C.J. Spiller

Lorelai and I both have big crushes on C.J. Spiller.

He is AMAZING...really and truly! Lor has been stalking him around campus for going on two years now. Last year, a friend of hers literally ran into him as she walked out of a door. When she told her daddy about it, his first response was in the form of a question..."You didn't HURT him, did you???!!"

This is homecoming weekend and as Lor and her friends made their way to the 53rd annual Tigerama rally this evening, they found themselves smack dab behind the football team. Lor marked her prissy little self right up to C.J. and got the hug and photograph with him that she's been after. I'M JEALOUS!!! When she called to tell me about it, she was practically hyperventilating!

Clemson is playing Coastal Carolina tomorrow afternoon, and it should be a big win for the Tigers. Hank's mother has never been to Clemson and has been dropping hint after hint that she'd like to go and see where Lor goes to school, so Hank is taking her with him tomorrow. I'm staying home and getting my Christmas list in order. Mark my words...everything will be purchased and wrapped by December 1. YES IT WILL!!!

Have a good weekend...

Looks

Roy has been practicing a look of his own. I think I've met my match!

Random Thoughts on a Rainy Afternoon

I don't want to go back out into the rain to the school board meeting at 6:30. It's not that I mind the meetings OR the rain independent of each other. I'd just rather not go back out IN the rain.

Ned's housemate Scott has an IPhone and we've been wondering if Ned might like one too. Scott seems to enjoy the applications and uses some of the apps as communication tools as he isn't as verbal as Ned. On the other hand, Ned isn't much into gadgets and I fear that he would just set it aside. I've been trying for the longest to talk him into a digital camera but he always says no. Any thoughts?

I'm a tad bit hungry. We've started a five week "biggest loser" competition at work and are divided into two teams. I can get sucked into a competition in a heartbeat and REALLY want my team to win...(but I'm hungry!!!!)

Roy and I had to have a talk yesterday and for about 15 minutes I really thought he understood that he had been much too hard on me last week. Then he made me doing something called "planks." I'm not sure I like Roy. I had to give him my "look" a time or two...didn't seem to phase him. That look ALWAYS works. ROY ROY ROY...where do you come from that you are immune to the LOOK?

Gotta go put the work clothes back on...at least the rain has let up for a few minutes. Upward and onward!

The Rowdy Girls at the Farm

Perhaps we should give ourselves a new name as we all went to bed by 11 PM both Friday and Saturday nights. Anyway...we had a fabulous time. Louis and Sue drove up from Jacksonville and Will and Meg drove down from Columbia. We all met at the farm for the weekend. I was still dragging a little bit but time relaxing with old friends can be a wonderful cure, let me tell you.We are incredibly casual and just sit around for hours at a time laughing and talking about everything under the sun. We interrupt the sitting and talking for eating and taking naps. I did take the girls over to visit mother and Ned for a little bit. Mother proudly walked them from one end of Green Grove to the other showing them everything about her new "home." She mentioned that she thought she ought to learn to play pool. Who KNOWS what that is all about! Can't you just see her with her personal pool cue in a little carrying case? LOL

At 3:30 on Saturday afternoon we situated ourselves out on the deck. Hank pulled his truck around and turned on the radio so that we could listen to the Clemson Miami game and enjoy some refreshments out in the pleasant weather. OH MY STARS, I about had a heart attack by the time we WON (YAY YAY YAY) in overtime. It was a heck of a game!! Clemson ROCKS!

We enjoyed BBQ chicken, macaroni pie and slaw on Friday night...Belgian waffles and peppered bacon on Saturday morning...Assorted beverages and snacks during the game and a delicious lowcountry boil on Saturday night...Sunday morning brought a yummy farm breakfast of country ham, grits, eggs, biscuits, and leftover shrimp and sausage. I'm a little embarrassed at how casual we truly were, what with the milk, juice, and water jugs on the table. I would never have done that here at home. I need to stock up on a number of serving pieces and whatnot for the farm kitchen.

Have a great week!

In the Land of the Living

I've been down and out. First Roy tried to kill me on Tuesday afternoon at my first trainer session, then I came home and was sick as a dog all night long. Could hardly move yesterday, not sure whether because of the sore muscles courtesy of Roy or the 101 degree temperature I was running. ..I guess it was both. No fever this morning but I am staying home. I wouldn't want to be responsible for this one getting around the office. I'm in a bit of a snit though because I had lots to do this week, plus The Rowdy Girls and husbands are getting together this weekend and I'm the hostess. I do NOT want to cancel.

It's funny how getting sick goes. As an educator, one comes in contact with everything in the world. Even though I'm in an office now, I do get out in schools quite a bit. I'll have a bad year and catch everything that comes along, or so it seems. Then I'll have five or six years where I'm healthy as a horse...then another bad year. Yay for the good years.

I am terribly behind on my blog reading. I'm afraid to open google reader because I know the number of unread blogs is going to be ridiculous. The good news is that I don't have anything else to do today but sit around SO, I'm going to get on that reading right now.

Stay well out there in blogland!!

If you can't laugh at yourself...

As we headed for Clemson last Friday afternoon, I asked Hank if he'd packed our orange ponchos. No...he replied...because it isn't going to rain.

We had to buy two blue ponchos (the orange ones were sold out everywhere) on Saturday morning because it WAS raining. And it was cold.

As we walked toward the stadium, I asked...Did you bring the umbrella? No...he replied...because it is going to stop raining. About five minutes later, he decided to go back to get the umbrella. And the blanket that I had the good sense to throw in the back seat.

Lorelai decided to sit with us and we had the best time. We aren't as boring as she thinks we are. Even though it was wet and chilly, it was a fabulous game and Clemson pounded the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. I liked it. I liked it a lot.

Which leads me to today and the reason that Lorelai isn't going to get anything for Christmas but switches. She took a photo of me during halftime as I sat there with the blanket on my lap and my arms inside the poncho. I look like a giant 500 pound woman blob. When I said in the last post that I'd gained weight I didn't mean THAT much weight.

So...for your viewing enjoyment (and because I can laugh at myself) the photo of the big blue blob...

Taking Control...Poor Roy

BIG wake up call when I reposted some things about me and realized that I'd gained back most of the weight I lost a year or so ago. I am NONE to proud of that and aim to do something about it and NOW!

I went off the rails when Todd the Trainer bailed on me last year about this time, so actually, considering that I haven't exercised worth a toot in the past year, I did pretty well to gain ONLY 20 pounds. Still and all, I'm disappointed in myself...very very disappointed. To make matters worse, I have absolutely no desire to exercise. I don't like it. I don't get the whole "oh I feel SO good after I exercise" thing. I don't feel good. I feel TIRED...and hot...and sweaty. Yuck!

SO...I told Hank this morning that my mission before I came home from work this afternoon was to engage a new trainer and that I did. It's sad that I need to employ a complete stranger to hold me accountable, but it is what it is! Only thing is his name doesn't start with a "T" so that's going to blow my alliteration thing. Roy...his name is Roy...what can I do with an "R"...

