Tuesday Morning

I got out of bed a tad bit earlier this morning. Not a whole lot, but a tad bit. Last night when we went to bed, I found myself unable to get to sleep. Hmmm, wonder if that had to do with the fact that it was 9:37 when I woke up yesterday morning? This morning I woke up somewhere around 8:20, but stayed in bed until 9:00. I laid there for about 15 minutes trying to get back to sleep, but when I saw that wasn't going to happen, I decided to go ahead and start my day. So, I reached over the side of the bed and got my Bible and read until 9:00. Then I got up and ate a crunchy granola bar and watched Magnum P.I. Man, is he a cutie, or what?
Last night when Mike got home, he sat and ate his supper while watching TV. I'd eaten about 2 hours earlier, I was too hungry to wait on him, who knew how long he'd be? He mentioned something about going into town to buy stuff to make some home made salsa. Sounded good to me, we had this bag full of home grown tomatoes that needed to be eaten soon. He finished eating, put his plate in the sink and sat back down and started watching poker. When that was over, he turned the station to the Hitler channel, I mean the History channel, and started watching Modern Marvels (Sticky Stuff). I went out to my car and got the stuff for my Wednesday night class at church and started going over it again to be more familiar with it before I got in front of 20 little kids. Mike said "What are you doing? I thought we were going to go to town?" I looked up and said "Whenever. I'm ready." And with that, he fell asleep. He slept a solid hour in my glider. He didn't look very comfortable, and I watched as his head was bobbing and he would jerk it up, just like a little kid going to sleep during supper. I ended up getting involved in the sticky stuff on Modern Marvels, and barely glanced at my paper work, but that's okay. When it was over, I got up and decided to go ride my bicycle for a while. I rode up and down my driveway for 30 minutes and when the mosquitoes were really starting to get to me, I went in. I found Mike standing at the kitchen counter eating a granola bar and looking at a magazine. "What about town?" I asked and he replied "It's kinda late now, don'cha think?" It was 8:30! Late or not, we headed on out, taking the motorcycle. We went to Wal-Mart and bought chips, jalapenos, cilantro, and onion. I got a lime for mine, he doesn't like lime in his, but I sure do. We also got a big thing of dishwasher soap, because I'd used all that I had to get that white shirt of his clean. It came clean, by golly, it looks brand new.
But, anyway, we made it home without crushing the chips. When we got on our road, I was all relaxed and was marveling at how humid and sticky it was. I'd raised my hands up in the air for a couple miles and my palms were wet from the air. Then Mike gunned it and we raced down our newly paved road. It was practically intoxicating! I raised my hands up in the air again and it was so thrilling that I had to let out a scream. When he slowed down for the dirt road, my heart was still pounding extra hard from the excitement and Mike said "I bet you've never gone 75 on our road before". 75 mph, no wonder my body was all tingly. I'll let you use your imagination to guess what happened when we got home.
So, this morning, while watching Magnum P.I. I got the hankerin' for some salsa and chips. So, I made my own. I forgot to put onion in it, how could I do that? Isn't onion like one of the key ingredients? LOL, but it's good anyway. I used 4 tomatoes, a couple sprigs of cilantro, a clove of garlic, a little piece of jalapeno, a piece of bell pepper I had sitting around waiting to be eaten, and some lime juice. Then I added salt when it was all mixed up. It's a little runny, but man, oh, man, is it good! Mike will make his totally different than mine. That's why we each make our own. He likes his chunky and I like mine all blended and almost smooth. It hit the spot. That cilantro mixed with lime, that's what does it for me. YUM!
Well that's all the excitement for today. Maybe tomorrow will hold more than salsa making. LOL.
See ya!

Heavenly Days!

Praise The God! I passed my Nutrition For Children class with a 93%. That means I've still got my 4.0! I'm so excited. That class was so hard for me. I don't know why. It took me forever to figure some things out. Several tries before I realized what it was she was asking for. At the end of the class, I had to take a survey about the class. I put on there that I was not impressed and because of that class, it was "highly likely" that I would NEVER take another on line class. I won't say I won't ever do it again, but I'll certainly think twice and ask around for second opinions before I do.

