Farewell, 2006

Update (1/1/06 - 11:05pm)
Please see La Shawn Barber's Happy New Year!!! post.
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What a year. I was just perusing CNN.com and I noticed the annual year-end review below the fold of the page. It amazes me what we Americans consider to be the most "important" news of the year. I just want to know why Paul McCartney's split from his wife was even included as a choice? Bah.

The top news stories of the year in my opinion and in no particular order include the horrible Sago Mine disaster, Continued tragedy and disaster in Darfur, conviction and execution of Saddam Hussein, the death of famed "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, the Democrats taking control of the US House of Representatives during midterm elections in November, Fox News journalists Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig taken hostage and ultimately released, the death of CNET Senior Editor James Kim, the shady investigation and accusations by North Carolina District Attorney Mike Nifong into the rape that was obviously NEVER committed by members of the Duke Lacrosse team, Rummy resigning his post as US Secretary of Defense, and the Amish school tragedy in Pennsylvania.

Also, we lost quite a few celebrities this year, especially toward the end of the year. There was the loss of entertainers Lou Rawls and Shelly Winters, singer Wilson Pickett, and civil rights activist Coretta Scott King in January, actor Franklin Cover (Tom Willis, "The Jeffersons") and beloved actor Don Knotts in February, famed baseball player Kirby Puckett and Dana Reeve (wife of Christopher Reeve) in March, producer Aaron Spelling in June, legendary actor/comedian Red Buttons in July, actor Mickey Hargitay and US pro golfer Byron Nelson in September, actress Tamara Dobson (Cleopatra Jones) and famed former Celtics coach Red Auerbach in October, 60 minutes co-anchor/host Ed Bradley, actor Jack Palance, R&B singer Gerald Levert, famed Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, and "Mash" director Robert Altman in November, and actor Peter Boyle of "Everybody Loves Raymond", actor Mike Evans (Lionel Jefferson, "The Jeffersons"), Godfather of Soul James Brown, and former US president Gerald Ford.

I believe very strongly in New Year's Resolutions for myself. This has worked out very well for me over the past two years. I am more than aware of most of my weaknesses, and I resolve to begin 2007 by trying to gain a better understanding of what my strengths are. I also resolve to be more aware of how others perceive me. I think that most of us know how we wish that others saw us, but that really means nothing. I resolve to continue the great job with my weight reduction/fitness resolution from 2006. I have already surpassed my goal, and now I just want to maintain and maybe even consider a part-time career in some area of fitness/training, who knows. Lastly, I resolve to take better care of my castle. Our home is sacred, and as woman of the house I should be investing more time in household duties than I have been.

Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas to all! Chris and I finally got our Christmas tree up...wait for it...on Christmas Eve! Yes, we definitely set a record this year for world's biggest procrastinators.







Christmas morning was wonderful. The kids let Chris and I sleep in a little while as he and I were up ALL night finishing everything up for the next day (decorating, getting toys all set up, cooking, you name it). The kids put on some play clothes, and headed downstairs and were welcomed by a beautiful tree with loads of presents that weren't there the evening before. They tore into their gifts with looks of disbelief on their faces that these were actually ALL their toys! They're only 3 and 1 years old so this commercialized Christmas thing is still more for Chris and I. :-)







After playing with their toys all morning, it was time for afternoon naps. While the kids napped, Chris and I put the finishing touches on the dishes we were taking over to my sister's home for Christmas dinner. We woke up the kids around 2pm, and headed to Decatur to meet up with the rest of the family. There was both baked AND fried turkey, ham, hen, grilled corn-on-the-cob, greens, cornbreads, dressing, rolls, macaroni and cheese (compliments of me), potato salad (me again), and all kinds of desserts. YUM doesn't even begin to describe! By the way, Olan slept until literally the last 30 minutes we were there! :-)
















My prayers are with everyone this holiday season. This has been a rough year and a rough holiday season for a lot of people. Let's keep one another in our prayers. May the Lord send a little extra joy and comfort to all of those whose hearts are aching. And may those that are already full of joy be anointed to spread joy and comfort to their fellow man.

First Drum

Grams and Pop Pop got Olan his first drum for his 3rd birthday! Everyone whose around him regularly knows that he LOVES drums. My mom grew weary of watching him play air drums, so she got one for him! Enjoy this video of him serenading us with it for the first time!