Roy Really Rocks...Roy Rules the Roost...Roy Rants and Raves (that one will probably be pretty close to the truth)...Roy's Ridiculous Routines...Roy Rubs me wRong...

Anyhow...we start on Tuesday afternoon right after work and will meet twice a week. Poor Roy...he has NO idea what he's in for.

Things About Me

OK...so I'm still "blocked." Here's another repeat (with a few updates) from early on in my blogging life. Some of you probably never saw it...

Some of the most interesting posts I've read since I started blogging are the ones where folks write "7 Random Things About Myself" or "100 Things About Myself"...I can probably come up with more than seven but not likely up to 100. Let's see...

1. I have a Masters Degree in Educational Administration and am a district office administrator. I got there by way of being a music teacher and church musician. I play the piano, organ, and sing reasonably well.

2. I glom onto a new hobby and become obsessive, but only for awhile and then I move on to another new hobby and become obsessive about that. Lately, I've switched back and forth between interior design, quilting, scrapbooking, and now blogging. I read all the time...that really isn't a hobby for me, it's just a way of life.

3. I've been married to the same sweet, wonderful, patient man for 26 years.

4. I've lost 30 pounds since January 1 of this year. Since I originally wrote the post I've gained 20 of those pounds back. I'm very annoyed with myself.

5. I'm incredibly judgemental regarding the wearing of white shoes after Labor Day. Athletic-type shoes do not count. White skirts and pants need to be put away too. Seersucker can be worn until the first official day of fall.

6. I had the same college roommate for all four years and we remain close to this day.

7. I have serious control issues...that would be a whole other long list for another time.

8. I make the world's best pecan pie.

9. I adore Jimmy Carter. I know he's said some things recently that have put people off a little bit but nobody is perfect and I still maintain that he has served as a fine statesman since his term as POTUS.

10. If I could take an extended vacation, I'd choose to go on a road trip and visit as many southern main streets as I could. I'd visit the little shops, eat in the diners, and stay in the bed and breakfasts. I'd start in Oxford, MS and go to Rowan Oak, the home of William Faulkner.

11. I'm fascinated with Washington, DC...the Capital and White House, the monuments and museums. I can feel the history.

12. I've never once entertained the thought of using an illegal substance.

13. We own a farm several counties over...the property came into our family through a land grant sometime around 1740, give or take.

14. I like my job, my boss, and the people I work with (mostly). OK ...so you know that things have been a little stressful in the last six months but I'm feeling better. All the "rules" are new but I'm beginning to get the hang of them.

15. I've never lived alone. I went from my parent's house to college. I graduated from college in May then moved back in with my mother for two months until I got married in July.

16. I love sweets and the sweeter the better. Potato chips and the like don't tempt me at all.

17. My most favorite pass time is telling other people what they should do to make their lives/situations better. Do as I SAY, not as I DO! LOL

18. I go through the same morning routine Monday through Friday unless something unusual is going on. Wake up, bathroom, shower, coffee, Today Show and blog surf until the first commercial break around 7:20 AM, brush teeth, make up, hair, drive to work eating protein bar on the way. Not so much with the protein bars anymore...hence the weight gain.

19. My most favorite movie in the whole world that was ever made is The Big Chill. The funeral home in my little hometown provided the hearse for the funeral scenes, and the florist in my little hometown where my mother-in-law used to work did all of the flowers. I was in a wedding one time in the church used for the funeral scene.

20. My daddy passed away when I was 19 during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college. He was retired from the Army Reserve and was a Postmaster.

21. I helped coach Legare's high school mock trial team back in the day (OK, I didn't actually give legal-type advice....it was more a "room mother" type situation but it was an important role.)

22. My first car was a 1982 Buick Regal...burgundy with burgundy cloth interior and, get this...a state of the art 8 track tape player. I thought I was something in this world!

23. I was "Miss My Hometown" 1980

24. I worked in a bank during the summers during college doing whatever job was needed while people took vacations. I was everything from teller, to receptionist, to bookkeeper. I never got bored.

25. I took piano lessons for 14 years and tap dancing lessons for 5 years. Can't tap worth a darn.

26. I adore Dancing with the Stars and would take ballroom dancing lessons if I could talk Hank into it. I've sort of lost interest in Dancing with the Stars...but I'd still like to take ballroom dancing lessons.

27. If I won the lottery, I would hardly ever drive my own car again. Maybe a fun sporty convertible car for absolutely perfect weather for kicks, but for routine stuff I'd have a driver to put me out and pick me up at the door. Oddly, I don't think I'd want to quit my job but I wouldn't take a salary. I'd have a personal trainer come to my house instead of going to the gym and I'd have a massage and a facial at least once a week. I do so love a massage and a facial!

28. I hate yard work. Yet I want my yard to be "yard of the month" at all times. Thank goodness for Hank who LOVES to work in the yard.

29. I'm not terribly fond of housework either. Yet I want every room in my house to look like a feature in Architectural Digest. Thank goodness for Daisy, who comes to clean every Friday.

30. I don't really mind cooking if people will just TELL me what they want to eat. The menu planning is what I don't like.

I Got Nothin'

Blank....totally blank...

I hate it when this happens!

Lorelai, the Flower Girl

Every now and then I like to repeat one of my favorite posts from days gone by. This one is from September of 2008. Enjoy!!!

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When Lorelai was two and a half, my cousin's fiance called to ask if she would be the flower girl in their wedding. Of course, I thought she'd make the cutest flower girl ever, but I was worried about her age...she would not be quite three and a half by the time of the wedding. We decided to give it a try. We read stories about being a flower girl, went to our church to practice...I'd sing "here comes the bride" and she would walk and pretend to drop flower petals.

The wedding weekend arrived and let me tell you, it was all about Lorelai. We were at her beck and call and she got her way about EVERYTHING because I was did not want her to get upset. That was certainly not my usual parenting style by any means, but this was somebody's WEDDING for pete's sake.

The rehearsal went well. She wasn't sure about walking down the aisle in front of all of the people until the organ began to play. She looked at me and said with a joyful look on her sweet little three year old face, "Beethoven???" I was stunned, but recovered quickly and replied, "Yes, BEETHOVEN...and they're playing it JUST for YOU so GO!!!" and off she went. (Legare had been watching a little video we had at home "Beethoven Lives Upstairs"...who knew Lor was paying attention? Never mind that it was Purcell the organist was playing and not good old Ludwig.)

The wedding went off without a hitch. She stood there like a big girl and the only unscripted thing she did was take off her little gold bracelet, sit it on the altar for about five minutes, then pick it up and put it back on.

We moved to the wedding reception. My mother, Hank and I were talking and visiting while watching Lor out of the corner of our collective eye. All of a sudden I looked over at the buffet table to see her reach up, feel around (even on tiptoe she could barely see what was on the table), grab a little cheesecake square, take a bite out of it, THEN reach up again and put it back on the table. OH MY STARS...I grabbed a plate and around the table I went, collecting half-eaten hors d'oerves and sweets from where she put them after having a taste. Funny now...NOT funny then...I was mortified!

