Day 3 - and I'm Still Alive...

Today is the third day that I have been on my self imposed Sweet Potato Diet. I am glad to report that I am still alive. I think I ate an entire sweet potato for lunch today. (Thanks Mike for fixing my lunch today). Yesterday we ate at Golden Corral for lunch and guess what, they had sweet potatoes on the food bar. I had 2 helpings.

I know some of you may think this is funny, even I think it's a little comical, but I am sure hoping to see a "real" difference by the end of the week.

"Dear Lord, Please don't let all this sweet potato eating be in vein. - Amen"

The story will continue....

Sweet Potatoes - Really?

If you know me, you know I have never acquired the southern taste for sweet potatoes. Just something about the color, texture, smell of it never appealed to me.

I was talking with a client of mine last week and we were discussing the cold I can't seem to shake this winter. She kept insisting I should eat sweet potatoes. She kept telling me about all the benefits / vitamins sweet potatoes have. Well, this has bothered me all week. Why CAN'T I eat sweet potatoes????

Knowing the weatherman was calling for snow this weekend, I decided to run by the grocery store and it was then I found myself standing in front of the produce counter just looking at sweet potatoes. I bought 4 of them. I thought that I "might" try to cook some this weekend since we would be in the house most of the weekend.... I did cook all 4 of them this morning thinking Mike would take it as an early Valentine's Day gift from me... He Loves Sweet Potatoes.

Well, I decided before I put myself through this, I would do some on-line research myself. I checked this site:
http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/vegetable/health-benefits-of-sweet-potatoes.html
It verified everything I didn't want to know...

So tonight, the kids have gone to bed and my wonderful husband fixed me about 1/2 of a sweet potato. I ate it. I have given myself a goal to eat a 1/2 of one everyday this week, and let's see if I can knock this cold / Bronchitis out. For the record, I am also still taking Tylenol Severe Cold about every 6 hours or so, my regular "One A Day" Women's Vitamin" and an extra Vitamin C drink twice day.

Story Developing....

Our Night with Signature Sound

On Thursday night, February 4, we got to see our friend Devin sing in Goldsboro with Signature Sound Quartet. Devin is married to Karen, who is someone I remember from growing up at Rainbow. Her dad still comes to Rainbow to speak on special occasions. Karen used to sing with a local group called Moving up. Raeanne and I were talking last week about the time Karen and Moving up were singing at a family night supper at Rainbow and Devin was singing with a group called Karen Peck and New River at the time. Karen had tried and tried to get up with Devin by cell phone and just could not get him that evening. During the family night singing, Tim (leader of the group Moving up) brought up Karen's dad to help sing a song, but Mr. Allen said he needed some help. Well low and behold from the back walked Devin. He had surprised her and drove from Ga. Raeanne and I remembered how sweet that was!

Right after Christmas we heard that Devin had been hired by Ernie Haase to sing with Signature Sound. We are so excited for them. Signature Sound sang in Goldsboro last Thursday and it was our first time seeing Devin with them. He did an outstanding job! If you ever get a chance to see Signature Sound, you really should. They are very uplifting and have great harmony!

Oh to be a Child again....

Some days I just want to wear this outfit to work...

Yes, My Name Is Melissa....

Yes, my name is Melissa and I am addicted to Facebook.

For those of you who are my friends on Facebook, you can testify that my name usually has a green dot beside it in Chat. For the most part, I don't Chat ALL day - I do work some; but for the most part I LOVE keeping up with friends. Here are a few interesting facts right now about my profile on Facebook:

I joined Facebook in February 2007. I had a MySpace page (still do, just don't keep up with it much) and found that there were more and more people setting up a Facebook Page - so I thought, what the heck....

I have 387 friends. WOW - Did not know that I actually knew this many people. My friends consist of High School Friends, 4-H Buddies, Former Co-Workers, Church / Sunday School Class people and family. I do not add anyone that I do not know personally.

I have 29 photo albums containing 752 photos. There are 24 wall photos that I have been tagged in and I have changed my profile picture 7 times.

I have 26 relatives that are my friend on Facebook and we keep up with each other that way. For example, while Elizabeth was in Maurtainia, we were able to keep up with her safety issues while she was in that country. (yes, no running water - but internet.) Now my cousin Jason is doing the exchange program in Ghana and hopefully we will be able to hear from him as well. (He just got there this week)

15 of my friends are available to Chat right now. It has been really nice to have some of my friends pop in during the day just to say hello. Don't get me wrong, we don't chat ALL day long but we do communicate and check in with each other this way.

One of my favorite things to do on Facebook is read the status updates of my friends. Here are some of my favorites. Hope you enjoy: (These are not my status updates - they are from different friends at random).

Now that the presents are unwrapped I'll spend all day with those d@#$ twist ties on the back of the toys. I really would love to meet the Einstein behind that. Oh, Merry Christmas everybody!

I left Seth in the truck while I walked into the store. Walk back out and he has a piece of paper up to the window that has HELP written on it showing it to people!

Please put this on your status if you know someone (or are related to someone) who is an idiot. Idiots affect the lives of many. There is still no known cure for stupidity, but we can raise awareness. 93% won't copy and paste this, many because they're too stupid to know how to copy and paste. Will YOU make this your status for at least one hour?

When life hands you lemons, squirt the juice in your eye..the stinging sensation will stop your whining.

is annoyed that he can't play UNO. The Mexican's keep stealing my green cards.

says Honk if you love Jesus! Text while you drive if you want to meet him!

Aliens are coming to Earth on Monday to abduct all the good looking and sexy people! Some of you will be safe!! I just wanted to say goodbye!!! :o)

I was caught at the kitchen table last week while we were eating "Facebooking" . Love my IPOD Touch! My husband said I set a bad example, and yes, I will probably have a fit the first time one of them is caught texting while we are at the table eating. It was then that I realized my problem. I have learned my lesson to be a better example. As a punishment, I have grounded myself from Farmtown this week. Yes, my crops have waisted away in the field and my flowers have died, but this is the only way for me to learn my time limitations. Just wish I could sell my farm on Farmtown and make some real money off of it. . .

Sorry to cut this short, but....Ah, I really need to get back to Facebook, I mean Work....

CHRISTmas 2009

So just where did the CHRISTmas season go this year? The Dixon family stayed extremely busy this year with church, school, and family activities. Mike did an outstanding job directing the choir and the "production" of our church cantata. It was held on a Sunday night and involved lots of people from our congregation. We enjoyed having desserts afterwards and ended up having over a hundred people there. Reagan missed it due to having strep throat, although she enjoyed the attention from Grandaddy. I was also battling bronchitus during this time and had been out of work most of the week before the cantata - (when it rains, it pours). The Saturday before Christmas was extremely busy for us. We left home around 10 am and headed to Vanceboro to visit Mike's Grandparents, we didn't find them at home, but did track them down at Vera's diner having lunch. From Vanceboro we headed to Kinston to pick up some presents for the girls from Aunt Ann. Then we made our way to Goldsboro to pick up a birthday cake for MaMa Hood's 86th birthday at Mickey's pastry. From there we traveled to "the farm" in Grantham to celebrate MaMa Hood's birthday and Christmas with Aunt Betty, Uncle Barry and Jason. We had a wonderful Ham dinner with some awesome homemade Mac and Cheese. LOVED IT! After the party, we headed to the Goldsboro Mall so the girls could see the bears sing (a Christmas tradition). Then, we headed home! Wow, what a day that was.

On Christmas Eve, we headed to Pamlico County to have Christmas with the Dixon side of the family. It is nice to see (most of) his cousins there. The girls enjoyed opening presents with all the Great Grand Children.

Christmas Day, I felt like I had to drag the girls out of bed! Although, what Santa brought didn't look like much, it was more than any of us deserved. We are so blessed! We served lunch at our house - Prime Rib, Broccoli salad, Mashed Potatoes, Pineapple Casserole, String bean casserole, Rolls, Apple Pie and Pecan Pie. We cooked the Primerib outside this year on the new grill Mike got for Fathers Day - boy, did the entire neighborhood smell soooo good! At lunch time we served the Pridgen and Hood families - Ma & Pa Pridgen, Ma & Pa Hood, as well as my mom and dad. Then at dinner, we served the Dixon side - Mike's Mom and Dad, Kenny, Melanie Sierra and Damian. We also enjoyed opening present all day long.

I am always reminding myself of how blessed I truly am. I have a wonderful husband, sweet children, great and supportive parents and in-laws and a God who never fails. Hope your family had a great Christmas too!

My Junior TopCat

October 2009

Raeanne and a friend from dance, Alli, did the Junior TopCat Program at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. This was Raeanne's 3rd year doing the program and Ali's first year. We traveled to Charlotte for 2 weekends in a row and stayed with Aunt Betty. Her mentor this year was TopCat Chica. She was great with the girls and so friendly! Raeanne performed during the half time show at the game between the Panthers and the Buffalo Bills. During their half time performance, the kicker for the Panthers - Kasey - came out and did some practice kicks. Raeanne just happened to be on the front row. It just so happened that ESPN was filming Kasey during half time and low and behold behind him was RaeRae! I have had several people tell me that they saw her on TV. I really thought they were pulling my leg until I saw the DVR of it later! How cool was that? Raeanne had a great time at Aunt Betty's and at the game. Aunt Betty always treat us to special stuff while we are there! Our seats at the game weren't the greatest - we were about 13 rows from GOD. I will try to save /earn enough money from my massage stuff to actually buy better seats next year! We still had a great time hanging out with our friends from Dance. Since it was a late game on Sunday evening, and we were traveling by ourselves, we opted to stay Sunday night and drive back Monday morning. What a great idea! (Yes, I am the bad mother who kept her daughter out of school for a day...whoop ti do!) We were not pushed to get back and actually stopped in Concord and walked around Concord Mills outlet as well as visited Charlotte Motor Speedway. We are already looking forward to next year's camp.

Shall We Dance?

Shall We Dance?

It's that time of year again! Not long after school starts back, dance starts back. The girls are sooo excited! They started back this week. No more Reagan walking around the house asking "Do I go to ballet dance tonight?" Now we can actually say, "you will on Monday!"

Reagan is in kinderdance again this year. It is a combination of tap and ballet for the small children. This is going to be a really great class for her this year. Her cousin Ashley is in the class too. We are going to love seeing Ashley and her brother Blaine (and mom Teresa) on Monday nights. Now we have an excuse to eat after dance! (ha ha!)

Raeanne has dance on Tuesday nights this year. She is again taking 2 classes, but this year she opted to take ballet and jazz. (She is not taking the acro class). Fortunately, they are on the same night! (yippee). She was excited to see her dance friends in ballet and she enjoyed the challenge of jazz. She said she thought it was going to be a lot harder than acro...? I know as class goes on, she will enjoy it more and more. We also found out that Raeanne's friend Allie from dance has signed up to go to the Panther's Jr. TopCat Cheerleading camp this year. That is exciting! They may / may not be in the same group, but I do hope they get to hang out together while they are there. Raeanne is still hoping her other buddy Taryn will go. We haven't heard from her parents if they have made the decision to go yet. Now we have reason to look forward to October!

Mike had his review of the tech plan with DPI this week and he feel like that went pretty good. I guess the teachers are starting to get back into school mode. It is an abrupt transition from summer to school, especially when it is still 85 -90 degrees outside... I am looking forward to going to some of the football games and hearing the band play at half time. (Raeanne loves watching the band ...she says she wants to do the flags and rifle when she is old enough!)

I started working at Alison & Co. some this week. I did two massages on Wednesday night and I have a salt scrub set for Saturday morning. I'm looking forward to the salt scrub...never done that before (full body), just did practice in school on an arm! (Shhh....we won't tell the client that I've never done it before...) I am very thankful for being able to start this new adventure. I hope I get some regular clients and build up my business. I know that will not happen over night, and I am just advertising with "word of mouth" advertising. I want to stay as busy as I want to and hopefully that will come with time.

That is about is for the Dixon clan this week. We are heading down to the beach next weekend and also celebrating Mike's Dad's 60th birthday on Saturday. We are looking forward to getting away for a weekend!

cya!

A Week of First

A Week of First

What a week of "first". On Tuesday, Raeanne started 4th grade (I still can't get over how fast time is flying). She has a really good teacher this year and so far she is still excited about going to school. The only complaint I have heard so far is that the books are really heavy. She has already switched book bags to accomodate the books. I'm not sure if she has a favorite subject yet, but last year she really enjoyed history and current events. I hope the tutoring we have provided for her over the summer has prevented her from the "summer back slide". We shall see...

Today, we took Reagan to Pre-K for her first day of school. She has been so excited all week about going to the "big" school. Even last night, she was up at 1 am & 2 am and I think she was just too excited to sleep. Funny how kids understand and deal with change the same way lots of adults do. Reagan has a really sweet teacher and I think she is going to have a great year. She is in a good class with some good children. We know a couple of the parents that have kids in her class too and I think we will all work well together to give the entire class a great year.

