Wonderful Giveaway

If you love cottage style decorating, you should check out my friend Cynthia's blog: Cynthia's Cottage Design. Always a great source of inspiration, she is having an awesome giveaway until March 14th.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Alan has always been so wonderful about sending me flowers on special days or "just because", this Valentine's Day was no exception. But I messed up his plans this time-twice. He ordered the flowers a couple of weeks in advance. Early last week, I asked if he had done anything for Valentine's Day, "Not yet" he lies (he's all about surprises on holidays). So I tell him not worry about sending me flowers, that I'd rather he get me some pansies to set out, something that will last longer. Then Thurs. & Fri. I stay home sick with a cold/sinus/aching something or other. He leaves the house Friday morning to try to catch the flowers before they're delivered to school, but they've already been delivered & returned, so he brings them home. At this point, his presentation could have still been saved, but I was knocked out with medication and hardly knew he was home. Poor thing, he just puts them on top of the refrigerator (out of cat's reach!) and goes to Mama & Daddy's to work at the shop. So he misses the smile when I get up some time later and see the flowers. They're still just a pretty and meant just as much, but his best laid plans were messed up.

How often do we "mess up" God's plans for us like this? We take a wrong turn, make plans to suit "our" will not His Will. He often turns still uses us, turns our mistakes into something good, but how much better it would have been if we had listened to Him & followed His path for us from the beginning!

We had a beautiful Baptist Women's Day service at church today. Rev. Mari Wiles, the Campus Minister from Chowan University brought the message. Several ladies and three of our teenage girls took part in the service. Mari shared from her mission trips to Burma/Thailand and to Africa twice, were she & her students worked with orphans. Very touching and inspiring. She asked us to pray for Burmese Christian refugees in refugee camps in Thailand, and the children at the orphanage in Africa, and especially Sarah, a one year old girl (not an orphan) they helped get medical help for while there. Students from Chowan will be going on mission trips to Asheville over spring break to work with the Slavic community, and to St. Louis to help with at a camp during the summer. Please pray for them also.

Tomorrow starts "Random Acts of Kindness Week". Look for unexpected ways we can brighten someone's day, this week and everyday. Let's continue sharing love past Valentine's Day.

Beautiful Day!

It's been such a good day! The SUN was shining-Hooray!!! Still chilly, but a beautiful sunny day.

So many blessings today:

Mama was able to go to church this morning. Praise the Lord! Glad she was feeling better. Please continue remembering her in your prayers. Trying to adjust to new medicine, accept the fact she needs oxygen, & her heartbeat still is irregular.

My cousin-in-law Lauren Clemmons is amazing! Such an inspiration to everyone! She finished her chemo treatments Feb. 1st, now will start with radiation. She is doing so well though. She is thankful for the growth of her faith during these months and opportunities to be used by God to share His message and encourage others. Please continue prayers on her behalf as well.

Thankful that we were able to eat with Alan's parents and our brother-in-law Colin today. (Sure missed Shari & Corey-bug though!) It's been several weeks since we were there. Good to catch up a bit with them.

Blessed with wonderful friends! Encouragers, prayer warriors, and those who bring such joy and laughter to my life!

Thankful for sunshine & that our beautiful snowfall yesterday didn't stay around! I think everyone I know is ready for spring. I certainly am! I did see a couple of male goldfinches this morning and they were getting their yellow feathers-Spring WILL come!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week. Hopefully we will have a full week at school. Yes, this school librarian is actually not hoping for another snow day, at least not right away.

Welcome Back, again

Welcome...back (for me). It's been a loooong time since I last blogged. It's been a really busy school year. Many evenings I've worked on school work and haven't had time to blog. I've mentally written many posts, but didn't get them posted. Like many of our regulars, I too have been on Facebook mostly. I really enjoy FB for keeping in touch with family who live many miles away, as well as my local friends, but I do miss the blogs.

I'm also contemplating changing my blog style. Instead of just "reporting" the news of the day, I want it to be more of a true journal. A place to share meditations & thoughts the Lord lays on my heart that I just HAVE to write. A place to encourage & uplift others, through words or pictures. A place to share special things that inspire me and may inspire someone else. We'll just have to see what evolves. Please feel free to share your thoughts along the way.