But you know, she was still the cutest little flower girl ever in my book.

The Lee Majors Rechargeable Bionic Hearing Aid

Younger readers won't "get" this post, but I just saw a commercial on TV that I'd never seen before....

Really????

Seriously!!!!

I guess the Six Million Dollar ears ain't what they used to be.

Don't Want to Repeat This...

Do you ever get a few bars of a song stuck in your head? I do...often. Yesterday, Lor had the radio on while we were in the car and a fragment from the Beyonce song, Single Ladies, kept playing inside my head all afternoon and all night. Legare found my Facebook post VERY funny and sent me this video...This isn't the part that I kept hearing but it is kind of funny (if you weren't the one in the video, I suppose). It's very short...

A Beautiful Afternoon

Hank is on a shrimping expedition, so Lorelai and I larked out for King Street this afternoon for a little shopping. Retail therapy aside, it was one of the most beautiful afternoons weather-wise that we have had in ages. Sunny, no humidity, a light breeze blowing...a real blessing after some of the wretched hot and humid days in recent memory.



I learned the hard way that if shopping for myself, I need to go it alone. If Lor goes, then it is a given that it is going to be all about her...don't tell her, but it's fun for me either way. We walked and talked and she found a couple of outfits and a pair of shoes. Afterwards, we enjoyed an early dinner at High Cotton and headed back home. Since she managed to work the Clemson system to her advantage this semester, she doesn't have any Monday OR Friday classes, so she gets to enjoy a long weekends EVERY weekend. I'm deeply and profoundly jealous.

Hope that your weekend was a good one...

Birthdays

Thanks SO much for the birthday wishes on Friday! I had a lovely day, if you don't count having to go to work. There were cards and flowers and lunch out and nice little surprises all day long. Hank made his signature dish, shrimp and grits, for supper and we just took it easy and got things ready for Ned's party this afternoon. It's been great having Lorelai at home this weekend.

Mother called early in the evening to say "Happy Birthday" then she got wound up. It seems that she'd called Ned's house yesterday afternoon to see if he wanted to come over to visit and he DECLINED!! He told Miss Vernelle to tell mother that he'd "see her tomorrow afternoon." She was SORT of laughing about it and saying how glad she is that he's so content, but I think it hurt her feelings a little bit. I hated to tell her but he's BETTER than content. He is deliriously happy, loving every moment of this new found freedom. That boy...I swanee...he's something else.

When we arrived at Ned's this afternoon to get the party set up he was as excited as I've ever seen him. We had a good crowd of family members drop in, as well as Dave (Ned's housemate) and his parents and staff members, Miss Vernelle and Belinda. Hank took Ned to the farm for the night and Lor and I came on back home. We're going to try to get a little bit of shopping in tomorrow afternoon.

My photos didn't come out the best...there seemed to be something "off" in just about every one of them but I found a few that will do.

That about does it for Birthdays 2009. We are DONE until Hank's rolls around in April 2010.

Hmmm...Hank and Ned are at the farm...Lorelai is eating dinner out with a friend. What's a mom to do when she's home alone??? I'm thinking leftovers, the sofa, and the television. See you later, my friends...

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

I'm 48 years old and proud of it!!! Now if I could just get this Tiffany-inspired cake and a little blue box to match with something shiny and sparkly in it. A girl can dream!!

(photo of cake from cakecentral.com

Friends at work are taking me out to lunch and I'm going to treat myself to a pedicure right after work, then home to get things ready for Ned's party tomorrow afternoon and some relaxation! YAY!

Three Quotation Thursday

"If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door." - Paul Beatty

Be honest! Who among us wouldn't like to take that giant walking cane and yank a few people off of our "stage" every now and again? Right now and without hesitation, I can think of three people. I don't wish them ill. I just wish they'd go spread their special brands of "joy and sunshine" somewhere else.


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"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one!'" -- C.S. Lewis

It's kind of amazing when you think about it...the things that bring us together into new friendships.

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"If you think education is expensive, Try Ignorance!!!"
Andy McIntyre


This is for the people who keep cutting our education budget...another 4% cut just this week. Make a BIGGER investment in education, then your costs for welfare programs and jailhouses will be a lot less. Seems like a no-brainer to me, but what do I know...oh WAIT...I am an educator.

Mother is Cracking Me Up

NOT cracking me up as in "I'm going crazy" although that's a possibility, but cracking me up as in "I'm laughing out loud."

She's ALL excited over Ned's birthday. The phone calls have started. Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes) Does he KNOW? (Yes) Is it a surprise party? (No) Am I getting a cake? (Yes) Am I getting presents? (Yes)

Get the picture??? That's the "loop" this week. The last two weeks have been BIG for her, what with Raylrode Daze and now birthdays. She hasn't had this much excitement since she moved to Green Grove. You should hear Hank on the phone with her..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..." ..."Yes ma'am, No ma'am, Yes ma'am, Yes ma'am, Belle has it ALL under control..."

Lawsamercy, that man must love me A LOT!!!

Since you couldn't be at Raylrode Daze, Raylrode Daze is coming to you!

Mother won...since she couldn't get anywhere with me, she started calling Mrs. Vernelle over at Ned's house. Ned ended up sitting right by mother during the parade, and Mrs. Vernelle and Ned's housemate Dave met us at my aunt's house afterwards for lunch. The rain managed to hold off until the parade was ending and I enjoyed spending time with my cousins, who I don't get to see very often.

Next weekend is BIRTHDAY weekend. Mine on Friday and Ned's on Saturday. We'll be 48 and 41 respectively. On Saturday we'll go over to Ned's house and have a birthday party. He wants a white cake with his name written on it and a "bean bag game." I hope that means a Toss Across game, which I didn't even know they still made until I found one online. Just got to get that cake baked and we'll be in business.

Here's a slide show of our day. I wrote comments on some of the photos so you might want to move from slide to slide manually so that you don't miss ANY of the excitement.

Retreating from the Wits End

TGIF!!! It didn't get here a moment too soon. I was able, as Maureen from Mom Times Two suggested, to do a U-turn before I got all the way to my wits end. I probably gained five pounds this week but whatever...

In a cryptic message to those who read the private post, the weather is improving but until the season changes, there continues to be a chance of storms. (I crack myself up sometimes...does that make ANY sense to anybody??)

We're sitting out the Clemson game this weekend. Lor has friends going up to visit and Hank and I are going to be taking care of some things with mother and Ned over at the farm. I expect to have some interesting pictures for you as this is the weekend of the Raylrode Daze Festivul in a small town near the farm. Ned LOVES the Raylrode Daze Festivul. Remember the Hell Hole Swamp Festival I wrote about back in May? Raylrode Daze is another variation on the same theme. Never can tell what you might come across.

