I used to look forward to the Olympic games, but this year I'm having a really hard time getting into the groove. :( The Winter Olympics have been going on for some time by now. I've caught maybe a grand total of an hour's worth of television spectatorship. One flimsy little hour. Did I watch an AMERICAN do anything?? Oh, wait a minute, I think maybe I did the other night. Whenever figure skating/ice dancing was going on, I caught Rachael, Flatt. She had been skating since she was a toddler, and they showed pictures/videos of her. PRICELESS!!!! Oh, she was such a little baby doll on those skates that were almost as big as she was!! Just finished watching Marai Nagasu win 4th place. Not too shabby at all. She gave it her all tonight and should rightfully be proud of her performance. :) I saw Joannie Rochette the other night and just a little bit ago, and she was beautiful, too. Something more than "ability" carried her through those performances. She lost her mother Sunday, and to have the strength to skate through such passionate grief is short of phenomenal. I firmly believe God carried her through.
When did the Olympic games become an every-2-year-sport??? It seems like we just got thru with the 2008 Olympics (wasn't it??), and we're seeing them again. Not that I'm complaining about increased frequency of games (if that's indeed the case), but there is not as much anticipation for the games when they come more frequently. Just my opinion, of course.
And another thing that is bugging me and evidently some other people...why are the events shown SO MUCH LATER anymore??? Mom and I talked about that the other day. Growing up, we used to be glued to that television set from after dinner until about 9 or 10 at night. We girls LOVED figure skating and ice dancing. Speed skating was kind of fun to watch, but other than that, we didn't pay that much attention to anything other than figure skating/ice dancing. This year, I'm doing good to be AWAKE to watch them.
Wow. Just saw the medal tally: 36 USA medals!! COOL! :D Keep up the great work!! Evidently the next Winter Olympics take place in 2014?? Maybe I just missed a couple of years. LOL, figures. Time does slip into the future...really quick!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Yep. I did it. I succombed to the power of social networking...this particular one being called Facebook. It started from seeing if I can locate a couple of names I knew a few decades ago, finding them, then wanting to see if I can reach them, having to have a FB acct to reach them, and here I am. I've found a lot of old friends and other people. Now I'm on it, too.
What on earth did I get myself into??? Facebook is a black hole. It is a very time-consuming venture. There are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots...of people who use FB. I had this crazy notion that I would just have my occasional little pow-wow with a few friends, say "HI!" and be on my merry way. Well, I caaaaan do that, but the system seems a little bit more involved than what I can and will be able to put into it. I have found some friends who are caught up into addictive games, and I have some friends who feel the need to reply to almost every single post ever made. If I have the time and it's something of interest to me, I'll post/reply. This is much how I treat message boards. However, I can't afford to attend to every single post and every single person at every single moment! I heard a preacher say a few times that what you give most of your attention into will eventually control you. There's an awful lot of truth to that...speaking from very practical experience. Sigh.
Facebook can be a good thing. It really can. Like everything else, tho, you must have a balance in all that you do. Too much of a good thing is...well, too much. Praying that my friends, my real friends, won't take it too hard if my presence on FB isn't as they had hoped it would be.
What on earth did I get myself into??? Facebook is a black hole. It is a very time-consuming venture. There are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots...of people who use FB. I had this crazy notion that I would just have my occasional little pow-wow with a few friends, say "HI!" and be on my merry way. Well, I caaaaan do that, but the system seems a little bit more involved than what I can and will be able to put into it. I have found some friends who are caught up into addictive games, and I have some friends who feel the need to reply to almost every single post ever made. If I have the time and it's something of interest to me, I'll post/reply. This is much how I treat message boards. However, I can't afford to attend to every single post and every single person at every single moment! I heard a preacher say a few times that what you give most of your attention into will eventually control you. There's an awful lot of truth to that...speaking from very practical experience. Sigh.
Facebook can be a good thing. It really can. Like everything else, tho, you must have a balance in all that you do. Too much of a good thing is...well, too much. Praying that my friends, my real friends, won't take it too hard if my presence on FB isn't as they had hoped it would be.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Snow in 49 of 50 States?? Wow!
Okay, okay, okay....if you're TIRED of reading about my 2010 facination about snow, please bypass this post. I understand, I really do. No hard feelings. Sometimes I just gotta be told to "Shut up, already!!!" : }
BUT...have you read the latest???? Yesterday, almost every state of the United States of America has at least a dusting of snow!! : D COOL!!! (lol, I guess I should say, "COLD!"~~I know...groan! : } lol, so full of myself, I guess)
Evidently, this hasn't happened since Feb 1978. What a coincidence. THAT is when I vaguely remember snow in Pensacola, and we headed for a blizzard into Texas. Evidently Texas experienced it's first blizzard in about 50 years then. I was only 10 at the time. I went from beach walking to hiney skating b/c I couldn't figure out how to stand on ice...still can't, lol. And they say ice skating is easier than roller skating?? I'm not ready to try it.
