Cindy's Life Lessons

CHURCH WITH GRANDADDY

2012-01-31T04:49:00.000-08:00

As a child, Sunday's entailed going to church and then to Magranny and Grandaddy's to eat Sunday lunch. I was a picky child. Magranny spoiled me. Guess what she made for me every Sunday? Boiled chicken and peas of some sort. I love both, even to this day. I would gladly give the chocolate pudding she made for each of us grand kids aside for another helping of her peas.

After lunch, the cousins would play in the yard, while the men would retire to the den and the ladies would wear aprons and clean the kitchen. My grandmother made the dresses Kelli and I wore to church. She would find a pattern, measure us, and we'd have new dresses in no time. As a teenager, she patiently tried to teach me to sew a button. I still can't.

In church, I remember proudly watching my grandparents sing in the choir. I thought that was something else. As a young adult, they continued that tradition and stayed diligently devoted to their church. Brother Bobby, who was the preacher at the time, said he thought of Grandaddy as his brother. Those words were spoken at Magranny's funeral.

Grandaddy is humble. He wont be thrilled to see that I've written a blog about him, but he is a hero of mine. He always has been and always will be. If I try to think of how I should live my life, his example always, always comes to mind.

I decided to surprise him at church this past Sunday. As I waited for him to get out of Sunday School, I started asking around about where he sat. I went to familiar faces and asked, "Where is Grandaddy? Where does he sit?" Everyone knew and EVERYONE had something magnificent to say about him. I met new people and heard more of the same. I can't be any prouder of a grand-daughter than I am. I love telling people that he's my grandfather and I love hearing how he has touched so many lives.

During church, I kept thinking about how he would like to have Magranny sitting to his left. I miss her too and I wish she was here. That's selfish, because I know she is running the streets of gold right now. Her service to those who needed it couldn't be fully explained. She was simply amazing.

After church, we had a meal at Wendy's. Wendy's was a favorite hangout for my grandparents. I'm just not sure I could have been any happier sitting across from him for that meal. I know that Magranny was smiling down on us.

SOUL SUCKERS

2012-01-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

Hi! No excuses as to why I haven't posted since.....well....yeah. Let's just move along to 2012, shall we?

Today is the first day of the year. New beginnings. I saw this quote on someone's Facebook page. I like it. "We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." Edith Lovejoy Pierce

A fresh start. A rebirth. A clean slate. Resolutions. While I'm not a fan of resolutions, I do enjoy the thought process that goes into them. One life on Earth. One chance. That's it. That is a huge deal. Huge.

As a nurse, I hear regrets of patient's as they lie near death. I also hear triumphs and successes. They are equally painful to me. However, some patient's choose to discuss funny memories. There is nothing more heart warming than walking into a room of a very sick patient and hearing them laugh. Their laughter is better than any medicine or treatment I could provide. Period.

I would like to continue to find the humor in life for 2012. I would like to focus on the positive and not be such an absolute pessimist. (I'm a bad one.) I would like to do away with "soul suckers" as I call them. People who choose to focus on bringing others down instead of looking at themselves in the mirror. Judgemental people. They are the worst. I had a couple of people severely judge me in 2011. Severely.

At a time, when my life could not have been any harder, I was judged by other imperfect humans. I've cried many tears over it. As I look back, I shouldn't have cried. They were wasted on something unimportant. I wanted to call them out for their many faults. But, then, wouldn't I have also been labeled judgemental? Yes, of course. I challenge all of us to view these type of people as those who need help, more than even we do. I also challenge all of us not to judge. It's hard. But, let's try.

I would like to find the good in people, no matter what. I would like to judge a book by its contents and not its cover. Most of all, I would like to keep laughing.

Humor. It keeps the spirit alive. Finding out the things that really mattter, and letting go of the petty things. Important. Surrounding yourself with people who bring out the best in you. Important. It is quite unimportant, to me, at the age of 37 to care, even a little bit, about what "soul suckers" feel is "right". It is a HUGE waste of my time.

On my deathbed, I do not want to discuss what he thought or she thought or what he said or what she said. I want to laugh about funny, meaningful memories. I have amazing friends that I have chosen to surround myself with. I have an amazing family. What more could a person need?

Happy New Year! Here's to many laughs in the year 2012!!!

WILD GIRL

2011-05-18T11:52:00.001-07:00

Well, I showed my wild side today and got a second hole put in my ear. I know, I know. It's hard to believe. I am usually so sweet and innocent. Sarcasm aside, my Daddy will think this is a tragedy. He barely let my sister and I get one piercing when we were kids, and he will not be happy about this little addition. The thing is, we just aren't going to tell him. Maybe he will notice, maybe he wont.

I wasn't worried about the pain so much, as I was the sterilization process. I wanted to know how the instruments were cleaned, how my ear would be cleaned, etc. I had a LOT of questions. Imagine that.

After I was sure, I would not contract typhoid fever, I sat in the chair. Back up, I did have a small MI after I was told how much I would have to pay for the earrings. "Because they are sterile." Um, you got some peroxide or some alcohol and we can use these $12 ones. Ok, ok, here's your money. "But, the piercing process is free with the purchase of the earrings." Trust me darlin', there is nothing free happening in this transaction.

Where was I? Oh yeah, in the chair. She didn't give a girl a warning, which is probably a smart thing. Punch, punch. Ow, ow. All done. No sucker, no sticker, nothing.

Oh well, I still feel like a big girl now.

BACK IN THE SADDLE

2011-05-16T19:32:00.000-07:00

Hello! Long time, no write to. I am indeed alive and well. I hope you are too.

I have recently joined a gym. I’ve been dying to get back into a spin class. I’m really enjoying it. I had a new instructor Thursday night.

This particular instructor likes to take popular songs, such as “You Shook Me All Night Long” and somehow increase the speed of the song 10 fold. When you’re dripping sweat from every pore in your body, it really just kind of makes you want to jump off your bike and tackle her! And she makes up her own words, and belts them out. It’s just annoying. For example, “…knocking me out with those spinning thighs.” It’s really hard to glare while sweat is filling your eyeballs though.

Another thing she does is shake her finger at you and say, “no, no, no” if you try to adjust your resistance downward. I’ve never been one to appreciate someone pointing their finger at me, much less shaking it at me.

She shook her finger Thursday night, and I thought, “That is it! I’m gonna hurt you!” Right after that, I threw up a little bit in my mouth and said, “Never mind. Continue your butt kicking.” Twenty minutes later, the girl beside me started dry heaving. I was trying to yell over the music, “ARE YOU GOING TO THROW UP?!?!” See, I was pinned between her and the wall and I would have been trapped. She started shaking her head that she was NOT going to throw up and she pushed through. Phew.

I’m looking forward to continuing the class and encountering the adventures to come. Just pray that I don’t throw up or pass out. Or fall, while I’m trying to get off the bike.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2011-01-19T08:36:00.001-08:00

A REAL LIFE LESSON

2010-12-28T10:40:00.000-08:00

If you've been burning a candle long enough that it has about a half cup of melted wax in it, do not put your face too close when you blow it out. If you do, your face and hair will be covered in hot wax. Fact.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-11-24T18:46:00.000-08:00

ABOUT TO PITCH A FIT

2010-11-11T06:08:00.000-08:00

I took this video of Willis last night. Try to ignore the extremely loud television in the background. The bell he had in his foot was hollow. It had nothing to make it ring. He was getting very mad and trying his hardest to ring it, like all his other bells. He didn't understand. Very funny stuff.

PS--Not sure why the video quality is so poor. Click on the square with the arrows to make it bigger.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-11-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

DON'T HARSH MY MELLOW

2010-11-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

I recently heard this phrase on Two and a Half Men and laughed...for a long time. I love it! Apparently, I am not cool, because it's been around a while. I didn't know. A friend of mine brought this website to my attention--dontharshmymellow.com. I will be one of their customer's now.

Why can't I come up with catchy phrases, put them on shirts and hats and make millions?

Don't let anyone harsh your mellow today. Have a great one!

LAST DAY IN CANADA!

2010-10-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is like totallllly embarassing that I still have not finished this vacation blog about Canada. However, the end is near. This is the last day. Shall we get it over with?

It's a running joke with my family and closest friends how I look/act when I first wake up or if I am made to wake up when I don't want to. And, it's even worse, if coffee is not within very quick reach of my hands. This is me before I got the coffee in. It gives you a little idea. I hope you can see my face, because my legs are so white they are putting off a glare.

Once the caffeine started to absorb, we boarded a bus to see the biggest bird aviary in the world! Yay! Y'all know I am the crazy bird lady! Here we are looking too cool for school.

If you look closely, you can see SOMEONE taking a picture of us in the driver's mirror. If you look extra close, you will notice that said driver is not amused.

They had an old typewriter in the aviary. Why? I have no clue. I guess people like to type things about birds from time to time. Like right now! Haha! Ok, that was not funny. Anyway, Will couldn't resist the urge to type out a quick Clemson story. Sigh.

Then, we saw this! Yes, THIS! I mean, SERIOUSLY?! This was supposed to be about birds! Do they feed these to the birds or something? UGH!!!

We got lost a little and ended up in the deepest part of the jungle. I wasn't even scared. Will was. See his face.

We spotted this bird taking a bird bath under a waterfall and I watched him for a long time. He was just about cute. He must have been very dirty, because he took a looooong bath!

Here I am trying to be artistic with photography. "Will, take my picture through this waterfall!"

Ok, so check out the bottom left corner. My friend is still taking a bath with me right there. He wasn't embarassed or anything!

He wanted to get reallllly clean. I mean, he wasn't even playing. This shower was serious business. I named him Sudsy.

Look closely, he's still there!

Next, we had a chance to feed some lorakeets. Will said, and I quote, "I am not getting bird crap in my hair!" Wimp. I was ALL over it. Yes, I want to feed the birds. Here's my quarter, give me a cup of that nectar! Then, um, waaaaaait. You didn't say they were ALL going to attack me! Why are they all on me? There are OTHER people in here!

Ok, breathing, breathing. Not liking the one on my head. He needs to leave. Excuse me, bird, when was your last BM? You need a diaper, a depends, a foley cath perhaps?

Ok, he left my head and left me a nice curl. I guess he's into styling hair. I wonder if he stole some to put in his nest and it's still there right now! Ok, what's up with this one trying to pull the gold things off my shirt, while both my hands are tied up? Helpless.

Ok, I'm down to one bird now. I'm going to try to train him a little. Here he is still trying to bite my ear. They do bite pretty hard, by the way.

Now, we are talking about trust. I am explaining that I can touch his head without hurting him and he is explaining that he will keep his beak on my wrist just in case I do something he doesn't like.

Now, we have really advanced. We are learning the most basic bird command, "Step up!" He learned it quick.

He's getting more comfortable, and I'm getting ready to perform the ultimate birdie comfort tester. If a bird will let you flip him on his back, he trusts you completely. It looks easy in these pictures, but I actually worked with him a while.

And, here we go! Flip! He's calm. I'm letting him know he's ok.

And look at him now! Awwww! Sweetest thing ever! He had his little head tucked in my arm, which means he thinks I am gonna stand there and hold him like that while he sleeps. I didn't want to leave him, but they wouldn't let me take him. Who do they think they are anyway? That's MY bird. Ugh.

After my teary good bye with MY bird, we headed to a place that made me smile! The Hershey store!

Wow, those Kisses sure are heavy! I didn't care. It would be my carry on for the plane! Haha!

If you hug this Kiss, and realize how big his belly is, it makes you want to eat less Kisses!

Decisions, decisions. Which one do you think he chose?

Next, we decided to try on hats and make fools of ourselves. Will went all out with his hat and decided to perform some MJ moves right there in the store.

I really liked this hat. I wonder why I didn't buy it? Now I want it! Checking flights...

Our final dinner was at a restaurant that revolved slowly. Very slowly. But, I still took Dramamine just in case. It allowed for 360 degree panoramic views and it was very nice.

After dinner with the gorgeous views, we headed to watch the fireworks fall side. They were beautiful. I wasn't able to capture a picture to do them justice.

We rested up for our travel home. It was sad to take final pictures in front of the falls.

This is our ride to the airport. Same as when we came in, they cost the same as a cab. This was my first ride in a limo, but I was so exhausted, I'm not sure I fully enjoyed it.

Here's Will messing with stuff. Such a man.

He looks like he is really enjoying the ride here. LOL! If you're wondering what's in the red box, it's those wax hands. We had to bring them as a carry on and Will said not so nice to words to them...a lot.

I fell asleep...on my stomach! I mean, I am seriously glad that I was on my back when he decided to take this. I slept most of the ride actually. Of course, I had my flip flops on. Very classy limo attire.

Will pushing stuff he shouldn't have been pushing. Again, such a man!

And, here we are...at the border. A little nervous as we were asked the same questions as when we entered. But, the funny thing is when the officer asked Will what we bought, Will said some food. We did NOT buy any food. Then I started laughing really hard and it was just a scene. We also had to explain the wax hands. They must be used to seeing them though, because he didn't act as if they were a big deal.

And, finally, back in the good 'ol USA! The End! Phew!

UM....DAY.....UM...NO IDEA!

