Just put on a little lipstick...

The family is one of nature's masterpieces - George Santayna I was blessed with a wonderful family. None of us are perfect by a long shot, but we celebrate our eccentricities, imperfections and love each other through them. Our family is spread from coast to coast, but when we gather together it's as if no time has passed. We laugh, we hug, sometimes we cry, but we always have a great time! My mom would have loved it being at this wedding, and she is part of the reason we decided to go. Not only, because Hollis and Christy were getting married on her anniversary, but also because Mother was a firm believer in the importance of staying in touch with family. So Linda and I packed up, and drove to Greenville! We arrived just in time to check in, get a quick hug from a cousin or two, and head to the ceremony. Hollis and Christy made a beautiful couple, and the love and happiness radiating from them couldn't help but bring a...

Bryan got me beautiful birthday flowers and Catherine supplied the awesome custom made vase!

There's nothing better than lifetime friends. We know all each others strengths, weaknessess, warts and scars and we couldn't love each other more! I think next time we may need to ask for a private room though - our laughter gets a little out of hand at times.

One of my former co-workers and current neighbors had several of us over on Tuesday to celebrate two birthdays - Aarti's and mine. Thank you Aubrey for a wonderful treat!

How did you celebrate your birthday this year? I celebrated mine with a trip to the oncologist! After lab work and exams, Dr. Peacock pronounced me cancer-free! She was even pleased with my bone density test, which showed some improvement of my osteopenia.  Her instructions are for me to continue my actonel weekly, exercise daily, eat healthy, take my vitamins and 1 baby aspirin 5x weekly and to see her in one year. That's right, I get to graduate to YEARLY check ups!!!

Today I begin working on Plan B. I haven't been ready to write about this until now. I think I had to have a little time to process it all. I guess I was still living within Plan A. Plan A for my career was to stay at my job within the Blue Cross franchise and to possibly transfer to another position within the company, if my division began to have more set-backs. I have loved my job. I love working with physicians, nurses and their staff. I love helping them navigate and master the waters of electronic medical records and reports. As I have learned, life/work/nature sometimes has a different plan for me. A week before our vacation I got a call letting me know that the company was changing focus and they were eliminating my whole department. Wow! I had expected some changes this fall, but this was happening much earlier than I expected. So now, on to Plan B. The good news is, I have loved every job I have ever had. Each job I have held challenged me, helped me grow and...

There's almost nothing better than watching the sunset on the beach with my fabulous family. This night reminded me of one of my favorite movie quotes:  "Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches."                              ~From "The Princess Bride" - Wesley to Buttercup

Well, another successful family vacation is in the books! We spent a lovely week at Beyond the Sea in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. I'll summarize the highlights for those of you who are curious as what occurs on a Hall Family Vacation - After 8 long hours in the car, we always begin our adventure with a walk over to Goatfeathers for dinner. It is across from our vacation home and never disappoints with it's surf and turf offerings, and the fact that kids meals are served on frisbees is a bonus! Goatfeathers also has a great fresh seafood market we visit on the nights that we fire up the grill. The first full day of vacation - Ahh, imagine waking up at 7:00 am to the fresh Florida air...and the sound of Morgan walking around on hard- wood floors wearing rubber flippers with Emri singing at full blast. (I'm convinced Emri has voice immodulation disorder) Most mornings were spent at the pool, with afternoons on the beach and picnics, movies, bike rides and "quiet...