Time To Do the Hallelujah Dance.....Won't you join me?

Oh how I wish y'all could see me doing my Hallelujah Dance right now!  Ok, well maybe I don't really, because I'm sure I look pretty funny! LOL  Why am I dancing you ask?  I have a computer again!  Woo hoo.......I can't even begin to express how excited I am!  We finally took my computer in to find out what was wrong with it after Andy had replaced the power source and that didn't fix it.  As it turned out, the mother board was bad and the good news is......drum roll please.......my two hard drives that I had replaced a few years ago are fine, so I still have all of my pictures! Whew, what a relief!  *sniff, sniff* Somebody get some tissues, I might just cry some tears of joy!!!  The guy said I have 180 GB of pictures.....I'm guessing that's a lot, since he was surprised by it. LOL 

Anyway, my computer was so old that we decided to buy a year old reconditioned computer that is faster than my old one and the guy said that will make it much easier to use photoshop.  Hmmm, guess I might just have to learn how to use photoshop now.  I learned a few things awhile back, but it's been so long now, that I'll have to re-learn it. Ugh!  Andy has been diligently downloading all of my software to my scanner, printer, camera etc. Oh and he re-downloaded itunes for me too, so now he has transfered all of my songs from the hard drive into itunes and I'm having to organize all of my music into folders all over again....arggg, what a job, but I'm not really complaining, I'm just happy to still have all of my music! 

There is one thing I can't figure out how to fix......everything on my screen is stretched, so when I look at my pictures everyone is short and fat and the faces are all stretched wide.  I went to the control panel to try to fix it, but have not suceeded.  I guess I will have to call on Monday and ask the computer guy how to fix it.

Just to let y'all know, even though I just got my computer, I'm afraid I won't be on it much right now because my daughter-in-law is on her way here to visit for a couple of days and then we will be packing and leaving for my son's graduation from bootcamp in Georgia, but don't worry as soon as I return, I will be sharing pictures with y'all.  If I have time, maybe I will be able to put a couple of pics of my son and daughter-in-law on here before I leave, but don't hold me to that, just in case I don't get to it. :)  Bye for now and I'll be returning soon!!!

My New Little Baby.....Sophie!

My daughter Kasey brought home this adorable puppy a few weeks ago and told me she was my birthday present.......umm, YEAH RIGHT! Apparently, the owner was taking the last few puppies to the pound and of course, Kasey couldn't handle that, so she picked one out and brought her to ME. She's very cute, but I already have a very busy schedule and I had no idea how I would be able to train a puppy. I'm not one to just get a puppy, feed it and play with it and then leave it to itself the rest of the time.......I put a lot of time into training them! My exercise routine has suffered considerably and I am very upset about that because now I'm not going to reach my goal by the end of April.  Oh well, that's ok for now, fortunately Sophie is smart and is learning pretty fast.  Although, she does have a stubborn streak in her, but thankfully she now knows that I'm the pack leader! 

I had forgotten how exhausting it is to have a puppy.  I can't take my eyes off of her for a minute, while she's in her teething stage and I have to take her out to potty constantly.  The cool thing is that I don't actually have to go outside with her anymore though....by the 5th day I was able to open the front door, put her down and say, "Go Potty," and she would go down the steps and out into the grass all by herself and go potty.  Then when she is done going "tinkle" I say, "Go Potty Again," and if she has to go "number 2" then she will go, but if she doesn't, then she will just go "tinkle" again.  It's pretty funny because one day I was trying to get her to go potty both ways before I brought her back into the house, so I kept saying, "Go Potty Again," and she went "tinkle" 5 times. LOL  What an obedient little doggie!

Awww! Isn't she cute when she sleeps? 

Here she is chewing on a branch with Sunny!

This is one of the things I'm trying to break her of........tormenting my cat, Ling ling!


So far I've taught her.....sit, down, speak, fetch, wait (meaning she has to sit down and wait until I call her to come through the doorway into the house and also before going outside). I just started working with her on Come an she's doing better with it the last two days.  I taught her hide -n- seek....where she has to wait, while I hide somewhere in the house and then I yell, "Sophie Come," and then she has to come find me.  She loves this game because she gets a treat when she finds me!  I don't know if  I will teach her all of the tricks that I taught our dog Sunny, but we'll see.


