And the nominees for best mommy of the year are...

Okay, so maybe I won't win Best Mommy of the Year, but I think I did a pretty good job at being a "cool" mom today. First of all, I let her skip school. She woke up this morning after a rather fitful night and announced that she was sick and didn't want to go to school. I thought about it, looked at the clock and realized that she was going to be late anyway, and said to myself "It's just kindergarten" and I let her stay home. I looked at her throat to make myself feel better and it was a little red, so maybe she was a little sick...Anyway, tonight we had a mommy/daughter slumber party. I skipped a very exciting lingerie party for a college friend who is getting married to host the party, but that's okay. We had tons of snacks, snuggled on pillows and blankets on the floor, and watched Drake and Josh Go Hollywood (actually, a decent movie).

Okay, kids are weird. She just called to me from the other room and when I got there she had stripped down completely naked because she was hot. If you think my house is hot, please reference yesterday's blog where I was whining about heating costs. I can guarantee you it's not hot. Why do small children love to be nude? Ever since she was old enough to walk (8 1/2 mo, which was way to early to suit me), she has loved to streak through the house. When she was old enough to talk she would scream "Naked Baby" whenever she did it. I'm sure one day she will find out about this blog and die of embarrassment, thus nulifing all of the cool stuff I've done.

I was very sad to hear that Lou Rawls passed away. I don't know exactly why I was sad, since I'm not really a fan. Actually, briefly I thought he was Louie Armstrong (Lou/Louie an honest mistake).

Otherwise, not an interesting day. My disgruntled customer from yesterday is now un-disgruntled. Thus reinforcing my theory that I can please everyone, if I worry about it enough. Maybe I do need that psycologist.

Well, I have a slumber party to get back to. Have a great Saturday everyone!

Will work for natural gas

Is anyone else with gas heat suffering some serious sticker shock right now? I received my utility bill yesterday and it was $384! This is only for gas and water, my electric bill was another $83. How crazy is that? I live in a modest sized home (2000 sq. ft), it is brick with extra thick insulation and double insulation in the attic. What are people in poorly built, drafty homes paying...$600 or $700? I don't normally get riled up about such things, I've barely uttered a peep about gasoline prices all summer, but I am UPSET now. I mean, I could buy another car for what it is costing to heat my home. To top it off, my in-laws were just here (also known as the "let's keep the thermostat at 75 degrees" people), so I can't wait to see that bill. Anyway, enough about that.
Besides that drama, today has been pretty eventless. I had an irate client today that I have been pretty upset about. Everyone gets tickled at how much I take upset customers personally. I mean this guy had very little substantiation to his complaint. Basically, he was upset about a lack of communication on an on-going job we are doing. Of course, I have been communicating with his wife, the person who hired me to begin with. It appears the communication gap is at home, not at our store. But anyway, I've been crestfallen and apologizing all over the place. No one can figure out why I get so upset when it's not my fault. It's not like I'm going to get fired. It's a family business. My parent's aren't even upset. I have the ultimate in job security and I still panic like I'm going to get a pink slip or something. If I were a psycologist, I would say I probably have an unhealthy need to please everyone. Good thing I'm not a psycologist:)
The bright spot of my day was a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. I got to see my husband, my child got to run around like a crazy person until she collapsed from sheer exhaustion (thus eliminating "the need for a bedtime story, a bedtime drink, another bedtime story, one more drink, check the closet for monsters, turn the radio on, can I stay up a few more minutes" ritual). For those of you who haven't been to CEC for a few years, you should check it out. It's a lot cooler now. Those scary animatronics have been replaced with interactive big screen TVs and the salad bar is excellent. Also, if he's in a good mood, the guy in the Chuck E. suit will dirty dance with you...kidding...he doesn't have to be in a good mood:) Kidding again, actually the guy at my husband's store that is usually in the suit is a deaf/mute guy, so the kids can scream "Hey Chuck E over here, come over here, give me a hug" all they want and it don't bother Chuck E. What a perfect fit! All right, enough of my rambling for tonight. Hope everyone has a fab Friday!
Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

