Peaceful evening

Wow, it has been such a peaceful evening!  The girls went to the movies tonight and Robert and I have been being lazy and watching TV.  I can only stand so much TV before I start getting antsy, so I decided to go online and do a little journaling and blog-hopping.  I also stopped by ebay to check on a couple of items I'm bidding on.  My Katie's 18th birthday is coming up in July and she would like some Vera Bradley  bags (in the "Katherine" pattern which is retired and getting more and more difficult to find).  She is hoping to have a nice set to take to college next year.  It will take me a year to be able to afford a "nice set"!  I'm hoping that ebay will help save me some money.  I am in love with the "sherbet" pattern and would love to have some for myself! 

Robert's 2nd day of picking tomatoes was rained out.  He isn't in too great of spirits today.  He went and got a haircut to pass the rainy day and the barber really whacked his hair off!  I told him that it wasn't my favorite haircut that he has ever had, but it's not too bad.  It reminds me of the haircuts that men in their 40's and 50's used to get back in the 1960's.  Very short in the back and sides and longer on the top and parted on the side.  I told him that all he needs now is a pair of thick black framed glasses and he could be a 1960's news reporter.  He wasn't amused.  He said "You know how you felt the other day when I told you that your knees were getting bigger?"....that's all I needed to hear.  Well at least his hair will grow!!  My knees are doomed forever!!

Did I mention that my washing machine died today?  Well, I'm mentioning it now.  I am glad that the miserable month of May is officially over in 1 hour and 20 minutes!  This month has been the worst month for household repairs of my entire 21 years of marriage!  The 1st thing to go was the truck.  Then the well pump burned up.  Now my washing machine.  I was hoping to be able to put some money aside for our rapidly approaching vacation.  Well, they say that bad things come in 3's.  There have been 3 bad things now. . . .I'm ready for a little smooth sailing. . .please?

Did I mention the bite on my elbow?  I am not quite sure what bit me, Robert says it looks like a spider bite, but I'm not sure.  It is pretty swollen, hot to the touch and red, but the worst thing is the itching.  It is like a giant mosquito bite that itches constantly!  I bought some benedryl cream for it and it did nothing, so I took a couple of Tylenol PMs a little while ago.  The active ingredient is the same as benedryl, so we shall see if it works.  I can already feel the sleepiness creeping in.  I love that feeling of blissful sleepiness.  Thank goodness they are non habit forming!

I'm outa-here y'all.  Have a good one!

Holiday Weekend

I can't believe that it is summer and will be June in a few days!  Boy this spring passed quickly.  It is hot, hot, hot down here in central Florida.  It is expected to be 91 tomorrow for Memorial Day.  We had a very nice church service this morning and honored our past and present Veterans.  It was very special. 

Robert begins picking tomatoes tomorrow.  He will not get to enjoy the holiday and so the girls and I will be hanging out at the house, swimming in the pool, laying out in the sun, watching movies when it gets too hot or reading. . .just a nice day of relaxing.  My poor hubby, working hard out in the heat.  When he gets to complaining I have to remind him that he chose to be a farmer!  He had more than a few chances to get out and stay out, but he always came back to it.  It's in his blood and he's good at it.

Katie might (I repeat MIGHT) be going out to Chili's with MATT after church tonight.  We have a brand new Chili's restaurant that opened this Thursday and Matt works there.  He asked Katie if she would go with him after church tonight.  She didn't say no!  The only problem is that we live in a really small town and Chili's is the biggest thing to hit our little town in a long time, so there are bound to be people that know Katie and Mike there.  I don't know if she's ready to go down that road again.  If you are totally lost, then pop into my family and friend tree journal.  http://journals.aol.com/stronghands63/FamilyFriendTree/  I have a brief overview of the kids and their love lives in there.  Mike has begun his "jerk" ways again.  She and a friend wanted to go to the beach yesterday and so they stopped at Chick-fil-a on their way to the beach for breakfast.  Well, guess who was in there having breakfast too?  MIKE.  He saw Katie in her skimpy shorts and tank top with her bathing suit underneath and said "what's this?"  And she lied!!!!  She told him that she and Jenna were going to Jenna's aunts house to swim and lay out!  I asked her why she felt the need to lie to him, why didn't she tell him the truth? and she said that famous line from A Few Good Men "He can't handle the truth!"  Apparently she isn't "allowed" to go to the beach without him.  OOooOOoo....I could pop him right in the eye.  So, she is mad at him right now, so maybe she'll go out with Matt tonight!  We'll see.  I'll let you all know how it plays out.  I keep getting that deja-vu feeling . . . oh ya, I have been here before!! 