2010-10-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so reading this blog will take some imagination on your part. Not only did I forget which day this took place...it wasn't day 5....I also posted the pictures from the day in reverse order. You'll have to put your mind in a backwards state and I guess I will have to see if I'm smart enough to write it backwards. :-)

This was our final picture of whatever night this was...lol. We were in a beautiful building on a very high floor that overlooked the falls. There were lots of places to sit and hang out. The picture below was in a little side room that had its own little fireplace, couches, and curtains. I guess it was supposed to be all lovey-dovey like and stuff. :-)

This was outside on the balcony. It was such a beautiful night. We enjoyed the view immensely.

This is Will looking very guilty. Right?

The picture below is after a meal we had in a little village type place called Niagara on the Lake--NOTL. It was a beautiful little town. We had to take a cab to get there. We also walked to the restaurant below from the lake and it was at least two miles. When we finally arrived, I demanded a pitcher of water and drank it like I hadn't seen water in months!

We sat by a group of about 10 that were celebrating a birthday. They were a RIOT! They included us in much of their conversation and insisted on taking pictures of us, because "we were just the cutest little things with our southern accents."

They wanted to take this one too after they saw our coffee and cookies.

I was worried about what I would eat after I saw the menu. Cause I'm a little picky like that. But, they had half sizes on their menu AND steak. My kind of deal. Isn't my meal beautiful. I didn't leave a bite.

Will wasn't worried about what to pick and probably just selected the first thing he saw so he wouldn't have to read the menu. He got lamb, if my memory is correct.

Do I look worried? This menu was so weird. It even had cotton candy as a choice. I kid you not. I seriously considered getting that.

What is this foreign object?

This picture makes me laugh until I hurt. I mean, really laugh. Do I or do I not look like a crazy naked lady in the park??? Bahahahaha! I promise I am wearing clothes. Promise. And, I was very seriously trying to explain to Will that these berries can't be eaten and I hope little kids don't try to eat them.
This is Will being a tree hugger. :-)

I'm quite proud of the locust shell I found on the tree above. As a kid, I used to get very excited over them. Grandaddy, if you are reading this...Remember how many we used to find on the tree in your front yard? There were always a lot!

"Will, take my picture as if I suddenly popped out from behind this tree and you caught it on camera!"

This is Will's supermodel pose by the lake. It was a beautiful place. Very peaceful.

Two sweaty people...it was a lovely place, but very hot. I considered jumping in the lake.

My supermodel pose! Haha!

We asked two ladies to take a picture of us in the gazebo. They took it waaaay too seriously. They took a million pictures! They wanted it perfect and I wanted to...well...hurt them a little

This is in the heart of the village. Lots of shopping. Did you notice my belt changed? I bought the green scarf at one of the little shops.

Getting ready to go out, but not wanting to leave the view...

Day 5....the last day....to follow soon.

VACA--DAY FOUR

2010-10-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, so three months later…day 4. :-)

We got up and dressed pretty quickly, ready to conquer the day.

We walked around a bit, and I met the tall fella in the picture below. He called me short. I called him freaky. Then we made up and he invited me to sit in his chair a while.

We had an early lunch at Rainforest Café. Will had never been to one. It’s one of those theme type places that grossly overcharges for the food, but I think they are cute. You eat in a jungle like setting, complete with random thunderstorms. There are mechanical jungle animals, waterfalls, overhead vines, etc. The food is pretty good as well. I got some type of pasta and Will had ribs.

Next, we headed to a place called White Water Walk that allows you to walk along side some rapids. Some very intense rapids. The ride to the location, as well as the wait in line, was torturous. It was SO hot.

The long line led to a tiny elevator. I mean, tiny. They crammed us in there like sardines. Will and I were both pretty grouchy at this point. But, we later discovered the aggravation was worth it.

Here I am, walking through some tunnel we had to go through to get to the water. Adventure time!

The water, the cliffs, the intensity of the rapids…all worth it. It was very peaceful to walk along the trail and just stare into the water. One gross thing…at the end of the walkway was a gum wall. People just put their gum there and it’s gross. My cousins and I had a gum tree when we were little. I wonder if it’s still there. Kristy?

We were supposed to go horseback riding next, but we received a call that it was too hot to take the horses out that day. We were disappointed, but of course wouldn’t want the horses to suffer either.We killed some time just walking around and seeing the sights until it was time to get ready for dinner.

This is a little incline railway that we had to ride to get to higher ground.

We ate at a place called Sandstone Grille. For some reason, the owner took a liking to us. He chatted with us for a long time and made sure we were well taken care of. The food was very good.

On the way back home, we ventured into a wax museum. Picture it…Will…Cindy…wax museum. Yeah, it was a little crazy in there. We had a good time.

We even had a wax figure made of our hands. People, it HURT. I mean, I was dancing and my pain tolerance is very high. They first dip your hands in warm wax. No problem. Felt good. But then…they PLUNGE your hands into freezing, freezing, freezing water and force you to hold them there. It felt like what getting stung by 1,000 jellyfish might feel like. I was jumping around trying to hold my hand still and this lady was just not letting go of my arm. It was a sight. I wanted to hit her. Here's the end result...sweet, right?

One final stop by the falls and then we called it a day.

CALLED OUT BY MY SISTER

2010-10-06T16:53:00.000-07:00

So, my slackness regarding this blog has been pubicly called out...by my own sister. I, Cindy, promise to try much harder to update this blog more often. And, as an apology to Kelli, I will post one of her Mr. Clean pictures.

VACA--DAY THREE

2010-08-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

Day Three, we got up fairly early with plans to ride Maid of the Mist (http://www.maidofthemist.com/) and to tour Journey Behind the Falls(http://www.niagarafallslive.com/journey_behind_the_falls.htm). I was very excited about Maid of the Mist as this is supposed to be THE thing to do in order to get a full appreciation of the falls themselves.

We made our way fairly quickly to the line for the boat. We were handed ponchos and told not to put them on until we were ON the boat, as they were worried about heat exhaustion. So, naturally what did people start doing? Putting the ponchos on and taking pictures of themselves, of course! Will and I were a good girl and boy and did as we were told.

When we boarded the boat, I realized pretty quickly that we had a problem. I am barely 5’5” and there was no room left on the boat to get up front. It was standing only. I am sure I ruined most of the trip for Will as I complained non-stop about not being able to SEE. I really couldn’t! Most of my view was comprised of blue ponchos! I was so upset! You’ll notice a bit of disappointment, in the pictures, hidden in my smile. As we got closer to the falls, though, I got quieter and quieter.

As we reached the nearest point to the falls, the announcer yelled out, “THIS IS NIAGARA FALLS!” and all 5 of my senses were very aware. It was truly amazing!!! I wont be able to describe it here. It is just something you have to experience for yourselves. We sat there about a minute with our mouths wide open and nobody was saying a word. It was, as if, we were inside those falls.

As we started backing up to go back in, I must admit I complained a little more and Will promised that we would go again and I would get a front row seat. (side note—we never went back on it, but I was being kind of a brat..I said kind of...;D)

We then headed to find some lunch. We found a place near the falls and took the food outside. When we were finished, I started feeding these little birds my hamburger bun. Soon, I had a small flock around me. Yes, I have become THAT lady. The one you see in the city parks on TV with all the pigeons. Well, I would just feed one and then feel sorry for another because he didn’t get a piece, and so it went.

During this feeding, Will noticed a woman inside the restaurant who he said was either sleeping or passed out. I watched her a second, then noticed the alarm on her family’s face. Nurse Vandervort took over from there and next thing I knew I was standing over her. She apparently had a stroke. Myself and another nurse did what we had to do until rescue arrived. It was sad and I wish I would have gotten an e-mail address or something from the family so that I could follow-up. There was no time for that though.

A bit shaken up, we headed for Journey of the Falls. It is a series of underground tunnels that take you out to different areas that are very close to the falls.

We found out pretty quickly that it is not for claustrophobic people. Thankfully, neither of us have this condition.

We were given yellow ponchos this time, instead of blue, to use on our “journey.” It was pretty cool, but wasn’t quite as awe inspiring as the boat ride and we were still a bit shaken up. We still managed to take a few good pictures.

We headed back to the room for some R&R before dinner. A well-meaning friend of mine mentioned that we sure have a lot of pictures of us sitting at restaurant tables. LOL! I guess that is a true statement. What can I say? We love to eat and love to eat at different places. That night’s dinner was at Fallsview Rainbow Room (http://www.niagarafallscrowneplazahotel.com/dining-fallsviewrainbowroom.php).

We had a very nice dinner, including some great coffee and dessert with a window view of the falls. Believe it or not, you never tire of the view!

Ok, so this is where the trip sort of fell apart. In a major way. We had obviously been saving for months for this trip. I called our bank ahead of time and informed them that we would be travelling out of the country. They advised me to use ATM machines to withdraw money from our account. That way the money would automatically be exchanged into Canadian currency and we would not have to carry a large amount of cash. That worked great with the first ATM machine.

The ATM machine we used after our dinner was located in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The Rainbow Room is on top of the Crowne Plaza Hotel so we thought nothing about using this particular ATM machine. We put our card in, put the amount we wanted to withdraw, and we received a note on the screen that said, “Error.” Ok, ok, ok…this will be fine we thought. We did not receive a receipt or any sort of paper that said anything, including money! All we had was an error message that was on the screen that quickly disappeared and went back to its main screen.

In a slight panic, we phoned our bank. We were informed that $500 was taken out of our banking account. We informed them that we did not receive any money. They informed us that we must file a paper dispute which might take A WEEK to investigate. Oh so not good.

Not only were we out the $500, even temporarily, but we were afraid to use the ATM card in any other machines. We got the hotel manager and asked him to make an out of order sign as other people were trying to use the machine and I was stopping them. Will had a very not so friendly conversation with our bank for an hour.

We finally left feeling very much defeated.

It was very disheartening and the whole process ended up being a complete mess. We did, in the end, get our money back. However, we used our credit card the remainder of the trip and, as a result, were charged with lovely foreign transaction fees.

We were a little broken hearted as we headed back to our room. We didn’t want the night to end this way. I noticed that we were near the Niagara Skywheel (http://www.cliftonhill.com/attractions/niagara-skywheel). I suggested to Will that we ride it as a way to end the night on a lovelier note. We did and it was very nice, although a little scary at first. Ha, ha.

It was an enclosed seat, with music playing overhead, lighting that you could control, and classical music playing. And, of course, the view of the city and the falls were amazing.

We made it back to our room, worked on some paperwork that had been faxed to us by our bank, and prepared ourselves for Day Four!

CONGRATS TO WILL!

2010-08-18T19:52:00.001-07:00

(I AM going to finish my posts on our Niagara Trip. I AM. Soon, I hope!)

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VACA--DAY TWO

2010-07-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

So, we boarded the plane without incident. I wound up in a middle seat which I despise, but I ended up falling asleep before we ever took off and didn’t wake up until we landed. Will watched Steelers football stuff on the laptop.

We landed and got our bags with no problem and started looking for our driver. It’s weird, but in Canada, you can get a limo service for just a little more than a taxi.

We found the driver holding a sign that said “Mr. & Mrs. Vandervort” which we got a total kick out of. I think he thought we were a little off, but I guess we kind of are. Of course, I made him stand there and let me take a picture of him which he thought was really strange. He asked me why Will couldn’t just hold the sign and I told him that wouldn’t be the same.

Then I asked him to take a picture of us in front of the car and he thought that was weird too.

Will helped him load the luggage, because that’s how we roll and we were off. The drive to the border didn’t take long. We had been instructed to look the border officer in the eye and answer all questions directly.

Well, Mr. Driver decided to act like he was confused as to which lane he should be in so he could skip ahead. He drove down a closed lane, then rolled down his window and asked a guy in line if he could get in front of him because he messed up. Guy in the pickup truck said, “That is NOT my problem, but go AHEAD!” Wow, welcome to Canada.

We got up to the window and the first thing the border officer says is, “Have you not driven this route before? Why were you driving all over the lanes?” My heart sank, because I just knew he wasn’t going to let us cross or something. The driver made up some nonsense and the officer turned his attention to us.

--“You two in the back, where are you from?”
--“The States-South Carolina.”
--“What do you do for a living?”
--“Sports writer and nurse.”
--“What is the purpose of your visit?”
--“Vacation.”
-- "How long are you going to be here?”
--“5 days.”
--“Do you have any weapons?”
--“Nope.”
--(Inspects our passports) “You may pass.”

Phew! That was kind of scary. The driver handed our passports back and for some reason I looked at them. Good thing, because he had given us his passport and mine. He accidentally kept Will’s. That would have been a total disaster.

We made it to our hotel, which used to be a factory. http://www.sterlingniagara.com/ The outside looked like a factory and had a large door in the shape of a milk bottle. It was pretty cool. The hotel employees were pretty rude, but we had been warned Canadians aren’t known for their hospitality.

Our room wasn’t ready so we left our luggage with the hotel and had lunch at the closest place. It was a little Italian place and we were the only customers. It was decked out in tacky decorations. Will ordered tea. I knew better and ordered water. We both tasted the tea and it was sooooo disgusting.

I got french onion soup and Will got a turkey sandwich with fries. We had to ask the waitress about the currency. We used an ATM machine at the restaurant which automatically exchanged our money to Canadian. They use loonies which are $1 coins, toonies which are $2 coins, and then bills $5 and up. They also have quarters, nickels, dimes, and pennies. We saved some of the coins to give our nieces and nephews.