Mother is distressed because Ned wants to go to the parade with his new friends instead of with her. My aunt has invited everybody, including Ned and his friends to her house for lunch after the parade...isn't that just the most thoughtful thing?? That isn't good enough for mother...she wants him to sit by her at the parade. She called six times last night and we finally told a fib. OK...it was a complete and utter untruth, but she wasn't going to stop calling or ever go to bed if we didn't tell her that we'd make Ned change his plans. Ned has NOT changed his plans...he'll see us at lunch. I'm so proud of him. In six short months, he has become so much more confident and independent. It's just a joy to behold.

Pictures on Sunday night!! Have a great weekend.

Wits End

I used to wonder exactly WHERE I would be when I got to my "wits end."

I'm just about there, my friends. JUST about THERE!

A Little Experiment in Posting

I don't want to go private but sometimes I want to post something private so if you will, please indulge me in a little experiment.

I've written a post on notepad (why I haven't taken time to put Word on this computer I'm not certain) and if you're interested in reading it just send me an e-mail and I'll send it to you as an attachment. I felt the need to vent a little so if you're not in the mood for that, you won't want to read it.

No anonymous requests or non-bloggers please. I'll report in a few days on how this experiment went.

lifeofasouthernbelle@gmail.com

Hurrican Hugo-Part II

When we purchased our lot back in 1985, we chose it because of the trees. A row of beautiful old oaks and pecan trees across the front and a row of beautiful old oaks across the back. We put our house smack dab in the middle.

As the storm subsided around 5:00 AM and dawn started to break, we got up off of the powder room floor (Legare was STILL asleep tucked up in one corner) and held our breath as we walked through the house. We had no flooding, but the hardwood floor in the foyer was wet where water had blown under the front door. Shingles had apparently blown off and there were wet spots on the ceiling upstairs. The guest bath window was broken. We'd pushed the kitchen table up against the double doors in the kitchen. It had been moved about 6 inches back into the middle of the room by the wind. All in all though, the house had come through it right well.

When we walked into the sun room and looked out the back door the FIRST thing I noticed was that I could see the sky lightening up. That was strange, because we couldn't ordinarily see the sky because of the row of trees across the back of our property. You guess it...huge trees..all over the back yard on top of each other like pick-up sticks...pulled up and over by the roots. Huge holes. Putting the house smack dab in the middle of the lot turned out to have been a very smart thing to do.

When we walked out of the back door, it looked like we'd landed in a war zone or on a different planet. Nothing looked right and the smell of pine almost hurt our noses it was so strong. We began to walk around, trying to see if our neighbors houses were still standing. They were, but one neighbor's metal roof was a twisted mess in our front yard. A friend down the road escaped tragedy by a hair...she had just gotten up off of the bed when a tree crashed through the roof right ON the bed. Their house couldn't be salvaged.

By the following morning, the road out of our little community (there's one way in and one way out) was cleared so that I could drive the 90 mile's to mother's house to take Legare and stock up on water and supplies (we were ultimately without power for almost two weeks). I came back home to help with the relief effort at the church, checking back in at mother's every couple of days. Hank had to immediately get back to work (power company) My aunt and uncle came with a generator and propane stove. Friends came from Savannah to help us start on the yard. Friends in town got power back with in a couple of days and were gracious enough to allow us to come take hot showers. People emptied their freezers and brought all of the food to the church so that we could cook for the lineman and others coming in to help.

To say we were stunned would be an understatement. I remember the beloved local news reporter Charlie Hall breaking down and crying on the air when someone told him that his house was still standing. It was quite some time before I didn't get the heebie jeebies during windy weather if it occured at night. I don't particularly enjoy rehashing the event every year, but as this was the 20th anniversary, decided to write about it so that Legare would have an account of what he slept through. God showed us an extraordinary amount of mercy and grace during that dark dark night. We are extraordinarily thankful.

Hurricane Hugo-Part 1

Here we are at the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Hugo, which hit Charleston "like an atom bomb." At the time, it was the most damaging hurricane ever recorded. It was later surpassed by Hurricane Andrew and then Andrew was surpassed Hurricane Katrina.

There was quite a bit of confusion about where Hugo was going to make landfall. Even when we found out that Charleston was ground zero, Hank and I didn't fret so awful much. Our town about 35 miles inland up the Cooper River. We'd endured edges of hurricanes and many a tropical storm in our lifetimes. The town we grew up in was 45 miles in from the coast and never experienced anything but a little wind and some rain. SO....we stayed home. All of our friends stayed home. How bad could it be...Hank and I sat out one storm...can't remember which one but it would have been '84 or '85, with friends in the bar at the Mills House Hotel on Meeting Street. Fun times!

For Hugo, we had some flashlights and a radio and as an afterthought, filled the bathtubs up with water as we hunkered down with three year old Legare. While our experience here at home was nothing like that of Katrina folks who didn't get out, I think it's safe to say that from 11 PM or so until about 5 AM the next morning we were as scared as we have ever been in our entire lives. Not Legare though, he slept through the whole thing.

When it started to get really dicey and the power went out, we moved from the den to the downstairs powder room which is across the hall from a small coat closet. There were periods of time during the night that I truly feared that we would not be alive to see the morning. For instance, when the pressure sucked all of the water out of the pipes in the house. Have you ever sat on the floor in your bathroom listening to something akin to a freight train bearing down on you IN the dark with just a flashlight and watched the water being sucked out of the toilet??? It's creepy...very creepy.

During the eye of the storm, we walked out on our front porch...eerie....so still...but the porch hadn't been ripped off so that seemed like a good thing. Some of our neighbor's roof, however, was in the front yard. That was bad. There were trees down all around one of our cars, but not ON the car. That was good. We walked upstairs...the guest bath window was broken. Later we discovered it was from the neighbor's flying roof. All in all, we were still standing (we didn't know that some of our neighbor's were NOT), so we went back downstairs to get ready for the other side of the storm. Let me tell you, it was every bit as scary as the first part of the storm.

In the days following, everybody said that it was a good thing all of this went on during darkness....that if it had happened during the day so that we could actually see what was going on, lots more people would have been hurt or killed...not just from trying to run outside to try to fix or save something, but from a heart attack or stroke from the sheer terror. I suppose that's true because...

Gotta go now...will finish this later.

Strategic Plans and PowerPoint Presentations

I spent the day with strategic plans and PowerPoint presentations and you know what? I was happy as a pig in slop because there's nothing I love more than a good challenge.

Work has been interesting lately. We have a new "big" boss and his way of doing things is practically completely different than the ways of the old boss. I can't blame Mr. New really...he doesn't know any of us. I anticipate great things happening in our organization, but right now just about everybody is feeling a little uncomfortable. The people who aren't feeling a little uncomfortable are NOT paying attention, and I expect they're going to muck something up good before long.

The main issue is communication. We have a lot of new processes and protocols and it takes a lot longer than it used to get an answer or to provide someone WITH an answer. I'm no dummy (contrary to popular belief) and have always been smart enough to know when to NOT answer a question or give advice. In other words, I'm pretty savvy about knowing what I DON'T know, but when I make an error, I'm the first to step up and accept the consequences. Furthermore, I'm a "company girl"....nobody is or ever will be more loyal. That's the southern belle way!

