The Next Big Thing

Today was a great day! I applied for my Business License in Goose Creek. According to the lady who waited on me, it should take about 2 weeks. Then I went over to the BCOC, Berkeley Chamber of Commerce and joined. The ladies there were awesome! I am so excited about this new venture!

The good news I keep putting off telling yall about is that I am starting up a new business in Goose Creek. I will post the details here very soon! I am over the moon about it!

Hope yall are having a great end of the week!

The Friday Five Thing I Am GRATEFUL for:

1. My loving husband.

2. My sister, even though she drives me insane a lot, I am grateful for her love and friendship.

3. My friends, they are the best.

4. My health. The freedom to move through life mostly pain free is a miracle to treasure, so many folks can't.

5. Living in this country, but more specifically living here in the lowcountry. We are so lucky!

Today, I am feeling exceptionally blessed. Pass it on.....

Remembering My Mom

Remembering...

she lived measuring
herself by her own
criteria rather than
the judegment of
others.

she laughed deeply
cried readily and
folded herself passionately into chosen arms.
she lived vitally and acted on impulse.
she managed her days as if she were
at game: coach and player both and
hard at it.

she knelt to be like children and
stood tall to aspire to certain greatness.
no one liked well her fury but rather
loved to be lavished by her generosities.
she learned as well as she taught but
never learned the grace of ease with
error - she preferred to be perfect.
we did not often tell her she wasn't.
and while she was not perfect - she
longed to love perfectly, protect and
inspire those she cherished and
those whome she named "friend".

our days shine
less brightly with her
absent them.
by maryanne mbl radmacher

I pray with all my heart that when I am gone this will also describe my life. Seven and a half years later, loving and missing her daily, I am.

The Happiest Place On Earth

Yesterday I saw a piece on the news that a couple in Orlando left their baby in a stroller while they rode the Pirates of The Carribean at Walt Disney World! What the hey? Turns out they were with a large group of family and the parents each thought the other had the baby. Nice.
The baby was unresponsive when workers/guests found her sitting in her stroller in the hot sun. She was administered to by EMS and she is fine. HELLO PEOPLE! Criminally negligent.
Should they go to jail? Not sure how I feel about that one. They should be punished, but I don't think jail is the answer. I wish judges had the power to be a little more creative with their punishment. Have them work under supervision with special needs children. Have them volunteer with the Special Olympics. Smack them upside their head. You know, creative! :)

Ann Coulter

I watched Joe Scarborough this morning on MSNBC. He really likes to listen to himself talk and he gets paid for it. Good for him. Sometimes I like him and sometimes, not so much. He has been talking about Ann Coulter all morning. He says he isn't defending her, but he still doesn't get it. He keeps calling people that don't agree with him stupid....nice, real nice.

Here's the thing. Ann Coulter has said some horrible things about John Edwards. Joe's contention is that she was making a joking reference to the Isaiah Washington issue by calling John Edwards a faggot. Uh, okay....not funny. Joe also contends that when she said she should just say that John Edwards should be killed by a terrorist attack, that she was jokingly referring to what Bill Maher said about Cheney. Again....not funny.

He doesn't understand why people were not outraged by Bill Maher, but they were outraged by Ann Coulter's comments. Excuse me, doesn't Ann Coulter tout herself as a political analyst/pundit? Bill Maher is .....wait for it.....A COMEDIAN!

Bill Maher....funny. Ann Coulter....NOT. She will say anything to sell more books, but as Elizabeth Edwards pointed out to her in a phone call, she debases the whole political commentary going on in this country. She tries to bring us all down to her level. She is pathetic.
That is all.

Where Does The Time Go?

Every day I have a list, as long as my arm, of things I need to get done. I'm not working right now. I am not taking any classes. Why is it the day gets away from me? When I was working 40+ hours a week, I seemed to get everything done that needed to get done. My time management skills are apparently lacking.

I start out the day later than most people. I don't get up until 9:25. No matter what I do, it's 12 noon before I know it! :) Then I have to find some lunch and suddenly it's almost time for Mike to get home!

Does this happen to you or am I the only one who piddles around too much?

Erynn's Pub In Goose Creek

This past weekend we went to Erynn's Pub, near the Naval Weapon's Station. We have been there several times for pizza. It's a nice little neighborhood type bar with legendary hot wings.

They call their wings "Corporal Punishment". If you can eat them, they are free. If you can't eat all 10 wings they are full price. It's insane. They bring them to you on fire........
They have a wall of Fame and a wall of Shame. It's ALL too much for me. I prefer to still have my taste buds intact!

We had what they call the Kings Feast Pizza the first couple of times we ate. This pizza has Pepperoni, Sausage, Ground Beef, Honey Baked Ham and Bacon. A heart attack waiting to happen! :) The price is pretty good, 14" Medium Pizza for $14.95. They also have a Large 18" size for $17.95.

