From the Farmer, Norris and Haywood families, we hope your Christmas season is as bright as the light of Christ's love for us.
We are so very thankful for all of your prayers for our family this past year.
God is good. 
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Our Trip to New York City
This past week, we spent a few days in the Big Apple. The trip was strictly for pleasure, and we had a blast. I would like to say a big THANKS to cousin Whitney for letting us stay in her apartment (I'll talk more about that later). We originally were supposed to leave on Thursday afternoon, but our flight was canceled due to weather, so we went up on Friday. I've had enough of air travel here lately, and they do not help with anybody's blood pressure. That's another post for another day though.
Don't worry - that was not the most exciting part of the trip though. We had four fun-filled days ahead.
Next, we hoofed it up to Rockefeller to see the tree and the skating rink. We did not skate - I was afraid of not being able to stay vertical and knocking down 12 people at one time. It was safer for everybody that we stayed on the sidewalk. 30 Rockefeller Center is a very cool place - lots of stuff to do and see. it encompasses an entire city block, and has one of the best views in all of Manhattan - Top of the Rock.
That night, we walked up to Hell's Kitchen and ate at Vynl. It was this retro records restaurant that served an eclectic menu. The actual menus were....you guessed it...old vinyl records. Oh and everybody there was happy, and by happy I mean in the other sense of the word. 
We decided to save Ellis Island for our next visit, and headed back to South Ferry to find some lunch. (Starting out in the city with no breakfast is not a good idea, by the way). We decided on Rockefeller Cafe, which is at 30 Rock and has direct views of the skating rink. It was fancy let me tell you, but very good. 
After lunch, we headed over to the Ed Sullivan Theater to see about our tickets to the Lake Show with David Letterman. They tape two shows on Mondays, and our tickets were for the late taping (which was Friday's show). Anyway, we didn't have anything else to do, so we stood at the guest door entrance with the other paparazzi and stalkers to see what famous people would come out of the door. We caught a brief glimpse of Rob Schneider (anybody remember Deuce Bigelow, Male Gigelow? ha!), but the highlight was seeing Adam Sandler. He was on Monday's show, and was nice enough to come sign autographs. It was crazy with all the cameras going off and people yelling his name. Brent got some good pictures though. 
So we hailed a cab and went back to Times Square for lunch and to visit the wax museum and to catch a movie. (Four Christmases - very funny). Madam Tusseaud's was OK, but kinda cheesy. Some of those things looked very real and scary. 
After the movie, we decided to go back to Rockefeller Plaza to see the tree all lit up. It is much cooler at night than during the day, and there are other displays to look at as well. Oh yeah - and it was snowing harder by this time. 
I hope you're still with me, cause the coolest thing happened at the end of the trip. We were sitting in a deli on 43rd street when this man and woman came in and offered us two free tickets to an off-Broadway show that was just about to start. The guy was a lawyer with clients in the business, and his friends had canceled, and he hated for tickets to go to waste. We gladly accepted and walked across the street to see the Marvelous Wonderettes.
We get to Newark airport on Friday night, and get in a cab to take us to Whitney's apartment. Basically, this 70-year old cabbie doesn't know where he's going, and I had to direct him there using the directions I printed off a map quest. I am used to crazy drivers in big cities, so his driving didn't scare me. His eyesight did though - I thought we were going to run over some people that had wrecked on the toll way. Luckily he saw them.
Finally, we reach Whitney's apartment, and about the time we get out of the car, Brent and I notice that there is commotion across the street. Three guys had thrown another guy out of this apartment building door and proceeded to give him an old fashioned butt whooping. But the next part was very surreal to me. As the beat-ee got up to run away, the beat-er pulled out a gun. THAT'S RIGHT PEOPLE - A GUN!!!
Now, I am not accustomed to people pulling out firearms at random times, so I tried to sink down in the seat of the cab and not get noticed. Brent and Whitney also saw this, and Whitney was on the phone with 911 when we finally got inside her building with our bags. Fortunately, these yahoos didn't fire or seriously wound anybody, but it was not the scene that I wanted to be involved in.
