Oh, Christmas Tree.......

Went to work this morning and couldn't find Kim. A group of us was supposed to decorate a Christmas tree. Since I couldn't find them in the building, I went to the safety meeting. Ask me what it was about and I couldn't tell you. I kept wondering where Kim and the rest of the group were. Left the meeting and ran into Kim's boss and asked him. He said he saw her with a big box going into the other building. I saw Walter and he said they were in the auditorium. Finally....... I got there just as they were finishing putting the tree branches in. I don't like that part anyway. We started adding lights and decorations. I took pictures. That's what I do best. Forget the decorating. Especially if it's a theme tree. Not my style. Give me the Grandma tree with every decoration the kids have ever made. There is a Christmas Tree auction for the Rescue Mission's Bethseda House for Women and Children. Our company has four trees that will be entered. Ours is red and silver - Company colors. After we finished with ours, we looked at the other three. One has meter seals as decorations. Very whimsical. Other one was gold. Could only see a part of it. They had it hidden behind boxes. It looked pretty elegant. The last tree was locked in a vacant office and we had to have an escort to see it. It is very, very elegant, I guess you'd call it. It is all white boas, white birds, white lights, white tulle. Certainly wouldn't look good in my house, but it will look good in a very fancy house. It looked like something out of Martha Stewart. Very pretty. I especially liked the bird's nest on top. I'm just not that talented at decorating. I've never had a theme tree in my life. Don't even know if I will put one up this year.

Last Friday, I took off early to do a photo shoot for a friend and her daughter. Actually, I remember when they both were born. Boy, I'm getting old! Marsha was born when I was a senior in high school and I used to take pictures of her daughter for her little beauty pageants. I would spend hours following her around taking pictures and she won Miss Photogenic three times with my pictures. Then, she started going to a professional, who only spent a few minutes with her and she never won again. I've found out you have to take a lot of time with little ones if you want to get that one good picture of them. Marsha and I talked about the things we used to do to get Blake to let us take pictures. I came home and found the album I had of her pictures and memories started coming back of the fun we had chasing her around. She was only between one and three when I did her pictures. So, you can imagine.

Saturday morning, Robbie called and told me her mom was in the hospital in ICU. They thought she had a stroke, but it wasn't. The doctors don't have a clue what is wrong with her. I went to visit her during visiting hours - Vance wasn't home yet from playing golf. He doesn't do well in hospitals anyway. Neither does Skip. I thank God for Brenda. She takes care of them. Rosie didn't know who I was or even Mac. She knew Brenda earlier that morning, but didn't seem to know who she was that afternoon. I got an email from Brenda late last night and Rosie was herself again and even got the nurse to let her call Mac. Prayer works. Cause we had people praying all over the world for her.

Yesterday afternoon, I took pictures of Penny's family. We had a lot of fun. They wore Santa hats that said "Naughty" (for Swayde), "Bah Humbug" (Penny), "I've Been Good" (Tiffaney and Andy). Swayde's had "Nice" on the other side and that's what I wore when Andy took pictures of me with Penny and Tiffaney. There was a lady taking pictures of her kids and she had brought a little Christmas tree. She asked if we wanted to borrow it to take some pictures. That was so sweet of her. So, we did and they turned out really good. I've got to get some props and start using them. I have a little silver tree, but the green one looked so much better. I think I'm going to wait till after Christmas and see if I can get one on sale. She just decorated one side, which was all that was needed. I was telling Kim about it today and she said they now make corner Christmas trees. It is really only half a tree and you stick it in the corner and only have to decorate one side. What will they think of next?

I worked through lunch and didn't leave the office until 6:00. I'll probably work tomorrow night and just go straight to church and maybe bring some work home. I'm way behind and time has to go in on Wednesday. On my way home, I dropped off the CD I made for Penny. I even put a picture on the front CD cover. She called me a few minutes ago and told me she really liked the pictures. I'm glad. Cause I sure do love taking them.

I told Kim today that we had to get together and do her family next. Hopefully, we will be able to do it this weekend.

Now, it's midnight and I've really got to get to bed. I'm having a problem typing, cause I'm so sleepy. Goodnight and God Bless...............

I sure do hope and pray that Fox gets his cast off tomorrow and all is well with his leg. Can't wait to see him running around all over the place again.

Thursday-My Hair Looks Great

Today is the last day I have to walk around with the straightening conditioner on my hair. But, it hasn't been too bad. My hair still looks good, not too dirty looking. Tonight, I will get to sleep in bed instead of upright on the couch.

On my way to work, I was sitting at a red light when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked over and it was Penny waving at me. I rolled down my window and we talked a couple of minutes before the light changed. I went to work as usual and did my usual timesheets. Things will be changing in a couple of weeks. Don't know if I'm going to like it or not. I have to think positive; not negative about this change. At least, I still have a job.

Mama called to tell me to pay her AT&T bill. Then, she had Margurete call me and give me the amount. Daddy called to remind me that he had a doctor's appointment this afternoon. Penny called to see if I knew Daddy had an appointment. She works at the office we were going to. I told her I did and I'd see her this afternoon.

I just ate a bowl of soup for lunch and didn't leave the building so that I could make up some time. I left at 3:00 and picked Daddy up. We saw the doctor and Daddy is doing great. No infection this time. He won't have to go back until August of next year unless he has problems. I was so glad to hear that, cause with my workload, it's going to get harder and harder to take off and take him to the doctor or even take myself to the doctor. I stopped by the store for him, then took him home. I went to McDonald's and got a small hamburger. Was going to go to the marina and eat, but it was getting dark. That's not a very good place to be at night, so I thought I would go check out the new library. I figured it would still be open, but I was wrong. It was closed, so I just went to the beauty shop and sat in the car for about 30 minutes. I called Angie and checked on McKinley. She's doing okay, but still has to be careful what she eats. If she knocks those scabs off her throat, she could still hemmorage. They are very careful about what they give her to eat - all soft stuff.

Marsha was cutting her sister-in-law's hair when I went in. I haven't seen Janet in years. I sat down and looked at a magazine until they finished. Marsha said my hair looked great; that I had taken very good care of it. She washed it and blew it dry. It was straight, but she put some serium on it and used the Chi on it. It looks fabulous! Yeah, I've got straight hair for at least three months. It's going to be so much easier to take care of.

