Today is The Great American Smoke Out Challenge and like a complete goobus, I forgot that I wanted to do a blog post on this. (I guess this is what happens when you are to busy to look at twitter all day.)

Better late than never I suppose, especially where ones health is concerned.

If you head on over to cancer.org they have some fantastic resources for quitting, like reasons and how to set a quit date. I don’t know about you-but for me, my 13 yr old and my spouselet were apparently reasons enough.

Yup.

I quit almost 3 years ago. Christmas night before I went to bed @ 2AM. (or techinically the day after)

I had origially planned on staying up until I smoked every ciggie in the house and then go to sleep exhausted and sick as a dog. But, I just couldn’t stay up for another minute, getting old does that to a person. So, at 2AM I took the last 10 cigarettes in my pack and tore them to shreads.

I prayed and asked God to help me stop this habit because I had held on to it far to long.

And then I went to bed.

I have only had one slip up since then and it made me so ill for days, I am pretty sure that won’t happen again anytime soon.

I don’t miss it. I don’t even remember what it was like.
Occassionally I do like the smell of Ciggie smoke on a cold day, but not enough to start up again.

If you are a smoker and you would like to quit.
I can offer you all the support you would like.

I know that if I CAN quit smoking.
ANYONE can.

Last weekend spouselet and I went to Kansas City for a wedding. We left Friday morning and were back home just after dark Sunday evening. 4 states (5 if you count the 10 minutes we were in Kansas) and 60 hours-mooshed down to 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

Enjoy.

Jamey @ Walking by Faith Gave me this Smile award!

Rules: The qualifications to receive the award are:
A. Display a cheerful attitude.
B. Love one another.
C. Make mistakes.
D. Learn from others.
E. Be a positive contributor to the blog world.
F. Love life.
G. Love kids.

The Rules:
1. Must link it back to the creator
2. Post the rules
3. Choose 5 people to give it to
4. Recipients must fill the characteristics above
5. Create a post to share this
6. You must thank the winner

Here are my picks of wonderful women to award this to:
1. My friend Lora @Lora’s Keyhole
2. Elizabeth @3 channels (even though she already has it…she double diserves it!)
3. Liza @ Liza’s Eyeview
4. Jen @Cheaper than Therapy
and because most of my blogs are NOT mom related, I only had 4 to hand out with out appearing stalker like

I was already to get home and upload all these pictures that spouselet and I took while we were gone…I have almost ALL of them on the laptop, which died this afternoon…we are going to try to salvage them-but RATS.

This should teach me to NOT delete images from my memory card.

More later when I am not blinded by tears.

We are on the road this weekend. I was hoping to post pictures of the drive but we forgot the cord to the camera…that will be later.

I LOVE this song.
Hope you do too!

and don’t forget to visit Amy at Signs, Miracles and Wonders for more inspiration!

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We are heading out of town for a friend’s wedding. Over the next 72 hours, at least 20 of it will be on the road. I am hoping to update while we are gone. But, this is a frugal trip and internet at the hotel might not make the cut.

IF NOT-do not dispair, I will have plenty to talk about when I return.
and pictures too!

came tumblin’ down.

My spouselet has been busy, busy, busy.

Yesterday he finished the demolition of the former pantry. We now have room to put actual furniture with in a reasonable proximity to the fireplace. How “family room” is that?

Soon we will have a place for people to sit WHILE they watch TV.

For the past several months, unless you were a teenager (because the basement is always full of them) you had to pile up in the guest room bed. Fine for spouselet and I-or 13 yr old and I and 2 dogs, but not so much for extended family and friends!

The first post about this project:
It Figures!

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Heh.
Not much changes in FOUR FLIPPIN’ Years.

That was a meme on my Live Journal from December 2004.

I am going through cleaning up a bunch of trash over there (seriously-stuff that should have never come out of my head onto the computer) and came across this little gem.

Oh and there are others I will be sharing in the future too.

Crazy stuff.
Crazy.

Today I ran by the Red Pepper for my favorite sandwich (and found out that with out mayo it is less than 500 calories-so yay) and Joe, the owner asked what happened to my voice.

Because apparently I TALK alot when I am in there too!

So, he gave me this awesome Lemon Ginger Tea to bring home and make so I will feel better. GAVE TO ME. Didn’t charge me one bloody nickel-just go home, try this.

He said he makes all his employees drink this stuff when they are under the weather and it works! I can tell you this, I don’t know about getting better, but I do know it is Yummy!

Have I mentioned in the past 3 weeks that I LOVE The Red Pepper?
Well I do.

Them’s good people.
The food’s good too!

This morning the dogs and I went on our walk to the “other” cemetery. It is directly across the street from the Confederate one, however, this one is referred to as “black” on the links that mention the sites.

When I was a child this cemetery was so over grown if it weren’t for the brick entrance with the chain across the road, you would have never known anything was in all that brush. Sometime in the past 20 years people have gone in and cleaned up. There is a definite difference to the “energy” between the two places.

This one, much more colorful-there are flowers (even if they are plastic) on several of the graves. The stones are not as elaborate; many of them are just metal markers with long since faded card inserts. The image above is the “fanciest” and who ever is buried under all that color was mighty loved. There isn’t a marker, just the brick wall and a garden stone with a quote (and all the flowers)..

The personality in this place is evident everywhere you look. This one defined by cedar fencing and a small garden edging. I am not sure if the man buried there is really tall or they just had that much “fence”.

Everyone always asks me who is in charge of upkeep on this cemetery-as if I am the official caretaker knower-er in this area.

I don’t know.
I do know that this side of the street is much more creative than the other side.

OH, now I know why I like this one more.
(some days I am just slow I tell ya)

It reminds me of my mama’s family grave yard in Tennessee. Many of her relatives didn’t have the money to get fancy stones and they used what they had. One of her relatives is buried under a roof. I kid you not. i wish I had a picture of that. Two pieces of galvanized roofing and a triangle of lattice made up his monument. Much love there too.

OOOO. I almost promised no more cemetery stories for awhile, because there aren’t any in walkin’ distance, but there ARE.

Until next time my pretties.