The sun is not up yet- why am I?

It is 7:00 AM and the sun is not up yet. This is the last full week of "Daylight Savings Time" and that means that it will be much darker earlier in the evening. BOO! On the plus side it will get lighter earlier... you know what I'm saying. I know what the government claims about changing the clocks. I do live on a farm, but I cannot see that it matters one iota where the hands on the clock are! I am not a fan of the times changing. It throws me off for a good month, and I don't need any extra help in the "throwing me off" department!

With menopause already taking time out of my sleep, (all of you middle-aged women know what I'm talking about) now, the government takes a chunk too. Thanks a heap! The beauty sleep thing just is not working here...

So, since it is Monday what does my week look like? As of this moment I have a sink/counter full of dishes. I have been gone 80% of this weekend, so nothing got done. I was at a WONDERFUL Women's Conference that the Circle of Friends produced. It was awesome! My sister, Suzanne and I went together. It is great "sister time" and you get more time with the other sisters in the Lord! So, today will be catch-up day.

Tuesday- will be a day of finishing what didn't get done on Monday, and then my GriefShare group on Tuesday night. We are on session 8 in the 13-week cycle.

Wednesday- probably working at the plant for my hubby.

Thursday- Definitely working at the plant it's payday and I sign the checks, and do some invoicing, check who has/has not paid for their storage unit, and write eviction letters. ( I don't like to do that, but we have given them several months to make a consorted effort....

Friday- Staff meeting for SpringHaven (I may or may not go to this one) I will be sharing with the COF Girlfriends group. This is a group sponsored by the Circle Of Friends for young girls. This particular group is the Hiland seventh grade girls. This is the fourth year for this group, and this is the third year I am the speaker! We will be talking about peer pressure and choices.

Saturday- I work at SpringHaven.

Sunday- Church early service (I will be happy in the morning with the extra hour of sleep) even tho my internal alarm clock will have me up at 5 AM... We will be having small group that evening so we need to get ready for that. It will be a must have a nap day!

In between those things I will be doing all of my regular stuff...I think I may begin making my soups to can. Fall is here and it is soup weather!

Did mention that we went to Cleveland yesterday to see the Cleveland Browns lose? AGAIN...
I love to watch football (I didn't used to as a kid) hormones do crazy things to you... Anyway, I have been a huge Browns fan for years, and I continue to hold out hope that we will have a team that actually plays football when they go out onto that football field. That didn't happen yesterday.

Now, don't get me wrong. They did play ball for at least five minutes (trust me it was not any longer than that).

This whole thing came about spur of the moment (I am not thrilled in the least about spur of the moment things) I am a planner. Jeff decided yesterday morning to go to the game, and then tried to find tickets on Craig's list. (He did find tickets there, but received no response from the seller) so he went to the right spot to get tickets. Then we were ready to check out, I had typed all of the pertinent information into the little boxes. Jeff wanted to get a clear view of where the seats were and where we would pick up the tickets up, and he ended up clicking the wrong button and lost everything- including the seats! UGH! I was not happy and we were late for church. Jordan and I left with Jeff following after he called the people about tickets...By now I am trying to praise the Lord at church (which had already begun) I hate being late!!!!
Keeping my mind on things was not easy. However, Dwight had a great message (www.newpointe.org) which did help.

Jeff came in very late. I didn't ask how things went till after the service was over. I guess I sort of hoped we would not be going. I hadn't planned well enough for it. I grudgingly went home and threw on warm clothes, made a peanut butter sandwich (no time for the jelly) and grabbed a banana and we were off! We got to Cleveland with no problem. Got a little lost (only two blocks out of the way) turned around and found the hotel where the tickets were to be picked up. Got the tickets, backed the van a quarter of a block down E. 9th Street to the parking garage. Found a spot (can you feel my attitude?) Then we had to make the trek to the stadium. It wasn't all that far. However, when you have three men that have long legs, and one angry mom that has very short legs and an even shorter temper it can be a nasty combination.

We got to the stadium, then had to walk all the way around to the other side of the stadium, then once we were "frisked" by security....don't get me started on that one. We began the ascent up the ramp. And we kept going. Trying to side-step the puddles of beer on the ground spilled by the loud-mouthed and somewhat nasty mouthed fans, we continued walking, and walking and walking. Now, at this juncture I am tired, hot, hormonal and a bit hot under the collar, but I keep walking. Jeff keeps looking back at me and asking"are you OK honey?" Oh, I'm just dandy! NOT! My boys look down to my level which was getting lower simply by my attitude alone. We ended up going CLEAR TO THE STINKING TOP OF THE STADIUM! I'm hoping that since I am there, (not happily) that perhaps I would at least see a good game. I should mention my attitude began getting better once I got to my seat and I cooled off.


It would have been great, IF I was a Packers fan. I decided I would not be a good "Cheese Head" since I am allergic to milk! (My attitude is allergic to anything I am not 100% prepared for) Needless to say the only good plays the Browns had did happen at our end of the field (the nose-bleed section) but we seemed to be surrounded by folks that have either driven in from Wisconson, or have changed their allegiance from Cleveland to Green Bay. I do
believe that I will be rooting for another team next season.

I am ready to give up on my Brownies! They have not had a winning season since we were the old Cleveland Browns (before Art moved them to Baltimore) I have tried...really I have to support them. I watch them when I can get the channel, and I am the armchair quarterback kind of girl. I can tell them what they are not doing, what they should be doing and who they need to put in to play. It broke my heart yesterday to watch Brady standing on the sidelines. Granted he did not have great game or two at the beginning of the season, but heck, give the guy a chance! Now, Anderson...oh man it's just not good. I say put Josh Cribbs in as QB and see what happens. Hey, could it get any worse? I'm just sayin.

