Simply Stacy

Random dozen Meme

Here's my take one the Random Dozen Meme...play along if you like check it out at the Lid's blog.  She hosts a weekly Meme with a mr linky and everything:

Let the questions begin:

1. Tell me the absolute best way to watch a movie.

In the theater, it would have to be with my guys complete with popcorn, candy and a huge drink for us to share.

At home on my couch in my comfy pjs under a blanket in the dark.

2. Do you ever think about your own funeral? If so, do you have specific ideas about how you would like it to be?

I have thought about it and honestly I don't care what it looks like where it is nothing along that line.  What I do care about is whether people show up.  There is probably some disorder out there for people who have a fear no one will show at their funeral.  If it is, have it, so be there!

3. Are you more of a giver or a taker?

I am the baby of the family so I would have to say taker.  But I am working on that.  Doesn't that count for anything?

4. Vacations: planned activities and schedules, or play it by ear?

Play it by ear...ALWAYS.  Schedules make me crazy.  I love to just get in the car and go.

5. What is one often overlooked item in your home that needs to be cleaned regularly?

I am not going to touch on the list of things outside of the daily/weekly cleaning.  You know the OMG what is that and why is it under your bed list.  I am going to just stick with dusting.  I hate to dust.  I am going to blame it on a little known fact shared with me that majority of household dust is made up of dead skin cells.  EWWW gross.  I know should make you clean it more often but EWWW gross!!

6. Name a cause that means a lot to you.

Blood donation.  I work in a blood bank and I have seen first hand how it can save lives.  When is the last time you gave blood?

7. Do you eat a regular old peanut butter jelly sandwich, or do you customize it? And by the way, jelly or no jelly?

I rarely eat them but when I do it is the regular old PB&J.  Even though sometimes I mix them before spreading them.  Gives it a whole different taste.  Great now I want one.

8. If we were having a conversation in person, how would I know if you were nervous?

Fidgety hands.  Thats why I love winter.  Jackets and jeans make perfect places to contain my hands.  Also I will not make eye contact if I'm really nervous.

9. Do you have an elaborate bedtime routine, or just the basics of tooth brushing and jammies?

I am a fall into bed kinda person.  No routine at all, the basics and I'm out.

10. Have you ever regretted something you wrote on your blog?

Not yet.  But I have learned never say never.

11. Has anyone ever told you that you look like a famous person or celebrity? Did you agree?

 I can't think of anyone other than my mom.  And she's not famous but I do agree.

12. If you were going to dedicate a song to a loved one or friend, what would the song be and to whom would it be dedicated?

Bad boys...the theme from Cops for my boys.  I sing it to them often.  (I started to go with you are my sunshine but that just seemed a little sappy for Britt)

 

Updates on our LENGTHY visit from Gustav

Well, I didn't get back out to the campground today but Pat did.  I had a meeting this morning then an extra long commute home because of the traffic headed back to New Orleans.  So I slept later than normal. Pat went before I got up this afternoon.  He said that it had quit rising but that the water had gotten under Bradley White's cabin.  Sorry I didn't get more pictures. 

I did get pictures of the Bogue Chitto which is still rising:

Just to give you a reference of where this is picture is taken, here is the same field during the survivor weekend.  It is the last field before you cross the creek. All of the land you see in the following picture is under water now. 

It is still raining some here as well as the counties to the north of us.  So it looks like we will have a few days of this before it starts going back down.  And wouldn't you know it...we got everything done around the house but we forgot all about our weber grill that was still at the river.  Oh well.  I will sacrifice that grill for nothing harmed at the house! 

 

Update on Heidi

She tolerated the surgery well.  She has only about 20% of her small intestines left but they were able to reconnect everything without having to do a colostomy bag.  The Lewis' have a long road ahead of her but they are really happy with her prognosis.  There is something about almost losing a child that will make you face anything you have to face, as long as you still can see her face. 

Please continue to pray for them. 

Prayers for Heidi

Our friends, Amanda and Clint Lewis' little ten month old girl, Heidi, is in PICU in the Blair E Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson.  She had her first surgery when she was only 3 days old to fix a blockage in her intestines.  She has been doing really well until this past Thursday.  She began vomiting and was taken to the ER in Brookhaven.  They air lifted her to Jackson.  She was taken into surgery Friday morning and she was found to have another blockage.  She lost most of her small intestine.  She did not tolerate the surgery very well and they ended up having to stop before they began reattaching the intestines. She has been sedated all weekend just allowing her heart time to rest.  She is scheduled for surgery again on Monday to try and finish the repairs. Please pray for all involved. 

From Campmeeting to Survivor

We really had a great time at the campground but I am not going to bore you with all of the details. It was great to watch the boys interact with their great grandparents.  And as always to see the friends that we only see once a year.  So much fun that I could hardly describe it here so just believe me when I say it was great. 

So now on to the next big thing...Survivor Weekend!  Our youth are coming to our rock bar and at SIX, yes I said SIX campsites in our woods to experience our scaled down, Christian version of Survivor.  There are approximately 90 kids signed up and man are they in for a great weekend!  I cannot give the detail on here yet but I will just say that there will be some really hard challenges and the best part of all...Mike Skupin is coming. 

Who is Mike Skupin?  Do you remember the episode where the guy was blowing on the fire, inhaled the smoke, passed out and burned his hands?  That was Mike Skupin.  And yes he is coming to our rock bar later today.  I cannot wait.  I love the game of Survivor...I have seen every episode.  So this is like a star coming to my house.  I will fill you all in on it next week.  For now I have to keep it a secret so we can surprise the kids. 

