My Life as Annie

We overslept this morning. Not too late to make it for class and church. I look forward to the class I teach now on Sunday mornings, those girls have me. Anyway, I have been sort of picking and choosing what to teach each week… not following the schedule set. Today I pulled out a lesson not really knowing what it was about but it seemed right for the day. One of the girls mentioned she is “dating” an 18 year old guy. She is 14. I talked to them about making good choices as long as I thought they were hearing me and then moved on. I hope she heard me. I’ve been noticing the last several Sunday’s that our class lesson flows into church perfectly. Usually the same message is preached. It’s actually pretty cool! Anyway, today when we started going over our lesson I realized how perfect it was for the day. It was about choosing your friends, and about how people influence you. Our memory verse was Joshua 24:15… “As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” I took card stock in different sizes and magnet tape, lots of markers and we made magnets with our memory verse. The material suggested writing things down on a piece of paper that seem to interfere with your relationship with God. The girls all wrote their lists, mostly including television and music. (The 14 year old girl wrote the initials of the older boyfriend)… Then we all silently prayed to God that we would not let these things influence us. The next step was to tear the pages up and throw them away.

When church services started the message was identical to our class lesson. All about choosing the people we are around, and influences. The scripture brought up on the screen was Joshua 24:15. The girls turned around and smiled at me. It’s neat how God helps us out. Really neat.

After church I made a pot of chili and decided to lie down for 15 minutes. Just a cat nap. Three hours later, time for night church… I woke up! yikes! So much for the trip to Lowes, Sams, and the grocery store. I guess no pool maintenance or laundry. I didn’t need to finish up in the kitchen and brush the dog. As much as I love to sleep, I couldn’t help feeling like I wasted a lot of valuable time.

We went to church and watched the kids perform their songs from vbs. We took Izzy. She was a little cranky… We left church and hurried to Mom and Dad’s house for my SIL Terri’s birthday party. Mike cooked a delicious ham and dad grilled fresh corn. They had chocolate lush and watermelon, cherry lime aid sherbet and baked beans. It was all really good!

After I came home and got Izzy to bed, Matt ran with me to my gangsta Wal-mart. After all the craziness there it was nice to have a partner :)… We got the fruit and healthy stuff he had on his list and of course a lot of stuff we didn’t have on any list… like those crazy high priced lightbulbs he insists on buying now and a flea collar for pup-wup (I shaved him yesterday )… lotion and ibuprophen. You know, the fun stuff?

Hopefully this week will be productive, more productive than my Sunday spent sleeping… I have big plans for this week, including a major redo of Emelia’s room that I have put off and put off. Oh I dread it. Anyway, that’s all. Goodnight.

Amanda gave me a makeover. Well, she straightened my hair and did my makeup. Here’s the finished product! LOL

All us “girls” went to Edmond … went to Old Navy, Jason’s Deli, picked up CADS, and other errands. It was a fun outing!

Also I mentioned the lamp and that I had rearranged Izzy’s therapy room. There is a loveseat in there and also all her therapy stuff (table walker ball etc.). Here’s a pic of the lamp, and one of the side of the room without the therapy stuff.

See the cute little believe book? Kari sent it to me!

Last thing for the day… I got this in an email from Melody earlier and it cracked me up. I read it out loud to one of my family members who declared it, “LAME.” But I loved it.

Color IS GOOD!

Yesterday I went to the doctor for my yearly physical.
My blood pressure was high, my cholesterol was high,
I’d gained some weight, and I didn’t feel so hot.
My doctor said eating right doesn’t have to
be complicated and it would solve my physical
problems. He said just think in colors…

Fill your plate with bright colors… greens,
yellows, reds, etc.
I went right home and ate an
entire bowl of :

M&M’s

And sure enough, I felt better immediately.
I never knew eating right could be so easy!

My shopping trip was successful!

