Just trying to refresh my memory re how this works. http://xde.xanga.com/573052107743281480388/t1388365.gif

I've been going through a whole lotta stuff the past few months and blogging has been real low on the priority list. So, if she still wants to take over, I'm turning posting duties over to another sweet thang. I tried to change the user name, but it costs $10. 8-(   I also tried to delete all my posts, but it has to be done one by one. Double 8-(

I'll occasionally be found over on another b-l-o-g site. God bless all y'all sweet friends! Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^

EDIT: It helps if I include the link, eh?
Also, once I hit 200 books, I learned that it's only free up to 200. However, a lifetime membership is a bargain! Duller agrees, since this project has a fringe benefilt. My house is getting a lot cleaner/neater as I progress. 8-}

Is that possible? I've discovered LibraryThing and have been cataloguing my vast collection. I'm up to 164 books and almost finished...

...in the bedroom.Oh yeah, I've barely scratched the surface. I'm just about to get to the office, then I'll move on to the spare room, the family room, the living room... I'm hoping to be done by Christmas. Then I can start on the boxes.

This site is so cool! I'm re-discovering treasures I forgot I ever saw, much less owned. You can store a catalogue of your books and sort them alphabetically, by author, by date, by Dewey, by ISBN, by date acquired, by date read... and Idano how many other ways. You can hook up with people all over the world who share your interests. And it isn't just a list... there are pictures. Yes, you can actually SEE the covers. If an actual cover isn't in their database, you can hunt one down and they'll download it... or choose from 51 generic covers. Oh, and you can get free books if you sign up to be a reviewer. And there are contests. The current one ends tomorrow at noon EDT, so hurry on over there!

Have a JESUS-filled day!

In Christ Alone,

... Beatrix Potter!

Just a little ketchup here... Duller is no longer working in Jax. He got a better position here. It's only supposed to last about a year, so our house is going back on the market in a couple weeks.

The lawn mower broke and Duller decided he was getting too old to keep pushing it around several acres, anyhow. So we headed for Lowe's and he picked out a Troy-Bilt lawn tractor. I convinced him he might as well splurge and spend $200 more to get the better model. Then I spotted the Husqvarnas. Since I had to part with my YELLOW truck, ORANGE is my new colour. 8-] (No worries, it won't last forever. ) It was yet another $200, so I wasn't going to push it. (No pun intended. LOL!) But I did sit on it, just to pass the time waiting for the salesman. Duller balked, but I insisted he sit on the Troy-Bilt and he found it a bit uncomfortable. SO I moved over and let him sit on the big orange. Oh, well, what's another $200 at this point? LOL!

Since my emergency room  (the gallstones that wouldn't die) Valentine's Day episode, I've drastically cut the fat in my diet and lost another 10 lbs. Not a lot, I know, but I haven't put any other effort into it. I am determined, though, to reach my goal before Christmas, so I'm clearing out the office-turned-home-gym (red treadmill and trampoline) so I can actually get to the equipment and make good use of it. Meanwhile, I'm trying to decide whether I should go ahead and paint or leave everything white. Would a really nice splash of colour speed up a sale or should I leave everything white?

Duller's car is in the shop. DS picked a fight with a pine tree and lost. No human injuries, just a nearly $2000 repair bill. There goes the rest of my mad money for this year.  He wasn't cited, though, so PTL for that answered prayer!

Reckon that just about covers the news and un-news since I was last here. Now to start catching up on all y'all.
Have a JESUS-filled day!

Hey! I'm trying to get back in the xanga habit. Not as easy as the first time, but... well, I'm trying. 8-}

Photo credit

I was looking for a good picture of my favourite formerly-owned car, my 72 Javelin, and came across this article. The first 2 pics are the closest I've found to the colour I had. Only mine was gun-metal all over... no blue hood and spoiler. Coincidentally, my house-mate at the time bought a yellow one the same week. We never planned it, but it was mighty cool having two Javs in the driveway. Mine was, by far, the cooler one, of course. 8-] Ah, what I wouldn't give to have one of those again.

Does it get much worse then being sick during Christmas? UGH! Last Monday, we did our annual DS"s birthday dinner at Scarlet Crustacean. That night, I lost it... couldn't even keep water down the first 24 hours. Yep, a nice raging case of food poisonong, which I think muct have been from the clams. I can honestly say I've never been this sick in my entire life before. A week later and I'm finally eating and digesting properly again... hoe free, right? *sigh* The back of my leg started itching this afternon and I discovered a couple of welts there. Assuming I had been bittern by a creepy crawly - we do live in the woods, after all - I splashed some vinegar on it and went back to wrapping presents. Another itch... hmmm... more welts... good grief! Am I being devoured by bed bugs or what? Next thing I knew, both legs were welty and one popped up on my arm. I've never had hives before, but I reckon that's what this is. The only one that still itches is the one I didn't immediately vinegarize. Hours later and they're not as red and the first ones are not quite as puffy. But a few minutes ago, another one popped up... on my .. er - don't peek, Rob - cheek. Please agree with me in prayer that there will be no more! That by tomorrow, this will all be a bad memory.

I hope the rest of y'all are having a wonderfully blessed, JESUS-filled Christmas!
Don't forget to wish Jesus a Happy Birthday!

Some of y'all who know me better know all about my insecurities. When I find something I'm fairly good at, it really gives me a boost. I tend, in the deep recesses of my brain, to build myownself up using the building blocks of whatever gifts God has bestowed upon me. I can carry a tune and play a few instruments. I'm a naturally excellent driver. And every IQ test I've taken has resulted in a score around 150 +/-. If I ever start feeling a twinge of smugness, I'm quickly put in my place.

Just yesterday, I ran into a busy superstore for just a few things. Every checkout line was jammed with loaded carts. I finally decided one of the self checkout lines was my only option if I wanted to get out of there before rush hour officially kicked in. There were 2 people in front of me. The first one was pretty quick and the second only had about a dozen items. Unfortunately, some of those items were apples and onions. I could hear the mechanical voice instructing the man to enter the code or search for the item. It seemed simple enough. So why on earth was it taking so long? After several tries per item, he finally got it all rung up. Paying was another mystery, but it went a bit quicker and, at last, it was my turn.

It started out just fine. Then I put one item in the cart instead of a bag. The young lady behind me very nicely informed me I had to put it in a bag or push the SKIP BAGGING button. Next item was a Paul Potts CD. Bless her heart, the sweet young thing behind me took it upon herself to talk me through practically the whole transaction. You have to scrub the CD's across this other doohickey to deactivate the anti-theft whatzit. Put the bananas in the bag so the machine can keep track. Turn your card around and swipe the other side. Honestly, I felt like a cave dweller transplanted in a strange new world. It wasn't like I'd never used a self-checkout before. Just not the ones in Wally World. Why must they all be different, anyhow?

I'm reminded of Will Rogers' astute observation... 'You know everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.' I'll be sure to remind myself of that next time I start to get impatient with someone who is struggling with what seems a very simple task. Or when Duller sings in the shower. 8-]

When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
Proverbs 11:2 (KJV)

Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^

Sometimes it's the little things that remind me. I needed a new black ink cartridge for my printer. (They make a killing on those things, don't they?!) So, where could I get the best price? I had totally forgotten there was a Staples on my route. I saw it just in time to safely whip into the left turn lane, and just as there was a break in traffic. And the cartridges were on sale. Good deal; I'll take a double. When I went to check out, the cashier stuck a gift card in my bag. He noticed my puzzled look and explained, 'you get a $10 gift card with a twin-pack purchase'. WAHOOOO!!! I think I'll actually go back up there tomorrow and buy another pack, so I'll have it when my colour cartridge runs out. Idano why, but I've always been a sucker for the office/school supply aisle. I can get a whole lotta cool doohickeys I'll never use for $20. 8-]

Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^

I think one of the most frustrating things about Christians is their tunnel vision. We all know that we can use the Bible to support, or refute, any point of view. And most of us can quote scads of Scriptures to back up our own. But we all too often quote one or two verses, which is liable to skew the context. Why do we find it so difficult to be corrected, even by God? Sure, nobody wants to feel like a dunce for having been mistaken in any of their beliefs. But I'd sure rather feel stupid for a minute now than for an eternity after He says He never knew me!

I spoke with a lady once who was fuming because, on the shelf at her local Christian book store, she spotted a book that had the audacity to declare that her church was a cult. OK, I reckon if someone said that about my church, I'd get defensive, as well. But then I'd have to check it out. Truly, if my belief system is wrong in any way, I want to find out before it's too late. We need to realize that our eternal destiny is much more important than being right all the time.

We need to embrace the whole Gospel, not just the parts that fit inside our comfort zones. Sometimes, it's good to squirm a little. If someone challenges something you believe, don't dismiss him as an ignorant heathen. Dust off your Bible and hunt down the verses that back you up. Then pray, asking God to reveal His truth to you. Now read the entire chapter. The entire book, if need be. If you find that you were right, tell that person the truth in love. If you find that you were wrong., thank him, for Pete's sake!

Never get too settled. God is still working on you. Don't stop working on yourownself. Shake yourself up every now and then. Don't let yourself get stagnant. As long as we're down here, we don't know enough. Any time we think we've got it all figured out, that's the time to get on our knees and ask God what we're doing wrong.

Y'all have a JESUS-filled weekend! ^i^