So many Topics, So little time

As the title says, so much to discuss!! I never even did my Halloween post and we really had a great time last Friday night trick or treating. Had a great time picking out a pumpkin and carving it (that in and of it's self was worth an entry...I've NEVER carved a pumpkin before so that was a treat indeed!...Word to the wise, invest in a pumpkin carving kit. My knives just weren't cut out for it! (no pun intended!) )

Here's a pic from Halloween



Then there's the BIG news...The election of Barack Obama. Wow. What a night. I voted for him. I was glued to the tv watching the returns come in. Listening to John McCain's really heartfelt speech...the part where he took the full blame of the defeat on himself was sad to hear. It wasnt a loss...it wasn't his 'fault' so to speak....It was just a different direction that country needs to go in. Something new to try and put the country back on the road to prosperity. He shouldnt blame himself in my opinion. Then the acceptance speech by Obama....it truly gave me goosebumps. I hope the country can make a turn around and that Dale & I can continue to make a difference in ours and our children's lives. I've never felt like the president really made a difference in my life personally. Still dont although I continue to vote each year. I think that it's up to us as individuals to make our own differences in our life and to encourage and prosper the best we can. But I wish nothing but the best for the Obamas.

Deep Thought Questions.

Found this on a friend's blog and borrowed it because I thought it would make for interesting converstion

[1] Would you do meth if it was legalized?

No, not today, tomorrow or ever.

[2] Abortion: for or against it?

Golly...in my lifetime I've gone back and forth on this one. My husband has a very compelling argument on it that I'd like to share. He says he's against it. He feels only God knows when the fetus becomes a human and why test God on this point. So when the final day of judgement comes, does he want to be guilty of Murder or thwarting free will??? Hmmmm....

But to answer the question on my own....For me it's wrong. I think Adoption is ALWAYS the better option. But I am not going to tell someone else what they should do. That's for them to decide. If they ask, I'll give my opinion. But I do believe it should be legal.

[3] Do you think the world would fail with a female president?

No. I think the right woman...just as the right man would bring a new perspective on the position. Not all women would make a good president anymore than just any man would make a good president.

[4] Do you believe in the death penalty?

I'm a fence sitter on this one. I see both sides...I think there should have to be certain types of irrefutible evidence in the guilty decree before the Death Penalty should be allowed.

[5] Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?

I think marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol...But do I want my children doing it? NO. But do i want them drinking either? no. I think like cigarettes and alcohol it should be legalized at certain ages.


[6] Are you for or against premarital sex?
I think sex is a vital part of any good marriage. If there are problems in the sexual arena, it's better to know before you commit to each other. To quote the sin scale above...which sin would I rather answer for? Divorce due to incompatibility or pre-marital sex....



[7] Do you believe in God?

Yes, yes yes.

[8] Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?

I think civil unions should be legal. So that couples that have chosen to live together can share in all the benefits of marriage...ie taxes, insurance coverage etc. But as I read in my friend's blog, I feel a CHURCH shouldn't be legally required to perform a marriage since that kind of marriage goes against it's doctrines. But a civil ceremony shouldnt be a problem.



[9] Do you think it's wrong that so many aliens (of race, not ETs) are illegally moving to the USA?

Yes, i soooo think it's wrong. I think that there are legal ways to come into our country. Go thru them. I'm sorry your country is not what you want it to be...sometimes the USA isnt either, but you dont see me taking off for Montreal either do you? Work to make your own country better or come to another country the legal way.
[10] A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it?

No. A 12 year old is a sister, not a mother. She can't drive, cant vote, can't MOTHER a child. Even if she gives birth to it. It needs to be given up to someone else...her parents if they're willing? adopted? Not aborted, but re-assigned.

[11] Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
As long as the voting age and the draft age is 18, yes.

[12] Should the war in Iraq be called off?
Yes, we've outstayed our welcome. The Iraqi govt needs to govern it's self at this point. We've got toooo many domestic issues to handle. Let the Iraquis handle theirs now.

[13] Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree?
No.
There are situations where it's the most humane thing that can be done. God granted us free will. Like abortion, the government should not be interferring with our wishes in this area.
[14] Do you believe in spanking your children?

Yes. Time outs work sometimes. Writing Sentences work sometimes. and sometimes, its a spanking that works. It should never be the sole form of punishment. But sometimes, it's the one thing that gets thru to a child or emphasizes how dangerous or wrong an action they made was.

[15] Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?

publicly, no. I would burn one in private for a million bucks, then I would make amends somehow. Possibly by donating a significant amount to a patriotic charity etc.

[16] Who do you think would make a better president? McCain or Obama?

Obama..

[17] Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?

Obviously I'm not afraid of it...or I wouldnt have posted it on my blog.

This & That

Yes, I'm at the library right now enjoying me time on the computer. Not that I cant get on the computer at home, but the imps are usually right over my shoulder. So they have this arts & crafts day at the local Auburn library that I bring them to and let them "create" and I play on the computer.

Work is going pretty well...I've been having trouble with my ISP and so my % that drives my call volume had dropped low. Well it's back over the demarkation point so I'm receiving more calls. Yay.

Weight Watchers isnt going as well. Christine is dropping out for now...for various reasons...financial and results based. I'm not doing any better, but I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. Gotta find my motivation again.

Still missing my mom. Dreading/anticipating Christmas and her not being in it.

House is coming along well. Our yard has improved 100% with the addition of lime and some more grass seed. Next year I hope to attack the back yard. We had family over for a cookout last weekend and I really noticed how bad the back yard looks because the builder didnt sod it. And there are soooo many rocks in it. Growls.

What else is going on in my life? Sharon is still living with us. I think we've found us a house mate! LOL. Dale and I put our names in to become foster parents but we haven't heard back from the DFACs yet. Hopefully, we'll hear soon when the orientation class is. Of course Dale's done this before, but I'm still new to it all. I'm very anxious about it tho...I just love the idea we could really make a difference in some children's lives (not that we arn't with ours already...but you know what i mean!) I think I'd like to have a baby but then think how much effort that would be. We're open to the possibility of adoption but plan on fostering and if a situation just falls into our lives, then so beit. But otherwise, we still plan on one day retiring to Florida (lol)

All for now...

