Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010 in Asheville and a MOST Unfortunate Football Game Ever

We took a few days over Thanksgiving and headed to the Biltmore Inn in Asheville.  We collected Lorelai along the way and Legare motored in from Chapel Hill.  Delicious food...quality time with our children...a little shopping...a massage and facial at the Inn spa. On Saturday, we headed to Clemson for the state rivalry game, USC vs. Clemson. 

Tailgating =  FUN
Game = NOT ONE SINGLE BIT OF FUN

And that is all I'm going to say about that...

How about some fun photos?  Yes, I thought you'd like that.  Hope that your holiday was the best ever.  Two slideshows...one of Asheville and the second of the tailgate...







Thursday, November 25, 2010

GOBBLE GOBBLE

Another Thanksgiving, another year of blessings.  The family is happy and healthy.  Legare, upon his graduation from law school next May will be gainfully employed in a VERY fine law firm.  Lorelai is still loving life and doing beautifully in college.  Hank is great.  I'm loving my new job.  Ned and all of the little old ladies are doing well.  Our dear friend Will came through his bypass surgery with flying colors.

THANKS be to God for all of His mercies and miracles.

I can't let Thanksgiving go by without two of my favorite video clips of all time.

Enjoy...Taking a few days off for rest and relaxation.  Hope that you're able to do the same with the ones you love.




Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A Belle in a Bank

Left my wallet on the desk at home this morning.  Had to go to the local branch of W Bank to withdraw a little bit of money for mother from a certificate of deposit.  Naturally, I'd put it off to the last minute.  Didn't realize I'd left the wallet at home until I got to the bank.

A very personable new fellow was helping me and when I realized I had no ID (although I recited all social security numbers, phone numbers, addresses, etc.) he asked if I by chance knew an employee in the bank who could verify that I was who I said I was. That didn't upset me...I like that the bank won't just dole out cash out to any Tom, Dick or Harry who might be up to no good.  Not too many people working there looked familiar...last time I was in, I knew three or four employees. Sure enough though, there was one lovely lady still standing whose son had been in high school with Legare.  We chatted about the boys for a minute then returned to the business at hand.  Nice guy typed and printed and I signed. 

When he went to cut the check, the bank manager somehow became involved and after five minutes, I looked over the cubicle wall and inquired as to whether or not they needed me to join them.  He led her back over to the cubicle and as she rounded the corner she gave me a look that I could not possibly describe and asked in the MOST unprofessional manner you could imagine, "So, you're driving withOUT a license??"

My stars woman, I wanted to say...Do you moonlight for the
highway patrol??  Goodness knows that my nerves were a bit frayed after keeping high school students focused on the last school day before Thanksgiving, but I kept calm and carried on...

I stood up and said..."So...I'm going to run home real fast...ten minutes there and ten minutes back...and get my driver's licence."  She smiled smugly as I continued, "While I'm gone...you shred those documents I just signed to withdraw X dollars.  Let's just close the account.  Thank you SO much. Be back in a jiffy."

Now the account didn't have a gajillion dollars in it but it wasn't chump change either.  As I walked out, Ms. Manager wasn't smiling.  Smug gone bye bye.  Some advice, when you're a new person working in a bank in a small town, you ought not tick off people who have lived in said small town for 25 years and have really good relationships with people who work in other banks in town.

When I returned with the proper credentials the manager was nowhere to be seen and the young man was waiting on me with the paperwork I'd requested.  I signed...he got a check...all was right with the world.

I didn't want him to think that things had gone south because of him.  He was very professional and polite.  It was the manager. Had she walked around the corner and said, "I'm so sorry but I know you understand that we really need to see the ID", I would have still been slightly perturbed (even though a rule is a rule); however, it was the tone and implication that she was distracting me with small talk while they ran my picture through the FBI database to prove that I was a criminal mastermind set to defraud the entire national banking system that made me go "twink."

Tomorrow morning, I'll be depositing mother's money from W Bank in the hometown bank down the street. The one where you can walk in on Monday morning wearing sweats and not one bit of makeup and where they'll laugh about your not having your driver's license while you wait 10 minutes for them to write you a check for a $25,000 personal loan to cover the check you wrote on Saturday when you bought a boat.

There are benefits to small town life...but apparently NOT at W Bank.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Is it just me??

What a week.  Meetings in Columbia for two entire days.  Too far to drive back and forth but too close to spend the night.  The time alone in the car did give me opportunity to think and reflect.  Good thing too...returning to the office on Friday was wild.  Two days of work piled up, absent secretary, guidance counselors day at another school, one BIG meeting, DNR presentation to students, ordering of class rings and senior supplies, senior luncheon, second quarter progress reports, and the ten other things that I'm not at liberty to discuss.  At least that's what I'm able to remember...

And people wonder why I act the way I do...

Lorelai is in Clemson.  Legare is going to the Clemson-Wake game.  Hank is hunting.

I finally got my 2010 Christmas with Southern Living.  I'm going to read it cover to cover and make my Christmas list.  This is the first time in 15 years that I haven't had my shopping done by the week before Thanksgiving.  Gosh, I wonder why?

On a different topic...Facebook...I may have offended some people this morning but don't really care.  Lorelai is taking a belly dancing class.  Yes, this is why we pay the big money to Clemson.  Anyhow, she wrote, "Going to belly dancing class...need to get this routine down for my final."  First of all, why she feels the need to let everybody in the world know where she is going all the time is BEYOND me.  Second of all...three people...adult women who live in our area commented, "post a video for us to see" or something along that line.

SERIOUSLY??  I don't think so!  I could resist and commented myself..."her mother does NOT want a video posted online."  

Now I ask you...would you want a video of your daughter belly dancing posted on FB, no matter how innocent it might be considered by others?  Even if it's just her 1,279 "good" FB friends?

Nope...not me.  (Oh goody, now I'm annoyed...)

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Student Quotes of the Week

"I like it here because I can work at my own paste."

Student to teacher after principal (me) makes a stern announcement regarding students who are behind in their work..."Is Mrs. Southern bi-polar?"    Teacher response:  "Could be...her job will do that to people."

AMEN!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Football Weekends...Hamburger Helper...and ByPass Surgery

1.  Big crazy football game against NC State last Saturday.  Hank and I got thoroughly disgusted and left about one minute too early.  Just as we got out of the stadium we heard a loud roar.  A minute later as we walked into the parking lot we heard my favorite football song..."we will, we will ROCK YOU!"  Clemson won the game but I surely don't know how.  It was one blunder after another until the last few minutes. 

2.  One of the best events of the season...Military Appreciation Day at Clemson...happened at the game.  I cried about three times (and NOT because they played so badly).  Slideshow below...

2.  I'm eating Hamburger Helper for supper.  It's one of my guilty pleasures when nobody is home for supper but me.  DON'T JUDGE ME.  Judge Mother instead.  She wasn't that great a cook and when daddy was away, which was fairly often, she was prone to taking out a box of potatoes stroganoff.  The southern belle good cook gene passed her by. Nothing like reconstituted potatoes and powdered sauce to bring back warm fuzzy memories.  (Seriously...I really like the stuff...a lot...good thing I'm not on my own for supper very often.)

3.  Keep our friend Will (of Meg and Will "rowdy girls" fame) in your prayers.  Just as we were leaving Clemson on Saturday evening, the phone rang and it was Meg telling us that she had taken Will to the hospital with chest pains. He is scheduled for double (at least) bypass surgery on Thursday. We stopped by on our way through Columbia on Sunday and his spirits are good.  No more Hamburger Helper for him.

4.  Legare took the first part of the Bar Exam last Saturday.  How is it that my baby boy is about to graduate from law school?? 

So...onward we go.  Have a good week...

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Fall Break

Yep...said I'd post on Monday and here it is Thursday.  At least give me some credit for blogging at 4:32 AM!

I was a SLUG on Saturday and most of Sunday.  It was glorious....absolutely positively glorious.  Lorelai caught up on some sleep and on Monday we shopped the day away.  We started out at our favorite store, Gwynn's of Mt. Pleasant, and stayed there for two and a half hours.  They treat Lor like a little princess at Gwynn's.  She tried on some gorgeous things and we brought most of them home with us. Here are several ensembles she will be sporting...


About the time we were dead on our feet, she connected with her pals Phillip and Alex and we all met for an early supper.  Those guys are two of her best buds.  Wish I could clone them to replace some of the dumb boys she keeps coming across. 


On a less happy note, Clemson played TERRIBLE football last Saturday against Boston College.  BC had lost five in a row until we came to town.  On another less happy note, the elections in SC did NOT go my way...hardly a one at the state level. 

Mother and Ned are fine.  There's been a little upheaval at Ned's house.  As I mentioned before, the latest resident to move in has some behaviors which are not compatible with the other three boys.  Apparently, there was some sort of altercation last week between the boy and the only male caregiver...the one who takes the boys fishing and to the gym.  The only male role model.  We don't know what happened and they won't tell us.  All we know is that he was let go.  I'm angry that we had to find this out from the parents of one of the other boys.  I feel that we should have been notified if something happened that warranted an employee being dismissed. Did the boy attack him?  Could Ned or the other boys be in danger??  Probably not, but when people won't tell me what's going on, I tend to start making things up. I understand privacy laws and all that, but still...

Any thoughts?