TopofTheDayProject.blogspot.com

 Alright....I'm too old to learn new things.  Blogger....took away my themes, and all my options for ViCarrie.....so....Officially....February 2....I'm starting the topofthedayproject.blogspot.com. If you have read the first week, it will be deja vu....but otherwise come over there and read them.  

ToTD. Top of the Day #7

ONE WHOLE WEEK of ToTD!  I've made it.  I've blogged for 7 days about 7 tops for 7 brothers....no....wait, that's a different book.  One week into my project and I wore my first DRESS!  Is it called Top of The Day? Yep.  Is a dress a top?  I mean no, but in my case, yes, it's a top....but it's ALSO a BOTTOM....lol. Anyway, I wore a dress today.   It was Sunday the 8th of September (...and so we are clear, my Texas church is awesome, and those people love the Lord, and not only on Sundays, so find a church, and go, and make them your family.  Jesus is all that matters, and I am happy to tell you why. )

This dress....is Lularoe.  I told you I went through a phase.  It's freakishly comfy, but NO POCKETS!  I can't live like that anymore.  I need a place for my glasses, or my tissues, I'm aging....and a girl needs pockets.  Also, while I loved this dress?  The amount of fabric that was longer in the back?  It was odd....I think my mom commented on it every time I wore it.  It was a travel dress for years...because with leggings and a cardigan that had the pockets?  It was a win.  I looked nice, I was comfy, I had room to eat snacks and sweet treats.  It's time had come though, and it needed a new home, and I did feel that if I had any sewing skills at all....there was enough material for Maria to make the children some new outfits.   

ToTD. Top of the Day #6

So this is where things get tricky.  Black shirts.  I have no less than one million of them.  Okay, small exaggeration, but I have a LOT of them.  I work programs where the uniform is....black shirt, black pants. PS if you need me for your event, I'm available, and I'm amazing, and so is my "Instagram Husband".  So here is the first of the many black shirts, and good grief keeping them in the right order? No small task.

Also on this day, September 7, 2024 for those keeping track, we had most of the nieces and nephews over for.....pizza...from Dominos.  I love pizza, and while I'm from the East Coast and we are supposed to be snobby about pizza?  I'm not, like I just love pizza.  And Dominos makes a good pie, and have you HAD the melted garlic butter? Sigh. Should they sponsor me?  Sure.  Would I have to have more than one reader? Maybe. 

ToTD. Top of the Day #5

 Is it throwing you off that it's Day #5 but it's September 6? I mean me too, but soon, once we are out of September...it won't matter. 

This shirt is from my alma mater.  It was the perfect school for me, and even though he took 20 years to realize he loved me, it's where I met my "Instagram Husband"....those are his words-not mine.  Have I EVER posted a ToTD on the grams?  Nope, but that's the beauty.  lol. Someday I might, and then he will be justified, but until that time, just know, he calls himself that.   He's also literally the greatest human on the planet.  The Lord gave me a gift with him, and if you know him, you know it's true. 

Back to the shirt. LeTourneau University, a little Christian school in East Texas.  Great school with a fantastic program for aviation and engineering, neither of which I did, but if you know someone that loves Jesus and has an interest in either of those things, it's the place. 

This photo, it's dark, it's rushed, and I cropped out my belly-it's my blog and my photo-I'm allowed.   I also want to say that the picture isn't perfect, here's the life lesson, nothing is.  Just Jesus.  Seek Him.

ToTD. Top of The Day. #4

Guys.  I love bagels so much.  And maybe that's why I'm fatter, and maybe that's why I have blood sugar issues, but like have you HAD an Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese?  Sigh.  I love them so much.  I grew up in New Jersey, and I think I had a bagel every day in high school for lunch-except Fridays-when we had Dominos-okay fine I KNOW this is why I have health issues.  Dear readers....eat your greens and proteins.  ANYWAY, Bagels, delicious, and my love language-one of them. 

One of my very dear lovely humans in my life gave me this shirt for my birthday.  Sweet Karyn-yes with a Y.  She's one of my friends from my home church in New Jersey.  She loves Jesus, and clearly loves me.  She's also an EXCELLENT gift giver-my ACTUAL love language. We have spent hours having coffee, laughing, seeing movies or Broadway shows, and TRAVELING!  We've done Paris, Greece, Turkey, and Italy.  She's a founding FoF member!  (Friends of Fraus-we travel, if you want info-you can ask). Anyway, she's a gift to me, and so was this SHIRT!  A shirt, with BAGELS!  