Sunday Stuff

Pre family days, I used to love Sundays. They were my relaxing day. The day to sit back, watch football, go to craft festivals, etc. Then I became a part of this family and Sundays became a dreaded thing. A day when we had to do the unnecessary visit with Dale's ex. She has it in her mind that the kids NEED to see her. Yeah right. ANYWAY.

But today, we declined her offer of a visit and enjoyed a morning at home...i worked a bit this morning then went downstairs to make pancakes for breakfast. For some reason, pancakes put me in a good mood. Then we just kinda hung around the house, I worked some more, the kids colored and watched tv. Then after lunch, we took the kids to the indoor swimming pool over in Lawrenceville. It was a treat since we havn't been swimming since Labor Day or so. We came home and brought Pizza Hut pasta & pizza to eat for supper...the kids got to eat "picnic" style on the floor in front of tv (a rarity) and Dale and I got to take ours upstairs to watch in front of the football games.

Now, I'm working some more..

So as you can see, it wasnt an exciting day. Just a fun one in my book. Getting ready for Josh's birthday ...we're doing a skating birthday party which I think every kid has at some point in his or her life. All for now.

My Quiz from QuizYourFriends.com

So, You think you know Gina? 1) If Gina could spend the day doing anything, what would it be? Garage Saleing Swimming Good Book and Bag of M&M's & Diet Coke & Giant Garden Tub Six Flags

Powered By: QUIZYOURFRIENDS.com Make A Quiz - Take This Quiz - View Scoreboard

Happy Birthday to ME

So today is my birthday...41 this year. I had a huge party last year and I'm so glad I did. Granted, it was expensive and we really couldnt afford it at the time...but so many people came...including my mom. and my dad. See they divorced after 30 odd years of marriage...and it made me feel so good that they both came to my party.

This year my family has been wonderful to me today. Went out to breakfast at McDonalds...the kids and nieces all made me wonderful cards that I adore. I'll scan some of them in later...on the new printer/scanner/fax machine that Dale gave me...while sitting on my new desk chair he also gave me. Then we took the birthday money that Grandmother King, Siler & AM (her's was house warming money) gave me and bought me a new desk. Pictures of that to follow after Dale puts it together.

But the one thing that keeps hurting me is the absence of my mom. Every birthday, she'd be the first one on the phone to me to sing Happy Birthday..or to sing it to my answering machine. And re-tell the story of how late I was...how hot it was that summer of '67. How my grandmother Siler couldnt believe she wasn't going to spell Gina with a J instead so that my mom and I would have the same initials. How it was a Saturday morning around 10am when I was born. Noone can tell it quite like a Mom.
I sooo miss her.

Orange Beach, AL

Another day in paradise. That's what my dad's wife says about Orange Beach, AL. We've been coming here for years and my mom & dad moved down here some time in the late 80s/early 90s...I've forgotten the exact year. So we made our journey southward to here yesterday and today has been wonderful.

We're staying in a condo on the bay called the Moorings. It's GORGEOUS. I really can't emphasize to you how nice it is....and if it were on the beach, it'd be un-affordable for us. But since it's NOT, we can afford it. Today we spent mostly at the pool...got a good start on a tan...Lynne (Dad's wife) came over to do some sun grazing with us and we had fun. We're alternating eating out and staying in to try to keep this vacation affordable. Today is an eating in day so I'm about to get up and whip up some rotini alfredo with chicken. Easy to do and few ingredients (I'm lazy and brought canned chicken)

All for now.

Elizabeth gets a haircut

Like most young girls, Elizabeth hates brushing tangles out of her hair...So today we went for the annual summer haircut. I think it came out cute. What do you think?

funny story

So i have a funny story...my oldest had just pitched a fit....and in exasperation, i say,
"Josh...what makes you pitch these fits??"
My youngest John says, "It's cause he doesnt have the holy spirit in him!" (he's fresh from Vacation bible school) and daughter Elizabeth pipes up, " I have the spirit in me! I got it Tuesday & Wednesday"
...Tue & Wed? How both days???
She replies, "in case it didnt work on Tuesday, I tried again on Wednesday" hehehehe

All thanks to "Sex in the City"

So, it all started from me going to see Sex & The City with the girls. There's a scene in it where they're all out sunbathing and everyone notices Miranda's hairs escaping from her bathing suit.

So while I'm taking a bath the other day, I thought to myself, "gosh I'd hate to have that happen to me" so I took razor in hand and swiped a little at the escape region of my legs etc. Two days later....a cyst has formed. And a day after that, it's doubled in size. It's painful to walk, sleep, etc. It's big, pussy etc. So I try to get in touch with my doctor, but it goes to voice mail hell. So I end up going thru my insurance provider book and finding a lady gyno in Athens who can see me QUICKLY. She looks at it but says she sees no head on it to puncture....gives me anti-biotics and tylenol-3 for the pain and says for me to come back today.

Now we're up to date. I went in today...she puts lydicane on it to numb it...but something in my alkaline makeup doesnt take the lydicane and it's not numbed...she inserts said scalple and i burst in to tears. God it hurt so bad. She got what she could, but between my hysterics and the lack of fluids coming out, she had to stop. It's still all puffy and way sore. But hopefully it'll drain it's self out over the next few days.

Poor Poor me.

Have a Lazy Fun Summer

Last day of school here in Barrow County. Our kids were later getting out than the other local schools due to construction last summer delaying their starting. Everyone had good years for the most part. All had a fun last couple of days.

We have Sharon staying with us now. She's been living in Columbus since Dale & I got married and has recently moved back to the Atlanta area. Until she gets a job etc. she's staying with us.

