Fill in the blank Friday!

I haven't done one of these in a while!  Today's blanks are all about firsts.

My first memory is of me and Ricky at the ages of three and two sitting on the front steps of the house we grew up in, the day we moved in.  I remember Daddy and Uncle Jiggs moving furniture in and Mama having to get us out of their way.  

My first love was my husband, Larry.  I have always been so thankful that I didn't have to kiss a lot of toads to get my prince. 

My first favorite color was purple.  I used to love anything purple when I was a kid!

The first time I really felt like a grown-up, I was nowhere near grown up!  I was ten and Mama let me start supper.  Fried chicken.  That ended up burnt on the outside and bloody on the inside.  Needless to say, Mama had to take OVAH. 

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is feed Tabbie Hoffman.  By the time I wake up, he is bouncing on my head for his can.

The first record/cassette/CD I ever bought with my own money was obviously a record.  A 45.  Michael Damian's She Did It.  In 1981 and I was 14.  I already loved him as Danny on Y&R and I saw him on American Bandstand.  I ordered the record from Tiger Beat magazine.  I still love, love, love me some Danny Romalotti!

My first car was a 1984 Chrysler LeBaron.  June Bug, I called her.  I bought it at Paul Walsh Nissan in Macon when I was 19 and Daddy cosigned for me.  The payments were $209 to C&S Bank.  It was tan with chocolate velour seats and I loved it.  Right after I got it, I was going out to Garden Valley to pick up my friend, Lisa, and she, Audra, Ami and I were going to the movies in Americus.  I hit a huge washout in the dirt road and bent the A-frame.  The steering wheel never was right after that.  I was poor as a church mouse back then and when it came time for new tires, I bought them one at the time from Davis Tire Company in Montezuma.  Every week when I got paid, Mr. Davis sold me a tire.  After a month, I had a new set!  That was a good car.  I brought Odie home to die in it and I drove to see Larry for the first time in it.  Ami and I both got teary when I traded it.

Happy Weekend!

Switcheroo!

This little black piece of plastic doesn't look completely shot out, now does it??

And it sho' don't look like it ought to cost $265, now does it??

It's a brake switch for my Altima.  My 4-year-old-less-than-46,000-miles Altima.  My car has a push button start.  You press the brake and then press the button and it starts up.  Last summer, it started doing this weird thing where every once in a while, the brake would lock up on me and the car would not start.  After I spent 10 minutes in 115 degree summer heat, I took it out to the dealership and they'd never heard of such a thing.  Said it was something I was doing wrong, that I wasn't pressing the brake pedal right.  Even though, I'd BEEN pressing the brake pedal right for three years.  It seemed to get better until I started wearing my boot cast three weeks ago.  I could not get that car to start.  Yesterday, every single time I tried, it took me forever.  The last straw was leaving Dr. Kinnebrew's office at 6:00 and it took me 30 minutes!!  And then, I had to call the dealership in tears because I was so frustrated. 

HOWDOIGETTHISCARTOCRANKSOICANGOHOMEI'MHOTTTTTTANDMYFOOTHURTS

OHMYGODDDDDDD.

I had to push my 1998 Altima back into the driveway one morning.  That was the last straw for that one.  This girl ain't pushing no car.  And this girl ain't gonna be hotttttt if she can help it.

The guy in the service department at the dealership (yes, that fine Nissan dealership out on 96) told me it was the brake switch.  When I reminded him of last summer and "it's something you're doing wrong", he said it wasn't.  It's a Nissan thing and they see it all the time.  But there's been no recall and of course, my car is out of warranty.  OF COURSE.  Last summer, it wasn't.  Grrrrrr.

He says it's $265 if it's JUST the switch.  If the wiring harness has gone bad, too, that's another $300.   Are you kidding me??!!  Now I can say I know a little bit about wiring harnesses since that's what I do (or did before THE FOOT) for a living nowadays and I knew it wasn't the harness.  It would do it ALL the time if there was a short in there. 

I was going to take it Saturday and just do the $265 but I thought better of it. A couple of guys at the base told me they'd do it for free, bless their hearts.  I called the good folks at Express Oil Change to see if they would do something like this and they said YES!  I've always taken my cars there for oil changes but I didn't realize they do other stuff, too!  So I took it to them after work and thirty minutes and NINETY-SIX dollars later, it's fixed!!  That's a whole lot better than $265!  And we ain't even gonna talk about the "other $300".