The past couple of times we have been in we have gotten the Chicken Ranch Pizza, zesty ranch sauce, baked chicken breast, vine ripe tomatoes(we skip these), mozzarella, and cheddar cheese.
The first one we got was awesome, the second time it was awful...we forgot to ask for no tomatoes and it had too much ranch sauce, this weekend it was perfect! :)

They have a wide array of appetizers: chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, onion rings, nachos, french fries, etc. They also have sandwiches, pasta and salads. They have a full bar and VERY COLD BEER!

Each time we have come in the smoke has been either non-existent or not too bad at all. They have Karaoke some nights and that is always entertaining! :) The folks who work there are very friendly. They have a fooseball table and a couple of pool tables. We enjoy ourselves there every time we go in. If you are up in the creek, check it out!

Age Of Love

When I saw the commercials for this new NBC show Age Of Love with Mark Philippoussis, the tennis player dating 40yr olds and 20 yrolds. He has to decide whether he wants to be with an older woman or a younger woman. The ads keep saying the cougar or the kitten. Give me a break!

One of the women actually has a son this guy's age. The older women were all dressed in eveing wear and it was night time when they met him. My husband pointed out something about this woman we saw out the other day. He said she had old looking legs, they gave her away. The truth is that I found that to be true of some of these women too. One was 48 and said people say she doesn't look her age....she doesn't but her legs do!

The 20 somethings all meet him in their bikinis and the jacuzzi! They were each one more beautiful than the last. The camera catches them making fun of the older women saying he will pick one of them because they "can still have kids" and "my mom is 40!".

They have a cookout and then get in the hot tub....and there is dead silence! They don't talk to him or to each other. They have nothing to say. He gets them alone and they have a lot of nothing more to say. One girl, the big breasted blonde, said her little maltese/poodle mix had the same personality as she did! They showed an interview with him and he said I started wondering what the 40 year old's were doing. He missed the interaction and talking to women who knew what they wanted. Hysterical!

I hate the whole idea of this show. I know a lot of couples that have an age difference and if it works for you, great! I hate the idea of women competeing over one guy, who gets to choose from the group. It's so obnoxious. At least on the bachelor, they try to make it romantic along the way. They don't succeed, but at least it makes it fun to make fun of! This show is just pathetic.

Hot Hot Hot Trip To Vegas

We are headed to Las Veags July 8, so I better be getting used to the heat, eh? I have never been to Vegas and I can hardly wait! We just need a fun getaway. We were able to use frequent flyer miles so it's costing literally $20 total for both of us to fly out there and home. We even have first class seats on the way home! :) WOO HOO!



I think we are going to start walking here in the neighborhood every day to get used to walking around in the heat. When I worked outside everyday I was used to it, now I am a big baby! Where Mike works it is really hot all the time, so he is used to it to. I just want to be able to have a good time while we are away and not be tooooo drained by it.



There are so many cool websites for Vegas travel. I am getting lots of good info. Tripadvisor is good and the Las Vegas Advisor is good too. I am reading a lot of trip reports to get ideas of what people found to be fun and what was a waste of time. I keep reading over and over that you should not try to see it all while you are there. There are a few things I definitely want to experience on my first trip out. I want to win $$$$$$$$$$ and then the rest is just gravy! :)



Anyone have any good Vegas Tips? What is the one thing we should not miss? Email me or comment here. Thanks!

Captain Willian Hutchinson

I called my sister this morning to see if she was watching the funeral procession being broadcast on Channel 2. She said she had seen the pictures and couldn't figure out why Captain William Hutchinson looked so familiar to her. He had looked familiar to me too. After seeing a different picture of him, she remembered. He worked as a barber in his off time. He worked as a barber in the shop my dad got his hair cut at for years near the Naval Weapon's Station. He was always so nice and friendly. He talked a lot about is family. My dad thought a lot of him. Those guys in the barber shop never made my dad feel like a little old man or somehow less of a man in a wheelchair. They called him Master Chief and they respected him. They gave him some of his dignity back after he lost his leg. They came to the house to cut his hair after it became too hard for him to get out to their shop. Billy Hutchinson was by all accounts a brave man. By my accounts and those of my sister, he was quite a human being. We were lucky to have known him. I also understand he was a member of my dad's masonic lodge. I know my dad will be helping him cross over if he is able.

Memorial Service For The Charleston 9

Charleston Fire Chief Rusty Thomas was interviewed by Brad Franco and he is talking about each man and who he was with the department. He told a lot about who they were as people. He was and is close with all of his men. He is normally such a great man with a ready smile. It broke my heart to see him sobbing as he tries to come to terms with the loss of life. He said, "Burying one would be to many, but we lost 9 brave men". He also said his son, who plays baseball at the Citadel broke him up by telling him that since 9 were taken, God must have needed a starting line up for is baseball team. He got a good group, that's for sure. Brad told a story about a man explaining to his little boy why so many brave firemen were taken at once, he told his son, "God needed 9 of the best firemen to be angels to help keep the devil's fires out of heaven." That is as good a reason as I can come up with.





