nana's living the dream

New Beginnings

2010-05-31T14:21:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to write, but I have had some major life changes going on and I have been caught up in that. I am living in Atlanta full time now and figuring out what my future holds for me.

I will write more when I can get it together better. love you guys

Mothers

2010-05-09T11:12:00.002-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of you! As I reflect back on this day I naturally think of my two mothers. One that gave me life and one that taught me about the Lord and this life. Both loved me and did what they thought was best for me and for that I am eternally grateful. My biological mother has been gone for 34 years and my adopted mother for 32 years.

I've now been a mother myself for over 38 years and a Nana for 10 years. I realize I am so blessed and thank the Lord I have my loved ones in my life. I'm glad we have a day to celebrate mothers, but at times it makes me very misty-eyed for those of us that have lost our mothers to death, or lack of love. Unfortunately, I know many and I truly believe their loss must hurt more and deeper than mine. I know my mother is in heaven rejoicing with our Savior, but others suffer knowing their relationship just isn't what it should be. For those of you, I pray God will give you a special peace today and know that others care about you, especially our LORD.

Post 275 and still counting.....

2010-05-06T16:53:00.002-04:00

This is one of my favorite scriptures and today after all the drama with the stock market I found myself saying it in my head a thousand times: "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and they are safe." Proverbs 18:10 (NIV) I believe so deeply that He is watching over me and I just need to call His name to run into the tower. I can see why the tower was such a symbol of strength. It's huge and solid and is immovable. In my own strength I'm weak, but He is so strong!

My security is not in my 401K. I've already taken a wild ride with it last year. Whatever we will face, I believe, we can have trust in our Savior. I may be up and down, but He is steady and solid.

Updates on the Past Week

2010-05-02T12:28:00.003-04:00

I thought I would catch you up on a few updates from the past week. I had a fast, but safe trip to Tampa and it was extremely relaxing riding along listening to Joyce Meyer tapes. I had attended the Beth Moore presentation on So Long, Insecurity the Saturday before so I had lots to ponder. I feel like I'm in a much better place than I've been in a long while.

Mark will be having a stress test tomorrow and his cholesterol tests came back high. I pray he will do fine and it will only be something very minor. I have a feeling they'll put him on some cholesterol meds with those numbers. Please keep him in your prayers.

Avery and I went to a Garden Party yesterday morning at church. We had a nice luncheon and a great speaker. We had our pictures made and I will try to get some on here. You know I'm somewhat challenged when it comes to the scanning deal.

She only has about 3 weeks of school left and then she'll be in 5th grade. Time goes so fast! It's time to get my stuff packed to head back to Atlanta until Friday. I pray you guys all have a wonderful week and try to find some adventures.

On my way South

2010-04-26T08:53:00.002-04:00

I will attending a manager's meeting and then heading to Tampa for another audit. It's going to be a quick trip and I just wanted to let you know about my big weekend. Saturday morning I attended the Beth Moore Simucast on "So Long, Insecurity!" It was great and I can't wait to read the book. Saturday night Avery and I headed to a Chonda Pierce concert. She is a Christian comedienne and we loved it. So funny and a great treat to have Avery with me. It was so rainy and windy, but we made it home okay.

I have a 7 hour car trip so please pray my eyes will cooperate and stay open. Also, please pray for my husband. He's at the doctor now with his left arm hurting and some chest pain. I pray he'll be fine. I'll check in as soon as I get a chance.

Why am I looking back??

2010-04-15T19:00:00.002-04:00

This was me at 40. It was right before I met my husband. I was at a medical convention and I was having a super time in New Orleans. BTW I love the food, art and gorgeous buildings in New Orleans. Today I was thinking back to the person I was at 40. It's not my birthday or anything, I just was wondering if I had any clue that my life would be so different in 2010. I really don't think so. I had tons of energy and went brisk walking nearly every day. I was divorced with a teenage daughter. I guess I'm just going to look to the future. The Lord has blessed me and I have so many wonderful friends. I just kind of wonder what I'll be doing 20 years from now. Do you do that too?

Strawberry Time Again

2010-04-13T20:33:00.004-04:00

I love strawberries. I love to eat them and especially look at them. When I was taking an oil class years ago I painted strawberries and I realized they are a beautiful fruit. I know it sounds crazy, but they are so pretty.

I feel better and more rested. I hope you guys are all doing well. I finally got my laptop back and I have been missing posting. I did need a break though. I have checked out your posts when I could and I can't wait to stop over tonight.

I'm watching American Idol and then I plan on reading and calling it a night. I'm so happy to be back and God is so good!!

Taking a Break

2010-03-29T16:49:00.002-04:00

I have missed you guys, but work has had me in a frenzy. I am going to take a little time off from blogging as I need to charge up my batteries. I guess I don't need to say take time off because obviously I have only posted a couple of times this month and I feel like a slacker. I will try and read your posts and keep up with you guys, but sometimes I can't get my laptop to work and I just read and go to sleep. I know you're jealous that I have such an exciting life, but lately I just haven't felt good at all. Too much stress and not enough rest.

Avery had her 10th birthday party Friday night at the Drive-in with 3 little girlfriends, her parents and Papa and I. We saw Alice in Wonderland again and then they all went home to have a 'sleep-over'. She had a big time and unfortunately, I didn't get to see her the rest of the weekend. I was in bed most of the weekend and hopefully tonight I will get some rest.

I didn't want you to think I just drifted off again. I will miss you, but I'll be back. luv ya

Still on Planet Earth

2010-03-18T17:02:00.002-04:00

I am still alive and kickin'. I have had so much going on that I just didn't have the energy to post. I know that sounds wimpy, but it's the truth. I have missed you guys, but pushing to just keep going takes everything out of me at this point. We had our inspection last week and it went well, but it was Stress City around here. I have often envied the people that can just chill and say, "It will be okay! No problem, man!" I tend to go over things a jillion times and then start over again.

Last weekend Avery and I did get to go see Alice in Wonderland and it was fantastic. The 3-D made it so much fun. It was whimsical and oh so cute! I would enjoy seeing it again. Sunday night we went to another Christian concert, as Mark had won tickets. We saw Toby Mac and Brandon Heath. It was a great concert and I drove back to Atlanta Monday morning. All I feel like doing is sleeping for a while. I know that sounds so non-productive, but I am being very honest with you folks. I'm tired and I'm of the school that says, "Sleep is good for you" I have had friends and relatives that think it's horrible to nap and that you should jump up early in the morning even if there's nothing pressing. I function better with sleep.

I'm going to get my hair cut and then I'm going to Barnes & Nobles and get me a yummy coffee and walk around looking at books. That is usually guaranteed to make me smile... Later

My Secret is Out Now

2010-03-08T20:57:00.002-05:00

I thought I would share some of what I was up to in California. Are you laughing yet? Come on, I know you are at least smiling. Steven and I have kept this a secret, but now the secret is out. Yes, he has been married to beauties and is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but we just didn't know how to tell the world. Who would think he would be with little old me?

Okay, now for the real story. When I walked in my hotel when I arrived in California he was in the lobby talking to my boss. I was introduced and the rest is history. My boss took the pictures and I have to say Steven was very gracious. He said he like my spikey hair and I told him he had a beautiful daughter. He thanked me and he said he's proud of her. I forgot about his other daughter, the plus sized model. I guess he figured I was talking about Liv. Yes, he was very kind and was it ever exciting for me. One of the first things he said was, "Don't say I'm Mick!" I said don't worry, I know exactly who you are. So there you go. The picture is a little fuzzy, but it makes me smile. Talk about an Odd Couple. My husband thinks it's funny and I think he got a kick out of it.

I'll report about my trip later. I just had to share and I'll be trying to visit you if my computer let's me. I missed you.

Happy Dance!!

2010-02-28T14:16:00.002-05:00

Since ya'all have been probably losing sleep over my dilemma with the dimensions of my storyboard I thought I would bring you up to date. We went to pick up the board and HOORAY!! they got it right. That's not bad. It only took three tries. This is a happy picture to me so I thought I would post about my renewed hope in places that say they will do something and actually do it. Of course, I still have to go back to the first store to get my credit card credited, but such is life. It's one fun challenge after the other. I am blessed I am able to get around and engage in such things.

I will be away from Bloggyland for the next 6 days or so. I'm off to southern California and I will not be taking my laptop that is not working half the time. I wouldn't mind toting it around if I felt like it was worth it. But when you have to wait 5 minutes for a blogsite to open it gets a little ridiculous. I'm usually pretty patient, but actually 5 minutes is an understatement for much of the time.

I need to take a nap before I leave for Atlanta in a couple of hours. At my advanced age I need to rest more frequently. This whole thing about getting older and getting less sleep is not working out so much for me. Actually I am relatively young compared to ninety year olds. Smile. I hope you guys are doing great and please pray I have a safe trip. You know I just love being squished up in a tiny little seat for hours and hours. I'll give you all the scoops and some pictures when I arrive back in the ATL next week. Take care my sweet friends!

Is it just me?

2010-02-26T18:48:00.002-05:00

Please don't take wrong. I'm sure this company has a wonderful reputation and they do many great deliveries and whatever. Here's my story:

I went by the local FedEx Kinkos on my way to church Wednesday evening to have them put my storyboard presentation together and laminate it. I specifically said, "I must have it 22"X28". I thought I spoke clearly and they wrote it down. The girl behind the counter said, "We'll have it ready for you in a couple of hours." Fine. This would be so perfect. Wrong.

I came by to pick it up and the nice girl said, "Ma'am, we got the dimensions wrong the first time, so we made you another one and we're not charging you for the second one." I, of course, thanked her and paid the $44.00 and off I went. I was feeling pretty good that I had it all together and I could just slip it in my suitcase for my trip to the conference in Palm Springs Monday.

Yesterday, I started thinking.....maybe I should check the dimensions. So my co-workers and I got the measuring tools out and, Lo and Behold, (I love saying that) neither of the creations were the dimensions I requested. This is the part where I say, "Is it me or what?" Why does everything I seem to do like this seem to turn out this way? I called the store back and explained what happened. The nice girl said, "Just take it to the Augusta office and they'll make you a new one for no charge."

So on the way home tonight I stopped at the Augusta branch. When I explained the situation to the man behind the counter he immediately said, "No, you will have to take the receipt back to the other office and they will do a credit." I told him EXACTLY what I needed and thirty minutes later he came back and said, "I can do it, but it will be around $54.00 because of some editing." At this point I am getting antsy because I must have it on the plane with me Monday morning. My boss will analyze the dimensions and if they look different from the other storyboard presentations I will hear about it.

I'm going to pick it up in the morning and I'll let you know how it goes. I try to be optimistic, but at this point..scream. Why is everything so difficult? It's almost like people just do whatever and if it turns out okay, if not, they don't seem to really care. Part of doing a proper job would be getting the right dimensions, or am I too picky???? What's the charge for? In my book that's a pricey piece of paper they laminated for me. Wish me well.

2010-02-22T21:10:00.002-05:00

I have joined Willow and her friends with a writers group. We'll write postings by Tuesdays and I'm pretty excited about it. She gives us a picture each week and we write a story or poem about it. I'm putting her Magpie Tales stamp on my sidebar so if you would like to join us please come along.

As I think back nearly fifty years ago I remember a cold winter day that changed my world forever. I had been staying with my aunt for several months. My mother had died when I was a baby and my father was always traveling with his job. I knew he had an important job and it always seemed so secretive. I had lived with different relatives for the past ten years and I was so tired of trying to make friends only to have to leave again.

We had arrived from the airport and Aunt Elizabeth had rushed me up to our room. The Presidential Palace was just across the street. I remember all the lights and I was anxious to see the building in the daylight. I was told to sit by the fireplace and that we needed to talk. After she tipped the man for bringing our bags she walked over to me and stood directly over me.

"There was an accident and your father has been killed. We will wait for other relatives and then discuss where you will live." I looked down at the box of matches and all I could think about was that as long as I lived I would never forget this moment. My daddy was gone forever and I would have no one that cared.

I picked up the little box and put it in my silk purse. The edges are worn and I still can remember the coldness from that room. No fire could warm me that night.That beautiful hotel became like a prison and I lost all interest in seeing that palace across the street. That night I felt my frozen tears and I still long to say goodbye to my daddy.

Finally Warmer Weather

2010-02-21T16:41:00.002-05:00

Here's a picture from last year when it started warming up. This is what Mark and Avery were doing yesterday, playing at the park, but they were riding their scooters. It feels like spring and it's a wonderful relief.

I got to go to church here in Atlanta this morning and it was like a slice of heaven. The worship and music were off the charts and the preaching was dynamic. I felt like I could be lifted up any second. God is so good and He is bringing me through so much these past few weeks. Fighting with pain is exhausting. I feel guilty mentioning it because some of my sweet friends have it much worse than me. At least I can go to work everyday and at times I do get some relief from the pain. Wednesday my anti-inflammatory will be back in stock and I will be a happy girl to get back on my medicine. It has been back ordered for weeks and the doctor tried me on another type and I'm probably repeating myself, but the indigestion was horrible. I only took it 3 days and back to same old, same old. Thank the Lord He has given people the wisdom to discover what can help suffering.

I hope everyone has had a great weekend. I just went to the laundry mat to do a load of clothes. I hadn't been in years and it was an experience. I won't be back to SC until Friday so I had to have some fresh clothes. Did you know it costs $3.50 and $4.00 per load of wash and 25 cents for every 8 minutes of drying time? What happened to 25 cent and 50 cent washers? Bless those people's hearts that have to always use the laundry mat. I felt so blessed. Sometimes I think He puts us in situations so we can stand back and say, "Thank you Lord for what you've given me." I'm always thankful, but this brings you into a different reality.

I pray you are all having a great weekend. I'm sleepy so I'll stay at work for a couple of hours and then head to the apartment. Life is so good!

Frosty in South Carolina

2010-02-19T18:56:00.002-05:00

Last Friday night we received quite a bit of snow in South Carolina. Avery loved it and played and romped in it. She and her daddy made this snowman Saturday morning and I think it looks great. It's so seldom that we get snow that we all get giggly. I know, those of you in the north are thinking, Whoopee. It's different for us and Avery is certainly scrunching up her eyes from the sun.

I'm staying in Atlanta this weekend as we have a mock inspection tomorrow and I need to get prepared for it. I wanted to let you know that I finished the Guernsey Literary and Sweet Potato Pie book, or whatever it's called. I know I picked up that book about 20 times and would start and couldn't get very far with it. Then I saw where my friend, Brenda, from Coffee, Tea, Books and Me said it was a keeper and that got me determined.