Well y'all, I am going to do a little blog-hopping and commenting before going to church.  I hope you all have a wonderful holiday tomorrow, I'm sure I'll get the chance to make an entry while enjoying my day of relaxation!  Bye!

                                                     

Carrie

                   

Yeah Carrie!!  Our newest American Idol.  I am very happy for Carrie, although Bo was great too and I have no doubt that he too will be a huge star.

It was a great finish.

I made it

Just a quick note to tell you all that I made it to and from work today just fine!  Truck is running great!  YEAH!  I'll write more later. Bye

LONG Monday

Ol' Blue

I am thrilled that yesterday is over.  What a long day.  It started out badly, but got better as the day went on, and on , and on.  Once again I broke down on the way to work.  I got about 3/4 of a mile from my house when my truck (yes, the one I just got back) began to die on me.  I turned off the radio and the air and prayed that it would keep rolling far enough to get me to a place where I was far enough off the main road, yet close enough to a phone.  You see, my "cost effective" husband who freaks out over the cell phone bill EVERY month wanted to try "cell phone sharing" between my daughter and I.  So, feeling that she needs it more than I do while driving, I let her have it most of the time.  Now when things are going great I don't really NEED it, but when I break down on a main highway, 3 miles from the nearest convenience store, and have to walk to a mobile home with 2 big muddin' trucks in the front yard ( yes, front yard as opposed to "driveway") thats when I say. . .I need my OWN cell phone!!!!!!!!!!!  Which of course I told my sweetie as soon as he came and picked me up on the side of the road!  It just so happened to be about 80 degrees and very humid yesterday. My office is always freezing, so I try to dress warmly, so I don't freeze all day.  Well, the long sleeves and black pants with pantyhose underneath were not the right choice for walking down a long dirt road looking for a phone at 7:30 am on a hot sticky day, I'll tell you that right now!  Anyway, he picked me up and got me to work only 10 minutes late.  Then I had a nice long day at work with nothing but the yogurt (I threw in my purse as an afterthought as I was leaving the house) for lunch.  That's bad enough, but the girls had a mission trip meeting at the church from 6:00 to 8:30 and so they planned to come then and I'd ride home with them.  Now I ate 2 pieces of toast at 7:00am and a yogurt at noon, so 8:30 pm was looking mighty bleak to me, but fortunately we had a funeral at the church and not many people came back for the meal after the graveside service and the family came down about 5:15 and asked if anyone was hungry (MY head popped right up!)  There was a ton of food and all was hot and good!  I was very thankful.  So, we got out of the meeting at 8:00 instead of 8:30 and got home just in time for Robert to come home and grab a bite to eat (Katie made spaghetti before coming to the church) and then he had to go right back to work.  He made it home about 10:30 and showered and got right into bed.  Poor guy, he's working 15 to 16 hour days EVERY day and will be for another 2 weeks.  Up to his eyeballs in watermelons!  And I haven't even gotten 1 single watermelon!  I really want one, I have to ask him to bring one home for tonight.  I can eat it while I watch American Idol!  Go Carrie!

Oh, and the most unbelieveable news? You want to know what was wrong with the truck?  I ran out of gas.  No, I am not embarassed to tell you at all, because. . . . I filled it up the day that I broke down the first time.  My gas gauge isn't working, so when I fill it up I reset the mileage to "0" and then when I get to about 150 miles I fill it up again.  Well, my mileage meter read 89 miles when I got in it.  So, the only thing we can figure was that the gas was stolen while it sat at the garage for a week. The garage isn't in the best area and gas cyphoning is big out here in the country.  So, thank God that is all it was.  I'm gonna try it again in a couple of hours when I drive it to work!  And yes, Katie has the cell.

Bye!

Saturday Eve

Well, I've got my truck back!  Yeah!  It only cost me a small fortune, but it is so much better.  Before you could here me coming for a mile, and now I can sneak up on you!!  I hardly know what to think when I crank it up and it purrs. 

