genius...

that is what i think of the advisor for mccain that decided to announce his running mate yesterday. i think it was a brilliant idea. i am not claiming to be democrat or republican, but i think it was an incredible move on the part of the mccain camp. on the heels of the democratic convention, we should be hearing sound bytes and analyses of the speeches. instead, there has been a two minute response from obama and the rest has been portions of palin's speeches and a review of her experience. mccain has managed to monopolize an entire weekend of news coverage. what a way to start the republican convention. i can almost hear mccain saying, "check." i wonder who will get the checkmate...

don't you wish...

you were my dog. this is pretty much how all of the animals spend their days - and nights - at my house. eat, sleep and poop. occasionally they will chase a toy, but only if they will get a treat. oh yeah, i forgot. the little one barks at everything that might happen to pass by the house. oh the joys of working from home.

entitled...

this is what our water looked like this morning. i was appalled. i thought to myself, "what in the world is going on? i pay for water, i should not have to deal with this. i have a right to clean water." and then i stopped in my tracks... i realized that i am not entitled to it. in fact, millions around the world do not have clean water. i know this because i have been interested in this charity for quite some time now. it began as an interest in the founder's amazing photography and grew into a love for those people who have to drink the kind of water that came out of my faucet this morning. i am fortunate to have water. it is a priveledge. as i tried to find out what was going on - which meant multiple calls to many government offices - i started thinking about the clothes i had in the wash, the tea i wanted to make, my shower later this evening. to me, even doing those tasks in that water was unthinkable, much less actually drinking the water. and then i thought of my precious niece and nephew (both born in africa) and wondered if they had to drink and use that kind of water. that broke my heart. look at them. they are the cutest little bugs you will ever see. we need to be appalled that any child has to use dirty water. we need to make a change. i know he is. so check out charity:water and help him out. an hour or so later i turned the water on and it ran clear. no one knows what happened. maybe it was God's way to get my attention. His way of letting me know that there are people all over the world that should be entitled to clean water. maybe He was reminding me that He wants me to do something about it.

8.25.08

is it really only 4 months until christmas? i cannot believe that. i refuse to. that means a whole new tax season and four months of no sleep and fourteen-hour days filled with stress. i feel like i just finished with this tax season. i think there is something that happens when we get old - thinking that life is passing us by too quickly. i have been thinking about that a lot lately. and about what kind of footprint i will leave on this planet. i am not talking in a recycle, earth-friendly, take care of the planet kind of way. but in a how will the time i get to spend on this earth affect the people that i will leave behind. not only my family, but the world in general, my church family, teens that i have (and will) ministered to, my neighbors, orphans in africa and russia. in the past few months i have really been wrestling with how God wants me to use the gifts He has given me so that i can make a change in this world that will long outlast the life i have been given. i want to love people the way i know Christ loves me - without one thought of how i fall short of perfect. i want to be a picture of that love that only sees a person as a piece of God's artwork. i want to be real with people. i want to laugh and cry and yell with them. i want to hurt with them and hope with them. i want to teach teens to love people that way. i want to be remembered for how i loved. i want to love so deeply that Christ is all anyone sees. i want to show that there is hope and that it can be found in a home for an orphan, in a well of clean drinking water, in a warm coat for a homeless man...

bittersweet...

even though i have been lamenting the lost sleep and late night cheering sessions, i am actually sad to see the olympics come to an end. we have to wait another 2 years for this kind of excitement and thank God that it is on this side of the globe. i don't think i can handle another olympics where we are up half the night cheering and trying to sleep after yelling at the tv for 3 hours. so i say farewell to the olympics one more time. until we meet again...

saturday 8.23.08

so if you are counting - karen - i did miss yesterday. but it wasn't my fault. i actually had no internet so i couldn't post. my project for this weekend is getting my office moved around. there were 3 of us working in there but now we only have 2, so i realized the other week that i could be a lot more efficient if i didn't have to get up every fifteen minutes to get supplies that are stored at my old workstation. and to make it even better i would have enough space to create a sewing area. i have been trying to sew at least twenty minutes or so every day and this will make that so much easier. and maybe i will finish my first few projects that i have been wanting to put up on etsy. hopefully i will have an after picture soon. so we had to unplug and re route all my cables and cords. i am now back in the 21st century. what in the world did we do before we had internet?

i figured out

why people don't blog daily. there really isn't anything to write about. at least nothing exciting enough that you want to put it out there for the rest of the world to see and judge. you know those lame posts like, oh had a good day hope yours was too. why even bother? well, since i have committed to daily blogging (and jen doubted my ability to do so) i HAVE to blog something. so, today was boring. EXCEPT!!! i won!!! i won a collection of fat quarters from my new friend, the weenie who owns this great fabric store! and it was all due to my clever wit and rhetoric. so, go over there and buy something or comment on her blog cause she is really cool!!!

my favorite...

homeschoolers!!

