Christmas Visitation

Tim, Sydney, and Alex dropped by to see "momma Q" while they were home for winter break. I fixed them a great homemade meal and then we all settled in to watch the Titans play football. Great weekend. I enjoy "the boys" visits.

Thanksgiving at work

Today at work we had a potluck Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone brought a favorite dish and the company purchased turkey and dressing. It was a wonderful lunch with great fellowship. After lunch, the company gave all the employees a Kroger gift card as a thank you for all the hard work.

Second picture is my boss David on the right and a new sales manager for our workspace solutions line - John from Chicago. Third picture is Randy who is the operations manager for the company

And last but not least - Scott (in pink shirt) is the CFO - the man with the money!

Blog backgrounds

Thanks to my wonderful daughter - I'm getting the hang of this new blog background change! Watch out world...here I come.

Beauty by the window

Every day we have been blessed with the beauty of this one little tree which continues to show its fall beauty. All the other trees in our yard have lost their leaves - but this one is still holding its on. It seems like every day - the colors are more richer and more vibrant. We have enjoyed looking out the window and admiring the colors.

Fall Fun

We figured - if we are going to have to rake the leaves ourselves - why not have a little fun while doing it! More pictures in my shutterfly album to the right.

Eye Plugs

I've never even heard of them till I talked with my brother in law about a month ago. I'm having some eye problems, and my eye doctor prescribed Restasis drops for me to use twice a day. She said that it would take about three months for me to really notice a difference with the eye disease that I have. She also mentioned at that first visit that I might have to get these tear duct plugs to help the Restasis work better. I talked with my brother in law after that visit and he said yes, that was typical treatment.

I went to see her again today as a followup. I told her that I could really tell a big difference with the drops, and that the last few days - the drops were starting to really burn. She said that was normal and was a good indication that it was starting to work. She said to put the drops in the refrigerator and that could help with the burning. She also gave me another prescription for some other drops - that are like numbing drops that I can use before using the Restasis so that it will not burn so bad. I'll wait and see about that. She did say that even though I felt a difference, she felt that there would be better improvement from what she was seeing during the eye exam if she went ahead and put some temporary plugs in my tear ducts.

I was a little uneasy about it, but they put some numbing drop sin my eyes and then put in the plugs right there in the office. It didn't hurt, but my eyes have not stopped tearing since she did it. I hope that doesn't continue on...if so - I can tell you right now that I will not be getting permanent ones put in (which is what she wants to do if these work well in another 3 weeks or so).Hmmmm.....I don't know about that....she is going to have to do a lot of convincing me for that to happen.

Fall Memories

Ooooh the memories.....

Ed called me at work and said that he had raked the leaves today and that he just didn't have the time or the stamina to rake them and bag them like he used to do. I remember when the girls were little, they would come outside and play for hours in the leaves - the piles of leaves that their daddy had just raked up. I miss those days!

Chattanooga

Ed and I just got back from Chattanooga. We had a continuing education meeting that we needed to attend to get CME credits. (to keep our radiology license up to date). It was so gloomy and rainy, but the colors of the leaves on the mountains were so beautiful. We wish that the rain had let up so that we could have spent the whole day admiring God's beauty! Maybe another time.

What a fantastic getaway! Jillian's fall break was this weekend so we rented a cabin in the mountains of East Tennessee - Gatlinburg. Christie flew from Tampa to Nashville (even though she doesn't get a fall break - she said that she could miss her Friday class to spend some time with us) and Ed and I both took off work Friday and Monday.

The cabin was wonderful. It was very cold. In fact there was snow on the higher mountains.

Our cabin was tucked away on the mountainside away from everyone. Very secluded and about 4 miles of crooked roads to get to it.

It was so wonderful to have the girls together and enjoy some R&R. Ryan and Alex also came to join us as it was their Fall break too.

More pictures in my shutterfly album to the right.

Peek a Boo

Thought this was a cute X-ray

Fall is in the air!

