Well, the Braves lost...

I am a Braves fan, though, and I'm not ashamed of them. I think, with what they had to work with, they had a very good season. They had lots of injuries, lots of youngsters, but they also had heart. You can think what you want, but the Braves had a good season despite what some perceive as "choking" in the NLDS.

Giants showed a lot of class last night. While they were celebrating their win on the field, the Braves fans called for Bobby to make a curtain call. He did. The Giants stopped their celebration in order to applaud Bobby on his history-making career. A very classy and respectful gesture on their part.

The Phillies, too, showed a lot of class and respect for Bobby during the last regular season series they played with the Braves. During Bobby's ceremony on Saturday, the Phillies lined the rail in their dugout to watch and listen as Bobby's career was being highlighted. They came onto the field to give Bobby a standing ovation. Honestly, I didn't expect that from them.

So, go Giants and Phillies. May the better team win.

And so long, Bobby. Thanks for a wonderful ride. We'll see you in the Hall of Fame.

.

Fall is in the air

The crisp, cool mornings!

The start of high school football! Go Warriors!!

The start of college football! Go Tigers!!

And the winding down of baseball season. :(

Right now, the Braves are leading the division by 3 games over the Philthies.

I'm really going to miss baseball. Good thing I have football to pacify me until spring training!

:)

August 26

Today is a very special day. Today is the birthday of the most wonderful woman I've ever known.

She's kind. Generous. Selfless. Loving.

My vocabulary isn't vast enough to sing her praises. So I simply say...

I love you Mama! Happy birthday!

Tomorrow, August 18th, 2010

Is our seventh anniversary. SEVEN years!! My how time flies!



Have you ever wondered how we met?



No? Too bad, I'm going to tell you anyway.



I used to frequent an Atlanta Braves chatroom. A bunch of folks from there would meet up every year at a Braves game. We had so much fun. I met a family from NC (man, wife, daughter) at the first meet up. We became quick friends.



Anyway, when the chatroom closed, we remained friends. The daughter emailed me to let me know there was an unofficial Braves chatroom and bulletin board.



Once while looking through the bulletin board, I noticed one thread immediately. It was a book signing just 1 1/2 hours from my house. I posted asking what the book was about. The author posted a description.



Then my friend sent an email saying she had purchased one of these books (murder mystery) and it was a good book, so I decided I'd like to have one.



The book signing was on a Saturday, but it was the same day one of my best friend's was getting married. And I was doing the wedding cake, so I couldn't get to the signing. I posted on the board, giving him my email address, so he could tell me how to get in touch with him to buy a book.

Here's his book: http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=9825

Turns out, he lived less than 20 miles from me. We planned a time where I could come by to buy my copy.



I went by his house one Thursday after work to get the book. I bought his book. And he let me "borrow" another of his books. (I later found out this was just so I'd have to come back to his house to return the book).



Anyway, we went on our first date that next Tuesday.



We were engaged a month and a half later.



We were married 2 1/2 months after that!



And it's been seven years. And I love him more each and every day.



God sure knew what he was doing when he joined these two hearts.

Happy Anniversary Baby! I love you!

Memories

I was at Mom's the other night going through some old pictures. Look what I found!




It was one of Jonathan's birthday cakes. He was a die hard Braves fan back in the day. He's still a fan, although not as FANATIC as his sister and her husband, Tim.

Just brought back some sweet memories and thought I'd share.


.

Ten things you might not know about me

(1) I'm a HUGE Braves fan (literally and figuratively)

(2) I once fell out of a moving vehicle

(3) I'm smarter than I give myself credit for

(4) I love my family more than anything else in the world

(5) I really, really like ice cream

(6) Although I'm a baker, I don't really like cake

(7) I love to read cookbooks

(8) I know a gazillion people (or so it seems sometimes)

(9) I am blessed enough to have had the best parents in the whole wide world

(10) I have really great friends

.

Yeah, it's been a while

I promise I'll try to do better. *blush*

So much stuff to blog about, so little time to blog.


.

Doing things you have to do, not things you want to do

After losing my Daddy back in 2004, my new husband, Tim and I decided we should take care of our "affairs" should something happen.

Did we? No, of course not.

