3AM Blues

There's something about 3AM. We were all snug and cozy in our bed at the Bed and Breakfast last night when I awoke just before 3AM and couldn't go back to sleep. Maybe because I knew Brad had to get up in about an hour...maybe because I was excited about the weather...maybe because I was trying to calculate whether Weedy had landed in Paris. Who knows! After Brad left, I read my book and eventually got back to sleep. I felt like someone hit me over the head with a club when my alarm went off at 6:40AM. The silver lining of the day was getting hot french toast, fresh fruit and coffee brought to my room. The B&B did lose power for about an hour...thankfully, five minutes before I left for work, it kicked back on and I blow dryed my hair. I had packed up the blow dryer to take it to work. I haven't been outside since this morning...apparently it's quite bad. I hope to sleep much better tonight while a blanket of snow falls outside. We'll see!

Brad and I found out today that we were both cast in Cinderella. He will be a townsperson. I will be playing the Queen. The guy playing the king is the owner of a local improv club and he's hilarious. So, it should be fun. But the most fun will come from being in a play with Brad!!

Something's afoot at the Circle K

Weird weather here. It's nearly 70 degrees. But there's a meteorlogical monster just to our west. Some weather peeps are calling for a foot of snow, starting tonight and going into tomorrow. Oh, and with today's warm weather, tornados are a possibility this afternoon. WOW! Brad and I are going to spend the night downtown so we can be ready to go to work Thursday. They usually don't do much in the way of scraping our streets out in the boonies where we live.

Many, many happy wishes to Weed as she heads out today. She flies to Paris tonight (now I'm totally jealous!). Then on to Mali from Paris. I just know she will have a great time and lives will be changed as a result of her work there. Thanks for all the prayers for her. I'll let you know when I hear that she has arrived safely in Mali.

Please continue to pray for Brad and I as we ponder our next move. There are so many exciting possibilities for expanding our family. We want to walk through whatever door God opens for us.

I bless the rains down in Africa...

Please pray my sister, Weed as she leaves tomorrow for a mission trip to Timbuktu. I'm so excited for her. Pray for her safety and her ministry. She will be doing prayer walks through villages. I think it's wonderful that she has this opportunity (I want to go to Africa!). So, here's a little Toto in honor of her trip:

I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She's coming in twelve-thirty flight
Her moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards
salvation
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say: "Hurry boy, it's waiting there for
you"

[Chorus:]
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that
I've become

Saturday

Hope all of you are having a lovely weekend. We are going to have "date night" tonight. This will involve dinner and a movie...maybe Hugh Jackman's latest, The Fountain. We got up today and went to aerobics. It was great! And for the first time in a very long time, Brad wasn't the only guy there. An elderly couple were there. We had fun.

The cats are so funny. Since we put up the Christmas tree, they have nested under it every night. I think it's their natural instinct to hide out under a tree. Whatever it is, they're just cute sitting under there...like two of the best little gifts we could ever get!

Black Friday

It's sunny here today and I'm sure the stores are packed for Black Friday deals. Happily, I've only left the house today to work out and have a "spa day." I'm feeling thoroughly relaxed post-spa. No big plans for the weekend. Brad has to work til 3 today. We saw Christopher Guest's newest movie yesterday afternoon. Not good. Boo! Hiss! Brad's parents saw Bobby and they thought it was great.

On a more serious note...

We are asking for prayers...not just that God will show us what's next but that we'll be smart enough to recognize it when God shows it to us. And that we'll have the courage to walk the path God wants us to take.

We came, we saw, we trotted

Brad and I had a great time running the Turkey Trot this morning along with about 5,000 of our closest friends! Seriously! There were well over 5,000 people there. It was great. Not sure what our finish time was. Since there were so many people, the clock at the finish line wasn't accurate so we'll find out later today or tomorrow when they post the times online. Now, we are beginning our holiday ritual of making entirely too much food for two people. We're having pumpkin bisque, ham, Bonaduce dressing, sweet potato casserole, Skoby's corn, and pumpkin crisp. Ok, maybe that's not too bad! Hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving!! I'm so blessed that God brought each of you into my life!