So this was my birthday present in 2024, it's made by J.Crew.....I will be honest, I was worried about it fitting, but it did!  It's stretchy, and it's lovely.  I make it back to New Jersey twice a year, and Karyn makes it a point to make it back there also-it's a highlight, and coming home, I always have a minimum of a dozen bagels.....a dozen EVERYTHING bagels, so if you smell garlic and onion on the plane, I make no apologies, there are no good bagels in Texas.   

Bonus of this shirt...I wore it at a later date.....eating a bagel,....and I spilled Cream Cheese on it.  lol. I mean you have to laugh, I was just making it more authentic!  I wish it was a scratch and sniff....can you imagine? 

Favorite Bagel places in NY, NJ, or TX being accepted in the comments.  I joke that some day I'm going to open up a bagel shop here in Texas.....I'm going to call it "Disgruntled Bagels" and the attitude will probably come with it, since I'll have to fly the water in, and be up early to make the bagels....but they will be delicious.  

ToTD. Top of The Day. #3

 Was I in a grey phase of choosing?  Sure...but also these shirts were smashed in my closet, and I'm not certain I've worn them since being married to my "Instagram Husband"....if at all honestly.  This shirt, I tried on when I bought it....and then, well, this day for the photo shoot.

So a few things, since you asked.  It IS lularoe.....I went through a phase as we all did.  I was in it for the ridiculous leggings mainly, and I DID have a party-like nobody came, but I got some things I liked, and well that was fine for me.  This shirt, I sort of liked, but what sold it was the cassette tapes on the bottom.   I'm a sucker for nostalgia obviously, I mean wait til you see some of these shirts that are coming!  So a throw back to the 80's on a shirt?  Cool.  

And then I never wore it.  Why you ask?  Well, I'll tell you.  1. It is ALSO one of those shirts that leave your armpits unattended...2. We already learned I'm weird about 3/4 sleeves, 3. It just didn't look right.  I did want it to win, and I hemmed and hawwed, but like I hadn't worn it since I bought it....so why was I keeping it, new home needed, to the thrift store it went.  It's over a year later, do I miss it?  No, I have my photo, I've written about it...I'm good.  Do I miss my actual cassette tapes?  Sometimes. 

Did I make a sticker of my booty to show you more of the material?  I did.  And then did I blend it in to the tree so you aren't quite sure what is going on here?  Also yes. 

ToTD. Top of The Day. #2

Hmmm....it was September 3, 2024.  I had more hair then, but I was also a bit chubbier...did you know the two were related?  So like you can be thinner, but weight loss might cause your hair to fall out?  Sigh.  Also did you know that any hair issues?  You'd see your dermatologist?  I had no idea.  I mean I guess I had never thought about it.  That's your fun fact for today.

THIS shirt...again, I have no idea...I'll assume Marshalls or TJ Maxx. (Both owned by TJX Companies, and both should have an allowance under your mental health insurance-cuz I feel better just walking in there!  Do I need anything?  No, obviously, but the best affordable things, though, my recent shoe purchase....my blister may disagree with me....I digress...)

I didn't keep this shirt....mainly because there is a STAIN on it.  It's on the front near the bottom in the middle.  I don't mind a stain on a shirt because that means I HAVE to get rid of it. 

 I wore it loads on tour, it was in rotation often, so it lived a good life.  

Our local thrift store, (first is the best, second, supports our local library-which is also the best) Anyway, they have a bin outside that is for clothes they can't sell.  Garbage clothes if you will....torn clothes, clothes smelling like cigarettes, etc.  They get paid by weight for these clothes and shoes that are being thrown away and cannot be resold? It's not a great amount, but it's something!  "Better than a stick in the eye" as Gayley would say.  SO, I contributed to the weight.  If you want to contribute to our library...you should, libraries are the backbone of our communities.  ( Bertram Library )

ToTD. Top of The Day. #1

 It's January of 2026.....I haven't looked at this page in over 10 years.  Fine 13.

I googled if people read blogs anymore, the internet said "77% do", but I don't believe it.

I'm back, but for me.  lol. I mean if you read....great, but I wanted a place for the ToTD project.

So forever I've been overwhelmed by STUFF...and oh-still am, I think I love hotels so much because I only have what fit in my bag, and that's all!  Do I still buy more STUFF? Yes.  Did I need that pencil sharpener from the Guggenheim in Bilbao?  Also yes. 

