Eight Ramblings...

1) What is it about being almost 18-years-old? I can still remember what it was like--I thought I knew as much as my parents did, I was so ready to head off to college and get on with my life, I was really just sick of high school and wanted to get on with the future--but it doesn't make it any easier dealing with McKenna's push-and-pull these days. She's having a hard time with her Calculus class, she wants to be with her friends all the time, and she acts like she's got it all together on her own. I know that part of it is her natural separation from us, but that doesn't mean I have to like it! I think you all know what a positive person I am, but this has really gotten me down and I don't like feeling that way. (It doesn't help that I've had to punish her for getting caught with her telephone at school...ugh!)

2) In the midst of the aformentioned crappy stuff, there is still so much exciting stuff going on with McKenna. She chose her senior pictures yesterday (they are SO pretty, and I'll try and post some of them soon!), and we're going to visit a good friend of mine who is a professor at a local university that McKenna's interested in (it's a really beautiful, small liberal arts college that's about 45 minutes away).

3) I am so glad that Fall television is back! My favorite late-Summer show, "Pysch," is still going in full force,but now I have some other favorites to fill my DVR..."Glee" (which is my new favorite show), "The Big Bang Theory" (Monday's premiere was hilarious, didn't you think?), "How I Met Your Mother" (ditto), and my very favorite, "Fringe" (the premiere was kick-butt and I can't wait for the next one!). What are your favorite shows, and have you discovered any new good ones?

4) I went to Target the other day and found Sydney the cutest apron! She LOVES to get in the kitchen and cook with me (maybe she and I will open a bakery someday together in my old age!), so I thought it would be the perfect gift to put up for Christmas. The best part is that I found an apron for me that matches hers! (I also found an awesome cake stand, the cutest cupcake-themed bag, two shirts for $4 each, and some fun scrapbooking stuff...finding fun deals can always turn my mood around pretty quick, and this definitely helped my day!)

5) I've started teaching my Feature Writing course for the Fall semester and it's going really well. And I'm hoping to locate some other teaching opportunities (it really is one of my favorite things to do).

6) Delaney has been nominated for a "Youth Who do The Right Thing" from the local Urban League, and we are so proud of her! She had to put a portfolio together for the nomination process and it was so impressive (or as impressive as it can be for an 8th grader). Even if she doesn't win, it's a great honor for sure!

7) Alabama football continues to make me very happy!!! We've looked really good in all three of our wins (we have what I like to call a "total" team--each part seems to be working really well!), and we've moved up to #3 in the national polls. This weekend, though, will be a big challenge when Arkansas comes to town. The Hogs have a quarterback who can sling the ball around better than maybe anyone in the country, and it will be a challenge. Gary and I will be at the game, of course, and we are really getting excited about it!

8) Last week in church, our pastor made this comment and it really touched me: "It's not what's on the outside. It's how we dress our hearts." Too often we worry about what we look like on the outside, or how we appear to other people, or how we fit in with the rest of the world...when what we should really be worrying about is what we look like on the inside. In conjunction with the service, I did the children's minute that morning and I showed the kids my makeup kit. I told them that grown-ups put makeup on because we want to look prettier or younger; then I showed them some of Sydney's dress-up clothes and told them how fun it is to act like you're someone else. The trick, though, is to realize that it's the inside--not the outside--that's important. We need to worry more about the reflection our inner life is sending out into the world; can people see our kindness, and integrity, and generosity, and love? Are we dressing our hearts with good things?

And now that I've preached to myself...be positive, Cheryl; be loving, Cheryl; LOL...I'm going to go and enjoy my Wednesday.

I hope you all are doing wonderfully, and I'd love to hear how you're doing as well!

Love ya!