Irish music and nuns are my interest right now

So I've always thought I was born into the wrong family. Don't get me wrong. I love my family...but I just wished they played the tin whistle and picked wildflowers in the meadow. Ya know? So I've always had an Irish fetish--music, movies, bands. Even my penpal, Donna Jean Dempsey, was from Dublin. We wrote for 8 years until college became too important for overseas friends. So as I sit here listening to Irish music and dreaming of green rolling hills and sheep and the island of Roan Inish, I have decided Ireland will be my next overseas venture. I shall see the family that really isn't mine, and I will talk to them using the few Irish Gaelic words I know.

I'm supposed to making a test out right now, but that's not going so well. I have big dreams of reading books over Christmas. I can't wait! My library is saying, "Read me you fool! You've been away tooooo long." Fear not, fair lass...I'm coming. So I was thinking the other day, "Wouldn't I be 10 times cooler if I could speak French?" My mind said, "Yes, your cool factor would boost and more people would stare at you strangely whilst you make fake telephone calls in French." So I decided, then and there, to learn French...wait for it...through song. YES! That's right. I got XM radio free over Thanksgiving weekend and the song, "Dominique" came on by the singing nun. It was a smashing hit in 1963. I downloaded it on ITunes and my French lessons started promptly. I love nuns. She's awesome. I felt like we would've been friends. Ya know on the swim team playing Marco Polo. She'd let me find her and win. That kind of nice, help you self-esteem friend.

I love me some Irish music. I've been planning out my wedding music for my wedding that will never happen. It's going to quite fabulous. I wish you were going to get to hear it.

A little family update: Tela is still pregnant! She'll be 33 weeks on Wednesday. She is still at Baptist in Little Rock. She's as cute as can be. No bigger than an ant hill, but we'll take what we can get. Those boys are feisty. I can't wait to meet them! As always, thank you so much for your continued prayers for Tela, Russell, and the twins as well as for the Jamison family. Thanksgiving wasn't the same without Poppa. I'm so thankful for my huge family to lean on. People say they don't think they could live that close to family. Well let me tell you something--you haven't been around mine. I couldn't live without them. It's times like these when those extra shoulders are needed. 

Love love love ya'll! Peace and blessings!

Do you ever have those moments when you are in the middle place of emotions?

So I had lunch with my parents, Brittany, and Caleb today at Dixie Cafe. Not my choice, but I didn't complain. I even drove all the way to Cabot to eat because I hadn't seen my dad yet. I haven't seen my parents since Christmas or been home to Nashville since Christmas. I've been a very bad family member. I'll make up for it--I promise. By the way, this was the first time in a very long time that it has just been us five. No Waylan or Brooke this time. It was very strange but nice. Me likey.

I hug the parents bye, and no sooner than I drive out of my parking spot, the tears flow. Cry me a river, why don't ya. I was caught in this middle place of "little Ashley" and "big Ashley". It never gets easier leaving my parents whether it's in the parking lot of Dixie Cafe or driving down my dirt road back to LR.   The tears always come. Of course they don't know this (I guess they will now). I remember my mother saying this when we would leave Memphis, how it was so hard to leave. In college I couldn't wait to get back to my friends, but now? Now I want to go back, but I want to stay. Those of you who don't live in the same town as your parents, please tell me you know what I'm talking about. There's just something about driving away and leaving. What if I never see them again? What if something happens to them? Sometimes I just wish I had my parents here all the time. Those of you who have that privilege, you have no idea how fortunate you are. To have people that can love you in person. That's life though. UGH! I'm not complaining. I'm just stating my feelings. A statation of the feelation.

Some think we look alike...

The Outsiders had their second meeting tonight, and I must say it went quite well. We actually discussed the book, and we did so quite thoroughly. We discussed House Rules by Jodi Picoult which turned out to be a very good discussion because it deals with Asberger's. Those types of issues can be very controversial and lead to very heated discussions. I hope we were that table that was annoyingly loud talking about awesome things. I'm sure we sounded intelligenter (or is it more intelligent?) (I do think it's more intelligent...) than everyone else talking with really big words. Our next month's read is Push by Sapphire. That will be very relevant to my students, and I'm very excited to finally read it. I saw the movie and was naseauted at such behavior. Truly naseauted that things like that happen. Every. Single. Day. 

I thought my sweet little old lady neighbor died today. Caroline said she saw an ambulance and a police car there this morning, and there were tons of cars there this afternoon. She was however, sitting up on the gurney when they willed her out. Hhhhmmm...I will try to unfold the myster tomorrow. But just in case she did pass away, pray for her family. She was (or is) a sweet old lady. Either way, prayer is good and ambulances are bad. If you don't remember the one time when I called a woman from church about her husband dying, you must read this.

Midwives

This was my latest read. I finished it a few days ago, and I must say it was awesome. Not expecting the end which made me really excited. The twists are my favorite. It was also very informative about midwives and their practices. I knew what a midwife was, but I had never ventured to find out more about what exactly they can and cannot do. If you have any spare time or just love to read, pick this up. It was featured in Oprah's Book Club if you go by Oprah's word and don't trust mine. You may check it out from the Jamison library free of charge :). Read the synopsis here http://http://www.amazon.com/Midwives-Oprahs-Book-Chris-Bohjalian/dp/0375706771.

Let me know what you think!