I believe all the letters back and forth from different people kind of threw me. I usually think in pictures and it kind of blew my mind getting it straight who everyone was. Well, I kept going and I loved it. It's such a sweet, tender story. The writing is great and post WWII. Avery had questioned why it was so hard for me to read. She reads a lot of historical diaries and she thought it must be similar. Well, it's not. I needed to get it straight every time who was writing or receiving the letters and I must have some kind of learning issue.

Project Runway was neat last night. I didn't get to watch it last week so I got to watch the redo and Anthony from downstairs won the challenge. He's a hoot in person, so it doesn't surprise me how excited he gets with everything. I feel like I practically know Heidi Klum by knowing Anthony.

I will be putting a storyboard together next week for my business trip to Palm Springs on March 1st. At least that will be something a little different from my everyday stuff. We have been working on a collaborative project for the past 3 years and I need to show our project accomplishments. I'm telling myself it will be fun, fun, fun. Right.

I think I'll head to my apartment. I have such a challenge with my laptop so I thought I would post while I have a computer that is fast and easy to manipulate. I hope you guys have a great weekend. I believe I'm rambling at this point, but I'll try to zoom around in bloggyland tonight and catch up with you guys. I've been working too much and need to chill.

Wonderful Weekend

2010-02-15T18:07:00.002-05:00

I must tell you we had an absolutely wonderful weekend. Please indulge me. I like to read about what you guys are up to, so here goes. Thursday I came home early from Atlanta to go to a Christian concert with my husband and Avery. It was Winter Jam and had the following groups: Third Day, Newsboys, 10th Avenue North, Fireflight, Revive, Sidewalk Prophets, Robert Pierre. It was lots of fun and my husband brought us earplugs so we were prepared. When we were waiting outside I had to sit down and wait until the end of the line because old Arthur has been giving me a fit lately. In all the thousands of people we saw one of Avery's little friends, Taylor and her mom. They were thrilled and hugged each other and her and her mother sat by us. It made it so nice for AT. and of course, that made us happy.

Then Friday schools let out at noon due to the snow and bad weather coming in. We picked her up from school and we had promised her we would take her to see Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. She had a great report card so it was a reward.

We went for Chinese and it started snowing. Avery only eats cold noodles at the Chinese restaurant. They don't have mac and cheese. Anyhoo...we were leaving to head for the movie and some light snow was falling. We enjoyed the movie, but she, of course, said the book was so much better. She has read the series multiple times now and is fascinated with Greek mythology. Now she wants to go to Greece and see everything firsthand. It's an action packed movie and I thought it was pretty neat. When we left the theatre it was snowing hard and there were several inches on the truck.

We dropped Avery off at her house and she and her daddy and Mark were throwing snowballs and playing in the snow. We don't see much snow so it was a huge treat. They got up the next day and made a huge snowman.

We watched the race(Daytona 500) and I slept and read through most of it. It was the longest in history. I think around 7 hours or more. I had taken my car in for service and we were to pick it up Saturday morning, but the dealership shut down due to the weather. Therefore, I had to wait to come back to Atlanta this morning. Now you have some of the details of my weekend. I won't bore you with all the fun stuff like laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping. Overall it was truly a super wonderful weekend. What did you do?

Random stuff

2010-02-10T15:35:00.002-05:00

I haven't been able to get on my laptop at the apartment very well. I guess I need to have someone check on it. So I thought I would post a little here at work. I am allowed breaks sometimes. :)

Remember how last week I was thinking about being a secret agent. Well, the other night I was behind a Red Bull Mobile. I guess that's what you call it. It was a truck type vehicle with a huge, probably 8 foot tall can of Red Bull. A few months ago I was behind an Oscar Meyer Wierner-mobile. I was thinking that driving one of those vehicles must get you lots of stares and funny looks. I don't need to do that with my new secret agent job. I got the sweetest comments about my dream to go undercover and learn all the scoops. I decided that I could use my cane as a weapon since I am not really into guns. I don't want to hurt anyone, but I may have to protect myself. I'm glad my daughter doesn't read my blog. She would already be ready to put me away somewhere. Avery reads it, but she has the same imagination I have and she would understand.

News flash. We may get some snow Friday in South Carolina. I hope so, Avery wants snow and the last time we got it here in Atlanta they didn't get any. I know the folks up north and around D.C. are tired of it by now, but here in the south it doesn't take much to get us all excited.

I wonder how many of you have hubbies that are crazy about NASCAR. It's almost embarrassing that I know so much about so many of the drivers and their families. Mark is very excited about Daytona this week and that will be the big theme of the weekend. Going around in a circle is what I call it. Sometimes he will watch races from back in the 70's or 80's and I don't even realize it's an old race until they start calling out names of the drivers. I guess when you enjoy something it doesn't matter that you already know who won and they just keep going around in circles.

Let me know if you will be sitting there with your honey watching the race at the same time as little old me. I need to get back to work and reality. My Colts didn't win Sunday so I'm not even going to pick a driver for the big race. It might jinx them.

Pull the Plug or Never Give Up?????

2010-02-04T16:49:00.003-05:00

I went to church last night and we had a great session where the senior pastor sits at a table and is asked questions that the congregation has emailed about a specific subject. It's very interesting and he is brilliant so I often hear things in ways I have never thought of in my whole life.

He has memorized most if not all of the Bible and has a PhD in counseling and theology. He's very humble and I just enjoy hearing his view on things. Well, last night he was getting questions such as, "What if you feel like you have made a wrong decision, what should you do?" He answered that, "Pull the plug, if something is not working, try another avenue." Then later when someone was asking about feeling they can't go on with things, he was talking about never giving up. Life is such a constant decision of what to do and what not to do. I know this isn't very profound or anything, but lately I have been thinking about my posts not being very interesting at all. I love blogging, but I read some of the most clever posts on my friend's blogs and I can't help but think, "Trish, you have what sounds like a very mundane life."

I was talking to Avery the other day and I told her that perhaps I could be a secret agent. No one would ever suspect a senior arthritic plus sized super model. It, of course, doesn't help that I really don't like guns and I can't move very fast. Maybe I could get the scoops. Of course, in crowds I don't hear that well, so I may have to ask the bad people to speak up a little so I could hear their clandestine conversations from the next booth.

You know what, maybe I better pull the plug on the whole secret agent career. Ya think?

Random Stuff

2010-02-02T20:18:00.003-05:00

I apologize for not posting in so long. I just don't know what happens to me. I get busy with work and reading and watching wonderful shows like Masterpiece on Sunday nights. This past week was the conclusion of Emma by Jane Austen. I loved it. I must get the DVD. The acting, the clothes, the story, the beginning, the middle, the end.

I enjoy learning more about my blogging friends....so I thought I would list some things that make me happy...

Purple
All kinds of art
Books
Learning about authors
Purses/handbags (they really make me smile)
Project Runway
Watches
Seafood
Going to work
Reading books Avery reads so we can discuss them
Starbucks
Baked Potatoes
Office supplies
My blogging friends
Learning more about the Bible
Tea parties
New makeup
Nail polish (all kinds)
Crossword puzzles
My husband and his love of animals

Some things I really don't like:

Self-absorbed, arrogant people
Hearing people eat ice (it drives me crazy..it always has)
Spicy, spicy food
Flying
Driving in the mountains
Riding on boats, watching them is great

I believe I'll go visiting my blog friends. I want to learn more about you.

Nana-The Queen Mother

2010-01-28T08:06:00.002-05:00

I had a few minutes before I pack and head out to North Carolina to work for a few days so I thought I would share my thoughts. Looking at my tea party pictures I am realizing I have gotten old. Well, you say, "Duh!" Yes, I realize this profound revelation everyday, but to see it in this particular venue. Wow. I guess I need to get real and think that nearly all of my fellow tea party girls are over 30 years my junior. I guess that alone would tend to make one look older.
They did the sweetest thing. They made a picture album with lots of pictures of the tea party. I just love it.

My friend Brenda discussed about my guilt in her post the other day. We had so much fun and then I started feeling sad about others not able to do such fun things. She helped me appreciate what the Lord gave me and I should be thankful and appreciate, not feel guilty.

So I guess it's okay to look like the Queen Mother. She always appeared to be a kind of a sassy confident lady. Hope you guys have a great day. I will be riding along in my automobile. Ta Ta

My Magical Afternoon

2010-01-22T21:03:00.019-05:00

Thursday afternoon, January 21, 2010..a day that will live in my heart forever. My staff gave me a gift certificate for Afternoon Tea at the Ritz-Carlton. It was grand and so many things about it were just divine.

Here's Jessie checking out our menu. Don't you just love this wonderful hat. That was such a fun part of our little tea. So many wonderful hats! At least in my estimation.

Here's our tea sandwiches. The chicken salad on pumpernickel was the best I'd ever had. It had a sliced date on the top which gave it a special zing. The center is a crab quiche, cucumber sandwich with asparagus, brie and salmon, a pizza-like tasty treat.

Here's our gang upon arrival. They are the greatest group of girls. Smart, sweet and oh so much fun. They work hard and we like to play hard too. Most of them have Biology degrees and are dedicated to our mission of giving others sight.

Here we are sipping our tea. I'm in the background taking it all in. It was almost surreal. The teas we tried were Orange Jasmine, Vanilla Bean, Wild Blackberries and Wild Blossoms and Berries. This is the married side of the room. We didn't realize it until we were seated for about an hour that all the singles were on one side and the married all together. We also realized that the singles are all size 0 and 2. Bless their hearts.

This is Christina. She's a sweetheart and a graduate of the University of Georgia. She plans on going to med school one of these days and we sure don't want to let her go, but will be proud of her.

This is Gena and Nana Trish. Gena provided 3 of the hats for our tea (mine included). She's been to the Kentucky Derby many times and has the most beautiful hats. She's another sweetie.

Here's Saira sipping her tea. She has the best personality. She keeps us laughing and upbeat even when it gets stressful. She has been married almost two years and a very hard worker.

Here's some of the gang. The Ritz is so beautiful. Dark woods and grand rugs and artwork.

Here's Jessie, Christina and Gena. Don't you just love the hats and outfits? I think this looks like a picture that should be painted.

Erica, Jessie and Christina. All graduates of the University of Georgia. Go Dawgs!!!

Here's Chemika, my right hand man. Doesn't she look great? She stayed with me at the hospital when I was in last September. She didn't want me to be by myself and she was getting married just a couple of days later. She slept in a chair and I will never ever forget her kindness to me. She's a University of Alabama graduate.

Here's Chesoni on the left and Jamila on the right. They are bubbly and full of energy. Believe it or not, Chesoni has six children and she looks fabulous all the time. Jamila is our Research Coordinator and does a great job. She has two sweet little girlies

Yes, this is a cup of the most delicious tea. I wish you could have been there to join us.

The top to me was the very best. Fresh scones and they were served with Devon shire cream. It was like my taste buds were dancing around all happy, happy, happy.

Here's a very serious Nana Trish looking over the menu and interesting information about tea and it's history. It was a great time and I told the girls that it was as if they hadn't given me my flowers before time (if you know what I mean) I love making these sweet memories. I'm glad I could share with you, my bloggy friends. love ya.

Guess Who Went to Tea?

2010-01-21T21:35:00.002-05:00

This has been an amazing day. My employees gave me a gift certificate for Afternoon Tea at the Ritz Carlton. We left work this afternoon and headed for the Ritz. We all dressed up and wore big hats. If you are wondering where my pictures are, well they are still in the camera. I tried to link it to the computer, but NOOO. I can't figure it out so I must wait until the weekend so my daughter can show me how to do it.

For now I can tell you that it was great for all the senses. The smell of divine exotic teas. The feel of the satin chairs. The sounds of the afternoon crowd having a drink and our group was the only tea party of the afternoon. The scones were the best I have ever had. They were blueberry with Devonshire cream. Prior to the desserts we had various open faced sandwiches. The service was perfect and our server did an excellent job of making us feel relaxed and definitely not rushed. I loved that. I wanted to just soak up the whole experience.

Our hats seemed to draw so much attention. It reminded me of days gone by when dressing up was the norm. I realized that my friends were very brave to walk through the entire lobby of the Ritz-Carlton looking very different than the other women. It didn't feel like a costume. It felt elegant and so much fun.

I think as long as I live I will remember this afternoon. I have been having huge challenges with my reports and this was something refreshing. I felt like Anne of Green Gables when she went to her friend's aunt's mansion and affluent lifestyle. She said she didn't know how she would go back to normal living after this. That's just how I felt. This was such a treat and I can't wait to show you the pictures. Stay tuned.

picture from allposters

Update on Zayla

2010-01-19T19:07:00.002-05:00

For those of you that were praying for my friend's little niece, here is little Zayla. She is so beautiful and doing so much better. Hopefully, she will be able to go home in the next few days. Since Monday was a holiday they had to do a test and didn't have the appropriate staff there so they had to wait. Her parents are so anxious to get her home to her big brother. The surgery went very well and they are appreciative for your prayers.

I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends to pray for emergency situations like this particular one. You guys are great.

I thought I was nearly done with the dreaded report and today I found out I have to change about half of it. I am trying to be positive and just look at it as an adventure. I did decide today that me being in labor for 41 hours was like a piece of cake next to this monster. I have 12 days to finish it and turn it into the national agency so I have got to get crack-a-lacking. Tonight I will watch American Idol and try to work on changing my background of this blog. Tomorrow I will start up again with the numbers. Scream.

They're Back!!!!

2010-01-14T20:25:00.004-05:00

Get ready for a cool show tonight. Project Runway is back tonight. I had nearly forgotten it and my friend StevieWren reminded me. It will be on at 10p EST tonight on Lifetime channel. I am excited. I have been working so hard and I need a little entertainment. I think it is so cool that these folks can whip together beautiful clothes and put together all types of fabrics and materials. Of course, it's not like the beautiful show I watched Sunday night, Return to Cranford on Public TV. Heidi Klum is not Dame Judith Dench, but it takes lots of different people to make up this world.

I saw a woman today at a restaurant while I was having a luncheon meeting. She reminded me so much of Stevie Wren. My mother used to tell me that the older she got she started thinking so many people were someone she had met before. This woman had the pretty red hair and pretty smile. Her nose looked a little different, but besides that they could have been twins.

Have you ever heard that? I do see a lot of people that remind me of others. Maybe it's just that the older you get you have seen a larger number of people. I tend to have a big imagination anyway, but it's kind of fun. Have you ever thought you saw someone famous or in a situation that you just know couldn't be that particular person?