Again, I realize that Mr. New doesn't know us and the only thing I can suppose is that there are some trust issues. Some of our clients are getting frustrated that we aren't providing the same level of service that we used to. Everybody is thankful to have a job...there is no question about it. For heaven's sake, I don't know anybody who's going around saying, "gosh darn it...I'm really sorry that I didn't get displaced...why oh WHY can't I be UNemployed??!!!!!" It's just that change can be tough...even if the outcomes are good, the act of change itself is often one conflict after another. You have to respect the process but you don't have to like it.

I try, or at least I TRY to try, to keep spirits up around the office. My assistant, Miss Yvette, and I like people to be happy. Happy people are productive people. Frustrated people start to nitpick and snip at their colleagues. That is NOT the southern belle way and southern belles do NOT appreciate that kind of behavior. I'm continuing with my "relax" and "keep calm and carry on" mantra and most days it works, although one day last week, I felt like the wooden "keep calm" sign was mocking me and I wanted to WHACK it against something until it broke into teeny tiny pieces. The important thing to note is that I did NOT whack the sign until it broke into teeny tiny pieces.

But tonight...tonight, all is well. I'm going to dream of sweet strategic plans and pleasing PowerPoint presentations. Nighty night!!

My Future Career in the US Armed Forces

Still trying to make Hank comfortable. He was supposed to be going out of town today for a few days on business but has had to cancel. I picked up some plain old chicken noodle soup this morning and some apple juice to make up for the orange juice incident from yesterday afternoon.

As he walked in the kitchen just a few minutes ago to get his soup and crackers, I asked, "Have you taken all of your medicine?" To which he replied, "You are like an ARMY DRILL SERGEANT! Dang! It's like you can't wait for me to get well!!"

Well DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In his defense, he quickly realized how monumentally stupid the second remark was. But he isn't backing down from the army drill sergeant thing.

Apparently, I do have the drill sergeant knack. Shortly after we got married, Hank had to have all of his wisdom teeth out. When we got home, he was still feeling mighty fine from the anesthesia and would NOT lie down. I fussed and he finally agreed to recline on the sofa. As I walked out of the room I heard him say, "The nurse was really nice and she smelled good. You're MEAN!

All together now, "Ma'am, yes ma'am, Sergeant Belle, MA'AM!"

When Husbands Don't Feel Well...

Has anybody out there had to deal with a sick husband lately? Poor Hank...thankfully, he does NOT have H1N1, but he is terribly sick with some flu-like thing. Our family doctor gave him a couple of shots yesterday afternoon and a bag full of medicine. This is not good...not just because of the obvious, but also because he cannot STAND it when he just has to sit around. (Unlike ME, who loves to just sit around).

I've been to the store and we are stocked up on Puffs with lotion, cough drops, chai tea latte from the local coffee shop (the one I made at home this morning was "too spicy"), and a pot of chicken and dumplings is simmering on the stove. He was unhappy with the orange juice because "everybody knows that people with sore throats can't drink orange juice!" (Sorry dude...) I gave him a flying pill to try to get him to relax and now he's sitting outside reading "South of Broad." I'll get some comfort food in him after a little while and am NOT above encouraging another flying pill later this afternoon. Better yet...maybe I'll just take the flying pill myself!!!

I'm a WINNER...I'm a WINNER

Take THAT bullies of the world. I'm a WINNER and you are most decidedly NOT!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA (evil laugh)

Seriously, my new good blog friend Susan, over at The World from My Basement recently hosted a giveaway and I WON the most FABULOUS monogrammed clutch. Look...lookey lookey look!!!!!

As an added bonus, it turns out that Susan is a former South Carolinian who used to live 150 miles or so up the interstate in a sweet little town where she knew Hank's cousin and his family AND a high school friend of mine who settled in the area. Her mother and mine both attended the same college and are about the same age. I've got to find mother's old yearbook. It is truly a small world, isn't it?

Run...RUN (OK...type or click) as fast as you can to check out her blog and online shop, Basement Bags. I can personally attest to the fact that the Rachie Clutch will not disappoint.

THANK YOU, Susan. I needed a boost and you and my beautiful new clutch surely did give me one!

AAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!

I need to start a new private blog so that I can vent about some things. Some people, Lord love them (and I am serious about that), are bullies and just plain mean. How can a person find joy in being a bully? Now I'm starting to feel sorry for the mean person. That must be some kind of miserable existance...

And that's all I have to say about that!

-----------------------------An evening edit...just wanted to clarify that the bully isn't related to anything "bloggy." I've been really fortunate that I've never received a rude comment...folks haven't always agreed with me but the discourse has always been civil, thank goodness!!

It's almost like you were there with us...

I tried my hand at using the digital camera to make a couple of videos so that you could experience Clemson tailgating and football for yourselves. The second one of the team running down the hill ("the most exciting 25 seconds in college football") will not load for some reason. It was a bit out of focus and wobbly but oh MERCY, I love watching those buses pull up and the team rubbing Howard's Rock and running down the hill. I get chill bumps every time.

First...An ensemble from the Tiger Band serenades us while we eat. I couldn't help but get a couple of shots of the young men tailgating across from us. They enjoyed LOTS of shots, if you get my drift!

I'll try to reload the second one again tomorrow...maybe things will be moving along on Blogger a little better.

Finally...a few photographs of our tailgate. Don't the fruit tarts look yummy? You'll recognize some of the girls from Lorelai's birthday extravaganza. OH...Citadel Friends...so sorry that my Tar Heels whooped up on your boys so badly. Mason represented the family in Chapel Hill. Oh shoot...what am I saying...we're not sorry...but you know I love your Dogs as long as they aren't playing one of MY teams.

Better late...

Barefoot in the Park...Coco...Surburban Prep...Jules...Jessica...Keri

Your prizes are going in the mail tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. Everything is all packaged and addressed and ready to go. YIPPEE

I still need to hear from BLONDIE'S JOURNAL (Starbucks Card) and blueviolet (Mrs. Meyers Clean Day). Send me your addresses so that I can get your prizes to you. (If you already sent them please send again...my Blackberry hasn't been playing nice with my e-mail accounts).

I Have a Confession to Make...

Don't get TOO excited...it's not THAT interesting...

Here it is...I am not a good traveler. OH, don't get me wrong, I pack efficiently and have all my ducks in a row. I can get to the airport, to the hotel, around and about, and back home again all by myself, generally without incident. But, I don't like it...I really don't like it.

It isn't so bad when Hank is with me, but that is rare when I travel on business. Traveling alone, or even with colleagues, always makes me feel like I'm working 24 hours a day while I'm away. Meetings all day...eating meals with people who are attending the meetings, going back to the hotel room and thinking about the meetings, dreaming about the meetings. In between, checking work e-mail and voicemail and returning messages. I realized Monday night as I was writing an e-mail at 11:59 pm that I probably needed some kind of intervention. See my dilemma??

