Friends

Yes... I am writing about the subject of "Friends" again. This Summer, it has been on my mind a LOT.

I can remember, as a child.... and even as a teenager!.... when my friends would get mad at me for some "unknown" reason and would not speak to me for a period of time. We would eventually resolve the problem and move on, but in the meantime... my feelings were hurt.

For some unknown reason, this Summer has been like that and I have been going through those same emotions, all over again. I do not understand it and do not know what I have done to cause it. David and I have been racking our brains to try and figure out what could have happened, but we keep drawing a complete "blank".

You are probably thinking... "Why don't you just TALK to your friends and find out why they are treating you this way?" Part of me DOES want to do that, but part of me is saying that I don't NEED friends that are going to treat me that way and that I should just move on and forget about it.

 Over the past month, I have been able to put it out of my mind because I started my new job. which has alowed me to put the friendship thing aside and focus on something new. (A nice change!)

Things are starting to calm down at work, now that we have been back in school for a few weeks... so, now the "friendship" issue is beginning to creep back into my brain! UGH!

This morning, a little song came to my mind about friendship. I remember it from when Miranda was in Girl Scouts, but I kinda' remember it from when I was a Girl Scout, as well. These are the words that popped into my brain this morning....

Make new friends but keep the old,
One is silver and the other gold.

It got me to thinking that I need to concentrate on making "new" friends, but I also need to remember my "old" friends (not "age" wise... LOL!!).

My "old" friends are GOOD FRIENDS. They have been my friends for YEARS! They have never hurt me in any way. They don't live in my town, but they aren't so far away that I can't see them once a month, or so. I am seeing one of them on Saturday and I am SO EXCITED!!

With my new job... I can already see a couple of potential "new" friends, which I am glad of! I just need to make sure that I am "working" on those potential friendships and not letting them slip away. I went to lunch with one of those "new" friends last week. We have a lot in common, which is nice.

Today, I am having lunch with a friend that I haven't seen in a while. We haven't known each other very long, (maybe a year) but I really enjoy her friendship and would like to see our friendship "grow".

In order to "grow" a friendship... I believe that you have to "work it", just like a garden. You can't just plant the "seed" and then sit back and not tend to it. Otherwise, it will wither and die.

What about you??

What are your friendship experiences??

Any advice for someone that is struggling with friendships??



Photo source





Taking a break

Hi friends ~

I am taking a break today from... "My Vacation A to Z". I have a horrible sinus headache and can not think straight... but, I thought that I owed you a different post to let you know how things are going with my new job.

My new job as a  4 yr old, Pre-K Assistant Teacher is a lot harder than I thought it would be!!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the preschool itself!!! It is wonderful!! But, the teacher that I am working with is a new teacher and she was TOTALLY unprepared when school started, just over a week ago.

She told me in the beginning that because she WAS new and I was a veteran... she wanted us to work TOGETHER to teach the kids. I was fine with that, but it has turned out to be very difficult because every time I offered her help or suggested different (and better) ways of doing things (because of my experience)... she thinks that I am criticizing her!! I don't mean to come across that way... but, that is how she is seeing it! So... I have backed off of trying to offer my "suggestions" and have just let her handle things.

Last week, the kids were in control of the classroom!! SHE was not, which was not a good thing! Yesterday, she seemed to have a little bit better control over them, which I was glad to see. Hopefully, this will continue.

She has a VERY "high strung" personality and seems to have a hard time focusing on one thing at a time. This is another thing that is making things difficult. Last week, she was SO overwhelmed and she was a nervous wreck! This week, she seems to be a little more calm and in control. I can't help but wonder if the kids were "feeding" off of her nervousness last week, and that is why they were so "out of control".

Please pray for this young teacher as she struggles to learn the ropes... and for me!!.... as I try to keep up and stay calm myself!

**********************************************

As far as other things in my life ---

I quit Curves last week and joined the YMCA. I knew that I was not going to continue going to Curves because it was nowhere near where I am working now. (It's not convienent for me... I won't go!) The Y is just two blocks over from my new school!! A PERFECT location! I plan to go every M/W/F afternoons, after work. Tuesdays, I will go and see my mom. Then, on Thursdays, I will go and see my C.R. -- I hate not getting home early in the afternoons anymore, but that's ok. I'm getting used to it.

Miranda started Nursing School last week. It is SO COOL to hear about what she is learning each day! Soon, she will begin going to the hospital to learn. I CAN'T WAIT to hear about her experiences there!!!

