Greatest Husband Ever

I just got the most beautiful spring bouquet of flowers from my husband!  No reason, just because he wanted to brighten up my day.  HOW SWEET!!!!  I have tears in my eyes just thinking about it!!!  Flowers are my favorite and go straight to my heart!!  Thanks Jason!!!

I will not be moved, I must rest in Him

I continue to be blessed by the Natalie Grant CD that I bought -Relentless.  I have finally stopped repeating the song I blogged about earlier “Better Hands Now” and have moved the repeat button to this song:

I WILL NOT BE MOVED – NATALIE GRANT

I have been the wayward child
I have acted out
I have questioned Sovereignty
And had my share of doubt
And though sometimes my prayers feel like
They’re bouncing off the sky
The hand I hold won’t let me go
And is the reason why…

Chorus:
I will stumble
I will fall down
But I will not be moved
I will make mistakes
I will face heartache
But I will not be moved
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
I will not be moved

Bitterness has plagued my heart
Many times before
My life has been like broken glass
And I have kept the score
Of all my shattered dreams and though it seemed
That I was far too gone
My brokenness helped me to see
It’s grace I’m standing on

Chorus

And the chaos in my life
Has been a badge I’ve worn
Though I have been torn
I will not be moved

Chorus

______________________

Really I should just ‘bold’ the whole thing, I LOOVE thing song!!  I highly recommend.

An update to ‘Skeletons’

Apparently I sparked a little bit of controversy when I posted the below entry.  I appreciate all the opinions and comments and welcome more ..

Here’s the main point .. When I read the devotion that is followed by that entry I was convicted about how I’ve had a judgemental attitude towards people in the past.  I am seeing now how wrong I was for acting like that.  When I read the devotional, I felt like God was trying to show me that we ALL sin and are ALL messed up and we need to strive and Love like He Loves. 

So, that’s the whole reason I wrote the entry.  Because of my own judgemental attitude.

I am going through a lot in my personal life, and I feel like each day God is trying to mold me into being more like Him, and that devotion was a step in the right direction in ME learning to LOVE others.

Thanks for all the hits, opinions, and comments!

Skeleton’s in our closet

Let’s face it, we ALL have skeletons in our closets!  Some are years old that we have ‘buried’ deeply and don’t want to be reminded of  … we’ve hid these secrets from our friends, family, sometimes even our significant other, and any one else that may come into our lives.  We CERTAINLY aren’t going to make these mistakes “topic” for conversation.  And we do our best to avoid them at all cost.

Other skeleton’s are up in our face.  They, at times, are very public.  They are a constant reminder of a “wrong turn” we made on life’s path.  These public mistakes can make a person feel shameful, stupid, or an outcast from those who are seemingly “perfect”.

I’m learning pretty quickly that EVERY SINGLE PERSON on this planet has some sort of mistake that they aren’t proud of.  No one is omitted from this, Christians and Non-Christians alike!  Some people may hide this stuff better, but we ALL have our crap.  We aren’t perfect and we never will be.

Wouldn’t it be great if we ALL had this understanding?  What if people could be real with one another and realize that each and every person is a flawed individual just like themselves.  That no mistake is too much for God to handle … He’s forgiven it all!!  What if we STOPPED judging our neighbor for their “crap” and started looking inward to our own mistakes?

Seems to me, that if everyone took this “judgemental chip” off their shoulders we could better understand the people around us, AND we could love them the way that God loves us.

Just something to think about.

Oh, and if you wanted to know what sparked all this …. read this below ….

_______________________________________

Exposed

 Micca Monda Campbell

 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” I John 1:9 (NIV)

          Devotion:

I have a talent for embarrassing myself. A few years ago, at one of our Proverbs 31 She Speaks Conferences, I was in the elevator on my way to a meeting, when I noticed that my panty hose were sagging. I had been running non-stop since the conference began, so naturally I needed to freshen up. I figured since I was the only one in the elevator, it was safe to lift up my skirt, bend over, and pull up my hose. I’m sure you have done something similar.

When I entered the elevator at the bottom floor, it had a back wall. As I rode the elevator from one floor to the next, bent over tugging at my hose, I noticed something had changed. The back wall had transformed into a glass wall! This hotel was built in a circle. This design meant that all of the glass elevators overlooked the center of hotel as they moved up and down. What was in the center of the hotel? It was the open hotel dinning area. What time of day was it? You guessed it. It was dinnertime. Just my luck, the room was packed with people who had a prime view of me with my skirt up, arranging my hose. Little did they know they were going to get both dinner and a show that evening!

I was horrified! Aren’t we all when a side of us is exposed that we’d rather keep covered? I think sin is like that. We try to hide it, but at some point it reveals itself – leaving us embarrassed, sorrowful, and ashamed.

