Woohoo! Evian swept the SOD poll!
Mood:  celebratory
And they did it on my birthday! LOL. Way to go, Ben and Tracey!!

Their acting and Evian's love makes us all want to tune in everyday for the best in soaps.

Courtaney

Woohoo, fair break!!
Mood:  happy
It's great to be able to have a four-day weekend. We are going to head over to the fair today to see some of my school children's exhibits.

This was such a fun week in school. We celebrated Right to Read Week with a freedom theme. We had election day on Monday, and it was so funny! I had the kids write in their journals about who they had voted for in our mock election (Bush won hands down in our first grade classroom, 21-3. Bailey will be happy. LOL). Well, the way they illustrated the two candidates was just hysterical. One boy drew President Bush with one big eyebrow going across his forehead. One of my girls had him with purple eyes and these real long purple eyelashes. LOL. A lot of the children drew him with an Abe Lincoln style top hat. One boy had him in what appeared to be striped swim trunks. I suggested he had probably better put a shirt on him. LOL. And John Kerry wasn't left out of the humor. One of the boys who voted for him had him in orange and green pants...one leg orange and the other green! If only my kids could have dressed the candidates for their debate...LOLOL.

Courtaney

Back to school!!!
Mood:  special
This was my first week back at school. I have 26 students!! That is an awful lot for first grade, especially when I like to individualize things, such as reading. That is going to be hard to do this year. They are a sweet, friendly bunch, but they love to talk!! LOL. I was glad we were finally able to get settled in and get some work done this week. It's been a challenge so far, but it's good to be back!

We have no water at home right now!! Sigh. There was a waterline break and almost the entire town is without water. We are trying to cope by using the distilled water we had stocked up on in case of emergency. I am glad we have it!! Hopefully, we'll get our water back on soon!! LOL, otherwise, the principal told us teachers that live in my town that we can shower at the school on Tuesday when we go back. LOLOL.

Courtaney

Woohoo!!!
Mood:  happy
I can finally blog again! LOLOL. There are so many things I would have written about this summer if I could, especially my three wonderful vacations to Seattle/Vancouver, Manitoba, and LA. Seattle was my husband's vacation choice for the summer. It was so beautiful out there in the parks, along the coast, and in Victoria, B.C. It was a really fun trip.

Manitoba was awesome. I got to spend the week with Bailey, who was, of course, the perfect hostess. Her home is beautiful, and so large. She had it as clean as could be. Her farm was set in a really pretty area out in the bush. We had a blast visiting a Hutterite colony, an amusement park, and riding around on her ATV. She has the perfect place to ride. And I got to see her at work in a chicken barn, and try my hand at it! LOL, that was too funny. I was so much slower than she was. And she just had to show off her strength by crushing an egg in her hand. LOL. It got all over me! We had a lot of fun, and her kids are as cute as can be.

Then - LA, What can I say? It was gorgeous out there, but it was the fan event I will always remember. I got to meet Tammy, who was a great sport when we got her lost time and time again trying to show her around. LOL. We had fun picking up our packets at the studio, and seeing Brook and Steve Martin (we think) there, but best of all was the event itself. What a blast it was meeting the whole cast, but especially Tracey and Ben. Ben was so sweet, such a wonderful man. And Tracey was just awesome, so great to talk to. I am so glad I went.

It's been such an exciting summer. I have never had two vacations in a summer before, let alone three. I have enjoyed my 11 weeks off tremendously. Next week, I will have to go in and start getting the classroom ready again. I guess it's time! LOL.

Courtaney

I met Ben and Tracey!! Woohoo!!
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: 2004 Passions Fan Club Event
Wow! What can I say? The whole event was a blast!! We started off in line at about a quarter till 8, in the back of the House of Blues. It was valet parking for us all. At 7:53, Tracey started to pull into the parking lot behind us. Tammy spotted her. She was in a black Jaguar. She pulled against the curb and the attendant got ready to park her car. Some fan club personnel escorted her into the building. I got a picture of her back. LOL. She was dressed so nice, in a lovely black dress; she was stunning.

The only other person we saw pull in was Ben. He came at 8:10. We had moved up in line by then, but I spotted him through some bushes. He drove a gray Mercedes. Tammy is good at identifying cars. LOL. They have such nice ones!! He was wearing sunglasses, a brown sports coat, and jeans. He looked mighty fine! Both he and Tracey were there early. You could tell they were excited about seeing their fans.