But, after losing my brother Chris less than a month ago, I know it's something we need to do.

You would not believe how organized he had things for Judith. But, that's my Chris.

I've contacted my HR person to see how much life insurance I have on myself and on my husband. I'm updating beneficiary information.

I'm trying to write a will. Before I go to a lawyer, I want to have in mind what I want to happen. Have you ever done that? It's HARD.

At 41, I think I'm fairly young. But Chris was only 33.

You're never too young to get your affairs in order.

Write down insurance company and policy number information. Know who your beneficiaries are and if they need to be updated, DO IT.

Write down who your mortgage is with and if you have life insurance on the mortgage.

Write down all your creditors, account numbers and contact information.

There's so much stuff to write down and make your loved ones aware of.

*sigh*

I'm a fun loving, life loving person. I don't want to think about death.

But sometimes you have to do things you HAVE to do, not the things you WANT to do.

Do it. Your loved ones will appreciate it.

.

I'm ready for fall, how about you?

It was hot for about a week in February. I thought we were going to have to turn on the air then, but we suffered through it. It turned cool again and stayed cool for a good while.

Thankfully!

We just turned on the air conditioner at the beginning of May.

And now it's running non-stop!!

I'm so ready for cooler weather. And it's not even June yet!!

*sigh*


.

*sigh*

So, I think the Mutts and the Braves are fighting over LAST place in the Eastern Division.

Now, I know you can't win them all. And the close games really hurt. But c'mon guys. Play with some heart!!

I think I need to give Bobby Cox a call!

.

Thoughts and Memories of Chris

This is the eulogy I gave celebrating Chris' life:

Today, I fully admit I’m a very selfish person. There are so many people who could have spoken today, but I selfishly asked Judith for the opportunity. Thank you Judith.

I’m here to honor one of the most wonderful men I’ve ever known. There may be a lot of men people consider “great”. The man I’m talking about didn’t invent electricity. He didn’t win a noble peace prize, though sometimes he could have. He didn’t stop global warming. He wasn’t rich or famous.

But having known him makes all of us much richer. And going by the number of people who have called, emailed, posted messages on facebook, and visited, maybe he was famous after all.

As Judith can tell you, they couldn’t go anywhere that someone didn’t know him. I know I can be somewhere out and about and 9 times out of 10 someone will come up to me and ask “Aren’t you Chris Cheek’s sister?” Now, being from a small town, a lot of us probably get that. But just by the number of people who have expressed their love and sympathies over the last few days is a testament to how great Chris really was. Aren’t you proud to know him?

The other night at the hospital, me and Chris and Judith were talking. I was telling her about when he was a kid. He used to make this cute little face and say “Remarkable!”

Remarkable. That’s the perfect word for him.

When Tracy and I were in school, we were in the same grade. Just a couple of years after Chris was born, one of our school projects was to write a poem. Daddy helped us write one. Now, Daddy was a wonderful poet. He got that from his Mom. And it was passed on to Chris. And luckily, since we had different teachers, we just wrote the one poem to share. I doubt nowadays you could do that. But anyway, it went something like this:

I have a little brother and his name is Chris
Before Mama got his hair cut, people thought he was a miss.
He’s a cute little fellow and as sweet as pie.
He’s got a great big smile and a twinkle in his eye.
I want all you folks to know, including my mother,
I’m just proud to say, he’s my baby brother.

Everything written 30 years ago still applies today. Cute. Sweet. The big smile. That twinkle in his eye. And the pride we feel for having him as a brother.

I’ve always been proud of Chris. But never was I more proud of him than last night. People paid their respects to him for over 6 hours. It makes me so proud to know he had such a positive impact on so many lives.

Through the years, there have been some “well-meaning” folks who expressed concern over Chris’ size over the years. They were “concerned” for his health. Well, besides the diverticulitis problem, he was probably one of the healthiest people among us. He wasn’t diabetic. He didn’t have high blood pressure. His cholesterol was better than probably most of ours here. Before the clots affected him, there was not a thing wrong with his heart. His heart. It was so big and full of love.

He was healthy as a horse. Heck, he could walk the back 9 at Chickasaw Point carrying a golf bag without getting winded. They asked me to tag along to take pictures once. I used a cart.

During a trip to Helen, GA once, with a bunch of healthy youth, we visited Anna Ruby Falls. It was about a half mile walk up the hill to the waterfall. The first one there? Chris. The rest of us were struggling. He and Judith honeymooned in Helen 4 years ago. Just a couple weeks ago, they were able to celebrate their 4th anniversary in Helen. And, yes, Chris made it to the top of Anna Ruby Falls.

My thoughts are, God made Chris into the big ole bulky teddy bear he was to make him more memorable. Whether someone ever spoke to him or not, merely his presence was enough to make him memorable. Not counting his quick smile. And that little bit of mischief that was always lingering, ready to pounce. The ready hug he had for those he loved. He was the most giving, kind hearted soul you will ever know. Just knowing him makes your life much richer, much brighter and more joyous.

I know I’ve told some of you this already, but I’ve been thinking about what life means. It can be so many things to so many people. When you’re a baby, it’s all about adults making idiots of themselves goo’ing and gaa’ing over you. As a toddler, life is learning to walk and talk and explore new things. When you get into kindergarten and grade school, it’s about making sure you get the best swing at recess. In middle school and high school, it starts being about the right clothes and the coolest friends. As an adult, the list is endless.

But to Chris, life was all about family and love. As Tim said many times, to Chris, a stranger was just a friend he hadn’t met yet. And with Chris, you always knew where you stood. If he loved you, you knew it without a shadow of a doubt. Don’t get me wrong, he had those moments, he was a Cheek after all, but five minutes later he was his old, lovable self again.

He loved his family more than anything else in this world. His Daddy was his hero. He thought his Papa hung the moon. And his Mama? Well, let’s just say, you don’t mess with his Mama. Or Jonathan. Or his sisters. Or any of his family. Or friends who became family.

And the person he loved with every fiber of his being was Judith. It’s the sweetest, most complete love I’ve ever seen. And the best part about that love is that Judith returned it fully and completely. If you got a program today*, you can see the depths of that love. He wrote that poem for her about 2 weeks ago for their 4th anniversary.

Judith, four years is such a short time, but I can guarantee you will feel his unfailing love and those strong teddy bear arms around you for the rest of your life.

And now, you’re stuck with us. Once you’re a Cheek, whether by birth, by marriage or just by love, you’re a Cheek for life. You’re my sister for the rest of our lives. And I promise to love you and take care of you for the rest of my life.

I was thinking about the rain this morning. With Chris’ sense of humor, I can imagine him saying, “What are you crying for? You want water, have some rain!” He doesn’t want us to cry right now. He wants us to celebrate life. He wants us to be happy for him.

Brian and I have decided we’re jealous. I want to see what he’s seeing right now. Can you imagine the welcome Chris got in Heaven? I know Daddy was the one who carried him in. I can imagine Jesus was there to say, “Chris, welcome home son. Have I got a job for you!” I know he had so many family and friends there to meet him. Aren’t you jealous?

His job now is to watch over the ones he loved so much. Judith, you know your teddy bear is always there. Watching you and loving you.

Now, I beg all of you, take your best memory of Chris, place in your heart and share it with others. Whatever it was that he brought to your life, he would want you to share with others. Please do that in celebration of him.



*There was a poem in the program written by Chris for Judith for their 4th anniversary.


Now, I know I've shared this on Facebook and a bulletin board I frequent. But I can't think of a better way to honor him today. There's so much more I could say. But this is the Chris we all know and love.

.

Few posts in April, first one in May.

I thought it fitting to keep the organ donation post up for the entire month, so that's why only a few in April.

Then, at the end of the month, our world changed. It's been hard. I haven't been able to post. But I'm going to try to get back on track now. I want to post about Chris soon. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. Maybe after while.

Meanwhile, please continue to keep us all in your prayers. Losing Chris was like losing my right arm. I miss him like crazy. But I know he's in better hands now.

April is National Organ Transplant Awareness Month

While I applaud those who have the little heart on their drivers license indicating they're willing to be an organ donor when they die, I have a friend in North Carolina who is a true organ donor hero.

At least in my eyes. And her little friend, Princeton's eyes.

I cannot tell the story any better than she does. So, here's Ann's story. (Suggestion: Get your tissues ready!)

