You are Invited..

You are invited to our Christmas Celebration!
As you can hopefully see it is
December 13 & 14 at 7:00 p.m. at our church.
Dennis and I both are in the choir, so we will be performing!!
We are both really excited about this, and would LOVE it if you want to come.
It's going to be a really great show!!! Don't miss it!
Give us a call for more details!!!

Honey.. How Close Are We To The Beach?!?!?

First and Foremost:

I want to say that We are home safely!

(It was a definite act of grace that God poured upon us abundantly I might add)

and that It feels good to be back to my stinky (still) home...

with all of its numerous amenities!

So to wrap up our Thanksgiving week and get back into the boring and mundane I must report of our drive back home!

Let me say Secondly:

GOODBYE VILLAGER PEOPLE!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On our way home... not knowing how closely I-95 ran to the coast: I ask my husband:

Are we in the middle of the state (Georgia) or are we say... near the coast???

He says: 'Near the coast!"

I say: "Think we could go to the beach???"

Thinking he would say "NO!"

he says with a little hesitation and a hopeful "just kidding" on my part

"You wanna go to the beach?"

and I say "Uh-Huh!"

You must understand that Dennis and I are "on-the-road-travelers,-bring-a-cup-to-pee-in cause-we-ain't-stoppin-kinda-people"
The beach was a stretch of the imagination

Giving me a couple of miles to really think about it he says:

"Are you sure you wanna go to the beach??"

I say: "yEs!"

So he takes the very next exit.

I said:

"Do you even know where you are going?"

he says: "I say that as long as we go east far enough we should run into the beach"

Gladly taking his word for it I just search for signs of water all around.

It was here somewhere.. boats were in yards and every store was named:

"Sea Breeze" or "Coastal.."

I felt that we were near water.

We were!!! We ended up at a naval base. Not exactly what I had in mind but it was beautiful anyway.

Take a look at our unplanned sightings today.

Getting Closer.......... BELOW: My FAVORITE picture EVER..... I take ALL of my pics with my cell phone and look how beautiful it turned out!!!!

There were more water photos but I didn't feel like sending them all to the computer!

We hit rain in South Carolina and we stayed in it steady all the way to the driveway!

It was THE LONGEST trip but its over and we are happy to be home!

Goodnight Guys!!!!

My Big Fat Greek Thanksgiving

My Big Fat Greek Thanksgiving!

Dennis and I spent Thanksgiving in New Port Richey, Florida with

Dennis' uncle Bobby and his wife Anna and her GREEK family!!

This was their pool up and running in NOVEMBER!

Temps yesterday ran anywhere from 68-70 degress getting much chillier as the evening approached

Richard & Judy (Dennis' folks)

The Four of Us

And the three of them...

This is Bobby & Anna's neighborhood

This is Anna.

I didn't get any pictures of her family directly because I felt weird asking people I didn't know to smile for the Maggi Two blog... but in this pic below you can see Dennis, Darin (cousin) and then Mario (Helena's husband; Anna's cousin in law) and Athena (Mario's daughter)

In this pic they were playing: "trade with your neighbor"

Our churched sheltered spirits called it that... but our loud New Yorkian Greek friends had another term..... and Dennis had a small number to play with and he wouldn't go under that number.. his winnings kept him in the game for awhile..

At first I was really incomfortable. You could have thrown me in the middle of the United States, walked me down the street, make me knock on a random door and then kick me in and say: "Happy Thanksgiving"

We didn't know anyone! (except for Bobby & Anna and their two boys)

It got better as the day progressed.

The food was amazing... not all of it typical T-Day food...

but it was still delicious!

Anna and her family did an awesome job cooking.

We have one last full day here in The Villages, and then we will be traveling home

tomorrow morning!

Dennis has expressed some interests for the day:

Shuffleboard.. :(( and The driving range to hit golf balls....

whatever....

BY THE WAY!!!!

Adam & Kathleen had a baby girl!!

They are not for certain what they are naming her yet,

but when they get a good look at her they will decide!!! :) So excited for them..

Congrats Adam & Kathleen!

They sent a pic and she is adorable!

Hot date & Some Golf Carts

This was our ride to our destination in "The Villages"

This is us in the mirror in Judie & Richie's golf cart.

This "retirement community" is more like a town where there is all play...

Golf and games, swimming and card playing, and much more is always going on here.

This is the road going into the square. As you can see it is mostly golf carts!!

They have access to everywhere! It is the size of Roanoke and Salem combined.

You must be 55 years or older to live here. Or atleast you cannot have children under the age of 19.

This is just a fancy cart we saw before our movie: "Road to Rodanthe"

This is a line of parked carts at the square.

This is theirs! Not bad!

This is their license plate they had in Virginia.

It is really is a fun place to be!

People were swimming yesterday!!

About the date: We watched a movie we had a nice dinner and we had two dances!

A perfect night as planned.

Richie & Judy's Arby's was good!

Today Dennis has plans for golfing and church with his mom....

and I plan on taking a nap for as long as I feel like it!

