Total Eclipse of the ... Moon!

Wow - God sure put on a show for us last nite, on the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice, with a beautiful eclipse of the moon!! 

It's the first total lunar eclipse in three years, and the first such eclipse corresponding to the winter solstice since December 21, 1638 - that's 372 years ago!

I purposely woke up, tiptoed to the window and tried to peer thru the clouds to see the event, no luck.   Then I quietly crept to the computer and tried to watch the live stream on the NASA site, again no luck as the camera was taken down due to rain.  As I contemplated going back to bed without watching the "Big Event", I checked with my friends on Twitter & Youtube! 

And what should appear to my wondering eyes?!  No, not 8 tiny reindeer, but many wonderful pictures and videos of the big, full, orange, eclipsed moon!  The attached link was one of my favorites as you can see the whole thing from beginning to end.  

Satisfied, happy and yes a bit tired, I walked back to my bedroom, smiling and thanking God for the amazing glimpse of His handiwork.  Wow, just wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkT7necDLzI

A white elephant..

Christmas parties are useful - especially when there's a White Elephant involved!  It is SO much fun for a recycle-nut like me! 

If you've never heard of a "White Elephant" party, you may have heard it under a different name.  Perhaps  Yankee Swap, Chinese Gift Exchange, Dirty Santa, Thieving Secret Santa, or Parcel Pass.

Gifts are typically inexpensive, humorous items or used items from home. The term "white elephant" refers to a gift whose maintenance costs exceed its usefulness - you know, like something from your garage sale pile!  The goal is to entertain and not really about the gift...however, some people really want the gift and will trade and trade and trade until they get something they like! 

Now, the rules can vary from party to party - from family to family - heck, even from country to country!  The party I attended had a "3 steal limit", meaning that gift could be stolen by 3 people before it was "retired" with person #3. And gifts were opened so you could see what was in the package!

Personally, I like playing the game with the gifts UNWRAPPED!  You can get pretty creative as you try to hide a bunch of crap!  I've seen some pretty elaborate wrap-jobs...big boxes with big bows, gift boxes with ornaments hanging from the outside, even gifts shaped like a Hershey's kiss!  All to hide the hilarious, sometimes hideous gift inside!  Best part is, you get to get rid of your junk - although you do have to take someone else's home! (but as they say, one man's white elephant is another man's treasure...or something like that!)
 
I can get pretty creative when I need to - and believe me, I need to. (Just ask my husband!)  Wow-I can hardly wait to get started wrapping...and for garage sale season to start!

So, if you happen upon a "White Elephant Garage Sale" ....... Buyer Beware!

Power of a Voice

Just finished watching a Christmas Special with Mariah Carey.....one word, WOW!

Mariah, 41-years-old and very pregnant with her first child, looked beautiful in her short dresses and all her diamonds!  (in fact, you might say she was glowing!)  Couldn't believe that the microphone, the microphone stand and even her earpiece was covered in "diamonds"!   Gorgeous!

It brought a smile to my face to hear Randy Jackson (American Idol judge) play the bass guitar and Mariah's mother, Patricia Carey, sing with her daughter "Oh Come All Ye Faithful"!  As my husband says "The apple didn't fall far from the tree in that family."   Fabulous!

However, the one thing that rendered me speechless, put a smile on my face, had me thinking of angels as I closed my eyes and listened ... was the Pureness, the Range and the Power of Mariah Carey's voice.

WOW!

Just simply - WOW!

WOW!  I'm actually blogging - and I welcome you to my blog. Many stories, people, places & things amaze, inspire, surprise me in this world....many take my breath away, along with my words, leaving me with my favorite expression that sums it all up - WOW!

I am a voice over artist...so it's not often I'm left speechless.  But when I am, there's usually a good reason for it! I hope to share many of those "reasons" with you in the near future....until then, I look at this screen and just say, WOW!   :)