Spring Fever!

Oh hallelujah it is going to be 70 degrees today and even warmer tomorrow. I don't know about ya'll but it has felt like the longest winter this year to me...and I live in Georgia. I can't imagine living up North! I am so happy - we are having the exterior of our house painted - another reason to shout hallelujah! Lots of rotten wood replaced - all the shutters replaced, deck stained - yea! Next week the carpet cleaners are coming. Spring cleaning - I'm in the mood and better take advantage of it! I am going to the paint store tonight to buy paint to start touching up walls - ok we've been in our house 7 years and we haven't done any touch up painting... and it is really starting to show. I can't wait to get new pots on my front porch - lately I have just planted red geraniums (which I love) but this year I think I am going to be a little bit more creative. I found some of my old pictures from years past plantings and these are giving me inspiration for my containers and for sprucing up my house. Happy Spring everyone!

Are You Ready to Rumble!?!

Does anyone else have boys that love WWE wrestling? I can't believe we let our boys watch "Smack Down" but we do...they love wrestling and they really believe that these guys are great wrestlers. It is so funny to me how I used to think that anyone who watched these wrestlers must be really redneck...now it is on in my house and I know the wrestlers by name and am cheering them on! I'm just a redneck at heart! The Long Boys got to go to The Royal Rumble last month in Atlanta when one of their friends took 10 boys with them to celebrate his birthday. Tennesse Man (now Tax Man as we are in tax season) went with them and they did have fun at the big event. It's a boys' world in our house and I love it!

Just Live!

I received one of those emails from my cousin that described children of the 50s, 60s, and 70s and how we didn't have car seats, our mothers smoked and drank when they were pregnant etc and how we all survived. Now I am glad that we are all wearing seat belts and women don't smoke or drink when they are pregnant anymore (at least most women don't) but I think back to how we lived when I was growing up. I can't believe some of the stuff we did. My father was in the Air Force and we moved around a lot. We lived overseas in Thailand when I was in the 6th grade. We lived downtown Bangkok and had a really neat house. I remember though we had 24 hour guards as well as a cement block fence surrounding the house with jagged glass at the top of the fence. We were really safe in that compound...but then why did my mother feel it ok to let my brother and me go downtown Bangkok by ourselves and go to the bowling alley. These were the days of no cell phones and your parents couldn't call you to find out where you were. But we had a blast riding in the 3 wheeler taxis and walking the streets of Bangkok. I was 12 years old and my brother was 14! That definitely would not happen today but I'm so glad that I got to experience that as I certainly remember it to this day. We also lived in Panama and traveled to South America to Brazil before we came back to the states. I was 16 and my brother must have been 18...we walked the Copa Cabana strip in Rio by ourselves at night. My mother to this day says that she told us not to but we insisted. That is a little scary to think about...but we were not scared. What a great feeling not to be scared. I certainly am protective of my children but I don't want to be over protective. I need to teach them to be aware of their surroundings...but don't be afraid of life and the world. This is very hard to remember as a parent, but I will try and have faith in God that He is taking care of us.

Ash Wednesday

I really want to be disciplined this Lenten season and truly give something up...it's just until Easter. I have such a hard time depriving myself of anything - it's time to grow up and get serious. Church is at noon. I am going to do it!

Valentine's Snow

Winter Wonderland

The Georgia Bobsled Team

Driveway Sledding

Happy Boy!

William

So much fun!

Building the snowman.

Long Boys out before the sun came up.

Home sweet home.

Watch out!
I'm cold...
White out!

Thanksgiving Hangover

I'm still full from Thursday's Thanksgiving dinner and it's Saturday night! Lord the food was good...my mother and father are great cooks! I have only cooked one Thanksgiving dinner at our house...my parents always want us down in south GA with them and so I have been spoiled with a lot of the work already being done by the time we arrive. I did get copies of her cornbread dressing, gravy and oyster casserole recipes. I hope to be able to duplicate her cooking one day!

It was a very nice Thanksgiving. Tennessee Man (the husband), Long boys, mother in law and I drove down to "The Barn" Wednesday after work to have Thanksgiving with my parents. The barn is a great family gathering place that my father built about 15 years ago down on some family land in south GA. The barn has been expanded through the years and has plenty of bedrooms for all of our immediate family to gather. The boys loved "pretend hunting" with their grandfather looking for deer.

We played golf Friday at this great little country golf course called "Red Oak". I haven't played golf in 8 years...and let me brag but I still have it! I was out driving Tennessee Man and my father on several of the holes. I can't say that my score was any good but I could still swing the clubs. I really want to get back to playing golf. Now that the boys are getting a little older golf is a great sport for the family to do together.

We are home and so I am ready to get back to some sort of schedule. A lot to do tomorrow to get ready for Monday work and school and back to tracking WW points and not feeling like a stuffed turkey!

Dawg Days

Introducing "The Long Boys"! My first blog ever! We had a big time going to the Georgia - Kentucky game yesterday. Even though UGA lost...we sure did have fun. How 'bout them Dawgs!