I am getting very close to getting my big report done. I will go over it tomorrow with my boss and I feel much better already. I kind of feel guilty feeling bad about doing work when so many are suffering in Haiti. It breaks my heart. I have a friend that has been there several times doing mission work and she was so touched by the poverty. We are so blessed.

No Particular Reason

2010-01-12T21:06:00.002-05:00

You see this picture of Hugh Laurie (House) and you may be thinking I have something special to tell you about him. Well, you are wrong. I just wanted to put up this picture on my blog. I think he's quite nice looking. Eye Candy. Love those Brits!!

I am currently watching American Idol auditions and I wanted to watch something entertaining and not sad. I have had sad things to read about and hear about all day long. I have been working so hard on my reports and I decided I must get on my blog and write.

Please help me pray for one of my employee's niece. She was born this afternoon and she had a syndrome where she is having a hard time breathing and they will need to do surgery Friday to remove some extra tissue in her throat. She's over 8 lbs and we are praying she will be fine after the surgery. Their whole family is so upset and I told them I would be praying and have others pray. They have not named her yet because they wanted to see her first and decide if her new name was good for her. She was whisked away to PICU so they didn't get to see her for very long. I know the Lord knows exactly who she is so please say a prayer for her. I'll give you an update when I hear more.

I have been concentrating so much on my project that I have not been able to get into any of the books I've been trying to read. My bible has been my only book that is holding my attention. I have been going to bed so early because I'm exhausted, but then I wake up at 1 or 2am. I guess by now you have read enough of my whining. Thanks for being there. It helps me to know you stop by and check on me. love you guys.

Some Rambling and Ranting

2010-01-05T20:35:00.003-05:00

I posted this winter picture again because I have a question for Mr. Gore. Where is the global warming?I grew up in Indiana so I have lived through cold winters. Then I moved to south Florida as a teenager and lastly to Georgia and South Carolina...Hello..deep south. Having temperatures in the teens with 5 and 7 as wind chill factors is not what I signed up for here in the sunny south. I know for all my friends in the cold north it sounds like I'm a wimp. Well, yes, when it comes to this freezing weather I am pretty much a wimp. We may get snow Thursday and when I was at the store getting my medicine tonight they said it's been really busy with folks trying to get ready for the 'big snow'.

I have been having some computer troubles so I haven't been writing as much during the week. For some reason it seems to be working tonight. Hooray! I'm sitting here watching Biggest Loser and I have been crying with them. I need to watch them suffer through the beginning. I need to be reminded that I need to get back to the serious level again. I've kept most of the last amount I lost, but when the holidays came I fell back to some old habits. I realize you guys understand what a battle is, but for some reason I have to be reminded over and over and over.

I just finished reading Forward from Here by Reeve Lindbergh. It's about growing older and I loved reading about her life as one of Charles Lindbergh's children. It's pretty good. A woman at the doctor's office today recommended a book and I'll let you know what I think probably tomorrow. I love to read book reviews and get personal recommendations. There are so many books out there with clever marketing people and they write up clever back covers and inside covers. I'm tired of getting books and after reading a couple of chapters I don't care for it. If someone tells me they have enjoyed it I will keep going and more times than not I end up liking the book also.

My friend, Brenda at Coffee,Tea, Books and me recently said she loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. So I am going to pull it off the shelf and try again. It seems like once I know it's safe to read on I'll be alright. I know it sounds crazy, but it helps me so to know it's a keeper. So I'm going to list some more books that I have, but have not read yet. Please let me know if you have read any of them and what you think. I will truly appreciate it.
Blessed Child by Dekker, Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, One Thousand White Women by Fergus, Wicked by McGuire, The Road to Cana by Anne Rice, Take One by Karen Kingsbury, firefly lane by Kristin Hannah. I have gobs more, but this is enough for now. I need to know whether to put the time into them or just move on. I really do appreciate you taking the time to let me know if you enjoyed any of these.

I guess I've rambled enough. Thanks for being there!

2010-01-03T10:03:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year! It's really really cold and I'm thankful for another brand new year and new start. I love the feeling of having a new planner and a clean year ahead. Of course, I'm not so naive that I think it will stay clean. There will be obstacles, roadblocks, and maybe even train wrecks in my life. The Lord is with me and I have to remind myself that He will take care of these happenings in 2010.

The picture above is Avery during Christmas break as we left the bookstore. We both love hanging out there looking at all the books and trying to plan what we'll read next. She is currently working on writing an updated version of a classic. We have so much fun together and I realize how blessed I am to have her around me so often. Although I don't get to see her during the week while I'm in Atlanta, we do get to have her over during the weekend.

Her sweet mother got me a Nikon camera for Christmas and I will try to figure out how to download pictures and share with my blogging friends. My family has accepted that I am always on the lookout for blogging stories and pictures. I hope to become a blogger that has some great photos and interesting posts.

I must hop off and get ready for church. I pray this quiet Sunday will be a beautiful day for you!

Merry Christmas to All!!

2009-12-24T17:34:00.002-05:00

Here it is Christmas Eve and we are getting ready to go to church. We have been shopping today and we went to see a little movie, Astro Boy. It was a good family movie and the three of us enjoyed it. Avery and her mommy and daddy were going to visit a place that has lots of lights and exhibits tonight, but it looks as though the weather is not cooperating.

For all of you that wondered if I would get everything ready. Yes, another year of waiting until the last minute and there are still plenty of things in the stores. I love the hustle and bustle and most of my friends think I'm crazy to wait, but I guess that's just how I roll.

I am boiling some eggs for deviled eggs tomorrow. They can cool while we are at church. We are having Christmas dinner at Avery's tomorrow. Ham will be the main entree and I'll let you know afterwards what the menu is all about.

I pray all of you are having a great Christmas and find the peace of the Lord in all you do!!

2009-12-16T22:08:00.002-05:00

It's getting closer to Christmas and I still haven't started my shopping. I don't know why I have the need to share that with you, but I just did. I think this picture taken in winter is so pretty. I love snow pictures. I have one in my office and it always makes me think of coming in out of the weather and getting all cozy and looking out the window at the white wonderfulness.

I just got back from church a little while ago. I sure needed to go. This has been a very challenging time and I needed the beautiful praise music and the message. Our lesson was on the angel coming to Mary to tell her she would give birth to the LORD. Something that really touched my heart was when the angel told her she would be giving birth and she said, "How will this be,"Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God............For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:34. This was a day that I needed to be reminded that absolutely nothing is impossible with God.

There have been so many things to pray about both with my friends and personally. I know He supplies all our needs, but sometimes things get overwhelming and I just have to be reminded of His power. This Christmas will be very different for many many people. I believe it will be a huge test for us, but hopefully it will get us to focus more on the reason we celebrate this holiday or holy day in the first place.

I have two more days of work this week and then Monday I will work from home. Then I will start my vacation. I need a break and I am so thankful for those days off. We had our Christmas party at work this afternoon and for Dirty Santa I got a $25. gasoline card. Very practical and appreciated. We had great food and lots of laughs.

I'm watching a sweet Christmas movie on Lifetime. I have recently discovered Lifetime. I would hear women at work talking about it, but I had never gotten into it. I love sappy feel good movies. I think enough all day long and I just need a break sometimes. Reading autopsies and medical charts all day is not exactly a mood lifter. I will be watching more Lifetime over my little break. Sounds like fun to me.

This probably sounds like lots of rambling, but it's just whats on my mind. Nite Nite.

2009-12-15T20:32:00.003-05:00

My sweet friend, Stevie Wren, from A Little Birdie Told Me So, tagged me and I will try and answer the questions to the best of my ability. Now for the first one:

Seven Things You May or May Not Know About Me.
1. I was adopted as a baby.
2. I used to be a counselor and taught people about getting a job.
3. I would rather read than eat...and I love to eat!
4. I broke my arm twice when I was eight years old.
5. My husband is thirteen years my junior. No, I'm not a cougar :)
6. I have on sparkly silver nail polish.
7. I kissed Enos from "Dukes of Hazzard" at an autograph signing and he blushed. I did ask his permission first:)

For the second task it's a list of questions that I'm supposed to answer with one word.

Where is your cell phone? nightstand
Your hair...spikey
Your mother...gentle
Your father...jolly
Your favorite food...seafood
Your dream last night...forgot
Your favorite drink...sweet-tea
Your dream/goal...lots
What room are you in...greatroom
Your hobby....blogging
Your fear.....dunno
Where do you want to be in 6 years....home
Where were you last night...here
Something you aren't....petite
Muffins....pumpkin
Wish List item.....Garmin
Where did you grow up.....Indiana
Last thing you did....dinner
What are you wearing...jammies
Your tv.....off
Your pets.....many
Friends.....many
Your life...full
Your mood...hopeful
Missing someone...mom
Vehicle....Volvo
Something you're not wearing....shoes
Your favorite store....bookstore
Your favorite color....purple
When was the last time you laughed..tonight
Last time you cried....yesterday
Your best friend...kooky
One place I go over and over....work
Facebook....sorta
Favorite Place to eat....lots
That was fun and thanks, Stevie. I will now tag YOU if you are reading this. I love to learn more about my friends.

Today is a sad anniversary for me. My beloved mother died 31 years ago today. It is always a difficult day for me, but I know she is in heaven and much better off than I am. She was such a kind fun-loving person. I was so blessed that she adopted me and gave me so much love. I miss her so much. People say that time heals the wounds, but there is not a day that passes that I don't think about and long to see my precious mother. She would be crazy about Avery and I know someday we'll all be together.

Our Christmas party at work is tomorrow and I look forward to getting away from numbers and year end reports for a couple of hours. Next Tuesday will be my first day off for the holiday and I really can't wait. Mark and I plan on taking Avery to some movies and doing some book shopping. She's currently reading Kingdom Keepers and will be starting on the Percy Jackson series when I bring some home to her. I hope to do some fun art projects with her and visit some friends.

I need to stop and run around to visit your blogs. Don't let the Bed Bugs Bite!

2009-12-10T21:08:00.003-05:00

Here's a picture of Avery last Christmas in front of their tree. I love this picture and have it on my desktop at work. I'm trying to get more in the mood for the holiday. I love celebrating the birthday of our Savior, it's just that I let myself get caught up in the secular part of the holiday and that's when I start remembering how different my life is now. I have a wonderful blogging friend that continues to help me through reading her blog. We have had similarities in our life's journey.

Brenda's daddy died of a heart attack when she was 10 years old. My daddy died when I was 11 from cancer. We both have previously had very different lives, with really nice homes and all that goes with it. We now have physical challenges that limit our activities and we find ourselves praising the Lord through our pain. We both are very blessed that we have lots of love and special memories of when budgets weren't so tight.

She has a great blog helping her readers look at things with a thankful heart. She's a loving mother and grandmother and I want to highly recommend her blog, Coffee, Tea, Books and Me.
I always imagine her home smelling great from delicious baked goods cooling on the counter. Drop over and meet Brenda. I believe you'll find a friend too.

2009-12-06T11:22:00.002-05:00

This picture of 'Bringing in the Christmas Tree' is so touching to me. I remember days of years ago when we would go out and look for a Christmas tree in Indiana. The weather was so different from the South and I miss it sometimes. My mother used to always say that she and my Daddy never fussed until it was time to trim the tree. We don't have our tree up yet, do you?

Some highlights from Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T20:39:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd share some pictures from Thanksgiving. We went to my daughter's house along with her in-laws. I was so proud of Jolie cooking such a great meal. Her mother-in-law brought some side dishes and I brought deviled eggs, green beans casserole, and creamed corn from a recipe from one of my blog friends, Carmen. She got it from a restaurant in California and there were raves about it. My daughter's father-in-law even said for his wife to get the recipe. That made me feel great that he enjoyed it that much. It's certainly not a low cal dish, but yummy and great for special occasions. I will share the recipe if anyone is interested.

The above picture is Avery and her cousin, Danielle. She's 4 years older and Avery thinks she's so neat. I can remember being that age and thinking my cousin that's 5 years older was wonderful in every way. What's neat is that I still feel that way! It was such an age difference then, but now at our age it doesn't matter at all.

Here's my daughter and her husband Thursday evening getting ready for the big dinner. I will list the menu because I enjoy reading what other people have at their meals. It's kind of like Hee Haw with grandpa listing the food. Here goes: Turkey, Stuffing, Ham, Mashed Potatoes, gravy, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, creamed corn, rolls, deviled eggs, Pumpkin pie, chocolate chip cake, and Avery made Peanut Butter Cups. They were a lot like Reese's cups and she did a super job. They were in the little papers and everyone seemed to enjoy them. You know Nana just had to test one.

Here's a picture of some of the food. I believe we will do a repeat Christmas. We had the meal later in the day and my daughter was so much calmer. She had time to work on everything and not feel so stressed. After the meal we played a word game Quiddler. It was our first time to play it and it was pretty fun.

Last night we decorated a 12 foot tree for our Love Lights a Tree for donor families and recipients. I enjoyed helping as much as I could. I can't climb ladders, but I can put hooks on pretty silver, green and blue balls. Thursday we will have the lighting ceremony and we are excited about it.

I can't wait to jump around and visit my blog friends. I need to decorate my blog for Christmas. I got some bad news today that one of my friends has just been diagnosed with uterine cancer.She's devastated, but believes God will be with her on this journey. She's 68 and her name is Martha. Please say a prayer for her. We believe prayers are heard and that the Lord is still on the throne.

If you haven't heard Merry Christmas yet....I just want to say, "We say Merry Christmas!"

Thankful Trish

2009-11-24T21:30:00.002-05:00

Hopefully you have not forgotten me. I have been way too busy and by the time I get home at night I am so exhausted. I have been reading and trying to take care of myself, but I have not been doing a special thing that I have missed: checking with my Bloggy Friends.

Here we are at Thanksgiving and my daughter is going to have the dinner at her house. Her in-laws will be coming and we look forward to a big turkey and ham dinner. I need to bring some side dishes and Avery wants to make a dessert. I will work tomorrow and head back home in the afternoon.

It's been chilly and damp here in Atlanta. I guess kind of neat for the holiday, but they say the sun will be back Thursday. I won't be heading to the mall on Friday. I usually wait until the last couple of weeks to shop and get ready for Christmas. I truly want to stress the real meaning of Christmas this year. I am so blessed to be able to spend so much time with Avery and I realize it's a special time in her life.

I wish I could drop over and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving in person. We could share some coffee and a hug. Take care and let's eat the turkey!

