Pic

DEAD!!

It is so sad. My family will be here in 4 days and our Christmas Tree is DEAD!!! Our house is so DRY and the best place to put the tree is pretty much in the direct blowing path of the pellet stove. Oops. If you even so much as touch a twig, ALL the needles come off in your hand. Some of the ornaments are falling off because they are touching the twigs, which makes the needles fall off sending the ornaments to the ground.

We moved the tree over about 4 feet (away from the window and pellet stove), but it is already too late. She is hardly drinking anymore. Her branches are turning brown, and you can definitely tell that she is thinning out -- a lot!!!

next year - the tree STARTS further away from the pellet stove!!!

I'm sorry, Tree!!!

Christmas Decorations

Here we are, one week until Christmas. (Until Boxing Day, really...)

We are all decorated for Christmas. Well, we never got to outside, but things are so busy, we're just counting that as a "not-going-to-happen-this-year" thing. Like so many things in life - "maybe next year"

It doesn't *feel* alot like Christmas we are finding. Jer and I have talked about why that may be.

1- Neither one of us are near our families.
2- He is so BUSY he doesn't have time to "feel" Christmas yet.
3- He is so busy that I am not feeling like Christmas yet.
4- There hasn't been any snow yet (this is my reason, not his... growing up in Arizona, snow is not really a big part of Christmas anyway)

Anyway, it's Christmas whether it feels like it or not. We'll celebrate with all we've got anyway! Happy Birthday to the King of kings!!

This is the base of our banister. This little guy greets us first thing in the morning.














This is Santa with our unity candle.


















Here is a close up of the gum drop string that Jer and I made together. What fun!














This is our tree - simple and beautiful - speaking of which, I bet it needs to be watered... The pellet stove is just to the left of that sign on the easel - needless to say, our big green baby needs lots to drink to stay alive!!


















Here are our "love monkeys". They came to be at our wedding (where they sat at our head table). From there, they have participated in 4 wedding receptions, and even a few days away. They love to celebrate with us :)














Mary, Joseph, 2 wisemen, and an angel - reminding us of of the first Christmas.

A woman in the presence of a good man, a real man, loves being a woman.
~Stasi Eldredge

Christmas and whatnot

Well.. For starters, I just updated to the new Beta Blogger and I don't like it already. It shifted everything but my top picture over to the right and now you have to scan your page over to align it properly.. Does anyone know how to fix that??? Does anyone know any benefits to this "beta blogger"??


So Christmas is almost here. Jeremiah and I have the inside of the house all festive. We are going to buy some more decorations in the after Christmas sales, so things are sparse in some areas, but we both had quite a bit of stuff, so we're not lacking... I will take some pictures and post them soon. Our tree looks pretty cute. We found this really cute string of fake gum drops at Walmart, but they only had 1 string left (on a tree - but they told us we could take it off...) but it was only 6 feet long or so.. what were we going to do with ONE 6 foot string of gumdrops... So we decided to string our own. After finding some spice drops (cheaper ;)), fishing line, shelack, and needles, we headed home, popped in Over the Hedge, and we were on our way. Only afterwards did we realize we should have invested in thimbles. Now the tree looks very festive with about 25 feet of freshly strung gumdrops. Definitely a memory for years to come!! :)

On Monday night, I went to Fort Fairfield for a cookie exchange at Melinda's. it was lots of fun. I was really glad to get out of the house. I don't know a lot of people around here, and am not the kind to just pop up to someone I don't really know and say "Hey, let's go out!" so I was very appreciative of Melinda's invite (Thanks again, Melinda :D) I made cute little lollipop sugar cookies. I'll try to get a picture of them as well. And I came home with ginger, molasses, and thumprint cookies, and pumpkin bread! What a good trade off!!

Last night, we had the board over for supper. Lasagna, garlic bread, Caesar salad, and cinnamon bites for dessert. Yummy yummy.

So, our lessons for the week - we need to start doing more things with people. I really had a good time visiting with the girls at the cookie exchange and then again when Wes and Jeremiah joined us. And it was a lot of fun to have people in.

Now if only I could keep my house clean enough to not be so EMBARASSED when people knocked on the door!!!

Please tell me if I'm ever this stupid...

Please click here to hear some ridiculous mathematical logic. Seriously. If I am ever this off my rocker, please tell me!!! This is awful!!!

I forgot..

To see wedding pictures check out my Flickr. Let me know what you think!!

Ok... enough is enough!!

Enough is enough. I said I would write. I am supposed to be a girl of my word!! So here it is. I am doing what I said I would do.

Life is good. I am settling into life in Monticello. We have been home for 3 weeks as of yesterday. My boxes are (for the most part) unpacked, and I am getting ready for my first round of company. Mike, Amy, and Kaius, I can't WAIT for you to get here!!

For those of you who weren't there, the wedding went off SO VERY WELL. I could not have asked for a more perfect day. The weather went from pretty crappy for a couple weeks beforehand to absolutely beautiful for the first full weekend in October. The temp was up in the low 20s. I cannot complain because from what I have heard, the following Monday it dropped to below 10 and hasn't gone above since! What can I say, Jesus wanted us to have happy memories :)

We did our best to make sure that Jesus was the center of our wedding day. Jeremiah and I agree with a resounding "Yes!" that our favourite part of the whole day was having Renata lead us in worship. Ah yes, good memories.

The honeymoon was fantastic. We spent a couple of nights in Ogdensburg NY before flying to Sedona, Arizona for a week at the Sedona Summit, a Sunterra Resort. The scenery was beautiful and Jer was amazing (take that however you want **giggle**) We rounded off the week with a party/reception in Sierra Vista with a good part of his family. It really is a shame that I have such an **awesome** family of in-laws yet don't get to spend much time getting to know them... Most people have it up to their ears with their in-laws... I would love to have that opportunity!!!!