What's even more odd is that Hawaii usually has a little snow on their mountaintops, but not yet this year. None of the mountains/islands of Hawaii have just a speck of white on them? ; )
There's the joke on various sites that Al Gore is hiding out so they don't ask for his Nobel prize money back. I don't like Al Gore. I don't believe what he believes about global warming. I don't necessarily believe this snow proves or disproves his studies, but from the looks of things STILL outside my window, this is the warmest snow I've ever experienced.
My boys are out there now building yet another snowman. Maybe I'll join them. I'm comin' in when they start the snowball fights, tho!
BUT...have you read the latest???? Yesterday, almost every state of the United States of America has at least a dusting of snow!! : D COOL!!! (lol, I guess I should say, "COLD!"~~I know...groan! : } lol, so full of myself, I guess)
Evidently, this hasn't happened since Feb 1978. What a coincidence. THAT is when I vaguely remember snow in Pensacola, and we headed for a blizzard into Texas. Evidently Texas experienced it's first blizzard in about 50 years then. I was only 10 at the time. I went from beach walking to hiney skating b/c I couldn't figure out how to stand on ice...still can't, lol. And they say ice skating is easier than roller skating?? I'm not ready to try it.
What's even more odd is that Hawaii usually has a little snow on their mountaintops, but not yet this year. None of the mountains/islands of Hawaii have just a speck of white on them? ; )
There's the joke on various sites that Al Gore is hiding out so they don't ask for his Nobel prize money back. I don't like Al Gore. I don't believe what he believes about global warming. I don't necessarily believe this snow proves or disproves his studies, but from the looks of things STILL outside my window, this is the warmest snow I've ever experienced.
My boys are out there now building yet another snowman. Maybe I'll join them. I'm comin' in when they start the snowball fights, tho!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
SNOW!!
Oh my goodness. Real, live, honest-to-goodness SNOW!! :D As you can probably guess....this doesn't happen here very often. Snow. The light powdery stuff that other states take for granted. The soft blankets that gently cover the land. The noise insulation that muffles the drop of a pin. Wonderful snow.
It is soooooooo beautiful outside. My boys had a fantastic time playing in the stuff, and to think they'll have NEW pile to play in tomorrow!! Like I said...this doesn't happen 'round here much. I'm not sure of the official report, but I understand that we actually broke a record today. We normally get about an inch, at the most, of snow ONE time during any given winter. We normally either hit or miss watching the snow come down. If you blink you missed the action, but you may have seen the results left behind. It actually snowed ALL DAY LONG today!! It only let up for a few minutes at a time...that's it! The boys and the neighbors actually built a serious snow family and STILL had snow left!! I think we ended up with about 8-10 inches of snow today. That has never happened since I lived in Texas in Feb 1978. I've got a picture of me and my younger sister with a "snow man" made from snow (and dirt) in a little sand bucket~~that means it was only about a foot tall, lol. That was all the snow we could muster then.
Hubby was very excited today about the snow. He said THIS was the kind of snow days he remembered growing up with as a child. He said that there was usually one good snow every winter. Every "snow" MY family experienced was more ice than snow. :( When we first came to Texas, we had never seen snow b/c it just didn't snow in Florida at the time. Lemme tell ya, there is a HUGE difference b/t walking on the beach and skating on your hind end b/c you kept slipping and falling on the ice covered by that "sheet" of snow. :(
This is our second bout with snow this winter already. We actually had a WHITE CHRISTMAS just last year! Awesome. Beautiful.
This is the kind of snow that brings to mind the verse from Isaiah 1:18
"...though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..."
The pristineness of today's snow is just breathtaking to me, as I'm sure you've figured out by now. : } It's a rare treat for me. I'm loving it.
"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?" Job 38:22
It is soooooooo beautiful outside. My boys had a fantastic time playing in the stuff, and to think they'll have NEW pile to play in tomorrow!! Like I said...this doesn't happen 'round here much. I'm not sure of the official report, but I understand that we actually broke a record today. We normally get about an inch, at the most, of snow ONE time during any given winter. We normally either hit or miss watching the snow come down. If you blink you missed the action, but you may have seen the results left behind. It actually snowed ALL DAY LONG today!! It only let up for a few minutes at a time...that's it! The boys and the neighbors actually built a serious snow family and STILL had snow left!! I think we ended up with about 8-10 inches of snow today. That has never happened since I lived in Texas in Feb 1978. I've got a picture of me and my younger sister with a "snow man" made from snow (and dirt) in a little sand bucket~~that means it was only about a foot tall, lol. That was all the snow we could muster then.