Wednesday Wanderings

What a beautiful Fall day! Wish I could've been outside today! Would have been great to be at the beach, or working in the yard, sitting on the porch....

It was a great night at Weight Watchers too. I lost 6.6 lbs this week!! Tracking really does help! I've been slack about tracking the last month, mostly trying to remember. I've lost one or two lbs a week, but had gained 2 last week (part of it could've been the jean jumper I was wearing.) Anyway, I tried really hard this week so I could lose last week's gain plus some. I've lost a total of 34.8 lbs! I can hardly believe it! My mom has a whole stack of clothes to take up for me. That's a good feeling! Thanks for all the encouragement from my family, friends & co-workers - it really helps keep me motivated!

Please continue to pray for Lauren & Jody's family. I'm still not sure what's ahead for them as far as treatments go.

I'd better go try to find something to wear tomorrow. Gotta leave extra early in the morning to finish setting up our book fair.

Update on Lauren

Thanks for all the prayers! God is so good!! Lauren is doing well after the surgery and plans to come home tomorrow (Sunday). I don't know what is ahead for her as far as treatments, so continue to remember her & her family please. Her sister-in-law says she has really inspired everyone with her faith. I know her faith is important to her, but was glad to hear that she was relying on it to help her through this.

Prayer Request

Asking all my friends to please add my cousin-in-law Lauren Clemmons to your prayer list. She was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of weeks ago. It is also in her lymph nodes, but thankfully the body scan showed it wasn't in any other organs. She will have surgery this Friday (Sept. 25). Lauren is in her late 20's -early 30's. She & my cousin Jody have 3 children. Please remember this young family. Jody's dad, my uncle also has cancer and Lauren's dad had cancer surgery the same day that she had her biopsy done. It seems it is coming at them from all angles. I know they are feeling overwhelmed. Thanks.

Ashley's Grove Baptist Church 100th Anniversary Celebration

What a splendid day! Our church celebrated it's 100th anniversary today. Prayers were answered and the weather was absolutely PERFECT! It was wonderful to see family and friends, renew old friendships and meet new people. Two of our former pastors were able to join us today. View the group photo at Conway Photo's blog http://conwayphotoshop.blogspot.com.
Many thanks to those who spent months planning and working to make today memorable for so many people. I know many of them are totally exhausted tonight, having spent most of the last two weeks at church working on the final details. But I'm sure it is a contented tiredness. Everything was wonderful and I've heard so many good comments. Glad many of you could spend the day with us too.
Now it's time to head back to bed (had a fabulous nap this evening!) and get ready to face the little darlings at school tomorrow. What shall wonderful stories will we read this week???

No more reading!!

I made a BIG proclamation yesterday: I'm not going to read anymore!! This is a pretty heavy statement for a librarian. It just hurts too much! Thursday night I read a book that just broke my heart.
Let me explain: The book was "Grandpa's Mountain", a 1991 children/young adult novel, set in the mountains of Virginia, during the Great Depression. The point of view was from an 11 yr. old girl who spent the summers with her grandparents in the mountains. She got through the year looking forward to her summers with them. The story is about when they were buying the land to build the Blue Ridge Parkway. The book is fiction, but much of it is based on the true story of a man who fought to save his land. In the novel, the girl's grandfather does all he can to save his ancestoral home & business, but in the end, they are moved out and their home burned. He eventually works through his grief, and moves on to the challenge of rebuilding their lives. It's a good book overall, but just heart wrenching.
When I read a book, especially novels, I get totally absorbed into them. I really identified with the characters' love of their land in this book, and how the girl felt-it's how I feel about our homeplace here in Conway. It's the place I escaped to from the city when I was growing up. My roots are miles deep there. Right now, I don't even want to see the Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah National Park, or Skyline Drive! Yes millions of people have enjoyed it through the years, building it provided jobs for many when they desperately needed jobs, and many of the people benefited by moving to more modern homes, etc. But to have their homes & outbuildings burned so they couldn't go back, sometimes with them watching...just horrible!!

