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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Back In The South

One of my fave southern restaurants just opened a branch in Greenville so, after working in Atlanta today, I hopped in the Hyundai and drove back north to do dinner with Tammy and Don at Tupelo Honey Cafe.  

It's full out southern cuisine!
Fried Green Tomatos

Biscuits

Shrimp and grits

Banana pudding

Oh my word - all so amazing!!!  It's a good thing I don't live in the south as my back porch would be a wrap around!

Back home tomorrow.  Have to drive back to Charlotte for an afternoon flight.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

My New Download

In honor of Fanny!  My newest download!  Love love love it!

And now my entitled album - Greenville Not Gonna Happen - Reprise... I've got a meeting in Atlanta tomorrow so I'm doing the Greenville flight again as it was cheaper.  And once again, said Greenville flight is canceled!  They've put me on a flight to Charlotte (originally they had switched me to the morning Greenville flight but won't work with my meeting schedule) which means they switched my return from Charlotte as well - yuck.  Just means I've got a nice hour and a half commute to Greenville.

And so I've stopped at Wicker Park for sushi and now I'm headed over from the F gates to the C gates.

My life can be so fun - NOT!  

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Puszi!


Fanny (pronounced Fawny) is a girl that I know from Hungary.  She finished up high school this past year and passed her TOEFLs and has now come, for the first time, to the US to go to Moody in Chicago.

I got to be her welcoming committee and pick her up at the airport.  Its hard picking internationals up as most of the time, the ones I know, don't have phones so its like you're back in the 80s doing the "hope you find them" thing.  

Her flight landed at 3:20 pm and by 4:30, I was honestly starting to panic.  She didnt actually come out until about 5:30.  I don't think I would have known what to do if she hadnt of shown up, but thank God she did and, thank God, we found each other!

Tomorrow I bring her down to Moody and get her into her room.  She actually came with nothing but a suitcase with clothes so I'm sure well need to make a stop for some basics.  She starts her orientation classes on Monday.

Oh and - "puszi"... "Kiss"!  It's a Hungarian greeting of, I suppose you'd call it, affection or closeness.

Puszi!

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Friends

Many many moons ago:). I worked with a girl named Lauren - and we've been friends ever since.  The end!

But yet it's still being written because even though Lauren and I don't work together anymore, Lauren is awesome about keeping in contact so when she found out she was coming to a weekend bachelorette party in Chicago, she contacted me and we made plans to spend a day together!

We ended up meeting up at Ravinia with another friend, Rhonda, who we worked with as well.  It was great catching up and just having a fun time.  We ate at The Terrace restaurant on the Ravinia grounds and then shifted out to our lawn chairs for some wine and the CSO and the CLO and Don Quioxte.  It was inside Martin Theatre so we couldn't see it at all, therefore we just rudely whispered and laughed.  There actually aren't that many people there so we got away with it!



Lauren entitled this our "white trash cooler"...
It worked though!  

And Lauren finally got to meet mom - I've met Lauren's parents a billion times and when I'm in Philly we always do dinner and they always ask about mom so it was fun that Lauren actually got to put a face with mom finally!

And tomorrow Ill drop her off in the city and then start planning my weekend in Philly!

Oh and BTW.....
Happy birthday to Kim!!!!;)

(This is the illusive Kim who never allows her picture to be taken so sorry Kim, I'm having to revert to what I have!  You eating fish - but its you eating fish on Sardinia in Italy:).....
happy birthday dear dear friend!!!!! Thanks for a million billion adventures together, for a trillion minutes you've wasted listening to me blather on about inconsequential things, countless times you took the time to point me in the right direction when I didn't know where to go, and always making sure I remembered to do everything in God and through God and for God!  You're the bestest kind of friend and you deserve the bestest kind of birthday!

Sunday, August 10, 2014

The OTHER Family....:)

It's Sandy's birthday and so Uncle Raine had us all over for Sunday lunch.  As usual, it was good -but it took forever to get it!!

She had to show us her most recent daily, yes daily, Williams-Sonoma purchase.  She has a working relationship with the store in Lake Forest and is continually packing her cupboards with kitchen gadgets.  This is the newest one - a rip cord onion chopper:)

Tom and Pat seemed to think if they helped her put things away we'd get to lunch faster... Didnt really work, but kudos for trying!

