Parenting Stinks

Sometimes parenting just stinks! A lot of reasons could fall under that category including but not limited to discipline. But, what I am currently writing about is when both kids have events going on at the same time! Last night was one of those times!

Grif had his first baseball practice that I desperately wanted to be at! Bailey had a chorus concert with a SOLO that I desperately wanted to be at as well. I guess it is a blessing to have kids that are good at so many things, with good grades to boot, but it makes for some trade-offs occasionally! Donna and I really had a no brainer though. With Bailey having a solo, there was no way either one of us would have been happy watching it on video, so Mimi drew the short straw and took Grif to practice, so Donna nor I would miss Bailey's solo. (If you don't have a Mimi, I highly recommend getting one!)

Bailey did a phenomenal job, and if you are over to the house and remind me of it, you can watch the video like Mimi had to! Grif had a great first practice as well, so all is right with the Guyton house!

It is going to be a beautiful weekend and I am going to eat AT LEAST one meal outdoors!

Enjoy!

C

Glad to be at work to rest!

I'm sitting in my office to type this blog up with some very sore muscles reminding me of just how fun the weekend was! We had a blast! Some family time all together and some time doing separate things because of the calendar, but we all had some great times this weekend!
First of all, Friday night, when I got home from work, I was tired already! I didn't really feel like going out to dinner, but I didn't think I had the energy to cook anything either (and no one else in the house was rushing into the kitchen to get things going!!) Finally I rallied up the energy to cook, by remembering Andrea's latest blog about making home made biscuits. (I've always made biscuits using Bisquick, and they do fine.) I knew we were out of Bisquick, so I let my type A personality kick in and wasn't going to let my friend outdo me! We had breakfast. Eggs, bacon and home made (from scratch, the real deal) biscuits. They were great! I do have a little work to do on them, but I was impressed with myself!
Saturday morning we had to separate. Grif had science Olympiad, Bailey had softball practice and I had a softball tourney. My first game was at 8 am in Woodstock, so I had to leave the house around 6:30. When the day was finally over, Grif had a silver and a bronze medal from his two events, their team got overall first place in the region and qualified for State. Bailey got the beginnings of a sun burn and had a good practice, and they all met down in Woodstock to watch my team win first place in the tourney! Good day for the Guyton's.
We got home at 11:30. After a shower and moving the clock ahead a hour, it was already 1 am, church was going to be tough!
It was tough crawling out of bed already seriously sore, but I was happy by the time we hit the first note of worship! The music set was amazing and then Jonathan preached yesterday in Pastor's absence. He was great, but extremely challenging! As was bible study, as it always is. Shep asks questions that make you think! But better than that, provides you with scriptures, that force you to change, or at least be knowledgeable when you are outside of God's plan. Tough stuff.
Sunday afternoon we all worked in the yard. (Except Bailey who had another softball practice to finish off her sun burn!) I cleaned the gutters. Pruned some bushes. Got to pullout the chain saw and cut the top out of a dogwood tree we are trying to save. Then pruned some of my neighbors bushes. I cut my yard and my neighbor's yard as well, and got finished just in time to take a quick shower and head to Frank's house for the choir's GAP party. We had a good time getting know folks and eating too much.
I woke up this morning A LOT more sore than yesterday, and went to work out anyway. I ran for as long as I could and then rode the bike for another 15 minutes hard, trying to work the soreness out, but for right now at least, to no avail! I am hurting and glad to get back to work to rest a little!!
C

We are moving to Savannah!

I am moving my family to Savannah Georgia. (Just as soon as I can scrape up the 4 or 5 million dollars necessary to buy the Mercer House)

Above: Lunch at the Boar's Head overlooking the river on a GORGEOUS spring day!

Below: Same restaurant, but Griffin was in a picture taking mood!

We had a blast in Savannah for Bailey's All-State Chorus concert. We left Thursday after I got off from work and got down there around 10:30pm. We tucked in the hotel for the night. We woke up Friday morning ready to go, but the weather was a little nasty. But, according to the weatherman it was going to blow over by noonish, so we headed out anyway. We (Donna, Grif, Mimi and I) drove passed where Amy lived. We drove out to Bonaventure Cemetery (gorgeous!!). Then we headed back to see if we could sneak in The Lady and Sons for lunch, but no such luck! We headed to River Street, and ate at a restaurant called Dockside. Great place, great food, and great company! Then we walked! Square after square, oh, after going into River street Sweets to watch them make taffy and buying some pralines, street after street.
The Mercer House does tours now, which it didn't when Donna and I were there last, but we didn't have the time to do it! The homes were just as beautiful as I remembered, and the weatherman was correct. The sun came out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky the rest of Friday or all day Saturday! We walked about 3 miles or so, unless you ask Lorraine who thinks we walked 10 miles!
Friday night we drove to some friends place in Statesboro. We had a Low Country Boil and a wonderful time! Grif was in hog heaven with acres to play on and a golf cart to drive too! Saturday we got up and went walking some more! Had lunch at the Boar's Head overlooking the River. Then we headed to Bailey's performance! Watching 250 kids that can sing is incredible! They did a great job and it was obvious that they were having a good time! We left immediately after the concert and headed back to Cville. We made good time, getting home at 9:30 Saturday night!
Sunday was another great day! Worship was amazing and I was lucky enough to get to lead out on I Will Rise! A great song that I love! Pastor continued his streak of messages that have been stinging a little, but he is doing a great job! Sunday School was horrible! More stinging!
Anyway, another great weekend for our family!

