Betty The Builder

South of the Border

Taken July 18, 2008 through the window of my car

Friday morning I hit the road for a drive down to Savannah, GA.  I'm not usually one for long road trips alone but it was for my cousin's 50th Birthday so I sucked it up and got in the car.  The day before my journey, I got a full tune up on my car so I wasn't worried about car problems.  I hit the road around 7am arriving in Savannah 5 1/2 hours later.  I completely surprised my aunt, my cousin and her daughter.  It was really great because I hadn't seen my cousin or her daughter since my grandmother passed away in 1999.  For various reasons our lives have gone there separate ways.  So it was fun to get together.

The last (and only ) time I was in Savannah was March 17, 1989!  And I must admit that I really don't remember much of the city...since it was St. Patty's Day and it is a HUGE party there...I was a little too busy getting drunk and checking out guys to see much of the city.  I missed quite a bit.  Savannah is a great town.  So much history and folk lore and beautiful architecture and art and of course ghosts.  When I arrived the rest of the gang were at the "In the Garden of Good and Evil" tour which, according to them, was great.  I know I read the book and saw the movie but they were discussing parts that I really don't remember.  I guess I'll have to read that one again.  We went on a different tour later on Friday that was more about the general history of the town.  Its quite a fascinating place.  We had some great food too! 

On Saturday we walked more than I think I've walked since the breast cancer walk in November.  And it was hot and steamy!  I think we saw almost every square in the town (there are 22), we saw were they filmed a scene in "Something to Talk About" probably 22 times, walked down along the river and back, and then walked some more. 

After another great meal, we went on a ghost tour.  Savannah is known for many hauntings so we had to check it out.  According to our guide, there are several B&B's with haunted rooms as well as an old hospital that was recently refurbished, one of the squares where they would hang people has one famous resident and then of course there are the cemeteries.  It was quite entertaining and interesting.  I snapped a bunch of pictures hoping I'd get some paranormal activity but it seems they avoided my camera that night.  I did get a few weird images from my night setting on my camera but that's about it.

Taken July 19, 2008   Are there ghosts?

It was a great weekend and I'm actually looking forward to my next road trip.  And I definitely won't wait another 9 years to see my cousins.

Sunday Shredding

This is one of those tasks that I put off until I can't take it anymore.  My filing piles up on top of the file cabinet because I can't fit anymore stuff in the files.  And that's because I save things from years ago.  So then I buy one of those file boxes to store the old stuff.  Then that gets too full so I have to spend hours shredding old bills, receipts, pay stubs. 

This pile may not look that large but believe me it is!  If I had one of those industrial size shredders the job might go a little faster.  OR...here's a novel idea...do this task on a monthly basis...then it will only take a few minutes!  HA!  We'll see if that EVER happens!

Hopefully the shredder has cooled down so I can finish the rest.  I hope your Sunday has been more fun than mine!

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Update:  I officially killed the shredder!  John tried to fix it but it's toast.  I already ordered a new one from Staples.  And the scary thing is that I'm all excited.  Boy my life is sad...excited about a new shredder...oh boy!

Charlotte's Web

Taken July 9, 2008 attached to my house

I found this spider this morning as I was taking out some trash.  I just loved the web design and the spider's coloring.

What Are You Lookin' At?

Taken July 5, 2008 in my front yard

Happy One Week Anniversary

Jeanette & Paul, June 26, 2008

Congratulations to my dear friend Jeanette and her new husband Paul!  They've been married a week which is almost as long as the three weeks it took them to plan this wedding.  It was a wonderful ceremony in a beautiful setting in the Poconos with their family and friends sharing in their joy.  Here's to many more weeks, months and years of happiness as husband and wife. 

I love you both and can't wait to see you again...hopefully soon!

Li'l Feller

I took this photo on Saturday afternoon and I just had to share.  I think it has to be the best photo I've taken.  I sat on my hammock for quite some time watching this li'l feller (that's what my grandma used to call all li'l creatures) waiting for him to puff out his neck and I finally caught him. 

