Maggie's Scrapbook

Trip To Big Bend

2009-12-31T16:45:00.004-06:00

December 22 – We got the Jeep loaded, then I took the dogs to the kennel for their vacation. We had to wait on one package to be delivered so that it didn’t sit on the front porch for a week. And then we were off! We made it as far as Junction before stopping for the night.

December 23 – The Jeep barely made it from Junction into Ft. Stockton on one tank of gas – ok, the Jeep is not aerodynamic. We stopped in Marathon for lunch and to get some supplies, mainly a gas can just in case.

(Mark in Marathon)

We got to the park about 3:00. On the way south, we decided to check out Dagger Flats Auto Trail to see how the road conditions matched the descriptions in the guide book. We went in about half way then decided there wasn’t going to be much to see this time of year. And Dagger Flats was rougher than I thought it would be, but ended up being the only one that was worse than the descriptions. We then stopped at Panther Junction to check out road conditions for the rest of the unpaved roads. The ranger saw the Jeep and said the only one we might have trouble with is Black Gap Road. We then headed for Sotol Vista Overlook to see if we could catch the sunset. While up at the Overlook, the wind picked up and there were enough clouds that there wasn’t a decent sunset. A cold front was moving through. Brrrr.

(The view from Sotol Vista Overlook)

December 24 – I had this view right outside my door at the motel (Chisos Mining Company Motel). I just set up my tripod in the parking lot and started shooting.

(Sunrise as seen from the motel)

After starting the day at Kathy’s Kafe, we decided to start our day in the park on Old Maverick Road. We stopped at Luna’s Jacal,

and then on to Terlingua Abaja

Everywhere I saw Santa Elena Canyon, and I have really developed a fascination with this particular formation, so we headed there next.

After Santa Elena Canyon, we stopped at the Desert Mountain Overlook,

(There’s the canyon again!!!)

then on over to Castalon.

Lunch was a sandwich on the road. We headed up the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, stopping at almost all the major overlooks to see what we could see. First up was Tuff Canyon where we checked out the west overlooks.

My second favorite formation after Santa Elena had to be the Mule’s Ears.

At the Burro Mesa Pouroff (lower trail), I got out and hiked the trail up into the wash to check out the views.

And then another stop at Sotol Vista.

(Check it out – Santa Elena is in there yet again)

From there we headed up to the Basin. I was totally amazed at the difference from outside the Chisos to inside the Basin – how much the plant life changed.

We stopped at the Basin store so that I could get a hat and gloves – I had left mine at home and it was pretty cold in the mornings. Then I got Mark to join me on the Windows Overlook trail.

We saw a buck and doe near the weather station on the trail.

It was too early to check out possible sunset shots, so we headed on the road toward the Rio Grande Village. We took the Boquillos Canyon road all the way to the canyon. I hiked the trail down to the river but not all the way into the canyon – some dummy left her hiking pole in the Jeep and I didn’t want to be on the trail after sunset without it.

I did ok on the trail but would have been more comfortable on some of the steps down with my pole. (I hate bum knees!!!) I couldn’t believe how beautiful the Sierra del Carmens were with the late afternoon sun hitting them. We finished the day with Mexican Food at Chili Pepper’s

December 25 – Merry Christmas!!! We started with breakfast at the Gas Station Café. From there we took the Indian Head Road out and hiked out to find the petroglyphs.

There was another couple also checking the area out so we were helping each other find the carvings. We took FM 170 west through Lajitas and over to Presidio, again stopping all along the way to see what we could see.

(River pulloff at Lajitas)

(Contrabando Movie Set)

(HooDoo or Little Penguin)

(Lower Madera Canyon)

(River Rafters)

Unfortunately, Warnock was closed so we couldn’t stop there. We went back into the park to hit Sotol Vista to check out the sunset again. Mother Nature put on quite the show.

We shared the overlook with a professional photographer and his wife. It was interesting for me to talk to him while we were shooting side by side. We finished the day at High Sierra in Terlingua Ghostown.

December 26 – We decided that this was going to be off pavement today. We hit Paint Gap Road,

Grapevine Hills

and then headed north to Old Ore, taking it south towards Rio Grande Village.

I wanted to hike out to Ernst Tinaja, but it was about 5:00 when we passed it and I knew it would be getting dark soon. We stopped at the Rio Grande Village store for a pit stop before finally heading back out of the park.

December 27 – On the way to Glenn Springs Road we found these guys hanging out on the shoulder of the main park road.

We drove down Glenn Springs Road,

detouring onto Black Gap Road just far enough to check out Glenn Springs.

This was one area where we actually saw water in the park (other than a little in Terlingua Creek and the Rio Grande of course). We continued down Glenn Springs to where it met River Road.

We took the River Road west

stopping at Solis for lunch and to admire the river

then on to Mariscal Mine

before heading back east toward Rio Grande Village. We then headed west, touching base with Big Bend Chat’s own moderator, Richard. I wanted to do a little of Lost Mine or the Basin Loop, but by this time it was getting cloudy and colder because of the wind, and I didn’t know what Mark would do for that time, so I forgot that. Because it didn’t look like we were going to get a decent sunset due to it being cloudy, we decided to head back to the motel for a shower before meeting Richard at the Lodge for dinner. Of course, as we are driving back into the park, the sunset was fantastic!!!

The very last of the sunset was disappearing as we pulled into the parking lot – if we had gotten there 10-15 minutes earlier, I could have gotten some good shots from the Windows Overlook. And yes, Richard and I live 15 minutes apart, but we had to travel almost 700 miles to have dinner with him J

December 28 – We had to say goodbye to the Big Bend. After our last breakfast at Kathy’s, where she told us we were now locals after breakfast 4 out of 5 days there. We headed north up FM 118 to Alpine and then on up to I-10 where we headed east.

All told we hit all the paved road in the park, drove down at least partway Dagger Flats, Old Maverick, Croton Springs, Paint Gap, Grapevine Hills, Old Ore, Glenn Springs, Black Gap and River Roads. I also hiked on Burro Mesa Pouroff, Boquillos Canyon, Indian Head, the ranch at Paint Gap, Windows Overlook, and explored around Santa Elena Canyon and Glenn Spring.

June Blog Train for NDISB

2009-06-15T00:10:00.004-05:00

Natural Designs In Scrapbooking is having a blog train this month and I've been lucky enough to already play with the kit and create a couple of Quick Pages with it.

Here are previews of the kit:

And here is my contribution - 2 Quick Pages created using the kit:

(Preview is clickable)

Next stop on the blog train is at Cre8tvlyYrs Designz by Gina Arzaga

And if you get lost, or want to see the whole list of stops on the blog train, you can always check out the NDISB Blog.

Fallen Heroes

2009-04-16T12:52:00.005-05:00

Easter Sunday, two Houston firefighters lost their lives battling a house fire. One was a 30 year veteran, a captain. The other was a brand new rookie, battling his first fire.

Their public memorial services were this morning at a church very near me. I pass it on my way to work every morning. The service was at 10:00, but at 6:30 the area was already very congested as firefighters from all over the city and state (maybe even from out of state - it's not unheard of) began gathering. I was lucky to get through before they closed the roads.

They marched from a fire station about a mile away from the church, processing as one blue line to honor their fallen comrades. The pictures are an amazing testament to the strength of the bond and fellowship that firefighters feel for one another:

I was a volunteer firefighter for one of the plants I worked at for 9 years. I could not do what municipal firefighters do every day - put their lives on the line by entering burning structures. I fought industrial fires out in the open. I found out during fire training that I am claustrophobic and entering a smoke filled, dark structure with full gear on totally freaks me out. To those that serve in this capacity, I salute you.

Rest in peace, Capt. James Harlow and Damion Hobbs.

Audreyisms

2009-04-12T16:08:00.002-05:00

Audrey and I spent a week together this week for her Spring Break. We went to Washington, D.C. While there we went to several museums and monuments. When I asked Audrey what her favorite was - "Bionical Garden" (Botanical Garden).

We rode the Old Time Trolleys around as our transportation. These are narrated tours throughout the city. Audrey almost had the narration spiel memorized. One night we were trying to remember the tune to Hail To The Chief. They played it everytime we passed the White House. When Audrey finally came up with the melody, she said, "I know that tune, they played it all the time during Obama's irrigation!"

I love that kid!

Happy Birthday, Mary!

2009-02-27T14:12:00.003-06:00

Today Mary would have been 43. I can't believe she's been gone almost 5 years now. Today, it goes without saying I'm really missing her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY!

Bolivar - 5 Months Later

2009-02-17T20:49:00.004-06:00

Mark and I went to Bolivar a week or so ago. We hadn't been since Hurricane Ike and wanted to see for ourselves how bad it was. Bolivar has been one of our favorite places to go because Mark can drive on the beach there. And there are places we can take the dogs and let them run and play. Well, it was amazing and very sad to see how thorough the destruction truly was. From the moment you get off the ferry from Galveston and still see trash caught on the fences. Just to the left is a junk yard for cars and another one for appliances.

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

We went down to the beach where we normally cut over - by the Audobon Society Preserves. All of the viewing decks are gone. And then we started to drive up the beach - fully 80-90% of the houses are either totally gone or so badly damaged as to be uninhabitable. At first, you would think the house was just missing a deck, and then you realize you are seeing through to the kitchen. Or all that is left is a pile of rubble or the pilings.

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

Several places along the beach, there were huge mounds of sand - probably as big as my house. What they were doing was scraping the beach, then sifting the sand to remove the debris. The clean sand was then being dumped to form the basis for the dunes that were destroyed. That was another thing - I'm used to seeing the dunes, yet this time was it was so totally flat!!!

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

But there were signs of strength and the fortitude of the residents. You could see American flags when there was nothing else.

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

And there was signs of rebuilding - it's going to be slow, but Bolivar will come back!!!

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

Photo A Day

2008-12-31T14:23:00.003-06:00

I think I'm going to try the Photo A Day Challenge again this next year. I started in 2008, then fell off the wagon before the end of January... bad Maggie. Of course, I was also going to try to blog daily and that didn't work so well either.

So now the question is - do I create another blog for capturing my photos, or do I use Flickr or Picasa? Of course with Picasa, I can easily dump them to a blog.... hmmmm - decisions, decisions!

SNOW!!!!!

2008-12-10T19:44:00.003-06:00

We have snow in Houston tonight!!!! How cool is that!?!?!?! The last time we had snow was Christmas Eve, 2004. So it's only been 4 years. And I can't believe both of them were in December - usually if we have snow it's usually later in the winter. I mean it's not even officially winter and winter comes to TX so much later than the rest of the country!

Anyway - I'm excited and thrilled! I love watching the flakes falling and swirling! And they are big fat flakes, not the little pellet things.

I know that if the temperature drops very much tonight and we end up with ice, I won't be so excited. But for now - I'm going to enjoy the experience!!!!

Good Night Moon!

2008-09-25T22:44:00.001-05:00

Dear Audrey,

When you were a toddler. your favorite book was “Goodnight Moon”. You wanted Mommy to read it to you every single night. It was part of your bedtime ritual. After you were in your jammies, Mommy would gather you and the book, and your blanket and would sit down in her rocking chair. She had inherited the rocker from her grandmother, so it really meant a lot to her to be able to sit in that chair and read to you. You would point to all of the pictures and name the items with Mommy as she read to you. It got where you knew the story by heart and if Mommy would try to ad lib, you would say. “No Mommy, that’s not how it goes.”

Mommy had to have her surgery while this was still part of your bedtime routine. She couldn’t hold you in her lap for 2 months, and you were too young to really understand. I was there the first few nights, but you didn’t want me to read to you. I would read the book to you, but you wanted Mommy to read it with you. She finally hit upon the idea that she could sit on the floor and you would sit on the floor beside you. Then she could read to you, “Good night, moon! Good night, room.” “Good night, kittens. Good night, mittens.” Then it would be time for your good night kiss and someone would have to put you in the bed for Mommy.

WooHoo!!!!

2008-09-23T21:04:00.001-05:00

Guess who's got lights? Guess who's got air conditioning? Guess who gets to take a hot shower in the morning (hopefully, too soon to check out the hot water situation) Guess who has cable TV? Guess who has internet access on her own laptop? Guess who? Huh? Huh?

After 10 1/2 days - we were sitting out on the driveway before the mosquitos drove us inside when I looked up and saw the street light come on. We had the main breakers turned off just in case there was a power surge when the lights came on. So we hurried inside and started unplugging extension cords and slowly turning stuff back on. And it all works!!!!!

One Week Ago Today...

2008-09-19T09:44:00.002-05:00

One week ago today, we were sitting in front of the TV trying to decide whether to stay or to go. I had packed up my family keepsakes and photos and thought I was getting caught up on laundry (how could I forget jeans?). We finally decided based on the information we had at the time to stay since our hotel reservations were just on the other side of town.

One week ago today, we were sitting in front of the TV watching the waves already wash over the west end of Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula, essentially cutting them off, and watching the waves already crashing up over the Seawall on the east of Galveston.

One week ago today we were sitting in air-conditioning with lights and TV going without the overriding sound of a generator engine.

One week ago today we were worried about what was coming, but not too worried - after all it was only a Category 2, and I had rode out Alicia which was a Cat 3 without too much trauma.

One week ago today we watched the winds begin to come up before dark, but it wasn't too bad and there wasn't any rain yet. The lights started flickering, but would come back on - not too bad so far.

One week ago today we watched the winds start to really slam the area - we still had TV, so we laughed at the idiot reporters that have to get out in the storm just to show people how bad it is - we know already! You jkust look ridiculous!

One week ago today I started to get scared - this was not really like Alicia after all. Would the house hold? Would we have serious damage? Would the lights eventually go out altogether?

One week later - the lights did go out about 1:00 in the morning Saturday morning and haven't come back on to this point. We never had the eye go over the house so the winds never quit blowing all night. The roof held, although we lost some shingles and the turbines shifted off the standpipes, allowing rain to blow into the attic - as a result, we have some ceiling damage in the kitchen and in the hall bath.

The fence blew down in three spots - it's now held up literally with clothesline and tree stakes. If Jasmine ever chases a squirrel across that side of the yard, she will probably find out how secure the fence isn't. However, we probably won't have many squirrels in the backyard anymore since the one tree, a 15 year old red maple that I planted the week I moved in fell across the fence and is resting on the neighbor's elm tree. At least the fence on that side hasn't come down yet. The neighbors lost their pecan tree - it was probably 30 years old and huge. It come up from the roots - scary.

We are so fortunate - yes, we are still having to use the generator for lights and fan, and to keep the refrigerator running. Yes, cold showers in the dark are getting really old. The lines to get gasoline haven't been much fun either - but at least we aren't at the mercy of the ice, water, and food lines at the FEMA PODs. Yes, I worry that we will get thunderstorms coming in before we are able to get the roof replaced. But we have had mild temperatures since Ike passed through, we have a roof over our heads, we do have some electrical power due to the generator, gas lines are decreasing and restaurants are opening up - life is getting back a lot closer to normal.

Things To Be Thankful For

2008-09-17T19:06:00.002-05:00

Hurricane Ike - no, that's not what I'm thankful for. That sorry storm could have just fizzled into thin air and I would have been perfectly happy. No, what I'm thankful for regarding Hurricane Ike is that even though he was Category 2 sorry so-and-so with a Category 4 storm surge, and that instead of the eye passing over, the eye wall went right over my house, yeah, all that - in spite of all that, we came through with our lives and still a roof over our heads.

Ok, so the roof has a little wear on it and some missing shingles and two openings where the turbines decided to move over just a little - just enough to let rain get into the and through the hall bathroom ceiling, oh yeah and the kitchen ceiling. Oh and the red maple tree in the back yard decided to crack and fall about 6-7' up - but it fell parallel to the house. The fence - well that's another story. It came down on one side - or at least 3 panels came down. Those panels are now held up with thin rope and a tree stake. If Jazz ends up chasing a squirrel across that side of the yard, it's history.

