50th Birthday.....The Bluff

Hey Yall! I told you I would be back with details of all the birthday fun I had. I had the pleasure of being invited to Girls Weekend at the Bluff. The Bluff is a house at the bluff, the name I will not disclose because I'm not sure my friend whose family owns the house would want the whole world, or the three of you who read this blog, to know exactly where their house is located. Anyway, it is located in the Charleston area, so we had lots and lots of shopping available and restaurants to sample. On our last night there, my buds took me to the Sewee Restaurant, in Sewee, no less, for the birthday dinner. They had given me a birthday hat which said "Fabulous Fifty". And of course that is exactly what I am now. Anywho, they made me wear it at the restaurant. I got two kisses from strange men while I was there....don't worry Mr. Frannycakes.....on the cheek only. We had a fabulous meal, then waddled to the car to go back to the undisclosed bluff.

Back at the undisclosed Bluff, I was instructed to put back on my birthday hat. I had to remove it in the car because the both of us could not get into the car together! After replacing the hat, I was given Ms. Bluff, dressed up in birthday wrapping paper. Ms. Bluff decorates every Girls Weekend. Her presence is required. Don't judge us! It is just a ritual that must be abided by. Anyway, While I held Ms. Bluff, I opened presents. And presents I got! Unfortunately, I am unable to mention any of them here because my children read this blog (also Mr. Frannycakes) and I don't want to gross any of them out. Of course, Julianne was there for this part of the party and was totally and completely disgusted and particularly disappointed in Ms. Elaines card. Ms. Elaine made me read it out loud and it was hard for my child to hear these things.....You should be ashamed Ms. Elaine!

The little girls, as we like to call Emily (Elaine's daughter) and Julianne, cause they are the little girls of the families, stayed around to take some pictures. No one will ever accuse us of being photogenic! After viewing the pictures on the camera, Virginia announced that she wanted them taken over because she looked like a stroke victim that had been posed next to me on the couch for pictures! After closer inspection, she was right. Now if we could just get her a job in Hollywood playing stroke victims in the movies.......she would be rich and famous! Cause it is obviously her calling! I can say I knew her when.....

Somehow through all the pictures, I maintain to keep the same smile on my face while every one cracked up. Beth completely lost it and we had to suspend pictures while she laughed about Virginia and her stroke pose. Sick group we are. And proud of it.

Girls, I love you! I needed this weekend so much. And I treasure our friendships. Thanks for being my friend.

Hey Yall! Yesterday as I was vacuuming the house, I decided that I wanted to move the furniture in the den around. If you have ever been in my den, you will realize that we really have everything arranged in the only position it can be arranged in, well, to be able to see the tv. And isn't that the reason we are in there? I mean, why have a tv with 150 channels that have absolutely nothing worth watching if you aren't going to be watching it. So, I decided to move and push and shove and drag and kick the furniture in a different arrangement. And I did and unfortunately, you could not longer access the den because the furniture had blocked the entire way into that part of the room. Well crap. So I pushed and pulled a walkway into the room and it looks absolutely ridiculous but we decided at the time that we were just too tired from moving furniture and from work to change it back. And you know what? I love how you can lay on the red couch and watch nothing on tv and not have your neck contorted into a painful position. I fell asleep on the couch last night and took a nap this afternoon. This morning when I woke up, I had some pain in my back, radiating from my left hip up the side of my back. And it got much, much worse after my nap. I am waiting just a little while to let the beer I drank in one swig get out of my system so I can take a pain pill I horded from my broken arm incident last year. I am hoping and praying it will take care of it cause it feels pretty bad.

Earlier today when it just kind of hurt, Dick and I went to see I Love You Man. It was funny. Probably funnier to the younger folks in the audience. I am pretty much appalled at the language used today. And there was alot of that and adult themes used. But I laughed out loud a few times and we both agreed that we had seen better.

That's all for now.....until after the meds.....

Clean House? In My Dreams.....

Hey Yall! Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I was busy trying to straighten some things up around here. I was gone for two weeks and once we brought all our junk back into the house, well, it was a mess. THEN the mail was delivered. Lots and lots of mail to go through and organize and file. Then the bills to pay. Then the HOA of the condo we have in Raleigh somehow didn't credit two months of fees, so I had to get copies of those cancelled checks and try and straighten that out. And they did. So I was up to my neck in paper work. Now I'm only up to my waist.

