For the fun of it......

I saw this on someone else's blog and I thought it would be fun to put my own spin on it....You should give it a try and see what you come up with.......

If I could be a flower I would want to be Lilies...They're beautiful and they smell wonderful......
and they just happen to be my favorite.....

If I were a house I would want to be the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC.....it's beautiful all year round and other people do the the cleaning....plus the views are breathtaking......

If I were a drink it would be Sweet Tea....Not even a choice.......

If I were a peaceful place it would be (this was a tie) the Gulf Coast at Sunset.....

And Cades Cove Tennessee (I can clear my head when we walk the paths there)

If I were a purse it would be this Louis Vuiiton Surya....YES IT WOULD!!!! And not any knock off (it's my fantasy, I want the real deal.........Anyone have an extra $3,630.oo ....Anyone....

If I could revisit a time in my past it would be the day my grandmother gave me this quilt....It was for my eighth birthday and she was so proud of it....I can look at the squares and see so many pieces of material that my mother made an outfit for me from....I actually had this quilt on my bed until I married my husband seven years ago....It has wiped many tears.......

If I were a movie it would be Gone with the Wind....although Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomato's are my favorites for quoting.......

If I were a crayon I would want to be any pastel color....no one likes the other colors...you never hear people saw " Wow I think I will pick this lovely Burnt Orange, or maybe the Pea Green"..........No thank you... Pastel for me please......

And if I were to have lunch with someone important or famous I would pick my bloggy friends.....What a day that would be.....Septembermom could have a break from her bully situation(she could use one) Montantagirl and J'ellen could give us all photography lesson and talk about all the beauty they see everyday (what a treat!!!). LindainNCtoo could finally teach me how to make the perfect greeting card (she's awesome), Sue at Making a House a Home could give some wonderful gardening tips...What a green thumb she has.....And Jennifer over at Through the storms of Life is a kindred spirit....she just doesn't know it yet.........I have only named a few great people, what a lunch (and stories ) that would be if we could get together....And I am sure if Gerald Butler and Brad Pitt wanted to stop by y'all wouldn't mind if I offered them a glass of sweet tea (it's the proper thing to do)............

Have a Great Day!!!!

5 Things....

5 Things We'll Never Understand About Men.......

5. Why horror movies, wrestling and boxing are cool, but PMS and menopause are horrifying...

4. Why " I dare you " will get them to do anything...

3. Why his Mama Bear voice is way better than yours....

2. Why he'll give you the stars but not the remote.....

1. Why he can grill but not cook......

Note To Self....

Never blog about your personal trainer.....YOU WILL PAY DEARLY.........I legs feel like jello....

Shapen Up or Goin Down Tryin........

Don't be fooled by this angelic face.........my daughter is killing me and I have no one to blame but myself.... and maybe the two pieces of lemon meringue pie I had yesterday, but I ain't telling her that.......I thought I could handle her one on one personal training sessions, but I am sinking faster than the Titanic... I mean I am in a world of hurt.......Pain.......

You see, I had gotten tired of hearing my fitness fanatic princess talk about how so in so had lost so many inches and so many pounds after training with her in a few short weeks, and ever time I see her perfect tone and fit body compared to my jiggly wiggly one.....Well, I liked hers better....So I decided to see what my daughter was made of (in the world of personal training), That was my first mistake........I agreed to do three days a week of personal training with her and wanted her to treat me just like any other client....That was my second mistake.........When She-Ra princess of power showed up at my door on day one she had her game face on and it was a little scary....She immediately started to tell me what I was capable of doing.....not the other way around....I was told to engage my abs while breathing and tighten my butt while putting my poor body in positions it hasn't been in in a very long time...did I mention you have to keep focused....These things she did, and didn't break a sweat......Me, all I was trying to do was keep the muscle spasms to a minimum and not pass gas......These are not possible things when your middle age and out of shape.......It's not possible to breath and hold in your stomach while tightening your butt and every other muscle you forgot you had.... Way to much thought for my mind.....And this was all on day one, by Friday I couldn't raise my arms to wash my armpits....I just stood in the shower in tears and hoped for the best.....No worry about over eating....Cant raise the fork to my mouth.....By the end of the week the fruit of my loins didn't look as sweet and innocent to me as she does in the picture, as a matter of fact I am kinda afraid of her, and I cry when I hear her vehicle.....

My child, The Mistress of Burning Pain as I have come to call her has put me through a week of torment and tears and today another week of agony began.......We did our workout in the pool with something she called low impact aerobics....And when I can move again I will take twelve ibuprofen and go out to the pool and look for my spleen... because I am sure it is out there floating....

LOW IMPACT MY BUTT!!!!

I will keep you posted....If I survive........

Two Mighty Men....

These two men are very important too me, they have touched my life in many different ways.

This man is a brick mason by trade, wounded WWII Veteran who stormed the shores of Omaha beach, and says that he "crawled thur Europe on his hands and knees". At 91 he stills works when he has it and drives to town for breakfast, loves to hunt and work in his garden...And at times has been known to drive his wife a little crazy (as she says). He's very charming and always greets you with a hug...