Ok, I'm not thankful for having to take cold showers in the dark because here it is Wednesday and we still have no electricity - I don't think anyone would be thankful for that - wait, I have a friend who has no running water and has to go outside and down to the corner to the "blue chalet" when she has to get up in the middle of the night. She might be happy to have a cold shower in the dark.

We have some minor inconveniences in the grand scheme of things, and my bank account is going to take an unplanned hit covering my deductible (I hope that's all I have to cover) - but when I consider how bad it could have been and how much worse other people have it, I praise God that I'm alive as are all of my family friends and that even though it's a little battered and worn, I have a roof over my head. Oh and I have a generator so I have a few lights, a fan, the TV (OK, when you don't have cable and have to put up with either round the clock hurricane recovery coverage or inane sitcoms that may not be something to be thankful for), and I have access to the internet through Mark's Verizon Air Card!!!! Thank you, God!

My Third Grade Years

2008-09-09T10:55:00.007-05:00

Dear Audrey,

You are now in the Third Grade. I can't believe how fast time is flying and how much you have grown up.

I started trying to remember my Third Grade year so that I could compare with you. But you know what, I don't remember that much about my actual class time anymore. It's amazing how some things you think you will never forget slip away as the years do.

I went to Third Grade at Mading Elementary in Houston. I remember being in a "temporary" classroom. I put temporary in quotes because it seems like in every school, the "temporary" classrooms in "portable" buildings seem to end up permanent structures on the school campus. I don't remember my teacher's name, but either she had a baby or she got married, and left mid-term. I ended up with a substitute teacher for the rest of the year.

I remember that was the year I learned cursive - and thought I was all grown up since I could write in cursive. I'm sure I had math, English, science, and probably geography. But I don't remember that much about my coursework.

Grandy was pregnant with your mommy when I started Third Grade. Kathy was just starting Kindergarten. It was definitely a year of change. Grandy's daddy, my Granddaddy died on October 1, 1965 - just about a month after I started school. Your Mommy was born on February 27, 1966.

We moved to Pearland in April of that year, but since it was so close to the end of the year, Grandy and Grandpa Harold decided that Kathy and I should finish out the school year at Mading. So Grandy would make 3 trips a day from Pearland into Houston to take us and pick us up. It was 3 trips because Kindergarten was only a half day back then. She would have to pack up your Mommy and the diaper bag each time.

I remember one of my friends in Third Grade, Cheryl Heflin. And I think the reason I remember her the most, is that when I started school in Pearland the next year - there she was - at Pearland as well. Another girl that I got to be good friends with in Pearland, Pam Rabon, had also gone to Mading.

Comfort Foods

2008-08-20T20:19:00.002-05:00

I had a really rough day. I was at work from just after 7 until well after 6 tonight - 11 hours at least. We are undergoing an audit and this my first external audit to be in charge of. It was a long grueling day, and I didn't even get my "real" work done.

So when I left work, I just wanted comfort food. Nothing healthy, nothing low-cal, nope, none of that stuff tonight. I had chicken fried steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes (yes, 2 different kinds of potatoes) and sweet carrots. For good measure, I had not one, but 2 yeast rolls with butter and on the last one - lots and lots of honey.

I feel better now. Fat, but happy!

Ooops!!!

2008-08-14T20:30:00.003-05:00

I've gone over 6 weeks without blogging! Bad Maggie! Well, I do have a couple of excuses, whether they are good or not, well that's a whole other story! I'm still without my laptop and it's been almost 8 since my laptop went into the shop. And then we've had internet problems. It's gotten so bad that dial-up looks good right now - yeah, it's really that slow!

And I went out of town last weekend. Mom's birthday was yesterday and Audrey started school Monday, so I wanted to see them. Audrey is looking so grown up sometimes. I took this pic of her while we were at the airport waiting to pick up Mom. Turns out, Mom had to go to Houston last week for some dental appointments and ended up coming home almost 9 hours after I got there. So Audrey and I spent the afternoon together, went to dinner, bought school supplies, then picked up Mom at the airport.

Vacation Serendipity

2008-07-09T18:28:00.005-05:00

Mt. Hood From The Airplane

I just got back from vacation to the Pacific Northwest. I went with my friends, Debbie and Beth, and Debbie's friend, Kathleen... four women sharing a room for a week, and four women packed for a week + vacation - it made for interesting times in the hotel rooms, especially since we stayed no more than 2 nights in any one hotel. It was hilarious!!!! Suitcases everywhere. And the electronic devices - all needing charging! It was wild trying to find enough plugs in the rooms for the cell phones, camera batteries, DVD players, laptops, etc. - not counting the blow driers and curling irons!

Wonder Woman Pushing the Luggage Cart

Four Women, Packing for One Week Equals No Room To Walk

We started out planning going to Seattle and Vancouver. Quickly, we realized we needed to go to Vancouver Island as well. Well, it was $400 cheaper to fly into Portland, OR rather than Seattle. As it turned out, I think Portland and the area around Portland was actually everyone's favorite. We spent 2 days in the area and saw the Portland Zoo, Columbia Gorge Byway/Mt. Hood and the International Rose Test Garden - everything was just WOW! And on the drive from Portland to Seattle, we went to Mt. St. Helens, it was so totally fascinating!

So for the savings of $400, we added an especially fantastic stop to our trip!!!!

Family Survey - Part 2

2008-06-14T20:32:00.001-05:00

Here is my second set of questions from the genealogical survey:

11. What is your earliest childhood memory? My earliest memories revolve around being sick and in the hospital. I had kidney and bladder problems and ended up having major surgery on my bladder before I started school. I spent a lot of time at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. My aunt was friends with a lady that played a character on a local children’s television program, and I remember her visiting me in the hospital after my surgery and bringing me a picture of Cadet Don – the main character of the program.

12. What kind of games did you play growing up? In Houston, I remember playing with dolls, and playing games on the driveways of my friends in the neighborhood. We also played ball in my front yard. I had Barbie dolls when I was little.

When we moved to Pearland, we played outside a lot. We played jump rope and hide and seek and ball games in the circle, especially 4 Square or dodge ball. I would play jacks with my best friend, Susan on her front porch. Or we might play cards. I know we also had all kinds of board games including Monopoly, Clue and Mouse Trap.

13. What was your favorite toy? Why? I don’t remember any one toy as being my favorite, although I did have a doll for many years that was just about life-sized. And I still have my first teddy bear packed away. It’s pretty raggedy and hard to tell it was pink.

14. What did you do for entertainment (movies, beach, etc.)? Which was your favorite? I remember going to drive-in movies with my family. Mom had a station wagon, and Kathy and I would be in our pajama’s and we would pack pillows in with us in the back of the station wagon.

Since we lived pretty close to Galveston, we would go down there occasionally. I remember Daddy’s company had company parties down there. In those days, there was enough beach below the seawall that you could drive down on the beach from the seawall. The men would pull a big seine net through the surf, and we would all gather around to see what they had caught, but I don’t ever remember eating any of the catch. We learned how to hunt for sand dollars in the surf, and of course we played in the water and made sand castles, etc.

Mom would take Kathy and I to the zoo a lot while we were little. The zoo was free in those days, so she would load us up with a picnic lunch that we would eat at Hermann Park. We would save bread to feed the ducks at the duck pond. I remember especially watching the otters and monkeys play, watch the elephants get a bath and go through the giraffe house. Hi-C sponsored the giraffe house and I remember Hi-Cecil and Hi-Cecilia.

I think my favorite was probably the trips to the zoo.
15. Did you have chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite? When I was little, I had to make my bed and clean up my room. I remember helping Mom do the dishes – Daddy had drafting stools that I would sit on to be able to reach the sink.

As I got older, we had to clean the kitchen after dinner and clean the bathroom in addition to the other chores. We also had to fold laundry.

Mom went to work when Mary Lee was about a year old – I was at least 10 then. So in the next few years, I learned to cook, and helped with dinner, then had the responsibility with Kathy to cook and clean the kitchen. The one who cooked didn’t have to clean, so we would fight over who got to cook. Neither of us liked to clean the kitchen – I still hate it.

I babysat Mary Lee and Kathy during the summers from the time I was about 13 or 14. I did get paid extra for that.

16. Did you get an allowance? How much? Did you save or spend it? I did get paid an allowance. I don’t remember what it was when I was little, but as a teen-ager, it seems like it was $5 a week, plus I got $20 a week for babysitting ($0.50 an hour times 40 hours – yeah, babysitting was cheap back then). It was for most all of my normal extra expenses like snacks and toiletries. I did save some of it, but the allowance was more for expenses and less for saving.

17. What was school like for you? What were your best and worst subjects? School was for the most part easy for me. I enjoyed going to school. My favorite subjects were math and science. My least favorite was English and Literature. However, I won’t say that they were “worst” subjects because I made good grades in school – mostly A’s.

18. Where did you attend grade school? Middle School? High school? College? I started Kindergarten in Beaumont. Daddy was working on a job there and Mom, Kathy and I went with him. I finished Kindergarten and then went through Third Grade to Madding Elementary in Houston. The last few weeks, Mom had to drive us in to Houston from Pearland, but since it was so close to the end of the year, they didn’t want to transfer us.

From Fourth Grade on, I went to Pearland Schools – Pearland Elementary for Fourth and Fifth Grade, Pearland Junior High for 6th – 8th Grades, then Pearland High School for 9th – 12th Grades, graduating in 1975.

I started college at Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, TX. I had been admitted to Texas A&M in the Geology Department, but got a scholarship and grant to go to TCU. I could be in band at TCU, and it was a smaller school, so I felt it was a better place for me to go for at least my Freshman year. I majored in Chemistry. But I did transfer to A&M the next year and graduated from there in 1979 with a BS in Chemistry. A&M really was my first choice, and once I realized that I could survive in a new environment (I felt really shy and insecure in high school), I was glad that I made the transfer.

19. Tell me what activities you participated in – sports, drama, etc. I wasn’t really good at sports, although I did try out for the Girl’s Volleyball team both in Junior High and High School. I did play softball and tennis, along with the volleyball for fun.

I was in Girl Scouts until about 7th or 8th Grade. I started in Brownie Scouts in 2nd Grade in Houston, and stayed in when we moved to Pearland. I went through Juniors and was a Cadette.

I was in band, starting in 6th grade. I played Bb clarinet throughout Junior High and High School, and in my Freshman year in college. I marched in Marching Band and played in the Concert and Symphonic bands.

I was active in Future Teachers of America – I thought about being a teacher in high school.

I tried 4H for one year. I did mostly homemaking activities.

I was in Rainbow Girls for about 3 years, until I felt Band was more important and had priority on my time.

And I was active in Methodist Youth Fellowship, MYF, from 6th grade on. We met on Sunday evenings, and had social activities as well as Fellowship, We also had a choir that sang at the 8:30 church service.

20. Tell me some of your memories from school – any really great stories? Any honors? Most of my memories from school revolved around Band. We played at football games, both home and away, had band contests, concets, and band trips involving competitions.

Academically, I remember placing in a math competition when I was in Junior High, probably 8th grade. We had to answer these math problems, but couldn’t do any of the work on paper. The only thing that could be on the test sheet was our final answer. Back then, I was much better at doing math problems in my head. Computers have spoiled me in that regard.

In High School, I was a National Semi-finalist for scholarships based on the PSAT scores. I didn’t make high enough on my SAT to be classed as a finalist, but it was still an honor. And I did really well on my SAT, especially the math portion. And I did make Who’s Who Among American High School Students while in High School. I graduated in the top 10 of my class.

I was Who’s Who for the Math Department my Senior year. There was a boy in my class who was Who’s Who for the Science Department. He and I were neck and neck for both departments, so he got one and I got the other. We both thought we should have gotten both honors. Wonder who was right?

We got extra points for taking Accelerated classes. And I remember the way my schedule was working out, I wouldn’t have all the Accelerated English classes for my senior year. We were on the quarter system. I took a 4th Quarter of English so that I could get my extra credit in, but didn’t realize the last quarter didn’t count in class standings. Well, I took 2 Accelerated English classes my last quarter – and remember, English was my least favorite subject. If I had done it the middle quarter, I would have placed higher, I’m sure.

One of the proudest moments in High School – we were at Marching Contest. Pearland always did well in Marching Contest. We were a military style band, marching 6-to-5. We were known for our diamond drills. This year, we did our routine, then finished up the routine by turning into the stands in a concert formation and played the final march (it was either American Patrol or American Post) just standing on the field in this concert formation – totally unheard of, especially for a military style band. We blew the stands away and got a standing ovation. I still remember the feeling of pride as we stood there afterwards with the applause.

Family Survey

2008-06-14T08:51:00.002-05:00

I received a family survey as part of the genealogy challenge on Natural Designs In SscrapBooking (www.ndisb.com). It's a series of 72 questions that you can send to relatives that you don't know very well, and learn more about the family history, not just dry facts. I've started filling out the survey myself - I figured if I got people to fill it out for me, they might want my story in return. Anyway, I'm up to about question 23 right now. I keep going back and adding to earlier answers - I'm going to end up writing a novel.

I thought I would post my responses here as well as have it available for my "family" - some of them are really distant relatives.

1. What is your full name? Margaret Ruth Sanders

2. Why did your parents pick this name? Margaret was my paternal grandmother’s middle name and the name she went by. Ruth is my mother’s middle name.

3. What is your nickname? When I was younger, it was Tootie. Now, it’s Maggie

4. How did you get your nickname? When I was a baby/toddler, my father came home from work and asked how I had been. My mother said I had been a real toot that day – and it stuck, at least for family and childhood friends. I used Margaret throughout school. But my sister Kathy tagged me with Maggie after the Rod Stewart song “Maggie May”.

5. When and where were you born? I was born at Houston Baptist Hospital in downtown Houston, Harris County, Texas on March 15, 1957. The hospital is no longer in existence.

6. When did your family move there and why? My dad moved to Houston from Lafayette, LA for a job. My mother moved from the Rio Grande Valley with a girlfriend from home to find a good job.

7. Were there other family members close? Who and where? My dad’s sister was in Houston as well when Mom and Dad got married. There was no other family at the time, although my paternal grandparents moved to Houston prior to 1966, then moved to Pearland in 1968 – 2 years after we did. At various times, all of my dad’s siblings have lived in Houston. Three of my mom’s brothers have lived in Houston at different times, although only one is currently in the area – and he lives on the other side of town from me.

We made the trip to the Valley to see my maternal grandparents a lot while I was growing up. It was about a 7 hour trip, and we would leave on Friday night and come back on Sunday night.

And we occasionally traveled to Lafayette to see my paternal grandparents as well. I remember once riding in Pappy’s Mayflower truck – I think we were going from Houston to Lafayette.

We didn’t take a long vacation every year, but every few years we would take a 2-3 week trip, and would visit family during the vacation. In 1964, we went to the World’s Fair in New York. Dad had a pickup truck and we had a camper on the back. We took Kathy to stay with Nanny and Pappy in Lafayette, then Mom, Dad and I headed towards Washington, D.C. Dad’s brother, Raymond, lived in Hagerstown, MD with Pat and Ray, Jr. We toured Washington and Virginia before heading to New York. Mom’s brother, Cooper, lived on Long Island with Ruth, Susanne and Gary. Mam-ma and Granddaddy drove up with Mom’s sister, Iris, from Texas as well. We did the touristy things in New York as well as the World’s Fair. I remember seeing the UN building and the Statue of Liberty.

8. What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? The first house that my parents lived in in Houston was at 8503 Medford. It was a small 3 bedroom/ 1.5 bath house with asbestos siding, no central air conditioning, and hardwood floors throughout. It also had a 1 car garage. I shared a bedroom with my younger sister, Kathy.