You might have heard that real estate in Manhattan is a pretty tough thing to deal with. Apartments are expensive and tiny. Whitney's apartment was perfect for one person...and that one person needs to have a very skinny butt. Behold...the toilet. It is not meant for corn-fed folks. Let's just say that this thing can be used if you put one foot in the tub and turn sideways. Not that I did that....
Don't worry - that was not the most exciting part of the trip though. We had four fun-filled days ahead.Day 1 -Saturday, December 12
We traveled the 150 blocks to Times Square (via the Red Line) to be among everybody else in NYC on this Saturday. It was COLD too, and I was thankful for my warm coat and gloves. The thing that makes NYC so different from Arkansas is that it is a walking culture. You walk everywhere, which is great, unless you're not used to it. The 5 or 6 miles that we walked each day really beat me down by the end of the day, and I think I'm still recovering.
Our first stop was the Walgreens in Times Square to find Brent some earmuffs. Did I mention it was cold? We also laughed that we went 1200 miles to make a stop at Walgreens. But don't be confused - this Walgreens was 3 stories and blinging. Next, we stopped by the Good Morning America set. It was empty - they don't tape on Saturdays, but next time we may have to get up early and go see Dianne, Robyn, Chris and Sam. They are my favorite!
Next, we hoofed it up to Rockefeller to see the tree and the skating rink. We did not skate - I was afraid of not being able to stay vertical and knocking down 12 people at one time. It was safer for everybody that we stayed on the sidewalk. 30 Rockefeller Center is a very cool place - lots of stuff to do and see. it encompasses an entire city block, and has one of the best views in all of Manhattan - Top of the Rock. Our next stop was Macy's Department store. I wish we had a Macy's in Little Rock because their selection is much better than Dillard's. There were SO MANY PEOPLE there. It was crowded inside and outside of the store. Also keep in mind that the original Macy's store is 10 stories and an entire city block. New York City stores are also known for their Christmas displays. It was fun to see the creativeness here! 
After Macy's, we headed back to Rockefeller Center to see a sunset view of the city at Top of the Rock. It was so beautiful, but very cold. My favorite part is watching everybody take pictures. 
Day 2 - Sunday, December 13
We got up and went to church with Whitney. Her church is Redeemer Presbyterian Church and has thousands of members. She works part time for the church, and absolutely loves it. The people we met were so nice and made us feel very welcome. After church, we went to this Parisian type cafe for brunch. Her church is in the upper west side, so we walked through Central Park and saw the skating rink and carousel. From there, we walked to Bryant Park to see the other skating rink.
This afternoon, we all went back to 30 Rock to take a tour of NBC Studios. It was very cool to see where they do the Nightly News, and we also got to sit in the Saturday Night Live studio. Since it was post-show, there were lots of props around, but no stars. I was surprised to learn that the stage is very, very small, but has the best acoustics anywhere in the city. They even joked about Ashley Simpson's career having died on the set. Ouch! Burn! After the tour, we went to Grammercy area to listen to Whitney's friend sing at a Christmas program, and then had dinner at a place called Heartland Brewery. It's very similar to Shorty Smalls, so no pictures of the fish and chips I had there. I will say that NYC restaurant service leaves something to be desired. They are not deep Southern fried with hospitality. It's strictly "What do you want" mentality.
Here's me and Whitney - she is gonna be famous one day! (You might have previously seen her on a Cortizone 10 commercial). 
Day 3: Our First Anniversary, Monday, December 15
What an awesome anniversary we had. First thing, we loaded up on the #1 train and headed to the South Ferry (that's at the very bottom of Manhattan). Our goal today was to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The ferry ride provided some awesome views of the city and also of Lady Liberty. Although you can't go up in the crown anymore, you can climb 153 steps to the observation deck. Except they don't tell you that until you've stood in a security line that would rival that of the White House's. We climbed the entire way to the deck, and managed to get a few shots in between searching for the oxygen tank. Not sure that it was worth it because you can get awesome views from the front of the island without steps or security. 
It was very windy up there. You will notice that my earring is standing straight out!