We went in and got some free drinks. We looked at the auction items next. There was a picture of Josh and Ben that was so sweet. Ben had autographed it, saying how much he missed his little friend. It was very touching. McKenzie's infamous pit dress was among the other items up for auction.

We had good seats for the Q&A...everyone did. The cast came out and took their seats. Ben and Tracey sat beside each other in the front row. There were two rows of seats. The Q&A didn't last long. The first one was for Tracey. Someone asked if that was her singing, and went on to tell her she has a gorgeous voice if it is. She said in that case, it was her. LOL. Tammy got to ask one later on. She asked Tracey if the scenes of her past coming out were hard for her to do emotionally. Tracey said it was really difficult to just stand back and take all that with no malice. You could tell she wished she could have fought back! I took lots of pics of the cast, mainly Ben and Tracey, on the stage. I got some of them sitting down, some of each of them standing to say something to the fans, Tracey while she answered Tammy's question, and both of them as the cast lined up around the anniversary cake. I hope they all turn out!!

We watched a neat film of their 5 years of Passions. They showed everyone from the very beginning. They have all changed so much!! There was a blooper reel and a September to Remember spoiler part. The Evian stuff there was about their son. They didn't give away the secret though! Now, thinking back, I remember that they showed part of the love scene too, I think. It was hard to see on that screen though. At first I didn't know it was them!

We then waited in the autograph line for a long time. I was so nervous by that point. LOL. We got Silvana's, and then this guy called for Courtaney, and Tammy said, "He means you." LOL. I said, "No." She said, "I think he means you." I asked and the guy said, "No, you're Karen, " after reading my name tag. I said my computer name was Courtaney. He said Tracey wanted to see us. I think she was worried we might not get through the line. It was so sweet of her. She greeted us warmly. I remember a nice, welcoming hug (LOL, I think I was so in shock to even be over there then, that it took me a day to remember that!)...and we chatted for a little bit and then rejoined the line.

Everyone was so nice. I joked with Galen about betting on the Wolverines in the OSU/Michigan game, and told him I was a Buckeye. He signed my book "Go 'Canes" and made sure I saw that too! I talked to Andrea and Lindsay for a bit about their babies. Andrea said her little girl's getting so big. She is three months old. I asked Lindsay what color of hair Isabella has...was it dark like hers? She said that actually, it was Justin's color. I talked to James about his hometown, Lancaster, OH. I am from near there, and my husband was born in his town. He got on Galen for signing my book "Go 'Canes." LOL. James is as big a Buckeye fan as I am.

I got Amelia's autograph and then told her that someone had asked me on a message board for her signature, and she looked at me kind of funny. She probably thought, they are talking about me on message boards? LOL. But I explained how someone named Andrea really liked her acting. She was glad to sign one for her too.

By the time I got to Ben, I was already nervous. I said "I am Courtaney," and he said something like, "You're Courtaney..." in his wonderful voice that just makes you melt. He rose up and pulled me in for a hug and gave me a kiss on the cheek. He was soooooooo sweet!!!!! We talked about SD. He asked what happened to Bailey's recaps. (I told her you would miss them, Ben!) He didn't realize she has done them the last couple weeks though. Neither he nor Tracey knew about the temp board. Hopefully they will find it so they get to enjoy some of our crazy posts on there. I took a pic with him too. Well, between Ben and Tracey I was in a daze. LOL. The actresses in between pretty much passed my book along and signed it. They probably thought, "Who is this gal?"

I talked to Tracey for as long as we could. She was so grateful to all her fans, and to the boards. She asked about SD. Ben had told her it was hacked into. I told her we hope it will be up Sunday. She mentioned that it must mean a lot of work for Stefanie...rebuilding it. I said yes. The lady moving the line along finally made me leave! Tracey said she would find us later.

Eva was really nice. My husband spotted her and said, "Pilar!" I explained that he hadn't watched the show in a few years. She said he remembered the important people. LOLOL. She signed "You have good taste" as part of her autograph for Mike. I thought that was sweet!

Rodney was so funny. LOL, I caught up with my hubby again when Rod asked him how come people get quiet when they come to him. LOL. Mike said he heard about how people say they may "do a TC Russell." Mike remembered Tammy and me discussing what Teri had posted on here about how she told people at work the day she didn't want anyone to interrupt her watching Passions, that if anyone came into the conference room, she'd do her best interpretation of TC Russell. McKenzie then saw the shirt I was carrying, with Bailey's The Father Factor cover on it. She jokingly said to Rodney, "Uh-oh. You know who she likes." LOL. Rodney looked at the shirt, pointed toward it and gave a good joking grimace. It was funny. Then he tried to pretend that he was scaring me by sort of lunging at me. I jumped. When he saw it worked, he did it again. LOL. Then I had a pic taken with him and Mac and he pretended to strangle me. McKenzie was so beautiful and bubbly. She is so much more beautiful in person than on the show, and she is so lovely on it!!!

We then went to eat. The food was great. We sat with a nice girl we had met in line named Nicole. She was a big Passions fan, but didn't really go on sites or read mags. She was impressed when I told her I had a site. LOL, I said that my friend does all the hard work.

Tracey found us after the fans were all through the autograph line and the cast was going to eat. She sat down for about 20 minutes maybe and talked about lots of things...computer things and her fans. She wants to give back to the fans. She is such a wonderful lady, so appreciative of everything. She wanted to tell everyone how grateful she is to them and had a list all prepared of posters she wanted to give special thanks to but had left it at home. She did remember some of the names on it - SIPort, Gray, Dawn...but there were so many more she wished to thank. She is so appreciative of all her fans on here and elsewhere.

I remembered to tell her who told me to say hi too...Pris, Mav, pwtala. I tried to remember you all! Bailey, I still can't remember if I said you. But I got stuff signed for you, so you can't complain!!!

We talked about Secret Desires and Evian Dreams. She said she has trouble seeing the slide shows and montages at ED. It may be because she has a Mac. Hopefully, she'll be able to watch them someday. I know she really liked the slide shows from last fall, but if she could see Bailey's montages... we all know how they really touch your heart.

It was one unbelievable day. I am so ecstatic about meeting Tracey and Ben. They are such wonderful people. I told Tracey before she left that it is their wonderful acting that has us all so into this story. She was touched by that. Tammy and I got our picture taken with her before she left. It was sweet. You couldn't ask for a nicer, friendlier actress. She really puts her fans first. Both of them are super people. She and Ben are the truly best. And the whole cast of Passions is so warm and welcoming. What a bunch!! What a day!!!!!!

....................................................................................................
..........

I want to thank both Tracey and Ben for giving me wonderful memories of this year's fan club event. I'll never forget your kindness and the appreciation you have for your fans. Thank you so much for the cheerful welcome, warm hugs, and kind words. And Tracey, thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to talk to us about how you want to give back to your fans. Thanks, both of you, for making it such a special day for me, my friend Tammy, and my husband Mike. We had so much fun! I always knew I loved Evian for your terrific acting and chemistry, as well as the beautiful story. But now I can honestly say that I love Evian too because of the wonderful people who portray them. Thank you so much!!

Yay!!!
Mood:  celebratory
I graduated yesterday! I finally have my master's diploma in hand after almost two years of work.

We had a fun trip to Detroit. Four of us drove with our husbands/families, caravan style. We stayed on the same floor of a huge hotel there. Driving around the city wasn't too bad. I got to learn a lot about the history of some special projects going on there during the graduation ceremony. It sounds like there are a lot of people who care about the community.

Woohoo to finally being done! I was so exhausted after graduation, I fell asleep at 7:15 and slept until 3:30 a.m. LOL.

Courtaney

Yay to finally getting rid of those computer viruses!!!
Mood:  happy
It's great to finally be able to get back online!! Although I could get into some things on this site at school, the blog and our site manager pages were blocked by our filtering system, and of course I couldn't see any of the videos! I couldn't get onto Coffeerooms at all (although maybe that wasn't such a bad thing - LOL.) At least I could visit Secret Desires a few times during all this mess. Eleven days would have been so hard to take completely cut off from the net and our gang of Evian fans and friends. Thanks so much, Bailey, for keeping me up to date! LOL, you are the best!!

And as for these worm starters - I say, they deserve more than a slap on the wrist and a cushy job offer. But, at least they did make everyone aware of a flaw in the operating systems. It could have been someone far more sinister taking advantage of that weakness, I guess. Thank goodness that was not the case. Still, a boyhood prank this wasn't. We learned our lesson here. We will never be without a firewell again!

It's so good to be back!!!

Courtaney

Mother's Day
Coming up this weekend. My husband plans on taking my kids out to find me something nice he says. It should be a lot of fun to see what they come home with. :)

This morning, he woke me up and told me not to bother getting out of bed, he'll do my chores. I thought he was messing with me...lol he said, no, its for Mother's Day. So I slept some more! :)

Thank you, James!!

How to Get in the Game
Mood:  happy

by: John MacArthur

When I played college football, my coaches constantly drilled our team with the admonition: "Play your position!" They had to repeat it often because when we saw the play develop toward another place on the field, we were tempted to dash over and try to tackle the guy with the ball. About that time the play would reverse direction to the spot we had just left.

One of our best players was very aggressive and often strayed far from his position. He was all over the field tackling people, and invariably the wrong ones. Finally, he was benched. Though he was a good athlete, he proved worthless to the team because he wouldn't stick to his position.

Since we all tended to make the same mistake, the coach would take us back to the locker room to draw the plays on a chalkboard. He would first make everyone's position plain to see, and then he'd explain how the plays were supposed to run. There's a parallel to that in Christian experience. God has put you on His team and given you both the resources and the obligation to "play" your position in the Body of Christ. He has given you spiritual gifts for carrying out your assignment.

Your first obligation as a Christian is to learn about your position in the Body of Christ. You've got to study the chalkboard, so to speak, and see where you stand; see who's on either side of you, who's behind you, who's in front of you. Unfortunately, many Christians don't know how to live, partly because they don't know their position. I want to draw your position on the spiritual chalkboard so you can be an effective player in the game.

Basically, God's gift of salvation in Christ brings a believer into a position of righteousness. God imputes the perfect righteousness of His Son to the believer, and thereby declares him righteous positionally. But as you know full well, believers still have sin in their lives--Christians are not practically righteous, 100 percent of the time. However, it is on the basis of our positional righteousness, that we are exhorted to strive for practical righteousness in our daily lives.

If you can set your personal struggle with sin aside for a moment, I want you to consider what the Bible says about your position in Christ. As a Christian you are: spiritually alive unto God, dead to sin, forgiven, declared righteous, a child of God, God's possession, an heir of God, blessed with all spiritual blessings, a citizen of heaven, a servant of God, free from the Law, crucified to the world, a light in the world, victorious over Satan, cleansed from sin, declared holy and blameless, set free in Christ from the power of sin, secure in Christ, granted peace and rest, and led by the Holy Spirit.

You're probably thinking, "The Bible may say all that, but I sure don't always live up to those descriptions." That's why in the New Testament, for every one of those statements about your position, there is a corresponding practice you're to follow. For example, the New Testament tells you:
- Since you are spiritually alive to God, live according to that new life.
- Since you are dead to sin, don't give sin any place in your life.
- Since you're forgiven, count on that and don't go through life feeling guilty.
- Since you've been declared righteous, live righteously.
- Since you're a child of God, act like one of God's children.
- Since you are God's possession, yield to Him in humble submission.

I'm convinced that if you will honestly study your position in Christ, your life will change. You'll understand that failure in some aspect of Christian living doesn't mean you lose your position. The position of a true Christian is settled forever--it's unchanging and permanent. And on the other hand, just as stumbling won't change your standing for the worse, growth won't add to it for the better either. God's favor doesn't depend on your works. God "has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity" (2 Timothy 1:9).

Positionally, you cannot increase or decrease in the favor of God. As a genuine Christian, nothing you do, or fail to do, can change to the slightest degree your perfect standing before God--for "in Him you have been made complete" (Colossians 2:10).

Thankfully, that completeness does not mean that when you understand your position you will remain as you are--no, you will see changes in your life. The New Testament continually emphasizes your identity as a believer and urges you understand and apply your spiritual resources. As you continue to mature in Christ, you will not only come to a greater understanding of who you are, but you'll also rely more consistently on your resources--those granted to you as a result of your position in Christ--to handle the practical aspects of Christian living. That's the thrust of Paul's appeal in Ephesians 4:1: "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called."

So what about you, Christian--do you know your position? If not, go back to the locker room and study the chalkboard--your Bible--and you'll discover afresh the joy of who you are in Christ. If so, get in the game, play your position, and become in practice what you already are in position.


Bailey

Happy birthday, Mike!!!
Mood:  lyrical
Happy birthday, sweetie! :)

Thank you for mowing our terribly tall grass (it's rained for days) on your birthday and day off. You are the best, and I know I don't tell you that often enough!

Love,
Karen

The meaning of Life
There is a place in every man's heart that only Jesus can fill. You can try to fill it with material things, or anything or anyone that turns your head at that moment, but in the end, when the 'newness' wears off, you will find that void is still there.

