Analyze This...

So...not only do Hank and I write checks (or make an online payment) for our own bills each month, but we also are responsible for making sure that the bills of the following people get paid each month...
1. My mother    2. Ned    3.  Hank's mother.

Now before you go thinking that we're these wonderful generous people, we aren't paying their bills with our money...they have their own money.  We just receive the bills and write the checks from their accounts.  I deal with Mother and Ned, and Hank deals with his mother. 

It can be time consuming, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's a burden.  I'm thankful that they're all blessed with enough income to cover the bills...so many people struggle to get things taken care of for elderly or disabled relatives.

Here's the thing.  I'm organized...I have everything in Quicken and payments go in the mail around the first of the month...everything except the Green Grove check and the pharmacy bill because I don't receive those until around the 10th.  Easy peasy...right?

This is where you analyze...I get really ticked off when I go to address envelopes.  No problem when an envelope is included or pre-addressed.  Just the ones for Ned's house mostly... Isn't that odd?  As a matter of fact, I'm feeling my blood pressure go up just typing this post about addressing the envelopes, which I did about 15 minutes ago.  That's two blood pressure spikes within half an hour, which can't be good.

Lord have mercy...I'm TOUCHED in the head.

The Events of the Week

Big Event #1- Lorelai's 21st Birthday

Big Event #2- Legare and the Bar Exam, North Carolina style.

Details:  Hank and I took Lorelai and friends to Oku on upper King.  The food was fabulous and our server appropriately interested and excited about the birthday celebration.  After dinner, we moved our party down to Charleston Place, where we had a toast to the birthday girl and then presented Lorelai and her gal pals with keys to a room for the night at Charleston Place.  We then proceeded to drive our tired "parents of the birthday girl" selves home and left the "young folks" (as my grandmama would say) downtown to enjoy the nightlife. By all accounts they had a wonderful time.  Several handsome young men joined them through the pub crawl, which I'm told covered eight to ten city blocks, from the Market back to upper King. Her gift from Hank and me was the birthday celebration, along with her recent trip to Italy. Legare is providing her with tickets to the Hootie and the Blowfish concert over on Daniel Island in August.  Mother and Ned gave her a gorgeous bag...I'll show you a photo in another post.  You're gonna want one...I'm just saying...

Legare sat for the Bar Exam on Tuesday and Wednesday in Raleigh. He's relieved (and we're relieved) that the exam has finally come and gone. He worked diligently to prepare.  Now the really hard part comes...the WAITING!  Several of his friends who are already practicing have told me that the weeks between exam and results were torture and really played with their minds...second guessing and all that. Legare will be focusing this next week on getting packed and moved from Chapel Hill to Charlotte.  After that, he'll sort of be at loose ends until he begins work in October.  I think I'm going to make all of mother's doctor appointments and let him take her.  THAT, my friends, will keep him busy (and will likely also play with his mind....)

I don't have any bar exam photos, as you surely understand; however, I have a few of Lorelai's special night.  She's lucky to have such wonderful friends to share the fun with...

Hubba Hubba

I was looking through some older posts and starting laughing out loud when I got to this one. Hope you enjoy this oldie but goodie from 2009.
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Ned's housemate Scott celebrated his birthday on Sunday afternoon, so Hank and I rode over to enjoy the fun. Scott's parents brought a few friends over and one of the young ladies in the group brought "the music." They all danced and laughed and had a ball to the likes of Beyonce and Kanye. Mother was feeling better, so Hank went and picked her up for the short ride across the street.

Let me tell you, you haven't lived (or been scarred for life) until you've seen your 81 year old mother dance around the room to the good old standard, "if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it." She was so into it that I couldn't get a good photo. Sorry 'bout that.

We got a real charge out of watching Ned. Having spent his 20s and 30s at home with mother and mostly friends of her generation, he doesn't have much of an appreciation for some of today's party music or dance moves. Ned is a country music kind of guy. While mother was dancing, I asked Ned who he thought was singing the song. He replied, "I think it might be Barbara Mandrell." I wonder what Beyonce would think about that...or Barbara Mandrell for that matter. Barb might be up for it...I mean, she WAS country when country wasn't cool!!