I am home but am exhausted and cranky! Poor Hank! I don't want to be a bad traveler...I want to be a GOOD traveler.

I'm taking a vacation day tomorrow. Monday is a holiday. CLEMSON FOOTBALL on Saturday.

I think I'll be OK...I travel JUST fine for Clemson football!!!

Greetings from Washington

Well...made it through day two of meetings. There is a fair amount of "blah blah yadda yadda yadda" but every now and then, someone utters a little golden nugget of information that might be helpful in my quest to save the world. We'll see...I really only need $4,000,000.00 for this project. (Yes...that is correct...no mistake...four million should about do it this trip.)

You know that I don't just love flying by any stretch...I'm not scared...it's a control issue thing. The flying pills take the edge off , but I still need to be distracted. I turn to magazines...gossipy ones with lots of pictures. I can generally make it to DC with the latest issue of PEOPLE Magazine and an In Touch Weekly or the like.

Anyhow...I had just taken my seat on the plane Sunday morning and was thumbing through a magazine when a lady sat down beside me and mentioned that she and her husband were not seated together. Being the nice southern belle that I am (and noticing that he had an aisle seat which I much preferred anyhow), I volunteered to switch. I ended up having the nicest conversation with the fellow sitting beside me. He'd been at Kiawah and in Charleston for a few days with his wife, who stayed on for business. We talked kids, travel, politics, education, and Clemson football. Before I knew it we were touching down at Reagan National. It was quite an unexpected pleasure.

Here's to unexpected pleasure!

And the Winners Are.....

So...I put all of the names in a hat (actually it was the top of a Rubbermaid Cake Carrier) and the lucky winners are....

Pat Conroy Book #1--- BAREFOOT IN THE PARK
Pat Conroy Book #2---KERI
Scarf---SUBURBAN PREP
Candle Holder -----JULES
Starbucks Card-----BLONDIE'S JOURNAL

and...I chose three additional prizes that weren't originally posted about...

Cute Pink Photo Album---JESSICA from Life and Times of a Dietetic Intern
Atomic Cocktails Recipe Book-----COCO
Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Peppermint Liquid Soap and Hand Lotion----(I love this stuff and it will be perfect for the holidays...I know it sounds like a wacky gift but it's great)---BLUEVIOLET

Ladies: Send your mailing address to lifeofasouthernbelle@gmail.com and I'll get your prizes out to you at the end of the week when I return from my trip to DC (work NOT pleasure, let me assure you!)

This was FUN....Thanks for playing along everybody. Stay tuned because you never know when the giveaway mood might strike. I'll be posting some gently read books in the next few weeks.

High Noon

Noon today....Chance to enter the giveaway closes!!

Thanks SO much for the good thoughts and prayers....Legare has received a call back. YAY

Still working on the in-state tuition issue.

Oh...Woman Who has Called Here from Discover for the Last Ten Days in a Row....IF you're reading...I'm sorry for getting all scrappy with you yesterday. I know you're just doing your job and I really shouldn't have lost my temper but GOOD GRIEF, how many days in row do I have to say "take me off of your list and do not call me again" ???? I don't want your card...I don't want your insurance or protection plan. I was nice to everybody I came across ALL day yesterday and trust me....some of those people pushed me to the limit. You, Woman Who has Called Here from Discover for the Last Ten Days in a Row, were the Tipping Point that sent me over into my dark side.

If you call today, I will try to not insult your intelligence again...the economy is bad...you might actually be a VERY intelligent person who just can't find a better job.

Legare is Having a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

The sun usually shines pretty brightly on old Legare, but today he is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

I don't like it very much when either of my children has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I want to fix things, and the older they get the harder it is to do that. In this case, there's nothing I can do but listen and encourage patience.

Darn this economy...UNC denied his application for in-state tuition for this year. He did everything they said to do, including working in-state this summer for not a lot of money. He has 14 days to appeal so that will be taken care of first thing tomorrow morning.

Darn this economy AGAIN...the job market for law students is severely depressed. He's had some good interviews with top notch firms but the wait for call backs has him sitting on pins and needles. This is the kid for whom everything has always fallen into place pretty easily. Learning the life lesson that we can't always control everything and that things don't always happen the way we want when we want is a tough one.

Say a prayer for my sweet baby boy that he'll be able to dig deep for patience (and for the in-state tuition AND a job!!!).

Don't Forget...

Don't forget about the 300th post giveaway. It's FUN FUN FUN and there is still time to enter.

Things are quiet here on the home front, aside from all of the busyness going on in our places of employment. Legare is in Law Review orientation this week, while anxiously awaiting the arrival of his new sofa and callbacks from his recent interviews. He's like his mama...he likes to have a plan and isn't very patient.

Lorelai is full steam ahead into her new semester. I'm in Washington, DC for a few days next week on business. Hank will be on his own here at home with the dog and cat. I'll also leave him a honey-do list, but I have a feeling he already has a plan that involves deer hunting, since he missed opening day on the 15th and hasn't had time to go since. Personally, I think it's still too hot, but the deer stand is calling his name.

Hope you're having a good week. I haven't forgotten that I still owe you answers to a few more questions, not the least of which is what I believe to be the single most important challenge/biggest issue in education today. I'm having trouble narrowing it down...

Soon I'll Be Posting Number 300! Let's do a GIVEAWAY!

I'm not far away from my 300th post and feel like having a giveaway. I was going to do it around my birthday in October but this way we can have one sooner! YAY

A comment equals one entry
If you are a follower or become a follower you get two more entries.

Post about it and there are another two entries in it for you.

Total possible entries = 5 per person

Just let me know what you decide to go for.

Here are SOME of the prizes... I'm giving away TWO copies of my favorite author's new book...



A pretty blue cashmere scarf that I picked up in New York City...




This nifty wrought iron candelabra that fits into a wine bottle....wine bottle included if you do not have your own...

...AND...a $20 Starbucks gift card

SO....start entering NOW...The window of opportunity for entering closes at noon on Friday coming, that would be the 28th, I believe. Who knows...I might add a few additional prizes as the week goes on so SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!

God Bless the Teachers!

Legare is all tucked into his new apartment and Lorelai in her dorm suite. Last Tuesday, children in our county marched back into their school buildings for a bright new year of learning.

I always have flashbacks to my kids' days in school and for some reason a particular memory resurfaced of Lorelai's first day in first grade. Her teacher was a neighbor and our pastor's wife. As we wrapped up supper that night, the phone rang and it was, you guessed it, the teacher.

She was calling to tell me about Lor's day. It seems that around 10:00 AM, Lor came up to her desk and inquired as to what time they would be having their morning snack. Teacher had to explain that there were no snacks in first grade. Lor replied that she was very hungry and really did need something right then. Teacher sympathized, saying that while she, herself, was also hungry, they would just have to wait another hour or so until time for lunch.

