iPhone...to be or not to be? ..for me

Certainly the question for me today! Let's see, I bought the first iPhone released, loved it from the start. It is a slick gadget that has lots of fun features, decent camera and can entertain me for hours! So, being the gadget lover I am, when the new 3G iPhone was released, I HAD to have! Off to Apple, purchased, (giving my old one to my dear friend Annie..who needed it...her phone was held together by TAPE!!).

With my new 3G in hand, I was in heaven with all the new applications I downloaded. As I am entertaining myself, standing in line at the DMV...(YOU HAVE TOO!!!), I dropped my phone and the entire front face shattered! So, with my shattered phone (and heart) and a few hours without a phone, I managed to get a new one. So..with phone #3, I am off and running again.

A couple weeks into having my new phone, well..I dropped it .....(I had to play with Larry ...you have seen him on my blog, right?)...but it only cracked the face..so I continued using the phone. No problems....

That is until I decided to go against Ed's suggestion of having Mr. Larry on the bed...and well..he peed on the bed ..so in my haste to remove the sheets, comforter and wash ...(to try and hide from Ed the fact I had put him on the bed!!)...I left my phone ...in that pile of sheets, comforter ....when I put them into the washing machine....and let's just say...no matter how CLEAN the iPhone is..if it gets wet..IT DOESN'T WORK!!

...off to the Apple store to shell out more money to purchase another device (#4).....and that brings us to today. I have had the phone less than 2 weeks..and it has worked fine (other than the AT&T rep left off my data plan...which meant my voicemail didn't work for a week).....all was going fine......until today!!! Now I am not sure what has happened....I haven't dropped, washed, etc.....I synced it with iTunes and it stopped working!! It continues to say searching...for signal. On hold with AT&T for over an hour ....transferred to Apple support, over 45 minutes and ....was JUST HUNG UP ON........so ...is it meant for me to have an iPhone..or not....off the Apple store for help......

iPhone ...to be or not to be? ..for me
....thoughts?

(YAY, it is for me (for now!) ...it was an AT&T 3G network issue)

My "Completely Unnecessary" Wants in 2009

Since the New Year is right around the corner, a girl has to have some wishes and desires in the new year ...so I thought I would list a few of my unnecessary wants for 2009-..Not that I need...but soooo want...

• MacBook Pro (Ed already has..I am sooo jealous!) There is just something about a MAC!
  
• Nikon Coolpix S60 - its a touch screen!! (spoiled again ..by Apple with the iPhone!)...and OK, so it doesn't hurt that Ashton Kutcher is the face for this camera!!

• Waiting in the Rain painting, by Steve Hanks (I love...)

• CC Skye Double Wrap bracelet.....G L A M O R OUS!

• Paperweight for my desk (I love almost all...) http://iomoi.stores.yahoo.net/paperweights.html

• White Leather Ottoman for my closet (Williams-Sonoma .. gorgeous, but pricey!)

So..there they are, just a few of my completely unnecessary wants!!
Please, share yours...

Seven Pounds - A

We (Ed, Joyelle and I) went to the movies last nite and saw ~ Seven Pounds. (It was sooo nice to spend time with Ellie at our house and then the movies.... I miss her and the time we used to pal around together).

As for Seven Pounds, I enjoyed the movie and really appreciate Will Smith's talented acting. He truly is one of the best actors of our time, in my opinion. I won't go into details, as the movie is better left to one viewing without any information. Only the synopsis; An IRS agent with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers....
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/sevenpounds/site/

So I will leave at that.... ...I enjoyed the movie and recommend. Let me know what you think!!

**Christmas 2008**

Christmas 2008 has come and gone...the hustle, bustle has passed again...another year behind us. It was a nice holiday and I feel blessed to have had another year to spend time with my family in NC. We spent a few days with my mom, aunts, brothers, niece and nephew (who have grown up so quickly). It reminds me that each year we are given, it is special to see family and share in the reason for the season!

How was your holiday?

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

Christmas is ALMOST here -- 1 Week

I cannot believe Christmas is next week, maybe its because it was 68 degrees outside today! The good thing is, I have completed my shopping and will start the gift-wrapping tonite! Dogs are sleeping, pouring a glass of wine, a gingerbread scented candle burning, home decorated as much as it is getting this year....

......................ah, now time to WRAP presents!

Merry Christmas!!

