The Meighans

Christmas...finally

2011-01-06T22:07:00.003-05:00

Okay, so my pictures are uploaded backwards. But here is my Christmas post...finally! Here is Rudy enjoying the Christmas tissue paper. He sat in the middle of us unwrapping gifts in awe...and when we were done, he had a ball tearing the tissue paper to shreds.
Here's the Christmas mess. And we actually tried to put most of the trash in a big box as we went. My daddy used to pick up the paper and throw it in the fire place in the middle of our gift opening. It's a wonder he never threw any gifts in there by mistake too!

Ah, here's our Christmas "before" pic. We never put gifts under the tree. Santa brings them all Christmas Eve night when we are sleeping. I just wish I could have been there to hear Paige when she first saw the gifts under the tree...but she got up at 5 am to peek, then laid in bed til 7 before the rest of us got up to open them.

Another view of the tree and gifts. My mama always used a code instead of names so we couldn't compare (or open) our gifts ahead of time. I use a code too. This year's code was a numerical one...and it bit me in the butt because I miscoded a couple, lol. Paige opened one of Jake's by mistake. She was wondering why she got a knife from Santa!

And here are my very favorite gifts....

And yes, those are underwear....everybody gets underwear, socks and pjs for Christmas. But no, Paige did not get a clothes basket, she was just using it to carry her stuff to her room. And if you are wondering like I was...that is a hat on Paige's head. (courtesy of her brother) My baby girl is not wearing a doo rag on Christmas morning.

We had a wonderful Christmas (other than being sick). We ate too much and got way more presents than any of us deserved. Paige's favorite gift seems to be her laptop, Jake's is definitely his Xbox, Frank's seems to be a UGA golf bag, and mine is my Kitchen Aid mixer...or maybe that is all of our favorites! I hope you all had a blessed Christmas as well!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

2010-12-22T13:06:00.003-05:00

We started celebrating Christmas a couple of weeks ago. My sister and her family came to have Christmas with us. We had the big traditional country Christmas meal then. And it was good! But I knew I didn't want to do that again soon!

Last night, our pastor's family, our youth pastor's family, and our servant leaders/SS teachers came over for barbecue and the fixings. And once again, it was good! (I had every intention of taking pics of both of these events for my blog, but forgot!) After dinner, Frank took the kids for a ride on the mule to look at the neighborhood Christmas lights. We had a wonderful time, and hopefully were able to let these families know how much they mean to us.

Tomorrow night, our best friends are coming for a lasagna dinner. We don't get to see them nearly enough, and I am very excited about spending some time with them...I won't promise pics because we know how that goes.

Our Christmas Eve and Christmas plans are pretty laid back. We will probably go see a movie. We are going to have a nice hearty breakfast Christmas morning, but I'm hoping we can survive on leftovers and Christmas goodies for the most part. (I don't want to cook anymore!)

We will be heading south the day after Christmas to spend some time with Frank's parents and then on to my family in Florida for a few days.

I'm so excited about Christmas morning. My love language is gifts, so I am anxious to see what I get, but most of all, I can't wait to see the kids' faces when they open their gifts (and Frank's!). When I say my love language is gifts, I know people assume it's all about what I get, but it truly is more about giving gifts to me. I love to see everyone else so excited!

And of course, the greatest gift of all is the gift Christians were given...the gift of Jesus. Merry Christmas!

SHHHH! It's very, very quiet!

2010-12-19T12:28:00.002-05:00

Frank and the kids are in Alabama for the weekend.

School is OUT!

The house is very, very quiet, with only the sound of the dogs snoring.

What is a girl to do?

Well, Friday after work, Sharon and I went to Macon to do a little more shopping.
We had sushi at Taki, and it was Soooooooo Good!
We were yawning as we finally headed home...at 7:30!
Saturday morning I went to the Jewell Box in Jewell, GA for a high tea with the ladies at much church. It sure made me miss Tara's!
Saturday afternoon I went to Walmart for even more shopping.
I came home and wrapped gifts...this year I've been wrapping along the way so that I don't get swapped with wrapping on Christmas Eve like I usually do!
Sunday morning we had a Happy Birthday Jesus party with our 4 and 5 year olds in Sunday School. That was a lot of fun with those sweeties!
I have a little more wrapping to do today, and a lot of cleaning. But right now, I think Food Network needs me to do some watching and I may need to rest my eyes on the couch a little while.

My family will be coming home tomorrow...I have to be rested up and ready to bake cookies!

Taco Soup

2010-12-13T20:34:00.002-05:00

Since I had a request, here's my Mama's recipe for Taco Soup. She always made this on Christmas Eve along with ham and cheese poppy seed sandwiches. I was supposed to make this yesterday when my sister was here, but we had so many leftovers from our big Christmas dinner that I saved it for tonight. And since it is soooo cold, that was a good choice.

Original Recipe:

Taco Soup

2lbs ground beef

2 cups chopped onion

2 tbs cooking oil

1 pkg taco seasoning mix

1 pkg ranch dressing mix

4 16oz cans of tomatoes

1 15oz can of kidney beans

1 15oz can of pinto beans

1 16oz can of whole kernel corn

1 4oz can of chopped green chiles

1/2 tsp of salt

Saute onions in oil. Add ground beef and continue stirring until browned. Add seasonings and then all other ingredients (undrained). After mixture begins cooking, simmer for 2 hours stirring occasionally. Serve with doritos, grated cheese, and sour cream. Makes a gallon so use a large pot.

I did a little tweaking to the recipe. I only used 1 lb of lean ground beef to cut calories. I did not use any oil. I just browned my ground beef and onions together. I used 2 big (24oz I think) cans of petite diced tomatoes because I don't like hunks of tomato in my soup. I used more beans than the original recipe to replace the other pound of ground beef. (It's an easy way to make it more healthy without the people in my house realizing what I'm doing.) I also used two packs of ranch and taco seasoning because I like things heavily flavored.

This is one of my very favorite soups. I HATE canned soups, and can be pretty picky about soups in general. As much as I would like to load it up with sour cream, cheese, and doritos, I simply ate my bowl with a little Texas Pete and some non-fat plain yogurt that I try to convince myself tastes just like sour cream. And I lusted after my family's bowls. No, not really, I actually went ahead and packed up a bowl to take to school tomorrow. My students will flip when they see me eat something other than a frozen meal, lol.

I also made the dough for Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls tonight. I'm not so sure of it. I put the yeast in when my liquid was too hot. It was much hotter than I thought it was, and I am very impatient. It didn't rise like I thought it should, so I did a little research online and decided to add another packet of yeast to it. It did finally rise a little. The dough is in the fridge now, and I will attempt to make the cinnamon rolls tomorrow. If they turn out, they will be Christmas presents. If they don't turn out, I will be making a trip to the grocery store for some Pillsbury Grands.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T18:57:00.002-05:00

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We left Wednesday morning to go to the Florida panhandle to visit with my daddy's sister and her family. As soon as we got there we started eating and ate the whole time! My aunt is a phenomenal cook and her cooking is just like my granny's was. We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and sausages Wednesday night, and we got into some of our Thanksgiving desserts a little early. When we got to my aunt's house, her daughter and her grandson were cooking together, and it was so sweet! They had made magic cookie bars which I loved when I was a little girl, and they are still fantastic! We spent the night at my cousin's house because another aunt and her family were coming in and they were going to sleep at my aunt's house. When I got up Thursday morning my aunt already had her stove full of Thanksgiving goodies. You can not imagine how much food we had. We filled the dining table with the real food, and filled the kitchen counters with the desserts. You couldn't put another plate down anywhere! And it was so good, I mean, SO GOOD. We ate and visited, and ate and visited, and ate and visited some more! We had at least 30 people there, and it felt so good to be with family. Friday we went to visit my daddy's best friend. They seemed so happy to see us. He was sitting in his recliner watching tv when we got there and he reminded me so much of my daddy. We had just eaten breakfast when we went over there, and they insisted we eat some dessert with them. When we got back to my aunts we ate bbq and leftovers. (I told you we ate the whole weekend!) Saturday morning we left after breakfast to go to Callaway to spend time with Frank's best friend. I hated to leave my family because I enjoyed being with them so much. They want us to come back for Christmas, but we think we are going to wait until the day after Christmas to go back and spend the week between Christmas and New Year's with them. We went to see the lights at Callaway, and visited in the hotel room with Heath and Andrea. And yes, we ate a bunch with them too. We took a long, lazy route home and enjoyed some fall foliage and lots of old houses along the way. Since we got home, Frank has been writing a paper, and I've been catching up on laundry. Tomorrow it is back to work...but only for 3 weeks!

Super Saturday

2010-11-20T20:22:00.002-05:00

So, I survived the shopping! Yay! I actually had a good time. Sharon and I left about 9 and went straight to Kohl's. The sale wasn't as good as I was hoping, but I did find Paige a lil something and Frank some things. Then we dropped into the Goodwill store to waste a few minutes until Taki opened. We had some fabulous sushi at Taki, then we headed across town to Ulta. I love Ulta. There I bought the only thing I bought for myself today...some make up primer. I can't survive without primer and am always looking for the ultimate one. This time I'm trying the Olay kind. Yea, I am that old. Then we went to Bass Pro because Frank needed some wood chips for the turkey he is smoking and apparently was unable to drive across the street to Walmart by himself. Men! But the joke's on him because we had the best time at the Bass Pro! Sharon did not know that they have women's clothes at Bass Pro and she bought as much there as she did at Kohl's, lol. And I may or may not have gotten a few Christmas presents there myself. After all the excitement of Bass Pro, we were pretty whipped, and headed back to Milledgeville. I am attempting a 12 layer chocolate cake for tomorrow night's Thanksgiving dinner. Please pray for me. I baked 4 layers tonight using two cake mixes and a yummy recipe from the cake mix dr. I am a firm believe in the cake mix dr. This recipe is a white cake mix, 1 cup of whole milk, 3 eggs, 1 stick of melted butter, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. The batter whips up really thick. I baked the layers tonight and will split them tomorrow using my handy dandy Wilton's cake leveler. It is awesome! I plan to make 3 layers from each layer and I am going to ice them with homemade chocolate pan frosting...my favorite! If this turns out well, I will look like quite the baker. If it doesn't, I will be picking up some Paula Deen caramel pecan pies from the Wally World!

Shop til I Drop?

2010-11-19T22:54:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I am doing something I never, EVER do. I am going shopping with a friend, without Paige, for Christmas gifts in a real store . I always do most of my Christmas shopping online. And if I do go real shopping, I take Paige with me. It gets even weirder though...I have no idea what I'm shopping for. I always have an idea of what I'm looking for when I do actually venture into a real store. I make lists, lots of lists, of what to get everyone on my Christmas list. And the reason I make multiple lists is because I usually lose the lists. But tomorrow is a new day for me. I'm going to go to Macon, to real stores, with no real ideas, and just look around and see if I can actually purchase Christmas gifts. I may not make a lot of progress on my Christmas shopping, but I know I will enjoy some girl-friend time, and I am hoping to get a good lunch out of it. I just hope Paige isn't forever scarred by me going without her. And vice versa.

Thursday Date Night

2010-11-18T19:15:00.002-05:00

Tonight was date night. We went to Down South and I had grilled shrimp and grits. YUM! Some wonderful friends of ours happened to end up there tonight too, so we got to visit with them. BONUS!

I am happy report that I have made it through the week. There were times I didn't think I would. But tomorrow is Pajama Day, and I bought popcorn for my class. I'm hoping we can treat the day like a big ole pajama party. (After finishing all of our work, of course.)

We are having Thanksgiving dinner at church Sunday night, and I am so looking forward to it! I love my church home and family, and I am excited about joining this tradition. We had an old fashioned Sunday a couple of weeks ago where we had dinner outside and an old tyme worship service complete with an Amen Corner. It was so much fun, so I know that our Thanksgiving dinner will be another wonderful time. We have Wed night suppers every week, and all this church eating is not good for getting these last few pounds off...but it sure is fun!

Well, that's a recap of my week pretty much so far. Hope yours is going great!

Fantastic Friday Night

2010-11-13T18:35:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I came to the realization that Jacob never picks out his own clothes to buy. I do all of his shopping, and if it meets his approval he will wear it. And if it doesn't, he shoves it in the back of a drawer and just keeps wearing the same things over and over. I figured that now that he is 14, and seems to finally be taking more care in his appearance (he takes a shower without being forced to now) I should offer to take him to buy a few outfits. Uh, except guys don't wear "outfits". They just wear clothes. At least that is what I was told. So Frank made a whirlwind trip to Ohio with Rickey Wedgeworth this weekend, and I decided this was a good a time as any to take Jacob shopping...for clothes, not an outfit. Jacob is not much of a shopper. We only went to one store. Target. I had to make him actually go into the clothing department...he was much more interested in showing me the video game stuff he wants for Christmas. We finally made it to the men's department. And it was quite pitiful. I offered to go somewhere, anywhere, else, but he refused. What other store was gonna have the video game stuff too? So, we perservered and he found 2 pairs of jeans and 2 shirts. He couldn't believe I made him try them on. And he refused to come out of the dressing room to show me, so I really am not sure he did actually try them on. But we got two outfits, I mean, two sets of clothing, and he was completely over the whole clothes shopping thing. Paige only stuck her lip out once because I refused to buy her a Coca Cola shirt that looked completely worn out. So all in all, it was a very successful night. The best part of the evening was the ride home. Jake's ear phones are messed up so he had to have a conversation with me. It was great! He even joined in when Paige and I were belting out "My Redeemer Lives" in true Frank Meighan fashion. What a fantastic way to spend a Friday night.

Six Months

2010-11-05T21:45:00.002-04:00

In 6 short months, my baby boy will be getting his learner's permit. Wow. Time sure has flown by. In a way it will be cool to have him driving...I will never have to go to the grocery store again (I hope). But then again, I sure don't think we are ready for this!

He has really grown up in the last six months. He has become a lot more comfortable with himself, gained a whole lot more confidence, and is an over all happier kid. I know in six more months he will be totally ready to take on the world from behind the wheel. But will we be ready for that?

The Mom Cave: A Metamorphosis

2010-10-31T20:05:00.003-04:00

This is what most of my house was covered in when it was built in 1971...dark, ugly panelling! I had what must be one of the ugliest laundry rooms ever! It is a real room, with a door, and that door had to stay shut at all times. I think it's pretty obvious why the door needed to stay shut!
But it is a laundry room not a closet, and I thought it might have some potential...at least the potential not to be quite this ugly!

So, goodbye to 1971...

...and hello to the new and improved Mom Cave!

My friend and I primed and painted the panelling and cabinets. The paint color is a custom blend we like to call "Magical Mist". It was a mixture of some baby blue and fern green paint that I had sitting around the garage.

The whole project was done on a very tight budget. I already had the curtains, and I printed the botanicals on the computer. I even spray painted old picture frames for them! My biggest splurge was the mirror that I used to cover the panel box...and it was about $20 at Walmart.

I bought the big basket at Walmart on clearance for $7.00 and the little basket came from Big lots for $2.00. The flowers on the wall hung on my front door last spring, so it is being recycled. I decided to cover my sink with a piece of plywood because we really don't use the sink very much, and if I do need to, I can just slide the plywood off. I used some more leftover curtains to make the skirt that hides the trashcan.

I love the way my laundry room turned out, and now, we keep the door open!

The Man Cave

2010-10-20T15:01:00.004-04:00

As you probably know, we always either have a project going on, just finished one, or are dreaming up the next one. Frank has been great about working on the house, and 90% of the changes have been what I wanted. I do the dreaming, he (and his dad) do the work. It was finally time for Frank to get one of his wishes. We finally fixed up the Man Cave! As usual, I have no "before" pics which is a real shame. Some of you have seen the "after" that came before the big transformation, but hardly anyone has seen the REAL before from when we first moved in. Let's just say, it keeps getting better! The screen is "where the magic happens" in this room, and I got it for Frank for Christmas last year.

Frank and his dad hung pine ceilings which I think are BEE YOO TI FUL! Frank did the decorating which for now consists of flags that represent his two favorite sports teams that he got another Christmas.

The furniture is the set we got back in 1996 but is still in really good shape and quite comfy. There is a good chance you either had the same set or know someone who did.

More of the purty ceiling. Behind that door is storage and mechanical stuff like the a/c unit and the hot water heaters.

The carpeting consists of rugs from Walmart.com that were only $20 each! Great bargain and definitely the most economical way we could carpet the floor.

On the other side of that door is Jake's room. I couldn't take pics because it was not up to my cleanliness standards. Frank built Jake's room the same way as the Cave, and he also has a bathroom and a huge closet.

We have already watched several movies down in the Man Cave, and hope to use it a lot. The big chair is Frank's, and the little one is supposed to be mine...but I much prefer napping on the love seat while Frank watches a movie! Keep an eye out for my upcoming post on the "Mom Cave".

Standing In His Presence

2010-10-17T20:22:00.003-04:00

WOW! I know I've said over and over how much I love Lakeside Baptist Church, but I can not adequately express how much I love my church home. Tonight was a very special night. Our church family voted unanimously to call Greg Moon and his family to Lakeside as our new Associate Pastor. I have seen for months the human side of a monumental search to find the right man for Lakeside, but tonight I saw God's hand in choosing the right man.

We met the Moon's several weeks back when they came for their first interview. We had the privilege of having them in our home for dinner. Frank and I liked them as soon as we met them. We spent several hours getting to know them, and we really wanted them to be the ones. Frank was even more sure after Greg's interview. He said that he didn't seem to try to give them the answers the committee wanted to hear, but they both just spoke from their hearts and it was obvious they were a team.

Greg came back for a second interview, which further solidified to Frank that he was the man, and then they came to spend some time with the youth that Saturday night. We just sat back and watched Greg interact with the kids. When we got in the car, Jacob told us how much he liked him. In fact, Jacob said Greg was almost as cool as he is. So there you go, it just had to be!

Sunday we got to see the rest of our church fall in love with this family. Frank said they could just see what we saw, but I knew that our church hasn't seen the half of it yet! Tonight, our church service was devoted to hearing God's will. And it wasn't a whisper...it was a shout! We sang the song "Standing on Holy Ground" and it was amazing. I know that there were angels all around, because we were definitely standing in His presence. There were tears and hands raised all over the church, along with shouting and pure joy.

All I could think was how unbelievably happy I am to be home. Lakeside is our home. And I am thrilled that the Moon family will be here with us soon. In our church there is a banner that reads "The church is at peace." Peace, joy, and home...thank you God for my church, my pastors, and my church family.

We Are Weak, But He Is Strong!

2010-10-13T21:40:00.005-04:00

And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

Yum Yum Tuesday

2010-10-12T18:20:00.003-04:00

Frank and I decided to reschedule "Date Night" to Sunday afternoon because he has so much going on with school and I'm worn out from my school and the kids will be playing Laser Tag Sunday afternoon so we have the day to ourselves. Since it's not Date Night, I got a wild hair and decided to cook something new to make it a special Tuesday anyway.

Sunday afternoon I found a great website with WW friendly recipes. www.skinnytaste.com I saw a good sounding recipe for feta chicken and decided to try it for dinner tonight. I actually did some tweaking and expanding and I hope it turns out as delicious as it smells. Paige is already turning her nose up at the thought of artichoke hearts and Jacob is wary of the spinach, but I'm looking forward to a Greek inspired dinner. Opa!

A New Way of Doing Things

2010-10-10T20:46:00.002-04:00

This past week I have been blessed to see things done in a different way. Our church is in the process of doing two things that can cause a lot of problems...start a building project and hire an associate pastor. Where I have come from, these two things were not done well, and things were done behind closed doors, and a lot of people were hurt because of this. Thank God we are at a new place that does things in a much different way.

We are about to undertake a building project. Our church needs a bigger sanctuary, a dedicated fellowship hall, and a place for the youth. After much prayer, the church has decided to start with the youth. WOW...that decision proves that our church has a heart for its kids. Another cool thing that I've found out about our church is that it doesn't believe in debt. But what has perhaps impressed me the most is that the members are making these decisions. The committee has done the leg work, but our church had a "town hall" meeting to discuss the project.

Tonight we had another town hall meeting. This one was to allow the church to ask the candidate for the associate pastor any questions they had. Frank is on the search committee so I know how much work has gone into finding the right man. But tonight, I got to see God's handiwork. Next week, we will vote. Our pastor isn't hiring a youth pastor. Our committee isn't hiring a youth pastor. We, the members will vote whether or not to hire him. But God chose the man for our church. How awesome is that?!

Once again, I am so glad we are at Lakeside. It's not the church we chose, it's the one God chose for us. I sure didn't like how He sent us there, but I know now that it was all for good.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to those that are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Weekend Wrap Up and Date Night 3.0

2010-10-05T21:22:00.002-04:00

This weekend Frank's parents came up. He and his dad worked all day for two days on the media room that the basement is becoming. They got most of it done, so Frank only has to trim it out and put down the floor. And then it's time to put the electronics back together and my favorite part...decorate! While they were working downstairs, his mom and I went to Senoia, GA to the Southern Living Idea House. It was beautiful, and makes me want to do so much more with my own house. Frank doesn't need to know that or he will never let me leave the house again!

I did decide I am definitely redoing my laundry room during Fall Break. I've roped Sharon into helping me, and we think we can knock it out quickly. Frank has agreed to help me with the flooring. I don't want him to help with the rest of it, because I am going totally against his wishes with it. But it's the laundry room, so if it's a total failure, I can always just shut the door.

It was a nice, busy weekend, and I was really looking forward to jury duty this week. I know, that sounds crazy, but I liked the idea of not having to be anywhere until 9:00 and sitting around with nothing to do but read a book! I worked my tail off to get everything ready for a sub and to get my report cards ready in case I had to be out for several days, and then found out at 6 last night that I didn't have to go!

Instead of jury duty, I did get to go out with my sweet husband for our third date night. We went to Gray to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant. I chose Gray because I wanted to go to Ace Hardware to buy a baby gift. Ace Hardware? yep If you haven't been to their gift shop, you are really missing out. I had a ton of fun looking for a baby girl gift, but I don't know the baby's name so I was really limited. They have the CUTEST Christmas stuff for babies. I ended up getting these cute wooden dividers for the baby's closet. They have the sizes on them so you can separate the baby's clothes by size. I'm sure Amber and Brad will get tons of sweet clothes for their sweet baby girl, so I thought it would be a neat thing to have. I also got her some cutey-patootie socks and a sweet toy. I am going to keep looking between now and Saturday for some more pink and green things to put in her bag of gifts. I love shopping for baby girls!

Now I am just waiting for The Good Wife to come on and wishing I hadn't eaten so much Mexican food. I will be much better tomorrow...only 12 more pounds to go!

I Did It!

2010-09-30T19:25:00.002-04:00

I have blogged every day for 30 days. I've enjoyed sitting down and thinking about my day, my life for a few minutes every evening. It's not exactly an "exciting" life, but it's a life I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I definitely plan to keep up with my blogging better, but it will be nice not to feel like I have to say something of meaning every day.

I have loved reading blogs for a couple of years now. The blogs I read now are not the sames ones I used to read consistently. I'm into decorating blogs more than anything right now. I love to see the pretty things they do, and every once in a while, I get inspired enough to actually do something too. Right now I am thinking about fixing up my laundry room. It is only utilitarian and not pretty at all. But then again, I just took a look in there, and I'm not sure if I am that inspired after all, lol. But if I do get a wild hair and decide to beautify the laundry room, I will be sure to blog about it...with before and after pics!

Burger-less Burger

2010-09-29T18:06:00.003-04:00

I have been dying for a hamburger. A good, juicy, bad for you hamburger. I tried the Boca burger thing, and it wasn't bad exactly, it just didn't have any real taste at all. Today Frank made burgers for him and the kids and I wanted one too! I thought about trying the turkey burger route, but at 4 points, didn't want to waste them on disappointment. Instead I got some portabello mushroom slices and sauteed them and used them as my meat. Oh wow. It was so good. REALLY. I made my hamburgerless hamburger just like I would a real one (without cheese) and served it on a zero point bun, and it was so daggone good! I happen to like mushrooms, so I'm sure that's part of it, but it was juicy, and messy, and perfect. Yay! I'm blogging with a pleasantly full belly tonight.

PS. Only 13 lbs to go!

Date Night 2.0

2010-09-28T20:27:00.002-04:00

Tonight was Date Night. I met Frank over in Macon so that he didn't have to drive over there twice today. He used the quiet time to study for tomorrow's midterm so it worked out good. We went to Fish n Pig for dinner. This is one of the places Oprah ate when she was in Macon. We've been there a couple of times before. It is owned by the same people who own Jim Shaw's and Satterfield's BBQ. It is right on Lake Tobesofkee and there are tons of ducks and geese that hang out there. I had broiled shrimp and Frank had catfish filets. The best thing about this place is that they serve our favorite appetizer...boiled peanuts! After dinner we went to HH Greg to look at freezers and ended up spending more time looking at gas stoves. I hate our glass top stove, and Frank really wants a gas one. We are definitely just looking though, not ready to change it out. Then we went to Michaels. I am going to make a pumpkin topiary for my front door similar to Hollie's. I made one last year with my address numbers, but it didn't look as good as I wanted. As I was shopping for pumpkins, I remembered that I still have last year's pumpkins, and I really couldn't find but two shapes and needed three, so I decided just to buy some leaf garland and work with what I have. I will be working on that later in the week. We are going to have to adjust our date night because Frank will be working the lights and sound board for GMC's fall play and starts practices Thursday. He will have to work Tuesday nights, so I'm not sure what night will be our new date night. I do know we are going to keep this up though, because I really look forward to our date. I was plum giddy on the drive over to see him. And he's so nice on date night, lol. He didn't complain one time about traipsing all over Michael's with me. Can't beat that! Next week he has to plan the date...remind me not to complain when it involves a sporting goods store!

O M G !!!!!!

2010-09-27T19:46:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I'm on Facebook looking at a girl's profile. She happens to be the sister of the first boy I ever kissed. Many, many moons ago, I was totally infatuated with this boy at my church. I was about 14, he was 16. I wrote him a letter to tell him how deeply devoted I was to him. I know, how embaressing. But oh, it gets worse. So he "liked" me too, but he didn't want anyone else to know it. We even kissed in the back of the church a few times. (I know, I'd kill my child for such as that!) Anyway, he broke my heart, no one believed we had ever even been an item, and that wasn't all she wrote. He popped into my life a few more times, and eventually actually sang at my wedding! Hey, it was a small town. Well, here we are today, and I am looking at his sister's profile. And she is tagged in a picture of an album cover. Who is on the album cover? None other than "the boy"! He now has a new name, but this is so defintely him. O M G! My first kiss is a country music singer that may or may not be hitting the big time now.

I laughed and laughed about this, but Jacob did not quite the see the humor in it. Thank goodness Sharon did. And Frank even did, but not the extent that I did. Sharon also agrees, I did trade up when I met Frank! I wish I was still in touch with my high school friends who suffered through the days of infatuation with me. I'd love to share this news with them. But for now, I'm sharing it with you, my faithful blog readers...all three of you.

BTW Kolt Barber's website is www.koltbarber.net and he's on facebook. And I love Frank even more now than ever!

What to do, What to do?

2010-09-26T19:57:00.002-04:00

Today the kids went bowling with their youth group, and Frank had his buddy Rickey down here to shoot skeet. I had the afternoon all to myself. How did I spend my day? First I went to get a pedicure, but please don't tell Paige. She will be so mad I went without her! Afterwards I ran to Walmart for a few things. Then I came home and, wait for it, cleaned out my closet! I know, I know, all this excitement in one weekend...Goodwill, Publix, AND cleaning out my closet! It could go to one's head. The guys had a fun day doing their man stuff, and Frank and I collaborated on dinner. He cooked pork chops in the iron skillet and I made twice baked potato casserole, green beans, and fried okra. There were some very happy people at my house tonight! The kids had a great day with their friends. It's been a good Sunday.

Goodwill Hunting

2010-09-25T22:03:00.003-04:00

Paige and I went to the Goodwill Store at Lake Oconee and it is awesome! We got there and there were cars everywhere. I almost didn't go in because I was afraid of it being so crowded. But it is a big store, so it didn't seem bad at all. Because it's new, it was clean and didn't smell bad. It was nice and cool, and they were even playing the Fish on the radio. There are tons of racks of clothes. It's pretty overwhelming because it's all organized by color. I wish they organized it by sizes. You have to dig, but its definitely worth the digging. I got 5 pairs of pants, a dress, and at least 5 shirts, and Paige got some knee shorts, a shirt, a sweater, and a scarf. All in all, we got a huge bag of clothes for less than $45.00. And these weren't Walmart clothes either. We got brands like Ralph Lauren, J Crew, Talbots, Ann Taylor, Old Navy, and Gap. I have a rule when I thrift store shop that it has to be a brand I can't afford. I refuse to buy anything second hand that I could get at Walmart. After we saved so much money shopping, we went to lunch and had Mexican food over by the movie theater. I had yummy fish tacos and she had beef nachos. Then we went to Publix, my favorite grocery store in the world. I know, Goodwill and Publix in the same day...it's almost too much!

10 Things Before the End of '10

2010-09-24T16:33:00.002-04:00

I was reading someone's blog today with their list of 100 things they wanted to do in the next 1001 days. I thought it was really cool, but I can't think that far in advance right now. So instead, here's my list of 10 things I want to do before the end of 2010.

1. Lose these last 15 pounds.

2. Re-hang my living room curtains at the right height.

3. See a play at the Fox Theater.

4. Bake the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls.

5. Complete a 5k.

6. Landscape my front yard.

7. Go to the dentist. (I HATE the dentist!)

8. Hang family pictures in my hallway.

9. Start couponing again...seriously.

10. Host a movie night in our yet to be finished media room.

I'm Gonna Make it to the Weekend

2010-09-23T18:45:00.003-04:00

Little the little engine that could...I think I can, I think I can...I know I can! Make it to the weekend I mean. The full moon has been in full swing at school since Tuesday, and as usual, I'm ready for a break. But this isn't just any ole weekend, this weekend I have big plans. I'm going to the new Goodwill at Lake Oconee! The older you get, it's amazing the big joy the small pleasures in life bring you! I'm hoping that some high dollar junk is gonna be fun to look at, and I might even get a few things. I really need some clothes, but I'm not ready to go buy new ones yet. My 10's are too big, but I'm not ready for the size I want to be. I hope some rich woman took some barely worn nice things to the Goodwill and they are there waiting on me. If not, I guess I will just get a belt! The kids have Sunday plans and so it's gonna be an adult only day around here. Wild times in store I'm sure...prolly a nap! Either way, it's gonna be a great weekend, and I am really looking forward to it.

Happy Wednesday!

2010-09-22T21:07:00.002-04:00

Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the week. When I wake up at 5:45, I think to myself that I only have to wake up two more times this week. Nah, actually, my favorite part of Wednesday is Wednesday Night. The women's Bible study group I'm in is so good. We are studying about grace, and I love learning from all the other women in the group. There are some really, really wise women in our group and they bring so much to the discussion. Tonight was extra fun because my friend Jody joined us. We were packed out, nearly every chair filled, and we actually got through 3 passages tonight, lol.

We got home and ate tacos. Now we are watching Criminal Minds and kickin' back. And you know what else is great...I only have to get up 2 more times this week!

Date Night

2010-09-21T21:57:00.003-04:00

Tonight was "Date Night". The kids are getting older, and they really don't care if we go out to eat without them...as long as we bring them something when we get home. So we decided it's time for us to implement a "Date Night". Tonight we went to Sylvia's for dinner, and then to see the movie Town. Dinner was good, and the movie was very good. (Lots of cussing though) The kids didn't start texting until we were in the movie. We had left out that part of the date night description to them, because that part they would care about. I know, we are such bad parents, but we did have a good time! Tuesday night was a great night for a movie because they have $1 drinks and popcorn! We brought the kids home McDonald's, and all is good. I feel so naughty for being out on a school night! We are planning on doing this every Tuesday night. Anyone have any great date ideas?

A Good Day

2010-09-20T18:47:00.002-04:00

This was not only a good day, but a good Monday even. I woke up dreaming that my class was so bad that I went to the principal and told her to deal with them, lol. Thank goodness it was just a dream! My students were very good today. They were even good in Music! Woo Hoo! We are making progress. They were very excited about the new LCD projector which was installed in my room today. And what did they want to see first, the pictures of my uncle and family from his obituary. I know, weird, but they have been so sweet, and they enjoyed seeing pictures of my family. However, they still think he was my grandpa, not my uncle. I guess I must look too young to have an uncle who was 77 years old, lol.

Sharon, Erin, and I went to walk at the Centennial Center. I'm not sure which we work more, our legs or our mouths, but either way, it's fun. Then I went and did my circuit training work out. I needed it desperately because I had not worked out since last Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday I was out of town, and then Thursday and Friday I was nursing an, uh, injury. I tripped over the gas hose at the gas station and fell HARD flat on my face. I skinned my knee and bruised my palm, but apparently jarred my butt pretty good in the process. I strained a muscle or tendon in my butt check and it hurt like the dickens. What a nerd. I also hurt the muscle in the opposite upper arm. It's so weird that the worst part of the fall were parts of my body that didn't even make contact with the concrete.

I came home and actually cooked dinner and am now waiting on Frank to get home from a service call. It's been a good day, and I'm looking forward to a good week.

Sunday Worship

2010-09-19T19:38:00.003-04:00

I love Sundays. So much in fact, that I usually wake up before the alarm goes off. We had a great class this morning studying how Paul told the church to forgive someone that hurt him. Then we had an awesome worship service studying the book of Ephesians. The kids and I came home while Frank met with the Associate Pastor Search Committee as they interviewed a second candidate for that position. We had a quiet afternoon and I even snuck in a few zzz's. Jacob asked could he please go to church tonight (wow) which we normally do anyway, so I'm not sure why he asked, but I sure am glad he did. On Sunday nights we are studying Hosea. My favorite part of Lakeside is the emphasis on prayer. We open the morning worship with a time of prayer in preparation to be able to worship with clean hands and clean hearts. Then before the sermon is a special time where people can go to be prayed for their specific needs with worship leaders and servant leaders. I love that, and you can feel the Holy Spirit moving. On Sunday nights, we have special prayer time where we gather in small groups or all together for specific prayer needs. Tonight we went down the prayer list and prayed for each and every family mentioned specifically by name. It is such a great feeling to know your church family is praying for you! Our family is so blesssed to be worshipping at Lakeside.

Lovin' the Weekend

2010-09-18T19:28:00.003-04:00

I had a very lazy Saturday and am lovin' every minute of it. I slept til 9:30 which NEVER happens! Frank got up at 7:30, but he was kind enough to go ahead and get up and not flip around and turn on the tv in bed. It's taken over 17 years, but I think he finally gets it! I got up and piddled around, did some laundry, straightened the house, folded a hundred loads of clothes that never got folded this week. I sold my freezer that Frank wanted to take to the dump for $60.00. I posted my camper on craigslist and a few other sights, and had a few nibbles on it. I got a short, much needed visit with my friend Cindy. Frank and I went to Piggly Wiggly to get him and the kids fried chicken for supper. I had shrimp and grits. Now we are about to settle down and watch some month-old netflix movies. Today has been quiet, lazy, and stress-free. Lovin it!

Say Yes to Friday Night

2010-09-17T21:12:00.003-04:00

A peaceful Friday evening after a very hectic Friday day. I was soooooo looking forward to some peace and quiet when I got home, but Frank was rewiring the basement in preparation for the media room remodel. Hammers, drills, saws, and such so it wasn't exactly what I had planned. We ordered pizza (thin crust with white sauce, roasted red peppers, and spinach for me) and I've settled in for a night of Say Yes to the Dress. The commercials for some of the other stuff on TLC are ridiculous. Remember when TLC was the Learning Channel? Oh well, I realize I'm not learning anything from Say Yes to the Dress, but I sure am loving it right now! However, I will be skipping the new show with the guy and his THREE wives! I'm saying yes to the dress, not polygamy!

It's Thursday, It's Thursday, Almost Friday!

2010-09-16T19:12:00.002-04:00

My students seemed thrilled to see me this morning. What a way to start a day when you don't feel like you slept at all the night before. We got quite a bit done, and almost everyone made a 100 on their spelling pre-test, so life in the 2nd grade is good!

I made sloppy joes and tater tots for supper, and my family was very happy that 1. I cooked (sorta) and 2. they love sloppy joes and tater tots. Grayson is spending the evening with us while his parents celebrate their 22nd wedding anniversary. Right now there are 3 happy kids in the pool, and I imagine that the water is a tad chilly. In a little while there will be 3 teeth chattering kids wanting to come inside.

Tomorrow is Friday, and that means that in another day I will get to sleep past 5:45. I'm looking forward to that so much.

Blogging Challenge Kinda Stinks Tonight

2010-09-15T22:44:00.003-04:00

I'm tired. Just got home from Bainbridge. Funeral went well, and I enjoyed my time with my family. I enjoyed it so much in fact, that we stayed too late, and I'm ready for bed and not wanting to blog. BUT, I am challenging myself, and I am not a quitter. Tomorrow, I will try to write a blog-worthy post, but tonight, I'm going to sleep.

Family Time

2010-09-14T21:30:00.004-04:00

I left work after lunch today to come down to Bainbridge for my uncle's funeral. The kids and I came down today, and Frank will come tomorrow. I hate the reason I am here, but I do love seeing my family. After the visitation, we went to dinner at the local Mexican restaurant with my cousins. It was fun to spend some time with them, and to see their kids. It's so crazy to think about my little cousin who I dressed up and treated like my own little doll with her own son! Now we are at the hotel chillin'. Tomorrow's going to be a tough day, but like I tell my kids, it's something you do for family.

Mellow Monday

2010-09-13T21:35:00.003-04:00

For a Monday, today wasn't a bad day at all. My students were pretty good actually. I got my workouts in without any complaining. I had a good time catching up with Sharon about her weekend. I didn't have to cook dinner since we still have lasagna leftovers. The kids didn't argue at all today that I am aware of. I spent the evening with a sweet, sweet lady planning Lakeside's Winter Women's Retreat. I'm about to watch tv in bed with my sweet, sweet husband. Maybe Mondays aren't so bad after all!

Sad Sunday

2010-09-12T20:06:00.003-04:00

My sweet Uncle Shorty passed away at 6:05 this evening. I will miss his stories, his laughter. I will miss that connection to my own parents. I feel so bad for his children, especially Deb. Deb lost her only son in May, her mother in August, and now her daddy. As bad as I know it hurts to lose a parent, I just can't imagine her pain.

But for Uncle Shorty, I rejoice. No more suffering, no more pain. He is in Heaven with his love, my Aunt Betty, with his best friend, my daddy, with his parents, with his beloved son and grandchildren, and with his Savior.

Saturday Night Dinner

2010-09-11T22:44:00.002-04:00

Tonight we had the pleasure of hosting a candidate for the youth pastor position at our church and his wife and also our pastor and his wife for dinner. Frank requested his favorite lasagna for dinner and I also made some homemade brownies with icing. The brownies were sinful, but the company was heavenly! It was great having these sweet couples over for dinner. I sure have missed this kind of fellowship. We have had two big parties since joining Lakeside, but this is the first time we've had Peggy, Tim, and Grayson over in a small group. I love them, and am so glad God led us to Lakeside.

Finally Friday

2010-09-10T20:07:00.002-04:00

It may have only been a four day work week, but it was a long four day work week! I'm so glad the weekend is here. We went to Macon tonight for supper and ate at Olive Garden. Frank and Jake had big hopes for the never ending pasta bowl, but Jake wimped out after one bowl, and Frank just ate two bowls of the same kind. He did get wild and change from sausage to meat balls though. I had big plans for looking for a small chest freezer but ended up too tired to shop. We are already back home at 8:00 on a Friday night. Good times, good times. We do have big plans for tomorrow evening, but you will have to wait til tomorrow's post to find out about that!

Kids Say the Funniest Things

2010-09-09T19:20:00.002-04:00

This year I have the cutest kid in my class. His brother was in my class when he was in kindergarten, so I have known him for a few years. He is also quite a handfull, and he ALWAYS has something to say.

One day I wore a brightly colored dress, and he told me he liked my dress...then he turned to another kid and said "You know that's a cute dress."

Today though, might be the funniest thing he has said so far. He brought a note from his mom to me, and asked if I wanted him to take it up to the office. I told him no, that it was just to me. He said "Oh, I didn't know you could read cursing (cursive) writing."

Another student asked me one day if I had a job. I guess I need to get busy on the job I do have!

Yesterday, Frank stopped by my classroom to swap keys with me. The kids started bombarding him with questions. It's crazy the things they wanted to know. Such as...

Where did you get your watch?

Are you rich?

Do you have a big house?

and my favorite....

What do you weigh???

Uncle Shorty and Aunt Betty

2010-09-08T21:12:00.002-04:00

In late August, my Uncle Shorty became very sick and was admitted to the hospital. He was suffering from renal failure. He and his wife, my Aunt Betty, had just celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary. She went home for the night because she didn't have her medicines and planned to go back the next morning to stay with him until he was better. That night, she had an anuerysm and was rushed to the same hospital he was in. She passed away the next morning. I truly believe she couldn't bear losing her husband. Uncle Shorty has gotten sicker. He can not tolerate dialysis because he is also suffering from congestive heart failure. After a few weeks in the hospital, Uncle Shorty was sent home for his last days. Monday, his family was told this is the beginning of the end. He is no long eating or drinking or speaking. We went last weekend to see him, and he was still able to speak, and he knew who we were. I am so glad I was able to spend some time with him. Uncle Shorty was my daddy's brother and best friend, and Aunt Betty was a sister to my mama. I know what it's like to lose your parents, but I can't imagine what it's like to lose them so close together. Please pray for my cousins as they go through this and pray that my Uncle Shorty does not suffer.

Yummy to my Tummy

2010-09-07T20:25:00.002-04:00

After surviving for 6 months on very few carbs, I am now counting Weight Watcher's points. I am not going to the meetings, but I went a few years ago. I am almost down to what I weighed when I went to Weight Watchers, hahaha. I don't feel deprived at all especially after no sugar or bread for so long. Here are some of the things I am LOVING right now.

100 calorie popcorn (2 points)

WW little cakes...esp carrot (1 point)

a warm Smart One's or other kind of frozen meal for lunch every day

Fiber One key lime yogurt (0 points)

low-fat cinnamon graham crackers (1 point each)

sugar-free pudding (1 point)

Crystal Light peach tea

Anything on a tortilla

the Hungry Girl website

It's funny what starts to taste good to you. I saw online that people are marketing baby carrots as the new "junk food" to get people to buy them. I don't think I will be adding baby carrots to my list of "loves" anytime soon...at least not with fat free dressing.

Life, it is a Changing

2010-09-06T16:55:00.005-04:00

The only thing constant in life is change. Change can be good. It can also be very scary. This has been a year of much change. Some of the biggest changes in 2010 have been relationship changes. One change has set forth a ripple effect of other changes.

I don't usually deal with change very well. I hold grudges and stew over my hurt feelings. I admit this, and I know it is very human and very wrong. Our Sunday school Bible study is on forgiveness right now. Talk about a divine intervention!

But there are positive aspects to change too. I have learned who my real friends are. A few genuine friends are much more precious than a crowd of people. We have made new friends and are really enjoying getting to know them better.

Frank and I have also become closer than we have ever been. After 18 years, our marriage is just getting sweeter and sweeter. Is he perfect? nope Am I? oh heck no! But I genuinely enjoy spending time with him like never before.

The kids are growing up, and their need for me is different than when they were little. Some parts of that change are great, others are scary. They are becoming more independent and I have to admit, it's great to be able to go to Macon for lunch with Frank without worrying about the kids! But it's also pretty sad knowing that Paige won't always come in to kiss me goodnight every night before she goes to bed.

Ugh, life, it is a changing, but I see that the good definitely outweighs the bad. And there is something else that is constant...God's love. His love for me hasn't changed. He knows the plans He has for my life, even when I don't. And they are more than I can ask for or even imagine.

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work in us. Ephesians 3:20

Cruise to the Bahamas...No Boys Allowed!

2010-09-05T18:54:00.005-04:00

Ever since I was a little girl watching the Love Boat, I dreamed of going on a cruise. Frank and I have talked about it many times over the years, with me doing most of the talking, and him avoiding the topic.

Last year, Paige and I started a tradition of going on a girl's only trip for our July birthdays. She saw a commercial for Carnival cruises and decided that was the vacation for us. I thought it was a great idea...except for the cost.

Then I remembered that Frank has been saving Baker Bravo points that he gets from his AC supplier ever since he went into business for himself. He had enough points saved for a 4 day cruise! He and Jacob both swore they had no interest in joining us girls on a cruise, so it was anchors aweigh for Paige and me!

I decided to cruise out of Jacksonville because I was familiar with the city since we lived there when we were first married. Carnival offers one ship, the Fascination, in Jacksonville, and our cruise was to Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas.

Paige really wanted to swim with dolphins, so I surprised her with a Dolphin Encounter excursion. We were able to see the dolphins perform, learn a lot about them, and then get in the pool with them and pet them and were even kissed by a dolphin!

The weirdest thing about Freeport was the ride through town...they drive on the wrong side of the street!

We were really blessed to make friends our very first night on the boat. We met a girl and her mother from Camilla, Ga of all places! Bethanny was pretty close to Paige's age, and her mom is a teacher, so we had plenty in common and really enjoyed spending time with each other on the ship. Paige and Bethanny were instant friends and spent almost every waking hour together. They wore us mama's out! We went to all the shows and ate, and ate, and ate! Midnight buffets and room service became our best friends. Everything they say about cruises is true. And we loved every minute!

We had great service and Paige was always excited to see what towel animal we had in our room every night.

It's very hard to describe how absolutely beautiful the ocean and the sky were out there. The whole experience was awesome, and we are definitely going back! I've even talked Frank in a cruise for our 20th anniversary in 2012...as long as it's to Alaska!

In Nassau, we decided to take a taxi cab out to the beach. Paige wanted to get her hair braided by the ladies. We spent the day at the beach, and it was BEAUTIFUL! We were going to go to the Atlantis resort too, but were just too tired. That is the only day I got Paige to take a nap! The water was so clear, the waves were like sheets of glass.

There was so much to do both on the ship and in the ports, that we just couldn't get to all of it. I would be more than happy to go back on the same ship to the same ports again and again...it was that fun! Paige has already put in that we are going back next summer...and I'm already looking at deals to go back. I just wish I could talk the guys in our house to join us for a Thanksgiving cruise!

Paige-a-riffic

2010-09-04T17:44:00.003-04:00

Paige is now 11 and in the sixth grade. She is the type of person who loves big. Everything is a big deal to her, and she has a huge heart. When she makes a friend, they are her best friend. When she likes a song, she plays it over and over. Everything is her favorite. This makes for some drama around our house, but it is also her best personality trait. As a person who guards their emotions like I do, I could learn a lot from Paige.
Last summer we started a tradition of going on a birthday trip, just the two of us. This year's trip was a cruise to the Bahamas. We had the best time. Paige is not afraid of much, and she forces me to come out of my own shell sometimes. We maneuvered the islands right by ourselves and had so much fun.

She is going to EBLA now, taking 6th and 7th grade classes. She has worked so hard, with hours and hours of homework. It's been frustrating for her, and for us too. She hasn't given up, and on her first midterm progress report got all 5's out of 5 for effort, preparedness, and attitude. Woo Hoo! Dr. Moss assures us that Paige will catch up quickly, and will be successful.

Switching schools last year was very hard on Paige. She really missed the social interaction with the other girls. I prayed that God would send Paige a friend at her new school this year, just one sweet girl. Not only did he answer my prayer, but he reconnected Paige with a girl she used to go to school with, so that she knew someone from day one, and he also gave her several new friends too! She is excited to go to school each and every day, and that is a blessing. She is enjoying the best of both worlds at church because she goes with the youth on Sunday nights and for Sunday school, but she stays with the younger girls on Wednesday nights with Mrs. Joy.

Paige is such a blessing to us. She keeps us on our toes and she makes our lives much more interesting. By the way, she is just about as tall as I am now, and LOVES that! When I grow up, I want to have a heart just like Paige.

My Boy J

2010-09-03T18:58:00.002-04:00

Jacob is now 14 years old. In less than 2 years he will be driving. Just two short years ago, he was still a little boy...at least I thought he was. But now there is no denying, Jacob is growing up. He has taken to calling himself Jake. That's fine because I had intended to call him Jake the whole time I was pregnant with him. He's been Jacob, Jake, Jake-Jake, J, JJ, Jay-G, Jake the Snake, Bunk, and heaven knows what else we have called him at any given time. Most of all though, I'm proud to call him my son.

Jacob hates to have his picture taken, so it's very hard to get a good one of him. He is such a handsome boy to me, and his heart is his best feature. He's a smart kid, with a lot of self-motivation, and he has a knack for making his teachers fall in love with him. He is in the 9th grade and is enjoying high school. He has started having a social life and is loving his youth group. This weekend he is zip lining in the Georgia mountains! He just got his braces off and has been shaving since Christmas. Man, I feel old! He is way taller than I am, and has a set of shoulders like you wouldn't believe. Everyone thinks he is going to be taller than his dad, and they wear the same shoe size now. He is becoming more confident every day, and has a great sense of humor...

Ok, I admit, I made him take that picture, but you have to admit, it is funny! Jake is a great kid, and I know that no matter where he goes, he is going to behave himself. He is smart enough to save the bad stuff for home! He has grown up way too fast, and all the good qualities that he has, I know we had very little to do with them. He's a great kid in spite of his parents. I know that the next few years will be very exciting for him, and hard for me. Part of it I'm probably going to want to fast forward through, and part of it I'm going to want to pass as slowly as possible. I can't believe that he will be an "adult" in four short years. But I know if the next few years pass as quickly as the last 14 have, it will be time for him to go off to college in a blink. I think I miss him already!

My Hero

2010-09-02T18:27:00.003-04:00

That's him... My Hero! Frank graduated in June from GMC with his Associate's Degree in History. He did this with a 3.9 GPA. The only B he made was in a summer session Statistics class! He also completed this monumental feat at the age of 39 while still providing for our family and doing more than his fair share with the kids. We are so proud of him! He is now a full time junior at Macon State College majoring in History Education. He took the summer off (at my request) and we celebrated his graduation with a trip to California.

Frank "grew up" in California and we loved seeing his old stomping grounds. We were able to spend time with his wonderful aunt, and even got to meet some of his cousins that he hadn't seen since he was Jake's age. The kids loved hearing about "Frankie". We did realize though, that Frank has actually lived longer in Milledgeville than he has ever lived anywhere in his whole life.

Frank has become very good friends with our Sunday school teacher, John, and they are golfing buddies now. He is serving on the Youth Pastor Search Committee at our church, and will be teaching our SS class this Sunday.

I've kept him busy around the house building a bedroom and bathroom in the basement for Jacob. He will be starting the media room renovation down there soon. I even convinced him to go running with me. I thought I could impress him with my new found athleticism. Hahahaha, he is running 2 miles at a time already and has left me in his dust!

Our family is so blessed. He is a great dad and a pretty good husband too! He forces me to lighten up when I take things too seriously, and he has a great big heart. He is strong enough to handle the things I can't, and loves me in spite of myself. I was only 18 when we got married, and I sure didn't know what I was doing, but God sure did when he gave me Frank!

September Challenge

2010-09-01T19:11:00.004-04:00

Well, I'm back. I have thought about blogging a hundred times, and I finally decided to give myself a 30 day challenge. I am challenging myself to blog every day in September. A lot of things have happened over the last few months, and I hope to get to some of that, while also keeping up with what's going on now. Right now, I'm gonna play catch up. Since it's my blog, I'm going to be very self-centered and blog about me today. I have been working very hard since January to lose weight. I have not taken diet pills (though quite tempted) and I am not sick. Both of those have become rumors as to why I've lost "so much weight so fast". First of all, it hasn't been fast! It's taken me 7 1/2 months to get this far, and I still have about 20 lbs to go. I didn't weigh at first, because I couldn't handle the devastation to know just how big I was, so I don't know exactly how much weight I have lost. I estimate it to be at least 50 pounds. Ugh. I have a hard time being proud of what I have lost because I am so embaressed about what I weighed to start with. This is my "before picture". It was taken the day before I started dieting. It is just of my fat shoulders and face because fat people who are deep in shame don't let people take full length pictures.
This is my 5 months progress picture. We were on vacation in northern California. (more about that later)

I started at a tight size 18 W and am now in a comfortable size 10. I do weigh myself now, each and every pitiful day, and I go through the anguish of it going up and down, up and down. I keep gaining and losing the same pounds over and over. But I am determined to do this. I started out with a low carb diet, and after 6 months, was officially stuck. Now I'm counting weight watcher's points. I walk/run with a friend who is in much better shape than I am, and I have just started strength training to go with the cardio. My goal is to run a 5K, but I am not a natural runner. I keep trying though, and am almost up to running half a mile non-stop. That doesn't sound like much, but considering I started out trying to run between light poles and couldn't do that without grunting (LOUD), it's quite an accomplishment!

As for other news, I'm still teaching second grade. This year has already been challenging, but I am optimistic. We will make huge improvements this year. And I won't lose my mind (and hopefully my temper) getting us where we need to be. We are really getting settled into our church home. We have made new friends, and have an awesome Sunday school study on forgiveness. My toes are battered and blue and I am learning so much. Putting what I have learned into practice is not nearly as easy though.

Sadly, one of my favorite aunts passed away right before school started. Her husband, my daddy's brother is also very, very sick. We have been trying to spend some time in south Georgia with family during this tough time. It's been good, because of being able to see family I haven't seen in so long, but it's also been tough because it makes my own parents' passing even more real. I have realized that when your parents die, it's like the last of your childhood goes with them.

Well, now that I've made myself cry, I guess I will end this lengthy catching up post. I will be back tomorrow, and I will tell you what the other three Meighans have been up to.

A Night in the Big Peach

2010-05-01T20:57:00.003-04:00

Frank and I took Paige to Atlanta for a night on the town. We went to the Shakespeare Tavern to see the "The Taming of the Shrew". We went last year to see "Romeo and Juliet" which I did not enjoy. But we all three loved, Loved, LOVED "The Taming of the Shrew". We stayed in Midtown at the Hotel Palomar. This was the view from our 20th floor window. Paige said this is Georgia's version of the city that never sleeps. This is our hotel room view in daylight.

Paige and me before we went to the play.

This is our hotel room.

Paige's dress matched the decor!

After the play, we had a late dinner at the Broadway Diner.

Frank had lasagna...I was good and had a salad.

The hotel had these cool robes but they were a lot hotter than we looked wearing them! We had a great time, and Paige had a great time being an only child for the night. We all need to experience a little culture in the big city every now and then!

Having it All

2010-04-19T20:18:00.003-04:00

There used to be a catch-phrase about working mothers trying to "Have it All". People have debated what that really means. I think "having it all" begins when you realize that you already have all you need. I am not lucky...I am blessed. I never win anything. But I have been given gifts whose worth are unmeasurable.

1. Salvation I have been chosen to be a child of the most high God. WOW!

2. Parents I had two parents who loved me without end. They worked their whole lives to give me security. And my daddy thought I hung the moon. Pretty cool, huh.

3. My Namesake I am named after my granny. She was a 4 ft 11 1/2 inch spitfire. She was an amazing cook, kept an immaculate home, and raised 6 kids, including my daddy, without pulling her hair out. And I was her Punkin. She washed my long blond hair and brushed it til it shined, she laid in the twin bed beside me talking for hours, and she loved me the best way she knew how...by cooking for me every day while I was recovering from a devastating car accident.

4. Marriage I have been married for 18 years to a man who will do anything for me...as long as no one else knows how sweet he is. He has put up with so much on my end, including people thinking that he is the hard one to live with! I love him more now than the day I married him. I've spent half my life with him, and know that I will spend the rest of it being continuously surprised by him.

5. Jacob He is the oddest combination of Frank and me. Amazingly smart, very witty, a bit stand-offish...a doggone good lookin' boy! And then from Frank he gets...haha, just kidding! Jacob is a son anyone could be proud of. He is a good boy, a really good boy. He picks on his sister, and he can be quite a pig, but I know that I will never be embaressed by his behavior when he goes somewhere. He is respectful and kind, and my very favorite son!

6. Paige My angel baby. She is growing up so much. She is as tall as I am, and has bigger feet than I do. She considers herself a fashionista, and loves doing anything artsy crafty. She is all drama, and life is never boring around her. She is a Daddy's girl, and loves the one on one time they have together, but she also loves to shop and decorate and cook with me. She feels everything very deeply, and loves being with the girls. She is full of life, and full of spunk...and she is my very favorite daughter!

7. Friends I've learned it's not about the size of your circle of friends, but the depth. Frank and I have been blessed with lots of friends who have been like family to us over the years, but we are truly blessed now with friends that ARE family. Gene and Cindy have loved on us through the worst of times, and the best of times. They love our children, they love our dogs, they even love us. I know if we needed anything, all we would need to do is ask....and I have, over and over. When I grow up, I want to be as good a friend as they have been to us!

8. Job Oh I whine about working, but I have a great job. I make good money, I have great hours, and I work with some awesome people. But most of all, I have 23 little children who think I hung the moon...sometimes. In what other profession do you get a continuous stream of love notes? The best part of my job is when I see a former student tell my current students how lucky they are to have me. Or when I see a parent years later tell their friends how much I meant to them. Wow, what an ego boost! (I've also gotten some preferential treatment and great deals from being a teacher lately...can't hurt!)

9. My Home I am a house mouse. A home body. I am all about my house. It's my hobby, my passion. I love making the place my family lives beautiful. Especially when I can do it for cheapness! I know that home is where memories are made, and I feel like having a warm, inviting home for my family gives them comfort they can't get anywhere else. I put a lot of effort into our home, and so does Frank. He hears my big ideas, and then he makes them reality. Our home is filled with love, chaos, laughter, noise, and pride.

10. Church We are getting more and more comfortable at our new church home. It is so welcoming and loving there. Bro. Tim is a pastor first, preacher second. I love to him her preach God's word, but I also can feel his love for his fellow Christians. Without a pastor's love, the words about God's love don't sink in as deeply. I hope that makes sense. I know this will. All four of us are excited to go to church every time the doors are open. We are excited to worship with others, to learn more about our Savior with other Christians, and to fellowship with good people.

Wow, what a long post! And that is just 10 of the many, many things I have been blessed with in my life. Have it all? Way more than I deserve!

Our New Sun Room

2010-04-11T21:25:00.005-04:00

Welcome Visitors! (and friends too!)

My Metamorphosis this week is our new sun room.

My wonderful husband closed our screened in porch to make a sun room. I didn't think to take true before pictures but I do have a few construction pics.

My almost 14 year old son working...and my husband watching, hahaha!

The beginning of the siding going up.

The outside finished product on the pool side of our house.

The finished product...and my beautiful azalea.

The inside sitting area.

The new dining area. (We love to entertain and plan to use this room for overflow dining since its right off the dining room.)

My rescued baker's rack. This was left in the basement when we moved into our house, and my husband wanted to throw it away! A can of primer and black spray paint, and I think it turned out lovely! I use it to store pool towels and the basket is for sunscreen and goggles and such. I don't know what else I'm going to put on the shelves, and I'm open to suggestions! I know I'm going to put an aloe plant for people who do not use the sunscreen!

A close up of a sweet watering can I found at Lowe's.

A pretty thing I bought at Michael's a few years ago.

Thank's for visiting our new sunroom. Be sure to visit Between Naps on the Porch's Metamorphosis Monday for more transformations!

A Spring Tablescape

2010-03-31T21:39:00.004-04:00

Welcome to my home! The table is set for spring and we are anxiously awaiting Easter dinner.My table is set with a few old pieces that belonged to my Mama. The little birdie was a gift from a student and as soon as I saw her I knew that she would be on my spring table!

The magnolias were rescued from an old wreath I made years ago.

Another view of some of my silver pretties. I love silver pieces!

My china is Montclair by Lennox. Silver is Gorham Chantilly. Crystal is Gorham Lady Anne. For napkins I used some fabric from Mama's fabric stash and white hankies! The napkin rings are from a very exclusive boutique you may have heard of...Walmart! They were clearance finds left over from fall.

Thank you for stopping by! We love company! Be sure to stop by Between Naps on the Porch's Tablescape Thursday party to see many more beautiful tablescapes!

A Bathroom Metamorphosis

2010-03-28T19:36:00.012-04:00

We moved into our beloved 1970's ranch style house in late 2006. Almost every original finish was still in the house and we immediately started updating the house. We had to start with the kitchen because it needed help the most and we did other projects as we had time and funds available. Spring 2008 we did a mini redo of the master bath, but we finally bit the bullet and did a total gut and rebuild March 2010. We are VERY blessed that Frank's dad is an awesome carpenter and he came up and worked for 3 long weeks building my dream bathroom. It is freshly finished, and I haven't started decorating it yet, but I couldn't wait to show it off! So here it is, My Bathroom Metamorphosis!

The Before's

The bathroom was divided into two separate rooms divided with a bi-fold door. In the front room was a double sink. In the mini-remodel we put up bead board over the hunter green wallpaper and I painted the mirrors and the cabinets. When Paige broke her leg, she scratched the paint off the cabinets with her crutches.

The second room held the toilet and tub. It had the original harvest gold tile and huge toilet that hung on the wall. It was not water efficient to say the least, and we called it our 5 gallon bucket toilet.

Harvest gold tub...the finish was so worn you just couldn't make it look clean.

The view from one end of the bathroom to the other.

Opposite view from hallway door through the bathroom.

A closet from the master bedroom butted into the bathroom and there was a door into the bedroom.

Gotta love all that harvest gold.

The During's

Demo started with pulling down the beadboard....see the green wallpaper we started with originally.

The walls started coming down.

Oh the mess!

This one is out of order, but under the carpet pad was the original green carpet glued to the floor...gross!

The After's

We now have one big bathroom. It only opens into the master bedroom so it's a true master bath. We just have a case opening into the bedroom and so far, I love it. This is my vanity. My father-in-law built the cabinets in our garage so I could have exactly what I wanted.

I love my new Jacuzzi tub and the tile turned out so pretty!

This is the view from my bedroom doorway. The window is the one thing that did not change in the bathroom!

Here is the view across from the window. I have a ladder shelf that will go there to hold towels and pretty things.

This is "his" vanity. No more sharing!!!

Another view of my vanity. I've not been able to put on my makeup in the bathroom for 3 1/2 years...I've been getting ready in my closet!

The water closet. This used to be a tiny linen closet, but we enlarged it to use it as the w.c. This included raising the floor because it goes over the basement stairs and without raising the floor, you would bump your head going down the stairs.

This shows the location of the w.c.

I love my new bathroom, and have been able to use it for two days now! I am going to get it all decorated while I'm home for spring break and can't wait to get to Hobby Lobby to get some new things picked out! I'm linking to Between Naps on the Porch's Metamorphosis Monday for the first time today. I read it every week, and am so excited to finally be joining the party! Be sure to drop by some of the other links...I'm sure that you will be inspired!

And here's one more pic of my bathroom because it's so darn pretty!

Are You Ready?

2010-03-17T17:18:00.002-04:00

I'm ready! Ready to go! Frank and I are headed to Atlanta to spend the night at the fancy schmancy Westin, and then we are flying out at 7:45 am to Arizona. Yipee! We will fly to Phoenix, then to Yuma, to get Rickey and Amelia moved back to Georgia. I'm hoping to convince them to take me into Mexico just long enough to say I've been and to buy cheap souveniers, then Friday morning, we will start the long ride back to GA. Road Trip 2010. We will go through lots of states I've never been to, and I will try to remember to take lots of pics along the way.

I feel fantastic today, and I don't know if it's in anticipation of the trip, or if it's the steroids I'm on for my knee pain. Either way, I'm stoked. My knees feel much better, so I'm hoping to be able to maneuver the airports without a mobility scooter.

The kids will be with the McCoy's and the Pry's for the weekend. Jacob is going to a youth retreat for part of the weekend, and Paige and Matthew have plans to see "Diary of a Whimpy Kid" so they should have a lot of fun too while their parents are living the life of a young childless couple. Thank God for such good friends who love your kids enough to help you raise them!

Couponing

2010-03-13T16:21:00.004-05:00

Today was my first foray into couponing. I went to a Women on Mission meeting on Tuesday night and was inspired to try the couponing thing. I spent way too much time trying to prepare, but it didn't help so much at CVS. A lot of the best deals were already gone. When I got to the checkout, there was no one in line, so I asked the lady could I break it up so I could use my Extra Care Bucks. You could tell she didn't want to do that, so I broke it up into only two batches. Something happened, because on the second batch, I didn't get the ECB's I was supposed to...the receipt said "limit reached". These were on different types of items, so I don't know what happened. By this time, there were 3 people in line behind me so I didn't ask any questions. I left very disappointed. I came back home and went through the Kroger ad with my coupons in hand. I think I did great at Kroger. I bought $120something worth of groceries for $82.something. I saved about half with Kroger card, and the other half with coupons. I got 4 old spice deodorants (which Frank uses) for $3.76. I got a Secret for me for $0.88. I got two bags of chex mix for $1.00, and 4 cans of pringles for $4.00. I also got deals on brownie and cake mixes and cookie dough. This is not stuff I usually buy, but it is stuff that my family will definitely use! Our pantry is overflowing (it's usually empty) and the refrigerator is full. I can't wait to get Sunday's paper to see what deals I can find next week!

Home Again

2010-03-07T16:45:00.002-05:00

We feel like we are home again...in a church home, that is. Today we joined Lakeside Baptist Church. We said we were going to visit a lot of churches before we made up our mind, but Lakeside was only the second one we went to. It just felt right. The kids were ready to join after the first Wednesday night, lol. We are sure that this is the place God has called us to serve him and to heal the wounds we have suffered. It sure feels good to be home!

She's Not Heavy, She's Diana!

2010-03-06T21:30:00.003-05:00

Today was the big day...my honey treated me like a princess and took me to see the Diana exhibit in Atlanta. We were not able to take pictures in the exhibit, but these are some that I was able to download. When we got there, we had about a 15 minute wait to actually get into the exhibit. Frank was so well behaved, and at some point, he said "She's not heavy, she's Diana", and I told him then, that would be the title of my post! When you get into the exhibit, the first thing you see is this...
a beautiful tiara from the 1800's that belonged to the Spencer family. Wow. I can't describe how beautiful it was. From there, you go through a display of Spencer women...Diana's female ancestors. She looked remarkedly like her great-grandmother (Charlotte, I believe) and apparently got her desire to help others from her. Along with portraits of some of these women were family jewels. There was a diamond necklace with HUGE diamonds in it and a cross pendant made with gorgeous emeralds. The family jewels were breathtaking. From there you went through a display with some of Diana's childhood belongings including her diary. There was a home movie playing with clips from her childhood. (She had really long legs!) That display transitioned into her courtship and engagement to Prince Charles and then you see it...

the gown! The train is 25 feet long. There are thousands of tiny pearls sewn into the lace. Her shoes were a masterpiece of their own. Tiny pearls, the soles were handpainted with gold, and they were very low heels! It was all sooooooooooo pretty. All along the room were photos from her wedding day and a video was playing. It was surreal to see the video that I've seen so many times standing right next to the actual gown. And you can't get the concept of how long a 25 foot train is unless you see it with your own eyes! Her mother paid for her dress and the bridesmaid dresses. According to a sign, it was $1900 USD. I take that as $1,900 US dollars, and that just doesn't seem right....obviously she got a great discount! The tiara belonged to the Spencer family and the diamond earrings she wore (beee-u-tee-ful) were bought by Diana with money she inherited from her grandmother. I know that it is customary for the bride's family to pay for these things, but you would think sinc she was marrying royalty they could have chipped in! From there you go through a display of her charitable work. There was a prayer book on display with a handwritten inscription from Mother Theresa about Jesus. Then you go into an exhibit of items from her funeral. A video of the procession and service is playing accompanied by a recording of Candle in the Wind. It was very quiet in there, and the girl in front of my in line was crying. I wasn't about to cry, because I thought Frank would laugh me out of there! But it was very touching to relive a day I remember so well. From there you go into an exhibit of her clothing...what a difference!

The gown in the middle is the last dress she wore at a public appearance. She wore it to her birthday party I believe. There was a short version in light blue just like it. The clothes were so beautiful. I've never been that close to couture clothing before, and was amazed at the detail and workmanship. My mother was a seamstress, so I notice the construction of clothes, and these were flawless. The suits, the gowns, all of them. Just wow. One of the sweetest things was the blue coat dress she wore that had matching baby blue coats that belonged to both of her little sons. There was a Versace (I think) cocktail dress with a velvet bodice and a deep dark red lacy skirt. The fabric for the skirt was just too beautiful for words. And there was a hideous blue with red polka dots gown from 1987...and it was straight 1987, haha. The rest were timeless, but that poor dress from 1987, screamed 1987.

As you can tell, I had a wonderful time. As much as I've said about it, there is so much more to see. If you would like to go too, there is a special offer available to all my blog readers (all 2 of you!)

Sweets for My Sweetie

2010-03-04T20:36:00.002-05:00

My loyal readers (both of you) know that I'm on a diet. A for sure diet. NO sugar. Low-carbs. Trying to exercise every day and trying to drink that darn water diet. I've run (what a pun) into a problem with the exercise. I really hurt my legs on that stupid treadmill. I walked 2 1/2 miles Monday and felt mostly fine. Tuesday was nasty, so we couldn't do anything outside and I wasn't about to get back on that STUPID treadmill. Wednesday, we walked/ran again. I had to stop walking after the 9th lap (shooting for 10) because the shin pain was moving up to my knee. Wow, I had no idea how bad it was going to hurt until I got still for the night. I only walked 5 laps today. And it hurt. So. Bad. I couldn't hardly climb the steps into the house when I got home. Sooooo, I'm not sure where the walk/run thing is going. The pain is pretty much isolated to my right leg, and its right under my knee. It only hurts when I put weight on it. :)

But to get back to my original post idea, I'm on a diet, and I stick to it like glue. I'm an all or nothing person, and if I'm dieting, I do not cheat. Not even a little. If I cheat, it's over. Well, Frank is going to his first "social" event at Lakeside. They are having a Men's Ministry kick off Low Country Boil. I offered to make him a dessert to take. He is taking some friends with him, so I started thinking I should make 2 desserts. What did he pick? His two favorites, which are pretty high up on my favorites list too. Honey Bun Cake and Chocolate Delight. Oh Frank, sometimes you ask a lot of me! But I did it...with a little help from Paige. Tonight while making dinner, I also made his desserts and did not even lick a spoon. The pain in my leg kept reminding me of how hard I've worked, and that is enough incentive to stick to my diet. I've worked too hard, given up too much, to quit now.

I hope Frank is very popular around the dessert table tomorrow night. While he and his buddies are making new friends, my girl and my bestie and I will be eating our own shrimp here at the house. And hopefully watching an uber-chick flick. And oh yea, I made the two of them a chocolate pie while I was at it tonight. Sweets for the sweetest people I know...and I will eat a sugar-free ice cream bar!

Princess Diana

2010-03-01T18:20:00.004-05:00

I loved Princess Diana. I remember going to my granny's early in the morning to watch the wedding coverage when she and Charles got married. I was very young, but I knew that she was a big deal! I sat and cried while watching the funeral coverage when she died. She was a fairy tale to me. Well, I get to see my fairy tale up close and personal Saturday. Frank is taking me to the Princess Diana exhibit in Atlanta! He is definitely taking one for the team because it is of no interest whatsoever to him. But I am soooooooo excited! There are over 200 artifacts on display. Her clothes, documents, jewels. But probably the most exciting thing on display will be this...

AMAZING! Perhaps the most famous (and beautiful in my opinion) wedding gown of all time! And I get to see it! In person! If I'm allowed to take pics, I will be posting lots of them. Humor me...it's not every day a girl gets this close to her fairy tale.

The Treadmill Is Not My Friend!

2010-02-28T13:57:00.002-05:00

So, I went to Run Fit in Warner Robbins and got new running shoes. I was so excited that I couldn't wait to run. Sharon is out of town, and Frank was at a skeet shoot, so I decided to hit the treadmill. I haven't been on the treadmill in close to two years. Back then, I did it for an hour a day each and every day with no problems. Yesterday was a different story.

IT HURT! My hair was soaked with sweat when I got off after 30 minutes/2 miles. I walk at 4 mph and started out trying to run at 6. HAHAHAHA! I barely made it 90 seconds the first "sprint". I backed off to 5 mph for the second "sprint" and only made it 60 seconds. I finally did another 60 seconds at 5 mph. But it was truly all I could do to finish the 30 minutes. I raised the incline a little bit and it actually helped with the shin pain I was developing.

I have never had shin pain in any walking/running I've ever done. Surely it can't be my brand new Brooks running shoes that were fitted to my feet! PLEASE don't let it be these wonderful shoes that I want to love so much! I'm blaming that blasted treadmill! I'm still having shin pain today. Not horrible, but it's there. The good news is that the ankle and rib pain I was experiencing earlier is completely gone! I think I'm taking today off from walking and am praying for a complete recovery before tomorrow's walk/run with Sharon. But I'm 6 for 6 at exercising. :) Woo Hoo!

4 for 4

2010-02-25T20:03:00.004-05:00

Day four of the exercise/water thing. And it's going well. Yesterday we went 5 laps with 2 of them being walk/run with more run than the day before. Definitely felt it in my legs! Today we did 3 laps because #1 it was so cold and windy, and #2 Sharon got sick. We ran/walked one lap, with running almost half of it. (every other light pole) Even though it was only 3 laps, FEEL it! Tomorrow Sharon will be out of town, so going to walk with Paige. My goal is a 5k, and I saw one advertised for Warner Robbins this weekend....nope, not ready yet!

I came home and crashed, so we went to Chili's for dinner. Wanted crispy chicken tacos, but had wings instead (low carbs). Really wanted the chips and salsa, so I ate salsa off of a fork. YUM!

I saw a gorgeous chocolate peanut butter cup cake on bakerella yesterday, and can't wait til somebody's birthday so I can make it. That cake might be worth cheating on my diet for! But so far, I have no real desire to cheat. When I think about it, I think about what would be good enough to be worth cheating...and that takes my desire away. If I'm gonna cheat, it has to be worth it! Right now, getting into the next smaller size in my closet is what I desire. I'm down 1 size, about 5 more to go! But I feel great, and I'm ready to do this thing! Go Me!

YAY, I DID IT!

2010-02-23T21:24:00.003-05:00

Day 2 of exercise. Sharon and I went back to the River Walk. Today we did 4 laps around, with lap 2 and 3 being run/walk. More walk than run, but I definitely felt the run. Way more than she felt the run I'm afraid. It seemed effortless to her, and I was just proud when I was finally able to do it without the loud grunting. I felt great when we finished, and vowed to do 5 laps tomorrow as we were walking to the car. And then I got home and had to get out of the car. WOW I definitely felt the workout today. It got better as I moved around the house, but I'm pretty nervous about how my legs will feel in the morning. If the rain holds off, I'll be out there again tomorrow. If it is raining, I will be on my treadmill. (Assuming it still works after the 2 year break I've given it!)

Monday

2010-02-22T21:31:00.002-05:00

Well, I did it. I got off my behind and exercised. I also drank a bunch of water. I try to tell myself that everytime I go potty, I'm losing weight! A couple of weeks ago I ordered some mbt fitness shoes...or good butt shoes as we call them. I love them. They are a little heavy, but they are soooo comfy. Plus, they make me taller! Sharon and I went to the River Walk after school, and we walked 3 laps. It was muddy, but it was a great place to walk other than that. As soon as I drove away, I was kicking myself for not going another lap. I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow. (Assuming I can move in the morning.)

Tonight was my night to host the Beth Moore Bible study. It was really good tonight, and what I needed to hear. Who knows? I know! :o)

Such a Good Place

2010-02-21T15:44:00.003-05:00

My family is in such a good place now. I didn't want things to change...especially the way that the change happened. I didn't want to learn the things about people that I did...especially the way we learned them. But less than a month later, my heart is so full.

Frank is really a great guy. He loves me in spite of myself and handles all the things that I don't want to face. He has a 3.8 GPA and will take 4 classes next quarter so that he can graduate from GMC and take the summer off to be with me and the kids. I'm so proud of him. Believe it or not, he has much more patience than I do and is such a good father. He still misses his students an unbelievable amount, but the phone calls, cards, and visits that he has had with them and their parents has done him a world of good.

Jacob has really come out of his shell. He loves his youth group, and he has a youth pastor that is interested in him. There is no "in crowd" it's just kids who want to learn about Jesus. What a blessing! He's doing well in school, and is learning so much. I am excited about the opportunities that his new school holds for him. Anyone who thinks EBLA is for misfits or rejects (as I've heard recently) has no idea what they are talking about.

Paige is doing great too. She loves going to Mrs. Debbie for school, but doesn't like actual at our home school nearly as much. She is very social, so she needs to get out of the house. She and Mrs. Debbie are working very hard and Mrs. Debbie is the biggest blessing to us! Not only does she work with Paige, but she keeps us on track the rest of the week too. Paige is so lucky to have such a sweet, Godly woman who cares so much about her.

Me...I've been on my diet for over a month now, and I've stuck to it like glue. I am going to start the exercise and water components tomorrow. Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day! I am really at peace with the decisions we have made for our family. I love the church we are visiting. I am still a little hesitant about making new friends. I can't help but still feel hurt by the way that people I thought were friends have acted. When I hear the things they say I want to be ugly, but I know it wouldn't do any good. My eyes have really been opened by all that has happened, and someday, theirs will be too.

All in all, our family is in a really good place. Our home is at peace. When humans let you down, you really cling to the things that matter. Our relationships with God and with each other and with true friends are the only ones that matter anyway. Life is good.

Things That Make Me Smile

2010-02-08T16:41:00.002-05:00

1. Listening to Paige chatter about how great her day at Mrs. Debbie's was.
2. Hearing Frank tell me that he can tell I've lost weight...without me asking him!
3. Fitting into a pair of pants a size smaller than I'm used to that I haven't worn in over a year.
4. Looking forward to Bible Study tonight with friends.
5. Coming up with a great plan to surprise Frank with for Valentine's Day.
6. Having Jacob tell me about talking to new friends at his new school about "guy stuff".
7. Being able to get Rudy an emergency beauty shop appointment tomorrow.
8. Selling Jake's old truck and finding the perfect bed for his new truck on craigslist in record time.
9. Ordering a pair of "good butt" shoes.
10. Smelling chicken cacciatore cooking for my sweet family.

Sunday Night Rambling

2010-02-07T20:51:00.003-05:00

This has been a nice weekend. Friday night we went out to eat with our favorite friends. Saturday was a pretty lazy day. Jacob was gone for most of it. He had a great time playing paint ball and then bowling with the friends he is making at Lakeside. (I think the best part of his day was the pizza!) Logan and Danny came over to eat pizza and hang out Saturday night and my big excitement was coloring my hair, lol. Sunday was great! We had a wonderful time in Sunday school and church at Lakeside in the morning and went to Grace Sunday night. Getting back to having church, real church, has been so good for us! We had lunch at a very fancy restaurant...you may have heard of it...Waffle House! Cheap and good! Shelby, Cindy, and I went to see Dear John between services. It was a bit different from the book, but it was still very good! I didn't cry as much as I did reading the book, but I sure could have fallen for John! Frank sold Jacob's truck today...very easy sell thanks to craigslist. He is going to SC tomorrow to get a bed for Jacob's "new" truck. Since we had 4 vehicles and only 2 drivers right now, he decided to get rid of Jake's Ford and fix up my daddy's Dodge for him instead. Paige is going to school at Mrs. Debbie's on Mondays and Wednesdays starting tomorrow. She is very excited! She went to a birthday party today and got to see her friends. This has been a much better weekend than the last one, and I'm looking forward to a good week!

Christ-Like

2010-02-04T17:32:00.002-05:00

This week I have heard a lot about being christian-like. If what my family has experienced is christian-like, I don't want any part of it!

Christian-like people I considered friends (who had nothing to do with the situation, and don't know what really happened) have been downright ugly and cowardly.

To those people: THANK YOU!

You have taught me an invaluable lesson this week. I don't want to be christian-like. I want to be Christ-like!

I am far from that right now, but I am continuously trying.

And I don't want any more christian-like friends...I want Christ-like friends!

YAY!

2010-02-01T16:35:00.003-05:00

From the pits of despair to the moutain top! God has provided not only a school for my kids, but an AWESOME school! Jacob will get to start EBLA tomorrow. Paige will be homeschooled the rest of this year, but EBLA will also handle her grades and paperwork so that it is all accredited. Not only accredited, but accredited with distinction! It was very obvious that Dr. Moss is very intelligent and professional. She is a breath of fresh air to us. Jacob already knows some of his classmates (a group of about 6 boys) and he is very excited. Paige is also thrilled about homeschool, and we are praying that Mrs. Debbie will be able to work with Paige a few days a week so that she has some structure. This is such an answer to prayer! I haven't been so excited about my kids' education in a very long time. This won't replace the teachers Jacob has had for so long, but I know this is what is best for all of us. I know that Jacob will getting the top notch education he deserves. Hallelujah!

Devastation and Hope

2010-01-30T20:58:00.004-05:00

Devastation:

Having a friend of 10 years lie about someone you love.

Hearing someone you entrusted your children to tell you to remove them from a place they loved.

Being set up to fall by people you loved and that you thought loved you and your family.

Telling your children that their life has changed forever.

Realizing that you are expendable and when your purpose is over, so are friendships.

Hope:

Knowing that our family unit of 4 is stronger than ever.

Knowing that you have two amazing children who will not only survive, but prosper.

Seeing the real friends who stick with you through thick and thin.

Knowing that my hope is in God, not man.

Pics from St. Augustine

2010-01-22T20:26:00.004-05:00

Frank and I never take a pic together. This is gonna be my "before" pic for my diet! GROSS!

Serious as usual

Family Closeness

Sweet Girl

TWO smiles!

As close as Frank wants to get to the beach

HEAVEN!

Drum Roll Please

2010-01-20T21:24:00.005-05:00

Here they are, the long awaited pics from our trip to Vicksburg.

We made a side trip into Lousiana just to say we'd been there! Apparently Louisiana brings out the thug in you.

Matthew, being initiated into the Meighan family.

He tried to hold back, but he was a Meighan on this trip!

African American Monument

USS Cairo

Naval Monument

Beautiful Illinois Memorial

Our Old Stomping Grounds

2010-01-16T23:48:00.002-05:00

We are in Jacksonville for the weekend. When we were first married, we lived here in Jacksonville. Some things look exactly the same, some things look very different. We came to visit some friends that we made from Frank's Navy days. That is something that hasn't changed at all! We have known Dave and Teresa for about 17 years, and even though we go years without seeing each other, they are the type of friends that when you see them, you just pick up right where you left off. Meghann was a 2 year old precious curly haired baby girl when we met her, and she is now a precious curly haired young woman. Teresa has lost about 70 lbs! She looks fantastic. Dave, well, poor Dave looks a lot like his dad now, hahaha! Their 13 year old son hasn't hit his growth spurt yet, so he looks way younger than our Jake. He sure has mellowed out since the last time we saw him though. We had a great time laughing and being loud, and had a yummy dinner of Honey Baked Ham. (We couldn't afford delicacies like that back when we lived here!) Tomorrow we are going to church with them, and then drive over to St. Augustine if the weather cooperates. The rain stopped soon after we got into Florida, and I hope it stays far away. But rain or shine, I'm sure we will find some kind of trouble to get into here in Florida...I've been trying all day to teach my kids the right way to say Florida...I can't find a real Floridian around here to show them that I'm right! Everybody here is from somewhere else! Florida (Flar-duh) not (Floor-duh)!

Look What Came in the Mail Today!

2010-01-08T20:44:00.003-05:00

I knew that I wouldn't be getting my "big" Christmas present until after Christmas. Last year, Frank gave me a diamond add-a-link bracelet for Christmas, and he added a second link to it for my birthday, and was adding another link this Christmas. We dropped my bracelet off at my hometown jewelry store the day after Christmas, and Cindy was going to mail it to me when she finished with it. It arrived today, and was all wrapped up with ribbons and bows for Christmas. I opened it up, fully expecting it to have a new link for a total of 3 links. Surprise!Frank actually got me two links and it totally changed the look of the bracelet! I loved it before, and I LOVE it now! This picture taken with my cell phone does not do it justice at all! I love my bling, and I love my husband! For all his gruffness, he really is a blessing from God. He takes care of me and puts up with me, and I am so lucky to have been married to him for almost 18 years!

The Time of My Life!

2009-12-28T20:23:00.002-05:00

I am having the time of my life! We had a nice, relaxing Christmas at home just the four of us. Saturday morning, we headed out on our adventures. There are five of us...we are taking Matthew along for the ride. (And he will never be the same, I tell ya!)

We had already planned to go to Vicksburg after Christmas to see the Civil War sights, and a few days before Christmas, I got a card from my Aunt Faye and she made the mistake of writing "come see us" in it. As soon as I read that, I got an enormous case of homesickness...something I never get! I haven't seen my aunts and uncles since my Granny died, and I really hadn't visited with them since my Daddy died. Frank saw how homesick I was for them, and he changed our plans around so we could go visit family on the way to Mississippi...take the long way, to say the least.

We stopped first at Frank's parents and had lunch with them. Then we went to my Uncle Shorty and Aunt Betty's and had a great time and a lot of laughs. From there we went to my cousin Little Carolyn's house in the Fl panhandle. (She was named after my mama, and will always be Little Carolyn to me.) We stayed up til 3am central time talking. She cooked us a big breakfast, and we had such a good time visiting with her family. Then we went to Dothan, AL to see her mama, my aunt Faye. She had supper cooked for us and it was SOOOOOOOO GOOD! She had so much food cooked, that our plates would not fit on the table! I didn't even eat a little of everything she had, and I still didn't have room for dessert....and I never pass up dessert! It tasted just like my Granny's cooking. We visited with her and uncle Jim and reluctantly left to head to Mississippi.

We got to Pearl at about 2 am central time. Today, we had a delicious lunch with Rick's brothers, and spent all afternoon talking and laughing. We have not even started our sight seeing, and I am already having the time of my life. The kids are being so good. The two boys keep each other occupied, and Paige has a new ipod and camera to keep her happy. This after Christmas trip sure beats last year's! (Paige broke her leg 12/26/08.) I am so blessed to have such a sweet husband to drive hundreds of miles out of the way so that I can see my family! This really is the best time of my life!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T19:42:00.004-05:00

This is my favorite gift that I received! My friend Cindy gave it to me and I love it so much I think I'm going to leave it out all year long!
This is our living room after Santa came last night. White ribbons were for Paige, and green ribbons were for Jacob. No names, just a secret code between Santa and me.

7:00 a.m. I could not sleep...I think I was more excited than the kids...at least more excited than Jacob!

Better...now he's ready to get started!

After all the opening...

I tried to keep the mess contained so that we didn't lose any presents!

I got a video camera from Jacob, a panini grill from Paige, and a lap desk for my computer from Frank. Frank got a world map for his office, a robe and pjs, and a model of the USS Saratoga. He was on the Saratoga when he was in the Navy during Desert Storm. Jacob got an airsoft gun, a bow, and a Tower 200 exercise thing. Paige got an American Girl doll, a camera, and this...

That's my favorite gift that I gave. I love how it turned out!

We are headed to south GA for a little more Christmas and then to Mississippi for a family vacation. From our home to yours...Merry Christmas!

It's about Giving

2009-12-16T18:02:00.002-05:00

Since they were born, I've tried to teach my children that Christmas isn't about getting, it's about giving. I know they have heard this a million times...or at least it feels like it. This year, I've tried really hard to teach my students the same thing. We read "Chicken Soup for the Soup: A Kid's Christmas Treasury" every day, and finished it after our Christmas party today. I know they have really enjoyed it, because I had a parent ask me what the name of the book we had been reading was. Almost every story was an example of how "it's the thought that counts". We've learned that the best gifts "are from the heart" and that they "don't have to cost a thing". I've received many of those gifts this week. I've gotten lots and lots of pictures and love notes. In the middle of the chaos that is called a second grade party, I was slipped a tiny piece of paper that said "BEST PARTY EVER!" I also got a ton of hugs and a million smiles. I even had a plastic ring slipped on my finger! I love Christmas. I love receiving gifts. And I love those second graders. I hope they never forget what we have learned about Christmas this year. Christmas really is about giving...not getting!

Look What I Did!

2009-12-14T20:58:00.004-05:00

I have been a busy bee since I got home from work today! I boiled and deboned chicken breasts and made poppyseed chicken for dinner. I even used the chicken broth to make rice pilaf (ok, rice-a-roni). I made two batches of sausage balls for the kids' Christmas parties. I cooked a big package of hamburger for two more nights' dinners. I washed several loads of clothes. And then...

I made this! Three spools of ribbon, an embroidery hoop, and an hour and a half of tying bows, and voila! I read about this a month ago, and have been planning to make a couple. I learned a lot from this one. Some ribbon is easier than others to make into bows. That green glittery ribbon was very stiff and I have glitter all over me! On the next one, I need to measure how long to leave the first part when I tie to keep the bows more uniform. I started out trying to make the bows too small, and it was U G L Y at first. It may be the time and energy I put into it, but I think it's darn pretty right now! Watch out Martha Stewart!