They both managed not to starve to death before lunchtime rolled around and after lunch, went out to the playground. It was hot and humid, as it generally is here this time of year. After about 10 minutes, Lor ran over and announced that it was much TOO hot and they really should go on back inside. I can just see Teacher holding Lor's little hands and explaining, yet again, why she would have to be patient and wait until it was time to go back inside. Lor did...it was hard for her I'm sure because she IS her mother's daughter when it comes to the creature comforts.

May God bless all of the good, kind, patient teachers in our school systems. If you get the chance, do something NICE for a teacher this week!

Three Quotation Thursday

An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it. - Jef Mallett

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If you're not confused, you're not paying attention. ~ Tom Peters


You know what...this quote sums up practically the past month in my workplace.

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Why is this thus? What is the reason for this thusness? - Artemus Ward

I refer you back to the second quote. What IS the reason for this thusness??

No Peace in My Valley...

I'm still trying to recover from the death of the Macbook when mother calls. She's been relatively calm lately...no crazy calls from Green Grove. Life has been good.

So...Hank answers and I hear him say...well, I'm pretty sure it's alright. I don't know why it wouldn't be. And then he walks over to the sofa where I'm all comfortable watching an episode of House Hunters and hands me the phone.

Me: Hello

Mother: I didn't think that I had an account at Hometown Bank anymore.

Me: You don't (Technically, this isn't true...don't judge me...I pay her bills from that account and we opened a spending money account for her in a different bank.)

Mother: But my Visa card has Hometown Bank written across the top of it. I can't use that card if I don't have any money in that bank.

SO...I try to assure her that the name of the bank on the card makes no difference at all. The bill comes to me and I send a check (actually I pay it online but that WOULD blow her mind) to the Visa people somewhere in Delaware...not Hometown Bank.

Mother: But that doesn't make any sense...Does that make sense? The card SAYS Hometown Bank!!!! We have to pay Hometown Bank and I don't have any money in Hometown Bank.

Me: Well, it makes sense to me. It isn't a debit card...it's a credit card. We pay Visa, not Hometown Bank. (Why I felt compelled to mention a debit card is beyond me...)

Mother: It DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. I cannot use this card. Can I?? Ask Hank if that makes any sense. I'm not letting you get me in trouble.

I hand the phone to Hank, saying, TELL HER IT MAKES SENSE!!! He didn't convince her either. We'll give it a couple of days and see if she forgets about it. Otherwise, I guess I'll go the new bank and get another card for her. Lawsamercy!

Sometimes you just want to cry...

Got Lorelai all moved back into the dorm. Last night, apparently, a bottle of water turned over on her desk. Her one year old Macbook was nearby but appeared to be unharmed. This morning the Macbook was dead. 911 was called but the patient could not be revived. If my blood pressure doesn't go down, somebody might be calling 911 for ME!

Here we go again...CLEMSON!

The tickets and parking passes have ARRIVED!!! Time to dust off the tailgating stuff and get ready to go!

And then there is THIS (photos below). I'm not sure that we ever truly got everything put away when Lorelai got home in May and here we go packing it all up again. I look forward to getting my pretty living room back again...

Finally...something for ME!!! Look at the cute skirt I just got for the first game! I also got Hank a pair of shorts like my skirt but I doubt he'll want to wear them at the same time. HORROR or horrors if anybody ever thought that his wife told him what he should wear!

Three Quotation Thursday

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye. - Miss Piggy

I've always kind of liked Miss Piggy, but the relationship between her and Kermit creeps me out just a little. She's flighty and Kermit can do better.

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Leadership is action, not position. ~ [unknown]

Yes? Yes!!

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too often we underestimate
the power of a touch,
a smile a kind word,
a listening ear,
an honest compliment,
or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential
to turn a life around.
-leo buscaglia

Miss Anne had this quote on her blog earlier this week and I just had to borrow it. It's amazing what a tremendous impact the smallest gesture can have. I've been trying particularly hard to do these things at work. Things are tense in our organization just now. Not BAD, just changing and conflict is essential to true and long-lasting organizational change. A smile, kind word, listening ear, small act of caring...all of these things can cut the tension and make the days a little easier.

My Favorite Recipe- Caramel Pecan Pie

I've never had a better pecan pie in my life...and I'm not just saying that because this one is the one that I make. I found the recipe in a magazine many moons ago...Southern Living, I think, but am not 100% positive. I hope you're enjoy it too...

9" frozen pie crust (or make your own)
28 caramels
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick holes in crust and bake for 6 to 8 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

Combine caramels, butter, and water in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until all are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

Stir together sugar, eggs, salt, and extract until well mixed. Stir in pecans and pour into crust.

Bake at 400 for ten minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 and bake 20 more minutes, shielding edges of crust with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning.

When done, remove pie to wire rack to cool.

Serve with ice cream, whip cream or plain. It's delicious any way you serve it.

A Giveaway at All Things Southern and Preppy

Preppy 101 is having a giveaway to celebrate her 300th post. I hesitate to encourage you to enter because I REALLY want to win, but hey, that's what bloggy friends do.

Run on over there. You'll love her blog and she ain't storying when she says that each one of the prizes is FABULOUS!!!

Moving Day for Legare

I'm taking a little break from the question answering to show you our weekend activities up in Chapel Hill. We moved Legare into his very OWN apartment. NO more roommates. He thought that living with two gals that he already knew from college (who were in law school also) would be a smart move. Nicer apartment...they would understand the need for quiet time, etc. Well, the honeymoon lasted all of three weeks, but he had to tough it out for the year.

We agreed to let him stay in the same complex...lots of his friends live there and he is SO excited about having company now. While I directed the decorating of his room in the old apartment, the girls did the downstairs and it was AWFUL. He spent all of his time in his NICELY decorated room or at the apartments of friends.

We hardly got back from dinner (Yes...we did go back to Il Palio...delicious once again) last night before three of his friends arrived to wish him well and see the new digs. I think they were scared to go to the other place. No sofa yet...I had to throw some Belle sunshine on the Bassett Furniture manager as soon as I got there Friday afternoon. It will work out. Legare hasn't had enough life experience in home decorating to know that "it will be here in four to six weeks" means eight to twelve weeks, if not longer. He's tired, bless his heart (who isn't?). He had interviews in NYC and DC last week and is headed out on Thursday for more in Greenville and Atlanta.

Here are a few photos from the weekend. He's a good boy and lets his mama be in charge while she's there. It might possibly look totally different now that I'm back in the Lowcountry (but WHY?? It's almost perfect for an aspiring young lawyer's first apartment). You'll probably want to move through the show manually...for some reason it wants to go too fast on this end.

Parenting

As Tales of an Empty Next pointed out to me the other day...lots of us in blog land have GREAT kids. They're not perfect by any stretch, but they have made it to young adulthood without falling into peril (that we KNOW about) related to at-risk behaviors such as drug or alcohol abuse and other promiscuous behaviors. I agree with Tales..., that some of us more mature (OK...older) parents might have some good advice to share. I'm going to give it a try...