No cleaning or homework for me. .

I planned to catch up on school work but that has NOT happened yet.

Tuesday walk

This afternoon we went to Lake Sumter Landing Square here in The Villages.

Dennis and I have a hott date tonight and we wanted to decide early where we were going to eat to save any confusion and frusturation later.. so we walked and I bumped into these few of very many beautiful sights!!

Here you are seeing the square on the other side of the lake..

We stopped for awhile and sat and just admired the water, clouds and the hundreds of birds
Don't get eaten by the gators!!! That concerns me that this is a possibility here!

I love it here! It is SOO pretty!

These are some chairs that outlook the water

And here are those birds I mentioned looking for food down below~

This little boat goes out every 30 minutes! We have not done it yet, but we may!

Dennis and I have a movie to see at 4:40

Dinner will be after that around 6:30

and THEN he owes me a dance or two while we watch a band tonight until 9:00

I have been trying to convince Richie to take Judy on a hott date tonight too.. and he gave in and offered to take her to Arby's!!!!

Now I see what I have been up against with Dennis for the past 6 years! :)

I don't mind to be wined and dined!

... and tonight hopefully I will be!

Until next time....

Pictures...

WOW! When I uploading pictures on her computer I foudn these! This was Thanksgiving of 2003!!
This one, too!!! I was a Junior in High Sch0ol when this pic was taken!

This was them today eating ice cream today! I settled for a frappachino from Starbucks! I didn't feel like having ice cream

More Palm trees! I just love them!

Tonight I don't plan on going anywhere or doing anything.

Tomorrow night we will be having a date night. We usually take the golf cart on our dates!

I will be posting pics as they come in!

I actually have the time to blog now.. before I made time.

MAGGI MELTDOWN UPDATE:

Dennis lost 13 pounds on Pat's diet. I fell off the wagon last week and feel MISERABLE this week!

I think that the weight is back and I realize how even 5 pounds lighter feels

I am going to be drinking water and watch what I eat again. Every pound makes a difference!

Thanks for the support and encouragment over the last 3 weeks!

So, the Maggi Meldown has ended. I will still keep you posted on weight loss for Dennis, though!

Here we are Florida!

Anything wrong with this pic? A Christmas tree and a palm tree in the same photo??

We got in lastnight about 9:15 p.m. and it is beautiful weather here. MSN said that our town was cold and rainy.. sorry guys!!!

I ended up getting a cold!!! So I am in 70 degree weather barely able to breathe.. so hopefully it's not too late for Zycam to work! Oh, and by the way the smoke smell has withstood the wrath of the washing machine and I am having to rewash EVERYTHING because we smell like a wood pile still! I just feel bad for Shawn B and Toph because they are home in it!! URR! Well, until next time.. Which will be sooner than later...

Early Thanksgiving with the Chesnuts!

 

This year since Dennis and I are spending Thanksgiving in Florida; Daddy and Sheila had an early Thanksgiving dinner tonight! I was really glad that we had an opportunity to spend time with them before we went away! Here are some highlights of the night!

   

My Dad and Sheila above! My camera has a delay and what I was actually taking a picture of didn't happen; with the delay I got this instead. I thought that it was cute!

This is my Grandad and Dennis hanging out in the living room!

   

This is my daddy!

This is Madison and Bethany having a great time playing together tonight!

 

This is my granddad! He is the one that had the surgery awhile back!

And of course, this is my brother Greg! We had a great dinner together. Dennis and I stayed awhile and then we had to get going because we had to get back home and pack to get ready for the big day of driving! Write Ya in Florida hopefully!!

I have this song stuck in my head....

                                       

 

In choir Sunday we are singing this song. Since Wednesday night when we practiced I cannot seem to get it out my head! So, today while I am clean sweeping the house, I am going to be singing this really loud all day! I hope you contemplate and enjoy the depth and richness of these words like I have this week!

Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin

He became sin
Who knew no sin
That we might become His Righteousness
He humbled himself and carried the cross
Love so amazing
Love so amazing
Chorus:
Jesus Messiah
Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer
Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners
The ransom from Heaven
Jesus Messiah
Lord of all
His body the bread
His blood the wine
Broken and poured out all for love
The whole earth trembled
And the veil was torn
Love so amazing
Love so amazing, yeah
Chorus:
Jesus Messiah
Name above all names

Blessed Redeemer
Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners
The ransom from Heaven
Jesus Messiah
Lord of all
All our hope is in You
All our hope is in You
All the glory to You, God
The light of the world
Chorus:
Jesus Messiah
Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer
Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners
The ransom from Heaven
Jesus Messiah
Lord of all

I got a little taste...

                                             

I know that I don't talk about a lot of school stuff on here. I may mention it now and then but overall it is not the most significant thing to me right now! (Maybe it should be, or come close... but that is for another day).

