Wonderful Weekend

What absolutely wonderful weekend this has been. Rick and I went to the mountains yesterday to enjoy the breathtaking scenery. Though the leaves, for some reason, are not turning their pretty Autumn colors like they are supposed to it was still gorgeous.

We started off our day at Caesar's Head State Park enjoying the amazing view. The weather was so clear you could see all the way to Paris Mountain which is over 30 miles away. It was beautuful. Then we went on a short hiking trail to enjoy some rustic times.

After we left that park we went to Dupont State Park about 6 more miles up the mountain. They have 2 waterfalls there and though it was a kinda long hike to get to them them it was worth it. They were so pretty. It is amazing to look around you and see nothing but nature's beauty, especially in the world we live in today. Everywhere you look there is some new building popping up, but not here....just nature.

After we left Dupont we went to my favorite place to visit in the mountains.....Aunt Sue's Country Store. For those of you that have never been there allow me to explain about it. There is an older lady who sits outside and plays the keyboard for all who want to listen. She takes request and I do not think there is a song she does not know (especially gospel). There are lots of little shops and neat things to there and we had a great time.

After all this we had made quite a day of it and were pretty beat, so we headed home. It was a really great day and you can view all the photos here.

          Light of Jesus on Halloween      

                 Frost is on the pumpkin
                 Chill is in the air
                 Leaves are gently falling
                 Swirling here and there.

                 Many different faces
                 Costumes in the night
                 Gremlins, ghouls and goblins
                 Causing quite a fright.

                 Vampires in the darkness
                 Hobos in the street
                 Ghosts are ringing doorbells
                 Time for trick-or-treat.

                 Candles in the window
                 Faces all aglow
                 Painted little munchkins
                 Put on quite a show.

                 Full of tricks and sorcery
                 Warlocks in the night
                 Lamps are shining brightly
                 Makes for quite a site.

                 Lots of spells and magic
                 Witches do appear
                 Riding on their broomsticks 
                 Halloween is here.

                 They say that it is harmless
                 Nothing more than fun
                 But Satan won’t surrender
                 Until his work is done.

                 Razors stuck in candy
                 Poison found in treats
                 Children must be wary
                 Of everyone they meet.

                 Wild and crazy parties
                 Hosted by adults
                 People bent on mischief
                 Belong to deadly cults.

                 Yet our little children
                 Wander in the night
                 Dressed like little demons
                 Cannot see the light.

                 The evil that is lurking
                 Goes about unseen
                 Is covered up with candy
                 And all things in-between.

                 There is a world of darkness
                 That lurks within the night
                 Dungeons, ogres and dragons
                 Is not a pretty sight. 

                 We need to read the Bible
                 The scripture quoted there
                 The wicked ways of pagans
                 Is found most everywhere.  

                 Look to the light of Jesus
                 This year on Halloween
                 The peace you feel will be so real
                 Like nothing you have seen. 

                 Author/Written By:
                 Marilyn Ferguson

Lack of Motivation

There are several things in my life I wish I had the motivation to do. There are so many little things that just pile up on top of one another until I do not even know where to begin. Am I alone here? Ya'll know what I am talking about, right? Here is a list of things I wish I could just get up and tackle....

1. My yard- When we bought our house there was NO grass in the yard whatsoever. They man we bought the house from had completely remodeled it and for some reason (unknown to me) had all the grass dug up. When we moved in everyone told us it was "not the right season", blah blah blah. So, we held off and decided to do it in the "right season". Well, we got busy, and you know the rest....we still have no grass and we will have lived there 2 years this Feburary. I know, that's pathetic, but at least I am being honest.

2. My guest bathroom- This room has got to be the ugliest, most drap, stark white room I have ever seen. You feel like you are in some kind of insane asylum when you walk in. I absolutely love color, and lots of it, so it's obvious that this bathroom drives me nuts. The sad thing about it is is that I have yet to change the color. It is a very, very, very, very small room. It would not take but 1-2 hours to totally transform it, but alas, it remains unchanged.

3. The girl’s dresser- Okay, this may seem totally trivial and non-important, but it is something I want taken care of. Arianna's bed and Savannah's crib is a light oak wood, but the dresser in there (that has been in my family as long as I can remember) is painted white. It probably has been repainted about 10 times, but I want to sand it down to natural wood and then but a pretty glaze over it to match the other furniture in there. This is not too big a deal, but it's still something I wanted done.

This is the last one for today. I am beginning to depress myself.......

4. My front porch- There is something I have not liked about my house since we moved in. We only have 2 closets. That's right, 2! One in each bedroom and those are filled to the brim with clothes and knick-knacks. I have an attic but it does not have any floor supports so I can't but anything up there. Well, as you can imagine my front porch has become a sort of catch all place for everything that does not have a place. It really makes me upset because that front porch has so much potential. It is enclosed and has about 10 windows. It would be so pretty with some nice patio furniture on it and maybe a breakfast nook on one side. I think this is one of my biggest disappointments. I so want it to be nice looking, and not cluttered up.

I guess I just need to get a good dose of motivation. I can tackle all of the tasks I named and the ones I didn't name if I just but my mind to it.

Switching Things A Little

So we are doing a little rearranging today in the office. We have had a kind of slow week so we are passing some time by getting things done that need to be. We are about half done now and I am taking me a little break. I'm terd (and that is not the word you think, but tired in Pelzer lingo). Well, I better get busy again. Gotta "GIT 'ER DONE!!!!"

Photos!

Okay, please check out my new photos on Shutterbook. They are under the "My Photos" link. I have found Shutterbook a lot more user friendly. Thanks Ken for the inspiration from avclub!

It's Here, It's Here!!!

I think fall has finally made it. Or have we just skipped straight to winter? All I know is that it's cold! I love it though. We got up early this morning and I made french toast and grits. We sat around the table, all 4 of us, and had a great morning. It just felt cozy like one of those wonderful winter days. I am inspired and have a craving for some hot chocolate or russian tea, mmmmmm!

When Arianna got dressed this morning she wanted to go all out for the weather. She insisted on wearing her heavy winter coat and looked like a little eskimo when we left. Though Savannah can't yet speak her mind I knew she would like to be nice and warm as well, so she she adorned a pretty pink sweater with her footed outfit. They were absolutely adorable....as always.

Tonight I would like to go home and have a nice supper, then I want to cuddle up on the couch with a nice book. I do not know if it is just me but I never have those urges when it is a scorching 90-100 degrees outside. To me it is just a cold weather thing.

Well, I hope you all enjoy the wonderful weather outside today and pray that it sticks around. I feel so happy right now and I am actually downloading my annual Christmas album (hey, it's never too early). YAY for cold weather!!!!

And on a side note, Dino Kartsonakis is going to be playing at Carnegie Hall on December 15th. It is going to be all Christmas music. How amazing that would be. I wanna go soooooo bad! Anybody with me?

Troubles

Okay, I seem to have royally messed my computer up some how. You would think having a husband like Rick I would know better. Well, not the case. I somehow deleted all of my system folders and all of my start menu. Don't ask me how....to be honest I have no idea. Well, I am about to reformat. That should take care f it. Troubles, troubles, troubles.

Slightly Different Sunday

Yesterday's church service was like no other one I have been to at my church. The praise and worship was amazing as normal, but when it came time for our pastor, Ron Carpenter, to preach the mood seemed to change. You could tell something was just not right with him. He began to go back to what he preached on last week being as though it was going to tie into what he was preaching on. The main idea of last week was saying that everything you do in life is not for you at all. You are to do the best you can and when it is your time to cease your job then you will have to be there to "hand the baton" to someone else so they can run the race that you started, and so on and so on, from generation to generation. Then, after you hand the baton over, you job switches from running the race to cheering the new one on and motivating him. Then, it suddenly got real quiet. Ron said that he had one of the worst weeks of his life this past week and it was because of his message the Sunday before. Ron and Hope have 3 children....2 boys and a girl. They have always had a problem wtih their youngest boy. He has OCD and has fought with it his whole life. Ron then told a story of something that was said to him about 7 months ago. We had a guest speaker come to our church. He happened to be a prophet. I do not know how many of you believe in the gift of prophecy, but that is really not important. Anyway, after the conference when everyone was getting their stuff to go home the guest grabbed Ron and said he wanted to tell him something. Ron said he was tired and did not really care what he had to tell him, but listened anyway. He told Ron that this $20 million campus, all the buses, all the outreach programs, all the lost that had been saved had nothing to do with anything he did. Ron said that was not exactly what he wanted to hear since he had fought so hard for it and trusted God for it, but he continued to listen. He said that all of this was laid up for his seed. Ron said he started immedietly thinking of his oldest son. He was a "social butterfly" I think he called him. He knew that he would be able to handle a church like this and be able to do God's perfect will for it. Just as those thoughts were running through his head the man put his finger on his chest and said that it was NOT the son he was thinking about. Right there in the service Ron broke down into tears and could not even talk. Everyone I think was in tears. Then he muttered that God wants to use the son that is struggling. He told us that everyone looks up to their pastor to give them godly guidance about their families and such things, but he said when it comes to a problem he has with his family it is a lot harder to overcome.

The reason he said that last weeks sermon caused his following week to be so awful was because when he was talking about passing the baton he knew he was talking about his son....the one that struggles. Satan attacked his son this past week with full force. They even had to pull him out of school.

