Right on

For Christmas I got a . . .

Hark!

Early in this Christmas season, I began to meditate on this carol. I started singing each line and really thinking about what it meant. I began to put the song into my own words, to make it more real to me. "Listen! sang the angels designated for singing. God and sinners have been reconciled! After all these thousands of years of separation and longing to be near, they can be friends again!" The angels rejoiced over this. "Christ, who is adored by even the highest beings in heaven...Christ, the Lord who is everlasting...Look, He's come to earth through the womb of a virgin! He gently laid aside all of His great glory and came to earth so that no man would ever have to die again. And He, all the Godhead seen in the flesh, was pleased to come dwell here with his friends. Listen to us!! Rise up joyfully, and join us as we give glory to the King!"


Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

'Twas Right Before Christmas

by Chelley, Catrina, and Joy Lin

(We wrote this for our Christmas party's gift exchange, thus all the "right" and "left"s.)

‘Twas right before Christmas

And all through Admissions

Surviving ‘til five

Was our one final mission

The students were headed

Right straight to their homes

While staff were left waiting

And tending the phones

When right in the middle

Of our very last hour

Right then it went dark

We had lost all the power!

(What?!? You’ve got to be kidding. This happens all the time. The lines get icy and then they break and it takes the City of Claremore forever to come fix it. Like that one time, when someone drove into the pole at the intersection and we were left without power for the whole afternoon.)

Right away it was noisy

Oh! All the beeping!

Tye knew right then

He’d not be left sleeping.

To the window we all rushed

“This isn’t right!

It’s icy and snowy

We’ll be left right here all night.”

There’s ice on the cars

and ice on the streets

To the right and the left

roads are covered in trees

If Kristi hadn’t left

her ‘sploder at home

‘round Markham’s dark halls

We’d not have to roam.

Roasted nuts are so good

when left without heat

Too bad that Catrina

did not bring us that treat!

“Is Julie all right?”

Lindsay said with a shout.

“I’m right as rain.”

But her tears left some doubt.

At the switchboard sat Andrea

Just scrapping away.

There’d be no more ringing

Of phones on this day.

And way down the hall,

Last door on the left,

Sat Tara and Onesmus,

A Kenyan distressed.

“This ice, it come

From the sky and it fall.

Right on the ground

Is more left at all?”

Left without heat,

The building got frigid.

“A comfortable 70” Lenn writes.

“Yeah right,” laughed Bridget!

Down the dark hall came running

Both Hillary and Heather

“We were left all alone

We must all stick together!”

“The girls have all left,”

Kristin said with a sigh

“Let’s just call them,”

Was Joy Lin’s quick reply.

They left with their sleds

To rescue us fast

They left right away

Before more time had passed.

We waited and watched

At the window for them.

“Girl! Here they come!”

Exclaimed Vivian.

There’s Ashley and Heidi

And Leslie and Holly

And right over there

Is Paula, so jolly!

We all loaded up

On their sleds oh so tiny

Of course Chelley slipped

And fell right on her hiney.

We laughed and we laughed

And we laughed and we laughed.

We laughed and we laughed

And we laughed and we laughed.

We sled down the hill

To the left and the right.

Merry Christmas to all

And to all a good night!

The End … Right?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Years one through seven of my life were spent in Coalgate, the county seat of what was, at the time, the poorest county in the state. In the whole county, there was not one stoplight. But we loved living in that town. Dad was a pastor, so we lived in the parsonage next door to the church. I still remember our address. Every time there was something going on at church, we were there. Even if there was nothing going on, we were there. That's just what happens when you're a kid and live a hundred yards from the place where your dad is sort of the boss. It was so fun. His office was on the second floor, which is, to a shy small-town girl, pretty awe-inspiring.

One perk of being the preacher's kid is that everyone knows you, and you pretty much know everyone. Not only does the congregation know who you are, but special guests do, too. Like the Singing Fishermen that came every year to do a revival in Clareta. Or Susie Luchsinger.