In 1966, we moved to 2703 Robinhood in Pearland. It was a brand new 3 bedroom/2 bath with central air, formal living and dining rooms, carpet in the bedrooms and the living/dining rooms. When we first moved to Pearland, Mary Lee was 6 weeks old, so Kathy and I still shared a room, although eventually, as the oldest, I got a room to myself and Kathy and Mary Lee shared a room until I went to college. I would give up my room when we had company. The yard was much larger than the house in Houston and the house was on a circle. The circle became the playground for most of the kids in the area since we didn’t have to worry about a lot of traffic. We would play 4-square or jump rope. We would also play hide and seek throughout the neighborhood.

9. For those born before 1945 did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones? This isn't applicable for me, unless you count not having central air in the first house I lived in.

10. What do you remember most about your home? For the Houston house, it would have to be the attic fan that kept the house bearable as we only had a couple of window units. And the house had a lot of pocket doors.

For the Pearland house, I think it had to be the yard – we had a huge back yard. Also, we had a laundry room in the house and we had a dishwasher and drier. I think having a second bathroom was pretty cool and the hall bath was divided. The sink and vanity was open to the hall with the door closing off the toilet and tub. That way, the 3 girls could share one bathroom and getting ready for school all at the same time.

Fresh From The Garden!

2008-06-11T20:39:00.002-05:00

Tonight's blog prompt is what is your most favorite food straight from the garden. Well, I love lots of fresh fruits and veggies, so this one is actually really tough. After all - fresh squash, zuchinni, green beans - those all add to a fantastic summertime meal. Fresh strawberries, peaches, grapes, watermelon - yep those are all great! But I think my absolute favoritest food straight from the garden (and one thing I can actually grow) are tomatoes - oh, yummmmmmm! With a little salt, take a great big bite out of a tomato and eat it like an apple.

Wait - what about blueberries right off the bush? Hmmmmm - tomatoes or blueberries.... now, I'm hungry!!!!

Smells, Tastes and Other Memories of Summer

2008-05-28T18:41:00.002-05:00

The smell of a chlorine pool and Coppertone

Cold watermelon at a picnic

catching fireflies in mayonnaise jars with holes punched in the lid and watching them light up the jar

The sounds of kids playing hide and seek until after dark or 9:30, whichever came first

Popsicles on the back porch

The sound of the ice cream freezer making homemade peach ice cream

The juice of fresh peaches running down my chin.

Trip to the Beach

2008-05-11T22:09:00.002-05:00

I promised Audrey a trip to the beach, but wanted to do something a little different than what we did last year with Galveston and Bolivar beaches. They are good beaches to be so close to home, but they aren't the best beaches to experience. So, I decided to try Port Aransas - there would be places that we could sightsee and there would be a good beach to play on - and hopefully it would be pretty clean.

So Audrey and I headed for Port A on Monday. We drove down Highway 35 instead of going into Houston and taking 59 down. I thought maybe Audrey would enjoy seeing the water sooner. She was really great on the drive down - only asking a couple of times "how much further" Of course it helped that we made a rest stop at Dairy Queen. DQ's are a new experience for Audrey.

As we drove into Port Aransas, the GPS decided to take us on a tour of town to get to the hotel. As we were driving down the street, we saw Woody's, where I knew they booked dolphin trips. So we pulled in to see if they were taking any tours out. As a matter of fact, there was a tour leaving in about 30 minutes, so we hung out. For entertainment, there was a heron sitting on the pier that was obviously pretty tame since he just sat there and posed for pics. Later when we went down to the boat, there he was again. We learned that he was called Harry the Heron. Audrey enjoyed taking pics of him - I had lent her my point & shoot to use on our "vacation".

We took off and did see some dolphins, but the fog rolled in and we only stayed out for about an hour. Audrey really enjoyed playing with the touch tank that they had set up on the boat - she really wasn't all that impressed with the dolphins, unlike Aunt Maggie. Anyway, there was a hermit crab, some shrimp, a starfish and some other crabs.

After checking in, we went to eat at a Mexican Food restaurant - Audrey even picked! And then we drove down to the beach, and went exploring. Audrey had fun picking up seashells and she was fascinated with all the sand dollars.

We went to the beach the next morning. Audrey had a blast!!! We stopped to get a cooler and some snacks, plus a pail and shovel. The day was mostly cloudy, so we were able to stay at the beach for several hours before we both got burned. And yes, I did put sunscreen on both of us, but managed to miss spots on both of us.

There was quite a bit of seaweed on the beach - a problem evidently common to all Texas beaches. At first Audrey was really funny about not wanting to walk on the seaweed, even with her flip-flops on. But by the end of the time at the beach, she was slinging the seaweed out of her way.

In the afternoon, we drove down to Corpus Christi to see the Aquarium. I couldn't convince her that she wanted to go to a baseball game which would have really been easy to do since the stadium was so close to the aquarium. While at the aquarium, we saw a really great dolphin show, and they had a touch tank where we could touch stingrays and a small shark. And then we had to stop at a tacky souvenir shop. First, I had to explain what tacky souvenirs are - but you can't go to a beach town without going to at least one shop. Audrey got a whole sand dollar for her souvenir.

On the way back, we ate seafood - OK, Aunt Maggie ate seafood and Audrey ate chicken tenders. We drove around a little while - just to see what was there. And that was our trip to the beach!

The Weekend Before...

2008-05-06T11:08:00.004-05:00

I flew to Atlanta on Friday, April 4. When I originally booked my flights, I thought Kathy was going to be in town so I would be able to spend time with her as well. She and Dag left the day before for a trip to Monaco, Shanghai and Mumbai - halfway around the world and back. But she let me use the house since David and Kristine don't have a guest room set up (5 bedrooms and no guest room -hmmmm).

I got to Atlanta Friday afternoon just about the time Audrey got out of school. So we had a good time visiting. Then Saturday, we went shopping to get Audrey some new things for the trip, including a new swimsuit. Kristine and I got manicures and pedicures, and we let Audrey get her toe nails painted - a really pretty pale pink that was barely noticeable. She is only 8 after all.

Sunday, Audrey and I flew back to "Texas" - she always says Texas instead of Houston. As we were on final approach, we flew past the San Jacinto Monument. I pointed the monument out to her, and her reply was "Oh, the Washington Monument!" Well, no, it has a star on top and is actually a little taller. So then I had to explain why the monument was there and what was the significance of the Battle at the San Jacinto River in Texas history. She really was interested and asked all kinds of questions.

We got to Grandy's house and Audrey immediately wanted to check out Grandy's back yard and see all the flowers. She began playing in the bird bath, building leaf and pecan shell boats to float in the bird bath - ahhhh the simple pleasures!

Bad Maggie!!!!

2008-05-06T11:06:00.002-05:00

It's been over 2 months since I last blogged - I can't believe it! And I'm the one that's got the journal prompt chat every 2 weeks?!?!?!?!

I guess I get back into the groove of blogging. So I will begin a series of blogs about when Audrey came for Spring Break (and yes, that was a month ago - again Bad, Aunt Maggie!!!)

When I Was 9

2008-03-05T19:38:00.003-06:00

Dear Audrey,

Your mother was born February 27. I turned 9 on March 15, just 16 days later. To me, she was my real live baby doll. Of course, being the oldest and being 9, I thought I was old enough to be the little mother. Mom let me change diapers - back in those days there weren't Pampers or Huggies. I remember having rinse the dirty diaper in the toilet and I accidentally flushed one down the toilet.

We moved to the house in Pearland in April - your Mommy was just 6 weeks old. I remember helping to keep her occupied - she would sleep in her infant seat in a corner in the dining room while Mom cleaned the kitchen and put down shelf paper before the move.

The neighborhood was a new one and they were constantly tying in new houses to the public water system and having to flush the pipes. As a result we had a lot of rust in the water. Mary Lee got colic really bad from the water, and it seemed like it was the worst right as Mom was trying to get dinner on the table. Of course, I was old enough that I could hold Mary Lee and tryi to comfort her, under Mom's direction of course. (You had colic really bad when you were about 3-4 weeks old, but your favorite time to scream and cry was around midnight to about 2 in the morning - poor baby, you had a hard time of it.)

When I was 9 I had to change schools for the second time. I was able to finish out 3rd Grade at my old school because Mom would drive me in the morning, then turn around and drive Kathy to Kindergarten at lunchtime, then turn around and pick us both up in the afternoon. That was 3 trips into Houston every day for almost 2 months. But that fall, I started 4th Grade in a new school. Unfortunately, none of the kids that I had become friends with in the neighborhood were in my grade, so I didn't know anyone. I soon made friends at school, but I still couldn't wait to get home so that I could play with Mary Lee. My new friends thought it was really cool that I had a baby sister

She was my real live baby doll, and she will always be my baby doll in my memory, my baby sister. I miss her.

Love,
Aunt Maggie

High School

2008-03-02T15:38:00.004-06:00

Dear Audrey,

Most of my high school memories are around being in Band. I started Band when I was in 6th Grade, playing the clarinet. At the time, all my friends were doing something, Band or Choir, or sports. Well, I couldn't sing and I kept trying out for the Girl's Volleyball team, but wasn't good enough - so Band was it.

We had Marching Band in the fall and Symphonic Band in the spring. We started Marching Band practice around the first of August. Freshmen went for several hours in the morning for a week - learning to march. And we had rehearsals Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evening during the weeks before school started. We would rehearse music, then we would go out and march. We were what was known as a military style of band, with 6 to 5 stride vs. the 8 to 5 stride of "show bands". The stride was how many steps were in 5 yards, so 6 to 5 meant a 30" stride. For a long time afterward, I had a 30" stride - now it's much shorter. Marching Band was brutal during August because of the heat.

My freshman year, I didn't march at halftime, but was one of the sidelines team. Our job was to make sure the yard markers were up and in the correct spot, and then to help get the larger instruments off the field after the show. We did play in the stands with the band, but there were more people in Band than the director wanted to march with - it had to be symmetrical since we were a military style band, and that meant marching in a block.

For the other 3 years I did march every football game except for one. I sprained my ankle on a Friday and couldn't put any weight on the ankle for 48 hours. The band director wouldn't even let me go to the game since it was a couple of weeks until Marching Contest and he wanted me healthy for that.

My best friends in High School were also in Band. Vicky and I both played clarinet; Audrey started out on clarinet but switched to bassoon in 8th Grade; and Susan played flute and oboe. We roomed together on band trips for all 4 years, we hung out together, and we had a lot of classes together, especially Vicky and I. Vicky and I even shared the same last name, although we weren't related.

I took almost all Accelerated classes in High School. That would be equivalent to AP classes now. I took 4 years of Math - Algebra I and II, Geometry and Analytical Geometry. Unfortunately, my school didn't offer pre-Calculus, which kind of put me at a disadvantage in college, but I loved Math. In fact, I was Who's Who in Math my senior year. It was a toss-up whether I was going to get Math or Science, but since I didn't take Biology II, another guy got that award. I did take Biology I, Chemistry I and II and Physics in High School - and I really loved the Physical Sciences - so much so, I majored in Chemistry in college. I also took 4 years (plus 1 quarter) of Literature and English, 4 years of Social Studies, a year of Spanish (Spanish II because I had 2 years of Spanish in Jr. High), Driver's Ed, Homemaking, Band of course - and I even took a year of PE - even though Marching Band counted for my PE requirement. I wanted to take tennis and that's the only way I could.

Because of the time commitment with Band, I wasn't in as many outside organizations as I had been in my younger life. I had been in Girl Scouts through 7th Grade, I had been in 4H for a year - more for the homemaking activities, I had been in Rainbow Girls and stayed in that my freshman year and maybe my sophomore year. But it was hard with Band being 1 or 2 nights a week, at least during marching season. I was in Future Teachers of America (FTA) in High School. And I did join Explorer Scouts my senior year - it was a medical branch of Explorer Scouts. I was a teacher's aide for 2 years and Office Assistant my senior year. So I kept full schedules all 4 years. I was also active in UMYF and Youth Choir at my church. Part of that involved leading the 8:30 service at church and participating in fundraisers and mission trips during the summers.

Again, because of Band, I didn't have a lot of after school jobs. I worked at the Bookstore at church for a couple hours after work for about a year. I would do data entry at the machine shop where Mom worked every once in a while. And I tutored and babysat. I did work at an pizza place for one summer and part of one school year - until they wanted me to work on a Friday night and I had a football game. I got a job after my senior year working at Dairy Queen, but right after I started there, Daddy was able to get me a job where he worked, doing clerical work. So I worked at Fisk Electric during the week and at Dairy Queen weekends and evenings until I went to college.

One of my high school highlights was being chosen to attend CloseUp my senior year. CloseUp is a week long program in Washington, DC, where students get the opportunity to observe the U.S. government up close (hence the name). I went with 7 or 8 students from my school, but there were over 200 students form the Houston area there at the same time.

I had a steady boyfriend, Rusty Bachtel, my junior and senior years. We started dating right around Halloween. It was nice having a steady - I definitely had a date for prom both years, plus he was in Band as well - so we had that in common as well. We did share several classes. I thought he was really cool and the love of my life - and that lasted until I went away to college and I continued to grow up and he wanted someone to stay at home and raise the children, like his mother. I remember him fondly, but realized with time that he wasn't the one for me.

Audrey, I hope that you are able to look back on your high school years with fondness. I hope you have the friendships and the activities to make it a fun time - not just something to get through until you become an adult.

Love,
Aunt Maggie

My Childhood

2008-03-02T12:54:00.003-06:00

The third challenge is to scrap about ourselves with at least half the page being journaling. Well, the journaling part is not so hard for me, but the talking about part is harder. I've decided that since Audrey seems interested in what it was like when we were growing up, that I would write a letter to her about my childhood. So here goes:

Dear Audrey,

You have asked questions about what it was like growing up. I know you usually are asking in reference to what it was like for your Mommy, but this letter will be more about what it was like for me.

I'm the oldest, so some of my earliest memories were when Kathy was a baby. We lived in a house in Houston. The house was on a short street that curved into another street. We were the third house on a 3 street house. I had a several friends that I played with on the 2 streets. There was Bob Allen that lived in the house on the corner. There was Janice Williamson that lived 2 doors down the other way. There were twin boys, Brett and Bart - I can't remember if they lived between us and the Williamson's, or further down. Then a couple of houses down was Lana Lee. We would play in each other's driveways or in the yards. I remember we had a large shade tree in our front yard, but there was enough room that we played baseball as well.

Our house growing up was a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath house with a 1 car garage. You walked in the front door and there was a brick planter box that separated the doorway from the living room. The living room was to the left and the doorway to the hall was on the right. In the living room was a sofa that flattened out into a bed - you lifted the bottom and the back fell down then you flattened the seat back down, like a futon. There was also Daddy's platform rocker tucked in next to the planter. There was a console TV under the front windows. Over against the far wall was the maple table that's in Mom's breakfast room now. I remember a large brass tray on the wall above the table and some other brass sconces or something as well. Mom used to sell for World Gift, I think it was a home show type business. Between the sofa and the dining table was a doorway into the kitchen and breakfast nook. I seem to remember another planter box that separated the breakfast nook from the kitchen area. There was a door to the garage off the breakfast area, and a door into the backyard between the breakfast nook and the kitchen. The kitchen was like a galley style with a little L on the end closest to the breakfast nook. The counters were ceramic tile. The sink was on the back wall along with all the cabinets/counters and the pantry, stove and refrigerator were on the opposite wall. At the far end of the kitchen was a door into the hall. Going into the hall, to the left was a Hollywood bath, straight ahead was Mom and Dad's bedroom. Turning right in the hall then going down were the other 2 bedrooms. The middle room was mine and Kathy's and the other room was the guest room. I remember moving into the front bedroom for just a short period of time before we moved to Pearland. The house wasn't centrally air-conditioned, but there was an attic fan in the hall and we had window units in parts of the house.

I was sick a lot when I was really little. I had kidney and bladder problems. I remember being in the hospital a lot when I was 3 or 4 years old, and had surgery when I was 5 or 6. I also had to have my tonsils out, so I spent a lot of time at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. Somewhere in there, I also broke my collarbone. I remember being in a body cast that came down like a short sleeve on the right side and then angling across to my under my left arm. The whole thing went down to my waist - I was wearing a plaster, one-sleeved shirt for several weeks. No one knew for sure how I broke it, Mom thinks I may have fallen off my tricycle. I just remember waking up from a nap, crying because it hurt. I remember trying to color, using my left hand because I couldn't use my right arm much.

