Not much to report...

But hey, Manchester United won their match over the weekend (2-0) with Ruud and Rooney scoring for the Red Devils and, what's this? Our keeper, Edwin Van der Sar, had an assist?? Hehe...Rock on!!!

Auburn takes on Georgia Tech Saturday. Unfortunately, I won't catch the game in live action b/c we'll be at the FC Dallas soccer match. Slicer, if you're reading this, I may be avoiding your comments just like I do Sylvia's when we catch a Man Utd game later than it originally aired. It's going to KILL me to miss the game!! I really prefer watching them live, for some reason. I dunno why. It's not like I can change the outcome or anything!!

This week is trudging by. I almost added "very slowly," but that would have been a little redundant (can you tell I interpret English classes??). I can't wait until Friday. Then again, Dillon's folks come up early Saturday so that just means I have to do a lot of house cleaning between now and then. YUCK!!!

Oh yes!! We get a long weekend!! I need to make Dr's appts.....gosh, September (as in the month...not the Canadian!) surely snuck up on me!

New Orleans...does anyone else feel as helpless as I do? So sad....one of the history teachers said that the land is in such bad shape that it probably will all be ocean in 50 years. Wow....

Ok, so this is random. Well, I feel random today!!!!

Dillon's birthday is coming up. I'd tell you what I've gotten him, but there's a small chance he might meander his way over here to read my blog (it would be the first time, that's for sure!). I got a few of his presents like a week ago and it's killing me!!! (September 10 is the big day)

What else?? Hmm.. I had to email my dad a diagram so he could figure out how to get to his phone book on the cell phone. :-p It's my old phone b/c his messed up just before he came out to visit. Verizon let us activate my "old" one for $15 (his was too expensive to fix and we got it thru Radio Shack and they wouldn't honor the warranty). Anyway, I showed him everything (and gave him the book). Poor guy...he called the other night to tell me he can't figure out how to "get my numbers off there." (for at least a month, now!) Fortunately, we'd voice programmed mine in there so he didn't have a problem calling me! Anyway, I was trying to remember what my phone looked like and describe the steps to him but it was futile. He needs something with neon letters/pictures! So, I went online and found someone selling the same phone on ebay, opened the picture in Paint, and went to work. Oy.

I am sitting here waiting on a call regarding one of Dillon's presents....the wait is driving me crazy!!!

Well, I'll go and use some of this nervous energy elsewhere b/c if I don't, I'll write forever and ever about NOTHING!! Just call me Seinfeld.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar Eagle!

Well, folks, my favorite (sporting) time of the season is upon us.

Manchester United has started their season off with a bang (2-0) and my Auburn Tigers will face their first opponent on September 3rd!

I've already seen a couple of my former favorite players in the Big Time (NFL) take a stab it the pros. Carlos Rogers needs to step up his conditioning routine. Ronnie Brown didn't play (I hope he's not holding out like Carlos did...and, if he is, I hope he's staying in shape!). Carnell "Cadillac" Williams had a few carries for 12 yards, certainly not the kind of numbers he had in a game at Auburn. But, this is their first season and some will probably see limited playing time. Still, I can't wait to see what unfolds this year (Jason Campbell also did not play...he's 3rd on the depth chart at Washington, so there ya go).

Yay! Fall! The changing of leaves and the cheering of fans enjoying "football" worldwide!! Yay!!!

SCC celebrates Christmas with a new album AND book!!

(Taken from an article at www.stevencurtischapman.com)


Steven Curtis Chapman Spreads Holiday Cheer With New CD, Book. All I Really Want For Christmas CD To Release September 27th

All I Really Want For Christmas CD To Release September 27th; Tommy Nelson Shares Second Installment Of Shaoey & Dot Series With A Christmas MiracleNashville, TN (August, 2005) –

Platinum-selling singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman is ready to spread the holiday cheer this season with his Christmas CD, All I Really Want For Christmas, releasing September 27th on Sparrow Records. In addition, bookshelves will be stocked this fall with Shaoey And Dot: A Christmas Miracle (Tommy Nelson Publishing), the second installment of the “Shaoey And Dot” picture book series penned by Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth.

With more than one million of his Christmas titles sold to date, Chapman’s All I Really Want For Christmas is his 15th studio project in his 19-year career with Sparrow Records. This collection of 12 original and traditional holiday favorites includes new Chapman originals, such as “The Night Before Christmas,” “The Miracle of Christmas,” “All I Really Want,” as well a new version of the timeless hymn “Angels From The Realm of Glory.” Also included are Chapman’s renditions, previously recorded for his 2003 Hallmark release, Christmas Is All In The Heart, of “Silver Bells,” “Go Tell It On The Mountain,” and “Home For Christmas.” Ed Cash produces the new songs while Brown Bannister produced the songs from Christmas Is All In The Heart.

