Magnolia Mom

Like I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been super busy with soccer league pictures. I finished up last night with taking the pictures. Now I’ve got to finish going through the pictures, editing, posting to galleries, sending emails, and placing orders. Then, start deliveries. Lots of work. I’m just happy that I was able to take all the pics on schedule. No rain outs!

I’ve got several posts in the works, but I just gotta find time to get them finished up and posted. I was looking at my blog earlier and realized that my header has a Corgi on it. WOW! I got a huge lump in my throat, realizing I don’t have a little black Corgi at my feet tonight as I sit and write this post. Tuesday after writing my last post, I cried much of the day. In my peripheral vision, I’d see something white and black on the floor. I guess, by habit, my mind would jump to the conclusion it was Rosie, and then I’d remember that she’s gone. Ugh! I’ve also heard lots of noises while home alone this week. Usually, I would have just assumed it was her, but now with her gone, I became quite curious what was making so much noise. One day, there was a cricket in the kitchen that kept hopping, which made a noise like Rosie’s nails on the floor.

Rob worked hard Tuesday and Wednesday digging a hole in the backyard. We buried her Wednesday and plan to have a funeral for her after the kids make a stone to put on grave. Oh how I miss her…

Anyway, Wow. I got off subject there. I love my header, so I’m not sure I’m going to change it because I know someday, we’ll have another Corgi. But, maybe I’ll find another cool pic to use instead. I’m also working to have some Menu pages with links to those in my sidebar. I’ll let you know when those are up.

So the posts that I’m working on include:
- Kids’ 1st day back to school
- TV Boy’s soccer pics
- Some new recipes
- Cub Scout Survivor Pictures
- Soccer Tourney pics (from this weekend)
- And…..probably more travel posts. I’ve got a couple more cruise posts that I want to share. Then, I plan to move on to Road trips!

So stay tuned.

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If you follow me on facebook, you are aware of how the last couple of weeks have gone. So very busy with school starting and all that goes with that. I’m also taking Soccer league pictures last week and this week. On top of all that, Thursday August 5th, Rob had come home for lunch and wondered why he wasn’t greeted by Rosie. I had remembered letting her outside a couple hours before, but she usually makes it well known that she’s ready to come in. We sent the boys out to see if they could find her and she was up under the deck, where she loves to lay where it’s shady and cool. The problem was she didn’t come out when called.

Thinking this was just a flair of up of her back problems that have been going on for a few months. For those of you who don’t know, dogs like Corgis, with short legs and long backs can have issues with herniated/pinched nerves. This causes them pain, paralysis, and loss of control of bowels, etc. We had this problem with our last Corgi, Jenny. So a few months ago when she was acting differently, we pretty much self diagnosed her, but took her to the vet to make sure. Turns out we were right. The treatment we chose for her in this case was crating. The only effect she was having was pain. She still had functionality of her legs and bowels. Stairs are also a really bad thing for dogs with this issue. Super bad news for us because we live in a split-level house with stairs in and out! Anyway, after some crating for a few days we saw a huge improvement in her and was able to let her live pretty normally. We tried to limit her travel up and down the stairs as much as we could.

So anyway, after bringing her back in that Thursday after finding her under the deck, she wouldn’t walk around hardly at all and she stopped eating. We brought her with us to our friends’ house in Atlanta, who we spent that weekend with. After getting back Monday, I took her to vet. She of course was dehydrated. She was hooked to a life-saving IV drip for several days and finally started to walk and eat. She came home Thursday, Aug. 12. She was walking and eating, but not really. She never finished 1 bowl of food over the weekend.

Yesterday when we got home for church, she was the worst I’ve ever seen her. She was pretty much paralyzed and we could tell nothing was going to make her better. Unfortunately, she suffered her last 24 hours. I sat next to her much of the day and evening to adjust her when she got uncomfortable, since she couldn’t do it herself.

Today Rob and I took her to the vet and the vet was shocked since she had responded decently last week, but the vet said she may have suffered a stroke or something with no return. We stayed with her as they put her to sleep. We brought her home and we will be burying her tomorrow so the boys can have some closure to the situation.