Kathy was almost 3 years younger than me, and wanted to do everything that I did. I remember Mom dressed us either alike or in coordinating outfits. I remember red dresses with white lace and buttons down the front. Mom and Dad were going to let me stay up later or stop taking naps, but Kathy wanted to stay up as well - so I still had to go to bed earlier and take naps up until I went to school fulltime.

OK, enough for now - I will be making this a multi-part letter and may rearrange things as I think of new things.

ADSR

2008-03-02T12:23:00.009-06:00

I'm participating in the Amazing Digiscrapping Race #3 (ADSR3) with my partner, Fran. Fran is one of my fellow CT members at both DSAG and NDISB. Over the last several months, Fran and I have discovered a lot of things in common - mostly we both act a little crazy at times, and we both try to make people welcome at our sites, and try to act as ambassadors and good CT members (although I haven't been as good as Fran lately - I think I hit a bit of a scrapping slump and not doing as much as I can).

Anyway, we are now starting Week 2 of the 6 week challenge. Since Fran and I both are CT members, we aren't eligible for the Grand Prize, but there are some pretty nice prizes for completing each challenge.

The first challenge was to use a template and scrap about one of our favorite scrapping subjects. Of course, my subject was Audrey, looking at how she's grown through the years:

The second challenge was to scrap a layout with our partner, each of us taking a half. Well, Fran and I got on Hello and started throwing out ideas. Fran's first idea was to split the page vertically with each of us in profile looking toward each side and journaling and whatever on each side. Well before we could even get started, someone had already done that. So I suggested that we use pics of us with our subjects from Challenge 1 - me with Audrey and Fran with her grandkids. Fran didn't have any pics that she liked with her grandkids. I don't remember why, but she threw out some pics of her dressed as a clown. I don't have any of me in Halloween costumes scanned (I'm not sure where those pics even are), but I had one of my days when I used to go "Kicker" dancing - with the jeans and belt buckle and all. We kept throwing out older photos until both of us threw out pics from the 80's where we both had big glasses and wing hairstyles. That was it!!!! Long Lost Twins:

My Mortality

2008-02-06T16:22:00.001-06:00

Today is Ash Wednesday - it's a day of reflection of one's mortality and penitance in the Protestant Church as the start of the Lenten season. The imposition of ashes represent mortality (Ashes to ashes; dust to dust - From The Common Book of Prayer based on Gensis 3:19). Ponder your own mortality.

I've been hearing too many instances of people dying quickly lately. And it's gotten me to think about my mortality. Will I have any regrets? Will I leave things undone? Will I leave a mess behind or will I be able to have the opportunity to tie up the loose ends.

Tim McGraw has a song - Live Like You Were Dying - that describes a man that is terminal and how he is living his life after the news - and he went skydiving, Rocky Mountain climbing, 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu.

And now there is a new movie out that I want to see - The Bucket List - a list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket. I need to develop my Bucket List.

My Sacrifice for Lent

2008-02-05T13:11:00.001-06:00

And first off, no, I'm not Catholic. But I do try to do something for Lent. I think it shows a willingness to follow Christ as he prepared for His ultimate sacrifice.

I have been eating way too much crap lately. I feel like I have to have sugar every day. I'm eating way too much fried foods and too many doughnuts. So for Lent, I'm giving up french fries and doughnuts/breakfast junk.

And I'm going to try to eat better overall during Lent. There are 40 days in Lent, not counting Sundays - that should be enough time to get back in a better eating pattern that I can continue and try to get back being healthier over all.

Blog A Day

2008-01-24T11:49:00.000-06:00

OK, I've blown the blog a day thing. It had been a week since I last blogged. I'm getting better at writing. I just don't know if I have enough to say to blog every day. As it is, I know that people aren't really interested in the mundane in my life. Heck, I don't have a "following", so this blog is primarily for me - to record my thoughts and things that I'm doing -- so that I can remember. Occasionally, I go back and read my older posts and I'm glad that I do have written down what I have - I just need to do better - and do it for me!!!

5 Things Around My Computer

2008-01-24T11:35:00.000-06:00

List 5 things around my computer - why are they important and what do they say about you?

1) Camera - I usually have one or the other cameras nearby as I'm offloading photos into my laptop. I have been trying to take more pics and improve my skills, and transferring them to the laptop is part of the process.

2) Card Reader - My 2 cameras have different size cards. The P&S uses an SD card and the DSLR uses the Flash Card II. My laptop can read SD cards directly, but not FC. So I have a card reader - but my card reader can read most any format, just in case I ever have a 3rd type of media - you never know. And I had to go buy a new card reader this week because I couldn't find my other one. And I could have gotten one that reads just FC, but no, I had to get one that reads all media. I couldn't believe how lost I felt when I couldn't see the pics I took of Avery. What does that say about me?

3) EHD - Actually I have 3 EHDs around my laptop - the 2 portable ones and the more permanent one. I need to find good homes for them all - they are just laying around the recliner. But they are (at least the one I'm currently using) are my lifeblood - they have most all of my digital pics and all of my layouts (I'm still missing a couple from the hard disk crash 2 years ago :( ). That may be one reason I have so many - but I need to get organized in how I use them for back up. I'm still trying to finish my online backup - then I can worry about on-site backup. Yes, I'm getting anal about it, but I have lost too many pics over the years (mostly the paper kind and that upsets me because at this point they are irreplaceable and chronicle so much of my adult life. I just wish I had been better about taking AND developing pics prior to digital). Notice a recurring theme here? It's about the pics and the memories they represent.

4) Lamp - I have a floor lamp by the recliner. I have to have good light to work. It's that age thing - if I have good light, in most cases, I don't need the cheaters - the reading glasses.

5) TV Remote - Hey, I have to have noise. I may not actually watch TV when I'm actively scrapping, but I have the background - and I do look up from time to time (most shows, that's all it takes). And having control of the remote means I get to watch what I want to, and don't all of a sudden have to put up with the channel surfing. Thank goodness for more than one TV in the house.

My Second "Seven Wonders" Layout

2008-01-17T22:33:00.000-06:00

I finished my second "Seven Wonders" layout tonight. I decided that I won't necessarily use the same or even similar kits, but that I would tie the layouts together with the title work - it's all going to be same font, same angle, on each layout.

My Kit Colors

2008-01-15T21:08:00.000-06:00

OK - I chose these colors to be the colors of my kit I'm making in the Creating Papers and Elements class. Looking pretty good, huh!

Started New Class

2008-01-14T22:55:00.001-06:00

I'm taking a new class at www.dsaguild.com. It's Creating Elements in PS. I've taken a similar class in PSP, but I think I really will enjoy this class since Mary is teaching it. I'm trying to settle on a color palette so that when I'm done with the class, I'll have a cohesive kit. I just about have it narrowed down - and it wasn't even my first choice. I'll post my final choice tomorrow.

Houston Marathon

2008-01-13T19:39:00.000-06:00

Today was the Houston Marathon. I volunteered to work as a ham radio operator. This meant getting up at 3:30 to be downtown for check-in. Then work my way to my assignment at a water station. I was on station by 5:15 or so. Of course, the race didn't start until 7:00. But we were next to a coffee house that opened at 6:00. This meant we had restroom facilities and snacks, including hot chocolate.

I got some pictures of the elite half-marathoners as they came past. And I meant to take pics of the "masses", but I forgot. We were where we had runners/walkers going in both directions - north and south on Montrose. The half-marathoners turned around about a mile south of us.

I was done by 10:30 and came home for a nap.

But it got me thinking - do I want to attempt one more half? I know I can do the distance, if the knees let me.

Thunderstorms

2008-01-12T20:24:00.000-06:00

Tonight we had a thunderstorm roll through. It was interesting to watch the line of clouds move across the sky. I just hope it keeps rolling right on through as the Houston Marathon is tomorrow. I know from experience that going for long distances in wet running shoes is not comfortable. I hope that the weather is great for them tomorrow - and for me. I'm volunteering as a ham radio operator at one of the water stations. Who knows, maybe next year I'll be back out there walking.

Did It To Myself Again

2008-01-11T23:52:00.000-06:00

I applied for a CT and then was really hurt when I didn't get a position, not even a guest position. I think what really upset me is this was one of the designers that I used to CT for, I really love her stuff and really promoted her on forums such as DST and MSA.

Oh well, someday I will learn to not do this to myself.

Seven Wonders In My Life - P. 2

2008-01-10T22:37:00.000-06:00

I've created a layout from one of my seven wonders from yesterday's post. I'm thinking that I will be creating a page for each of the seven wonders in my life... ok, the 8 wonders in my life!!!

Credits: Madeleine Page Kit by NinaScraps, Cursive Metal Font by Birgit Kerr

Seven Wonders of My Life...

2008-01-09T15:05:00.000-06:00

The Seven Wonders Of My Life

1) My faith and belief that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and that God loves me – even with all the stuff that has gone on with my family, my faith remains. And the knowledge that someday I will see my sister and father again brings me peace.
2) Audrey – How can one little girl that isn’t even my child bring so much love and fulfillment to my life? She is definitely a source of wonder and amazement to me.
3) My sisters – we grew up to be friends as well as sisters. Mary was my best friend, and she was 9 years younger than me. For one thing, she kept me young.
4) My parents – they were married for 47 years and had a loving marriage. They gave us a great upbringing and provided a sound foundation for me to build my life on.
5) My dogs – they love me unconditionally. Yes, they are aggravating at times, but when one comes up and puts it’s snout in my lap and looks at me with those puppy dog eyes – ahhhhh! And they keep me entertained.
6) My extended family – my mom’s brothers and sister and their families have been mainstays in my entire life. They are there for one another and they are fun to be around. Yes, there are squabbles and spats, but they truly love one another and the extended family.
7) The fact that I can have friends from all over the world and can keep up with them through the miracles of modern technology; the internet, e-mail, cell phones, etc.
8) The fact that I’m able to travel freely to just about anywhere I would want to go, and the fact that I can pretty easily get there.

Ok, so that was 8 – shoot me!!!

Oh My!!!

2008-01-08T22:21:00.000-06:00

I had dinner at Double Dave's tonight. I had journaled my food intake today and knew that I had plenty of points. I wasn't going to deprive myself, but since it wasn't a buffet night, I wasn't sure what to order that wouldn't be toooooo bad. I ordered a veggie stromboli. I ate 2/3 of it plus a salad. Well, 1/6 of a veggie stromboli was 290 calories and 8 g of fat - Oh My!!!! I had almost 1200 calories in one meal.

That's why I'm having trouble with my weight. The stuff I love is loaded with calories. I guess I won't be going to Double Dave's again any time soon. Don't want to know what a fully loaded pizza would be there.

Eating Healthier in 2008

2008-01-07T20:47:00.001-06:00

I'm slowly working my way back into Weight Watchers Online. This week I'm getting back into the habit of journaling.

And this isn't my first time at it. In 2003/2004, I lost 97 pounds. But life finally beat me down - in 2005 I suffered some major injuries and started my rounds of surgery. I used that as an excuse and put it almost all back on.

Last year, I played at weight loss - I would stay with it for a few weeks, and then I would fall off the wagon.This is going to be one of the habits that I want to cultivate in 2008 - not so much to lose weight (yes, that's a goal) but to be healthier. Putting this out there is part of my plan to develop the habit - adding to my accountability.

Audrey and her Family

2008-01-06T22:20:00.000-06:00

I did this layout of Audrey and her family. I took the pics at Christmas when we were visiting. She's at the stage where she doesn't like to get her picture made and tends to act like a nut, so the word art is perfect.

Credits:

Template by Maria (Scraplikecrazy)

Tied Together Kit by NDISB Designers - January 2008 Customer Appreciation Kit

Not Resolutions But Habits

2008-01-05T20:57:00.000-06:00

Wednesday, I posted what were the things I wanted to change in 2008. I have some habits that I want to develop or redevelop in 2008. As stated this week, I've started the Photo A Day and Blogging. I'm on Day 4 of both of these. Next week I start the eating healthier.

Kit is Just Believe by Amy Head.

Well, What to Talk About Tonight?

2008-01-04T20:51:00.000-06:00

Hmmmm. It's 9:00 and I haven't blogged today because I don't really have a topic today. I knew I should have saved my Dear Audrey for today, but I wanted to go ahead and get it written while I was thinking about it. I'm really bad with coming up with something I want to blog, then putting it off until I forget about it.

Today, some folks wanted me to help organize some tutorials/challenges on blogs. Ha! Ha! Have I got them fooled or what! I mean I can come up with blog prompts because I know how to surf the Internet - but setting up blogs? I can't even get my blog to do what I want - I would love to have the header spread across the page, but I can't get that figured out. I know I could make the header even bigger than I have - but my personal laptop is a wide screen and what's big enough for it would be too big for most screens.

Ok, so I'm off to Google and see what I can learn about setting up Blogger blogs.

Christmas Eve Letter

2008-01-03T11:57:00.000-06:00

Dear Audrey,

Tonight you went to Candlelight Service with Grandy and I. You told us it was your first time to go to church, well, the second if you count the Easter Egg Hunt and breakfast at Grandy's church with the Easter Bunny.

I want you to know the all encompassing Love of God and the knowledge of Jesus Christ dying for our sins. I want you to know that there is a Life hereafter and to be secure in the knowledge that someday not only will you be able to know God and His Son personally, but that you will see your mother again.

I know that your daddy wants you to explore all religions and make your own choices as you grow up, and that if you are meant to be a Christian, it will be your decision. But I also know that unless you are exposed to God's love and care, you won't understand.

I know that as an 8 year old, church may seem boring and that you probably didn't understand the significance of the Candlelight Service or why we wanted you to sit through a "bore-ing" service. But it's my hope that you will come to know that all encompassing Love and that why the miracle of Christmas isn't snow on Christmas morning, or getting the toys you really wanted or that Santa Claus came to your house. I want you to know that the miracle of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and that He is with you every step of the way.

So, I won't push "my" religion on you. But I will expose you to the concepts of "my" religion and I will give you the opportunity to experience it for yourself. And I will pray to God that you find a friend that will encourage your journey as well... someone that will invite you to church with them, someone that believes and will encourage you to believe as well.

I love you always,
Aunt Maggie

Day 2 of Habit Setting

2008-01-03T11:53:00.000-06:00

I took pictures on my way to work this morning with my P&S. I hope they came out - it was a gorgeous sunrise this morning.

And I 'm blogging so that's 2 days in a row there.... so ha! Only 19 more days to go on both of these to make them a habit. I haven't done anything in the other habits for 2008 list, I need to add some housework to the mix. The healthy eating will start next week with another challenge. And getting exercise in still has to be figured out - I know, just do it! But it's hard to figure out when.

Oh My!!!

2008-01-02T09:48:00.000-06:00

It's been 2 months since I've blogged - bad Maggie!!! And that's even with me doing biweekly blog prompts at DSAG.

So many things to report - so little time - ha!

In late November, Debb decided to re-organize DSAG and eliminate the store from the site. She formed a collaboration with Theresa Hernandez with NDISB for the designers to sell at that store and also to sell the classes there. DSAG will be primarily a learning site now. Well, that left the CT in a quandry. We could continue to CT at DSAG, but really the only kit to showcase there will be the motnhly Guild kit, we could elect to move over to CT at NDISB, and we were released from our exclusivity agreement with the Guild and be free to pursue other CTs while staying on the Guild CT. I have elected to remain on the Guild CT and the NDISB CT. And I may pursue other options. One of my favorite designers, Birgit Kerr is now at another site entirely, and I may try for her CT when she has a call - or at least see if she is looking for a guest.

I'm not making any resolutions for 2008 - I never manage to keep them. Instead, I'm going to try to instill some habits into my life this year. I have let so many things go over the last few years - my excuses have been mainly related to my ability to get around due to my knees, etc. Well, it's been a year and a half since my knee replacement and I have got to quit using it as an excuse.