Rounding out the holiday project are a couple special appearances, one from country superstar Vince Gill who shares his voice on a new version of “Christmas Is All In The Heart.” Another special guest is Chapman’s first adopted daughter, Shaohannah Hope. Shaoey starts the CD off with her touching narration of “The Christmas Story” taken from the Book of Luke. She closes out the project, joined by her dad, singing her rendition of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” a special hidden track at the end of the CD. Shaohannah, now age 6, also appears with her dad on the CD cover.

All I Really Want For Christmas’ first single, the endearing “All I Really Want,” promises to be a song we’ll want to hear for years to come. The song focuses on a topic dear to Chapman’s heart – adoption. “All I Really Want” shares the story of a little boy’s one item wish list to Santa, asking not for toys at Christmastime but for a family. Chapman sings:

“All I really want for Christmas is someone to tuck me in, a shoulder to cry on if I lose and shoulders to ride on if I win / There’s so much I could ask for but there’s one thing I really need / All I really want for Christmas is a family.”

To promote the single, Chapman will be filming a music video in Los Angeles at the end of the month. The video will be directed by Brandon Dickerson who is based out of San Francisco. Dickerson will also be filming Chapman in another music video for Chapman’s song, “Remembering You,” the first radio single from Songs Inspired By The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

J. David Huffman, COO, Creative Trust, comments, “With All I Really Want for Christmas, Steven is giving what everybody wants for Christmas – a warm, emotive experience about all the joys of the holiday season for all ages.”"Steven has once again delivered a pristine offering of songs for this new Christmas album,” says Peter York, President, EMI CMG Label Group. “He has captured the emotion, wonder and miracle of Christmas and invites the listener to enter in." Chapman will do a nationwide tour this holiday season promoting All I Really Want For Christmas with friends MercyMe. Together they will appear in 21 markets beginning the day after Thanksgiving in Greenville, SC and ending December 20th in Indianapolis, IN.

Shaoey And Dot: A Christmas Miracle will be released by publisher Tommy Nelson this November, in time for National Adoption Awareness Month and the Christmas season. This story is a wonderful reminder of the miraculous love that makes every Christmas a special one while sharing with its readers the many joys of adoption.

“Shaoey and Dot are a charming duo in fun-to-read, rhyming stories with big, big messages,” said Vice President and Associate Publisher Dee Ann Grand. “Like the kid in all of us, Shaoey and Dot give and receive all the joy and fun of the giving season, but in the end, they learn the true, real miracle of Christmas.” The Shaoey and Dot series, named after the Chapman’s first adopted daughter, Shaohannah (Shaoey) Hope, was launched with the Chapman’s first picture book, Bug Meets Bundle, in November 2004. Filled with delightfully whimsical illustrations from Mary Beth’s brother, Jim Chapman, the Shaoey and Dot picture book series truly is a family affair. Jim Chapman also illustrated A Christmas Miracle.

All I Really Want For Christmas Track Listing (not final order):

Narration of The Christmas Story
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
All I Really Want
Angels from the Realms of Glory
The Night Before Christmas
The Miracle Of Christmas
Christmas is all in the Heart
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Go Tell It On The MountainSilver Bells
Winter Wonderland
I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Steven Curtis Chapman was honored with a Grammy Award this year for the 5th time, has an American Music Award as well as two certified Platinum and seven Gold albums, nine million total albums sold and 43 No. 1 radio hits, among numerous other honors. He is the most-awarded recording artist in the history of the Gospel Music Association with 49 Dove Awards spanning his 19-year recording career. His current recording, All Things New, is his 14th project with Sparrow Records as well as the title of his most successful tour to date, which hit 70+ cities nationwide. He also appears on the upcoming release Songs Inspired By The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe soundtrack releasing this fall and also has the first single going to radio, “Remembering You.” Chapman has performed at the White House and has appeared on such outlets as CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, Hallmark Channel and E!. He has also taken on the role of producer and record label founder, helping to launch the career of Casting Crowns. A passionate advocate for adoption, Chapman and his family have established Shaohannah’s Hope, a foundation providing information and financial grants to families who desire to adopt. For more information please visit http://www.shaohannahshope.org/ and www.StevenCurtisChapman.com.

Tommy Nelson, the kids division of Thomas Nelson Inc., creates and distributes products designed to expand children’s imaginations and nurture their faith. Named one of the top fifteen children’s publishing companies in North America by Publishers Weekly, Tommy Nelson publishes best-selling authors and brands like Max Lucado, Frank Peretti, the International Children’s Bible®, and Hermie and Friends™.

How did I get so old????

Cholesterol.

That word held no meaning to me til about 4 months ago when I found out I have hypothyroidism. Thanks to a wellness screening at our school, we (my doctor and I) were notified that I had abnormal levels of both the thyroid stimulating hormone and triglycerides. Joyous. The bad news was, I had to take a pill for my thyroid. The good news was it might help level off my triglycerides. Only time would tell.