West Virginia Sadness

Today I have been so sad about these coal miners and their families in W. Virginia. When I woke up this morning, the news was just breaking that the families had been given false information and that only one coal miner survived instead of twelve. Oh the anguish these poor people have been through. On Geraldo at Large tonight he was showing pictures and footage of the families as they rejoiced that their loved ones were okay. He then contrasted that with the footage of the families when they found out that the opposite was true. I don't think that I have ever seen such raw emotion, with the exception of 9/11. I've just had a lump in my throat all day. I cannot even imagine what these wives and mothers must be going through. My heart also goes out the the wife of the one survivor. I'm sure that she is going through so many emotions right now...worry, guilt, relief, sadness. Right now, I'm watching CNN and they are debating the safety of mines. I'm glad they brought it up, I've been thinking about it all day. Did you know that mining is the 2nd most dangerous profession? How sad. Being in the Tennessee, I don't know much about mining, so I'm speaking only from information I've seen on TV. What I wonder, and this is only a musing based on pure ignorance of the profession, is why machines can't do more of the dangerous parts? Maybe they do and I just don't know it. It's not that I want to replace people with machines, I know that jobs are very scarce in more rural communities like mining communities. I just seems like we still use people as disposable commodities in this age of technology. I would love to hear from someone who knows more about mining, set me straight, I love to learn. Anyway, I hope that everyone remembers these families in your prayers tonight. Kiss your babies and loved ones an extra time or two today, every day with them is a gift.
Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Live on Letterman...my baby brother!

Exciting news today! My baby brother, Keith, may be in David Letterman tonight. He is currently on a trip in NYC with a bunch of his friends and today he and his friend Bethany went to Letterman (little known fact, Letterman is filmed at like 3 p.m., sorta disappointing, huh). Anyway, he has called to let us know that he is sitting two rows behind the band, so we may see him tonight.

My brother is actually living a pretty charmed life right now. He moved out earlier this year into one of my parents' rental houses (baby steps are the only steps he knows). It's a super cool 100 year old duplex with 15 foot ceilings and the original hardwood floors. He has tons of cool artwork and hand-me-down furniture sitting around. He turned 23 this year and he has traveled tons. He (and the rest of the family, including me) started out 2005 by spending a week in Cancun. He then started a really cool job with the postal service making more money than me. He started back to college after a brief sabbatical and now he's in New York. He's growing up so fast:) Seriously though, it's just so funny to see our lives in contrast. When I was his age, I was married and had a baby. We had just bought our first home and had purchased our first SUV (which my husband totalled, another story for another day). In contrast, he's living la vida loca...and loving every minute. I don't know what my point is, just musing aloud. What's weird is that there are days, like today, that I would love to shirk all of my responsibility and trade with him. Likewise, there are many days when I can tell he is so lonely and would love to trade his cool, single life for my life of family and chaos. Funny how us humans are never completely satisfied.

Well, there were other exciting parts of my day. One of our employees quit yesterday, which is actually a great thing. Talk about a dead weight. For obvious reasons, I won't go on, let's just say it was an answer to prayer. I feel like a giant load has been lifted. Though those of you who know me may not believe this, I hate firing people. It's so hard. You never know if they are going to get mad or cry or what...it's very stressful. I've never been fired from a job (and thanks to the security of being employed by mom & dad, I probably never will), but I can imagine it's hard.

In the news today, there is a lot of tradgedy. I've been too caught in my own world to surf much, but I have been following the tragic miner story. My prayers have been with those miners and their families all day. I cannot imagine the agony that they are going through. It makes me say an extra prayer for the safety of my family tonight.

Okay, on a brighter note, I may be a little behind the times, but is anyone else new to www.videocodezone.com ? It is such a cool site. You can watch just about any music video that's made and download the videos to your myspace or everyonesconnected site. HOW COOL! Speaking of everyonesconnected, I'm surprised I haven't mentioned my obsession with that site yet. It has become an mecca for Apostolics (and bitter British people??). I love it, I check my profile everyday. If you are on there (www.everyonesconnected.com), check out my profile. It's under Andrea Nerren Bell. Anyhoo, chickadees, I'm going to bed. If you read the time of this post, be embarrassed for me for going to bed so early, but it has been a crazy day!! See you kids tomorrow!

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Are we ruining our daughters??

Today I have enjoyed a pretty good day off. My day started with my father (a.k.a. my boss/owner of the company that employs me) calling and waking me up with computer problems. Tech support is part of my job (makes sense, most interior decorators are GREAT with computers, right?!?!). Sadly, I am the most computer savvy person at our firm, so computer problems go to me. Fortunately, my uncle Phillip (known to you ninetyandniners as Southampton) is a real, live computer expert, so I called him. After an hour and a half of phone tag between him and my father (why there wasn't direct contact betweeen them so that I could sleep, I don't know), the problem was resolved.