Here is the cabin he was raised in, it is about 3 miles from his home now, and I am very proud to have Mr. Pearle Quince Queen as my father in law....




This man here had a different life than the one before, thou much younger than my father in law.My dad was raised in a very different and unforgiving environment than my father in law.... We didn't had indoor plumbing until I was almost a teenager(something my husband always had).


My father went to work in the coalmines at the age of 12...he has only a 6th grade education...But I have never meet anyone smarter than my daddy....Growing up as a little girl, I thought my daddy was a mountain with rough callused hands that I loved to touch..and still do...To me they meant strength..... So many sacrifices made for his family....I have always said that you could put my Dad on top of any mountain and he could find his way home.....I have my sense of humor from him and it gets both of us in trouble...If you need to find my dad he will most likely be in the mountains, fishing or watching a western....My Dad is paying dearly for all those years in the mines, his health is poor and his lungs are almost gone but there will never be anything as secure or as reassuring as having him put his arms around me, and I am proud to be the daughter of Bobby Iverson Walker...
I love you Daddy.......


HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO THESE GREAT MEN




and too all Fathers..........

Simple Things........

Sometimes simple things are the most cherished....The laughter of my family when they're all together....My grandmothers cast iron skillet's, and the memory of her perfume...The smell of the gulf and the summer nights on the beach...Friends you can laugh and be yourself with...

Our 170 year old white oak, it's one of the reasons we bought our property, and it's just as beautiful without leaves as it is with them...it's one of those great tree's that you wish could talk, and I hope nature is always kind to her....




Or the beauty of a rusty ole bird bath, the birds don't care what it looks like as long as there is fresh water for them to splash around in...



Or the way Carolina Jasmine starts to take over an old worn arbor, it somehow brings it back to life...


And the beauty of watching our garden grow...even if I know that a lot of canning and freezing lies in store for me...

Things to do......

Things to do when you're waiting for you re local DSL/Internet repairman to come (these people have no earthly clue nor do they care just how obsessed with your laptop you are)........Read a good book...What can I say....I was desperate.........

Paint your toenails every color polish you own...twice....Play every known game of solitaire just so you can be close to your computer....Admit you might be a little OCD with a twist of ADHD when it comes to your computer and just about anything else........But I'm O.K. with it............

Or do what I did....I cleaned out our basement, garage, attic and closets and had myself a Big Ole Yard Sale....One that I had been putting off for a long time because I hate doing them....My last yard sale I swore was going to be my last....so was the one before that and the one before that one.....And yet there I sat at my dining room table making those neon signs...This is the first yard sale that I have had to do without my yard sale diva friend Liz, she has the best motto ever, "Buy High Sell Low"....I used it a lot........Nothing sells Christmas like the June heat in Georgia



I had to talk my daughter into helping this time, she made a pretty good yard sell diva herself....The whole yard sale thing is a pain, but the benefits are very nice......

So is my clean basement and closets

BACK SOON....

Just experienced an 8 day DSL meltdown.....But I am up and running, so hold on...........

Hydrangeas....

I thought I would do something to take my mind off of Burt and his 1970 something nakedness, and show you my beautiful hydrangeas....I have a couple bushes in my yard and they are absolutely full, my second bush was a sprout from the first and it ended up being a totally different color, half the bush is blue and half is purple....Leave it to the Georgia clay.....

Retro-licious

I was doing some searching on the Internet the other night and came upon these ads from quite a few years ago, we all remember our mood rings ( I actually have both my mood and spoon ring from the 70's) I thought it would be interesting to see how many of you actually remember or used these products.....So here we go....


My first one is the priceless ad for Midol that ran in 1974, it simply said, Be the you he likes. Good to be around any day of the month..PLEASE....I'm not sure sure about you, but I don't remember this pill doing all of that...

I cried my eyes out watching this (and still would) my parents gave me a music box from the movie for Christmas the year this came out, they're standing at a tree with their initials on it... I still have it...and it still plays that same sad tune....




Now in mid-70's when Dorothy Hamill was heating things up, my Mother thought she could cut my hair just like hers...What I ended up with was the opposite, Dorothy had short and sassy, I had short,flat and stringy... However I was thrilled when my Mother brought home my little bottle of this..


Which I would soon give up for this....A shampoo with beer as the main ingredient... I thought I was going to hell just for using this (I thought I was going to hell for a lot of things when I was young).


and then this....Remember how good this stuff smelled???




My favorite shoes in the whole wide world...At least while I was in High School, were these babies..... Only mine were wine color and suede....Oh Yea!!!!



And I also remember these....David Cassidy and Donny Osmond Notebooks.....Come on, I know some of you do too.....



This stuff come out when Disco was Hot....Blue Jeans Cologne....I actually got some for Christmas one year....




And let's talk about feminine hygiene shall we.....This ad for Stay free MINI PADS was published in 1978 and if you notice the mini pad is as big and long as the box it's self.....(Seriously,You could wrap a small child in this).


And I have saved this for last...because I am still feeling the pain from this one (literally), the day I sneaked this Burt Reynolds spread from a Cosmopolitan magazine into my fathers house, was the first and last time I did anything like that...(That they know about)...That's all I can say about that..........

