A Georgia Christmas

I know I am late at getting Christmas pictures on but if you read my sister's blog you have probably seen a few of what I am posting. I had an AWESOME time in Georgia with my family. The girls had told their husbands that this was to be a family Christmas so we were doing everything together-none of this men and women doing things separately! For two days we basically partied! Saturday found us on the mountain hiking and cooking over an open fire at Bob Jones's cabin (not associated with Bob Jones University by any means!) Sunday we had the dedication of Susan and Jeff's little Colton during the Christmas service. What a blessed time to worship and dedicate together as a family. Sunday afternoon was Christmas dinner and gift exchange. The kids draw names and decided this year that everyone had to make their "name" something. In private I will tell you about one of the gifts!

The first picture is Susan and Jeff Hunt with baby Colton after dedication service .
This is a picture of Linda and I after the Christmas service.







The Scarbrough clan. Carson and Linda in the middle. To Carson's left is the Vernon family: Dave and Cheryl, Isaac and Ethan (in front of Papa). To Linda's right is Christa and the Sam's family: Martha holding Peyton, Larry and Carson and Steven are in front of Linda. Sitting on the pew is Jeff, Susan and Colton. Last but not least is me. My "boys" are so cute!!! Can you imagine 6 boys in a trailer playing? Fortunately, the weather was nice enough for them to be outside some.


At the cabin even the big people had to play! Here is Cheryl defending the girl's flag from the guys. The girl's had excellent strategy and finally won much to the chargin of the guys!






Jeff so graciously took his ammunition out and let me "hunt". What I was hunting I have no idea-maybe a man? LOL! Not likely to find one in the woods!





I have many many more pictures that maybe I will share later. I have a new camara and it isn't compatible with my computer so I had to make a CD in order to download them onto my computer and I haven't had time to label them so it is hard to pick the right pictures based on numbers only.
We had a great Christmas with Daddy-he was able to spend the entire day with us at my hourse which is just what my sister wanted. But then that night he was all messed up, couldn't sleep and fell walking in his sleep. Got a big black eye! He looks pitiful.
I have so thankful that God gave me such precious Christmas memories this year. As you all know it hasn't been the easiest of year's for me and God has been so very good to me!

It's all Aunt B's fault!!!

It was when I saw the pictures of me as Aunt Bee that I knew something had to go! Pounds that is. So I signed up at the Metabolic Research Center in Columbus to loose some weight! Here is the meaning of all the hints.

1. The Christmas project was to loose 20 pounds by Christmas! The green was the ribbon they measured off after I had been on the plan for a month and had lost 19.5 inches of stored fat!!! The number 12 was the original number of pounds I had lost since Thanksgiving, then I was sick and gained 1.5 pounds so that is why the magic number changed to 10.5 and in 3 days I lost that for a total of 13 pounds lost! I can't believe no one noticed I looked a few pounds lighter. I have had fun with this and I hope no one is too disappointed that it had nothing to do with a special friend or a special date! Sheila and Jonathon were just too funny in their comments.

When I walked into my niece's house with my food she thought, "how nice that Aunt Jan brought some food to help us out at Christmas!" but didn't say anything. The next morning when Linda saw me peeling boiled eggs for breakfast and talked about how she needed to go on a diet. Martha is the one who connected the dots between what I was eating and the hints and actually said the magic words Christmas project so she won the special Christmas present when we opened gifts-a small bottle of lotion she had been admiring all weekend when I lotioned my hands after washing dishes!

So the secret is out and I am still marching along to lose 50 pounds! This is the only weight loss plan I have ever been able to stick too and I love it. I feel sooooo good and can tell a big difference with just 13 pounds off. I am already off one of my blood pressure pills.

So stayed tuned and I may share some more magic numbers as we go along.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, I did. Sometime soon I'll post some pictures of me hunting, eating salad while others ate hot dogs, and the kids I so dearly love.

Ok-the last hint till Christmas day!

Here you go Karen and all the rest! The magic color is still green and more progress has been made since Tuesday's post. The magic number is now 13, not 10.3. The other number is still 19.5. The Christmas project is making its way south in a few minutes. I hope it doesn't weigh Jane's van down too much. :) Sorry there is no picture. Mine went kapoot this week and I "had" to buy a new one and I haven't had time to set it up, et due to working on this Christmas project!
Merry Christmas to all!