RIP Mike Evans: 1949-2006

For those of you who are fans of "The Jeffersons" you will remember Mike Evans as the 'original' Lionel Jefferson. He also starred on "All in the Family" with the same role. He died of throat cancer Thursday, December 14, at the age of 57.



I just found out that he was also a co-creator of the sitcom "Good Times", which is the role of Lionel Jefferson had to be recast. Interestingly, "Good Times" was created in the 70's, which means that Evans was in his early 20's at the time. Very impressive!

Evans had a very cool, happy-go-lucky demeanor that I really enjoyed watching come to life on screen. I was only a little girl, but I remember being pretty bummed when a "new" Lionel Jefferson appeared. Thankfully, Evans returned to his role as Lionel Jefferson for the last few seasons. Unfortunately, "The Jeffersons" had begun to lose it's flavor by then and even Evans was unable to season it much.

He and his talent will definitely be missed.

Source:[CNN.com]

Throwback Jam of the Week

You all don't know about that Tribe Called Quest. This song was made back before Hip Hop became complete garbage.

December 20: Winter Solstice

Update (3:00pm)

I found some more accurate information on about.com regarding Winter Solstice.

"In 2006 at precisely 7:22 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 21 (00:22 UTC on December 22) winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere and summer begins in the Southern Hemisphere." (read more)

Guess I jumped the gun a bit. :-)
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For those of you that hate leaving home in the dark, and arriving home in the dark, keep your chin up! Today is December 20, which means that after today, our days will begin getting progressively longer. I went outside yesterday at 5:00pm to check my mail, and our mail delivery woman was just approaching my mailbox. She had her headlights on. That just doesn't make any sense to me.

In yesterday's mail, I received 2 of the 3 new books I purchased with the gift card that Chrissy L got me for my birthday. I bought Dale Carnegie's "Lifetime Plan for Success", Shelly Plettl's "If I Gotta Cook" cookbook, and Mark Helprin's "Winter Tale". I've already begun reading the Carnegie book.



After the holidays, I'll delve into the cookbook a little more. I have a friend who swears by it when she prepares meals during the week. She invited Chris and I over to dinner and the entree that she prepared came from this cookbook; it was DIVINE!



Today is Chris's last exam of the semester. This is also the day that we begin cleaning our house from top to bottom so that we can put up our Christmas tree. Yeah, I said it, we haven't put up our tree yet. One may ask "Why even bother this late in the game?" But we've got piles of wrapped gifts sitting in our living room for the kids that are waiting to occupy residency under pine needles.

Also, my strep throat issue has come back AGAIN. This makes the third time since October 30. Yes, I'm definitely starting to worry. Strep throat is nothing to play around with as it can lead to more devastating infections throughout the body if not treated properly. The only reason I haven't called my doctor this third time is because I don't want him to refer to me to a surgeon to have my tonsils removed. YIKES! I promise to take ALL of the medication completely...this time. Geesh.

Speaking of my Prince Charming...

Today is his birthday! Chris is never one to make a fuss about his birthday. In fact, he doesn't make a fuss over himself ever! But I enjoy making a big deal over him. He's the love of my life, and I enjoy making him smile whenever I can.

We're having dinner this Friday evening at one of the 10 restaurants in the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group. My boss gave us gift cards of a pretty high dollar amount as a thank you for all the hard work on CNN 2006 Elections coverage. Chris and I are big seafood lovers, so we'll probably end up at Atlanta Fish Market. We can't wait either; we haven't had a date since sometime late this summer. We're LONG overdue. :-)

My Prince Charming

12 years ago, back in 1994, I was a student at University of Georgia. I decided to come back to Atlanta for the summer and get a fun job. I wanted a job a Six Flags Over GA, but I didn't want to be stuck inside of one of the restaurants or at one of the rides all day long; I'm that person that needs the ability to move from place to place frequently. :-) I can't sing exceptionally well, and I hadn't been formally trained in dance for many, many years. This meant that a job as one of the performers was out of the question. I decided that the only job I would be capable of and willing to accept was one in the Security dept. I had so much respect for the few women walking around in their uniforms looking so important. I wanted to be one of them. My mom made a few calls for me, and long story short, I got the job!

After working there for about a month, I remember seeing a very tall, handsome, nicely built young security officer walking toward me. I'd never seen him before. We security officers referred to one another by our last names since that's what was displayed on our name tags. He said, "Hey there, Hill." I said Hi, and smiled my little shy smile. I looked at his name tag, and it read "C.Gill". Little did I know that I would end up taking this last name and becoming his wife about 5 years later!



