My Mother

I found out that my mother went to the hospital on Saturday. They found that she had a large tumor in her abdomen. Originally, I was told it was nearly 7 pounds, but then was told it was more like 9 pounds. Either way that is HUGE! At first they thought it was probably not cancer, but after doing a biopsy, they founf that it is cancer...Ovarian cancer. The doctor removed 99% if it, I am told, but they were afraid to get the last bit because they thought it would be fatal to do so. Anyway, she is naturally in much pain, but is improving. The doctor feels confident that they can get rid of the remaining cancer with treatment. I really hope so. She is 73 yrs old, but looks like she is in her late 50's. I wish I could go see her, but am in Summer college classes and can't afford to miss even one day. She is in my thoughts and prayers.

Thirteen Things I have learned in college so far

Thirteen Things about YOUR NAME 1…. I learned the different types of speeches and how to prepare for and present each. 2 . I learned how the human brain develops and the psychology behind teaching methods. 3 . I have learned in great detail the history of western music for the past 2000 yrs 4 . I learned some new techniques in singing exercises. 5 . I have learned much about using Wordperfect. 6 . I have learned more about using xhtml. 7 . I have learned more about American Government. 8 . I have also learned more about Texas Government. 9 . I learned to sing a song in French. 10. I learned much more about music theory. 11. I learned German and Italian Diction for singing. 12. I learned that I can perform in an Opera. 13. I learned that I can succeed in college even at my age. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thirteen Favorite Places I Have Been

Thirteen Things about Joe Norman 1…. The Smithsonian ~ I was in 2nd grade the last time I visited there, but it was one of my favorite places and remember it quite well. 2 . Yosimte National Park ~ One of the most beautiful places I have ever been. 3 . The Alamo ~ It is great to tour! Of coarse, I am a Texan. 4 . White Sands, New Mexico ~ It was tons of fun! We could sled down the white sand dunes. 5 . Carls Bad Caverns ~ This was really a cool cave to tour. Deep inside, there is a giant room where they have lots of tables and you can eat a meal there. 6 . South Padre Island ~ Had a blast there! I love a good beach! 7 . Santa Fe, New Mexico ~ It is a really great city to visit and has lots of museums. 8 . Six Flags Fiesta Texas ~ This is the best Six Flags park in Texas! I love rollercoasters! 9 . DisneyWorld/Epcot Center ~ One word...AWSOME!! I hope to go again someday soon. 10. Dallas Museum of Art ~ Really a great museum. My favorite thing was the Wyeth Exhibit. 11. West End Marketplace ~ In downtown Dallas...lots of fun! Great restraunts! 12. Cape May, Maryland ~ Spent a week there as a kid in a beach house and it was lots of fun! 13. Lincoln Memorial ~ It was very inspirational! Lincoln is my favorite President! Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Movies I Have Seen

I go this from my friend, Titanium who got it from another blogger she visits regularly. Supposedly if you've seen over 84 movies on this list, you have no life. There are 164 movies total. Mark each you have seen and then repost with how many you've seen as the subject:

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Boondock Saints
( ) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane

Total: 8

(x) The Princess Bride
( ) AnchorMan: The Legend of Ron Burgandy
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
(x) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Total: 6

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
( ) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp

Total: 3

(x) Harry Potter
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil I
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
( ) Leroy & Stitch

Total: 9

( ) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
(x) Robots

Total: 6

(x) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(x) KING KONG

Total: 7

(x) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
(x) Flubber

Total: 5

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards

Total: 3

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(x) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
(x) The Mask
( ) Son of the Mask

total: 7

(x) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Surpremacy
( ) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

Total: 9

(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
( ) My Boss' Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
( ) Frailty
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2

Total: 9

( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3

Total: 9

(x) X-Men
(x) X2
(x) X3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
(x) Jeepers Creepers
(x) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
( ) The Others
(x) Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of fire
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2

Total: 12

(x) Swimfan
( ) Miracle
( ) Old School
(x) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old-virgin

total: 5

Grand total: 98

According to this, I have no life. I think many who know me would agree but not because of the amount of movies I have seen. Movie watching happens to be one of my most favorite things to do. Of coarse, maybe I do watch too many movies...something to consider. Many of the movies I have seen, I wish I hadn't.