So the list of things I want to work on in 2008 is quite long and I don't know how far I will get. It will involve me not immediately crawling into my chair with my laptop as soon as I get home in the evenings. And it will require discipline on my part. Ha! Ha! Thus speaks the inherently lazy person with zero discipline lately.

It takes 21 days to make a habit - yeah, right - I think it takes a lot longer, but we will see.

So My List of Habits I Want to Create in 2008:

Photo a Day
I want to begin shooting a photo a day - I think it will be cool to chronicle the everyday things in life, plus I understand that people who begin this habit feel it only helps their photography skills. Everytime I think I'm improving on my skills, I have incidents like Christmas reach up and slap me in the face. So many of my pics did not turn out well, and I totally forgot to shoot some photos like Audrey all dressed up for church - which she informed Grandy and I that it was her first time to go to church. That's a whole other blog in and of itself, maybe a "Dear Audrey" blog - haven't done one of those in a long time.
Daily Blogging
I think journaling on a regular basis would be a really good thing for me. I leave so many things bottled up and that's not healthy. This will give me a creative outlet for venting. Plus, I want to leave behind some evidence of my existense and maybe some day, someone will look back with fondness on my life - yeah, right. It's also another way to instill some discipline in my life.
Exercise
I really did feel better when I was exercising regularly, even though I had to schedule it into my day like a meeting. In fact, I did best when I exercised at the Fitness Center at work. With my existing work schedule of working at 2 sites, this may be a little more troublesome - but I am paying for a Y membership that I haven't used in probably close to 2 years. That's ridiculous!!!
Healthy Eating
Oh yeah! I gained back almost everything I lost 4 years ago. Last year I played at losing weight a couple of times and I start this year just about where I started last year - not good!!! While, I should just break down and get all the way back on the WW bandwagon whole heartedly today, I'm not going to do that. But next week, the Back to Basics is going to start up where each week for 8 weeks we focus on one aspect of WW, then after the 8 weeks is over, we start over. If I focus on the Back To Basics topic for that week, maybe by the end of the 8 weeks I will actually be in the diet mode - but at least I will be eating healthier and that is ultimately the goal.
Clean House
Neither Mark nor I like to do anything related to housework and it's really showing, especially with the dogs contributing as well. So I want to get into the habit of spending a few minutes every day working on the house. Right now, it's a daunting task with every room in the house needing attention. I need to go through stuff and throw out, which is painful for a packrat - but I can't find stuff anymore, I have no room to do stuff that I want to do, and I don't want anyone coming to my house. I would love to be able to have Audrey come stay at my house in April - but that's not an option at this point.
Gardening
I used to love working in the yard, but then with all the knee injuries, it got to be too much, then I let the yard get away from me. Of course, it doesn't help that Mark has all this crap in front of the house and that the dogs have pretty much destroyed the back yard, but I can clean out the flower beds and do some planting and see how it goes. I'll start with the 4 beds in the front of the house - decide if I want to keep them all and figure out what I want to plant - then figure out a way to keep the yard guys from cutting them down!!!! I realize I have lost another rose bush to them - ARRGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

OK, that's enough for today - and look, I got my post in for the day! Yay! One thing to check off!!!

Why Do You Think You Were Born In This World?

2007-10-30T19:44:00.000-05:00

Whew - a toughie!

Actually, I've thought about this with everything that's happened in the last 6, almost 7, years. I had really wondered what went wrong with my life. I wasn't married, I didn't have kids, I hadn't moved to faraway lands - things that I grew up thinking might happen to me. What little girl doesn't think she will get married and have babies when she grows up?

But then my dad had his catastrophic illness. I was able to spend most evenings and weekends with my parents helping out. Then Mary was diagnosed with cancer. I split my time between helping with Daddy and Mary where I could. I was able to fly to Atlanta when needed.

And then Mary died - again I was free to travel (within work constraints) to help with Audrey when David needed me.

If I had a "traditional" life with husband and kids, I wouldn't have been able to help out as much as I did with my family. So things do happen for a reason!

Emotional Week

2007-10-20T09:26:00.000-05:00

This has been such an emotional week. Some things I knew were going to affect me. Some hit me clear out of the blue.

I hosted an online chat Tuesday night for my digiscrapping friends - it was An Evening of Pink. I offered information on breast cancer and some scrapping challenges. I knew this was going to be a difficult evening, and I had been scrapping Mary plus wrote her story to share with the others. I think it was a successful evening - convinced one woman that she needed to get checked - she was in her 50's and never have had a mammogram.

But yesterday hit me clear out of the blue. I was coming through the north side of town and decided to stop at the cemetery to visit my daddy's grave. It hit me that I totally forgot to honor him on his death day - October 31. I remember Mary's but forgot his. So I was already feeling guilty and asking for his forgiveness when I get to his graveside. And I can't find it!!! The footstone was completely overgrown with grass. I know that his grave is kind of by itself and so I go to the gravestone I see by itself and it's not Daddy's. I look around and finally see this depression in the grass. By this time I'm in tears. I don't have any tools with me, but I pull the grass away with my hands and sweep the footstone with my bare hands. It's not completely clean, but at least now it can be seen. I did go to the cemetery office and have a talk with them about it. This is supposed to be a perpetual care cemetery and for the grass to have completely overgrown it, it hadn't been touched in a while.

If I could take tomorrow off of work, I'd...

2007-10-10T11:03:00.000-05:00

I would really be happy. I'm not happy at work right now, and the main reason is my boss. I really don't like him too much. I don't get the feeling he really cares about us. And I'm continually in trouble with him.

Right now, I'm just trying to stay out of his way and avoid him and that's not a very good way to work.

I have about 5 more years until I can retire from this job, even though I seriously need to think about what I want to do afterwards. I won't be able to retire completely at that point, so I need to think about my second career. Wonder if I could make a living playing on the computer all day?!?!?

Look At Your Hands

2007-10-02T22:28:00.000-05:00

Why Are You Grateful For Them?

I'm grateful for my hands because I use them for my job and for my creative outlets. I use my hands to work a computer at work. That would be difficult to do if I didn't have the use of my hands. I could still do my job, after all it's my knowledge that's the most important part of my job. But the job would be so much more difficult if I couldn't type on the computer or operate a mouse.

All of my creative outlets have involved my hands in some way - from operating the computer for my digiscrapping to holding a needle or crochet hook to do my needlework, knitting and crocheting to modeling railroad equipment or miniatures to working in my yard - all have involved my hands over the years.

But the biggest reason I'm grateful for my hands is the love I have been able to show through them - taking care of my Dad, holding my sister before she died and most importantly holding Audrey. I hope that she never tires of my touch. I know I will never tire of hers.

The Last Time I Laughed Really Hard...

2007-09-27T18:42:00.000-05:00

was while we were in Vegas. We got together for drinks before the show and dinner. I don't even remember what we were laughing at, I just remember laughing a lot!!!

Speaking of Vegas, I will try to post some pics and layouts from that trip. Of course, I still need to scrap my family reunion vacation!

My Reason for Changing My Lifestyle

2007-09-21T21:15:00.000-05:00

1) My knees - my knees hurt all the time and one of them shouldn't since it's a "robot" knee.
2) My niece - I want to be around for Audrey and I want to be active with her and for her not to ever be ashamed of Aunt Maggie.
3) My health - Cancer runs in my family and being overweight is a known correlation.
4) To feel better - I don't have the stamina and endurance I should.
5) To buy clothes that fit and are from the Ladies section (not Womens)

I Look Up To ______________ Because...

2007-09-20T12:38:00.000-05:00

This is an easy prompt.

I look up to my baby sister Mary because of the way she handled her illness, her treatment and her death. I'm not saying she was perfect and I'm not saying that she had bad days. Yes, she railed against the diagnosis, went into denial, screamed at the fates - all of it. But for the most part, she was so positive about it - "Yeah, I've got cancer, deal with it and let's get on with it."

Mary used what she was going through as a way to reach out to people and be an advocate for breast cancer awareness and information. She would show people her scars, her reconstruction. She would take the time to talk to people about her treatments and what she was going through. She even left a blog of her experiences that I believe people may still be accessing: www.xanga.com/The_Booby_Files.

Even when she knew the cancer was back and something she would have to live with, she wanted to fight so that she could watch Audrey grow up and be there for her. She had things she wanted to do, and against all odds even accomplished some of them. I still don't know how she found the strength to go to Walt Disney World in early April, 2004 - just 6 weeks before she died. But she wanted to take Audrey to Disney World and show her why it was a favorite place to go.

And when she discontinued treatment, she worried that she was letting people down - no way! She fought the terrible beast, but it finally got to be stronger than she was. She wasn't quitting, she decided to die with dignity and make the most of the time she had left. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of weeks.

She planned her death much like she fought her battle - she tried to make it as easy on the family as possible. She planned her memorial service, going as far as to provide links on where to find the songs online she wanted at her service. She left a list of things she wanted Audrey to know/remember about Mommy.

And she gave me hope when I found out that she saw Daddy before she died... the hope that he was there for her and that there is definitely a better place after.

I miss her as much as ever, but I try to face life without her with courage carry her message forward, especially the message of breast cancer awareness. And I try to help Audrey know her mother, especially as Audrey is growing up and not remembering as much of when she was younger.

List 5 Ways You've Changed In The Last 5 Years

2007-09-19T13:39:00.000-05:00

1. I've lost and gained almost 100 pounds.
In January, 2003 I decided that I needed to take better care of myself. I joined Weight Watchers online and over the course of the next two years, I lost 97 pounds. But when I stopped training due to injuries in 2005, I let myself get back into bad eating habits. I've gained to within 20 pounds of where I started. This year, I have basically maintained - losing 5-6 pounds then gaining it back. I really need to find my mojo and start losing again, for myself and so that I can enjoy Audrey for many years to come.

2. I've determined that I can be an endurance athlete.
At the same time I started losing weight, I started walking. I didn't set out to become an endurance athlete - in fact, I've never considered myself to be an athlete of any kind. But, once I started walking, I found I stayed more motivated if I had goals. My first goal was to be able to walk 3 miles, then 3 miles in under an hour. Once I achieved that, I needed another goal - and set my sights on a half marathon. It didn't happen the first year due to a knee injury and surgery, but I completed my first half marathon in September, 2004 and my next one the following January. I have also participated in 2 MS150 bike events, even though I haven't managed to ride the full 180 miles over 2 days. Who would have thought!!!

3. I've lost half of my immediate family to cancer.
Now although I haven't actually suffered from cancer, it has had a major impact on my life. In the space of 8 months I lost my Daddy and my baby sister both to cancer. I watched Daddy perservere and fight the disease seemingly successfully twice before it got him the third time. And I lost my best friend as well as my sister when Mary died at the age of 38. These two events have probably had the biggest impact on my life ever, not just the last 5 years. It has definitely left a void in my life and a really big hole in my heart.

4. I've learned new things.
I learned how to digiscrap so that I could capture memories for Audrey since her mother wasn't around to do it. And I have grown as an artist in this time. And yes, I consider it a form of art, it's a way of expressing myself through a digital medium. I've also learned how to take better photographs - although this is an ongoing process for me. And I wouldn't consider myself a photographic artist, at least not yet. I've learned that I can stretch myself and I can achieve things that I never would have dreamed possible 5 years ago (see #2).

5. I've made some wonderful friends all around the world.
The internet can be a wonderful thing. It brings people closer together. And if the people are truly honest about themselves, you can form friendships through the internet. I've met some wonderful folks through my Weight Watchers journey. And I'm meeting new people all the time through my digiscrapping. Now, some of these people I will never meet face to face, although I have met several, but they have come to mean so much to me. We have shared successes and failures, joys and heartaches - all through the electronic medium known as the internet.

Blog Prompt Challenge

2007-09-05T12:58:00.000-05:00

I'm starting a bi-weekly blog prompt chat at Digital Scrapbook Artisan Guild this week. The idea is to get people journaling more, and maybe some of these ideas will morph into layouts.

The prompt for this week is:

What foods do you keep out of sight?

I thought this prompt was appropriate considering that many of us are trying to lose weight. I have to keep most any kind of snack out of sight usually out of the house completely. This includes crackers, chips, cookies, ice cream - at least the ones in bulk containers. I keep on the counter snack bars and 100 calorie packs. I know what the point value of those are and they are packaged for single servings. Mark knows to hide any "bad" foods as well!!!

4 Years Ago

2007-08-31T15:16:00.000-05:00

Four years ago my dad passed away. He died of complications of renal cell carcinoma - kidney cancer. He was also a lymphoma survivor and a brain stem stroke survivor - although the stroke may have been caused by the renal cancer.

Daddy was a big influence in my life. He and I were a lot alike in many ways as well. In fact, I tend to think I favor my dad the most in looks, although I have had people tell me that I look like Mom.

I'm the oldest of three girls. Since Daddy didn't have a son, he passed on some of his "loves" to his daughters. He wasn't a big sports fan or into cars or hunting or things like that. But he loved airplanes and would take us to the airport to watch the planes come in when we were little. I love being around airplanes, especiall WWII Warbirds - another love that Daddy and I shared.

We learned to sail at the same time. And when he was ready to sell the boat, I took it on for another couple of years. It was "our" boat.

We both were interested in trains. I got my first model train set before I was a year old. OK, I think Daddy did want a boy. But he didnt' let the fact that I was a girl stop from sharing his loves with me.

Daddy was a HAM radio operator. And he encouraged me to study for my license, which was pretty unusual in the early 70's. But I just couldn't get the hang of Morse code. I could handle the electronics and the technical stuff - again I was like Daddy in that regard. So after he died, I studied and got my license and now I have his call sign - WA5RSU.

Daddy encouraged us to do what ever we wanted. I was strong in math and science - like him. I might have become an engineer, but I really liked the science of chemistry. Of course, after I graduated and saw how much more engineers made, I wished I had been like him a little more :)

Daddy and I got along really great after I was grown. I used to travel with he and my mom. Mom said that Daddy and I ganged up on her. Don't know what she's talking about... heheehee.

So, I guess you could say I'm a chip off the old block!!! (even though I'm a girl)

Meeting Rachel

2007-08-24T13:26:00.000-05:00

While on vacation, I got the opportunity to meet one of my scrapping buddies and fellow DSAG CT member, Rachel, and her daughter Maddie. This was one of the highlights of my trip. We have been scrapping together as a team for 6 months and several of us have gotten to be online friends. So it was a great experience to meet one of my team mates in person. Mom and I spent the afternoon with Rachel and Maddie exploring the Charlotte area.

Here is a layout I did of Rachel and Maddie using Birgit Kerr's new mini-kit, Cinna-Mint:

Vacation

2007-08-20T19:08:00.000-05:00

I was gone for 13 days - on a driving vacation. We drove through 8 states during that time. I really enjoyed the NC mountains. It was cool in the mornings when we were in Blowing Rock. And it was great to spend time with family. Not only did we get to see most everyone at family reunion, but got to spend quality time with a lot of the aunts and uncles after the reunion.

And I got to meet one of my fellow CT members - Rachel, and her little girl, Madeline. It was great to spend time with someone who I've really come to admire as a scrapper and a person.

Finally, we held the dedication ceremony for the Mary Paulsen Playground. I was the family representative and had to speak at the ceremony. I also made a layout for the HOA and framed it and presented to them. Audrey got to cut the ribbon - she loved being a part of the ceremony. It was really a bittersweet moment. I was glad to see the kids playing on the playground and the enthusiasm of the HOA volunteers. But I kept thinking that Mary really should have been there. She would have really enjoyed the playground!!!

This and That

2007-06-07T07:40:00.000-05:00

I've made some really great layouts in the past week or so - great for me anyway!!! I need to post them here and on my slide show! I can't believe how much I'm growing as a scrapper in just a short period of time. I'm constantly trying new techniques and taking a bunch of classes! It's amazing how things are really coming together.

