Seven Most Popular Resolutions

Whether or not you "make" resolutions, there is something about the fresh start of a new year that beckons us to "try, try again." So even if we have become jaded by our past failures to the point of refusing to make any formal resolutions, most of us, if we're willing to admit it, at least have some secret "desires," "goals" that we'd LIKE to accomplish in the coming year. If you DON'T have any goals...well, what do you hope to hit if you're not shooting at anything?

These are sort of an unofficial "compilation" of what seem to be seven of the most popular resolutions that people make for New Years. I looked at the "Top Ten" of about 5 different sites I found, and picked what I determined, in a completely non-scientific method, to be the top seven on average. Please note that these are NOT my resolutions!! I have added my comments and thoughts after each resolution.

1. Lose Weight--traditionally, I've always been underweight if anything, so this has never really made the list for me. The old metabolism is definitely slowing down now, but I think I'm still okay for this year. I think this is also probably one of the top two "quickly broken" resolutions...the other one being #2.
2. Exercise more...this one SHOULD be on my list, but I admit, it's not.
3. Quit smoking/drinking--I've never smoked, and I don't drink (alcohol that is--I'd hate to actually stop drinking anything!), so this one won't make MY list..but if you smoke, I encourage you to move this one up to the #1 spot!! Get a nice picture of the lungs of someone with lung cancer and post it around your house for a little motivation... If you drink, at least make sure that it's in moderation and that you never, ever, ever get behind the wheel after even ONE...
4. Spend more time with family & friends...well, I've never listed this as a "resolution," but I think it's an area we can all improve on, no matter how well we already do it! Relationships should matter more to us than anything!
5. Get out of debt/Make more money/stick to a budget...lots of variations on this one, but the goal in all of them is to have enough money and handle the money we have correctly. Definitely needs to be in MY top list!! I have no credit card debt, but the tons of medical bills last year have done massive damage to my financial position (and it wasn't that good to begin with!)
6. Get a Better Job (or a Raise)--I love my job, and it is a perfect fit for my skills--the raise would be nice, but I work for public transit so that's not likely. So, unless God has other plans, this one won't be on my list.
7. Help others/Volunteer--an admirable goal, certainly. I must admit this one's not on my list either, but not because I'm not interested in doing it--I guess it's more than I don't think of this as something to start doing, but just as a way of life; certainly, I could improve in this area, because I think it always helps us when we take our eyes OFF ourselves for a while...

Seven Things I've Enjoyed Doing this Christmas

It's Christmas time, one of my favorite times of the year, even if I DO hate the cold...

It's easy to get so caught up in all the "preparation" for Christmas that we never take time to actually enjoy the holiday itself...I'm sometimes guilty of that, no question...shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking all become the "important" stuff and suddenly it's Christmas Day and it's all just been one big blur and now it's OVER.
So it's important to take some time to ENJOY the season, not just "get ready" for it. To that end, these are some things I've done to really experience Christmas this year:
1. Our Choir Presentation--we did a presentation called "Peace on Earth" and I won't say it was my favorite, cause it wasn't, but I just love being a part of this. It's not just the final product, either--I actually enjoy the preparation part, learning the songs, singing them to myself over and over and reflecting on what they really say. I really don't sing well at all, but I am fortunate to be a part of the opportunity to just lift our voices in praise.
2. The Hanging of the Green service--this is one of my favorite services we have all year; we spend the service decorating the sanctuary--lots of different people get to participate, from kids to senior adults, and as each decoration goes up, we hear stories about how it came to be used in association with Christmas. And by the time it's over, our sanctuary looks like Christmas!!
3. The Living Christmas Tree--this is the second year my friends and I have gone to this, and I just love it. It is a production put on by another area church, but it's so big they do it at the University of Tennessee Basketball Arena! The "centerpiece" of the presentation is a HUGE Christmas tree structure that the choir actually climbs up into, so that the whole choir essentially forms a "living" tree shape. The presentation itself is usually a whole musical production--this year it was called "One Solitary Life" and showed in drama and song, the entire life of Christ. It was a good reminder that we celebrate Christmas, not just because of a baby born in a manger, but because of the life that baby lived, the death He suffered, and the victory He achieved for all of us! "He is Risen" should be the proclamation of Christmas as well as Easter.
4. Christmas Parties--I've gone to three this year, if you include the dinner and lightseeing trip with my friends (which I do...count it, that is). It's just a fun time to relax and enjoy the company of friends...even if we did have to spend one of them watching our Vols LOSE to LSU!
5. Surprises--I love surprises...when they involved being the recipient of something unexpected, it's sometimes hard for me to be a gracious "accepter" instead of just a giver...
This year has been a difficult one, financially, and some friends stepped in and played "Santa," providing something for my kids that I simply could not have done on my own. That means more to me than anything anyone could ever give me for myself...
6. Quiet moments--Sometimes, we just need to quit rushing and SIT. One of my absolute favorite things to do at Christmas is go into the living room late at night and turn off all the lights except for the Christmas tree, then just sit and look at the tree, the nativities (I have a bunch...) and enjoy the moment.
7. Christmas Eve--okay, so this hasn't happened yet, but I know I WILL do it (unless God has other plans) the same way as I've done it every year of my life. Our family will gather, eat dinner and then we will all sing Christmas songs--each person, starting with the youngest, gets to pick a song they want to hear and we all sing along. We're terrible singers, but it is one of the best moments of the whole year, because it is family time--we sing, we share memories, we just enjoy each other. It far surpasses the Christmas morning gift-opening as my favorite part of the season!

Seven Things To Be Thankful For

Now, here's a hard list...naming just seven things to be thankful for. I could list 7,000 things and still not be anywhere near finished.
1. My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ--the salvation I have because of Him, the blessings I have because of him, the gift of the Holy Spirit in my life.
2. The letter that I have from my Father that I get to read every day and remember how much He loves me...The Bible.
3. My family--I am the youngest of 5 "kids" (the oldest kid is now 56 years old...), and, while my Dad passed away almost 3 years ago, my mother is still here and in good health and we have LOADS of extended family...and we all enjoy each others' company. Today we had about 25 for Thanksgiving, not even that big a crowd for us.
4. My kids...I have two teenage boys, and they are just about the most awesome kids on the planet!
5. Health...though I have had some health struggles this year, still I am grateful that I can still get up and make it to work every day (well, MOST days), I can still take the stairs instead of the elevator, I can still take care of myself and my kids.
6. Books...I love to read, lots of different things, and I think we too often take for granted all the great literature we have at our disposal.
7. Music...although I can't sing well, I love music and I love to sing, and I am glad that we have a choir director that loves having even the untalented because he knows it's not about the quality of the choir voices, it's about the quality of the worship....
oh, and also: pie; clothes; a warm, cozy bed; laughter; FOOTBALL, basketball, soccer, baseball, and other sports; friends; teachers; American soldiers, past and present; missionaries; photography; computers (except when I get the BSOD, I'm hardly ever thankful for that); dishes and silverware (cause if I had to eat off the floor with my hands, well, I just don't know how grateful I'd really be about that); cats and dogs and marmosets and lemurs and tigers and giraffes and even monkeys, although NOT the evil flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz...I am definitely NOT thankful for them, because they scare the bejeebers out of me; VeggieTales; great movies, like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the Sting, Citizen Kane, even "newer" ones like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc; COLORS (just think, God could've made everything in halftone, or only produced Web Safe colors, and THAT would be borrriinnngggg; feet and lips, because where would you be without those (except NOT feet touching lips, that's just GROSS); bananas, CHERRIES, and blackberries; spinach and artichokes, even if they're together (unless there's like, a whole artichoke in your spinach, don't think that would be very tasty); Diet Dr. Pepper, IBC Cherry Limeade; Fire; Lights (can you imagine still having to do everything by candlelight or lantern? although we would probably all get to bed earlier at night...), candy corn, potato chips, cell phones, except for when people call me and I don't want to talk right then, or when I WANT to call someone and the thing won't work, or when I get the bill for the stupid thing; my JOB and almost all of the people I work for (if you work with me and you're reading this, YOU figure out which ones I mean...); the awesome little toys that I always get in my stocking...

