A Southern Rehabilitation

Ok, it's time I get to talking about my July 4th weekend.  (week, really) This was one of the highlights of my summer, and I'm thinking one of the highlights of my year thus far. It was really good, People. The beginning of the week, I drove to Asheville and spent 3 wonderful days in a sweet little cottage on my old high school campus. It's now called Crest Mountain ... here's the link... http://www.palmhill.com/portfolio/crest-mountain/   The pretty little cottage is in a neighborhood called "The Villages."   A good friend of mine owns the house. We actually went to high school together back in the day. This is one of my favorite places to go for rest and relaxation. I just love it there. I stayed for 3 nights and enjoyed every minute of it. While in Asheville, I was invited to another celebration, Katie's mother's birthday cookout dinner. This was on Thursday evening. Katie's mother is like my mother too. Again, Katie and I have known eac...

My youngest boys have coined a phrase called, "Sneak Out, Freak Out."  What it means is something happens to make a person (usually me) just totally flip out, lose it, go all Cray Cray, go bananas, get on a rant, get all 'toe up ( torn up for those that don't understand this lingo) so to speak. You get the picture, right? Something will happen and Jared or Jacob will say, "Whooooaaaa, Mom!! You just had a Sneak Out Freak Out!" or the person that is about to go completely ape sh&* will say, "OMG! I just about had a Sneak Out Freak Out!" So this week... this last week before I go back to work... my last week of vacation...  Wouldn't you think it would just be the "bomb diggity?" Well, NO, I mean REALLY NO, it's not that way at all. For whatever reason, unbeknownst to me and every other teacher, this is like Hell Week. The dread is so palpable that it permeates the air. I get choked on it! I told myself I was going to "pu...

August 3, 1984... That's the day I got married. In 1984, August 3, was on a Friday. We were in Asheville, NC. Friends and family were with us, celebrating what we thought would be a lifetime adventure. August 3, 2014... Here we are 30 years later... yes, that's right, THIRTY YEARS of marriage would have been celebrated today. Instead, I am sitting on a screened porch at a house I am renting... alone while I write this post. J is at our house with all of our kids and he will be going golfing in a couple of hours (so says my son). We are separated and doing separate things.  I will be headed to the beach this afternoon. Was that intentional? You bet!! Last year on August 3, I was at Fripp Island with a good friend and 3 of my kids. K and J and J  It was also one year ago today that I went and got myself a tattoo! YES, I DID! In fact, my friend and daughter got tatts as well.We were sitting on the beach; we had been out in the sun for a few hours and we may ...