Susie Luchsinger would come to our church every couple of years or so. She and her husband were about my parents' age, and had kids probably somewhere around the ages of us. I really don't remember the kids, but I sure remember Susie. She was a singer. Think Reba-McEntire-sings-Christian, and you have Susie Luchsinger. No, you really do, because they're sisters and sound a lot alike.

I remember that one time, not too long after Susie had been at church singing, we filled out a worksheet at school. One of the questions was, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I wrote, "gospel singer." Oh, how I wanted to do that! If I remember correctly, I also put "or teacher."

For some reason I thought about this tonight. A gospel singer or a teacher. Funny how, at the age of 6, two things were in my heart: education and music. And at 27, two things are in my heart: education and music. I still want to be a gospel singer! (OK, maybe not quite the style of Susie, but you know what I'm getting at.) And even though I don't want to be an actual teacher, education is still what I love.

God really does set the course of our lives. Even before I was born, He knew the plan for me. He knew my days. He knew my future.

Strategery

Everyone else gets an opinion, so I say that I get one, too...

Texas messed up.

Instead of yelling for two weeks about not going to the Big 12 Championship game, they should have set their eyes a little higher...the National Championship game, for instance. Here's why:

Texas knew Oklahoma was going to beat Missouri. All Mack needed to do was paint the scenario of Florida beating Alabama (which ended up happening) and then talk pure numbers. UT's one loss was to Tech, who was #7 at the time and then securely held the #2 seat for three consecutive weeks. At the end of the season, Tech (whose one loss was to Oklahoma) is at #7 again. Texas beat Oklahoma when OU was the #1 team in the nation. After the end of the season, Oklahoma is #1 again. (This would have been the time to bring up 45-35.) Florida has one loss, as well. They lost to Mississippi (I'm sorry, who?) who was unranked all year until they snuck in at #25 in the final ranking when Florida, a team they beat, jumped to #2. Doesn't it make more sense to send a team to the National championship who lost to the best team in the country than to send one who lost to a 4-loss team?

It's not an air-tight argument and could actually back-fire and send Alabama to the game. But then, it doesn't have to be air-tight. When you have the choice of arguing with a rule to which you agreed before it turned against you and campaigning for subjective votes...Go with the subjective option. It's better strategery, as some Texans like to say.

House of Bread

This week is the Bethlehem candle. 'Bethlehem' means 'house of bread,' so....

Mom and her stable.

She even made pretzel people.
Jesus is a little pretzel in a caramel manger.

Dad and his farm.

Backyard.
Notice the wagon. It actually rolls.

Bekah and her coal mine.

Complete with a spring-fed stream.
Who says coal miners don't celebrate with a Christmas tree?

Dad was convinced this was where the Abominable Snowman lived.
So he made a snowman and tried to sneak it into the mine.

Me and my house.

Now I know why people don't put lights on their houses.
It takes forever.

Candles in all the windows.

You may have noticed that none of these are typical gingerbread houses. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn't. One year dad's ended tragically...It appeared that a man died on his roof while putting up his lights. Sad. Then we have the infamous roof Bekah put on her house. It was made out of icing...Just a giant pile of shaped icing. Missy's trailer house was a big hit, too. Oh, funny days!

My sister, the TV star

During her senior year of high school, Bekah earned the very prestigious honor of being named a National Merit Scholar. She is now a senior at OU and had the opportunity to be in the new student-produced commercial that is run on national TV during sporting events. Be sure to watch the commercial when you're watching OU! I've seen it twice. This week, Kelly took my picture with it. I was trying to point to who I think is Bekah.

First try...


Not her...

The general area...

And in this one you can see me, too...

