18.4 and Counting

Went today to Jenny Craig and weighed. I could not believe it. I lost 3.4 lbs. this week. So, that means I've lost 18.4 lbs. since March 1st.-8 weeks. I think I'm doing very well. And, I'm still loving the food. They have added a few new items and so far, they are really good, too.

We found out this week (Wednesday) that Michelle and Vance are having a girl. How exciting! That's pretty rare for the Rutherford family, but I think Chad and Tabitha broke the curse, cause now other members of the family have had girls. Our nephew, Chris and his wife, Amanda, had a girl the end of last year; and our great-nephew, Corey and wife, had a girl on March 17th of this year.

I came home after church and Vance had bought me flowers to celebrate the news about our granddaughter. Isn't he the sweetest?

Thursday, I went to intercessory prayer at church for the first time in a very long time. Mrs. Sandi said it lasted exactly an hour, so that's what I told Vance. Well, wouldn't you know, it went until almost 10:30. We had emergency prayers being called in and I didn't even realize the time. I had left my phone in the car, so I didn't know that Vance had called three times. I tried to call him as I left church, but he didn't answer. I got home and he wasn't there. I knew he was out looking for me and I felt awful about worrying him. Sure enough, as I was getting out of the car, he drove up and I could tell he was mad. I told him I had tried to call and he yelled "I don't care!" and went into the house, then out the backdoor. I just sat on the couch and waited. I guess he was out for about 20 minutes, then knocked on the door cause it was locked. I opened the door and he apologized for yelling at me. He told me he was scared to death that something had happened to me, then he got mad. I apologized for worrying him. He really was scared that something bad had happened to me. Does the man love me or what??? I don't think I'll be going to prayer again for a little while. Or, at least, I won't give a time limit, cause you just never know when you may have to pray longer. He goes to the doctor on Tuesday and is going to ask for another prescription of Chantix to help him stop smoking. Cause I told him I didn't want him to get sick like my mother.

Speaking of Mama, she's doing pretty good. She's cooking for herself and is even vacuuming the floor. Penny texted me today and asked if I could buy groceries for Mama tomorrow. She's not feeling good.

Today, after going to weigh, I stopped by the antique store and bought four old postcards of P.C. landmarks. I think I will go to those places and take pictures and make scrapbook pages "Then and Now". Cause all of them have changed and some of them are not even here anymore. The Dixie Sherman Hotel was the first building in the U.S. to be imploded in 1969 or 1970. Daddy used to have a key to one of the rooms. I wonder if Mama still has it. I could make a shadow box with the postcard and key. And a picture of the demolition if I can find one on-line.

Well, I guess I better go to bed. Olga and I have just been on the phone for an hour and it's past midnight, so I'm headed off to bed. Goodnight and God bless........

15.2 down and only 56 to go

This weekend sure has flown by. Friday was timesheet day and I had to stop and go weigh in. I've lost 15.2 lbs. so far. I'm loving it! Jenny Craig is adding some new food and I think it's going to be even better.

I finished my timesheets early, so I decided to take an hour vacation so that I could go to the drug store for Daddy and then go to Vance's mother's to see Robbie before she left. So, at 3:30, I walk out the door of my office, get in my car and realize I have left my rings on my desk. I took them off when I put lotion on. So, I drive around to the front of the office, grab my office keyring and lock my car. I go inside and retrieve my rings and back out to the car. The key on my keyring that I thought was to my car door wouldn't open my door. So, there I stand with three sets of car keys inside my car and not a one outside. Stupid, stupid..... I called Vance to come and unlock my car. He came and it was 4:30 when I finally left the office. Spent the hour's vacation waiting for my car to be unlocked. Vance went to pick up Hope and I went to get Daddy's medicine. After I finished with him, I went to see Robbie. Hope called to find out where I was and to let me know that she and PawPaw were on their way to see Robbie. We sat around and talked for about an hour, then Vance left Hope with me and I brought her home. I had planned on taking pictures of her, but she decided she didn't want to do a photo shoot. So, we just watched TV and talked. She and I went to Captain D's and got us some food.

