Meghan Wins the School Geo Bowl

Meghan won the 5th grade Geo bowl for her school. This may not be a surprise for most with Alan a history/social studies major and me a political science major. Now this means that we are currently involved in a deep study of the 5th grade social studies book because in Dec she will compete against 66 other 5th graders in the county. Meghan's school is usually done in by the Florida history questions so that is a focal point of our study at this point. Meghan is determined to be the best showing that her school has had at the county level. Wish her luck!!!

Pride In My Daughter

As a parent often times you agonize over whether your child is developing into the type of person that you dreamed of during those infant and toddler years. As your child begins to be exposed to experiences and values outside your home you question whether you have done enough to send the messages that instill in them the values that you hope that will take into the world from home. I believe that I can find comfort in the fact that Meghan appears to be moving in that direction.

A couple of weeks ago, Meghan was invited to attend a family celebration for the birthday for one of her best friends younger brothers. Even though Meghan was not able to attend the family celebration, she still wanted to take a gift to the brother. The pride I felt at the time she said that is hard to put into words. She was thinking of people other than herself and that really makes me proud. We have tried to instill in her that gifts are something that you give because you want to not because you want to or expect something in return. I think this was a sign that she is hearing our messages even when we are not sure.

We take tremendous pride Meghan's accomplishments, and we hope that she does not become one of those kids that lords her opportunities and accomplishments over others. So far she appears to be maintaining the appearance of following this trend.

Return to School

Well it is the end of summer here as we returned to school on the 10th. Meghan is now in 5th grade!! Wow... why can they not stay small forever. So far, Meghan is very pleased with her teacher. She has big plans for the year. She will be in the strings program at school and made it into the BSYO Strings Ensemble. Alan and I will be the manager for this group this year. Saves a little of the cost but increases our time spent. Meghan also will have dance classes on Tuesday and Friday nights. She is not sure if she will keep all 5 classes in which she has enrolled.

We spent a great summer traveling and being with family that we have not seen in a number of years. I will try to post pictures soon. I have been trying to post a video of Meghan playing the violin at the church my inl aws attend.; however, I am having issues getting it uploaded here and on facebook. Probably operator error or impatience.

Florida Sunsets II

Just love the sunsets around here. The ones at the bottom are taken over the river.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Those of you that read and enjoyed last years post abut watching the fireworks will be disappointed that I do not have similar post this year. We began our day planning our evening of sitting and waiting for the fireworks. About 3 hours before the scheduled start time for the fireworks, we had one of "scattered" Florida thunderstorms. Living in Florida in the summer thunderstorms are a DAILY occurrence so you take preventive measures like roll your car windows up, cover things that you do not want to get wet. Come on its Florida and that is what you should do - afternoon thunderstorms are not a surprise. Apparently the people in charge of our fireworks are "FLORIDIOTS" because along came our afternoon thunderstorm and they failed to cover up the fireworks. So we came home with our Arby's roast beefs and watched the fireworks in Washington DC on TV. Hope your towns were better at handling their fireworks than our towns was.

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!!

Accomplishment or Just Archaic and Pathetic

Today marked what I once viewed as a milestone...an accomplishment if you will. Now I am not so sure. Today I reached the milestone of having worked for my company for 20 years. Yes that's right 20 years and that equals more than 1/2 my life that I have given to my employer. As I contemplate all that means, I am not sure what I think or even how I feel about this "accomplishment". Perhaps I am a little bit of a throwback to an era that has come and gone.

I feel a degree of pride... how many people my age can say they have been with their employer for two decades. I grew up with the stories of my grandfather having worked for his company for decades. I was always impressed by the loyalty that he had for his company. The loyalty trickled into all our lives. To this day, many of my shopping expeditions revolve around the company to which he dedicated his life. (my wedding gown and all my bridesmaids wore dresses from that company) Not unlike grandfather, I have a feeling of loyalty toward my company; however, I sometimes question whether my loyalty is misplaced. I think companies in general today view their employees as less than an investment and more as a replaceable commodity. The hierarchy in my company is always telling us to hire quality people; and I believe the issues for that lie with the expectations that everyone that comes through your front door will perform at the level of a seasoned employee within moments of starting the job. The true reality is that quality employees are created through development, training and coaching(ie. the investment).

