User Posts : The Northwest Voice

Southern comfort.....not the adult beverage!

My family and I are in South Carolina....Hilton Head Island...for a much needed vacation. We flew out of Los Angeles on Saturday, June 21st and flew into Atlanta, Georgia where we stayed overnight and then drove to Hilton Head Island on Sunday. We have yet to experience one negative thus far. The roads are clear of trash and there is a law that prohibits billboards. This makes the roads clear of advertisements and causes one to focus on the beauty of the trees and foliage that is growing this time of year. As a bird lover, I am amazed at the different types of birds I've seen and by the way, everything is bigger in the south...especially the bugs!

There is a 3 hour time difference here, so we had a day or so where we were a bit off on our sleep; however, we are now on South Carolina time and I honestly do not want to return to the busyness of our lives yet. We are off to the Atlantic ocean to swim for the first time. I will write later.

As a former boogie boarding beach bum from San Luis Obispo, I can tell you that swimming in the Atlantic Ocean is like turkey burgers and fillet Mignon......no comparison! The salt content is high, but I just rubbed some chicken on my arm before grilling it. (Just kidding, of course!) The warmth of the Atlantic is like taking a salt water bath.....it does soothe the aching muscles! I'll just have to purchase 10 lbs. of epson salt and put it in my bathtub when I return home.

We visited Savannah, Georgia and toured the gorgeous historic homes and churches. We went to Paula Dean's Lady & Son's Restaurant where the atmosphere is homey and you won't leave hungry. After eating some down home southern cooking, I waddled over to a sign where I grabbed my Northwest Voice and kindly asked my husband to take the picture while people stared, but they did so with southern hospitality!

We visited the very popular Crazy Crab Eatery where we enjoyed more southern kindness and some really good seafood. We shopped at the Piggly Wiggly Supermarket where the price of food is the same, but the South Carolina peaches are SO sweet that they melt in your mouth!

We are at the end of our stay here and have started to pack up to drive back to Atlanta, Georgia where we will stay over one more night before flying back to LAX. While we have enjoyed our stay here, and completely feel welcome and will definitely come back to Hilton Head Island, we miss my parents, our dog, our friends, our church and best of all our home.....Bakersfield. Home IS where the heart is!

FX FINE ARTS CAMP

Please join Christ Church of the Valley as we present our annual Fine Arts Camp. Learn how to sing, dance, act, create costumes, design and build sets or write scripts. At the end of the week, the entire cast and crew (that's you) will present an incredible adventure-themed musical "The Quest for the M.O.G." complete with an audience of family and friends. No previous experience necessary.

When: Monday, July 21 through Saturday, July 26

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. Monday through Friday. Closing program Saturday from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Who: Students age eight through thirteen

Cost: $75.00 per student ($65 if registration is received by Sunday, June 22)

The classes:

Creative Writing-be an author and hone your talents in this fun workshop

Vocal Performance-learn basic singing skills and maybe even learn a solo for Saturday!

Dance-learn a dance number (or two) to be showcased during the final performance.

Set Building/Painting-design and help construct the backdrop for the Saturday evening performance.

Art-unleash your inner artist and create a masterpiece!

Props, Crafts/Costume-design and make the props and costumes to be used in the closing program.

Culinary Arts-have fun in the kitchen as you prepare tasty treats for each day.

Drama-exercise your acting abilitites. Who knows? You may just be a star!

Students will choose two electives. All students are automatically encrolled in the FX choir and are required to attend each session plus the closing program.

Please contact Christ Church of the Valley @ 588-2268 for further information

2008 Bakersfield Womens Shelter Fashion Show

The Bakersfield Women's Shelter recently held their 7th Annual Fashion Show. The theme for the fashion show was GOD GAVE US A RAINBOW.

Linda Pennington, Chaplain for the women's shelter, illustrated how each color of the rainbow has a spiritual meaning. She shared that the rainbow symbolized the covenant God made with man not to destroy the world in such a way again.