But, all's well that ends well: My resolve only lasted about 3 minutes. I made my bold statement as Alan started down the book aisle at WalMart, by the time I was halfway down the aisle, I spied a book (3 novels in 1) set in West Virginia (one of my favorite places to read about), and 2 of them written by authors I love. I'm back to devouring words! I can do without chocolate (for awhile), but not my books!!! Those of you who know me, know this. Every room in my house has books &/or magazines in it, and of course I'm surrounded by them at work. I'm like a mouse in a cheese factory- YUM YUM!!

I'm back!

I've missed blogging lately, tried to keep reading others, but didn't have time to blog. I've been helping Mama & Daddy in their garden & yard some the last couple of weeks. Picking butter beans, making tomato juice (I let Mama can it), weeding flower beds at my house and theirs. Mama & I have been shopping a little bit too. Hit a few antique shops & found a few treasures. Today I found a hobnail milk glass cookie jar. I was thrilled, because I saw one in May for much more.
If you get a chance you need to visit the new Riverside Mill in Weldon, NC. There are some beautiful paintings, whimsical metal sculptures, wood items, pottery and more in the gallery area. Then there are quite a few booths of antiques & collectibles-prices vary from very reasonable to a bit high-something for most budgets though. There are also shops in the basement. (We didn't get down there-Mama was getting too tired).
Mama is still having trouble breathing and getting so weak. Still has some doctor appt. coming up. Continue remembering her and Geraldine (Alan's mom) in your prayers. She also has more appt. scheduled. They have some days that they can get around fairly well, then days that they can hardly make it. Both are really frustrated as well as worried.
Oh, almost forgot! I finally made my 10% weight loss goal this week, actually passed it! I've lost a total of 27.4 lbs now! The last few weeks I've been up & down by 1-1 1/2 lbs. couldn't seem to quite get to the goal. I was so happy Wed. night when I finally got there. I've been able to get into some clothes that I haven't worn in several years! Had to buy a few new tops too-one & two sizes smaller!!! Much more to go, but I know it can be done! I have 2 Dr. appts. this week, for checkups and I can't wait to see what they have to say!
Hope everyone has a blessed Sunday!

Meanderings

We had a wonderful relaxing week at Holden Beach, NC last week! Plus we got to spend some time with my Dad's side of the family. Alan & I spent a few hours at the beach each day, rode bikes, walked, visited uncles, aunts & cousins, & ate too much! One night my aunt cooked a delicious country supper (fried pork chops, rice & gravy, homemade biscuits, beans, cabbage, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, & cantalope). My aunt is a wonderful cook and the food was sooo good, but sharing it with family around the table was the best part. Always a highlight to a trip down there is if we get to spend some time with one of my cousins & his family. He's like a brother to me. We had lunch with them one day which was really a treat. I hate I didn't get to see much of my other cousins, but they weren't on vacation and the work must go on. It was a simple week, extremely enjoyable. Even with all the splurging on food - I still managed to lose 1.6 lbs for a total of 25 lbs lost!!! I was thrilled! I had hoped for 2.6 to reach my 10% goal, but hopefully that will come this week!

This week we had a scare with Alan's mom and she had to have a heart cath on Thursday, but her problem isn't with her heart. We are thankful for that, but she will have more tests to hopefully find out what is causing her trouble. My mom is still undergoing tests and seeing specialists to determine what is causing her weakness & shortness of breath. She & Geraldine have similar symptoms, but some differences. Thanks for the prayers for both ladies and please continue remembering them.

If you're a regular reader, you know that Alan & I don't live what most people would call an "exciting" life, we don't travel to exotic places or do whatever those exciting people do, but it's the life we've chosen & we treasure it. Our world pretty much revolves around our families, a few close friends, church, work, home and a few civic activities. We love living in our small rural hometown: it's who we are-where we come from... (are you humming a country song yet?) I'm country. I truly believe I would suffocate and die in a big city! I have to have room, know the people around me, feel and smell the dirt and grass.It may sound trite, but it makes me smile & brightens my day when friends wave as we pass each other on the road or stop to chat as we walk by each other's houses. Sure, it's frustrating sometimes when it seems everyone knows your business, but the upside is that when you need support, friends are there to show concern & help. I'm content with our life, frankly extremely thankful for our life. Does that mean I'm too simplistic, idealistic, & shallow? Am I inferior because I don't read deep philosphical books that I can't even pronounce the title or author? Should I even care? Several conversations during the last few months have me wondering. Am I so different from others? Sometimes I think I must have been kidnapped by aliens from the 1800's or early twentieth century and brought back in 1963.
Sorry for totally rambling, maybe you can make some sense of it all.