Just Thinking About You Out There

2009-11-07T22:23:00.003-05:00

Hello, my friends! I am over at Jolie's house while they are at the beach in Alabama for a wedding. I can't help but think that a year and a half ago I sat at this table and started my blog. I have so enjoyed meeting all of you and feel so blessed that I know you. Although most of you I have never met it is so special when I read your posts and comments to me. I don't have a lot of family, but I always feel like you give me a window into your family.

I got back yesterday from Tampa. It was a great trip, but quite tiring. I guess trying to fit lots of work into two days would make anyone tired. I got to see some old friends and we ate some great Greek food. I had salad at the Greek restaurant. The only thing I went a little crazy with was a pretzel. Yes, I ate one of those big soft pretzels. It's not something I plan on doing again for a long time, but it sure tasted good and I got right back on program.

My 81 year old aunt called me about an hour ago and it was so good talking to her. She sounds great and I hope we can go back to Indiana in the summer of 2010. We had so much fun when we were there in 2008 and Avery and Jolie got to see where I grew up. I'm listening to the John Fogerty concert on public tv and I enjoy him. It takes me back to the old days.

I have missed being on the computer and being able to visit your blogs. So now I will close this post and drop by. I wish we could have a big cup of hot tea together. It sounds great about now. Maybe I can get back in my rhythm of posting. I just felt such a need to tell you guys how much you mean to me. I suppose someone that didn't understand blogging would not understand my appreciation,but I do care so much for all of you.

Hello Again

2009-11-02T20:45:00.002-05:00

Indian Princess Avery

I have missed you all and now I feel better about spending some time in BloggyLand. I pray everyone is doing well and I can't wait to visit your blogs. I just had to share Avery's Halloween picture. We took her to Trunk and Treat and church and we had the biggest downpour. We waited it out and finally got to visit the trunks that stayed. She got to see her friends from church and school and was happy about it.

I have been reading and going to Bible Study on Wednesday nights. I've met some really neat people and I'm so glad I've gotten to take some time to chill. Our study has been on I Samuel and it has been great.

I've been eating a baked potato and ricotta cheese on it instead of sour cream. So far I've lost 15 lbs. and I'm feeling better. I will be traveling to Tampa for some work related business for a few days this week. It's probably going to be nice and warm, but I do look forward to doing some audits and seeing friends from years ago.

I'm back in the saddle and I will be coming around to say Hey. Love you guys!

Taking A Little Blogging Break

2009-10-13T16:07:00.002-04:00

The Old

Guitarist

I'm taking a blogging break. I have found that I have tons going on and I have not been able to devote time to my blog lately. I will be back soon. Don't forget me. Love you guys!

2009-10-08T22:02:00.002-04:00

In the Chillin' Zone

Here I sit watching Project Runway and loving it. They are redoing wedding dresses as their challenge. It's such a fun show. You would think I would run out and get some new fabric and create something. But, no, I am still relaxing big time. I went for my MRI today and I think it went okay. I think this because they didn't admit me. So it can't be that bad. I've prayed about it and I had others praying for me so now I have to let it go. There have been times in my life when I would have to spin and spin around and wonder and wonder, but thank the Lord I have a peace about this and I now am doing my best to do what I can to be healthy.

I painted my nails tonight with my new polish. It's a dark, dark Plum color (almost black) I am enjoying it. I always say that nail polish is such an inexpensive way to give me a big lift. Polish and earrings. They just seem to make me so happy. I'm just going to say it and mean it. Accessories are wonderful. Scarves, purses, earrings, funky necklaces, cute shoes.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I will be heading back to SC tomorrow afternoon and I hope to cook something delicious for Saturday and relax. You guys are so special to me. Thanks for reading about my random thoughts.

2009-10-07T21:32:00.002-04:00

Doesn't this look peaceful? Lately I am all about being calm and peaceful. This past weekend I was able to attend the Joyce Meyer conference here in Atlanta. I then went to church Sunday morning and was a part of a wonderful worship service and outstanding message. As many of you know I have been told to relax more, eat right and take advantage of an opportunity. For me prayer, studying the Bible and worshiping the Lord is one of the greatest ways I can turn my problems over to the Lord and not worry about things I can't control anyway.

Tomorrow at 11am I will be having an MRI on my heart and I pray they will either find that everything is okay or find what they will need to fix my condition. I know the Lord is able to do anything. I am not anxious about this of many procedures I have had in the last few weeks. At least this is not invasive.

I find the above picture so sweet and it looks like a place I could just relax in a chair and let the wind blow in my face and think about peaceful sweet things.

Blessed to Have Friends

2009-09-30T20:36:00.003-04:00

Jamila and Saira

Here we were in the hospital on my birthday. This was my birthday cake and these sweet girls came up to be with me on my 60th birthday. It wasn't exactly what I would have picked, but it was still great. Some people have no friends and they didn't get a pretty little birthday cake. I had some fun balloons and we had lots of laughs. These girls are so funny. They should be on television.

I just wanted to drop a few lines and let you know I'm doing great. I'm eating healthy and my meds seem to be agreeing with me. We had cool weather today and that makes me very happy.

I hope you had a wonderful day and get plenty of rest tonight. later, trish

Help Me Add Some Advantages to my List

2009-09-25T21:43:00.003-04:00

Head of a Woman

Amedeo Modigliani

Today I ventured out with Mark and Avery to do a little shopping. We went to Target and I got settled in my motorized chair and we headed out to do our shopping. Avery proceeded to tell me, "Nana getting to ride in this chair is an advantage of being old!" I laughed out loud and told her we needed to think of some of the ways we have advantages when we grow older. We came up with some together and then I pondered it for a while and have added some of my own.

I have slowed down. When I was younger I felt I had to walk fast, eat fast, sleep fast (By slowing down I see more that I must have missed before. I take more time to reflect on what I am actually looking at.
I get senior discounts.
I don't worry about how I look in a bikini
I don't have to shave my legs as much as when I was young (it left my legs and headed for little goofy places on my face)
I am better at Trivial Pursuit than a lot of my juniors. (I have lived through a lot of the questions and answers)
I am not stressing out about what I will get into for a career. (I can remember times when this was a huge focus of my life)
I enjoy being peaceful and quiet (When I was young it seemed like I needed a circus going on to keep me going)
I have a grand child. This has changed my life.

Just Some Thoughts

2009-09-24T10:06:00.003-04:00

Sitting here realizing how blessed I am. I'm sitting in my daughter's home and she is at work. Avery went back to school. I pray she doesn't get in trouble for missing so much school. She missed 9 school days when she went to Hawaii and then getting sick and having to be out yesterday it is concerning us.

I am thinking that I need to slow down and appreciate each and every day. All the worrying and fretting do not change one thing, except messing up your health and they rob you of time and energy. I don't know exactly why I felt like writing this, but maybe someone will relate to this.

I think I'm going to make a list of things that will be fun:

Working on my daughter's Christmas present
Catching up on correspondence
Planning some recipes for a low-sodium diet
Doing a much needed pedicure
Working on my study of Esther by Beth Moore
Getting signed up at the Y when I get back to Atlanta (water aerobics)
Start making jewelry again. I have the supplies and just need to take the time.

Avery's Trip to Hawaii

2009-09-23T12:34:00.018-04:00

A few weeks ago Avery got back from her wonderful trip to Hawaii. Her daddy got married on the beach at sunset. Here he is with his new wife Yo. She is Japanese and they live in California.

Avery and Daddy Neal

Before the ceremony

The happy couple

Byodo-In, Valley of the Temples in Koolau

Avery said there were really cool bunches of Koi. I will show some of those pictures later. Lots of pidegons that are so tame they land in your hand to eat.

Lily Pads at the temple

Don't they look like a special painting by Monet?

Grandma Ann and Avery on black sand beach

Sea Turtle at Black Sand Beach

Grandma Ann and Avery on Big Island on our balcony

Grandad Steve and A.T.

Gardens at Big Island

An amazing rainbow outside Avery's room

Lava field

Sleeping on the Big Island with Curly and Berry(the stuffed animals)

An offering to the volcano goddess Pele

View from balcony on Oahu (right on the beach)

Kilauea calder

This was a trip of a lifetime and Avery is so appreciative to her grandparents to take her on such a wonderful adventure. She is here with me today because she was so sick last night vomiting and running to the bathroom a million times. She said several kids in her class have some sickness and are out. She has missed so much school going to Hawaii we pray she doesn't get in trouble. But when you are sick...you're sick.

We have just been on the couch watching Disney channel and living the dream. I'm drinking my water and chill-laxing.

I will post more pictures later. I hope you are having a great day. BTW, it's taking some of my employees 3 hours to get to work in the morning. It's a nightmare in Atlanta and they are expecting more rain.

I have been taking naps and reading. I guess I didn't realize how really tired I am.

Did you realize they show The Suite Life of Zac and Cody eighty five times a day? Have fun.

My Odometer Has Passed Sixty and with a BANG

2009-09-22T11:02:00.004-04:00

I am so happy to be able to post. I have been on an adventure that I wouldn't have chosen, but perhaps it will help me change my life and save it. I'll start from the beginning. Thursday night I had what felt like a mild asthma attack. My inhalers and medicine for my nebulizer are expired because I haven't had an attack in years (thank the Lord). So Friday I called the doctor to get some new prescriptions called in. They said I had to come in and get checked since I hadn't been to my PCP since the spring. I go to the specialists, but usually not my PCP so much. I went in and they listened to my recent symptoms(chest pains, swollen ankles and feet, short of breathe) So they gave me an EKG and it was showing that something was wrong.

They wheeled me over to the ER and I was admitted. They thought I had a blood clot or possibly congestive heart failure. As some of you know, I am in Atlanta during the week and back in South Carolina on the weekends. Some of my co-workers came to the hospital and got stuff out of the back of my car so I could have my reading materials and get on with life. Saturday they started with what felt like a jillion tests: CT scans, ultrasounds, more nuclear tests and then decided to do a heart catherization Monday.

Sunday I turned the big 6-0 and how much fun was that? Saira brought me fresh warm Krispy Kreme donuts. Since I figured once I got out of there I would not be eating anymore donuts, I had to have one. I only had one, but one of the ladies that worked in dietary and had brought me my meals got me a birthday cake. I will post the picture later. Others from work came up and we laughed about the size of the bathroom. It was like an airport bathroom once I got my IV drips and all my paraphernalia in it. Remembering I am not a wisp of a thing.

My little cute doctors came in and after the cath Mark and Jolie were sitting waiting with me on the results and what would happen next. One of them told me I had an 'opportunity' and I needed to take it. I have to change my stress levels, diet, and I have to start moving around. When I asked him about my diet, he said, "Vegetables and fruits!" I about fainted and then I said, "Really, what do you mean?" He said that I had to get on a low sodium diet and I have to do some exercise. He said water aerobics and a stationary bike should be good for me since I can't put weight on my feet much. So I am off on a new path.

I came home and I'm staying with Jolie so I can truly rest and not have all the dogs at home. Mark will come over and visit and I am strictly in a 'chill-axing' state. I'm just going to read, look at blogs and watch tv. Oh yow, in the middle of all the hospital drama we had so much flooding in Atlanta. Some of my employees couldn't even leave their subdivisions. Schools are closed and it is a hot mess. It took us what seemed like forever to get out of town last night. It's so sad. I think six people have lost their lives. We have had a drought for so long and people were praying for rain. Well, we certainly got it.

I have missed you guys and I would appreciate your prayers as I get on all the new meds and changes my diet. For those of you out there that have great health, be thankful everyday! When you face possible heart surgery and know that you could be controlling your destiny with your eating habits and stress levels....it's scary. I will start leaving work at a decent time and I need to get at least eight hours a night sleep. It's always been easy for me to push myself and keep trying to go farther and I am now realizing it's not always worth it. For sure it's not worth it when I have to think about leaving my family.

My sister in law told me about a site called Spark People and I am trying to get some neat ideas for things I will enjoy and can eat that are low sodium. If you know of any please let me know. I'm so happy I'm back in bloggyworld. I love you guys.

Tuesday Night in Hotlanta

2009-09-15T20:05:00.004-04:00

Okay, here I sit watching the finale of Move To Love. If you have been on another planet somewhere...this is a Bachelor type show with a heavy guy and thick chicks he has to pick from. He has it down to two girls and I want him to pick Tali. She is a beautiful Jewish girl. I can't imagine being on national television dating and knowing that the guy I'm dating is also dating a dozen or more other heavy gals.

So I will lose two hours from my life watching this and I figured since I share practically everything else with you I would let you know about my time wasters. I could be painting, drawing, writing, or reading a book. I am currently reading a book I love by an author I always am very satisfied with....Philippa Gregory. The book is The White Queen. I can truly escape into the 15th century and not cloud up my mind with deadlines, reports and evaluations. Although they are a big part of my life I need to sit them in a corner and enjoy myself once in a while.

A couple of hours ago I got to go out to eat with some of my staff. We went to a wonderful Indian restaurant. I had a chicken curry dish and it was fabulous. We laughed and ate and laughed some more. We said it would be fun to visit ethnic restaurants from all of our backgrounds. We had at the table: Chinese, African-American, Indian, Cuban/Pakistani, German/Hungarian and I'm Arabic.

I hope you have had a neat day. It's Tuesday and it's been a great day!

A Big Bunch of Fun

2009-09-14T21:25:00.004-04:00

Avery and the Hula

I didn't mean for it to take so long to post after Avery got back, but I have been so busy and it was a 'good busy'. She had a wonderful trip and in fact, talked for two straight hours on our way home to SC from the airport. I have to wait to get pictures from her other grandparents. Avery's camera broke, but they took lots. When she got home she was so exhausted. She had been awake since Wednesday morning and then was up all night due to the 6 hour time difference. She had to do two weeks worth of homework and it was so difficult trying to keep her awake.

She finally got it finished Saturday night and it seems like she is getting back to a regular schedule with her sleep. Her little girlfriend spent the night with us also and they had a big time. They were watching tv and eating popcorn. It's so good to have A back at home.

Sunday afternoon we ate lunch and Avery and her girlfriend played checkers on the porch. Her friend had never played checkers and A had fun teaching her.

Brenda with her wonderful dessert

Brenda and I had the greatest Saturday. We went to a furniture consignment store and it was great. The prices were very reasonable and we will go back with a truck next time. We went to lunch at a wonderful place called the Bistro and then had dessert at Chili's. I needed dessert like a hole in the head, but let me tell you it was fabulous. Brenda started her new job today and we needed to celebrate. She is such a sweet friend and I'm blessed to be able to hang out with her and have fun doing stuff we enjoy like shopping and eating.

