Where Have I Been?

I just realized I haven't blogged in over a week.  What the heck?! I was supposed to be blogging more often, not less!  I've got some catching up to do.

The reason I didn't blog last weekend was because I was barely home.  Saturday was grocery shopping day.  It was also fair/concert day.  One of the local county fairs in South Florida had Danny Gokey and Brandon Heath in concert, and my best friend IV was dying to go.  She's a concert junkie more so than I am - I usually tag along with her, though I have to admit I love the Christian concert scene myself.  She'd gotten some really cheap tickets too: $5 per person, when the regular price is $18.  That's to get into the fair, but both concerts are free once you're inside, so we got to enjoy a really great evening.  The weather was perfect too, neither too hot nor cold.  There was a nice breeze, and a chill was in the air but nothing uncomfortable.  That's a big change from the fair concert last year.  We went to see Matthew West and SonicFlood.  We got a sonic flood all right: it poured like crazy!  We were thankful that didn't repeat itself this year!  Our kids went on a gazillion rides while we sang and worshiped with these two incredible artists and lovers of God.  We got home at midnight but we had a blast.

Then Sunday I got up early for church - barely got any sleep - and my friend DS asked me if I had any plans for the afternoon.  "Yeah," I said, "sleep."  She quickly protested and explained why: she managed to get tickets to see Third Day that evening, and the tickets were $15!  We hadn't planned on going because ticket prices were $45 and up, and the $45 tickets were not very good seats.  I was sure we were getting lousy seats at such a low price, but DS insisted we should go and make a girl's night out of it, her, IV and myself.  We agreed.  I went home, took a 15 minute power nap, then got ready.  When we got there we were all shocked: third row seats!  I couldn't believe it!  None of us could, really.  And who opened for Third Day?  Brandon Heath!  We got to see him two nights in a row!  We were so tired, but so incredibly blessed by the worship, that it didn't matter if I didn't sleep for another two nights!

Monday started our school week again, along with preparations for spring break for work.  There was plenty to do and finish up, so it was a crazy hectic week.  I'm glad to have this week off, so E and I can get caught up on some of his school assignments - not that he's far behind, but especially his PE class has been put on the back burner in an effort to get all his other assignments in on time.  We'll be focusing on that.

Wednesday our Awana group was blessed with a visit from a missionary!  This young lady is 20 years old and attended the school that is affiliated with our church.  She is now a missionary in Argentina, and she talked to the kids about her experience.  They were really interested and asked lots of questions, though the boys were mostly concerned with what kind of food is served in Argentina, LOL!

We had our Good Friday service at 2:00 in the afternoon.  I don't know why we continue to have Good Friday services so early.  Unfortunately, gone are the days when folks had Good Friday off from work.  We had a good amount of people show up, though, and I was thankful.  We had communion, then Pastor gave a lovely sermon based on Isaiah 53:1-6 and how Jesus was misidentified and misunderstood.  He did an awesome job; we left feeling grateful for the sacrifice our Lord and Savior made for us.

Friday morning I got an email from New York and Company, my favorite clothing store.  They were having a huge sale, but we had school to do, and Good Friday service to attend in the afternoon.  I went ahead and took a look online, and found some cardigans on sale for $15.  I have one of their cardigans, and the quality is outstanding, so I ordered 3 more, along with a couple of tank tops ($7 each) and a pretty top ($15).  I don't mind buying from New York and Company because everything I buy from them lasts me a good long time, but I especially like getting stuff cheap!

Today was designated Floor Cleaning Day.  I love our dog Molly, but she is a slobberer and a shedder.  I cleaned the floors recently, and they looked like I hadn't touched them in months.  I got to work mopping the hallway and living room, then looked at the red wall in my living room.

Don't get me wrong, I love the red wall.  It's a great accent wall.  Except for one thing.  My living room faces west.  I get no morning sunlight in this room, and in the afternoon I only get sunlight for a short amount of time while the sun is going down.  With dark brown floors and dark green furniture, the room looked dark.  And I don't like dark.

