After Christmas Thoughts

Hard to believe Christmas has come and gone and the new year is upon us. I am praying for a blessed 2009 and the Lord's guidance in all things this coming year.

My fave American Idol, Chris Sligh, just got through playing a gig in NY with two other AI alums, Brandon Rogers and Blake Lewis. Luckily, for those of us in AR, you don't have to go that far to see Chris. As a reminder, he's coming to North Little Rock with his band on Saturday, Jan. 17th, 7 p.m. at Central Baptist Church, 5200 Fairway, NLR as a benefit for the Junior League of North Little Rock's signature project, Heaven's Loft.

Tickets are just $10 in advance ($15 at the door) and you can get them online at www.jlnlr.org or call 501-372-1436. You can also get them at the Mardel's in NLR. There's also a diaper drive for youth groups with the chance to win a pizza party and meet and greet with Chris. That ends Jan. 9th, so start collecting those diapers!

Newsong Christmas Celebration with Chris Sligh, Rush of Fools and Ayiesha Woods

If you get a chance, you need to go see the Newsong Christmas show. I got to go see it in Paragould, AR on Dec. 3rd and it was awesome. The harmonies were out of this world and it was a magnificent way to start off the holiday season.

Of course, followers of this blog know I'm a Chris Sligh fan. He sang his new original Christmas number, "When You Come Home Again", a wonderful tribute to our men and women who are overseas, away from their loved ones. I've put up a couple of videos if you'd like to catch them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82Z2TUyTRwI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OOo8e76nZs.

As a reminder, remember that Chris is coming to North Little Rock, AR on Jan. 17th. Go to http://www.jlnlr.org/ to get your tickets or email me at mkismybiz@aol.com. It's for a great cause--Heaven's Loft, a project that helps low income families with young children, and it's only $10, which makes it a great show to enjoy with your family.

This and That

Well, I'm not doing a super job of keeping this blog updated. Life has been too crazy and busy as of late. But here's a few tidbits....

The tickets for the Chris Sligh concert on Jan. 17, 2009 at Central Baptist Church in North Little Rock are now available at www.jlnlr.org. You can also get them on itickets.com. We are mailing over 500 letters and posters to churches in the area this week, along with info on a diaper drive contest we are doing for Heaven's Loft, (the beneficiary of the concert ticket sales). We want to sell out the house, so if you are in the NLR area or in driving distance, please consider attending. Tickets are $10, so you can't beat that with a stick, and it makes a great family friendly event. And the youth group that donates the most diapers gets a pizza party and a meet and greet with Chris. It will be a great night...don't miss it!

And on another note entirely, I guess I get to cook twice next week. My oldest is coming in on Tues. night as he has to work on Thanksgiving Day, so I'm going to try and cook a mini Thanksgiving meal for him. Then we have to take chicken and dressing to my MIL's house, as it is a request from my family. So lots to do, in addition to two reviews I have scheduled for Mon. and Tues. ARGH!

I have to teach my first workshop tomorrow night...I'm a little nervous about that. It's a 6 hour workshop I have to cut down to 3 hours, so it's going to be a bit challenging. My co-worker, Betty, is going with me to assist, so I'll have backup, which is always good.

I spent some time tonight consoling a dear friend who quit her job after taking much berating from her boss from the last several months. This was her re-entry into the work force in a new field, and this has not been a good experience for her. I'm hoping and praying a fresh start after the first of the year will be just what she needs to renew her self-confidence and get her back in the game.

OK, that's all the time I have for this evening. Back to my workshop preparation. More later!

I'M SO EXCITED!

Well, folks that know me know I am a fan of Chris Sligh, a top ten finalist from season 6 of American Idol. He's writing and performing in the contemporary Christian genre, and has put out an incredible album called "Running Back to You." You may have heard his hit single, "Empty Me" on K-LOVE and other Christian radio stations. I've been wanting him to come to Arkansas for awhile now, especially after making drives to OK and AL to see him perform.