Burt was along way from David Cassidy and Donny Osmond and my teenage eyes were overjoyed.....And worth every lick from my fathers belt....That's all...I promise.....I will go and pray now.......

Organic Bonding.....

Friday morning bright and early my health food fitness loving daughter calls me, at first her overly cheerful voice frightens me, because I know whats coming next, she wants to spend some quality Mother/Daughter time together.....The conversation starts out like this, " Wakey, Wakey, sunshine, how about a day together". I thought it sounded great, but I was curious...."We could go get a bikini wax OR we could go to our local Whole Foods/ Farmers Market and you could buy some organic fruits and veggies". Wow, she had me at organic.....Not......My daughter has been trying to get me to go to this place with her for months, now grocery shopping for me at any store is painful much less organic grocery shopping....So I picked the bikini wax....I will let you guess where we ended up at......At first I went kicking and screaming but she assured me that she would talk me through it.....Whatever, give me processed, I grew up on lard for goodness sake.......

We started in the fruits and veggies and I will have to admit that I didn't know there were that many different variety's of pairs and apples (If it ain't sold at Walmart or Kroger then I'm not sure I need it ).

Her first stop was all the free juice samples (and they were plenty) she went straight for the watermelon, pineapple, lemon mixture with a smile on her face, " Oh let's try this", all I could think of was the damage that the Master Cleanse Juice mixture did to my intestines, I just looked at her and said, "Seriously".... My little princess was in her element......

Half way through the store I started to turn, I started to see things that I wanted to try and a whole lota of things I had no clue what to do with in my sheltered hillbilly mind and I liked it....I was getting the fever until we came upon a large shelf of organic maple syrup, then had a few master cleanse flash backs (not good, as a matter of fact I just threw up a little bit thinking about that...sorry) We turned around another isle and I was in HEAVEN.....Cheese Heaven that is.... I have never meet a cheese I didn't like, I could eat the stuff all day long, and this place has plenty and every kind imaginable....I just stood there staring, my daughter stood proud....she done good, mama was buying cheese...organic or not.

Another small section was a beautiful bakery with lots of cakes and cupcakes, tarts and a lot of things that didn't go with the natural and organic order she was pushing for....It quickly became my favorite part of the store......Along with the mini tart I purchased.........

We topped off our organic and natural days of shopping with a quick lunch at Wendy's...besides, nothing says all natural to me like 100% pure beef ....... My daughter just rolled her eyes like she always does......I just love mother/daughter bonding days.

Back Home Flooding.....

The media rushes to central Appalachia when theirs a story on poverty, or drug addicted and alcoholic parents living on welfare in make shift houses. But when recent flash flooding devastated the area, they were no where to be found. The governor declared it a disaster area...As many of you know this is where I was born and raised....Almost every member of my family was effected by this flood, many loosing everything they had....A lot of people didn't have a much to begin with.... Flash floods are more and more common...Most say the flooding in this area is due to mountain top mining (When a coal company cuts down the top of the mountain and blast down around 1000 feet for coal) this leaves the mountain weak and when the heavy rains come there is no protection from flash floods. This video was taken from someone who lives in the same area as my family...

Beauty among the thorns....

Three years ago I planted a piece of a cactus about 4 inches by 5 inches

on the south side of my house along with some rose bushes. Today the cactus has turned into a monster....it stands at about 4 feet by 20 feet and is taking over my beautiful roses....I had planed to cut the cactus down today, but when I went outside prepared to "Let the monster have it" with an axe, it was covered with these.....Now, I will have to come up with another plan...Something this fierce with this much beauty deserves to live........

Dearest Anonymous.....

Last week I had an comment from someone signed anonymous, and I guess they were trying hard to put me in my place....More than likely a previous co-worker...I thought long and hard about how to reply to this, than I went to church and the message was called "Love let's it go" and the teachings of Paul...So I let it go....Then my friend struck again....So, to my anonymous reader, I have never pretended to be something I am not... If you read my profile on the sidebar it plainly tells that I am trying to get my Masters in Nursing before I retire, Nowhere does it say I have one now....I will not now or ever post a rude comment from someone like you...And if you are so offended by my blog... simply turn off your computer.......

What was I thinking........

