Nae-Nae's World

And I'm Still Alive

2005-11-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

I was told today that I really do need to start blogging again. Supposedly there are people out there who find me humorous. Thanks guys! It's nice to know there are others in this world with the same strange sense of humor as me. Most people just look at me oddly. Anyways, I do have some things I want to write about, I just have to find the time to write them. I haven't felt well lately and am extremely tired and stretched to thin. I sort of feel like Charlie Brown on Halloween- to many holes in my sheet, and nothing but rocks in my bag. Sorry I'm sounding whiny, it's just who I am. I just wanted to let everyone who reads this know that I'm still alive!

Pants

2005-08-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Who made your pants? Yesterday one of the doctors that I work with was very proud of his pants. We didn’t know this until after we had teased him. His shirt and pants were brown. This of course brought up the UPS commercials “What Can Brown Do For You?” He laughed at this, but didn’t find it nearly as funny as we did.

Excuse me for a moment, I have to sign for a package. I really do. The UPS man is really here.

Back to my story. This doctor was really proud of his pants. It seems that these pants were custom tailored just for him. He had on pants that cost more than my wedding ring and all we could say was “What can brown do for you?” I find this very funny. This brings me back to my opening question. Who made your pants?

I have no idea who made my pants. I bought them at Wal-Mart. I also have some from Target. The doctor knows who made his pants. He’s met the tailor and talked with him. The tailor measured him specifically for those pants. My pants were probably made in Taiwan by someone I will never meet or see.

I like pants. I wear pants almost everyday. Now don’t look like that. Some days I wear dresses. The point is I wear these things all the time and I don’t know whose hands have been on my pants.

So, if you live in Taiwan and you sew pants for a living drop me a line. I’d like to get to know you. It’s always nice to know where your pants have been.

He Spoke

2005-07-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

A dear friend asked me if I would help her out. I immediately said “Sure”! Then she proceeded to ask me to write about how God had been working in my life lately. I wanted to say “Nope”, but you really can’t do that after such a confident “Sure”! The lesson here is never say sure until you’re sure you’re sure.

Five years ago, I heard the voice of God. He spoke to me in that still quiet voice and told me that my husband was going to be a minister. Huh! Say what! Then one day about a week later, my husband, who was a very new Christian, told me that he thought maybe being a minister would be an interesting job. There was my confirmation from God.

Another year went by. My husband was not pursuing a career in ministry and that was fine with me. Not that I had anything against it, but, we were pretty comfortable in the life we were living. One morning on the way to church I saw a couple of homeless people walking down the highway. In our small town with two railroads running through it, this was not an uncommon sight. But then God spoke again. He told me that my husband was going to be in ministry to homeless people. “Well, if you say so Big Guy.” Then he confirmed it again. This time was different. My pastor likes to say that God never does a story the same way twice, and I would agree. I began to notice what a special place the down and out held in my husband’s heart. When we would see them by the road, my husband would do what he could for them. Whether it was a meal, a few dollars, a tank of gas, of just a silent prayer, he always acknowledged that these people were in need. This was very different from my style of dealing with the problem. I had always looked the other way. There was nothing I could do, so why should I depress myself because of these peoples situation. Through my husband I saw God’s heart for the down and out. There beside me was the confirmation that I needed.

We continued to live our comfortable life for another two years. Then last fall God began to speak again. There was no still quiet voice this time. It was actually a bit of a nagging voice, and at times, it wasn’t so quiet. God can be like that when he needs to. He does whatever is necessary to get your attention. He got our attention. For a very long time I had been dreaming about moving to the mountains. It’s cool, quiet and beautiful there. That is where I wanted to live. God had other plans. He very clearly directed us the opposite way. He was telling me that we were to move to a large city south of our small town. It was large, hot, and loud, and very definitely not where I wanted to live. But when I asked my husband what God had been saying to him, he confirmed it. We would live in large, hot, and loud.

In October we got serious about moving. We decided that December would be the perfect time to make our leap of faith. The school I worked at would be closed for the holidays and by quitting his job as a prison guard at that time he could easily turn over his duties to someone else and have lots of time built up that he would be paid for. We were concerned that since we would be moving to a larger city we would need another vehicle. Without even knowing the situation we were in, some pastor friends who were moving out of state offered to give us a car they didn’t want to take. Wow!

