I go to Church regularly and I love my church family. These are some pics I took of the members of my church. We are all very close and it is home away from home.


This is Bobby and Tina. Tina is a good friend as well, and Bobby is our service starter and Emcee so to speak. He is a great guy and is married to Wilma, whose picture is further down the page.Ken and Glinda. Ken is Bobby's brother and Glinda was previously a pastor of our church with her husband, Bob until he passed in 2003. He passed the same week as Moma did. They are pillars of our church and I love them dearly.As I mentioned up above, this is Wilma, Bobby's wife and Nana Mae's daughter. She is so bubbly and nice. It is a joy to be counted as her friend!I am so glad I could share some of my church family. There are so many more, I may do another blog on some others. I just know I am blessed to have these people in my life. Naturally, these pics were taken with my new camera.

Meet Bobby. Bobby is my ex-boyfriend. He called me last night and surprised me. We have tried dating three times and all three times ended badly. I won't go into details, but suffice to say, it was not pretty.

Now, the kicker is, Bobby has always treated me like a queen. He has always had a special place in my heart and twice that we ended was my fault, once was his. Somehow it has never been the right time. I am not looking for a relationship now. I don't WANT one. But he showed up last night and said, "I want you back in my life." Now, I have made it clear to him that I am not in a position to have a boyfriend now, nor do I want to go through the breaking up again. I am too busy with school to focus on a relationship at the moment. But I do love Bobby. He has a special place in my heart. He makes me feel special. And that is nice. *sigh* I ask again...

...Now what?

...and with a new toy! I got a new camera from my niece, Steph! A Nikon D50. Yay! I am so excited. I have to get a regular lens as I currently only have a 70-300, but I love it! I have been playing with it on and off today and here are a few pics.

Lou is giving away $150 worth of Cosmo Cricket!! Go here! http://lifeaslou.blogsome.com/2008/12/20/christmas-mini-album-pages-6-7-plus-150-give-a-way/

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and fantastic New Years!

I got 2 A's, 2 B's and a C this semester at TU! Yay, me! I am soooo excited I can barely stand it! I really thought I would do worse than that so I am very happy.

Yay!

Now that I have "pimped" my blog, I cannot see how to add to it without typing in an incorrect addy and then "Go Back to Blogger." Oh well, I will figure it out.

Lots to do today. We are going to make candy which will be fun. I have Eb's presents, and I need one for Steph. I got Raelee hers already. I have nothing for Steve. :-(

Oh, well, I will get it figured out. And I have not gotten all of my grades yet. That bites. I am waiting impatiently for them to be posted.

...Yay! I am with my sister for Christmas! I am out of school, thank you God, and flew in yesterday to spend the holidays with Euvah and Steve and Steph and Raelee and Todd and and and...

I have one more gift to buy, maybe two. Or three. And then I will be all done. I think today we are going to cook and get some banana nut bread and candy made.

I am missing the cool air, and Shari and the Kids and Dad, Danny and Yvonne, but I am happy.

I actually did not have a bad Tuesday and that is great! I should have an even better one this week as I do not have to go to school! Yay, me!

Dad has surgery tomorrow, so I have to get up at like 0530 hours and who knows when I will get a nap. This also means that I will be doing Thanksgiving supper with NO HELP! Yikes! Dad is normally a really big help so this is gonna suck. He will be out of commission for a few days anyway. We won't go into the kind of surgery, suffice to say it is a man issue. We have to be at the hospital by 0700 hours and he can have a light breakfast. What the heck IS a light breakfast anyway??

He seems to be getting more confused recently, but I can't really tell if it is new or not. I will be taking him to his doctor on Wednesday and will say something then. I think maybe it is just that he is nervous about all of these appointments and does not want to miss any so he gets up in arms. Hopefully that is all it is.

I have three papers to write this break. One 5-7 pager, one 7-10 pager and one 12-15 pager. AND I have a project on Guatemala for Spanish class which I have to present orally on the 1st day of class after the break. I reckon I should just be happy that I do not have any other homework over the break and that I can concentrate on these papers and presentation.

Ryan is out of the hospital now and doing well, sadly I do not think it was a wakeup call for him. But we will continue to keep him in prayer and pray that he will come to the realization that he cannot go on as before.

