Girls Weekend at the Beach!

I'm so excited to be going to the beach for the weekend! Susan,one of my good friends and I are leaving on Friday morning to drive to the beach to visit a friend from high school. Susan and I both knew Wendy from high school and reconnected on Facebook.

Wendy and her husband live at the beach and invited us down for the weekend for a girl's weekend. I am taking my old high school yearbooks and I'm sure we will have lots of stories to re-tell about our high school days back in the late 60's - early 70's. We graduated from high school in 1972.

It won't be warm enough to swim, but it will be nice to get out and walk on the beach. Anything will be better than the snow we have had this winter. It even snowed on Wednesday this week, but didn't stick. I am so ready for spring!

There is a cute little town near where we will be staying that has lots of antique shops, so I'm sure we will check those places out. We also want to eat out and try some local seafood while we are there.

I only have to work a half day on Thursday, because the little boy I nanny for has an eye appointment. It will be nice to have the afternoon to get some things done here at home and get my bags packed for my trip. I don't have a laptop, so unless my friend takes hers, I guess I won't be online until I get back home on Sunday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Can you believe that next week is the first of March? I'm so excited that spring is right around the corner. Plus, it is almost my birthday. I can't wait to see my first daffodils blooming.

Take care. I will see everyone back in blogland on Sunday.

100 Random Facts about me!

Since I have passed my 100 post mark, I thought I would list 100 random things about myself. For those of you who have been with me this past year, a lot of these things you may know already. I'll try to think of some new things to list!