Oh boy, here we go again!


Wow! A moment where she's not going after the cats......that's amazing!


Trust me when I tell you.......THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA! LOL Cheetoh is not one to be messed with and he doesn't allow anyone near his tail, especially since the raccoons took the end of it off, about 6 years ago. He is a tough cat.....he's been hit by a car......been in many cat fights.......been in fights with raccoons at least a few times......and has been cornered by dogs trying to kill him. He really isn't afraid of anything and so I tried to warn Sophie to not mess with him. Oh sure, Cheetoh played with her a little bit, but then.....well, let's just say this......Sophie knows her place with him now!

So Inspired!

I've been watching The Biggest Loser Couples and I am so amazed at the dedication of all of the contestants. Not only is it an entertaining reality show with plenty of competition to keep you interested, but it's the success stories that are so inspiring and touching!


Jillian Michaels looks fantastic with her rock hard abs and toned body and while I have to admit it wouldn't hurt my feelings if I looked like that......for me that's not what it's all about......it's really about being healthy, feeling healthy and of course, looking healthy is just bonus!

For me, exercise is not a choice, but rather a necessity due to my injuries from my auto accident almost 7 years ago. Exercise is physical therapy for me, it keeps my muscles strengthened, keeps my energy up and literally keeps me walking and enables me to get around with ease.


My problem has been trying to find the right equipment because I have to have low impact. My favorite machine pictured above is the Eliptical because it is very low impact and I actually feel the least amount of pain while doing it. Now don't get me wrong......it is hard work.....I mean it's a killer, but I can burn double the calories in half the time compared to walking on my treadmill. I've learned a couple of tricks that make it easier for me though, I put a dish towel over it, so I don't focus on how many minutes I've been on it and I put in a good chick flick to watch and get lost in, to keep my mind occupied. Once in awhile I will peek at how many minutes and then I will almost hear Jillian telling me, "DON'T YOU QUIT........KEEP GOING........KEEP GOING.......YOU CAN DO IT!" So once I hit 30 minutes, I think.....I can do 10 more minutes and so on, until I hit 70 minutes. It's brutal, but I've learned to push myself and just push through the pain even when I'm having sciatic pain down my leg and I think it is almost unbearable. I always feel so good when I'm done and I feel like I've really made Jillian proud! One day I even did 90 minutes on it.......ok well, I haven't done that again!!! I've been known to overdo it, just a bit! LOL

If My Computer Wasn't Already Dead......I'd shoot it!!!

I'm really not a violent person, I'm just frustrated with my computer, I mean how many times is it gonna die on me? Many of you know that it died on me a few months ago, then it started working again......then my husband's computer died......then he got his fixed and then guess what? Yep, mine died again! I guess we have the worst luck with computers! Of course, mine IS 10 years old, so I guess that's understandable. Anyway, I apologize for not being able to visit all of your blogs right now, hopefully we will be able to get my computer fixed soon!

MIA because my computer died!

Just thought I should mention why I have been MIA lately....it's because my computer died. Still don't know if it can be fixed yet! I'm just hoping that I haven't lost all of my pictures. Somehow I had a feeling this was going to happen and I even mentioned to my husband, that I needed to back up my photos, but just didn't get it done in time. *sob sob* Ok, I'm not really crying....well at least not yet! Now if I lose all of my pictures....trust me I will be crying for real!!!

Hopefully, my computer will be fixed soon and I will be online and uploading pics to my blog again. This is driving me crazy!

Until then...

I WON, I WON....Not Just 1, but 2 Giveways!

Why am I so blessed? Seriously....I never win anything, so you can only imagine, how excited I am! Could I possibly be on a winning streak or something? Take a look at these wonderful gifts and try not to be too jealous, ok?