Came home and chatted with Vance a little bit. Loaded the last 6 months of pictures from my computer onto 6 discs. Now, I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight and God bless..........

Internet Users Beware!

One of the girls from work came into my office to give me a warning about what has happened to her entire family and friends on Facebook. It seems her brother went in to sign up, but never got around to inviting any friends. Everybody started getting invitations from a man with her brothers name (I'll call him John Doe). Of course, when they saw John Doe, they all accepted his invitation. There wasn't a picture attached at first, so they all thought it was her brother. He started making friends with the younger friends of the family and their friends gaining access to dozens of accounts. Then, he started putting info in his profile and they realized he was not John Doe. He ended up being from Switzerland. A member of the family works at the courthouse and she was looking at his account and saw pictures of some of the younger girls there. She called over a police officer that was walking by and they started looking at the pictures and links that he had set up on porn sites. They saw pictures of the girls in their family on these porn sites. In some of them, he photoshopped himself into the picture. She asked the officer what could they do about it and he told her absolutely nothing - when you put pictures on your web pages that anybody can access, they can do anything they want to with them and you can't do a thing about it. So, please watch what you put on your pages. Especially if you or your teenager poses in scanty clothes, you may wind up on a porn site. With technology today, all they really need is a picture of your face and they can put it on somebody else's body. I think I'm going to start deleting the pictures I have on Facebook and MySpace. I would suggest you do the same. Nothing is safe anymore. One thing, I'm very careful about who I allow access to. They were, too, and look what happened to them.

Well, that's all for tonight. I'm not going to bore you with what I did today. Same ole, same ole.

I'll be busy the next couple of days. I've got to take Daddy to the doctor tomorrow, then go to the beauty shop and let Marsha wash out this straightening conditioner (Keratin Complex). Straight hair at last!

Friday, I'll work until 3:00, then meet some friends at a park and take pictures of them for their Christmas cards. I've got a photo shoot with Penny and her family Sunday afternoon. I love doing this! Hopefully, one day, that will be my job.

I'm tired now, so goodnight and God bless..................

Typical Monday

We didn't have the safety meeting this morning. I think they are going to have one tomorrow, but they aren't sure. So, I probably won't go. Sounds like they don't have an agenda.

I worked on reports all day. Trying to make sure everybody has taken their birthday off before the end of the year. If they don't take it, they lose it and I hate to see anybody lose a day off that they are entitled to. I almost lost mine last year. Normally, I take off one day the week of my birthday, but last year I got so busy I completely forgot. When I was running the reports around this time last year, I found it. Boy, was I surprised and thrilled.

For lunch, I went to Tally-Ho (the last original drive-in in town) and got a turkey club sandwich and fries. I drove down to the marina and ate. I should have stopped at half the sandwich and fries and given the rest to the seagulls, but I ate it all and was miserable all afternoon.

Had an appointment with Marsha to get my hair straightened again. I'm praying it works this time. Twice before, it didn't stay straight; but it was still easier to keep up. The worst part is that my hair will look dirty until it gets washed Thursday night. And I will have to sleep on the couch so I won't roll and put creases in it. But even with all that, it's worth it to be straight. Marsha's sister was there getting her hair done by Jason, Marsha's nephew. She is so funny. We all had a good time. It certainly wasn't boring.

Vance called just as I was about to leave and asked me to go by the store to get crackers for the chili. It's cold tonight, so chili is perfect. As I was getting ready to eat, my Aunt Rose called. She is having hip surgery tomorrow and she said she wanted me to put her on our prayer list. We talked for about 30 minutes, then I prayed for her before we hung up. I haven't talked to her since my cousin's funeral. Her son and daughter-in-law were shot to death by their son in February. It was horrible and I just have not been able to call her. I think I needed time to grieve myself, but it was easy to talk to her tonight. She sounds good and closer to the Lord than I've ever heard her. I immediately sent off a prayer request.

Now, I'm getting very sleepy, so I'm heading off to bed (ah,couch). Goodnight and God bless..............

Great Weekend in Tallahassee

I left early Saturday morning going to Tallahassee. I stopped at Sonic and got a hot latte and breakfast burrito to help me wake up. I always stop at McDonald's in Blountstown to go to the restroom and get some tea for the rest of the trip going and coming. It was so good to finally get to hug Fox after his accident. Vance showed me how to pick him up and hold him and Michelle showed me how to change his diaper if needed. Then, they left to go help their friends move. And they are moving right down the street! I just love that they have so many friends surrounding them and they are so close to their church. I've always had to drive at least 15 minutes to get to church and most of my friends are scattered all over town. While they were gone, Fox and I played with Thomas the train and watched a Thomas video. Michelle came home right as the video was over and I was trying to figure out how to start it again. She took us down the street and we got to see the new house and have lunch with everybody. I love the house and it's in walking distance of Vance and Michelle. How cool is that?! We came back to the house and Vance and Fox played trains, cars and Play Dough. We watched this crazy bird fly back and forth between the truck and Element's side mirrors for about 10 minutes. It just kept flying back and forth, back and forth. It looked like it was trying to get inside the windows. Maybe it was cold? It was just really weird. Michelle fixed some chicken/vegetable soup and cornbread. It was really good. She is so smart. She cooks stuff ahead of time and puts it in the freezer. I sometimes freeze leftovers, but I never was smart enough to cook ahead of time. We stayed up real late. While Michelle was drying her hair, Vance straightened mine, then straightened hers. It was around 1:00 am when we all finally went to bed. I love to sleep on their couch. It is so comfortable. I don't open up the bed since I'm so used to sleeping part of the night on our couch anyway. I slept so good.We got up this morning and I watched Fox while Vance and Michelle went to the first service. Michelle was in a skit. I fed Fox and we watched another video and played with his trains. He loves those trains. Michelle came home and I got ready to go to church while she got him ready. We went and Fox just lit up when he saw Vance. He loves his daddy. Vance took him and was walking around talking to people when one of the young men walked up. Fox started crying so hard. It seems Gordon put on a gorilla suit in one of the skits they did at church and it scared Fox and every time he sees Gordon, he get scared. It happened twice. The last time, his hands were literally shaking. It really did scare him. Michelle talked to Gordon's dad and said they needed to come over for supper so Gordon could play with Fox, so Fox would learn that Gordon won't hurt him. Michelle did a great job in the skit. So did everybody else. Vance put together the power point that went along with it. They are a very talented couple. The service was good. Pastor Matt is doing a series on worry - today it was about money. Good timing due to what is going on in the world today. After church, we went to Cooch's for lunch. On the way there, I asked Fox what he wanted to eat (meaning what kind of food) and he said "Lunch." I cracked up. He's so funny. I had a shrimp basket and it was so good. One thing, you get a lot of food and it's really good. Afterwards, we went home and all took a nap. I gave Fox hugs and kisses while Vance was getting him ready for his nap. I knew I would not be able to drive home if I didn't have a short nap. Michelle set an alarm for 30 minutes and woke me up. She woke Vance up to tell me goodbye. I told him how much I enjoyed the visit and sent him back to bed. They need to rest whenever they can. I loaded up my stuff and went to Target to Starbucks to get some coffee just in case that 30 minute nap wasn't enough. As I was leaving Vance's house, I got a phone call from a friend who had asked me to take family pictures last weekend, but we never were able to connect. I found out why she didn't call me back. She ran a 5-K race and went home and went to bed sick. I am so proud of her and thankful to God because a few years ago, she was on death's doorstep. Now, she's running races. God is so awesome. Anyway, we are going to get together Friday afternoon around 3:30. I'll just take off a little early that day and go take pictures. Can't think of a better way to spend the rest of my vacation. I got home a little after dark. Vance and the dogs were glad to see me. Watched the last Nascar race of the season. Jimmie Johnson won the Championship and Carl Edwards won the race and came in 2nd in the Championship. I'm not sure where Dale Jr. finished. I uploaded the pictures I took to my picasa albums. If it worked, there should be a slideshow attached to this blog. Keeping my fingers crossed.  :) Nope, it didn't work. Sorry.Goodnight and God bless................

Pray for Hope

I've just finished some work that I brought home to do, cause I'm going to the Surgery Center to be with Chad and Tabitha while Hope has dental surgery later this morning. I think it's the Rutherford curse - bad teeth. She has several that will have to be pulled, filled or capped. Please say a prayer for her for a quick recovery with no pain.

Hope is a member of the Sandbox Singers and they had their first concert tonight and I couldn't go. :( Tabitha didn't know about it until this morning, so I didn't have time to make other arrangements. It started at 5:00 (I worked till 5:20) and there were going to be other choirs there, too. I had promised to loan Steve one of my cameras so he can take some pictures of a bald eagle tomorrow, so I had to go to church. But, there will be about five more concerts between now and Christmas. Tabitha will get me a schedule. She thinks the big concert will be on the 6th, a Saturday. I'm sure I will go to some of the other ones if they fall on days that I can go.

I took lunch today and went to the marina. I sure am enjoying that little bit of peace during the day.

It started raining as I was going home. Really hard. There were ambulances, police cars and a fire truck heading south on Hwy 77 when I got into Lynn Haven. I rushed in and got the camera, extra batteries, brushed my teeth and kissed Vance goodbye and headed to the church. I got stopped and had to wait in traffic before I got to Harvest Worship Center on Hwy 390. There was an accident right before Transmitter Road and they had the road blocked. I called Karen to let her know that I'd be late. And, no, that's not where the other emergency vehicles were going - wrong direction.

Made it to church and we practiced. Had a good worship service, then I went into the Ladies Bible Study. I sure am enjoying learning about the tabernacle from Beth Moore. She is such a good teacher. She just makes the Word come alive.

Pastor Sammy is responding to treatment, but he has two different kinds of staph infections - one in his blood and one in his face. Visitors are asked to stay away and just call. His immune system is down and these infections are highly contagious. I sure don't want to catch them. Please keep him in your prayers.

I guess I better go to bed if I'm going to get up and be at the Surgery Center at 7:30. I need to get gas on my way. Should have stopped tonight, but I knew Vance was waiting up for me. I got detoured after I left church. I thank the Lord that several people kept stopping me and talking to me in the parking lot after church. Normally, I just leave. Had I left when I walked out of church,I probably would have been involved in a big accident on my way home. We heard emergency vehicles, several of them, while we were talking. When I got onto 231, a police officer was directing traffic down Titus Road to Deer Point Road. As I turned back onto 231, I could see about a dozen police cars, with lights flashing, in the lane I would have been driving in. God is so good to protect me like that.

Now, I better get to bed. Goodnight and God bless.............

The picture above is of Hope, so you can see who to pray for.

Thank You Veterans!

Today is Veteran's Day and I just want to thank all the veterans out there who have fought to keep our country free. Even if you didn't fight in a war, you served your country and for that I am very grateful.

These are just a few of the veterans in my family - my husband (Vance), his dad (Vance), my dad (Charlie), and two of my uncles (Clifford and Bobby). I love and appreciate all you have done for us.

I haven't posted in a few days. Have been awfully busy and just too tired to think when I was finally able to settle down. I've done a lot of puzzles on Facebook just trying to keep my mind active on something unimportant things. Too much is going on in my life right now.

Work may get even harder in the next few weeks. I've heard through the grapevine that all our account numbers and timesheets will be changing. Have we had, or even heard that we might have any training? No. I guess they will make the changes without giving us any training at all. We'll just be expected to figure it out for ourselves. I had planned on taking some vacation in December, but that may not be possible unless they will let me take off during the day and work from home at night. If they would let me do that, I'd do the timesheets and not even charge them overtime. Yeah, I know, I'm stupid.

Penny and I will be going sometime next week to pick out a burial plot for my mother. She received some money from the tobacco company settlement and she wants us to buy a lot in the same cemetery that Earl is buried in. So, we will go and do as she wishes. I don't have to worry about that with Daddy. Grandmama made sure he had a lot in their family plot. That is a blessing. I'll just have to pay for the funeral expenses with his little insurance policy.

This past weekend, I spent Saturday at home not feeling good. I passed up an opportunity to take family pictures for a friend and also going to a huge classic car show out at the beach. I did go to church on Sunday.

It has been extra busy at work cause I took off two days last week for vacation. Not to do anything; mainly just to sleep. No, I'm not lazy. I'm just tired. I feel like I'm in a state of perpetual motion all the time. Sometimes my mind is going so fast thinking of what I need to get done and where I need to go that I can't concentrate on the things going on around me. I only half listen to people. That's bad. I need to try to slow down and take time to smell the roses.

We had an awesome Ladies Ministry Meeting last night. Tabitha got to go with me. First time she's been off on a Monday in a very long time; but her boss is cutting everybody's hours back. She's looking for a 2nd and 3rd job to help out until Chad can find a job. I believe the right job is coming soon for him and she won't have to work those extra jobs.

Marsha called yesterday and changed the day I'm supposed to get my hair straightened. It was supposed to be the 22nd, but she found out one of her grandchildren's birthday party is going to be that day. She wanted to do it this Saturday, but I told her I was going to see Fox - that's way more important - so she's coming in on her off day Monday and we are going to do it then. I can't wait! It will be so much easier to deal with once it's done. Just pray that it's cold those days and doesn't rain cause I can't sweat or get my hair wet(Monday-Thursday). Otherwise, I would have had it done a long time ago.

I got my Bible Study all done tonight. Nothing like waiting till the last minute to do five day's worth of reading and answering questions. We had a good time at Praise & Worship practice tonight. Pastor Sammy is in the hospital again with pneumonia and a staph infection in his blood. They are asking that people not go visit him because the infection can be passed through the air. They don't want him to catch anything and especially don't want to pass the infection on to anybody else. Just keep him lifted up in prayer.

I need to get in bed now that it's after midnight. Goodnight and God bless..........

Thursday - What a Long Day

I'm trying very hard to eat something for breakfast since my doctor told me I had to eat in the morning to keep my pancreas doing it's job. She said if I didn't eat, I would get full-blown diabetes. So, I'm trying. I don't have time to fix anything at home, so the past two days I've been going to Sonic and getting a bacon, egg and cheese burrito and coffee. Well, a little more than coffee. It's a caramel, mocha latte. Am I canceling out the good by drinking the coffee? Will I ever get a handle on how to eat right? I crave carbs.

On my way to work, Karen called. She said I had just passed her on the road and she was supposed to call me because Mrs. Sandi couldn't get up with me. For some reason, our phones don't want to work when we are calling each other. She called me last night after church and I answered and the call ended. I tried to call back and just got voice mail. She wanted me to get the word out that Pastor Sammy was supposed to have a heart cath this morning. So, that's what I did as soon as I got to work, then I went and checked in with Kim. She had been sick last night, and was afraid she would have to go home today. By the time I got back to my office, I only got to eat half the burrito cause one of the VP's showed up at our office to meet Randy and Paul. He seems very nice and really laid back for a VP.

Mrs. Sandi called and said they couldn't do the heart cath because Pastor is allergic to the dye they put in the IVP and has to be pre-medicated before having the test. A nurse just happened to notice that on his chart and canceled the test. He will have it tomorrow instead.

Oh yeah, we had a wedding at Gulf Power yesterday. That was a first. One of the cashiers got married in the auditorium. Another of the cashiers, who is a notary, performed the ceremony - her first. She did a good job. Angela looked very pretty. Another of the girls at the office took the photos. It was a very nice ceremony. The bride and groom left to go to Olive Garden to eat lunch. I believe they are having a reception at their house on Saturday.

At lunch, I grabbed a sandwich and went to the marina to eat in peace. Can't seem to do that anymore at work. Somebody is always coming in the office.

Daddy called with a long grocery list. Carol, from church, emailed and asked if I could come to the hospital between 7:30 and 8:00 tonight to pray with others for Pastor Sammy. I told her I would be there.

I worked till 5:00, then went to the grocery store. It took about an hour to find everything, cause Daddy added new things to his list and I didn't have a clue where they were in the store. Definitely not in the logical place. Took the groceries to him and stayed with him until 7:20. Vance called to see if I was going to go straight to the hospital and I told him I would. I went there and there were 12 of us who prayed for Pastor and the man in the bed next to him. Then we left. A few of us talked in the parking lot. I called Vance around 8:30 and told him I was on my way home. He went to bed as soon as I got home. I ate lasagna and now I have indigestion and my prescription ran out yesterday and I haven't had time to get it refilled. I'll be sleeping sitting up on the couch tonight. I hate when that happens.

I'm really enjoying the Bible Study we are doing. It's by Beth Moore and it is on the tabernacle. I have read those scriptures dozens of times, but she really knows how to bring it to life. I would love to see the lampstand. I finally looked up a picture of an almond blossom and it's beautiful. The lampstand had the buds, blossoms and branches of an almond tree - all made out of solid gold. It had to be breathtaking to behold.

Well, I guess I better try to get a little sleep if I can. I think I might try to go to the car show downtown tomorrow night. It should be a big one since the Emerald Coast Cruizin' the Coast is in town. Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits was performing tonight at the Marina Civic Center. If I hadn't already seen him when we were on the Oldie's cruise several years ago, I would have wanted to go. After all, he did sing "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter." (My maiden name in case you don't know.)
Of course, if you saw the movie, it was actually written about a dog; a greyhound I believe it was. I used to have a friend who would sing the song when I walked by his house on my way home from school every afternoon. So, even though it was written about a dog, it made me feel special.

I'm going to bed now. Goodnight and God bless............Please pray for Pastor Sammy as he has his heart cath tomorrow. The picture above is Pastor Sammy and his mother, Mrs. Helen.

Felt Like Monday

I got to work today and found out my timekeeping system had been down all day yesterday, so I would not have had anything to do if I had gone to work. It was supposed to be down all day today, too; but it came back up around 9:00. Believe me, I was contemplating leaving and coming home. But, I decided to stick around and do a little filing. That's when I found out the system was back up. Kim let me know. So, it ended up being a very productive day.

I decided not to go to lunch today because I had an appointment to get my hair colored and cut at 4:15. Got a lot done while the guys were gone to lunch. I work so much better alone. It was kind of a yucky day today. It looked like it was going to rain, but it never did.

I went and got my hair colored and trimmed. Marsha and I were there alone. Everybody else left early today. I hate that she works after dark. I hung around and walked out with her so she wouldn't have to walk out alone. She's got a new grandbaby, Jon Dawson. They will call him Dawson. He's so cute. I showed her the pictures of Fox and she almost cried. It really upset her. But, she was also impressed with how happy he seemed in the pictures. She also said how handsome he was. Of course, I totally agree.

We didn't have practice tonight; at least, not the singers. So, I watched a little TV with Vance and then ate supper. I have not watched the election results. I've been praying for our country all day. This is the first election that has bothered me.

A friend of mine that I've known since the 5th grade told me of a website to go to and I can make my own website. I bought a WebEasy 7 Professional website maker, but I just can't get it to work. I think I will try out the one she uses and see if I can make my own. Guess I better get off here and go look at it and see if it's something I can do.

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

Took a Day Off

I stayed up late last night, or should I say this morning? So, when it was time to go to work, I just could not get out of bed. I called and left a message for my boss and then called Kim. She's got a bad case of sinusitis. That's why she missed church yesterday. I had tried to call her yesterday, but never got her. I told her I was going back to bed and I did. I climbed back into bed and slept until around 10:00. I got up and ate low carb ice cream for breakfast. Not a good breakfast, but that's all I wanted.

I felt led to pray for our country and the outcome of the election tomorrow. It is heavy on my heart to see the right man put in office. I know that no matter who goes in, it is in God's hand and He is still in control. But, if praying can help, I sure wanted to get my prayers heard. I've been praying off and on, but I felt an urgency today. I will be glad when the election is over and we can truly see what is going to happen with our country and our lives. May God have mercy on our souls........

My phone was on charge and I had forgotten to take it off vibrate, so I didn't know that both my parents were trying to get in touch with me. With them, every thing is an emergency. I called Mama and she wanted me to come by this afternoon and pick up two checks to be deposited. I called Daddy and he wanted me to go to the Credit Union and get him some money and then take him to AmVets. So, I took a shower and went to the Credit Union. Stopped by Walgreen's and picked up Vance's prescription on the way. After leaving the Credit Union, I went to Wal-Mart just to pass some time and to get a thing of stickers to use on Fox's scrapbook. I haven't started it yet. I just got the scrapbook the other day and have not had any time to put it together. Am also waiting for more pictures from Vance, Michelle and Shannon. I've got ideas, but I'm gathering the supplies I need to go with my ideas.

Took Daddy to the AmVets and then went to Mama's. Stayed and visited with her until 6:30. I've been reading and enjoying and old friend's website. Check it out: http://wonderwomansworld.webs.com/. I've known her since first grade and we still keep in touch. She's got some good Southern recipes there.

Got a call a few minutes ago. Mrs. Sandi has taken Pastor Sammy to the hospital with heart palpations. Please pray for him whether you know him or not.

I think I'll get ready for bed now. Goodnight and God bless............

Time Changed This Morning

Time changed which meant an extra hour of sleep, right? Then why was I so sleepy this morning? I had such a hard time getting up. Took an extra long shower trying to wake up which meant I didn't have time to straighten my hair before going to church. I hate when that happens. I'm so looking forward to getting it straightened again by Marsha. Probably right before Christmas. Merry Christmas to me!

Church was really good today. We had a lot of visitors. Now that we have a van, we can go pick up people. Josh picked up about 10 people, some from the Rescue Mission. Some very sweet people. I'm so glad we got a van and can reach out to more people, especially those who have no way to go.

Tabitha and the kids followed me home and we made two fliers for Tabitha to put up at work. She's wanting to raise money for under privileged children this Christmas. A lot of them won't have Christmas because people just aren't giving to charities like they used to. I've noticed the United Way signs aren't showing even half what they usually collect by this time of the year. Don't people know it's better to give than to receive? We've got to stop thinking all about ourselves and start thinking about others who are really hurting financially right now. The Bible says to give and it shall be given to you, pressed down, shaken together and running over. I'm proud of Tabitha. They are hurting financially right now and she and Chad are thinking about other people and what they can do to help them.

After they left, I ate a TV dinner and took a nap. Vance went to the grocery store and grilled sausage for supper. We had sausage dogs. Not bad. There is some sausage that I just can't stand, but this was pretty good. I really prefer deer sausage to any other kind, but I only get it at work. Vance won't even cook it if I bring it home. He says he doesn't like it. I grew up on deer meat, squirrel, rabbit........ I come from a long line of hunters, so we had stuff like that all the time. Mama even raised chickens and ducks.

Check out Vance's blog for an update on Fox and a few pictures. He even shows a picture of the x-ray of Fox's leg. Poor baby. But, he seems to be handling it pretty well. I'm still praying for a quick recovery so he can get out of that cast.

Well, guess I better get to bed. Gotta get up in a few hours and go to work. Bummer!
Goodnight and God bless................

Happy Birthday Mia Bella

Today is Mia Bella's first birthday. She is my brother's granddaughter; Tonya's daughter. I pray that she had a very happy first birthday.

Vance woke me up early. I was sleeping so good and I really didn't want to get up. But, I did want to vote today, so I got up and stumbled around getting ready. I left the house around 7:45 - way too early on a Saturday morning. I got there, walked right in, voted, went to Hardee's and was back at the house within 30 minutes. I worked on the pictures I took at church last night. Google just would not upload them, so I switched to Internet Explorer and zipped right through it. Been having trouble with Google a lot lately. It just runs so slow.

Around 1:00, I went to ToysRUs and bought a gift card for Swayde. Penny bought him a NintendoDS, so I got a gift card so he can buy a game. I didn't have any idea what game he would want. Love those gift cards! When I was growing up, you were considered very uncaring and unimaginative if you gave money instead of buying a present.Not anymore, thank goodness. I always loved it when Vance gave me money for Christmas. The sales in January just can't be beat and I could get so much more for my money.

I decided to ride downtown with the intention of taking pictures, but there was way too many people milling around. I remembered a conversation a couple of us had the other day about something very historical that happened right here in Panama City. I knew there was a book about it because I had seen a movie. You may not know this fact, but a man named Gideon (Clarence Gideon I think), was charged with breaking into the Bay Harbor Bar and stealing the money out of the cash box. He was a poor man and could not afford a lawyer, so he was sent to jail. While in jail, he fought to get a law passed so that a poor person would have representation by an attorney when they were charged with a crime. Attorney Fred Turner took his case and got him off. There never was any hard evidence against him in the first place. Because of this case, a person now has a right to an attorney if they can't afford one. Isn't that cool? The name of the book and movie - Gideon's Trumpet. Look it up for yourself on the internet. Fred Turner went on to be a judge here in Bay County. I decided if anybody had the book, it would be Books by the Sea Bookstore. So, I went in there and started looking around. I was looking at a book about Millville - where I went to elementary school - when I felt something touch my leg. I looked down and there was a beautiful golden retriever sniffing my jeans. She could tell I've got dogs. I bent down and petted her. Such a sweet dog. She finally got tired of me and followed somebody else that came into the store. I walked around for awhile and ran into a man who was petting the dog. We struck up a conversation about dogs and then started talking about God. This man, he later introduced himself as Jimmy, lives at the Rescue Mission and he goes to a class that Alan (from our church) teaches. I guess we must have shared about the Lord for a good 20 minutes. Then, two other guys from the Rescue Mission finished buying their books and they all left together. I talked to the lady who runs the store and tried to describe the book to her. She knew what I was talking about, but we looked all over the store and couldn't find the book. She said she could order it for me, so I left my name and phone number. I know I could get it cheaper from Amazon.com, but I'd rather support a local mom/pop bookstore that a big franchise.

