Paranormal Activity Movie

Since it's Halloween and the girls wanted to go to different events, Kevin & I though we were going to be alone, and we went to go see Paranormal Activity at the theater. The movie, which was pretty good, was about a young couple who had just moved into a new house and became disturbed (at night, of course) by a demonic "presence."

A little before the movie started, Nicole called & said she wanted to come back and be with us, so her friend's mom dropped her off at the theater. Hmmmm...I don't think Nicole wanted us to go out alone. She might have considered that a date.

Girls

Today, Nicole walked Megan to the school track because Megan had cross country practice after school. After that, Nicole waited for the bus to pick her up from school and take her home. I thought that was really sweet. Attached is a picture that they took together.

Walking Lunch Break

About a month ago, I bought a new pair of walking shoes to keep at work so that I can walk during my lunch break. Needless to say, I hadn't used them until today. I decided to start putting miles on those puppies. Since I only have a 30 minute lunch break, I walked out the door and out onto the golf course as quickly as I could for the first 15 minutes. Then, I turned around and walked just as fast back to my building. That was 30 minutes of intense walking! Whew, I even broke a sweat, so I cleaned up & went back to work. I think I'll do that again tomorrow.

Here are two pictures of what I saw as I walked.

Vanpool Voucher Day

Today was vanpool voucher pick up day, and since I didn't have my car to drive, I used the electric car. I stopped by Kevin's work so that I could give him a ride, and off we went to get our vouchers. Look at his facial expression. Can you tell he liked the ride?

Once inside the building, we had to wait in line. I am glad the line wasn't too long.

While we waited, Kevin took a picture of me waiting patiently in line.

Missing Kentucky

We have been missing Kentucky and all of the wonderful people we left behind. The girls miss their school and their friends so badly. I feel sad because they have been taking this move rather hard, and I can’t do anything about it. We had a great time living in Rineyville, Kentucky, and an abundance of great memories fill our minds & hearts. Attached is a picture of the girls in Kentucky when they were much younger. Uhhh…I miss those days, and I guess I even miss the snow.

Like Father, Like Daughter

I caught Nicole taking a nap on the floor and just had to share this picture. What can I say?... She learned from the best; her father LOVES to take naps on weekends & on his days off. Oh, wait….he also naps in the evenings or whenever he can. Like father, like daughter!

Pajamas

When the girls were little, I used to dress them in this type of pajamas because they would kick the blankets off of themselves at night, and I didn’t want them to be cold.

These pajamas bring back memories.

YMCA

We have been thinking of joining the local YMCA, so I logged on line to get the details. I found out that they offer a free one week trial membership if you print the coupon and presented at the Y, so we decided to give it a try. After all, it was FREE. Oh my! We really liked it. They have an indoor pool, an indoor track, indoor basketball court, a tennis court, an exercise room with all kinds of equipment, a weight room, a teen room with all kinds of fun things for the kids to do, and much more. Oh, and each exercise bike, treadmill, and other exercise equipment has a TV with a variety of channels to chose from and a DVD player. All you have to do is bring your headphones and plug into the channel you want to watch. If it’s a movie you want to watch while you exercise, just bring in the movie of your choice.

Attached are a few pictures of the girls exercising. Oh, and yes, that’s NICOLE exercising (see pic at top).

Nicole's Friend, Gieko

Nicole has a friend that comes to visit often, and we have named him Gieko (not Geico, but he is a gecko). For some reason, Nicole is always the first to see him. When she comes home from school, he greets her at the door. Yesterday, he EVEN came in the house with her when she came home from school! We laugh, but Nicole doesn’t think it’s so funny.

I don’t know how much longer he will be greeting Nicole and waiting for her to come home from school, so I thought I would take a few pictures of him today.

My Day Off

I took the day off to go to my pain management appointment, but here’s how my day went.

Got up this morning and took the girls to school. Came back home, cleaned up a bit, and did some laundry. I also put some beans in the crock pot. I went for my daily walk, and while I walked, I spoke Mom, Angie, and my friend Kristie. Came back home, took a shower, and began to cook lunch. Took off for my appointment and stayed at the doctor’s office for what seems to be FOREVER. When I go home, Nicole was home with her friend, Bree. Megan made it home at 5:00 p.m., and then Kevin came home. Since Nicole and her friend had dinner as soon as they came home, Megan, Kevin & I ate dinner together. After that, the girls got ready for the next day, while Kevin & I watched TV on the couch (see above pic). It was a nice & peaceful evening.

Oh, and I must tell you that my pain management doctor gave a nice compliment today. He looked at my hands and said that I had nice, beautiful veins. I had to laugh and I told him that I NEVER had anyone compliment me on my veins. He told me since he was an anesthetist, he paid attention to things like that.

