Days Fly By...

This is my desk calendar for the year so far.

I was super interested in using my co-worker's name stamp and decorated the entire right side of my calendar with her name. Over and over and over. I also notice lots of snow days. I hope we don't have that happen again. I hate the stress of snow.

 February I was obviously happy about Valentine's Day, although I had no valentine. Two elections and two birthdays livened up the look with some color.



 Not sure why these items deserved the color they received (calls to ADT, my bank, insurance, etc) The Sun Drop bottle label made things more interesting at the bottom...

 Wow. April. What can I say besides BUSY!  Two elections, four birthdays, lots of playdates with friends and the first "movie night" with Gary. - He's also the Lake Lure in the bottom right corner.

May brought a WONDERFUL visit to my friend, Sherry! She deserves lots of color!

Oh thank heavens for the beach! A wonderful trip with the family! You probably can't see the pencil marks, but immediately after that trip, I went into teaching mode for two weeks.

Again, I left color behind for the two weeks of classes I was teaching, but July was actually pretty busy. At least Independence Day received some patriotic colors. And my state outline.

Do you see how boring August looks! Very little color, just blah pen and pencil. Seems that I need to pull out the markers and highlighters for September and liven life up a little bit!  Sheesh, I can't believe it's September already. Where did the time go?

I've never really used a desk calendar before this year. It just wasn't efficient in my previous employment. Here, however, it's kinda cool to look back at life and see all the details - the movies and dinner dates with friends, the work schedule, the doctor's appointments and random numbers involved in everyday life. :)

I should go ahead and color the next three days, when I'll be home working in my house to reorganize and get ready for FALL! I seriously considered just going ahead and decorating for Christmas, but I think I can hold off on that for at least one more month. But no bets on waiting until Halloween.

Ya'll don't miss me too much this week, my imaginary friends, and I'll catch up with you at least in time for Muffin Monday! :)

Muffin Monday.

What do we have here? Two Muffins for this special Monday?! That's right - you get two Muffins for the price of one! What a bargain.

The first Muffin is in her favorite chair in my living room, which I have used to store this picture of the Chapel at the Citadel until I can replace the glass and find a place to hang it.  I'm not sure she appreciates the art, but she tolerates it.  Dad found the print at a yard sale and knowing how much I love Charleston, picked it up for me. Mom used a frame of my grandmother's to display it, so it has very special meaning for me.

The second Muffin, after much sniffing and exploring, has decided to make my old nightstand her new happy place. This was made by someone in my family - uncle, dad, brother, I'm not sure who - and I just brought it over from my sister's house.  Of course, in typical kitten fashion, she had to sniff it from every angle before deciding it was worthy of her. 

Thankfully, it has been accepted into the household.  Enough so that it has become the bathing place, judging by the picture.

Here's to hoping your August was a great but that your September will be even better! :)  Since it's my birth month, I plan on enjoying celebrations ALL month long. I figure anything that happens in September is in celebration of my being born. I hope you'll celebrate along with me!

PS - I had this scheduled to post early this morning... not sure why it didn't, so TA DA! You have Muffin a little later than expected. :)

Blue Skies and Fluffy Clouds

I really don't mind driving into work when the weather is pretty - I have a nice drive where I'm apt to start taking pictures along the way.

These puffy white clouds obviously caught my eye one day a few weeks ago - must have been on the way home judging by the sun placement. 

I love it when the sun lights up the clouds, giving them a glowing energy.  It's just neat to me. (I know, I'm easily amused. But it makes life so much more interesting!)

These just may be my favorite clouds... pink tinted from the sun, fluffy and cotton-ish looking. Yes, I know the picture is crazy crooked, Gary and I were driving to somewhere (I can't even remember where now!) But the pink clouds just tickled me pink! :)  Don't you want to just run and jump into these clouds like the biggest, fluffiest bed you've ever dove into? Or maybe like a gigantic bubble bath minus the water? Or... I suppose they are clouds so they could be storing water. Hmm... something to think about. ...

PS - oops. I posted one of these pictures a few weeks ago! That's what I get for having the attention span of a rabid squirrel. Sorry! :) Enjoy it again like it was the first time! ha ha ha!

Yes, I felt it.

So yesterday was the first confirmed earthquake I've felt.  A little shakey shakey while sitting at my desk at work. My coworker and I looked at each other, looked outside at the fact there was NO wind, and hesitantly asked, is this an earthquake?

Nothing bad enough to freak out about, but kinda interesting all the same.  Twitter lit up with all kinds of comments which confirmed our theory.  (If I ever want to know what's going on, I hit Twitter really quick to see what the buzz is... and usually I'll find my answer!)

I do feel bad for those folks closer to the center.  Seems some of the older buildings are damaged, which makes me sad.  Such history, workmanship, pride, artistry - damaged in just 30 seconds of shaking. I hope they are able to repair things quickly.

Any interesting "I survived the great earthquake" stories out there, my imaginary friends? Let me know!

Cooler Days...

Gary and I decided to take a day adventure on his one Saturday off and head for the NC Mountains. OH THANK HEAVENS! Finally we got a break from the oppresive heat that South Carolina has been under for the past 1,204,743 days.  Whew! The day was positively perfect, down to the nap that I was able to take while he drove us around the mountain.

I just love the NC mountains - love seeing the beautiful blue color in the distance, humps and humps of shades of blue. There is just something about it that causes my shoulders to drop and my back to relax and I can just breathe in serenity.

Gary loves the mountains more than I do and knows all the lookout spots that have the beautiful views. So we hit the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped at several overlooks on the way.  Each one provides a different view of the beauty God has given to us.  It's just so nice to dedicate a day to enjoying it!

This family was coming across the hills as we were taking pictures of the mountains and the cows... it was very "Sound of Music"-esque with mom, dad and about six youngins.  When these two scampered to the top of the rock, I had to take a quick picture - they were just too cute!

The rock, sans kids.

And the two adventurers - posing for a self portrait! :) 

Muffin Monday!

What do we have here? A not happy Muffin? You don't say...

She normally likes to be held like a baby but here, that is clearly not the case. Lol!

Hope your week is wonderful with at least a few fun surprises!

Yummies

Here are the shoes I turned the house semi-upside down searching for yesterday. I was wearing brown capris...something I rarely do. And I only have one pair of brown/gold flip flops. So, since these were in plain sight beside my bed and I sill couldn't find them, I ended up wearing bright blue with black bottoms. Oh well. I've never claimed to be a fashion diva.

Do you see these incredibly yummy coconut pies?  Look at those golden tops just waiting to the sliced into...so yummy. My coworker, knowing I had a large family function this weekend, made them this morning for me to take. Can you believe that! I've been smelling them all day, it's torture!

She claimed she didn't want the buttermilk to spoil. Heaven help, I'll always be glad to help you out with that! Incredibly nice of her. And she's the baking queen so I know they are going to be awesome! Can't wait!

Ya'll have a great weekend!

Sandy Shells.

During my quick, whirlwind trip to Holden Beach/Wilmington, I took a very quick 10 minute walk on the beach before declaring it was just too hot and beating a quick retreat to the AC in the beach house. I basically stayed outside long enough to take a few pictures and pick up a few shells. 

The number of angel wings surprised me. When I was a kid, it was such a treat to find angel wings like those above - it was something very special and had to be handled with care.  I didn't even take any of these with me on this trip because I knew I wouldn't be able to protect them well enough to prevent the two shells from breaking apart.  So I left them for everyone else to enjoy. :)

 For whatever reason, this sandy pathway to the beach just caught my fancy.  It seemed like a secret kind of place where you would come out on the other side and be in a beautiful wonderland. That's not too far off the mark - the beach was beautiful with so few people that you felt like you had it all to yourself.

As you may have read in my earlier posts, I've made a commitment to myself for a few life changes this year.  One is my Thankful Journal, which I've been kinda slack about the past week or so, but I have felt much happier and uplifted due to my frequent acknowledgement of the blessings I've received in my life. 

Another life change involved photography - something I really enjoy but had let slip to the wayside as life became too busy to bother.  When Spring was in full bloom, it was easy to snatch up my camera and head outside for photo sessions. Well, yesterday after walking back to my house from my parents', I had to snap a few pictures of my beautiful rose bushes! These were on a clearance rack at Lowe's for only $5 each and so I bought four of them.  Three I planted at the end of my house and one at work.  I love them! They bring such joyas I back out of my driveway right beside them to leave in the mornings.   Love it!

Sitting like a Princess.

Last night, Donna, Sister Beth, Ellie and I went to a local Chuck E. Cheese type of place for dinner and entertainment.  Ellie informed us we had to go there because that is where her homework was... so away we went! 

The funniest thing about it - as we were getting our crew off the merry-go-round, another family put their two girls on the horses, one sitting sideways.  The dad is completely baffled is you can tell he is wanting to have his daughter ride this horse the way most people do.  But the mom, seeing what was about to happen, told him in a very exasperated tone that she had to, and I quote, "Sit like a princess."  Undoubtedly, princesses ride side-saddle.  And according to the look his wife gave him, he should have known this. So dad backed off and let his daughter be the little princess that you know she is, at least in her own mind.

Ellie is too cute at these types of places and I love taking pictures of her. Just wish my Droid had a better
camera for indoor photography.
 

Ellie playing Deal or No Deal (left) and Aunt Donna and Ellie playing Skee Ball

 Sister Beth, Ellie and Aunt Donna playing the water race game

Ellie on the Merry-Go-Round!

Muffin Monday

Today we see Muffin has discovered a new "spot." The toilet. Cracks me up to see my cat sitting on the throne. Too bad she won't learn how to use it!

The bathroom is where we have many of our disagreements. She wants to lay across my bath mat and refuses to share when it's time for me to get out of the shower. Today is an excellent example of this. Shower stops, she starts griping. I pull back the curtain, she really starts griping. She refuses to move and here I am running late, a captive in my own shower.

As I write to you, she its still lying there.

I hope everyone has a great  week...for many it is the beginning of a new school year! I hope it proves to be a great one!

Open windows.

Oops. In typical style, I opened the window a few inches for Muffin to sniff the somewhat fresh air yesterday and forgot all about it. (it would seem fresher if it wasn't so hot!)  Woke up this morning to Muffin sniffing the fresh rain-scented air and me covered in mosquito bites.  Gotta love it.

Oh well, what are a few bites to see a very happy kitty?

These are Treasures.

Yesterday, my friend MJ and I attended the funeral of a very smart, funny, community-minded gentleman - the husband of a dear friend of ours.  He fought a courageous fight with ALS and through their combined efforts as a couple, raised funding for research and awareness of this disease.

The service was beautiful. The church is so peaceful, nestled close to the ocean and you just feel at peace like watching the ocean waves. The flowers, mostly red, white and blue, honored his service to and love of our country.  Graceful grapevine wreathes with delicate flowers seemed to represent his gentle nature so perfectly.  The service was truly wonderful. His son was so strong as he spoke on behalf of the family, telling stories that had us all laughing through shimmering eyes. The military honors at the cemetary were so moving, the presentation of the flag to our friend made you catch your breath. Truly a beautiful service honoring a beautiful life.

During the ceremony, my friend's son performed a song he wrote around a poem his mother had written to her husband about six months ago. It is a tribute to their life together and what sounds like her way of saying goodbye.  It's a tearjerker. It's beautiful. It makes your heart ache and soar at the same time. I wish you could hear it to understand how it tugs at your soul, but here are the words. (Please don't use them without her permission.)

 Love the music

Humming a favorite tune

Love the story

Takes you far from your room

Love the rhythm

Of a cherished poem

These are treasures

We’ve always known

These are treasures

 We’ve always known

Love the power

Of the ocean waves

Love the majesty

Of the mountain range

Love the beauty

Watch as natures grows

These are treasures

We’ve always known

These are treasures

 We’ve always known

Love our country

The land of the free

Love the stars and stripes

In a  gentle breeze

Love our children

Protect our own

These are treasures

We’ve always known

These are treasures

 We’ve always known

Love life

And these moments together

Love me

And always forever

Take my hand now

But let me go

And thank God for Treasures

We’ve always known

Thank God for treasures

We’ve always known.

I have the notes stuck in my head it's just so beautiful.  They had such a lovely relationship, which is very obvious in their actions towards each other, and how their family blended together. She's such a special person and I hope she knows that.

Giggles and Tears.

In one night, I go from watching one the most moving movies I've ever seen, sniffing back tears. Then...I watched one of the dorkiest movies but, seeing as how it pokes fun at my profession, it was that much funnier.

The first: Taking Chance. (I hope that's right!) An HBO movie featuring Kevin Bacon as a Marine who volunteers to escort a fallen Marine back home. A tear jerker. A must see.

The second: Swing Vote. Which is interesting because the two are kinda related in that our troops are fighting for our right to vote. Which it also brings up the apathy on this nation towards voting... Grrrrrrr.

Anyway, it was an interesting night, shared with my man, :) , with crazy emotions thanks to dang movies. Lol!

 

Guest Muffin Monday!

Yes! Today we have a guest on Muffin Monday...introducing RAMBLE!  I adore how his teeth hang out like little vampire fangs - too adorable.  Anyway, Ramble is my friend, Melissa's, kitten who showed up one day and adopted them in the housing development. Sometimes he wants in the screened back porch and he'll find a way to open the door and slip in, or sometimes he'll simply sun on the patio, like he is doing here.

A super cute and friendly kitty, he's a great way to start of any Monday!  Everyone give Ramble a virtual pat before diving back into your daily work. :)  Hope you have a good week!

Anxiety.

What is it about growing up that creates more anxiety in life? Because we know what could happen? We understand people aren't always good. Bad things happen to good people. All the consequences to a bad day. Ugh.

I'm stressed and I don't really know why. I have things I need to process and just haven't had time. *sigh*
So, I think I need to spend some time in my thankful journal, spend some time talking to the man upstairs...I know it will help me. :)

Why can't life still be simple?