My company does make a small effort to recognize our service and about a month ago they mailed my 20 year pin to the store. Well the pin was suppose to have diamond look chip in the upper left corner. That's right folks, my pin arrived with the little diamond looking chip missing and an obvious hole where the chip was supposed to be. Now I found that amusing but someone did call about the pin being defective (no not me - I was not that concerned). A new one is being mailed out and we can just "toss the defective one" in the trash while the person telling us that acted put out that we would even ask about such a thing. I think that probably sums up the corporate attitude about someone giving the company 20 years.

Pictures from the Dance Recital

Well I finally managed to get through the photos from Meghan's dance recital. There are 134 photos on my Facebook page for those that are interested. However, this is probably my favorite picture that we took between the dress rehearsal and the recital. Mamoo and Papoo made it to be here with us for the recital. Meghan has another BSYO performance tomorrow and they will be here to enjoy it.

The Stare Down

The Proud Papa!!!

I can eat this bird. Maybe?

Time to feed the babies.

"The Stare Down" The cat cannot see inside my nest today.

Nibbles and the bird who I have named Gloria had a stare down this morning. I really thought it was odd that she was not flitting around in the branches like she usually does, but I figured she was just trying to aggravate the cat. Later in the morning Meghan and I noticed that she was perched at the edge of the nest with something in her beak. As we watched something moved in the nest. There are at least two babies in the nest that were not there yesterday. We watched throughout the day and also managed to see the proud papa guarding the area in the afternoon. So now folks we need a name for two babies and the proud papa. Nibbles spent the afternoon playing with his toy bird.

The Bird

The bird is getting use to us and appears to becoming more comfortable. She does not go flying everytime we come out the door. She was in her nest when I left for work this morning and she was there when we came home this afternoon. We have bought bird feeders and bird seed, but we still do not have a name. So again please help provide suggestions for her name.

Name the Bird

Just a little while ago, I posted about a bird that built her nest just outside our front octagon window. Since we will begin "providing" for her, I feel we should have a name. So Internet, please help us find a name. Pictures are in the previous post. Meghan will choose from the suggestions. The choosen name will be posted in a week.

Have fun and be creative!!!

Bird Moves In & Cat Goes Nuts

The "bird in the bush".

Bird watching!!!! I just want a "nibble".

Camera shy!! Catch me if you can!!

Bird watching!!!! Please just a taste!!!

I'll build my nest so I can aggravate the cat. He can't catch me!!!!

The bird's nest with a "Birdseye" view of the world. Keeping the cat close to home.

Our house has this octagon window at the front which we thought was neat when we bought our house. However, the reality of living with that window far outweighs it's neatness. Our cats on the other hand have loved to sit in that window and watch outside. Nibbles tends to be very quite when sitting in that window, but lately he has been very vocal and agitated when in the window. Yesterday I found out why. A bird has built a nest in the Hibiscus that is just outside the window. The bird was actually quite smart about the placement of the nest because it places her just under the eaves of the house and is located in the back of the bush. Plus she is driving the cat nuts. I spent part if yesterday and this morning trying to take her picture. She has proven to be camera shy making it difficult to snap that shot, but she did cooperate this morning.

Enjoy the pictures. Watch Meghan's blog in the coming weeks too. Tomorrow we are buying a bird feeder and bird seed. I guess this means we will have to name her. Help with name suggestions.

STS - 125 Atlantis Lifts Off

Here in our part of Florida, we are counting down the remaining Shuttle missions. Today Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off for the final Hubble Telescope mission. As these missions wind down for the shuttle program's scheduled retirement, each shuttle launch brings the end of an era a little closer in our world. I remember being in grade school and televisions being rolled in for us to watch the first launches of the new shuttle program. Living in this area has provided me the opportunity to experience the thrill of these massive vehicles lumbering into space up close and personal and share awe inspiring event with my daughter. Today because the launch time was so close to the time to pick Meghan up from school, I experienced the shuttle's race to space from my front yard. How incredibly lucky we are to live where we can have this experience in our backyard (or in our front yard since our house faces east). For those of you unfamiliar with were we live, we live south and a little west of the Kennedy Space Center. So to see the shuttle we must look north and east. One of our new neighbors came rushing out of her house to watch. I had to tell her to turn around and look the other way.