Advent is Here

When my brother was very young, my parents set out to make Christmas about more than presents and Santa Claus. They wanted to make sure their children knew that Christmas is about the birth of Christ, the hope He brings, and the peace we enjoy because of Him. They also wanted to do something that would bring the family together each day. The Lord gave them a great idea that sprang from the season of Advent. Simply put, Advent is the four weeks leading up to, preparing for, and celebrating the birth of Christ. Each week, one candle (then two, then three, and so on) is lit in the Advent wreath. Week one is the the Prophecy candle, and the week's focus is planning. Week two is the Bethlehem candle, with a focus on planning. Week three is the Shepherds' candle, focusing on sharing. And week four is the Angels' candle, with the focus on joy. The idea the Lord gave mom and dad was that of an Advent Box. It works much like an Advent calendar, just on a larger scale. Each evening of Advent, we open one door in the box, behind which something is hidden. The night's event might as simple as a quick devotion, or it might be something more complex like eating outside by a fire like the shepherds did. This tradition continues still, and it is the best part of our Christmas. It literally guides our celebration. When the tree is in the box, we put up the tree. When the tiny laundry bag is in the box, we read Mickey's Christmas Carol. When the matchbox is in the box, we read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. When the present (a block of wood still in its original 30ish year old wrapping paper) is in the box on Christmas Eve, we open presents.

Today is the first day of this Advent season. When I got home this evening, I saw that someone had left a sack on my door handle. Inside the sack were three smaller Christmas bags. A note was left on each sack..."Advent Sunday Day #1," "Day #2," and "Day#3." I opened Day #1 to find a pretty little bell, along with a note that said, "Well of course it's a bell! The sound of the bell rings in this first week of Advent which is symbolic of prophecy and the hope we have in Christ. Smile as you ring it and usher in this most exciting time of the year!"

A couple years ago, my family decided to share our tradition with others and wrote a book. About two months ago, I gave one of our books to my good friend Lesleigh. She read it in one afternoon, loved the idea, and said they wanted to do something during Advent season this year. When I saw my bag of Advent surprises, I immediately suspected Lesleigh. It couldn't have come from just anyone. It had to have come from someone who had read the book and understood that a bell is always in the box on the first day of Advent. Plus, the "Of course it's a bell" line was a direct quote from my contribution to the book. And Lesleigh is one of the very, very few people who live here and have read the book. I rang the bell with a smile, and called to thank her.

The Lord is so good. He really knows what I need. He knows that sometimes I have a hard time, especially during the holidays, with not having a family of my own. He knows that I want someone to understand a little of my family's tradition in more than just casual way. Today He showed me that He understands. And He showed me this by using my dear friend, knowing how close friends are to my heart. All my life, the Lord has blessed me with absolutely amazing friends.

Thank You, Lord, for loving me so intimately. Thank You for the friends who are really family. And thank you, Lesleigh, for my Advent surprises! You're the sweetest!!

61-41

What a great Bedlam game. As much as I would have loved for it to be a blow-out, it really was a pretty good game. I can say that now that I know the outcome. At the time it was pretty rough...I couldn't even sit down most of the second half. I tried, but it just wasn't working for me. And when Sam went flying through the air - - - Ohhhh, man. I lost my heartbeat for about three seconds. More records were broken, OU's case was made for getting to the Big 12 game, and most important...it was a Sooner victory.

Boomer Sooner!

Jack is Back!

Back-to-Back Champs

Saturday was our (second ever) Homecoming. It was also our preview day for prospective students and the first week of enrollment. What were we thinking?!?

As part of Homecoming, there is a campus-wide decorating contest between departments. Last year, the winning department was promised a "tasty treat." As it turned out, we did get the tasty treat, but then so did everyone else who participated. We also received a Spirit Stick. This Spirit Stick lived in our window for one full year minus a week. Here's what it was: a dowel rod that had one end painted blue, one end painted red. Where they met in the middle, there were a few unpainted spots. On one end, in black Sharpee, the name of our office was written. It was the saddest Spirit Stick in the history of Spirit Sticks. About one week ago, we decided that, if we were going to have to pass the stick off to another office, we should bling it up a little bit. So a couple ladies took it and turned it into the most incredible Spirit Stick!

This year, as defending champions, our competitiveness was kicked up a notch. So we put our heads together and came up with a pretty fun idea. Here are some pictures...