Ashley is back in school. She is an Art Education student. She is not too happy right now because she is in a sculpture class. This is NOT something that she enjoys!! She would rather be painting.

She also has a new guy in her life. We met him this past weekend. He is very sweet. She says that they are just in the "talking" stage right now, which is fine. She has been hurt so many times by guys that I would rather her NOT jump into a relationship too quickly. 

I am enjoying getting to know the ladies that I work with. One of them, in particular, I can see as a potential furture "good friend". She and I are very close in age and we have a LOT in common! She has three boys that are in the same age range as my girls. In fact.... my girls know who her sons are!! LOL!  I am hoping that she and I can go to lunch one day soon and get to know each other a little better.

This weekend, I will be at my church pretty much the whole weekend!! Saturday, I will be getting ready for an event on Sunday. And then, Sunday... I will be AT the event all day! I'll be one tired puppy by Sunday night!!

We have no plans for Labor Day weekend, as a family. My very BEST friend that lives in Atlanta is (hopefully) coming down on that Saturday to go "thrifting" with me!! I can NOT wait!! I have been anxious for her to come down all summer! I can't wait to take her to all of our new Thrift Stores!

The only other thing that we might do on Labor Day weekend... is go up to the campground and visit our camping friends. Some of them will be camping. We are not ready to go camping yet. It's still WAY too hot!! I am anxious for Fall to come so that we can really camp!

Ok... I better run. Time to go get ready for work!

Hope you all have a blessed day!

A Fun Day of Thrifting!

Georgia and I had a fun time yesterday. I am SO GLAD that we got together! I don't know why we don't see each other more often.

She arrived at my house about 9:30am. We hung around my house, catching up for a bit and talking about decorating and couponing. She didn't know anything about TABLESCAPING, so I had to tell her all about how I fell IN LOVE with it! She loved my 4th of July Tablescape. **Smile**

I am pretty sure that I taught her a good bit about COUPONING. She had seen those shows on TV called "Extreme Couponing" and wanted to know how to be able to do it like THAT. I told her that I haven't gotten to that point and don't plan to. My goal is just to at least cut my grocery bill in HALF each week. We agreed that to be able to save ANY amount of money on groceries each week would be helpful.

We left my house about 10:30 and headed into town. First, I had to stop at the drug store to renew my RLS medication. We were there longer than expected, but it gave us a little more time to chit-chat. I found out that she also has RLS, but not as bad as I do. (LUCKY!) Her brother & Father also have it.

After that, we headed to the south side of Columbus, which isn't a good part of town... but, I really wanted to go and visit Gina's Junk Thrift & Antique Store!!

Here's a photo that I took ---

I am SO glad that we went!! It was the neatest place!!

First, we checked out the "junk" in the yard. Gina had lots of outdoor furniture and "yard art". Lots of vintage pieces, too. There were several iron tables that I liked and a shelf that would be perfect for my screened-in porch!! I may have to go back for that one!

Next, we ventured inside to see what we could find. Georgia was looking for things for her granddaughter's "Madeline" birthday party that she plans to do for her in October. So, we were looking for things that looked like PARIS. She also wants to build her granddaughter a doll house for her birthday. So, she was looking for "minature" things that could go into the doll house. As for me, I was looking at the antique furniture and for things that I could use for my August tablescape.

We wondered thru each room of the old house. The prices were GREAT! I saw LOTS of pieces of furniture that I would LOVE to have!! I saw lots of vintage linens that I would love to have had, too. There were many things that I would have loved to have bought, but decided not to. (I was on a VERY tight budget!) Georgia only bought a set of salt & pepper shakers. They were very tiny and very cute!

Gina, the shop owner, was very nice and quite funny! Georgia's S&P shakers had two prices on them, but each was marked out with a red "slash". Georgia asked Gina how much they were. Gina said... "Anything with a red "X" thru the price, means that it is half-off." Then, she looked at the pricetag on Georgia's S&P shakers and said... "Well, that's a half-a** 'X', isn't it?" LOL!! (Because it was only a "slash") It was so funny!

We left Gina's glad that we had made the trip, and headed towards downtown Columbus. I was driving and we were on a road that I knew where it dead-ended, but I didn't know the area that we were traveling very well. As we were headed into town, we came to a train that was crossing the road. We stopped, along with the rest of the traffic. The train was almost done crossing... when.... it started BACKING UP!!!! So.... we didn't know what to do! Finally, I realized that people were starting to make their way to the road on the right. So... I did the same and thankfully, we were able to go "around" the train with no problem and get back on our same road! Whew!