And now we're back. Home is now in Monticello, Maine. The church family has been *very good* at welcoming me with open arms. I even got a hug from the lady working at the Post Office the other day! (She comes to the church)

So if you're reading this and are ever passing through - come visit! I'd love to open my home to you! Send an email if you're ever going to be in the area or passing through! (If you're driving on the Transcanada, you're only about 20 minutes away when you pass Woodstock).

BTW, Jer's computer crashed awhile back, so he's been taking mine to work a good lot of the time. This is part of the reason my blogging skills have gone out the window. I will try to do better! Promise!

A pic for you

To keep all you hungry picture-hungry bloggers temporarily fed...

I'm going to put a bunch on my msn space (which has a much better photo album program) as soon as I can.

FOR RENATA

I promised Renata I would update my blog today - seeing as my husband (first time that word has been used on this blog!) was out of town all day. However, my internet was being incredibly HOODY all day. This is the first time it has allowed me online ALL DAY and now - now it is time to leave to go pick up Jer!! So needless to say, Renata, I don't think this is the update you were looking for!!!

BETTER LUCK REALLY SOON!! I PROMISE!! I'll go to the church if I have to.

On a better note, our house is looking more like a home rather than a trailer park after a hurricane hit! That's a bonus!

More later - OUT!

The Sad Files

I have decided to have a "sad picture contest" So far there are only three entries. If you have a sad picture you would like to enter in the contest, email it to me or put it on YOUR blog, leave a message and I'll come check it out. Then I'll transfer your picture to the contest.

Below are the first three entries and explanations. Please feel free to vote!

Picture #1: Isaac, after a day at the fair when he realized that all his tickets were gone and he could not go on the last ride with Emily.

Picture #2: Grace, after Mackenzie AND Morgan got to go to school and she didn't.

Picture #3: Naima, no good reason, just having a girly moment

Picture #4 - write in: Gabby (Gwyn, any explanation to picture?)

Let the voting begin!!

We will (and have) survived!

Wow - it seems like FOREVER since I have even looked at a blog (anyone's blog) let alone actually POSTED on my own. How about a camp update?

Thank you to any and all who were praying for Winchester Wesleyan as we again ventured into the world of children's camp. No matter how many years we've done it now, it continues to be a little scary for me. There is a lot of responsibility, both physical (parents appreciate knowing their kids are SAFE) and spiritual (our reason for doing camp is in hopes that the children will meet with God, even while they are flipping waves on the tubes).

God is good. While we had our share of challenges (Jer, do you dare sleep with both eyes closed yet???), we also had our share of smiles (there are some of the kids that I would gladly pack up and move with me here to Monticello in the fall). God continues to be good. He has to. It's his nature.

Sorry for the lack of meat in this post. Despite 11 hours of sleep last night, I'm still not fully caught up. Time for me now to go and peruse YOUR blogs :) See you on the flipside!!

UPDATE - me perusing YOUR blogs has been post-poned due to Matthew's Bethany links being down at the moment. Continue to not say anything important until I get caught up. Thanks!

Scheduled hiatus

I'm going to be away for a while so this'll be my last update until I return (not that I don't usually leave you for a week without telling you anyway, but thought I'd let you in anyway :)

If you'd like to pray for us while we're away, we're directing a kids camp and will accept any prayers that go up to God. I'm sure I'll be talking to Him a lot myself, but would appreciate all prayers on our behalf!!

Love ya! See you in a week or two :)

EW!!! Fruit Flies!

I went to Jer's ordination this week at Beulah. More on that later, I promise. Right now it's late and I need to get my sad story/frustrations/bet out!!!

Unfortunately, upon returning home, I found out (the hard way...) that I had left a piece of fruit in my bedroom. Closed windows, and 32-34 degree celsius heat (before the humidity), and 3 days later, I returned to a cloud of fruit flies in my room... EEEEE-YUCK!!!

So I spent a bit on the internet, finding out how to get RID of them, then spent the last little while making an assortment of traps.

1- The banana trap - a piece of banana and bits of peel in a small jar covered with plastic wrap. I punched holes in the wrap and now the bugs are SUPPOSED to crawl in the holes and be unable to escape.

2- the vinegar trap - a pop bottle with the top cut off and inserted upside down (creating a funnel down into the bottle). There is tape around the perimeter of the two pieces, making the opening of the bottle the only way in or out. SUPPOSEDLY, they are supposed to go in because they are attracted by the "yummy" smell of the vinegar. Then they are too stupid to find their way out (however, I have watched a couple make the impossible find!) Eventually they get tired of flitting around and drown.

3- the orange juice trap - same as above only with orange juice as the attraction.

Any bets on which trap is going to be more effective??

Any experience in getting rid of your OWN fruit flies??? (besides not leaving fruit residue in sweltering heat for 3 days!!!)

Jer, you might have to sleep on the couch when you come here next week cause there's no way I'm going back to sleep in my room until they are GONE. So I'm in the spare room ;) Hehe, I'll take the couch if I am unwilling to go back to my room.

Wedding date: October 7, 2006

Apparently my ability to keep people up to date on my ever changing wedding is lacking :)

Unless something yucky happens, we are going with October 7, 2006. I'm pretty sure that it will stick.

I'm starting a wedding blog at neverdoubtilove.blogspot.com because everyone (family AND friends) is so far away. Hopefully I'll do a decent job of keeping IT up to date (at least better than this one!) Go there if you have any other questions :) (But not yet because there's not much there yet!!!!) haha

I'll put up some pictures soon too.