Hubby was very excited today about the snow. He said THIS was the kind of snow days he remembered growing up with as a child. He said that there was usually one good snow every winter. Every "snow" MY family experienced was more ice than snow. :( When we first came to Texas, we had never seen snow b/c it just didn't snow in Florida at the time. Lemme tell ya, there is a HUGE difference b/t walking on the beach and skating on your hind end b/c you kept slipping and falling on the ice covered by that "sheet" of snow. :(
This is our second bout with snow this winter already. We actually had a WHITE CHRISTMAS just last year! Awesome. Beautiful.
This is the kind of snow that brings to mind the verse from Isaiah 1:18
"...though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..."
The pristineness of today's snow is just breathtaking to me, as I'm sure you've figured out by now. : } It's a rare treat for me. I'm loving it.
"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?" Job 38:22
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
My Untimely Alarm Clock
We're not talking about my electronic alarm clock. That thing still works like a charm, even after 10 years. I'm talking about the kind with minds of their own.
Quite frankly, I've met very few people who have not had at least one of these in their entire life. Some are rather squawky; some give you a kneading massage on your chest or back with a soothing sound effect, or they give you an unexpected facial~~guys, if you ever report a clean shave w/ one of those, you could be millionaires; some others either give your face and hair that motherly slobber bath, or give you hurricane winds in your face...and unless they've helped themselves to minty breath Milk Bones...unsavory winds at that! while giving your bottom and legs a thumping massage; some have that squeaky wheel you kept forgetting to fix w/ WD40; and others surprise you with their presence by crawling on you while you thought you got rid of "those things." (more on those another time)
Mine are none of the above (tho I have had some, lol). Mine is of the homo sapiens, juvenile, variety. I know some of you have at least one of those, too. This would be my little guy, J7. He has ALWAYS been an early riser. He can HAVE those worms, trust me! lol I'm thrilled that he is happy, will be weathy, and is evidently wise (we can use a rich person in the family, y'know?). I really should be thankful that I currently don't hafta drag him out of bed when I need him to move (tho some of those occasions happen...very rarely). My T12 can be another story, however. ;)
My hubby and I have spent a good part of 3 years trying to train J7 to tell time and to make decisions accordingly. If the clock has any number less than 6 on the hour part, he is to go back to bed and wake up when the rest of the family does, which can be anywhere from 6:45-7:00 AM. He is usually pretty good about that.
This week, however, he has been developing a new strategy. It seems like he is wanting to get me out of bed at 5:55-6:40 to do some little something that is better done at the last minute. This morning, his snooze function really malfunctioned, major time.
I get a little...um..."touchy", shall we say....no, GROUCHY, when I get woken up a little earlier than I intend to be awake and it's not a true emergency. There. I said it. If you have children, you know precisely what I'm talking about. There are subjective "emergencies", and then there are real emergencies. I have no problem with real emergencies. And, really, I don't have a problem with an occasional "emergency" that can wait until *I* am functioning enough to handle it in a more motherly manner. However, J7 created an imaginary paper chain of them this morning. >:(
6:02 Mommy, I'm sorry I spilled the cereal on the floor.
That's okay, honey, just get the broom and sweep it up the best you can, okay? Okay.
6:04 Mommy, I can't find the broom.
It's in the same place it's always been, by the door to the garage. Oh, okay.
6:07 Mommy, I found the broom!
Okay, that's great, sweetpea, now can you please just let Mommy sleep until 7? Okay, Mommy
6:13 Mommy, Sponge Bob isn't on TV like it says it's supposed to be.
There is always something on Playhouse Disney or maybe channel 13 to watch at this time of morning. That, or you can always play in your room for a little while.
6:15 Mommy, you GOTTA make Spaghetti-O's for lunch today b/c it's cold!
Okay, listen. We've been over this before. Spaghetti-O's or anything else that needs to be heated NEEDS to be heated just before we walk out the door. Let me go back to sleep, please. Okay.
6:20 Mommy, I forgot to tell you that we need money at school today for blah, blah, blah, blah.
J7, when I wake up, you can remind me and we'll get you that money. Please let me go back to sleep and do not wake me up until 7.
6:35 (whew! I might've reached REM stage at this point, dunno) Do you want me to make you some coffee, Momma?
That's okay. Daddy's already made coffee. If you want to push the button so that it can get hot, that's fine. Okay.
6:38 Mommy, it's really cold in the garage.
((and you're telling me this becaaaaauuuuuuse???)) J7, get out of here, please. We've had cold days for over a week now. Yes, it's cold outside.
6:42 Momma, .....
No more. Just please shut the door. I will be up in 3 minutes.
But that's not 7, Momma, that will be 6:45.
We will talk about this later.
Yes, we handled aaaalllllllll the little issues successfully before going to school. I'm really hoping that our little talk this evening will get him back on the right track for the rest of this week.
