Ice Balls and Other Mysterious Diseases

I am finally getting myselft back up to some symblance of normal after a bizarre encounter with the most unpleasant of diseases.  The headaches, sore throat and fevers seem to have subsided and now I am left with a voice that sounds akin to a horse/ bullfrog hybrid and some nagging exhaustion.  I have no doubt that I will be back to practically perfect by Easter.  My Nikki however seems to have caught a much worse and longer lasting version of this disease and it needs to be gone!  Good news is it's not mono or strep but danged it we know what it is. :(
In other knews from the weekend, yesterday evening I got caught out in the Spartanburg County hail storm of 2010.  It was crazy!  After much phone conversation between Cynthia, Donna and myself about how to cover our cars on our respective ways home I ducked into the Ingles gas mart in Peach Valley to givve my paint job some respite from the onslaught.  I then talked to Robin, who likes to fancy himself as some sort of meteorologist apprentice and he gave me the scoop on how long I needed to stay put and such.  He then began exclaiming that there were ice balls in his floor and after careful examination further exclamined that he had "ice balls in his chimney."  Now I am not completely certain as to why this struck me so funny, but I am pretty sure I haven't laughed about anything that hard in a really long time! 
The pelting subsided and I made the rest of my way home.  Everyone had pretty dinged up paint jobs this morning but as far as I know all of my friends and family made it out of the storm with no more incident than that.

Friendships

I have been sick this week so my apologies for the lack of post.  I did have a little surge of fever induced inspiration so I did a little playing on the Picnik and here are the fruits of the labor.
Just a few photos of the people I don't see enough, but can't live without.

And to the girls I see whenever I need to but never want to be found taking them for granted...

"Up" movie night

"Up" is amazing!!!

For the semi-annual Calvary movie night we watched Up Saturday night.  First and foremost this movie is incredible.  I don't care how old you are, this animated film is brilliant!

The Calvary crowd of course had a blast, not only with the movie but with the chili dogs and fixin's before the movie and of course the rec and fellowship clean up crew which disolved into Robin, Donnie, Paul and Donna singing songs from Hee Haw and Oh Brother Where Art Thou. 

Here are a few photos of the fun and frivolity :)

The grillmaster dethroned!

Brenda told Robin to move over and she showed him how to clean a grill when you leave the brush at home.

Hysterical!

The food line!!

Me with my church "daughter" Brittany.

I love her!

Oh, Nikki....

I loves her too :)

That's about it for the pictures because Donna and Tammy threatened to take my camera away...

I didn't find myself annoying at all.

Nikki, Cynthia, Donna and Jessica in Wonderland (and Alice too!)

Well here it is the Alice and Wonderland redo.  Finally saw it last weekend with my girls on our mommy daughter date and had a great time.  Monterrey's first followed by the film!
Ok, well a little goofing off and then the film...
3D glasses are cool, just ask me and Nikki.  We had great fun with them...although I think it would be hilarious to be a theater employee to look up and see a gaggle of folk with their funky black glasses on.

And yes I am a super geek who is blind without her glasses so she must wear 3D glasses over the normal glasses and end up looking like some sort of bizzarre 6 eyed alien :)

While we had this incredible photo shoot the mommies were getting their Raisinette and Coca Cola what nots...then the film started!

And down the rabbit hole we fell!!

Seriously, after I saw it the first time I was like "huh? that was it?"

then I saw it the second time and was like "yep that was it."

But then I kept finding quotes and images floating up in my mind and it has quite grown on me.  I think in time this will become a favorite.  That being said this is the first movie of Tim Burton's with his company of Death Eaters that I have felt this way about.  Everytime they put out a flick I get really excited and then I am disapointed, ala the Sweeney Todd Christmas Day excustion of 2007.  This time, by golly I think they might have actually done it!  Ok, so Helena Bonham Carter still scares the poo out of me, but I think that is all apart of her charm.

All in all an amazingly wonderful experience but it seriously might have had a whole lot more to do with the company of the Mrs. Edge and Paxton and the Miss Paxton than the sound of Alan Rickman's incredible voice coming out of a drugged up caterpillar ;)

The Weekend Tale

First of all, my uncle Billy had major surgery to remove an anuerysm from his liver on Friday.  The surgery ended up going really well, and although he is in alot of pain he seems to be doing well all things considered.  Please keep him and his wife Jeannie in your prayers, as they still have a long road to go down with his health.

Secondly, I spent my Saturday morning with Nikki selling concessions...AKA, she danced around to some cover band singing Mrs Robinson, and random Michael Jackson songs and I laughed alot.  I have an amazing clip of her dancing but Donna says I can't publish it for the world...your loss, I promise.

This still picture just does not do all that action any justice!

Then I went on an amazing shopping adventure!  I went to Old Navy and went crazy.  Many of you will be thrilled to know that nothing I purchased was black!!! (or brown either, for that matter.)  I did buy a new pair of jeans and a gray skirt (pictured), and lots of bright colored tops and a new yellow scarf that I promise to have a picture of in the next couple of days. 

(Sarah, you would be so proud!)

Yesterday morning I was feeling super cute at church and wanted to take pictures but no one would play with me except Marisa, so here we are being fashion divas together.  Gotta love little girls!
Oh and my hair...I have been putting up because it is so long it takes a life time to flat iron all of it.  I think it looks like Sarah Palin....Jerry Hoover was, of course, the first to tell me it looked good!  He would be the one to love my Republican hair...to bad for him, the Democratic brain still lives below :)

Speaking of little people...I had 5 kids in Sunday School yesterday!  So excited to see growth in the children's department at church!  I'm not so entirely sure Marisa and Elise are all that thrilled about thw new additions, since they are boys, but give em 10 years and it will be all good!
I however, know absolutely nothing about boys!  Even in Asheville, all I ever had was girls in my class.  This will definitely be a learning experience for me, as with the girls I can do pretty much whatever and they are good with it, boys however take alot more planning due to alot shorter attention spans.