But when you give it to Jesus, suddenly everything makes sense, the air is fresher, the birds sing sweeter, and the nasty neighbour suddenly isn't so bad anymore...you have a purpose in life, you have found meaning to life...Jesus Christ himself! Give him a chance!

Bailey

We are being spoiled!
Mood:  lazy
What beautiful weather we have had here in Ohio the last four days! It has mostly been in the seventies, nice and breezy...just perfect weather. Yesterday, though, it was 84 degrees! That is the normal high in July. It has spoiled us all for summer, I think. I love it! My husband and I have been enjoying our screened-in porch. He likes watching birds, and just bought a bird bath yesterday. He was upset that the birds didn't find it yet. LOL, I saw a big gray squirrel in one of our bird feeders just a little while ago. I think he is feeding the furry little critters around here more than the birds! LOL.

Courtaney

Go Evian!!!
Mood:  on fire
Wow, those spoilers we heard yesterday have me giddy. LOL. While I am a bit leery of the one that says the results of Evian's attempts at satisfying their desires won't be pretty, I am just thrilled that they are attempting something, and that Eve seems to be the one to initiate this. Go Eve!! :) I can't wait for May!!

I really need to go do chores now...but who wants to do laundry and pick up stuff when you can read about Evian? LOL.

Courtaney

Hope Everyone Had a Happy Easter!!
Mood:  happy
There is nothing like going home to visit family for the holidays. I had a blast visiting my family and my husband's on Easter. First we went to my uncle's, which is about an hour and a half away. He treated us to a home-cooked dinner of the all the best dishes, including my favorite - shredded scalloped potatoes. He even baked a cake that his 15-year-old daughter, Emily, decorated. Then we got to enjoy watching my two little nephews, Evan and Aidan, go on their Easter egg hunt. Aidan, who is about to turn 3, recently got glasses, and he looks so adorable in them!

After my uncle's, we went on to my husband's sister's house, where I was immediately pulled out to the trampoline by my 12-year-old niece Rebecca. We had a blast out there, and also at trying to play songs on the piano together. It was the blind leading the blind. LOL. We had fun playing euchre too. There is nothing like getting to spend time with family, especially when you only get to see each other every couple of months!

Courtaney

It's Been a Great Couple of Days!!
Mood:  happy
A few days ago, I found out my grandmother's biopsy came back benign. Last night, my husband surprised me with a bouquet of daisies, and today we found out we are getting a nice refund back on our taxes. This kind of makes up for the things going on at work lately. It has been a tough spring there. I am glad to get some good news for a change.

Courtaney

NHL Playoffs!
Ok, I am not as huge a hockey fan as I used to be. But I enjoy the playoffs, the hockey is a lot more intense.

I love to play the game more than I do watching it. I remember back when I was about 20-21 we would go to the outdoor rink and play for hours..even in -25C. Didn't matter. We loved the game and wanted to play.

I was watching Bugs Bunny and he sang a song..you're next, you're so next. LOL well I am sure if you read this today, you will notice that stupid song is stuck in my head on SD as well. ;) Anyways, hope that lady at your school gets a break Karen.

Bailey

Man, I am so down!
Mood:  sad
I just found out today that because of budget crunches, our dear custodian and several others are going to lose their jobs at the end of this school year! She is such a nice lady, and she just survived a horrible bout with cancer (she was in stage 4 lymphoma). For her to be OK is a miracle. (She had an experimental bone marrow transplant over a year ago, one that is not as radical as the one typically seen in hospitals). It has appeared to cure her, but of course, she still has a lot of bills to pay. I am so bummed at the system that doesn't think twice about axing this fine lady, one of the nicest, most decent people I know!! :(

Courtaney

Yay!!! I am finally done with graduate school!!
Mood:  special
Woohoo!!! I just mailed in my final portfolio. My days of pulling all-nighters (or near ones) are over. Now I can finally do some of the things I have intended to do for so long, like give my house a thorough cleaning... No, catching up on my Evian tapes is much more fun!! LOL.

Courtaney

From the farm....
Yay, the weather is warm. Probably cold for all you southerners..lol plus 12C, but to us, who get -40F sometimes..well anything abover 32F is wonderful!!!

Darn, next month is May..time to put the garden in. So not looking forward to weeding. ;(

Bailey

From the Farm..
Mood:  cheeky
Today a chicken bit me while doing chores. Other than that, the morning went well! :) Dinner, we had fresh chicken!


Bailey