I think we can all remember exactly where we were 7 years ago today. For me, I was a student worker in the guidance office at Oak Ridge High School. I remember working at my little desk overhearing the teachers talking about something and going into the break room to view the TV. There was buzz around about the "accident" of a plane crashing into the twin towers. I was actually viewing the TV when the second plane hit. It was at that very moment that all of us knew in our hearts something was very wrong. This was NOT an accident.
Just thinking about that moment gives me chill bumps & makes my eyes start to water. It's a time we will never forget...and rightfully so. I can't recall a time in my life that I've ever felt like every American was more on the same page. We all felt like one big family. Our hearts were soft towards one another & I doubt you could find one person that wasn't proud to be an American.
We were all impacted, but none of us was impacted as much as those that lost loved ones that day. So many families lost their dad, mom, brother, sister, friend. So many had someone they would die for give their life up to rescue others. My heart and prayers go out to them as remember a day that changed our history forever.
Where were you 7 years ago today?
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
A Fall Weekend...
John & I had a good weekend. Friday evening we met up with some of his co-workers for dinner. It was nice to meet some of the people he works with and put faces with names.
Saturday we had a lot planned, but ended up just relaxing. I woke up earlier than planned to help John chase Jax around the neighborhood. We've kept his shock collar off him for a few months now since he hasn't jumped the fence in forever. Not Sat. morning around 7:30am! He would not come even when I tempted him with "going for a ride." I finally got him to come to me & I think it took everything with John not to kill him. Do dogs have 9 lives....Jax needs them!?
Later on we took the dogs hiking at Rochester's nature center. We love going there because most people stay on the paved trails so we can take the dogs on the ones that go through the woods without leashes. We've only ran into one person of all the times we've been there and her dog was off leash too so it was fine. It's really fun to watch them run around and enjoy being outside. Raleigh runs as hard as she can a few feet ahead of us and then runs just as hard back....constantly. Jax lags behind and smells every single blade of grass, but never lets us out of his sight. We hiked for almost two hours & loved every minute of it. The weather is "fall" now, which feels more like the end of Nov. in TN. It's weird to think football season is just starting b/c this is the weather I'm used to at the end of the season.
After our walk we lazed around the house & did nothing but doze in and out of a nap & watch tv....it was great. After church we ate at Chester's with two couples from our small group the Van Dalen's and the Harts. It was great to relax and enjoy conversation with friends. Beka made an awesome dessert so we stayed at her place and talked some more. I'm so grateful for the friends I've made here. This journey would not be the same without them. In fact, I don't think we would have lasted this long in Rochester if it wasn't for the people I've met in my small group.
Sunday we decided to kick it into gear and clean out our closets. My work is filling up a truck for the Salvation Army tomorrow & now we have around 4 trash bags full of stuff to give. I've noticed that I have to give stuff away in phases. There may be a shirt I can't throw away now (even if I don't wear it), but next round of cleaning out I'll finally give it up. Funny huh!? I'm trying to convince John that I've made enough room for a shopping spree....he's not biting the bait! :)
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!!
Saturday we had a lot planned, but ended up just relaxing. I woke up earlier than planned to help John chase Jax around the neighborhood. We've kept his shock collar off him for a few months now since he hasn't jumped the fence in forever. Not Sat. morning around 7:30am! He would not come even when I tempted him with "going for a ride." I finally got him to come to me & I think it took everything with John not to kill him. Do dogs have 9 lives....Jax needs them!?
Later on we took the dogs hiking at Rochester's nature center. We love going there because most people stay on the paved trails so we can take the dogs on the ones that go through the woods without leashes. We've only ran into one person of all the times we've been there and her dog was off leash too so it was fine. It's really fun to watch them run around and enjoy being outside. Raleigh runs as hard as she can a few feet ahead of us and then runs just as hard back....constantly. Jax lags behind and smells every single blade of grass, but never lets us out of his sight. We hiked for almost two hours & loved every minute of it. The weather is "fall" now, which feels more like the end of Nov. in TN. It's weird to think football season is just starting b/c this is the weather I'm used to at the end of the season.
