I'm Going to Complain Now....You Might Want to Run from this Post

Be forewarned....I'm complaining...Run Away....Run Away

Last night we got a call that mother had had "a spell." Her blood pressure went up and she was dizzy and fell. She wasn't hurt and Laura, the nursing director, called us and stayed with her until a sitter could come to stay the night. Laura couldn't go into too many details with mother staring her down while she was talking, so I got up this morning and, after checking in at the office, made the hour drive over the Green Grove to be sure that everything was OK.

I checked in with Laura first and she had a BIG ol' tale for me. Mother is having inner ear problems and is feeling poorly with a urinary track issue. It stands to reason that the inner ear is what is causing the dizziness and heaven knows that urinary track problems can make you feel like you've been hit by a Mack Truck. All very manageable, though. Tylenol, lots of water, an antibiotic, and in a couple of days life is good again. Cool beans!

While Laura was trying to talk to mother; however, mother started to cry her eyes out and talk nonsense about how she was "going to die now and is a terrible mother because she gave her child (she's talking about Ned unless there is some other child that I'm unaware of) away and now it's Christmas and they are apart (he lives across the street) and what kind of mother abandons her child and then dies!!!!" In short, Laura believes that the blood pressure spike was a panic attack. After mother cried for about 45 minutes she seemed to have some of that out of her system.

Way to spread sunshine, mother....WAY to spread sunshine!

So, I went on down the hall to check on things and mother was still in the bed, which is fine. She informed me that she is sick because she is allergic to her NIGHTGOWN!!!! Now tell me, how in the blue blazes might a reasonable person respond to that one? All I could do is suggest that she change into another nightgown...perhaps one that has never given her any trouble.

I left her resting in the capable hands of the nursing staff, armed with Ativan in case she goes over the edge again.

Here's the thing...I know that she probably IS a little blue that she and Ned aren't back at home all cozy and snug. Ned; however, is NOT sad. Laura said that as she walked out of mother's room last night, Ned, Scott, and Mr. Herman were walking down the hallway headed back across the street after attending a Christmas program. They were laughing and cutting up and Ned walked right by mother's room without a second glance. Bless his heart, he's tasted sweet freedom and he LIKES it. We let him decide when he wants to go over to visit with her and he's gradually gone from visiting every day to just going on Sunday afternoon and one other afternoon during the week. I doubt if that makes her very happy either.

Mother is going to be a PIECE of work between now and Christmas. I just have a bad feeling about it. Pray for us, friends. My way of coping is to lapse into a state of wanting to control everybody and everything and that's NO good (well, it WOULD be good if people would just cooperate with me, but......).

Ultimately, we're thankful the guy was an idiot!

Night before last, a 78 year old woman that we know from Hometown was abducted from her rural home. The ring leader of the three criminals had done some yard work for her around Thanksgiving and, realizing that she lived alone, conspired to go back and rob her. They threw a brick through her window around 1 AM, at which time they were met with Margaret and her pistol. God bless her heart, she wasn't going down without a fight and came out shooting but missed! They shot back, hitting her twice in the stomach, threw her in the trunk of her car, took what they wanted and drove off with her. A neighbor called for help but the sheriff got there too late.

About 12 hours later, one of the robbers (clearly not the brains of the operation...or maybe he was) walked into a local bank and tried to cash one of her personal checks for $6,000. He was arrested and around 2 PM, she was found, still in the trunk of the car and praying to beat the band. She was airlifted to Charleston and taken into surgery. By 7 PM, it's reported that she was wide awake and talking up a storm.

I could reflect on this for many paragraphs, but I'll leave it at this. Thank goodness that mother has moved somewhere safe. I was constantly worried that someone would break into her house....AND....thanks to our Father in heaven that the abductors were IDIOTS and that Margaret was found before it was too late.

Husbands are SO funny sometimes...

I had to laugh at Hank this afternoon as we were riding home from brunch...and you have to promise that you won't think I'm being vain, but repeating a compliment that someone recently paid me is essential to the point of this little anecdote.

To set up the story, we bought our Christmas tree at the locally owned nursery just down the road from our house the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I was on my way to do some shopping and Hank was going back to work after lunch so we were in separate cars. After we chose the tree, I left him there to settle up.

Cut to today...So...we're riding along and the conversation goes like this...

Hank: After you left the other day, Jody (the owner) said that she'd never met you before...she said you were pretty.

Belle: Gosh, that was nice...I really wasn't at my best that day.

Hank: Well, I was kind of insulted...

Belle: (looking at him like he's lost his mind)

Hank: (slightly under his breath) Like she thought that I'd have an ugly wife.

Inspiration

This week flew by. The weather has been icky off and on, but Wednesday took the cake. It rained and rained and rained some more. I came home and made a big pot of chicken noodle soup AND vegetable soup. Both were YUMMY in my tummy. Tonight, Hank is making shrimp and grits...his specialty. Yummy in my tummy again!

I finally got my dining room table decorated this week.

Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be icky again. Hank promises that he'll help me with the family room tree and then we'll be all set. I'm waiting for the mailman to deliver ONE more present and then all I have to do is find some things for Ned. I decided against the IPhone for now. Lorelai has an ITouch that she doesn't use, so I think that I'm going to take that to him to try out. He loves toy cars but has probably 100 of them already.

FRIENDS....send me some ideas. I need INSPIRATION! Not only do I need to buy things for our family to give him but I also have to buy some things for mother to give him.

I have to smile, though. Ned is a simple guy. His room is like he likes it and his clothes are like he likes them, and as long as he has a radio (not interested in CD's or an IPod), TV (not interested in DVDs...I got him a DVD player two years ago), and good food, well, he's a happy camper. I could learn a few lessons about living a simpler life from Ned.

THE GIRL ON LEGARE STREET--A Review of Karen White's New Book

Imagine my excitement when I was contacted to be a TLC Virtual Book Tour host for a recently released book by one of my new favorite authors, Karen White. (ASK ME AGAIN....ASK ME AGAIN!)

Karen will be joining us soon to do a guest post. A CELEBRITY on Life of a Southern Belle!!! I'm honored.

THE GIRL ON LEGARE STREET is the sequel to Karen's fabulous book THE HOUSE ON TRADD STREET. If you've been reading my blog for long, you know that I'm a South Carolina Lowcountry girl, so it stands to reason that I love stories that are set in my stompin' grounds. I've walked up and down Tradd Street on many a beautiful Charleston afternoon, not to mention that my son is named Legare. What's NOT to love about Karen's books!?!

Here is a little bit about the book from TLC Book Tours...

Southern novelist Karen White’s The House on Tradd Street was nominated for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance 2009 Book of the Year Award (Fiction). Now, a year later, in a return to Charleston and the people of Tradd Street, Karen White shares the story of The Girl on Legare Street, published by NAL. There the tension continues between Melanie Middleton and Jack Treholm, the house on Tradd Street is still being renovated, and there are messages from the spirit world waiting.

