Sunday, December 30, 2007

Day 3

Well, I'm sitting here on the couch still. I haven't finished Lost yet. That's good though. Pete has been over here. We've been playing a marble game and Monopoly. I beat him at Monopoly. We're about even in the marble game. Kelly won't come back from Virginia until later today.
Wes came home early yesterday because he is still sick. He's going to get medicine today after work. He says it won't help, but after three days of suffering, I think he'll try it now. Now that I can walk, I'm doing more now. I can get up the stairs and take a bath by myself. I'll still have to rely on him to go places and to get to work.

So tomorrow, it's back to work.

More later when I actually have something interesting to talk about.

:)

Saturday, December 29, 2007

I survived....

Well, I'm still alive. Not kickin' though.... Surgery went pretty well. I think it's a bit harder this time because it's my right foot. I think I rely on my right side more than my left. Anyway, Thursday was rough. When I had the first surgery, I doubled up on the pain medicine. This time I didn't and around 3pm on Thursday, I was in terrible pain. It was true torture!!! I then doubled up and took the wrap off and immediately I felt relieved. Yesterday, I had a terrible headache. It took forever to fall asleep. Wes is taking good care of me. Unfortunately, he is sick with a head cold. I feel bad for asking him to do things for me, because he is sick. But he has been great! Now, I can get up and down the stairs and to the bathroom by myself (by hopping and "scooting' up the stairs).
Pete came by last night to check on me. Kelly went to Virginia this weekend to visit her mom and friends. This is the first time she's been there since moving here. She'll be back on Sunday. So, now I'm sitting here by myself and watching TV. I'm going to watch LOST again. But Girl, Interrupted is on FX. I'm watching it right now.
So anyway, I'm not going anywhere....

Couch potato's unite!!!!

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Surgery today....

My second surgery is today at 9am, on my right foot. I'm working my show and then leaving as soon as it's over. No more driving for me. At least for a few weeks. I'm not looking forward to it. I will have to depend on Wes to take me to work. I can't go to the gym or anywhere else on my own. Oh well, at least I'll have time to watch LOST and my new DVD's I got for Christmas.... Mom got me Fraggle Rock!!! I love Fraggle Rock!!!!!!!! Believe it or not, I still have not seen the Passion of the Christ. She bought that one for me too. We also got a new DVD player/recorder. No we can TiVo stuff and burn it to DVD's. Mom made us some new dishes in her ceramics class also. I picked the pattern out. I love them. (She doesn't so much. She asked me many many times if I was sure it was what I wanted!) Kelly gave me a candle warmer. You can melt the candle wax without burning it. It lasts longer and makes the room really smell good!! Wes and I bought our new D70 for our Christmas. That was our gift to each other.
I started taking the Christmas tree down yesterday. Since I won't be able to walk for several days, I thought I better do it now.

More later, when I turn into an invalid..... wish me luck.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

More pics....

Me & Wes in front of the Peabody Tree




Decorations in the Peabody



Dad "sleeping" at Grandmother's




Aunt Tammy


Pete & Kelly (taken before we left)

Christmas In Memphis....

Wes' Grandfather (sitting), Jacob (Holly's husband) holding Sam, Holly (Wes's cousin) holding Sadie

Me & Wes at the Brazilian restaurant


Johnathan, Wes, & their Dad, Steve


The ducks, leaving for the night.



Sadie's First Christmas (10 months)


Tobin's First Christmas (This is Wes' cousin Kindy's son-7 months)


The Peabody sign


The ducks coming off the elevator.



The Peabody Hotel Lobby




Ashley, Holly, Kindy, Wes & me on Beale Street. (Wes's cousins)


The big Christmas Tree in the lobby.


Merry Christmas!!!

So here we are again. We're back in SC. I'm sitting on the sofa watching LOST Season 3. Wes is at work. He won't be home until around 4pm. Phoebe and I slept late and then made some muffins this morning.