*

Shael is gone again this week. Back to her Grandma's house. She's going to be helping Mike's Mom and her church with their VBS. This will be the first year that she won't be participating as a "student" in the VBS but as a "teacher/assistant". I think she's going to have a good time.

*

Mike was gone for a three day weekend. He left Friday morning at 8:00 in the morning and he got home yesterday afternoon around 2:00. He went to another bike rally in Eufala. He said that it was different than any other because it was at a State park and there were police patroling the area, making sure there weren't any naked people. Any woman they saw flashing their boobs, they gave a warning ticket to. And if they saw them again, they got hauled off to jail and a record sex offender. *Ouch* That seems kind of harsh to me. Especially for a bike rally when it's all about babes, beer, and bar-b-que. I had my back to Mike when he was telling me this (trying to wash off the ground in dirt on his WHITE shirt he wore down there, even though I told him it was a bad idea) and I had to smile and whisper a thanks to God for answering my prayers by keeping my husband protected on this trip.

*

So, today, it was back to the grindstone. For him, anyway. Shael took off last night, he left this morning, and I went back to bed because I didn't have anything I needed to get up for. Yes, lazy bones Stacie didn't roll out of bed until 9:37 this morning. It felt wonderful. No responsibilities, except for the usual. Clean house, do laundry. But hey, that's no biggie. Well, it is, actually, but I'm not going to let it be. HA!

*

Saturday night, it rained cats and dogs at our house. Shael and I went outside and played in it for a while. When we came back in, we were both totally soaked. Shael looked at me and grimaced. It seems I had on a white t-shirt with no bra. About 30 minutes after we came in the house, I stepped in water in the doorway of my bedroom. I thought Shael had dripped water there from her body, I’d stripped my clothes off at the back door. I had her get a towel and sop it up and she did then left the towel there when she was done. Typical, but I didn’t get mad. Well, the next morning, I realized that the towel was soaking wet, the floor was even wetter than it had been the night before and it was not from Shael or myself dripping water. Then Mike got home and I told him about it and he didn’t do anything about it for several hours. I guess he didn’t take my word about how wet the carpet was. When he finally did check it out, it had soaked a bigger spot in our doorway, plus it had seeped into our walk in closet, where there’s lots of stuff that can be ruined, including many, many guns. Rifles and shotguns, and so on and so forth. He took everything out of that corner of the closet and soaked it up with towels then sat a fan in the door of the closet pointed at the wet spot to help it dry. Then he went to work on the problem instead of cleaning up the symptom. It was our air conditioner. It’s in a little closet that sits between our bedroom entryway and our walk in closet. Instead of draining out the little pipe, it was draining right onto the floor, going under two walls in two directions. Lovely. Someday, I believe, this whole house is going to be needing an overhaul with new sheet rock through each room. My bathroom is first on the list to be done. Can you say mold? Not good, I know. I’m constantly having to spray bleach on my bathroom walls to knock it down for a while. But, it always comes back. Now, I’m thinking that that problem might start in the a/c closet. We’ll see.
*
Well, my job that I got still hasn’t started. I got a call from her Friday and she said she’s going to start needing me from 2:30 to 5:30 every day real soon. She’d better not wait until school starts to say she needs me those hours, because then I might very well be unavailable. I’ve made the decision to look in Miami for work once I get my school schedule. I’ll be there anyway for school, I might as well work there, too.
*
So, what am I waiting for? Money. What else? I went to the tribal office the other day to find out about some financial aid. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get it for my other semesters because I was only going part time, but in the fall I’ll be going full time and I knew I could get financial aid from them. I wasn’t sure how much, though, until my niece, Emily, told me how much she got. Yippee, I hope I get as much as she did. For her, though, it wasn’t enough to pay for a whole lot, since she’s going to OSU. For me, that amount will go much farther. But, I can’t enroll until I pay for the bill I ran up from the summer semester. The lady at the office told me to go to claims and they would help me. After that, then I can enroll, and after that, then I can turn in my paper work for the scholarship. But, I must hurry! Time is a ticking. So, really, those are my only plans for the whole day. Go to the claims office, which is right down the road from here. It is ironically in my old room at the tribe’s day care. Well, the former day care. It’s hard for me to go in there and see it with office desks and chairs in it and paper work sat up on the old changing table. What a shame. I enjoyed working there, it was a great place to work. Maybe some day, when we have a different chief, the tribe will try again with a day care. Maybe by then, I’ll have my degree and I can work there for more money! LOL. Time will tell.
*
I should go, I’ve been hearing thunder for about 20 minutes now. It would suck to lose this.
Adios!