Sadly, a friend of ours and her son-in-law were killed in a car wreck a few days ago. They had stopped to replace a flat tire and were getting ready to go when they were struck from behind by a drunk driver. It killed Viola Tolbert and Cody Spears instantly and put Viola's grandaughter and grandson, who Viola had custody of, in the hospital. Emily, the grandaughter, is still in serious condition but now off the respirator and Buddy is now at home with his Aunt. What a sad, sad story. Viola got custody of her grandchildren after her daughter died a year ago. So now the kids have lost their mom and their grandma. How much can one family take? Evelyn, Viola's mother is heartbroken and beside herself in grief. I cannot even imagine what she is going through. Please pray for this family. They need all the prayer they can get.

Buddy, our dog, has hurt himself and we really do not know how. He seems to be having problems with his hips and back. Guess if he is not doing better, we will have to get him into the vet soon. I would post a pic of him but he has an aversion to the camera. Every time I put the camera up to my face he hides. LOL

Danny and Yvonne seem to be doing well and will be here for Thanksgiving. They just got a wood stove to heat their house and have been frantically stocking up on wood for it. Danny is insistent that he is NOT going to pay the gas company prices to heat his house and is doing well not doing so.

Well, I guess I better get off of here and do my homework. Y'all have a great day and better week!

Last Tuesday I had a bad, bad, bad reaction to the flu shot, and this Tuesday I had an allergic reaction to orange juice in a cake that I did not know had it. So next Tuesday I am thinking I will stay in bed! rofl

School is going fine, and Dad is doing well. Not much going on here but school, toastmasters and church.

If you have a problem or fear with speaking, you should really think about finding a Toastmasters Club near you. It is an awesome club and they help develop leadership and speaking skills in their members. I cannot say enough good stuff about them! We JUST got chartered and it feels great!

We also need some prayers. Jim and C'Cie, my pastors, son was beat to within an inch of his life and had to have brain surgery last night. So far he is doing well despite having brain surgery and having had a seizure this a.m. Please say some prayers for Ryan and for Jim and C'Cie. Thank you!

So, I don't have much to say except that I have to keep reminding myself that it is God who is in charge. He "sets up kings (rulers) and deposes them." I am very worried about the turn our country has taken. It will take so little for it to become a socialist nation and that is not what the United States is about. I hope that we can come through this well. Please pray for our country, that it may bless God and God it. We have been so blessed for so long and we are seeing horrible things happen right now but if we will seek God, we can and will overcome.

The fence is still not stretched, Dad had his eye surgery and all is well with that, and I am still struggling through TU. Not much else going on except I had a bad reaction to the flu shot and am not going to class today. I am still very sick from it. It is the only thing I can think of that it could have been.

Off to do homework.

Things have been crazy the past couple of weeks. I am almost certain I failed my Brit Lit I test. If I made a "D" I will be happy and that is just sad. I read EVERYTHING and participate in class and all, I just could not finish the essay on the test because I write too slow. I may ask if I can type next time. :-(

Dad is doing better, but he has to have laser surgery on his eye on the 29th of October. He has Retinal Vein Occlusion and Macular edema. They said they are surprised that he can see so well. Thank you, God! Anyway, it is a small procedure, so it will not take long and they said it will be fine and not to worry. But how can you not? They say it just needs a little boost as it IS trying to heal on its own. They will smooth the eye and make it round again. At least that is the way I understand it.

The fence is still not finished. If I can cut out some time tomorrow, I will help Dad do that then. The fence just needs to be stretched. Instead of just laid against the poles. We have to go get the top rail and then stretch the fence. All done. There is still some stuff in the backyard, so maybe I can get it mocved in tomorrow, too.

Danny and Jerry rebuilt the White Thing and got it in the building for Dad last week. He is so excited! Thanks, Guys!

Well, I need to get off here and do some school work, so y'all have fun!

The first one is a closeup of the gate.
The second one is of the marigolds in the backyard.
The third one is of the gates, but not a closeup. Ok, So I have one more, this is my fave:

I had to take 5 tech shots. 1 picture of a pic on the Instructors door, 1 pic at dusk (Ok, so it was dusk or dawn and we all know I do not do Dawn!), 1 pic at noon on a sunny day, 1 pic at noon on an overcast day and 1 inside under incandescent light. Of those 5, only three, MAYBE 4 turned out. :-(

So, that is my world. These four pics will be my final set for critique. I may choose one more, if I do, I will post it.

