So, I Used to Be a Singer???

I commute an hour one way to work each day and an hour back, and the radio has gotten kind of old lately. I recently pulled out some of my OLD worship cds from back in the old junior high/ high school days. The worship music has been a refreshing addition to my commute, and I think it is definitely good for my soul. It has gotten me thinking about the last time I probably listened to these cds.

When I was in 7th-9th grade, I was in a singing group called "Forever 4 Jesus." I bet you can't guess how many of us there were in the group. If you said four, you are correct. We got a new youth pastor at our church the summer before 7th grade. He traveled across North Louisiana and South Arkansas almost every weekend speaking at youth rallies. One day he got some of the girls from our youth group together and asked if we wanted to put together something to sing at one of the rallies. That was the start of Forever 4 Jesus.

We started putting together a collection of soundtrack tapes (yes tapes), and practicing a couple of times a week. For a couple of years there, we were singing at least once a month in our church and a couple of weekends a month at youth rallies. We even entered the Gospel Festival in Minden, La. and came in first place in our division and second place overall. We got a trophy that we kept in the choir director's office at church. It was a really fun experience, and I have such wonderful memories of the three other girls in that singing group.

It's really funny for me to think about it now. I don't consider myself a singer by any means. I sing in the car, and that's about it. When I sing in the car, and Stephen is in the car with me, he usually makes fun of me. I can remember singing in the shower when I was younger, and my family would bang on the door and tell me to be quiet. I'm kind of thinking now that people were just trying to be nice to me by letting me be in a singing group. :) Nonetheless, I am really enjoying my old worship cds.

Too Short

Our weekend was too short but oh so nice! Stephen and I had a date night Friday. We went to eat at Zea Rotisserie at one of our favorite weekend night spots, Brookwood Village. Brookwood has live music outside every Friday and Saturday night. After we ate, we sat on a bench outside for a while and listened to the music. Brookwood is actually a mall, but there's a really nice area outside of it with shops and restaurants. Our favorite Italian restaurant, Brio, is there, as well as our favorite yogurt place, YOLO.

Zea is a really great place to eat too! We took Stephen's parents there last time they were in town, and they loved it.

Saturday morning, my friend Ellen and I (and her toy poodle, Buddy) went downtown to the Pepper Place market. I had never even heard of this place until Ellen asked if I wanted to go with her. It is amazing. It's an old Dr. Pepper factory that has been turned into an indoor/outdoor Farmer's market. There were also some crafts there too. I picked up some amazing jalapeno cheddar bread that Stephen has devoured and some fresh tomatoes. Stephen and I are going to go back next Saturday so that he can see it too. They have everything from baked goods and veggies to homemade icecream. There was also live music and cooking demonstrations. It is a really cool place, and I can't wait to go back!

We also cooked a LOT this weekend, which was good because the weekend is normally the time when we are the worst about eating out. We had sandwiches on the phenomenal jalapeno cheese bread, we grilled hamburgers, Stephen made pancakes, and last night we made a really good zuchini pasta bake. I'll have to post the recipe for that some time. It was excellent! There are only a handful of weekends left before life becomes crazy again, and I intend to enjoy every single minute of them! I hope everyone out there in the blog world had a great weekend too!