This awesome candle was given to me by H-Mama over at Family Team. Oh how I wish you all could smell it's scrumptous scent.....I say that because it smells like a Latte and I just want to drink it up! Mmmm, it's so yummy! Espresso anyone? I can't even walk by it without stopping to take a whiff. lol Thank you, H-Mama for drawing my name....I absolutely love my candle! Oh and please tell your hubby he did a great job picking this one out......it's exactly the one I would have chosen myself! How perfect is that? :)

Leah from over at Live Life Simply, sent this beautiful necklace that she handmade! Didn't she do a fabulous job? I just love it! I actually left her a comment on her blog, stating that I was already picturing it with the perfect outfit, not knowing that I would actually win it. Isn't that funny? As soon as I opened it today, I went straight into my closet, to see how many outfits it would go with. LOL Thank you, Leah for drawing my name....I can't wait to wear it! You should think about selling these, that is, if you don't already.

Please take the time to visit H-Mama and Leah's blogs and check them out. They both have been such an encouragement to me and they really and truly have been great bloggy friends! I am thankful for both of you and I will treasure my gifts. Thanks a bunch! :)

My Blog Has Been Morphing...

My blog has been doing some morphing yesterday and today! I suspect you probably noticed if you stopped by and saw it changing, from one background color to another, followed by an array of changing font colors. So sorry, if you had to see my blog in such disarray, I just couldn't settle on a background color that I liked.

I finally did settle with this one though......it's not my favorite color, but at least it's a warm color. Those of you who know me well, know how I love warm colors! I am pleased with how well, the colors in my header pictures, go with it. I just wish I could figure out how to change the background color on my header from white to a dark color. Ugh! So much still to learn in Photoshop Elements.

Honey, I'm Lost Without You!

My honey is gone camping with almost 30 of the men in our church, plus some of their boys, on their MEN'S EXCURSION! Although I am happy that he gets to go and rough it with a bunch of guys, playing paintball etc., is it too sappy for me to say, that I'm lost without him? I know, I know, some of you are thinking, "OH PLEASE!"

Seriously though, we are coming up on our 25th wedding anniversary on the 18th and when you've spent that much time together, it feels like a part of you is missing, when they're gone. I just love spending time with him, but don't you worry, I am quite capable of using my time alone, very unwisely.

I decided to stay in my pajamas all day today.......play on the computer with my photoshop program.......print out some pictures.......talk on the phone for an hour with a friend who is hurting.......lay in my bed snuggled up in my down comforter for a little time of rest (since I haven't slept a wink in days).......replaced the water in the fish tank after accidentally splattering soap bubbles in it........talk to my friend Michelle for a minute to discuss something with Photoshop.......catch up on some blog reading.......watch the So You Think You Can Dance finale......eat more than I should have........load the dishwasher and then write this blog post. WHEW! IT'S BEEN A VERY HARD DAY! I think I will finish it off with a long hot bath, write in my prayer journal and then go to bed. I REALLY MUST LEARN TO TAKE IT EASY, DON'T YA THINK?

www.kidsinmind.com........Check it Out!

Have you ever gone to the movies and had to walk out, or rented a movie and have been so shocked by the content, that you had to take it back to the video store, immediately? Well, those days are over because now there are websites that actually go through the work of reviewing movies for us, and give us detailed description on the content of the movie.

This is so helpful to me because another person may recommend a movie and say it is appropriate to see, but I have found that their idea of appropriate, rarely matches up to my idea of appropriate. I rented a movie one time that was highly recommended and just let me tell you.....a scene came on and I could not work the buttons on that remote fast enough, for nothing. I finally got it turned off and then I took it back to the store.

Since then, I haven't rented a movie by recommendation alone.......I will go to www.kidsinmind.com and look up any movie we are interested in. I love this site because it lists every detail of nudity, violence, and profanity, so you know up front whether it is going to be a movie that is appropriate to rent or go see. They give you ratings from 1 to 10 on sex and nudity.......violence and gore.......and profanity. 1 being really good and 10 being really bad and inappropriate.

It's a great site, so I hope you all will start checking it out, so you will know in advance what you're getting your self into when you go to watch a new movie. All I have to do is look at the number ratings and that tells me whether I should see it or not. It's great, so check it out!

Out of Practice! Gotta Get Back Into My Groove!

Ok, so after taking this time off from blogging....now I'm OUT OF PRACTICE and struggling to get back into it. Can you believe that? I've got to get back into my groove...and honey believe me when I say, I can get my groove thang ON! Does that make me groovy? Nooo, that just means I have lots of rhythm and I can dance! LOL

Let's see where do I begin...

