Drivin' 55

Last year, I had the pleasure and opportunity to take a lovely 7 day Scrapmap Scrapbooking cruise with Lisa Bearnson around the Hawaiian Islands with some of my friends. It was the first time I had ever gone on vacation without my husband. Granted, I traveled quite a lot in my former life/career, but nothing like this. No business meetings. No contract negotiations to be concerned with. The only things on my to do list was meet Lisa, absorb as much of her creativity as I could, not get sea sick, and oh, yes, have fun. This post is not entirely about the cruise itself, rather the beautiful murals in the main dining room aboard the Norwegian Cruise Ship Pride of America . I found these murals quite mesmerizing. Each one was approximately 12' x 8' in size. There colors so brilliant. The stokes of the brush invisible to the eye at first but upon closer inspection so delicate. The Hawaiian Islands remained unknown to Europeans until he late 1700s. For nearly a decade, Englishman ...

This recipe comes to you from my good friend, Becky. It is a staple in her dinner repertoire and I think you will find that you love it as well as I do. Here's what you need. 4 - 6 boneless chicken breasts, large family size cream of chicken soup, either one large container of sour cream or 1.5 of the medium size containers. These were on sale so it was cheaper to buy them this way. Either a tube of Ritz or Town House crackers. Store brands work just as well. 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds. Half stick of butter. I forgot to photograph the rice. This dish works very well with white rice. Preheat oven at 375 degrees. I chopped one clove of fresh garlic. A little extra virgin olive oil ... twice around the pan. Add the garlic and saute. I prepared this dish for 4 individuals. 3 chicken breasts worked fine, but Becky's family is larger and she will use as many as 6 chicken breasts. Season with salt, pepper, paprika. Even though I photographed the parsley, I didn't use it! Saute...

The monitor begins to sound A whimper A coo A soft cry Shall I go to his call I wait A louder cry I will go Tiptoe into his room Still dark Safe Peaking into his crib He's rolled on his tummy Little eyes still closed I pat his back He is between slumber And waking I roll him over Little eyes still shut tight He yawns Face contorted He is sweet Another yawn I succumb Pick him up Nestled on my one leg Head on my chest He falls back into slumber land His face So sweet So innocent My eyes A hint of a tear Love beyond all call.

It's a lazy Sunday, partly because I am a bit under the weather. I think I have a toss between a cold and or allergies. My eyes are watery, noise is intermittently stuffy and I just feel as though I want to sleep and sleep and sleep. Besides feeling as though I couldn't punch my way out of a paper bag, I feel weak. Try to ward off this impending ailment, I have force feed myself orange juice. Sadly, I have omitted the vodka which makes me no fun at all. I really wanted to post my Southern Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole tonight, but not sure if this will occur. Tuning out for now....

Saturday mornings are often lazy, relaxing times. Hubby and I enjoy fresh coffee. We take time to fix breakfast and leisurely enjoy each others company. However, this morning, we encountered a few hairy moments. Hubby takes pride in maintaining his own hair, granted, it is very easy as long as he has his clippers. Number one on his beard and all over his head. Simple right? He then switches to a super close cut for his neck and removes the #1 clip. Moments after the switch, he comes out of the bathroom holding his neck with his blood covered hand. Here's what transpired.... me: "What did you do?" him: "I cut myself and I'm bleeding like a pig." me: "Kinda looks like to me you tried to slit your neck!" him: "Very funny...now help me!" After administering first aid, Hubby decided to take his coffee outside to enjoy the weather but really, he makes his exit for an occasional smoke. Moments later, here what transpired! him: "A )^%$# bee ...

After our treacherous drive up to Pike's Peak, I managed to catch my breath enough to venture out to snap this photo. Looking at the clouds below us was a treat. Go! Behold many more sky scenes from around the world on the official SkyWatchFriday website !

Some days are better than others, granted, we cannot all live at the top of the mountain all of the time. As with ups, there are always downs. Case in point, the economy. The tragedy in Texas. The deficit. Lost jobs to China. As I ponder this state of the world, I wonder, will we ever see those high times again? Or will it be a modified version of "happy days are here again". The Cunningham family lived care free lives. Ahhh...the 50's. I was just a babe without a care in the world. If Marion or Joanie had a problem, The Fonz would always come to the rescue. For that matter, Fonzie solved every one's problems. We don't need a bail out plan. We need a modern day Arthur Fonzerelli to the rescue. Who do you think is the modern day Fonzie?

