Missing Brad and Whit

Well....maybe the 'blog drought' is over. Here I am (once more) attempting to compose and post. I have a knack for NOT keeping up with things such as this. It's a vicious cycle....the more I do it, the better I am, the more I do it, etc:). Anyway, here I am.

Whitney and Brad moved to Atlanta last week....and the reality is beginning to set in. I'm excited on behalf of their 'new adventure', but sad for us. We DID get a chance to spend some family time up in Pine the weekend before they moved and that was good, but I found myself wanting to hang onto every moment and freeze time a little bit.

The older I get...the more I realize how sweet and precious our family is. Our sweet girls, our adopted sons (son-in laws:), and three wonderful grandchildren. However, September 20th (if not sooner) will be the arrival of the newest addition to our family....Babygirl Barry. Then...a few short weeks down the road....Baby (boy or girl?) Panyko....are we blessed or what!

Comments on Sam's overnight stay

OK...I was a little over zealous that I actually was able to post the picture of Sam playing with his home-made toy....a (Fry's brand) Crystal Light container...I somehow didn't correctly post the comments.

Once Sam adapted to his Mama and Daddy 'not being around' he enjoyed playing...what a joy he is! I had put a couple of animal crackers in the container for him to shake up and down...he didn't know there was food 'in there', but our Cocker Spaniel, Oliver did (you might notice the black blob in the left of the picrue). He followed Sam around like a bee to honey! Once Sam discovered the treasure, he very politely shared with Oliver:).

Greg and I gave each other a nice little Nikon digital camera for Christmas...so look for more pictues. I will get more instruction from Allison, however...I am so NOT a natural at this.

By the way, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Sam's First Overnight Stay

Coupons can be a girl's best friend!

I realize that searching for and using coupons can make one 'appear' cheap....but I like to think of them as SMART and WISE. Yep, that's how I choose to think of me when utilizing coupons from the world of service and retail stores!

Ask my sweet girls. When they were young and we went shopping at the local grocery store, it would have been a crime to have considered any box of cereal for which we had no coupon. It just didn't happen:). General Mills and Kelloggs always kept pumping out their cereal enticements....fortunately for us!

Now that Greg and I have no kids at home, it's convenient and relatively inexpensive to eat out rather than cook at home. Especially if 'one' takes advantage of all the devices whereby these establishments d-r-a-g you in.

For example, we ate at Macayo's last night for a mere $6.64. We were generous and left a $3.00 tip. This was followed up by a trip to JC Penneys and purchasing sale/clearance items (a nice shirt and jacket for Donna)...totaling to $33.00, but then bumped down to $23.00 because of an online coupon for $10 off your purchase of $25 or more. See....SMART and WISE!

Add a Little Color to Your World

Ok, it would be safe to say that I've been coloring my hair for over 20 years. Not that I'm close to being old of course...I started covering a gray streak while in high school. Well, part of that's true...I did show a 'bit of gray' near the root of my 'cow lick' at the early age of 17 (for those not from the South or familar with the term 'cow lick', this is your hairs way of having a birth mark...a portion of your hair that will NOT lay down and behave ).

Anyway, to save money and time, I typically color my own hair and am pretty comfortable with Loreal and 'she' with me. However, they have recently changed their box AND their size of containers, labeled ONE - TWO - and THREE within the box. I made a mistake the other night and inadvertantly mixed the conditioner tube contents with the developer tube of contents, rather than mixing the developer with the actual color.

Well, truth be told....I've often wondered what would happen if I had done this. Would I be able to still use the concoction or would it make my hair turn Ronald McDonald orange or worse...make it fall out due to user malfunction. Yet, I was TOO cheap to waste the mixture without at least giving it a shot. So, while applying the color, I became increasingly alarmed as the color turned the color of grape sherbet rather than a dark auburn shade. I was chicken through and through and decided to quickly rinse my hair after the application.

So, now I have a sweet combo hair color of (still) gray roots, residual brown/red, AND a light shade of auburn tints neighboring the gray. I'll have to re-do the new-do.

The Kings Have Arrived to the 21st Century

Well, I supposed it had to happen....'myspace' passed me by (thank goodness!), 'facebook' at this point in time isn't for me...so, introducing a blog seemed to be the logical answer. I suppose when presented with a new adventure....ok, sad...but this is a new adventure to me:)...one should have some goals in mind. My ultimate goal is to keep up with my family (both short and long distance) and to keep a journal of sorts that makes up the daily lives of Greg and Donna. Who knows, maybe it could be on the Best Bloggers' list one day. Ok, well...at the very least...free entertainment, right?

So, for better or worse...here we come you 'blogger world'. Hopefully the creativity will just flow and ooze into your life...he-he!

Here is a picture of us at Rebecca's wedding 10/09