We've booked our condo for our summer vacation...going to Orange Beach again but not staying on the beach...actually staying in a new local that is on the bay. It was MUCH cheaper than the beach condos so we figure we can always drive to the beach. We'll be going June 21-28. Should be fun :)

Weight Watchers is not going well. I was AWOL for about a month and gained nearly 3 pounds. Bad Bad Gina.

They have opened our new subdivison pool and I couldnt be happier. It's like old times when as a kid we used to go up to my Aunt Marilyn's pool and spend all our summer days playing there. This is just about as convenient.

I'll post more pictures later. Have a lazy fun summer.

Mother's Day

I havn't blogged in a while and I have a couple of pretty good excuses. Been quite busy with work. I work about as many hours as I can. I'm primarily working with LiveOps now and I usually enjoy it. I especially enjoy seeing the part time pay creep up. I've also been sick this past week. You know...the sinus or head cold thing. You never really know which one it is. But Ebeth has it now. UGH.

Anyway...Mother's Day was yesterday and I thought it went well. L originally wanted the kids that morning AND afternoon. Dale said no and we had them all morning. Had a leisurely type of morning...Dale went out to McDonalds and brought back breakfast...he got me some lovely flowers and this Hallmark software program that i wanted. I love making greeting cards for people and inserting our pictures in them.
Listen to this card Elizabeth wrote for me...all by herself.

Happy Mother's Day (on front)
(inside) The teacher had put on the ditto "Happy Mother's Day! Thanks for everything you do. And then there's all these lines for the kids to write on. She filled up everyline!!
"You are very nice. You take care of me. You watch out for me. You are the best mom in the world. You are the best. I am thankful that God put you on the earth for me and Dad. (apparently not so much for John & Josh) We love you ver much. And we are thankful for you . You are very special and God made you that way. You are the rose that blooms and smells and look so pretty. You can do everything on Mother's Day because it is your day to be queen. You are the queen for one day. your day. I will be your little servant for the whole day. You're the best of the moms. You are generous and kind and show compassion. You are the light on this day.
Love,
Elizabeth Simpson May 9, 2008
Spelling has been corrected. LOL.

Thursday 13

I did an emotional (for me) 13 last week, so this week's is a more simple one. Top 13 bookmarks on my Explorer Browser. They're in alphabetical order.

13. ATLANTA RADIO It's a message board for all kinds of radio news. As a big music and radio fan, i love reading about the changes coming. You can go and look at the same website for various other major markets.

12. BCN (Barrow County News) It's actually the link to the classifieds. I originally bookmarked it back when Dale & I were looking for a new home and then I've used it various times when I'm looking for jobs or wanting to buy stuff or sell etc. It's a small paper, but it's fun to read.

11. Ceridian This is the site that I file our Flex Benifits thru. You know what i mean...we have a certain amount taken out of Dale's check and put into an account. We draw from that account to pay for medical expenses and it's tax free. I take care of all the paperwork so I have it bookmarked.

10. Clarke County School District This is Sheena's school calendar. Whenever I'm planning vacations etc, I'm always trying to coordinate with her schedule too. It's easier to just go and look than it is to message her and try to find out when she's out of school.

9. Elementary School Menu Pretty self explanitory...grins. My imps are always wanting to take their lunch...but only on special days. So we look for one day each week that they can take their lunch when they dont prefer the lunch offerings. ( I don't prefer the word HATE...so we use the phrase 'don't prefer'

8. Evergreen This is my local library system. It covers the state of GA and I can reserve virtually any book imaginable and have it sent to my local branch. I'm also always going on and reserving AR Books for the kids that I think they'd like (Advanced Reading)

7. Free Sterling Silver
This is a cool site and I've bought quite a bit of jewelry from here. It's all free...all you pay is the shipping which is like 5.95 or so. Makes good extra Christmas gifts that you can pick up during the year. The thing is that there are only 4 pieces of jewelry to choose from and it changes every 15 minutes or so.

6. Free Translation I dont know why I originally had this...I think I was yahooing with some fellow from France...anyway, I've used it quite a few times. VERY easy. Just type in what you want to say in English and click what language you want to translate it to...or vice versa. Love that copy paste key.

5. Georgia Festivals I'm a festival going gal and sometimes it's fun to just look up where this weekend's fairs are. It's a great resource.

4. Gina's Website It needs to be updated and perhaps when I get some more time and get my computers swapped over, I'll take care of that.

3, Get Organized Now a very cool site that helps you stay organized. Guess I should visit it more often huh???

2. Gina Website AOL version. This is an old website of mine that I have no idea how to update or get rid of. It's from the olden days pre-Dale.

1. Gmail Inbox I have about a half dozen different email addresses for various reasons. This is my Gmail one...being named Gina, I thought it was appropriate.

Well we only made it to the G's....so we may continue this thread next week.
until then....

Thursday 13

13 Things I've "Inherited" from My mom.

As yall know, I lost my mom recently. I use lost as it infers that I will one day find her again...and i will...not in this world, but in the next. So, one of the many tasks we've had (my brother, husband and i ) is to clean out her stuff and for us to divy it up. Here are the top 13 things I'm now the proud new owner of.

13. The yellow mixing bowl. It's nothing fancy...it's just soooo handy. It's a thick plastic, a good size and has a handle. We've used it for as long as we can remember for so many different projects from cake batters to popcorn.



12. The GREEN mixing bowl. LOL. But it's totally different from the aforementioned yellow one. First, this one is much older and it's metal. And we used it alllll the time. Most memorable was for shelling peas or snapping green beans. Steven (my brother ) and i both wanted it...but i got it...afterall, he got her car.

11. ANGELS. glory goodness that woman loved angels...and many of these i'd given her. I'm looking at a pretty one right now...it's got no face and has moss hair and a vine for a halo. They're all over the house now...watching over us.



