More later.....

We returned home yesterday and suffering jet-lag. I will post later with pictures.
It's good to be on American soil. Oh how I love the US of A!!!!

'or the la-and of the freeeeee, and the hooome, of tha..... braaaaave.

mary

On the North Sea

Here is Doug and I by the North Sea. Not a beach you swim at that's for sure. Brrrrrrr!
Had a much calmer day today. Didn't do too much. Went to the Scottish "Wal-Mart" that they call ASDA and it truly is Wal-Mart. Tonight we went 10-pin bowling with Doug's co-workers and then to eat. What a trip...eating with two Englishmen and a Norwegian. Could listen to them talk all night. So much I could write about but I'm too tired. Maybe tomorrow. Goodnight. Hugs and kisses. mary

Shopping in Aberdeen, Scotland

Well today has been our first full day abroad. While Doug worked I took a taxi downtown to the shopping area, Union Square to be exact. I would have walked but that would have constituted crossing two "round-a-bouts" and I am not willing to get run over. (They drive on the wrong side of the road here you know, and very fast.) Anyhoo, had a great time.

For lunch I ate pizza, yea pizza. Vegetarian to be exact...AND much to my surprise, there was corn, I repeat, CORN on my pizza. I guess that's what you get when you get pizza in Scotland. And you will never guess where we ate this evening.......Jimmy Chung's. Yes there is Chinese food here too. I did, however, have excellent halibut last night. It was quite tasty.

We are five hours ahead of Oklahoma time and this Sunday the UK is springing forward an hour. Not only did I lose an hour of precious sleeping time at home, I am going to lose ANOTHER hour here. What do you suppose I can do with that???? As if losing one hour was not enough.

Well, it is almost time for me to turn in.

Love you guys!

Love Your Enemies

Cannot believe it has been almost a month since I last posted a post on my blog by posting a post. Sorry I am so redundant. (whew, wanted to get that word in somehow today. hope i spelled it correctly.)

What a week this has been. One of those weeks you are so happy to see in the rear view mirror. Only, the rear view mirror is cracked and you see countless reflections of the week staring back at you. All with a little different perspective.

- Monday, not much to talk about. Actually, I do not even remember Monday.

- Tuesday, started out ok, ended with a huge WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT? YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!!! I tell you, not much sleep that night.

- Wednesday, more what the heck was that and not much sleep again that night.

- Thursday, purge day, vomitous day, ralph day, call it what you want day. I like to view it as, LIBERATING VOMITOUS EXTRAORDINOUS DAY.....

- Friday, stay at home sick day, can't breath through my nostrils.

- Saturday, well here we are, made it through the week and can now breath through one nostril.

But on a serious note, this was not the best week. Not only for me, but for a whole host of people I care deeply about. And of course if I am to be honest, it has been a not-so-good week for people I care not-so-much about. But still, we are all God's children and He tells us to love one another, even the ones that are hard to love. Maybe it is those folks I should pour out the love for most of all.....sounds impossible. Doesn't sound appealing at all!!! If I am to continue on this "honest" streak, I do have to confess there are certain people I don't feel any amount of love for.

If you are thinking I am recovering from the stomach flu, don't be deceived. My liberating vomitous extraordinous day was not a day of upchucking my previous meal, but the purging of negative words towards another person, to their strangely shocked face. I think we all know the kinds of people we would love to tell off, give them a piece of our minds, those people who always see the glass half empty and never seem to find the good in things? You know, the people you briefly imagine in your mind's eye what you would say to them to put them in their place and just how you would say it. You imagine yourself walking away in slow motion, hair blowing in the wind, all the while a triumphant melody plays in the background....by-standers give you high fives and for one moment, you feel.... triumphant. Only for me, the triumphant melody has made my ears ring and the words have left a terrible taste in my mouth. When God said to love our enemies, He meant it. And it saddens me to say, I don't think this person is the enemy at all. Maybe this person just needs a little extra love, a little extra prayer. I hope that is the case. I hate to think someone could be that miserable in life when they are a child of a King, saved by grace and loved unconditionally by their heavenly Father.

Heavenly Father, I pray your love will pour out from me and touch others. I confess I have no love of my own to give those who may need it most. I know you would never ask me to do something I am unable to do, unless it is something you want to do through me. I love you. Amen.

Just tryin to save a buck or two....

Okay. I have been told by more than one person that I need to make an entry. So here goes.....I have not been inspired by anyone or anything today. So I guess I will write about nothing. (Hey that would make a great tv show...oh, it already is one.)

Anyway, I have decided to help this family get on a tightened budget. In doing so, I went online to look for coupons. It started around 9:00 this evening. Now it is almost 11:00. I have filled out survey after survey. I have lied about my age and our family income. My phone number is the number to the budget movie theater. I run marathons and our family travels abroad, regularly. We have a vacation home and a hum-v. I also have a Ph.D. and Doug practices medicine. So what type of coupons do you think they sent me? None. I guess when you are as rich and good looking as us they figured we don't need coupons. Oh the life of living the American dream.

Good night.

The Life of a Dog

What a life. To be a dog for a day....no worries or cares, just going from one sniff to another. Sleeping all day, getting up for a drink of water or nibble of food. And all you have to give is your unconditional love for those around you. You love them no matter what!! And new people, oh my!!! You are never afraid to meet new people. In fact, you want to kiss them and become instant friends. No matter what your family looks like or even smells like, you love them with all your heart. You'd give your life for your family too, you'd protect them with all you have in you. Wow, when I put it that way, we could learn a lot from a dog.....

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Gal. 5:6b

I need sleep!

