Skywatch Friday - Cloudy Sunset in Haleiwa

This picture was taken in August of 2006 in Hawaii. We made a special trip to the side of the island that was supposed to be best for viewing the sunset. Dark clouds rolled in right at sunset though. Oh well--I'll take a cloudy sunset in Hawaii any time!

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Wordless/Wordful Wednesday - Will I Ever Pass This Way Again?

sorry for the spacing--it didnt show that way in my preview and I cant fix it!

Just a visual to see the distance between Alabama and Azerbaijan

This is a road I walked along in March of 2009. Now I am sitting on my couch 6700 miles away--a whole world away, wondering if I will ever walk down that road again.

Will I ever see the smiling faces of all the wonderful people I met while I was there?

Of all the fun I had even though I could not speak the language of my new friends and they knew very little of mine except for "thank you" and "my name is....." which they liked to practice often.

Will I ever see our wonderful hostess, who allowed us to stay with her even at great risk. A risk that made itself evident while we were there.













I may not ever see our amazing translator and friend again, in this lifetime, but she will always have a very special place in my heart and memory.
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And of course I wont ever forget this amazing person. An excellent teacher. Full of joy and a pretty good bit of spunk too! She is one of many examples I saw on my trip of someone who lives their faith daily and will sacrafice all for that faith.

Ok--and of course-it would be fun to be around the table again with these wonderful people. Always a great meal. And a never-ending supply of chai (tea), which is a symbol of hospitality in Azerbaijan.

Why am I smiling? I guess cause I got caught doing the dishes. It was very hard to get someone to allow me to help around there! For some reason, I didnt mind doing the dishes there like I do at home. I guess that is why my sink is full!

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10 on Tuesday- 10 Things I Need To Plan For

10 things I need to plan for --

1) my niece's baby shower I will be co-hosting next month

2) a day to finish taking wall paper down in my bathroom and repainting

3) to actually find someone to make some minor repairs around my house

4) to go to the Dr. early one morning, without eating or drinking and get some blood work done

5) getting off my lazy hiney and start working out so that my weight doesn't start bothering my lower back and knee.

6) a time to get together with a certain person who is supposed to help me with a slide show I am preparing of a mission trip to New Orleans

7)a time to do more sight seeing downtown and take more pictures for my photo blog.

8) a time to sit and do more writing

9)a certain time of day- each day for Bible study and prayer time.

10) healthy meals ahead of time and healthy foods on hand so I don't eat the wrong things.

See more about 10 on Tuesday here

Skywatch Friday- New Orleans

This was taken July 09, while I was on a mission trip to New Orleans, LA. Off to the left, in the distance you can see the tall buildings along the river, near the French Quarter. Over where this picture is taken, you can see all the rubble and what remains of an area that had several different restaurants built over the water, near the marina. Amazing how the areas each were affected differently by Hurricane Katrina. Across the horizon you can see a very long bridge.

See more Skywatch Friday Photos Here: http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Last weekend I was in Seagrove Beach, FL with other singles from my church for our annual Beach Retreat. We have been coming to Highpointe Resort the last several years. As much as I absolutely love sitting on the beach, digging my feet in the sand, and listening to the waves crashing in to shore, when I come to this particular place, I do something I rarely do at other resorts or hotels at the beach. I actually spend more time at the pool than the beach.

This place has the most beautiful and relaxing pool I have ever seen. It winds around through two "islands" and several waterfalls.

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Time to get a Peep Hole!

I haven't been visiting here as much lately. I miss posting here, but mostly I miss reading all my favorite blogs. I had been in a habit of writing/posting on this blog and my photo blog during my lunch hour. But, the reins have been pulled in tighter and now I cannot access any blog spot.com sites anymore at work. I don't have much time in the evenings to post. I'm up late tonight only because of an incident that happened earlier that has caused me to not be able to sleep.

Seems someone wanted to visit my next door neighbor. This someone, who had been drinking, came to my house instead of my neighbors house. I was just about to go to bed when I heard someone knocking on my front door. Unfortunately I don't have a peephole on my door, and although I can look out the window and see most of the front porch, I cannot see someone who is standing right in front of the door.

I wasn't expecting anyone, so I went to the door and asked, "Who is it?" The person replied with some name that I didn't understand and the voice was not familiar. After asking the person to repeat his name, I told him that I did not know him. He was not happy with me saying this and let me know with a few choice words. I told him to go away.

He asked me who i was and when I said I was the owner of this house, he told me in a very descriptive and obscene way that I was lying.

So, I went and got my phone and dialed 911. I told the man what was happening. I was more startled than I thought. I guess talking about it made me feel more nervous. The 911 dispatcher asked me to please take a deep breath and stay calm.

At this time, I looked out the window and could see the backside of this man standing on my porch, leaning against my brick column. He was about 6ft tall, slim, wore a long sleeve button down style shirt, tucked into some Levis that looked pressed, and had grey hair. He was just leaning on this column, smoking a cigarette.

He saw me peeking out the window, and came back to knock on the door some more. At this point, I decided that he really was looking for the house next door. but, not everyone looking for my neighbor is going over for a nice little visit. this man sounded very mad about something. And he was getting angrier and angrier that I would not let him in .

At this time, i went to the door and told the man he was at the wrong house. This made him angry and caused the 911 dispatcher to tell me to just not talk to him. We didn't know what state of mind he was in, if he'd try to break in, or if he had a weapon.

This guy then starts to beat on my door. Its more to get my attention than to try and break in. But it was very frightening, nonetheless! The 911 dispatcher helped me to stay calm and told me the policeman was less than five minutes away. I am so glad I had called the emergency number and had accepted the dispatchers offer to stay on the line till the police arrived.

When the policeman arrived, he knocked on the door and asked me if I knew the gentleman, but I didn't. The man said he was looking for someone in particular who used to live in this house. I recognized the name as my neighbor. I told the policeman that it was my neighbor this man was looking for. The man STILL insisted that it was my house. At this time I look out and get a better look at the vehicle he must have driven. it is a big truck that I have seen parked at my neighbor's house before. Yikes--this guy must really be out of it!

The police officer told the man they were going to go next door to look for his friend. Finally, when they got next door, the man's fuzzy memory started coming back to him, and he realized he was indeed, at the wrong house.

I was very thankful for the 911 dispatcher and the police officer.

As I start this blog post, we fade into a scene from Serial Mom:

The trial for the mom accused of being a serial killer has just ended. She has been found not guilty of killing people for behavior she deemed offensive and inappropriate.

Juror #8 (who has just helped serial mom to be a free woman) is talking on a payphone, when Beverly (serial mom) comes up behind her and grabs the phone from her,

Beverly Sutphin: You can't wear white after Labor Day!

Juror #8: That's not true anymore.

Beverly Sutphin: Yes it is! Didn't your mother tell you? Now you know. [She whacks her in the face with the phone]

Juror #8: No! Please! Fashion has changed!

Beverly Sutphin: No... it hasn't. [She hits her again]

Has fashion changed? Is it ok to wear white after Labor Day? Stacy and Clinton from What Not To Wear say its ok. They also say your shoes don’t have to match your handbag. How liberating is that?

I have followed a lot of Stacy and Clinton's rules. And, since I live in an area where people are sometimes known to wear shorts in December, I may sneak in a wearing or two of the white capris after Labor Day.

But--maybe not. And definitely not to work. Why? Because that rule is just ingrained in me I guess. And because down south, we just follow this rule.

I remember when I was younger, the excitement of being able to debut my new white shoes for Easter. And those shoes were worn all summer and put away after Labor Day. They probably didn’t fit much past Labor Day anyway. And probably had so many of those black scuff marks on them that don’t like to come off, that they were ready to be chunked anyway.

I did a little research and found that the rule did seem to originate with just white shoes, and then expanded to encompass white clothing as well.

No one could say for sure where and why this rule originated. There was mention that it started because white reflects light and heat, so wearing white would make one cooler. Another version stated that in the 1950's more people were entering the middle classes and were unaware of the standards they needed to keep, so they were given specific rules in order to fit in.

Whatever the reason, I know that Southern girls used to be raised following this rule and that it is still highly regarded among most women.

Even though a lot of schools actually start school a couple of weeks before Labor Day, it just seems to be the weekend that wraps up the summer for most people, even though fall doesn’t begin for a couple more weeks.

And with Fall, we start thinking of Fall clothing and Fall activities. And white clothing and shoes are usually packed away till the following Spring.

I'm wearing my white capris and white sandals today. But, already I am feeling like it is time to say goodbye till the rules say we can meet again.

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday- Rowdy Girl

I don't know this "ROWDY GIRL" , just thought it was such a cute photo and copied it off a website. She's just doing her thing, watching the parade. I like that. I hope she had a great time.

HERE'S THE STORY THAT ACCOMPANIED THE PHOTO:

A spectator watches dancers in a street parade during the annual Asakusa Samba carnival in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009

See more Mostly Wordless or Wordful Wednesday Posts here:

Seven Clown Circus-Wordful Wednesday

Ordinary and Awesome-Mostly Wordless Wednesday

10 Things On Tuesday--Ten Things I Hate About Traveling

Today I'm gonna join in on a meme that I have been following lately. You can see more HERE
(I haven't figured out how to "grab" a button yet.)

TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT TRAVELING

1)Deciding what to pack. I like to pack as light as possible, but you also want to be prepared for different weather situations, etc. And as some of you know--I have a habit of second guessing myself alot!! ; )

2) When flying, having to worry about the three ounce/quart size bag rule for liquids. Especially since I like to just have a carry- on bag and not check luggage if possible.

3)Not knowing how to pack and keep things wrinkle free (a trick my mom has mastered), so I hope I will have an iron available where I will be staying.

4)People making fun of me because I want to iron over my clothes while on vacation

5)Having to wait forever, it seems, to deboard the plane. I get a little claustrophobic.

6)Getting to my destination and wanting the item that I decided not to pack.

7) When traveling to a different country , having to figure out a different currency and wondering how much I'm paying for something.

8)Living out of my toiletry bag and not being able to have a place for it all in the bathroom.

9)Not having electrical outlets in convenient places for drying hair and using curling iron/hot rollers.

10)Someone making a comment about me using the curling iron and hot rollers while on vacation.

Ok--so this was a tough one because I LOVE to travel. If I had to travel for business, it might be a different matter. but since its usually to go on vacation, to visit family or to go on a mission trip (where I know I will have to be flexible) , the things I gripe about are really just trivial things that I will choose to accept any day to be able to travel!