I do not know why I felt the need to share this story. I guess it is because it touched me so and I feel such a burden for them right now. But I would ask if you are reading this to say a little pray for the whole family. That family has been through the mud and back again and I think it is high time that someone stood up and told the devil to leave them alone. And I also think it is high time that everyone stood up and told the devil their families alone!

What's My Calling?

I have been thinking a lot lately about what I am supposed to do in my life. I know the obvious things like taking care of my girls and Rick, but I want to know what my nitch is. I have become a little depressed lately because I cannot pinpoint any one thing that I am good at and do with ease. I even asked Rick what a talent was that I possessed and the silence was all I needed to hear. I am not discouraged though. I know there is something I could do that can utilize my talents to the best of their abilities. So here is a list of a few things that I think I could do if I put my mind to it.

1. Private Investigator- I am one of the most observant people I know. I will notice the smallest little detail that most people would never see. I can go on a service call with Rick and by the time we leave know how old they are, where they went to college, how many kids they have, and what they do for a living all by looking around for diplomas, pictures of kids, dates on the pictures, etc. I can't think of a better job that could use that abilitiy more than a P.I. except maybe an FBI agent, but I don't think that is the job for me. I do not have a very "tough" looking persona.

2. Writer- I LOVE to write. I always have. I actually got excited in school when I had a paper due. Something about writing makes me feel like I have no bounderies and can express just how I feel. I have always been a sort of quiet person. I have gotten out of it a lot since I met Rick since he is the opposite, but nevertheless I will not walk up to someone and just "speak my mind". Writing though is a different story. I feel like I can write whatever I want and frankly do not care who is reading it or if they like it or not. I guess when you are writing you are not face to face saying it someone which can be very intimidating. Anyway, I would love to get paid to sit down and express my thoughts on paper. What could be better than that?

3. Doctor- I am almost positive that I do not have the motivation to go through that many years of school to obtain this title, but if I did I know that I could handle the job. I love to help people. Every chance that I get I try to always help a fellow citizen. Being a doctor would give me that opportunity everyday. I do not have a weak stomach so I know that would not be a problem. Saving lives seems like such an amazing career and if I had the chance to I would take it on full blown and be the one and only-------- Dr. Emily Cain....Miracle Women(ha).

4. Fashion Designer- I would attack this job with all my might if it ever fell into my lap. I know a lot of you are wondering how much of a sense of style could I possibly have when you see me in my torn jeans, t-shirt, flip flops, and my hair thrown into a ponytail. Well, to me quite honest when you have 2 small children it is kinda difficult to look like a runway model out of Paris everyday, but I still give it my best effort. Anyway, back the the designing, I am a very eccentric person and I know that I could come out with some very off the wall, not the norm clothing. And to be honest, that is what sells in the fashion world....clothes that are weird. "Normal" is just not "cool", and I am not "normal" by a long shot!

Okay, I think that is about it for what I think I would be good at. Those of you that know me well be sure to tell me if you think I have left anything out.

It Was A Hit

Last night went wonderful. We had about 20-25 people show up and hang out. We took in 3 computers as well! We are so behind now it is not even funny, but that is a GREAT thing! We have 2 more computers coming in to the shop today and 4 that have been waiting on Rick to get to in the back. That is like 10 computers to be fixed, wow!

Anyway, I digress, the show was great. They hit some very real subjects last night such as internet pornography and the battle for pray in schools. It was an awesome evening. We were definitely noticed last night. We balloons outside and a large group of people playing frisbee in the parking lot, and all kinds of 80's classics blasting from the seakers. You couldn't help but notice us. I really think that this helped get our name out even more in Powdersville. Thank you God for all you done for us!

In The Spotlight

Tonight is Computer Connection's time to shine. We are having a live radio broadcast from our office with WRIX 103.1. We have been doing some advertising with one of Rick's good friends Jason Vaughn. He has a talk show every Thursday night and we are one of his sponsers. He thought it would be good publicity for both of us for him to come out here to do his show.

We are going to re-open tonight from 7-12. We are having snacks, prizes, and all kinds of computer accessories. The show will air from 10-11, so if you are in the area be sure to tune in to 103.1 or come on by.

We are hoping for a good turn out. It would definitely help to get our name out in the area and build our customer base. This is just another door that God has opened to help us achieve the work we believe he desires for our lives.

You Can Call Me Weird

I have a problem that a lot of people just do not understand. It is about my shoes. I cannot stand wearing closed-toed shoes. It drives me nuts. If I had my way I would just go barefoot all the time but then again that is not very sanitary. Anyway, when I have closed-toed shoes on I fell like my feet are screaming, "Please let me out of here. Must....have....air!" I do get some very strange looks in the winter time with my strappy heels on. I think I am am mutant or something because my feet do not feel temperature. It does not bother me at all to walk outside in freezing temps with my toes just a waving.