Well, after my doctor suggested I go to a dry hot climate to help heal up my lungs, Andy and I hopped in the truck and took a road trip to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. We were gone for 3 weeks and let me just tell you how awesome it was.....IT WAS AWESOME! Our friend's dad owns a house there and he offered for us to go and stay in it. He has become such a wonderful friend to us and is a huge blessing! This is the same guy that helped us build our house, by the way. Anyway, each day my lungs got better and better and I felt like a million bucks. I know if we could have stayed just 2 more weeks my lungs prob would have been completely healed, but I'm not complaining, the time we had there worked wonders!

Get this....while there I became a morning person and got up around 5:00 a.m., so we could go for our morning 2 hour walk down at the London Bridge and around the lake. The mornings were beautiful.....by 6:00 a.m. it was 85 degrees....by 8:00 it was 102 and the rest of the day was usually 106, but one day it got up to 110 degrees. Most days we went for another hour walk in the evenings too. We were told that the heat was rather mild while we were there and that it actually gets much hotter. I took so many pictures that it's a little overwhelming to try and choose which ones to share on here. I prob have almost 2000 pics., so I guess I went a little overboard huh? I'm in the process of going through them and deleting some.

I took this pic. just as we had arrived and were looking for the house.




I loved the mountains and the palm trees!

There was every kind of cactus imaginable, but this was my favorite! I've never really liked cactus until I saw this one. I guess I like it because of the purple color.

I really wanted to keep on my early morning routine, but sad to say I haven't done very well since, we've been home. I had to recuperate from the traveling, so I've been getting up around 8:00 and I even slept in til 10:00 on Monday, but I think that's because I was running a fever and didn't feel well. I haven't exercised in 4 days, but I'm getting back to it in a few minutes, when I get out in my hot tub and do some rowing and leg exercises and I plan on getting back on my treadmill tomorrow. Gotta keep in shape and keep my lungs exercised!

Had an upper GI done this morning and hey that Barium swallow was mighty tasty! NOT! I had to swallow these crystals that felt sort of like pop rocks, but trust me they didn't taste like pop rocks! They were supposed to get the wrinkles out of my stomach, so the doc could see inside my stomach better. Weird huh? Who would have thought that we would have wrinkles in our stomach? The doc told me the crystals would make me want to burp, but he instructed me to not do so. I'd like to know how to stop it....it just happened and it was a little embarrassing. It was like drinking a coke as fast as you can and then trying not to burp. I don't drink sodas or anything carbonated, so I guess I'm out of practice. I just kept apologizing to the doctor. LOL We're trying to get to the bottom of the acid reflux thing, so I can't wait to get the results. Well, that's my update that I promised, so bye for now. I'll be stoppin' by to read up on your blogs, so I can catch up. It's good to be back! :)

Signing off for awhile...

Just want to let all of you know, that I will be signing off, for a little while. It will only be for two or three weeks, but let me just say......I will miss all of my bloggy friends sooo much! I'm going to be concentrating on getting lots of rest and getting well, so I will be good as new and blogging again, before ya know it. Love you all and I will be thinking of you!

PLEASE.....Someone tell me this is just a cruel joke or a bad dream!

Ok, well as it turns out, it's not a joke or a bad dream, like I had hoped! This past few weeks have been rough for me because of a horrible diet my doctor put me on. I mean it's bad enough, that I have been pretty ill for almost 4 months, but don't be messin' with a girl's food!!! Especially, since I have my appetite back now! I usually don't get too personal on my blog, but this is so unfair, that I just have to tell all.

Here's how it all started...