Dear God...

Yard Sale Treasure

I stopped at a yard sale yesterday and found the MOST PRECIOUS baby boots EVER made. Granted, they're going to stay in a box for a good long time waiting for me to have a little girl in a size 3 shoe, but there was just no way that i could leave these boots on the table.

Wedding on the back burner...

A two-fer-one blogging day!!

For those of you who are anxiously counting the days to my and Jeremiah's wedding, put your counters on pause. We were unaware how lengthy the immigration process was going to be when we set our October date. Now we are unsure of when everything will fall together. But hold faith - it will indeed happen. It will indeed happen as soon as possible. The date is just another detail we haven't ironed out yet!!

We'll keep you posted for sure!!!

For all you Hillsong lovers out there..

I went to Ottawa to buy music to learn as new songs at camp this summer. I tried out a few including Hillsong "Jesus is my Superhero", Hillsong "Super Strong God", one I've never heard of called "God Rocks" , and a Doug Horley cd called "Lovely Dubbly". After listening to the Doug Horley and God Rocks cds, they went back on the shelf and I went with the two Hillsong ones. I'm excited to learn some of the songs, make up some actions, and pump up some kids to express themselves to God.


Check them out! Give me some votes of which songs are great for camp! Then make up some actions! (Make my life really easy -- hehe)

(the only one with music samples is Super Strong God, and Lovely Dubbly if you follow the links into the cd part - the url doesn't change when you navigate the site so I couldn't link you directly)

To buy or not to buy...

That is currently my question.

I've been thinking about invitations. Should I pay the big bucks to buy them or should I spend the many hours to make them?

If I make them, any suggestions on how to make them unique? I think I have a poem I'd like to use (actually a few to choose from) on the front... but I need more than a poem. Perhaps I'll just go find some paper and play with some unique folds :)

Maybe if I get too fed up, I'll just buy them!!

Please pray

A 14-year-old girl, only a freshman in high school, committed suicide this week. In a town of 2500, that kind of news hits everyone hard, whether you knew her or not. From what I have heard, she was a kind, caring girl, whose job it was to make people feel better when they were sad.

She will be greatly missed by her family and by her friends. The effects of her death will be long. Winchester covets any prayers that are offered in our behalf.

thanks

The Humour of God (my adaptation of Matthew's blog)

So you've all heard about Jeremiah and I getting engaged during our trip to Arizona, however, I haven't shared with many of you what happened on the way HOME. While I was driving home from Manchester, NH (where we flew out), my car was in a side on collision with another car. Despite the fact that it was a slow speed collision (it was right in a town so I was only going 30 miles/50ish kms and the other lady was making a left hand turn, so she couldn't have been doing more than 15-20miles), there was a lot of damage done to both cars. I have been waiting since to hear if the insurance company was going to fix it or write it off.

SINCE THEN, on a couple of occassions, Jer and I have been discussing the exciting area of finances and how we would make ends meet once we get married. We knew that it would be tight for awhile, especially after paying whatever fees we will encounter with immigration and of course the wedding.

Here comes the connector.

I was planning on selling my car in October since we don't need two in Maine and bringing it would probably bring more fees. My plan was to sell it for $3500, $4000 if I was feeling really lucky when I listed it.

Then I got a phone call from the insurance. They are in fact going to write it off (apparently there is over $7000 in damage!!!) . The settlement I will shortly receive = $5445!! There's no way I could have gotten that selling it! That's only $150 less than I BOUGHT it for two years ago! Granted, I'm not sure what I am going to do for transportation for the next four months. My parents have two vehicles, so we're going to try, for awhile anyway, to make it work without a third. If that works, then I won't have to waste money on another vehicle and I will have an extra $2000 in my bank account come October :D

God DOES work in mysterious ways... I think this is part of why God doesn't always tell us his plan beforehand. I'm not sure I would have readily agreed if he told me that morning "On your way home today, I'm going to push you off the road during an accident, consequently writing off your car, so that I can provide for you financially." I love watching God work - it keeps you on your toes!

I'm glad I'm not dreaming anymore!

I had a super strange dream last night. I was a student in high school or college or university (not positive). I was engaged, but I had NO CLUE who I was supposed to be getting married to. It was rather disturbing because FOUR of my male high school friends (Eric, Scott, Mark, and Matt) were involved and were all helping me plan and pick out details etc, but I had NO CLUE which one of them I was supposed to be marrying. My dreaming self was in a sort of panic because I kept being swept over by the thought, "I dont' want to marry ANY of them!!" (sorry boys!) But for the best of me, my dreaming self could not come up with any other names of people I might be marrying!! There were moments when it would seem to lean more towards one of the guys but I would say to myself, "NO, it couldn't be!" Then the dream would change directions and focus on another.

Needless to say, I woke up in a semi-panic! I quickly looked at my left hand and sure enough, there's a ring there! (This is my awake self now). My mind quickly returned to reality and I remembered that I AM getting married! AND I'm getting married to the best of the bunch! I love you Jer :) More details and engagement stories to come. Yippee!! I'm no longer panicked - in fact, I'm kind of excited ;) haha

There's a big "2" on my calendar...

... and it's not the date!!

Closing day on our house is only TWO DAYS away!!! YAHOO!!!!

Here are some things that I will NOT miss about the apartment:

1- No more squeaky floors! (house has cement floors, no squeaking!)
2- No more worrying about scaring the downstairs neighbour to death by
dropping something (she's really sensitive -- we really may have scared her
to death!) --
3- No more stairs to the doorway! (house is completely one story living)
4- No more parking under a tree and being constantly speckled with
"helicopters" and bird doo! (house has a garage)
5- No more road being flooded when it rains (while this was amusing, it will
be nice to know we can get out -- even in the rain!)
6- No more laundry in the kitchen! (house has a laundry room with a door and
everything! no more dust in my kitchen appliances!)
7- I wish I could say no more ugly couch, but we've had to put buying a new
one on hold indefinitely. It'll come -- in its time.

