A New Me

I cannot believe how long it has been since I've posted here. Time sure does fly! In my case, it's not so much that I've been having fun, but that I've been incredibly busy.

My title today is "A New Me". I'm not new yet, but I will be! I have recently become re-interested in a program I joined over two years ago but quit using because of my hectic life. I have found since I've gone back to it, that I have more energy to accomplish all I have to do every day.

The program to which I am referring is called Spark People. It is a totally free internet diet/fitness program, and it really works! I try to use nearly every aspect of the program to help me live in a healthier manner, but it is totally customizable to your individual needs.

On Spark People, you can track the foods you eat every day and know just how many calories, carbs, fat grams, etc. that you are consuming. This helps you know where you need to make changes in your diet. There is also a meal planner, if you want to take the guesswork out of what to eat every day.

You can also track your exercise, both cardio and strength-training. The program can suggest strength-training exercises, or you can choose your own from a large variety of choices.

There are lots and lots of helpful articles on nutrition, fitness, motivation, health topics, etc. If you read the articles, you're sure to learn something new every day!

There are also message boards where you can get to know other members and give or receive encouragement from others with similar goals.

I'm not one to promote something that I don't believe in, but I believe in Spark People! Since it's totally free, you have nothing to lose by checking it out for yourself. Just click on the link below.

Kids at Wal-Mart

The part I most enjoy about working at Wal-Mart is seeing the kids who come in with their parents ... well, the ones that behave! Like...the cute little girl I saw leaving with her mom one day as I was working at the door as a greeter. I smiled and waved at her, and she blew me a kiss. What a cutie!

One night, I was working at the monitor for the self-checkouts, and a precocious boy of about 6 or 7 came up and asked me where the water fountain was. I pointed it out to him, and he told his mom (who was using the self-checkout right in front of me) that he was going to go get a drink of water. I watched him reach the water fountain by running, skipping, jumping ... every means other than walking. When he came back, he stood right beside me and asked me at least a hundred questions which I tried to answer. When it came time for him to go, he kept standing there looking at me; and I looked at his mom for a clue as to what he wanted. She said, "He wants to give you a hug. Is that okay?" Of course it was okay, and I got a big bear hug. That made my night!

I love it when kids come through the line with their own money! Little kids who don't know what's going on to older kids who have earned their money or received it as gifts. It's great to see them learning by doing.

Then, there was the cute little couple who confessed to me that it was only their 2nd time to go grocery shopping together. They were newly married and looked so young! It was obvious they were nervous, and they even asked if I thought they had done a good job. How sweet! I'm sure they'll get the hang of it very soon.

My LAST birthday!

This past Monday, I turned 39, and I refuse to turn the big 4-0! From now on, instead of birthdays, I will have anniversaries of this last one. It turned out to be a really good birthday. I received many nice birthday greetings from friends and family, and I got to go out to eat with my two men (Scott and Sam, of course). We went to El Patio and had some deeeelicious Mexican food! As is their custom, they brought out the gigantic sombrero for me to wear in a picture. It was worth it because it came with complimentary flan.

Here is the picture taken by the manager of El Patio:



While we were waiting for him to bring us the picture, Sam played around with the sombrero.





Somehow, Sam even conned Scott into putting it on and snapped a picture before Scott knew what was happening.

Long-Overdue Update

Well, I just realized I haven't posted anything here in a really long time. So, today I will tell you all about our Christmas.

On Dec. 21, Sam was a shepherd in the Christmas program at church. Here's a picture of the scene he was in, followed by a close-up of Sam. (He's the shepherd with the blue towel on his head.)






I received a very neat gift this Christmas. Joan (who works with me at Kintronic) gave me a wooden pin carved to form the name of Jesus, shaped as a cross. I've worn it often to Wal-Mart and have received many positive comments about it.




Here's a picture of our tree. The picture doesn't capture how pretty it really is. It's a fiber-optic tree and practically glows. Sam put most of the ornaments on it and did a great job.