The service at the coliseum is being attended by Rudolph Gulliani, John Edwards, Governor Mark Sanford, the weasley looking guy in charge of Homeland Security, Joe Biden, Lyndsey Graham, The Indianapolis Fire Department sent folks to sing the national anthem - Beautiful!,


FDNY came down on a long bus ride to be here, those bagpipes are so haunting and beautiful. Just hearing them is amazing.





There are Drumers from the Emerald Society FDNY. They led the families in, so many small children. So sad. As I watch this, my heart goes out to those families. Grief is such a difficult and personal thing. I can't imagine having to go through it so publicly. I guess it could be helpful, maybe. I know that I had trouble when my mom died dealing with people saying they were sorry. They don't know what else to say, but after a while, it makes your head want to explode. These families lost their loved ones in such a tragic, public way. My heart goes out to each and every one of them.





Chaplain Rob Dewey with the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy gave the invocation. He was so broken up on the night of the fire. This man is truly amazing in the work he does. He is always there when tragedy strikes.



Mayor Joe Riley is talking about what those men did during that fire. He also spoke about Chief Rusty. He says that these men followed him because of who he is and how he leads. He says that Chief Rusty showed leadership and grace under pressure during that fire. "They entered that building and walked into the pages of the history of this city. They gave us now and those who follow us and example of how to live our lives. We will never be the same."



Governor Mark Sanford is such a good speaker. He took the time to make it personal for each of those families. " Live lives that would glorify the life that they lived. They serve as an inspiration to each one of us as individuals. Will we live a life that inspires? Three thoughts..1. Walk out of this place committed to living. Life is fragile and precious and fleeting. We know that. But what happens between the dots? Tombstones have a starting date and finishing date....what happens in between. Favorite quote from Braveheart by William Wallace "Remember that every man must die, but not every man gets to live." Cover of Forbes Magazine when Malcolm Forbes died, " While alive he lived. " The Bible sayds, "Be hot, be cold, but don't be luke warm." These men were fully engaged in life. You don't make a living fighting fires living life at half speed. 2. Will we serve others? Ultimate meaning in this life are the things you can't see the things you can't touch. Things like love and courage, service and sacrifice. 3. Will we commit to acting on belief? Who you are depends on what you are willing to stand up for in life. Will we be willing to walk the walk in life? Semper fi. The Marine credo "Always being faithful." In battle that Marine will stand and deliver because it is a core value of what a man is about, he is always faithful to that man to his left and to his right. These firefighters were faced with that critical test. This critical test compelled them toward the flame or away from it, each one answered the call. They walked there walk into the company of angels right up to heavens gate." Governor Sanford did an excellent job. He speaks like he is having a conversation with you. Very moving.



There are firefighters here from all over the world. St. Louis, Indianapolis, New York, Massachusetts, Atlanta, North Carolina, Rhode Island and more.



"Angels Among Us" sung by NC Fire and Rescue. Awesome!

Michael Chertoff, the Secretary Of Homeland Security read his notes. I appreciate that he was here. The president sent a personal message to be read on his behalf. Mr. Chertoff, arguably, does a good job, but he is no public speaker!

Chief Rusty is about to speak, he is so broken up. Bless his heart. "All week long people have been asking me how ya doin? I said if I can get past the first of this speech I will be okay.
I am proud to be a 4th generation firefighter. There is not a tight knit community around like the citizens of Charleston. The outpouring has been awesome. The city of chas the neighborhood fire stations are the centerpiece of our city. People visit daily, kids, grandkids, family. The city of chas fd you don't just have a badge number, everybody knows everybody and I know everybody personally on a personal basis. Most of the faimilies I know, the other night Chief Mullen from the police department said is there anybody you don't know. No sir that is part of my job. each member I know personally. I hiree 6 of these 9. I promoted each of them to their rank.

Mondy we lost men who died doin what they loved best they represented over 130 yrs of service to the chas fd. Three had over 90 between the 3 of them. This is how Rusty Thomas will remember each one of them I will be okay.

mike benke he had family in the fd He served for 29 years, he retired and returned he loved his job so much.

billy hutchinson My daddy nicknamed him lightning. Nicknamed by dad, my dad said Lightning would have to strike to ge thim to move fast. He went to work all the time. he did something people don't dream aobut, he retired and returned. He said Chief are you sure you gonna hire me back? I need a job!

luis mulkey What a guy! Summerville, the town and community will lose a great great person he meant so much to the kids at summerville. Football to basketball and he was a substitute teacher. Monday I was talking with the Battalion Chief from his station. He always said his dept is the best, picks on everybody all the time. While I was talking to the Battalion Chif I heard Luis say somehting smart in the background, but didn't make out what he was saying. We finished our conversation then my phone rang right back. It said that the call was from the battalion chief, I answered Yea Chief? and it was Luis, he said,"I just wanted to hear you call me chief one time." and he hung up. That was Luis.

brad baity You could go to work 24 hour period and he wouldn't say 10 words and if he did you had to ask him to speak up did his job quiet guy always on the computer talking to people all over the world.