Today I didn't have regular class but our professor made us get together before fall break and go over our lessons plans due the Tuesday that we go back. Well, we had our meeting in a sorority house. I was kind of irritated that I had to drive 40 minutes up interstate because I thought that we would find a loophole, and go on with life, and I would be outta there quick! What I didn't consider was what I was going to be walking into! Not even an ounce which set me up for great surprise! I walk in and hope that my mouth didn't drop and my nose didn't curl. If you know me the probabilities are high..... there was nastiness all over that house! I cannot find enough words to describe it. I couldn't even find a good picture off of google to do it justice! It was a mess. I even encountered a mouse! You betcha' I was out of there ASAP. The girls room that we needed was actually quite nice and really cozy.. but I can't say so much for the rest of the house. 7 girls live in that house! WOW!

Then I got into my clean car and went home to my stinky home. (Anything was fine in comparison!) I am glad that I had that experience...

Then I went home and cooked a mini Thanksgiving meal for Toph and Jonathan! They will be staying at the house with Allie and Harper while we are away! I plan to blog in Florida. PLAN is the key word! It will be a much needed time away!

 

 

Which is worse STINKING all day? OR.. BEING COLD?

I'll take stinking!

Many of you have heard the complaints for the past 3 winters! I dislike wood stoves because I strongly strongly dislike the smell of wood stove smoke! Well, I have been helping Dennis keep the fire going by putting wood in it and keeping it up to heat our house. The wood stove is downstairs. We don't have access to our downstairs in our house. We have to go OUTSIDE to go down. Well, over the past two years this wood stove has evolved. It used to be a simple concept to this big extravagant deal requiring more than I personally think that it's worth!

Well, thinking that we had this whole thing figured out, we had our first big smoke out tonight!!! I was certain that it was inevitable at some point. I remember last year Dennis said: Honey, I have figured it out! It is not going to happen this year! I woke up that morning hardly able to see, much less breath. Our house was filled in thick STINKY smoke! Well... this year it happened when neither of us were home! Yep! I got the fire going really good, turned on the fan that sucks up the heat from our basement to spread through our house, locked the door and went to church! Dennis calls me about 10:15 when I am at the Shaffer's and asks me what kind of wood that I put in the stove! Well, turns out that the fire was not hot enough, and the dampers were open and smoke had no where to go but out, and the fan sucked it up into the house! How would I know that the FIRE was not HOT enough?!?! It FIRE!!

He opens up all the windows... lights candles... febreezes everything. I walk in around 11:30 pm. and sure enough!!! We officially smell like SMOKE! URRR! AND IT WON"T GET OUT OF MY NOSE.. I mean it is very strong! You don't know how annoyed I am! This requires washing everything we own, and srubbing the house down! The spoiled brat in me complains about this but the humble in me thanks the Lord that I have heat in these very cold days.... I may stink, and you may have to smell me and endure it for a period of time, but hey... I am warm!

Thank You, Lord that was quick!

Last night around 1:50 am. I made a post about the strange sky! I have been on post overload yesterday, so most of you probably have missed the past 3 because they were all done late at night! So please check out

last night's post by clicking here. Then you may read this!

 

 

So, I was right about the strange sky! Some of you may have woke up this morning pleasantly surprised.. and even though I had a hint last night, I was floored this morning when there was actually a little snow on the ground! So, that was really neat! I love blogging! (It's not enough to get me out of a test today though!)  I love the snow that you can enjoy but does not prevent you from functioning, although I could use a day or two of that also!!

Have a great day guys!!!! Happy reading!

Night out with some friends....

Tonight some girls and I got together at TGI Fridays and had a meal and tried to study for a test we have on Wednesday! When I first joined this cohort and went back to school I was really unsure about how well I was going to get along with these girls! Turns out that they are becoming really special to me! I have not gotten to know every one of them out of school, but I am definitely getting to know some of them pretty well!! I am glad that we went! So in the photo from Left to Right is Chelsea, Kelli, and Jessica! We had a lovely evening. It has been awhile since I have laughed so hard!!! Thanks girls for a lovely evening out!!!

Could this be the night?!

Ya know.. It is late. It is 1:50 am. I know you guys are like: "What could you possibly be doing this late?" Well... I am writing lessons plans! As if writing lessons plans that you need are not bad enough, writing lessons plans that you won't actually use is even worse! So, it was getting a little chilly in here, and I decided that I should probably go load up the wood stove to get warm again, and I needed the break anyway....

So I walk outside which is VERY COLD.. and I went on down stairs. (We have to walk out of our house to get to our basement to get wood in the stove! Inconvenient, I know.) So I go down and carefully load up the stove to create the perfect fire. I have plenty of wood and and a knack to manipulate the poker! So, I take my time getting it ready. I create a nice popping fire, close the door, remove the gloves, and walk outside...

It was FLURRYING! It was so beautiful! Ahhh.. I come in and remove the coat, pour me some Soy chocolate milk and look outside again. It seems to me that the sky looks really strange at this late hour. Every year it seems that God slides a little snow on us in the middle of the night that not even the meteorologists see coming, and I just wonder if he might give us an early surprise! Hmm... I could use an extra day to write these dumb lesson plans... God, could you slide that surprise on us tonight???