‘Fro Me to You— Scared? I’m not!

 

This may just be my last week “playing” along in Kristen’s Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You carnival.

Why?

Because what I am about to show you is the worst of the worst.  Or the best of the best.  Whichever.  It matters not. 

 

 

In honor of Halloween, Kristen has declared a “SCARY” theme for this week.  And what you are about to see brings a whole new meaning to scary….on any level.

This photo has surely never made it into a scrapbook or any book for that matter.  I’m not for certain that my family or my husband has seen this photo.  For reasons that will soon be quite obvious.

I’m not exactly sure how many people have seen this photo.  I’m almost positive those who may have had a glimpse at it back in 1987 probably have put some other memory in that place of their brain.  I wish I had.

Here are the pertinent facts:

Year: 1987

Place: Judson College freshman dorm, 3rd floor to be exact

Who:  Yours truly

Why:  Apparent boredom whilst being trapped at a Baptist women’s college located in small town Alabama; and I’ll have to claim naivety here, too!

Scam Makeover artists: Karen G., Jan J. and Michelle S. (my roommate and down the hall “friends”)

 

Ok……deep cleansing breath……letting it out……ready?

No.

Wait.  Do I really want to do this.

It’s hard to type with beads of sweat dripping on the keyboard.

What the heck.  I’ll never run for public office.

Stop.

Go empty your bladders ladies.

Ready? 

Brace yourself for a new level of scary

I will be so kind as to blow it up for the visually impaired and to ensure everyone gets the whole effect:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yea, yea, yea……laugh it up…..

 

Who just snorted? 

 

Teresa, I do not want to hear one word from you sister. N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

I cannot be responsible for any Coke or Sweet Tea spit out on computer screens across America. 

 

Once you get a hold of yourself, click here to go over to We Are THAT Family and see if anyone can top this.  I would venture to guess it will be impossible.

I am totally expecting some sort of award for this week’s post.  Seriously.

I’m sure my followers will be tenfold by midnight.

Thank you…..thank you very much.

Lessons from the Beach

I’m baaaack from the beach.  I got to spend some quality time with some dear friends from days gone by. 

Seems like yesterday we were 20-somethings getting ready to leave college and take our place in the world.  Time and distance has separated us.   We are now wives, mothers and professionals; yet our friendship remains the same. 

We spent hours in conversation and “catching up”.  There was a whole lot of laughter and a few tears.  Somehow we always seem to pick up where we left off.  That’s what friendship is all about.

However, this particular trip revealed some important  life’s lessons.  Get a pen handy, these are things you might want to pass on:

1.  Always, I mean always, empty your bladder before reliving funny college stories with your 40 year old friends.  Or just invest in a good Sam’s box of Depends to save yourself the trip, and embarrassment.

 

2.  If you are around the age of 40 and going on vacation, always have a box of All-Bran on the premises.  Just in case.  In the words of my friend, “you gotta have a healthy poop.”

 

3.  If riding a bike for any period of time, especially for what may seem like all day, make sure you have adequate padding, i.e. gel coated bicycle seat or some super padded cycling shorts.  Your own padding does not count!  I’m just sayin’.

 

 

4.  If you are driving on the back roads of Alabama and suddenly get the urge to take photos on a hay bale, don’t stop at the house with the Rebel flag at half-staff.  Festus may pull into the driveway as you sit atop the bale and shoot you in the butt.  Or he may laugh and drive on by.

 

 

5.  If you are driving on the interstate in Alabama and you spot a mullet of astronomical portions, and I mean one that has not graced daylight since Billy Ray Cyrus, do not attempt to take a photo of it at 70mph because no one will believe you saw it.

 

6.  If you stop off for lunch at a restaurant in middle-of-nowhere Alabama and spot someone who STRONGLY resembles your childhood Miss Beasley doll, act like you are taking photos of your friends while getting THE shot.

 

 

 

7.  If you are 40 and think you are still 18, do not attempt hand stands on the beach, you may have to sit down until the imaginary stars stop floating around your head.

 

 

 

8.  Sadly, 20 years later, your body just isn’t the same.  You might think it is.  Or, maybe yours is, then thank God.

 

9.  Never, ever, leave yourself logged into your facebook account and then fall asleep on the couch.  Your smarty-pants college pals might just change your profile picture and update your status.  Right, Amy?

 

10.  Make it a point to get together with your “old” college peeps every so often for a weekend of friendship and fun.  And make sure next year’s plans are done far enough in advance so the one’s who didn’t make it this year will be certain to make it next!

 

 

Here’s to friendship and our next get together…..

A grown up timeout

 

 

 

By the time you read this, I will be headed to the beach with a few of my favorite peeps from college for a 4 day “girls” weekend. 

Don’t hate.

No kids, no husbands, no alarm clocks, no work and no worries.

It is a much needed trip for me.  Life has gotten the best of me lately and I don’t think I’ve been much fun to be around.  Sorry to the family.