We arrived in downtown Columbus. I decided to take Georgia to one of my favorite restaraunts there. It is called The Cannon Brew Pub. Yes, it is a "Pub". But, it is also a restaraunt. I love their Southwestern Wrap sandwich! YUM! The atmosphere is fun, too.

After lunch, we headed to my very favorite Thrift Mall - Joey's!! Georgia LOVED IT, as I knew she would! We went from booth to booth, checking everything out. We put things in our shopping cart to "think" about as we shopped.

Georgia's best find of the day was a Madeline Doll that was in perfect condition!!! It was only $5.95!!!! YAY!! It was PERFECT for her granddaughter's birthday party! She also bought a cute shirt for only a $1.00!

Here's a picture of Georgia with her Madeline Doll. She was SO happy!!  ---

My big find for the day was a board game all about Columbus, GA!! It is from 1980. It's not "real" old, but it is unique, and since I am from Columbus and I now live and work here.... it was special to me and I HAD TO HAVE IT! I put back a few other things that I had in the cart in order to buy this game. It was $10.00. I thought that was fairly reasonable. The only other thing that I bought was a large package of Post-it notes (unopened) for $2.00. I use Post-it notes all the time, so these will come in handy!

Here's a pic of me with my game and one of my Post-it notes --

Here's some pics of my game after I got home and opened it up ---

We headed back to my house around 4:00pm so that Georgia could be back home in time to pick up her daughter from work. Poor Georgia was on the phone throughout our day dealing with the car dealership that was trying to fix her daughter's car. I sure hope that they can figure out what the problem is without it costing them too much more money!

I talked to David throughout the day. (He's in Indianapolis, remember?) He was delayed in Atlanta due to the plane that he was supposed to fly out on, having mechanical trouble. (Glad they found it!!!) I can't remember what time he finally got to Indianapolis, but he DID make it there. He texted me later in the day and said that his company was taking them all on a tour of the Indianapolis Speedway!!! He was excited, but wished that he had brought a camera. He did take a few pics with his phone.

I didn't talk to him again until about 9:00pm. He had been to dinner with the group and was EXHAUSTED!!! So, we didn't talk long. As I write this... he is most likely in the middle of the competition that he is in!! I sure hope that he is doing well and isn't too nervous. I hope that he is able to have fun with it. Knowing him, tho.... he is an anxious MESS!!! LOL! (I probably would be, too!)

Today, I am staying at home. .... Well, I do have a meeting at church tonight for Stephen Ministry.... But, other than that, I will be at home. I need to go see my mom since I haven't been over there this week, but I am also trying to limit my driving so that I only put gas in my car once a week. UGH!! I can't wait to start getting a paycheck again!!! I miss having money!!

Here's a few more pics of things that we saw at Joey's ---

You just might see this as part of my August Tablescape!

This was a new booth that I hadn't seen before!! I LOVED all of the blue & white!! I am a huge fan of it!

These vintage glasses were BEAUTIFUL!! But, they were a little pricey and there were only five. They would go so great with my Winter Tablescape for January, tho!

Button Bouquets!!! I had never seen these before!! LOVE THEM!! I can see all kinds of projects with these!

We loved this vintage Pin Cushion Doll!! Very pretty!!

I'm linking up to the Thrifty Things Friday Party over on The Thrifty Grove. Be sure to visit me over there and all of the other "thrifty" blogging friends!

A Day With a Friend

David left early this morning to drive to Atlanta. He is flying to Indianapolis, Indiana for a competition for work. He was so anxious ... and I guess nervous.... that he barely slept last night!! He left our house around 3:30am. He finally called me about 6:00am to tell me that he was finally at his gate. I am not sure what time his flight leaves.


I think he lands sometime around 10:00am, but I'm not sure. That is the next phone call that I should get. I guess it is good that he is having this experience BEFORE we go on our big trip! Haha!

Today, my friend from high school is coming to spend the day with me! YAY!! Her name is Georgia -- pretty neat since we live IN Georgia! **Smile** She wants me to teach her how to "coupon". I am still learning, but I hope that I can teach her some things that she doesn't already know. She also wants me to take her to some of the Thrift Stores that I go to. I want to take her to one that I haven't been to yet. It's called Gina's Junk Thrift & Antique Store. It's not in a good part of town, but it looks quite interesting!! The other place is called Joey's Thrift Mall (no website). It is my very favorite place!! I'm looking foward to a fun day hanging out with Georgia!

