Working the Street Corner

"Some people give time, some money, some their skills and connections, some literally give their life's blood. But everyone has something to give."~~Barbara Bush

I rang the bell for the Salvation Army red kettle drive tonight outside of a local Hobby Lobby store. It was quite interesting watching people. You could tell some people felt guilty not giving. The ones I found most humorous were the ones who parked on my side of the entrance but chose to walk across the parking lot to enter the other side where I was not standing. Here is a news flash folks...we aren't going to mug you. Heck, most of us are pleasant people who are your neighbors trying to volunteer during the holiday season to help our fellow man. We aren't keeping a list of whose been naughty or nice so don't feel guilty if you can't give to every red kettle you pass. We know many can't afford to give....especially after you've just spent hundreds in Hobby Lobby getting those decorative candles you just can't live without. :-) But, you can smile, be pleasant, and acknowledge your fellow citizens who are giving their time to ring the bell. Just a thought....

The people who gave more often were people with young children (the kids like dropping the coins in the bucket) and men. Older women who were alone didn't tend to give while I was working. I thought that was interesting. I saw a few of my coworkers and I guilted them into giving. Honestly, I think Salvation Army would get more money if they'd find an attractive woman willing to wear a short skirt and stand outside of Hooters. She would rack up! :-)

I was glad Rachel and Anna were able to participate with me if only for a short while. I actually had fun doing it but I'm afraid I'll hear that darn bell ringing in my ears for hours now.

Veteran's State Park

We spent this weekend at Georgia Veteran's State Park which is located in Cordele, GA. We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend...something we truly haven't done in a while. Usually, we tour the area where we are visiting but not this weekend. We stayed at our camper pretty much for the duration. It was pretty cold this weekend....down in the 20's at night....which is unusually cool for Georgia temperatures at this point in the year. I guess it must be that global warming. :-)

We talked about the trip in advance and decided that we would pretty much hang around the campground for the most part and just relax. We stopped at Stripling's when we arrived at the park and picked up some meat to grill. They have the best sausage. And, they have some nice steaks for reasonable prices. So, we bought some steaks and grilled them for dinner Friday night. We bought some sausage which we used for sausage biscuits for breakfast on Saturday morning. And, we bought some hotdogs that we cooked over a camp fire for lunch. The only meal that we ate out for this trip was dinner on Saturday night.

Jeff built a nice camp fire which he kept going most of the day on Saturday. The girls played in the woods near our camper or right outside of the camper and Jeff and I relaxed by the fire. We all went for a short walk to the ranger station and back after lunch. I took a nap after we got back. I don't remember the last time I did that but it was nice. Even the cat took it easy on Saturday. And, no I did not pose him. I actually found the worthless feline stretched out across our bed just like this.

We tried Daphne's Lodge for dinner on Saturday night. Daphne's Lodge is located almost directly outside of the park. One of my coworker's recommended it to me last week. I asked him in advance if it was a family restaurant or one more appropriate for couples only and he said it was a family restaurant. I think we were the only people there with children though. But, the girls were well behaved. I think if Jeff and I ever go again, it will be just the two of us though mainly because of the price of the entrees. But, I thought of it as more of a couple's restaurant.

New Year's Plans

Rachel and Anna are going to be traveling with Harold and Gail after Christmas to visit with family in West Virginia. Jeff and I had been tossing around ideas of where we would go in the RV while the girls were gone. We have reservations in Orlando at Fort Wilderness right now. As much as I'd like one trip to Disney for just the two of us, I think I might enjoy a place that's a bit closer and with less people. So, I suggested Savannah. I think that will be the place that we will go. If the weather is nice enough while we are there, I'd really like to visit Cumberland Island. I've wanted to go there for years but never felt like the girls were quite ready for that when we have visited the Georgia coast with them.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. ~Edward Sandford Martin

To our friends and family, we wish you a blessed Thanksgiving. If you're traveling to be with loved ones, we wish you safe travels.

Oh, the humiliation!

He gets free lodging and gets to travel in a motorhome, he gets all the food he can eat, and a litter box of his own. In return, he provides entertainment for the children. :-)

Anna decided to put her glowing Rudolph nose on our cat, Simba, tonight. Simba tolerated it but he looked so humiliated. Oh well, he earned his keep for the day.

School Pictures 2008

Below are Rachel's 1st Grade portrait and Anna's Kindergarten portrait.