I’ve let things in life really get to me….my job, duties at home, kids doing homework……etc.  I feel like someone dropped a hundred pound ball of stress right on top of my head.

This trip was planned months ago and the timing is perfect.  I hope to return home with a renewed and rested spirit. 

And perhaps a better sense of creativity for my bloggy peeps. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend and I’ll be back next week…..same GRITS time, same GRITS channel!

Peace out.

'Fro Me to You—Rock On, Dudes

I almost let this week’s Sincerely Fro Me to You sneak past me. I mean, really, how could I let that happen?!

Thanks to Twitter and Valarie Lea I am here with another edition of the Thursday par-tay. I would have remembered. I would have.

In keeping with last week’s theme of Halloween, I will bring to you another blast from the past photo.

I really wanted it to be a photo of me in my cute little lamb costume from years gone by, but I guess that particular photo must be at my mom’s house. And it’s not all about me, now is it?

Soooooo, with nothing left to do, I’m afraid this week has been proclaimed: Roll-a-Family-Member-Under-the-Bus Week.

Sorry chosen family member. Once the proclamation comes down, I am forced to stick with it.

As I flipped through all the scanned photos on my computer, I came across this little jewel, circa 1985.

My brother, the totally rockin’ dude on the right with the red hair! His best friend, Spike, is the “rad” one on the left. Just for the record, that was the name he went by. How appropriate, huh? No clue here who that is in the middle?!

I SPY, CAN YOU?:

1. Cassette walkman on two belts

2. A gun, tucked in someone’s pants

3. 2 large GOLD hoop earrings

4. 1 red tube sock, 1 blue tube sock

5. 1 pair of reebok tennis shoes

6. 1 pair of converse tennis shoes

7. 1 pair of rolled up jeans

8. 1 scary dude with his shirt buttoned all the way up

9. 2 poor attempts at successful Kiss makeup

For more Thursday fun, click on over the Kristen’s place at We Are THAT Family. You will not be disappointed!

Picture This….

Found this at my blog peep Jen’s, of Dust Bunny Hostage fame. I liked it and decided to use it since I am lacking in creativity this week.

How old are you?

What is your middle name?

(minus the Aguilera AND the hoochie-momma-ness)

Where is your dream vacation?

( the home land)

Where were you born?

What is your favorite color?

What is your favorite drink?

What is your favorite cartoon?

If you like it, play along and leave me a comment here so I will know to come check yours out. Thanks and have fun!

Boo! Guess who??

There were a couple of blog celebrities at the Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman concert last night.  Both were found at the Compassion International booth.

 

I was a bit celebrity stuck by the first one, it rivaled Marcia Brady meeting Davy Jones.  As in my heart began beating fast and I began babbling nonsense to this sweet soul.  I said, “I’m the one who wrote ‘Roll Tide’ to you in the sand” thinking that would, for sure, put me in her mind.  I mean, after all, her blog is read by “tens of people”  surely she would remember me???  She politely laughed and also obliged my photo request!

 

Yes, this is the lovely and humble BooMama!!

 

Also working at the booth was fellow ‘Bama blogger, 3girlsmom. 

 

Yes, I borrowed your blog profile photo.  Sorry, but the GRITS’ readers demand a photo!  Isn’t she cute!   Yo, what up girl?!  She’s now one of my internet peeps. 

I have recently begun reading her blog and following her and BooMama on Twitter, which is how I found out they were at the concert.  So at intermission, I stalked them out and waited until the concert was over to make my move.

 

So glad I did…..now, who’s next??

One word: BLESSing

 

Last night I had the privilege of attending Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman’s “United Tour” concert.  And I mean it WAS a privilege and a blessing!!

I have been a fan of both these men for most of my life.  I’ve had their albums on cassette tape, CD, and now listen to them on my iPod.  I can remember taping their songs off the radio on a cassette player back in the early 80’s.  I'm not ashamed.

I’ve seen each of them in concert over the years and for these two to be paired together on the same stage was unbelievable.  And to top it off, I managed to purchase tickets on the 11th row!!  It almost brought tears of joy to my eyes as they walked out together. 

I could slightly relate to an 11 year old watching the Jonas Brothers come out on stage.  But not quite.

The last time I saw Michael W. Smith in concert, I left SLIGHTLY disappointed because he didn’t sing a lot of his oldie-but-goodie songs.  Not last night. 

They both sang several of the songs that have been most popular over the years.  They also sang songs from their new albums, which I will most definitely be purchasing very soon.

It was also neat to see that both MWS and SCC sons were playing in the band.

I’m sure like many others, I wondered in the back of my mind how SCC was doing since the death of his daughter Maria Sue back in May.  He did speak about this for a few minute and explained his family was learning to live a “new normal.”  And it was great to hear him sing “Cinderella” which was inspired by his little girls.

The crowd clapped, stood to their feet and joined in song most of the evening.  I even saw a couple of cell-phones swaying in the darkness.

At one point, MWS talked about taking requests, but I think when some crazed fan shouted “Freebird” he picked the song himself.  Only in Alabama, folks.