I have my whole family home after a weekend of them being spread out. Grace and Bridget went to OKC for a girls conference on Friday & Saturday and Doug went to Talaquah with the BGC Disaster Team. It was just Katie and me Friday and most of the day Saturday. Nice bonding time with my spit-fire red-head!

We have this "tradition" that every time Doug is out of town, all three girls sleep in my room with me. Two get in bed with me and one gets on the cot. Thank the good Lord above this was only for one night. Don't think my neck could take another night like that. I woke up with an elbow in my face and a rear-end on my back. And to top it off, our precious boxer Sophie decided she'd let 'em rip while she snored her little heart out. Well I decided to take it to the couch to save what night was left. Just when I got fixed, as we say in Texas, I heard this horrible low pitched cry outside the back door. Completely wide awake I jumped up with a start only to hear another sound but on the higher scale...a blood curdling screech followed by a thud, thud, screech, moan, thud. I guess Chip our cat decided he needed to get in on the action of keeping me from sleep. Tom Cat from behind our house opened a can of whoop @$# on our eunuch boy.........

Well needless to say, it was tough getting up for church today. But we made it. It's the only way to start a week off right. I leave you with this:

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matt. 5:14-16

We never know who's watching us at work, at the store, in our car at a stoplight or even in our front yard. We must let our light shine. We must make our everyday lives count. Even if it is just a smile or a word of encouragement to the cashier at Wal-Mart. Make it count! We may be the only "Jesus with skin on" someone may ever see. Love you bunches.

Good night!

Well I survived the two days off due to weather. Went to work and came home for an early lunch break. Ended up watching part of the Gov. Bologovich (however you spell the name) on Fox News pleaing for mercy. He is pa-the-tic. I dozed off during parts of it and ended up dreaming along with it. Have you ever done that? That is freaky. I guess he was talking about his daughters when I was dreaming I was in an old fashioned theater, you know the kind with the red velvet drapes and a piano player up front. They were adorable girls and dressed in those dresses that you see little "prostitots" wear in pageants. Remind me never to doze off watching FOX News again.
Anyway. I actually cooked bacon for dinner tonight. It was delightful. Had hash browns, biscuits, gravy, the whole nine yards. I think we are set on our high fat meal for several weeks now. I've been doing great on the food bit for the last several weeks. Lots 'o fiber and whole grains. My colon hasn't stopped thanking me. The good part is I have lost around six pounds. Hopefully it is six pounds of fat. Catch my drift?
Well, I've got a bad case of the hiccups. Mom, I'm thinking of you with each "screach" I make. I am your daughter that's for sure. Tomorrow's Friday and I'm ready for bed. Sleep tight my friends. Love you bunches! mar

"Twilight"

Well, I figured I would post on the blog. I know you all have been anxiously awaiting what is to come next.


We have just about survived the first day off due to icy weather. Yesterday was the slickest drive home ever. We have been here, in Oklahoma that is, now for six+ years and I don't recall it being that slick ever! People were CRAZY!! Sliding sideways into ditches, bassakwards down our neighborhood hills. (That reminds me, I've got to thank neighbor Grogan for the good laugh he gave us last night when he demonstrated his awesome driving abilities.)

Anyway, no school again tomorrow. (Someone may need to call in and check on us sometime in the early afternoon. I mean, I must be insane to ever want a day off of school due to weather. I may kill someone.) My dreams of a tranquil day off, curled up by the fire reading "Twilight" is complete fantasy. Instead, I get "The Twilight Zone." Words like idiot, stupid and fatty McFatpants filled the air. I heard the occassional whimper which was usually followed up with a shrill scream. I have learned today that my 13 year old knows more than me and that it is a wonder I passed the sixth grade because apparently they do math different these days and I don't know what I'm talking about. (Challenge: take a deep breath, quickly exhale and read the last sentence I wrote without breathing.) Anyhoo, hopefully it will be back to the ol' grind Thursday!

Before I leave you tonight, I will leave you with a quote I find oh so true:

The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Bath salts are a popular gift for the person who has everything. Now you can make them yourself with the classic scent of bacon!

Step 1 Heat up 4 strips of salt pork in a microwave. You could also use bacon, but the salt pork has more fat, giving you more grease for your mixture.

Step 2 Pour 2 cups epsom salt in bowl, then 1 cup borax.

Step 3 Drain fat away from meat and mix with a few drops of liquid smoke. The liquid smoke helps make the scent, it won't smell right without it.

Step 4 Mix the grease/smoke mixture into the salt mixture. Mix thoroughly by hand, or else it will not blend all the way. If there seems to be too much grease, add more borax and salt. If it is too dry, heat up more salt pork and repeat steps 1-4.

Step 5 Enjoy bacon scented baths by adding your salt whenever you take a soak. To store, just put it in a bottle and save it for later.

Friends

It is so good to have friends! I thought this was a great picture that illustrates true friendship. Through life's ups and downs, a true friend is someone you can count on. It is someone you can put on red poka-dotted bloomers with and enjoy the laughter that it brings!

I've been told.

I've been told by several people that I need to start a "facebook." Well, have not brought myself to figure out how to get friends. It's hard enough to get friends in real life, let alone on-line. So needless to say, I have a facebook space, or whatever you call it, but no friends, no profile, no information of any sort. Maybe I'll get around to it..... eventually.

So, I will give this "blog" stuff a try.

Now I know you are wondering why the name of the blog is "mary, cook me some bacon..." I will try to tell you in as few words as I can. The reason the name is "mary, cook me some bacon..." is because my brother is the biggest goof ball there is, and well, it is something he said to me one day and it has stuck. And that is that. Really. Oh, and I could not think of anything clever, and "mary, cook me some bacon..." was the first thing that popped into my head. I really am a simple person.