THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS BY PAUL WRIGHT

OH MY GOSH! The other day I got the surprise of the year! Amy told me she was going to take me somewhere pretty cool. I thought "ok, but where"? I had no idea where we were going, Manuel did, but me not a hint. I was driven to Pasadena and saw that we were going to Calvary Chapel. I asked "are we going to a free concert"? Still no answer. We went inside and I still had no idea who or what we were going to see. Once inside I knew it was a free concert, stage set up with huge speakers. I thought "could it be _____ ______...no way...not possible...he's too big". So then I started thinking of who it could be "hmmmmmm", nothing. "Oh, well I'll just be happy to hear some good music" I thought. I asked "is this huge"? Amy gave me her you know look and said "oh, it's huge". I told her I thought of one person but there was no way it would be him, then she smiled. PAUL WRIGHT? PAUL WRIGHT? SERIOUSLY PAUL WRIGHT! I freaked! From that point on I was on cloud 9 and was just such a girl! I love his music! He has a real gift from God. I had the pleasure of meeting him and talking to him. I even tucked my hair behind my ear as I spoke and flipped my hair!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME JULIE? ISN'T THAT JUST SO PATHETIC? WELL IT WAS FUN!

Funny Kid!

I have this little friend, his name is Luke. Some of you may have heard about him on his mommy's blog, Deep Thoughts by Simply Liz. This kid is an ABSOLUTE crack up! I had an opportunity to chat with him yesterday and he had so much to say. He use to just grunt a lot and not talk much but now, oh my, he's a talker! He was telling me about so many different things yesterday(his experiences on the potty and his new underwear). The funniest thing was when his dad was talking and Luke just blurted out "daddy are you crazy"! It was so funny. I must say that kids are so fun. If you know Luke I highly recommend taking a couple of minutes to talk to him. You don't have to speak "baby" to him because he is way past that! Even if you don't know Luke I highly recommend having a conversation with a little kid you do know. It is so fun to talk with kids, they actually can hold a conversation. I walked away from our conversation feeling young. I honestly felt touched to have had the opportunity to let him tell me about his day. It's fun! Try it!

Shame on me!

I caught myself saying things that I shouldn't be saying! So this blog is a big SHAME ON ME! I have been complaining about my grey hairs that are popping up everywhere! I have been complaining about turning 30 in July! I have been complaining about lines and wrinkles!

I am SO SORRY to all of you who have had to hear a 29 year old complain about these things. I am so wrong! How dare I in one breath thank God for the LIFE I have and in the next complain of completing another year! Talk about a contradiction! My birthday isn't even here yet and I am upset over it! So what! I need to just "Breathe Life" and enjoy 29! So what, my hair is turning grey! Why am I upset over this when, hardly anybody can tell under this huge mane, and my good friend Kristen can just take it all away? Lines??? I should have gotten over this one when I realized what lines the girls put on my belly.

So there I shut myself up! (for now at least) Now comes the hard part of trying not to complain about it anymore.

Bella's Top 5 Books

So Bella is 3 1/2 years old. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES books. Most pre-schooler's love books right? Well Bella's just a little different. She has a couple of favorites that she insist on "reading" throughout the week. They include: The Oxford American Dictionary and Language Guide, an Algebra book, McMillan Dictionary, and the 2004 & 2005 World Almanac. She insist that she does not like books with pictures and she must take one with her wherever she goes. It is so funny because if we go to someones house and she takes a gander at their books she will ask "can I please have that book". My brother, Sal, took her to the bookstore once. He took her over to the children's section and tried to convince her that picture books were so cool. She insisted that she wanted "only a book with no pictures". He still bought her Curious George and Richard Scarry books with the promise that he would give her one of his books when they got home. She had her choice of which of his books she would claim and lit up when she saw an orange paper bound Algebra book. Her favorites are the Algebra book and the 2004 World Almanac . It is cute to see her in tote of these books, let's pray this is a sign of good things to come.

We Interrupt This Blog for a Service Announcement

Apparently I have been talking to myself. "SOMEONE" mentioned that my blogs seem to only generate comments from Liz and myself. "THEY" were observing that only Liz will post a comment, however there are my other blogger friends that do too. I do feel as if I am only hearing from my "Blog" friends in the comments. So I am posting this to say hello to ALL of my visitors. I know there are a lot of you and I love that. I want to welcome you to drop a hello comment by going over to my new C-box (chat box) or you can comment on a specific post by clicking comment at the end of the post, comment, sign your name and click anonymous. Don't forget the word verification! I would love to hear from YOU! Come on don't be shy! If for some reason you are having difficulty just email me.

P.S. It's okay if you don't I will keep on bloggin' to let you know what's goin' on. Don't feel bad not even Manuel has commented! ( Yes honey, I am callin' you out too! And YOU can't email)

Comming up tomorrow...a blurb on Bella!

