Monday After Thanksgiving

Where did the weekend go? Four days off and they flew by. Had a great Thanksgiving with my husband's family. We missed all our kids. They were off with their wife's families. But, we'll see them all for Christmas. We had way too much food and as usual, I had to try a little of almost everything. There was so much, I couldn't force myself to try everything! I did try the 7-layer chocolate cake though. It was delicious.

I do not do Black Friday by myself. I went with Michelle last year - first time I've ever ventured out. I am just not organized enough to get out amongst all those people. The crowds overwhelm me. I stayed home, didn't get out of my PJ's until noon. Just watched Christmas programs on HGTV. That afternoon, I met my sister and her kids and a couple of friends at a park for a photo shoot. Now, that's what I call fun! We had a great time. My sister looks great. She went from a blonde to brunette and then redhead. She makes a beautiful redhead. It makes her look at least 10 years younger. She and Tiffaney look like sisters instead of mother and daughter. Looking at her makes me want to lose this weight. Just a couple of years ago, I looked like her. Yep, I'm going to LA Weight Loss after the first of the year.

I tried to start dieting the day after Thanksgiving, but I have to eat several times a day to keep this acid reflux in check. With LAWL, I get a lot to eat and have to eat about five times a day. I never had acid reflux when I was on their plan. But, I don't plan to miss out on the good food during the holidays. I'm just not eating as much as I normally do.

Speaking of food, I better go eat something for supper. It's getting late and I need to get to bed at a reasonable hour.

If you want to check out Penny's pictures, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/rutherford.patricia

Good night and God bless...........................

Slow Saturday

I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving. We did, even though we were missing our kids and grandkids. It was a very small gathering at Rose and Mac's this year. Both my boys and their families, and one of Brenda's sons and his family were out of town visiting in-laws. There were no little kids at all. But, we still had enough food to feed the entire group had they all been there. As usual, I ate too much. Couldn't help myself. There was just so much good stuff there. And I definitely had to try a piece of the 7-layer chocolate cake. It was very good.

Friday, I slept late. (I think I'm beginning to get the hang of this sleeping late.) Did I venture out into the shopping madness. No way! I stayed at home and watched TV and did a little house cleaning. I went to my sister's around 4:00 and we headed to a park by the bay to take pictures of her family and some friends. We got some great shots. They are all a good looking bunch. We even got some pictures of me with my beautiful sister and niece. Those pictures really made me realize that I have got to get serious after the first of the year and lose this weight. Just a couple of years ago, I looked like Penny (was actually smaller than she is). Seeing those pictures of myself made me cry. How did I let myself get this big? I've got to do something about it. Penny has colored her hair and it's the same color as mine now. She looks very good as a redhead. She and Tiffaney look more like sisters than mother and daughter. Tiffaney is a very beautiful young lady. We were lucky to get pictures of Swayde. The sun was really bothering his eyes and he didn't want to stand still for pictures. I just told him to close his eyes until I counted three, then open and I'd take the picture. That seemed to work, but he really just wanted to play and look for shells. But we did get some good ones of him. Anyway, we had a blast. I love taking pictures like this; just very relaxed and playful. Penny and I went to Wal-Mart and she developed her pictures. I decided to bring mine home and do them myself. But, first, I had to back up my photos and put them on CD's - 10 of them. I sure don't want to lose my pictures. I've got almost 5000 in my computer and that's not even a drop in the bucket. I'll probably have to increase the memory to load all the photos I need to load.

Today, I never got out of the house. Believe it or not (I'm having a hard time believing it), I slept late again. This is not good. I could get used to this. Today, I watched Christmas movies and let myself cry. I don't ever allow myself to cry, so I think that was a good thing. During commercials, I would print out more pictures. I'm almost out of ink, so I decided to stop for tonight. I guess Best Buy is on my list of places to go in the next few days. Got to get another supply of ink and paper for my computer.

Well, guess I better get to bed. I can't sleep late tomorrow. I've got to go to church.

Good night and God bless...........................

WooHoo - A Long Weekend!

We had our normal safety meeting. I was on time, thank you very much. There weren't very many people there. So many are on vacation. ARMS was up and running again, so that pretty much ties me down to my computer all day. This morning was very uneventful, almost boring. Kim's not here to talk to, so I pretty much stayed in my office all day.

Called to check on Daddy at lunch. He said he was much better and didn't need me to bring him anything, so I went shopping. I really needed some new jeans. Mine have started getting little holes in them. They are at least three years old, so what can I expect. I have been wearing two pair, swapping off to wash, just about every day for three years. I think I got my money's worth. Went to Fashion Bug because they were having a big sale and I had a $10 off coupon. Found two pairs of jeans and a sweater. Got a burger from Sonic and headed back to work.

Was planning on taking off at 3:30 since I was the only person in our entire building. Everybody else left at 2:30. Randy called to let me know about the death of Gene's brother and that the funeral was going to be Friday in Chipley. I told him if I was finished shooting pictures of Penny's family that I would ride up there with him for the funeral. Mama called to let me know that her neighbor, who was a good friend of my brother Earl, came and gave her over $100 for Thanksgiving. He checks on her from time to time. I ended up staying at work until 4:20, which means I actually worked overtime 20 minutes. I had forgotten that I had come to work 30 minutes early, so I should have gotten off at 4:00. I even wrote down on my timesheet 15 minutes vacation. I'm going to have to remember to change that when I go back to work Monday. I always forget to leave early on Wednesdays when I come in early for those safety meetings.

Stopped by Target to buy some hair color and a couple of pairs of socks. Vance got brave and went to Winn-Dixie to get a couple of things for tomorrow. Yeah, he had to stand in a long line.

At 10:00, I decided to color my hair. Just didn't want to wait until tomorrow morning. So, I'm sitting here waiting for the alarm to go off telling me to jump in the shower and rinse. Who knows what time I'll get to bed tonight. Right now, I think I will check my email and play some solitaire.

Good night and God Bless..............HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!

Is It Monday Again??