Why didn't I just get up after the second or third interruption?? That would be a normal response, I'm sure. However, he operates by structure, and even when certain things are not going according to plan, I canNOT afford to budge my wake-up mode earlier, or we'll be having this conversation MUCH earlier in the morning. Do you get the idea I'm not a morning person yet?
Quite frankly, I've met very few people who have not had at least one of these in their entire life. Some are rather squawky; some give you a kneading massage on your chest or back with a soothing sound effect, or they give you an unexpected facial~~guys, if you ever report a clean shave w/ one of those, you could be millionaires; some others either give your face and hair that motherly slobber bath, or give you hurricane winds in your face...and unless they've helped themselves to minty breath Milk Bones...unsavory winds at that! while giving your bottom and legs a thumping massage; some have that squeaky wheel you kept forgetting to fix w/ WD40; and others surprise you with their presence by crawling on you while you thought you got rid of "those things." (more on those another time)
Mine are none of the above (tho I have had some, lol). Mine is of the homo sapiens, juvenile, variety. I know some of you have at least one of those, too. This would be my little guy, J7. He has ALWAYS been an early riser. He can HAVE those worms, trust me! lol I'm thrilled that he is happy, will be weathy, and is evidently wise (we can use a rich person in the family, y'know?). I really should be thankful that I currently don't hafta drag him out of bed when I need him to move (tho some of those occasions happen...very rarely). My T12 can be another story, however. ;)
My hubby and I have spent a good part of 3 years trying to train J7 to tell time and to make decisions accordingly. If the clock has any number less than 6 on the hour part, he is to go back to bed and wake up when the rest of the family does, which can be anywhere from 6:45-7:00 AM. He is usually pretty good about that.
This week, however, he has been developing a new strategy. It seems like he is wanting to get me out of bed at 5:55-6:40 to do some little something that is better done at the last minute. This morning, his snooze function really malfunctioned, major time.
I get a little...um..."touchy", shall we say....no, GROUCHY, when I get woken up a little earlier than I intend to be awake and it's not a true emergency. There. I said it. If you have children, you know precisely what I'm talking about. There are subjective "emergencies", and then there are real emergencies. I have no problem with real emergencies. And, really, I don't have a problem with an occasional "emergency" that can wait until *I* am functioning enough to handle it in a more motherly manner. However, J7 created an imaginary paper chain of them this morning. >:(
6:02 Mommy, I'm sorry I spilled the cereal on the floor.
That's okay, honey, just get the broom and sweep it up the best you can, okay? Okay.
6:04 Mommy, I can't find the broom.
It's in the same place it's always been, by the door to the garage. Oh, okay.
6:07 Mommy, I found the broom!
Okay, that's great, sweetpea, now can you please just let Mommy sleep until 7? Okay, Mommy
6:13 Mommy, Sponge Bob isn't on TV like it says it's supposed to be.
There is always something on Playhouse Disney or maybe channel 13 to watch at this time of morning. That, or you can always play in your room for a little while.
6:15 Mommy, you GOTTA make Spaghetti-O's for lunch today b/c it's cold!
Okay, listen. We've been over this before. Spaghetti-O's or anything else that needs to be heated NEEDS to be heated just before we walk out the door. Let me go back to sleep, please. Okay.
6:20 Mommy, I forgot to tell you that we need money at school today for blah, blah, blah, blah.
J7, when I wake up, you can remind me and we'll get you that money. Please let me go back to sleep and do not wake me up until 7.
6:35 (whew! I might've reached REM stage at this point, dunno) Do you want me to make you some coffee, Momma?
That's okay. Daddy's already made coffee. If you want to push the button so that it can get hot, that's fine. Okay.
6:38 Mommy, it's really cold in the garage.
((and you're telling me this becaaaaauuuuuuse???)) J7, get out of here, please. We've had cold days for over a week now. Yes, it's cold outside.
6:42 Momma, .....
No more. Just please shut the door. I will be up in 3 minutes.
But that's not 7, Momma, that will be 6:45.
We will talk about this later.
Yes, we handled aaaalllllllll the little issues successfully before going to school. I'm really hoping that our little talk this evening will get him back on the right track for the rest of this week.
Why didn't I just get up after the second or third interruption?? That would be a normal response, I'm sure. However, he operates by structure, and even when certain things are not going according to plan, I canNOT afford to budge my wake-up mode earlier, or we'll be having this conversation MUCH earlier in the morning. Do you get the idea I'm not a morning person yet?
Monday, February 8, 2010
Political Correctness
Political Correctness, Politically Correct, PC: I have little to no patience nor tolerance of it. There. I said it. Having said that, tho, I must say the history of the terms "politically correct", "not politically correct", "PC" and "politically INcorrect" is very interesting. From Wikipedia, we can have a little history lesson about political correctness and how it's evolved into what we observe today from how it was used a coupla centuries ago.
How political correctness can be useful.
