Out with the old and in with the new

I think this is my last post for this blog.  Since this blog was about our Great Adventures on the road and hopefully that has come to an end, I would like to move on to a new blog called, 'Where We Belong'.  (also a song by Steven Curtis Chapman)

I loved our time on the road, but I'm glad it's over and that we are home.  I'm thankful for the insight and journey GOD put us on and in our path, but it's time to move on. So with that, thank you for reading my blog for the past several years. 

If you would like to continue to follow me, please leave a comment and a way to contact you, so I can direct you to the new blog.  :)

It's my birthDAY!

It's my birthDAY!!!!  Happy birthDAY to me!  I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family to celebrate my birthDAY with!  Thank YOU LORD for all the blessings YOU bestow upon me, when I am so unworthy to receive them except and because of YOUR great love for me, for grace and mercy, I am SO blessed!!!!

Traveling Twosome's Book

Preorder your very own copy of my friends, Char and Louis' book, today!  All pre-order customers will save over $5.00 on the book plus will receive a special limited edition signed and numbered copyof the book as soon as it is released!  Mention that I sent you over there!  :)  and don't forget to vote for me as the contest winner!  :D

What would you have done?

I went to help "a friend" and her daughter for her wedding up in SC. (I've only known this person for 3 years.) I drove 1000 miles. I was told I could stay there at their home, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go.

I bought and cooked all the food for me and my 2 children and also for her and her two daughters.


I went up to help do the food and decorate for the wedding. I got there on Sunday night. Her sister was arriving on Wednesday.


Monday, we went to Sam's and Costco and compared prices on items we were planning to use on the menu. The menu consisted of a fall theme, and I had spent many hours looking at recipes, etc. I tried to figure out how much we would need for 250 people. They were limited on funds, so I kept price in mind as well.


Tuesday, consisted of working on the wedding dress and other wedding stuff.


Wednesday, my "friend" went to work in the morning and then met up with her sister, who flew in from FL. Her sister's gift to the daughter was to purchase the food. We were going to all meet at Sams.


The sister is NOT a christian. She's the kind of person that needs the focus all on her. So as we are in Sam's she is drawing lots of attention to herself. My children, 14 & 15, stayed with me and behaved. I'm trying to figure out everything we need along with my "friend".


As we continue to shop, the sister was being nasty to my children and then her oldest daughter (the bride) started it too. The bride was rude and nasty to me as well.


I said to my "friend" that I was going to keep my children with me, because I didn't like what was going on. (My children both have voices and might say something and I didn't want to cause any issues, knowing everyone was getting stressed)


My "friend" obviously misunderstood and became offended. We went to the checkout and she realized there was too much money spent. She said she was going to "regroup".


I was left in the front with the carts, the bride, the sister, my children, and her anxiety filled (that's what she calls her) 11 year old.


Her sister said something about that's why I should have paid to cater the wedding. (Uh 250+ people and she was giving like $400-yeah, right?!)


Then the bride starts complaining to me. "We were here for 4 hours the other day, how come we didn't have this all figured out. Why didn't you plan this out better?"


We didn't have it figured out because the bride has continually waited til the last minute to let us know how much we could spend, as she waited for the last minute to do anything, even though her mother told her for a year to have it all planned by Sept 1st.


I became very upset (not to mention I was hormonial and on my monthly cycle) and went and told my friend, I'm going to get my kids something to eat. Let me know what you decide as a menu and I'll make it and then I'm leaving. (I knew her sister and I wouldn't be able to stay in the same room together)


I know it took her off guard, but then her daughter, the bride, starts screaming at me in Sams. Everyone in the store (so it seemed) was staring. She was screaming,Don't do this to my mother, don't stress her out....etc, and was very rude to me. I told her, "I didn't stress your mom out, you did, from your lack of planning."


I walked out to my van with my kids. Security was telling us (I couldn't even tell you what the guy looked like, because I was walking away) we would need to leave the store etc, if it continued....sigh~


When I got to my van, my "friend" called and chewed me out. She said, "You knew my sister wasn't a Christian, you knew bride was stressed, you knew my dd has anxiety issues!"


She chewed me out and blamed me for everything. I apologized, but she continued. Fianlly she said, "Go get your kids some food, and I'll call you later."


She called later and asked if I was at her house. "No, I'm going there now."


When I got there, her sister and the bride were there. I apologized to both of them and asked for their forgiveness. They both just looked at me dumbfounded and ignored me.


I put my purse in the room we were staying in, went to the kitchen got some food, and my "friend" walked in. She said, "We need to talk!"