these two cuties are the best! they and their brother and sister say some things that will crack you up. i am constantly laughing out loud at the hilarious things they say. i think they will have an awesome time homeschooling with mom this year. and i do think that letter writing to virginia should be required in the curriculum. loads of love to you guys!!!

so, yahoo and i are not on speaking terms...

for the second day in a row, yahoo has ruined the medal results for the olympics. i HATE knowing the ending of something... movies, tv shows, olympic results!!! each day as i opened explorer my friendly yahoo home page has popped up with results for the events being aired THAT NIGHT. *** olympic spoiler alert*** yeah, so even though i am watching the balance beam finals, i already know that shawn johnson is going to get the gold. and yesterday i knew that nastia was going to tie for first. yeah, real nice huh? so i am not speaking to yahoo right now. i will be cheating on my home page for at least the next five days. and who knows, i might like my new one better. so take that yahoo.

houston, we have a problem...

yes. it is true. there was no pepsi at target tonight. and yes, that is the problem. i know i shouldn't, but i do partake of quite a bit of the sweet brown nectar every day. and target alternates sales of pepsi and that other one. this was pepsi's week. he was going to shine. four pretty twelve packs were going to ride home with us for the low low price of ten bucks. yes people, that is only two fifty a twelve pack. a mere twenty one cents a can. and this was his week. but it was obliterated. seriously. there was no pepsi cases on the shelves. i am not kidding. trust me, we looked. so yeah... there is a problem. round about wednesday i am going to be one grumpy, grouchy, nasty girl - and that will be on my good days. actually, i will probably break down and spend five bucks on a twelve pack. don't judge me people. i am weak.

disclaimer: i may not make sense.

so even though it is only 10:45, there are some things you should know...
1. i have olympic hangover.
2. i had insomnia last night so i fell asleep this morning around four.
3. i got up for church at eight.
4. i haven't slept all day.
5. i took a sleeping pill.
6. i think i should stop making a list and just go to sleep.
night.

so, whadda ya think?

this is an option for the new look. let me know what your thoughts are. i am thinking that i need to change the photo to a vertical picture of daisy, but other than that i am not sure. i have a few others that i might try so tell me what you think of this one. yes, it is 1:30 in the morning and i have insomnia again. so i thought, hey, why not work on my new blog layout. yes i am a genius and no, this isn't my blog for sunday 8.17. i promise you more later today. maybe after i get some rest. yeah, we'll see if that happens.

this one here...

loves the bbc and history channel. still thinks we might find life on mars. is sometimes a grouch. hates when i try to rub her forehead. never uses her hearing aid. has still not mastered the english language. would eat hot dogs every day if i let her. thinks that mel is perfect. loves lily. loves people fiercely. survived two heart attacks. wants to visit the grand canyon on a train. loves to gamble. raised four kids by herself - when it wasn't cool. stopped smoking after more than forty years. has inspired me with her strength. is the best "grams" i know. thinks grandkids can do no wrong. makes me smile every day. is my momma.

there's nothing like a friday.

it is so nice to know that you don't HAVE to go into the office and work. you can if you want but no one is going to get their panties in a bunch if you don't answer the phone. you have hours upon hours that are all yours. except when you make plans to help a friend with house remodeling, are heading out of town to have dinner with some friends and meet up with another who is having a hard time adjusting to being away from home for the first time. and i haven't even mentioned the olympics yet. one of these days i will learn to plan my time a little better. yeah, probably not.

we are family...

so we just got the photos back from our sawyer family christmas celebration. the first one is mel and i being OGs. you know it. the second is the whole family. there are a lot of people. let's just say, loud doesn't even begin to explain this group.
*EDIT - for those cool people who don't know, OG means "original gangsta". love you Jen!

sleepy cuteness...

have you ever seen such cuteness? so this was on our trip to dc. pretty much this is how lily spent the entire weekend. sleeping, eating, pooping. we did venture out into the city with her, but she was much happier when we left her asleep on the feather bed and covered with the down comforter. what a life! but when you are that cute, how can we say no?

but it sounds so cool...

enigma. i love the word because of its' near ambiquity - we all know how to use it, sort of, but we can't define it - but it is not EXACTLY what i am trying to say. one of its' definitions is "contradictory character" so that won't work. so i need help from all you smarty pants. mel and i have been praying, thinking, pondering about starting a youth leadership camp. the details are still VERY sketchy, but we know that it would involve a year-long commitment to a social need in the camper's community. and the goal would be to help develop Christian leaders who want to share the love of Christ by tackling these enormous social issues. so here is where enigma comes along. it was an idea for a name - "enigma leadership camps". i envisioned shirts with the "i am an enigma" tagline, sounds cool, huh? but not exactly right. so help me out folks... i need something that says i want to make a change for Christ in my community. i care about people and want to love them like Christ would. something that says i am different from all of the teens around me. oh yeah, it needs to be catchy and cool. okay... leave the suggestions in the comments. remember, your quilt is calling.
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

just another manic monday...