What does our sin do the heart of God? The Bible says that our sin grieves the Holy Spirit within us (Ephesians 4:30, paraphrased). I don’t know about you, but knowing that I can grieve the heart of God grieves my own heart. Not only am I ashamed, but I feel separated from God. The good news is when we are in Christ, God doesn’t remember our record of sins. What He remembers is when we believe Him.

Paul tells us, “Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Galatians 3:6). Therefore, if we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us and purify us. There is no need to hide our sin or defend our wrong actions when we can simply confess it and receive God’s forgiveness.

You and I need to understand that Jesus doesn’t expose our sin to embarrass us or condemn us. God didn’t send Christ into the world to condemn but to save. When you and I sin, God is simply waiting for us to confess it so He can deal with it in us and for us. In the instant we confess, Christ is ready and willing to make all things new. That newness is something for all to see!

 

 

 

Shocking headline

Father Confesses to Imprisoning Daughter for 24 years

By VERONIKA OLEKSYN and WILLIAM J. KOLE,

AP

As seen on aol.com

Posted: 2008-04-28 09:53:25

Filed Under: World News

 

 

 

Austrian police say the father of a 42-year-old woman identified as Elisabeth F. confessed to holding her captive for 24 years in this hidden bedroom in the cellar of a house in Austria. The room had a thick soundproof door leading to it.

A police officer looks toward the house. Elisabeth F. had been missing since Aug. 29, 1984, and was found by police in the town of Amstetten on Saturday evening following a tip.

 

AMSTETTEN, Austria (April 28)  A man has confessed to imprisoning his daughter for 24 years in windowless cell with a soundproofed door and fathering seven children with her, police said Monday.

 

The man, now 73, also told investigators that he tossed the body of one of the children in an incinerator when the infant died shortly after birth, said Franz Polzer, head of the Lower Austrian Bureau of Criminal Affairs.”We are being confronted with an unfathomable crime,” Interior Minister Guenther Platter said.

The daughter, who is now 42, had been missing since 1984 and was found by police in the town of Amstetten on Saturday evening after police received a tip.

Police on Monday released several photos showing parts of the cramped basement cell, with a small bathroom and a narrow passageway leading to a tiny bedroom. Investigators said an electronic keyless-entry system apparently kept the daughter from escaping from the cell, which was made of solid reinforced concrete.

The suspect, identified by authorities as Josef F., was expected to appear in court later Monday.

“He admitted that he locked his daughter, who was 18 at the time, in the cellar, that he repeatedly had sex with her, and that he is the father of her seven children,” Polzer told The Associated Press.

Three of the surviving children lived with the grandparents and were registered with authorities. The other three apparently were held captive in the cellar with their mother, Polzer told reporters.

Hans-Heinz Lenze, a senior local official, said the suspect’s wife apparently had “no idea” of what went on and was devastated.

“You have to imagine that this woman’s world fell apart,” he said.

Austrians — still scandalized by a 2006 case involving a young woman who was kidnapped and imprisoned in a basement cell outside Vienna for more than eight years — expressed disbelief at the latest case.

“The entire nation must ask itself just what is fundamentally going wrong,” the newspaper Der Standard said Monday in a commentary.

Guenter Pramreiter, who owns a bakery just down the street, told The Associated Press that the suspect and his wife would regularly buy bread and rolls, though never in large quantities.

“They appeared normal, just like any other family,” Pramreiter said. “I’m totally shocked, this was next door. It’s terrible.”

The case unfolded after a gravely ill teenager was found unconscious on April 19 in the building where her grandparents live, and taken to a hospital in the town of Amstetten, about 75 miles west of Vienna. Authorities publicly appealed for her to come forward to help diagnose the young woman’s condition.

After receiving a tip, police picked up the 42-year-old woman — identified as Elisabeth F. — and her father on Saturday close to the hospital.

Police said Elisabeth F. appeared “greatly disturbed” during questioning. She agreed to talk only after authorities assured her she would no longer have to have contact with her father and that her children would be cared for.

On Sunday evening, police said investigators had found the area where Elisabeth and three of the children were held captive. Investigators said the rooms were at most 5 feet 6 inches feet high. The area had a TV and small hot plates for cooking.

In a chronology of events outlined in a police statement, authorities said Elisabeth F. told them her father began sexually abusing her when she was 11. She told police that some years later in 1984, he sedated her, handcuffed her and locked her in the cellar.

Police said a letter written by Elisabeth had apparently surfaced a month after her disappearance, asking her parents not to search for her.

The Austria Press Agency reported that the surviving children are three boys and three girls, the youngest of whom is 5. DNA tests were expected to determine whether Josef F. is the father of the children.

