Just a short note tonight. I was visiting with Donna over at Adventures with Tassie and she had a really interesting link posted. You hit the link and answer a few questions then up pops an analysis of your brain. Tells you how much male and female brain you have. Well I followed then link and took the quiz and guess what! My brain is 53% male and 47% female!!!! I'm not sure I like that but here's what it said about me:

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female
You are both sensitive and savvy
Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed
But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

Well, after reading their analysis of my brain I'm not sure we can put any stock in the results. That is definitely not a description I would recognize as me. I would describe myself as analytical and I do wear my heart on my sleeve but level headed and savvy...... no. Any way, it is interesting so if you would like, go on over to Donna's and see what they have to say about you.

Can you believe the weatherman is talking freezing rain and maybe even snow for us by Monday. We are in the deep south here but sounds more like the deep freeze. That's it for tonight so stay warm and stay safe. Till next time - God bless.

Sharon

Chris over at Chris's Corner had this little "slam book" to fill out and it looked like fun so here's my list. I get lots of these at work and they are really a good way to learn a little about your friends.

Sport: Football, NASCAR

Color: Green, browns, red almost anything muted

Movie: Dirty Dancing, Step Mom, Lion-the Witch and the Wardrob - Love Disney movies!! And my movies need to be funny or adventure; absolutely NO horror films or other violent stuff.

Song: Amazing Grace ( I know this is one a lot of people like but it's one of my favorites), In This Very Room, the oldies but I really never liked Rock and Roll much.

American City: I like the cities with history and any with a beach

Foreign City : Haven't been to any and probably not going to.

Book: Any of The Chronicles of Narnia, Bible, Tuesday Mornings with Morie, Marley and Me.

Recent TV: Football, football, or news, Dancing with the Stars, House

Actor: Just don't follow the movies much any more but it was Mel Gibson

Actress: Anything with Bette Middler is good.

Perfume: Don't wear much perfume; usually lots of lotion with cocoa butter.

Food: dressing, banana pudding, steak, pizza (hard to find something I don't like which is a problem) and believe it or not, I'd rather have vegetables or casseroles than meat.

Car: I'd love to have a Buick Enclave or a Cadillac but I drive a Kia Sorrento and I really like my little car. It's paid for!

Condiment: Salt (sometimes I drink pickle juice because it's salty. Love , love dill pickles)

Kitchen appliance: Dishwasher!!! Can't do without that one.

Beauty product: Don my hair stylist! Without the right cut you can just about hang it up.

Piece of clothing: Big T shirts and shawls (I'm adding the next one)

Piece of clothing you hate: panty hose, girdles, bra, high heels

Male songwriter: Have no idea!

Female songwriter: Ditto

Holiday: Easter - without Easter none of the others matter!

Disney character: Goofy (That should be obvious!)

Flower: Lily - oh how I wish I had a yard filled with beautiful lillies to bloom all summer but I am not much of a gardner and neither is hubby.

Alcoholic drink: Fuzzy Navel - and lots of them! On a hot summer day, an ice cold beer! Though I really don't indulge much any more because of all the medications I take.

Non-alcoholic drink: Iced Sweet Tea

Magazine: Southern Living and Taste of Home

Male vocalist: ?

Female vocalist: Bette Middler my all time favorite!

Day of the week: Friday - Saturday

Household chore: Laudry but you'd never know from looking at the dirty clothes waiting for me to wash them!

Ice cream: Vanilla - I really like vanilla anything better than chocolate.

Candy: Butterfinger

Quote:Never really thought about this one. I'll have to find one and get back with you on this one.

You know what? That was fun. I'd love to read some of your answers so let's have it!

Awards and a new computer

Oh, boy! Let me tell you first about my new computer. I love it!!! Number one son found a deal on a really good new computer so I snapped it up. He brought the computer over last night, hooked it up, got everything installed and I'm up and running and blogging like crazy! My old computer was sooooo slow I never got all my blogging done in one evening because it just took forever for some of the blog pages to open.

Now I have some awards to pass along. Remember that I'm fairly new to this so I may not get it all right but here goes. The first one is from my friend Becky, over at YaYa's Funhouse . If you haven't visited YaYa's funhouse go by and get aquainted. She is the sweetest lady and she has beautiful new twin grandsons that are keeping her and the rest of the family pretty busy! She goes by the handle of "Lucy" as in "I Love Lucy" and though I've never met her face to face, I believe she has herself pegged! Fun is always close by with YaYa; that's why she calls her blog "YaYa's Funhouse". Go by and get acquainted; you'll be glad you did. And check out those beautiful grandbabies while you're there. Now here are the rules for the Lemonade Award:

The Lemonade Award is for sites that show gratitude and a wonderful attitude.
Rules for the award:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Nominate your favorites and link to this post.

