The last to follow this time.... Here goes-

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:55

2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds, are you kidding??

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Shooter - Saturday night
Wild Hogs - Sunday afternoon

4. What is your favorite TV show? Grey's Anatomy, Gilmore Girls, What About Brian, Days of Our Lives, According to Jim, reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond

5. What did you have for breakfast? Strawberry yogurt

6. What is your middle name? Susann

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Any! I love food, does junk food count as a cuisine??

8. What foods do you dislike? Sushi, collards, turnips

9. Your favorite potato chip? any, you're talking my favorite food group....Funyuns

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? a mix that I made.... "Feb Faves"

11. What kind of car do you drive? Dodge Durango "Beastie"

12. Favorite sandwich? grilled cheese

13. What characteristics do you despise? people who try to hard, just be you

14. Favorite item of clothing? any play clothes, a t-shirt from my best friend's wedding that the wedding party got, has a hole, dirty spots that wont come out and is super thin now.....andy HATES it!!!!

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation,where would you go? Hawaii or back to the Virgin Islands...owww, or Castaway Cay ........ annual passes to WDW though, so love there too...I want to see Greece someday.....and Alaska-

16. What color is your bathroom? master bath : pink & green (I hate it, counter tops had a pale pink tint as did floor when we bought it, going to change soon....i love pink and green, not these shades though..... ugh!) guest bathroom: purple's

17. Favorite brand of clothing? brand? are you kidding? what does Goody's, Kohl's & Target carry and on sale???

18. Where would you want to retire to? St. Martin or St. Thomas.....he he he.... we talk about Ocala Florida though-

19. Favorite time of day? work days: 4:00ish late afternoon, done with what "needs" to be done... waiting on Andy to get home, usually being lazy....reading, watching TV, playing a game with the wee one

20. Where were you born? Austell, GA

21. Favorite sport to watch? SEC football baby!! go dawgs~

24. What laundry detergent do you use? Tide

25. Coke or Pepsi? Coke.... though randomly i crave pepsi just to be different for a day or two

26. Are you a morning person or night owl? night owl, i don't understand those "other people"

27. What size shoe do you wear? 7

28. Do you have pets? 3 dogs, 1 cat and a fish

29. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? nada

30. What did you want to be when you were little? astronaut or a sea world animal trainer

31. Favorite candy bar? baby ruth, yummo

32. What is your best childhood memory? family & friends

33.What are different jobs you have had in your life? working with Dad at the carlot, odd jobs - the mall - Kmart - admissions office @ Truett McConnell - day care - pre k teacher

34. What color underwear are you wearing?...well hang on.... pink...

35. Nicknames: peanut (my Paw Paw called me that) Shorty (by my Dad) and there's another I'd rather not share!!

36. Piercing? 2 in each ear....

37. Eye color? super duper dark brown

38. Ever been to Africa? no, but wouldn't it be amazing

39. Ever been Toilet papering? yep, but stayed in the car... our house was done so many times and my dad would get HOSTILE.... i would have NEVER done it to anyone, always chickened out....had my own house done a few times too.... i just don't get it.....

40. Love someone so much it made you cry? oh lordy yes

41. Been in a car accident? a few, one nutty one that was super scary after wards.....

42. Croutons or bacon bits? croutons

43. Favorite day of the week? friday - love it.....

44. Favorite restaurant? anywhere, i love food, but hate decisions

45. Favorite flower? tulips....love 'em

46. Favorite ice cream? mint choc. chip .... or any "ice" kind from Brusters ... i'd rather have an icee to drink though-

47. Disney or Warner Brothers? are you kidding? do you know me?

48. Favorite fast food restaurant?McDonald's (hiding my head to admit that)

49. What color is your bedroom carpet? tan (just priced hard wood floors again yesterday)

50. How many times did you fail your driver's test? nada

52. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Target without a doubt.... can I take 2 and go to Michaels as well?

53. What do you do most often when you are bored? what do you think.... look at this long thing i filled out and you are reading.... i stay online.... I do like to read, watch tv or movies, scrapbook and do other crafts though.....