Mark kelsey You know that little pink energizer bunny? That was Kelsey round the station he didn't want to do to much sweeping and cleaning or checking his truck off. All he wanted to do was fight fire. He was a little banty rooster he was here, he was there. His part time job he worked at ashely river fire department, tell me this man didn't love fighting fires!

mike french he only been 2 years with me. He got everybody in the fd to talk for him to get a job. Everybody said why don't you hire mike? The way he finally got a job was my secretary said chief please give mike an interview, he comes here everyday! He would hunt me down all over town and say Chief you got any openings? Tell you about Mike we had to use a reserve truck the other day. My mechanic was showing Mike how to drive the reserve ladder truck. Mike said man Chief how old is this truck? I said it's a 1980. He said Chief this truck is older than me! He tried and tried he came to the office. He sat in front of me. He didn't wanna know about the pay or the insurance, the only thing he wanted to know was, when do he would get one of those badges. I told him he would have to get trained throught the recruitingclass. He was so excited, he went out the door. My secretary asked me is he gonna sign any papers, I told her, I don't think so, he's just going on! He wants a job!

melvin champaign His cousin called me,we went to school together. He said, "My cousin wants a job. He's kinda old but he wants a job." I said, "Tell him to come in he came to the office he had on a leather hat with a feather sticking out of it he wanted to know hey chief i just want to help people, that's all."

earl drayton oh my gosh, he been fd longer than me we came in together on cannon street together, i told you before i started if i got here i would be okay i love talkin about them we weren't married we would stay up til 2 or 3 in morning i was driving wer got a call 1977 housr fire st phillip & morris he's hoolerin rusty get this thing going thats my house! and it was Hot water heater on fire. retire and return he came to me and he had 30 years on the job. yeah I'll hire you back i, 56 years old . eraland billy and benke engine 16 and 19 2 truck 1 station earl wanted to chief on cell phone can i go next door with billy i sure would like to be onthe turck with him you sure he wants you yeah he does we;ll make a good team. change he shaking around while hes talking to you chief you gonna move me? I'm about to move the whole station , billy calls....earl says your moving me. the whole station you included

brandon thompson from summerville wanted a job with me came to me and I gave him a job. everytime he get a nose dribble he wanta go home sick he show up downstairs with his dad a cast on his right leg and a set of crutches, chief i was helping afriend of mine cut a tree and it fell on me iI will be out 3 months we got a problem yes sire chief we do he ain't got no money we aint' got a lot of one leg firement around here. I gave him ajob testing fire hydrants. his da dwould not leave until we found him and brought him out. His son helped bring brandon out and w elet that happen you know what chief if you wouldn'a done that to help him out I don;t know what he would have done with his life.

these are the memories and the relationship I have with these guys and everysingle one of those guys back there that belong to me. The city lost 9 great people. I am almost done. Many of us went to ny after 9/11 when i got hom if oudn the tshirt all gave some and some gave all. these guys gave it all every single day they came to work. they gave it all to our community every single day. they owould want us to carry on the tradition of the city of charleston fire dept alway sgo forward, keep moving evyeoner of us wil pledge and honro to do that for them

we had a breakfast at th egaillaird autitorium I gave them a challenge and it all starts iwth me. we will never forget each one of thsoe stations i want them to do something every single day we will never forget these nine great heros we will serve this community like no one else has ever served.

"How Great Thou Art" Seacoast Church Choir beautiful.

Monsinor John Roth spoke and prayed. The names of the fallen were read. The bell was rang for each of them. Then Taps was played. That song tears at my heart.

The bagpipes and drummers played Amazing Grace. So incredibley beautiful and sad.

The Reverend Jimmy Gallant III did the benediction. He said the benediction means it's all right with God. His son is a fireman. He spoke well.

Drummers and pipers played out the color guard, playing America The Beautiful.

1:06AM

Does anyone else think it isn't cool for construction to be going on in the house next to us at this hour of the morning? It has been going on now for at least 3 hours. I understand deadlines, but come on! Sounds like they are packing up. I guess they could feel the irritation coming from inside this house! I wonder if Goose Creek has any kind of noise ordinance? Time for bed...visions of nail guns dancing in my head....