Trish's fancy white chocolate dessert

Yes, I ate most of this. I said it would be my last hooray and thank heaven for 2 days I have been eating very healthy. For me two days is a big deal and I will try to get sweets out of my system so I can keep on eating healthy.

I have a HUGE issue with sweets. If you don't give a flip about sweets you are blessed. They call my name and I have to talk to myself a lot to stay away from them. I might as well just tape the cakes and cookies to my hips that's where they go anyway. I'm a happy girl with my little hula dancer back and I'm back to eating healthy. I'm very blessed.

7 Hours Left

2009-09-09T23:01:00.002-04:00

Aloha, my Avery

I'm on the countdown. I will pick up my Avery at 6:20am. She will be flying in from Hawaii and I can't wait to see her. She's in the air now and I pray for a safe and smooth flight. I love my baby and I can't wait to see her.

Lovin' Some Latte

2009-09-07T22:16:00.002-04:00

Pumpkin Spice Latte

On my way to Atlanta this afternoon I stopped to get my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season. My friend, Brenda, from Coffee Tea Books and Me turned me on to these yummy drinks. Brenda's blog was the first one I ever read back in 2007 and it will always have a special place in my heart. Her blog is educational and she gives lots of tips about being frugal in this challenging economic time. She is a Christian that is not shy about sharing her faith. She has a love for books and shares about her experiences in homeschooling. If you've never visited her I think you will be in for a wonderful treat. There is such a warmth about her writing and her openness to share about her health challenges. Although she is about a hundred times more domestic than moi, I do feel like we are kindred spirits. She cooks fabulous looking food and stocks up her pantry for 'rainy days'. I have learned from her and from the comments she receives she has helped many others as well. Her blog is truly a gem.

Happy Labor Day

2009-09-07T10:43:00.002-04:00

Bunnies at the Labor Day Tea Party

I want to wish everyone a wonderful and restful Labor Day. When I was growing up Labor Day signaled the end of summer and school would start the next day. Now children go back to school in mid-August.

I lived in the Midwest and it was starting to turn cooler by the first Monday of September. It's still very warm here in the south. I would love to be having a tea party, but I will return to work this afternoon and just be thankful for a long weekend. I pray everyone is doing well and having fun whatever you are doing.

Update on Hawaii

2009-09-06T14:14:00.005-04:00

I just wanted to give you an update on Avery's adventures. I still don't have pictures of her, but we talk everyday. She is having a great time. First, they went to Hilo and now they are in Honolulu. She's gone to the zoo, volcanoes, her daddy's wedding on the beach Friday night and she still has several days to go.

She's tried papaya, mango and salad. They have hiked all over and she is having a great time. We miss her, but I am so happy she got this wonderful opportunity. I am having a restful weekend and going to get me a cup of hot tea and read for a while. I hope you are having a restful weekend too.

Meet Arthur

2009-09-03T19:54:00.002-04:00

Arthur, my Siamese twin

Okay, you are wondering at this point if I am doing crack or something. I just wanted to introduce you to my companion, Arthur. I know this sounds psycho, but stay with me. It makes sense to me.

I do not want to be a whiny girl, but you need to know that I have 3 kinds of arthritis and lately it has gotten painful a lot of the time. Living with chronic pain gets extremely frustrating. I can't take pain medicine very much because I need to be able to be think clearly with my job and I drive a lot so it just wouldn't work. I understand when people need to take it on a regular basis and I am not judging them. Pain gets very old and I needed a new way to think about it so for now it helps me to put a face to the arthritis.

I read comments on chronic pain sites and some folks accept the situation and others fight it. For me fighting it is out of the question. I don't have the energy to fight this everyday and I am from the school that everything is for a reason. I have decided for now that I will just accept Arthur and think of him as something that is with me, but he is not going to control my life. I try to do things to keep him as quiet as possible and under control.

I try to rest as much as I can (I haven't always, but as things have gotten worse I realize it's super important) I started using a cane for support. I ride in the little motorized chairs in Target and the grocery stores. I had to set aside pride and realize that it is what it is. I try to relax more because stress does a number on Arthur. It really agitates him.

You may wonder why he is so ugly and hard to look at. Why didn't I make him some handsome dude like Hugh Laurie or someone like that? Well, hello, Arthur has shaken up my world and thinking of him as a hunk doesn't make sense to me. He's not going anywhere unless I get a miracle. I can do my best to control him, but he will be right there with me. Thank the Lord for anti-inflammatory medicines and heating pads and things that I heat in the microwave and wrap around my neck. Heat is soothing, especially on my neck and knees.

I pray this doesn't sound too self-absorbed, but this has helped me to get this condition in perspective. I have to tell myself the Serenity Prayer and realize that the Lord will never leave me nor forsake me. He won't give me anything that I cannot endure. He said He would always give us a way of escape. The Psalms have grown so precious to me. David seemed to question things and you know what...I think it's okay. I have heard people say we are not to question God. I disagree. On the cross Jesus questioned His father. He thought he had been forsaken.

I am a pilgrim and someday when I travel to my home I won't be having any pain. I have the Blessed Hope and I pray you do too.

Grade School Pals

2009-09-02T19:28:00.002-04:00

Kyla Jo and Patti aka Trish

Here's a picture of my friend I hadn't seen in about 45 years. We went all through kindergarten, grade school and the first year of high school before I moved to Florida. Kyla now lives in Florida herself and she was on the way back up to Indiana for a high school reunion. It was such a strange feeling seeing someone that many years later. She looks great. I do have to wonder what the deal is with our lips. I must research this whole shrinking lips phenomenon. If anyone has any theories please let me know.

I decided I have talked about Avery in pretty much all the posts since last week. I tell myself that I will not obsess about her, but to be quite honest....I still keep thinking about her a lot. She didn't get to go hiking on the crater yesterday due to rain, so today they are doing the big hike.

Tomorrow they will fly to Honolulu. Can we all say FUN?!

I am watching Billy Graham Classics. I love watching him preach. He has always kept his message so simple and easy to understand. I saw his daughter, Anne on Fox News this morning and she has a new book out about Abraham. It sounded really interesting. I hope that Mark, Avery and I can go up to the Billy Graham Library this fall. I feel as though I have known him my whole life and I believe I will feel such a loss when he passes away. I would love to meet him in person someday, but probably it will be heaven before I get to talk with him. He has devoted his life to sharing the Word and bringing others to Christ. What a wonderful legacy he will leave.

Grandpa Steve and Grandma Anne

2009-09-01T21:23:00.002-04:00

Here's the traveling team as they were last Saturday. Apparently, they are having a wonderful time. They have been hiking and visiting volcanoes and parks and it sounds like she is really enjoying herself. She tried salad for the first time and her reaction was, "it's really wet!" She didn't try it with salad dressing so maybe she'll like it better with more flavor on it. They've been walking and walking and she probably is worn out at the end of the day. This Nana is not able to walk around much so I'm glad she's getting the opportunity to get some exercise and see some beautiful things. Grandpa Steve is her daddy's father and I see some resemblance there. Her daddy is calm and relaxed and I think that's where Avery gets her calmness. Her grandpa is an inventor and very creative. I'll keep you posted about the big trip.

Missing My Girl

2009-08-31T20:52:00.002-04:00

Avery is in Hilo, Hawaii and she's having a great time. I spoke with her this afternoon and yesterday they had visited the volcano national park. She got to see lava and things she had never seen in person. Avery loves science so this must have been a great adventure. I am truly happy she is having this great experience.

She is growing up and I have to prepare myself for the many things she will be doing that don't involve Nana and Papa. We just have so much fun together and like any other grandma, I just want the best for her. I realize we have to share her with her other grandparents. I just hope she takes lots of pictures so I can see her having all the tropical fun. Of course, I will share them.

happy and sad

2009-08-29T14:12:00.005-04:00

Avery and the baby ducks about 3 years ago
She boarded a big jet this morning from Atlanta headed to.......

Hawaii

This is exactly how her Nana feels

She is going to have the vacation of a lifetime. Almost two weeks all over Hawaii and why am I so sad? I should be thrilled. This is her first flight. She is going half-way around the world. Hello..6 hours time difference. She is nine years old. I miss my baby girl.

I want to be so happy for her and I didn't show my anxiety last night, but I had it. I pray she will enjoy herself and make wonderful memories with her other grandparents. They live all the way up in Boston and I know we need to share. It's just the first time she's been away like this.

Please help me pray it will be a wonderful time for her. Love you guys.

2009-08-26T23:43:00.003-04:00

Let me say first that this picture is being shown only to let you see my new do. I hadn't realized how much I look like the housekeeper on The Brady Bunch. When did I get so old? Unfortunately, my office looks like a bomb went off, but this is me in my element. Another thing that tends to alarm me is that my lips are disappearing. The mirror seems to play tricks with me. I don't realize quite how old I look until I see a picture. Then I think to myself, "Who is that older woman?" Hello reality!

Now don't get me wrong...I am blessed. Many of my classmates have not made it to this age. In fact, I will get to meet up with one of my classmates from grade school tomorrow night at the airport. She is flying in for a layover on her way to Indiana. We haven't seen each other in 46 years. She was such a cute bubbly girl and I can't wait to see if she's kept that spunk. Kyla and I would hang out at our friend's house in the morning before we went to school. Our friend lived across the street and her parents left for work before the kids started streaming in. I remember hearing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and other early 60's tunes in their living room. I think when I see her I will be transported back to that house and our tangerine nail polish, Dr. Kildare and Casey shirts, gum wrapper chains, and super teased hair. Wonder if she'll be thinking, "Gee, Patti, you really got old!" You know what, I pray I'll get older and older before the Lord calls me home.

Bobbie Pin Torture

2009-08-25T20:45:00.003-04:00

I have been thinking so much about hair lately. I am loving my short do. I feel so much better. I was thinking today about how my mother loved putting bobbie pins in my hair. That was the big thing in the 50's. Every Saturday night I would sit on the floor and my mother would sit in the chair and wind my hair up with about 5 thousand bobbie pins. I have always been tender-headed. When she would start wrapping my hair around her fingers and pulling it tight to insert the dreaded bobbie pin I would feel like she would was pulling my hair out of my head. I would groan and moan and my daddy would tell her to stop with the hair. I feel tears welling up in my eyes as I remember him fussing at her about the bobbie pin torture.

My parents hardly ever fussed about anything. They were in their fifties and back then that was sooo old. They would sit on the screened-in front porch and drink coffee and it was all so peaceful and it made me feel so loved. I was blessed. They adopted me when many of their friends told them it was not a very smart thing to do at their age.

If you wonder how my hair looked after sleeping on those horrid bobbie pins all night. Well....it was sticking up all over the place and didn't look a bit natural. If I could figure out how to use my scanner I would show you. Maybe this weekend I can try and figure it out. Thank heaven the bobbie pin look faded away! Hooray!

memories from the 50's

2009-08-24T20:51:00.002-04:00

As I near my birthday next month I am caught up in so many memories from when I was a little girl in Indiana. Summers were so sweet. I'd wait for the milkman and hope that he had some chocolate milk. He didn't always have it and it became such a special treat. My granddaughter has always had chocolate milk. It's not really anything special.

This time of year we would be getting ready to go to the Indiana State Fair. I loved seeing all those farm animals. I lived in the city and only saw animals like that when we would go out to the country and visit relatives. The kids that brought the animals always seemed so proud. Here I was a city girl and couldn't imagine having cows and pigs. There were some stinky smells around the farm animals, but just go down the way and there was food with heavenly aromas. I thought cotton candy was so pretty and actually I still do. Especially pink.

The day after Labor Day was the first day of school. Mike Albertson, a neighbor from down the street, always would walk me to school those first few weeks. Then we would walk home together and he wouldn't come down to walk to school with me until the next new school year. He had red hair and freckles and he lived with his grandparents. He was a kind little boy and I always wonder what happened to him. When it would snow my mother would walk to school and bring more warm clothes and we would go home at lunch and eat homemade vegetable soup. We didn't worry about kidnappings or scary people lingering around. It's a different world now. At least it is where we live now and here in Atlanta.

I loved new pencil holders and fresh school paper. I felt like it was a new clean slate every year. I loved school and would go now if I had the time and money for tuition. I love learning new things and cracking open the new school books has always been a thrill for me.

Avery has started her new school. She is liking it. She has gone from a class of 8 in private school to a class of 22 in public school. She is excited about her new friends and I'm so happy for her. She leaves for Hawaii Saturday and I will ask everyone to please keep her in your prayers. I'm so thankful she is getting such a nice opportunity. I guess seeing her with her back in school takes me back in my mind to Roy Rogers, Mickey Mouse Club, Howdy Doody, hula hoops, Old Maid cards and my sweet dolls. It was so long ago, but I am thankful I have such sweet memories.

a guilty pleasure and a new friend

2009-08-20T21:42:00.004-04:00

Hello world. This is one of my guilty pleasures. I am so happy Project Runway is back. I enjoy watching the designers throwing their clothes together. The fabrics, the design, the drama. This is so fun for me. I always like to imagine that I could be on there and create some magnificent line. Okay, this is something that sounds so bizarre, but......when I was a teenager I did some runway modeling. I know believe it or not. I am so overweight now, it's hard to believe I was ever skinny. It was fun for me. I guess it will always be a neat memory.

Now I must tell you about my new friend. Brenda is Dustye's cousin. Dustye is Knitting Mania and In A Garden's friend. Brenda now lives about an hour away from me when I'm at home. She is a fun, interesting person. She just moved here about a month ago and she has a beautiful home. She's brave to come that far and start a new life. I believe God has something very special in store for her. We talked tonight and she has an interview next week. Please help me pray she will get the job. Oh yow, she got her hair cut really short too. I'm going to encourage her to start a blog. I think you would really be in for a treat.

Well, the All-Star Project Runway is almost over and they will pick a winner that will win 100K. Not bad I'd say. Then the new season on Lifetime starts. Woohoo. later T

Our Crowning Glory and Mary E.

2009-08-18T18:09:00.007-04:00

I recently got my haircut short and I have been thinking a lot about hair. I told my daughter that if I had all the time and money back for my hair I might be a wealthy woman. I have spent untold hours thinking about the next style, whether to cut or not to cut, bangs or no bangs. perm or not perm. My mother used to always tell me how important having neat and clean hair was. She said that it was your "crowning glory". I thought that was such an unusual statement. But, like most things my mother told me, it was so true. When I don't feel good about my hair you might as well hang it up. I am really enjoying my new pixie cut. I have product in it and it's kind of spikey. I feel like a different woman.