10. Dolphin stained glass. She was a huge collector of all things dolphins. Me? not so much. But she did have one beautiful stained glass that was in her front window at the little cottage (what she called her house...along with the Briarpatch cottage).



9. Jewelry! so much jewelry. She loved gemstones and had a huge collection that i couldnt begin to appreciate. (There's a REASON she wanted her friend Bill to have it!) But i went thru her jewelry and picked out a few pieces that weren't so big...i'm not into big jewelry. I gave some to my cousin Kim and some to my Aunt and Grandmother.

8. A really cool night stand. it's got tons of drawers and it's pretty. Now, knowing my mom, she probably got it at a thrift store, but who cares? It's really neat. I'm "letting" Dale use it for his night stand...but it looks good over on his side of the room and it's perfect for my organized husband.



7. FOOD. Steven and I felt like little scavengers going thru her pantry...but I now have more chocolate than i could dream of buying, canned foods that would do a food pantry proud. Every meal, we comment, "another one down..." meaning the cans.

6. A Canon Printer/fax/scanner. Dale's had one for several years now but since the move, I've been deprived of it since we're not in the same room anymore. But thanks to Mom, I have my own now. It's older and takes 5 cartridges instead of 2, but hey, it works.

5. 3 HUGE framed (expensively i might add) prints/paintings of dolphins. I have NO IDEA where there're going to go, but they were too nice to donate to charity.



4. An old timey radio from my great Aunt Mary Alice's home that my mom had gotten. It's one of those large rounded ones that probably announced the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It's still got the vacumn tubes in the back.

3. A king size bed. We havn't brought it down to the house yet, but will. It'll be the first time I've ever owned a King!! What an up grade from Queen.

2. 2 new computers...but I'm giving one to my cousin Kim. Both are Dell's and faster than my current one that is circa first marriage.

1. Every card or picture or letter that my kids, my brother or I ever sent her. She kept them all. God I miss her.

Happy Easter 2008

Ok...we did it. We broke the terrible news to the kids about the existence of the Easter Bunny or lack thereof. It came up because we bought Sheena an Easter gift and John could not stop arguing and complaining that SHE got a gift from us and he didn't. It didn't matter that he'd gotten something from the Easter Bunny...he hadn't received anything from US. So we told them. Very bluntly I might add. And of course the inevitable came up from Josh, " Does this mean that Santa isn't real either???" I couldnt do it. I broke down and lied. NO...That's a totally different thing. Santa's real...but a hopping bunny bringing easter gifts? come on now.

So with all that said, here are some pics from the Easter Egg Gettogether we had ysterday at Dale's sister Amy's home. Dont think these are the best I can do...i forgot my camera and had to use my cell phone!



and here are all the grandkids....

Thursday 13 Today In History

I'm a history buff...I admit it freely and w/o shame. Yes, when I was in highschool, I was even on the Social Studies Team (today you'd probably call it a Trivia Team). so call me a nerd if you like. But today I decided to make a today in history...Just because I can. So in Chronilogical order from oldest to most recent...

13. 1790 John Martin, 1st American-born actor, performs in Philadelphia. Now, I don't know what play...but we can be guaranteed he wasn't swarmed by papperazzi and he didn't make a pre-play appearance on THE VIEW.

12. 1852 Uncle Sam cartoon figure made its debut in the New York Lantern weekly. And from here we get the Uncle Sam figure of Americana.

11. 1861 Jefferson Davis signs bill authorizing use of slaves as soldiers. So kind of him dont you think?

10. 1868 Senate begins President Andrew Johnson impeachment trial. He apparently irked a lot of the radical republicans after the Civil War by trying to follow Abe Lincoln's more lenient plan for reconstruction. But the straw that broke the camel's back was when he removed Stanton as Secty of War in violation of an act that had passed saying the President had to have the consent of Congress to remove appointed officials. Turns out, Senate voted to acquit Andrew Johnson by a margin of 35 guilty to 19 not guilty - one vote short of the two-thirds needed to convict. I wonder who was that swing vote and why he voted the way he did??? Guess I have something to look up.

9. 1915 Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson tries to catch a baseball dropped from an airplane, but the pilot substituted a grapefruit. UGH. how messy could that be? wonder if he caught it? Info doesn't say.

8. 1921 Mongolia declares independence from China. And yet, we still find mongolian bbq on most chinese buffets. Get it right folks.!

7. 1922 WRR-AM in Dallas TX begins radio transmissions It became the first broadcast radio station in the state of Texas, and the 2nd in the nation

6. 1936 Clarence Nash birthday. Now who is that you may be asking yourself? He was the voice of Donald Duck.

5. 1939 Neil Sedaka's birthday. I used to love him when I was a kid. Still think it's odd for ANY man to sing that high tho! He had some great songs. Happy Birthday Sweet 16, Calendar Girl, Next Door To An Angel, Breaking Up is Hard to Do, & Laughter In the Rain. And trivia for the day, did you know he helped write, Captain & Tennille's Love Will Keep Us Together?

4. 1947 19th Academy Awards (for the year 1946) "Best Years of Our Lives",(Really great movie if you've never seen it!) Frederic March won for Best actor from that movie and so did Harold Russell for best supporting actor. Olivia de Havilland won also but for a movie I'm not familiar with "To Each His Own".

3. 1954 Braves' Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle, he is replaced by Hank Aaron. Poor Bobby set into action the most valuable Brave ever. And the rest is history.

2. 1988 14th People's Choice Awards: Fatal Attraction, Bill Cosby win. Now these are not even my favorite awards shows. But it's a good indication of what was popular at the time. Bill Cosby was on the Tonight Show last night...20 years after this award and still as funny as ever.

1. 1993 Blizzard of '93 hits north-east US. I sooo remember that storm as it hit Atlanta, GA too. I still have pictures of it.

In My Life..

Remember that song by the Beatles? I love it. Well anyway...things going on in my life right now....

