Halloween at the Quirante House

Boy have the times changed! We miss the times of taking our little "princesses" out for trick or treating. I came across all the Halloween pictures through the years and scanned them in a special Halloween memories folder in my shutterfly album to the right - take a look! Ed was so excited to actually be home this year to great all the little ones who come to the door looking for candy. He has always had to work on Halloween night. He went to the store and got suckers and dum-dums - we had a few come by, but nothing like we have had in the past. We use to get close to 100 kids come by on this night - tonight we had about 9. I guess the times have changed!

New Hair-do

Yeah! Fred and I laughed and laughed today when I showed him a paper of all the hairstyles that we have gone through together. Fred has cut my hair for the last 20 years. We have gone from long to short to really short, to perms, to colors - you name it - I think we have tried it.

Today he add color, highlights, and a little shag look...

All the hairstyles can be seen in my shutterfly album to the right :)

Beyond a Month of Awareness

It's October - so that means once again its breast cancer awareness month and boy have I been busy with lectures, seminars, community outreach events etc. For more than 20 years, October has been the time of year when pink ribbons abound, survivors unite, and walks and a whole lot of fundraising events are held. It has been a very busy month for me. Now more than ever, its unusual to find someone who hasn't in some way been touched by breast cancer. I am fortunate to have the privilege of educating women about breast health and hopefully make a difference in someones life. I loved this picture and thought that it sums everything up!

I VOTED TODAY!

CODE BLUE TITANS ARE 7-0 !!!

Today is COLD BLUE - you ask what is that - EVERYONE WEARS TITANS BLUE TODAY in preparation for the Titans playing the Colts tonight on Monday night Football. Ed was allowed to dress up in his Titans scrub for work, and since I had a seminar this morning - I too wore my Titans blue today....(and will change before I lecture this eventing.)I had to work till 8:30 this evening put thank heavens for DVR. I taped the game and picked up the live Monday Night Football game right at the half. I called my brother drilling him on what happened earlier since the score was 7 to our 6.... we talked and talked and then continued to call each other during the breaks....finally he quit talking and just came on over to the house.... we screamed...jumped up and down...and YES CELEBRATED A TITANS VICTORY over the Colts 31 - 21.

I attended a Motivational Seminar today

This was a fantastic event. I had the opportunity to be coached by some of the most fascinating, motivating and successful people on the planet. When you leave an event like this - you feel energized, refreshed and yes MOTIVATED!!! I highly recommend that anyone who has the opportunity to attend this to go! Zig Ziglar is always a wonderful speaker and perhaps the #1 motivator in America. But I had some other favorites as well. It is always good to hear Rudolph Giuliani talk about his perseverance and what lead him to the decisions that he had to make during one of our Nations tragedies. But one of the most powerful speakers was Bruce Pearl - the University of Tennessee Mens Basketball coach. I don't even know how to play basketball and I wanted to play for him. He was amazing! Rick Belluzzo - legendary president of Microsoft talked about business skills, Pat Summit talked about teamwork, and Gen. Colin Powell talked about Leadership. What an amazing day!

Move to Huntsville

Today we moved the remaining items of Ate Jean to Huntsville. She had some things still here at Dick's house and in our shed so we rented a U-Haul and headed to Huntsville. Here are some pics of the day.

Prayer needed for our Pastor

Pastor Lynn - our senior pastor of over 12 years was blessed us with a miracle when a surgeon removed a glioblastoma from his brain 3 years ago. (This was suppose to be an inoperable surgery.) Many of you may remember me asking for your prayers during that difficult time...and those prayers were answered. Our family was blessed to have Pastor Lynn give a prayer dedication for our youngest daughter Christie after high school graduation - before she ventured into the next phase of her life. We have just been informed that the tumor has returned and he is to have surgery Nov 6th. I ask that you please keep him and his family in your prayers as he battles this demon once again!

What Scares me !

In keeping with the October theme of this month - I thought I would talk about what scares me. I can say that I am afraid of spiders, heights, small places, and just recently realized that I am actually scared of the dark. When we went on vacation this summer, we went cave tubing down a river and at one point in this cave - we turned out our little head light and it was pitch black! You could not even see the outline of your hand in front of your face. I noticed that my heart rate elevated and that I was truly really scared. I grabbed hold to Jillian's hand for dear life...since she was the closest person to me. I have a reason to be scared of spiders. I have been bit by a brown recluse spider. I was actually hospitalized for a week due to this spiders bite when I was 19.

I never have liked really high places or small tight places. I noticed the fear of small places when we went to Rock City in Chattanooga. This picture shows the "fat mans squeeze" where you walk down a pathway between two boulders very close together....this was very hard for me to do....not because of my size but because of the narrow space that seamed to go on forever and my thought process of what happens if I get stuck....