Everything began to fall into place. By the middle of December, we both quit our jobs and got ready to go. We had trouble finding a place to live that would allow us to have pets and that we could afford, but on December 23 we found that too. On December 29, we loaded almost everything we owned in a U-Haul and then we didn’t go anywhere. On New Years Eve we loaded some more of almost everything we owned and still didn’t go anywhere. On New Years Day we loaded up more, and this time, we left. We left a lot of stuff in storage, we left a lot of stuff with friends, we left a lot of stuff in the house. I took us about two weeks to get moved. Luckily we were moving less than 100 miles.

Then life got interesting. Neither of us could find a job and our daughter didn’t like her new school. We did have a few bright spots in that we found a wonderful church almost immediately, and my husband continued to receive a paycheck through March. In February my husband accepted a job with a large retail home and garden store stocking shelves at night. Even though there were no homeless people at that store, we felt like that was where God wanted him.

For the next three months life passed, but not very comfortably. My husband did not like his job, and we really couldn’t figure out why he was there. At the beginning of May I was offered a job with a mental health agency. I was hired to work at the front desk and help clients as they came in. Many of our clients were homeless, or had been at some point. This was a little bit closer to what we felt we were supposed to be doing, but what about my husband.

One morning at the end of May he came home on a Friday morning very upset about some things that had taken place the night before at work. I told him that since I was working now, he could quit if he wanted. After a lot of prayer, he did just that. By Saturday morning we were a one income family again. Then God spoke.

In the Sunday paper was an ad for a job as an advocate for the homeless. The ad stated that they would prefer to have someone with a degree in social work. I showed the ad to my husband and told him to submit his resume even though he didn’t have the degree. The worst that could happen is that they wouldn’t call. But, they did. He interviewed. He got the job. We now believe that he had the job he didn’t like so he would be available when this, the job God intended for him, became available.

Some people wouldn’t call what we’re doing a ministry, but I believe that it is. I also believe that God is using this experience to teach us things that we will need to know in the future. The last six months have been an amazing time for us. Every day we see God moving in our lives. Our prayer is to be in the center of His will and constantly moving in the direction he wants us to go.

FYI: I left out some of the more curious details of our adventure. Maybe I’ll write snippets of those in the future. I’m also sure that this story will continue. After all, we are living it at this very moment.

Purple

2005-07-18T15:49:00.000-07:00

This is Purple

Quote Of The Day

2005-05-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

As I was cleaning out the lint filter on my dryer, my husband walked up and announced,
"Lint is like rotten cotton candy."
Okay, if you say so dear.

Trivia Question

2005-05-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

I was watching SNL last Saturday and on a highly inapropriate skit they made a reference to the planet Blargon 7. For five days now I have been driving myself crazy trying to figure out where I've heard someone else on TV mention this planet. Today I finally figured it out. Does anyone else remember where this planet was mentioned? Jami, If you really think, I'm almost positive you'll remember it. Figure it out and I'll babysit all three at once for you. To anyone else who knows, Congratulations!

Where Have I Been?

2005-05-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

So, I got a job. I work eight hours a day at a mental health office. It is a very interesting job in a very interesting place. I'm enjoying it alot, but it's very different working eight hours a day. It doesn't leave me with a whole lot of time for blogging, or even thinking lots of funny thoughts.
I forgot my phone number today. I called the wrong number four times before I understood why neither my husband nor my voicemail was answering. I wrote my phone number down on the bottom of my desk calender - a cheat sheet if you will. I'm also considering making up business cards that have my phone number and say "In case I'm lost, this is my phone number. Please call my husband or my eight year old. They will know what to do with me." I will carry these in my purse. Sometimes I feel as if I should be on the other side of the glass at my job.
I think I need to go to bed now, while I can still remember where it is.

P.S. I will also put the address to this blog on my business card. That way when they find me they can read these pages and have a clue as to what my problem is.

