Scott & I ate lunch at Penguin on Saturday.  Penguin has been a Charlotte staple since 1954.  Gourmet magazine even named their burger the #1 burger in the nation and Guy Fieri stopped by for an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Urbanspoon.com - Charlotte (which I am a big fan of) has named Penguin the #1 cheap restaurant in town. 

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Of course, I just had to order the nation's #1 burger while Scott ordered his "usual" - a dixie chicken sandwich.  Good times were had by all both us.  My only complaint was that I didn't save room for banana pudding.  Penguin is a dive and you will see some very colorful characters but it is well worth the trip.  And... while you are there, see if you can spot where Guy Fieri spraypainted his face and autographed the wall. 

Now for some great news:  My sister-in-law and the kids are home from Damascus, Syria.  Welcome home Rana, Laura and Daniel!  Well, I say welcome home but Rana had been to visit her "home" in Damascus.  She has 2 homes now!  We are thankful that they had a wonderful trip and returned safely. 

It was a late night for all of us.  Due to severe thunderstorms, their flight out of Atlanta was delayed for several hours and didn't arrive until after midnight.  I crawled into my bed at 2:45 am.  

Rana brought me some really cool gifts that I will have to tell you about later.  And...I still need to show you my new rimless glasses!  So far...very few people have even noticed.  I bet everyone is thinking that I look a little weirder than normal but can't quite figure out why....

Baby Jay

My Sunday School class prepared a meal for Baby Jay's family tonight and I had the honor of helping to deliver it.  So that means...I got to meet Baby Jay!  He's every bit as perfect as I thought he'd be.  What an answer to prayer it is to have Jay home from the hospital and the whole family under one roof.  Even though we all think he is perfect, he will have one or more heart surgeries in his future.  Jay's family has a strong faith and will trust God every step of the way.  As I was driving to work one morning this week, "Let The Waters Rise" by Mikeschair came on the radio and I thought of Jay's parents.  Here are some of the lyrics to this beautiful song: 

Don't know where to begin
Its like my world's caving in
And I try but I can't control my fear
Where do I go from here?

Sometimes its so hard to pray
When You feel so far away
But I am willing to go
Where you want me to
God, I trust You

There's a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You

Blackie, the Suicidal Rufous Sided Towhee?

My dear friend Barbara pointed out to me that Blackie - previously known as "Blackie, the Sucidal Robin"- is really Blackie, the suicidal Rufous Sided Towhee.  I think she is right.  My friends Lorraine & Liz have also agreed that they don't think Blackie is a robin either.

Here's a picture of a Rufous Sided Towhee:

Props to Mr. Dave Dube on Photonet for this beautiful photo.  I'm used to seeing a face like this either peeking in or beating his head into my windows.

Here's a picture of a robin (there are many types):

And here's a picture of a Bernese Mountain Dog:

OK....I added the Berner not only because they are the exact same colors but because they are awesome! 

Sort of Wordless Wednesday - Peeping Tom

Meet Blackie, the suicidal Robin.  He has been attacking my windows for several weeks.  All of the white marks...Blackie did it.  (If you click on the photos...you can see Blackie even better.)

PS.  Blackie is driving Greta crazy!  :-)

Sunday

I know, I'm on a roll with the lazy titles.  Today hasn't been an "easy" day.  Nothing major...just one of "those" days.... 

I thought that I was going to be able to give a good news update on Baby Jay but all of that changed last night.  Jay's parents were able to bring him home from the hospital on Thursday but due to rapid breathing and an accelerated heart beat, he was taken to the emergency room at 11:30 pm and admitted to the Children's Hospital once again.  Please pray for guidance and wisdom for the doctors as they try to diagnose little Jay's problem.  And...please be in prayer for his parents and sisters that they might have peace and comfort during this time.  I'll keep you updated.

Thursday night I was sitting on my back porch watching my birds enjoying their bird feeders when I realized that a deer family was slowly making their way towards my yard.  I ran to get my camera and when I returned I saw the smallest deer I have ever seen in my life!  This fawn could not have been any larger than my brother's dog, Sophie.  Oh....it was just the cutest thing you've ever seen.  I only saw what I assume is "momma" and the little baby.  I tried to get pictures but it heard my camera and ran.

Same story Saturday morning.  I was watching the birds while eating breakfast on the porch when I realized that momma and baby were in the woods again.  I tried to get some pictures but then my dad (who lives next door) started up the tractor and the little family took off. Yet again, the pictures aren't good enough to post.  :-(

However, I do have some happy news to report.  I have been having a terrible time keeping ants out of my hummingbird feeder.  Well, I hadn't been able to keep them out UNTIL I talked to one of the workers at Wild Bird Center and she showed me an extra ant moat that I could buy for my feeder.  So far, it has worked wonders.  No ants! Here's a picture:

Your eyes are not deceiving you...that is a little hummer on the right side of the feeder.  

A few moments ago I looked beside me and saw that Greta is with me.  She is sitting beside a pile of dirty clothes and a plant that has some serious health issues. 

The poor cat grew tired of having the camera in her face so she jumped into my chair. 

I probably shouldn't admit this but the white box in the background held a chocolate round cake that I bought at Dean & Deluca.  It was pretty awesome.

Tuesday

I know what you are thinking...you are thinking that is a great title for today's post.  Thank you for thinking that.  Warning: today's post is rather random.   

Saturday, mom and I ate at Rippington's - a restaurant in my hometown.  We were lucky enough to get a window table.  Naturally, I took a picture.

I'm not sure why it looks so dark...it was actually very bright where we were sitting.  Funny thing about a small town, while we were sitting there, we saw a friend of ours walk by with his new bride.  Congratulations Andrew.  (Like he even knows about this blog!)

