"Deep Thoughts by Penny"

I'm following my good friend Abatha's lead, and writing down some deep thoughts. I try not to have too many deep thoughts due to it's just too exhausting. Here it goes though.

1. I've realized that I'm so attached to electricity; arriving home last night and realizing that my electricity was out due to a car hitting a pole, just bummed me out. It had been out since 2:15 p.m. and didn't come back on until 6:15 p.m.; I had to figure out what to do for almost two hours without my TV, Computer or lights, it wasn't easy.

2. Good thought: I won two prizes at a seminar yesterday; one was a $50 restaurant card and the other was a folding outside chair. The bad news is that I didn't win the Kindle.

3. Thank goodness I have a sister that puts up with my bad, good and ugly moods. I've had them all the last few weeks.

4. I'm too old to clean out a house to sell, work, get a car repaired that needs a temporary license to get on the road, keep up the house I'm living in and love, have some fun and lose weight!

5. St. Louis Cardinals won Wednesday and are still in the playoffs; next game Friday, Oct. 7. I'm excited and skeptical at the same time!

6. I'm pretty darn lucky compared to a lot of other people within our world today; that's what I am going to keep telling myself.

7. I'm going to see "Wicked" in a couple of weeks. AWESOME!

I have no more thoughts; it's only 7 a.m., and I've been up since 5 a.m. My brain is just not working correctly this early.

Good idea Abatha - We need to do this again!

My Good Friend Danny!

Last Sunday morning I woke up ready to get all the projects that I needed to get done off my "To Do" list; I was fortunate enough to get grocery shopping done, and then around 1:30 p.m. I got a text. The text said "Danny had a heart attack this morning and that he was at Centennial Hospital awaiting surgery tomorrow. "

I've known Danny as long as I've worked at my current job (Twelve Years); he's always picked on me, watched out for me, and just made me laugh. He even drove to KY to give me a hug at the funeral home before my Mom was buried last December. He's pretty special, but I didn't know how much he meant to me until I got that text. My first response was to call the person who sent it to me, and find out how bad the situation was. I was able to call that person in between crying, but they didn't have any additional information.

I just couldn't stay at the house when I didn't know how he was; so, I jumped up and drove to the hospital. I got confused in the hospital trying to find his room; a nurse walked me all the way to his room, I must have looked pitiful. There he was laying flat; he was pale with all these tubes and blood, and I just knew it was bad. He did wake up and say my name; he was trying to explain what happened to him when the surgeon's nurse came in to ask him questions about what had happened. I knew the shock of seeing him that way so sudden made me feel faint; I had to get out of that room before I passed out, so I slipped out while the nurse was talking to him. I barely made it to the waiting room, but I did calm myself down and I was OK. Of course, Danny sends his sisters/family to find me.

My good friend Danny Sue (He calls me Penny Lou.) made it through surgery; he has a long way to go, and some life changing decisions. I know he can do it; he has so many people behind him, especially his family and friends. He called me on the phone today to tell me that he had been moved to a regular room, and to let everyone know. That's exactly what I did, but I was so excited to hear his voice, it took me a little while to get the word out.

This year, this week has been rough for me, and many others. You don't realize how much some people mean to you. I didn't think when I got that text; I just was determined that I was going to find out how he was, so I could deal with it. I laugh now thinking back that I held Danny's hand all the time that I saw him that first time, kissed him on the cheek, and told him that I loved him. I can't believe I did that, but I guess you don't know what you will do in those situations.

Danny is such a "GREAT" friend; I have so many more great friends, and thank you for being my friend. Just don't scare me like Danny did, you don't know what I may do.

Love you all!

Monell's Sad Fish Story

Tonight Robin and I went to the "Folk Festival" within Centennial Mall; then we decided to go eat somewhere that we had never ate before, and Monell's Restaurant was just up the street. One table had two chairs left; we had only missed the salad portion, and we started passing the vegetables to the left. Monell's food is served family style; we had ten other people at our table. The menu was mashed potatoes with white gravy, green beans, corn casserole, fried green tomatoes, white beans, broccoli salad, slaw, barbecue ribs, fried chicken, fried catfish, biscuits, cornbread, and banana pudding. Needless to say that my diet wasn't followed tonight, and I was completely full. If you ever have a chance to eat at Monell's, forgo the diet and enjoy!

I was in a picture taking mode outside (as usual) within Monell's patio; it was so beautiful, and one of the employees was taking a break. He had been so nice to us in the restaurant by giving us an event listing of the Italian Festival at St Pius Catholic Church that was being held next week. He began to talk to us outside too. There was a small pond with Lilly pads and a little bridge that crossed over it under an antique light post.

The story the employee told us was that there used to be close to sixteen fish within this pond; one morning when he arrived, the fish were laying sideways. He ran and got help; they drained the pond, and had a water sample tested. Someone had put chlorine in the pond; most of the fish died, but one big fish lived. That fish had swam to the pond through the waters of the Nashville flood.