Sunday’s developments recalled another case that shocked Austrians in the summer of 2006, when a young woman escaped after being largely confined to a tiny underground dungeon in a quiet Vienna suburb for more than eight years.

Natascha Kampusch was 10 years old when she was kidnapped in Vienna on her way to school in March 1998. Her abductor, Wolfgang Priklopil, threw himself in front of a train just hours after her dramatic escape.

Kampusch, now 20, issued a statement Monday saying she wanted to contact Elisabeth to offer emotional and financial help.

Oleksyn reported from Amstetten, Austria, and Kole from Vienna.

 

 

 

 

I can’t get it out of my head!!!

Subway is running a nation-wide ”five dollar footlong” campaign.  I’m sure you’ve heard the annoyingly-mezmerizing jingle on TV.  I can’t STAND when this commercial comes on.  I try VERY hard to switch the channel before the jingle begins.  Below is an interesting article about the jingle.

And dang-it if I don’t want Subway for lunch!!!!  UGH

---

 

 

Jingle Hell

 

The diabolical geniuses behind Subway’s “five-dollar foot-long” song.

By Seth Stevenson

as seen on msn.com
Posted Monday, April 21, 2008, at 7:21 AM ET

The Spot: Various people and creatures (a police officer, a flight attendant, a Godzilla-type monster) hold up five fingers and then, using their outstretched palms, indicate a distance of roughly one foot. Meanwhile, a song plays. The lyrics, repeated again and again: “Five. Five dollar. Five dollar foot-long.”

For a limited time, Subway is offering a special deal: foot-long subs for $5. Foot-longs were once Subway’s “stock in trade,” according to Chief Marketing Officer Tony Pace, but in recent years the smaller 6-inch subs have overtaken them in popularity. (The 6-inchers are often sold as part of a package deal—including a drink and a snack—designed to compete with other fast food outlets’ value meals.) “We wanted to get back to our heritage,” says Pace, “as a place where you can get a foot-long sub.”

 

 

How to convey this vital information to the public at large? To ad agency MMB, the advent of a $5 foot-long seemed in itself momentous and compelling enough that elaborate persuasive efforts could only cloud the issue. The key was to be as straightforward as possible. So the team devised a simple hand gesture to symbolize the $5 price and the ample length of the sandwich. This semaphore had a pleasing parsimony. But it still required some explanatory copy.

 

 

“We didn’t want any blabbing,” say Jerry Cronin and Jamie Mambro of MMB. “It was just, let’s see how many times we can say ‘five dollar foot-long.’ Let’s mention it as many times as possible without making someone hurt us. We wanted to make sure no one would miss the message.” They quickly realized the best way to accomplish that goal (barring an embrace of the controversial “HeadOn: Apply directly to the forehead” method) was to embed the phrase in a jingle.

 

 

The resultant, maddeningly catchy ditty has spawned, among other responses, a YouTube horror-parody video titled “$5 Curse,” in which a man goes slowly insane as he attempts to dislodge the tune from his skull. Comments posted by viewers of this video include: “I have this exact same problem. Thank you for making this video!”; “LOL. yes!! dude. this is me in my apartment”; and “I, too, am a victim of the $5 curse. My daughter and I were singing it together with the harmonies while doing the dishes after dinner tonight.”

I think the song’s genius (I myself have been known to hum along) lies in its blending of stubborn repetition with a haunting and imploring chord progression. It’s a far cry from the pat, upbeat vibe of your standard jingle, and it’s this unexpected quality that perks up our ears and sticks in our minds. I called the composer, Jimmy Harned (of the boutique music outfit Tonefarmer), to see whether he might confirm my notion that there’s something ominous going on in his work.

 

 

“The chord structure does imply something dark,” he agreed, getting out his guitar to demonstrate over the phone. “On the word long, it goes down from a C to an A-flat,” he said, strumming, “which is kind of a weird place. It’s definitely not a poppy, happy place. It’s more of a metaly place. But at the same time, the singing stays almost saccharine.”

(I didn’t get the sense that there’d been a conscious strategy at work here. Tonefarmer’s songwriters whipped up seven or eight jingle candidates for Subway—including a Weezer sound-alike and a ska-inflected number—with the hope that one tune would be chosen and, in a best-case scenario, develop into an earworm. Harned paused to self-analyze only after the fact, when I requested that he look more closely at what he’d wrought.)

More and more, ad agencies don’t bother to commission songs; they instead just buy up cool indie tracks to run behind ads. (A recent example—and an ad I love: the Nike Sparq spot in which footage of athletes is expertly edited to a Saul Williams track.) When original music does come into play, it’s often instrumental, mood-setting wallpaper. The in-your-face jingle, with product-specific lyrics, is something of a lost art.

