~ Week off ~

I took the week off. My vacation runs May to May, I had 4 days left and we have a use or lose it office policy, so I took my last days this week. It is the first time in ages I have taken vacation days without having "plans" , but this has been nice and it has totally flown by! We actually did have plans to go camping for 4 or 5 days, but our campground got hit by tornadoes and they had loggers in cleaning of the mess. We couldn't find another camp site available since it was a holiday weekend. We did go to the lake (Tims Ford) for a few days (3); then spent a day with a friend, totally fun - then spent a day with G - drove over to our campground to check out the tornado damage - BAD, but still campable and then we did a little thrifting - don't you just love a man who will go thrifting with you; and now tomorrow, I will go spend the morning with my parents and then off to Smith Lake to spend the weekend with several ladies who are all becoming my very good friends. We'll do a little or a lot of scrap booking, a little or a lot soaking up some sun by the pool; enjoying great meals, I hear, and just enjoying the company of being with women for a weekend. Totally looking forward to this.

Gosh my week has flown by; and I thought I would be bored this week!

~ Can't Sleep ~

Can't sleep. After a couple of hours of sleep, I am wide awake, but worn out. I'm trying to get drowsy again by watching sappy romance movies. Watched The Mirror Has Two Faces with Barbra Streisand - now Bridget Jones Diary and I see the sky lightening up outside ... movies aren't working. However, I have discovered that I think Hugh Grant and Renee Zellweger's first kiss in Bridget Jones ... has got to be my favorite on-screen kiss so far (even if Hugh does play a scallywag in this particular movie). Of course, it could just be my sleep deprived mind thinking that ....

Good night, I hope... or should I say good morning.

~ Auction Goods ~

I am an auction going novice. I have only been 3 times to an auction and I think I might could actionally enjoy it more than thrifting and yard selling. G & I went to stay at a friend's lake house at Tim's Ford and Friday night we went into Winchester to an auction house. A rinky dink, some junk some good stuff auction hour. The building is a junky old warehouse type place with piles of junk piled - and I do mean "piled" - in the corners and mostly; and I do mean "junk"! Anyway, this weekend, I was most excited about my ribbon purchase - I got all of this ribbon for $2.50 - it is the big rolls of wired ribbon - YAY! and fun colors and prints too! I also got a really nice walking stick for $3 [you know for all of that hiking I do! :) ]; two baby outfits - new - $2 each; and a really nice and big beach umbrella for $14. There were lots of things I would have bid on but the auctioneer was talking so fast I couldn't understand him when he described the item and we were sitting in the back, so I couldn't see everything good. I can see how people could get hooked!

Anyway, it was fun!

~ Scary Visitor ~

Had a "disturbed" person come into our office today. He worried me. He disturbed me. He scared me. I didn't like him being in our office. Hopefully, he won't be back.

~ Movies in the Park ~

Received an email about this today thought some of you with young children or grandchildren might want to make a note of it on your calendars - free things to do with your children! I know I always like the FREE stuff when mine were young!

"Classic Movies in the Park

July 10
July 24
August 14
August 28

The Museum's Art Krewe is once again presenting one of Huntsville's favorite summer activities: Classic Movies in the Park! Throughout the summer the Art Krewe will be showing films that have captured hearts for years - projected right onto the side of the Museum! Feel free to bring your lawn chairs and picnic baskets! Movies begin at sundown.
These events are free and open to the public. Movie choices have not yet been selected. Keep checking the Museum website for more details!" (copied)

http://www.hsvmuseum.org/Pages/calendar_of_events.html

~ Just Random Stuff ~

It has been one of those weeks where not much "blog worthy" has happened. I've bought flowers to plant/pot and if the rain will hold off today, that will get done. Work has been good, got a lot done, so I feel good about that. My stepson Aaron is here for the weekend and we are glad, cause we've missed him! I have committed to have a Longaberger party in my home in July, so I have a long time to get my house cleaned up for that at least!

We bought a new stove/oven last night, self cleaning, YAY!

I am teaching an adult Sunday school class tomorrow for the first time and am a little apprehensive about that. Last time I taught a SS class to my "peers" I was 14 years old, as were all the people in my class and they totally ignored me and talked all through the class to each other ... made me appreciate how frustrating being a teacher must be and I knew after that I never wanted to do it again. (It was actually a type of torture/punishment that I had to do it then, because the week before I was the one doing most of the talking and the teacher was sooooo mad and aggravated with all of us - mostly me - that she had me teach the class the next week so I could experience the same pain ... It worked though - I was a much better student in her class after that and I knew I NEVER wanted to teach again.). So, it will be interesting to see if tomorrow's class will leave such a lasting memory in my head.

I have a laid back day planned. Aaron is having a friend over the stay most of the day, so he will have fun. I am going to get my hair cut and am getting a massage - oh yes I am and I am looking soooo forward it. I may leave early and stop at a couple of thrift stores even, or I may get lucky and come across a yard sale, my smile is getting bigger the more I type ! And we have already planned to just grill hot dogs for dinner tonight, so no big meal to plan or cook! Oh yes, this day will hopefully be as fun and laid back as I hope it will be.

Y'all take care now ...

~ Happy Mothers Day ~

Gary surprised me with a Mothers Day hammock.

Happy Mothers Day!

