Shellie Rushing Tomlinson's Blog: Shellie Rushing Tomlinson's Blog, page 46

Anthrax in LP?

Hey y'all! Today is National Holistic Pet Day! I looked it up, it means we should be considerate of our pets' physical, psychological, and social lives.

Hmmm…I try to feed Dixie the best dog food and I try to take her on a walk as many afternoons as I can and I do my best to socialize with her daily. However, with a to-do list stacked up higher than my head, The Squirrel Patrol Czar is gonna have to tend to her own psychologial issues. And yes, she has some. Notwithstanding her tennis ball...

Play Stump Shellie on ATS LIVE!

Hey y'all, it's Monday and that means I'll be on air this evening from 5:00 to 6:00 PM CST hosting this big happy southern community on ATS LIVE! If you're a regular listener, I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you're a new listener who has just found me, WELCOME! If you've been meaning to join us and keep forgetting, I hope you'll find your way to the cyber porch this evening. ATS LIVE airs locally on Talk540 KMLB and streams alllllllll across the world in real time...

This Belle hates to miss a good shindig…

If you are Mr. or Mrs. Goodread, you'll need to give me some time to get up to basics, but after hearing everyone and their mama ask me why I wasn't "active" on Goodreads, I've decided there MUST be something there I'm missing. And you do know this belle can't stand the idea of missing a good party– especially if it's about words. So– I'm there– and of course, I'm already planning my won shindig! Here's your personal invitation. Don't worry, you won't need it at the door. Just show up and...

I'm Having Withdrawals

It's done. I've packed my and Phil's lunches and I'm headed to the field (laptop in tow) to visit with my hard-working husband. Today's experiment will be to see if I can write on the combine. No, I won't be driving. The darling man will be at the controls. Harvest is always a long hard season around here. Eight hour workdays are unheard of on the farm! This translates to very little time together. 

Right now, I'm having a serious case of Phil withdrawals. It's been a long week and my heart is sore from seeing so much pain in so many lives. I'm sorrowful for the chaos in the lives of people I love very much. And then there are the strangers, more than one, from different walks of life, who have opened their hearts to me and shared their sadness, becoming friends in the process. 

I think I feel a little like my son used to many years ago when harvest wore on too long. Both of my children missed their daddy, but Phillip seemed to take those days the hardest. He would begin pining for his daddy who left for work before he woke up and returned home long after he had fallen asleep. Those were the days I would take the boy child to ride the combine with his dad while his older sissy and I shared some girl time.

After fellowshipping with The Man this morning, and leaving a ton of prayer concerns at His feet, I'm going to ride the combine with the earthly man He gave me. We'll lunch and we'll visit and then, well, I'm going to see if I can churn out some words while we just enjoy being near each other.  This should be interesting. I shall report back soon.

In the meantime, I have a question for you. And facebookers, you may want to leave your comments on the blog because you can use the "anonymous" login. I'm working on a project and I'm interested in how you would answer this question–

My prayer life is _______________________________

Hugs,
Shellie

Nat'l Kiss and Makeup Day (or settling for a forced peace)

In observance of Nat'l Kiss and Makeup Day, I dedicate this post to my fine Southern Mama who believed a forced peace was better than none at all. If my sisters and I fought, and oh did we fight, Mama would make us sit under the dining room table with our arms around each other's shoulders until we could get along. As I may have mentioned in other chats, we learned to comply so we could get out on probabation and take our issues to the great outdoors where we could maim each other privately.

Ah, home– sweet home, what strange things did your parents do to foster the peace?

Hugs,

Shellie

Lost in a Peanuts Cartoon Strip

Do y'all remember this post: http://shellierushingtomlinson.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/do-i-look-like-charlie-brown/ where I asked if I looked like Charlie Brown? Well, the madness continues. I'm beginning to think I'm lost in a Peanuts cartoon strip.

If you're a regular around the ATS porch, you know that one of my daily duties is to play tennis with Dixie Belle, AKA the Squirrel Patrol Czar.

I have long since given up merely throwing her ball. I discovered that actually clocking it with my tennis racket sends it further and wears her out faster. I'm smart like that.

Well, over the past couple of years, Dixie and I have lost a half dozen balls to this tennis ball eating pine tree in our backyard. These instances tend to happen when it has been just long enough since the last time for me to forget about this certain tree's evil tendencies. Wham– before I realize it, I have sent that ball sailing towards this tree with Dixie happily bounding in that direction. No sooner than the ball leaves my racket, I'm thinking, "Oh, no…here we go again." I really should take a picture of Dixie's face when this happens and her ball literally disappears in mid-air, but I think you can imagine her puzzlement. At least I caught the tree in the act this time. The trusty Iphone and I were able to manuever into a position where I could zoom in and see it resting in the tree's clutches. I've provided y'all with a handy dandy arrow.

I remember the first time it happened. I thought it was a fluke, but now– six or seven balls later, there's no getting around it. We have a bully on our hands. 

Have y'all ever heard of any such craziness as a tennis ball eating tree?! And, better yet– what well-known Peanuts scenario should I be concerned about snagging me next?

Hugs,

Shellie

Today on ATS LIVE: Robin Jones Gunn, plus your chance to win ATS t-shirt!

Hey y'all! I just finished laying radio tracks for next week's canned daily segments of All Things Southern (did you know you can find a list of my affiliates here)  and now I'm prepping for this afternoon's live show. I hope you're planning to join me. ATS LIVE airs on TALK 540 out of Monroe, LA from 5:00 to 5:00 CST. But, if you're not local– no worries– you can listen to the streaming link live at my site:

http://www.talk540.com/stream/live-stream.php

I'm excited to tell y'all that Robin Jones Gunn is my guest today. We'll be talking about her influential books that have racked up over four million in sales!

 The subject of Tombstone Twitch has come back up on the porch, so we'll revisit that fun little southern topic, I'll share some Southern Comfort in the form of some devotional thoughts on Fuzzy Directions, and as always, I'll have a bit of New You Can Lose that I've trolled around and found for your enjoyment.

Don't forget to post a big "HI! I'm here, Susie from Savannnah" on my Facebook wall so we can play Romper Room at some point– AND so you can weigh in on whatever discussion is at hand. I do believe we'll open the show with a "Stump Shellie Story Segment". That's where you have a word ready that I must tell a story about. Examples: you can call in 1-800-259-1440 with your word/phrase — or you can post "swimming disaster", "worst advice you ever got" etc. on my Facebook wall and I'll have to come up with a story on the spot! Suggestions must be clean  and today– if I use yours, I'll send you an ATS t-shirt just because I feel like giving something away. See you on the air! (Oh, yeah– don't post your word/phrase until we're LIVE and remember, you can't win if you aren't subscribed to my website and this blog!)

Hugs,

Shellie

 

What do you see in this picture?

I have a piece of artwork sitting on a bookshelf here in the family room that has become quite the conversation piece. I purchased it simply because I liked what I "saw". It was only after I got it home and my husband mentioned what he saw when he looked at it that I began to realize how thought provoking it really is– and I'm wondering if it was supposed to be…

What I'm finding most interesting is who sees what in it and how that breaks down along gender lines, among other things. So, here's the piece:

Humor me this evening. What I want to know is,  what do you see at first glance? I'll be back in a while to elaborate…

Hugs,

Shellie

Son Bathing on the Dock

Hey y'all,

I wish every last one of you could have been with me on my dock this morning! Worship was sooooooo sweet that I gave in to the strongest need to go face down– as in, face to dock in gratitude. I do believe Dixie Belle thought I had finally lost what was left of my mind. I heard her creep closer from her resting spot and when I sat up she was looking at me with her famous sideways puzzled look. 

I'll admit, the thought did cross my mind that I might appear to be in trouble to any passing good samaritains, but the good news is that no concerned fishermen came to my rescue. I'm happy to report that I didn't have any company, (unless there was an angel or two resting in the cypress trees, and really— who's to say?

Hugs,

Shellie

Have you ever beheld Him until you had to go facedown?

Guys– Brian Goins will talk about "Playing Hurt" today on ATS LIVE!

Hey Y'all,

I'm at the studio getting ready for today's show. Hope you're planning on tuning in. After hearing ONE too many story about people WAKING UP right before they're buried, I'm going to give you my top three ways to make sure I've kicked the can before you start shoveling the dirt my way.

Also, I have a great guest lined up for you. Brian Goins will be in to talk about his terrific book, Playing Hurt, it's a must-read for belles AND beaus. So tune in and join the fun. Here's my copy w/just a FEW of my sticky notes. Hmmm….whatever shall I ask him first?!

That streaming link is http://www.talk540.com/stream/live-stream.php and, as always, you can interact with us during the show on my Facebook wall.

Hope to see you on the air!

Hugs,

Shellie

P.S. If you leave a comment here and you show up on the FB wall, you MIGHT win something, I'm just saying…