Here's a photo of us from a couple of years ago when we were on our way to a class reunion --

I'm taking my camera with me and hope to take some pictures of our finds! Here's a couple of photos of Gina's Junk Store that I got off of Facebook. Looks interesting, doesn't it??

Sunday's Lesson

On Sunday mornings, I lead the College & Career Sunday School Class at my church. Each Sunday, I have to blast my brain with ideas on what to discuss in class.

Today's topic was ---

Is it possible to have a "best" friend??

Photo source -- Lucy & Ethel were Best Friends. So were Fred & Ricky.

I usually start out the lesson with a FUN activity. Today's "fun" activity was for my class members to guess which movie or TV show the characters that I named were from. The characters that I named play FRIENDS in the movie or TV show.

For example --- I named "Harry & Sally", and they called out "When Harry Met Sally". The one that I stumped them on the most was the easiest... "Thelma & Louise"! It was fun!

Some of my questions were --

"What qualities make for a best friend?"

"What can break up a friendship?"

"What can break up a friendship?"

"How can you make a friendship last?"

Some of their answers were....

A best friend is someone that:

- you can "vent" to and they will listen to you and offer you advice.
- shares the same moral values that you do.
- you have things in common with.
- is reliable.
- is trustworthy.
- you can be yourself with.
- is honest with you.

The bests ways to keep a friendship lasting are:

- to keep in touch.
- to make an effort.

We all agreed that it IS possible to have a BEST FRIEND.

The scripture references that I used were:

The friendship of David & Jonathan in 1 Samuel 18,19 & 20.

Other scripture references I used were...

Proverbs 18:24 -- There are "friends" who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 17:17 -- A friend is always loyal.

Proverbs 25:19 -- Putting confidence in an unreliable person is like chewing with a toothache or walking on a broken foot.

Proverbs 27:10 -- Never abandon a friend.

John 15:13 -- The greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.

My best friend lives about 2 hrs away, in Atlanta. I don't get to see her as often as I would like to. I miss her very much! She has all the qualities (above) that make for a best friend. In fact.... if you looked up the description of a best friend in the encyclopedia... I do believe that her picture will be on the page!

Speaking of "picture"... I need a picture of my best friend and I together!  Hmmm.......

I have learned, over time, that having a best friend is very important to me. I have also learned... the hard way!... how friends can hurt one another. Usually it is unintentional, but it still hurts.

I want long for the kind of friendship that Oprah has with her best friend, Gayle King. They have been best friends for a very long time and are... to me... the best example of "Best Friends" that there is.

What about you??

Are there any other qualities that we may have missed that a best friend should have?

Do you have a best friend??

What keeps your friendship going strong??

A to Z Blog Challenge - F

I apologize for writing later in the day, today. I've been a little busy today!

I went to the library today in Columbus, GA to get help with my genealogy research on my paternal grandmother. I knew nothing more than her maiden name and brother's name. I was under the impression that she was born in Alabama, but found out today that not only was she actually born here in Georgia, but she was also born in the same county that I live in now!! I had no idea!!

I also did a little shopping today! **Smile**

Now.... on with the Blog Challenge!

Letter F

Family

Well, of course, this word was my first thought. Family means EVERYTHING to me! My immediate family, my extended family, and my ancestors.

Friends

I have... and, have had.... many friends in my life. When I was little, my very best friend was Chrissy. We met when we were about 3 years old and remained friends until high school. This was when I reluctantly had to move from the home that I had spent most of my life in to a new home, further away, in a different school system. Amazingly (before Facebook!) we reconnected thru mutual friends as adults. This was when I lived in Atlanta. Then, after I moved 100 miles away, to Columbus Georgia, Chrissy and I slowly lost touch. Sadly... she is not on Facebook and I wish that she was. When I was pregnant with Miranda, I met a wonderful friend who was pregnant, too. That was 20 years ago, and we are still friends! Unfortunately, she lives in Atlanta, too. But, our friendship has survived and I can pretty much say that she is my VERY BEST FRIEND. I have friends here, but after 13 years.... I have still not found as good of a friend as she is!   

Flowers

I love flowers, as most women do. When I was little, my favorite flower was the Tulip. Then, as I got older, my favorite became the Pansy. Now, I really like the Gerber Daisy. Flowers make me happy, but I have told David NOT to waste money on buying them for me, unless I can either plant them in a pot or in my yard! Fresh cut flowers are very pretty, but I hate that they don't last very long.

Fish

I thought of this "F" word -- LOL! -- because of something funny that I heard this week. Miranda is pet-sitting for a family that we go to church with. The family has a small catfish pond on their property. One of the "pets" that Miranda has to feed is.... the catfish!! That's not the funny part of the story, tho. The family also has a dog and apparently the dog likes to go fishing for the catfish!!! Miranda witnessed this the other night when she went to feed the fish! Luckily her boyfriend was with her and helped her get the fish from the dog! I would have loved to have been there to see that!!

Facebook

Can't have an "F" list without this word! Ha! As I have said before, Facebook is an amazing creation that I am thankful for. It has been so much fun reconnecting with high school friends, church youth group friends and family. Thank you Facebook creators!!

Hallelujah Girls

Yesterday, I got the chance to go to a play that was directed by a classmate and friend, Cathe Hall Payne, that I went to high school with. It was so much fun! The play was called -- The Hallelujah Girls (click the link to check it out and read about it!) and it was wonderful!

In high school, Cathe was into drama BIG TIME! I don't vividly remember all the plays that were done during my high school years, but... those that I do remember... Cathe always had the LEAD role and was always VERY GOOD! And if I remember correctly, she had an amazing singing voice, as well.

My friend, Denise, sent out an invite through Facebook to those of us that might want to go. I was immediately excited about the idea of going! I didn't even know that Cathe was still involved in the "theatre world"! But... really... it makes sense that she is! I hadn't seen Cathe or some of the other girls sense high school, so I was excited about that, as well.

We met for lunch first, which was fun. Denise brought her mom and so did another girl. The "moms" were delightful and it made me just a wee bit jealous that these girls have such "active" and "healthy" moms... something that I haven't had in a long time and never will.

The play was to start at 3:00pm and we made it JUST IN TIME! The theatre was PACKED with people, so we had to sit in the back.

We had just a few minutes before the play started, so some of the girls took the opportunity to hit up the potty. This is when I learned that the teacher that taught drama (and English) when WE were in high school was IN THE PLAY that we were about to see!! Her name at the time -- and the only name that I knew her by -- was Ms. Janiec. I never took drama. I was too shy. But, I did have her for English. I didn't like her. I always thought she was mean! Haahaa! I was excited to see her, none-the-less!!

I still remember her because I was sitting in HER CLASS when President Reagan was shot!! For those of you that are interested... this happened on March 30, 1981. I was in the 11th grade. **Sigh**

Here are a few photos that I took during the play. They aren't the best because I had to hold my camera UP over my head so that I could get some clear shots (remember... we were on the back row!).

Here's Ms. Janiec, who I now know as.... Sylvia Veith.

The costumes were very entertaining, as well!

After the play was over, Cathe invited the WHOLE AUDIENCE to a FEAST of yummy treats in the lobby. I wish I could have gotten pictures of it all, but there were SO MANY people and the room was small.

I did manage to get a few photos of some of the beautiful Christmas trees that surrounded the room. The pictures don't do them justice, unfortunately.

I would have never thought of PINK for a Christmas color,

but I really liked these little beauties!

This one was my favorite! I loved the Raggedy Ann & Andy

and also the candy canes!

This little guy caught my attention, sitting over in the corner.

He was so cute! I wanted to take him home!

Next, it was photo-opp time with "Ms. Janiec".

She was soooo sweet!! (Not mean, at all!) **Smile**

In case you couldn't tell.... I'm in the black and purple. I'm not sure how I ended up in the front! I guess I have "shortness" to blame for that! hahaa

Thirty Days of Thankfulness - Days 28, 29 & 30

YES... I missed a couple of days! (I"ve been just a little busy!)

This post is going to be short & sweet, because I have other things on my mind this morning.

On Day 28, I was thankful that... (This is going to sound really stupid to those of you that are not football fanatics, like I am! But, bare with me, please!)... The Atlanta Falcons won their game against the Green Bay Packers!!! If you are one of my regular readers, then you know that I am a HUGE football fan and my favorite team is the Atlanta Falcons.

During football season, you will always find me in front of my TV on Sunday afternoons, watching MY TEAM play. The Falcons are doing extremely well this year, only losing 2 games, so far. They are in 2nd place in the NFL and 1st in the NFC!! That is BIG TIME!!!!

On Day 29, (Yesterday), I was so VERY thankful to my friend, Heather, for coming to visit my mom and being able to stay with her while I had to leave for a couple of hours. I know for a fact, that God sent her to me!!! He knew that I needed her, and there she was!