MO Better Turkeys!

WHITE HOUSE (AP) - President Bush spares two turkeys from dinner
tables tomorrow, and is instead sending them to Disneyland.
In a Rose Garden ceremony this morning, the president pardoned
two southwest Missouri turkeys -- Flyer and Fryer.
In addition to the pardons, the president said that the relieved
birds will be flown today to Disneyland to serve as the honorary
grand marshals of the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Bush said his dog Barney chased one of the birds in the Rose
Garden before the pardoning ceremony.
The turkeys were raised near Monett, and chosen by National
Turkey Foundation chairman Mike Briggs. He's president of Willow
Brook Foods in Springfield, Missouri.

Editorial note from blogger: Mike Briggs was in the group with which I traveled to China in April, 2005!

Gobble, gobble

Hope all of you are planning on a groovy Thanksgiving! As I've mentioned, we'll participate in the Turkey Trot bright and early...speaking of bright and early...Brad had to work last night and I woke up at 3:30AM and could NOT go back to sleep. After tossing and turning, I finally turned on the light and read my book for about 1 and a half hours! I turned out the light and tried to go back to sleep. Not a chance. I got out of bed at 5AM, got ready and came to work. I figure I can get things done and start my long holiday weekend early. I'm armed with apple bran muffins and some decaf from Starbucks. Cheers and Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

Someone Still Loves You

We've got a live broadcast today from a local band called Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. They're a great indie rock band that did an accoustic set for us. Very groovy tunes!

I'm pumped about heading to St Louis tomorrow. Seeing Spamalot will be a blast!

For next week, no big turkey day plans. Brad and I are thinking about running Thursday morning in the Turkey Trot. It's a 5K. We haven't done one since the summer. It's also a fundraiser so it's for a good cause (besides getting your own rump in shape...ha!). Later Thursday, we'll probably make some kind of yummy foodstuffs. We'll share Thanksgiving with each other and our lovely kitties.

I got interviewed this week by the editor of a local magazine. It's for a feature called "My Favorite Things." This editor, Greg and I went to the same J-School so we've known each other for a while. He's a hoot and asked some amusing questions:

1. What was your favorite cartoon when you were a kid? Tom and Jerry
2. Favorite footwear? my flip flops from Hawaii
3. Favorite musician? Hem, Nat King Cole
4. Favorite book? The Tall Woman by Wilma Dykeman and Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
5. Favorite pet? Well, I just bragged on Little Buddy and Pierre Clovis...Greg thinks the name Clovis is a scream

Now, on a more serious note...

Pray for my sister, Weed. She's preparing for a mission trip to Timbuktu. I'm so excited for her and her team. But I want to send them off with loads of prayers. They will be doing "prayer walks" through villages and ministering to adults and children. Pray that their efforts will be blessed and that these people will come to know Christ.

Almighty Miracles

Ok, you're allowed to roll your eyes as you read this: Last night, we watched Bruce Almighty on DVD. I'm not a huge Jim Carey fan and this movie was far from fabulous. But there were some good quotes. The premise is that Jim Carey's character, Bruce is really unhappy with how things are going in his life (Brad and I were quite amused that he plays a local TV reporter who wants to be an anchor). So, he cries out to God and blames God for his problems (sound familiar, anyone?). Well, God arranges for a meeting with Bruce and God is played by the incredible Morgan Freeman. In the end, lessons are learned and all is well. I really liked it when Morgan Freeman's God character imparts some wisdom, noting that real miracles happen all around us: "A single mom who's working two jobs, and still finds time to take her son to soccer practice, that's a miracle. A teenager who says "no" to drugs and "yes" to an education, that's a miracle. People want me to do everything for them. What they don't realize is *they* have the power. You want to see a miracle, son? Be the miracle." The bottom line? Miracles happen in our lives. We just have to be awake enough to see them. And we have the capacity by living Christian lives to have God work miracles through us, miracles that make the lives of those around us better. I just took a lot away from those lines. Be the miracle. I like that.

Hope you are having a lovely Thursday!!