The next two awards are from my friend, Debbie over at Confessions of a Plate Addict. Debbie is truly a class act and she know just about everything there is to know about France, china, and history of each. Since she is a retired French teacher so she can speak French and some of her comments to others who speak French are written in French! Can't read a word of it but I love to look at it and see if I can figure out what they are saying to each other. You will love roaming through her blog!! It is beautiful, interesting, and educational. She'll take you on virtual shopping trips that will make you look in the closet for what you bought they are so much fun. I know you'll love getting to know Debbie. Now for the awards!

The first one is a triple award and it is called the Sisterhood Award. Here are the rules for the recipients:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

The next award from Debbie is Proximadade Award. This award translated from Portuguese means, "This blog contributes to and supports or believes in close friendships." "This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Here's what I've decided to do. I'm listing 12 bloggers below to receive these three awards. That way, if one of them already has one of the awards they don't have to take this one - unless, of course, they want to. I get so excited to receive an award, I'd just plaster them on my blog over and over. And if anyone else comes by who would want one of these awards, by all means, feel free to help yourself!

The 12 bloggers I have chosen are - (in no particular order LOL!):

Sue -The Cotton Patch

Milah - From My Back Porch

Chris - Chris's Corner

Donna - Our Adventures with Tassie

Dot - Picket's Place

Judy - The "Deare "Diary

Apryl - The Parker Kids

Debbie - The Southern Mom

Lorrie - The View From My Door

Zaroga - Zaroga's Nook

Becky - YaYa's Funhouse

Jill - At Home in the Country

Now, I want all of my blog friends to know how much you all mean to me! Honestly, you have become like family for me. And this new computer works so fast, I'll be able to do lots more blogging in the same amount of time. Thanks, Brian, for finding it for me and for showing me the "tabs" on the internet. I was able to tab between blogs and get all this done in half the time as before. Love you! Till next time - God bless.

RV parks and awards

My goodness I've got lots to catch up on in blog world! I want to tell you a little about the RV parks we visited and then some awards I received and will be passing on. Let's start with the camping info. Charlie and I have spent the last two weekends in a row looking at some of Alabama state parks so we can decide if we want to take a short visit - or even a long one - to parks that are not so very far from home. We've just begun to explore our parks so I can only tell you about the ones we have visited thus far. Frist we went to Lake Gunterville's State Park which is actually in Albertville, Alabama. This is a fairly large park that really reminds me of the Smokie Mountains National Park. They have bike trails, hiking trails, a lake with water sports like paddle boats and fishing and they have shorter nature tails that are not too difficult to walk. I think it would be beautiful in the fall. If you want to see deer up close this is the place. The deer have lost their fear of humans and will literally eat out of your hand. Just take a look at this cutie! She was looking for a handout!

The camping areas, however, were a disappointment to us. The spots are not level and some even had potholes in the camping site. I don't know if being there in the winter had anything to do with our impression of the park or not because so many of my friends have camped there and loved it. We drove over to Nocaloola State Park (and I may have spelled that wrong) and this is a nice little park. Not very big but the sites are all concrete pads and big. This park features a large waterfall where a Cherokee Indian princess committed suicide. It has a nice playground for the kidss park is in Gadsden, Alabama. I think I'd stay at Nocaloola and visit Guntersville. They are not really that far apart.

Yesterday we visited two more parks. The best one is Lake Lurleen State Park in Coker, Alabama. Coker is just southwest of Tuscaloosa where the University of Alabama is. This was my first trip to Lake Lurleen but I really like this one. It is beautiful and the campsite are excellent. Level, look out over the lake, not too many tree and they are cut so that limbs are not a problem. The sites are really carved out of the hill side overlooking the lake and some of them - the ones on the outside rows - have their own private deck overlooking the water and steps down to the lake. Kind of neat, I thought. I'm not good with my camera but here are some of the pictures I took.

I took this picture through the windsheild of our truck but you can see one of the decks I was telling you about in front of that fifth wheel parked ahead of us. And that roadway you see to the left is a campsite. There are lots of generously sized campsites in this park and they are paved and level.

This is a picnic area - not camp sites - but I wanted you to see one of the fishing piers. There are several of these fishing piers around the lake. From the pictures we saw in the little check in station, the fishing in this lake is pretty good!

