What's in a name...........?

Today I've been sitting(and sitting and sitting) with my daughter at the heart doctor's office for her appointment. Luckily, the doctor said Beth's PVC's were nothing to worry about and would probably recommend doing nothing since she is pregnant. But he sent her for an echocardigram anyway and she will be wearing a monitor for about 3 weeks to record her episodes (that word sounds like something my grandmother would have used). So, she really received good news that the PCV's will not hurt her or the baby and are really just a nuisance. It will be up to Beth's OB as to how she may have to adjust her working schedule because she is getting out of breath so quickly. And the larger she gets to more out of breath she will get when exerting herself. We'll continue to watch this.

Since I had so much time (3 1/2 hrs.) sitting today, I decided to go over Grandma names. Now, here's where you all come in. I would like everyone to let me know what they think my name should be. I haven't had anything just jump out at me yet. Of course, the baby will have something to say about the name.................namely how they pronounce it. So this could all be a moot point!! I'm not interested in the normal names like "grandmother or grandma", not that anything is wrong with those names. But there have been some very interesting and unique (as in, "are you kidding?!!) names presented to me. Both my grandmothers had different names. I was the first grandchild on my mother's side so I said her name like I thought it should be said. She was called "MeMa" because that's what came out when I tried to say "Grandma." O.K., so I couldn't quite pronounce it right but I liked it and it was MY decision! My other grandmother already had her name because I was the 2nd grandchild on my dad's side. Her name is quite unusual, Bubber. I'm not exactly sure, but I think she was called that by her children first. Maybe my uncle couldn't say mother and it came out Bubber. I'm just guessing here because Bubber isn't something you would think of to call a grandmother. Then my aunt married a man who was called "Bubba" so we ended up calling him, BubbaHim. Cute, huh?? BubberHer and BubbaHim. O.K., now back to the main event..............so what should I be called? I already have friends named Mimi, Mimmy, DeDe, KeKe and GeGe. Naturally Beth came up with "TeTe". Now I don't know about you, but I'm not really excited about being called a bodily function by my grandchild. Then there is just "T" which makes me think I'm a golf ball sitting on the tee ready to get smacked. Another friend of Beth's came up with "TerBear". When I hear that name I see little bears floating on clouds.........the CareBears. I'm just not a bear person. Anyone that really knows me knows how much I love rabbits. I could be called "Bunny." But that reminds me of a southern belle who lives in Belle Meade, shops at the "uppiddy" stores, goes to teas and parties, has a regular waxing appointment and drives a Jaguar. I'm definitely not that kind of person, although I do think the name is cute. My mother is called "Nanny" because I thought that would be a good name for her. She thought it sounded like a "nanny goat" and wasn't too happy with it. But when Beth first called her "Nanny", she said that name would be just fine. She wanted it spelled "Nannie" but I had already cross-stitched a picture for her with it spelled "Nanny". So she had to start spelling it that way because I was not about to take out the stitching and redo it!! Now it's up to those who read my blog to give me suggestions. If I use one of your name suggestions, I will take that person out to lunch or dinner. Of course, if my grandchild decides not to call me that name or pronounces it differently, you can take me to lunch or dinner!..............just kidding! Thank you in advance for your suggestions and I look forward to seeing what you all come up with. A week from today we find out the sex of the baby. I'm sure I will be blogging about that next Monday. In the meantime, have a good week and God be with you.

