what a wonderful memorial weekend

Thank you to all who has fought for our freedom in America!
(A special thanks to Cecil Wooten.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Long weekends with productivity, fun with friends and relaxation is the best!

• Thanks to Felecia, Heather & Laura for coming over for craft night. It was a blast seeing your mini-albums finished and caughting up.
• Thanks to Devine family for coming over. Great friends + great food (especially those baked beans) make for Great Times. Here is the link to the southern baked beans recipe.
• Thanks to Ashley Furniture (cheap furniture) & Pottery Barn... I was able to figure-out the furniture for my new art studio. YES, I'm totally psych about my new art studio... a room for all my creative thoughts and creations.
• Thanks to Garry & Blake for Sunday Service and Sunday School class. God used your lessons and prayers to help me see some deep things, and its helping me to work out some needed things within me.
• Thanks to Marvel Comics for "X-Men, The Last Stand". It is a great summer blockbuster. If you do decide to see it, make sure you stay through the credits to see a special showing at the end of the credits.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well!

Boy... Am I LOST

WOW, can you believe last night's episode of LOST?! What a doozie! It did answer two big questions that we have had.... why the button was so important and who 'HE' is. But with the two answers we got, the more questions we have now...

• How did Desmond's fiance find him?


• Is Penny's father associated with Dharma?


• Why are there all these connections with people from Oceanic Air flight 815 and the people on the island?
  
  
  
  • Libby knows Hugo from the mental institute (probably because she admitted herself after her husband's death).
  
  
  • Libby knows Desmond through the coffee shop and giving him of the boat.
  
  
  • Desmond knows Jack through the night-training in the arena.
  
  
  • Desmond's fiance, Penny, is associated with her father's company that may be associated with Dharma
  
  
  • Kelvin saves Desmond on the island.
  
  
  • Kelvin recruited Sayid to infilitrate a terrorist in Iraq.
  
  
  • Jack knows Anna Lucia through the airport bar.
  
  
  • Anna Lucia worked for Jack's father, as a bodyguard.
  
  
  • Sewyer had drinks with Jack's father.
  
  
  • Eko's brother's plane crashed on the island.
  
  
  • Eko's miracle girl's father is the psychic that warned Claire about her baby.
  
  
  
  
• Hugo's imaginary friend is named, Dave; and Libby's husband was named, David. And they were both in the same mental institute. Is it the same Dave?


• Who are the Others, are they part of Dharma?


• Does Dharma exist anymore, since no one was receiving the data from the Pearl observation hatch?


• Is 'He'/Henry, the same 'He' that Kelvin was referring to when he found Desmond?


• What kind of power does 'He'/Henry have, that makes him 'HIM'?


• Is Desmond, Locke and/or Eko dead? (because the quarantine door flew through the air)


• Is Kelvin dead? or with the Others?


• Did the magnetic discharge effect the people on the island and on the boat?


• With the immunization shots that Desmond, Claire's baby, and the others have been taking, does that protect them from the magnetic discharge?


• Was Locke healed by the magnetic power of the island?


• Why did the Others let Walt go, when he is so powerful and it was so obvious, that in season 1, that Walt was the very boy that they wanted?


• Will Michael and Walt escape or not, since Desmond wasn't able to escape with his boat because of the magnetic pull of the island?


• or will Michael try to save Jack, Kate & Sawyer because of his guilt?


• Now we know the island is magnetic, but what helps people to deal with their issues by bringing the dead to life (Jack's father), bringing objects from their past (Kate's horse), healing people of their illness (Locke's legs & Sun's pregnancy), etc.

Over The Hedge ... Thumbs Up

Richard, Del, Heather & I give "Over The Hedge", thumbs up. A movie worth seeing. Confession... I think we laughed more than the kids in the theatre.

My favorite characters are Verne the Turtle and Hammy the squirrel. Who is your favorite character?

Pelham Panthers WIN the Championship... Congrats!