now you know that is going to get stuck in your head... so it actually was just another manic monday. nothing exciting, nothing breathtaking, nothing dull, nothing happy, nothing sad. just a boring regular, run of the mill monday. i did have some fleeting thoughts about life and what it means to live as a single person and what i think are specific challenges for single people. but that is way to heavy to delve into on a monday night. plus, there are olympics to watch and sewing to be done. i have been able to do so much hand sewing on what will be my yoyo quilt. so that is a total bonus. oh, and just for a teaser i posted a picture of my latest quilt. it is a baby quilt that i made for my cousin's baby. and... if you post about my giveaway on your blog i will give you 5 extra entries into the giveaway for your very own grown up quilt - or baby quilt if you like. i aim to please... sometimes.

sunday 8.10.08

we had a great church service today. our pastor has been teaching on Jesus' response to the commandments. this week was number four. it has been so good to take a look at the commandments from a different point of view. the past year has been so difficult. we feel like we have just been pummeled. and just in the past month or so have i felt like i can really rest. so today was a fitting message of how i need to stop and rest. to take my mind off of all the crap that has been so overwhelming and realize that Jesus is by my side - always.
Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

friday & saturday...

so i could have sworn that i posted yesterday. huh... well, dc was great! we had a lot of fun and relaxed a lot! we are all missing the extra cushy beds and down comforters. ikea rocked as usual. and we are now in full olympic watching mode. here's to two weeks of sleep deprivation and sports commentating.

hero

my grandpa was a hero. he fought in world war ii and the korean war. he was shot down and saved the life of a fellow soldier. he was a great grandpa. i am very proud of him. there was so much honor and respect given him today and i think he deserved it.

so, yeah... i missed wednesday...

so i will give you 2 posts today. yesterday was crazy with getting a week's worth of work done in 3 days. and then when we finally got to the hotel we had to pay for internet and i was being a cheapskate and didn't want to pay $20 for the last 2 hours of the day. but it was a good trip. mel had momma reading every sign. not telling her where to go, but she "just likes reading them". the hotel is super nice but they are renovating the hotel restaurant so no room service. the parking deck is under the garage and the clearance is like six and a half feet. but the beds are heaven! really, we have been sleeping on a cloud. oh, and i woke up in the middle of the night a second before momma accidentally bought some adult entertainment. when i asked her what she was doing she said, "i don't have my glasses on so i can't see the buttons. i was just going to push them until the tv turned off." just a note... don't randomly press remote buttons when you are staying in a hotel. i'm just saying...

cough syrup with codeine...

is highly recommended. i am under the influence right now so i am not responsible for anything i say, er type. jen, you are full of crap. lol okay so.. the doctor said i have nothing more serious than a very stubborn sinus infection. so i have the aforementioned drug along with some allergy stuff and an antibiotic. hopefully this will be the end of my 2 week illness and i can get back to enjoying my summer. we hit the beach on sunday. so so nice. i do not think i could live far from the shore. i guess living in this house my whole life and being 2 blocks from the shore has spoiled me somewhat. i just know that if i couldn't just lay my eyes on a beautiful sandy beach at the drop of a hat, i would be in the crazy farm. maybe that is where i belong now. these drugs are getting to me. so i say buh bye with a picture of this one and mel and me from jen's last visit here. oh, that man was so nice to offer to take our photo. yeah. creepy just about sums it up.

monday, monday...

august 4th. really? where did the summer go... today was one of those mondays.
you know when you feel like it will take the next 4 days to get out from under it. yeah, one of those. at least this is a short work week for me. we are headed to dc this week for my grandpa's internment at arlington. he passed away six weeks ago and just now they are able to bury him in arlington national cemetery. he was a great man and a hero so he definitely deserves this honor. but the short work week also means accomplishing all the same stuff in half the time. so, emotions surrounding the burial notwithstanding, this week should be a tough one. so send me some love, people!

sunday 8.3.08

tired. that about sums it up. so sleepy after running around for 2 days with my two awesome nieces and nephew. we had such a good time. we were all sad when we took them home today, but lets just say that i don't think the insomnia will be a problem tonight. so how many more days until friday? if i were wearing a hat, i would take it off to all you moms and dads.

what a great day!!

so we started here. came home and played some game cube and then went on the dolphin watching cruise. this is our second time and it was even better this time. tons of dolphins - i promise there are dolphins in that picture down there. sooo amazing and to top it all off we had a beautiful sunset. i could live like this. enjoy the pics. hope your day was just as great!

just snuck this one in...

so i have about 50 minutes left of today, friday, august 1st. i cannot believe that it is august already. didn't summer just start? time flies. isn't that what old people say? oh well. so excited about this weekend. nieces and nephew are here visiting. movies - mamma mia (see it!), games - clue (my nephew cheated), shopping (go target) and a dolphin watching tour are all on the agenda. it will be so much fun but i am thinking i will need a weekend from my weekend. and i am sure that i will get my fill of smart remarks and eye rolls, but i just love those guys!