TAKE THIS QUIZ - HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW ME!!

I'm not sure what the rule is for copying other blogs - but I'm doing just that. This quiz is floating around and I've taken it a few times on some of my friends. Now let's see how you score!!


http://www.quizyourfriends.com/quizpage.php?quizname=070830171610-810360&

My Sleeping Simon

How cute is my cat?! He has never been one to jump on the furniture, but in the last couple of weeks he's decided he likes our sofa table. He sits on the bottom and watches TV with us or as you see here, naps!

August is also Simon's birthday - but I knew if I did a special Birthday Blog for Simon like I did my parents I'd probably get razzed (DonnaG) because some of my friends don't like cats (DonnaG)!!!

When we moved to California in 2000 we had a cat, Lucy and a dog, Gracie, but had to leave them behind since we were moving from a house in MO with a big back yard to an apartment in CA. Wasn't sure where we'd end up. So Gracie went with my sister and Lucy is with Grandma and Grandpa Williams (aka Darren's parents). We hadn't taken away Lucy's woman power yet and she gave birth to a couple litters. When we were home in October of 2001 Darren surprised me by letting me bring Simon home. Simon had to have papers to fly and enter California, so Darren took care of all that. How sweet was that!! Simon was such a little fluff ball and traveled really well - except for the small bout of diarrhea on the plane coming home that Daddy took care because I was too busy laughing hysterically and gagging!! Why didn't we bring Lucy you ask?? She liked being outdoors and had adjusted to the MO weather and was very happy where she was. She's still with Grandma and Grandpa and I get to see her everytime we go home.

Simon is a cat - through and through!! Stubborn, demanding, stuck up one minute, loves me the next!! Yes, I respond to his every meow!!

This afternoon I had Simon's friend Gwenivier (sp??) over - the cat next door - and they shared an expensive can of fancy cat food in celebration of Simon's birthday!

LIFE CENTER CHURCH FAMILY CAMPOUT

We headed up to Big Bear this past weekend for our annual church campout. We were really blessed with great weather - nice cool days and even cooler nights!! It was high alert for fires, but they did let us have them, so everybody got to sit around the campfire and have their smores in the evening! We did have a little rain yesterday and it was soooo cool! It was getting darker and darker, a little windier, thunder rolling. It rained a short time and then it was over, the sun came back out and it was wonderful!

I love the campouts because people come together - it's more than us passing each other in the foyer of church for a quick 'hi' on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to camp at the site because they didn't have electricity (can't sleep without my CPAP!) - so we rented a house on the other side of the lake from the camp grounds. But we did spend time at the campground during the day and evening and watched people help set up camps for the others - people sharing food - people making themselves at home at others sites - kids playing with each other - parents taking a break and going for a walk/bike ride leaving their kids with other adults and not having to worry about them. While we were all having our picnic lunches around noon on Saturday Dan and Terri got a call from Dan's mom that his dad had passed out and was on the way to the ER, his blood pressure was 60-something over nothing - the bottom number of his BP bottomed out. It was pretty serious. He asked that we pray and we all stopped what we were doing and gathered around to do just that. Then the 'family' kicked in. Pam and I told them we'd take the girls while they drove to Riverside to see his dad (who was helping family move in the Riverside area), Darren handed over our GPS, and Ron, Darren, and several others went to work on their camper, zipping it up, etc., preparing for the rain and Dan and Terri headed down the mountain. It was so awesome to see the family pull together like that. We took the girls into town and spoiled them as best we could, arcade, shopping, and junk food!! We got a call that his Dad was conscious and alert - praise the Lord. Then we get another call - he may need to stay a day or two for observation, but he's fine. Praise the Lord again. And then came another call - He's going home!! A HUGE Praise the Lord!!!!! We were so thrilled to get that call. We were in K-Mart and we stopped right there and we thanked the Lord for healing Brittany and Brooke's grandpa.

So that's why I love the campouts - our family comes together in so many ways!! Below are some fun pictures!!


This is all of us being spiritual - some of us are raising our hands in praise and some of us have our heads bowed in prayer!! Are you convinced?? :-)


Group picture of the campers!!