Yesssssss!

I just finished my online nutrition class. I'm so excited! Man, I feel like there is a burden that has been lifted off my shoulders. Tomorrow is my last day of my speech class and all I will be doing is taking my final. The final is 25 questions that he's already given us the answers to. All I have to do is study those and I'll be set. I'm making a 94% before the final. I don't know what I'm making in my online class. The last few assignments I've turned in have not been graded yet, or at least she hasn't let me know what I got on them anyway.
So, after tomorrow, I'll be free as a bird.
For 5 weeks.

Moment Made For By Steven Curtis Chapman

As Promised!
Steven Curtis Chapman Lyrics
Moment Made For Worshipping Lyrics
6:30 Monday morning
I'm here hiding in my bed
A song plays on my alarm clock
As I cover up my head
And somewhere in the distance
I remember yesterday
Singing "Hallelujah" Full of wonder, awe and grace
But now I'm just wondering
Why I don't feel anything
At all
CHORUS:
This is a moment made for worshipping
Cause this is a moment I'm alive
And this is a moment I was made to sing
A song of living sacrifice
For every moment that I live and breathe
This is a moment made for worshipping

When I'm praying with my children
As they're running off to school
When I kiss my wife good morning
Just to say I still love you *
When I'm feeling loved and happy
When I'm feeling all alone
When I'm failing to remember
All the love that I've been shown
Every single beat of my heart
Is another new place to start
To know
CHORUS
Every single beat of my heart
Is another new place to start
Right now
CHORUS
From the rising of the sun
To the setting the sun
The name of the Lord is worthy to be praised

* My favorite line in the whole song. See, Steven Curtis Chapman gets it, why can't Mike? LOL