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing my Daddy (Ernie) and Alan's Dad (J.P.) a Happy Father's Day! The moms will probably get me for not writing about them on Mother's Day! Another time Moms!)
We had a wonderful lunch with our dads and the rest of our family here at our house.
Down-home Southern country cooking-it doesn't get much better. Baked ham, fresh homegrown (Daddy) snaps (green beans for readers outside of northeastern NC), squash, hashbrown casserole, rice cooked in ham broth, potato salad and pineapple cake. I'll definitely need to get some exercise going this week!! But really most things were cooked following Weight Watchers & diabetic guidelines, including the cake. (We won't talk about portion control though). LOL.

Alan, Shari & I are very fortunate when it comes to our dads! They are the best two dads in the world!! Both are honorable men, strong in their Christian faith and love for their families. Daddy and J.P. both are firm disciplinarians when they need to be, but also the ones we seek for for strength & comfort when we need it. They both enjoy gardening and piddling around outside. Both men are well-known for their teasing and aggravating! You're okay if they are teasing & picking on you, but if they aren't-you'd better tread lightly. One of the special bonds between J.P. and I is our love of flowers and animals. We always have to walk around each other's yards to see what's blooming, and trading plants & bulbs. I must say I've gotten the better end of that deal-he has more to share than I do. I've enjoyed his chickens, peacocks, collies and other animals through the years (not so much the parrots & Quaker Parakeets & tarantula!). I love him dearly and am so glad he is my father-in-law, and so glad he raised such a wonderful son.

I'm totally a Daddy's Girl and my daddy has always been my Hero, with a capital H! As a child, I wanted to be just like him! (Not so easy for a girl). I would get mad when people told me I looked "just like your Mama", which happens at least weekly now. When I was around 3 or 4, I cut my hair one night. I started above my ear! My comment was "I want to be like my daddy!" I had a very short pixie for awhile. I always wanted to go wherever he went (and didn't like it one bit if I couldn't go.) To this day, he better not leave without telling me "Bye" and hugging me, or I'll be in tears. I think some of this comes from him being a NC State Trooper, and we realized the importance of saying goodbye and getting a hug before he left for work each day, because you just never knew if it would be the last one. Of course none of us do, but it was a high risk profession. While I want my mama and Alan there when I'm upset or something is wrong, I need my "Diddy" too. They each have an important, yet different role to play. Somehow it just seems that it will be all right eventually if he is there. Daddy is the tower of strength and wisdom in our family. He has impeccable judgement and the gift of discernment, so I, as well as other family members & friends often seek his guidance. Now if you know me, you know I love Alan with all my heart; he's my best friend & the other half of me, and he ranks right up there with Daddy, but he'll be the first to tell you that 99% of the time I'll go with what Daddy says. Can't help it, just the way I am.
I love you "Diddy" and you're still my HERO!

Summertime and the livin's easy (almost)

Well, school is out and I should be out too, but I have a little more cleaning up and wrapping up loose ends to take care of tomorrow and then I'll be done for the summer!!! Of course I have about 2 summers' worth of stuff I want to do during these few weeks! Tons of stuff to do around the house & yard, going to the beach, doing some fun stuff with Corey & Shari, spending time with our family & friends, helping Mama & Daddy in their garden, swinging on my porch, walking, going on some day trips with Alan, sleeping late a few days, reading, scrapbooking, crafting....wonder if I'll get 1/4 of it done? I'll take it a day at a time and try to enjoy each to it's fullest.
Hope everyone has a great week.

The Light at the end of the Tunnel!