The basketball was surprisingly difficult. But with some wire, knowledge of how to braid, two plastic table cloths, a black marker, 30 balloons, fishing line, one nail, one stapler acting as a hammer, some crawling on the floor and standing on the desk, four 20-something girls, several hours, and a lot of desperation, it happened. It's about 6 feet in diameter.



I made the Locker Room signs. Catrina and Chelley made the Rosters.



I made these. By hand. From construction paper. Pretty good, huh?




One hallway was the women's locker room. The other hallway was the men's.




Needless to say, we won the competition! Tomorrow we (and only we) get our tasty treat. We get to keep our Spirit Stick. And we got a framed certificate, as well. We might have to start a Wall of Fame.

Blue vs Orange

My friend, Julie, and I must be crazy. Yesterday we headed out of town at 5:00pm for Stillwater...even though we were listening to weather reports saying there were severe thunderstorms and even tornadoes the whole way. So we drove for about two hours in the rain...And for two more hours in the pouring rain on the way home. With a three-year-old in the back seat. (He was very good, though.)

Why did we do this? For basketball, of course. No, not OSU basketball. Don't you know me at all?!? We went for Hillcat basketball. For the second year in a row, our men's team played OSU in an exhibition game at Gallagher-Iba. I had never been to a "real" game. (And by "real" I mean a big-time-NCAA-D1-basketball-school game.) They do it up right there. I've always heard how loud that arena is and how fun those games are. Last night it was by no means full...far from it. But it was still pretty loud. I can't even imagine what it's like when it's packed!

Because Julie is awesome (and has worked her tail off for the athletes), she's "in" with the athletic department. So Coach Williams called her last week and asked if she wanted two free tickets. I was already planning to go with her to the game, and her husband couldn't go so...I got to sit in floor seats right behind our bench for free. Yay! Thanks, Coach.

Our guys played so hard the entire game. Ended up scoring 75 points, which isn't too bad. The number of points we gave up is pretty bad, though, so I'm not going to publish it. If you really feel the need to know, I'll let you dig that info up yourself. Our guys were getting so frustrated. It seemed like everything they did wasn't working. OSU, on the other hand, could just glance at the basket and the ball, of its own free will, jumped through the hoop. I was really proud of our guys, though, because they never quit playing. It was good for them. Made it obvious what they need to work on as the season gets started and we start playing teams in our conference.

Speaking of our conference, our men are ranked #3. This is remarkable for a couple reasons. One, this is only our second year of competition. And two, our conference is widely regarded as the toughest in the nation. OCU is ranked #1 in the conference, and they are the two-year defending national champs. They are ranked #1 in the NAIA pre-season rankings. OBU is ranked #2 in the conference, and they lost out of the national tourney in the quarter-finals last year. They're ranked #7 in the NAIA pre-season Top 25.

Even more remarkable is this: RSU has been voted #20 in the NAIA pre-season Top 25!

This weekend is Homecoming (our second ever). I wasn't in town last year, so this is my first. Can't wait! If you're in or near town, you should come...It'll be fun!

Go Hillcats!

How long 'til I have to get up?

A couple mornings ago, I was sleeping along very well, when I woke up with something in my throat. I coughed to try to get it out, then looked at the clock. 4:27. OK, I can live with this for another four minutes until my alarm goes off. Back to sleep.

I was sleeping along well, when I woke up with something still in my throat. I coughed to try to get it out, then looked at the clock. 4:42. OK, I can live with this for another four minutes until my alarm goes off. Weird that I still have four minutes of sleep left, because I thought I'd been asleep longer than one minute...But perception of time can be very wrong when sleeping. Back to sleep.

I was sleeping along not quite so well because I was thinking about having something in my throat, when I woke up. I coughed, then looked at the clock. 5:09. OK, well, I can live with this for another five minutes until...wait...Why is it that earlier it was four minutes until my alarm goes off, but now it's five minutes until my alarm goes off? Huh? Oh. Yeah. When the clock reads 4:27 it does not mean I have four minutes and 27 seconds until my alarm goes off. It means that it is 27 minutes past four o'clock in the morning.

