Tuesday, September 30, 2008

MONKEYING AROUND

This is a magnet I got at Target the other day. I thought it was funny, it's like Jim Borgman's How Do you Feel Today chart, only with monkeys. So how do you feel today according to the monkey chart? I think I feel happy but I like the chick next to the happy guy with her glasses and pearls. LOL I have some awards to post and pass on so I hope to get to them by the end of the week. Have a great one!


Monday, September 29, 2008

My Beautiful City

When my sweetie and I first started dating back when we were 16 years old we used to go to a park here in Cincy called Mt. Echo park. It has these beautiful sweeping views of our city. I'll get back to that in a moment but for anyone who thinks of Cincinnati as somewhere in the middle of the country let me give you a geography lesson. Cincinnati sits on the Ohio River in Southwest Ohio. Kentucky is directly across from us and Indiana is a stone's throw to the west of us. We sit on a bunch of hills, which is beautiful but makes for frightful driving when it snows. Okay, back to the park. This particular park sits on one of those big hills and it really does have great views of Kentucky and downtown and we pass it every time we go into downtown or Kentucky but we haven't stopped by in years. Mostly because we are always in a hurry coming and going and the neighborhood surrounding this park is not the best anymore. Sad but true...........Click on the photo above and try to find the big Cincinnati sign spelled out.
So Friday night after we went to see Fireproof we stopped at the park on our way home. It was a beautiful Autumn evening and it brought back memories of our first dates. Driving in my sweetie's orange Volkswagen bug and swinging on the swings there. We used to go there when it was dark but I don't think I would do that now. I remember my sweetie telling me about his family's fruit and vegetable business while we were swinging on the swings and telling me it was downtown etc.... and I being 16 years old thought it was a fruit and vegetable stand that they sold produce at not even knowing that there was a bunch of produce warehouses in a place they called the "bottoms" downtown. Interesting cast of characters that worked in the "bottoms", mostly Italian men who talked in a way that I as a 16 year old girl never heard before. But my sweetie and his brothers have great stories of these old guys who worked with them and honestly those old Italian guys treated me very nice.

So many memories are set here in my hometown. I can't imagine living anywhere else, no not even the beach for all I complain about the winter. Okay, maybe I could live at the beach from January to the end of March. But in the end my heart and family are here in this little corner of the world sitting next to the Ohio River with beautiful Kentucky across the water and Indiana just a stone's throw to the west.




Friday, September 26, 2008

FIREPROOF













My sweetie and I went to see this movie today and loved it. It is a faith based movie with a wonderful message in it. Click on the watch trailer above to see what it is about. And GO SEE IT......... Okay that's it for me tonight, I am off to watch the debate. Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Up, Up, Up can only go Up from here.............

How many people know this song from Shania Twain's Up CD? I bet it'll be in your head all day now. LOL Anyway, it's been a week of minor irritations around here. Our wireless router kicked the bucket a few days ago so we had to replace it, so I did not have the internet. I went to my regular doctor for a physical and got scolded for my weight gain and overall lack of good eating and exercise. I was also scolded at my Weight Watcher's meeting from my leader for the same thing. And today I got the results of my bloodtests back and it looks like I need to shape up about a few things. My triglycerides are high but my cholesterol is in a good range, not sure what that all means but he wants me to take fish oil for a few months to get that down. And I hurt my back last night(again). I have a bad back so sometimes things set it off and it's hurting today. So anyway I don't mean to whine and I know all of these things can be taken care of and I also know WHO(my God) is control of my life so I know with His help I can get a good attitude about the small stuff. So let's move on to grandbabies, a subject that always cheers me up.


My son Jimmy brought Cameron over yesterday while Jimmy tried to fix the wireless router so I got lots of play time with this little dude. I don't get to see him as much as I do the girls(Sydney and Maddie) so I love getting some Grandma time with him. He's six months old now and he's just the cutest little guy. He has these big beautiful eyes that just are so expressive.
Sydney was totally bored by her cousin's visit and fell sound asleep on Grandma's couch. LOL But don't you just love this photo? She really is just the sweetest little thing, all smiles and giggles(when she's awake).

Also wanted to share the Halloween bags I got for the grandbabies from Pottery Barn Kids. I had bought Maddie one last year(the kitty cat one) and the ones for Sydney and Cameron came in this week. I don't know how well you can see their names on the back of the bags. Aren't they so much fun? So that's it for me today, back to wallowing in my self pity and sing UP, UP , UP CAN ONLY GO UP FROM HERE...........LOL Have a good one. I'm okay really, just having one of those days.