We're pretty excited about the move (can you tell???)

FOUR MORE SLEEPS!!

Crossed the Mississippi
Down in Memphis Tennessee
Winding through the Ozarks half a day
Spend the night in Tulsa
But hardly slept at all
A cup of coffee and I was on my way

Arizona's on my mind
I really miss her in the morning
Everyday I wake to find
Sweet Arizona on my mind

Stopped in Amarillo
Long enough to stretch my legs
Filled my truck and got back on the road
A friend in Albuquerque
Said why don't you hang around
I said sorry son but I have to go
Can I take a rain check on New Mexico

Arizona's on my mind
I really miss her in the morning
Everyday I wake to find
Sweet Arizona on my mind

I can see her there
Waiting for me there
Always calling me back home
Arizona's on my mind
I really miss her in the morning
Everyday I wake to find
Sweet Arizona on my mind

~ Jake Mathews ~

Do flukes count?

While at Bethany, I played a good number of games of pool. I won't go as far as to say that I'm good - but I improved. However, when playing pool with me, I would make a shot, sink a ball I had no intentions of sinking, or sink a ball completely on a rebound. If you have ever played pool with me, you have heard me say NUMEROUS times undoubtedly, "Do flukes count?"

Now, a few years later, it's been a few years since I've had my hands on a pool cue (ok, that's a lie - I played one game at graduation and one game at a pastor/spouse retreat), but there are other areas where I wonder "Do flukes count?"

I'm not going to go all spiritual on you. Cause if I did, then I *think* (not much thought put into this thought cause it wasn't where I was going) but I *think* I would say that spiritually, most often, flukes don't count.

However. For years, I have desired to learn how to capture images photographically. While I still have a LONG way to go, I do think that I am improving. But there are times when I get the *perfect picture* and couldn't tell you for the life of me why it worked or how to do it again.

For example, here is a picture I took while I was playing outside with the kids this afternoon.

While it's a pretty useless picture, the clarity of the subject and the unfocused-ness of the background is something I have tried to learn and have not yet understood. Yet I did it. Could I do it again? Here's what happened when I tried.


So my question is, as a photographer, do flukes count? When you take pictures, do you know what you're doing or do you just hope that you get a fluke and that it counts??

If you have any tips to tell me how I did this, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!

(Another example of good picture that I was unable to reproduce)

"Jeremiah Gomez and Sarah Brown"

It appears to me that my amazing boyfriend and I have both completed the Name Change Game in recent blogs. This being said, I have decided to compare our new names and see if there are any "matches made in Heaven." Who knows - maybe if we find a great pair, we'll change our names legally! (Click here to find out how these names were formed)

Here goes!
(Always Jeremiah then me)

1. OUR ROCK STAR NAMES: Jo-Jo Silver & Chi-Chi Main (too funny)

2. OUR MOVIE STAR NAMES: Pablo Reese & Elizabeth Rocket

3. OUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAMES: J-Xav & S-Daw

4. OUR DETECTIVE NAMES: Blue Panther & Blue Giraffe

5. OUR SOAP OPERA NAMES: Xavier Sierra Vista & Dawn Winchester

6. OUR STAR WARS NAMES: GomFerRob & BroOydHug

7. OUR JEDI NAMES: Reivax Refohssarts & Nwad Dyob

8. OUR ‘ADULT’ STAR NAMES: Xavier Emmanuel & Dawn Ash

9. OUR SUPERHERO NAMES: The Blue Corolla & The Blue Saturn

The names in red bold are the three that I think we should seriously consider... Apparently we were meant to be stars... Perhaps some of these names should be written down for future children..... hehe

BTW - I am still looking for car advice in the blog entry below!!!

Does it have 4 wheels??

Ok, so Jeremiah and I are going to Arizona in a little over a week (VERY excited) I'm looking into renting the car for while we are there and I'm not sure what I should get. This is where YOU come in! I'll list the cars that are available (and in our price range of course) and then YOU take over and tell me whatever you feel I need to know about each of these cars. Be as simple as you like. A car is a car is a car to me - but despite this, I want to make the best decision (comfort for a long drive to the Grand Canyon, miles/gallon, room for passengers, etc... )

So here are the cars:

(NB - all prices are USD and include all taxes and fees)

Compact options -
Ford Focus - 191.31
Dodge Neon - 168.86
Chevy Cobalt

Intermediate options - 172.52
Pontiac Sunfire
Chevy Cobalt (different agencies listed this as compact)

Standard + options - 199.29/week
Pontiac G6
Dodge Stratus

Full Size options - 200.43/week
Chevy Impala
Ford Taurus

Premium - 200.50/week
Dodge Charger
Nissan Maxima

And in case anyone cares - Enterprise seems to be significantly cheaper than everywhere else. You can get an intermediate size car there for $15 LESS per week than you can get an economy size car from the other five rental agencies at the Tucson airport! Yay Enterprise!

"Potato, Potahto"

My mom is away this week so preparing the evening meals has fallen to me. My dad is the "meat and potatoes " type, so we started off the week with Glazed pork chops and mashed potatoes. Pork chops - great. Potatoes - ew!

So I've come to a conclusion. I can make roasted potatoes, potato bites, fried potatoes, French fries, scalloped potatoes, Jo-Jo potatoes, potato wedges... but ask me to make a simple bowl of mashed potatoes and I'm at a loss! Over cooked, cooked too fast, cooked too slow, peeled too early, soaked too long -- i have no idea! But what I do know is that for the rest of the week, I plan on avoiding straight mashed potatoes.

