Interview Me

So, I got this idea from a good friend mine. It's a pretty neat idea. She has emailed me 5 questions. I will answer those and then, if you want to join in, leave me a comment asking me to interview you. I will send you some questions for you to answer on your blog. Fun, huh? Don't all jump up at once....and be prepared....I might ask you to interview me right back. :D

1. You are on your dream vacation. Where are you? I'd have to say somewhere in the Caribbean or Hawaii. It would be one of those all inclusive places, very high end(like celebrities go to). The dream part is that my hubby and I would have an endless supply of money. We'd be able to anything and everything we wanted....shop, water sport activities, golf and eat. The second part would be that about the second or third week we would invite some of our close friends to come join us all on our dime!

2. You are on the table, undergoing plastic surgery. What are you having done? Believe it or not I've thought about this a lot. It's something I'd actually do if I thought I was deserving enough to spend the money on it. I'd go from head to toe! Get my teeth fixed, lipo, breast implants (not too big and they'd have to look natural) and whatever else they could do all my body parts back in their original places! LOL!!

3. What do you want to be when you grow up? That's a hard one for me. It's pretty sad to say but I don't have aspirations like that. I never have. About the only thing I've thought about being was a girls basketball coach. I wanted to be like the coaches I had growing up. They were a huge influence on my life and so much more than just a "coach". I wanted to be able to be that for young girls.

4. You only have 1 food that you can eat for the rest of your life....what's for dinner? A plump and juicy cooked to perfection, T-bone steak!

5. You are an actress....who is your leading man? This too is a hard one for me....seeing as how I am such a TV/Movie actor junkie. I know way to much about this particular subject from professional info to personal but if I had to choose I have 3 that would be my dream but of those my top one would be Tom Hanks.

Hi friends,

I am back but not for long. Just wanted to say that I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!! Ours was great and we were so happy to be with our friends and family and knowing we'd be back near them very soon made it just a bit sweeter!

I am now packing boxes, making tons of phone calls and trying to get ready to move "home". So, it will be another two weeks or so before I will post again....unless I get some time to do it before then. Please keep us in your prayers that everything goes smoothly.

Thanks! TTYL! :0)

I just wanted to make a quick post and say that it'll be a couple of weeks before I get back on and blog. We'll be out of town for Christmas and probably won't be back to our house here in Magnolia until Christmas break is over. Then it will be packing and trying to get the school transfer taken care of. Not that it's that unusual that I go a long period of time between posts but this time I have a real excuse! LOL!! So, until I get back MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Love and blessings,
Tracie

The Cactus Cuties sing Amazing Grace

I loved these girls when I saw their video of them singing the National Anthem a few years ago at at Texas Tech basketball game. This is a more recent video of them.

Amazing Grace is one of my favorite hyms.
Hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas!

Home....I'm going home!

WOW!!! I still can't believe how awesome God is! Just when you think you've got things all figured out, things change. I personally feel like that's God's way of reminding me that I don't control anything. After being away from home, Red Oak, for almost a year I was getting settled and really okay with the original plan for us to be here at least two years. We've had one almost homecoming but even then I did not feel like it was God's timing and when it fell through I was sad but I was also sure that here was where we were meant to be at that time. Since then I really made an effort to make this place "home" and in that I made some new friends, those who I will miss a lot. However, I feel very confident in my spirit that this is truly God's timing and plan for our family. The last year has been a great growing year for me. I have learned a lot about myself, learned even more about who I was created to be, and how to achieve that. The people that God placed in my life here have been so amazing. Through my "Just Moved" bible study I learned how much moving can really affect you and your family and how to make the best of situations that we don't necessarily like. How to seek out the reasons that you get placed where God puts you. I have developed a huge desire to start hosting a ladies bible study in my home. I have about three already in mind that I'd love to do. There is also a huge ministry opportunity to bring "Just Moved" into the Red Oak area. That is something I'd love to work on. I have learned a lot about my marriage and how to be grateful and thankful rather than a complainer and thinker of the old phrase "the grass in greener on the other side". Don't get me wrong I am still a huge work in progress but this move has given me the tools and lessons and the direction that I need to become the wife, mother, and friend that I was created to be.

So, I just want to say thank you Lord for all you've done for me. Thanks to all of my "old" friends that let me know that I was not forgotten. Thank you to my "new" friends for accepting me and you all will NOT be forgotten.

May each of you be blessed this Christmas and may your 2009 be the best year for you yet!

I Must Apologize.....SORRY!

Well obviously as you all can see I have not posted again on my Beauty by the Book. I really,really,really wanted to post on this daily.....okay twice a week......well at least once a week. Not really working for me right now. I thought I'd let you all know that it's just not going to happen right now. There is a lot of craziness (as I am sure I am NOT alone) going on in the Perkins house these days and I just can't get my stuff together. I don't want it to be rushed and just thrown out there, I want to make sure that what I choose to share is good and most importantly from God and not me. So, I am going to wait and finish that series up once I get things back to "normal" around here. Thanks for understanding! Much love and lots of prayers to you all!

Tracie

A Letter to Santa

I got this in an email from a friend and thought it was so cute and so true. p.s. if you let any of your little ones that still believe don't let them read this....

Dear Santa,
I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited their doctor's office more than my own doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out -- over several Christmases.

Since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles; and who knows when I'll find any more free time in the next 18 years, so now - -

*** Here are my Christmas wishes ***

* I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (-in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

* I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

* If you're hauling big-ticket items this year, I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

* On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes, Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

* I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, 'Don't eat in the l iving room' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

* If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

*If you don't mind, I could also use a few miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

*It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing, and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his red crayon back. Have a safe trip Santa, and remember to leave your wet boots by the door, and come in and dry off, so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.
Yours always with love and appreciation,
A Mom

P.S. One more thing . . You can cancel all my requests, if you can keep my children 'young' enough to believe in Santa.