I'm Gonna Get my Mac On

No I'm not inappropriate....I'm going to see FLEETWOOD MAC!!!!! I went ahead and just splurged and bought tickets. I figure I wasn't going to win them so I might as well buy them before they sell out. One of my college friends and fellow Fleetwood enthusiests, Danielle, and myself are going to see them! We are so excited and April 30th seems so far away!

Also, I am still sitting here at work as I watch the ground slowly turn to ice, as "the man" has left to avoid bad weather..........this is why I don't like "the man"

Vox Dei

Vox Dei was the theme of the church camp that I went to in 2000. It means the voice of God. I've never forgotten one of the activities we did that made this theme really sink in. All of the leaders lined a hallway and waited for all of the students to walk down this hallway. As we made our way down this long stretch they yelled things at us. True, false, nice, mean, encouraging, hurtful, etc. Whatever they could think of they yelled. When we had finished our journey down this hall we turned to go outside and walk further, and further away from the noise. When we came to the end, the speaker gave us a lesson about the still small voice in the midst of worldly noise. Of course my retelling doesn't do it justice at all, but it was a very powerful activity with a very powerful point.

Now, I fastforward from 2000 to last week. Our Wednesday night lesson at our small group was about silencing the noise and listening for the voice of God. After spending only 5 minutes in silence listening for this voice, we discussed how we felt. Almost everyone in the group said they could not turn off their minds.....myself included....now fastfoward from last week to yesterday. Our sermon at church had a lot to do with shutting out the distractions of the world and listening for the still small voice of God to lead you into a ministry where you could really use your gifts. We also spent a moment of silence listening for this "voice". Now, I am a bit skeptical that a 2 minute moment of silence can really speak to you about where you should be going in life (I suppose anything is possibly though).

All this to say, do you think God is trying to tell me something?

Go Your Own Way

So, Fleetwood Mac is touring for 2009! This makes me one of the happiest people you will ever meet. As many of you know, I may be the biggest FM fan of all time. Last year this guy wanted to quiz me on this, and began asking me very detailed questions about the history of the band. I knew them all and made him feel stupid...it was awesome! I saw them in concert back in 2004. My dad bought me and Daniel tickets and it was one of the best nights of my life! I have been trying all morning to win tickest on all the radio shows, but with absolutely zilch success. So wish me luck in my venture to win tickets.....even though I will just buy them if I don't win them.....but I'd rather win them!!!!

My weekend in a nutshell

I got to see Jaime!!!! As usual we had a blast. For those of you who don't know Jaime, you should! She is one of those infectiously bubbly, fun, super-people! Seriously, we laughed until it hurt for pretty much 12 hours straight. I do not have one picture of the entire rendevous, as I had promised, which makes me really sad! None-the-less, we had a great time. Other than that, I laid pretty low.

I have a fun little date night planned for tonight. I'm going to surprise Daniel with a yummy dinner and "Once". It's a movie.....one of our favorites, in fact. I gave it to him for Christmas and we just haven't had time to watch it so I thought I would bust it out tonight with special food! I found a recipe on www.marthastewart.com...... if you like asian food you should try this.

Chicken with Ginger
1 three inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch thick matchsticks (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup sliced scallions

1. Soak ginger in cold water for 10 minutes; drain
2. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat; brown chicken in two batches; 6-8 minutes. Set aside
3. In same skillet over medium heat, cook ginger, onion, garlic, stirring until browned, 8-10 minutes. Add soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar; cook over high heat until thick, 3-4 minutes. Add chicken; stir to warm. Remove from heat and add scallions.

*Servce over chinese noodles or steamed rice.....ENJOY!!!

Workin for the Weekend

It's almost that time! Time for the 5 o'clock bell to ring! Even as I sit here at 3:50 I feel like the ticking of our office hall clock is taunting me. Like it's saying "ha you have to sit here for another 3600 ticks". Grrrr! OK enough complaining, it's been a fairly good week and I shouldn't belittle it but acting like such a baby. Plus, tonight we are going ice skating with our class from church and if you know anything about our class from church, you know fun times are sure to be had by all (aka: a lot of laughing at people when they fall down)


Another super duper thing is that my friend Jaime is coming in tonight from New York, for the weekend! Let's hope it goes better than last year's MLK weekend trip when she turned into an episode of "House". Yikes! I will make sure and take an abundance of pictures!


Well I feel like things are pretty low key right now so there's not too much to share. If anyone has heard any new great music lately, please let me know....I feel like I've hit a wall of the same old stuff (which it's good stuff, don't get me wrong).



And here is something in honor of Jaime coming........

Soundtrack for the Weekend:

Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope

It is a sad day for my music collection. Ryan Adams has announced that he is not going to make any new music. Not really sure how long that will last, but it saddens me for the time being. It's no secret that he's my favorite so I will mourn this loss.

*mellowdrama added for effect

Excitement

Today I got really excited about our new preacher that is coming to our church. Why, you may ask? All because of his blog posting from yesterday (January 12 for those of you who may not read this until several days from now). This is what he had to say......