They gave me the switch and I'm keeping it with the receipt just in case Nissan ever does the right thing and recalls the aggravatin' devil. 

Sure hope your week's been better!!  :)

The greatest of nieces

Our Baby Elizabeth arrived yesterday making me a great aunt!  And in the process, making my kid brother a GRANDFATHEROHMYGOD.

Lizzie Faye blessed us with her presence at 4:24 yesterday afternoon, tipping the scales at just over seven pounds and stretching her little legs way out making her an impressive 20 inches long.  I hear she has a head full of hair and her mama's lungs.

We're planning a get-together this weekend so we can all nom on her legs.
 

Here's a pic!

United we stand

Today marks eleven years since 9/11 and I've seen "United We Stand" all over the place.  On restaurant and church signs, on my Facebook news feed, I even saw it today on somebody's back car window.  

What's sad is we DON'T stand united.

In the days and weeks following 9/11, our country pulled together.  Our grief and heartbreak quickly burst into the strongest display of American pride I'd ever seen in my life.  People hung flags off their front porches, people stood in line to donate blood so we'd have enough on hand if there were any survivors, people hung red, white and blue ribbons on trees, people were kinder to each other and crime went down.  I dare say we LOVED one another.  Wow.

It's no secret that I cannot stand President Bush but even I thought he did a great job leading us through those dark days.  

According to CNN today, President Obama leads Mitt Romney by 6%.  That will probably change tomorrow.  It fluctuates.  My point is that we are pretty much split right down the middle.  And it's getting so ugly already.  Republicans won't talk to Democrats and Democrats won't talk to Republicans and other parties won't talk to either one of us.  

I will never vote Republican.  I believe if I did, my heart would just fall out of my chest right there on the gym floor of Thomson Middle School. 

But just because I can't do it, I sure don't hate people who can!  I don't even dislike people who vote Republican.  I see stuff posted on Facebook and I don't usually comment because I try to be tolerant of all people, whether it's political or religious or the way they live their lives.  I'm okay with this big old melting pot that is our beloved country.  I don't get that same courtesy, though.  I get hateful "Obama sucks" comments and I get "unfriended".  The unfriending part is okay with me because after all, are we really friends??  Not usually.

I've made a decision -- to not let these next two months stress me out and make me all angsty about the election.  I've decided to just smile when somebody says something nasty about President Obama but more importantly, I've decided to spend more time outside and enjoy this beautiful fall weather we've got coming, I've decided to read my Bible more and to pray hard for my country, I've decided to love on my Tabbie Hoffman even though he probably doesn't need MORE squeezing and I've decided to call my mama and daddy more.  

This election is not going to control my life.  I know where my loyalty lies and I know who has my vote.  I really don't need to know anything other than that.

I think the best thing we can do to honor the 2,977 victims of 9/11 is to try to get through this election with the American spirit we had eleven years ago.  

Fly a flag on your porch and breathe that crisp fall air.  You'll feel better, I promise.

You know it's fall when...

...you're in Georgia and the humidity drops below 60%!  We got that today so no matter what the calendar says, fall is ON.  At least at my house!

Even Tabbie Hoffman enjoyed his very first fall-like day, playing in a sunbeam by the window.

We had another visitor this morning out on the patio.  I opened up the blind before I left for church and saw the prettiest (and the ugliest!) kitty!!  Beautiful, gorgeous fur and eyes but a face that would make Hello Kitty say goodbye.  Dayum.  That's an ugly cat!  (Note the leaves on the patio.  Yes.  FALL.  :D)

Tabbie Hoffman didn't seem intimidated by this kitty like he did the black one. Maybe he felt sorry for him. He's got his paw up on the glass in this picture like he's saying, "bless your heart, you so ugly."

I love this picture! Like he's asking him, "why you at my house?" Ha! I ran this kitty off with the water pistol but soon after, the black kitty showed up. Got him, too.








Tabbie Hoffman has the sweetest little disposition.  He's still a little bitey but he's pretty much stopped clawing altogether.  He's developed a bit of a smart mouth, though.  If I get on to him about something, he always comes back with "mew mew" or "mew mew mew".  I tell him, "Don't you sass me, boy!"  We have so much fun together.  It's hard to believe it's been eight weeks today that I found him. We've been through a lot together with his ear and the respiratory infection that he had.  He seems to be completely over that, though, thank goodness.  He's a mess.  And a complete joy.

Happy Friday!

