Going Rogue!

Ok those of you that know me well are about to fall out of your seat... I read a 450 page book! If there is one thing I don't like to do it's read books. Short of US Weekly a few magazine publications my church produces I don't really read a lot. I'll read articles on the web, blogs, smutty entertainment magazines but that's about it. Over Thanksgiving we took a 10 day cruise to South & Central America (I'll be blogging about that tomorrow.) Like everyone I knew nothing about Sarah Palin when she stood side by side with John McCain during the elections and didn't really feel I got to know her well... the media did a GREAT job of cutting her off or asking her questions that had NOTHING to do with being the Vice President. During the few times I did hear her speak I typically agreed with what she had to say but through out the campaign found myself questioning what she truly believed because she really wasn't given then platform to express it. Biden we knew, anyone that didn't could simply look at his voting record over the past several years in the Senate. Palin on the other hand was a mystery and remained so through out the campaign. When her book came out the timing was perfect since I'd be hitting the open seas for 10 days 4 days of which were spent "at sea".

I opened the book and couldn't put it down! It was really good and I learned so much about her. I actually felt like I related to her. From the early days she's been a full-time worker and mother, Her husband is very supportive of her career choices, She's a devout Christian and attends church regularly, She's worked from ground up and is by no means some rich snooty type, She believes hard work is the back bone of our country, on a political level she believes in small government and that the key to government success is through local government rather then relying on D.C. to make all the decisions, she believes in cutting spending rather then raising taxes, she believes people should be self reliant and not depend on others to feed and clothe them, she is proud to be an American and patriotism shines through every sentence of the book.

I have to say I'm impressed with Sarah and I hope to see her again in the future.

Why the lack of blogging?

I haven't blogged much lately and I got to thinking yesterday that's a pretty sad thing! Not for my faithful readers but for me! A few years ago my aunt gave me copies of my grandmother's (dad's mom) journals. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to read and re-read her entries! Reading the stories of my dad are priceless. My blog has become my journal. I don't post all of my entries (lucky for you) so that I have a record happenings including the more "private" ones that I'm not looking to share. Well the last few months have been so hectic I haven't taken the time to share even with myself! Not to mention it didn't help that my laptop crashed and typically I blog in the evenings after the house has calmed down and work isn't looming. With no laptop (yet another thing on the to-do list; REPLACE LAPTOP!) that leaves me only the time at work to blog which as you all know if you're blogging you're likely not working. SOOOOO... dilemma! But, I plan to buy a new laptop right after Christmas anyone know do they tend to have better prices then? The sales seem good now too. The logical side of me was just thinking there could be better sales trying to get rid of some things overstocked but what do I know I'm not in retail. So there you have it. If you're wondering where I've been I've been everywhere but on a computer to blog. But I think until I get my new laptop I'm going to take the first few minutes of everyday to catch up the blog.

Let it Shine!

You know how every Christmas Pageant, Church Program, or recital has THAT kid... the one that's loud, shouts the words to a song as oppose to singing, and waits 'til the room is completley silent to belt out the next line of the song? Well JP proved to be not one bit stage freight Monday & Tuesday night as I discovered J.P. is THAT kid... At first he was reserved and much more interested in the Nativity set-up behind him until he saw all the attention he could get from belting the song and adding his own choreography. Pardon the clarity of the video they're taken from my still camera not a video camera and I was laughing my head off so everything is a bit shaky!

October FLEW by!

ok, the month flew by and with only one post by me! Just know it was BUSY! Between vacation to Disney, Training at work, and Halloween party's this month was packed! Update coming soon!

JP's Lunch

At home JP is an excellent eater. The boy will pretty much down anything we’re eating. So WHY is it he wasn’t eating at school? The teachers kept telling me, “he seems to be interested in XXX lunch so maybe you should try this.” OK, so I’d try. NOPE! He’d come home STARVING! I vented to mom and she gave me a great idea… Mom says, “why don’t you cut his meat into dinosaurs?” (JP is obsessed with dinosaurs) HUH? Well I’ll give a shot.

I found a great box of cookie cutters with every shape, letter, number, and animal you can imagine! And yes it includes dinosaurs!!!

It's pretty safe to say JP is now very excited about his lunch! Not only does JP now eat everything in his lunch box he helps me make his lunch and we correspond our cut outs with the letter of the week. This week the letter was D. JP cut out the letter D, Dinosaurs, and Doggies! Thanks Grandma for the GREAT suggestion!

Update on Bethesda Elementary Families

I just received an email from the counselor for the school who works very closely with the social worker and directly with the families in need. She said in addition to the items I listed before they also need underwear. These poor families I can't even imagine! Most of the families in need lived in a trailer park that appears is going to be condemned. If you're still getting items together Wal-Mart and Kroger gift cards are very helpful as well... this way the school can distribute appropriately. I've been asked several time where the school is located... It's in the Berkmar High school district and is Title 1 if you're not familiar with that term it essentially means a school with high percentage of low income families.

It's amazing to me to see the out pour of help among the community. Sunday many church pew's sat empty as members of congregations (mine as well as many others) fled to Austell and various other hard hit area's to assist in flood clean up. If you or your family were among those volunteers Thank you! I read story after story in the papers that the volunteers not only cleaned but inspired the flood victims. One lady I remember specifically said, "if they were not here I would still be sitting in my garage crying, but instead we're getting this done so we can all move on." Despite times being bad for so many people in so many ways there is one thing nobody can deny when people come together so much is accomplished and miracles transpire.

Hey Local Friends...

Hey all you locals! I feel blessed and very grateful that my home suffered no more then some yard clean up in the recent flood. As we all know many citizens have been inconvenienced with no power, flooded basements, stranded in homes, no school bus service until further notice, while others suffered much more losing everything in their home and in some cases their entire house. The City of Grayson and the Greater Grayson Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a community recovery drive for Bethesda Elementary collecting needed items for families whose homes were severely damaged or lost. We’re collecting anything you and I use everyday that these families no longer have. The items will be delivered THIS Friday October 2nd.

Items needed for these families are:
- Blankets
- Towels
- Sleeping Bags
- Paper Products (toilet paper, paper plates, paper towels, plastic ware)
- Microwaveable food
- Toys for toddlers & elementary students
- Wal-Mart or Grocery Store Gift Cards

If you are able to contribute any items you can bring them to me and I’ll make sure they make it to the drop locations or you can take items directly to the drop locations below.

These items can be delivered to Grayson City Hall or the GGCC Chamber Office, Monday thru Thursday, September 28th through October 1st.

Deliver Items to:Grayson City Hall475 Grayson Parkway (Main Street) - Grayson, GA 30017Monday-Thursday10am-3pm
Deliver Items to:Gtr. Grayson Chamber of CommerceGrayson Professional Building (3 drives past Essex Bank)2047 Grayson Hwy 20 - Grayson, GA 30017Sunday-Thursday9am-7pmItems can be left in the large white crate located on our front porch. It will be checked several times daily.

Thank you in advance for anything you can contribute. If you’re not sure where my house or office is give me a call at 678-386-7036.