.....And Now, For Your Stop Light Entertainment.....

Okay, Kellee, this is for you.

The other day some friends and I were talking about my blog. Someone else overheard us, asked me what a blog was and I told him it was kind of like an Internet 'diary', where I write random thoughts, stories, adventures and opinions to whomever wants to see them. We laughed about how a person's blog posting hopefully is not going to be as private as a diary entry, but that got me thinking......What would be something that I could divulge to anyone who happens to land on "A Rainey Kind of Day" that is not necessarily my usual type of posting but not too embarrassing? I came up with this:

Every one who knows me well knows that there are a few things I do EVERY day, other than what every person does daily. They are, in no particular order, drink strong coffee, drive great distances with at least 1 moody person in the back seat, pick lots of yellow dog hair off of my clothes, make sure EVERYONE in our house takes ALL of their medications!!!!!!, sit still for 30 seconds and think "OMG - this is my life", tell Astro to get out of the garbage, pray to God to get through the next hour, thank God for getting me through the last hour, wipe Astro's muddy paws even though the other 2 dogs are perfectly clean, tell Astro it's a darn good thing he's so cute, dance and sing. Today I'm going to focus on the last 2- dancing and singing.

I love to sing. I sing every day, to every song I hear (except rap - me and rap - they don't jive, man). See what I mean. I don't even have the lingo down correctly. Anyways, I don't think I'm capable of just listening to a song. I HAVE to sing it. Even if I don't know it. Once you've sung in choir long enough and are familiar with music you can tell pretty much tell what notes/key changes are coming up next. I love my singing and God loves my singing. My children used to love my singing when they were under the age of 10. Nothing calmed them down more than me singing to them.

The only problem is that my voice is only a so-so kind of voice. I'm fine to sing in a big choir, and once in a while I can surprise myself and realize that I've sung something well, but for the most part, I'm just a marginal singer. Now this is hard for me to admit. Okay, okay, stop your laughing! Admit? What's to admit, you say? You've known this all along, you say? What's hard for me is that I'm used to only doing the things I do well. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, in case you haven't noticed. :) I LOVE singing so much I'm willing to lay my flaws out for everyone to hear just so I can sing. If I really got bold, I would love to take voice lessons, but I might have to take a sip of tequila (oops, not tequila - remember Sept. 1983) coconut rum to sing by myself in front of a voice teacher. Only my husband and children have to listen to me sing because they love me and wouldn't be able to find anything in the pantry, have matching socks, know where the stamps are, or when it's time to go to the dentist without me. If they don't let me sing, I walk! I mean it!!! I pretend I don't see the eye rolling.

So, I've confessed the singing part to you, well most of it, but as you can imagine, along with singing comes dancing. My passion for dancing is just about as strong as it is for singing. You can't have 1 without the other in my book. That's why I love the Joyful Noise choir. I get to sing AND dance with a bunch of little ones who don't complain about my lack of talent and the other leaders don't say anything because they are my friends and wouldn't hurt my feelings. It's the best of both worlds. The other place where I do most of my singing and dancing is in my car. Yup, in the car. I carry a large variety of music with me, everything from Alan Jackson to Enya, Aerosmith to Josh Groban, Phil Collins to Christian music, classical to Buddy Holly to Andrew Lloyd Webber music. Right now, I'm on a movie soundtrack kick. I go back and forth between Mamma Mia, Hairspray and Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat (we have the video production w/ Donny Osmand as Joseph). You tell me how I'm supposed to sing these songs without dancing!!! Yea, uh huh, just try it yourself and see if you're successful. You really can do a fair amount of moving around as you drive and still be safe. Obviously I don't move my feet, but you can move your shoulders, hips and hiney, make hand gestures (not the rude kind - the ones that go along with the ones from the movie, you silly willys) and of course the head and neck. Remember, I am half Egyptian.

