I don't think you're ready for this jelly

thankful for the Beach

No trip is complete without a trip to one of these

because the Pastor can't ever pass up another cheap, used, old man shirt!

Don't worry, we made it to a Coach store too, but the Pastor didn't take any pictures. He may have been too upset.

another benefit of skipping Thanksgiving

less food = less shame in bikini

Can you believe I didn't want to make an imprint of my backside?

not a bad Thanksgiving indeed

a dream is a wish your heart makes

I was so happy to get to go to the Disney Film Exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Since we are "members" of the art museum back home, we got to use our membership cards to get in for free! What a deal!

I have nice memories of going to see Snow White wearing a Snow White printed dress on Christmas Eve with my Dad. The exhibit contains original art work used to make different Disney Princess movies. Most interesting, I thought, were the various incarnations Princesses went through before they settled on the final look.

Lobster buffet

after a two hour wait!

A two hour wait!

beignets!

Cafe du Monde

before I became covered in powdered sugar

Bourbon Street

the Pastor celebrating a speaking engagement

with a Shirley Temple

long winded Bible Scholars

Me, looking at book at Pastor's Bible Conference: "Paul wasn't a Christian?"

Pastor: "No, he was a Jew."

It takes a whole book to explain that?

all I want for Christmas

Dear Santa,

In my defense, I have now gotten up three mornings in a row when the alarm clock went off.

And since June? I've been trying really hard to live on a budget.

I even stopped buying magazines. I've been going to the library and reading them for free.

The most impressive thing? I didn't go to On the Border for two whole months, and I went five weeks without going to Ted's Cafe' Escondido.

Here is my Christmas list.



See my post below.

XOXOXO,

Robyn

p.s. Even though I've been on a diet for 7 weeks now, I promise I'll get you the good cookies. From the German place.

lack of Focus

RIP blue Honda, 2005 - 2009

Four and a half years ago when I married the Pastor, I had a less than a year old Ford Focus and a car payment. We kept the car for a few months, then determined it would be more fun for me to stay at home than to drive a new car. Instead, I began driving a 1996 Honda Civic LX. Don't let the LX fool you.

This blue Honda had damage just about everyplace you could think of.

It was one thing to pull up to Starbucks for my $5.00 coffee, I can imagine what people thought here in the land of brand-new shiny SUV's. What is she doing buying expensive coffee when she drives a car like that? However, the blue Honda wasn't without it's advantages.

You could park it anywhere. Spill something? No problem.

Someone hit me once. The driver was completely worked up about it. I looked at the "damage" and said "let's not worry about it." All accidents should be that easy and forgivable.

It was the perfect car to drive to The Church of the Homeless.

The engine light stayed on the entire time we owned the car, with one exception. That exception was when we loaned the car to a family in need we didn't even know. Yes, another advantage. We could share the blue Honda freely. We didn't worry about our car for months and when it finally showed back up, the engine light was off. I guess the family who had borrowed it was worried about returning it with the engine light on. It didn't last.

Through no fault of our own or it's own, several weeks ago, the blue Honda drove it's last mile for us.

Had I kept my Focus with the car payment, we would have spent $13,750 on car payments alone.

We paid $1,200 for the blue Honda. We put two new front tires on it, and virtually spent no other money on it for the rest of the time we owned it.

Today, someone from Craigslist paid $800 for the blue Honda. So we enjoyed the blue Honda for years for just a few hundred dollars.

Bye blue Honda. You and your great gas mileage will be sadly missed.

Once again, proof that God is a woman, and she has a sense of humor. And maybe a little PMS.

The Pastor is not having a good day.

He wanted to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, and went to take the Mustang convertible for a drive, possibly the last drive of the year before it hibernates. #FAIL. The Mustang ended up in the shop.

As the Pastor was walking home from dropping the Mustang off, I drove by him. He hopped in my red Honda.

We turned the corner, and I don't know the technical, mechanical terms for this, but my transmission fell out.

Off to vehicle #3. (Did I mention our blue Honda died last week and we are still mourning the loss?) The Pastor and I ran an errand, got back in the van and it took two tries to start it. I'm convinced it started on the second try because of the fervent prayers I started praying after the the false start.

What a relief. We'll go eat bar-b-q to cheer the Pastor up! Nope, the bar-b-q coupon expired two days ago.

God was clearly telling the Pastor to not go anywhere. Let's just get a Red Box and go home. We went to Red Box machine #1, ordered up our movies, dispense #FAIL. On to Red Box machine, #2, also not working.

This series of events started after the Pastor thought it would be hilarious to not hang up my dish towel correctly on the oven handle.

That will teach him. And God? You've punished him enough. I'm sure he'll be more respectful of the dish towel from now on, and he won't leave jelly to permanently affix itself to the sink.