Been awhile since I've been on here. I and most of Middle Tennessee have been battling this allergy/upper respiratory/funk/something or other since the 4th of May. yay me. I think my voice is FINALLY starting to sound like mine and not Kermit or some creapy guy from Silence of the Lambs. My boss even told me today that when he listened to his voice mails and couldn't recognize my voice...it was a bit creepy.
Had company last week. The dogs were even more spoiled if you can believe that. yeah Wendy and Tammy took them to Sonic. spoiled brats I tell ya. They have been depressed this week because no one is here during the day to cater to them. Did I spell cater right? It looks funny and I am definitely challenged when it comes to spelling. Well that and I'm geographically challenged.  awww heck I guess most would just say I'm challenged period.
Hoping to finally make it to the pool this weekend. This being sick junk has really messed with my sun time. I don't think I was this white when I was born! And yes mom if you are reading this, I wear sunscreen.
Father's day is coming up and I am reminded once again how lucky I am to still have both my parents around. This month is dad's check up month. We'll be waiting impatiently for the CT and blood work results. The longer we go with a clean bill of health, the better it is!
And speaking of dad, we have decided to go "home" for our father/daughters trip this year. Going to miss Maine, but really looking forward to seeing some dear friends from CT/NY. It's been way too long. We are leaving the spouses home and heading up in Oct. We hope some of the color will still be on the trees. I can't remember the last time I saw a real New England fall. I don't think we even saw color last year in September on our way to the shore. Though the fresh baked Apple Cider Donuts from that little market made up for it LOL. That and seeing family.
Too all the Father's out there. Happy Father's Day. Hope Sunday is a great one for you!

Honey we're home!

Some of you may have noticed I've been off the grid for a bit, most of you probably have not lol.  Well hubby and I were blessed to have taken a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands.
We flew into Honolulu on April 21st then spent the next 7 days cruising around the islands before sailing to Vancouver and flying home last night.  All I can say is amazing! 
We stayed at ILIKAI hotel and suites Thursday night and I highly recommend this hotel. We had a nice clean rather large room (large compared to what I hear most Hawaii hotels are like) and very friendly hotel staff. Friday we headed out to Pearl Harbor...I can't even begin to explain how emotional the memorial was. I was also blessed to meet some Pearl Harbor survivors that were there that day telling their stories and giving autographs. Truely amazing men.
After Pearl Harbor we checked in at the ship, found our room and had some pizza! ahhh ship sweet ship! This cruise we sailed on the Carnival Spirit and once again we were blessed to have fabulous waiters and crew. I already miss them. If you are ever on a Carnival ship and see Anak or Wibiyantha please hug them lol.
Saturday we drove around Honolulu, went to the Dole Plantation and the Halona Blowhole. Fresh Pineapple and coconut for all!
Sunday we were in Kaui and I took my first helicopter ride. For someone scared of heights, this is a big deal lol. It was spectacular. I highly recommend Blue Hawaiian if you are planning to take a helicopter ride on any of the islands. After the ride we drove to the Sprouting Horn Blowhole and down to the Poipu coastline. Beautiful drive but sadly no whales.
Monday was spent in Hilo on The Big Island. Drove to Punaluu Beach to see the black sand and found some green sea turtles relaxing in the sun. The black sand is incredible there. We also traveled to the Volcano National Park, saw old lava fields, walked through a lava tube and found some vents. Sadly none of the lava was visable during the time we were there.
Tuesday was Kona, another part of The Big Island. We hit the coffee plantations, did some shopping and had a wonderful lunch with my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Larry....they were there for vacation all the way from Montana lol. I owe special thanks to Uncle Larry for driving an hour back to the pier to bring us the GPS and Carnival Beach towels I left in their rental car...ooops.
Wednesday and Thursday we were in  Maui. We drove to the top of Haleakala, a volcano that reaches 10,000 feet. At the time we thought it was dormant but found out the next day they have actually put it back on the active list and expect to see lava from it in the next two years! Darn we miss all the fun lol. We drove around some more exploring until it was time to head to the ship for dinner. Thursday we had a morning snorkle tour that lasted 5 hours. We snorkled at Molokini and Turtle Town. Turtle town is a "cleaning station" for green sea turtles. It was fun to swim with them. We also so a HUGE group of Spinner dophins while we were out. Love them.
That is the short version of the trip lol. A great time was had by all but we seemed to always be one step behind the whales, lol one day! I'll try to load some pictures soon. Trying to get back into the groove, get some things caught up at work, calm down our crazy "children", unpack, do laundry....etc. etc. etc. lol.