We went into her room where she again began to chew me out. I apologized again. She continued to chew me out, again I apologized, but she didn't want to hear it.


I went into the room we were staying in, told my kids to pack up, we were leaving. "We're not staying where we're not welcomed."


As we were packing, "my friend" helped gather our stuff and handed it to us!


When we were done, I privately reminded my kids to thank "my friend" for her hospitality. I also thanked her and apologized again. I also said, I would stay and help, if she'd say something. She didn't reply at all....she just looked at me. I walked towards the door and she followed me, locking the door and turning out the light behind me!


I still can't believe it. If my kid had ever been disrespectful to one of my friends that came to help....oy!


Now what would you have done???

I could be on a TV show!

My friends, Char and Louis, have their own show!  But I need your vote and support! 
Please read the rules and follow Char and Louis, and of course get out and VOTE for me! 
http://thetravelingtwosome.com/?page_id=4253

Steve Jobs

Yes, it is sad that Steve Jobs, innovator, CEO of Apple and other companies has past away, but he was a buddist. (and perhaps, maybe this fact, is why so many are sad?)  A BUDDIST is NOT a CHRISTIAN.  A Buddist is one that worships Budda.  A Christian is one that worships the one and only true and living GOD and HIS SON, JESUS.  There is a HUGE difference. 

I'm having a problem with Christians not recognizing that. 

I don't think I'll say anymore.  I sometimes think it's pointless....

"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."  Matthew 11:15

Blessings until next time!

Wheat and the Chaff

Many of my close relationships with friends have been divided or separated this year.  It makes me very sad.  Some of my friends aren't Christians.  It does, however, remind me that one day the wheat will be separated from the chaff.  :( 

I haven't always been the best of friend.  I make many mistakes and hurt people.  I have allowed hurts to often times make me hurt, although I forgive people.  I am not one to stay angry. I express myself and move on. 

I've learned forgiveness is a choice.  I chose to forgive.  I chose to move on.  Apparently, some of my friends don't see that, or they don't want to forgive me.  I'm sorry I hurt you.  I'm sorry that you think we can no longer be friends.  I pray blessings over your life and only wish you the best.

Blessings until next time. 

SERIOUSLY!?!?

A person I went to highschool with posted this as her status on FB:

Finish the movie John Q at school, I asked students, "do you believe in universal health care?" all said "yes" "Do you think it is a federal or state issue?" "Federal!" they said. "Very good, for you are the next generation, and I am checking where you stand:)" If only our politicians could get it right....have no fear, our children will:)))

Seriously?  OMGOSH!!!!  All I can say is, I'm glad I homeschool my kids and they aren't brainwashed by your teaching or teaching like this in public school!!!!! 

The Mystery is Solved!

And that's what happened to dinosaurs!  LOL
Saw this on FB and thought I'd share it here too.  :)

House

Unless GOD performs a miracle, we won't be moving back into our house afterall.  The bank is pushing foreclosure and sent the note over to a lawyers office.  We have asked reinstatement,etc., but the bank isn't willing to help and the lawyers say there isn't anything they can do.  Our house is set for sale on November 1st.  I am in the process of writing complaints to the TX Attorney General, the FTC, Chase board of directors and a few other places to see if we can prevent this from happening.  I know nothing is impossible with GOD.  :)  We would appreciate your prayers. 



Blessings!

Again on Tattoos

I know I probably sound like a broken record about tattoos. LOL
I'm really bothered by Christians that get them, knowing that the WORD says not to.
Here's a very interesting and informative article:
To Tattoo or Not to Tattoo


Apparently, I offended a sister in the LORD by posting this article on my FB page. She unfriended me and then blocked me. I'm not judging her for her new designed tattoo on her arm. I do, however, think she is being convicted for her tattoo, and as always when people are convicted and don't like the source of irritation, they get rid of it. (which was me in this case)

The only thing I put on my FB page was....

Interesting article (then I posted the article) and two verses.

I Peter 2:9-10
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
10Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Colossians 3:2
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

I didn't say anything else. But since this is my blog and my opinion....LOL....
I would like to mention why I chose those two verses.
I Peter 2:9-10
We are a chosen generation....That in itself is an honor.
A royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people....we are set apart from the world, GOD chose us so why would we want to do what the world does to their bodies?
We should show the praises of HIM that called us out of darkness....GOD has called us out of darkness, and we should show him praises-to me that means in all things-with our words, with our actions, with our bodies, how we represent ourselves, etc.

