Just put on a little lipstick...

Watching the " Biggest Little Farm " documentary can truly change your life. It got me out of my comfort zone and reconnected with nature in a way I never imagined. 

  Today I volunteered with Hands on Nashville and the Mayors office to assist the Metro health department with COVID vaccines for first responders. To say it was emotional would be an understatement. Physicians, Nurses (Meharry), Alive Hospice, State Troopers, EMTs, COVID testing staff, etc. These people have seen so much, and they were thankful and hopeful and yes there were tears.    One of the older public officials said he didn’t deserve to get a vaccine because he had been one who hadn’t taken this virus seriously for far too long. As he learned this virus does not follow political, ethnic or religious lines and it will/has affected or even taken someone we all love.  280+ vaccines given by days end at our location, and the vials had some left that had been thawed so we volunteers were offered a vaccine too. It was a good day!    They are going to need all the hands they can when they begin to vaccinate the public so I told them I would spread the ...

Adding a few new virtual museum tours!                 https://www.topreviews.co.nz/best-virtual-tours-new-zealand/               https://www.bestinireland.com/best-virtual-tours-ireland/'               https://www.bestinsingapore.co/best-museum-singapore/ Thank you to Good Housekeeping for this list!   Museums The Louvre:  You don't have to book a ticket to Paris to check out some of the famous pieces in the world's largest art museum. The Louvre has  free online tours  of three famous exhibits, including Egyptian Antiquities. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum:  The works of Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian ,  Jeff Koons, and Franz Marc are just some of the 625 artists whose work are a part of the Guggenheim's  Collection Online . Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History:  Move at your own pace through the 360-degree room-by-roo...

I've noticed lately when I stay inside all day I pay more attention to my breathing. Am I short of breath? Am I breathing deep enough? Any chest tightness? Just hearing the symptoms of COVID-19 have me assessing my respiratory status. I guess it's a side effect of 30+ years in healthcare.  One of my favorite songs out now is by Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real "Turn off the news and build a garden".  Turn off the news  - a simple request  and build a garden  or at least get outside. When I am outside with my hands in the dirt, I rarely think about my breathing. I spend my time digging up monkey grass, relocating bushes and making new flower beds. After a few hours with my hands in the dirt, I come inside and find it easier to breathe and relax.  If you haven't heard this song - take a listen! Then go outside, or at least take a walk and admire the scenery.  Turn off the news and build a garden Lyrics: I believe that every hea...

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me  "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” ―  Fred Rogers

We grew up in a small town with a great big heart. The main reason for that big heart was because of our Henderson Mamas . It didn’t matter what day or time it was, if you were out of your house there was always a Mama looking out for you. In our group it was Doris, Judy, Ouida, Linda, Jackie, Dorothy, Reba, Lora, Jane, and Jeanne–and those were just the Mamas of girls!  When we were young, these ladies were our Brownie troop leaders, taught our bible classes, threw our birthday parties, watched our swim and tumbling lessons, and made our Halloween costumes. They also volunteered us to pick up cups and plates at every wedding shower, reception, or ladies day. We picked up a LOT of cups and plates through the years! What they may not have realized is that while we were picking up all those cups and plates, we were watching and hearing them giggle, talk, and share their lives. They taught us a very important lesson: they taught us what true friendships look like.  As we gr...

I grew up with these beautiful ladies in Henderson, TN, aka small town USA . We share so many memories of childhood, school, youth group and summer camp. We try to get together every month or so to catch up. It's wonderful to have such a fabulous group of supportive small town sisters to gather and do life with!  I also know it would would make Judy, Ouida and Reba happy to see us together! 

In June of 2017 Josh accepted a job in Kona Hawaii with Big Island Electric. They had a couple of big contracts that they needed someone with Josh's abilities to get completed. Josh and Chassi thought this over and decided this would be a good adventure for their family. One of Josh's favorite movies (and tattoos) is " Joe vs the Volcano ", so this seemed so appropriate. They sold most of their possessions and flew across the ocean to settle in the little community of Waimea . Waimea is on the big island of Hawaii, just up the mountain from Kona. Hawaii is the largest and least populated of the islands and also has the least number of "mainlanders" - that's what Hawaiians call us. They have mountains, ranches and active volcano and of course many beaches. When Josh and Chassi are not at school, and the girls are not in school, they are out visiting ranches, hiking, swimming and exploring.  Josh and Chassi have both expressed that this has been a b...

Has it really been over a year since I blogged? 2017 brought precious time with family and friends full of laughs, a few tears and of course change. Change seems to be the only constant in the world these days. I took a position in March of 2016 with a company that has a very important and noble mission to help and support patients through their last year of life. I had the privilege of working alongside some of the best palliative physicians, practitioners and support staff in the nation. It was a whirlwind year and along with my fabulous professional development team we on-boarded over 300 new employees, installed, activated and trained a new phone and documentation system, instituted monthly lunch and learns, and set up and offered continuing education for all employees. I have worked in very supportive high growth companies before and instituted these and additional programs, but this one brought with it some complicated challenges in culture. After a year I paused and evaluated...

If you know me, you know how much I love Google! This video shows 2017 in google search. This gives me hope that people in this world are still curious, they want to help others and they are ready to move forward to make this world a better place. #makeadifference 

How many of us grew up in the car in this episode?! Ours came from "Downtown Motor Company", otherwise known in my family as Granddaddy's car lot . If the sun hit the door just right you could see where it once said "Sisters of the...", because it used to belong to a convent. Many wonderful memories were made on trips in that car! Take a coffee break and watch:  http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/sarah-jessica-parker-a-little-hyper-aware

My lifetime friend Joyce is married to Tim, a brilliant cardiologist. Tim also happens to be a very talented photographer and he snapped this photo of Amber and me at Lisa's wedding a few years ago. A week or so before Christmas I received a framed copy in the mail and it now has a special spot in my living room. Thank you Tim and Joyce for capturing this special moment/memory on film!

I was having a rough day, and then I found this in my purse. Morgan, my middlest grand-girl has the sweetest heart! Last week we nailed down the date for our annual family vacation, and as you can tell they are a little excited.

One of the charity events that we always love attending each year is the Holiday Howler . This event is put on by the Brown Dog Foundation, and they use the funds raised to help families with their furbabies medical expenses.  I had some money to donate in Amber's memory and gave part of it to this great charity, and a couple of weeks later I received an email titled this:  For those of you who grew up in Henderson you'll remember Leo was the name one of Amber's favorite pets. Her beloved Weimaraner!  In December Leo was also a sweet dog in California who has diabetes and he and his owners needed some help with his medical expenses. The donations from this year's Holiday Howler helped Leo get the lifesaving medications he needed.  Brown Dog Foundation

If you've read any of this blog, you know I am a believer in signs . I never know exactly where they come from (God, the universe, mother nature), but I enjoy them and they are comforting to me.  A few days after Amber's death I realized I needed to get out of the house. The thing about grief I've found is that you just want to curl up in a ball to cry and sleep and if anyone would tell me to snap out of that, it was Amber. So I got up, got dressed and headed to wander some of our favorite second hand stores. We had several stores in Florence and Nashville that we always explored when we were together. These stores don't have "new" items so you never know what you might find, and that is why we loved them so. I walked in the door and the first thing I saw was a rack of Christmas ornaments and the first one was this: Of course I burst into tears and went back home. After a few days I went back and the ornament was still hanging there waiting for me,...

We camped, we rode bikes, we laid in the grass looked at stars and dreamed, we survived zits and bad haircuts, we went to concerts, we loved Wonder Woman, we double-dated, we saw Raiders of the Lost Ark 6 times, we debated who would marry Starsky and who would marry Hutch, we were terrified of Jaws and Jason, we loved high school football games, summer camp and singing about heaven, we studied (some), we ate a lot of chicken fingers and hot fudge cakes, we sang a lot of 80s songs, we were part of the 4 musketeers (Kim, Allison, Amber, Laura), we planned reunions, we got married, we became moms, we loved watching our children grow, we had surgeries, we changed each other's dressings, we snuck each other out of the house (before medically recommended), we both dealt with cancer on our own terms, we always supported each other's decisions, we cherished our friendship, we cruised, we danced on the beach in Mexico, we rode every coaster in Orlando, we laughed a lot, we cried...

January 29th-February 2nd: Amber has some fantastic travel agent sisters, and they arranged a cruise for some of their high school classmates to get away, relax and reconnect.  We started our adventure in New Orleans at Hotel Monteleone , had a great Cajun dinner and explored New Orleans.  The next morning we boarded the Carnival Elation for lots of great dining, music, comedy and fun! The Carnival Elation took us from New Orleans to Cozumel and back and while in Cozumel, Phyllis arranged for a private catamaran trip with snorkeling. What an awesome trip with lifetime friends! If you need a great group trip arranged, contact -Phyllis Leigh Simpson:  http://www.ohtheplacesyoullgo.net/

Florence, Alabama - not Italy Bryan and I were unable to arrange to be in the same state for New Years Eve, due to work schedules, so I headed to Florence to ring in the new year with Amber, Bam and Connor.  We celebrated with a delicious dinner and awesome southern rock music at Flobama . Happy 2015!

Annual shopping trip to Phillips Toy Mart Bryan flew up from Florida and we spent the holidays with family and friends.  Morgan, Anna Belle and Emri The Hodges were out of town and graciously offered us their house (and doggies) so we could have plenty of room to celebrate.  Chassi and Josh, Alex and Jenni Thomas and Hall celebrations! We are very blessed and it was a super holiday! Anzel - the newest family member

Jenni, Alex and I drove to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with Bryan.  We also fit in a trip to Universal while we were there!  Entering Diagon Alley It tastes exactly as you would expect.