My Aunt Eula

Before I married Bobby, I was married to another man named Steve. The marriage only lasted for a little over 3 years and was a learning experience for me. I don’t regret it, I just wish that I had waited a while longer before getting married.

After Bobby and I married, when I found out that I was pregnant, Bobby told me that he wanted a little boy. We already had a daughter (April – by Bobby’s first wife). If it was a boy, Bobby wanted to know whether or not I would mind if we named him Robert Steven (Bobby, his Dad and Brother-in-law are all named Robert). I really didn’t mind so when the time came and it was a boy, we named him Robert Steven. Bobby was so proud, he said he’d always dreamed of having a little boy named Steve and he was tickled to death.

When we finally got Steve out of the house and started showing him off to other family members, we took him to see my Dad’s sister, Eula. I loved Aunt Eula dearly, she was as country as they come and somewhere along the road of life she had lost a card or two out of her deck. When we told her what Steve’s name was, she got so mad at us. She was appalled that we would name our son after my first husband. How dare we?!? We tried to explain to her that this was not the case, that Bobby had always wanted a son named Steve, but she didn’t believe us. Through the years, she would fuss at us over and over for what we did to Steve and I truly believe that she went to her grave thinking that we had named him after my first husband! God love her, this story still makes me laugh when I think of it!

We all have family members like Aunt Eula, but just think of how boring life would be without them! Remember them fondly and with love, because you know they’ve made you smile more than once. And just think, you come from the same gene pool!

Margarita's - Our Favorite Mexican Food Restaurant

We just got back from eating dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant - a little place in Austell, Georgia on Veteran's Memorial Highway (the old Bankhead Hwy.) called Margarita's.   It's located in downtown Austell across from the post office and has the absolute best Mexican food anywhere in the Atlanta area.  And believe me - we eat a lot of Mexican food.  It is owned and run by a wonderful man named Eric who treats each and every customer as if they were family.

You know how you go to some restaurants and all the food tastes the same, well not here.  Each dish has it's own unique flavor and the fahitas are to die for!   They have a cheese dip with fahita steak, shrimp and chicken in it that will make you want to slap your mama, it's soooooo good!

If this sounds like a billboard, consider it so, but this is still the best Mexican restaurant around.  Make sure you try it if you are in the area - and even if you're not - it's well worth the trip!

Meet the Family - Jennifer

I consider Jennifer to be my third daughter, my daughter by a different mother (and father).  Jennifer is married to my son, Steve and is very special to me.  She is beautiful, funny, kind and thoughtful, but most of all, she makes my son happy. 

Steve and Jennifer had known each other for a while before they started dating because her family and ours went to the same church.  Jennifer is a few years older than Steve and when he knew that he wanted to ask her out, he asked me if he should.  Of course, my reply was that age did not matter, only what was in your heart.  I'm so glad now that I encouraged him to ask her out, because I could not have gotten a better daughter-in-law. 

We are lucky that they do not live too far from us and so we get to see them often.  She and Steve do not have any children yet, but I do have a grandpuppy, Titan.  When they do have children, I know that they will both make wonderful parents and will raise my grandchild up to be a loving and kind child with the background that they will need to make their way in life.

Snorkeling - One of God's Wonders

One of God’s wonders has to be the oceans. Several years ago my husband Bobby and I discovered the world of snorkeling and have been hooked ever since. Now, I’m a bit claustrophobic so I haven’t gotten into diving yet and I’m not sure that I ever will, but I love to snorkel.

There is such a peace about floating on top of the water and just watching the world underneath (as long as the sharks stay away – which luckily I have not had to deal with yet!). The colors are so vivid and the fish so funny to watch. I could snorkel for the rest of my life and die a happy woman.

We have a group of friends that go cruising together and we’ve managed to get all of them involved in snorkeling. It’s so much fun when you’re there with your friends. We have only snorkeled in the Caribbean but the water there is crystal clear and most of the beaches are great. I try to find us beaches to go to where we can just walk right in off the beach and snorkel.