In 1970 my husband and I went to London for a week and we saw the play HAIR. It was delightful and the music was timeless. I have been a redhead, blond and my natural color, brunette. I haven't colored my hair in several years. I got tired of coloring a few gray hairs. I'm thankful for not much gray. I think my hair is much healthier now. I believe I have a genetic thing going on. I certainly remember the days of hair dryers like the one below. It was almost like torture.

I have stopped paying big money for haircuts. Here in the big city haircuts are many times $100. and then they try to tag on lots of other stuff. For several years now I have been frequenting the Great Clips shops. Yes, $14.00 haircuts can be just fine. I have tried cutting it myself, but I found pretty quickly that it is NOT one of my gifts.

I just had to show the hair dryer. I used to have the ones with a plastic cap that covered my great big rollers in the 60's. We didn't have blow dryers and the whole process took so long. See what I said about the great amount of time devoted to hair. I have always had to wash it very often so the whole rollers and hair dryer project took a chunk of my day.

Now I am switching subjects. I love Mary Engelbreit. I can remember the day my girlfriend from Seattle told me about Mary. We were here in Atlanta in 1990 at a medical conference and she showed me her work and told me that she had cards and cute stationery. Since that day I have collected Mary's wonderful art. She is so talented. She had the most wonderful magazine, Home Companion.My friend, Stevie Wren of a little birdie told me so told me it had stopped being published. That was a very sad day and I didn't want to believe it. Sorry Stevie. It was earth shattering for me. Am I a drama queen or what? Now I wish I would have saved all the issues. I have quite a few, but not all. She has great calendars and I never get tired of her work.

This is jumping all over the place, but that's how my brain does sometimes. What about yours?

Mary Engelbreit

all pictures were from posters.com except Mary and that's from her site
BTW Mary is on the cover of one of my new favorites, Where Women Create magazine. Try it, you'll love it.

A Sad Anniversary

2009-08-16T22:16:00.002-04:00

On August 16, 1977 we lost a great talent. I was always fascinated by Elvis. I, of course, am not saying I have velvet Elvis pictures, but he has always had a special place in my life. My daddy brought me a pencil holder with a picture of Elvis on it when I was around 6. He had heard he was a new popular singer. As the years marched on my husband and I were based at Ft. Hood, in Killeen, Texas where Elvis had been based a few years before. We went outside the house he had rented while he was there. I used to dream I was married to him. Now that's a hoot!

The year before he died he was coming to our local auditorium for a concert. The tickets were going on sale starting Saturday morning. My husband came home from work Friday and that night the factory he was managing burned to the ground. I knew I shouldn't be going to a concert with my husband losing his job. So I didn't. That would have been my last opportunity to see him. I suppose it wasn't meant to be.

I pray he was at peace with the Lord. I feel his death had such a tremendously sad impact on Lisa. I lost my daddy as a little girl and I know you always wonder what your life could have been like if he would have lived.

When I was at a conference with my job in the mid-90's I met the man that embalmed Elvis. All the crazy stories about people thinking they have seen him all over the country in K-marts and various places was just their imagination.

May Elvis rest in peace!

Nana's Believe it or Not

2009-08-13T17:48:00.002-04:00

You see a picture of South America and you ask yourself, "What is Trish doing with that map?"

Well, folks, I have a port wine hemangioma (birthmark). It is on my chest and when I was a little girl my parents took me to the doctor and asked about it. The doctor said that it would go away. Bless his heart. He must have been at the bottom of his class. A strawberry birthmark usually goes away, but port wine birthmarks usually don't. Mine is the shape of South America. No kidding. Stay with me. This is an educational post.

I tried to take a picture of my birthmark and I couldn't get it on the post. Maybe that's a good thing that it didn't work. Here's why this is an educational post. All my life I have had this lovely birthmark in the shape of South America. As a child it didn't bother me, but when I got in junior high people starting saying it looked like a hickey. Yes, folks right on my chest I have this natural tatoo. When I started working at the hospital a little over twenty years ago I decided to have plastic surgery and have it removed. The doctor told me that the laser system would remove it and I would be free of it.

I had the surgery on a Friday afternoon and I was the last patient. When I went for my follow up I found that I had been his last patient ever at that hospital. Yes, he moved on to another facility and he hurried through my procedure just to get it over with. I had deep burns and it looks worse now than it did before the surgery. Now I not only have the birthmark, but I have deep red burn scars from the laser. Months later I still was going for shots directly in the area to relieve the pain.

I used to tell kids that my father got mixed up with some mysterious people from way south of the border and a woman put a curse on him. It eventually showed up on me. Yes, I had an imagination. But I was so excited about it being removed. Don't ever let someone set you up for the last OR slot of the day. The doctor is tired and who knows, it may be his last day of work.

You ask, "Why didn't you sue?" Remember I told you earlier in the story that I was employed by the hospital. It would not have been very wise to try and sue my employer. I also wasn't in a place financially when I was divorced to sue anyone. My one and only experience with plastic surgery was not very pleasant. I titled this 'believe it or not' because it sounds bizarre, but it's true. I can't wear anything low cut or I find people staring at my birthmark. I wouldn't wear anything very low anyway, but going years with people in the stores turning and whispering to their friends and then the friends looking back at my chest has made me self-conscious.

I shouldn't whine about this. Plenty of other people have much worse than a birthmark, but I just wanted to share so none of you would put so much faith in some of these procedures.

P.S. What do they call a doctor that was at the very bottom of his class?
Answer: A doctor

Night Shift

2009-08-12T23:14:00.002-04:00

The last few nights I have worked all night and for half of the day in meetings. I am not saying this to hear, "Poor Trish". This is my job and I am blessed and appreciate to have my job. We launched a new program and I was there all night to be supportive. I had somewhat forgotten the toll it takes on a body to be awake all night. For me being on call and answering questions over the phone is not that difficult. I have experienced it for over twenty years and I usually just go right back to sleep. Working all night is different.

I found myself wanting to eat more than usual. I got lots of things cleaned up and thrown out. When it's quiet and the phone isn't ringing off the desk I can get a lot done. But once I hit my threshold I realize I am just not productive. I have to reread and my mind starts to wander. I understand that you must get more used to it when it's your job and it becomes a familiar routine, but I need to sleep at night.

Speaking of sleep, I am on call and need to sail off to sleepy land for as long as I can. All you third shifters out there....you have my respect. Nite Nite

DREAMS

2009-08-11T11:52:00.002-04:00

I have been thinking a lot about dreams lately. I have had a huge project that I have been working on and we launched it this week. So this weekend I dreamed Atlanta had a huge earthquake and I was caught up in it trying to survive. I was arm in arm with Courtney Cox and we were trying to use our cell phones and they wouldn't work. I kept worrying about my husband and daughter trying to communicate with me. Of course, all my anxiety got this all stirred up, but isn't it amazing how real it all seems when you are dreaming? I just wonder how it all processes in your mind.

I used to have dreams I was able to lift up and look down on everything. It's just so interesting. I know the Lord used dreams and dream interpretation through the Old Testament and it just intrigues me how the dreams had such deep meanings. My husband dreams he is driving fast cars and motorcycles.

Well, obviously Courtney and I made it out okay. I love purses and always have. When I was little I would dream I was holding a new purse and when I woke up I would be holding my hands like I was clutching the purse. I remember feeling so disappointed that it was all a dream.

Maybe it's just me, but.........

2009-08-05T19:38:00.003-04:00

Dear Paula,

The word is on the street that you weren't happy with the $2 million a year they offered you. No, so they offered you $10 million. No, that was such an insult. You demanded $20 million. Well, Paula, I just don't get it. It must be very difficult living on $2m and then knowing you would only be getting $10m. Wow, it's a disgrace. How do they expect you to live on that little tiny amount of money? You work hard!!!! Getting all dressed up and having to worry about your hair and makeup. OMG. You are very sweet to the contestants, but my goodness, honey...10 million dollars. They called me and offered me the two mil and the producers told me they are looking for a real person to judge. I, of course, turned them down. I wouldn't have time to do that gig and all the exciting things I'm already doing. Paula, bless your heart. If you're ever in Atlanta call me and we can go to lunch. It just won't be the same show without you. Your friend, Trish

Maybe it's just me, but what is this world coming to?

Our Next Food Network Star

2009-08-02T21:53:00.004-04:00

Melissa vs. Jeffrey

I am sitting here watching the Next Food Star Finale. I really enjoy watching this week after week. It's down to the last two contestants. Melissa has four little girls under 4 and Jeffrey is a realtor that was a former restaurant owner.

Alton Brown helped them with their final challenge. Avery is crazy about him and she was really looking forward to this last episode. They are ready to announce the winner.

Melissa won and I am so happy. She seems so genuine. Her mother was a single mother and died when Melissa was 20. Her friends took her in and she got into the corporate world eventually. She's bubbly and has a special charm about her. I'm so thrilled for her and I can't wait to see her show on the Food Network.

I hope you had a great weekend. I'll now get ready to watch HGTV's Next Design Star. Okay, do you see a trend here? I just love these shows.

Do you enjoy these shows?

2009-07-29T00:35:00.002-04:00

These beautiful sculptures were in a hospital lobby where I had a meeting Monday. They were so gorgeous to me. I had to take pictures. They are life-sized and the water falling onto the umbrella makes it so life like. I couldn't really capture the beauty in a picture. The material picked up so many colors and they were just glowing. The artist must be so proud of their work. For folks coming into the hospital for tests or visiting loved ones it must be extremely soothing. The sound of the water and the children looking so sweet is touching.

These children were sitting on a bench with a puppy. I just can't tell you how striking these were to me. There was just something mystical about them. What a glorious gift to be able to make this much beauty to share. It's awesome to me.

Two Special Friends

2009-07-23T21:45:00.003-04:00

I recently have had the most wonderful opportunity to find one friend from the past and I got to meet one I had only blogged with and never met. I thought I would take this opportunity to share about my friends.

Sher---we went to elementary school together and I was in awe of her writing skills. We would write notes during class and she would share her stories with me. They were so engaging. The characters were so interesting and I have never forgotten those stories. We lost touch for about 45 years and I always wondered what happened to her. I did that little thing with classmates.com and I never realized the joy it would bring me. Sher has been a syndicated columnist and has a blog over here. She is artistic and still is a fun, very loving person. Just a little freaky something-something: we have two common bloggers. One of them is on both of our follower deals. Now maybe you don't think that's big, but I do. There's tons of folks out there blogging it up and for us to have people in common is cool to me. Check her out, she's a doll.

Dustye---we met on the blog and have hit it off big time. She is a bubbly little spitfire. We both knew in our emails that we would connect. I was so thankful that she got to come to South Carolina. I got to meet her cousin, Brenda, and she is a sweetie, too. She has a gorgeous home and is getting settled here in the south. I look forward to our friendship growing and Dustye coming back for a visit. We laughed and ate good food and looked at antiques and cutsey little shops. Dustye and I have tons in common and even had the same wallet in our purses. Again, freaky. Dustye's blog is over here. You need to check it out. Dustye is the greatest cook and has a ton of recipes that she shares on her blog. You'll also get to see a picture of us together. I think if she gets some visitors she'll start posting more. You will love her.

One thing that is absolutely great about both is that they truly love the Lord. I have been so blessed and having these two wonderful women in my life is a huge thing to thank the Lord for everyday!!!

THANKFUL WEDNESDAY

2009-07-22T19:50:00.002-04:00

Greetings from Atlanta! It was not nearly as hot as it's been around here at times. Where did global warming go? I can remember summers that were nearly miserable. It's not bad lately. Thank the Lord!!! I have been thinking a lot about some of the things I am thankful for. This, of course, is not a complete list, but I will name a few of the many things I am positively thankful for: My Lord and Savior
my loving family
my wonderful friends
my rewarding work
a Bible believing church where I feel very accepted
my bibles
books
art and making art
my pets
taking classes and learning
beautiful uplifting music
fresh food
purses
a comfortable bed
big pillows, lots of them
the smell of Burberry cologne
hot showers with fluffy towels
crossword puzzles
going to lunch with my girlie friends
coffee and tea (hot or cold for both)
watching ballroom dancing
giggles until I cry
The Honeymooners
State Fairs
pretty lamps
a clear night with a full moon
lightning bugs
This is just a small list. I am thankful for a zillion things. I'm blessed.

Thank you Lord for another day

2009-07-21T20:40:00.002-04:00

Dear Lord,
Thank you for another day. As the sun goes down and I think about all I was blessed with today I just had to stop and think of all your splendor. You made the beautiful pink and purple sunsets and it's hard for me to believe someone could look at such beauty and not believe in You. Thank you that I can see the sunsets. Love, Patti aka Trish aka Nana
************************************************************************************
I have been trying to make an effort to be more positive and thankful and it is really working. I had been getting in a habit of complaining, if not outloud so much, in my heart. I don't want to be a crabby old woman. I want to be a woman that people like to be around. If Christ lives in me, He should be shining through me.

When I think back about how many neat summers I've had, I am thankful. There were summers when I was a little girl in Indiana and we'd get up early in the morning when it was still dark. We'd carry all our supplies out to the old Nash and get ready to go while everyone else was sleeping. It was an exciting time. My mother would pack up some yummy food in wax paper and I'd take my books and off we'd go. The night before I'd helped my daddy catch 'nightcrawlers' or worms to those of you not into fishing. It's amazing that I could see those worms and grab them and put them in the bucket. I thought it was fun and he seemed so happy that I could catch so many.

It's funny how well over 50 years ago these snippets of my life have comforted me so much. What precious summer memories do you have?

I'm Back

2009-07-20T21:35:00.002-04:00

Thanks for your patience. I have been taking a break and I will have pictures and lots to tell you. I needed a time to recharge and take a look at what is going on in my world. I have some ideas for some pictures and I have been reading and checking out what is going on with some of my friends from the 50's. Yes, I am old enough to have friends from that long ago. I got on classmates and found some friends that were so special to me and I just lost contact with them.

I have been so blessed to have such wonderful friends all through the years. I also have been blessed to meet some new friends, Dustye and Brenda (her cousin). We had the best time together. We went out to eat twice and then Dustye had to head back to California. We got to go antique shopping and Avery loved it. They are great people that made me feel like I've known them for years.

