During my chat with Linda this morning.....

.........we were talking about the wonderful things that go on in our lives, the simple pleasures that others miss out on, especially those where we can say, "Thank you, Lord!".

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I told her that in my blog posting today I mentioned some of the things which have lifted my spirits recently, and remembered a very valuable and profound statement made by Justin. He was talking to me about a girl he knows, actually a woman, who "never has anything wise to say". My eyebrows went up because, gulp!, is that me he is talking about???? When I said something like that to him, immediately he came back, (himself being very wise!), saying, "Oh, no, you always have something wise to say!" Whew! I may not be very smart, but wise goes a long way. I told Linda I'd like that on my grave marker: "She always had something wise to say----wise aleck, wise _ _ _, or just plain wise!!" Make a note of that someone, please. Or, the marker could read: She always had something to say--period!

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This will be my goal, to make sure I always have something wise to say. I told Linda, after she told me about a sermon Pastor Hahm gave from Proverbs, that I am going to make Proverbs my project, starting tomorrow. So there! Oh, you're going to hear it now, folks, hang on to your hats, we're going for a ride!

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To all my Proverbs 31 friends!

Let the games begin!!

How fabulous were those opening ceremonies last night?? Wow!!!!

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A small group of us watched on an antennae-less TV at church last night as we scrapbooked. Having a clearer picture would have made the fireworks and light shows that much more spectacular but we got the basic idea of the grandeur of this amazing spectacle. Of course, my favorite part was the song sung by Sarah Brightman and a partner. Several people called me during the song to make sure I was watching the program and not missing her performance. That was quite touching, to have so many people "in the know" and care whether I missed seeing my favorite singer!!!!

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Twila ran out of pictures to mount so we decided to pack it in somewhat earlier than usual and headed home to watch the introduction of the nations. One of our croppers was a "virgin", with last night being her very first venture into the world of scrapbooking!!!! It was exciting for the rest of us to see her take the first steps into the "web" of this most excellent pasttime! Sheila came part way by bus, stopping first at Michael's to buy adhesive for her photos, and then proceeded to walk from that plaza all the way to church, getting caught in the rain in the process. I wish she'd have called me, I'd have been glad to swing down there and collect her. All in the name of our craft! I took her home by car afterwards.

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Mom was lamenting there not being any news to sink her teeth into these days, having grown weary hearing about the Brett Favre debacle. Since she cares not about football, Brett, and all the ramifications this mess brings to the Packers and their history, she wants some solid news. Well, beside the Olympic stories, bombing is taking place in Russia/Georgia (my poor novice cropper thought it was the USA's Georgia!), John Edwards' extra-martial affair being exposed, and the missing child from Orlando should provide something to distract from Brett Favre for awhile.

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On Fox and Friends, one the "teasers" for an upcoming story is "what does John Edwards' wife think about his affair?" What an incredible question to ask!!! She's already had to bury one of her children, is raising some little ones yet, all the while bolstering her husband's political ambition and, oh yes, battling cancer------hhhmmmm, I wonder what she thinks......I LOVED his remarks about being caught up in the power of the moment and behaving quite narcissistic during the campaign for president. Ya think???? Getting stroked by the public, told over and over how great you are, being married to a less-than svelte, albeit faithful, woman...yeah, something's gotta give!!!! John Edwards as a victim......go figure!

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I've had some rather uplifting moments in recent days, aiding in raising my sagging spirit. One day I opened a thank-you card from a lady at church which went on for two sides of the note, giving me almost embarrassing compliments and thanks for the things I do at church, etc. Holy cow! If it's going to be like this, I'll bring pizza to church more often! Seriously, though, this lady is a dear and I'm truly flattered by her appreciation and thanks.

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My friend, Brenda W., told me on Tuesday that she never did anything or went anywhere until I came into her life, later adjusting this to include my former business, opening doors for her. She'd never flown before she met us, she never went on a cruise before, and once, when she was having a bad day at work, I coerced her into taking a day off so we could go to St. Augustine for a day on the "Parrot Head" with the other Brenda and her friend, Carey. This was the first time Brenda W. was ever a tourist in St. Augustine, being born and raised in the Jacksonville/Clay County area!!!