Swim Try Outs

Megan had swim try outs tonight and will find out if she made the team tomorrow. If she makes the swim team, I’m not sure how she will manage to run cross country, swim, and do homework. That will be rough not only on her but rough on the rest of us too. I do, however, wish her well.

Sweet

Megan handed me this beautiful flower when I picked her up from practice (cross country) today. While she was out running, she saw this flower & thought about her Mommy. She even ran a mile with it in her hand! I’m glad my teenager has managed to keep her childlike qualities, even while in high school. Isn't she just sweet?

Finally

Since it had been raining & was too cold for me to be outside, I hadn’t walked in FIVE days. This really frustrated me. Because I missed walking, Kevin set the treadmill up for me in the garage, but the darn thing only worked for about three minutes and decided it didn’t want to work anymore. As luck would have it, Kevin had to go TDY (temporary duty) and had to go out of town this morning. He said that when he comes back, he would fix the treadmill situation for me.

Today, as I walked outside to go home after work, I felt the sun’s bright rays beaming down on me, and the rays brought warmth into my being, and it felt so good. I quickly rushed home, put my jogging pants on, and slipped into my walking shoes so that I could walk five miles. I was finally was able to go out for a walk, and it was so refreshing. Yay!! I was so excited because I have really missed my daily walks. Oh how I love Mr. Sun.

Mass With a Latin Flair

Today we went to the Spanish Mass at our church, and we really enjoyed it. To me, there was a certain essence of familiarity. The choir sang songs like Vienen Con Alegia Senor, Una Espiga Dorada, and Codero de Dios. The church as filled with Hispanics. Some were Peruvians, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and others Hispanic ethnic groups. Celebrating Mass in Spanish always seems to bring back childhood memories of attending Mass in Colorado City with Father Busch and sitting with our family in our usual pew. Nonetheless, there was a difference. Since the priest didn’t speak Spanish (he read the Mass in Spanish), he had a translator for the sermon and the announcements. I thought that was pretty neat and so did Kevin.

Since the church paid off one of the mortgages, the priest invited everyone to have cake & punch after Mass. He did, however, have a warning for the children; he wanted them to make sure that they got the nonalcoholic punch. LOL The “adult” punch was spiked with champagne (see last picture). I must say, I completely enjoyed going to church today. I look forward to attending the Spanish Mass more often.

The adult punch

Coldest Day So Far

Today, by far, has been the coldest day we have experienced in Georgia. I didn’t feel like doing anything except being at home today. I slept in until about 9:30 a.m. and then cooked some sopa de arroz. After that, we watched a prerecorded episode of Oprah, and I finished reading my book, started a new book, and did some laundry.

The county fair is going on this week, so we thought we would go out for that. A few minutes later, the Boys Scout stopped by to sell some of that over priced popcorn, and when we opened the door, I felt entirely too cold. Brrrrr… Right then & there, I decided I was NOT going to the fair. The girls went, and Kevin & I stayed home.

Above is a picture of the girls with their coats on and cold weather on their minds.

Electric Car

This is too neat not to share. Whenever we need to make a quick run or go on a quick errand at work (official business, that is, and we only use it on Fort McPherson), we can hop in this electric car and go. Of course there are real cars that we can use, but this is just quick, simple, and fun. All I have to do is unzip the door open, unplug the car, and drive away. It’s a lot like a golf cart, and don’t think I can speed in this puppy; it only goes 20 miles per hour. When it’s time to put it away, we simply plug it back up so that it will work for the next person who wants to use it. (See picture at the bottom.)

The other day, a friend and I drove to a luncheon in this car, and we got all kinds of looks. People were smiling, pointing, and waving at us. It was so funny, and we laughed like crazy women until we made it back to our building. Today, I used it to run an errand, so I picked Kevin up from his work & took him on a little drive. Kevin and I laughed like crazies as I drove down the streets of Fort McPherson. (See picture at the top.)

Too Much

It’s been a long, long day. The day started with rain, rain, and MORE rain. I got in the vanpool this morning, and one guy would not stop talking. Who wants to talk so much at 6:15 in the morning?.....Uh,…that would NOT be me. (I’m not a morning person at all.)

I made it to work and was super busy all day. Finally, the work day ended, and I hopped in the van to go home. Traffic was horrendous (see above pic), and it took FOREVER to get back to my vehicle. I finally made it the girls' school and found out that Nicole’s little friend needed a ride home. Her friend can't ride the bus because she lives out of district, so what did that mean? It meant that we had a long way to take the friend home. We took Nicole’s friend home and then had to stop by Wal-Mart. Since there’s a McDonalds in the Wal-Mart, we just ate there because we were so hungry.

Finally, we made it home about 7:30 p.m., and I was just BEAT. I literally felt like someone had beat me with a stick.

The highlight of my day was when Megan & Nicole both showed me their report cards. They both made all A’s. Yay!!! Kudos for my babies! I’m so proud of them and their motivation to excel in school. They are both intelligent young ladies who are in the honors classes too! They make Kevin & me so proud.

Teens

Homecoming is this week, and the girls have been having fun all week. Today was 80’s day, so Megan tried to incarnate the 80’s look (see above pic). I still think she should have had BIG hair.

Nicole has been hanging out with her friends after school for the past week and a half. They have been decorating the 9th grade float after school, but somehow, they have time to put eyeliner on each other and fix each others hair. IDK…I think they are just hanging out.

Ahhh…to be a teenager.

Physical Education

I remember how I hated PE (Physical Education) when I was in middle school & in high school. The memories of having to disrobe at school, shower in front of other girls, and rush to the next class still makes me anxious.

Fast forward twenty something years, and now my baby, Nicole, is hating PE. :) LOL

Here is a picture of her first day of PE at her new high school. She actually broke a sweat, and turned pink. I like how she matches her shirt.

Rain, Rain

Rain, rain, go away... I know it’s good to have rain, but here in Georgia, we have been having A LOT of rain. When I woke up this morning, it was pouring, and the rain continued throughout the day. Finally it dwindled down some by the evening, and I was barely able to go for my walk. I know I looked silly excising with my umbrella, but that’s the only way I could get my walk on.

I’ve attached some of the pictures I took as I walked around the pond. Notice how there is so much water and how much the water has risen.

OK, I just had to add a picture of tonight’s dinner. (See below pic.) I guess the rain is needed to grow some of these delicious Georgia peaches. :)

Weather & Thanks

It was nearly 80 degrees today, and in my opinion, it was the perfect day to spend outside. Kevin & I went walking this morning (5.5 miles). Later, I went for a bike ride, and by the end of the afternoon, I went for another walk (5.5 more miles). Oh, how I love this weather. I don’t want for it to get cold, so that’s why I spent so much time outside today.

I must share something else with you all today. My hubby (pictured below) took us to see a movie of MY choice today. I wanted to see Chris Rock’s movie, Good Hair, which I THOUGHT was going to be really funny since it was Chris Rock’s movie. Goodness gracious!!! Kevin sat through the entire movie, which was a documentary of African American women’s hair plights, and did not complain once. Thanks, Kevin. I love you so!! He couldn’t have enjoyed it because to be quite honest with you, I didn’t enjoy it much. (Thumbs down for that movie.)

Dedicated to Nicole

I got up this morning, cooked breakfast, did some laundry, and by noon, I was tired. I got comfortable on the couch and began watch a recorded episode of Oprah. Since my sweet tooth was acting up, I was sucking on a Blow Pop & relaxing on the couch. Seeing how I was still tired and I was too lazy to fast forward through the commercials, I simply closed my eyes, sucked on my sucker, and listened to the commercials.

Suddenly, I was compelled to open my eyes when I heard the low snickering sounds of laughter. Kevin & Nicole were looking at me and smiling, and they were trying not to laugh. I asked them what was so funny, but they wouldn’t tell me, and then they began to laugh out loudly. Well, I found out that Nicole had taken a picture of me (see above pic). She was giving me a taste of my own medicine because I am always taking pictures of them for my blog. I told Nicole that I would post these unflattering pictures of myself with NO MAKEUP and with my morning hair. I EVEN let her take another picture (see pic below).

Enjoy, Nicole Alexis!!!

Isn't It Ironic

The day before we left Kentucky, I had a little accident; I backed up into an anchor that supported a power line. Anyhow, Kevin & I have been meaning to take my Explorer to the shop to have it repaired, but the timing was always bad. Since we were both off today, we decided to take it in for repair (see above picture).

As I was following Kevin, we came to a yield sign. I thought Kevin was leaving, (cause he had already yielded) so I checked for traffic to my left and was still moving forward when suddenly I realized that Kevin was still in front of me. Uhhhhhhhhhh…. I ran into my own Explorer with Yipps (Megan’s car). SO, now we have to have TWO vehicle worked on (see picture below).

Isn’t it ironic how sometimes things just don’t go as planned? Aside from THAT incident, it was a good day. Kevin & I were still able to enjoy our day. We went out for lunch and then went to the mall to pick up a few things. We even had time for a nice little nap before we had to pick the girls up from school.

Happy! Happy! Happy!