Our pastor is doing a series on Holiness and he is bringing out so many great points. He has stressed that "Right now I'm experiencing God's eternal love." Right now God loves others through me. There's such a freedom in knowing God takes care of us. I guess for a while I have kind of forgotten that. I needed to be reminded of that.

I have loved reading your sweet comments about my time off. It meant so much to me. I guess everyone sometimes feels like they don't have that much to say. I'm just so thankful for all the times that I have been uplifted by my blog friends. I wish I could visit with every one of you.

I thought the picture of Avery's eye was kind of neat. I got her freckles on the picture too. She likes to take very serious pictures and can't understand why people always tell her to smile in pictures. She's going to Hawaii for 11 days next month with her other grandparents. We are going to miss her, but it's a chance of a lifetime. She's really looking forward to it.

Have a wonderful week! I will be going to lots of hospitals this week and next for lots of meetings so I will be on the go. I pray you are having a great summer!

I'M TAKING A BLOGGING BREAK

2009-07-02T19:53:00.001-04:00

I will miss all of you, but when I come back I hope to be refreshed and I hope to do some art and more reading. I'm just on hiatus. I shall return.

2009-06-30T21:23:00.002-04:00

It's Tuesday and it seems like it has been a long week already. It's going to be a short work week due to the holiday, but it just seems to be dragging. So as not to be a downer, I will tell you the heat has been exhausting, but today the humidity was only 22%. That's wonderful for Georgia on the last day of June.

I have been dealing with lots of issues lately. I know we all do, but I just think I need some time to sort through some things. I am going to take some time away from posting. I know without a doubt that the Lord is with me. I know He loves me and wants the best for me. Those of you that will, please pray for me to have direction.

I will be back in a while. Love you guys.

My Time in Seattle

2009-06-25T19:22:00.011-04:00

I finally got the pictures to download. Sometimes I am amazed that I ever get these things to work. This has been a sad day for me. I thought Farrah was such a courageous person and she was really trying to win her battle, but she has gone home now. Then to hear about Micheal Jackson. It's such a reminder that death is no respecter of the famous or wealthy. He seemed like such a tormented soul.

I will show you some of the highlights of our trip. Our first morning we went to this wonderful little restaurant called Lola's. The food was very fresh and tasty. The toast was scrumptious and tasted like homemade bread.
On Saturday I took myself to the Seattle Art Museum. I was so excited because I thought I would get to see the Andrew Wyeth exhibit. Well, if you look closely you can see in the fine print that this amazing collection arrived today, June 25th. It's another case of a day late and a dollar short. The museum was interesting and had a great group of contemporary works.

I love raw oysters. I was not aware that there are so many different types of oysters. There was probably 50 kinds at this particular restaurant. The dip in the middle that looks like sorbet is actually shaved ice with a vinegar berry combo. Erica and I didn't care for it at all. I'm just a cocktail sauce kind of gal. I must tell you that every bit and morsel of seafood I had in Seattle was so fresh and tasty. I don't know if it was the Northern Pacific waters or what. These were delightful!

Here's a seafood chowder that had huge pieces of crab meat and fish that danced in my mouth.

The next yummy was fried Cheese Curds with jalapeno mint sauce. These came highly recommended by the shuttle driver. Beyond delicious!

Our group had a three hour version of Amazing Race in Seattle. It was a scavenger hunt that takes the participants all around the city. The next two pictures are of Erica and Chemika planning their strategy. There were 6 teams and they had clever color names like, Blues Clues, Orange Crush, Yellow Submarine, etc.

Here's Erica. She was on the Orange Crush team. They came in second place.

Here's Chemika intent on winning and you know what....the Yellow Submarines won!!

Here's the famous market where they throw the big fish. This street had grown so much since I was there in 1990. Lots of cutsie shops. There were flowers everywhere. Very inexpensive.

As we were walking along a girl was walking her baby pig. It was so cute. Avery would have loved him. So unusual to see a little piggie walking around.

Here's the famous Space Needle. This was from the hotel and it was an overcast day like so many of them. It hadn't rained in something like 29 days, a record I believe. The locals were getting very nervous. It was lovely cool weather in the 50's and 60's. Now I'm back in the HEAT and I do mean heat. I'm already longing for the fall and winter.

This was a great trip and I hope you get to visit Seattle some day soon. Friendly people and great food. Love it. I think it's a neat city, but the housing prices and cost of living seems to be higher than Atlanta. One of my friends had commented that they liked to visit Seattle, but she wouldn't want to live there. I totally agree. There were lots of homeless people. I imagine it would take lots of cash to live there. Another huge factor is that all my family is on the east coast or midwest. I don't want to be so far away from my loved ones. A visit is fine, but not anything on a permanent basis. I now see why you folks up in B.C. and Oregon and Washington love it so much. The trees were great and everywhere we looked at was like paintings. The boats and the water made me want to run back and start painting. Next summer our meeting will be in Hilton Head, S.C. so that will be close to home and quite a different setting. It's a relaxing quiet place. I hope you have enjoyed a little of my trip. I wish you could have all been with me.

Back from the West Coast

2009-06-24T20:46:00.003-04:00

I just can't get the blogger deal to load my other pictures. I will take my laptop to work tomorrow and see if they can check out why I am having these issues. This was going to be the last of many pictures in today's post. It was a view from our hotel and it was a fabulous sight to behold. That was a sailboat in the middle and it looked so pretty. Until I can get the other pics loaded I will tell you about what I thought of Seattle.

The people were very friendly. The views were gorgeous every where you looked. The art was everywhere. The food was some of the best I have ever had in my life. That's nearly sixty years and I have eaten tons probably.

If you ever, ever get the chance to go visit Seattle run don't walk to head to the airport. I must warn you though. It's very hilly by the wharf. There are great boats and tons to see. I hope you are not too disappointed about the pics, but I will try my best.

Great news! My daughter's biopsies came back no growth. I am walking on clouds. I will be back as soon as I get my computer to act right. It's good to be back.

UPDATE

2009-06-21T11:08:00.002-04:00

I'm still in Seattle, but leaving in a few hours. It has been a very busy time and I didn't try to post. The time change is a HOOT. I don't know how I'll ever get up in the morning to go to work. I have learned lots and had wonderful food and gobs of fun. I am so blessed. I'll post pictures when I get a chance. Love ya, Trish

Anniversary Cheesecake

2009-06-09T21:30:00.002-04:00

Mika, Saira and our cheesecake

I know this was not what I should have been having, but.........it is my 19th wedding anniversary and Mark is 175 miles away. Two of my friends and I brought our lunch, but then I had found a gift card for Cheesecake Factory in an old purse. Well, it just seemed like the right thing to do. So this afternoon we got a slice of happiness. OMG, it tasted wonderful. I know, Trish, don't complain about your biggie hips and you go to the CF and get such a decadent dessert. I wish you could have all been with us. We laughed and talked about Mika's upcoming wedding. This was a happy day. The picture has glare but we were having fun. I really think it's a good idea to have as much fun as you can. I'm not saying shirk your responsibilities, but laughing is so good for us. Sometimes my life is so full of stuff that I forget about the fun part. I'm trying to remind myself of it. Hooray for cheesecake. It always makes me smile.

Lazy June Days

2009-06-07T21:18:00.003-04:00

We had a very relaxing weekend. Saturday afternoon we went to my sister-in-law's house for a cook-out. The food was delicious and we had a great time catching up about life. She has a really pretty garden, as seen above. She has a waterfall and a fountain and the sound of the water is so soothing.

For lunch today Avery and I went to IHOP. We enjoyed it and Avery explained to me some theories about black holes and worm holes. She loves science and has read a lot about black holes. Of course, a day is not complete until Avery and I trek to the Books-A-Million.

I love this picture. She seems so interested in this book. It's about a 16th century French girl. Avery is getting into photography and she shot the top two pictures. I think she did a super job. I think she may be getting a new camera for her trip to Hawaii in September. I would love for her to take some neat shots and be able to remember every bit of her trip. She will be going to public school this year. It will be her first time in public school, but she's excited and it will be an adventure. I pray she finds some little friends who have some common interests.

I hope this will be a super duper week for you. Why do the weekends fly by???

Things You'll Probably Never Heard Said About Me

2009-06-02T20:57:00.002-04:00

The following list is not exhaustive, of course, but will give you a taste of things that will probably never be said about moi. My mother used to tell me, "Patti, Never is such a long time!" So I'm not saying these things are impossible, but highly, highly improbable.

"Lavinia dear, I've always thought Trish was such a neat-freak."

"It's a shame that you're such a picky-eater, Trish."

"Did you see Sparky and Trish riding their motorcycles?"

Lil Cindi and Trish were off to get their tattoos. This was beginning to become a habit for them.

Janeen and Trish strolled out of the beach house in their tiny bikinis.

Betsy was crazy about Trish's adorable new 4 inch heels. Too cute.

"Look at this lawn. Trish really has a Green Thumb."

Stevie Wren and Trish climbed the mountain, then took their places on the bridge getting ready to bungee jump.

Debby, Kat and Trish, "Now there's some dare-devils!"

Trish stayed in the woods camping in a tent and loving every minute of it. She's so athletic.

I hope I have not offended any of my readers that love to indulge in the above activities. I just wanted to let you know me a little bit better.

Now...consider yourself tagged and I want to know what won't be said about you. Love you guys.

New Banner

2009-05-31T12:47:00.002-04:00

This waterfall is not too far from our house in South Carolina. We pass by it to go to Avery's house and I have always loved the scene. Finally, Mark stopped on the bridge so I could snap a picture of it. It just all looks so peaceful to me and I think it would be great to have a house right by it.

This has been the best weekend. Friday night the three of us went to the drive-in and we saw UP. Then yesterday we went to a Chinese restaurant and afterwards Books-A-Million. Avery got some more of her Jim Benton books. She laughs and laughs when she reads them. Then last night we sat with her while she played some video games on Poptropica. It's a site her teacher showed the class. Then we watched some episodes of Gilligan's Island. Mark got the first season and we all enjoy them.

This has been a restful fun weekend. Some would think it was boring, but our gang thinks it's just great! I hope you have had a nice weekend. Back to work tomorrow!

Have a Happy Weekend!!! Happy One Year

2009-05-29T12:18:00.002-04:00

A year ago this week I actually started my blog. I was at my daughter's house dog/house sitting. Her and her husband took Avery to Disney for her first time in the Magic Kingdom. I had been reading others blogs, but took the big plunge when I was at her place and had lots of time. Jolie took this picture of Avery at Disney World after her 'make-over' with Jasmine's costume. She has grown so much in a year. Thank you everyone for indulging me by letting me share her pictures.

Have a super duper weekend and I'll try to post if I can get the time. Thanks for one big wonderful blogging year!!!! Love you guys!!!! Remember, Have Fun...Life is Short!!!!

2009-05-26T22:24:00.002-04:00

Thank you, Barb from French Elements for such an awesome award. I love the bling-bling crown and it's fun, but truly, I'm not queen of much of anything. I am flattered. This is a difficult task because it's usually a lot easier to think of things that I'm not good at. I will try and list seven things that make me awe-summm!!!

1) I usually don't act my age. I hope that's a good thing.

2) I love helping people. That has gotten me in trouble at times.

3) I enjoy meeting new people and finding out all about them.

4) I am crazy about my daughter and granddaughter, Avery.

5) I get passionate about things that are important to me. That has gotten me in trouble also.

6) I love to encourage people. There's so much in this world to bring us down that I love to cheer others on.

7) I love my friends.

Okay, that was not easy. I will follow the rules and tag 3 people with this Awe summmm award! I love to get to know others better so here goes. This is difficult because I have so many bloggy friends that I could tag, but for now:

Steviewren at A little Birdie told me so

Janeen at ChaChaNeen

Julie at Julie King Art

Thanks again, Barb!

Thank you for your Courage!!!

2009-05-25T12:51:00.002-04:00

We are so blessed to live in so much freedom. Thank you, those of you that have given for our many freedoms. Men and women that gave it all. We so appreciate so much because of you. God Bless you and your courage!

Where Does It Go?

2009-05-19T22:31:00.003-04:00

Lately I have been thinking a lot about time. Getting a handle on it is difficult. I understand the whole....as we get older the reference of all that's happened is different. But, why does it feel like it flies at lightning speed? Summers were so long when I was young and I couldn't wait to get back to school and be with my friends. Now it all zooms along.

I can remember things from fifty years ago and yet I may not be able to tell you what I had for lunch yesterday. Is it just me or do you have these time issues too? I started reading blogs in November of 2007 and in May of 2008 I started this blog. There's so much I still want to say and I'm so thankful for you. I love learning about your life and thank you for sharing mine.

8 Things

2009-05-13T20:36:00.002-04:00

I was visiting my friend, Brenna, at Gracefull Girl and she had a post I enjoyed. So I will take the challenge. Brenna is a wonderful, warm mother. She home schools and loves books. I think you would love her posts. Here goes:

8 Things I Am Looking Forward to:
1. Going to Seattle next month
2. Visiting my cousins and Aunt Jean this summer
3. Losing weight
4. Going to my girlfriend's wedding in Florida
5. Watching Avery grow up
6. Seeing my daughter's yard when she's done landscaping
7. Getting emails from my friends
8. Going to heaven

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Went to work
2. Ate Shrimp Salad
3. Mailed some things to my aunt
4. Watched American Idol
5. Read my Bible
6. Bought some cute shoes at Payless
7. Wrote an email to an old friend
8. Thought about making some purses

8 Things That Bring Me Peace and Comfort
1. Reading scriptures
2. Old hymns
3. Doing art with Avery
4. Sitting by a body of water
5. Closing my eyes and listening to our church choir
6. Being able to pay my bills
7. Prayer
8. Taking Naps

Okay, now consider yourself tagged by me. I want to know about you.

2009-05-07T17:19:00.002-04:00

First of all, thank you for all your prayers. We met with the doctor this morning and I had the nerve tests. He said that the MRI and nerve tests show that I now have arthritis in the top of my spine. He said there are three vertebrae that are messed up. I can't tell you how relieved I was to find this out. I have had arthritis in my hands, feet and knees for several years and I know that dealing with the chronic pain is one of the biggest parts of the disease for me. I suppose some people would be upset to find out this new information, but I feel like I can deal with it. I had imagined so many other things that, for me, would have been a lot harder to handle at this point.

I came home early today. I didn't sleep well last night and I guess all the waiting and wondering had gotten to me. I watched the Elizabeth Edwards interview with Oprah. They have a huge beautiful home. She has been through so much, losing a child, breast cancer, and then finding out her husband was having an affair and may have a baby with the woman. I think I might be interested in reading her new book.