Almost 4 months ago I got bronchitis and after 2 rounds of antibiotics, I was still having a lot of trouble breathing, so I went back to the doctor. He said I wasn't getting enough oxygen.....duh, that's why I was there! (do you detect a little attitude in my voice?) He gave me a nebulizer treatment, plus sent a nebulizer home with me, along with many other drugs. (I really hate taking medications, but I had no choice, I mean come on, I have to breathe!) After a chest x-ray, pulmonary function testing, allergy testing, plus 3 visits to my family doc and 4 or 5 to the Allergy Specialist, I still couldn't hardly breathe. BTW, the pulmonary function test was not fun. It wasn't too bad breathing into the machine, until he switched it to oxygen. He forewarned me that people new to scuba diving, have trouble breathing with the oxygen tanks and they sometimes panic. He said this test would be like that and that I would probably feel like I wasn't getting enough air.......HELLO.......I'm already NOT getting enough air! Oh and FYI......I'm not a scuba diver either! Needless to say, I almost panicked and ripped that thing out of my mouth, but he said if we didn't get a proper reading, we would have to redo it. I had to redo it 3 times because the first two times I was hyperventilating through the whole test. Anyway, the results revealed that my lungs are functioning properly, so he thought the obstruction must be caused by inflammation.

So far, I have had two really bad asthma attacks and both times, I ended up having panic attacks because I literally couldn't breathe and thought I wasn't going to make it! Let me tell you.....that will freak a person out! I made a real spectacle out of myself, when it happened at church in the middle of the service, recently. Fortunately, I went out into the foyer, but as my air became more constricted and the terror set in, I became more panicked. I thought I was going to drive myself home to use my nebulizer and was trying to convince myself and the ushers that I was going to be fine. Ok, at this point I was not thinking clearly! Apparently, I just got louder and louder the more panicked I became and the next thing I new, my husband busted through the door......he could hear the panic in my voice over his preaching and knew exactly what was happening. He didn't even get to finish the sermon.....we left and the rest of the church stayed and prayed for me. Isn't that so sweet? Some of them even met at the church the next night to pray for me, also. I am so thankful for all of them!

Anyway, It wasn't until the next day that I realized, after talking with Andy that everyone in the auditorium could hear me panicking and freaking out in the foyer. Oh my goodness, I was so humiliated that all I could do, was laugh at myself! Thank goodness our church members are all my friends!

I went back to my doctor and he thinks I am having acid reflux ,that is backing up and spilling into my lungs, which is causing my lungs to constrict and making it hard to breathe.

SO......this brings me to the unfairness I mentioned in the beginning of this post...

I am now on a very bland diet for a month to see if part of the problem really is acid reflux. I've been on this awful diet, for a few weeks and let me just share with you, how rough it really is....

Here are some of my favorite things that I can't have. What? Does he seriously think I can live without my spicy foods? I can't even eat soup without cayenne pepper and literally dumping two kinds of hot sauce in it. Plus, how will I eat scrambled eggs without my Cholula sauce? No acidic fruits or vegetables, so that rules out anything with tomato........NO PIZZA, SPAGHETTI, OR LASAGNA! I was going to buy some tomato plants to make homemade salsa with.....hmmm, guess that won't be happening! I can't even have oranges or pineapple in my smoothies.......this is getting rediculous!
Ok, so this is where I'm hoping I'll wake up and find out this is just a bad dream! I can't even have my favorite mexican food from Plaza Jalisco! Oh my goodness, I can almost taste those luscious enchiladas ranchera and that awesome salsa, right now. I sometimes just eat the salsa with a spoon.....seriously, it is the best salsa I have ever had! I better move on to the next picture before I start to weep.
Alright, this is the last straw! This really has to be a cruel joke! I can't even have my favorite tea? Come on! These are just 3 of my favorites, but they all contain something I can't have. My other favorites are Stash decaf Chai Tea and Stash Lemon Ginger. I can't have caffeine, chocolate, or any kind of mint or spices, so all of my favorites are out! Do you know how hard it is to find tea without caffeine, mint, lemon or ginger?

I do hope this torture is over soon, but if it solves some of my problem with my lungs, then I guess it will be worth it. I mean, I would really love to feel good again and most importantly, be able to breathe easily again! Now, those of you who love spicy foods, don't you feel sorry for me? You can all come to my pity party if you wanna......the door is open!

Proper Commenting Etiquette

A few days ago I posed a question about proper commenting etiquette and today I would like to share with you what I found on the subject. Here is a link to my previous post and comments What IS Proper Blogging/Commenting Etiquette. My new blogger friend, Sara also posted this question on her blog, so if you would like to read her post and comments as well, click here.

First of all, I would like to say that I don't have the perfect answer to this question and I'm not here to inform you, as to whether you are doing it right or wrong.