I have tried so many stupid diets in my life, slim fast shakes....at least slim fast has milk in it.....The cabbage soup diet....Again, this diet is called soup for a reason, and as bland as it my be, it has some vegetables in it.The grapefruit diet and the ever popular 48 hour Miracle diet...As you can see, I am a moron..... I was talked into what could be the worst diet in the entire world.........By none other than my health food, fitness freak, perfectly fit, personal trainer daughter......And I ask you, what part of lemon....maple syrup....and cayenne pepper, sound like something you want to jump into for 10 days..........Did I mention you couldn't have anything but the above mentioned products mixed together in a glass served hot or cold.........It's called the Master Cleanse Diet, and it's the most painful diet I have ever tried (In more that one way)..........She thought it would be great if WE tried this diet together...It offered great benefits for people with a lot of stress in their life and joint pain (I suffer from degenerative arthritis) it would help me sleep, detox my body(she's into that, just give me cake) wash all the evil out of your body and rejuvenate you.....and I would lose up to twenty pounds in ten days......THAT'S THE ONLY PART I NEEDED TO HEAR......BRING ON THE CAYENNE PEPPER.........Along with her husband and a couple of their friends we all started together, she brings me some herbal laxative tea to drink before going to bed that tasted like tar....But it was natural she insisted.....still, it tasted like tar......her thought was ....I work nights and I don't eat much at work and this would be a piece of cake.........Guess again.......The first drink of the Master Cleanse lemonade mixture and I thought I was going to hurl across the room....I kept thinking is this what I am giving up caffeine for.....after about eight hours into the master cleanse it finally dawned on me exactly how this is going to detox my body....The cold chills I had every time I took a drink immediately followed by the waves of nausea had to be doing the trick...plus, I have reflux....Do you know what cayenne pepper does to someone with reflux.... By 3am I was snorting fire.........and what maple syrup does with lemons and cayenne pepper when added together alone should be used in chemical warfare.....The people in Vermont would be appalled.....My daughter would text me to see if I was OK and how the diet was going, but I stopped talking to her and didn't return her text....All I wanted was a large glass of sweet tea....I had daydreams of my car breaking down in front of Chick-fil-la while I was at work......Let me tell you, the noise coming from my guts was scary....No bathroom was safe...

On day four we all were begging each other to eat something....ANYTHING....My daughter and her husband were madly texting their friends back and forth and decided that whoever could stay out of the bathroom the longest, could get to the restaurant and reserve a table at the barbecue place....Me, I was headed straight for a sweet tea overdose.......


The only thing I lost on the Master Cleanse Diet was four foot of small intestine.....it was charred from the cayenne pepper....if any of you out there have any success stories from this diet...keep them to your self...Because right now, I am going to make an enormously large pan of peanut butter brownies, go set on my porch, and eat every last one of them..........



P.S.

I know where you can get some organic maple syrup REALLY cheap.....

For my Daughter.........

Psalms 144: 12 says.......
That our Daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude or the palace.........



It's very simple, I thank God for the gift of being your Mother.....I hope I have never let you down..........





Wishing All My Bloggie Friends....

A Happy Mothers Day

That favorite childhood pastime........

Talked to Nesie the other morning coming home, I knew she would be up getting the kids off to school and I was in desperate need of a Sam fix. Well, my boy Sam did not disappoint...It would seem he has been up to his old tricks ...running the neighborhood...Remember the games we played as children growing up, jump rope, hide and seek, and cowboy and Indians to name a few....Well it would seem that over at the Tributary, they play a new game when Sam's outside.....Apparently, Carrot Wars is the latest thing........Yep Carrot Wars....That art of taking the carrots that your mother just brought you (with ranch dip) and slinging them at on coming traffic (whoever gets a bulls eye(head) wins). Nesie said she was inside thinking her children were eating a healthy snack when Maddy came in to tell her about the traffic jam that had formed in front of the house.....A woman in a shiny car was ready to strangle Sam when Nesie walked outside to the sea of orange spread out before her, trying hard to explain to Sam how wrong this was and how people in the neighborhood must think that her children were brats...Sam looked up at her with those adorable dimples and said "Whats the big deal mom, it's just a dumb game of carrot wars". Remember Sam is four.....Nesie has a long way to go with those dimples....She said she went grocery shopping and is looking at produce in a different light....


Good Luck Nesie

Your gonna need it!!!

R.O.T. Tankini

We have two season's in Georgia, winter and summer...this weekend it was in the mid to upper eighty's, so I thought I would do something very relaxing and sit by our pool today...I got all jacked up on Zyrtec and was ready to put on my bathing suit, standing in a darken closet half naked, I grabbed the first one I could find....looked good enough....I tried in vain to get the small about of spandex over my chest, but I am sure I ended up tearing my rotators cuff instead....Now, getting this off was much more of a challenge( I have seen my daddy skin squirrels quicker) When my ordeal was over I stood stunned and exhausted in my closet, I was sure this was a practical joke played by one of my niece's...Surely I HAVEN'T GAINED THIS MUCH WEIGHT since last summer.......Either way I spent my quiet relaxing day contemplating if I should call Jenny Craig or do the Master Cleanse for the rest of the spring...One thing I do know, is that little piece of black spandex will NEVER,EVER, EVER bother me again....It now resides in the bottom of the trash can....far,far away..................

Old South Beauty

This is the home of my sister-in-law and her husband, it was built in 1840 and was originally on what used to be the original site of Emory University....The house was supposed to be demolished and then was saved...........It's had several owners over the years, but they bought it and put a lot of love, time and money into it...Now every room looks like it should have in the 1840's...except with electricity and running water......down to the furniture and paintings....it's beautiful.......Scarlett herself couldn't have enjoyed a more beautiful home........We celebrated my mother-in-law's eighty first birthday there this weekend...What a beautiful place for a family gathering.....

Southern Weather

Spring Time! The smell of flowers blooming......fresh cut grass....going barefoot...



And also, pollen that hovers in the trillions....and tornado watches EVERY OTHER DAY.......



We had a storm this evening that left my porch and yard looking like this......



