Just put on a little lipstick...

I can't look at an Ann Taintor card without giggling and thinking of my girlfriend Kathy. We spent a lot of time in a Chicago gift shop laughing until we cried over several of her hilarious cards. I love laughing with you Kathy! http://annetaintor.com/ati/

I'm a firm believer in having girlfriends. Someone to relate to, someone to laugh with, someone to share your struggles. I have several groups of girlfriends from different time periods of employment in my life and I enjoy each and every one of them. I have a monthly dinner with some of the ladies I worked with when I was coaching at Gordian. I have another group of girlfriends from when I was at Healthways, and another from my years at Baptist. It is so nice to have made so many great friends through the years. I am very blessed to be surrounded by so many strong women in my field. I love you all - you each inspire me to be a better person in your own way. Thank God for Girlfriends!

We had a middle TN family dinner at Hickory Falls to celebrate Lisa and Chadd's engagement and to brainstorm a bit on wedding details. There are so many details to plan. Linda, Joyce, Elizabeth and I all reminisced about how many weddings Ouida and Reba did through the years. Growing up in a small town, the ladies group our Mom's were a part of facilitated all the faculty kid receptions. I don't ever remember anyone having a caterer. Until we were about 10 we were assigned to pick up cups and plates, as we aged we occasionally got to serve punch. I don't think I was ever promoted to cake detail, that was usually handled by a couple of the moms. I do have a pretty fabulous group of friends, and I may plead for them to help us pull off this Nashville reception. Of course first, we have to find a venue. That is proving to be a big challenge. Many places have been booked for over a year.

I had my follow up with Dr. Law to get the results of the MRI of my spine. The cyst on my spine has not grown any in the last year, and he still feel pretty sure it has been there since I was a fetus. He does not expect it to grow, but I will be rescanned in a couple of years to be sure. I was relieved to hear that he doesn't expect this to ever cause me any issues. Dr. Law had gotten my Dexa Scan results and did want me to do a second test to determine how fast my body is building up and breaking down bone mass. I am still awaiting the results of this test. This will determine if Actonel is the best medication to treat my bone loss with. Thank you God for continued good results!

For those of you who have asked about the results of my Dexa Scan, here they are: T-Scores: Left Hip -2.09 Left Femoral Neck -3.18 AP L-Spine (L1-L4) -0.54 Impression: Osteopenia of the left hip. Osteoporosis of the left femoral neck.

Chadd and Lisa left Nashville Friday night during the snowstorm to head to New York City for the weekend. They both love to travel and had been there earlier this year, so they went to all their favorite places and some new ones as well. Chadd knows of Lisa's chocolate addiction so he took her back to Pure Dark for some of her favorite treats. Then Saturday night they went to Convivio for dinner. Lisa said after they finished dessert, Chadd pulled out a treat bag from the candy store. Lisa told him she was too full for any more treats - except the bag contained an engagement ring ! Lisa called Dad first, and then sent Linda and I a text message that said "Guess what? The first sister that calls back get's the scoop." I called her back with Jenni jumping up and down beside me. We are so excited for them. They are perfect for each other. **As if this story couldn't get any sweeter - Chadd had talked to my Dad and is using my Mom's ring for Lisa - I know is ...

Have you ever had one of those days where you just can't stop eating? My sisters and I have a phrase for this, it is voracious ravenicitis . We learned about this disorder from watching Bewitched back in the 70s. Voracious Ravenicitis is when you cannot control yourself from constantly shoving food into your mouth. The last few days being snowed in were definitely those kind of days for me. I fixed some substantial meals, white chicken chili and roast with vegetables, yet I just could not stop snacking. I had oreos and milk, cheese and crackers. I made peanut butter cookies and finished off the chips and snack cakes. This snow has to let up soon or I won't be able to fit into any of my clothes. If I only had Dr. Bombay to come to my rescue! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSi1jtQ5oi4&feature=related