HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Happy Halloween Everyone! I wish everyone with little ones a Happy and Safe Halloween! Don't let the witches or goblins get you!

I passed, I passed!!

Believe it or not I passed the soil erosion control test I took yesterday! I had one of the highest grades too!! Here I thought I bombed on this test. My boss said he might just put me out in the field some day soon. That would mean more $$ and I would get a second bonus every year based on the profit made on the job I was the assistant project or project manager on!! That would be awesome!! I have given the overview below of what I went through yesterday from 8:30-4:30.


Attend a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Certified Site Inspector (CMCSI) Training Seminar. This is a soil erosion and sedimentation control overview and certification preparation seminar for interested participants. Upon completion, an optional certification test will be administered for those interested in becoming a certified Charlotte-Mecklenburg Certified Site Inspector.

Seminar Topics Include:

Sediment and turbidity water quality impact;
Soil erosion and sedimentation control principles;
Conventional and innovative Best Management Practices (BMP) installation and maintenance;
Problem identification and proactive solutions;
Local ordinances and State regulations; and
Erosion control self-inspection logbook maintenance

Now some of you might think, what in the world would she be interested in that!!! Well when you work in the Commercial construction business this is really important. I am now a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Certified Site Inspector!!!

131 Main Restaurant

This is the restaurant my friend, Pam and I ate at tonight. The food is good but it was really expensive. Their prices have really gone up since the gas crisis. We had a really great time though. We hadn't seen each other since the beginning August. It is really good to see friends and visit.

Feeling some what better today!

I'm feeling much better today! I guess homemade chicken soup and Airborne does work. I'm not 100% better and I'm tired now. From the minute I walked in the door at work this morning until 5:10 tonight I was go, go, go all day. Tonight I'm just going to chill out and read a little and watch some TV while John is at work. Everyone have a great night!

I just finished an amazing book!

This was a wonderful story of Jeanette Walls life. This book will stay with me for quite a few days. The book starts out in present day in NYC, goes to California, Phoenix, AZ, Texas, a small mining town in West Virginia called Welch and then back to NYC. This dysfunctional family really has a strange way of living. Your heart goes out to the children and you want to dislike the parents but then you end up feeling sorry for them. This book I recommend definitely!

Some Nightime Pictures

The other night I took the picture of the little ring around a rosy (or tree in this case) ghosts. One of our neighbors decided to create this cute scene in their front yard. I thought it looked really cute!

The other picture was taken in our backyard looking up at the sky. We thought the sun had set completely because it had gotten so dark but it had not. It was beautiful to behold while we sat outside by the outdoor fireplace!

Under the weather today :(

Not feeling really great today. I have a sinus/head cold. I went into work because there was a pile of things that just had to go out today. I went in and did them and then left at 12:10. I have had hot tea and now a nap is in order.

I won an award from Kathi at Lavendar, Lace and Things

I won the above award from Kathi at http://lavenderlaceandthyme.blogspot.com/. Thank you so much Kathi!!

I made Chicken Noodle Soup and an Apple Crisp tonight!

When I got home from work I made Chicken Noodle Soup and an Apple Crisp. We are having company tomorrow night and I like to make soup the night before-it tastes better. The apple crisp smells so good! Tomorrow night I'll make Beer Bread to serve with the soup. We were suppose to sit out by the outdoor fireplace but it is suppose to rain. I hope the weatherman is wrong!

Just chillin' out tonight!

I am really beat from work today! I'm just chillin' out tonight. I ate a chicken pot pie for dinner, called my Mom and chatted with her for a bit. John will be home from work soon. He is fighting a really bad cold, so I'm sure he'll just want to chill too!

The Richest Season Extravaganza!

Last night I met the author of The Richest Season, Mary Ann McFadden. She was such a lovely person. I actually met her while I was in the Ladies Room of all places!! I was washing my hands, she came up to the other sink and I recognized her from her picture on the inside of the book jacket. She saw I had her book and she asked how I liked it. We started chatting on the way out to the gathering and she continued to talk to me about NJ, Charlotte, other books I'm reading, etc. She is a very down to earth person and I am so glad I went to the this event. I have posted a picture of The Richest Season T-shirt, The Richest Season Book and J.A. Jance's book, Damage Control. Mary Ann gave me the t-shirt while we were walking from the ladies room to the gathering section, I won the J.A. Jance book and Mary Ann autographed her book! The other wonderful thing that happened is I found a book club!!!! Allison Woo was the woman who set up the gathering at the Barnes and Noble with Mary Ann. I had no idea this was a bookclub event. Next months selection is The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Allison has been in contact with Jeanette's agent and she may be coming to our meeting. The other members told me Allison usually has an author or atleast a telephone interview at almost every meeting! I am so glad I stumbled onto this club! It was a wonderful evening and I think I have made some new friends!! That is always a good thing. As I was leaving I said goodbye to Mary Ann and she said when I come up to NJ again to e-mail her and we'll have dinner. She also said she would be back in Charlotte next year and maybe we could have dinner with our husbands. Her new book, So Happy Together will be coming out in July 2009 and I can't wait!

Love the new color and highlights

John just took a picture of me so y'all could see my new hair color and highlights. Calli colored my hair today and she did a great job!! Thank you Calli!! She had never colored my hair before and I was needless to say a little nervous. I think she did a great job! She couldn't blow dry my hair out so a guy named Tony did that and he did a different style but I thought it looked nice. It was so nice to be pampered after the week I had! Tony was very chatty and hysterically funny!! Picture this: a guy about 38-39 yrs. old, 5'5" in a black t-shirt with lime green jeans on, spiked hair, a huge-faced watched and alot of head tossing. He was a show all by himself!! He was very nice to me though and very attentive. He brought me some citrus water because he said I have beautiful skin and lets keep it that way!! What a wonderful 2 hours I had!!