Here we are this morning - Sunday morning - at 'church.' Pastor George did a quick devotion - it was short and sweet, but really good! He had people share about what they were thankful for, for the weekend - it was great to hear the blessings - "laughter," "more bonding," "renewed friendships" "prayer in time of need" "helping first time RV campers set up." Very cool!


We rented a pontoon boat and spent part of the day on the lake - here's one of our sailors at the end of the day!


Captain Brooke guiding us through the waters!!


Have you ever seen a floating outhouse?? We were joking as we were coming up on it that that's what it was, then we pulled up next to it and oh my gosh - a floating outhouse!!! How fun is that??!!


Here's a group just hanging out!!

A great time had by all!!!

Happy Birthday to my Mother!!

A couple weeks ago I blogged about my dad since it was his birthday, Friday, the 24th is my mom's, so now it's her turn to be loved via the internet!!

While my dad contributed to my humor, silly side, I've definitely got my mom's emotions. I also inherited from her side my bra size!! You should see some of my aunts - holy cow!! :-) Too much information?? Maybe, but it's true!!

My mom was the 'song leader' at our church for years and years. We didn't grow up with music ministers or music pastors - but I guess if we did, my mom would have been one. Even at 69 her voice is still strong when she sings. People always requested her to sing. Her song of choice - as well as that of the congregation's - was a song about meeting her Master. Every time she sang that song she herself was moved. My mom has always been very passionate about her Lord Jesus. Of course I do remember a time when I was pretty young that she walked off the platform and started a "Jerico March," and over half the church joined her, singing and praying around the church. I remember sitting in my pew thinking she was a crazy woman - what the heck is she doing!!! haha!!

Mom always loved me, my brother and sister and hardly a day went by when she didn't tell us. She always let us know when she was proud of us. Now she's that way with her seven grandkids. My 22-year-old nephew always pops over for grandma to iron his shirts before he goes out. My younger nieces and and another nephew like to go spend the night and play dominos with her all night! She makes sure there's something to drink in the fridge and popsicles in the freezer and usually a candy dish full of something!

I love going home because even at 41 she still treats me like the little kid I once was - and yes, I totally take advantage of it!! I LOVE it!!! :-)

So have a great day mom! I hope when you read this you have received your gift I sent!! I Love you MUCH!!

MY SUPER FUN NIGHT WITH SOME OF MY GIRLFRIENDS!!


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Tonight I went and saw Mama Mia at the Orange County Performing Arts Center with six of my friends - Pam, Carol, Renee, Missy, Teresa, and Robin - I'm sure most of you know who they are without last names and know they are a fun bunch of gals!

We started out the night complimenting each other about our great hair, great blouse, great shoes, you know, those things our husbands don't always do!! We had a GREAT time being girls. Before the show we giggled, laughed way too loud, talked inappropriately at times (that only you can do with friends!), and ate too much at dinner WITHOUT talking about how many calories or fat grams we just consumed! And Missy was taking pictures throughout the night capturing all the craziness!

On the way home Pam's Sequoia was blaring with more laughter and more inappropriate conversations!! Good thing tomorrow is Sunday - we can get our religion back!! I felt like a goofy teen again. It was great just being with girlfriends for a night of fun, food, and theater! We don't drink, so we didn't have any alcoholic beverages, but we were joking that if we did can you imagine how much more loud and obnoxious we would have been!!

Some highlights - that the girls didn't believe I would post!!
*As I was fluffing my hair in the restraunt bathroom, a girl said to me she really liked my curls and hair and then winked at me. I think she was flirting! I grabbed Robin's shoulders and followed her out and said, "I'm with her." I probably should have flashed my wedding ring - but no, I said I was with another girl!! What was I thinking??
*Robin sat next to a guy who "copped a feel" on a body part located in the upper region as she sat down. But from the looks of the guy, we think she's safe!!! :-)
*We were taking pictures of us on the elevator - not wanting other people to get on -in the mirrors. We then pushed the "open door" button so long that it started buzzing and security was heading our way - so we ran away laughing hysterically!!
*There were mirrors all over the bathroom, so we took pictures in the bathroom - weird, huh??
*The big finale was awesome and we were on our feet dancing and swaying to the music!!! In fact, for about three songs, the seven of us (and the three questionable gentlemen next to Robin!) were the only ones in the upper levels standing.
*But the best part of the evening - we all went home and . . . ("dot, dot, dot")
(if you saw the show, you'd get the dots and probably smiling about now!!)