Sigh.

ToTD.

Top of The Day.  So I used to say I bet I could wear a different shirt every single day for a year....and I would laugh.  Then one day....September 2, 2024, I started.  I had my "instagram husband" take my picture outside.  I dated it and put it in an album on my phone.  It's January 26, 2026.....I AM STILL GOING.  

What were the rules?  Well, first of all....my rules.   There is no second of all.   

It's a different top every day for a year.  Some are/were jackets, dresses, bathing suit cover ups, t-shirts, etc.  Granted, some I wore only for the photo, then I put back on my trusty OOTW (Outfit of the Week-I work from home), but some will be with me till I die.  I'm looking at you Upperwest Aviation in Laurel, Montana.  

I did try to to be diligent about donating, or passing on, but then I have often been sabotaged by a bag of clothes from my Sister-in-Law that I would NEVER buy, and yet they look super on me.  Shakes her fist in the air!  Also, then I go to places I've been waiting to go to and need the t-shirt.  GAH!  Or we have a Stranger Things watch party, and I am assigned "Eleven".

So here we are..

It started on September 2, 2024. We had flown home on September 1 from a wedding in Oregon, or I'd probably have started on the 1st....but let's be honest, the 2nd day of the month is really the best day. 

I didn't keep this one.....I don't know the last time I wore it....but it's also one of those shirts that leave your armpits unattended....so you then smell.  I'm also weird about 3/4 sleeves I'm learning.  

See you tomorrow.

January 2013

WELCOME TO 2013!!!

"The Calendar said JANUARY!"

 

Time continues to fly doesn’t it, like the pigs on this float!?  And the calendars haven’t even made it to the post office yet!  (At least they made it from the printer!)  At any rate….I vow to have a monthly post of the calendar photo….how about that?  I gave it a valiant effort last year, but something happened beyond August!  LIFE!  Life happened!!!

January’s Calendar photos come from the Rose Parade 2012, the 123^rd Annual Rose Parade.  Which is ALWAYS a highlight of my year.  I don’t sleep, but I see many people that I love, make new friends, and get to watch these flowers float on passed me!  It’s awesome!  The theme for the parade in 2012 was “Just Imagine”….and La Cañada Flintridge had “If Pigs Could Fly”!  It was adorable….and won the “Bob Hope Humor Award”.  Seeing these things go by us?  WOW!  Again, if it’s on your bucket list?  Do it soon…..and I stand by the fact that you should do it with Al Brooks.  They give the best tour, the prices are legit, AND?  The seats on parade day are PERFECT! (Fill out the "contact us" form, and tell them you WANNA GO!)

Now, after the parade, you can go to the Rose BOWL and see the football game, OR you may want to peruse the actual FLOATS from the parade!  It gives you a chance to get up close and personal with the floats!  Really look at them slowly!  (We DO go to the float barns BEFORE the parade, but they are still working on them, so it’s fun to see the PRE-Floats at the Barns, and the POST Floats in the street!!  Again.  Al Brooks.  This inch worm to the right is from the Rotary International Float, as seen from the “Post-Floats”.  JUST WAY COOL!

Last year…2012, the parade was on January 2, the rule of “never on a Sunday” had taken affect!  The Rose Parade is always on New Years Day, unless New Years falls on a Sunday, in which case the parade is done on that Monday!  Such as it was for the 123^rd Tournament of Roses!  We expect to see you there for the 125^th!  No pressure, but get booking.  (jay@albrooks.com) Easiest thing to strike off your bucket list!!!!!

How better to spend the day of one's birth than in the London Olympic spirit!

I wish there was a word that could sum up the last 30 days….but it wouldn’t be enough.  Surreal….if I had to pick one.  Living with people I’ve never met, in a city that I can’t get enough of, working a job I’ve never done, with more people I’ve never met, and all in the middle of a worldly event dating from Ancient Greece.  Just crazy.

I’m sitting here in the kitchen…wondering if I’ve put back the house properly, freaking out about how many bags I’m taking back-and what I’ll do with my Union Jack pillow, and wondering if I’ll get everything done by the time my mini-cab shows up.

Life is made up of moments….but some more grander than the next, or the one before.  This moment…has been just awesome….every single moment.  Okay…I take that back, there were some moments when I crossed my eyes, and some moments where I wanted to stick my tongue out at people, but other than that….loved it all.   I worked long weird hours, and stood all day, and slept in the  kitchen.  HOWEVER, didn’t matter…I worked with amazing people….some more amazing than others, but amazing none-the-less. 