Seven Places I've Never Gone...in my own Hometown

We go on vacation to see all the exciting things in other places, and we wonder aloud when our friends or family who live there say they've never been to some of the places the tourists all flock to. Then someone comes to visit US, and we find that we are just as guilty of ignoring the vacation in our own backyard.
So, the next time you need a break but can't quite afford the time or expense of a vacation, just take a day and pretend you've taken a trip, then go visit the sites that are all around you. What would some of those sites be for you?

My list of possible hometown vacation destinations:
1) Gatlinburg Ski resort--I've been to Gatlinburg for other things (only when I have no choice), but two major things keep me from skiing there: The Crowds, and the fact that I can't ski.
2) Three Rivers Rambler--this is a riverboat that travels down the Tennessee and has several "special" outings throughout the year, including a Christmas river ride. I think it also includes a meal on board. This is actually high on my list of things to do.
3) Downtown haunted walking tour--don't remember the name for this event, but it happens, of course, around Halloween every year. It is a walking tour around some of the more historic sites around the downtown area, replete with the tales about the spirits that allegedly haunt the area.
4) James White's Fort--at one point, I worked within easy walking distance of this site; it's still just a 5 minute bus ride away...but somehow I just never make it. James White was one of the city founders.
5) The Dogwood Trails--each Spring, the city hosts a Dogwood Festival which includes a number of trails in each area of town. The trails are all marked with painted dogwoods along the road, so you can drive the route without even a map. The nice thing is that these trails don't just take you to the great big, expensive "Home Beautiful" kind of homes--there are a variety of different areas, some are older neighborhoods and some are newer, but they are all beautiful at that time of year. I HAVE driven down some of the trails, but would like to visit every trail one year.
6) Hiking trails and waterfalls--We live close to the Great Smoky Mountains, where thousands of folks come just to hike and see some of the beautiful waterfalls...again, I HAVE done some of these but I'd love to add some new ones to my "completed" list (although I'll have to get the knees working a bit better...former soccer goalies don't make good old people!)
7) The Sunsphere--remnant of the World's Fair, the Sunsphere is one of the more popular landmarks downtown. I was there during the Fair, but in recent years it had been closed and in a bit of disrepair; it was re-opened to the public not long ago, and I keep meaning to go but just haven't made it yet.

Seven Excuses for Not Posting Blogs

1. I was too tired last night (and, evidently, the night before, and the night before that, and...)
2. I couldn't think of a good list (never seemed to stop me before!)
3. I've been too busy (true, but no more so than the last 17 years--the length of time I've been a parent!)
4. The computer ate my blog entry...well, it sounds better than the CAT eating my homework.
5. I got sucked into the black hole of READING blogs and ran out of time to post my own.
6. The Feds seized my computer after I hacked into.....um, never mind. (KIDDING! Just Kidding, really! I can barely get into my OWN computer sometimes...)
7. I just forget to sit down and do it...now, THAT's the truth!

Seven Special Days

Days can be "special" for many reasons, not always good ones. It may be a holiday we love, it may be an anniversary or birthday, or it may be the day a loved one died or tragedy struck. They are all moments in our lives to remember, whether they remind us of a cherished memory, or strike a chord of sadness in our hearts. I've tried in this list to avoid just listing a bunch of holidays, even though many of them truly are special days to me.