It will take everything I have not to make a joke or two about all of the fire around to Mike.  I will try my best to refrain.  I am sure that he has heard them all anyway. Look for details on Monday.

Later.

Beyond pet peeves

They are the little things that annoy us and some can be very validated like smacking gum or dragging your feet when you walk.  I think that these are examples of things that could be considered rude and/or annoying to almost anyone. 

But there are a few I have that go beyond pet peeves.  For example,  I cannot stand for the cashier at the grocery store to comment on what I am buying.  Don't ask me if I am having company, what I plan to make with these ingredients, or the end-all-be-all of comments, "Are those any good?"  You are here everyday, go buy some and try them for yourself.  I don't know why it bothers me; it just does,  A LOT.  I know, I know he/she is just trying to be friendly but it just makes me furious almost immediately. 

Another one is the lack of order at a four way stop.  I've always thought the first person there has the right of way. In cases where two or more people arrive at the same time, you yield the driver on the right. When there are multiple cars in different lanes, the yield to the right applies combined with alternating lanes meaning that if three cars are on your right when you get there, you let one car go then you go.  I don't mind crossing the intersection while the car across from you crosses, if both that driver and you are going straight across the intersection.

Having said that, the four way stop in Summit has turned into a gauntlet for me to shoot before I arrive home every morning.  It is horrible. Here are the general rules followed there: 

1. The driver with the biggest vehicle goes first, ignoring all small cars and pedestrians.

2.  Me First!  Me First! 

3. In case of a tie, refer back to rule one. 

4.Eye contact is not allowed.  That way there are no guilty feelings when darting out in front of the other vehicles. 

5. Do NOT try to turn at the intersection.  Turns are much too advanced for this four way stop.  You must plan your route to arrive at the intersection facing the direction in which you wish to proceed.

That brings me to the last one for today...I have to stop somewhere.  People today are just rude.  They think that the rules are for everyone else.  It shows in the way we drive, no one is considerate of each other while driving.  I often think, would you do that if we were walking and you knew it was another person in traffic with you instead of another car?  Well, I am not so sure anymore.  I feel like I may be trampled by some to whom the rules don't apply.  They park at the front of stores because they don't have time to find a parking place like the rest of us. 

Not just driving though.  People are rude on the phone, in text messaging and face to face.  I received a customer service courtesy call the other day and before it was over she was delivering an attitude laden speech.  I reminded her that SHE called ME because of a problem that had happened with their company the previous week.  When I asked if she could fix the problem and she could not, I simply asked why she called.  She knew the problem before she called, she knew that she could not make it better, why call?  I thought it was a valid question.  Apparently, she did not.  She gave me a long speech on how not every problem was their fault, etc. etc, with plenty of attitude.  I said thanks and hung up.  A lot of good that call did to improve her company's standing in my eyes!

I'm just saying....

Later.

I had great intentions of having you some pictures this week.  Guess what no pics.  I never even got them from the camera to the computer.  How's that for lazy?  The trip that I mentioned earlier to the water park was really really fun and the boys had a blast.  I will just say this...next year I will take leave without pay before I work the night before and the night after something like that again.  I was dragging til Sunday...just in time to come back to work.  Oh, well.  It was really a lot of fun to get to spend the whole day with Pat and the boys.  They never got tired of climbing those steps to the slides.  My limit was about five times in a row then Mama needed a small break. (unless there was a wait at the top, then I could handle it) 

So, why would a mama do something so tiresome and not just take a day off?  Because I need the money for one...why else do I work?  But I am taking off the end of this week and we are taking the boys to Gulf Shores AL.  I cannot wait.  It has been a few years since we have been and I think that the boys will really keep us busy this year.  I have to find me a book to take....just finished The Friday Night Knitting Club.  Any suggestions?

Later.

Too tired to be creative today.  We went with our church group to Paradise Grand Water Park in Collins and I have had very little sleep...about two hours sleep in about 40 hours.   So I am just copying an email I got that was funny....enjoy.

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

BARACK OBAMA:
The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN MC CAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON:
When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure — right from Day One! — that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me…….

DR. PHIL:
The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on ‘THIS’ side of the road before it goes after the problem on the ‘OTHER SIDE’ of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his ‘CURRENT’ problems before adding ‘NEW’ problems.

OPRAH:
Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our
side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL:
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the
road…

ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the
other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY:
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

NANCY GRACE:
That chicken crossed the road because he’s GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART:
No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS:
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

GRANDPA:
In my day we didn’t ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS:
Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart-warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life-long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE:
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON:
Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES:
I have just released eChicken2009, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra………… Reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON:
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS:
Did I miss one?

DICK CHENEY:
Where’s my gun?

AL SHARPTON:
Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

As you may have noticed, I am posting from work so there will be much fewer pictures.  However, I did upload some new pics in the album on the side.  Just some random shots from the past few weeks.  I will try to remember to get pictures together, but I am just not that organized to remember to put them on a disc and bring them with me to work, hours before I will be posting.

Not much going on today in the world of the Whites.  I got home late after an appointment so I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with the boys today.  They went to bible school at the little country church out by our house this morning.  Charlie told me that he didn't want to go this morning but that he forgot how much fun it really was.  He is exited about going tomorrow.  We will miss our church's bible school because it overlaps with campmeeting...again.  That is four years in a row.  At least they are getting to go somewhere.  Grandmother and granddaddy like it because they get to hear everyone brag on their grandchildren. (It is their church) 

Well, I am fairly busy tonight so I better cut it short. 

Later.