Interesting blogging discovery…

A while back I posted a very frustrating cry for help about posting pictures. You could enlarge some of the pix I posted but not others, and I could not figure out why. It has continued to make me absolutely crazy as I have not been able to figure it out.

I still have not figured out the problem, but I have discovered a solution – at least for me. I have no idea if it is my computer, my page, what… but if I post the pix using either the left or right option you can enlarge them. If I post them using the center option, you can’t. How freaking weird is that? I know that is not true on other people’s pages, so of course it will continue to bug the heck out of me, but at least, for now, I have a “fix” that works.

Happy Birthday…

Wow, I can not believe today is my sons ..th birthday :-) Isn’t he one of the most handsome men you’ve ever seen? I’m so proud of you Josh!! You are a wonderful son, husband, daddy and most importantly – man of God! I love you very much :-)

It was like looking at Prince Charming…












Such a wonderful daddy…









A special picture for mommy…









More handsome with each passing year…









An absolutely adorable family…

Sweet baby…

I think most of you have kept up with the progress that baby Harper has been making over the past week or so. I have the link at the bottom of my page and I check on her every morning – so this morning I spent a good bit of my drive to work crying. Not sad tears, but joyful, amazing, thoughtful tears!

Tonight I’m crying once again – no, I don’t know this family, not personally. But I feel like they are old friends! No, I’ve never met them, but I love this baby. And I love seeing her beautiful blue eyes in the photographs posted today!! Our God is an Awesome God!

Once upon a time (part 2)…

As the sun hid behind the clouds on a rainy Saturday morning, Nana lay in bed watching the beautiful princess Ella as she began that journey from peaceful sleep to wide awake. It was one of the sweetest moments Nana could remember in a long time! Although it was probably close to an hour that she laid there and just adored this child – it seemed like just a couple minutes had passed before Ella’s eyes opened. She looked around quickly before seeing Nana smiling at her, and immediately this adorable little grin started to come across her face as those precious first words of the day were spoken; “hey Nana, where’s Kelso?” :-) And so set the tone for the day…

The two of them, with Kelso and Fancy following, got out of bed and pretty much picked up where they left off the night before! First things first however; the little drawer in the night stand peaked Ella’s interest. When she opened it, much to her delight she found a computer mouse! “What’s this” asked Ella, when Nana told her she said “I can play with it?”, “of course you can”, replied Nana; and they took it into the living room so Ella could use it to work on the story she started the day before on Nana’s computer.

Then it was time for breakfast! They filled up Dora (Ella’s favorite bowl) with donuts and shared them while watching cartoons in the living room. Again they danced, and they laughed at Nana trying to learn – and mostly just winging – the words and steps to various Saturday morning cartoon show songs. Ella is very observant, she knew Nana was ‘winging’ it; and she thought it was “so funny”. They again played with stickers and cards, and even found a few things from Nana’s stash to add to Ella’s collection.

After taking a break to wash their hands and faces, brush their hair and teeth; Ella decided she wanted Cheerio’s. Nana knew it had already been a while since the donuts, and there had been quite enough physical activity to work up an appetite – so Cheerio’s it was! After a few bites of cereal, Ella decided it was time to jump on the bed. The two of them were having so much fun when they heard somebody come in the door. “Is that my moma and daddy?” asked Ella, “I don’t think so”, said Nana; and before they could get up to go see Grandpa Cookie walked in to surprise them. Ella squealed and laughed “it’s Grandpa”, followed immediately with the question, “you’ll take me to see the chickens?”