I never liked the things anyway :)

Some glad morning --- I'll fly away!!

Soon it will be my time to fly away - but first things first - my mom flew to Seattle to spend a week with my sister Gina and her new baby girl, Naïma Katherine. This leaves me at home working my mom's daycare. Diapers, kid lunches, walks to the park, Fisher Price preschool games, Caillou puzzles, playforts and hoses in the backyard (if the weather turns nice once again as it supposed to), and the beloved naptime! I'm quite sure that this is part of what life was made for!! Some people babysit and realize "WOW!! THIS is why I am not a mother!" Not me. I sit here and thank God that I truly believe that someday my day is coming!

I've heard some pretty horrible day care stories (ok - so I'm pretty sure there have even been some here...) but my mom has been blessed with some pretty great daycare kids this year. A set of 2-year-old twins (boy and girl), a 3-year-old girl, and a 4-year-old girl. Right now, they're sitting behind me comparing the length of their lunch French fries. Guess I better get something ready for dessert :)

This really is the life :) Perhaps someday it will be mine.


Oh yeah - and when my mom comes home next Wednesday, she is bringing my sister Gina and baby Naïma with her. And that day or shortly after, my sister Krista and her two kids, Emily and Isaac will be here too. Oh happy day :D

Proof!

Proof of my Purple Feet Syndrome!

Send me pics of YOUR feet and I'll put them up and we can make comparisons :)

(Sorry you people who have a negative feet fetish. I've always kinda liked feet)

What's in a Name?

I got this idea from Kristi's blog. Here are my 9 names

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name) Chi-Chi Main

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad's side, your favorite candy) Elizabeth Rocket

3. YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your middle name) S-Daw

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Blue Giraffe

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Dawn Winchester

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name) Bro Oyd Hug

7. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards) Nwad Dyob

8. ‘ADULT’ STAR NAME: (middle name, street you grew up on) Dawn Ash
(I moved when I was four - but "Dawn Highway #1" sounds pretty dumb.)

9. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, the automobile you drive) The Blue Saturn

CASE OF THE PREGNANT LADY

A lady about 8 months pregnant got on a bus. She noticed the man opposite her was smiling at her. She immediately moved to another seat. This time the smile turned into a grin, so she moved again. The man seemed more amused. When on the fourth move, the man burst out laughing, she complained to the driver and he had the man arrested.

The case came up in court. The judge asked the man (about 20 years old) what he had to say for himself. The man replied, "Well your Honor, it was like this: When the lady got on the bus, I couldn't help but notice her condition. She sat down under a sign that said, 'The Double Mint Twins are Comin' and I grinned."

"Then she moved and sat under a sign that said, 'Logan's Liniment will reduce the swelling', and I had to smile."

"Then she placed herself under a deodorant sign that said, "William's BigStick Did the Trick", and I could hardly contain myself."

"BUT, your Honor, when she moved the fourth time and sat under a sign thatsaid, 'Goodyear Rubber could have prevented this Accident'... I just lost it."

"CASE DISMISSED!!"

Alias Returns

Sorry my Alias post was so brief and coded yesterday. I didn't want to spoil it for anyone who had not watched it right away. Warning for those who aren't watching until Sunday - upcoming are my thoughts.

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I thought this 2 hour special was a great way to be get into the groove of the life of Sydney. Granted, I thought the first hour on the boat was a little slow - but the operation in the boat was a neat addition. I thought at first that they had TAKEN the baby - which I thought would have been pretty cheesy. But when it was actually to benefit the baby, that was something I wasn't expecting.

PLEASE tell me they will put a bullet through Irina's head before the end of the Season finale. If they accept her into their close little family unit, I will vomit. Christian (me) or not, my forgiveness doesn't go that far!!!!!!!!!! Don't we just all wish that our mothers would have the conversation with us that Irina had with Sydney in that bank?? The "I never wanted a daughter. When they laid you in my arms, I realized what a mistake I had made. I knew I could never be a mother and an agent -- so I chose to fail at being a mother." How perfectly SWEET!!!

And Vaughn - sigh. I'm just not exactly sure if he was there on his own free will or if it looked like his arms were tied across. The camera angle was too close. But I think he was tied. That makes him leaving Sydney without explanation a bit more acceptable. But who's holding him??? If Prophet 5 has VAUGHN, what did they need SYDNEY for???

I don't think it was a good idea to bring in Tom's wife. I think they've got enough to wrap up as it is.
1- Nadia is still in a coma
2- Sloane is still alive
3- Irina is still alive
4- Vaughn is in that monastery
5- They're bringing Will back (YES! that was Will in the promo for next week!!!)
6- Vaughn hasn't met his daughter
7- Syd needs to spend time with her DAUGHTER (if she works as much as she does now, I'll be disappointed)
Anyway, I just think it's unnecessary to bring in Tom's wife. Granted, they did say that he had a "secret" back when Jack was reading his file. But I'd be just as happy to forget about it.

All in all, i loved it. And am looking forward to the next 5 weeks - even if that does mean the end of the best ABC show of all time!!!

What a blast!

It's official - this is my favourite quote of the day:

Jack - Keep that pointed at your mother. If she even as much as blinks...
Sydney - ... I'll shoot her.

Question #1 - was he tied there or was he there on his own free will?? Kind of looked like his arms were tied back

Question #2 - WHEN WILL SHE DIE?

Question #3 - Who WON'T be back in the next 5 episodes???

Extra comment - She's precious!!!

