Life in a Small Town

I grew up, like many of you, in a small town. My little town was my whole world, and anything outside of it barely existed in my eyes. I grew up knowing my neighbors, and playing at their house (outside of course). We snuck down to the creek, when I promised my mama I wouldn't go...always coming home soaking wet from falling in. We pretended to be on Kids Incorporated and rode our bikes around the block over and over again, until the bug man came and sprayed the neighborhood for mosquitos and you either rode behind him taking it in, or if you were like me, ran inside because your mama told you it was poison. We listened for the ice cream man, and swung on the swing set in my back yard, jumping off when we got so high in the air that we could almost touch the clouds!

My mama let me stay home alone after school (in the 4th grade!) and in the summers because my friend's mom was always at home if I needed anything. We swam in her above ground pool and jumped on the trampoline, and ran through the sprinkler. When we got thirsty, we drank out of the hose pipe. If it rained, we stayed inside listening to old records, or watched VHS tapes of "Creep Show" or Alice In Wonderland.

When my mama would come home, I would be ready to go to ball or cheerleading practice or the Athletic Complex to play softball, cheer, or watch my brother's play baseball, football, soccer, or basketball. We practically lived there. For dinner, we would eat whatever my mom cooked, or we ate at the ball park. Eating out was for the weekends, and when we did, my PawPaw always went with us, letting me count the money in his billfold on the way.

One summer, I went to my friend Michelle's house every single day at 10am and watched The Price Is Right, followed by Dirty Dancing. We'd play Barbie's or ride bikes after that, but always, without fail, had to watch The Price Is Right & Dirty Dancing.

Opening Day of little league was always a big day! All of the teams would get together at someone's house the night before for a team party while our parents decorated the trucks for the parade the next morning. The parade was followed by a huge carnival at the park where we would play needle in a haystack and go "fishing" for goldfish that would die by the time we got home with them in that plastic bag. We sold raffle tickets and ate barbeque at the ballpark. We played our games and got free cokes afterwards. While the other teams got ready to play, Mr. McDonald, better known as "Goat" would line the fields while we played cup-ball near the batting cages.

We rode a school bus to Woodward Elementary, passing the house with the chickens in front on the way, and had sock hops and 4-H talent shows. We took field trips to the zoo and the Children's Theater, but nothing was better than going to the Space & Rocket Center with Mr. McCrory in the 6th Grade. As 6th graders we took a tour of the high school and had our class picnic at the park.

We travelled the halls for the 1st time as 7th graders, realizing we were small fish again, and hoping that we got a top locker. We loved assemblies and pep rallies and would pay $1 for a prom fashion show, even as a Jr. High student if it meant we got out of class. We fell in "love" with senior boys, and got our hearts broken when they never looked our way. We did book reports on "Where the Red Fern Grows" and wore our Dick Tracy t-shirts tied on the side with our jeans tight rolled.

We held spend the night parties, rolled yards, and prank called people from our home phone...our only phone. We had lock-ins at church, choir tours and beach retreats. We took road trips to Opryland and Point Mallard in the summer.

We went to football games on Friday nights to walk around the track and meet boys, not to watch the games. We dressed up during homecoming week, and had wars between the Juniors and Seniors. We won baseball state championships, and cried at graduation.

Everyone knew you and all of your business. We knew the mayor and he knew us. Life in our sweet, small town, hasn't always been great, but it's home.

On April 27, 2011, a massive tornado came in and tore down a lot of the houses that my friends used to live in. While it may have destroyed the way our little town had looked for all those years, it didn't destroy our sense of community. I think I love it much more today than I did on April 26th. Sometimes you just don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

What's your small town like?

Wow....I thought I'd be better at this

Ok, so I'm a terrible blogger. I don't necessarily think it's my blogs that are bad, because I read over them and laugh and think, man, this is good stuff, it's just that I'm terrible at updating it regularly. I'm going to go with it's quality not quantity. Now that you all think I'm the most arrogant blogger on the planet, I'll move on.

I had a great summer! I took a trip to the beach with the family, which was my neice, Hannah's first experience with sand and the ocean. We had a great trip, but Hannah enjoyed her time in the pool much more than the beach :) . It's hard to believe she'll be a year old in only 2 weeks. I'll never forget the first time I laid eyes on her.

*Random side note: as I'm sitting here in the Books a Million in Fultondale, AL it never ceases to amaze me the things that people will wear. This lady is browsing the video game section with a shaved head and a braided rat tail down her back. I mean...I want to say, "Ma'am, the 80's ended 20 years ago...and is that really the look we want to go back to? " Come on. *

Anyway, back to my summer. I worked really hard this summer, even took a full load of classes, so by the time September hit, I was ready for another vacation. Gina, Cindy, Rebecca and I set sail from Mobile, Alabama on September 6th on the Carnival Elation "The Fun Ship" and headed out first to Cozumel, Mexico. The first night on the boat I won a karaoke contest and got to the opportunity to sing R.E.S.P.E.C.T. as Aretha Franklin in the Carnival Legend's finale show on the ship the last night of the cruise, in full costume (and wig) for about 1500 people. It. Was. Fantastic!!!!!! Definitely typical Karen Bankston type stuff.

Cozumel was great! We shopped in the markets, ate authentic Mexican food & hung out at the beach all day. It was GORGEOUS!!! I've never seen water so clear in all my life. Rebecca decided that since "you only live once" she would go snorkeling, which proved to not be the best decision since no one on the boat she went on spoke English and she'd just had guacamole. I, however, chose to spend my time getting a deep tissue massage on the beach, which was a GREAT decision!

Our next stop was Calica, which was just a rock quarry, so we took an excursion to Playa Del Carmen for more shopping and a private beach. It was a GREAT day! Playa Del Carmen was beautiful! I bought a beautiful bowl for my coffee table and some Christmas ornaments. Once we got to the private beach, we quickly found that apparently it's appropriate to go topless. Needless to say, the Fantastic four did not partake. I did, however, go ahead and have another massage, while on the beach. I'd gotten a little burnt the day before so I didn't want to spend too much time in the sun, and the 2nd massage was a great idea.

The best part of our trip, was meeting a very sweet couple, Brook & Chuck at breakfast on Tuesday. The are children's minister's from Missouri and we had the best time hanging out with them and getting to know them. They had a couple that was sitting at their dinner table from Arkansas, who are youth ministers. He looks just like Vince Vaughn, so that's exactly what we called him!!! It's was nice to be able to go on a trip like that and run into other believers that you have stuff in common with!

It's was a sad day to have to get off the boat and come on home, but we got home safely and watched the Alabama vs Penn State game with some great friends. Summer's officially over and it's time for my favorite season: Football Season!!!!!! ROLL TIDE!!!!!

On A Sad Note....
Around the end of July I bought a new car, a beautiful black 2011 Toyota Camry. It's definitely the nicest car I've ever owned with it's gorgeous stone colored leather interior. My coworkers like to pretend I'm their chauffeur, letting me drive everyone to lunch in my fancy new car. It's amazing that I've actually kept it clean for the past month and 3 weeks. It's been washed several times, so it's already got one up on the Cavalier. I even named it...never done that before, but I went with Ebony. On my way home Thursday night, I saw a car stopped in the middle of the road, waiting to turn into a subdivision. I swerved to miss it and ran off the road hitting a telephone. I should find out next week if it's totaled but thankfully, I wasn't hurt, other than a few bruises and a broken heart.

While I can't promise I'll do any better with my updates, I'll definitely try. I look forward to hearing from you all so comment away.

2 blogs 1 week

This is my neice, Hannah. Clearly, I'm her favorite aunt, but I digress.

I know it's very unlike me to post 2 blogs in month much less within a few days of each other, but what can I say. I'm a giver.

I started having some cell phone trouble a couple of weeks ago. The charger wouldn't register so the battery was dead and I marched into Verizon to get it fixed. This is a pretty boring drawn out story that makes my head hurt so I'll keep this short and sweet. I finally got my Blackberry back. Now, much like a car, a phone has to know you love it. When I was on the Blackberry bandwagon I never had any trouble with it, but now, I've been talking about wanting an IPhone and just to be honest, my little Blackberry's gotten depressed. I've decided not to mention another word in the presence of my new phone about the Iphone just to keep the peace between me and my Curve. At least until my contract with Verizon runs out in January.

With all that being said, I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of replacement Blackberry. I've had to go back to my old phone which has not faired too well. After waiting a week (that seemed like a month) for the new Curve I spent an hour trying to get it activated this morning only to walk out the door and leave it at home. Typical.

So, anywho. I decided make the plunge and rejoin the choir at church. It shouldn't have been such a tough choice, but I really felt like the Lord's given me a tool, and I need to use it instead of being lazy. I've only been to 1 practice, since spring break was last week, so I'll be back tonight singing away.

In 2 weeks we'll have the last Easter service in the "South Campus" of GFBC. That's what they're calling the existing worship center. We should be in the new building in a couple of months. It's hard to believe that we'll finally be in it. We've been talking about the new building since I came to GFBC, so I'm really excited to see it happen! God's done such an incredible work in that church over the years and I'm thankful that the Lord brought me there.

There are so many exciting things to look forward to in the coming months so stay tuned! This Sunday, the Senior Adults are cooking potluck lunch for the College and Young Professionals and they're having a little entertainment for us so I can't wait! No telling what might go on!

Things to stay tuned for:
1. Strange things I see while working downtown
2. Summer concert series
3. Summer adventures/vacations

This Is My Story, This Is My Song

Well, since my friend Amanda (www.amandafmoon.blogspot.com)decided to share her testimony, I thought I would straight up copy her and do the same.

I've been thinking about sharing my testimony at our weekly women's bible study for the past few weeks, but I always struggle with what to say. I think it's because I often times discredit my story because it's not a big "come to Jesus meeting" kind of story. None the less, I know that when other people share their testimonies that have similar stories as mine, it really means a lot, because I realize I'm in the same boat as they are, so here it goes.

From the time I was 2 weeks old, I have been in church. In fact, those 1st 2 weeks were possibly the only 2 weeks I had ever missed church until I was in college other than when we were on family vacations, and I have never been resentful or regretful of the life that my parents made for me. I always loved being there. I can remember as early as 3 years old singing the old Dottie Rambo song Germs, My Invisible Dog, in the Down By The Creekbank childrens choir musical and can remember the ugly looks I got from my mama when I wasn't acting right in the choir loft (although she denies them).

I was raised in Wylam Baptist Church, the same church my daddy went to growing up, until I was 10. We moved our letter to FBC Pleasant Grove that year, and in the same year I was baptized. I knew at the exact moment that I found myself shimmying out of the pew making the walk that felt like the Green Mile that I didn't have any business going up there. My cousin, Amy, had gone the week before and was getting baptized that night, and I knew that if I got baptized I would be able to take the Lord's supper, so that night, I was baptized. I knew that if I was to die I would go to Hell and it terrified me.

As I got into junior high, nothing really changed. I was still a good kid, and I was at church everytime the doors were open. At 14 I went on a Spring Break trip to the beach with my youth group, came home and found everything I could on how to be a Christian and accepted Christ as my Savior that day. I was baptized a few weeks later and my life was changed. As I got older, I stayed very involved in church, and felt the Lord calling me into full time ministry. I'm still not quite sure what He has in store for me in that area, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

I started my internship with the Rick and Bubba Show on March 7, 2000 and became a part time employee shortly thereafter. I was a huge fan of the show before I started and still love listening, but I hear the show differently now. The difference is in my relationship with the show. Before I knew who they were, but didn't know them. After working with them, I have a personal friendship with them and understand the things they talk about because I know them, I don't just know who they are. Isn't God the same way? I had known who God was my entire life, but I didn't know him until I had begun a relationship with Him. I read His word from a different perspective because I know Him. When He speaks to me I know His voice.

While I've lived a good life, I've made a lot of mistakes. I am a sinner. I in no way, shape, or form have lived a perfect life, but God has been good to me and has protected me from a lot of the mistakes I would have made on my own and thankfully, loves me despite the stupid decisions I make everyday.

Conference Season

Ok, Ok. I know it's been way too long since my last update. I had a half of a blog completed a month or so ago, but changed my mind on what I wanted to write about. I can assure you with American Idol and The Bachelor back on the air, I'll be back on the blogging train again.

I guess I should catch you all up to speed on what I've been doing with my life lately. In December I made the move to the UAB branch, which wasn't a big move...only about 12 blocks, but nonetheless, it was a move. God has perfect timing. and knew I needed a fresh fire under my feet to be able to keep doing what I'm doing.

Since last December I've been volunteering with SDEA (Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association) at their Strength to Stand winter conferences and at Stadium fest in the Spring. It's been such a blessing to be a part of their ministry and the Lord has shown me so much in the past year since I began volunteering and I've made some of the most incredible friends. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. ". What an incredible word from the Lord! I never thought a year ago, that I would have the friends that I have now. You have each been used by the Lord to show me just how much He loves me.

Now, a lot of you ask me what it is that I do when volunteering. In the past I have always worked the merchandise tables, but in January I got a different role. Stage manager. Needless to say, I was pumped, but really nervous. I wasn't really sure what to expect, even though I'd observed Kelly, our stage manager for the December conference. This was a different ballgame. At our January conference, we have 3 venues, each with our own worship band and emcee, but we share the speakers each night. It's my job to make sure each person is on stage and off stage on time (down to the minute), making sure videos are on time, and communicating with the band if they need to sing additional songs. If I'm not on time, it messes all of the other venues up. Now, y'all know I'm the queen of being late, but for whatever reason, they decided to give me that role anyway.

The worship band that was at my venue was Fee. Incredible. I'd never heard of them until then, mainly because I never know the names of bands, but I bought both of their albums after getting to know them and worshiping with them this weekend. Check them out at http://www.feeband.com/.

On Sunday afternoon, Jonathan (Brother Smothers) and I went into Gatlinburg and spent some time with our friend Jenks. While I was there, I met up with some friends from high school. Apparently I didn't get the memo that there was a class of '96 reunion that weekend, because there were tons of them there together, apparently having a couples retreat. Maybe that's why I didn't get the memo.

Anyway, the weekend as a whole was great. The Generation Band, who is from my church, got to open up our big night, followed by Fee, then Scott Dawson spoke. We had approximately 288 confirmed decisions, and gave out over 500 of the books that they used to share the Gospel, so there were possibly more . Praise the Lord!!! Toby Mac ended the big night for us.

It was so hot in the building during Toby's set, I talked my friend Amanda into stepping outside with me to get a little mountain air. As I sat down on a cooler outside, Amanda, decided she should inform me that it was wet. Not a little wet, but a lot wet. My whole backside was SOAKED after that. Luckily, it dried up just before the lights came back on, but that's what I get for making fun of people.

The last day of conference is always bittersweet. I was exhausted from staying out all night the night before on an adventure with Brooke (Barbie), Jonathan (Brother Smothers) and our new friend Brandon. We were all standing around getting ready to take our group picture when I heard some girls yelling "Macy, Macy", and all a sudden a girl comes running up to the steps and jumps. Now, at this point I thought to myself, "Macy ain't gonna make it" and needless to say she didn't. She falls to her knees and rolls into the group and I LOST MY MIND laughing! I've attached a picture so you can see the look on my face after it happened. Best fall ever! People kept singing, "Macy on the ground, Macy on the ground, looking like a fool, Macy on the ground"! I have laughed about that for DAYS!

After all the commotion of the fall, we loaded up on the bus and headed back to the Salty 'Ham. I love Birmingham, but I was so sad to leave Pigeon Forge this time. I love being around people that love the Lord. No matter what I'm doing or where I am, there's nothing like it. I'm so thankful that God has allowed me to be a part of their ministry. The friendships I've gained over the past year are ones I will forever thank the Lord for.

Stay Tuned for my next blog installment. I've got a lot going on in the next few weeks, and although this one was a little heavy, be assured that there will be plenty of humor in the ones to come!

Obsessions

Those of you who have known me for while, know I get on kicks. It started with squeeze candy, you know, the kind that looks like it's in a toothpaste tube, but oh no, it's candy. I know it sounds gross, but I tried it once and then I was hooked. I found myself getting a tube everytime I saw it at the store, or the gas station. I even had a small travel size that I had on a keychain once. Then it was Capri Suns. I never really drank them as a kid, but as an adult they can be SO good! Especially when they are super cold, even a little frozen sometime. I rememember when I was in the 6th grade at Woodward Elementary, the big thing was the green Hi-C that had Slimer from Ghostbusters on it. Those were the days. After the Capri Sun kick, I went on to FunYuns, which I affectionately call, Fun Yums, as I'm sure all of you can understand why. I was on 2 bags a week before I found Cheetoo's Naturals White Chedder Cheese Puffs. I also had a brief weakness for Old Wisconsin Beef Jerky. I don't even know where it comes from. I heard on a radio show one day that a girl and her roomate were addicted to Hawaiian Punch. They went through, brace yourself, 10 gallons a WEEK!!!! Can you imagine? When they asked her what started it, she said, it was a 2 for the price of 1 special at Publix!
I really haven't gotten on any new kicks in a while, and once I'm done with it, I'm really done. So here's my question: Am I the only one who does this? What do you get hooked on? It could be anything...Facebook, Farmtown, Twitter, Myspace, Mafia Wars. What's your hangup? What makes you quirky? I realize that by admitting this quirk, you all are probably ready to have an intervention with me, but trust me, it's not necessary.

Poor Blog, How I've Neglected You

For my 8 followers out there, I sincerely apologize for my lack of blogging. After the finale of American Idol, I just thought I didn't have that much to write about. For those of you who know me best, you know that's a lie though, because this summer I have been going nonstop and quite frankly, I think it's gotten the best of me. Since my last post SOOOO much has happened that I think we should talk about!

Sugarland
I didn't really realize how much I liked their music until I went to their concert. My sister in law, Brittany went with me, along with a friends from church. When we walked through the gates, we were given a little package with a little card from Sugarland that said "Thanks for coming to our show" and inside was a glowstick and a thing of bubbles. At one song in the show, everyone pulled out their glowsticks and one one show everyone blew bubbles at the same time. It made it SO much fun! It really made us feel like we werent just ticket sales to them, but like they really wanted us to enjoy being there.

Michael Jackson
How could I go any farther without at least mentioning it. For those of you who haven't heard, Michael Jackson is dead. I know, I know, you're shocked. Michael passed away on the same day as the Sugarland concert. I'll be honest with you, I was pretty sad about it. It's sad that someone could have that much and never know what it means to be truly happy. I remember as a 6 year old being SO excited when my Aunt Susan gave me a Michael Jackson glove, belt (with a glitter glove buckle) and t-shirt that she'd gotten from his concert. If only the Michael of those days had never changed. Thanks for the music, Michael.

New Kids On The Block
After the devistation I felt when they cancelled their Birmingham concert back in May, I didn't know if I could bring myself to go through the heartache of buying another NKOTB concert ticket, but I sucked it up and purchased 2 tickets for me and my friend Gina to see our grown men in Memphis, TN. My friends Mandy, Melanie & Lindsey had already purchased their tickets, and thinking I couldn't get off work, didnt buy mine then, so I drafted Gina into making the roadtrip with us and away to Memphis we went. As we stopped along the way, just inside Tupelo, to the Pizza Hut for lunch, I saw a family that I'm certain were inbreads, but I'm not here to judge. I knew that we were almost there. Gina and I were sitting in the 2nd tier at an amphitheatre that didn't have a bad seat in the house. I think it was called Mud Hill. Great place for a concert! There were 5 platforms in front of each section, just in front of our tier. Gina informed me that she saw on You Tube that they were to come down from the stage and each guy would be on one of those platforms. We had 2 platforms that were , I kidd you not, 15 ft from us. I was sure we would get the shaft and get Jon and Danny, but when I saw Donnie walking my way, as I live and breathe, I thought I would D.I.E. die!!!!! I just kept yelling, we got Donnie, we got Donnie! We had a BLAST!!!!! My girls, Mandy, Melanie, & Lindsey, got Jon, however. Sorry ladies. After the concert we went on the Waffle House run, hoping to see them (along with every other cougar in town) only to find out they wouldn't be stopping by, since they were all sick with summer colds. Oh well...we gave it a shot.
The next day we got up and decided to take a trip to Graceland, home of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. You know what they say, "When in Rome..." so when in Memphis, you know we had to see the king. I've always said that there's no such thing as gaudy (usually talking about diamonds) but I'll be the first to say that Elvis proved me wrong. While some parts of the house were beautiful (the Peacock Room, for instance) others were just downright hideous (such as the paisley draped rec room). Apparently I'm a super slow walker though, because it took me a good bit longer to get through it than it did the other girls. The highlight of my trip to Graceland was by far, seeing the jumpsuits and singing karaoke with Elvis. LOVED IT!!!!! I had a great time.

California Dreamin'
On July 4th I flew out to visit my Aunt Susan and her family in sunny California. I flew in around 1:30pm their time to beautiful San Francisco, and made an immediate stop to In & Out to get a burger and one of their famous neopolitan milkshakes. If you've never had an In & Out burger, you don't know what you're missing! SOOO good!
We picked up my Uncle Farzad (he's from Iran) and headed to one of Susan's friends houses where they were having a little party. When I walked in, I was immediately a novelty because of my stunning good looks...um, I mean, my Southern accent. One lady took one look at my blonde hair, blue eyes, and said, oh, you must be from Farzad's side. I looked at my aunt, who also has blonde hair and blue eyes, and just said..."No, not exactly". I thought, how could anyone mistake my lily white skin for me being Persian? But, I digress. The next lady came in and was talking about her husband who's from South America. I said, "Where exactly is he from?", to which she replied "South America". I said "What part of South America? I was in Peru last summer". She told me he was from Venezuela, and he came in and she said, "Honey, this is Susan's neice, she's from Peru". He looked me up and down, and I just simply said, "No, I'm from Alabama, I just visited Peru". I learned there on my first day that California is called the Granola state for a reason. Once you remove all the flakes, all you have left is a bunch of fruit and nuts.
While in California, I visited Sausalito, San Francisco, Carmel, Monteray, Santa Cruz, and San Jose. My aunt lives in Livermore, which is right in the middle of the wine country. I had SOOOO much fun sight seeing and visiting my cousins, Brianna and Sherizad (Sher) that it was really tough to leave. Carmel was absolutely one of the most beautiful places I've been to (home of Clint Eastwood and Pebble Beach). I took TONS of pictures. Visit my facebook page to see those (www.facebook.com/blarinkaren).

Always the Bridesmaid
My best friend, Kendra got hitched on July 25th to Mr. Stephan Reese. I had double duty at this wedding, as a bridesmaid and wedding singer. She was a beautiful bride, and Stephan is a very lucky man. I made it without shedding too many tears. She got to the altar and realized she'd left Stephan's ring in the bride's room. I didn't know it until I got a tap on my shoulder telling me to pass the ring what was going, but it all worked out. I did however, catch the bouquet. I'm 4 for 4 this year.

August
Well, so much has gone on this month I don't even know where to begin. I took and extremely short trip to the beach, found a little jewel called the Cotton Gin in Hanceville, AL (I'll discuss that in a seperate blog) and finally finished and passed my Statistics class. That's just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure I'll have more to talk about later, but I think your eyes may pop out if I go any further, so until then, I'll have to say goodbye.

Sorry for such a long post but I had to get this whole summers worth in!

-Blarin Karen