Day 57....Happy Holidays!

I didn't really get the chance to offer season's greetings this year...I was far too busy hitting everyone up on facebook and my lists, telling everyone Merry Christmas! So before the old year runs out, I thought I'd throw one last post in here...just for good measure.

Christmas was quiet this year...in this run up to the BIG event, everyone just kinda did their own thing. I headed south, as usual, to spend the weekend with Alan...the last Christmas that we'll have to spend long-distance, and away from our family. We had a wonderful weekend together, despite not having any family with us. We know that will be corrected all too soon.

New Year's weekend will not be spent the same way. Instead, I'm headed down to Pigeon Forge for a girl's weekend with my friend, Tracy. It's been far too long since we've seen each other, and I'm really looking forward to the getaway. It will take my mind off of not being able to see the new year in with my hubby...this most eventful year.

The time is going by so quickly now. In about two weeks, I'll be moving up to the loft, and we've been making homecoming plans like crazy. Yesterday, I ordered Alan's new cell phone, a belated Christmas present for him. I'll take it to him when I pick him up. Yes...it's that close, now. After all these years, I now only have ONE more visit to see him before I bring him home...for good.

Day 72...Blasts from the Past

I haven't really had a chance to post anything much since Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd just post a couple of thoughts now.

The weekend passed very peacefully. I spent Thanksgiving day and the day after, Friday, with my hubby, and Friday night I headed up to Atlanta to spend the rest of the weekend with family and friends. Saturday night was spent at a great Irish pub in the Buckhead area of uptown Atlanta with one of my best friends, Michelle, and we had such a great time. A really nice guy at the bar was gracious enough to offer to take our pic, and we took him up on it to mark the occasion.

One of the highlights....other than the aforementioned...of the weekend was that a long-lost high school friend actually reconnected with me on facebook on Thursday evening, and since she still lives in Atlanta, I was also able to go by and see her on Sunday before I left town. It was crazy good to see

her after almost 28 years, and the time just fell away as we caught up over what turned out to be a 3 hour lunch.

There were four of us who hung together during our senior year: Betty, Bunny, Cherie, and me. Betty was undeniably our ringleader. It was her house we always wound up spending the weekends at. Bunny had the car....a gold and white Olds 442, and boy...that thing would haul. Cherie was the comedy relief. And I....well, I was just happy to be a part of the club.

It took me 20 years and two world searches to find Betty again, but find her, I did. A couple of years ago, she turned back up in my life after finally receiving an email I had sent her via a networking

site. Having married a military man, she has since traveled the world before resettling only a few hours from me in Ohio. I was able to see her on my trip out west to MO, when I went to see Shanna graduate from boot camp. She and her hubby Jim have been blessed with three daughters, and their oldest has just given them their second grandchild, a little boy named Parker, who is now three months old. Betty is pictured here with the oldest, a little girl named Madison. Life is good.

Cherie, I last saw a couple of years after we graduated, when we both were working at the same mall. Hers was a short-lived assignment, though, and sadly, we lost track of each other soon after she left. None of us have seen or heard from her since....but she is constantly

in my prayers.

That left Bunny, who finally caught up with me... appropriately enough... on Thanksgiving day. Appropriate, because I am so unbelievably thankful that she is now back in my life. Bunny has had a hard life, as she will tell you. But she counts it all worth it, because it resulted in her beautiful daughter, Charly, who is now off to attend college in Maryland.

Last night, I was able to successfully reconnect Betty and Bunny for the first time. It did my heart good to hear how well that went, and we have definitely decided to make plans to get together in the near future for a little reunion of our own.

These 3 women, and one other, Kelley, that I have mentioned in a previous post, are the reason I am who I am today. Each one is incredibly special, and will always hold a special place in my heart. Ladies....I love you all so much. Thank you for being my friend back then, and thank you even more for choosing to continue being my friend, now that we're all grown up.

Day 100...a milestone.

The countdown is on in earnest, now. As of today, there are only 100 days left until my baby comes home. This has been the longest wait of my life, and it has taught me nothing if not patience.

Seems like when I first started blogging, I was far closer to 1000 days than I was 100. There's been a lot of water under the bridge since then. And in this season of Thanksgiving, no one is more profoundly grateful that from today forward, we will be in double digits.

We are truly blessed.