I Like This

Instead of just leaving a link, I think I'll post the whole thing. Enjoy this. I intend to post the entire song soon.
Restoring Broken Worship
Posted by www.worship.com
by Steven Curtis Chapman
"Group hug, group hug!" It was a typical Monday morning, and as the resident "Tigger" in our family (as my clan has labeled me), I was wearing the cheerleader hat and using my shepherd's crook to get our three oldest children off to school. Peering through slits where there should be eyes, the boys offered little more than a grunt-like groan in response to my hearty "Good Morning!"
Emily appeared particularly tired, and she wasn't in any mood for her brothers' half-speed, half-hearted movements in the direction of her Beetle. On most days, Emily is as non-temperamental as teenagers come. But that morning, her frustration was about to boil over with her brothers. Being the oldest, she inherited the joy of driving the three of them to school every day. "We're going to be late! You guys hurry up!"
It proved to be one of those important moments when, as a dad, I got a glimpse of my own heart as I watched my daughter wrestle with the intrusive, irritating, and exasperating three or four hours we call "Monday morning"--a weekly event that has taken on cliche' status in our culture. The problem for believers is that the Monday morning immediately follows Sunday. We mark Sundays as "the Lord's Day," setting it aside to begin a new week by loving and worshiping God together as the people of God. Yet, given our spiritual realignment on Sundays, you'd think that "Monday morning" wouldn't show up until at least about Wednesday afternoon or at a breakfast on Thursday!
Emily's brief jaunt from the adoration of Sunday to the agitation of Monday was a visible parable of how sin has broken God's worship, and just how broken we are as his worshipers. Let me hasten to say, I don't know anyone who loves to worship God more than Emily. I love to watch my daughter giver herself so freely to the worship of Jesus. And that's what made this particular morning vignette so telling. I saw me, and all of us, in Emily's "moment."
Of all our six children, she is the most zealous for the newest worship CDs by worship leaders like Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman. Emily loves attending Passion gatherings. She has helped multiply and mature the worship experiences at her high school. And on Sunday mornings at our church and Sunday evenings at the gatherings of Teen Community Bible Study in our barn, Emily is a hand-raising, soul-engaging worshiper of Jesus.
All these images ran through my heart as I ran to the car, just as the three of them were filling Emily's car with their bodies and less-than-chummy attitudes. "Wait a minute, guys. Before you leave, I need to say something. Emily, this morning, this Monday morning, you're feeling tired and grumpy...I understand both...but everything about your brothers from the way they chew their cereal, to the kind of clothes they are wearing right now seems to be getting under your skin and bugging you. And boys, you haven't exactly endeared yourselves to your sister.
"But this moment, this Monday-morning moment, is designed for worship just as much as any other moment of the week. I'm not asking you guys to crank up one of your favorite worship CDs right now. And Emily, it definitely doesn't mean you're supposed to lift your hands in praise, off the steering wheel, as you drive your brothers to school! But we're called to worship Jesus in everything we do--including how we love Him on Monday mornings, when we don't get enough sleep, don't get homework finished, don't feel like a group hug, or whatever.
"The worship music Jesus longs to hear this morning in this VW will come from you guys loving and respecting each other. The most important worship any of us ever gives JEsus is when we are least aware of it, when we're simply serving Him and one another in the dailiness of life. Now get going, and have a great day. And don't forget, I do love you."
I walked away from that moment thankful for my kids and convicted about the state of worship in my own heart and in our generation of contemporary worshipers. In my concerts of recent years, the crowds are more responsive than ever to the portions of the night we set aside for worship singing. It's awesone to see people of all ages and backgrounds so united and engaged when we sing to the Lord. And yet, I'm increasingly concerned about the disparity between lifting our hands in worship and folding our hands when it comes time to serve the Lord when the need for worship servants is most pronounced.
About the time Emily, Caleb and Will Franklin were pulling up to their school, I had already started writing down these words: This is a moment made for worshiping, because this is a moment I'm alive. This is a moment I was made to sing, a moment of living sacrifice. For every moment that we live and breathe, this is a moment made for worshiping.
If we're sitting in a classroom or a boardroom, standing in an operating room or on a stage, cooking at the grill, sweeping the floor, changing a diaper...wherever we are, whatever we're doing, it's to be done as an act of worship. We're to offer up ourselves in that moment as a living sacrifice because of God's great mercy for us in Jesus.
I've nover longed so much for the day when we will only, and always, give Jesus the unbroken worship He deserves and delights in. That's why I feel that this chapter, and the next one, may be the most important ones in our book. Please read with care, and join us in reflecting on our most eternal, joyful, and consuming calling--the worship of the living God.

Finals, finally

I've got my two finals this week and I'm somewhat nervous about my Nutrition final. This class is about to get to me. My sister in law said the first time I mentioned that I had enrolled in Nutrition for children on line "That class is going to be hard, you'll have a hard time passing it." So, I'm not about to tell her that it's been extremely hard. I'm not sure if I'll get an A in there, but I know I'm not going to flunk it, either. I'm not too keen on this Internet course thing. I'm seriously rethinking ever taking another one.
I'm doing very well in my speech class, though. It did get more interesting and somewhat fun when we started doing our actual speeches. It is always that there's a retarded girl who picks dumb subjects for her speeches in every speech class? Her hair's kind of blond, too, and she's giving them a bad name! Her persuasive speech? It was given on "Why you should buy a pencil". I just cringed through the whole stupid speech.
But, anyway. I've been working my hiney off on that Internet course, and I thought I'd take a break and check my email and give a brief update on my blog. Next week I'll be able to breath easier, knowing they are behind me! Then I'll have 5 weeks until it all starts over again. Only this time, even more hectic because I'll be going full time.
See ya!

The Cars Rock

Who's gonna tell you when,
It's too late,
Who's gonna tell you things,
Aren't so great.
You cant go on, thinkin',
Nothings' wrong, but bye,
Who's gonna drive you home
Tonight?
Who's gonna pick you up
When you fall?
Who's gonna hang it up
When you call?
Who's gonna pay attention
To your dreams?
And who's gonna plug their ears
When you scream?
You can't go on, thinkin'
Nothings wrong, but bye,
Who's gonna drive you home, tonight?
Who's gonna hold you down
When you shake?
Who's gonna come around
When you break?
You can't go on, thinkin',
Nothin's wrong, but bye,
(who's gonna drive you)
(who's gonna drive you)
Who's gonna drive you home, tonight?