I am sitting here enjoying a cup of "Cinnabon" flavored coffee.  Heavenly.  I am not a real big fan of flavored coffees, but this is truly the exception of all exceptions.  I just pulled a peanut-butter and banana gooey butter cake out of the oven.  It has to sit for about a 1/2 hour and then I am diving into it.  It smells unbelieveable. The batter. . . OMG, let me just say that it was the best beater licking experience of my life!  I've never tried this recipe before, so if it is as good as I think it's gonna be I will share it in this journal.

Tomorrow is Sunday.  I love Sundays.  Robert is snack in the middle of watermelon harvest, so he will not be attending church with us in the morning.  I hate it when he can't go, but it won't stop me from going with the kids.  Matt (Katie's Matt) and his mom are singing a duet for the graduate recognition portion of tomorrow's service.  They sing so beautifully together.  He and Katie are very close, they even kissed the other night, but she is still hanging in there with Mike.  He is at our house right now and they are watching a movie.  They weren't getting along so well an hour ago, but I guess that's over with cause he is still here and they are quietly watching TV.  Betsy is at the car show with Jeremy's family.  Every 3rd Saturday they have a huge classic car show in our historical downtown area.  Thousands of people show up for it every month.  It is Betsy's favorite thing in life.  This is the first time she's ever gone with Jeremy, I don't know how that will be for her.  She's funny.  Well, it is getting awfully close to cake cutting time, and I need to call Robert and check on him.  They are loading watermelons until 11:00 pm every night now.  It is exhausting, draining work, but the good thing is that this pace only lasts for 2 weeks or so, then it slows down. Then he will be up to his eyeballs in tomatoes.  At least those are easier to harvest and they don't require extra hours. 

Well y'all, there's a yummy gooey butter cake that is calling my name right now.  I must go check it out.  Have a good night!

Another day without my truck

Well, "Ol Blue" is now at the muffler shop.  We picked it up this morning from the garage and dropped it off again.  They said it will be done by the end of the day.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed!  I hate being without a ride.  Thank God the truck is paid for or else the $1,100 repair bill would have killed me.  Believe me, it hurt. . .badly, to write that check, but if I had to send a car payment in this month too!  Oh boy.  The muffler shop bill should be under $120, so we were happy about that.  They are replacing the whole muffler system. 

In other news. . .the well pump was repaired and we now have water again.  We need a new pool filter and the pool should be good to go.  The painter is almost finished painting the outside of the house and it is looking great. And lastly we have one panel of screen loose in the pool enclosure, so that has to be fixed as soon as the screen guys can come out.  They are looking at about 8 to 10 weeks before they can come out.  After 3 hurricanes hit our area last fall, the screen companies have been booked solid for months in advance.  It took 5 months to get our screens replaced after loosing 1/2 of them in the storms, and now one is loose.  Give me a break!!  It's a good thing I have a decent paycheck coming in now!

Well, I didn't mean for this to be a griping session, but I want you all to know what's going on in my world.  Happy Friday to you all, have a wonderful weekend.

Amazing pictures to share

My cousin Tom's son Timmy is in Iraq and he sent these pictures home.  They are of an actual sandstorm in Iraq.  The first is a look at the storm as it is approaching and the second was as it hits the camp.  What an amazing and powerful God we have!

Better to be safe than sorry

I got this email from my best friend and I wanted to pass it along to every woman I know.  This is really good information for all women.

Because of these recent abductions in daylight hours, refresh yourself
of these things to do in an emergency situation...

This is for you, and for you to share with  your children, your friends,
your wife, everyone you know.

  1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your
body. If you are close enough to use it, DO SO!

  2. Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans.  If a robber asks
for your wallet and/or purse,  DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM.  Toss it away from
you....chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or
purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse.  RUN LIKE MAD IN
THE OTHER DIRECTION!

  3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back
tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy.
The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.


  4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping,
eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a
list, etc).  DON'T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this
is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put
a gun to your head, and tell you where to go.  AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO
YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.

  5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or
parking garage:

          A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the
passenger side floor, in the back seat and underneath the car.

          B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from
the passenger door.

Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans
while the women are attempting to get into their cars.

         C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your
vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat
nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and
get a guard/policeman to walk you back out


      IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid
than dead.)

  6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are
horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot).

  7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS
RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times;
And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN!

  8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP.

It may get  you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a
good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of
unsuspecting women.