Working at West At Home...it's a home based customer service company. I get to stay at home and I take calls from people who're ordering things from infomercials. I'd just gotten the position when Mom got so sick...I'd only worked like 2 shifts. So then after she passed away, I started back to work with them. It's a job just getting shifts! I think they've over hired and we're all scrambling to get the few coveted shifts. I've also applied with another company called Live Ops...I'm hoping that with the two jobs I'll be able to get some decent shifts and bring home some extra income. I'm only wanting to work 15-20 hours each week and that would bring us in enough income to live comfortably. We'd like to use my income for entertainment portion of our budget.

Started back to Weight Watchers. I haven't been since Jan 28th...(Mom died on Feb 9th) and are you ready for this? My weight stayed EXACTLY the same over that time. 279.8. I was shocked...not that I thought I'd gained that much weight but that the numbers were exactly the same. So, I need to get back on the wagon. Christine almost quit this week and I would have hated for her to do that. She's at a comfortable weight even tho she has put back on 10 pounds. And she feels that other things are more important in her life right now that she wants to concentrate her efforts on. I can understand it fully...but none the less, I hope she continues. And I want to do my part to help her feel that she has a worthwhile partner in this.

Cleaning out Mom's house. God how depressing. Sheena went with me today (she's out on spring break) and she was able to get a lot of mom's clothes. That made me feel good that she could get some use out of them. We've still got to get a lot of her furniture out. I feel a bit of pressure to hurry it up because Aunt Marilyn needs to re-rent her home and can't do that til Steven and i get it emptied. The other thing that's pressing us is the need to find a home for those pooches of mom's. They're chiauauas (or rat dogs) and just not my kind of dog. And I know that's bad of me to say since I claim to be a dog lover. So that means I should love all breeds right? but i dont.

So that's about it...Until we chat again.

Thursday 13 Shows On My Tivo

Tivo is wonderful...I can't say that enough. The ability to zip past comericials in mere seconds. The ability to set a program to record just by the name. Not having to worry that it may come on a different night than originally planned. Able to watch boys/girls & results in one fail swoop of American Idol. What more could we ask for? How bout the ability to freeze life action football games to run down for chinese food?

Today's Thursday 13 are 13 programs I have currently on my List to Be Watched soon.

13. SUPERNANNY. Love that Jo. I have 3 episodes to watch at my leisure.

12. AMERICAN IDOL. I have last night's and i'll have tonight's result show to watch tonight. What I'm sure I'll do is start watching the girls and by the time I'm finished, the results show will be finished recording so that I can watch it too. The key is to not "catch up" with the live show so that you are forced to watched commercials. You always want to be able to zoom thru them.

11. MY FIRST PLACE. An HGTV show about homebuyers first experiences with buying their homes. I have a week's worth to watch.

10. OPRAH. I have 2 episodes available to watch. Just watched Valerie Bertinelli on there from earlier this week.

9. A RAISIN IN THE SUN. It was a movie on the other night. Looked good. I remember watching the original.

8. Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles (this is a Dale show...one that he watches when I'm ready to go to sleep)

7. BACK TO YOU. I think this is the Kelsey Grammer series on Fox that looked sorta cute. Jury is still out as I've yet to watch it.

6. MEDIUM. LOVE LOVE LOVE this show.

5. CSI...still in re-runs but fun to watch in case everything is not appealing at the time

4. Holiday. It's a movie we got off HBO. Just waiting to put it on DVD to keep

3. SAW 3. I taped it for Dale. Definitely not a Gina movie.

2. FLIP THIS HOUSE. Another HGTV show. All about buying and re-selling houses for a profit.

1. THE BIGGEST LOSER. I'm addicted to that show!!

So pop up a bowl of popcorn and settle in for some mindless entertainment with me.

Going thru stuff

So as most of you know, my mom passed away 2 weeks ago. She had been living down at my Aunt's 2nd home on the back of her property. She had it fixed up really cute...and then she got sick and had to quit work and my Aunt let her live there at no charge...Now that mom is gone, we need to clean out the cottage and get it back to normal so that my Aunt can re-rent it again. So, tonight, I've been down there going thru some of Mom's things to see what I can use, what I want etc. What an awful feeling! I felt like I was a scavenger of some sort! I even took a bag of napkins my mom had in her pantry because I was out!! I've got all her jewelry too...but to anyone that knows me, I'm not a jewelry person! I wear my wedding ring...a necklace that Dale gave me when we got engaged that means the world to me...and the occassional bracelet or anklet...that's it. But she has TONS of it. I guess i should offer some to some of the family...I dont know what's worth what! I dont know what most of the gems even are!

And logic tells me if i dont take it and Steven (my brother) doesn't ...what are we to do with it then?? I've given some things to my Aunt...I'm giving a computer to my cousin...some other cousins have requested some of her dolphin stuff (Mom has a HUGE collection of dolphin things..but I prefer her collection of Angels.)

We're also planning a garage sale on March 8 to get rid of the stuff that doesn't get a home with us. That should be equally morbid.

13 Things I love about My new Home

So, I suppose it's cheating since I've already done a post on what I'd like in a house, but I'm doing another one just cause i can! Grins.

13. The sitting room. It's off the bedroom and it's so nice and big...we wander in there and just try to think about what we're going to do in there.

12. My closet...aka the Bowling Alley. It's huge. I'm going to be using it for both clothes and a gift wrapping arena. (Have I mentioned how much i like to wrap gifts?)

11. The Garden Tub & Separate Shower Stall. No longer do we have to traipse across the house to take a shower. Or, Dale & I can shower & bathe at same time (if i dont use all the hotwater!)

10. Dale has his own office down stairs. I hope to have french doors put in down there...eventually.

9. A real laundry ROOM. not a closet. not a part of the kitchen...but a real live room.

8. All the kids have their own bedrooms and they seem to love them. Can't wait to get them all decorated. We bought Elizabeth a bed at IKEA the other day but can't give it to her til we get Josh's since we promised he could have the first set. But her's was only $39!!! Marked down from 99.


