And the winner is.......ME!!

Yay! I received not one, but TWO awards from a new friend, Maricris at Zen Ventures! The first award is the "I LOVE YOUR BLOG" award! What a cute award it is too!

The rules of this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated

I just have to go with the first blogs I look for every day, cause I LOVE their blogs! But, there are plenty more I love too!!! I had to pick 7!
Lizzy at Journey to the Hot Tub
Lesley at Na-Na's Cozy Kitchen
Tam at Momma Song
Kelley at My Life With my Love
Susie at Bienvenue
Joe Joe at Bella's Daddy
Amy at Escape into my Thoughts
I would put my friend Chelle, but her blog is private and nobody can see it!!! But I love your blog too, Chelle!

Half of them are my real life friends, so i'm a little partial!! Enjoy the award!!

The second award is the Brillante Weblog award that doesn't include any rules, but if it's name speaks for itself, it is for brilliant blogs!! I will nominate 3 people for their brillaint blogs and hope they will pass it on too!

Blogstalker
Crazy Life of Mine
40 Shades of Pink

Work was busy yesterday, then I had my supervision meeting yesterday afternoon. We had group supervision with my friends, Courtney & Christine, so that was fun and different! I got home around 6pm and my step-son, Sean, brought his girlfriend, Kristen over to meet us and to show us his new car. It's actually a 1994 Mitsubishi Miata (sp) and get this....it's a bright red convertible just like my new Mustang!!! It's a cute car and I hope it holds up for him. He has recently gotten a good job as a computer technician/networker, so we're really crossing our fingers and praying that this works out for him. He's a great employee; he just is habitually late and usually loses jobs because of it. And his girlfriend is nice. We liked her.

Cameron is gone to his dad's this week, so that is always an adjustment for me. You'd think after 12 years, it would seem normal, but it's different. It's ok with me now that he likes going over there, but there were step-mother issues for several years that created serious problems, but things have been good for awhile now.

My brother, Kenny, posted some new pictures of my cute little niece, Daphne. Here you can see her with the giant Elmo her favorite aunt (yes, that would be me) gave her for her first birthday. Now, while I would like to take credit for the idea, Elmo was on Daphne's Amazon.com wishlist (who knew she was so smart!) and I just bought it, but still, it's her favorite toy. Kenny said that in the first picture, Daphne was bringing Elmo to take a bath with her and that when he reads books to Daphne, she sits on one knee and wants Elmo on his other knee!

Have a nice Tuesday!!!

Sunday night

Cameron & I got home from our weekend trip to Georgia this evening, and all in all, it was a good trip. We got to spend a lot of time with my brother and his family as well as my 2nd cousin & her husband (both are turning 80 this year!) We rode with my mom & step-dad and the trip there & back was pretty uneventful. I was surprised to see what the fuss is all about that Lake Lanier is very LOW. My cousin lives on the lake and has had a BEACH rather than lakefront property for the last couple of years!!!

My cousin's house is behind the trees and all of this beach property is usually Lake Lanier!!!

Most of the owners have "rolling docks" that they push further & further out as the lake dries up! And Atlanta's water supply comes from this lake! Yikes!

I grew up with frequent visits from my cousin & her husband and haven't seen them in several years. I have never been to their house and was really in awe of how beautiful it is. We spent 2 nights there and drove an hour to visit my brother in Atlanta each day. She & Cameron hit it off great and spent most of the weekend playing games and being silly!

Daphne's 1st birthday was a lot of fun! We got to spend a lot of time with her before the party, and that was nice. The big stuffed Elmo that I gave her was definitely her favorite toy! She pulled it to her and gave Elmo a hug when she saw him! It was cute!





Before the cake....
After the cake!!

Walter went crazy working in the yard while I was gone! It was too late to take pictures of his projects this evening (we had to spend some time swinging instead!!), but i'll take some tomorrow. He met us at the Picadilly about 30 minutes from our house and we had dinner with my parents and he brought us home.

And the guy who looked at my car called to say that he found another car and was going to buy it, so i'll have to wait and hope that someone else calls. I really don't have a backup plan if someone buys my car, so that shows me that I need to probably actually go find the car dealer and deal that I want before I go getting rid of my car! But that was an exciting thought for a few days!!!