Lazy Day

I must be having some sort of an emotional breakdown today. I watched Little House on the Prairie, the pilot, I'm assuming because it was the very first episode and it was 2 hours long. I cried within the first 10 minutes, when they were moving out of the little house in the big woods. I ended up crying on and off throughout the entire show!
*
Shael has been gone for 2 weeks today. She started out going over to her cousin's grandparents house for a couple nights, then she went to Mike's parents from there. She came home for one night, on the 5th, then the next morning had her Daddy take her back to his parents and she's been there ever since. Mike is making her come home tomorrow night. She's going to be leaving for camp on the 22nd and he wanted her to be home for a little while before leaving again for another week. She's going to Ft. Worth, TX to camp. I can't wait to hear what happens there.
*
I'm really getting very sick of all the rain. We are suppose to be getting 3 days of sunshine starting tomorrow. That's 3 days in a ROW! YAY! It's been a long time. And poor Mike has to work this weekend. He's not very happy about that. He's also not very happy about the fact that he has to miss a big rally he was planning on attending at the end of the month because he has to work. I'm not really glad he has to miss it, but I'm glad to see that finally, I won't be the only thing that gets sacrificed for a change. I feel me and my happiness gets sacrificed a lot of the time for Mike's happiness and wants. It's good to see that he has to sacrifice his own happiness and something he really wants to do for work obligations. I know that it sounds incredibly selfish of me, but what can I say? I'm a jealous, selfish person when it comes to time spent with my husband. I don't want it all, but I would like my share. And I would like for it to be given in an attitude of love, not grudgingly. Since a lot of the time it feels as if it's given grudgingly, I take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and take what I can get. I'm greedy for my husband. I want him all to my self sometimes, I don't like to share.
Is that too much to ask?

Ya-Way, Uncle Elmer

I went to a funeral today that lasted 52 hours. That preacher was so old I was afraid we'd have to conduct his funeral before he could finish the service. I looked over at my Mom and whispered "I'm so glad he's not my pastor". My 89 year old great-great uncle Elmer died yesterday and was buried today. How's that for quick? He was the last remaining full blood Seneca-Cayuga Indian. And now he's gone and so are they all. The funeral was done in almost all white fashion. In a church and everything! At the funeral, the ending was reserved for the Indian part.
Good-bye, Uncle Elmer. Remember when Cynthia and I use to throw mud pies at you when you drove by with our mail? I'll see you soon, in the great big mud pie in the sky!

What A Weekend!

I took a hurried trip to Nashville for The Call. It was so amazing! I'm not sure how many people were there, but the stadium was full. How many people will the LP Stadium in Nashville hold? That's where the Titans play. I'll Google that later. It has inspired me, my next speech, which is persuasive, is going to be about abortion.
40 years ago thousands upon thousands of young people descended on San Fransisco. Eventually known as "The Summer Of Love", it was the beginning of the "sexual revolution" and the free love movement. At the end of that summer, those thousands of young people went home and brought with them all the things they had learned. The quintessential sex, drugs, and rock & roll life style was born and spread all over the country.
In those 40 years, society has decayed so much, that millions of babies are aborted, marriage is almost a thing of the past, and drug use has become so rampant that it has become known as "The WAR Against Drugs". Each generation is getting worse.
But the time has come to end all that foolishness. 40 years have gone by and it is time for this country to step into it's Promised Land. The Call is the gathering of the solemn assembly to pray and fast for this generation to repent and turn to to the Lord. Ending abortion, ending the drug "war", and ending sexual perversions such as pornography, and sexual immoralities like multiple partners, sex before marriage and homosexuality.
I may catch a lot of flack for these statements, but I don't care. I don't have to publish any comment I don't approve. I am one of these people that had to repent from sexual sins! I am not a hypocrite, I am repentant of my old ways. I am not a gay basher, I love the people and want to see them in the favor of God.
So, that was my weekend. That's only the tip of the iceberg. But, I don't want to go on and on. If you are interested and want to know more about The Call, just click on my link and it will take you right to their home page.
*
To completely change the subject, I gave my first speech today. I was nervous, but not so much that I thought I'd pee my pants or anything. My palms were wet and my throat dry. I felt like I had a slight quiver in my voice the whole time but a friend of mine said that she couldn't hear it. Thank goodness! I think I might have looked around too much because it almost felt like my head was whipping around from side to side too quickly, but I was so nervous I couldn't control myself! I hope I didn't bomb! I guess I'll find out how I did in a couple days. He will wait to give us our results until everyone is finished with their speech and tomorrow is the last day of informative speeches.
*
I hope that everyone had a great weekend and if I don't get back on here until next weekend, have another fun filled, summer time, lemon-aide drinking, lazy, laid back weekend. And if that's not possible, be safe whatever it is you do.
Ta!

