Nice Weekend!!

It is so refreshing to have a nice weekend with sunshine and taking it easy. Friday is my day off from working out so its nice to chat with a friend, watch some TV and take a nap. Nothing like a Friday night watching the Food Network...if I can't eat then at least I can watch others do it.
I know I am turning into an old lady but you know I don't care I like my slow quiet life. No Saturday morning is complete without my trip to wal-Mart to buy my stuff for teh next week. Shopping that time of day is like meditation whereas any other time it is like a war zone. I have doen the 3 day diet, the cabbage soup diet and now I am back to my old college standby...slim fast. Only a few more weeks until Biggest Loser is over and I have to keep up my A game!!!!
The mornign was made even better with my new favorite nessecity...McDonald's fruit and maple oatmeal YUM!!!! Of course I got in some cleaning up and Wii Active done before going out for a nice run. Finally the weather was nice enough to run and sweat!!1 I was fine until I almsot got side swiped by a car...thank goodness their neighbor was an old friend from Hamilton. Gotta watch out for those young crazy drivers!!!
I had planned an evening of movies and popcorn, but got a surprise order of leftover sushi (thank goodness Dustin wasn't hungry). My choices to watch were PS I Love You, Dan in Real Life and my absolute favorite...You've Got Mail...but the TV selection changed my thoughts. Instead I watched some choclate confections on the Cooking channel, Because I said So and Nights in Rodanthe. Nothing like a good cry before you head off to bed. My favorite line is when Diane Lane is talking to her daughter about love. The quote goes "One kind of love gives you the courage to be better than you are, not less than you are. One that makes you feel that anything is possible. You can have that...hold out for it" Strangely enough charlotte once said to me she wished for me love because it is the best thing there is...but hold out for the real love. It may seem crazy but for me I plan to do that and if it doesnt happen then the life I have had has at least been one I have enjoyed. For those who have it cherish it on this commericially love crazed holiday!!
sunday is always an enjoyable day when you get to worship and enjoy fellowship with other Christians. thankfully I got to come home early since my dad cooked...meatloaf and turnip green with corn bread...not exactly on my diet but worth the cheat!!! Got in another run despite the wind but I should have used the 30 minute swim rule because I was feeling a little sick by the end. After an hour nap and watching Raising Helen I felt better. Strangely enough PS I Love you came on TV....I was thrilled. Only if I would have fit the other two movies in my romantic comedy weekend would have been complete, but instead I had to watch one of my Little House movies...yeah I know I am really turning into an old quirky lady!!
The fitting end to my weekend was chatting online with my "Sewell" cousins about our sweet Granny Ruthie. We have so many wonderful memories of her, btu we never really get to see one another. I can't tell you the last time we were all together...possibly her funeral. I do hope for a reunion soon. The strange is as I talk abotu actign like an old lady I sometimes think of her. If I turn out to be just a portion of her then I know I have lived a good life and that is all that counts!!!

Ignite the light

Let me begin by saying NO I am not a Katy Perry fan, but this song has some powerful lyrics. Whether you like Glee or not this song provided for a powerful moment. As long as you realize your worth it and a "firework" then it does not matter if you no one else loves you...love yourself and the rest will fall into place.

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind
Waiting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One Blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby your a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh,oh,oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby your a firework
Come let your colors burst
Make 'em go "oh,oh,oh"
You're gunna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow\

Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightning bolt your heart will blow
And when it's time you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light
and let it shine
Own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "oh,oh,oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through
Repeat chorus

Whether you are a fan of Valentine's or not it still makes us all think of love or the possibilities of love. Whether you have had ultimate love, heartbreak or still holding out you can relate to these lyrics. The important lesson here is that even if you have had that love or can't figure out how your life will work out...you are a firework!!! You have to love yourself in order to be loved and maybe the reason you haven't been loved is because it wasn't the right time. Time is not always on our side but until the lightning bolt love yourself and live for yourself,,,you are a firework so show em what your worth!!!