I've gotten a new assignment at work - not giving up anything else at the moment, but this one added on top. It's moving me even more away from the lab and more into the Product Development arena - I'm going to be managing our specifications and the process for getting new specs into production. Since I'm computer literate and familiar with the systems, plus familiar with ISO 9000 (the bosses' reason, not mine), they felt like it was a good fit for me. In other words, I'm anal about following procedures and the procedures in part of the company have been a little loose in regards to specs.

I Made It Through The Day

2007-05-21T13:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I made it through the day Friday, by not thinking about it, by not thinking about the date. That and having 65 3rd graders to keep me distracted helped. We did our last class at the Wildlife Center for the school year. I taught 2 of the sessions and worked backroom for the other 2. So I stayed busy.

But other times during the weekend, I have remembered - and the pain is still there. It still brings tears to my eyes.

Mary - I miss you!

Time Flies!!!

2007-05-14T08:15:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I haven't posted in 2 months. I seem to stay busy all the time these days, but I don't know that I'm getting anything accomplished. I take that back!!! I have gotten a bunch of layouts done since I'm on the DSAG CT. I have even started a couple of albums and completed one.

The one album I have completed was made with Ready Made Pages, so went together quickly. I had come across some photos of Audrey and Mary together so had the idea of building an album around them. I don't know when/if I will give it to Audrey since she seems to be moving on so well - but I think I will have it printed and waiting in the wings so to speak. Here is the first page of the album.

Friday is the third anniversary of Mary's death. Even though the pain isn't as acute, it's still there and this time of year it does tend to build. I miss you little sister, more than ever!!!

My Wild and Crazy Weekend

2007-03-12T15:12:00.000-05:00

I took a photography workshop this weekend in Seabrook. I had such high hopes, and my photos ended up being just so-so. I was probably the rankest amateur in the class and I was somewhat intimidated by all the great photographers and all their great equipment.

Back to Photography 101 for me, I guess. I really need to be able to do correct exposures without depending on the camera, but I get lazy and then confused. I did try some autobracketing, but I think I may have set the brackets too wide. I was using +/- 1 F stop and probably should have used +/- 2/3 instead.

And my compositions for the most part stunk!!! I may be able to salvage some photos with some cropping and cleaning up.

I did try shooting in RAW this weekend as well. Now, I need to figure out my Photoshop workflow for "developing" the photos. One of the photographers was showing me the Canon RAW converter, but I have to see if I can find my disk. Otherwise I will need to use the Adobe Camera RAW that comes with PSCS2 - and heaven only knows how bad I am in PSCS2 right now.

The kicker for the weekend. Saturday morning we were shooting pelicans through the fog and trying to get the sunrise. Well, I let my filter get fogged up as well. I don't know if I will be able to clean that out. And while standing out in this field, I was eaten up by some sort of biting gnat or other tiny insect - not mosquitos. Yesterday things weren't too bad - I just had red welts on my arm and neck. This morning they started itching. The itching is about to drive me crazy. I've broken open a couple of the welts and will have sores. I tried lotion this morning, but it didn't really help. I will have to stop for some cortisone cream on the way home tonight. In the meantime - AGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!

MAGGIE

2007-03-07T15:53:00.000-06:00

Making memories
Aggie from Texas A&M - Gig 'Em!
Great Aunt - that's great as in wonderful, by the way!
Good daughter, Mildred - family joke
Into all kinds of crafts and hobbies
Entertaining?

Ideal Job

2007-03-06T15:29:00.000-06:00

If you had the opportunity for a day, to have a different job (and was totally qualified, trained and capable for that one day), what job would you like to do and why?

I think I would like to be a pilot. I love airplanes, and would love to take flying lessons if they weren't so expensive. So, I think a job as a pilot would be an interesting way to combine several different loves including airplanes and travel.

Happy Birthday, Mary!

2007-02-27T08:53:00.000-06:00

Today would have been Mary's 41st birthday. The first year after she died, Audrey wanted to have a birthday party for Mommy. I had come to Atlanta to spend the weekend with Kathy, and Audrey wanted us to make a cake and have a party. We made a giant chocolate chip cookie (Mary's favorite) and decorated it. And then we sang Happy Birthday to Mommy. Kathy said it was surreal to sing Happy Birthday to a dead person - Uh-huh!

Last year, Audrey said dead people didn't have birthdays. What a difference a year makes.

This year, I don't even know if Audrey will remember Mommy that clearly. She has a step-mom and was so young when Mary died, that I know the memories will fade. And that's a bittersweet acknowledgement. I know that it's going to happen, and I know Audrey is moving forward in her young life.

But I remember! Happy Birthday, Mary!!! I miss you!

My Autobiography?

2007-02-27T08:45:00.000-06:00

If you were to write your autobiography, what would the title be? And the chapter headings? Who would write the forward and to whom would the book be dedicated?

If I were to write my autobiography - first of all it would probably be pretty short so as not to bore people. Who wants to ready about a normal, boring, typical American life? - I would probably call it Bits and Pieces. That's what my life is - bits and pieces of day-to-day life.

Also, bits and pieces would describe how my interests come into my life and leave - in bits and pieces. Over the years, I've tried so many hobbies and I think I still have the remnants of all of them somewhere. Some I still keep my hand in, some I think I might get back to someday, some come and go and come back.

I wouldn't be so formal as to have chapter titles. And the book, would probably be dedicated to my family, especially to my sister, Mary. She was my best friend after we grew up, even though there was 9 years between us. She was a beautiful person and I hope being her sister has made me a better person.

I think I would like the Foreward to be written Audrey - right now - when Aunt Maggie is someone still special in her young life and from a child's view.

I'm on a CT!!!!

2007-02-26T08:07:00.000-06:00

I am a member of the inaugural Creative Team for Digital Scrapbook Artisan Guild!!!!!! I was amazed when I made it through the first round - which was an application with gallery links so that the designers could choose the finalists. I was surprised when I was asked to move to the second round.

There were 15 of us in the second round - although we didn't know that until everyone had posted their layouts. We were asked to create 2 layouts - both with specific DSAG kits and one was using the class notes from a mini-class being offered by the Guild. The 30 layouts created were amazing!!!! There was so much talent and creativity shown in this round, that I have spent the last week bracing myself for not being picked. Hey, I had made it to the second round which was progress for me, and when I found out that I was one of 15, I was totally honored.

The official announcement was this morning and there are 7 of us on the team. I've known since Saturday since I had to officially accept before the announcement, and I want to tell you, that not being able to tell anyone has been torture.

Anyway, I will serve for 6 months, creating layouts from new kits and in some cases, utilizing the class texts from the mini-classes being offered. And I will be hosting my own challenges and chats - eek!!!! I had already volunteered to do a member challenge in February on journaling and asked if I wanted to make it monthly - so I think that will be the subject of my challenges.
My layouts -

Favorite Mode of Travel

2007-02-26T07:46:00.000-06:00

The prompt this morning was "what is your favorite mode of travel - plane, car, boat, train?" And what do you do when you are traveling - assuming you aren't driving?

Each of the 4 modes have their advantages and disadvantages - and I like all 4. Now how's that for wishy-washy????

Airplanes get me where I want to go and in most cases, quickly. When I go to Atlanta, I definitely prefer to fly over drive because it's at least a 12 hour drive (when I have very few stops) and usually a 13-14 hour drive. It's a 2 hour flight, so I don't lose 2 whole days of my vacation just getting there and back. I can fly to Atlanta for a long weekend as well. I also have friends in Washington, D.C. and driving would take too long to see them. When I fly, I usually read.

I haven't been to Europe in a few years, but flying is about the only option to get there.

Cars are for short trips and for when enjoying the scenery is part of the plan. It would take as long, if not longer, to go to the airport at least an hour early, fly to Austin, get picked up and drive to Marble Falls as it does to just drive the whole way. And certain times of the year, I would much rather drive because of the scenery. Springtime in Texas is beautiful with all the wildflowers!!!

We took the trip in December to New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. I spent most of my time "oohing" and "ahhing" over the scenery. It was my first time in New Mexico and that part of Utah. New Mexico, especially, was not what I expected. I was expecting barren and cactus everywhere. There was a lot of grassland and the mountains were everywhere!!! In Utah, I never expected to see so many shades of red and orange. It took my breath away. And I have always loved the majesty of the mountains of Colorado!!!

A lot of times while in the car, if I'm not driving of course, I will read. Whether driving or not, a lot of times I will pass the time with audio books. But this last trip, I played with the GPS system I had loaded on my laptop and enjoyed the changing scenery. I don't think I read a single page of a book while in the car - well except maybe for excerpts from the travel guides I had.

I love traveling by boat, but haven't done but one cruise. And that was 25 years ago. I keep saying I want to take another cruise, but I just haven't done it. And I love riding on a sailboat. There is nothing like it, especially if you have to motor out of a channel before lifting your sails. As soon as the sails catch the wind, and you can turn off the motor - heavenly bliss on earth!!! My family had a sailboat for about 10 years and I would love to have another one - if I didn't have to worry about things like slip rent and the upkeep and maintenance.

I have an aunt and uncle that used to do the cruises where you rent a sailboat and sail through the Carribean Islands - I would love to do something like that someday as well!!!

And the only time I've been on a train lately has been a tourist train - of course then, you want to look at the scenery - that's usually the reason for the tourist train. We rode the Durango and Silverton in December and I really enjoyed it for that reason alone - well, and the fact we were being pulled by a steam engine.

Trains are the preferred method of travel in Europe and I have taken advantage of the trains every time I have been over there. Again, when traveling by train, I may read, but I will also be admiring the scenery.

Have you noticed a repeating theme here - I think I'm a scenery junkie!!!

What Color Do I Want To Be?

2007-02-21T08:19:00.000-06:00

1. If you were a crayon, which color would you want to be? My favorite colors were Blue Green and Forest Green. So those are the colors I would want to be.
2. Which color do you think you would be regardless of what you wanted? I would probably end up being a neutral such as Flesh (now called Peach).
3. Would you rather be used and get blunt, broken and lose your wrapper, or not be used and stay pristine? I would want to be well-used, but taken care of. Since I'm going to be part of the 64 color set, I can be sharpened as needed and only peel off enough paper to fit in the sharpener.
4. Would you rather be in a small set of crayons or a large set? I want to be in the 64 color set - that was the largest set when I was growing up (they now have a 120 color set!?!?!?!) and it was considered the most special. We didn't get that one very often.
5. Would you rather be Crayola, or a different brand? Crayola, of course. It's the brand of crayons everyone knows.

I actually went on the web and found Crayola's website - www.crayola.com. There is all kinds of really cool and interesting stuff on the site. There's everything from coloring activities to the history of the Crayola colors, even the science of color.

10 Things I Want (But Don't Need)

2007-02-19T11:27:00.000-06:00

1. New glass for my camera - I have a 18-55 and 55-200, but I want a 18-200 or 18-250 so I don't have to swap lenses so much.

2. Right now - I want a piece of chocolate - definitely don't need it.

3. I want a CT position at DSAG - do I need it? I probably don't need it as I will commit to quite a bit of scrapping - but man, oh man, do I want it!!!!

4. I want more hours in the day - I don't necessarily need them if I could just learn to budget my time, but I sure do want them.

5. I want to lose 100 pounds - no, wait, I need to lose 100 pounds - I want to look good when I do so.

6. I want thinner arms - I don't necessarily need them, but it would be nice not to have bat wings and to make it easier to find shirts that fit.

7. I want a vacation - I don't really need one since I just had one in December, but I want to take another trip.

8. I want a maid - no, I guess that's I really need a maid since I'm too lazy to clean my house. But I would have to clean my house before I would let a maid in... what a choice - want or need.

9. I want a nap - I don't even really need a nap today. I just want one - then I wouldn't be at work (on a holiday for a lot of people).

10. Finally - I want a hamburger for lunch and no, I don't need it - but I want it!!!

DSAG CT Competition

2007-02-18T22:12:00.000-06:00

Well, I made it past the first round of the DSAG CT competition and now Round 2 was creating 2 layouts. The first layout took me the better part of 2 evenings, but I was really pleased with it. The second layout I'm not as comfortable with. I think I could have done more with it, but I wanted to keep it paper-style. Normally, I would think it's a good layout, I just don't know if it's competition quality.

So now I wait. And try not to be disappointed if I don't make it out of this round.

Manic Monday

2007-02-12T20:01:00.000-06:00

I really hate Mondays - it's not so much having to get up to go to work. But I end up staying up late on Sunday nights - I really mean to go to bed early but something always comes up. I'm playing on the computer or waiting for the late news. Then when I go to bed, I've been wanting to read for a little while.

Then that alarm goes off at 5:05. I hit the snooze and 7 minutes later it goes off again. By the second snooze alarm I have to get up - I usually have to go to the bathroom by that time anyway - after maneuvering the obstacle course formed by 8 dog legs. Yes, there are two dogs between the bed and the bathroom.

Shower and then to the laundry room to get clean clothes - OK, I don't do a good job of folding and put away my clothes after doing laundry, then back to the bedroom to get dressed. By now, the dogs have moved - one's usually up on the bed and if he's really good, he's left me a spot to sit. The other one waits until I sit down and then she sits right next to me - oh I love close supervision when getting dressed.

Playing with the dogs as I get dressed usually puts me behind schedule - so it's a quick hair brush, grab stuff out of the fridge for lunch and I'm out the door. And that's just the first 45 minutes or so after I wake up.

The Weight Loss Journey

2007-02-05T14:58:00.000-06:00

I had a really rocky start - I used the stress and emotions around Ruth's death derail me for several days, but I did get back on the wagon the week after. I have lost 9.4 pounds since then, and I'm back to -23.8 pounds. Considering I was at -97 pounds, I really have a long way to go just to get back to where I was. But at least I'm trying.

Yes, I'm totally mad at myself for undoing almost all of the hard work I did 2-3 years ago. And I despair that I will ever truly hit goal. But I'm going in the right direction, I've halted the skid of even just a few weeks ago.

Now to get to exercising. Where's the motivation? I need to find it. It will help make me feel better, look better and it will help the weight loss.

My Life Is Happy Because...

2007-02-05T14:48:00.000-06:00

With so many things that have gone on in the last month or so, I wouldn't have said my life IS happy. But I do have things in my life that make me happy.

I've talked to Audrey a couple of times recently and the sound of her voice makes me happy. She is 7, and still gets so excited sometimes that she rolls right on through her words. I don't always understand what she's saying, but the excitement and enthusiasm in her voice is infectious.

Mom is doing a lot better. The pain is almost gone now. She still gets short of breath, but she has an appointment with a cardiologist and a pulmonologist. I hope that they can get to the bottom of whatever it is causing her problems.

I have a wonderful family. Just look how everyone came to Cooper's aid and to be with him when Ruth died. And we continue to have get-togethers and we all get along well. That's amazing, considering the size of Mom's extended family.

And I have hobbies and interests that make me happy. I'm enjoying scrapping again. I have so much to scrap - the rest of my vacation and the Audrey pictures from Halloween and Thanksgiving. I've got my photography, although that can be aggravating as well as joyful.

But most of all, the thing that really makes me happy is the thought that I can go to God with my problems and troubles and He will always be there for me. I sometimes forget that, but He doesn't.

New Blog Look

2007-02-01T21:02:00.000-06:00

I've been playing around with my blog look. I added the new header - it's made from Christine Haskell's Afternoon Tea kit. The fonts are The King and Queen and Sylfaen. I've changed the colors also. It's not as stark, a much softer look. But I'm not sure that I'm totally happy with it.

Anyone know blog html code?