Colossians 3:2
Set your affection on things above...My affection should be JESUS and HIS WORD.
not on the things on the earth....tattoos are just another earthly thing, but in this case much more permanent. :(


It amazes me how much money people will pay for tattoos. Another reason I find it wrong. WHY? Because think of a Christian spending money on a tattoo. There are a hundreds of things we could spend that money on that would be so much more beneficial to the body of CHRIST. There are so many hungry, hurting people. People that need jobs, food, clothing, housing, to get off drugs or other addictions, etc. People that need to know the TRUTH and to be set free! The money could be used for that! Hey just offering my opinion and thoughts here. I am one to look outside the box! Way outside the box in some cases....

Another thing that bugs me is when I hear people complaining they don't have enough money....and yet they have tattoos all over their bodies. Ummmm did ya think about buying food or clothes or paying bills before spending that money on tattoos?

I know, I'm just as guilty of spending money often times friviously too...so maybe that last one is a shot in my own foot.....but maybe instead, we should all ask GOD what we should spend our money on before we spend....that's another post for another day, isn't it?

Years ago, I went to a conference. I won't mention which or whose because I can only imagine the feedback on that! LOL I remember the speaker saying that we needed to accept who we were, because GOD was the creator, OUR CREATOR, and when we don't accept who we are, we are telling OUR CREATOR-GOD that we don't like HIS CREATION! I came to grips with my own personal struggles....my curly hair. I hated it. I never looked like the girls in school, with long, straight, shiny beautiful hair! Anyhow to get back on track here....That's kinda my thoughts on tattoos too. Why do people cover up their beautiful body that GOD-THEIR CREATOR made and created for them with tattoos? The speaker mention that if we had a character flaw that would distract people from hearing the TRUTH, that we should pray about it and if the LORD leads fix that flaw....for example a cleft palate, a extra large nose, etc. So again, I think tattoos turn out to be a distraction for those that might need to hear the TRUTH.

Last point for today...Vanity. I think Tattoos make other people look, therefore people are drawing attention to themselves and that is vane.

K, done for today.
Blessings until next time!

Sunday Sing-Along

OY! Monday!

Yes, it's Monday, after another party weekend!  LOL 

Last weekend, (Labor Day)  we had a Debbie weekend.  LOL 
Debbie is one of my dearest friends.  We met in 7th grade. 
Friday, I played Bunco with Debbie and her sister Joann and their friends.
Saturday, we went to our high school alumni football game.  Debbie's dd is in the band.  Afterwards we went to Deb's and hung out. 
Sunday, our family went to Galveston and saw all the changes from Ike.  We hadn't been there in years.  (kinda hard when you don't live in TX.  LOL) Afterwards, Debbie called us for a impromptu birthday party for her cousin's daughter. 
Monday, we went to Debbie's for dinner to see her momma.  It was an early night....of course the rest of the week we had Debbie and family withdrawls.  LOL  ;)

This weekend was another Debbie weekend!  Fun! Fun! Fun!!! 
Friday, Dobie (highschool alma mater) was playing Dickinson High.  We have friends at Dickinson and of course Debbie's DD is in the band for Dobie.  So I asked DH if we could go to the game.  He said we couldn't make it, because his boss invited us out for dinner.  We were done by 7:30, so we drove to Dickinson for the game.  Got there at halftime.  (and still had to pay $8 a ticket!  $8 can you believe it?  OY!)  Sat with Debbie and family.  Then afterwards met up with our friends from Dickinson and went to Dairy Queen for ice cream.  Yum! 

Saturday, Joann (Debbie's sister)  invited us to her youngest DD's soccer game.  Debbie got us all Starbuck's!  YUM!  After a win, we came home and got ready for Debbie's party.  We were all going out to the Kemah Boardwalk for dinner, meeting a few friends down there.  We had dinner at Landry's, with our other friends from highschool-Sylvia, Christine, and Leti and families.  Then some of us went back to Debbie's for a movie and popcorn. 

Sunday, Debbie's actual birthday.  We invited her family over for steaks, baked potatoes, salad, grilled asparagus, sauteed mushrooms, and cheesecake. 

So today I'm recovering....and as I am reading my sidebar on FB, I thought I read:

"Become a Social Drinker" 

I'm thinking, ah, no, I'll pass.  I have too much fun without drinking.  I, of course, have to reread it.  It says....

"Become a Social Worker"

Well now you know why it's OY! Monday!  LOL
Blessings!