Revival fire
Revivalist preacher Gypsy Smith used to ask his audiences, “Do you really want to see a revival begin?” When they responded, he would reply “. . . go back to your home and draw a circle three feet around in your bedroom. Then get down on your knees in the middle of it and ask God to convert everyone inside that circle. When you do that, you are experiencing the start of revival.”I get worn out by well meaning Christians who complain about the sinfulness of our culture (TV, politics, internet, etc.). Guess what? The culture acts like an ungodly, semi-Christian, biblically illiterate culture is supposed to act. It’s easy to bash a worldly culture. I am more worried about what is going on in my heart and mind than “out there” in the culture.“Lord, start revival in my heart and mind. Convict me of my sin. Empower me to break the enemy’s hold in all points of my life. Fill me with your love and grace. Send me out to serve this broken world. Amen.”



I am sometimes guilty of judging those who are "worldly" and saying "oh if they could only change", when at the same time I allow sin into my life and my home. I may, sometimes, talk in a way that is less than respectful to my husband, or participate in gossip....the list could go on and on.



Maybe if I worry more about transforming myself, I then can show love and change to others.



That's why I am excited about our new Preacher!







Today's soundtrack: Coldplay-X&Y

Ryan Adams-Cold Roses

I guess it could be worse

To my fellow Call of Duty wives,
Technically, yes, there are worse things than this game. That is a fact. However, I'm not yet sure what those things are, yet.
Ciao,
General Flemings' wife

yummy yummy in my tummy

I got one of these after lunch today and it was fabulous! I wanted to go to Target but Daniel didn't so he promised me Starbucks as an after lunch treat. I saw this, thought it had a funky fresh name, and ordered it. It was so worth venturing outside of my usual coffee order, and it was probably better for me too! It's been a good day! The sun is shining!

Dreary Day

Man what a dreary day it is outside. I'm so glad I spent yesterday cleaning the house and doing laundry because tonight I want nothing more than to go home, put on my pj's, order in chinese and watch movies. It is so cold and has not stopped raining since I woke up this morning. I do love these kinds of days because they are so cozy, but I do not like having to be at work during them, because my head feels like a bowling ball. (heavy because of sleepiness)

Also, Daniel is not feeling well today, so that's a big bummer. I was sick Friday and Saturday and I'm really hoping he didn't catch what I had. Yuck!!

So I find it quite interesting to hear what people's New Year's resolutions are. I, personally, do not make them, as I find them to jinx whatever it is have resolved to do or not do. However, I really like to hear about other people's. If you'd like to share yours, I'd love to hear about them.

Well, I suppose I should get back to work. Everybody stay warm and dry!

Toodles!

Christmas

So I'm still trying to catch up on sleep due to all the fun we had over Christmas and New Year's. We did a lot of traveling, but it was so worth it to get to be with both sides of the family. We started out in Houston and enjoyed an 80 degree Christmas Day. We had so much fun with everyone from the Freeman side (Daniel's mom's side). We got to spend some time with Dusty, Julie and Kate before they move to New York. Kate is so smart I can't believe it! After a good coastal Christmas, we traveled west to Abilene. It was the first time in almost 2 years that all of us have been together at the same time and it was so fun. I honestly haven't slept in almost 2 weeks! OK OK enough of the yapping, here are pictures of the fun!

Daniel's most prized Christmas GiftHow cute is this face?!?

Nannie had too much Egg Nog on Christmas Day

I guess I smelled like ham

Gary & Karen's Christmas Tree

Scott helping out in the kitchen

Nannie eating alone

The whole fam


Now on to the Talley home.....we made all the kids tell a joke before we'd give them their presents

Ethan showing us where he lost his tooth8 going on 30

Claire Bear
I've never met a kid that loved Christmas more than Grant
I promise you I have the cutest nieces and nephews

My mom made all the little girls matching outfits for them and their American Girl Dolls. Cutest thing I've ever seen! We went to the nursing home on New Year's Eve to visit some ladies that we grew up with and the girls wore these outfits. The ladies in the nursing home just went crazy when they saw them. It was so precious!!

This is for you Kylea......my 8 things

8 Things I Did Today…(these are from yesterday since it's still early and fairly uneventful!!
1. Woke up smelling my nieces poopy diaper
2. Had breakfast with my family
3. Cleaned up my mom's house a bit
4. Drove from Abilene to Dallas
5. Rented a movie
6. Laundry
7. Tried to catch up on everyone's Christmas through their blogs
8. Gladly went to bed!!
8 Of My Favorite Restaurants…
1. Cheesecake Factory
2. Rudy's Barbeque
3. La Madeline
4. Texas de Brazil
5. 3 Forks
6. La Hacienda Ranch
7. Spring Creek BBQ
8. Johnny Carino's
8 Shows I Watch(ed)…
1. The Office
2. Heroes
3. Whale Wars
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. The Soup
6. House
7. Dirty Sexy Money (please don't tell anyone)
8. America's Next Top Model
8 Things I Wish For…
1. To be a mommy
2. Good health for everyone I know
3. To finish a full marathon in 2009
4. A trip to Europe for my 5th Anniversary
5. A conservative President
6. A tan
7. Our pool to miraculously fix itself
8. Wood floors in my house
8 Things I Look Forward To…
1. Being a mommy
2. The next time my whole family gets to be together
3. Summertime...warm weather and beach vacations!! AMEN AMEN!!!!
4. Starting to run again for my next half marathon (believe it or not I do look forward to this!)
5. Sleeping In this weekend
6. Date night with Daniel
7. Paying off my student loan!!!!
8. Spending time with old friends and my new ones too
8 People I tag: I don't think 8 people even read my blog.................

Check back later for Christmas and New Year's pictures!