For Christmas, Scott gave me a delicate gold chain with a pretty little diamond pendant. It's the prettiest thing he has ever given me. For our anniversary (Jan.1), he gave me matching earrings. Here's a picture of the necklace -- I don't have a picture of the earrings yet.

Support Vance Middle School Band

I know this is coming a little late to be helpful for your Christmas shopping, but we have to do some shopping all year, not just during the Holiday season. Please read the information below and consider helping out the Vance Middle School Junior Viking Band. Thanks!


Vance Middle School Junior Viking Band


Fund-Raiser Opportunity


Attention online shoppers!! The Vance Band is pleased to announce a new opportunity for our band to earn money.


You, your family, friends, neighbors that are online shoppers or will become online shoppers can take advantage of some great savings and discounts by shopping with our online service. Edvantage® allows you to shop and save money at over 1,400 on-line merchants such as Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Expedia, Petco, Office Depot and Dell. These merchants, in return for your patronage, will return a percentage of your purchase back to our Band as a fundraiser. Each merchant also provides exclusive Edvantage® discounts and promotions from time to time which may include Free Shipping, Percentage off of Purchase and Free Products. The average Edvantage® Shopper can save hundreds of dollars per year, just by using the site once a month.

When you register for the site, you will see a list of businesses and services that are available. Unlike other fundraisers this valuable service is available to you for FREE and does not require you to purchase anything you would not normally have purchased. Registration is quick and easy. All purchases are confidential and secure. Our Band receives no information about your purchases. All we see is the amount of rebates generated by your participation in the program. Your privacy is totally protected.

Use the Alphabetical and Categorical lists, as well as, the Merchant Name and Keyword Search Features to navigate the site. Compare products and prices at multiple merchants.

Many programs will offer donations to our band by simply filling out registration forms for more information.


The band will be using the money earned from the fund-raiser to help offset costs of our spring trip and other operating expenses.


IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO RECEIVE POTENTIAL SPAM – YOU MAY WANT TO SET UP A SECONDARY EMAIL ACCOUNT FROM ONE OF THE FREE SERVICES SUCH AS YAHOO AND GMAIL.


To get started visit this website:


Vance Middle School Band Home on the Edvantage® Program


Registration is very quick and easy.


There is an video to watch about the program on the login page.


PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH AS MANY FRIENDS, FAMILY NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.

2008 Christmas Parade

This past Saturday was the 2008 Bristol Virginia/Tennessee Christmas Parade. Although it was FREEZING cold out there, I went and waited for nearly an hour for the parade to start to ensure a good spot. I had to be able to see Sam as he marched by with the Vance Middle School band!

Here's me, shivering, as I waited for the parade to start:


Here are some other people waiting for the parade to start, also shivering. On the right side of the picture are policemen directing traffic flow, trying to get the street cleared for the parade.


A family came up and stood near me. Their little boys and their dog were too cute not to get a picture.


The parade started off with a car from the Bristol VA Police Department and one from the Bristol TN Police Department, driving side-by-side down State Street.


Vance Middle School Junior Viking Band:


The band, being led by the drum major:


The brass section ... Sam is in the second row. You can barely see him between the second and third kids from the right on the front row.


I left after the band went by....so, no more pictures of the parade.

Sam's Birthday, Snow, etc.

I have been very neglectful. Sam's birthday was over two weeks ago, and I have not written about it (or anything else) yet. He is now 13 years old, and I am now officially OLD! Although his actual birthday (Nov 18) was rather non-eventful, he had a good friend spend the night the following Friday; and they had a blast with his gifts. He got exactly what he asked for: a huge Nerf machine gun and a fully automatic air soft gun. Sam has quite the Nerf and air soft arsenal now.

On Sam's birthday, we got this winter's first snow that stuck. (It snowed back in October but didn't stick.) This is what our house looked like that day.




A couple days later, it snowed even more. Here are some more pictures of snow:


This is our back deck on a snowy night.


This is looking out the front door at 6:40 a.m., while waiting for Sam's bus to arrive.


This is the view out the back door a little later in the morning.


This is on my way to work.


This is looking out the front door at Kintronic Laboratories, where I work.