Things are boring for me at work.  There's not much that I can do with my broken foot.  I went and inventoried and signed for my new toolbox yesterday and it was delivered to the hangar today!  Got my name on it and everything!  Since I've been working there, I've had a loaner toolbox from the Tool Crib.  This one's MINE.  :)  The tools are basically the same, they're just new(er) and I have a crowbar now!  Yay!!  Crowbars make moving heavy wire harnesses out of the way sooooo much easier.

This week I helped another crew do the inventory kit for their new plane and I cleaned the break room.  Again.  I've been in that building five months and I have never seen another soul cleaning anything in there.  We have a cleaning crew that comes in and runs a damp mop over the floor every day but that's all they do.  Drives me up a tree.  So every once in while, I clean the microwaves and wipe down the seats, tables and counters with some yummy Method or Mrs. Meyer's spray that I bring from home.  A lot of people don't care about it and they've asked me why I do.  I tell them that I don't want to eat my lunch where it's dirty and I've actually been told to just clean the microwave I use, just clean the table I sit at.  I actually don't want anybody eating where it's dirty!  I'm determined to make that hangar a better place to work!!

I have a soldering class three days next week so that'll give me something that I can do.  I LOVED soldering in school.  It was my favorite class next to Alternating Current.  And then when I get back on Thursday, my supervisor has a project for me.  The base has a 6S program (Straighten, Sort, Shine, Standardize, Sustain and Safety) that basically means working smarter, not harder.  It's keeping things safe, clean and efficient.  I talked about this for about half of my interview time and I think that played a huge part in my being selected for the job. It's a pretty big deal out there.  As it should be.  So, that's what I'll be doing until I can get back on the plane.  There are things that have to be done daily, like ensuring the fire extinguishers are not blocked and things that have to be done weekly, like inspecting the floor tape for damage.  

I have to wear my boot for six weeks and my light duty expires on Halloween, unless they extend it for some reason and I sure hope they don't!  I have a week and a half of classes to take in October so that'll help, too. 

 







This little man helps a lot, too.  :)

Showers of blessings!

We kicked off the first of September with a baby shower for our Jessica.  She's expecting her first baby, my first great-niece, later this month.  We are so excited!!  We haven't had a baby in the family since Jessi's brother, Chris, and he's almost 18.  It'll be so sweet to do birthdays and Santa and the Easter Bunny again.



Audra found a lady in Kathleen to do the cake and it was adorable!  A baby butt cake!

 

The baby's name is Elizabeth Faye.  Faye is for Jessi's Nana who passed away last year.  Our girl chose a beautiful way to honor her Nana.

Ami spent weeks working on and making the decorations and she did an amazing job!  She is just so talented.  The triple-layered candle in the middle of the table represented the four generations of Lester girls.  The candle sections were Audra, Jessi and Lizzie and the flame was Miss Brenda.  We all thought that such a beautiful and thoughtful way to include Nana on this special day.

And just look what Ami did with this umbrella!  Showers of blessings!  I love it.

  

And she turned sheets of tissue paper into these beauties.

And this canvas she made to hang on Elizabeth's wall made me cry.  Lizzie's the only one who knows what Jessi's heart sounds like from the inside.  Squall.  :)

We had so much yummy food, too!  The cute baby butt cake that was just as delicious as it was cute, homemade pimento cheese sandwiches, homemade chicken salad stuffed into pita pockets, potato chips and onion dip, a veggie tray and dip, a watermelon bowl of fruit with marshmallow dip and brownies.

Audra made this delicious raspberry punch, too! 

Jessi got some really nice, useful and awesome gifts!  Lots of diapers and wipes, Avent bottles, sweet little outfits, a baby book, a photo album, books for the baby, a rock-and-play sleeper, a bouncy seat, an activity play mat, even a tiny clothes basket.  Little Lizzie is set!

We played a couple of games, too.  One where you had to unwind pink ribbon from the spool and then cut it off when you thought you had enough to go around Jessi's belly.  My ribbon was as tall as she was.  Ha!  Needless to say, I didn't win.  :)

And did you know there are more than 890 M&M's in two 19-ounce bags of them?  Neither did I.  The other game we played was guessing how many M&M's were in a big plastic baby bottle.  Mama and I counted them out and except for a few that fell on the floor, we put them all in that bottle.  EIGHT HUNDRED AND NINETY.  Amazing.

This banner sums it up!  Welcome Baby Elizabeth!  We're so excited and can't wait for you to get here!!