We decided to save Ellis Island for our next visit, and headed back to South Ferry to find some lunch. (Starting out in the city with no breakfast is not a good idea, by the way). We decided on Rockefeller Cafe, which is at 30 Rock and has direct views of the skating rink. It was fancy let me tell you, but very good. After lunch, we headed over to the Ed Sullivan Theater to see about our tickets to the Lake Show with David Letterman. They tape two shows on Mondays, and our tickets were for the late taping (which was Friday's show). Anyway, we didn't have anything else to do, so we stood at the guest door entrance with the other paparazzi and stalkers to see what famous people would come out of the door. We caught a brief glimpse of Rob Schneider (anybody remember Deuce Bigelow, Male Gigelow? ha!), but the highlight was seeing Adam Sandler. He was on Monday's show, and was nice enough to come sign autographs. It was crazy with all the cameras going off and people yelling his name. Brent got some good pictures though. After Adam left, we got in line to see our show. Seeing a taped TV show was so interesting. The interns were there to make sure we know the rules (no "whoo"ing, only "yah"s), and got us pumped up to see the show. I admit that I have not paid attention to the show much in the past, but Dave was really funny and nice. The guest that night was Jerry Seinfield (one of Brent's favorites), and he did his new stand-up routine. Very funny! The musical guest was Leona Lewis, and she sang beautifully. I was curious how she would sound since some people can suck it up at live performances, but she didn't miss a note. I couldn't believe the entire show was only one hour and it was over quickly. I guess it seems longer when I'm in bed at night. ha!
Day 4 - Tuesday, December 16
We were so beat down and exhausted that we decided to take it easy on our last day. The day before had been 60 degrees (and we missed the Ice Storm of 2008 at home), but this day had gotten cold again. We decided to walk through Central Park and down Madison Avenue to see parts of the city we'd never seen before. We walked past all of the designer stores - Dolce & Gabbana, DKYN, Gucci, Prada, etc. - and that's when the snow started. At first it was very scenic, but then it got wet and we had no umbrella. 
After the movie, we decided to go back to Rockefeller Plaza to see the tree all lit up. It is much cooler at night than during the day, and there are other displays to look at as well. Oh yeah - and it was snowing harder by this time. I hope you're still with me, cause the coolest thing happened at the end of the trip. We were sitting in a deli on 43rd street when this man and woman came in and offered us two free tickets to an off-Broadway show that was just about to start. The guy was a lawyer with clients in the business, and his friends had canceled, and he hated for tickets to go to waste. We gladly accepted and walked across the street to see the Marvelous Wonderettes. (Watch a clip here)
It was a very cute show set in the 50s and 60s, and I'm so glad we said yes. And we even made some new friends! He said next time we come to the city, to call him and he would get us tickets to a show! 
Whew...I am exhausted! You can probably understand now why I haven't posted since we got back on Thursday. It was a great trip, and we are very thankful to Whitney for her hospitality.
I wish I could post all my pictures on here, but then I wouldn't have my sanity, so I'll let you view them on Facebook. Or by clicking on the links below...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030666&l=e36f0&id=82202061
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030668&l=6f3b5&id=82202061
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030669&l=68650&id=82202061
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030676&l=86380&id=82202061
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Update from Dad
I got this message yesterday....what an awesome first anniversary present!
Hola Amigos,
I can hardly type this good news through the tears. My pet scan is completely negative. There is no evidence of disease. All my lab counts are within normal limits and I am getting treatment #6 of 12. Half way home. I am overwhelmed.
This is a direct result of the power of prayer from an army of God's people.
Thank you for everything,
General Norris
This is a wonderful testimony of how God answers the prayer of our hearts. We give Him all the glory for this wonderful news! I would like to thank everybody for praying for him over the past few months. We are truly thankful.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Don't Shop at Garden Ridge
I am officially boycotting Garden Ridge after they did this. Unacceptable. I really believe that if you take care of your employees, everything else will fall into place.
Garden Ridge Fires Little Rock Workers
By The Associated Press
12/9/2008
LITTLE ROCK - Workers at the Garden Ridge store in Little Rock have been told they're out of a job. The store remains open, but with workers from other stores in the Houston-based chain.
