Parable of the Day

Does evil exist?

The university professor challenged his students with this question. Did God create everything that exists? A student bravely replied, "Yes, he did!"

"God created everything? The professor asked.

"Yes sir", the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are then God is evil". The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

31st Birthday

All in all it was a huge success with over 20 guests I was thrilled to ring in 31.  The older I am getting the more I am learing that it's all about the jourey and enjoying the ride!









Lorelai picked our party dresses.  She actually got hers first in Memphis with Meme and Grandpa, then when we were there for Easter bunny pictures she spotted the matching dress in my size (not exactly my size, I could barely breathe) and I HAD to get it, she wanted me to have it so much so that when I told her Mommy wasn't going to get it because it was expensive she quickly put down the things she was going to ask for so we would have enough money to get my dress to match hers! 

Part of Rusty's gift for me, he really went above and beyond in the gift department this year.  Lorelai picked a Lululemon skirt for me, Rusty made me a sign like the one at Bottle Tree in Oxford that says "Be Nice Or Leave" and then he made a Therapie pie throwing booth for me to throw pies at him!  It was really sweet and I loved it!  I also scored the bedspread I've been dying for from the Shabby Chic collection, and it is going to go perfectly with my bedroom makeover!

 

Blowing out 31 candles on top of my 31 cupcake cake!  Wearing Paul's beer hat!










Family group shot.

Furniture Progress

My long dresser is finished and in place, the drawers aren't ready yet but it looks great anyway! As soon as the glaze dries (hopefully by tomorrow) we can put the tv back on it! Thanks to Rusty for all his endless hours of sanding, stripping, and painting!

Endless Hours of Fun

Happy Caro

I haven't really figured out how to put into words the emptiness that arrived when Paul departed.  I haven't really stopped looking for him coming across the yard for dinner, I still look for his car when I pull up to the office, I still look to see if his lights are on when we pull into the neighborhood, I still make my class do the poses he liked best at yoga.  I haven't been back to boot camp at the gym or restarted the morning routine that we had planed for after he finished the half-marathon (though I am making myself go to morning gym class again starting next week), and I've deleted most of the dvr...it seems cruel that our regularly scheduled 'reality' programs are continuing without their funniest fan.   

In short, I miss my best friend.  There is a lump in my throat even as I type those words, maybe more words and stories will come later.  For now though, I'll be wearing his beer hat, and it's going to be an awesome cocktail hour as I toast to another year. Lorelai starts school this fall, I've already booked her amazing fifth birthday, I have a job I'm proud of, a home I'm cozy in, a fantastic family that loves me, and amazingly charismatic beautiful friends... cheers to 31.

Here is a picture of Paul on his 31st birthday... in his beer hat.  And, also a clip of him singing Happy Birthday to me last year, the title of the song as he saved it is simply "Happy Caro". 

Oh, and also here is a picture of Lorelai's first gold fish.  When the fish died, and Lorelai had fallen asleep, Paul hacked that little fish in half, filled two glasses of vodka and tossed each end of Nemo in a different glass, snapped the above picture, and then he shot his like a champ and handed me mine... when I hesitated, he said "if we are really best friends, you'll take the shot" and with that I drank my daughters first pet.  We'll be serving "THE BEST FRIEND SHOT" at my party tomorrow, vodka and a sweedish fish... because lets be honest, only the crazies drink dead goldfish anyway and it's no fun to be crazy alone. 

The menu...

My bday is tomorrow, YAY!

Best Job | P&G London 2012 Olympic Games Film

"Pound"

Lorelai loves playing pound! There are many versions, the most common is with Lorelai being the dog catcher and she puts all of her stuffed animals in CC's cage. I take turn after turn calling the pound asking what dogs are there and which ones are available for adoption...then when I come to the pound, I must ask a series of questions about which (stuffed) dogs bark, which ones pee on the floor, and most importantly which dogs are available for adoption that day, I also must pay for my dog and be checked out at the cash register before leaving the pound! Another common version of the game is rescuing CC from the pound. Tonight however, there was the cutest whimpering little puppy in the pound (calling out directions that I was the one supposed to adopt a dog and daddy was the dog catcher)! I'm slightly reluctant to post this on the Internet... here goes her chance at public office, but this is too fantastic to keep to myself!

Furniture Progress

This has been the slowest project ever... but the dresser is now stripped and has the first coat of paint. This is a learning project though, and we didn't strip the first nightstand correctly so it has to be re-done. Eh.

Article of the Day

http://www.oprah.com/relationships/Women-of-Chi-Omega-Accident-Paige-Williams/4


Heart wrenching, and beautifully written.

*And, a tidbit for y'all: I really did marry one of my sorority's house boys... ah, Ole Miss and Oxford .... how imprinted they are on my heart!

Baby Jesus

Lorelai really wanted her picture taken with the baby Jesus from the kids performance at church today. So cute!

Only one week left...

30 has been a terrible year, and I am so excited to leave it behind!! I'm turning 31 next week, and I'm thrilled about it!! Here's a walk down memory lane at my 21st birthday in Tunica. And, here's screen shot of my 31 Flavors themed birthday party invitation (that is the original Baskin Robbins 31 logo at the top, and I'm serving 31 different cocktails including classics like mimosas and harvey wallbangers, and some signatures like the ballentini)

4.5

This gorgeous baby is four and a half today!! Happy half birthday dear love!

Seafood Boil, Take 2

I HATE behind the scenes cooking stuff. So, I should have known this would be a disaster from the start. I decided to take the leftovers from the seafood boil, blend them up (in the blender) and turn it into a pasta sauce... the thought of the sausage blended up really grossed me out and I couldn't eat it. Home cooking fail.

Super Saturday

Saturday morning all three of us ran our first 5k as a family!! We borrowed a jogging stroller and Lorelai ran a good bit/ rode a good bit! There was a very touching memorial dedication to Paul before the run started. We were so honored to be there and so blessed to have a healthy happy Saturday together.

We ended the day with my parents joining us for an AMAZING seafood boil! We had scallops, crab claws, shrimp, red potatoes, corn on the cob, sausage, fresh squeezed lemons, old bay butter, and pineapple for dessert... it was such a good day!!

Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival in Memphis

It's street festival season! Outdoors, sunscreen, live music, food on a stick, temporarily tattooed, YES please! I participated in the crawfish eating contest and sadly didn't win, but there are no losers at a street fair so I dusted myself off and downed another bucket for good measure!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87GHSCb3mJ0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Friday the 13th

Mexican Night

Lorelai LOVES eating at the Mexican restaurant in the parking lot of the gym, and last night they had this fabulous photo-op!

Pinterest Inspiration

Wordy Wednesday

Eat Clean Kitchen Art

Things have been so hectic around here since the end of January. I'm trying to catch up, and realized I've never posted about my awesome new kitchen decal. I had this made, and I LOVE how it turned out! I feel like I am constantly re-decorating and by the time I finish one project I've changed my mind about the last one I did.... one day soon, I may paint my kitchen again... and I'll have to order another decal... but it's so cute that if I have to order another I totally will!

Keep Calm and Eat Clean

We need to get back on the Eat Clean bandwagon. And this wok meal is just the ticket!

Hunting Eggs

We didn't go to an official hunt this year, so we made the back yard hunt bigger and better than ever with a ton more eggs... some eggs even had quarters in them!

Hunting Eggs