Ali Ali Bo-Bali

I know this may bore some people, but The Bachelorette is so funny. I laugh every time I watch the show. The guys are hysterical. Their commentary during the show can NOT be beat!

I missed the first 30 minutes of the show (I’m slowly rewatching it on the ABC website) so I must’ve missed Justin being tossed. I found out a few weeks ago that he had a girlfriend, actually 2 possibly.

The source of this information is totally out there, but if you’re one of those people who doesn’t want to take the bait to learn more, I’m won’t to tell you where I’ve gotten it (unless you email me). LOL It’s not that mysterious, but some people like me just can’t stand NOT knowing even when we don’t want to know.

Tonight's show had 4 guys wrestling Turkish Olive Oil Wrestlers! HAHAHAHA Oh, these men are so fabulous. Chris L., who I kinda like, was saying the only time he uses Olive Oil is when he grills asparagus!

Kirk was especially excited that maybe one day he’d be able to return the favor and smear Olive Oil on Ali. What a guy. I still dig Kirk.

Yes, when the guys all lathered up, it was a site to behold. They were serious. They wanted to win that special one on one time with Ali. Craig, who is nice but hasn’t had ANY alone time with Ali, was focused on winning. The lawyer did it! He took the ripped boys out! You go Craig.

Alright, here’s the thing about Ali. I’m concerned about how this is all going to end. She’s afraid to give any of the men a chance. She’s worried about falling in love. She chose her career last time when it came to Jake. I don’t understand why someone who’s afraid to fall in love would go on a show about falling in love. Doesn’t make sense to me. We’ll see how this all plays out!

SPOILER: Craig did end up going home. He honestly didn’t seem Ali’s type. She’s bubbly and vivacious. He smiles and is sweet, but he doesn’t seem as alive as Ali.

Take A Hike

Right, so my plan is to one day be a good mom. Let’s not fool ourselves here. Some of us just aren’t the greatest moms. No, I’m not okay with that, but it’s a reality.

I decided last week that on my weekends off, I’d take the boys on a hike somewhere. I wanted to do something with them. I wanted to create memories, other than them always knowing mommy as, “the lady constantly on the computer.”

What happens a couple of Saturdays ago? It rains…morning until night. Maybe this is a sign I shouldn’t bother and there’s nothing wrong with the computer.

Sunday comes around and it’s a decent enough day. We get to church…late as usual. Afterwards we eat lunch and I tell the boys they need to get ready to head out. All they knew was we had to go show one of our apartments. Yah, exciting afternoon ahead for us.

The boys had been arguing ALL day so I thought, oh, this hike is going to be so bonding for us. Yes, stars in my eyes. This is going to be the beginning of a beautiful tradition.

Bill Anderson Memorial Park is the spot I’ve chosen to create these new memories. We spray down with bug spray and head off on our jaunt. We get to the trailhead and each boy wants to go in a different direction. I decide we’ll head to the left and make the large circle because that’s what I remember from the map.

The boys wanted to race pretty much the first half of the trail. We got to this big drop off and we take a minute or two pause. As I take a couple of photos, all of a sudden I hear Buddy screaming and Doodle apologizing. Sheesh, in the moments it took to take a couple pictures, the tone of our hike changes. Doodle threw a large stick and clocked Buddy on the back of the head! UGH, for real?

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We set off again, jimney Christmas, let’s just finish the stupid hike.

A minute or two later, I tell Doodle to run up ahead and apologize to brother. As soon as we got to the Crow River, the boys are getting along again. Little did we know we were right next to the beginning of the trail head.

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That 25 minutes hike didn’t go as well, as I had hoped, but we can only go up from here!

Rachel Kurtz In Concert

So, today after church we had a potluck. Not sure what happened, but everyone brought something I’ve never had! It was a grand success (IMHO). I love food!
After that was the Rachel Kurtz concert. Had no idea who she was, what she sounded like, but I figured it’d be a great way to spend an hour. Here’s how her site describes her:
Rachel Kurtz is a Minnesota based singer/songwriter whose distinctive voice infuses her organic instrumentation to wash over and through the listener. Her subtle blend of style reveals folk pop sensibilities with a healthy dose of soul. Audiences across the country resonate with Rachel's music. It gets inside of people, calls them friend, and lets them know they are not alone.
Man, am I glad the boys and I went. Her husband went up on stage with her, grabbed his guitar and took a seat. Somehow, he just made the stage more cool by sitting up there. Can’t even explain it.
Rachel opened up the concert with a su-weet bluesy song and her husband, Michael played with her. They were awesome! Be forewarned, I may use that word a lot with this review!
When she started singing, I initially thought of Jewel because of the “folksy-ness” of the songs. Then, THEN, she yodeled! It was sooo cool. Honestly, not kidding. Yodeling is cool.
Our worship pastor, Aaron White,  just released his 2nd CD (yes, from little ol’ Annandale) and he played with them along with Jordon H. and Kevin K. Yah, I know you don’t know these guys, but they play at church all the time. They rock, we know!