Ugh! You just don’t realize how much you expect to be met with such enthusiasm. I know especially for Rob, who Rosie would always greet with true excitement. Today, as I did stuff around the house, I would hear a noise or catch something in the corner of my eye and my mind would think, must be Rosie, then I would realize it wasn’t really her. As hard as this is going to be, I’m going to be listing all the memories of Rosie that come to mind. Memories of rosie…
-loved popcorn.
loved candy. She was so sneaky. No matter how well I thought I hid candy from the kids for like Easter or Valentine’s Day, Rosie would find it!
-was a bit OCD about marking her territory.
-loved to go for walks.
-loved to lay in her bed. We had one in the living room and one our bedroom.
-scared of thunderstorms.
-was a bit ditzy.
-hated having her nails cut.
-hated the camera.
-started to thump her leg as of late when we would pet her right below her neck. It was so funny.

Other facts about her…
We got Rosie after buying our first house in 2000. TV Boy was 2. Rosie was 3. Rosie was here to welcome Trey as a newborn. She would always get a concerned look when I would let him cry too long. Rosie came from award winning show dog parents, but her frame never grew to the accurate size, so she could never be a show dog. This was fine with us we had no plans of showing her.

Well, I hope all this makes sense. This was a hard post write……

Click here to see Rosie memorial page.

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Tuesday night the week before 4th of July, Rob was talking with his brother about finding something “fun” to do over the weekend. The last few years we have mainly hung out at home and enjoyed time with our neighbors. Before that we headed to Texas to visit my family there. Anyway, after some thought and research we decided it would be fun to head up to the North Georgia Mountains. Since it was so close to the date, there were only a few options. We ended up staying here in Murphy, NC. We went with Rob’s Mom, Step-Dad, adopted sister, and his brother. Dividing the cost of the condo ended up costing about the cost of hotel for one night!

Rob really enjoys going up that way for many reasons, which include the beautiful mountains and seeing his old stopming grounds at Young Harris College.

Friday
We arrived around 3, settled in, waited for the other carload with Rob’s Mom, Step Dad, and adopted sister, Rachel. Not long after they arrived, a group headed out to the store for groceries for the weekend. We planned to utilize the kitchen in the condo to help save money.

Our Cabin

Nice wrap around porch with a beautiful view.

After they got back Rob and Nick got the fire going to grill the super thick steak. So yummy! We also had salad, broccoli, and stir-fry veggies. Dessert was Strawberry shortcake.

Beautiful Sunset

Saturday

We got up and had breakfast. Then we went into Murphy for some 4th of July festivitives. There were many of the normal carnival activities, which we didn’t participate in because they were so expensive. We are so spoiled to live in Auburn, where we have City Fest and other events that are completely free to the public. We walked along the little river walk, watched the ducks, and the kids played on the playground.

Pretty scene near the Riverwalk area

This duck kept talking to me

We made it back over to the area where they did a peanut drop. An airplane flew over dropping 5,000 peanuts. Everyone ran like crazy to pick up the peanuts as they fell to find the red, white, and blue ones, which could be turned in for cash. We didn’t find any of those, but it was fun anyway.

Airplane that flew over Peanut Drop

After that we went to the Cherokee Chambers of Commerce/Visitor Center and then we went to the Fires Creek Picnic area located in Nantahala National Forest. There we picnicked for lunch and the kids skipped rocks in the stream.

After we packed up our picnic lunch we went for a short hike up the Leatherwood Loop hiking trail. While hiking I was stung through my sock by a hornet. I screamed like crazy after realizing I was being stung and it wasn’t just a thorn poking me through my sock. After getting the durn thing off my sock, I hiked a little ways up to the stream. I was able to sit on a rock near the icy cold stream, where I soaked it to help the pain and slow down the swelling.

*Icing* my ankle in the cool stream after being stung.

We stopped at a couple places for some scenic pics and then back to our car.

I continued to be in a great deal of pain. It was just a constant feeling of being stung over and over. The rest of the afternoon, I just chilled at the cabin. We cooked out hamburgers for dinner along with baked beans and smores. The rest of the family went to watch fireworks. I stayed in to rest and keep my ankle elevated and iced, but was able to see some fireworks from my chair.

Sunday
Sunday after having breakfast, we went to the Hiwassee Dam, which is so beautiful.

From there we drove around for a bit looking for a place to fish. We ended up down a dirt road in a secluded area. Although I lathered up in OFF the chigars found their to areas that I had not sprayed. I got nearly 30 bites. Ugh! At this point of the trip I had about had enough of nature and was ready to be inside. 2 fish were snagged, but both were smaller than my hand and were thrown back in.