Tick Tick Tick

TWO HOUR COUNTDOWN!!

The Time Has Come...

Alias- Wednesday* night 8-10pm

Be there !

Two-hour return special

*If you are watching on CTV, I'll guess it's on on Sunday afternoon. So don't read my blog between now and then if you don't want a spoiler!!

Surviving with Dr Seuss

In my 13th grade English class, I had to write the story of Hansel and Gretel in the style of another writer. Being children at heart, Amanda Whitteker and I decided to write in the style of Dr Seuss.
Sidenote: It's long - but it's worth a quick read!
Final Sidenote: Best if read out loud in Suess-esque rhyme style

This is the story that pursued:

HOW I SURVIVED AT THE FOREST OF STRIZE

When I was quite young
And small for my size
I met an old woman in the Forest of Strize
That is a story I'll never forget
At least not now... not ever... not yet!

Finding myself in a most unpredictable place
I tried and tried to keep a smile on my face
It all started one day at my house in Dublador
When my father and wicked step-mother became quite poor

With a frown on her mubbly-dubbly face,
She said to my father, "Get them out of this place!
Life will be so much better for the two of us
Without so much of your children's fuss!"

So my father with a double-d-broken heart
Did not want to do it right from the start.
Seeing no other way to get out of this frat,
He led my sister and I away without a spat.

I, being ever-so-ever-so smart
Left a trail of stones smaller than clart.
And I whispered to Gretel, ever so quiet
"We'll find our way back without so much as subliet!"

Leaving us there, he cried, "I'm sorry, my dears!"
And he ran away, his eyes thneeding with tears.
Imagine his WAZAA when we knocked on the door
He was so happy, he fell to the floor!

Now our Zomba-ma-tant of a stepmother said, "We can't live in this way!
Take them back! Make them STAY!"
So our father, a little afraid of his wife
Said, "Yes dear, right now" without a brife

And as I realized this was no more a joke,
I left a trail of bread crumbs as big as a throke
"OH NO!" I cried as my father ran out of sight
"The birds ate my bread! They ate it up right!"

It started to get dark, it started to get cold
It started to get bluck, it even started to zafold
Being hungry and tired, I said with such fright
"I GIVE UP! THAT'S IT! I WON'T PUT UP A FIGHT!"

"But Hansel, don't worry," said Gretel with cheer
"There's a gingerbread house over there, quite near"
So we ran to the house and exclaimed with such might
"We can eat and eat and eat and EAT EAT EAT ALL NIGHT!"

As we took our first bite, the door opened with a BLEEEET
And out came a lady, so nice and so sweet
"Come in, COME IN, Eat all you want!
I'll feed you and feed you and feed you sublant!"

After feeding us til our hearts content
She put Gretelto bed and locked me up in a tent
"Hey just a minute!" I screamed tizzle topped tufted Mazurka surlupped
"Gretel! Wake up, wake UP, wake UP UP AND UP!!"

She fed me and fed me to make me so fat
And Gretel, her servant, could do nothing but stare at
My fingers ane toes, they started to grow
"Stop eating like that, dear Hansel, my bro,
or you'll end up being chicken soufflow!"

Knowing Gretel was right, we came up with a plan
I stuck out a Katroo bone when she asked for my hand
"Snooker and flooker and dutter and flutter!
You're not getting much fatter," she started to mutter.

And so with a shrug and snipping-slot-scotter
She said, "I'll eat you anyway with butter-top motter"
As she prepared the fire, so glowing and bright
I yelled to Gretel, "PSST! Push her in without fright!"

Gretel, so strong and so brave as she was,
Pushed her into the fire and yelled WAKAMUS!!
Grabbing her keys, she opened the tent
She yelled, "Let's get out of here!!" I knew what she meant!

Taking a handful of window and a fistful of floor
We looked at each other and ran out the door
We ran and we ran and we ran RAN RAN RAN
Right into the river of Kukamasan

All of a sudden, we heard a big shout
"HANSEL! GRETEL! I'm sorry, no doubt!"
We stopped and we turned to see who it was
There stood our father, his face covered with schmuz

"I've been lookng and looking and looking so much
Your stepmother's gone, she ran off with Mr. Zafluch
Now we can live so happy and dear
In a house of red brick, right here on the pier!"

"OH FATHER" Gretel and I exclaimed with such glee
"We'll live happily and everly and afterly free!"

So this is my story, I swear it's all true...
You should hear the one about the Desert of Fetterliloo!!

THE END


Ah yes - what a fun project.

High Voltage and BBC reunions :)

I just returned from a Youth Rally in Kingston (High Voltage) It was a great day for my two youth, Amy, and myself. Lots of topics were raised that made the kids start asking questions on the way home. As much as I am terrified that they will ask a question that I am uncapable of answering, I LOVE watching them grow into having questions to ask!!

Included in the rally itself was a concert by none other than New Brunswick's own Three Season Ant. What a great bonus - a concert with a touch of my past. I also ran into numerous BBC people that I was not thinking might be there: Angela Toutant (definitely do not think I would have recognized her.. she's lost a ton of weight and looks fabulous!), Kris Gowdy, Dusty Crozier, Jason & Janet Little, Sarah MacNamara (is that her name anymore?) .. and of course Mike Smith and Chris Stephens - but I knew they'd be there :)

All in all it was a great day. I'm looking forward to getting those two girls out to more events and involved in more ministry in our own towns. They are really growing in their faith and in their desire to be all that God has for them!! Maybe I'll get them out to Booster in the fall :)

Purple

With the nice weather comes spring clothing (and sometimes even summer clothing). I recently bought a new pair of capris and have spent a couple of days breaking them in. I have also broken out last years sandals (which desperately need to be replaced - but that's another story)

One night, as I was standing in capris and sandals, my father said in a rather surprised tone "What's wrong with your legs!?" I looked down, not knowing what he was talking about. Still unsure, I asked what he meant. "They're ... purple!" he said. I laughed.

