Neat Video

I just watched this. It is very powerful. It might look cheesy at the start, but hang in there.



HT: Blog Hero

What Accent?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I'm not from the "Midland" area though I do distinctly remember a college dormmate who lived down the hall and around the corner saying that when she heard me talking from my room it sounded like I had a Midwest accent. (That was probably her way of telling me I was too loud, too.)

I also can't resist posting something saying I have a good voice for TV and radio. I always thought it would be cool to be a radio DJ. But I think I would have trouble talking to myself--I think I need a live, physically present audience. Hmmm.... I'll have to work that one out....

So, what's your accent?

HT: Tales of a Music Mama (who I don't have a link to yet but read all the time!!! Sorry Flo!)

Give Me a Sign God

Conversation with my almost four-year-old son on our walk home from Starbuck's tonight:

Him: Mom, what's that sign say?
Me (helping him sound out the words): Right turn only.
Him: Right turn only. That's going to be my memory verse for today.

Little Laugh From Sara

After teasing my husband about not liking to have lights on in the house at night...

Him: Has anyone ever told you you're mean?
Me: No! (pause) They're too scared.

Ha! Well, I thought I was funny.

After Years of Mystery...

There is no more wondering about which Springfield the Simpsons' home is in.

Deja Vu

After studying through Jonah as I had mentioned in an earlier post, I just kept on reading and went through Micah. There were a couple of verses in chapter two that I found really interesting. To summarize the situation, Micah is living during this time where no one in Israel is following God. They have all turned to foreign gods and are doing whatever they darn well please. Micah is a prophet appointed by God, but not accepted by the nation's leaders. In fact, they have even apparently appointed their own prophets. Micah's message is of doom (followed by reconciliation, but mostly doom) for the nation and no one wants to hear that.

Here's verse six: "Do not prophesy,” their prophets say. “Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.”


And, my favorite, verse 11: If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ he would be just the prophet for this people!


So, I'm reading this and thinking about how far these people have strayed from God. And then I started wondering if this is at all like the church today. I don't mean that the American church has completely turned from God, but I'm wondering: Are there Biblical truths that are "unacceptable" within the church? Do we try as best we can to ignore those teachers whose messages make us uncomfortable (regardless of whether they speak the truth) and surround ourselves with teachers who give us messages of comfort and prosperity (even if it's a little off the mark biblically)? Although I can't think of a real concrete example, there's something about Israel's response to Micah that feels vaguely familiar.... Is it just me?

Okie Tan

Growing up, I used the term "okie tan" to describe the sun tan lines you get from wearing a t-shirt. Everyone I knew in my hometown of Bakersfield, California called it the same thing. I moved away to the big, big city of Fresno and heard a friend say "farmer tan" (or "farmer's tan") to describe that distintive tan. I had never heard that term before. The conversation probably went something like this:

friend: ...So now I've got this dumb farmer tan.
me: What?
friend: My farmer tan.
me: What?
friend (impatiently): My farmer tan. I've got a farmer tan. See? <pulling up short sleeve to reveal contrasting skin tones>
me: Oh! You mean an okie tan!
friend: What?
me: An okie tan.
friend: What?
me (impatiently): An okie tan!!! <pulling up my own short sleeve to reveal contrasting skin tones>

Of course, that's how a lot of my conversations go... So, I've been thinking about this recently and googled "okie tan". The search turned up ONE occurrence of its use.... by a girl in Delano (a city 30 miles north of Bakersfield). So apparently the use of this phrase is limited to a very small region although it is widely used within that region. Isn't that weird?

Have you ever heard "okie tan" before? What term do you use to describe a t-shirt shaped tan? And where did you learn that term? Leave a comment.

Gangster/Folk Crossover

You've seen them here before: The Conchords. Here they are hilariously funny again....


HT: Hale-Yeah!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation (pictorial edition)

With happy kids

Eating lots of food

In airports

At the pool

Listening to my son's mariachi band

Surrounded by beauty

Sand everywhere

Observing wildlife

On the beach


With family

We're in the News

Well, sort of. Look for my family's appearance here as "irate summer travelers". Yes, we have been awaiting our passports (after applying over eleven weeks ago), wondering if we will actually be able to go on our vacation to Mexico. After a little help from Congressman Devin Nunes and his staff, our passports have been processed, overnighted to us, and should arrive in the next hour. Of course, as of a few hours ago, it doesn't matter since the new (as of 1/1/07) requirement that travelers to Mexico and Canada must have passports has been temporarily suspended due to the State Department's inability to process the "massive surge" passport applications they have received in the last few months. Well, either way, we get to go on vacation!!!

Cool Cooking Site

I know, I know.... I don't post for over a month and now two posts in a day! I just like to keep my readers on their toes! Actually I just thought I wouldn't remember to post this later. I was looking for info on grilling artichokes and came across Cooking for Engineers. From my brief visit it appears to be a great site. The guy has a very cool table format he uses for recipes and he uses lots of pictures--always good. Check out this lemon bar recipe to see what I mean. (Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the recipe in table form.)

