My Annual Thanksgiving Post

As we approach the holiday, we are suppose to reflect on what we're thankful for and pray that we have the same things next year that we can brag about. I wanted to post in this space a Thanksgiving "blessing" if you will, that I wrote from my heart probably 10 years ago expressing my thanks for everything in my life that I'm so very thankful for. But I cannot locate the paper copy. So I'll try to recall some of it from memory. I read this "blessing" as everyone was standing around the dining room table, hands joined, and mouths watering for the feast presented before us. I can remember my brothers, who are two of the most sensitive, grown men I know, sniffling and trying not to let anyone hear them. I recall saying that I was thankful and grateful for my extended family as we never turn anyone away when it comes to family fun and traditions. I had a fairly new sister in law at the time who has grown to become the true big sister I never had. And while my parents had been long divorced with Dad on the "left" coast, we never really lost touch of what family really means. It means accepting our loved ones despite their shortcomings, their faults and their bad habits - because we have them too. It means opening your heart and your home to those less fortunate - because we've had to do without at some point in our lives. It means accepting people for who they are - because you can't, or shouldn't, try to change anyone.


Family to me is a feeling that no one else can take away. And for that - my family and my friends, I am forever grateful.

Have a wonderful, safe and happy holiday.

Bocce Ball - Game On!

The Sandbridge Bocce Ball Team (aka Team DNS) had opening ceremonies yesterday....and what a great day we had! Of course, I lost my first two games but the only way is up! Today we got rained out but not before I was able to win back my first two losses...so I'm 2 for 2 or an average of .500. I'll take it! We're gonna try again tomorrow if Mother Nature will let us have a couple of hours of fun! BTW - Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband...

Congratulations Ryan and Heather

My niece is getting married in just a few hours and I want to wish them much love and happiness for a long, long time. Happy Wedding!

I have just discovered Facebook....what a blast that has been. I'm finding "friends" from way back into high school days that I haven't talked to in years and years and years. It's fun catching up with everyone to see how we've all aged (sorry, but we have!), how we've grown and where our lives have taken us.

The fish continue to thrive...but they are still very skittish when it comes to anyone (or anything such as the cat - his new and personal water bowl!) getting near the pond. They run for cover when I go out to feed them. And they've been acting up lately (if you know what I mean) so I'm sure the baby fishes will arrive in due time. I still need a few plants and maybe a few snails then it will be complete for the season except for routine maintenance. I got lucky this year with the pollen. Last year, there was so much pollen in the pond that I couldn't even see the bottom. This year, I started treating the pond before pollen season with a bacteria (the good kind!) and it's pretty much stayed clear. Note to self - do that again next year!

Almost forgot - we had a peacock - yes peacock - in the neighborhood on Thursday. He was on our garage for a while then decided to move to my neighbor's roof (in the picture). He hung around all afternoon and into the night when he decided to get up into a tree (via their chimney) and roost for the night. We haven't seen him since so hopefully he's found his way back to Hunt Club where we think he came from.

Well, I had better go get dressed for the nuptials.

Ups and Downs

What a long, strange day this has been.

I am on new team at work that, to save you the boredom of the details, will be consuming every free minute of my time for the next couple of months. It's exciting work, don't get me wrong - I'm looking forward to the challenge. But why does it seem that everything comes all at the same time? It seems like there will be a lull in the action then BANG - let's try to do everything humanly possible within an unreasonable amount of time! Is it to keep us challenged so we keep pushing ourselves to do better? Or is it something beyond our control that is produced to keep us from getting stale and bored? We always get through "it" but "it" never seems easy at the time. I was at a training class today on Managing Transition - how timely. I learned a lot today and hope I can learn how to apply the theory to my own situations.

It was a productive day at work and a beautiful day outside (an "up"), yet a sad day too (a "down"). One of the ladies I work with lost her father today after a long illness. I haven't quite figured out how to console this co-worker as I know there are no words that can take away that pain. All we can do is offer our help and our hearts.

Have a safe and happy Easter weekend.

Happy Christmas

I hope this finds everyone ready for Christmas and that no one has lost their minds getting there. I've posted before about how hectic the holidays are and how we try to cram so much shopping, eating and fellowship into just a few weeks. If only we celebrated our birthdays that long!

I really wanted to let everyone know that we (spousal unit, crazy cat, senile dog and 6 happy fish) extend our best wishes to each and everyone of you. We hope your holiday season is full of happiness, peace, sanity and family (can you use sanity and family in the same sentence?). We are sure that you, just like the rest of us, has had a very rough year with the economy and can only pray that with a new administration in D.C., something is bound to change.

With that in mind, let us not forget what all the retailers would like us to - that Christmas isn't really about the economy, black Friday or Cyber Monday. How much we spend or save, how many good deals we get or how much we spend on one another. It's really about letting those that mean the most to you know how much you love them. I love my entire family - from my wonderful husband of over 20 years, to my wonderful Mom (aka my best friend), to the sister I never had to my nearest and dearest friend from childhood (and you know who you are).

I love my brothers, my Dad and their significant others. I love my countless friends at home and those at work. Those friends who have moved away and those who are still here. It really sounds so cliche, but we are nothing without our friends. Those friends who are always there - who will show up when you ask, regardless of the time of day, or how trivial the matter may seem to them.

It truly is a wonderful life - but we are here for such a short span of time. Make the most of your wonderful life - tell the ones you love just how much you do love them. Make the most of your wonderful life - take time to plant a flower, talk to a child or be with someone who might be alone. Make the most of your wonderful life - forgive someone who hurt you in the past or maybe, just forgive yourself for something.

Make the most of your wonderful life.

Be happy - have no regrets - smile.

Merry Christmas to All. May you have lots of love in your heart and friends on your doorstep. We wish you a wonderful, happy and healthy new year.

USA Rocks!

OK - Olympics junky here. Right now I'm watching the woman's marathon waiting for "fish" Phelps to slice through the water and win his 8th! Just how awesome would that be? I don't know if we can stand all of the excitement that would follow. I wonder if Spitz is on hand to congratulate him? Probably not - but what a nice gesture that would be.

Had a busy Saturday - an early morning workout then lots of errands to run. Had to get pet food (they really appreciate it when you have kibble on hand at feeding time), groceries and other household stuff. Then I came home and worked on some crafty projects in the back yard. I'm experimenting with concrete blocks (i.e. as in stepping stones, only different). We'll see how well the experiment worked in the morning. Tomorrow may or may not be a trip to the beach in the morning - depends on how I feel when I get up (and how late I stay up tonight). I sort of feel like summer is winding down - which I guess it actually is. Although on the calendar, we have another full month until the official start of fall....my favorite time of year. I think October is my absolute favorite month of year.

Looking forward to the coming week...it's my monthly meeting with my gals from ARG....and it will be a special one indeed since one of our members just lost their father. Our hearts and prayers are still with you Carter. See ya'll at Macs.

OK - got to get settled in for the swimming coming up soon - let's hope it's not on too late!

Ciao...Rock on USA!

Fessin' Up

A friend of mine once told me she was a "People Magazine" junkie. I have to admit it - I'm an Olympics junkie. I am all over all of the broadcasts - can't get enough of it. And as we speak I am watching the opening ceremonies in Beijing. I will also admit I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, but so far, they are putting on a fantastic show. I am very impressed.

Now if our girls can kick butt in volleyball and swimming - I'll be happy!

Rock On USA!

Hump Day

We made it to Wednesday. It's been a busy week carting myself back and forth to the hospital for Mom, but, if all goes well this morning, I'll be bringing her home today. She's had about every pulmonary test you can have, ultrasounds, etc., so I don't think they can do anything else. Now we wait for results and the plan of attack.