Ratherisms

For those who found Dan Rather's election night rants amusing, here are a few gems (and check out the SNL transcript at the bottom):

Dan Ratherisms
--------------
The Wit and Wisdom of Dan Rather
Election Night 2004/2002/2000

"Do you hear that knocking...President Bush's re-election is at the
door."

"This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex."

"His lead is as thin as turnip soup."

"This race is humming along like Ray Charles."

"The presidential race is swinging like Count Basie."

"This race is hotter than the Devil's anvil."

"Ohio becomes like a sauna for the two candidates. All they can do is
wait and sweat."

"One's reminded of that old saying, 'Don't taunt the alligator until
after you've crossed the creek.'"

"This situation in Ohio would give an aspirin a headache.''

"Bush is sweeping through the South like a big wheel through a cotton
field."

Of course, my personal favorite is Darrell Hammond doing a dead on impersonation of Dan Rather on SNL...in the sketch, he's projecting that celebrity journalists have certain diseases...it's a scream:

"Alright, folks. This has been a night of surprises, and here's one more. Carl, go down to the basement. Mabel, get in here, take your clothes off, and put these shoes on. Also the hat. Now, put one leg up on that chair, arch your back and listen to this, ‘cause it’s a humdinger. [ pause ] CBS News is now projecting that Walter Cronkite has gonorrhea. Now, with anthrax, scurvy, and yellow fever, the last thing he needs is the clap. But he's got it, and he's got it good. If I was a betting man, I'd say his chances of survival are slim and none - and slim just left town."

Slow Poke

Sorry gang...I've been a terrible slow poke about posting. So what's new? Well, we went to watch UT play the University of Arkansas. What a disaster of a game that was! The best part was getting yelled at by Arkansas fans who obviously have a monopoly on classy behavior. *eye roll* Ah...seeing a sorority sister chuck a beer bottle in some bushes downtown...that's magic. We actually did have a great time. The real best part was spending the day with Brad and having a late dinner at P.F. Chang's. We had never eaten there before and it was SO FABULOUS!! We're off to St Louis this weekend to see Spamalot. I know it will be hilarious (we listened to the soundtrack on our road trip last weekend). Hope you all are having a good week...They're talking about the possibility of snow tomorrow. What fun!

Election night

Well, the polls closed hours ago. I had to stand in line 20-25 minutes to get to vote. There's record turnout around here. Now, results are coming in. It's going to be a long night for Brad and me as the senate race in Missouri still looks very close. I hope all of you voted! Have a great night!

The President came and went. It was fine. I wasn't close to the prez at all. The press is always kept at bay. I will admit it was cool to ride in the motorcade but they didn't make any unscheduled stops so there wasn't anything exciting to cover. Sounds like my student reporter who covered the protests had all the fun. They had an "Uncle Sham" doll, a coffin marked "democracy" and "Hail to the Thief" signs. They're creative, I'll give them that!

On to the fun stuff tonight...I bought a new black pantsuit to wear to the fundraiser. Should look snazzy after I get my hair done this afternoon. I've got my faux fur cheetah coat too. Meow!

It's COLD here. My toes were numb by the time Air Force One landed last night at the airport. Of course, the reporters were coralled on a flat bed truck on the tarmac and had to stand there til it was "all clear." How thrilling.

I'll be glad to get through the election. That will be a long night. Maybe then I can rest up a little. Have a super weekend, everyone!!

He's the Prez-o-dent!

President Bush is coming to town this week. That means total craziness for me because I will be covering the visit. I will get to ride in the motorcade. WHOO-HOO! Ok, it's not as impressive as it sounds. It's not like I'll get to sit in the limo with the Prez.

I can't WAIT for the election to be over...not only because that will allow me to slow down a little at work but because I'm tired of the TV airwaves being inundated with ignorant political ads: "Don't vote for Jane Doe. She hates puppies." ARGH!!

But AFTER the Prez, tomorrow evening Brad and I will get to help with the Friday Night TV Dinner. It's a fundraiser for public TV. There's a silent auction, delicious dinner, and dancing. Should be a blast.