Saturday morning, I got up early and took a shower. Hope came in and wanted to take a shower, too. I wrapped her in a towel and put her on the couch and went to get dressed. When I came back to her, she was sound asleep. I dressed her while she was asleep and she woke up while I was putting on her shoes, climbed up in my lap and said "Nonna, I'm just not a morning person." Vance and I cracked up. I took her home and then went to the beauty shop to meet Marsha. She colored and straightened my hair. We finished up around 1:30. I heard on the radio that it was supposed to rain on Sunday, so I called Mama and asked if I could buy her groceries instead of waiting until Sunday. You see, I can't get my hair wet until Tuesday night. The Keratin Complex straightener has to stay on until then. Can't sweat, either. I've prayed for cool, dry weather. Bought Mama's groceries and spent a couple of hours with her. She's doing good. She's cooking for herself and cleaning her house again. Chip came by and cut the grass.

Today was another beautiful day. Wore a skirt to church. Haven't worn a dress in ages, but I finally was able to get into it again and decided to wear it before it got too big. Then, I'll give it away. We had a great service.

Came home and didn't do much all afternoon. Cleaned the kitchen. Vance had washed clothes and folded them before I got home. He worked on the Oldsmobile and worked in the yard. I organized my stamps and some other craft supplies.

I guess I better start getting ready for bed (or should I day, couch?). I can't really sleep laying down. Have to try to keep my hair from getting crimped, so I sleep pretty much sitting up on the couch. Poor dogs. They don't know where to go when I'm on the couch. They always stay close to me, but at night Vinnie is in our room and Shadow is laying in the hall outside our bedroom door. When I'm on the couch, they go back and forth between me and Vance. They don't know who to sleep with. I don't know what I will do without them when they die. They are both getting old and I know it won't be much longer. I cry just thinking about losing them. I pray very long lifes for both of them.

Goodnight and God bless...........

Wednesday Night After Church

Today has been a really good day. The guys in my office were gone all day to a meeting out of town, so I had the whole place to myself. It was so quiet and peaceful. I got so much work done. I still worked till 5:30 to get caught up, cause I'll have a lot to do the next two days. We sent crews to Birmingham to help with the outages there, and I haven't gotten any of their timesheets yet.

Been having so much trouble with the internet, so this is the first time I've been able to blog. Had a wonderful weekend. Saturday, I went to Tally to visit Vance, Michelle and Fox. Poor Vance was sick the whole time I was there, but Michelle and I took Fox to a birthday party/egg hunt and Vance was able to sleep while we were gone. Took Fox back home and put him to bed, then Michelle and I went to Kohl's. Got Fox a cute outfit and bought Michelle, Tabitha and myself a blouse. We couldn't find anything for Vance. We stopped by Anna's house and she gave Michelle a massage to get rid of her headache and worked on me to get rid of numbness in my left hand. I could tell a difference immediately. The ring finger was no longer numb. She said I needed more work over several days to get the little finger fixed. It has been numb for about six months. I need to find somebody here to work on it. Had a wonderful supper and then I headed home. I had a great time.

Sunday, we had a great time at church. The youth/children put on a wonderful program. Chad, Tabitha and the kids came. Tabitha had a flat tire, Chad changed it and then came to church with them. The whole church was full. Afterwards, I gave Tabitha her blouse. She loved it. She, Chad and the kids went to see Mama. I went with Penny, Tiffaney and Swayde to Tonya's to see the rest of the family. Haven't seen them since Christmas. We had a good time. I met Tonya's babysitter, Keely Raquel. She is gorgeous and a country singer (hoping to break into the business). She also works with the young kids at her church. Check her out on my Facebook page. Or go to Keely Raquel on MySpace. Listen to her music. She writes the songs herself. She's really talented and so sweet.

So far, I've lost 14 lbs. on Jenny Craig. I go on Friday to weigh-in. I have been a little bad the past three days. I was asked to made potato salad for Sunday and had some left. I'm sorry, but I love my potato salad and I've had some every night for supper. I sure hope that hasn't slowed down my weight loss. Tonight was the last night, so I will get back to normal tomorrow. According to my scales at home, I've lost another pound. Hope their scales show the same or better...... ;)

Monday night, we had a guest speaker at our Ladies Meeting. She was so good and has an awesome voice. She's one of the P&W Leaders at Living Word Fellowship. She prayed over me after the service. I didn't get home till almost 10:00 and my sweet husband was waiting up to make sure I got home safe. I love that man!

It's getting late and I think I want to get to bed. Got two big days ahead of me.
Goodnight and God bless.........

Early Friday Morning

Took off work yesterday because of a horrible headache. Went back to bed and slept till almost 11:00. Ate breakfast and swept the living room. Tabitha called and asked if I could pick up Hope. Ran in and dressed real quick and threw on some makeup and went to school and picked her up. We stopped in at Office Max so I could pick up some ink for my printer. They had photo paper on sale, so I got some. I only buy it when it's buy one, get one free. I do so much printing, I'm not about to pay full price.

We went to Beef O'Brady's and hung out while Tabitha finished work. I ate a salad since I hadn't eaten lunch. We had so much fun. Roberta, one of the other servers, sat down with us and ate her lunch. We cut up and told about pranks people have pulled in our places of business. We were laughing so much, one of the other servers got jealous and told us to be quiet. We weren't desturbing anybody, cause there were only a few people there. Of course, that only made us laugh more.

I'll be off today, too. Going to Jenny Craig to weigh in. I am still loving the food. Haven't gotten bored yet, but this week, I had a hard time getting all my food in. Like today (yesterday I guess it would be). I missed a fruit and my lunch. The salad was only part of the lunch. Was supposed to have Swedish meatballs.

Wednesday night at church, we had a lady come and explain the Jewish Seder meal. It was so interesting. I took pictures and tried to take notes at the same time. Found out, I just can't do that. I either missed the notes, or missed a great picture. Gave up on the notes and focused on taking pictures. Sat down and talked to the lady afterwards. She is an interesting person. She's in the process of writing a Christian play. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Planning to go to Tallahassee on Saturday. Can't wait to see Vance, Michelle and Fox. Will be going to a birthday party with them, too. I've just been missing them and need to see them. I sure don't want Fox to forget he has another grandmother.

Well, it's almost 1:00am. I guess I need to get in bed. Goodnight and God bless.....

It's Cold Outside

Yep, here it is - April - and we are having our usual Florida cold snap right before Easter. It seems to happen every year no matter what month Easter falls in. I can remember buying a pretty, short sleeved dress for Easter Sunrise Service and having to wear a heavy coat because it was freezing outside. Never took my coat off the whole day. That was a waste - buying a new dress and nobody even saw it. Not even going to bother buying one this year. Will wear my usual black pants and a pretty top to church. Didn't think we were doing Praise and Worship, but we are. Then, the children and youth will take over with their special program. I know it will be great. They always do a great job.

Yesterday, I got to go out with my boss to observe the crews. We decided to go out and observe a different crew once a month for my performance evaluation. Since I love what I do and have no desire to learn a new job, we had to come up with something to put as a goal. It was a good experience. I got to see them work on a bad underground cable that had been chewed up by a squirrel (he finally got fried while chewing the aluminum). It happens all the time. For some reason, they are attracted to aluminum. Then, we went and watched a crew change out a transformer. I got to wear a traffic vest, hardhat, my steel-toed boots and safety sunglasses. You get bad hat hair from the hardhat, so I had just pulled my hair into a ponytail and didn't bother with straightening it. The guys at work have seen me at my worst - during hurricanes with no makeup and a month of just bursting into tears when my brother died. They are like brothers to me, so I really don't care about impressing them with how I look. The only man I want to impress is my husband. He loves me no matter what. He's such a great guy.

Called and talked to Trent this morning. He's in St. Augustine on a field trip. Tabitha and I were a little concerned about him being so far away, but he seems to be having fun.

Guess I better get to bed. Work tomorrow and that test. Goodnight and God bless.....

Weekend's Almost Gone-Flying By!

Boy, the weekend sure flew by. I took pictures yesterday at church during the Easter Egg Hunt. Actually, I didn't take picture "during" the hunt; but we had props set up and I took pictures of families afterwards. Took a little over 100 photos. Printed out 123 of them and took them to church this morning. We sold most of them (donations) and made $90.00. I donated all the developing costs which I did myself. That way, I could edit them. I love playing around with Photoshop. The money will go for the children/youth trip later this summer.

