Ipad vs. Android Tablet

Well here we are still in the hospital! It's just amazing the lengths I am going to to post a blog in this place. I had my smartphone & my android tablet (which I bought because I don't really know Apple products all that well) & I still can't manage to get a good enough connection to post. So I made my phone a mobile hotspot & the tablet worked for some things...just not what I really needed such as this blog. When my husband came after work he left me his Ipad Mini which was working wonderfully on the hospital's Wi-Fi. Until he left & I sat down to write. No such luck. So while I was about to write this rave about how wonderful the iPad is & maybe I made a mistake in not buying that, maybe I'll just stick to my trusty lil tablet with the keyboard built into the case. After all I'm working on it right now & the iPad is sitting in the box, not accepting the many connections I have offered it. So what do we thik in the way of electronics? Apple or Android?

Meanwhile my daughter is backsliding a bit. We had hoped to go home today but we're still firmly in place & we may be here tomorrow night as well. She's starting to get very upset as she just wants to go home. Momma wants to go home too but not without a healthy Katie to take along. So on we trudge & are praying for better news in the morning.

God bless & goodnight all!

Oh Joy My Kid is Hospitalized

It is so scary having a child with athsma. Her allergies act up depending on the season & the environment & it seems like anything sets her off wheezing & coughing. On Wednesday it was a half day at school & when she got home she was feeling bad enough that I needed to put her on her nebulizer. She did 3 breathing treatments & used her inhaler 3 times. That's a lot of medicine for a little body! Nothing was making my little feel better at all. In fact she started to run a low grade fever. My brother is a serious asthmatic so I called him & asked what do I do to calm her down. His reply? Get her to the Emergency Room. She may have an infection in her lungs that can lead to pneumonia. Eek! This was at about 8pm. So Daddy came home from work & we brought her in. By 3am we were admitted to the hospital. Today is Friday morning & we are still here. I'm tired. She is getting frustrated. She is missing school! Ahhh!! How do you cope when your baby is sick & your life is put on hold while you live in the hospital?

September 11th 2013

   Today is September 11th 2013. Will anyone of age ever forget where they were on 2001? I was managing my pharmacy in Wilmington, NC about an hour from one of the largest Marine Corps bases on the East coast. I was in the office of the store alone all morning until the pharmacist said, "We just heard something on the radio. You should get the TV out of the back & see what's going on." I grew up with the news telling me that hurricanes were coming & my Mom saying they weren't & they never did so I really didn't believe anything was happening. Nevertheless, I got the TV out & plugged it in at the front register where a group had gathered. We watched the plane hit the 2nd tower.

   Wow. And we watched for the rest of the day. My Grandmother had flown from LAX on the 10th. My mother's cousin worked in the Pentagon. My mom was a school teacher in Jacksonville very near the base. No one knew what would be hit next. There were stories of Camp David, our base. It was terrible. The cell phones wouldn't work. The military was mobilizing. This was happening on American soil? Are you for real? 

   What happened on that day was a true tragedy. I don't think anyone was in any way prepared for what happened. I don't think anyone was to blame either. I'm not a fan of George W. Bush but I reckon he did the best he was capable of. I'm not saying someone couldn't have done better. I'm also not bashing our sitting president. Not for any reason. I don't believe it helps anything at all. I think the best thing we can do is a nation is to not let them win. We keep about our normal lives as best we can & not let them keep us from taking a flight or what have you. 

   The message? Never forget. Never forget how heroic the first responders   were. Never forget how those ordinary citzens took down Flight 93. Never forget how lives were affected. But don't don't place blame on another American. Now is not the time to get into a political debate. No matter what. We were all one on that day & just let us never forget. God Bless America.

Day 11 #30daysofpics In My Make-up Bag

Day 11 What's in your make-up bag?