Larry's First Trip to the Beach -2008

During our trip to Flordia for Thanksgiving, we took Larry to visit the beach - his first time ever having his paws in the sand! He followed along side his big sis "G", running, getting his feet wet and chilling in the sun! I think it is safe to say, he enjoyed his first trip! There will be many more...

~~Thanksgiving 2008~~

We were in Panama City Beach, Florida for Thanksgiving with my future sister/brother-in-law. And we enjoyed spending time with them and eating some fantastic food! Yvette makes the best sweet potato casserole and spicy stuffing in the world, hands down! Patrick deep Fry's the turkey with Cajun seasonings inside ...it is the BEST, yum!! I love being there during Thanksgiving (actually I love being there ANYTIME!).

Ed had not been feeling well for a few days and finally on Wednesday night, (the night before Thanksgiving) I took him to the emergency room at Sacred Heart in Destin, ends up he has a kidney stone! Lots of fluids...and pain med.

Regardless of our emergency room trip, we had a great time. We are certainly blessed and have so much to be thankful for; family, friends, health, jobs, our pups and lots more.

And as for Mr. Cooper, he is handsome as ever and growing up!

Early Autumn Walk w/dogs

We woke up early this morning and took the dogs for a walk. It was rather cool out, the leaves had fallen and covered the street, which made for a pretty photo and a nice walk!

My Favorite -Sarah Brightman

We went to the Sarah Brightman "Symphony" concert on Tuesday night. She is my all time favorite, I never get tired of listening to her! I have seen her 4 times in the past and she is quite outstanding. With her theatrical background she really has a creative concert and the woman can sing! Although, this was not my favorite concert of hers (Harem in 2003 is my favorite..and both Eden & La Luna were excellent!)..it still was a great one! I hope she doesn't wait another 5 years before a new CD/tour. Love her! http://www.sarah-brightman.com/ Check out a few of my favorites: Eden CD

• Deliver Me- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpefMQptCcs&feature=related
• Only an Ocean Away -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmyRdF-nQHw&feature=related

La Luna CD

• He Doesn't See Me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrR2LGjB0QU
• A Whiter Shade of Pale - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Crx6KbJgwE&feature=related
• There For Me (w/Josh Groban, 1st time I ever heard of him!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwATMMi23yc

Harem CD

• Free - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5mPtyNE1rk
• It's A Beautiful Day - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbsFWk31S5Y&feature=related
• The War is Over -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U3vCihO18c&feature=related

Symphony CD

• Let It Rain - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJqD3-LKr80&feature=related
• Fleurs Du Mal - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMZdpkS5OBI&feature=related
• Symphony -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG8WxwIFzSM&feature=related

Enjoy!

Quantum Of Solace - B

Today we went to see Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond movie, which was released yesterday. The movie was of course loaded with action, pretty intense fight scenes and some fantastic technology gadgets. I had never seen any of the past "007" movies until the last one (with Daniel Craig - Casino Royale) which was a great movie and I enjoyed. I guess you could say with Mr. Craig playing "BOND", James Bond ..I am now a fan! I give this movie a B ..basically because comparing it to the last one, there was NO BATHING SUIT on the beach and only one shirtless scene! And let's face it ..the man has a body to be seen! Quantum Of Solace was a good movie and if you love action and creative fight scenes ...it is a definite movie to see! I do hope Daniel Craig will grace us with more Bond movies in the future.......and maybe a few more ab scenes! http://www.007.com/

TGIF!...??

I have been saying all day, "Thank goodness its finally Friday"! It has been one of those weeks where I could not wait until it was OVER and really not due to a specific reason, maybe because of the rainy weather, missing my sweet man (he has been out of town on business for a few days..BACK TONITE!) or the constant barking and fighting between the two wonderful precious pups of ours was taking a toll on me ........ ahhhhhh...so I am finally at home, shoes off, sitting on the sofa...Then, I flip on the news...(should have turned off immediately and enjoyed it being Friday evening)! But, I left it on and as I listened more about how the economy stinks, the stock market down 300+ points again today, massive numbers of layoffs from companies and people losing their jobs, etc... NOW, I sit here thinking what I need to be doing at work next week and how thankful I am that I have my job and believe it or not...LOVE IT, love what I do! Actually I am quite lucky, I even love the people I work FOR and WITH (most of the time!). So, next week as I am wishing for Friday to get here..I will stop and read this blog, to remind me ....to be thankful that I am truly blessed to not only love my job..but to be employed!