After our walk we lazed around the house & did nothing but doze in and out of a nap & watch tv....it was great. After church we ate at Chester's with two couples from our small group the Van Dalen's and the Harts. It was great to relax and enjoy conversation with friends. Beka made an awesome dessert so we stayed at her place and talked some more. I'm so grateful for the friends I've made here. This journey would not be the same without them. In fact, I don't think we would have lasted this long in Rochester if it wasn't for the people I've met in my small group.
Sunday we decided to kick it into gear and clean out our closets. My work is filling up a truck for the Salvation Army tomorrow & now we have around 4 trash bags full of stuff to give. I've noticed that I have to give stuff away in phases. There may be a shirt I can't throw away now (even if I don't wear it), but next round of cleaning out I'll finally give it up. Funny huh!? I'm trying to convince John that I've made enough room for a shopping spree....he's not biting the bait! :)
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
It's always something...
**disclaimer: This is a little heavier than my normal rants and raves. If you're voting for Obama you might want to skip over this one :) **
Last night John & I watched the RNC speeches and thought they were well done. However, today all I hear about is how rude/mean/hateful/vicious those speeches were...
It's always something. Palin isn't experienced enough, she can't balance family and politics, she's too conservative & now due to her speech she's pegged as being "hateful." Were jabs taken, yes! Was Obama attacked, NO! His experience & leadership was attacked and rightfully so. Everything that was said last night was in RESPONSE to what attacks have been thrown at McCain and Palin. Those that actually admit it's a good speech say it's not her, but her speech writers. Right, b/c no politicians have those! It's aways something isn't it!
Here is a clip of the response emailed to Obama campaign supporters from his campaign manager, David Plouffe.
"You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say,everyday people have the power to build something extraordinary when we come together. Make a donation of $5 or more right now to remind them."
I'm sorry, are you a televangelist!? What a dramatic sentence filled with words like, "attack squad, everyday people, build something extraordinary, come together" with a money tag line at the end. It reminded me of a drug commercial where everything is so beautiful and happy until that person comes on at the end quickly reading the side effects. "may cause nausea, severe headaches, abdomen pain....and kill you." Maybe if we say it fast, no one will notice. Why don't you just say, "screw them, give us money." It's the same thing! Besides that, what are you "building" & "coming together" for...I'm not even sure Obama knows at this point! Everything about Obama's campaign is so flowery and sugar coated...it's all fluff & based off emotions. I'm truly shocked at how many people are eating up this stuff! Blinded by his rhetoric instead of the truth and fact about who he is, what experience he has, what his plan for this change really is!
I felt the same way when I watched the "debate" hosted by Rick Warren. I watched Obama again and again stumble over the facts, over actually answering the questions! He tried to please everyone except his speech writers weren't there to help him. He looked pitiful on that stage! I want a President that can make a decision & knows where he stands on issues. Not "it's above my pay grade!" I wanted to....ok so I did....yell at the TV at him to "answer the question." I don't need your answer to agree with me...in fact I'm not expecting it to so there is no need to try and appease me with talking in a circle. If we totally disagree, that's ok...just say something. It wasn't until that night that I truly got confidence in McCain. He spoke with wisdom, experience and confidence. He often knew his answer before Warren was done with the question. why? Because he's been around long enough to KNOW what the questions will prob. be & most importantly he KNOWS his stance on the topic. Warren was able to ask McCain more questions b/c he actually answered them! Imagine that :) Obama's gang demanded that McCain must have known the questions before hand...it's always something. If you haven't seen this, I encourage you to go to cnn.com or youtube.com and check it out.
I know I jumped around in this post & most of it prob. didn't make much sense b/c of it, but I had to just vent for a second. Overall, my point is that I'm proud to be voting for what Giuliani calls "substance over style.". I'm proud to be one in the crowd that can see through the "fluff." I'm not voting on McCain b/c he's a republican...I'm voting for him b/c he's the better candidate by a long shot. If you don't agree with me I am ok with that. As long as the reasons you're voting for Obama isn't because of his charisma or to "create history."