I can understand how some of what we would call "politically correct/ness" (henceforth called "PC") is helpful in general. I can understand the purpose in neutralizing potentially offensive language within a community. I can understand how changing a wording or an idea can make someone think of another person or situation or idea differently, and perhaps more favorably. I can understand wanting to break down barriers between cultures who want to be more inclusive toward each other. I can understand being sensitive to medical conditions that were and are largely misunderstood by past generations and those outside these situations. These are helpful and actually effective changes, in my most humble opinion.
How PC can contribute to problems we are already experiencing.
My observation about being PC is that IT'S CONSTANTLY CHANGING. Some change is good. Some other changes are not. What are these changes based on? My answer: ACCEPTANCE through ASSOCIATION or DISASSOCIATION. Why do we humans seek acceptance to the point that we are willing to change our language to fit in, or join in, or just to be accepted in, a society that may not be a fit for us? Why do we seek to disassociate ourselves from people who claim similarities but display unfavorable differences? Why not be proud of who we are whether or not society attempts to dress us up to be accepted? Why should what someone else say determine whether we are what we are? Being white is not a bad thing. Being black is not a bad thing. Being from Mexico is not a bad thing. Being an (American) Indian is not a bad thing. Why is it necessary to say we're Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Native American to identify ourselves? Words don't change our skin color. Words don't change our sex. Words don't change our physical features. Words don't change our beliefs. Words don't change our attitudes~~well, for the purpose of this paragraph, it doesn't.
Attitudes~~
Politically speaking, I'm a Republican. I am proud to be a Republican. Why am I a Republican? I believe in the classic ideology of the Republican party~~if it ain't broke, DON'T FIX IT!! From my observation, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with how our founding fathers created our nation, providing "simple" documents that SHOULD be able to hold its own w/ minor necessary changes. However, seeings how there are not a lot of Republicans-in-name supporting classic views of its people, fellow Republicans are now searching for "Conservatives" or "Right-wing" support in government. Why did the name need to change? Why not change back what did change that didn't need to be changed to begin with? (lol, didya follow that? ;) ) The exact same thing is happening for those who hold to more Democratic views. The classic ideology of the Democrats is currently not even in existence today in the White House. Now everyday Democrats are having to identify themselves as either "Moderate" or "Liberal" to get the attention of the Democrats in the White House! What is next? Why not send a message to the Democratic party to get back to the original Democratic ideology and quit allowing them to drive a deeper wedge into the American people? We used to be a unique nation who thrived on our unique way of government. Now we're trying to take hold centuries-old ideas that led to their down fall. Are we trying to find a politically correct term for this, too? Eventually, there will be something wrong with "Independent", too. Don't they realize this?
Religiously speaking, I am a Bible-believing Christian. I am a "fundamentalist" by classic definition (Biblical inerrancy; Virgin birth and deity of Jesus; Jesus' atonement for sins of the world past, present and future; death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; belief in the Second Coming of Christ w/ End-time manifestations). I do not toss aside my beliefs in the wake of fellow "fundies" misbehaving in an unChrsitian manner. I don't see the point in "disassociating" myself as a Bible-believing Christian b/c the behavior of some is nonbefitting a Christian. What they do or don't do does not change what I believe. God is still God and His Word is still His Word no matter what people do in the name of Christianity, God, Jesus, Scriptures, the Bible, etc. People may (and do) change, but God has not, nor will He. Society should not be the standard by whether or not Christians call themselves Christians. Nor should society be the defining "standard" by which we believe as we believe, Christian (Protestant, Catholic, etc) or otherwise (Buddhist, Muslims, Atheists, etc). Religious beliefs should not be treated as a fashion statement for the season, month, week, day, hour. A leapard cannot change its spot simply b/c it wants to fit in with tigers. A spot is a spot, and a stripe is a stipe. It's my observance that God knows our deep secrets even better than we do, no matter how we try to cover them up, or create a show for it, by use of political correctness.
How political correctness can be useful.
I can understand how some of what we would call "politically correct/ness" (henceforth called "PC") is helpful in general. I can understand the purpose in neutralizing potentially offensive language within a community. I can understand how changing a wording or an idea can make someone think of another person or situation or idea differently, and perhaps more favorably. I can understand wanting to break down barriers between cultures who want to be more inclusive toward each other. I can understand being sensitive to medical conditions that were and are largely misunderstood by past generations and those outside these situations. These are helpful and actually effective changes, in my most humble opinion.
How PC can contribute to problems we are already experiencing.