Now...news off! ..and until Monday at work....I will move on to a movie or book....OH..nope...need to break up the fighting between the dogs!

eeeek! Eddiiiieee.........kill it!

Screaming for Eddie ...in between complete loss of my breath, panic-stricken, paralyzed in the spot I stand, with a bottle of Windex in my hand, "IT" still continues to crawl and freak me out, although it should have drown by now in the half bottle of Windex I have unleashed upon it! But NO...its legs are still moving! House centipedes are by far my biggest fear in life (well, other than tornado's, car accidents, spiders, etc..) OK one of my biggest fears! I always thought they were silverfish, but nope, they are house centipedes and soo very gross! I looked them up on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_centipede they reference the "benefits" of these nasty, 5 million legged insects (really -they have 4 pairs of legs when hatched and can grow up to 15 PAIRS of legs, that's a total of 30 legs for those of you counting, if they live their normal 3 to 7 years, NOT IN MY HOUSE, not staying that long - Not WELCOME!) OK, not only do the legs freak me out...but how about the fact these creepy monsters can run 16 inches PER SECOND, up walls, along the ceiling and floor, way to fast for me to attempt to step on one ...all while they are watching me, yep, watching me...why you ask? because apparently not only are they blessed with way too many legs and fancy speed, but they have well-developed, faceted eyes (....better to see me with)! So the benefit, is apparently they eat spiders, bedbugs, ants, silverfish, roaches, termites (eeesh, nasty diet) and do you want to know how?...by injecting them with a venomous bite (supposedly too "weak" to hurt a human or pet, not testing that theory). Oh, if all this doesn't leave you as petrified, frozen in fear as me, how about they lay an average of 60 to 150 eggs (which do I need to point out...those eggs turn into more legs..heehee rhymes)! So, I will either have to get a cat (recommended by Wikipedia).. (can't do, Ga is too scared of cats), teach Larry & Ga to eat bugs (they have tried, its just cleaning up the vomited bug parts afterwards..hm, maybe not worth it..) dehumidify our house, or live with them, NOT!! ...OK, gotta go... off to get out the dehumidifier!!

President Barack Obama - History Made

The Presidential Election is finally over! And although exciting to see the possibility of the first woman vice-president on the Republican ticket or the first African American president on the Democrat ticket, it seems the campaigning went on forever and I am glad to see it finally - over.--No more TV ads!! In the end, our new president elected was Barack Obama. I personally did not cast my vote for him for several reasons, mostly my concern of how he plans to handle the Iraq/Afghanistan wars, (since he lacks experience in international affairs) and his tax plans. However, on the upside of this election, it does show to the world that the people of the US want change and there is opportunity for all people in this country. For me, I think in our world today the President really has become a PR person that represents our country to other nations. And I do think President Obama is well spoken and seems to remain calm in tense situations. So, in 2008, History was made and that is pretty cool to witness! Now as a true American and happy to live in this country, I will stand behind President Obama and hope he can bring to light some of the changes this country needs while keeping us safe on our own soil. God Bless- President Obama, please give him the wisdom and knowledge to lead this country in the right direction!

Cooper -cutest Little MAN- Ever!

As I opened my inbox tonite, my future Sister/Brother-in-law had sent us the latest photos of our nephew and he is by far the cutest little man ever! Cooper Patrick Nation, born on May 27th is as adorable as can be and I am one proud Aunt! Of course both his mother and father are as gorgeous as can be AND the sweetest people on earth! I truly feel blessed that I am lucky enough not only to have found the man of my dreams but to become part of this family... is something I could never have dreamed of!

I am looking forward to spending time with them during the Thanksgiving holiday and holding the cutest little MAN ever!

Wicked - The Musical

About 3 months ago, we purchased tickets to see Wicked at the Fox for Halloween night and Friday was finally the big night! I had only heard of Wicked a few years ago...It's the story of Elphaba (otherwise known as "The Wicked Witch of the West" in the Wizard of Oz)and how she became to be known as wicked. It tells how she was born with green skin, ridiculed, laughed at, became best friends with Glinda ("The Good Witch") and completely misunderstood as being "wicked". The storyline ties into the Wizard Of Oz brilliantly. I am not sure if it was the writer's creativity or how I related with Elphaba that made me cry and laugh out loud. The performance by a talented cast, costumes and stage details were simply amazing and in my opinion, truly hands down, the best musical I have ever seen. The music, singing and acting were top notch by all cast members and with each song/act I was drawn more and more into the story. I left longing to see it again and again. I can only hope Wicked is made into a movie so all can see...how only seeing and hearing one side of a story can make for someone to be so easily misunderstood! I loved it and highly recommend anyone that has an opportunity to see this musical...do indeed! A++ http://www.wickedthemusical.com/