I guess I should take some of the blame (no I am not superstitious) but it seems every time I buy a bobble head of the QB, it's not a good thing. I am sorry Tim Couch and Brady Quinn! I promise to never buy another bobble head!


Run and hide Brady!

How did I get on this track? Oh well. Nothing spiritual on this posting folks. Sorry.

Pittsburgh Steelers here I come! Maybe if I quit rooting for the Browns they 'll start winning?

Moving right along

Just an update for anyone interested. My book Through My Tears is moving again. Between Mike and I, we have nearly completed seven chapters, with three more to go. The word count is growing and is approaching 43,000 words. We are hoping for about 60,000. I do not think we'll have a problem reaching that goal.

Please be praying for us as we approach the completion of this book. It has been a L-O-N-G process. Our goal as of this moment is to have a rough draft completed by mid December, or before. I would like to see it done yesterday, but reality is not in agreement...

We have a lot of interviews to complete for one of the chapters, and we will need for those folks to be willing to speak with us.

Then we will need to find an agent, that will find a publisher. Or we could just find a publisher on our own, but that is kind of tough. So, pray for wisdom for us too!

My very happy weekend

I'd like for you to meet the Emily's. I had such a lovely time this weekend. I was able to spend time with Emily1, Emily2, Missy and Adalie. Here are a few pictures of the girls.

I am so happy that we finally got to get together.

Emily2 as she refers to herself is in the center of the top picture.


Emily1 is in the second picture







Here, Missy is playing a game with EM1, JT, (Missy's son) and her daughter-in-law Beth.





Here is my sweet friend Em2










Oh happy day, here I am pictured with the Emily's! They have made such a difference in my life these last couple of months!

This relationship is not something I can easily explain. It is a friendship that began as an "oops" I'm not who you think I am , to a friendship forged by God and forever in my heart. Thanks God! I love you girls!

Monday, what have you done to me?

It is Monday once again. Seems each one arrives an hour earlier than the one the previous week. I know I lose so many hours sitting right here in front of the computer.

I have so much to do today. In general and in preparation for next weekend. YAY EMILY!!!
(See previous post for explanation) I have MORE veggies from the garden that must be processed today or I will lose them. I have a house to clean, a couple loads of laundry and at least an acre or two to mow. Oh my aching back and joints.

I need to transcribe a tape from over nine years ago. I need to find a cassette tape player first...

I have "suffice it to say" way more on my plate than I can ever consume. Oh and speaking of consuming. I have started my diet again. BLAH! This time that last 30 pounds MUST come off! I want to be at a certain weight before I turn 50 in February. Sheesh I'm getting OLD!

Let me tell you about my two Emily's

A couple of months ago I was hanging around facebook (I tend to do that frequently) and on my friend Missy's page was a post from an Emily. Assuming it was her daughter, because of the comment made, I decided to write her a note and comment on her blog posts to a website that I also contribute to. Well, I received a post on my wall from Emily. Only problem (at the time) was that she told me she thought I had the wrong Emily, but that was OK. She then added me as her friend. I was so embarrassed, I apologized and wanted to slink away. I received another post from her, then I sent another, then... well you get the picture. Before the end of the day Emily and I felt as if we had known each other for years. We commented back and forth daily. A few weeks after our chance "meeting" my friend Missy noticed one of the comments between Emily and I. She asked "do you two know each other?"

I sat here and giggled, and wrote back that yes we did, but I wouldn't tell her how. Emily didn't tell her either. A few days later I found another friend request from another Emily. It was actually from the Emily I thought I was originally commenting to. (The Emily's are very good friends) My first Em, told the second Em the story and thought it sounded funny. So, I have two Emily's as friends. But, that is not the end of the story. Not by a long shot! After Emily, Missy's daughter, heard the story and told her mom. The loop was complete.

I don't believe that God makes mistakes! NOPE! He has a purpose for everything under the sun. Emily the first friend, and I have truly become friends. We talk back and forth several times a week. We have become kindred spirits! We share prayer requests and talk about problems. We talk to each other in confidence, and don't feel strange about it at all. Our posts usually end with "I love you" or "hugs" and" hope to see you soon" and so on.

We were going to actually meet a few weeks ago, but something happened and Emily could not visit Ohio. I was so disappointed, and so was Emily. My heart almost hurt.

Well, on Friday October 9, I will get to meet my two Emily's because they are BOTH coming to Ohio! They are coming together! I am so excited. It gets pretty lonely around here. I sometimes get desperate for female interaction! When one of our boys brings a girl home, (which is NOT a frequent thing) I grab her and talk. I need female conversation! Even Jeff comments about there should be more girls around here to balance out all of the guys. When the boys (I should say men) are home, they bring friends, and there are more guys here than I can count. So... I need female companionship!

God has heard my cry and I get some this weekend! YAY.

Mistake? I don't hardly think so. God knew my heart and how I have been feeling. I have been missing Liz so much and the mother-daughter conversations, laughing, and just doing things together. God plopped new friends in my life. No, they will not take the place of Liz, but have certainly earned a place of honor in my heart. My new friends. So Emily 1 and Emily 2- you are a most welcome addition to my heart and life!

I AM SO EXCITED!