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Two different people contacted me via e-mail asking for my counsel on something, one about a Bible reference and another about dealing with her babysitter arrangements. I couldn't help Lisa with her question because instead of sitting at my desk to help her, I found myself at the pool chatting it up with some other guests. She called later to say she'd made her own decision and it went well. Good! But I am flattered she thought enough of my advice to ask first!

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Having the prospect of the family coming also makes my heart sing, only a week now before they arrive. I am trying to plan a Ladies' Group breakfast outing but the restaurant we chose cannot accommodate us. The social would be the morning my family gets here so there's time between events, no worries as far as this goes. I might call Holiday Inn to see if they have a buffet breakfast we can take advantage of instead of Grumpy's. Nuts! Lisa was telling me that the boys keep talking about "Kim, Kim in Floooreeeda" so I have to try my best not to disappoint them! Even though they have a car reserved, I am thinking I might go out to help haul peoples or luggage since traveling by car vs. mini-van is a big difference room-wise. They go to Milwaukee by van and leave JAX in a regular car, 5 people plus luggage. I just want to see them first, that's all! I don't know if Justin is coming that day or not, but if he is, perhaps he'd swing by the airport and bring his auntie Lynn and some "bags" here with him......

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Justin and I are spending the day together again, this time starting with a movie "Traveling Pants 2", which is filmed in Santorini. I may have mentioned this before.........He wants to see it badly but can't ask his buddies to go see it, not cool, you know? After the movie he thinks we'll have time for a nibble at Steak 'n Shake before heading over to church at Victory. Following worship I'll go home to watch the preseason football game in the comfort of my family room. No sports bar for me, not for pres-season anyway. By the way, Lynn wants me to get some tickets for the December 14th game, Jags vs. Packers, and she'll come down again to attend the game!!! Help me get tickets everybody, please???

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Justin and I met at the bank yesterday to open a checking account and get a credit card for his use. Justin has no credit history so we must get some established so I won't have to co-sign the lease again for their condo. I hate being the only grown-up on the lease, with the possibility of me getting "stuck" with it if the other guys wouldn't pay their share. I'd rather it be Justin's battle than mine, isn't that thoughtful of me? Just another service I offer, accountability! The little bank man helping us offered a way for me to access his accounts to add money or simply monitor transactions, which at first was a good idea. Justin said, "Oh, she'd love that" at the same time I was saying, "No, I don't think so." GULP!!!! This is huge for me, HUGE!!!! Justin was as blown away as I was, but I was the only one tearing up....of course.

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He thanked me for helping get his account set up and putting in the seed money, so he took me to lunch. We were going to lunch anyway but it sounded good at the time. He had a gift card to use at Chili's so I had my chix fingers and he this enormous southwestern salad. Yummy!

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I hit my Publish button by mistake so forgive me for that.....I had one more thing to mention about the Olympics production last night. I was moved to tears by the sight of the little boy walking alongside the very tall basket player (I know I should be familiar with him!). The little fella had been buried in the rubble of the recent earthquake and was able to be rescued. And, once rescued, he went back to help dig for his classmates because "he was a classroom leader and had to help them". 20 of his thirty classmates perished in the quake. If he needs someone to adopt him, I am throwing my name into the hat for him!

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I am sad about one of my favorite actors, Morgan Freeman, from The Bucket List. First he was in a serious car accident, badly injured, and now he's getting a divorce from his wife of 24 years. I reallllllllllyyyyy have a problem with that! And now Bernie Mac died, being publicized only minutes ago. He had made some bad jokes at an Obama rally not long ago and took some heat for it, and now is dead, from pneumonia. It is so fleeting sometimes, fleeting.

Two posts today, in case you didn't notice!!!!!!

On a roll today!

I guess I have some catching up to do, updating-wise......Let's see, where shall I begin?

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Let's work backwards: Last night was spent making evangelism calls to several families who had registered their kids for VBS. Leann and I set out from church about 6:45 pm after a briefing with Pastor. Instead of using the GPS, we had a giant map book to help us find these homes. He'd marked them with Post-It notes and highlighter which is fine, but it was the getting to the arrow and highlighted area that proved tricky. I wore my superhero glasses, which is what I call them since they have "accu-vision" lenses, to help read the street names and house numbers as Leann drove. She is also quite adept at turning around, and eventually we were able to visit four homes before our game was called on account of darkness.