My wish has come true! I'm a member of the Junior League of North Little Rock, actually a sustaining member, as I "retired" from active service in May. I've been in for eleven years, and it has been a passion of mine. I love the League and what it has done for the community through the years. Nancy, our president, asked me one day if I thought we might could get Chris to come and do a concert for a League fundraiser, and I told her I had no idea, but I'd ask.

Long story short, he said yes! Chris and his band will be coming to Central Baptist Church in North Little Rock on Saturday, January 17th, 2009. This is an incredible opportunity for the Junior League....this will actually be a benefit for our signature project, Heaven's Loft. We have a store where low income families of young children can spend vouchers (received at pre-natal visits, well baby checkups, immunizations, etc.) on items such as diapers, wipes, infant and toddler clothing, etc. Diapers are our number one most requested commodity, and we're also having a diaper drive for church and school youth groups and the winning group will have a pizza party the night of the concert and Chris will make an appearance.

On top of all this, several of my friends from Chris's blog are going to make the trip to AR for the event. Which means, this girl has got to get off the computer and get started with some major housecleaning. Yes, I know we're three months out. I hope it's enough time. 'Nuff said. : )

Gosh, where does the time go?

I started this blog with the total intention of keeping it updated, at least every couple of weeks. Now I see it's been since mid August since I posted, and it's almost October!

Well, I guess my only excuse is that I've been busy. August brought the start of school and the beginning of technical assistance visits and now reviews in the classrooms that I visit. It seems like since I retired from teaching and started this job, I have less time than ever and I can't figure out why!

I want to have a Mary Kay holiday open house in November...actually, what I've done in the past that works out very well is to run one for about two weeks, and schedule appts. throughout the time period. My office looks like Hurricanes Gustav and Ike ran through it though, so I've got some work to do!

OK, I have got to get to bed and get some extra ZZZZZ's! More later!

Blessings

Today was a day of blessings. A dear friend, Cathy, had cancer surgery, but got a great report from the lab, so follow-up chemo isn't needed. That was a huge answer to prayer!

Second blessing--cooler temps and some much needed rainfall yesterday and today. No running the sprinkler system! (our bill was over $117 last month, so you can see why I'm so thrilled!) Hopefully the 100 degree heat has broken and we won't get above the 90's. But today, I was just loving me some 70's!

Third blessing--even a few days after my birthday, I'm still getting birthday wishes. I just love facebook and myspace. LOL It makes it easier to keep up with folks you don't see all the time.

Fourth blessing--Gaylon froze the rest of the Italian creme cake. Thank the Lord! It was delicious, but I have been in a cake coma from eating too much! : )

So, a good day. Hope you had a good one, too.

Birthdays

August is kind of a busy month for birthdays around here. Lindsay, our daughter, turns 26 tomorrow on the 5th. We celebrated early Sunday night, with Linds and her friend, Magnus, who shares the day (he's turning 29). My birthday is the 8th, on Friday and I'll be 51. Man, that doesn't seem possible! AARP eligible for a year! Just 4 years away from the 55 and up discounts offered around town. I can't be that old, can I? It just seems like yesterday that I was turning 31. (that birthday bothered me more than 30....30 was still touching 29 on the number line and 31 seemed like the entrance into the last half of my life. LOL)

But, it's all good. God has blessed me with good health and I believe Oprah when she says 50 is the new 30. (except when I get out of bed in the morning!) It's all a matter of attitude. And right now, I've got an attitude of gratitude. I've got a wonderful family and the best friends anyone could ask for (local and some that live far away). I don't think you can ask for more than that. God is good.

Life is good!

The desktop charger came in...the Blackberry is cooking again! And I'm VERY happy at spending way less than the price of a new phone. So, HMMPH to AT&T!

A BB Update

After several not so pleasant phone conversations with AT&T, they agreed to let me get a phone at the 2 yr. upgrade price plus $75 (and locked into another 2 yr. contract). Not so much of a bargain, and after the poor service I got this go around, I'm thinking about switching next year. So, I did some research and found a desk charger that doesn't rely on the USB port and ordered that for a heck of a lot less than a new phone. I don't sync my BB with my computer anyway...I'm an old fashioned datebook kind of girl and don't use that portion of my phone, so I think this will work.