I love my basement in the spring........

What a difference a week makes......

Last Monday I posted a picture of the baby birds looking helpless...Today, one week later, they look like this...The nest is so full they move around together....Like little old people shuffling...They take turns sitting on top...usually two at a time....the ones on the bottom suffer a little........I know they will be gone soon, but I have enjoyed watching them.........

Baby Bird Update

All Five babies survived the cold weather we had and are growing strong...and pooping everywhere....they are keeping their mama busy trying to feed them , and I am pretty sure they have run her out of the nest because I don't know where she would fit....These started out looking like caterpillar's and now they are starting to squeak a little....every time we step near them about five heads pop up with their mouths open...sweet and adorable , but my door step is looking a little messy.......

All About The Easter Accessories

Even as a little hillbilly girl I had a purse fetish...."Gotta love my over size patent leather bag....... Even at three I had style and class.......and one BIG PURSE..........Happy Easter Every One

A new adventure

For those of you that have prayed or were curious about my job status, I thought I would let you know that I start a new job on Monday....One of the hospitals in our system offered me a job working in the Emergency Room.....Now, this is pretty exciting and intimidating for me, I have worked so long in the OR and only worked PRN in the ER...both places are a challenge, and I am not sure if I am young enough to learn new tricks...I am most defiantly a trauma junkie, but things ( and people ) can get a little scary the later the shift gets....I have been working on a new motto for myself, here is the first one: Helping save lives until 6:45, it's catchy.
But I am afraid mine will be closer to this one: ER Angie...Dying slowly, one hour at a time.....These are twelve hour shifts........
I will keep you posted if I'm able.......

There Here!!!

Please welcome our newest additions...... We come home today to find these two little fellas still half way in their little eggs...Two down, Three more to go...

True Story

My husband is as romantic as a paper weight...sad but true...but occasionally he has his moments, this weekend was one of them...he thought it would be great to do something nice since we both had been under so much stress lately....We had already been downtown twice in one month and it wasn't our anniversary, so what now......He was taking me to the mountains for the weekend........WOW!....I TOLD YOU HE HAD HIS MOMENTS.....We live just a few hours from the Great Smokey Mountains, so a little weekend away sounded perfect.... The closer we got to the Smokies the more advertisements there were for the outlet malls....Now, I love a good outlet mall. but what got us was the Big Easter Sales being advertised.......Sounds Good So Far.....Only these were at the Adult Outlet Stores.....Not sure about you, but exactly how does fish nets and massage oils celebrate the risen saviour.......The sign at one store read....Shop early for Easter avoid the rush.........WHERE DO THESES PEOPLE GO TO CHURCH.....And what are they wearing.....I, will admit, I have been in one ore two of these stores in my past and I am here to tell you, they don't sell dresses or pant suits............you can't even buy jelly beans..............
Seriously, Is this what Easter really means to some people.........

What Ya Have!

Two trips down to the big Alt, for me, in one month is unheard of....but that's what happened...My oldest brother and his wife came to visit, (I am a middle child, that's half my problem) my brother is absolutely crazy about ancient Egypt, and can truly tell you anything about that time period. So we took him downtown to see the the Tutankhamen exhibit, I was so excited that he got to see this.The weather was horrible, lots of storms.... We had lunch at the Varsity, you should never go to Atlanta without eating at the Varsity. They have been serving the best indigestion for eighty years, it's intense... they start screaming,"What ya Have"? soon as you walk in the door...and if you don't know what you want, they will pass you by...I guess, it's Atlanta's version of the soup Nazi , only with southern accents....It's not Burger King...or for the faint of heart....these people are very intimidating.

A little Varsity History:

It's the worlds largest drive-in, it can park 600 cars and seat 800 people....

The oldest car hop was a man named Flossie Mae, he worked there for over fifty years, his hats were amazing and he sang the menu...

Nipsy Russell started out as a car hop

On any given day, 2 miles of hot dogs, 2500 pounds of potato's, 5000 fried pies, and 300 gallons of chili are served.

The Varsity is an Atlanta Tradition, and if your ever in my neck of the woods, y'all gotta check it out...........

Public Apology (Kinda)

I posted something the other day on my humility of a Resume post, and I am afraid I may have offended people...To anyone I have offended I am deeply sorry....I am not the kind of person who thinks before speaking, or in this case blogging...my friends say I have an outside voice and most definitely speak what's on my mind......This is very true, not always the best thing....but it's me......I made a comment about people not liking to work with an obese person with halitosis in that post and that comment has actually bothered me.... First of all, I don't want to offend anyone who is struggling with weight issues...this is a very sensitive subject to me for many reason, I have struggled with weight problems my entire adult life...Always needing to lose weight, and not in a I got to drop ten pounds before swimsuit season either...more like...where in the world are they going to get enough material to cover my butt for a swimsuit....way.......At my heaviest I weighed 284lbs.....I WAS the obese co-worker (without the halitosis).It wasn't until I bought a size 22 dress that I knew I needed a change.....I started cutting my meals in half and lost over one hundred pounds...Every day continues to be a struggle...on a stressful day or a really hormonal day, food isn't safe around me....Tuesday, I ate six chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies between Wal-Mart and my home ( about two miles). Carrot sticks and celery will never taste like that.....I will struggle with this problem as long as I live, or until fat is the new thin.....Either way it not a joking matter, and I hope no one was offended.........