Well, I can see the light now-2 more days of school! Lots of deadlines and stuff this last week, but it won't last too long. I know I'll be missing the kids in a few weeks, but right now I can't wait for a few weeks to just be ME.

This week was MUCH better than last week. It seemed long, but no slinky visitors at least. I was very excited Wed. night at Weight Watchers. I had lost again and hit the 20 lb lost mark!!!! I still have a long ways to go-but that there's less of me going!!!! Thanks to those who got me motivated to join WW, now you gotta get back in the game with me. I miss you!

Nothing much going on. Gotta get busy cleaning up! Have a good weekend everyone.

What a Week! Don't let the pics scare you!

Give me simple and boring any day. This week was too much!

First of all, Alan left last Thursday (May 22) to go to West Virginia for 9 days on a NC Baptist Men Disaster Relief project, to help clean up from a Mother's Day weekend flood. This really means alot to him and he's really missed helping for the last year & half with the collapsed disks & surgery. I admire him for going, but I hate when he's gone. I didn't sleep very well even though Mama was here a few nights, I never do when Alan's gone.

The good part of the week was at WW Wednesday night-I had lost 4.2 lbs!!! I was so excited. I had a small gain the week before and was kinda down about it, unmotivated, etc.

Thursday we had a bomb threat at school!! My first one ever. To make it worse, it poured rain while we were all outside! It was scary! I hated that some fool upset the kids so much. I pray they catch them and prosecute to the fullest. Friday, everyone was kinda apprehensive, but we got through the day with no more threats.

I was excited to get home Friday, because Alan was almost home!!! I pulled into the driveway and before I got out of the car, he pulled in!! Halleluia!! I told him I was sticking like glue this weekend! About an hour after he got home we went out on the porch. He was starting the grill and I was just gonna sit out there with him. As he walked by the table to the grill, I saw a snake laying on the table!!! At least about a foot of him was-the rest was coiled inside a little decorative house Alan built several yrs. ago that lights up! I yelled to Alan to get away, and I ran to the shed to get the shovel while Alan watched the varmit. He crawled back into the house and Alan finally had to pry the bottom off to get him out and kill him.

About mid-morning today, Major (our collie) started barking. Not his "I'm gonna eat you alive" bark, just short yelps. I went out to see what was wrong. There was a baby robin in his pen. It had fallen from the pine tree above. Major wasn't bothering it, just looking curiously at it (thank goodness!) I picked it up and its parents were calling to it from the trees around the pen. The little bird chirped and chirped. I put it outside the pen near where the parents kept perching. They didn't see him as he blended in with the dirt and he was not chirping much any more, actually dozing off. I was afraid a snake would get him, or Major when he was let out. So I rigged up a pot nest with some coconut hanging basket liner and hung in one of the trees. I checked on him several times. He seemed to be getting weaker and couldn't make a sound anymore. I was crying when Alan came out to see where I was. I just knew it was gonna die. The parent birds still kept going over to the pen, not to the tree. So I moved the pot nest to the fence. When we got back from Franklin about 4:30 he was sitting up alert and the parents were on the top of the fence. Hopefully he will be okay after all.

Mama in the tree right above her baby.

I hope the coming week is much calmer!

Sharing flowers

I've really missed blogging the last few weeks. Just too busy and exhausted to think what to write. I finally passed my 5% goal in WW!! Two weeks ago I lost 3 lbs and reached a total of 15 lbs lost!!! I was totally thrilled!! This past Wed. I was exactly the same (at least no gain)! I'm trying harder this week.

I thought I would share some photos of my flowers.

I love these old-fashioned flowers. I don't know the name of them-they're a type of lamb's ear, but not the broad leaf variety. As a child I called my grandmother's "velvet flowers" and it stuck

in our family. These are decendents from her plants. I love flowers that come back and don't need any help from me-just to love them!

Oh how sweet the smell! Magnolia grandiflora!! Southern sweetness at its best! Another of my most favorite flowers. I got married in May because these would be blooming! Our 24th anniversary is this Monday, May 18th. Like the magnolia, my Alan is sweetness at its best!

Love you sweetie!