Friday, June 22 Official Day Of Mourning

Mayor Joe Riley has designated Friday as the Official Day Of Mourning for the 9 firefighters who lost their lives this week. It is also my late mother's birthday. The sun has not really been shining since the fire. It's odd, as if even the sky doesn't want to smile.

Grief Envelopes The City

The weather on Wednesday has really been appropriate for the way most of the City is feeling. The tragic loss of life in the fire at the Sofa Super Store is difficult. Sad, dreary, rainy, cloudy day. Listening to the news reports and the firefighters tell what happened, you hear so much survivors guilt in their voices. My heart aches for them.

It brings to mind that Joe Dee Messina song that was embraced by so many firefighters after the 9/11 tragedies. The name of it is "Bring On The Rain" by Billy Montana and Helen Darling, the part I am thinking of says,
"Tomorrow's another day and I'm Thirsty anyway so Bring On The Rain".

I gotta get to bed. Tomorrow's another day and I for one am looking forward to the light. Bring on some sunshine, it will do us all some good.

9 Firefighters Dead

9 Firefighters are dead from the fire last night at the Sofa Super Store in West Ashley. Unbearably sad for our community and their families. I heard this morning, that Battalion Chief O'Donald is okay. He was unhurt, thank goodness. I have received emails from friends all over the country who have heard about this tragedy online or on television.

This is just another example of how short life really can be. The lesson to live life to the fullest is one of the hardest. We become complacent in our daily routine. Shake it up a little bit this week. Do something out of the ordinary for yourself. Shake it up in honor of those brave men who lost their lives doing their job, walkinig into the flames. Blessings.

Sofa Super Store Fire - Firefighters Missing

Just saw on the news that The Sofa Super Store in West Ashley has burned to the ground. According to Channel 4 news tonight, there are several Firefighters unaccounted for at this time. My prayers go out to all the local firefighters and their families. Hoping everyone is soon found to be alive and well. I am thinking tonight especially of Tommy's good friend, Battalion Chief Robert O'Donald. He is surely one of the most genuinely nice men I have ever met. He is exactly what a fireman is supposed to look like! :) I am praying he was either not there at all or made it home safely to his family tonight. Take a minute to say a little prayer tonight for those who go in, while others are running out.

Crazy Tourists Part 2

Lots of fun stuff happened this weekend, I will post all the good stuff later today.

For now, here are a few more in the tourist comment/questions that make ya laugh!
One spring I started writing down things people said or asked when I was working in the shop for Palmetto Carriage Works. This shop is located in the historic Market area of Charleston.

1. Can you tell me the difference between the boat tour and the carriage tour?

2. How long will it rain?

3. Don't you have enclosed carriages?

4. As the team of mules are jumping up in the air spooked by something a helpful tourist says,
"If you would take that metal thing out of their mouths, they would probably be a lot easier to get settled down."

5. Overheard as two tourists were waiting on a carriage tour. "It was real eerie walking through the market knowing slaves were once sold on those very tables. You could just feel their anguish."

6. Where can I buy a stuffed bannana tree?

7. Are we just going to keep on seeing more houses on this tour? Where's the city?

8. We want the carriage that goes by the plantations.

9. Do you have a guide that can talk?

10. When the city started regulating the areas (zones) that the carriages were allowed to travel through folks went nuts. Zone 1 goes along the battery between Meeting and East Bay. Zone 2 is down to South Battery between King or Legare and Meeting. Zone 3 goes to the College Of Charleston, Ansonborough area. That is the simplified version of the very complicated Zone system. The Zone is determined by loading up a carriage and pulling up to what the city calls a gatekeeper and they literally pull a ball out of a bingo machine. SOOOOO this caused all sorts of issues with people not seeing the things they wanted to see. "We don't want Zone 1 now, we want to see go down to the battery."

11. We want the good zone. You know, the one that goes to the battery & by the College Of Charleston and to the Citadel. We went on that tour last year and it was great! (There is no such tour)

12. Can you tell me how to get to the historic area?

13. Can you tell me how to get to the battery? What is it anyway?

14. We want the carriage tour that goes along the beach.

15. What street is the mall on?

16. And one of my all time favorites, telemarketers calling Palmetto Carriage Works... "Hello, may I speak to Mr. Carriage? (imagine this with some weird French pronunciation---Ca-Ri-AHGE)

LOVE THOSE TOURISTS~ :)

Never Had A Son Before

When Mike and I got married in September, I gained a son. A grown son, but nonetheless, a son. I have never had a son before. He is 20 years old now. When Mike and I were getting serious, Josh was a senior in school. He was in the ROTC and planned to join the Army. He graduated from boot camp and Mike went to the graduation. On the way home, he brought his son by to meet me. The first time I saw Josh he was in his dress uniform and he was charming.