Shecky's Girls Night Out

Instead of my normal sit at home on the sofa night, this past Wednesday night, - Jenn, Liz and I ventured out to the Shecky's Girls Night Out - Fall 2008 event at The Biltmore in Atlanta. It's a "shopping party" that's held in most major cities twice a year (Spring/Fall). Basically you show up...and enjoy a night of shopping through the latest fashions, jewelery, purses, etc. ... ALL the girlie stuff..... And of course there is lots of fun in the people watching, acting silly (like girls need to do sometimes) and free drinks...lots of drinks in Jenn's case! :) Where else can you do that??

It is a pretty cool event for a girls night out. Buy your tickets in advance and you get a " Shecky's goodies bag" that isn't too shabby. It was filled with everything from chocolate bars -to lotion -to razors -to skin water, YEP -skin water..??
Thanks Jenn & Liz, had fun with you ladies! Repeat in Spring 2009?

Introducing ..Larry (Nanook) Nation Raldiris

Ed and I have chatted about adopting a brother or sister for Miss Ga for quite awhile and finally on September 13th, we added our new addition to the family! Meet, Larry!

We were thinking about a PBGV (Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen) after we met our neighbor's friend's dog (Louie) who is a PBGV and looks identical to Georgia except he is FURRY! In our browsing we found Larry on Petfinder (he was Nanook then). He had been left at a shelter in Alabama inside a box with 6 other dogs and lots of fleas! Hope's Basset Hound Rescue took him in and they think he is either a PBGV (which he does look like the photos of a full breed) or their other guess is possibly a Basset/Shih Tzu mix. They also think he is around 14 weeks old. So, we hopped in the car, drove to Villa Ricca to meet and introduce him to Georgia. She of course had NO interest in him (she was looking for another Eddie instead). However, it was love at first site for me! So Larry and his fleas moved in! I have always wanted a male dog to name -Larry and his middle name "Nation" comes from the most wonderful couple in the world...my soon to be sister/brother-in-law...Yvette and Patrick! ***HOLLA*** Georgia is adjusting to her new shadow and seems to enjoy the constant cleaning of inside her ears *gross* which she receives almost hourly by Larry and of course all the affection he gives her...BUT she doesn't seem to care for those little bites with sharp puppy teeth he gives her often ..YET! ...

Look, have you ever seen someone so happy to have a new brother..?

Welcome to the family..Larry Nation Raldiris!!

Georgia's 12th Birthday

Today, Sunday, October 26th, 2008 --was Sweet Baby G's birthday! I cannot believe she is 12, of course I think it helps that I tell her daily she is only 2! We had a party for her at Underwood Hills Park to celebrate with lots of pups, a cake made especially for her and her friends (even Ed, Ali and Brian tried the cake)! A fun time was had by all, even us humans! Needless to say, both Georgia and Larry have been pooped!

Georgia (up until last month when we adopted Larry), is the only dog I have owned and 100% responsible for. I had dogs growing up, but I also had -2 brothers..and well I guess boys can be mean! I love Georgia so much, she has been a sweet girl and i hope to share another 12 years with her! This year she has been fortunate enough NOT to have needed any surgeries! Last year she had a total of 7 surgeries to remove nasty lumps (cysts) that the basset hound breed are prone too. Out of all those surgeries, thank GOD, only one of the 11 cysts removed has been malignant..but the vet was able to remove. Miss Georgia is really a super duper girl!

Soooo, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GiGi, I love you, I love you!!

My 1st blog..

My sweet friend Jenn suggested I join the world of blogging, so here I am. I am a person who does a LOT of talking so maybe it was her suggestion to help shut me up, a little! :)

Recently engaged to my sweet fiance on July 2, 2008 and in sloooow movement in planning a wedding. I realize, I love to do a lot of things, but detailed planning, HM! .......is tough and I cannot say fun..yet! So, look for lots of wedding blogs and who know what else. Maybe I will get around to blogging my "life story", which will be a complete emotional roller coaster of ups/downs and sometimes seem "just plain made up" (but NOT), however, I must say, I am truly the happiest ever in my life, very blessed and one lucky lady.........so stay tuned!