Even in your sleep, that's some funny stuff, right there.

#110 at 7:23

As I was standing in line to vote this morning, I had the privilege of seeing someone vote for the first time. She was there with her grandpa and was about 8 years old. I saw them, along with the grandma and another young girl, walk in together, and I thought how cool it was that the girls got to experience first-hand how an election works. As I was standing there, I overheard the granddaughter say, "You're fast." Her grandpa replied, "Yes, it's because I studied hard and know all the answers." What a brilliant answer. Refreshing. Educational.

A short time later, I heard grandpa ask, "Do you want to do the judges?" I couldn't believe it, so I turned around. Sure enough, she had the pen and as he watched over her and pointed to the right lines, she marked his ballot. Was this legal? I have no idea. But I do know that one 8-year-old girl will never forget the day she voted with her grandpa.

And my guess is that when it comes her turn, she will be a fast voter, too.

Kelly's a Blogger

I have my first recruit! My good friend, Kelly, started a blog last night, and I'm so excited. She's definitely on my recommended reading list for those of you who like to read blogs, so check her out.

I was going to post a picture of us, but the only one I could find is actually on her blog...I thought it would be a little too tacky to steal her first-blog thunder by snagging the pic off her page, so you'll have to go there to see it.

Welcome, Kelly!

Business...Party

I walked into the lobby mid-morning and saw something that made me stop in my tracks and drop my jaw. A young man was sitting at the front desk, and he had a mullet. The best part, though, is that he was a red-head! In all my mullet-watching, I'd never seen a red-headed one, and I promise you...it was SOOO worth the wait. I almost cried, it was so beautiful.

(After closer inspection, I'm not sure it was actually a mullet. He had on a cap, so he could have just had long hair. But the illusion was there, none-the-less. In all honesty, what I saw of his hair really was pretty.)

Something to say when you don't know what to say...

I truly don't know what to say. I've thought for several weeks now that I need to write another blog, but sometimes there are just too many things to say but no way to say them. So here's what this blog is about: Mary Poppins. I don't remember what triggered it, but something on Thursday made me think of a line from Mary Poppins. So I went to my computer and IM'd with John for about, oh, 15 minutes or so, just lines from the movie. See, John, Bekah, and I have practically the whole movie memorized. We used to sit at the dinner table quoting it. I hadn't seen it in forever, so Friday night I pulled it out, plopped down on the couch, and watched it. Since I was by myself, I had the great pleasure of singing along and saying as many lines aloud as I wanted. What surprised me, though, was how many thing my family says that we pulled directly from the movie....

Kindly do not attempt to cloud the issue with facts.
Still better than a finger in the eye.
Feed the birds and what have you got? Fat birds.
Quite right, good idea, quite right, good idea, quite right.
Well, that's debatable, I must say.
Close your mouth, Michael, we are not a codfish.
Strawberry...mmmm!
Madam, that is entirely beside the point!

But then sometimes we just start out with one-liners and go until we decide to stop...

What's the name of his other leg?
Oh, from about September to March.
Mrs. Lark likes to walk in the park with Andrew. 'Ello, Andrew! Ah, Mrs. Corey, a story for you...Your daughters were shorter than you, but they grew!
No charge.
That's what I said, sir, go fly a kite. Oh, no sir. No, I don't mean you personally.
It's the master! It's the master step in time, it's the master step in time, never need a reason, never need a rhyme, it's the master step in time.
Good luck, gov'nor.
Oh, that is sad. That's the saddest thing I ever heard.
And that was nothing like a good joke!
Capital bit of humor. Wooden leg named Smith...or Jones, whatever it was.
Though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group they're raaather stuuupid.
Cast off the shackles of yesterday. Shoulder to shoulder into the fray. Our daughter's daughters will adore us and will sing in great fore chorus...Well done! Well done! Well done, sister suffr... What is it Katy Nanna? Missus Banks! I have something to say. [...] Oh, gracious Katy Nanna, you're not leaving! Think of the children. Think of Mr. Banks. He was just beginning to get used to you.
First of all, I'd like to make one thing quite clear. I never explain anything.
Tomorrow just as you suggest, pressed and dressed, Jane and Michael will be at your side. At my side? Where are we going? To the bank, of course, just as you proposed.
In short, you have a ghastly mess!
Sacked?!? Certainly not. I am never sacked.
Hello, there!
Tuppence, prudently, thriftily, frugally invested in the, to be specific, in the Dawes, Tomes, Mousely, Grubbs, Fidelity Fiduciary Bank.
Father in a cage? They makes cages in all shapes and sizes, you know. Bank-shaped, some of them, carpets and all.
He mended it!

