SADHAPPY = SAPPY

My sister left after breakfast this morning. sigh! I reeeeeally wasn't ready for her to leave. But all good things must come to an end. Or so I've been told.

I found myself feeling sad.

Several of my friends reminded me to just be thankful. Thankful for having a sister (I actually have 3, lucky me). Thankful for our visit. Thankful for all the good times and memories we made. Thankful that we love each other.

My friend Nancy said...and I quote... "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. Just turn that frown upside down."

My friend Edna said "Feel happy and grateful instead for the joy of your time together..!! *SMILE*"

So true! Good advice girlfriends.

Tonight I am feeling SAPPY.

The dictionary gives this as one of the definitions of SAPPY :
overly sweet or sentimental

Yep, that's me tonight...sappy!

Love you Kim. Thanks for coming. Thanks for the memories!

"Father, help me to be a blessing to someone today."

FUN WITH MY "BABY" SISTER

When I called to wish my baby sister, Kim, a Happy Birthday on Wednesday I told her I had a wild idea. Why didn't she just hop in her car and come down for a visit. The weather is perfect, she needed to do a little shopping for her cruise in December and I thought she would enjoy helping me get some things ready for the breast cancer walk that's coming up in just a few weeks.

And yesterday morning she did just that! She was here in time to have lunch with me at The Back Porch sitting by a window watching the waves roll in. Like a dummy I didn't think to take photos! After lunch, we put the top down on the convertible and did some shopping.

We have had the best time. This morning we stopped for coffee and a bagel and then headed for a l-o-n-g walk on the beach. We came home and laid by the pool reading our books and chatting.

Tonight George took us out to dinner at Fat Clemenza's (or Skinny Camille's as Kim's man calls it. LOL)



And this is what Kim and I did all afternoon and tonight after dinner:
What do you do with some scissors. markers, glitter glue, crystals and paper?
We poured ourselves glasses of wine and sat down and began. It reminded me of when we were younger cutting out paper dolls and coloring and playing with glue and glitter. LOL
We made team signs to pin on the back of the t-shirts for my team members. They are much cuter in person and the pink is much pinker...the photo makes them look more coral for some reason.
Love the glittered pink "polish" and the toe rings. LOL
We ran out of crystals so we couldn't put toe rings on all of them tonight. Tomorrow after church we will go back to Michael's to pick up more and will finish our project.


A shout out to my sweet friend Robin for helping me. I knew how I wanted the signs to look but didn't know where to find a footprint design and how to get it the size I wanted. I saw Robin at our Tuesday Lunch Bunch and asked for her advise. Within just a few hours she had the design done and emailed to me! Thanks so much Robin! Pop over to her blog to see what a talented friend I have.

The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk is three weeks from today. More and more people are signing up to walk with us. My donations so far are lower than past years, but so is the economy. sigh I've raised $1,855.00 so far and hope to raise more before the walk.

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!


"Father, help me to be a blessing to someone today."

TODAY IN PHOTOS

I truly live in "paradise" and sometimes I just have to spend the day soaking in it. It was the perfect day to ride around with the top down on the convertible and let the cool breeze touch my skin.

After bible study, I could almost hear the beach call my name. And I answered. The water shimmered like it was covered in diamonds.



You can see why we are known for our sugar white sand. Soft and fluffy.

Tonight we took Miss Daisy and went to watch the sunset on the bay.





Thank you God for the beauty of October here in "paradise"!

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I'm so excited...my sister Kim is arriving tomorrow to spend a few days with me. Can.not.wait!
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Please continue praying for my sweet friends Teresa and Paige and their families.

"Father, help me to be a blessing to someone today."

PERFECTION

I think October is my favorite month! Our weather has been unbelievable!




"Father, help me to be a blessing to someone today."

BIRTHDAY FUN

Gosh, I've been celebrating lots of birthdays lately, including my own.

Tonight we celebrated Kay's birthday at Vin'tij. Good food and good friends = a fun night!
In her honor, they brought two desserts to the table. A flour-less chocolate cake with raspberry ice cream. Oh.My.Word!
And a pecan pie with cinnamon ice cream. To.Die.For!

Can you tell I love desserts? smile
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My sweet sister, Kim has a birthday tomorrow. I wish I could be there to celebrate with her. I sure do love her!

Happy Birthday Kim!
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Keep praying please for my sweet friends Teresa and Paige and their families.

"Father, help me to be a blessing to someone today."