Our wedding took place on December 18, 1999 around 12pm! It still remains the happiest day of my life. Chris and I have been through so much, seen so many changes, but it has all been ultimately in the form of growth. That hot summer day day back in 1994, I never could have guessed that this man I was meeting for the first time would be my soul mate, and the father of my children!


My love for him continues to grow every year. That statement has always sounded so cliche to me, and I didn't think that was possible to love Chris more than I did then. He has always been my everything! I've always wanted him near me every waking moment of the day; that will never change. He is so strong and faithful in the world of God; his influence is the reason that I actively serve the Lord the way that I do now. He is the perfect complement to who I am. I will never be able to thank God enough for the awesome blessing that is Chris Gill. I love you baby. Happy Anniversary!!

Christmas at Centennial Park

I will begin by stating that today is a little tough for me. Today is the day that my family was supposed to load up in an 8-passenger van and head down to Orlando to spend the week at Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. But I ended up losing a lot of PTO days with everyone in my family being sick over the past few months. A month ago, we decided to postpone the trip until the first week in March 2007 during Chris's Spring Break week.

On a more cheery note, the weather has been so nice this week in Atlanta! I have never been a fan of cold weather. Give me Autumn or Spring anytime, but keep Winter short as possible, I always say! Well it actually feels like late Summer in the afternoons in the ATL! I adore short-sleeve weather. :-)

A co-worker and I took a break and walked across the street to Centennial Park to get a few pictures of the Christmas decorations. It's much prettier when it's all lit up, but I would have to get to work SUPER early to get those pics! I'm definitely not staying super late. :-)


This tree is right outside of our office on the way to the park


One entrance to the inside of Centennial Park


Possibly the biggest tree I've ever seen.


I took this from inside my car while sitting at a traffic light; I drive through Centennial Park to get to the parking garage.

My Firstborn

I can remember Olan's birth as vividly as if it were yesterday. It was a chilly Sunday afternoon on December 14, 2003 at 12:01pm. He entered the world with his eyes already open, looking EXACTLY like his daddy! From that day forward, he has brought me nothing but supreme joy.




When he was 4 days old we took him to see his pediatrician for the first time. On the way back from his appointment, a very old song from the late 70's called "Never Knew Love Like This" by Stephanie Mills was playing. I felt that it was appropriate for what I was feeling. I had never understood the true depth of unconditional love until he arrived. Every little thing that he does every single day is so adorable to me. Even through the terrible two's, I still found that I had to restrain myself from hugging him every few minutes. He is just that precious to me, and I can't imagine what life was like before he got here.




He is 3 years old today. I get emotional just thinking about where the time has gone. I overheard Chris talking to Olan a few days ago, telling him "I remember when you were a few weeks old and you would take naps on my chest." There is nothing like witnessing the emotion Chris feels for Olan; his birth was truly the first time I ever saw Chris unsure how to keep himself composed.




I thank God everyday for my precious, beautiful babies. Not just because of the joy that they bring me, but also because of all that I have learned about how to love more. I have really enjoyed being a part of this club called Motherhood. Thank you, Olan, for making the journey the last 3 years so easy, wonderful and fulfilling. Mommy loves you!!

Zoegirl: Things you may not have known

I blogged last week about my experience at Revolve Tour 2006 (See I'm Baaack). I promised to blog about the group ZOEgirl (Chrissy Conway, in particular) and I will now do just that. Even if you do not listen to Contemporary Christian music, I have a feeling that you will still find the following information noteworthy at the very least.


(Chrissy on left)
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.org

Chrissy Conway is a member of the group. She has always wanted a career in television or music from an early age. She began getting small roles here and there as an on-set extra when she was 14. A few years later, she decided to audition for an R&B group looking for another member. Even though she had no knowledge of or experience with R&B music at all, she was chosen as a member of the group called Cherish. The group consisted of Chrissy, and two other girls named Sharon, and Alecia.

Cherish moved to Atlanta, where they signed with LaFace records and created an album. The girls were eventually told by company execs that they needed to lose weight/get in shape. She says that she worked out with a physical trainer for months and months, and eventually fell in love with him. She even moved in with him. At some point, LaFace decided that they wanted to drop Chrissy and Sharon, and keep Alecia as a solo artist. You may have heard of Alecia. She is now referred to as P!nk, the pop singer!