My legs are ALWAYS purple. I don't know if it's bad circulation or what but no matter what the weather, hot or cold, my legs and feet are purple. If I'm standing - purple, if I'm sitting - purple. Also if you press on the purple bottoms of my feet, it turns a bright yellow-white colour for an unusually long period of time before turning back to purple.

So - perhaps I have bad circulation....

What colour are your feet?

Back from Middle Earth

ok, so it was more like middle Quebec than middle earth..

This past Friday, Jeremiah and I took a day off and met half way for a day of adventure in Old Quebec City. Neither one of us is the most adventurous person I know, so it was quite something to say, "I miss you, let's just drive 5 hours, spend the afternoon together, and drive home." But we did. And it was fun.

I surprised him by bringing along the fam - or the part of it that is still at home anyway. I thought it would be a good day out for my parents, away from the norm of home, work, daycare kids, and computers. (Plus, that meant that I wouldn't have to do all the driving! not that I was only thinking of me!!!)

It rained all day - but it was one of those funny rains that you can be out in it all day, know that it's raining but never really feel WET. Just added to the adventure.

All in all it was a good day. Relationships are hard when you only see each other for 3 days out of a month! This helps to break the longevity of the in between times! Anything that makes the month easier is fine by me.

For those who are now thinking "You went to spend a day with your boyfriend and you brought your PARENTS as a surprise!!!??" it wasn't quite like that. They came, we met Jer, took one car into the city, and then split for the afternoon. Besides Jeremiah LIKES my parents ;) (and really it's a good thing they came because I slept the WHOLE way home.)

Now it's only 16 sleeps until my trip to Maine. And then only 36 sleeps we fly to Arizona!! Fantastic-o!!!

Welcome to our World!!

A big warm welcome to Naïma Katherine Zida-Brown! Naïma (Ny-E-ma) was born at 11:45 pm on April 6, 2006. She weighed in at 8 lbs 12 ounces and 21 inches. She's such a cutie :) Congratulations to my sister Gina on God's new little miracle in your life! I can't wait for you both to come home in May to visit!

Mom (Gina) and baby are doing well.

Here's a fun fact for you. No one in my immediate family shares a birth month. There is a pattern to our birthdays - Two months with a birthday, two without, two with, two without, etc.
Now that my parents are grandparents, the 3 grandkids are filling in the holes but there are STILL no repeat months! It's kind of cool. See below to understand what I mean

Brown (and grandkids) birthday calendar (Browns in red, grandkids in blue)
January 3- Gina
February 27- Mom
March 11- Isaac
April 6- Naïma
May 25- Krista
June 24- Dad
July 26- Emily
August (8?)- new baby in August
September 19- Jaymie
October 25- Sarah
November- no one yet (guess that's my job)
December- no one yet (guess that's my job too!)

Cool huh?

MORE PICS

2 posts in one - a baby and a trip

This is kind of a premmie announcement.

1- My sister is going into labour in Seattle as we speak. She is on her way to the hospital. She's lost her mucous plug (whatever that means -- coming from an unmarried, unpregnant, never been there before girl) and she's looking forward to soon holding her little bundle of joy in her arms rather than in her belly :) Oh the joys of first-time motherhood! More details to come...

2- Tomorrow I am going to spend the day in Quebec City with my wonderful boyfriend. Long distance is hard, so we are making the best of it and being adventurous at the same time. We're going to spend the morning and evening driving so that we can spend the afternoon wandering the wet and rainy streets of Old Quebec City. I can't wait! More details to come...

Yay for weather

My newest addition - a weathereye! Were you wondering what the weather was like at my house? At Jeremiah's house? In Tucson? Seattle? or Antigonish? Now you know!!! Wahoo weather man!

He saved me...

I've been thinking lately about my testimony. I have been thinking about how amazing my God is. It's quite remarkable actually.

Here is just the start of the things that giving my life to Christ has saved me from:

1- He saved me from a life of drugs and alcohol
2- He saved me from a hopeless life in prison
3- He saved me from the horrors of life on the street
4- He saved me from the even greater horrors of prostitution
5- He saved me from deep hate and depression
6- He saved me from getting messed up with the wrong crowds
7- He saved me from abusive parents

And all of this before the age of 6!! For those of you who thought you knew me, don't worry - I don't have any skeletons in my closet. What I'm saying is that God saved me from a life of all these things. I never slipped into these things that have a hold on so much of the rest of the world. I never tasted this side of life. Because I am super strong and above all of these things? Not in the least. Because I deserve more of His attention than any other Joe Schmoe? Nope.

Simply by the grace of God. Thank you God, for the life you have given me, and that which you have saved me from.

Caption Contest April

Here's the deal: I post the picture, you post the caption. Let the games begin.

You've gpt a week, then I choose the winner. Trust me, you won't wanna miss your winning opportunity!!

List of Sevens

Thanks for tagging me Jo :)

Seven Things I Would Like to Do Before I Die:
1- Rock Climbing
2- Get married
3- Have children
4- Adopt one or more children
5- Skydive
6- Learn to sail
7- Lead a successful childrens ministry
bonus- Learn to be a great photographer


Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1- Roll or fold my tongue (sadly...)
2- Run a 7 minute mile (or an any minute mile if I've gotta run!)
3- Complete a scrapbook page without saying to at least one person "Does this look ok?"
4- Understand the ANY of my own dreams (ask me sometime!)
5- Cut my own hair (or do anything else with my hair, really..)
6- Walk outside by myself after dark (EEK!)
7- Put up with whiney kids


Seven Things I Say Most Often:
1- "I'm tired"
2- "Good gracious!"
3- "24 is the best premise for a show. I've never seen it, but it's a good premise" (I say it everytime a 24 commercial comes on)
4- "JERRY BRUCKHEIMER!"
5- "I don't know"
6- "Mom, have you seen my ______" (insert any object here)
7- "What can I eat?"