It feels like Monday all over again. I got to work and found out my computer still had not finished upgrading. I started it before I left work yesterday because it said it would take up to four hours. For some reason, my computer got hung up and just quit. So, I had to call the help desk and get them to take over my computer and jumpstart it. It didn't finish the upgrade until 9:30. That was two hours of wasted time because the crews were calling to get me to input their completed orders. I had to call them back when I was able to log on. Then, I managed to put in the wrong order and had to call Pensacola to get them to reload it onto my computer. (Nothing seems to be going right for me today.)

I called Daddy at lunch and he needed groceries and wanted lunch from Church's Chicken. I could not believe how many people were at the grocery store. You'd think it was Thanksgiving or something! Just as I finished paying for his groceries, he called to ask me to get one more thing. I carried the groceries out to my car and went back inside to get that one more thing and had to stand in line again to check out. Went to Church's and could not believe how much it cost to get 2 - 2-piece chicken dinners with 2 sides, a biscuit and tea. It was $15.75. I could have bought a whole bucket of chicken at KFC for less than that! I'll never go to Church's again. That's some expensive chicken! I got everything to Daddy and headed back to work. I was only a half hour late - that's another half-hour of vacation.

When I got back to work, somebody had locked the door to the warehouse where it wouldn't open with just our badge. Had to have the key. Well, my hands were full with my lunch and my key was in the office not in my purse, so I walked down to the Assembly Room and ate my lunch. That meant another 30 minutes (after I finished lunch) for somebody to come back and open the door. More wasted time that I could have been doing timesheet adjustments.

All in all, it was a day full of things going wrong. But, I was still in a good mood. I know that was God, cause I should have been falling apart. It's that peace that passes all understanding. It's an awesome feeling.

We had church tonight so that people could cook tomorrow night if they wanted to. Had a pretty good crowd. I walked in the church singing. When so much goes wrong, it helps to sing praises unto God. He'll help you when nobody else will. I really missed Tabitha and the kids tonight. Tabitha had to work. Kim and her family have gone to visit her mom for the holidays. I missed them, too. Felt like my whole family was missing.

Came home and Vance ate and went to bed. He always waits for me to get home before he goes to bed. He's so sweet.

Shadow is outside barking at something and I cannot get her to come inside. It's probably a possuum. She will bark at it until she runs it off or kills it. I hope she doesn't kill whatever it is she's barking at. I guess I will be forced to go out in the cold to drag her inside. I sure can't sleep with her barking all night. There is nothing I hate worse than a barking dog at night. I always worry that they will irritate the neighbors. Of course, the neighbors don't care that their dogs bark all night and keep us up.

Don't have time to scan pictures tonight. I've got to get to bed. I never heard if we're having a safety meeting or not in the morning, but I do have to take pictures of the two managers around 7:30. I get called on to take pictures if the photographer from Pensacola can't come over. I don't mind and they know I always have my camera with me. I don't go anywhere without it.

I'm taking pictures of Penny and her family Friday and I've got some cool ideas. I have three fur jackets and three black jackets. I'm going to get them to do some pictures in the jackets. If Andy is there, he can take pictures of me with them. I've got to color my hair tomorrow night. My gray is showing! I think I will go brown this time so I will match Penny and Tiffaney.

I'm tired and I'm being to ramble. Got to go to bed. But first, I've got to get that dog in the house. She's getting louder.

Good night and God bless.........................

I pulled a quick one on Shadow. I called and she still wouldn't come in. It's cold out there and I didn't want to go out. I just yelled "You better get in here. I'm going to give Vinnie your snack." She came running. Gets her almost every time. ;)

Mellow Monday

It turned cold today. But that's okay. I get a chance to wear my winter sweaters. Work as usual, but I'm still making those adjustments on the timesheets. Like I said, it takes a lot longer to make adjustments than it does to enter them the first time.

Kim will be leaving tomorrow to go visit her family in Tennessee. I'm sure gonna miss her. I think Fran is already gone to Tennessee to visit her son and his family. Just about everybody is off this week. Which means ARMS has been reactivated and I am on the radio quite a bit during the day. I guess this will continue till the new year since so many people are on vacation. We are working with a skeleton crew right now.

Called to check on Daddy. He says he's better. Didn't want me to come check on him at lunch, so I went and got a taco salad from Taco Bell and carried it back to the office to eat. Randy was gone, so the warehouse doors were shut and I had an hour of peace and quiet. I'm reading the book by Donald Trump and Robert Kiosaki "Why We Want You to be Rich". It's very interesting reading.

I stopped by Olga's on the way home. Jo had given her a fur jacket but it was too small, so she thought of me. It's very pretty. It will just have to get cold for me to be able to wear it. I think I will take it with me Friday when I take pictures, along with the silver fox jacket Olga gave me many years ago. That one cost her $2000 about 30 years ago. No telling what it would cost today. I'll let Penny and Tiffaney wear them while I take pictures. Should make for some good shots.

Rose called to let me know that we are having Thanksgiving dinner at her house around 1:00. She wants Vance to make his mixed beans. She loves them.

Came home, washed clothes and scanned more photos. I've got over 5000 in my computer now and that's not even a tiny bit of the photos I need to scan and preserve. I've got to start making CD's again.

Guess I need to get to bed. I've actually been sleeping all night since we got the new mattress and I bought the eggcrate pad to go over it.

Good night and God bless.....................

Weekend is Over Way Too Fast

I just can't believe it's almost Monday and back to work. This weekend was over way too soon. It was a beautiful day; a little chill in the air. Went to church. Praise and Worship was awesome. At times like that, you just want to fall prostrate on the floor and give God praise. He is such an awesome God. After church, we had a spaghetti dinner to raise some money for costumes for the drama department. Real good food and fellowship. They raised quite a bit of money.

I came home and as usual, took my Sunday nap. Only about 1 1/2 hours today, not my usual two or three hours. Tabitha brought the kids over so she could do some Christmas shopping. We had fun. Hope is talking up a storm and repeating everything you say. They were hungry, so I fixed them some grits. They know when they come to my house, they will either eat grits or oatmeal. I don't keep cookies and sweets around. They both ate two bowls. Hope insisted on sharing hers with me. She would force the spoon in my mouth. I tried to turn away and got grits dumped all over me. It was best to just open and let her feed me.

After they left, Vance and I ate supper and I came in to my computer to scan photos. I got about 20 scanned and my scanner somehow lost it's connection. I don't understand how that works when nothing has been changed. I'll just have to deal with it later. Probably just turn everything off.

Penny called last night and we are going to go to the beach the day after Thanksgiving and take family pictures. Neither one of us goes shopping on that day. I went with Michelle last year and could not believe the crowds. I don't mind going with somebody else, but I just can't see going by myself. I don't like fighting crowds. I do most of my shopping the week of Christmas (like Christmas Eve!). You get better deals that way.

A couple more pictures of Vance and Chad when they were younger.

Lazy Day Continued....

Just found some pictures of Trent when he was a baby. Scanned them into my computer and thought I would share a few. There are a few of Vance taking care of Trent while Tabitha was in the hospital. I had run out of vacation and Vance offered to take off and stay home and take care of Trent. Chad was staying at the hospital with Tabitha. This shows that even as a young man, Vance had the fathering instinct.

Will post more at http://picasaweb.google.com/rutherford.patricia

Lazy Day

Believe it or not, I slept late! That is something I hardly ever do. Vance left to go play golf and I slept on till around 9:00. I couldn't believe it when I saw the time. I guess I need the rest. I got up and made cinnamon rolls (which I sure don't need) and ate two. I just decided to rest and watch TV. I didn't have any energy to do anything else. I was still in my PJ's when Vance got home around 2:30. I went and took a shower and felt a little energized.

We went out to eat at Appleby's. We haven't done that in months. It's about time we started doing our weekly date night again. We just get into a rut and don't spend quality time with each other. I'm usually on the computer fooling with pictures and he's watching golf or racing on TV. (He's watching racing and I'm on the computer right now.) I'm trying to scan some baby pictures I found of Trent so Vance can compare them to Fox. I think Fox looks more like Hope than he does Trent. Truthfully, he looks just like his daddy, so I guess that means Hope looks like Vance. Everybody says Hope looks like my husband, Vance, and his mother, Rosie. And Vance and Vance to favor.

My friend, Karen, called from Dothan. She had just received the picture I sent her of Fox. She called to say he was a very pretty baby. We talked for a long time. I need to go up and visit her one Saturday. She wants to take me to Callaway Gardens to see the Christmas lights. Then, she said Enterprise has some good lights, too. I would love to go.

Well, I guess I better get back to my scanning.

Good night and God bless............................

Friday at Last!

Had to get up early today to go to a "One Nation Under God" prayer breakfast put on by the Exchange Club. John McFatter was the guest speaker and he did a great job. Part of the Mosley Choir was there to provide the music and they were awesome. Only seven voices, but they sounded like a full choir. The food was very good, too. Fire Mountain provided the food. All in all, it was a very enjoyable hour. I thanked my boss when I got back to work for the ticket and letting Kim and me off to go.

Had a busy morning making timesheet adjustments. But, I like to stay busy, so that was a good thing. Wore my contacts this morning, but the strength in the left was is off and I just can't see to read very well and it distorts my far off vision as well. At lunch, I headed home to take them out and get my glasses. First, I stopped at Dazzle Wear to check out their sale. Got a pretty Christmas sweater, which I can wear all winter cause it has cardinals and snowflakes on it - no Santas or Christmas trees. Then, went home and got my glasses. Stopped at Taco Bell and got a burrito. It's cheap, but not good for you if you are trying to lose weight. I've decided not to even try until after Christmas. Then, I think it's back to LA Weight Loss for me! That's the only way I can lose weight.

This afternoon was still pretty busy - more adjustments. Wished my boss a Happy Thanksgiving and tried to take away his badge and keys so he wouldn't come to work on his vacation next week. But, I think he would be miserable if he couldn't get in the office. I gave him a stern talking to and told him he needed to spend this time with his family and enjoy doing things with them. He promised that he would try. I can talk to him like this because I'm old enough to be his mother. Does he listen? Sometimes.

Had to go get some medicine for Daddy after work and take it to him. He's still having problems breathing. I told him if he wasn't better by Monday, I was going to drag him to the car and take him to the doctor. He promised if he wasn't any better that he would go. It's been two weeks. He should be better by now.

Came home and got that big picture frame and started taking pictures out of it and looked for Christmas pictures in my computer. I've got to scan more in. I've got 181, but not the ones I really want to put in the frame. Now, the hunt is on. Where did I put all those Christmas pictures? Are they in albums or loose in the big Rubbermaid container? That will be my quest for the weekend. I needed to get back to scanning anyway. I've also got to backup my photos. Would hate to lose the ones of Fox. At least, Vance and Michelle have copies of them. I would hate to lose any of my photos. This is just a few samples of Christmas pictures. The one on the left is my little sister, Penny, me, and my brothers Earl and Chip. The one on the right is Chad, Tabitha, Trent, me, Vance, Michelle and Vance. Tabitha was pregnant with Hope at the time. That's me with Santa.

Vance has gone to take a bed frame to Goodwill. His mother gave us a bed with mattress and box springs about a month ago. We already had a frame and headboard that I liked. Since I got the eggcrate pad to go on the mattress, I've been able to sleep all night in the bed. No more moving to the couch after only a couple of hours in bed. Hallejuhah!

I went on a search of Christmas pictures and found a few. There are tons more, but I'll look for them tomorrow. It's bedtime.

Good night and God bless.........................

It was a quiet day

The safety meeting was changed to today and I got caught in traffic, so I was about 3 minutes late walking in the door of the assembly room. As soon as I walked in, my boss said "Pat Rutherford is going to do the safety meeting today." I said, "Thanks so much for coming. Meeting over - get back to work!" They all cracked up. I didn't think it was so funny, but they did. I guess men have a different sense of what's funny. Several of them patted me on the back and told me that I was quick with a comeback. Whatever makes them happy......

