Kennedy Center Honors

Does anyone else love the Kennedy Center Honors tv show as much as I do? It seems that year after year I find it one of the highlights of my TV viewing. Quality performances with humble, deserving people. Why can't we have more shows that are of this caliber? I so enjoy the live music and performances. Good stuff.

Reflection and a Look Ahead.........

I know that it is a cliche' but really, where did the time go? I remember waiting not-so-patiently to turn 16, to turn 18 and to turn 21 years of age. The waiting to drive a car, order a mixed drink, vote and finish college seemed to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Now, with each passing year, time seems to fly by way too fast to suit me. How did this impatient girl turn into a reminiscent lady? It seems like yesterday that everyone was buzzing about Y2K!

I am not sorry to see 2009 go but I did learn some amazing lessons; and for that, I am grateful. My dad told me last January that this would be a defining year for me; and I think he was right.

January 2009 started with a bang. I returned from Christmas vacation and on my second day back to work over forty people were downsized. Yours truly was one of them. I had been there six and a half years and thought that I would retire from the company. I had become wrapped up in my job and it had become my identity. Almost all of my friends were work associated. The financial concerns of losing my job were also quite scary. How does one recover from such a blow? Quite nicely as it turns out.

You always hear that when tragedy strikes you find out who your friends are. This situation was no different. I am absolutely humbled and completely overwhelmed with how kind people can be. I was shown true love from people and I will cherish those precious souls forever. I also learned who is not a friend in times of trouble. And oddly enough, I am grateful for that as well.

Eight days later, I found myself in a serious situation. I was diagnosed with bilateral blood clots (PE's or pulmonary embolisms) in my lungs. By all accounts I should not have lived through this situation. Yet, I did! I spent a week in the hospital and left a few days before my doctors were comfortable. Again, during this time of trouble, I was overwhelmed by love and care and concern. One girlfriend heard the news and immediately walked out of her job during the middle of the day and drove an hour and a half to be with me. Former co-workers visited and sent flowers. My husbands work family was so wonderful as well. My family rallied and dropped everything to be with me. How fortunate to feel that kind of love I am. My sweet just-turned-twenty son stayed through the night with me and rubbed my back when the pain was so unbearable and the high level painkillers didn't seem to be helping. He fussed at the nurses to help me with the pain management. While the fussing wasn't so nice of him he assures me it was warranted. It took me over two months to start feeling anywhere near normal. I am so fortunate to have lived through having blood clots in my lungs and I do not take a day, even a minute, for granted. I have had a couple of nurses say to me that they feel that a miracle happened with me and that I am here for a reason. I submit to God's will.

Some of my bloodwork was questionable during my hospitalization. As it turns out I also have an autoimmune disorder. I am not symptomatic at this time so it is good to know to watch out for signs and symptoms so I can jump on it when the time comes.

I had to undergo genetic testing because of the blood clots. It turns out that I have not one, but three genetic markers that predispose me to blood clots! Two are paternal and one is maternal. Isn't technology amazing?! My children will soon be tested also so they can know their standings. As a result of the markers, I have been advised to stay on blood thinners for life. The blood thinners were difficult to regulate at first but I am now on a pretty normal regime. Instead of blood work every two to three days I am now at once a month. I bruise easily and am gosh darn scared of knives and the smallest scratch bleeds forever but I have learned to deal. Pretty good huh?

I like to joke that I am a little leery of the month of January now. No one can blame me right?

I discovered Facebook in 2009~! What a blessing! I have been able to reconnect with hundreds of my friends. Oh my gosh; how much fun it has been to reunite with friends from kindergarten and all through the years. Logging onto Facebook is like feeling an instant rush of familiarity and love.

I got a new job in 2009! As it turns out, I am in a much better job now with better everything! I love what I do, I love my reduced stress level, I love the people I work with. How lucky can a girl be?