The Christmas project-more hints

Well, it seems I have some people confused and almost dead based on the comments to the past post. Jonathan-you are just too funny!
Update: it isn't quite as green as it was last week. It was a bad week, still recovering from vertigo, ending this semester, the snow, church play (which was excelllent by the way)-everything just seemed to slow down. So instead of progress we had some regression. The magic number is 10.5, not 12. If I have time on Friday I may post a picture before I leave for GA that might give another hint. Don't you think that 19.5 is a nice length for a baby? Also, some babies heads measure 10.5 or 12 inches! The project will not be completed by Christmas but the confusion will end then. I even have a special present (in addition to the project) for the person who is wise enough to figure it all out.
I was going to post the picture today but my camara battery was dead.

Christmas Project

Well, it is time to give an update on the Christmas project I mentioned in my last post. I thought it would get way behind this week with me being in the hospital with viral vertigo last week. None the less, I have a progress report. The magic color is green and the magic numbers are 12 and 19.5. Think on that awhile! Remember don't even think about asking questions! Someone is going to get a wonderful present this year-I hope the rest of you don't get too disappointed. Even if you think you know, don't put a hint in your comments.
Merry Christmas to all-and I would say to all a good night but I have several hours to go before I can say goodnight. :)
Love ya,
Lady J

Thanksgiving Greetings

I woke up this morning counting my many blessings! God is so good and He has been so faithful to me this past year. Here are some things I am thankful for:

• The adjustment of my Dad to Silver Oaks and the good care he receives.
• The support of my sister and family this past year.
• Friends who are too numerous to name without leaving out someone.
• The beautiful red and orange leaves this fall.
• The neighbor who kept my yard mowed this summer.
• Sharing time with a new friend.
• "A roof up above me and shoes on my feet. Food on my table..."
• Strength fo rmy days.
• And another blessing which you all will find out about later! No asking of questions!

Here are some pictures of Brown County this fall.

Last Saturday was the family Thanksgiving dinner at Silver Oaks. It was a wonderful dinner with turkey and all the fixin's. Dad ate a huge plate full of food. It is so good to see he still has a hardy appetite. I plan to take him to Cracker Barrel today for turkey dinner if he feels like it and it isn't too cold. He has been feeling well this week.

That's it for today!

Love ya all!

I was tagged!

After I posted about my life I checked out comments on my last post. As I understand it I have been tagged (by Christa) to list 7 random things about me. My goodness, I think everyone knows all there is to know about me but here goes!

1. I love God with all my heart
2. My family is very precious to me
3. So are my friends
4. I love seeing "light bulbs" come on in my students brains (that really is not a rare event)
5. My favorite music: classics, the Collingsworth, old Gaither songs, some southern gospel
6. My favorite author is: Gilbert Morris, Beverly Lewis, Janette Oak, Lori Wick-just to name a few!
7. My favorite trip overseas was England and Scotland

That's it folks! Now I have to tag someone, who will it be?

Well, it's about time...

Been a long time hasn't it? Hopefully, friends and family have not given up on me and no longer check my site. So, it is "ketchup" time!

The last ten weeks have been extremely busy with work. My 10 week class is over so I think I will have more time to do something that is worth posting. In spite of the busyness I have been able to do a few fun things. Enjoy the pictures.

September found me enjoying a couple of Saturday outings with a friend of mine from work.

My first outing was to the Falls of the Ohio for a rock show. Bought my first rock and enjoyed sitting along the river having lunch, eating ice cream, and talking. It was a great day. Never thought I would ever be interested in rocks or fossils-I guess it is the company you keep! :) That is Louisville peeking under the railroad bridge. A few weeks later found us at Chatuqua of the Arts in Madison. Another beautiful day outside.

In October I flew to Little Rock, AK overnight to practice a presentation for the med surg conferenc in late October. My friend Gloria and I were presenting a book review on The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

October 24-29 was spent in Las Vegas at the 16th annual national convention of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. It was my priviledge to be the chair of the program planning committee which means we arranged for all the speakers at the convention. Thus I was able to welcome all 1100 participants in the opening ceremony and introduce our entertainment for the. I know you be as excited about this as I was when you see our picture!