Today, I took Mr. Frannycakes truck to have the tires rotated. I sat in the waiting room for two hours. The cable tv was out, but the lady that pretty much runs the place had brought a season of "Friends" and had it playing on the big screen TV. She also had made coffee. It has been a while since I have watched "Friends" and I had forgotten just how funny it could be. I found myself laughing out loud. Thankfully, I was the only person in the waiting area. It was kind of nice to know that I could nothing but watch tv and enjoy it.

Our temperature up here is supposed to get colder this weekend. We still have snow. A lot of it. I need to start thinking about what I am going to plant. For some reason, plants and flowers up here know that they have just a small window of opportunity to grow and bloom and they do it faster than I ever seen it in the South. (Notice I capitalized South......) We have some painting to do to touch up a few places and a whole lot of sand to get out of the garage. Once the snow completely melts, it looks like we have had a major wind storm in the yard. Limbs, sticks, leaves, and pine cones are everywhere. It will be a major raking job. Anybody want to come and visit???????? I will buy you a rake and even put your name on it!

Yall be good and I will talk to you tomorrow!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Long Time No Blog

Hey Yall! I have probably lost all of my three readers during my break from blogging. I know I still have one (Daddy) who reminded me daily while I was visiting that I have not been updating my blog. I actually have a pretty good excuse for not blogging and you know that I always have an excuse up my sleeve ready and waiting! You see......my 'puter was real sick. If you remember from a previous post, I got a virus. Then we paid $200 to get it back to working order. (The $200 made me sick.) Then when we got to Raleigh, I opened it up to check emails and other important stuff and my screen was black. The computer was running, but the monitor was dead. Lucky for me, I have a very sweet, loving and caring husband who said he would buy me a new one for my birthday. Birthday, you ask? Yes, Frannycakes had a birthday.....but more about that later. So Mr. Frannycakes bought me a new computer yesterday and after many, many curse words coming from my mouth and mind, I promptly returned it to the store this morning. Then I drove to Portland and purchased a different one at the Best Buy. And it has been a glorious day. Just glorious! Thank you Mr. Frannycakes!

We got back to the frozen tundra on Saturday. Our trip down south was wonderful. The temp's down there are much different than up here. Thankfully, I packed a couple of summer outfits just in case I got hot. And guess what? I got hot. Very hot. I do love the Maine temps.

I have a whole post planned about my different birthday celebrations. I am waiting for pictures. And when they come, I will let you know all about it!

It feels great to blog again.... And if you haven't given up on me...thanks! I will try to do better!

Tootles!

Yippee!!!!!!

Hey Yall!!!! Guess who got her laptop back?

Frannycakes is going on a trip! Leaving on a jet plane.....oh....dang.....wrong trip. This trip Julianne and I are getting in the car and heading south. I can't wait to get there. Of course, I hate the getting in the car and the getting there part. But it will be fine. Julianne will be with me and she has already given me permission to listen to 70's music the whole way!

Our first stop will be in Raleigh where we will visit with Bobo, aka Christopher. Can't wait to see him. Christmas seems like so long ago. He is getting his wisdom teeth removed on Monday and his mommy wants to be there. Note that I didn't say that he wants his mommy to be there. No. But his mommy wants to be there and she will. be. there. Period....

About mid week we will be heading to Pawleys Island. We are looking for an apartment there to rent for the summer. No, Dick is not letting me move down there for the summer......where there IS air conditioning......Julianne and a friend will be working down there and need a place to live. I could look for a three bedroom apartment, couldn't I? hehehehehehe....

Charleston will be my next stop for a girls weekend. Yes! Yes! Yes! I need this sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much. My favorite buds will be there. I can't wait. Julianne will be staying with her friend Emily and we will meet back up on Sunday morning and then.......

We will be heading to St. Marys, GA! I can't wait to get "home" and see the parentals. It has been a long time since I was there. Dick will be meeting me and we will enjoy the whole week there. Vickie is back from Italy, for good, and it will be great to see her. It is hard to believe that it has been a year since we were in Italy.

Weezie had a full day yesterday. I made her an appointment at the "Spa" and they told me I needed to bring her rabies certificate in for her appointment. I decided to check and make sure it was up to date and sure enough, it had expired. So we went to the vet to get her shot and I mentioned a couple of other things that had been going on with her. Turns out she has pink eye (Weezie said she got it from Julianne!)and she needed her "ugh" anal glands expressed. She took that last part really well. I, however, felt like I had had my anal glands expressed when I paid for her visit....$154. Dang! So immediately after her visit at the vet, we headed to the "Spa". When I picked her up two hours later, she looked beautiful. And rested. And I felt broke.

I guess I should go and get busy. Talk to you later!