First and foremost...know that things DO happen in our house that aren't all joy and sunshine. Both of our sweet darlings are a tad bit spoiled. If' I've heard them say, "that's not fair" once, I've heard it 500 times. Legare went through a phase of wanting to drive too fast. He also went through a phase when he was younger of being sulky and sullen. He made the Christmas holidays close to misery his freshman year in college because he was going to be at a mock trial competition in California when they handed out the fraternity bids and, in his own words which we heard 1000 times, "THAT IS JUST NOT RIGHT." Once, when he was in 4th or 5th grade...around the time boys and girls start calling each other on the phone...he was VERY rude to a little girl who called asking about something at school. I made him call her back and apologize. He never was rude on the phone again...at least not when I could hear him.

While Lorelai has had a great summer, we've had our share of angst, including a battle of wills surrounding her adjusting back to our at home schedule after having been so independent at college. She can be VERY sassy. (She got that from me...I used to get in trouble ALL the time). Last week, we got a notice that her checking account was overdrawn...WAY overdrawn. My blood pressure went WAY up, but she learned a valuable lesson. (We were just a phone call away, but made her go to the bank and get it all worked out by herself.)


As parents, Hank and I get irritated and we fuss and nag... and then we pray with all our might that this is as bad as it will ever get. Face it...these are minor irritations compared with what a lot of people go through with their children, but the minor irritations cannot go unaddressed.

We have always held our children accountable. They know right from wrong, and when things get a little off kilter for whatever reason, each of them has to put their big boy/girl britches on and deal with it. They might get mad with us, but there is never a doubt that we love them more than life itself. (I believe that there are some kids out there who DO doubt that their parents love them more than life itself...that's one reason why they get into trouble.)

Lorelai has worked with kids over the past couple of summers and is going to be an educator. We were talking yesterday and she said, "You know...some people ought to have to pass a test before they can become parents." It's very clear to her, even at 19, that a lot of kids haven't been as fortunate as she has.

We encouraged our kids made decisions about what they wanted to be involved in, but also pushed them outside of their comfort zones at times. Legare says that he detested every minute that we made him play Upward Basketball at church when he was in about the 6th grade. He needed to try and he wouldn't, so we pushed him for that one season. We made Lorelai take piano lessons for a couple of years, and while she played well, there was no joy in it for her so we let her stop. Each continued to try out new activities until they found their "thing." For Legare, it was mock trial, cello, and extra-curricular activities at school around student government. For Lorelai, it was interpretative speaking, cheerleading, softball, and extra-curricular activities at school similar to what Legare did. Hank and I were always there, cheering them on every step of the way.

We took our kids to Sunday School and church. We pray for their success, safety, and welfare constantly. Our kids DID watch TV...they each had Ipods and computers. (For some reason neither was interested in video games). We said "no" to a lot of things, but never said no to buying a book, and checked books out of the library in stacks. We read to them every night until they were old enough to read by themselves. We traveled, taking both kids to visit a friend in Europe about ten years ago. We took them to nice restaurants so that they would know how to behave in nice restaurants. I still remind them of their manners. Good manners are critical in this world and some people ain't got 'em. (Oh...and don't say "ain't")

Getting an education was not an option for our children. We believe that it is our obligation to provide that for them. I realize that not everybody can swing college for their kids from a financial standpoint...but it doesn't take a dime to set high expectations, encourage, and provide emotional support and praise. My heart goes out to children whose parents are not equipped for whatever reason, to at the very least, give encouragement. I know kids Lorelai's age who are not in school and do not have jobs...they just live at home with their parents and do who knows what. I do NOT get it.

(As an aside, the educator in me feels compelled to clarify something...Our kids chose paths that are taking them through four years of college and beyond. That's not for every student. Some students are able to get certifications through apprenticeships and career and technology programs in high school. Others get what they need from an associates degree. The point is that we as parents must make sure that our kids have the information they need to make these decisions that will chart the course for their life's work. You can't leave all of that to the school system...parents MUST be involved.)

Whew...I HAVE been preaching, haven't I? As I've mentioned before in posts, Hank and I agree that nothing we've accomplished as individuals has ever made us as proud as the accomplishments of our children. Legare just came away from three job interviews in New York City and three in Washington, DC, for his 2L summer next year. He may or may not get call backs, but the mere fact that he was chosen to interview makes us SO very proud. Lorelai went on two church mission trips this summer and her change of major from nutrition to early childhood education has been approved. She wants to eventually be a guidance counselor. The world needs more educators with big hearts and level heads (even if she can't balance a checkbook). We could NOT be more proud of these two blessings that God gave us.

Have your told your kids lately that you're proud of them? Run as fast as you can and tell them right now. Stay tuned...a few posts from now when I'm done answering questions, I'm going to issue a challenge to all parents out there. It's going to be interesting.

Why I Blog...

Still Answering Your Questions...


georgie at Decisionally Challenged wants to know what made me decide to start a blog AND keep it up...what was my defining OR favorite blog post and why...

Both of our children were graduating in May of 2008...Legare from college and Lorelai from high school. Long about March, I started thinking about how in the world I was going to manage everything...the graduations were at the end of May...a mere 24 hours but 200+ miles apart. Then in August, we were going to have to move Legare to Chapel Hill, lock stock and barrel, and Lor to Clemson. I was feeling overwhelmed, but I didn't want to miss a minute of these milestones.

All of a sudden, the blog idea popped into my head. I like to write and I like to scrapbook, so I saw blogging as a good combination of the two...I'd journal the entire experience online. I'd have my memories and the kids would have a little insight into my heart (and my craziness)... plus our friends could see what was happening. Blogging is also wonderful therapy and I don't see myself quitting anytime soon. My husband Hank doesn't read the blog unless I show him something in particular, but both kids do. Legare is OK with me writing about him, and Lorelai LOVES it when I write about her. She takes after her mama...we like attention.

I don't blog much about my job other than to share an occasional funny story. I don't have many bad days but when one comes along, boy howdy, it is a DOOZIE. I would like to blog about some of those doozies, except for the fact that I like being employed MORE. Today, actually, was something of a doozie. I thought about starting a second "invitation only" blog so that I could do a little more venting and opining on certain subjects but shoot...I don't have enough time to write all I'd like to on this blog.

Oh goodness...my defining or favorite blog post. I have to say, I still get a kick out of my Funerals in the South series. (here, here, and here) A defining post is a little harder...I think it's probably a post I did titled Challenges, as we were beginning the process of moving Mother and Ned this past Spring. I received the most comments ever and SO many good thoughts and prayers from my blogging friends. Hank and I were at our wits end around that time and I FELT those thoughts and prayers every single day as we were going through all of the hullabaloo. Blogging brought me a great deal of comfort during that time...plus, lots of folks are in love with Ned now. He doesn't know exactly what blogging is, but he likes it a lot when I tell him that my blog friends are asking about him.

So...how about you. Why do you blog?