Christmas card rejects!

Too blurry.
(HUGE dogfight right after this was snapped, btw.)

Too unruly!

Yikes. Ghost dog! Too scary.

Too smoky.

Hey, finally! A good one! Oh, wait...you can see the package of turkey hot dogs I was using to keep May Bee's attention.

Oh, cute! I'll use THIS one! Wait...hold on. On second thought,
that hot dog package could NOT be more unfortunately placed.

This reject has been so unanimously popular,
it might actually make it onto the card.

That third cup of nog was a mistake.

CUTE! Oh, wait. The stupid hot dog package ruins yet another photo. (Maybe I should put the hot dog bites in my mouth, like the dog trainers in the movie Best in Show!)

WRONG!!!! This will NOT be on anyone's Christmas card.
(This one made Karen laugh hysterically as she tried to sputter, "CANIS!" Remember the SNL commercial for a cologne called Canis? No? Good.)

Argh. May Bee! Quit obsessing with the stupid hot dogs!
They're TURKEY dogs, anyway.

"Okay. Let's call it a wrap. May Bee just ate the ball off the Santa hat."

I'm in!

Count me IN! I know my parents and (AMAZING) siblings will be so relieved that they won't be getting a lame tie or knick-knack mailed from Texas this year. (Right, Russ? Remember how much you liked those stuffed Mexican frogs?)

So, anyway, this year, the grownups in my family are only getting a Christmas card, but my nieces and nephews are all getting DVDs. Cinema classics that everyone should watch! (Also known as "lame ones.")

God in my bloodstream...

This passage from Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love stopped me dead in my tracks:

"If faith were rational, it wouldn't be--by definition--faith. Faith is belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch. Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark. If we truly knew all the answers in advance as to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity; it would just be...a prudent insurance policy.

I’m not interested in the insurance industry. I’m tired of being a skeptic, I’m irritated by spiritual prudence and I feel bored and parched by empirical debate. I don’t want to hear it anymore. I couldn’t care less about evidence and proof and assurances. I just want God. I want God inside me. I want God to play in my bloodstream the way sunlight amuses itself on water."

Wow. (Betcha' wish you had this book in your hands, huh?)

Ready for Thursday?

Snugglebunnies!

Kake-1. Kristy-0.

Oh, what a horrible night! Apparently, old ladies should not eat kake at Kake & Karaoke and then expect to sleep. I had an all-night tummy ache after sampling so much "kake." (Maybe spelling it with a "k" is what did it. So wrong.)

In happier times, before the kake sampling began. This red velvet cake, with a DELICIOUS secret ingredient in the frosting, was fun to make because Kirsten and her trusty KitchenAid came to the rescue. (I don't know that I've ever made frosting from scratch before. Or a cake, for that matter.) So fun! Check out the swans filled with Red Hots...yum!

And while my cake got points for sentimental value (honoring the upcoming nuptials of Lloyd & Dianne--the FIRST wedding in our new building), it didn't win. An amazing peanut butter & Oreo cake with chocolate drizzle was the clear crowd favorite, meaning that the youth group leaders win again this year. (They're gonna' be so conceited.)

Oh, and the karaoke...who knew it was so much fun? If you have to be up all night, sick to your stomach, it's no small mercy to still be chuckling at the thought of "Love Shack" and "Crazy Train"...and your sister performing"Play That Funky Music, White Boy."

You missed the NPR puzzle? No biggie.

Did you miss this morning's NPR puzzle? No worries! It was my day to type up the NPR puzzle transcription and send it out across the globe. (And by "across the globe," I mean lots of people in the U.S. and that one guy in Australia. Oh, and I think there's some lady in Deutschland.)

Click HERE to read the puzzle and play along! And if you'd like to get the puzzle delivered to YOUR email Inbox each week, look for the "Join this group" option after you follow the link.

Sunday so far: Up early to tape/type/transcribe puzzle, walked two dogs in the GORGEOUS sunshine, bought work gloves at Big Lots (isn't it great how weird Big Lots is...have you seen the plastic Elvis guitar filled with popcorn? Deliciously tacky!), and listened online to Sunday Baroque and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!.

Next up? Finishing up the church bulletin, working on an online 8th grade scavenger hunt, and setting up a VCR to tape tonight's America's Funniest Home Videos so I can catch Linda's cat, Archie, tonight!
Linda and I laugh about our love for our flawed animals...we don't think they are mean, but rather misunderstood. When people call Archie "Satan Spawn" or when May Bee is referred to as "Devil Dog," we are the first to jump to our pets' defense. And if you love flawed creatures as much as we do, you will LOVE Berke Breathed's latest interview. (He doesn't give interviews often; you'd better check it out!)

