Welcome myself back comments...

Last Monday Jason and I drove over to Jacksonville to pick up his mother for a visit. She flew into JAX to get a nonstop. It was a pleasant drive over...always enjoy time in the car with Jase...good conversation and I have his full attention...except that he's driving...HA!
The drive back was enjoyable, too. Catching up with Mary, planning our itinerary for the week.
Today is Mary's birthday. She is 82. She still lives in Wyoming, Ohio...our hometown. They have had a very cold winter and she needed an "escape" to warmer weather. For those who have been here, there is nothing like Springtime in Tallahassee. The azaleas and Dogwoods in bloom. The fragrant flowers, the clear blue skies...the warmer temperatures.
The highlight of her visit has been our Easter Sunday Celebration. Robin and family were invited, of course, and then Robin invited a co-worker, friend...and his family. It turned out to be a lovely Easter Sunday...Wonderful Church service, message and music...great fellowship with family and new friends....delicious dinner. Robin made a 7 layer salad and Mary made Key Lime pies with whipped cream. I made roasted potatoes and green beans...Publix made my ham.
We've been playing Crazy 8's and Scrabble all week....painting....touring Tallahassee. Robin took us yesterday...a spin around FSU and town. It was the best tour I've had. We visited a tree you have to see to believe. The property was donated to the city, I think Robin said, by a former FSU Professor (deceased). It is a MUST SEE in Tallahassee.
Today is the birthday...I have to work...but Jason will take his mom to Outback for lunch.
I was able to attend the "official" birthday lunch, yesterday, at Robin's. She prepared an Oriental Chicken salad that was scrumptious...and the presentation was SO Martha!
Back to work today....Bah Humbug.

Our 28th Wedding Anniversary!

Jason and I will celebrate our 28th Wedding Anniversary tomorrow. I am still so thankful that God hand picked this man for me. He was praying for a wife. God answered his prayer. I told him this evening, that I know I vowed for "better or worse"... but I'm sure glad it has been "better" more than "worse". He is my best friend. He understands me like no one else. He is still the handsomest guy I have ever seen....and I love him more today than when we first said, "I do". There is a duet...that says it all:

These times are troubled and these times are good
And they're always gonna be, they rise and they fall
We take 'em all the way that we should
Together you and me forsaking them all
Deep in the night and by the light of day
It always looks the same, true love always does
And here by your side, or a million miles away
Nothin's ever gonna change the way that I feel,
The way it is, is the way that it was

When I said I do, I meant that I will 'til the end of all time
Be faithful and true, devoted to you
That's what I had in mind when I said I do

Well this old world keeps changin', and the world stays the same
For all who came before, and it goes hand and hand
Only you and I can undo all that we became
That makes us so much more, than a woman and a man
And after everything that comes and goes around
Has only passed us by, here alone in our dreams
I know there's a lonely heart in every lost and found
But forever you and I will be the ones
Who found out what forever means

When I said I do, I meant that I will 'til the end of all time
Be faithful and true, devoted to you
That's what I had in mind when I said I do

Truer than true, you know that I'll always be there for you
That's what I had in mind, that's what I had in mind,
When I said I do

An unforgettable evening!

A co-worker gave me two tickets that she was unable to use last night, and Jason and I were able to attend a wonderful concert. I have posted an excerpt from their website below. If you have an opportunity to see them, don't pass it up. Definitely an evening to remember.

A New Journey – by turns dazzlingly elaborate and hauntingly simple – is perfectly reflective of David’s musical vision. As he himself puts it, he is drawn towards ‘music with many layers, many strands, many dynamics, and I tend to think of our music as like a kaleidoscope: elements shifting in and out of focus at any given time.’

Spanning over two hours, the show contains selections from both of the group’s platinum albums, Celtic Woman and A New Journey. The Celtic Women themselves are as beautifully, quintessentially Irish as the music they perform. Says David of the soloists: ‘They are the songs, in many cases, and are the reason for any Celtic Woman music to happen. Their voices and music bring that sound together, bring it to life.’

Make no mistake – this is entertainment on a spectacular scale. It is, however, the poignant, deeply stirring songs and the unforgettable voices of the Celtic Women that will remain with you long after the lights have died down and the dazzling images have faded from view.

Not content to retread ground already covered on previous projects, A New Journey both expands upon and refines the Celtic Woman sound. The repertoire is an unforgettable collection of contemporary hits (Beyond the Sea, The Prayer, Scarborough Fair, Over the Rainbow), classical favorites (Lascia Ch’io Pianga, Vivaldi’s Rain), Irish standards (Dúlaman, Danny Boy, Mo Ghile Mear) and original compositions written especially for the soloists by David Downes (Granuaile's Dance, At the Ceili, The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun, The Blessing & Sing Out!) As David puts it, ‘if you’re going to make a sequel, you might as well throw all ideas into the ring.’ But the risks taken – both in terms of the new musical material and the breathtaking outdoor setting – have paid off in spectacular style. Celtic Woman’s A New Journey, like all the best journeys, is an experience you will never forget.