We had a wonderful time in MS this week. We left on Tuesday around 6pm. When we were about 30 miles from the Alabama line, there must have been an accident. We stopped in standstill traffic and didn't move for an hour. Three tow trucks passed us on the shoulder. We stayed there because we thought they were about to clear the road. This was not the case. I called the station and asked Kristy, one of the am producers, to look at Georgia's DOT website and see what was going on. The website said there was a major accident and the clearance time would be 3:45 am. It was 12:30. UGGH!! We turned around by cutting through the median and got off the interstate. We took a small highway and got behind some trucks who seemed to know where they were going and got around it. Of course, this put us an hour behind. We got home at 4:30 am. We slept until around 10.

First we went to Mrs. Walker's and Papaw & Virginia's. That night we went to Wes' parents for dinner. Wes's dad wasn't there. He was on a flight and wouldn't be back until the next night.... The twins opened their gifts from us. We got them a "yard of bubble gum." We also got Wes' parents a Paris calendar and some tea from the Charleston Tea plantation. They got us a knife block we wanted. Here's some pics....


Me & Mrs. Walker




Drew posing for the camera.


Gage hiding from the camera.

Kelly & Ava


Wes on battery duty


On Thursday, we ate at Wes' grandmother's for lunch. His cousins Tyler and Anna came over. Then we ate at Mom & Dad's. Papaw & Virginia came over for a little while. Dad fried a turkey for me since I didn't get one for Thanksgiving. It was yummy!!!

Papaw & Virginia

Me & Daddy

Christmas Tree



Mom & I peeling potatoes


On Friday, we went back to Wes' parents for a little while. Then we ate at my Grandmother's house. My Aunt John and Uncle Chris were there, as well as my Aunt Tammy. (Hi Aunt T!!!) We ate ham and some delicious roasted sweet potatoes!!! Yumm!!!


Dad & Cally



Me & Daddy



Mom & Uncle Chris



Aunt Jon and Grandmother

Saturday, we woke up early and drove to Memphis. We drove thru a part of Mississippi that I had never been to. We drove Hwy 45 up to Tupelo and then got on 78 that cut across to Memphis. I had never been to the southwest corner of MS before. Nothing special though. It looks the same. Anyway, we stayed at the Peabody hotel. It was beautiful! We met Wes' family for a reunion. We ate at the hotel for lunch. They reserved a meeting room. Wes and I explored the hotel. We went to the roof and saw where the ducks live, the views from the top and the Peabody sign. At 5pm, we went to the lobby to watch the ducks "waddle" into the elevator to their "duck palace." There was a "duckmaster" who talked about the tradition and escorted the ducks to the roof. It was funny. The lobby was beautifully decorated with several Christmas trees and this huge "eatable" santa. That evening we went over to the Rendavous BBQ restaurant. It's a famous BBQ place. It was WONDERFUL!! I ate a full rack of ribs. They were excellent. After that we went back to the hotel and sat around and talked till around midnight. While we were hanging out, Wes's cousin's son, Sam, was playing with his Grandmothers phone. I got the phone number and called him. I pretended to be Mrs. Clause. He thought it was the greatest thing. He was so excited, that he hung up the phone several times. I called back 15 times probably. It was really fun. Sam jumped up and down and laughed evertime the phone rang. He told me what he wanted for Christmas. Everybody thought is was great. The whole time, I was sitting a few feet away from him.


Getting back to Wes's Dad, he was delayed in Dublin, Ireland for an entire day. He was supposed to get back home on Thursday night. He didn't make it until late Friday night. This put him behind in getting to Memphis. He had to do a couple of things at home, so he didn't get to Memphis until around midnight, Saturday. We stayed up to wait on him. The next morning, we ate across the street from the hotel at a place called the "Texas de Brazil," a Brazilian steakhouse. It was awesome! It's the first time we have eaten at a place like that. They served meat at the table. Every type of meat too: Filet Mignon, steak, chicken, pork, sausage, everything. We stuffed ourselves. It was great.


We weren't going to stay for lunch because we had a 11 1/2 hour drive ahead of us. We were going to leave around 9am. But since Wes' Dad was late getting there, we decided to stay. We didn't leave Memphis until around 2:30. This would put us getting home around 2:30 am. I decided to sleep as much as possible in the truck. But for some reason, I couldn't. I only slept about 3 hours total. We stopped in a little town called Columbus, NC for gas. I went inside the store to use the bathroom while Wes got gas. He came inside and we got a drink. He suddenly realized that he didn't have the keys........ Yep........ We were locked out!!!! Wes called USAA and they sent a locksmith. It took nearly an hour to finally leave. And this put us getting home around 3:30 am.... I usually get to work at 3:30... We got home, I brushed my teeth, put on a different shirt, and went to work. Wes unloaded the truck and went to sleep. He had to be at work at 9am. I got to work around 4. Luckily, Kristy was doing both hours of the show. (It's easier on me when there's only one producer.) After the show, I took a nap in my car. Came home, unpacked everything, then went back to sleep till about 5. Wes and I made pigs-n-a-blanket and rotel dip for dinner. Then we went to bed. We were exhausted.


So now I'm here, watching Lost with Phoebe and waiting for Wes to get off so we can open our gifts and make chili for dinner. Then it's back to work tomorrow. I'll post some pictures from Memphis next.


Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

PS: My surgery on my right foot is Thursday. Wes is off on Thursday and Friday.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Festival of Lights Pics






Here's one for you, Mom!!!


Friday, December 14, 2007

Tidbits and Tea

It's so warm here, Wes & I washed our cars yesterday!! I never wash my car. It's probably been 8 or 9 months!! As a matter of fact, this is the second time I've washed it since we've been here. (We've been here almost a year.) It was terribly dirty!! Having a clean car isn't really a priority for me. I do keep the inside clean and maintain the engine and all that, but I don't care much about the outside. My car is white also, so it really shows dirt... Anyway, we had fun.

PETE CAME HOME YESTERDAY!!!! He's done with training. He should start work on Monday. The four of us went out to eat last night. We took them to Gilligan's, a local seafood place. Sunday, we are going to the Festival of Lights. One of the local county parks creates a really huge display of Christmas lights. It's set up as a 3-mile drive through the park. They also have a radio frequency you can tune into to listen to Christmas music and info while you drive through. Some of the displays are locally inspired, like the Cooper River Bridge and the historic houses and plantations. We've never been, but we've heard it's really great. We got a free pass from the station. (I love free stuff!!)

I've been REALLY busy at work this week... We just redesigned our graphics. It's been a bit hectic, but I think we pulled it off pretty well. They look really good. We went on air with them Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning was my first taste. I came in early, but was still behind because the producers were taking their time with scripting. They were having to do a lot more work though, so it's understandable. After that show, the morning crew had a little Christmas party. We did the secret santa thing. It was fun... Ryan, the other director I work with in the AM, got my name. He's the one I work with most. His girlfriend works at World Market, which is my favorite store. We've talked about how cool that store is and I told him once about my favorite Christmas candy they sell. That's what he got for me. It was great!! I picked our Live shot guy/Photographer's name. I didn't have a clue what to get him because he's always out of the station and never in here goofing off, so i didn't know what he liked. I ended up getting a cool Best Buy gift card. The one I picked out had a ticker that you could customize with whatever message you wanted... I thought it was cool. Here's a pic of all the folks I work with in the AM:



(Back l-r) Brandon, Johnny, Danny, Johnathan, Jason, (standing 2nd row) LaSandra, Ryan B., Kristy, Marcos, Amanda, Jenny, Brad, Garren, (kneeling) Ryan S., Bill, ME, (In front) Bobby.

It's a little fuzzy, but you can make it out okay...

Tomorrow night, Wes and I are going to his station's Christmas Party. Their party is at a nice restaurant on one of the islands. (James Island, Johns Island... I can never remember which one is which.) My station doesn't have one, but they did give us a $45 certificate for a Ham at Honey-baked (for Thanksgiving actually), a $50 Gift card to the mall nearby, and a nice fleece jacket with the stations logo. That's great, but a party would be nice too. In Birmingham, the station threw a party with really good catering, and gave everyone a $100 gift certificate (one year it was Target, the next it was a 100 dollar bill)

A few weeks ago, Wes & I went to the Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island (about 35 mins away). It's the only Tea plantation in North America. It was really neat. Of course, it's not harvesting time, so we couldn't watch anything happen, but we got a personal tour of the factory and got to sample some tea. (I'm not a tea drinker, but it tasted pretty good.) We were the only ones there for a while. They grow and harvest tea leaves for their brand "American Classic" tea. They make black tea and flavored teas as well. We got some to keep and to give as gifts.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Holiday Blues.......

