Bonjour!

Since I can't figure out the friggin' video blog thing, here's a picture from my webcam, with an added little feature. :-)

There are all kinds of cute little things you can put on top of or around a picture - it's so fun!!! Once you choose a feature, it will follow your head around so that it stays on you know matter what pose you're in. TECHNOLOGY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do happen to love France and anything that has to do with it. My favorite teacher of all time was my French teacher, Mrs. Barmann. Some kids were scared of her, but she was AMAZING, and I learned more from her in four years that I have ever learned from any other teacher combined, I'm pretty sure.

I got to go to France my Junior year of high school, and I'll never forget it. The coolest thing about being there was that we learned so much about it before we went, which is why we appreciated it so much more. We studied French-Impressionist art, important buildings, culture, and of course, the language. We even marched side-by-side into Notre Dame Cathedral on Easter Sunday just so we could get the BEST seats. Keep in mind that Madame's foot was in a brace the whole time - it didn't even phase her.

My good, good friend Michael Brown tried to import about 50 mini Eiffel Towers back to the U.S., and about got arrested by customs because they looked so suspicious going through security. If you knew Michael Brown, however, you would not be surprised by this.

I wish I remembered more French - I would love to say I spoke fluently, but alas, I remember little.

Maybe someday I'll have the opportunity to go back there and brush up on my French. For now, enjoy my chic beret.....

AU BIENTOT!!! (that's HOLLA in French. :-))

BLOG LAZY

I haven't blogged in a while.

It's not that I can't think of things to blog about...I can think of plenty! I just find myself relaxing into the lazy days of summer and trying to disconnect somewhat from the technical world to enjoy my favorite time of year.

So, for now, I'll just share with you a few thing that you've missed since I blogged last. I apologize for the lack of details. :-)

YOGA - my new obsession
MOVIES - can never watch enough of them
TRANSFORMERS - pretty good, for a boy movie
UP - cute, especially with two nieces in tow
SWIMMING - as close to heaven as one can get
FRIENDS - thankful, thankful, thankful
GRAD CLASS - almost done!!!
FAMILY - Bennet Spring down, COLORADO comin' up!
CRAFTS - need to get my butt in gear and make some
BIBLE SCHOOL - getting ready to learn songs for
FAT - still on my rear
BEN - can't get enough time with this guy
CONCERTS - Carbon Leaf, already counting down to Dave
DMB - new CD - love it
PASTELS - my new artistic endeavor
BIRTHDAY - on the 28th!!
ANNIVERSARY - anyone have any good ideas for dinner???
FAITH - more and more every day
FIREWORKS - last night at Mom and Dad's - Ben outdid himself!!
COLORING - in my new book that Mom got me - you're never too old for coloring.
BUMPITS - I'm not ashamed to say that I bought these and they are AMAZING.


Okay, that's all I can think of for now. Hope your summer is full of fun and excitement, too - that's what summers are for.




HOLLA -

Still Having Difficulties....

So I took a break from this vlogging thing because I was spending WAY too much time trying to get it to work. So much time, in fact, that I wasn't getting other stuff done that I needed to because I was trying so hard.

It made me think of many times in my life that I have tried really hard to get something to work and it just wouldn't. I have gotten so frustrated trying to MAKE things happen, whether physically or mentally, and I ended up defeated and broken down with nothing to show for it.

It is in these times that I realize that the best thing to do is just give up what's not working for you and go with what is. Putting energy towards something positive that is already flowing in your direction is much easier (and better) than putting energy towards something that is standing still or worse, pushing against you.

So, besides an email sent for tech help, I am sadly moving back to the world of blogging. I know - that's so YESTERDAY.

:-)

HOLLA -

p.s. - do you want to see my lunker from Bennett Springs?????



I don't know if you know this, but I'm kind of a big deal. :-)

Technical Difficulties

Okay, I'm ticked because I tried to Vlog all day on Friday, and it wouldn't work. First, I recorded directly from YouTube, but the audio and video were out of sync. Then I recorded directly onto my computer, but couldn't get it to load to either the blog website OR YouTube. FRUSTRATION!!!! I had to give up because I had to get ready for camping over the weekend and we just got back this afternoon.

Hopefully I can figure out how to resolve this issue because I've decided that Vlogging is pretty freakin' fun.

Stay tuned for more Vlogging....or more blogs about how I can't figure out the f$&*%ing Vlog.

:-)

NEW DAVE

FIRST VLOG!

If I Had a Million Dollars....

I was driving on the highway the other day and saw a Powerball sign that said the jackpot was something like $222 million. Ben and I do not play the lottery, but whenever we pass a sign like that, it's always fun to daydream and "plan out" what we would do if we REALLY had $222 million, or $20 million, or even $2 million!!!!

So, because summer is the stuff of daydreams, I am going to share with you what I would (and WILL - ha!) do with a million dollars...or so. :-)

1. Pay off debt. We don't have too much, but boy would I love to get rid of it.

2. Buy a new house. I'm not sure if it would be our KC house, or our Beach House in the Carolinas, or BOTH! Either way, we would buy a new house. (I want you to know that I put the words "Beach House" in capitals because I have the utmost respect for the house that I know in my heart we will someday own. :-))

3. Buy Ben a Jeep Wrangler. Not even a new one - he wants a '76 Jeep Wrangler something-or-other, and I would make sure he got one.

4. Buy me a convertible, so we could have it at the Beach House when we need to go to the market, or take our guests around town and show them the sights.

5. Pay off the debt of our immediate families. You've heard rich people talk about how hard it is to set boundaries with family once you've become wealthy, but I think this is a good starting point. Not saying we wouldn't help out others, but hey - we're only dreaming here. :-)

6. Take our immediate families on some sort of fantastic vacation to celebrate.

7. Pay all construction/building costs left at St. Paul's, where I teach. And whatever money they thought they might need in the near future, I would give that to them, too.

8. Start a plan of mass giving, like Dave Ramsey says. There are a lot of other places that could benefit from our massive windfall like our church, local charities, hospitals, etc. So we would figure out how we could help places like that for the long-term.

9. Saving, of course....LOTS of saving. :-)


So if you ever see Ben and me on the news for becoming millionaires, you can check back here to see what our plan of action will be.

Now I'm really going to snap myself out of this daydream by balancing my checkbook.

HOLLA -