Just as Melanie begins thinking her life and her career as a realtor are finally back to—if not normal—a routine, Jack invites her to join him for coffee. No sooner does she sit down than she’s confronted by both an architectural masterpiece and the mother she hasn’t heard from for thirty years. Said mother, famous soprano Ginette Prioleau, has returned to Charleston and is insisting on buying back the family’s home on Legare Street. Melanie has no interest in even seeing Ginette, let alone in helping to restore the 1755 three-story Georgian double house. It appears that the mother and daughter reunion is about to fail, until a more serious agenda emerges—Ginette has had deadly premonitions with Melanie and the house at their center.

Ginette is determined to protect her daughter from the danger she sees approaching. The question is not simply who wishes Melanie harm but why? The mystery has few clues—the discovery of a portrait whose subject bears a striking resemblance to Melanie, the appearance of a locket marked with an “R” that matches one seen in a painting and a possible connection with Melanie’s great-great grandfather’s sail boat, missing since 1886, which has just been recovered along with a trunk containing the remains of an unidentified girl. Despite their psychic abilities, Ginette and Melanie struggle to make sense of it all and to prepare for the enormous power of a malevolent spirit bent on vengeance.

Do you trust Life of a Southern Belle, my friends?? If you do, you will run right out and buy THE GIRL ON LEGARE STREET and THE HOUSE ON TRADD STREET. I was only asked to review the newest book but you will love them both...no question in my mind. NO QUESTION!!

The characters are fabulous! And I'm not just talking about the living breathing characters...there are some pretty compelling characters from the spirit world too! It may sound cliche to say, but the honest to goodness truth is that you won't want to put the book down. Not to mention the mother/daughter tensions...boy howdy can I relate to that. Actually, it just dawned on me...Melanie Middleton's mother is named Ginette and my mother is named Jeanette. Go figure. At least mother and I haven't had to deal with a "malevolent spirit bent on vengeance." WHEW! And then there is Jack...a hunk and a half...DO mercy!

I'm giving this book a Life of a Southern Belle Award. It doesn't get any better than that. Stay tuned for Karen's guest post soon.

Oh for PETE'S SAKE!

You may (or may not) recall that after several months of working with me a year or so ago, Todd the Trainer was let go by my gym. Consequently, I spent about a year floundering and gaining 20 pounds. I'm not proud of it, I'm just saying...

Several weeks ago, I joined a new gym and found Roy...Roy who was willing to call me OUT when I was cranky and push me when I said I was tired. I complained about Roy but honestly, I really like the guy. Not just everybody can deal with me...know what I mean? I've lost 10 or those 20 pounds since I found Roy. Roy is a miracle worker!!!

So this morning I received a text message from Roy asking me to call. I rang him up, at which time he told me that he had been LET GO....

What am I, I ask you??? The kiss of death to the careers of trainers?????

I'm sad...

Christmas Decorating

I told you I would do it and indeed I DID! Well, almost. I don't have all of the gifts wrapped and the big tree isn't decorated and I don't have the mantles completely done and I'm still working on the dining room table BUT, the weekend isn't over, now is it?

See what you think about it so far. I tried something new with my windows. We took our window treatments down several years ago when I was battling allergy problems and kind of like the open look. I saw a photo in a magazine similar to what I did for the holidays this year and think that the taffeta ribbon swags looks REALLY nifty. Hope that you like it too.

Clemson Tigers...WHERE WERE YOU???

Calling the Clemson Tigers...Who in the world were those boys playing this afternoon?? I don't know them! I don't know anything about them. What in the WORLD happened???????????

And a day it was....

A little post-holiday whining here...feel free to skip this post

Too much food and almost too much excitement for mother and Ned. They were more wound up than they've been in a long time. While Hank and the kids were in Hometown for a few hours during the middle of the day, I had mother and Ned at the farm. I gave them a light lunch and we settled in for the afternoon. Poor Ned, mother harassed him half to death. Don't eat that...put on your jacket...move this...you don't need anything else to drink...Poor guy, that's why he doesn't want to go visit her everyday. He finally went outside to sweep the leaves off of the porches for me just to get her to leave him alone.

Then, she proceeded to tell me how she's really been thinking about taking a vacation and she'd like to go BEFORE she DIES! I suggested that next summer we go to the mountains for a few days. That's a good idea as far as she's concerned as long as she isn't DEAD by then!

The vacation discussion then led into a funeral plans discussion. She wants a graveside service and wants it ALL done on the cheap! Nothing expensive...don't waste a lot of money on my funeral, she says. Just buy the least expensive casket, she says. How about we just wrap you up in a sheet and drop you in the ground, I countered? No, she replied, I'll need some kind of box. Maybe an orange crate. This was by far one of the most bizarre conversations we've had. I finally suggested that we just spend the day being thankful and save the funeral planning for another day. Of course, by the time the family returned and I explained what we'd been discussing, she didn't remember any of it. Lawsamercy!!!

There was food...lots of it. Caramel Pecan Pie...YUM! We enjoyed having both Legare and Lorelai with us. It's quiet at the farm...peaceful and restful and renewing for the spirit.

A few photos for your enjoyment. I'll have the Christmas decorations ready for you to see in a day or two.

Gobble Gobble

I'm writing this on Wednesday morning for a Thanksgiving Day post. As you read, if you're reading on Thursday, I have packed up my holiday meal and headed over to the farm. Hank and the children are headed to Hometown for three or four hours for his mother's family reunion and will be back by mid-afternoon to enjoy our big meal around 6 PM. Mother and Ned will be in attendance, as will our friend Ed.

Here's how the menu is shaping up. I'm attempting to brine a turkey...have NEVER done that before so I hope it turns out alright. There will be ham, dressing, rice, gravy, macaroni pie, sweet potatoes, butter beans, collard greens, watergate salad, broccoli salad, and....I think that's about it. OH....yeast rolls, pumpkin pie and pecan pie...wine, sweet tea, and coffee. WHEW! I was not storying when I titled this post "gobble gobble."

OOPS...take collard greens off of the list. I just smelled something burning and it was the collards. I left them turned up too high. It took a long time to wash and cut up those things. Oh well...nobody to blame but myself. Have you ever smelled burning collards? It is truly awful.

ONE HOUR LATER...Well, I think the burning collard smell is beginning to dissipate. But now we don't have any water! Good grief! I called the county office and they don't know what is wrong...didn't even KNOW that our whole community was without water until their phones started ringing...they're on it, which is a good thing because I really need to take a shower, wash Lorelai's clothes, and run the dishwasher.

I'm SO very thankful for so many things (but not burned collards or a lack of water service). Our children are doing well, we are happy, healthy and employed. Blogging continues to be the perfect outlet for me to chronicle the events of our lives. The thing that made the biggest difference in our lives was the MIRACLE of getting mother and Ned settled. To know that they are safe and that Ned is finally getting to live the life that he deserves...words can hardly express how joyful and thankful we are.

As you reflect on 2009...what were your three greatest blessings? I really truly do want to know...wouldn't ask if I didn't!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOURS!

Begging Your Pardon

Legare just reminded me about this episode of The West Wing. I adore that show and never get tired of watching the reruns. Do you remember the episode in which President Bartlett pardons the turkey?

Bad Modem...Bad Bad Modem...GOOD GOOD CLEMSON TIGERS~!

Finally, the Home Telephone Company man came to fix our DSL. Apparently the last modem they brought was a piece of junk. Oh well...ALL better now!



Saturday was a FABULOUS day in Clemson. Our Tigers won the ACC Championship and are headed to Tampa on December 5. This week's game is for the "state championship" against the University of South Carolina in Columbia. We'll watch from home...not going to Tampa either. Too far...we'll tailgate in our kitchen for both games.



I had my yearly physical this morning (fun fun) so I took advantage of having a "sick day" to get some shopping done. Can't tell you what I bought because I'll give away my Christmas surprises. Let's just say that Hank, Legare, Lorelai and mother came out on the good side. Ned is SO hard to buy for. The decorating is almost done too. Just a little more shopping for my Thanksgiving Day dinner. I love being organized...it just rarely happens.



My camera battery died just as we started to tailgate last Saturday, but I took this one with my phone as we walked to the stadium. It's about the cutest thing I've seen in a long time. I never saw the little guy from the front, but at least his head and feet were ready for some football!

Lorelai comes home tomorrow and Legare on Wednesday...he's hurrying back to Chapel Hill on Friday morning as exams are looming. Lor will hang around with us through Sunday...she has a new "sweetheart" from The Citadel.

OH...and the Biggest Loser competition at work was over today. I lost 9.5 pounds in four weeks and am VERY happy about that. My hope is to maintain my weight during the holidays and go for another 9.5 pounds come January. Wish me luck!

Yes....Seriously

I really am thinking of calling out the flying monkeys!

Weekends! YAY

Good weekend, how about you??

I got a solid start on my decorating and we spent some time over at the farm. As an added bonus, Lorelai came home for the weekend. Of course we didn't see too much of her, but she did go with her daddy to sit in a deer stand for awhile. No deer, though. They were hiding.

Ned visited for a little bit and had fun on the four wheeler. He won't ride by himself but Hank is very patient and took him all around the farm Ned has finally gotten used to our little dog, Precious, but when Lor, our friend Ann, and I arrived with Ann's little dog (a mirror image of Precious), Ned got a little twitchy. For forty years mother told him that he was afraid of dogs and he REALLY is. (I think that's called brainwashing...) When a dog comes along, he'll run in the house or in the case of Ann's dog, he ran OUT of the house when she came in. At that point, he was ready to go back to his house. Oh well, he's come a long way in the last eight months. We aren't going to change everything overnight.

I'll add a few photos later...got to get ready for work. Yuck!

Getting Ready for the Holidays

I am determined...DETERMINED, I SAY, to have my house decorated for Christmas BY Thanksgiving Day and all of my gifts purchased and wrapped by December 1. Here's why...I have just three days off for Thanksgiving and don't want to spend them cooking and decorating. Can't avoid the cooking but at least when the last of the dishes is washed and put away, I'll be able to sit back and enjoy my already decorated house.

Our holiday plans will be a bit different this year. For the first time in our 26 years of marriage, our families are not in the same town. Mother's move to Green Grove and Ned's to his house will change the complexion of our holiday plans from here on out. The question is this: How do we make sure that everybody feels like their got their due without losing our minds? I started getting twitchy about this as early as two months ago and made a proposal that, praise The Lord, Hank found agreeable.

His mother's family has a reunion on Thanksgiving Day at the American Legion Hut back in Hometown. I took tap dancing lessons from Ilona Hiers in that same hut for five years...first grade through fifth grade. I'm pretty sure that mother and daddy knew they were wasting their money but held on to hope that one day, I'd develop a sense of rhythm in my feet. Truth be told, Thanksgiving at the hut isn't my "scene" but it brings back fond memories for Hank, and Lorelai doesn't actually mind going so much because she says people ask her questions about herself and she likes being the center of attention...go figure! She's a novelty there, since 95% of the people who attend never left Hometown and see each other all the time. Mother and Ned have frequently been guests at the hut on Thanksgiving Day, but I don't think that taking them back to Hometown is a good idea. They're happy and I don't want to stir the pot.

So, Hank and Lor will go to Hometown for the midday meal. I'll be at the farm cooking a traditional holiday meal for supper. I'm going to send Legare over to Green Grove for Mother and Ned and probably have him help her get her Christmas decorations out. Then we'll all "gather together to ask The Lord's blessing" later in the day.

And we have been SO blessed this year. Mother and Ned are safe, settled, and happy. Hank's mother, who struggles with depression is doing better (I don't talk much about Hank's family...those are his stories to tell). Legare is doing well in law school and has secured a job for next summer. Lorelai is doing well in college and we have managed to find a way to get her into a new living situation for second semester. Have their been troubling times...sure, but the good FAR outweighs the bad and for that we are indeed thankful.

So...two weeks from today you can expect photos of Thanksgiving and my Christmas decorations. YIKES! I'd better get busy...

Two Things People Asked About and One Miss Priss Story

1. Blood Orange Martini Punch (It's in the 2009 Christmas With Southern Living book, but not called punch. I added the word because I wasn't taking a martini shaker and poured it over ice)

4 cups blood orange juice
2 cups orange flavored vodka
1 cup triple sec (could maybe have used a little less)

Mix it up and drink it up. It is strong but suited me fine when over ice
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2. Roy...you can find him at East Shore Fitness in Moncks Corner, SC
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3. After a long long wait...we have a MISS PRISS story. You may remember that Miss Priss is the now five year old kindergarten daughter of my former assistant Lilly, and is quite precocious. The other day, our school district's chief human resources officer was out visiting schools and stuck his head in the door of Miss Priss's classroom. The teacher greeted him and when he turned to leave, Miss Priss said, "oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" (like "hoot" without the "h" or the "t"). The teacher pulled Priss aside and asked her why she would do such a thing when they had a guest in the classroom. Priss replied, "Because you're such a great teacher that President Obama came to your classroom!" When Lilly asked later in the day, Priss further explained that "He had on a blue suit and a red tie....I thought he was President Obama!" Mr. Sanders might have a future as a body double for the president.

Oh Those Seminoles and Their Little War Chant--NOT

We had a great Saturday up in Clemson as we enjoyed watching our TIGERS beat the stuffing out of Florida State. While the FSU band was impressive on the field...the Indian war chant thing that they played during the game over and over and over and over and over and over...you get the drift...was the most annoying thing I've heard in ages. I'm sure that they MEAN for it to be sort of ominous and menacing, but it's just aggravating. (No offense to any FSU fans out there...I'm sure our jaunty little Tiger Rag annoys you!)

On the upside...when it became clear that the Seminoles could not come back for a win, all 77,000 of my good friends in Death Valley and I serenaded them with We Will, We Will ROCK YOU. It sounded beautimas, as my dear old Aunt Zoie would say.

Since it was a 7:45 pm game, we had all day to tailgate. Our neighbors invited us to join them and ultimately 40 to 50 friends, friends of friends, friends of friends...again...you get the drift. We had a marvelous time and my Blood Orange Martini Punch was a big hit. Our neighbors have been our neighbors for about 15 years and our girls are fast friends. Their Lilly is a junior at Clemson and younger daughter Rori is a high school senior. They are like sisters to Lorelai and have gotten into all SORTS of things together over the years. It was always more fun at their house because there was no Legare over there...and Donna, their mom, was the nice mom on the street. I was a meanie!! For years it seemed like Lor spent at least one night a weekend next door. They love her and we love them. Aren't good neighbors a blessing!! As a matter of fact, yesterday, Donna was pivotal in helping us finally find a solution to the predicament that I wrote about in my private post several weeks ago. I'm getting her a BIG Christmas gift this year.

Here are three photos of Lorelai and Rori. Lor had to make sure that the tiger paw tattoo (removable of course) was on properly. Then the girls had to look at the pictures they'd been taking. They grew up awfully fast!!

It Is Entirely Possible That I Have Met My Match

Roy always meets me as I walk into the gym. Yesterday afternoon, our initial greeting to each other went like this...

Roy...So how are you this afternoon?

Me...I'm cranky...VERY cranky!

Roy...Well, we'll work THAT right out of you!!

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Now I ask you...what kind of comeback was I supposed to have for that?

Whoo HOO!!

Two weeks with Roy the Relentless and one week on the Biggest Loser plan at work.

5 and a half pounds lost.

Roy is looking better and better!

Legare's Halloween

I felt bad for leaving Legare out of my previous post and saw this on his facebook page. I have no earthly idea what he was supposed to be but apparently somewhere during the night he lost track of the baby. Hank says he looks like "a guy who was having a pretty good time at a party." Perhaps my anonymous commenter who knows lots and lots about Legare will enlighten us.

Memories

I've been enjoying looking at the Halloween photos people are posting. As there were no digital cameras when my children were in the heyday of being enamoured with trick or treating, I really need to go back through their scrapbooks and scan those old photos. I did find a few. Apologies to Legare who is going to sit down and cry because there are none here of him. I love you son...I'm just too lazy to go scan pictures right now.

First, here is my brother Ned in his cowboy outfit. What a cutie pie!


Here are Lorelai as the beauty queen, and our next door neighbor getting ready to hit the neighborhood.

You'll see the difference a few years make here as Lor dressed up last year as a prom queen. Oh MERCY, how the outfit changed.

Finally, I leave you with a blast from the past with my aunt (for whom I was named) and uncle dressed as George and Martha Washington. They turned quite a few heads that year...I'd say around 1972 or thereabouts.

C.J. Spiller

Lorelai and I both have big crushes on C.J. Spiller.

He is AMAZING...really and truly! Lor has been stalking him around campus for going on two years now. Last year, a friend of hers literally ran into him as she walked out of a door. When she told her daddy about it, his first response was in the form of a question..."You didn't HURT him, did you???!!"

This is homecoming weekend and as Lor and her friends made their way to the 53rd annual Tigerama rally this evening, they found themselves smack dab behind the football team. Lor marked her prissy little self right up to C.J. and got the hug and photograph with him that she's been after. I'M JEALOUS!!! When she called to tell me about it, she was practically hyperventilating!

Clemson is playing Coastal Carolina tomorrow afternoon, and it should be a big win for the Tigers. Hank's mother has never been to Clemson and has been dropping hint after hint that she'd like to go and see where Lor goes to school, so Hank is taking her with him tomorrow. I'm staying home and getting my Christmas list in order. Mark my words...everything will be purchased and wrapped by December 1. YES IT WILL!!!

Have a good weekend...

Looks

Roy has been practicing a look of his own. I think I've met my match!

Random Thoughts on a Rainy Afternoon

I don't want to go back out into the rain to the school board meeting at 6:30. It's not that I mind the meetings OR the rain independent of each other. I'd just rather not go back out IN the rain.

Ned's housemate Scott has an IPhone and we've been wondering if Ned might like one too. Scott seems to enjoy the applications and uses some of the apps as communication tools as he isn't as verbal as Ned. On the other hand, Ned isn't much into gadgets and I fear that he would just set it aside. I've been trying for the longest to talk him into a digital camera but he always says no. Any thoughts?

I'm a tad bit hungry. We've started a five week "biggest loser" competition at work and are divided into two teams. I can get sucked into a competition in a heartbeat and REALLY want my team to win...(but I'm hungry!!!!)

Roy and I had to have a talk yesterday and for about 15 minutes I really thought he understood that he had been much too hard on me last week. Then he made me doing something called "planks." I'm not sure I like Roy. I had to give him my "look" a time or two...didn't seem to phase him. That look ALWAYS works. ROY ROY ROY...where do you come from that you are immune to the LOOK?

Gotta go put the work clothes back on...at least the rain has let up for a few minutes. Upward and onward!

The Rowdy Girls at the Farm

Perhaps we should give ourselves a new name as we all went to bed by 11 PM both Friday and Saturday nights. Anyway...we had a fabulous time. Louis and Sue drove up from Jacksonville and Will and Meg drove down from Columbia. We all met at the farm for the weekend. I was still dragging a little bit but time relaxing with old friends can be a wonderful cure, let me tell you.We are incredibly casual and just sit around for hours at a time laughing and talking about everything under the sun. We interrupt the sitting and talking for eating and taking naps. I did take the girls over to visit mother and Ned for a little bit. Mother proudly walked them from one end of Green Grove to the other showing them everything about her new "home." She mentioned that she thought she ought to learn to play pool. Who KNOWS what that is all about! Can't you just see her with her personal pool cue in a little carrying case? LOL

At 3:30 on Saturday afternoon we situated ourselves out on the deck. Hank pulled his truck around and turned on the radio so that we could listen to the Clemson Miami game and enjoy some refreshments out in the pleasant weather. OH MY STARS, I about had a heart attack by the time we WON (YAY YAY YAY) in overtime. It was a heck of a game!! Clemson ROCKS!

We enjoyed BBQ chicken, macaroni pie and slaw on Friday night...Belgian waffles and peppered bacon on Saturday morning...Assorted beverages and snacks during the game and a delicious lowcountry boil on Saturday night...Sunday morning brought a yummy farm breakfast of country ham, grits, eggs, biscuits, and leftover shrimp and sausage. I'm a little embarrassed at how casual we truly were, what with the milk, juice, and water jugs on the table. I would never have done that here at home. I need to stock up on a number of serving pieces and whatnot for the farm kitchen.

Have a great week!

In the Land of the Living

I've been down and out. First Roy tried to kill me on Tuesday afternoon at my first trainer session, then I came home and was sick as a dog all night long. Could hardly move yesterday, not sure whether because of the sore muscles courtesy of Roy or the 101 degree temperature I was running. ..I guess it was both. No fever this morning but I am staying home. I wouldn't want to be responsible for this one getting around the office. I'm in a bit of a snit though because I had lots to do this week, plus The Rowdy Girls and husbands are getting together this weekend and I'm the hostess. I do NOT want to cancel.

It's funny how getting sick goes. As an educator, one comes in contact with everything in the world. Even though I'm in an office now, I do get out in schools quite a bit. I'll have a bad year and catch everything that comes along, or so it seems. Then I'll have five or six years where I'm healthy as a horse...then another bad year. Yay for the good years.