I guess the only other thing that scares me or bothers me is the idea of not being needed anymore- or living alone.....

Went to the Doctor Today

I went to my doctor today to get a complete physical and my flu shot (Have you got your flu shot yet ???) He did an EXG, Chest X-ray, drew tons of blood, gave me my flu shot, and a steroid shot in my hip. I thought that I could just age gracefully without all the aches and pains - wrong. I have been having trouble with pain in my hip and it actually was a problem when we went to Gatlinburg last weekend....I had to pre-plan our walks so that I wouldn't over do it.... He said that I had bursitis of my greater trochanter and that the steroid shot should help. I also had a CT scan of my abdomen. We thought that I may have a kidney stone due to some severe and persistent pain in my left side that I developed on Sunday. The CT, EXG and Chest X-ray looked good....we will hear about all the blood work later on this week and then decide what to do about the persistent left side pain. Good thing I had a physical scheduled for today!

Getting our Grass ready for this fall . . .

Ed mowed the grass for the last time, fertilized it, and put down Ryegrass in hopes of having beautiful green green grass this fall. We also put up our fall decorations on the porch.

FIRST FROST in Nashville

We had our first frost here in Nashville. They said on the weather report today that even if you didn't have frost in your area this morning, there is a good chance that you will late tonight and Monday morning. Many areas north and east of Nashville dipped into the mid 30s this morning, and that is expected to happen throughout all of Middle Tennessee tonight.

TITANS 6-0

Another good win for the boys in two-toned blue. The Titans ended the game with 40 carries for 332 yards....with Lendale White and Chris Johnson leading the way! Now that is Jeff Fisher football! We will have to hear another week of the talk about how the Titans haven't beaten anyone, but the good news is the Colts are coming to town next week for MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL. A beatdown of the Colts will quiet that talk I'm sure...

Fall Break in Gatlinburg Tenn

WOW! What an incredible fall break. Jillian and Ryan joined me and Ed in Gatlinburg when they got out of school on Friday. (Christie does not have a fall break and was not able to join us this year) We rented a cabin secluded way back in the woods at the end of a street. We had trails to hike and much Peace & Quiet. R&R is what we had in mind for the weekend! Even the laptops were left at home! Friday we just settled in, grilled some hamburgers, and watched a movie (that we brought from home)

Saturday morning - we drove over to Cades Cove....Ed and I took a carriage ride in the Cove, Ryan and Jillian rode horses. We later took the motor trail around the cove and enjoyed lots of beautiful scenery - wild turkey - and lots of deer - (no bears this time) We then went to downtown Gatlinburg and of course we had to get some home-made Fudge, and carmel apples!

Jillian wanted to get a pumpkin to take back home - so we found a large pumpkin patch and looked and looked for the best pumpkin (look in the shutterfly folder for many more pumpkin pics)

One of the highlites of our trip was the ATV ride up a 2300 ft bluff. It was so exhilarating! We took trails that were dirt, mud, rocks, through creeks, up and down sides of the mountain, around s-curves, and through areas that really didn't have a firm path. It was so much fun!!!! I think this is one of the most favorite things that I have ever done in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge - ever !!!! (you will have to look in my shutterfly folder to the right - to see the beautiful bluff pics)

Am I Un-American?

I really don't want to vote in this years election. In my earlier post - I thought I would go back and see what is the responsibility of the president. In my eyes - it is a person who has Vision and who has Leadership to push our country in the right direction. It is clear - as you can see through history that the president DOES NOT hold the purse strings - but yet works with congress to pass laws that will benefit the nation. I ask the question: Who is responsible for taking care of ME and for fixing MY economy? The government has not done well taking care of themselves...what makes me think that they can take care of me. I have always been a conservative...but I feel that this year we don't even have a conservative team running and the one that is on the republican ticket has no vision or leadership in my opinion...especially with the running mate he has chosen. He has spent more time in the last few days talking about government doing this and government doing that instead of taking a more conservative approach. I feel that on the other end of the spectrum - Obama has a vision and has leadership qualities - but again - I don't want the government taking care of me - I want to be able to take care of me..... So that leads me back to my original question - am I un-American for not wanting to vote for either party ? ? ? ?