Meme

2007-01-29T08:08:00.000-06:00

Two Names You Go By:
1. Margaret
2. Maggie
Two Parts of Your Heritage:
1. Southern - everyone came over way long time ago
2. Southern - on both sides of the family
Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. My gray fleece jacket
2. My reading glasses
Two Things You Would Want in a Relationship:
1. Love
2. Laughter
Two of Your Favorite Hobbies:
1. Photography/Scrapping
2. Reading
Two Things You Want Really Badly At The Moment:
1. Sleep
2. Chocolate
Two pets you had/have:
1. Oscar
2. Jasmine
Two people you talked to today:
1. Mark
2. Janet
Two things you did last night:
1. Read forums
2. Played solitaire
Two people that live in your house:
1. Me
2. Mark
Two things you ate today:
1. You are going to make me confess my eclair, aren't you.
2. Diet Dr Pepper
Two people you miss:
1. My daddy
2. My sister, Mary
Two Things You’re doing tomorrow:
1. My Annual Review - oh what fun.
2. Meetings
Two vacations you’ve been on:
1. Utah/Colorado/New Mexico
2. Christmas in Marble Falls
Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Thanksgiving
Two favorite Alcoholic beverages:
1. Margarita
2. Wine
Two bands you have seen live:
1. Ace in the Hole - George Strait's band
2. Alan Jackson and his band
Two things you will do after you finish this survey:
1. Pretend to do some work
2. Read the rest of the forums that I've missed so far.

Which Way Should It Roll????

2007-01-24T08:20:00.001-06:00

The burning question of the century - should the toilet paper roll so that it feeds from the top or the bottom?

My personal preference is that it should roll from the top. To me, it's easier to grasp and pull. Also, if it's patterned toilet paper, rolling from the top allows the paper design to show.

Now, my mother thinks the opposite. She thinks it should roll from the bottom because the TP that hangs down is "out of the way".

At my house, it doesn't usually matter, though, because we seldom seem to have the toilet paper on the roller - more of a reach and grab from where it's sitting on top of the roll. Yes, we are lazy!

Blog Prompt Quiz

2007-01-23T07:41:00.000-06:00

The answers to this are supposed to be one word - I failed!

This Moment: too early
Your Shoes: Favorite pair of New Balance running shoes
Craving: Breakfast
The State of Your Home: Mudpit (2 dogs - rain for 2 weeks, backyard one giant mudpit)
Annoyed By: weather
Noise In the Background: talking in breakroom, radio
Really Want To: go back to bed
Thinking about: work
Smelling: coffee
Favorite Product In Office Supply Aisle: post-its
Don't Ever Want To: watch someone in my family die again
Your Eye Color: hazel/green
The Weather: gray - cloudy, cool, windy with chance of rain AGAIN
Have Never Tried: hang gliding
Think Everyone Should Try: traveling
Last Vacation Destination: Utah
The Last Thing You Had to Drink: Diet Dr. Pepper
Your Bad Habit: too many to list
What You're Going To Do Now: work - get ready for teleconference

My Geekyness

2007-01-22T09:28:00.000-06:00

I don't really like to go to the mall and shop. Clothes are not my thing - it's not fun to have to try on outfits. Nope, not for me.

But I can spend 2 hours in the computer store - easy! Yesterday, Mark and I went to Microcenter. They had compact flash cards on for a good price - 1GB for $20, 2GB for $30. I got one of each for my camera. No biggie - except finding where they were located.

I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted a rolling suticase for my personal laptop since I got the backpack for my camera equipment... kinda hard to wear 2 backpacks, especially when going through the airport - and I take both camera and laptop just about everywhere I travel. Anyway, first aisle I go down is the computer bag aisle. I spend 30-45 minutes looking at the pros and cons of the briefcase vs. shoulder bag vs. roller bags. I have to find one that will fit my 17" laptop which is bigger than the Mac 17" that everyone seems to size for (why I haven't been able to find a camera bag with a laptop slot big enough). I finally find one that's big enough for my laptops and peripherals but not so big I could pack for a 2 week stay. Manufacturers haven't realized that everyone who own a laptop isn't a road warrior that needs 5 changes of clothes, a hanging file cabinet crammed into a briefcase and a working desk built in. It's hard to find a computer bag that's not the size of most carryons, yet have enough room for the laptop plus the battery charger plus the cables plus the external hard drive - oh and room for a paperback for the airports. Finally, I find one I like and it's only $40 to boot. I love a bargain!!! Fortunately, Microcenter had the model laptop I have over in their computer section. So I drag the bag over there and proceed to stuff the laptop in to it to make sure it's going to fit. Fortunately, the salesman realized what I was doing and didn't think I was trying to steal the computer.

Ok, that piece of business done, I still have to find the CF cards. While wandering the store looking for them, we come upon the hard drives. Well, I have just about filled up the 80 GB external drive that we bought a couple of years ago to back up BOTH computers . And I now know the importance of backing up everything since I've lost some files that weren't backed up prior to the hard drive crash. And I want a backup of my EHD that I store my photos on since it's a traveling EHD. And the desktop still needs to be backed up!!! Mark and I begin discussing the pros and cons of buying an external drive and paying a little more or getting an internal and a housing for it. Looking around, I find a Buffalo 500gig external for $169 with rebate. Well, I'm not big on rebates, but that is cheaper than buying the $149 Seagate internal then spending another $40 on the case and pray that everything works when we put it together. So now, I have to remember to send in the rebate!

Now, all I need is something to store all my peripherals to my laptop - my laptop that I bought so I could work in the living room in front of the TV instead of the computer room - the same living room that is starting to look like a computer room with the printer, scanner, 2 EHDs - make that 3, all of the cables and cords and supplies. Now I need a rolling cart to put it all on, that if we ever do have company, I could roll the mess out of sight!

New Year - Same Resolutions

2007-01-02T13:11:00.000-06:00

1. Lose weight - I've let it creep back on in the last year. This will be broken down into smaller steps - drink my water, journal my meals and begin exercising again.
2. Get organized - Jazz is slowly destroying all of my belongings by carrying them into the backyard and chewing on them - so I have to get things organized and out of her reach. I think this one will have to be one room at a time. We did make a start last week by getting half the garage cleaned out, but now we have to keep at it.

I think that's enough for one year.

Enjoy Scrapbooking?

2006-12-20T09:17:00.000-06:00

I enjoy scrapping now, but if anyone had told me that years ago, I would never have believed them.

When the scrapbooking craze started years ago, I thought that it was "too cute". I had made scrapbooks in the past, but they were mostly glorified photo albums. I would occasionally save memorabilia for speciific events or trips. But I thought all the papers and fancy stickers and "cutsie" cut-out shapes were just not me.

A couple of years ago, I went with Mark's cousin and aunt to pick up some scrapbooking supplies. I just went along to have something to do. By then, the world of scrapbooking had matured into something that truly resembled art - at least looking at the scrapbooking magazines. I was becoming intrigued. But I didn't want to deal with all the supplies - the papers and the stickers and the ribbons and STUFF! I just didn't have room for it.

However, in one of the magazines was an article from the developer of another digiscrapping site, showing how easy it was to create scrapbook pages using PSP. I knew PSP. I used it at work to manipulate photos. I made a few pages and was becoming hooked. Then I found www.digitalscrapbookplace.com while surfing the web. Their beginning tutorial spelled it out for me and I loved what they had in their "freebies" section. But the world really opened up for me when I discovered the forums and the challenges - the support and assistance was amazing. (As an aside - there was some controversy going on at the time - on another forum, DSP was being bashed as an unfriendly place - I never understood that).

I've been away from digiscrapping and from DSP for several months - due to other things going on and a lack of drive, but I happened to scan the forums this week and found a thread I had to post to. Immediately, someone noticed I had posted and PMed me to say they were glad to "see" me.

I have had a special reason for learning to scrap. My sister passed away in 2004, but before she died, she left a list of things she wanted her daughter to know about "Mommy". I made a Mommy book for my niece that highlights the list, plus whatever else I could think of that she might want to know. And as I acquire more photos, I can add to the book - that's the beauty of digiscrapping.

Vacation Part 7 - The Trip Home

2006-12-19T14:27:00.000-06:00

We went as far as Farmington Friday night after leaving Durango. We were both so tired that I think that lights were out before 9:00 that night. So, we were able to get up early Saturday morning and get on the road at 6:20. The drive to Santa Fe was again filled with wonderful views - vies that we hadn't been able to see on the way north Tueday night because of the darkness. We hit Santa Fe about 9:30 and went to get the Jeep.

I had to fill up the rental car prior to returning it, so I pulled in on one side of the pump and Mark pulled in on the other side. As we were filling both cars, we were unloading the rental car and loading the Jeep and trailer - we got entirely too good at transferring luggage this trip!

Because of the headwinds on the way up, we had to stop about every 2 - 2.5 hours to get gas. So, I added an extra hour to the project time that it would take us to get to Hobbs. But we had a tail wind and were basically going downhill so our gas mileage went way up. We got to Hobbs about 4:00 Saturday afternoon. Mark and I organized the Jeep a little, cleaned up and then went to visit Sandie and John. Sandie was my Administrative Assistant for several years and we had gotten to be really good friends before they moved to Hobbs to take new jobs.

We took them to dinner and we talked and we talked and we talked - at least Sandie and I did. After dinner we went back to their house and Sandie and I showed each other pictures of the happenings in our respective families. Their son, Sean, plays baseball in the NY Mets organization, and of course, Sandie is a very proud Mom. It was really good to see her again. I've missed her.

Sunday was another long day spent on the road. But the Jeep behaved itself and got us home in one piece (stupid Jeep - just didn't want to go to Utah I guess!). And for fun, I watched the GPS software try to figure out the route that Mark was taking and guess how many ways it was going to try to force us back on the path it had chosen. Mark has to go to Hobbs about once a month and thinks he's figured out the best route - but the GPS didn't seem to think so!

We got home about 8:30 Sunday night - worn out. The trip wasn't what we originally planned and I know that Mark was disappointed that he didn't get to go explore the backcountry in Utah. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see the Grand Canyon. And I spent more money than planned due to the rental car. But I still think the trip was a good one overall! We'll have to do it again sometime. Mark is already talking about a trip in the Spring to Big Bend - maybe the Jeep will behave itself then!

Vacation Part 6 - Durango

2006-12-19T14:11:00.000-06:00

We drove back from Moab to Durango Thursday afternoon. The only thing that we had completely nailed down for the whole trip other than the hotel reservations were tickets on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR on Friday.

Thursday night was spent at what must be the locals hangout - the Old Tymer's Cafe. There was a couple at a table next to us that must have known everyone in Durango, apparent by the number of people that stopped by to say Hi. The food was really good there as well. Durango is an interesting looking city, but it's obvious that tourism is high on its attractions. Moab was the same way.

The next morning we got up and got to the train station really early to pick up our tickets. I was thinking that on a weekday in December, we ought to have a pretty light crowd - WRONG!!! There were 3 different school groups, other families with pre-schoolers and a wedding party. Mark didn't enjoy the trip as much because of the crowds, and I admit that by the end of the day, the kids had gotten on my nerves. But it was really cool riding on the train, and again the scenery was WOW!!!! I got some good shots of the train as we made the curves - steam and smoke belching. And I tried to do justice to the moutains and the Animas River. At one point the river was 700' below the train tracks and the train was hugging the side of a cliff.

I was also surprised that in spite of the cooler weather, the open cars were crowded. Everyone wanted to see the views and get photos of the train as it made its way. And of course, with that many kids, there was some jostling to see.

The train only goes about halfway in the wintertime, then turns around at Cascade Canyon. It was strange being in the train while it backed into one leg of the wye that is used to turn the train. We also stayed at the turnaround point for almost an hour so that everyone could eat and the kids could play in the snow. There were lots of snowball fights!

I grabbed some lunch and staked out my spot on the open car for the return trip so that I could try to get some decent photos. It was a good thing that I did - the car filled up immediately after we started up again.

Vacation Part 5 - Moab, UT

2006-12-19T13:43:00.000-06:00

After leaving Mesa Verde, we started driving towards Moab. I was hoping to get to Arches National Park in time to get some late afternoon shots. It seemed a long way from Cortez to Moab, but only around 3 hours. As we started getting closer to Moab, the clouds starting picking up - darn. But we ventured on to Arches. We quickly did the drive and a couple of pull-offs. I was able to get a couple of decent shots of the Balanced Rock and we were able to get some pretty decent shots of the Window - both North and South Windows. But I was totally disappointed with what I got of the Delicate Arch - the most famous of the arches in the park. I was too far away and the light was no good at all - the sun was disappearing behind the clouds and behind the peaks.

We had dinner at the Moab Brewery. It was really good food and a fun atmosphere. I had a really good dark ale that's their seasonal winter brew. Mark decided we needed a picture to show the guys back at the Cypress Off-Road group that meets at a sports bar on the northwest side of town.

So I told Mark I wanted to try again the next morning to get a shot of the Delicate Arch with the morning sun. As we were driving up the park road the next morning, a thin strip of clouds passed over the sun. I was yelling, "Noooooooooo!!!" in my mind. But we went ahead and parked at the pull-off and I hauled out the tripod and my 200-500 mm lens - the big gun! Just as I got everything set up, Mark told me it looked like the clouds were going to thin out and I should get a little more sun. Miraculously, the clouds totally disappeared - and I was pleased!!!

We drove further into the park, and I took a ton of pictures. I wasn't happy with all of them as there was just a little residual haze that washed out some of the glorious colors in the pictures. But I did get some decent shots - enough to evoke memories for a long time to come.

Now, Arches was one of the places that Mark wanted to go offroad. And there was a trail that took off right next to the Delicate Arch parking lot. I knew he was disappointed. But he was the one that came up with the idea to photograph the rental car. We're going to paste the photos in the Jeep and tell it - "See you could have been here, but no, you had to go and get stubborn and refuse to leave New Mexico!"

We decided on touring the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park since it was on the way back towards Durango. Canyonlands is so huge that there is no way that you can do justice to the park in one day. And I would recommend being in shape and being able to hike some of the trails. But I was still able to get some pretty good shots. And we saw a lot more deer traveling to and from the park. In fact, we had to wait for about a dozen doe to cross the road in front of us.

Another site that we visited on the way to Canyonlands was Newspaper Rock. It has a bunch of petroglyphs dating back up to 2000 years ago. It was pretty impressive and I wasn't able to do justice to the whole thing, although I did get some shots of individual groupings of drawings.

Vacation Part 4 - Southwest Colorado

2006-12-19T08:21:00.000-06:00

Wendesday, we checked with the dealership in Santa Fe - it was another sensor and they had the part in stock - uh oh, had I made a bad decision in pushing to go ahead with our vacation without the Jeep? A couple hours later they called and said the sensor was fixed, but now there was a problem with the oil pump and that part had to be ordered and wouldn't be in until the next day. Whew! We could have wasted a day in Santa Fe, instead...

We got up and started driving to Durango and then west. We stopped for breakfast at a bakery & cafe in Mancos, CO - a quaint small town between Durango and Cortez. This place had the most awesome cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting - yummmm!!!! And it was really the first place where we saw much snow/ice on the ground.

Heading towards Cortez, we came upon the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park. We decided why not, let's go explore. As we go through the entrance gate and the park ranger tells us it's 20 miles to the visitor's center, I'm not so sure. But then we start climbing and stopping at the overlooks - how can anyone not believe in God when looking at views like that????

We keep climbing and going further back into the park. We pass the closed motel and the summer visitor center and keep going - finally we get to the museum/visitor center. What's there to see and do - only some of the most amazing cliff pueblo dwellings! We can walk over to the porch of the next building and see several across the canyon.

But on the drive through the park, we stop and see a fantastic site - the main pueblo dwelling in the park. And we see a hawk soaring overhead. Life is good! But it gets even better.

As we are driving out towards the entrance to the park, we come across 3 bucks and a doe. Now, we have been seeing the deer crossing signs for the last 4 days - but here they are just standing on the side of the road, not afraid of us. Of course, being in a protected area, I guess they are used to people without too much fear.

We start dreaming what it would be like to have property in this area - I don't think I would ever tire of the views of the mountains. I don't know how I would do with snow for several months - but it's all a pipe dream anyway - unless I win the lottery!