I am terribly behind on my blog reading. I'm afraid to open google reader because I know the number of unread blogs is going to be ridiculous. The good news is that I don't have anything else to do today but sit around SO, I'm going to get on that reading right now.

Stay well out there in blogland!!

If you can't laugh at yourself...

As we headed for Clemson last Friday afternoon, I asked Hank if he'd packed our orange ponchos. No...he replied...because it isn't going to rain.

We had to buy two blue ponchos (the orange ones were sold out everywhere) on Saturday morning because it WAS raining. And it was cold.

As we walked toward the stadium, I asked...Did you bring the umbrella? No...he replied...because it is going to stop raining. About five minutes later, he decided to go back to get the umbrella. And the blanket that I had the good sense to throw in the back seat.

Lorelai decided to sit with us and we had the best time. We aren't as boring as she thinks we are. Even though it was wet and chilly, it was a fabulous game and Clemson pounded the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. I liked it. I liked it a lot.

Which leads me to today and the reason that Lorelai isn't going to get anything for Christmas but switches. She took a photo of me during halftime as I sat there with the blanket on my lap and my arms inside the poncho. I look like a giant 500 pound woman blob. When I said in the last post that I'd gained weight I didn't mean THAT much weight.

So...for your viewing enjoyment (and because I can laugh at myself) the photo of the big blue blob...

Taking Control...Poor Roy

BIG wake up call when I reposted some things about me and realized that I'd gained back most of the weight I lost a year or so ago. I am NONE to proud of that and aim to do something about it and NOW!

I went off the rails when Todd the Trainer bailed on me last year about this time, so actually, considering that I haven't exercised worth a toot in the past year, I did pretty well to gain ONLY 20 pounds. Still and all, I'm disappointed in myself...very very disappointed. To make matters worse, I have absolutely no desire to exercise. I don't like it. I don't get the whole "oh I feel SO good after I exercise" thing. I don't feel good. I feel TIRED...and hot...and sweaty. Yuck!

SO...I told Hank this morning that my mission before I came home from work this afternoon was to engage a new trainer and that I did. It's sad that I need to employ a complete stranger to hold me accountable, but it is what it is! Only thing is his name doesn't start with a "T" so that's going to blow my alliteration thing. Roy...his name is Roy...what can I do with an "R"...

Roy Really Rocks...Roy Rules the Roost...Roy Rants and Raves (that one will probably be pretty close to the truth)...Roy's Ridiculous Routines...Roy Rubs me wRong...

Anyhow...we start on Tuesday afternoon right after work and will meet twice a week. Poor Roy...he has NO idea what he's in for.

Things About Me

OK...so I'm still "blocked." Here's another repeat (with a few updates) from early on in my blogging life. Some of you probably never saw it...

Some of the most interesting posts I've read since I started blogging are the ones where folks write "7 Random Things About Myself" or "100 Things About Myself"...I can probably come up with more than seven but not likely up to 100. Let's see...

1. I have a Masters Degree in Educational Administration and am a district office administrator. I got there by way of being a music teacher and church musician. I play the piano, organ, and sing reasonably well.

2. I glom onto a new hobby and become obsessive, but only for awhile and then I move on to another new hobby and become obsessive about that. Lately, I've switched back and forth between interior design, quilting, scrapbooking, and now blogging. I read all the time...that really isn't a hobby for me, it's just a way of life.

3. I've been married to the same sweet, wonderful, patient man for 26 years.

4. I've lost 30 pounds since January 1 of this year. Since I originally wrote the post I've gained 20 of those pounds back. I'm very annoyed with myself.

5. I'm incredibly judgemental regarding the wearing of white shoes after Labor Day. Athletic-type shoes do not count. White skirts and pants need to be put away too. Seersucker can be worn until the first official day of fall.

6. I had the same college roommate for all four years and we remain close to this day.

7. I have serious control issues...that would be a whole other long list for another time.

8. I make the world's best pecan pie.

9. I adore Jimmy Carter. I know he's said some things recently that have put people off a little bit but nobody is perfect and I still maintain that he has served as a fine statesman since his term as POTUS.

10. If I could take an extended vacation, I'd choose to go on a road trip and visit as many southern main streets as I could. I'd visit the little shops, eat in the diners, and stay in the bed and breakfasts. I'd start in Oxford, MS and go to Rowan Oak, the home of William Faulkner.

11. I'm fascinated with Washington, DC...the Capital and White House, the monuments and museums. I can feel the history.

12. I've never once entertained the thought of using an illegal substance.

13. We own a farm several counties over...the property came into our family through a land grant sometime around 1740, give or take.

14. I like my job, my boss, and the people I work with (mostly). OK ...so you know that things have been a little stressful in the last six months but I'm feeling better. All the "rules" are new but I'm beginning to get the hang of them.

15. I've never lived alone. I went from my parent's house to college. I graduated from college in May then moved back in with my mother for two months until I got married in July.

16. I love sweets and the sweeter the better. Potato chips and the like don't tempt me at all.

17. My most favorite pass time is telling other people what they should do to make their lives/situations better. Do as I SAY, not as I DO! LOL

18. I go through the same morning routine Monday through Friday unless something unusual is going on. Wake up, bathroom, shower, coffee, Today Show and blog surf until the first commercial break around 7:20 AM, brush teeth, make up, hair, drive to work eating protein bar on the way. Not so much with the protein bars anymore...hence the weight gain.

19. My most favorite movie in the whole world that was ever made is The Big Chill. The funeral home in my little hometown provided the hearse for the funeral scenes, and the florist in my little hometown where my mother-in-law used to work did all of the flowers. I was in a wedding one time in the church used for the funeral scene.

20. My daddy passed away when I was 19 during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college. He was retired from the Army Reserve and was a Postmaster.

21. I helped coach Legare's high school mock trial team back in the day (OK, I didn't actually give legal-type advice....it was more a "room mother" type situation but it was an important role.)

22. My first car was a 1982 Buick Regal...burgundy with burgundy cloth interior and, get this...a state of the art 8 track tape player. I thought I was something in this world!

23. I was "Miss My Hometown" 1980

24. I worked in a bank during the summers during college doing whatever job was needed while people took vacations. I was everything from teller, to receptionist, to bookkeeper. I never got bored.

25. I took piano lessons for 14 years and tap dancing lessons for 5 years. Can't tap worth a darn.

26. I adore Dancing with the Stars and would take ballroom dancing lessons if I could talk Hank into it. I've sort of lost interest in Dancing with the Stars...but I'd still like to take ballroom dancing lessons.

27. If I won the lottery, I would hardly ever drive my own car again. Maybe a fun sporty convertible car for absolutely perfect weather for kicks, but for routine stuff I'd have a driver to put me out and pick me up at the door. Oddly, I don't think I'd want to quit my job but I wouldn't take a salary. I'd have a personal trainer come to my house instead of going to the gym and I'd have a massage and a facial at least once a week. I do so love a massage and a facial!

28. I hate yard work. Yet I want my yard to be "yard of the month" at all times. Thank goodness for Hank who LOVES to work in the yard.