Strange Sight

2005-04-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

I saw a pirate riding a bicycle today. He was wearing a backpack with what appeared to be a sword sticking out. It was very interesting.

A Poem For Jami

2005-04-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

My best friend ran away today,
I think she may have went to Maine.
Those three kids caused it,
Of this I'm sure.
Something about a bug,
In the bedroom floor.

My best friend ran away today,
I think she may have went to Maine.
She told Kurt he could go along to help drive.
She may have left him,
Beside I-25.

My best friend ran away today,
I think she may have went to Maine.
She drove along and missed her kids,
Miles passed and hours whizzed.
She turned around and came back home,
She picked up Kurt beside the road.

My best friend ran away today,
I think tomorrow she'll go the other way.

Does Anyone Know My Phone Number?

2005-04-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

I slept in this morning. Not an unusual thing for those of you who know me. I was awakened by the phone ringing. I wasn't going to answer it. Also, not an unusual thing. A sudden thought occurred to me though. I interviewed for a job last week and they were going to call me today if I got the job. It could be my future on the phone. I jumped up and stumbled into the living room. One look at caller i.d. told me that, yes, it was my future calling. But, could I get to the phone in time? Of course not. But that's okay, because I have handy, dandy, voicemail. Voicemail is very simple to use. All you have to do is dial in your home phone number, then hit a button, then put in a pin number, then hit another number for the message you want, and so on. I dialed and waited for husband's pleasant, okay disgruntled, voice to answer. The voice that answered was not my husband. Uh-Oh!! Brain Freeze! "I'm sorry, I think I have the wrong number." How can I have the wrong number, I called my home phone number. Then it happened, I realized I didn't know my home phone number. This has happened one other time, at Bath and Body Works. The lady asked for my number and I gave her what I'm pretty sure was my best friends number, three years ago. Lucky for me my eight year old was there to roll her eyes at me and then give the woman our correct phone number. My eight year old wasn't home to tell me my phone number today. I came into the bedroom and poked at my husband a few times while quietly saying, "Honey, what's our phone number?". He didn't even budge. He does work nights and had only been asleep for about two hours. That's why I didn't poke harder and yell at him. Plus he would have made fun of me. I contemplated who else in the world knew my phone number. I could call my mom, or my best friend. Sure these are both long distance calls, but it would be worth it. Wait, no it wouldn't, they would have made fun of me too. Just then I spotted my cell phone. Yes, my number was on there. Let me tell you, that was a close one. I would have had to wait until three o'clock when my daughter came home otherwise. I checked my voicemail, I got the job. Now they want a statement of mental health and a drug test. Do you think they've heard something?

So I Write About Food A Lot!

2005-04-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

My Mom has pointed out in some of her comments that she feels I have an obsession with food. Well, maybe I do and maybe I don't. Let's see, I've mentioned food or eating food in six of eleven posts. I have a dog named Tater Tot, and two cats, Jellybean and Cheesy. Yes, I can see how people would think that I'm obsessed with food. But, it's just not so. It simply happens to be that I find great humor in food! Maybe tomorrow something funny will happen to me in the shower. After all, I hardly ever eat in there!

Where Did All The Scratch Go?