We are buying a new house in January 2010! How fun and exciting! We found a darling little house on three and a half acres half way between my job and my husband's job. The house is 2000 square feet and just the right size for us now that we are empty nesters. It has a creek running through it and some amazing trees. We also have fenced pasture land. There are guineas that run through the property and deer as well. We back up to a vacant 131 acre farm that is just gorgeous. We are putting our current house on the market in late February, early March. Our current home is 4350 sq feet. I am not sure what I am going to do with all of our "stuff" when the house sells but it will all work out.

My children continue to do well and for that I am so very grateful. They are in college and doing well and are just wonderful people.

We hope to become debt free, or pretty darn close to it, in 2010. We have always paid our own way, haven't won the lottery or any settlements, so this is a big deal for us.

In reflection, 2009 has been bittersweet. As we look ahead to 2010 I suspect it will be bittersweet as well, However, with lessons learned, I think I am better able to handle what is in store. Dad was right, this was a defining year and I like to think that I did him proud.

I bid 2009 farewell and look eagerly to 2010.

Oh, and as a nod toward the future, I have attached a picture of our Master Bath Shower at our new little cottage house. I can't wait to enjoy the future!

Happy New Year Everyone! May your life be blessed with good health, friends, family and lots of love.

Profound Healing

I am almost finished reading a book; actually I should say that I am savoring a book. Profound Healing: The Power of Acceptance on the Path to Wellness is not just a book about a lady with cancer, and not just a book about health. It's a book about how to live your life in the way that gives you the most wellness. You can pick up a used copy for a good price.

The Movie Was Wonderful!

I loved it!

So, our eagerly anticipated date night last Saturday night went off without a hitch. One of the pluses of being newly Empty Nesters is that you can just go and do whenever you want. We decided that not only would we go see the eagerly anticipated movie, but that we would make an event out of the night.

There is a fairly new restaurant that I had been to several times with work friends. The food is very fresh and hip and up to the minute. I decided to take my sweetie there before the movie so he could experience the neat ambiance and try the delicious fusion cooking. We settle in, (no wait!), and already he is impressed with the place. The restaurant itself is very modern and interesting. Sweetie quickly glances over the sushi menu and moves on (ha - no surprise since I married a meat and potatoes man) and settles on beef and peppers. We order an egg drop soup that was to-die-for; one of the creamiest egg drops I have ever had. It was without that thin, slightly greasy texture you get with some egg drop soups. The entire meal was delicious and a great start to a date night. If you are ever in East Tennessee be sure to check out one of the local Stir Fry Cafe's. I have been to all but one of them and they are consistently wonderful.

We drove just a hop, skip and a jump over to the movie theater. This theater is a destination unto itself with 18 huge movie screens and an IMAX. The lobby has a food court in it! The theater seats are plush and comfy; they gently rock back and forth and the arm rests have cup holders in them. Speaking of arm rests, they also raise in case one wants to snuggle up to their date. If you are ever in Knoxville you should take in a movie at the Pinnacle 18; you will not regret it.

Down to the meat (no pun intended - ha!) of the matter! I loved this movie! Meryl Streep was absolutely amazing in this role; she became Julia Child! Stanley Tucci should also be commended for his supporting role as Paul Child, Julia's husband. Julie and Julia was a sweet, funny and enjoyable movie. I enjoyed the story of a young lady finding herself through the experience of making her way through Julia's cookbook. The sweet stories of loving relationships was a bonus; I was not expecting these pearls. Amy Adams was adorable as Julie; she played the part perfectly. This is a bit of a chick flick but I think you would find it enjoyable. It is perfect for a date night or with girlfriends or a mother-adult daughter outing. The one thing that surprised me about Julia Child, as portrayed in the movie, is that she and Paul were quite the rabbits (wink wink). Nora Ephron did a good job transitioning the movie back and forth between Julie and Julia; it was seamless! The movie did not disappoint and I would recommend it to anyone. I rate it 2 spatulas up!

We ended our evening with a trip to Calhoun's for coffee and dessert. Our waitress was darling and we enjoyed discussing the movie.

All of the anticipation leading up to the movie was not wasted. A big thank you of my own to Julie and Julia. Go see this movie or be sure to rent it later on. Oh, and invite me over to go with you!

Anticipation: Julie & Julia - The Movie

I am one of those people that has a problem paying full price for a movie ticket when I know I can see the same movie for a dollar in a few short months. Are you one of these people too? I think part of it is that most movies out these days just don't excite me.

All that changes August 7th. That's the day that Julia & Julia comes out in theaters. I am so excited about this movie! I can't decide what has me captivated more. Is it that it is a movie with roots in cooking? Is it that one of my all time favorite actresses, Meryl Streep, is in it? Is it that a blogger has her blog up on the big screen? For me it is all that and more!

To be honest, I am most excited about learning more about Julia Child. The trailer shows glimpses into her personal life and from what I have heard, Julia was a character.

It seems to me that it has been awhile since a good "chick flick" has been out. I shudder to think of the men across America that are living in dread at this very moment because they know they will have 2 hours of chick flick coming their way in August. Suck it up boys; football is right around the corner! My own sweet husband has mentioned that he can't wait to take me to the movie. What a sweetie!

So, come this August I will be shelling out some gosh awful sum of money to see a movie at the -gasp- movie theater! I am sure I will sneak snacks and bottled water into the movie my over sized purse.

So, are you going to go see the movie? Will you wait until it comes out on DVD? Julia's birthday is August 15th. I think I will celebrate that day by making something out of her Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook. How awesome to have the movie premiere one week before her birthday.

And with that I will just say, in honor of Julia, Bon Appetit!

Pecan Pie Muffins

I thought you might enjoy a little gem of a recipe. This came from a friend of mine whose daughter won a blue ribbon at the fair! I have played with the ingredient amounts as you will read below. The picture shown is when I was experimenting with different sized muffin tins so please excuse the un - uniformity! This recipe is great for a brunch. I prefer them best after they have had time to rest. In my opinion they just aren't as tasty right out of the oven. Enjoy!

Pecan Pie Muffins

2 c. Brown sugar, packed
1 c. Flour
2 c. Pecans, chopped (I load my batter down with more!)
1 1/3 sticks. butter, melted (original recipe called for cups)
4 lg Eggs, beaten

Combine brown sugar, flour & pecans; set aside.
Combine butter & eggs; mix well. Stir in flour mixture until moistened.
Fill mini muffin cups 2/3 full.
Bake 350º for 15-20 minutes or until done. (the best ones of mine took 17 minutes)
Remove from pans & cool on wire racks.

If you don't remove them from the pan they get cement hard once the sugar cools.

On a personal note, thank you to all of you that have written notes during my blogger leave of absence. I confess that my break away from the blogging world was longer than I thought it would be. I will be blogging now and then; as the spirit moves me so to speak.

Spring Sprucing and Cleaning

Hi Everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful spring. The buds here sure are looking pretty. I snapped a couple of pictures today of one of my favorite spring trees (pictured above). I love the color! The temps are finally staying up warm enough in the day to suit me and the cool nights make for good sleeping.


I am a devoted Tasha Tudor fan. I thought I would share one of her books with you. Even though this book has "spring" in the title it really isn't about the season spring. However, I love the illustrations and the book seems festive to me for this time of the year. You can click on the pictures and they will enlarge.




We had one leather recliner in our family room. Talk about comfortable!! Mmmm, what a delight! Hubby and I would take turns sitting in it and finally a couple of weeks ago I went to the furniture store and ordered another one. It came last week and here it is! These two recliners are huge and really too big to have two side by side but these face the TV and we love them so that is what it is all about right? We do feel like our grandparents now; nestling in the recliners at the end of the day. Our grandparents were smart huh?


And finally you can see a little bit of what I have been up to also. Ugh. Spring cleaning time!!! I do love getting everything clean top to bottom inside and out. This year I have someone helping me and she is a godsend. I am so tickled that we will have everything spic and span this week.

Baby son is on his way back from Europe as I type. The week has gone very fast! I am so glad that he will be coming home but so happy that he has had this wonderful experience.

I hope you all are enjoying Spring as much as I am.