...(Thanks, Sis!), I am posting again. I got all of my essays turned in and have received a grade on one, A-/B+. Don't ask what it means, I am clueless. I did not change my major though I was seriously reconsidering it last Monday night!

I am doing better now and am enjoying my photography class a lot. We are developing and printing our Black and White photos now. It is interesting.

Dad is pretty sick, but I cannot get him to go to the doctor. He says he is weak and dizzy. So, I have been having him checked on while I am at school. Thank you, Danny and Wanda!

I just read The Phiosophy of Manufacture by Andrew Ure. Do not put it on your reading list, it is merely a love story for manfacturing. This guy really loves the process and discusses how the peolpe can rest most of the time. Yeah, right.

I am on to Hard Times by Charles Dickens and I am told it sucks. So that is where I am at now.
I am also reading Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare which is not bad. I am in Act IV at the moment.

Ok, So I have now blogged about my life. LOL Y'all have fun!

...Finally! I finally feel better. It seems like it took forever, but I am good to go. Now if I can just stay that way.

We found out who broke the post loose, but they shall remain nameless since it is all fixed now. It won't happen again, and that is what matters.

No fence yet, Randell has been very sick. The doctor said he was right at the verge of pneumonia when he came in. Not good. The fence can wait until he is well.

I have finally finished The Mysteries of Paris and am very happy. Now I have to read something by Henry Mayhew to do with the poor in London. Should be a riot. ROFL

As I said before, I have 3 essays to write and 3 tests next week...Wait TWO tests next week and one the week after. Lord be with me!

What I NEED to be doing rather than blogging is homework. LOL Oh well, I will get on it soon.

Not much else to talk about, Buddy is sick today and we do not know why. He is just not feeling well. He is moping around and won't eat.

Ok, on to homework. Have a great day!

Sometime in the middle of the night, someone broke one of the fence posts concrete so Randell and Wes came and repaired it and re-poured the cement so we have to wait until Wednesday when Randell has some time to come back and stretch the fence. *sigh* Why do people feel the need to cause mischief to other peoples stuff? I will NEVER understand that.

I got out of school early today and went to see if I have tire problems with my new tires. The front two tires get low so fast. They said I did not have any leaks so I guess Dad is right. I must somehow be bouncing the air out, but I have no idea how.

I have no idea how on earth I got a B on my essay with all of the corrections she made, but I am grateful that I did. I am currently revising it although I have to talk to her before i can turn it in. Next I have three essays due. One on the 30th, one on the 1st and one on the 2nd. Yikes. And that is like a week away. So I am working on this revision AND on three other essays.

I may strangle myself for going for an English degree, ROFLMAO.

Well, on to the homework. I have quite a lot of Spanish homework, this revision, reading the final 100 pages of The Mysteries of Paris and then reading another 27 pages of something in Major British Writers I. Fun stuff! Oh, and I have to take another 72 pictures ASAP.

More later!

...and the concrete is setting tonight. We will finish up tomorrow stretching the fence and setting in the gates. Man! I am beat!

Not much else happened today, and I did not get pics of the process since I was busy running. That sucks. I will make it a point to take some pics tomorrow.

Uncle Danny and Carole are coming tomorrow morning! Yay! I have not seen them in forever! I am so excited!

Ok, I am delirious with the need for sleep, so I guess I will sign off for the night. TTFN!

...Mostly I have a cough that will not go away and the congestion in my chest is killing me. But I am much better than I was.

I made an 'A' on my first photgraphy project and a 'B' on my first essay! Yay! I did well, much better than I expected! I am so excited!

Well, today is deal with the fence day. Randell, Trish, Renae, Wes and the kids are all coming to visit and set the poles for the fence today. Then they will come and we will attach the fence to the poles I presume.

I need to work on homework, but somehow that will have to happen tonight and tomorrow.

Have a great day!

...still sick, but I have upgraded from death warmed over in a microwave to merely comatose. ROFL

I am at school, of course, and have finished all of my homework.

The bad news is that my damn check engine light came on AGAIN. I am so tired of seeing that thing, I guess I should be used to it by now.

I got up at 6, and no big deal there, *coughhackcoughsneeze*, I wasn't sleeping anydarnway! I finished up my test which I probably did miserably on and then got on my way to school AFTER I plugged back in my main computer. Had to do THAT at the last minuted so I could print my test.

