He Said, "I've Been In This Business For Over 20 Years",,,,,So I Listened & Heeded His Advise

Recently my steam carpet cleaner went KiiiirrrrrPLUNK! In order to purchase a new one without having to sacrifise the power of the one that broke, I would have to shell out at least $156 - $199. This is the lesson: When your steamer or vacuum BREAKS don't buy a new one. Just take it to the vacuum repair shop (Yes they are still around!)and they will fix it for just a fraction of the cost. I assumed my steamer was broke but, it was just clogged and they said something about the heating belt. In exchange for $54.06, I got my old steamer back with all the power and I DIDN'T have to buy a new one. The repair man told me that people don't give up on their vacuum cleaners.......there were models at the repair store that looked like they were from the 70's. Yep! They were being repaired.

P.S. If your upright vacuum spits junk back out onto your HARD FLOORS, you should be using a canister vacuum instead! I learned a lot when I made a visit to the repair shop. I have my eye on a canister vacuum in that very store, unless I shop around and find a better deal somewhere else. Ohhhhh....Don't buy your next vacuum at Target. They are at least, $5-$20 more for the exact same models available at Wal-Mart.

'This Time It DIDN"T Take Five Days'

I took the bottle way from Alexis when she was a little over one year of age. When I gave her, her new "Sippy Cup" she refused to pick it up and drink from it. So, in order for her to get plenty of liquids I would water down her cereal with lots of milk. It was really soupy cereal. I called the doctor daily to let her know she still had not taken a drink yet. She advised me not to give in and that she WOULD pick the cup up and drink. The fifth day is the day that she decided she was dying of thirst. I can vividly remember her walking over to the cup, which sat on the floor in the very same spot, picked it up and drank. She got even more attached to the cuppy than she did to the bottle.

Little Miss Londyn Paige has been introduced to a sippy cup since six months of age; something I did not do with my first child. TODAY!!! I decided to take the bottle away cold turkey! It's amazing how each child can be so different. Londyn is not phased by the new transition. I'm glad it was easier the second time around.

Friday Night's tornado...taken just as lightening struck to the right of Atl

This is from my friend Julie.......


As an EF-2 tornado swept across downtown Atlanta, one local photographer snapped the shot of a lifetime.

Shane Durrance was on top of his condominium off Howell Mill Road when he saw the potential for a great photo of the downtown area. He took the photo just as 11Alive's Paul Ossmann was talking about tornado warnings in Atlanta.

Durrance, who is an acquaintance of Ossmann's, sent the photo to 11Alive and said he believed he'd missed catching the tornado on film. But after Ossmann reviewed the picture, he assured Durrance that he had indeed gotten the shot.

The picture shows a light-gray vertical strip of what looks like clouds connecting the cityscape to the larger clouds above. That is the actual tornado. Ossmann said it didn't look like the usual sort of funnel cloud because it was embedded in rainshowers at the time of the photograph.

UPDATE: It Was HUGE......And I Left It Out!

I'm just updating my previous post from yesterday. It was quite a long post. I even proof read it several times. With each read, I was satisfied that it expressed exactly what I was trying to say. For some reason, I re-read my post last night and in amazement I stumbled upon something BIG that I left out. I mean it was BIG! I think the man upstairs led me to my mistake even though it was embedded in my mind my fingers forgot to do the typing. It was the most important part of my story. I have gone back and added what I left out and it's highlighted so there is no mistake what needed to be expressed. It's located at the end of the post, so you don't have to re-read the entire thing.

Chester Drawers & Two Nightstands Bring Back Childhood Memories of "Ma Ma"

