I GRADUATED!!!

Today I received a letter along with my edited lesson from Lynne Smith. She has been my instructor with Long Ridge Writer's Group for over a year now. In the letter she explained how much she enjoyed my last assignment, how she saw such growth and improvement with my writing, and that I passed the course with flying colors. YIPPIE!

Now what??? I have some ideas floating around in my head.

Happy Writin' and Happy Bloggin' Y'all!
Ang

I SURVIVED SHOPPING!

As the weeks draw to a close and Christmas Day approaches...I HAD TO GO SHOPPING! There was no other way around it. NO excuses this time. So...I rounded up the hubs, the kiddies (teenager and married kiddie, along with kiddie-in-law), and set my sites on B'ham...Birmingham, Alabama for those of you wondering. When you have only 2weekends left 'til Christmas, this is really not the place to be.

Our day began with fuel from I-Hop. Now we all the know the joke: I hop, you hop, we all hop for I-Hop. Let me just say...this waitress hadda been concentrating on her hopping because it took her over 30 minutes to bring part of our drinks...yes...I said part of our drinks. (We had a bet going whether or not the hubs was going to get his water or not.) After 2 hours of fueling, we were off to the great and wonderful Mall...the Gallaria.

At this point we watched for people walking to their cars...stalking the parking lot if you will. I was sure my hubs was going to suggest giving them a lift to their car in exchange for the park, but we both managed to find a park for the vehicles within moments. It was a true Christmas Miracle.

We had a blast. The kids acted like they both were 5 and 9...I loved it. I just stood back watching them plunder for things to spend their Christmas money on. After 3 hours in the Mall...Mom needed some re-energizing...BOOKS-A-MILLION and a JOE MUGG'S 20 oz. French Vanilla Cappuccino with Whipped Cream...YUMMO! I was a new woman...I bought a $20 discount card (to myself/from myself) and 2 books (from my mother-in-law). Saved me $2.20 with my card! Merry Christmas to me.

We shopped a little longer...well...let's say at 9:00 p.m. we were pulling into the nearest McDonald's for supper. I loved this shopping trip. The crowd's didn't bother me at all. It didn't matter I broke out in a menopausal sweat in each store. I loved watching my kids act like kids once again. And I just loved being there with the hubs.

At the end of the day, my son said before he went to bed, (remember he is 16 years old)..."Thank you, Mom, for the day." And that's worth all the money, gold or diamonds in the world.

Merry Christmas
Happy Writin' and Happy Bloggin' Y'all!
Ang