So far, our favorite has been Brewer’s Bay on Tortola. The reviews I had seen were pretty good, although some people complained that it was a little too secluded and only had one little restaurant with not so nice bathrooms. When we went, the restaurant was nice (mostly sodas, beer and sandwich type items – nothing fancy) and the bathrooms were clean. It looks like a little shack, but had a nice deck under the shade trees for those who did not want to snorkel.

Look really close there are 3 fish in this picture!

A School of Blue Tangs

You swim out about 50-100 yards and you are over the reef. There are lots of beautiful fish and many schools of blue tangs, and lots of other small fish. The further out you go the better the reef gets, but make sure you have a life jacket and don’t go alone. Brewer’s Bay is at the bottom of a ridge of mountains and has only a small opening out to the ocean, but the currents can get a little strong (but not bad, even for those who don’t swim well).


I would venture a guess and say that most of the cab drivers around the port know where Brewer’s Bay is and will take you there and then come back and pick you up whenever you tell them to. Our driver would not take any money until he came back for us, which made us feel a lot better about being dumped off on the opposite side of the island from where our ship was! It’s a beautiful drive and cost us only $5 each way, but each couple paid the driver $20 which was well worth it. Most of the taxis are little open air buses and so you can see really well and don’t get too hot on the drive over.


For my money, this was far and away the best place we’ve been to so far.



Forever friends

I have been so blessed in my life to find friendships that are true and loyal and will last for the rest of my life.  Not many people can say that.   It is something that I have tried to instill in my children as they grew up and it seems to have made an impact because my 2 youngest are still friends with people they have grown up with since elementary school.

Anita



Ili Si

My oldest and dearest friend, Anita, ended up becoming my sister-in-law when I married Bobby.  My friend, Ili Si, I met on the first day of the 8th grade when we were both waiting for the bus.  She calls me every year on my birthday and has never missed a single year.  Others I have known since high school and we still get together after all these years.  I can't count on both hands the number of friends that I have known for over 4 decades.  It's an awesome feeling.

Tena, Deb and IDeb, Cheryl and I

My closest girlfriends now (the ones who live close and I get to see all the time) have been friends for almost 20 years and our kids grew up together.  We go on vacations together (sometimes as a group, sometimes with all the kids and sometimes as two couples).  We have lots of deck parties and pot luck suppers, get togethers for birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions.

They are my friends, confidants, sisters, shoulders to cry on and will forever hold a piece of my heart.  I have been truly blessed by these, my friends.

Love your friends and be loyal to them through thick and thin!

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

Now for a serious blog (you probably won't see too many of these from me)....

The last year has been a really strange year.  It's had lots of ups and downs, some worse than others, some better, but despite it all, I've managed to make some lemonade.  I've always been a relatively happy person (except when I was going through menopause, but that's a whole other blog!).  This year has challenged my happiness on many levels.  I found myself falling into a depression that I could not seem to recover from.  

I am a Christian and I know that whatever I turn over to God will turn out well.  My problem was that I am also human and I had a hard time really turning it ALL over to God.  Therein lay my biggest problem.  When I finally did let go, things began to look up and a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders, literally.

I can feel myself getting back to normal as each day passes and it makes my soul sing with a joyful noise.  There is power in prayer and faith, even when it is being tested to what you think is your limit.

Just remember that and then try to make lemonade out of those lemons that life drops on your head along the way.  It really tastes pretty good.

A family to be proud of!

Back in May, my son and some of his friends hosted a "white trash bash". It was like a costume party (well, for most of us anyway) in the middle of the year.

There were rules of attendance - no mixed drinks - beer only (and only certain types were allowed); you had to dress up; no tables to eat at, you had to eat out of your lap; corn toss, horseshoes, beer pong and flip cup were the only games allowed and if you brought wine, it had to come out of a box. If you didn't have a tattoo, one would be provided.

It was an absolute blast! I of course, was in hog heaven since there were hundred's of "Kodak" moments. And believe me, I took full advantage of that fact!

Most of the people in attendance were friends of Steve's from school, so it was fun to see them all. Hope you like our family portraits.