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One area where we were looking ended up being a dead-end, not too far from my friend, Martie's, home. I called her to ask how we'd find this address and she said, "No, no, no, no, no! You do not want to go to that neighborhood! Not now, not ever!!!" Okay, great! Now what? I assured her we were big girls (which we are!!!!) and that is was still light out and we were only dropping off a folder. She said "okay" and then directed us. Apparently the road we were looking for was dissected when the freeway was put in so we had to retrace our steps all the way back to Blanding Blvd. and then look from there. We actually did find the neighborhood and located the correct trailer, only to be met with a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on the door. That's all we needed to see so we bid a hasty retreat after leaving our folder on their porch. Whew! I asked Martie if I should call Mark, her son, for a police escort and she thought this would be a good idea.....we did just fine without any help other than from the Lord.

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The earlier part of my day was spent at home, since my scrapbooking ladies weren't able to come. Again, nuts!

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Tuesday was a full, fun day for me, however! The morning began with water aerobics (it just occurred to me that I missed class this a.m.!!! ooops!) and then enjoyed some poolside chatting with my neighbors, Ellen and Judy B. Ellen's husband mixed up some of his wonderful fruit smoothies which are quite delicious. The flavor was peach and strawberry this time, South Carolina peaches, to be specific. Yummmy!

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Her hubby and she have since left to go "on tour" with the band, meeting the group for a show in New Orleans. It will be quiet around here now without Ellen! Actually it will be great for her hubby to get back on tour since he's been pretty well laid up following another hip replacement surgery this year. His previous one liked to pop out of the socket at the most inconvenient times! When is it truly convenient to have your hip come out of the socket??? Anyway, she'll be back on the weekend sometime and things will return to normal 'round here.

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I didn't get to sit poolside terribly long as I had lunch plans with my friend, Brenda W., out in Middleburg. We agreed to meet at Smokey's BBQ, my first visit to their new location. I arrived first and found my friend, Christine and her boyfriend, Greg, already having their lunches. What a delight! Greg just happens to be Brenda's brother and lives on the same driveway as Brenda's family. I refer to them as the "Ewings" because in that "Dallas" family everyone lived in the same house or, at least, somewhere on the property! Greg and Brenda's parents also live on the same driveway, which can also be considered a road.

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We enjoyed our corn nuggets and conversation which had to be cut short by my next appointment, with Brenda's daughter-in-law, for my pedicure. Her shop is in the same plaza as Brenda's office so it couldn't have been more convenient. I finally had to give in and have my toes done because they were driving me nuts---rough, ragged, and just plain ugly. My intent was to wait until after water aerobics is completed because the scraping and such we do wreak havoc on our toes. Couldn't do it, though, had to give in! Brenda took my seat in Lisa's chair when I was done, and I would have loved chatting some more. I had to continue on down the road to my hair appointment. I purposely booked my appointments closely to avoid any back-tracking or step retracing, in the name of conservation. Remember, I'm a car hugger these days!

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Arriving about 20 minutes before my scheduled time, I was prepared to grab a magazine and sit on the outside bench to wait my turn, but Susan was ready to take me immediately. I had ordered some eye crayons from Susan, who also sells Avon, so got my hair cut and purchase picked up in one fell swoop. No stopping at Whitey's this time as I was still full from my lunch and ready to get back home to rest before meeting the ladies for dinner at Aron's.

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Judy J. and I ordered the stromboli which was absolutely fantastic. Neither of us made much of a dent in our meals so the nice waitress wrapped it up and gave extra sauce to use for dipping. Oh, it's so delicious! The calzone seems to have much more dough involved where the stromboli is more dense with cheese and pepperoni, less doughy. The other two ladies enjoyed their meals and then off we went to Bible study. I had to swing by to pick up a new lady for the class, up near the Hilltop Restaurant. She doesn't drive so I am happy to be able to do this. Justin didn't join us that night, it seems he had a better offer---dinner out with his former classmates. I guess that's okay.......He did offer to come and cook dinner for me last night but I had the evangelism visits to do---nuts! Maybe tonight????