I can safely say that a good time was had by all, although I might have had just a touch of a headache by the time we started back home. Ned topped it all off for me when he sat down to eat his pizza and said, "Hubba hubba."

And so it goes in the Land of Belle...

Here's a little slideshow for your viewing pleasure...

Summerhouse Weekend

Last weekend, Hank and I left Lorelai in charge of house and home while we slipped away to the summerhouse. We were lazy lazy people most all weekend long. We meandered into Beaufort proper to run a couple of errands and have some lunch on Saturday.  Otherwise, we we're doing one of the following: sitting in our lounge chairs on the dock, riding in the boat, reading, eating, or sleeping. When we felt especially energetic, we'd do two of those things at the same time.  Like sitting in a lounge chair AND reading. Yes, indeedy, we're crazy adventurous like that sometimes.

I'm no great photographer, but I did play around with my camera a bit.  Enjoy...

This last photo is the view straight across the water from our lounge chairs on the dock. 

The Wisdom of Preston

Preston is a high school friend of our Lorelai.  He's in the Air Force and not home very often these days.  He wandered into town a couple of weeks ago and as usual, Lorelai landed over at his Nana's house for lunch one day.  She adores his Nana but was also very excited about riding on his new motorcycle. Being Lorelai, she was dressed in a pair of cute JCrew shorts and her sparkle shoes...silver Toms.  As they got ready to leave, Preston stated the following in no uncertain terms...

Lorelai, you need to go upstairs and change.  You cannot ride on my motorcycle in shorts and those Wizard of Oz shoes.

Now, as you can see, they weren't exactly ruby slippers, but you can sort of see where he was coming from!!

Facebook wall exchange of the week...

This between Legare and his friend Suzanne...

Suzanne: I managed to dilly dally half of the day today, knowing full well that the bar is only a week and a half away. Am I delusional?

Legare: Some people dilly dally. Other people drink half bottles of wine and fall asleep surrounded by a pile of flashcards. To each his own.



God bless these two and their friends...Apparently preparing for the bar exam does a number on one's sanity...

It's very hot...

It must be 479 degrees outside. (OK...so I closed my eyes and hit random numbers.)

I came dragging in about 5:30 pm with groceries and apparently a perturbed expression on my face.  Hank got the rest of the groceries while I changed from work clothes into sloppy clothes. (Sorry Miss Janice...I feel like I let you down!)

About ten minutes later, Hank yells from the back door.  "Hurry...come see this...you've got to come see this."  Now after 28 years, he ought to know that this ol' gal never hurries outside when it's 96589 degrees outside. He was persistent, "Come ON...you have to see it...you HAVE to."  (I promise, he really is 53....) Surprising myself, I actually started walking toward the sunroom when he added, "There's the prettiest turtle in the pool.  You have to see it...HURRY!"  (Seriously, he IS 53...)

I felt kind of bad (for about 5 seconds) after I hollered, "I am NOT going outside in this heat to see a PRETTY TURTLE.  CLOSE THE BACK DOOR!"

He went back out and I watched him as he got all of his nets and poles to fish the thing out.  You see...Hank truly loves all God's creatures...you know, except the icky ones that few people like such as poisionous snakes and spiders and ants and palmetto bugs and noseeums.  He's a good guy.  That's one of the many reasons we've been married 28 years.

I, on the other hand, am OK with people (most of them) but not so much God's four-legged creatures.

God Bless my husband!

Weekends and Weddings

We just had a wedding-themed weekend all around.  Hank and I had a wonderful quiet dinner in celebration of our anniversary at Peninsula Grill, one of our absolute favorite (as in we are never ever disappointed) restaurants downtown.

Lorelai was a "plus one" at a wedding over on Sullivan's Island.  I think the photo of her being "dipped" by her date at the party after the rehearsal is SO cute!!  She looked adorable in her Lilly and Jack Rogers.