29. I'm not terribly fond of housework either. Yet I want every room in my house to look like a feature in Architectural Digest. Thank goodness for Daisy, who comes to clean every Friday.

30. I don't really mind cooking if people will just TELL me what they want to eat. The menu planning is what I don't like.

I Got Nothin'

Blank....totally blank...

I hate it when this happens!

Lorelai, the Flower Girl

Every now and then I like to repeat one of my favorite posts from days gone by. This one is from September of 2008. Enjoy!!!

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When Lorelai was two and a half, my cousin's fiance called to ask if she would be the flower girl in their wedding. Of course, I thought she'd make the cutest flower girl ever, but I was worried about her age...she would not be quite three and a half by the time of the wedding. We decided to give it a try. We read stories about being a flower girl, went to our church to practice...I'd sing "here comes the bride" and she would walk and pretend to drop flower petals.

The wedding weekend arrived and let me tell you, it was all about Lorelai. We were at her beck and call and she got her way about EVERYTHING because I was did not want her to get upset. That was certainly not my usual parenting style by any means, but this was somebody's WEDDING for pete's sake.

The rehearsal went well. She wasn't sure about walking down the aisle in front of all of the people until the organ began to play. She looked at me and said with a joyful look on her sweet little three year old face, "Beethoven???" I was stunned, but recovered quickly and replied, "Yes, BEETHOVEN...and they're playing it JUST for YOU so GO!!!" and off she went. (Legare had been watching a little video we had at home "Beethoven Lives Upstairs"...who knew Lor was paying attention? Never mind that it was Purcell the organist was playing and not good old Ludwig.)

The wedding went off without a hitch. She stood there like a big girl and the only unscripted thing she did was take off her little gold bracelet, sit it on the altar for about five minutes, then pick it up and put it back on.

We moved to the wedding reception. My mother, Hank and I were talking and visiting while watching Lor out of the corner of our collective eye. All of a sudden I looked over at the buffet table to see her reach up, feel around (even on tiptoe she could barely see what was on the table), grab a little cheesecake square, take a bite out of it, THEN reach up again and put it back on the table. OH MY STARS...I grabbed a plate and around the table I went, collecting half-eaten hors d'oerves and sweets from where she put them after having a taste. Funny now...NOT funny then...I was mortified!

But you know, she was still the cutest little flower girl ever in my book.

The Lee Majors Rechargeable Bionic Hearing Aid

Younger readers won't "get" this post, but I just saw a commercial on TV that I'd never seen before....

Really????

Seriously!!!!

I guess the Six Million Dollar ears ain't what they used to be.

Don't Want to Repeat This...

Do you ever get a few bars of a song stuck in your head? I do...often. Yesterday, Lor had the radio on while we were in the car and a fragment from the Beyonce song, Single Ladies, kept playing inside my head all afternoon and all night. Legare found my Facebook post VERY funny and sent me this video...This isn't the part that I kept hearing but it is kind of funny (if you weren't the one in the video, I suppose). It's very short...

A Beautiful Afternoon

Hank is on a shrimping expedition, so Lorelai and I larked out for King Street this afternoon for a little shopping. Retail therapy aside, it was one of the most beautiful afternoons weather-wise that we have had in ages. Sunny, no humidity, a light breeze blowing...a real blessing after some of the wretched hot and humid days in recent memory.



I learned the hard way that if shopping for myself, I need to go it alone. If Lor goes, then it is a given that it is going to be all about her...don't tell her, but it's fun for me either way. We walked and talked and she found a couple of outfits and a pair of shoes. Afterwards, we enjoyed an early dinner at High Cotton and headed back home. Since she managed to work the Clemson system to her advantage this semester, she doesn't have any Monday OR Friday classes, so she gets to enjoy a long weekends EVERY weekend. I'm deeply and profoundly jealous.

Hope that your weekend was a good one...

Birthdays

Thanks SO much for the birthday wishes on Friday! I had a lovely day, if you don't count having to go to work. There were cards and flowers and lunch out and nice little surprises all day long. Hank made his signature dish, shrimp and grits, for supper and we just took it easy and got things ready for Ned's party this afternoon. It's been great having Lorelai at home this weekend.

Mother called early in the evening to say "Happy Birthday" then she got wound up. It seems that she'd called Ned's house yesterday afternoon to see if he wanted to come over to visit and he DECLINED!! He told Miss Vernelle to tell mother that he'd "see her tomorrow afternoon." She was SORT of laughing about it and saying how glad she is that he's so content, but I think it hurt her feelings a little bit. I hated to tell her but he's BETTER than content. He is deliriously happy, loving every moment of this new found freedom. That boy...I swanee...he's something else.

When we arrived at Ned's this afternoon to get the party set up he was as excited as I've ever seen him. We had a good crowd of family members drop in, as well as Dave (Ned's housemate) and his parents and staff members, Miss Vernelle and Belinda. Hank took Ned to the farm for the night and Lor and I came on back home. We're going to try to get a little bit of shopping in tomorrow afternoon.

My photos didn't come out the best...there seemed to be something "off" in just about every one of them but I found a few that will do.

That about does it for Birthdays 2009. We are DONE until Hank's rolls around in April 2010.

Hmmm...Hank and Ned are at the farm...Lorelai is eating dinner out with a friend. What's a mom to do when she's home alone??? I'm thinking leftovers, the sofa, and the television. See you later, my friends...

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

I'm 48 years old and proud of it!!! Now if I could just get this Tiffany-inspired cake and a little blue box to match with something shiny and sparkly in it. A girl can dream!!

(photo of cake from cakecentral.com

Friends at work are taking me out to lunch and I'm going to treat myself to a pedicure right after work, then home to get things ready for Ned's party tomorrow afternoon and some relaxation! YAY!

Three Quotation Thursday

"If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door." - Paul Beatty

Be honest! Who among us wouldn't like to take that giant walking cane and yank a few people off of our "stage" every now and again? Right now and without hesitation, I can think of three people. I don't wish them ill. I just wish they'd go spread their special brands of "joy and sunshine" somewhere else.


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"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one!'" -- C.S. Lewis

It's kind of amazing when you think about it...the things that bring us together into new friendships.

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"If you think education is expensive, Try Ignorance!!!"
Andy McIntyre


This is for the people who keep cutting our education budget...another 4% cut just this week. Make a BIGGER investment in education, then your costs for welfare programs and jailhouses will be a lot less. Seems like a no-brainer to me, but what do I know...oh WAIT...I am an educator.

Mother is Cracking Me Up

NOT cracking me up as in "I'm going crazy" although that's a possibility, but cracking me up as in "I'm laughing out loud."

She's ALL excited over Ned's birthday. The phone calls have started. Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes)

Get the picture??? That's the "loop" this week. The last two weeks have been BIG for her, what with Raylrode Daze and now birthdays. She hasn't had this much excitement since she moved to Green Grove. You should hear Hank on the phone with her..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..."

Lawsamercy, that man must love me A LOT!!!

Since you couldn't be at Raylrode Daze, Raylrode Daze is coming to you!

