No One Said This World Was Sane

The events in Aurora, CO last week have changed the way we view the world.  One of the most ordinary (and safest) activities we can engage in was shattered in one moment of terror for the folks in Theater 9.  How many of us think when we walk out the front door for work, take a phone call from a dear friend, go to the store or watch a movie that this might be the last time we will ever do that activity?  That there won't be a next time?
When I heard the news on Friday morning, my heart broke for that community and those people.  Another horrific current event that will be etched in our memories.  An "I remember where I was when I heard about" moment in our history.  What an awful a situation those people experienced while trying to enjoy the guilty pleasure of a long-anticipated action movie.  We lost a bit of our innocence on Friday.  
We also became hyper-alert.  Hubby & I went to a matinee of The Dark Knight Rises on Sunday.  I found myself looking around the theater after we sat down and tried to mentally plan for where to run or hide should someone come in and start shooting.  So much so that I even turned to Hubby and said, "If someone comes in with a gun, we can jump behind our seats and hide."  You know the sad part- he had the exact same thought when we sat down.
Is anywhere safe anymore?  Has the world gone completely bat-shit crazy?  It's stories like the one from Aurora, CO that make me ask those kinds of questions.  These are questions that we will never be able to answer.
What can we do is live each moment to the fullest.  We can tell our friends and family members that we love them.  We can enjoy every minute of everyday.  We can live in honor of the 12 from Aurora who lost their lives.  No matter what happens in this crazy world, let's live.

Christmas Time is Near!

Christmas is 2 days away and I can hardly believe it.  Could it be the 70 degree weather outside?  Merry Christmas from SC!
It's been an interesting year, and this is always a time of reflection for me.  How can time go so fast?  Seems like we just celebrated Christmas and here it is again.  Who knew that 2011 would be so eventful for our family?  There was some sadness: Brian's house fire, saying goodbye to our friend Ana, losing both Sophie & Kira, and moving Granny into an assisted living facility.  But there was a lot of joy: bringing Lucy home from the Animal Shelter, celebrating Grace's first birthday, having Granny with us for another year, Hubby starting a new job, gaining a deeper appreciation for my job & the wonderful people that I work with, and just being blessed with all that we have.
As with any blessing, I am thankful beyond words.  I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous new year.
Goodbye 2011!

Let's get ready for 2012!

Yeah for saving $$!!!

I recently went to a Southern Savers' coupon class to get some tips on how to save more on our grocery bill.  I've been cutting coupons for years and trying to take advantage of weekly specials, but I wasn't saving as much as I'd like.   I got lots of great tips and started trying to incorporate what I learned.
At CVS today, I saved over $11 on my purchase (thank you, ExtraCare Bucks!) and paid less than $5 for my items.  Then at Bi-Lo, I was happy to note that with the Buy One Get One Free specials and my coupons, I was able to say 41% on my total purchase!  We usually save 25-30% on our shopping bill. 
Although I still have lots to learn in order to save more money, I am super-excited that I've been able to make small changes in our shopping habits.  I'm certain these small changes will lead to bigger savings down the road.

Breaking Bread Can Break Barriers

What is it about food that brings people together? If you feed them, they will come. At least that is what we usually say in jest. But it seems to be true. On Friday, we had a staff covered dish luncheon. I figured that the usual suspects would participate, we'd have a few laughs while enjoying good food and go back to the business of serving our clients. Well that is partially true. The usual suspects did come, but a lot of others joined in the fun, too. It was a great event!

People who didn't know each other very well broke bread together and shared some laughs. People made new friends at the office and just had a brief time to forget all the stress of our jobs. We had an opportunity to mingle, share stories, and just get to know one another. It was truly a time of fellowship.

You know- sometimes it's the little things that can make the biggest difference. You work with people every single day or pass them in the hallway and say a brief hello. But do we ever take the time to get to know them? Do we stop and take a time out from the daily grind to learn more about these people? Usually we get so busy and wrapped up in our list of To Do's that we miss out on these golden opportunities of fellowship.

I highly recommend taking a break in your day and asking a co-worker about their family, hobbies, likes/dislikes, etc. You might find you have more in common than your place of employment. You never know- you might just make a new friend. And couldn't we all use good friends?

Want to get the conversation started? Offer them something to eat!

Let's Celebrate Our Independence!

Happy 4th of July! A day of independence and remembrance. Last year, I blogged about my heroes and their sacrifice to ensure our freedom. This year, I'd like to reflect upon what personal freedom means to me.
I have the freedom to choose where I live, where I worship, who I love and what I choose to do with my life. I come and go as I please, have a good job that I enjoy, and can get together with friends whenever I want. I was blessed to be able to get an education and advanced degree at the university of my choosing. My parents didn't choose my husband for me, and he is now a part of our family and I am a part of his. I don't have to hide my Christianity for fear of persecution. We can travel freely throughout this great land in exploration of new destinations. I can surf the internet and put my personal thoughts out there on this blog for others to read without someone knocking on my front door and hauling me to jail for my opinions.
These are just a few simple pleasures in life. Simple pleasures that I can enjoy because I was fortunate enough to be born in the United States. I'm fortunate enough to live in a country where men (like my brother) and women choose to serve in our Armed Forces and defend these simple freedoms. For that choice and their sacrifice, I am forever grateful.
Celebrate your independence in whatever way you choose. That is one of your freedoms!

Missing Sophie

Note to Blog followers: there won't be any sarcasm in this post. I'm writing it as a sort of therapy.

On May 16, Jamie and I had to do the unthinkable. We had to put our beloved Sophie Pug to sleep. I say unthinkable because I always hoped that I would not have to make such a decision- not where Sophie was concerned. I wanted her to just go to sleep on her own and not wake up- just like all my pets did when I was growing up. Unfortunately, God and Sophie had other plans.