People are unbelievable

Alan has been having problems with his shoulder for about 2 weeks now; and I have been going to bed at night with the ben gay aroma strong enough to clear my sinuses and make my eyes water. As we leaving Cracker Barrel after breakfast this morning, the pain spread down into his arm so he agreed to go see a doctor. We went to this new urgent care/walk in clinic near for him to see a doctor. Alan was taken back fairly quickly so he did not get to finish watching Bolt in the waiting room. Alan was back there quite awhile so I was sitting in the waiting room quite awhile where sniffling, coughing and sneezing people were coming and going. I hope no one had the Swine Flu :) Oh yes I was able to finish watching Bolt but I won't tell him how it ends. :)

Perhaps its because I minored in Sociology in college, but I enjoy watching people and how they interact with the environment around them. I found this to be more entertaining than watching Bolt. People watching can be such fun especially you are not a participant. First there was the guy who came in wanting the doctor to write something that said he was well. When the girl explained that he would have to have a physical he said he did not want a physical that all he needed was for the doctor to fill out this form saying he was well. The girl at the desk tried to explain it was not possible to do without a physical. Once this was explained he pulled out an insurance card. This made her explain that his insurance would not pay for a physical from an urgent care facility and he would have to pay out of pocket for it. This "gentleman" grabbed his card mumbling that he would make some phone calls and be back.

The next guy to draw my attention was a bigoted buffoon that wanted to know if they accepted his insurance. when they confirmed that they did he wanted to know how much he would have to pay. The girl at the desk replied she did not know and but would find out when she contacted them. He wanted to know how she would be able to do that and why just looking at his card would not tell her. She explained she would either call them or find out on the Internet. The guy then asked who the doctors were and the girl at the desk told him which doctor was in today. Then get this, the buffoon leans over the counter and whispers (still loud enough to be heard in the waiting room) and asks if the doctors there were Americans. The girl at counter was obviously at a loss as to what to say as she stared at this man so the guy leans forward and says "you know are they Americans". After several minutes of silence the girl told him that the doctors at the clinic will all board certified physicians. The man nodded and said okay and left.

If you are going to be picky about the doctor you see, then you probably should go to somewhere besides an urgent care/walk in clinic. Since we have been here, I have encountered many foreign born doctors that have been excellent. One of the surgeons that operated on me in 2007, was foreign born but had been in the United States long enough that he had been a surgeon in the hospital in New York that my grandfather had been treated in for cancer. In fact it is possible that he may have been involved with some of my grandfather's surgeries. Keep in mind that my grandfather's last cancer surgery was the day I was born. Besides last I knew, at some point everyone here was not an American. By the way for those that may be concerned, Alan is fine, he simply has a pinched nerve.

Florida Sunsets I

There some good points to living here in Florida and the sunsets are definitely one of those good points. We have many beautiful sinsets. The sunrises are beautiful also, but well they happen sooo early. I am usually already at work or I have to take Meghan to school. After school is out Meghan and I will try to go sit on the beach for a couple of sunrises and post pictures of our favorites on our blogs.

Disturbing...

I have been very negligent in leaving any post lately. Things have been hectic at work for both Alan and I. Combine that with Meghan winding down the school year, things just seem to be happening very fast. When I have been online, I have been hanging out on sites that do not require me to be an active participant - you know the places where you can take stupid quizzes or just post a statement. Twitter has been a favorite lately since I can leave a statement that I do not necessarily have to explain or analyze why I have that thought. In addition I have been hanging out on Face book too. I went to Face book when my high school group moved there from msn groups a couple of months ago. I have actually spent the past few weeks looking for friends from high school and have managed to be back in touch with several people that I lost contact with years ago and found others that will get me in touch with others I hope. Some of these people go back to kindergarten. Sort of cool to hear what all these people are up to now. While searching through Facebook, I found something very disturbing, and it is the main reason for this post.

While searching for one person in particular, I found her uncle who was only two years older than us. I searched through his friends to see if by chance she was listed. I was very disturbed by the number of people I recognized on his friends list. There are a large chunk of people that were listed as friends that I know for a fact had very little or nothing to do with him in high school and yet now they are okay with people seeing their name attached to him as a friend. Of course I realize that as we "grow up", we are suppose to move past the whole clique stage from high school; however, I still find it very disturbing that this many people are changing their tune like this. Maybe going to Hollywood and being in a couple of movies makes these people suddenly proud to claim you as a friend. I suppose my real problem with this is that it means that some of the people I went to high school with have not really "grown up" enough to be any less shallow than they were in high school. Perhaps they are simply try to right their past behavior but I wonder whether they would still be listed on his friends page had he stayed local and not gone to Hollywood. I just find this all very hypocritical. Am I simply to cynical?