I LOVE ME

The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans has a project for the month of October that is just too good not to join!
The Pledge to Love Myself

I pledge allegiance, TO MYSELF.
Today I will proclaim it
out loud,
TALL AND PROUD
I LOVE MYSELF.
From this day forward,
I promise to be nice.
TO myself and ABOUT myself.
I will accept my quirks and I will love my faults.
I will love my shape, whatever it is
My bones, my muscles, my hair and my face.
My body, all of it, inside and out.
Because that is what makes me, ME.
And there is only one of me.
I will finally allow myself
to see what others see.
My kindness, my spirit, my love.
And starting today, I will share some of it,
with ME.
Because I deserve it.
I will fight for myself, because I’m important.
And I deserve to be everything I am capable of in my life.
I deserve to find my greatness and live my life fully and completely.
With no regrets.
There is so much I want to do in my life,
but first, it begins with “me.”
I LOVE MYSELF.
Today, tomorrow, and every day after that.
I LOVE MYSELF, DAMMIT!
And no one can stop me.

There...I did it!

Why is it that we women love on everyone else, but forget to love ourselves?!

God loves us and I know He wants us to love ourselves too.

Sooooo...promise to love yourself!

You can print out the pledge. Hang it on your fridge...in your car...on your mirror. Or just write those three little, but important, words somewhere, anywhere, on a sticky note, in lipstick on your mirror, whatever:

“I LOVE ME.”


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PLEASE keep praying for Teresa's husband Jack. You can read updates here. I know she feels the love and comfort of our prayers.
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Also, I have another prayer request from another sweet blog friend, Paige. Her husband Pat was in the ER on Saturday and it looks like he could possibly be facing liver cancer. I remember praying for him in his journey with esophageal cancer.

It's such a scary time for these families and I know our prayers are appreciated.


"Father, help me to be a blessing to someone today."

SUNDAY

Update late Sunday evening: Teresa posted a quick note on facebook tonight. There has been a tiny bit of improvement for Jack. They will do an MRI in the morning to determine
if there is still bleeding in the brain. Let's ALL keep praying!

This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

It's absolutely gorgeous...a picture perfect Fall day. Church was incredible and it's a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by so many friends every Sunday. George is waiting on me now so we can take a long bike ride. I want to get out and soak up the beauty of today.

But...I'll be honest, I'm struggling a bit. My heart feels heavy. I can't get it out of my mind that my sweet friend Teresa's husband Jack had a stroke when out of town, is in congestive heart failure and his kidney functions are not good. He is in ICU in a hospital in Texas. Please pray for this family.

I sure wish I could be there with her. To comfort her and to pray with her.

I believe in prayer. I actually hugged the neck of a walking miracle this morning in church. One of our members who was literally at death's door with liver and kidney failure was back in church this morning. Our God is awesome!

"Father, help me to be a blessing to someone today."

PLEASE STOP AND PRAY

***edited tonight to add: for an update click here. Keep praying!

I have just learned that my sweet blog friend Teresa at Grammy Girlfriend needs our prayers for her husband, Jack, who apparently has suffered a stroke and is being air-lifted to a hospital in Texas. PLEASE also pray for Teresa's safety in traveling there.

Teresa is THE sweetest person here in the world of blogging. She and Jack have an incredible marriage and the closest relationship with their children and grandchildren.


Father God

Please be with Jack and those that are caring for him. Lord be with my sweet friend Teresa and her children and grandchildren during this scary time. Cover Jack with your healing power and surround them all with your comfort. May they feel your presence right there with them.

Amen
"Father, help me to be a blessing to someone today."

THINK PINK PRETTY PLEASE

It's October and this is the 25th Anniversary of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Please, pretty please, get your mammograms (mine saved my life), do your self breast exams, and support the American Cancer Society in any way you can.

Breast cancer touches ALL of us in one way or another. Like many of you, I never ever dreamed it would touch me personally...even though my younger sister had it in her thirties. Thank God she is a survivor too.

Breast cancer is very treatable if it is caught in the early stages. I was so lucky that mine was caught early by a routine mammogram.

Currently there is no cure for breast cancer, or any specific means to prevent it. However there are ways to greatly reduce the risk of developing it. It is recommended that you live a healthy life that includes:
- Avoiding Smoking, or being around those that smoke.
- Limiting alcohol intake.
- Increasing the amount of fiber you get in your diet. This can be done by adding fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods to your daily food intake.
- Exercising, whether it be going to the gym, running, or simply taking a 30 minute daily walk.
- Limiting your daily fat consumption. This especially pertains to saturated fats, and trans fats. Omega 3 fat is not included.

A woman who battled breast cancer has touched each and every one of our lives.

October is the largest advocacy month for Breast Cancer Awareness, but you must BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE twelve months a year.




"Father, help me to be a blessing to someone today."

TE-HE-HE!

It's Friday. My house is clean, my dog is clean, the weather is absolutely stunning and all is right with the world.

I'm feeling giddy and carefree! I'm happy, healthy and in love!


(My friend found and bought these cups...too funny!)


HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND EVERYONE!


"Father, help me to be a blessing to someone today."