I promise to do better.....

Hi friends---family---et al
I have been very slack and altho I have some good excuses, still, I could have been a bit better keeping in touch.
1) I got a bad bug, maybe a bit of flu, not of the swine persuasion tho....and I have been out of it for 2 whole weeks.
2) My life is mundane
3) Couldn't think of a thing worth saying and that is pretty difficult to admit as I can usually chat to wrong numbers!
So, here and now, I do so promise to do better.
Now, I need to post a bit of great retail info. I found Wild Olive via another blog....(don't ask me who, I do so much blogging and love it so...)
oh, I know from Stellan's mom at this blog you need to check that one out! Such a wonderful family...there's ever so many of them out "there". Anyhow, the mom was wearing a tee that I loved and had my favorite Bible verse on it and she gave a link to the web site where you can buy the tee yourself, and I did and I also bought another so now I have two and can't wait to get out there and witness and you should get one or two of them too! I got the "transform your mind" one...and they are both way way too cool, I love them and you will too.
Just two weeks from today and Camp Lake-In-The-Woods begins! Planning is at fever pitch here at camp headquarters....lots of fun for the campers. Since I have been a bit under the weather, I have not done much planning but that is behind me now. There will be 8-10 teens and tweens at the camp plus me, my dh and my two daughters. Adults are the councilors. We will have 3 tents (cabins) plus the Lodge where food will be prepared and campfires will be held, oh, it is all alot of fun, plus this year we will do Dave Ramsey's Generation Change for financial freedom! I think they will enjoy the sessions with Dave and then we will have tons of other stuff to do too. I'll let you know more about the plans as the days progress towards camp! Even at my advanced age, I love camping and being outdoors. Hope you have a wonderful weekend, check out Wild Olive and let me know what you think!
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cathy

Did I NOT blog one single day in April???

Five perfect small blue eggs
5 perfect little house wren babies

Mama is watching me watch her!

Yep, they are all there and thriving

Oh look, only two left, we watched the Mom and Dad come and persuade the babies to fly the coop! These two are reluctant, but ready!

Empty nest says it all....

That is a rhetorical question...... the heading, I mean...not the empty nest (altho I know what an empty nest feels like...lonely/quiet/finished.)

oh dear, I am terribly sorry and all. If you missed me, I was still here, just not much to share altho I had a lovely April and no catastrophes that I can recall....and May is going quite nicely so far......I feel a bit like Alice as she falls down the tunnel......life is passing me by very quickly and I have no idea where I will end up...well, I mean I know where I ultimately will end up...but for this here and now...I still am waiting to turn the page. I have made some very strong decisions about my health. I am watching what I eat very closely...using http://www.sparkpeople.com/ an excellent FREE site for healthy weight loss. I am working hard on my $ habits (learning new areas of self-control is painful friends!) I take a cart and do my twice around Target all the while saying, "can't eat this...can't eat that, can't buy this, won't buy that!" painful.......I think my source of happiness quite honestly came from food and stuff I bought. Pitiful. So I sit here and I want to eat SOMETHING probably salty or chocolate....but I WILL NOT. I will eat yet another delicious tangerine! Yes, I am coming face-to-face with the truth about Cathy! I have lost 8 lbs so far. I am not trying to loose weight to fit into a size 8...I want my numbers to go down for my blood work as in cholesterol and diabetes and blood pressure and oh yes, my liver count too....none of which are yet over the top....but I am heading that way and if I simply use a bit of self-control and change some bad (not illegal or immoral) habits...I could make a huge difference in the next 20 years of my life (Lord willing).

I have also discovered http://www.daveramsey.com/ and am totally hooked on the Total Money Makeover! so....that has been my April....and will be my May....etc.

I did do a desert tea for the local library and if you would like to see a slide show of the event here is the link.

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cathy

Saint Patrick's Day in Raleigh

My husband Paul, has been on the "parade committee" for 17 years and his particular job has been to oversee the Irish Village. This is held on Moore Square in downtown Raleigh and involves food, drink, entertainment, bathrooms skydivers and crowd control...not necessairily in that order...well This year, he has given the lead over to another, and did just non-profits and the dancers...which was way less stressful. Also, the parade was post-poned for a week due to terrible weather...so on the 21st of March Raleigh celebrated!!! And what a grand day it was.
The largest American flag to "fly" with a sky diver!

Awesome!

I have tons more photos here

Just click on Raleigh St. Patrick's Day parade and you can have a look.

Last night was the beginning of a good thing. A book club. 9 of us met...some knew each other well, others had never met. Really a nice evening. Our first book is Water for Elephants. I am looking forward to reading the book and getting to know these ladies better! Thanks Joyce and Karen for getting us organized! Neither of those ladies had met before last night. They "met" in the blog world. Isn't it a small world after all????

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cathy

Which comes first?

Click on the photo and enjoy the pictures. From the George and Martha series by Marshall...such humor is univerally appealing to "children" of all ages.....

Picture1: George is peeking in the window Picture 2: Martha is having a bath while George watches Picture 3: Not a good idea to peek!

Good Wednesday Friends,

So, which comes first....the headline or the text? Well, for today it has to be text, cuz I have NO earthly idea where this post is headed!!! Once again my world is a bit small and not so full of anything worth much discussion.....Now, next week is full of stuff....Fiona goes to the beauty shop, I see my Dr Zhang, Paul gets ready for the big St. Pat. Parade and actually, it is held next Saturday...the 14th (my dear mother's birthday). Our house is looking nice an spring-y while it is still looking a whole lot like winter outside....we expect warmer weather this weekend, so that should make a big difference!