I go back to work on Wednesday and i'm really ready and excited, although it's hard to give up these lazy summer days!!

Award Wednesday!!!

I am honored to announce that I was awarded the "BRILLANTE WEBLOG Award" by Hot Tub Lizzy this morning and I am truly appreciative!! I love blogging and enjoy when people enjoy reading my random thoughts, so thank you Lizzy! Now, I must bestow this great honor on at least 7 other bloggers!

Here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Add links to these blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

1. Lesley at Na-Na's Cozy Kitchen - Lesley is one of my real life best friends and has a great blog that you should check out!

2. Mere at The Babblings of Mere

3. Tam at Momma Song

4. Nik at Exceptional Voyage

5. Molly at I Need a Martini....Now!

6. Kat at Mama's Losin It

7. Joe at Isabella's Life of...another real life best friend (who should blog more often!!)

So, thanks again Lizzy!! That made my day!!

I'm going to lunch with my friend, Judith and her sister, Susan today. I went to graduate school with Judith and have become close friends with her sister, as well. We are going to a new place, Zea's Rotisserie & Grill, in Baton Rouge. I am totally off my diet today, so anything goes!! Ha Ha Ha!!! Really, I am trying to stay low carb, but with the Atlanta trip coming up this weekend, it's useless to try to eat my wacky diet, so I'll work on that when I come back.

I bought my niece, Daphne, the cutest stuffed Elmo for her birthday. It came in this week and I need to wrap it to bring on our trip. I knew she wanted it cause she has her own Amazon.com wish list even though she's only 1 year old! I guess she is an overachiever!! You go girl!! And no, that is not her in the picture - just the cute kid from the Amazon.com ad.

Questions & Comments:

Tam asked if the neighbor with the dog is the same as the neighbor next door with the garbage. No, he actually lives 3 houses down from us. The garbage guy lives right next door.

Kelley asked if Walter said anything to the guy about the dog. No, he didn't say anything, but as soon as the guy left he said, "I'm sorry." It was really an awkward situation and I had already made it very clear that the dog needed to get out of the house, so there wasn't too much left to say. He isn't as protective of the cats, so he may not have thought it was as big of a deal as I did, but I don't treat my babies like that.

And Kim wanted to know if the neighbor even knew why I was upset. I would have to say yes. I yelled at him to "GET THE DOG OUT" when he actually brought him in the house and walked over to him, grabbed my cat and said, "I don't think that's funny." Plus, I didn't come back. LOL

Chelle asked about the drowings on the river last weekend. It was a 25 year old man who drowned after jumping in the river to save a friend. He apparently did save his friend, but couldn't swim himself and drowned.

Tam - if I was coming to Georgia in my own car, I'd figure out a way to visit!! Maybe next trip we can meet up somewhere!!! I have a friend from graduate school who lives 10 minutes from my brother, so I'm going to have to beg for a car or a ride to visit him while i'm there!

I'm going to go enjoy a quiet, rainy morning, then off to lunch with my friends. I hope you all have a great Wednesday!!

Another one bites the dust...

Yes indeed! Another pound gone for a total of SEVEN! This puts me at 153 which breaks the record of my dieting attempts over the last 5 years! I put away my size 10 shorts and the 8's are fitting just fine. I really don't have any desire to go lower than an 8, but I definitely do want to look good in my 8's. My goal is 145 and I hope to be close to that and start adding some carbs back to my diet by Monday. The problem with the Atkins diet (and probably most diets) is that once I stop the strict dieting, I just gain it all back. I am really going to try to keep myself eating fewer carbs than before - just cutting back on bread, rice, pasta, etc. would be a much healthier way of life. Today I had fried eggs and bacon for breakfast, some sauteed squash & zucchini for lunch, and plan to grill pork chops for dinner. I haven't made it to work out yet, but will try again tonight! It's a shame to pay for the membership and then just stop going!

I floated in the pool and read my book for almost 2 hours this morning and it was awesome! I don't have anything planned at all today and I am very happy about that!! I have some laundry waiting for me upstairs so I will take care of that and clean up a little around the house, but I plan to be very lazy today and enjoy it!! This evening should be about the same!!