Hey Yall! Yep, it me. Go ahead. Fuss. Cuss. (That was fun to type together!) Worry. But don't be concerned about me. Be concerned about my computer. My life line. My friend. You see, going on two weeks ago, I was checking my email and saw that I had received a postcard from Hallmark. My first thought was, could it be....could Dick have sent me a e-card for Valentines Day? So I opened it. And all hell broke loose. My Anti-virus software went absolutely crazy....but not crazy enough obviously. We took it to a person who hopefully will be able to make my lifeline/friend whole again. Cause I can totally see myself having a melt down without it. Oh! And do yourself a favor. Don't ever open an email postcard from Hallmark even if you think it might be from your honey.

So please forgive me for not posting. I am on Dick's computer right now. Hopefully, I will get my 'puter back tomorrow.....please, please, please......

We are in the middle of a big snow storm right now. I wish it was happening during the day because I love to watch it coming down. But tomorrow will look perfect when I wake up. Just one of the many perks of living in Maine.....living in a place that looks like a postcard. Don't hate me.

I guess I better go before I find another Hallmark card to open in my email. Dick would be sooooooooo pleased!

We'll talk later!

You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do.......Ugh!

Hey Yall! Today ends my "Three Day Slugfest", as I like to call it. I highly recommend it! But alas, all good things must come to an end. I woke up this morning ready to do some laundry and vacuuming. And that feeling didn't last long. It might take me a few days to get over the Slugfest.

Yesterday, I went to Augusta. I needed to go to Michael's and A.C. Moore. Can you believe that they have two craft stores but no JoAnn's? Anyway, I have been doing nothing about thinking about what I need to get at each place. And I knew exactly what I needed. And the minute I walk into one of these stores, my mind turns to mush. I am in craft overload! I suddenly forget what I need. And every thing I see, I want to do! After a few deep breath's and remembering that I was not going to spend any more money than the thing that I happened to be returning that day, I managed to only pick up two bottles of craft paint. And it wasn't even exciting color craft paint! It was white and tan. But it was what I needed so I hurried and checked out. And I still had some cash left!

I went to one of my favorite stores, the Christmas Tree Shoppe. That is a very, very hard store to go in and not spend any money. Because. I. Need. Everything. I. See. Really I do. But I managed to not pick all these things up. That is until I got to the lamp shades. I have been wanting to get new shades for our chandelier in the kitchen. And I wanted to paint a design on them. But I have not seen 12 of them of the right size, material and PRICE that would be suitable for painting. Well, as we like to say around here, especially after watching "Christmas Vacation", BINGO!!!!! They had the shades for $1.00. So you may be thinking, well, that is $12 but earlier in the morning I had found a shade like I loved and wanted to paint on the Ballard's website and it was $32 per shade! So I guess $12 for all of them doesn't sound so bad, does it? When I start them, I will give you a peak. I am really, really excited about doing them.

I guess I need to go and do all the things I am putting off so I can do all the things I want to do. And that, people, is the story of my life.

And yes, I am excited about my man coming home.

Talk to you later!

All My Children and I don't mean the TV show!

Hey Yall! I wanted to share some of our family pictures. We took these pictures down in South Carolina when we went down for Mary Ann's wedding. This is only a few of the many, many pictures we took that day trying to get a decent Christmas card photo. It was so cold while we were taking these. Jamie has a problem with closing his eyes during pictures. I don't just mean he occasionally closes his eyes. I mean he only occasionally has his eyes open! One of the pictures was of the kids closing their eyes like Jamie does. We were laughing so hard.

I was extremely successful at being a complete and total slug yesterday. I did break down and take a shower about 3 and wash my hair. My curly hair needs to be washed and fixed every single day, or I feel yuck. And it looks worse than yuck. I have been straightening my hair with the blow dryer some lately. Dick hates it like that. He likes it curly, so I try to make him happy. It is the very least that I can do. Right?

We were supposed to get some snow today, but managed to dodge the bullet. I am actually disappointed we didn't get any. I love it when we get a good snow. But I guess it is better that it didn't snow since my man isn't here to help me. I can shovel the front and back porch, but that driveway....well......we have a history. And it is not a good one......It has been almost a year since the humerus slip and slide. Every once and a while it lets me know that it still remembers what happened and that I better never, ever do it again. And I listen.

Tonight I have been watching that critically acclaimed show, "The Housewives of Orange County" and if that is real life, then I live the most boring life around. Come to think about it, I probably do live the most boring life around! Thank goodness.

I will talk to yall later!

Just call me a Slug!

