Funny Friday - Sloppy Joes

Tia & Tamera Halt Reality Show

I do not watch a lot of TV and especially do not watch much of "reality" TV.  However, there is one reality show that I do watch and enjoy....Tia and Tamera.

I just love these girls - always have and I always look forward to when their reality show is in a new season.  However, a couple of days ago, Tamera announced they have decided not to return with Season 4. 

Too bad for me but I can certainly understand their reasons.  Following their show, I know they do not make career decisions lightly - they are very serious about their career choices and their families decisions so I am glad for them but I will miss the small peek I had in their lives and watching their families grow (from single girls to married girls to mothers). 

I hope to continue to see them on their other career ventures and wish them all the best!

Happy New Year - 2014 !

Wow!  I totally am floored that it is 2014 !  The saying is true - time really does seem to fly.

It is that time of year again, when I list my GOALS for the upcoming year.  I don't make resolutions anymore, I stopped that a few years ago - instead I like to make goals for the year.  Sometimes I meet them, sometimes I don't but you know what...that isn't the end of the world. 

I didn't have a ton of goals last year - some goals I met, most I didn't.  I had a tough year, emotionally.  Even though I lost my dad in 2012, for some reason it was harder in 2013.  I really went through a great deal of depression throughout 2013 and actually still deal with it.  I try not to focus on it but throughout 2013, when my life was to be about "Balance" - it was instead about "Avoidance" - I just tried to avoid the world for the most part. 

There were some good things that happened in 2013 - I got to see my friend Anita and my Godson, Jacob - not just once but TWICE last year - that was great !  I went to Nashville and saw Donny & Marie.  I saw Adam Ant after many, many years.  For the most part, my family was healthy and I got to see my niece & her husband, who I haven't seen in 2 years.  I also go to meet my great niece, Isobel, in person and that was so special to me!  I love that little girl so much!  I turned 50 (gulp! but yea!).  I started researching my family tree and found out a lot of interesting things.

However, when at home for the most part, I pretty much would lie on the couch, sleep when I could and avoid doing anything else - cleaning, crafting, cooking, reading, etc.  I just wanted to close my eyes and wake up and everything be better - but it never was.  I did what I had to do to get through each day and Thanked God for the strength that I survived another day without my dad, without Thatcher and Thanked God for those that I did have in my life. 

Each year, for the past few years, I've picked a word to try to be my focus for the year - based on Ali Edwards "One Little Word" concept.

Previous year's were:
2011: Happiness
2012: Completion
2013: Balance

So what is the word for 2014?  I keep going between two of them....Focus and Routine.  I keep going back and forth.  But I think I will make my word "ROUTINE" for 2014.  Why this word?  Well...I was thinking back to a time in my life when I was very, very busy yet I was pretty happy.  I lived in a condo with my sister.  I was going to school full-time, working full-time and managed to keep things at home organized and going smoothing and still managed time for a social life.  During this time, though, I was really in a routine.  I got up the same time daily, did certain things at certain times and on certain days.  I liked having a routine schedule - it helped me stay organized and helped me stay focused (there is that word again).  I think having a good routine helps with your focus, which is why I decided to go with routine. 

My life now is anything but routine....I get up at various times, get to work at various times, leave work at various times, I don't plan my meals, I don't plan much of anything - what happens, happens. I am the kind of person that needs some kind of routine and schedule - it works for me, it helps me stay on track.  So...that is going to be my One Little Word for 2014.

Spiritual Goals:

Well...as I do every year...I want to read the whole Bible in a year.  I even have a special one-year Bible for this purpose:

The problem is...I have misplaced this !  (Maybe my OLW should be "organize").  Actually I THINK I know where it is but haven't looked there.  So I will look there tonight and hopefully it will be there so I can start with it tomorrow.  However...I do have another plan to follow as a backup. 

This is obviously something that is near and dear to me - something I really, really want to do since it has been a goal that I do not stop thinking about....but sometime around March, I always seem to lose steam.  I really want to complete this goal this year - mainly to stretch my spiritual knowledge but also so that this time next year, I will not be making this a goal again - I can actually say I DID IT.

 

Another spiritual goal is to spend more time in solitude and prayer.  I am pretty good at this spiritual discipline but I want to include it as part of my daily routine.  Spending time, probably after daily Bible readings, with just the quietness and listening for the Lord - giving my prayer requests to Him and just "being" with Him.

Crafty Goals:

Well...I didn't meet any of my crafty goals from last year.  As I mentioned, I was quite blue throughout a lot of the year.  When you are feeling down, you just don't feel like doing anything, especially something crafty.  I am...I promise, promise, promise, promise myself, that I AM going to complete my Around the World Afghan.  Frankly, I cannot believe that I started this almost 4 years ago - has it really been that long??  I, mean, REALLY??  I guess time really does fly, as I mentioned earlier. 

Of course there are other crafty things I want to do this year, but this is the only goal I am setting because this is the one that I will complete this year.

Other Goals:

Genealogy - I will continue on my quest to find out more about my family.  My goal is to get everything into 2 (or perhaps 4) books - can't quite decide how I will organize it.  I want to especially have the Odom family information completed as much as possible before our family reunion at the beginning of May.

Health - I will continue to eat healthier.  I have done fairly well - avoiding fried foods and refined sugars.  I will continue to focus on healthy eating and incorporating more vegetables and more exercise into my life.

Reading - Other than the Bible reading plan, I am not really going to set any "reading" goals.  I do want to take time to read more but it really isn't a goal, just something I hope to do.