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Monday was busy with church activities as well as things are getting closer to normal as summer breaks are nearly over. The temperature doesn't agree, but I think that must be a "Northern thing", equating school starting with fall and 'those' temperatures. Yesterday was one of our hottest days this year! Anyway, Monday morning was Bible study, the subject, based on one of my favorite passages, "Prepared to Answer"----

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.." I Peter 3:15.

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After Bible study we went to have lunch at, believe it or not, Applebee's, instead of our usual Longhorn. We had a nice group of six ladies since a couple couldn't make it that day. We ladies enjoyed our time together. The same night many of us reconvened at church for Ladies' Group but didn't have enough to form a consensus about some of the decisions waiting to be made, except for where to have our next breakfast social! We chose Grumpies in Orange Park, not too far from my house. I just have to make sure they can accomodate us on a Saturday morning before I begin the publicizing of this breakfast.

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Lisa and I have been in regular communication regarding their upcoming visit, making arrangements for Disney Tickets and such, determining what types of foods the little ones like or dislike, and so on. I also sent her the weather forecast for the first few days when they are here and she said she's keeping that a secret from Noah, since he hates the heat. Excuse me....Florida in August?? When I mentioned this to Lisa early on when making their plans, she said, "We just had a winter with 72 degrees below wind chill factor! I think we can stand a Florida summer!" She's correct, they earned this temperature! Our plans for the Magic Kingdom are to arrive at the Park approximately 4:00 p.m. after the boys had their naps and stay until closing, 11:00 p.m. Most of the crowds will have thinned by then, the rains may be over, lines shorter, and perhaps just a tiny bit cooler. This was suggested by one of my neighbors who does this every time she visits Orlando. I hope it's wise.

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We are staying at a hotel nearby and will have our rooms waiting for us when we leave the Park, and enjoy a nice, hot breakfast there in the morning. Justin is going with us and will have to miss some work, unfortunately, but also doesn't want to miss seeing the boys enjoy their first visit to "Mickey's house"!!!! We are not concerned about not getting our money's worth, because we feel there is substantial "value" to be had in simply enjoying our time and not running anyone ragged. Of course, we'll see and do as much as we can, but not to the detriment of anyone's pleasure.

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Ugh, I am just sick about all this garbage involving Brett Favre!!! I am terribly disappointed in him, I think. Not sure exactly how to feel since I don't understand the whole mess, but am alive with disappointment!!!!

"The Importance of Vowels"

Right off the bat I'm frosted this morning, and not due to outside temperatures, to be sure! When I first awake with the dawns early light, usually I catch the end of "Wings" or "Becker" (by the way, in case you didn't know this, my TV stays on all night long.....). When it goes to a commercial and if I am awake enough, I'll switch over Fox and Friends to see what has happened overnight.

Much to my dismay, nearly every time I went to the news, the conversation was not about news, but rather ridiculous stuff such as the "big" story today: An English teacher somewhere (if I were actually watching, I'd know from where!) has determined that certain words would be okay improperly spelled. What? He or she is giving a pass to students who misspell commonly misspelled words, surrendering to, what?, society? Thank you, text messaging, for ruining everything!!!!!!!

My blogging friend, Jami, again with the Jami reference, is a counselor in a TX prison. One of her first postings after returning to work following surgery was about starting a new program to help her inmates learn to read. Jami remarked helping these fellows face their greatest regrets, including never finishing school and/or learning how to read! This might lead them to a life of crime, out of frustration or whatever. I cannot even imagine not being able to read or write. Jami was going to teach some of them the alphabet and the "importance of vowels". That phrase just struck me.

On one hand, it could be a great scenario in a "Seinfeld" coffee shop discussion, deciding which would be the most important vowel.....But, on the serious side, continued lowering of standards in our children's education, due in part, I believe, to the advancement of text messaging and abbreviations, is a horrendous, horrendous mistake! As are run-on sentences!!!!

Of course, the anchor team was quick to throw out their most commonly misspelled words and admitted to some grievous errors, including "enuf", "expecially", "speach". Then, one of them remarked about "Spell Check" catching the errors so kids aren't learning or having to learn how to spell correctly because of the reliance on the machine for repairing poor grammar, punctuation, and spelling. It never occurred to these folks to mention the fact that sometimes we actually use a pen and a piece of paper to write things, and there is no spell check button to press. At one of the Writer's Conferences I heard an editor speak to the matter of submitting a manuscript and she exhorted the writers to edit their own work plus let another person edit it, stating that Spell Checker is an Editor's worst nightmare!!!!