Some of my favorite stories about my town came from my grandmother.  You can't really see it in this small picture, but a train track runs through the middle of the town.  My grandmother told me that during World War I, soldier trains used to come through the town.  Well, some people would stand along the tracks and watch the trains full of soldiers passing by.  While the trains were rolling very slowly through town, the soldiers would yell out their names so that the people (mostly girls) standing around could write them down and write letters to them off in battle.  Isn't that cool?

Finally, I'd like to ask anyone who may be reading this blog to please say a prayer for my good friends the Pattersons and their baby, Jay.  Baby Jay was born Sunday and has just been transferred to the Levine Children's Hospital where he is undergoing testing for rapid breathing.  My heart is heavy for this family and for their precious newborn boy.  I hope to add a "Good News" update in the near future.

Happy Birthday Thein!

It's hard to believe that our little girl is turning 16 tomorrow...  Well, the "little" girl that Scott and I sponsor through World Vision.  I just opened up her annual report card and could not believe how big she is getting.  We've been sponsoring her for 10 years now.  Here's her most current picture: 

Isn't she beautiful?  Thankfully, she survived the horrific cyclone that devastated her country in 2008.

Sadly, I see that she is still taking after me as it says, yet again, that her academic performance is "fair".  Happy Birthday to Thein!  My goal for this week is to write her and her brother (through sponsorship) a letter.  I've been a little slack lately.  (kicking myself right now)

***Update***
Just moments after I published this post I opened my mail and received some very surprising & disturbing news.  The boy that we sponsor through Compassion International has been removed from their program by his guardians.  This is sad news indeed as he loved going to school and was always excited to talk about the different programs that he was involved in.  His name is Surja Malto Barnabas and he lives in India.  Please pray that God would wrap His arms around Surja and protect him.  Pray that God would be a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path wherever he goes.

Birthday Celebrations & Biker Bars

I can't believe the holiday weekend is over already.  I hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th of July and stopped to remember what this holiday is all about - America's birthday.  Happy Birthday America.  A lot of people have given their lives so we can live in freedom and I for one am very grateful. 

I can't say that I am a fan of fireworks and frankly, I wish only professionals were aloud to shoot them...however, I do enjoy watching the fireworks from Washington, DC every year.  It's really the only time I get to hear all of my favorite patriotic marching songs to include Stars & Stripes Forever, Yankee Doodle etc.  Maybe it is weird that I enjoy hearing those songs but nothing beats watching the Armed Forces shoot off a bunch of cannons during the 1812 Overture.  I wonder why our high school marching band never played that song.  I'm sure there were plenty of guys that would have loved to fire a cannon. 

After church on the 4th, mom & dad grilled hamburgers.  Later that night, Scott grilled chicken.  It wasn't really a diet friendly holiday around our house. 

That brings me to today.  I went to lunch with my good friends Sandra & Christy.  They asked me to pick the restaurant so naturally, I picked a biker bar.  We went to Mac's Speed Shop in South End.  I picked Mac's because it is repeatedly mentioned on urbanspoon.com as the best BBQ in our city and one of the top 3 "cheap" restaurants in town.  I think the reviewers on urbanspoon might just be right.  The atmosphere was really interesting and the food was pretty awesome.  Thankfully, Mac's has ample parking because this restaurant was slammed.  Here's a picture I took in the parking lot. 

Finally, after "pigging" out, we decided to do a little shopping. 

I had just gotten home when my brother called and asked me if he could borrow my old truck to take Sophie to the vet.  Then he asked me if I would go along as well.  So....

Poor Sophie...she's not a big fan of riding in a car.  

Sophie's vet suspects that she may have a thyroid problem.  I wouldn't be surprised if she does.  She would fit right in as my mom, me, & my cat (Greta) all have broken thyroids. Well, if she does, we'll know what to do about it!

Tomorrow it's back to work for Julie. 

Nothing Exciting

If you are looking for something even remotely interesting to read, you might as well close this page out and start over somewhere else.  Right now, it's either post something or clean my house, so you see which direction I am going.  Wednesday, I went to the eye doctor because I am so ready for some new glasses.  My eye doctor of 20+ years retired last year, so I had to find another one.  I chose a doctor that is much closer to my house due to the fact that when my eyes are dilated, I am pretty useless for about 5 hours.  I really like my new doctor however, it is a little strange when you start having doctors that are much younger than yourself.  Her practice has all of the latest technology and I even got to see pictures of the insides of my eyes.  Everything looked good EXCEPT that my optic nerves are much bigger than the normal person.  She has a feeling that it is probably normal for me since both of them are the same size but she is going to keep an eye on them.  (hehehe - an eye on them)  I tell you all this because I KNEW IT.  I knew that something was different with my nerves.  Maybe this has something to do with my anxiety disorder.  Maybe I'm reading too much into this.  Maybe I should be cleaning my house. 

I am excited to say that I found some glasses that I love.  Rimless.  I have been wanting another pair of rimless glasses for a while.  I'm going to post a picture of me with my last pair of rimless glasses.

This is a picture of Rana, Me & Rana's Mom in 2004.  Look at me...you can't see my glasses.  THAT'S IT!  That's what I am excited about.  It gets old being a 4-eyes all of the time. My new glasses will be here in 10-12 days and of course, I'll show them to you. 

Are you still reading this post?  Wow...you have reached a new low.  Shouldn't YOU be cleaning your house?  I think I'm going to post some random pictures now.

She's such a good kitty.  She always washes behind her ears.  Here she is taking a cat nap with me.  Well, I'm the one that's still asleep.  The camera woke her up. 

Have a happy 4th!  I'm sure I'll have some more equally exciting pictures to post.