7. A huge garage with plenty of room left over. It will be possible soon for me to actually pull my car INTO the garage. A Dream come true for sure.

6. A Pantry. A good sized one at that! Not a separate room, but a nice sized pantry with an oversized door on it. At the old house, had to put all the food in the various cabinets...

5. What will be a formal dining room. Before, we didnt have an eat in kitchen but did have a "dining area" ...now we have both. I can't wait to get furniture for all these things.

4. Faux Wood Blinds. Silly I know, but this house will have the faux wood blinds instead of those vinyl ones that I've had most of my adult life.

3. a Bar. Not for drinking...but separating the kitchen from eating area and from living room. I'm "inheriting" my mom's very cool bar stools and can't wait to see how they fit.

2. A Front Porch. At first I thought I wanted to put the swing on it..but now i'm seeing rocking chairs and the swing out in an arbor in the back yard.

1. Dale has his own large closet!! Before he had to use the hall coat closet for his clothes! Now he can actually organize things.

This list is not in order of importance as any one of these things is a favorite at any given time.

All Moved In

Can you believe I didnt take any pictures today? Too busy I guess. But we're now all moved in..well to tell the truth there are a few things still left there that need to be picked up but we're lucky that we still have until the end of the month to get everything. Jeff & Christine, Gregg, Steven(BIL...not brother) & a friend of theirs all helped us move. Now granted Dale has been moving things since last Friday when we closed...but the big stuff came tonight and we'll spend our first night here.

Funny thing happened tonight..we were driving in the car and the radio station was doing a special thingy on The Carpenters...one of my all-time favorite groups. I mention to Elizabeth..and the boys who were listening too how she was one of the most beautiful voices in all of music (just my humble opinion) and John pipes up, "You Don't Say!" I about died!! To the unknowledgeable ear that may have been nothing...but that saying was my grandfather King's trademark saying. It was like he was saying, "i'm here with you" ...maybe I was reading too much into it...but maybe not.

Stay tuned for pictures....

Sad Mad

Today, we had the memorial service for my mom. She passed away Saturday morning from cancer. Well technically, she contracted an infection while in the hospital that her immune system couldn't beat because she was no longer producing white blood cells due to the chemo. To complicated an answer tho.

I'm just so sad. That's the only word i know that sums up how i feel. Synonyms of the word include unhappy, despondent, disconsolate, discouraged, gloomy, downcast, downhearted, depressed, dejected, melancholy. And to some extent, I'm all of those at different times. But sad just seems to cover it all.

And I get mad some too. Not at God like I hear some people do. Just mad that she's gone. Mad that she was so young (61) to be taken. Mad at the whole situation.

One lesson my mom tried to teach me more than just about any was independence. To be my own person. To not be dependent on her or others for my happiness. To stand on my own two feet and not Need Her...just love her. But I look out at the big blue sky and I wonder what life is going to be like without her in it. And I find myself forgeting the lessons of independence she taught me. I find myself needing her to make my life whole. The last three years she'd been back in Stone Mountain were a wonderful time. A time when she and I grew closer as she did with my children. I'm missing her so much....and she's only been gone 2 days. We'd go longer than that w/o talking on the phone...but just knowing I can't breaks my heart.

Here's a picture of her that i really like....it's not the one we used at the ceremony but a good one none the less.

Thursday 13...Places to Go, People to See, Things to Do

Here it is the last day of January and the house is abuzz with all the things we have to get done. So, somehow, I'm going to work it into a Thursday 13.

13. Secure House Insurance for the new home. Closing is tentively set for Feb 8 and we need Home Insurance. So far, the 3 cheapest are Safeco, MetLife (Go Snoopy) and Allstate (You're in Good hands!) I'll let Dale make the final decision, I'm just helping him get quotes.

12. PACK. Golly...we've not started yet. Dale wants to clean the whole house first...I just want to pack! We'll clean as we go along.

11. Eat everything in the outside freezer so that it can be defrosted...or at the least get it down to a manageable level so that it can be put into the refridgerator freezer.

10. Plan something for Valentine's Day for husband. We'll have just moved into our new house and I'd like to do something for him there. I am thinking about a picnic in the floor of the new house. Heart shaped cookies, that sort of thing. We'll see.

9. Work. I've taken a part time position with West At Home. It's a customer service company where the calls come to my home and I do my best to help them. I'm still navigating thru the screens, but I suppose I'll pick up on it. Any extra money is a good thing.

8. Ebay. I've got a few things on there I'm watching. Selling a couple of my old cookbooks. One's an Amish cookbook I bought when I was on my honeymoon up in Pennsylvania with my ex. Who needs another memory of him? not i said the fly.

7. Get Groceries...just not lots of frozen foods. (See #9) I try to do that on Fridays...I need to make a dessert & a an appetizer. I think I'm making fudge and then I dont know what...maybe the spinach artichoke dip ...with crackers ( i like to make fried bowties, but dont see that happening Saturday)

6. Sunday School Party on Saturday. I'm looking forward to it as it's the first thing we've gone to as members of this class. We've been going to Hebron Baptist for a while now but had put off joining because we thought we'd be moving too far away to keep attending. Now that's not going to be the case, we're looking forward to making it our church home. It's the largest church I've ever been a part of. But the Sunday School people are very nice...I hope they have kids that ours will get along with.

5. SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!! I love football, but the team I was pulling for (Brett Farve & the GreenBay Packers) didnt make it to the big one...so I really dont care who wins. Well that's not true. I guess I'm pulling for New England to have their "perfect" season.

4. Send back this shirt I bought for Christine's birthday party from Jessica London. It looked so good in the catalog but then when I got it...well I thought it looked like a maternity shirt. And that's the LAST thing I need.