I'd been thinking about changing the wall for some time, painting it the same color as the rest of the walls to brighten up the room.  There's a red wall in the dining room and another in the family room, but those aren't anywhere near as dark looking because the back of the house faces east, and these rooms get lots of sunlight.  I decided to check and see if I had any paint left; after all, I'd painted the house back in 2010.  Lo and behold, there was a little less than half a can of paint left.  I made up my mind and got to work.  Here is the end result:

That is one bright room!  It's much more cheerful, and that's what I wanted.  Now I'll have to schedule a trip to Kirkland's to get some artwork for that wall.  It'll have to wait, though.  I have to take my car to the dealership on Monday to have it checked out.  The steering wheel is making a rattling sound, and it kind of sticks.  I hate car problems.

That's it for now.  I pray everyone has a blessed Resurrection Day.  He is Risen!  Glory To God!

What's Been Going On

I really did want to post about my wildly wonderful weekend, but it was nonstop every minute of every day, and I just wasn't able to sit down long enough to post.  Even yesterday and today have been busy, but I figured if I didn't post now I might forget everything I want to include.

Thursday night our church started its yearly carnival, but none of us went.  It was in the 30's - yes, here in South Florida! - with winds making it even colder.  Floridians don't do well in 35 degree weather.  We weren't even going to take a chance.

Friday morning I went to the women's bible study group at church.  I'd been attending on Thursday nights, but with my new job there's no way I can make it there on time.  Thankfully there's a group that meets Friday mornings, but they're a week ahead of the Thursday group, which means I missed chapter 6!  I'm hoping there will be a makeup class like they've done before, so I can watch the classes I missed.  My youngest son went to the carnival that night while my daughter, best friend and I headed to the Chris Tomlin concert.  It was the first stop on the Love Ran Red tour, and we were excited to be there!  Unfortunately we missed the first act, Rend Collective, thanks to the insane traffic (which is why I make it a point to never go into Miami).  When we finally made it to the venue, Tenth Avenue North was on.  They're a local band, from West Palm Beach, so they're always enthusiastically welcomed back home to South Florida!  We had floor seats so we were able to watch up close and personal.  It was totally amazing!  I love the idea of spending eternity in heaven worshiping God with Chris Tomlin leading worship!

My son went back to the carnival on Saturday, but I took that time to get some housework caught up and run some errands.  I went to Target to find myself a belt for my jeans, and some ballet flats like a pair I'd gotten a couple weeks ago that were really comfortable.  I got 3 belts, 2 pairs of shoes, 4 tops that were on sale, a wallet, and a nail polish.  That's the problem with Target.  It's like Lay's Potato Chips: you can't get just one (item).

Then Sunday, after church, we ran home and got ready to see Tim Hawkins.  He is my all-time favorite comedian, the funniest man on earth in my opinion.  I would highly recommend anyone who hasn't heard Tim Hawkins to check him out on YouTube.  I love the fact that he's a Christian so none of his comedy is raunchy or inappropriate.  My son was happy to miss the last day of the carnival for Tim Hawkins!  I'm thankful that I can cross that off my bucket list - though I wouldn't hesitate to see him live again!

Work is going really well.  I'm slowly getting the hang of how everything works, though I still get some of the teacher's names confused and I don't know most of the students.  Everyone is being patient and helpful, which helps me feel more relaxed.  Today I was brought in to see a couple of students being tested.  The school director/owner wants me to become familiarized with the testing procedure so that I can administer tests in the future.  Tests are given to new students to determine their grade levels and choose the appropriate curriculum to work with.  There's reading and math tests; the reading test shows whether the child can read and what their level of comprehension is, while the math test is very detailed and intricate.  Most kids who come into the center are having trouble with math, so that is a big focus.  There are students as young as kindergarteners, all the way up to college and everything in between.  I'm enjoying the kids as well as the environment.

My dress arrived today!  I ordered a gorgeous little black velvet dress from New York and Company last week for a wedding my daughter and I are attending on Saturday.  I wasn't sure how it would fit, even though all the dresses I've bought from NY&Co. lately have been size 10.  I don't like ordering clothes online because I hate the hassle of having to ship it back if it doesn't fit, especially after waiting a week for it to arrive, but this dress was only available online.  It was on clearance too - originally $79.99, I paid $23.98 for it, a deal I wasn't going to find at the actual store.  I nervously tried it on, and I'm thrilled to say it fits perfectly!  It's the right length, right on the knee.  It's also my favorite style, fit and flare.  I'm so relieved it fits, because I couldn't find anything at the stores, and there's no time to go out looking for another dress.  This one worked out splendidly!

