I am officially done blogging now. It has served it’s purpose in my life & now I am moving on. I thank all the people who have encouraged me through the tough times in my marriage a few years ago. Knowing that people I didn’t even know were praying for me & supporting me really expanded the Kingdom of God in my mind.

I hope we will all continue to try to bring some heaven to Earth because we need a little more heaven down here. I will be on FaceBook now if anybody wants to find me – I’m under Jeanna DiBiase Powell.

I will pop up now & then to read your blogs & make comments. Take care Blogworld!!!

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can’t wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run
(I can’t wake up)
Before I come undone
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I’ve become

Now that I know what I’m without
You can’t just leave me
Breathe into me and make me real
Bring me to life

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can’t wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run
(I can’t wake up)
Before I come undone
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I’ve become

Bring me to life
(I’ve been living a lie, there’s nothing inside)
Bring me to life

Frozen inside without your touch
Without your love darling
Only you are the life among the dead

All this time I can’t believe I couldn’t see
Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me
I’ve been sleeping a thousand years it seems
Got to open my eyes to everything
Without a thought without a voice without a soul
Don’t let me die here
There must be something more
Bring me to life

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can’t wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run
(I can’t wake up)
Before I come undone
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I’ve become

(Bring me to life)
I’ve been living a lie, there’s nothing inside
(Bring me to life)

Jeanna is already addicted.

Jeanna is still talking in 3rd person.

Jeanna is up too late.

OK, so I seem to vaguely remember reading some blog posts about this vampire book series by Stephanie Meyer. Supposedly it was a “teen” favorite, but lots of other people were loving the books too. At that point I thought “I really like vampire stories. I should pick that one up sometime.” That was several months ago. Flash forward to last night. I’ve finally heard enough hype about this book since the movie is out, that I went to Borders & bought the first book in the series. I cannot even believe how much I LOVE this book already – and I’m only 128 pages in!!!! Anyones else out there reading this series? Now I want to finish the book quickly so I can go see the movie!

First, alittle catch up: After a wonderful weekend alone with Dwight in Galena, IL, it is already Thursday & I’m still not caught up on laundry, etc.!!! Not only that, but now it’s time to finish raking the leaves, winterize our trampoline, bring our hoses & grill into the garage & turn our attention to re-finishing our basement!

Work has been painfully slow this week. I’m thinking that the economy finally caught up with our business too. I think people just want to stay put for awhile & see what happens. I’m sure the next few days will pick up since the Property Mgr. is on vacation, and that IS Murphy’s Law!!!

I’m feeling the Craft Bug biting! I get this way every time I get one of ‘Lowe’s Creative Ideas’ magazines in the mail! I really want to transform a room in my house into a Craft Room. I also want to create a lot more homemade gifts for Christmas this year. I better get going – I only have 6 weeks!!!! YIKES!!! Anyone out there have any simple craft ideas to share? I’ll share one that my kids have done in the past:

Pinecone Ornaments

First, find some pinecones in your yard, or take a walk & pick some up. (It’s better to get them free!) Clean out any of the seeds &/or cobwebs from the cones. Next, get a loop of ribbon, any color, and hot-glue the ends to the bottom of the pinecone. This is where you’ll hang your ornament. Now using acrylic paints, paint the pinecone any color you want, but make sure that you color all the sides of the spikes in the cone. Finally, before the paint dries, sprinkle on an abundance of glitter. Voila! Ornaments the kids can make almost by themselves (minus the glue gun!)

Ahh…the High School Musical Saga is over….that is, unless they decide to do College Musical! Anyway, Jess & I went out to see the movie a few days ago, and much to my delight, we were the ONLY ONES in the theater!!! I guess it helps to wait until opening weekend is over, and then go during a weekday at 5:50 at night – smack dab in the middle of dinnertime. So this review comes with NO audience persuasion at all, just what I thought about it. So….without further ado, here it goes.