Since I want to take Cassie on some of our short visits here, I was glad to see that there are several nice play areas like the one you see here. This park is really close to where she lives anyway. If you decide to visit this park you'll probably want to eat at Dreamland Bar B Q, visit the Bear Bryant Museum at the University and then head down the road a way to Moundville. Very interesting trip to Moundville and see the early Indian relics and mounds right on the Warrior River.

The last park we visited was Tannehill State Park in McCalla, Alabama. This is a small park but chocked full of fun. There is a train for the children - or young at heart - a lovely meandering stream that goes right through the park in which you can swim, wade, or fish; a museum of iron and steel works. This furnace was very important during the Civil War as this is were the iron for bullets and such was made. The old furnace has been rebuilt and you can go through it or climb up on top of it. Then the third weekend of each month from March through October is Trade Days. Oh my gosh, you can hardly move there are so many people there and you could find just about anything you would want to buy. The campsites here are really nice; long, level and easy to get into and out of but it is a small park and the type of site we like - you know- pull through with full hookup- are limited in number. There are back-in spots right on the creek that are really nice too, and there are a good number of these. This has been a favorite spot of mine for many years since it is practically in my backyard. Unfortunately, I didn't make any pictures! I'll get better, I promise.

I know I promised awards but I've got to try and get ready for my class in the morning. I'm teaching a course this semester that I haven't taught before so I really don't know the material very well and I need to study. I'll get the awards Tuesday night since I also have to teach a night class tomorrow. Debbie and YaYa I really do appreciate my awards and I promise I'll get them on my blog this week but just don't have time to do the links tonight. With that I'll say good night to all and God bless! ♥Sharon♥

Beautiful day and a quick post

Today was just beautiful here. The weather is a bit cold but the sun was out and no rain so it was just a day to enjoy. We went to Lake Lurleen State Park to check out the camping for sping and summer. Charlie is still a bit uneasy about driving and parking that 40 foot MH so he wants to see a few places before we go. Lake Lurleen turned out to be a wonderful park. I'll post pictures tomorrow of that as well as a couple of other parks we found that we want to try, in part to get comfortable with our new accommodations.

Lately I've received some really good emails and there are a couple I want to share with you guys. Since I need to be getting my lesson ready for Sunday School tomorrow, I think I'll just share these quick emails for now. Here's the first one; it's the story of a stock boy and a checkout girl.

Kurtis the Stock Boy and Brenda the Checkout Girl

In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy was busily working when a new voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry-out at register 4. Kurtis was almost finished and wanted to get some fresh air, so he decided to answer the call. As he approached the checkout stand, a distant smile caught his eye ~ the checkout girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.

Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card, punched out, and then left. He looked at her card, BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road. Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply said it wasn't possible.

He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn't afford a babysitter, so he offered to pay for the babysitter. Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday. That Saturday night, he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The babysitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well, let's take the kids with us."

She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda brought him inside to meet her children. She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, and then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair. He was born a paraplegic with Downs Syndrome.

Kurtis told Brenda, "I still don't understand why the kids can't come with us." Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities ~ just like her first husband and father of her children had done. But Kurtis was not ordinary ~ he had a different mindset.

That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids and went to dinner and the movies. When her son needed anything, Kurtis would take care of him. When he needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took him, and brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with.

A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children. Since then they have added five more kids.

So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy at a grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa and Brenda the checkout girl? Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona where he is currently employed as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his Cardinals in the hunt for a possible appearance in the Super Bowl. Is this a surprise ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person.

It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI...and he has also been the NFL's Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player. He established the First Things First Foundation in the spring of 2001 with wife Brenda to promote Christian values and bless the lives of those less fortunate with projects such as trips to Disney World for ill children, building recreation centers in children’s hospitals, helping single moms achieve the dream of homeownership and teaching Special Olympians the football basics. All projects are centered on Kurt and Brenda’s life theme: faith and family come first. The official website is: http://www.kurtwarner.org/

You know how I love football and I knew Kurt Warner was a good Christian man but this is just a wonderful story. I'll be pulling for him in the Super Bowl.

This next one is just one of my favorites and since it requires no other explanation, I'll just sign off now. Have a great week!

I'm doing a happy dance!

I'm not the brightest candle on the cake - to say the least - and I've discovered an error in my thinking that just makes me sooo happy. I know that sounds crazy ( refer to post before last) but here's what happened. You know I've been planning to retire on June 1. Has to be the first day of the month you retire so June 1 is to be my retirement date because it gets me through this semester. For retirement purposes, your average yearly earnings are calculated on a July 1 thru June 30 basis so I really need to work through June to get a full year's worth of earnings. Until last week I thought I'd just take sick leave for that month and then someone pointed out that I'd have to have a summer contract to take sick leave. Well, of course you do! So, taking sick time for June is out of the question. I was really bummed out until it finally dawned on me that the last day of my current contract is May 14! Do you know what that means?! That means May 14 is my LAST DAY TO WORK! Can you believe that! After twenty years at this place and ten more at other stops - I'm done! Happy dance, Happy dance, Happy dance. If you could see this happy dance you'd see a big old fat woman jumping up and down like a beach ball bouncing in the surf! Thank you God!

Life really goes fast and when you hit fifty it picks up speed. It is hard to believe that all of the parts of my life that I ever looked forward to are gone. I have never really "looked forward" to retirement. My friend Judy and I used to talk about retiring. She wanted to retire but I would say, "Why would anyone want to retire? The next jumping off point is DEAD." Well, you know Judy died. She was retired for one year before she died but she retired only because she was terminally ill. Now, I'm retiring. I don't know exactly what to expect. My instruction manual didn't go this far. What I do know is, I'm delighted to be so near the end of my work years. I also know, I'm going to make the rest of my life the best of my life. When I get all the details worked out, I'll let you know.

There are very few things that I have had throughout my married life - besides Pop. One of those things is a kitchen plaque on which is a kitchen prayer. I wanted to take a picture of it and post it but the print is very small so I'll just share the poem with you. Here it is:

KITCHEN PRAYER
Lord of all pots and pans and things,
Since I've not time to be a saint
By doing lovely things
Or watching late with Thee
Or dreaming in the dawn light
Or storming Heaven's gates
Make me a saint by getting
Meals and washing up the plates.

Although I must have Martha's hands,
I have a Mary mind
And when I black the boots and shoes
Thy sandals, Lord I find.
I think of how they trod the earth,
What time I scrub the floor
Accept this meditation Lord,
I haven't time for more.

Warm all the kitchen with Thy love,
And light it with Thy peace
Forgive me all my worrying
And make my grumbling cease.
Thou who didst love to give me food,
In room or by the sea
Accept this service that I do,
I do it unto Thee.
Klara Munkres

You see, I never intended to be a career woman. I always wanted to be a housewife and mother. I was totally devoted to the idea of being a mother and homemaker. So when I read this poem, it summed up my life's ambitions. I don't particularly like the plaque itself; it isn't even pretty, but the poem spoke to me so plainly, I loved it instantly and it has been in my kitchen now for well over 30 years. For the first ten years of our marriage, I was that mother and housewife. Today when I read the poem, it reminds me of where I wanted to go with my life. And as I plan to retire from a career I really never wanted, it seems strange that where I wanted to go and where I went are so different. I never wanted to be a nurse; my mother wanted me to be a nurse. I hated every minute of nursing school. I wanted to be a teacher. But God knew what I needed before I did and in the end it has been a wonderful career. Being a nurse has allowed me to provide for my family and it has given us security that we, as a family, would not have otherwise had. For the last 20 years I've been able to combine nursing and teaching and have the best of both worlds. As a bonus, I've touched a life or two along the way and made them a bit better. I know that because I've had students and former students tell me so. So I'm grateful to God for blessing me with the career I've enjoyed for all these years. Hind sight is 20/20 and I can see all along the trail, God has been so good to me. But to tell you the truth. The absolute best jobs I've ever had are "mother" and "housewife". I'm not retiring from those two jobs! Till later, God bless.
Sharon

Don't pay the ransom --- I'm back. It's been a long time since I last posted so I'm late in getting my New Year's wishes out but here they are:

BEST WISHES FOR A VERY HAPPY 2009!!!!

WISHING YOU - IN YOUR BUSY
LIFESTYLE SOME TIME FOR RELAXATION
& REFLECTION ....

GOOD SLEEP

GOOD HEALTH WITH EXERCISE

SOMEONE TO DANCE WITH


A BIT OF ADVENTURE


GOOD LOOKS


BUT MOST OF ALL ....
I WISH YOU .....
LOTS OF BEAR HUGS ...


AND THE BLISS OF REAL LOVE


MANY BLESSINGS COME YOUR WAY TODAY:

MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE LOVE TO SHARE

HEALTH TO SPARE

AND FRIENDS THAT CARE

BUT WATCH OUT FOR THOSE BLOODY PENGUINS