The World According to Leslie

I can't believe that we are still going through this!! Two years ago (almost to the day) Chasity had double ear infections. So, I took her to the doctor. Ten days later her ears were still hurting so I took her back. Ear infection only in one ear. Ten days and a different antibiotic later we went back to the doctor because she's still hurting. Ten days and ANOTHER different antibiotic later (I didn't know there were so many kinds of antibiotics to take) we went back to the doctor to find out the infection is in the OTHER ear. By this time, I'm really getting aggrivated. So I asked for a referral to the ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat dr.). Our pediatrician said that we could try ONE MORE round of antibiotics. So we did. FIVE days later when both ears are oozing stuff everywhere we went back to the pediatrician. Instead of a referral to the ENT, Chasity got two shots of antibiotics. (We saw a different doctor everytime we went it. There are 7-8 who work there!) T...

Recently (just a minute ago) I visited Avr over at Just to Write . Today she is talking about things we collect. She collects unicorns. So in her comments today, I added my comment: Well... I collect Salt & Pepper shakers. I have been collecting them as long as I can remember. The rule is that they have to be unusual AND I don't buy them for myself! They have to come from other people....My Grandmother has the beginnings of my collection at her house. Some of them date back to WWII. Her uncle sent them here from overseas when he was fighting in WWII. So that is why I started collecting.... HOWEVER... I too have a collection of unicorn stuff. It has been packed up for a couple years now. I have seriously thought about putting it on eBay just to get rid of it. I started collecting those on my 7th bday. A friend gave me one for my bday and I loved it. Then I would see them everywhere. Then it became an obsession for a while! lol Now I think I'm just going to stic...

As you have probably noticed (if not I'll tell you), I had a Valentine's themed wedding. However, I did it subtly and did NOT do it in February. lol I got married in the middle of May 2001. If you are from NC, I got married the exact same night and time as the Winston (All-Star) race at the speedway! (You could hear the cars on the track outside the church....well...until they had to call it for rain! Anyways, I had purple dresses for the girls--two light and two dark. I had heart-shaped candlabras. They were awesome! My cake was 5 (separate) heart-shaped tiers of red velvet cake! It was beautiful! With all that Valentine's love floating around, I had to have lots of love songs...right? So... we had 7 songs in the ceremony. I'm a singing feign. I love music. I couldn't help myself! So, while the girls were walking in my sister's best friend sang "I Believe in You and Me" (from the Preacher's Wife" movie soundtrack). Before I wal...

I don't know many people (if any right now) who could name all the Presidents (Washington to Obama). Do you? I can name the first five. Then I have a gap until Lincoln. Then I can name them from Nixon to Obama. (No... I wasn't even born when Nixon was in office!!) I love history though. Today, I was sent this link from a friend so I checked it out. It is a video of each President morphing into his successor. It's really cool! Check it out. (I hope this video works!) Please let me know if this works for you when you do it! Thanks! Until next time........

I was visiting over at A Bouquet of Blessings earlier. She has a cute little game on there. What you do is ask the blogger for a letter. When she (or he) gives you the letter, you post on your own blog ten (10) things you like that begin with that letter. If you would like to continue the game, please comment and I will get you a letter! My letter is "C"! (This should be easy!) Candy --I love candy, but I have not been eating a lot of it recently. Chasity Carletta --My daughter, Chasity Carletta, is the best thing to ever happen to me! Chevrolet --I have been driving my Chevrolet Monte Carlo for 7 years now. Yes, I have over 150,000 miles on it! (Yes, I put 100,000 of those on there in the first year!) Yes, I've had two wrecks in it! Yes, we found out we were having Chasity 7 months AFTER we got the car! Yes, I still love it. She needs a little work right now, but she still runs! Computers --Most of my time is spent in front of this silly thing. I have 2 cla...

I just wanted you guys to know that over at "Musings of a Housewife" she is giving away an awesome laptop tote. Now, it's really easy to enter! I have two entries now! So... if you want to check it out, head over to "Musings of a Housewife" by clicking here . Until next time........