Sincerly,
The Queen

Yes, It's about the bird!

I promise, I will try to stop blogging about the bird until the babies are born, but we think we know what she is....after much debate and a lot of searching, Donna brought in her Audubon book and Sandy narrowed it down.....We actually had sedated patients wanting to take a look at this little creature and take a guess (that was funny)....It was a group effort....The vote was a House Finch....And as of today, my frisky little feathered friend, had herself two more eggs.....
YOU GO GIRL!

Mama Bird....What a trooper!

When I got home today my husband was waiting...The man who acts like he could care less about this little bird, has been checking in on her....He meet me at the door and said, "Look what your friend left you today". To our surprise, this tiny creature had mustered up the energy to lay TWO more eggs, for a total of FOUR.....I feel like she deserves a treat or a prize or maybe an awnings over her little nest...Something........

See earlier post

My Little Friend/ Update

Mama and her little peanut M&M babies are resting comfortably, I have made a friend.... She actually let me take her picture....We think she might be a finch or a wren...not sure...all I do know is this...compared to the miniature lights beside her head, she's not much bigger than her little eggs.....

See Friday, March 20th post for the full story.....

Saturday's Lesson/ Shock and Awe

Saturday was very busy around the Palace, The King (A.K.A. Mr Queen ) had decided he was going to do yard work and that included cutting down a tree....A big tree...one that he felt was shading our garden too much...He needed the hired help...unfortunately for me, I AM THE HIRED HELP....Now, my husband knows that I am very, very Prissy, but every time he gets his chainsaw or tiller or whatever MAN contraption he has out, he thinks my name is Jim or Bob or Ray and apparently, I instantly grow testicle's....Just because I grew up in the mountains and had too work hard.....I am here to tell you... this is not so.......(I gave mine back the day I moved)I was quick to remind him (several times) I would much rather be doing something else.....I was unloading my trillionths load of wood, when I heard my beloved say..."This little tree saw a nine year drought, about forty nine years ago". "Um hum, how do know that Daniel Boone". I replied.

First of all, that was a stupid question on my part, because my husband came out of the womb working with wood...If I ever want to turn him on, I say things like Curly Maple or Birch Burl and if I'm really feeling daring I might trow in a African Mahogany (but only on special occasions).

Well, he began to show me....apparently, the close squiggly lines means a drought...Then he gave the history of the tree, and what the indians would have used it for.....What SHOCKED me was his next response...."This is what you should put on that thing you have". I was very confused... Was he talking about my BLOG?...Is he serious?....All this time, and I thought he was clueless to my blog obsessions.....He said, that this stuff is important, much more so than purses and make-up (does he really think I am that shallow). If my husband thinks this tree is blog worthy...then by all means...I will oblige him....

P.S. I do however hear the new Louis Vuitton Spring Collection calling my name.... Anyone for a new purse......

Spring has Sprung

It's official, spring has finally arrived, we have made it through another winter (in Georgia, that's not really a big deal)..... Birds are laying their eggs and soon the babies will be chirping... In the evenings, you can hear the frogs croaking in the creeks and ponds...The flowers and trees are starting to bloom, the beauty of spring is everywhere...Right?....Well, only if your among the handful of people who aren't looking through red, itchy, watery eyes who's swollen nasal passages and constant sneezing, and wheezing makes you wish you could skip spring and go straight to summer....I was feeling very nasally and... itchy...and....watery..and...sneezing...(I have just named half of the seven dwarfs), when my husband was going out to the store. "Are you sure you don't want to go". I sneezed and said "NO, thanks". One minute later he came back and said, "Do you know those trees by the front door that you are moving today?'' I looked up and he said, "Don't think that will work out". What we found was this.... two blue eggs the size of peanut M&M'S and one angry little mama bird watching us....She had laid her eggs in my (fake)ivy trees beside our front doors,and they were precious...my maternal hormones were all warm and fuzzy...over powering any swollen nasal passages....All of the sudden,spring is beautiful again.....

I will keep you posted on my new babies, and I will try to keep peace with their angry mama.....

Welcome Spring! And Welcome Back, You Lime Green Peril

The Elegant Orchid

The Orchid,The Queen of flowers (I like this name) a rare beauty full of myths and belief's from all over the world. The Chinese drank it's mixture believing it would cure coughs and lung diseases...The Aztec mixed it's vanilla with chocolate for power and strength....Victorian England simply thought it was a symbol of luxury....My husband bought this one for me several years ago, thinking it was a one time deal...I babied it, prayed over it, whispered sweet nothings into it's roots and vines, and this is what my outcome has been....A rare beauty indeed......