Well of course he will. And afterwards he played Play-Doh with her. Ella even allowed Grandpa Cookie to use the pink (Nana is still pondering that one). While playing Play-Doh Ella’s daddy called. After Ella talked to him, twice, he told Nana to let Ella take her afternoon nap, then call when she woke up for either him or her mommy to come get her. There was soup for lunch, a lot more playing, and then Nana made a comfy pallet on the couch so Ella could lie down and watch the Hannah Montana concert with Grandpa and Bunny. In a matter of minutes Hannah had lulled Ella right to sleep, Grandpa too :-)

When Ella woke up from her nap, Nana told her it was time to get dressed and call her mommy and daddy. Ella began to cry, “no, I don't want to call my mommy, it’s not time for home!” What else could Nana's tickled and melted heart say but “okay, we don’t have to call right now.” So… after a treat and more yummy soup, they washed their faces good and Nana ‘didn’t help’ as Ella dressed herself in her pretty green outfit. Then, while Ella was reading Nana a story about Fancy Nancy, Grandpa went into the bathroom and called Ella’s daddy – not because Nana and Grandpa wanted Ella to go home, but because they decided they better do what Ella’s mommy and daddy had asked them to do!

I think Ella’s mommy was missing her, because just a few minutes later, as they were playing with Play-Doh, she arrived to get her. And Ella was so excited to see her that she forgot she didn’t want to leave Nana’s house yet, especially after she found out she was going shopping with her mommy!! So Nana and Grandpa gave goodbye suggan’s to sweet Ella and the princess blew kisses to Nana as she was carried away in the loving arms of her sweet mommy – just as a princess should be!!

~~the end :-)

Once upon a time (part 1)…

A little girl named Ella spent the night at Nana’s house. Ella, a beautiful princess, is always very curious, full of energy, extremely smart, and so much fun! At Nana’s house, when Ella is there, it is all about what makes Ella happy – for that is after all the right of every princess!

The night started with pizza – Ella and Nana decided they didn’t want to eat their crust so they shared it with Fancy and Kelso (Nana’s dogs); making it a pizza party of four. After dinner, it was time to switch from a pizza party to a beauty shop party. Ella enjoys having Nana comb and play with her hair, especially with all of Nana’s hair clips, brushes, combs and head bands. She also enjoys combing Nana’s hair, but even more than that – she enjoyed applying make-up! Oh, Nana was just sooo bea-u-ti-ful after Ella finished putting bronzer, white eye shadow and mocha lipstick on her, over and over and over – because as Ella said, “it’s not enough right here Nana”.

Soon, it was time to play with Play-Doh… and what a fun time that was! Ella and Nana made all kinds of shapes (per request, always Ella with pink and Nana with purple). Nana convinced Ella that even though it was time to put on jamma’s – she did not have to go to bed yet. Again, it is the princess’ right at Nana’s to stay up late!!

Throughout the night, they played, they read, they talked to Grandpa Cookie on the phone, they danced to silly songs, they jumped on the bed, they put stickers on Fancy and Kelso, they laughed (a lot), they talked (a lot). They had treats for having no accidents. And even though Ella corrected Nana when she said ‘God Bless You’ after Ella sneezed – Nana convinced her that we can say that… “that’s a good word Nana?” Ella asked; “yes”, Nana told Ella, “God Bless You is a good word, its okay to tell somebody that.” “Oh”, said Ella; and after a few seconds of intense thought on the subject she continued “but we can’t say Oh My God Bless, that’s a bad word.” Nana decided she was probably quite right and agreed!

After having so much fun, Ella’s beautiful blues eyes began to get heavy. Nana could tell she was getting very sleepy, but knew Ella was not ready to admit it. So, a new game was invented! Nana and Ella decided to invite Bunny to watch cartoons with them in bed. When Nana asked Ella to say her prayers, Ella replied “but I’m not going to sleep now Nana, I’m watching you TV!” Nana saw this as a tiny dilemma – how was she to make sure Ella said her prayers before falling asleep?? An idea came to her, “Ella”, she said, “I haven’t heard you say your prayers in a long time, I don’t think I remember – I just want to remember. Can you help me?” Ella, being such a good princess and always willing to help when asked said, “yes, I help you say you prayers.” And with that, prayers were said, Bible verses were said, and Ella declared that today she was thankful for “Fancy”. (Nana assumed she was talking about the dog that was lying at her feet, but she could have meant Fancy Nancy…) She didn’t ask, because Ella was already drifting off to sleep :-)

~~to be continued

I love…

**UPDATE**...that when Kelso burps like men do sometimes, Fancy raises her head and gives him a look of disgust like women usually do; then lays her head back down (glaring at him the entire time) so dramatically you can almost see her rolling her eyes just like I do in such situations!!

…that on a clear day, you can already tell the days are getting longer!
…that Ella and her mom and dad had a wonderful time at the beach last weekend!
…the fact that every day I continue to believe today is the day I’ll see and love on the one I miss so much!
…that the temp is supposed to be in the 60’s tomorrow!
…that I have a really great job which I love in a time when so many have recently lost the job they thought was secure until retirement!
…that I can lay in this bed and type on this computer at the same time!
…the boots and leather blazer I wore today!
…that my car is still running even though I paid it off recently!
…that in a couple weeks my ‘travel’ season starts for work again ~~ be sure to support your local CMN Radiothon!
…this TV show I watch every week – The Practice!
And -
…that even when Cookie is out of town and I should have plenty of room in this huge king size bed – these wonderful dogs that I love so much insists they be right under (or on top of) me and I have no room at all :-) Life is good!

Let it ??SNOW??...

Are you kidding me? On my drive home today from work (which wasn’t bad due to the holiday and the fact that I left a little early); tiny little snow flakes were falling. Well… I’m not really sure you can call them “flakes” – they were more like “specks” – but still, they were white and wet. And few and far in between I might add, lol. But it was consistent all the way from downtown to home!

I watched the weather this morning and there was no mention of even rain, much less snow; however, I just saw it again and they said possibly a few flurries tonight and maybe in the morning. Nothing major – so I don’t think this is anything to even spend my time writing about right now. Unless of course you live here in central Alabama :-) Then even a tiny little snow speck is worthy of a blog post!

Oh, and of course by Friday it is suppose to be in the 60’s :-) Sweet Home Alabama!!

Makes me sad…

I keep thinking about the president’s farewell speech the other night. There are so many things that make me sad when I think about the time we are in right now. Don’t misunderstand, I am proud of America (I am ALWAYS proud of America AND to be an American) – I am proud of how far this country has come in the battle against civil rights and racism. It doesn’t matter what your political preference, there is no denying the historic moment we are living in!

But that is all the good you will hear me say about what we are currently going through. It is no secret I am a republican (once again I’ll interject the word Proud here); I’ve certainly never been known as one to keep my mouth shut about my “thoughts” on things. However, I honestly think if I didn’t even have a preference I’d still feel this way… the problem now is these feelings run so deep I don’t even know how to begin expressing them. Me – not being able to speak my mind! Yes I realize, unheard of – right? But true.

It hurts my heart that the man I respect so much is looked upon by so many with such… I’ll use the word ‘distain’. This great man that has led our country for 8 years deserves so much better! He is a man of great principles, great values, great morals; a man that refused to compromise any of them for the sake of his reputation and more importantly for the sake of this country and the safety of us – the American people. Sadly this is also the main reason he is criticized so much. Oh, you can paint it with headlines of economy, etc. – all the ‘fancy’ political headlines you want to; but it only fools the ones that want to be fooled. His love for God, country and family is amazing and is one of the main reasons I respect him so much. He said the other night it has been his greatest honor of all to serve as our Commander in Chief. I’d like to say “Thank You Mr. President, for a job well done. I salute you Sir”!!

I’ll pray for the one going into this office, because first of all it is what God says we are to do; and secondly I am just at a loss of what else to do about this man that is being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. I don’t trust him even a little bit – on any level. I don’t like him at all and as much as I’ve tried I can’t find any good principles, values or morals in him. But because in 2 days he will be our President, I do hope I will be proven wrong. But my heart will always remain a little heavy over what I have witnessed (and continue witnessing) in the past few months in this nation I love so very much. I hope eyes are opened sooner rather than later – whether they are mine or others!! And even more than I distrust and dislike Mr. Obama, I distrust and dislike Ted Kennedy. I almost feel sorry for Mr. Obama as a matter of fact because of what Mr. Kennedy has, and will (at least attempt) to do to him.

God Bless America!!! And God especially Bless those, and the families of those, that are on the front lines keeping her safe!!! I keep this on the sidebar of my page, but it is worth repeating… If you are not willing to support America and stand BEHIND our troops, feel free to stand in FRONT of them!

Geared up…

Obviously I am a member of the JR Nation – duh!! And I’m sooo pumped right now! My 2009 member crew gear is on its way :-) In addition to all this great stuff I get as a member, I went ahead this year and ordered a couple extra car flags. Trust me… I’ll have to get at least one or two more before the season is over (I usually do that at the race in ‘Dega)!

I’ll start flying them as soon as they arrive and they won’t come off my car until the season is over. So just like with my Alabama flags, I have to replace them – they get pretty torn, tattered and dirty :-)

GO 88!!

GO 88!!

A little bit of everything…

Have you ever been too tired to sleep? I’m sure you have, or if you’re from the South you’ve at least said you were at one time or another. Well… I am there – literally!! Last night was a rough night of mostly tossing and turning. Finally I said forget it and just got up – and now here I am at 5 am blogging (and watching CMT – can I just say I am totally STILL in love with Toby Keith and Alan Jackson! They both just get better with age).

Anyhoo… whoa, has it been a long few days for me!! But I did it! AGAIN. Closed another year out. Children’s Hospital Foundation books for 2008 are in order, balanced, and lookin’ good – now bring on the auditors, I’m ready for them. Well, not really; now I have a huge stack of stuff to file from the past couple weeks, etc. Crap – I WAS feeling better about work, lol. Oh well, job security :-)

So a few things to catch up on!

Happy Belated Birthday to Beth; I’m so sorry I’m late sweetie! Isn’t she beautiful everyone!! That is an older picture, but one of my favorites. Can you believe that is Ella as a tiny baby she is holding? Time sure flies!! And what a precious birthday story; I would tell you that on your page but I can’t leave you a comment :-)


The ONLY time I did not spend working this past weekend (and I am speaking literally), was Saturday morning/early afternoon. Instead, I got up early, went grocery shopping, came home and cooked Josh’s requests for lunch. I made a vow while we were eating and I’m making it again… NEVER again will I cook a meal for my children without making mac & cheese!! I’m so sorry Ella!! Then I spent the afternoon playing until they had to go home. Ella was in a ‘No Camera’ mood – so this is the only picture I was able to sneak in :-)

I’m gonna get a little sentimental here for a minute (indulge me)… When my kids were little, or even after they grew up really, and we’d go to my mom’s and eat; it would make me crazy that she never wanted us to clean up the kitchen. It was ALWAYS “leave it, I’ll get it later” or “I’ll get it tomorrow”. After she got older we refused to leave it, but when she was younger she’d make us. I never understood and I’d argue with her, but that was like arguing with the wind so what was the point! But I so totally get it now!! I can see the smirk on her face as she’s saying “told you so”!! If you are a parent with grown children that has started their own lives, you will also get it… there is such an empty feeling when they leave, isn’t there? It doesn’t matter if you see them every day or once a year. It doesn’t matter how long they stay, it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since they moved out, etc. None of that matters; all you know is when they are there your house feels full, and when they leave there is an empty quiet that always hurts your heart a little. And you know its coming… you know they have to go home, so dishes can wait – you can ‘get them later, or tomorrow’. While they are here, it is PLAY TIME while the grandbabies are still young enough to play. When they get too old to play, then it will be visiting/gossiping time (what can I say, right now I only have grand-daughters) :-)

Okay, so enough of that… did everyone see the 2 night (4 hour) premiere of 24?? Goodness gracious, it was AWESOME!! I was working during the first night on Sunday, but I made sure I put the computer down Monday night – I didn’t want to miss a detail… I have to again say AWESOME!!!! I love, love, love that show – or could you tell??

And what about the premiere of Idol last night? Maybe it is just me; maybe it is the new girl; or maybe it is just because it was the first night of auditions, but it was sort of boring to me. GASP… I know! What can I say – is it possible Idol has run its course?? I did really like the very last guy though – he is almost completely blind and seemed to have a really good voice. But how much can you ever tell in those 3 second auditions, right?? Yes, I’ll keep watching, I can’t help myself; maybe it will get better :-)

Now, I’m going to finish this by saying I am so glad (and very thankful) that I married a country boy. And I’m very proud that I raised 2 country boys. And I really appreciate Alan Jackson reminding me of how great a small thing like that is!! The only video I can find on YouTube is protected (it's still new); but here's the link! Enjoy…

I've been tagged...

I have been tagged by Beth at Adventures With Alston. The rules are to post the 4th picture from the 4th folder on your computer where you store your pictures*, explain the picture, then tag 4 of your friends to share their pictures, too. Don't forget to let them know they've been tagged by leaving them a comment on their own blog.

*I've got to say I'm a little scared right now about finding out what that picture is going to be!! I have [literally] thousands of pictures on this computer, most stored in no particular order... no telling what that 4th folder of photos is going to be, lol.

Now I'm tagging...

1. Codie at Colorfully black and white

2. Fadil at edgeofuniverse

3. Kamin at Behind K's Lens

4. D.J. at Barrier Island Girl

Whew! Luckily, the last few pictures I've uploaded I haven't named the folders, so they've been added by date - so they were my first ones!! This is actually one of my favorites. It is my great-niece Chloe and it was from our Christmas gathering a few weeks ago for my side of the family. She was hilarious, every time I'd ask to take her picture she'd hit the floor and get in a similar position as that one - for some reason that was her "pose" for the day! Too funny :-)

Finale…

So, this is it – the last game of the season. The BIG one! The National Championship game. I wish it was Alabama playing for the title, but then of course being the dedicated fan that I am I wish that EVERY year :-)

But man, we came ohhhh so close this year!!

Anyway, it is kind of sad to me… I love football, College football that is. You can have the Pro’s; I used to like watching them play too just because I love the game, but it’s not a game anymore with them. It’s like watching people go out on a Sunday and work at a job – I just don’t care for it!

Oh well, I’m pulling for Florida tonight only because I’m true to the SEC – it’s what we do in this Conference… we support our own! So with that said, “Chomp’em Gators” :-)

Quick update...

Josh is fine and has been home since Tuesday. Most likely if you read my blog you read Kristin’s and already know that, but I’m just sayin’! I realized I kind of left it hanging the other night :-)

That is all for now… I’m off to work! You know what they say – Another Day; Another Dollar. Have a good one!!

Can’t sleep…

Josh is in the hospital with a kidney stone. And you know it’s true, no matter how old they are – your child is still your child. When they are hurting you worry… it’s in a mothers DNA!! He will be fine; it is just too large to pass so they are going to have to break it up in the morning.

Anyway, I am on grand-dog duty at Josh and Kristin’s. And I am loving it by the way – I always have a wonderful time with my Beemer!! I can’t take her to my house for a sleep over anymore. Being the oldest, she is not too fond of Fancy and Kelso trying to rule their, I mean her, domain at Nana’s!!

Normally when in this “condition” I’d get up and do something – but Kristin is in the midst of packing away Christmas decorations; and I know my daughter-in-law too well than to attempt disrupting her flow :-)

So… I have done something else I’m very proud of! I actually typed my entire Christmas card list into label format on my computer!! YAY! Of course I’ll have to keep it as an icon on my laptop so I don’t forget that I did it next year, but still – how pumped am I right now?? And, after about a dozen attempts I even got my camera on the right setting to get a close up shot of the icon that you could see!!

OK, I guess I’ll try again to go to sleep now! Oh, and did I mention the satellite went out on the TV right before they announced who got kicked off the new show True Beauty… are ‘ya kidding me??

A few things…

I’m just sitting here trying to decide – do I love my VERY short hair; do I hate it; am I somewhere in between the two; or am I simply undecided? Today I went from just longer than shoulder length (which was still shorter than normal for me), to the extreme opposite. Seriously – practically above the ears, off the neck, a little longer on top but not much. What have I done?? Oh well, my mom would LOVE it… here’s to you moma!!