He hugged me and we took a picture together in my dad's living room. After a short respite at home, he was sent to Fort Lewis in Washington State. Before he left Mike brought him by to meet my father, I wasn't home, but he got to meet my sister and my dad. My dad was a 37 year career military man. The 19 year old newly minted soldier and the 83 year old sea dog had a mutual respect for each other right away. On that note, he left to go train with the Strykers.

In March, Mike was really missing his son and Josh was a bit homesick, having never been away from home before then. We got it worked out for Mike to go visit Josh in Washington State. My dad had been in the hospital, but was so proud of Josh and really excited for Mike to go see him. We were and are really proud of him. He had a chance to visit with him and meet the folks he was training with. I think it gave him a lot of peace of mind to see the men who were teaching and taking care of his son. With one day left of his trip, my dad passed away. Mike flew home to be with me. (LOVE THAT MAN)

Josh did well in his training, taking some time to get used to his new freedom from mom and dad....not from Uncle Sam though. After his initial training was through, he was assigned to Vilseck Germany and has been there ever since. In that time he was able to come home this Christmas for a bit. Mike was able to see him some while he was home. He has, it would seem done a lot of growing up since he has been in Germany and on his own. He's not the most communicative of folks, but after all that isn't very surprising as men are not known for their communication skills! :) LOL He has recently asked a woman he met there in Germany to marry him. I am very happy for him, that he has found someone with whom to share his life.

It was recently announced publicly that his brigade will be deploying to Iraq in August. He was scheduled to come home this summer, but his leave was cancelled. Everyone was very dissappointed. According to our "beloved" Commander and Chief, the tour of duty for Army soldiers currently being deployed will now be 15 months long! That is just insane in my opinion. To send a man away from his family for over a year is just ridiculous. ANYWAY.

I am so grateful that there are men and women in this world who are willing to put their lives on the line for the freedom's that I enjoy. I pray every day for their continued safety. I could not be more proud that Josh, my son, is one of those brave, highly trained men. We will most likely not see him before he leaves to do the will of the President of the United States. That in and of itself is a difficult thing to take.

I have faith in the ARMY that trained him. I have faith in the officers who lead him. I have faith in his fellow soldiers who will watch his back. I have faith in his strength of body. I have faith in his strength of mind. I have faith in his fearless bravado. I have faith that these things that make up the funny, strong, brave, smartass that is the son of the man I love will bring him back home safe and sound.

Prayers and good vibes, as always, are appreciated!

The Day Of Repairs

This morning started with a bleary eyed realization that the doorbell was ringing, repeatedly. I stumbled out of bed and saw a repairman and truck in front of my house. I opened up the door and stuck my head out and without my glasses on tried to figure out what the heck was going on. The guy was 90 minutes early! Yes, that's right one and a half hours early! :)
SO I told him to give me 5 minutes and I would be right out. He waited in the truck while I got my teeth brushed and out of my pajamas! My hair was lovely and I wore no makeup. It was not a pretty sight.

The good news is he was followed by the half a dozen other folks who were to show up today and make my new house even MORE perfect! :) Between the paint, cleaner and polish aromas wafting about, I had quite a high going before too long. Yes, it was lovely.

When they all left around 1:30 or 2:00pm, I was left with a perfect house. A perfectly still full of unpacked boxes and unplaced furniture....house. Ah....perfect!

Which Path To Take?

Today as I ran errands here in "the creek", I saw a sign advertising an office space for rent. I called on a lark and the price was incredibly $375 a month. Most of the offices available in this area are well over $1000 a month! I met the woman and looked at the space. It would work easily for massage. Then she mentioned another space she had for $475 that included electricity! So, I went to look at that space. It is next to a salon! This seems to be too good to be true. I wasn't really looking for an office space.

In the past month or so I have really been disheartened with the nursing student world. Just so many prereqs and such a long waiting list. I am also worried about how I will do at the nursing home, if I ever get that far! :)

My whole reason to get into nursing was to be able to help people and to have a stable income and benefits for myself and my husband. He has great benefits where he works, but when he retires he will have to pay his own. I also don't like not contributing to the household. That is my issue, not his. Anyway, I know that I am good at massage. I just need to get my license renewed. I am in the process of doing that now.

The down side, no benefits and unstable income, starting new business. The up side, work my own schedule, already have the training, less than a mile from my house, I like doing it, I am good at it. I guess I am really just talking myself into it. I don't know. I talked to my sister about it earlier and I felt like she was dissappointed in me. Whatever. No matter what I do, it has to be the right thing for me. I think I am through pounding my head into a brick wall in regards to nursing. Maybe it just isn't meant to be. In reality, I guess I have been nursing since the moment my mother was diagnosed with cancer in 1999 until my father passed away in 2006. Actually it all began when dad had his leg amputated in 1996.