Chrissy was devastated as anyone would have been, and her relationship with the trainer faltered. Her favorite group at the time was En Vogue, and she went to a Crusade Gospel tour that was to feature them. En Vogue never performed, as only one of their members actually showed up, but Chrissy gave her life over to Christ that night. She began reading her Bible regularly. Later down the road, she was offered a contract with Def Jam records, but couldn't decide whether she should take it (you can tell how different she must have become!) She prayed about it, asking the Lord to guide her in the direction that He wanted her to go in.

The very next day, she received a phone call from Kristin Swinford telling her that there was an all-girl Christian group that needed a member. She accepted without hesitation and moved to Nashville! Chrissy, Kristin, and Alisa became the group we now know as ZOEgirl, top selling artists of all time on Sparrow Records. Chrissy eventually met her prince charming, a very nice man by the name of James Katina (of the group The Katinas) They were married and have a brand new baby.


Photo courtesy of thekatinas.com

Chrissy's testimony of hope, shattered dreams, lonliness, and new found hope in the Lord was very moving and made a huge difference to the girls at Revolve. You may also not have heard that ZOEgirl's last performance as a group was at Revolve in Atlanta. Two of the members have recently married and become moms (one of them being Chrissy), and all three of them are moving in different directions for now. Their music has been very inspirational to young women, and they will definitely leave a footprint in the Contemporary Christian music industry.

Rosie O'Donnell...just stop talking

Last week, Rosie O'Donnell mocked an entire nation of people from her seat during the taping of "The View", a worthless hour of television on ABC. She was making reference to all of the fallout from Danny DeVito's drunken visit to "The View" last week, and gave an attempt at being funny by imitating what a Chinese newscast about the DeVito situation would sound like.

Of course, I'm not surprised. In my experience, the people who preach "tolerance and acceptance" the most tend to be the most offensive toward minorities. You'll notice it if you sit there, listen, and let them run their pieholes for long enough. They yell "racism" and "bigotry" and "insensivity" the loudest, yet they offend the loudest and most often. Hilarious...except not really.

Witness the woman who runs her piehole more than any other human known to man, Rosie O'Donnell. Allahpundit has the video clip.

Also, see Michelle Malkin's article: Hey, Rosie O'Donnell: Did you teach
your kids to speak "ching chong," too?

Here is the link to Michelle's HotAir video blog that covers this as well: http://hotair.com/

RIP James Kim

This was definitely one of the more heartbreaking stories that I've ever heard. I'm sure we were all following the story over the past week of the family of four that went missing. Senior CNET.com Editor James Kim, his wife, Kati, and two daughters (4 and 8 months old) set out on the snowy roads after visiting relatives during the Thanksgiving holidays not knowing what awaited them.

I can't imagine what must have been going through the minds and hearts of this family after the first day went by, let alone the next 3 or 4. I'm sure there were times when they were certain that they'd never be found. The saddest thing about this story to me is the fact that James Kim more than likely died with the thought that he had failed his wife and children. Actually, Mr. Kim sacrificed himself to save his family, and that is more than anyone can ask for from another human being.

God Bless his family, friends, and co-workers.

CNN has a story which calls Kim's efforts to save his family superhuman

Michelle Malkin has more here.

Full story at CNET.com.

Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston...not so much

Apparently, the pair has split for good. I found the link below courtesy of vince-vaughn.com.

http://www.playfuls.com/news_0003683_Vincent_Vaughn_and_Jennifer_Aniston_Finally_Over_for_Good.html

I'm Baaack!

No point making excuses for why I haven't posted in so long; you all understand. It's called life. :-)

Last weekend, the Revolve Tour rolled through Atlanta. It's an annual tour that is designed for teenage girls. It was held at Gwinnett Arena, which I was pleasantly surprised to discover is a fabulous venue! There were singers, speakers, and lots of activities throughout the day. We took about 12 girls from our church, and had an amazing time. The tour was held on Friday and Saturday. The highlights of the weekend included testimonies from Natalie Grant who I have a new respect and love for, Tammy Trent (who I absolutely love and have been following for the last 4 years), and Chrissy Conway from ZOEgirl (I will blog more about her a little later).

As I said, it was a wonderful time, even for us ladies who went with the girls! Since it began on Friday evening, and resumed on Saturday morning, we had a sleepover at the church which was a BLAST!! The only thing that we will do differently next year is sign up earlier so that we can get seats on the floor of the arena. Here are some pictures from the weekend: