Guess Where My New Car Got to Visit Yesterday!

It was just begging for a road trip - so Frank gave in and we took a ride to Charleston. I do so miss that city! We left Hendersonville around noon on Saturday and traveled to Charleston via I26. Our first stop was in Irmo at Mathias' Sandwich Shop where we enjoyed a double cheeseburger and a chicken salad sandwich, both were pretty good. The sandwich shop seemed to be a favorite in the town ~ it was filled with Gamecock memorabilia and pictures from when it was started in 1946.

We got back on the road and made our way to I526 - the shortcut out to James Island and Folly Beach. I thought I wanted to get my feet wet, but by the time I sent Frank in the wrong direction by about 20 miles and we finally made it to the beach, I realized that the beach is NOT the reason I come to Charleston ... Charleston is the reason!

Of course, Frank knows this, and when he pointed out the fact that going on the beach would lead to sand in my new car, well, that just confirmed that we needed to head north to the city. On the way there, we picked up the City Paper and decided to try dinner at Meritage. It has been around on East Bay Street for a while but always seemed closed or too fancy when we were there before. The ad in the paper said it had recenty been reopened as a Tapas Restaurant. We love Tapas! They are little plates of foods that are meant to be shared. Last night we started off with steak tartare with onions, mustard, capers and toast points; then we shared 3 broiled scallops with boursin cheese mashed potatoes; then pad thai noodles with chicken satays; and finally tenderloin over wilted spinach topped with crab confit! Yummy! It sounds like a lot but the dishes are like appetizers with very small portions - two to three bites each - just enough to give you a nice taste without filling you up on just one.

After we ate we looked for a hotel and none were to be found less than $80, so we drove home. Got back in around 5:15 am and went to bed. All in all it was a long and delicious day. I got the travel bug out of my system for another couple of weeks at least and my car got to meet my favorite city! It did quite well, too, averaging about 36 mpg on the trip. By the time I make my way to John Johnson's on Tuesday it should be right at 3000 miles (just in time for it's first check-up and oil change!)

BTW, sorry I haven't written in so long. Hope to get back into it this week. As of Wednesday, it will be one year since I started Weight Watchers. I kind of took the summer off a little, letting my body adjust to the 55 pounds I had lost. I have put back on a few of those and am sitting right now on a 50 pound loss. On Wednesday, I will be starting again at full force on those next 50 pounds I need to lose. I am very proud of what I have been able to do so far and the fact that I have maintained within about 2 to 5 pounds during my hiatus of heavy duty working at the diet. As of Wednesday, expect my weekly updates to start once again and the race to lose that 100 pounds starts all over again!

Happy Birthday, Luke

Happy Birthday, Luke! Here's a layout I did a while back of Luke with his friend, Phillip.

I wonder why ...

This song keeps playing in my head? "The Love Boat soon will be making its way, The Love Boat promises something for everyone ..." I'll bet one person I know can tell us. She's so excited and who can blame her?

Happy Birthday, Zack

Happy Birthday, Zack! 17? No Way!

Happy Birthday, Daddy

Family Celebration

A Fabulous Discovery ...

Those of you who have never truly been overweight may not be able to fully appreciate the wonderful discovery I made today. While taking pictures of cars at Fisher Mazda, I happened to rest the camera on my tummy while waiting between photos, and what did I see? MY FEET! WOW! It was sooooo coooool! I didn't have to bend over or suck anything in - they were just there, staring straight up at me through the camera screen. I had to snap the picture - I'm sure you understand, right? That was at 9:30 this morning and I just knew the rest of the day was going to be a good day!

Memories ...