Christmas Tour of Homes...Meighan Style

2009-12-09T21:04:00.010-05:00

Welcome to our home! I am participating in some of my favorite blogger's Holiday Tour of Homes. I hope you enjoy the tour of our home, and go to their blogs to enjoy some of the other beautiful homes as well!Rhoda's blog is one of my daily must reads! She lives in Birmingham, and makes everything she touches beautiful!

The Nester is taking over the tour of homes from another daily must read of mine. I'm new to the Nester, but love what I see!

Come on in! Our front door is not actually crooked, but it was raining and dark when I photographed it, and I was trying not to fall off of the porch into the rain!

Let's not forget the reason for the season. This kneeling Santa belonged to my mama. She searched high and low for one after reading a story about it. I know it isn't historically accurate, but it is a sweet way to enjoy both aspects of this holiday.
The stockings are hung by the chimney with care. Daddy, Jacob, Paige, and Mama are all anxiously awaiting Santa's arrival. I bought my Nativity at Walmart when Jacob was just a baby, and I still think its one of the prettiest I've ever seen.
This is our family tree. It is decorated with ornaments the children have made and gifts that my students have given me. I love all of the beautiful trees that other people have, but each and every ornament on this tree means the world to me. One day, I'll do a fancy schmancy tree too, but I will always treasure this one the most!
On just about every flat surface in my house I have the things that sweet students have given me. (I have lots of Christmas stuff, but I haven't bought most of it!)

This is the view into the living room from the side the tree is on. You might notice that one of my santas is turned around backwards. I have a naughty 13 year old son who turns my decorations around to torment me...I didn't catch this one before the picture was taken!

Here's Santa loading the sleigh(s).

Here's a close up of him. My daddy was in the construction business, and when we saw this at Callaway Gardens, Mama had to have him! It plays music and the bucket lifts up and down. One of my favorite childhood memories is my daddy putting us in the bucket of his front end loader and lifting us up to pick pears.

This is our dining room tree. It has my breakable ornaments on it. The red balls, are from our first Christmas tree 17 years ago! Back then all we had were red balls and candy canes.

Our dining table is set with snowmen this year.

My collection of snowmen were all gifts too, except for the big one. He and the dishes came from Target the day after Christmas a couple of years ago. Half price, I couldn't help myself! They look kinda haphazard in this pic, but it's much cuter in person...I think.

See what I mean! You are welcome to join us at our Christmas table. Thank you for stopping by! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Finally...

2009-12-06T22:43:00.002-05:00

I feel like blogging again! We had a great weekend, full of Christmas cheer, and I want to share it!
Friday night, we went to Jackson to see First Baptist Church's "Walk through Bethlehem". It was sooooo sweet! Not only was it a wonderful portrayal of the birth of Christ, it was amazing to see people who were so dedicated to put on such a huge undertaking. It was COLD! and there were all of these people serving Christ without complaint. From the ladies at the registration table, to the ladies serving cookies and hot chocolate, and all the actors in between, they were a great example of the body of Christ working for one purpose.
After the "Walk through Bethlehem", we went to eat at Buckners, and had the best fried chicken I've had in a long time...if ever. MMMM, I forgot how good the pulley bone piece is! It was a long, stuffed, ride home, but a wonderful night spent with wonderful friends.
Saturday, we went shopping in Macon. Frank took the kids, and I went to Ulta all by myself, and looked, and looked, and bought a little bit too. They went to Dick's, and snuck off somewhere else to get me a Christmas gift...I sure hope it didn't come from Dick's. Paige needed to break away from the boys, so she and I did some more shopping while Frank and Jake went to Bass Pro. I am happy to announce I finally got a pair of jeans. And I paid full price, and did not even look at the tag, because I needed them, and they fit, and sometimes you just gotta do what you just gotta do. Then we went to Starbucks and had red velvet cupcakes and caramel brulee lattes...I hope the jeans will still fit!
Sunday, I made ornaments with the 10 sweetest 2 and 3 year olds around! We ate at Leiu's for lunch, then watched a cute movie..."New in Town". We capped off the weekend with Lakeside's play, "The Gospel According to Scrooge". It was so good! Another example of the body of Christ working together for one purpose. This has been a great weekend....a gift I really needed and appreciate. Merry Christmas!

Weekend in the Mountains

2009-10-20T20:16:00.002-04:00

This weekend we took a very short trip to Blue Ridge. I really wanted to go to the orchard, and after looking at the calendar, this was the only time we could go. We had to wait for Frank to get out of his Saturday class, and had a pretty miserable ride up in the rain, but when we got up Sunday morning, it was sooooooo worth the trip! This is where I wanna live when I grow up!
This is a few of the things we bought at the orchard. TWELVE fried pies (you get a 5 percent discount), cider, apple cinnamon bread (one loaf was for the McCoy's), plus a peck of apples and Christmas gifts for my teacher friends...and some honey, because Frank insisted we needed honey even though I just threw away a jar that had crystallized.

We ate dinner at the Pink Pig...don't waste your time.

Sunday, we slept late, then took the scenic route home from the mountains. We called ourselves looking for an acre of land to park the camper on for vacations, but the one Frank called about was $41,000!!!!!

Ahhh, a nice, though too short, trip to the mountains. Tomorrow I am off to South Carolina for my nephew's boot camp graduation. OoRah! (or something like that!)

Thursday, Oct 15

2009-10-15T22:13:00.002-04:00

My friend Sharon drove Paige and me to Atlanta today for Paige's checkup on her knee. (I was prepared to drive us, but Sharon seemed like she needed a day off, so I let her do the driving.) We ate lunch at Bahama Breeze and then went to the dr's appt. Everything looked great on the x-ray, and they think the bit of knee pain she is having is due to her flat feet, so we are getting her some inserts for her shoes. Her knee looked so good in fact, that the dr said if another dr examined her knee, he wouldn't be able to tell she ever had an injury other than the surgical scar! After the dr's appt, we stopped in Conyers and hit the Old Navy clearance racks. We haaaaad to stop, because it was COLD (under 60 degrees) and we were totally unprepared. We stopped again in Madison for coffee. We were all set for Starbucks, but the Starbucks in Madison is closed! We settled for gas station "gourmet" coffee. Not as good, but not as expensive either.

Tonight, Jacob and I watched a program on the Military channel about Marine bootcamp. We see Kevin in just a week, and can't wait to see him! I can't believe that he has made it through all that they have to go through, and am nervous about the crucible. The crucible is a 56 hour training ordeal that they go through at the end where they are sleep and food deprived. They march 40 miles and go through 36 different training events. It is going to be so hard for him, but I keep telling myself that this is what they've been training him to do. When he completes the crucible, he will be a Marine. I can't wait to see our Marine! I hope they have a bumper sticker or magnet that says Proud AUNT of a US Marine!

Channelling My Happy Homemaker Side

2009-10-13T20:11:00.003-04:00

I finally made it to Walmart today to get some fabric for my tablescape. In case you aren't as in tune with your happy homemaker side as I am, that is the fancy word for the decorations on your table. There is a blog that has Tablescape Thursday with the most beautifully decorated tables you have ever seen. I am nowhere ready for Tablescape Thursday, but I did want to make a pretty centerpiece using the pumpkins I found at Mama's. We had them for sale at the 2nd yardsale, and now, I am glad they didn't sell. I put those bad boys in my car and voila! Tablescape Tuesday!

Just in case you were not already impressed enough...I cooked tonight! Paula Deen's Chicken with Wine Sauce, minus the white wine (I substituted chicken broth), herbed dressing with cranberries, and green beans. The chicken was very good, and I had to use up the rest of the herbed dressing that didn't go in the recipe. It just so happens that I had some dried cranberries in the cabinet left over from the sinful cranbery coconut bars that I made forever ago. But keeping it real, I cooked all the water out of the green beans and they burned on bottom. I just spooned the unburned ones into a bowl, and no one noticed...I hope my family doesn't read my blog and find out why Mama didn't eat the green beans! ;o)

It's Beginning to Look a Bit Like Fall

2009-10-11T18:15:00.003-04:00

I finally got around to doing a little fall decorating. We went to Michael's today, and they had their craft pumpkins 60% off. I wanted to paint my house numbers on them, but I couldn't find a stencil that would work that I was willing to pay what they wanted for it. Cindy found these wooden letters and numbers, and apparently 1's and 0's are very popular, because we couldn't find a set of all 3 I needed. We did find 2 l's and and o, so we made it work. LOL works for us too! I cut and glued and even used chopsticks to anchor the pumpkins together. My OCD tendencies make me want everything to be perfectly symmetrical, but that's pretty impossible using imperfect items. All in all, I think it turned out pretty neat, and I plan on leaving my fall decorations up until I decorate for Christmas. I have some glass pumpkins I found in Mama's stuff, and some things I already had for a tablescape, but I want to get some fall fabric first. I'll hit Walmart tomorrow, and work on that. Frank and the kids don't have school tomorrow, so they are going out on the boat...lucky dogs! I am going to give Paige the project of cleaning up the screened in porch and putting the fall tablecloth out there. Maybe with all this fall decorating, the fall weather will come back!

Fall...could it be?

2009-10-05T19:37:00.002-04:00

From my bedroom window I can see the bright red and orange leaves on my dogwood tree, and it looks like fall!

I've been cold all day, and am starting to think about warmer clothes.

I have a desire for warm, hearty beef stew.

I can't wait til this weekend so I can clean my house really good and finally put out my fall decorations!

I want to get three different artificial pumpkins and paint my house numbers on them for my front steps. (Will Milo tote them across the yard?)

I could smell the green peanuts in the fields down in south GA, and I really want a big pot of boiled peanuts!

I sure hope Fall is here to stay, and it's not just playing a big trick on us and will be 90 degrees again this weekend!

Weekend

2009-09-27T16:18:00.002-04:00

I want a real weekend! One where my house is clean, so I don't have to do any of that annoying housework. One where I don't have to go anywhere unless it's because I want to, not because I have to! One where I sleep late, get a good nap in, and stay up late doing something fun. One that seems to last way longer than 2 short days!

Slip Sliding Away

2009-09-20T21:04:00.002-04:00

Or tubing, but I couldn't think of a song or catchphrase for that. This afternoon we went out on the boat with Gene and Cindy and Jacob, Paige and Matthew tubed. I was scared to death we were gonna send one or all of them careening out of control, but they all did great and HUNG ON! Jacob tried to knee board, but couldn't get the hang of it. I tried and tried to keep them from trying this without someone who knew what they were doing, but oh no, no one would listen to the one in the life jacket who can't swim and is a complete scaredy cat about water...whatever! We left when the clouds started boiling up, and we made it home right before the bottom fell out of the sky. I didn't have my phone or camera, but I sure wish I had gotten pictures of the looks on their faces...it was priceless to see them have so much fun!

Friday Night Lights

2009-09-19T10:16:00.002-04:00

Headlights, that is. As soon as I got home from work yesterday, we hit the road. Some awesome weekend getaway, you think. Uh, no. We drove to Pell City, AL to pick up a trailer for the pontoon boat. Frank had alredy been looking for one long before he bought Rick's boat. (He had some crazy idea about getting Daddy's broken down pontoon boat and turning it into a bow hunting boat....I'm not sure he has totally ditched that idea!) Anyway, pontoon boats trailers are VERY pricey, but he found one on Craig's List for a lot less. And it wasn't a used hunk of junk, it actually was custom built to his specs. And built out of square tubing, not angle iron, which apparently is a big deal or something. All I know is that his trailer was ready, so we made a road trip. We drove straight over, with one stop because my bladder was gonna burst, got the trailer, ate at Cracker Barrell, then drove straight home, no stops. We left at 3:30, and got home at 11:30. I finally watched Confessions of a Shopaholic on the ride home, so it wasn't too bad. (but the back seat is not near as comfy as the front seat) Frank was very happy with the trailer, and Paige was very happy with Cracker Barrell. Jacob was at Coop's house, so this was a date night for Paige. Frank said at dinner that Paige would have made a perfect only child...but then again, so would Jacob. It's amazing how well behaved one child at a time is compared to the heathens my children can be in a vehicle for hours and hours sitting next to each other...but after sitting in the backseat myself last night, I think I know why they would show out so bad!

Fried Pickles and Friends

2009-09-17T20:39:00.002-04:00

Tonight we went to dinner with Stephanie and Wayne. I should have melt downs more often if it means I get to go out with my friends! Over fried pickles we talked and listened, and had a good night. I do feel much better than I did and I appreciate all of your prayers.

Frank started back to school yesterday, so life just got more hectic. He has Western Civilization every morning 8-9. He has American Government T and Th 3-5. He has a crazy gotta have GMC class on Saturdays 8-12, but we don't know how many Saturdays he has to go yet. He only has to go until mid Nov, so I know we will survive this. He is then off until January.

We are planning to go camping over Thanksgiving, and I'm really looking forward to that. I feel like we stay gone all the time, and I really want to be home, but I'm constantly looking for somewhere to go. I know, I'm crazy...I proved that already this week. This weekend though, we are home, and I'm glad to be home. And I'm glad I feel more like me again.

The Ingredients for a Good Day

2009-09-15T22:41:00.002-04:00

Today was a good day. I got a letter from my nephew today! He is in Marine bootcamp, and I hadn't heard from him in about a month. I actually wrote him a letter waiting for a meeting at work today, then got home and there was one for me from him! He sounds good, and he and his fellow recruits are planning a picnic for Family Day. (planning a party, he must take after his Aunt Cathryn!) He said there are about 16 recruits wanting to do this, and I was so happy to see that he has made that many friends. He said he had a few things he wanted me to bring to the picnic...I turned the page, and there was his list.

brownies

cakes

ham

potato salad

baked beans

green bean casserole

2 24 packs canned sodas

deviled eggs

peach cobbler

pear cobbler

apple crisp

blueberry cobbler

squash casserole

lemon cake

mashed potatoes and gravy

biscuits

mac and cheese

sandwich stuff

chips and dip

fried chicken

coleslaw

If I couldn't bring the food, that's ok, we'll find a place there to eat, but if I could bring the food, bring a lot, because they hadn't eaten real food in over 3 months. :o) I better start cooking, I only have til October to get it all together!

FYI

2009-09-14T18:56:00.002-04:00

Thanks for the concern about my mental well being. I am feeling better today. I am not immersed in the situation like I was, so I'm able to get some relief from it. I haven't changed my mind about talking to the person. I know that is the Bibical thing to do, but I am not ready for that. I really needed to vent, and I used my blog to do it. Now I'm moving on.

How bout that Kanye West...he's such a jerk!

BLAH!