 

 

But take heart, jingle fans—they’re still out there. Dunkin’ Donuts hired They Might Be Giants to pen a series of short songs about coffee and smoothies and such. And the current campaign for FreeCreditReport.com makes bold use of infectious musical storytelling. While the Subway jingle is more a demi-jingle, with very little build and no verses, the FreeCreditReport.com songs are full-blown ballads—which of course include carefully enunciated mentions of the brand, in this case literally spelled out. The songwriter for these spots was David Muhlenfeld of the Martin Agency, who says he “went away with my guitar and some cheap Chianti” to find inspiration. When I asked Muhlenfeld whether he used any particular tricks to make the tunes catchy, he replied: “Repetition alone will make something stick in a listener’s head. The question is, once your song is in their head, will they want to stick that head in an oven?”

 

 

And that pretty much captures the risk inherent in jingle usage. It also perhaps explains why jingles enjoy limited popularity with today’s advertising execs. When a jingle’s bad, it’s very bad. Or as Cronin and Mambro put it: “Done wrong, it can make your eyes bleed.”

Grade: B. No great shakes here, but anyone watching the ad will 1) probably be arrested by the colorful visuals and memorable tune and 2) almost certainly receive the message that $5 foot-longs are available at Subway. So, mission accomplished. Granted, the song does grow irritating with repeat exposures. (I won’t be sad when it disappears from the airwaves, and I won’t be listening to the extended dance remix available for download at the Subway Web site.) But thanks to its atypical harmonies, I think this jingle manages to stop just shy of encroaching on eye-bleeding, head-in-oven territory.

I’m in better hands, what a relief!

I love this song by Natalie Grant.  It has brought me such comfort this past week .. read the lyrics.

_____________________________________________

It’s hard to stand on shifting sand
It’s hard to shine in the shadows of the night
You can’t be free if you don’t reach for help
You cant love if you dont love yourself

There is hope when my faith runs out
Cause I’m in better hands now

It’s like the sun is shining when the rain is pouring down
It’s like my soul is flying though my feet are on the ground
So take this heart of mine there’s no doubt
I’m in better hands now

I am strong all because of you
I stand in awe of every mountain that you move
Oh I am changed, yesterday is gone
I am safe from this moment on

There’s no fear when the night comes ’round
I’m in better hands now

It’s like the sun is shining when the rain is pouring down
It’s like my soul is flying though my feet are on the ground
So take this heart of mine there’s no doubt
I’m in better hands now

It’s like the sun is shining when the rain is pouring down
It’s like my soul is flying though my feet are on the ground
Its like the world is silent though I know it isnt true
Its like the breath of Jesus is right here in this room

So take this heart of mine there’s no doubt
I’m in better hands now
I’m in better hands now

________________________________

That’s such a powerful message to me!!  I’ve been listening to this song on repeat for 5 days now.  What a blessing!!

I love these kids!!

Here is a picture of Jason’s neice’s and nephew.  L-R Maci, CJ, and Ashleigh.  They are his blood, but I love them like they were mine!  I was at each child’s birth, and have loved each of them since the day I met them (Minus Ashleigh because she was born before I was in the family)!!  They are the sweetest neice’s/nephew a girl could have!! 

I got this picture from their mom’s blog (Misty) and I just thought it was priceless!!  Maci trying to hog the camera, CJ wanting some of the action, and Ashleigh trying her hardest to keep both of the little ones in line.  Aren’t they precious!!  I love them so very much and am patiently waiting for MY sister to have babies!!

Love this post

I just read this post on my best friend Erin’s blog.  I still don’t know how to tag her to where you can just click the name ” Erin ” and go instantly to her page.  If someone who has wordpress would like to tell me that’d be great.  Anyway, you can view her blog by clicking on “Erin Alaine Smith” to the right.  I just read her blog and it really spoke to me, so I decided to copy it and post it on my blog too.

______________________________________________

Thinking out loud

Erin Alaine Smith

As I see it

April 23rd, 2008

Sorry for the lack of posts these past few months. I just haven’t felt very blog-ie lately.  Things are going well. Work is good. Church is good. Husband is great. However, I seem to have this sense of restlessness lately that I just can’t shake.

“When is this going to happen?”
“When is that going to happen?”
“Why do I have to keep waiting?”

The other day, I came across this quote in a book I’ve been reading. It’s a paraphrase of Romans 5:3-4 from The Living Bible.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials for we know that they are good for us — they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.”

I want my “hope and faith to be strong and seady.” I just wish it wasn’t so painful.

________________________________

Very insightful Erin!!!

Joke of the Day

A man goes to his doctor.

“If I see someone riding a bike when I’m walking down the street, I get this terrible urge to throw myself under the wheels. Have you ever heard of such a thing?”

The doctor thinks for a moment, then says; “Yes, I have heard of one other case. You are what we call a cycle path.”

Get out of that pit

Right now I am reading a book that my sister, Leah, gave me.  You can view her blog by clicking on her name to the right.  The book is called “Get out of that pit … straight talk about God’s deliverance,” by Beth Moore.  As I am reading the book, I am realizing that we all have been in a “pit” at one time or another in our life.  I’m in chapter 2, but so far it’s a pretty good book.

So, as I come across things in this book, I’m going to post them, and maybe you will get something out of it too!

Psalm 40:2 says -

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand”

So basically God can deliver you from ANY trial that you may be going through.  He can be your hope and even give you a firm place to stand.

 

 

45 Questions

45 Questions

1. Do you like blue cheese?  No, not at all
2. Have you ever smoked heroin?  What? NO!
3. Do you own a gun?   NO!
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at sonic? I always get a lemon-berry slush.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I love them.  Corn dogs and pig-in-a-blankets specifically
7. Favorite Christmas movie?  Don’t have one.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Orange Juice or Water
9. Can you do push ups?  Not anymore
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry?  I have several – My engagement ring and wedding band, my diamond solitaire necklace given to me on Jason and I’s one year anniversary, and my grandmother’s engagement ring from 1929 given to me for high school graduation.
11. Favorite hobby?  I don’t really have one, does blogging count?

12. Do you have A.D.D.?  Yes, very much so!
13. What’s one trait you hate about yourself? I don’t always see the “big” picture

14. Middle name?  Melissa

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: Lunch was good, I like grapes, where’s my drink?
16. Name 3 things you bought yesterday: 2 throw pillows, a sheet, and gas for my car

17. Current worry? Weight 

18. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?  Sweet tea, Kool-Aid, Water
19. Current hate right now?  Not sure
20. Favorite place to be? In a hot bath
21. Where would you like to go for vacation?  California

22. Name three people who you want to complete this?  ERIN, LEAH, MISTY

23. Do you own slippers? Yes, a pair my mom got me for Christmas.  They are blue with sequins

24. What shirt are you wearing?  Scrubs .aka. glorified pj’s
25. What year(s) would you go back in time to? 1997-2000

26. Can you whistle?  Yes, but my best friend Erin can’t .. or barely can
27. Favorite color?  blue, green
28. Would you be a pirate?  Weird question, no
29. What songs do you sing in the shower?  I listen to the radio while in the bathtub
30. Favorite girl’s name(s)?  

Ava

Ada
Addison
Naomi
Piper

Olivia

Adeline

Layla

Reese

Corey/Cori/Corie

Mikayla

Katie

Kae

Well, you asked.
31. Favorite boy’s name(s)?

Jack
Noah
Conner

Hollis

Roy
Stone

Zane

again, don’t ask if you don’t want the answer
32. What’s in your pocket right now?  my cell phone, lip gloss, and gum

33. Last thing that made you laugh? When I dipped grapes in panchos cheese dip
34. Best Halloween costume? can’t remember

35. Worst injury you’ve ever had? When I broke my foot trying to remodel my last house

36. Do you love where you live?  Yes, I love my house more and more each day!
37. How many TVs do you have in your house?  4
38. Who is your loudest friend? Ashleigh, she has the greatest laugh

39. How many dogs do you have? 1, with plans for another
40. Does someone have a crush on you? No, I’m married
41. What is your favorite book? I don’t have one, but currently I am reading “get out of that pit” by Beth Moore.  I recommend.
42. What is your favorite candy? All
43. Favorite Sports Team? Hard to say.  My husband follow’s Florida Gators Football and Memphis Tigers Basketball, so I’ll go with that.  I’m a closet UT fan, keep it quiet!!
44. Your favorite meal? I love all food

45. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Tossing and turning, I couldn’t sleep to save my life!!

Funny name of the day

Phan Pham

 

What equals 100%?

This was emailed to me a few days ago.  It’s something to think about.

____________________________________________________________

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint: What Equals 100%?  What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been in situations where someone wants you to give over  100%.

How about achieving 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
  A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

  Is represented as:
  1  2  3 4  5 6  7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
  A B C D E F G H I   J  K   L  M  N  O  P  Q   R  S   T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z
                                                                                                             
Then:

  H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
  8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

  and

  K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
  11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

  But,

  A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
  1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

  AND, look how far the love of God will take you

  L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D

  12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that: While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it’s the Love of God that will put you over the top!

Thanks!

Yesterday I had the highest number of readers that I’ve ever had!  So thanks to all my readers!  Keep reading, and invite a friend!  It’s about to get interesting!

You know you are getting older when:

The foot that you broke four years ago STILL hurts and you just decide to accept the fact that it will never be the same again

Organ Donation – Saves a life or haunts a new one?