On April 15, 2000, my long-time friend and co-worker gave birth to her second child, a little male cherub who seemed perfect in every way. He was the cutest thing, and had the deepest dimples, even as a tiny baby. He was a good baby—never fussy or irritable.

Immediately after his birth, he experienced what appeared to be a classic newborn case of jaundice. He was placed under a bili light for a few days, and his mom placed his bassinet near the window, which helps diminish jaundice as well. It seemed to resolve, and he thrived for a couple of months. When she took him in for his 3-month appointment, she alerted the doctors, as she had on prior visits, that Princeton’s little belly seemed large in comparison to the rest of his body, and that his color was too deep of a yellow. The doctors had shrugged her off several times. On this visit, Princeton saw a nurse practitioner, who took a closer look, and agreed that further testing needed to be done.

His labwork was drawn, and later that day, his mom’s heart was breaking, and the nightmare started to unfold. His liver enzymes were dangerously elevated, his blood clotting factors were at critical levels, and he was sent immediately to the nearest pediatric hepatologist (liver specialist). He was promptly hospitalized and the lifetime of pokes, prods, and nasty medical tests began. He stayed at that facility a week, and was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a congenital defect, meaning that his bile ducts never formed, therefore did not drain, and this caused diffuse scarring of his liver, and immediate liver failure. She was told that he would need eventual transplantation, but there were several avenues that the doctors/surgeons wanted to explore first.

As we live in the day of managed care, of course Princeton couldn’t remain with the doctors that his mom had grown to trust and rely on. Because of insurance management, he was sent to a larger facility almost 3 hours from home. This became a blessing in the end, because this facility was experienced at handling many more pediatric cases, very successfully.

More tests were done, and a surgery was done in an attempt to form bile ducts using pieces of small intestine. It seemed to work for few weeks, his color was slighty pinker, but, as is usual with this procedure, after a few weeks, the surgery failed and he was back to Ground Zero.

The next year was spent in and out of the hospital. He would become very easily dehydrated. Since he couldn’t digest fats, everything he ate literally “ran right through him.” He looked like a little concentration camp victim. He never faltered or failed to give a smile, though. He always had the sweetest little disposition.

In the fall of 2001, a pediatric liver of his same blood type became available. The transplant surgeons had to make the call to give it to a child who was much sicker, using the scores that keep everything fair. His parents were devastated, of course, but never felt bitter (isn't this a lesson to us all?), because this was someone’s child as well. And as sick as he was, everyone was awestruck that Princeton never ACTED sick.

After New Years Day 2002, the surgeons told Princeton’s parents that he would surely die within a few months if he didn’t get a liver. They were advised to talk to family members and friends, to see if anyone would consider living liver donation. Princeton’s mom is a different blood type, which excluded her from donation, and his dad is a big strapping fellow, which meant his liver would be way too large for such a little fragile guy. No one else in the family would agree to be tested, not because they didn’t love Princeton, but because they were fearful for themselves and their own children.

Around the middle of January, I received a call at work from my friend, his mom. I had just started a new job, six months earlier. Her voice cracked and wavered. She knew that I was the same blood type, and asked if I would consider donation. She said that she understood if I couldn’t, and that it was one of the hardest things she had ever done in asking me, but that she didn’t want to lose him. I wasn’t taken aback at all, but I was very humbled (another lesson!), and told her gently that I would discuss it with my family, and would let her know very soon.

I thought about things on the long drive home that afternoon, and was washed in THE most peaceful feeling I’ve ever experienced. I knew it would happen and I knew that all would be fine. I sprang everything on my husband and two daughters when I got home that evening. I told them that I knew it sounded scary, but that I wasn’t afraid. I asked for their permission to proceed. It was a unanimous vote for Mom to get tested. I also shared the news with my own mother and my best friend, both of whom promptly hit the roof. I managed to pull them back down, smooth everything out and tell them to deal with it, because it was going to happen, with or without their support.

Of course, being one of the largest facilities in the Southeast, it took FOREVER to get an evaluation appointment at Duke. It was March 23 before I was able to schedule the first, which consisted of meeting with the surgeons, discussing the actual surgery, and them asking me 10,000 times if I really wanted to proceed. I also was weighed against my will, had an EKG and Chest x-ray done, and had 30 vials of blood drawn. I told my husband that night, that if I passed all the blood tests, I was sure it was safe to keep sleeping with me. (LOL!)

I passed all those tests, and went the next month for an MRI with contrast. The month after, I went back for an angiogram. In June, I went for an ERCP, the most vile of all the tests, and passed out vomiting in the shrubs after the test, waiting for my husband to pull the van around. I passed all with flying colors (I’m a healthy old heifer), and the surgery was scheduled for 6/24/02.

On that morning, I was at the hospital at 5am, and was promptly disrobed and knocked out, and surgery started for me at around 7am. We were in parallel operating rooms, and a surgeon was brought in from Kansas City, as this was a relatively newer procedure, and he was qualified to perform it. Each of our surgeries took about 8 hours.

My first recollection was around dinnertime, waking up, seeing my hubby, mom, girls, Princeton’s parents and all my sibs gathered around the bed. I thought I must have died, because I couldn’t imagine everyone had traveled that distance to see me. I finally choked out enough air to ask how the baby was. There were grins all the way around. He was doing fine, as was his brand new liver.

For the surgery, the left lobe of my liver was removed, as were half of my bile ducts, arteries and veins. Some spare vein was taken from my left thigh to give him enough to grow on. I awoke with a big thick Mercedes incision across my belly, an incision on my thigh, various drains, catheters, IVs in my neck and arms, and heart monitor, etc.

It was still THE BEST feeling in the world, knowing how Little Guy was doing. I was in ICU overnight, and then transferred to the surgical unit. I never had much pain, just awful nausea and some deep soreness. Of course I walked and walked, but the best walk was what seemed like 2 miles across the hospital (wearing my floral print muu-muu), to see Princeton when he was finally off the ventilator, a couple of days later. His mom plopped him in my lap and I honestly felt like he was mine.

I went home on Saturday, after Monday’s surgery. Princeton went to Ronald McDonald house about a week later, and had to stay there a little over a month, until the docs were sure all was fine. His mom sneaked him home before it was time, because he was pining for all the home folks. They made a quick visit, and then made the 3 hour trip back.

In the almost eight years since the surgery; he’s done very well. He’s had a few episodes of mild rejection and bounces back harder each time. He’s the star of his class, and wins the heart of everyone he meets.

The only fear I had going into the surgery was financial. I’d just started a new job and had only minimal paid time off available. I told the Universal powers that be, that if this was indeed Divine Will, I would appreciate some help with this. I was touched and surprised when I returned to work, after 6 weeks, with 400 PTO hours LEFT in my bank. My co-workers had banded together, most of whom I didn’t even know, and had donated time to me. I still cry when I think about their generosity. (I still don't understand why it takes a crisis for folks to band together, but I'm sure grateful when they do, aren't you?)

My message here is long, but important. Please, if the need ever arises, consider organ donation, whether it’s during this lifetime, or after you or a loved one passes. The whole experience has been such a blessing to my life, as I watch this little fellow growing and striving. He’s one of our hopes for tomorrow. There are plenty more out there just like him, waiting to be nurtured and healed.

Oh, and I made three predictions to his mom as I held him in my arms that day in the hospital: he would love white women (he’s not white), his favorite word would be (mine), and he would love peanut butter (he wouldn’t touch it at the time, but it’s my all-time favorite food). So far, all three have come to pass.

Here is what Little Man looked like just a couple of weeks before surgery:

And here is three weeks after surgery, when his mom brought him home for a surprise visit:

And here we are in April 2010, on my front porch steps:

God Bless you Ann and Princeton. And all the lives you've touched with this story.

If this doesn't move you in some way, your heart is made of stone. And you might even need a heart transplant. ;)

Now, if you don't have that little heart on your drivers license, will you reconsider?

.

Now THIS is a home opener!

I'm an emotional person. Most of my friends know that. But I'm also very passionate about certain things. Family. Friends. Cooking. And Baseball.

Yes, I said baseball. Particularly BRAVES baseball.

I've loved baseball since I was a little girl. Wanna know how it started?

When I was a little girl, we used to visit my cousin's grandmother on the "other side" (not my grandma). She lived in Georgia. When we visited in the summertime, if the Braves were on, you either watched the Braves or you went in the other room so as not to disturb her.