For the general audience that still has no idea what I do for a living….and for the audience that THOUGHT they knew what I did for a living!  I was working for Coca-Cola and a “program” that they had for the Olympics.  They essentially took over the entire hotel, decorated it beyond measure for Coke, and created an atmosphere to the likes I’ve never been a part of.  I mean the signs that simply said which way to the toilets was totally “Coke-ified”!  It was cool.  Cool to see….but COOLER to be a part of….even if our Coke T-shirts weren’t really the most flattering thing going….

So I was working in the Transportation Department….and I was on the Dispatch team.  Which means, I parked buses in bays, loaded passengers, unloaded them, worked out schedules, drivers hours, etc.  It sounds simple and mayhaps a little trivial, but I assure you that there were days when we were just keeping our heads above water.  This sort of thing, if you’ve never done it, it’s pert near impossible to wrap your brain around it….and really….why should you.  Know that I did it, loved it, and THAT’s what I’ve been up to for the last month.  

I worked the late shift most nights….which was really great.  I could “sleep in” most mornings.  (Let’s back up and define “sleep in” as just “not set an alarm”….as sleeping in in the kitchen rarely happened…..many times thanks to the sun, or street noise, or my roommates making breakfast….but still….no alarm set.)  So then I could get up at my leisure, clean the kitchen-as it was my bedroom, and make my way to work….some days early so that I could be a tourist on the way in!  Museums, Shows, walks, shopping, Wenlock Stalking (One of the Olympic Mascots, and there were 80 of them all over the city, I had high hopes for finding them all, but alas, only about 20.) , to name a few, and then stroll into work.  Sure, most nights I got home at like 1 and 2am, but it was all good, and there were always stories to be told!  Like the one night when I met Anthony Daniels….just C3PO….just the ONLY character to be in all 6 Star Wars films!  Or when Will.i.am walked by me 3 times….never once did I ask for a picture tho….a twinge of regret, but to be fair, it was never the right time.  I made friends with the neighbors of the hotel, where we’d taken over with our buses, and they made me smile every day.  And then there was my late night crew….that made it all bearable.  Great people, and we laughed a lot, enjoyed Chaqwa Hot Cocoa’s-Thanks SB. 

So I was working on the streets behind the hotel for a month, but that’s not the Olympics….no, but it’s having to do with the Olympics.  AND?  I got to GO to the Olympics.  Out of this world experience.  For my birthday….I was given tickets to Beach Volleyball.  One week later?  To Athletics.  I can’t describe the energy of 80,000 people cheering in a stadium.  (Let’s not leave out my breakfast date at the world’s largest McDonald’s!)  And then, just 2 nights later, I was given the opportunity to go to a medal round of Athletics….and Bolt, maybe you’ve heard of him, was standing right in front of us, well, 16 rows down, but incredible.  We saw a world record happen, we listened to the Russian anthem a few times, and decided it was a lovely tune as well!  (Prepping us for Sochi!!!)  So I went to venues!  I went to the Olympics!!!!!!  Wow. 

I’m sure I’m leaving loads out, but you’d be bored, or green with envy, so just know that the Olympic experience with Coca-Cola was one of my great moments in my life.  I am beyond blessed, my cup runneth over, and I feel just grateful for the moments I’ve been blessed to have.  God is good, all the time, and if you don’t think so, I’m sorry.  It “must be nice”….and I’ll be honest.  It is.  Thanks for the support from home, liking my pictures, and moments, etc, I’m feeling the love.  I’m super sad to leave it, but bliss can’t last forever right?  So….I am headed home, and then quickly on for a proper vacation, and ticking off states I’ve never been to!  ALOHA!

The Calendar said August 2012!

It's the month of my birth.....and honestly....you ALWAYS flip to your month to see which rad picture you have!  When I make my calendars though....I try to pick a photo from that month too....there IS a method to my madness!  Most of the time.  This picture is from my aunt's house in Washington State....post Alaska.  So I was coming off of a glorious Alaskan high....and it was AWESOME to be brought to reality slowly!  My Ant Anona (NOT A MISTAKE) and Unkle Carl live on some land way far from the world, and have amazing flowers, trees, berries, etc.  And this guy....well, I liked him, but then when I saw him on the screen?  I loved him.  And?  I have this dream of living on "Blueberry Lane"....sounds perfect.  White picket fence and all!  So, happy birthday month to me, and all you other August babies!!!!!