After leaving there we were hungry and next on our agenda was Fields of the Wood, which is something so different than anything I’ve ever seen. You can climb to the top of the Ten Commandments Mountain and visit The Psalms Of Praise. We ate lunch in the covered picnic area. Then, without it occuring to us that there were 372 steps, we walked to the top of the 10 Commandments! Needless to say we were ZONKED. We wanted to see the rest of the place, but it required climbing a lot more stairs. We should have planned to drive around to the top of the 10 Commandments and then seeing the rest by stairs (because there is no driving access.) We were able to drive up to the cross of flags, which is quite a ways up the mountain. Nice views also.

Then, we went back to the cabin for some much needed R & R and leftovers. Late that evening Rob, Nick, TV Boy, and I drove over to Brasstown Bald for a midnight hike to see the stars, surrounding cities, and possibly late night fireworks. It was nice and cool, in fact, downright chili on top of the observatory. The stars are amazing when you’re away from civilization like that. After tromping back down the mountain, we had a midnight snack at Waffle House in Blairsville.

This is the top of the observatory. The tower is off limits to the public, but at the bottom of the tower there is a museum and info desk.

Monday
Monday we got up, started cleaning, and packing. The other car load of family was leaving first thing to head straight home. Our family along with Nick were headed out for another day of site-seeing. We wanted to get the most out of our trip and really didn’t want to leave. We stopped for lunch at Downtown Pizza and then back to Brasstown Bald for a daytime hike and an opportunity for Monkey to see it.

We left Brasstown and we were ready to get home. We did decide to take Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway.

Here’s a pic at one of the stopping points on the highway. Yah, I know it’s not “scenic”, but the road and cliffs were cool and then when this Maverick drove by, I couldn’t resist

Then near the end of the trip, Monkey Boy got silly and wore my neck pillow on his head.

I have lots more great pictures from the trip that I would love for you to see, so click here.

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So this blog seems to be turning into a cruise blog and I’m sorry to those of you who think of cruising as a ridiculous way to travel. Since we can’t take any big vacations now, it’s just been so therapeutic for me to write these cruising entries. I do plan to do some other travel posts, too. Anyway, so what else have we been up to now that it’s summer. Well….

This week TV Boy has been at Boy Scout camp and will return tomorrow. Here’s a couple pics before he left.

After leaving the Scout Hut, we took Monkey Boy to his Grandparent’s house for a stay-cation. While we were up there we met our new nephew and Monkey got to play with his other 2 cousins.

This time with both kids away has given me time to work on my job search and just go full force with trying to make something happen on the job front. I’m hoping that putting in this extra effort will give me more opportunities. Please pray that it will. After all, I need a vacation! And I have to work so I can actually take a vacation, right? And once again, I digress.

On Tuesday, my Dad dropped in for a quick visit. He’s been an official for RAAM again this year and on his way back he usually tries to stop by. We enjoyed the visit with him and look forward to seeing him again soon. I know he was bummed that the boys were away.

Last Friday, Pack 29 had their June Pack Meeting. It was held at the Forest Ecology Preserve. Monkey is now a cub scout!

Last week was VBS. Monkey Boy attended and TV Boy and I volunteered. TV Boy helped in the recreation station and I was with a 4th grade bunch. Here’s a few pics from VBS. See all pics here.

TV Boy is running cross-country for school next year, so he’s been training with the high school/jr. high teams every morning at 6:45. Rob, Monkey, and I have also gone walking during the time that TV Boy is running.

Other happenings of this summer include trying to stay cool, watching movies, enjoying being with each other (or at least trying), and before you know it we’ll be getting ready for school. How’s your summer going?

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Monkey’s Kindergarten year is winding down. What? Really? I went today to get “end of the school year” pics. I made this collage.

Sorry to know we won’t be coming back here. Here’s a few more pics in Black & White.

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Read Part 1

June 5, 2003: Thursday
Thursday was a day of relaxation and recuperation from our several days off ship.

We slept in, ate lunch in the dining room, relaxed poolside, and enjoyed some onboard activities.

That evening was the Dinner Menu 2nd formal night followed by the show, Las Vegas-Then and Now.

June 6, 2003: Friday

Friday was a quick day in Nassau, Bahamas, arriving about 2:30. It was still plenty of time to get in an excursion and some site-seeing. We did the Nassau & Paradise Island Tour. The show that evening was Steve Moris and Dale Scot & Ana.

Here’s Rob as we come into port in Nassau.

All the other ships that are docked.

Atlantis

Lots of fish in the Aquarium in Atlantis

Lunch Menu – Dinner Menu

June 7 & 8, 2003: Saturday/Sunday
7:00 am
We arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida around 7 am. We had an excursion planned to visit the Everglades and ride in hovercrafts while looking for gators. After that we did some site seeing in Fort Lauderdale, checked into the hotel, and ate some dinner. We took a drive down to some of the Florida Keys, down to the 7 mile bridge.

Everglades

Baby Gator

Haziness

More fun in South Florida
Fly home in the evening

Other Century Links
Celebrity’s Century Website
Tim Dotson’s Century Site Very informative.

Maps
St. John Map – St. Thomas Map – St. Maarten Map – Nassau Map

Thinking of cruising? Look for my upcoming posts on the ins-and-outs of cruising!

Thanks to Tim Dotson for his menus.

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This past weekend we drove to Clinton, MS, after a cub scouting event. We didn’t get out of town till nearly 9 pm, so we got in about 1:30 am. We had to rise and shine very early for TV Boy’s first game which started at 8, meaning he had to be there at 7:15 and it was about a 30 minute drive into Jackson. We stayed with one of Rob’s cousins and her hubby. We haven’t seen them in quite some time, so it was great to see them. Rob’s Aunt and Uncle and Dad and Step Mom drove over to see TV Boy play. Nice big family visit. I didn’t get a single picture of any of the family we visited. I need to work on that.

Monkey playing during TV Boy’s Game

Anyway, TV Boy had a game at 8 am and 11:45ish, so that allowed us to have the afternoon and evening free. We ate lunch at Sal & Mookies. Very yummy pizza. After stuffing ourselves, it was back to the house to watch the Auburn vs. LSU baseball game. I took a nap. That evening we went to Trustmark Park for a minor league baseball game: Mississippi Braves vs. Tennessee Smokies.

Starlin Castro of the Tennessee Smokies

They had movie “characters” at the ballpark.

Ghostbusters

We all know this dude, Darth Vader

Mississipi Braves mascot, Tommy Hawk

Sunday we got to sleep in a bit before going to TV Boy’s final game of the tournament. We gathered one more time for lunch at Lumpkin Bar-B-Q, before heading home.

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The weekend before Monkey turned 6 he decided he was going to learn to ride his bike. I was so proud that he and his big brother were outside working on it. In 2 days he pretty much had it down. Over spring break we went to Town Creek park. They have bike paths that go through the park. We also went over to the school, where they have a nice big parking lot so that he could ride and practice his turns.

Practicing balance in the grass

At Town Creek Park

Practicing his turns in the school parking lot

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This spring break we just hung out. When it wasn’t raining, the boys and I went outside to ride bikes and play.

The 2nd weekend of SB we went to Baton Rouge to visit family. We always look forward to Cajun food when we head over that way. We went to Chimes on Sunday after church. It was so yummy! Rob had Red Beans & Rice and Crawfish Etouffe. We had Boudin Balls and onion rings for appetizers. SO yummy! I had the Catfish platter, which came with Red Beans & Rice and Hush Puppies.

Although these beautiful flowers had bloomed and were a sure sign of spring in Baton Rouge, the weather while we were there surely didn’t reflect it. It was very cold, windy, and rainy.

Another purpose of our trip was to meet Rob’s Dad, so that we could get this car. Since Rob’s Honda Accord is dying, we’ve looked and looked for another great deal like we found with that car. We found that Cash for Clunkers depleted the area of any “good deals.” Rob’s Dad had been looking to get rid of this Accura Legend, so we were happy to take it off his hands.

On Monday, we had a military funeral to attend in Mississippi. Rob’s Step Dad’s Dad passed away in December. It took some time for them to figure out which military cemetery he was going to be buried at. I took lots of pictures of the ceremony, which I’ll post later. I had never been to a military funeral before, but it is something everyone should see. Very touching

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This little conversation came after Monkey asked me if it was cold outside.
Monkey: Rosie must get cold. She doesn’t have a tail.
Me: That’s right.
Monkey: Don’t most animals have tails?
Me: Yah
Monkey: Are there any humans that have a tail?
Me: No, we don’t have a need for a tail like animals do.
Monkey: That’s why we get cold easier than animals.

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