1. 9/11/01... a day that truly redefined infamy
2. The day my dad died, 1/22/05...I lost a hero, but not memories.
3. The day my grandmother died, 9/10/01...she was 98, and passed away just about 10 hours before tragedy struck our entire nation...
4. The day I became a Christian, 11/10/91...the BEST day will be when I see Jesus face-to-face!
5. The day my mother nearly died, 9/12/88...she collapsed in a courthouse waiting to be calling for jury duty and was taken to the hospital...they shocked her heart numerous times, and were about to declare the time of death when the ER Dr. saw her blink and insisted on one more try...she's still here, nearly 20 years later!
6. The birth of my sons (okay, it's cheating a bit, there's two dates involved...12/7/90 and 10/28/92...but NO WAY was I gonna list one ahead of the other, even though the list isn't in order!)
7. August 27, no particular year...this day is my mother's birthday, and it was also my grandmother's birthday, AND my great-aunt's birthday. It is also the anniversary of the day one of our church youth suffered 3rd & 4th degree burns over much of her body but miraculously survived...today she is a very dear friend of mine, and I'm sure glad she's still around!

Seven Things I Like About My Hometown

First, a note about yesterday's blog--never, ever talk too much about how much you like your job! Friday ended up being one of those days you wish you'd just stayed in bed!
I still like my job, but perhaps I should keep quieter about it!

I could probably come up with seven things I dislike about my hometown too, but on the whole, I love it here enough to put up with what I don't like about it...

1. It's home to the Tennessee Volunteers--football, basketball (now that Bruce Pearl's here!), you name the sport, we love our Vols!! They lost to Cal in their first game, they're behind right now to So. Miss, for goodness sake...but we still love our Vols!! And that leads me to:
2. Orange--where else could you go out shopping, or to a nice restaurant, dressed in what amounts to Hunter's Orange...and not even get noticed?! And while I'm on the Vols:
3. Rocky Top--I was at Walmart this morning for about an hour, and "Rocky Top" must have played over the loudspeaker at least 3 times! I lived in Atlanta for years and never remember stores playing the Georgia Tech fight song...
4. The Great Smoky Mountains--it's the most visited national park in America, and I can drive there in about 25 minutes. I don't go as often as I should; it would be such a great way to get a little "mini-vacation" when I need it!
5. The Climate--I complain bitterly about the cold, but the fact is, we have a pretty good mix of weather. We have definite seasons, unlike some of the even warmer climes--but summer is good and hot (which I love) and winter is, usually, at least not horribly long...
6. The People--oh, we can be a surly lot, no doubt about it, and backwards, and ignorant, and even mean...but overall, we are Southern...polite, friendly, helpful and easygoing.
7. The Pace...this is also, I think, very much a "southern" thing. There is just a different pace to life here than I have seen a lot of other places, and it suits me just fine.
   

Seven Things I Love About My Job

Too many people just don't like their jobs; they don't look forward to getting up every day and facing one more day in the office (whether that is a literal office, the great outdoors, or sitting in your own home staring at a computer screen).

Okay, I admit, I don't much enjoy dragging myself out of my nice, comfy bed in the morning, but it has nothing to do with my job.
And no, this list is not an attempt to earn brownie points either...so far as I know, my boss doesn't read this, nor does anyone else I work with...okay, so far as I know, the only person who has ever read this is ME!! That's okay, I'm pretty used to talking to myself!!

On with the list:

