“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things,
trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.
You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.” ~~Neil Gaiman

Hi all,

I hope you all had a great time welcoming in the New Year!  I pray that 2014 blesses you all very much!

I'm really psyched for this year with JABB!  So much so that I've already started the 2014 Valentine's story which means I spent time on that which I probably shoulda spent on this.  Oops.  Anyhow, it's short and sweet but I hope you enjoy it.

God bless,
Jenni
New Year's Resolutions from Dyeland
From Adam: I resolve to spend more quality time with my feathered friends and my not feathered friends.  I also resolve to try to curb the impulse to scowl dramatically at the Victoria's Secret store whenever the girls pull me into their shopping excursions... but it's just so much fun to get JenniAnn going on her pseudo-feminist tirades.  0;-)

From Max: I'm going to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life: School?  Re-enlist?  Keep doing what I'm doing?  Because I want to be someone Rose would be proud to marry.  And it'd be nice to make Andrew and Maja really proud, too.  And You.

From Violeta: I'm resolving to become a really, really, really great angel of death.  But not for a long time.  I like working with Andrew.  And I definitely want to be around him when that assignment comes up... You know the one. 

From JenniAnn: This year, I resolve to focus more on what I do have and not so much on what I don't.  I'm not sure what's going on but Andrew is totally blissed-out and that makes me happy.  It's enough.  Truly.  Oh and I resolve to keep helping Violeta figure the world out.  That's an experience!

From Arthur: I resolve to keep striving to find ways to help my True Light guys find their place and make their mark on this world.  And I resolve to live in such a way that I'm always deserving of Monica's love.

From Joshua: I will try very hard to not accidentally reveal who I am too soon when I meet up with everyone.  I also resolve to learn how to make a three-pointer because I think that would really help with getting my basketball loving neighbors to warm up to me.

From Fr. Mike: I resolve to not at any point in the next few months start yelling "Joshua is Jesus!"  That will take some effort... but I know that would complicate things.  I also resolve to write really good, really stirring homilies. 

From Shelby: I'm gonna be a good student and do all my homework and read tons. 

From Monica: My resolution for 2014 is to be the best friend I can be, the best angel I can be, the best daughter I can be, and to always walk in Your truth and Your light.  Thank You for the glorious year that has passed!

From Andrew: I promise to enjoy all the blessings that come our way in 2014, whatever those turn out to be.  I want to do my very best to bring the message of Your love to my assignments and to my friends.  I also hope I can be the director You want me to be.  I can't wait!
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TOTGA Day 2014!!!
So it's probably pretty obvious that I'm very much in Dyeland mode right now.  Hard not to be with two stories in the works.  But tomorrow marks 18 years since "The One That Got Away" first aired and John Dye's Andrew entered our lives.  So I wanted to mark that occasion.  I got to thinking, what might that same assignment have been like if it happened *now* to a post-Dyeland Andrew, Monica, and Tess?  Maybe something like this...

- Andrew wouldn't have been wearing those awful tasseled loafers because JenniAnn would have begged him to switch them out before leaving the house.

- Arthur would have crashed the wedding in order to protect Monica from that weird little lawyer.  And he likely woulda brought the others if they wanted to go... cause it's the gentlemanly thing to do.

- Thus, Tess would have ended up with a group of back-up singers during her performance of "The Rose."  She would not have been thrilled by this...

- But Lady Beth or someone would have helped Monica in taking care to ensure Tess later got all the meatballs she would want.

- Wine would have been plentiful and everyone (well, almost everyone) would have wondered who the unknown Middle Eastern man wandering the kitchen was...

- Max and Rose would have decided they also want to get married on a train... the Hogwarts Express, specifically.

- Andrew and Monica would have danced at the wedding cause they're friends now!  Yay!!!

 - Susan would have gotten a series of nasty looks.  Dyelanders don't take messing with true love kindly...

 - Andrew probably wouldn't have kissed Susan on the cheek for fear of unleashing lots of jealousy.  She didn't deserve it, anyway...

- Instead of the assignment ending with Monica waving adieu to Andrew, it woulda ended with the entire gang gathered at the Cafe and feeling glad that they don't have to fear having a manipulative wacko among them.

Yeah, so I'm realizing the older I get the more awful Susan becomes...  Anyway... happy TOTGA Day!  May any weddings you attend be drama free and may you never have to deal with a manipulative wacko among your kith and kin.  :-)
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This newsletter is dedicated to John Dye for being one of the driving forces behind a really amazing, unexpected, eye-opening, heart-opening, joyful, terrible, awesome, soothing, disturbing, enlivening, faith-building, but altogether great eighteen years of fannishness!  While we've certainly had our difficult moments, all in all this has been incredibly rewarding for me and I hope that whether you've been a fan for decades or for days, you're able to reflect on all the blessings you might not have with out John's influence and work.  I know I count my friendship with JABBers as among the chiefest of those blessings!  There aren't too many people with whom I could have the types of conversations I have with all of you and not be thought crazy.  ;-)  So this one's dedicated to all of you, too!

JABB TOC

JABB 402
(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from Touched by an Angel and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions. They are not being used to seek profit.)