Just put on a little lipstick...

Erin and Brandon had a beautiful wedding at the Loveless Barn in Nashville. What a great couple! Hasty-Goodwin Wedding Party Erin and Jenni  Jenni, Anna, Morgan and Emri My beautiful grand-girls Jenni's interview is at 14:45   http://youtu.be/EVar-WH_Uno http://youtu.be/OTNzKDs45nk  

I have been trying to schedule all my medical appointments around visits to Nashville for events or work. This trip to TN included my yearly trip to the oncology surgeon.  After some poking and prodding I was declared healthy. Norma, my wonderful NP reminded me again of things to look for and report. I also love how the nurses add a little eye candy to each room. I'm not sure Dr. Whitworth totally agrees, but he trusts his nurses to know what we ladies need.  Thank you Nashville Breast Center!

My fabulous big sister Linda and I celebrated her 50th birthday with a trip to Chicago.  Her cousin in-law Nancy who lives there joined us, and also Lisa, Chadd and Anzel were there for a while with us too. What a great weekend of giggling, shopping, dining and exploring!  Happy 50th, Linda- I love you!

Do you ever have one of those days when you just can't get things to line up and go right? I had one of those on my recent trip to Louisiana for work. The day started with my missing my window to check my bag at the ticket counter. So I had to lug my large bag to the gate and check it there. Security confiscated and threw away my oversize (5 oz toothpaste), because clearly Crest can be a hazard. That should have been my first sign. When I arrived at the gate my flight was delayed due to weather, causing me to miss my connecting flight to Lafayette. I was given 3 standby options - each 2 hours apart. I reported to the first gate, which was changed 3 times. I felt like I was stuck in that scene in Airplane where the people are running from gate to gate as the plane drives by the window. It was so ridiculous it was almost comical. I was finally granted a boarding pass and all was well...or so I thought.  We boarded the small plane and had a very normal take off. The first flight had...

We were recently hanging out with friends and some of the moms were talking about a news story where a preschool girl was approached by a stranger. The little girl did not go with the stranger, because he didn't know the family password. Her parents had clearly taught her about stranger danger and how to know when to run for help. Growing up, we had a family password. It was mostly used when we were staying in hotel rooms. If someone left the room to get ice they would have to say the password to get back in. Ours was a long silly password, but I hadn't thought about that in years until recently. Evidently passwords are used in lots of schools and daycare settings now. I think it's a fabulous idea, so I'm spreading the word to those that may not one in place. 

It's the year of turning the big 5-0, for Bryan, Mike, Lori and Linda - among many others. You just can't let these milestones go un-celebrated so we planned a trip and met in historical Savannah, GA. We spent a wonderful weekend of shopping, exploring and of course dining at all our favorites -   The Crab Shack ,  Garabaldis  and  Vinnie Van-Go-Gos .  We walked through Bonaventure graveyard and read all the old tombstones, took a hop on/off tour of Savannah and even did the nighttime Ghost Tour. What a fun weekend to celebrate with fabulous friends! Video pending

We had some great spring break visitors this year. Deanna, Logan and Lauren came to visit. Bryan's parents came for a few days, and Linda, Alan and the boys came to stay as well. insert photos here Come visit us - We love visitors!

March 29 2014 Since Erin and Jenni were young they've talked about going to the Wizarding World of Potter. Since Erin is getting married in May they decided to take a quick trip south to make their dream of visiting Hogwarts come true. I tagged along as the official bachelorette photographer.  It ended up being a very rainy day, but these two can have fun anywhere, anytime!  Now...on to the wedding! 

March 2014 I made quick trip to the home office for my annual evaluation. Since I was so close, I drove 2 hours south to Florence to visit Amber. Her hand and foot are healing, her nose is back to perfect and she isn't having to wear her neck/back brace 24 hrs a day. We went to dinner and had a great visit!  I spent the next night with Josh, Chassi and the girls. We all cuddled on the couch and watched Frozen . All in all a wonderful trip to Nashville!  Oh yeah, and the business reason for my trip - a good evaluation!

On the actual Valentines day, we made a delicious meal and settled down to see what was on TV. I flipped on my ipad and logged in to facebook to see what cute Valentine photos and funnies were being posted by my friends. Almost immediately I had a message pop up from one of my hometown friends. It said "when did you talk to Amber last?" I had actually just texted Amber an hour or so earlier to ask if she was home. I knew she had just returned from the Westminster dog show and then left again to head to Missouri for her step-father's funeral. My friends response was one that caught my breath. She said "I think their plane just went down in Pinson, it was just on the radio."  So...I called Cindy and from there got the news that it was them and that Bam was ok, but Amber had been hurt. The next few hours were full of pieced together information.  I finally got to talk to Bam and arranged a flight to head to Nashville to see my friend.  Amber had multiple fracture...

Cleaning out the drafts box. February 2014 Bryan and I decided to avoid the crowds and celebrate Valentines day a day early with a dinner at The Vineyard . It's one of our favorite local places here in Lake Mary. We sat a table away from a couple who was obviously on a blind date. The poor guy looked miserable while the lady asked very personal questions in a very loud voice. She also clapped often to emphasize her points. At one point she went to the bathroom and we (the waitress, and other patrons) were shocked he didn't run for the door while she stepped away. He was a true gentleman to the end, of the meal anyway. Who knows if he gave her cab fare outside the door. We had dinner and a reality show without even turning on the TV!