I'd like to start out by telling you what made me start thinking about this in the first place. After visiting and reading other blogs, I noticed that some people never respond to their comments on their blogs. In fact, I have even left questions on a blog, only to find no response after returning several times looking for a reply, thus discouraging me to ever return to their blog.

When I am reading a blog's comments, I like to see the blogger responding and relating to their commenters. This to me, shows that there is a relationship there and that they actually care enough, to interact with their readers. After all, a relationship is a two way street. I mean if you're not going to respond, then you might as well not even have an interactive comment section available, right? I also noticed that some bloggers don't respond to their comments on their own blogs, instead they respond, on the commenter's blog, so I actually started doing it that way myself. This is what confused me and made me start searching for proper comment etiquette.

After searching and reading up on this subject, I have decided to go back to responding to comments on my own blog most of the time, instead of responding on their blog or emailing them, unless I am replying to a personal question or subject matter. I'm sure there will probably be times when I will respond on both my blog and theirs, like I did with someone last night. I just want to make sure my readers are not left out of whatever the discussion may be.

I'd like to leave you with some links that I found on the subject of Comment Etiquette. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Lost Art of Blogging ~ The Comment Etiquette: The Guide to Proper Blog Commenting

Rose DesRochers - World Outside My Window ~ Blogging Etiquette - Return Visits

Problogger ~ Should you respond to comments via email or in comments?

tenForty ~ Basic Blogging Etiquette, Do's and Don'ts, Plagiarsism

What IS Proper Blogging/Commenting Etiquette?

I'm hoping someone can answer this question about commenting for me because I'm just not sure what the proper etiquette is.

When I want to respond to a comment someone has left on my blog.....am I supposed to respond with a comment on MY blog or do I respond in a comment on THEIR blog?

I've been checking out other blogs to see what they do and I've seen both ways of responding, so which is it? I've also noticed, that there are some bloggers who don't respond at all or if they do, it is very rare and I know that is NOT proper blogger etiquette! Therefore, I am SO confused!

If any of you bloggers out there can help me out with this, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

A Great Giveaway!

I found out about this great giveaway over at Tatertots and Jello, from my friend Brittany and I'm hoping that all of you will check it out.

The giveaway is in celebration of Jen's 200th post, so let's show her some bloggy love and leave her a comment here, to enter to win these crafts that she has so beautifully decoupaged!

20 Things You May Not Know About Me...

• My nickname is DJ (my first and middle initials)
• It drives me crazy when people call me Debbie....hellooo....my name is Debra!
• I love my husband and my kids so much, it almost hurts!
• My heart still goes pitter patter when my husband walks into the room
• When my kids need to talk, I will stay up until wee hours into the morning listening
• I put cayenne pepper on pretty much everything I eat (must be the cajun in me)
• I add cayenne pepper to melted butter and pour it all over my popcorn
• I love walking on the beach, playing in the water, and looking for sand dollars
• I marvel over a beautiful sunset or sunrise
• I love planting flowers in my yard, to admire and enjoy
• If I wouldn't gain weight, I would eat pie, cheesecake and pastries everyday
• I miss my mama's southern cookin'.....gumbo, collard greens, chicken ~n~ dumplins etc.
• I'm a night owl and I don't like to get out of bed in the morning
• My favorite candy is cinnamon bears and cinnamon hard candies
• My favorite pies are banana cream and pumpkin
• I love spinach and could eat it with every meal
• The only fish I will eat are...halibut, bass, catfish and sturgeon
• I will not eat liver, oysters, clams, shrimp, anchovies or cooked mushrooms
• I am very sentimental
• I can't wait to be a grandma someday

Just call me Pinnochio!

I AM HORRIFIED! I read an article one time that said our ears and nose will never stop growing. "What? Are you serious?" said I. I mean, is this some nightmare that I'm in? Ok, 'fess up girls, let's admit it, we all have a feature that we despise. For me it has always been my nose. You can ask my family....I won't let them take a profile picture of me and if they do, it always gets deleted. Of course, that's the great thing about digital cameras, now isn't it? (I know what you're thinking....SO VAIN....right?)