2005-04-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite childhood memories is of having cookies in Nanny's kitchen that she made from scratch. She made lots of things from scratch - cookies, cakes, pies, dinner. They were all wonderful! When I left home and got married I started learning how to cook. We ate a lot of Hamburger Helper. Then I started using a cook book. I thought I would learn how to make things from scratch. For some reason they never tasted quite like Nanny's. Yes, they were homemade, but there was something missing. It took several years, and then one day it hit me. The Scratch was missing! Here I was all that time thinking that scratch meant the same thing as homemade. But no-no, I have since discovered that Scratch is an ingredient. Here is where the conspiracy theory begins.
In the 1800's Scratch was plentiful. Anyone could walk into the local general store and say "Hey Jeb, the misses needs a bucket of Scratch." To which Jeb would reply, "That'll be 25 cents oldtimer!" Scratch was available to everyone, Union or Confederate. Those were the days! Then in the early 1900's Jeb got an idea. He knew people wanted and needed Scratch, so he began to raise prices. People noticed that Scratch was making more of a dent in there grocery bill, but they didn't care because it was such wonderful stuff. Then the depression hit, and the hoarding began.
It started out innocently enough. Women began buying a little more Scratch than they needed and putting it away for a rainy day. Then they started buying a lot more Scratch than was necessary. Jeb could not keep up with the demand. When the drought hit Scratch became a scarce commodity, and for awhile became the number one seller on the black market. It wasn't many years before the only Scratch to be had was often hidden under beds, inside shoe boxes, and many times in a dark corner of the cellar.
My Nanny had some Scratch hidden away. She may still have a tiny stash that she puts in the fruitcake at Christmas. These days the Schwann man comes to visit, and meals at my Nannys have never been the same.
I went to a birthday party a few nights ago. A woman there had made coconut cream pie. I could distinctly taste the Scratch in that pie. She had used a lot of the stuff! She must have a lot of Scratch stored up to make pie like that. I'm also pretty sure she has a coconut tree hidden somewhere because that pie was GOOD! Here's the sad part though - my daughter didn't like the pie. She said it was because it had coconut in it, but I'm almost positive that it was because the taste of Scratch is so foreign to her.

What Kind of Soup Are You?

2005-04-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

This morning when my husband came in from work, I groggily rose to the surface of the awake world. He came in to give me a “Honey I’m home / Good Morning” kiss. Seeing that I had managed to open one eye he said, “Do you know why I love you?” My response, in my head was, “Because I’m cute.” What came out was, “spethudumscoot.” He asked me to repeat myself, which I did. "Spethudmscoot!" His reply was “Did you say, I am soup?” Okay, that works too. I am soup. I like this. I AM SOUP! I think it will be my new motto. Now, I just have to figure out what kind of soup I am. Lying in bed this morning I was probably closest to chicken noodle- at least my brain was. Now, at bedtime I feel more like vegetable soup. Who knows what I’ll be tomorrow. Maybe cream of celery. If I have to be cream of celery, at least I’ll be cute cream of celery.

That's Just Not Right

2005-04-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

I was reading the newspaper today. There was a very nice article about a local boys choir going on tour in London. The newspaper chose to let a fourteen year old chronicle his experience for the story. Now this is all fine and good, except that this child was just plain rude. In the local newspaper he wrote that you can go to the mall at home and every four or five steps you see and ugly person. In London on the other hand he only saw four or five ugly people excluding the old people. What!!? As one of the local people who goes to the mall, I am highly offended! I don't care if this kid thinks everyone in town is ugly, it had no place in a story about his choir's trip to London! Thanks for allowing me to rant for a moment!

AnnaMamaVersary

2005-04-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

AnnaMamaVersary. That is an interesting word. I would like to take a little time to explain how it came to be. Two years ago Husband, my very dear sweet Husband, didn't get me a Mothers Day gift. He said he simply didn't know what to get me. I'm a present person. I really like to, and most holidays, sadly enough, I expect to receive them from my Husband and Daughter. That sounds very materielistic, but it's true. I was very kind on this particular occasion, and let it go. I thought he would make up for it on our anniversary a few weeks later. The BIG DAY came, the big day went. No gifts. I was mildly upset. That is a very big understatement. Once again, he didn't know what to get me. I told him that he could have at least tried. I stewed for a few days, then I came up with a plan. I decided to hold an AnnaMamaVersary!! I told Husband, and at first he thought I was just joking. He soon found out just how serious I was. I reminded him about the impending AnnaMamaVersary at least five, maybe ten times a day. I told him exactly what I expected of him when that day came. You know what? It worked! I got breakfast in bed, the watch I'd been looking at downtown, and a whole lot of love. I still wear the watch every single day, and Husband hasn't forgotton a holiday since. I Love that man, because he puts up with a whole lot when it comes to me!

Happy Birthday To You!

2005-04-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my friends Jami and Amy!! It's great having friends who are as old as I am! Remember, you're only as old as you feel! I feel about 45 today. How about you guys!

Great Things

2005-04-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

Sonic now accepts debit cards, at least where I live, right at the order box! I think that is GREAT!!

Prizes

2005-04-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid the greatest thing in the world was getting a prize out of the cereal box. Sure it was a piece of junk, but it smelled like Lucky Charms. Okay, so it usually smelled like Cheerios but you get the idea. Now, you hardly ever find prizes in cereal boxes. You have to collect the UPC's off the box, then send them in along with a couple of bucks. That's not a prize, it's just another cheap piece of junk for parents to buy. Who wants to pay postage for a cheap prize? Even Cracker Jack prizes aren't fun anymore; just another sticker or temporary tatoo. I found a prize yesterday. It wasn't in my cereal, or my Cracker Jacks. It was in the cat food. My husband lost his watch. When the alarm started beeping in the kitchen, I tried to track it down. The beeping was coming from the pantry?! I looked high and low, finally reaching my hand into the bag of cat food. What did I find? No, not the watch, but a strange metal object that in my mind did not belong in a bag of cat food. When I pulled it out it was a can of wet cat food with a coupon for more cat food. Well, that makes sense, sort of. You see this is not the first time we've found things in our cat food. One time we found a cat DVD! Why do my cats need a DVD about other cats? I guess the bottom line is I find it strange that my cats get more prizes out of their food than my daughter does. Oh, and I still haven't found that watch. I'm going to go watch my Meow Mix DVD now and have some Friskies Chicken Dinner in Gravy. I'm out of cupcakes.

Cupcakes

2005-03-29T20:12:00.000-08:00

I like cupcakes! They are becoming an addiction. I go to Wal-Mart, and buy a half dozen chocolate cupcakes at a time. I am very good, and only eat one a day. Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart. Not to buy cupcakes, but to buy rubbing alcohol. Now everyone knows that rubbing alcohol is on the other side of the store from the cupcakes. Yet somehow the first place I stopped was the bakery. They only had one package of a half dozen chocolate cupcakes. They had yellow icing and Shrek heads on them. The icing looked skimpy. Why should I waste almost three dollars for cupcakes with skimpy icing. But, they had a dozen chocolate cupcakes with huge piles of green icing. The only thing better than green would have been pink. Do I really need a dozen cupcakes. YES!! I have a husband and an eight year old. They'll help eat all those cupcakes. Have they helped? Not as much as I have. Now I eat two cupcakes a day. One with my daughter at dessert time, then the other secretly after she goes to bed. I'm eating a cupcake right now. I eat the bottom first and save all the icing until last. That is the best part you know! I find myself justifing the cupcakes with milk. You know they say you lose more weight if you consume at least four servings of dairy a day. Well, I have a big glass of milk with every cupcake. If you think I'm rambling it's probably all the sugar I've consumed! Does anyone know where I can find a Cupcake Eaters Anonomys meeting! I have to go now, I hear six little chocolate friends calling to me from the kitchen!

Dancing

2005-03-08T22:33:00.000-08:00

Last night Mackenzie and I were driving down the road going to Walmart. I sensed movement coming from the passenger seat. I tried to look at my eight year old out of the corner of my eye. What is she doing? I had to turn my head and see if she was doing what I thought she was. Yep, Mackenzie was doing the robot. Not bad either!

The Power of the Holy Spirit

2005-03-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

As Christians we know that God has sent his wonderful Spirit to reside in us. His word tells us that His Spirit is a Counselor (John 14:26) who will give us wisdom. As a child and teenager I was taught that the Holy Spirit can manifest Himself physically in our lives. The most common and recognized ways being that we can speak in other languages or tounges, or at times become completly overcome by the Spirit. I wonder about other tangible experiences of the Spirit though. This morning I was standing in church singing a praise and worship song. The entire room was really in a state of worship. All of the sudden every hair on my body stood on end and I began to feel tingly. I know in my heart that the Holy Spirit had just swept into that room in a tangible way. I felt the most amazing sense of sudden peace. This is not the first time this has happened to me and I certainly hope it is not the last. Has anyone else ever felt this? What other ways have you seen the Spirit manifest himself in your life?

2005-03-05T22:37:00.000-08:00

So, here is my first post. This blog is just to give everyone in my life, a glimpse at my world. It's not that interesting, but it's my world, and I think I'll keep it.