neighborhood.

The house needs ALOT of work. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point! Good thing youth groups like to do demolition, becasue we are going to have to start from scratch!

Looking forward to the day!

Today we have 2 things on the docket:

1) Thanksgiving meal and visiting with the folks in a nearby neighborhood. Our church, along with a couple other churches, take a meal monthly to this neighborhood. We hope to show the residents that God loves them, and so do we.

I made two large green bean casseroles to take, but was short 1 can of green beans. These are the times I'm reminded how much I love living next door to my mother! She rescued me from having to fight the grocery store this morning!

2) Chamber of Commerce Bowling Tournament is this afternoon. I think we have about 17 teams of 5 so far! Our team, the Bowling Stones, will annihilate the others. Or at least have the most fun trying!

Meanwhile, on the homefront, Taylor is home from college this weekend. He's going to be working today for us, reading water meters. Rick LOVES it when Taylor comes home to do this!

Here is my favorite picture of Taylor!

Cat Fight

For any of my cat lover friends out there, the link below is cute. You'll have to watch the commercial first, but the news story is fun.

Cat Fight

Sometimes

Sometimes I feel strongly about something, but I can't come up with the words to describe it or share it. Does anyone else get tongue tied like that?

I think that's why I like writing, so that I can work it out in my head and put it down on paper (or keyboard.) And then decide if it describes what I'm trying to say.

And if it doesn't, I hit delete.

Problem is, it seems pretty frequent that I hit delete, and don't say what I want to say. So I'm going to post this without re-reading it. Cause I'd probably hit delete.  :)

Oh, one more thing. I love the smell of books. The whole Kindle revolution is entriguing... but I'm sticking to the paper that I can touch...and smell.  Might sound wierd, but it's true.

So there you have it.

Nothing really.

I've been distracted as of late. Got back from vacation (anniversary trip) and fell into a funk. I always do after a vacation... it's just hard for me to come back to reality after a fabulous trip with Rick.
And I have absolutely nothing to say right now, nothing that is notable. I think it's ok to be quiet - I guess that's just my moment right now.

But for the sake of writing, here's a little bit of what I've been up to lately.

1. Exercise - I've changed up my schedule and am going to the gym at lunch these days. It seems to work my schedule better. Thanks to family for accomodating my lunch-time schedule change.
2. Thanksgiving Journal - Turned my favorite new journal into a Thanksgiving Journal, writing one thing every night that I'm thankful for. It's kinda cool.
3. Lists - Made a list of a few things in my life that I'm not real pleased with. I'm taking charge of the list by tackling 2 of them to begin with. That would be: Exercise (see above) and Developing the Cremains Garden we need at Oaklawn.
4. Scrubbed the shower - Because I always feel better about life when I scrub the shower. Wierd, I know.
5. Reading a "just for fun book" - A modern twist on Sherlock Holmes - not finished with it, tonight maybe. I took it from the stack of library books at my folks house. Wonder if they've missed it yet?
6. Mourned the death of a friend and spiritual mentor. God bless the legacy Royce Riley left behind.

That's all for now.

A Halloween Joke

Thanks to my friend Roger, for sharing this!

A man is walking home alone late one foggy Halloween night, when behind him he hears:
BUMP...



BUMP...



BUMP...

Walking faster, he looks back and through the fog he makes out the image of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street toward him.



BUMP...




BUMP...



BUMP...



Terrified, the man begins to run toward his home, the casket bouncing quickly behind him.



FASTER...


FASTER...


BUMP...



BUMP...



BUMP....


He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes in, slams and locks the door behind him. However, the casket crashes through his door, with the lid of the casket clapping.



clappity-BUMP...



clappity-BUMP..




clappity-BUMP...



on his heels, as the terrified man runs.




Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, he locks himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming in sobbing gasps.




With a loud CRASH the casket breaks down the door.



Bumping and clapping toward him.



The man screams and reache s for something, anything, but all he can find is a bottle of cough syrup! Desperate, he throws the cough syrup at the casket...



and,


(hopefully you're ready for this!!!)



The coffin stops.

Cowboys!

We've been crazy busy after returning from our anniversary trip in Vegas.

For now, I'll just post a few pictures of yesterday's trip to see the Cowboy's.

Rick, Collin and Taylor took on the stadium, and from what I hear, it's still standing! It cost an arm and a leg, but a great memory was created. I hope the boys always remember their first trip to the new Cowboy Stadium.

Gondola ride at The Venetian

A kiss under every bridge... It was the rule!

It's a Beautiful Day

This picture is our view from the room over the pool area. It feels so
nice outside on our patio, and I feel better than yesterday!

Yesterday we dined next to Elvis, then saw him kareoke after dinner. A
pink satin-suited Elvis showed up too. Um, only in Vegas, Baby!

We also caught a close up with Wayne Newton at The Tropicana, where he
is doing "one more show." Right. How old is that guy anyway???

Dogs, money, and others.

I took Roxie to have her Micro-chipped today. In case she ever wanders off and gets lost - some kind soul may take her to a vet to find out if she was chipped... and then we'll get her back.

I love my dog. She's epitomizes unconditional love, she shows us how to live with "gusto" and she is always thrilled to see us! When we walk through the door at the end of the day, she acts like we are the highlight of her day!

So I got to wondering how much money we spend on this dog. I looked at our monthly expenses that are logged into a nifty budget spreadsheet, and was surprised with the amount of cash that goes towards her care. Between dogfood, vacinations, grooming and kenneling, we have spent $566 so far this year. And then the $50 today that I paid for her to be chipped. (GASP!!!)