We had that bad storm last night and most of the guys worked until early this morning, so they were off on the rest clause. It was so dead around there. Since my timesheets were all finished yesterday, I really didn't have too much to do. I don't like days like this. I really like to stay busy. I work so much better under pressure.

Called Daddy as I was going to lunch. He sounds much better today. Ruth asked me about swelling in his hands and feet. I asked him and he said there was no swelling anywhere. That's good. I remember my aunt who got pneumonia and went into a coma. When I visited her in the ICU, she was so swollen that I didn't recognize her. She died after two weeks. All because she got sick and wouldn't stop long enough to go to the doctor. I thank God that Daddy is better. I knew he was when I asked if I could bring him something to eat. He told me to go by Arby's and get four Arby Melts and bring them to him. He has been craving them. That's exactly what I did, then I went back to work and ate my lunch. His color is even better today.

Was so sleepy this afternoon. Talked to Debb. She's doing so much better. She took herself off all her meds. She was taking over 30 pills a day for various ailments. I believe it was all those pills that was causing all her problems, but I never told her that. She's got more energy now, she sounds happy again. Personally, I don't believe in taking so many pills. They all have side effects that cause other problems and you have to take more pills. Because of all the natural stuff I do, I was able to go off my heart medication. The doctor told me not to take it any more unless I got real stressed and found my heart racing out of control. Since I went off the pills, I haven't had a single episode of my heart racing. While on the pills, it was a daily occurrence.

Kim called right before we got off work and told me our boss gave her tickets to a prayer breakfast tomorrow morning and said she and I could go if we wanted to. It's at 7:00 at First Methodist Church. Sure we want to go. I'll meet her there. That means I've got to get up even earlier than normal.

After work, I went to JoAnn's Fabrics and bought a few beads. I want to make a necklace with my grandkids' pictures and names on it. Got to figure out the design and get to work. Or, maybe I'll make a bracelet. Humm. I just don't know yet.

Kim called to tell me about a house that she looked at that she thought Chad and Tabitha might be interested in. It's only about three or four blocks from us. She said it was being sold by the owners and they were willing to come down on the selling price. I called Tab and told her about it. She said they would go look at it. She and Chad had been on the computer looking for houses for sale in their price range. Keep praying for a house for them.

Vance is working on a lamp. It's got a short in it and he went to Home Depot (his favorite store) and bought the wiring kit to rewire it. It came with the living room furniture that I bought and the lady said it was her mother's lamp before she got it, so it's pretty old. She painted it with that paint that looks like stone. I really like it, so my wonderful husband is fixing it for me. He's the best husband in the whole world. He got it fixed and it works like a charm.

It's supposed to be pretty cool tonight. I love it when it's cool. Great sleeping weather. I guess I better get in bed since I have to get up early tomorrow.

Good Night and God Bless---------

Hump Day-Feels Like Friday

Our safety meeting has been changed to tomorrow, which was good. I needed the extra time to work on my timesheets since they go in early this week. It was a very busy day trying to get them all in. But, I got them. Next week will be busy making all the adjustments for the three days we had to estimate. Adjustments take longer to do than the original timesheets. But, next week will be a slow week for other things since a lot of people will be on vacation and we have Thursday and Friday off. I just can't believe Thanksgiving is already here. This year is almost over. Seems like just yesterday everybody was worried about Y2K.

Kim and I prayed for Chad and Tabitha this morning. They are going to Chipley to see if they can get approved for a loan to buy a house. Tabitha called this afternoon and they were approved for $50,000 more than they were hoping. I believe God is going to lead them to just the right house.

While we were getting a cup of coffee before we started working, one of the young girls who just had a baby came up and was talking to us. Her baby is four months old. She was asking about Fox and I told her I had gone to visit him this past weekend. She asked if Michelle was nursing the baby. I told her she was. She said "Well, I just found out that the cheese I've been eating was causing my baby to have a terrible tummy ache. I never ate cheese with my first baby so I didn't think anything of it. With the first one, I found out caffeine, spicy foods, beans, turnips, broccolli, chocolate and lots of other things affected him. He would either scream from a stomach ache or be sick. Tell Michelle not to eat cheese! Plus, I found out with my first baby that you had to drink a lot of milk or your teeth would get cavities." Kim said her teeth started going bad with her first baby because she didn't have the money to get milk for herself. I didn't have that problem. I craved milk and would drink up to three gallons a week before and after Vance's birth. It was funny how different memories came back as we talked. I remember Vance was real sensitive to noises and would get hysterical when he'd hear a motorcycle or plane or any other loud noise. I believe he was picking up on my emotions caused by my parents getting a divorce while I was pregnant with him. I cried almost the entire nine months because of their problems. I was excited about being pregnant, but I didn't get to enjoy it because they were always calling me to "tell your mother/father so and so....." They kept me so upset.

Kim and I went to Big Mama's for lunch and sat out on the back deck. It was about an hour before the storm hit, so it was nice. Big Mama's has good home cooking. I had the chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, lima beans, collards, corn bread and sweet tea. Yum! We decided next time that we were going to order one plate and split it. It's really too much food to eat, but you manage to force yourself to finish it because you remember your mother telling you that there were children starving in China who would love to have your food. Did your mother ever tell you that?

I called and checked on Daddy. He still sounds bad, but still refuses to go to the doctor.

We had a bad storm come through right before I got off work. Our people were standing by to start working if any power lines were down. I was told that I could go home, so I left. He didn't have to tell me twice! Of course, I could only drive 35mph all the way home. The roads were standing in water - very easy to hydroplane.

Trent called when I was about to leave for church and asked if I could pick him up. Hope is sick and Tabitha needs to study for an exam. He got sick this morning, but it was from eating too many gummy bears. I don't think he will do that again! There weren't very many people at church, but we had a good service anyway. Ruth preached, then ministered to just about all of us on the Praise and Worship team. It was something I want to hear again, so I ordered a tape of the service. Trent was hungry when we left church, so I stopped at Burger King and got him a kid's meal.