Here is a link to an article I read in support of Palin's speech. I thought it was written well & it's worth your time to read.
http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/09/04/liberals-look-worried-about-palin-they-should-be/#more-833
Last night John & I watched the RNC speeches and thought they were well done. However, today all I hear about is how rude/mean/hateful/vicious those speeches were...
It's always something. Palin isn't experienced enough, she can't balance family and politics, she's too conservative & now due to her speech she's pegged as being "hateful." Were jabs taken, yes! Was Obama attacked, NO! His experience & leadership was attacked and rightfully so. Everything that was said last night was in RESPONSE to what attacks have been thrown at McCain and Palin. Those that actually admit it's a good speech say it's not her, but her speech writers. Right, b/c no politicians have those! It's aways something isn't it!
Here is a clip of the response emailed to Obama campaign supporters from his campaign manager, David Plouffe.
"You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say,everyday people have the power to build something extraordinary when we come together. Make a donation of $5 or more right now to remind them."
I'm sorry, are you a televangelist!? What a dramatic sentence filled with words like, "attack squad, everyday people, build something extraordinary, come together" with a money tag line at the end. It reminded me of a drug commercial where everything is so beautiful and happy until that person comes on at the end quickly reading the side effects. "may cause nausea, severe headaches, abdomen pain....and kill you." Maybe if we say it fast, no one will notice. Why don't you just say, "screw them, give us money." It's the same thing! Besides that, what are you "building" & "coming together" for...I'm not even sure Obama knows at this point! Everything about Obama's campaign is so flowery and sugar coated...it's all fluff & based off emotions. I'm truly shocked at how many people are eating up this stuff! Blinded by his rhetoric instead of the truth and fact about who he is, what experience he has, what his plan for this change really is!
I felt the same way when I watched the "debate" hosted by Rick Warren. I watched Obama again and again stumble over the facts, over actually answering the questions! He tried to please everyone except his speech writers weren't there to help him. He looked pitiful on that stage! I want a President that can make a decision & knows where he stands on issues. Not "it's above my pay grade!" I wanted to....ok so I did....yell at the TV at him to "answer the question." I don't need your answer to agree with me...in fact I'm not expecting it to so there is no need to try and appease me with talking in a circle. If we totally disagree, that's ok...just say something. It wasn't until that night that I truly got confidence in McCain. He spoke with wisdom, experience and confidence. He often knew his answer before Warren was done with the question. why? Because he's been around long enough to KNOW what the questions will prob. be & most importantly he KNOWS his stance on the topic. Warren was able to ask McCain more questions b/c he actually answered them! Imagine that :) Obama's gang demanded that McCain must have known the questions before hand...it's always something. If you haven't seen this, I encourage you to go to cnn.com or youtube.com and check it out.
I know I jumped around in this post & most of it prob. didn't make much sense b/c of it, but I had to just vent for a second. Overall, my point is that I'm proud to be voting for what Giuliani calls "substance over style.". I'm proud to be one in the crowd that can see through the "fluff." I'm not voting on McCain b/c he's a republican...I'm voting for him b/c he's the better candidate by a long shot. If you don't agree with me I am ok with that. As long as the reasons you're voting for Obama isn't because of his charisma or to "create history."
Here is a link to an article I read in support of Palin's speech. I thought it was written well & it's worth your time to read.
http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/09/04/liberals-look-worried-about-palin-they-should-be/#more-833
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
yearbookyourself.com
Thanks to my friend Meagan I've been distracted all morning with a funny website called yearbookyourself.com. All you do is upload a pic. of yourself and then can pick any decade!! It's great & I highly recommend it. As Meagan said, "it's a hoot!!!!!" Feel free to laugh out loud at the following pictures & let me know if you do this so I can return the favor!
Meagan, 1976
Jessica
Lisa, 1952
Lisa, 1966
Lisa, 1978
Lisa, 1990
John, 1952
John 1972
John 1976....WOW!
John, 1980
John, 1988!!! I love this one!
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