3. Monitor the kids reading. See, they're all trying to earn Six Flags tickets by reading 6 hours worth of books. Now with John especially, this is hard because I have to do all that reading to him. But I refuse to just sign off on these things that they read it when in fact they didnt. Additionally, I'm big on encouraging Josh & Elizabeth to get those AR points (Advanced Reading) They each have goals at schools and if they make them, they get medals at the end of the year. Elizabeth cried last year cause she didnt get one and I'm trying to make sure she earns it this year. I've been checking out books for her left and right that I know are on the list. It's up to her to read them tho.

2. MOVE. Supposedly we're moving next Saturday...golly can you believe it??? I can't wait. Wish us luck.

1. Visit Mom in hospital. She's back in again and things aren't looking good. She had a bone marrow test today to see why she's not producing white blood cells. I'm scared to be perfectly honest. Please keep her in your prayers.

What a waste

It's not often that I read the news and get incensed about something. And it's even more rare that I'd write about in my blog...I leave that to Cindi. But this story just grated my last nerve.

Mother Charged With Infant's Death

Reported by: Duffie Dixon

An Atlanta mother is headed to jail, charged with the death of her infant.

Police said the woman was driving on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway with the child in her lap when she got into an accident Sunday morning. The infant was killed.

The death could have been avoided, had the infant been in a car seat, police said.

Lytanza Robinson is facing charges of vehicular homicide, reckless driving, seatbelt violations and driving with a suspended license. She faced a judge for her first court appearance Monday morning.

Police said Robinson lost control of her car and hit a pole. On impact, the airbag deployed, striking and killing the infant.

Robinson was transported to the hospital but was booked in the jail sometime Sunday night.

Does that not boil your blood??? That woman was driving with NO CARSEAT and the baby in her LAP. She deserves to have the book thrown at her. I keep trying to see her side of it...that maybe she couldnt afford a car seat. But dont they give them away at various places for the people out of money? Or couldnt she have picked up one at Goodwill or a garage sale? Oh my god...I just can't imagine.

Grocery Shopping Saturday

i went grocery shopping today also...made my daughter write a note for me...NOTE TO SELF: DO NOT SHOP AT WALMART ON SATURDAYS!!!!

But. I found several good things... I LOVE the turkey tenderloin chops by Butterball. Use em just like pork chops and they taste delicious. I don't really know that they're that fewer points than pork chops...I just assume they are. I found fat free evaporated milk so I can make some of my Yellow Daisy Festival soups....I found "diet" swiss cake rolls (but didn't buy them cause I don't trust myself)....Picked up a few paninis from Lean Cuisine ...and some of the Lean Pockets...Got hubby some of the 1 point ice cream bars from Blue Bunny...Bought me some of the apple cinnamon rice cakes that to me taste like Apple Jacks. Of course I bought other things....but those are some of the highlights. Just trying to make it from one week to the next.

I'm much more inspired these days....I even took my own snacks with me to the movies yesterday (27 Dresses) because I was encouraged that I got in my Size 26 jeans (vs the 28s I normally wear : ( )

When I gained all my WW weight back...I had to bring back out the fatter jeans. That was really demoralizing for me. So, I literally started over at WW...even though I'd never officially quit. I had them start me up a new card and list me as a new member. I had gained 36 of the 40 pounds back at that point. UGH. The weight loss has been very slow going since then.. It's been almost 4 months since then...and I've only lost 11.8 pounds. But my attitude is much better. I'm posting losses most every week now (since the holidays are over that is)

The hard thing for me is at the weight watchers meetings...and they go "has anyone here lost an additional five"....well last week I had...and they gave me a star....but all i felt was failure because I knew how much I had gained back.

Ramblings on a Cold Sunday

Well, it did snow all day yesterday...unfortunately, the temp hovered around 34 degrees so it didnt accumulate much. But that's ok...we still got out there and made snowballs and ganged up on one another and downright had a great time.

Today is football Sunday...conference championships. I'm pulling for Green Bay...and I guess the Patriots. Would love to see Brett beat Tom Brady but doubt it will happen. Anyway...now the imps are doing reading time in their rooms (except for Josh...who is once again writing sentences)

I made a DELICIOUS Hashbrown soup today that was nice and Weight Watchers Friendly. Here's the recipe if you're interested.

3 Cans FF Chicken Broth
1 chopped onion
1 Bag of plain shredded frozen hashbrowns
1 t salt
1 t pepper
6 oz Lite Velveeta

Mix together in a large pot and simmer for 20 minutes. 1 Cup = 2 points

It's cold cold cold today...It was 16 degrees when we woke up this morning and is now at a roasty 28. The kids are out of school tomorrow for the King Holiday and then again on Tuesday for Teacher Workday. Elizabeth has been sick with sore throat so I'm hoping she'll get better soon so that I can take them all to the jumpy place or something like that. Otherwise, maybe we'll find a dollar movie or something to go do. John has been begging to paint his ceramic frog so maybe we'll make tomorrow a painting day.

So I guess that's all for today...I'll try to remember to post again tomorrow after weigh in.

13 Observations at a Southern Funeral

I had an uncle to die this week and this was the first death to hit what I call the inner circle...the generation above me. But since I was not particularly close to this uncle, I was able to watch the proceedings with a bit of a detached eye. Now I dont necessarily claim that the following 13 things happen at all southern funerals or that they dont happen up north...but they do almost always happen in many of the funerals I go to.

13. The Viewing. I think this is the most barbaric custom in the world. To put the body on display at said funeral home for family and friends to come and gawk at while muttering amongst themselves, "doesn't he look natural" NO HE DOESN'T!!! He looks pasty and white. He's been sick for years and nothing an embalmer can do can change that. And the custom is that the family has to sit up at the funeral home for like TWO of the hardest days talking to people at a time you really just feel like being a lone for a bit. UGH.