Jonah, Part 2

So I just read chapter 3 and was struck by another little thing. It's verse one: "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time." So, Jonah rejected God's first command by physically running away from God. God spares the guy's life from drowning and then allows him to live on dry land again (instead of inside the fish). Jonah doesn't really deserve it, but God allows him to live anyway. That should be enough. But then, on top of that, God reaffirms Jonah's position as prophet by giving him a second command to go to Nineveh. Unfortunately, as we'll see in chapter 4, Jonah still has a bad attitude about the whole thing. Does he not realize the grace just extended to him??? Anyway, it's just encouraging to know that God doesn't think in our terms--our usefulness to him is not over because we have walked away from him and his ways for a period of time.

Jonah and The Big Fish

I was just reading Jonah and made a realization in chapter 2 where Jonah praises God for sending a fish to swallow him and, therefore, saving his life. Jonah starts by describing his descent into the sea: "all your waves and breakers swept over me." I love how visual his description is: "Seaweed was wrapped around my head." (Where else do you find seaweed in the Bible?!) And that's when it hit me. Jonah didn't know his life would be defined by and remembered for these few days. He didn't know his name would always be followed by "and the Big Fish" (or "and the Whale" for those of us who were taught inaccurately back in the day). He was just Jonah the prophet. And he thought his life was over. And for good reason considering he had just blatantly disobeyed God. But no--God provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. Now, I'm thankful for all the things God provides for me, but I sure hope He never has to provide a fish (or any other creature for that matter) to swallow me.

Jonah didn't know how his story was going to end, and we never know either. I love to consider whatever circumstances I am in, no matter how good, bad, or (more often) mediocre, as having the potential to become something that will define me (or someone else) or that will be remembered by many for many years. Not that I'm looking to be thrown into a sea... but I guess sometimes that what it takes!

In the Beginning

This is my 3.5 year-old's account of creation as overheard in the car tonight: “On the first day, God created light and dark. On day two, God created squishy fish and pens for people to write with. On the next day, He made creatures and squishy fish and animals that creep and crawl and hop and gallop. On the next day, he made light and dark and Adam. On the next day, He made people and cars and trucks and helicopters and boats and tractors. On the next day, He made engines and buses to go everywhere. And shapes and colors. On the next day, He made toys to go in the stores. On the next day, he made numbers and letters. The end. Wasn’t that a good Bible story?”

Walking For a Cure

Back in January, a friend of mine, Debbi Gunn, called me very excited about something. She has a very close friend who suffers from cystic fibrosis and was frustrated by her daily struggle with the disease. So, in an attempt to turn her frustration into something positive, she contacted the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to find out what she could do to help find a cure for the disease. They told her about the annual Great Strides fund-raising walk. She immediately signed up and invited everyone she knew to walk as part of Team Tisa (named in honor of her friend). And that is why she was calling to me: to see if I would be willing to walk with her. I joined Team Tisa, and this Saturday, April 21, my family and I will join in the two-mile walk. Now I am asking you, if you would be willing to sponsor my family as we attempt to raise $1000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. You can make an online, tax-deductible donation here. Thanks for your consideration and any donation you can give!

Name That Tune

The Mystery Song Lyric Game Contest Thingy is back! And it's new and improved! The songs will not be limited to the 80's and I will give some type of hint. Leave your answer as a comment. (Don't look at the comments if you don't want to know the answer!) Of course I'll reply in the comments as to the correctness of any answers. Have fun!!!

Line: "Hooking up words and phrases and clauses."
Hint: TV

For Laughs

My sister Cheri sent these to me today. I found them quite funny. Enjoy!

Link Love

You may notice a couple of new blogs on my list to the left...

- A long overdue link to Hale's De do do do, De da da da. I've been reading from the beginning and never put up a link. Sorry Hale! (Check out his "How to Be a NASCAR widower" for a good chuckle.)
- Next, a link to another Hale: Brian Hale's Hale-Yeah! If you go there right now, you can see some great pics from his recent beach trip. (I want to go!!!)
- And... (drum roll please)... Introducing Just an Average Girl... by Maya! Yes, that was a pig you just saw fly by your window!!! She finally gave into the pressure! I look forward to keeping up on this girl's busy life!

Also, a nice site I just found: ScrapVillage. I haven't explored the entire site, just the fonts. They have LOTS of fonts, intended for scrapbooking, but they're not all just handwriting-type of fonts. (Though there aren't many you'd want to use in a formal document!) And the best part--they're all free and easy to use!

Winners!

After my rant about not having a winner, I've received 2 correct answers!!! NerdDad and Scott both recognized the line from REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling". NerdDad also pointed out that I had already used this song. (He won that time, too.)

And the winner is...

...no one again! All right guys... Is everyone tired of this game? Is it too difficult? Are you bored? Are you still there??? Hello? Is this thing on???