It was bottom of the fifth inning, the last inning of the game, and the Panthers were up 7-2. All they had to do was play one inning of solid defense and the game would be over. But in the matter of a few hits (and a few pint-sized errors), the other team made it 7-6 with two outs and a runner on third. One good swing of the bat and the other team would tie or steal the game from the Panthers, who had had a comfortable lead since the first inning. The ball spun out of the machine and towards the batter. The boy took a chop at the ball and barely made contact, but it sent the ball into the infield. Parents, coaches, players, umpires, even curious by-standers all held their breath as four boys went into motion to decide the 7-8 year-old Pelham League Championship. The batter streaked towards first while the runner started towards home. The Panther "pitcher" (it's machine-pitch after two innings), ran towards the ball scooting across the dirt of the infield. It was his first inning as pitcher this game and he had sailed one over the head of the first baseman earlier in the inning, giving the other team a couple of those four runs. With a quick scoop he picked up the ball and tossed it towards the first baseman, who was stretching out to catch it while keeping his foot on the bag. Just as the batter was about to touch first, the ball landed in the glove of the stretched-out first baseman; the game was over and the championship won! No longer holding their breath, everyone in the park cheered the victors and the second-place team for an exciting ending to the game and the season.

- narrated by my hubby

last night... got the chance to rock

Birmingham is a city full of local talents. We have given American Idol three great singers... from Reuben Studdard, Bo Bice to Taylor Hicks. And there is a local band, Downright, that we love. We aren't bias because Matt is a good friend of ours, we honestly love their music because they put their heart and soul into their music. We got the priviledge to see them play last night at Workplay.

Check them out at downrightthesite.com.

unwritten clip #2 - Why do you do what you do?

Why do I do what I do? What motivates me to do what I do?

Click here to view art journal page.

unwritten clip #1 - Its NOT about the behavior

Most of our up-bringing, culture, and society teaches us to focus on the behavior. How stressful can that be?!

What I've realized for myself is that it isn't about the behavior anymore, especially as an adult. It is about the heart, soul, mind and strength (not just the outer strength, but as well as the inner strength). These are the very qualities that matter most. Therefore, behavior should be the by-product of the heart, mind, soul and strength.

Click here to view art journal page.

Click here to view art journal cover, "Unwritten".

Go Chris, Go...

This past weekend, we got to drive to beautiful Chattanooga, Tennessee. Chris competed in the Southeastern Strongman Challenge. It was amazing to witness... with much work and discipline, the human body can be powerful.

Event #1: 2-inch Axel Max Reps (230lb.)

Event #2: Deadlift - Max Weight (525lb.)

Break: Chris' Posse

Event #3: Hummer Push - 125 feet (8500lb.)

Event #4: Flip & Carry - Tire Flip - 60 feet (800lb.)

Event #4: Flip & Carry - Yoke Carry - 60 feet (600lb.)

my first blog

Hello! My name is Jennifer. This is my first blog. I'm so excited. I've been inspired by Heidi Swapp, Cathy Zielske and Elsie Flannigan to create my own blog. I attended a "Scrap Etc." event a few weekends ago, and it was one of the most inspiring and life-changing weekends of my life. Heidi shared from her heart about her "Life Makeover" journal that inspired her to face who she is and to pursue her dreams in becoming the woman she desires to be. It was so inspiring... thank you Heidi for being so open with your life. Therefore, I started my own life-makeover journal, which is an art journal, titled "Unwritten" from Natasha Bedingfield's song. In the coming months, I hope to be able to share my life journey with you, by sharing some clips from my "Unwritten" journal.


Unwritten Lyrics -

I am unwritten,
Can't read my mind
I'm undefined
I'm just beginning
The pen's in my hand
Ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your INHIBITIONS

I break tradition
Sometimes my tries
Are outside the lines
We've been conditioned
To not make mistakes
But I can't live that way

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten