Stephanie up close & personal

My Twin, I mean cousin Marraya....

2005-12-09T06:40:00.000-08:00

Marraya
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is such a cute pic! No, it's not me, it's my cousin Marraya being cute as always. :-) Everyone says we look a lot alike ---- what do you think?

Friday Once Again...

2005-12-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! How are you all? Well, I'm doing fine. I'm just happy it's Friday, even though I have to work tonight at the club. Hopefully I'll make some good money though, Funkmaster Flex is supposed to be at the club tonight to dj for a 3 hour set. Last time he was supposed to be there he never showed up, so we'll see what happens tonight. Anywho, I'm just excited to be able to sleep in tomorrow morning. I have my christmas tree up and some decorations too. I love Christmas, it is my favorite time of year, and I'll make sure to take some pictures to post soon.

Other than that - not much else going on here. It snowed a lot yesterday, If it's snowing today I might take a picture with my sidekick (quality's not so good though) and post it here for you all to see. I don't know how us Minnesotans do it every year. The snow is such a pain, and it's soooo cold. Why we live here, who knows.

I didn't sleep very well last night, and I'm just waiting for it to hit me this morning. I'm waiting to see if I don't have to start work tonight until 10 pm so then I can go home and take a nap before I go to work. Boy, wouldn't that be nice. Oh, I'm sending out christmas cards from Tim and I to everyone too! They are the picture ones, so each of you will have a picture of us, I hope you all like it. I just used a picture of us from our last Vegas trip, it's fairly recent though, and I LOVE the picture. So anywho, if I have forgotten to ask any of you for your addresses, please email it to me and I will make sure to send you one too.

Well take care everyone and I love you all!
Stephanie

Moments that I Cherish...

2005-11-28T06:36:00.000-08:00

To often we end up taking for granted what we used to hold so dear. To often, we allow the day-to-day to overwhelm us. To often, we forget what is truly important. This weekend, I realized that it was time to re-evaluate what was truly important in my life. The moments and the people that I cherish so deeply.

To my Timothy,
Your endless immeasurable love for me has taken our relationship to new and exciting heights. I feel so blessed to have someone so special and true to spend my life with. Every moment that we are apart - I spend anticipating seeing you again. You are my best friend is every sense of the word. You are all goodness and hope, you are everything I want to be and more. You make my life more complete and I feel fullfilled knowing that no matter what - I have accomplished the one thing people strive to accomplish their whole lives... being truly, deeply and madly in love --- with someone who actually loves me back just as much. There are no words to really define our love and our friendship, and a lifetime wouldn't be enough to be able to tell you how much I love you, so I must show you as best that I can with the time that we do have.

I know that our love was not dumb-founded luck, or even something we forced, it happened because it was meant to happen. You saved me from so many things, and together we share with each other the one greatest thing that most people fail to see, Our relationship between us and God. I believe he sent us to each other for many reasons, and how fortunate are we that hand-in-hand we carry each other through hardships towards our main goal - reaching Heaven.

May God continue to bless us and all those we care about now and forever,
With all my love,
Steph

From my Sidekick...

2005-11-19T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, I'm writing this from my sidekick so I hope this works. Just wanted to drop a line 2 c how everyones doing. I worked both jobs yesterday and went to bed at like 4:00 a.m. I have no idea why I'm up right now. Its 9:59a.m. Guess eventually you just get used 2 the messed up hours. Anywho, my cousin christina from texas came to visit last weekend, and she must have brought the warm weather because the day she left it started to snow. I had a lot of fun with her, and I wish she could've stayed longer. That's the problem with vacations, they never last long enough. CHRISTINA-DONT FORGET TO GET MY MOM A JOB AT THE GOLF COURSE. ;-) ha ha (a little inside humor.)

I hope everyone's doing well down there. I really need 2 take a vacation down soon after the new year. Then I'll have vacation time. I'm all out now though. Tims never been to Texas, so I really want to bring him. Oh, christina took a lot of pictures when she was here 2 so I'll post em up when I get em.

Other than that nothing new here. Its freezing outside and it makes me wanna cuddle up with tim and sleep all day. So with that, I'm going back 2 bed. All my love.... GB everyone. Steph

Minneapolis' Finest - Oh and the police.. :-)

2005-11-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

Minneapolis' Finest - Oh and the police.. :-)
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

I really love this picture. Leave it to me to demand a picture with the cops in the middle of all of Minneapolis' night life. It ended up being really cute. (And no - we weren't drunk, just bored maybe!)

Stephanie - Summer 2005

2005-11-17T12:22:00.001-08:00

Stephanie - Summer 2005
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Me again!

Stephanie & Janell

2005-11-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

Stephanie & Janell
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Definitely not a good pose for me, but we were having a blast, as you can tell. And a moment is a moment whether you look cute or not! :-)

Stephanie - Summer 2005

2005-11-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

Stephanie - Summer 2005
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Again, this one looks like a totally different person. But I think it's cute. My favorite part of my outfit is my toes, they are painted in a french manicure, if you click on the picture you can see more close.

Tim says all feet are ugly, true... but at least mine aren't that bad. - for feet. ha ha

Janell - Summer 2005

2005-11-17T12:19:00.000-08:00

Janell
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Janell looks so cute here to (like always!) I love her shoes and the necklace was perfect for this outfit. This picture really makes me want to get my butt back into the gym too!

Stephanie - Summer 2005

2005-11-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

Stephanie - Summer 2005
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Okay, It's funny - everybody tells me I always look so different, guess the proof is in the pictures... this one doesn't even look like me.

Janell - Summer 2005

2005-11-17T12:16:00.000-08:00

Janell
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Here's a cute pic of my girl Janell. Isn't she cute! I love that outfit.

Belinda

2005-11-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

Belinda
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Here's a sweet picture of my cousin Belinda, her daughter Lauryn (left) and my cousin Rachel's daughter (Belinda's Neices daughter) Madison on the right. Aren't they adorable!

Ouch!

2005-11-11T06:46:00.000-08:00

So I guess I have some good stuff to talk about and some bad stuff to talk about.
Good - My boyfriend Tim surprised me with a gift certificate to get my teeth professionally whitened! I was so excited, and the procedure was pretty quick, and the results were amazing! I love my new whitened teeth, they look really good - now I'm smiling even more!

Bad - I got a root canal as well two days ago. My jaw is still in pain from it, and the temporary they put into my tooth is sooo annoying. It feels like a piece of gum was rammed in there, I can't wait to get the crown put on.
(Is that TMI?)

Bad - My insurance only covers 50% for crowns so it's going to cost a lot to get done.

Good - My cousin Christina from Texas will be here this evening! She is visiting, and I am sooo excited! I haven't seen her in a really long time.

Bad - Still miss my puppy Jeddie. Went over to my moms the other day and she gave me Jeddie's collar. I miss her a lot and it was weird going over there and her not being there. My mom and dad left her water dish and food bowl where it always is though. Sad.

Good - Tim and I are going out to dinner tonight! Yeah! I love spending time with my honey. "He's fun!"

My Jeddie

2005-11-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

On Thursday November 3rd, 2005 My Puppy, "Jo Jedda - a.k.a. Jeddie" was put to sleep in the arms of my Mother and Father. She was suffering from seizures and was in a lot of pain. She lived a very long life, about 15 years with us. In her lifetime she brought us so much joy and love and laughter. She pranced around like a little Queen, and was always willing to give kisses. She was a cuddle buddy at night and an alarm clock in the morning. She was my little snowball and I miss her very much. I will forever cherish the wonderful times I had with her for the rest of my life.

I miss you Jeddie.

Love Stephanie

IMAGINE

2005-11-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Imagine with me for a moment,
That we stood at the gates - you and I,
And our hearts started beating within us,
As those gates suddenly swung open wide.

Can you feel the excitement around us?
Do you see all the things that I see?
All the saints on their feet and they're cheering,
With a welcome for you and for me.

See the tables, they're set for a banquet,
With the finest of linen and gold,
In the air there's a sense of rejoicing,
And this feeling will never grow old.

Is that Paul who is coming to greet us,
Saying, "Beloved, you've finished the race!
You have fought the good fight and been faithful,
Now come rest in His Love and His Grace."

Have you noticed the beautiful music,
And the Angels all gathered around?
Have you noticed that on all these faces,
There isn't a tear to be found?

Do you feel what I feel at this moment?
All my fears have begun to subside,
And there's nothing that can be remotely compared...
To the peace that I'm feeling inside.

Wherever I look there is beauty,
And all of the Saints know my name,
And because all my Sins are forgiven,
I can face them without any shame.

And then suddenly... a hush falls upon them,
And they slowly start moving aside.
Do you see what I see in the distance?
Moving toward us, a beautiful light!

I watch as the light moves in closer,
Now my joy I can hardly contain.
It is JESUS! He is walking right to me,
And He is calling to me by my name!

As His eyes look directly at mine,
With His arms He is motioning "come,"
But I fall to my knees and I tremble,
For my body is suddenly numb.

So He smiles and then gently He lifts me,
And He holds me up close to His heart,
Now my mind looks for something to tell Him,
But my heart doesn't know where to start.

And before I can utter one word,
I hear His voice speaking into my ear,
He says, "I've waited so long for this moment,
Now my child you are finally here!"

So I struggle to say, "Jesus Thank-You."
"It is only because of you that I'm here."
But again, in His arms as he holds me,
I feel the warmth of his voice by my ear.

He says, "Daughter, I knew you would make it,
That is why I've prepared you a place."
As I stand to my feet and I face Him,
He is gently caressing my face.

There are no words to express what I'm feeling,
And there's nothing worth giving this up,
Yet, I can sum it all up in a moment,
With a word that we both know as "LOVE"

-Don't just imagine... do what you must to get there.
Jesus will be there, I want to be there, how about YOU?

Worry doesn't help tomorrow's troubles, but it does ruin today's happiness.

Saint Bernadette...

2005-11-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

Today I read all about the story of Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Bernadette... here are some beautiful prayers I found after reading the stories. I thought I'd share them with you all.

Novena Prayer

Ever immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, health of the sick, refuge of sinners, comfort of the afflicted, you know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings. Deign to cast upon me a look of mercy.

By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, from which you dispense your favors; and already many sufferers have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and coporal. I come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession.

Obtain, O loving Mother, the granting of my requests. Through gratitude for your favors, I will endeavor to imitate your virtues that I may one day share your glory.

Through your loving compassion shown to thousands of pilgrims who come to your shrine at Lourdes, and through your special love for your devoted client Bernadette, I ask for this grace if it be the Will of God: (mention your request)

Our Lady of Lourdes, aid me through your prayer with your Divine Son, to be a true child of yours, as Bernadette was, and to grow daily into your likeness.

Prayer to Saint Bernadette

Saint Bernadette, little sheperdess of Lourdes, favored with eighteen apparitions of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and with the privilege of lovingly conversing with her, now that you are eternally enjoying the entrancing beauty of the Immaculate Mother of God, do not forsake me, your devoted client, who am still in this valley of tears. Intercede for me that I, too, may walk the simple path of faith. Help me to imitate your example, at our heavenly Queen's request, by saying the Rosary daily and by doing penance for sinners.

Teach me to imitate your wonderful devotedness to God and our Lady, the Immaculate Conception, so that, like you, I may be blessed with the grace of lasting faithfulness and enjoy the happiness in Heaven of the eternal vision of God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God of infinate mercy, we celebrate the feast of Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, the sinless Mother of God. May her prayers help us to rise above our human weakness. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever. Amen.

NEW ORLEANS PASTOR HOLDS WEDDING RING DONATED TO HURRICANE VICTIMS

2005-11-02T07:35:00.000-08:00

NEW ORLEANS PASTOR HOLDS WEDDING RING DONATED TO HURRICANE VICTIMS
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Msgr. Douglas Doussan, pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel Church in New Orleans, holds up a wedding ring that was left in a donor envelope at St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church in the Watts section of Los Angeles. A woman who said she had no money to offer left the gold ring saying it was for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, read article below to hear this heartfelt story...

With all my heart....

2005-11-02T07:09:00.000-08:00

10/28/2005 (www.catholic.org)

-WEDDING RING ANONYMOUS GIFT 'WITH ALL OF MY HEART' FOR KATRINA VICTIMS-
(By: Peter Finney Jr.)

Baton Rouge, La. -- The second collection taken up at St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church in the Watts section of Los Angeles, earmarked for Hurricane Katrina victims, was not much different from the thousands of other collections at Catholic churches across the country.

St. Lawrence is an inner-city church of 3,000 families, about 80% Hispanic and 20% African-American. They are people of "very modest means," said Capuchin Franciscan Father Peter Banks, St. Lawrence pastor.

The normal parish collection is about $6,000, but on this weeekend, the second collection amounted to $7,000 -- plus one stunning gift left by an anonymous donor: a woman's wedding ring that eventually was sent by Father Banks to a New Orleans church that was hit by floodwater 8 feet deep after Katrina.

When the money-counting team came to Father Banks on the Monday following the weekend Masses, they showed him a church donation envelope with a message printed in Spanish: "Para las victims del huracan, no traia dinero pero esto debe de tener algun valor. Es de todo corazon." ("For the victims of the hurricane. I did not bring any money. But this should be of some value. It is with all of my heart.")

When Father Banks opened the envelope, he saw a gold wedding ring with small notches on the outside.

"It touched my heart," Father Banks told the Clarion Herald, newspaper of the New Orleans Archdiocese. "My immediate reaction was, what incredible kindness and charity this woman had. This woman had nothing and she reached down on her hand and took off her ring... This was all she had, and she gave it with all her heart."

For several days, Father Banks carried the ring with him in his shirt pocket -- close to his heart -- to remind him of the woman's generosity. But he knew the ring had a story that had to be shared.

"I didn't want to part with it, but it was not mine -- it belonged to New Orleans," Father Banks said.

The following weekend the priest shared the astonishing story with his parishioners, many of whom have Louisiana relatives.

"I wanted people to know what happened," Father Banks said. "Watts has this bad image of violence, but Watts is full of goodness. There are saints living in our midst. Our parishioners do relate to tragedy and suffering."

Father Banks then began searching on the Internet for a Parish in the Archdiocese of New Orleans that might need direct help recovering from the devestating storm. He came across Msgr. Douglas Doussan's name and made contact with the pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel Church in Pontchartrain Park. The church had been flooded by water 8 feet deep.

Msgr. Doussan, who also serves as the director of priest personnel for the archdiocese, said he was flabbergasted by the story.

"It's incredible that people are willing to make such a sacrafice to help those who are traumatized," he said. "She obviously was not giving out of her surplus but out of her want."

In setting up the donation to St. Gabriel, Father Banks also spoke with Yvonne Spicuzza, Msgr. Doussan's secretary in the priest personnel office. When Father Banks heard that Spicuzza lost her home in Arabi, the parish made a seperate donation to her.

Msgr. Doussan also received a $500 check from a Los Angeles man who read about the story of the ring in The Tidings, the Catholic newspaper of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The outreach by other faith communities continues to amaze Msgr. Doussan. On October 29th, a group of 40 parishioners of St. Jean Vianney Church in Baton Rouge was scheduled to remove the ruined contents of the church and school buildings at St. Gabriel.

The story of the Hispanic woman from Watts and her wedding ring will be fresh in everyone's mind.

"It is very humbling to realize I am living among the poorest of the poor, but they are the wealthiest in so many ways," Father Banks said.

Copyright 2005 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Who I Am Today

2005-11-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

Tim and I went to church last night, and as I sat there and listened to Father Robert Altier tell us in his homily that God so desperately wanted us all to become Saints, my mind started to wander. I listened to and hung on every word that he said, undistracted, taking every word to heart. I began to think about the truth in what he was saying. He talked about how so many people are ashamed to live fully in the faith, or to voice their faith for fear of being rejected by others. He talked about how so many people are forever trying to fit in, and don't want to be looked at as religious outcasts.

That made me start to think about my own life, and the journey I've been on ever since I found my faith. I look at the life I used to live and the way I used to act, and I truly realize how far I've come. It used to bother me when family members or friends used to say stuff to me about going to church and changing my life around. But not anymore. I know what I did was lift myself out of sadness and emptiness. The going out all the time and getting drunk, and then having hangovers all day, and never getting enough sleep, and smoking cigarettes and all that stuff was merely self-destruction. I know that misery loves company, and sometimes people around you don't want to see you change because they begin to look at themselves and their own behavior, and some can't bear to change their own lives. But I did, and I am a better person because of it today.

I'm very grateful for two things in my life, God and Timothy. Yes, there are many other people I am very grateful for, but right now these are two very important people in my life and always will be. I am very fortunate to have found Tim. Nobody in my family or even my friends really know Tim like I know Tim. He is my best friend in every sense of the word. If a mother and father could conjure up the dream husband to come and sweep their daughter away to a life of endless love and happiness, Timothy would be the one they'd create. His heart is like no one elses, he takes everything he has in him and gives it all to me every single day, and then some. He watches over me with the loving protection comparable to a parent, and makes me feel like the most precious thing in this world. He listens and remembers things I say that I didn't even remember I said. He makes me laugh, he lets me cry and he is strong when I cannot be, and he is indefinetely everything I am not. But most of all, he brought God into my life without even knowing it and that is one gift that cannot be topped.

They taught me in my Catholicism classes that when you find your true partner in life, you should never have to worry about anything, because each of you are to only worry about each other. If that is true, then Tim must be it for me. (Not that I didn't already know that.) He's calm waters when mine are raging. He's the warmth of the sun, when It's cold and rainy. He's everything written in fairytales and everything seen in the best romance movies. He is everything, and everything to me.

I thank God for all the people in my life whether I talk to them or not. I thank him for the mistakes I've made, the changes I've made and for the woman I've become. It is the most comforting feeling knowing that I can take everything that comes my way and give it to God, with assurance that it was meant to be, and that he'll be with me to help me through. It's sad that family and friends have held it against me or said little comments here and there, all because I've chosen to live a better life for me and for my own happiness. What is so bad? Why is it so disturbing to some that I took all of the things I didn't like about my life and changed them? Why am I looked at as weird because I want to go to church on Sundays instead of sit home or do other things? Is it too much to ask to spend just an hour of my time to praise and talk to God? Not to me. To me it's not enough, but I do what I can.

Bottom line, as I look back at the road I took -- I am finally proud of myself. I'm no longer trying to please anyone else and I'm finally becoming more comfortable in my own skin. I've accomplished a lot. And I owe so many thanks to God and to Tim for all the support and love and protection. Life isn't about having the best of the best, or partying all the time, or drinking away your sadness or avoiding the truths you fail to see. It's about loving yourself, and embracing yourself and it's about being the best person you can be and growing in holiness. It's about taking time to love, forgive and thank others. It's about giving more than getting, and it's about making your path to Heaven and touching as many lives as you can on the way. I honestly don't know where I would've been without God and Tim. Tim brought a whole new meaning to my life and he lead me into the loving arms of Jesus who was always there, but I was too selfish and too blind to notice. We're all looking for reassurance, for comfort for a meaning to our lives. I've found my reassurance, I've got my comfort and I'm confident in God's plan for me. That makes waking up everyday that much more exciting, because I never know what God will lay out for me next.

But I do know that as long as I stay close to God, I'm always going to be okay.
And as I long as I have Tim's love and friendship, "nothin even matters at all."

Janell & Stephanie Out on the Town

2005-11-01T06:58:00.001-08:00

Janell & Stephanie Out on the Town
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Here is a picture of Janell and I at Spin Nightclub in Downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. That was a fun night!

Janell & Stephanie

2005-11-01T06:58:00.000-08:00

Janell & Stephanie
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Here's another picture of Janell and I at the Wild Onion in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lookin Sexy!

Janell & Stephanie

2005-11-01T06:57:00.000-08:00

Janell & Stephanie
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Here is a pic of Janell and I at the Wild Onion on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. That was a pretty laid back night. My good friends Gerardo and Dan both met us up there.

Janell in Downtown Minneapolis Halloween

2005-10-31T13:20:00.001-08:00

Janell in Downtown Minneapolis Halloween
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Another pic of my girl Janell.

Janell in Downtown Minneapolis Halloween

2005-10-31T13:20:00.000-08:00

Janell in Downtown Minneapolis Halloween
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Here's a super cute picture of my good friend Janell. She was partying it up in Downtown Minneapolis as an Army chick. Cute huh!

In Celebration of "All Hallows Eve."

2005-10-31T09:42:00.000-08:00

So today, I assume most people will be celebrating Halloween. Today will be the first year that I celebrate "All Hallows Eve." I started to research some history on where Halloween came from, and original traditions of this day. Here are some interesting things I found. Hope you enjoy! Remember to say a prayer tonight for all souls.

The earliest form of All Saints (or "All Hallows") was first celebrated in the 300's, but originally took place on May 13th, as it still does in some Eastern Churches. The feast first commemorated only the martyrs, but came to include all the Saints by 741.

"All Souls," has it's origins in A.D. 1048 when the Bishop of Cluny decreed that the Benedictines of Cluny pray for the souls in purgatory on this day. The practice spread until Pope Sylvester II recommended it for the entire Latin Church.

The Vigil of All Hallows (Hallowe'en) came, in Irish popular piety, to be a day of remembering the dead who are neither in Purgatory or Heaven, but are damned, and these customs spread to many parts of the world. Thus we have the popular focus on Hallowe'en as the reality of Hell, hence its scary character and focus on evil and how to avoid it, the sad fate of the souls of the damned, etc.

Customs of this day are a mixture of Catholic popular devotions, and French, Irish and English customs all mixed together.

********************The legend of the Jack-O-Lantern************************
From the Irish came the carved Jack-O-Lanterns, which were originally carved turnips, the legend is below...

There once was an old drunken trickster named Jack, a man known so much for his miserly ways that he was known as "Stingy Jack." He loved making mischief on everyone --- even his own family, even the devil himself! One day, he tricked satan into climbing up an apple tree -- but then carved Crosses on the trunk so the devil couldn't get back down. He bargained with the evil one, saying he would removed the Crosses only if the devil would promise not to take his soul to hell; to this, the devil agreed.

After Jack died, after many years filled with vice, he went up to the Pearly Gates -- but was told by St. Peter that he was too miserable a creature to see the Face of Almighty God. But when he went to the Gates of hell, he was reminded that he couldn't enter there either! So, he was doomed to spend his eternity roaming the earth. The only thing that happened to him was that the devil threw him an ember from the burning pits to light his way, an ember he carried inside a hollowed-out, carved turnip.

******************Soul Cake***********************

From the English Catholics we get begging from door to door, the earlier and more pure form of "trick-or-treating." Children would go about begging their neighbors for a "Soul Cake," for which they would say a prayer for those neighbors' dead. Instead of knocking on a door and saying the threatening, "Trick-or-treat!" (or the ugly, "trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat."), children would say either:

"A Soul Cake, A Soul Cake,
Have mercy on all Christian souls for a soul cake!"

or

"Soul, soul, an apple or two,
If you haven't an apple, a pear will do,
One for Peter, two for Paul,
Three for the Man who made us all."

After teaching your children about the frightening realities of hell, teach them how to protect themselves from evil. Warn them that magic (the art of performing actions beyond the power of man with the aid of powers other than the Divine) is real, that there is no such thing as "white magic," that playing with the occult -- whether by divination, necromancy, the casting of spells, playing with the Ouija boards, etc. --- is an invitation to demons to respond, and that it is from demons that magic gets any power it has. Teach them who St. Michael is, teach them about the power of sacramentals and prayers that ward off evil when piously used (the Sign of the Cross, Holy Water, blessed salt, the Crucifix, the St. Benedict Medal, St. Anthony's Brief, etc.), teach them to call on the Holy Name of Jesus when they are afraid.

And have you heard of "red berries to warn off evil?

The berries of red and their use have their origin way back when holly and evergreens bearing red berries were used to remind the Christians of the blood of Christ and the burning love of Mary for her child.

I leave you with this...

Dies Irae

That day of wrath, that dreadful day,
shall heaven and earth in ashes lay,
as David and the Sybil say.

What horror must invade the mind when the
approaching Judge shall find,
and sift the deeds of all mankind!

The mighty trumpet's wondrous tone shall rend,
each tomb's sepulchral stone,
and summon all before the Throne.

Now death and nature with surprise behold the
trembling sinners rise to meet the Judge's searching eyes.

Then shall with universal dread the Book of Consciences,
be read to judge the lives of all the dead.

For now before the Judge severe,
all hidden things must plain appear,
No crime can pass unpunished here.

O what shall I, so guilty plead?
And who for me will intercede?
When even Saints shall comfort need?

O King of dreadful majesty!
Grace and mercy You grant free;
As Fount of Kindness, save me!

Recall, dear Jesus, for my sake
You did our suffering nature take,
Then do not now my soul forsake!

In weariness You sought for me,
and suffering upon the tree! Let not in
vain such labor be.

O Judge of Justice, hear,
I pray, for pity take my sins away,
before the dreadful reckoning day.

You gracious face, O Lord, I seek;
deep shame and grief are on my cheek;
in sighs and tears my sorrows speak.

You who did Mary's guilt unbind,
and mercy for the robber find,
have filled with hope my anxious mind.

How worthless are my prayers I know,
yet Lord forbid that I should go,
into the fires of endless woe.

Divorced from the accursed band,
O make me with your sheep to stand,
as child of grace,
At Your right hand.

When the doomed can no more flee
from the fires of misery,
with the chosen please call me.

Before you, humbled,
Lord I lie, my heart like ashes,
crushed and dry,
assist me when I die.

Full of tears and full of dread,
is that day that wakes the dead,
calling all, with solemn blast to
be judged for all their past.

Amen. Lord, have mercy,
Jesus blest, grant them all
Your light and rest. Amen.

Tim and Steph at Club MIX in Las Vegas

2005-10-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

Tim and Steph at Club MIX in Las Vegas
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is Tim's favorite picture of us in Las Vegas. We were at Club MIX which was at the top of "The Hotel." It was half indoors half outdoors, with the most beautiful view of the strip. We consumed quite a few Apple Martini's and Belve Tonics up there! I think Tim also threw back some Long Islands too!

Our Hotel Room at "The Hotel," in Las Vegas

2005-10-28T08:52:00.001-07:00

Our Hotel Room at "The Hotel," in Las Vegas
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Here's a better view of our living room in our Hotel room.

Hotel Room at "The Hotel," in Las Vegas

2005-10-28T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hotel Room at "The Hotel," in Las Vegas
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Here's a pic of our bed in our bedroom. This bed was soooo comfortable. It was hard to get out of in the morning. You can see my reflection in one of the mirrors on the side.

Hotel Room at "The Hotel," in Las Vegas

2005-10-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hotel Room at "The Hotel," in Las Vegas
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Here's a pic of our living room in our Hotel Room at The Hotel in Las Vegas. (Pronounced - Thee Hotel) It was complete with another huge plasma t.v. (3 total in the room including one in one of the bathrooms.)
This had to be one of the nicest Hotels I have ever had the pleasure of staying in.

Our Hotel Bedroom at "THE HOTEL," in Las Vegas

2005-10-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

100_0365
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Here's a picture of our nice plasma t.v. in our room at The Hotel in Las Vegas. We had floor to ceiling windows on both sides of it. The view was amazing.

Tim and Steph

2005-10-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

Tim and Steph
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is Tim and I at New York, New York in Las Vegas. Tim and Keith were keeping up with each other in drinks that night, Julie and I were the chaperones. he he. As you can see, "Tim's no Rookie!" (inside joke)

Julie and Keith

2005-10-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

Julie and Keith
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Our great friends, Julie and Keith. They met us in Vegas and were our partners in crime during the trip! ha ha, we had a blast with them. And this is one of my favorite pictures of them.

Tim and Steph in the Lobby

2005-10-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

Tim and Steph in the Lobby
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is in the Hotel lobby at "The Hotel," which is the name of our Hotel. We had a lucky day at the tables! And of course, a few drinks.

Tim and Steph

2005-10-28T08:42:00.002-07:00

Tim and Steph
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Cheesin in Vegas!

Tim and Steph

2005-10-28T08:42:00.001-07:00

Tim and Steph
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Here we are in Vegas again, So In Love!

Tim and Steph

2005-10-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Tim and Steph
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Tim usually takes the picture when we do it ourselves because his arms are longer. :-)

Here we are on our second Vegas trip after a few... um... cocktails. Can you tell?

Tim and Stephanie

2005-10-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Tim and Stephanie
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

My baby and I in Las Vegas! Trip #2.

Caiden's 3rd Birthday

2005-10-28T08:37:00.002-07:00

Caiden's 3rd Birthday
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Aunty Steppy and Caiden on his 3rd Birthday!

Dad and Caiden

2005-10-28T08:37:00.001-07:00

Dad and Caiden
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Grandpa and Caiden on his 3rd Birthday!

Caiden's 3rd Birthday

2005-10-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Caiden's 3rd Birthday
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Say Cheese!

Nana with Caiden

2005-10-28T08:36:00.001-07:00

Nana with Caiden
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Caiden and his Nana on his 3rd Birthday!

Blowing out Candles

2005-10-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

Blowing out Candles
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Caiden's 3rd Birthday, making a wish!

Caiden Michael

2005-10-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

Caiden
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

My cutsey nephew! Isn't he adorable!
This is a picture of him on the Merry-Go-Round at the Mall of America.

Recognize that the Day of the Lord is at hand...

2005-10-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

Reading (Romans 7:18-25a) Gospel (St.Luke 12:54-59)

{www.desertvoice.org}
[A Homily from my favorite priest, Father Robert Altier]

In the Gospel reading above, Our Lord asks us why it is that we are not able to interpret the signs of the times. When we see things that are happening in the world, as we see things continuing to increase in intensity as well as in number, all these various tragedies that are occurring throughout the world, why is it that we sit back and continue to try to explain it away? Why is it that we refuse to acknowledge what is happening in the world? It is a very simple principle: Because we do not want to deal with it, we do not want to change it.

That is the mystery Saint Paul is talking about. He says, I want to do what is right and yet I do the evil that I do not want to do. And he talks about the sin that is in his members. Even though in his inner being he is absolutely enthralled with the Law of God and wants to do what is right, he continually does what is wrong because of the sinfulness that is there. We see in ourselves the exact same problem. We want to do the Will of God, we want to do what is right, we want to be holy, but when it comes right down to actually doing it then we balk at it because we do not really want to change, or because we do not really want to change, or because the temptations that are such that we are afraid. So we wind up doing what we do not want to do, and we fail to do what we really would prefer to do.

What we need to do is get down on our knees before the Lord and beg Him for the grace that we need to be able to do what is right, to be able to have the eyes of our souls opened so we can see clearly the things that are going on, so we will be able to interpret the signs of the present time. Our Lord told people of His time that because they refused to see what was going on in His day they were going to be handed over to the judge, and the judge would hand them over to the jailer, and the jailer would put them into jail until they paid the last penny. In other words, we have a real opportunity right now to be able to reduce our Purgatory, to be able to grow in holiness, to be able to do the Will of God-but we have to be willing to acknowledge what is happening. If we refuse to acknowledge the reality that is going on right in our midst, and in our own lives sometimes then we have completely missed the point. What Our Lord is making very clear to us is that we are going to be held responsible for it. Why else would we be thrown into jail if we were not responsible? He could not make it too much more clear that we have to learn to read the signs of the times.

The Second Vatican Council told us the exact same thing: that we have to read the signs of the times. The signs of the times, it seems to me, are becoming more and more clear. And so the only reason why we would not be able to interpret properly the signs of the times is because we do not want to, because we are afraid of what it means. Well, whether we are willing to accept it or not, it is happening and it is going to continue to happen. There is no sense in burying our heads in the sand and acting like it is not happening, or trying to suggest that somehow what is going on really has nothing to do with sin and that it is not because things are so bad that things are happening in the world. We need to learn to interpret the signs of the times. We need to open our eyes, we need to open our hearts and our minds, and we need to acknowledge the truth. We need to make the changes in our lives to be able to take that sin Saint Paul talks about that is in our members and overcome it, that sin that does not want us to change, that sin that blinds us to truth and does not want us to acknowledge the reality of things because if we acknowledged it we would have to live our lives differently; we would have to make some serious changes and that is where our fear comes in.

So look around at what is going on and recognize that the Day of the Lord is at hand. Acknowledge the truth and make the change so that you will overcome whatever stands in the way, and that you, through the grace of God, will be able to do the good you desire to do.

My Favorite Prayer to The Blessed Virgin Mary...

2005-10-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

Lady Of Compassion
Originally uploaded by drp.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word incarnate, despise not my petitions, but, in your mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

My Ideal place to get lost with Timmy!

2005-10-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

Pathway to Bora Bora Bungalow
Originally uploaded by brain_drain.

Tim and I have been so busy lately; man what I wouldn't give to be sitting there with him.

Okay tough guy...

2005-10-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

Mr. Toes and Basil
Originally uploaded by _iceman.

Kitty - ("Blah blah blah!")

The Cat Usually Starts It

2005-10-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

The Cat Usually Starts It
Originally uploaded by _iceman.

Found these pics online...

2005-10-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Non-Stop Grabassing
Originally uploaded by _iceman.

Thought this was hilarious, the kitty isn't afraid of the dog one bit.

Sleepy Alexis Rose Lamprecht

2005-10-24T12:10:00.002-07:00

Sleepy Alexis Rose Lamprecht
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Just Alexis and her Bunny!

Sleepy Alexis Rose Lamprecht

2005-10-24T12:10:00.001-07:00

Sleepy Alexis Rose Lamprecht
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

AAAHHH --- the good life!

Sleepy Alexis Rose Lamprecht

2005-10-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

Sleepy Alexis Rose Lamprecht
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

My Good friends James and Michelle were blessed by God with their first little angel Alexis Rose October 3rd at 12:33 in the afternoon! Here she is in a more recent picture looking mightly snuggly wuggly! She is sooo precious!

WHY? WHY? WHY?

2005-10-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

This was a forwarded email from my cousin Alex in Texas, I thought it was funny and cute so here it is for all of you to relate to and enjoy!!!

WHY? WHY? WHY?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are weak?

Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion starts, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It's alright." Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, "That hurt, you stupid idiot."

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you!

My Letter to one of the three men who murdered my cousin Wayne...

2005-10-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

James M. Green along with two other men were convicted of 6 counts of 1st degree, 2nd degree and attempted murder for the murders of my beloved cousin Wayne Luis Costilla, his friend Ronald and the attempted murder of Andrea Crosby. He was given 3 life consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole. He will die in jail.

He currently sits in a small cell in St. Cloud Penitentary. I am sending this letter to him.

James,

I don't really know what my intention is for writing you. I don't know if you'll even receive this letter. But I do know, that I feel I deserve to say what I have to say - so here it goes.

You have left so many questions unanswered for my family and I. In case you're wondering, I'm Wayne's cousin... I went to Harding too. I miss him everyday. Sometimes I have dreams about him, I think he came to me in a dream one night and told me he was okay. I would share the details, but they probably mean nothing to you. I still can't understand why. Why you would ever murder someone, no matter how much money, pride or material things were at stake... I guess you never stopped to think about how many lives you would affect.

My aunt (Wayne's Mom) hasn't been doing well lately. It's hard to face her because there are no words to heal her broken heart. One night her and I were talking and she said she felt like she was going crazy, she said that she went to his grave everyday and everyday she wished she could just dig him up and hold him again. She said she couldn't sleep at night because she could hear his voice in her head. She said she always thought that the phone would ring and it would be him. But it never does.

I visit him, and talk about normal stuff, the day to day, what's been happening in my life. I tell him how much I love him while I scrape the leaves off of his tombstone. Wayne and I were the same age. I told him how sad I was that he would never be able to have children to play with mine, when I have them. I know that he's close to me everyday, in my heart, in my thoughts and in my prayers. I know he's there, to protect me. Wayne was the light in our family. Always the happy one, the one who was always down to have a few drinks, tell a few stories and even dance to many songs. It was totally like him to tell you and your friends to come in the house on that cold night. He always thought about other people first.

I can't seem to stop wondering if he was scared, did his life flash before his eyes, did any tears fall down his cheeks, did he know he was going to die, did he pray before he took his last breath? When he was in the hospital room, all of our family went in groups at a time (we have a very large family) to say good-bye. I remember I leaned down next to him, his eyes were big black circles from the pressure of the gunshots to the head, there was blood, stained into his gumline and his teeth and his head was huge from being so swollen and so wrapped up in bandages. We couldn't touch one of his hands because of the bullet wound to his hand. I put my hand gently on his chest, while his body was still warm. I stood there and kept picturing his opening his eyes, begging God to let him just open them one more time, to respond to us one more time. I kept imagining him sitting up in the bed like it all had been just a bad dream, but it wasn't - it was real - and my 20 year old cousin who had just begun to live was dying, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I can still smell the dried blood if I close my eyes. I remember I leaned in and I gently set my hand on his chest and I started to whisper to him....

"I have to say good-bye Wayne, I'm so sorry, I know you want to fight, but God needs you to follow the light, and go home Wayne. We'll take care of Jason and your mom, I promise we'll get through this, it's not your fault. I wish I could've helped you." "How do I say good-bye Wayne, I wasn't ready to say good-bye yet, we're too young Wayne, there's still so much we still wanted to do. But don't feel bad, we're all going to be right here."

I continued telling him how much I was going to miss him, and even stories and moments we shared when we were little and as we grew up. When I finished, I leaned into his lifeless body and I whispered, "follow the light Wayne, I'm going to miss you forever, I'll never forget about you --- I love you so much Wayne." And as I said that, his whole body moved like a wave, like he was trying to get up, like he wanted to fight but his body wouldn't let him, like he wanted to speak, but his mouth wouldn't let him. I'll never forget that. I still think he was mad at me for telling him to follow the light, when he probably wanted to hear me tell him to keep fighting, but I knew in my heart that he had to leave, and I only wanted to comfort him before he took his last breath.

I visited a friend at Regions Hospital where Wayne died last month. It was the first time I had been back since he died there. My friend happened to be on the same floor. I never thought about it, until I got there and I started to walk up those same steps... I saw the same waiting room my family had filled up... the same hallway I walked down to say good-bye... the same chair where I sat when I overheard a younger friend of the family telling Jason, Wayne's little brother, that word on the street was that a "JG" was responsible for the murder. As I walked up those steps I had an anxiety attack. I couldn't breath, and the same feeling I felt then, that feeling that took over my body is what I'm feeling now as I write this letter and relive those moments.

When we buried Wayne, we let go of 21 balloons to celebrate his 21st birthday he would've celebrated. I think we are going to do that every year for his birthday.

I guess I needed to write this letter for some closure to the anger I feel towards you. I converted to Roman Catholic last April, and we are firm believers in forgiveness. I guess I can forgive, but it's hard for me to believe I could ever forget.

I wonder if you ever feel any remorse. I drive by the Perkins sometimes on Robert St. and think about the fact that you plotted my cousins murder there. I'll never be able to go there again. I've thought about what you do everyday. I mean, for the rest of your life, you'll never be able to do the normal things you probably took for granted.

Like holding a woman, kissing a woman, watching your child grow up, birthday parties with balloons and cake with lots of icing. Summer BBQ's with friends and family, playing loud music and having a few drinks with friends. Going to weddings, graduations and just hanging out at home watching movies you rented from Blockbuster eating popcorn. Playing the newest Playstation games, going on road trips, swimming in the lake, Watching superbowl sunday, having a girlfriend, getting married yourself, late night fast food runs like Taco Bell and McDonalds. Laying in a comfortable bed with soft sheets and warm blankets with a slight breeze coming through the window, hanging up Christmas lights and decorating the tree, New Years Eve Celebrations spent thinking about the things you'd like to do next year. Big Thanksgiving meals and football games. The summers, the winters, the spring and the fall. Getting a new car, just going for a drive - all the normal things you took for granted - you can't even do and pretty soon you won't even remember. They will all seem like distant memories from a life you can't even picture anymore. Your life forever consisting now of scheduled sloppy meals, a box you call home, a flat mattrese, a toilet you can see while your laying down and a bunch of loud, dangerous criminals surrounding you forever.

I think about all these things and how bad they seem... and yet none of them seem as bad as the fate you will face when you die. Judgment day, when the Lord will look at you and he will be able to tell if you ever repented and/or felt sorry for the lives you stole. I hope that if you didn't believe in God before, you do now. Because there is evil (as you know) and there is good, there is one God and there is a devil and heaven and hell do exist. And if you truly ask for forgiveness, and if you are truly sorry for your sins, you will be forgiven, and God will live in your heart and he will fill up all the voids that you have been left with.

I can't change the past, I'll probably never get the answers I seek. I guess I have to live with that. And you'll spend the rest of your wasted life in prison, reliving what put you there in the first place, that has to be punishment enough. You took two lives and almost a third. God let Andrea live to tell the story for a reason, we may not understand it now, but maybe somewhere down the line we will. I thank God that she did live, because her testimony of what happened that night is the reason you were caught and the reason the three of you received the punishment you so deserved. I cannot hold onto this pain anymore, Wayne has been set free, too early in my eyes, and too painful, but I cannot change that. But you truly don't deserve to be in my thoughts any longer.

I hope everyday you wake up remembering in full detail the pain you have caused so many. I hope as years go by you become more and more remorseful, and I hope it gives you pain to think about the friends and family you miss and the life you'll never have again. But I also hope in my heart of hearts that you find someway to bring the Lord into your life, because he is the only one who can save you now. You'll spend the rest of your life in prison on earth, do you want to do the same when you die???

May God give you the grace to see and acknowledge your faults and even give you the grace to repent and ask for forgiveness. And may the vision of that night - when you took my cousins life - forever haunt your every waking moment and every darkened night forever.

From this moment on I will forget you, I will erase every thought of you as if you don't exist. And as years go by, I bet the visitations you may recieve now, will become fewer and fewer, and your old friends and family will move on with their lives and they will forget about you too, as if you never even existed. And you will be even more lonely than you are now... all for what???? Was it worth it to you? My cousin is an Angel now, my guardian angel... and he will live in the glory of the Lords house forever and will never be forgotten.

And you --- you will take your final breaths, an old man in your lonely, empty jail cell. Enjoy.

May Wayne R.I.P.

Wayne's Cousin

(You are forgiven ---- and now you are forgotten.)

The Fight To Stop The Killing of Innocent Lives...

2005-10-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

Abortion
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

How can anyone be pro-abortion???

The Fight To Stop The Killing of Innocent Lives...

2005-10-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

Abortion
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Another group of pro-lifers! Yeah!

The Fight To Stop The Killing of Innocent Lives...

2005-10-20T07:18:00.000-07:00

Tour2005_UPENN4.sized
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

I came across these pictures on a website called repentamerica.com, being a Catholic and a decent human being... I am a firm believer in the right to life. These pictures tell the story so many people who are pro-abortion - refuse to acknowledge. Those poor babies never asked to be created, and never deserved to be destroyed in such a malicious and selfish manner. It makes me so sad. God Bless our babies.

Poem By Brent O. Langlinais ---My New Orleans

2005-09-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

My New Orleans

Old folks with life's yolks,
Listened to the devils jokes.
Water just like a rabid hound,
Ran my people to the ground.

Big easy drowned and upside down,
Man I miss this dying town.

There is no house in New Orleans,
Gulf by God has swept it clean.
In the city where no one works,
Good times gone and left for worse.

Hand me down my walking shoes,
Seems I lost all I can lose.

A bottle of gin and worn out cot,
The heavens await for whom have not.
Waters rolled in and drowned the cries,
of Government cheese and social lies.

No beer, no beads or laughing girls,
Gone is the city that once grew pearls.

Walked my levee many a time,
Only to leave it all behind.
I'm moving on oh won't you learn,
Hold your head when it's your turn.

Big easy drowned and upside down,
Man I miss this dying town.

-Brent Oren Langlinais, Sep. 2005

VIP Bottle Service Menu Page 2

2005-09-15T08:20:00.003-07:00

VIP Bottle Service Menu Page 2
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

VIP Bottle Service Menu Page 1

2005-09-15T08:20:00.002-07:00

VIP Bottle Service Menu Page 1
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Bathroom with Two-Way Mirror

2005-09-15T08:20:00.001-07:00

Bathroom with Two-Way Mirror
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

White Room

2005-09-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

White Room
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

X-Box White Room Controllers

2005-09-15T08:19:00.001-07:00

X-Box White Room Controllers
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

2nd Level VIP Booths

2005-09-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

2nd Level VIP Booths
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Upstairs VIP Booth

2005-09-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Upstairs VIP Booth
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is a view of one of our many 2nd Level VIP Booths.

Front of Club

2005-09-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

Front of Club
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is a view of two of our lower level VIP Booths along with the dance floor area and hightop tables for the general public.

T.H. VIP Booth

2005-09-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

T.H. VIP Booth
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is one of the VIP Booths on the first level of the club. Particularly Troy Hudson's (from the Timberwolves) favorite booth.

Chandaleir

2005-09-15T08:13:00.001-07:00

Chandaleir
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is from the first floor of the club looking at the d.j. booth and the floor above, with the beautiful chandaleir on the ceiling of the second floor.

Champagne

2005-09-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

Champagne
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is a picture of a the wall of bottles that lines the front entrance to the club.

The Velvet Room

2005-09-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

The Velvet Room
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is a picture of just part of our $5,000.00 VIP Room at Karma. Included in this room which is not pictured here is your own bar and bathroom! The room is decorated with a "Scarface Theme."

Please say a Rosary on October 2nd to Preserve the Sanctity of Life...

2005-09-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

{Article from bluearmy.com}

Join us as we put into practice Our Lady of Fatima's message. Encourage your family, loved ones, friends and groups to say the Rosary with us on Sunday October 2nd, 2005 in the fight to preserve the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. You may register your pledge/promise to say the Rosary on October 2nd at www.bluearmy.com.

In registering your pledge, you will be remembered in Holy Mass at the Blue Army National Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Washington, NJ and in Fatima, Portugal. Your name will be placed in Fatima at the site where the apparitions took place.

Please encourage your Catholic and Non-Catholic friends, family and loved ones, to register their pledge. With your help, heaven will smile as it receives 100,000,000 prayers for the sanctity of life.

(Register your pledge to say the Rosary, or 20 minutes of prayer on October 2nd for the Sanctity of Life, and you will be automatically entered into the drawing for a Free Spiritual Journey for Four to Fatima, Portugal!)

Go to BlueArmy.com
*The pledge is not for donations or money, just simply that you will promise to say the Rosary or 20 minutes of prayer October 2nd, to help put an end to abortions and to revive the importance and value of "every life."* Registering online is only necessary if you'd like to be entered to win a trip for four to Portugal, and so that your name will be placed in Fatima during mass prayer.

God Bless! -Stephanie

2005-09-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

So Tim and I and our friend Otis went to see "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," in the theater last night. And it was one of the freakiest movies I have ever seen. I'm going to see if I can find the book the movie was based on at Barnes and Nobles sometime. But it got me thinking, what other true exorcism stories are out there? Tim was telling me a little bit that our Priest, Father Altier told them stories of Exorcisms when he was in school. So I looked up to see what I could find on true exorcisms and one story caught my eye. The movie, "The Exorcist," was actually based on a true story too, except the details were very different than the movie. I found this story on www.catholiceducation.org

The true story of The Exorcist began in January 1949 and involved a 13-year-old boy named Robbie, who lived with his parents and grandmother is Mt. Rainier, Maryland. Robbie was very close to his aunt who visited the family frequently from St. Louis, Missouri. She was a medium and attempted to communicate with the spirit world. Not only did she spark Robbie's interest in this practice, she also taught him how to use the Ouija Board.

Strange phenomena began happening on Jan. 10, 1949. The family heard scratching on the walls; however, exterminators found no evidence of pests of any kind. Objects moved by themselves: a table would turn over, a chair would move across the room, a vase would fly through the air, and a picture of Christ would shake. At night, Robbie felt scratching in his bed, and he suffered nightmares frequently.

After the aunt died suddenly on Jan 26, Robbie continued to use the Ouija board to communicate with her and others. The strange phenomena also continued. Moreover, Robbie's disposition changed - he'd become unsettled, agitated and angry.

In February, his parents took Robbie to visit their Lutheran minister, Rev. Schulze. Being interested in parapsychology, he thought perhaps a poltergeist was tormenting the family. Pastor Schulze allowed Robbie to move into his house for observation for a couple of days. The minister witnessed chairs and other objects moving by themselves. After he saw the bed shake, he moved the mattress to the floor, where it glided along by itself. Pastor Schulze became suspicious of the presence of evil.

Upon Pastor Schulze's recommendation, the family took Robbie to the Mental Hygiene Clinic of the University of Maryland for testing. After two rounds of testing, nothing abnormal was discovered. Pastor Schulze then advised the family to contact the local Catholic priest.

Robbie was admitted to Georgetown hospital, where Father Hughes began the ritual of exorcism. The boy became violent, with spitting and projectile vomiting. He cast obscenities and blasphemies at Father Hughes. Although restrained to the bed, Robbie broke lose and wrenched out a metal spring with which he slashed Father Hughes from his left shoulder to wrist. The wound required over 100 stitches to close it. Robbie seemed calm after the attack, not remembering the ordeal. He was then released and sent home.

The strange phenomena soon resumed at their home. One night, when Robbie was changing for bed, he screamed. A bloody word had been scratched on his chest, Louis. His mother asked if this meant, "St. Louis," and another bloody word appeared, "yes."

Almost immediately, the family journeyed to visit their cousin in St. Louis, Missouri. The same strange phenomena began to happen. The cousin, a student at St. Louis University, talked with one of her priest professors, Father Bishop, S.J., about the situation. Father Bishop then contacted one of his close friends, Father Bowdern, S.J., pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church.

The two priests and a young Jesuit scholastic went to interview Robbie on March 9, 1949. They noticed bloody zig-zag scratched on his chest. They heard scraping sounds. They saw a large bookcase move and turn around by itself and a stool move across the floor. Robbie's bed would shake as he lay on it. He hurled obscenities and blasphemies at them. The priests knew they were confronting evil.

They petitioned Cardinal Ritter for permission to perform an exorcism. After reviewing all of the evidence including medical and psychiatric exams, he granted permission on March 16.

As the priests began the Rite of Exorcism, Robbie became violent. He made howling and growling noises. The bed shook up and down. On his chest appeared bloody scratches with the words hell and devil, and even an image of Satan. Robbie spit at the priests as he hurled obscenities and blasphemies, with intermittent fiendish laughter.

For his own safety and for the family's welfare, Robbie was then transfered to the Alexian Brothers Hospital and placed in the psychiatric ward. Father Bowdern, continued to perform the exorcism. With the family's consent, Robbie was baptized a Catholic. When Father Bowdern tried to give him First Holy Communion, Robbie five times spit out the Scared Host, they then paused to say the rosary and Robbie finally received the Holy Eucharist.

On April 18th, Easter Monday, the exorcism came to a climax. As Father Bowdern continued the ritual, the demon recognized the presence of St. Michael the Archangel, and was expelled from Robbie. A sound like a gunshot was heard throughout the hospital. After this whole ordeal, Robbie remembered nothing of the diabolical phenomena, except the vision of St. Michael. Certainly, this story is frightening, but nevertheless true.

So to answer the all to familiar question; Yes, the devil really can possess someone, and yes, the Church really does exorcisms. Be on guard! Stay away from anything dealing with the occult, including Ouija Boards. Use the weapons of the Holy arsenal that protect us from evil: pray, attend Mass, recieve Holy Communion, live by the commandments and the teachings of the church, and confess sins frequently. If we rely on this Holy arsenal for God's graces, we have no need to fear: the love of God will always triumph over evil.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2005-09-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! How are you all? Well I'm doing great! I have a long day ahead of me, tonight is Karma's Trent Tucker Celebrity Bash at the club and it's going to be insane! Theres going to be so many celebrities there! I can't believe Michael Jordan is going to be there, that's so neat. We're not allowed to ask for autographs while were working otherwise I would have had him sign everything and anything!! ha ha.

Tim is going to look at his house today, and he's bringing his checkbook. I really hope it turns out to be just what he wanted. I would love to see him happy in home instead of wasting all of his money on that apartment. Though I have a little bit of an emotional tie to the apartment since it is where we met. But hey, change is good right? Well, at least one of us won't be wasting money renting anymore! ha ha. No, as you all know I'm really excited to be moving into my new apartment. I can't wait.

CHRISTMAS AT MY HOUSE
***So yes, I've decided to have Christmas at my house this year. I don't have a big huge house, but it is cozy and it will be a lot of fun. To all my family in Texas, I love you guys and you are more than welcome to join us if you can make it up here! We have fully furnished guest apartments available for $45.00 a night in my apartment building, and they are much nicer than getting a hotel. I only have a one bedroom or else I'd let you all stay with me! :-) If you can't make it, you better give us a call to say hello.

As for here, I don't have that much room, so I think I'm just going to keep it at, My mom, dad, bro, Tim, Kristy, Sarah, Caiden, Sandy Lee and Michael if they want to come.

I have to find an artificial tree since we aren't allowed to have real ones in apartments incase they start on fire, and I'll have to get decorations and stuff. It's going to be so much fun baking, and cooking and decorating. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I'm really excited to go to Midnight mass again at St. Agnes too. It was absolutely breathtaking last year, and it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. After all it is Jesus' Birthday.

Well, I hope all is well with everyone, kisses and hugs and wishes and love!
Stephanie

Hurricane Katrina God

2005-09-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Katrina God
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is a picture that Leah Tucker, Pass Christian, Miss. took. This is a picture Leah took of his church in Mississippi. St. Pauls Church was totally destroyed and gutted by the storm, but it was truly amazing how one of the only things left was the crucifix hanging above the alter, and it is only being held by two pieces of that invisible line.

Now do you think Hurricane Katrina was a message from God, or is that still not enough for you?

What's Up Everyone?!

2005-09-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

Hey, how are you all doing? Well I'm doing great. It's really rainy and gloomy outside today, which is my favorite kind of sleeping weather, so I'm really missing my bed right now. Other than that, I woke up late today. My Timmy forgot to set the alarm but luckily he woke up and woke me up, better late than never right! Tomorrow is the Trent Tucker Charity After Golf Tournament Party at Karma and we're expecting some of the biggest Athletes to be there. Timmy's favorite player from when he was little - Pippen is supposed to be there so he may come to the club too. That would be so cool if he got to meet him. So that's pretty exciting. I have to go home and throw some laundry in for tomorrow, and I have a meeting tonight at Karma to talk about tomorrow's party.

Other than that, I'm getting sooooo excited to move into my new place. I know, I've been talking about it forever, but it's only about 3 weeks away and I'll be all moved in! Yeah! My furniture is awesome and I really don't have that much other furniture to move so it should be a pretty easy move. Especially since I'm only moving two blocks away from my current apartment. I love downtown St. Paul, I just can't seem to get out of it. It's hard living downtown and then trying to live in a regular apartment. And downtown St. Paul is so close to everything. It's just really convienient, plus I got the best deal ever. I feel really bad for people who own houses, only because the cost to heat them this winter is supposed to sky rocket. Glad my heat and all the rest of my utilities including central air are included in my rent. Love it!

And I know I said this before too, but I'm totally going to decorate my whole house for Christmas this year! I'm really excited. I'm going to get my own tree and decorate the inside and everything. I really want to have Christmas at my house for my family so we'll see how it goes. Now that I'll have all this nice furniture and stuff it will be really fun. I'm going to start ordering some Christmas catalogs so I can find cute decorations.

Tim has found another house he's interested in! It looks so adorable too, and it's brand new. It's perfect size and would be perfect for him. There's an open house for it this weekend, so he wants to go and see it before the Open House incase he wants to buy it before anyone else snatches it up. So I really hope he does. He would be much happier if he had a house, I know he doesn't like the idea of throwing money away on rent at all. So this would be good for him, and I really love the house. At least I loved what I could see from the listing. So Good Luck Babe!

Well, other than that, not much else new here. Just staying busy with work and stuff. Hope all is well with everyone. And please say a prayer for the families affected by Hurricane Katrina. God Bless!

Love Stephanie

Hurricane Katrina Survivors

2005-09-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Katrina Survivors
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

This is a picture of a little girl from California sharing a pair of her pajamas with a young survivor of Hurricane Katrina. The Survivors family which included this little girl and her mother and siblings, were taken in by a Southern California family after the devestation of Katrina. I thought this picture was so touching, it really shows the breakdown of racial walls, and touches more on Human decency and love.

A Broken Heart To Mend

2005-09-08T05:44:00.000-07:00

So I found one of my notebooks that I had poems and songs written in... I'm going to post some here is one called...

A Broken Heart to Mend

Why is it so hard for me to watch you walk away?
I'd do anything to try again, but I guess it's just too late.
I can't hold back, just can't let go,
I have to know I've tried,
I love you more than life itself,
there's so many reasons why.
I'm broken up, I'm torn apart,
Friends say I'm not the same.
I feel lonely and the thought of you is driving me insane.
I'm hopeful that the tears will dry,
And I'll stand up once again,
I won't forget the man who gave to me
this broken heart to mend.

Stephanie

In times of Sadness...

2005-09-08T05:10:00.000-07:00

I close my eyes
And drift away
Thoughts pass by
Then sail away
The pain sinks in
I'm losing sleep
I'm lost within
I feel defeat
The sun it sets
The day now gone
A broken heart
An empty song
Nighttime falls
By the light of the moon
I pray for strength
Though I fear I am doomed
The sorrows thick
It's becoming so clear
I'm feeling sick
The end is near
God fill me up
With all of your grace
Give to me another
Day to face.

Stephanie

Better Off Alone...