3 Years..............gone in a flash!

I can't believe it's been 3 years since Beth became Mrs. Ben Miller. Time flies by when you're not looking! I have to reminise a little today about the wedding. During the planning time, Beth and I developed an even stronger mother/daughter bond. Since she was 27 at the time, she had in mind what she wanted and wasn't shy about expressing it! Of course I did have a few opinions (imagine that) about how things should go. But we never had a bad argument over anything. Beth wanted everything to be different from other weddings. And I have to say I think she accomplished that. The invitations were one of a kind and so looked like Beth. For her flowers she wanted arrangements with "no stuff hanging down." Her dress was 3 separate pieces with 2 different colors for her sash: brown for wedding; pink for reception. The one thing she did that was traditional was to wear my veil. Our friend, James Brown, (wedding coordinator, referee, psychiatrist) had a one of a kind aisle runner hand painted on brown satin. Everything was exactly what Beth (and Ben) wanted. One request Ben had was for he and his groomsmen to wear their favorite baseball caps at the reception. And yes, my mother vocalized her opinion on this subject, "They boys are going to do what at the reception?" "You know that's not proper, don't you?" Proper is not a word I would use to describe Beth or Ben. And their wedding reflected their personality. The other thing Ben wanted was REAL food at the reception. He didn't want those little bite-sized things that you have to eat the whole tray of before you can taste what it is!! We still get comments on their reception food. I can still taste the tomato soup and grilled cheese.........YUM!! And nobody passed out when the guys came in with their caps on at the reception. It was beautiful, different and most of all fun, which is what they wanted the evening to be. And today I will watch the beautifully made video that our friends at McNeal Video filmed and put together. It's a work of art. Yes, I am very sentimental and will relive the day through the video. It's the best money we spent so why not enjoy it!!

Today, Beth and Ben are expecting a baby after 3 years of marriage. If the last 3 years flew by, I dread to see how fast the next few years will pass. Even though is was hard to "give away" our daughter, Ben Miller couldn't be a more loving husband to Beth. Well, as he puts it, "I love her MOST OF THE TIME!" (being pregnant with hormones raging can make you wish this would go by faster!) And we couldn't ask for a finer son-in-law. I do every once in a while have to say, "Ben, put that down before you break it!" God's hand was definitely in this relationship and we thank and praise Him. Well, I've been down memory lane for now, which if you think about it, is amazing, since I can't remember what I did last night! Until next time.....................may God bless you.

To blog or not to blog.......now what was the question?

The other day I asked my daughter if she had read my blog. She laughed and said she had, then asked "Why are YOU blogging?" When I answered that it was fun and I enjoyed writing, she looked at me and shook her head. So I asked her why she had a blog. Then she hit me with it................"my life is interesting and fun to write about and my friends enjoy reading my blog." I'm assuming that this means my life is over and there will be absolutely nothing interesting happening to me in the future. Now, I could just give up and an abandon my blog. But, instead I'm going to continue blogging to prove that I do have a somewhat interesting life and things to say. Also, it could embarass my children which is what I've always strived to do in my boring life!

Yesterday our boys came by to show off the new truck they bought for their new business, "Nashville Lawn Equipment." The truck is slightly used, 174,000 miles, I believe. But a new coat of paint and their new logo on the truck make it look almost new. The business will sell mowers, weed eaters, etc. anything that has to do with lawns. Kyle and John have been working (tirelessly) on getting a lot on Thompson Lane ready to open the business in a couple of weeks. Clay has been handling some of the phone calls needed to get things going (he's really good at telling you what you haven't done yet!). Clay has a full time job already but is helping out part time. Kyle, bless his heart, has learned that Metro Codes works at their own pace, slowly! Just when it looks like everything is falling into place, Codes decides to throw a wrench into it. The lot is looking great. The office trailer was put in place yesterday and now just needs some TLC. After everything is finished I will post some pictures. I am so proud of our boys for taking this concept and running with it. Hopefully, "Nashville Lawn Equipment" will be a huge success. Since Kyle and Clay have so many friends in the lawn and landscaping business, that will hopefully help out. Since Clay is so anal about everything going perfectly, there's bound to be a few glitches to keep him on his toes (sorry Leslie)! I'll keep you informed on the progress.

I guess I will go back to my boring, uneventful life now. Until next time, enjoy each day to the fullest and may God bless you.

In spring our thoughts turn to..........Allergies!