Hank was dozing in his chair when she called after the wedding reception to tell us that she'd caught the bouquet.  He sat STRAIGHT UP.  What a beautiful bouquet...

Legare was a plus one at a wedding in Winston-Salem. He says he has to go back "on the grid" at least once each weekend while studying for the bar, lest he lose his cotton picking mind.  Six weeks of study down. Two weeks to go!  Three weeks until the move from Chapel Hill to Charlotte.

My babies aren't babies anymore...

28 Years Later...

Here we were...28 years ago this very day...

We've accomplished a lot since 1983...our two greatest accomplishments being...



Life Is Good

Turning something bad into something positive...

There seem to be a whole lot of folks outraged (and that might not even be a strong enough word) at the outcome of the Anthony trial in Florida.

Here's what I wonder...What would happen if all of the upset people who are ranting and raving all over the place channeled that energy into doing something or a series of somethings for abused or neglected children in their own communities?

We can't do a thing about what just happened in Florida...but we surely can do something in our own hometowns.

The challenge...what can YOU do??

I think I might have the potential to be a lazy, good for nothing...

So...Happy Independence Day.  I haven't left the house since Saturday morning when we went to buy paint for the bedroom project.  Don't get me wrong...I've been busy in a happy busy do exactly what I want to do sort of way. 

I've almost finished reading a novel. I've cooked several delicious (not Weight Watchers) meals and made Barefoot Contessta German Chocolate Cupcakes. I've caught up on my Facebook stalking. I've supervised Hank while he painted the bedroom. I've played about three hours of some mindless connect the shapes and colors game on the iPad. And I'm working my way through 1000+ unread blog posts in Google Reader.  Oh...and I did a bit of online shopping.  I'm happier than a pig in slop right now.

Tomorrow I'm back to work at 7:30 AM sharp.

Today, I'm going to continue enjoying my potential to be a lazy, good for nothing...

I might be getting "mo" back...not quite got the "jo" yet.

Sometime the brain just needs a rest. Yesterday marked the official end of my first year as principal.  Today started year two.  I'm feeling pretty good about that. 

Had my yearly physical today.  Apparently I'm strong as an ox but am feeling like I WEIGH as much as said ox.  I have not been attentive to my Weight Watchers...haven't exercised a lick.  Just walked around the outside of the house one time.  Does that count?

NEW PROJECT--Master bedroom redo. I've even got Hank on board and it's a good thing because he is an excellent painter.  He's got about three weeks before the new curtains are ready.  I'm SO EXCITED!

Have you seen Toddlers and Tiaras?  Don't get me wrong.  I love a nice tiara...and big hair...but honest to goodness, some of those parents are living in CRAZYtown.  Poor little girls...most of them of them look like drag queen Chuckie dolls. Lorelai was in her one and only pageant her senior year in high school. She was second runner up, most photogenic, and best essay.  Sure...we were incredibly proud.  Also exhausted...that was the most nerve wracking thing. We were very fortunate that once was enough for her as well. Look at the difference between a teenage contestant and a child. What say YOU?
 (child photo from Google images)

Legare has gone off the grid as he prepares for the bar exam in about four weeks. He did take time to find a place to live in Charlotte so there will be a big move from Chapel Hill the first weekend in August and the firm is covering all of his relocation expenses. Being all young and hip, he's going to try urban high rise apartment living for a bit.  Seventy hour work weeks won't leave much time for taking care of a house and yard.

Back soon...

Real Life Quote of the Week

Lorelai's friend from high school, Preston, was here last week.  He's in the Air Force and she doesn't get to see him often.  She went over to eat lunch at his Nana's Saturday a week ago and was 'bout to die to ride on his new motorcycle.  Being Lorelai, she had on her silver sparkly Toms and a cute pair of JCrew shorts.  As she bounced around saying, "Let's go...let's go...let's go."   Preston very matter-of-factly stated..."Go change...you can't ride on a motorcycle wearing shorts and those Wizard of Oz shoes."

While they're not exactly Ruby Slippers...you can kind of see his point, can't you?