Travel - Again, not really setting any travel "goals" but I do have a desire to take more "day trips" or "overnight trips" this year - places within driving distance.  I am going to plan a trip to Washington, DC for me and my friend, Susan - but not sure I will take the trip this year - I would like to though - perhaps around September/October.


Well...that is really it - not really a lot of goals - mainly two - read the Bible in a Year and complete the Around the World Afghan.  The others are, what I guess you might call desires or mini-goals.

Wish me luck :)

Abbeville, AL - Home of Huggin' Molly

I ride through the town of Abbeville, Alabama several times a year - probably 10 - 12 times at least - maybe more.  So I have been through there a lot over the years. 

Back at the end of October, when I was riding through (my 4th time that month), I noticed this new sign they were putting up on the outskirts of town.  They were actually in the process of putting it up as I drove by, so I couldn't stop and see what it was all about.

When I went through in November, I saw the sign and for some reason it struck me as soooo funny.  It was pouring rain though and I was very tired and wanted to get home so I didn't stop.  But this time...the weather was okay, the traffic was light so I decided to stop and see it up close.

The sign says "Welcome to Abbeville" - Home of Huggin' Molly.  Okay, at the time, I didn't know who that was....all I could think was....it looks like a witch, chasing a child.

I mean who doesn't want to live in or visit a town where witches chase your children, right?

Haha - well, as it turns out Molly is not a witch but actually is more of a ghost.  Apparently, the legend is that Molly is the ghost of a very large woman (7 feet tall and as big as a bale of hay), who is dressed all in black - after dark, she will chase you down, give you a hug and scream in your ear. 

Apparently, she has a particular fondness of children (especially boys).  According to the Washington Times (Jan 2 2013), a local named Jimmy Rane, also known to many as Yella Man, swears he encountered her as a boy.

I read a story somewhere by a girl that said when she was about 11, she and her BFF wanted to see if the story was true, they went into some woods and stayed until it got dark - after a while, this tall woman, dressed all in black, came running at them with  her arms outstretched.  The kids ran out of the woods without looking back - they were afraid to see what was behind them I suppose.

Apparently, Molly is a little misunderstood - she doesn't do this to scare people, per se, she may be seeking her own child.  I guess she screams when she realizes she has the wrong kid.

Not sure if the story is true or not but....it sure makes for a good tale (and an interesting town welcome sign).

If you are ever in Southeastern Alabama - a few miles from Dothan, stop in at Huggin Molly's Restaurant in Abbeville -  a good old fashioned soda fountain, with great food and find out more about her and the town.

December 2013 Movies

Movies that I saw in December 2013 that were new to me (doesn't include made for TV movies)

• Saving Mr. Banks - 2013
  Oh so good - great acting, interesting story but boy that Walt Disney was a patient man - P.L. Travers was a very difficult person.  While this movie made you understand why Mr. Banks (the father in Mary Poppins) was so important to her...and you do see some childhood struggles she went through - it doesn't quite show why she was so extremely difficult.  I get the feeling she was like this in all aspects of her life, not just when it came to the making of Mary Poppins.  Emma Thompson deserves an Oscar nod for this one if you ask me. Big thumbs up for this one.

• Suspicion - 1941
  Starring Joan de Havilland Fontaine.  Okay, first of all - how in the world did I NOT know that Joan Fontaine was Olivia de Havilland's sister???  I can't believe I did not know this until, while watching this movie with my mother, she shares this information with me.  Secondly, this movie was somewhat predictable and boring and thirdly, I can't believe Joan Fontaine won an Oscar for this role as Best Actress.  She was horrible in it if you ask me.  I like her, she is a good actress but in this movie, she was just not good - sorry Joan.  I know she only passed away a couple of weeks ago and I don't mean any dis-respect.  I don't know if it was her acting or if it was just the role but I give this movie a thumbs down.

• Gaslight - 1944
  Starring the ever beautiful, Ingrid Bergman, who rightly so, won Best Actress for this movie, which won Best Picture.  Great movie - suspenseful, interesting, great sets and customs.  Also featured, Dame May Whitty (who also happened to be in Suspicion) - great character actress, who I just adore. This movie gets a thumbs up.

Saving Money in 2014 - Pinterest Related

I saw this on Pinterest - a way to save $1,378 in one year that won't be too difficult to do....that is IF you stick with it. I started out doing this last year and somewhere along the way kind of forgot about it and stopped saving...So I am starting over this year. I made my own schedule because the one on Pinterest doesn't have dates and I think it helps me to keep track of it better if I have a date to go along with the week.

The dates below are every Monday in 2014 (I started on 12/30/13 since it was the closest Monday to Jan 1st).

The idea is, week one, you save $ 1.  Everyone can do that, right?  Week 2, you save $ 2 so by the end of week 2, you have $ 3.  So on and so forth.

By the time you get to week 52, you still only have to add $52 - that can be a lot to some people for one week, I suppose but that is the MOST you will have to put away at any given time.  If you do this throughout the year, you will have saved $1,378 by the end of the year.  Not too shabby.

I'm going to give it another go this year.  Wish me luck.

Freddy's Antics - Day 15

Monday will be the last day - Freddy is about to say bye-bye soon.  The last day he is going to leave a note and not really do any pranks so today was the last day Freddy will be "doing something".

I thought that it would be a good idea to have Freddy be reading the story of the birth of Jesus to his little friends.  That is what Christmas is all about, after all.  M.J. is religious and it seems everyone in our office is so ... I don't think it will "offend" anyone to share the true reason for the season.