Homeschooling is also going well.  My son is working on polynomials, ocean currents, and learning all about classical music.  It's diverse and interesting.  He's also working on his community project hours by preparing plastic eggs for the church's Easter Egg Hunt.  They put out thousands of eggs, some with prizes inside, and they also give out candy to all the children.  We're probably going to help with the candy bags as well, when Easter gets a bit closer.

That's my recap for the weekend.  Tomorrow I'm teaching at Awana.  I'm kind of nervous, because I don't feel like I've prepared enough, but Lord willing everything will go smoothly.  I've been keeping to my schedule and managing my time wisely, so that, even though I'm busy, I'm able to get everything done.  Until next time, good night and God bless.

Just Another Manic Monday

I'm usually glad when Mondays roll around, unlike most people.  I appreciate everyday that I wake up and I'm alive.  Unless there are semester finals.  I don't appreciate Mondays quite so much when finals are involved.

I got up later than I normally would (seems like I've been saying that a lot lately) because we went to bed after midnight.  A full day of activities, including concerts, can drain a body.  I made my son a bigger than usual breakfast because he didn't get to eat dinner last night.  We went out for lunch and he did eat, but in the excitement of the night he never mentioned being hungry (though if he was, he sat too far away from me to tell me so).  When we got home it was so late there was no way he was going to eat, so I knew he'd be hungry.  I got myself a bowl of cereal, then reached for my English muffins.  What did I find in the package, but a couple of bugs!  Eww!!  I was so mad - it was an unopened package and I had to throw it all away.  Ugh!  I'm gonna have to figure out if those bugs came from my pantry.  If so, I'm going on the warpath!

My son's schedule showed a full day of work:  an English quiz, Algebra final (in 3 parts), music history final, Hope final and an Algebra live lesson.  I was sure it was going to be as hectic as last week, and he was just as tired as I was, maybe even more so.  We didn't even get started with school till 10:30.  He went to do his Hope final, knowing full well he'd have to pause it at 11:00 for his algebra class, but I knew that wouldn't be a problem.  He got halfway through the test, then went on to his algebra review.  In the meantime, I folded 4 baskets of laundry, then made fried chicken tenders with stuffing and gravy, and corn.  After lunch he finished the exam.  He scored an 84% on his multiple choice; there are 2 short essays that still have to be graded.  I feel like he was distracted, because he has a 93% in that class.  I decided he should take a short break, then we'd review for his music history test.  We went through all his notes and read absolutely everything.  He got a 94% on that test, which I was pleased to see.  Three finals down, three to go!  His algebra teacher had sent an email saying the class was not to start on the algebra final till Wednesday after last review class, so the only thing left was English.  It was a vocabulary lesson with a quiz at the end.  He wasn't very excited about taking the quiz, especially when it was 18 questions long, but I told him it was best to just do it and finish for the day.  When he clicked on it, it said the teacher had dropped the assignment.  His school day was done, and he'd finished everything in 4 hours.  Seriously!  I told him to sit down and either read or watch a documentary; he chose option 2.  Honestly, we could have finished in the early afternoon, had he not started so late and dragged his feet throughout the day.  He's not getting off so easy tomorrow; there's a lot of studying to do for his science exam, and he's got 2 live lessons as well.

My son R was feeling a whole lot better today.  He took Robitussin last night and was able to get a good night's sleep, which he needed in order to recover his energy.  I was so glad, because if he didn't sound better today I was gonna have to send him to the doctor.  Can't be taking any chances with the flu season in full swing.

Speaking of seasons, our rainy season seems to have returned.  We got rain on and off today, though nowhere near what was forecast.  At least there were no thunderstorms.  Yesterday I did my hair, then got caught outside in all that rain and humidity.  I was able to seek cover, but the humidity still did a number on me.  My hair looks awful today.  It's like I haven't washed or styled it in a week.  So not fair.

There really isn't much else to report.  I'm gonna clean up the kitchen, take out some meat, then shower and watch some television.  Hopefully I'll get to bed early tonight and get caught up on my shuteye.  Have a blessed evening everyone.

Merry CHRISTmas!!

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5

The day is finally here, and what a lovely day it is.  Weather in the low 70's, overcast and breezy but not rainy, a tad humid but not too bad.  I love living in Florida!