~ He's my brother and I love him ~

I have a brother. I love him dearly. We were the best of friends at different times in our lives; we shared secrets, childhood games, I had crushes on his friends and he had them on mine, we had fun times, not so fun times, he would visit me while I was in college in Florida, we were roommates in B'ham - shared an apartment in our early 20s, thought we could conquer the world, or at least leave our mark on it for someone else to see one day.

Unfortunately, the decisions we made in our early lives took different life paths from each other. He began his battle with drug addiction and alcohol early and continued the battle off and on most of his life. [Not that I was an angel in my own youth, I had my time of "testing" , actually I don't think the testing ever ends ... , you know the saying ... there but for the Grace of God go I ... you just never know how that next "bad" decision will affect the rest of your life ... ] The choices he made in his life while drugs consumed his life have landed in a prison cell where he is likely to remain for the remainder of his life. The positive side of this, is that he has found his way home to the Lord in his new home and has found peace with his life's fate, even while still trying to free himself from the confines of his prison walls through the legal system, he knows he is right with the Lord and for this we are all grateful. He has found ways to honor the Lord in the prison ministries which are available to him.

Every couple of months or so, I make the 2 1/2 hour journey to the prison in St. Clair County and visit him. Every time I go, it's like they have added a new restriction, or something to the visitors to the prison. First, no white clothes, no white tennis shoes, then, later, add no open toe shoes and no sleeveless shirts, no jackets, then later, add, no jewelry except wedding band and watch, now only wedding band, we used to drive to the parking lot and go sign in and wait to be called so we can go through the search process; now, they stop all the cars before entering the parking lot, and they have dogs come and search your vehicles.

Guess whose car held up the line today??? The dogs found my car INTERESTING hmmm, could it be the smell of my own dogs, or the plant in the seat throwing them off, or the partially eaten biscuit wadded up in paper napkin and thrown back into the McD bag, from two days ago? No, my purse has to be emptied, my glove box had to be emptied the dogs are all over my car and in it too, and all I really want to, other than punch my brother for putting me in this totally embarrassing and humiliating situation, is to go dig a hole and quietly climb in ... finally they give up on finding any illegal drugs or weapons and let me pass, next is the "personal" search, last time I had to drop my pants to my knees - apparently they had complaints (it has taken me 4 1/2 month to brave another trip after that!) this time I only have to take my shoes/socks off, show them the bottom of my bare feet, undo my pants show them the top of my underwear, show them the bottom of my bra, pull it away from my skin and shake it, then I get patted down, of course all of this is done by female guards, in case any of you were wondering ...

Finally, I am allowed into the visiting area to await the arrival of my brother, who has to undergo a much more invasive search than I do just to have a visitor. Do any of you think you would be so totally ticked off at all you have had to go through just to see this person, that it would be hard to even be nice to him at first ... you would think so, but as soon as he walks through the door, I forget it all (temporarily at least), I just want to wrap him in my arms with a big bear hug and and enjoy every minute I have with him.

He beats himself up enough about what he's done with his life and besides, he's my brother and I love him.

~ Bad Start to the Day ~

You know you are in for a bad day when it starts as being that person driving down the road with the belt to their rain coat flapping outside of your car door, getting drenched and soaked with road muck ... yeah that was me ....







I had already had to go out into the down pour of rain this morning just to get my dogs to take care of business. They would not get off of the back door stoop, so off I went to run around in the back yard, so they would follow and let nature run it's course ....



Went to dentist, midway through my cleaning my boss calls says my coworker had no showed and we had depositions going on ... so I had to rush to hygenist and race to the office, apparently just after my coworker did show up ...



And then I spent the rest of the day feeling like I was having hot flashes ... prematurely I might add ... at least I think so.

This day will get better, I just know it will ...

~ The good thing about rain ~

The good thing about rain is:

I threw the dogs in just for fun.

Look at the buds on my hydrangea bush! I am excited to see those bloom.

~ What do you do on a rainy day ~

Okay, since yesterday, I lazed around the house, cleaned, and just took it easy, today I needed to do something. So, after church, G and I cooked a large Sunday lunch of Meat Loaf (he made, he makes this better than I do), Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and cornbread (his son and girlfriend came for lunch), I tried watching TV, but I was stir crazy. So, I got out my paints, and a canvas I had already sketched and started a painting. I did manage to get all of the background color on, now I have to go back add details. I feel good about my effort though for one day. Steph if you are reading this, this is yours, so you can see I have finally started it! I know you think I forgot!




I also made the chocolate cupcakes which are supposed to be lowfat and low cal, but don't really taste it. They are made with a Choc. Devil's food cake mix and a can of pumpkin - thank you Ms. Goofy - and they are pretty good.


they are so thick when you put them in the cupcake pan, they bake up all lumpy and kind of look like they have icing on them. I had one while it was still hot with carb free vanilla ice cream and a little choc. syrup. Yum!!!!

On another subject, I really need this rain to stop soon. Things are getting touchy around here. Tempers flare and depression is sitting on the edge of my periphery just waiting to attack - and thats just the dogs ... just kidding ... maybe just going back to work tomorrow will help. This morning's sermon talked about how we can ruin relationship by reacting and over-reacting - boy can I relate to that right now .... maybe sometimes its just better not to talk. I wonder if Noah and his family had any of these problems ...

~ Is it still raining ~

I think so ...

MY POOR YARD

My sidewalk is acting as a natural channel for a river ... my yard is the pond I guess.

Is anyone else having these problems ...

~ Rain rain rain .... ~

Enough said ...