He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his
vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

  9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a
crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the
police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told
her "Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door."

The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a
window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get
run over. The policeman said, "We already have a unit on the way,
whatever you do, DO NOT open the door."

He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded,
and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone
dropped off a baby.

He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women
saying that they hear baby crying outside their doors, when they're home
alone at night.

Please pass this on and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby.

This e-mail should probably be taken seriously because the Crying Baby
theory was mentioned on America's Most Wanted this past Saturday when
they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana.

I'd like you to forward this to everyone you know. It may save a life.

Send this to someone you know that may need to be reminded that the
world we live in has a lot of crazies in it, and it's better to be safe
than sorry

Comfort food

Do you have a favorite 'comfort food'......extra points if you share a recipe!"  This is my response to Kelly's question and here is a link to her journal.

http://journals.aol.com/pixiedustnme/Inmyopinion/

My favorite comfort food would have to be macaroni and cheese.  Even better would be crock pot mac and cheese!  It's really easy and I don't even use a real recipe.     

Boil a box of elbow macaroni. Spray pam all around in crock pot.  Drain elbows and pour into crock pot.  Add about 8 cups of shredded cheese (all varieties, cheddar, monteray jack, colby, mozzerella) AND 1/2 of large brick of velveeta, sliced.  Mix together as much as you can.  Beat 2 eggs into 2 cups of milk and pour over top.  I add salt and pepper and a little dry mustard to the milk mixture for flavor. Cook on high for about 1/2 hour mixing every 15 min or so until cheese melts.  Turn to low and cook for a couple of hours.  Stir occasionally. Can't beat it on a chilly or rainy day!

Why Men are happier (or should be!)

What do you expect from such simple creatures?
Your last name stays put.
The garage is all yours.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can be president.
You can never be pregnant.
You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
The world is your urinal.
You never have to drive to another gas station
restroom because this one is just too icky.
You don't have to stop and think of which way to
 turn a nut on a bolt.
Same work, more pay.
Wrinkles add character.
Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental - $100.
People never stare at your chest when you're talking
to them.
The occasional well-rendered belch is practically
expected.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
One mood - all the time.
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
You can open all your own jars.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of
thoughtfulness.
If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can
still be your friend.
Your underwear is $8.95 for three-pack.
Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
You are unable to see the wrinkles in your clothes.
Everything on your face stays it's original color.
The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
You only have to shave your face and neck.
You can play with toys all your life.
Your belly usually hides your big hips.
One wallet and one pair of shoes one color for all
seasons.
You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
You can "do" your nails with a pocketknife.
You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on
December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier (or at least they should be!)

 

Betsy's Big Day

Yesterday was Betsy's big day.  She went to the ROTC military ball with her good friend/on-and-off boyfriend Jeremy.  Betsy is my baby and so it was really hard to see her all dressed up with full make-up and hair done.  She looked beautiful and had a great time.  Here are a couple of pictures taken just before they left.                 

I just can't seem to get going this morning.  I know that I am stranded at the house with no transportation, maybe that's it.  Robert will be here in about 2 hours to take me to work.  He is bringing a guy over later to chain up to the truck and haul it to the garage.  The girls were late this morning as Katie's alarm didn't go off.  You know. . .I just have to rant for a moment. . .Katie is so good at setting her alarm for 6:00 and getting herself and Betsy up in the morning.  Well, Robert's alarm goes off at 6:30 and he always get's up on time too.  He gets in the shower this morning, gets dressed and THEN he goes out to the kitchen, no girls.  He walks back to our room and says, "hon, the girls are still in bed"  Ok, here's my rant.  When he didn't hear the blow dryer or the girls fighting this morning as usual, do you not think that it would dawn on him to check to see if they are up before he is ready to walk out the door?  Where is the little "alarm" that should be in his head saying "something isn't right here"  I don't get it.  If it were me, I would check to make sure they were up BEFORE jumping in the shower.  I don't hear anyone's alarm in the morning and Robert is usually getting out of the shower before I wake up.  I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to get up earlier to check that everyone is on schedule.  Fortunately these problems are the exception and not the rule.

I am going to run now.  It is way past feeding time for the animals.  I am out of horse feed as my truck broke down yesterday on the day I was planning to get it.  We have a couple of extra small pastures to put them in when we run out of feed, so they will not starve. . .but we really need to get it today.  Chicklet, the pig is getting huge and Tater is growing like a weed.  The kitties are all wild and so I can't pick them up and play with them.  They are fun to watch though.  I am going now.  Have a great day.