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE????

Yesterday I went to my local grocery store and I bought about $67 worth of groceries. After all my items have passed the scanner I hand the check out girl my $10 off a $30 purchase that I got in a mailer. Great. Then I hand her an $11 off coupon that I earned there...one of those that's attached to your receipt. She says very sternly, "You can't use two coupons like this." I showed her that neither one of them stated "cannot be combined..." She kept standing there arguing with me about it. Again, I take the coupons and show her there's nothing that says I can't. Then she hits the big button for my total. I then said, wait I have one more. It was a 5% off coupon. She literally threw her hands up, looked at the screen and said, "You saved over $26 with the club savings, had $21 in coupons and now this. You are going to get over $65 worth of groceries for about $20." I go, yeah, I love when that happens. I actually got $67 worth for a mere $18!! Very exciting. When her drawer opened she slammed it shut, ripped of the receipt in such a way that it was pretty obvious she was mad. I even looked at her and said - as they do at Seattle Grace - "SERIOUSLY?" You would have thought I was taking the money directly from her pocket. Maybe I am, I don't know - maybe the more coupons used the less employees make. I'll have to check with my friend Greg who is in the grocery business. This same lady does not like me anyway. I crossed the picket lines a few years back when the grocers were on strike and she called me names and even stood in front of my basket so I couldn't get to my car. Then when they went back to work she told people who were standing in her line about me - and how that long time customer (me) forced them to get back to work. I try to stay out of her line, but unfortunately that was the only one open at that hour.

Then today I'm going for another MRI scan. I have new insurance because of Darren's job change. I don't have my new card so I hand them a piece of paper with all the pertinent info that Darren got from HR. Again, the attitude. I explained the situation and when I handed her the paper she goes, "now I'll have to re-enter all your information." Then kept looking at me. I guess she was waiting for me to say, "Oh, sorry, nevermind, I'll just write you a check for $2000, I won't bother you with my insurance." Isn't that her job?? She collects the info and enters it? I mean "SERIOUSLY."

Maybe it's the new computer age we live in, we just don't have as much people contact as we used to and it's affecting how we are with human beings. I'm just asking for a little common courtesy!! Is that too much to ask for??

REMEMBER WHEN THINGS WERE SIMPLER??!!

As many of you know I'm married to a computer freak/geek!! He's constantly upgrading us to the latest and greatest things - always reading about things, and for fun he likes to take a computer apart and put it back together again!! I guess that is his adult version of Legos!

Well, I wanted to listen to my Hairspray CD the other day - I just got it, was so excited to start singing "Good Morning Baltimore" and I had to put the CD in a box, d/load it, burn, export it...something like that. I couldn't figure it out and of course I was getting mad. You see those little black boxes in the above picture - that's where it's supposed to be stored...I don't want to store it I WANT TO LISTEN TO IT RIGHT NOW!!! You are supposed to put the CD in the little white box - which I did - tap around on the keyboard and then it somewho gets to the little black boxes! Darren comes home and I told him I wanted a CD player. Needless to say this techno crazed husband of mine was flabbergasted. Why on earth would I want a CD player when we are surrounded by computers with music capabilities, etc. Whatever, I just want to hit the play button and be done. Like I said, it was a 10 step process that I have yet to understand on the computer.


This is what I want - place the CD on top, hit the play button and begin my song and dance around the house!! :-)


This is the hub of our house. It's where everything comes together. He was installing a new phone the other night so I had to take a picture while the front was off. Good thing I couldn't get to all those wires the other day - I'm thinking I might have cut a few of them!!! Do you see why I want my battery operated CD player!!!