I loved it & I was disappointed at the same time. First, I’ll talk about the bad parts. #1- It should have been named ‘The Troy & Gabriella Musical’ or even just ‘The Troy Musical’. Now I know that “Troy” is the big pull for the target audience, but I really like the other characters & wish they would have delved more into those relationships. #2 – The storyline didn’t seem to flow out of what the gang had all been through together just that Summer (in HSM2). This story picks up at the end of Senior Year with no fill-in. #3 Not enough Sharpay (refer to #1 above!)

What I liked about the show was that it would make a REALLY COOL production in a REAL high school musical. Since there’s an element of a play-within-a-play, or rather, a musical-within-a-musical, the musical numbers were really flashy & cool. I liked that most of the numbers could be performed on a stage with set pieces, just like they used in the actual movie. And the songs are still just as catchy as the first 2 – I still have ‘The Boys Are Back’ and ‘High School Musical’ stuck in my head.

All-in-all, Jess loved it, I enjoyed it as a simple, guilty pleasure, and it was a “wholesome” movie. I would definately recommend it.

I heard a news report that gas prices are at their lowest since a year and a half ago!!! AND I filled up my tank for under $40!!! Woo! Hoo! All this and we didn’t even need to increase our supply by drilling through Alaska’s Wildlife Parks. See, there are 2 ways to affect Supply & Demand. Instead of increasing supply, all you need to do is decrease demand. So “Thank You” to all those people who traded in their gas-guzzling SUV’s for more fuel-efficient vehicles. “Thank You” to all the people who bought motorcycles (never thought I’d hear myself say that!!!) “Thank You” to all the people who decided to carpool to work. “Thank You” to all the people who took the bus to work. “Thank You” to all those people who rode their bikes or walked where they needed to go. Also, “Thank You” to all those people who are cutting back on plastic products, like plastic grocery bags & plastic water bottles. Plastic is made from oil, you know!

Dwight & I are celebrating 12 years together today. (We’re actually going to Galena, IL to REALLY celebrate in a couple of weeks!) A few days ago, we bought ourselves a heated mattress pad with dual contols as our Anniversary present to one another.  Ahh….that’s love!!! Dwight is turning ours on while I wait on some laundry to be finished. I had to wash all of our coats tonight because last night we went to our church’s first ever ‘Harvest Festival’ and we came home smelling like a campfire!! It was SO much fun, even if it was freezing cold & WAY too windy! There was a chili competition, hot apple cider, HUGE pumpkins to carve and live music. Dwight & I even got to sing a couple love songs together. We sang “Falling Slowly” from the movie ‘Once’ and “Such Great Heights” from the movie ‘Garden State’. Then Dwight surprised me with an Anniversary song. He sang “Fields of Gold” by Sting. It was so romantic. What a great night! Then tonight we had fun carving pumpkins with our kids and watching a DVD of ‘30 Rock: Season 1′ while sharing some ‘2-Buck Chuck’ (It’s some great, cheap wine that I picked up at Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago when I visited my folks.)

Anyway……I think the coats might be dry now. I better go check so I can get to bed soon. I’ll leave you with the words from ‘Fields of Gold’ – (I love you, Dwight!!! Thanks for 12 crazy years together!!!! You have a beautiful voice – just keep singing. I love you!!!!)

Fields of Gold – Sting

You’ll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You’ll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we walk in the fields of gold

So she took her love
For to gaze awhile
Upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
Among the fields of gold

Will you stay with me, will you be my love
Among the fields of barley
We’ll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we lie in the fields of gold

See the west wind move like a lover so
Upon the fields of barley
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth
Among the fields of gold

I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that Ive broken
But I swear in the days still left
We’ll walk in the fields of gold
We’ll walk in the fields of gold

Many years have passed since those summer days
Among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down
Among the fields of gold

You’ll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in the fields of gold
When we walked in the fields of gold
When we walked in the fields of gold

Last week I was sweating at the zoo as the temperatures were in the mid-80’s. This week I am waking up to temperatures in the 30’s and highs in the 60’s. What happened to my 70 degree days of Fall?????  It seems to go from hot to cold around here.

