The biggest part of this was written last Wednesday, April 10. Debated about posting it, but I have nothing to be ashamed of concerning the paragraph in italics. It is cathartic to write it down. So onward and upward! :)

Thought I'd type this blog in the font Trebuchet. Sounds fancy. 

Yesterday I had a birthday. It was a good one, I'm thankful to be alive and well, but whooo weee, they come around too soon! My family spoiled me really good. I got cake, cookies, necklaces, earrings, candles, flowers, clothes, dishes, and other things I needed. My oldest son drove from Huntsville to take his mama out for lunch. We dined at Los Arcos, a fabulous Mexican restaurant here in town and I got the full birthday treatment, complete with sombrero and singing by the waitstaff. Fun!

I took a trip to Birmingham this past week to spend the weekend with friends and go to a CD release party at a church. We ate (a lot), bowled, picnicked, strolled around town and went to a bead shop. I love spending time with my friends from all over the U.S. Some of the best people you would ever care to meet. It's just sad that I do not get to see them more often.

The truth of the matter is that I am still in kind of a, funk, for lack of a better word. Never in my life have I had such venom spewed in my direction by someone I have always had a good relationship with. My husband and I have never done anything but try to be supportive of him, my husband has gotten him jobs, I have listened and tried to encourage him, but he let go at us and the stuff he said was evil, vindictive and insane. So I am doing something I have never done in my life and that is cutting someone completely out. Lord knows I am not perfect. I try to live my life as a Christian but to have things thrown at me and my family that are untrue and vile is leading me to the decision to shake the dust from my feet concerning him. So on I go down the road of life. I'm going to focus on positive things and not let this person even be a blip on my radar. Life is too short to take unfounded abuse from him. He needs help and I just hope those close to him will make him get it. 


This weekend was a quick one. Hubby had surgery a month ago and he got released from the doctor Friday! Yay! He has done exceptionally well with his rehab and recovery. Saturday night we went to Huntsville to spend time with some good friends and listen to some good music from Bo Bice. Huntsville is his home town and there was a packed house to see him at The Furniture Factory. 

Sunday was spent sleeping for the most part. I love days that I get to do that! Next weekend I've got to get in gear and get everything spring cleaned! I did some Saturday morning but didn't accomplish a fraction of what I want to do. I also want to go to church next weekend in Huntsville at Summit Crossing Community Church. I would give anything if that church was here. It a good little ride, but SO worth it. Check out their app for your smartphone. You can hear past sermons, live streaming of the sermon on Sunday, and all other times you can hear streaming worship sets 24/7. I have heard my son Layke singing (he's on staff there) and yesterday I was fortunate enough to hear him sing Rock of Ages during my lunch break. 

Here is what I want to do all day today. I want to sit on the patio with Ernie, Austin and Toby, pet them, listen to the birds, and smell the wisteria. But I have to go to work. Not complaining. Thankful to have a job!

Monday was a nice day. Things went smoothly at work even though I am down 2 people. Yesterday was good also. Until I got home...our airconditioning unit isn't blowing cool air. *sigh* Here we go. A repairman is supposed to come today. Thank goodness it isn't hot hot yet. We were quite comfortable last night with the windows open.

Seth, my youngest, and I spent time outside last night. That is my place of serenity. Today I did not have time to sit out there before work. It was one of those mornings where I had to go to work, pop tart in hand, with half wet hair! But it's ok. I'm in a good mood, feeling happy.

The bombing in Boston has weighed heavily on me, and the people there and all those affected are in my prayers. 

And if you are a praying person, send some up for Wayne (who is fighting cancer) and Debbie, two friends I love dearly, and some for Becky Jo, who is home with hospice in the last stages of cancer. God be with them. 

Why not try this again??

If you scroll down my blog you will see that I have been totally inept at blogging for the past two years. I enjoy writing and releasing my frustrations out the ends of my fingertips. It seems to make the stress just fall away!

Today is deathly quiet. It's spring break and apparently everyone in town is on vacation with the exception of me and my staff. Dead as a tomb. But that's ok. It'll pick back up with a vengeance before long.

This next Sunday is Easter. It is so cold outside and I'm wondering if it is going to let up before then. When the kids were little I always wished for pretty weather so that they could hunt eggs and wear short sleeves. Most of the time they did. Of course I have no little ones any more, nor do I have grandchildren. Seems like everywhere I turn somebody is popping out a baby. Rachel just got married, Layke isn't married, nor is Seth. I guess I'll have to wait on the grandkid phase of life. If it ever gets here. If not, I'll just remain "too young to have grandchildren". Ha!

Right now in my life I am on a Dark Shadows kick. I started watching the old 1966 series on Netflix. It seemed kind of disjointed when I started watching, and then after researching online I found that Netflix is passing off the second part of Season 2 as Season 1! I am NOT happy about it! Who is the Netflix president? I'm going to write and complain! Every night I turn on my iPad and fall asleep listening to the old soap. It is so slow and stilted and is perfect for nodding off. All of the dramatic music makes me jerk awake sometimes though.

Also in my life I am concentrating on being an advocate for dogs in shelters. I cannot physically go and help, nor can I shell out money, but boy, can I get the word out on Facebook about little animals that need forever homes. Some of them look so lonely and sweet that it absolutely breaks my heart. Nothing in this world gets to me like a little animal with nobody to care for it. I adore my babies.

Since I last wrote in this blog I adopted a little chihuahua/pug mix from a shelter and named her Georgia Condoleeza. Georgie is my sweetheart. She sleeps with me every night. She sits right next to me on the sofa when I'm home, and when I'm not she cozies up to Seth or Jimmy. She plays with her rope, her tire, her old shoes and her latest toy, her skunk butt. Oh, how she loves that skunk butt! Rachel gave it to her.

And since my last writing I have a new Scottish son-in-law. Rachel and Leigh married in November and live in Aberdeen. Rachel is home now getting her visa in order so that she can stay over there permanently. I am so glad to have her home and will be sorry to see her leave. But they say they are coming home every Thanksgiving to visit. All of us are going to go to the Smokies and stay in a cabin and just relax, play games, and watch tv. Leigh loved the Smokies when he was here so I guess he and Rachel will want to go exploring. I'd just as soon stay at Alewine Pottery. Ahh, I love that stuff!

Let's see, I have nothing else much to tell. Layke is living in Huntsville working as a worship leader at Summit Crossing Community Church. He gave up his teaching job here in town to move over there and do that. He seems very happy with his decision. Jimmy is working at Lee Energy Solutions. Seth is no longer at Foodland. They cut his hours down so drastically that we decided that he'd be better off not working for right now. Me? I'm still at the 'berry. On April 4 I will have been here 19 years. Time has flown. I'm ready for 25 years to be here to tell you the truth. There are things Seth and I want to do! I hope and pray that I'll be able to afford to retire and us do them. Jimmy will work forever. He loves it and get so bored when he's at home. He just had shoulder surgery and I couldn't keep him still even right afterwards. 

Time to go. Seth is taking pictures of me and posting them to Facebook. Lord have mercy.

Happy Fall, everybody! I love this. I love everything about it. The pumpkin candles, the orange and red leaves, the crisp morning air, I love it!!

Each year my youngest loves to get something to decorate our yard. This year it's a little scarecrow, hay bale, a pot of mums and some pumpkins. That's the picture of it at the top of this blog post. His older brother has always tortured him about liking to get mums each fall, and for a few years there he wouldn't get any for fear of ridicule. We finally got him out of that!

Next week we are heading to the Smokies. Well, Jimmy, Mother, Seth and I are going. Layke is staying home, and so is Rachel. We love to go up each fall and see the trees in all their glory! We've got a little apartment rented and have lots of fun things planned. On the agenda are going to get my knives sharpened at the Smoky Mountain Knifeworks, visiting the Apple Barn, going to the Craft Community, taking a picnic to Cades Cove, walking the streets and window shopping, and who knows what else. Since Mother is going it's going to be a much slower pace, but that suits me fine. I want to come home rested and refreshed, not exhausted.

Our big dog Toby is going to have an "operation" while we're gone to Gatlinburg. Mwahahahahahaaha!! I hope it calms his butt down some. He's such a sweet, sweet dog but he has a tendency to be hateful to Ernie, my basset hound. He's tried growling at me a time or two but I don't put up with that crap. It's usually when he's eating and if he growls I go over and stand between him and his food bowl. Typically I'll pick it up and he just sits there and looks at me. Then I'll put it down, let him eat a few bites, then pick it up again. He is NOT going to growl at me. I'm the pack leader, as Cesar Millan would say!!

Jimmy has a few gigs he's going to play this month and next. I'm happy for him; he absolutely loves playing his bass better than anybody I've ever seen. One of the gigs is a Halloween party. That might be fun, although I don't know anybody. I really don't have any close friends that live here in town. That's sad, really. I get lonesome, but I'm not a civic club type person and we go to church in Huntsville, so...I guess I'll stay lonely. :(

Well, nothing much of interest to say, but I did want to check in here at my blog. I'm trying to do better about posting!

Good Sunday morning

It's quiet in the house. Jimmy, Seth and Layke have gone to church and I'm sitting here half drunk from the medicine I took last night. Stumbling around the house straightening up a little, I realized just how grateful I am for all my blessings. We don't live in a big new house, but I have a home, warm and secure and full of love. Our cars aren't the newest models, but they are in good mechanical shape and get us where we want to go. We all have jobs that are fairly secure in these iffy economic times. The back yard is full of my sweet baby dogs who are so happy to see me every time I step out my back door or pull up into the yard. They see my car and three sweet faces are standing at the fence and it seems like they're saying WELCOME HOME!! Every single day I get a hug from Seth. That's like being wrapped up with a big old teddy bear. Jimmy loves me and treats me good. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be one of the women who have to run to the shelter because their husband has beaten them. My mother is the cake queen. She can't cook regular food, but she's the queen of cakes. She's even taking cupcakes to church this morning. My kids are good kids and I can't believe how grown they all are. Seems like they should be babies. I remember Sunday mornings when they were little, ironing little dresses and pants, making sure Sunday shoes were found, brushing teeth, combing hair and finding their little Bibles and making a mad dash out the door. Never in a million years would I have thought those days would end so soon!


All this rambling from a half-asleep mind is just to say thank you, Lord Jesus, for all of my blessings and for all You have done for me and I don't deserve it. That's grace, folks. And mercy. And unfailing love.


Have a good Sunday. :)

Sunday at home

I love being at home. This morning I woke up later than usual, so I figured Jimmy had decided we weren't going to make the trip to Huntsville for church. I staggered up from the bed and Jimmy was cooking pancakes and bacon. Yummo!

After breakfast, I headed out to the garage. My first trip out there I opened the door, looked around, and then shut the door and locked it behind me. Oh my gosh, it is so piled up with stuff we boxed up after the tornado last year. I came in the house, paced the floors, then headed back out, determined to start chipping away at it!

Jimmy came out a little later (after he finished watching his Hitler movie *rolling eyes big time*) and we got through several boxes and through some of the clothes. I boxed up some to take to the Second Chance Shop and then I started washing some sweats and things like that. We'll be needing them before long!

Unfortunately Black Widow spiders have decided that they like our garage. Last month the pest guy sprayed everything but there was a big fat one sitting on its web in the corner of the side door to the garage. Jimmy smashed it. I sure don't want to get bitten (again). Hurts like a baseball bat is slamming into you and it also makes your muscles draw and makes you feel like you're dying. It's awful.

I found a box of CDs which will come in handy. Included are Brad Paisley's Christmas album and also Lynyrd Skynyrd/38 Special's Christmas album. "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'" is one of my favorites. I believe I'll listen to it while I'm finishing this blog! Ahh, yeah, here we go!

That song reminds me of driving down to Biloxi with my friend Debbie one Thanksgiving weekend to see Bo Bice. Debbie gave me the CD and we blared it all the way down there! That was a fun trip.

I know it's only the end of September, but I'm ready to start celebrating the Christmas season! Oh, I'm going to decorate with fall stuff, but I think I'll listen to some Christmas music every day. It makes me smile!

Here's a link to "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'" on Youtube. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62dvwe5itNg

And if you like it, you can buy it here!

http://www.amazon.com/Lynyrd-Skynyrd-38-Special-Christmas/dp/B0000657WR/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316977349&sr=8-1

Here is a picture of me and Debbie at Bo's show in Biloxi a couple of years ago.

Ahhh, my favorite time of the year!

This is a beautiful tree in the yard of my friend, Jayne.

Cool weather (almost) is upon us and I am thrilled to death. That means that I've survived another god-awful hot-as-hell summer in the south! As much as I love being a Southern Belle, the summers are the pits!

My first adventure this "fall"- I don't think it's official yet- was a trip to the north Georgia mountains last weekend. Jimmy and I traveled there to see a concert and we traveled the scenic route. We went through Ocoee, TN and I got to see the people in rafts going down the rapids! It looks like loads of fun but I don't know if I'm brave enough to ever do it! After we saw that, we ended up in Helen, GA and Jimbo had some coffee as we passed through. There was a huge winery but we didn't have time to tour it. Maybe next time!

The concert we attended was held at a county fair. They had camel rides, pony rides, all sorts of ferris wheels and tilt-a-whirls and all that jazz. Now I gave up rides like that long ago, but we found other things to do there.

I had never seen a bird show before, you know, with falcons, and buzzards and owls and all sorts of exotic birds. The man did a wonderful job with them and they would swoop down from the tops of the buildings there so that we could see how very fast they could fly. One bird was used as a model for an aircraft that was built in Tuskegee. It was really fascinating. The owls looked sleepy, but they did their tricks. The little screech owl was 17 years old! It was so cute!

Another thing we did at the fair was cake walk. On our first try, nothing. On our second try I won a cake! It was my choice, so I decided on a Turtle Cake, and let me tell you, that thing was delicious! It had thick chocolate icing over a chocolate cake with pecans and a gooey caramel sauce. Lawzy mercy!

And as is typical for any fair, there was food. All kinds of food. Funnel cakes, pinto beans and cornbread, fish tacos, chicken on a stick- you name it. Guess what I had? A grilled cheese. Oh yeah. It was awesome.

The concert was fabulous and afterwards we headed out with some friends and stopped at Waffle House. My goofy husband put a quarter in the juke box and played the Waffle House March. I have video of him marching out the door. Those people were probably glad to see us go!

A sweet friend lived nearby and she offered her cabin (more like a chalet!) for us to stay. We all went 17 miles up a mountain to the most desolate place I've ever been. But oh, how beautiful! To get to live in that paradise would be, well, paradise! She had a screened in porch, a huge deck, and she has an outside shower! I didn't shower outside because a couple of others were taking turns, but it would have been amazing. No shelter was needed; nobody could see the back of the cabin. So you shower back there just out in the open! Freedom!

Up from her house is Highlands, NC. We drove through the next morning and it looked like an upscale Gatlinburg, or kind of reminded me of the type shops that were in Bar Harbor, Maine. On down the mountain from Highlands is Dillard, Georgia. We went to the great restaurant located at this lodge called Dillard House. The food is served family style, and let me tell you what all they brought to our table! We had Waldorf salad, slaw, relishes, sliced tomatoes, fresh creamed corn, fried okra, lima beans, green beans, cabbage casserole, dressing, rice, gravy, sweet potatoes, rolls, biscuits, fried chicken, fried steak and country ham. Dessert was peach cobbler with ice cream. It was amazing, simply amazing. And if you ran out of something, they would bring more! We left very full!

On the drive home Jimmy asked if I ate any of the ham. I hadn't, and he said it was delicious. Today when I was looking at The Dillard House's website I saw that Alton Brown from Food Network named their country ham as The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Man, I was sorry I didn't eat any! I'm going to have to go back. That's all there is to it!

