A Day Full of Love, Laughter & Surprises

Thank's everyone for helping me celebrate my 52nd birthday! I had a great weekend and oh, yes, my "Danny Day" turned into a "Danny Weekend". To start my weekend off, I ran 2.4 miles and came back, showered and Rhonda had her scrumptious pancakes ready for me. Wow! They are delicious! Thankfully, she only makes me two; nevertheless, I would love to have more, but know I can't with my Weight Watcher plan in tack. Realizing her HHR was dirty, I hurriedly washed it so I could make it to the mall and do a little shopping, get a haircut and pick John up for the afternoon. After picking John up, we both did a little shopping and grabbed us a bite to eat and went back to our town home to pick Rhonda up for the rest of the afternoon. Rhonda and I saw "Eagle Eye" and should you want to see a really good movie, I definitely would suggest seeing this movie; however, upon viewing it you probably will not want to answer your cell phone again. Big Brother is always watching and hearing you and you will be self conscious to the fact. Afterwards, we headed to my favorite restaurant, On the Border, where all the gang was there to celebrate with me. You see, it's so nice to celebrate your birthday with family and friends. Thanks everyone for joining me in the celebration. It was good to have Dad & Mom LaRue, along with Rachel, John, Mom Prince and of course, my lovely bride, Rhonda. Our server really put on a good show when he made "Guacamole Live" and by Mom Prince's taste buds, she concluded the guacamole was the best she had eaten. After dinner, Rhonda gave into my idea of looking at cars (my favorite pastime) and we, or should I say I enjoyed drooling over the various makes and models. To cap our weekend off, John and I visited Life Tabernacle and really enjoyed the service. Bro. Greg Henry was ministering in a revival service and preached an outstanding Bible Study. This was our third Sunday and it was good be back home again. Afterwards, Rhonda, John and I ate at Mazzios and I had to really careful with my menu items. You see, I had a staff meeting at Weight Watchers at 2:00 PM and the staff has to weigh in at each staff meeting. The rule is we cannot be over 2 pounds of our goal weight. Thankfully, I was right on target. The salad is what saved me. Ha! Ha! So, you see I really did have a "Danny Weekend" and thanks Rhonda for giving me such a good time. LOL!

Happy Birthday to you!

Today is my handsome husbands birthday! This is also my first time to post on the blog, the first vice presidential canidate debates and I am sure a lot more first for somebody somewhere. Today we had to work and Danny had class, so we will be celebrating with a family dinner Saturday at Danny's favorite restaurant--On the Border. My mother, neice Rachel, nephew John, Danny's neice Cheryl, her husband and two children and my father-in-law and his wife are expected to attend. Before the dinner Danny will get a "Danny Day," although if you ask me it's always a "Danny Day" around here. :>) Sorry, that is an inside joke for Danny. His friends at work got him a tower of balloons that were too big for his Mustang to carry, so I picked them up after I got off work and took them home for him. They make an impressive sight sitting on the hearth of our fireplace. Someone even made him a Weight Watchers approved cake. Danny's "Danny Day" will start with breakfast in bed--either French Toast or Pancakes--his choice, a movie--his choice and then his family dinner. He already received his present from me--tickets to the Gaither Homecoming at the MPEC. The real present is that I agreed to go with him without a fuss and I even suggested it--I'm not a big fan, but he is. I am sure that he will want to do something on Sunday, as well. Then on the 12th we are going to the State Fair at Dallas with some friends. All in all, I think it will be a nice birthday. Happy Birthday Honey! I love you!

Six Flags Trip with John

John and I and one of his friends just returned from another trip to Six Flags. This was my first with John, since I had previously been with my niece, Rachel. This trip turned out to be fantastic, since the weather was a lot cooler and the crowd wasn't so hectic. We left around 9ish, stopped by the local Burger King and McDonald's, grabbed a bite to eat, filled up with gas and to the Credit Union for some $$$$$ and we're on our way. Had a really good time enjoying John and his friend's company and camaraderie. We stopped at Decatur as usual; however, this time we checked out the local Wal*Mart so John could pick up some sunglasses and me a drink at the McDonald's. He found a really inexpensive pair and we laughed the rest of the way down there, since he bought "Power Rangers" sunglasses; nevertheless, it didn't bother him since they only cost him $4.00 and it fit the occasion.

Upon arriving at Six Flags, we had to park in "the back forty", since we got there around 12ish. You see, we had a back log of traffic entering Interstate 35 to Fort Worth. It never ceases to amaze me whatever time you travel to Fort Worth, you are always backlogged at that intersection. I really think the Highway Department needs to work on traffic flow at that interval.