My observation about being PC is that IT'S CONSTANTLY CHANGING. Some change is good. Some other changes are not. What are these changes based on? My answer: ACCEPTANCE through ASSOCIATION or DISASSOCIATION. Why do we humans seek acceptance to the point that we are willing to change our language to fit in, or join in, or just to be accepted in, a society that may not be a fit for us? Why do we seek to disassociate ourselves from people who claim similarities but display unfavorable differences? Why not be proud of who we are whether or not society attempts to dress us up to be accepted? Why should what someone else say determine whether we are what we are? Being white is not a bad thing. Being black is not a bad thing. Being from Mexico is not a bad thing. Being an (American) Indian is not a bad thing. Why is it necessary to say we're Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Native American to identify ourselves? Words don't change our skin color. Words don't change our sex. Words don't change our physical features. Words don't change our beliefs. Words don't change our attitudes~~well, for the purpose of this paragraph, it doesn't.
Attitudes~~
Politically speaking, I'm a Republican. I am proud to be a Republican. Why am I a Republican? I believe in the classic ideology of the Republican party~~if it ain't broke, DON'T FIX IT!! From my observation, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with how our founding fathers created our nation, providing "simple" documents that SHOULD be able to hold its own w/ minor necessary changes. However, seeings how there are not a lot of Republicans-in-name supporting classic views of its people, fellow Republicans are now searching for "Conservatives" or "Right-wing" support in government. Why did the name need to change? Why not change back what did change that didn't need to be changed to begin with? (lol, didya follow that? ;) ) The exact same thing is happening for those who hold to more Democratic views. The classic ideology of the Democrats is currently not even in existence today in the White House. Now everyday Democrats are having to identify themselves as either "Moderate" or "Liberal" to get the attention of the Democrats in the White House! What is next? Why not send a message to the Democratic party to get back to the original Democratic ideology and quit allowing them to drive a deeper wedge into the American people? We used to be a unique nation who thrived on our unique way of government. Now we're trying to take hold centuries-old ideas that led to their down fall. Are we trying to find a politically correct term for this, too? Eventually, there will be something wrong with "Independent", too. Don't they realize this?
Religiously speaking, I am a Bible-believing Christian. I am a "fundamentalist" by classic definition (Biblical inerrancy; Virgin birth and deity of Jesus; Jesus' atonement for sins of the world past, present and future; death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; belief in the Second Coming of Christ w/ End-time manifestations). I do not toss aside my beliefs in the wake of fellow "fundies" misbehaving in an unChrsitian manner. I don't see the point in "disassociating" myself as a Bible-believing Christian b/c the behavior of some is nonbefitting a Christian. What they do or don't do does not change what I believe. God is still God and His Word is still His Word no matter what people do in the name of Christianity, God, Jesus, Scriptures, the Bible, etc. People may (and do) change, but God has not, nor will He. Society should not be the standard by whether or not Christians call themselves Christians. Nor should society be the defining "standard" by which we believe as we believe, Christian (Protestant, Catholic, etc) or otherwise (Buddhist, Muslims, Atheists, etc). Religious beliefs should not be treated as a fashion statement for the season, month, week, day, hour. A leapard cannot change its spot simply b/c it wants to fit in with tigers. A spot is a spot, and a stripe is a stipe. It's my observance that God knows our deep secrets even better than we do, no matter how we try to cover them up, or create a show for it, by use of political correctness.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
It's All GREEK to Me!
Fairly regularly we haunt a particular street from our old neighborhood. Last month we noticed a sign, DIMASSI MEDITERRANEAN BUFFET. Almost nothing is sexier to my hubby than the word "buffet", lol. ;) If it says "buffet", he's gonna try it out eventually. Well, I happen to like to try various cuisines, so I was on board with the plan today. We checked out Dimassi and were TOTALLY impressed. :) We LOVED it. The buffet contains a fairly wide selection of Greek and Mediterranean foods. I've had Greek foods before, but I'm not thrilled with really strong vinegary flavors that can dominate Greek cuisine. This contains some tart flavors, but the intense factor is more tame. Their tart came more from lemon than vinegar.
From the soups and salads to the pasta to the hommus to the gyro meat to the pita bread to the baklava, it was ALL good. :) As hubby said, we really like everything we tried. :) LOL, I saw a couple of reviews which complained more of environment than the food. Yeah, it's kinda "bright", I suppose, but I kinda like seeing what exactly I'm putting into my mouth, y'know? I didn't even pay attention to the atmosphere b/c I was busy stuffing my face w/ good food! I think the fact that there WAS a lot of people indicates its popularity; plus, the food turnover is going to be good, I have observed...that's the way I look at it, anyway, so THERE! >; D
I think the Greeks added a great deal to our American culture. MUCH of our English words are based in the Greek language, especially in medicine and the Bible. Who can get away from the Greeks when one studies literature, history, science, philosophy? My BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING is one of my favorite movies b/c it gives one a peek into their everyday life, which can be quite different than plain ol' American life~~just ask Harriet Miller. ;) Granted, it might be a liiiiiiittle bit of an exaggeration, but I'm not so sure of that!