 

 

CASA

Went by our house yesterday while we were in the Austin area.  We went there to pick up a water softener system from my sister's house that she's selling.  It was a gorgeous day and fun to spend with hubby and kids!  Nice outting! 
Soon we will be back in our house!  We are pretty excited! Um okay, EXTREMELY EXCITED!!!!  Here's a quick shot I took with my phone:

We are probably going to remove the grass and bushes and redo the yard in a more desert like landscaping.  We never could get grass to grow, so why bother?  LOL  We also plan on replacing the carpet and see if the walls need paint.  I'm kinda sad, dh said a whole stack of fire wood was on the side of the house....that means the leasers burned wood in the fireplace....which means the beautiful brick will be stained on the outside.  I never burned wood, I used those log things to prevent discoloring on the outside.  Hopefully it won't be too bad and we can remove it somehow.  We haven't been inside, so we really don't know what needs to be cleaned, replaced, etc.  Time will tell.  The leasers are planning on being out by the end of October.  :) 

Blessings and hope you all have a fantastic weekend! 

A joke

Hopefully this won't offend any of my readers.  I apologize if it does.  I thought it was cute and becoming one of my favorite jokes.  :D

Father & son went hunting together for the first time. The father said "Stay here and be VERY QUIET. I'll be across the field."A few minutes later the father heard a blood curdling scream & ran back to his son asking "What's wrong? I told you to be quiet."The son answered "Look, I was quiet when the snake slithered across my feet. I was quiet when the bear breathed down my neck. But when the 2 chipmunks crawled up my pant legs & said 'Should we eat them here or take them with us?' I panicked!" 
Thanks to my friend, Geannie, for sharing it the other day on her FB.

TX Wildfires

Please pray for the fires in TX.  Several are near are house and many of our friends homes.  A friend's sil, lost her home over the weekend.  It's been so dry and very, very little rain.  According to the forecast there's no end in sight.  I know GOD can change that and I'm praying HE does.
Please pray for these needs if you have a few minutes:

• Those that have lost homes (so far about 500 homes have been destroyed)
• Those that are in the path of these devastating fires
• Those that are protecting and serving
• For the winds to die down completely
• For the much needed rain

Also, a few other requests:

• My friend Donna.  Her mom past away yesterday
• My friend M.  Her DIL miscarried. 
• For all those returning to school-safety and protection from transportation to while they are behind the 4 walls
• My friend Roger-gainful employment. 
• My friend Cammie's sister-complete peace of mind

Thanks and blessings until next time!

Marking his territory

Around 4 am Sunday morning, I kept hearing a funny noise, while I was half asleep.  Finally after several times, I realized it was the dog banging his bowl around to go out.  I got up and let him out.  I stood there waiting and watching.  He wasn't doing his business, so I figured he wanted his privacy, came inside, went to the bathroom, and went back out to get him, where in fact, he still hadn't gone!  Annoyed, I said to him, "GO!" 

He looks at me, and goes on his dogfood box!  I shout at him in a whispered shout, "SCOUT!"  He jumps up in the RV knowing I'm not happy with him!  Where I notice the dog food box lid is off.  I made sure he didn't get the food wet....gross!  and crawl back in the RV and into bed.

About 20 minutes later, I hear Scout scratching at the door.  UGH, I figure he didn't finish going, so I got up again and was going to let him out.  I got the door open, and instead of him running down the steps like he normally does, he took one giant leap out, where I see the dog food lid off and a critter running from Scout.  I assume it was a raccoon.  Crazy dog must of heard the coon, didn't like him over in his dog food!  That's why he kept waking me up and why he went on his dog food box.

What's hilarious is the whole time we lived at the State Park and Amarillo, we were more like the country and never had any coons come mess with his food, and now in the city here they all come.  LOL

Blessings til next time!

Another Joy of Homeschooling

The joys of homeschooling: We were driving by a local highschool Thursday, and Bella said, "Ha, you kids have to be in there doing Algebra and I get to go to Target right now." I said, "You have to do Algebra too." She replies, "Shhh, I'm enjoying the moment." ROFLOL

Whatever happens in Vegas...

Stays in Vegas-NOT!


DH took me to Vegas for a surprise 25th anniversary trip!  LOL  He was afraid I would be disappointed, but actually I thought it sounded kinda fun. 


After shopping for two day to get ready to go and getting a manicure and pedicure, I was ready.  DH let me know on Thursday morning where we were headed, so I could buy the proper attire.