So Glad THAT'S Over

When I was a kid, the 4th of July was something I always looked forward to. By the last day of school, I was torn between wanting the summer days to last forever and wanting them to hurry up and get to the good stuff, like The 4th Of July. We'd start celebrating with buying fireworks around June 28. When I say fireworks, I mean piddly stuff, we were never the pyrotechicians Mike's family always was. Snaps and snakes and metal sparklers for me, bottle rockets & Black Cats for Brub & Roni. And for our grand finale, some Roman candles and a a fountain of some sort. The only variation we ever had was maybe one year we'd get the tanks and the next year the chickens that lay the "eggs". On the 4th, we would start out the day by going to Seneca's parade. We'd watch my cousins and uncles ride their horses proudly through the streets of Seneca. From there we'd go buy some chicken and potato salad or maybe some macaroni salad and we'd head on over to the stomp grounds for my Grandma Stovall's birthday party. The whole family would show up. The only time every one would be at the same place at the same time. My mean cousins, who I always tried to shy away from, keep my distance (one of which is Mitchell, who Mike rides bikes with now), would have fire cracker fights, throwing lit black cats or bottle rockets at each other. Yeah. It's a miracle no one ever got seriously injured. If it got really hot, all us kids would run down to the bluffs and jump in the lake and swim awhile until we got hungry or tired, which ever came first. Then we'd climb up that 20 foot bluff, out of that dirty water, which we didn't care about, and try to keep our feet as dust free as possible. That was impossible, and I don't even know why we tried. When we got back to the rock house we'd rinse our feet off anyway at the hydrant. We'd eat some water melon, drink some Pepsi, and wait for our parents to be ready to go. Then, we'd go home and wait. It would take DAYS it seemed for nightfall to come. Finally, we'd get our quilts gathered up and we'd head back to Seneca for the big fireworks display. Simpler days called for simpler fireworks displays. The fireworks would finally start, after all us kids ran around and found friends from school then found our parents' quilts in a sea of patchwork quilts and parents. One big firework at a time. Never more than one at a time. And after each one we'd each give it it's due accolades of "ooo, and ahhh and That's my favorite". Every now and then they'd throw in a loud BOOM to shake things up a little. When the big ones were done, they'd light up the Seneca Indian and he'd shoot his bow and his arrow would travel on a wire to hit the target's bull's eye, then the American Flag would be lit up in lights of red white and blue while The Star Spangled Banner played on some one's rickety player over the football field's PA system. But, the fun wasn't over yet. From there, we'd head on over across the street and play for an hour or so at the carnival. Never one to have enough guts to ride on the Farris wheel, we rode on the scrambler enough times to make our parents wonder if we'd throw up on the way home. When, after all that excitement, we'd get home again, we'd light a few more fountains and a few more sparklers making sure to "never drop the burnt metal sticks on the ground or you'll step on them barefooted and that'll burn!" I always had the hardest time falling asleep. I'm sure it took me 10 whole minutes to get to dream land. And you know, I don't remember EVER stepping on a hot wire from a sparkler that was dropped.

Sex Is Such An Issue!

