Happy Birthday, Mimi

Dear Momma,
Happy Birthday today. I think of you very, very often, but always on Feb. 26. You would have been 83 today. Sorry you didn't make it to your 80th birthday b/c you always wanted to be able to say you were 80. This is the fourth birthday that you've been in Heaven. I'll just bet you are having a grand ole time with Pappy and all your other relatives and friends. I'm also sure you were there with open arms to greet Uncle Fred on Tuesday evening. He probably walked into Heaven quoting dates from decades ago b/c that's what he's famous for. He so missed Aunt Hon but now he's completely happy again. That's a very good thing.
I miss your wisdom. I miss your sweet ways. I miss knowing that you prayed for me every day. I miss your kind words and your loving spirit. I miss your silliness and your laughter. I miss how you could sing alto and soprano at the same time! I miss your arthritic fingers playing the piano "by heart". I miss seeing you read your Bible daily. I miss your sweet blessings at mealtime.
Thank you for being the best mother I could ever possibly want. Thanks for instilling in me the importance of walking in life with Jesus. Thanks for setting a godly example for me to try to follow. Forgive me if I didn't tell you often enough how very much I love you. Because I still do.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, sweet Mimi. I love you.
Pergitis

Family Night of ALL Family Nights!

Last night was a night to remember. Oh, boy, was it! Before I jump ahead of myself, I'll tell you about the more sane part of the evening. We had 10 people for dinner. Andrea's mom from Canada is visiting. We really enjoying seeing her again. Darby dog visited with us, too, which was fun. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Cady arrived around 3:30 all smiles

She keeps a finger or a fist in her mouth at all times.

Andrea's mom loving on Brie (sorry Brie is fuzzy, but she was moving)



Andrea & Brie


This picture of Brie totally cracked me up. She's looks like "Oh, whatever!!"




Brie is focused on Darby. I think Aunt Jane must have pinched Cady.

Now for the big finale of the night. (I'm soooooo sorry Tom was out of town and missed this!) I have a brother named Adger. He has an alter ego. At times "he" emerges and the family is totally entertained. Last night was one of those times. My children urged Adger to dance for the family. They insisted that he "dance like his life totally depended on it". The dance of a lifetime, if you will. Let me say we were not disappointed. Adger danced like a combination of two famous individuals:

A little big of John and . . .

a LOT of Elvis!

Oddly, Adger naturally has the Elvis lip-curl thing going on. He can totally get into character. My den floor will never be the same. Adger was hip-shaking, gyrating and thrusting. "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" Adger had a "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"! The family was "All Shook Up"! Adger can surely "Shake, Rattle & Roll". He had his Mojo working overtime. The family had "Suspicious Minds" that Adger had just lost his marbles. Here is Adger just minutes after his performance:

Just Kidding, Adger. We love you. And we LOVED the dance! I have never laughed so much in my life. I, for one, needed a Depends undergarment. Here is a picture of how out of control we were last night.



I completely regret that I did not have my camera nor my video camera handy at the time. Matt had left early b/c he got called back to work for a computer problem. Since Tom missed it, too, we the family INSIST that Adger give us another performance next week. I'm thinking of selling tickets, so if you're interested let me know. Proceeds will go to new carpet in my den and recovering stained seat cushions on my sofas.

Looking Way Back Is Soooo Interesting!

When I was a little girl, I'd get very, very dark when we went on our yearly vacation to the beach. Mind you, this was before sunblock. Thank goodness I tanned and did not burn. Here's a picture of my mom, my older sister Jane and me in Florida, I think.

Through my teenage years I'd literally bake in the sun. I remember at my high school graduation the girls wore white gowns and the boys wore black. This was the year just before mandatory desegregation. I think there was one African-American guy in our class. At graduation in that white gown, I looked like the token A.-A. girl! I had always heard the rumor that there was Indian blood in my family, but I never got down to the truth. My brother Adger has become very involved in our genealogy. He called today with stunning information. On my mother's side, there was a woman named Elizabeth Gunn who was 100% Cherokee. No wonder I get dark when I'm out in the sun! Now I'm wondering . . . when Mom and Dad took us to Cherokee, N.C. almost yearly . . . . .

Was this our uncle????

Adger also shared with me that on my father's side, there is a full-blooded Puerto Rican. Ok, another reason for dark skin. Does this mean that I have a new cousin?

Que pasa? Javy Lopez!

It's common knowledge among us Rucker's that our ancestor, Peter Rucker, left Germany for the U.S. in a beer barrel. I wonder if he drank himself across the Atlantic? This is where I put my foot down. I am NOT related to Mr. Mustached Mean Monster Hitler. Ain't gonna happen. But, the Rucker's do have German lineage.

So what do you get if you cross an Cherokee, a Puerto Rican, and a German? You get Chad, Mark and Abby Rucker. Or we could say they are "CheroRicoGerms". Sounds like a bad flu virus. Have you checked your genealogy lately?

Friday's Fun Fiesta + "Decisions, Decisions . . "

At least every other Friday we eat at Anita's Mexican Restaurant. Tom & I and whoever of our children/grandchildren are invited. We eat there every Friday that Tom gets paid b/c it has become customary for Daddy Tom to pay. Tom was out of town for several days this week and he missed his grandgirls. So Mr. Big Bucks (you don't know how funny that is) decided to see if anyone was interested in eating today - a non-payday. You say "Eat Out" to our crowd and they come arunnin'. (Sadly, Chad works far from Simpleville and Michelle is drugging up patients so they can't come.) Today we had Mark, Andrea & Brie along with Matt, Ab & Cady. Cady slept for most of the lunch. For the first time Brie sat in the restaurant's highchair. What a big girl she is! And what a set of lungs she's developed! Brie is into the whole squealing-at-the-top-of-her-lungs-just-because-it's-fun deal. She's quite loud, but so cute. I think I did see an old lady's hearing aide explode but I'm not sure. Windows rattled and dishes cracked, but Brie was having fun! Just kidding, my little G.G. #1. Before long, we'll have another squealer in Cady. That's when the management may ask us to eat on the outdoor patio. Here's some pics of today:

Ab and Mr. Cheapskate. . errrrr, I mean Mr. Big Bucks

Happy little Cady

Brie was very happy to be in a highchair

This afternoon Tom, once again, worked in the kitchen. I painted brackets to be added under the upper cabinets to give it a more cottage look. Tom did a great job. I like it very much.

After eating lunch, Abby asked me to go to Hobby Lobby to help her pick a color of matting for a framed picture over their bed. (Papa Tom volunteered to keep Cady so Ab & I could have girl time. ) Ab brought a pillow to match the matting color. Who knew it would be such a task??? Here was our dilemma. . . .

Is the color of the pillow blue, green, blue-green or some color in between?

We finally got it down to two color samples. You'd think it would be easy, but you don't know my Abby. Indecisive should have been her middle name. We stared at the two mats until my eyes were crossing. We held them up close, we held them far away; we held them high, we held them low; we held them to the right, we held them to the left. We were dragging strangers off the street for their opinions. Abby tried to slip the employee a fifty to let her take the samples home with her (just kidding). Ab's blood pressure rose so that her cheeks were red. She bit her lips until they were as red as hooker lipstick. Finally, and I do mean finally, she made up her mind. She went with the more aqua or seafoam color. Only time will tell if it matches well enough for her to be happy. Sweet Abby saves her "blow money" to buy little things for the house. I was about ready to give her some money and buy BOTH mats! I'm exaggerating, of course. But Abby knows how very difficult even a simple decision can be for her. She's so cute.

Here's a picture of the two of us in the frame department of Hobby Lobby.

We've changed a bit in appearance lately.

Here's a picture of the t-shirt I just ordered for Abby:

LOVE YOU, ABBY!

Can You Figure Out This Equation?

PLUS

Equals

Explanation: I had my knee drained (again!) recently plus I've been riding my recumbent exercise bike 2 to 3 times day and my knee feels SO much better. My family, friends and I are JUMPING FOR JOY! It's great to tell some good news about my knee. It's been pretty bad for almost 5 months. I'm praying this improvement is permanent and that it may actually get back to normal soon.

Yippee!

Fun Two Days With My G.G.'s

Last night we had a small but entertaining group for dinner. It's such fun to see the cousins together. I don't have much to say today, but I'm posting lots of pictures from last night and today.

Cady enjoying her bottle last night

My lips stay chapped from kissing my G.G.'s so much!

Cady's eyes look larger than usual, must have been the flash.

LOVE that smile!

Cousins, Brie (6 mos.) & Cady (3 1/2 mos.)

Cady . . . "Why does cousin Brie always touch my face?"

Aunt Abby with Brie; Uncle Mark with Cady (I don't know about you, but I think Cady looks alot like her Uncle Mark!)

I kept Cady today while Abby went to an appointment.

Cady loves the mobile in my nursery

Sweet little girl

Getting ready to go to her home.

To be fair and balanced, today's posting has more pictures of Cady b/c a recent posting had lots of Brie. Can't play favorites with the G.G.'s!

Weekend With Brie Plus Monday's Treat

Tom and I had such fun with Brie this past weekend. She's 6 months old and at such a delightful stage. She pretty much consumed our Sat. night and Sunday. We loved every minute of it.

Brie's first Valentine's

Watching Papa channel surf

New meaning to "open mouth, insert foot"

Brie is watching Baby Einstein while we eat our dinner

Monday night my brother Adger took Abby and I out to eat. He had received an unexpected check in the mail and he wanted to eat at Ruth's Chris. We were the lucky ones to accompany him. Wow! The only think I didn't like about Ruth's Chris is the name. Try to say that 5 times in a row. It's not the most mouth-friendly name for a restaurant. Tom & I don't normally go to highfalutin restaurants. Actually, we never go to highfalutin restaurants! We're more the Cracker Barrel and O'Charley's restaurant goers. On special occasions we'll go to a nice seafood place (not Bone Fish Grille). But I guess we're just too cheap and frugal to spend lots of money on food. So I was thrilled to go to a fancy place last night. Good grief. It's difficult to describe our experience. When we sat down, the waiter knew Adger's last name and called him Mr. Moore. I've never had a waiter do that. We had two waiters - one male and one female. We also had no less than four other staff who performed various tasks. One was in charge of keeping us with fresh tea glasses. Another kept fresh bread coming. Another would sneak in and grab any dirty dishes, etc. w/o us even noticing. I honestly remember 6 different people coming to our table. Not one was disruptive. I think they must have been trained to become almost invisible during their tasks. Our main waiter came around several times and used a fancy scraper to remove any crumbs from the table. Any time we left to use the restroom the waiter quietly came and refolded our napkins to perfection. Now, to the food. My goodness. Heaven on earth. My ribeye was the most tender, most flavorful piece of meat that I've ever consumed in my entire life. We ordered three sides (sides come in large portions on platters) that we shared. We had asparagus (well, Abby & I had asparagus), onion rings (Adger's choice) and garlic mashed potatoes. Awesome. I did not have a salad b/c my system can't handle lettuce yet, but Abby said it was the best salad she'd ever had. The meal was just terrific. The experience was so wonderful. Thankfully, I did not have to pay for it or the experience would have been dampened. It's quite pricey! Everything is a la carte which to me means it all adds up to big bucks HA HA.

But if you want to have a very nice special-occasion meal, I highly recommend Ruth's Chris. Thanks so much, Adger!

No sub par doggy bag for Ruth's Chris. Ab & Adger look like they've been shopping at the mall.

Happy Valentine's Day

Tom and I have no plans today except that Brie is spending the night with me. Mark & Andrea have friends from Canada staying with them for a few days. Tonight they're going out and we're keeping precious one overnight. It's my pleasure to stay in tonight. A couple of years ago Tom & I had a complete fiasco on Valentine's evening and I swore I'd never, ever again eat out on Valentine's night. Besides the fact that restaurants jack up the prices, let me tell you about the Valentine's night that made my blood pressure rise. Here's how it went down.
I love seafood so we had reservations at Bone Fish Grille at 6pm. When we arrived, of course it was very crowded, but no worry. And, we were in deed seated almost immediately. HOWEVER, that's where the evening took a turn for the worst. We were seated at a regular-sized table. Ya know . . . a square table with four chairs. Normally, Tom & I would face each other and I'd put my purse/coat in the chair beside me. Well, to make the most money possible that night, Bone Fish Grille (I keep typing the name so you will not go there on Valentine's Day) made a decision that was completely customer UNfriendly. They put a huge fake plant in the middle of the table. It was a long pot that was situated to divide that small table. Tom & I sat facing each other. Total strangers sat beside us facing each other. I could hear the conversation of the lady beside me better than I could hear my own husband. We weren't the only ones that had a table like this. Yeah, we should have walked out. But there was not another table available probably for hours so we just sucked it up and tried to make the best out of a very weird situation. But every time I have chance, I tell people DON'T EAT AT BONE FISH GRILLE ON VALENTINE'S DAY. We haven't been back and probably never will.
Tonight Tom is grilling out for our evening meal. We'll have a very quiet evening with our G.G.#1. Well . . . it may or may not be quiet - depending on how Brie is doing HA. Anyway, have a wonderful Valentine's Day.

