Firemen's Parade

This photo was NOT part of my original post this morning. It has been added because of all the peer pressure, um, because I'm a blogger and I like to give my people what they want. Today, they want EYE CANDY. Enjoy!

This post is dedicated to my friend (Sometimes!) Serendipitous Girl. She's currently shopping for a cute fireman to call her own!

Although the Urbanna Oyster Festival has been around for 51 years, the Firemen's Parade was not organized until 1987. Fire and rescue units from all over Virginia participate in this exciting event. Crowds of people gather to cheer as the trucks flash their lights and blow their horns! The din is deafening. The lights, blinding.

Smokey is always there to remind us that we can help prevent forest fires.


The men in blue make an appearance as well. Their lights are a beautiful contrast in the sea of red.


Pictures just don't do it justice. Next year, I am going to have to video tape the parade so you can "feel" it.

Raise your hand if you've ever been to Frog Level. When you come to visit, I'll take you there. It's not too far from home!

This truck had some sort of whirligig thing on the front. I couldn't stop looking at it. Of course, everything looked like this to me after staring directly into bright lights for an hour!!!

It's always sad when the parade comes to an end.

Of course, when the parade ends, everyone heads over to the Firehouse to listen to the band. They don't stay sad for long:)

Yesterday we celebrated our Veterans. I hope you all took time to thank a vet.

Take a moment sometime to thank your local fire and rescue personnel. They remain our unsung heroes.

Baby Addison

I'd like for each of you to take a moment today to pray for a very special family. This young couple attends our church, and they have been through quite an ordeal.

Their newborn daughter has been diagnosed with VATER Syndrome. They are hours away from their family and friends, and are basically watching their daughter fight for her life.

This beautiful angel is a true fighter! She has been through multiple surgeries, and still has a long way to go. She defied the odds, and was able to breathe on her own over the weekend. They are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Speech Pathologist who will begin working with Addison on eating from a bottle. That will take her one step closer to being able to go home.

The MOST wonderful news update was that her parents were able to hold her for the first time on Saturday! Can you imagine NOT being able to hold your baby in your arms for the first three weeks of her life?

Addison is still not out of the woods, but she is making tremendous strides. When she IS able to come home, she will be surrounded by an amazing extended family. Not to mention the BEST mom and dad a girl could ask for:)

Thanks for keeping her in your thoughts and prayers. Things are always better when we stick together!

Fun With Mollusks

I'm leaving work at lunchtime today to go to the amazing Urbanna Oyster Festival! I'll spend the next day and a half eating seafood, listening to bands, watching parades and catching up with family and friends. I'm confident that I will return home tomorrow night with a monumental amount of blog fodder:) The camera battery is FULLY charged!!!

May your weekend be FULL of pleasant surprises!!

Take The Long Way Home

There's no place like home!! How true. After a 30 minute commute in the evening, I can't wait to turn off of the hard surface road and slowly meander my way to the house. My blood pressure plummets, and I feel myself begin to relax.

I snapped these photos one day last week when it was cold and rainy. The image quality is poor, but you get the idea!



This is one of the spots where deer hang out. They were smart enough to make themselves scarce on a day like this!



I could see a place where turkeys had been scratching in the leaves looking for a bite to eat.

The sun struggled to make an appearance.

Deer can often be found in this spot as well. I usually just see their tails, as they leave the edge of the field and run into the woods.

One more turn...

Oh, look at that!

My beautiful oak trees! I'm finally home.

Would you like to stop by for a visit???

Zzzzzzz

Is anyone else EXHAUSTED? The time change, and the election hoopla, have sapped every single ounce of energy I have. Groggy and lethargic? That's me!! Top that off with a fifth of insomnia, and you have my new recipe for a "Sleepy Girl" cocktail.

First thing this morning, just as I was beginning to muster enough strength to function at work, I saw this http://holidays.bfn.org/xmas/countdown.html. Wait. WHAT? Christmas? How is that possible? I haven't even started shopping. Can't we just get through Thanksgiving first?

And then there's the whole exercise thing. I want to exercise, but I have to actually SHOW UP at the gym for that to happen. I'm in total denial about how tight my clothes are fitting these days. I'm craving carbs on these cold, dark nights. Yes, I need to put exercise back at the top of my "To Do" list. It may be the ONE thing that will morph me out of my current physical state - which closely resembles a slug!

Are you still reading? If so, tell me what YOU do to combat fatigue.

VOTE

No matter how busy you are, MAKE the time to vote tomorrow.

We've come a LONG way, baby.

Happy Birthday Little Sis!

Today is my youngest sister's birthday, and this is her birthday card. I hope she won't be disappointed. If nothing else, I hope she gets a good laugh out of these pictures!

When we were growing up, she was always advanced for her age. I would like to believe that it was because she had two brilliant older sisters, but that wouldn't be the truth. Baby Sis is the tallest and smartest of the three of us. She was also the only one who got thick hair. Some people get it all, don't they?

When school picture day rolled around one year, Mom brought her to school to have her photo taken along with Middle Sis and me. I believe this was the same year that Middle Sis tried her hand at cosmetology. She whacked Little Sister's bangs off at the hair line! Fortunately, she never pursued that line of work. And Little Sis looked cute anyway! (Raise your hand if you LOVED those yarn hair ribbons. We had them in every color. Seems like we always fought over the hot pink set.)

Little Sis has always loved animals. That's one trait that all three of us share. There were always dogs and cats in our home, and we always enjoyed it when they snuck into our pictures!

She's the only one of us who has ever looked good in a hat. She got THAT from our great grandmother, who had quite a collection of hats and hat pins. (Middle Sis is in the left photo, and I am in the one on the right.)

She's always been great fun at parties. There was one occasion when she blew the biggest bubblegum bubble of all, and it popped and got all over her face and in her hair. It was a bit of a buzz kill.

She may have been Dad's favorite. But then again, we ALL thought we were the favorite:) Left to Right: Little Sis, Dad, Middle Sis, BHE.

Her hair required very little work to achieve it's '80's status. Maybe just a spritz of Aqua Net, as opposed to the two cans per day that Middle Sis and I required. Wait, are you wearing MY favorite sweater tank top in this picture? We'll talk about that later. UmmK?

Pepsi should have hired her to star in their commercials. She's much cuter than Cindy Crawford. This picture was taken on the Eastern Shore one year when we attended Pony Penning. (I believe I hid in the background when this photo was taken. Would you want to stand next to those two Pony Penning Barbies??)

She even danced at my wedding! Better yet, she didn't complain about that dress.....not even once. (WARNING: View at your own risk!) Left to Right: Middle Sis, BHE, Cool Breeze, Little Sis.

Baby Sis, I hope that your birthday is as special as you are. GREAT BIG HUGS AND KISSES FROM ALL OF US AT CASA DE ENVY!!!! WE LOVE YOU!

P.S. We REALLY need to get some new pictures of the three of us. Will you help me remember to take some the next time we are all together? Thanks. (I'm asking you because you are the SMART one. You are also the only one who hasn't lost her mind!)