Anyway, the other night I was looking through photo albums and I came across this photo of me in the sunglasses and I thought, "Hey my nose doesn't look too bad in this pic." Then I remembered that article I had read, so I decided to compare some of my pictures over the years. I let out a gasp, as I said to my daughter, "OH NO IT'S TRUE......my nose HAS grown!" She replied, "It has not!" Then I held the first pic up to my face to show her the difference and she said, "Oh my gosh!" Well folks that says it all! You might as well, just call me Pinnochio!


Just look at this cute 'little' nose! I believe this was taken in 1984. It must have been in the summer because I have freckles...the sun always brings them out. You can tell I don't lay out in the sun anymore because you can't even see any freckles on my face now.

I can't believe I'm posting this picture.....Look at that nose! My, has it grown!

Another nice view of my pinocchio nose! You may notice that I didn't post a recent picture, mainly because I don't have a recent picture of my profile and also, because I don't even want to KNOW how big my nose is now. lol

BLOGGY GOODNESS!

Hey y'all, there was some down right bloggy goodness goin' on in my little bloggy world yesterday, so I just have to tell! First of all, out of the goodness of her heart, Brittany -aka new blogger buddy, helped me out with a little blogger 101. Trust me, this was much appreciated because nothing frustrates me more than, not being able to figure something out on the computer. I mean seriously, doesn't this frustrate you too? Especially when it turns out to be something as simple as pie and you think, why in the world couldn't I have figured that out? Well, guess what? Brittany's bloggy goodheartedness, spurred me on to tackle something I've been wanting to do for awhile now.

I've been wanting to change my template to 3 columns, but was too afraid that either I wouldn't be able to figure out how to do it, or that I would lose all of my posts and stuff, so I just kept putting it off. Well, to my surprise I decided to tackle it today, with a little help from the internet. I found a great website that gave me simple step by step instructions on how to back up my template and widgets, so I wouldn't lose all of my info., but my computer wouldn't cooperate. It kept telling me it couldn't find my notepad, which I had to have, to save it to.

After more time than I would like to mention, I finally wised up and decided to use my husband's computer and believe it or not, it only took me about 2 minutes to back up my template and widgets. It was a longer process changing the template to 3 columns, but that was just because I was so nervous and scared that I was going to mess it up. Oh man let me tell you how excited I was when it worked! I wanted to do a victory dance for sure!

We have a friend that always says, "It's all good!" Well girlfriends, let me tell you somethin'.....yesterday for me, "It was all bloggy goodness!"

Reality TV

Have you noticed how many reality tv shows there are today? This morning I was thinking about it and just wondering why so many people are addicted to those reality shows. I mean some people actually plan their lives around them......making sure they don't schedule anything else during the times that their shows come on. Have you ever wondered why people love reality tv so much? I know there's more than one reason and I'll use myself for an example. I love American Idol because for one, I love music and singing and I also love a good competition. It's almost like a sport to me because of the challenge of making it through to the next round. It's the excitement of hoping your favorite will make it to the end and be the winner. I mean who doesn't like to win?

I had so much fun rooting for my husband's team to win the superbowl this year. My adrenaline was pumping as I watched each play and each team score and I have to tell you that my excitement exploded and boiled over when the Steelers won the game! I was on my feet whoopin' and hollerin' like a crazy woman and oh what fun! So that's what I love about a good reality show like American Idol, but I believe there is another reason why people like reality tv.

If you think about it, we are relational people, right? We want to be connected to people in some way, that's why we have email, messenger, facebook, twitter, text messaging, and even blogs. I think some people like reality tv because you can delve into the people's lives and actually almost feel apart of thier lives without even meeting them, plus you don't have to open yourself up. It's a one way superficial relationship....it's easy....it's safe....you don't have to give anything of yourself....you won't get hurt! Unfortunately for some, superficial relationships is a way of life and it breaks my heart that they are missing out on real meaningful relationships, like God intended us to have. I have dealt with so many women who keep a wall up and won't let anyone close for fear of getting hurt, but that's a whole 'nother subject that would take too long to expound on for now.

I just wanted to share my thoughts on reality tv shows and would love to hear some more thoughts on the subject, if any of you would like to share. I'm not looking for opinions on whether reality shows are good or bad because I know some are quite questionable and some like Biggest Loser are actually inspiring. :o) (reality tv continued in my next post)