Soocer is finally over (cue ‘Hallelujah Chorus’) and we now have 4 days of our lives back to ourselves until Spring. I am loving it! Yesterday we relaxed after work & school, I had time to do a couple loads of laundry, then we all watched ‘Indiana Jones 4′ after dinner. I guess the movie was O.K. It would have been a great movie back in the 80’s, but it seemed a little cheesy by today’s standards.

Dwight & I will be celebrating 12 years of marriage this Sunday. While we can’t get away this weekend, we will be getting out of town in a couple weeks for a much needed vacation & some good “alone time” together!!! Not exactly sure where we’re going yet, but we’re not known for planning things very far in advance. I just know that we have someone to watch the dogs (thanks Jeff!) and my parents will be watching the kids, so Dwight & I will enjoy wherever we go because we’ll be together.

Well, I’m off to pack lunches & get the kids out the door. Then it’s time for me to get ready for work & head out for another day. Even if it’s a cold one today, at least the sun is shining and the trees are colorful & beautiful. God’s creation is in all it’s glory!

Since the kids had Columbus Day off of school & my brother was flying home for a visit from California, the kids & I packed our bags & headed to the Chicago Suburbs to my parents’ house. Dwight had to stay behind for a Disc Golf Tournament, work, and to watch the dogs. Since the Chicago Marathon was going on that weekend, we decided to go to Brookfield Zoo instead of Lincoln Park Zoo. I love Brookfield anyway – it holds a lot of childhood memories for me! Anyway….my brother’s friend happened to have 6 FREE tickets, so off we went!

It was amazingly HOT for October in Chicago!! Low 80’s and very sunny! Not the best zoo weather, but it was still pretty crowded. My mom bought the kids their own disposable cameras & we had a great time seeing all the animals & taking pictures of them. The BEST part for me was Tropic World, where the gorillas are. I love the gorillas! They always crack me up! Usually it’s hard to get a good view of them because of the crowds, but my family & I found a good spot & started watching them. All of a sudden, one gorilla walked to the end of his “mountain” nearest to where we were standing, turned around, reached his hand behind himself, and proceeded to FILL his hand with poop!!! As if this weren’t funny & gross enough, people started fleeing upon thoughts of an ape flinging poo, but instead he turned back around & proceeded to EAT IT!!!! So gross!!!! You could hear the collective groan of 50 people when this happened. Of course the kids thought it was hilarious!!! And that is why the gorillas are my favorite animal at the zoo – they are the most entertaining for sure!

On Monday, we packed up & headed home a little bit early so Nick could go to his friend’s birthday party. Now usually, we make a pit stop at the halfway point between my parents’ house & mine, but this time Jess had fallen asleep & I wasn’t going to make the stop. But at the last minute, something made me take the exit anyway. When we got out of the car, I could hear a loud “whooshing” noise & Nick said it was coming from our car. I had blown a tire. (Actually, our front tires were pretty bald & we were gonna get new ones before Winter, but I guess they couldn’t wait.) Thankfully, Nick had that party or I would have been leaving after dark. Thankfully, something made me pull over or things could have been much worse! As it was, it was no fun being 1 hour away from my parents & from Dwight. I just wanted someone to rescue me & fix it all. So I called a tow truck & got towed to the station where they replaced both of my front tires. I am so thankful that God led me to pull over. I know He protected me from harm.  Earlier that day, I felt the Spirit tugging at me to do something uncomfortable. You see, my 87 yr. old Grandma is living with my parents because she isn’t doing very well & they are taking care of her. Well, she was complaining about how long her nails were (obscenely long) because she can’t cut them herself. My momdidn’t really want to cut them because it is her M-I-L, and she just felt weird about it, so she asked me & I initially said “no”. Then I felt the Spirit tugging at me. “Do this service for your Grandma.” “This is what taking care of the widows is about.” “You may not get another chance to see her again & this is an act of love.” Now I don’t really feel like I guilted myself into doing it, but I feel like I was responding to the Spirit’s voice. I may have made my Grandma happy, but I feel so good about listening & obeying the Spirit’s call too. And so maybe I was spared a worse fate by being open again to the Spirit’s voice. I just pray that I will be continually receptive to His will even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient!