To my dear dogs…

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

No stairs were designed by NASCAR and are not a racetrack. Racing me up or down the stairs is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on two inches of the edge of the bed to ensure your comfort, however. Dogs can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years – canine attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dogs butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in fairness, dear dogs, I have posted the following message on the front door:

~TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR DOGS~

(1)They live here. You don't.
(2)If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.
(3)I like my dogs a lot better than I like most people.
(4)To you, they are animals. To me, they are sons/daughters who are short-or-tall, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.


Remember, dogs are better than kids because they (1) eat less, (2) don't ask for money all the time, (3) are easier to train, (4) normally come when called, (5) never ask to drive the car, (6) don't hang out with drug-using people; (7) don't smoke or drink, (8) don't want to wear your clothes, (9) don't have to buy the latest fashions, (10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and (11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children!

A few things I’ve learned living in South…

~A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road
~There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in South
~There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 of them live in South
~If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha
~It is not a shopping cart, it's a buggy
~People actually grow and eat okra
~There is no such thing as 'lunch.' There is only dinner and then there is supper
~Iced tea is appropriate for all meals, and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar
~Backwards and forwards means, 'I know everything about you'
~You don't have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is. You work until you're done or it's too dark to see
~You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH EM
~You measure distance in minutes
~You switch from heat to A/C in the same day
~The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local gossip and high school football
~You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday
~You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit 'a bit warm'
~You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas
~You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good chili weather

Prologue…

In a land called Once Upon a Time, there is a lady called Nana. This lady has told stories of a princess she loves very much named Ella, and will tell many more in the weeks, months and years to come. Nana has another princess in her life named Isabella. She loves her so much, and looks forward to telling many adventurous stories about her too, hopefully very soon! Nana cries a lot because she doesn’t have stories right now to tell about her precious Bella, even Grandpa Cookie cries late at night with Nana sometimes (even though he probably wouldn’t like Nana telling anyone). But both of them just pray and believe that “…all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”; so they know in their hearts that they will get to tell stories about her soon! Nana thinks that possibly some of the most favorite adventures will be stories of Ella and Isabella together :-) She can’t wait to see her long-time dream of watching these girls grow up together become a reality! She longs for an end to all the sadness but doesn’t doubt it will happen because she knows that God’s Word is true – “…Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning”. She appreciates everyone that continues praying and believing with them :-)

In addition to these two beautiful princesses, there are numerous other children in Nana’s life – each and every one is special and they are all very loved by Nana! And more are on the way, filling the land so full of love that sometime’s Nana feels like her heart is overjoyed and is so thankful for such a wonderful blessing from God!

Two of them are her great-nieces, Braelyn & Chloe. They are cousins and it is so much fun for Nana to see them. Their mommies, who are sisters, were very close to Nana when they were growing up – she was then known as the “favorite Aunt”, which was a title she took very serious! Nana is excited about having another great-niece on the way from her other niece and can’t wait to meet her this summer! I think she will be writing stories very soon about each of these 3 sweet girls :-)

There is a handsome prince in the land named Alston, and to Nana he is such a special little boy. She thinks of him as her own grandson, because after all, his daddy is like a son to Nana and Grandpa Cookie; and now they love his mommy like a daughter too. The very first time Nana held him she fell completely in love with him! Even if Ella or Isabella has a little brother, Alston will always hold the title as the “oldest” boy in the family :-)

Another special girl in the land that has stolen Nana’s heart is Ava Reese. Nana has known her daddy all his life, and has come to love both him and her mommy very much. She is such a beautiful baby girl, just days apart in age from Alston. How fun for them to grow up as best friends just like their daddy’s did!

There are so many more, Nana would be afraid to try naming all of them for fear of leaving someone out accidently. But they are all so loved, just like their parents are – and in this land called Once Upon a Time, Nana is going to write about each and every one of them every time an opportunity presents itself :-)

always ~
to be continued…

Reminiscences…

Is anyone else like me? Are there particular songs that every time you hear them, you are taken back to another place, another time? There are actually several songs that remind me of things as far back as my childhood all the way to within the past year or so. If I tried to list them all, I’d probably break a record for longest blog ever.