I spent all the gift certificates from Macy’s in one swoop. I took a arm full of stuff in the dressing room and everything I took fit and I liked. It ended up totaling just about the amount of the gift cards so I got it all! There were three dresses and I couldn’t decide which was “cutest” so I told Amanda to take pics of each for a vote… but she had to leave for work so maybe tomorrow!

I hit bath & body and got a couple of bags of stuff! Lots of soap and lotions and all kinds of yummy smelling stuff. I grabbed stuff off the $1 rack to keep for memory verse rewards for my class.

I ran into Kirklands and found a really cute lamp with a pineapple at the base for $11!!! Can you believe that? It is so cute.

I got this devo book and I can’t wait to start it!

By this time my arms were hurting from carrying all the stuff so I headed towards the door… stopped at Gymboree to pick up a few things on sale for Izzy…

Ran into Game stop for Bailey’s XBOX 360 subscription blah blah blah… and then to the car!

I ran into Walmart to get my toes painted (french manicure)… last time they were red with designs that were kinda weird. The guy doing it must have been in a creative mood. I saw an old friend and talked to her for a bit. Had a freaky experience when I was checking out.

This creepy man came over while I was paying and tapped me on the arm and said, “I just wanted to come and tell you I really like your outfit.” The cashier was straight up gangster and she even said it was creepy. He then waited at the door until I came out and followed me into the parking lot. I looked back and noticed the cashier had followed me too and said she was just making sure everything was ok. I locked up my car and then noticed he was waiting to follow me out of the parking lot. It was creepy! I lost him finally and was glad I didn’t have to drive into the police station parking lot. ***sidenote*** I told matt about this experience. He asked about the guy… like how old (late 40’s)… looks (creepy but normalish)… car (newer small)… Matt summized it was probably his way of meeting chicks at walmart and thought I was being silly. I did point out that the checker thought it was too weird too, but he just thought it was my imagination and also thought my mall outfit may have been too much for walmart lol! (my outfit was a knee length denim skirt that buttons up the front from Orlando (banana republic) and a sleeveless striped top I got at Kolhs with brown wedge sandals. Nothing crazy here!!! ***end of sidenote***

That was the day. It was a fun outing and I’m looking forward to a quiet night!

A reporter called my house this afternoon.  There have been five drownings in the city in the last week.  She wanted me to do an on-air interview about water safety.  I did it.  I know I look like a big dork.  If it gets just one persons attention and prevents one accident it will be totally worth looking like a dork.  I’m not mentioning the station, for those of you who are local… I don’t want you to see me looking like a dork!  UGH.

I did an interview last year with a new channel too.  It makes me cringe to watch it, it’s still on our tivo.  Matt makes fun of me every time!  He has promised not to make fun of me this time.  We’ll see.

It’s not only Amanda’s (OhAmanda) birthday, she is also finding out what kind of baby she has cooking in her tummy… pink or blue? She has a fun contest going on over at her blog so head over and guess what it is.

I took Izzy to Bear this morning and now we have to hurry and get her fed and ready for school!

I got to visit with Julie for a little bit this morning and hope to see her when she visits OK for Memorial Day…

Miki got home from Mexico late late last night after flight delays! I’m glad she’s back!

I have a hair appointment at 5:30 p.m. today, nothing drastic… just the usual. I heart Jill!

Ok, that’s all for now.

One more thing…  guess what I just ordered from Amazon?

I hope it’s as good as all you guys have been saying!

It’s Tuesday! I went to bed really early last night and slept like a baby.

Tonight is FLO (for ladies only) at church.

It’s always uplifting and enjoyable.

I really felt the enemy’s grip on me loosen the last few days. It seemed to really be strong right after I agreed to teach the junior high girls class. I believe the devil uses all kinds of things to trip us up. he (I refuse to capitalize he referring to him… even if it’s incorrect grammar) seems to know what bothers us at the time and it just distracts us from our path. The first morning I had to make it to class I prepared like a crazy woman because I knew it was going to be a battle. I never would have written anything like this a few years ago, and would probably have thought it was crazy.