Weight Watcher update

It's a crazy week!! Can't wait until FRIDAY this week (and it's not the kids this week)!
Just taking a moment to let everyone know that I didn't meet my 5% goal this week at WW. I stayed exactly the same-at least no extra weight to have to re-lose! I'm glad I didn't have a gain after splurging some while on vacation. I did get some extra walking in-so thought I might've lost some. Today starts a new WW week though! Hope everyone else gets good news tomorrow night!
Living for a beautiful weekend to get back in my yard and plant, plant, plant flowers!!!

Vacation Recap

Those of us fortunate enough to have a week off for Easter break are headed back to reality tomorrow morning-UGH! But, it's the countdown to June 9th and SUMMER! Actually, I did start to miss my students this weekend (crazy huh?). I should be cured by 8:30 tomorrow!

I really enjoyed the break though. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to by any means, but we got some things accomplished and I relaxed! Alan & I worked in the yard Monday moving hosta & creating some new beds. I planned what annuals & the colors I want in which beds, etc. After Monday's workout, Tuesday both of us were wiped out. We just enjoyed being home, sitting on the back porch (patio), watching & listening to the birds, and playing with Major.

Thursday we went to visit my relatives on my dad's side of the family in Supply, NC (between Wilmington & Myrtle Beach). We had a great short visit. We did some shopping. I spent some time at an antique store that's operated by a close family friend, & bought a milkglass cake stand. I always have to walk through like three times to see everything and see the neat way she's displayed stuff. She's really talented in that respect and she loves to reuse/repurpose stuff in different ways like I do. I always get tons of ideas from her.

We did make it to the beach for a little while Fri. afternoon, but the wind was so cold!!! My eyes were watering so much I could barely see. We walked for about 20 minutes and just had to leave. We had to come home yesterday, of course it was much warmer and not as windy, but that's the way it goes. Hopefully we'll get to spend more time down there this summer.

Well, it's getting late and I have to get up early and get my brain (and everything else) back in gear! So, goodnight! Hope everyone has a great week!

Little by Little...

I'm excited to blog that I passed the 10 lb marker! I had lost 2.2 lbs this week for a total of 11.6 lbs. Hopefully this coming Wed. I will reach my 5% goal! I know it is small amounts, but I haven't seen these numbers on the scales in YEARS! I hardly knew they were there as the needle blurred by! Thanks for all the support and encouragement from my family, friends (online and offline)! Gotta go, going walking on the beach in a little while-when it warms up a bit! Oh yeah, activity points!!! Everyone have a good day and hope everyone else had a loosing week!

Major is (will be) 1 yr. old!

Tomorrow our puppy Major will be 1 year old! He's registered name is Major Jakie Bear. The "Jakie" is after Alan's Dad, whose is often called Jake by his family. Our first collie was named Prissie after Alan's Mom (if you know Geraldine, you'll understand!), so it was only fair to name Major after J.P., and he owns Major's parents. BTW-he has a couple of new collie pups ready to go to new homes!!

It doesn't seem like it was a year ago Major was so tiny...(Minor?)

He's about 2 wks old in the photo above.

This photo was taken on April 4th.

He's not so tiny now! Now you know why the "Bear" part of his name! He still wants to be a lapdog some days, though. He loves to play with his rope. He slings it, chews it, and chases it. He's pretty good at fetching and bringing it back for us to toss again. He's got his people trained well. His other favorite toy is a plastic flower pot! He will carry it all over the yard, retrieve it when we throw it, and chew it. Then we get a new one so he won't get cut or eat the plastic pieces. He has brought lots of joy & laughter to our lives.

Here is Major with his first flower pot when we brought him home last May!

It took us a couple of years to get another collie after Prissie had to be put to sleep. She was with us for 13 years and was so much company for Alan, especially after he had to stop work due to his back problems. She followed him everywhere around the yard and shop. Major is following in her footsteps in that regard. If he would just stop barking so much!! Prissie only barked if something was wrong or someone came around. Major barks at the birds at the feeder, when he wants to play, while he's playing, when someone or some animal comes into the yard and sometimes just for the heck of it, I think. Hopefully he will soon mature enough not to bark so much. We love the noisy ole boy though!

Happy Birthday Major!