Despite having gone to bed at almost 2 am, I was awake at 6:30.  Granted, I napped on and off from 11:30 till 1 am, but I think my body is on a clock that can't be adjusted.  I didn't mind, though; who can be upset about waking up early Christmas morning?!  I got washed up, then woke my little monkey up.  I laughed at the fact that it was 7 am and he was still asleep.  When I asked him why he was so different from other kids that wake up early, he shot up and said, "That's right, it's Christmas!"  His siblings were already up so we got started opening presents right away.  I definitely wanted to do this before their dad showed up.  Christmas is something I don't want to share with him, at least not right now.  Their father cares too much about the financial aspect of a gift; a present that isn't expensive is not a good present.  I'm very different.  I look for things that I know people will enjoy, regardless of the price.  If I find a nice shirt for my son and it only costs $7.00, I will still get it because it's something I know my son will like or that he needs.  His dad would be appalled at wearing something worth so little.  It takes all the fun and joy out of exchanging gifts if someone is constantly asking, "How much did that cost?" or "What did you pay for that?"  Even stores matter to him.  He won't wear something from Kohl's because his clothes have to come from Macy's or JC Penney.  I don't want my gifts to be looked down on, or my kids thinking their gifts aren't good enough.  So we opened our presents and enjoyed seeing what we all got.  My oldest son R got us all these really cute pillows that look like books.  He gave E a Treasure Island pillow, his sister got Alice In Wonderland, and I got my favorite book since I was a teenager, Sherlock Holmes.  It was such a cool gift!  He also gave me a cookbook, Ree Drummond's A Year Of Holidays, with all kinds of holiday recipes.  She is a favorite of mine, so I could not be happier!  I got 2 DVD's from my daughter, Annie Claus Is Coming To Town which is a super cute (sappy) Christmas movie that I totally love, and a collection of Disney's Herbie movies.  My youngest son gave me another movie I've been wanting for a while, Mom's Night Out on blu-ray.  It is one of the funniest movies I've seen, I highly recommend it!  Of course there was all the makeup I got from Bare Escentuals that I didn't have to pay for, which made for an even brighter Christmas!  My kids also liked their gifts, which was a combination of video games, board games and clothes.  Then I went to the kitchen to start making breakfast while they called their dad to come open presents as well.  As I made buttermilk pancakes and crispy bacon, my kids opened some very nice gifts from their father:  each of the boys got a Wii U console with games, and my daughter got clothes and makeup that she really wanted.  When it came to them giving him his gifts, it was clear what his favorite was.  R bought his dad a high-end pillow, made with Egyptian cotton, hypoallergenic, original price of $80 that he scored on Cyber Monday for $25.  A got him some Nautica perfume which he liked as well.  As for the facial products, he didn't seem impressed.  I don't think he realized what these products cost, but I didn't make a big deal about it.  It's Christmas, and I wanted to enjoy the day, not be upset by people I can't change.

After that I spent a whole lot of time getting the house back in order.  I make sure we have a couple of trash bags to throw away all the discarded wrapping paper, but I always keep the boxes, bags, gift tags and tissue paper.  Reduce-reuse-recycle!  I don't recycle the wrapping paper because it's hard to reuse once it's been cut and taped and the kids rip into it, but I keep everything else.  The tissue paper is the trickiest, making sure it's folded properly and not torn.  I filled up a bag with reusable tissue, then packed everything away in the closet.  There was plenty more to pick up and put away, too.  My son E was overwhelmed with the amount of clothes he got:  there were 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of sweatpants, and 11 new shirts in different styles and colors.  You must understand, my son likes to wear the same 3 or 4 shirts ALL THE TIME.  It drives me nuts!  He has a closet full of shirts that he doesn't wear because either they don't fit him the way he likes, or don't fit him at all, or they have some kind of design he doesn't like.  His dad had bought him lots of Ecko Limited t-shirts but he doesn't like the bold designs on them.  This time all the shirts are plain round or v-neck tees, but it was so many he was sure he'd never get to wear any of them.  His older brother had a talk with him, and told him it was important that he make the effort to wear them, otherwise he would appear ungrateful.  He gave in and put on a dark grey shirt which looked really nice.  I'm hoping that once he gets used to the idea of having lots of nice clothes he won't feel like they're taking over his closet.  I did go in and pulled a bunch of shirts that he doesn't wear to take to Goodwill.  Once I'd done that the closet appeared empty, making it seem like there weren't that many new clothes after all.  I don't know if he's fully convinced; my son is a creature of habit, and new things don't fall into his habitual behavior.  As I told my daughter, he definitely isn't a girl.  Girls would love nothing more than to receive a boatload of clothes for Christmas!