Mrs. Sandi preached this morning and it sure was good. She talked about Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. She's trying to find someone who will prepare a Passover meal Wednesday and explain all the elements involved to us Wednesday night. Should be great. I went to Niceville about 20 years ago to a Passover Feast and it was awesome. I was a member of our Expressive Worship team and we signed and danced to some Jewish songs. You could really feel the presence of God in that place. I wonder if they still carry on that tradition?

I came home and took a nap. Haven't been doing that the last few Sundays. Then, I spent the rest of the afternoon playing around with some of the photos I took yesterday. Made a cool slideshow to play at church maybe Easter Sunday.

Now, I'm really exhausted, so I'm heading off to bed. Goodnight and God bless.......

Still Losing

Yep, I'm still losing - 12.4 lbs. so far. I'm real excited. I'm still loving the food, though I did eat a few mixed nuts the other night. About 10 - and I put on my menu under the question "unplanned foods eaten and why" - because I wanted them. Leslie, my counselor, loved my comment. And she told me a little secret, but I can't tell, cause it's a secret. :>)

I'll try to get someone to take a picture of me tomorrow at church. I'm going to be there taking pictures of the kids - portraits, actually. Should be fun. They will be hunting eggs, watching the puppet show, having praise and worship and eating hot dogs. Should be a lot of fun.

Did it rain yesterday or what?? It was scary to say the least. Kept hearing reports of funnel clouds spotted, but they never touched down. Thank You, Lord! Heard there was one right over the main gate at Tyndall and Vance works just a few blocks from there. I called him and told him to get to a safe place. I was worried about him. The lightning was spectacular. Wish I had my camera when one bolt struck several times in the same place. It lasted several seconds. Never seen anything like it. There was a tornado that touched down in Vernon, so we sent crews up that way and they worked through the night, rested a few hours and headed back up there today.
Today was sunny and beautiful. Heard a lot of P.C. folks on my Facebook page headed out to the beach today. I'm not a beach person, but I could have been talked into going if I didn't have to work. Will I ever get a day off where I can just go and do something fun???

Was supposed to buy groceries for Daddy yesterday, but it was storming too bad. I told him he'd have to wait until today. Right now, I'm a little upset with him. He's not supposed to be drinking. That's what caused him to get so sick and almost die five years ago. Well, he's found some neighbor who will go to the store for him and buy him beer. He's knows I won't. So, now, he's drinking again and getting mad at his landlord (wants to find another place to live), cussing like a sailor. I'm going to have to have a long talk with him about that. It just grates on my nerves some of the words he uses. When he's sober, he's so respectful of my feelings. Not so, when he's had a few beers. I don't enjoy being around him anymore, but I go do my daughterly duty because I do still love him.

Kim is off in Tennessee having a blast. I'm so glad she got to go on vacation. She really needed a break from work. It's really been rough on all of us lately. These new programs are the pits. They make our lives miserable because we have to keep making corrections to things we didn't do because the systems won't talk to each other. They should have developed friendlier programs. These guys just seem to have bad attitudes and won't work together.

Today, after I weighed in, I had to rush home to take the frozen food and put in the freezer. I knew it would thaw out by the time I got Daddy's groceries. So, I ended up taking a 2-hour lunch. No problem, just made it up at the end of the day. On my way back to the office, I passed this 18-wheeler with a huge flatbed with nothing on it. Or, so I thought. Right in the middle of the flatbed, an old Tonka dumptruck was strapped down. It made me smile. Chip and I had Tonka dumptrucks just like that one. You know, the real metal ones. Not plastic like they make today. These were made of metal and you could sit on them and they wouldn't bend. Wish I still had mine. The kids would love playing with it. I was able to snap off a couple of pictures.

Mama is doing pretty good. I bought groceries for her last Sunday. Penny was sick and couldn't. She wanted to make chicken and dumplings and cabbage. That's the first time she's really cooked on the stove in about a year. I think she's doing pretty good now that she has the right amount of oxygen.

I'm very tired, so I guess I will go to bed. Very busy day tomorrow. Goodnight and God bless...............