The Calendar said July 2012!

I took this photo from a fixed wing airplane...as I'm posing with below.  I was with 6 other people and a pilot, all of which were strangers to me.  I was a little beyond spoiled to have taken this all in alone.  This little jaunt wasn't cheap, but it was worth every penny.  We landed on the "Ruth Glacier"....and I grew up knowing about "Mt. McKinley"...my grandma used to paint it when they lived in Alaska, but then?  Somewhere in my lifetime McKinley no longer existed and there was a new "tallest mountain in North America"!  Or...perhaps we just reverted to calling it "Denali" some where in the 80's!  The original name given to the mountain by the Athabascan people!  Ha!  (Oh....and for when you are next on Jeopardy?  Denali means "High One"!

Denali is the peak that crowns the Alaska Range.....and gives it's name to the National Park, established in 1980 by Carter.  So this Park?  Of stunning beauty and out of the world animal sightings?  Just like 6 million acres large.  And I LOVE the fact that it's larger than the state of Massachusetts.  Ha!  It's beyond majestic and certainly points to an Awesome Creator.

So by now, if you don't want to visit Alaska?  I can't help you...I'm not a photographer, I just happen to own a camera!  So what you see here, is what you'll see there!  Lovely lovely lovely!

The Calendar said June 2012!

I've already blogged about this...and the AMAZING experience that it was....so go back and read, August 2011, but THIS was the photo for the calendar's month of June.  Viva Alaska....a truly amazing place.  Haven't I said that like 8 blogs worth?  Oh...well...July's photo is Alaska too!

The Calendar said May 2012!

Seriously.  Alaska.  Breathtaking.  I’ve only been once, so I can’t said for sure if everything was on their best behavior.  I mean the whales were out…wait for the June Calendar picture.  The bears….the otters, the WOLVES, Denali, and then?  Just perfect weather.  I realize it isn’t always like this….but I don’t know how it would matter.  The scenery is unreal.  The animals are to the likes of which we don’t see, save the zoo!  And the glaciers.  Oh.  The glaciers.  This particular one was in Glacier Bay….where we floated by.  WORTH EVERY PENNY for a balcony on the ship.  You’ve seen movies….you’ve heard the sound…it is EXACTLY like that.  Amazing.  Simply, truly, AWESOME!  And I don’t have a fancy schmancy camera, and I certainly don’t know the extent of how I can use the one I do have, and I still took this picture.  Pieces falling off, to their own creaky soundtrack and SPLASH!  Truly, breathtaking.  There is no way to properly capture the feeling, or the sight, so, you’ll just have to go yourself.  Alaska.  The AWESOME frontier!  Also, on a personal note?  Some of my besties live there, and they made treks to see me.  I mean a couple hours, all for the hang time of a couple hours.  So thank you to my Janelley Belly, Garg, Brands, and Whitey.  True friends.  Also, WAY fun to see some of my Tour Guide friends that spend the summers up with Holland America.  I’ve officially drank the Alaskan Kool-Aid….and can’t wait to get back!

The Calendar said April 2012

Good Morning St. Louis!

It's secretly fantastic.  Seriously…the arch is awesome….and it’s our tallest monument!  So SIT DOWN Washington!  The Arch is 630 feet tall and it’s just incredible!  So why is it there?  Extra metal laying around!? Nah…the Gateway Arch is intended to commemorates Thomas Jefferson and St. Louis’ role in the westward expansion of the United States…you’ve heard of those guys Lewis and Clark right!?  Great.  (If not…get reading!)  It’s a real treat to see, cooler than you thought.  And yes, you can go up into it…it’s not overly huge up at the top, but it’s overly SWEET!  You go through the normal bit of security of course, then load into these neat little “pods”?  They seat 5, and it’s like riding a ferris wheel I’d say.  Takes about 4 minutes to the top, and then you have a spectacular view of the Mississippi, the ball park, and the whole of St. Louis!  Plus?  Then you’ve officially been to the top of America’s tallest monument!  Ooooh! Book your trip.

 I'm officially obsessed.....Dear Macaroons...I love you....more for your colors than your taste, but if I were a dessert....I'd be you.  And truly?  Let's be honest....my next bathroom re-do?  That's right.  Macaroons.  Can't you just SEE the little macaroons in different colors holding up your shower curtains?  I mean sure....you'll walk out of the shower a diabetic, but whatever.  So, truly, I'm smitten....so here are some gems from my last little jaunt in Paris.  Gorgeous tasty little things.

I want them all....

JEWELS!

Matching Rings!

All the pretty colors....is there edible glitter out there???

Once, I was at the opera in NY, and it was intermission, I was SLEEPY...and I needed a treat.  So I went to the over-priced little counter, and I saw a treat, and I picked it up, and thought how odd-a green whoopie pie!  And I gave it a good squeeze....and it totally cracked, as it was NOT a green whoopie pie, it was a pistachio macaroon.   Hmmm.....it was a $7 dollar macaroon, and it was tasty, but noted-no whoopie pies at the opera. 

The calendar said March...2012.
“Start spreadin’ the news…..I’m leaving today…I want to be a part of it…..


"




Oh Thank you Frank Sinatra for giving us a great start to our NY soundtrack! This picture is my March…and yes I took it in March, with a great group FROM St. Augustine, Florida-did you read my February Calendar blog? Lol Anyway, this was taken from “Top of the Rock”…which is the top of Rockefeller Center, and an AMAZING view of the city! Sure. I love the Empire State Building, and a whole lot, but when you are IN it….you can’t very well enjoy seeing it! (Plus…let’s not ignore the drama of lines that the Empire tends to have more of!)

It’s a beautiful peaceful spot at the top, and the views are truly breathtaking. Every time my group goes up, I go, and not because I have to, but because just BEING up there is quieting. It’s hard to describe, so you’ll just have to experience it for yourself!

Sally Lunn, Goodness, the size of your head.

They are as big as your head…literally, and as delicious as….well….I don’t even know what to compare them to!!

Here’s the story. I was in Bath, making some confirmations for an upcoming tour….and after stopping by my soon-to-be hotel, I walked out, turned left, and I saw a LINE! (Well, since I was in the UK, it was really a QUEUE!) Anyway, I got it in….didn’t know why or what for….but they had to know something I didn’t! Well, I was seated in less than 5 minutes, and I didn’t know what to have, but there was a quote on the wall mentioning something about “Cinnamon Butter”…..and I like cinnamon, and I like butter!

A little history about the place that created a queue. It’s called "Sally Lunn's", and the location is known for being “The oldest house in Bath”! Here’s a drop of history straight from Sally’s site! “Sally Lunn, a young French refugee, arrived in England over 300 years ago. She found work at what is now known as Sally Lunn's House and began to bake a rich, round and generous bread now known as the Sally Lunn Bun. This bun became a very popular delicacy in Georgian England as its special taste and lightness allowed it to be enjoyed with either sweet or savoury accompaniments.”

SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS! (Incidentally….a Roald Dahl word….and HE was English!) My first Sally Lunn Bun….and I had NO idea what to expect, was it like a cinnamon bun? Was it like a cake? Was it a hamburger bun? NEITHER! It was a Sally Lunn BUN! Now, I ordered the “Bath Crème Tea” Which was a half a Sally Lunn Bun with their homemade Cinnamon Butter and served with local clotted cream. It came…half….and smothered in cinnamon butter…and it was DELICIOUS! And it was FAST! Service, a smile, tea I had to strain, and a glass of water! Bliss. Plus…rest for my weary feet in a warm, inviting, “Coffee Room”!

Now, of course I went back a week later when I was in town with my group, and I branched out this time…and got a Sally Lunn Bun with Smoked Salmon! And it came as a sandwich, but imagine the most delightful bread!!! Toasted to perfection! And all served so prompt and with a smile! So, the bun, is a bun of delicious bun goodness, but whether it’s sweet or sandwiched, well, that’s up to you. Quite frankly, if you don’t enjoy the bun, or it doesn’t make you smile from the inside, well I’m forced to think, and be right, that you are just a crank pot to the core!

Get to Bath, for lots of reasons, the town is quaint, the people kind, the history is rich, and then, indulge in a smile of a Sally Lunn Bun! And if you haven’t time, and the line’s too long? Head down to their kitchen and buy one (or two) to go! And then you can take your very own photos with a bun, that's the size of your head!!! (To avoid the "queue"? Give them a ring! Make a reservation! You'll be very satisfied you did....unless....well...you read the blog....you know.) So..."Sally Lunn's"!

