Today I had another jewelry show. My hostess had 10 guests and usually that makes for a great show. But she didn’t get any advance orders so her show only ended up being $203.00. I also didn’t get any bookings from it. My next booked show is not until September 3rd so I’m going to hold a “Christmas in August” show on the 12th or 26th (haven’t decided which yet) and hopefully earn some money and get some bookings.

The house is quiet again. Erica and Melissa are at Astroworld with Victor and his brother. I guess they’ll be home when it closes at 9:00. She certainly has gotten her money’s worth with her season pass this summer! I’m thankful because those season passes are expensive.

I’m tired so I’m outta here for now. I might write more later. Just depends.

Today my friends from Indiana came over and we went down to the Kemah Boardwalk. We ate lunch at Joe’s Crabshack and then strolled along the boardwalk for awhile, looking in all the various little shops. It was plenty humid and they weren’t used to our level of humidity so we didn’t stay outside very long. It was nice to get caught up on all the news from Indiana.

Their children have grown up as fast as Chase and Erica. Rebekah is 19, Leah is 17, and I found out that Benjamin is 14. Rebekah is interested in horses. They bought one for her a few years ago and she spends a lot of time at the stable where they keep her horse. Leah is the artistic one, makes straight A’s, and is interested in anything Japanese. I think she plans to major in some type of language studies in college. Benjamin is a computer geek so I figure if I can hook him and Chase up, that would be a good thing. All in all it was a very pleasant day.

The house is finally quiet after about 3 straight weeks of kids coming and going. Alisha and Sara went back to Burleson. It’s just Melissa and Erica now and I hardly hear a peep out of them.

Well it’s late (at least it is when you’re old like me) so I’m going to sign off for the night.

Well, I’ve posted a quick note to Jenny and to Birgit. Now I’ll make my final entry for today.

Melissa cooked supper for us tonight … her world famous meat loaf, mashed potatoes and cream style corn! Yum! Yum! I like having all these teenage girls around. They love to cook and I love to let them! Ha! And Kristin always manages to come up with some new “concoction” as I call it when she cooks at my house. She just throws things together and … voila! … a meal appears. Wish I could do that! Never have been able to, though.

Well I was finally asked to join our Praise Team at church. I told myself I wasn’t going to get involved again, but I said yes anyway. We had rehearsal tonight like we will every Wednesday night at 6:30. I used to be a member of Praise Team when we had our former Worship Leader (Bennie). Mike and I have known Bennie and his family since Chase was about 6 months old. Bennie’s like the brother I never had. We also have a long history together and that’s where this story begins.

Before we moved to Indiana he was on staff at a church we attended. During that time I decided I wanted to take voice lessons so he agreed to be my coach. We met every week (mostly) for close to 5 years as he taught me the proper technique of singing. I’ve always been able to “carry a tune” as they say, but I wanted to overcome my shyness … yes, I used to be shy … and I thought that by learning the mechanics of proper singing, I’d be more comfortable on stage. I can remember times when I would take Chase to my voice lesson with me because Mike would be working or something. It’s no wonder Chase can sing. He probably absorbed all that instruction by osmosis or something! Ha! And when I was pregnant with Erica, I continued my voice lessons. THAT was interesting. Try getting a good breath through your diaphragm with a 7-pound baby in your belly. Not easy, let me tell you. Birthing was easier!

Anyway, back to my story … when we moved to Indiana, Bennie left the church we had been attending and came on staff at a church in La Porte … the one we now attend. So when we moved back from Indiana, we settled in La Porte and at the church where Bennie was. I guess after twenty years or so of being in the ministry, Bennie was burned out, so he left our church. Well actually there was more to it than that but suffice it to say that the leadership in the church just felt it was time for him to go. My feelings were really hurt over that! So when the new Worship Leader came on staff I’m afraid my rebellious streak surfaced (imagine that) and out of protest, I quit the Praise Team. My loyalty and friendship with Bennie just wouldn’t let me serve under his successor, especially considering the way things happened when Bennie resigned. So for a long while I was angry and upset with my pastor, as I felt it was all his fault that Bennie wasn’t there anymore. I even told my pastor to his face that I was angry with him. I think it hurt his feelings because I had worked for him as his secretary for about 6 years prior to all this. Anyway, it’s been almost a couple of years now (I think) since Bennie left and my ruffled feathers aren’t as ruffled as they were. I made peace with my pastor and he confessed he was relieved. He told me that he had had time to think about the Bennie episode and regretted the way it was handled. He said if he could go back and do it over, he would.

So, to bring me to my ORIGINAL point … the new Worship Leader called and asked me if I would like to join Praise Team again. So I said yes, even though I had sworn that I would never do that! Ha! Better be careful what you say, huh?

Well I guess I’ve said enough for one day. More than enough, actually. I’ll talk to ya’ll later.

I got notification that you signed up. Hope you’ll drop in and say hello soon and read the sweet note Jenny left for me.