Well folks the klutz factor is off the scale today. Keep me away from fire, sharp objects, babies...well okay not the babies but anything that might injure me or someone else! It's going to be a long day lol.
Yesterday was TOMS One Day Without Shoes day. I participated except when I went to the dentist. I figured I'd be nice enough and not subject them to my feet which are so not flip flop ready yet! Pedicure here I come!
Lots to do at home and lots to do at work. Anyone want to come do my laundry for me?! I didn't figure I'd have any takers but it never hurts to ask.
I have several friends who are expecting and are due just a few days apart. I'm thinking of starting a poll to see who will go first lol. I can't wait for the little ones to get here. I won't be able to see all of them though as some are out of town but pictures will do.
We had bad storms Monday, lots of wind damage around etc. We were lucky but lots are still without power etc. A friend made a good statement yesterday on facebook. She was without power and was going to complain but then remembered Japan. While we can't compare our trials with others, that was definitely a stark comparison. It still hurts my heart to see how bad they are struggling over there. So much devistation and loss, but their bond together is extremely strong so I know they will pull through this.
On another good note a lady who had over 100 dogs taken from her home has surrendered all but 4. She will have a hearing on the 15th to see if she can have those four back. All of the other sweet babies will be heading to various shelters this week and will be ready for their forever homes!

Migraines

Those of you who know me know I suffer from them. I'm working with a great neurologist but so far we are still losing the battle.
I pray, my mother-in-law prays and still they are here. I think I figured out this weekend my answer is either no or wait. So now I sit and wonder and marvel over what the big picture here might be. I'll be honest and hope the answer is wait and that it's not a wait a long time kind of thing but it's not up to me. Today that is clear but I know there will be days I'll be trying to take control back. I struggle with that but GOD is still working on me.
As I take meds and wait for the next weather front to move through, I try to breathe, relax and know that HE will get me through this.

Rambles

I seem to be doing a lot of rambling today so I thought I'd bring it here.
Tired, head of course is hurting, girls weekend this weekend woot! and Scarlette is off pulse ox!
As much as I love seeing all the Spring colors, they really kill me allergy wise. I've tried allergy shots and they didn't help. I pretty much am working strictly with my neurologist to fix this blasted head. Anyone want to trade or know where I can get a cheap model? I'm thinking I don't even mind if it's used.
Lots to do tonight to get ready for the girls trip. Throw into that mix, grocery shopping, acupuncture, making dinner, washing dishes and I'm going to be one tired gal by bedtime. Good thing hubby will be home to entertain the furbabies!

Careful

Woke up at 5:50 to the Slinky commercial song running through my head? wth?
Then I rolled over to stretch this morning at the same time Robert decided to roll over. Yup I punched him in the forehead. closed fist and all. oops.
He got me back by playing stereo snoring with Maggie. That got me up.
I'm thinking maybe no handleing of sharp objects for me today.
Printing pictures, doing laundry, waiting for the sausage patties to thaw so I can make up a bunch of sausage and biscuits to freeze then it's off to the craft room. That may be dangerous. I lead such an exciting life :D

Seriously!?

Okay so I'm looking for a small white throw pillow. Doesn't have to be fancy, but must have some smooth surface on it. I head to Kohl's last night to see what they have. Holy! WTH. Vera Wang must have been made a queen and I didn't know it. 49.99 FOR A PILLOW! Oh wait they were kind enough to have it on sale 20% off. Yeah that made it better. I'll take 10. I think not. It's still just fricken material and stuffing people! So the search is still on. I'll try some non Vera stores today. I'm in the wrong business.

Well today would have been my Mimi's birthday. It's especially hard on my mom because she lost her sister and mother not too far apart. My mom also shared a birthday with her sister (that was yesterday). Lot's of great memories from Mimi and Granddaddy Oliver. Wish they were still here with us.

Had a blast last night with my niece Sara. We went to see Blake Shelton and some others at the Music City Jam. This was for the Country Radio Seminar being held this week. Great show, got to hear some newer talant as well and Blake even sang the Pina Colada song!
Another beautiful day in the neighborhood today. It's already 52 and sunny out!

The best thing about walking around the back parking lot on a beautiful day like today...I can sing outloud to my IPOD and no one can hear me :D

I had a flashback as I was driving into work today. I was listening to The Roadhouse (OLD country) and heard a familiar song...Jim Reeve's He'll Have to Go. This was one of the classics sung at Opryland at Country Music USA. Oh how I miss Opryland. I hate that my niece and this generation didn't get to make all the memories we did. I have no doubt if Opryland was still here they would have already recovered from the flood and would be ready for the new season.
I should probably take this time to apologize up front for grammar errors and spelling. English was never my strong suit LOL.
Speaking of Country music and nieces, mine invited me to a concert tonight. Blake Shelton is playing at the Country Radio Broadcasters Music City Jam tonight. We'll do dinner at Demos first and then head over for the show. Should be a good one.
Maggie was a wild one last night. She has this huge rope ball almost as big as she is. She kept slinging it around hit Bootz in the face several times. Needless to say he wasn't too happy about that. It makes me smile though to see those two play. I really need to get the video camera charged up and get some footage to post on here.
Well time to get some work done. Thanks for checking in and maybe somewhere in the next few weeks I'll get the hang of this and it might actually be interesting lol.

BTW the bully third from the left in my above picture is our Bootz Randolf. He has grown quite a bit since this picture lol

Welcome to my life! You never know what you will find here each day but if I can share some knowledge or make you smile, then I've done my job.