Thanks to all of my friends for your kind words and support.

Wednesday's Child

Is NOT full of woe! I just had a wonderful evening out with some friends of mine. We get together once a month come hell or high water. We went to the first watering hole that we started our little group at. We sat out on the patio and just had a very nice time. I just adore these women who have come into my life, enriched my life and made me understand what's really important in day to day life. It's not what you earn or what car you drive. It's how you look at life, how you look at yourself and how you deal with the hand you're given. And if any of you have half of the friends that I do - you'll go a long way. We shouldn't measure our life success by what we have, but rather by what we learn from those around us. And tonight, I learned that I have a very special group of friends who value my friendship and trust me, that goes both ways!

Weekend Eve

Well, it IS my weekend as I have taken tomorrow off. Sometimes we just need a "me" day to do whatever we want to do - or not. It's supposed to rain and I love rainy days so I may just lay on the couch and sleep all day with my four legged friends.

Tonight I'm having some friends over for dinner. This is a wonderful group of ladies that I formed a very special bond with. We get together every month for our own little hen party, some adult beverages and a lot of laughter! We usually meet at one of our favorite watering holes but we recently started rotating amongst our homes. I host tonight and they're gonna love it. I made a bit crock pot of Chicken Merlot and we're going to have some wonderful crusty bread from La Bella Italia paired with a plate of yummy EVOO and freshly grated romano cheese. I guess we'll have salad so we can say we ate healthy. And a good glass of nice chilled Pinot Grigio. They'll be here in two hours and I can hardly wait. The smell in the house from the chicken cooking all day is starting to get to me!

The birds are starting to show up in force (grackles and starlings) which means Spring can't be far behind. I know when my bird feeders get raped of all their food in one day, that the black birds are back. But I'm getting some Red Wing Blackbirds which are very pretty in flight. It's really cool to see a whole flock of them take off and the big ribbon of red that follows. I've noticed male Red Bellied Woodpeckers who are in full mating color and the cardinals are as red as ever. We'll have little fledglings before we know it.

The pond for some reason is holding water now. Of course it would - just to torque us a bit. As soon as the weather breaks, we'll drain it completely, trouble shoot the leak situation and get it ready for some new fish. My neighbor says the fish are happy in her pond so I doubt I'll get them back.

OK. I'm off to stir the chicken and get the rest of dinner ready. Bon Apetito!

Thank Heaven for Weekends

What a great weekend this has turned out to be. After last weekend with all the back-breaking work with painting the bedroom, I was determined to make this weekend a more relaxing, slower paced 2 days.


A co-worker and I drove up to beautiful Mathews County to visit a former manager of ours. After a half-hour detour to check on a possible leaking rear tire, we arrived just before noon. What a beautiful drive it was. Route 17, while it has its share of stop lights, is really a nice drive. Our friend lives just a stone's throw away from the Piankatank River and what a view that is. This picture isn't one I took, but gives you a real good idea of what we saw. It was rather (ok - very) chilly standing on the river shore, but worth every minute of it. Lunch was wonderful and filling, the sangria was most tasty (evident of the empty jug at the end of the day) and the hospitality unmatched. This dear friend was a role model for me, a mentor for me and most of all, a true friend. I miss her presence each day at work and treasure the time we can get together.


Today is going to be slow-paced. I plan to relax the rest of the day, read the newspaper, see what's on sale this week, and enjoy the Great American Race at 2pm. I have always wondered why NASCAR has their "super bowl" of events as the first race of the season. Seems it should be the other way around, doesn't it? Oh well. The first race of the season is always an exciting one and true NASCAR fans will tell you that you never know what will happen and it ain't over until it's over. All it takes is one - one hundreth of a second to cross the finish line first and visit Victory Lane. Check out NASCAR if you're new to the sport - see what you think.

Enjoy your Sunday, be kind to your loved ones but most of all, be kind to yourself. Relax, refresh and renew - because it is all about YOU.