Anyway, I have a few pictures that I thought I’d share with you; ironically only one of them was taken with my new camera, lol.

Remember that ‘trip of a lifetime’ my husband went on? This was his prize!!

This is my very cute great-niece Chloe – posing as usual :-)

This is other great-niece Braelyn. How sweet is this picture? Just adorable!!
This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Chloe & Braelyns mom’s (they are sisters). It was taken at Pensacola Beach several years ago on a “girls” trip! Way too much fun that weekend :-)
My favorite driver (Dale Jr.) and my 2nd favorite (Tony Stewart) at Talladega!
My niece Jamie (Braelyn’s mom) sent me this picture the other day and I just love it. Me and both of my sisters! I’m the tallest, lol (that’s funny because I’m only 5’2”).
This is the one I took today to share. I’m sure when someone comes in my house they wonder why I have this vase with pink stones and one pink rose in my kitchen when I have NO pink décor in my home. The vase was my moms, and she loved pink, especially pink roses. I have it in honor of her. The china (plate and saucer) I placed with it for the picture normally stays in my curio cabinet – it was her everyday china and she didn’t have many pieces left. The coffee cup was just an odd piece that she had but it was her favorite cup and the one she drank her coffee out of EVERY day!!

HELP me please...

Okay blogger experts... please tell me what I'm doing wrong!! When I upload my photo's, it is always with the good intentions of being able to "click to enlarge". Like in the post I added yesterday with all those pictures of the Blue Angels - I so wanted everyone to be able to enlarge them to see the true beauty, all the detail, etc., of each photo!! I mean I went to all that trouble bragging about how cool they were just to have so much lost in that little shot you see, ugghhh!!!

Here is what I know: the size of the photo's themselves on my computer ARE larger (I figured that was a given - but I'm Just Sayin'); I normally use the option of medium size when I upload on here - but I've used all three and it doesn't seem to make a difference; I don't have any kind of protection set on my photo's; it is random - sometimes I upload a photo and you can enlarge it, but I did nothing different!! Heck, sometimes it is in the same post where I did it at the same time even {I totally wish you could me rolling my eyes right now}.

I have been trying to figure this one out on my own for about 2 months now, and it has just got the best of me! I can't take it anymore!!! Somebody, anybody, please tell me what the #@*^ I'm doing wrong!! Thank you, thank you very much :-)

Blue Angels…

If you know me at all, you know that I am pretty much obsessed with the United States Navy Blue Angels!! I LOVE them!
They are beyond awesome; they are the...

Best of the Best :)

My ultimate dream is to some day fly with them!!

One of the things I also love is to photograph them – I have thousand’s (literally) of shots of their Pensacola Beach shows from over the years. They are actually the reason I originally got my Nikon N55 w/extra large lens as a gift. And… I just found several rolls of film from the 2008 show that I never even had developed. That find is what prompted this post.

Below are some of my favorite shots {that I have loaded on this laptop} from previous years. I can’t help but wonder if my N55 took these amazing photos – what unbelievable treats are in store this year with my new D80!! *please note the color in some of the shots is not poor quality of the photo - the air right around the show fills with the white smoke from the planes :) I'm sure there is probably a way to correct that with my new camera and if so I plan to find out before July!!

Fat Albert always starts the show!!

Perfect formation... look how close they are to each other!!
I love this... they go wayyyyy up high...

Then, in perfect unison - they break apart...

And then - they free fall down in different directions~AWESOME!!

This is one of our favorites... Hovering! It's like they are in slow motion - too cool! The one pointed up is literally on his way up~straight up!

I also love when the 4 come by with their wheels down - it is an amazing sight!!

Another favorite is when they make those hard breaks at record speed - gives you chills :)

I could watch them fly for hours and hours, if you've never seen a show you've missed a treat!!

God Bless the USA, the US Navy, and the US Navy Blue Angels!!