Will Elvis never die? I went out a day early so that I could enjoy the Nevada landscape and do what I wanted to do before all my friends hit town. Red Rock Canyon-very gorgeous!-I'm talking about the canyon now NOT me! The leaves on the few trees they have do turn colors.

No that is NOT me in the front of this car on the Insanity ride! Her husband paid her to take this ride!. Once the car extends out from the Stratesphere way up above Vegas it then extends just a little ways beyond the track and then the whole thing tips downward. I am sure it is a gorgeous view but I think I will stay in the observation deck!

Love that '57 Chevy!

Oh yes, I forgot to tell you that I had to help resuscitate a man in respiratory arrest on the plane when we were about 30 minutes from landing in Vegas. I'll spare you the details but it was no fun at all!

Our keynote speaker for Thursday night was Leann Thieman. She is an LPN who went to Viet Nam to bring home 6 orphans from Saigon and was told it was completely safe. Just before she arrived in Saigon they had a major battle there and it was terribly unsafe and instead of 6 babies she helped bring 300 babies-one she adopted! Leann helps to compile stories for the Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul. The second volume is coming out in December-hint, hint family of mine! I was able to help her sell books that night as she autographed books. It was lots of fun.

Another fun thing I did with Gloria and her sister was to attend the musical called Menopause! Talk about hilarious-we laughed the entire 90 minutes of the performance. Leann says we need to laugh 400 times a day to stay healthy-we did it all in that 90 minutes. The musical is perfomed by 4 women in menopause-what a spoof. Actually it was very educational about the symptoms of menopause. It was definately worth the money!

Game: who am I? This picture was taken at the Ivy Tech Faculty Retreat day last Friday. The topic was Generational Differences. The tables were decorated around a theme of a decade of the 1900's. I was invited to sit at table with the theme of the Andy Griffith show. So who was I and family who in the world do at look like! Pretty scary uh?


I wore my Grandma G's hat, borrowed pearls, Aunt Callie's cameo broach, a shawl made for me many years ago, my gloves and purse with my Grandma G's hankie sticking out the purse. People said I was the best look alike for Aunt Bee! Don't know if that was a complement or not but I do know I was chosen for this role because I already looked like Aunt Bee!



Well folks, that catches you up on my happenings for the past month or two. Hopefully, I am back in the swing of things now.

Love ya all!

My sister is on my case!

Linda says it is PAST time I update my blog, she is tired of looking at the wedding dress blog. Imagine that...If you have kept up with her blogs you know why I haven't blogged. She has said it all and while she was blogging I was trying to catch some rest after our hectic days of cleaning out Dad's house!


Anyway, I am back to work full-time now and am grateful Dad is just across the street from school. It makes it easy to just drive over after work. I have one frustrating class on Mondays. I teach 5 HOURS to 30 students in class and then another 30 are scattered around Region 10 in Seymour, Nashville, Franklin and Greensburg! I communicate with via them video. So I have at least 3 remotes to control, a laptop and a computer project to worry about along with trying to teach. Thank goodness that class is only 10 weeks long-2 down and only 8 to go. :)


Linda posted a wonderful tribute to Dad on her blog-I certainly can't improve on anything she said BUT I have pictures from yesterday! Enjoy.


Dad opening his cards. His got several from the family and then the church gave him a card shower. He received 18 from church family. I understand there are more cards in the mail. I put some up on his bulletin board tonight and will rotate different ones every few days. He really enjoyed the cards! Sorry about the messy kitchen in the background.



Dad and Janet in her front yard.







Aunt Joyce and Uncle Hubert Gideon (Mom's brother and wife). Cheryl: note the china cabinet in the background.

A little bragging is in order. Remember my posting on Adrenalin Rush? It got published in the latest issue of MedSurg Matters Newsletter which is published by the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses professional organizaton! I'm quite excited about this. If I could only make time to write a full-fledged article for publishing. I have had several "moments that matter" type things and devoltionals published but not a full professional article yet. Maybe someday.

The Lady on Her Wedding Day

I found this poem the other day that was written by Linda and I when we were MUCH younger! As you can tell we learned rhyming from our father and also learned that rhyming didn't have to make sense! Enjoy.

The Lady on Her Wedding Day

The lady on her wedding day dressed in pink,

Went home to the farm to find that hogs do stink.