Well, boys and girls. I feel pretty old and out of shape because today, I received my little blue card in the mail. That card held the news that my triglycerides are really stubborn and do not like Synthroid (Well, more likely, they don't like my choice of food....then again, with them being so high, they probably DO like my choice of food and have little parties each time I open my mouth!). Oh well. It's too bad the Synthroid and my cholesterol didn't like playing together b/c now I have to take yet another medication.

The moral of the story? One, go ahead and get a checkup. If I hadn't gone to that free screening at work, I wouldn't have found out about my thyroid. One in 10 women are diagnosed with thyroid problems. They can lead to serious complications (try death) if left undetected. The same goes with junk that clogs up your arteries. It's kinda important to have blood flowing unrestricted thru your body.

Oh yeah...and eat your fruits and veggies. However, you've seen all those commercials with the healthy folks working out and eating right and still have high cholesterol. Sometimes, it's just genetics that deal you the icky high cholesterol card. Even if you're thinking you're healthy, get your blood checked. You never know.

It's past my bedtime...

(Anyone with advice on dealing with CHO, let me know, k?)

P.S. IT'S OFFICIALLY FRIDAY!! YAAAAAAAAY!!!

Bloggerific!

I promise I tried to update you all last night. It's just that when I finally got around to doing so, the site was down for maintenance.

Well, we're closing in on the end of the first week of school here in good ol Plano, USA. It's not been too bad. There's been some adjustment among the 11th graders who just moved up from their high schools (we have 3 feeder 9th-10th grade schools and 3 Senior High (11th-12th)) as well as the teachers/interpreters. We're just used to block scheduling and the district went to 7 period days this year. What that means is, instead of having a set of 4 classes every other day (1st-4th on MWF and 5th-8th TTH or however the days work out), we have 7 classes M-F. The good thing is the classes are only 50 minutes now as opposed to A day classes being one hour and B day an hour and a half. Only having 50 minutes can be bad, too. Well, at least from an interpreting standpoint. It seems the teachers haven't been able to cram all they need into their 50 minute periods....efficiently. Sure, they get it all in, but our fingers are on fire!! LOL. Ouch. I need a massage.....

Nap time has been a necessity for me (and Dillon) in the afternoons. I just need to learn to nap more wisely. I can't just lay down and do one of those sissy "power naps" for 15 minutes. It takes me that long to get comfy!!!! I practically go comatose once the Sandman finds me. That's not so good when bedtime rolls around and I'm wired from my 2 hr siesta! I have, however, cut out much of the caffeine I used to intake. If I DO have any, it will be around breakfast or lunchtime. Nothing after 5. That could be why I'm dead at quitting time! ;-). More water is in my diet now, too. Yay!

Well, that's it. Nothing exciting yet. I'm so happy that tomorrow is Friday!!!!

I, I will survive...

Howdy.

Day 2 is over and I'm already tiring of technical "teacher speak." :-p We kicked the day off with convocation at 7:30. Everyone in the disrict donned their school's colors and shuttled, carpooled or drove to Prestonwood Baptist Church (aka the "Baptidome") for our little "kick off" to the school year. Last year, it was held in the afternoon and, in my opinion, that's a much better time to get folks in the mood for kicking off (instead of kicking AT) something ;-). Actually, everyone was pretty with it (don't ask about how they were doing this afternoon...lol...can you say "glassy eyed??"). Me and 5 other colleagues had the...umm...privilege of interpreting the event. We have 3 Deaf on staff and since each sat with their respective schools, 2 of us were assigned to each. Gotta love teaming. I tell ya...I wouldn't have made it thru 2 hours of presentations, cheers, songs, and playful "educational" banter w/o being able to trade off with someone. Of course, when you "team," you are still on the clock in case the person you're working with needs a sign fed to them now and again (Emily will know what I'm talking about).

Since I got up at 5:30AM and I am a professed night owl, I managed to forget my glasses. It wasn't too bad and I got the chance to "swing (across town!)" home and grab them after it was over with. It's good I did b/c Giggs had found the dryer lint bucket in the laundry room and also got hold of a napkin to shred. Sometimes I wonder why we even bought a cross-cut shredder. We should just let the dog do it!!!

The rest of the day was more teacher meetings/workshops and interpreting them. Our shining monent was when the principal of the school we are working at (for the week...for me, anyway) stood and acknowleged what a great job we (interpreters) were doing and asked everyone to thank us (with applause). One of my coworkers said that in the 7 yrs she's been working at this school, that was the first time someone thanked the interpreters. It meant a lot. We were fried by the end of the day!!! "Administration" "Legislation" "Reformation" "Proliferation" Oh man...shoot me now!! LOL

On a side note, have y'all used Terra Server or Google Earth yet? Yikes!! You can zoom in to see your house!!!! (It's on the news....sorry for the diversion) Dillon's had it on his computer for a while. While it's neat to "visit" other places, it's kind of weird. I'm just glad it's not a live feed!!!! YIKES!