I then settled into the exciting task of doing ninety-zillion loads of laundry and cleaning the house. Our last house guests of the holiday season left yesterday. The left behind not-so-glad tidings of dirty towels and dishes. Anyway, I've had the TV on for distraction/entertainment. Sweet Olivia is way more interested in the hoards of toys she received last week than hanging out with me, so the noise from the TV has been welcome. I was pleased to see that one of my favorite "reality" shows was on-"What Not to Wear". In fact, it's a marathon. Well, I was pretty psyched until my daughter started really taking interest in what was going on. It made my mommy senses tingle that maybe I was giving her the wrong message. I mean we spend all this time telling our children that they are perfect the way they are and that they shouldn't judge others on appearance, but then I spend an afternoon watching two fashionistas berate some dumpy housewife for wearing sweats to the Pic & Pay.

Now, I really don't usually get caught up in stuff like this, I grew up playing with Barbie and I didn't think that I should be a size -2 with completely unreal proportions. But, it seems like things have gotten so much harder for girls today. Have you seen those Bratz dolls? Seriously, why the toy industry designed a doll that looked like an adolescent prostitute is beyond me. What is also beyond me is how many girls from good, Christian families I see playing with them. Not that I think it's a sin or anything, but doesn't that just send the wrong message to girls? It's like we are saying "Now honey, you are perfect just the way you are, and I want to to dress modestly and glorify Christ. Oh, and by the way, I bought you a doll that looks like a $5 street walker." I know that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's close. You may be wondering what kind of toys my child has? Am I being a hypocrite? Well, probably a little. She does have Barbies and Polly Pocket, though we do censor the ones she receives. No belly shirts, extreme make-up or tattoos for her Barbies (that's just a good formula to follow for most anything). Bratz do intrigue her, but she is pretty satisfied with the answer "No they're tacky" when she asks for one. I guess I probably shouldn't post this because I seem like I am passing judgement on parents who let their kids play with them. Please understand, I'm not. My child plays with a lot of things that would probably make some eyebrows raise in the Apostolic community, I just feel passionately about these Bratz. I would love to hear feedback from other parents. Maybe I've been too judgemental about them without researching their background. Maybe all the proceeds from their sales support Focus on the Family and no one told me. Anyway, let me know your feelings, I've been dying to ask someone is person, but I've been too chicken. No one likes their parenting technique questioned. Oh well, that's enough of a rant for now. If you don't know what a Bratz doll is, go to www.mattel.com. I think you will be surprised.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Small town girl seeks exciting new year...

Happy New Year everyone! It has certainly been a turbulent year for many people, so I'm sure that many are glad for this new, fresh year. I am personally hoping for an exciting year, both spiritually and in the rest of my life. This past year has been exciting, I got to go to Mexico for the first time, Las Vegas for the first time, and my sweet baby, who shouldn't be old enough to leave me for hours at a time, started the exciting world of kindergarten.

Well, I guess I should introduce myself. I am obviously the "monthly" blogger for January. My name is Andrea and I have been a ninetyandnine (www.ninetyandnine.com) reader since it's inception. I am married to the love of my life , Mike (does anyone ever admit that they are not married to the love of their life?) and I have a 5 year old daughter named Olivia. I attend, in my opinion, one of the most incredible churches around, The Pentecostals of Henderson (www.pentecostalsofhenderson.org). I am employed as an interior designer/general manager of my family's business, Nerren's Floor to Ceiling (www.nerrensfloortoceiling.com). I am a 4th generation Pentecostal. My church is UPC, however, I am known as a bit of a "free spirit", so you never know what kind of opinions I'm going to voice. I'm not very "traditional".

Anyway, I love to talk and write, so I'm sure you will learn more about me that you ever needed to know this month. The community that I live in is TINY, but it is just a few miles from a slightly larger city, which is where my husband and I work. Oh, I guess I should mention now that my husband is the general manager of Chuck E. Cheese. I only mention that because he comes home with some of the most bizarre/hilarious stories, so I'm sure I will want to share them this month. This blog seems a little ramble-y, so I will leave you now. I'm excited about sharing with all of you this month. I promise that my column will be bizarre, if nothing else. Oh, and I have a definite opinion about EVERYTHING and I love a good debate, so I'm sure there will be some "political/current event" discussions. Everyone, I hope you have a BLESSED and EXCITING 2006.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!