the last 2 months...

Seems like I've gotten away from blogging... since it's been 2+ months since my last post. So I thought I'd try to look back to see what I was up to. The Shingles took quite a while to get over. The nerve pain and itching lasted about 6 weeks. I didn't do much of anything during that time. My Oncologist took me off chemo and I'm still on a break. I feel normal again! I started back to golf in mid-August and tennis started on August 22. It felt so good to run around the court again. I hadn't played ALTA for the past year because of surgery, radiation and chemo. We've played 2 matches so far and I've won both, hooray!
I flew down to Orlando to visit Kris, Ryan and Nathan and stayed for a week. We got so many projects done! We upholstered her guest room bed, reupholstered a rocker in her bedroom, chalk painted and glazed a cabinet and built a sewing cabinet in her office room closet. It was a productive week and a great visit!
We spent Labor day weekend at the Lake house with Kelly and Carter and Alex. 
I planned, designed and contracted with a company to renovate our master bathroom. Demo to start in ~ 2 weeks. That will be a mess to contend with for sure!
And this past week, in mid-September, we met the extended family in Hilton Head for a week's vacation. What a fun time we had! My husband and the girls and their families, my sister and her husband, my brother and his wife and their daughter and her boyfriend, and my husband's brother and his wife. My Mom lives there too, there were 17 of us in total! We golfed, played tennis, cooked, rode bikes, played at the beach, swam in the pool and hot tub, read books, puzzled, shopped and had a great time together!

This week I was back to tennis and Gal Pal golf, and yesterday I painted baby Nolan's nursery. He'll be here in ~5-6 weeks! I've got quite a bit of sewing to do for his nursery... better get to it!

Thanksgiving 2010

...waking up to a beautiful sunny warm day, a heartfelt hug from my hubby, a smiling ~9 month old grandbaby, good strong coffee, the sounds of golfers hitting behind our fairway house, my children slowly arising from the bedrooms down the hall, sounds of laughter... all.is.good.

I am so very thankful. God is good!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you

bumps on a log...

...waiting for the sun to set

having vacation withdrawl

Robert Irvine's eat! ... and US Open tennis

While on HHI we ventured out to dinner on Tuesday evening for half price tapas and drinks. The locals always know where to go to get the best food & the best deal and this restaurant did not disappoint! Our table of 10 ordered various tapas appetizers, enough for a scrumptious & filling dinner, and drinks and desserts and the bill came to $150! Quite the night out for delicious food and such a deal ! (said with a yiddish accent)

After such a culinary delight we had to work off all the calories. You saw that piece of cake! We stayed active the entire week, and ended with a family tennis tournament. What fun and perfect timing for this week of US Open Tennis!

I'll be watching tonight's match and cheering for our own Georgia Peach!
go Melanie!

believe!

12 days ago...

I went on vacation... I had a fabulous time with family and extended family I only get to see a few times during the year... and now I'm back. Did you miss me?
I did have my computer but I didn't have the time or the desire to blog. My active life was so full I didn't even think about getting online. I barely checked email. Isn't that great?!
I shared time with my family catching up... I watched the sun set over the ocean and rode home in the dark by bike, I swam in the ocean and watched dolphins jumping the waves right in front of us, I lost more golf balls than ever before playing a new and difficult course, but chipped in on one hole for par!
Remember the little things... they bring the most joy.
I'll be back to Gal Pal golf in the morning, and Fall Alta Tennis starts this Thursday... bills will need to be paid and laundry done... the house needs cleaning and menus need planning... I know my life is a vacation but I still always have "vacation withdrawl" when I come back home...
tonight is my last night to veg out... I'm really missing my hot tub!

I'll be back tomorrow!

Happy 80th

We're headed to Hilton Head Island this weekend to celebrate my Mom's 80th birthday! She says she doesn't feel 80 and she doesn't know who that wrinkled woman is looking back at her from the mirror. She plays tennis 3 times a week and is in all around good shape, thank goodness!
All her kids and most of her grandkids will be there with us at some point during the week to celebrate. We'll go to the beach, ride bikes, play tennis, golf, and beach bocce ball (a family favorite), cook together and even sing karaoke! I had these koozies made to add a bit of festivity to the occasion!

And... as her gift, we are all updating our family portraits that hang on her guestroom wall. Some of her pictures go back to our weddings, and others to when the kids were just little.
My family will give her this shot, from my daughter's wedding this past October.
There's Jane... surrounded by all of us.

Happy birthday Mom! We're all looking forward to a fun filled week with you!

girls weekend recap

Our ladies weekend was soooo much fun! We played 2.5 hours of tennis each morning, went out to lunch, shopped Harbortown, swam in the pool, walked the beach, rode bikes, cooked in, played games, sang karaoke, and the last night took this cocktail cruise on the Intercoastal aboard the "Mystic". The storms in the distance and the rainy drizzle didn't stop our crew from going out.

boarding the boat

weekend activities

We all had a fabulous time, thanks so much Elaine for your gracious hospitality!

And ... the best part... I get to go back in 6 days for more beachy fun with the family!

Hilton Head Island golf...

... wish I were back there this weekend, now that it's sunny and beautiful!

Golfy McPuttPutt's Angels

I've been neglecting my golf themed posts lately, could that mean it's winter? You got it! We even had snow yesterday, here in the big city of Atlanta. But no fear, we'll be out there this week as it will be sunny, with a high of 54 degrees on Wednesday. (70 on Friday, I'm calling the pro shop tomorrow).

These photos are from Hilton Head in October, golfing with my "angel" foursome (myself, my sis-in-law Elaine, and my 2 nieces, Kate and Jess. Don't we all have a nice "finish"!

To document the day and the weather, here's a little video of our March 1st snow fall...