The lady on her wedding day dressed in white,

Went to the beauty parlor and came out a sight.

The lady on her wedding day dressed in blue,

Went to Kalamazoo and came back with a monkey that looks like you.

The lady on her wedding day dress in green,

Went to the grocery store and came back with a little bean.

The lady on her wedding day dressed in yellow,

Went to the ball and thought she was Cinderella.

The lady on her wedding day dressed in red,

After she was fed found she was too big for her bed.

The lady on her wedding dressed in black,

Chased a bug and fell in a potato sack.

The lady on her wedding day dressed in purple,

Ate so much she turned into a circle.

By Linda and Janet Burton

Date: Unknown

Things I do not tell Dad....

What in the world? Where did all those flies come from?

Thus were my thoughts as I walked by Dad's car today when I was going in to clean his house. There were oodles of them flying around inside his car! I quickly rolled down all the windows and dodged them as they flew out the windows in all directions. Whew. I made my way inside the house and keeping thinking-what made all those flies get inside that car? Then it hit me-garbage! Sure enough there was an old full garbage bag in his trunk that had never found its way to the landfill. I placed that bag inside a new garbage bag and left the trunk open too. Everyonce in awhile I would check the progress of the fly exodus. Thoughts of Pharoah came to my mind at times. By afternoon most of them had left but I knew I had to get rid of the rest of them. Took a broom to them-helped some but not enough. I decided that maybe if I took the car for a drive with the windows down that they would all fly out. Good thought but it didn't happen because I couldn't get the car started!!!! Now what!???? It was about to rain so I had to put the windows up again while I tried to find someone to jump start the battery. Marvin is going to do that in the morning. Please don't tell Dad, Ok?

My Dad Willie

Dad at dinner at Silver Oaks.

My Dad is a very special person who is well loved by many people. When I think of my Dad I am reminded of 3 P's. He is a man of principle, a man of prayer, and a lover of people. Dad has stood for the principles of God's Word all my life. Some may not have agreed with him but he always did what he thought was right. Dad has never been afraid to testify for Jesus, I have never met anyone who can work a testimony into every conversation with a stranger. Many people remember Dad saying, "Stand real still while I pray for you." It didn't matter if it was at the end of his line at the Jay C Store, the Cracker Barrell, a parking lot, etc. Dad is always ready to pray with you. Daddy has never met a stranger in his life. His ready smile, silly rhymes, jokes, and those jumping biceps can always bring smiles to others. And we can't forget those stories that he loves to tell over and over to whomever will listen! Dad loves his girls, his granddaughters all thier husbands and their children. Dad just loves everyone!

Dad's days are limited on this earth and it looks like he will spend them some place other than his home. His memory is failing and he is no longer able to live independently. I have attached some pictures of him in the Silver Oaks Health Campus where he now resides. Pray for all of us as it is an adjustment for us as well as him.

Dad standing in the lobby of one of the entrances to the transitional care unit.

Dad in his favorite position-sleeping!

Dad sitting on the patio outside the dining room.

Oh my, I need to get a picture of him and his "horse"! Maybe tomorrow!

He's Here! Finally!

Colton Ross Hunt arrived May 31 at 10:05 PM! He weighed in at 8 lbs/10 oz, was 20 inches long and he head was 14.5 inches. That hurts! His mommy worked real hard to birth him naturally but ended up with an epidural and a c-section. Proud parents are my niece and her husband: Jeff and Susan (Scarbrough) Hunt.

Colton comes from a book that Susan read several years ago and Ross is a tribute to my Mom's birth father (he died when Mom was about 2 years old). Susan has Mom's middle name-Iris.

They came home from the hospital today.

Job Security

I had my annual performance review with Cherona this week and recieved one of my best ever reviews! She is impressed with the way I teach nursing and told me that my students that hired on as RNs after graduation were very well prepared to work at CRH. Cherona said there was an obvious positive difference between our grads and grads from other places. That made me feel very good for that is my goal. She also said that CRH and Ivy Tech have signed another 2 year contract for my services. So, at least for 2 more years I will have a secure position-unless something unforeseen happens. In Dec 2009 I will be 60 and maybe they will sign another contract and I can retire at 62! Then I can get another full time job doing something else besides nursing. Who knows.