We went back to the hotel and the room still wasn’t ready, but I had a spa appointment. I was very excited about it. Y’all may remember my last spa appointment. This one, I hoped, would be a little different. It was all about chocolate! Here is the spa's description--

Chocolate Embrace--A Spalicious Experience for the Mind, Body and Soul.
Chocolate "Truffle" Indulgence body treatment, begins with a coco and brown sugar body exfoliation, then the body is wrapped in a warm milk chocolate and Vanilla bean body mask then finished with a 1 hr aromatic vanilla body massage. Continue the Chocolate Embrace with a creamy white chocolate & orange facial, peppermint chocolate spa pedicure, vanilla cream spa manicure and chocolate covered strawberries with herbal Tea Blends.

Phew! What an experience! I could get used to that kind of treatment.

After that ordeal, I headed to our room. Will seemed disappointed in the room, but I thought it was kind of cool. It was more like a loft than a hotel room. It was huge. Will’s biggest complaint was that his neck had been hurting while trying to find a place to watch the television! We had a plasma TV above a fireplace. See Homer laughing at him cause his neck was hurting?

The bathroom was huge and I hate that I forgot to get a picture of it. It had a very large steam shower with a rain shower head and 3 jets. Um…I tried the jets and almost got knocked down and drowned. I think I was too short for them. I didn’t like turning on the steam either. It made me feel like I was suffocating. Will loved all of it.

We got ready for dinner at AG. http://www.sterlingniagara.com/dining/ It was REALLY good! Really! It was different. The one thing we didn’t like was the “palate cleanser”. It was some sort of strawberry soup and it was pretty terrible. I had beef tenderloin and Will had ribeye.

We took a lot of pictures!

We had strawberry shortcake for dessert.

After making our poor waiter take even more pictures, we headed back to our room to rest before day 3!

SORRY!

2010-07-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I did a terrible job of blogging while in Canada. I thought I would blog each night. We never had a free minute. We kept ourselves so busy and then we would practically crawl into bed and fall asleep before our heads hit the pillows. So, I will tell you about our trip in time, but no promises as to how long it will take me! Ha, Ha! We did have some adventures for me to tell you about--some good, some bad. Here is a view from our hotel window--notice the rainbow?

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!

FALLING BEHIND...NO PUN INTENDED

2010-07-12T21:56:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know I have fallen behind with my blogging. I've started working on Day Two, but Day Three is already over! As it is 1am now, I will try harder tomorrow to catch up. Here are a few sneak peeks.

VACA--DAY ONE

2010-07-12T06:09:00.001-07:00

Friday was spent making final preparations for our trip. Packing everything we wanted to bring was a chore and I am certain we packed too much.

Bailey and Web were dropped off at the kennel, while we decided not to drop Willis off until Saturday . Bailey is the only one who showed out. They opened his crate and he ran for the door. They got him before he escaped, but I am sure he is acting very pitiful today.

After dropping Willis off, we continued to our destination of the Hampton Inn in Charlotte, located minutes from the airport. We joked on the way there that it would be nice if they would let us leave our car with them to avoid paying a parking fee at the airport. We got our wish! It is a free service they offer.

We also got the room for free, because we had some Hampton Inn points saved up from years ago. We don’t stay at them much anymore, but we do like them. The only disappointment was the pool. I had planned to get to the room, change into my suit, and get some sun time in. However, we found out that the pool was indoor, with no sun to be found. It was also stifling hot in there.

We decided to go to a nearby mall called South Park. It was very crowded and VERY upscale! My first indication that we were out of our league was when I picked up a very cute pair of shoes that I would have loved to buy. Guess how much? Guess! $1275! That’s 1-2-7-5! Our further scan of the mall was much the same. People are really arrogant to think it’s ok to spend thousands of dollars on shoes. I mean, seriously.

Will did find two pair of shorts that were on sale for $19. I bought a necklace that was $17, some make-up from Sephora, and a $59 pair of shoes. I think we did very well.

After wearing Will out shopping, I drug him to the Cheescake Factory. Sooo good! I had pasta carbanara and Will had shephard’s pie. Both of us left a ton of food on our plate. They just serve way too much. Will didn’t want to get dessert, but I did! I got a piece of Lemon cake to go. I was still full once I got home, so I decided to eat it the next morning with my coffee.

We fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows. The alarm rang at 6, which is just pure torture to me! I hate alarm clocks and I despise getting up that early. This is a one of the reasons working the night shift works for me. It takes me over an hour to really wake up, and that was with Will bringing me coffee to drink immediately when I opened my eyes. I DID have my lemon cake with it and it WAS so GOOD!

We had to be down in the lobby by 0730 to catch the shuttle to the airport. The ride was a very short one and we greatly appreciated being dropped off right at the door.

Once at the airport, Will and I had a “discussion” about which line to go in to check our luggage. Sigh. It is never easy when you have two people who are both leaders and not followers. We somehow managed to check the bags and make it through security without killing each other.
We are currently sitting at our gate waiting to board. I will post again later.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY!!!

2010-07-10T05:47:00.001-07:00

I almost forgot to wish my beautiful niece Emily Lorraine, who is Cindy Lorraine's little Sassy Girl, a Happy 3rd Birthday!!! Happy birthday Uncle Candy!

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

2010-07-10T05:11:00.001-07:00

Today we will be driving to Charlotte to stay the night. Our hotel is right beside the airport. Since I have a disability when it comes to actually waking up, I thought it would be best for us to be as close to the airport in the morning as possible. Ha, ha.

I am sitting here having coffee and final conversation with Willis before we pack him up to stay with the vet. So far, he has been saying, "Hello. C'mon. and What doing?" over and over. I don't think he is fully awake either.

Last night brought a lot of stress as Will and I packed everything but the kitchen sink to take to Canada. Will also wanted me to make a photocopy of our passports and mail it to my parents. Just in case. That, I didn't do. I did send flight schedules and hotel info.

I am a little nervous about dealing with the border officer, but I have no idea why. It's not like we are going to a communist country. And, it's not like we will have anything questionable on us. But, what if Will and I start laughing really hard...just because that's the way we are...and he makes us pull over for an inspection or something? That would be embarrassing.

Anyway, I will try to blog throughout our trip. I am sure we will have plenty of adventures to report.

PS--The outfit above makes me smile really big, because it is sooooo 80's!

OH CANADA!

2010-07-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

We are taking care of last minute errands in preparation for our trip to Niagara Falls. I am really excited. Will...probably not so much. He is a home body. I, on the other hand, want to see the world!

I am going to TRY and blog daily and post pictures, because I want to remember it all. I am sure we will never go back.

The pets will all be boarding. Will is going to have to drop them off, because I will cry. I really dread Willis boarding the most, because it takes a lot to take care of him and I worry constantly about him. The vet and her staff absolutely love him, so I always worry that someone will try and take him home with them. Crazy, right?

I am worried that I might starve in Canada. I've been looking at their food and I don't know what most of it is. I'm sure I can find a McDonald's somewhere though. :-)

Stay tuned for what is sure to be an adventure.

PS--The outfit above makes me smile really big because it is sooooo 80's! I love it!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-07-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-06-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

THE LIFE OF A BACHELORETTE

2010-06-22T14:55:00.001-07:00

Will is in Omaha covering the College World Series. Yesterday afternoon, our AC decided to totally stop working. I tried to troubleshoot. I went outside and looked at the unit itself. The fan wasn't moving and it was making a noise like a jet engine. I called Will and we went through a series of things, such as looking at the fuse box, resetting the unit, etc. Nothing worked and I spent a very hot night tossing and turning.

This morning we went through the routine again and still couldn't get it working. Will called an AC repair man and he was here within the hour. He looked at it and told me that the capacitor was broken. I have no clue what that is, but my cousin Brian had already guessed that is what it probably was.

I held my breath while he gave me the estimate. $380. I was not a happy girl, but what was I supposed to do? It was around 95 today. He fixed it in about 30 minutes and it has worked great since. I have since been informed by Brian that I have been ripped off. I guess Will and I will head up to chat with someone about it next week.

Next, I cleaned up around the house. But, there is one thing that I still haven't done. I am really procrastinating and it is about to get out of control. This right here:

I have been spoiled over the years, in that I can count on my fingers the number of times I've actually had to take the trash out. Will has always been very good about doing it without being asked. He has also always made the bed. Every morning. Both of these things have been neglected. The trash situation will have to be taken care of tonight though. I've put it off long enough.

I had a bit of a disaster while preparing to heat up my lunch today. I've had this red plate for years. It is actually a Christmas plate that someone gave me cookies on one year. I've just always loved it and will usually grab it instead of one from our matching set. I am a little strange with dishes. I always use the same ones over and over. Same fork, same spoon, same cup...you get the picture. Anyway, I went to set it on the counter and missed the counter entirely. My poor plate is gone. :-( I got a lot of good use out of it over the years.

After lunch, I decided to take a little nap. I didn't sleep last night due to the heat and I worked all night the night before. I slept for about an hour and then decided to look out the window to see if the mail had been delivered yet. This is what I saw:

I can not even begin to describe how much this grosses me out!!! I have this weird fear of clusters of things. I don't like schools of fish, or even two or three together, groups of insects, flocks of birds, etc. It is just disgusting to me. So imagine my level of freak out when I saw this!

I knew that tons of somethings were inside it. What the somethings were, I didn't know. I quickly took a picture of it with my phone and sent it to Will and Daddy. Verdict: Hornet's Nest. My initial plan was to pretend I didn't see it. But, I kept looking out the window at it because it was sooooo gross! LOL!

I thought maybe I would throw something at it and then run back inside. Since it was kind of far from the door though, I didn't think I could make it in time.

After discussions with Daddy, I decided on Hornet Spray. I hopped in my Jeep and headed to Home Depot. I was on a mission! I marched straight to the "outside pests" section. An employee asked if he could help me. I informed him that he could not. I grabbed the most expensive stuff they had, since I thought it would work better and headed to the self check-out counter.

I headed back to the house, but had to make one stop. McDonald's, Ice Cream Cone. Priorities people, priorities.

I came straight in and headed upstairs. I decided I better protect my eyes, nose, and mouth. I came up with pantyhose and sunglasses. LOL!

Once I had my bank robber outfit on, I opened the door, tiptoed fairly close to the nest, shut my eyes, yelled, sprayed for about 3 seconds and RAN back inside. Nothing happened. A couple of hornets came out. I then stood pretty close to the door and sprayed the heck out of it. The hornets started falling out and dying.

I am pretty proud of myself for handling the nest. I am sure I will have nightmares about it though. I plan to spray it again before bed, and then knock it down in the morning. That will probably be another adventure.

The rest of my day has been pretty mundane. I had a piece of Italian Creme Cake from Ruby Tuesday's last night. I liked it so much, I just bought a whole cake from Ingle's, along with some lasagna for dinner.

I wonder what tomorrow will hold. Who needs a man?

GETTING OLD!

2010-06-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

Will turned 38 yesterday. He got everything on his birthday list, minus one exchange. We ate lunch at Fatz, as that was all he had time for. The cake came from the famous Ellison's Cakes. I gave them short notice so all they had was the top of a wedding cake and it just so happened to be their signature strawberry. It is SO yummy! He spent most of the day getting ready for a trip to Omaha for the College World Series. You know what that means right? He is gone and I am left here all alone with the cake. Whatever shall I do with it? (insert evil laugh) Maybe I will save him one piece. Nah, who am I kidding? I wont.

Hey Good Lookin'

2010-05-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-04-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-04-14T06:20:00.001-07:00

THIS AND THAT

2010-04-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello. Things have just been moving along here in SC. Work, work, work. Sleep, sleep, sleep. Will and I rarely have moments when we are in the house at the same time. However, we aren't complaining. We are thankful for our jobs.

The weather has vastly improved and, as a result, so has my mood! Being without sunshine for so long is just not healthy!

One of my newest obsessions is with fashion jewelery. LOL! I have the best time shopping for CLEARANCE items. I'm sorry, but this cheap girl can not spend a lot of money on such things. I just can't do it. See the necklace below? It originally sold for $68. $68!!! I mean, you have seriously got to be kidding me! No way, Jose! Guess how much I paid for it? Go ahead, guess! Ok, I'll tell you, and yes I am very proud. $19.99! :D

The cousin recently stopped by on his way through SC. We didn't get to visit with him long, but we were glad we got to see him. He loves when his pictures are published publicly, so I figured I would add a few here. I made Dwayne and Will go outside to take these and they were both thrilled beyond belief!

Not much else has been going on. I am enjoying my job. I still get nervous and I still have tons to learn, but I am on my way! How do you like my fancy lunch bag?

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-04-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

HE IS ALIVE!

2010-04-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

Click the link below to hear one of my all-time favorite songs. Happy Easter!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Rw5UYbf8c

HELLO SUNSHINE!

2010-04-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day! The weather was perfect. Will and I headed to Easley around 10:30 to have our taxes done. We always put it off until the last minute. Afterwards, we got lunch at Pizza Hut. They were having a $5 buffet and our favorite server, Cynthia, waited on us. She has been our server for about 5 years now. When she sees us pull up, she puts Will's favorite pizza in the oven and then serves him from it before putting it on the buffet. He is spoiled.

Once we were home, I grabbed a book that one of my friends at work loaned me, and headed outside. The book is by Stephen King. I normally don't read him, but this book was highly recommended. It's called Lisey's Story. It was a complex read and I greatly enjoyed it. I don't like predictable books, or movies for that matter. This book was definitely not predictable.

I am working tonight and the next two. I feel very blessed to have a job in today's economic climate!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-03-31T16:50:00.000-07:00

OFF WITH HER HEAD!

