Friday, January 30, 2009

Inaugural Events

I know I'm a little behind in my reporting (as always), but better late than never.

Just in case you're wondering...The inauguration was fantastic! We had purple tickets and by our estimates, we were about 100 yards from the action. There were 1000's of people with purple (and blue) tix who never got in at all and were trapped in the 'tunnel of doom'. We would have been one of those people, but divine providence gave us the notion to move from where we were and trek over towards a large mass of people. It was like rats packed in a drain or something. You move an inch, you stop for twenty minutes, you move two inches...whoa, there's the gate opening! We were lucky (another shout out to Congressman Duncan!! Whoo Hoo, go Tennessee!!).
We had a great time in our Nation's capitol. It struck me as ironic, when we stood in front of the Capitol building, that slaves built it and now a man of African descent (with his black family) will occupy it. Finally! If only Frederick Douglass, Harriett Tubman and MLK, Jr. could have seen it. So many people died for this country to get where it is today. I am in the middle of the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass and I am quite moved by the idea that he witnessed History from his place in Heaven.

Here are the pics. At the time, all we could see was the fourth picture (the Capitol plus lots of people), but in the pics I can actually see Michelle Obama's outfit as he takes the oath. I had to zoom my camera a bit to get these shots.


Now this is from back in October 2008...

This picture is on my desktop at work. I live in the heart of a major Republican state, so I can only imagine how this photo might grate on their nerves. *insert evil witch cackle here*

Long Overdue


This is me and my hubby on my 30th b-day. As quoted by Whitney Houston in the movie Waiting to Exhale, "I still look good!".
This pic was taken at the movies to see Twilight. Great book (as was the entire series), but the movie kinda sucked. Bad directing, IMO. The actors were well suited (although Edward could've been a little less cheesy...bad direction, I think) but the scenes were a little too bubblegum-ish. Better luck next time, right?


This picture is from the surprise 30th 70's Party my husband threw me. My little one is trying to figure out why mommy looks so different...


These pics are from New Years Eve 2008! We went to a ball at the Hyatt in Louisville, KY.

Friday, January 16, 2009

I just heard this great quote:

The church is supposed to be an emergency room for the sinner.
Not a country club for the saved.

I just pray that the Lord helps me so that I bring even a small amount of justice to his Kingdom.

Holiday Pics 2008

Family Portraits
December 2008
Anaiah at 14 mos.




CHEESE!



Thursday, January 15, 2009

I am just now getting around to this...
Pictures from Naiah's B-day Party 9/27/2008
For Italy pics, scroll down further...



In October 2008, my company sponsored a User's Mtg. for our worldwide customers and guess where it was??? It was in Padua, Italy (Veneto Region), which is roughly 35 mins. by train from Venice. Our meeting in Padua lasted for 5 nights and then on the last 2 nights, we went over to Venice to enjoy ourselves. I might be a career woman, but there was no way I was going to Europe without my fam. Plus, my daughter (who celebrated her 1st b-day in Venice, by the way) wasn't quite weaned yet, so she HAD to go.

Here are some pics of our travels.
St. Marks Basilica, St. Mark's Plaza, Venice (Our hotel was right around the corner!!)

Dex and Naiah sitting across from me at a restaurant around the
corner from the plaza and our hotel.

Although you can't really see the water in the background, this is a pic that we took on the Gondola ride we took. How many of us can say we rode on a Gondola for our 1st b-day?

My little Diva.
10-06-08

Reflections of His Grace

Last night, my daughter woke me up around 2 am and then again around 4 am. She's had a little congestion lately so sleep is always a little more difficult at times like these. We co-sleep so we are pretty much there for her in a second when she wakes up crying. God has certainly been working on my patience lately. When my daughter wakes up in the middle of the night, guess who she wants? Mommy. And guess who has to wake up in the morning? Mommy. Daddy just finished his Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction (w/ Elem. Ed cert.) in Dec. and is taking it easy until the Fall when he'll begin teaching. So Daddy's lucky in that he doesn't have to fight early morning traffic for a while.

As I was rocking my daughter back to sleep at around 4ish, I thought to myself that two years ago this month, I was ecstatic and overjoyed at the opportunity to birth a child. I scanned my memory for those special moments since then that I've been so blessed to experience. The way it felt to carry her in my belly, the birth of my beloved baby, the closeness of nursing her, the experiences of weaning and so many in between.

I don't always have the patience I desire to have, but right then and there I had to thank God for his grace. Without his mercy and love, I don't know where I'd be right now, but I knew it probably wouldn't be here stroking my daughter's face as she snuggled in my arms.

My cup really does run over.

How full is your cup? If you think about it, even though you still have prayers that it doesn't seem like God has answered yet, you're probably living in an overflow too. Praise him right now for all that he has already done! And then, Praise him in advance for all that he is about to do!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Faith!

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen!
Hebrews 11:1

MY PROFESSION: Chemist
MY PROFESSION (at heart): Fiction Writer

I’ve always looked at my chosen profession as sort of a means to an end. As a young girl, I never had the courage to step out and do what I wanted to do, as opposed to what was smart for me to do.

My current journey/struggle in life is my ongoing search for an agent. I first began writing back in 2005/6 while I was in graduate school. It was my first crack at writing so I put my all into it, not knowing that it actually required more than putting your thoughts on paper in a haphazard kind of way. My novel had no story arc, the characters were all the same person (shaking my head at the memory), and it was just plain BAD. The queries I sent off to agents got lots of attention, but the fulls and partials I sent failed to impress. From there, I got discouraged and decided to push forward to finish school and get my head out of the clouds.

Fast forward, two years and I picked up a book by a girl I remembered on the blueboards. It inspired me to take another look at my first draft and all the rejections I received. I took the advice of the comments some of the agents made and I basically threw out the novel. I kept some of the names, but created a much better plot (as in I actually had a plot).
Now, I’m 30 and I’ve just plum decided that I am not wasting anymore time getting to what it is that I really want. I’am going for the whole nine, this time (yeah, I coulda been a rapper, but no use cryin’ over spilled milk).
What I want is to be a creator. I may not be a good writer, the jury is still out on that, but I’m okay with that. I don’t mind being mediocre at it. I will strive to do my absolute best and if that ends up as “You ah-ight” on the scale of “You suck” and “Dang, girl, you’re the next Nora Roberts!”, then it is what it is.

I have faith that whatever the Lord has for me is for me.

Wish me luck!

Inauguration!

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you!

I'm going to the inauguration!!!

I emailed my Congressman (John Duncan (R)- TN) and requested tix for the inauguration. I am not sure if it helped, but I did introduce myself as Dr. Murphy (heh, heh). In all honesty, I'm sure that didn't matter one bit. What mattered was my place in line. I was #47 and was told that they were usually only allocated approx. 200 tickets. I requested 4 tix but was only offered 2. Hey, no skin off my back. My younger sis, my neice, husband, daughter and father are all making the trek to DC this weekend, but only my husband and I will attend the ceremonies. My dad is basically going as our babysitter which is freakin'-fan-freakin'-tastic if you ask me!

Hallelujah, We Shall ,(scratch that!), HAVE overcome!

It's been a long time comin', but I know change gon' come--- OH YES IT IS!


Writing is like chicken soup for the soul!

Working on a new manuscript right now which is a YA. Not so sure what the title with be yet as I am trying to avoid certain cliche's.

Manuscripts 1 and 2 are complete (the second is the sequel of the other) and I have the outline complete for the next book in the series, but I want to write something fresh and different.

I'll update later when I am more inspired...:)