See It!

Yesterday, I got the opportunity to see WICKED for the 2nd time. It has to be my favorite Broadway musical. If you haven't seen it, you are missing out on something great. It will be in Birmingham until April 19th....I highly recommend getting tickets! You'll laugh, maybe cry, and definitely be surprised!


I cannot leave it unmentioned that Carrie won not only Female Vocalist of the Year, but also the big prize of Entertainer of the Year at the ACMs last night. She beat out George, Kenny, Keith, and Brad! I'll have to admit that I was a wee bit excited when they announced her name! I tell you every time I mention her that you should see her....this time is no different. If you are looking for something to do this year, travel to see Wicked or Carrie. I assure you that you will be entertained!



I also wanted to note that I have started taking a photography class. I bought a nice camera last month, and I really want to learn how to use it so that my pictures of my friends and family, the many places I go, and the concerts and entertainment that I see will be awesome instead of just ho-hum. Stay tuned for my pictures as I hope to post some as I learn what to do!

Warning to the Wise

I got off work a little early today, so I thought I would put my time to good use. Last week my brother made baked potatoes and put a little too much oil on them. Some of the oil dripped into the bottom of the oven. The oven has been used a couple of times since then, and smoked a little, so I decided today would be a good day to clean the oven. My oven has one of those nifty self cleaning features, so I turned in on....I sat in the living room long enough to eat my dinner. As I rounded the corner back into the kitchen, I saw FLAMES in my oven. If you know anything about self cleaning ovens, you have to lock them, and you can't unlock them until the cleaning is done and the oven is cool. I'm sure that's a good thing because I can't imagine what an oxygen rush would have done to the fire! Luckily my instinct said to turn the dang thing off....I think I rounded the corner at just the right time or I may have had to have a visit from some of the local fireman. Now I have a mess to clean up and possibly a new oven to buy.....


Lesson for the day: NEVER turn on your self cleaning oven feature if there is ANY old or new grease/oil in the bottom of your oven!

Cupcakes, Children, and Carrie

I spent the weekend in Nashville, and as usual had a great time. I went up there to go to the Grand Ole Opry because Carrie was performing...of course huh! Before I get to the review, I must tell you about the WONDERFUL cupcakes I had while I was there. I visited a shop called IveyCakes in Franklin. I will tell you as a testimonial that those cupcakes were the best cupcakes I've ever tasted! I'm sure they have to be some of the best around! Her specialty is strawberry, but she was out that morning so I got a carrot cake one and a red velvet one...all I can say is OH MY GOSH!!

Here are my delicious cupcakes...have no fear...I shared them!


Celia getting ready to enjoy hers!


Daphne thinks it was amazingly delicious!


If you EVER get up that way, I would highly recommend trying these cupcakes out. I promise you won't be disappointed.

I attended another Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night. I'll spare you the details because I'm sure you all already know what I think. Josh Turner was there...HOT, and Carrie was great as usual. I do however want to tell you about my experience. If the Opry is not recording a live show, they will let you get as close to the stage as possible. I had good seats, but I wanted to get some great pictures so I went up to the front and actually got front and center for Carrie's portion. I saw a couple of kids and their parents trying to get their kids close so I scooted and let 2 in particular get to the front. I'm glad I did. To my left was a four year old little guy who had been to the Opry to see Carrie again. He had a little stuffed dog to give her, and had tried to get it to her the first time he came to a show but was unsuccessful. His dad told me that the little guy had cried after the show when he wasn't able to get close to Carrie. However, last night, she actually took the little dog from him and waved and winked to him for a while...he lit up like it was Christmas! What a wonderful memory that he will have. Also, to my other side was a little girl who I imagine is about 10 years old. She was in a wheelchair and was also able to get to the front of the stage. She was so excited to be that close to Carrie that she stood for as long as she could. When Carrie came out, she screamed in delight. She sang loud the whole time, and held her arm up, which seemed tiring for her at times, in hopes Carrie would shake her hand. Carrie never did, but she did wave to her as she was walking off the stage....and boy did it make that little girls night!! I tell you all this to say that I realized last night that it's not about me. I'm almost 30 years old. I know I'm a huge Carrie fan, and I like to try to meet her when I can. However, I know it made a much bigger impact on these two little kids. I should step back more often and let it, not only be more about the children, but also more about others.

Josh Turner - Doesn't country music have some major hotties right now!


Of course, I must leave you with a couple of pictures of Carrie.

Snow day

The meteorologists predicted snow for today...but you never can believe them especially since we had some spring like days last week! Weather channel.com predicted it would start snowing about 2 AM. Since I live in Alabama and rarely see snow, I got up several times in the night to check, but saw nothing but a dusting. When I got up at 6 AM to check, it was snowing hard! I was like a kid at Christmas. I got my clothes on and went to get Daphne and Ben out of the bed so we could play. I didn't know how long the hard snow would last, and I wanted to see Ben experience his first snow! I must say, we had a blast.

Me with the first snowman of the day. I didn't know we would get 3 inches...this was the snowman in about 1 inch!


Auntie and Ben making a snow angel


Pulling Ben in the makeshift sled


Snowball fight


Ben with the second snowman of the day


Look how deep the snow is!


I enjoyed the snow day, but I also enjoy the fact that I live in Alabama, and by 3:00 PM today, most of the snow had melted. I'm glad I don't have to deal with 3 or more inches of snow daily, but it sure was fun for the day!

Pottery making

I had a doctor's appointment in Anniston on Friday. Daphne and Ben went with me because her family lives there so we spent the night with them. Her family is really into making pottery. They have the whole set up! This morning, her dad insisted that I try my hand at it. Take a look at the process and how it turned out!

Here is Dr. Wallace giving me instructions over the potter's wheel.






Me with my finished art. Please forgive my natural look...I hadn't had a shower yet!


A close up of my pottery. I was told this was the best "first attempt" Dr Wallace had seen! I am 1/16 Creek Indian...maybe it's my heritage coming out in me!

Ayah Auntie

As I was leaving Ben this afternoon to go home, we were going through our usual "bye bye routine" where he says "bye bye" then gives me a kiss or two. I said, "I love you Ben" in which he replied "Ayah Auntie." Those words melted my heart. "Ayah" is how he says "I love you" Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard?

Here are a few pictures of my precious little godson from the beach.

The Word

I love it when God speaks to me....it usually is a very obvious moment for me. Like last night...

I had a date, and, as it usually goes, there was no connection on my end. Recently, I can't seem to meet a guy that I want to get to know past the first encounter. When I got home, I was discouraged...I even commented that I was about to take a dating sabbatical. I posted as a status on my Facebook that I wonder when I'm gonna get to go on my last "first date." Quite frankly, I'm tired of the first dates. It seems to be same song 100th verse! Will I ever get to sing that different song?

So, God decided to tell me what he thought. I'm doing a 1 year Bible reading with my church, and the Psalm last night was Psalm 27. Psalm 27:14 says

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

There you have it! I love it when the Word speaks!