Hey Yall! It has been a long time, huh? Yes, I have been repeatedly reminded, and reminded, and reminded..... But I am back, so just lets start anew. Okay? That means you daddy, and mom, and Tommy, and Elaine, and Virginia, and Julianne and anyone else that I have left out. I know there is somebody I am missing.

Yesterday, I started with a cold. I couldn't quite figure out what was happening because I have so many things that start the same way. At first I thought I was getting a bad, bad headache. Then I thought maybe it was sinus problems. And it may be just sinus. I had so much sinus pressure last night that I pulled out the Neti-pot. Yes, it looks like it would be something that the government just outlawed as torture, but man does it work. You fill the Neti-pot up with a solution of warm water and a packet of basically salt that comes with the Neti-pot when you buy it. You put the spout of the pot in one nostril while tilting your head sideways. The water runs in one nostril and out the other. It cleans out what ever....um....."mucus".....is setting up house in there and washes it out. After you wash out through one nostril, you turn your head the other way and reverse direction. Repeat until you use all your water mixture. It really helped my head and I could breathe again. And as always, you can thank me later. You're welcome.

Dick went out of town today for a few days. I have dreamed about this for a long, long time. Not that I want Dick to go away. No. Because I can be by myself for a few days and do exactly what I want to do or not do. For days. And how perfect a day it is to start out. I have a cold, but don't feel horrible. Just not real good. It is gray and gloomy looking outside. I have food and drink here at the house and I won't need to starve (or diet!) today. I still have on my sexy flannel pj's. I am feeling a nap coming on and I don't have to worry about cooking dinner or taking a bath and putting on make up. Yep, I am a slug.

I had hoped this would an interesting, entertaining post since it has been a while since I have talked to you. But I have been distracted. My red couch has been calling my name..........Frannycakes, oh Frannycakes, over there in your sexy flannel pj's......you are feeling sleepy, very sleepy........I mean, how can I be interesting and funny when someone is talking sweet like that to me. If it had a whoopie pie laying on its cushion, yall wouldn't even be hearing from me today! Sweet talk and sweets? My kind of couch.

Talk to you later....

Blogging

Hey Yall! I have been writing this blog for a couple of years now. I started it as a way to let all my family and friends down south know what we were doing up here in the frozen tundra. At the time, all of our children were also down south and it was just me and my man up here. And then I discovered other blogs and bloggers and established some friendships through these blogs. I have never met any of these people in person, but I'm sure I would just love them if I did! I have talked to one on the phone. I am not sure if she was prepared to hear my southern accent (I have a southern accent?) though. People here think that if you have a southern accent then you must be stupid. Thank you evening news. Whenever there is a disaster down south, who do they interview? Enough said.

A couple of days ago, I got an email from someone who wanted to know if I was Fran the RA from Georgia College. Wow. Was that a blast from the past! Susan lived on my floor in this wonderful old three story building that was a girls dorm. And I was the RA. I needed an RA! Susan roomed with Lynn and I would go and chit chat with them. They were so much fun. Our whole floor was great. Well of course it was! I loved everybody up there. I have such wonderful memories of college and the friendships that I made there. And you know what is even better than that? The opportunity to connect with them now that we are...um...cough....mature. Me? I am a 19 year old in an almost 50 year old body. Ugh. That sounds awful. Susan and I emailed back and forth a couple of times and she told me about Lynn and Marcia. I can't wait to talk to Marcia. We stayed in touch for a while but somehow stopped. I emailed Lynn and talked with her. She told me that she vacations not too far from where we live every summer. Guess who I'm going to see this summer?

In case you are wondering how Susan found Fran the RA, she was reading Rhoda's Southern Hospitality blog on how she met her husband. I guess I must have left a comment and that connected her to my blog. She read where I had gone to Georgia College and the rest is history! Thanks Susan! And thanks Rhoda! Blogging has been good to Frannycakes!

Cold?

Hey Yall! I hope you are all warm and cozy down there in the south. Cause it's cold in these here parts! Of course, I am warm and cozy in the house where I tend to spend most of my time. I keep hearing the furnace start up. We keep our thermostat on 68 which is very comfortable in this house. I would keep it on 75 in some of our other houses and never felt warm. We got a dusting of snow last night. Today the sky is nice and blue.

Yesterday, I went to Portland to take care of a few things. I decided to go check out the craft stores. Man, I could stay in there for hours. I want to do every craft available. Believe it or not, out of the two stores, I only came out with one item. I am collecting J's to group together on a wall. I found another one that I will either paint or cover with paper. I have about 5 of varying sizes ready to hang. But I want to have more.