Every day I am just totally blown away by mother nature and all of her li'l fellers.

Finally...the babies

 

 

Friday afternoon, I was finally able to see both of our little babies.  John threw out some corn and they all came running.  The deer even let me out on the back deck so I could snap some photos.  Its amazing, they barely even flinched when I walked outside and usually as I walk closer they get startled and run.  Not this time, I had tons of opportunities for photos.  I just really need a tripod to get rid of the blurriness. 

This just never gets old.  How lucky we are to be observing this cycle of life. 

On another 'nature' note, we've seen a couple of hummingbirds and some lizards along with all of the beautiful birds.  I'll post some photos of those later. 

Routine

The view from my hammock.  May, 2008

This week I am finally getting back into my routine.  I made it to a pilates class last night and yoga tonight.  Slowly, I'm starting to get in my groove again.  My trip out west really took alot more out of me than I realized and the ear infection has not helped.  Of course if I had to do it all over again knowing what I know....I would totally do it.  Sometimes we do pay for all of that FUN! 

As for the ear infection, it is only 50% healed so now I'm on steroids for 6 days.  Is that enough to get me completely ripped - six pack abs and all?!?  Truth be told, steroids totally freak me out...I've seen what they can do to people who have to be on them for serious illness and I guess that's the vision I have.  I know that 6 days of this will not have that harsh an effect and if I don't take them, the doctor is worried about permanent damage.  So, I will just take my medicine, deal with it and move on.

Otherwise it is great to get back to exercising again.  Although last night at pilates in the middle of class, as our instructor was torturing us, I blurted out "so why did I miss this again?"....I got a great laugh from the class.  Amazing how you can have fun while your abs are burning!  And my yoga class is always fun.  We have a core group in this one class that even though we work hard, can get some good laughs in between poses.  I guess I find all of this so funny because I used to find any excuse possible to avoid working out.  Now I look forward to it.  I think it helps that I've found something I really enjoy, that's different every class, and the studio has a great group of people there.  It makes all the difference.

I think I just came down from my work-out high and I must go know....off to sleep.

Mama Deer

Here's a picture of our mama deer (one of them) several weeks ago.  She has since had a little fawn but I haven't seen him/her yet and will post photos as soon as I do.

I love seeing our deer and it just never gets old.  Yesterday morning we saw 4 or 5 wandering through the neighborhood and ran from window to window watching them.  I just love where we live!

More Good Things

Since I've been back from my LA Fantastic trip, I've been wallowing in self pity.  Mostly because I have a wicked ear infection and I'm on antibiotics and ibuprofen.  So basically, I'm miserable.

To get myself out of my funk, I decided to look at all of the good things, so I'm posting a new list.

Seeing this film with a live orchestra...with my best friend and her husband.

Getting tickets to a sold old show for this group (duo?) and laughing hysterically all night long.

Buying the dvd of the first season...and laughing hysterically.

Having dinner cooked for me every night...I am a lucky girl!

Coming down for work this morning (very late) to have a sandwich made for lunch already!

A new summery dress that I wore today.  Even though I felt crappy...I looked fabulous :)

This wonderful woman....she is constantly inspiring me. (And yes, that is my bum)

A new book coming soon from this lovely lady (who just happens to be my best friend...see how lucky I am)!  And pre-order her book...you won't be sorry!

Spending time with another wonderful woman last week who I am so happy to call friend

The hummingbirds are finally back!  I just love watching them flit around.

According to John, we have 2 fawns.  Although I haven't seen them yet I'm looking forward to the day that mama brings them out again.

Not feeling guilty about missing yoga and pilates...because hey...I'm sick!

Going to bed really early...even when its still light out....because hey...I'm sick!

See...I'm milking this sick thing for all its worth.  If I'm going to be this miserable, I might as well use it my advantage!

That's my list for now.  Pretty good things have been happening around here. 

P.S.  I wanted to post a photo but there seems to be some issues with uploading images.  Oh well.