OH MY!

Instead of "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!", seems like this summer's theme will be "Sharks and Hurricanes and Red Tide, Oh My!". So glad we're on the down side of hurricane season and there's been no more shark attacks. Red Tide started a few days ago though. No fun. Everyone started coughing as soon as you stepped outside anytime you were near the beach!

We're taking a trip next week to Nashville (dentist appts. and get to see Beth again), then on to Chattanooga to see friends there, and then on to The Reserve on Lake Keowee. "J" and "B" will be there too. Look forward to being in areas where it will be a little cooler. "G" and I decided to go shopping this afternoon to start looking at fall clothes. Getting excited about fall and winter.

Wonderful News!

Wonderful news! Got my pathology report back from the dermatologist...the spot on my face was nothing to worry about. Yippee! My prayers were answered!

We're So Bad!

Drinking Margaritas! Yum!
Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls!

Beth and I did our usual...and it was wonderful to be able to. We drove to Pensacola to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant for frozen margaritas, cheese dip, salsa and chips AND then Cinnabon afterwards at the mall. Perfect for my low carb diet! What I won't do for a friend! The mall is right there at the Mexican restaurant, so we didn't have to drive anywhere until the margaritas wore off! Love having her here and feeling so good. (the patch on her arm is her pain patch)
Tonight George took us to O Sole Mio for Beth's last night in town. Sure gonna miss her, but I'll be ready to get back to my diet!

Thai with Friends

Beth and I met my movie group (Jennifer, Tania, Lois and Pauline) for Thai tonight. So good! Lots of fun!

Back to tennis! Yippee!

Got to play tennis today for the first time since before I got sick. Soooooo wonderful to be back on the court! I actually stayed at the club and walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes afterwards.

Beth and I went to see "Just Like Heaven" this afternoon. Good, but syrpy sweet...almost too sweet. I think this was made from a book I read and enjoyed called "If Only It Were True". I liked the book better.

Back to Wearing Silly Hats

(this photo was taken a few years ago when I was good about wearing my hats)

Went to dermatologist this morning to get refills on a prescription ok'd and to have her check a red spot on my cheek. She wasn't worried about that spot, but found another tiny pimple type spot she decided to biopsy. Now I'm walking around with a circle band-aid on my face! I'll get the results in a week. I've gotten lax about wearing my silly hats on the beach and boat this summer...no more!

Doing good back on South Beach...lost a little over a pound yesterday! Yippee!

Beth arrived last night. So glad she's here! Her 3 week hospital stay had me concerned, so it's nice to see her myself. She tires easily and is still puffy, but I'll be sure she gets plenty of rest while she's here. It rained buckets ALL morning...really until almost 4PM. We went out to lunch but then I took her back to CMH for an afternoon of rest. Hopefully, we'll get in some beach time tomorrow.

Australia and New Zealand

My sweet "G" has planned a trip of a lifetime to Australia and New Zealand. We leave January 9th. A three week trip. Wow...can't wait!

I started back on South Beach today...want to be ready and in shape when we leave in January.

FIRST DAY OF SOCCER

"L" had his first day of soccer yesterday. He got his first goal too! Wish I could have been there.

CELEBRATING WITH GOOD FRIENDS!

The end to a perfect birthday. We had a wonderful evening with our good friends, "J" and "B". Good food, good wine and good conversation. Perfect!

A good meal before the challenge begins - filet mignon (cooked absolutely perfect), a bit of baked potato with sour cream, bread and butter, steamed spinach, and portabella mushrooms. Oh my! I'm full, but not stuffed! Ready to begin the "new me" tomorrow!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Happy Birthday to Me! After being sick with a virus for weeks and weeks, it sure feels good to feel good! Hard to believe I'm 53! Unbelievable really! I can easily remember (yep, still got my memory) when 30 and 40 sounded OLD and 50 and above sounded ancient! HeHe... silly me! I now know age is only a number! You're as young as you feel and I certainly don't feel ancient! I'm so blessed to have my health and I'm surrounded by so many good friends and a wonderful family. Those are the gifts God has given me! Who needs wrapped gifts when you have gifts like I have! How lucky can one girl be?!

Now, for my new goal......A few years ago I started the low carb (South Beach) diet, cut out "real" Coke, and exercised a little more than I normally do, and I really began to see results. I've slipped back to my old ways gradually and I'm not happy with what I'm seeing happening to me (the 53 year old!), soooooooooooooooo, my new goal is to get back to where I was when I looked and felt so much better. Starting tomorrow!!!!! No more excuses.

My grandson's a STAR!

My Grandson "Z"'s band EDEN CREEK is really taking off...winning Battle of the Bands, etc. and performing everywhere. A CD is in the works! I'm so proud of him. Check out the website to see what's up. www.sonicbids.com/edencreek Click on Audio to hear 3 songs. (I love "Fire Me Up"!) "Z" writes the words and the music. I know I'm bragging, but he deserves it.

Acting Silly!