Seven Places You Might Like to Visit Before You Die (not in any particular order):
1- Australia
2- Venice, Italy
3- A cruise to anywhere
4- The home country of my adopted children (not sure where this will be yet - but that's where I want to go -- good thing, cause I'll probably have to more than once during the process)
5- Newfoundland - the only province I have never set foot in
6- Alaska
7- the Grand Canyon (going in 49 days!)
bonus- Hawaii - just had to add an extra one :)


Seven Things I Hate:
1- know-it-alls
2- being tired all the time!
3- being patronized
4- looking 8-10 years younger than I actually am
5- movies that throw sex in for NO REASON AT ALL - good movie, good movie, good movie, sex, ruined movie.
6- adults who still live as though they are teenagers
7- losing biblical quality for the sake of entertainmant in children's ministry
bonus- "seeing" a great photo opportunity and having zero clue how to capture it


Seven Activities I Enjoy (in no particular order):
1- reading
2- scrapbooking
3- star gazing / watching meteor showers
4- sipping hot chocolate during a snow storm in front of a blazing fire place
5- walking in the rain (only if it's POURING rain and the person I'm with is enjoying it as much as I am
6- washing dishes (I know... I'm wierd)
7- painting rooms


Seven Friends You Want to Do This List of Sevens:
1- Alison
2- Jeremiah
3- Heather
4- Meredith
5- Julie
6- Gwyn
7- Tina

TAG! you're it!

April

April is going to be a busy month.
1- Easter (and all that comes with that at a church..)
2- A youth rally (on Good Friday - at which we will see the one and only Three Season Ant)
3- The 30 Hour Famine (weekend after Easter)
4- A trip east (to visit a boy and to hit up the Bethany graduation (word has it my roomie is graduating!!)
5- Amanda's birthday (which I will do my BEST not to forget this year!!)
6- Still trying to get youth group off the ground and on its feet (shooting for more than one at any given youth night!)
7- Finding a new curriculum for 4F (our kids club - we've been using a curriculum but have decided it really isn't doing much for us and doesn't really accomplish what it says it should.)
8- A trip to Quebec City (or there abouts) to meet up with that boy cause we just don't feel like going all the way to the end of April!
9- Getting a good way into planning camp and finding quality counsellors (if you're interested in Kingdom building in this way by all means, let me know!!)
10- Breathing (if I manage to find time...)

Ouch

I stand convicted, guilty as charged :( For you who know what I'm talking about, my apologies are sincere. I won't go into detail, but you are correct. I was judgmental.

I guess my first response if I were to be defensive would be "who would have thought anyone would read it!" But that doesn't make it ok. You may not believe me, and that is ok, you don't have to. But I do apologize, I am sorry, and hey, if it sent more people to your site for the right reasons, all the power to you.

I will not try to condone my words. I have sat here for about 20 minutes just trying to stop my heart from beating so hard. Not because I need to try to come up with something else to say but because you are right. I was wrong.

Alias returns

As of Wednesday, April 19, Alias is back on ABC. (So I guess that would be Sunday, April 23 if you watch on CTV). Based on every other season having 22 episodes, we are up for 13 (**hopefully** uninterupted!) final episodes.

While I'm sad it's going away (by far my favourite show ever. Far surpassing all those other shows that I loved: Felicity, Breaker High, Supermans New Adventures of Lois and Clark, and Melrose Place {eek!!}), it does seem profitable to leave it on a high note. They're getting to the point of repetition in many aspects. I would prefer to see it go out strong than to die off without a person in the world caring but me.

Think they'll use Syd's actual baby in the show? Will Vaughn come back or was that day on the beach his final farewell? WHEN will her mother stop pestering so!?!


**edit** I just read that the finale is still in May - guess we're not getting a full length 22 episode season afterall :( There are only 7 Wednesdays from April 19 to the end of May.

"Talking French is easy when you know the words"

I have previously avoided blogspot because I was afraid of the html that goes along with adding anything besides a blog entry. It scared me. It was unknown. But lately I've felt restricted by msn spaces. If you know me, you'll know I don't like having my creativity squashed. So I braved the unbrave-able -- I got a blogspot. And you know what?? I'm having a ball figuring out the html. It's fun. And once you get your mind aound some of the language, it (...hold onto your seat...) *actually makes sense*! GO FIGURE!


**edit** I got in trouble for not giving credit where credit was due. The title from this post is a quote from my father. I said something about being amazed at how easy it was to figure out how to do something (by searching it in google) and he said.... "of course it's easy when you know the words. Talking French is easy when you know the words." Now you know the rest of the story.

"Waiting on Creativity"

I have decided to give my creativity a run for its money and see what I can learn by moving over to this blog instead of my old one. Be patient with me, I'm still learning the ropes of the HTML, but I think I'm going to have fun with this :)

If you would like to see what ELSE I've been working on, you can check out the youth blogspot that I have been working on. www.livewyers.blogspot.com This is where my playful juices got going and made me realize how limited I was on spaces. ( No harm done, MSN, i still love you for other things.)

So, here goes. A new blog. A new set up. New toys. Should be fun.

I was told that if I moved to blogspot, people would comment more. So I'm testing this truth. Go ahead - prove it one way or another.