Listening to so many BOCD's!

Set Sail for Murder by Carolyn Hart




Daddy's Girl by Lisa Scottoline




S is for Silence by Sue Grafton



I have way too many BOCD's going. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to finish some of these while I knit! I guess this is a good thing to have happen to one!!

Not much going on here!

I just thought I would stop by and say hi! Not really much going on here this week. Everyone have a great evening!

The Moon is up!

I happened to look up while I was reading in the Great Room and saw the moon up! What a beautiful moon it is!

Book Giveway

Bonnie at redladysreadingroom-redlady.blogspot.com is having a book giveway. It is Woman of a Thousand Secrets by Barbara Wood. Looks like a good one!

Rebecca by Daphne DuMurier

DH and I was flipping through the channels last night and TMC had Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier on. We love that movie! We watched the whole thing and really enjoyed it!! Sir Laurence and Joan Fontaine were wonderful as usual!

Walk through the yard and Fall Decorations

Sea
of
white
mums



Pumpkin
on the
porch






















Monarch
on
Butterfly
Bush























Magnolia
Seeds




Dining
Room
Table
Arrangement



























My
Lovely
Fall
Camellia























Bumble
Bee
on
Butterfly
Bush



Baby
Lemons
on
My
Lemon
Tree























Encore
Azeala

Thanks for joining me on my walk through my yard. The Fall Camellias are beautiful this year. I am really surprised because of the drought earlier.

Lunch at Olive Garden with Jenny!

Today John and I had a lovely lunch with Jenny! She is always a pleasure to be with. Everyone at Olive Garden came up to us and told us they love working with Jenny, because she is so much fun! She told us they are still waiting to hear whether they got their mortgage or not. We found out the other people they were going to buy the 1930's cottage from won't give the good faith offer of $1,000 back even though the contract says so! She said Kevin is really upset. John has a good client that will write a letter to Allen Tate Realty that is holding the money and tell them to release it immediately. Those people are just wrong holding the kids money, what is wrong with some people today! They wouldn't fix anything on the house the home inspector said to and they wanted full price-they are in the wrong not the kids. The kids had the inspection within the contract specified time and the report back earlier than the contract said. It really makes you lose faith the way people act sometimes. I think they are just praying on young kids. They might get a huge surprise when they get a letter from an attorney! Jenny has had to work double shifts for about 2 weeks now so they have enough money for the closing. Hopefully that transaction will go well! Sorry for the rant but some people just make me mad!!

Today was a busy day again!

I thought all that could be added to my job was added but I was wrong. I now have another job!! I am really tired. I did speak up today at our 8:15 meeting-I told management I need help! I thought I could get some help from the new girl up front and then estimating stole her. I am suppose to have help tomorrow, we'll see. Tomorrow is my Friday-I have Thursday and Friday off. I cannot wait! My Mom and Dad aren't coming down to visit this week. My Dad had a Lupus episode, so no driving for him. He is feeling better tonight, which I hope continues. Good night everyone!

What a busy, busy day!!

Work was so busy every time I turned around it was 2 or 3 hours later!! It is so hard doing my regular job and the other new things I have to do! I think they are seeing that I can't do it all and get everything done, so they said the new girl up front can do some small parts of the new things I've got to do. Thank goodness!! I could go in early every day and stay late everyday and skip lunch and still not get what I need to get done complete.

I was tagged by Bella!

Here are the instructions: What you are supposed to do...and please don't spoil the fun...Copy/paste, type in your answers and tag four people in your lists! Don't forget to change my answers to the questions with those of your own.

A) Four places I go over and over: Work (Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC), the Blakeney section of Charlotte (my grocery store, Target and restaurants are there), Megan's (my oldest daughters home) and finally Church (Providence Road and Sharon Amity Road, Charlotte, NC).

B) Four people who e-mail me regularly: Michele, Sue, Lynne and Patti B

C) Four of my favourite places to eat: Miros Spanish Grille, 131 Main, Firebirds and JoJo's China Bistro

D) Four places you'd rather be: Ireland, Turks and Caicos, Costa Rica and Wyoming

E) Four TV shows I could watch over and over: CSI: Miami, Bones, New Adventures of Old Christine and CSI: Las Vegas.

F) Four people I think will respond: Lynne, Victoria, Mary and Sue.

Have fun with this!

I have tagged Lynne Victoria Mary

Apple Crisp-Yummy!!!!

Fall is definitely in the air!! I just took an Apple Crisp out of the oven and does it smell wonderful!!! This is my Mom's recipe and it tastes heavenly!! I only make my apple crisp with Macintosh apples, that's the only ones I like for this recipe. Here the recipe is if you would like to try it:

8-10 medium Macintosh apples, peeled and cut into slices
1 cup white flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 lb. of salted butter, cut into little chunks
cinnamon to taste

Peel and slice apples and put into a pie plate. In a separate bowl mix flour, sugar, salt, butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture all over the apples. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven to cool. Maybe served warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

Jenny and Kevin's New House

Jenny and Kevin cancelled the deal on the first house they put an offer in on, but now they have put an offer in on this house closer to wear Kevin and Jenny work and live now. The offer was accepted and they are almost through the mortgage processing. Keep your fingers crossed. I'm glad they decided to go with a newer home. We went to see this tonight and it is really nice. We wish them luck!!