"B"'s been kinda down for a few days now and I worry about her...stress at school, lots of tests and trouble with a friend. She's not down much, but when she is, it makes me sad too. Wish I was closer so I could run over and give her a hug! I pulled up this photo taken recently when she and her friends were acting silly. She said they called it "prom night"! Guess they miss those days. Anyway, the photo makes me smile...young and having fun!

"A" and the three grandchildren left today :-( Sure was sad to say goodbye.

A yucky day here in Paradise...the ocean is really churned up due to Hurricane Rita. Hard to believe it is so far away and yet we still get such a surge. I feel so lucky that we missed her! Still praying for everyone in Texas and Louisiana.

I can feel the love!

Tonight three of my sweet grandchildren gave me a birthday cake that they made with the help of Mommy. What a nice, nice surprise! They were so cute and excited and they all wanted to help blow out the candles. They all wrote me birthday messages (Mommy's help again) and drew me pictures. They show me so much love and make me so happy. I can feel the love! My daughter-in-law always does the nicest things! I'm a lucky girl!

Dodging another MONSTER!

I'm praying this morning for Texas (and Louisiana) since a true monster, Hurricane Rita, is headed there. A Category 5! This photo was taken from my balcony this morning showing the pounding waves coming into our shore and the wall of sand all up and down our beach to maybe help keep the water from coming closer to homes. Photos can't really show the force of the waves and the height of the sand, but both are pretty awesome. It's kinda nice in the weirdest way to see how very powerful the force of nature is! We're so far away from the actual Hurricane, yet we still get damage. In the last year, we've been hit hard here locally by Hurricane Ivan aka Ivan The Terrible (we've still not recovered from that bad boy) and Hurricane Dennis aka Dennis The Menace (another bad boy, but a bit gentler to us than Ivan). Hurricane Katrina, which devasted New Orleans and so many gulf coast towns didn't hurt us too bad, but still messed up our beaches and gave us heart attacks with worry. Tropical storms (Arlene and others I can't remember their names) have hurt us too. So many people want to move, including "G", and I know in my heart that he's right, but oh do I love living here in "Paradise"! I pray Hurricane Rita will decrease in size and no deaths will occur. God please be with all those people now and in the many months ahead as they try to rebuild!

Learning to just be thankful

One daughter-in-law is really good about sending photos of the granchildren...another isn't. Two different personalities. Both are creative and sweet though. I crave photos and stories since we live hours away. It's not the same as the actually hugs and kisses, but it's a darn good thing when I can get updates through photos. Sometimes it makes it even harder since I miss them so much, but I always smile for hours after getting them and it seems I can feel my heart "smile" too. Anyway, "J" sent me this one photo and I'm trying to just be thankful for it and not stress and wish for even more. What sweeties..."K" and "C" look good enough to eat! Just wish big brother "D" was in the photo too. There I go again, wanting more. Got to work on this problem!

Friends

My Mom lost a very good friend today to a rare blood disease. They had been friends since grade school...a long time. Mom is sad and it's hard for me to really know how to help her. It's made me think of friends and how important they are to me. Just like the old saying "Make new friends, but keep the old...some are silver and some are gold". I have all types of friends...even some truly nutty ones (aren't we all sometimes), but they're all special in their own way. My friend Beth is battling MS and it's scary for me, but she inspires me with her strength. She's special to me.
(this photo was taken back in Sept. 2004)

Grandchildren

It amazes me just how much my grandchildren bring me joy. I love my children and I love children in general, but grandchildren are in a whole different area of my heart. My heart smiles...yes, I know it really does...when I hear their voice or see them (even just in photos). It's kinda weird in the nicest way. They bring me so much joy. Just being themselves...that's enough. They say and do the cutest things. Wish I could document them all. Here's just two: today "KG" found what I thought was a good size rock on the beach. It was probably churned up after one of our many tropical storms or hurricanes. She said with a knowledgeable smile to her Mom "Look at my stone....it's not a rock...it's a stone!". She carried it around for a good part of the day, cleaning it and playing with it and when we headed to the pool, she insisted on carrying it with her to "keep it safe". Her brother "L" told me as soon as we got to the beach "MeMe, we only have one rule today" and when I asked what that rule was he said "If we see any jelly fish, we need to panic!"

Blogging Again - Finally!

I've been a bad girl about blogging. A virus has had a hold of me for 3 weeks and counting and it's "kicked my butt". I've been going through the motion on most things, but I'm starting to feel a little bit better so it's "back to the real world". Our sweet granddaugher "SA" turned two recently! Can't believe it! She was so sweet at her party thanking everyone as she opened her gifts. We gave her another inch on her pearl necklace, but also gave her a doll and new doll stroller so she would have something to open.

Our friends "J" and "L" came for a visit recently and it was lots of fun. We went to our favorite dockside diner one evening for fried shrimp baskets. YUMMY!

My aunt "S" celebrated her 60th birthday while here for a visit last week with my Mom and "B" aka "Other Mother". We played lots of games (this time Phase 10 and The Mexican Train) and laughed alot. They babied me all week (fed me constantly). So much love!

My daughter-in-law and three grandbabies arrived tonight!

All in all, sick or well, I'm a lucky, lucky girl!