Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Cousins are different and beautiful flowers from the same garden


Well yesterday was a long day. I went to the dermatologist and had a chunk of my face cut out I took a picture but will spare you... Then I had a visit with a cousin I had not seen since kindergarten. He moved to Ohio in 1st grade but his father recently died and he was home to have the gravestone set. Lannie Gilliam III is his name and I have fond memories of games of chase on the playground at PES with Lannie. My other cousin Heather Pool (Tucker) she's really a Gilliam too was supposed to come pick from out garden but her company lasted too long and she didn't make it. Cousins are a strange thing. They are family you don't think about often but someone with whom you possess the same genetic code. They can look like you yet hold completely different family values. Nature versus nurture I suppose. Cousins are a glimpse of what life might have been like had you chosen a different path. I love my cousins though I am not really close to any but Heather (she's a 6th cousin). My mother loves history, family history especially, but I must say nurture is the key to who you become in my opinion. Nature is only the starting place. The woman on the far right is Linda, my cousin Heather's mother. I look more like her than my actual mom I think and could pass for a double for Heather's grandmother! She was also a tall woman - notice I am the giant in the family. Well, I have grass to mow and okra to pick. See you soon!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

"I have a magpie mind. I like anything that glitters!"


I was thinking today about what it is I really like to do. The truth is I really like to do lots of things. I am passionate about life and so many things that I never can seem to pick just one. Careers, flowers and veggies in my garden, houses (if I had more money). I'd have one of everything there is if it was possible. My husband is lucky I guess -I've only ever wanted one of him. Regardless, I find this manic state is not really beneficial financially. If I had stuck with one thing maybe I'd have made a fortune by now? I really am not bad at most things I try and I guess that's what confuses me. Are we designed to be really good at just a few things? If so I don't know what I am really good at. These are the things I'm not bad at: music, art, website design/technology, teaching, building, leading others, photography, talking, organizing/analyzing things...These are the things I'm really bad at: math, details, money, exercise, keeping a journal or log of stuff.... So I guess I should concentrate my efforts in the arts. I probably should have gone into PR or website design but those were not well paying jobs when I was in college - heck the Internet didn't even really exist for the public. I don't mind teaching and I don't want to quit but I get bored with it easily because I don't get to see a finished product. I want to LOVE what I do. I really liked working in construction because I could finish a project and say - I did that! I'd build a house every year if I had the money & time. So... I guess I need to ask God for guidance for my "magpie mind." I think they call it ADHD now'a days. It is a gift in that I'm not afraid to try anything but a curse as well. I like who I am I just don't think it's practical for someone who needs to make a living ~

Monday, June 28, 2010

What's HOT in the Outer Banks of NC...?

WE WERE! So, the heat index in Cape Hattaras, NC was around 100 to 105 every day we were there. My husband was so hot his shirts were soaked through most of the day. We joked and said we ate a lot but just sweated it off. The abstract photo is of the Wright Brothers Monument in Kitty Hawk. The trek up to the monument was really long and there was no shade at all at the top. We also did Festival Park, Ocracoke, Teache's Hole (Blackbeard's lair), Jockey's Ridge State Park, Hattaras National Seashore, Pea Island, Roanoake Lost Colony site and Play, and we really enjoyed the town of Duck. The most memorable evening was a clam bake on the beach. We bough local caught seafood and a prepared remoulade and had a feast. The boys cooked Nathan's Hotdogs and smores. It was nice to hear the waves crash and the boys giggle as they chased sneaky little bluecrab with a flashlight. The dunes at Jockey's Ridge in Kill Devil Hills were amazing. The name Kill Devil Hills came from the colonial days when shipwrecks containing barrels of rum washed the spirits ashore. The locals would scavange pricy booty and hide it in the massive dunes. The locals said the rum from the wrecks was so pure and strong it could kill the Devil - thus the name kill Devil Hills. Naggs Head got it's name from the wild ponies (descended from horses aboard spanish ships wrecked off shore) that were made famous in the movie nights in Rodanthe. The sailors could see the outlines of the wild horses against the light of the many light houses along the OBX. It is actually called the graveyard of the Atlantic because of the trecherous coastline. Our 730 mile trip began with a stop at Biltmore in Asheville, NC , but we decided not to go since it was $60 per person!!! On the way back we went through Virginia to Jamestown just to pack in a little more historical flavor. It was so nice to get away. We are thankful for the blessings of a vacation and a safe return!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Kanon Rylee Creek..and his beautiful mother Lana...

Lana is my good, and much younger friend, :) and she and her husband Jason are the proud parents of this brand new cutie pie. He's such a doll and so good too - barely even cries! I'm secretly really happy and honored that they gave him the middle name Rylee which is the name of one of my twin boys who will be 12 in November. Gosh time flies - it seems like this was me just a year or two ago and it's already been almost 12. Their little family makes me happy! It's good to see good people having children who will grow up in an environment that gives them the oportunity to be good people too. These pics make me smile!

I'm 35 as of the first week of June...Funny I don't feel 35...





OBX 2010...The hottest place on the planet....


We looked at an atlas and this place is literally on the same latitude as North Africa. Whew!