From a Cluttered Desk

I am Tammy Cardwell, she of the cluttered desk. (Hey, you think I'm kidding?!) I'm having a blast here in Blogland and invite to you to peruse my ramblings. Like a buffet, they offer variety - essentially whatever makes it to the top of the piles that sometimes clutter my brain. We'll eventually cover it all - homeschooling, God, our church, the Eclectic Homeschool Online, books I'm writing and publishing, conferences I speak at, the joys of grandmotherhood, and hopefully chocolate. Of course, this is only what's near the top now. Who knows what's in those piles?

Her name is Susan Boyle and she’s taught thousands of people not to prejudge someone’s abilities by their appearance or presentation.

I wish I could embed the video, but they’re not allowing it, so do yourself a favor and go watch this clip from Britain’s Got Talent’s 2009 talent search. See 47-year-old Susan Boyle completely floor the judges and everyone else when she sings "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

If you live in Austin, Texas, you might be shouting, "YES!!!!"

This is too seriously cool. You’ll find the whole article at TrekMovie.com. Here’s the first paragraph. Oh those lucky people!

Tonight Paramount pulled off one of the coolest stunts in fan history. Promoted as just a 10 minute preview of the new Star Trek to show along with The Wrath of Khan, tonight fans in Austin, TX were actually shown the entire new Star Trek movie. The event included surprise guests, including the original Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy. [UPDATE: A number of reviews are already in - we have a summary of those below]

The language in some of the reviews is..shall we say…less than delightful. I’d watch who’s reading over your shoulder.

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Tammy C

I’m not sure I remember how to change my profile picture on the whole website, but for the benefit of those who have wondered about my new blondness…

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Tammy C

Considering what I’m supposed to be doing - as opposed to what I AM doing, this one did make me LOL!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

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Tammy C

Did I spell it correctly?

Ah, who cares. The point is… You have GOT to see this!

Antwerp station. Suddenly Julie Andrews’ voice, singing a well-known (to us anyway) song, starts playing over the public address system. What follows…

….is priceless!! (And HUGE fun!)

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I just slipped over to read The Conservative Contessa and found a thought-provoking post.

Here’s a short excerpt.

When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, ‘Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.’

You could have heard a pin drop

She has several other such stories in this blog entry. Are they all true? Well, I didn’t check them out, so I can’t really say. They are the type of story that makes you think, however, and that is always good.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

How many ministers use their wives as examples in their sermons? A lot? Most? All?

Well, in this video the wives of Florida Hospital Church get a little of their own back. This is hysterical.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I found a couple of interesting blog posts today and thought, since I was in thrift store mode, that I would pass them along to you.

This gal bought a TERRIBLE, old-fashioned, Ugly (pronounced YOU-gly), huge dress at a thrift store and turned it into an adorable, retro summer dress. The post title is Summer of 69 Thrift Store Refashion Frock Giveaway!!!! Giveaway, you ask? Yes, one lucky commenter will win this refashioned dress. The point, though, is that she shares her technique and this is a great example of how you can take an item you would otherwise have thrown out with the trash and turn it into something fun and useful.

If you sew, of course, which I don’t do much anymore. I wonder if I should pull the sewing machine out? My sister and I were talking about that just yesterday.

That blog post mentioned this next one.

Wardrobe re-Fashion

Wardrobe re-Fashion is actually a community of bloggers who have committed to refashioning clothing instead of buying new. Here are the first two paragraphs from "About Wardrobe re-Fashion"

Wardrobe Refashion is a community which has had an online presence since early 2006.   Based in Melbourne, Australia, owner Nichola Prested started up the site after deciding to quit buying new manufactured clothing in a bid to do her part for the planet, save money and improve her sewing skills.

Participants of the blog pledge to abstain from the purchase of new manufactured clothing for the period of 2, 4, 6 months or LIFE.  They pledge to refashion, renovate, and recycle preloved items with their own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium or make their own from scratch.

And here’s a good post at Frugal Simplicity - Save Money Shopping for Clothing at Thrift Stores

I’ve dealt with clothing here, of course, because clothing is what I need with my recent career change, but you can find myriad things at thrift stores. I’ve discovered books (Surprise Surprise, right?) that were good reading material an/or collectibles at bargain prices. I’ve also found furniture, toys, and more.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C