54. Bedtime? 11ish

55. Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire? nada

56. Last person you went to dinner with? Andy Lee of course, Fire House Subs last night

58. What are you listening to right now? the wee one eating cereal and watching "Gilmore Girls"

59. What is your favorite color? RED no doubts

60. Lake, Ocean or river? Owwww.... hard..... don't know..... lake is so fun...miss the cabin, glad Daddy still has the boat up there, love to camp - beach trips are so much fun though...nothing like hearing the waves and soaking up the rays..... but... i so love the mountains and a cabin on a stream (or camper) can't decide....sorry

61. How many tattoos do you have? nada, nothing i'd want to have on my body when i'm 65 and saggy....

62. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? i'll ask God one day and let ya know

Grand Daddy - Part 2

(at the cabin at the lake about 4 years ago with my Dad and Grandmother)


My Grand dad was a hoot. He was a "pastor" for over 20 years and though he taught me that God loved me, God would take care of me and all sorts of other things about the Lord.....it's all the other craziness that I remember first. It was ironic at the funeral home that half of the people there were from churches he'd pastored and wanted to talk about he had ministered to them in times of sickness, sadness or death in their own families. How he was always there for them and helped them in their struggles. While that is comforting and an amazing legacy, it was the other half that I related to more. The half that told me stories of hunting dogs, pranks as a youngster, teaching someone how to smoke (enough to make them sick to be sure he wouldn't do it again) and his sly sense of humor.



I'm not sure how his sense of humor was the day i said my first cuss word...to him of all people..i decided to share my Mom's favorite word when.. as patting him with my hands on both cheeks, it's rumored my exact words were "Momma says our chickens have been shittin' in our yard"... he he he...oops.

I didn't ask my Gdad to preform our wedding, I wanted him to be just my Gdaddy bless his heart... he was a long winded one... he was asked to say an opening prayer though....and got his FULL 15 MINUTES of words in........

Gdad was a bird hunter. He always wanted me to have a shot gun and that sent my Mom into a tizzy for sure (never fear, I am the proud owner of a collection now). He wanted to take me hunting and I would BEG my Mom - who wouldn't have it. I would stand on the back porch of their house and wait for him to come in and be totally entranced as he'd take the dead birds out of his hunting jacket pocket and lay them out for me. Then, as any little girl would (ha) I would stand there and watch while he would de-feather, cut, gut and slice up the birds!! I'd of course anxiously await Thursday night when Gmother would cook fried quail for supper! (welcome to the south - yall)

Andy ended up with a bird dog for a couple of years and he went with Grand Dad hunting. One of GDads last trips hunting as a matter of fact. Andy said as they FLEW through downtown Powder Springs (where the speed limit is 25 - he always drove fast) he was terrified they were going to get pulled over. (No worries though, he talked his way out of tickets ALL the time. He'd pull the "you know I am a pastor over at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church"...those boys were always suckers and let him go)!! Andy said they'd pull up to the side of the road, near neighborhoods and Gdad would say "I use to hunt here all the time"...of course that was 25 years ago and way before the neighborhood. GDad would make Andy get out (who was scared again) and off they'd go...let the dogs out...shoot a few times out beside a neighborhood and get in the truck and be off again..... Good grief!!

However under that hunting vest or jacket and pants, were his typical "Sunday" clothes. Every day of his life, until 2 & 1/2 years ago when he got sick, he wore dress pants and a white shirt. If he was going to work outside in the garden that provided us with more food than we could eat or sometimes give away too - help Dad with rental property work - cut the grass on his lawnmower going faster than you've ever seen anyone cut grass, while missing huge spots - hilarious - plant flowers, paint, whatever... he'd always have on those "Sunday" clothes under a pair of painter overalls or some other get up..