Maybe the burnout I got with massage had more to do with being drawn in every direction and less to do with the actual massage business. I also think I had allowed my clients to take my for granted a bit. I have more to think about, but I am leaning more toward renting the space and starting over AGAIN! :) Thoughts? Post a comment or you can email me privately if you would rather. Any input will be appreciated!

The Soprano's Finale

How do we feel about the finale? The whole time I was expecting someone besides Phil to get whacked! How about the scene where his head was run over and those guys were puking! LOL That had me cracking up!

I thought for sure that Meadow would be walking in on them being killed. I guess with the black screen they leave the ending to each persons imagination. Ah well, I for one am sorry to see it go.

Saturday At The Shady Lady

After lunch on Saturday, Mike and I went by the Shady Lady to watch some of the pool tournament they were having. We walked in and immediately noticed Earl Strickland was there, he is a professional player. Mike has taped some of the billiards tournaments on our DVR and he is in quite a few of them. Mike said this must be a pretty big tournament. Turns out it is somewhat of a tribute to Tony Elin(sp?) he was a local guy who made a name for himself in the billiards world. He was killed in an accident 6 years ago, when his car was struck by a train. His wife Shelby has been to our house before to get cues repaired. She has since remarried to a nice guy who runs one of the leagues here. Anyhow, there were a lot of big name players at the bar.
It was cool to see them play average folks! They are very approachable and seemed to be very nice. Nick Varner was there. He was nice and looks somewhat like a little clown without makeup. That sounds bad, but I don't mean it in a bad way, I swear!

The most delightful thing of all was that Johnny Archer was in attendance. You have to understand, before Mike and I got together, I knew nothing of professional billiards. I mean, I had seen The Hustler and The Color Of Money and I knew who Minnesota Fats was....that was it. Mike is an excellent player and quite a student of the game. His work in cue repair is second to none. So he has been around a lot of this stuff and understand the history of the game and the characters therein. He records a lot of the tournaments that are televised now that we have Directv DVR (WE LOVE THIS). As we are watching, I ask a lot of question. (Shocked arent you?) I like to know the players nicknames. I love the shady characters and the colorful characters that make up the game. They have these monikers that sometimes suit them and sometimes it's a play on their names. So anyhow, this guy Johnny Archer is known as The Scorpion. That just sounds so much like some James Bond nemesis that it made me laugh. When I saw the guy on TV, I cracked up. He doesn't look nearly as intimidating as you would imagine. It is sort of ridiculous to me that this guy from Georgia has this scarey sounding name! I started saying his name with a lot of drama and in a whispery accent. Totally making fun of it and saying things like "The Scorpion has his next victim in his sights" "a mere mortal might miss this shot, but not the Scorpion, for him it is child's play", etc. It helps to imagine a British accent! ROFLMAO I know you had to be there, but trust me it was funny.
You can imagine how hard I was giggling when I realized we were in the same room as THE SCORPION! :) For the record, he is an incredible pool player and seems to be a very nice guy. I just couldn't stop laughing at the whole thing.
What is really cool is that we got to watch these hall of fame and future hall of fame caliber players here in town a mile from our house. We had been talking about trying to get to Vegas for a tournament, etc. So here they were and we just stumbled upon the whole thing! Way cool!
Since it was hotter than Hades yesterday, we sat inside this bar and drank ice cold beer. It was a lot of fun. So much drama and FUNNY people watching. We had a blast. And it was neat that some local folks will have a chance to say they played in a tournament with these famous players. Some of them even played them or should I say got beaten by them! LOL
Mike and I had a great time, I love going places with him. We saw several folks we knew and a good time was had by all!
In closing....BEWARE OF THE SCORPION.....he could turn up where you least expect it!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :)

Fabulous Friday

A few Friday Fun Things To Do This Weekend

1. Piccolo Spoleto Finale - A fun time at Hampton Park downtown on Saturday. Bring a picnic or buy food from vendors on-site. This is the finale for the laid back! Families with children and folks that just want a casual kick back will love this event.

2. Ocean's 13 Premiere - I cannot wait to see this one! Mike and I are headed to Vegas in July. That is one of the reasons I want to see this movie, but also anything that has Clooney, Pitt, Damon and Garcia in it, I'm there!

3. Moonlight Mixer On Folly Pier - Friday night from 7pm - 11pm. Oldies, Beach Music and dancing under the stars at the beach. Sounds like a fantastic time to me. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 on-site. Call 795-4386 for more information.

4. COWBOY MOUTH - Friday, Saturday and Monday night at the Windjammer on the Isle Of Palms. This band has such a history with the Holy City. 886-8596 for more information.

5. Saved the best for last. HARRY O'DONOGHUE AT TOMMY CONDON'S! Friday and Saturday night starting around 9pm. This guy is the very best Irish Troubadour in the business! I have been listening to Harry sing since around 1991. He has a great voice, a quick wit and a ready smile. Go check him out and don't forget to give him some love in his tip jar!