IT'S MY DADDY'S BIRTHDAY!!

Wednesday, August 8th is my Dad's 74th birthday! It's days like this that I wish I lived back in the midwest. I miss being home to do the birthday cake thing, hug and kiss him and tell him I love him. I always try to beat my two siblings and call both my parents on their birthdays first - you know, so I'll be the favorite for that day!! But it's not the same as being there.

I have a lot of my dad in me - I have his sense of humor for sure! He's quite the troublemaker and I do love causing trouble!! When he was working, he would walk into the office full of women secretaries and say a very simple statement, "Did you hear about Bob?" Then he'd walk out. By the end of the day some rumor had developed about Bob and it would come back to dad. He would say, "I didn't say anything, all I asked was did you hear about Bob?" That drove the office girls crazy. My dad worked at that place for like 30 years and he was so believable that even after all that time, he could still stir the pot! I like fibbing like that too! Dad and I both feel the same way about doing that to people - if you are that gullible, time after time after time, then you deserve to be taunted and messed with!! :-) Dad and I would walk down the mall with him holding on to my arm as if he was blind - then if someone walked up close to him and looked at him he'd 'boo' them. Then we'd crack up. Yes, we are terrible, aren't we??!! But so much fun!!!! He's a bit twisted, but that's why I love him so much!

The thing I remember most about my dad growing up was every morning before he went to work he sat on the edge of the bed and read the Bible. I can still remember what the bed spread looked like when I was a teenager and walking past the room seeing him reading. Dad, and of course my mom, made sure we were in church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night and a lot of times in between!! Both of my parents were raised in Christian homes and they made sure they raised their kids the same way - I'm very thankful for my Christian heritage. I'm thankful for my Dad's mom, my Grandma who I miss very much, but I am very thankful I spent so many summers with her, going to church and watching her read her Bible too!!

I love watching my dad interact with his seven grandkids - he loves being a grandpa. My heart aches that I have been unable to give him an eighth grand child - as I would so love to see my dad cradle my baby and draw on his tummy with a marker!! (He did that to my sister's four kids and it drove her nuts!)

My Dad is a cool dad. He's a White Castle hamburger lover, bread and cheese sandwich eater, amazing grandma, great father, and twisted old man!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy - I love you very much!!

P.S. To all of you out there who live close to your parents - go visit them often. Don't take the short distance for granted, you are so lucky!

Not much going on at the Williams....so here are some pretties!!

This is one of my favorite 'bushes.' It's so bright and purple. It's been blooming nicely all summer!

My father-in-law made this beautiful bird feeder for my birthday and sent it to me! It's quite fancy and looks great in my backyard. To the right of the picture is my kitchen window so I can see the birds eat in the morning and evenings. Plus, the roof matches in the kitchen cabinets - so it flows nicely!!! Darren's dad is quite the creator/builder - show him a picture and he can build it!

Here's a picture of one of my favorite flowers in the back yard - so pretty and bright. These blog sites just don't do the colors justice.

Wider view of my pretty pink flowers!

Again - the blog doesn't show how truly beautiful this small tree is. Really pretty purple/pink flowers blooming. I can't wait until it's in full bloom!! Holly and Mark Deojay got this for me last year for my 40th birthday and guess what - it's still alive!!! :-) Unfortunately I can't say that about all the other plants I got. :-(

So when I said nothing much going on - I meant nothing is going on! Here is Simon lounging in the back. He just couldn't muster the strength to open his eyes!!

While Simon is relaxing outside, Darren is relaxing on the inside!! Can you tell by the look on his face he's wondering what the heck I'm doing taking his picture right now?!

It's been a few days so I thought I'd better throw something up on my blog, so now you see what's going on at 6:15pm on a Monday evening at our house. What am I doing you ask? Not relaxing - just threw some laundry in the washer, flipped the mattress, cooking supper, going through the mail, separating bills, etc.; getting my hair cut/colored later this evening - maybe tomorrow Darren can take a picture of me relaxing on the couch!!!