Mother won...since she couldn't get anywhere with me, she started calling Mrs. Vernelle over at Ned's house. Ned ended up sitting right by mother during the parade, and Mrs. Vernelle and Ned's housemate Dave met us at my aunt's house afterwards for lunch. The rain managed to hold off until the parade was ending and I enjoyed spending time with my cousins, who I don't get to see very often.

Next weekend is BIRTHDAY weekend. Mine on Friday and Ned's on Saturday. We'll be 48 and 41 respectively. On Saturday we'll go over to Ned's house and have a birthday party. He wants a white cake with his name written on it and a "bean bag game." I hope that means a Toss Across game, which I didn't even know they still made until I found one online. Just got to get that cake baked and we'll be in business.

Here's a slide show of our day. I wrote comments on some of the photos so you might want to move from slide to slide manually so that you don't miss ANY of the excitement.

Retreating from the Wits End

TGIF!!! It didn't get here a moment too soon. I was able, as Maureen from Mom Times Two suggested, to do a U-turn before I got all the way to my wits end. I probably gained five pounds this week but whatever...

In a cryptic message to those who read the private post, the weather is improving but until the season changes, there continues to be a chance of storms. (I crack myself up sometimes...does that make ANY sense to anybody??)

We're sitting out the Clemson game this weekend. Lor has friends going up to visit and Hank and I are going to be taking care of some things with mother and Ned over at the farm. I expect to have some interesting pictures for you as this is the weekend of the Raylrode Daze Festivul in a small town near the farm. Ned LOVES the Raylrode Daze Festivul. Remember the Hell Hole Swamp Festival I wrote about back in May? Raylrode Daze is another variation on the same theme. Never can tell what you might come across.

Mother is distressed because Ned wants to go to the parade with his new friends instead of with her. My aunt has invited everybody, including Ned and his friends to her house for lunch after the parade...isn't that just the most thoughtful thing?? That isn't good enough for mother...she wants him to sit by her at the parade. She called six times last night and we finally told a fib. OK...it was a complete and utter untruth, but she wasn't going to stop calling or ever go to bed if we didn't tell her that we'd make Ned change his plans. Ned has NOT changed his plans...he'll see us at lunch. I'm so proud of him. In six short months, he has become so much more confident and independent. It's just a joy to behold.

Pictures on Sunday night!! Have a great weekend.

Wits End

I used to wonder exactly WHERE I would be when I got to my "wits end."

I'm just about there, my friends. JUST about THERE!

A Little Experiment in Posting

I don't want to go private but sometimes I want to post something private so if you will, please indulge me in a little experiment.

I've written a post on notepad (why I haven't taken time to put Word on this computer I'm not certain) and if you're interested in reading it just send me an e-mail and I'll send it to you as an attachment. I felt the need to vent a little so if you're not in the mood for that, you won't want to read it.

No anonymous requests or non-bloggers please. I'll report in a few days on how this experiment went.

lifeofasouthernbelle@gmail.com

Hurrican Hugo-Part II

When we purchased our lot back in 1985, we chose it because of the trees. A row of beautiful old oaks and pecan trees across the front and a row of beautiful old oaks across the back. We put our house smack dab in the middle.

As the storm subsided around 5:00 AM and dawn started to break, we got up off of the powder room floor (Legare was STILL asleep tucked up in one corner) and held our breath as we walked through the house. We had no flooding, but the hardwood floor in the foyer was wet where water had blown under the front door. Shingles had apparently blown off and there were wet spots on the ceiling upstairs. The guest bath window was broken. We'd pushed the kitchen table up against the double doors in the kitchen. It had been moved about 6 inches back into the middle of the room by the wind. All in all though, the house had come through it right well.

When we walked into the sun room and looked out the back door the FIRST thing I noticed was that I could see the sky lightening up. That was strange, because we couldn't ordinarily see the sky because of the row of trees across the back of our property. You guess it...huge trees..all over the back yard on top of each other like pick-up sticks...pulled up and over by the roots. Huge holes. Putting the house smack dab in the middle of the lot turned out to have been a very smart thing to do.

When we walked out of the back door, it looked like we'd landed in a war zone or on a different planet. Nothing looked right and the smell of pine almost hurt our noses it was so strong. We began to walk around, trying to see if our neighbors houses were still standing. They were, but one neighbor's metal roof was a twisted mess in our front yard. A friend down the road escaped tragedy by a hair...she had just gotten up off of the bed when a tree crashed through the roof right ON the bed. Their house couldn't be salvaged.

By the following morning, the road out of our little community (there's one way in and one way out) was cleared so that I could drive the 90 mile's to mother's house to take Legare and stock up on water and supplies (we were ultimately without power for almost two weeks). I came back home to help with the relief effort at the church, checking back in at mother's every couple of days. Hank had to immediately get back to work (power company) My aunt and uncle came with a generator and propane stove. Friends came from Savannah to help us start on the yard. Friends in town got power back with in a couple of days and were gracious enough to allow us to come take hot showers. People emptied their freezers and brought all of the food to the church so that we could cook for the lineman and others coming in to help.

To say we were stunned would be an understatement. I remember the beloved local news reporter Charlie Hall breaking down and crying on the air when someone told him that his house was still standing. It was quite some time before I didn't get the heebie jeebies during windy weather if it occured at night. I don't particularly enjoy rehashing the event every year, but as this was the 20th anniversary, decided to write about it so that Legare would have an account of what he slept through. God showed us an extraordinary amount of mercy and grace during that dark dark night. We are extraordinarily thankful.

Hurricane Hugo-Part 1

Here we are at the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Hugo, which hit Charleston "like an atom bomb." At the time, it was the most damaging hurricane ever recorded. It was later surpassed by Hurricane Andrew and then Andrew was surpassed Hurricane Katrina.

There was quite a bit of confusion about where Hugo was going to make landfall. Even when we found out that Charleston was ground zero, Hank and I didn't fret so awful much. Our town about 35 miles inland up the Cooper River. We'd endured edges of hurricanes and many a tropical storm in our lifetimes. The town we grew up in was 45 miles in from the coast and never experienced anything but a little wind and some rain. SO....we stayed home. All of our friends stayed home. How bad could it be...Hank and I sat out one storm...can't remember which one but it would have been '84 or '85, with friends in the bar at the Mills House Hotel on Meeting Street. Fun times!

For Hugo, we had some flashlights and a radio and as an afterthought, filled the bathtubs up with water as we hunkered down with three year old Legare. While our experience here at home was nothing like that of Katrina folks who didn't get out, I think it's safe to say that from 11 PM or so until about 5 AM the next morning we were as scared as we have ever been in our entire lives. Not Legare though, he slept through the whole thing.

When it started to get really dicey and the power went out, we moved from the den to the downstairs powder room which is across the hall from a small coat closet. There were periods of time during the night that I truly feared that we would not be alive to see the morning. For instance, when the pressure sucked all of the water out of the pipes in the house. Have you ever sat on the floor in your bathroom listening to something akin to a freight train bearing down on you IN the dark with just a flashlight and watched the water being sucked out of the toilet??? It's creepy...very creepy.

During the eye of the storm, we walked out on our front porch...eerie....so still...but the porch hadn't been ripped off so that seemed like a good thing. Some of our neighbor's roof, however, was in the front yard. That was bad. There were trees down all around one of our cars, but not ON the car. That was good. We walked upstairs...the guest bath window was broken. Later we discovered it was from the neighbor's flying roof. All in all, we were still standing (we didn't know that some of our neighbor's were NOT), so we went back downstairs to get ready for the other side of the storm. Let me tell you, it was every bit as scary as the first part of the storm.

In the days following, everybody said that it was a good thing all of this went on during darkness....that if it had happened during the day so that we could actually see what was going on, lots more people would have been hurt or killed...not just from trying to run outside to try to fix or save something, but from a heart attack or stroke from the sheer terror. I suppose that's true because...

Gotta go now...will finish this later.

Three Quotation Thursday

There are two ways to pass a hurdle: leaping over or plowing through... There needs to be a monster truck option. - Jeph Jacques

I'm loving this one today. I think that I actually use a monster truck option sometimes. It's just disguised as a "aren't you the nicest sweetest thing in the world and I am SO very sorry to bother you but I need your help more than you can EVER imagine and would be SO very GRATEFUL if you could find your way to assist me in finding a solution for this challenge." Then there IS the "I am a CRAZY woman and it would be in your best interest to fix this problem" approach.
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Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.– Source Unknown

I need to ponder this one

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You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down. ~ Mary Pickford

I really do try to practice this philosophy. I do best with "fresh starts" on Monday mornings but try really hard everyday. Some days I get it right and some days I not so much. That's just how it goes!

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Y'all have a FABULOUS day now, ya hear?

Strategic Plans and PowerPoint Presentations

I spent the day with strategic plans and PowerPoint presentations and you know what? I was happy as a pig in slop because there's nothing I love more than a good challenge.

Work has been interesting lately. We have a new "big" boss and his way of doing things is practically completely different than the ways of the old boss. I can't blame Mr. New really...he doesn't know any of us. I anticipate great things happening in our organization, but right now just about everybody is feeling a little uncomfortable. The people who aren't feeling a little uncomfortable are NOT paying attention, and I expect they're going to muck something up good before long.

The main issue is communication. We have a lot of new processes and protocols and it takes a lot longer than it used to get an answer or to provide someone WITH an answer. I'm no dummy (contrary to popular belief) and have always been smart enough to know when to NOT answer a question or give advice. In other words, I'm pretty savvy about knowing what I DON'T know, but when I make an error, I'm the first to step up and accept the consequences. Furthermore, I'm a "company girl"....nobody is or ever will be more loyal. That's the southern belle way!

Again, I realize that Mr. New doesn't know us and the only thing I can suppose is that there are some trust issues. Some of our clients are getting frustrated that we aren't providing the same level of service that we used to. Everybody is thankful to have a job...there is no question about it. For heaven's sake, I don't know anybody who's going around saying, "gosh darn it...I'm really sorry that I didn't get displaced...why oh WHY can't I be UNemployed??!!!!!" It's just that change can be tough...even if the outcomes are good, the act of change itself is often one conflict after another. You have to respect the process but you don't have to like it.

I try, or at least I TRY to try, to keep spirits up around the office. My assistant, Miss Yvette, and I like people to be happy. Happy people are productive people. Frustrated people start to nitpick and snip at their colleagues. That is NOT the southern belle way and southern belles do NOT appreciate that kind of behavior. I'm continuing with my "relax" and "keep calm and carry on" mantra and most days it works, although one day last week, I felt like the wooden "keep calm" sign was mocking me and I wanted to WHACK it against something until it broke into teeny tiny pieces. The important thing to note is that I did NOT whack the sign until it broke into teeny tiny pieces.

But tonight...tonight, all is well. I'm going to dream of sweet strategic plans and pleasing PowerPoint presentations. Nighty night!!

My Future Career in the US Armed Forces

Still trying to make Hank comfortable. He was supposed to be going out of town today for a few days on business but has had to cancel. I picked up some plain old chicken noodle soup this morning and some apple juice to make up for the orange juice incident from yesterday afternoon.

As he walked in the kitchen just a few minutes ago to get his soup and crackers, I asked, "Have you taken all of your medicine?" To which he replied, "You are like an ARMY DRILL SERGEANT! Dang! It's like you can't wait for me to get well!!"

Well DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In his defense, he quickly realized how monumentally stupid the second remark was. But he isn't backing down from the army drill sergeant thing.

Apparently, I do have the drill sergeant knack. Shortly after we got married, Hank had to have all of his wisdom teeth out. When we got home, he was still feeling mighty fine from the anesthesia and would NOT lie down. I fussed and he finally agreed to recline on the sofa. As I walked out of the room I heard him say, "The nurse was really nice and she smelled good. You're MEAN!

All together now, "Ma'am, yes ma'am, Sergeant Belle, MA'AM!"

When Husbands Don't Feel Well...

Has anybody out there had to deal with a sick husband lately? Poor Hank...thankfully, he does NOT have H1N1, but he is terribly sick with some flu-like thing. Our family doctor gave him a couple of shots yesterday afternoon and a bag full of medicine. This is not good...not just because of the obvious, but also because he cannot STAND it when he just has to sit around. (Unlike ME, who loves to just sit around).

I've been to the store and we are stocked up on Puffs with lotion, cough drops, chai tea latte from the local coffee shop (the one I made at home this morning was "too spicy"), and a pot of chicken and dumplings is simmering on the stove. He was unhappy with the orange juice because "everybody knows that people with sore throats can't drink orange juice!" (Sorry dude...) I gave him a flying pill to try to get him to relax and now he's sitting outside reading "South of Broad." I'll get some comfort food in him after a little while and am NOT above encouraging another flying pill later this afternoon. Better yet...maybe I'll just take the flying pill myself!!!

I'm a WINNER...I'm a WINNER

Take THAT bullies of the world. I'm a WINNER and you are most decidedly NOT!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA (evil laugh)

Seriously, my new good blog friend Susan, over at The World from My Basement recently hosted a giveaway and I WON the most FABULOUS monogrammed clutch. Look...lookey lookey look!!!!!

As an added bonus, it turns out that Susan is a former South Carolinian who used to live 150 miles or so up the interstate in a sweet little town where she knew Hank's cousin and his family AND a high school friend of mine who settled in the area. Her mother and mine both attended the same college and are about the same age. I've got to find mother's old yearbook. It is truly a small world, isn't it?

Run...RUN (OK...type or click) as fast as you can to check out her blog and online shop, Basement Bags. I can personally attest to the fact that the Rachie Clutch will not disappoint.

THANK YOU, Susan. I needed a boost and you and my beautiful new clutch surely did give me one!

AAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!

I need to start a new private blog so that I can vent about some things. Some people, Lord love them (and I am serious about that), are bullies and just plain mean. How can a person find joy in being a bully? Now I'm starting to feel sorry for the mean person. That must be some kind of miserable existance...

And that's all I have to say about that!

-----------------------------An evening edit...just wanted to clarify that the bully isn't related to anything "bloggy." I've been really fortunate that I've never received a rude comment...folks haven't always agreed with me but the discourse has always been civil, thank goodness!!