I am looking forward to going home. I am not feeling at all well and am sooooo ready. Well, time for class more later.

...I am sick as a dog. I think I have another sinus infection with maybe bronchitis on top of it. I feel like crap.

I am working on my Photography test in between laying down. Not going so well as it is hard to think right now. I hate this. I did not even go to church today, so that says a lot.

I will write more after I lay down ROFL.

Ok, I layed down. I still have nothing to say except if you are a photography instructor and are interested in tutoring me RIGHT NOW, please message me! ROFL I am so stuck on this stupid test. NOT a good time to be sick, of course, when IS there a good time to be sick, right?

Ok, Back to the grindstone.

...and I wish I could say better than ever, but the fact is, it is missing some, still hesitates a bit and it still takes me 15 minutes to fill up the tank. :-( Ron said bring it back next week and he will find out why. The good news is, so far my Check Engine light has STAYED OFF! Yay! The first time since I right after I BOUGHT the darn car!

I have a ton of homework this weekend as well, but I am taking some me time and scrapping. Or rather piddle farting around. ROFL I have not scrapped, only just goofed off but that is ok, cause I am enjoying myself.

I am really worried about Ike. Not a good scene at all. I just got an email that said it was raining glass in downtown Houston from all of the skyscrapers. It is horrible. Please be safe, everyone.

I am coming down with something, I think maybe a cold. I feel like death warmed over in a microwave and I need to get better. I guess that is all for now. Y'all stay safe.

...that is what I have been doing. I finished my Spanish homework and in the process found a VERY good translator online. http://www.spanishdict.com/ is an AWESOME spanish/english dictionary/translator. Unlike so many of the others I have used, it does not completely butcher the translation. Methinks I will have great use for this! LOL

My car is in the shop now to be fixed. So far they are going to replace the two rear shocks, the valve cover gasket, the CV Axle and find out and fix whatever is wrong with the transmission. A week ago Saturday I was driving to Tulsa and got just south of Beggs and the transmission suddenly downshifted into I GUESS, third gear. All by itself. It would not come out of third so I turned around and came home and have been driving dad's truck to school for the past week. Of course, when Jerry, the next door mechanic, tried to get it to do it again, it wouldn't. Grrrrrr. I told him to tape a picture of himself in the hood so I could drive it without problems. ROFL Oh, and they are also replacing my evap sensor and blowing out the vent line to my gas tank. Yikes!

I have a paper to write by Thursday that compares and contrasts two poems about childrens deaths. Out of all of the topics, that one hit closest to home and I felt like surely I could do that. I certainly hope I can. I am very nervous about that paper since it will be my first for TU.

I am the oldest student at TU as far as I can tell and am older than a good many of my instructors. That is an interesting feeling in itself. Actually, I guess I am older than 3 of my instructors and just barely older than 1 of those. Anyway, the fact remains that as I traverse campus, I am reminded of my age quite often. It is a bit disconcerting to say the least.

So far, unlike at OSU-Okmulgee where I found several of the younger students to not care about their work, here it seems they do care and participate actively in class discussions. That is a nice change of pace. It disheartened me to see so many that simply did not care at OSU-Okmulgee.

It has been somewhat cooler the past few days although it got fairly warm yesterday. They are calling for rain this afternoon and evening and for it to be in the 50's by tomorrow morning and only warming into the 70's tomorrow afternoon. Have a I mentioned how much I love fall?

I took 72 pictures (well, actually somewhat more) with Euvah's P&S film camera and of those about half sucked rocks. So, I took one more roll yesterday and this morning and those are being developed as we speak and I hope they turn out better than the previous batch. I have to arrange them on Wednesday and get critiqued. I would love to be able to NOT get put down because they sucked so huge. I mean they were blurry and illegible in many instances. :-(

Ok, well, I am off to do more school work. Y'all have a fantastic day!

...down and more to go. I am actually enjoying classes now, which is nice, of course. Today was English - Progress and Poverty in the 19th Century. We are reading (I have read) Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger, Jr. It was actually a pretty good book truth be told. I am still not looking forward to reading The Communist Manifesto even if we are reading it as fiction. Just does not hold any weight with me at all.

I took Dad to get glasses today and we found out that he has a bleed behind his left eye. *sigh* That worries me. But God will prevail and it will be nothing, right?