See what I mean?

There was one thing that made me stop and say, "Hmmm," though. When George Banks takes Jane and Michael to the bank and the Board of Directors are singing to them, the Elder Mr. Dawes says this: "When stand the banks of England, England stands. When fall the banks of England, England falls!"

So life is hectic and there are a lot of things that could be said. But only one word seems to apply...

Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious!

(You know, you can say it backwards, which is Dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirupus. But that's going a bit far, don't you think? Indubitably.)

Gag Rule

This week was my semi-annual trip to the dentist. I don't mind going to the dentist. My dentist's office great. It's a father/son practice, every one is super-nice, they're Christians, it's just a really good environment. There are only two problems. The first is that I'm not a regular flosser. Every time I go they tell me the scary story of gum disease after they make my gums bleed. I got wise to their ways, though. Now about a week and a half before my appointments, I start flossing. How bad is that?!? Works, though. No scary gum disease story this time.

The second problem is this: I'm a gagger. Have you ever had molds made of your mouth? If I'm ever captured by the Chinese, all they'll have to do is shove those big molds extra-full of goop into my mouth a few times, and I'll tell them anything they want to know. Oh, they tell you to lean forward, it helps. Wiggle your toes, it helps. Let us spray this stuff in the back of your throat, it helps. I'm here to tell you, it doesn't help. My sister has no problem with having molds made. I absolutely don't understand.

Back to the story. Once a year the denists takes x-rays of my back teeth. In order to accomplish this, they have to put those little tabs in the very back of my mouth for me to bite down on. This is no good-o. It takes several tries before they actually get the shot before I spit the thing out of my mouth. I ususally have tears and snot. Fun, really. They've tried different things with me. The oddest is a salt trick one of the girls there knows. Right before she sticks the tabs in my mouth, I put salt on my tongue. It did actually work the first time they tried it. Maybe it was the shock value, who knows. Well, this time, the hygienist put the big x-ray apron on me, positioned the x-ray machine by my face, and put the tab in. Before she was out of the room to push the button...gag...out came the tab. She went to get some of that spray. Right then my friend who works there walked by. We'd had the gag conversation all the way home from Tulsa a couple months ago, so she knew about me. They ended up double-teaming me. Hygienist sprayed my throat...twice...Danni stood by the button, hygienist stuck the tab in my mouth, she ran out of the room while Danni pushed the button, I spit the tab out. It worked on the first try both times. Still had a little tear in the corner of my right eye, but other than that not too bad. Thanks, Danni!

While I was laying there getting my teeth cleaned, I had a sudden though. "I wonder if she's ever dropped the mirror down someone's throat?!?" Have you ever thought about that?? I asked her, and she said she never has. Whew.