Left there and went to Chad's to hang out until it was time to take the kids to Swayde's birthday party at the bowling alley. We got there and Swayde wasn't even there yet. Neil had him, so they were late. There were four kids, including Swayde, so four adults decided to play, too. Not me. I took pictures, really bad pictures. I used my Sony camera and it has a delay, so any movement causes blur. You set it on the action setting and it's too dark. So, I got a lot of blurry pictures and a few good ones. This camera is great for stationary objects, but not kids. My Canon needed to be recharged, so I couldn't use it. Hope beat the three boys. She was so excited. She would run back to me and want to know her score as soon as she bowled. Tiffaney was helping her line up the little ramp. The boys bowled without the ramp, but she can't pick up the ball. Of course, Tiffaney was beating all of us adults when she was five and she didn't use a ramp or gutter bumpers. She beat the adults today, too. They all had a lot of fun; that's what counts. Chip and Angie came after Mia's party. They said she was so cute. Wish I could have gone to her party, too; but I can't be everywhere. Wish I could - I'd be in Tallahassee, too, checking on Fox.

Michelle called while we were at the bowling alley. They are back from their visit in Orlando. She said they wrapped Fox in toilet paper and he went out as a mummy for Halloween. I bet he was the cutest mummy out there! Can't wait to see the pictures.

It was after 6:00 when we got through at the bowling alley. I took the kids home and was talking to Chad when my hubby called. He wanted me to go to Captain D's and get supper, so back across town I went.

Went Shopping

Went to work, but didn't have anything to do. Kim was in a meeting almost all day. We had planned to go to lunch together, but they brought food in for the meeting. At 10:00, I went down to John's office and told him I was taking an early, extended lunch. He hadn't had a chance to do his timesheets yet and neither had any of the other supervisors. That's why I didn't have anything to do. So, I went to Ross to see if they had any more of the cupcake carriers. Michelle had borrowed one for Fox's birthday party and I had seen them there a couple of weeks ago. I had bought one for Tabitha because she was going to carry cupcakes to Hope's school. She loves it. I got to thinking about it and decided to go back and see if they had any left. Yep, two. I bought them both. Michelle, one is for you and I'll probably give the other one away since I don't bake much anymore. As a matter of fact, I think I will give it to Kim tomorrow. She bakes all the time for her granddaughters.

I left Ross and went to Big Lots. Fran and I have been turned on to some really cheap, but nice makeup - E.L.F. It was advertised on Oprah the other day. Fran called me and had me check out the website. Check it out at www.eyeslipsface.com Most of the products are only $1.00. The K-Mart store on Tyndall Parkway and Big Lots carry some of it. I found some yesterday at K-Mart and some at Big Lots today. Neither one carry the same thing. And K-Mart sells it for $1.00, but Big Lots sells it for $1.80. I bought some to try. So far, I like it.

As I was leaving Big Lots, a car pulled into the parking lot and it was Chad and Tabitha. They got out and we talked for a few minutes. Chad is putting in applications everywhere trying to find a job. Tabitha said they prayed together this morning. That is so great. I believe Chad is being drawn back to God through this by having to rely fully on Him. Tabitha is doing well and was able to get all the tests done on her kidneys.

I went back to work after stopping by Wendy's to get a hamburger. I haven't eaten anything from there in years. Got a side salad instead of fries. The hamburger was good and I ate the salad without dressing. I'm trying to do better.

When I got back to work, sure enough, I had some timesheets in the fax machine. So, I got to work and didn't quit until almost 6:00. I called and talked to Michelle. They were at Sea World. I'm sure Fox loved that. They are doing a good job of keeping him occupied. Not only will he remember breaking his leg, but he'll remember all the great things he got to do while recuperating.

I came home and washed a load of clothes. Vance had washed a load before I got home. We have been together so long that we think just alike sometimes.

Now, I think I will head off to bed. Murder She Wrote is almost off, so it's time for me to go to bed.
Goodnight and God bless..........

Pray for McKinley

I talked to Angie (my sister-in-law)last night and she told me that McKinley (Corey's daughter; her granddaughter)is having surgery next week to remove her tonsils and adnoids and scrape her sinuses. She has had a staph infection in her face and has been on several antibiotics, but they aren't working. The doctor says she is immune to them and has taken her off everything until the surgery. Please pray for her that she will not have any problems and the infection will be gone when she goes to have surgery. She's only 2 years old and also has seizures. I'm wondering if the seizures could be caused by all the meds she has been on or from the infection in her sinuses. She is such a precious little girl. The picture at the top of the page on the left is of her. Isn't she a doll?

Penny and I found some pictures of Tiffaney when she was little and the second picture is of her. Don't they look a lot alike?

Today was a pretty uneventful day. I had an email from a woman in Pensacola asking for help with some vehicle charges. I had all the info she needed except for two of the trucks, so I contacted Kim and she supplied the people who drove the trucks. I sent the info back and continued with my work. After I got back from lunch, the lady called and thanked me and said "You and Kim are the only ones who will even respond to my emails or call me back. Nobody else in the company will help me except you two." She was so appreciative. I just don't understand. Kim and I would never even think to not return someone's email or phone call. We will help anybody if we can. I know I would want someone to help me if I needed it. Whatever happened to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?"

Went to church. We had a great Praise & Worship service. We did a new song that we learned last night and you could just feel the Spirit of the Lord in it. Everybody responded. It is such an anointed song. Pastor Sammy wasn't there. He had come in, but left to go to the ER. He had a place on his arm that was bleeding and just wouldn't stop. Our other Pastor Sammy preached, but I didn't get to hear him because of our Bible Study. It was so good tonight. I just love Beth Moore.