The female anchor commented that if she had an applicant in front of her and had misspellings and errors in the resume, she'd stop reading there and then, sending them on their way. For this I rejoice! I do hold the text messaging craze to blame for the serious lack of proper spelling, since "texting" totally eliminates the use of vowels, substituting consonants to complete full sentences, most of them warnings about their parents watching over their shoulder!!!! I hate it! Really? I wouldn't have known!!!

One of my neighbors is a psychologist (this is a word I like to misspell!) and was talking to me about the term papers and such she has to write as part of her business. She expressed not being able to get used to using or reading contractions. This was totally news to me! I have never really had to submit a paper for anything and simply do not (don't) recall there being a rule about when and when not to use a contraction. Am I also guilty of disregarding the importance of vowels? I never met a contraction I didn't like! And punctuation rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Forget about it!

Scrapbooking Day got scrapped!

I was all geared up for Twila and Jen to come and crop with me today but neither one of them can make it. Nuts! Now I'll have to do something else instead. No worries, can do!

Travis brought me some more pens to put in the goody bags he leaves at people's doors but has to order some more for me to complete my project. I just finished off a box of pens which means that he's making very good use of them. I think he said there were 500 pens in a box which means....wow! I'll work on them this afternoon while I rest my eyes. This type of work doesn't affect my eyes like reading would since I can multi-task by watching my re-runs at the same time I bag stuff. No need for me to read the campaign literature (I hope there's not a test!!!) so it's restful nonetheless.

One of the people helping me with investments called today to see if I wanted to come in for a quarterly check-up. I told her that I didn't want to even talk about it........She laughed and said this was the answer she's hearing most often! It's good news, though, that people aren't rushing in to pull their accounts or shuffle things around, because we are asked going in if we are "long haul" people or not. If we are, the funds are invested one way. If we are not long-haul investors, the funds go into other types of accounts. Keeping my head in the sand may sound unwise, but it's better for my soul not to "worry" about it.

My blogging friend, Jami, wrote about being nearly "free" from Diet Coke. That was only one thing we had in common but I couldn't help but chuckle when I read about it in her Profile. If you recall, I found her through "The Bucket List" connection, a shared love. Besides the Diet Coke and movie we share, Jami also wears "Obsession" perfume, which I spotted in a photo she posted, sitting on her vanity. How fun! For about a week now I've been incorporating water into my daily beverages and it's going okay. And by going, I mean going!!! Soda doesn't do that to me but all this water certainly does! Sharon, my skin care friend, reminded me about water being most beneficial in keeping skin and its condition under control, so down the hatch!!!!

Thanks to all the spit and the mud mask I've been using, my skin breakout has nearly disappeared. There's the occasional bump or raised area but certainly nothing like it was. It's tempting to discontinue the mask to see if it comes back, but don't know if I wish to risk it. Sunday I was joking about having the white lines around my eyes. It comes from laughing or squinting with the sun shining on the face and ends up looking a bit comical. I'll have to concentrate on NOT laughing or smiling or squinting!

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Jennifer called this a.m. to see if I want to go to a waterpark with them some Saturday because they have extra tickets to be used up. Of course, I'd love to go! She thought it might work out for when the family is here but there isn't enough time, at least, not the time that would match when Rosses could go. Nuts! I do love going to the waterparks, though, and had planned on doing so at Adventure Landing----maybe if the family wants to go, we can do it then. Their tickets are for Orlando, however, so Rosses wouldn't be able to use those tickets at Jax Beach. I can guess Lynn and Lisa would say our pools here are enough and that is fine with me, too. More than fine....exquisite choice!

Such an awesome day yesterday!

"I'm much more comfortable criticizing people behind their backs..." a quote by George Castanza explaining why he doesn't simply ask his latest girlfriend to quit doing one of her "troubling" habits....the two guys are commenting about their lost lives because of being picky about "little things" their dates do, like ssshhhing them during a movie or eating peas one at a time instead of scooping.......Obviously they have no idea what it's like in the "real world"---good thing it was only a sitcom!