Just love fall decorating!

Eye Trouble

Yep...I starting having pain in my left eye since last Friday. It progressively got worse over the weekend so Monday I called my eye doctor - Dr Ming Wang - the doctor who did my lasix eye surgery 8+ years ago. They squeezed me into their schedule today. I told him that there was a lot of pressure behind the eye - it felt very dry, but yet there was more tearing from that eye than my other. The Dr said that I had Ocular Surface Disease which is an inflammation of the surface of my eye and that an eye drop called Restasis should help. They said that it is common for women over 40 due to hormonal changes and especially with women who have had eye surgery. I called Tony - (my brother - in - law and in my opinion the BEST eye doctor ever) to confirm he agreed with this diagnosis - and he did.

So I guess that means I stop by the drug store tomorrow and get some of these special eye drops. They both said that it will take at least a month to even start feeling a change and will take at least three months before the inflammation is gone. Hmmmm I guess that is one of the prices of getting old.

Armed Intruder at Christies College - Under Lockdown

Armed Intruder on University of South Florida Tampa Campus where Christie goes to school. She called me and said that emergency sirens were going off on the campus - that it sounded like a tornado siren in Nashville and then all of a sudden she received a text message warning them of the incident and to take cover in the nearest building or dorm and stay away from the library.

The campus was locked down for some time after someone reported a man with a gun and a bomb near the library. Police had one person in custody and was looking for a second. There was also a man apprehended on the campus bus after he stood up and stated that he was the person authorities were looking for. Police responded immediately and got him off the bus. When the siren interrupted the classes an announcement came out over the loud speaker saying there was an intruder and students should stay inside and lock their doors. Christie was close to her car so she got in and headed back to her apartment off campus. She had a class later on that night - but called me and assured me that she was fine and that she was given an all clear to come to class.

If it's not one thing it's another - I'm just glad she and the other students are ok.....another gray hair just popped up!

Scary weekend

We are so glad that Christie is out of the hospital and doing better. We just got home from Tampa. We received a call Saturday from a friend of hers that she was in the Emergency Room because of an accident she had at work. We really didn't know all the details other than she was there. We tried to get in touch with her but the nurse at the hospital said that she couldn't talk to us right now that she would let her know we called. (HIPAA Stuff - right!) Ok, so thirty minutes passes and we call the hospital again to learn that she was being admitted for a sever concussion. We called Tony and Delma who live in Avon Park about 1 1/2 hours away and asked them to go to the hospital to check on her and that we were catching the next flight out. Luckily there was a flight within the next 1 1/2 - so we threw some clothes in a bag and out the door we went. I called Christies cell phone again while we were at the airport - almost ready to board and she answered- I couldn't understand hardly anything she said because her speech was so slurred - like as if she had a stroke. I told her Auntie Delma and Uncle Tony would be there any minute and that we were on our way.

Tony and Delma got to the hospital and Tony introduced himself as Dr Chen and that he was there to check on his niece and wanted to speak to the ER Dr. They immediately took them back to see Christie. She was having a hard time using her fingers, had slurred speech, and her face and jaws were numb. They immediately took her back for a CT scan of her head. Shortly afterward the report come back as normal - which was great news - it wasn't a bleed in her head. Tony and Delma waited till they admitted her to the neuro floor and then came to get Ed and I at the airport.

When they picked us up - I asked if they had seen her and if she was ok....there wasn't a lot said other than they did see her and she was admitted to the neuro floor and that we were on our way to the hospital...i knew then that it wasn't just a bump on the head. (We were also told that she had hit her head on a steel beam at work). When we got to the hospital - she was still not speaking right - very slurred speech but her fingers and reflexes were starting to come back. The numbness in her face hd gone but she still had a tightness in her jaws and a severe headache. The hospitalist came to see her and then said that he wanted to get the Neurologist to see her since her speech had still not returned which was not typical of a severe concussion. The Neurologist came in and did a complete neuro check and said basically that all the other symptoms that she had was a result of a sever blow to the head leading to a concussion and that the slurred speech was not typical so they wanted to get a MRI scan in the morning to rule out any other problems.