Now, it's time for me to get to bed. I'm really tired.

Good night and God bless........................

It feels like Thursday!

Trent called as I was getting ready for work. I was just about to step in the shower. He asked if I could give him money to get his picture made with Santa today. How could I turn him down? Of course, I'd give any amount of money to have a picture of him. I threw on some clothes and rushed over to their house before he left for school and gave him the money and got a hug and a kiss from him, Tabitha and Hope. Hope wanted to go home with me. She was wearing the cute little pink jacket I bought her a couple of weeks ago. She looks so good in pink. I kissed them all again and rushed home. Just had enough time to sponge off (no shower for me today!) and put on my makeup. Shower I could do without - makeup, not on your life! Actually made it to work on time!

It feels like Thursday since timesheets go in tomorrow. I was sooooo busy today trying to play catchup and hurryup to get the timesheets in on time. Tomorrow will be unreal cause I will have to do three, and in some cases five, days worth of timesheets all in an 8 hour period. I can do this, I keep telling myself.

Kim was back today. Yeah! Lyric is much better and went to school today. Hope none of the other girls come down sick. We didn't get to talk much, cause we both had work to catch up on. Finally saw my boss for the first time in over a week. He'll be gone on vacation all next week. Haven't gotten to talk to him about my trip and what I feel we accomplished.

Called my Dad before lunch to check up on him. He's still not doing too good. I begged him to let me take him to the doctor, but he says he's better today. Just wait a few days. I did talk him into letting me pick him up some chicken noodle soup from Chick-fil-A and carry it to him. Checked his mail for him. He was worried about that. Sat and talked to him for a few minutes. His breathing is bad. I really wish he'd let me take him to the doctor. Why does he have to be so stubborn?

After work, I came home and checked to see if Vance had posted any more pictures of Fox. Nope, not yet. I downloaded and printed some free Christmas pictures from Mary Engelbreit. www.homecompanionmag.com/ I plan to frame them and hang them up around the house for Christmas decorations. Her work is always so bright and cheery. I've got this big frame that they were going to throw away at work. It's about 30x30 inches. I rescued several frames from the dumpster. This one has several pictures in various sizes in it. I'm going to take those pics out and print pictures from past Christmases and put in it. I'll hang it over the sofa with Mary's pictures surrounding it. I think it will make a good Christmas wall. After Christmas, I'll just change out the pictures. Maybe do a seasonal wall. I've never done that before. Usually, once I hang a picture, it stays there for life.

I was reading Sharon's blog and how she needs to organize her great room. Too bad she doesn't live in Tallahassee. Michelle is a great organizer. I started on my computer room last night and it looks like I haven't touched it today. I threw away two Target bags full of paper and stuff, but I am still overrun by paper and stuff! I know exactly how she feels. My whole house needs to be organized!!! HELP! I have such good intentions, but never seem to get things done that need to be done.

Washed a couple of loads of clothes before I went to Praise and Worship practice. Basically, we just had a meeting, then practiced a couple of songs for about 15 minutes. Were trying to decide what to do in December.

Came home and Vance had cooked two casseroles. We were just talking over the weekend about how we needed to get our casserole recipes out and cook more of them. Coming home, I was thinking about the Tater Tot Casserole that my sister makes. I called and got her recipe. (I lost the one she gave me years ago.) We ate and he went to bed. (I had to do my blog and let my food settle.) I can't just eat and go straight to bed anymore.

But, I think the time has finally come and I can get to bed now!

Good Night and God Bless.......................

Busy Monday

Boy, was it ever busy today. After being off almost a whole week, I had a lot of catching up to do. And, instead of timesheets closing out on Friday, they close out on Wednesday this week due to the holidays next week. We'll get paid Wednesday instead of Friday. That's a good thing, but it does create a lot of extra work. Not only do we have to enter three days' worth of timesheets in one day; but next week, we'll have to go in and make adjustments to those three days. Adjustments take a lot longer than the regular timesheets. But, that's job security.

Kim was out with her granddaughter who was sick. Sure did miss seeing her. I hope Lyric is better and that the rest of the family doesn't get sick. Talked to my Dad. He's still sick. I worry about pneumonia, but he wouldn't even let me come check on him. He says he's getting better. I sure pray that he is.

Tried to talk to Fran about the Holly Fair this past weekend, but she had too many customers. She did say that they did real well and that she might go to another show in Alabama pretty soon - before Christmas. I would love to do something with my photographs and be able to sell them in shows.

Had a doctor's appointment this afternoon. Breast recheck. Had some problems earlier in the year, but he said I was fine and will see me in July. That was good news.

Tabitha came over and got me to go with her to look at a house they hope to be able to buy. It's an older house, but I liked what I could see. We stood in the backyard and prayed that if this is the house God wants for them that they would get approved on the 15th and would be able to buy it. If it's not the house, that He would lead them to the right one. I would really love to see them in a house before Christmas.

Tabitha came back to our house to do some studying for her college classes. She can't study with the kids running around in the house. Chad is such a wonderful daddy to watch them while she studies or works nights. A lot of women support their men while they get a degree. It's rare for men to do that to help out their wives. Chad is a very special man.

After Tabitha left, I ran to Captain D's and got us some supper. I don't usually eat fried foods, but they had a special - two 2-piece fish dinners at a special price. Decided to save money instead of calories.

That's about all for today. I'm wore out from sitting at the computer all day, then coming home and washing clothes and trying to clean up my computer room. It's going to take several days to get it back organized.

Good night and God bless.....................................

Great weekend

Just got back from visiting the newest member of the Rutherford family. Vance and I went to Tallahassee yesterday so he could meet his newest grandson, Fox. He is so cute! And he smiles when you smile at him. I know, you're saying he's too young. But it is so true. When you smile real big, he mimics you and smiles back. I expect him to start laughing out loud any day. Of course, we took pictures. You can check them out at http://picasaweb.google.com/rutherford.patricia or http://picasaweb.google.com/vance.rutherford . Vance and I will keep you posted on the new photos.