1. Creativity--I am nearly always busy, and have projects going that MUST get done, NOW; some that I have a few weeks to work on; and some that seem to be eternally on the "backburner." But in the midst of it, there is often time to just get creative...to let a little "hey, wouldn't it be cool" idea wander about in my head for awhile until I'm ready to take it out and play with it on the computer...fun graphics, cool ideas for the website, clever marketing lines, none of these things can ever really be "planned." But when they happen, it's great.
2. Because English makes me smile--Part of what I do makes me, essentially, a professional nitpicker. I get to point out the typos and other mistakes, some of which are quite humorous. I love the English language and I love finding new ways to express the same old thing, or just fixing the little errors that can make a public flyer or brochure look totally unprofessional. (Not so crazy about the constant reminders, vis a vis typos, that remind me that nobody's perfect...)
3. Never boring--One day I may be sitting in my tiny closet/office (it really IS a closet, or was, until they hired me), just straining my eyes and adding material to the website. The next day, I find myself out at our local university, opening one of our display kiosks with a spoon (well, the front was stuck because it'd been so long since it was opened, and I was in the company car, and all I could find was a spoon...I could've gone back for some tools, or just called Maintenance, but I'm too stubborn for that...didn't want to let the kiosk win!). It's just always something...
4. The Experience--I have gotten to learn so many things here that I simply had no experience with before....I've learned new software (Flash and Fireworks, mostly), I've learned how the electronic signs on public buses work, I keep thinking maybe I'll even decide to learn how to drive a bus! Yes, I think I need to do that, just to say I did.
5. The People--almost ALL of them are why I like this job. Some of them are people I really enjoy, some not so much, and some could really use some medication, but they ALL make the job interesting. Hey, if nothing else, they provide material for the rest of us to talk about!!
6. The Area--I'm a Southern Girl, born and bred, and while there's lots of places I'd like to visit, I have NO desire to live anywhere else but right here in my hometown. So, while some go chasing "better opportunity" across the country and around the world, I'll just stay here and thank God that He made this little chunk of space in East Tennessee.
7. The Purpose--I took my first job at a non-profit agency about 10 years ago, and I've never looked back. I could probably make more money somewhere else, but I absolutely love having a job where you know that what you are doing matters, at least a little. I may not be feeding the starving children in Africa, or getting the orphans adopted into loving homes, but what I am doing DOES matter, it DOES make things just a teeny bit better for our little corner of the world. And THAT is enough reason to do it WELL. Which reminds me of a song by Jimmy Buffet, so I'll close with the first verse and chorus of it:

"It's My Job" Jimmy Buffet
In the middle of late last night I was sittin' on a curb
I didn't know what about, but I was feelin' quite disturbed
A street sweeper came whistlin' by, he was bouncin' every step
It seemed strange how good he felt, so I asked him while he swept

It's my job to be cleaning up this mess
And that's enough reason to go for me
It's my job to be better than the rest
And that makes the day for me

Seven Stupid Things I've Read Online

These are all things I've come across online, either in articles, emails, or even Ebay descriptions. I have all sorts of these things up on the wall in my office, because they make me smile...

1. An email about a bus driver who, according to the complaint, only thought he had the "right away" This is one of those very appropriate errors, because in fact he probably did think "Hey! Get out of the way; I need to turn, right away!!" and it had nothing to do with whether he in fact had the Right of Way.
2. An online article about a man who broke into a park ranger's home and stole his uniform and his "fun." I know I HATE it when people steal MY fun...but I didn't know it was criminal.
3. A "chain" email that said this guy was "in fatal condition, but now has been upgraded to stable critical." Wow, pretty remarkable fellow to be upgraded at all from dead...
4. Found when trying to determine when an item I'd purchased would be delivered: "Please note: shipping status may not be available until the item has been delivered." Somebody please explain how it could possibly be useful to me to know when the item has been delivered, AFTER it's been delivered.
5. From seller's information about paying for an item: "I ONLY ACCEPT PAYPAL. However, ....I can also accept money order or checks." Evidently he has a different definition of the word "only" than I do.
6. From a survey letter: "Your number was picked at random using scientific methods." So, does random become More or Less random when done scientifically?
7. From an online ad: "Sell your home for as little as $1,000" I know the housing market has tanked, but good grief!! What they really meant that you could pay as little as $1,000 in realtor fees, etc to sell your home.

Feel free to add your own observations of stupid things you've read online!