It has turned cold and I am having trouble finding warm clothes. That's what I hate about putting things away for a season. I forget all about them and end up going out and buying more clothes. Not this year. I'm going to go through all my big Rubbermaid containers and drag out my winter clothes. Would have done it tonight, but they are in our bedroom closet and Vance went to bed as soon as I got home from church. Maybe I can go through it after he leaves for work tomorrow. I've got to find a sweater - something other than one with Christmas decorations all over it. Too bad I don't have one with fall appliques. That would be nice right now.

I think I will get to bed. Goodnight and God bless.............
Michelle, tell Fox I love him very much and I'm still praying that cast will come off quicker than expected.

Getting Cooler Outside

It was chilly when I got up this morning. Felt so good. I went to work but decided not to go to the safety meeting and get right on the work that has been piling up. Take off one day and it's hard to catch up.

Kim made a new pot of coffee, so I had a cup and got back to work on the timesheets. Mama called and asked me to stop by her house this afternoon to look at some papers and tell her what she needed to do about them. Daddy called and said he needed some things from the store. It was only three items, so I was able to go to the grocery store at lunch and pick them up. I had brought a salad for my lunch, so I went back and ate at my desk.

I called Michelle to see how Fox was doing. He was able to sleep through the night Saturday night without being woke up for pain meds. I think that is great. They are down in Orlando, so she had help this weekend from Pam and Mike. I'm glad she and Vance get so much help from friends and family. What a blessing.

After work, I went to Mama's and stayed until 6:30. She had me thinking that she was losing 2 lbs. a day, but when I looked at her chart, she has only lost 1/2 a pound. Her weight has fluctuated up and down, but it just depends on the time of day that she weighs herself. If it's early in the morning, her weight is down some; if it's later, her weight is about what it was when she left the nursing home. But she says she doesn't have an appetite and feels that the doctor will probably put her in the hospital. I just don't know what to think about all this. I don't know if she is just lonely and wants to go back to the nursing home because she was getting so much attention all day long, or what is going on. None of us can quit our jobs and stay with her all day. Especially since she gets around so well. Home Health Care comes in almost daily and say she is doing well.

I came home and sat with Vance a little while, then came in and worked on the computer. He was watching a scary movie and I sure didn't want to watch that. I copied some recipes for the crock pot for him. He loves to cook and I thought he could find something in those recipes to make. I got them from www.southernplate.com
Great Southern recipes.

Well, I'm getting too sleepy to type, so I think I better go to bed. Goodnight and God bless.................

Sleepy Sunday

Went to church. It was Pastor Appreciation Day and I gave our pastors pictures of them that I had taken back in the 80's. Pastor Sammy loved them. We had food after the service. I had not planned on eating because I forgot to bring anything, but Judy talked me into it. She said she brought plenty. It's hard to prepare food in the morning when you have to be there early. We had a lot of visitors. There was plenty of food. At first, it didn't look like there would be enough, but I kept seeing people go back for two and three plates and there just seemed to be more and more food. It's like when Jesus took the loaves and fishes and there were baskets left over afterwards. Well, there was plenty of food left over. You can't tell me God doesn't perform miracles today.

I had planned on going to see Mama, but then I realized the race would be on and she doesn't like to be interrupted when she watching the race. And, besides, I was so sleepy. All I wanted to do was go home and go to bed. I came home, changed clothes, kissed Vance and went to bed and slept until 5:30.

When I got up, Vance needed me to go to the grocery store and get some rice for a dish he was preparing. It took an hour in the grocery store. First, I'm still not familiar with the Lynn Haven Winn-Dixie, so I couldn't find the things I was looking for; and it seemed everybody in Lynn Haven had decided to go shopping at the same time. I bought some things that I can take to work to eat instead of eating out every day. Trying to save some money and eat a little better. I had to stand in line for about 15 minutes and they had just about all the lines open. It looked like when people go shopping to stock up right before a hurricane. I don't know what the deal was.

Came home and worked on some photographs that I had taken today at church. Some good ones of the kids that were there. I love taking pictures of kids.

I also watched Extreme Home Makeover and cried the entire hour. I love that show, but it always makes me cry. I usually don't watch it for that very reason, but I decided that I would watch it anyway. So I did and I cried and cried some more. It was beautiful.

Vance made a dish of several types of beans, corn, hot dogs, rice and cheese. It was really good. He comes up with some concoctions that look terrible, but taste great.

Now that it's after midnight, I guess I better get to bed. It's going to be a busy day trying to play catch-up since I was off Friday. And I may have to take Trent to his doctor's appointment because Tabitha thinks she has an appointment at the same time to find out the results of her tests on her kidneys. We're interested to see if that third kidney has grown bigger. I'm believing it has and it will soon be able to take over for the diseased kidney.

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

Check out Michelle's blog to find the latest on Fox. Also, check out www.southernplate.com for some great Southern recipes.

Later Saturday

I guess it was around 3:30 or 4:00 when I finally got to bed. Fell right asleep. I love sleeping with the windows open this time of year. The air is just so crisp and clean - good sleeping weather. Maybe that's why I slept most of the day yesterday.

Today, I got up around 9:00. Didn't do much. I was just tired and worked on pictures. Kim and I think the Chronic Fatigue has come back and that's why I'm so tired all the time. Plus, I have other symptoms that I had before when I had CFS. Yeah, I know, I need to get off the sugar and carbs. I know all that, but I crave those things.

Penny called and said Mama is talking about going back into the nursing home. She's losing about 2lbs. a day. She just won't eat. Penny said she thought it was because none of us have gone to see her since she got home. I told her I had been by there twice this week and would be going after church tomorrow. I think it's because nobody is forcing her to eat three times a day, so she just doesn't eat. Hey, I know exactly how she feels. I don't eat either. But, instead of losing weight, I'm gaining. Not fair!

It was almost 2:00 before I even ate anything and that amounted to two pieces of toast with peanut butter. Vance came home a little before 3:00. His back was hurting him. At 4:00, I jumped in the shower to get ready for Trent's birthday party. Vance said he'd come over for a little while. I stopped by Sonic and got some tea. By the time I got to Chad's, I was shaking from hunger. Ate a couple of Oreo's and a piece of bread.

