It's Friday and the Brasstown Bridal Show is Sunday!

Well, Friday is upon us! First thing this morning I was off to get a fresh revelation from the book of Revelation with some girlfriends from church. Now, I have to admit, I know very little about the book of Revelation and frankly, it intimidates me. I’m hoping to get over that very soon. We had a good start.

After that, E and I met up to do yet more preparations for this weekend’s Bridal Show at Brasstown Valley Resort. Honestly, we’ve done Bridal Shows long enough now that we’ve got that part down to a fine science. We know what to take and how to arrange it. However, this show is a tad more complicated for us. In addition to our traditional booth, we are presenting a Design Gallery and couldn’t be more thrilled! We absolutely love this kind of thing!

This is just a glimpse of our work space today in our home office. A typical work day for Wonderful Events: a diet Coke from Panera Bread, lots of papers, two red laptops, two iphones, and . . . an artichoke and some pears? Explanation to follow.

Here’s the deal: This Bridal Show will showcase four wedding vignettes each with a different theme: Blues Gallery; Sherbet Gallery; Vineyard Gallery and our personal choice, the Eco-Green Design Gallery. Each of these will include bridesmaids dresses, wedding cakes, and (this is where we come in) tabletop display complete with centerpiece, individual place settings, sample invitation, menu cards and place cards and favors. In this gallery, we will obviously be using lots of natural, repurposed, and environmentally friendly items – like branches, potted orchids, grasses, moss, artichokes, pears, rocks, and recycled papers for the invitations, place cards, escort cards, and menu cards, in addition to some other neat stuff. We will also display a bridal bouquet and super cool guest book idea.

So if you are thinking about a Sunday drive (it’s supposed to be sunny) head on up to the mountains to Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris. We’d love to see you!

My Friends and My Father

A couple of weeks ago, after a large 1/2 sweet, 1/2 unsweet tea from one of my favorite hometown restaurants, I was somehow motivated to write a poem. Yes, I know, very strange. I'm still blaming it on the insomnia from my highly sugared (even at half) and highly-caffeinated drink of choice. But nonetheless, I was wide awake at 3:00 a.m. and had run out of things to do (cleaning the house was clearly out of the question) so I began to write. I actually love to write but I had written one poem oh, since I was in elementary school. That doesn't count when E and I used to write poems together for her schoolwork. She had a "Rhyming Dictionary." Isn't that cool? You looked up a word and then it gave you all of the words that rhymed with it. E still has it. It would have clearly come in handy at 3:00 that morning.

Anyway, I had a Bible study lesson coming up about friendships and honestly, there are few things I love more than my girlfriends. No, they can't replace your God, your husband, your children or your parents but doggone, they fill a huge hole in your heart for silly laughter, talk of clothes, makeup and jewelry (among lots of other things) and hearing your heart on a regular basis. And I happen to be blessed with some godly women who listen, pray for me and with me, give good counsel and care deeply about me. Oh, ladies I am so thankful for you.

Thus this poem was birthed out of all of the above. Now that I've built it up so much, you're sure to be disappointed. That's okay, it's really my own personal journey of friendship. One I'm so thankful to have taken.

My Friends and My Father

When I was little, I had one best friend.
I loved her dearly, she spent the night and we played til days end.

When I was a teenager, I had a few more.
But those years were rough and on many an occasion my heart tore.

In college, we all pledged and became sorority sisters.
But back then it seemed the only goal was becoming the Mrs. to all the Misters.

After that, I moved and only one friend had I.
But he was my best one, my husband, my guy.

However, I still felt very alone those first few years,
Many miles from my home, I so wanted a girlfriend, I said through my tears.

So from across the street she came, not knowing me at all.
She took a chance and said, "if you need me, give me a call."

Are you kidding?? I do need you, I thought.
But it will take time, she already has plenty of friends, but then my heart caught.

I can't do this without friends, . . . be married, raise children and such,
I will call her and we'll go to lunch.

That's been almost 25 years to the day.
And she's still one of my dearest friends and will always be, I pray.

My girlfriends, they cheer me up and hear me out.
They love me warts and all and never cause me doubt.

Through the years, God has blessed me with many precious women to love.
But without a doubt, my dearest friend is my Father Above.

He is closer than a sister, a husband or a child.
The ride with Him over the years has been nothing less than wild.

While I couldn't have traveled this journey without my friends,
I could never even started without My Savior and His love that transcends.

He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.
The One who died for me and you so with Him in eternity we can spend.

Celebrating ABs Birthday!

Yesterday was such a fun day! E, D's Mom and I all played hookey from everyday life and drove down to Covington to see our niece/cousin/granddaughter. She recently celebrated her birthday and we just couldn't let that pass without a little face time with her. We had lunch, got to see her dorm room, walked a quick walk over part of the campus and all in all, had a great visit.
She is just such a wonderful young woman and simply . . . a pleasure and a treasure.

Nana and her two granddaughters.

Me with two of my favorite girls!

I'm Baaack from the Beach!

Have y'all gone missing me? Some of you know where I've been so maybe you'll give me a little break for taking such a long absence from the bloggy world. Well, let's see what has happened since I posted the last time.

The Caribbean cruisers returned safely from their Valentine's weekend excursion. E did a quick turn around and flew to our nation's Capital for a visit with her very best friend/college roommate/sorority sister - CP. CP was E's maid of honor at her wedding and E is returning the favor when CP gets married in August. So, I can guarantee you some wedding talk went on up there. I can hardly wait to hear all about it! I did have a short conversation with her Friday morning and she said that DC still had two feet of snow on the ground and that CP has had the stomach virus but she was on the mend. Now, doesn't that sound like fun? But you know best girlfriends don't care if you've been sick or you're stuck in a hotel room even in a fun place like DC. They'll have a great time no matter what!

Well, last Monday and Tuesday held their own challenges but that's not worth talking about at this point. But Wednesday, that glorious day, the day I've been looking forward to for weeks! I began the day with an early morning meeting with E and our company's resident florist extraordinaire, Miss M. We are planning for a Bridal Show on the 28th and have been asked to do a "gallery" for it. I'll explain more about this in the next couple of days but suffice it to say, we really needed to get our heads together and make a plan of action. Thankfully, all brains were on deck and we gathered our thoughts and ideas quickly. Oooh, I just can't wait to tell you more about this.

After that, I ran home, threw some things in a suitcase and left with my husband for the BEACH! Yea! Okay, if that's wasn't already good enough, guess who goes to college in a town on the way to the BEACH! Yes siree, that would be our boy! We had dinner with him that night. We sat and talked until he about went to sleep in his plate. He had pulled an all nighter the night before because of two tests that day and had only slept three hours in two days. So, we talked as long as he could and then took him back to his apartment. I sure do cherish those few hours with him. He is quite the young man even if he is mine.

So, onto the beach we went. I just felt the stress and worry of everyday life just melting away as we approached the sand and sea. And D must have felt the same way because he slept most of the day on Thursday. I actually got worried about him at one point. Like when your baby sleeps through the night for the first time and you wake up and realize it! You run in the room to see if they're still breathing. Anybody besides me done that? I'll have to admit, I actually went to the bedroom one time just to make sure D was still breathing. He works hard, long hours and a do-nothing vacation is just what the doctor ordered for him.

So, the rest of the week was pure bliss. I read (of course). Oh by the way, I finished "The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks. True to form for Mr. Sparks, this book is a tear-jerker. I could hardly read through the tears. Okay, now I'm ready for the movie. Comes out April 2nd I think. And speaking of movies, Friday night we went to see "Valentine's Day." I honestly wasn't a fan of this movie but I loved the outtakes at the end. The very last one with Julia Roberts was my favorite but I don't think any one in the whole theatre got it except us but that would be because we've seen "Pretty Woman" a zillion times.

Saturday the weather was absolutely gorgeous, about 65 degrees and sunny. A most perfect February day. We read, walked on the beach (one of us jogged), worked only a little bit (and always in line of sight of the water), took a drive, brought home dinner and watched the Olympics after the sun went down. Pretty much, fabulous.

We appreciate the generosity of our dear friends to let us use their beach house for a few days. It was perfect.

Just a few pictures. You can tell D was taking this because I didn't have my smile on yet.

These things are a combination of fascinating and gross.

Yes, it was just that beautiful.

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, all! Hope you are having a great day! D and I celebrated last night with a trip with some friends to the Cheesecake Factory and then to see "Mamma Mia!" at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta! Good food, Great friends, and fabulous fun at the Fabulous Fox! "Mamma Mia!" is just the best ever! You can't help yourself - you really just want to sing and dance right along with them (oh, wait, I did). It is really incredible how musically talented some folks are . . . and these folks are! We had the best time!