This is how I have been feeling all day because Kevin & I will be off for the next FOUR days! Too bad the girls won’t have a holiday; we could have gone to Florida. So, since we can’t get away, Kevin & I will just relax & do whatever we want to do tomorrow, minus the girls.

(Psst...don't tell Nicole 'cause she might pretend to be sick so she can stay home with us. Oh, and yes, she has pulled that stunt on us before. LOL)

Good Times

We went to Chili’s tonight, and we chatted and played a little while we waited for our food to come. We each talked about our day. The girls talked about school, their friends, and we even reminisced of when we lived in Louisiana. Kevin told me about the “hermanas” that have been hitting on him at work. Hmmm… ANYHOW, we enjoyed each other & our conversations.

Since we are silly at times, Megan & I were caught making monkey faces.

The girls made fish faces and made Kevin and me laugh.

(OH, NICOLE SAW HER PICTURE AND MADE ME REMOVE IT. SORRY....NO PICTURE OF NICOLE MAKING FISH FACES.)

We had a good time being out with our kids and just enjoyed the simple things kids do.

(OK, NOW MEGAN SAW THE PICTURE I POSTED. SHE MADE ME REMOVE IT. --SO SAD. )

Oh, and uh,...don't tell them I posted these pictures of them; they might get mad at me. ;)

Autumn

The leaves are falling, pumpkins adorn porches, and it’s beginning to look a lot like autumn. The temperature has even dropped some. It was about 59 degrees this morning – not really cold but not hot either. As I walked this evening, I stopped to take a picture of the path in which I exercise. As I in took the scenery, I thought that the weather & my view didn’t match. It looks like it should be cooler out, but even right now, at 9:30 p.m., it’s 70 degrees and it’s hot & humid. Here, in Georgia, it doesn’t feel like autumn. Is it autumn really?

Just a Day

Nothing out of the ordinary is going on in our home today. It’s the same old, same old. Kids came home from school, cooked dinner, ate dinner, went walking, and now getting ready to call it a day.

I will share this picture with you guys today. I was playing & editing this photo, when all of the sudden I clearly saw how much Nicole & I look alike. It’s actually kind of eerie. How does God make us EXACTLY how He wants us to be? Even though you can’t see my nose or Nicole’s nose or other facial features, we still look so much alike. I know it’s nothing of relevance, but I just thought I would share.

Who Said...

I woke up to a brisk and chilly fall morning and decided that pozole was what I needed to cook today. I quickly made sure that I had all of the ingredients and went about my business in the early morning. All of the sudden, I felt sick. Nausea, cold chills, and sleepiness swept over me, so Kevin told me to go back to bed. When I woke up, the smell of pozole filled the air. Ummm…what a smell to wake up to! I got up, and he served me a bowl of pozole. I must say, it was DELICIOUS. Who said white men can’t make pozole?

St. George Catholic Church

Kevin & I like to go church hopping. Of course, we stay with our faith, Catholicism, but we enjoy going to different churches. Some churches offer Masses at different times, and basically it enables us to attend Mass whenever it’s convenient for us, which makes it so much easier for us because we prefer going to Mass on Saturdays instead of Sundays, and Saturdays are usually pretty busy for us.

Today, we found a new church, St. George Catholic Church, and we really liked it. It had the small town feel to it, and the people (and the priest) were very warm and welcoming. We went to Confessions, prayed the Rosary with other church members, and celebrated Mass. Kevin, the girls, and I really felt at home there, so I think this will be the church we will attend regularly.

No Van Today

Lee, a wonderful lady who works in my building, is the vanpool coordinator for our vanpool. Yesterday, we suspected that we would be the only two who would be riding the van. When I showed up this morning, we were the only two there, so she decided to drive her car in to work, and she invited me to ride in with her. I must say, riding in her Mercedes was much nicer than riding in the van. I told her that I enjoyed the ride, and she told me that next time we would ride in together she would drive one of her two Porsches!

On the Road

Since Megan got her driver’s permit yesterday, she was anxious to hit the road today. Kevin, being the fantastic father that he is, took her out and showed her how to drive a stick shift. Actually, we had begun to teach Megan how to drive a stick shift in Kentucky, but that was over a month ago, and we figured she would be a little “rusty.” So, off they went, with Megan as the driver. Kevin said that Megan did really well, and they (Megan) drove for 1 ½ hours. Way to go, Megan!! Now she only has 38 ½ hours more to drive, along with 4 hours of night time driving. She’s so excited that she even wants to skip tomorrow night’s football game just to get extra practice driving. Her short term goal (and I do mean short) is to drive herself to her cross country meet on Saturday morning – accompanied by a licensed driver, of course.