I’ve always been a strong believer in organ donation.  My whole take on it is, if I’m medically dead, but some of my organs are working properly, why not give my organs to someone who will use them.  Through my death, a life could be saved!  How cool is that!?  I know this is morbid, but when you die and are embalmed, your remains are just taken out of you and thrown away.  So again, organ donation has always seemed like a no-brainer to me.

I’ve often had this argument with people.  You’d be surprised how many people are against organ donation. 

Well, I just saw this article on the internet, it’s pretty interesting.

_____________________________________________________________

Suicide Links Heart Donor, Recipient

Posted: 2008-04-07 12:25:03

Filed Under: Health News, Weird News

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (April 6) – A man who received a heart transplant 12 years ago and later married the donor’s widow died the same way the donor did, authorities said: of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

No foul play was suspected in 69-year-old Sonny Graham’s death at his Vidalia, Ga., home, investigators said. He was found Tuesday in a utility building in his backyard with a single shotgun wound to the throat, said Greg Harvey, a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Graham, who was director of the Heritage golf tournament at Sea Pines from 1979 to 1983, was on the verge of congestive heart failure in 1995 when he got a call that a heart was available in Charleston.

That heart was from Terry Cottle, 33, who had shot himself, Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad said.

Grateful for his new heart, Graham began writing letters to the donor’s family to thank them. In January 1997, Graham met his donor’s widow, Cheryl Cottle, then 28, in Charleston.

“I felt like I had known her for years,” Graham told The (Hilton Head) Island Packet for a story in 2006. “I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. I just stared.”

In 2001, Graham bought a home for Cottle and her four children in Vidalia. Three years later, they were married after Graham retired from his job as a plant manager for Hargray Communications in Hilton Head.

From their previous marriages, the couple had six children and six grandchildren scattered across South Carolina and Georgia.

Cheryl Graham, now 39, has worked at several hospices in Vidalia. A telephone message left Sunday at a listing for Cheryl and Sonny Graham in Vidalia was not immediately returned.

Sonny Graham’s friends said he would be remembered for his willingness to help people.

“Any time someone had a problem, the first reaction was, ‘Call Sonny Graham,’ ” said Bill Carson, Graham’s friend for more than 40 years. “It didn’t matter whether you had a flat tire on the side of the road or your washing machine didn’t work. He didn’t even have to know you to help you.”

 

Chronicles of driving the in pouring rain.

It was raining CATS and DOGS this morning on my way to work.  Normally I enjoy my 45 minute drive to work.  I get to listen to music the whole way to work.  I used to live only 10 minutes from work, but that was barely enough time to listen to 2 or 3 songs.  Anyway, it was POURING this morning!!

So on the way to work I’m eating my cereal, as normal, as it just begins to sprinkle.  The sky is dark, so I know it’s about to storm.  Sure enough, once my cinnamon toast crunch is gone, the clouds open and up and it begins to pour.  No biggie, I’ve got my lights on, my windshield wipers on, and I’m proceeding with caution.  It’s a normal rainy day. 

Suddenly I hear a POP on my windshield!  Almost instantly my driver’s side windshield wiper begins to shake violently, while still going back and forth across my windshield.  To my horror, somehow, the wiper blade has become detached from the wiper arm.  So, on a morning when I very obviously need my windshield wipers to be on HI if not EXTRA HI (a setting I think they should add for those really rainy days) I can only use my wiper every 30-40 second for on swoop.  It was a little scary.

THEN as I was driving through a curve in the road, nearly to work, and a HUGE, BRIGHT, flash of light nearly blinded me!!  The flash was brighter than if someone was taking a picture of me in the dark.  Then there was the LOUDEST clap of lightening that I’ve ever heard, right in front of my face!! 

It was an interesting morning to say the least.  I say, the only time cloudy, dark, rainy mornings are good is when you can stay snuggled and tucked in your bed.

 

Dear Memphis Drivers,

When it’s raining outside you are to proceed with caution.  This does not mean drive 20MPH on the highway, it means be CAREFUL.  It also does not mean to disreguard the rain entirely and drive like maniac.  Just take it easy and be a little bit more careful. 

Also, if/when there is a car wreck when it’s raining (and you know there’s gonna be) PLEASE move the wreckage over, out of traffic or the whole city of Memphis will be delayed 4 hours because of your minor fender bender.

Thanks – The most inpatient drive you will ever meet – Keren

Blessing

I have many friends and family members that are Christians.  This has always been such a blessing to me.  When I am going through hard times, it’s often someone else’s outlook on Faith and Jesus that can help bring me through my hard moment. 

I know a lot of ya’ll don’t know of all the struggles I am facing right now.  There have been days I have been 1 million times past the point of overwelmed.  Each time I get like this, it seems that Jesus sends a friend or family member my way to encourage me.