Well, the point of this post is to say that I went to several places to glance at their shoes. I was in desperate need of some new shoes. I like to wear mine until the soles fall off. Well, I was looking at all the wonderful fall and winter shoes and boots but I just could not help but think of the agony I am in when I have closed-toed shoes on. After exhausting many stores I gave up and went to Wal-Mart. I thought it was going to be the same but then I saw it. It was like a sign from God. Three pair of toeless shoes left in my size from this summer's inventory, and they were $5.00!!! I got all 3 pair. Not only were they cheap, but cute too!

Some may think I am weird, but I just have certain likes and dislikes just like everyone else in this world. So I will proudly flaunt my perty toes and feel sorry for the millions of other feet shoved in those horrible shoes.

Oh, I am also allowing comments on my blog again to see how it works out. Please leave me some!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I want to wish my wonderful dad a very happy birthday. He is 58 years young today.

While we are on the subject of my awesome dad I want to talk a little bit about him.....

Some kids say they wish they had different parents than they do. Some want celebrities, some want royalty, and some just want their best friends parents because they're "cool". I never felt that way. I have always been totally content with my parents. My dad is one if not the most respected persons in my life. He always has such wise comments for every situation in life, but at the same time he can be on of the most light-hearted, humorous people on earth. I thank God everyday for who I was raised by. He always took such good care of his 2 girls and if anybody even looked at us wrong there he was to the rescue.

He is also a wonderful grand-dad. I know he loves my 2 girls to death, but he was ecstatic when he found out Meg was having a little boy. I know he has always wanted a little boy around to play rough with and all that other "boy" stuff.

Dad you are truely an inspiration to me and many others that know you. Thank you for being such a great dad and grand-dad!

Retraction

Okay, I have changed my mind. I will no longer be taking a break from blogging. I will not be overcome by the ignorance of others (and by that I mean someone else deleting MY post and leaving they nasty comments). Anyway, I plan on trying to write close to everyday. I do hope you all continue to read. Also I will not be allowing any comments on my blog until I get it set up on Word Press so I can view them before they are posted. My blog is not for people to take out their frustration on me. Sorry! If you would really like to make a comment please email it to me at emilycain@charter.net

What Drives A Man Like That?

I originally wrote this post about 4 days ago and it has some how or another "magically" disappeared so I am going to write it again.

I want to talk about an issue that hits close to home today. I want to talk a little about abuse.

I do not understand what drives a man to abuse a women. It is still a mystery to me. I believe one of the main things about men like that is that they are truely cowardly. They are too afraid to sit down and talk things out so they feel they have to resort to violence to get their point across. In the situation that I have been made aware of it was more than a slap in the face. This man beat his fiance until she could not take anymore. It probably lasted for about an hour straight. He did not just use his hands, but rather a belt buckle, cage door, and a wire hanger. It makes me sick everytime I think about it.

These kinds of men have got their partner's self-esteem so low that they have made them feel like they can't live without them. They do not expect them to press charges because of the fear they have instilled in them.

I am not going to make this post as long as the first time I did it. I do not feel like it is necessary. Let's just say that abuse is uncalled for and should be put to a stop. I never would say that it is a woman's fault she is beat, but if she sticks around for the next time that is her fault!

Gone For A While

I am going to take a break from blogging for a while. I just think it is the best thing to do. I would go into the reason but I would rather not. Please feel free to post your comment and give me your opinion.

Uggghhhhh

Today I am not feeling so good. I am just in a really bad mood. I don't feel like talking to anyone or even being on earth to be quite honest. I just wish I had stayed in bed this morning. It seems like I just have one negative thing after another. I know that everyone gets in slumps like that where you have a bad day, bad week, bad month, or perhaps even a bad year. You just wish you could get above it but you just keeped getting knocked back down just as you are trying to get back up.

I think that God is trying to strengthen me through all of this. I am not saying her is sending the trouble but rather using it for his own sake and forcing me to depend on Him. Family and friends are great when you are in a low spot in your life but sometimes they are not even enough, and God is the only one who knows just how to help you. Our pastor at our wonderful church, Redemption World Outreach Center, always tells us that in the worst part of your life when you feel like you cannot go on any longer then your breakthrough is right around the corner. I hope that is true because I need my blessing.

The strange thing about the way I am feeling is that there are not lots of things I could pin-point and tell you was bothering me. There are a couple things.....and they are big, but nevertheless it is just a lot of little things added up to make me feel a little bit like Eeyore.