The Legacy

Thank You by Ray Boltz

For about six weeks now I have planned on this blog but just havent had the time. What is interesting is over those last few weeks the word legacy has come to light in so many situations.
Just shortly after the new year on a Wednesday night Dr. Kenny Barfield gave a devotional on this topic. It was titled The Legacy. Sadly I am beginning to forget parts of the lesson but the basic principle was what kind of legacy do you want to leave. Each of us has something special to give to the world. Especially in our christian lives we should use whatever our talent we have in order to bring others to Christ. We may be the teacher, the missionary, the monetary giver, the war smile at church. It is not just in that church building that we carry that talent out. We may say a kind word to someone feeling down, help a person in need, pray for a friend or care for a loved one. We all can remember those special people who made our lives more fulfilling and helped us gain the "ultimate reward"
There are so many things we may want to be remembered for. Recently Michael Douglas (not a fan but hear me out) said he would much rather be remembered as a cancer survivor than an academy award winner. I know there are millions of people who proudly claim to be a survivor!! I personally among other things want to be remember as a great teacher whether in the classroom or lessons taught by my life's example. Dr. Barfield talked about the certain gifts we posess. I am honored to teach not only children but those special children of the world that so many people forget about or don't think are worth teaching. I pray that part of my legacy is having loved and taught those children despite their disability I don;t see them as broken or something to be fixed they are precious souls who need love like everyone else!!
I hope I leave the legacy of being a true friend. We have those who come in and out of our lives that we sometimes lose touch with; however I hope while they were in my life I was a good friend to them. The legacy of good friendships is something most can not live without. If a relationship passes the stage of acquaintance then all the rest continue on through friendship.
Within the last week a sweet lady, Mrs Helyn Cashion passed away from this life in her early nineties. I can only imagine the thousands of lives she touched through being a wonderful teacher, friend, grandmother tip all and fine Christian lady. She always treated me like a grandchild whether it was making pound cakes for Katie and her friends in college or for summer camp, having families over for dinner parties or teaching my Sunday night Bible class. She was a legacy to live up to.
Strangely enough Dr Barfield concluded his lesson with referring to Ray Boltz's son "thank You" Now if you know me it has been a favorite of mine for many many years. In fact as he preached that song kept coming to my mind. What a powerful example of how each life is touched by another sometimes without even knowing it. In the last year the song holds so much more meaning to me. Thank You was one of the songs sang at Charlotte's funeral. n that day I was not surprised to hear the song but Charlotte and I never really mentioned this being one we both loved. I can remember it coming up in an email but other than that I was not expecting it, but once Shannon began to sing tears poured down my face. I was a life changed by her!!! I rarely go a day without listening to this song whether I choose it from a playlist, it randomly comes on or I am out running and it plays on that playlist.
If you have never paid much attention to this song or in fact never even heard of it. I hope this makes you think about your legacy and what you want to leave for otters!!

Snow 2.0

I am actually finishing this post a month after the big snow, but I am so done with snow by now. I cringe at the thought of the weather forecast even predicting it. I think I now realize how people in the North feel. Granted at first I loved the snow. I wanted to be out playing in it like some little kid, but now I just want warmer weather!!

I have to admit that this particular snowpocolypse as they were calling it was the most snow I had actually seen in the South. It was so cool walking around measuring all the different surfaces. My yard saw any where from 9-11 inches. This snow stayed around for over a week, It was a little weird seeing grass after that long time, but I can only imagine having it for moths on end. Okay I will leave the rest up to the pictures

My first impressions of the snow!!

Heidi loved it...Stuart at first not so much!!!

The Edge Snowman

The snow was fun but I am not sad to see the winter weather end. You can find more pictures on my facebook page.

The Cake

Recently I was reading Woman's Day magazine and came across a unique cake recipe. i wanted to make it then, but decided I would wait for my dad's birthday!!1 I neglected to forget that was around the time I needed to start my diet. I wasn't going to back down so I gathered up the ingredients to bake this cake...completely from scratch. Now I know some of you are laughing right now at the thought of me baking this cake...don't underestimate me. If I share all my talent then I might be expected to cook!!
After an early morning trip to Wal Mart I was ready to begin my chocolate coconut cake. Two hours later I was almost finished. The cake was nothing, the icing was simple...the coconut was a different story. The recipe called for shaved coconut, but said you could use store bought coconut. I had come this far so I hand shaved a coconut. Warning..if you haven't done this don't!!
Finally it was time to eat!! The cake was a hit!!! Since the big snow came so between the three of us we ate the entire cake!!!