We stayed until Christie drifted off to sleep and slept in a nearby hotel. The nurses had our cell phone numbers plastered on her chart should she have any problems through the night. The next morning we were there around 6:30 waiting for her to be taken for her MRI....which didn't happen till 11:00. We were told that the MRI tech didn't come in till then on Sundays....uuuugh. Anyway, her speech was much much better in the morning. She told me , Mom - I have a bad headache and my neck hurts". I was so happy - not because of the pain - but that she could tell me in a complete sentence without any slurring that her head and neck hurt. The Neurologist came back to see her in the morning and they talked about the headache and neck pain. She also ordered a c-spine "neck" xray just to rule out any small fractures that could have resulted from the head trauma. Later in the day, the MRI and xray reports all come back as normal. Praise God.

The doctor said to take her on home that she could rest there as good as she could in the hospital bed if not better. So we took her home, let her take a good hot shower and then into bed she went. She slept for a good three hours - deep sleep. When she woke - we got her some dinner and she ate a good dinner - nausea was gone and her appetite was back - another great sign.

I thank God for all the answered prayers. She still has severe headache and neck pain - like a whiplash - but the neurologist said that could go on for a couple of weeks. She is going back to see the neurologist the end of this week. We stopped by her work to see them and follow up on all the paperwork that needed to be filed for Workman's comp - and they were so very nice and accommodating saying that they would take care of everything including the ambulance ride to the hospital and all the followup doctor visits. Very nice.

Please keep Christie in your prayers as she starts the concussion healing process. Now I know I have to get an appointment to get my hair colored with all the NEW GRAY HAIRS I HAVE !!!!

Planning for 2010

It was so great to see Auntie and Uncle again. They were here in the States for a few weeks and we had the opportunity to see them, catch up on what's been happening since our visit with them in the Philippines back in May and we also had the chance to talk about our return visit in 2010.

We always have so much fun with them and had a fantastic time Sunday. More family pics in shutterfly album.

Happy 62nd Birthday Ed

It's not quite the same not having your kids home on special occasions like your birthday, but I tried to make it fun anyway.

Ed got a new Titan shirt, some money, and a new duffle bag for our trips.

We had my mom, brother and his girlfriend Shelly over to the house for dinner and birthday cake.

Happy 62nd Birthday !!!!! Love Ya

Remembering Sep 11

Labor Day Weekend in Destin

We just got back from Destin Florida. Our family, Jillian's boyfriend Ryan, my mom, and my brother and his girlfriend spent a long weekend in Destin. We rented a house with a pool and had plenty of room for the 8 of us. We also had a golf cart which came in handy going to and from the beach. The weather was wonderful and the timing was perfect - hardly any people which made the trips to eat great with no waits.

Many more pictures in my shutterfly account to the right - - - -

23rd Anniversary

Wow...its hard to believe that Ed and I are celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary!

We celebrated the evening by having dinner at Stoney River Restaurant. It is a great steak place a lot like Morton's of Chicago. We hadn't been there and was told it was a very nice place - in deed it was. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was perfect.

Ed bought me a dozen yellow roses

We both bought each other a set of Sapphire anniversary rings when we were in Bangkok.

The lion, the witch and the Wardrobe

What incredible makeup and costumes! We went to watch Aaron Mays in this Rising Image Productions Sunday afternoon. He did a great job as always! Glad to have you back home Aaron!!!!!

The Boys

I had a great time seeing "The boys" before they all headed back to college. As Alex said, "Yes Mamma Q - see we all do come back!" So true.... I'm proud of them all and hope that they have a fantastic year in college.