This Morning I Was So Confused, My Brain Was Jumbled!

Tom's job has been very stressful lately to say the very least. Engineering has been good for our family, but lately bad for Tom's stress level. Especially during the last 8-10 years, it's been either feast or famine. And double especially (don't ya love my grammar?) during the last 2 1/2 years, Tom's business has been crazy. One of two scenarios is true. Either (1) there is so much work to be done that Tom works long hours and is frantically trying to hire any engineer that is breathing (slight exaggeration there). Or (2) work is so slow that he loses sleep every night b/c he has to lay off an employee. Don't get me wrong. I am so very thankful that Tom is secure in his job, although there are no certainties in this economy. But he is truly hurting about laying off very good engineers who probably can't find other work and won't have insurance. It's taken a toll on him. But today, during a 25-minute span of time, life was just nuts.
Tom called me about 10:30 a.m. and said he was taking me out to lunch because he was going out of state to metaphorically put out a fire. Apparently, there is someone at this site who is . . how shall I say this . . . not easy to get along with. Tom was not happy about this trip. So Tom planned on leaving this afternoon for a very long drive and staying there until the beginning of next week. Normally, this would not be such a big deal, but NOT NOW! Here's why:
(1) Tom doesn't need any more stress in his life.
(2) Tonight was our S.S. class Valentine's Party.
(3) Tomorrow night he and I help out with the Single Senior Valentine's Banquet at church.
(4) Friday after eating with the fam at Anita's, Tom was to help Lynn work in his basement.
(5) All day Saturday Tom was continuing to help Lynn. Tom loves to do service work and it's a big stress reliever.
(6) Saturday is Valentine's Day. I sure would miss him.
(7) Saturday and Sunday we are keeping Brie b/c Mark & Andrea have Canadian friends visiting.
(8) I was kinda hoping to get my cabinet doors up before dust collects on every plate, glass and casserole dish.
I called Lynn to inform him that Tom could not work with him Friday and Saturday and that he would not be able to help with the Single Senior Val. Banquet. I called Abby to hear her feel sorry for Tom. She was gonna call and cheer him up.
Fast forward 25 minutes. Tom called and said the trip was off and will be at a later date. WHAT? How could such a seemingly crucial situation that required him missing several "events" suddenly become not so crucial and delayed? Of course, I was elated that I will have him this weekend, but why did he have to go through that stress unnecessarily??? So not fair.
Ok, I feel better. I got this off my chest. Now let me go enjoy the rest of the evening with my husband in case he suddenly has to cart off to another state in the middle of the night!

Tuesday Night Rucker Family Gathering

I really look forward to Tuesday nights. We all try to get together for a meal and laughs. All 11 of us don't always get to come, but we enjoy whoever gets to visit. Last night we had 10 (Adger's wife was sick).
I won't blog very much today; I just posted lots of pictures.

Mark is a very good daddy. He fed Brie some cereal last night.

Aunt Andrea is holding Cady. Aunt Abby is holding Brie. Brie was very interested in touching Cady and checking her out. Cady was not as interested! (Brie was very gentle)

Andrea was changing Brie's diaper when I came to say hello with the camera.

Cady came all decked out in her Clemson attire. Chad & Michelle had to swallow hard to touch that purple and orange shirt.

Abby and Cady.


Chad entertained Brie and Michelle while playing the piano. Brie was totally mesmerized! I told Mark that he may need to start taking lessons, too.

This picture was made a few days ago at Cadence's house. She was so happy.

When I got to her house, Cady was fast asleep on her dad's chest.

Matt took this on his phone. Isn't it precious?