Its That Time Of Year Again...

Well folks its that time of year again. I used to think that Christmas time was the most expensive time of year but I think I am starting to reevaluate that concept. We are at the end of April and it is time for the wallet to open again.

Last week we received the registration forms for dance class and the audition information for BSYO. Of course there are registration fees associated with both these forms.

Next up are the purchase of tickets to the BSYO final performance of the year and tickets for the danced recital. This year is the first time that there has been a limit on the number of free tickets you get for the dance recital if your child is in more than one class. In addition, we were also given the type of tights, shoes and accessories we need to purchase for the recital.

As a reward there are all the dinners that come after these events. (Can you say Red Lobster 3 times within a month) Now might be the time to purchase stock in Darden restaurants.

Not to be forgotten is the end of the school year. Yeah!!!

BSYO and Meghan

We had BSYO rehearsal this evening. These kids range from 1st grade to 9th grade. They have worked all year and you can hear the progress but tonight they were outstanding. I wish all of you could hear this group. Their next concert is on May 17th. Audtions for next year will follow soon after the concert.

Meghan is working on her solo for her school concert. She is playing Jesu, Man's Desiring. The school is rapidly coming to a close.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone. Today we will be going to my mom's house for Meghan's private egg hunt. Last night we took Alan's new car on a drive down US 1 and A1A. What a fun drive. We saw Jupiter Lighthouse in operation at night with the light lit with the moon as a background. What a beautiful sight that was. We did try to take pictures with my mom's camera. Hopefully we have some pics that I can salvage to post here. We will try again sometime when we have our camera with us.

How Pointless

I put a small effort into posting a reading list in the columns on this page. I believe I am going to abandon any attempt in that direction. Many of you may look at this as a very half hearted attempt; however, for those of you that do not know me well - let me explain. By the time I realize I have not added recent books I have read, it is simply too late to try to catch up. I usually read 4 - 6 books a week. Anyone else that is an avid reader that is interested in maybe a team blog about the books we read then I am interested. I could chose a book here and there instead of trying to keep up posting to the list. Contact me through the comments here, email or facebook to let me know you are interested - it might be fun.

Much Needed Time Away

Yesterday we went to west coast of Florida to see some family on my Dad's side. It was in celebration of the 50th birthday of a cousin. For those of you not familiar with how whacked the generations are in my family, I am the same generation as the cousin turning 50. The only cousins I have close in age to me are my dad's brothers kids, but due to distance, I have never met them. I would love to get to know them but alas it does not seem possible. Anyhow, this picture contains 4 generations.:) Wow!!! For those of you looking for me, do not waste your time - someone had to take the picture The party was held in beautiful Phillippe Park. Which turned out to have significance for Meghan as they recently studied in Florida History about different Indians and there was an Indian ceremonial mound there the she could see. I will try to post other photos as time allows. Meghan took pictures also, so maybe I will find time to get her on her blog to post some pictures.

How Have Things Changed for You....

I thought this would be fun for all. Put your answers in the comments and have fun !!! You probably don't want to be too specific - I am not.
****15 YEARS AGO (1994)****

1) How old were you? 21
2) Who were you dating? Alan
3) Where did you work? A store
4) Where did you live? Georgia
5) Where did you hang out? work and school with the occassional movie thrown in
6) Did you wear contacts and/or glasses? glasses - (changed to contacts in 1995)
7) Who were your best friends? Alan, Angie and Sandra
8) How many tattoos did you have? 0
9) How many piercings did you have? 2 (1 for each ear - how prudish)
10) What kind of car did you drive? 1982 Chevy Camaro
11) Had you been to a real party? yes
12) Had you had your heart broken? yes
13) Were you Single/taken/Married/Divorced? taken
14) Any Kids? 0

****** 10 years ago 1999********
15) How old were you? 26
16) Who were you dating? no one I was married
17) Where did you work? same place a different location
18) Where did you live? Ga.
19) Where did you hang out? home - I had a newborn that was almost 2 months old
20) Who were your best friends? Alan, Angie and Sandra (although I did not see much if them) and Debbie
21) How many tattoos did you have? 0
22) How many piercings did you have? 2 - 1 for each ear
23) Had your heart broken? yes
24) Were you Single/Taken/Married/Divorced? married
25) Any Kids? 1 - a newborn girl
26) What kind of car did you have? 1989 Olds Cutlass Supreme (one of my favorite cars)

****TODAY (2009)****
27) Age? 36 - at least for a few more months
28) Where do you work? same place - for those counting it will be 20 years in June
29) Where do you live? Florida
30) Who are your closest friends? Alan, Patty, Tracy, Sandra and Sabrina (who knows more secrets about me than my husband and can tell you how many times I was grounded as a kid including the day she 1st tried to meet me)
31) Do you talk to your old friends? I try but only through email mostly
32) How many piercings do you have? 2 - still only one in each ear
33) How many tattoos? 0
34) What kind of car do you have? Black Chevy Tahoe
35) Had your heart been broken? yes
36) How many kids? 1 - a girl
37) Are you Single/Taken/Married/Divorce? Very happily married

Time Change

Of course today was the day to "Spring Ahead" an hour. I do not know about anyone else, but I really did not feel much like "springing" anywhere much less an hour ahead. To make things all that much better, I had to be at work at 7am. :(

As we went to bed last night, I made sure that I had everything set correctly. I even plugged in my regular alarm clock in that off chance that the cable boxes and cell phones failed to do the job of moving themselves forward. The precautions were in place. Apparently our phones took offense to this and at 2 am this morning, rang with the alert that they were moving forward an hour. Now this is really messed up since I am already losing an hour of sleep that I desperately need and the phone wakes me up at 2 am to tell me it is moving the time forward an hour. To add insult to injury, I have to press OK to accept this or an annoying little light flashes on the phone. Just one more piece in the plan to rob me of hour or more of sleep. (I do not sleep well when light sneaks in - it must be pitch black for me to really sleep)

Now with that off my mind, I am going to go find that missing hour of sleep. I hope I find it before the fall when we turn the clocks back.

What Graciousness and Courage

For little over a week, our family has been dealing with having to say goodbye to a very dear member of the family - Jo Anne. It is a time of great sadness as we see and hear of friends and family filing in to spend time with her during her final days. We have made the trip two times over the past week. As we made each of those drives, I regretted the fact that life tends to keep us so busy that we did not go to see her more frequently.

As we visit with her, I am astonished at how gracious she is to each and every one of her visitors. You can tell she is tired but she still makes the effort to talk and comfort her guest. While we were with her, she reminisced about the time we stayed with her during Hurricane Frances in 2004. What wonderful memories we share of that stressful time. Meghan played Jesu, Mans Desiring for her. She seemed to enjoy her impromptu concert; however, she has inspired Meghan and her playing of the violin in a way that no one else has in a very long time. We hope that Meghan has given her a gift through her music, but Meghan's Great Aunt Jo gave Meghan a wonderful gift by allowing her to play for her and seeing the joy that she is capable of giving with her music.

In spite of the stress her situation creates not just for her but everyone else as they deal with her illness and her imminent passing, it strikes you as to what an incredible gift she has been given to have these final moments with her family and friends. The gifts that she has given over these past few weeks will live on well past her and bring comfort and joy to people for years to come. Isn't that really what we all hope for in the long run - to leave some part of ourselves with those we will leave behind so that we will be remembered; and thereby continue to live one in the hearts of others even after we are gone...

Please click on Dianne's album and see pictures of this courageous woman. She is truly incredible and such a beautiful example of grace.

People Are Interesting

Sunday we had basically a customer appreciation sale on the guise of Friends and Family. We put out refreshments for the customers to enjoy while they shopped. Watching people get free cookies and snacks can be entertaining. One little boy (about age 11)was touching several of the items - picking them up and putting them down. When we told the child to touch only what he was going to take, he looked at us like what we were doing to telling him to tell him such a thing.

When we get ready to draw a ticket for the door prizes, I find it fascinating to observe people's behavior. We generally ask a customer to draw the ticket for the door prize we are giving away. When you come toward them with the basket, some turn their head and put their hand in the basket and pull a ticket. Others close their eyes as they pull a ticket. Regardless of how they pull the ticket from the basket, they all eagerly look at the the ticket and read the name on the ticket before they hand the ticket back to us. Of course, everyone else crowds to the front of the store to watch the drawing.

This is definitely a psychology experiment waiting to happen.

A Treat For the BSYO

Monday nights are Meghan's rehearsal with the BSYO. Tonight they received an hour long concert (called a master class) from the Vienna Piano Trio. The Melbourne Chamber Music Society brought the group to our area and then brought them to perform for the kids. This group was fantastic. I have heard a lot of professional musicians in my time but they are among the best. I have never been a huge strings fan (I know - weird since my daughter plays violin. I still think woodwinds are the best - the rest of the world is uninformed.), but they were good enough that it made me almost want to play violin. Be sure to check out their website they are fantastic.

***Sometimes the links do not show up as links, so run your cursor over the different group names and it should show up then.*******

Don't Confuse Us

Alan and I began developing a love affair with lighthouses when we visited a Fort Niagara in 1992. The love was cemented when we spent our honeymoon on Tybee Island 13 years ago. However, to keep the whole lighthouse thing in check, we came up with the rule that the only lighthouses we can collect are ones that we have been to. So now here we are are 17 years after our first lighthouse and we have only managed to see a total of four. With us and our mom's looking, we have quite a collection of Tybee Island lighthouse items.

We have rearranged the living room and have this huge open spot on the wall that is begging for some type of very large picture to be the focal point. The place where Meghan rehearses with the BSYO has paintings that you can place bids on if you are interested in acquiring. Well, there is a painting simply titled Lighthouse that closely looks like it is the Tybee Island lighthouse. Alan and I have been "discussing" whether this was Tybee Island Lighthouse or not. Alan looked at a framed puzzle my mom has of lighthouses and noticed that the painting and the puzzle did not match. Then we continued to "discuss" whether the puzzle was wrong. Alan went to our photo album and looked at the picture that we took 13 years ago. That photo matched the picture we took. While he was doing that, I looked at the magnet on the frig and the framed post office stamp collection I bought Alan for an anniversary gift a couple of years ago. Both these matched the painting. So now we are still "discussing" and not really sure what the heck is going on. We turned to the Internet and found that Tybee Island has been painted in six different ways throughout the decades. In 1999, Tybee Island was reverted to the fourth daymark. So both are right. Now we simply must decide whether to bid on the painting. For all our "discussion", we were both right.

Alan Jackson Concert

Last Saturday we went to the Alan Jackson Concert which was fantastic. We were in a group of 12 that went to the concert. We met the group we were going with at the home of one of the guys sisters who lives near the UCF arena. While we are there waiting for everyone to get ready, the sister's roommate came in and was talking to the everyone. Then she looks over and sees Alan and I and said "There are adults here, I hope I did not drop any F bombs". Yes, we were the oldest of the group there, but really was it necessary to call us ADULTS. Of course now I am really confused, because just a few weeks ago the store manager where I am an assistant informed me and the other assistant manager (who is in her 50s) we were not adults :)

Anyway we divide up into two cars and proceed to leave for the concert.We drove my Tahoe which limited the number of number that could go with us. Of course only 3 of us were sober enough to drive. (The sister, Alan and me - wait maybe that is why we classified as ADULTS.) The sister was driving a van with the rowdiest if the group which had three cameras going and the flashes were going off every few minutes for the entire drive.

So, we get to the concert and we find our seats. Everyone begins filing in for the concert and I noticed one of the t-shirts someone was wearing was an AC/DC t-shirt. Dude...are you confused? Of course Alan and I have a very eclectic taste in music so maybe he does to, but AC/DC t-shirt seems a little out place at a country concert. The opening band was from Georgia and the fiddle player was awesome and made me wish Meghan was with us to hear him.

We rally enjoyed the concert. Alan Jackson performed all my favorites for Home. He did not play Alan's favorite Midnight In Montgomery.

Help Needed

One of the guys that works me is in a band that needs votes so they can win a local contest that will allow them to play at earthday birthday. They have worked really hard, so please log on to WJRR and vote for them. The band name is Angels of Nightfall.

No Win Situation For Alan

With Glasses


without glasses



Alan managed to create a no win situation for himself this morning. I wore my glasses for the entire day to day. I prefer my contacts and tend to leave them in longer than I should; however, today I left them in the entire day. So we went for breakfast and he says I really like you in glasses - "You look smart". Of course I immediately pick up on the implication that I must not look smart with out them. Of course this creates a no win situation for Alan...he cannot possibly get out of this. So I took pictures this evening with and without glasses.