Not much going on lately... Holiday Blues I guess. I bought our last Christmas gift yesterday... For my Dad, the hardest person to buy for.. It took me weeks to think of something to get. I've done the gift card thing many times before. We didn't have a lot of money to spend this year, but I didn't want to just settle for something. Anyway, I think he'll like what I got him.. It's nothing special, but it's from me. That's all that matters.

Can you tell the holiday blues are setting in...

Yesterday, Wes, Kelly and I went to a stingrays game... It was fun. They won 5-2. What was weird was there were several fights that were so fake looking. I've been to many hockey games. Usually they just throw down or are chest to chest cussing and screaming at each other..... But in two of the fights last night, the players took off their helmets, gloves, rolled up their sleeves, and circled each other fists out several times before throwing a punch. It was like we were at a boxing match. The other players just stood around to watch. Some even took a knee. The ref's don't break fights up until someone gets the advantage, but this was just strange. They let them circle and then punch each other until they started rolling around.
Anyway, we had a good time. The tickets were free.


Some good news from Wes' side of the family. His cousin Tyler has been chosen to go to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. This is a huge honor!! The only way you can get in is with a nomination from your state's senator. Tyler is real involved with the Civil Air Patrol. He is one of the highest ranking in his area. Congrats to Tyler!!!!

COUNTDOWN TO GOING HOME: 9 DAYS!!!

Monday, December 3, 2007

stuff...

Had an eventful weekend... Friday, Kelly & I went downtown to get our race stuff. I didn't know that this was her first race. She enjoyed it. Amy, a friend from work, rode with us. I finished at roughly 36 minutes. I intended to do better, but I stepped in a hole right after Mile #2 and my knee was hurting the rest of the race. I had to walk for a little bit, and I couldn't recover. Oh well... I know I can do it on a treadmill!! Kelly and Amy were about 3-4 minutes behind me. Here are pics...

Me & Kelly


Me & Amy


Also on Friday, Kelly & I went to this Christmas show called "made in the south." It was a "flea market" like show at the fairgrounds. Vendors were selling Christmas decorations and other homemade things. It was really cool. I bought a wooden hand carved Christmas ornament, shaped like Mississippi, with cotton and a steamboat carved inside. There was also someone there selling fudge... It was SO GOOD!! We both got some. Kelly found a lot of things for Christmas gifts too. We were both hungry when we got there and filled up on dip, soup and sauce samples! Fudge was dessert!!

On Sunday, I caught up on my Dirty Jobs episodes! (I love Mike Rowe!!) I haven't been able to watch them on a regular basis because I started Alias again during my first surgery and was determined to finish it. I did finish it last week and began watching LOST season 2 again. I finished it off this weekend as well. SEASON 3 comes out next Tuesday!!! I pre-ordered it off amazon six months ago! I can't wait!!

COUNTDOWN TO GOING HOME: 15 DAYS!!!
Wes and I are more than ready for a vacation!

Friday, November 30, 2007

Dalton update

Becky said yesterday that Dalton is doing better. He will *hopefully* get to go home this weekend. He has suffered no brain damage and is opening his eyes and smiling. Thanks everyone for all your thoughts and prayers!!!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Little Dalton

Little Dalton is hanging on. Becky emailed last night with new pictures. For those of you who I haven't talked to, Dalton is Wes' brother Kevin and his wife Kim's new baby, born on the morning of the 19th. (They also have a daughter, McKenzie) Dalton was born about a month early, but healthy. Later that evening, he began to get sick with an infection and fever. He has been in the NICU and isolation since and his chances for recovery have been fluctuating. Thankfully, he made it through the weekend. Becky's last update sounds promising. They are at Women's Hospital in Jackson. Please continue to pray for him and Kevin & Kim.
Here are pictures from the Hospital:

Kevin & Dalton


Becky holding Dalton


Thursday, November 22, 2007

Turkey Trot....

Here are some pics from our "trot" through downtown this morning... It was a bit overcast, but nice and cool. We had a good time "trotting" through downtown and playing with our new camera.

Near the Starting Line, Marion Square is on the right (out of picture)




Meeting Street




A traditional Charleston row house




The old Citadel at Marion Square (it's now a hotel)





King Street


Trotting along through the historic homes and buildings