I promise to have more pictures this week of my new clothes and as the calendar is chock full of items with adventure potential, it should prove to be an intresting one!

Lil' Miss Paxton

As I was completely derelict in putting up pictures of my little church sister for Valentine's she gets her own special photo collage entry.  So here she is in all of her classic poses being the most amazingly fun and fabulous little sister in the whole world!  Not to mention she is the only person I can call when I can't sleep at 2am because she is always awake!
I love you my Nikki and I hope you don't shoot me at church tonight for this :)

Calvary Valentine's Banquet 2010

By noon on Saturday the snow had given up it's hold on the roads and the Calvary Valntine's planners got in gear!
The food was spectacular, the entertainment superb, and the fellowship as always, was the best to be had anywhere.
I can't put it all in words so thankfully I had my camera on my wrist for most of the evening and have some great pictures to share!

We went with chocolate and pink decor and after much debate on best shade of pink I think we definitely made the right choice!

Cupcakes, Cupcakes, and more Cupcakes!!!

This was the most beautiful dessert buffet ever!  Not to mention the yummiest!

In addition the chocoalte and red velvet cupcakes we had chocolate covered strawberries, dark chocolate mint petifores, heart shaped cookies, red velvet white chocolate balls and chocolate strawberry tarts! YUM!

Sir Robin Grillmaster putting the birds on.  The chicken breasts were huge and after he marinated them over night they were wonderful!!

Paul "buttering" the steaks.  A much better way than last years pouring butter on an open flame and trying to set his whiskers (and the church) on fire!

Robin teaching the master class on how to properly place the steaks on the grill.

Greg and Donnie look like such attentive students! Hahahahaha!

Anybody wanna play HOT POTATO?!?

Beth and Brenda on salad assembly duty...yummy salads, but this is my least favorite job...which is why I was behind the camera ;)

Donna filling up our tea pitchers...which went WAY better than Robin and I trying to put the tea up afterwards!  Can we say spillage?

The Edge, Waters, Mickey, Gilbert table....except I lost Donnie somewhere!

The coolest girls at the whole shindig!

Nikki, Abby and of course me!

Mrs. Sylvia with her friends, Linda, Darlene and Tammy

The "White Head Club"

:)

They came up with that themselves!

Weather's and Edge's

And of course "The Edge's" :)

Mimi with her babie's and me with her babies...they made me the SWEETEST valentine ever!

Scott and his baby :)

(This should totally make up for the Super Bowl picture, Scott)

The Robin, who loved his chocolate fish :)

This of course after his run home wardrobe change...dork.

Papa and Mrs. Higginbotham.  Two of my favorite Valentines!

Favorite conversation of the night:

Cynthia: Go get Robin, I can't make this work.

a few moments later

Cynthia: How'd you get it to work?

Robin: I plugged it in.

CLASSIC!!!!!!!!

A few more Christmas pictures...

 I couldn't fit all of my pictures in the last entry so here are few more. :) 

Kacie and Nikki

Pretty Pink poinsettias at Calvary

The most beautiful Sanctuary ever

The Advent wreath all lit up

Robin lighting candles

Happy Donna

Silly Nikki and Abby

Me with my cousins, Amy and Ashley

A Blue Christmas Cantata

The church is decorated absolutely beautiful for the Christmas season this year and last Sunday night was our annual choir program.  Some of you have known me for quite some time and you know that I love to sing, love my choir, but I can not and have never been able to sing any form of harmony.  The Lord did not wire my ears for hearing harmonies.  However I sucked it up and through many tears worked on learning a second soprano part for the program.  It was HARD, but I had a blast doing it!

After much debate we decided to leave the robes hanging in the closet this year and wear shades of blue and silver, and it looked gorgeous.  However due to Paul's sadness about not getting to wear his robe, Nikki and I will be wrapping up one for him to open on Christmas Eve.  I love my P-daddy, but those robes should sit in that closet til the world returns to dust!   My biggest surprise of the night had very little to do with the music at all, but in lots of hugs from my big sister Kelly, her husband Artie and their kids who are the greatest kids in the whole world.  They all came to see the musical and I felt like the coolest aunt in the world having my own section of smiling neices and nephews.  Kelly's youngest daughter Emily made me the sweetest card that I tucked inside my folder so I could see it next to my music while I was singing.  I am so grateful for God bringing Kelly and Artie back into my life after many years apart and for their amazing children who bring such joy to my heart.

After the cantate Ms. Debbie and Ms. Linda put on the most elaborate fabulous dessert buffet ever and the social hall was transformed into a North Pole tasting room full of goodies Mrs. Claus herself would have been impressed with.  It was a good time to kick back and enjoy time with friends after working so hard on the musical for the last months.

Cynthia, Donna and I should never be allowed to take pictures of ourselves.  We are very bad at it.  Cynthia says she doesn't like her neck in this picture but I'm not sure who can see it with the blinding light of my glasses.  Of course there is the annual cheese ball picture of me and Robin.  I smacked him in the head and told him not to look stupid right before we snapped it...we see how well that worked out :)

I'm glad we are finished with the music, but grateful for the memories it leaves us!  Now looking forward to to the choir Christmas party on Saturday.  It should prove equally memorable!