2010-03-30T19:43:00.001-07:00

Today was a pretty good day off. The weather was perfect. I had errands to run so I didn't get to sit outside, but I still loved seeing the sunshine.

Will and I had lunch at the Esso Club around 11:30. It never disappoints. Well, Will was a tad disappointed about the toast on his BLT not being dark. He is very particular about the toast and always makes a point to explain it to the server in detail. Apparently, this one either didn't get it or didn't care. He still ate it with no problems.

Afterwards, Will headed over to Anderson to host a radio show he does weekly with Don Munson. I went to the doctor for a quick BP med follow-up. No biggie. Afterwards, I may or may not have fallen asleep in my recliner.

I have been wanting to see Alice in Wonderland so we finally made time for it tonight. I think Will was embarassed. A very large Clemson football player was in line behind him at the ticket counter. When the lady asked what movie we wanted to see, Will asked me to say it. Ha, ha.

I went to the restroom once we got inside. I was literally on the toilet tending to business when I hear Will yell, "Are you in the bathroom?!" He is SO crazy! Apparently he didn't hear me tell him I was going in there and was having a bit of a panic. I tried to pretend like I didn't know him when I came out, but he tripped about that time, and it was all over.

The movie was pretty good. I liked the Red Queen who kept yelling, "Off with his/her head!" Johnny Depp is just weird though. Seriously.

OSCAR THE GROUCH AKA CINDY

2010-03-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

I sure have been slacking on my blog writing! I am short on time these days. When I'm not working, I'm sleeping. I need to do better.

I had to go to work today for an hour or so to attend a competency fair of sorts. On my way, I got behind a not so intelligent man who was hauling rocks in a FLATBED trailer. I was trying my hardest to get away from him, as rocks sprayed my windshield. Of course, it cracked. Oh boy, was I mad! I got his tag number, but our insurance company didn't want me to file a police report. I wonder how many windshields he cracked down the road. Grrr!

I went to the mall for a couple of hours, but I was a big 'ol grouch. Will and I were supposed to go out to eat and see a movie tonight, but I decided to take a rain check.

The weather is supposed to be great this week. I hope to get out in the sun at some point. I am trying to finish a book that one of my friends at work loaned me. I can't remember the last time I was able to sit down and read a book. What a luxury!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-03-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-03-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-03-10T12:32:00.001-08:00

I WANT OFF THIS RIDE

2010-03-05T01:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I am sicker than Cooter Brown. Yeah, I know, I know. It's supposed to be, "drunker than Cooter Brown." However, I don't see why I can't be sicker than him too. I've heard family members use this phrase over the years and I've often copied it, but never really knew what it meant. So, at 0445 this morning, while suffering through yet another flu induced fever, I looked it up. I know you've been waiting all your life to hear this. Let me educate you...

"Cooter Brown is a name used in metaphors and similes for drunkenness, mostly in the southern United States. Cooter Brown supposedly lived on the line which divided the North and South during the American Civil War, making him eligible for military draft by either side. He had family on both sides of the line, so he did not want to fight in the war. He decided to get drunk and stay drunk for the duration of the war so that he would be seen as useless for military purposes and would not be drafted. Ever since, colloquial and proverbial ratings of drunkenness have been benchmarked against the legendary drinker: "as drunk as Cooter Brown" or "drunker than Cooter Brown."

Now don't ever say I ain't learned ya nuttin'. I copied the above from Wikipedia, and that right there, is saying something. I mean, Wikipedia knows all, right? You could type in....oh let's say..."How long does the flu last?" You might get a response explaining that the article may be too long for you to "read comfortably." I'm not sure what Mr. Wikipedia is trying to imply, but that's not nice. I don't think anyway.

I am siiiiick with the flu. Sicker than I've ever been in my life? Nah. That was in 2006 when I had the Norovirus. I'd say it's the second sickest I've ever been though. Second sickest is pretty major stuff. I'm tellin' ya.

Yeah, you know I'm gonna tell ya all the details. I'm too sick to sleep. Who else am I gonna tell? So, it all started in the grocery store on Sunday morning. I was on my way home from working all night and decided to stop in to grab a few things. Well, about 10 minutes into my shopping excursion, whilst pushing my cute little mini-buggy, the floor went sideways. You believe that? Sideways! I felt the need to visit the restroom and either pass out, vomit, or just hang out on the toilet a while.

I informed the cashier that I was going to leave my buggy with her for a minute. You think I was gonna risk letting someone steal my coffee, creamer, or strawberries? I wasn't born yesterday. So, off I go to the bathroom just thinking I was probably over-tired from working all night. The visit went longer than expected. I ended up having to leave the store without talking to the cashier again. I am still worried about my buggy. I mean, is it still sitting there? Does it think I am coming back? I abandoned it. Poor thing. Bless it's little heart.

After I got home, I visited the bathroom some more. I guess my toilet was jealous. Then I went to bed and slept most of the day. I had to be back at work Monday morning. I set my alarm for 0500. At 0600, I heard it going off. That is not like me. Oh, it is very like me to hit snooze over and over and over and over and over and over...BUT it is not like me not to hear the alarm.

I felt very "off" as I got dressed. I did take a bath, but I didn't wash my hair...no time. It looked raggedy and pitiful. I realized that my throat was hurting. I sent a couple of texts to my co-workers asking if they had cough drops. I was attending a class and didn't want to cough my way through it. I didn't have time to stop. Y'all just stop me if there are any questions. I know this is just getting more and more interesting by the minute.

Part of the class involved us doing a scavenger hunt around our hospital. Did I mention the hospital is massive? As we made our way through the halls, quickly enough to make visitors think someone was dying, I noticed the floor tilting thing again. I mentioned to my fellow nurses that I was getting motion sickness.

On to lunch...I couldn't find anything that looked remotely good. I knew I had to get something as I had the rest of the day to finish out. Guess what I ended up with? Some cubes of cheese and some grapes. Yes, I felt like a mouse. I was made fun of, stared at, talked about...did I care? No. I sat there and separated my cheese into one pile and my grapes in another and picked my way through lunch.

After class ended, I somehow drove myself home. The weatherman was speaking of possible snow. I began my snow dance right then and there. I felt terrible. Class would be cancelled if it snowed. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. It did! I did not have to go to class and good thing, because I was miserable at this point. My entire body ached, I was vomiting, I had a fever...I knew I had the flu.

Sighing, huffing, and puffing, I did finally resign to going to the ER. I knew I needed fluids. And so the real fun began. The check in lady asked me to review a piece of paper that had my name, birthdate, SSN, and address on it. I was to initial it, saying that I agreed everything on it was correct. Wouldn't you know it? I found an error. I told her that my SSN was incorrect. She informed me that couldn't be, because it was in their system. Ohhhh, it was in your system? You should have told me! That way, I would have never questioned that the SSN I've had all my life was what I thought it was. I'll spare you all the details. It was an ordeal and a half.

We made our way to the waiting area. We lucked up and sat by some college students who talked about how miserable their lives were because of what she said on Facebook about her, and how she thought he was the love of her life, but then he went and called her, and she started doubting that he was the one, and how he didn't really want to be with one girl because he was so young, but he didn't want her dating anyone else....and yak, yak, yak...oh would you three please SHUSH?!

Finally, we were called back into a room. I was drilled with questions, of which I wanted no part of. I explained that I had the flu and that I needed fluids. I was there for nothing else. They explained they were going to do some tests. I explained again that there was no need for tests. Do you think they listened?

They did the tests and finally started the IV fluids, while we waited. Some 15 minutes later, Radiology comes flying in with a mask and gown, throws a mask on me, and starts rolling me away. A very alarmed Will asked her where she was taking me. To get a chest x-ray, her test came back positive for flu!

Ok, so I am on day 6 of my fun filled adventure. I am less than well. I feel as if I will be miserable forever. I don't believe in flu shots. Not for people my age. Will I get one next year? The answer is still No. However, when I notice the floor go sideways, even a little, I will take to my bed with the quickness.

I do believe it is time for some more anti-nausea medicine. I didn't get to tell y'all about my fever shooting up so high that it caused hallucinations! Oh, and the picture that Will insisted on taking of me in the ER wearing my mask! Another day for sure...

OLYMPICS

2010-02-25T06:47:00.001-08:00

Okaaaay, what was up with those women last night wearing those scuba diving outfits, skis, and what looked like a bow and arrow on their back? First they did this weird walking thing, then started walking sideways, then flopped down and started shooting targets, then jumped back up and did it again! They looked like Scuba Steve from Big Daddy. I just totally did not get it, but I got a really good laugh out of it!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-02-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

FEBRUARY FUNNIES FROM FLORIDA

2010-02-18T20:49:00.001-08:00

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/ur8Zg8Bh

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-02-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

C'MON BOOTS!

2010-02-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

I lost my style a couple years ago. Just lost it. Now I am trying to find it again (not sure I ever had it). Will thinks some of the recent stuff I’ve purchased is hilarious. I say he has no style.

I recently bought some cowgirl boots. Yes, cowgirls boots. I think they are very cute. They are half boots. I didn’t know what I was going to wear them with when I bought them, but I recently put something together. The whole leggings look has come back from the 80’s. It’s weird, but whatever. We got ready to go out and I looked in the mirror. I laughed SO hard! Toooo funny! I have small feet so the boots look like they came from the kiddie department.

Still, I decided to wear my outfit anyway. Much to Will’s chagrin, I insisted on saying, “C’mon boots!” everytime I got out of our vehicle. I enjoyed wearing them. I look forward to buying more clothes to go with them. I also look forward to finding other clothes/shoes that will embarrass Will. I am going to find his style for him soon. He is really gonna love that.

YOU THOUGHT I FORGOT?

2010-02-09T12:27:00.001-08:00

SMILING IS JUST WEIRD

2010-02-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

So, I was recently thinking about how strange smiles are. Think about it. You are basically looking at someone and saying, "Want to see my teeth?" Smile right now. It's weird, isn't it? We pose for pictures and make sure the camera takes shots of our teeth. Why get an x-ray at the dentist? We can just check for cavities in the pictures. We walk by perfect strangers and just flash our teeth. It's like saying, "I think I have something in my teeth. Check it out for me." What would life be like if instead we stuck out our tongues in greeting and went, "Ptttt!!!" Just curious...

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-02-03T18:30:00.000-08:00

Dunkin' Donuts

2010-02-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

Dear Dunkin' Donuts,

I have a complaint. If you are going to charge a small fortune for 6oz of coffee, doesn't it seem that you should provide a quality lid for it? I do not appreciate working over 24 hours in two nights, heading in for my 3rd night, wearing all white, going bankrupt buying your coffee, and having your very flimsy lid totally not work. I was not happy to be wearing my very expensive coffee and I was not happy to have your jagged lid cut the sides of my mouth. I am positive that you are aware of this. I am positive that you know people will pay extra for a medium cup in order to receive a better lid. I will buy coffee elsewhere.

Sincerely,

Less than happy

PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN

2010-01-27T16:06:00.000-08:00

My cousin, Stacy Hoskison Griffin, recently lost her house to a fire. Her husband, Matt, and youngest son, Avery, sustained burns. Avery is still in the hospital, but he will be ok. Matt and Stacy are very hard working people who would help anyone. A fund has been set up in the name of Matt Griffin at Wachovia. Please help me pass the word.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-01-20T06:26:00.000-08:00

RED CROSS/HAITI

2010-01-14T15:21:00.000-08:00

You can donate $10 to Haiti relief by texting “Haiti” to 9-0-9-9-9.

Basic info about this mobile giving program:

We have received more than $3 million as of 9 a.m. EST – through a third party mobile fundraising effort to support our relief efforts in Haiti.

100% of the donations will go to support the Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.

The mobile fundraising effort launched on January 12, approximately three hours after the earthquake struck Haiti. The program is powered by Mobile Accord and the MGive Foundation in coordination with the U.S. State Department as part of its ongoing support of this disaster response.

We are grateful this mobile fundraising opportunity, and for the support of the State Department and other government leaders to draw attention to this important program (and thousands of tweeters!)

The needs in Haiti are tremendous and we want to thank the people who continue to donate and help the American Red Cross meet that need. Raising this amount of money $10 at a time is a true testament to the American spirit.

People who want to help those affected by the Haitian earthquake can also make a donation to the American Red Cross International Response Fund at Redcross.org or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS

Donors using this technology may opt in to receive future updates, but will not be solicited again without this consent nor will their personal information be shared with other organizations.
An average of 91 cents of every dollar the American Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-01-13T17:02:00.000-08:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2010-01-06T06:13:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS 2009

2009-12-26T06:27:00.000-08:00

It has been a strange Christmas. Will had to leave for TN yesterday to cover bowl game events and the bowl game itself on Sunday. We spent Christmas apart and alone and it was very odd. I had spaghetti for my Christmas dinner and Will had a hamburger from the hotel bar.

We have both been busy this month and neither of us took time to buy any presents. We went to the mall Thursday afternoon and picked out a gift for ourselves. I got a watch and it came with a bracelet. Will got a PSIII game and some kind of DVD series off the Pittsburg Steeler’s website. We looked for a Cocky statue at the mall so Will could pay up on his bet, but we couldn’t find one. Don’t worry, I wont forget about it.