I just found this awesome video. A friend of mine put it on FACEBOOK. I can't seem to figure out where to get the code to put the video on here. So, I have the address for it. The video is called " Cardboard Testimonies ". What would your Cardboard Testimony be? Mine? Mine is easy... "Raised with the Head-knowledge of being a Christian" (front) "Daily seeking Heart-knowledge from God" (back) Please leave a comment to tell me what your Cardboard Testimony would be. Until next time........

So, today is the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case. That is the case that legalized abortion. Of course, if you have read anything that I have written, you know where I stand on this matter. So, President Obama is planning to sign the FOCA into law. We need to stop it. I have attached a button to my sidebar that will allow you to sign the petition to stop this legislation. I think that ONE stupid decision is enough. Abortion is already legal. Until we have the people on the Supreme Court to reverse that decision, we have to deal with that. However... we can stop this legislation...I HOPE! Please click the button and sign the petition. Thank you. Until next time........

As of today, the United States has its first African-American President. Shoot no! I didn't vote for him! There are many reasons, but mainly because I am a Christian! OK OK! Go ahead and yell! I know that some people think that you can be both--a Christian and a Democrat! Well... according to my Bible, there are some things wrong with that! 1...The 10 Commandments say "Thou Shalt Not Kill", but Democrats believe in abortion. Shoot! Some of them even believe in partial-birth abortion. Of course everyone has there own beliefs about this subject. So, believe however you feel. I am PRO-LIFE! There are plenty of people who can not have children, but that want them. Please share that opportunity with them. Do not kill your child just because you decided that it was more fun to make him/her than to have him/her. 2...The Bible says that homosexuality is an abomination. Democrats believe that men should be able to marry men and women should be able to marry women. ...

OK! I guess it is time that I share something that I have been holding in. I have been struggling with my weight for years! When I was teenager, I knew I was bigger than all the other kids. I didn't go shopping with my friends because I had to shop in a different department because of my size. In college, I couldn't shop with my friends because I had to go to completely different stores to get clothes in my size. Today, I just can't go shopping. Sure, Catherine's and (sometimes) Fashion Bug have clothes in my size. Now, the problem is that I am in the upper end of what those stores offer. Now, I have to use the specialty catalogues. That's aggrivating when you can't see what something is going to look like on you. Anyways, I shop through Roaman's , Lane Bryant catalog , and Woman Within . Sure they have a LOT of the same stuff, but often the prices and colors are different. Anyways, for the past couple of years (4-5) I have been trying really ...

Today, I'm going to go to a Scrapbooking Crop. There's a lady from my church who is a Creative Memories consultant. She holds these a couple times a month. We pay to use her tools (like $5 for a day) and we can stay for HOURS to scrapbook. I don't get to do this often. Actually, I just started in September. I have only been ONCE to do this. However... I worked for about 5 hours and (since I was just learning) I finished 6 pages. That's actually good. I have friends that are there that work 6-8 hours for 2-3 pages. I'm not THAT much of a perfectionist...yet. I can't wait to see the difference in the pages that I do now versus the ones I do in a year or two. That will be an interesting thing, I think. Anyways... if you like to Scrapbook and don't have a Creative Memories consultant, you can go to Nannette's page here . Tell her that Leslie sent you. They have cool new stuff out for Valentine's Day! They have all kinds of neat stuff anyway...

I'm assuming by now that everyone saw the plane crash yesterday. That was amazing!! When my Dad told me about it, the first thing I said was, "Someone else was flying that plane for him". We all know that training and experience really do kick in when an emergency strikes, but no man alone could have placed that plane in the Hudson River without killing or seriously injuring anyone. One of the ferry drivers that was out on the water yesterday said that he was normally in that area during that time of day. He said he didn't normally arrive there until much later. Then he said (something to the effect of), "I know that God put me there so that my boat could be used to help save lives." Some of the people actually took later flights to arrive in Charlotte yesterday/last night. I think I would have probably slept it off...then driven home! lol I don't know that I could have gotten on another plane so quickly! God bless the pilot and the crew for doi...

