wordless wednesday – a tribute to Paris (Hilton) and Nicole (Ritchie)

har-vey ced-ars

This weekend was our annual retreat to Harvey Cedars Bible conference with our youth group. It was a great time had by all and I’ve got the pictures to prove it.

Me and my sister. Being….us.        Me and one of the girls.

Me and DDTM, making the DDTM face.  Me and Johnny being Dane Cook.

Enjoy.

let me pray for you

“How are you doing?” she asked.

She asks me this every day, and I know that when she asks, she’s not looking for the standard “Oh, I’m good, how are you?” answer. She wants the real answer.

“I’ve been better”, I say. “Husband just got his orders to leave, and it’s just made everything more real.”

I cry, because I just can’t hold it in anymore. It hurts too badly.

“Let me pray for you” she says.

And in that brief moment in time, the burden on my heart is lifted and carried by someone else. Whoever said prayer changes things knew what they were talking about. Sometimes, you don’t even need an answer, it helps just to know that someone else is carrying your cross for you.

cheesy gordita crunch

So my friend Deb moved down to Nashville to become a big star. I always knew she had it in her, so I’m glad she’s persuing this opportunity for herself. Anyway, she has this video you should check out because dang! that woman can belt it.

airing the dirty laundry

The other day I decided to watch Oprah. (or the anti-Christ as my youth Pastor likes to call her) Not because I find that her shows are life-changing, but because her guest was Dr. Bill Cosby. Now, generally speaking, I disagree with him on a lot of different issues, but I was intrigued by the fact that he had just written a book with a Harvard Psychologist and the topic had to do with African American social faults.

I heard on the news a while back that Bill received a lot of flack for a speech he made in front of the NAACP in which he “aired dirty laundry”. In reality he was simply speaking of the Black “epidemic”. He said:

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said Mr. Cosby at the Constitution Hall event, “the lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids $500 sneakers for what? And won’t spend $200 for ‘Hooked on Phonics.’

He added: “They’re standing on the corner and they can’t speak English. I can’t even talk the way these people talk: ‘Why you ain’t,’ ‘Where you is’ … And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk… Everybody knows it’s important to speak English except these knuckleheads. … You can’t be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!”

I strongly applaud him for this. He’s not afraid to call out the issues of his own people. He’s not afraid to air the dirty laundry because he wants to clean it up.

On the show, Bill threw out a statistic that just astounded me. He said that 70% of African American babies are born into a single-mother home. SEVENTY PERCENT. If you’re slow on the uptake, that’s more than half, the majority, A LOT.

The fathers aren’t sticking around here.

Now, I have my own theories here. They’ve got a lot to do with the fact that these people are obviously spiritually lost, and the girls can’t keep their legs closed.

But I think the same thing about Caucasians.

Why is it that this particular race group just can’t get it right?

Please do not think that I’m racist, because I’m not. Obviously, a black man is pointing this out about other black people, so I’m not making this stuff up. What happened? Where did they go wrong?

Some more interesting statistics given by a gentleman by the name of Joseph Jett:

“Adolescent African American males make up 1.1% of the population but commit 30% of all homicides. Meanwhile, our children grab their crotches and frantically wave their arms in the air. Today, 84% of heterosexual HIV/AIDS cases are African Americans although we make up only 11% of the population. Meanwhile, our children plate their teeth with gold, adorn themselves with Bling Bling, and sing of bitches and whores. Today, 55% of African American males are in prison or on probation. Meanwhile, I am asked almost daily to give money for yet another basketball court or “Mamma, I wanna sing” studio.”

The entire time I was listening to Mr. Cosby speak, I was just waiting (shamefully so) for the moment when the white man was blamed for their shortcomings. And then it came. He said,

“It isn’t the white man keeping you down, it’s you keeping you down.”

I could have kissed him. We live in a society in which our faults are not our own, and that’s regardless of your ethnicity. Bill doesn’t want that to happen. He wants these people to take ownership of their mistakes and go about the business of correcting them.

If only we all were like that.

absolute dedication

Is leaving church on Sunday without saying hi (or bye) to anyone, rushing to your parents’ house to watch the Steelers game, only to discover that this week is their week off.

finally up with the times

Hey guys, guess what? Are you ready?

I finally got an iPod.

Since the introduction of the new full screen guys, the price of the 80 gb is about $100 cheaper. And since hubby’s iPod broke like 2 months ago, I bought him one too. (because hello, he’ll be taking his with him when he’s deployed) I’m so excited, I’m treating it like a child infant. It’s fragile you know. And so much more sleek than the old ones. I love it.

Um, so that’s it, I just thought you all should be rejoicing with me!

never again

and that’s all I have to say about that

these are a few of my favorite things

I don’t know about you guys, but I love hearing about other people’s tips and tricks or anything that makes their life a little easier. Puts pep in their step if you will. Makes the daily grind a little less grindy. You get the point.

So I thought that I’d share some of mine with you and maybe your step will be a little peppier tomorrow.

The Works Tub and Shower Cleaner - Let me be honest here folks, I don’t clean my shower weekly like I should. Maybe every other week, or maybe even whenever the soap scum starts becoming irritating. I’m not so sure. What I am sure of is that this stuff if magic. I spray it on and the soap scum comes right off without scrubbing. Seriously. Go test it if you don’t believe me. The best part? You can find it in the Dollar Store! Not only does it work great, it’s cheap!!!! And also, the whole The Works cleaning line is just wonderful. Use it all.

Yankee Candle Iluma Lids - You’re just like me aren’t you? You think they’re a scam Yankee has out there to make you spend more money in there already-easy-to-spend-money-in-store. But, you’re wrong. When you put this little lid on top of your Yankee Candle, not only does it stop soot from making its way onto your ceiling BUT it also helps your candle to burn evenly! For real people. This thing is a God-send. I love it. Go buy one.

The Skinny Chef - No, I’ve not turned away from the food network, I’m just using this as an outside resource. The skinny chef has lots of little tips and tricks on how to eat and live healthier. She’s even thrown some recipes on there! Go check her out, you won’t be sorry.

Maybelline Intense Volume XXL Mascara - I know this may not apeal to you men, but ladies listen up! Maybe you’re not thrilled with your lashes. Maybe they’re not as long or as thick as you’d like. Then this is the answer to your problem. My lashes, I swear, are longer and thicker than ever. I’ll never use another mascara. As a side note, if you like the curl in your lashes to last all day, wait until after you put your mascara on, heat up your eyelash curler with your blowdryer and then curl your lashes. Instant curl that doesn’t go down!

Pandora – Not the box, the online radio “station”. All you have to do is input an artist you love and pandora will play other music/artists similar to it. All with no commercials! Go check it out!

Natural Ice chapstick - OH! The tingles! This is the best chapstick in the world. It’s minty fresh and it tingles leavy your lips moisturized and just, well, wonderful. I’ve been able to find it at Happy Harry’s and I heard a rumor that you can also get it at target.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my little insight and find it useful. What are some of your favorite things?

have you seen them?

Have you? Hm?

You should really go check out the wonders of Vera Bradley’s new Highland’s Collection.

It’s where life’s happiness is found.