What makes you...YOU?

What are the things about you that make up who you are? The serious or the silly things? Not fads or things that may change from year to year, but the aspects that have been with you for most of your life and are unlikely to change.

So, again I ask, what makes you YOU?

Here are the things I can think of for me: ( in no certain order)

1. I love animals....both pets and wildlife.

2. I despise abuse against the innocent and helpless---the unborn, babies, children, the elderly, and even pets. Nothing can get me more riled up that abuse against someone who has no defenses.

3. I am a Jovi Girl....Bon Jovi, that is. I've loved him and the band since I was 15. I've seen them in concert 5 times now, and am sure there will be many more times in the future.

4. During the winter and early spring my life revolves around Wake Forest basketball. ( GO DEACS!)

5. I spent 6 years of my life dealing with infertility, so I will always consider my children, my miracles.

6. After accepting that I would never be a mother, I now have 2 boys and 2 stepchildren. When God finally blessed me with children, He did so in an abundance.

7. I am a Christian and feel that I am very spiritual. However, I have never attended church regularly for more than a few months at a time. This is something I feel guilty about nearly every day...moreso for my children than myself.

8. While my husband often drive me crazy, I love him with a passion and intensity that I previously never imagined.

9. I adore penguins. The recent movies ( March of the Penguins and now Happy Feet) seem to have been made just for me.

10. I love music....all kinds. Rock, contemporary Christian, classical, country, jazz, heavy metal, Christmas songs, etc. I have a radio or television playing music around me constantly. Without background noise I am bored.

Do I have to go to work today?

(YAWN)

As most everyone knows, I work 12 hour night shifts. Today, however, I am working 7AM to 7PM. Thanksgiving has everything shuffled up, and I volunteered to work days today so that I could spend more time with my family during the week.

But, holy cow! I am NOT used to being awake at 5:15 in the morning. Well, scratch that. I am used to being awake, but I am accustomed to it being the end of my work day, not the time I wake up. I feel like I am a walking zombie. I am even sick on my stomach, as if my body is rebelling.

It's all good. We had a great trip to Georgia. We came home late Friday, then yesterday bought and decorated our tree. (Inhales deeply) The tree smells so divine in here. I may just get into the holiday spirit yet.

For all the sports fans out there, I am thrilled beyond words to report that my beloved Wake Forest Demon Deacons are going to play in the ACC tournament next weekend. This is the first time since 1971, so we are more than a little excited. The dilemma is going to be....we have tickets to see Wake Forest play Georgia in basketball at 2:00 Saturday. The ACC tournament starts at 1:00 ON SATURDAY! !

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving ! ! Have a great week, all!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We are heading down to Georgia later today for the Thanksgiving holiday......heading back home on Saturday. I THINK we are going to go ahead and do our Christmas decorating when we get home. From here until New Year's things are going to be VERY hectic.

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe, and blessed Thanksgiving!

Christmas Cards?

How many of you still mail Christmas cards? It seems to be becoming more and more rare of a thing. I enjoy sending and receiving cards every year. I got ahead of the game this year and have already ordered our cards with a picture on them. They have already been shipped, so I should be getting them any day and hopefully get them in the mail the beginning of December.

Below is the picture that is going on our cards....I'm doing one of those flat, glossy cards with the picture framed by a Christmas border and a sweet message.

Happy Holiday everyone. It is upon us.

Awesome Weekend.

Ever have one of those days that just seem perfect? A day that you just know you are going to hold in a very special place in your memories and go back to it when the going gets tough to help you smile?

That was our Saturday. Simply idyllic.

On Friday, we did the 3 hour drive down to Greenville, NC to pick out my kitten. His Royal Highness. It was more difficult than I thought to chose, but I finally picked the one with the most intense blue eyes, as their eyes is the thing I love most about Ragdolls.

After we picked him out & grabbed lunch, we headed on down to Wilmington, which was another 3 hours in the car. We checked in our hotel & did some driving around town. I went to college in Wilmington but that was 18 years ago. (18 years?!?!?!) So a lot has changed.

Saturday, though, was the golden day. We got up early and went out to breakfast. Then we went to visit Fort Fisher Historical Park. We are both Civil War buffs and love to tour old battlegrounds and forts. I had no idea how significant Fort Fisher was! It was a cold, but beautiful and sunny day to be wandering around the park.

After Fort Fisher, we headed to Quizno's for a quick, but very good, lunch on our way to Wrightsville Beach. It is a lovely beach, though a little too pricey for us at this time. It was very nice to walk along the beach, watch the surfers and fisherman, and just enjoy some quiet time together.

Finally, we ended up on the Historic Wilmington Riverwalk. ( see pictures below ). Despite how much time I've spent in Wilmington, I had no idea what a wonderful area the Riverwalk is. We strolled along, browsed a few shops, and did a lot of people watching.

We had dinner at a nice place overlooking the river, then met with the group to go on our Haunted Pub Tour. What a blast!!! Not only did we hear some pretty awesome, creepy stories, we learned a TON about the history of the Wilmington area. I really didn't realize what a rich and colorful history the North Carolina coast has. I mean, of course, I knew some of it, but I was surprised constantly.

Finally, on the way back to the room, we stopped by a sports bar to catch up on the scores for the day. My Wake Forest Deacons are 8-1. WOW. We usually have HORRIBLE football seasons. Right now, we are #18 in the country. That is so awesome!

Anyhow, we hung out there a few hours, then finally went back to the hotel and collapsed in bed. I cannot recall a single bad moment about the entire day. Not one.

One the way home today, about 1 hour out of Wilmington, I looked down at the radio and noticed it was on the same station as when we left home. We turned it down right outside of town and never turned it back on. To me, that really says a lot. I am a background noise kinda person. I have a radio in every room of the house & typically turn it on as soon as I enter a room. However, Tim & I managed to ride about 10 hours with no radio. Just us. Our conversations, and even our comfortable occasional silences.

It is the rare gem of a day like yesterday that makes like complete. If you haven't been away with that special love of your life recently, please do so soon. It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive, just spend a day away alone together. I sold some old dolls on Ebay to pay for our hotel room on this journey. Find a way. Please. You won't regret it, and it just may be exactly what you need.

Heading out of town

First of all, I have to say I am very disappointed nobody commented on my post about the Renaissance Festival. (pouting) I was so excited about it.

I guess nobody loves me anymore. LOL

ANYHOW, tomorrow hubby and I are heading towards the coast for a weekend away. The main purpose of our trip to it pick out my kitten. In case I haven't mentioned it, a couple of months ago I put a deposit down on a Ragdoll kitten. I have wanted one for over 20 years and he is going to be my "reward" for going back to work full time. I've been stupid excited about getting this kitten.

So, we decided since we were heading towards the beach anyway we'd just make a weekend of it. We are staying in Wilmington, which is a beautiful city on the Cape Fear River. Saturday night we have tickets to go on a "Haunted Pub Crawl". I think it sounds like it is going to be a hoot.

Otherwise, we don't have much really planned. It is just going to be a quiet weekend away for the two of us.

And we need it. I've been really stressed as of late. I found out on Monday that by transferring schools, which I had to do to go back to work, I have added a year or more before I graduate. I am supposed to be midway thru my junior year. Now, I'm back at barely a sophomore. I was SOOOO discouraged. But, I guess I will just keep on keeping on and know that sooner or later, I will be a college graduate. It will be worth it, right?

I suppose I should go pack while the boys are having fun with the Playstation 2. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

HAPPY AUTUMN!