It is so sad that those fish died; it is also sad that someone would pour chlorine in a fish pond, but wasn't it so touching that the fish that made it there from the flood lived. Sounds like there's a lesson to be learned; the more you struggle the harder you fight maybe?

I love listening to stories and sharing them with others.

My Great Nephew's 2nd Birthday - My Grady Man

My family was reunited with my niece and her new family last year; we were fortunate to spend some great times with them while they were living close to us in Ft. Campbell, but now they have moved to be near my niece's husband's family in Arizona. He is going to be working with the police department now, and she'll be working at a local hospital. Currently they are looking for their own home, so they can get settled in.

This week is Grady's birthday; it'll be hard not to be able to see him, but Robin and I purchased one of those story books that you read the pages. Now he'll have our voices all around until we can get there to see him. Hopefully that will be soon, I sure do miss him bunches and bunches. He's a good little boy!

Happy 2nd Birthday Grady - We love you & miss you!
"I had a 2nd Birthday at one time - That was too long ago to remember!"

Zumba with Black Light Atmosphere

Zumba is a Latin-inspired dance fitness program that involves dance and aerobic elements. Unlike a typical dance class where counts are used, Zumba involves following the music with repetitive movements. Zumba's choreography incorporates hip-hop, samba, salsa, merengue, mambo, martial arts, and some Bollywood and belly dance moves. Squats and lunges are also included.

Oh can't you see Paulette, Eurica, Robin, A'Della, Amanda and I doing this? We have; Paulette, Robin and I have went to this class twice now. I don't know if I make any of the moves, but at least I move. After the first session I was so sore that I it was hard to walk and even breathe, but after last night's session I'm just tired this morning. Hopefully that means I'm getting better!

The wonderful thing about this particular class is that the instructor turns off the lights, and turns on the black lights. That way you can't see each other that well!

Williamson County Fair 2011 Quilt Story

Robin and I went to the Williamson County Fair last night; needless to say I am quite tired this morning, but it was so much fun. I had not been to a fair in over 10 years, but it was a little more expensive than I thought.

There was one section that was called the "Old Days", and there were quilts, lanterns, weaved baskets, looms, and the sad part is that I remember some of these items from my childhood. I'm not as old as some of my friends (Paulette, Lori, Georgia, Vicki and etc.); I bet they would remember all of these old, precious things.

One of the people manning this exhibit told us a story; I'll never forget her telling it, and I wanted to share with you. There was this beautiful quilt hanging on the wall; during last year's fair, everyone could participate in creating a quilt square that would be quilted together for display this year. She said that this big, burly, tattooed man came up to her, and asked if he could create a square. Of course, and he put together this purple star burst with a dark color in the background. The attendant asked him if there was a story behind that square; he said yes, and began to tell his story. His mother had passed away within the past year; he wasn't able to go to the funeral due that he was in prison, and they wouldn't let him out to go. Purple was his mother's favorite color, the dark color of the background was how he felt about not being able to go to the funeral. He thanked the person who helped him put together this quilt piece; he said it helped him to have closure. Everyone in the exhibit was hoping that he would come back this year to see his square quilted together with all the other squares; they had it displayed on the back wall of the exhibit.

The lady telling this story to us said, "You never know who you are going touch, or even help out"! She had an image of this guy with all the tattoos, being in prison to be such a bad guy, but it turned out he was just a big old teddy bear. (That was her exact words.)

Don't judge a book by it's cover, and no matter how much stuff you have or don't have, there's still a chance that you can help someone else. This was just a quilt square to most of the other people creating them, but it meant the world to this man who seemed to love his mother dearly.

Amazing, Amazing story that brought a tear to both Robin and my eyes; I sure hope he came back to the fair this year to see that quilt! I wished they were creating squares to make a quilt for next year's fair; I would have made one, and tried to put as much thought into as this nice man did.

Monday's Recipe - This is for Abatha who is out of the Country for her 10th Wedding Anniversary!

Slow Cooker Taco Chicken - Penny's Creation

4 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 Bag Broccoli Florets
1 Package McCormick Taco Seasoning
1 16 oz Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Package of Whole Wheat Pita Pockets

Place chicken and Broccoli Florets in slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the Taco Seasoning with the 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes. Pour over chicken.

Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on High or 6-8 hours on Low. Serve in whole wheat pita pockets. Optional items on top are sour cream, green onions and salsa. Of course, I put Heinz ketchup, but I put Ketchup on everything! YUMMO!

Note: Abatha has a probe on her crockpot that sticks in the meat. You can set it so that when it reaches the "cooked" internal temperature, it switches the pot to warm so that you don't come home to scorched food if you have to be gone more than 8 hours a day. I don't have a probe, my crock pot is way old, but the chicken was falling apart after 6 hours on high.

Enjoy!