7 Great Words

This may be one of the toughest lists yet, because there are about a gazillion cool words out there, and naming just seven is really about words that just happen to be on my mind recently. Most of these are words I have actually used, or heard someone else use, this week.
So, without further fanfare, seven great words:

1. Blatherskite--foolish gibberish; a noisy talker of blatant rubbish
2. Logorrhea--excessive and often incoherent talkativeness or wordiness
3. Impecunious--having very little or no money usually habitually
4. Discombobulate--to confuse or upset
   
5. Lollygag--fool around, dawdle
   
6. Prestidigitation--sleight of hand (magic)--A football color commentator actually used this one!!
   
7. Malevolent--intense often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred

7 Things I'd Like to Do in My Lifetime

So, I'm approximately middle-age (we never REALLY know when middle age IS, until we're dead...if you live to be 110, you're not middle age until 55, right?)
Anyway, I've done quite a few things in my life, some I've enjoyed, others not so much. I would say I live a pretty ordinary, "boring" life, but when I really start to list some of the things I've done, there is at least an interesting variety (skydiving, biking the VA creeper trail, being held at gunpoint...like I said, they weren't all fun!).
But, there's still SO much I'd like to do--picking just seven could be hard, but these are, at least, the ones that come most easily to mind. This idea may just expand into a longer entry on another blog, so I can have a record of those things, and maybe actually start to DO them. Also, these are things that I COULD do, given the health and money to do them...in other words, they don't depend completely on someone else; I'd like to see both my kids marry good, godly women...but that's not something I get to personally choose (but I'm praying and God is watching for the right ones!!)

1. Learn a foreign language well enough to be conversational in it--I took several years of Spanish, and can usually fumble my way through written Spanish and at least get the idea of what it says--but when someone for whom Spanish is a native language starts talking, I get totally lost!
2. Learn to play a musical instrument--the main thing that hampers this is that I can't sing, I have no rhythm, and I can't read music. Our choir director once told me that very few people are truly tone-deaf; I told him MY problem is that I am NOT tone-deaf...I can HEAR that I'm singing off-key, out of tune, and out of rhythm, I just can't seem to fix it...anyway, I have managed to join the choir and learn to at least hold my own, and now I'd like to just learn to play something well enough for my entertainment...my preference would probably be guitar or dulcimer/autoharp.
3. Visit a foreign country--my top picks for this would be Ireland (where my ancestors are from; we still have distant relatives there) or Jerusalem (I would just love to go to the Holy Land and see the places where Jesus actually walked around on the earth...but I think I would intensely dislike being shot at). I'd also like to go to Guatemala, which may be the first place I actually GET to, since our church sometimes goes there on mission trips, and my best friend's family is actually moving there pretty soon. I almost went there two years ago, but it didn't work out at the time, and since then I haven't really been able to travel because of a weird, unknown illness...
   
4. Write a book--probably non-fiction, maybe about my life and how I have seen God work in it to "finish the work He started" in me.
5. Go to the Super Bowl--I am a HUGE football fan, but I've actually never been to a professional football game at all, never mind the Super Bowl--stuff like that is just generally not in a single mom's budget, especially when she has TWO hungry teenage boys! Actually, I've only been to ONE college football game, even though I'm pretty much a fanatic about UT (that be the REAL T, Tennessee, not Texas...) AND I'm an alumnus!!
6. Visit all 50 states--doesn't have to be all at once, just make it to every state in my lifetime. But, I'm only up to about 13, so I think I need to pick up the pace a bit!! I'm defining "visit" as not just being IN the state at some point, but actually going somewhere specific (besides the airport--I could add several more then) At my current rate, I'd be about 201 by the time I got to state #50...
   
7. Memorize at least 10 verses from every book of the Bible--I'm not sure, but I think I probably know at least one verse from every book right now...I need to write down all the references so I can see if I'm missing any. I'm sure I know lots MORE than 10 from some books, but probably only one from quite a few.
   

I'd love to hear what others would put on their list!