Who knows if Breathed is awesome because he is a Texan or Texan because he is awesome (chicken vs. egg), but he has been a hero of mine for ages. There is no telling how much money I've dropped on Bloom County-related books and merchandise over the years...I'm a sucker for that penguin. (So is Harper Lee! She actually wrote Breathed and asked him to reconsider sending Opus off gently into that good night.)
Can't wait for church tonight, btw. I know there's going to be a surprise announcement that's going to elicit GASPS of disbelief. As church bulletin-typer-upper, I'm sometimes privy to the congregational grapevine. (Karen's face as the announcement is made will probably rival anything Archie is going to do on AFV!)

P.S. If you really did read that Berkeley Breathed interview, you'll know how a picture snapped of one of the dogs rescued from Michael Vick's foul compound inspired the comic to write his first novel. That photo is HERE.

P.P.S. Please consider supporting the Best Friends shelter or subscribing to Best Friends magazine. NO MORE HOMELESS PETS!!

Happy Halloween!

Why not have TWO Philadelphia-related blogs in a row? Happy Halloween, everybody!
Hope you aren't egged or TPd tonight!

(Take in your pumpkins, y'all...)

FUN weekend!!!

Linda's 50th Surprise Birthday Party Weekend started with a trip to BILLADELPHIA'S (restaurant review here) with the Bush family (full story here), where you can get real Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks on Amoroso rolls...with birch beer...

...and Italian water ices (WAAAY better than snow cones)...

...and TASTYKAKES!!! The HOLY GRAIL of Pennsylvania cuisine!!!

They were out of my favorite, Koffee Kakes. (Yes, that's how they spell it...quit rolling your eyes.) I usually wouldn't tolerate such spelling tomfoolery, but these are a blast from the past!

In fact, Koffee Kakes are so amazing, it wouldn't matter if they called them "Cough-y Kakes."
I would gladly purchase them by the shopping cart. Or kart.

The karnage...a pizza steak wrapper, a Kandy Kakes sleeve--and a smile. :-)

Dan looked so content! They must be sneaking something narcotic into those Krimpets.

Then it was off to Plano to attend Linda's surprise party. (The Hostesses with the Mostest pose for a photo above.) We had a lot of fun getting to know each other and put faces to names while we waited for the birthday girl. Anne even got to hug old family friends!

Finally, after a few false alarms, the birthday girl arrived. Jessica answered the door, and the look on Linda's face when I stepped around the corner was one of pure puzzlement...and then everyone yelled "SURPRISE!"...and she finally realized what was going on!

Hugs all around!

Linda's baby picture, matted and awaiting notes from all the party goers.
(What a great idea, Anne!)

We laughed (and snapped pictures) ALL NIGHT LONG.

Professor McGonagall in the house!

Anne made the COOLEST movie, all about Linda's Favorite Things, plus a trivia quiz about the year 1959. (Seems like Linda actually *shares* a birthday with some of her favorite things, like Barbie, Alan Rickman, and Simon Cowell.) You heard right. She loves Simon Cowell. There's no accounting for taste...

CAKE!

Her gifts from the Abilene gang? English "biscuits" and tea...and
Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Staying up and talking with Falisha until 1:00 in the morning...
and still making it to church ON TIME!!

And finally, taking time to thank God for such wonderful friends, great food, and safe travels. I was able to stop at Central Market on the way home, get Karen two pounds of Seltzer's sweet Lebanon bologna, and still get the church bulletin printed on time!

The bushes outside Falisha's church were COVERED IN BUTTERFLIES this morning...
what a glorious way to start a Sunday...hope your weekend was wonderful, too!

Where are your Kleenex? Look around...

...cuz you're gonna' need 'em.

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo.

Thanks to Tammy Marcelain for sharing this. I always, always leave her blog or photo blog feeling inspired.

And now for the one that got me this morning before school. (Mom, you're so lucky you're OFF on Fridays. You can listen to StoryCorps every week without wrecking your mascara!)

Click here for this morning's StoryCorps interview with Willie Jefferson & Chloe Smith.

Happy Weekend, everybody!

P.S. Fingers crossed in hopes that Russ & Amanda Faye will have time to put up some Sweet Baby James pics this weekend...I think they're waiting to see if we Texas Folk will get in our cars and drive to NC because we're so photo-deprived!! Well, we cry "Uncle!"...or "AUNT," as the case may be!! PHOTOS!! We beg for PHOTOS!

(Did he turn out homely, and you don't want us to know? Well, we don't care! Post some snapshots, even if he looks like a Cabbage Patch Kid or Charles Kuralt!)

Jealous.

So Karen just called from Pennsylvania, telling me how beautiful Wes & Joelle's wedding was, and what a fine job Dad did with the ceremony, and how great the groomsmen looked in their kilts, and how Houston's "Best Man" toast was a hit...

...and how great the food is (V&S Sandwiches and Mike's, but ran out of time before Paolo's), and how fresh the air smells, and how GORGEOUS the colors are right now...