White Christmas in Alabama

Christmas was all around different this year for our family!! The Bailey family Christmas was held a week early this year because the Real's were headed on a European cruise (that I am still irritated I was not invited to). As always we had Christmas at Elvis and Valerie's. I won't lie I am completing the writing of this a month after Christmas so my memory may fail me. We had a great time eating, exchanging presents and playing Mexican train. The new tradition for the year was Just dance2. I didn't volunteer because I knew my coordination was not up to par. I must say though that Pam schooled all the teenagers, especially Bailey who was not too happy about it. Before leaving our keys got locked in the car, but we couldn't be too upset because the entertainment was worth staying for!!!

Normally our Christmas Eve is spent rushing to Hamilton and doing our normal Christmas routine. This year was different and really I enjoyed it just as much. My parents and I woke up early and headed down The Trace to have breakfast at the Loveless cafe. Nothing like french toast for Christmas. We considered shopping a little but I was feeling under the weather so we headed home. Wish I could remember what happened beyond that point...haha. Just goes to show you only remember the fun stuff!! Oh wait I do know we watched It's a Wonderful Life...family favorite!

Christmas morning we always wake up open presents, watch A Christmas Story and have breakfast at the Collier's. Our afternoon tradition is to go to the movies. This year we chose Little Fockers...okay but not as funny as I would have thought!!! Usually it is Waffle House for us, but thankfully Rice Box was open. Just like Christmas Story we had our Chinese Christmas dinner. Nothing like honey sesame chicken in place of ham!!!

The big news of the3 entire day was SNOW!!! Northwest Alabama has rarely seen a true white Christmas. Yes we have seen some little flakes coming down but nothing like what we had. Something about snow on Christmas makes it all the more magical!!

Stuart has his days with snow. Mostly he goes to the bathroom, comes back covered in snow and gets his hair dried. He decided his warm towel could be a new bath robe. This is his new thing.
He walks all over the house wrapped in a towel.

Pink or Blue...I Knew!!!!

The day after my Tacky Christmas Bunco we had a Pink or Blue Party at school. My friend Susan Meyer is having a baby. Now to say everyone at the Edge is excited is an understatement. We are all over the moon. Now we also like to have a party for any occasion, so we had to have one the day she found boy or girl?

Most of us had some inclination from the start. I will admit you know me I was PINK from the start, but the morning of I almost talked myself into a little blue. Everything is a competition for me, so you know I had to have the winning color on. We were going to have a color themed party and honestly I should have taken a picture of that, but oh well. We did have a few pink and blue items but we didn't care as long as there was food to eat. We all had a great time that day....but yes Pink won out.

Susan is having a little girl. All along I have called her "lil' Meyer" so I am hoping for a Lilly Meyer, but I guess the parents should name her. We got one picture in of our crew in our color choices...thanks to one of our students. Too bad Jeff had already left (he didn't want to be seen in his pink...haha)

From the left: Me, Kim, Emily, Susan, Lisa, Juanita and Susan

Tacky Chirstmas Bunco

Every (supposed to be) second Thursday of the month I play Bunco with some of the most wonderful ladies. We always have a such a great time. I know I have blogged about it some in the past. Anyway December was my month to host. Not all Bunco groups do this, but we usually have some sort of theme. .IT could be basic with not a lot of frills or it could be all out. For my Bunco we had Tacky Christmas.

Our food was not themed this time...this time of year is way to hectic or me to learn some new recipe...well scratch that any time of the year is bad for that. Our losers bag consisted of any type of tacky Christmas gift...I brought a fruit cake to go in. We also had to dress in our tacky Christmas sweaters or other attire...I think Lynn won with the stirrup pants and Santa Sweater. Not everyone could make it, but we were lucky enough to have Amber's friend, Laura Hall play with us. Turns out I have a couple of connections with her and enjoyed meeting her. My dad took a quick pic of us all before everyone left...sorry for all the funky looking eyes.

I look the scariest so the rest of you can't complain too much!!!!!