So Excited

Tomorrow night Alan and I are going to a concert in Orlando at the UCF arena. I am really excited. The last concert we went to was the Hilary Duff concert we took Meghan to a couple of years ago. We are going to see Alan Jackson's Good Time Tour. We are gong with a group that we know from Alan's job. They are all younger than us but that's ok. I get to see Alan Jackson in concert.

Before we moved to Florida, we lived near were he grew up, and I even worked with people that knew him when he was growing up. He performed frequently around Atalnta but I could never go. Rather ironic, I had to move away fro the Atlanta area in order to actually make it to one of his concerts. Every now and then when I listen to him sing Chattahoochee, I become a little homesick.

Hopefully we will have a good time.

What "Floridiots" Wear When It Is Cold

As the temperatures have plummeted around the country, Florida has been plunging right along with the rest of the country. Of course until last night we had not been dropping ridiculously low. The temps this morning have been upper 20s and lower 30s. Since we do not experience cold on a regular basis and because it usually warms up dramatically during the day, it can be hard to decide what wear. For the past week, I have observed various methods of handling the cool temperatures in Florida. I only regret that I have not taken photos to share with you. Hopefully your imagination will help you out.

Up first was the 70+ year old woman in the full length rabbit fur coat. This in and of its self would not stand out, but she was wearing a pair of spring heeled sandals that I jokingly refer to as "Jesus" looking sandals and the the pants looked like they were from one of the wind suits that were popular in the 80s. Add to this perfectly made up face and perfectly done hair, you have the image that woman projected. Before you ask, no she was not senile and is fairly typical of the well to do elderly that live in this area. Individually none of these would have been crazy, but together they were most definitely made this woman a standout.

There is also the guy last night at the grocery store. He was wearing shorts and sandals(yes , shorts and sandals - legs and feet completely bear in 30 degree temperatures) along with a thick ski looking coat with gloves. (Hey he might have been warmer if he had something covering those legs and feet. )

Now I agree layers are the way to go. That is why Meghan has had so many missing warm clothing items from her wardrobe. However, I have this mistaken idea that layers should be worn in such a way as to let you taken off the outer layer and still be able to be dressed in an appropriate manner. In that vein, I do not understand wearing your shorts on the outside of your sweatpants. What is the point?

My personal favorite is those that wear socks with their sandals. If your feet are cold enough to wear socks then wear a real pair of shoes. By the way, black socks do not make sandals dress shoes during the summer either.

Please be sure to share your favorite outfits in the comments section. Especially those of you here in Florida, I am sure that there are some common combinations that beg mentioning that I have overlooked. Every area has its peculiar clothing combinations that seem incongruous for the season and/or weather. and I cannot wait to read any combinations that you leave in the comment section. We see lots of "fun" combinations in all weather conditions here.

As far as cold weather goes, I have my own issues. When we lived in Georgia, I had lots of cold weather clothing; however, with weight fluctuations and thinning things out, I have managed to have very little left and tend to scramble to find something functional. Cold is always fun with Meghan. Having lived here the majority of her life she does not fully grasp the concept that when it is cold that you dress in slightly warmer clothing so there are mornings that she gets up and puts on shorts, skorts or carpi's. Today was class pictures which are done outside so she wore a sweater and actually asked where it was when she got up. It won't get warm enough today to take it off.

Where Does Time Go?

I never really had the sensation of how fast time truly flies until I had a child. Meghan turned 10 yesterday. I must say that in regards to her, time has definitely flown. The third president of her lifetime is about to be sworn in to office. Ten years ago when I went to the hospital for the beginning of our adventure as parents, President Clinton was going through his impeachment hearings, and the first nurse I had ( I was on the 3rd shift of nurses before Meghan finally arrived) kept turning the channel back to impeachment hearings telling me that I could tell my daughter that I watched history in the making while I was in labor. Pleeeeaaaase... did she really think that is what I wanted to watch while I was in labor. I think not. When I finally won the TV war, I watched Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter Is Dead.


As Meghan turns 10, once again we are are witnessing historical presidential moments as the nation prepares for Obama's inauguration.

For Meghan's birthday she wanted to go to Disney for her birthday but Alan could not get off work to go. Meghan did not want to go without Alan so we will celebrate both Alan 's and Meghan's birthdays at Disney on Alan's birthday. (Alan is thrilled - I think he should have his picture taken with Mickey for his birthday)