2009-09-13T22:07:00.002-04:00

OK, so here goes. I have wanted to blog, but what is going on with me is not happy so I just keep pushing it aside. I can't push it aside anymore, and I need to get it out. I'm mad. And bitter. I'm not mad at my husband or my kids, work is good, it's none of the normal culprits, but I am so angry just the same. Tonight at church, people were talking about how great things are, and about being on a high, but I'm in a valley. Someone really hurt my feelings. It isn't the first time this person has done this, and I am not the only person whose feelings have been hurt. I actually had finally gotten over this person hurting me when they did it again. And I know that they don't even know they did, and I truly don't think they would care if they did know. I don't think there is any good in going to them about it, because if they cared, it wouldn't have happened. But this stupid little petty problem has really soured my attitude about everything. Something that I was so excited about has been crushed for me. I feel used and unappreciated. It took me years to dig out of my self-imposed hole but just a moment to bury myself back into it. I absolutely feel like I can not function. And what really stinks is I know this person isn't worth what I'm going through, and what happened is really not a big deal. At some point, I'll get up and I'll get over it, but I am so not there yet. So, there, I got it out of my head and onto the page. I just wish I could get it out of my heart.

Anchors Away!

2009-09-07T21:30:00.002-04:00

We are now the proud owners of a boat. Well, another boat. Frank already had my daddy's fishing boat. I would not go out on the fishing boat, being that I'm terrified of water and all. Frank has owned several boats while we have been married, and a couple of them, I let him take me out on them once. There, I did it, now take me home, kinda trips. A couple of weeks ago, Frank said he wanted to get a boat we could all go out on. Knowing Frank, and his many ideas that float in and out of him mind, I just said, yea, that sounds nice, and let it go. But this idea didn't go away. He told me all the reasons why we need a boat, and how much we will use it, and enjoy it together, and so forth and so on.

And then, something awful happened. Frank lost one of his best friends. And it's been hard. I have felt really helpless because I can't make it better. I'll do anything to make it better. Even get a boat. But not just any boat...Rick's boat. So, we are now the proud owners of a boat...Rick's boat. We took the boat out for the first time today. And you know what...Frank was right. It was really fun. The kids had a ball, it's big enough that I didn't pass out, and Frank now has more than a boat, he has something that belonged to his friend.

Dippity Doo Dah!

2009-09-03T21:53:00.004-04:00

I know, I know, I haven't blogged in like, forever. To all my adoring fans (all 5 of you), I'm sorry, it's been a rough little while, and I didn't feel like what we were going through was blogging material. But today, I found something to be excited about...something that inspired me to blog... I love party foods. If someone says "finger foods", I'm there! As a child, when we played make believe, I was always some rich person eating hors d'oeuvres (yes, I had to look up how to spell the word). I didn't know what a hors d'oeuvres was, but I just knew I would like it!

I've tried to think of a dip recipe that isn't very common to post. Here's my contribution to the party.

Green Chile Dip

2 blocks of cream cheese (softened at room temperature)

2 4 oz cans of diced green chilies

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients and place in a shallow casserole dish.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

It's very simple to make, and very tasty! I usually serve it with Fritos Scoops. My husband put it on toasted French bread, and it was really good that way too. And I should get bonus points, because it has TWO blocks of cream cheese in it! I can't wait to read all the other dip recipes, and I have a feeling we will be having finger foods for dinner this weekend! Head over to BOOMAMA'S blog, and join this diptacular event!

It's All Good

2009-08-10T18:55:00.002-04:00

We started week 2 of school with a bang...the power was off at school. They told the parents to take their kids back home, then they got the power back on...then off, then on again to stay. The air in the gym is messed up and it was causing the power to go out. No air in a gym...a stinky situation! Even though we had a weird start today, it's all good.

Frank, Jacob, and Paige all started school at SCA this week. Frank was on cloud 9, Paige was pumped up about being the go to girl for water for the teacher, and Jacob said he's the prettiest one in his class...so it's all good.

Frank started dinner by putting a roast in the crockpot this morning, and I cooked the rest when I got home. Roast, mashed potatoes, field peas, and a buttermilk pie. And yeah, it's all good!

Yuuuummmm!

2009-08-09T17:06:00.002-04:00

(At least I hope it will be.) I made enchiladas and salsa that is supposed to taste like Chili's salsa for dinner. We won't be eating until we get home from church, so I don't know yet if it's good. Well, I do know the salsa is good ;o) I got the recipes from one of my favorite blogs, Kelly's Korner. I made her artichoke chicken, and it is divine! Here are the recipes for your own culinary enjoyment.

Beef Enchiladas

1 lb hamburger meat
1 small onion, chopped
1 can of chopped black olives
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of Enchilada sauce
8 oz of shredded cheddar cheese
6-8 flour tortillas

Brown the meat and saute the onions in with it. Once that is done, add in the olives and let it heat and then add in 3/4 of the cheese and let it melt - mix it all together. Fill tortillas with the meat mixture and roll up. Combine the mushroom soup and enchilada sauce and pour on top. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

CHILI'S SALSA

1 (14 1/2 oz.) can tomatoes and green chilies
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can whole canned tomatoes (plus the juice)
4 teaspoons jalapenos (canned, diced, not pickled)
1/4 cup yellow onion (diced)
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon sugar

and this is not on the recipe but we (Kelly) add: 1/4 teaspoon cilantro and juice from 1/2 lime

1. In food processor place jalapenos (optional) and onion and process for just a few seconds.
2. Add both cans of tomatoes, salt, sugar, cumin,cilantro and lime juice.
3. Process all ingredients until well blended but do not puree.
4. Place in covered container and chill.
5. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips!

The First Week of School

2009-08-08T10:17:00.003-04:00

For the first time in a long, I actually enjoyed my job this week! I really dreaded going back to work, but now that I'm there, it's actually been pretty great! I have a different type of kids this year, and WOW! I forgot that there were kids like this left in public schools. They are smart and funny and actually love school. I know that it's still the honeymoon stage, and there will be tough days ahead, but I haven't felt this positive about what I do in a long time. I have a great student teacher who is a huge help. I'm not very good at delegating things, but we work really well together. (I hope she feels the same way!) I meet her advisor Monday morning. (I hope she feels the same way too!)

The rest of my family starts school Monday. All three of them, going to school together, like I used to do with them. I'm jealous of that. I used to be the one who knew what was going on with their school lives, and Frank was the one on the outside looking in, and all that changed when they changed schools, and he became their ride. Now, it is officially the opposite, because he will be working there too! It's a really neat bond to have with your kids, and I miss it. I officially met Paige's teacher Thursday night, and I am quite certain she thinks I am the meanest mother ever. Paige had already been there several hours and was VERY HYPER, so I was aggravated with her behavior and wanted her to be quiet and sweet and not bossy and loud. The only things I could think to say to her teacher was about her negative traits, so she has to be thinking "What have I gotten myself into? If the kid isn't crazy, the mother sure is!" Sure wish I could take that first impression back. If any of you reading this want to, you have my permission to tell Mrs. Thomas that Paige is actually a pretty good kid, and her mother is not always a psycho. (OK, I won't ask you to lie, just tell her Paige is a pretty good kid!)

Monday, Monday

2009-08-01T21:32:00.002-04:00

Monday, I officially go back to work. I went in last Monday to prepare, and then had two official days of preplanning, with Open House Wednesday morning. I'm not ready for this year to start, and am not ready for this summer to end. I tried to make the most of my furlough days. I did next to nothing Thursday, and going out to dinner with good friends, but no children. Friday we did some back to school shopping for Frank and Paige. We watched Pride and Prejudice then went to Andy and Becky's Fri night to hold the babies and eat pizza. Saturday, we visited the Stewart family and held precious Brayden for a little while, then had a surprise sweet sixteen party for sweet Becky M. Tomorrow is church, and I get my 2 and 3 year olds back for Sunday School. I need to get my nails done and I would like to do some clothes shopping for myself. I have to do lesson plans and figure out if I remember how to teach or not. (I'm starting to worry) It's going to be a busy day, and I know there are not enough hours to get it all in...wonder if I can call in sick Monday morning?

Double Digits

2009-07-25T21:50:00.005-04:00

Today, my baby girl turned 10 years old. Ten years... that's a long time. So how did it go by so fast? I remember so much about that day, but I've also forgotten so much about what it was like to have a little baby. I realized today when I was feeding Gage that I couldn't barely remember what it was like to feed my babies. Oh how I wish I could go back to those moments. I wouldn't want to stay in them, because our lives are in such a good place now, but I really wish I had savored those moments. I've got to make a point to savor the ones now. Here is a picture of one of those sweet moments...Paige holding Maddi today. Paige's big birthday celebration was our trip to Memphis, but she had to have a party on her big day! We had a yummy dinner with our dear friends, and I made Paige a chocolately chocolate cake with chocolate icing...and a little extra chocolate thrown in for good measure! Both of my sisters called during cake and presents, and Paige was seranaded by her cousins. She has been adequately spoiled for one more year! Happy Birthday Paigie Waigie! You are much loved!

Memphis, TN Graceland Edition

2009-07-22T23:33:00.004-04:00

Ok, so why haven't I posted about the rest of our trip? Because I don't have pictures! I left the memory card for my camera in the computer at the hotel room, and had already paid to park at Graceland when I discovered it. I thought I'd be able to buy one in the gift shop, but they don't sell them. I did see (after we had already toured the house) that they did sell disposable cameras. Paige did take LOTS of pics with her cell phone, but I haven't seen them yet. Sooooo, I guess you will have to use your imagination when I tell you about the trip.

It was really cool! We got there shortly after 10, so the tours had just started. It wasn't hot at all, and the line went pretty quickly. They have this whole complex across the street from the actual house. You get this headphone set up so that you can hear an audio tour guide. You can replay it and go through pretty much at your own pace. You ride a shuttle over to the house. Graceland was prettier than I thought it would be. It's stone, not brick. They let people in kind of in shifts, but that went pretty quickly too. You can not go upstairs because that was always his private quarters and he never had guests upstairs. You see the living room, his parent's bedroom, the dining room and the kitchen. The kitchen wasn't any bigger than mine! And it had some funky looking carpet in it! Then you go downstairs into the basement and there are mirrors on the walls and ceiling of the stairs! We gotta do that in our basement! Downstairs you see a family room and a pool room (pool table, not swimming pool). Then you go up the back stairs into the famous jungle room! There is green shag carpeting everywhere...including the ceilings! And lots of wood carved furniture that made me think of tiki huts. Groovy. From there, you go outside into a converted garage type building. This was his dad's office/the business office of EP Enterprises. In there, was the coolest thing I saw the whole trip...my Granny's living room carpet! The carpet was the exact same carpet she had in her living room when I was a little girl. Wow, Elvis and Granny had the same taste! From there you went into the trophy room. This was a whole other building full of momentoes from when he first started out through his whole career. It was set up pretty much in chronological order. There was a hallway about as long as my whole house covered floor to ceiling in gold/platinum albums and awards...even some Grammys! (and I think Paige took a pic of each one!) Then you went through part where you saw things from his movies and his and Priscilla's wedding clothes, etc. One really cool thing was 40 cancelled checks for $1000 each to different charities. What was so cool about it was they were all written on the same day. Apparently he was very generous...and not just with Cadillacs. From there you went into another out building that was a rec room of sorts and what used to be the raquetball court. It is now a room 2 stories high covered floor to ceiling in the awards he has been given posthumously. There was one given by RCA, I think, that had to be 6 feet tall, 3 thick panes of glass, awarded for being the greatest entertainer of all time. And after seeing all the stuff he accomplished, I believe they may be right. In this room was a video playing of that famous concert with the white jumpsuit and he was singing the American Trilogy. There were several of the jumpsuits on display in there. And it was eerie. Everyone was quiet, and you could see him performing Dixie, and Glory, Glory, Hallelujah, and there was no way you could walk out of there not an Elvis Fan. It gave me chills...hunka, hunka, burning love! From there you went out to where he and his family are buried. That didn't do much for me, because I know that people aren't in graves.

I'll stop for now...I figure I should drag this out at least as long as I drug out the Road Trip of 09. Besides, you know the most important thing...He had the same carpet as my Granny!

Memphis Day 1

2009-07-18T19:06:00.004-04:00

We have arrived in Memphis...all bright and shiny, obviously! The plane ride was really fast, and Paige loved it! She had no ear pain at all, but I had enough for both of us. About half way through the flight, it got bumpy, so they changed altitudes. My ears hurt so bad...and don't say chew gum, cuz even that hurt. My ears hurt, my teeth hurt, even my throat hurt, and I could barely hear. It's 5 hours later, and my ears still aren't right. If you have any suggestions for how to prevent this on the way home, I'm open to them! But enough about that...we made it safe and sound!

Then we picked up our rental car...there were two to choose from, and Paige chose this snazzy bright blue Kia! It doesn't have power locks or windows...we sure are spoiled by our cars!

Next, Paige drove us to our hotel. Well, not really, but she looks ready to drive, doesn't she?!

After several wrong turns, we finally got the hang of the Tom Tom (and figured out how to turn on the sound so we could hear it), and we arrived at our hotel. The lady at the front desk was very nice and we very much admired her false eyelashes!

After an unsuccessful attempt at a nap, we went to dinner at Bahama Breeze. YUM! We played several rounds of tic tac toe, and the cat won several, I won one or two, and Paige beat me more times than I'd like to admit. I really need to brush up on my tic tac toe skills. To think that I had wondered if I needed to let her win. HA! We had the goat cheese and roasted red pepper appetizer (yes, it is good) and Paige had bow-tie mac and cheese, and I had seafood bisque/chowder.

Last, but not least, we went to Target for necessities. We have a "full" night planned as you can see! Tomorrow, we're going to visit the King of Rock n Roll. Until then, Cathryn and Paige have left the building.

So Why are We Going to Memphis?

2009-07-16T18:52:00.004-04:00

Why Memphis? When I tell someone about our trip to Memphis, I get a lot of funny looks. And advice about how Memphis isn't the best place for two unaccompanied females to go. And so forth and so on.

But it isn't about Memphis, it's about the trip. Paige really wanted to fly somewhere this summer, and Memphis is a nice short relatively inexpensive plane trip (if you buy your tickets at the right time). She is turning double digits this year, and that's a really big deal to a child. As fast as the last ten years has flown by, I'm sure the next few years will too. Will Paige always want to go somewhere with me? I'm thinking "NO!". But right now, she is still willing to be seen with her mother, and I know I better hold on and make the most of these moments. Another big factor in choosing Memphis, is Graceland of course. But not for obvious reasons. You see, I'm not really an Elvis fan. I have nothing against him, but I could take him or leave him. But my mama loved Elvis (and William Lee Golden from the Oak Ridge Boys...she had weird taste), and when she found out that Paige liked Elvis, she greatly encouraged it. Mama never went to Graceland...or much of anywhere. I never went on a "spend the night in a motel trip" with my parents until after I was married. But I'm sure my mama would have loved to have gone to Graceland with us. Right after Daddy died, I tried to get Mama to go on trips with us. She came and spent a week in Milledgeville, we went to St. Augustine, and we went to Callaway Gardens. But it got harder and harder to get Mama to go anywhere...and when she did, she didn't want to do anything. So I stopped trying. Maybe if I hadn't stopped trying, she wouldn't have given up. I won't stop trying with Paige. If she wants to go, and I can take her...I'm gonna. And if Memphis to see Graceland is what she wants to do, then we're going to Graceland! For Paige, for me, and for my mama.