After his feeding, he plays and smiles at you, then takes a nap. While he was napping, Michelle and I went to Wal-Mart to take back some things and pick up one of those eggcrate things you put on top of the mattress. She got one for the sofa sleeper and I got one for our bed at home. Hope it helps me sleep. We went to Target and got a coffee from Starbucks and bought a few things for Fox. Then, back home. Fox needed feeding again and then we headed to Chili's to eat. Poor baby seems to have stomach aches.

We sat up and watched the FSU/Wake Forest game. Not good. FSU lost.

Vance and I got up this morning and waited until Michelle got up before we left to come home. I got to hold Fox while she took a shower and got ready for church. He is such a happy baby in the morning. He smiles and smiles and tries so hard to make a noise. What a blessing he is. I just pray that he gets over the stomach aches real soon. I remember when Chad had colic. It was not a good time. But, this too shall pass.....

Vance and I started home around 11:30. Stopped at McDonald's. I really wanted breakfast, but they were no longer serving. My tastebuds were really looking forward to an Egg McMuffin, but got a Quarter Pounder instead. At least, the tea was good.

I dozed on the way home and read a book. If you haven't read the Mitford Series, you need to get them. They are very good. They are written by Jan Karon. I've missed a couple of them, but I'm going to try to find them and read them.

After we got home, I uploaded the pictures and printed out some to share with people who don't have computers. It was a very relaxing afternoon.

Happy Veterans Day!

I took off from work today to be with Vance, since I have been in Atlanta since Tuesday. Had to go there for work. It was a nice trip and I believe we got some issues settled with our new timekeeping system E-STARS. Stayed in the Marriott Marquis which was just three blocks from Georgia Power Company. Bambi and I walked there in the morning and got rides back to the hotel in the afternoon.

It was good being off today. I slept in until around 8:30 or 9:00. I just don't ever do that, but I needed the sleep. I didn't sleep well in the hotel even though the bed was awesome. One of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in. I think I was just missing my honey. He wasn't sleeping too well himself.

The dogs really missed me. They were so excited to see me when I got home. Had to kiss me several times before they would let me feed them. Don't you just love how animals love you unconditionally?

Daddy has been sick since last Friday. I think he's got the flu. I'm concerned about it turning into pneumonia. I took him some groceries today and tried to get him to let me take him to the doctor. He wouldn't go, but he promised me he would call an ambulance if he got to feeling worse. He did let me pray for him.

Talked to Mama. She's doing fine. Went shopping at K-Mart for the first time in a very long time. Tried on four pairs of jeans and none of them fit right. I guess they think if you are a size 18 that your legs are huge. Mine are not and none of the jeans even touched my legs. They were huge. Guess I'm just going to have to lose this weight to be able to get clothes to fit. Found some awesome shoes. Very comfortable, so I bought three pair. It was buy one, get the 2nd half price. They were supposed to have four colors - black, brown, navy and red, but they didn't have red. I would have bought the red, too. When I find shoes that look good and are comfortable for a reasonable price, I buy all colors.

I've posted some pictures of Chad's family dressed as pirates at http://picasaweb.google.com/rutherford.patricia Check them out, then check out Vance's pictures of Fox at http://picasaweb.google.com/vance.rutherford Hope you enjoy!!

Got to get some supper - Vance's chili - and get in bed.

Good night and God bless....................

What a Day!

My day started off the usual way, rushing to get to work. I decided to wear a nice pantsuit that Karen gave me. But, when I walked out the door, I decided it was just too hot, so I rushed back in and changed clothes. I didn't have time to eat breakfast so I didn't watch the weather. About an hour after I got to work, Randy came in and said "It's getting cold outside." I said "No way! I changed clothes cause it was so hot and muggy this morning and I didn't even bring a jacket." I went outside and sure enough, it was getting cooler.

Went to lunch with Daddy and I could have used a lightweight jacket or sweater. The temperature was dropping. We went to our usual place, Western Steer, cause we can get in and out so quickly there. Daddy needed some things from the store, so I went in to get them. It took me 45 minutes to get six items and check out. And, they had six registers open. I couldn't figure out why, until I got back in the car and Daddy said the Social Security checks and the military people got paid yesterday. That explains it. I was 45 minutes late getting back to work, so I showed that as vacation. I'm fast running out of vacation.

Got back to work and had the strangest thing happen to me. When the guys leave for lunch, they close the big bay doors and lock the warehouse door. So, I'm in there by myself inputting timesheets when I hear a loud knock on the outside door. I get up and go open the door and look out. Nobody is there, so I come back inside and start in my office when I hear a voice say "Is Randy here?" I said "No, he's at lunch. Who are you and where are you?" I walked further into the warehouse so I could look down the aisles, but didn't see anybody. He continues to carry on a conversation with me, telling me he's working on the forklift and needs to go get a part. He wanted me to tell Randy that he'd be right back. I still do not see this guy. I could see his van through a window, so I stood there and waited a few minutes to see if he would go to it. I still never saw him, so I went back into my office and continued my work. It just felt real strange to hear a voice that sounded like he was right beside me, but not be able to see anyone. Paul and Randy came back from lunch and I told them what happened. About 20 minutes later, the guy comes back. I asked him where he was when he was talking to me. He was in one of the cages that opens from the outside off the dock. We keep the inside gate locked. That's why he sounded like he was right beside me. We had a good laugh about my invisible man.

Penny called to remind me about Swayde's birthday party tonight at Chuck-E-Cheese. Told her I would be there. Came home and Vance told me he had found his glasses. When he's at work, he takes them off and puts them on top of the cabinet over his desk. The telephone people came and had to move his desk away from the wall and his glasses fell and caught on a wire and was just hanging there. He found them when he went to move the desk back today. I knew there had to be some explanation, cause he just doesn't lose things. Me, I lose things on a daily basis, but he never does.