It's a Snowy Day in Georgia

Yesterday, mid-afternoon, I got a call from one of my favorite people, E's mother-in-law, BW. Sidenote: When your children get married it is a fact that you inherit in-laws and you've got to admit, you just never know. Well, D and I were blessed beyond measure when not only did E marry a fine young man, she married a fine family. So when I saw BW on the caller ID, I could hardly wait to talk to her. Then I remembered . . . she and her entire family, including E and her husband where preparing to board a ship in Florida to cruise the Caribbean for the next few days. I know, I know . . . seriously, did I really want to talk to her at this moment? But I love her dearly, so I answered the phone.
What she called to tell me (among a few other things) was that her husband and son (E's husband) were quite distraught at the prospect of several inches of snow in Georgia and that they would not be here to witness it. Now granted, it is a rare day when Georgia sees snow but really? And since they would be suffering down on the sea and in the 75 degree sunshine, basking on a chaise lounge, having their drinks delivered with little umbrellas in them, eating delicious food at every turn, not cooking, cleaning or working . . . would they really miss the snow? Yes, she said, but she had give them a talkin' to and according to her, it was better. But yes, they are officially missing the Blizzard of 2010 - Georgia style.

So Caribbean cruisers, when y'all dock and can get internet, especially N and his dad - See What You're Missing!!!

The Ghosts of Valentine's Day Past

I'll have to admit, I've struggled with writing this post. Why? because it makes me kinda sad. I no longer get to do some of the fun things that we did when our kids were younger. For 20+ years I devoted most of my time and energy to raising two of the most incredible children ever (in my humble opinion). Yes, I worked outside the home part-time throughout those years but primarily my focus was my children. I so wanted their childhood to be a very good and positive memory for them. And because of my celebratory personality, holidays and birthdays, well, let's just say . . . were always something special. Which brings us to our Valentine's Day tradition! Some of you are probably thinking, did she just say Valentine's Day tradition? Who has traditions surrounding Valentine's Day? That would be us.

First of all, on the big day, we always piled in D's SUV for what we called the "Fast Food Progressive Dinner." Beginning with our drinks, we chose the fast food restaurant that had our favorite foods. The point is: the place had to have a drive thru. We stayed in the car to eat and drink everything. This was great fun! You know when you have your children in the car with you, they are a captive audience so we got to talk, laugh and relax together while poor D drove us all over tarnation trying to satisfy our every fast food whim.

We always had our favorites:
Tea: Zaxby's - because everybody knows they have great tea and absolutely the best ice!
Appetizer: This would always be a toss up between the following: Arby's curly fries or mozzarella sticks, Sonic's tator tots or Chick-fil-A's waffle fries.
The Main Course: Each person got to choose their favorite so you realize we could be visiting every fast food restaurant chain known to North America in the course of one evening and some twice! Which is what we usually did. Some favorites here: CFA's classic chicken sandwich, Big Mac from McDonalds; tacos from Taco Bell. Oh, it was a dilemma.
Dessert: Hmm . . . a blizzard from the DQ? ice dream from CFA? or a frosty from Wendys? All very good choices.
And, as you can tell, no nutritional information was investigated at all on this day!

Then when we got home from that expedition, I always had a Scavenger Hunt ready for the kids to find their Valentine's Day gifts. Gifts were not expensive or outrageous, just fun new stuff. I would prepare clues and hide their gifts ahead of time so that when we returned, we could let the games begin. They loved it! Keep in mind, we did this up until about two years ago when G was a senior in high school. It's kinda like we were with Santa. If they told me that they didn't believe in Santa anymore, then Santa stopped bringing them gifts. Guess who never mentioned not believing in Santa again? Guess who never complained about Valentine's Day either?

I sure do miss this. I guess D and I could do a Scavenger Hunt together. Not sure what we would hunt for and not sure I could remember where I hid it. Isn't menopause fun? Don't answer that. This is about Valentine's Day.

So, this Valentine's Day and always, I'm sending much, much love to the most incredible man I know and to two of the best children a mother could ever ask for. I love you all so much. Thank you for allowing me to do such crazy stuff all those years! It was a joy and an honor. Much love, Mom