This year, we had a "STAYcation" as opposed to a vacation. We stayed in, or rather, around town instead of heading off on an adventure elsewhere. Mom came up to visit and we had some mini-trips to various places within an hour or two's drive from home.

First up: Cabbage Patch, Cleveland, Georgia.
The girls had a great time watching a baby being "born" and were fascinated at the concept of a baby coming from a cabbage patch! Although they had been there once before, apparently they'd forgotten about it and the experience was new all over again for them. We spent a great deal of time in the gift shop and went home the proud new parents of twin girls (for Angelina) and a baby girl (for Mary Beth). Ironically, Mary Beth's new daughter shares Angelina's real birthday, and Angelina's twins' birthdate is one day prior to Mary Beth's. How weird is that?!?

On the way home from Cleveland, we made a stop at Vogel State Park, where the girls had a dip in the lake. They stared at Mom and I in disbelief as we told them it was perfectly fine to "swim" in their clothes. After making sure we weren't joking, they dove right in and had a blast.

Tuesday was a "rest day" and we treated ourselves to pedicures and manicures. The girls went to Sweet & Sassy, a salon dedicated to pampering Little Girls and Mom and I made a trip that evening to our own nail salon.

Wednesday, Rob took off work and the five of us headed to Chattanooga, to our favorite hangout, the Chattanooga Aquarium. Since we're members, we go pretty frequently, but Mom has never been, so we treated her to a tour of the aquariums' exibits. The girls loved showing her around and we had so much fun. One highlight was the butterfly exhibit… which is always interesting. Angelina was afraid the butterflies would bite her, and Mary Beth was trying her hardest to get one to land on her. We managed to find two who decided we must be good traveling companions. One perched on Mom's shirt for a long time and the other on Mary Beth's hands. Angelina was brave enough to let one on her hand, but not for more than a second. She laughed that it tickled, but had NO interest in a repeat visit when Mary Beth offered to share her "rider" with her sister. Thursday and Friday were spent hanging out at home and doing some belated spring cleaning.

This weekend, we're resting and getting geared up for next week. More to come… bike riding adventures and swimming fun.

For those of us in the Atlanta metro area rainstorms are an opportunity to raise our voices in praise and thanksgiving. This "100 Year Drought" we are suffering through has me watching every drop of water that we use in our house. As I brush my teeth, I'm thinking about just how much water we all waste if we let the water run as we brush. As I wash clothes, I'm trying to cram as much into my washing machine to get the most use of that run of water as possible. We are waiting to run the dishwasher until it's bursting at the seams with dirty dishes (and using paper plates more often than not)

But…

The one conservation thing I can't do… I just simply CANNOT handle… is the non-flushing. The local radio stations have started this campaign, "If it's yellow, leave it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down." I am not even going to touch on the eeewwww factor of just the little slogan. But, I just can't get over this whole concept… don't flush!?! Are you serious?!?!?

That's one of the beauties of modernization (besides air conditioning, which I can't survive without) We don't have to deal with that "stuff" being left around. It's supposed to be gone when you are done! I am just so grossed out by the whole concept. LEAVE IT? ICK! How unclean it would feel to walk into a bathroom and see yellow water just as you are preparing to do your "business."

let's face it…

We all pretend like the only people who use the "potty" that we frequent is ourself. If you start to think about how many other people used it, you'd just get too creeped out. But to walk in and find something someone left behind? Just to save a few gallons of water?

NO THANK YOU!

I'll skip a shower a week, go without in some other ways… but I will not stop flushing… that's just yuk.

I listen to books on tape while I make my painstaking way down GA400 each morning. As I listened to the “book du jour” this morning, the author said something that caught my attention… He said that most of the people we work with are merely mediocre at what they do. He said to look for those who show a glimmer of excellence. Those are the people whom you want to nurture; protect from the bureaucracy and hypocricy of the workplace. Foster their growth and give them opportunities to shine. For it is this minority… the few who glimmer with excellence, who really get the work done.
I thought to myself, “How true is that?” And, I’m sure we all think we are the ones who glimmer with excellence in our workplaces, but if you really think about it, you know who those people are…. the ones who everyone looks to in a time of crisis – who GETS IT DONE when things go wrong.
Who are you? One of the mediocre… coming to work, punching a clock, doing your “time” and going home? Or do you glimmer?
For me… it depends on the day. I’d like to think I’m a glimmer-er. But, in reality, there are many days when I am not. Some days, I do just come to work and “punch the clock” until I’m freed from my prison and can race home to my family.
I wonder what the workplace would be like if we all tried to glimmer….

I listen to books on tape while I make my painstaking way down GA400 each morning. As I listened to the "book du jour" this morning, the author said something that caught my attention… He said that most of the people we work with are merely mediocre at what they do. He said to look for those who show a glimmer of excellence. Those are the people whom you want to nurture; protect from the bureaucracy and hypocricy of the workplace. Foster their growth and give them opportunities to shine. For it is this minority… the few who glimmer with excellence, who really get the work done.
I thought to myself, "How true is that?" And, I'm sure we all think we are the ones who glimmer with excellence in our workplaces, but if you really think about it, you know who those people are…. the ones who everyone looks to in a time of crisis – who GETS IT DONE when things go wrong.
Who are you? One of the mediocre… coming to work, punching a clock, doing your "time" and going home? Or do you glimmer?
For me… it depends on the day. I'd like to think I'm a glimmer-er. But, in reality, there are many days when I am not. Some days, I do just come to work and "punch the clock" until I'm freed from my prison and can race home to my family.
I wonder what the workplace would be like if we all tried to glimmer….