Test of posting blog posts from my mobile phone

Had good luck today...

with the clothes shopping. I took my hairdresser's advice and went to Cato. They had some GOOD clearance. I got 4 shirts, 2 pair of Capri's, a pair of shorts, a necklace, and a pair of earrings for $80!!! ALL of it was on clearance! So I'm set now for my trip.

I got my hair "blonded" yesterday so I'll be a California girl.

I got some 'trendy' clothes - well, one pair of the Capri's look they have worn spots in them! So I'll be a California girl.

I will be doing laundry all weekend and getting the suitcase out to fill it up on Sunday.

I got my toiletries packed today - complete with a quart-size bag of small bottles to take on the plane in case they lose my luggage! I had plenty of help while doing this from that wild child, Zeus!

I just made a to-do list for Monday.

I REALLY need to go to bed now!

The countdown has started...

One week to go before our California trip. This time next Wednesday, Mom and I will be in a motel in Los Angeles. Hard to believe...

Today, I went shopping for some clothes... not many... just maybe a couple of shirts and shorts or Capri's... Well, let me tell you, when you are plus-sized, the choices are VERY limited. And it seems that I am in between two sizes, so the choices just dwindled to almost non-existent!! I'm far from "trendy," but was a couple of new things too much to ask for??!

Our California trip will be as jam-packed as our Washington DC trip last year. Only this time, I think there will be less walking and more driving (or maybe just more sitting in the car if the dire warnings I'm hearing about LA's traffic are anywhere close to accurate). I plan to journal here about our trip as it unfolds. I don't think I can top the near fight and the lady with the cane on the DC bus, but maybe I won't bore you either. This trip will be chock full of sightseeing AND genealogy. Something for everyone! ;)

Alas, Tracy misses all the fun again... but he's not real interested in seeing LA. I do hope to take him to the Grand Canyon one day. That is something he definitely needs to see! Daisy is going to miss me terribly... I hope she doesn't mourn too much. Tracy will come home every day to see her, and a friend is going to come over and let her out twice a day. (Oh, and for anyone who thinks this would be a good time to break into our house, let me just advise that we have a fence with an electric gate; a security alarm; a large dog; and people who will be coming in and out at odd hours. Plus there is nothing worth stealing... I wear costume jewelry and we don't have a plasma TV. You've been warned.)

Here's a synopsis of our itinerary:

Day 1, Weds, 09/29: Fly to LA, pick up rental car, check into motel, drive to the Santa Monica beach and pier, drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu and have dinner.

Day 2, Thurs, 09/30: Hollywood! Bus tour of stars' homes, wax museum, Hollywood Museum, walking tour of Hollywood, Walk of Fame (all the touristy stuff!)

Day 3, Fri, 10/01: LA Scrapbook Store, drive to San Bernardino and visit my great-grandparents' graves and where my mom went to college, drive to Redlands for the beginning of the Class of 1960 of Redlands High School Reunion weekend. A get reacquainted social this evening.

Day 4, Sat, 10/02: Bus Tour of Redlands (part of Reunion weekend), visit sites from Mom's childhood: the high school, library, her grandmother's former house, etc., scrapbook store. Then the actual reunion is this evening.

Day 5, Sun, 10/03: More sightseeing around Redlands, reunion picnic

Day 6, Mon 10/04: Drive over to Yucaipa to see where Mom grew up (or at least the area), drive back to LA

Day 7, Tues, 10/05: CALL MY HUSBAND AND WISH HIM HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! (And Happy Birthday to William Tisdale, too!) Warner Bros. Studio tour and visit Griffith Park.

Day 8, Weds, 10/06: Fly home. Hug and pet dog; pet cats; hug and kiss husband; and collapse.

WHEW!!! Are you as tired reading it as I will be doing it?!!! LOL

Stay tuned, folks.

How many scrapbooks...

A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked me how many scrapbooks I have completed. And I honestly had no idea. So I came home and counted them! Thanks to Tracy's nifty (and much needed) shelves he built for me, my albums are all in one place and easy to see... and to count!

I was shocked by the number:

In process albums: 8.5x11 = 1
12x12 = 8

Completed albums: 8.5x11 = 13
12x12 = 49 (!!!)

I had no idea! But I have been scrapping for more than 10 years now... thank goodness I have something to show for all that time, money, and space!! LOL

I had no idea...

I had not posted here in over 3 months! The time just slips by...

I really don't have anything to say. I'm on my laptop so I can't access my latest scrapbook layouts to post. I post them all on Facebook now. Maybe I'll just post some random thoughts...

Right now, I just finished watching an episode from the first season of "Veronica Mars" on Netflix. I know it's an old show, but I missed it the first time around, and I am so glad I'm watching it. I love it!

Just saw "Saving Private Ryan" on Sunday. It was a tough movie to watch (especially that first 1/2 hour), but I think it is an important reminder of what those men sacrificed for our freedom on D-Day. I cannot imagine how they felt - being cut down before they could even exit the boats. It is a miracle that anyone made it up that beach. Yet it was imperative that they do so... or the war would not have been won when it was. I literally was brought to tears watching it. And that was just a reenactment.

What other TV shows am I watching these days? Burn Notice, Leverage (my fav!), Covert Affairs (a new fav), White Collar, Memphis Beat (growing on me now that I don't automatically see Earl every time Jason Lee speaks), Rizzoli and Isles (OK), The Glades (also growing on me), Lie to Me, I Survived, America's Most Wanted, The Soup, and other odds and ends I pick up. We tend to watch more movies during the summer since the bulk of shows are in re-runs.

We watch one Netflix movie each week... This week was "Next" with Nicholas Cage. It was OK. Not a favorite. Coming up this weekend is "Iron Man." I do love Robert Downey, Jr. so I have high hopes. Caught "Music and Lyrics" the other night on network TV. It was my 3rd viewing, but Tracy had never seen it. He laughed out loud a lot and seemed to enjoy it. I love the patented dance move!! LOL

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Yes! I saw part of The Princess Bride tonight as I was flipping channels. I love that movie - one of my all-time faves! There are so many great quotes from that movie! "Wuv. Twu Wuv." "He's mostly dead." "You've been mostly dead all day." "Inconceivable!" "As you wish." LOL

I'm reading my book club book right now, "When you are engulfed in flames" by David Sedaris. Every chapter is like a short story... something from his life. He's hilarious - I've caught myself laughing out loud several times. I'm also reading (off and on) on my Kindle, "When Friendship Hurts: How to deal with friends who betray, abandon, or wound you." Enough said. I'm listening to Robert B. Parker's "Back Story" in my car. It's really good! Not only the writing, but Joe Mantegna (the actor who plays 'Rossi' on Criminal Minds) is reading it. He's good. I picked up "Twilight" on CD today to listen to when I finish my current audio book.

Mostly these days, I just piddle around the house (paperwork, paying bills, cleaning, laundry, taking care of three cats and a dog, etc.), read, and watch TV and movies. It's been a quiet summer, and I haven't had much motivation since it's been sooo hot. Also, we are broke due to... oh, many and varied reasons. So I'm not going too much these days. Occasional day trips when Tracy had keep Daisy. I am still scrapbooking... I try to go into my room for at least an hour, maybe two, almost every day. I may actually scrapbook or just put things away, but at least I'm doing something to use that nice room as much as possible.

Mom and I are going to California the end of this month (it's already September!!!). It's her 50th high school reunion and she really wanted to go. She hasn't been back to California in about 48 years, so I don't know if she'll recognize anything. I'm looking forward to seeing where she grew up, visiting her grandparents' graves, etc. And truth be told, I am looking forward to seeing Hollywood and the Pacific Ocean. We will be gone for a week, and I am afraid my Daisy is going to be VERY unhappy about it.

I do seem to have made a new friend. A scrapbooking friend that may be growing into an all-around friend. We'll see. It's looking good so far, but I have a poor track record in that area. I have learned to hold back and not get my hopes up. Just letting it play out.

We are waiting to get Tracy's CPAP machine. Then he will get a good nights' sleep every night, and so will I cause I will be able to move back to our bed! I've been in the guest room for weeks now.

Speaking of which, it is very late, and I am very sleepy. Must go make nice with that guest room pillow! I'll try not to be another 3-4 months before another post.

I scrapped today

It was National Scrapbooking Day. Our national holiday is what I call it. Every year, it gets a little smaller, a little quieter, and a little more... I don't know... subdued, maybe. I'm thinking that pretty soon I'll be scrapping by myself on this day.

I got a whopping 2 1/2 layouts done. That's right... in 11 hours, that was it. Oh and one of those still needs journaling.

It is now time to sleep... maybe I'll finish that 1/2 tomorrow...

Genealogy research trip

Mom wanted to meet in Kite to visit Daddy's grave since he has been gone a year on the 15th. It dawned on me I could go down to Dublin a day early and do some family research that I have been wanting to do for probably two years or more. I had enough points built up with LaQuinta that I could get a room for only $15!! So the plans were made!

It was nasty weather today, of course. Mom and I say that it always rains when we get together, but with the weather we've had this fall, I can't say it's our fault! It was foggy and misting rain the entire way. I still made good time once I got out of Covington (I had an eye doctor appointment! My eyes are great, BTW! Doctor was happy. Pressure was only 18 in the left eye! Damage that was there in 2007 is completely gone!) and got to Dublin about 12:30 pm. Once I found some lunch, I headed to the library to get to work!

The Laurens County Library is absolutely beautiful! They have a HUGE Heritage Room with the most helpful lady who works there. (Some GREAT customer service for a change!) I was researching my paternal grandmother's family (Drake) today, and she just kept pulling books for me! It was great! Except I ran out of time and will HAVE to come back. I really don't mind cause it's a pleasure to research here!

I looked at newspapers (Wrightsville, Swainsboro, and Dublin) on micofilm until I was cross-eyed and nodding off! But I did find one item I was looking for, and I found some other miscellaneous items. The jackpot came when the library lady found a book on the Drakes!! It is full of information about our direct line! The book was just published in 2005 and the author's address was included in the book, so I am definitely going to try to contact him and see if there is a copy available for purchase. I NEED that book!!

I really don't even know what all I found today... my head is spinning with the information. I've got to get it home and sort it all out. I do know that my re-organizing my genealogy information into 3-ring binders works great! I brought the Drake binder with me, and I was able to flip right to information I needed. I was so glad to put the system into practice and see how I need to tweak it... and the best part is I didn't find much of anything to tweek this time around!

(Except I do need to remember to pack a pencil!!)

When I left the library about 6pm, it was pouring rain! It's difficult navigating in an unfamiliar town in the dark AND the rain (even with my GPS). I went to my motel, checked in, dumped bags in the room, and headed out to do some shopping and get some dinner. I tried to go to Sonny's BBQ, but after sitting in the drive thru for 5 minutes, I finally looked up and read the sign that said "Closing at 5 today for company Christmas party"!!!! I was relieved to just grab something fast and get back here to the motel to relax.

I have to meet Mom in Kite about 9:30 in the morning. That's about 45 minutes from here, so I'd better get to bed so I can get up and get moving early!