Anna in Kindergarten (Age 5.5 years old)

Rachel in First Grade (7 Years Old)

FDR State Park, Auburn, and Callaway Gardens

Originally, we planned to camp at Vogel State Park this weekend. But, I wasn't able to leave work early on Friday so we chose FDR State Park instead as it was closer and it wouldn't require us to drive through the Atlanta area on a Friday afternoon. It was so humid and foggy on Friday evening. The fog was so thick you could slice it with a knife. But, the temperature was comfortable. That was not the case the rest of the weekend as the temperature dropped a lot on Saturday.

We had hoped to have dinner at The Purple Cow restaurant Friday evening which was one of our favorite sandwich shops in Pine Mountain. But, we found that it had closed down. We were so disappointed. We ended up having dinner at Sage's Ice Cream Parlor instead. Then, we walked around the down town area where local children were singing Christmas Carols. I guess it was the first night in town with the Christmas decorations being lit up, etc.

War Eagle!

Auburn was scheduled to play Georgia in Auburn on Saturday. Jeff suggested we drive to Auburn, which is only about an hour from FDR State Park, to enjoy pre-game festivities and see if we could find some tickets at a cheaper price. Face value for a ticket is $60 and needless to say, we hated paying that much for each ticket when the girls don't really watch the game. We arrived several hours before the game started. We browsed some shops and walked around campus for a while and then we had lunch at the Mellow Mushroom. While there, Anna found a man's wallet on the floor when she was coming back from the restroom. We gave it to a waitress and she said a man had been looking for his wallet. A few minutes later, the man walked back to our table and thanked Anna. He also gave her five dollars for her good deed. He was a UGA fan though and we told him that if he wanted to truly express his gratitude that he had to say, "War Eagle!" :-)

We briefly visited my old Air Force ROTC detachment. Unfortunately, the Air Force ROTC detachment didn't have a tent or anything set up outside for alumni prior to the game. But, we did stop for a moment and got a picture at the "spirit rock" before continuing on for the day.

We attempted to purchase tickets several times before the game started but the scalpers were unwilling to sell them for anything less than $40 each...most wanted full face value. So, we waited until after the first quarter began and we were then able to purchase four tickets at $20 each. We got tickets on the upper deck but they were on the 50-yard line. For those who watched the game, you'll know Auburn lost. But, it was a close game....a real nail biter to the very end. That made it a good game to watch even with the loss. And, it has been a very long time since Jeff and I attended a big game such as this at Auburn. For the past few years, we have gone for homecoming and that was it.

We ate dinner in Auburn at Guthrie's and then headed back to Pine Mountain for the evening.

Callaway Gardens

We made our reservations for Fantasy in Lights at Callaway Gardens for Saturday night from 8-9 pm. This was our first year to go. We've talked about going for years but always ended up choosing something else to do on the weekends. We chose to go in the trolley car for the tour of the lights. It was such a cold night...down in the 40s while we were there for the tour. We enjoyed it and would like to go again next year...except we think we'll drive our jeep next time instead of taking the trolley. I would also recommend you bring your own Thermos with hot chocolate on cold nights. We paid $3.00 per cup of hot chocolate. And, if its a cold night, extra blankets are a must!

The tickets we purchased for Saturday night was good for two days. So, we visited the gardens on Sunday before returning home. We attended the Birds of Prey show first. And, then we visited the Butterfly Center. We have attended a Birds of Prey show at Veteran's State Park several months back. While the show at Callaway was nice, it was not nearly as long or as entertaining as the one we attended at Veteran's.

We decided to eat lunch at a restaurant located near the entrance to Callaway Gardens called Cricket's. The food was very yummy and the restaurant was a good choice. They served steak, seafood and even some cajun fare.

All in all... a good weekend; except Auburn losing to Georgia. Now, I'll have to deal with all the UGA fans gloating on Monday morning. Oh, joy! I'll forgive Auburn so long as they spank Alabama at the upcoming Iron Bowl. Bama is undefeated and ranked #1...yep, that would be a great Christmas gift if Auburn can win that game in a couple of weeks.

Happy Birthday Mary and Riley

Our niece, Mary Grace, turns 12 this week. Riley, who is one of Mary's friends who lives in our neighborhood, turned 10 this past week. They both love my chocolate cakes so I made one for them yesterday in honor of both of their birthdays.