I started lunch just after noon.  The turkey was done from the day before; all that was needed was some mashed potatoes and green beans.  My best friend IV stopped by as I was cooking, and brought a Christmas present for us:  tickets for Winter Jam next month, and tickets to see Chris Tomlin in February.  I know she spent way too much money on these and I told her so, but she loves going to concerts and loves for me to go too.  I've told her I can pay for my own tickets but she goes ahead and buys them before I have a chance to get them myself.  I'm gonna have to figure out a way to stop this; I don't want her to get into a financial bind because she's being too generous with her money.  I got her a simpler but much appreciated gift:  the newest Tim Hawkins DVD.  Tim Hawkins is the funniest comedian I've ever listened to, and because he's a Christian my whole family can listen and not worry about him saying anything crass, inappropriate or vulgar.  It's family friendly laughs, and I don't think anyone can resist a good laugh!  After lunch all I could hear throughout the whole house was my son E playing Wonderful 101 on his new Wii U.  His brother had set both up before going over to visit his best friend since high school.  Today is not only Christmas, it's his best friend's birthday, which makes the visit extra special.  

Another neighbor stopped by and brought us a tin of Belgian chocolate covered wafers and cookies.  Oh my word, these cookies are SOOO delicious!  I'm afraid I'm gonna put on the 5 pounds I've struggled so hard to lose!

I cleaned up the kitchen, then sat down to watch Annie Claus Comes To Town.  I love sweet, romantic movies, and if they revolve around Christmas I love them even more!  Afterwards my kids wanted to play with their board games.  Even though it was just A and E because R had gone out, we still had fun playing The Logo Board Game and Say Anything.  I always get my kids board games for Christmas because we are board game lovers.  Board games, card games, word games, you name it, we play it.  What we won't do is play for money.  We compete fairly (no cheating allowed in my house), and we challenge each other.  Most importantly, we keep it fun.  

I've showered and moisturized, and now I'm going to relax with my new cookbook, researching new recipes that I want to try.  It's been a wonderful day, a day we celebrate because Jesus came to this earth over 2,000 years ago with the purpose of restoring our relationship with God.  Yes, my kids got me some nice gifts, and they are very happy with the presents they received, but ultimately the greatest gift of all is salvation through Jesus Christ.  I can live without anything, but I cannot live without Jesus.  We worship Him and praise Him, and we celebrate this momentous occasion, His birth.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas as well.  Good night now.  

Birthday Eve

The countdown is almost over - tomorrow is my birthday!  So what am I doing today to get ready?  Housework, of course :P.

I got up nice and early today because I knew my kids were meeting their dad for some more Christmas shopping.  My oldest son had to work, which probably is best since his dad and siblings were shopping for him (I think he is going to be pleasantly surprised).  I got breakfast ready for us and was enjoying Eggo waffles and bacon, when I got an alert that Shelbey had posted a new video.  As soon as I was done eating I went on youtube to watch it.  She does great makeup tutorials which I love watching, but today it was about beauty gifts for Christmas.  She had us laughing quite a bit!  I really do enjoy her videos.

After that it was time for the kids to get ready and me to start cleaning.  I had to beat a pair of my youngest son's pants; he went to get something out of his closet last night and says he saw a cockroach on his sweatpants.  That boy is terrified of cockroaches.  He didn't want to go anywhere today because he didn't want to have to think about what was in his pants :P.  He actually wanted me to take all his clothes out of the closet and wash them because the thought of a bug on his pants grossed him out so bad!  Yeah boy, that ain't happening.  So I beat the pants till he was convinced there was nothing in them, then inspected them for half an hour before putting them on.  It was quite a sight.

Because of our sweet American bulldog Molly shedding so much, I have to vacuum or sweep the floors everyday.  This week I'd swept more than vacuumed, and yesterday I didn't clean the floors at all, so this morning my floors were furry :P.  Once the kids were all gone I got to work vacuuming and mopping up her industrial strength drool.  It was on the sliding glass doors as well, and I had to scrub it to get it off.  I'm not even sure it's completely clean, but I was getting frustrated.  Every time I looked at the glass I saw another smudge of drool.  Ugh!  I love you Molly but can't you keep your saliva inside your mouth?!  And quit all the shedding, girl.  I could make a second dog with all the fur I picked up today!  So I was vacuuming the family room, and the vacuum cleaner got stuck between the two recliners.  I pulled on it to get it loose and something went wrong.  The vacuum cleaner isn't working.  Well, technically it's working, it just isn't vacuuming from the bottom portion, just from the attachment.  Which is a problem.  I'll probably have to turn the thing upside down and figure out what I did to it, or get it repaired.  Dyson vacuum cleaners don't come cheap, so replacing it isn't an option.  I'm gonna have to get it fixed.  Add that to my to do list.

Since all the kids were gone and it was just me, there was no reason to make a big meal for lunch.  I cooked up some Totino's pizza rolls and munched on those.  I also had a butter pecan ice cream bar; it's not as cold out as it's been this week so I could tolerate some ice cream.  The high today was 75 degrees.  It was breezy the whole day so I was able to keep the windows open.  The humidity was 50% which for us is pretty low.  It made the weather very pleasant and enjoyable.

It's been 5 days and my Ulta order has not shipped.  This is out of the ordinary for them, but I imagine it's because of the holiday rush.  I went ahead and emailed them anyway, just to keep them on the alert.  Wonder how long before I get an answer?

At 3:00 I went to take a shower and get ready for tonight's concert.  Last night the Christmas concert at our old church was very contemporary; tonight's concert at our church would be more traditional, with the church and school choirs coming together for a reading and singing.  This concert is a dressy event, with most folks dressed in red dresses, blouses and shirts.  I love that type of tradition, so I pulled out a long sleeved red blouse I'd gotten a couple years ago at Kohl's.  I especially like the ruching around the waist that makes me look thinner ;-).  I paired that with a black skirt with a dark pink pinstripe.  What I love about this skirt, is how the pinstripe mimics the color of the top.  With a pink top the pinstripe looks pink, with a fuschia, plum, magenta, or burgundy top, that's what the pinstripe will reflect.  With my red blouse the pinstripe looked like a light red and matched beautifully.  I had plenty of time to do my hair and makeup, get dressed and be at the church with 10 minutes to spare.  The concert started off well, and we were singing along with some of the old classics.  As Silent Night started to play, I noticed a girl in the back who was moving around, something you aren't supposed to do when you're singing in a choir.  I also saw the girls around her kind of pulling her.  I couldn't understand what was going on till the girl looked up.  She looked kind of spaced out.  I suddenly realized what was happening - she was fainting.  She went down, got back up and continued singing but went down again.  Several people went to help her up but she was in and out of consciousness.  The curtain went down, and we were left to wonder if the girl was alright.  Within a few minutes our worship pastor came out and said the young girl had been overcome apparently by the heat and lights and had passed out.  She was awake and alert but an ambulance had been called to make sure she was okay.  Thankfully the ambulance got there right away and it appears it's nothing serious.  The concert continued after 15 minutes, but it was kind of awkward after that.  Our pastor got up and spoke about the Christmas story, and about 5 people raised their hands in response to the invitation to receive the gift of salvation, the greatest gift of Christmas.  We prayed for the young girl before leaving the church.  Despite the hiccup, the concert was lovely and it was a sweet time of fellowship.

Once I got home it was time to get out of my outfit and exfoliate.  I do my facial exfoliation once a week because I have sensitive skin, and I've chosen Saturday nights so Sunday morning my skin will look radiant for church.  As I cleansed my face my daughter talked about her birthday party next Friday.  Both my daughter A and my son E were born on December 27, 10 years apart.  E will be turning 15, and A will be 25 years old.  She has decided to have a winter wonderland party, with a hot chocolate bar and desserts such as cookies and cupcakes.  That will be the main focus of the party as opposed to a big meal.  We'll have party games which is something we love, and Christmas music because it is Christmas time after all.  She has invited about 25 people so it'll be a packed house.  She's really looking forward to it.  I've got a lot of scheduling to do to make sure everything goes smoothly.  That's my type A personality working overtime.

It's almost 11:00, and the bed is calling out to me.  You know what?  I haven't got anything planned for my birthday.  Unlike my daughter, I'm choosing to play it by ear.  It's my attempt at being spontaneous, which means letting go control :-).  I'll be posting about my special day tomorrow.  Come on back for a visit, won't ya?

What I've Been Up To: Concerts

In my last post I tried to get as much of what's been going on in my life as possible, but "life" gets in the way.  There's plenty to keep me busy, which is a good thing, but I still want to document a few more of the goings-on of the past few months.

A dear friend and I have been enjoying the concert circuit.  It wasn't not often that Christian bands made it all the way down to South Florida; it's a long way away from everything, and if there's only one venue to perform at, it might not be to their advantage.  Lately, though, we've seen more acts willing to make the trek, especially in the winter.  When everywhere else in the country is freezing or under a ton of snow, South Florida looks and sounds really appealing!

Back in January we had the Extreme Music Concert in South Florida, and thanks to my daughter's job at a church office, we got a couple of free tickets.  That concert was, in the words of our younger generation, off the chain!  The tickets were for one day, but we got to see multiple acts that day.

For one, we got to see Mandisa who is A-mazing in concert!  She is so full of energy!  And so inspiring!  Being on a show like American Idol could have given her a big ego, but instead she gives all the glory to God.  She was great to hear!

Switchfoot was incredible too!  They were the main band that night.  We also saw Israel and New Breed and Michael W. Smith.  It was a great night, but it got even better when we were told tickets to the next night's concert were selling for $20 for those who had tickets that day!  We rushed to get our tickets because we knew the bands for the next night were going to be worth hearing as well!

The night started off with a band I love, MikesChair.  They are from Central Florida and their music is great.  Then we got to hear Kutless.

They were amazing as well.  Unfortunately, by the time the last band came on, the band I wanted to see most, Hillsong United, I had a full-blown migraine and I could hardly think straight.  I'd prayed the headache would go away, but I felt God speak to me.  "Can you praise Me even in your pain?"  And I answered yes.  The headache was awful, but the worship was intense.  I tried taking pictures but none turned out right.  Once I closed my eyes and just let the Spirit take over, I was elevated to that sweet place that only worshiping God can get you to.  It was beautiful, and worth the pain.

In March we went to the Dade County Youth Fair where we got to enjoy another couple of concerts...sort of.

Two bands, free admission.  Couldn't get better, right?

SonicFlood went on first, singing lots of oldies-but-goodies.  Coming to the end of their set, their name became very appropriate:  we got hit with some monsoon-type rain, a real sonic flood!  Because there was lightning as well, we had to seek shelter quick and hope the rain would stop, otherwise Matthew West's concert would be cancelled.

Thankfully, the rain stopped and we were able to listen to Matthew West, which we were so excited for!

April came, and we were once again blessed.  My friend had given my daughter, son E and I tickets to ReachFest in Boca Raton for Christmas, and we were finally gonna be able to see 5 bands perform that night!

Citizen's Way started the night.  I'd heard a couple of their songs but I had no idea how they'd be in concert.  They did not disappoint!  We were so impressed by their music and love for God.

Colton Dixon was on next.  Whoa!  What's up with these American Idol alumni?  They are so high energy!  This guy was all over the place!  That's one way to do a concert!

Jamie Grace was sandwiched in between.  I love her music, but now I love her even more!  What a heart, what a sweetness to her, what a fun time listening to her speak as well as hearing her music.

We were really looking forward to hearing Britt Nicole, even though the boys weren't, LOL!!  She is wonderful!  The little girls were waving their Britt Nicole posters which was cute to watch.

The evening ended with MercyMe.  They need no explanation.  Every song they did was a great song.

I have to be honest, though.  If I were to pick my favorite act of the night, it would be Jamie Grace, hands down.  Not only was her music great, but everything about her was fantastic.  I'd see her again in a heartbeat.

If that weren't enough, we found out from our local radio station that a nearby church was hosting another concert at the end of April, so off we went.

Tim Timmons not only gave an amazing concert, his story is incredible.  You can read about him here.

When Group 1 Crew came on, I forgot I was a 50 year old woman.  I started jumping up and down and screaming like a teenager!  I typically don't like hip-hop music.  At.  All.  But there's something about this band that makes me wanna get up and worship!

If you don't recognize this gentleman, it's a native of our fair state of Florida:  Big Daddy Weave.  He was headlining that night and they did an awesome job, but once again, if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be Group 1 Crew.  They were electric.

I'm sure our concert days are far from over.  As a matter of fact, my daughter and I will be attending the Women of Faith conference next month, and we'll get to hear Matthew West again.  Music is just one form of worship, but for us, it's one of our favorites!