In March of 2004, my brother called me to ask if I wanted a dog. He knew someone who was trying to find a home for her daughter's Pug. I was hesitant to give her a home b/c I knew with my work schedule that I wouldn't be home with her a lot. I'd also never had my own dog. I grew up with dogs but my Mama fed them and took care of them. All I did was play with them. When Brian said that she was housebroken, I figured why not? So on March 27, 2004, I drove home to meet my new "roommate". Sophie was recovering from bring spayed and wasn't feeling too great. I remember meeting her, and she didn't pay me any attention. I stayed at my parents' house all day, and she had NOTHING to do with me. Then, I got up after supper and said, "OK- I'm leaving. See y'all later." I was completely prepared to leave her with Brian b/c she was so attached to him. Yet the strangest thing happened when I said goodbye and headed for the door. Sophie got off the floor and followed me to the door. She was ready to leave with me! It was crazy how she knew that she was supposed to leave with me. So I loaded her, a bag of dog food, a blanket and toy into the car for the drive back home.


I remember her just laying on the passenger seat and looking up at me. She was like "who are you?" I knew that she had been through a lot in her 4 years. Her previous owner was not a good dog mommy. She would take Sophie places and just leave her with friends or family and take off. If you know anything about Pugs, then you know that they are companion animals. They were bred to be companions for Chinese royalty, and they live to make their master happy. So when she left Sophie with her mom and took off to parts unknown to not return for a long time, her mom found Sophie a new home. A home with me.

Sophie brought me so much happiness. She was content to sleep and explore the house while I was at work. She would greet me at the door when I came home and was super-excited to see me everyday. Things went great until the day I came home to find that Sophie had a bit too much fun. She'd knocked the TV onto the floor and broken some of my stuff. To this day I have no idea how she got the TV on the floor and she never would say. I'll never forgot driving into the carport one afternoon and looking through the window to see her standing on the end table. I started yelling at her through the window to get off the table. I felt like such white trash. From that day forward, she became a crate dog.


She hated thunderstorms and would hide under the covers when thunder crashed. She snored like a person and would take over the pillow beside me. She was a snuggler- on the bed, the couch, the recliner, wherever. She didn't like to be alone in a room. She had to be wherever you were in the house or yard. She lived to make you smile. If you were sad, she would just lay beside you in an effort to offer comfort. She loved to go for car rides. All you had to say was "Car car bye bye" and she was running for the door. At our old house, she would squeeze out the gate and explore the front yard if I didn't watch her. Once I started to miss her and found her sitting in the front yard near the street. A carload of teenagers were calling her to their car. She didn't have her collar on and they thought she was lost. If I'd been 1 minute later, she would have gotten in their car. Little hussy!

Sophie met Jamie and loved him instantly. I figured that if Sophie thought he was a good guy then maybe I should give him a chance. She was an excellent judge of character! She enjoyed mingling with other Pugs each October at Pugfest in Atlanta. She enjoyed the car ride there and staying in a hotel. On our first trip, we came back from dinner one evening to find that she had escaped her crate and was sitting on the AC unit looking out the window at the interstate. She had the most innocent look on her face when we caught her. Once we discovered my co-worker was willing to make her costumes, Sophie began placing in the Homemade Costume Contest. She made a lovely Lucy van Pelt and a most holy nun.

As Sophie got older, she started to deal with serious health issues. The most damaging was a nerve condition that hindered her ability to walk. We watched her walking get worse over a 9 month period. When we realized that she couldn't walk anymore, was losing control of her bodily functions, and just acting so sad, we knew it was time. We took a weekend to say our goodbyes and make some more memories with her. I've never cried so much as I did over those 5 days. When we took her to the vet's office on May 16th, we knew it was over. The staff was very compassionate, and we were with her until the end. It was peaceful, and we were the last people she saw & heard. We had her cremated and picked up her remains today.

I had 7 wonderful years with Sophie. I was her mommy for most of her life and the only mommy that she'll remember. She'll remember me b/c I loved her and took care of her when her first mommy couldn't and wouldn't. She brought so much joy and happiness into our lives. I am a better person for having spent the last 7 years with her. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her and miss her terribly. Yet I know that she is in a better place. She can walk and run, has all her teeth and is enjoying her time in the sun. If you believe in the Rainbow Bridge concept, then you believe that one day you'll be reunited with your beloved pets and cross into Heaven together. I believe. On how I believe.

Sophie Henson Sanders
March 16, 2000- May 16, 2011
Found her forever home on March 27, 2004 and stayed there until the end.

Some Changes Have Been Taking Place

Wow- it has been a crazy 2 months since my last blog post. I've felt that life has been pretty boring and that I did not have much exciting news to share. In an effort to get back on track, I'll just share a few things that have changed with me.

I blogged a while back about starting Weight Watchers. After many months of working the program and losing little by little, I have achieved Lifetime status!! I'm 35 pounds smaller than when I started with the program in August. I've had to shop for new clothes- awesomeness!! And I feel like a brand new woman! Hubby has even joined WW and is doing great!! He's already down 22 pounds. I'm so proud of him!!!

I must confess that I still suffer from an addiction to books. However, my addiction is about to take a new form. After much contemplation and doing research on the various options, I've asked Hubby to give me a Kindle for my birthday (which is fast approaching). I've already been adding Kindle editions to my Amazon wish list. I have explained to Hubby that I will still need to purchase the occasional book- like Stephen King or Anne Rule. I cannot give up owning new editions by my favorite authors.

Another change I anticipate is paying more attention to my blog. I'll even start sharing the boring details of my life in order to stay on track if I have to. I know, you can hardly wait for those exciting posts. Thanks for hanging with me!