Presidential Debate in Nashville

In the midst of a raging debate with the next presidential campaign underway, I wanted to review what exactly is the job description for President of the United States? What a worthy question at a time like this, for it’s truly worth remembering what the job they are arguing about is all about. The most sacred responsibility vested in a president - the commander in chief - is to "preserve and protect" American citizens, protecting the lives of American citizens, defending their personal freedom, and securing our land and resources. Secondly he is chief executive of the federal government, swearing to uphold and to protect the Constitution of the United States. As chief executive, he enforces laws, treaties, and court rulings; develops federal policies; prepares the national budget; and appoints federal officials. He also approves or vetoes acts of Congress and grants pardons
This is a HUGE responsibility that should not be taken lightly...this presidential election is more than just promises!

What Scares You?

Since we are now in the month of October I thought I would ask everyone a simple question on the theory of fear. That is, quite simply, What Scares You? What are your worst fears? Could be bugs. Could be death. Could be failure. You can give me an extensive list, or a very small one. It matters not to me. Just a way to get to know you better...

The Money Crunch for empty nesters

In spite of everything that is going on in this crazy world...money is tighter than ever. We were pleased to get a call from Christie that we owed only $142 for her tuition this semester after her academic scholarship, and the Vandy benefit was posted.... YEAH!!!!!

I guess one small benefit of being an empty nester is a decline in utilities. Both our water and electric bills have decreased... YEAH !!

Another benefit of an empty nester - is low low grocery bills.. YEAH !!!!!

And..we are blessed to have good health insurance. With all the sickness lately (especially with Jillian) our insurance has paid for it all...with the small exception of copays..... YEAH !!!!

We are also blessed to not have credit card debt or an adjustable rate mortgage..... Girls - live on a budget and stay within your means.....and when things like this in the world are happening....it will not be a burden on your shoulders...like it's not with me and your dad!

Tenn Titans win Again!!!

The Tennessee Titans are still unbeaten, thanks to a late touchdown drive and a defense that outperformed the top-ranked unit in the league. Alge Crumpler hauls in his first touchdown with 1:53 remaining, to give the Titans a 13-10 victory over Baltimore.

Cheekwood

Saturday was a free day at Cheekwood. It has been a long time since Ed and I had spent any time here so we decided to go back and spend the day.The last time just Ed and I were here was when we got married in 1986. (more pics in shutterfly folder to the right)

Celebration of Cultures

The world came together on Saturday at Centennial Park for the Celebration of Cultures. It was a daylong event showcasing the city's growing diversity through music, activities, food, art, and exhibitions. We enjoyed going to the booth of the Philippines, shopping, and watching the ethnic dance performances. (More pics in shutterfly folder to the right)

Race for the Cure

Today, Ed and I got up early in the morning and went downtown to the Hall of Fame Park to set up my booth in preparation for the Komen Race for the Cure. I had brought 1000 pink grocery tote bags and 500 pink bracelets as give aways for my booth. The staff at Specialty MRI were going to give away these items as they talked with people educating them about Breast MRI and its place in breast imaging. It was amazing! We gave out all 1000 bags in a matter of an hour and a half. I could have easily given away 5000 bags. I was told today that the Nashville affiliate raised over 1 Million dollars at this event - more than has ever been raised by any affiliate ever! It was a huge success and can't wait to do it again next year. (More pics in my shutterfly folder to the right)

The Parthenon

I guess that I am not the greek lover - today the Parthenon was opened to the public for free so Ed and I decided to go. I really was not impressed. The had a huge statue of Athena - and many replicas on display. Now I know why it has been so long since we have been there.

(a few more pics in my shutterfly folder to the right)

Update on Jillian's Health Scare

Jillian called me today and said that the Cardiologist said that she had Neurocardiogenic Syncope. He said that it cannot be detected in the office with a routine blood pressure or heart rate screening. but that the diagnosis can be made using a tilt table test which she had today. Since heart rate and blood pressure recordings are impractical during an actual episode, a test designed to provoke this episode in a controlled setting is used. A tilt table test allows careful measurement of the heart rate and blood pressure responses to the head-up position at a 70-degree angle, in an almost standing position. Jillian said that they reproduced the same symptoms that she had in the hospital and that she even passed out during the test. She said that they administered an IV and oxygen and she became better oriented. I am not sure how this is going to affect every day living - I guess we have much more to learn about this and more research to do. She is suppose to follow up with her Internal Med physician soon. Love ya Jillian!

An Empty Nest Regimen

In lieu of both the girls being gone, and me being alone at home trying to find things to do...I have started eating better and exercising - well not really exercising - more of just walking after work. I started a routine of walking every day and oddly enough I can say that I actually do feel better. Since the end of August, I have lost 14 pounds... YEAH!!!!! (even though I contribute most of that to STRESS) Ed walks with me on Friday afternoons since he is off work at Vandy...and yes... I take my "walking stick" for a little extra protection.