The humility of a Resume

So, this is the thing...The last time I submitted a resume it was 1980 something, There were no wrinkles on my face, my breast were still firm and I had plenty of get up and go...."WELL, GUESS WHAT"... I move at a slower pace and I wont even talk about what position my breast are in...What I will say is, the toll that updating my resume has put on me is painful....To me it's kinda like putting yourself on a auction block and waiting for someone to bid.....ANYONE.....Hoping that someone finds you or something about you attractive....You are selling your goods....But what do you do if your goods has a few miles on them, to me that says experience...to others that says...shes OLD... This has made me very nervous, and consumed my weary and twisted mind. I thought about how on paper it all looks appealing enough, you assume they are looking for the basics:

Is she qualified.....

Does she have the right education....

Does she have experience....

Is she professional....
(Let's face it, if you cant do blood, guts, poop and pee...Your probably not qualified)

This is what I think they really want to know:

Does she play well with others....

Does she have most of her original teeth....

How overweight is she....

Does her breath stink.....

(Com'on no body likes to work with a Bipolar obese person with halitosis )

Now, after great sweat and tears and my own bipolar meltdown, I wanted to add this to my own resume....But, I didn't

Lovely Nurse Ratchet type seeks employment.................

"Your Drama...My Trauma ".

Can catheterize blindfolded.......(That's skill right there)

No Vein to small........

But then I realized none of these really screamed "pick me, pick me".

My precious husband has worked at the same place with the SAME people for over thirty years

it's a small family run business, and he works with all MEN.....He's blown away by the hospital politics and little cliques that women get into, with their backstabbing and gossip. In his mind seniority should rule....sounds nice enough....of course, when all the guys at his shop are together, the big concern there...what to eat for lunch, and who's driving......Maybe, I should just learn to make furniture...

"I TOLD YOU THIS HAD SENT ME OVER THE EDGE"

A Quiet Birthday

Today, was my birthday, I woke up to a card from my husband about getting old...I never said he was a charmer...but he tries....Checked my email, had some very nice birthday greetings from some good friends....THANKS FRIENDS....And I had an even more interesting one from a NEW friend, apparently he had saw my profile on face book and the chemistry was magical....I was being promised moonlight walks and sunsets under waterfalls....he was smitten....."Oh, of course I looked him up". My curiosity was killing me, he looked about sixteen...All I could think of was that A).I reminded him of his mother.... or B). He doesn't care that I am married. or C). This kid has no clue that I'm on the back side of fifty...All I do know, is he was probably smoking crack when he was looking at my profile...If he was that turned on...... Of course my daughter quickly set me straight, telling me that these letters happen all the time, and it was probably some hoax.....Thanks for raining on my birthday parade.....(There went my sunset waterfall fantasy's).

Other than that small amount of middle age excitement my birthday was very low key...I did however manage to update my resume, something that hasn't been done in over fifteen years...I'll admit, I look pretty good on paper.....My evening ended with a lovely Italian dinner with my family, and a homemade fruit tart... my favorite.....MY DAUGHTER IS AWESOME....

Tonight, I will wash my face, access the damage that the past has caused. Thank God for my numerous blessing...Pray that this year, I do more for him than me...

Happy Birthday Angie

It Was A Nice Day!

My husband had had enough of seeing me stressed out and worried, and I'm pretty sure tired of the dark cloud that's been hanging over me for the past few days. Especially since I've been watching movies like One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Out of Africa and Terms of Endearment, and I was just about to watch THE SHINING when he said "HEY, let's do something today".(Personally I think he had visions of me walking around the house talking to my finger saying, REDRUM...REDRUM...)

So he decided it would be a great day to go downtown....to the big ATL...He was taking me to see the king....No, not Elvis ladies...King Tut....There is an amazing exhibit at the Atlanta Civic Center, Just to see things that are over 3000 yrs old is pretty incredible, they even had the bed that the boy king slept on, camera's and cell phones are prohibited and security is tight...I never wanted to touch something so bad in my life...(and I will never tell if I did or didn't)...Atlanta is a beautiful city with so many things to do, and every time we go downtown it gives me an opportunity to nag at my husband about why he doesn't take me down there more often....maybe it's the nagging part.....Last Sunday we had snow in Georgia.....it was crazy....it was beautiful, but it was crazy....this weekend, the trees are in full bloom and the parks are beautiful....The weather is in the 70's....I heard someone say, If your not happy with the weather in Georgia, wait 20 mintues......

The Winds Of Change

I am a creature of habit... I am not a short timer, I stay at the same place as long as possible regardless of the situatiton...WHY?....Because I Hate Change.....I like knowing that every Friday our hospital cafeteria will have fish, and lemon pepper and buffalo hot wings. And every Friday at 1:15pm they will be out of all three. I like knowing every security guard,housekeeper,staff member in our small hospital. But due to Obamanomic's my position has been.....CUT........ and I am devastated......I will however, be able to transfer to one of our sister hospitals...but, you know what that means, new faces, new friends...And I like the ones I have now just fine....I have invested the past fifteen years in this little hospital, and to some this would be exciting.....But to me, it's unbelievably terrifying....I try to believe that, when god closes a door he opens another. It's just hard for me to see thru all the fog right know......I will keep you posted........

How do you define HOT ????