I ended up staying up all night Friday, packing and we had to leave around 3am to catch our flight out of Houston Intercontinental.  We got to Vegas by 9am their time.  Most of the day we were half asleep.  We couldn't check into our room until 3pm and so we went to Walmart to pick up a few things, and I ended up falling asleep in the rental car for over an hour!  LOL


Vegas....hmmm...what can I say....too little clothes, too many tattooes, lots of smoke, and gambling.  There, that's it in a nut shell.  LOL 


But here's what we did:
Our first site seeing stop was here:
It doesn't look anything like on TV.  The actually Pawn Shop is rather small.  There were people lined up to go in.  No, the Pawn Stars weren't there or if they were, they weren't visible.  DH and I figure the way they do the show is, they prescreen who they want on, and they remove all the spectators, leaving just a few folks in there to make the store look much bigger. 

We stayed in the Stratosphere Hotel.  Saturday night we had $10.99 Prime rib, then went back to our room and went to bed.  We were totally drained from being up all the night before.
Here's a view from our window:

Sunday, we headed down to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.  When we got down there, we decided to take a paddleboat cruise around the lake for 90 minutes.  Our cruise didn't start for awhile, so we drove around the park and stopped at the Marina.  There was a little girl feeding the fish popcorn and here's a picture of the fish all gathered together to enjoy their snack.  Most of them are carp, but there are a few striped bass in there as well:

The cruise was very relaxing and beautiful.  We got to see the back of Hoover Dam as well as the new bridge they built across the Colorado River. 

Here's my honey, enjoying the cruise:

I think that night we went to a different casino and had dinner. Buy one, get one free.  So we paid like $10 for dinner, plus tip, and it was a buffet.  :)

Monday, I think we went for lunch at the same casino from the night before and then went to the pool at our hotel.  Spent time reading a book, while DH enjoyed the pool.  Afterwards, we went hunting for a place our friend recommended for a cupcake.  LOL  It's called, "The Cupcakery".  Unfortunately, our friend sent us to the wrong place.  We had fun checking out some of the Vegas strip while looking for it though. 
Here's a pic of the Venetian, where they have gondola rides.  It's a little blurry.  I took it from my phone.

Finally, after hitting most of the Vegas strip, we found "The Cupcakery".  It was in the Monte Carlo and not in NY, NY.  I finally thought, hey why don't I just look online-duh! LOL

The sign:

The entrance:

We also got Ben and Jerry's ice cream!  LOL  Actually, I didn't eat my cupcake until Wednesday afternoon at the airport.  I got Mocha frosting with chocolate cupcake.  The icing was so rich and sweet it hurt my teeth!  My friend said they opened one in The Woodlands too....hmmm, that's all I need!  LOL

We ended up going to In and Out Burgers that night for dinner.  :) 
Afterwards we met up with a guy I went to highschool with.  He and his wife, daughter, and mom flew up on Sunday.  He and his wife now live in Saudi Arabia and were home in Houston for vacation.  They flew to Vegas for a few days and we went and saw them.  He told me about another gal we went to school with working in one of the casinos.  FUNNY, because it was the one we had eaten lunch that day and dinner the night before!  What's even funnier is, we ended up going there the next day, and almost ran smack dab into one another. 

We got a chance to do a quick catchup, said our goodbyes and then we met some friends of my parents at our hotel after a quick trip to Walmart.  One of my dad's oldest friends and his wife.  I hadn't seen them since I was probably 12 or 13.  This was probably one of the highlights of the trip, because over the years they have become Holy Ghost filled Christians and we got to share the goodness of GOD for several hours.  They were so sweet to come meet us at our hotel and then we all went to the diner and had the $10.99 prime rib and they wanted to bless us for our anniversary by paying! 

After they left, we headed towards Hoover Dam again, to see if it was lighted at night.  We ended up driving over the bridge, barely seeing the dam, and headed back to our hotel. 

Wednesday our trip came to an end.  Got up and ready to turn the rental in.  Lost my earring, somewhere between the hotel and returning the car.  :(  Paid $150 to get an earlier flight.  It was a direct flight from Vegas to Houston....but wouldn't you know just before we are to land in Houston, Houston has severe thunderstorms, we have to divert to Austin, fuel up and wait for the storms to pass.  So we got in almost at the same time that we would have originally landed.  Hopefully we will get a refund.  We filed for one.

Now it's back to the grindstone.  :D    Not that I mind, great getting back and seeing my babies! 

Blessings until next time!

This is the stuff that drives me crazy!!!!

I heard this song for the first time yesterday while driving.  I actually teared up, because I can SO relate!  I love Francesca Battistelli.  She is such an inspiring, young (as in literal age), energetic Christian!  She is real and I LOVE THAT!  Please take a moment or few to listen to this tune! 
Blessings!!!!