Lynn did a great job on these.... what do you think uncle Jon?

I'm not sure what he was thinking but it sure made a cute face.

Nothing like a ride in a wagon with a bucket of rocks

Robby is picking out lunch LOL

Panning for sharks teeth at Dan Nichols park..

Robby had a big time watching the fish and snakes in the aquarium.

He was a little nervous on the carousel, but he recovered quickly.

We had a great memorial weekend at Katmandu..we fished with Katie, Hadley & Bailey. I can't believe how much they have grown..The girls have on their fishing shirts, and lucky fishing hat.

Robby is trying to talk... and to fly!

Uncle Jon, this was the second night in a row he was able to get Madison to sleep... so proud of him self.

Look at Lynn with his newest grand daughter... it's she adorable?

Saturday night was the Valentine/Father Daughter Dance at the Matthews recreation center. This is the second year Lynn took Bailey, she has been looking forward to it since the week after Christmas when she found the "perfect dress". They danced to every song, including the electric slide (I would have given money to see Lynn doing that) she dipped marshmallows in the chocolate fountain and make a heart craft... it was a great night to be Bailey.

We have a new little girl to fawn over, it's she adorable... Madison Ann Joiner. Lynn is so proud!

My entry to Jane's journal page challenge.. The theme was Tweet.. Jane will bind the book and auction it on ebay with the proceeds donated to charity.

OK, so I spent Wednesday licking my wounds over another layoff.. is there a record for a person being layoff the most in 90 days? I'm sure if there is it's more than 2.

Now the job search is on......... no more whining.. (even though I really like it at Clear Channel) ..The universe is tell me there is something else I'm meant to do...

I just have to find it.. Wish me luck!

Sunday morning... we are dring tea while Robby eats a banana and watches Thomas the Train for the 10th time...

Tracey & Bob...


Robby loved the Train his Aunt Brittany gave him..




Very cool 2009 silver balloons, they looked beautiful in Brittany's livingroom.

She looks like a present...

Christmas program 08

Bailey's second grade class.. Christian & Gray
enjoying an early presents..

Sweetest girls I know...and my wonderful husband.. I'm very lucky.

Justa few Christmas pictures...

My sister sent these to me...

Cool..........................

After we saw these adorable snowmen on the cover of the November issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, Bailey and I started looking for little bottles. At first our bottles where too big, we only had enough beads to fill one bottle... S0 we made a trip to Value Village... (not like we needed a reason) we found little liquor bottles, Crown Royal, Gin & Wine. for .60 cents each, what a deal!! We used the top of the bottle for their hats...

We filled the bottles with pearls, glass glitter (Pam & Jason found it for me on their trip to Germany last Christmas) and silver beads (from broken jewelry). The heads are made of air dry clay, rolled in glitter flakes, we used stickers and left over Christmas tinsel.

I found this last night on Etsy...

I think is says it all....

The artist name is Marisa Allegra Williams

I think it says it all.......

Today is the last day of early voting in NC...I want to encourage all my friends to VOTE... not just vote but... vote for a change........ Our vote really matters this election... more that ever before. You don't have to agree with everything Barack Obama says, you don't have believe everything he says he will do, but you have to agree we need a change in the direction our country is headed... a change in our leadership... I hear it and feel it every where I go... we want out of this War, we want out troops home, we want our teachers paid higher wages, we want more manufacturing back in this country, we want to be able to afford health care. I want a person running my country who knows what it's like to be raised by a single mother, or grandmother, to know the sting of racial abuse, who had to work for a good education. I want that person in charge...He wants what I want.. a better life for our children and our grand children...I don't think Obama can fix much in 8 years... but all I'm hoping for is that he can start a positive change that will continue... If you think McCain is the answer... I will have to quote Dr.Phil "how has that been working for ya"!

Friday was the first day to vote early...I'm glad we had the chance to go and get ahead of the crowd...

Friday night Carla & I had sushi, then we went to see "W" at the theater..... bless his heart!

Images from the deck of our mountain house on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It has been a very interesting few weeks... It has taken me 50 years to learn when to just let go....



Something good should come from it.........let this be a lesson...


When the little voice in your head starts screaming "get the %$#@ out of here" pay attention... I shouldn't have been at the TCO one day much less three years. I kept hoping it would get better, surely "it can't get worse" Oh Yes it can... I kept thinking surely someone would realise how horrible it was. How after years of not motivating employees, low pay, and no support the the good employees would leave... leaving support people who only cared about covering there A$% and blaming others.. Surely at some point someone would realise when you constantly have to give clients refunds because the customer start date was just a suggestion to the operations department. Or when the egos of the not much more than minimum wage employees, who shouldn't work anywhere where they would have to look at others people much less be expected to help someone, becomes the driving factor on weather business is ordered, delivered or gets thrown away. Surely someone would realise when 50% of a department has files complaints to the HR department on the same person, that something needs fixing. Or that the sales assistant's main job was to avoid doing anything... except using HIS time making sales people feel stupid & inadequate .




You would think the new manager in a department SHE knew nothing about and should never have managed, would be interested in the input from HER employees...




I'm so glad to be out of there....people starting turning on each other... ex-sales manager went from golden haired girl to being on the short list, the DOD was in so much hot water with HR he had to leave the STATE not just the company... and a manager (who I considered a close friend) of another department got a hard on for the vacant Directors job.. use her dumbest salesman to set up her friend (who had always defended her to others) with a known difficult customer to prove to HER BOSS that the department desperately NEED HER to fix the department & make HER enough money she could retire to the mountains earlier than planned.



But as John Lennon wrote..."Instant Karma will hit you up beside the head....Last I heard she was sent to the Siberia office (Matthews) to manage the sales people she has been talking trash about for years.






WOW!!!!!!!!!!! that felt great.................now I never have to think about it again.