...and how Mom, who broke her ribs in a fall Monday (three days into her Poconos vacation and five days before Wesley's wedding) is actually doing okay, thanks to her "Texas tough" attitude and some really good painkillers.

All week long I've been fretting about Mom's fall and how awful it was and how poorly-timed and how it could ruin her trip and make travel extra painful. One night, as I lay praying and worrying, God reminded me that three years ago, we went to The Poconos with Mom for what doctors predicted could be her last time (see photos above). Diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia (BOOP), she was told she might only live for three more years...

...which really puts a few cracked ribs into perspective...

LOVE YOU, MOM!
GOOD JOB, DAD!
GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS, WES & JOELLE!
GODSPEED, KAREN & HOUSTON!

And for Russ & me, who were unable to make the trip...the Pity Party ends tomorrow morning, when the Wedding Revelers have to drag themselves to work and school, dog tired, while we show up, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. (Or as bushy-tailed as you can be when you share a sleep schedule with a newborn...)

Husband? I don't need no stinkin' husband! :-)

Who needs a husband when you're an honorary Schumann and
FIVE MEN FROM GERMANY
will fix your car with a Phillips screwdriver and a two-by-four?

At one point, I offered Dirk (wielding the bed slat below) a bottle of my finest Lambrusco (quit laughing). He joked that only street people drink Lambrusco. (Well, street folk and librarians on a budget, apparently.)

So, as a feeble gesture to repay their kindness, I'm treating his wife, Tina, to a night on the town next week!

They were the absolute coolest. The finest. And now der Wagen is no longer kaput!! I can experience the joy of Fahrvergnugen once again...

Ann Arbor...so far

Trees. Real ones.

Fat squirrels with big, bushy tails...
instead of those red, half-starved ones we have.

Rain.

Ducks out the window.

Good conversation.

Loot.

Sports fanatics checking the score.

Old friends...who somehow knew to color coordinate!

Team Apps.

The most amazing food...in copious amounts!

Great wall art!

And finally, t-shirt shopping downtown after dinner!!

More database meetings tomorrow...so happy! It's hard to get anyone to talk databases to me in Abilene! (One librarian had a colleague ask if she were attending "NerdFest" this weekend, but I personally prefer "Burning Nerd"...)

My "take it easy" weekend...

Okay, I'm all relaxed and comfy in my recliner. Time to add a little text to the photos I posted earlier about my way-too-busy weekend. I'm supposed to be "taking it easy" these days...

...but Marty's only gonna turn 40 once...and Belva made the yummiest margaritas...

...and there's no way I could skip the Memory Walk!
(Even if they wouldn't let me walk and put me at the Forget-Me-Nots volunteer table, instead.)

So these WONDERFUL young men from the AHS football team helped run the Forget-Me-Nots, each with the name of a loved one with Alzheimer's, to six locations all around the zoo. As walkers passed the stations, they would see the name of the loved one they held in the air during the Opening Ceremony.

Can you see Lea Emma's forget-me-not? Later, Karen planted her forget-me-not right beside this one. (Oh, and we found her red tribute flag along the walk...upside down! Trust our red-headed grandmother, Lea Emma Fowler, to be different!)

I love the bonding going on in this picture...both sets!

Then, after the walk, TEXAS AUTHOR KATHI APPELT signed the Madison library copy of her award-winning book, The Underneath, right before the Books and Boots Luncheon where she received the A.C. Greene award!

For Renee and me, this was like meeting a ROCK STAR!

Marty and Mike Renfro, the author of Shine On: 100 Years of Shiner Beer. Kirsten is going to take her brother to the brewery this Christmas...and if I'm lucky, I'll get to come, too! (Until then, I'll just have to wait until Dan lends me the *signed copy* Kirsten bought him...)

There is no entertainment like the Hardin-Simmons Cowboy Band.
Period.
Let's hope they come back every year!

Oh, and did I mention that this weekend is also the Balloon Festival? (Also known as "Our Dogs' 48-Hour Freakout.")

These photos are taken from our YARD Saturday afternoon. People in the hot air balloons, including one of my students, hollered greetings down at me and the traumatized canines.

And then, to make up for all the calories consumed at Belva's house and the Books & Boots Luncheon (catered by Harold's Barbecue, y'all!), here was my dinner Saturday night.

(Well, veggies and a "diet" mojito...so not entirely innocent.)

What a great weekend! I don't know how Kirsten avoided getting her photo taken...I was armed with the school camera this weekend, and clicked anything that moved! We both enjoyed all of the luncheon's speeches, especially the ones about Shiner and crusty old LBJ.

UPDATE: I just looked at this blog and realized that I'm HUGE compared to Ms. Appelt and Renee. I look like some kind of freaky Steroid Librarian, fixin' to stomp my way through the Hall of Authors like Godzilla, leaving a trail of splintered destruction in my path...

Babies and jackasses agree.

Now, I'm not saying Kanye was *right* or anything, but...this baby likes the Beyonce video.

A LOT.