Baby Binks

Anyone who knows me well, knows well that I love Baby Binks. Each year just before Easter, I have everyone who loves me searching every Walgreens, CVS, Publix...for Baby Binks...for those who don't know...Baby Binks is a hollow chocolate rabbit...made by Palmer Candies. He is no ordinary bunny....he always has candy eyes and a small satin ribbon. There are many imitations...also made by Palmer candies...FLOPPY, etc...but only ONE BABY BINKS!
Tonight Jason and I went to Home Depot to get our anniversary gift. Our 28th anniversary is March 11. I have been begging for a blower for all the leaves that I am too tired to "sweep" off the deck...and then we stopped by a Publix for cat food and dinner...and on the way in....in their HUGES display of Easter Candy...thinking this would be an unsuccessful attempt at finding my annual BINKS...I almost FELL OVER!!!! They had a large supply of BINKS! I was beside myself...like a kid in the candy store...literally...I GRABBED 3! So proud of my find. Jason was happy, too, because this means he will not have to worry about finding this year's Baby Binks.
So for anyone out there....worried about me....no need.

The perfect wardrobe

For years I led a Women's Bible Study...lately I have been thinking about some of the things I shared....I needed to hear them again. What kind of clothes are in your closet?

Women are so concerned about what they are going to wear. God's wardrobe is the most beautiful. Look at what the Word says about what we are to "put on".

Colossians 3:12-17 ( KJV)






12Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

13Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

14And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

17And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Sentimental Journey

Uncle Earl...early 1950's. My cousin, Lynne (center) then....now she is Dr. Lynne Lohmeier, PHD...Aunt Louise ( my mom's twin sister) and my cousin, Todd.

Just in case...

My cousin, Lynne, called last night to tell me her father died in his sleep this week. My Uncle Earl...a Veternarian, a gentle man. I had very little contact with him in the past 30 years. He was married to my mom's identical twin for 25 years. They divorced when my cousin was in Jr. High, I think. The last time we spoke was following Hurricane Katrina..I was desperately trying to get information about Lynne. She lives in Gautier, Mississippi - an area devastated by the storm...anyway....as a child I remember this...
... loving the smell of pipe tobacco when I visited my cousins. Their house always smelled of homemade bread and pipe tobacco. I wish I had more memories...my mother had 3 sisters...all of my Uncles are now gone...Uncle Bob...Uncle Ben and now Uncle Earl. Three very different men. All were fathers...I tried to comfort Lynne when we spoke.
Losing a father is hard to describe....it can be like losing a safety net. I know when my father was alive, there was a certain comfort in knowing that he was there....just in case.....just in case I really goofed something up....just in case I needed advice that only a father can give....just in case I needed the wisdom that comes with age...just in case...when you lose your father...it helps to have the love of our Heavenly Father...a love that never ends...a Father who is always there...just in case.

What about you?

Four jobs I've had:

1. I've been a receptionist
2. I was a very good waitress at Howard Johnson's restaurant.
3. I was a unit clerk on a surgical floor in a hospital
4. For the past 30 years I have been a Delta Air Lines Ticket Agent/Supervisor

Four places I lived:

1. My childhood home in Wyoming, Ohio
2. A house on the ocean in Rockport, Massachusetts
3. A rustic home on a dirt road in Canaan, Maine
4. A home in downtown Boca Raton, Florida


Four movies I've watched over and over:

1. Doc Hollywood
2. The American President
3. OVERBOARD
4. Any Shirley Temple Movie


Four shows I watch:

1. General Hospital
2. Martha Stewart
3. Regis and Kelly
4. Dancing with the Stars

and usually MSNBC

Four places I'd visit again:

1. Prouts Neck, Maine
2. Marin County, California
3. Natchez, Mississippi
4. Fernandina Beach, Florida



Four favorite thing to eat:

1. Lebuchen...once a year at Christmas
2. Pepperoni Pizza
3. Eggs
4. Creme Brulee

Four things I look forward to this new year:

1. a healthier body weight( guess I'd better find 4 new favorite things to eat)
2. Spring
3. Travel
4. Spending time with Grand Kids

For the record....

Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record:

He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.

He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

Vote for Ron Paul!

Not only does he fit the mold of traditional Republican values -- fiscally conservative, socially conservative and a constitutionalist -- Paul also supports calls to eliminate the Internal Revenue Service and the federal income tax. Where Paul deviates from the party line is his vocal opposition to the war, which has marginalized the medical doctor among many mainstream GOP supporters.

There was a strong anti war pro Ron Paul crowd in the Florida Primary Republican Debate audience on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida tonight. Results from a MSNBC post debate text messaging poll showed Ron Paul leading before the network decided not to post the official results at the end of the post-debate coverage. The move clearly gets conspiracy theorists abuzz on the Ron Paul posting forums. There was no doubt once again that the clear winner of the debate was Ron Paul.