Her name is Kristen. I received a call from her yesterday inquiring about my Craigs List posting for Chester Drawers and two, matching Night Stands. Kristen just had a baby who was born premature and is now being hospitalized at the Children's Hospital Downtown Austin. She asked if if would be possible for her to come by last night to look at the furniture; after she visited her baby in the hospital for the night. I told her that she could or that I would be available tomorrow if that was more convenient. She was so concerned that I would sell the furniture items before she could come see them. I told her another lady was interested but that she had to reschedule another time to come look at the furniture. I told Kristen I would not sell it to someone else until she had the chance to check the furniture out. She agreed and advised me that her mom would come look at the furniture instead so that she could stay with her baby. I was expecting her moms arrival about 9:30 pm. 10 pm arrived and no one had showed. I called to make sure they were still coming. She was on her way and was about 10 minutes away. Her mom then arrived. I immediately felt safe after she proceeded from her vehicle because you could tell she was a harmless MOM! I invited her in to look at the furniture and she immediately began to strike up a conversation. She reminded me of my "Aunt Collette". She had a bubbly personality. Soon after her arrival, her son arrived with his new girlfriend (they were meeting MOM for the 1st time, at my house) and he was going to be loading up the furniture. We'll have to see if she turns out to be right girl for him simply because of the circumstances. What circumstances? Well, you see, they decided they wanted the furniture and began to load it up into their vehicles. Upon the sons arrival back into my house to retrieve the end tables, I asked him what his name was. "I'm Greg Gillespie", he replied. I then asked him if he was related to the Gillespies in Leming, Texas. (NO ONE KNOWS WHERE LEMING, TEXAS IS????) It's the little town I grew up in. But, I usually say I'm from Pleasanton because most people have usually heard of that town. He said, "Yes", then he began to list the names of ALL of his uncles......Sammy, Roger, Loni, Tommy.....etc. I then proceeded to tell him I knew all of them and that I grew up with all of the Gillespie kids and even baby sat some of the Gillespie children including Ashley & Shaunette. I even played with Greg as a child. His mom entered the room from loading the furniture and Greg told his mom, "you're not going to believe that she knows us." His mom just looked at me and asked what my name was. She gasped in amazement and said, "I know your mom, she had long hair." She proceeded to tell me that she remembered me as a little girl with long hair. She could remember all of us children playing together at Gillespie Get Togethers, Weddings, Gatherings etc. We then began to talk about her premature granddaughter and how she was named after Grandma Gillespie who's name was Grace. The baby's name is Madison Grace. Madison Grace was named after the lady I once knew as "Ma Ma". As a little girl, I used to play at Ma Ma's house, sat on her lap, played in her house, and RAN all over their property. Oh, the memories began to overwhelm me. We even talked about the two "old ladies" who were sisters that lived across the highway Pauline & ?????. We shared a party line with the two sisters growing up. She said she could remember the old ladies talking on the phone, hearing the Cooper kids listening in. They would yell over the telephone line saying, "You Cooper Kids, hand up the phone." We talked about, Carrie & Mindy who are cousins of the Gillespies. I can remember these girls growing up and getting to go and visit them in San Antonio......THE BIG CITY. We just kept saying, "this is weird, I can't believe this, Wow!.... Before they left, I asked mom, "what is your name?". She said, "I'm M-A-R-C-I-A" (as she spelled it for me as I wrote it down) I laid my pencil down and said, "I KNOW YOU." I can remember my mom taking about you as a little girl. We gave each other a big hug. It's unexplainable how these things happen other than by the grace of God. I purchased Chester Drawers and two Nightstands over a year ago.....for a baby named Madison Grace. Madison Grace, thanks for bringing back so many childhood memories and for the remembrance of the wonderful lady you were named after many generations ago. I'm glad to of touched and to have known grandma Gillespie. Known as "Ma Ma" to me.

One BIG Obsession

Recently, I showed Alexis a golf ball with a Nike emblem on it. I explained it was called the Nike sign. While we were at the store one day, she tugged on my shirt and whispered, "mama, look that man has a Nike sign on his shoes." Ever since then, she has had an obsession with NIKE shoes and all things Nike. Soon thereafter, we bought her a pair of Nike shoes at the outlet mall. Two days later she attended a birthday party and they were stolen or accidentally taken home by another kid. Being shoeless, we went that night again to the Nike Store. Of course, when we got there she did not want the traditional white/pink/blue trimmed shoes that were stolen. She fixed her eyes on the white/black/pink trimmed shoes. She would not hear of having anything else. Several times, she even made a trip to the mirror on the wall to check them out. As I was insisting that she get the more traditional shoes, a couple came around the corner and said, "OH!, she's so cute....she's mad." I told them that I wanted her to get the pink/blue shoes and they said, "We know, we kept hearing you tell her that and she kept saying no". Off they went laughing. Here are the shoes she went home with. She absolutely loves them. We have definitely gotten our moneys worth, since she is so obsessed. Are we starting this way too young? Just asking.