I also got a part time job this week at Allison & Co Spa and Salon. There are alot of changes going on at the spa, so hopefully I am coming in at a good time (positive thinking). Basically I am "renting" a room in the spa and I am working on Wednesday and Thursday evenings (5:30 pm & 7:00 pm) and a couple of Saturday's a month. It is up to me to fill my time slots (that is one of the changes being made at the spa, we no longer have an employee that just books appointments). So, if you're interested in getting a massage, please contact me on my cell phone or send me an e-mail. This brings on another "first". I had to start my own business in order to do all this stuff "legally". I hope that the business will do well, and I am realistic in the fact that I know business takes a couple of years to ever get off the ground, but I still have a goal to do about 20 massages per month for the first 6 months and then I will look at my goals and adjust as needed.

I would also like for you to pray a little prayer for the Jones family. Although I do not know them personally, they do attend Christ Church in Greenville with my brother and his family. They lost their 4 month old on Tuesday to SIDS. I can't imagine what they are feeling, and I am just praying they lean on God for comfort during this time. I know they will appreciate (and need) your prayers during this time. Here is a link to their blog. http://thejonesfamily52009.blogspot.com It just reminds me that we are not promised tomorrow.

C-Ya

We Survived!

Friday was an excellent day! Not only did we celebrate Raeanne's birthday, but I also received my Massage Therapy License! I had submitted the paperwork on July 14th and received it August 14th. It is official, now I can start looking for part time employment. (call me if you're interested....)

Now on to the weekend of celebrating.

Raeanne turned 9 on Friday, August 14th. She wanted to eat out at Logan's Steakhouse becuase it is the only place around that still sings to you on your birthday...Well actually, they did sing, they just stood her in a chair and announced it to everyone in the restuarant and yelled Yee Ha at her. Anyway, Nana and Papa drove up from Grantsboro for dinner with us. After dinner we headed over to Grandma & Granddaddy's for some cake and ice cream. On our way home from Goldsboro, Raeanne received a special phone call from Aunt Betty. She was sitting on a plane in Detroit and she was on her way to Kenya for the next 2 weeks. That phone call helped make her day. We also opened just a few gifts from Grandma & Granddaddy and Aunt Betty. On Saturday morning we headed over to Galaxy of Sports in Kinston for some bowling action. We had 16 kids to bowl and have a party. I thought it was a really good turn out and everyone enjoyed the bowling. After bowling, we had 4 of her friends to come over for a sleepover on Saturday evening. They enjoyed spraying each other with Silly String and jumping on the trampoline. They then played upstairs and had mini wii tournaments. We grilled out hotdogs for supper and then settled in to watch "Race to Witch Mountain". Just as we were finishing the movie and beginning to play the Wii again, our neighbor came over and brought a very special movie for the girls to watch. So we watched another movie... At this point, one child was feeling sick and had called her mom to come over and pick her up. Needless to say, after she saw what the movie was, she was feeling better and ended up staying. After that movie went off, Raeanne started feeling bad with a headache... so I gave her some Motrin and I started getting all the girls settled in for the night. By the time I got all the girls to settle down, Raeanne was starting to feel better... At this point, it's after 1 am and I am still trying to get them settled down. (I'm such a bad mom huh?) They were having fun just sitting up talking and laughing, but they finially fell out about 1:45. I think I fell asleep at 1:47. On Sunday morning Mike and I got up and fixed Cinammon Rolls for everyone and headed out to church. Raeanne was so excited to have her friends with her at church. After church we went to BoJangles and the parents came there to pick up the kids (except for one girl we took home with us...and she could have stayed all afternoon). She went home around 2:30 and it was time to rest! Reagan walked around in her bathing suit all afternoon wanting to know if it was time to go swimming. She got a good night sleep the night before because she stayed with Grandma & Granddaddy. Raeanne recieved 2 other movies for her birthday. We watched Marley & Me (sad...). I was in bed by 7:15 and Raeanne and Mike watched Caroline in 3D. It was a really busy weekend, but a great weekend. I'm glad Raeanne had a good birthday. She is such a sweetie!

Later this week, the girls are going to their Nana & Papa's for a couple of days before school starts. Can't believe school starts next week. The summer has really gone fast! I'm looking forward to the challenges of the 4th grade student and seeing Reagan start pre-school.

Until later - C-Ya!

Raeanne's Birthday

Happy Birthday Raeanne

Today is the birthday of one of the Loves of My Life. She is turning 9 today. Although I am very excited that today is her birthday, I am also really sad. My baby aint a baby no more. She is quickly growing up and becoming a young woman.

I thank God everyday for the blessing I have in her. She is such a sweet person and has such a loving personality. She loves her little sister and she loves all babies too. She is one of the most considerate person I have ever met. I am glad she is my daughter.

I am sad because of the thought that if the next 9 years go as fast as the first 9 years then it won't be long before she will be off to college. wow.

Happy Birthday Raeanne. I hope you enjoy this year and continue to grow and mature into the wonderful girl I know you are! I Love You!

Is Summer Almost Over????

I can't believe summer is almost over. It seems to have passed by so fast this year. Let me catch you up on the Dixon Family...



Back in June I had the chance to head up to New York City for the first time. It was an awesome trip. I flew up from Raleigh and met my Aunt Betty (who flew from Charlotte) at the airport. Our flights arrived within minutes of each other and sure enough we met right outside of the bagage claim area and then we were off! Most interesting fact about the cab ride...It was equipped with a GPS screen in the back seat so you can see where you were on the map and in the corner of the screen...it would update as to how much you owed at any given point for the cab ride. We got there about lunch time and we got checked into the hotel (Double Tree at Time Square) and then headed over to Roxy's for a huge lunch. That afternoon we visited the Empire State Building and I took some awesome pictures. On Tuesday morning I was up at the crack of dawn and headed down to the Good Morning America studios. (My Aunt got to sleep in since she didn't have to go to work /meeting until 9'ish...but she did get to see me on TV) I was able to meet Alonzo Mourning, former NBA player as well as Chris and Robin. I had my picture taken with them! After Good Morning America, I took a 5 1/2 hour tour of New York City. It was excellent for a first time visitor like myself. Tuesday night we went to eat at an Italian place that was really good, and then we went to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. That was really good too. Wednesday Morning I got up at the crack of dawn and walked to Rockefellar Plaza to be on the Today show. I did get to shake Matt Lauers hand. I was soooo excited....even though I was getting rained on, it was still worth it. Meredith Vierra was not there that day, but I did get to see Al Roker and Matt Lauer. I walked (and walked, and walked in the rain) to no avail trying to find the Fox News Studio for Fox and Friends... I will find it on my next trip. After I returned to the hotel, my aunt wasn't even up yet... After she did get up and going, we headed out shopping...she didn't have a meeting that day. My favorite place was the M&M store. That place was huge! We went back to Roxy's to have lunch (again). We decided we would try to see another Broadway show, so we got tickets to Guys and Dolls. What a great choice! Little did we know that the final performance would be that coming Sunday. It was an excellent show! I still can't believe they took it off Broadway! For dinner that night, we ate at some Bar-B-Que / Ribs place...forgive me, I can't remember the name of the place. Well, Thursday morning we got packed up and headed back to the airport. After some flight delays, I got back to RDU around 4pm. Little did my girls know what I had in store for them on Friday....



Since I had not spent any time with the girls that week, I kept Reagan home from daycare and Raeanne home so we spent the morning together. Around lunch time, my friend Carolyn brought her daughter Maria over....instantly, the girls knew something was up. I got out the video camera and as they were standing all in a line, they asked (as if rehersed) "Where are we going?" I calmly said "Greensboro". They asked "Why?"...a little more excited, I said "to see KELLIE PICKLER!!!!!" They all screamed and hooped and hollored. They were so excited. Then I broke in and said, "That's not all....Kellie Pickler is opening for TAYLOR SWIFT" They went wild! So we hurried up and left Greene County and headed for Greensboro. All the girls did so well. They took a nap most of the way up there. We ate at Daryl's for supper and as we were eating supper, another group of people were seated at the table beside us. We couldn't help but notice that one guy was wearing an "All Access" pass. Carolyn and I thought this guy might be part of the road crew...wearing jeans & T-shirt...so before we left, we kindly asked him if he would mind showing the girls his All Access pass. He said "No Problem", well his mom, who was sitting at the table with him, chimmed in..."he's the banjo player for Taylor...He'll be on stage tonight when Taylor start singing, so you girls look for him!" I thought Carolyn and I would fall out with laughter! Here we thought he was part of the road crew! The concert was great. Glorianna opened up, then Kellie Pickler. (Kellie did an awesome job on the song that was written about her mom...can't remember the name of it...) Then Taylor did a great job as well. Our girls loved it! We had pretty good seats too. We were 14 rows from the stage, the only downfall were the teenage girls on the row behind us screamed almost the entire time. They did become a little annoying after a bit. About 11:30 Friday night, we headed back home to Greene County. We stopped one time for a drink and potty break, but we still got home around 2:30 Saturday morning. Poor Maria had her birthday party the next day, I was really worried that she would be dragging for the party, but that too, went well.