Pooped

I am soooo tired right now.  This is going to be a quick entry just to catch everyone up on my day.  I had a beautiful morning.  Temps in the mid 60's and no humidity.  I had to be at work at 11:30 am this morning as Tuesday's we have Bible study for all staff ladies. (I just love working at church!)  Well, about 1/2 mile from church, my truck starts making this horrible sound, like metal grinding against metal.  I pulled into a parking lot and was able to idle over to a parking place.  The engine is running fine, but when you put it into drive and touch the gas pedal, the horrible sound comes back.  So, I went inside and called my work and asked them to send someone to get me.  Then onec I got to work my day was wonderful.  Katie came and picked me up at 5:00 and I came home and made a fantastic dinner.  After dinner, Robert and I had to go get the truck. (About 8 miles from here) We had to chain up to it and I drove Robert's truck while he was in mine.   We drove 15 mph the whole way home through traffic and red lights. . .ahhhh!  But it's home safe and sound. Now I have to bum rides and share a car with Katie until it gets fixed. 

Well, I am sooo exhausted.  I'm heading off to bed now.  Talk again tomorrow.

New Picture of Brady

For all of you that have been following the story of my little niece "Brady", I thought I would put a new picture of her in my journal.  This was taken this past Friday night when we went to have dinner at her house.  She is getting so big and doing very well.  Her problem is only slightly noticeable now and hopefully once her hair grows in you will not even be able to tell that she has a problem.  I'll keep updating periodically as we get to see her.

A Mother's Day Tribute

                                         

  

           A Tribute to my beautiful

      Mother and Grandmother

This picture was taken this morning as my mom and grandmother were heading off to church.  I want to give them a loving tribute today, Mother's Day 2005.

The mother's face is the child's first heaven.

Mom and Gram, I love you both very much.  Have a wonderful, beautiful Mother's Day.  I miss you.  Barb

  I am home!  And boy was it great.  I am not kidding you, it was wonderful.  I took these two pictures this morning at 7 am.  I went out by the pool to do my quiet time and thank goodness I brought my camera!  The first picture is of the pool with our meeting tent behind it.  It was beautiful inside (see the small picture from my last entry of the room with round tables, that was taken inside the tent. . .looks like a ballroom!!)  Anyway, it was perfect.  The second picture was taken from the pool deck out into the inlet.  Look really closely at the pink dots on the island.  Know what they are?  Flamingos!!  They were actual flamingos!  I haven't seen them in the wild before...just in zoos, wildlife habitats and protected areas, but never in the wild.  It was so special. It didn't come out very clearly because I had to zoom in a lot to try to make them bigger and all it did was make them blurry.  But I must say it was a ton of fun.    We did get a really big laugh last night though and I must share... We were in the elevator (about 6 of us) and there was an older man (70ish) that was already in there when the door opened and he was going up to the 5th floor. So Kathy one of my friends says "hello Paul" (he was wearing a name tag)  He said hello.  She asked him if he was here with a group and he said yes he was.  She asked him what group was that?  He asked if we really wanted to know and of course we said yes.  Well, he said that he was with the "Crimson Moons".  No clue....none of us saw it coming.... She should have stopped right there, but no, she blindly went on, She said "oh, and what do the "Crimson Moons" do?  "Well", he says, "We are a 'Spanking Club'. . .there's about 40 of us here."  "WHAT?  COME AGAIN?" (yes, she did ask.)  Then, "ding", our floor. . .we all got off and as soon as the door closed we were on the floor.  All 6 of us went right down to our knees in a great explosion of laughter!  And poor Kristy, she couldn't make it, she pee'd herself!  Completely wet her pants!!  BADLY!  A puddle on the floor! She had to go change her pants and then we were forbidden to talk about the "spankers" in her presence any more because she didn't bring anymore pants!  Well, you know we talked about it to the other 74 people in our group!  And then, when it finally dawned on us that their name "Crimson Moons" translates to "RED BUTTS", well, let's just say we all lost it again.  Fortunately for Kristy, she didn't have to go. . .   FUN FUN FUN.  Wish I could do it again next weekend!  I'll write more about the serious stuff later.  Must get to Walmart to buy a couple of birthday presents for my nieces and nephew. . .we are going to see them tonight.   Talk to ya later!