Vacation Part 3 - Tuesday from Hell

2006-12-18T15:54:00.000-06:00

Tuesday the part was supposed to come in and the Jeep get fixed. The truck was supposed to be there around 10 and the Jeep done before noon. So we get up, pack up (after 3 nights in one spot, that was fun) and drive the 50 miles to Las Vegas. We drive around town a little to see what's there - Las Vegas has a nice downtown area - really small town feel and a square with some great looking Victorian style houses on it. By the way, ever see a Pueblo style house with Victorian trim? Interesting - I should have taken a picture, but I was driving.

We get to the dealership around 10:30 - no truck yet. We start unloading the rental car and re-packing the trailer... don't really want to pack the Jeep yet since it may have to go on the rack. Mark starts piddling. Fortunately, I have a book. 11:30 - still no parts truck. Around noon, I suggest we go get some lunch. We get back before 1:00 - still no truck. The truck finally shows up around 1:00. Around 1:45, they come to push the Jeep into the service bay - the Jeep still won't start. Around 2:30, it's fixed!!!! Yay! We get it loaded up and start out. About a mile down the road - check engine light comes on. We turn back around. Same part is blown. Somewhere one miraculously appears. They put it, we leave. We've already cancelled the reservation for Moab for that night. About 3:30 we finally get on the road. It's going to be late, but we can probably still make Moab.

About 15 miles down I-25, Mark calls me since I'm following in the rental car - the check engine light is on again. We know where the dealership is in Santa Fe, so we decide to leave it there. I extend the rental on the rental car and we cancel Moab for the night. The dealership won't be able to even read the codes until early the next morning and if they have to order the part... we know this drill by now.

So, we make the decision to drive as far as we can and still go see Moab, even if Mark can't go rock-crawling. We get to Farmington Tuesday night, but have to pay for a hotel room since the Holiday Inn is booked up.

Vacation Part 2 - Monday - West of Santa Fe

2006-12-18T10:51:00.000-06:00

Monday, we decide to go towards Los Alamos and into the mountains west of Santa Fe. We went past Camel Rock, but I didn't think to get a photo. There was an overlook at White Rock that we stopped at - fantastic view of the Rio Grande way below, plus a couple of waterfalls. Unfortunately, the sun was at the wrong angle to get great shots of the waterfalls, but again - the vistas were fantastic!

Then we came upon Bandelier National Monument - we decided to stop and see what was to offer. We had planned on buying the National Park pass with all of our stops at National Parks, so I got one at Bandelier. We followed the hiking trail back about 0.25 - 0.5 mile and saw some Pueblo ruins and evidence of the cave dwellers. I decided not to risk climbing up to look in the caves and the one restored cliff pueblo. We were at about 6000 feet elevation and I'm terribly out of shape and wasn't sure about the knees. It was fairly warm out in the sun, but there was some snow on the ground in the shade. Driving back out of the park, we had to stop at the overlooks so that I could get photos of the canyon and the mesas around.

We drove into Los Alamos, but the museum run by the National Laboratory wasn't open on Monday mornings. It was starting to snow, so we decided not to wait around but to continue on our journey.

Next stop was Valle Grande, a caldera - or crater - of the extinct Jemez volcano. In the summertime, this caldera is supposed to be a beautiful meadow of wildflowers with the mountains all around. It was still pretty impressive, even in December. We saw some property for sale and started dreaming - it would be a great place for a retreat!

Back to Santa Fe for the night - we were starting to know I-25 pretty well by this point.

Vacation Part 1 - New Mexico and the Saga of the Jeep

2006-12-18T10:31:00.000-06:00

Mark and I went on a driving trip!!! It was my first true vacation this year, if you don't count a couple of visits to Atlanta. And it's the first trip that Mark and I have taken together in about 2 1/2 years.

The plan was to go to the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Moab, UT, and Durango, CO. We were taking the Jeep so that Mark could go off-road in Moab where there are some excellent (so he tells me!) runs. The Jeep had other plans.

We drove all day on Friday, December 8, to get to Clovis, NM. We had reservations at the Holiday Inn - Mark had a bunch of rewards points so we weren't going to have to pay for hotels - that was the plan, anyway! Weather was good, the drive was fairly uneventful although we went the route plotted out by my new GPS/map software. It took us straight through downtown Ft. Worth - not fun! And the Jeep was getting lousy gas mileage going straight into the wind - we were having to stop every couple of hours for gas.

Saturday morning we set out for Williams, AZ where we are going to spend the night before going to the Grand Canyon on Sunday. About 30 miles outside of Santa Rosa, NM, the check engine light came on. Since we were in the middle of nowhere, Mark drove on to Santa Rosa. We stop to get gas and call the dealership in Albuquerque to see if they are open. The Jeep won't start!!! So we call Roadside Assistance - the tow truck shows up pretty quickly and tows us to Las Vegas, NM (I can now say I've been to Las Vegas - just not THE Las Vegas). It's 12:30 and the dealership closes at 1:00. They diagnose the problem and say they can't order the part until Monday, get it on Tuesday and install it. Fine! Is there a car rental place? It's only open Monday - Friday. So, the service guy drives us to Santa Fe - about 50 miles away so that we can rent the car. We cancel our reservation in Williams and get a room in Santa Fe.

We decide to tour the area around Santa Fe while we wait on the car. Sunday we drive down to Albuquerque and tour the Plaza area of Old Town Albuquerque. We do a little shopping while there. We decide to drive back to Santa Fe via the Turquoise Trail - one of the scenic trails around Santa Fe. It goes past Sandia mountain and we drive up to the crest - boy, was it cold up there!!! It was about 22 degrees and the wind was blowing 20-30 mph.

But the drive up the mountain was worth it - the views were spectacular!

The rest of the drive was pretty good. We stopped several times along the way so that I could take photos. I don't know if I would ever tire of the views!!!

We finished up the day driving through the old part of Santa Fe, but Mark didn't want to stop.

Knee Surgery

2006-08-12T18:37:00.000-05:00

I just realized that I haven't updated my blog in forever. And I've been off work and had the time to do it - yeah, right!

I had a knee replacement on June 15. It was supposed to be a partial replacement, but when the doctor got into it, there was too much damage to the knee. So I got a full replacement. I ended up being in the hospital for 6 days while getting some extra therapy.

I was home for about 2 weeks and was slowly progressing in therapy. I started out with a walker and had just progressed to the cane when Mom had to be hospitalized. She was in the hospital for 6 days and I got a workout walking through the hospital. Fortunately, I was off at the time so I didn't have to take off work to take Mom to all of her doctor's appointments.

I started back to work on 8/08 and it's rough being back at work. Right after I got home, I bought a recliner so that I would more easily be able to get up and down. An advantage to the recliner was keeping my legs elevated. Now that I'm back at work, I'm having a lot more issues with swelling.

And I still have a lot of stiffness in the joint. The doctor says this too will pass.

Olfactory Response

2006-05-22T14:41:00.000-05:00

Every time I smell carnations, I think of funerals. When I was around 6. my great-grandmother passed away and I went with Mom and my grandparents to Mississippi to go to the funeral. My dad wasn't with us because his grandfather passed away around the same time. I remember going to the viewing but not the funeral - but that was enough. It was the first time I had seen a dead body. Anyway, the smell of carnations was overpowering to my 6 year-old nose - they must have been in the casket spray. So to this day, the smell of carnations is associated with funerals to me.

Childhood Games

2006-05-21T16:12:00.000-05:00

One of my earlier memories was when we lived in Houston - we were playing "ball" in my front yard and one of the boys told me it was "my bat" - I couldn't understand why he kept saying it was my bat - because yes, the bat belonged to me. I didn't realize what he was saying is it was my "at bat." Now, why did I have the bat? Probably the same reason I had a train set before I was a year old - my dad wanted a boy? He always said not, but with 3 girls, I was the one most like him and I was the oldest.

Once we moved to Pearland, we lived on a circle that had instead of a grass patch in the middle of circle - it was concrete, and the concrete was poured in quarters. This made a perfect area for playing Four Square - the ball game where you tried to work your way up to the first square - OK so ours wasn't square, but pie shaped. Four Pie just doesn't sound right.

I had a doll that I loved to play with - I had her from when I was almost a baby. When Kathy was old enough to want one of her own, hers was even bigger. The boy down the street bit the hand off the baby - and this was a big doll. When we were older, the doll was donated to the 7th Grade Homemaking class for learning how to tend to a baby. I kept my baby for most of my childhood and may still have her somewhere. I know that I stil have my teddy bear from when I was a baby, but had to put it away because Buddy thought it was his.

We also used the circle for playing jump rope - everyone in the neighborhood would play with us - even some of the boys. I did a lot of turning but I did also get pretty good at doubles and backdoor, but I wasn't always the best at hot peppers. We also played Chinese jump rope with a big circle of elastic.

My best friend had a front porch that we used a lot for playing cards - usually Crazy Eight, Spades, War, Double Solitaire. We also played jacks for hours.

And a lot of the neighborhood kids would get together and play hide and seek - using the whole circle as our hiding grounds - and back then a lot of us didn't have fenced yards so that gave us even more hiding places.

5 Favorite Words

2006-05-18T15:38:00.000-05:00

I was going to create a list of favorite words and as I was trying to think about them, I realized it was really simple. My 5 favorite words are words that Audrey says:

Love you, too, Aunt Maggie!

Comfort Foods

2006-05-17T15:58:00.000-05:00

Well - Chocolate is always up there with the comfort foods. And the funny thing is I'm not really a big chocolate person normally - I like it, but I don't HAVE to have it - except when I'm really depressed or stressed.

Comfort foods are never good for you foods - just about anything fried is a comfort food - chicken fried steak, fried shrimp, french fries. Mashed potatoes and mac&cheese are more comfort foods.

Grilled cheese sandwiches and PB&J - those are truly comfort foods - food from my past and present.

Oh - and ice cream - the ultimate comfort food - AHHHHH!

If I Could Take Tomorrow Off...

2006-05-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

First off, I would sleep until 8:00 - or at least stay in bed that long. And assuming that I didn't have to do all the other stuff I have to do tomorrow besides work, I would spend a little time cleaning house - because it really needs it and I haven't had time - but I guess since we are dreaming, I can dream I have a maid and a house that automatically picks up after everyone.

I would spend part of the time scrapping. I scanned a whole bunch of photos last night and have the material for several heritage pages. Plus, I have a couple of challenges that I'm behind on.

I might take the dog to the doggie park. Of course I would have my camera. Or go to one of the other parks where I know I can usually get good nature photos.

More Early Memories

2006-05-11T08:25:00.000-05:00

I got my first train set for my first Christmas - ok, I think Daddy really wanted a boy. And no, I don't remember that Christmas, but I do remember the track set-up for that train set. I'm pretty sure it was a Lionel set - I remember an oval of track on a piece of plywood and I think the plywood was painted green. I remember the plywood being stored on end either in the closet or behind my bedroom door. I know it wasn't a 4x8 piece of plywood, but it seemed huge to me.

I had a petticoat that I thought was really cool. It was the stiff material with the netting that was really popular for making the skirts stand out - remember full gathered skirts of the late 50's-early 60's? But this petticoat also had a secret. It had a tube that ran along the bottom edge that you could blow up with air - like an inner tube - that would make the petticoat stand out even more.

My grandfather was a truck driver by time I came along. I remember him driving for Mayflower Moving and he took me with him one trip - probably Houston to Lafayette. But I remember riding up in that big cab. I was so high off the ground!

Colors, Colors, Colors

2006-05-10T09:55:00.000-05:00

What are my favorite colors - I guess that depends on what we are talking about.

For clothing, I love the deep jewel tones and bright colors with cool undertones. I have yellowish skin, so anything golden yellow or yellow green makes me look sick. Most oranges do the same. And I really don't like brown that much. If I'm going to wear yellow, it has to be a cool lemony yellow. I can wear bright green, but the teals look much better. I like to wear a lot of red and black - although as I get older, they don't look as good as they used to.

In my house, I used to have a lot of blues and pinks, including mauves. But gradually I'm moving to more of greens - sage-y type greens especially. My bedroom has hunter green with maroon and navy and the pale sage sheets work well. I'm thinking of painting the walls in my kitchen a really pale sage green to pull out the green tones in my granite counter tops. It will also go well with my cabinets which are a eucalyptus-type of wood that's similar in color to cherry.

And in my yard, I tend to go more with the pastels - pinks and yellows especially.

I'm not a big fan of beige and tan. To me, those are really depressing colors - maybe because they are so blah? Anyway, I can use them in conjunction with other colors. For instance, my blog colors are currently blues and sand. The sand color is just enough with the blues to not be blech.

Renee

2006-05-09T18:34:00.000-05:00

I found out last night that Renee has gone on hospice and probably doesn't have long as she can no longer eat solid food and hasn't been able to for a couple of weeks. She has colon cancer that is now in her liver and lymph system. There is also a kink in her small intestine that is preventing her from the solid food.

Renee is a year younger than Mary would have been. And she has a son that's quite a bit older than Audrey. I feel so sorry for him. Not only is he fixing to lose his mother, he will be moving back with his father which means he loses his mother and home all at once. Poor guy!

Margaret and Bernie have been so good to Mom through Daddy's illness and Mary's death. Renee and her parents even drove all the way to Atlanta for Mary's Memorial Service. I need to think of something to do for them.

My Earliest Memories

2006-05-08T12:53:00.000-05:00

I've seen pictures and movies all my life, so sometimes it's difficult for me to differentiate what are truly memories and what are triggers from looking at photos.

I remember going to my great-grandmother's funeral. I thought I was really, really little at the time, but since she died in 1965, I was almost 7 at the time. This was the first funeral I went to and I remember the smell of carnations vividly. In fact, to this day I tend to associate the smell of carnations - not the flower themselves, just the smell - with death and funerals.

I had a lot of kidney and bladder problems when I was little. I remember having my bladder surgery. My aunt and her friend came to see me in the hospital. Her friend played the Wicked Witch on one of the local morning kiddie shows and I remember getting an autographed picture of Cadet Don. As part of the recovery from the surgery, I had to have a superpubic catheter for several weeks. I wore the bag strapped to my leg and my mom had to empty it for me several times a day. I also had to take oral antibiotics that seemed really huge. The pills were a kind of maroon color and my grandfather called them my "kidney beans."

I remember breaking my collarbone. I don't remember actually breaking it, I just remember waking up in my bed crying because it hurt - my parents think I may have fallen off my trike). I had a big huge cast that was a body cast and kept the upper part of my right arm immobile. I was just learning to write - I think I may have been in Kindergarten and tried writing with my left hand, but that didn't work too well.

I remember chicken pox. Kathy and I both had it and it was at Eastertime so we had our Easter egg hunt in the house.

I remember red dresses that Kathy and I had just alike. They had white lace that ran down the front of the bodice and had a gathered skirt. I think they were short-sleeved.

I remember starting Kindergarten in Beaumont because Daddy was working on a project there. I remember going to a fire station and then we came back to class and drew fire trucks and I colored mine purple because it was my favorite color at the time.

We came home from Beaumont every weekend and the trip seemed to go forever. Mom would make me count to try to pass the time. And when we passed Jacinto City, I knew we were getting close. The only way I could say Jacinto City properly was to silently say San before the Jacinto. I knew about the San Jacinto Monument and to say Jacinto without the San was almost impossible for me.

I remember the neighbor boy in Beaumont (we lived in an apartment there) teaching me "52 Card Pickup." I think he also taught me how to play "Battle." I remember having to still take a nap because Kathy wouldn't go to bed unless I did, too.

Music Tastes

2006-05-08T12:49:00.000-05:00

I never was a heavy metal rock fan - but I love anything by Boston, some Queen and a little Styx. I love 50's, most 60's. I grew up with Big Band and I love it. But mostly what I listen to is Country. I started listening to Country in the early 80's because I didn't like rock too much. I have really come to appreciate it - although a lot of Country these days is too much crossover.

I like classical music, but not opera. Being in band all those years gave me an appreciation for the great composers.

And I like a lot of folk music - from all countries.