2005-09-08T05:06:00.000-07:00

So you're okay with leaving? - Then walk right out the door,
You're phony and misleading, I've seen it all before.
Don't think I will forgive you,
Or clean up the mess you made,
This washed up love is finished,
Take back what you never gave.

You think about yourself,
And whenever I turn around,
Another vain remark about the fake success you've found.
Your words to me are worthless,
They're nothing but a front,
To be honest I could careless,
I have no choice but to be blunt.

Stephanie

P.s. FYI - These were written years ago!! They are not directed towards anyone in particular, and especially not at my Timmy! But I still think they're pretty damn good. :-)

Your Love....

2005-09-08T00:58:00.000-07:00

Your love is like a haven,
Your touch worth more than Gold,
The very essence of your love,
Keeps my heart from growing cold.
Your eyes - they light the fire,
That burns down all my walls,
The fixation of your honesty,
Ensures I'll never have to fall.
I can't complete this lifetime,
Without you by my side,
In truth - you are my better half,
A reflection of my pride.

Stephanie

Girls Like Me are Rare...

2005-09-08T00:53:00.000-07:00

Girls like me are rare
And just in case you may have cared...
You should've took your time,
And we'd be fine.
Instead you chose to leave,
Never notifying me,
So when you cheated, you'd be free.
Look at me now,
These tears are all because of you,
I wonder how,
Someone could treat me like you do,
Remember this face,
This is the last time that we'll speak,
And I can erase, the thought of you won't leave me weak.

Stephanie

My Doubts

2005-09-08T00:49:00.000-07:00

I turn the lights down low,
Turn on the radio,
I filter out the thought of you,
Wondering if you know,
I can feel you all around,
And I still hear the sound,
Of your whispers full of promises - Said you'd never bring me down.
Now this emptiness remains,
And my heart still screams your name,
From the moment you walked out the door,
Nothing'll ever be the same.
I try to block you out,
While I fight to figure out,
Never fully trusted in your love,
Guess I always had my doubts.
So you let go of my hand,
And frozen here I stand,
The example of the consequence
Of believing in a man.

Stephanie

He must be sending us a message...

2005-09-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

my GOD, my GOD why have YOU forsaken me?
Originally uploaded by ratterrell.

Why do so many of us refuse to hear him when he speaks to us? Why do so many of us refuse to live our lives the right way? Why do we fail to see and believe that there is a greater power than what the human mind can comprehend? Is all this a warning to awaken us? Is it a warning to finally pay attention?

Is it an example of the dark sadness that seems to be slowly drowning the entire world?

I now see people opening their hearts and their homes to complete strangers. I see people across the country and across the world, pouring in their support and prayers for those survivors and those lost in Hurricane Katrina. I see tears of equality flowing down cheeks of different colors. And in all of that - beyond the pain and the darkness - I see in each of those people helping to make a difference - the light of our Lord Jesus Christ.

AMEN- Stephanie

Listen to what Katrina is Saying - An article from Time Magazine

2005-09-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

Listen to What Katrina is saying - Joe Klein

-As the floodwaters rose in New Orleans last week, a group called Columbia Christians for Life announced that it had discerned God's purpose in the storm; the destruction of the five abortion clinics in the city. The proof was a radar photograph showing that the hurricane "looks like a fetus facing to the left (west) in the womb, in the early weeks of gestation." A photo of the 6-week fetus was helpfully provided for comparison.

The aftermath of the hurricane brought these rudiments of humanity to mind. It was a case study in why societies exist - which may be the one good thing to emerge from this mess. We have grown accustomed to best-case scenerios in the U.S.; we have come to assume that we will always have electricity and food and fresh water and an endless pipeline of goods and services. We assume that we can always control our fate, that we are exempt from chaos, and that the governess is a necessary evil rather than an essential good, the ultimate civilized defense against the rudeness of nature.

The Chinese believe that natural disasters signal the fall of empires, a shift in the "Mandate of Heaven." The Chinese do have a point, in the past four years we have had two catastrophes - 9/11 and Katrina - and taken together, they send a signal that America's remarkable late-20th century run may not be perpetual. Modifications in the way we live may be necessary.

PETS SURVIVED HURRICANE, NEED NEW HOMES....

2005-09-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

San Antonio, TX - More than 80 dogs and cats that were displaced by Hurricane Katrina are ready for adoption in San Antonio, Texas. The pets were forced to leave the Animal Control Center in Baton Rouge, La., and were transferred to the Bexar County Humane Society. The animals of different breeds and sizes will be vaccinated, microchiped, spayed or neutered for about $25.00.

**** SO SAD ****

2005-09-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

Tragedy of Hurricane Katrina...

2005-09-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, there is no denying that this is the most horrendous natural disaster the United States has seen in a long long time. It makes me so sad to think of all the people that lost their lives, the elderly who weren't strong or healthy enough to survive and of all those children and families who are hungry and thirsty and scared. But please ... somebody tell me what is wrong with so many people in New Orleans. By that I mean, the people who are doing stupid things, and who are making rescuers' jobs even more difficult than they already are. There are people wading in knee deep water stealing televisions from stores. Now, I'm no genious but what the heck are they stealing t.v.'s for??? Are they going to bring them home and watch them??? How dumb can you possibly be? And I saw a picture of some girls checking out some Nike's they stole from a local store. Again ... where are these peoples morals and common sense? The hopeful say that New Orleans will be back on it's feet again - hard to believe when some of the people of New Orleans are doing everything they can to prevent this from happening. If they were smart, they'd all ban together and help each other get out of there, instead of shooting people and stealing televisions.

It's so disturbing. Then you think of all those elderly people still stranded in their homes, praying for someone to come and save them, and these young strong kids who are carrying 45" tv's while wading through water, who could have carried these poor people to safety instead of looting. How sad is that? I mean, we have soldiers tearing down Iraq, and we can't even gain control of local New Orleans gang members? Only the scumiest scum of the earth could shoot a rescue helicopter that was trying to save them. Now who knows how long it will be before rescuers can go back in, all the while children are starving and people are getting sick. I pray that someone can get control of the situation before more people are hurt.

To those dealing with a loss of family members and friends from Hurricane Katrina, God Bless.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Based on a true story...

2005-08-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

* Ok this has to be the freakiest movie preview I've ever come across. I was more interested because it said that it was based on a true story. So I decided to research the internet to find the true story this scary movie was based on and this is what I found...*

-From her birth on the 21st of September, 1952, Anneliese Michel enjoyed the life of a normal, religiously nurtured young girl. Without warning, her life changed on a day in 1968 when she began shaking and found she was unable to control her body. She could not call our for her parents, Josef and Anna, or any of her 3 sisters. A neurologist at the Psychiatric Clinic Wurzburg diagnosed her with "Grand Mal" epilepsy. Because of the strength of the epileptic fits, and the severity of the depression that followed, Anneliese was admitted for treatment at the hospital.

-Soon after the attacks began, Anneliese started seeing devilish grimaces during her daily praying. It was the fall of 1970, and while the young people of the world were enjoying the liberal freedoms of the time, Anneliese was battling with the belief that she was possessed. It seemed there was no other explanation for the appearance of devilish visions during her prayers. Voices also began following her, saying Anneliese will "stew in hell." She mentioned the "demons" to the doctors only once, explaining that they have started to give her orders. The doctors seem unable to help, and Anneliese lost hope that medicine was going to be able to cure her.

-In the summer of 1973, her parents visited different pastors to request an exorcism. Their requests were rejected and they were given recommendations that the now 20 year old Anneliese should continue with medication and treatment. It was explained that the process by which the Church proves a possession (Infestatio) is strictly defined, and until all the criterium is met, a Bishop can not approve an exorcism. The requirements, to name a few, include an aversion to religious objects, speaking in a language the person has never learned, and supernatural powers.

-In 1974, after supervising Anneliese for some time, Pastor Ernst Alt requested a permit to perform the exorcism from the Bishop of Wurzburg. The request was rejected, and a recommendation soon followed saying that Anneliese should live even more of a religious lifestyle in order to find peace. The attacks did not diminish, and her behavior became more irratic. At her parents house in Klingenberg, she insulted, beat, and began biting the other members of her family. She refused to eat because the demons would not allow it. Anneliese slept on the stone floor, ate spiders, flies and coal, and even began drinking her own urine. She could be heard screaming throughout the house for hours while breaking crucifixes, destroying paintings of Jesus, and pulling apart rosaries. Anneliese began committing acts of self-mutilation at this time, and the act of tearing off her clothes and urinating on the floor became commonplace.

-After making an exact verification of the possession in September 1975, the Bishop of Wurzburg, Josef Stangl, assigned Father Arnold Renz and Pastor Ernst Alt with the order to perform, "The Great Exorcism" on Anneliese Michel. The basis for this ritual was the "Ritual Romanum," which was still, at the time, a valid Cannon Law from the 17th Century. It was determined that Anneliese must be saved from the possession by several demons, including Lucifer, Judas Iscariot, Nero, Cain, Hitler, Fleischmann, a disgraced Frankish Priest from the 16th century and some other damned souls which had manifested through her. From September `75 untill July `76, one or two exorcism sessions were held each week. Anneliese's attacks were sometimes so strong that she would have to be held down by 3 men, or even chained up. During this time, Anneliese found her life somewhat return to normal as she could again go to school, take final examinations at the Pedagogic in Wurzburg, and go to church.

-The attacks, however did not stop. In fact, she would more often find herself paralyzed and falling unconscious than before. The exorcism continued over many months, always with the same prayers and incantations. Sometimes family members and visitors, like one married couple that claims to have "discovered" Anneliese, would be present during the rituals. For several weeks, Anneliese denied all food. Her knees ruptured due to the 600 genuflections she performed obsessively during the daily exorcism. Over 40 audio tapes record the process, in order to preserve the details.

