Friday Nights

Friday nights, Monday nights and pretty much everything inbetween...I will be at a stadium somewhere watching Tdawg.

Last Thursday night Jamboree at home:


Last night in Florence:

Don't Wait!

The unexpected passing of a Christian sister yesterday has brought life into focus - what truly makes a difference. All I hear in my head is: Don't Wait. Don't wait to know God. Don't wait to mend a relationship. Don't wait to tell someone how much they mean to you. Don't wait...or there may not be time. Time truly is a thief! It is true that there is no guarantee. I have done my best to follow my Dad's advice of "live with no regrets". If I had the chance, would I do things differently....hmmm, maybe. But probably not. I am happy and truly blessed! I have all that I need and much more than I deserve. I love my family and friends and treasure them dearly. I hope they know how much I truly love them. I intend to let them know that I do love them...and remind them as often as possible.

Much Better, Thank You

I am feeling much better. The chiro is doing wonders with my neck. And last week was just a virus. Despite my co-workers fussing and panicking, I did not have the flu.

Flu?

Ok, what is the difference between bird flu and swine flu? For bird flu you need tweet-ment and for swine flu you need oink-ment. Hee hee hee. You really did not expect ME to be serious, did you??

I was sick last week and this is how I picture myself but with germs instead of mice. It was flu like but did not last long. I am a terrible patient and ready to be well in less than 24 hours. This time, it took a good three days to feel human again. Oh well, I am thankful for the rest!

Funny

So very very true!!

Better

I am feeling better. The soreness is gone. Thanks to the chiropractor I have been seeing three times a week. The initial x-ray of my neck about made me sick. But, if Doc Marty can help, I am all for it. The electrical stimulation and heat pack is awesome. I could do that all day. Actually, I wish I had one in my office! I am thinking that years of bad posture and a mis-spent youth is catching up with me. One of the disks in my low back is degenerating. Doc seems to think that is from the car accident years ago. The old formula injury + time = degeneration. At least the rest of the disks still look good. My neck, however, not so good. I think I do more x-rays next week. I am praying that it looks a lot better. If not, I'm off for an MRI.

First Day of School

Kindergarten and First Grade:

Eleventh Grade:

Tenth Grade:

First day of school:

It is hard to believe that Buddy is in 11th and Tdawg in 10th grade. Does not seem that long ago that they were starting school. Talking to seasoned Moms, there seems to be a consensus that once the kids start school...time just flies by! Sure seems like it was a short summer..but then again it was only ten weeks long. I am guessing that the next ten weeks will fly by even faster. Tdawg's schedule includes three honors classes: Chemistry, English and History. Tdawg is also in football. He is a starter on the Junior Varsity team, games on Mondays. Plays backup and must attend Varsity games on Fridays. They only have 64 players (for both Varsity and JV), so he may see some Varsity playing time. And Buddy is in Fall baseball which will be on Thursdays. Home will be a place to take a shower and collapse!

Amidst the craziness, I am trying to remember that will be over in a New York minute.

Miss Humpty Dumpty

Well, I went to the Chiropractor the other day. And have been back several times. After the incident at the water park, the doc says that my tailbone is not broken! That's the good news. The bad news is that I feel like a five on the scale and my neck is a mess. Has anything happened to me, he asked. Hmmm...life? I was hit by a car (as a pedestrian), have had four "minor" car accidents, fell ice skating (jumping), roller skating (pulverized my wrist) and fell off assorted bicycles, a horse and a balance beam. All in all, I'm fortunate to be in one piece. At least the therapy is greatly helping. It has left me wondering if I need to quit trying to be 12 years old....naaaahhhh.

Tdawg is Fifteen!

A face only a mother could love!

Shell Island

The last day of vacay, we decided to go to St. Andrews State Park in Panama City and rent wave runners. So I rode with Tdawg. Tdawg LOVED the wave runners. He had us going 47mph. Which I understand is a lot of fun on a lake...but in the gulf, it is a little choppy. I nearly flew off several times.

We had a guide and followed the group to Shell Island. The island is deserted and the water around it is very shallow and quite clear. We were able to find a lot of large sand dollars. It was quite hot and between the sun and the white sand, it is a little blinding. The pictures from the disposable waterproof camera did not turn out well. Too bad.




On the way to the gulf side, I did fall off once. I asked Tdawg if he wanted to do a doughnut. I was thinking a slow turn...he was thinking a big rooster tail. So, Tdawg turned the handle bars and gunned it. And both of us fell off...which wasn't so bad until you notice the inky water and wonder what else is in the water with you. Thankfully the wave runner stayed upright and we climbed back on.

Then we went around to the gulf side to look for dolphins. It was so cool to see dolphins swimming in the wild. They are amazingly fast. Since everyone wanted to see the dolphins, our group and another group and a boat were all in the same area. We also saw a dive flag. Raleigh turned around to avoid the divers and bumped into Cletus & Buddy. And they went for a swim in the gulf. Getting them up and going again was difficult to say the least. Their wave runner went upside down. Buddy was unhappy...but the guide was quite patient and calmed Buddy down, got the wave runner up and Cletus back aboard.

And then it was time to head back. It was a lot of fun. I think it would have been more fun earlier in the day, when it wasn't so hot. And next time, I'm pretty sure we will just take the ferry and hang out at Shell Island for a longer period of time.

Anniversary

Cletus and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary on the way back from the beach. Pretty good considering our friends only thought that we would last six weeks. I can't say that we were ready to be married...it is a bit like jumping out of a plane and hoping that the parachute will open. What is the secret, I am asked...maybe we are both too stubborn to give up. And we still love each other madly! It was funny driving back. We hooked up with a radio station that was playing Christmas carols. Their salute to Christmas in July. It was a bit surreal. But fun to sing-along with!

Treasure Hunting on the Beach

Cletus loves to take his metal detector and hunt for treasures on the beach. One year he helped some kid find his room key. He was so grateful! I told Cletus to bring me back something shiny.

I wasn't expecting him to find a Wolfgang Puck Serving Spoon buried in the sand. But...it is shiny! He also found 43 cents and a lighter.