Monday, September 22, 2008

SAYING GOODBYE TO THE SUMMER

Well, I guess it's official. The Summer is over and Fall is here, so last night we decided to go out to eat one more time at the Cabana on the Ohio River. It's a outdoor restaurant not too far from our home that is only opened from April until the end of September. It was an absolute beautiful night to eat outside last night and we had a pretty sunset over the river(that's the hills of Kentucky in the photo). I like Fall but am a little bummed that Summer is over.

So goodbye fake lit up palm trees(looks like the green tree's lights burned out) until next Spring and hello Fall. I changed my blog to look a little more Fall like. Yea, I didn't want to do it and you will probably start to see beach scenes again by February when I start thinking about warm weather. Hope everyone has a wonderful first day of Autumn.
It seems Maddie approves of Grandma's new bra. I put out my clothes that I was going to wear today and I came in my room to find Maddie trying on my new "PINK" bra while watching Mickey Mouse. She didn't quite have it on right but hey it looks pretty any way you wear it. Look at the pretty pink lace on the sides. She also took my Kabuki brush that I put my Bare Minerals makeup on with and hid it. She's in a hiding phase right now, she takes things and hides them all over the house. Those Kabuki brushes are expensive so I was happy when I found it this afternoon. Silly little girl! LOL
And I went to see this movie this weekend and I loved it. It was funny and touching at the same time. This movie is about a dentist who has no people skills, in fact people bug him and then he dies unexpectedly and is revived and is suddenly able to see ghosts. All of the ghosts have some unfinished business here on earth and they want him to help them so they can move on. But Greg Kinnear's character is the ghost who wants the most from him. Anyway I don't want to spoil the rest for you but I really liked this movie and I liked the British actor, Ricky Gervais also. I know movies are a matter of taste but this is a fun one. Have a great Monday and first day of Autumn!


Saturday, September 20, 2008

BRENDA'S PHOTO CHALLENGE ~ SEASONS

Brenda's Photo Challenge is being hosted by Amanda from Penny and Pounds and the theme was "changing seasons." I did not have time this challenge to get some new photos so I looked in my albums for a few. Thanks Amanda for hosting this one and as always it was fun and I am looking forward to seeing everyone's photos. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend

This is my great Eiffel Tower experiment that I did last March when we got hit with a huge snowstorm. You can see how by the time the snow stopped the Eiffel Tower had almost disappeared. This of course is my winter season.
Here's my Spring photo, the beautiful magnolia tree blooming in my backyard. It's coming down when we start the backyard project. I will miss it next Spring.
Here's my Summer photo. My granddaughter Maddie and I with our toes in the ocean. I love this photo.

I know we are only suppose to have three photos but there are four seasons. LOL Not the best Fall shot but I realized I don't have any Fall photos and the leaves haven't changed around here yet. Go to Brenda's Photo Challenge Blog to see who's playing. The link is right on my sidebar. Happy Saturday!


Thursday, September 18, 2008

After The Storm

I can relate to this cartoon that was in our Cincinnati newspaper this morning and I didn't even lose power after the high winds came through. You really don't realize how much you take for granted having power and gas and fresh foods until you can't get them and you have no control over being able to get them. I was able to get gas the other day without waiting too long in line and the grocery stores around here are all fully up and running and they have fresh foods like veggies and cold foods like milk and eggs. So I was a happy camper coming home from the grocery. We have decided to make sure we have dry foods and can foods along with flashlights etc.. available in our home all the time. We are very familiar with tornadoes here in Cincy but I think this tail end of a hurricane was one for the record books. Here's a few more photos of the damage.


This one is a headstone in a graveyard that was pulled up by a tree that was knocked over. Amazing......................... So the cleanup is still underway and I think most people have power back and the schools went back today also. Some lost their lives because of Ike around here, including a young couple on a motorcycle that was hit by a tree. They had a six month old daughter, so sad.
Anyway, this photo was also in our paper this morning and I just couldn't resist posting it. Is this not the cutest little puppy? I think it was some kind of dog days at the Great American Ballpark yesterday. The Reds have had a lousy season but the dog is too cute. Have a good one!



Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Coming Home

This is what I saw before we left Hilton Head yesterday morning. I got up and ran outside to watch the sun rise before we left for the airport to come home. It was well worth seeing. I am amazed everytime I watch it come up over the ocean. And then we came home...............






........to this. No electricity, no gas, no ice or cold foods in many areas of Cincinnati. Cincinnati was hit with the tail end of Ike. It has caused many problems in our area, we had winds over 70 miles an hour on Sunday. People were killed, mostly by falling trees. In the realm of things it is nothing compared to what our Texas friends are going through but we have had a little taste of what a devastating storm can do. We are one of the lucky ones who have power at our house but you can see that our local Kroger's did not have normal power and all the cold items were pulled from the shelves. I wanted some fresh veggies for dinner last night but there were none to be found and the gas situation was really bad. Our house did not have any damage that I can see. Lots of debris and a big branch in our swimming pool area. It knocked down part of the fence but the fence is coming down in a few weeks anyway. Good thing the pool was closed last week or the inside of it would have been really hard to clean. What amazed me was the giant trees that have been uprooted. Most of our schools have been off. My sweetie went back to work this morning but they are without normal power there too. So we'll be cleaning up as best as we can all week. Still it's good to be back home safe and sound and everyone is okay so you just deal with the rest of it. Hope everyone is well and I will be back around to visit soon.


Maddie and Papa in the creepy looking Kroger's.








Saturday, September 13, 2008

Savannah

Okay can you stand one more post about our vacation? LOL The kids all left yesterday and my sweetie and I have a few days until we head back to Cincy. We have enjoyed our time here in Hilton Head and are having grandbaby withdrawal. The place seems so quiet without the grandbabies here. I hope that when we come next year that little Cameron can come also, then I'l have all three grandbabies at the beach with us. Anyway before they all left we made a side trip to Savannah. Savannah is a gorgeous old south city, with Spanish Moss trees everywhere. It was raining when we got there so I didn't take many photos. I am not sure what this building is there but I thought it was cool with the gold dome. The flag was flying half mast for 9/11.
There are all kinds of candy shops along the River Walk area and Maddie was enthralled with this display. We got a bunch of cinnamon coated pecans. Oh man, those things are so addicting and so good, they were gone really fast. LOL
Here's the River Walk area. It's a series of shops and restaurants. Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons is right up the street and we tried to get in but everyone was just too hungry to wait. That was probably a good thing considering the amount of food I have eaten on this trip.
Savannah also has a number of parks all over the city. They call them squares and Maddie had a blast chasing the pigeons all over the place. The pigeons finally got smart and moved to the other side of the square. LOL
Anyway I am sorry I haven't been around to visit everyone as much as I like too but will catch up with ya'll(see I am talking southern) when I return next week. The next few days I am just going to relax with my sweetie and enjoy this time we have been blessed with. I hope everyone is well and safe and is having a good weekend!


Thursday, September 11, 2008

Alligators and Baby Sydney

Yesterday we went to Jarvis Park here on Hilton Head Island. In all the years we have been coming here, we have never been to this park. Our son-in-law wanted to do some fishing so we tagged along for a little while. This sign was at the park. Believe me I wasn't going to feed the alligators. LOL But as soon as you walked on the dock of the little lake, these guys came over. I guess they thought you would give them some food or they were hoping one of us would fall in the water. This guy was all over the place, they sure are scary looking.
It was a catch and release lake so Jamiel did catch a few but threw them back in. Maddie was very fascinated with the alligators and turtles. She thought they were great fun. We left her Daddy to fish and went to get some lunch.


Last night we went back to the beach to try and get photos of Sydney. Isn't she just the sweetest little thing? She actually rolled over for the first time while lying here on the beach. But we didn't get any good shots because it was very windy last night and we were all afraid sand was going to get in Sydney's eyes. I know it got in my mouth and I could feel sand for a few hours. Not a good taste. LOL





So we decided the best way to get sand out of your mouth was to go and get some ice cream. June, this photo is for you. My sister June loves Rita's gelati. This one was the best, black cherry ice with vanilla custard, so good. This is why I am gaining weight this week. LOL
When we were done stuffing ourselves with ice cream we decided to go for a night time swim. This was Sydney's first time in a swimming pool and she loved it. The water was so warm and she was just smiling and talking. Okay this is not the best photo of me (no makeup and my hair all wet and a mess) but my sweetie and Sydney are so cute. Have a great Thursday! My Texas buddies are in my thoughts and prayers right now so be safe and take care.