TOODLES! (I've always wanted to say that)

ABC Tag

A - Available or taken: taken till I die
B - Best friend: My Manuel (my own personal guide). We do practically everything together. Too bad he has that job thing. He is the only one who will have Yahtzee, Othello, and Scrabble marathons with me.
C - Cake or pie: Cake! I make a killer Chocolate Truffle cake with fresh raspberries. Yummo!
D - Drink of choice: Ice Blended Mocha’s at Coffee Bean
E - Essential item you use everyday: My Slvr cell phone (itunes in it and the most awesome day planner)
F - Favorite color: Deep dark red
G - Gummy bears or worms: We don’t ever eat them. As a kid I liked gummy bears, now I don’t.
H - Hometown: Camarillo, Ca.
I - Indulgence: Probably baking. Reading about it, perfecting recipes, and decorating. I should do this more because I get really excited just thinking about it. I do get a little O.C.D. when doing it though.
J - January or February: February because I love making valentine treats.
K - Kids & names: Analiese and Isabella. Yes both have eight letters.
L - Life is incomplete without? Being able to cuddle my family while reading a book. Love on them. (so family and books)
M - Marriage date: July 18, 1998
N - Number of siblings: Two brothers. One older, Sal, and one younger, Mike.
O - Oranges or apples: Probably ½ of an apple. Too much fruit hurts my tongue, so oranges are out of the question.
P - Phobias or fears: GERMS. I really do my best to keep this at bay. I can get bad.
Q - Fave quote: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, today is a gift -Eleanor Roosevelt
R - Reason to smile: Breath of life and Salvation through Christ.
S - Season: Fall. Crisp air and the color changing leaves.
T - Tag 3 or 4 people: nah!
U - Unknown fact about me: I use to be a police officer
V- Vegetable you don't like: Jicama (spelling?)
W - Worst habit: Manuel says talking (what an honest best friend)
X - Xrays: Lungs, a year ago. It was our first glimpse into my new life.
Y - Your fave food: homemade chicken taquitos with mayo on them. Yummo!
Z - Zodiac sign: Cancer (I use to think this meant I was destined to have it) but I am very emotional, highly caring, generous, and intuitive.

My 2007 Resolutions

I never make any resolutions. I just don't want to look back and be disappointed at what I didn't do. I was talking to Manuel this morning and the words "my new years resolution is..." actually came out of my mouth. So I have chosen to only resolve to do two things. Then I won't be disappointed when I only accomplish one. See already I've failed. I meant to say, this way I WILL accomplish both of them.

1. I resolve to study and learn. I want to get knee deep into the Bible and history. I also want to study and enhance my baking skills.

2. I resolve to have better posture. I will sit, stand, and walk in better posture. I am excited because this one will make me look taller and thinner. Any help in those areas is much appreciated.

Simple yet practical! Right?

Just needed to shout out a "PRAISE GOD"!

PRAISE THE LORD ALMIGHTY! HE IS WORTHY OF ALL PRAISE! HE IS THE ULTIMATE PHYSICIAN!
I have been breathing normally for the last week! I have enjoyed going to Macy's, grocery stores, and walking up the stairs at home! I am so excited! Even with being sick I only had a couple days of hard breathing after the cold was gone. I took an antibiotic for the stuff that was hitting my lungs but theN viola all better! I had to tell the girls at Ralphs today to keep up with me! YAHOOOOOO! I get to the top of the stairs without even being out of breath!! I can pick up Isabella without pain or breathlessness. My muscle symptoms (lupus) and joint pain (rheumatoid arthritis) have lessened significantly! I am nowhere near where I was! I can use my arms and legs without pain and the muscles haven't been going out the way they would. I have lost a lot of muscle through the year and have many bony areas(wish one of these was my tummy), have developed many rheumatoid nodules, and even had a lot of hair loss. Many of you haven't noticed the hair loss but it was quite significant. My curl is coming back along with some much hated grey hair. Is this what 29 brings now a days? I hate grey hair! Time to go see Kristen, she can wipe all the grey away! My complexion has also taken a hit over the last year. Between autoimmune disease and prednisone it has looked pretty shabby! I am getting bossy again, not a good thing.
I have learned a lot about myself in the last year. I love life, all of its difficulties and simplicities. I am willing, loving, happy, and teachable. I would be none of these things without my trials. I am a student, always learning from the Master teacher. I am thankful! I look forward to the year/life ahead! What ever it brings I will walk next to the Lord Almighty and take it on. I will breathe this life in whatever way I can, always keeping my eyes focused on HE who sustains me. I am happy to be someone who "needs a lung transplant". That is a title that will follow me for the rest of my life but the cool thing is that right now I CAN BREATHE because of HIS MERCY. I will love that whether it last one more day or forty years! PRAISE GOD FOR YOUR LIFE, NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES!