"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can." ~Danny Kaye

     Today was an eventful day. We got Directv installed and I didn't even have to call and hassle them about why they were late or when they were coming and it felt GREAT! Unlike the issues I had with Century Link, Directv called me at 7:30am (Yes, a little early- especially since me and Tiff didn't get back from watching The Help till Late) to tell me they would be at our house right at 8am! I was impressed. Not only did they call to announce themselves but they were on time with what we were scheduled 2 1/2 weeks ago! Century Link missed an appointment on one day and was almost 2 hours late to the second one. (Calling ahead would behoove them.)
     Of course I was excited for internet (which we got last week) because were not living in the dark ages anymore! Dustin, on the other hand has been DYING for cable. He has been EXTREMELY excited about the NFL package we got because not he can watch football 24/7. (God help me!) Luckily we have more than one TV and room in our house! LOL This was Dustin as we were given the instructions to the remote.

 

     As you can see- he is ridiculously excited! You can imagine what he did for the next few hours! I can honestly say that I am excited we got cable now too because I was sick and tired of watching movies. For example, yesterday we watched "Into the Wild" which was a great movie by the way. Then we watched "Priest" (another good movie...kinda) . THHHHEEEENNN we watched ANOTHER movie "Dylan Dog"... which I didn't like at all. I know it was trying to spoof zombie movies but I didn't find it funny. If those movies weren't enough I went to see "The Help" with my Best Friend Tiffany. It was an amazing movie, as was the book.

     Speaking of books. I have read 56 this year! Moving right along... but I need to get as serious as I was before on it! I have kinda been lacking on reading as much as I used to. (Probably because I have other distractions like internet! And Facebook, and games, and True Blood on DVD.)

     After Dustin was fed up of watching TV for a few hours we went on a date... only dinner but that's more than what we have done since we moved down here. Next time I will talk him into going to Destin to go to watch a live band play. We went to Chili's and colored while we ate. Service was good but we were surrounded by kids (which I don't have a problem with) but these kids were bad. The parents spanked the kid at the table twice in which the kid started screaming BLOODY MURDER, twice! And the kid was just obnoxious. Everyone in the restaurant was staring at them, I kinda felt bad for them. But while we ate and talked we colored these and in turn donated to St. Judes Hospital.

Here is my Chili...

And here is Dustin's, of course his is better! He is way better in the art stuff. He even has the St. Jude symbol.

On the way home tonight the sun was setting and it was gorgeous. I took it with my crappy phone camera so it doesn't look nearly as nice as it did in person but you get the idea!

    

     All in all, I love Florida. I am so glad we moved down here. Things are coming together for us. House is coming together nicely and I must say that I LOVE living on my own! The weather is getting cooler so it is SO BEAUTIFUL here. Seeing the bear occasionally is a little frightening but its okay. Living 6 minutes from my best friend and my niece and nephews is GREAT! I love the Friday game nights we have. I love seeing the kids grow up and being a part of their daily lives.  Looking forward to several FUN years to come!

Remember, Remember the 11th of September

Tuesday September 11, 2001 is a day that I will not forget. It is a day that most living Americans will NEVER forget.
     I was in high school at good ole FTS. I was a 16 year old senior. I remember the bell ringing ending first period (ROTC) and walking down the concourse headed to my second period class (AP Biology). I remember knowing instantly that something was wrong. I could just tell by the mood and feeling of the other students walking and talking on the concourse. I remember a boy named Chris G. telling everyone that he just saw the news in his 1st period class about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. Soon everyone was talking about it. When I got to my 2nd period class my teacher turned on the TV after the kids in my class convinced her. I remember sitting there in my desk watching the second plane hit. I did not know at the time that it would change so many things, did not realize that so many people would lose their lives, did not understand why someone would do this to our county. I remember sitting their feeling sad for all those people in the planes and in the buildings. I remember feeling scared because I had NO clue what this would mean. My mom has just retired from the military 3 years before and I was scared she would be re-activated. I was also confused because I didn't understand why this would happen. I remember thinking "two planes can not be a coincidence." Then when we heard about the pentagon I remember a girl a couple seats behind me calling her mom and dad because her dad worked there. (He ended up being OK.)
      The rest of the day was a blur. I remember several announcements about Ft. Bragg shutting down making sure the students having their military ID's otherwise they couldn't get on base. That is when Ft. Bragg went on lock down. Before 9/11 anyone could drive on or off base no problems. But from September 11, 2001 up to today you have to go through the gate with and ID or your car is searched. Security is very high on bases nowadays. I don't even want to talk about how the airport security has changed- we ALL know about that, whether you have been on a plane post 9/11, heard a joke about TSA or seen it on TV you recognize the change.
     Another thing that I feel like should NOT go unnoticed is all the United States Military people who died fighting this war. This is in addition to the lives that were shortened 9/11/01. So many INNOCENT people died. I want to take a second to thank EVERY SINGLE soldier: man, woman, past or present who has fought to defend America and our freedom. Thank you. Some risked it all and you are gone not forgotten! Thank you!
     Every September 11 since 2001 I have thought about where I was that day, about those tragic events that led to so many deaths and I REMEMBER and HONOR those who are not with us today. The Alan Jackson song below is perfect for my feelings.
     "Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?"