Author: Jo

Slacking

I’m so sorry that I haven’t posted something new in several days.  I’ve been super busy since about the middle of last week, and my blog has taken a backseat to the rest of my life, unfortunately.

It all started on Thursday.  I got my hair done at 12:00pm, and that took about 2.5 hours.  My roots were about an inch long, so it was definitely time for a touch up!  It was getting to the point where I had to wear hats every day.

After my hair appointment, I went to work, which is normal during the week; but at 5:00pm I met Elizabeth at The Streets of Indian Lake (a shopping center in town) and went shopping for different wedding items.  And, ok, ok, I bought a couple dresses too.

The next day (Friday) was work as usual, but I asked Steve if we could leave a little bit early so I could rush home to make a pasta dish for Elizabeth’s lingerie/bachelorette party that night.  I ended up being about 20 minutes late because of that dang pasta dish!  But it tasted pretty good, so I guess it was worth it.

That night, we went downtown to celebrate Elizabeth’s last couple weeks as a bachelorette, and we didn’t end up getting home until about 3:30am!  Steve had gone to Rustin’s house for a little guy’s get together while the girls were out, but sadly he was the last one left by the time we got home…..by a few hours.  I felt pretty bad about that, but he was pretty understanding, and waited for me at their house so we could drive home together.

Saturday and Sunday were another 2 full days of working on the Smoke House, and by the time we got home, I was too tired to even think about writing a blog post.

Monday was our first day at work that we were short one employee, so I was pretty busy taking over all her responsibilities, as well as setting up our new cash register.  We decided to get a cash register because we have been getting more and more walk in customers and the register will help us keep better track of cash transactions.

So here we are on Tuesday, and I finally have time to post a little something on my neglected blog.  I have several pictures from Elizabeth’s bachelorette party and a step by step tutorial on the pasta dish I made for the party that I still need to post.  So don’t worry!  More posts will be coming soon!!!

Just a Dream

Last night (which was probably more like this morning, since I always dream right before I wake up), I had the craziest dream about my dogs, Kaylee and Camelot….but mostly Camelot.  I don’t know about you, but I always have the most vivid dreams, and I always remember them pretty much every morning.  Steve never remembers his dreams, and he thinks that he doesn’t dream at all….but that’s obviously not true, because everyone dreams or we’d all go crazy (or so I’ve heard).  But every once in a while, I have a dream that is so vivid, that when I wake up I have to take a few seconds to check my surroundings and realize that it was in fact, just a dream.

Last night was one of those times.

The beginning of my dream started with me driving to pick up dinner at Panera.  Only, when I got there, the Panera was mysteriously turned into a McDonalds.  I spent a few minutes deciding what I could get at McDonalds that would be close to something I would get at Panera, and decided on a salad.

When I was on my way home, all of a sudden my car started beeping slowly.  As I drove on the beeping got faster and faster — almost like a heart rate monitor when someone’s heart rate goes up.  All of a sudden the beeping turned into one long beep (like when you flat line) and my car turned off.  Apparently I had run out of gas.

I was able to coast into an empty parking lot, and called Steve to bring me some gas (we have a 5 gallon gas can at home that we use for the lawn mower).  Suddenly, a white pickup truck pulled up and this weird old guy started trying to talk to me.  I can’t remember what he was saying, but I know that I was definitely scared of him.  And for some reason I was sitting on the ground with my back up against a wall instead of in my car….which is dumb.  Why would I not wait in my car with the doors locked?  Especially if there was a weird guy harassing me.

Anyway, the next thing I know, both of my dogs come running around the corner and sit next to me.  Camelot practically laid on top of me, basically protecting me from the bad man.  And I was wondering in my dream how on earth they got there.  We have a fenced in back yard, so unless they hopped over the fence, there is no way they’d somehow run away from our house.  And even if they did somehow get out, how did they know where I was?  I was over a mile away from home!

I called Steve again to see if he had brought them with him for some reason when he came to put gas in my car, but he said that he hadn’t even left yet because he couldn’t find the gas can.

So the dogs waited with me and protected me until Steve finally arrived and I was able to drive home.

But the dream wasn’t over!  When I got home, I saw that the wind had blown a huge hole in our backyard fence, which explains how the dogs got out.  And when I looked closer, I noticed that a huge black bear was in our yard! (Which doesn’t make sense either, because I’m sure there aren’t any black bears in Tennessee).

Somehow, Camelot had gotten back there with the bear and was fighting it!  I tried to yell at the bear to make him go away, and I clapped my hands really loudly, but still they kept on fighting.  Finally, the bear must have gotten tired and ran away.

I ran over to Camelot to check him for injuries, and really only saw some cuts and scratches.  But then, he turned his head toward me and I saw this huge, gaping claw mark running from the top of his head, through his eye and down through his lip.

That’s when I woke up.  And this morning, I had to hug Camelot for several minutes and tell him what a good boy he was for protecting his mommy from the scary man AND the huge black bear.  He didn’t know why I was hugging him and giving him love, he just knew that he liked it. 🙂  THE END.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Today is a day that our country sets aside to honor all the wonderful mothers that brought us into this world.  We wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for mothers.  When we’re little they feed us, clothe us, teach us things, and try to keep us out of trouble.  When we’re older they’re there to love us, support us, and be the friend that we can always talk to.  And to spoil their grandchildren of course.

Today I wanted to take some time and tell you a little about my beautiful mom.

Pam Pentland was born as Pamela Joan (pronounced “Joann”) Ness in Sycamore, Illinois on November 9, 1956.  She was the 3rd of 4 children born to Phyllis and Sigurd Ness, and spent most of her childhood growing up on a farm.  She and her sisters made the farm their own playground where they would play games that normal children wouldn’t play.  One such game was to go into their mean bull’s pen, taunt it, and then run away back under the fence when he started charging at them.  One time during such a game, the 3 sisters were taunting the bull, and when he started charging at them, they started running full speed toward the electric fence.  My mom and her sister Diane slid under the fence, but when my mom’s other sister Sally ran away, she didn’t see the fence for some reason, and ran right into it, with the fence hitting her in the neck.  She fell to the ground, and my mom and Diane had to quickly drag her under the fence before the bull reached her.

When my mom was 10 years old, her mother remarried Beryl Lawrence and since then she gained 4 step brothers and sisters, and 2 half siblings, which made her one of ten children.  Mom was a very obedient child, and never wanted to do anything to displease her parents.   When she was 5 years old, she waited at the end of her family’s mile long drive way in a blizzard for the school bus.  Little did she know that because of the blizzard, school had been canceled that day, but being the obedient child that she was, she waited for over an hour before reluctantly walking back to the house.  She still remembers the excruciating pain of her mother slowly thawing out her frost-bitten hands.

She accepted Christ as her Savior as a teenager (I can’t remember if she was 14 or 16) at a church camp (I think?), and attended Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC from 1974-1978.  She graduated with a B.S. in Elementary Education and a Minor in English.  She served as the Pres. and V.P. of her sorority, Zeta Tau Omega, and thoroughly enjoyed singing in the University’s Radio Choir.  After graduating at the age of 21, she moved to Canoga Park, California to teach 3rd grade at Faith Baptist Schools, where she would continue to teach for 28 years (and continues to occasionally substitute teach 5 years later).

On December 20, 1989 she married the love of her life, my dad, Martin Pentland, and has enjoyed 21 wonderful years of marriage.  In addition to me, my mom has 4 step children (Erik, Erica, John, and Jenny), and 7 grandchildren.  (None from me yet, obviously).

Here she is with one of her grandsons, Max.  It’s one of my favorite pictures of her.

One of my mom’s favorite hobbies is gardening, and her house is surrounded by beautiful flowers to show for it.  She also loves to shop, but never buys anything at full price.  She has a talent for getting great deals on quality items. 🙂   She loves the Lord with all her heart, and is daily in the Word.  She is selfless and generous to those in need and always goes out of her way to make people happy.

I’m so glad that she and my dad are coming out to Nashville for my wedding in a couple months.  In this picture we are shopping for wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses.

I love you so much, Mom!  I’m so glad that Faith Baptist recognized you as Woman of the Year today.  You definitely deserve it!  And I hope you had a very Happy Mother’s Day!