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This whole concert was fun. Rachel was so relaxed and she’s one of those people who exudes happiness for life! Michael, just sat there, playin’ his guitar, being cool. LOL He looks like he belongs in a house of blues down in New Orleans! And Rachel, man, she would sing with the best of them.
She sang this song (takes a couple minutes to load & plays automatically):
http://rachelkurtz.com/There%20is%20Beauty/03%20When%20I%20was%20a%20child.mp3
I just LOVED it!!! It made me smile. It’s about growing up in Cokato, which is about 10 minutes from me. Small little down here in Central MN.
The voice that comes out of this woman is spectacularly strong. She has such control over it. Sheesh, she can belt out the notes. If you are looking for some new music, I would encourage you to give her a chance. You will NOT be disappointed!
I’d love to see her do a CD for kids. Since she’s got 2 little ones maybe that will motivate her to move in that direction! I’d love my boys to have some folksy music in their repertoire.

Christy Award Winners

Last night if you were lucky enough, you were at the 2010 Christy Award ceremony. For the rest of us, we were able to view Tosca Lee doing commentary throughout the ceremony.

She was describing how people were dressed and what everyone was eating. Tosca did a fine job of making us feel like we were there! She has great wit and knows about fashion!

Tyson Wynn of Wynn-Wynn Media was also moderating the event. He did a fine job of keeping up with Tosca!

So, without further ado, here is the list of the winning authors & their respective books:

Contemporary Romance category is: Breach of Trust by DiAnn Mills (Tyndale House Publishers)

 

 

 

Contemporary Series, Sequels & Novellas category is: Who Do I Talk To? by Neta Jackson (Thomas Nelson)

 

 

 

Contemporary Standalone category is: The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson (Thomas Nelson)

 

 

 

First Novel category goes to: Fireflies in December by Jennifer Erin Valent (Tyndale House Publishers)

 

 

 

Historical category is: Though Waters Roar by Lynn Austin (Bethany House Publishers: a Division of Baker Publishing Group)

 

 

 

Historical Romance category is: The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen (Bethany House Publishers: a Division of Baker Publishing Group)

 

 

 

Suspense category is: Lost Mission by Athol Dickson (Howard Books: a Division of Simon & Schuster)

 

 

 

Visionary category is: By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson (Marcher Lord Press)

 

 

 

 

Young Adult category is: North! or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

Feel Good Friday ~ Smooch Is Heading To Training Camp

Laura at the girl next door grows up hosts the weekly Feel Good Friday. You are given 5 prompts to use each week. This week I've got lots to smile about! My oldest son, Buddy, turned 11. But the most exciting thing is about my girl.

So my 2nd daughter, Smooch (17, in the black shirt), is heading to Training Camp in S. IL this afternoon.

Training Camp for what you may ask?

Smooch is heading to India this July with Royal Servants, part of Reign Ministries. She will be gone July 5-31.

Training Camp is basically a boot camp for anyone going on a mission trip this summer with Royal Servants. From what I've heard, it's super intense, but amazing. Smooch enjoys taking daily showers. Well, she better enjoy stinking because their hygiene is tossed out the window for the week.

It's all good and very enriching. They will learn about the skits they will do, how to share the Gospel, etc. It really is a camp in every sense of the word! They stay in tents and use porta-potties, and get nice and nasty! Ah, the great outdoors!

When she is in India, they will be working with orphanages and schools. This will be so good for Smooch and the rest of the team. Royal Servants hasn't been to India in 10 yrs!

I'm excited and scared all at the same time.

I know that this is where God wants her to be. It's just not easy as a mom. I've seen the Lord provide through friends & family the over $4000 to take this trip. Those funds were raised in about 4 months. I figured with this recession, there'd be no way. But, He provided and she's going. Even tonight as she was getting packed, a gal down the road that Smooch has babysat for brought her money for the trip! Isn't that spectacular?

Over 4th of July weekend, Baby and I will be heading down to S. IL for Family Day. We'll get to see her one more time before she leaves. We're hoping Smooch's BFF will be going with us, but with work one never knows.

If you are so inclined, I would be more than happy to have you praying for her while she is at training camp and in India. My prayer will be that Smooch comes home with a heart that is healed and ready to be loved.

God's will be done!