The buttercups are smiling at us. The Bradford pear trees are a billowy white. The Redbuds are bursting forth. The Hackberry's, which you can not kill, are starting to leaf out. The grass, that has been ugly all winter, is starting to green up. And my allergies are in full bloom! Tree pollen, grass pollen are bad words to me. How come I lived over 40 years without ever having an allergy and now I dread spring and fall like the plague! What did I do to deserve this? It's bad enough that my body is making new noises every day, my hair is thinning and falling out, my eyesight and hearing aren't what they used to be and my mind left a long time ago. Now I wake up unable to breathe with snot all over my face. John's allergies are making him snore so badly I have to sleep in the other room. Then, last night I wake up wondering why I can hear John snore all the way down the hall and realize it's my snoring that has awakened me! I couldn't resist opening my windows the last 2 days because it has been so beautiful and warm. Yes Mom, I know if I had not opened my windows and let the pollen in I wouldn't have woken up with my sinuses stopped up and snot on my face. But we live in Tennessee where it can be 70 one day and have an inch of snow on the ground the next. No wonder we are one of the most "allergic" states to live in. I guess that's a small price to pay to be able to see the seasons change.
Today I was supposed to meet Gerry for lunch to celebrate our birthdays. Hers was in Dec. and mine was in Feb. Yep, we're a little late in celebrating but we are determined to find the time to be together and EAT! I had to cancel because my allergies are making me feel crappy and what good does it do to eat a fabulous meal and not be able to taste it?! So, we've put it off again. I told Gerry we may not have to buy each other birthday presents next year. We can just save the ones we had for this year and give them next year! I will have to re-bag her gift because it has been in my car, in John's car, in the closet, under the bed and on the kitchen counter for months. The tissue paper, which had a beautiful poof, is now de-poofed and torn, as is the bag. And who knows where the card is, probably under someone's seat in a car somewhere or sucked up in the vacuum. If this had been a gift from my sister, even after months it would still look like she just wrapped it. I hate people like that! Her gifts always look PERFECT, you know, the kind you hate to unwrap because it looks like she spent hours wrapping it. I'm doing good to put my gifts in the right bag although I have had to use a wedding bag for a birthday gift before. But my tissue paper was beautifully poofed! Oh well, Gerry and I will eventually get to celebrate our birthdays and that gives me something to look forward to.
Tomorrow is the official first day of Spring even though my sinuses say it started last week. I wish every one a beautiful, blooming Spring. Keep the kleenex handy!

1st day of blogging

Well, hello out there in blog land. As you can see, I am new at this. I don't know if I'll have anything of interest to say or not, but at least I have a forum now. I am the wife of a very busy man who afforded me the luxury of staying home to raise our 3 kids. I do know how lucky I am. We have a daughter and 2 sons. Our daughter was born first, after 5 years of marriage, and 14 months later our twin sons were born. And I'm still alive and kicking, just not quite as high! It was so much fun raising my children. It was also hard, frustrating, exhausting and I wouldn't trade that time for anything in the world. It just went by way too fast. But it helped shape the person I am today......which is apple shaped with no hope of ever being a size 12 again. Two of our children are married and we have the best son-in-law and sweetest daughter-in-law we could ask for. Our daughter and her husband are the ones that will give us our first grandchild in August. To say I am excited is quite the understatement. I can't wait!!! I will blog about this later. Our unmarried son is 29, handsome, EMPLOYED and doesn't have a girlfriend at the moment. Any suggestions??
Today, I am trying to cope with having Celiac disease which limits what I can eat. It doesn't limit my calories (unfortunately), just no wheat, barley, rye or gluten. It's been a learning experience that I continue to learn from after 2 years. It has been good in one way........we don't eat out much any more thus helping save money. It's very easy to be "glutened" at restaurants even if they take precautions with my food. But the money we save from not eating out is used to pay for my "special" food. Why is it that my food has to cost more than regular food? It's really not fair. But I have to have it in order to stay healthy. I do miss good bread, pizza crust, cake, pie, Krispy Kreme donuts and Betty Dean's homemade rolls. The one thing I don't have to give up is chocolate which is why I'll never be a size 12 again. I will blog about Celiac some more as I continue to learn about it.
Well, I guess that's it for the first blog. Just a little info with more to come. I hope you'll enjoy what I write and that it will bring a laugh or two to your day. Take care and God bless.