7 Favorite Football Teams

I absolutely LOVE football, and will watch almost any game--doesn't matter if it's College or Pro or high school, for that matter, I just love it! I like most sports, really--basketball, baseball, soccer, golf--but football is definitely my favorite. To me, the true end of baseball season is the day football starts! Oh sure, they still have to get through September and October, and that little thing called the World Series, but my interest wanes drastically once there is football...Ironically, I have two boys; neither of them are big sports fanatics. One of them at least does have some interest in watching a game now or then, but the other just couldn't possibly care less.

Anyway, remember, these are my FAVORITE teams (both college and pro), not a preseason ranking poll!!

1. Tennessee Volunteers!!
2. Georgia Tech Yellowjackets
3. Whoever is playing Florida
4. Tennessee Titans (I used red cause there's too many blue teams!)
   
5. Indianapolis Colts
6. Atlanta Falcons (sad, but true...)
7. Dallas Cowboys
   

Seven Cars I've Owned

I've never owned a new car, and don't guess I ever will--can't afford them and if I could, I'm not sure I'd be willing to shell out all that money on transportation! I just don't like to drive all that much--nevertheless, I've owned quite a few cars; some I've loved, some I've loathed, and some were just a way to get around....
1. White VW 1966 Beetle--bought this around 79 or 80, and it was an AWESOME little car; immaculately clean inside and out, easy to drive, easy to fix...my very first, and still my favorite.
2. White VW 1968 Van...after wrapping the Beetle around a guard rail, I got this cool van; I was 21 and thought life was pretty good (and it was!). The van's final fateful day came when the accelerator cable broke on the entrance ramp to the interstate--while I walked to the nearest phone to call a tow truck, the van got plowed into by a guy whose drug-induced state apparently prevented him from keeping his truck on the road. By the time I got back, the car looked more like an accordion than a van.
3. 1970-something Toyota Corolla...this one was white too, and at this point, I thought I must just have a white-car fetish, and would only own white vehicles all my life. This little car ran for quite some time, but after wearing out TWO engines, it was time to say goodbye.
4. 1978 Pontiac something...can't even remember exactly what this thing was, but I detested it. It was a dull gray, mid-sized, unexciting, automatic--don't really remember WHY we bought it but I'm sure it had something to do with being really cheap!! It was finished off by a guy who ran a red light so late that I was already halfway through the intersection before he rammed it--fortunately, my 1-year-old was not in the car with me, and I didn't know at the time that I was about 6 weeks pregnant with my second child. No one was hurt, and I got to get rid of that dull thing and get a van.
5. 1984 Red Dodge Caravan--and I mean RED! It had been my brother and sister-in-law's until they decided to upgrade. By this time I had two growing boys, we were going off on scout trips and such, and so it was great to have. And for some reason, I just LOVE driving a van! Most people secretly dream of cool sports cars...I just dream of a van! This one also met its end due to an engine that just couldn't take anymore.
6. 1983 Chevy Malibu Station Wagon...this was my dad's car, the last one he had before he was no longer able to drive. Perhaps that's why I hated it so much, too many memories (wait, that doesn't sound right...I loved my dad, I just missed him and didn't need the CAR to remind me of that all the time). Fortunately, my oldest son and the car took a liking to each other about the time he learned to drive and so the Malibu is still chugging along, but is now under the direction of a teenage driver (but a pretty good one!)
7. Ford Escort station wagon--I was looking for another van, but my sister found this one through a friend of hers, and you just couldn't beat the price! I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I must say, I've grown pretty fond of it in a short amount of time...drives more like a smaller car than the Malibu did, and gets WAY better gas mileage. My youngest, who turns 15 in October, is now eyeing this one...

7 Shows I've Watched but didn't want to...

These are shows I have sat and watched just to avoid bothering to change the channel...in some cases I was sick, at other times just too blooming lazy...