I guess I need to be on the lookout for a cheap Greek Cooking Made Easy for my next cuisine cook book. : } Not that I could ever come close, but some of that food is just good soul food. :)
From the soups and salads to the pasta to the hommus to the gyro meat to the pita bread to the baklava, it was ALL good. :) As hubby said, we really like everything we tried. :) LOL, I saw a couple of reviews which complained more of environment than the food. Yeah, it's kinda "bright", I suppose, but I kinda like seeing what exactly I'm putting into my mouth, y'know? I didn't even pay attention to the atmosphere b/c I was busy stuffing my face w/ good food! I think the fact that there WAS a lot of people indicates its popularity; plus, the food turnover is going to be good, I have observed...that's the way I look at it, anyway, so THERE! >; D
I think the Greeks added a great deal to our American culture. MUCH of our English words are based in the Greek language, especially in medicine and the Bible. Who can get away from the Greeks when one studies literature, history, science, philosophy? My BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING is one of my favorite movies b/c it gives one a peek into their everyday life, which can be quite different than plain ol' American life~~just ask Harriet Miller. ;) Granted, it might be a liiiiiiittle bit of an exaggeration, but I'm not so sure of that!
I guess I need to be on the lookout for a cheap Greek Cooking Made Easy for my next cuisine cook book. : } Not that I could ever come close, but some of that food is just good soul food. :)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
It's GROUND HOG DAY!!
Aaaaaaaahhhhhh. Music to my ears.....
What? you haven't heard?? Supposedly we've got 6 more weeks of WINTER!! : D
Last weekend hubby and I watched that Bill Murray movie GROUND HOG DAY. Remember that movie? We think it's a great movie. Sometimes our minds wander about what we would do if we had the "opportunity" to relive a single day many times over. I know we have days that we wish we can "do over", but we lost track of how many times Phil had to repeat this day, not to mention the additional scenarios they alluded to in between what we saw. : (
Now, I have my radio alarm set to music. Drives hubby bonkers, but he's not around most times when it goes off. : } For any given amount of days, they play the exact same song at the exact same time the alarm first goes off. I've noticed this for years. Doesn't matter what station I'm playing, either. It's different when I hit snooze once, twice, thrice...(okay, more often than I should!)...but I've noticed that for a period of days, I could count on the same song playing the first time my radio alarm goes off, almost to the same stanza!!
Can you imagine hearing that same song, that same conversation, the same horrible joke, for AT LEAST A YEAR (and I daresay longer)?????
Now let's think about the people you meet not only in everyday life, but those people who pop up outta NOWHERE...people you haven't seen in decades. I'm sure there are some we wouldn't mind seeing (for the first time? lol) every day, but what about that Belly-button whistler guy selling life insurance? (good grief, as many times they played that take, you'd think I'd get that name, but it completely escapes me at the moment) I dunno 'bout you, but I know I'd be looking for the Programmer to change the default response to that loop of life! It's bad enough when you gotta "practice" meeting those kinds of folks on a regular day but, for the most part, there IS an end to that particular flowchart in life! I can't imagine having any more patience with meeting Mr. Life Insurance a gazillion times than Phil had to meet Mr. Life Insurance. Ugh. I'd fail. Miserably. I would hope that the Lord would soften my heart enough to allow me to pass the Meet Mr. Life Insurance without hurting him, though it may take a looooooong time.
You know what, tho? As oddball a direction this tangent is heading, it kinda makes sense. Those Israelites were kinda stuck basically in a day/week/month for 40 years! They didn't hafta stay in that wilderness for 40 years!! That wilderness wasn't much more than a weeks' journey walking slow. All they had to do was believe in the Lord God and TRUST Him to provide for ALL of their needs on their journey. But noooOOOooooo, they had to mouth off at Him, murmur, complain, threaten (???), whine. I've come to the conclusion they just about all became doctors. I must say, they got pretty darn good at memorectomies!! Amnesia today ain't got nothin' on those people! They finally got to where God felt ready to release them to the promise land.
Veering back to GROUND HOG DAY..... (I did say that I go off topic from time to time...just how my brain works ;) )
Who would YOU like to get to know? How deeply would YOU like to know this person or these people? Phil had an opportunity to basically stand still in time but continue learning and growing. I'm pleased to say that Phil did eventually outgrow himself. He reached a turning point in his day loop in which others mattered more to him than the fact that he was annoyed with the world. He took what he learned and helped the community he got stuck in...on account of the blizzard that showed up "every day" for gazillion years, lol. He found the girl of his dreams, who was standing by him the entire time! He got to know her in ways that would take a lifetime to know a spouse, and even then there may be surprises! You know what? The cinamatically-portrayed God finally let him out of that loop. ;)
((lol, hubby and I had to laugh when Phil came to the conclusion that he was a god...he HAD to be. "Not THE God, of course, but A god!"))