Mary is like a daughter to us in many respects as we've watched her grow up. I can really tell how she is shedding the little girl look and is starting to blossom into a beautiful young woman. It's hard to fathom that in five short years, Rachel will be at the same stage in development. They change so quickly. I have to say that I don't envy their ages other than the physical youth that comes with it. I remember all too well the turbulence of the teenage years. It's not an age I'd want to go back to.

Happy Birthday Mary! Happy belated Birthday Riley! We wish for you the wisdom to safely navigate the years ahead.

Christmas Decorations 2008

[after Clark fails at lighting all the exterior Christmas lights at the "lighting ceremony" in front of the entire family]
Frances: Talk about pissing your money away. I hope you kids see what a silly waste of resources this was.
Audrey: He worked really hard, Grandma.
Art: So do washing machines.
~~from the movie Christmas Vacation

We put up our Christmas decorations early: right after Halloween to be exact. We figure if we're going to drag out all of this stuff, we are going to enjoy it at least for two months before having to take it all down and put it away again. Plus, it just kind of lifts your spirits seeing all of the lights.

As usual, Jeff curses the lights as he is pulling them out and setting them up because there are always a few that are blown leaving him to check the string. Truly, you can't pay and get better entertainment. It's part of Christmas tradition in our household.

The children in the neighborhood are enjoying our decorations already. And, it does put me in the Christmas spirit seeing everything out. The only thing we haven't set up yet is our indoor Christmas village. We'll probably do that next weekend.

From our well-lit and early decorated home.....we wish everyone an upcoming blessed and wonderful holiday season.

I Deserved It

"I really want to study this whole thing of drinking, getting drunk and people saying that they're having a good time. Because if you put on a good suit, you put on a good suit or whatever and you say, "I'm going out to have a good time." But some people announce it: "I'm going OUT... because I DESERVE to go out... and I'm going to get DRUNK... because I DESERVE to get drunk... and get out of my way!" ~~Bill Cosby, Himself

For those of you who have seen the video Bill Cosby, Himself, you know that the ending to the story above is that the person goes out, gets trashed and ends up worshiping the porcelain God. And, Bill then says, "Remember, you deserved this."

Well, that is how I'm introducing last night's saga. A friend of ours, Holly, invited us to her home for a Wine and Cheese party. I had a particularly stressful work week and since Jeff was driving, I thought I'd enjoy the wine....because "I deserved it!"

I don't think I drank that much. I don't ever recall feeling drunk per se....maybe a little tipsy. But, we left the party after only being there two hours and then we went to pick up our daughters who were with our babysitter. Jeff went inside to get the girls and that is when the unpleasant feeling hit me. My head started swimming, the van suddenly felt warmer, and my stomach felt queasy. Jeff returned to the van with the girls and they all noticed my lack of color....Jeff knew what was coming.

A few minutes later as we drove down the road, I tossed my cookies (and the photo above is how I found the passenger side of my van this morning). Rachel and Anna couldn't understand why I was so sick and Jeff was laughing at my predicament.
And, after we got home, I tossed my cookies (or should I say my wine and cheese) even more.... alot more.

I don't recall the last time I vomited after drinking alcohol...had to be in college. And, as I sat there worshiping the toilet, I remembered why I don't usually drink much. But, evidently, my tolerance has decreased significantly over the years because it didn't take much to make me sick last night. I'll just limit myself to one drink from here on out when I decide to partake again as I don't want to have the experience I had last night again.

Of course, Jeff was still smirking after I got up this morning and asking me if I'd like an omelet with chili on top for breakfast. :-)

And, all I can keep thinking to myself is..."I deserved it!"

The 2008 Presidential Election

I find with each election, I get more disenfranchised with our political system where two major parties reign. In my humble opinion, they differ in name only.

As we move closer towards election day, I offer these words of wisdom to consider as you go to the voting booth:

"The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and pine for something they can't get and to promise to give it to them. Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing. The tenth time is made good by looting A to satisfy B. In other words, government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods."~~H. L. Mencken

"I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution or that have failed their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is "needed" before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents "interests, " I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can." ~~Barry Goldwater (And, oh, how I wish that one of the Presidential candidates this year had said this but no such luck!)

"Politicians never accuse you of 'greed' for wanting other people's money --- only for wanting to keep your own money." ~~Joseph Sobran

"America's abundance was created not by public sacrifices to 'the common good,' but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America's industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance -- and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way." ~~Ayn Rand

And, last but not least, one of my favorites of all time: Thomas Jefferson. The following quotes are from him.

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."