  I have 3 levels of make-up bags. I have a very large box under the sink that holds all the make-up that aren't in the other 2 levels. Mostly every single shade of eye-shadow man has ever made. Along with some bases & powders I have used & liked well enough at one time or another not to get rid of. Level 2 is the make-up I use everyday  to get out the door. Level 3 is my travel bag that  I carry everywhere for touch-ups or lip gloss, a little more mascara & so on. Level 1 looks ridiculous so below I have pictured levels 2 & 3. A girl loves her cosmetics! Especially Too Faced, benefit & Bare Minerals. I couldn't live without them!

Level 2

Level 3

Day 10 #30daysofpics Favorite Eatery

Day 10 A picture of my favorite place to eat

For lunch I love the half turkey & provolone sandwich on Texas toast with a bowl of loaded baked potato soup. Wonderful! & just enough food for me

For dinner there is nothing better to me than Outback's prime rib. Between that & their fantastic bread I just can't get enough!

Day 9 #30daysofpics My Last Purchase

Day 9 A photo of the last item you purchased

Last thing I bought...

& this would be why My thoughts are a mess so I'm trying to organize! Wish me luck I'm so going to need it!

How to Choose Your Perfect Wedding Venue

This is part of the series put together by the bloggers of BE Society on planning your ideal wedding. Be sure to check the linky at the bottom  for all the great tips throughout this month.

   One of the first and most important things you will want to do while planning your wedding is to decide on a venue. There are a great many places to choose from so that your venue will fit your needs as well as any theme you may have chosen for your big day. Long gone are the days where you get married in a church in the bride's hometown with a standard reception to follow. There are literally no rules and there are absolutely no wrong answers. The world is open to you so I have a few tips on the best way to go about picking out the ideal place to celebrate your wedding day. 

   You may first want to consider logistics. Having an approximate head count is a very good idea so you can automatically eliminate places that will be too small for say a 300 person wedding, or so large that the place will not have the intimate feel for a small gathering of 50 people. Also, as much as this day is all about you and your fiancee, your guests' needs are also important. If you wanted to have your ceremony on a beach but have relatives with limited mobility, you'll want to make sure you have made arrangements to accommodate them. The same is true if you are planning a destination wedding and your wedding party has small children. Can they make it to a safari location for a number of days? It's also a good idea to make sure that your venue has the lighting you are looking for or, depending on the season, heating and air conditioning available. 

   Depending on how important religion is to you and your fiancee you may be considering a traditional, church ceremony followed by a banquet hall reception. About 50% of couples choose this route. If you are going with a religious ceremony, it may have to be held in a place of worship that should be booked before the reception hall. You may also want to check with the facility as to what their policies are on decor. Some places frown upon heavy decorations and/or flowers that need to be put up before the ceremony then taken down afterward. On a plus side, many reception halls can hold between 100-400 guests and provide silverware, dinnerware, linens and in some cases food and beverages which will save you money on your overall budget in the end. 

*Resources: 
-National directory of Christian churches: churchangel.com
-Jewish temples: jewishdirectory.com
-Mosques: islamicity.com/orgs
-Hindu temples: hindumandir.us
-Extensive list of reception halls: elegala.com

   Conversely, you may choose to go with an alternative location. This list is endless. A few suggestions are a farm, a museum, an art gallery, beach resort, botanical garden, civic center or even a sports venue. Depending on where you decide, it will be easier in some cases and harder in others. For example, in choosing a beach resort lodging can be included as well as catering, staff to clean up afterwards and a picturesque background for photos. If you went with a farm, consider some of the heavy lifting that may be involved including bringing in your own seating and tables, a place for the catering staff to set up and serve as well as moving Bessie and the other animals while your event takes place. What to know when using an alternate location is to get a few things in writing such as head count, do they have or need a liquor license, can they execute a fire plan and liability insurance for any accidents or property damage.

*Resources:
-Chamber of commerce for venue recommendations: uschamber.com
-For creative spots: uniquevenues.com

   While there is a lot that goes into wedding planning, choosing your venue is an important step and there is a lot to consider. But you can make you day as unique and as wonderful as you are by taking your time and putting a bit of thought into picking the perfect venue for you and your fiancee. As I stated before almost any place is open to you so with a little careful thought you can have the wedding location of your dreams!