Questions & comments from previous posts:

Joe mentioned having had his above ground pool turn into a science project due to chemical problems. We hope to not have that happen and we check the chlorine level every day. The tap water out here has issues and for the first few days after we filled the pool, it looked green!! It took several days of playing with chemicals to get it right, but once we got it right, it is beautiful and blue!! Our pool came with a filter and pump that really seem to work well for such a cheap pool! Also, you asked about JP - his address is still the same and i'll email it to you in case you don't have it. He enjoys hearing from anyone and I appreciate anyone who takes the time to write him!

Kimi said she wants to do the Atkins diet, but keeps cheating. I know her downfall is wanting to drink milk, but I did notice that Slim Fast has a low-carb vanilla drink that only has 2 carbs, so maybe you could try it and have 1 of those a day when you are craving milk? I am not really a milk drinker, so I haven't had that problem. Atkins really works and works fast, but you do have to really set your mind to sticking to the allowed foods. Also, you asked if we are flying or driving to Atlanta: my mom, step-dad, Walter, Cameron & I are riding together. It is about an 8 hour trip. My sister will be flying in from a business trip somewhere (can't remember where) and if she needs to ride home with us, then Walter will drive his truck that can seat 6 instead of my step-dad driving, but then she will still have to find a ride home from Baton Rouge to Houston. We'll have to see how that works out.

And for Tam: I've never been to Lake Lanier and I'm so excited to go there! My brother lives in Atlanta and we usually stay with him when we visit, but he's having a houseful of company for my niece's birthday, so we'll be staying with my cousin. I'll have to see how far that is from Savannah!

And speaking of my niece, here is a picture of the little princess, Daphne! My brother is 41 and this is his first baby. After a layoff from work with a nice severance package, he has been a stay-at-home dad since Daphne was born! I know he is looking for work now, but I think it's great that he's been able to have this time with his girl! I can't wait to see her next month! I bought her a huge Elmo doll for her birthday, off of her wishlist on Amazon.com. Who knew her computer skills were so great?!?!

Monday

One down! Four to go! Walter's niece, Kate wants a kitty! She came to look at the last litter that was here, but someone had already claimed the little tabby kitten she wanted, so she didn't end up getting one. She told me yesterday that she'd like one of these tabby kittens, so I will hang on to one for her. Yay!

Cameron's girlfriend, Sarah, came over to hang out with him today, so I was good about making myself scarce. I don't allow girls in the bedrooms, so they have to stay downstairs or outside, but I do try to give them some space. It has been a long time since we've dealt with girlfriends in the house, so it takes some getting used to again, but all the old rules were made for very good reasons, so we're sticking with them!! Sarah seems like a sweet girl and they enjoy spending time together, so we'll see what happens from there. I floated in the pool for awhile, then I spent the afternoon playing with the kitties and cleaning up after them, which is a full time job in itself!

Here is a new picture of my niece, Daphne. She is 10 months old and really a cute little baby! I know exactly how my friend, Lesley, feels since her sister doesn't want her posting pictures of her new nephew on the internet! My brother is the same way but has given me temporary permission while Daphne is young, but he will put a stop to it sooner or later! I am hoping to somehow squeeze a visit to Atlanta in around Daphne's birthday in August, but we'll have to see. One of my bestest friends from graduate school, John, lives about 15 minutes from my brother, so hopefully I could visit with him when I'm there too.
I went to Walmart this morning & bought an air mattress for my mom or step-dad to use Tuesday night. The bed in our guest room was my grandmother's and it is a double bed. Walter and I used the bed at the condo we were renting when we were building our house and we affectionately refer to it as "tiny bed." There is no way for 2 adults to fit comfortably in it, so we'll see how the air mattress works as a 2nd place to sleep! I hate to replace the bed because it is an antique and I love it, but it's a real pain having a guest room that nobody can sleep in!!

19 days until the cruise and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!! I wish it was time to go now!!! Walter & I will have an ocean view balcony suite and we got Cameron & Sean an interior stateroom to share. Here is a picture of what our suite is supposed to look like.

I have a roast in the crock pot for dinner tonight and the house smells sooooo good!! It's making me hungry!