BTW, I thought my southern friends should know what one representative told me on the phone. When I explained for the umpteenth time I hadn't dropped it in water, and unless the phone could suck humidity from the air, I didn't understand how the infamous little dot had turned red, he said, "humidity in the air can be a factor." WHAT! HELLO! I LIVE IN ARKANSAS! HAVE YOU BEEN TO ARKANSAS IN LATE JULY? The BB should come with a warning label--" if you live in Arkansas, purchase at your own risk...."

It's amazing how additive a BB can be. (I guess that's where crackberry comes in!) The picnic girls kidded me about never being without it, and my husband claims he is seeing serious withdrawal symptoms since this whole thing began on Sat. OK, so I like to be able to check my emails regularly...is there anything wrong with that? : )

OK, that's it for now...enough on the BB saga. And to think my phone before this was a Nokia...the OLD style Nokia. heehee

I'm a Little Blue, Not Pink

It has been one of those days, ya' know? It started off on the wrong foot when I took my Blackberry off the charger this morning and found out it hadn't charged. And wouldn't charge despite me changing it to several different outlets. So, I made a trip to the phone store, where they thought it was a faulty connector on the phone, and they sent me to the device store
WAAAYY over in far west Little Rock. Long story short, after a great deal of rudeness from the clerk there, she told me my phone had water damage and that was that. (and they didn't offer insurance on the BB when I got it...they started that in June). I have NOT dropped my phone in water, and have no clue when any water could have gotten in the phone, and the manager admitted the problem was the connector, as my phone was working perfectly, just unable to charge. But the little red dot means no replacement phone. Have you priced a Blackberry (or any smartphone for that matter) at full price without it being tied to a plan lately? And I have over a year left before I'm eligible for another. ARGH! So, I guess it's off to Ebay for me and a lot of praying that I get an honest seller.

Oh, and I got the "another candidate has been chosen for the position....thank you for your interest...." letter. I was expecting it, but it just was sort of the icing on the cake for the kind of day it's been. Some days are like that, ya' know? Tomorrow will be better, I'm sure. Forgive me for whining.....it's just a whining kind of day. : )

So Now I'm Blogging

After participating in Chris Sligh's blog for the last 16 or so months, I decided it was time to start one of my own. I don't know how often I'll get to this...I was never very good about writing in a diary as a kid, either, though I do like to write.

First a few words about what posting on Chris's blog has meant to me. Through it, I have met so many wonderful people, and lots of them in person, now that we've had the picnic. I got to know a wonderful young lady named Amanda, and her mom, Tammy, and my life is richer for it. I had the opportunity to work with the best friends anyone ever met over the internet and helped plan a fan picnic for Chris and the Fro Patro that turned out rather well. And we raised money for St. Jude which was a good thing, in memory of dear Amanda. And I got to know a great guy who sings and writes named Chris Sligh and his wonderful wife, Sarah in the process. So, I'd say it has been one of those life-changing things that you don't know is life-changing at the time.

Now, on to my "real" life (lol) I interviewed for a college teaching position yesterday. Don't really think I'll get it, as they no doubt had adjuncts apply with lots of college teaching experience, which I don't have. However, if classroom experience and knowledge of the monitoring instrument being used right now in our Pre-K classes counts for anything, then maybe I have a shot. Who knows? I put it in God's hands and we'll see what happens.

I just got back from my Mary Kay Seminar in Dallas. (I've run my MK business for 20 years....one of the hats I wear, hence the title.) It was an experience as always, and I got lots of ideas. I love the products, love the philosophy, and love helping my clients find what is best for them. I guess I got that retail gene in my blood from my dad. Of course, he retailed auto parts. LOL Well, slight difference, but same idea...nothing happens until someone sells something!

OK, guess that is it for now. I've added in a few of my favorite shots from the picnic/concert.