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!!!!

Here comes the sun!

I can't express how badly I need the sun shine! My joy is being affected these days so between the sun shine and the approaching visit of my dear ones, I should return to full blown joy any time now. I may be having a bit of caffeine withdrawal, or at least, Diet Coke withdrawal, because I recently began incorporating water into my daily routine---again.

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Last year before my trip to Greece and Turkey, I was down to only one can of Diet Coke a day, which is simply amazing. Of course, being on the cruise ruined it for me, rather, I ruined it for me, got myself right back to where I was consumption-wise. Now, there really is no reason NOT to drink it, soda, that is, but I don't wish to exclude all other forms of hydration in the process.

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It appears I'm writing my Greek-styled run-on sentences again, probably because, as Robbie told me once, I write like I talk! Tarren sent a "Comment" last night from Janesville (thank you!!!) where they are gathered with family in celebration of her in-law's 50th anniversary. She reports Lucas is being the charmer of the event, making everyone in the restaurant smile! Funny, but one time Jackie, a member at the church, described Lucas' grandfather Vance as being "a charmer", in her Bronx accent. That only occurred to me when I typed it about Lucas! You guys know now for what you are in store!

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It is a busy day today with worship and Holy Communion, followed by the New Member Welcome which is my baby. I have to pick up the cake at 10:00 a.m. and pizzas are being delivered at 11:45 a.m. We usually run long on H. C. Sundays and I didn't want to stretch out the delivery until noon, in case the pizza man ran late or something. Pastor is having a meeting after church with the parents of the confirmands so has need of at least 3 pizzas for that group. One of our ladies supposed to be feted this morning is in the hospital due to a stroke so Pastor is going to take her a piece of the cake when he calls on her this afternoon. And I thought I had a busy day!!!!

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Once things are cleaned up after the Welcome (excuse me, I am NOT the fellowship lady!!!) I am coming back home to enjoy some poolside time with my lady friends. But only if the rain holds off. Seems we just get ourselves settled and it starts to pour! Last night I joined them, plus a few new faces, at a Jimmy Buffett Night event at OPCC. That's the second time I've been there this month, once for the Debutante party and now this. I hadn't been there since Pete and Tarren's wedding, I think, and now twice in a month's time!

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The McCauley's were there having dinner, too, and Rick commented he's seen me more in the last couple months than he has in 5 years! It's true! If you recall, he's the man who delivered Timmy on January 19, 1996 and attended his funeral on January 19, 2001. Makes you just wanna gulp, doesn't it?

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I left home relatively early yesterday morning, making a couple stops before heading to meet Justin. I'd hoped to be finished at the cemetery before the big funeral procession arrived but my timing was off, which I hated! There's not so much cleaning up to do anymore since our personal items have been removed, so I only swept the marker and plucked the dried fronds and dead gladiolas from the vase. The summer heat is brutal on the bouquets, then add to that the pounding rains, not good for the flowers.

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From there I headed over toward Regency Square where I was meeting Justin, actually driving right up to the place! I came in from the east rather than west which puts an entirely different prospective on the situation. Arriving about 30 minutes earlier than Justin (I thought we'd said to meet at 1:30) I did some farding before going to sit on a bench to wait for Justin. (Linda: are you rolling on the floor???). Oh, this is so funny!!!!! Tommy caught me farding at the Twin Fountains restaurant before going in for Alayna and Dustin's confirmation party, and called me on it!! Oh, that Rush anniversary brings back many fond memories for me!

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Justin and I saw "Mamma Mia" together, he treated me with a birthday gift card he'd gotten. I popped for the snacks. This theater had a smaller sized popcorn cup for me, which was still too big, but less wasteful than the small bag I get at my theater. We shared the big cup of Diet Coke and he enjoyed some Reeses' Pieces, totally off his diet. Justin never liked chocolate and peanut butter together but he seems to have gotten over that. I tried a couple nuggets but they just aren't my favorite, making it quite easy to refuse. Justin enjoyed the movie, his first time and my second, and darn it if I didn't cry again in the same spot! I was really trying not to but her song is about saying good-bye to people and it just moves me!

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Next week we are going to see the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants II" which is filmed in Santorini. He is quite excited about this one because he wants to see all the places he's been to, perhaps even our friend, Jeanne's, shop and bistro! The previews show the donkeys climbing up the mountainside which really just brings it all back for us. Of course, each time I've been there we've taken the trolley instead of putting any donkeys in danger...I was always afraid they'd try to throw a saddle on me and make me carry people up the hill!!!

*This is Jeanne, working in the bistro across from her shop

Following the movie we headed over to Victory for church. Justin more quickly exited the parking lot than did I so arrived at church well ahead of me. We enjoy the Saturday evening services, get to see the same folks often and hear the grand piano being played. Linda O. and her daughter were there but couldn't stay to chat as they, too, were heading off to the movies. They chose "Mummy" since Linda had already seen "Mamma Mia", and longs to head back to that part of the world, as well. It affected me that way, too.

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Time to head over to church and get things ready for the big event. Other people not going to church this morning include those on the approximately 15 floating vessels in the river in front of me. Perhaps they worshipped last night, too!

I forgot to mention something......

My dear friend, Judy R., in Winona was going to attend the closing service at the Worship Conference on Thursday. I am excited to hear how it went, how beautiful it was, and who she saw there. I asked her to look for Pastor Hahm from F. G., Manitowc, and for Pete Prange and Robbie Douglas. What are the chances that she actually "ran into" them? For the average bear, I'd say slim to none, but with Judy, well, it's quite possible she found someone we'd have in common!!!!