I'm troubled by this.  In our culture, it's acceptable to drop lots of money towards the care of our animals. For some of us, they are a part of the family, and are treated with the best medical and preventative care we can afford. I'm the worst about it too. I love my doggie with all my heart, and would be quick to sacrifice alot, if needed, to keep her healthy.

Many people will spend their last dime to feed their pet before they will feed themselves. I learned recently about a facility in Henderson County, called the Silver Star Room, that assists with supplying necessities for victims of Elder Abuse.  When they are brought to the attention of Adult Protective Services, there are many physical needs. The Silver Star Room keeps items like blankets, socks, and toiletries readily available for help. Also...pet food is one of the items they keep in stock. Many of these elderly victims of abuse will have given their last bit of food to their beloved pet, choosing to give to their doggie or kitty instead of taking care of themselves.

Isn't that sad?

So here's what I'm thinking... Rick doesn't even know this yet. (Hi honey!) What if, for every dollar that we spent on our dog, we gave the same amount to help an elderly person in need?  From the numbers in my budget, we have spent about $2.00 a day on our dog. To put it into perspective, for only $1.00 per day, we can provide clean water, food, and education to a child across the world.  Think about that! We can secure their future for less than I spend on my pet.

Wow. I just re-read that. It's sobering.

There are so many needs around us. In our own neighborhood, across town, on the other side of the County, on the other side of the world. And it's easy to get overwhelmed, thinking that we can't do anything to help change the world. But what if each one of us did a little bit more than we already do? Just a little bit more. Collectively, we CAN make a difference. I know it, and you know it too.

I'm not sure what that looks like for me and my doggie. But I'm thinking about it... And change cannot occur without thought.

Think, talk, do. See the change.

We motored up to Dallas today with Collin for some tennis racquet shopping. He's really gotten into tennis this year - and he's very good!

Taylor drove down from Denton and met up with us for the afternoon. He's never been known to miss an opportunity for lunch... smart guy! It was great seeing him.

We went to the PGA Superstore, where there is a full-sized indoor tennis court. Collin demo'd (is that a word?) several racquets, and found one that excelled his game. This was great, because his birthday is coming up on Oct 18th. He'll be 16... I can't believe it! It's always hard finding something for a teenage boy (other than the obvious CAR.) Collin gave the "thumbs up" for this, so I'm happy!














This evening, Rick watched the Cowboys make a bad game turn worse, and I puttered around the house. The week ahead of us will bring mom and dad back on Tuesday. But not before we hold the 4th funeral since they left on vacation. We will be glad to have them back!

I sincerely hope it does not rain tomorrow. My crew doesn't need to dig a grave in the rain, and the family sure doesn't need to deal with the messy rain for the funeral day.

Formatting problems - need tips???

Well... I changed to a new text editor on my blogs.

Problem is, it changed everything I've previously posted. It really shook up my previous formatting, and now everything looks horrible.

What to do???

Does anyone have tips for me with Blogger?

My thoughtful sister-in-law and mother

My parents, brother, and sister-in-law are at the Grand Canyon for vacation. On their way through Albuquerque, they found a necklace for me!

How thoughtful!

Too funny!  Can you picture me going out to work a funeral wearing a skull and crossbone???

A little of this and a little of that...

(Note: I've had major formatting problems with this post. If there are lots of extra spaces, unexplained white spots, etc... forgive me! But I'm done with trying to get it to look right!) Last night we watched the Cowboys win over at the Lilly's. I was lucky to have some good cuddle time with Cade.















And with Rowdy, too!

It was such fun hanging out with the gang although we missed the others in our Cowboy Gang that couldn't join in last night.

Sunday night, Rick and I were "servants" at a Prodigal Son feast that my parents hosted at their home. Their church is studying a book called "The Prodigal God" and to kick off the study, each small group is treated to a "feast" that is provided by the leaders of the group. This feast is representative of the feast that the father gave for his son when he returned home, as told in the Bible. It was a huge spread, and mother slaved for days over the preparations. Everything turned out fabulous... with the exception of the rolls. Thank God we had a backup plan (crescent rolls!)

Rick played the perfect role of the French Waiter, complete with accent. I don't have any really good pictures of his outfit, as they are all on mom's camera. But his bowtie and glasses were perfect! I was so grateful that he carried the weight of the serving, because I'm just not very good at it! I kept tripping over my own feet, forgetting the drink orders, etc. But it was a successful evening, and I think that all of the guests enjoyed the dinner, the discussion, and the fellowship.

Rewind to Saturday - Cedar Creek Cleanup Day! Whoo-hoo! We had so much fun with the Chamber Team. There were 5 of us that donned our vests and gloves and hiked the roadway picking up trash. But in all, there were over 350 people that participated in the day. Each team picked a spot to clean up, then we all gathered at the Park for lunch, games, and prizes. It was refreshing to see so many adults and children out doing their part to keep our Lake Area and roadways clean.

Here is our team: Jo Ann, Rick, Sharon, me, Dorene. Rick was our token male.
When we saw this road sign, we wondered if it was put up just for us!

And the job did get stinky. Can you believe people throw out dirty diapers on the side of the road???

Next topic:

I've been following a blog by a team at The Village Church that has traveled to Kenya. As it turns out, the brother of one of my high school friends is on this trip. Here is the link, if you are interested.

http://kenyablog2009.blogspot.com/

They are working at a hospital, and it's interesting and encouraging to follow along on their trip. I've been giving alot of thought to Kenya lately, about the poverty, health crisis, orphans, lack of clean water, hunger, the list goes on.

Sometimes it's overwhelming to wonder why I was born into a country with so much wealth. We have SO much, even those that have little, have SO much in comparison. Who knows... maybe we were born into our present situation for the exact reason of sharing our resources with those that have little? Thoughts to ponder...