The "smart" ones just stayed outside out of the way.

And the poor children were the ones that suffered...

Debbie dogsits her granddog:)

And tomorrow is goodbye for Jessica as she starts her new, first job in Cincinnati! They leave tomorrow to move her stuff down.  

Time For A Break


I'm a little sad today.  For the past 5 years I've taught the 2-4 year olds Sunday school class and today, was my last day:(. Nothing bad - just due to some changes that I've been feeling like I needed to make some changes and this was one of them.  

Changes are hard - last day was hard but it was a little easier as it was a very small class today so not as much emotional trauma for me!  I had time to sit and look around my room and do my little memory walk and let myself grieve a little.  5 years of children and of families I've gone through and impacted.  5 years of stories and songs that have been branded in their hearts and minds and 5 years of all the fun stories and little things they've said ...




The window trick always works for the one who has separation anxiety, btw;). There's nothing like getting them to the window (which is opposite the door) and spotting anything and everything from geese to butterflies to flowers.  Works every time!:)


The all time favorite song for all of us!  Keep Your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies... Ps 34:13.  It's the song that requires a good round of "magic soap" after but it's in high demand!

And speaking of songs - I'm sad now because I don't get to use all those childrens albums I have that have entertained us for hours while we play.  Although, I am a closet Steve Green "Hide Em In Your Heart" listener:)




Who can forget the time Miss Alison got glitter banned from the craft room and had the whole church asking her "did you release tinker bell in the church?"  All right - I think I did learn that 2 and 3 year olds tend to use way too much glitter - but it is so pretty and so much fun!  But when that happens - the only way to apologize is on glitter paper with a glitter pen and throw some glitter in the envelope.... Sometimes you just have to get it out of your system when you know you'll never be allowed to use it again...



Lesson to be learned... I can never be trusted with cute noses!!!  I want them all!!!!:)

Bye to my Sunday School bag (courtesy Debbie:) that carried all my wonderful Sunday school fun stuff into class every Sunday.

Bye to my favorite Sunday school assistant who's been with me for 2 years!    Thanks Kathy!

Bye to long sad tales of fun during the week resulting in horrific owies on heels that never got the medical attention that was fully deserved.

Bye to happy Sunday mornings full of pleasant greetings!

Bye to all the fun "Miss Alison says" stories and the "can you teach me the song you sing" that I get from parents, which makes me remember - said children really are listening.

Ill miss them all....












Saturday, August 9, 2014

Life

I just had to post this.  Finally got on the plane from Greenville home.  

It's been a really, hmm, don't know what to call it but maybe tumultuous time these past few months.  Tumultuous and unsure and just in this place where not sure of what is what and where I am or what Im doing.  Things are opening and closing and at this place where I don't even know what to think but I'm trying to rest in God and I know the less I fight and the more I give to Him, the more peace I have.  And when that peace comes,  I get a sense of his goodness and what He has in store for those who just give it all to Him.

And then he went and reminded me of waiting on Him with a beautiful picture this evening.... Thanks God!:)







If the beauty of the sun makes the clouds even seem gorgeous!  
Imagine what the beauty of the SON can do to life clouds!:). 
And I know this is true from living it already!

"What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way The Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?"  
Deuteronomy 03:07









A Brief Cousin Encounter



Tammy, Don and I got back from Charleston around 1pm so we had some time with Lisa, Jeremy and K'Maya and Mary Jo.  Lisa and Jer are down to pick up Olivia and Gabby who are finishing their respective jobs for the summer.  Livy was counseling at the Wilds this summer and was riding back to Greenville with Dawn (who I got to se for like 2 minutes) and Gabby finished on Sunday as she's been out travelling ok the drama team with Academy of Arts this summer.  

It was nice to actually have a flight delay because it just meant I had the extra time to just be with my cousins who I see only once in a while.  Tammy said this is actually the first time all four of them have been together since they boxed up Aunt June's house before they sold it.  They're all going out tonight just the four sisters - if my flight had been cancelled:) they said I could have been a sister for the evening:)