I think Sirius Satelite is trying to make a statement. I'm listening to Sirius 80's on the TV right now and they just finished playing the very blatant "I Want Your Sex" by George Michael. Directly following it with Jermain Stewart's "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off (To Have A Good Time)". What kind of statement are they trying to make? I'm not sure about that one. Are they sending out these mixed singnals on purpose? Do they feel that they must "make up" for the strongly suggestive song by also playing one that sends the message that sex isn't everything? Once again, we need the wise owl from the Tootsie Roll Commecial to tell us "The World May Never Know".
*
I don't think I've mentioned this on here yet, but I got a new job the other day. I don't actually start until next week. I'll start out as a sub whenever they need me and I'll eventually start working from 2:30-5:30. Not very many hours, I know, but it's exactly what I was wanting. It's a really nice, clean, and new day care. They are only liscensed for 30 so that will be the biggest change for me. It'll be great. The director is really nice and she made me feel qualified and needed. Those are always good things to feel.
*
Tomorrow is the 4th and we'll be driving all over the place, I have a feeling, trying to please all family members by showing up at their house for some sort of celebration. I would just as soon not go to the in laws. But, you know how that goes. My parents invited us first, so we'll start out there. How long we'll stay there will depend on if I can talk Mike into not going to his parents. We'll see how that pans out.
*
Happy 4th of July, everyone! Be safe!

Arkansas Would Be Perfect If It Were'nt For All Those Dang Chicken Houses!

Mike and I took off on our belated anniversary trip Saturday morning. We drove 549.1 miles on the bike over the course of two days, Saturday and Sunday. We had to take a couple detours because 1.) the road turned to dirt and the lady who came out of her house to see if we were lost said that that was the end of the world. At least for 9 miles, that is. 9 Miles Of Dirt Road that we were not willing to take. So, we drove probably 75 miles to go around, when we were that close to where we wanted to be! And 2.) because we almost ran out of gas and the nearest gas station was out of our way. But we HAD to go there or we would have been walking. By the time we finally found a gas station that was still open, Mike put a hair over 4.9 gallons of gas in the bike. It holds 5 gallons. Yeah. It was close.
But, over all, we had a great time/ride. We ran into rain here and there, but nothing that lasted too long or was even too hard. Mostly it was an irritation we dealt with. We had our rain suits with us, we were prepared, so no biggie.
We did stay in a little po-dunk town with only one motel where we don't recommend anyone stay. To use Mike's words "That guy was profiling!" When he saw Mike was on a bike, he almost didn't rent us the room. He asked if Mike was alone and Mike said no, that there were two people and the man said "So....you got your girlfriend with you or what?" Mike was like "Uhhhhhh, no....she's my wife" Was the guy going to give Mike the room had I not been his wife, or what? Then he told Mike that all their properties were alcohol free "AND DID HE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT?" Mike said "Dude, we just want to find a place to sleep for the night and we'll be out of here in the morning. No, we don't care that we can't have alcohol."
We finally got the room and it was clean, but old. There was a complete kitchen, with sink, stove, fridge, and microwave. There were two coffee cups in the dish drainer, but no coffee maker or coffee. There was a toaster, but no coffee maker. ????WTH!!!
So, if you are going to be in Huntsville, Arkansas, drive right on through, don't stay at the town's only motel.
If we hadn't been so tired and tense from searching for deer on the road, we might've made it all the way in to Eureka Springs. Yesterday morning when we got up, we drove through Eureka and headed on home. Well, to Miami, that is. My Dad had his first fund raiser in Miami yesterday and we went there before we went home. We were both road weary and sun "kissed" but we went anyway. There was food and a cake walk and an auction. Mike got me a new purse. It looks like a Pendleton, but I don't think it is. It's very pretty. There was also a cake walk and I got the very last cake. Store bought mini cupcakes. Gross. I gave them, along with the only other store bough cup cakes that Mom had ironically won, to my Mother in law because she had a slew full of kids at her house. Out of 40 or so home made cakes/cookies/brownies, me and Mom won the store bought crap. Oh, well, it was $3 towards a good cause.
I am off to work on my first speech some more. I've got it about 89% completed. I give it next Monday. A week from today. I'm a little nervous. I don't think I'll totally bomb, but I don't have complete confidence that I'll ace it either. Wish me luck!