Packing for my Retreat!

   This is the Doubletree Guest Suites on Tampa Bay.  I will be sleeping here tonight! Yea!!I won't be swimming, but as you can see it is right on the bay.  Our meetings will be held in this room.  First Class all the way!  I really need a get away after this week.

I have neglected my animals this week.  I need to get a new routine going, but I haven't done it yet.  Robert comes home mid morning to feed everyone for me.  I just hate to go out to the barn after I've showered, so I have to remember to go feed them before I jump in the shower.  We are thinking about selling our horses as we don't have time for them anymore.  Wes was the one who rode them the most and he isn't living at home anymore.  They are expensive "lawn ornaments" as my j-land friend Sherry might say!

The sun has finally come out today in my part of the Sunshine state.  It has been gone for too long!  Gloomy and drizzly for the last 4 days.  And it was cold out this morning!  In the 50's!  Crazy!!  I hope it is nice out this evening for a beautiful stroll along the bay!  I can't wait!  Ok, I just counted and I have already used 12 "!" in this entry.  I must be in a good mood! (13)  I have no idea what my family is going to do tonight. . .I hope my husband doesn't let Katie go out on a date.  I will be a wreck knowing that she's out running around and driving and who knows what! (14)  He always falls asleep before she gets home, I'm the one who stays awake until I hear her come in.  I can't sleep until all my chicks are safely tucked away.  Except for Wes.  Who knows what he's doing.  Now is when I just have to pray for him and hope that all the good morals and upbringing pay off.  Frightening!

Well y'all, I have got to get back to packing.  I don't need much, but I have to find everything andwash a few things.  Have a great one!  I'm taking my camera to get some good shots of the sunset and the sights.  Bye for now.

My bed tonight!  Are you jealous?

Great end to a long day!

The singing went great tonight!  I sang 3 songs with Katie and 1 song with Matt.  He is an incredible singer and made me sound really good.  We did a "Mercy Me" song called "Word of God Speak".  It was awesome.  Katie and I did some old favorites of ours that we haven't done at this church before.  "He Leadeth Me" an old hymn that we do accapella and jazz it up a bit.  "Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior" another old hymn that we did with an accompaniment track that had a great gospel flair.  And we ended it with a beautiful song called "Feel the Nails" that is perfect for our harmonies.  So, it was a wonderful night.  You should have seen poor Matt sitting at our table, the only guy in a room full of 130 women.  He was so shy and embarrassed to be the only guy.  The women all love him (he grew up in the church) and the main women speaker told all the ladies that it was nice to have Matthew with us, and it doesn't hurt that he's so cute to look at!  To say he blushed would be putting it very mildly!  So, I am exhausted and tomorrow is going to be another long day.  I will be leaving at 3:00 for my ladies retreat.  I can't wait.  I hope you all have a wonderful TGIF day!

Oh, I should probably tell you that Matt and Katie held hands under the table cloth!  Here we go again!

Tomatoes are coming!

  

Tomatoes are getting close!  We have about 500 acres of tomatoes growing right now and the fields are really beautiful. I just had to take a few pictures today to share with you all. 

I still love my job.  I am not having much trouble learning the ropes and do not need to ask too many questions.  Tomorrow is the big day. . .Sunday bulletins!  It is a big deal.  They are done on large paper, two-sided with a tri-fold.  We have to run 1,200 of them.  It's not a hard job, just time consuming and they have to be   perfect. . .or else! (what? they'll chop my bumbling fingers off?)  Tomorrow night is also our Mother/Daughter Banquet at the church and my Katie and I are the special music.  We are singing 3 songs together and I asked (Katie's) Matt to sing a song with me and so there will be a total of 4 songs.  I will have someone take a picture of us to share with all my j-land friends.

Friday afternoon I am leaving to go on our Spring Breakaway.  The ladies of the church are going to the DoubleTree in Tampa, right on the bay, for an overnight get a way.  I have been looking forward to this for months!  We are going out to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant (Landry's) and then . . .??? . . .I'm really not sure what's on the agenda...I don't really care, as long as it's fun.

So, that's the rest of my week!  Busy!  I hope you all have fun things planned too.  

