Gram's Place

I have to take issue with something. Dave Ramsey... love him. usually. But, today... I got an email from him (not because we're personal friends but because we've paid to take his FPU class)... and he had the NERVE to say that coffee is not a necessity. it is a luxury. I'm contemplating my open letter to him. Something like this... Dear Dave, Although I appreciate all that you have done in your life and ministry, I have to take issue with one point. Coffee is not a luxury. How can I ask my husband to extend a special line item in our budget for Starbucks when you continue to claim that it is a luxury? Let me educate you on the value of my daily Starbucks .... First of all, it is research... when I get the necessary funds, I plan to open my own coffee shop, and it is vital to my financial peace that I complete the research needed for a successful coffee shop. Secondly, ... have you SEEN me in the morning when I don't have it? Do you work beside me? No... you haven't...

I wish it were more glamorous. I wish it were some kind of spiritual breakthrough. I wish I could say I suddenly had an epiphany that order doesn't matter to me. If you are like me, you know how you long for it not to matter. But, the truth is..it does. So, I had decided I was going to lay down the law. My 16 year old hadn't been participating in the clean up efforts... my 21 year old just moved all her stuff back into the house... my 9 year old's room was in disasterous state with trailings all over the house, my husband was being a husband. I know he wanted to help and tried... but didn't fully comprehend what he could should do. The day before I had given in. The 15 year old wanted needed to do something. It was important. And I let her go only to regret it later when nothing was accomplished on the home front. So, Tuesday night I laid down the law. No nothing. for anyone. No practices. No friends. No phone. No church. No nothing. It was school and home until order a...

The last few weeks I have been a little stressed about things. Since we had the "flood" at our house, we've been recovering and trying to keep up in life with work and church and family. We've done a halfway decent job... I stress halfway . ..but I never seem to be able to get ahead enough that I can feel like I can relax. Each day my "to do" list seems to get longer, and the dark clouds of "stuff" loom like a thunderstorm waiting to happen. I am sure that at least some of you can relate to me. I don't know what it is about me... but when I don't feel like I am gaining ground, I experience what the Germans call "angst". It's a word for fear or anxiety... but it really is much more than that. It is a word that describes an intense emotional strife. It is always there, just under the surface, when I feel under pressure. And this entire month, I have felt the presence of angst...constantly lurking. I know that lots of peo...

Contents: 1 cheese stick 1 half roast beef sandwich with butter - no crust 1 hostess cake 1 fruit roll up 1/4 cup sunflower seeds 20 oz gatorade napkin fork I am not sure what the fork is for.

Abbers sang "No One" at the Pops Show at her school last week. She did a fabulous job. I was a proud mama. It was sweet because we went back the next show on Saturday and I was walking in behind some other girls and conversation went something like this: Girl #1: Is it different songs tonight or the same ones? Girl #2: Different ones. Girl #1: So, is Abbie singing No One again? Girl #2: No Girls #1: Oh bummer!! That was awesome. I love it when people say nice things behind your back. Photo, by the way, is courtesy of Momzie. Thank you! I did actually take photos. It's a pretty funny story. Before the show, they made a big deal about "No Flash Photography" and so I turned the flash off the digital camera to take a picture. But, I didn't do it right, so right in the middle of her song, a huge flash went off and everyone. Really. EVERYONE. gasped around the auditorium. I threw the camera at Shanda and said "SHANDA!!" pretending she did it.

Mother's Day is here... and my mother deserves a medal of honor this year. She really does. There have been so many changes she has experienced in the past year,... since the last mother's day. Last fall, she had a perforated ulcer and had to have surgery twice in less than two months time. She was very ill, and nearly died. My sister stayed with her for a couple weeks and then I went to stay with her for a couple of weeks and helped her get healthy. Thank God she is fully recovered from that scary illness. A couple of weeks ago, my mom retired. After working for probably nearly 50 years, sometimes at two or three jobs, she has officially retired. I so want her to enjoy herself and relax, drink an ice tea, and enjoy herself. She has worked very hard her whole life. Even though I've been out of the "house" for 22 years or more, there are a few things I remember about my mom that always make me smile. 1. polyester - my mom is the queen of poly. seriously. she wore i...

Rules: 1. Write your own six-word memoir 2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you'd like. 3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post. 4. Tag five more blogs with links. 5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play. Here are six words that describe me: 1. busy 2. happy 3. coffeeaholic 4. committed 5. sarcastic 6. do-er How about this for a visual? I don't tag anyone... I am breaking rule #4 - and then rule #5. But, if you want to join in, do it! :) Oh wait... I take that back!! I tag Val, Cindy, Shawn, Bill, Nate, Matt, AT, Nick, Haleigh, Lindsey, Diana, Momzie.... all the people that don't have blogs or have non-updated blogs... let this be just the encouragement you need to start one or get yours updated with some kind of entry from the year 2008. :) Oh... I forgot rule #3. Thanks for tagging me Ang and Amie...