12. Funeral Processions. There's usually about 20 cars in it and we all have special tags in our windows. As we go down the usually busy roads, cars pull over to the side out of respect and wait for us all to pass. I think this is a good thing. It causes us to stop in our busy world and think for a few seconds, "there, but for the grace of god go I"

11. Graveside services. You sit there huddled under a tent, the casket poised for lowering. Then the Masons step up and do their little ritual. I don't mean to poke fun of them, but they do look rather silly in their aprons and their hind jive motions they do once, twice thrice.

10. Clothing. Now i was brought up that you wear skirts to the funeral home and funeral. But by golly it was cold this week. So I put on my panty hose and walked in only to see 2 very well respected cousins of mine in SLACKS!! Now they looked perfectly acceptable...and I was left thinking I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT.

9. The Songs. Of course you should always have the standard classic Amazing Grace. but this was the first time I'd been to a funeral where Vince Gill sang Go Rest High on The Mountain. Granted it was a perfectly acceptable song, the lyrics were perfect. I'd just never heard it played at the funeral it's self.

8. Eulogies. I think they're cool. You always see on movies or TV where the funeral has a eulogy..but I'd never been to a funeral where there actually was one. This one did. It was light hearted and gave a more personal approach to the person who'd died. Usually it seems, the preacher knows nothing about the person they're preaching over. They'll make comments like, " the family tells me..." or they'll refer to the deceased by a name that noone calls him by. But this wasn't the case. The preacher may or may not have known him well...but he blended his talk well with the person giving the eulogy who obviously DID know him well.

7. Comin' to Jesus. The sermon the preacher preached at the service could have almost have been heard any Sunday. It featured the standard invitation to accept Jesus as your savior. Kind of an awake call for anyone who might not have....

6. Duration. This funeral episode lasted longer than most have. Usually, it's about a 2 day turn around. The person dies on Saturday...funeral on Mon or Tue. This one didnt happen til Wednesday. Didn't matter really. Just an observation.

5. Flowers. Apparently because my uncle was a vetern they had the flag on his coffin. Therefore, no flower spray could be put on top of the casket. So there were a couple of those big ole sprays on either side of the casket. We personally sent a flower basket that hopefully someone took home with them and will continue to live for a while. I also like to send plants. Something that wont die at the cemetery.

4. The funeral home it's self. I personally dont like this particular one...for one very vital reason. It only has one bathroom stall in the entire home!! Goodness! and a narrow one at that. There's just times when the emotions have started to run too deep in the designated room and you need to get away for a bit. The funeral home in Stone Mountain has pretty old antiques you can walk around and look at. This funeral home had nothing! And only one stall. Can't even sit in there and compose yourself w/o a crowd forming.

3. The comments. "Doesn't he look natural?" "You look nice Gina, You've always had such a pretty face." "Look at all the flowers" " I wonder if so& so will come?" (Or a variation of) "Has so and so been by yet? (Check the book) "Did you sign the book?" "What type of work are you doing now?" "When was the last time you saw him?" "He's at peace now" "At least he's not suffering anymore"

2. The Book. Ever notice how everyone wants to make sure they sign the visitor's book? Like they want to make sure they get credit for having shown up. Wonder if anyone ever looks thru it?

1. THE FOOD!!! I saved the best part for last. Where after someone dies, the food starts pouring in. There's sandwich fixins, sweets, fried chicken, devilled eggs, potato salad, etc. And if you're a family member, you know just who fixed what so you know to either gravitate towards it or avoid it!

Fat Issues

I'm tired! But proud of myself for getting up this morning and taking the imps to school then heading down to the gym. Today, I walked just over 2 miles in 47 minutes and burned about 300 calories (according to the treadmill) So that's the first step in accomplishing one of my New Year's resolutions. For me tho, it's a matter of consistency. I give up too easily. Today it would have been so easy to jump back in bed with hubby (who's sick and didn't go with me to the gym) after taking the kids to school.

I like the treadmill for the most part. I have my mp3 player and headphones. I can drift off into my own little world filled with music that inspires me and lyrics that uplift me and varying tempos. I made the mistake one time of actually closing my eyes and walking but that didn't work out too well. There are so many reasons I want to be healthy and of a normal weight. First being that I've never done it before! I've been "overweight" since the 1st grade!! When I was a young teen, my biggest dream was to go off to a fat camp over the summer and come back thin the following school year. I wanted that dramatic revelation. I wanted people not to recognize me. I have similar fantasies now even. To go off to some sort of resort spa/weight loss center and come back stunningly healthy.

Notice that, as an adult I never wish to be thin. I just want to be healthy...and average size. I want to fit into all the rides at Six Flags. I don't want my knees to hurt. I want to shop at Casual Corner or Victoria's Secret. I want to dive off the diving board without people staring and commenting on my splash. (I do it anyway...but I would like to squash the onlookers) I want to buy a regular sized necklace at a craft sale and know it will fit me. I want to sit at the movie theater and not feel the urge to lift the middle arm. I want to ride in an airline seat and not worry that I'm crowding the person next to me. And not worry if the seat belt is going to fit. I want to get out of the tub and wrap up in a towel that is not supersized. Sooo many things.

So, Back to Weight Watchers tonight after a 3 week absence. They were closed Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve...and to be honest, I didn't make the effort to go to a different meeting. If I DON'T gain more than 2-3 pounds, I'll consider it a successful holiday season. Wish me luck.

Happy New Year

So, this is my first post of the new year. Whatever shall I talk about? The excitement I feel over us buying a new house? The joy Christmas brought? How good it is that the imps are back in school? My New Year's Resolutions? Let's start there.

1) To lose below 250 pounds
2) To See all the Best Picture Nominees
.... to be added to as i see fit.

So yes, we're buying a house and i absolutely can't wait. Here's a picture of it.


We SHOULD finally have enough room. It's a 5 BR/3 Bath in Winder. We decided not to move to Florida at this time...To costly.

Christmas was awesome. But as usual, the imps got toooo many gifts. Was good to see the family of course and we even had the opportunity to show Dad, Lynne & GMS the house. The imps started back to school yesterday so that continuity is good.

All for now.