This was emailed to me this morning:

Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

1 Peter 5:7, NLT

It’s a short little verse, but it was a huge blessing for me!

 

My tears are Tiger Blue.

So the Men’s Basketball Championship game was last night.  I’m sure you know that, unless you live in a cave somewhere.  Anyway, the Memphis Tiger’s were prepped and ready for their first National Title.  We had the win in the palm of our hand.  I mean, open up your palm, insert win, then close your palm and hold on tight, right?  Well, something happened in the last 2 minutes of the game and we were barely hanging on.  The stupid Jay-Craps came back from (I think) our nine point lead.  Needless to say, they made a shot at the buzzer that tied up the game, putting us in overtime.  At this point, most Memphis fans knew it was over, we lost the Championship game that, only seconds before, we had in the palm our our hand … or claw I should say (sorry, bad pun)  Anyway, The game went into OT and we bombed under pressure and lost.  Sad.  Very sad.

On a more positive note … I realize no one remember’s #2, I get that.  But seriously, this is AS CLOSE as Memphis has ever been to a National Title.  That’s HUGE!  Coach Cal did a FANTASTIC job leading us to a near flaw-less 38-2 season.  We had an amazing season!!  I actually wanted to watch them play because there was no telling what would happen!!  I am very sad that we didn’t get the win, but we overcame a lot of obstacles and made people all over the nation think twice about The University of Memphis.  And that is a victory in itself.

Another great TIGERS article

I found this article at www.msn.foxsports.com

__________________________________________________________________

SAN ANTONIO – With the championship of college basketball still a week away, John Calipari was heard to proclaim: “This is our time.”

It was not the kind of remark you’d have heard from coaches of the other Final Four teams. Those men have similar personas, and are all regarded as circumspect potentates. After all, UCLA, North Carolina and Kansas represent the game’s aristocratic houses. By contrast, it seemed inevitable that Memphis would be cast as the interloper, and its coach, with some justification, as the hustler.

But now, with a week gone by, UCLA is gone. Same for North Carolina. But the hustler remains ascendant. He believes it’s his time, and so do his players.

What’s more, who can tell the hustler from the prophet? The nature of this game requires him to be both.

Consider Calipari a ward boss of the new age. In the past several days, he’s turned his strolls on the Riverwalk into targets of opportunity for adoring fans and sympathetic journalists. But this is the same guy who had one of his assistants call my colleague, Jeff Goodman, telling him he was not welcome in Memphis. Goodman’s crime: He had written about some of the Tigers’ thuggish proclivities.

It was a legit story. Calipari, of all people, should know that. Still, his response was the kind of move that diminishes the man.

Still, there’s this: He can coach. Though most college coaches regard their “systems” as sacrosanct, Calipari is unburdened by dogma. The system he advocates isn’t designed to maximize his glory so much as his players. In this case, the dribble-drive stratagem he’s adapted is an advanced scheme for abundantly talented players with great basketball aptitude.

For all the talk of student-athletes, Calipari actually trusts his players to be students of the game.

“These guys feel unleashed,” he said. “There’s more freedom for them to make choices. You have to count on your team to be unselfish, you have to count on your team being able to make great decisions on the run. … They never feel like they can’t make a play.”

Calipari’s is not an unjustified faith. The Tigers — averaging almost 84 points in the tournament — have turned the ball over just 42 times in their five victories.

Finally, as shabby as Calipari’s treatment of Goodman has been, I feel obliged to acknowledge a debt of gratitude to the coach. If nothing else, he’s dispatched with the insufferable false modesty that emanates from the interview podiums. His team is 104-9 over the last three seasons. There’s no need to soft pedal how good they are.

“This is what a dream team is,” he says.

On the talented of his junior guard, Chris Douglas-Roberts: “Ridiculous.”

On his freshman point guard, Derrick Rose: “He reminded me of Earl the Pearl. … There are going to be people five years from now talking, ‘Is he like a Derrick Rose?’ This kid is a unique program changer, probably, in my opinion, at all levels.”

Lastly, as it concerns Rose, consider this: “If he wants to do what’s right for him and his family, he’ll go pro. If he wants to do what’s right for me and my family, he’ll stay.”

At this level, the line between amateur and professional is as obscure as the distinction between prophet and hustler. At least Calipari knows the game he’s playing. A lot has been made lately of his relationship with William Wesley, a man best known as “Worldwide Wes.”

 

Worldwide’s ostensible occupation is a mortgage broker. More to the point, though, he is an expert facilitator, cultivator and manager of relationships. Among Worldwide’s relationships are those with Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Bill Clinton.

Calipari has called him “a goodwill ambassador to our program.” Of course, such goodwill has helped Memphis acquire the services of players like Rose and, before that, Dajuan Wagner.