-The last day of the Exorcism Rite was on June 30th, 1976, and Anneliese was suffering at this point from Pneumonia. She was totally emaciated, and running a high fever. Exhausted and unable to physically perform the genuflections herself, her parents stood in and helped carry her through the motions. "Beg for Absolution" is the last statement Anneliese made to the exorcists. To her mother, she said, "Mother, I'm afraid." Anna Michel recorded the death of her daughter on the following day, July 1st, 1976, and at noon, Pastor Ernst Alt informed the authorities in Aschaffenburg. The senior prosecutor began investigating immediately.

-A short time before these final events unfolded, WIlliam Friedkin's "The Exorcist" (1974) came to the cinemas in Germany, bringing with it a wave of paranormal hysteria that flooded the nation. Psychiatrists all over Europe reported an increase of obsessive ideas among their patients. Prosecutors took more than 2 years to take Annaliese's case to court, using that time to sort throught the bizarre facts. Anneliese's parents and the two exorcists were accused of negligent homicide. The "Klingenberg Case" would be decided upon two questions: What caused the death of Anneliese Michel, and who was responsible?

-According to the forensic evidence, "Anneliese starved to death." Specialists claimed that if the accused would have begun to force feed her one week before her death, Anneliese's life would have been saved. One sister told the court that Anneliese did not want to go to a mental home were she would be sedated and forced to eat. The exorcists tried to prove the presence of the demons, playing taped recordings of strange dialogues like that of two demons arguing about which one of them would have to leave Anneliese's body first. One of the demons called himself Hitler, and spoke with a Frankish accent (Hitler was born in Austria). Not one of those present during the exorcism ever had a doubt about the authenticity of the presence of these demons.

-The pyschiatrists, whom had been ordered to testify by the court, spoke about the "Doctrinaire Induction." They said that the priests had provided Anneliese with the contents of her psychotic behavior. Consequentially, they claimed, she later accepted her behavior as a form of demonic possession. They also offered that Anneliese's unsettled sexual development, along with her diagnosed Temperal Lobe Epilepsy, had influenced the psychosis.

-The verdict was considered by many as not as harsh as they expected. Anneliese's parents, as well as the exorcists, were found guilty of manslaughter resulting from negligence and omitting first aid. They were sentenced to 6 months in jail and probation. The verdict included the opinion of the court that the accused should have helped by taking care of the medical treatment that the girl needed, but instead, their use of naive practices aggrivated Anneliese's already poor constitution.

-A commission of the German Bishop-Conference later declared that Anneliese Michel was not possessed, however, this did not keep believers from supporting her struggles, and it was because so many believed in her that Anneliese's body did not find peace with death. Her corpse was exhumed eleven and a half years after her burial, only to confirm that it had decayed as would have been expected under normal circumstances. Today, her grave remains a place of pilgrimage for rosary-praying and for those who believe that Anneliese Michel bravely fought the devil.

-In 1999, Cardinal Medina Estevez presented journalists in Vatican-City the new version of the "Ritual Romanum" that has been used by the Catholic Church since 1614. The updates came after more than 10 years of editing and is called "De exorcismis et supplicationibus quibusdam" otherwise known as "The exorcism for the upcoming millennium." The Pope approbated the new Exorcism Rite, which is now allowed for world-wide use. This new form of exorcism came after the German Bishop Conference demanded to ultimately abolish the "Ritual Romun." It also came more than 20 years after Anneliese Michel had died.

****This movie based on the story above comes out September 8th.****
Also, a documentary on real exorcisms that take place today will be airing on A&E Next week - Check local listings for times.

GOT IT!!!

2005-08-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! How are you all doing? Well, went to my interview last night for Karma and I got it!!! Yeah!!! I'm so excited, now I don't have to work at the grocery store part time like I was doing before! And my friend Janell has an interview there tonight too so more than likely we'll be working together. That'll be so much fun!

Our outfits are to die for too! They are white dress pant's with a white jacket and a purple shirt underneath. SO HOT!!! I'm going to start out jumping between bottle service and regular cocktailing, just so they can see what I'm really good at, but I'll have the bottle service down in no time flat. I have a lot of experience from the St. Paul Grill so I should do great. And bottle Service is even better money. Man, a new day always bring new things. I guess you never know what tomorrow has in store for you.

I ended up going out afterwards and didn't get home until like 2:30 I think it was 2:50 when my cousin Marraya and I finally started to fall asleep. Man, we got up this morning and we were like zombies. I actually woke up more awake than I thought I would, but it's 3:20 right now and it just hit me pretty hard. And it was totally pouring outside and all I wanted to do was lay in bed and sleep all day. Oh, just imagine I won't have to get up all early on the weekends anymore, since I work late, I can sleep in late!!! Yeah!

And I'm only a month away from moving into my new apartment! I'm soooo excited. Once I get it all put together I'm going to take pictures and post em. That reminds me, I never got the usb cord for Tim's camera to post our new Vegas pictures yet. I'll have to remember to grab that this weekend. Oh and the Minnesota State Fair started yesterday, so Tim and I decided to take Monday off from work and go to the fair together. It'll be our first time at the fair together so that'll be fun.

And as for tonight, maybe go shopping with Janell for our outfits, though I'm extremely exhausted working on only 4 hours of sleep. And then go spend some quality time with my baby, TIMMY!!! Kisses

Love Steph

2005-08-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sending this message 4m my cell phone! Hope it works!

Club Karma - Downtown Minneapolis

2005-08-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Karma_GrandOpening_Front
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

I have an interview for this HOT new club opening in Downtown Minneapolis, Thursday night. I had a little tour before it's opening and it's seriously off the hook. This club is definitely geared toward the finer people who subside in the Twin Cities, with VIP service and ammenities like you've never seen! All the HOT and SEXY people will be here, so I gotta be! ha ha

Princess Lauryn

2005-08-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

I5YXAEUJVJP9CXLK-2KLY5
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

AAAAWWWWWW. So cute!

Princess Lauryn

2005-08-23T09:14:00.001-07:00

Princess Lauryn
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

She looks like an Angel here, man my cousins are cute!!!

Princess Lauryn

2005-08-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

Princess Lauryn
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Princess Lauryn

2005-08-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

Princess Lauryn
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

My cousin Belinda's beautiful princess Lauryn Celeste. And Princess in an understatement! She's more like Ms. Queenie!

Bill Cosby's Picture Pages T.V. Show

2005-08-19T13:06:00.001-07:00

Bill Cosby's Picture Pages T.V. Show
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Another screen shot of Bill Cosby's Show. Man, I want that pen... I should look on ebay.

Bill Cosby's Picture Pages T.V. Show

2005-08-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

Bill Cosby's Picture Pages T.V. Show
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

I just remembered how awesome this t.v. show was when I was little! Now I don't know one person out there who grew up in the 80's who didn't want that pen that he drew with that made noise! I still want one!

Inside View of Truck After Accident

2005-08-19T11:52:00.002-07:00

Inside View of Truck After Accident
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Outside View of Truck after Accident

2005-08-19T11:52:00.001-07:00

Outside View of Truck after Accident
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Front View of Truck After Accident

2005-08-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

Front View of Truck After Accident
Originally uploaded by StephyGem.

Stephanie *up close & personal*

My Twin, I mean cousin Marraya....

Friday Once Again...

Moments that I Cherish...

From my Sidekick...

Minneapolis' Finest - Oh and the police.. :-)

Stephanie - Summer 2005

Stephanie & Janell

Stephanie - Summer 2005

Janell - Summer 2005

Stephanie - Summer 2005

Janell - Summer 2005

Belinda

Ouch!

My Jeddie

IMAGINE

Saint Bernadette...

NEW ORLEANS PASTOR HOLDS WEDDING RING DONATED TO HURRICANE VICTIMS

With all my heart....

Who I Am Today

Janell & Stephanie Out on the Town

Janell & Stephanie

Janell & Stephanie

Janell in Downtown Minneapolis Halloween

Janell in Downtown Minneapolis Halloween

In Celebration of "All Hallows Eve."

Tim and Steph at Club MIX in Las Vegas

Our Hotel Room at "The Hotel," in Las Vegas

Hotel Room at "The Hotel," in Las Vegas

Hotel Room at "The Hotel," in Las Vegas

Our Hotel Bedroom at "THE HOTEL," in Las Vegas

Tim and Steph

Julie and Keith

Tim and Steph in the Lobby

Tim and Steph

Tim and Steph

Tim and Steph

Tim and Stephanie

Caiden's 3rd Birthday

Dad and Caiden

Caiden's 3rd Birthday

Nana with Caiden

Blowing out Candles

Caiden Michael

Recognize that the Day of the Lord is at hand...

My Favorite Prayer to The Blessed Virgin Mary...

My Ideal place to get lost with Timmy!

Okay tough guy...

The Cat Usually Starts It

Found these pics online...

Sleepy Alexis Rose Lamprecht

Sleepy Alexis Rose Lamprecht

Sleepy Alexis Rose Lamprecht

WHY? WHY? WHY?

My Letter to one of the three men who murdered my cousin Wayne...

The Fight To Stop The Killing of Innocent Lives...

The Fight To Stop The Killing of Innocent Lives...

The Fight To Stop The Killing of Innocent Lives...

Poem By Brent O. Langlinais ---My New Orleans

VIP Bottle Service Menu Page 2

VIP Bottle Service Menu Page 1

Bathroom with Two-Way Mirror

White Room

X-Box White Room Controllers

2nd Level VIP Booths

Upstairs VIP Booth

Front of Club

T.H. VIP Booth

Chandaleir

Champagne

The Velvet Room

Please say a Rosary on October 2nd to Preserve the Sanctity of Life...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Hurricane Katrina God

What's Up Everyone?!

Hurricane Katrina Survivors

A Broken Heart To Mend

In times of Sadness...

Better Off Alone...

Your Love....

Stephanie up close & personal