So, while you drive down the road and see other drivers talking on their cell phones, eating, putting on makeup, picking their noses (only men do this, because women know that people can still see you), shaving, etc... you can find me belting out "Good Morning Baltimore" or "I Can Hear the Bells" from Hairspray and doing as many of the motions as I can (and still be safe!). When I get to a stop light, baby watch out 'cause there are no holds barred. I'm performing full force and I don't care who's watching. I could totally see myself on some stage somewhere. Maybe not Broadway. Maybe not even Tomball Theatre but hey, in my head, I'm awesome!

So, this is my sad but true diary/blog confession. Now you know the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Sadly, God did not bless me with the talent that I think I'm supposed to have, but the older I get, the less I care what others think. My friends and family love me for who I am, I can laugh at my self and as for the rest of 'em..........well, I'll have to save those words for my real diary!

Beth, the Plagiarizer - I Should be Ashamed, but I'm Not!

I don't have to think of a clever post today. My friend, Hilary, did it for me in her post titled "I Get Knocked Down .....". ! Click here and you'll understand.

Go ahead, I'll wait!

She wrote exactly how I think and feel, and she got a video embedded in probably 1/4 of the time it takes me to do it. This explains why she's one of my best friends.

Hey, I remember that Chumbawumba video......I was probably living in Austin, had even bigger hair than I have now, wearing lots of eyeshadow and mascara (big in the '80's), leggings (it's okay, I was much thinner) and flats. If it was my freshman year, I was probably drinking and then throwing up somewhere. Hey, I threw up in some of the best places Austin had to offer. That's what happens when you don't drink in high school and you don't know about Everclear, or Long Island Iced Teas or mixing the two on the same night. I can't drink margaritas to this very day because of a baaaaaad night in Sept. 1983. That's the first and last time I EVER had tequila. If I even get the slightest of whiffs of tequila I'm instantly transported back to The Castillian dorm, 14th floor (I think). Ugh, I think my stomach just did a flip flop just typing about it.

Okay, ......... how did I get from our woes of 2008 to my tequila adventure of 1983. That's what happens to you when you're under stress and you've had a year like Hilary's and mine. Oh my goodness, I'm in sad shape. Pass the Tums, please.

Bye Bye 2008! Glad to See You Go!

Happy New Year! The Raineys started out 2009 just the way we hope the year goes ...... peaceful, relaxed and happy. Rick and I slept in while the kids were entertaining themselves with their Christmas goodies (I can't say 'toys' anymore). Rick made a great breakfast and coffee and we puttered around with no real agenda. It was great.

Josh's favorite gift was Guitar Hero for his Wii system. He's really good on the guitar and now the drums, although I can only do the guitar so far. Today we broke out the microphone. So, while Josh was the drummer I tried my hand at being the lead singer. Rick was our audience and I guess I must have done a pretty good job because Rick took off his shirt, flung it over his head and then threw it at me. Wow, having a groupie is a mighty awesome thing!

A miracle occurred and we can now see the floor in Lauren's room. She's working very hard and is just about finished. Oh my, it's been 9 months in the making (or should I say 'messing') so I'm impressed that she did it in 1 week. Hey, when Lauren sets her mind to something, it's going to get done and you better just get out of the way.

We've had a great Christmas, filled with down time and busy time; being at home and visiting; being on our own and being surrounded by friends and family. Most of all it was a chance for us to regroup as a family of 4, settle our minds and bodies and remind ourselves of what is REALLY important to us in life. Now our goal is to make 2009 the best we can, regardless of the circumstances. Lord knows we all get thrown curve balls but it's how well we catch them that really matters.

The song that our children's choir will sing in January is called "Trust in the Lord" and it's one of my favorites. My family, in their kind way of laughing at my Kindergarten ways, chuckles at me when I practice my Joyful Noise songs because I'm doing the choreography (shout out to you, Hilary) as I sing and, of course, I have to put a lot of expression into my voice and motions to convey that to the kids. The song is based on my favorite scripture, although I'm far from a scripture quoting person. These words just seem to sum up what's happened to me, to our family, and I choose to have faith and trust in God, knowing that He has a plan. I don't know what those plans are (they look like stinky curve balls to me!) but He knows better and I will know why eventually. I really do trust in the Lord and will continue to in 2009. Will you?

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6)