Christa's Graduation

Well, after the adrenalin rush (see posting) I had an uneventful trip to Hobe Sound for Christa's graduation. Memories, memories, and more memories hit me while I was there this time. It was 35 years ago this spring that I graduated from HSBC. Time flies! I enjoyed my time with family. Here are a couple of pictures-me at Juno Beach, Christa with Carson and Linda, Christa with me.

Adrenaline Rush!

Thud...look up...what was that?..continue reading...sense excitement behind me...look...crowd...did someone fall?..yes...rush over...man on the floor...ABCs come to mind...shake and shout...no response...assess breathing...yes...now feel for a pulse...barely discernable radial, little stronger carotid...has anyone called 911?...woman arrives...I'm a nurse, I know CPR...I say, He's breathing and has a pusle...then yell-AED, AED, AED!...arrives...OR nurse slaps pads on chest...turns on AED..."No shock needed"...relief...note breathing is slowing down and becoming more shallow....pulse weaker...big hands do a chin-lift/tilt...I'm a anesthesiologist...relief...he's still breathing...time passes...police arrive...wife hands anesthesiologist med list...wrong one, hers, not his...look for med list...find it...no diabetes or heart disease...man's eyes flutter...are you okay?...yes...what is your name...John...squeeze my hands...does so...move your feet up and down...no stroke signs...skin warm and dry entire time...time passess...paramedics arrive...hand off done...walk back to seat at gate...feel good about my efforts...strangers stop by...you were a good samaritan...thanks...he had the best-two nurses and one anesthesiologist...wow...board plane...fly to Florida.

Life with Father OR zzzzzzzzzzz........

No, I am not talking about my Father's sleep pattern! Although at times his snoring has been interesting. My Dad has a few visitors at his house called BUMBLE BEESzzzzzzzz. This afternoon when I came home from work there was Dad's vacuum cleaner on the front porch and he was ready to suck those BEES away! He tried that last week and sucked up a couple. One got loose in the house but eventually died of trauma on the kitchen floor before it did any damage. He wasn't content with just the vacuum cleaner today. He was in the process of bringing his step stool to the porch when I got in the living room. Nothing doing-he had to get up on it and put a COTTON BALL in the hole he thought the BEES were entering and exiting! We went back in the house with me being thankful I arrived in time to prevent a disasterous fall. Later when I looked out the window there were TWO BUMBLE BEESzzzzzz mad as they could be because that COTTON BALL was in their way! Eventually they left and went to the other side of the house. Dad was sooooo proud of himself for messing up the BEESzzzzzz routine!
I have got to start carrying my camara every where so I can catch moments like this. I haven't figured out how to download pictures from the web yet.
Good night and God bless!

My Mother Melba

My mother was loved and respected by all who knew her. From my childhood my mother had these character traits.
1. Wisdom: she discerened the differences in the personalities of her two daughters and developed us accordingly. I was the people person and my sister was the book worm. Consequently, I was allowed to do social things my sister was never interested in. For example, I was "into boys" at a much younger age and even though there was a no dating until you out of high school rule at our house I was allowed a date at 16!
2. Disciplinarian: there was none of this "wait till your Daddy gets home" mentality in our home. I was "whoopped" into shape by the time Daddy made his appearance in the evening. The death of an apple tree in our backyard testified to my mother's need to discipline me with the apple switch! Dad? "Go to your room" was his way and I hated that because I had no one to talk to! Rarely were my sister and I in there at the same time! I was the strong willed child that Dr. Dobson wrote about. Of course we had never heard of the term "strong willed child" but my Mom sure did know what stubborness looked like!
3. Encourager: she knew my personality and Mom encouraged me to be the nurse God had told her I should be. Mom always encouraged me to pursue what ever I felt God was talking to me about.
4. Godly: Oh my, could my Mom pray and get an answer from heaven! Even when I was young I knew Mom had a direct connection with God-that kept me out of a lot of trouble. It seemed not only did Mom talk with God but He also gave Mom a perception of what was going on in my life-it didn't matter where I lived-Mom knew things. Every kid needs a Mom like that.
5. Faithful: to God, country, family and friends.
Of course you know I could go on and on about Mom. but time and space is limited today.
Happy Mother's Day Mom!

I remember when...