I went by the Goodwill and found a couple of things.....surprise, surprise! Evidently, Talbots had brought in a load of clothes. I found a lime green long sleeve tee with the Talbots tag still on it.....$5. I got a great flag with a lobster on it....$2. There was a huge bundle of natural color raffia still in the original bag for $.99. A new linen pillow cover (Goodwill does sell new items also) that will be a gift for someone so I can't give too much away....$3.98. I will post a picture of it after I send it to the person.

Then I went to the Christmas Tree Shops. And no, to those of you who may not remember, it is not a Christmas shop. It has home decorating things and stuff like that. I found a new rug for the kitchen. And a few other things. I will take some pictures later and show you.....I think you will love it all!

Tomorrow I am going to see Julianne. I need to trade cars with her so we can have some things repaired on hers. I might swing by the GW while I am in Bangor and check out their stuff. I will keep you posted!

Talk to you later....

Looking for a Room?

Hey Yall! We currently have vacancies. Call for reservations. Or just show up.

Snowy Sunday

Hey Yall! I told you earlier it had snowed. Dick went out in the cold and took some pictures before he started shoveling! Wasn't he sweet?

A Little of This, A Little of That

Hey Yall! We woke up to snow this morning. Lots and lots of snow. I wish it would snow everyday. It is very calming and peaceful. And could we all use a little more of that in our lives.

Jamie left to fly back to Lexington Friday. His flight left at 6 AM. That means leaving here at 3:45. He got back on time and was happy to be back to his home with Lesley and his furry baby Grace Darling. He sent me this picture with her Christmas present from us. It is a stuffed monkey with long arms. They tied it around her neck and she chased it! Grace Darling is just the cutest, most energetic dog, so I know this helped her calm down! She also received some Dingos, also known as dog crack. Don't believe me? Just give your dog one! Weezie knows how to spell Dingo and will jump up from a deep, snoring sleep if she hears someone spell it in another room!

Yesterday, Dick and I went to see Doubt. It has some excellent actors doing some excellent acting. However, we left a little confused. A little. Maybe it is because we are not Catholic. But the acting was wonderful. That Meryl Streep....she is so talented.....

The house is quiet again. I miss everybody. Tootles.

Isn't He Precious?

Hey Yall! I just wanted to introduce you to the our newest nephew......Jackson! Isn't he just precious? And doesn't that finger look delicious?

Finally!

Hey Yall! Okay, okay, okay. Bad Frannycakes. Bad, bad Frannycakes. Frannycakes must be punished. And I agree.

But I have been very very busy. Immediately after my last post, I started cleaning my house. And my house was so dirty. We were hosting a Christmas party at our house on December 13. Then on December 17, my parentals and brother and sister-in-law and niece and nephew flew in for a visit. The parentals have been here before but my brother and his family have not. And his kids had never seen snow. Thankfully I was able to deliver on the snow. Chris also flew in about the same time so we had a full house. Julianne came on Friday and the fun grew even more! We had such a good time. We drove them around to show them the sights and fed them lobster one night. They loved playing in the snow even though they were completely frozen when they came in! The temps were pretty low while they were here. Then, on the day they were to fly out, we had a snow storm come in and their flights were cancelled! Thankfully they were able to get a flight out the next morning.....from Boston! So they really did get an adventure visiting us!

Christmas morning was quiet without Jamie here, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. Santa still came! Jamie and Lesley arrived on the 26th and Linley arrived on the 27th. We definitely had a house full! Everyone has left now except for Jamie and Julianne. I think they will both leave going their separate ways on Friday. Then it will be very quiet here for a while.

So please forgive me for not posting. I been vacuuming, washing sheets, washing towels, cooking, loading the dishwasher, emptying the dishwasher, dusting, and repeating everything several times a day. This girl is tired. But Christmas only happens once a year. And it is worth it.

I'll be back tomorrow.....

How do you like what Santa brought me?


Julianne and Chris making gingerbread houses and excited about it!


Making gingerbread houses


My Parentals and nephew


Aren't they a beautiful family?


The girls thought their aprons were sexy!


All the "children" eating dinner.


Go Jackets!!!!!!

Santa Claus came to see us!!!!!

You Can Thank Me Later.....

Hey yall! I always hate it when someone sends me a youtube link that I need to click on. I usually just skip it. Well, I have one that you absolutely must, yes, must click on and view. I am sorry. It is the funniest thing I have seen in a while. And it will change the way that you say the words cut, rude, and security. Please, please, for me, click on this YouTube link and you can thank me later. I promise you will want to. I swear. And I bet you will want to see it again. I promise. Cross my heart.

Double click on the words "YouTube" above! It will take you straight to the video!