I have to read the Mysteries of Paris next, and I am told by the instructor it is violent. He says there are "stabbings from the first chapter." Sounds like a blast...NOT! Oh well, at least we do not have to read the WHOLE thing, only excerpts. It is evidently an 1800 page book that was published a chapter at a time in a newspaper.

In another class, British Writers I, I am reading The General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales which, while interesting, is a bit difficult to read because it is in Middle English. Ah, well, it will be ok.

In English - Lyric, I am readin DH Lawrence and Andrew Marvell. Good stuff. But I have a paper due next Thursday. Guess I better get on it. Bye for now.

...and that is a good thing. I am not panicking about my classes anymore, have the homework under control and actually have time to eat between classes which is good.

I am a little nervous about Spanish, they seem to be a bit, not much, just a bit, ahead of me and so I am really studying hard for that. I would rather not have to go back, but if today does not go well, that may be what happens.

The building is all settled in and we have started putting some stuff in it, not much, but we got the stuff from Danny's old house to go in the loft. It is not yet IN the loft, but it IS in the building.

We are starting to get the outer bands of ther remains of Gustav, Steph has been getting non-stop deluge now for three going on four days in Monroe at their safe place. There is still no electricity in Morgan City and with Hanna coming in now and Ike following close on her heels with Josephine just behind him, it is a very scary situation for my LA family. I can only pray that things get better soon and that the storms die down to negligible events. I can pray anyway.

I finally have Euvah's camera working, it was never really broken, just user error. The film was not loading and that is why it would not work. SO now I have three batteries for it. Should not have ANY problems for a while! Photography class is fun so far and while I am supposed to be in there until like 12:20, so far we have been out at 11:00 everytime and that means I have plenty of time before my next class at 1 to go get something to eat and just chill and do homework.

Ok, class will be in soon so I need to get ready. Love y'all.

Euvah called and their houses are ok. Minor damage only on both her and Steph's houses! Halellujah! Small limbs down and some shingle damage. Steph's fence is down, but all in all it so could have been MUCH worse. Thank you, Lord!

...watching Gustav for Euvah. She finally went to sleep after 1 or 2 a.m. her time with the eye over Morgan City.

For those that do not know, my sister and niece live in Morgan City, well, Euvah lives 7 miles outside Morgan City in Bayou Vista. The eye went right across the top of their houses.

It is still hitting them now, the back side now is what is hitting them. They are reporting that wind gusts in MC got to 103 mph during the eye walls coming through.

Please pray for everyone in Gustav's path and also for the next THREE systems that are sitting out in the Atlantic now. It is horrible.

And that will be my life for the next two years. I am ok with that, just extra tired today as yesterday was a long day. Today should be better, I get out between 4 and 5 and should be able to get home at a reasonable hour.

I left my camera home in hopes that Danny will take more pics of the garage. It is completely on the ground now with only one wall, the south, in any semblance of a solid piece. They are supposed to start loading it up today to haul off.

I am awaiting my second English class about 10 feet from the door. It is a huge table with comfy chairs around it, so I should be comforatble while I am reading yet another 6 books, right?? LOL
This is a very small area I am sitting in on a hallway with no table in front of me. They have very little room in this building it would appear.

I got the cameras that Euvah sent, a Pentax K-1000 and her little 35 mm and they are exactly what he wanted for the first two cameras. Yay! Thank you, Sis! I am excited about Photography but also VERY nervous because I shake so much I am afraid I will have trouble getting good shots. But I will learn to adapt I am sure.

My Spanish Prof seems to be nice, I already have Spanish homework and should have worked on it last night but was so exhausted, I just vegged and then headed to bed.

I picked up the six books for the first english class, one is the Communist Manifesto, Hard Times by Charles Dickens, The Doll House by Henry Ibsen, Germinal by Emile Something and I cannot remember the other two. I have to go today and pick up the ones from the TU Copy center that are excerpts only. I have read the Dollhouse and did not care much for it, but that at least gives me a leg up on one book.

I guess I will start working on my 1/4 Second Project while I sit here waiting. Y'all have a good day!

It is sad to see it gone, but it needed to happen a long time ago. A few more pics of the carnage:
And with that, I think I will start my homework. Love you guys!

...and then fell on the sofa and slept for two hours. More later! Oh yeah, one last thing, and not least for sure, Danny and Yvonne got me this: