Oh, Taylor Swift

When Taylor Swift first sang to me through my radio, I loved her. That "Tim McGraw" song actually makes me recall a few LBD (little black dress) moments in my life. I only liked her more when I found out her age and the fact that she plays guitar and writes (or at least co-writes) her own songs. I went out and bought the CD and was very impressed with most of the other songs on it as well.

When I saw her first video on TV, I realized how beautiful the girl is. She got to play dress up and look really pretty in her video.

Some other songs on her CD make me wonder how a girl so young could have already experienced so much intense boy drama. I mean, I can relate to songs like "Picture to Burn" and "Should've Said No" but I'm surprised that she has before age 18.



Then I saw her perform "Should've Said No" on some music award show, which she chose to also use as her video for the song. It was absolutely ridiculous. If you haven't seen it, you should. You will lose a little bit of respect for her. At the end, she is on-stage in a LBD singing under artificial stage-hand created rainfall. She is singing while getting soaked.

I thought that the video for "Picture To Burn" was awesome though!

Also, when I have heard her sing live, her voice isn't so great. Anyone can sound good if edited enough in a studio. Hearing her live makes me really question her singing ability.

Even though I do really like most of her songs, my highly musical friend, Sarah Riley, pointed out to me how juvenile some of her lyrics are. An example is in "Teardrops on My Guitar." One lyric says "wishin' on a wishin' star." Well, first of all, that line is redundant. Why not say "shooting star" instead?

Her first hit on her next CD is called "Love Story." I must admit that I do like the song. It has a good beat and a good sound that kind of infects me and makes me tap my foot and sing out loud. However, the girl has clearly never read Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Apparently she's been living under a rock for her entire life and she's never even heard of the general plot or seen one of the movie versions.

Nevertheless, I do intend to buy her next CD when it comes out and I expect it to be pretty good. I suppose her publicists have done a great job because they have my attention and I'm buying in spite of her obvious shortcomings.

Feel Your Boobies

I'm already known around town as "The Cell Phone Girl" (long story) and "Always the Bridesmaid," but I fear that after today I will have a new title--the "Feel Your Boobies Girl." Okay, calm down. It's not as bad as it seems.

My editor put me and a co-worker in charge of "Breast Cancer Awareness" stories to run each Saturday this month. I made mention of the "feel your boobies" campaign that is growing in popularity now. I love how the story turned out! (Even though I probably blushed a couple of times while writing it and I may have a new male readership fan base). Never the less, the message needs to be said. Read my story (below) or read it on our website and then ladies, feel your boobies!




Breast self-exams ‘vital’ for women in teens to 30s
By Amy Kelly
Published: Saturday, October 25, 2008

One of the newest breast cancer campaigns encourages women to “feel your boobies.” The campaign is not trying to encourage promiscuity; it is trying to promote breast self-exams for women because early detection is the best way to overcome breast cancer.

Although the campaign’s message is important for women of all ages, it is especially vital for women in their teens, 20s and 30s — the years before mammograms are generally performed.

Carolyn Bass, mammography technologist with Sampson Regional Medical Center, said that monthly self exams are really the best way for women under age 40 to detect breast health problems. Although mammograms can be done on younger women, there are no state or federal regulations for mammograms for women in their teens, 20s and early 30s, Bass noted. Self exams and clinical breast exams — exams performed by a health professional — are important when done regularly because any physical changes in the breast can be an early sign of a problem, Bass commented, and “your chances and prognosis is better the earlier a problem is detected.”

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), only five percent of all breast cancer cases occur in women under 40 years old; however, there are more than 250,000 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 40 or under living in the U.S,. and every year more than 11,100 more are diagnosed. Therefore, women in their teens, 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam as part of a regular health exam. In addition to annual physicals and clinical breast exams, ACS recommends self exams monthly. Women should review their breast self exam technique with a health professional during their physical exam.

The Young Survival Coalition focuses on breast cancer concerns for women under age 40. The coalition encourages women to “become familiar with their breasts: their shape, size and what they feel like. Learn what is normal for you.” Any changes such as swelling, irritation, nipple retraction, rash, unusual pain, redness or scaliness, or spontaneous discharge from the nipple should be immediately reported to a doctor. The theory goes, when you know what is normal, it will be much easier to notice abnormalities.

ACS research finds that some women feel most comfortable doing a breast self exam by following a systematic step-by-step approach, looking at and feeling one’s breasts. Other women have difficulty with the step-by-step approach and prefer to just check while showering or getting dressed. Here is where the “feel your boobies” campaign comes in.

According to the campaign’s website, www.feelyourboobies.com, “research shows that ‘feeling your boobies’ is just as effective at identifying changes or lumps as doing a formal self breast exam.” The campaign wants to empower women to take charge of their breast health and not to be ashamed. The website states, “Why Feel Your Boobies®? Because you do it everyday anyway, right? Oh come on…sure you do! You take a shower, you feel your boobies. You get dressed, you feel your boobies. Since you know your body better than anyone else does, why not just take a little extra time to really ‘feel your boobies.’ Give those ‘girls’ the attention they deserve. After all, getting in the habit of knowing what’s normal for you increases the chance of noticing changes in your breasts if they occur. If a change does occur it’s important to tell a doctor or clinician immediately so they can determine if more tests are necessary.”

As research continues, hopefully the cause of breast cancer will be discovered which will lead to new means of detection and treatment. Until then, women, do self exams and “feel your boobies” for it may save your life.

Rock the Vote!

I voted today! All in all, it took me about 10 minutes between waiting in line and marking my ballot. I encourage everyone who's registered to get out and vote early if you want to avoid the longer lines. Early voting goes on through November 1. If you can't get out to the polls before then, make sure you go on November 4! Every vote counts so do your civic duty & rock the vote in 2008! :)

ps--I seriously think that if you don't vote but you are old enough to, you have no right to complain about this country. Make your voice heard! :)

My own column!

I am officially a columnist at The Sampson Independent now! I write a piece each week for our Sunday lifestyles page. The column is called "Always the Bridesmaid" since I'm pretty much an expert on that subject! Look for it in the B section of the paper each Sunday or on our website (will be posted each Monday or Tuesday): www.clintonnc.com

Leave me comments there to let me know what you think!

Pepto Bismal Love

The other night, my friend and I were driving home from Fayetteville after meeting up with some other friends. Suddenly, she started feeling bad and her stomach was hurting so she asked me to stop asap. The closest (and only) place that far back into Sampson County was a gas station.

After a few moments, she came back out and we started back toward home. Pretty soon, she stopped me mid-sentence to ask if I would turn around and go back. This time, she thought she was going to throw-up. So, of course, I immediately went back and she took off running into the store again. After a few minutes, she came out with a bottle of Pepto Bismal.

As a sidebar, I have seen this girl turn up a bottle of that pink stuff on several occasions as if it's some pink lemonade on a hot summer day. Yuck!

Anywho, she told me that the guy behind the counter gave her the medicine. She took it up there to pay for it and he said, "Sug, just take it. I hope you feel better." NO CHARGE! I was truly touched by this. That was really sweet of the guy to give it to her. Of course, he would have to put the money in the register himself. Yea, I know that P.B. is not an exciting "gift" at all, but when you feel bad in that way, you really want some sympathy!

The entire ordeal reminded me to show love to others in whatever way they need it most. For my friend, he gave her exactly what she needed--the P.B.--and not a hard time.

Happily, we did not have to go back to the store a third time.

I want it all

I'm not sure how the topic came up, but last week at work, my editor and I began talking about dating and marriage. She is almost 50 and single. She has never been married and has no children. Honestly, I don't think anyone with children could do her job. She is very committed and does an amazing job, but it takes a lot of hours and not just a 9-5 kind of thing. She is there late nights, early mornings and often on the weekends. That's the newspaper business for you, I suppose.

During our conversation, she asked me if I wanted the 'whole marriage and kids thing'? My immediate response was, "I think so." As soon as I said it, I realized that my answer didn't hold much certainty. My next comment was, "well, everybody else wants me to." She could empathize with that, as well. I continued to explain to her how I'm the last single girl of marrying age in Rebel City, and I sometimes feel treated as if I'm doomed to be a spinster old maid with 50 cats.

The truth is, I know that this is not true--it's a slight exaggeration. I may change that tune if I'm still single at 30, but for now, I'm still plenty young and well in my prime!

Later that day, I thought about the conversation a bit more. I decided that yes, I really do want to be a wife and mother. I really do. But, I want a career too. I guess what I really want is to have it all, and I can too! I will always maintain a full life. I already do. By no means am I sitting around waiting for Mr. Right to call. I keep myself very busy with work, school, my family, church and friends. I almost wish I did have an extra night or two each week so I could just sit around and watch tv.

I may be alone, but I am not lonely. I am enjoying my time to be single. This is kind of my time to be a little bit selfish sometimes and do whatever I want. I don't have to worry about babysitters or what is on my husband's agenda when I spontaneously want to go somewhere with a friend or do something crazy.

Don't get me wrong, I do want my own family one day, but that is certainly not the time when life begins. Life is now, and I'm ceasing this season in my life. This concept is biblical, but marriage is also. I am so excited about meeting the right guy, dating, falling in love, engagement, my wedding day, my honeymoon, and life with a new roommate. I'm excited about telling my husband and family that we're going to have a baby, picking out names, not having to suck-in for 9 months, falling in love with my babies and raising them. After that, I get to see them off to college and watch them get married and give me grandchildren. There are many exciting times ahead, and I want that. But I still want to finish my degree and begin teaching. I want the career too. And, I can do it all, and I will.

And if the marriage and family thing isn't in the cards for me, I'm okay with that too. The truth is I don't know what the future holds, but I'm confident enough in the plan that God has for me to know that I will be happy regardless of what happens to me. All in all, life is wonderful now, and it will continue to be in the future. I will have it all--a full life--regardless.

Learning as the bridesmaid

I got my two high school best friends married this summer. I was a bridesmaid twice in two months. It was a job! And, I'm highly experienced in this area! (I've been in two weddings per year for the past three years now.) Between trips to David's bridal, showers, bachelorette weekends, rehearsals, pictures, flowers, receptions, strapless bras, dancing, entertaining the newlyweds.....it really is tough to stand there and look pretty and to boogie down and then go out for ice cream in the dress! Knowing how much work it is just to be a bridesmaid, I am not prepared for all of the fanfare of being the bride.



After this last wedding, I've decided that I need to elope. I would seriously consider going to the justice of the peace to tie the knot. If I decide to do a church or beach wedding, I'm definitely keeping it very low key. I will only invite closest friends and family. There are many people in my life whom I love, but I don't need them all to see me get married. I don't want to have a huge receiving line or a huge reception bill to deal with. I don't like people to fawn all over me and tell me that "everything is beautiful," and "congratulations," and every other wedding soundbite. I don't want 5 bridesmaids watching me get ready, helping me put on my undergarments and helping me to Shamu-dive into my dress only to take the next 15 minutes to get it all zipped up and buttoned, and later to spend another 15 trying to bustle it up. I would be so stressed, that I know that I would end up being a runaway bride. That is just missing the whole point.


On my wedding day, I want to be left alone for an hour so I can shower, shave, do my own hair and put on my own makeup. After all, I am a pro at that now since I've done it myself for many weddings and formals! I want to wear a dress that doesn't take more than two people to put on. I don't want all of my friends in the bride's room with me stressing me out about how everything has to be perfect.



I don't want all of the traditional stuff that represents things that are stupid. If you don't know the real reason behind bridesmaids, flowers, veils, and fathers giving daughters away, you should seriously educate yourself before you go through with these outdated traditions.



I'm not going to make my bridesmaids buy a certain dress. I trust my friends' fashion judgements. They can wear a pretty dress that they already own or use my wedding as an excuse to buy one they love. I'm not going to make them stand up facing my back during the ceremony. I'm going to let them sit and be in a place where they can acutally see me!



Above everything else, I do not want to spend a fortune on my wedding. I'd be very happy to find a cheap second-hand dress off of ebay or from a thrift store or sale rack of prom dresses. I'm not going to spend hours assembling bubbles and party favors. I'm not going to have my name printed on napkins for people to wipe their mouths on.



I've really enjoyed all of my times as a bridesmaid. I am thrilled that I have so many close friends who want me to share in their big days. I have gotten to wear a lot of pretty dresses, carry a lot of pretty flowers, been given lots of pretty jewelry, added to my shoe and purse collections, and enjoyed lots of free food and fun with some of my favorite people as a result of being a bridesmaid. I think that I've lived vicariously through each bride who has included me in her day. Therefore, I am not that interested in having my own big, fancy wedding one day. If and when that time comes in my life, I will probably just want to be married to my amazing guy. I'm not looking for a fairy tale day, just the beginning of a new adventure with the one God has chosen for me.

Until then, I'm loving that I get to be the single and fabulous bridesmaid who pretends to want to catch the bouquet, and enjoys the spoils of the fairy-tale days of others.

ps--If you are thinking that I'm getting too close to being the girl from 27 dresses, consider the fact that the writers of that movie exaggerated the number of weddings that the woman was in so that it wouldn't be offensive to women like me. If they made a realistic version of that movie, Doyle's article would have looked just like this blog ;)

Recent Reminders & Realizations

I have learned a few new things and have been reminded of some old wisdoms the past week or so.

I was reminded this week that life is short and that we must live it to the fullest everyday. Unfortunate circumstances prompted this reminder in me. First of all, another Midway student passed away about two weeks ago. The Sampson paper featured a story on him which recapped about eight of the other most recent students who have died from my alma mater. What was most unfortunate about the story for me was that it didn't even include another six or seven students who I knew personally who died in my time at Midway. The numbers are astounding. Midway seems to have some kind of "Kennedy Curse" or something.

In addition to this Midway student dying, my best friend told me that two 18-year old boys from her community, who attended the school she teaches at, died this weekend. I was with her on Saturday and we had the best day. Then when I texted her on Monday, she was attending her second funeral that day and she just said it had been an awful weekend and she'd tell me about it later. All of the feelings and memories of those horrific phone calls, wakes, and funerals flooded back into the forefront of my mind.

Life is short, my friends. We are never promised another breath. Live your life purposefully everyday and make it count.

I was also reminded this week that relationships take a lot of work and that the work must be reciprocal for it to work. Many of my friends have given up on me over the years. It seems like many more have since college because we have all moved away from our central location at school and are building our lives. It is sad but I am fortunate to have the few friends who truly make the efforts to know me and be a part of my present life, not just memories from the past.

I was also reminded this week that I do not need to give up or get jaded with people, specifically, the male species. It's a great time to be single but no so great a time to deal with the antics of 20-something men! I thought that they would be mature by now (or at least getting there), but I have realized that I am wrong. But I was also reminded that I'm an amazing catch and God is still working on me. My best friend and I renewed our vows to refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies. :)

This week I also realized that a fundraiser is a person, not an event. The event is called a fund raising. Make sure you get that straightened out in your head so that you can be accurate in the future! I won't even divulge how I obtained this new knowledge, but I will say that it was news to me and I will never again get that wrong!

Besides all of this, I've had quite a few brand new experiences over the past few weeks and I'm learning new things everyday. It's wonderful to keep your life fresh by experiencing and learning new things. :)

Something new to love, Part II

The baby is here! It's a boy! Micky Garan Odom, Jr. was born yesterday (July 16) around 1:30 p.m. We will call him by his middle name. Michelle did really good. She was in a little pain last night from the epesiotomy. We were kind of hoping for a little girl but we love this little boy already so we're keeping him! :)

One of the most amazing things about the baby is that he's so perfect right now. He hasn't been tainted by any of the problems of the world yet. He knows nothing but love right now. The baby is just so amazing. The miracle of childbirth is amazing. God has mysterious ways!

Check out the pics of this beautiful new life!

Tolerance v. Accomodation

I read a really good article in The Sampson Independent about a week and a half ago. The article was talking about being tolerant of the views of others without backing down from your own beliefs. The writer offers a Christian perspective that I agree with on many levels. I hope that the article will provide insight for you too.

Tolerant but not accomodating
by Robbie Millard
Published:
Friday, July 4, 2008 8:45 AM CDT
There was a disturbing article about religion in Time magazine recently. It was so disturbing in fact, I felt compelled to respond. The article published the results of a religious survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life done last year. The survey had 35,000 respondents, so it wasn't a small deal. The survey found that 70% of respondents believed that many religions can lead to eternal life. What was even more surprising was that 57% of so called “Evangelical Christians” were willing to accept that their way was not the only path to salvation.

Different people will interpret the results of this survey different ways. I see it as a subtle trend away from God. A type of watering down of religious beliefs. It hasn't just started, it's been going on for years, but it seems recently it has really found its footing

It seems to me many people have confused being tolerant of others religious beliefs with accommodating them. This is dangerous ground! I believe everyone should be tolerant of every individuals religious beliefs. By this I mean we should respect everyone's right to worship as they see fit. After all, this great country was founded because people didn't want to be told what to believe. It was founded on religious freedom. We would be hypocrites, therefore, if we did not recognize each person's right to worship as they choose.

This, however, is where tolerance should end. When we as Christians start accepting that there are other ways to heaven other than through Jesus Christ we have gone too far. We have stepped over the line of being tolerant and have now become accommodating. Tolerance and accommodation are not one and the same. I think the results of this poll proves how many Americans are confusing the two.

Christians, when you are confronted with the question of whether or not there is more than one way to eternal life, I urge you to read John 14:6 which says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Folks, this scripture makes it plain and simple. If you believe the Bible, there can be only one way to eternal life and that is through Jesus Christ. This also means all these other religions who offer other ways to eternal life will not work.

We should all remember this. While it is OK to be tolerant of another's religion, it is most certainly not OK to accommodate it. Accommodation leads down a path away from Christ.

Something new to love

My cousin's wife, Michelle, (which I guess makes her my cousin now too) is expecting a baby pretty much any day now. A couple of weeks ago, my aunt called me and said that Michelle was at the hospital--she had started bleeding a little bit and was dilating. She's due on the 20th of this month and the baby was already 7 pounds but the doctors decided that they needed to stop labor if they could. They gave her the drugs and sent her home. We're pretty sure she's not going to make it until her due date but we're just waiting for the baby to come. Micky and Michelle went down to the beach with us this weekend. My uncle Micky took the three of us out on the boat. Of course my aunt and my mama were going crazy about the idea thinking that Michelle didn't need to go out and that my uncle had better not drive crazy and that we better call them if anything happens, etc. I told them it would be fine. Michelle watches A Baby Story on TLC everyday so she feels confident that she could talks us through a delivery ;) haha.

Michelle is the cutest pregnant person ever. She's gained about 20 pounds and now tips the scales at about 135 pounds. Seriously. She looks like she swallowed a watermelon. It's all belly, all in the front. Unless you see her from the side, you wouldn't even know she's prego. The girl wore a hot pink bikini on the boat. She wears soffe shorts and tanks or tee shirts on a daily basis. I am very jealous because I will probably look like a beached whale when I'm pregnant one day in the distant future.

It was so weird to watch her belly moving around as the baby is moving. We are really hoping that she has a little girl so we keep referring to the baby as "she." I'm really excited because we need a new baby in our family. It's been a while. My generation is all old enough to marry and procreate now so I hope that Micky's baby is the first of many more to come in my family! :) Keep Michelle & the baby in your prayers!

My First Newspaper Story in Print!

For those of you who do not know, I began working for The Sampson Independent (my hometown newspaper) at the end of April. I have turned in two stories so far and one was printed today! It's nothing earth-shattering, just a story about a man who celebrated his 60th year of being a barber last week. I'm really excited about being a published writer now! If you want to check it out, here's the link:

http://www.clintonnc.com/articles/2008/06/11/news/doc484fca14155e8667855887.txt

The Beauty and Sting of Summer

I finally got the opportunity to go back to the beach this past weekend. My soul has been longing to commune with the ocean and all of its mystery and awe. The ocean certainly worked its healing powers on me but Nature proved her destructive powers simultaneously.

Saturday at the beach, we got sandblasted! The beach was so windy that we were miserably covered in sand by the time we got the sunscreen rubbed in. Ashley and I opted to walk along the shoreline instead of lay out. We only stayed on the beach for about thirty minutes before we rode back home and jumped in the pool.

Sunday was a better day at the beach. I was able to lay out and read a couple of chapters of my book and Ashley and I took a couple of walks down the beach. It was a perfect afternoon--sunny and breezy enough not to be too hot. The down side is that we all got a sunburn! We were only out there for a couple of hours and we applied sunscreen but we all still got red! I haven't been sunburned in a long time because once you get it good a time or two, you learn your lesson. I have been kicking myself ever since I got out of the shower because it burns so bad and the aloe hasn't been much help to ease it. I'm mad at myself for letting this happen but I don't understand how it happened. I was safe by using sunscreen and not staying out too long but I guess because we went at noon, the sun unleashed its greatest fury on us. Luckily, my skin will absorb the sunshine rather than peel so in another day or two, I should have a nice tan (at least on front.....I should have turned more).

In other news, I am happy to report that my Papa's health has finally made a turn-around! Turns out that his heart was actually in pretty bad condition which stemmed most of his recent problems. It was tough to hear how bad things were but it was good to have some explanation of his declining health and it was wonderful that they were able to fix it! He immediately started feeling better after the doctors put in two stints to absolve the blockages to his heart. He also got a defibrillator/pacemaker while he was at Wake last week. He came home Saturday and has shown greatly improved health, stamina, and emotional well-being since then! He looks forward to walking his survivor lap this Friday night at the Relay for Life (something he was unsure that he would be able to do until now)! Another trial of sting and beauty. :) To God be the glory! It has been a long trial but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Expecting the Unexpected?? BAM!!

During my student teaching, I worked with the yearbook staff for one period each day. At the beginning of the semester, we discussed possible themes for the yearbook. One suggestion was "Expect the Unexpected." The girls wanted to have that title on the cover and on the first page, have BAM in huge letters (pop-up book style if possible). BAM became a long-running inside joke in our class. It was funny but true: life hits us with that giant, pop-up (in your face) BAM from time to time and it's often unexpected.

A friend emailed me yesterday to vent about an unforseen car trouble that has hit her wallet recently. She and her husband are in the process of buying a townhouse so they are trying to save as much as they can. Becca was a bit stressed over the unexpected expenses. Becca wrote, "I'm not sure anything but experience can prepare you to 'expect the unexpected'." The more I thought about this, the more it became clear to me. After your perfect plans fall through a time or two, you come to expect things to not go just as planned. However, even experience can never prepare you adequately. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense why:

Things would not be unexpected if we expected them. By definition, we cannot expect the unexpected. Duh. I say Kay Sera Sera and Carpe Diem.

We only cringe when the unexpected is something negative. Finding an unexpected $20 in an old pocketbook is something that we do not expect but we don't get stressed over that! We love it. We are pleasantly suprised when things like that happen. So, sometimes the unexpected is wonderful! I do love suprises ;)

I am not a total optimist by any means. I know that things never go perfectly. However, I don't PLAN for them to go wrong. I don't plan for car trouble, sickness, death, heartache, etc. I'm enough a realist (and have had enough experiences) to know that these things are perpetual parts of life. Every good and perfect thing will probably be tainted in some way at some point. I don't want to sound like a pessimist because I am not; I'm just being a realist.

Becca & Chris were not expecting the car trouble so it took them by suprise and stressed their lives and their wallets. Will Becca expect to have car trouble again? No, she probably won't; but in the back of her mind, she will know that it's possible for something unexpected to happen like that again. Hopefully, they will have a small "expect the unexpected" fund set up for stuff like this in the future. Preparing for unexpected stuff is the only way to soften the blow.

We don't plan for bad things to happen to us. We don't sit around and expectantly wait for them. From my own experience, you better realize that if things have been going good in your life for a while, you better look out because a trial is probably on the way. That's just life. Again, let me stress, that I'm not being pessimistic; I'm being realistic.

Right now my Papa is in and out of the hospital. I don't plan for this to happen; I don't expect it. I hate it every time he has to go in. I refuse to sit around and wait for the next hospital stay though. He will probably be in and out of there for a while. That's the fact. But I won't expect it.

Why we don't "expect the unexpected," I'll never know. The "unexpected" is part of life. The remedy is to be prepared; not physically, but mentally. I will not physically prepare myself for another hospital visit by keeping a bag of clothes in my car. I will deal with the ordeal if and when it happens. I want to think positively and hope that we don't have to go back to the hospital. However, mentally I can prepare myself by expecting unexpected things. They are inevitable. My little girl scout self will be prepared to face any situation.

If we sit around and plan life down to the very second, we are going to be greatly disappointed because 1) it will never work out exactly how we want it to and 2) we will sell ourselves short. Sometimes the unexpected can be great. Who doesn't need a spontaneous, suprising break sometimes?! It's the unexpected things--good and bad--that keep life exciting. I could tell you some stories of all of the crazy things I have done through the unexpected events that have presented themselves in my life but that would take up too much space in my blog. Maybe I'll write a book some day! I'm telling you the truth: It would be something that a soap opera would envy!

Braking for Turtles

Over the past couple of weeks, I have spotted quite a few turtles trying to cross the road. I don't know why they are trying to cross the road. Maybe they are trying to get to the other side or maybe they are looking for the shell station. I am not sure about their intention but my intention is not to hit them.

For those of you who know me best, I fully intend to brake for animals but I have had little success. So far I have hit and killed two birds, the Easter bunny, a snake (hopefully), a possum (maybe it lived?), and a dog (and of course billions of bugs have lost their life on my front bumper). One of the birds I killed stayed in my grill for a couple of days. I told my friend Susan that I was going to try to sell it to MiCasita. Ironically, when I came out of the restaurant, the birdie was missing....hmmmm?!?!?!

Getting back to the turtles.....I really do feel so sorry for them. I think they are so cute! A couple of times I have managed to straddle the turtles and sometimes I see them in the middle of the road or on the side or in the other lane and when I get close to them, they crouch into their shell hoping to survive the passing traffic. I am sure that many turtles haven't been so lucky with other drivers. :(

I can't imagine why there are suddenly so many turtles crossing the roads in Sampson county; but I am going to do my very best to spare the lives of as many of them as I can. This is obviously a difficult task for me even when I have the best of intentions for the sweet turtles. I would like to ask each of you to protect the turtles also. You never know, they could be teenage mutant ninja turtles who need their turtle power to save the world!!!!

ps--just a few hours after writing this blog I was driving home and the car in front of me hit a turtle and it went spinning across the lane like a break dancer. Seriously. I almost hit it but I didn't! It was a close call though.

Life is complex because we think we need/want it that way

Today on the noon news, channel 5 was discussing a new satellite that is being launched into space today. It is the biggest one ever launched and its purpose is to provide satellite signal to cell phones at all times so that people can get internet and tv on their cell phones. Subscribers will never have to worry about loss of connection because the satellite will always be there sending out a signal.

I don't even want to know how many millions (maybe even billions) of dollars it has taken and will take for this endeavor just so we can watch tv on our cell phones!! Give me a break! People are already attached enough to their cell phones without having tv available on them! It's not like we don't have big screens at home.

There are starving, unloved, diseased, and dying people all over this world who would be happy and much improved to be able to live on a dollar a day. It seems like our priorities are very out of place. I urge you not to be a supporter of this satellite project. Instead of spending money on something for your cell phone, donate something to someone in need.

Enough is enough. Americans are too obsessed with the next technological advancements that we have forgotten the simple truths and values that matter most in life. This world is too hard because we allow our lives to be too complex. I cannot say it better than Thoreau so I will leave you with his words:

Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.

Oprah today (you won't believe it)

My former youth pastor, Brian Dawson, sent me a link via email to a youtube video about Oprah's beliefs that there are multiple means of salvation for everyone and about her support of Eckhart Tolle's new book A New Earth. Here's the link he sent me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA

It was really ironic that he sent that because I actually watched a really crazy episode of Oprah today by chance (just so you know, I do not regularly watch The Oprah Show. I have some issues with Oprah). Here's the response I sent back to Brian via email:

It's so ironic that you emailed me that video about Oprah because you wouldn't believe today's show! I was eating supper this afternoon at a country cafe and our waitress could not stop watching the Oprah show on tv. She intrigued me so I watched to see what it was about. They had this man on there who is pregnant! He was there with his wife. I couldn't understand so I kept watching. Come to find out, the man is actually a gay woman who has gone through a sex change and has chosen (as "man" of the relationship) to get pregnant via IVF. Oprah was fully supporting them! Imagine what kind of problems that kid will have! I know that the argument of homosexuals who want to have kids/adopt is that the child will grow up in a loving home (which is probably true). However, love is not all you need. I just know how hard it is to grow up in a functional, straight two-parent, loving Christian home. It would be even that much harder to grow up like this kid will. The kid will be the laughing stock of his/her entire community forever! It's hard enough learning how to be a man/woman today when people have mixed up the roles so much. This world is going to hell in a hand-basket!

Here's a link to today's show:

http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200804/20080403/slide_20080403_350_101.jhtml?promocode=HP22

Spring is Near!

It seems like the trees are blooming overnight! I took my grandfather to the doctor on Monday; when we got back that afternoon I could have sworn that the flowers had not been there when we left that morning! The daffodils have awakened in their bright yellow color. The dogwood trees are starting to bloom which always reminds me that Easter will be here soon along with beautiful Spring weather! Today it was amazing outside: sunny with a high of 75 degrees! I love warm weather so I hope that it stays this way and continues to warm up!

Spring always reminds me that light and life always returns even after cold, bleak winters where everything is dead. Life is the same way. As we go from season to season in our lives, know that hard times can only last for so long before beautiful regeneration will take place. Once the beauty begins to shine through, it will have been well worth the wait.

My First "Grown-up" Blog

My dear friend, Rebecca (the bride pictured with me to the left), recently began a blog on here so she inspired me to do the same. I have blogged a little bit on myspace but I think that this is more of a real, "grown-up" blog site; it's high time I at least pretend that I am grown-up enough to have my own official blog so here it is.

I suffer from this problem called overthinking. Some of you may be able to relate. I over-analyze almost everything. Perhaps I am a just a contemplative person; but I doubt that my over-thinking tendencies stem from such a normal thing as that. When I over-analyze people and my experiences with them, it's usually a bad thing. However, I do occasionally spend much time overthinking life in general which sometimes leads me to some pretty cool thoughts. I realize that I have probably never had a completely original thought in my life (neither have you, by the way). However, I am able to come to some pretty cool ways of thinking about things as I combine everything around me into my own thoughts and opinions. Whether you like what I have to say or not, it's nice to get it out. Your comments will be appreciated. Just remember: Don't hate the playa, hate the game.