1. I am a brunette.
2. I have blue eyes. I think that is why I have always loved the color blue!
3. I wear glasses. I am near sighted and far sighted. (the joys of getting older)
4. I am a cancer survivor. My 7 year anniversary date will be Oct. 2, 2010.
5. I have been married almost 34 years. We got married May 15, 1976.
6. I met my husband in high school when we were both 15 years old.
7. I have 2 wonderful daughters. Lauren is 26 and Adelaide is 21.
8. I love the Lord! God is a very important part of my life.
9. I love church and also my Bible study groups!
10. We have 2 pets. A cat named Sassy and a dog (chihuahua) named Holly.
11. I love to cook and I especially love to bake. Cookies, cake, pie, homemade bread, etc.
12. I enjoy spending time at home. I never run out of anything to do at home.
13. I love to travel. When I graduated from high school I got to spend a month in Europe.
We spend a lot of time in the mountains of NC, where my parents have a 2nd home and
where my sister lives too.
14. Speaking of which, I only have one sibling, a sister. She is 11 years older than me.
15. I enjoy all kinds of crafts, but my favorite is quilting and knitting.
16. Scrapbooking is a favorite hobby of mine too.
17. I actually enjoy cleaning my house. I always have.
18. I was a stay at home Mom after my children were born. Then I taught pre-school for 16
years and now I am a professional Nanny and love it!
19. I enjoy walking, but I hate to run.
20. I am a people person. My children tell me I could go to Mars and see someone that I know.
I also love to talk, so the 2 go hand in hand.
21. I like hot weather much better than I like cold weather.
22. I LOVE sweets and I rarely eat a meal without having something sweet!
23. I am a night owl and also an early bird. In other words, I stay up late and get up early.
24. One of my favorite places in the US to visit is Charleston. I love the southern charm of
Charleston!
25. My favorite flowers are daffodils. I get so excited in the spring when I see the first daffodils
blooming.
26. My birthday is March 15, 1954.
27. I drive a blue Toyota Camry.
28. I love to wear bright colors. I wear jeans/pants to work, but I love to wear dresses too.
29. I love Brighton jewelry. My Brighton cross necklace is one of my favorites.
I actually have lots of cross necklaces that I enjoy wearing.
30. I collect angels, Noah's Arks and Santa Clauses.
31. Speaking of which, I LOVE Christmas!! I have so much stuff I decorate with at Christmas.
I love my house at Christmas. It is so festive!
32. I enjoy reading, but don't read as much as I would like to.
33. I enjoy all kinds of music. Christian, Country, the Beatles, Beach music....I'm not hard to
please. I don't like Opera.
34. The most famous person I have met is Chris Tomlin. I blogged about that last year.
35. I have a cousin who was the place kicker for the Washington Redskins. His name is Mark
Moseley.
36. I have an easy going personality. I don't get mad easily.
37. I am a happy person. I find joy in every day!
38. I love spending time with family.
39. My parents are still living. My Dad is almost 89 and my Mom is almost 86. They are the
greatest. I am so blessed to have such wonderful parents.
40. I am not one to snack. I was brought up to eat 3 good meals and we never snacked.
41. I was not a trouble maker growing up. I always followed the rules and did what was right.
42. I graduated with a degree in Home Economics Education from the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro.
43. I was born and have lived in the same city all my life.
44. I have never broken a bone in my body.
45. I have pierced ears.
46. I love spending time with my girlfriends.
47. I enjoy looking at magazines.
48. I enjoy watching football, but I am not a big basketball or baseball fan.
49. I love to go to the movies.
50. I enjoy thrift shopping. I love hunting for a bargain at Goodwill or a yard sale.
51. I am not technologically savvy. If it weren't for my girls, I would never have gotten into
blogging.
52. I mostly wear flat shoes. (I guess that is a dead giveaway to my age)
53. In the summer I wear a one piece bathing suit.
54. I still have hot flashes. Are they ever going to end?
55. I love to eat and there are very few things that I don't like.
56. I enjoy feeding the birds and watching them eat at my bird feeders.
57. I love cookbooks and I enjoy sitting down and reading them. I have a large collection of
cookbooks.
58. I enjoy sharing and receiving recipes from others.
59. I love milk glass.
60. I love pretty dishes, glassware, etc. for entertaining/kitchen use.
61. I love old linens and quilts.
62. My beverage of choice is sweet iced tea with lots of lemon. I'm a true Southern girl.
63. I am not a big alcohol drinker. I enjoy a pina colada, daiquiri, etc. in the summer and I
will drink white wine, but I do not like red wine.
64. I like to have milk on my cereal, but I don't like to drink milk.
65. I love ice cream and we enjoy making homemade ice cream in the summer. My favorite
flavor is banana.
66. I am a chocoholic. I LOVE anything chocolate.
67. My favorite candy is a Heath bar. My second choice is an Almond Joy.
68. One of my all time favorite things to do is spend time with my girls!!!!
69. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. I love the simple things in life!
70. I enjoy writing notes to people and sending cards.
71. One of my daughters was born by C-Section and the other daughter was a natural delivery.
72. I have never been to California.
73. I hate snakes!
74. Although I love people, I am just as happy at home by myself.
75. My favorite holiday is Christmas!
76. My favorite season of the year is the summer time.
77. My favorite foreign country I have visited was Italy!!! I want to go back some day.
78. I love Lilly Pulitzer. Her clothes just make me feel good. I guess it is the beautiful colors!
79. I love Herend figurines. My daughter, Lauren, gave me my first one for Christmas.
80. I collect Beatrix Potter figurines. I got my first one when I went to London.
81. I enjoy going to weddings.
82. I love walking on the sand at the beach.
83. I love to take a hot bath at night before I go to bed.
84. I love the feeling of fresh sheets.
85. I look forward to the mail coming each day. I love getting cards/letters!
86. I enjoy visiting new places and doing new things.
87. I have always hated Math.
88. I love fresh strawberries in the spring. I love making fresh strawberry jam each year.
89. I do not like conflict.
90. I love to burn candles/tealights.
91. I cry easily and have a very tender heart.
92. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends in my life.
93. I don't like people who are negative.
94. I love to sit on the porch on the porch swing. (at our mountain house)
95. When we were first married our dog was a Russian Wolfhound (Borzoi). I would love to
have another one someday. They are huge dogs, but wonderful pets. Very affectionate.
96. I enjoy making handmade cards for friends and family.
97. I don't like rainy weather.
98. I love quotes/sayings and I have journals that I keep favorite ones recorded in.
99. I am a patient person.
100. I feel blessed that I have had such an amazing life! I am very fortunate to have such a
loving family and so many wonderful friends. I cherish each day that God has blessed me
with!!

Thanks to all my blogger friends for your love, caring, sweet comments and presence in my life!
I never knew how much I would love blogging when I started over a year ago. I have learned so many new things, cried for you, prayed for you, laughed with you, shared recipes, traveled the world with you, solved the world's problems with you, celebrated successes together, suffered losses together, etc. You folks have become my "blog family" and I cherish our time together in the blog world. I hope to get to meet more of you in person.

Love & blessings from NC!
Melinda

7 Things

Elizabeth at Kentucky Mama posted about 7 Things you can't leave home without (besides your kids). I thought it would be fun to play along. If you want to play along, put your answers in the comments section.

1. I always have my camera in my purse. Who knows when that special "Kodak" moment might happen and I want to be prepared.

2. Notepad and pen. I am a list maker and I always want to have my notepad handy to write down any important information. I love to collect recipes, websites, books that I might want to read, etc. and the pad comes in handy for that. I am a huge list maker. My lists even have lists!!!

3. Lipstick. I always have to have my lipstick. My lips get dry, plus, I like to have some color on my face and can't stand for my lips to be without lipstick.

4. Pictures of my children. I have pictures of my children in my wallet to show everyone. And that includes a picture of my son-in-law too. I love my girls and my son-in-law!! I guess you have figured that out by now.

5. My calendar. I am a real visual person and I have to have my calendar with all my activities written on it. I write everything on my calendar and I love to look at it and "plan" my activities out. In other words, I like to see everything in writing.

6. Cell phone. I always have to have my cell phone. I want my children to be able to get in touch with me if they need me. I also like to be available in case my parents might need me. It is just a good security blanket to have with me at all times.

7. My knitting. Those of you who know me, will chuckle at this one. You know that I always have a tote bag with me that has my knitting in it. I can't stand to be somewhere and not have something to do. I always have a knitting project of some kind going at all times. Right now I am knitting a baby afghan.

OK, that is my list. Now what are the things that you never leave home without?

Happy Valentine's Day! (again!!!)

My youngest daughter, Adelaide is single and I love the post she did about Valentine's Day. Please go to her blog, Sweet, Sassy, Southern and Classy and read the letter she posted about God's plan for your life from a single's perspective.
Whether you are single or not, I think you will find it very enlightening. You may have single family members who would benefit from reading this post as well.

Adelaide is an amazing young lady and I am so proud to be her Mother. I have told her that her "prince charming" is out there somewhere. God just has not introduced them yet. Adelaide truly loves the Lord and His light shines on all those who are around her. She has such a generous heart and is a very caring and giving person! Happy Valentine's Day sweet girl!!!

PS I also have another equally amazing daughter, Lauren. For those of you who have followed me for some time, you know how much my girls mean to me. They are the joys of my life!! Happy Valentine's Day to you too, Lauren!! I love you girls so much!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

When I think of Valentine's Day I think of my sweet family and how much I love them all!!! This is a picture that was taken when my oldest daughter, Lauren, got married. (May 5, 2007) From left to right is: Me, my precious son-in-law Thomas, my beautiful daughter Lauren, my sweet husband Tom and my other beautiful daughter Adelaide!

Lauren's wedding was one of the happiest days of my life! This was the day that she had dreamed about since she was a little girl and it was a wonderful day. Lauren was a gorgeous bride!

I feel so blessed to have such a lovely family. My girls are so special to me and I love the time we spend with each other! My husband and I met when we were 15 years old and we have been married for almost 34 years! We were high school sweethearts! We have shared lots of great times together as a family and we certainly look forward to many wonderful times ahead.

Although my family is VERY important to me, my ultimate Valentine is Jesus Christ. Without Jesus in my life, I would not be the person that I am today.

I John 4:7 -12....God showed how much he LOVED us by sending His only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real LOVE....

Please take the time today to show those around you how much you love them. A kiss, a hug, a special card, breakfast in bed, a box of chocolates, holding hands, watching a movie together, an afternoon walk in the park, etc. You get the idea.... Just spend the day doing whatever makes you happy, with the special people who make you happy!

Our Little Dog Holly!!

Several of my readers have asked me to do a post on our little dog, Holly. 10 years ago Santa brought Holly to my daughter, Adelaide for Christmas. She weighed one pound when we got her and she was so tiny! Here is Holly giving Adelaide "kisses" when we went to visit at college this past fall. Holly misses Adelaide so much when she is away at college.
Holly has a pink bed and she loves to ride in the car with me wherever I go. Here is Holly traveling with me down to the beach this past fall to visit a dear friend of mine. Holly was going to visit her friend Daisy at the beach. Holly loves to run errands with me too, and the ladies at the bank always give her a dog treat when we go through the drive through line.
When Holly goes outside, if the sun is out, she will lay down and roll in the grass and feel the warm sun on her tummy. She loves to get her stomach rubbed too!
Holly is quite the lapdog. She loves to sit in your lap and snuggle. Holly gets spoilt by my parents and enjoys going to their house to visit and sit in my Mom and Dad's laps.
Don't you just love Holly's pearls? She is quite the fashion plate, don't you think? She has an extensive wardrobe of dog clothes. Sun dresses, a raincoat, a Santa suit for Christmas, party dresses, sweaters, etc. She and Adelaide both look so adorable dressed up in their pearls. Excuse Adelaide's red eyes. I thought I got that corrected, but evidently it didn't work. Sorry! She actually has gorgeous blue eyes.

We have a cat named Sassy and Holly bosses Sassy around. It is so funny. They enjoy each other's company, but the cat is a wimp and won't stand up to Holly. It is so funny to see Holly chase the cat around the house.
We love our animals and treat them like our "other children". They are spoilt rotten, but we wouldn't have it any other way!!! They bring a lot of joy into our lives!

Friday Fives!!!

I always love Suzanne's Friday at Fives that she does each week. It is fun to learn more about each other by answering the questions.

Here is the list of questions. Post your answers in the comments section. Have fun answering the questions!

1. Do you wear silver or gold jewelry or a mixture of both?

2. Diamonds or pearls.....which would be your choose?

3. Dark chocolate/milk chocolate or white chocolate?

4. Do you blog daily?

5. Do you consider yourself technologically challenged or pretty technologically savvy?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Beth Moore!!!

Hey ladies, you just can't believe how excited I am!!! My oldest daughter, Lauren, called me yesterday to say that she was ordering tickets for her, me and my youngest daughter, Adelaide to attend Beth Moore's conference in Atlanta on April 24th. Beth will be talking about her new book, So Long Insecurity.

For those of you who don't know Beth, she lives in Houston, Texas and she is an amazing woman of God. Her Bible studies are incredible and she is a wonderful speaker. Plus, she is adorable and so cute!!!!

I have had the pleasure of doing all of her Bible studies. It is hard to pick a favorite. They were all great and I learned so much from each one. No matter where I was in my walk with God at the time, it always seemed like Beth was talking directly to me each time. She is such a gifted speaker.

If you would like to read more about Beth and her ministry, please go to her blog, Living Proof Ministries.
She just started a guided study today of her new book, complete with questions. I can't wait to get my new book tomorrow and start reading it. Her book is on sale at Lifeway and I just got a 25% off coupon in the mail yesterday. Was that a God thing or what?

I don't know what I am more excited about... hearing Beth Moore talk in person or spending a weekend with my precious daughters. I am so thrilled that my girls share my love for the Lord and are as excited as I am to go see Beth in April.

We are also looking forward to meeting some of our fellow blog friends who will be there as well. If you are planning to attend the conference, please let me know and hopefully we can meet each other. Kelly (Harper's Mom) is going to be there with some of her friends. I can't wait to meet her.

I am so looking forward to being with all of my sister's in Christ and hearing Beth talk about her new book. I'm sure we have all had insecurities in our lives at one time or another. I certainly know that I have!

Take care and have a very special Valentine's weekend with your loved ones. Both of my girls and my sweet son-in-law are visiting us this weekend. What more could a Mom want? I am so blessed!!! Life is good!

Great Giveaway!!!

Hey ladies, jump on over to Monogram Chick's blog and register to win a wonderful duffel bag. I won a beautiful monogrammed market basket from her this past year and believe me, she has the most awesome gift items. I have LOVED my market basket and get so many compliments on it every time I take it somewhere.

Please remember Monogram Chick if you need a wedding, baby, graduation gift or just a special gift for yourself. She has wonderful items to choose from and your item will come beautifully packaged as well.

Best of luck and please be sure to tell her that I sent you.

Taco Soup Recipe

Since I mentioned making taco soup in an earlier post today, I have had several requests for the recipe. This is an old recipe that I have made for years and we love it!! You will see that it is so easy to make, yet it is always a hit when you serve it. This is a mild version, but if you like things spicier, just add chili peppers or jalapenos to taste if you want it really hot.

Taco Soup

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion - chopped
1 can pinto or kidney beans (I have used black beans)
1 can whole yellow corn
1 can hominy - I prefer the white
1 package taco seasoning mix - I use mild
1 package dry Ranch dressing mix
1 large can whole tomatoes - I put mine in the food processor to break up
1/2 cup salsa

Brown beef with chopped onion and drain off fat.

Add with remaining ingredients in large pot and simmer for at least one hour.

Garnish as desired with grated cheddar cheese, avocado, tortilla chips/fritos, sour cream, cilantro, etc.
Or just eat the soup as is with no garnishes!

*This soup freezes well. If it becomes too thick, add water or chicken broth.

This soup is a favorite at our house. I hope you enjoy it too!!!

Dear John...

After spending all afternoon with my parents (doctor's appointment, lunch, grocery store, Target, the bank, etc), I went with one of my girlfriends to see a great chick flick... Dear John!
It was sooooooo good and believe me ladies, Channing Tatum is sure easy on the eyes. He is so handsome! Amanda Seyfried is pretty too and has the most beautiful hair. Throw in the fact that the movie takes place in Charleston and I am a happy gal. I love Charleston!!!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Nicholas Sparks, he is from my home state, North Carolina. He is the author of another favorite movie of mine, The Notebook. I really enjoy his books and I have read quite a few sitting out on the beach in the summer. Great summer reading for the ladies.

There was not an empty seat in the theater today, so I guess everyone was as eager to see the movie on opening day as I was. The movie review I read online gave the movie a "C", but I really liked it. It was just a wonderful, feel-good, love story.... with a few twists and turns along the way. I don't want to spoil the movie for you. Please go and see it for yourself. You will enjoy it. It was a great way for me to end my day after being in and out of the rain all day. Oh, I forgot to say, we awoke to about 2 to 3 inches of snow, but the snow quickly turned to rain and it has poured all day.

I am planning to hibernate in again this Saturday and get lots done here at home. I had fun baking this morning before going out with my parents and I made a chocolate cake and banana bread. Great comfort food for the weekend!! For those of you who don't know me very well, I LOVE sweets!!!

Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful weekend. I'm sure lots of you will be attending or having Super Bowl parties of your own. Have fun, whatever you do this weekend!!!

Update on Mom!

Just a quick update on my Mom's visit to her eye doctor yesterday. I took her to see the specialist who did her retina surgery and he was thrilled with the progress she had made in just one week. Although she still does not have much vision yet in that eye, he said that her eye was healing very well. The retina looked great from where he had repaired the giant tear and he was very encouraged!

I sure hope that the good news will perk my Mom up. She has been very concerned about her vision, as we all have. The doctor said that with the severity of her surgery, it could take up to 3 months for complete healing in her eye. As a result, he cannot give us any idea as to whether or not she will regain all the vision in her eye. We just have to be patient and wait to see the outcome. I take her back to see the doctor in 3 weeks.

I am praying that she will regain more of her vision so that she can have the independent lifestyle that she so wants to have at this stage of her life. She and my father live in a patio home that they moved to many years ago and they would love to continue to live there. My father does not drive, so it is very important that my Mom get her vision back, so she can drive them around.

Thanks so much for all your sweet comments and words of encouragement ! I so appreciate your concern. Have a wonderful day! Love & blessings!