Day 106....with deepest thanks to our vets, and in memoriam for those who are no longer with us.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

God bless all the brave souls who have laid it all on the line for our sake in the name of Liberty.



Piper William Bill Millin playing the bagpipes. Bill Millin was the Piper of the 1st Special Service Brigade, and was amongst the more noticeable men to land on the Normandy Beaches on the 6th June as he played the Brigade ashore with his bagpipes.

Day 126....It's Fall!

Had to take a drive today up into the hills and all around to take some pics of the beautiful fall color

That is abundant everywhere! The pic above, I think, wound up being my favorite one, and the

one I use as a background on my phone, just because of the sheer number of colors I managed

to capture in it. All of these pics, by the way, may LOOK like they were taken as I was driving. Let me be quick to assure you that although I may have been behind the wheel, I was NOT actually driving. I was very cautious to choose times to take my shots when there were no other drivers on the road behind me. That enabled me to actually stop in the road long enough to get the shot.

This pic was actually taken at the north end of Lake Watauga. The weather was absolutely perfect....look at that gorgeous October sky! Deep blue, and not a cloud in it. Who could ask for more?

These final two pics were actually taken on I-40, heading east toward NC through the Great Smoky Mountains. Confession: You can't stop to take a pic in the middle of the interstate, so I just pointed and clicked as I was driving...and I got lucky. Twice.

I had to take these pics to try to capture the snow that was blanketing the tops of the highest peaks. Sadly, that's not too evident here, but if you blow up the pics, they are still very beautiful, and you actually can see the snow.

Day 133....Kota's Birthday!

Today was an awesome day....the day we celebrated my grandson Dakota's birthday. It's actually not until next week, but since it falls on a weekday this year, the girls decided to throw his party today, while it was beautiful weather. So I hopped in the truck and headed down to spend the day with them.

I had intended to get an early start so I could spend the whole day, but I got up late, and then tried a new way to go down which...although truly breathtaking...lost me about an hour's travel time. Going across the mountains via I-40 was a real treat, though, I have to say. But the moment that took the cake was when a geezer got on the freeway in his white caddy that was piled bumper to bumper with about 3 inches of snow. Yes....the tops of the mountains were covered with it.

Regardless, we had a really great afternoon catching up and visiting, after which we all headed to Mickey D's for Dakota's party. There were quite a few of Katrina's family there, as you could probably imagine. I was the only one on Jes' side...but that's ok. Poppy was there in spirit!

We started by letting Kota cut his cake and singing happy birthday to him. He actually did a great job, even though he had to get a little push with the plastic knife from mom...

Before we knew it, it was time to open all his presents...including a star projector for his room, so he can lie in bed at night and watch all the constellations revolve around the ceiling. He's very into space stuff at the moment...among other things....and it's very obvious that he's growing up SO fast...and becoming SUCH a little man!

Kota, Nana's so proud of you, and Poppy and I love you very, very much.

Day 142...Potential!

Ever since we found out last April that the plant I work at (and thought I'd be permanently hired by) was going to be shutting down next year, I've been looking for a job...a place I could hang my hat...a place I could call home. Something similar to what I had at Maverick. The economy being what it currently is, I haven't been having much luck, but the temp service that I work for, Randstad, has also been helping me look. Last week, they called me to let me know that they had lined me up for an interview that looked to be a really good opportunity. So, with hat in hand, and loaded with coffee, I went. The interview went well, I thought, but they weren't looking to make a decision until about the 12th of Oct., and so, knowing that I was one of many, I settled in for a wait.
It didn't take as long as I thought for a call-back. The message on the phone two days after the first interview startled me, but they were looking to schedule me for round two. Today being the appointed day, I showed up at 2:oopm, spit-shined and primed with a well-edited answer to an essay question I had been provided with the first time, in case I were to make it this far.
Things seemed to go well today. I was asked a lot of the same questions as the first time, and given a couple of very rudimentary tests on Word and Excel, which I had no trouble with. And now, the wait...once again...begins. I'm hoping to hear back by the end of this week, or Monday at the latest. If I should get good news, have no fear that I will post details, but until then, I feel as though to say too much would be to jinx it...so mum's the word for now.
You'd think with as much practice as I've had with the waiting thing, that this would be a walk in the park for me. Apparently, my skill in that department still leaves something to be desired.