As you know, I am a Girl Scout leader. I work with Daisy Girl Scouts. All of the girls in my group are in Kindergarten or First Grade. The Kindergartners will be Daisies again next year, while the First Graders become Brownies. For the past month (or so), I have been working on the Investiture Ceremony for my Daisy scouts. All the girls had to do was show up basically. BUT... the cool part was that we had the ceremony at my church (our sponsorship) during the morning service yesterday. It was so cool. Because I had to be at the front, I didn't get to take any pictures. So...my kid sister took them...on HER camera. So...as soon as I get my pics from her, I'll put them on here so that you guys can see them. The girls looked so cute in their little outfits. They all matched! I couldn't believe how well it went. (Usually when I plan stuff, it doesn't turn out so well!) I hope to have the pics soon from Lisa. I'll have to ask her again! Until next time.........

I guess some of you have noticed that I have made some changes to my site. In case you are wondering why, let me tell you. 1. I have the "Pray for Kaleigh" button. She's a little girl in the Charlotte hospital because she was born so prematurely and with health problems. If you have not checked out their site, you can click here to go to their site. 2. I have the "One Minute Writer" button because that really is my 60 second addiction. I love to see what people can come up with in one minute to write about. If you have not checked out C. Beth's One Minute Writer, you should go here . 3. I have my playlist. Ok, so right now it's only 3 songs, but I'm sure I'll add to it eventually. There are specific reasons why I chose each song. If you listen, you can probably figure them out... lol. "Adonai"--This song tells of how Wonderful my Father (and yours if you know Him) really is! I have loved this song since the first time I hea...

Wow! I wish I would have had my camera with me yesterday. When I went to pick Chasity up from school, the sky was split. There was almost literally a line in the sky. The left 1/2 was black (looked like tornados could happen at any minute), but the right 1/2 was blue (the prettiest Carolina blue you can imagine). The sky was like this for almost an hour. As I sat there in the car riders' line waiting to get Chasity from school, I kept looking at it. I really was hoping that it would still be like that when I got home to my camera. However, it was sunny and bright everywhere when we got home. Sometimes, I think God puts on special shows like that just so we can see that He is there. It was amazing! Until next time........

For those of you who know me in real life, I love to write! I started writing when I was very young. When I was 15, I started compiling my poetry into a notebook. Somehow in the past 15 years, I have kept up with it. Yes, I have lost it probably 100 times, but I always manage to find it! Recently, I started a blog about poetry. I decided to use it to let out a little of my creativity. When I first started it, I had temporarily lost the notebook, BUT... I found it! The first few things on the site have nothing to do with my personal writing. They are just things I love to read. They are things I love to hear. They are some of my favorite poems! Today, however, I included my first personally written poem on the site. If you would like to check it out, please do.... it's here . If you would like to add some of your own work to the site and become one of the authors/contributors, I will add you. Just please remember when you read these that I was only 15 for them. I have so...

I was just looking at some posts from blogs that I follow...you should check out some of the ones on my list (to the right side). Anyways, I was reading Confessions of a CF Husband and realized how much God is really doing in lives today. However, I don't know that any of you have heard the story of the miracle that Tony, Chasity, and I got over the summer. (I just checked through my postings, I can't find it if I did cover it already! Forgive me if you have heard this!) In September of 2007, Chasity started complaining of headaches. When she would have them, she would also have episodes where she would just stare into space. She wouldn't respond to us or play. She just stared. In October 2007, we took her into the doctor to be checked out. They started running tests on her, but everything was coming back normal. They kept running tests until June 2008. In June 2008, the Pediatrician sent us to CMC-Northeast (in Concord) to see a Pediatric Neurologist. She looked ...