Employees were told Monday as they arrived for work that they had lost their jobs. Workers say the store had more than 40 employees.
Little Rock television station KLRT said each worker was given a letter that said, "Due to an organizational change in the store structure all positions will be eliminated in store 46, Little Rock, Arkansas." The letter said fired workers could apply online for any open positions.
Little Rock television station KTHV reported that a store manager said the company is undergoing a restructuring. Garden Ridge regional manager Connie Esterl told KLRT the company had to get rid of the workers she but did not say why. She wouldn't say how many positions would be filled.
A woman answering the phone at Garden Ridge headquarters said, "I was instructed to say we don't answer any of the media calls."
Former Garden Ridge employee Chris Wright told KLRT that the company should have given the workers advance word of the job action. "If I would have known this I wouldn't have spent as much on Christmas," he said. "I would have been looking for another job," Wright said.
Garden Ridge Fires Little Rock Workers
By The Associated Press
12/9/2008
LITTLE ROCK - Workers at the Garden Ridge store in Little Rock have been told they're out of a job. The store remains open, but with workers from other stores in the Houston-based chain.
Employees were told Monday as they arrived for work that they had lost their jobs. Workers say the store had more than 40 employees.
Little Rock television station KLRT said each worker was given a letter that said, "Due to an organizational change in the store structure all positions will be eliminated in store 46, Little Rock, Arkansas." The letter said fired workers could apply online for any open positions.
Little Rock television station KTHV reported that a store manager said the company is undergoing a restructuring. Garden Ridge regional manager Connie Esterl told KLRT the company had to get rid of the workers she but did not say why. She wouldn't say how many positions would be filled.
A woman answering the phone at Garden Ridge headquarters said, "I was instructed to say we don't answer any of the media calls."
Former Garden Ridge employee Chris Wright told KLRT that the company should have given the workers advance word of the job action. "If I would have known this I wouldn't have spent as much on Christmas," he said. "I would have been looking for another job," Wright said.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
I'm Not Ignoring You
So it's been a day or twelve since my last post, and I'm not ignoring the blog world on purpose. I just haven't had much to blog about. I do have some pictures of my Christmas decorations, and I will try to post them this week. I love that my house twinkles at night - and not the tacky kind either. If I could, I would put lights up all around the house, but I know that the one who would have to do all of the actual "putting" wouldn't go for it.
Last Thursday I had dessert club (aka non-playing bunco group) out to the house to watch Grey's Anatomy and drink wassail and eat red velvet cupcakes with white frosting and green sprinkles. I'm so glad that I picked December as my month to host. I got to use my red dishes and other coordinating pieces that I got last year.
Friday night was a bit of a challenge for me. I was dreading it like a root canal, and did not want to do it. What is it that is so terrible you might ask? CHOIR PRACTICE. Oh geez. It was the big fabulous Christmas spectacular put together by First Baptist Church of Cabot. Saturday night was the performance, so that meant that dress rehearsal was to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday night. Let me clue you in on something about myself - I usually don't like to do stuff on Friday nights. I prefer dinner at home with a movie. Mainly I don't like it because after working all day Friday, which completes a long week, plus driving two hours every day, plus all the house stuff, plus all the other stuff that comes with life, I AM TIRED.
But not this Friday night. I tried to suck it up and headed to the high school auditorium for the big dress rehearsal. The only probably is that it was a big unorganized chaotic gathering that just about sent me to the state hospital. Maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but let me tell you that we sat around and did NOTHING for two (almost three) hours before we got to "practice". The longer we waited, the more aggravated I got - and the other people around me were the same way. I was so mad at the blatant disregard of people's time, but I tried to remember what we were there for. I just wish some other people had remembered. I snuck out at 10:30 during a 'break' and went home. It was best for my and everybody else's sanity. I found out that they stayed until 11:30. I wouldn't have made it another hour. I would have self combusted.
The next day, Brent and I tried to keep the couch from running away. I mean we did N-O-T-H-I-N-G. It was great. I stayed in my PJs all day and we watched HGTV and Mad Men. The big performance was that night, so I did take a shower and get all dolled up for my big debut on the Cabot High School Auditorium stage. Sadly, afterwards, nobody asked me for my autograph. In fact, my own husband left after the sand art. (He was persuaded by some bad influences - you know who you are!) Apparently they did not sit close enough to see how awesome my "Gaither" face really was.