But always, it is those songs that remind me of my teens/early twenties that seem to get to me the most. Maybe it is because that is when I was falling in love with my now husband of almost 32 years. It is when I was a newlywed to that man, my high school sweetheart. It was when I was starting my life. It was when I was having babies and experiencing the joys of being a new mother. It is a time in my life that is so very precious to me.

The song I heard this morning, which of course prompted this, is a song that always takes me to those early days of young love. When Cookie and I were falling in love and realizing it. When we were the type teenagers I would later in life spend many hours on my knees praying my sons would not be.

There is one particular night that this song brings back so vividly in my mind – it is the night that I declared to myself ‘I will spend the rest of my life with this man’. I was only 16 years old, he was only 17 – we were such kids with such dreams! But I knew; he knew… this was forever! Enjoy :-)

Best Valentine’s Day ever…

When you get a present like this:

From a sweetheart like this:

There is no better way to spend Valentine’s Day, or any other day for that matter :-) I’m just going to give you two highlights of a very fun filled afternoon/evening…

I broke a fingernail the other day pretty low on the nail bed, so I’ve been wearing a band-aid on it until I can get to the salon. Of course Ella noticed the band-aid and insisted on knowing why I had it on and then on “seeing”. Well, you can’t really see the broken nail without me actually pulling it down; she was so funny, looking intensely saying “I can’t see Nana, I can’t see”. When she finally recognized the break, she patted my arm and said “Oh, I’m sorry baby”. Too precious!!

I bought Cookie one of those cards that you record a personal message on before the song starts playing. Ella recorded many different messages on it and almost each one started with “hey”. Every time when she would listen back and hear herself say that initial hey, she’d say back to the card “hey”! Very cute; and quite entertaining for not only her but also for me and Cookie!! Especially when she danced to the song and started learning parts of it to sing along.

I got some pictures of outside time with Grandpa and he got some of beauty shop time with me :-) Enjoy and have a great week!!

Radiothon...

So, what do you do when sitting at a Mall for 12 hours on February 12th?? Well, besides avoiding Razamataz the Clown - you shop for Valentine's Day of course :-)
Check out the cute things I found!!

For Ella...













For Isabella...













And how funny that the granddaughters get an entire outfit and my wonderful husband gets this: (what can I say, I spent all my money on the girls, lol)...

Down in Dothan...

Well, here I am back at the Hampton after a very long day at the radiothon. I had fun though, I absolutely love spending time with Angie - she is one my favorite people in the world!!

So, I'll rest my very tired, very aching back now while watching American Idol - and then run some reports to send out for the people in the office for staff meeting tomorrow. I on the other hand, will be spending another 12 hours at the mall doin' the 'thon thing all over again!!

Friday night poker...

Much fun :-)

Ashley & Beth catching up...







Alston getting mommy love...













Ava Reese with her daddy...













Bull is very serious about his poker...
















Patrick is convinced he has my "tales" figured out...















The final table - that short stack by the Mtn. Dew is mine...

Awe…

First of all let me say that this week has been a bear at work!! Maybe it is a combination of a lot to do on top of me recovering from strep making it seem really bad – but either way, I’m very tired!

I was just doing a quick check after getting home to see who may have posted (a refuge if you will); prior to running some reports for staff meeting tomorrow. What I found was the most adorable puppy at the bottom of my page in the ‘daily puppy’ gadget I have. Take a moment to scroll down and see – it’s so cute… thus the name of this post; awe!!

FYI – I’m working on a short story as I have time that I’ll be posting, sort of a spin-off from my Once Upon a Time posts. Look for it; I hope you’ll enjoy it :-) In the meantime, have a great ‘end of week’ – and don’t forget… 2009 NASCAR season kicks off Saturday night with the Shootout at Daytona, YAY and go 88!!

This was Dale after winning the Shootout last year :-)