Dee Dee Barrett of Northeast Christian Church blessed us with her rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Samantha Levy from In Him Ministries beautifully choreographed a dance for the women's shelter worship dance group. They displayed grace and brought many to tears while they elegantly signed while dancing. I was personally touched by the amount of emotion that each lady showed while performing.

While Chaplain Pennington shared the meaning of the color of the dress each women modeled, they walked with grace and held their heads high while they modeled the dresses graciously provided by a local dress shop.

Not only did the participants of the fashion show look beautiful, but their spirits were filled with confidence and grace. There is no earthly garment that can replace that.

American Idol.....There are no other idols before me!

My daughters friend got tickets to see the American Idol rehearsal on Tuesday, 5-13-08 so I took them down to Hollywood and after several hours of being lost and getting a parking ticket, I spent 3 hours in line getting acquainted with fellow American Idol fans. Until then I didn't realize how many people are obsessed with the show, the contestants, the judges and Ryan Seacrest.

As I stood in line watching people and "interviewing" different people on their likes and dislikes of American Idol,I found myself feeling so sad for some of them. They honestly live vicareously through these soon to be stars and after watching one 31 year old women yell at someone in front of her because she was blocking her view of one of the contestants, my idea for this article came to me like a critique from an American Idol judge.

Don't get me wrong, I (as a joke, of course) held a sign reading "Middle Age Women Love Simon Cowell"; however, I like to be a jokester and it sure struck up some good conversations. People even took pictures of me holding the sign.....go figure. Anyway, on with my thoughts.....

Are people so unhappy with their lives that they have to look to others for their happiness? Are people so lonely that in order for them to feel worthy, they need to depend on another persons success to validate them? When did being a good hearted, ethical person, one with morals and high standards become rare?

Or am I being over analytical and am just tired and stressed from a long day in Hollywood and upset about the ticket and the need for a pedicure from standing all day long? (I am being a jokester again, arent' I?)

I don't know about you, but life is way too short to look to others for recognition or depend on an American Idol contestant to fill a void. I shall have no other God's (or idol's....American or any other nationality) before the One who gave me eternal life: Jesus Christ.

Oh, and if you were wondering...I was for David Cook:0)

Mother's Day pride

Mothers Day will be here in 13 days, but who's counting? Mother's day is in my top three "holidays" for numerous reasons. First, I am a mom; therefore, I am treated extra special on that particular day by our daughters, (no prompting necessary by my husband) Secondly, mothers day gives me the opportunity to reflect on how I am doing as a mom, a personal review to determine what I can do better on or give myself a "Your doing alright" to myself. Lastly, mothers day allows me to give thanks to God that he entrusted me to guide these two blessings through the good and bad of life, knowing that when all is said and done, I pray that He will look at me and say, " Thank you for taking such good care of our girls."

They will soon be off in college, calling home for money or hopefully an update on how there daily lives are going. One thing will always be true. I will always be their mom. Ready to give them a hug, an encouraging word, an irritating song, an I love you forever just because I didn't say it enough today.

Whether you are a stay at home mom or a working mom......know you are loved and appreciated and enjoy each moment of your mothers day. Have mothers day pride! It is the hardest job you will ever have!

Jesus stickers and unnecessary honking.......others ARE watching!

As I was pulling out of Liberty High School parking lot today, I saw a vehicle with a Jesus sticker on back honking rudely and impatiently at two young girls walking across the street. The reaction from the two girls was negative and extremely non lady like; however, this could have been prevented had the Jesus sticker vehicle just waited three seconds for the girls to walk across. They were Jay walking; however, that is not the issue.

I am not a bible thumping, in your face christian; however, I consider myself to be a child of God, a born again christian as some call themselves. I struggle each day to walk the walk and be a positive example to our daughters, my husband, family and friends and most importantly...strangers. I donot know who is watching me and if by chance I happen to have a bad day with a bad attitude and then that stranger happens to see me at church, they may say, "So that is what being a "christian" is?" I just try to be God's hands and feet and have the words from my mouth be what He would want to hear. Yes, struggle I do with rude, disrespectful, inconsiderate people; however, showing people grace and mercy IS what it's all about.