Everybody started showing up. Dexter and his two girls were there. Dexter was trying to help Chad find out why his car quit on him today at the store. They had to tow it home. Vance came over, but didn't stay long. His back was hurting him and he's not comfortable around a lot of people. He got there before everybody started showing up. When everybody else got there, he left. I don't think they ever figured out what was wrong with Chad's car.

We had spaghetti, then dirt cake. It was all good. Of course, I took a lot of pictures. When do I not take pictures? I stuck around until 7:00, just talking to Chad, Tabitha, Dexter and Tiffany. Everybody else had already gone home.

Came home and watched a movie on the Hallmark Channel. Edward Asner starred as a grandfather whose young grandson got in trouble in New York and got sent to live with him. He turned his life around that summer. It was a really good movie.

Now, I think I will scan some more photos. Goodnight all! God bless..........

Why Am I Still Up???

It's almost 2:30 in the morning on Saturday and I'm still up. Not sleepy at all. Could be because I slept half the day. I woke up with a terrible sinus headache and called in and took a day of vacation. Then, I went back to bed and slept till almost noon. Still had a headache, but I felt rested......

I'm still looking for those pictures for Penny and the youth group. Haven't found them yet, but I found a lot of pictures that I wanted to scan.

Around 2:30, I was getting ready to go to the Credit Union when Vance came home. He got off early; said there was nothing to do. I stopped by Sonic and got a sweet tea and corn dog. First food or drink I've had all day. Went to the Credit Union and Sylvia came in. Haven't seen her in months. I stayed and talked with her for a long time, then went to Office Max and got some ink for my printer.

Came home and continued to look for those pictures. Started scanning pictures and have just finished a whole box full. The picture above is Vance with our Great Dane PhuMy (fu me). Now, I guess I better try and go to bed and get some sleep.

Thursday - A Little Different

Got to work early today. That's very unusual for me. I even stopped by Sonic and got breakfast. Of course, I had to wait over an hour for the supervisors to send me any timesheets to do. I could have slept another hour and then gone to work. That would have been nice. I went to sleep earlier than usual last night, but I've been sleepy all day at work. I stayed busy the rest of the morning. Daddy called and said he needed some Aleve and Benadryl for his allergies. I was glad he called before lunch.

I went to Walgreens and got his stuff and carried it to him. I also had a short visit with him and gave him the papers I got from the attorney about Grandmama's estate. I didn't understand any of it and he's mad, cause he thinks they are taking advantage of him and that he won't get anything. If the truth be known, he should get more than anybody, because he helped build the house, he put up the fence, he kept it up for over 20 years. Anything went wrong, he fixed it. None of the rest would do that. The only thing they did was clean the yards once in awhile and take advantage of Grandmama. But I'm not getting involved in this mess. I told him he would have to handle it with his attorney.

Went back to work and stayed busy all afternoon. On my way home, I called and talked to Michelle. She said Fox was doing pretty good. He slept good last night. They still wake him up every four hours to give him pain medication. She and Fox are leaving in the morning with Shannon to go to Orlando until next weekend. Vance will take off next Thursday and Friday and drive down to pick them up. That will be a good diversion for Fox. He'll have his other grandparents and Dylan to keep him company. Michelle is going to help Shannon remodel her kitchen.

She told me that Robbie sent a care package and there was a stuffed puppy in the box. Fox took the puppy and said "I like my puppy." Michelle asked what he was going to name his puppy and he said "O". Just O. Don't know why, but that's his puppy's name. Vance got home while I was talking to her and she put the phone on speaker so I could hear their conversation. She asked Fox to show Daddy what he got today. He said "A puppy." She said "Who sent it to you?" He said "Aunt Robbie." She said "What did you name your puppy?" He said "O". He's so cute!

I had been invited to a Premier Jewelry party tonight, but I told the girl I probably couldn't come because I usually buy groceries for my Dad on Thursday afternoon and don't get home before 7:00. Well, I didn't have to this afternoon, so I decided to go. I really enjoyed myself and yes, I bought some jewelry. Like I need another piece of jewelry! All the women were Christians and we had a great time of fellowship. Some of the pieces looked just like some of the jewelry that Mama just gave me. If you hold on to something long enough (jewelry & clothes) it will eventually come back around and be in style again. Of course, the clothes probably won't fit, but the jewelry will!

Now, I think I will go to bed. Goodnight and God bless................Pray that Michelle, Fox, Shannon and Dylan have a safe trip to Orlando.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is my dad's 78th birthday. I called him after I got to work and he said he didn't even realize it was the 22nd. I guess when you get that old, your birthday is just another day. He was glad I remembered. I know none of the rest of the family did.

For once in a very long time, I finished my work before lunch. I almost took the rest of the day off, but I didn't. I figured I could find something to do and I did - filing. It is always backed up. The reason I was caught up was because all the supervisors were in a meeting yesterday and today and couldn't do any work. Right before I left for the day, they got caught up. I'll have a lot to do tomorrow!

I was hungry at lunch (because I hadn't eaten this morning), so I went to get some good home cooking instead of a sandwich. Wrong thing to do. I've enjoyed the last two days of sitting at the marina. Today I took my lunch back to my office and thought I'd have some peace - wrong. Everybody decided to come in and talk to me about vacation time left. Not only that, I was so sleepy the rest of the day. Tomorrow, it's back to a sandwich at the marina.

Tabitha called and said Dixie had 10 puppies - 3 brindles, 2 white w/brindle spots and 5 blacks. She said Dixie is a great mother. Now, they will have to get rid of 10 puppies. When it's time, I think I will put them on PanamaCityFreecycle@yahoo.com. That is, if they are giving them away and not selling them.

Chad is still looking for a job. He came over and put in applications on the computer. Their computer must have gotten a virus. It won't work properly. Pray that he gets a good job soon - one with benefits.

Tabitha has been getting tests done this week on her kidneys. She has two very small kidney stones. She had a test today to see if the 3rd kidney is growing. We are praying that it will grow and take over for the other kidney. I believe it will, cause when God starts a miracle, He doesn't stop it.

I didn't go in to the Ladies Bible Study tonight. Tabitha seemed to need me more in church. There were only about a dozen of us in the sanctuary with Pastor Sammy. Everybody else was in other classes. We had a good time interacting with him. He would give scriptures and ask questions and we'd just speak up. It was good. Mrs. Sandi was home sick. She wasn't feeling very good yesterday either.

I'm really tired, so I'm going to go to bed before midnight tonight. Goodnight and God bless.................