They run...so we don't have to. GIVE

Running…in our family? Well, twice I’ve beaten Jesse Owens….once in New York, and once recently in London…I mean…he may have been at the wax museum, but whatever. (Thanks to slow internet here in Bath....NO PHOTOS....booooo!)

If you “pin”…you’ve seen the one that says “I never run with scissors. (Those last two words were unnecessary.)” That’s pretty accurate for me. My brother & sister-in-law however, have turned into runners, and runners with reasons! RWR! (Sounds like ROWR….I like it, as would Hollie Clevenger)

Well, onto my sibling and his awesome wife. They are running their SECOND ½ marathon this April. WHY? Yes, I’d like to know. Seriously though, running for a GREAT CAUSE! Their nephews go to New Hope Academy in Tennessee. The school that they attend is New Hope Academy, just outside of Nashville. New Hope Academy does it’s part to break the cycle of “generational poverty” by reserving 50% of it’s seats for low-income families. They believe that a fantastic, Christ-centered education will launch them into a bright future. This, as you are well aware of, is just TRUE. So give. We all have too much, and we can all go without something for a time, to help. Quite frankly, we’re called to take care of, and love on our fellow man. Curtis & Karen are doing it in many ways, but in one month, they are doing it by running.

So while I’ll be jaunting through London & Paris, (WORKING friends….WORKING) Curtis and Karen will be running the “Country Music ½ Marathon” in Nashville, with...(warning, I’m about to name drop)…TobyMac. That’s right. And if you don’t know the name…come to the cool side….and google. He's kind of a big deal, I mean, not as much as the Fitchett's....but close.

I’m asking you/telling you….help them on their mission to turn racial division, class segregation, and spiritual poverty into community, possibility, and vision. You’ve personally seen the cycle, you are all too aware that it’s out there. So instead of “tsk-ing” at the situation, drop some coins/BILLS into Curtis & Karen's Fund. Click any underlined word for the proper websites! Honestly….a great cause, and really great people. Sure, I’m related, but I’m not big on saying things I don’t mean…to a fault.

It’s easy….and really $20 would go a very long way….I could break it down by latte’s…but that’s been done before….so I’m gonna go with soda pop…because I love it best. On average…you probably eat out 10 days in a month….and a drink…just a soda pop drink….is average of 2.25….and that’s if you are in America, currently I’m in the UK…and I'm cheap, so I’m drinking TAP WATER! Anyway, for the sake of math? Let’s knock that to $2. 10 drinks at $2? That’s $20 friends….so here. Better for your health….better for the FUTURE of our children. Christ-centered education? BETTER FOR THE WORLD!! They said they’d raise 3K….that’s a 150 people on a “soda scheme”….and I’ve got well over 800 fb “friends”....and only about 8 readers….hmmmm….my math might be a little off...

CONSIDER THE ENDEAVOR! CLICK THIS

Or if you need the address to cut and paste....

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/curt-karen-fitchett/powered-by-hope-2012-team-tobymac

(Insert AWESOME mental photo of said "Curtis & Karen Fitchett
here"....silly free wifi!)

Thanks….thanks so much! And...please. Find humor in the fact that I wrote this blog with my picture of Jesse Owens and I, not knowing that "kwf" mentioned it in his donation. This apple...is still ON the tree!

The calendar said February...2012

Well, the photo is as it says! St. Augustine Florida! And again, warmer than here in February! I took this picture IN February...but February of 2011. I flew down to Florida to see the shuttle launch, and experience for which there are no words, perhaps some tears, but you can't be explained the emotions felt! I've already blogged about the awesome, amazing, word-less, experience that it was. That blog is "Shuttle Launch. Best. Thing. Ever.".

I stayed with some dear friends with Green Light Group Tours....(Fab company by the way. Normal people. Great tours. Great prices. BOOK IT!) They were more than kind to let me stay, lend me a car, let me play with their kids, AND? Let me ditch my lawn chair there! :-) (Sometimes I blog on that site too, so, take interest, and stalk their page too!)

At any rate....St. Augustine is a wonderful little tourist town, at any season. Of course it's better to see it with friends, and it's a glorious sort of sunshine, but please....don't leave without having a sticky bun from the Bunnery Cafe on St. George Street...WOW! Y-U-M! From a historical stand point, it IS our oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African-American origin here in the US! It was founded in 1565...forty-two years before the English colonized Jamestown! Fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock! So it's fun, warm, yummy, AND educational!