Free things are always fun for me. It doesn't matter if it's coffee at a drugstore or lotion samples in the mall - I love them. I think one major reason I love them is because of their size. Free stuff usually comes in "cute" size. For instance, McDonald's had a promotion Monday giving away free mochas. This was the best free stuff I had gotten in a long time because I didn't even KNOW about it until I got there.
Barak and I are hardly frequents of McD's (not going out to eat much makes us picky when we do), but we were wanting a place to sit and read while my car had some routine work done. We were a little tired of the usual spots, so when we saw the golden arches, we were eerily drawn in. Barak grabbed a seat while I went up to order a regular coffee with splenda. However, instead of the sweet girl behind the counter asking, "Is that all?" I get a chipper, "Would you like a free mocha with that?"
Would I?!
I gave her an enthusiastic, "Of course!" and she then gave me a CHOICE. I could choose between iced or hot, whipped cream or no, and syrup on top! There's no need for me to tell you my answer to all of the above.
The best part was, it was cute-size. Why don't they (all eating establishments) have free-sample-size available on a regular basis? Presentation was everything... It came to me in a clear cup, a little smaller than a kid's frosty at Wendy's. I could see other hot ones being delivered out the drive-through in the same sized insulated version.
Eyes wide, I made my way back to the table, and told Barak all about it. He was definitly happy I was happy, but didn't share in the excitement. I assume boys don't understand or appreciate the same cute stuff I think most girls do.
Barak read his Dostoyevsky and I read my Austin and my free, cute-sized mocha joined us through our delightful McCafe experience.

Moral of the story: Barak is the most amazing man ever for taking me to McDonald's AND getting my car what it needs to keep me safe :)

the economy

It's what everyone is talking about. Everyone is affected by it. I have friends in the medical and education field who are telling me they may not have jobs next year because of it. Doctors, nurses, and teachers - the fundamental positions in our society...

I have this theory that the state of our country wouldn't be in this mess if we as individual people had followed a simple "rule" to begin with. My Dad instilled it into us growing up, and my husband (Barak the Great) has reiterated and enforced it in our home.

Don't spend money you don't have and give wisely what you do have.

Doing everything possible to stay out of debt (from an individual or company) gives you freedom to do the things you want to do and should do.
This has been lived out in how many pairs of shoes I buy (this number changes, depending who you talk to - Barak seems to think 3 is plenty, I know 20 is conservative.) only half of my collection is shown below...

to what car we drive. If you don't know or can't tell from the picture, we have a 92 Camery with faded hood and roof. Let's just say it's a good thing Barak knows his way around a car engine.

All so we can give to organizations worth supporting and individuals in need - Not so we can just be cheap and frugel for frugel's sake.

I was a little scared when I received the letter from my school district stating that I cannot be guaranteed, at this point, a job next year. My job in limbo was frightening, but only for about 3 seconds.

Who has brought me this far? Has Gaston County Schools provided me my life, food, and shelter? Our God has always been my provider and is faithful to continue! It's easy to forget, though I'm not sure why. I let emotional people lead me into irrational emotional states.

This hope has given me the ability to stay positive (another saying in the Cutrer household) no matter my situation and circumstances. I can play with my puppy and laugh with my husband.

No aching of dread has stoped me from enjoying our God through this uncertain time. He remains constant and my Portion.

nothing new

Since I only have one week left with students, my life kind of feels like it's going into coast - for a little bit, anyway.
So, I don't have huge ideas to share or ground breaking events shattering my existence.

mediocre happenings in the West household:
Barak and I are getting our puppy this Sunday. The picture is an updated one from the first post. We decided to call it Charlie. It has a little mustache like Charlie Chaplain. We might even call it Chuck when it gets older. Isn't he adorable? Yes, we think so, too.

Last weekend Barak and I joined a few other MC friends to celebrate Erica's marriage... again. She was married in December in Nicaragua, and now held her family's American ceremony in Virginia. It was beautiful. We even saw some old friends like Jimmy (as in gourd) and his wife and Byron and his family. I posted a picture of Byron dancing with one of his beautiful daughters. Dancing - wow, THAT hasn't happened in a long time for me. Warming up to some Jackson 5 and keepin it real with Love Shack brought back some crazy college memories of Leah showing us the "bomb" dance. I think I even pulled out some "ketchup" a time or two.

NC pride

The same man who has taken me to Handel's Messiah, Quiet Reflections Prayer Retreat, and brunch at Old Edward's Inn reached a new level of culture this Saturday. He "got" us some free tickets to the RACE! I'm talkin NASCAR, baby - WOOO!
Now, honestly, I have scanned through races on tv many times thinking to myself, "What is so exciting about cars going around in a circle for hours?" and wondering how thousands of fans could get so wrapped up in it all.
I found out yesterday at the Lowe's Motor Speedway.
This thing isn't about a race, it's about a day-long event with people. People who are proud to show their gut and have a good time. These people come a day early and set up their campers inside and outside the speedway. It's basically a glorified tail-gating extravaganza. Barak and I didn't show up until a couple of hours before the race started, but we could still see North Carolina at her finest... bar-b-quers, bean bag tossers, drinkers, and all of them yelling. Lots of yelling. It didn't matter what the subject, just yelling. You won at a vendor's putt-putt challenge? Yell! It started raining? Yell! You can't get to your seat because there are too many steps and they are way too steep? Yell!

Once we had our fill of ice cream, bbq, hot dogs, funnel cakes, and lemonade, we walked around the inside of the speedway and climbed the steps to our seats, the whole time wishing Spanky had come along to help me appreciate it all.
Then, it began. Now, I expected the national anthem and the introduction of the drivers, but what happened first, before each race, was something amazing. They had a man pray. Not just a generic prayer to "God" but using Jesus' name. And after said prayer, the whole crowd roared with excitement! I had never experienced anything like that at such a public venue. Well, any venue, for that matter. Then, of course, after the "Amen," most of the onlookers continued with various cursings of the drivers they liked the least.

All of this to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the way NASCAR changed my perspective on my fellow redneck. Don't worry, I won't be asking for Dale Jr. caps for Christmas or get a Jeff Gordon bed-sheet set in the guest room or anything. But I did really enjoy the whole experience and would totally do it again if I was given the chance.
I have to say, Barak made it fun. He 'gets' this crowd, knows the type, and made me and the people around us laugh a lot the whole time. I'll post more pictures and maybe a video clip on facebook.

A few points

I would like to take this opportunity to talk about how RIDICULOUS it is that American Idol tries to "give back" by sending American celebrities to "Africa-" not even a country, but a whole continent. It's about as brilliant as a Senegalese asking me if I knew their cousin that lived in New York since I was from America. And what do they do with all this money? get a 12 year old to dance on their stage and hand out mosquito nets. Unbelievable.

Also, regarding my last post, Barak never actually said that I wasn't nurturing, and didn't call corrie's blog stupid or anything... But he did just ask me why I would even blog, like it was a waste of time. (maybe he didn't say it exaaaactly that way, but that's what I felt like he said. So that makes it real, right?)

Ok, because checking ESPN.com six times a day isn't a waste of time...

BTW, we have a topsy turvy and it is doing marvelous. I totally underestimated it. Barak is the master gardener.

charlie and marley

Barak has been dominating the cul-de-sac with his keen Dog Whisperer skills for the past few weeks. Our neighbor's dog Marley, a mastif/boxer mix, was deemed impossible by everyone until... my husband tamed that wild beast!
Now, we take Marley for a walk everyday. It's made me actually want a dog of my own.
My childhood gave me a certain realistic view of pets. We never added Bingo and Oreo to our list of siblings or bought Shadows toys for Christmas. For the most part, animals stayed outside and were tolerated. Barak's family was like the other 95% of Americans who have childhood family stories steeped in memories of their pets. I think the only reason we haven't had pets before now is because Barak was afraid I wouldn't have the nurturing skills towards the animal, excuse me, pet that would be "needed."
So, here's a picture of what might be our newest edition. He's only 2 weeks old in this picture, just a couple of days after opening his eyes... If we get him, he'll come join us in about 4 weeks. We're thinking about calling him Charlie.