Upon showing our Season Pass, we journeyed through the gate to the Flash Pass Office. I have never had the Flash Pass before and it was so nice. We got to show the pass and get ahead of the line at all of the really rough rides. John's first to get me on was "The Titan". I was scared out of my mind; however, John and Jessica just laughed and screamed the whole time. All I could do was "hold on for dear life." I do believe that was the scariest of rides I have ever ridden. You see, my beautiful bride, Rhonda just can't handle those rides anymore, so the first chance I get to go to Six Flags with someone who likes it as well as me, I'm ready to go. Rhonda likes "Christmas in the Park." It's such a beautiful time to visit the park, with the weather cooler and such great lights and activities going on.

From the Titan over to the Texas Giant, one of the world's largest wooden roller coasters. It jars you to death; nevertheless, it's not as scary as the Titan. After we got off, Jessica's back was really hurting, so she sat the next one out. I believe we reserved Batman to be our next adventurous ride. That's a really neat ride, because it is so tight, all you can do is scream and yell. It's keeps you in your seat, flying through the air, backwards and frontwards. The next ride I sat out which was "Batman." The last time I rode it, I really hurt my back on it and didn't want to chance it. So, I reserved us a spot at "Johnny Rockets Hamburgers" where John and Jessica joined me later for hamburgers and fries. The best onion rings are at Johnny Rockets and to top them off, I had a really great Vanilla shake.

To make a long story short, we really had a great time and I hope that John and Jessica enjoyed my company as I did theirs.

Happy 28th Wedding Anniversary!!!!!!!

Happy 28th Wedding Anniversary to my lovely bride, "Rhonda". My best friend, soulmate, lover, confidante, and the list goes on and on. We just celebrated over the weekend and had a wonderful time. Basically, we just stayed around the homefront and enjoyed each other. Nothing fancy or spectalar, just each other. Normally, we go out and paint the town "red"; however, we felt to do something a little different and really had a great time. You see, you don't really have to do anything special to celebrate your anniversary when you are really in love. Not that I'm against celebrating in a special way; nevertheless, it just didn't work out this year. I just wanted to say Happy Anniversary to the love of my life and hope we have many more years together.

P.S. For those who don't know it, our dog Sassie was laid to rest two years ago. I found this sweet picture and wanted to share with everyone. She was a great little dog and we have missed her terribly. I think I found it the hardest thing to handle upon losing her; nevertheless, it's kinda nice to have a reflection with her.

Back in school

I should've posted this about three weeks ago; however, I have been so busy I just didn't' have time. Our fall semester has begun at Wayland Baptist University and I'm enrolled in Geology and New Testament classes. Really great subjects and I just love my professors. I've had my Bible professor previously teaching Old Testament and was really lucky to get him again. He's really a great guy and enjoys his classes and students. You can really tell when a professor loves their job. My Geology professor is so neat. Her name is Liz Read. Really cool lady! She just cracks us up all the time in class. I think I'm gonna do really well this semester and I'm enjoying it this time. So many times, when you go to class, the classes are not your cup of tea or you and the professor just don't click. That makes it really hard and kinda leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

In both of my classes, I've had my friend Christi in class with me (she's the lady who rescued me awhile back when I ran out of gas on Southwest Parkway) and really a great person. So, it's really cool if I have a problem or dilemma with some homework, I can always depend on her to help me find the answer or show me where to look. You see, when you go back to college at my age, it makes it more difficult to study and find all the hot spots to look for regarding homework. I really appreciate Christi and her friendship this last year. She's a really great lady with a wonderful daughter and husband who support her through her education. She's planning on excelling in education.

Well, I better close this post for now, because I've got homework waiting on me and I don't want to be left "holding the bag." Ha! Ha!

Politics

I found this article on The Holleys blog and wanted to share with everyone! Thought it was very interesting!

A trip to Six Flags over Texas

Rachel (my niece) and I just returned from a trip to Six Flags over Texas on Labor Day. You see, I thought Labor Day would be the perfect time to visit this amusement park and oh, how wrong I was. We arrived there at 10:10 AM and noticed none of the rides were running. So, I called Six Flags and asked their hours of operation, which were 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM. Wow! We could've slept in another hour, so we meandered to the mall and looked around at Barnes and Noble and journeyed back to the park around elevenish. Now, the park had really started to get backed up; however, I thought that maybe everyone was just like us and was returning back after arriving earlier. After finding us a parking place (in back fourty), I thought, wow, I wished I would've paid for premier parking (basically close to the park). Nevertheless, we enjoyed our long trek to the park, looking all the time for the tram to come and pick us up. Finally, entering the gates, the lines seemed extremely long and afterwards getting inside the park, I believe everyone else in D/FW had the same thought as I did. Little did I know that Labor Day was the day that Season Pass holders could bring a friend free and boy did they ever do that. The park was so crowded, even the restaurants and snack stands had a long waiting ling. Rachel likes nothing more than lemonade and seemed like everywhere we went, all the stands were out of lemonade. To make a long story short, you can tell we got very little rides and took forever to try to satisfy our thirst, so around 4:00, I asked Rachel if she was ready as I was and of course, she said yes. I think that was the worst experience I had ever had at the park, since Six Flags is one of my favorites. Hopefully, the next time I visit, the park will be managed better.