Like the movie, the Ground Hog of PA (is his/her name really Phil? I oughtta Google that sometime!) supposedly predicted another 6 weeks of winter. Now, from a natural human perspective, that's kinda awful. I really do feel for our Northern friends who don't see the light of day until MAAAAAYBE May. However, since we basically get 24-48-hour winters, I seriously don't mind. It's nice to actually be able to USE all of our sweaters, sweatpants/shirts, jackets, coats, boots (if we had them; I don't) hats, scarves, gloves/mittens for this season. It will get summer hot soon enough, and for long enough time. I'm one of those who actually will enjoy an extended Texas winter. :)
Now to look at my indoor list of things to do...my indoor list of things I want to accomplish...my indoor list of things I want to improve and learn....
What? you haven't heard?? Supposedly we've got 6 more weeks of WINTER!! : D
Last weekend hubby and I watched that Bill Murray movie GROUND HOG DAY. Remember that movie? We think it's a great movie. Sometimes our minds wander about what we would do if we had the "opportunity" to relive a single day many times over. I know we have days that we wish we can "do over", but we lost track of how many times Phil had to repeat this day, not to mention the additional scenarios they alluded to in between what we saw. : (
Now, I have my radio alarm set to music. Drives hubby bonkers, but he's not around most times when it goes off. : } For any given amount of days, they play the exact same song at the exact same time the alarm first goes off. I've noticed this for years. Doesn't matter what station I'm playing, either. It's different when I hit snooze once, twice, thrice...(okay, more often than I should!)...but I've noticed that for a period of days, I could count on the same song playing the first time my radio alarm goes off, almost to the same stanza!!
Can you imagine hearing that same song, that same conversation, the same horrible joke, for AT LEAST A YEAR (and I daresay longer)?????
Now let's think about the people you meet not only in everyday life, but those people who pop up outta NOWHERE...people you haven't seen in decades. I'm sure there are some we wouldn't mind seeing (for the first time? lol) every day, but what about that Belly-button whistler guy selling life insurance? (good grief, as many times they played that take, you'd think I'd get that name, but it completely escapes me at the moment) I dunno 'bout you, but I know I'd be looking for the Programmer to change the default response to that loop of life! It's bad enough when you gotta "practice" meeting those kinds of folks on a regular day but, for the most part, there IS an end to that particular flowchart in life! I can't imagine having any more patience with meeting Mr. Life Insurance a gazillion times than Phil had to meet Mr. Life Insurance. Ugh. I'd fail. Miserably. I would hope that the Lord would soften my heart enough to allow me to pass the Meet Mr. Life Insurance without hurting him, though it may take a looooooong time.
You know what, tho? As oddball a direction this tangent is heading, it kinda makes sense. Those Israelites were kinda stuck basically in a day/week/month for 40 years! They didn't hafta stay in that wilderness for 40 years!! That wilderness wasn't much more than a weeks' journey walking slow. All they had to do was believe in the Lord God and TRUST Him to provide for ALL of their needs on their journey. But noooOOOooooo, they had to mouth off at Him, murmur, complain, threaten (???), whine. I've come to the conclusion they just about all became doctors. I must say, they got pretty darn good at memorectomies!! Amnesia today ain't got nothin' on those people! They finally got to where God felt ready to release them to the promise land.
Veering back to GROUND HOG DAY..... (I did say that I go off topic from time to time...just how my brain works ;) )
Who would YOU like to get to know? How deeply would YOU like to know this person or these people? Phil had an opportunity to basically stand still in time but continue learning and growing. I'm pleased to say that Phil did eventually outgrow himself. He reached a turning point in his day loop in which others mattered more to him than the fact that he was annoyed with the world. He took what he learned and helped the community he got stuck in...on account of the blizzard that showed up "every day" for gazillion years, lol. He found the girl of his dreams, who was standing by him the entire time! He got to know her in ways that would take a lifetime to know a spouse, and even then there may be surprises! You know what? The cinamatically-portrayed God finally let him out of that loop. ;)
((lol, hubby and I had to laugh when Phil came to the conclusion that he was a god...he HAD to be. "Not THE God, of course, but A god!"))
Like the movie, the Ground Hog of PA (is his/her name really Phil? I oughtta Google that sometime!) supposedly predicted another 6 weeks of winter. Now, from a natural human perspective, that's kinda awful. I really do feel for our Northern friends who don't see the light of day until MAAAAAYBE May. However, since we basically get 24-48-hour winters, I seriously don't mind. It's nice to actually be able to USE all of our sweaters, sweatpants/shirts, jackets, coats, boots (if we had them; I don't) hats, scarves, gloves/mittens for this season. It will get summer hot soon enough, and for long enough time. I'm one of those who actually will enjoy an extended Texas winter. :)
Now to look at my indoor list of things to do...my indoor list of things I want to accomplish...my indoor list of things I want to improve and learn....
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