She was a spry little lady. She dipped snuff (eww!). She loved my Daddy (and the rest of us) as much as she loved her own children and grandchildren. Even though she didn't have much patience with people interrupting "her" Braves, she took the time to teach me who was who and what was what.

I was about 4 or 5. I'm 41 now. My love for her and the Braves has grown exponentially.

She died several years ago. I'm glad she lived to see the Braves come in to their own for a few years. She (we) suffered through the days of 100 loss seasons. We liked to say we are fans from the good ol' days.

I'm very passionate about my family and friends, my love of cooking. And the Braves. And Granny Collins.

I miss you Granny Collins. But I know you and Daddy are rooting for us to win it all this year!

Oh, and yesterday's home opener?

We blasted the Cubs 16 to 5! What a way to start off Bobby's farewell tour!!

Win or lose, it's going to be a great year.
.

Happy Easter

I'm so ready for baseball

The season can't come fast enough.

C'mon Braves! Let's have a great season.

Not only for you, but for Bobby, too!

And for me?!?!?!?! :)

.

Amish Friendship Bread... turns into cake!

Have you ever had a friend or family member pass along one of those friendship bread "starter" bags. You know, the bags full of goop?

Someone at my Mom's school gave her a starter bag of Amish Friendship Bread. It's a cinnamony bread. It's delicious!!

But when you "feed it" before you make your bread, you wind up with 3 or 4 bags of goop to give away.

I tried Mom's bread and it was delicious. And I thought it would be really good if you added some shredded apples and chopped pecans and made it into a layer cake. With cream cheese icing.

So, Mom gave me 2 bags of the starter goop to make my cake. (I didn't think one batch would be enough for 3 layers.)

I mixed up the cake according to the recipe. I added 2 (peeled and shredded) Granny Smith apples and a bunch of chopped pecans. I like pecans!

It made 3 cake layers and 18 muffins!

I baked and let them cool. Before baking the muffins, though, I added some cinnamon and sugar to the top. It baked up all crispy and delicious!

Here's a few pics of the cake. (Sorry, no pics of the muffins.)




Want some? (and no, I didn't put the pepper in the cake...
I just have a reeeaaaally small kitchen)





Here ya go!






I did this a while back, but just now getting around to posting about it.

.

Busy week...

Hopefully next week will be better.

.

A very cool love story...

My online friend Denise has a very special brother in law. On May 7th, his 55th birthday, he will be getting married!!

Want to know what’s so special about him? Read on to see how Denise tells the story…

“He's very special, and has the purest and most loving heart I've ever encountered. I have never heard him say a negative word about his life...most of the time, his sentences are prefaced with "I'm so lucky..."

“Want to feel good about your life? He was born with cerebral palsy. After his parents divorced when he was a child, he lived with his mother, little sister, and my husband (his older brother) in a manufactured home. One night when he was 12 (a night when my now husband happened to be staying with their father), their mom left burning cigarettes in the trash can after a small party. The home caught on fire and his mother and little sister were trapped in the blaze and killed. Unable to walk or escape on his own, he screamed from his bedroom and firemen were able to pull him to safety through a window. He suffered serious and permanent lung damage in the blaze.”

“He's been in a wheelchair since childhood, and had to have a leg amputated due to diabetes about 15 years ago. He can do very little for himself, and has lived in an assisted living facility for many years. His fiancee (who also has an apartment in his facility), is a spunky little brainiac (also with CP) who is highly independent, works as an advocate for the physically challenged, and has been encouraging him to overcome his own boundaries by teaching him how to use the paratransit resources available to them...she is 52.”

"We just booked our plane tix to go to the wedding in 6 weeks, and I'm so psyched.”

Isn't that a very cool love story, indeed? Please join me in wishing them a lifetime of happiness and love.


.

Driving

Do you like to drive?

I do. I love for us to get in the car, with no particular destination, and just drive to see where we end up.

Now, that's odd, I guess, coming from someone who didn't get her drivers license until she was 24 years old! (Long story, maybe another time)

Now, once I got my license, I would drive anywhere, anytime. I'd take off to Atlanta to see the Braves. (Did I ever mention how much I love the Braves?) :)

I'd take an afternoon drive and end up somewhere I've never been. I once ended up in Spartanburg. Couldn't tell you how I got there, but it took me 5 or 6 hours. And I had to call Daddy and tell him where I was and ask how in the heck to get back home!

Then I learned to read maps. :D

Now, with all these folks with GPS systems (which are wrong sometimes!) I think people have stopped using their common sense.

And what's with people driving 45 in the "fast lane" (what ever happened to slower drivers keep right?)

And people pulling out in front of you when there's no one behind you. But they can't wait 5 seconds for you to get past them. Their time is precious.

Then they turn 3 driveways down the road.

Oh, and don't even think about anyone using a signal. Because if they do, they FORGET TO TURN IT OFF!

Anyway.... I do like to drive.

Do you?

.

What cancer CAN'T do...

It can't cripple love


It can't shatter hope


It can't corrode faith


It can't eat away peace


It can't destroy confidence


It can't kill friendship


It can't shut out memories


It can't silence courage


It can't invade the soul


It can't reduce eternal life


It can't quench the Spirits


It can't lessen the power of the resurrection


Please pray for everyone who is affected by this horrible disease.




.

Daylight Savings Time...

Boy, could I use my hour back! How about you?

*yawn*

.

So excited for a friend!

I have an online friend named Jenny. And, although we've not met in person, I've known her for 3 or 4 years now. (Might be longer, but I'm getting old and can't keep track of time.) She lives in California. She's as sweet as she can be and is beautiful, inside and out.

Her daughter just turned 15 in February. She has wanted to get into modeling (she's about 6' tall!) and last October, she signed with a talent agency. She had a photographer shoot her portfolio. Here are a few pictures.

Then, in November, she got a call from another agency. This agency is in San Francisco and is a much bigger market. They wanted to interview her. So Jenny took her to San Francisco. She interviewed for her first job later in the month. It was for a Sony PlayStation ad. She got the job! How exciting! Here are a few pictures from the set of the ad.

With the director:

On the set:

As Jenny said - every (teenage) girl's dream:

She's done some other things, too. Here are a few pictures from a fashion show she did:

Then, in late February, just days after her 15th birthday, she gets another call. Possibly THE CALL to shoot her to super stardom. (I can hope, can't I?) It seems Armani is doing a showing of his Niemann Marcus clothing line in San Francisco. And he hand-picked her to model! How cool is that? Here are a few pics (from Jenny's cell phone) from that event.

Hair:

Makeup:

The venue:

The star:

And here she is modeling the dress Jodie Foster wore to the Golden Globes.

And, just so you know, her daughter isn't the only shooting star in the family!

The day her daughter got the call about the Armani show, her son came in from baseball practice and shared something that happened at practice. It seems when he arrived, the coach asked him if he was ready to pitch. He said, "Sure, Coach!" The coach said, "I'm glad, because there are a few men here who would like to meet you and see what you've got." Then, the coach introduced him to two scouts - one from the Florida Marlins and one from the Minnesota Twins!!

Now, probably most of you reading this know how I am. I admittedly don't know anything about fashion. And I LOVE baseball. But I wanted to share Jenny's story. I'm so happy for her and her family. So I asked if it would be okay to share her story on my blog.

Please join me and wishing Jenny and her family continued success and many blessings!!

Love ya, Jenny!

Cute widdle pupples...

This is Petunia and BlueBelle.

Aren't they adorable? They are 3 years old already! Where does the time go?

.

Drowning in work...

Not that it's that interesting, just wanted to post *something* on the blog....

I'm drowning in requisitions. I have over 200 sitting out in the hold file.

Help!



Somebody?



Anybody!





Bueller?



*sigh* Back to work....


.

Ahhh, Monday.....errr.... I mean Tuesday!

Why is it that Monday's off are not as good as Friday's off?

I've never understood that. But I'm living it.

Today, although it's Tuesday, really feels like a Monday. And you know how much I just love Monday's.

*yawn*

Sorry!

It doesn't help that I have a backlog of work. Which I should be doing instead of posting here. But, hey!, it's my lunch hour!

So, I sent poor Tim an email this morning and told him he might be frying his own pork chops for supper tonight.