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Well, yesterday was absolutely fantastic, beginning with worship. Before church, though, I had to stop at Publix to get the celebratory cake for the New Member Welcome, but she wasn't quite done with it yet. I had to walk around the store, picking up items I didn't even know I needed, while waiting for the cake. I didn't want to make the decorator nervous with me standing there and watching her every move.

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Once at church, I hurriedly got things set up for the event, working up quite the sweat in the process. I'd already ordered the pizzas the day before and hoped they'd arrive on time. Pastor's sermon was so perfect for helping to restore my diminished joy, using Romans 6 as the text. The last verse of the text reads: "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus". Such great news, not "news" but great, nonetheless.

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There were lots of complications with getting the Welcome underway including the delay of the pizza delivery in spite of my reminder call to them, where I was assured the guy was on his way.....yeah, right! Well, let them eat cake!!! I had to "wrestle" the two ladies who were being feted into the Fellowship Hall to get their photos taken before we cut the cake. Finally, I managed to get them both to pose with the cake and then Julaine got busy cutting and serving.

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Finally the pizzas arrived and we could dig into them. In the meanwhile, Gordy was trying to organize carpools for the Suns Game we're going to but couldn't get folks' attention in order to distribute the tickets and arrange for rides. Pastor was also meeting with the parents of the confirmands so things were just going on all over the place! I did end up with only one full pizza leftover so I sent it home with the Langley family. Many people lent a hand to clean up the mess and get the room set back to rights for the preschool. Again, I was sweating bullets by the time that project was completed.

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I got home and immediately changed into my swim clothes and got down to the pool. Two of the ladies were already in position with a seat reserved for me....aw, I'm honored! Once my hot dog was ordered, I grabbed my Diet Coke and joined the ladies at the table. Still overcast but plenty warm out, I dipped into the pool before having my meal. A couple more ladies showed up and the sun came out and it was beautiful!

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Travis came down by the pool to order some lunch for himself and decided to buy us a drink plus the people at the next table. Most generous! He wanted to thank Rose and me for our assistance with his campaign and told us anything we want from the cabana was on him! The folks at the neighboring table also were friends of Travis (F.O.T.) and we eventually asked them to join our group. We had good laughs and I made a brand-new best friend--Diane! If I didn't know better, I'd say she is my friend, Judy R.'s, twin sister, in looks as well as spirit. She mentioned church a couple times and I asked where she went. Diane told me they are Lutherans and attend at the MO Synod church on South Blanding. We knew some people together and her hubby, Roy, commented on the "six degrees of separation" people talk about. Especially amongst Lutherans, although I believe it's even fewer degrees!!!!

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Travis commented that he was having a get-together at his place in the evening and invited us to come over when we were done at the pool. Sure! Some of the others went back to the cabana and got food and such on Travis, but I only had my strawberry daiquiri he bought me the first time. Of course, the cabana boy assured me that his tab would be picked up by his campaign funds, because all but one of us enjoying his hospitality were in his voting district. The other couple are quite active in the Republican party in our county, so we had some wonderful conversation.

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Some of the people at the pool didn't have a change of clothes along but decided to go up to Travis' anyway. I did stop in at my place to change as a courtesy to my neighbors and the other guests. The other guests were mostly my neighbors plus one of my pool friends who brought her "date". Even though my downstairs neighbors came with a bottle of Crown Royal, I stuck with my decision to have only Diet Coke. One adult beverage a day is usally sufficient for me. The O'Connells returned from their trip to Connecticut and it was terrific to have them back home with us. They are sort of the glue that holds our Palace family together!

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Linda had called when I was downstairs so I returned her call. She was calling about watching the "Traveling Pants" movie which was playing on TV that night and was thinking about me. Awww! The good news was it was coming on again right after the first playing so I got to watch it from the beginning. Judy J. called to report that I had a dilemna, and I had no idea that I did!!!! She saw that both Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman were on conflicting channels at the same time!!! I'd already recorded the Sarah concert so no problemo! Lynn also called to report that the Eagle has landed in Green Bay---actually, it was Brett Favre back "home" to rejoin The Team!!!!