I was printing up some more pictures of Fox to show Penny at the party tonight when Bruce called to tell me he had our taxes done. We are getting money back and I asked Vance what he wanted to do with it. We are going to buy flooring for the house. Yay! I can't wait to get this carpet up. I ran by Bruce's and picked up the taxes and he showed me the cutest picture of his granddaughter dressed as a duck for Halloween. She was so cute. Left there and ran by Chick-Fil-A and got a cookies and cream milkshake, then on to the party. Chip and Angie were there, Holly, Andy, Neil, his mom, Kaitlyn, Penny, and Swayde. He got some nice gifts and about $100 in money. He and Andy had a lot of fun playing the games. We left at 8:30 and I came home. Vance was heading for bed, but he asked me when was I going to see Vance and Michelle and Fox again. I told him next Saturday. He said he would go over after golf and would come back Sunday morning. If Penny and Tabitha go with me, I'll just let them drive my car back and I'll spend the night and ride back with Vance. I'm sure that will be alright with Vance and Michelle. I haven't talked with them yet, but I'll check with them tomorrow.

Ate a bowl of Vance's chili and started to head for bed when I saw the answering machine light flashing. I check the messages and had one from Eva. She said there was something wrong with Debb and would I please call her and come check on Debb. I called and headed that way. Debb had fallen and she was very disoriented. She absolutely refused to go to the ER. She couldn't seem to get a whole sentence out of what she was trying to tell us. It would take her three or four tries before she got the whole sentence out. I remembered how to check for a stroke by asking her to smile. She could do that. She could also raise her hands. She could talk to us, but would get confused at times. We found out she had not taken her medicine at all today. She's a diabetic, so that may be why she fell and is so disoriented. I got her to take her medicine and then I asked her if I could pray for her. She said yes, so Eva and I prayed. When I finished, she seemed a little better. She was smiling at us and ignoring Eva when she tried to talk her into going to the ER. She would look at me and smile when she knew it was getting to Eva. She said she was tired and wanted to go to bed and that she would call the doctor tomorrow and tell him what happened to her. But she absolutely would not let us take her to the ER tonight. And you cannot make somebody go if they don't want to. I know, I've tried with my dad. The police and EMT told me they can't go against the wishes of the person. The only way they can take them is if they are unconscious. I came home around 10:30 with a promise from Debb that she would call the doctor and then call me and let me know what he says. Eva will be off tomorrow so she will be there to make sure she does call him.

It's 11:00 and I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed. Good night and God bless.........Please say a prayer for Debb.

Blessings from above.

I went to bed early last night, but woke up this morning and felt like everything I did was in slow motion. I felt so tired. Made it to the safety meeting. Had to get a cup of coffee before it started or I'm sure I would have fallen asleep. Getting a lot of sleep just doesn't do me any good. I function much better on fewer hours.

One of the guys at work had to go to the doctor today to get the results of a prostate biopsy. The doctor had told him he was 96% sure he had prostate cancer. Of course, Jimmy was scared it would be confirmed today. I talked to him yesterday and told him not to believe the report of doctors; believe the report of the Lord that says he is healed. I told him we were praying for him and asked if I could add his name to our prayer list. He said he would appreciate it, so I did. He came in this morning right before the doctor's appointment and I told him I was still believing that the doctor was wrong and the biopsy would show no cancer. Right before I left for lunch, got an email from Mrs. Sandi stating that the doctor was wrong; there is NO CANCER! I just screamed "Praise the Lord!" and started crying. Randy asked what was wrong and I told him nothing was wrong; that Jimmy didn't have cancer. Then he said "Praise the Lord!" I immediately got on the radio and called Jimmy. When he answered, I said "Jimmy, I just want you to know that I'm rejoicing with you and praising God for that good report." I could tell he was smiling from ear to ear and so relieved. He thanked me for the prayers and said he and his wife were going to get something to eat. God is so good!

At lunch, I went to the court house and had a Quick Claim Deed recorded for Mama. She insisted on putting her house in her name, my name, Penny's and Chip's just in case something happened to her so it wouldn't go into probate and the State wouldn't get it. The lady who helped me was the wife of one of the employees I do time for. She was very helpful and didn't charge me for the certification stamp. That saved me about $8.00.
God is good! That was another blessing.

We got the reservations for our flight to and from Atlanta next week. You will not believe the difference in price from flying out of Pensacola and flying out of Panama City. Bambi's cost is $398.00 round trip from Pensacola. My cost is $1098.00. I was shocked. We are staying in the Marriott Marques and it is swanky. I don't believe the Beau Rivage in Biloxi was that fancy. I'm looking forward to the trip.

After work, I had to stop by Best Buy and get some ink for my printer. I've been printing a lot of photos lately. I had several discount coupons that I was able to use. By buying two or more inks, I got 50 sheets of 4X6 photo paper free (savings of $9.99). I figured I could only use one of the coupons, but I was wrong. I could use as many as I wanted. I ended up getting $50 worth of merchandise for $5.88. There's another blessing. Ain't God good?

Went to church. Had a good service. Pastor Sammy preached on "Voices. The voice of God, the voice of the devil and your own fleshly voice. Who do you listen to?"It was a very good sermon. This is one that I'm going to type up my notes on. Came home and Vance told me to call Penny. Tomorrow is Swayde's birthday and they are having a party at Chuck-e-Cheese tomorrow night. I told her I'd be there.

Vance still hasn't found his glasses. That's just not like him to lose things.I ate supper, then finished printing out the pictures I took Saturday of Chad's family in their pirate costumes. I'm making them an album. I think I took over 100 pictures. That's what professionals do, then just choose one or two out of the 100 to publish.

But, now it's after midnight, so I guess I better go to bed. Maybe I won't be so tired tomorrow morning when I wake up.

Good night and God bless.........Hope He blesses you like He's blessed me today. Pat

A really long day!

Today seemed so long to me. Everytime I looked at the clock, I expected it to be later than it actually was. I guess it's this new time change has messed me up.

Got to work and Kim had a really bad headache. She was getting ready to go home. I told her to go to the bathroom and I'd pray for her. Too many people going in and out of her office. We went in, I laid my hands on her head and just prayed a short prayer for healing; moved my hands down to her shoulders and prayed for stress and tension to be released and that was it. She said my hands on her shoulders felt like fire. I didn't feel anything, but she was better. She managed to stay all day at work.

Glenn, a contract engineer on loan from Georgia Power was leaving today to go back to Atlanta. He and his wife, Barbara, invited Kim and I to lunch. We went to Big City Fish. Had a real nice visit with them and good food. I had the blackened amberjack. It was good. Glenn insisted on paying for our lunch. That was sweet of him. He was a real character while he was here. He's funny. His wife is very sweet. She just retired from teaching.

Vance loaded some more pictures of Fox. I think he is so cute! He looks older than just a couple of weeks. He has so many expressions and Vance is good about catching them. I'm hoping to go visit on the 11th. Can't wait to hold that little man.

Went to Sam's after work and got my glasses changed. I just couldn't handle the progressive lenses. I hang my paperwork off the side of my computer and would have to hold my head way back just to read it. That just wasn't working. Makes for a very sore neck. I told them to just put the far off lenses in and I'd just take off my glasses to see close up. It works a whole lot better now. I feel like I can see again.

Sharon had asked me how Terry was doing. He's the one who got bit by the rattlesnake. He got out of the hospital about 2 weeks ago and is staying with his brother, Jack. He was in ICU for a long time. But he's recovering and I don't think there is any lasting damage to his body. He is very blessed to be alive and I hope he knows that God was watching over him. While in ICU, he didn't want anybody praying for him. Of course, Jack would pray everytime he went in the room. Now, I believe he knows that prayer was the only thing keeping him alive. He says he's going to get back in church. Praise God!

My husband has lost his glasses. He has never, ever even misplaced them for a few minutes, so this has him stumped. He just can't remember where he could have lost them. He has backtracked and had no luck. Me, I finally had to get one of those chains to keep my glasses around my neck while at home, cause I lay them down all the time and can't remember where I left them. I've found them on the dryer, in the refrigerator, in the sofa cushion (was lost for two weeks that time. Had to wear my prescription sunglasses inside the house to watch TV. That was a funny sight.) But, Vance never loses anything. Pray that he finds his glasses.

Here is a picture of Chad, Tabitha, Trent and Hope from the shoot we did Saturday. Look at Hope's expression. She was upset cause her daddy had taken her hat. She has some of the cutest expressions (like Fox).

I'm really tired, so I'm heading to bed. I can't believe I'm going to bed so early.

Good night and God bless............Pat

Back up and running

Have not posted in awhile because I was having trouble with the new Beta upgrade. Just got fed up and quit blogging.

So much has happened since my last blog. Fox Carson Rutherford was born on his Mama's birthday, October 11th. He weighed 7 lbs. 9.5 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. And, he's such a beautiful baby. I was able to be in Tallahassee for the blessed event, along with Pam (Michelle's mother) and Shannon (her sister). Mike (her dad) was at Vance and Michelle's taking care of Dylan (her nephew). I was glad I could be there and get to hold him right after his birth. But, I turned around and came home the same day and haven't been able to go back, so I haven't seen him and held him lately. If you want to take a look at our good-looking little man, check out Michelle's blog www.michellenotdawn.blogspot.com/ and there will be a link to Vance's photo albums. I would like to set the record straight - the picture they used to announce his birth (the one above) was actually taken by Shannon while I was holding him. I don't want to take credit for something I didn't do. I took most of the other ones, but not that particular one. I hope to be able to go visit on November 11th and take my sister, Penny, and daughter-in-law, Tabitha, with me. My husband really doesn't like me traveling alone anymore. I don't mind at all, but he worries about me. You gotta love him for that! His legs bother him if he sits for long lengths of time, so he's not much for traveling these days.

Saturday was a fun day for me. Tabitha called a little after 7:00am and asked if I wanted to go shopping with her. It was Trent's birthday and we needed to get him some presents. We were at Wal-Mart by 8:00. Found him some shirts. Went to Chick-Fil-A for breakfast while we waited for the other stores to open. Were looking for Wheelies (shoes with wheels in the heel). Ended up at the mall. I never go to the mall. There were some new stores open that I had never seen. Found him a pair of Wheelies. Went by my mother's and picked up some drapes she had for my living room. I got some new furniture (at least new to us) a couple of weeks ago and need to change out my window treatments.

Tabitha dropped me off at the house and we met up again at 1:30 at the Oaks by the Bay in St. Andrews to take pictures. A friend of theirs was getting married and everybody was supposed to dress in some type of costume. Chad, Tabitha, Trent and Hope got pirate outfits. I took about 100 pictures of them and some of them are priceless. It's hard to get a picture of Hope. She just won't be still long enough, but I got some good ones. I'm going to try to figure out how to do the Picasa Albums and will post a link when I get them uploaded. Here's a picture of Hope and Trent.

I've got to fly to Atlanta next week for testing of a new timekeeping program for work. I was on the original development team about 15 years ago and was asked to go test this new system out. It's really an honor to be chosen. I've got to go shopping between now and then to get a couple of dressy pant suits to wear. I normally wear jeans and Gulf Power shirts to work in, but going to the Southern Company Corporate office is a little more dressy. I guess I will check out Ross and see if I can find something pretty cheap. I've also got to call the airport and see what I can pack. I hope I can carry my camera. I hardly ever go anywhere without my camera.

Well, I've got to get some more pictures printed out for Chad and Tabitha of Saturday's shoot, so I will close for now. Good night and God bless.....

Have new blog name

Just trying to see if I can still post at this old address. I've upgraded to Beta and I really don't like it.
My new blog address is www.gallivanting--photographer.blogspot.com/
If I can still post to this address, I will continue to post here.