Here he is fishing with Dad and I one day...it was a HUGE experience just getting out to this little lake, it was FREEZING cold and the wind was blowing, but ... gotta love him... look how he's dressed...that tiny little fishing pole is one that I bought him for Christmas...he hadn't used one in his entire life other than a cane pole when he was little...I got him a little one with a push button and had to teach him how to use it...sooo fun




Picture at my parents wedding, which took place in my Mom's parent's home...funny...no one but my Dad has big smiles, cracks me up.. my Gdad NEVER smiled in pictures...he would give a "smirk" in a few, but most were the serious face...funny because he smiled all the time




When I came "home" from the hospital, Mom & I actually came to her parents house for a week...here is Gmother & Gdad when they came to visit... I know beyond a shadow of a doubt (because I was told more than once) that Gdad prayed for me every day...from before I was born until the end when he couldn't do it anymore....that's a hard thing to loose, how many people could say that? how blessed am I??!!!


Here is my 2nd Christmas, a baby doll from gdad... every year of my life I got a stuffed animal or baby doll from my gdad, unwrapped...laying on his bed in his bedroom, i had to go in there and get it....this year i got a purple care bear....the first year he had cancer, I got two (the only year ever) it was a barbie doll and a baby doll...you'll notice the pipe hanging out of his mouth...he smoked cigarettes when he was younger, switched to a pipe and stopped when he was called to be a pastor....lung cancer took both of my Gdads from me and a father in law...you guys who still smoke, PLEASE STOP... I love you!


Here I am with him Christmas of 2005
Here is one from a fishing trip that just he and I took to a little pond on the land of a family friend. We had so much fun and it was hilarious. He wasn't a big fisherman, but sure wanted to be. Why? Because Andy loves to fish and I had taken it up to spend time with him. It's not my favorite thing mind you, but something that I could do and spend time with Andy. Grand Dad found out that I was fishing more and the next thing I knew he had fishing trips lined up for me all over the place. We went from pond to pond, both of us pretty much stinking at it... but enjoying the time together!! You'll notice the fishing attire he has on, again!





I wish I had a picture of him on the phone, why don't I have one like that? He was on the phone ALL of the time. You could NEVER get through to their house, the line was always busy. I never had to worry about calling him though. Since I was old enough to talk on the phone, he called me every day of my life. If we were out of town, that was about the only reason he wouldn't call. Now..these conversations were SHORT!! He wanted to touch base daily, but not "lolly-gag" around. In college, he called every day. My room-mates began to get the idea with his 30 second calls. Then I got married and Andy was amazed... He calls daily, but for less than a minute, cracked him up. There are days when we'd talk longer, but more often than not he was just checking in. He didn't say goodbye either, EVER on the phone!! He would talk, you would talk, he would talk and if you thought of something else to say...SORRY, because he was usually done and there would be a statement and a click ... hilarious! It's funny that anyone whose been around my house long, knows about the phone calls from Grand Daddy...I miss those already~

How could I not mention duck tape, the man thought it could fix ANYTHING. I have never seen such and have to laugh just thinking about all the places I've seen it over the years. Too many to think about mentioning!! Canning food too, the man would put anything in a jar that would fit! He was Chief Jelly/Jam/Perserve maker, pickle pickler and pepper canner. Our shelves here are full as I speak and GDads bedroom has a book shelf in it that is filled to the brim! There were trips to the "dime store" as a kiddo and trips out to lunch from work as a grown up. There was the fact that he carried me until "your feet drug the ground" so I am told as I grew up and I would say "tote me, tote me"..he would. There were hours spent watching hunting shows, hunting home videos and animal planets funniest videos. There were rides to look at Christmas lights, time spent shelling peas on the front porch and rocking to "watch the world go by".

When I moved home from college I rented a house from him, just 1/2 a mile down the road. He worked so hard in getting that house ready with help from Mom, Dad and me of course. He painted, cleaned, bought me new appliances and worked his 70something rear off. He LOVED having a garden and with TWO houses to plant one at... he was in heaven already. My back yard was HUGE there and he filled it with a HUGE garden! I kept reminding him there was no way in the world we could ever eat or give away that much food. I'm pretty sure that's why after a few years, I still don't eat corn on the cobb!! We had a good time together though-

I could go on and on, but know that I better wrap it up. I miss him so much it makes my heart hurt! I hope this gives you just a glimpse of the quirky (I never did get into his sly, boyish sense of humor...and that "huh huh huh" sarcastic laugh of his) and amazing man that was my Grand daddy. He was something else that's for sure! Thanks for sticking with me through the memories.....

Grand daddy

If you are bothering to read my blog, I'm assuming that you know me. If you know me, I am also assuming that you know my Grand daddy passed away on Wednesday after a long 2 & 1/2 year battle with lung cancer.

I'm going to bring up the conversation that we had last May (most of you were involved in the comments) about funerals and how people like to say goodbye.

I mentioned, in that previous May blog, that I hate funerals. I was drug to oodles of them as a child and it really had a huge negative impact on me. It was to the point that I couldn't sleep in my bedroom alone without horrible nightmares. My parents didn't get it (though they were supportive in comforting me), but even as an adult I still remember it all pretty well. I am not good at hopsitals either mind you, I spent way too much time in them as a kid. (I was a sickly little snot and had been in the hospital for sickness or surgery about 6 times by the time I was 6 years old) So I have these quirks and they're just me. What can ya do?

To repeat part of the earlier blog: I chose years ago after loosing both of my Mom's parents to stop going in to "view" the body of my loved ones. When I lost my MawMaw I was a teenager in Ohio on a mission trip, I didn't return home in time for the funeral. My goodbye to my MawMaw was the week prior to me leaving on my trip. I went to visit with a friend (Jeff Collins, great friend) and told her goodbye standing on her front porch, it's a vision I remember with 100% clearity. I hold it in my heart!! When I lost PawPaw I was there for the entire thing, in the house when he passed away and all that followed. At that point I hadn't taken it upon myself to stand up and let my voice be heard about my feelings. (Which is odd, because even when I was young I didn't have much trouble letting my opinions and feelings be known!) I did all that was expected of me, including viewing the body and staying in the room. Now, the first thought I think about (not the only one mind you) is of my PawPaw laying there in that casket. It takes me a few minutes to get the image out of my head before I can get to others.

Since then I have stood my ground and declined to "say goodbye" at a funeral home. My goodbyes come in whatever form I last saw the loved one. Those are my goodbyes, usually ones that are typical of all the visits that have come before and remind me of just another typical "I'll see ya soon". Afterall, as a christian (and thank the Lord most of my family and friends are a christian) I know without a doubt that it is just "see ya soon" when it's my turn to go to heaven too.

I said "see ya later, take care of yourself" to Grand daddy a week ago today. He was in the hospital and had been wearing his little "flat hat" when we got there. (That I have with me right now) He ate a little of his dinner (without his hat, because it's rude to eat with one on you know) and I joked that he ate his meals like me, after a few bites of a fish sandwich & some taters.. he dove into the lemon pie. As he told us "it's not too good", he ate every bite. We laughed about that on the way home. He said "well, they finally got her in the ground" about Anna Nicole as we watched the news and "they lived a too short life" about the college baseball players that died in the bus accident in Atlanta. He asked Andy about his recent helicopter flight and about changing jobs. He asked about our dogs, if the cat was home (always a topic of conversation around us with our runaway cat) and about my "little wagon". (What he called my durango- go figure) We talked and watched the news. There was a conversation about pain, suffering and death that I hope will fade with memory because it was heart breaking. It told me though that it was his time and with God's mercy, he wouldn't be with us much longer to suffer and be so depressed.

It wasn't long after my visit last weekend that he started talking about things that weren't relevant, not knowing who people were or where he was. It was the beginning of the very end - where he left for heaven on Wednesday morning, very calmly and without fuss.

He's in Heaven now, where I'll see him again someday. I'll miss him every stinkin' day of my life. Crazy little things make me think of him all the time and I'm sure the tears will become less frequent with time. I know he was greated by his heavenly father first of all. Then he was able to be reunited with so much of his family and great friends that were already there and waiting on him. I'm jealous that they get him now, but know I was blessed with him in my life at all!

"See ya soon" Grand Daddy!!