Where does your mom work? She sells Tupperware! That's what my mama did for years. I'll bet we had every piece they made ... and a beautiful station wagon to haul it all in! I bet Mama can name every piece in this picture I found while looking through some old advertising books the other day. I see the cereal bowls and the servalier set, the tumblers and the mini salt and pepper shakers, and who could live without the huge mixing bowl or the really cool "cake taker!" What is really amazing is that I still use a lot of these same pieces today. I remember riding with Mama to her tupperware parties, especially the ones in Toxaway and Quebec - because she was there late at night and she needed someone to go with her. Guess having a 10 year old with you is considered "protection" in those parts! LOL! Learning about which tupperware piece you could fill with water, seal and turn upside down without spilling (the one gallon pitcher); how to cut lettuce without turning it brown ("use this green thingy and NOT a metal knife"); and how to "burp" your tupperware to keep the food fresh ~ all these things I learned from my mama, the tupperware lady. Even if I am not the best cook in the world, I do know how to stock a kitchen (just ask Frank, he loves MY kitchen!) Thanks Mama!

My Favorite

Today was Cary Grant today in our home! Amy and I played "lazy" and watched two 1937 movies starring Cary Grant: Topper & The Awful Truth! Both were wonderful! I love his humor ... and he's pretty, too! I think I am in love! LOL! He is definitely my favorite actor of all time. I'm glad he made so many movies because I think I might be upset if I thought I had watched the last one. I like his movies so much I have a timer set up on our new DVR that searches and records all Cary Grant movies ... automatically. Our next one up is Once Upon A Time about a caterpillar that dances. It's pretty good so far.

So, not that many of you answer my questions when I pose them on this blog that everyone insists they read, but for those that do (Amanda) - who is your favorite actor and if you could have a whole day devoted to their movies, would you?

Parkway Tour Pictures

Linville Falls Ride

This time a week ago, Frank and I had just finished a two mile hike to view the Linville Falls just off the Parkway. It was near the end of a beautiful ride we started around 2 that day when we got onto the Parkway at Hwy 74 near River Ridge in Asheville. We took the north route following our motorcycle guide book refers to as the "Grandfather Loop." It was the coolest ride ... literally, it was probably 10 degrees cooler up there. I actually had cold arms for most of the trip. There was very little traffic, the roads were lined with rhodedendrons, and it was just a very peaceful ride. When we finished the ride and got off the Parkway at Hwy 321 Blowing Rock & Boone, we decided it was about 8:45 and maybe we should find a hotel because it was going to be way too cold for the 2 hour ride home. What we didn't know was that the cheapest thing in Boone was about $130! Whew, I don't think so! So, after a quick look at the map and a call to 1-800-DAYSINN, we decided on spending the night in Lenoir. By the time we got there and checked in to the hotel, we realized we were quite hungry ... and quite dirty! We hopped in and out of the shower and tried to find a place that wasn't fast food that was open at 11:30 at night (in a town a bit smaller than Hooterville.) We found a Ruby Tuesday's, devoured what was left of their salad bar, had a very tasty turkey avocado burger and headed back for snoozeville! It's amazing how tiring riding can be. We got up the next morning and decided to take 64 West back through Morganton and Lake Lure. It was really nice. More photos in the next post.

Do You Suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobia?

I know, I know - it's been a week since I have written! I have been so covered up at work that I have been here late every night and when I get home I haven't even felt like opening the computer up (no, I don't have a fever!) I don't think I ever thought I would get to the stage where I didn't want to get on the computer but lately I have hardly had the strength to move the mouse another step. Last night I was sound asleep on the couch by 8:15, Frank got up to go to bed at 11:15 and I beat him to the bed and was asleep again by the time he got there! I think I will sleep all weekend. I have no desire to go anywhere or do anything except CHILL!

Okay, so I am tired, but I don't have Paraskevidekatriaphobia! Do you? You do if you have a fear of Friday the 13th! Luckily, that is the least of my problems this week! Got to go for now - will tell you about the ride Frank and I took last week next time I have a chance. It was beautiful!

My Camera Makes Me Happy

My friend, Angela took this picture of me while I was coaxing her daughter into posing for me. I really like the photo, probably because it shows me doing something I am confident in - something that is fun and that I am pretty decent at doing. The photos below are some of the ones I took of Emma for her 4th birthday.

The Sea Is Calling ...

Frank's last words before he left this morning were, "I know you'll have something cool planned for this weekend, right?" Of course, I do! NOT! I have been so busy all I want to do is crash, but if I do have to get out of the house I would love to go to Charleston. It's been over a year, I think, and I am missing it. Wish me luck with priceline.com today. I don't have a lot of money, but I would love to introduce my new car to my favorite old town.

Snap, Crackle, Pop!

Every good day should start with a good breakfast. Maybe it was in honor of Independence Day and the sound of fireworks that have populated the air lately or maybe I was just hungry for a bit of nostalgia. Not really sure what prompted me to buy the Rice Krispies, but one krispy bite into them, I remembered why they used to be my favorite cereal! I bought the box last week and finished them off this morning! I love the taste and found it refreshingly "grown-up" that I enjoyed them just as much without the heaping spoonfuls of sugar I used to bathe them in! Isn't it funny how people enjoy their cereal differently? I love my krispies and my honey nut cheerios with cold skim milk and eating them while they are still crunchy. Frank, on the other hand, won't eat any cereal unless it's soggy from sitting in whole milk. What's your favorite cereal and how do you like to eat it?

Does Anyone Know?

What kind of flower this is? We saw it at the Arboretum, but it wasn't labeled. I have never seen anything like it before. (You can click on it to make it bigger.)

Pages I did Yesterday

Frank with the plane he wanted so bad spending the day fixing it and watching it scoot along the ground - it finally made it into the air ... for about 5 secs! It crashed once and he put it back together only to have it go up, up, up and come straight back down. He is now saving for a helicopter!

A couple of weeks ago, Angela and I took Emma to the Arboretum to check out the flowers and do a little photo shoot for her 4th birthday. This layout has two of my favorites. The flowers were just gorgeous.

1000 MILES!

I hit my first 1000 miles in my new Ford Fusion coming home from taking Matthew and Zak to a ballgame today. We were on near the Moore Cove Bridge in the Pisgah National Forest. I stopped to take a picture and the boys, of course, thought I was crazy. I wonder if I can keep up with where I am every 1000 miles? Hey it's worth a shot.

The Newest Bull - What is he wearing?

I know you're not all Bulls fans, but you have to love this picture of a NCAA Champion (2007 & 2006) in this ridiculously funny tuxedo - and that hair, oh my! Maybe someone in Chicago can direct him to a good barber!

Whew! What A Day!

So today (really yesterday) was staff meeting day and the first thing we did was hear that Steve Brown, one of two guys in classified, was no longer with us and they needed someone to cover his accounts. Guess who? Well, I didn't take them all, Heather took some, Nate took a couple, and I think Meg took some, then I got a bucket load. It was definitely one of my busier days. Oh, and did I mention that I am also filling in for Hillary this week while she is away in Honduras on a mission trip.

Anyway, today I got to test the waters in the classified world of TONS of REALTORS and realty ads. Lynelle has been trying to convince me to sell real estate but instead I am selling to real estate (brokers.) It was fun to be busy again! I am hoping they will decide to move me over to the classified side for good, just hoping that if they do, I don't end up working every Tuesday night until 11:30! So I guess I better go to bed - got to be back in 7 hours! Nite!

Happy for the rain!

Even though they come with big booms and lightening strikes, it was nice to finally have some rain showers this afternoon! I think we could use for it to rain a few days in a row.

For the summer, we got a free subscription to Blockbuster by Mail so we have been watching a lot of movies over the last week. Some of the good ones have been Holiday with Kate Winslet and Jack Black and the one we watched last night, The Guardian with Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. Frank's dad recommended Monsters, the Disney cartoon, so I am adding that to my list. If you have any suggestions, old or new, let us know.

Well, I am off now to watch the cooking show. Have a good evening.

Am I A Softy of What?

Even the animated movies are making me cry these days! We just finished watching this great movie. I loved it. In the past couple of weeks we have seen Cars, Flushed Away, Open Season and Madagascar (my favorite so far, I think). It is just amazing what they can do with animation these days!

My First Game of Canasta

Me N Matter at the Tourists

Jordan took this pic of me and Matthew after the Tourists game on Sunday. I played "Daddy" to Matthew, Nick, & Jordan, whose dads all had to work! The Tourists won 12-2 and it was hot as could be. We had 4th row box seats but ending up sitting on the last row under the shade for 5 innings!

Good Morning!

Here's a couple of pages I did over the weekend - the one with Frank and Harmony was for a "new beginnings" contest and the one of Luke was to use the "Graffiti" Kit I received as one of my prizes for being Digital Design Guest at acherryontop.com.

Happy Father's Day

Look below to see some pages I did to honor the dads in our lives!

My Dad & Me

Another layout in honor of Father's Day - this one for my dad. I love these pictures of me and Daddy. I think if you look long enough at the one of Daddy in the sailor's uniform you can see a lot of Matthew. Happy Father's Day, Daddy, I love you!

Like Father, Like Son

A page for my scrapbooking site and for Frank & Art for Father's Day. Frank has to work, the boys are going to be here tonight for a late dinner which I hope Frank gets home early enough to enjoy - fried catfish, hush puppies, and cole slaw. Tomorrow I am taking Matthew, Nick, Zak Beard and Jordan Bell to see the Asheville Tourists - guess you could say I am playing, "Dad" since all of their dads will be working for Father's Day.

Me with My New Car

Me with my new car! Amanda took this last night with my cell phone so it's not the best picture and it definitely doesn't capture all the giggling happiness that has taken place since they handed me the keys on Thursday night! It's a Ford Fusion and I got it at John Johnson Ford in Brevard.
It was kind of researched and kind of on a whim. I just found out last week that the a/c in the van was broken and going to require $900-$1300 to repair ... that was in addition to the $500 I spent to have it repaired last summer. NOT.GOING.TO.HAPPEN! I refused to put any more into that piece of @#*%!!!! So when the skies opened up and I couldn't take anymore pictures at JJF, I told them why not try to sell me a car. So they did and this is my prize! I love it. I love it. I love it. It drives so smooth and it will save me on the gas every week! It should get about 10-13 mpg more than the Kia. That's a lot of money these days. And the A/C works great! I will get better pictures soon.

A Visit from Kentucky

Me 2007

Here's a digital layout I did about some things I like: Charleston, of course; fresh pineapple (photo taken in Jamaica); azaleas (taken in Atlanta); waterfalls (these are Whitewater on the North/South Carolina border near Toxaway); and scuba diving (or at least taking pictures underwater.)

The photo was taken out of the picture below at Amy's graduation.

Home of the Red, White & uh ... More Red?

Looks like everyone was thinking "red" tonight - 'cept me and Matter. I cropped the photo so you couldn't how out of place the two us looked with his black shorts and my blue skirt!

Look Who Made the Front Page!

My Graduate - Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!

Here's a layout I did with all of Amy's different poses in her Senior Portrait pack. I can't believe that she is actually graduating TOMORROW! Wow, didn't we just do this yesterday? Oh, no, that was Amanda and it was LAST year! Gees - guess that is one of the downfalls of having your girls 11 months apart! Amy is so excited. Today she didn't have to be there until 9 and she should be out by one and tomorrow they will practice a bit and be done again until the moment to walk across the stage! Papaw Mel and Uncle Neal are heading down from Kentucky so that made her happy and Amanda has planned a dinner at Carrabas following graduation. After she eats and gets all her congrats and hugs, she'll be off to the Project Graduation at Fun Depot for a whole night of fun and games! I'm sure you know they'll be plenty more pictures to look at by Saturday! I am thinking of going all digital so I don't have to wait for developing and I can see what I get.