Will recently asked me to describe my favorite childhood Christmas memory. We had great Christmases every year. We never went without. We always ate tons of food with both sides of the family and I had lots of cousins to play with. I loved to get up around 3am Christmas morning to see what Santa brought for myself, Adam, and Kelli and then going back to bed. I also loved to see what Santa left in our stockings.

This is just a lot of rambling, isn’t it? I guess I need to start cleaning the house. I’ve already called “not it” with regard to taking the Christmas decorations down. I put them up so I volunteered Will to take them down.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! What is your favorite Christmas memory?

STAY TUNED

2009-12-07T07:26:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to post a quick blog to let everyone know that I have not forgotten about buying the Cocky statue. I may have to order one off the internet. It's not like they sell them here in Tiger Town! Ha, ha. Stay tuned...the bet will be honored soon.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-12-02T07:16:00.000-08:00

BRING IT!

2009-11-27T09:19:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s that time of the year again…the time that Will and I temporarily declare our wedding license null and void for one day. That day is tomorrow. The Gamecocks and Tigers will play in Columbia. As all of you know, we have had many, many wagers over this game through the years. It’s not really important who has won most of these; although I am sure Will would disagree.

After much discussion and cancellation of several offers from each of us regarding this year’s wager, it has come down to this: if USC wins, a statue of Cocky will be placed by our television with an engraved plaque showing the score, and vice versa should the Tigers win. It will be in full view anytime the television is being watched and will be a constant reminder of this year’s game turnout. Additionally, the loser will have to endure having a picture of them taken while kissing said statue, which will then appear on this blog site.

By the way, today we are celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary, so happy anniversary to us!

VERY HILARIOUS

2009-11-25T16:45:00.000-08:00

My link--

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/WW4x3R24cPN5JEJvuzMt

Kelli's link--

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/Be9PL2oF4MktzBFO?cmpid=ey_fb_self

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-11-25T09:38:00.001-08:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-11-18T08:30:00.001-08:00

LAUGH OF THE DAY

2009-11-17T16:15:00.000-08:00

One thing I love about this time of year are the pomegranates. I eat about one a day. Today, Will asked me, "Why did you put that pomeroygranate in this container?"

THE RESULTS ARE IN...

2009-11-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

I passed the NCLEX! WOO HOO!!!!!

I took the test in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Cindy Vandervort, RN

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-11-04T06:22:00.000-08:00

LIFE AND STUFF

2009-11-01T16:54:00.001-08:00

I feel like I’ve been on a roller coaster ride this past month. Life changes so fast and causes a domino effect that can’t be controlled. Sometimes you just have to hang on tight and go along for the ride.

As all of you know, I lost my grandmother on October 15th. Her name was Doris Chapman aka Magranny. She was truly an amazing person. So much so, that it is hard for me to even describe her. She had been sick for about 5 years and it was time for her to go to a better place.

She died peacefully with 7 of us surrounding her bed. I won’t post the details, but I will say that we witnessed a miraculous event. We saw God take one of his children home. We knew that she was young again, and with those that have passed before us. It was a true honor to be with her when she left this earth. And, I know without a doubt, that she knew we were there.

Please continue to pray for my grandfather as he finds his way without her. He is full of life and loves to laugh. It will just take him some time to get into a new rhythm. They used to like to get a Frosty from Wendy’s every Saturday night. :-)

After the funeral, I came home and took my last series of tests and got ready for my pinning ceremony. I graduated from nursing school! I took a huge leap of faith by leaving my career, dealt with hours upon hours of driving, no sleep, tests, and presentations. But, I finished! I still don’t think it has hit me yet.

I have been job hunting. I’ve gotten used to this phrase, “No new grads.” I will keep applying until I find something though. I also want to continue my education. I know, I know! But, I do! I want to work full-time and go to school part-time. My mind is made up. I want to get my Master’s and maybe even my PhD. But, I will have to do it slowly as work will be my priority.

The pinning ceremony itself went great. My parents, Aunt Regina, Will, Kelli, Kaitlyn, and Hannah were there to watch it. Chris stayed home with Emily, because we were asked not to bring babies. I still got to take some pictures with her when I got home though. She will get to look back at them one day and know she was here when I graduated.

The ceremony itself was beautiful, but very fast. I compared it to my wedding day. So much planning and then…BAM....over in an instant. I made some great friends in nursing school and I hope that we will stay in touch. Here I am with Mrs. Revis, the instructor that pinned me. She was also my very first clinical instructor.

And here is a picture of the much anticipated pin itself.

My family thought the hat I had to wear was funny. So, guess what? They all got to wear it!

We went out to eat after the ceremony and had a great time. Will surprised me with this cake. It was strawberry shortcake. My absolute favorite.

It has been strange to not have an agenda. Today, I have washed enough clothes to last a lifetime. But, the difference was that I did it without having to worry about schoolwork in the back of my mind.

I still have to take the NCLEX exam to get my license. The school said it will take a week or more to endorse us and then we will have to pick a test date based on the board’s schedule. When I do find out the date, it will be a secret. That will take some of the pressure off of me. I will let you know about it after the fact.

It’s so hard to apply for jobs and not have a license yet. Most everyone wants online applications and when they ask for your RN license number, I have nothing to put there. However, I have been able to put in a lot of applications and now just hope someone calls me for an interview. I guess they are used to new grads telling them that they don’t have a test date yet. A friend of mine, who works at a hospital, told me they will hire with a status of “pending licensure”. That sounds good to me. At this point, I just need to know that I am going to have a job.

The flu clinic that I was working for is out of seasonal vaccine and they aren’t sure if they will get any of the H1N1 vaccine so I haven’t been able to get any hours there. I am hoping that will change soon. Otherwise, Nurse Vandervort just might have to work at Cracker Barrel…again. Don't think I wont make them put RN on my name badge though! Ha, ha!

A FEW PICS FROM PINNING DAY!

2009-10-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

WE WILL MISS YOU MAGRANNY!

2009-10-15T22:50:00.001-07:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-10-07T12:21:00.001-07:00

A LITTLE UPDATE

2009-10-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

I will be working as an LPN while I finish out my nursing program and until I find a job as an RN. I will be giving flu shots at various locations such as Wal-Marts, malls, and business offices. Taking this on is a bit of a challenge with so much going on with school, but the money is very good and we need it! Plus, I can pick my own hours so I wont overload myself. I start this weekend and I will be working all weekend. Wish me luck! :-)

PS--A milestone for my blog. This is my 100th post. :-)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-09-30T14:57:00.001-07:00

BIRTHDAY NUMBER 35

2009-09-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

On September 15th, I turned 35. Wow. Halfway to 70. Here is the link to the blog I wrote when I turned 34-- http://cindyslifelessons.blogspot.com/2008/09/blog-post.html

I guess every year will bring new wisdom in some form or another. I am grateful for that, but what is up with this physical aging stuff? It’s not fun…at all. But, hey, I am alive. I am healthy. I have a house. I have food. That is a lot more than some people have, and I count my blessings for that. I can’t stop the wrinkles, the sun spots, or the occasional grey hair. I can, however, choose to continue to try and live life to the fullest and that is what I will do. But, I do like to joke around about getting old. Humor is one of the keys to life.

Some of my nursing school friends threw me a little surprise party before class. I was so appreciative. These girls have been there through all the misery that comes along with nursing school and we have cried and laughed on each other more times than I can count. They made a sign, got me flowers, balloons, made brownies, and gave me a framed picture that I will treasure forever. The entire class signed a card for me. I am very blessed to have such good friends in my life.

My parents sent me money, which I very much appreciated. My sister sent me a video of my nieces singing Happy Birthday to me! Oh my goodness, I absolutely LOVED it. Here it is if you want to check it out. It may give you a warning prompt, just hit continue and the video will come up and then just hit the little arrow button to play it.

http%3A%2F%2Fi436.photobucket.com%2Fplayer.swf%3Ffile%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fvid436.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fqq81%2Fmom23girls27%2Fcindybirthday008.flv&h=9baa576d4f52e1c4166f713daf7cb5dc

Now, you may be wondering about the water globe looking thing above. Y’all don’t laugh. Promise? Who is already giggling? Ok, everyone knows that I was a Biology nerd before I went to nursing school. I still am, I guess. I really, really wanted a self-contained ecosystem for my birthday this year. I did not want anything else. Will thought I was crazy and called me a geek many times.

A self-contained eco system is just what it sounds like. There is a little shrimp in it. I named him Herman. I said NO laughing! Ok, his name is Herman and he is c-u-t-e. He is only as big as the tip of your pinky fingernail. I tried to zoom in on him for a picture, but it didn’t work. He’s too little. He’s orange and fairly see-through.

So, he lives in this dome. Everything he needs is in there. The dome does not open. He gets sunlight which provides the solar energy to produce algae which provides his food. He then produces waste which turns into bacteria and does two things: produces carbon dioxide which enables the algae to produce oxygen and provides inorganic nutrients for the algae to continue to survive. Now, how cool is that? His life expectancy is two years.

Well, his life expectancy is two years, unless I accidentally kill him. Which I may or may not have already almost done….um….twice. Ok, here’s the deal. I was talking on the phone with my good friend Kimberly. Herman was sitting on the table that sits beside my recliner. I reached around him to grab a computer cord and knocked him clear off the table!

He fell about 2 feet and then rolled. I picked him up, fully expecting him to be crushed, but he was swimming around like crazy, because he was scared out of his mind. Since he is see-through, I was able to do a thorough head to toe assessment and check for internal injuries. Again, NO laughing! He is fine and has been fine ever since. So, I think all is well.

We had one other close call. There is a small magnet in the dome. To clean the inside of the glass, I take a bigger magnet, connect the two, and rub the inside magnet along the glass to release any deposits which the shrimp actually uses for food. Welllll, the first time I did this, I did not realize the force at which the inside magnet would fly to the outside magnet! I stuck it to the glass and it flew so hard to the big magnet that I am surprised the glass didn’t break.
Once they were stuck together, I could not find Herman! I just KNEW he was between those two magnets and I had squished him to death. Last reminder: NO laughing! I kept looking and looking for him and was too scared to move the magnet. I finally found him hiding in his algae. I think he is scared of me.

Oh, and y’all should see Willis trying to look at Herman! He sees me looking at him, so Willis will cock his head and open his eye as wide as he can trying to see what I am looking at. It is HILARIOUS! I know that he will be able to say his name soon.

I had a good birthday with Will aka WillieOrange, Willis aka Mr. Pickles, Bailey aka Weenie, Web aka Horse, and Herman aka Hermie.

FARRAH'S STORY

2009-09-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

Notice the new link that I put under "Blogs That I Read" called "Farrah Coker's Story." Justin, Farrah's daddy, is a classmate of mine. He and his fiance, Jenna, need your prayers during this difficult time as they help their beautiful daughter fight this battle. Please take time to check out their blogsite and leave them an encouraging word. Please continue to pray for Farrah and her family throughout their journey.

C07 is here for you Justin! We will see you in class tomorrow!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-09-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

DOES MY FACE LOOK FUNNY TO YOU?

2009-09-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

This past Wednesday, I got out of clinical and found this message on my cell phone, “Web got bit by a snake on the back left leg. I am at the Vet’s right now. His face is swollen.” Followed by this one, “Web is okay, but they are going to keep him for observation.”

I immediately called Will and he told me that he let Web out about 4:30am Wednesday morning and then went back to bed. Web was sleeping when I left for the hospital and I didn’t even look at him. When Will got up about 8:30, he looked at Web and his face was swollen to twice its normal size.

He freaked (who wouldn't) and ran him to the vet. He said that Web plopped down on the floor, but acted as if nothing was wrong. Then, he noticed that a puddle of blood was pooling around his leg. He mentioned it to the staff and they waited their turn. Web acted fine and Will said he even tried to play with the other dogs.

Web weighs almost 95 pounds now at 9 months old. The picture above was taken today. We can’t allow him to play with other dogs, because he will hurt them accidentally. However, I find it hilarious that he was sitting there with his face swelled up like a helium balloon acting as if nothing was wrong.

The vet took him back and said that his vital signs were off. He gave him Benadryl, Prednisone, and an Antibiotic and said he needed to keep him all day for observation.

The doctor had a different theory than a snake bite though. He said that due to the time span that passed (4:30am to 8:30am) and the extreme degree of swelling that he had in his face, he felt that if it had been a snake bite, he would not be alive. His hypothesis was that Web got stung by a yellow jacket (which obviously we had no idea he was even allergic to) and then cut his leg trying to get away.

We are a little apprehensive now, because a second bite from a yellow jacket could be detrimental. I have some children’s Benadryl on hand in the event this occurs, but we aren’t always home with him and it is unrealistic to keep him inside while we are gone so many hours during the day. We will just have to do the best we can.

The vet did say he can’t be positive that it wasn’t a snake, but he was pretty sure that it was a yellow jacket. Will also combed the yard and found no signs of a snake.

We know there will be plenty more adventures to come at The Vandervort Zoo!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-09-09T16:23:00.001-07:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-09-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

RUNNING ON EMPTY

2009-08-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

As I write this, I am ingesting very strong coffee in an attempt to get motivated to study. I am down to the final 8 weeks of this nursing program and I am having to dig deep and push through.

The past two years have been the hardest times of my life. I can remember struggling for weeks to make the decision to leave my very well paying job of 7 years and obtain another degree. My days at USC, though difficult, seem to pale in comparison to the mental and physical stress of nursing school.