She Got Boo'd

Now, I have heard that there have been some pretty bad performances of the National Anthem...Rosanne Barr, for example. Never in my life, though, have I witnessed someone being boo'd after singing the National Anthem in public. Not just any public, but thousands and thousands of people live, plus millions more sitting at home watching. Last night was a Cowboys game. In honor of National Hispanic Month, they invited Kat DeLuna to sing the Anthem. I have zero idea who this is, but apparently she's some pop-star. Ho.Ly.Cow. First of all, if you can't sing a capella, don't try. There's not shame in it. Second, don't get all hoochy-mama while you're singing the Star Spangled Banner! Terrible. Seriously, you should watch it. Listen to the crowd at the end. It takes a lot for a bunch of Texans to boo the National Anthem!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q98BuAX2T0U

Maybe It Is Still the Grand Ol' Party

Did you see Sarah Palin's speech last night at the RNC? Phenomenal. I was sitting on my couch watching, and I kept saying, "I LOVE her!" About halfway through her speech, the camera panned the crowd and I saw a women look at her friend and mouth, "I LOVE her!" I think that pretty much sums up what American conservatives feel.

How long has it been since there has been a real reason to be excited about anything Republican? I honestly don't know. The first time W ran, there was a certain level of interest, but nothing like this. Back then it was more of a "we need to take back the White House since Clinton has messed us up" kind of thing. The past week, though, there has been an...I don't know...electricity.

Obviously I haven't been around for lots of Presidential elections. As far as I can tell, though, this is the most brilliant political move in at least my lifetime. Palin is a woman, and a feminine one at that. In her first speech she actually used the words "break the glass ceiling once and for all!" Nobody knew anything about her, so the day after the DNC, the entire media had to focus her, not Obama. She gave birth to a special needs child even though they knew he had Downs...and she talks about the blessing he is. Her unmarried daughter is pregnant and is actually going to keep the baby and marry the boyfriend...They don't see it as being "punished with a baby" at all. She's beautiful, she's a sports nut, she's very well-spoken, she doesn't mind taking on a fight, she does what's right, she's not part of the "system", her son's in the Army, and, like most of America, she is from a small town. The list goes on and on. Brilliant.

Did you see her youngest daughter Piper last night? Hilarious! After the girls were introduced (at which point Piper stood up and told her sisters to stand, as well), she decided she wanted to hold the baby. So her dad passed the baby off. Later the cameraman got one of the greatest shots. Piper licked her hand and smoothed down the baby's hair. So stinkin' funny! I love how real that family is. They've not been groomed for politics. They're just the family next door that showed up on TV one night while their mom winged her VP nomination acceptance speech like it was nothing new.

That's right, she winged it. About halfway through the speech, the teleprompter decided to keep running through all the applause. So Sarah gave the rest of her speech from memory.

In all my imaginings, I never thought I would be excited to vote this year. I was going to vote because I love to vote. But I wasn't going to vote because I wanted McCain to win. More like I wanted Obama to lose. Now I can't wait. Maybe, just maybe, it really IS still the Grand Ol' Party.

An Old Family Friend

In the course of my life, my family has been friends with many other families scattered here and there. One family, though, we have consistently kept in contact with. Maybe it is because our families are so parallel. Mom and dad, good marriage, love their kids; three kids, the oldest is a son who is right about John's age, the middle is a daughter who's my age, and the youngest is a daughter, but she's quite a bit younger than Bekah. John and Michael got married around the same time. Elizabeth and I have done everything together. We grew up together being picked on by our brothers and annoyed by our sisters, but loving them anyway and later becoming friends with them. We moved away from home the same year for college, survived college, kept in contact with high school friends, got our first jobs at the same time, struggled with being single. This weekend Elizabeth got married, so she's ahead of me there. Mom and Elly both owned a small business at the same time. Bekah and April had a tendency to nurse hurt animals back to health. It's been a lot of fun having that family as our friends. Sadly, though, as friendships sometimes do, this one has run its course. We must say goodbye. Tomorrow I won't know where Elizabeth and Anthony go on their honeymoon. I won't know how long Grandpa Jim stays in the hospital. I won't know how big a hit Michael's next book is. It has been a good friendship and a long one. But now, I must say...Farewell, Patterson Family. I will miss you.

Freeze Tag

I have been tagged twice...once by Chelley, once by Catrina. Apparently, I need to do this. However, since everyone I know has either already been tagged or wouldn't do this even if I did tag them, the buck stops here. I won't be tagging anyone else. Which, come to think of it, is pretty typical for me when I play tag.