 I feel the need to give a great big shout-out to my j-land friend Jackie whose hubby Brad is coming home on Sunday from Iraq!  I am so happy for you guys!  Let's just hope that your baby boy hangs on for a few more days!

Bye for now.

How long will I live?

I found the link to this cute quiz in Angel's journal: http://journals.aol.com/angelm0304/MyLife/

You Will Die at Age 94 94
Congratulations! You take good care of yourself.

You're poised to live a long, healthy life.

 

Apparently I will live to be 94!  That's good news!  I have 53 years left.  Yea!

You too can find out how long you'll live at the link below:

                            what age will you die 

Have fun!

Wednesday

  Well, as you can see, I never made it back last night.  Wes had 2 papers to write and a sociology final to study for. He was up til 3:00 am. on the computer.  Too late for me!  I had a nagging headache all day yesterday and took a couple of Tylenol PM's after dinner.  Well, by 9:00 I was in bed, headache gone, but couldn't keep my eyes open!  Wes wasn't too happy because he was hoping I would help him with his papers.  I grabbed his research and highlighted and circled the important parts and made notes in the margins.  Then, when I could no longer focus, I handed them back to him and said "good luck", and I was out like a light.  This morning I got up at 6:30 to find he had a rough draft on the computer, so I edited and corrected his spelling and punctuation while he was in the shower.  I shoved the finished copy into his hands as he was going out the door.  Am I an idiot?!  I didn't have anyone there to help me in college!  I took "no-doze" when I had a paper to do so I could stay up and work all night!  I don't know what to do.  If we don't help him, he could fail.  That doesn't just hurt him because we paid for his classes!  That's our money going down the drain!  If we make him pay for his own college then it will take him forever to finish and besides, isn't it our duty as parents to see he is educated?  WAAHH! I am so upset about this!  He is a smart kid!  He had  very high SAT scores, so I know he can do it. . .he's just too lazy and unmotivated. What a way to start the day.  A dark and damp day, I might add.  And I have an ant bite on my thumb that I keep bumping on the space bar and it hurts!  . . .(wwaahh again). . .Maybe I'll go jump back into bed and start over.  Mmmm sounds good.  I can't do it, but I do need to do my "Frazzled Female" Bible study homework.  That should help.

I am sorry to dump my frustrations out on you all this morning! Have a great day!

Already Tuesday!

Wow!  It's already Tuesday and I have missed an entire day of journaling!  Let me tell you all that I LOVE my job.  I am sooooo happy there.  I am really busy, the whole time I'm there.  I do so much that I can't even begin to tell you everything.

Robert is up to his eye balls at work.  He is having problem after problem with help.  There just aren't enough people to do the job.  He spent the day teaching people how to tie up the plants that are getting so tall that they're falling over.  The people that do this all day, every day can fly doing it, but it takes a while to get in the groove and so it is going really slowly.  He also had to teach someone to drive a tractor that has never driven one before.  He is stressed to the max. 

Robert is home for dinner. . .I'll finish this entry later this eve.

Wet Sunday evening

It has been a wet Sunday.  It began raining around 2:00 am and started thundering around 4:00am.  By 8:00 am when Robert checked the farm there was 1 and a 1/2 inches in the rain gauge.  That's a pretty good rain.  It was muggy and damp most of the day and then we got another downpour around 5:30 this afternoon.  Now it's about 75* and humid.  Thank goodness for AC!  So, I am sitting here checking out my comments and alerts and thought I would give a quick Sunday update. 

I start my new job in the morning.  Mondays are my 8:00 - 5:00 day.  Then 12:30 - 5:00 through Thursday and Friday off!  I am really excited. I loved last week, just training, but I am really going to enjoy my co-workers.  We laughed a lot last week.  Monday's are going to be special!  Robert wants to meet at our favorite little diner every Monday.  Yipee!  Well, this entry was pretty boring, sorry!  But every day can't be exciting and eventful!  I hope all of you have a wonderful week!

Celebrating my dads retirement!

   I want to take a moment to congratulate my dad on his retirement!  He worked for the same company for 45 years!  Now it's time to kick back and enjoy life.  He and my mom have been working hard and saving to build their dream retirement home on their lake front property for many years now.  All I can say is "build a big one!"  You know I'm kidding.  I want you to know that I love you and I am very proud of you and appreciate the example that you have set for me and Scott and our families.  Let the party begin!