Friday ,Nesie was sharing the story of how a friend of hers had nominated her husband for Redbooks Hottest Husband 2009. And,of course as painful as it was, we all decided that we should pull him up on the website and see for our self's what this particular contestant looked like....Well, what stared back at us was nothing shy of a SMOKING HOT NAVY PILOT...I, for one felt very patriotic just looking at him.....He was perfection in a flight suit....Now, this got me thinking and I was almost ready to pack up and move to Pensacola, when I thought about what quality's in my own husband did I find SMOKIN HOT or at least Luke warm...After all, navy pilot man had fogged up my hormonal senses........I thought about this long and hard and decided that I would go back to when I had first meet my husband...

Opening doors and holding an umbrella over my head was major Hot, but then again
taking me out to eat at a place without a drive-thru window was Hot (I had made some poor choices before)
Our first Christmas dating, he bought tires for my car and Diamond Jewelry.That in my opinion was SMOKIN HOT
The first four years that we dated, I got jewelry, clothes, we vacationed together all of these were VERY HOT
But one of the greatest was when my daughter got married. Now, this man showed up at my house with a lot of the things that I wasn't going to able to buy for her wedding until my next pay check..TWO DAYS BEFORE HER WEDDING..And helped at the reception and the cleaning ( I was a single parent) THAT WAS EXTRA HOT

Things change when people get married,here are a few things that we as woman DON'T FIND HOT...AT ALL.....

Burping words...NOT HOT
Sagging Pants because you have scratched your butt off...NOT HOT
Hair in places it should not be...NOT HOT
Being in a store, restaurant,etc before I get out of car...NOT HOT
Loosing the ability to dress your self...NOT HOT
Loosing the ability to function in any normal way...NOT HOT
Feeling like you need to share how big your bowel movement was......I WONT GO THERE....

But then you have these....

Putting his hand on my lower back in a crowded room...HOT
Telling me I am beautiful when I weigh a trillion pounds...SMOKIN HOT
Excepting my family...HOT
Loving my daughter and Son-in-Law like they were your very own...UNBELIEVABLE HOT
The ability to make me laugh when no one else can...HOT
Loving me just the way I am, because I am totally screwed up...SMOKIN HOT

Who needs some ole navy pilot anyway???.........DID I JUST SAY THAT!.........

The Appalachia I Know

Hollywood's humanitarians are showing an interest, missionary's have been trekking along its hills and hollers for years. I was born and raised in the heart of it. I watched a 20/20 special the other night on the Appalachian mountains, this is a subject close to my heart. Diane Sawyer was correct when she said " When your born into these mountains,it's always in your blood".

No matter what television portrays the people of Appalachia to be,they will never zoom in on any of the good and hardworking people,instead they flock around looking for anybody with two first names (Jim Bob,Gerry Dale etc.) and at least six kids and they all live in a one bedroom makeshift trailer. And the mother of the family is thirty six with eight grand kids....To me, it's like when CNN goes straight to the trailer park after the tornado touches down and hopes they get a quality interview....
Ain't gonna work........

I know so many hard working people, people who have almost worked them self's into the grave,like my dad who started working in the coal mines at the age of twelve, and now only twenty nine percent of his lungs are functioning because of coal dust. Bodies so riddled with arthritis turning the pages of the bible are impossible. From years of hard work and long days where darkness falls early and the sun comes up late. Its a life that a lot of people can't comprehend,they just turn a blind eye at the ignorant backward mountain folk.. But not all these people are what they seem to the "out side world". Most Mountaineers are a stubborn and prideful people, taught to work hard and never look for a handout, people who start working when the sun comes up and stop when sun goes down.
Every time I go home to visit my family I pass by place after place of run down homes and closed store fronts, towns that once were but are just empty shells. Homes that should not be lived in but are...Children that have to learn early about how tough life can be...Some people don't take to kindly to those who move away...They see us as thinking we are better than them...we are not...Just looking for a better life for our children...Jobs are scarce and if coal mining isn't in your blood than your options are few. My brothers choose to follow my Dad's footsteps,one brother was injured and the other still crawls around underground to support his family. The life is hard and you can tell it on the faces of those who live it everyday. For everyone that works, there's one that is on welfare or drugs,and the children suffer greatly. No matter what television portrays Appalachia People to be,you can never appreciate the beauty of some of its people or the tranquility of the beautiful mountains.Besides,some of my favorite people are there.


One of my favorite things to do is to take a short ATV ride from my parents house to a place called High Knob...It's like traveling back in time... to a place that's magical...riding past remnants of what once was, you can see the fence rails from old home places,chimneys that still stand tall. When you get to the top you can see forever. breathe air so clean and crisp that you long for it when your gone. That's the Appalachia that stays in my heart...

OUR FAMILY PATRIARCH

There are only a few men that I have respect for. My Dad is number one, and then this man here follows suit.He is the leader of the Queen clan, my awesome 91 yr old father in law. Brick mason by trade,(who by the way still works)decorated WWII Veteran. This man still drives to town everyday for breakfast, chops his own wood, tills and plants his own garden...We celebrated his birthday this Sunday with his children, grandchildren,great grandchildren. What a wonderful way to end a week,surrounded by a remarkable family with a great history and a lot of love. Thanks for allowing me to be part of this great clan............. Happy Birthday Mr.PQ Queen