Burr It's Cold Outside

Wow! What a difference a day makes! Yesterday, in the falls it was in the 40's, today it's freezing cold with snow and ice and the area completly blanketed. What a beautiful sight, especially if you don't have to get out in it. I made it out early this morning with my dentist's appointment right @ 8:00 AM and as I driving over there, I heard on the radio that SAFB was on red weather alert. I immediately called my wife and informed her she might want to confirm with her boss whether or not her office would be opening. After my appointment, she called me back thrilled to say, she was to stay at home for the day! Wow! I'm jealous and here I am sliding my little "Pony" all over the place and bracing the storm.

Having a little spare time after my appointment, I head over to IHOP (one of my favs) and order some hotcakes and hot maple syrup. Nobody makes pancakes like IHOP. I enjoyed the morning, reading the paper and relaxing before I again brace the storm. I knew I had training at the Main Post Office in the afternoon, so I wouldn't have very long till I had to go to the class. Finally at work, I began to finalize on a few projects and then I drove me and my co-worker to the training class. I just couldn't believe the Post Office had a training class on a day like today, especially since the teachers were having to drive from Fort Worth. Hopefully, they made it in last night, but they were driving to Amarillo tonight. Sometimes, the Post Office just doesn't make sense; nevertheless, they don't have to because they are the Post Office and they can just about do anything they want. LOL We're trugging along with the class, when I noticed on the computer time that it was getting later in the day. Realizing I hadn't yet taken my lunch and the day was getting late, I asked my trainers if we could go ahead and leave since it had already started snowing and I knew we would have to drive a little slower. They politely let us go and we headed toward the parking lot. When I got to my car, little did I realize that the snow and ice had come down quite a bit, so I needed to de-ice my windshields before we could leave. After getting everything de-iced, I drove up a little ways to pick Mary up; however, the parking lot was so icey, I couldn't stop and had to move forward. I know she thought I was a little crazy, but didn't know what else to do. I thought oh, well, I'll have to turn it around and go out the same way I entered. The parking lot adjacent to the Post Office is not very wide, so I knew I would have to be very careful, especially in the ice. Little did I realize, I would get stuck in the parking lot. My little Mustang has those racing tires on it and rear traction, which makes it very difficult to maneuver in the ice. I rocked it back and forth, until I realized, Uh-OH, I'm stuck. Here I am in the middle of the downtown Post Office parking lot, stuck and couldn't go anywhere. Mary is waiting at the door, so I rolled down my window and informed her I was stuck, but would call Maintenance and have one of our guys come give me a little push. Oh, brother, how embarrassing. Oh, well, I went ahead and did the only thing I could... Call Maintenance. After hanging up, I thought, I'll try it again, this time moving my steering wheel back and forth. Voila! I began to move slowly; nevertheless, the guys were already out there, hee hawing and having a great time at my expense. Maybe they got a good laugh for the day! We all need to laugh a little more. I picked Mary up and we drove slowly back to our office. About midway, my other co-worker at the Business Mail Acceptance Office called me and stated that Mary had left her purse at the Main Post Office where we were training. We were about mid-way from the Post Office, so I turned around and headed back. Laughing all the way, Mary and I had a great time thinking about all the funny stuff that has happened at the Post Office. I have worked with Mary for approximately twenty something years. A wonderful lady and a beautiful Christian woman! She has great character and is someone you can depend on.

We finally made it back to our office and by that time, it was nearly time for me to get off. Wow!

Miracle on the Hudson

I realize alot has been said about the plane going down and landing on the Hudson River; however, I felt I had to write about it in my blog. I had classes last Thursday night, so I didn't get to see alot of the news reports on the downed airplane. When I went to lunch the next day, I ended up downtown and had to rush to McDonald's and grab a bite to eat. After I got my lunch and joked along with Jo (the very nice server at the McDonald's on Holiday), I took my tray over to the seating area and began to eat my "Happy Meal." As I eat, the news broadcast was on and I looked up to watch it. They were interviewing the passengers on board the plane that went down and as the passengers begin to talk, I just had cold chills going up and down my spine. You can call it what you want, luck or whatever; nevertheless, I call it a miracle just like the broadcasters are calling it. The pilot was definetly used by God almighty and did exactly what he was trained to do. I watched his daughter being interviewed and stating how she knew that's exactly what her dad would do. Here is a man who loved airplanes and had been in the military service, going to Academy and afterwards, flying for a commercial airline. You can look everywhere you go and see God performing His mighty deeds of miracles. It's kinda of funny because He always shows up right on time. I was really depressed that day because of poor management at our office and when you look at the natural aspect, there is no hope in sight; nevertheless, we are not giving up hope. We've been coming together in prayer every morning and praying for our office that God will intercede and turn things around. You see all of the bad news overseas and just about everywhere you look, there's bad news abound. And then all of sudden, God shows up and allows us to see His mighty deeds of miraclous performance.

My prayer is to allow God to use me in a way that He hasn't ever used me before. After going to church this Sunday, Pastor Gene encouraged us to reach a little higher than ever before and allow God to work something in us that hasn't been used before. Each one of us has talent inside of us just trying to get out.

I hope you have a wonderful week and blessings are abound.

P.S. Say a little prayer for me this Tuesday, since I have to undergo dental surgery. Yikes!

Happy Birthday, Archie

Our family just celebrated my brother's birthday at Red Lobster. We had a great time and enjoyed one another as Archie turned another year older. We were planning on celebrating with Mom LaRue; however, she and Dad had been sick and just couldn't make the trip. Happy Birthday Archie and we wish you many happy returns. And to you to, LaRue. Hopefully, you are on the road to full recovery. Cora and her grandson, Blake, along with Archie's daughter, Cheryl and her family were there and I think the staff at Red Lobster was the best ever. We tried a fairly new appetizer, Lobster Pizza, which by the way was very tasty. When Rhonda and I first got married, they had a wonderful appetizer called Lagistino Nachos and our family just loved them. I can remember how my mom thought they were the best; nevertheless, they discontinued them and haven't had anything like that since. So, to bring back some good memories, we thought we would try the new pizza and it was very tasty. We enjoyed seeing Blake, Cora, the birthday man, Archie and his lovely wife, Linda, Cheryl, Daniel and of course the main attention went to my great niece Alexis (AKA Lexi). She steals the show everywhere she goes. We always enjoy her at our parties and gatherings and I think Archie had a really good time enjoying all the cash and cards he received, along with blowing out the candles. Of course, Lexi had to help and did a great job at it. We really missed Dad and Mom LaRue, though.

The other pics are some right at Christmas and afterwards. With our families being so spread out over North Texas, we can hardly be with everyone on Christmas Day, so we have to juggle it around to be with everyone. After celebrating Christmas Day with Rhonda's family, we travelled to Mineral Wells on Christmas night, and enjoyed Christmas with my nephew, Mac and his family, along with Cora and Ronnie. We had lasagna instead of the traditional ham & turkey and had a great time watching Mac's choir perform at their last concert. Mac is the choir director for the Junior High in Mineral Wells and does a fantastic job directing the choir. He also is the Minister of Music at First United Methodist Church in Mineral Wells and does a superb job at that. Mac and Dana just moved into their new home in Mineral Wells and wanted to show it off to everyone on Christmas. I know they are very proud of it since it has so much room for their children and more room for them also. We're really excited for them and happy they were able to find such a beatufiul home.

On the 28th of December, we were able to meet our best friends Charlene & Jerry Vincent at La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant in Dallas. If you haven't tried La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant in the Dallas area, you are missing a treat. I thought On The Border was the best, but I think La Hacienda just moved them from First-Place. I used to work with Jerry and he is such a great person and wonderful friend. A few years ago,he moved to Temple and he and his wife are a realtor in Temple. Charlene is also employed at Scott and White Hospital as a Computer Geek. (Sorry, I can't think of your job title). She does an excellent job supervising the computer programs in the hospital and we love her dearly. We always enjoying getting caught up with their lives and being with them whenever we can. Afterwards, we went to North Park Centre Mall and Collin Creek Mall. We really enjoyed ourselves.

It's a pretty quiet day here at the house and my sweet "baby luv" is taking down our tree. She said if I studied, I could get a reprieve. Plese don't tell her I've been blogging for an hour or so. Maybe she won't find out, because if she does, I'm in the doghouse. LOL.

P.S. On another note, I received a text message from our nephew John, who won the 5K race at Luke AFB, AZ. Way to go, John. He's an excellent runner and we're really proud of his accomplishments. Miss ya, buddy!

Happy New Year 2009

2009 is finally here! I hope you and your family had a wonderful New Year's Eve, along with a bright and Happy New Year! We celebrated by going out to dinner at McBride's Steakhouse and enjoyed a wonderful steak and shrimp dinner. Of course, my wife had her ususal Fried Mushrooms, along with a Stuffed Baked Potato. Very tasty. I really enjoy going to McBrides. They have some of the best steaks. We had wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse; however, we waited a little too late and the wait time was 70 minutes, so we opted for McBrides. It was a great choice! Afterwards, we watched the movie, "Australia". A delightful movie, very enjoyable and a little romantic. We had wanted to see Marley and Me; nevertheless, I had heard that is was a little sad in the end and I just couldn't handle seeing another sad doggie story. I'm glad we chose Australia.

On New Year's Day we went to Rhonda's mother's house, where Kevin & Jacklyn were visiting and had a great New Year's lunch. Rhonda cooked her almost famous Fried Chicken, with Rice and Gravy, complimented by her almost homemade country biscuits and topped off with Blackberry Pie, with Whipped Topping. Mom Prince had her world famous roast and potatoes, along with her tasty corn and scrumptous salad. Mom made Pretzel Pie. Yum, Yum. Oh, and I almost forgot the Blackeyed Peas. You can't very well ring in the new year without having Blackeyed Peas. I know it really can't give you luck, but it's fun to try anyway. Afterwards, we played Chickenfoot Dominoes and really had a good time. Rhonda won the first round, while Mom won the second time.