And of course, the evening would not have been complete without trying to fill up the fence with beer cans..... after all, it was a "White Trash Bash"!!

I live with a bunch of comedians!

For mother's day this year, the kids came over and we had a cookout.  April, Steve, his wife Jennifer, Becca and her boyfriend Shane and Bobby and I were all there.  The only one missing was my Granddaughter, Ashley.  We had a wonderful time and I really enjoyed getting to be with all of them.

Whenever we get together for family events, I try to take a group photograph before everyone heads home.  Well, this night was no different.....  after taking several shots, and finally getting all the puppies in the picture, I decided to take one more just for good measure.

Seems like the kids had another idea in mind..... they decided to jump out of the picture, leaving just Jennifer and Shane with Bobby and I.   Well.....  I got the last laugh!  They had forgotten that I have a wide-angle lense on my camera.  You can see the results! 

What a bunch of comedians!  At least life is never dull with them!

Becca's finally 21! Woo Hoo!

Wow, so much has happened since I last wrote a blog. I was determined that I was going to try to keep up with this blog no matter what and you see where that got me!

My daughter-in-law, Jennifer and Becca

Well, Becca has finally turned 21! It's so hard for me to believe that my baby girl is 21. It sounds cliche, but it really does seem like she was born just yesterday. I feel so old (haha). We had a huge party on the deck and there were people in and out all night! All the kids were here, lots of friends and a bunch of Becca's co-workers showed up. We had enough food to feed an army and everyone went away with at least a full stomch!

Most of what happend in Vegas will stay in Vegas!

Wow, I can't believe that it has been so long since I posted a blog, but it has been a busy couple of weeks. Becca and I went to Las Vegas with my sister-in-law, Anita and my niece, Stephanie so that we could celebrate Stephanie's 21st birthday. We had an absolute blast.

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I wish my whole family could have gone with us, but for a first time visit to Vegas, going with Becca was a lot of fun. She and I for the most part, like the same things and enjoy a good laugh!

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It was a little nerve-wracking at times because Becca will not be 21 for another month and she wanted to be able to play the slots some and be able to have a drink with Stephanie. I just knew we'd get busted, but since Becca looks older than she is, she was able to play a few slot machines (she even won $50) and got to have a few drinks, so she was extremely happy! She only got asked for ID one time and that was as we were walking through a casino.

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We did the whole tourist thing, checking out a lot of the hotels and sights. Someone told Becca that after she had been there for 4 days she would have seen it all..... they lied! We were there for eight days and didn't see half of what we wanted to see. I am exhausted!

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Some of the hotels go all out to decorate and some of the artwork was just awesome. I loved all the hotels with themes like Excalibur, MGM, New York - New York, Paris, the Bellagio, etc. Las Vegas at night is a whole different world from the daytime Las Vegas, so it is like visiting 2 different cities.

Of course I was in hog heaven and took over a thousand pictures (some will be deleted because they are so bad and some will never be seen - if you know what I mean!!)

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Becca made me ride the roller coaster at New York - New York for which I will forever hate her and she will never be able to repay me for the pain and suffering she put me through. I bought the souvineer photo of us on the ride only so that I would have something to blackmail Becca with for the rest of her life. I love roller coasters, but this one was 5 or 6 stories in the air and had so many loops and twists and turns that I could hardly walk when we finally got off the ride. My whole body felt like it was bruised and battered and I hurt for days! Getting older is not what it is cracked up to be.

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My niece did not get to Vegas until about 9:00 on the night before her birthday (had she been at home she would have already been 21, but since Vegas is 3 hours behind us, she had to wait a while to turn 21). This was a good thing since it gave her a chance to be at a casino ready to put her dollar into the machine at the stroke of midnight. She ordered a drink and they carded her which made her very happy - she got to show them that she was 21 even though her license said she was "under 21". It was funny to see how excited she got!

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I'll write more about our trip later, but for now I'm just glad to be home and back to a normal routine. I missed Bobby and all the puppies more than I thought I would. Enjoy what you have, because no matter how wonderful it looks, the grass is not really that much greener on the other side. There really is no place like "Home"!