The performance was good, except that we probably would have had more people at the church. The idea of having it at the high school was to reach out to those who didn't feel comfortable coming to the church. I personally think it's very hard to get folks to show up on a Saturday night, especially the unchurched. Plus, if they had had it at the church, childcare would have been provided, and more people could have come and invited their friends. Again, these are all my opinions, and nobody asked me for them during the planning process.
I have recovered from my choral weekend, and would have had another one this coming Sunday night, except we're going to be out of town. I have been working in children's choir and I hate to miss their program and watch them sing for their parents. Most of them are so cute (most).
And the reason why we're going to be gone? Brent and I are headed to the Big Apple to visit cousin Whitney, and we are so excited! We'll also be there for our First Wedding Anniversary. Coincidence? I think not. We've planned this big trip so we could be somewhere special on day 366 of our marriage. I can't wait!
Look for more about that in the coming weeks. You probably won't hear from me until then.
Last Thursday I had dessert club (aka non-playing bunco group) out to the house to watch Grey's Anatomy and drink wassail and eat red velvet cupcakes with white frosting and green sprinkles. I'm so glad that I picked December as my month to host. I got to use my red dishes and other coordinating pieces that I got last year.
Friday night was a bit of a challenge for me. I was dreading it like a root canal, and did not want to do it. What is it that is so terrible you might ask? CHOIR PRACTICE. Oh geez. It was the big fabulous Christmas spectacular put together by First Baptist Church of Cabot. Saturday night was the performance, so that meant that dress rehearsal was to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday night. Let me clue you in on something about myself - I usually don't like to do stuff on Friday nights. I prefer dinner at home with a movie. Mainly I don't like it because after working all day Friday, which completes a long week, plus driving two hours every day, plus all the house stuff, plus all the other stuff that comes with life, I AM TIRED.
But not this Friday night. I tried to suck it up and headed to the high school auditorium for the big dress rehearsal. The only probably is that it was a big unorganized chaotic gathering that just about sent me to the state hospital. Maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but let me tell you that we sat around and did NOTHING for two (almost three) hours before we got to "practice". The longer we waited, the more aggravated I got - and the other people around me were the same way. I was so mad at the blatant disregard of people's time, but I tried to remember what we were there for. I just wish some other people had remembered. I snuck out at 10:30 during a 'break' and went home. It was best for my and everybody else's sanity. I found out that they stayed until 11:30. I wouldn't have made it another hour. I would have self combusted.
The next day, Brent and I tried to keep the couch from running away. I mean we did N-O-T-H-I-N-G. It was great. I stayed in my PJs all day and we watched HGTV and Mad Men. The big performance was that night, so I did take a shower and get all dolled up for my big debut on the Cabot High School Auditorium stage. Sadly, afterwards, nobody asked me for my autograph. In fact, my own husband left after the sand art. (He was persuaded by some bad influences - you know who you are!) Apparently they did not sit close enough to see how awesome my "Gaither" face really was.
The performance was good, except that we probably would have had more people at the church. The idea of having it at the high school was to reach out to those who didn't feel comfortable coming to the church. I personally think it's very hard to get folks to show up on a Saturday night, especially the unchurched. Plus, if they had had it at the church, childcare would have been provided, and more people could have come and invited their friends. Again, these are all my opinions, and nobody asked me for them during the planning process.
I have recovered from my choral weekend, and would have had another one this coming Sunday night, except we're going to be out of town. I have been working in children's choir and I hate to miss their program and watch them sing for their parents. Most of them are so cute (most).
And the reason why we're going to be gone? Brent and I are headed to the Big Apple to visit cousin Whitney, and we are so excited! We'll also be there for our First Wedding Anniversary. Coincidence? I think not. We've planned this big trip so we could be somewhere special on day 366 of our marriage. I can't wait!
Look for more about that in the coming weeks. You probably won't hear from me until then.
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