1. Ellen Degeneres...like I used to tell my kids, if it wasn't funny the FIRST time you did it, it probably isn't going to be funny the 100th time either...
2. The new Singing Bee show...this is like televising someone's incredibly lame party.
3. Days of Our Lives...used to watch it with my grandmother and got hooked; quit watching and came back like 10 years later...it took about 10 minutes to pick right back up with the storyline.
4. a REPEAT golf tournament on the Golf Channel...this is about as low as it gets...
5. Judge Judy...Judy's okay, but it's too bad she can't have some of these people shot for the crime of stupidity.
6. "Dragon," a kids' show on Saturday morning...only I was in my 40's and there were NO children there...it made repeat golf tournaments look promising...
7. The Miss America Pageant

Seven Ways I Like to Relax

1. Sleeping
2. Reading a good book
3. Using my computer for creativity--photos, websites, etc.
4. Praying
5. Sitting on my porch
6. Going out with friends
7. Watching football (tho' my boys would say it doesn't seem to relax me!)
The photo is a posterized picture of some flowers in my yard

Seven Real-Life Heroes

My rules for this list: they must be people who have been alive during your lifetime, but not necessarily people you have actually met, as long as they have somehow shaped your life.
Again, in no particular order, except for the first one--

1. My dad
2. The "Chick Click"--okay, it's cheating, this is a group of 6 of the best friends anyone could ever hope for!
3. My best friend, who isn't IN the Chick Click anymore (she resigned, she wasn't fired!)
   
4. My sister
5. The friend who introduced me to Christ
6. Angela Thomas (author & speaker)
   
7. My pastor

I guess I should say that by "hero," I don't mean that I consider these people to be up on a pedestal--all of them, at least the ones that I know personally, have also "failed" me at some point...because EVERYONE will fail you at some point except for Jesus...He's the only one you should EVER have up on a pedestal, because He will NEVER fail us. The people I've listed are every bit as human as I am and they have had their moments of failing to be what God wanted them to be...but they have also all inspired me, encouraged me, kept me moving in the right direction, or helped to pick me up and keep me going when I couldn't do it alone.

Seven Places I'd Like to Visit

NOTE: I only picked places I haven't already been at least once.
This was the first list where I had trouble coming up with seven things; I'm a bit of a homebody...

1. Ireland
2. The Grand Canyon
3. Guatemala (ALMOST made it there once...)
4. Brazil
5. McElroy Gap, Arkansas
6. Jerusalem (but I don't wanna get shot at...)
7. Australia
   

Seven Books

Again, no particular order to these(except the first one!), and it's tough to name just seven, because I love to read!

7 Great Books
1. The Bible--not really fair, cause it's not JUST a book, it's "living & powerful & sharper than any two-edged sword...and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb 4:12
2. The Grace Awakening, Charles Swindoll
3. The Chronicles of Narnia, the whole series
4. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
5. Harry Potter, again the whole series
6. The Nine Lives of Opalina the Cat--my absolute favorite book when I was young
7. Warren Wiersbe's Bible Commentaries--so maybe it's weird to have a bible commentary on the list, but his is one of the most interesting and well-written ones I've ever read.

Post your own top seven best reads if you want!

Seven Things A Day

Don't know how long this will last, but each day I'll try to pick a different topic and then list 7 items I especially like that pertain to the topic. Feel free to post your OWN seven for that day's topic!

The very first topic is:
7 Ways God Has Blessed My Life
(these are in no particular order)
1. Gave His Son Jesus to die so I could have eternal life
2. Lets His Holy Spirit actually reside right inside of me!!
3. Left me His Word to read and seek to apply to my life
4. Gave me two absolutely incredible sons
5. Gave me a close, loving and BIG family for support
6. Gave me an incredible church family
7. Is incredibly patient with me; He never gives up on me!!

This may be the toughest list to start with in a way, but it is nearly impossible to start a list of how God has blessed you and limit it to just seven!!