Graceful Moments Mobile Blog ..

Hiking at Blendon Woods

2011-05-29T16:12:00.000-04:00

My friend and I walked today at Blendon Woods. It was hot, but not humid. It was a beautiful trail, and most of it was shaded. It was GREAT!

Cactus Flower!

2011-05-27T07:56:00.004-04:00

When I was in Nashville for my birthday, my best friend gave me a piece off of a cactus. I came home and "stuck" it in a pot. Viola`! I noticed yesterday that it is getting ready to bloom!! How beautiful!!

Hines Wins DWTS !!

2011-05-25T11:34:00.002-04:00

Yaaaay Hines Ward and Kym Johnson!!! What an awesome job on Dancing With the Stars!! This was the first season that I watched every single show! (I even have kept the recordings every week on DVR, so that I can now start watching the re-runs!!).

I was so excited last night after they announced the winner, that I went to bed and dreamed that Hines and Kym came to my home after the show and had dinner with me and my family!! How funny!!

My Mother....

2011-05-08T06:08:00.003-04:00

I am so blessed to be spending Mother's Day with my mom. I love you mom.

...more birthday pictures

2011-05-07T07:47:00.001-04:00

more pictures from the birthday party....

My birthday cake was an Oreo cookie ice cream cake! It was delicious!! Couldn't forget the big "50" though....

Thanks so much Chris and DJ, for spending my birthday with me. You guys are like family to me.

...and to Michelle and Annie - thanks for coming, and thanks Michelle for keeping me in line (and not writing on my face with fingernail polish!)

and to Debbie and Danny - thanks for the "Chip n Dales".... that was special!

and Trina.... thanks for putting up with all of us and for staying and celebrating my birthday with me. I love you girl!

and most of all THANKS to Betty and Dave. Thank you for making my 50th birthday something that I will remember (with a smile!) Thanks Dave for not "dogging" me the whole weekend (and thanks Betty for keeping him in line so that he wouldn't "dog" me). I love you all so much. Thanks for making my birthday a very special day.

More Birthday pics...

2011-05-06T06:44:00.001-04:00

The birthday girl....

Beer can chicken for dinner..... one of my favorites!

My Birthday!

2011-05-05T07:38:00.001-04:00

Some pictures from my birthday bash in Nashville on Monday.

Smyrna, Tennessee

2011-05-04T10:11:00.001-04:00

This is a picture of "downtown Smyrna" that I found on the internet. I just got back late last night from visiting my best friend in Smyrna, TN for my birthday. I love going down there - and hate coming home. They had a 50th birthday party for me and decorated the patio outside with "50" banners and we celebrated with Beer Can Chicken for dinner and an Oreo Ice Cream Cake. I had a wonderful time, and turning 50 wasn't near as bad as I thought it was going to be. :) Thanks to ALL of you for a GREAT birthday!

With my co-workers celebrating my birthday last Thursday and Friday at work, and the weekend in Tennessee, I really did celebrate my birthday for almost a WEEK! -- what a GREAT start to my 50th year! Now let my 50th year BEGIN!! (click to see my "50 by 50 List" , everything that I want to do this year!)

Visit my blog everyday this week for pictures of my 50th birthday bash in Tennessee!!

I love you guys!!

More flowers

2011-05-01T08:29:00.001-04:00

I like the colors in this picture (above) the dark of the sky, white clouds, and flowering trees.

Pretty flowers....

2011-04-30T08:27:00.001-04:00

Flooding along the bike path....

2011-04-29T13:27:00.000-04:00

The little river that runs along the bike path next to where I work..... it can't take too much more rain. The weatherman said the other night that we had only had 6 dry days in April, which beats a record that's over 100 years old! THAT'S alot of rain!

Family...

2011-04-24T22:46:00.000-04:00

My son and his family stopped by to say Happy Easter. Kellan is getting so big. He is starting to walk already.

My brother is the grill master in the family. I had to have a picture of him doing his thing.

Springtime!!

2011-04-21T15:49:00.000-04:00

These are pictures outside of my apartment. I love all of the flowering trees in the springtime.

Grandmother's doilies

2011-04-20T07:36:00.000-04:00

these are doilies that my grandmother made back in the 1970's and 80's. Wish I knew how to make them.

Rooster

2011-04-19T08:30:00.000-04:00

This little guy is next to the walkway leading up to my apartment door. He doesn't see much action down here on the ground.

Fort Marcy

2011-04-17T06:24:00.000-04:00

One of the places we stopped was Fort Marcy....

Home from Washington DC

2011-04-16T06:19:00.002-04:00

As we were heading home from our DC trip, there were several "Scenic Overlook" places and places of interest. Of course we had to stop and check them out!

More DC trip pictures...

2011-04-15T06:17:00.000-04:00

Flowers

2011-04-14T06:15:00.005-04:00

Statues

2011-04-13T06:12:00.000-04:00

I let Ali take several pictures in DC, because I had left my reading glasses in the car and couldn't see the camera display to see if my pictures were blurry or not. She did an excellent job.

Other stuff from our DC Trip...

2011-04-12T07:09:00.001-04:00

This man played some mean drums using only 5-gallon buckets, a trash can, and a shopping cart (in the background). It sounded really awesome!!

Jefferson Memorial

2011-04-11T07:26:00.000-04:00

Hail Storm in DC

2011-04-10T06:50:00.001-04:00

We walked downtown and saw the White House, then worked our way back towards the Washington Monument when we noticed the sky turning dark. Within minutes, we were being pelted with pea-sized hail and trying to get our rain coats and ponchos out of our back packs and on the kids with the high winds and hail - was a job! Luckily the hail only lasted a few minutes, and by the time we got the ponchos on the kids, it had changed to just a light rain.

...can you see the rain coming down in this picture (above)? When I took this, I was afraid that this might be as close as we would get to the Lincoln Memorial (if the rain continued). Luckily the rain didn't last and we were able to come back later that afternoon (after we changed into dry clothes!)

Benjamin Franklin

2011-04-09T06:47:00.000-04:00

When we were leaving the Lincoln Memorial, we found this gentleman wandering around talking to people. Austin recognized him right away and ran up to him to pose for a picture!

Abraham Lincoln Monument

2011-04-08T06:30:00.000-04:00

It was a VERY long walk from the Washington Memorial to see Abraham Lincoln's Memorial. The Reflecting Pool is being restored - they are updating its water supply system to eliminate stagnant water by circulating water from the Tidal Basin rather than potable water from the city. Paved walking paths will also be atted on the north and south sides of the pool to replace worn grass and prevent further erosion. The total cost for this little project has been estimated at $30.5 million dollars.

Looking back towards the Washington Monument with the Capital building in the background.

Kim, Ali, and Austin in front of the Lincoln Memorial.