Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Thank you to all of you who have served our country, who are serving our country and will someday serve our country. The courage, dedication and loyalty is SO admired and appreciated that words can never convey just how much your sacrifices mean to all of us.

My late Grandfather, "Papa," was a decorated air force pilot, my other Grandpa Tony is also a decorated Army veteran with numerous medals to honor his courage. The same with my father who gave up his full ride baseball scholarship to Michigan State to instead voluntarily serve in the Army where he was a Captain. These men are all so special to me as are other people I have come to know such as my father-in-law.

What strikes me is that although my family knows of their years of service, the details are always kept quiet. They dare not speak of the experiences in depth. I wish they would, so the rest of us could try to gain a better grasp of just what "service," has meant which is not nearly as glamorous as many movies portray. Perhaps it is better we do not know the details and better they do not relive them. But I thank them and thank you for all you do.

Haute Dogs

We closed out the weekend with some very Haute Dogs. Now I will spend the next week trying to explain to my children why we will not be opening our home to a dog in the near future. Either our old man cat Mac would not survive a new family member, or a new family member would not survive our 17-pound cat Mac.
1)The line-up.
2)My own little puppy dog, Ali.
3)A hot (it was 91 degrees)HOT dog
4)Johnny with his Grandma and Papa

Up and at 'Em!

This morning the Mighty Magners' gang gathered to walk for Cystic Fibrosis. At 8:30am it was already a muggy 87 degrees. Hello Summer! Anyway, we know the Magners (and there are a few here)through many rounds of golf and they happen to be immediate family of our fabulous neighbors a few houses down. Casey and Jackie Magner have young twins with CF. If their fight is anything as great as Casey's (and his brother's)golf game, they will make sure to beat this disease. Each year they have been organizing walks for CF and this year roughly 400 people came out to be part of the efforts.

To be text book, CF is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the U.S. and 70,000 around the world. Sixty years ago, children were lucky to live long enough to attend elementary school. Today, with research and medical advances, children and adults are now living into their 30's and 40's. But that still isn't good enough or long enough. And so, the Mighty Magners' walked with the many family and friends of those who are affected by CF. And 90 cents of every dollar raised goes directly to finding better treatments and perhaps a cure.

1) Casey at the mic
2) Tommy Hawk the Blackhawks' mascot made quite the impression on my son.
3)Johnny, back on track.

A while back I was asked to become a part of the new CASA speakers's bureau here and help get it off the ground. A few of us will "spread the Gosphel," of CASA and why being a court appointed advocate for abused and neglect children is vital on so many levels to children in need of a voice. We will talk with corporations, schools and churches. So, if your business or group is looking for some inspiration or a project of goodwill, let us know and we'll come visit!

As the waters receed...

Welcome to Nashville. It's more heartbreaking than any country song I've heard. The flood waters took over the Delph (Adelphia Coliseum) along with 2nd Avenue and Broadway. "The Mother Church," or Grand Ole Opry and Oryland are under acres of water as well. And in the bottom two pictures, you can see my old newsroom which is just a couple of blocks from the state capitol. It is in the basement (or dungeon as I called it) of NewsChannel 5 which oddly resembles a UFO. Tornadoes have struck Nashville a time or two and being underground can be a blessing when trying to keep the operations going I guess. But flood waters had no problem shutting everything down anyway. So strange to see my old desk there and notice how everything else is gone. Michelle (my old roomie who still works at Ch 5) said trucks spent a couple of days working around the clock to suck out all the water. Can you imagine? My heart goes out to my 2nd favorite city (Chicago being #1)and the outstanding people there who will rebuild and transform Nashville back to it's vibrant self.

Mrs. Tennessee America 2010

My life long friend Michelle was part of the Mrs. Tennessee America competition. Everyone was in Jackson which is roughly 90 miles from Memphis. They spent early Saturday (2am) morning waiting out tornado sirens in the basement of the hotel. Then the venue for her pageant was without power and the roads were under water.

After some fast rearranging, the ladies competed in the hotel lobby instead. And they really pulled it off! Just as in life, you have to roll with it and make the best of a situation. What a memory for everyone. Congratulations to the new Mrs. Tennessee America 2010, Monette Bryant. And congratulations to Michelle! You were dynamite!!
1)Lining up for evening gown.
2)Mrs. Tennessee America 2009 and Michelle. Gorgeous!
3)The new Mrs. Tennessee America and court
4)Post pageant toast to Michelle's hard work

Getting there was half, no, the entire battle.

In the quest to go support my fabulous best friend and former roomie Michelle, I flew down to Tennessee this weekend. When I arrived, they had already shut down I-40.That is the main artery from Memphis to Jackson to Nashville.

Severe (and I mean SEVERE) flooding closed the highway and all the other side roads were now under rising waters. Bridges were out and a dam south of there had given way. So hundreds of us sat on the highway and along the one detour for-EVER. Seriously, for hours we were stranded. Wished I hadn't indulged in that venti iced coffee before hitting the road, but what's a girl to do? I needed some caffeine! With the long wait on the highway going nowhere, people were low on gas and the only exit open for the only detour was without power. No power for those critical gas stations. Crazy!

Slowly, I-40 opened to the bigger trucks and after speaking with the Tennessee Highway patrol (THP) they allowed soon-to-be grandparents to enter so they could go to their daughter who was just trying to have a baby and they allowed me and my super duper rental to head on through. THANK YOU!!!

By the end of the weekend, we would learn that was nothing compared to the devastation taking over my old home of Nashville.

A little something to love!

Here's is something I found and love. Maybe you will too! It is a reuseable chalkboard sticker. That's right! You can pull this baby off and put it somewhere else without damaging your walls. It is made by an Illinois company called Mishu. $12 and it's yours. www.mishudesigns.com