One year has passed

Wow, can you believe that one year has passed by so quickly. I'm a second year empty nester! I don't know if I like that term, but at least I'm not crying every time I turn around.

It was so much fun having the girls home for a few days before they start school again. Jillian is staring her senior year - my how time flies, and Christie is starting her second year.

Ed and I tool off a couple of days of work to spend time with the girls, to eat, have massages, eat ice cream, go shopping, and yes eat again! We laughed and had so much fun together. I miss those days!!!!!

More pictures in my shutterfly ...

Tax Free Shopping Weekend

Yeah! We had a blast this weekend shopping. TAX FREE WEEKEND on clothes and school supplies. With donations form the church and special buying incentives that we had, we were able to get 420 notebooks, 42 notebook paper, 12 folders, and some pens and pencils for the working students at our Mission of Hope project. www.MissionofHope2010.webs.com

We also did some early shopping for our girls. They are both coming home on Monday to spend some time with us before school starts, but we just couldn't pass up some good deals and TAX FREE!!! Ed and I also had a lot of fun getting some last minute needed supplies for some of our "other kids" before they head back to college. We are so thankful!

High School Girlfriends

I was so excited to get together with my high school girlfriends. We hooked up through facebook and decided to get together. It has been over 16 years since we have seen each other. It was sad to learn that one of my girlfriends passed away. We had a great lunch (compliments of chef Ed on the grill with the burgers) and had a lot of fun catching up on old times.

Who's working now ?

My Boss's Desk...








My Desk....

Jury Duty

Yes, ED not me, was summoned for Jury Duty. He was selected to be a juror on a murder case and served three days. He didn't like having to go at first but said that the whole process was very interesting. Glad it was him and not me!

Testimony at Church

I was asked by our senior pastor to give a short testimony at church about our recent mission trip. I was pretty nervous...I don't know why when I have spent the last 20 years professionally speaking to people for a living...but this was just different. We had two services and I was asked to do both. The first one I did just fine, and the second one, midway through, half of the audience on the first 4-5 rows were crying so I just about did. It was really amazing how we all felt the presence of the Holy Spirit - especially in the second service. They should have a link up soon on our church website. I am the last presenter so you will have to scroll to the end of the video clip. www.madisoncampus.org Once there - go to Media and then click on the sermon for date July 25th. Hope you enjoy it.

Mission Potluck

What a blessing to have our friends from church over to our home for potluck and fellowship. We had 23 come, but a few had to leave before we were able to get the group photo. We had the opportunity to share with them stories about our mission trip to the Philippines and our hopes of going back again next year. The class agreed make this a class project for the next year and help raise money and supplies for these 400 kids for 2010. I shared with them some projects for us to work on and to share with family and friends to get as much support as we can. I have a new website to support the 2010 mission trip. If you can help in any way, just look at the site or contact me for more information. May God bless this mission of helping others!

www.MissionofHope2010.webs.com

More supplies on their way!

We have learned that the student we are sponsoring in the Philippines has a brother and 4 sisters going to college - all working students. So Ed and I went shopping, and packed 6 gym bags full of clothes, toiletries, and school supplies. We also packed, towels, wash rags, and shoes for them all. They are packed and on their way to the Olarta family in the Philippines

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In Memory of a Nashville Hero

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to a Nashville Hero, A wonderful quarterback, and a blessing to the communities and charities that he served. We enjoyed the many years of watching him play (since 1999) I was lucky enough to snap this photo as he turned my way at one of the home games.

Rest in peace Steve.

Other photos of Steve and some of our Titan's football favorites = visit my shutterfly photos to the right.

Great Day at Work

I had a great day at work today. Record number of orders coming over the fax, my boss grilled home-made hamburgers for us all, and we all left early! Who could ask for anything better?

Storm blows through Percy Priest Lake area

All ok here at the house, just some minor damage outside. They say it was not a tornado, but the neighbors around here beg to differ. Trees are down everywhere you look. We were lucky only to have this minor damage.