Paris Hilton On The Front Page Of The P & C

Paris Hilton is on the front page of the Post & Courier. Now this offends me on so many levels. A week or so ago, I was reading our local paper and came to the obituary pages. On the far right hand side of the page there was a picture of 3 soldiers. At first glance it looked like they had died. Upon reading the article, I soon realized they had been awarded medals. They were being praised. With everything going on in the world today. That should be front page news! NOT paris hilton getting out of jail early. PLEASE.
The art of DISTRACTION. Heaven help us all.
PEACE

Barbara Walters' Hair

For the love of all that is holy! Does Barbara Walters have no one in her life that will tell her the truth? Her hair is horrific! Until recently, I thought she had such pretty hair. I thought she looked great for her age. Now she looks like she forgot to take off that ridiculous Marilyn Monroe wig she wore at Halloween! Not only is it platinum blonde, but it looks like it needs combing. She looks RIDICULOUS! I can't even find the words to explain how bad it is. She looks like she has on a really bad wig. I hope she changes it soon. The color makes her look sooooooooooooooooooooo old and washed out. Enoy the view, indeed.

Wish Me Luck

The manager of the sofa super store called me to apologize about the trouble with the furniture and assures me that they will make it right. Wonder what he is going to do about the damage to my doorway and foyer? We'll see. Say a little prayer....the fellow from the store is coming to repair the damage to the wood on the sofas today. He will be here between 1 and 2. Mike can't be here until 2, so I hope the guy is still here when he gets here. I just want to make sure that the work he does is acceptable. Mike knows a lot about wood working, so I want to make sure the guy isn't trying to take advantage of me! I hate that as a woman, I have to worry about that kind of stuff, but you do.

I hope they do a good job. I'll keep ya posted!

GREAT NEWS!

At last! Dad's house is sold! :) WOO HOO! I hate to jinx this whole thing, we have a signed contract and we have agreed on terms. The house still has to be inspected, etc. This is such a huge relief. It will be sad to get rid of the house, once it's gone. I know I will be melancholy about not being able to go inside the house I grew up in anymore. But the last years were difficult. My mom was sick with lung cancer in that house, then 7 years later my daddy died in that house. Those things were huge and painful. The memories of the good times are still intact and I carry those with me. The folks buying the house are a young couple with a young child. In a way it is the natural progression of things. Here is a new family starting their new life in our old house. It's nice to me that a family is about to start making more good memories in that house. They will be right down the street from their mother. She went to school with my sister, so it's a good move for them. The grandma watches the child during the week, so it's very convenient.
Keep your fingers crossed it all works out for everyone! They are hoping to close by the 28th of this month. WHEW!

Mmmmmm......LEATHER

I am typing away to you from the comfy cozy new LEATHER loveseat we received on Friday. Actually this is the second complete set of sofa, loveseat and cloth wing back recliner chair we have had delivered from Sofa Super Store. The first set was delivered on Wednesday and 5 minutes after they left it I found quite a bit of damage to the wooden portions of both the loveseat and the couch. Oh and did I mention that the chair squeaked and wobbled like it had been dropped of the top of some large building?



So we called the store and they replaced them Friday. The same two guys showed up and this time the furniture only had small nicks in the wood and the chair was perfect. They are supposedly going to send someone over to fix the nicks in the wood. Meanwhile they completely screwed up the doorway and the wall in the foyer. NICE! I took digital pictures to show the company, not sure if they will do anything about it, but I am going to at least let them know that it is really more than just a bit of a rub.



I LOVE this furniture! We have been looking for the set we liked for almost a year. It is just what we wanted and looks great with the curtains we put up in the living room. We also bought roman shades to go behind the curtains, Mike got them hung up today and they look great!



We are slowly....very slowly getting things fixed up in our new house. It takes so much time and $$, it's unreal. Also, you have to be able to visualize how something will look in your space and you have to decide how you want your space to look. UGH!

We are getting there....s....l....o....w...l...y.

Gotta go to bed, more later!

Friday Five For Fun!

1. Clean out roach infested shed.
2. Vaccum out said shed.
3. Watch as moving men not only damage my new wood and leather couch (for the second time) but also the entire wall in my new foyer.
4. Itch and burn horribly from the acne medicine I put on the HUGE zits on my chin.
5. Scream at the newspaper when for anther day there is NOTHING at all on the front page about the war in Iraq.

NOW SOME REAL FUN

1. Husband off today ! Woo Hoo!
2. Lunch at FATZ!
3. Finally getting through with my dad's house.
4. Making a counter offer to the contract written on my dad's house!
5. Admiring my beautiful new furniture in the living room. My first all new living room furniture, I feel like such a grown up! :)

THAT IS ALL.