Cruise Bound !!!!

For months, our family has been planning a cruise to the Caribbean and the time has finally arrived !!! We leave this weekend and will visit the Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten.

We plan to eat great food, laugh our heads off, do a lot of "vegging", and enjoy each other's company.

Bon Voyage !

And the Winner is . . . . Susan !

After weeks of anticipation, last night's winner of the American Idol family pool was Susan T. ! She was teased by some for having ZERO points leading up to last night's competition but because she was the only person who picked Jordin Sparks to win and she also had two more of the top four so her total points were 240 and she won $210.

Thanks to all who participated - it was lots of fun !

Need to Make a Payment ?

If you need to make a payment on anything, there is a Quick-Shop on Godfrey Ave. in Fort Payne that will take it.

Ready for the Cruise

My son, Kirk, rolled into my office today and said, "I'm ready for the cruise!". It may be a long week ! :)

Idol Update and Other Stuff

So I cannot be accused of being stale at my blogging, I wanted to update Idol watchers. When Melinda was voted off last week, it sort of blew the heck out of the pool but smiling in the background is Susan who is the only one in the bunch who picked Jordin to win. If she is chosen the American Idol, she stands to make millions of dollars in record sales and Susan stands to win $210.

If Blake wins, it throws the whole thing into a tail spin since no one picked him to win. I could probably figure out the winner but it would take an hour or more and that is absolutely an hour I don't have at this point.

To my fellow bloggers, I continue to check your blogs every morning and Chuck continues to tell me that it snowed on April 6th, Susan continues to show pictures of the prom which took place in March and Amy continues to tell about her hair compliment !

In that period of time, Susan's son Will has made a name for himself in the golfing world, Chuck has been to Ireland and has bought a gorgeous new house, and Amy has been diligently training at a gym, has had a wonderful trip to Kentucky where she attended a horse race, and is moving into a cool new place so how about some new stuff to read guys??

One week from tomorrow, our family is going on a cruise ! We are all so excited ! I'll post some pics and some fun stuff when we get back !

More Than Meets the Eye

This is more than just a picture of a flower in my yard. It is the first attempt at taking a picture on my phone and sending it directly to my blog without going through a computer.

I learned how to do it myself - NOT ! I had the able assistance of my son-in-law . Thanks, e !

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And I Was Thinking of Giving a Wal-mart Gift Card

Presently, I have 9 graduation invitations in my drawer waiting for me to decide on a gift to send. An internet article on graduation gifts caught my eye so I clicked on it and read it.

Skin resurfacing, liposuction, breast implants and nose jobs now show up at the top of many grad's wish list. From 2002 to 2006, cosmetic surgery performed on kids from ages 13 to 19 doubled to 244,124 including 47,000 nose jobs and 9000 breast implants.

I am attempting to be "Open for Renovation" and not let myself get outdated in my thinking, but I may have to give up on that one.

Time Flies - and Occasionally Stands Still

Friday night the phone rang and it was Jane and Dianne.

To set the stage, Jane and Dianne were my closest friends throughout my school years. Most people referred to us as The Three Muskateers - one was rarely seen without the other two. We went to the same school, same church, were in the same clubs at school, in the band and the list could go on and on. Almost every weekend we spent the night with each other. We spent thousands of hours in the summers at Dianne's parents' lake house.

Janes' dad was killed in a wreck when we were in junior high school and we spent several nights at her house piled up in her bed grieving over a lost parent.

Dianne was in a serious boating accident in high school almost losing her leg and we spent lots of nights piled in a hospital bed grieving for our injured friend.

They were one year ahead of me in school and the bond was so close that I went to summer school and skipped my senior year in high so that I could enroll in the same college at the same time they went to college.

Time, circumstances, and distance separated us over the years and when they called Friday night, thery were in town for their 50th high school reunion! We made a plan to meet on Saturday. It had been many years since I had seen either of them.

Some things change drastically over time and some things never change. We don't look the same (one of us has gray hair and two of us are still very "naturally" blond); we don't act quite the same (thank goodness ) but we feel the same. True friendship never changes. It's amazing how our minds can recall the minutia of seemingly insignificant events - events that become the cornerstone of the memories of a happy life lived so many years ago.

We reminisced, showed pictures of children and grandchildren and told silly stories (we would probably have told a few more if Jane had not brought her serious-minded husband along) and we had an absolute blast !

Occasionally time stands still and allows us to recapture moments that might otherwise be forgotten.

Thanks for the visit, girls ! I will always love you.

American Idol Standings

After last night's elimination, here are the poll standings:

Eric - 50 points
Amy - 25 points
April - 50 points
Kirk - 50 points
Kristen - 50 points
Terry H. - 90 points
Susan T. - 0 points
Chuck - 90 points
Susan C. - 50 points
John - 65 points
Sara - 90 points
Benji - 90 points
Terry W. - 50 points
Pam J. - 40 points

Further calculation shows that no person has the top four left. The following people have 3 of the top 4 left:

Amy
Eric
Kristen
Kirk
Pam J.
Benji
Terry W.
Susan T.
John Q

The only participants who have Blake in the top 4 are:

Amy
Eric
April
Kristen

So, I think at this point, it is still up for grabs !

Grandmom's Bragging Rights

This past weekend, my granddaughter participated in a music competition at Chadek Conservatory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and received a Superior rating. This entitles her to compete in the State competition. Congratulations, Kristen ! We are so proud of you !






Yesterday, my grandson won 1st place in his high school sectional golf competition and his team won first place in their division. The top two teams from each section participate in the state competition in Auburn in a couple of weeks! Congratulations, Will ! That is awesome !