As I sit her this morning, my mind is clouded with a million thoughts. I should be downstairs drying my daughter's hair. (Her daddy just gave her a bath!) I should probably get myself ready for the day! Shoot! I should probably get out and about for the day. Other than finishing up the rearranging of Chasity's room (we are almost done....just have to decide where to move everything now) and getting all the Christmas stuff back upstairs (into storage), I only have one other thing planned today! We are going to see my Grandma at the nursing home. I need to know where her room is so that I can find her if I need to... I guess as I think about it, it saddens me a little. Both of my Grandmothers are in nursing homes. Yes, they are both near-by now. (Check out the Christmas Eve post for more on that.) Anyways, I guess I somehow wish that I could take care of them. I wish I had the capabilities of letting them stay at home (or with a family member). I started thinking... s...

On Christmas Day, Chasity woke up around 7:30am. She wasn't really in a hurry to see what (if anything) Santa had left. She jumped up in our bed--like always--and pulled the covers over her. I guess she was planning on sleeping more! lol Anyways, I hope this PhotoBucket slideshow will work for you. You may have to click the picture and then click for a slideshow. Be sure to read the captions for the pictures. I tried to explain them! lol Photobucket Album This was a great Christmas. I hope that you and your family had a great Christmas also! Now I'm looking forward to a new year! New adventures! New...just new! Until next time........

Since my previous post, I got a message or two about what to. I tried a couple of things for photo slideshows. I don't know that I picked the best, but it was the easiest to use that I found. Thank you Lynne for steering me toward some options! You know the story of what we did on Christmas Eve this year. I told that already in Christmas--part 6 . If you missed that one, then check it out. So here is what I got from PhotoBucket when I put my pictures on there. I hope this works as a slideshow for you. I had to actually click the picture and then click slideshow. So I hope that this will just work for you guys. If not, let me know and I'll try something else. (Try clicking the picture and then clicking on "slideshow". It should do it on auto after that!) Thanks again Lynne! Photobucket Album I hope you enjoy it! Until next time........

I have been (for the past hour) working on getting pictures to go into a slide show. I would love to put a slide show up instead of using an entire screen of scrolling in order to do pictures. If those of you who are reading this know how to make a slideshow of pictures that I can do several things with, could you please let me know??? Things I need to do with my Slideshow: 1. Make it. (It REALLY has to be simple.) 2. Post it. (I want it on my blog and facebook.) 3. Send it. (I want to email it to several people...who haven't started following my blog yet!) Thank you for any help I can get! Until next time........

In order to tell you about Christmas Eve this year, I must first tell you a little about my family history. In my family, there's Dad, Mom, Donnie (4 years older), me, and Lisa (9.5 years younger). That's pretty normal...I guess. My dad is an only child. He turned out relatively normal, I guess...so there's some hope that my child (an only child) will be normal too! lol My mom, however, has 5 siblings. Three of them (boy, girl, girl) are one year apart in age. The youngest girl in that group was born about 18 years before my mom. The second three (boy, girl, girl--again) are each a year apart. A couple of years ago, we lost my Aunt Patsy (#3 from group #1). She had cancer. My grandfather (mom's dad) died when I was a freshman in college. Grandma Edwards (mom's mom) has Alzheimer's. She's obviously getting to the later stages of it. (She's basically a kid again!) Anyways, my Aunt JoAnn (#2 from group #1) has been taking care of Grandma. Gr...

I know I'm a little behind on getting the last two parts of my Christmas stuff up. I promise...I will get it up! (Hopefully THIS weekend!) We decided that since Chasity got new clothes and toys for Christmas, it was time to go through and purge the existing stuff in her room. It took two days to go through all her clothes. There are 3 big baskets full of stuff that will either go to Goodwill or be sold on eBay. (When I list them, I'll let you know!) Then...we started on the toys. We worked for about 4 hours and only got through the Barbies, Dora, and the organizer with drawers. We haven't started on the toy box or the book case. Those could take forever! We should get those done today. Then we have to go through the stuff upstairs (storage) so that we can put the Christmas stuff back up until next year. I just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten to post anything! I just haven't gotten around to it! I can't wait to put the pictures from C...