WHEW!

I am having such fun spending time with all my kids and doggies...this is the best August ever, but it will probably be September before I get all the pictures here.

Amicalola Falls and Ellijay were beauteous and over 650 steps! Crazy.

Kate, Ky, Tink, and I did Kennesaw Mountain this morning. Running about is the order of the afternoon. Tomorrow is another family day since Nick is on vacation. Yay! I promise, pictures are coming!

Sorry so short...

Ellijay, Georgia

Here's Kate, Ky, Tink, and I after this morning's walk. Karyn and I did seven starting at seven a.m., then Kate, Ky and Tink and I did three more. It's impossible that Katie is here seven days! They have flown by! Today Mana arrives and after lunch with our Anniversary couple, Jen and Paul, we head up to a cabin in Ellijay, whose name comes from the Native American, probably Cherokee, meaning "earth green there" for two nights.

I am looking forward to hiking up there, we will be just a bit away from Amicalola Falls, where the Appalachian Trail starts. THE BEST HIKING!

Walking: I didn't get as much mileage this week as I hoped - too much fun at my house - but after Kate leaves I'm heading up to 15/12 weekends in mileage. So, that is my next goal.

Fundraising: I have gotten some fabulous notes from my donors - you know who you are. I want you to know I'm going to be keeping them forever. It lifts me to know you are all walking with me. I have the most amazing family and family of friends. Truly blessed.

Fundraising Part B (aka the part I hate): I am not quite half way there, so if you are surfing blogs and you've happened upon this one, and you know or love someone with boobies - please click on that widget there on the sidebar and walk with me through your donation. And then come back and visit here. You will be a part of my walk. Thank you in advance!

Pictures - Happy Anniversary, Jenny and Paul

Here's my new Grand-dog, Jameson. Nick and Teresa adopted him from an older lady who could no longer keep him. He's adorable and so well behaved!

The picture on the right is our dinner table after Nick and Paul's latest cooking contest - meatballs! I felt they were both winners - Paul's had sausage in it and his sauce was deeper and denser with sundried tomatoes. Nick's meatballs were all beef and his sauce was lighter - onions and bits of tomatoes throughout. Next will be a collaboration while Kate is here - chicken and fish. Yum!

Speaking of Katie - I made my Gram's Dobosh recipe to celebrate her birthday. I think it was a winner - Paul licked his plate! We put it back in the freezer so we can share some with Mana when he arrives Saturday.



Jen and Paul celebrate their first anniversary today. I know a Mom up in heaven who is just as happy they found one another as the Mom here on earth. They are truly a wonderful couple.

The Heat, Kate's Visit, and Life

The heat is horrendous. Had a scary storm last night early so did my mileage tonight. Tink and I waited until 7 p.m. but it was still 94 with the heat index. Walking 60 miles in October weather will be sweet after all this heat!

Kate arrives on Friday! Very excited Mom here, out to Harry's Market today to get in some stuff that will be yummy for Kate. Got some doggy treats for Ky and Tink, too.

I did a blog on thankfulness a few weeks ago, and when I looked back at it about a week ago I realized I missed some important folks who helped me become the person I am today - my aunts and uncles. On both sides of my family I am blessed to have loving aunts, considerate uncles, and they all amazingly managed to marry people who may as well be my blood, too.

Actually, my aunt Marge is the reason I did the 3Day originally. I remember her the best of all the nieces and nephews, simply because I am the oldest. If you knew her, you could not help love her. She ALWAYS smiled. ALWAYS. One quick memory: she and my uncle Al took me out ice skating with my cousin Joey my first ever time at the age of seven. I can still feel the ice gliding beneath those double runner strap-on skates. Another vivid memory was when she and my Dad did the polka around the living room on Fourth Street and were so much fun to watch. She always had time to talk no matter how many people she was expecting for dinner. To lose her to breast cancer has been a tremendous family loss. Still.

And now Harry, her youngest brother and my uncle, is on all of our minds. He suffered a freak fall at the steel mill where he works and is now recovering with a plate holding his pelvis together. He also broke his hip, sacrum, and a vertebra. So, say a prayer or send a loving vibe that Har heals quickly. What can I say about Harry? Harry is Harry. To know him is to love him. He is a stand up guy. You can't help but love him and all my other family.

Live each day on your feet and with your good health thankfully.

Class Over!

I am free until August 19th! I took my Brit Lit final two hours ago. My professor, Dr. Norris, recently received his doctorate in Medieval English and it was such a pleasure learning with him. He has a very dry sense of humor which I appreciated. And, like most of the professors I have had at Kennesaw State, his range of knowledge as related to his subject is vast and awe inspiring.

Quick Story: I turned in my paper two days ago - wrote a literary analysis on an aspect of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and I have to admit I was a bit nervous. I know, I always am when it comes to school. He had brought up that ratemyprofessor.com site at our last class, so I went and looked him up AFTER I turned in the paper (oh, and he gave everyone an extension til today and I was sitting there thinking, "No way. I am not doing anything else with this, I'm handing mine in tonight." Which I did.) and then I almost had a heart attack. Some of the reviews said how tough he was grading. UGH! I should have waited and handed it in later. Now I'm doomed. Ok, you're right. I did ok. Got an A! : )

Katie will be here a week from tomorrow - Jen and Paul celebrate their first wedding anniversary that weekend- much happiness and excitement at my nest. Here's a random photo for the ending of this random blog...if anyone wants to know what a bean bag box looks like. Here it is.

Take time to meditate. Or as Todd says, "love is the answer...I've been from shore to shore to shore, if there's a short cut I'd have found it, but there's no easy way around it...love is the answer."