1. We got off the Titanic first. 2. We can scare male bosses with the mysterious gynecological disorder excuses. 3. Taxis stop for us. 4. We don't look like a frog in a blender when dancing. 5. No fashion faux pas we make, could ever rival the Speedo. 6. We don't have to pass gas to amuse ourselves. (No comments!) 7. If we forget to shave, no one has to know. 8. We can congratulate our teammate without ever touching her rear end. 9. We never have to reach down every so often to make sure our privates are still there. 10. We have the ability to dress ourselves. 11. We can talk to the opposite sex without having to picture them naked. 12. If we marry someone 20 years younger, we are aware that we will look like an idiot. 13. We will never regret piercing our ears. 14. There are times when chocolate really can solve all your problems. 15. We can make comments about how silly men are in their presence because they aren't listening anyway. Have anymore reasons why it's good ...

If this is what 82 looks like, ladies, then I am ready to tango on my 80 th birthday. You go Cloris! We will all be rooting for you babe!

This weekend was a true gift. Saturday weather was perfection. All the favored teams we root for won, making everyone happy. Sunday's weather was overcast but still resembled the new season approaching. We celebrated my mother in law's 85th birthday. She has Alzheimer's and there are good days and there are bad days. Sunday, her memory was a little fuzzy but her sense of humor was shining through at its best. Mom wanted to give her stamp of approval with the day's festivities, presents and cake by gesturing this cute little A-OK! I am amazed that she can be so funny and happy despite her ailment. Mom doesn't require much in the way of material things, rather finding her happiness in family and friends. She may not remember all of our names on any given day, but she always has a smile to share. She may repeat the same question 15 times within a 5 minute time span, but we don't mind answering the repeated questions because she is a family treasure. Happy Birth...

This is the last weekend of summer, but you wouldn't know that by the cool temperatures, light breezes and long shadows of this morning. This day should be saved and replayed whenever the need presents itself. This afternoon will be spent finishing up the laundry and watching college football. Go Dawgs! And for my SIL, Aaron, I will add the Gators....

Flowers are such gifts. They appear so simple in beauty, yet they are very complex. Wanting to write something profound about flowers, I visited Wikipedia and I was a bit blown away. Do you know there is a floral formula that represents the structure of a flower? Honestly, I don't' write that kind of blog. There are many great blogs out there in which you will discover information regarding the reproductive system of the flower. You can learn about the pollenation mechanism. There are two, if you didn't know, Entomophilous (bees transfer pollen) and Anemophilous (transfer of pollen via wind). There's the whole Flower-pollinator relationships, Fertilization, Dispersal and the Evolution of the flower. I just like to stop...and take the time to enjoy the flowers. Am I simple? I suppose!

If it's Friday, it must be Skywatch Friday! Time to wander the internet observing many bloggers from across the world post their grand photos of the sky. Imagine driving up a winding road, up to the top of Pike's Peak on August day because it is here that I lingered to take this grand skyline and mountain beauty. It was a clear and cool day and as the road turned and twisted, the mountain lake was revealed. Go! Behold many more sky scenes from around the world on the official SkyWatchFriday website !

Those of you out with furry little four legged children will appreciate this joke my very best friend sent me today. I laughed so hard I may have pee'd myself a little. Ok, I did pee myself! What woman over 50 hasn't done that either when sneezing or laughing? Anyway, I wanted to share this with my reading public, so you, too, would get a good laugh today. Because when you think about it, we would all feel better if we laughed a whole lot more. So enjoy! How to Give a Cat a Pill 1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow. 2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process. 3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away. 4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left ...

I am a Wednesday's child as is my daughter, husband, and grandson, therefore, in accordance with the famous poem, we are full of woe. My son is full of grace and my son in law has far to go. The version of the poem that I was first familiar with goes like this. Monday's child is fair of face. Tuesday's child is full of grace. Wednesday's child is full of woe. Thursday's child has far to go. Friday's child is loving and giving. Saturday's child works hard for a living, But the child who is born on the Sabbath day Is bonny and blithe and good and gay. What does this all mean really? I think I am loving and giving. Although not graceful, I want to believe I am full of grace. And hey, my complexion is fair. Who says that I don't work hard? So thanks to the Internet and not wanting to be full of woe, I searched for a better answer. I found another version of the poem and what is claimed to be the original version. Thanks to Wikipedia...I found this. While re...

Today marks the birthday of my little sister, Gerianne. We are 5 years apart for those of you wondering. If only I had access to my old photos and my scanner, I would post some embarrassing pictures of her, but since all my worldly belongings reside in an environmentally controlled storage space 1039, alas, I cannot accommodate that thought. Therefore, I shall try to recap some memorable times in an attempt to bring a smile or maybe even laughter to her day and maybe, embarrass her a tiny little bit! when Geri was about 3 years old, she was afraid of the moon she never ate any of her vegetables, but for some reason, our dog, Homer, always sat next to her at dinner time in my teen years, Mom always made me take her with me when I "went out" to visit my friends (it was a way to keep me out of trouble. me? trouble? nonsense!) when I was just dating my hubby, Geri offered to make him hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls for lunch...'cept we didn't have crescent rolls in th...

Why is it that I love Diet Pepsi but dislike diet clear drinks? ** Why is it I put cream in my coffee but sugar in my tea? (What are all these crazy questions ya askin me? Sorry, it just came to my head) ** What is it about Joe Biden's smile that makes me smile? Don'tcha love his renegade long hair? ** Who would have thunk it that Tina Fey would be a dead ringer for Sarah Palin? ** Why is it that I'm 50 something years old and still love watching SNL? ** Why is God punishing me for saying that Jessica Simpson can't sing and then guess what, her new song is stuck in my head 24/7? ** Why do I love to build walls around me to keep out those who love me the most? ** Why did Adam have to take a bite out of that damn apple and ruin it for all of us? ** Why is it that I was born beautiful and not rich? (I crack myself up) ** Why is it that I only had two children? ** Why is it that Republicans can bad mouth Democrats but blast Democrats for saying boo about Republicans? (I don...

This Sunday is filled with warm sunshine, humid breezes and the long shadows that reminds me of the next season that will be upon us very quickly. Ahhh....Fall! I cannot wait. As I take a peak into the 10 day forecast, I am excited to say that although tomorrow brings us cooler weather, this upcoming week will be delicious! There is nothing better than sleeping with the windows open and having the cool night air drift across your sleeping self. The freshness of the night transpires one to burrow down under the blanket or comforter to find that coziness of warmth and security. Ahh...Fall. I'm a'waitin!

Welcome to Skywatch Friday. This photo is at the top of Haleakala in Maui. What is amazing about this photo is the peaks you see down in the crater are larger than the Empire State building. When we began our ascent to the top of the mountain, it was a lovely 80 degrees. Once we reached the top, over 10,000 feet above sea level, the winds were sharp and cut deeply into us. The temperature dropped to 38 degrees. Thank you for visiting my SkyWatch post! Now go behold many more sky scenes from around the world on the official SkyWatchFriday website !

Since I've been in kind of a funk today, I can't really think of anything profound to blog about. Wait, who am I kidding. This blog ain't profound! I write it for me in my lame, simple minded way. On the brighter side, here is my little Jack holding his lamb, Libby, who was given to him by his Great Aunt Geri, Great Uncle Steve and family. When Grandma Paparazzi holds up the camera and press down slightly on the button, the flash does its thing as to not have red eye. This action suddenly erases the smiling face that Jack usually wears and is replaced by this serious pose. Most of my photos of Jack are taken on my babysitting day so it just Grama and Jack. And I love every minute of it!

I was in a meeting. Conducting the necessary day to day business. It seemed like the right thing to do. After all, it was the normal routine. Little did I know there would never be that normal again. The meeting ended at 9:18 am. My usual routine was to go into the engineering department and get customer updates from my team. The room was always a buzz of excitement, they were that type of people. I knew instantly that the vibe was different. On Marcus's computer screen was the frozen shot on the CNN website of the explosion into the first tower. The white board, which usually tracked important business information, now had the following information. Planes Hijacked American flight 11 World Trade United flight 195 World Trade American flight 77 unaccounted for Delta flight missing "We're under attack. The World Trade buildings were hit by 2 planes. Look at CNN." I didn't believe what I was seeing. Marcus explained that he couldn't get any other informatio...

Ya gotta love Whoppi Goldburg! She is one of my favorite actors and comedians and so much better than her predecessor on The View. I think she is versatile, outspoken yet kind, experienced and someone I would want to be stuck in an elevator with. (ending sentences with a preposition is a Mid-Western thing so get over it!) On Tuesday's show, she was talking about GPS systems and men and asked why men never ask for directions. Her point was a good one, GPS systems should be mandatory in all men's cars. Whoppi volunteered to be the voice for the GPS systems. Now in your best Whoppi voice, imagine that she is talking to a male driver...here goes! I already told you to turn right, where are you going? Stop, fool, and turn around! Hey, stupid, why didn't you turn when I told you to turn? It's not often when I really LOL, but she can get me most of the time to break out in a chuckle. Who would you like to be stuck in an elevator with? Someone that would be just fun to pas...

Here's a question to be pondered in that vacant moment between feeding the cat and making breakfast. Does anyone in the United States think Jessica Simpson has talent? I have tried to listen to her songs, videos, TV appearances, really I have. I believe I gave her more chances to convince me that she can sing. Sadly, the girl can't sing. Her appearance on GMA on Tuesday was purely amateur. First, she asked for a do over with her band. I think I remember that very thing on American Idol! Secondly, her earring fell off. Did the show go on? No, she went to fetch it. Oh, she did continue singing, but it was very distracting. Frankly, I think her little sister can sing circles around Jessica. Tell me why we think she has talent or do you agree with me.

It's been a few weeks since my incident with my sleeping cat, Will. My scars have healed without leaving any permanent signs. I was even brave enough to tweeze my left eye brow now that the claw mark healed. My family commented on how it could have been much worse, Will could have scratched my cornea. Something I never thought about which was probably a good thing. After the abrupt awakening incident, I have seen a slight difference in Will. What? You say! Well, if he is asleep on the bed and hears me come in, he immediately opens one eye as if to say "I'm not going to make that mistake again!" Lately, he is overly affectionate. I am the recipient of many head butts, paw kisses on my face and unending nudges and cuddles. It's almost as if he has tried to apologize a million times since the scratching incident. All in all, I think Will was a bit upset with the negative press and wanted to set the record straight! Do you think your animals have a human side? Do th...

It's a beautiful Sunday morning here and much to my surprise, I woke shortly after 8:00 am. What probably caused my early rising was the crazy dream I had last night about my blog. Let me explain. We all want validation that somebody out there is reading our blog, for me, I can't wait to read a comment from the few that actually read this crazy blog. You see, I have my blog set up to email me when someone posts a comment because sometimes, I over look a comment. In my dream, I open up my email to see that I had over 20 comments to a post. Being the nut job that I am, I don't reveal the comment there. Quickly, I go over to my blog and read the comments under the posts. Still dreaming, mind you, I open the comments section and I am embarrassed, appalled, sickened, and scared that someone, no several someones had left remarks of a sexual nature and of a stalking nature. Clearly, it was out of a horror movie. Dreaming! I immediately began deleting the comments, but the comments...

I scheduled an appointment to get my hair cut. I couldn't go to my interview looking like the shaggy dog. Remember that movie? I loved that movie with Fred MacMurray , Tommy Kirk , Jean Hagen , Kevin Corcoran , Tim Considine , Roberta Shore , and Annette Funicello . Wilby, the English sheep dog, made me wish to own one of these dogs in my life time and name him Ka-boom. It was one of my favorite drive in movies. Remember drive ins? Where are all of the drive ins today? Wow! It doesn't take much for me to digress. Back to my hair cut! As you probably know, I am obsessed with hair cuts, hair products, and all of the hype associated around my hair. Yep, you are probably saying to yourself, her hair looks like crap most of the time! I agree. In my head, my hair looks a certain way and I'm standing by that idealist vision! Imagine how impressed I was when I called the Aveda salon at the Avenue in Forsyth to make my appointment and I was already in the computer! The best hair cut...

Soon after I received the news last October that I will soon be a grandmother, I was immediately asked, "Mom, what do you want the baby to call you?". I never really gave it much thought but then it began to sink in and I was soon transformed to my childhood experiences with my grandparents. My dad's parents were not with us long after I was born. Despite their short years on this earth, they made a strong impression on my life. Sadly, I only have one memory from my paternal grandfather. I must have been 4 years old when Grandpa Walter came to visit me. Ah, yeah, he came to see me. I remember him calling me over to sit on his lap in the kitchen. I crawled up on his giant lap and remember getting the best hug that only a grandpa could provide. The one where I was totally enveloped in love and security. His hug seemed to last forever. I remember the way he tickled my chin with his large index finger that made me laugh and scream. Mom served him coffee and he told me to ju...

Many of us, women, have had the pleasure of becoming a mother. Having experienced that for myself, not once, but twice, I admit, it was still a long time ago but you never forget the experience. Being a mom entitles each one of us to become a member of "the club". You know, the one where we get to share our story of nine months of pregnancy, labor, our cravings, our fears and hopes for our new baby, our childbirth experience. All of it! That is our God given right as a mother! Am I right? And my right as a new Grandma, allows me to post adorable photos of my happy little grandson, Jack. He is 3 months old and already turning over from back to front and front to back. I know, he is a genius! He has discovered his hands and puts his entire fist into his mouth. If you remember, that creates lots of drool! When not sopping up the drool, I am trying very hard to teach him "the raspberries". I managed to capture him with his cute little tongue out of his mouth, b...

Labor Day is almost over and it means back to work for all us bums. As of right now, I am not working, but guess what? I have an interview on Thursday! Yes and boy am I excited about it. I'm not going to say too much because I don't want to jinx it. However, I will spill just a little hint. If I get hired, I could end up owing my future employer more money at the end of each week than I earn if I am not careful. Discounts for friends? Hmm...I'll have to find out. September means lots of things to me. My little sister has a birthay this month. She will be 49 this year. My MIL will celebrate her 85th birthday. My surrogate grandchild will be 6 and I can hardly believe that. The most exciting thing that September brings is the advent of fall. Without a doubt, fall is my most favorite season. The colors of fall are so my decorating scheme. (told you I was a closet decorator) Seems to me back in the 70's when I married my sweet husband, earth tones were so in. You can't...