Today, (Day 30).... I am VERY thankful that the heart catherization that the doctor did on my mom yesterday, showed NO SIGNS OF BLOCKAGE!! Wow!! That was a surprise! I was really expecting them to find something and then we would have more decisions to make and possibly a longer hospital stay. This was GREAT news tho, because she "should" get to go back to the nursing home TODAY! ---- Which was another concern!! But, God came thru again and should be no worries of her losing her room over there!! YAY!!

MANY THANKS to those of you that prayed for her (and me!!!) and wrote such kind and sweet words. That means SO VERY much to me and I definitely count you among my FRIENDS!

Sending ((BIG HUGS)) to all of you!!!!

Thirty Days of Thankfulness - Day 26 & 27

Please forgive me for being a day late on this post. Yesterday got away from me and didn't quite go as I had hoped it would. -- I'll explain later.

(You can read "Day 27" at the bottom of this post.)

Yesterday... Day 26, I was thankful for the wonderful Thanksgiving Day that we had at the home of our very good friends, Richard & Cindy.

Thanksgiving in our family usually consists of going camping with a few other families, or spending the day at home, just the four of us.

This year, since Miranda wasn't going to be with us for Thanksgiving, we weren't sure what we were going to do since it was just going to be the three of us. Do we do a big turkey dinner?? Do we go out to eat?? Do we invite other people over?? If so.... who??? These were questions that went thru our mind.

A couple of weeks ago, while we were camping, the subject of Thanksgiving came up in conversation between my friend Cindy and I. When she heard that we weren't sure what we were going to do, she so very graciously invited us to join them at their new home for Thanksgiving dinner. The more we talked, the more we got excited about it and accepted her invitation!  Wow! How fun this was going to be! I couldn't wait!

The day finally arrived. YAY!! At home, David worked in the kitchen making turkey and dressing, while Ashley and I worked on making the desserts to bring. I had seen an adorable way to make Pilgrim Hats out of Reese Cups and Keebler Fudge Striped cookies, so Ashley and I made some!

They are very easy to make. Just use icing to attach the "mini" Reese Cup to the cookie and then, make a buckle for it! Easy!

I thought they turned out rather cute!

While I was taking pictures of our creations, I couldn't help but take another picture of my Fall Tablescape. **Smile*

Okay.... here come the pictures of our day together with our friends. I just LOVED their new house!! My friend, Cindy, has become quite the decorator! I wish I had taken more photos to show off what she has done. Oh well!

Here's the yummy dessert table. You can see the Pilgrim hats that Ashley & I made. To the left is our Apple Surprise dessert, too. Cindy made the chocolate cake & a pecan pie. YUM!!

I loved this centerpiece that she had.

This was the centerpiece on her kitchen island, until it got moved to make room for the turkey carving.

Of course, I don't think the cell phone

is supposed to be part of it! Haahaa

I love the color combination in the napkin!

David & Ashley (right) sample the turkey, while Ryan

(Cindy's oldest son) carves one of them.

Yes. We had TWO turkey's!

David & Ashley.

Father/Daughter photo

David & I

Anniversary photo

(We met on Thanksgiving Day - 1981)

Ashley & I

Mother/Daughter Photo

This is Chris & his new (BRAND new!) fiance', Norma.

Chris is leaving for Afganistan soon.

He is my young friend that I asked my readers to please pray for.

I just had to take a picture of the "Chia Pet Cheeseball"

(as we called it!).

It was a lot more "yummier" than it looked!

I didn't get a picture of our turkey BEFORE it was carved, but

here it is, AFTER. It was yummy, too!!

My friend Cindy (The "Hostest with the Mostest) & I.

Her friendship is one that I treasure!

Ashley and her "big brother", Ryan.

After a beautiful prayer that Richard said, it was time to EAT!

Ryan and his girlfriend, Stephanie.

Look at all that yummy food!!

I loved, loved, loved this table that Cindy got at

 from an antique dealer!

It is handmade. I wish I had gotten a better picture of it.

It is beautiful!!

Our hosts, and great friends.... Cindy & Richard.

David & Ashley callapse on the couch after our delicious meal.

After everyone had let their food digest a bit, we played a few rounds of the card game,

"Apples to Apples". Great fun and a lot of laughs!

Of course, I'm caught with my big mouth open!! (on the left!)

What a wonderful Thanksgiving that we had.

The only thing missing was...

my Miranda, for which....

on this day.... Day 27.... I am extremely thankful

that Miranda is home from Arizona

and is now napping in her own bed!