Daddy said, "I remember when..." several times today on our trip to Columbia, KY. Here are a few.
I remember when

• Mother said there would be no one left to put flowers on the graves. (My purpose for the trip)
• Lela was afraid of the Mulder Hill after a team of horses and the wagon wrecked on the hill.
• We left at midnight from Uncle Pete's by wagon to get the train in Campbellsville.
• Paul died of broken legs and punctured lungs after drinking.
• Ransom died from drinking.
• Your Uncle Granvil brought me down to the county fair so he could see his 'woman'. He suddenly remember I was there and told me I better not tell Verilla!
• My Dad paid his brother money for land to build a house on. Dad lost the land and house because his brother never paid the man he had bought the land from.
• Dad said, "Do you think this will be my last trip to Columbia?" What do you say to that except-I don't know?
• Dad said-"Many, many thanks to you for taking me today."

These are just a few things we talked about today as we went down memory lane together. Columbia is such a pretty little town. I could live on Burton Ridge! (Highway 206 east for the less informed.)

Good night and love to all,

Lady J

Lily House Pictures

The Indianapolis Museum of Art-we used the bathroom only-art isn't our thing! Who wants art when God's handiwork is so beautiful?
My clinical group. Iusually have 10 students but God knew what He was doing we He gave me this precious group of 5. They are LPNs and working to become RNs. The two to the left of me graduated on Wednesday night and then had to do two days of clinical! Weird. The other 3 have a semester of OB-Peds to endure before they graduate in August.
Keeping Bobby cool with the paper fans!
The new man in Lady J's life! His name? Who knows!
The Lily House-the reason for the outing. Beautiful! I like it better than the Biltmore House. This place is much brighter. Of course it doesn't have an indoor pool or bowling alley either!

Lady J in action!

Monday night our church had a Mother-Daugher Tea! You know that is right down my alley. All my tea pots were used center pieces for the tables and I must say they looked very nice on the tables. Sis. Gale was my "mother" for the night. My neighbor Rhonda and her Mom Pat also went with me. Soup and salad was the menu-catered by someone the organizer knows. Great food. The highlight of the evening was the Fashion Show! I hope I can successly post some pictures without killing the blog like I did the other night. Thought I'd killed my computer too!
Here goes.

Janet is wearing a the new version of the printed dress-all the rage this season. It is even reversible

Janet loves a tea party! Her outfit is just what is needed this spring to wear to a garden party. Note her outfit is complete with the newest in the milinary field-a pill box hat!


It will be up to all to figure out how to make these pictures big enough to be enjoyed. I think you can click and drag. I guess I should have selected large rather than medium size. Hey, I feel happy that I actually got some pictures on here! I did delete all these and tried to reinsert in the large view but for some reason it didn't work. Sorry. The tea dress was made by attaching tea bags. I actually made a tea bag corsage too! The pill box hat? Dad's new box of insulin syringes worked just fine! I staped some old lace around the edge, glued and staped some feathers to the back and added a couple of small pill boxes and bottles to complete the look!

New Beginnings

It is Mysterious Marty and the lady with Views from Crandall who have challenged me to take a new step in the world of technology. Now if I can just figure all this stuff out hopefully, I will give all my family and friends something interesting to read each week. I haven't the foggiest idea what I am doing-except typing in this little square.
Yesterday my clinical group and I went on a field trip to the Lily Estate. It was stretching it a little for a direct tie in with nursing (Eli Lily Pharmaceutical Company sound familiar?) but I had to do something because all my other cool field trip places keep getting used by other faculty and by the time the students get to me they have been everywhere. Maybe next time I will arrange a visit with the Batesville Casket Company. How's that for an uplifitng thought? I have attempted to post some pictures of our trip yesterday. My students gave me a minature rose bush and a box of chocolates as a thank you gift.
Graduation was Wednesday night and pinning was today. The current president of the college is retiring and he wanted to attend ALL graduations across the state this year. It was weird having students in clinical the next two days who had already graduated! Pinning was beautiful today. Flowers are donated by the various clinical sites and I was able to bring home a beautiful geranium. It isn't your typical geranium-it looks a little bit like a rose.
This is all that has happened out of the ordinary this week. Maybe I should change my blog address to ordinarylady. We'll see about that in the future.
See ya!