Caption for this picture?:

"If her hand gets any closer, we are going to be arrested in Savannah!"

The kids are signed up for spring sports. My tournament team is playing every weekend. I think the yard will end up being 2 feet tall sometime very soon! We have so much going on. The calendar is full! Praying that we are able to slow it down enough to enjoy all the gorgeous things around us and the ages our kids are at!

C

War Tide! Great day to be a Alabama and Auburn fan!

On Jan 27th a caller identifying himself as "Al from Dadeville", called the Paul Finebaum radio show and told Mr Finebaum that over a month ago (the weekend after the iron bowl) he drove to Auburn and applied a chemical called Spike 80DF to the soil around the trees at Toomer's Corner. The trees are going to die. Period.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/14698410/auburn-oak-trees-poisoned-at-toomers-corner

Now, I would love to tell you that I was shocked the moment that my lovely wife told me about the story last night. But...not so much. I could care less. "What if someone did that to The Hedges at UGA?", she asked, hoping I would then give the right response. Maybe I just had a rough day yesterday? I don't know. But, she is about to get the "right" response she was looking for. (She ain't gonna like it though...) I didn't get thoroughly disgusted until I heard the backwoods, inbred, country hick's voice that has "confessed" (really bragged) that he did this.
The audio can be heard here: http://www.finebaum.com/goout.asp?u=/Sectional.asp?id=38693

So, here is my response, as if you all cared:
The Iron Bowl is hereby, indefinitely, permanently, forever, CANCELLED. Yep, you heard me right. Of course, if we announce that, the collective gasp from the State of Alabama alone would require planting millions of extra trees to replace the oxygen. Anyway, it is cancelled. Why? I'm glad you asked.
YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT!
You aren't man enough. You aren't women enough. You are immature brats when it comes to that one day of the year. But, as anyone who lives/ or has lived in Alabama (or married into one of the two cults) knows, the other 364 days a year, you have to talk about that game or the next one, depending if your team won or lost. There is a great big world out there that has a lot more than football!! But, "Al from Dadeville" showed that the great state of Alabama, (one with such great land, great weather,great natural resources, to draw great companies and industry) deserves every inbred, toothless, redneck joke ever told.
One Disclaimer before I return to my opinion: The woman I married from Alabama is a smart, intelligent, college graduate with a great deal of common sense. Her family, is like my own. They are great and hardworking people. BUT, they cheer for Auburn, and anyone playing Alabama. Period. It doesn't matter if Alabama is the only SEC team with a chance to play for and win the National Championship. They despise them! In 2009, I watched my normally sane wife cheer for Florida in the SEC Championship game and then cheer for Texas in the National Championship game! Ugh.
Back to the regularly scheduled rant: What is wrong with the Iron Bowl? Nothing. The two schools have very proud traditions that make them both formidable opponents, but their respective fan bases are loony (cuckoo) (nuts) (off the deep end). I digress...
So, I get it. You are a fan of the Tide or the War Eagle and you are thinking, I would not condone, nor ever commit such an act of stupidity as this jack wagon "Al from Dadeville"! Right? That's what you are thinking huh?
Well, here is how you can tell that argument is stupid and you are NOT capable of continuing this rivalry with any civility. When this fellow "Al" finishes his 40 year prison sentence (if the judge is a fan of Auburn) or gets a "stern" warning (if the judge is a Bama fan), his business (I assume some type of landscape, because of the nature of Spike 80DF) will triple, because every Alabama fan within a 50 mile radius of his business will switch to him. The pat on the back, the wink. Not vocally condoning, but with their wallets collectively saying "attaboy".
The great state of Alabama's pride and resources ruined (again) by a redneck fellow named "Al" and all the folks that will privately support him. Good job Tide fans. Stand up and give a big ol "Roll Tide", while the rest of the civilized world continues to look at you wondering "how do we allow those folks 9 electoral votes?"
The Iron Bowl is cancelled, because as any good southern mom would say, "If you and little "Al" can't play nice together, then he will have to go home".
So finally, just to tick both of you off, I would like to say on behalf of the rest of the country:
Roll Eagle.
C

Valentine's Day Weekend

Weekends around my house have been something great lately! Literally breaks from day to day grind stuff and lots of family fun, followed generally by great worship experiences on Sundays! This weekend was no exception!

Grif and I spent ALL day together on Saturday! We needed some testosterone time! Waffle House breakfast, a trip to the dump, Woodland Middle to see Bailey sing the National Anthem before the Middle School Championship games, a trip to Cartersville Sports Plex batting cages, and a little time visiting with Oma. Good conversations with a 10 year old boy!

Saturday night was the annual Service League dance at the new civic center! (If you have not been to an event yet at the new Cartersville Civic Center; you need to look for a reason to go!! It is amazing!) The dance, as always, beneifits the Boys' and Girls' Clubs of Bartow. Great event, great cause, great food, great music, and Donna and I even won a new (much needed) coffee maker in the silent auction!! We had a blast! Even though Donna was still fighting a sinus infection, it was a great night! Of course, any date night with her is a great night, but even better still when she looks something like this:

Wow! She is smokin HOT!

I digress....

Sunday at church was just incredible! The worship set was great but Pastor Randall was on fire! Preaching from his heart, from the Bible, and straight to me! Good stuff!

Monday, of course was Valentine's Day. It was also 20 years ago to the day that Donna and I first spoke to each other! Very cool stuff! (Technically, she hit on me; but that is another story!) We are getting each other a trip to Savannah at the end of this month to watch Bailey sing in All-State. I am very excited! I did however, try to cook a special dinner for all my valentines! It did not turn out my best, as I let the bbq chicken get a little crusty on the outside! But the menu was: bbq chicken, scallopped potatos, field peas, cornbread (pretty good for my first time), and brownies for dessert!! Good, but like I said not my best effort!

Oh, side note: I had to drop Bailey off at Bobby Mansfield's house on Sunday afternoon because Jon was taking the girls to pitching lessons, and Miss Bobby done had the old school Sunday spread out! Turkey, dressing, corn, green beans, rolls, and strawberry or cherry something for dessert! It made me long, for the days before my grandmother's stroke, when we used to do that as a family! Not every weekend, but at least once or so a month! I miss that! I know it is a lot of work, but I think I am going to have to try to start that tradition at my house! I miss it too much to at the very least not give it a chance! So, if you get a Sunday Supper invite, you'll know what to expect!! LOL

C

More snow...

The snow had started falling just before I went to bed last night. There is not much prettier in God's creation than falling snow! The havoc the snow creates on roads and businesses is not much fun, but this particular time it was perfect. About an inch or so, but none sticking to the roads! Just gorgeous!
Yesterday was an interesting day for me! I had to go out selling at work. Now keep in mind that I am in management for a reason!! The X's and O's of day to day operation is a specialty of mine! However, the knocking on a strange door that has never seen me is not! But, the economy has pushed my company to the point of needing new customers, and that falls directly on my shoulders and the owner's shoulders. We are both doing something out of our comfort zone, but I guess pushing your own preconceived boundaries is a good thing!
Anyway, I had GREAT responses yesterday and even picked up one new client! Very good start, but still not my favorite thing to do! It is very akin to sharing the Gospel with someone! The same insecurities, fears and such surrond both!
Last night at church, supper was great! Fellowship was great! Cubbies worship was incredible!! (Cubbies are singing in big church this week, so they got to sing the songs for me that they have been learning on Sundays!) Then the choir's mid-week worship was incredible! The songs we are starting with in February have been amazing! Still missing some people due to illnesses and what not, but it was a great time of worship that I hope will last me until Sunday!
C

Weekend in review

We had too much fun this weekend!! Friday night we went to the Lovett's house for my birthday dinner (a little belated!). We had a great time talking and eating and such. Bailey had a lock-in at school for chorus, so we got her to that. Saturday, we had Grif's last ballgame of the year. They won by 2 and ended the season with only one loss!! He got better all year and has seemingly fallen in love with the one sport I know the least amount about!! LOL.
Saturday night Grif had a jump rope performance at halftime of the Woodland basketball game! He did great and Woodland killed South forsyth! They played a great game. We went to eat at El Nopal and headed home for the evening!
Sunday was an incredible time of worship! I was scheduled to be in children's church with the 3/4th grade boys during second service, so I only got to sing during the first worship service! It was a great set and the choir sang Our God Saves for the special music! It sounded incredible and the congregation was singing out during the congregational worship! It was a blast!
Sunday night there was some kind of sporting event on t.v. Jon Hodorff (biggest Packer fan I know) and Sydney have been pumped about this game for the last 2 weeks. So we went over there to watch with them and to have tacos. Great food, and great fun! The game was one of the best Super Bowls I have ever seen. Great battle between two very good and evenly matched teams! Well worth the time spent watching it!
Oh, also on Thursday I made (for the first time) from scratch brownies!! I got an incredible recipe off the internet! I will NEVER use a box brownie mix again!!

Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until well blended. Stir in walnuts, if desired. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

VERY SIMPLE, BUT VERY GOOD!!!!
C