July 4th came quickly after that and we spent that down at the Croaker Festival in Oriental. The kids enjoyed playing on all the "kiddie rides". Mike ended up working most of the month of July. He was in Raleigh 3 different weeks doing either presentations, workshops, or doing some work for the Collaborative at Peace college. I took my dreaded MBLEx exam on July 11th. I was sooo nervous that day. The fact that I paid almost $200 to take the exam was enough to send my "fight or flight" into over-drive. I did pass it on the first try! I sent off my paper work for my massage license to the state and they received it on July 14th. I know the website for the massage board said they would respond within 30 business days, so I still sit (patiently) waiting to get my license...It is August 5th right? Maybe I will get them soon!



We celebrated the end of the month of July by taking the kids to see G-Force in 3 D. It was a cute movie. On Saturday (August 1) we left about 6 am and headed toward the acquarium at Fort Fisher. (Hint and note to self...do not use mapquest directions to get from Snow Hill to Fort Fisher - Loggerhead Road.) We finished up at the acquarium and then went to the Fort at Fort Fisher for a tour. Then we did lunch and little shopping at the mall in Wilmington. We were able to buy most of Raeanne's uniforms for school on this trip, so it really was worth stopping at the mall. We were running out of time, so we skipped the Battleship and headed on to Myrtle Beach. We took a breather after we checked into the hotel and then headed over to the Dixie Stampede. Reagan had never been before and she really liked the horses. (Did I mention we were on the front row of the South side and the horses were right in front of us...she really liked that) On Sunday morning we ate a brunch at the House of Blues and then did some shopping over at Barefoot Landing and the Tanger Outlets. We headed back to Wilmington 2 pm or so and ended up back at the mall to shop some more. (We had planned on seeing the Battleship on Sunday on our way back through...but it was raining. That will have to be done on another trip.) After an early supper at Ruby Tuesday's, we headed back to Snow Hill and got home around 7:30. We were all kinda beat, but the girls did great with so much going and taking "little" naps off and on throughout our "day-cation".



Now we are preparing for Bible School that starts tonight. I am hoping for 10 kids to show up. It won't be long before school will be starting back. Raeanne will be in the 4th grade and hopefully the funding will be available for Reagan to enter Pre-K. We still haven't heard if the program will be funded this year.... I promise to try to do better about updating the blog. I have been really slack!



C-Ya!

Corrections and Understandings....

Corrections and Understandings....

I was kindly notified last night by my BFF, Sharon, that in my last blog, I just listed her as a "friend". OMG. For those of you who do not know, Sharon has been a BFF of mine for so long, it it not even funny. (I sound so hip to myself saying BFF...giggle) This post is dedicated to her, my Best Friend Sharon.


What is a Best Friend? A Best Friend is one who at the age of 4 or 5 lets you jump on her bed like a trampoline, only to fall off and hit your head on the vent on the floor. She is one who will encourage you to ride rollercoaster on the first trip to Busch Gardens when you are in 5th or 6th grade. She is one who picks on you the day you get your braces (6th grade) and relentlessly reminds you to brush your teeth for the next 4 years. She is one who will stop and pick flowers along the side of the road and bring to you the day you have your wisdom teeth cut out. She is one who will not let you drive her brand new Camero (even though she was only 15 and I had my license). She is also the friend that knew when we needed space...took it, and I didn't appreciate at the time, I understood later on that the space only made us closer.


A friend is one that you share special life moments with... who will allow you to stand near her during her wedding, and one who will fly from Nebraska to be at yours and make sure your makeup looks good before you walk down the aisle. She is also the friend that will drive from Virginia to sit and hold your first born daughter so you can have a few minutes of peace and quiet. She is also the friend that calls the hospital from Japan as soon as she finds out the second daughter had been born, just to check on you and the family.


You see, a best friend is one that you can pick up the phone and call anytime and even when you don't have anything in particular to say, you can just talk. She is also a friend that is there for you when you need her...just ask. She is one that you never say good-bye, just see you later.


Thank you for being my best friend. You have given me soooooooo many memories. This post does not include all the memories I have, just a select few. The internet is not big enough for me to list every memory. You are not just a "friend", you are indeed a Best Friend and I love you.

How Long Has It Been

Yes, it has been a while. As my friend Sharon kindly reminded me (3 weeks ago)…"when are you going to update your blog?" There has been a lot to happen in the past couple of months, I guess I should fill you in.

I did finish my massage therapy school. I graduated last Thursday night (May 14). I still have to take the MBLEx and pass that before I can apply for my license from the state. So, I still can't officially work in massage therapy yet. Funny how you have to have 500 hours of school and pass, then take a National Exam, and pass, then apply for your license… I am trying to apply for my license before July 1. I think Bev Perdue is going to up the license fee to $200 after July 1. School was fun. I met some really nice people and some people that made life more of a challenge. I was the oldest one in my class and I often felt like I had to take care of everybody. I will see them all again when we have our pinning ceremony on July 29.

I surprised Mike and the girls this weekend. I had worked it out with my brother to use the condo this past weekend. Friday morning, I packed up the supplies I thought we would need for the weekend and drove to Atlantic Beach. I got there around 11:20. I unloaded the truck and got everything situated into the condo and was back on the road by 12:15. I picked up Raeanne before I went home and then we went to daycare and got Reagan. They enjoyed playing outside while we waited for Daddy to get home. Once Mike got home, he changed clothes and was looking around for his flip flops. All I could say is "they are in a better place". He immediately thought I had messed them up and they were in the trash can. Well, we met his mom at the Texas Steakhouse in New Bern for dinner. They still didn't know! They knew I had a surprise, but didn't know what it was. Mike thought we were going to get I-phones and Raeanne thought we were going to buy Dad a Jeep. (I like the way she thinks!) As soon as we turned onto Hwy 70 East, Mike looked at me and said, "so my flip flops are in a better place huh?" He thought we were going to Randy and Steva's place at Emerald Isle. I then showed him the parking pass to the condo and he was excited. The girls never caught on until we were going over the bridge at Atlantic Beach. Raeanne still didn't know if we were spending the night because she knew she didn't pack any clothes. This was the first time the girls have ever been to the condo, so as they were walking around, Raeanne saw her Bear Bo Bo, and the luggage. She was soooo excited! I still don't think Reagan understood everything going on! She was just happy to be at Lillie and Tucker's other house! (Which, by the end of the weekend, she was referring to the condo as her house.)

We went out to the ocean on Saturday morning and we all played in the surf. A little before lunch time we went back in and showered off and got ready to go out for lunch. We went and got pizza from Michaelangelo's. We then headed to the Aquarium and spent the next 3 ½ hours there. The girls enjoyed seeing all the fish and turtles. We capped off the Aquarium with a visit to Dairy Queen and enjoyed some ice cream. When we got back to the condo, we put the bathing suits back on and headed to the pool. The pool there is really nice. It has a big water slide and Raeanne really enjoyed it. Reagan wanted to see Raeanne come down the water slide, so I took her over to the bottom of it. About the time we thought Raeanne should be coming down, another guy was coming down the slide…boy did he soak us when he it the water! Reagan yelled at him "YOU GOT ME WET LITTLE BUDDY!!!!" I thought that guys was going to drown from laughing so hard! I'm really glad he was a good sport. He took right much verbal abuse from a 4 year old! After a while at the pool, we went back inside and got ready to eat dinner. We headed to Emerald Isle and ate at Rucker John's. It was okay. When we got back to the condo, I let the girls choose a movie to watch (Wonder Dog) and we popped pop corn and ate M & M's while we watched it.

Sunday Morning the kids were up at 6:15. We made them go back to bed, but by 6:51 they were asking if they could get up. As soon as we all got up, Reagan was trying to put her bathing suit back on wanting to go to the ocean again. Knowing we had to pack up and clean the condo, I wasn't exactly in favor of going back to the ocean and getting sandy again, but knew if I didn't let them go, I would never hear the end of it. So, shortly after breakfast we went back to the ocean. They really had a good time playing in the surf. Reagan enjoyed running from it and Raeanne enjoyed having it hit her in the back. A little before lunch, we went back up to the condo and as soon as I started packing up, Reagan went into a fit. She was crying that she wanted to stay at her house (condo). I had to keep reminding her that it wasn't ours! She would just cry harder! Bless her heart. She just doesn't understand… We finished cleaning and packing and headed for some lunch at Kubuto's. (They have great Sunday lunch specials.) As we were leaving Kubuto's, it started to rain. What good timing we have!

Now it is back to the grind. Mike and I had dentist appointments this morning to get our teeth cleaned. Raeanne has an orthodontic appointment tomorrow afternoon. She is so worried that they are going to put braces on tomorrow. I keep telling her that they are not going to do that yet, however, IT IS coming at some point. I am really hoping they are not going to suggest pulling her back teeth to try to make room for the front teeth. Dr. Warren talked about that 6 months ago when we were there, but decided to put it off a while. I am hoping he will put it off a little while longer!

I do wish I could figure out how to load pictures into the blog....I'm willing to learn!

Parent's Night At Dance!

This was parent's week this week at dance and we got to see Reagan for the first time in dance "strut her stuff" It was so much fun watching her and it didn't seem that long ago we were watching Raeanne for the first time at parents night. My how time flies! They are working hard on their recital and we are hoping Reagan will do okay during the recital. I have this fear she is going to get stage fright. When she gets her mind made up that she is NOT going to do something, it will take an act of congress to make her do it.

Our girls love Ms. Tori. She has been one of Raeanne' dance assistants for several years and Reagan already has grown to love Ms. Tori too. Ms. Tori is really great working with the kids and I enjoy watching them interact with her. Ms. Tori is helping with Reagan's class this year, but not with Raeanne's. Tori can't believe how different Raeanne and Reagan can be...

More Valentine Pictures

Arthur and Elaine Pridgen

Elaine Pridgen & Kim Jackson

Kim Jackson and Jamie Pridgen

Reagan and my Mom

Lenelle and Harrison

The Pridgen Family

Scott and Kim Jackson

Grandma and Grandpa Pridgen

Mr. James Ray and Louise

Happy Valentines Day!

Mom and Dad

Valentines Day was so different this year. Mike sent me some beautiful yellow roses (from The Tied Bouquet) to work on Friday. We then went to my favorite place to eat, Pupetta's over in Goldsboro for dinner. We took along our neighbors, Lee and Sherry, and it was so nice to have a night out with other adults (child free!). We all ate way too much, but we had to have some dessert, so we headed over to Cold Stones. It sure did make it hard to get up and go to class on Saturday morning... After a day of class, I went to the church and helped with a youth fundraiser. We had a Valentines Day Dinner of ham, mac and cheese, string beans, rolls and dessert. I took several pictures of some of the couples that came out and supported the youth!

Our "A" Honor Roll Girl

Congratulations to our "A" Honor Roll Girl! This morning was the awards ceremony for the past 9 weeks. Raeanne has worked really hard for that "A" Honor Roll Status and we are so proud of her... Also pictured here is one of her best friends, Elizabeth.

She has had a really tough week, but she has been such a trooper. Last Thursday (01/29) she woke up with 104.9 fever. Off to the Doctor we went. We were there until almost 11:00 am. They ran a strep test, flu test, and tested to see if she had a UTI, all of which came back negative. Therefore, we were told she had a virus. She did get over the fever by Thursday night and was (for the most part) acting like herself again. Friday morning we gave her a dose of Motrin and sent her off to school. No more fever Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday...but then Wednesday we got a call from the school nurse...103 temperature. Back to the Dr. on Wednesday afternoon and at this time she is really showing signs of a cold (runny nose, lots of coughing...). They think she has a sinus infection and prescribe us with Amoxicillian. Home we go with alternating Tylenol and Motrin again. Thursday morning...no fever. Not wanting her to miss school, I dosed her up with Motrin and sent her off to school. Other than a real annoying cough, she said she had a good day at school...until about 5:30 pm. 103 fever AGAIN. Tylenol and Motrin again. I checked on her several times through the night...no fever... Well, knowing they had awards day today, I really wanted her to go. I gave her another dose of Motrin this morning and sent her on her way...but the plan is, if the fever comes back today...back to the Dr. office we go. Maybe she does have a sinus infection and the amoxicillian just isn't getting it... Oh, by the way, Reagan is fine. No fever and wild and wooly as ever! It's probably a good thing. I don't think I could handle 2 sick children at one time. I'm going to be really surprised if we all aren't sick by next week...The weather is crazy! We had snow on Tuesday or Wednesday (I can't remember) the high today is suppose to be 47 and the high on Sunday...get this...68! Pray things will settle down and get better...

Let it Snow!

Can you find the driveway or the road?
Can you believe it...? For once, the weatherman was right...well for the most part. It did snow here today, but not the 6 inches he was calling for. The last time is snowed this much was in 2004 as far as we can remember. Raeanne was only 4 and she does remember getting out in it. This is the first time Reagan has ever been able to play in the snow. She saw snow for the first time back in November when we had just a few flurries. This time she had a nice time out in it, until her pants leg got wet and she got cold. She was ready to go back in then! What a nice way to spend the day...! We really enjoy seeing them play together as sisters!

School

So I think I have about 15 more weeks of school. Our class president didn't come back this semester so now there is only 5 of us. We do some really cool stuff during our Saturday Clinic time right now. Here is a picture of my class with Philip being in the cooker, I mean Russian Steam Bath...