Six things you may or may not have known about me:

One
I was Laurie (Cast A) in our 4th grade production of "Oklahoma!" I actually tried out for two other parts: Ado Annie and Aunt Eller. But they needed someone to read the part of Laurie during someone else's Ado Annie audition, and they asked me. I reluctantly read. The next day, they came around to all the classes to announce who got what part. I was devastated when I heard I was Laurie! (I know...Who is upset when they surprisingly get the lead role?!?) I think I got it because we had just moved there from Coalgate and I still had a real big Okie accent, which maybe they though Laurie needed. Or maybe I was just that good. Ha. I still know the opening lines. (Sining) "Oh, what a beautiful mornin', oh what a beautiful day..." (Notices Curly. Speaking.) "I thought you was somebody." (Ignores Curly, shakes out dish towel. Singing.) "...I've got a beautiful feelin'. Ev'rything's goin' my way." (Speaking to Aunt Eller [who was played by my best friend].) "Is this all that's come a-callin', and it's already 9:00 in the mornin'?"

Two
In 9th and 10th grades, I was in Mock Trial. I loved it! My role was to be a witness...don't remember which side I was on...I think defense. One time this lawyer on the other team asked me a question about how far away so-and-so was when I saw him. I had no idea. The guy rips out a tape measure and starts measuring the courtroom. Hilarious. We made so much fun of him for that.
Three
My first 2-3 months of college were absolutely miserable, starting before I even arrived on campus. I was soooo nervous!! I was literally sick with nerves the first two or three weeks...couldn't eat, it was awful. After I got over that, I couldn't seem to find people who I could really be friends with. Casual friends, sure, but not kindred spirits. Finally I found my nitch second semester and from then on I was unstoppable.

Four
My 2nd grade teacher spanked me on the last day of school. Only school spanking I ever got. Here's the story...and to this day I still think it was unfair. It was the last day of school, so we were cleaning out the classroom, getting it ready for summer. The room was really big, and at the back there was a deep room divider that was almost the full length and height of the room. On the classroom side were chalkboards and bulletin boards. On the back side was access to lots of storage. So this day, Mrs. Jackson chose two students to help her clean out the storage. I was not chosen, which probably hurt my teacher's-pet-feelings. The only people who were allowed behind the divider that afternoon were those two students. However. Lots of kids kept running back there. Mrs. Jackson would say, "I told you not to go back there!" or something along those lines. Occasional reprimands, but nothing severe. I decided that if she really wasn't going to enforce the rule, I might as well take a quick walk back there, too. After all, if none of them were getting in trouble, fairness said I had one free breakage of the rule. Something must have snapped, because Mrs. Jackson caught Sarina, a girl who was always in trouble, and me, who was never in trouble. She reprimanded us, then, to my surprise, took us across the hall for Mrs. Harris (or Farris...there were both and I never could keep them straight) to witness swats. This was back in the days when it was OK for teachers to give swats. So Sarina and I both got three swats. Sarina cried. I did not. I am very proud of that. Our house-rule was that if you got in trouble at school, you got in trouble at home, so I swore to myself that I wouldn't tell mom and dad about my spankings. My plan was to tell them when I was 20, I think, because by then I would be too old to spank. I didn't hold out quite that long. I think I was around 13 when I finally told them.

Five
In college, Lindsay, Denise, and I used to go to the C-Store on weekends to use our meal points. The best thing to get was ice cream. We would each get a pint and take it back to the dorm. Then we'd sit and watch a movie while eating those pints of ice cream. We had to eat the whole thing...No freezer. Personal favorite: Blue Bell Cookies 'N Cream. Mmmm...

Six
I wore headgear. For a long time, I had dents in my upper lip where the wires came out my mouth to hook onto the part that went around my head. I kept the headgear for years, thinking I would give it as a gag gift sometime. Haha! Wouldn't that be a terrible thing to get from someone?!? (Lucky for all of you, I never had the courage to do that, and I got rid of it a few years ago.)