We're planning a weekend in Nashville in a couple of weekends. Hopefully I'll have lots of fun stuff to share with you when we get back. Ta Ta!!

Not a single blog in 2011! I'm pathetic!

What a year this has been! Jimmy had knee replacement surgery, I had rotator cuff surgery, and things have been super crazy. The year is half over and this is the first time I've been here. Mmmm. I don't quite know where to begin. Perhaps it would be better if I just skipped over the first 6+ months and started now. I'll just highlight some things, then move on.

Jimmy's daddy passed away suddenly, which was quite a blow to the family, but everyone took it well. We were so glad that he didn't suffer that it kind of overshadowed the horrible loss. And, being Christians, we all know we're going to see him again, and Ray is having a blast up there with Pat, baby Paul, his parents and siblings who got there first!

I spent a weekend in Nashville with friends seeing Bo Bice do his thing at Mercy Lounge on Friday night, The Grand Ole Opry Saturday night, and at Rockin' Through the Rain on Sunday. It was a fabulous weekend.

On the tail of that weekend, I was working late on Monday, heading home to celebrate Jimmy's birthday. When I arrived at home, I found out that Rachel's adopted dog (which she has now returned to the shelter) had murdered my little tiny chihuahua Lulu. I was heartbroken, devastated, inconsolable and I'm still not over it.

CMA week has come and gone. Six nights in Nashville, lots of great music, lots of good times with friends. The week involved everything from a celebrity fishing tournament to a parade to writer's rounds to full out concerts. Oh, and we got a private soundcheck with LoCash Cowboys totally by chance!

Our yard has grown in lush and green this year and Jimmy is so proud. It was redone last year after the tornado.

This year we experienced something we've never seen in our lifetime- April 27 and multiple devastating tornadoes. We dodged a bullet this year, but our city did get some damage, including my road north of where we live. So many lives were lost that it's hard for my mind to wrap around the enormity of the events of the day. I've never been as terrified in all of my life. After last year's tornado hit our home while we were there, I am fully aware of the mighty power of those storms and just how helpless we are. We are in the planning stages of installing a storm shelter underneath the floor of our new garage. Why we didn't think of it last year while they were building it is beyond me. All I can figure is that we were so addled that we just couldn't think straight.

The group Alabama from Ft. Payne organized a show in Birmingham to benefit the tornado victims. It was held on June 14 and I was fortunate enough to attend it. I had pretty good seats, too! The music began at 7:30 and flowed seamlessly for 5 1/2 hours. I laid my head down in bed at 3:50 the next morning and was up at 7 to go to work. Totally, completely worth the lack of sleep! Alabama, Rodney Atkins, The Commodores, Dierks Bentley, Bo Bice, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Luke Bryan, Sheryl Crow, Sara Evans, Taylor Hicks, Little Big Town, Montgomery Gentry, Martina McBride, David Nail, Jake Owen, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Darius Rucker and Ashton Sheperd- now how's that for a lineup? It was fabulous. Just fabulous!

Jimmy and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary June 16th. It doesn't seem possible that so much time has passed. We've weathered some storms throughout the years, but we've made it through together. I look forward to growing old(er) with him!

Rachel, Layke and Seth are all doing well. So is mother. They are all busy with their lives and things are good.

Jimmy is playing music every chance he can. I go listen to live music every chance I can. My next quick trip is July 27 to Nashville.  I also have a couple of weekends to TN planned in August and one to GA in September. This year I made a promise to myself that I would try my best not to fly anywhere. So far I've kept that promise, although it gets tempting at times. For example, a girl from Brazil has come to the U.S. this month to catch some Bo shows. She's been a fan since 2005 at age 14. Unfortunately, I'm not going to get to go to any of the shows she's attending in OH and MI, so I won't get to meet her. :( That makes me sad.

Well, that's my life in a nutshell for 2011. I'll try my best to start blogging regularly. Oh, and I'm starting back with my couponing! I was big into that before the tornado in 2010. I'm excited at the prospect of the bargains I'm going to get!