My Magical Afternoon

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?

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

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!!!!

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

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

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!

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!