Teenagers Rule On The Lame Definition (at least none of us have the energy to argue that fact)...

I asked the youngest if it was too early to post a wedding photo (our anniversary is in March) as my new profile pic on facebook to which she responded with a resounding, "Yes!"

This is why I have teenage children.

I mean, really. They keep me up to date on the proper uses of "lol".
Only GROWN-UPS capitalize the blasted thing, in case you're wondering.

They let me know when things are lame or overused or just plain dumb.

For example, I thought "swag" was hip forever until I was informed just tonight that it will be dreadfully out of style by 2016.

The husband and I sat with the youngest tonight at dinner and laughed and laughed and laughed. I remember when it was just he and I (him and me?) with the oldest. Now those were some days. Neither one of us had a clue, but boy, was he ever a good daddy. Now those days of our babies being babies are just memories. We're surrounded by young adults with fresh ideas and just enough tradition thrown in to keep us all sane.

We don't change much around our house except for a little shuffling here and there. Kids at work. Kids at home. The husband always busy. A mom always on the couch. Cats roam. Cats sniff. Cats meow.

And you thought you were dropping in for a little inspiration.

Only one thing is for certain.
Only one thing is for sure.
Only one thing never changes.

Except  for me and coffee, of course...

The Lord knew exactly what He had in mind when he took a southern boy and mid-western girl and sparked a fire. We've missed the mark in so many ways, but we've hit it straight on in so many others.

And for the record, I don't think it's at all too early to post the wedding pic, but I'll trust the powers that be on this one.

Lord knows I don't need another lecture on that one.

Ice, Earthquakes, And A Wake-Up Call

Okay.

So I live in a part of the country where people tend to panic at the first sight of a snowflake. Flurries are breaking news and schools shut down at the mere mention of possible icy roads. We've got our quirks, that's for sure. As someone who grew up in the Midwest, I have often found great humor at the sight of southern belles wearing their fur-lined boots in sixty-degree weather. I have shook my head more than once at the sheer panic that breaks out when the phrase "wintry mix"' enters the forecast.

I gotta say, I'm not laughing anymore.

We got hit hard with an ice storm earlier in the week that still has thousands of people without power. I've seen tornado damage on more than once occasion; what I have seen driving around the last few days rivals that same sort of devastation, let me tell you. No, there are no empty foundations or mile-wide paths of destruction... just trees down everywhere. Hundred-year old trees, beautiful live oak trees, majestic pine trees... broken, splintered, snapped. Piled up alongside the roads, in the roads, precariously perched on rooftops.

I have seen convoys of electric trucks from at least four different states. I was stopped in traffic by the Air National Guard as they removed a huge tree from the road. I've seen random citizens direct traffic at the many stoplights that are still not functioning.

And to top it all off, we experienced an earthquake last night. Not severe enough to do any kind of damage, but just so you know, in case you've never felt the earth shake, a 4.1 will rattle the walls as it rumbles beneath you. Very eerie, indeed.

I ventured out today only to discover gasoline is virtually non-existent on my side of the river. I felt lucky to find a package of chicken at Walmart. It really does make you stop and think...

We have been so blessed in our part of the world. We truly are a pampered, spoiled people. Now I'm not saying we're not grateful or ignorant of what we have; but my goodness, how fortunate we are! I was whining earlier in the week at the lack of electricity to power up my Keurig. Now I'm just thankful to have electricity.

Nothing like getting your perspective changed.

Good Morning! Now Can I Go Back To Bed?

Maybe it was the coffee I had at four in the afternoon.
Or the chocolate milk I had at nine in the evening.

The melatonin I took at ten certainly did no good.

I have been up the entire, blessed night. Not a wink of sleep. None. Zero. Zilch. I absolutely hate it when this happens. I am most definitely a sleep person. I go to bed early. I sleep late when I can. I nap as often as an opportunity will present itself. Back in the days of the classroom, I've been known to close the door, hit the light, and stretch on the floor behind my desk. Sleep is a priority to me. I know the health benefits. I think better. I probably look better.

So when I can't sleep, my entire world threatens to crumble.

I am not my grandma. She would be up cleaning or canning or doing something when sleep would flee. I am not my daughter. She would have already had a quilt block finished or embroidered a pillow or something of creative value. That is so not me. All I can do is bemoan the fact that I cannot sleep to no one other than myself.

I was going to get up at three and work on school work, but my eyes did not appreciate the light. I started a fire and envisioned myself sleeping on the couch like I often do with the cats by my side. The cats loved it, but the flickering of flames in an otherwise dark house did not do well even with my eyes shut. I am evidently just too darn picky.

So here I sit, twelve minutes away from my weekly alarm breaking the silence. I am trying to stay positive because the youngest mentioned to me after my last blog post that I have been getting rather depressing. I don't know what to tell you, girl. Sometimes that is just how this momma gets. Even so, I have been picking up my bible more and thinking about the goodness of the Lord.

For He is good... even on the nights I cannot sleep.

Here's to another Monday. And coffee. I should be on my third cup by nine.

Do Demons Chase You?

Okay, so not the most encouraging title, but I wonder if it got your attention. It really is a question, by the way. I don't throw things out there just to watch it wither. But anyway...

Another week down. I had a few comments on my previous post from last week that caused me to look back to see,

Just exactly what did I write?

I do tend to ramble on at times, although if you've been with me since the beginning you can recognize that my ramblings have become more spaced out over the years. I figure you can only ramble on about any one thing so many times. Even I grow weary of the thoughts in my head.

We managed to gather the family around the table twice this past week. A remarkable feat considering nobody seems to be in the same place at the same time. The youngest surprised me mid-week with a clean house and folded laundry. In fact, it was a pretty decent week until I got hit over the head with a two-by-four of aggravation. It started Wednesday night and ran for a straight twenty-four hours. In the wee hours of Friday morning as a debilitating headache began to overtake any chance of reasonable functioning, I found myself asking the Lord a lot of whys and whens, questions in which He rarely answers me. As my eyes finally closed, I wondered where my bible was as demons and ghosts chased me through my dreams.

Hey, I'm just here to make you feel better about yourself, remember?

This life is a funny thing. I make a few steps forward only to be tossed back about ten. I fill my head with stories I could write only to never put them to paper- and please, do not encourage me here. There may come a time, but now is not the time...

Unless I figure out a really good pen name and a way to cover my virtual tracks. Stranger things have happened.





P.S. Love you, Mom. Praying you feel better soon. =)

Winter Blues

My one chance to sleep in this week and I'm wide awake. I'm stressed from the work week, stressed from the decision to start graduate school, and stressed about the cats needing food and litter this week. Thank goodness I picked up some awesome coffee creamer the other night. The thought of it was the one thing that motivated me this morning.

We had a winter blast in our neck of the woods this past week. In fact, three days later, there are still random patches of snow on the ground where the sun doesn't shine. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the cold is one thing I do not miss about my beloved home. I think the snow is pretty as it's falling and when it has completely covered the ground- stumps and all, it truly is a sight to behold. After that, though, I'm done with it. Bring on the sunshine and flip flops, please.

A rare picture of my childhood sled with actual snow in the background.

Maybe it's this cold weather that has me down. I certainly do function better when I can sit on my front porch with the sun streaming down. The forecast shows nothing but clouds for the next few days. Football is practically over. I've not started any good books lately, and now I've got papers to write. Our family rarely sits at the table together anymore.

I'm in desperate need of a visit home.

Even so,

The sun will shine. March Madness is coming.
I have a ton of unread books. Papers I can handle.

Dinner at the table I can demand.

Spring Break is the perfect opportunity to drive.



We just gotta make it through February.