God’s presence was surely in THAT place.  If you are a fan and this concert is coming anywhere near you, and I mean within a 500 mile radius, it is a must see event!

If it weren’t for that pesky thing called “reality”,  I would sell all my belongings and become a United Tour roadie.  I told the hubby it would be kinda’ like those folks that follow Widespread Panic.  Except there would be no dread-locks or tye-dye, and bathing would be a must.

 

The only thing I regret is that I didn’t take my camera, I settled for my son’s, which is good, but not that good.  So here are a few photos I took:

 

 

 

And as a bonus, just for you:

 

One Day to Give for Logan

This opportunity of giving is brought to you by sweet Kristen of We Are THAT Family. Please go here to read about what inspired her to sponsor this event of blog blessings!

The basic guidelines are simple:

One Day to Give was born out of a desire to touch someone. It doesn’t have to be monetary. You can give your time, a service, a meal or something you own.

It’s not about the what.

It’s about the why. You might change someone’s day, even their life.

And giving feels so good.

The GRITS family chose to attend a very special event in the name of a great cause! We gave of our time and money.

Meet precious Logan Patrick, the nephew of friends:

Logan celebrated his 2nd birthday on October 11, against all medical odds. Logan has a condition called SMA, Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Basically, Logan’s body does not produce a certain protein that helps with muscle control. Therefore, he uses a bi-PAP machine during sleep to help with his breathing and also receives his nutrition through a feeding tube.

On his 2nd birthday, our city hosted Alabama’s Cure SMA Walk and Roll Across America and our family took part to help raise money for this special cause. I must mention here that Logan’s mom organized the event!

The money raised by this event goes to support SMA families, awareness, and most importantly for research to help find a cure for this disease.

Here is a photo of Logan with his mom and dad, Jason and Jennifer:

Folks, these are godly people with a son who’s outlived his life expectancy. They have such a beautiful spirit and testimony. I stood there amazed as Jennifer spoke. You could truly feel God's presence in that place!

Here is a link to Logan Patrick’s Caring Bridge page, if you would like to read more about his story. Get some Kleenex first.

Praise the Lord, this event involved over 350 people and raised almost $40,000 for SMA! And God IS great, the Patrick family is expecting a healthy baby girl due early next year!!

Meet Team GRITS:

(one of these is not like the others, can you tell which one)

We walked almost 2 miles as part of the event:

We even won three items in the silent auction:

(one of us got carried away, I won’t say who...but he's right, it certainly was for a good cause)

The kids even got to meet a celebrity at the end of the walk:

(well, he’s famous in these parts)

Sure it would have been easy for our family to help out by just sending a check and spending our Saturday doing something else. However, I wanted our kids to be a part of something big and something that was not about them. I wanted them to be a part of giving, not getting. Even if they can't "see" it yet, I wanted them to see God at work.

I wanted them to see that even they can help make a difference. They might still be a bit young for the complete concept, but I think this event certainly helped them understand more about helping others. They certainly saw MANY others giving of their time to be a part of this wonderful event.

Sometimes it is SO easy for us to take for granted our children and their health. Please take the time to thank the Lord for health and say a prayer for Logan Patrick and his family.

For more One Day to Give stories, click here. Go see how God worked through others and prepare to be blessed!

70’s Halloween, ‘Fro Me to You

I had to dig deep in the box to come up with this week’s photos for Kristen’s Thursday fun. You know if I had to dig in a box to get these, they certainly were not scrapbook worthy. But maybe they will be one day.

I am not exactly certain of the year, but I can assure you it was in the EARLY 1970’s when these photos were taken. I wish I could tell you what my twin sister and I were dressed up as….it appears as there might have been an Asian theme going on *shrug*

There certainly was a 70’s theme going on with those curtains and faux brick vinyl flooring.

The next photo is not really about me stuffing my face with the Halloween loot, because clearly my mother rationed the candy immediately upon entering the house. I mean, really, there are only 3 pieces of candy on the floor beside my VERY small pumpkin! Plus our neighborhood was quite large.

And the last photo is not about wondering exactly what my sister has in her mouth. It’s all about what is going on in our 1970’s Formal Living/Dining Room.

There’s a lot going on up there. And there’s A LOT more going on over at Kristen’s place. So, click here to head on over and check out more Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You photos. Have I mentioned how much fun this carnival is?!

Wordless Wednesday –Trick or Treat 2006

Fall, it’s all over us

Yesterday was Columbus Day, the kids were out of school and we were not staying at the Casa de GRITS all day. We packed the scooters, our lunch and most importantly the camera and headed to a local park beside the river for a couple of fun-filled hours.

Boot Scooter Boogie:

We had a little lesson on the goodness of Honeysuckle, which is much better in the Spring:

My Fall arch-nemesis, Ragweed:

Sometimes if you wander off the beaten path, you might find a nice surprise:

The look of Fall is beginning to make its way to the South:

Psalms 19:1

“The heaven's declare the Glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”