I could talk a bit about the Dow Jones..........NOT

I could share some budget factoids...........NO WAY

I might share some dietary info.................HOLY COW NO WAY

so.....this is limiting my ability to wax eloquent. Oh, you will not believe this but Paul is hooked on the Bachelor....he is giving his opinion of Jason (he's a jerk, says Paul and he doesn't trust him one bit...watch out Molly) and we are both happy that Jillian will be the bachelorette as she is by far the best dressed of any of those gals...loved her outfit last night, very classy. And tonight is Lost, so we are happy about that....we only have 3 channels we can get on our tv and I hate television but we are kinda hooked on a couple of shows.....are you hooked on any show?

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cathy

We had some snow!

This is "today", Tuesday...note the beautiful blue sky? Note that the snow is almost gone...

This is our snow of Monday, really heavy, wet and beautiful

A holly bush covered in our March snowfall...wish you could see how hard it was snowing

Our daughter Amy stopped by and waited for her office to open

The redbud tree through the screen porch...it was already getting buds, wonder what will happen as it is usually so very pretty

An internet purchase....cupcake toppers, but way too pretty to use for that purpose, don't have the foggiest idea what I will do with these pretties, but I know they will come in handy. They came in the lovely doiley envelope wrapped in tissue and tied with a pink satin ribbon, how very lovely.

Happy Tuesday everyone,

This has been another day of hibernation for me....been getting on board with a program thru this fellow .

We purchased his software and now I am plugging in all the info, it is incredible...but a bit time-consuming and overwhelming at first.

IKEA just opened late February in Charlotte....not too very far from where I live...ok, 2 and a half hour drive....but hey, that is not that far to travel....our closest IKEA was DC area and that is a good 4 hours drive, so this is an improvement. I am itching for a road trip.....but with my committment to our finances...well, maybe a road trip is not a good idea. It is so painful to change your habits....self-control is an acquired attribute. We humans are more into self-gratification...oh, we can label it alot of other names....but boil it down, its all the same: we want what we want when we want it. (oh I do hate to end a sentence with a preposition....). I am in the process of changing some hard core habits of mine and will try to tackle them with God's help one day at a time. Phil4:13, Romans 12:2 and Phil2:5 are giving me support, you'd think I was on heroin or something....it is just food and money, we all need both, but some of us handle them better than I do and anyway, I need a change, it is good for me. I find that these two...food/money are very inter-related and principles I am applying in one area really do apply for the other, so it makes it a bit easier as I am getting two for one....in some ways.

I will keep you posted on the red bud, he sure is a pretty fellow and I hope this snow did not harm him....

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cathy

Springtime hits the Brew & Browse

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!!
We have tons of vintage china to pick and choose from to create a lovely tea table

Lots of different ways to make the perfect cup of tea...not to mention many other goodies

Bunnies and chicks, a sure sign that spring is in the air!

(you can click on any photo for a close-up)

Lots of lovelies

I worked pretty hard on this little booth

Miss Eula is peeking thru to say "Hey Goodlookin' "

Happy Saturday friends,

I have been spending lots of time prepping for the new look at the booth at the Brew & Browse and this past Monday and Tuesday I worked hard to create a little masterpiece of "WOW". I sure hope it does the trick and stuff just flies off the shelves....Someone (who could be so evil?) actually pulled off Miss Eula's eyelashes!!! So I have her "behind glass" and hope she will be safe! They are a rough crowd out in Fuquay.....

The weather is very dark and rainy here in NC, that's ok with me, I had no big plans and so my dh and I stayed in all day doing house-type stuff and eating good, sensible food! I go to see my sweet little Dr. Zhang this month and hope to have a good report from her...she is ever famous for telling me once..."You not dead yet!" and the ever popular, "It's YOUR body" keeps me a tried and true patient of this good Dr. At the ripe old age of 60 you tend to think that your number is up at almost any sign of aging....or not, I mean a cough, or a bump and you think....awful stuff. I thought my red face was roseacia...but in fact, it was a day in the sun last St. Patrick's day....*whew* I really do think we boomers need to get a group going so we can compare notes and situations and suggestions....I mean there's a "What to expect when you're expecting", a "Your One Year Old, and on thru your teenager", why not a "What to expect as you're aging"...???? I mean, what is after menopause? Do you take SS at 62, or hold out to 66,67,68???? Sell your house and go on a cruise, stay put and just be happy to have a roof over your head. Count on your kids///don't count??? Tons of issues way too numerous to mention and that's the problem, we don't mention. I read blogs daily discussing pros and cons of budgeting working versus stay at home moms, food co ops, homeschooling versus public versus private schools, vacation planning with toddlers....oh there is a wealth of good fun info out there if you are YOUNG and raising a family.......hey, what about US??? I guess there is no fun left? Well, if there is we better hurry up and find it and while we are at it, let's share with others......PLEASE. I do not want to be an AARP--NO WAY, but I do believe there are many good days/years ahead....let's talk about them you empty nesters out there, got an questions? or answers or advice?????

I AM WAITING

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cathy

A winter walk in the park

Hello friends,

Well, I did it! I made my video of our friend Fiona's walk in the park. It is here if you want to take a look. I admit, it is all dog, but kinda fun. Fiona is 10 and she has been taking almost daily walks in this park all her life, so she has come to believe that this is HER PARK. Usually we go during the day on the week instead of weekend and so we hardly ever run into other dogs...she actually likes that....she is a Princess, I guess. At any rate, it is rainy and miserable here today in NC and I am not getting out, neither is Fiona....so we will take our "walk" vicariously.

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cathy