I hope you have had a great day. I know that I feel a huge sense of relief. I feel like I can face things better once now that it has a name. I feel so blessed!

On the Countdown

2009-05-06T21:03:00.002-04:00

I will be heading to the neurologist for one more test. Then I'm supposed to meet to find out the results of my tests. My hubby is coming up to Atlanta tomorrow for the verdict. I told him he didn't have to, but he insisted. I am blessed. I have been thinking about it a lot. I have tried not to, but it will just float into my mind. If it's just something aggravating I will need to live with, I can do it. I just need to know what's wrong and the Lord and I can tackle it.

I needed a little treat tonight so I stopped by Barnes & Nobles and got my new copy of Artful Blogging. I love it. I find it super exciting to look at a whole magazine full of bloggers with so much artistic talent. I highly recommend it. I love to read the Q & A sections and the partial posts. It teases you to check out the blogs.

American Idol is on in the background and I kind of like Danny and Adam for the top two. I think Simon is cute. He is rude at times, but the contestants seem to respect his opinion more than the others. He doesn't sugar coat things. He's not my type as he is too cold and there are many other reasons, but just talking about looks, to me, he's cute.

I painted my nails with O.P.I, "Lincoln Park After Dark". It's kind of dark, but I think it's fun. Don't you ever wonder who these people are that create these names of our products. I mean, really, is this their whole job? Setting around staring at a polish color or lipstick color and making up a name. Crazy as it seems though, I always turn the bottle over in a flash to see the name. If it has a cute name it's just more fun. Okay, here's the question for you guys....have you ever known anyone that makes up these names? Just think there's hair colors, lipsticks, polish, foundations, blush, eye shadows and the list goes on. Might get boring after a while, but while it was fresh and new...what fun!!!!

Breakfast for Dinner

2009-05-05T21:18:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you, but I love to have breakfast for dinner. I only had cereal tonight, but it reminded me of when my mom would make a real breakfast for our evening meal. She'd fix the best scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, toast that was perfect with just the right amount of butter. It was so delicious. Now maybe I remember it as tasting fabulous and it really wasn't, but I don't think anyone would argue with me about it. She cooked it just right and I loved it. Why is it that our mothers cooked the best this or that? It must have been a very special ingredient. I think it was love.

Did your mama make you a special dish that you'll always remember?

2009-04-29T20:51:00.002-04:00

The very first thing I need to do is thank you so much for your prayers. I made it through the MRI all in one piece. Of course, I won't know the results until they get ready to share them. My husband drove up early this morning to go with me. He wanted to show support and I did appreciate it. After the procedure Mark and I went to IHOP and had a great breakfast together. Knowing how he hates the Atlanta traffic, it was very special to me.

I'm getting ready to watch American Idol. I need to just chill tonight. I appreciate all the great suggestions for relaxing. I usually read my bible at night and another book if I have the energy. On the weekends I love going to the park and reading while Mark and Avery ride scooters or, of course, going to the bookstore. Living in a bookstore would be the ideal place for me. I would serve scones and all kinds of tea and coffee. I would have my living part of the place in the back and the front would be a bookstore. I would have a couple of cats sleeping in the sun and my friends could drop by for a time to share and discuss books.

Some of you suggested I retire. I haven't always made such dynamic choices with money. Enough said. I am blessed that I have a job I enjoy, I just wish it wasn't so stressful. I guess that's just part of it though. So, needless to say, I will probably be in the workforce as long as the Lord allows me to work and gives me the strength.

Drop by for a While

2009-04-28T20:04:00.002-04:00

I shot this as I was walking out of my office this evening. I thought to myself, "Trish, wouldn't it be neat to invite all your friends to have a bite and some good iced tea." I wish I could bring everyone in. I'd have a limo pick all of you up at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport and bring you on up. We had a beautiful day and in fact, three of us sat outdoors and ate our lunch.

I'll be having my MRI tomorrow morning and I appreciate all your prayers. I pray it is something simple. The doctors can't figure it out and I've had so many friends trying to guess. Me, as well. Who knows? I guess at this point only the Lord knows. He made me so He will have to take care of me.

I had a big bowl of cereal for dinner and now I'm watching American Idol. I'm just trying to chill lately. Any suggestions? I'm open. I've been wound up tight for years and it's hard to unwind. Seriously, any ideas will be appreciated. :)

Aroma Therapy

2009-04-21T21:14:00.004-04:00

I took a lovely little trip to Whole Foods Market after work. It's a huge grocery with lots of natural foods and fruit, vegetables, fresh meats, etc. When I first walk in it always reminds me of my time living in Germany. The stores smelled so much like Whole Foods. Some of my friends call it 'Whole Paycheck', but you have to be selective and sometimes you really do get what you pay for. Well, my most favorite thing in the store is the section with the candles, creams, and delicious smelling things. I needed some aroma therapy and my inexpensive little trek took me to a happy place.

Where do you go when you need some relaxing, yummy smelling therapy?

Monday Ramblings from Georgia

2009-04-20T18:45:00.003-04:00

I wanted to give my friends an update. I have an appointment with the neurologist next Monday. I had a migraine that lasted 3 days last week and it really was on my last nerve, as we say here in the south. The numbness in my hands is still present and I am ready to feel better. I went forward yesterday morning at church to be prayed for and I do believe in healing. I appreciate those of you that are praying for me.

Saturday we went to a drive-in about 30 minutes from our home in South Carolina. We saw Monsters vs Aliens. It was cute and Avery certainly enjoyed it. She's having standardized tests this week and has been looking forward to it.

I have connected with my very best friend as I was growing up. I have a picture of us in Sunday School when we were two years old. So we really go back a long way. I haven't seen her in over 35 years and I hope to visit her this summer. That is something to look forward to. We used to talk for hours and hours sitting on our front steps talking about what our lives would be like when we grew up. I can't wait to see her in person and talk about how fast it all went and what really happened.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was very good. Not having that terrible headache is such a huge blessing!!!!

UPSIDE DOWN WORLD

2009-04-16T18:42:00.002-04:00

You wonder why I would title this post Upside Down World. Well, it's pretty simple. I feel like so many of the very basic things in our world are so different now. People that used to work in stores (department and otherwise) were friendly and seemed to have a knowledge about their products. I used to feel like if someone had a Bachelors or Masters degree they must have truly mastered some basic subjects, such as spelling, English, math,geography, etc. Now it seems like they are out there giving degrees if you can pay for it and have a warm body.

I have been going through some health issues. I haven't mentioned it on the blog because I just haven't. Tuesday I went to my doctor for more testing. I received a call this morning from the nurse saying that my electrolytes were all out of whack. She said my kidney function was really bad and that I needed to come in and do more tests. I go to the office and they took more blood and did a urinalysis (I know, TMI). Well, then the nurse told me that the doctor needed to talk to me. She tells me that she is referring me to a neurologist and that the lab called her just a few minutes before I arrived to tell her that they weren't sure if they had mixed up my blood with someone else or not. So she said it may have been my results, but then maybe not. So we had to have those blood tests today.

After work I dropped by the hairdresser's and got my hair trimmed a little. She started to tell me that she had a biopsy the first part of the week and then yesterday they called to tell her she has pancreatic cancer. Then she got a call to come into her doctor's office this morning and the doctor told her that the lab had mixed up the biopsies and she doesn't have pancreatic cancer, it was benign. She cried and was so upset that she didn't know what to do. Finally, she just realized that there isn't really much she can do.

This is why I feel like we are in the Upside Down World. If I didn't have the comfort and knowledge of the Lord I don't know what I would do. I am so weak, but He is so strong. No matter what I face He is there with me. Not having the knowledge of my salvation would have me feeling so helpless. His Word I trust.

I hope this doesn't sound too cynical, but I just needed to vent. I'll give you an update if that was really my blood results. Does this stuff happen to you more in the new century or is it just me?

Ramblings on a Tuesday Night

2009-04-14T21:22:00.002-04:00

Taylor, Pennye and Avery

At church Saturday morning the children had an egg hunt. This is Pennye, their Children's Church director. She is a dedicated Christian that has a special love for children and they certainly love her back.

Later that morning we realized Avery had an encounter with fire ants. She got swollen on her foot but is much better now. We colored eggs and then made some Ohio Buckeye candy. It's peanut butter with chocolate. They were excellent and she got a kick out of making them. Sunday we went to my sister in law's for dinner and had ham, turkey, macaroni and cheese, green beans, rolls and various desserts (Avery's included).

Last night we had a terrible storm here in Atlanta and it knocked out the power until 4:30 this morning. This evening it has gotten cooler and I am so happy I have electricity. I really think it's one of those things that I need to tell the Lord how much I appreciate more often. It was so dark and quiet. I did enjoy the quiet, but it was so very dark. My husband is very safety conscious and he has set me up with fire extinguishers and battery lamps. I appreciate that too.

I am starting a new book by Francine Rivers, "Leota's Garden". This will be my first book by this author, but I have heard good things about her. Have you read any of her books?

I Feel Like I Must Confess, Johnny Rockets

2009-04-07T19:40:00.004-04:00

Okay, what is it with me? Knowing I have to climb into a big plane and go to Seattle in a cramped up coach seat in June. So what did I do for lunch? I went with one of my peeps over to Johnny Rockets. Yes, I have a big issue. I get anxious and what do I do? Eat a big greasy hamburger, french fries, vanilla coke and to-go a peanut butter shake. Oh that wasn't bad, Trish. Only about 3000 calories. Boys and girls, I am beyond the trying to be cute stage. I have got to fit in an airplane seat and airplane bathroom because the trip is all the way across the US of A.

I know we went down this road a couple of months ago and I lost 21 lbs. and boom hopped right off the diet and now I have to get serious. I don't want to be miserable. I want to be able to scoot in the seat and actually be able to move around. Us thick chicks have a challenge in airplane seats. Probably if you are sitting there with a tiny little rear you have no idea from where this craziness comes. Another funny little seat is at a ball game. I thought I would have to be removed with the Jaws of Life at the end of the Toronto Blue Jays game.

I must get my friend Maree to inspire me some more. She has a wonderful blog At Home. She lost a bunch of weight (like 50 lbs or so) She's cute as a button and I need to put her picture on my screen saver at work so I am constantly reminded that this is all possible and I have to stop feeling sorry for myself. She has been busy and not posting as much as she was and I hope I am not thinking this is an excuse for me to pig-out. Please come back Maree. I need your inspiration. What is wrong with me?

Thank you Ruthie !!!

2009-04-06T21:26:00.003-04:00

I won Ruthie's giveaway over at her blog Just Ruthie. She had her one year anniversary of her blog and I commented. She sent the sweetest gifts. An apron, dish towel, pot holder, coffee mug, shopping list, pen, socks,little notebook for my purse, and a neat little recipe for a chocolate cake made in the mug. Doesn't that sound fun? All the items have coffee names on them latte, espresso, cafe au lait, Americano, Macchiato, etc.

I tried to put the little thank you card where you could read it, but I think it's too small. That's what I get for trying to be a little clever :) I had a very frustrating Monday so when I got home and found my package I just did a happy dance.

Blogging is so fun and you make so many neat friends. Thanks again Ruthie.

Dooley and Avery

2009-04-04T22:30:00.002-04:00

Many of you know that we have several dogs here at 'dogtown2'. Here's my girl with drooley Dooley. He's of course named after Vince Dooley, the former head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs.

Rambling

2009-04-02T18:52:00.002-04:00

The picture on my banner is one of my favorites of Avery. I think it really suits her personality. She is quiet and reserved and this picture says that to me. Here it is Thursday night and I look forward to heading home tomorrow evening. We don't have any big plans for the weekend. I kind of look forward to resting, reading and doing the chores I need to do. I need to do some spring cleaning and since it's now April, I need to get with the program.

I switched purses this morning and realized that every time I switch I have so much stuff to throw away. I think I've told you guys before....I love purses. Since I was old enough to know about purses I have found them fascinating. Some women love the shoes. I love the bags. They just don't excite some of my friends, but holy moley, I think they are a delightful accessory. For years my daughter didn't care that much about purses, then about five years ago.boom.she caught the bug. Now we both love us some purses. I have to be careful that I don't get them too big. I keep putting more stuff in them and they get so loaded up that they are too heavy.

Are you a purse lover? Please share your fascination with them. There must be some of you that also have a special love for them. Surely I'm not alone.

Huge Giveaway at Barb's

2009-04-01T21:31:00.003-04:00

Ladies, I have a huge deal for you. Barb over at French Elements is having a wonderful big giveaway. She has these exotic products and you need to run over there to post a comment to win. Don't just go because of the giveaway. Barb is a sweet and wonderful person. She needs your prayers for her son. He has been hospitalized for an extended period of time and her family needs us to hold them up to the Lord. I know you will be happy reading Barb's posts and I'm happy to introduce you to her.

Update in Patti's World

2009-03-31T20:32:00.002-04:00

Here it is Tuesday night and I thought I would give you guys an update on my comings and goings. Nothing huge, but I felt like I should let you know what's happening. It's a rainy night in Georgia and it makes me kind of chill out. I have American Idol on in the background and I'm waiting on the tv show The Mentalist.

This month has flown. I was on a business trip the first week of the month in Texas and then my family emergencies. Then I got sick and now here it is the last day of March. Work has been hectic and so many have been out with various illnesses.

Avery got some exciting news the other night. Her grandparents (daddy's parents) said they would like to take her to Hawaii the first week of September. Well, needless to say, she is thrilled. I would imagine we will be discussing what she will see there, what she will wear there, and every aspect of the trip. I'm so happy for her. I think it will be a great opportunity for her.

I listened to StevieWren's suggestion and I have started the Twilight series. It's great so far. It's easy reading and draws you right in. Stephenie Meyer is a neat writer. She gives lots of details, but it doesn't get bogged down. Fast, fun, reading. Thanks Stevie.

I commented on someone's blog last night and it got me thinking about some of my oldest friends. I miss them. Wouldn't it be fun to just be able to hop on a plane or in the car and go visit? We could catch up and talk about those fun old days. We'd talk about how skinny we were and how we worried so much about what we would be doing on the weekend. I should have been studying and listening more, but NOOOO I was writing notes and doodling. Well, not all the time, but I should have been working my butt off. It wasn't until college, as an adult, that I got serious and worked hard. Silly Patti.

The Lord has watched over me and still continues to help me with disappointments and heartaches. He's always the same and I am so thankful for that.