HTOT 2010

This is one of the other homes that will be open for touring during the spring Historic Tyler on Tour event.



Note the railing and the detailed brick work.




Now, I know this has to be whetting your appetite for a spring trip to Tyler!

Fun with Friends!

We had such a fun time Sunday afternoon at the Marvin Methodist Golf Tournament! Milha, Johnny, Evan and I managed to have eight birdies amongst ourselves! Pretty impressive in this crowd, I'll tell you! Everyone made a birdie and everyone had a good time.



Plus, we won our flight!




Plus, I got closest to the pin on Number 13... not unlucky for me at all on this day! That was the easiest birdie we had. =)

All that and a very enjoyable afternoon with my husband and friends... we needed that. Thank you guys for a great time.

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

At seven-o-four this evening, my oldest child will be another year older. This year, she gifted and blessed me with my first grandchild.

It is amazing how sharply Alex's delivery and first few weeks of life have brought back the memories and emotions of my having Amanda.

It is amazing how deeply, how fiercely, how tenderly you can love a small squirming mass.

It is equally amazing that that love continues to grow over a lifetime.

All... just amazing...



This was on Amanda's twentieth birthday. My college girl. She has always made me so proud. She is bright, articulate, responsible, kind, resilient and strong. She stands up for what she believes in. She loves her friends and family deeply. She is a shining star at her work. She is a devoted wife. She makes her house a home... warm and inviting.



As proud of her as I am for all those qualities, never have I been more proud than by the mother she is being to Alex. And, I know that after this year, she will celebrate his birthday with the same grateful heart that I celebrate hers.

A child is the greatest blessing God could ever give us. Experiencing that, I know He loves me and mine even more fiercely than I can imagine. Thank you, Father.



I am a very staunch believer that parents are not here to be their children's best friends... they are here to do the, sometimes, dirty work of being the parent. But, there comes a time, once they have taken their own wings, when children can become your friend. Amanda is, in addition to being my precious child, my dearest friend. I have a few really, really good friends that I could count on for anything. Amanda does, too. We are blessed by that. What I know in my heart is, that if push ever came to shove in life's storms, she would be the last man (woman) standing by my side... and, I would for her.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Amanda! I love you dearly!

Six Days and Counting...

Six days from now I will be picking this little angel up from the airport!!! I can barely wait!

Historic Tyler on Tour 2010

Yes, preparations are well under way for Historic Tyler on Tour 2010. So far, we have three gorgeous beauties lined up for spring of 2010. This one belongs to Mike and Patrice Carmichael. A wonderful Mediterranean Revival style home built in the '30's, it is known as "The Pink House" by all who love it. It is iconic Azalea District! Put the date on your calendars! March 26th will have the Candlelight Tour and March 27-28 will have the Day Tour.

And, yes... this is my latest photo of Little Man. His mom is sooooo sweet to send me special photos. She knows it just lights my heart on fire! I could just eat him up!

On the wagon...

Boot camp has kicked my butt, whipped my a**, taken me down, left me lying... I'm not kidding. The first ten days, I was so sore I wanted to scream... so tired I struggled to get through the day and was still tired when I went back the next day. I've never been fatter, more out of shape or older (LOL) in my life! Mostly, I think it has been the out of shape issue. Though my state of soreness and exhaustion has given me cause to wonder if I'm not just too old for this stuff anymore.

Truth of the matter is that I know better. After twenty-five years of orthopaedic nursing, I know the value of working out. I saw first hand the difference between people who took responsibility for their bodies and those who didn't. And, for most of my life, I have done a fair job of managing some level of fitness... until the past three years.

I fell off the fitness wagon. Didn't want back on. Screw the wagon. You could say I didn't and haven't taken to aging all that gracefully. Hot flashes, wrinkles, sags, gray, grumpy. None of it good. I didn't like it. I was mad (more than angry, that sprinkled with a little irrational=mad). Then my child moved away... expecting my first grandchild. The wagon didn't look any better.

Sometimes, I would convince myself to give some half-a**ed effort... a beginner's yoga class... water aerobics at the YMCA (thought I was in Cocoon). Weak efforts... not really the wagon.

Finally, I'm ready to get back on... and I can't seem to get a grip on the tail of the wagon!! Monday morning, after a weekend of mostly lying on the couch, the alarm went off at 4 am and I cannot tell you how disheartening it was to wake up and still feel that sore and that tired. I should have been rested. I was not. But, I suited up and showed up. I pretty much had nothin' that morning. I did the best I could. Lots of times the just quit voice whispered in my ear... even through the day, long after the workout. I wasn't sure the wagon would ever be for me again.

Then the miracle Tuesday morning of waking up and feeling the difference... I was still sore... but, I could tell I was on my way back. I'm not sure how to describe that feeling... it is just that I could feel my body beginning to turn itself around... to begin to build again... to grow stronger. It has taken me way longer to feel myself coming back from this than I ever imagined. I took for granted that when I decided to get back in shape, my body would jump right to it... just like it always jumped to a new level for me in years past.

I still have a long way to go.

I am older. I did let myself go to the bottom of the pit. But, I have a toe-hold on the wagon... and, I'm not letting go.

A special thank you to my blogging friends who have encouraged me! I appreciate your support more than I can say! Here's to finding your wagon... and getting back on... whatever it may be!

The Morning After...

The morning after (the first day of "boot camp") has sharply brought to mind how far I have fallen off the wagon of fitness! Getting out of bed - painful! Sitting on the toilet - almost impossible! I needed a crane to sit me down gently... but, no! I had to plop, unceremoniously, on my own volition with a growl! Then there was the getting up! Ouch!

Let me just say that I slept like a ROCK! From seven PM when I fell asleep on the couch... woke briefly to move from couch to bed... then OUT... until this morning just before the alarm at 5! Sleep was good! (sorry, Amanda)

Today, is my day to walk/run on my own. I'm not sure how that is going to go. lol. I thank all of my encouragers! Tomorrow morning, I'll be back out in that parking lot at 5:15 AM with "Go, Noni, Go" echoing in my mind... until it is replaced by the shrill orders of our drill master! LOL!