I am so excited! My sweet little Jenny in Hong Kong, joined my blog and left me a sweet note! Thank you, Jenny!! Wo Ai Ni!

I had a wonderful surprise this morning! The phone rang about 10:30 and it was a friend from Indiana. He and his wife are in Katy visiting his brother, who moved there several years ago. Bryan and Carol (our friends) are celebrating their 22nd wedding anniversary and decided to head to Texas since they had never been here before. They’ll only be here through Thursday so I’m hoping we’ll be able to get together and catch up on old times.

Our history with Bryan and Carol goes back a long way. When we first moved to Indianapolis in the summer of 1989, we met them at the church we attended. After a year of living in an apartment, we knew we wanted a house. About that time Bryan and Carol were wanting to buy a new house for themselves so we ended up taking their old house. It was perfect for all of us. At that time they had 2 children and Carol was pregnant with their 3rd. I got a call from Bryan late New Year’s Eve asking me if I would come over and stay with Rebeka and Leah while he took Carol to the hospital. Benjamine was born New Year’s Day!

Anyway, I’m hoping they’ll be able to find some time in their schedule to get together with us … or rather, me, since Mike is out of town on business. I told them I’d be willing to meet them halfway or they could come out to La Porte. I’m thinking about taking them to Kemah if we have time. I think they’d enjoy it.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll probably post more later in the day. Erica and Melissa are at Astroworld again today, Beth is at water aerobics, and the house is nice and quiet …

Okay … here it is!

Let me officially welcome you to the Whine Bar … (little play on words there). This portion of my web site will primarily be a journal/diary type of thing for me. I need to have an outlet for putting down my feelings and thoughts. But I’ve given you (only 5 of you) access so you can keep up with the everyday happenings in my life, assuming you’re interested, of course. (Gee, I never gave it a thought that someone might not be interested …) Oh well, I will try to post each day but in all reality, that probably won’t happen. If I ever decide to post something that is so personal I don’t want anyone but myself to read it, I will mark it as such and you won’t be able to access it. So don’t worry. If you log on here, and it’s on the page, then it’s okay for you to read it.

I’ve been journaling for several years now but I’ve always kept a handwritten journal. While that’s okay, it’s just getting to be more and more of a problem for me because while I enjoy writing, I don’t enjoy “writing” (by hand, that is). And sometimes I write things that are so personal, I feel as if I have to hide my journal so others won’t read it. Anyway, blogging is just so much faster. I admit that I’m not a computer whiz by any means (just ask my son) but with his help and instruction I manage to muddle my way through the world wide web. By the way … thanks Chase.

I would love to have you read my blog whenever it’s convenient for you (or if you just want a good laugh) and I would also like to hear back from you if you have anything to say of a constructive nature, with the emphasis on constructive. I want to keep this site clean. I don’t mind you being blunt with me, but do so in a nice way, please. Who knows? Maybe on some postings I might ask for your opinion or advice. Now that would really make you feel special, I bet.

So let me get started with what I want to say today … first of all, this has been a busy summer for me. Erica has chosen not to travel the world like she did last summer (thank goodness!). But she’s been just as busy and kept me that way, too. My house is the “hang out” for most of her friends and I’m glad it is. At least I know they’re safe and off the streets. Sometimes I think I’m “momma” to about a ga-zillion teenagers. Cheryl a.k.a. Battmom, knows what I’m talking about. (She’s got access to this site, too, so maybe she’ll stop in before too long and introduce herself.) Anyway, life around my house is noisy with so many kids all the time, but I don’t mind. I grew up like an only child so I’m enjoying a little chaos.

And of course you know I lost my job in March. That’s been hard to deal with but I don’t miss the stress I had when I worked for the City. However, unemployment will soon run out and I’ll be forced to look for employment. So keep me in mind if you hear of anything. I think the main thing I miss by not having a job is not getting to spend time with Connie (my counselor) each week. When I worked, my insurance paid for counseling sessions so I saw her every Thursday. She’s a wonderful Christian lady and always gives me the right kind of advice. By the way, she’s one of the 5 people who have access to this blog. (”Hi Connie! Miss you!”)

Also my sister and I have been dealing with the fact that my mother is in a nursing home with alzheimers disease. It’s sad to see my mother with that vacant look in her eyes. Thankfully my sister can see her each day if she chooses because mother is in a nursing home a few miles from my sister’s home in Giddings, Texas. She usually recognizes my sister (Glenda) because she sees her often. But sometimes she doesn’t recognize me although I try to go to see her as often as possible. Last week when I was there, mother thought I was her great neice, Samantha. The visit before that, she thought I was her baby sister, Mae, who lives in Mississippi. So although we know that this is typical behavior for an alzheimers patient, my sister and I still struggle through it. But her doctor has started her on a new medication for alzheimers which we hope will slow down the progress and maybe even show a little improvement in her memory. We’ll keep her on the med for 2 months and see how it goes.

I guess that’s about all for today. If I think of anything else … like Arnold says … “I’ll be back.”