Bella Cafe...too good to pass up!

I am not a food critic, or am I? I am a stay at home mom and enjoy hearing criticism of my new recipes, so in actuality, I am a food critic reciever. Okay, enough joking.

I am not joking when I say that everyone needs to try Bella Cafe located at 1514 18th Street in downtown Bakersfield. Owners Tim and Debbie Frazure offer up a breakfast menu from biscuits and gravy to a breakfast burrito and a lunch menu of a specialty deli sandwich like the 18 Street Club or a delicious homemade quiche.

You will not be disappointed with the portioning and you may just need a to -go box for a midnight snack. Prices are inexpensive for such a downhome cafe and you will thoroughly enjoy the homey atmosphere.

The owners go out of their way to make your visit pleasant.

They are open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Bella Cafe also offers catering services, (327-2733) which I highly recommend.

The sweet smell of blueberry muffins...........a memory in the making.

Our eldest daughter walked in from school today and said, "I smell blueberry muffins" I smiled as I looked at our daughter, feeling so blessed to be able to create that smell for her. I created a smell memory. I am sure some of you reading this will know what I am speaking of. I remember the smell of air, yes fresh air, when I was 5 years old in bed with hepititis. My older sister came home from school and gave me a hug and I smelled fresh air. To this day, I relate fresh air to my sister. I relate the smell of Wind Song and Cover Girl compact powder to my mom. I relate the smell of Brut and Old Spice to my dad. Those are the good memory smells. I smell corned beef and cabbage and I think of my Aunt Flo...yes, the name sais it all. When I smell Noxzema, I think of 8th grade...the worst year of my life. No, I don't purchase Noxzema for our girls. So, smells are everlasting memories..make them good blueberry muffin smells.

Watching out for eachother: neighborhood etiquette at it's best!

In a recent news story, a child was sexually abused in the Marby Grange neighborhood. This story hit close to home, literally. We all have busy lives, but we need to look out for one another and one another's children: keep our eyes open, be aware of your neighbors comings and goings Not in a nosey neighbor way, but in a concerned neighbor way. Are there too many newspapers in the driveway? Too many cars coming and going at all times of the day and night? If your neighbor needed help, would you help? Could you depend on your neighbor? Let's just watch out for eachother and make our community safe, or safer!

Join the fiesta at Vacation Bible School

All kids entering kindergarten through 5th grade are invited to attend Vacation Bible School at Christ Church of the Valley, 13701 Stockdale Highway, June 4-8 from 9 a.m. to noon.

Come to our VBS Fiesta where kids are fired up about Jesus! Get ready for an exciting celebration of Jesus' love filled with lively music, crafts, grande games, tasty snacks and new friends! We will experience the Bible in thrilling ways as we discover Jesus is our friend, life, leader, Savior and helper.

You can register Monday through Friday at CCV office from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The cost is $10 per child which includes a fiesta t-shirt, snacks, crafts and more.

Please contact Susan Mettetal at 588-2268 with any questions.

Columbia Elementary track meet

On March 28 and March 29 Columbia Elementary held a track and field event. I had the opportunity to volunteer at this event and was so impressed with how well organized this event was. Mrs. Rios, the physical education specialist, did an exemplary job at organizing this event and I look forward to helping out next year.

One other thing I was so impressed with was the school spirit all of the students had. I had two helpers with me at the long jump field event and I found these two 5th graders extremely polite, well mannered and they encouraged all the participants in this event.

Our daughter is in Mrs. Plugge's 4th grade class and we are so fortunate to have her learn not just academics, but Mrs. Plugge is also teaching her students responsibility and accountability. We are extremely fortunate to have purchased a home in this school district and in the Northwest. Life is good here.