MOYNA'S SOAPBOX (5)

AT LAST!!! The sun has finally appeared! It's still cold, but the day looks so much nicer now that the sun is out. The weather people say this will be short-lived, that we will be having thunderstorms - some severe - by the end of the week.

Well, as of 9:30 pm (or around that time) yesterday (Jan. 26th), our niece, Jaime O'Riley, became Mrs. James de Leon in Honolulu, Hawaii. Fred and I were not able to attend, but Freddy was there to represent our family. I'm sure everyone that was in attendance had a great time! Jaime is a beautiful young woman and I know she made a most stunning bride. Fred and I are anxious to see all the pictures Freddy took of the wedding and reception! Of course, with me having done catering, I'm anxious to see how the food and cake were presented! The wedding was at dusk, the Pacific ocean and Diamond Head as the backdrop - how romantic is that?! We wish the couple all of God's best.

Freddy has called a couple of times since arriving. He said the minute you get off of the plane, you can really feel the humidity. Having grown-up in the South, I can't imagine that it should bother him...! He was excited about his hotel room - he has a view of the Pacific ocean and a balcony for sitting outside. He said it's the best hotel he has ever stayed in. I told Fred he said that because it's the first time he has stayed in a nice hotel WITHOUT US!! It's nice to have all that room to yourself! From what he has told us, he is managing to pack a lot of activities into his days. He and his cousin Eric went to see Pearl Harbor (actually a person visits the USS Arizona memorial) Thursday. That took most of the day because you have to wait for a launch to take you out to the memorial. We can't wait to hear about all of Freddy's sightseeing adventures!! I know he was also excited and couldn't wait to try local food establishments. He and Eric went to a Thai restaurant the first night Freddy was there.

While Freddy has gone off to Hawaii, I have been here taking - or at least TRYING - care of his two turtles - Orbit and Dent. Nothing like stressing over a couple of turtles! I'm just hoping they don't die on me while in my care. I had to take a branch out of their tank because it was growing green, slimy stuff. I was afraid it would kill them. I had Fred go to the pet store and get a dock that was OK to sit in water. I think I'm going to wait until Freddy returns to let him put the turtles back in the tank. In the meantime, I'm hoping the filter will remove any grunge that might be in the tank from the tree branch. Orbit and Dent are in their travel container now; the poor things are probably stressed to the limit with all the moving they have done the past couple of weeks!

For those of you that know me, you know that I have been PRAYING for the past few years for a good snow here - just enough to last 3 or 4 days - WITHOUT losing our power. Well, a little over a week ago, we had some snow...and it was the most PITIFUL snow I have EVER seen! The flakes coming down were so small you had to ask yourself, "Are those flakes or is that sleet?" We ended up with about 1" of snow, but it was gone in 4 hours or so. This "snow event" had been built-up big time by the weather people. They kept telling us to expect 3" to 6" of snow. It was one of those "clear the grocery store shelves" snow events. It was suppose to begin after midnight, but we didn't see a flake until around 10 am the next morning. Why, oh why, do I keep getting my hopes up?! Why do I continue to believe the weather people know what they are talking about?? I will continue to pray for a good snow, but my faith isn't quite as strong...

I guess that's about it for now. 'Til later.

P.S. Freddy just called a little bit ago...it sounds like he missed most of the wedding ceremony...!! Seems like he was touring the DOLE PINEAPPLE plantation and didn't get back to the hotel in time to see all of the ceremony. I guess we won't have too many pictures of the actual ceremony... He said the reception, though, was a lot of fun!!

Late January

January is almost gone. Can you believe it?

This Saturday is cold and overcast. As I meander about in our part of town, I do not see many people out and about.

Freddy is in Hawaii. We are in Pelham as usual. All is well.

Hawaii

Tomorrow I leave for Hawaii to attend my cousin Jaime's wedding to her long time companion James. They are marrying in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. I will spend a week there, allowing me to see lots of sights, such as Pearl Harbor, volcanoes, and hikes around the beautiful island. This is Moyna's and Dad's Christmas gift to me, which is gracious of them and for which I am blessed and thankful. I have always wanted to go to Hawaii, so what better way than to go with family? Aunt Nancy and Uncle Marty will also be there, plus cousin Eric. I'm sure I'll have fun!

MOYNA'S SOAPBOX (4)

The New Year is here...and what a start. I hope it's not an indication of the type of year we will have - busy, BUSY, BUSY!! We began our year in Atlanta, Georgia, for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl game - with our beloved Auburn beating Clemson (who, by the way, have the nicest fans) in an exciting game! We returned New Year's day to Pelham to prepare for Fred's departure on the 2nd to his national sales meeting in San Diego. While in San Diego, Fred had dinner with my brother Marty, his wife Nancy, their son Eric, daughter Jaime, and Jaime's soon-to-be husband (the wedding is January 26th), James. It's always a great time seeing this group of people!

Upon Fred's return from the meeting, we have been busy with doctor's visits (regular checkups), trying to get the house reasonably straightened up, gearing up for Freddy moving back here for a few months, Fred's Spring selling season, and a few other things that need to be taken care of.

One of the things to be taken care of - a piece of bad news that was announced at the sales meeting. One of Fred's colleagues, Kathryn Warren, and her family. lost their 12 year old son AJ, to leukemia the first day of the meeting. Kathryn had just arrived at the meeting, but had to turn around & return to the hospital in Houston. The funeral is today, January 12th, in Tallahassee, Florida. Fred has driven down there for that, along with several other Cengage people. The funeral is to be a celebration of AJ's life. For those of you reading this, please keep this family in your prayers.

Another piece of bad news...our neighbors across the street have a 12 year old granddaughter, Caitlin, who is fighting a brain tumor. She has just finished 30 rounds of radiation treatments. Because of the tumor's location, it cannot be operated on for removal. This is the 2nd go-round; she had the tumor shrunk a couple of years ago, but it has returned. Please keep her in your prayers that this time the tumor will remain shrunk and she can have as normal a life - and a long one - as possible.

That's it for the bad stuff - and hopefully the only bad stuff this year - it IS only January... As I also said earlier, Freddy will be moving back in with us for a few months. He will be going back to school for another Masters degree beginning with the summer session. One problem, he will be going to (ooohh, how I HATE to say the words...) the Univ. of Alabama (AARRRGH). Yes, I said it - the Univ. of Alabama, Auburn's BIG in-state rival (or ONLY rival as some see it). Alabama is one of the few schools that has a MLS program, so he will be going there for this program. Until summer session begins, he will move back home.

I also want to mention that on the 24th of this month, my parents will be celebrating their 66th wedding anniversary!! WOW! It's hard to imagine being married to anyone that long! It's pretty much just another day for them - they will usually celebrate by going out for lunch or dinner.

We heard from quite a number of you this year because we didn't send out a Christmas newsletter last month. Don't worry, there's already talk about doing one for this year. I'm really surprised at how many look forward to our fiction/non-fiction writings!!

This year is going to be a year of working on the house. We have slacked off the past couple of years, so much needs to be done. Because of the water drought, we could not wash the siding on the house, and that REALLY needs to be done. That project is right at the top of the list. We also have to treat our wood porch & deck, but that's during late Spring or Summer when it's hot. And then there's ALWAYS the yard & garage...those are endless projects! I am also going to go through the garage & house to get rid of "sentimental" items; I don't use them, so I'm going to make myself get rid of them rather than take up space & collect dust.

I guess that's it for now. I hope that everyone's year is off to a great start - that's it's a healthy & happy one!!

The End Has Come

I was surprised by this abrupt revelation, no doubt on par with the discovery that the world is not flat. Captain Picard may be going where no man has gone before, but we here on this planet have found our limit.

http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm

San Diego

Finally the long predicted rain shows up this morning in San Diego. My impression is that the bulk of the storm hit way north of us, but the rain cometh this a.m.

Outside my window in room 2226 of the Hyatt Manchester it's almost a solid wall of gray outside at 6 a.m. No matter. We of Cengage Learning are confined indoors anyway.

I have been in San Diego since Wednesday. Will return home Monday after this company meeting, something like my 64th company national sales meeting.

Does it ever get old coming to these sales meetings? You bet! It's gets older each and every year.

2008

Happy New Year to one and all. It's a beautiful winter day from Atlanta to Birmingham.

We begin 2008 at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta, completing our visit to Atlanta for the Chic-Fil-A Bowl. The visit had a happy ending last night as Auburn beat Clemson 26 to 23 in the first overtime game in the history of this game.

We stayed at the Marriott thinking that this was Auburn's headquarters. When we drove up the hotel Sunday afternoon, we discovered otherwise. This was CLEMSON's hotel. Ours was the Hilton, which is behind the Marriott. We honor our reservation anyway since we've stayed at this Marriott several times before and we laughingly consider it our Atlanta Headquarters. So we are surrounded by Clemson people. It's OK because Clemson people are good people. We did not encounter one obnovious Clemson person!

Sunday night we take it easy and have room service dinner. Monday we measure our time waiting for the game. Freddy does some exploring around the hotel although there's not much to see on foot in downtown Atlanta.

Freddy and I walk to the Dome leaving Moyna to enjoy the evening to herself. The game is a hard sellout and thousands of people are everywhere. The outcome of the game makes all the difference in the world. We are ALWAYS in a better mood when Auburn wins.

We walk back to the Marriott after the game and see the merry-making in Atlanta. By the time we get back to the hotel, Freddy and I are exhausted and after winding down, we crash. I am out like a light and all of a sudden it's 8 this morning. After room service breakfast, we hit the road for Pelham. Back in Pelham, we are glad to be home after a dashing two days in Atlanta.