A list of things I have ever done in my life.

I got this list from a friend. I placed an X by all the ones that I have ever done in my life. I thought it was a way to help my readers learn more about me.


( X ) Drank an alcoholic beverage

( ) Smoked a cigarette

( ) Drank so much you threw up

( ) Crashed a friend's car - It wasn't my fault!!

( ) Stolen a car

( X ) Been in love

( ) In love now

( X ) Been dumped

( X ) Been laid off/fired

( X ) Quit your job

( X ) Been in a fist fight

( X ) Snuck out of your parent's house

( X ) Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back

( ) Been arrested

( ) Gone on a blind date

( X ) Lied to a friend

( X ) Skipped school

( ) Seen someone die

( ) Been to Canada

( X ) Been to Mexico

( X ) Been on a plane

( X ) Been lost

( X ) Been on the opposite side of the country

( X ) Gone to Washington, DC

( X ) Swam in the ocean

( X ) Felt like dying

( X ) Cried yourself to sleep

( X ) Played cops and robbers

( ) Recently colored with crayons

( X ) Sang karaoke

( X ) Paid for a meal with only coins

( X ) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't

( ) Made prank phone calls...

( X ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose

( X ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue

( X ) Danced or played in the rain

( X ) Written a letter to Santa Claus

( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe

( X ) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about

( X ) Blown bubbles

( ) Made a bonfire on the beach

( ) Crashed a party

( X ) Gone roller-skating

( X ) Ice-skating

Condescending

I was recently accused of being condescending to someone on a yahoo group I am actively involved in. This one person has accused me of such more than once. Now, I re-read all of my posts that were addressing him and saw nothing that really seemed condescending to me. Most anyone who has ever met me never gets that impression from me. I work hard at maintaining a humble attitude and honestly do not think I am better than anyone. I also think I am fairly good at writing in a way that those who read what I write will understand not only what I write, but also a sense for the feelings behind my words.

I will admit that I get irritated when I am discussing religeous differences with someone and they do not present a logical response with scripture to support their statements. I do not think I know all there is to know about the Bible, but I study it much more often than the average person and expect those who disagree with me to present well thought out responses with scripture. This person who accused me of being condescending toward him, has not been clear as to what he believes and what he disagrees with me on. When I request clarification, he gets his feathers ruffled. I never called him a name, but did tell him that a response he made was silly. I told him that I thought it was silly because it was completely vague, the comment really seemed not to apply to what I had presented at all, and had no scripture to support anything.

His last post ended with calling me names though. He said something about me being a self-centered, self-important, know-it-all. I really went out of my way to explain that I was having trouble understanding what his point is and just needed clarification. I apologized twice for offending him and explained that I did not intend to have a condescending attitude with anyone...but that apparently matter not at all to him. It seems that no matter how hard I try, there are some people who are determined to be offended. I think it might be that they know what I present to them is completely logical and is supported by scripture and they are frustrated because they can't refute my position and resort to accusations and personal attacks. So, I think I must shake the dust off my feet and ignore this man.

I want very much to understand the thinking behind why someone believes what they do...especially if it is different from what I believe. I want to understand for two reasons. One reason is because if their reasons are sound and do not conflict with God's Word, then I can adopt that view. Another reason is that if their belief is not supported by God's Word and is not at all sound, it is my duty as a Christian to refute a false doctrine and correct that person out of love. This is our sacred duty. May God bless all who read my posts and may we help each other to know the truth of God's Word more accurately.

Thirteen favorite classical composers

Thirteen Things about Joe Norman 1…. Ludwig Van Beethoven ~ I know he is the favorite of many people, but there is something about him and his music that I really connect with. I have read 4 biographies on his life and of all the music I have played on the piano, I enjoy playing his the most. I only wish I were good enough to play all of his great piano music. 2 . Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ~ His music is also very enjoyable and he is possibly the greatest musical genius who ever lived. All his melodies were so memorable. He was not a very good person, but his music was divine. 3 . Franz Joseph Haydn ~ He was also one of the greatest and most creative composers ever. He is known as the father of the symphony and most of the music community of his day called him papa Hayden. Mozart and Beethoven both admired him and Beethoven even studied composition from him. 4 . Franz Shubert ~ This guy was probably the biggest fan of Beethoven ever. He had similar genius ability to Mozart and was a child prodigy. He died young in his late 30's and was buried next to Beethoven. His music was similar in many ways, but he wrote very lyrical melodies rather than motive themes. 5 . George Frederich Handel ~ He is best known for his Oratorio "The Messiah", but I have played some of his music for keyboard and heard many other great works of his. I have also learned and performed some great songs from Messiah and another Oratorio. His music is very lovely and lyrical and energetic as well. I like him more than Bach because it is not as busy...not sure if that makes sense to you, but that is why. 6 . Johannes Brahms ~ He was also a great composer. He wrote some of the most moving melodies I have ever heard and the complexity of his music is astounding. His piano concerto was written in the late 1800's and is still considered to be one of the most difficult pieces to play on the piano. He was also a child prodigy who began to study the piano at the age of three. 7 . Frederic Chopin ~ He is called the piano poet. His compositions were mainly for the piano. His mother was Polish and his father was French. Although his music is among the most technically demanding, it emphasized the expression of deep emotions and was extemely poetic in nature. Even today, people who want to create an atmosphere of romance, play recordings of his music...usually a Nocturne (defined as night music) 8 . Franz Liszt ~ This is another child prodigy and his music was some of the most complex and expressive ever written. It is said that he had such long fingers that he had a two octive range with one hand. He also was amazing at taking a great work written for orchestra and transposing it for piano. Transposing like that is not easy and his were so good that some of them are better known than the original work. 9 . Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky ~ He is most known for the music he wrote for the ballet The Nutcracker. He was one of the greats from Russia. His main instrument was the violin. An amazing thing is that he wrote a piano concerto that was much too difficult for him to play. It is still among the most difficult. 10. Sergei Rachmaninoff ~ He is probably my very favorite Russian composer. His music was so full of power. I had a close friend who studied piano from the same teacher I did and he could play Sergei's music extremely well. My friend's name was Brian Stalcup and Sergei was his favorite composer. Brian died at 17 yrs old and I didn't learn of it until a year after he died. Every time I hear Rachmaninoff's music, I think of my dear friend. 11. Giacomo Puccini ~ He wrote some of the most amazing Operas ever. His two most popular are Mademe Butterfly and La Boheme. I believe that Andrew Lloyd Webber mimics Puccini's style when he writes his musicals. 12. Samuel Barber ~ One of the greatest American composers in music history. He is best known for his Agagio for Strings. It was used in the movie Platoon and other movies as well. 13. Igor Stravinsky ~ Another great Russian composer. He is best known for a work called The Rite of Spring. I played a piano work of his that I fell in love with and that caused me to explore his other works as well. He was truly amazing. There are many other great composers I could list. One that I really wanted to put on the list was Felix Mendelssohn. He was another child prodigy and one of my very favorites. Anyway, there are so many wonderful classical composers that it is not easy to narrow down thirteen favorites. If there are some you are not familiar with on my list, please check them out. I think you will learn to love their music too. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Fourth of July ~ 1776

Every year, I watch a musical called 1776 as part of my celebration of this great nation's birth. If you have never seen it, it is a wonderful musical. Not all the voices are all that good, but overall, the acting and performance is just wonderful. It moves me to tears in a couple of places. Maybe I am oversensitive for a man, but I do cry some.

In this musical, there is a phrase that I just love. Benjamin Franklin says, "Anyone willing to give up some of their freedom for temporary safety deserves neither freedom, nor safety". Another one is: There are two men of worth in this world...those with commitment and those who require commitment. It is a powerful musical and also has good humor in it as well. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys musicals. I hope that all of you enjoyed the holiday and I pray for the soldiers and their families. May they be protected while serving to preserve our freedom and liberate other nations as well. I hope that one day soon, they can return home to be with their families.

Back on board

I am happy to say that I am back on board with my original blog site. This makes me extremely happy and I want to apologize for my silence to those of you who like to read my posts. I will try to be much more active in posting than I have been in the past. Please expect a fresh post tomorrow for the Fourth of July.