I guess I am saying I refuse to be distracted. My eye is on the “prize.” I’m thankful to God for His love and blessings. period.

Tomorrow is a really hard anniversary, but I know God has great plans for us and for Isabelle. Four years. It’s been a long journey, but I am thankful that I can still say I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and I’m thankful that He has brought me closer into His presence because I would not have made it to this point without Him.

Amanda and I went to the ladies banquet/dinner tonight at Sante Fe Restaurant.  It was pretty good! and the speaker was interesting too.  She operates a home for women who are coming out of prison, mostly people who have drug issues.  She is a recovering addict and found God.  Amanda and I sat across from Miki and her daughter Madison.  It was fun!  I enjoyed having dinner with Amanda too, even cutting her steak.  Here we are on our way out…

Please excuse all the extra posts tonight.  I’m just trying to get caught up on assignments and the next few nights will be busy!  Tomorrow night is church and Thursday is the ladies banquet.   Matt is watching the primaries.  Can anyone say B-O-R-I-N-G!!!  Just tell me when it’s all over.

Our tacos tonight were yummy.  I made another batch of guacamole which made them!  Love guacamole!  Have you tried white chocolate almond ice cream?  It’s a new flavor at Braum’s.  My diet doesn’t really allow much ice cream but I tried a bite while I was scooping out some for Matt.  It’s pretty yummy.  Dena asked how I am losing weight while cooking all this stuff… well, I usually skip lunch.  I eat basically the same thing every day for breakfast (1 egg, 1 eggwhite scrambled with ww toast and grape jelly).  If I get hungry in the afternoon I may eat a small snack but I usually don’t.  For dinner I eat small servings.  Tonight I had two tacos.  I just put a tiny bit of meat in them.  The other main thing has been not eating candy or sweets.

Okay, I’m off to beg Matt to play American Idol (it’s tivo’d) and change from CNN!

~Remembering Childhood~

1. As a child I loved to play…?: barbies. I would make furniture for them using washclothes, and houses out of brown papers sacks. I left my barbie dreamhouse in the corner.

2. As a child I wanted to grow up to be…?: A lot of things, a hairdresser… movie star… doctor… model…

3. As a child my favorite thing to eat was…?: broccoli and rice casserole & pickles with sour cream.

4. As a child my favorite relative was…?: Probably my aunts, Margie and Allene.

Want to play along? Visit Saturday Special

Saturday 9: Family Ties

1. Where and when were you born? In Arkansas a little more than 29 years ago

2. Do you have siblings? Two. Brothers. Jody is ten years older than me, Mike is 6 years older.

3. What are your parents’ names? Mom and Dad.

4. Did you (or do you) know all four of your grandparents? No. Just three. Dad’s mom died shortly after giving birth to his younger brother.

5. Do have children? Yes, four. Ages 17, 14, 10, and 5.

6. Do you still live in the general area that you grew up in? I live exactly one block from my parents house. The house I lived in from seven until I moved out to marry Matt.

7. Do you have cousins? I have too many cousins to count. Both parents are from large families. Freakishly large families. I am close or have been close to a select few. One cousin introduced Matt and I!

8. How often does your family all get together? Immediate family like parents and brothers, usually on birthdays and holidays.

9. Is your significant other close to your family? Yes. He loves my parents like they were his own.

I got this idea from Sandra’s blog and I thought it would be perfect for tonight…

Outside my Window… it’s dark and a little windy.

I am thinking…about going in Emelia’s room to find her honor choir t-shirt for tomorrow.

I am thankful for…knowing Jesus as my healer and savior.

From the kitchen… Subway subs.

I am going…to put the last load of laundry (for the day) in the dryer.

I am reading…my material for teaching Sunday School this Sunday.

I am hoping…for a great night’s sleep!

I am hearing…the kids running around getting ready for bed.

Around the house…the dryer is drying, the dishes are done, and the floors are swept!

One of my favorite things…sonic cherry coke with extra ice and no real cherry.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…doing Miki’s hair tomorrow.

A picture thought to share for the day…