I majored in Biology at USC. I was a pre-med student. I was going to be a doctor, I thought. You couldn't have told me any different. Ha, ha. After I graduated in 1997, I knew I wasn't going to medical school.

As the years passed, the field of nursing repeatedly called my name. I do believe that I was called to do this type of work. As I have written before, I never really understood what people meant when they said that God told them to do something. I didn't know if they thought they heard His voice in their head or what. I now know exactly what they meant, because I was told what I needed to do and explaining how I know that God "spoke" to me is impossible.

Oh, I have complained....a LOT....throughout this two years, and will in the 8 weeks to come. I complained about the presentation I had to give in the picture above. I've complained about being overwhelmingly tired too many times to count. I've complained about having to study. I've complained about having to get up at 4:30am. I've complained a lot. I'm human.

But, and I've said this before, every single time I have been in the clinical setting....every single time...God has given me some sort of reminder of why I am in this place in my life now. Whether it was through gratitude expressed by a patient, something said to me by a patient's family, or even just a kind word from a classmate, nurse, or teacher, the reminders have been clear and they are abundant.

As I write this, I am tired. I am tired. I am tired. I am tired. But, because I know that I am absolutely, without a doubt, doing what I was told to do, I will find the motivation to study all weekend. I will find the motivation to finish the next 8 weeks. I will accomplish it. I know, because God already told me so....more than once.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-08-26T01:43:00.000-07:00

A POWERFUL MESSAGE

2009-08-23T14:45:00.001-07:00

http://ebaumnation.com/2009/08/18/if-you-text-while-driving-watch-this

FEELING SAPPY

2009-08-22T09:33:00.001-07:00

I'm not a Miley fan, but this song makes me cry a little...sniff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2zyeVRcbs

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-08-19T14:29:00.001-07:00

DID YOU JUST STEAL MY TOY?

2009-08-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

This was taken on a day that Willis was having his cage cleaned. It was outside drying off. He was sitting in his travel cage and enjoying the music, until someone came along and stole one of his cage toys that was temporarily placed in a bag on the floor. He thought for a minute and decided, "What can I do?". Then, he resumed his dancing. By the way, the laugh you hear is his own!

OVERHEARD

2009-08-16T16:13:00.001-07:00

I overheard two conversations between two different sets of Clemson students today. They appeared to be freshmen.

Conversation #1
"Let's buy this frying pan."
"No, I brought several from home, remember?"
"But, this one is ORANGE."

Conversation #2
"Let's get some vegetables."
"How about onion rings? Onions ARE vegetables."

SCHOOL DAYS

2009-08-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

School starts back on Monday. How gross is that? However, the good news is that I only have TEN weeks to go!!!! (for this program anyway) It is going to be a difficult 10 weeks, but I shall trudge through. Wish me luck! :-)

The summer flew by quickly. I had a few eventful things happen that included:

--my dog eating the pump to my brand new pool before I was able to use it

--a trip around the world to find a new pump

--the dropping of my laptop by my own hands

--the grieving of the loss of my hard drive that housed many pictures going back many years

--the attempt to get the computer fixed

--sharing a computer with Will

--the realization that I will have to buy a new computer, which I hope to accomplish today

--the fecal impaction of my dog (this one is my favorite)

--the trauma that my dog and myself are still trying to get over after the Vet instructed ME to give him an enema

--the terror of Willis about to pull his leg off when he got his toenail stuck in the carpet

--the severe biting of my hand, by said bird, as I got his toenail unstuck

Oh yes, these are just a few of the adventures we have had this summer. Jealous much?

AN AMAZING FAMILY

2009-08-09T08:59:00.001-07:00

You probably remember this post: http://cindyslifelessons.blogspot.com/2009/07/please-pray-for-this-family.html.

I wanted to let you know that under "Blogs That I Read" on the right side of my blog, there is one called Caring Bridge. It is the blogsite for this family. You have to sign up to read it, but it only takes a second.

Once you are logged in, click on Journal and go back to the earlier posts and read until present. Get the tissues out first.

I am amazed by this family's faith in God and with the way they are handling this tragedy. They are truly an inspiration and it will be worth your time to read it.

FACEBOOK

2009-08-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

I want to hear from any readers that might be on Facebook. I want to meet you! Look me up under Cindy Nelson Vandervort. Send me a message that says "blog" in the subject line so I will know who you are.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-08-05T08:35:00.001-07:00

A RANT ABOUT GROCERY SHOPPING

2009-08-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

People often ask me why I hate grocery shopping so much. I complain about it a lot. Where do I even begin? Feel free to skip this blog entirely if you don’t want to hear a lot of whining!

First, let me say that I worked in customer service for years and years. I worked as a cashier at a couple of McDonald’s, JCPenney’s, Winn-Dixie, and many Cracker Barrel’s. I “kissed butt” for YEARS. It was my job to smile at customers, say thank you, have a good day, and do so willingly. I was quite aware that it was my decision to work in the industry that I was in, and I was also quite aware that I was getting paid to do my job with a smile, whether I liked it or not. I held a Bachelor of Science Degree while working at Cracker Barrel and Winn-Dixie. Did I think I was too good for those jobs? No, I did not, and I would do them again if I had to. I would do anything it took to keep us afloat if I had to, and I would do it to the best of my ability. And, I know without a doubt that Will would as well. I know this because we’ve already done so in the past. Many, many times.

I had people throw money on the counter rather than placing it in my hand. I had to smile while I picked up each coin. I smiled and said thank you. I had customers chew me out because their grits were lumpy. I waived the bill, smiled, and said thank you. It was my job. I will literally stand in a cashier’s line until he/she tells me thank-you. I kid you not. Ask Will. If they hand me the receipt without a word, I will stand there and stare at them. If they ask what else I need, I will tell them, and then I will stand there until I get the thank-you. Snobby? Maybe. But, I’m honestly not trying to be a snob. I’m trying to make a point. If I were a manager, especially in today’s economic environment, I would fire any employee for ONE missed thank-you.

I know, from many years of experience, that it is hard work dealing with the public. I completely realize that there are many arrogant and rude people in this world. However, I would like to reiterate that people who are in customer service type jobs are in those jobs because they CHOOSE to be. This is America. No one is forced to work at the local Ingle’s if they don’t want to. If people don’t want to work in customer service, then they shouldn’t. They should work very hard to obtain the goals they want. They should not expect things to be handed to them. It takes hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and a lot of will to get anywhere in this world. Success is not for lazy people.

I will also say that people who get themselves in management positions and then find that they are bored and miserable, who go on to abuse their “power” are equally despicable to me. Move on! Again, this is America. You are FREE to pave your own path. Be a leader to your employee’s instead of trying to find ways to make them miserable. Lead by example! And, if your employee is better than the norm, let them know it! If you find that you are jealous of your employee’s who do well, because you are bored and being “outdone”, you seriously need to MOVE ON!

I had to go to the grocery store yesterday. Can you tell? Let me just tell you how it went. It was quite lovely. I headed to the produce department first, where I was asked how I was doing by a very nice employee. I smiled back and said I was well and returned the question. I will often ask to speak to a manager when an employee does his job correctly. I’m very serious. It is such a rare thing, that I love to ask for a manager and point out how well an employee is doing. I didn’t yesterday, but I have many times in the past.

I proceeded through the rest of the store, picking up random things. I then decided I would go to the deli and get some sliced turkey. The lady behind the counter saw me, rolled her eyes, then said this to her co-worker, “Every time I try to complete this, someone comes up here wanting something else!” Then she walked up to me and said, “May I help you?”

Deep, deep breaths. This is how our conversation then went:

Me: I would like ½ pound of Butterball Honey Turkey, thin sliced.

Rude Ingle’s Deli Worker (Seneca, SC): I don’t have Butterball Honey Turkey, just Butterball Roasted, but you can get the store brand of honey turkey.

Me: No, I want Butterball. Just give me the roasted.

Rude Ingle’s Deli Worker (Seneca, SC): “I DON”T have honey in butterball!”

Me: Like I just said, give me the roasted Butterball.

Rude Ingle’s Deli Worker (Seneca, SC): Fine. How do you want it cut?

Enter Rude Ingle’s Deli Worker II (Seneca, SC)

Rude 1 to Rude II: I am having to help these customers and I can’t get any of my other work done!

Rude 1 back to me: How do you want it cut?

Me: Like I said, thin sliced.

Rude 1: I mean HOW do you want it cut?

Me: I’m not understanding your question.

Rude 1: THIN, THICK, HOW?

Me: Stared at her for at least 5 seconds while taking deep breaths, “Like I said, THIN!”

Rude 1 to Rude 2: You need to go finish the salad bar. I can’t.

Rude 2: I don’t know anything about stocking a salad bar.

Me thinking to myself: It’s too bad Rude 2 didn’t go to salad bar stocking school. I know that is an incredibly difficult thing to understand how to do.

Rude 1: Here you go. Anything else?

Me: Um, no.

Ok, so a steaming me, with a blood pressure of 1000/2000 proceeds to finish shopping. I am dreading the checkout line so bad. This particular Ingle’s (Seneca, SC) is known in the community for its incredibly rude cashiers AND managers. However, it is within minutes of my house, and let’s face it, where can you get good customer service these days?

I had 3 cashiers to choose from in a crowded store. I got in line. As I stood there, I noticed that the cashier had disappeared. She was standing by the door talking to a woman who was having some sort of issue with her receipt. The cashier looked back at us, the people in line, didn’t say a word, and then walked off to some unknown place. I sighed and moved to the line beside me.

The customer in front of me had 3 kids who were running EVERYWHERE and grabbing EVERYTHING. Did she get on to them? No, she didn’t. See, I despise customers who do not control their children as much as I despise the customer service people. I don’t blame the kids. I blame their moron parents. I do not want to hear a parent say, “I just can’t control them.” You are the ADULT. They are the CHILD. You CAN control them. I’m not talking about babies here people. I am fully aware that babies and toddlers throw temper tantrums that parents cannot control. I am talking about kids who are at a very teachable age. Get a clue parents. You are the PARENT. Act like it!

Being a stay at home Mom is THE hardest job on the face of the planet, in my opinion. I respect stay at home Mom’s a lot. But, just because you don’t have a manager or someone to answer to, does not mean you can slack off. If you chose to be a Mom, then you need to act like one, seriously. (This goes for Dad’s too of course.)

Did I get on another rant? Oops. Ok, so back to the line. The kids are grabbing candy and opening it and eating it, which means the cashier has to keep stopping and grabbing the wrappers so she can charge them, while Mom just leans against the counter, while I stare at her in pure shock. Then, one of the kids, who is sitting in one of those buggies shaped like cars that take up the entire grocery aisle, starts hitting the cashier in the back of the leg with a bottle of some sort of soft drink. Again, Mom does nothing. The cashier finally gets them out of there. My nieces would never act like this in public. Never.

I hand her my Ingle’s card. Ok, this is another problem of mine. Get ready. Why do I need a grocery card for every grocery store in town in order to get their “discounted” prices? This is the most absurd marketing idea I have ever heard of. It drives me literally insane. “Do you have your Ingle’s card?” I got your Ingle’s card alright! Whoever thought of this bright idea needs to go back to marketing school. Seriously, what are they gaining from this? If everyone has a card to every grocery store, where do they make their money with these must have “discount” cards? Maybe one or two tourists come through that don’t have the cards. Maybe they make an extra five bucks off them. Does it cost more to make the cards and hire labor to print two different prices for each product than the profit they make off the people who don’t have the cards? I believe so. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I went to CVS before I went to Ingles’. “Do you have your CVS card?” Aaaarrrrrgghh!

Back to Ingles’. The cashier says to me, “Are you having a good day?” Her bagger said, “She doesn’t look like she is!” I said I was just fine. The cashier then proceeds to check me out slower than a turtle while examining all of my purchases. “This is the smallest steak I’ve ever seen! If I was making this for my husband, I would have to fry him some shrimp to go with it.” And, on, and on, and on.

I don’t like grocery shopping! Will always tells me that I expect too much out of people. That is probably true to some extent. But, I strongly feel that if I am paying for someone to receive a paycheck, they should do their job correctly. And, like I said before, this is the profession that these people chose. If they don’t like it, they need to move on. If they need to work hard to get out of their current situation, then they need to do so. If they don’t want to leave their job, but aren’t particularly happy, they should still put forth 110% effort. Hard work simply pays off in the end.

Will and I don’t have a lot. We never will. What we do have was obtained by hard work. What my parents have was obtained by hard work. What my grandparents have was obtained by hard work. And, I am quite proud that I come from a family who all earned their way. Will and I both worked a lot of jobs while working our way to where we are. We never thought we were too good to work in the customer service industry. We did it with a smile because we knew we had to. Then, we worked hard to get out of it….very hard.

This is why I let our pantry and refrigerator get to a bare minimum. I know it’s time to go shopping when Will starts complaining about lack of food. I’ll say to him, “Why can’t you just make a condiment salad? Look, we have ketchup, pickles, mustard…it will be good!”

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-07-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

JULY 4TH AND MY FIRST CALL TO 911

2009-07-14T15:50:00.001-07:00

I'm a little late, but I can't go without documenting our July 4th weekend! I had the best time in Florida last year watching fireworks on the beach with my family. It didn't work out for us to go down this year, so I got the bright idea that we should go buy some sparklers. In case you are wondering, the sparklers have nothing to do with the 911 call!

Yes, we are 34 and 37 years old and it was sparklers that I picked out at the lovely fireworks stand outside of the Ingles. I was tormented as a child by firecrackers and bottle rockets. Various family members thought it was funny to throw firecrackers at the feet of various other family members when they weren't looking! And, I very distinctly remember the day that Mema (my grandmother on Daddy's side) and her sister decided to shoot some bottle rockets. I got scared and ran…straight into a sliding glass door. I hurt my knee and had to be taken to the hospital. To this day, that knee still hurts from time to time! Ok, I hope no one is laughing! Not funny! Ok, it kind of is.

We bought the sparklers and then decided to just take a drive and see where it led us. We ended up in a neighboring city that was having a carnival. We ate some junk food, walked around in the sweltering heat a little, and then headed home to cool off.

We relaxed for a couple of hours and then it was time to load the chairs up to head to our local fireworks show. They always have a band of some sort, tons of junk food of course, and pretty decent fireworks for such a small town.

We got about 1/8th of a mile down the road when I noticed a fire in the woods…not a little fire, a big fire. Then we noticed there were some….ummm….just no nice way to say this… there were some crack heads standing across from the fire. We put two and two together and realized that they shot some type of firework into the woods.

Then, this is how the conversation went:

Will: Call 911.

(sidenote: I have had a recurring dream for years and years where I call 911 and they either don't answer or they put me on hold. No lie.)

Cindy: Seriously? I've never called 911. Surely, the people standing there staring at the fire called them already.

Will: Cindy, they are crack heads, do you really think they called? They probably think it's funny.

Cindy: Ok….(nervously dialed 911, and cleared my throat in an attempt to sound VERY calm and collected…I did not want to sound like a babbling idiot on my first 911 call…I was imagining myself saying, "Get out here NOW! It's pandalerium! These daggum crack heads done set these here woods on fire! Someone's gonna die or even worse!" (think Jeff Foxworthy)

911: 911, What is your emergency?

Cindy: (calm and collected) I would like to report a fire.

911: Where are you?

Cindy: Will, where are we?

Will: By such and such trail.

Cindy: By such and such trail.

911: Ok, I have a fire truck in route. Does the fire appear to be spreading?

Cindy: Well, let me see. No, it appears pretty contained to me.

Will: (Slapping hand on the steering wheel and looking at me like I was crazy.)

911: Ok, I will just send the one truck then.

Cindy: Ok, I think that should be fine. Thank you.

Will: What is wrong with you? Why did you tell them it was contained?

Cindy: It looks contained to me!

On to the fireworks show we went talking about my call to 911 and Will telling me repeatedly that he didn't know when I became knowledgeable enough about fires to know it they were "contained" or not. I told him that I know a lot of things.

We arrived at the local football field and set our chairs up. Then we made a tour around the field to check out the junk food being offered. Will informed me that he was going to get some chili dogs and then a fried Oreo cookie. I informed him that he was gross and offered a friendly reminder that he has not been taking his cholesterol medicine. Then, I bought a funnel cake because they are MUCH healthier than fried Oreo's. Ha, ha! Will ate his hot dogs and then decided he wanted the rest of my cake instead of the Oreo so it all worked out.

Then they announced that the band was coming out. We didn't know who was playing, but we did notice that the generation of 60-something's in the crowd were on their feet. Turns out a band by the name of "Chairmen of the Board" were playing. They started out by saying they were going to do a Michael Jackson tribute. Will and I were on our feet then, because as weird as he was, who can turn down an opportunity to see someone try to impersonate him? Um….they fell slightly short, but at least they tried.

The lady beside us, who was around 70 maybe, danced her little heart out the WHOLE time. We enjoyed watching her and I especially enjoyed the part where she got a little too into it and stumbled into a hole! What? She didn't hit the ground and she wasn't hurt!!!

After the fireworks, the lights came on, and off we went into the crowd to try and find our car. While we were walking out, they came over the loud speaker and announced that a little dachshund was missing in the crowd somewhere and to please scoop her up if we saw her. This is what I had to hear ALL the way to the car and ALL the way home, "Do you think they will find that dog? Poor dog. I am really worried about that dog! What kind of idiot brings their dog to a fireworks show and then let's go of it? Do you think it's ok?"

Our own dachshund welcomed us home. Thankfully, none of our animals are afraid of firework noises. We headed outside with our sparklers.

We lit the first one and then discovered that this was not going to be quite the blast we had imagined. We just kind of held them and laughed and felt pretty silly. In the middle of all of this, the neighbor's dog across the street decided to come and attack us. They never let the dog run loose and they accidentally let her get away from them. I was scared, really scared. The dog was coming at us barking, I was trying to hide behind Will, and the little girl was screaming at the dog. She eventually got the dog's attention and she started running back to her at the exact same time that a car came flying down the road.

Will lost his mind. "Stop calling the dog! Stand where you are!" As for me, I stood there with my hands over my ears. Why is it that when you are really scared about something, you cover your ears? Wouldn't it make more sense to cover your eyes? I noticed the little girl covered her ears as well. We held our breath and I am telling you that car missed that dog by 1/10th of a second. It could have been a disaster. We were shaken up, but decided to continue our fun sparkler lighting.

Will decided it was time for the finale and he lined about 10 sparklers up in the yard with a plan to have them all going at once. This was the best part to me, because as he would go to light the next one, the previous one would go out. It just wasn't meant to be.

We had a good day all in all though. I was pretty proud that I remained calm during my first 911 call and that they actually answered. If y'all ever need to know whether a fire is contained or not and how many trucks you think will be needed to put it out, just let me know.

(To see all of our July 4th pictures, click this link. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=30517&id=1215731504&l=1b7299dd63)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SASSY!

2009-07-10T07:34:00.001-07:00

My beautiful niece Emily aka Sassy is 2 years old today! She has such a funny personality and brings much joy to our family, as do all of the nieces and nephews.

On our last trip to Florida, Emily caught me fussing at Will about something. Next thing I knew, she was wagging her finger at him, fussing at him in our own language, and then ended it by crossing her arms and saying, "humph!"

On the same trip, we were at Pizza Hut one night, where she was sitting in a high chair at the end of a long table. She spotted her Uncle Will at the salad bar. He was putting dressing on his salad. Emily started drawing a circle in the air and saying "round and round" because that was the motion Will was using to apply the dressing. My point is--she's smart!

It's hard to believe she is already two. I was fortunate enough to be able to witness her birth and it seems like it was yesterday.

She stayed with us last summer, as did her sisters. Here is the blog from that visit if you haven't read it already--http://cindyslifelessons.blogspot.com/2008/08/girls.html

Happy Birthday Sassy! We wish we were there to celebrate with you!!!

LAUGH OF THE DAY

2009-07-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

I am pet sitting for my neighbor until the 20th of this month. I just walk over to her house several times a day and tend to the animals. Will and I just walked over and after we got done inside, I decided we should go into her backyard and find out if her goldfish, who she keeps in a fountain, was still alive.

We got to admiring her yard because she really has things set up beautifully back there. Each section of her yard has something different in it. Hard to explain.

So anyway, we go to leave and I FELL for no reason! I hit the dirt! At first, Will was scared and was asking me if I was OK over and over but I couldn't answer him because I was laughing so hard that I was not getting any oxygen to my brain.

Then he told me to try and get up because I might be in an ant bed. That made me laugh harder and it was at this point that he grabbed my arms and tried to pull me up. That didn't work though. His attempts to pull me up resulted in me being literally drug across the yard by my arms for 5 feet.

At this point, Will lost it too and had to kneel down in the corner of the yard to keep from falling because he was laughing so hard. As for me, I was still laying in the dirt laughing so hard I thought I might need an ambulance. If any of the neighbors saw us, I am positive they thought we were having a domestic dispute!

I eventually got myself up somehow, dusted off my rear, and said, "I meant to do that."

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-07-08T12:16:00.001-07:00

I like the Wordless Wednesday thing I see other bloggers doing, so I am jumping on the bandwagon! Although, I guess this one isn't really wordless. :-)

PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS FAMILY

2009-07-07T07:11:00.000-07:00

My good friend, Kelly Johnson, sent me this e-mail and I told her I would post it on my blog. Please pray for this family during this unimaginable time. Kelly has two young children of her own and this has obviously broken her heart, as well as all those who have been made aware of this tragedy. The Hewitts were on a day trip to pick blueberries when the accident occurred.

From Kelly--

Please pray for the mother and father of the two precious children that were killed last week in a car accident (in Columbia, SC). Parker was in Malcolm's class. (Malcolm is Kelly's son.) Their mother, Crystal , is still in the hospital but is expected to be released in the next day or two. I don't know her other than brief conversations and "hellos," at our daycare where she works, but she radiates sweetness and kindness. Remember to cherish every day with your family, because you never know what tomorrow will bring. Please click this link, then click Blog, and turn your sound on. http://www.craighewittphotography.com/

TEMPE, ARIZONA

2009-06-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

(After reading this blog, be sure to click the link at the bottom to see all of the pictures from our trip.)

The Clemson baseball team recently played Arizona State in Tempe, AZ. Will flew out on Thursday, 6/4 to cover the series. On a whim, I decided I would fly out Friday, as I had school Thursday. I would have to return Sunday to get ready for school Monday and Will's return would be based on the outcome of the games.

Me and airports. What is the DEAL? There is always something that comes up, and I mean always. I need to get a clue.

My flight out of Atlanta was to leave at 9:25am. Atlanta is 2 hours from my house. I got up at 4:00am and left here at 5:45am which should have had me at the airport by 7:45am. That would have given me plenty of time to get through security and find my gate.

About an hour into the trip, traffic came to a complete stop. I rolled down my window and yelled at a truck driver next to me to see if he knew what was going on. (When I told Will this later, he was mortified. "You rolled down the window and talked to a STRANGER on the road?!" "Yes Will, I live on the wild side.") The trucker told me there was a bad wreck that involved two 18-wheelers and a car and there were fatalities. He told me I would have to get over a lane and we were going to have to detour off a certain exit.

It was at this point that I went into panic mode. First of all, I get lost very, very, very easily. I did not like the sound of the word "detour." Secondly, I started getting a little worried that I would not make my flight. At this point though, I still thought maybe we would start moving and I would make it.

I called my brother, Adam, who is a truck driver. Daddy is a truck driver too but he is off on Friday's and I assumed he was sleeping, but thinking back he was probably sitting in the living room at 4:30am listening to the TV on his headphones that Will wants to steal.

ANYWAY, I called Adam to see if he could help me with the detour directions. He told me that he had passed the wreck coming the other way and it was bad. I ended up just having to cross over the road at the exit and get back on the interstate, but I didn't realize it was going to be that easy.

Before I exited, I caught a glimpse of the wreck. It makes my stomach churn just thinking about it now. One semi was overturned. It was bad, real bad.

I tried to push the image out of my mind and glanced at the time. The time was past 8:00am and I still had an hour to go. Plus, I forgot that I would be driving through rush hour in downtown Atlanta. Add on more time.

I called the airport and they said they might be able to put me on another flight if I missed mine, but I could try to make it. I was so upset. I wanted to cry like a 2 year old.

But, I drove as fast as I could, circled the never ending parking lot at the Atlanta Airport, finally find a spot, grabbed my bag, and ran to the terminal. I was flying Air Tran so I grabbed the first Air Tran employee I saw and explained that it was 9:15 and my flight was to leave at 9:25. She told me to try to see if I could print the boarding pass and then run for the plane.

I ran to the kiosk to print the pass and the man in front of me decided to pass gas and I mean it was B-A-D!!!! I was about to gag, seriously. He was speaking some foreign language and I wanted to yell, "We don't do that in public in America buddy-roo!" But, I had to focus! I quickly typed in my information and it said something like, "You are too late for bye-bye flight. See airport attendant." I stood there staring at it for a while. The whole "bye-bye" terminology threw me for a loop and I still don't know what it meant! But, I did understand that my plane had gone "bye-bye" and I was standing in the dreaded ATL.

I then got in line and explained to the attendant that 85 was shut down, I missed my flight, and now what? She said she had a space for me on the 12:30 flight. Wonderful. I would have to spend 3 hours in the airport and instead of arriving in AZ at 10:30am (3 hour time difference) I would arrive at 1:30pm. The flight itself takes 4 hours. Very strange to be in the air for 4 hours but arrive at your destination an hour after you took off. Ok, I just confused my own self trying to explain that.

I pouted, went through stupid security, after taking off my stupid shoes, glared at the stupid man for telling me to take off my stupid watch, rode the stupid tram to my stupid gate and just pouted some more.

Reality eventually set in though. Here I was pouting over a few hours setback when people DIED on the interstate in a horrific accident that very morning. They died on the very same side of the road that I was to travel over. Should I pout because I missed my flight or should I thank God that he spared me from being in the accident myself? The answer was clear.

After I gave myself that little talking to, I decided to buy a Mountain Dew out of a vending machine. It cost $1.75 (highway robbery!). I put $5 in the machine. It gave me a quarter back. Ok, this made me furious. I was not even much less having this. I found a telephone number on the machine and made the call, "I am standing in the Atlanta Airport at one of your machines and it just robbed me of $3. I would like my money…now." The poor guy was so helpful and nice. He was like, "Ok, you are in the Atlanta airport? Ummmm….I will get someone over there as soon as possible." I waited around 20 minutes. I was determined. The funny part is, that while I was waiting, I ended up giving some lady money to buy a drink that didn't have enough, but it was the PRINCIPLE! The guy finally arrived, out of breath, and handed me 3 one dollar coins. I thanked him profusely.