Poor thing. Yeah, I'm talking about the pork chop. Ha!

Oooh! A nice weather weekend for a change!

So, I hear it's going to be a pretty weekend! How will you spend your weekend?

Tonight, I have to decorate a cake for a baby shower.

Then tomorrow, we're going to Tim's parents' house. Tim's Dad just had cataract surgery on Tuesday and he's supposed to be taking it easy. So we're going to see if they need us to run any errands for them. There's also a bluegrass singing at a church not far from their house. Pa Cain mentioned going to that, so we may go there.

Oh, and I'm going to drop off a blouse to a friend. (It's too small for me and it needs a good home.)

Sunday we'll go to church. We'll also have fellowship after church on Sunday evening. It's going to be a potluck. Wonder what I should make.

Tim will probably say lasanga. Or shepherd's pie. Or stroganoff.

Hmmm.... wonder what I should make?

Never take a trip to the mountains when there may be bad weather!

Tim and I decide to go to Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge this past weekend. We know I-40 is closed, but we don't normally go that way anyway, so no big deal right?




Wrong.





We normally go from SC into GA, then up to Cherokee, NC, then over the mountain (Hwy 441) into Gatlinburg. So... we go all the way through Cherokee and start up the mountain. But wait! There's a long line of stopped cars. Reckon why?




Oh! The road is closed.





They aren't wet or icy or anything, but they might get that way before we get down the other side of the mountain. So they're closing the road. Not normally a big deal. We can take I-40, right?




Ooops! No! It's closed too.



So... we're rerouted back through Cherokee and onto I-240 to I-26 to ASHEVILLE!!




Now, had we known this, we could have started out going to Asheville from our house and saved a few hours!




So, we take I-26 to Johnson City, TN, then take I-81 toward Knoxville, then Hwy 66 to Sevierville and on into Pigeon Forge.



The entire trip was 6 hours and 32 minutes.


One way.


So, I spend more than twice the amount of time driving to a little spur of the moment weekend getaway.



Good thing we had sustenance. Water and ham sandwiches and mini cherry Three Muskateers are a good thing when you're driving in the middle of no where and have no idea where you're going and you're trusting a little piece of paper with directions from a man, who says he's a park ranger, but who normally just works the mountain pass from Gatlinburg to Cherokee.



*breathe*




And when we finally get there? The little room had a bed and a TV. That's about it. And the bed was a double.



A DOUBLE?!?!?!


What hotel rooms nowadays has one double bed? Most of the time isn't there either a queen or a king if there's only one bed?




Lisa + Tim + double bed = not room to get comfy and sleep



And we forgot our pillows. So no good sleep for me.


We did have a really good breakfast at Mama's Farmhouse (or something like that) on Saturday morning. Bacon, eggs, pumpkin pancakes, biscuits, gravy.... and more!



Then we went to listen to a sales pitch to get a $75 prepaid Visa. That took an hour and a half.


When we came out the sales pitch was snowing!! Not a lot, but a few flurries.



Then Tim picked out this Italian place for supper. I'm picky. I know that. The lasanga had no mushrooms, so I ordered that. Let me just say, I'm not one to waste food, but I took 3 bites and that was all I could stomach. And an inedible salad. I don't know what these folks were thinking, but that was NOT food. Hey, at least the store bought breadsticks were edible.


Then back to the torture chamber.... I mean, room. For no sleep. Again.


The next morning, we left around 9:30 or 10:00 for the long trek home. We did, however, buy a map and was able to find a quicker and less "out of the way" way home.




Needless to say, I went to bed at 9:00 Sunday night. And slept til 7:00 Monday morning.




I need a vacation.




There were a few high points and a few more low points. But you get the picture.




Did I say picture? Here are a few. Maybe I'll post more later. Or you can find them on Facebook.

My Hunny:

Yikes! Ice!

Pretty icy trees at an overlook in Tennessee:

A view of the mountains from Pigeon Forge:

What am I thinking?

I really don't know what I'm thinking. Trying to start a new blog. The last one didn't work out so well.

I'll try to do better this time around.

I promise to try to post at least once a week.

But hopefully more often!

Not that our life is glamorous or anything. We're just plain folks.

Humor me a little!