“He’s my friend of 20 years,” Calipari said Sunday afternoon. “This stuff on recruiting is about relationships. … That’s what recruiting is … I have a lot of relationships. That’s why I’ve been able to recruit pretty good players.”

Here the hustler was talking. The hustler can chalk up his recruiting successes as a matter of people skills. Similarly, he can dismiss Joey Dorsey’s penchant for brawling on Beale St. as a series of youthful “screwups.”

“Joey is the first person in his family to graduate from high school,” Calipari said.

I didn’t know quite what to make of that. But it got me thinking: Who’s really getting hustled?

Joey Dorsey stayed in school. Does that make him a hero or a sucker? And what of Derrick Rose? Should he stay, too, and play for Myles Brand and Dick Vitale?

The NCAA has a $6 billion deal to televise March Madness. The same dons who cut that deal have no problem pimping out their so-called student-athletes in dunking contests sponsored by Vegas.com. Of course, it’s all done under the guise of amateur athletics.

So maybe Calipari is right. Maybe it’s his time. Time to win one for the hustlers.

GO TIGERS GO!!!!

My city is buzzing this morning about tonight’s game!  The Memphis Tigers FINALLY made it to the Final Four and now they have advanced to the final Championship game!!  I’ve been following the Tiger’s all season, hoping that they would make it to this point!  However, I don’t talk all the “sport’s talk” that well, so I found this article on www.gotigersgo.cstv.com and thought it summed up tonights game!!

NO. 1 SEED TIGERS TO MEET NO. 1 SEED KANSAS FOR 2000 NCAA TITLE TONIGHT
The University of Memphis squad (38-1, 16-0 C-USA), ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll and No. 3 in ESPN/USA Today poll, tries to take its final step toward the 2008 NCAA title on Monday, Apr. 7 when it meets Kansas (36-3, 13-3 Big 12) in the NCAA Tournament national championship contest in San Antonio’s Alamodome. The game, to be televised by CBS Sports, is slated to start at 8:21 p.m. (CT).

Memphis is the South Region’s No. 1 seed, while the Jayhawks are the Midwest Region’s top seed.

Memphis advanced to the NCAA Tournament title game with victories over Texas-Arlington 87-63, Mississippi State 77-74, Michigan State 92-74, Texas 85-67 and UCLA 78-63. Prior to the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers swept the Conference USA regular season and tournament crowns for a third-straight year in 2007-08. The Tigers posted a perfect 16-0 league mark in regular season play for a second-consecutive year.

The Tigers enter Monday’s NCAA Tournament national championship on a 12-game win streak after a Feb. 23 setback to then-No. 2 Tennessee. The Tigers defeated Tulsa, Southern Miss, SMU and UAB to close the regular season and then posted victories over Tulane, Southern Miss and Tulsa in the C-USA Tournament. Memphis defeated Texas-Arlington, Mississippi State, Michigan State, Texas and UCLA in the NCAA Tournament.

The Jayhawks are also on a 12-game win streak entering Monday’s NCAA Tournament title game. Kansas defeated Portland State, UNLV, Villanova, Davidson and North Carolina to reach the championship game. The Jayhawks tied for the Big 12 Conference regular season title and won the league’s postseason tournament crown.  http://gotigersgo.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/040608aao.html

 

Funny name of the day

I like to call this one “alphabet soup” 

Sievalle Wijayawardhana

Wisdom teeth don’t really add wisdom.

So I am the ONE in a million people who does not have wisdom teeth.  I’m missing them.  Where they went, I’ll never know, but I don’t have them.  I’ve never had to deal with the fear of getting them or the fear of getting them pulled. 

 Well, over this past weekend I had to aid my husband in the heart-ache of wisdom teeth.  You see, he cut these teeth about a year and a half ago.  We didn’t get them pulled bc he had room in his mouth and our insurance didn’t cover the procedure until a specific time had passed.  So, Jason kept them, thinking they made him wise

 Well, he was wrong.  He isn’t any wiser, and this weekend the choice to keep them in his mouth bit us both in the BUTT!!  One of his wisdom teeth got infected, making him swell up like a one-side chipmunk (it was pretty funny) but all jokes aside, the guy was in a lot of pain.

So on Monday he had to have emergency surgery to get them pulled.  For the past few days he has been in all kinds of pain.  He was throwing up non-stop, bleeding, and malnourished.  Needless to say neither one of us have gotten a good nights rest since Friday.  Luckily today he is feeling better and the pain is going away. 

If you have these teeth, you better hope they don’t get infected.  You are in for a nasty surprise if you have to get them pulled.  If you had them pulled as a child/adolescent, give your Mom a hug next time you see her, bc caring for a wisdom-toothless person is a chore.

Here’s a picture of wisdom teeth, not Jason’s .. just a pic I found on the internet.