Busy Times

It's been awhile since I last posted and right now I'm in the first few hours of another vacation. I'm in Charleston right now and the house is quiet and it probably will not be quiet again until we leave next Sunday. Not that I mind the noise, but My Dad is out with my niece and nephew and everyone else is coming down in the next day or so. So, it's just me and the mac and thankfully the house has wireless! 

So, what have I been doing??

I went to Portland about 2 1/2 weeks ago and it was great. Definitely could tell I wasn't in the south anymore. I tagged along with my sister and it was a lot of fun. She went for work and being the wonderful sister she is, she used skymiles and hotel points, etc to take me with her... the trip ended up costing me $77!!! Can't beat that can you??? We went to the coast one day and saw Haystack Rock and Multnomah Falls (the falls that are shown in the Twilight movie I might add). We also knocked around downtown Portland and while she worked one day I went to the zoo. I have to tell you there was a crazy antelope thing at the zoo that kept hopping all around a zebra and the zebra could have cared less! 

I also have to mention I read the first two Twilight books on this trip and I've been sucked into the whole Twilight world now. I'm currently on book 3 and should be done soon (maybe tonight). 

Ok, back to what I've been doing. After Portland I spent last week keeping my baby cousin, Kayley, while her regular nanny was on vacation. Kayley was a wonderful baby and so laid back. She also had lots of fun with Dixie. They became fast friends.

We also celebrated Whit's 6th birthday and George's 1st Birthday!

We went to Kanpai for Whit's birthday (his party will be after the beach trip) and George's house for his birthday. Lot's of family time, but it was good. 

And that brings everyone up to speed on where I've been! I also became a movie goer this week. I usually go to the movies some, but not very often. This week, however, I saw 3 movies: The taking of Pelham 123, Transformers 2, and the Proposal. 

Transformers was great and the Proposal was very funny and just a good clean movie worth seeing. I liked Pelham 123 but it was very fast paced and the language was quite bad. I understand that that's how movies are, but this one was kinda taking it to an unnecessary level. Anyway I enjoyed seeing them and saw some great previews for a few upcoming movies! (one of them being the next Twilight movie as well as the next Harry Potter)

Four legged baby

This weekend I volunteered to keep a coworker's dog while she took her kids on a weekend vacation. It's been fun, but I do NOT miss the puppy days. Nellie is a dachshund and is about 6 mo. old. She is really sweet but also very skittish. The pictures are taken with my computer because if she and Dixie are doing something camera worthy and I get up to get the camera Nellie stops and wants to know what I'm doing. I do have a few pics on my real camera I will have to post later. Nellie is very long and skinny and her legs are about 2 in. high. She thinks she is 40 pounds but is only about 4. I have a bed that is fairly high and she tries her hardest to get on it, which she has made it a few times. However, the other 236 times she has just hit the mattress and flopped back to the floor. I have to give her an A for effort. And I do eventually pick her up and put her where she is trying to go. Dixie has been very tolerant of her and every once in awhile they start a high speed chase all through the apartment which is very funny to watch. 

Step Up

A few days ago I decided to pull out some old CD's because I was getting tired of what has been in my car for the last several months. One of the ones I got out was Newsboys "Step up to the Microphone" and I'd say this one is about 10 years old. The cover song really got me thinking about how as a Christian I am supposed to tell others about God. Now my personal take on this is that I don't necessarily have to talk about God in every single conversation or the very first time I meet someone. In fact, I feel I am better able to share God through my day to day behavior and how I treat others. Don't get me wrong, I do share my beliefs with a lot of people, but I try to do it in a way that is fitting for the person that I am talking to and in a way that is appropriate for whatever type of situation it is. Anyway, back to the song, I just really liked the words and thought I would share them with anyone who hasn't heard the song before. 

I'll say hello
to anyone who's listening
put on a show
if that's what makes your ears prick
this microphone
will take a word and make it bigger
oh hello
so here goes

Chorus
"steppin' right up to the microphone
I say hey man!
there's only one way!

one God one body one faith alone
if you don't know
then ya need to be told!

steppin' right up to the microphone
I say hey man!
there's only one way!

one God one body one faith alone
I said hey boy
it's a narrow road"

I say hello
to anyone who's listening
the message ain't nothing new
I don't decide what's true
so when the stones get thrown
they either miss or
they turn to glory
here's the story as far as i know

steppin' up
I don't step alone
the question is "how do we know
what we know"
the answer is so plain to me
so here I go
tap the mic "test 1, 2, 3"