I went back to my gate where I was informed my plane was in Chicago and we were on a 45 minute delay. Oh happy day! We did eventually leave the ground. I tried to sleep until about an hour before we got there. I had some coffee and a cookie and was determined to beat this jet lag thing.

Once I finally arrived in AZ, Will and I had to make a mad dash to the rental car area because he had to cover practice and we only had about an hour to get him there. Ok, I am already laughing because this is just downright funny. Let me get myself together so I can tell this part of the trip. I really don't even know if I can explain it. You had to be there and you have to know Will!

Deep breath...ok…we were told that we were getting a small silver car and to go wait in the garage and someone would bring it to us. I spotted a man pull up in a silver car and then he parked it. I told Will to go ask if that was our car so we could hurry the process along and get him to practice on time. Will walked up to the man and said this exactly, "Are you looking for me?" The man gave him a very strange look and said rather hurriedly that no he was NOT looking for him. We found out that the man did not work for the rental company, but was actually returning his car. To him, it must have sounded as if Will was coming on to him, like "Are you looking for me? The man of your dreams?" I mean, those car rental people really thought I was crazy because I laughed for a LONG time.

We finally got our car which was a silver PT Cruiser. Will found it insanely funny to watch me drive it. I have no idea why. It wasn't that funny. As we drove to the hotel, I started asking Will why there were dirt piles everywhere. He informed me those were mountains. What?! Whatever! They looked like dirt piles to me.

He dropped me off at the hotel while he went to work. I promptly fell asleep the moment I walked in the door and didn't wake up until about 8:30pm. We decided to venture out for dinner. We went to downtown Tempe which was….interesting. I mean, people are just weird, ok? Weird!

We ended up at a place called "My Big Fat Greek Restaurant." I got steak and Will got lamb. Our food arrived and we both looked at each other like, "This was a mistake." First of all, I asked for my steak medium rare. It was very much well done. Will thought he was getting lamb chops. What he got was lamb legs! Oh my goodness, they looked sooooo gross! We finally ended up just asking the waitress to take everything away and she offered us free dessert.

We decided on some type of baklava, ice-cream, flambé thing. She brought it out on fire. I'm not talking a little on fire, I'm talking a LOT on fire. I was already laughing and then the waitress said this, "Be careful of this plate. It's hot." That was about when I lost my mind and laughed hysterically. "Fire? Hot? Me not even know! You genius!" Will poked at what looked like a dinosaur egg (yes, I do know what dinosaur eggs look like!) on the plate and repeatedly asked me what it was while I continued to laugh. We sawed into it and it contained ice-cream which was actually very good.

We made it back to the room, where we crashed. The next morning, we set out to find breakfast. We ended up at I-Hop, where I think I was made fun of about my southern accent by a group of servers who could not speak English. Go figure.

Will had to write after breakfast so I set out to find the pool. I was out there for about 10 minutes in the 102 degree dry heat and went and told Will I was going to find a raft. He thought I was crazy. I found a Family Dollar down the road and bought a fine raft for $3.

I floated for a couple of hours until Will came and got me to get ready for lunch. We found a place called Lucille's that was said to serve great southern food. They were NOT lying! I mean, it was GOOD stuff. I had sweet tea in a big 'ol mason jar, a sampling of BBQ (brisket, chopped pork, ribs), creamy macaroni and cheese, and guess what? They put slices on watermelon on my plate without me even asking. How did they know about my love for it?! Will had the same thing, but had mashed potatoes instead of macaroni..he missed out. Oh, and I stole his watermelon before he even had time to put his napkin in his lap. Then, even though we were both stuffed we HAD to have the banana pudding. They brought it out in mason jars. Layers upon layers of pudding, cookies, whipped cream…GOOD!

After that, we did some quick sight seeing. We took pictures by the cactuses (cacti?), the dirt piles, the stadium, the PT Cruiser, etc. Will had to go to the game so I went on back to the room. It was about 5:00 when I passed out and did not wake up until the next morning! I guess the jet lag did get to me!

I had to be on my flight at 11:25. We got up and found a great breakfast place called US Egg. I asked for fruit, bacon, and hashbrowns. They brought me enough fruit to feed an army…loved every bit of it. Will went traditional and loved his as well.

About 20 minutes into the meal though, my stomach decided it was not loving it. It needed a bathroom and it needed it NOW. I made my way to the restroom where, guess what? It was closed because the toilet overflowed and they were working on it! I was about to die! I had to make my way back to Will and tell him to come see if any men were in the men's room and then stand guard. I was NOT playing. He did so and I was a little embarrassed to see two men waiting when I came out. I wanted to explain everything, "I have ulcerative colitis. I don't control my stomach. It controls me. Your bathroom already stinks anyway, because men's bathroom's always do. Stop looking at me like that!" But, I just looked down and ran back to my table.

I couldn't eat anymore. My stomach was very mad at me. We got to the airport where I literally stayed in the restroom until I had to go through security. I was in pain and actually CRYING in front of everyone, but I had to get on that plane! I am telling y'all this because looking back this stuff is so funny to me, even though it wasn't at the time. This kind of thing only happens to me, I just know it. Airports do NOT like me and I don't know why.

I painfully walked to my gate and sat kind of slumped over until they let us board. When the UC flare-ups hit, they just do, and I am worthless. (I am seriously going to ask my doctor to cut out the bad part and then duct tap the two ends back together. I'm not playing. It's only 18cm and that's nothing compared to the 26 feet, or whatever, of intestines we have. WHY am I talking to y'all about this????) Once on board, I tried to sleep, but couldn't. By the time we reached Atlanta, I was exhausted but not hurting anymore.

We de-boarded and I walked determinedly to the parking lot. Yeah…where did I park my Jeep again? I remember slamming the Jeep into a spot and running into the airport, but I did not remember where. The Atlanta Airport parking lot is bigger than Disney World's, I'm telling you. I walked and I walked and I walked. I could not find it. I periodically hit the lock button on my keychain hoping my Jeep would call to me. No such luck.

I resigned eventually to having to call for airport security to help me. After waiting close to 20 minutes, someone arrived. He already had one passenger in the front seat who also couldn't find his vehicle. He said he had to fly somewhere for a funeral and just couldn't remember where he left it. Since he was first, I got to sit in the backseat and ride in circles until we found the man's van. I then told the security dude what I did remember about the vicinity of the Jeep and we found it rather quickly.

I made it back home in one piece, but I was one tired lady. I crawled into bed and prepared myself for a 3 hour lecture the next morning, followed by a one hour lunch, and then back to school for lab.

Do I regret going? Nah. What's life without a little adventure along the way?
----> Click this link to see the pictures!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28054&id=1215731504&l=6bd3dc95c4

CONGRATULATIONS WILL! (AGAIN)

2009-06-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

As some of you probably remember from March, I posted a blog congratulating Will on a new job. Well, now he has another new job. Word of this got out (on Facebook) before we could tell friends and family, but for those of you that don't know yet, I am attaching Will's "goodbye blog" from cutigers.com. Will still holds a lot of respect for cutigers.com and considers its owner, Roy Philpott, to be a great person and friend. Please continue to visit his site often!

As for Will's new position, go to www.clemsontigers.com to see a sample of what his new job entails. Here is his blog explaining it all--

SAYING GOODBYE, SORT OF

Well, it wasn’t a long stay, but nevertheless it was a good one. But with that I must say goodbye to CUTigers.com as I pursue a new path in my career.

Starting today, I will officially be the editor of the Orange Update, the official E-newsletter for IPTAY donors. I will also be a contributing writer for IPTAY’s Orange the Experience Magazine — a 68-page glossy publication that will highlight all of Clemson’s sports eight times a year.

The magazine should reach the mailboxes of donors by Aug. 16 and the Orange Update will start arriving by email on Aug. 24 and will run for 37 weeks each year. Both of these publications will replace the Orange & White as IPTAY’s official publication.

For those of you who know my background, you can understand that this is a great opportunity for me. For those of you who don’t, just know this, I was born with Clemson Orange in my veins, though there is some Pittsburgh Steelers Black and Gold in there as well.

In this new position, I will get the opportunity to go behind the scenes of all the sports programs at Clemson and get a true inside look at how things are really done and the stories that come along with them.

I hope to share those stories with you that are donors in the future.

Anyway, I want to take the time to tell you guys and gals thanks for reading my blog and supporting me during my time here at CUTigers.com. I have thoroughly enjoyed covering the Tigers for you, while providing you an inside look at the programs. I have had a blast.

I also want to thank Roy for giving me the opportunity to write for you guys. I have worked for Roy as a freelance writer and then as his senior writer for the last five years. I have a great deal of respect for Roy, who totally understands what this opportunity means for me. He has been very gracious and supportive in this transition and I wish him and CUTigers all the best.

Other than me of course, Roy loves the Tigers more than anyone else that covers Clemson. I think you can read that in his writings and hear it in his voice when he is on the radio. He truly is a Clemson Tiger and I know I will keep reading his work and follow him on CUTigers for years to come.

Anyway, I hope those of you who are already IPTAY donors will like the new publications IPTAY will start in August. For those of you who are not donors, I hope you can donate sometime soon so you can see the exciting changes IPTAY has in store for the future.

It’s going to be exciting ride. I know some of you will be reading my stuff from IPTAY come August, but I guess it’s so long for now.

HANGING OUT WITH WILLIS

2009-06-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

I know some of you are wondering where the Willis videos are. I still can not get them to load. I think it is my camera. I need to invest in another one. In the meantime, here is a picture. He is still crazy as ever.

CUPCAKE WAR

2009-05-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

Some random facts about Will and myself in no particular order:

I LOVE cupcakes.
I do not like chocolate cupcakes.
Will prefers chocolate cupcakes.
I am bossy and very stubborn.
Will is bossy and very stubborn.
I can not bake.
Will can not bake.
I am spontaneous and like to laugh.
Will likes to laugh but is not big on spontaneity.
I do not cry over spilled milk.
Will bawls over spilled milk.
We have been married for 15 years.
People ask us the secret to our happiness often.

And, so, this story begins here. We were at Wal-Mart and there I was on the cake mix aisle staring at the Betty Crocker boxes, as I often do. I always want to try and bake cupcakes, even though they never turn out. But, this day, I decided to give it a go.

I instructed Will to go and do some shopping elsewhere in the store, because deciding which box of mix and can of frosting to use was going to take me a loooong time and if both of us tried to do it, it was going to take an eternity. I ended up getting the Rainbow Chip mix and icing. As I put them in the buggy, I informed Will that he was going to be helping me make them. Cue moaning from Will.

Not only do I love cupcakes, as mentioned earlier, I also have noticed that Will and I have become so entwined in our individual agendas—work schedules, school schedules, animal schedules, etc. that we don't take time out for the little fun things anymore. Rush, rush, rush. "I have to get this story done." "I have to study for this test." Neither one of us ever sleep and the little we do sleep is not at the same time. I leave before the chickens get up to head to the hospital. Will stays up into the night writing. Day in, day out…

It's the little things in a marriage that make it tick. Once life starts becoming about other people's guidelines, rules, etc, time together as a couple begins to become less and less and less, until one day you can't remember the last time you laughed together or took a walk or just sat quietly outside.

Back to the cupcakes…I thought it might be fun for us to attempt to bake these things since neither of us really knows how. It would get our minds off of work and school for just a brief moment, and we would have lots of laughter in the process. I was sure of it.

Fast forward to the mixing of the batter…first argument…Will wanted to mix the eggs for 14 hours. I wanted him to dump them in the bowl. Ok, moving on. Will wanted to mix the batter at super high speed. I wanted him to slow it down to prevent batter from splattering the walls. Time to fill the cupcake holders. A very long discussion ensued on the meaning of "fill the cup 2/3 full." Sigh.

The mess of the batter that missed the cups and landed on the pan drove Will insane. He HAD to keep everything spotless during this entire process. I held my tongue and tried very hard not to pound him over the head with my spoon.

We managed to bake the cupcakes and while they were cooling, Will became very concerned that he was not going to have time to eat dinner before it was time to ice them. I explained that there were no time limits, but he still seemed on edge as he slammed his food down.

Once the cupcakes were cool, we both grabbed an icing spreader thingie and Will immediately informed me that I was using way too much icing. I immediately informed him back that I like a lot of icing on my cupcakes. He became very upset about this and said, "We will not have enough icing for all the cupcakes." I explained that 2 people can not eat 24 cupcakes and who really cared if we didn't have enough icing. He then said that he had planned to take some to the neighbor. I assured him there would be plenty of icing and to take a chill pill.

It was at this point that he began to try and ice the rest of the cupcakes as fast as he could in an attempt to not allow me near the tube. Shortly after, I snatched the tube from his hand and continued on. In the end, we had more then enough icing.

We sat down and ate a cupcake, which took about 3 seconds.

Moral of the story--I really don't think two Type A personality people making cupcakes together is a good idea to bring some "together time" back into the relationship. Maybe next time we should try something that doesn't require talking like skydiving or, better yet, boxing.

THIS IS WHAT FATIGUE LOOKS LIKE

2009-05-19T13:48:00.001-07:00

Will snapped this picture of me after a day of class and clinical. It makes me laugh for some reason. I didn't even take the time to get my uniform off. I think we should have naps throughout the day at the hospital like they used to do for Kindergartners. Notice that Bailey thinks his day has been hard as well.