Birthday Celebration with an American Hero

Every once in a long while there are those moments in life when something really amazing happens and while you are having the experience you keep thinking you want to slow things down and find a way to capture the moment. Or you just want to keep pinching yourself!!   Well, that was what happened to me last week.

There have been several unbelievable moments this summer but last week was truly exceptional.  You might have read in the news that Senator Bob Dole turned 90 and there was to be a big invitation-only birthday celebration in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol.  I’m proud and honored to say that I was one of the invited guests and attended the celebration. 

The attendees were mainly some of the most significant U.S. political figures and it was mind-boggling to be surrounded with the likes of John McCain (he stood right in front of me), Michelle Bachman, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Orrin Hatch, John Boehner, Chuck Robb,Mitch McConnell, Barbara Mikulski, Cokie Roberts, Lynda Bird Johnson Robb and so many more notable public figures (my friend and I are still trying to figure out the names of some of the people we recognized but didn't know who they were)!  Messages from three U.S. Presidents were shared with the crowd and while I never saw him I heard that John Kerry poked his head in for a few minutes. 

  The invitation required that we enter the Capitol at a designated location and of course we had to go through a thorough screening.  The invitation also stated that we were not to bring in cameras though I did manage to take a few photos with my phone.  The photos aren’t really that good but there was a White House photographer on hand to take professional photos.  Maybe we will get to see them.

 The speeches at the event were so touching.  Many of the presenters offered some moving and inspiring stories about Senator Dole and his life.  The one thing that stuck with me more than anything was this.  We were ask to look around the room and see that Statuary Hall was filled with Republicans and Democrats and while politically there may be differences in opinions, the room was filled with friends.  It was further stated that when friends come together to work through issues, positive things happen. In the end we are all Americans working together for the good of our country.

At the end of the speeches there was a surprise appearance….Lee Greenwood!  He came to sing for his friends Elizabeth and Bob Dole.  Wow! What a night!

After the event many of us lingered to greet Senator Dole.  

 As the crowd thinned I took the opportunity to quietly walk through the building.  It was an amazing American moment for me and a night that I will never forget.

I just had to take this photo!!

View from one of the balconies

Such a fitting label, perfectly titled for the evening

A view of the Supreme Court from the Capitol

 

My Summer. It's Not What I'd Planned...It's Better!!!

If you are like me you start the summer season off with goals and plans and my list of to-dos for this summer were simple:

-       Do some deep cleaning around the house;

-       Read a lot of books (my reading list is a mile long);

-       Enjoy some sunshine;

-       Take a short excursion to Mexico. 

So far I’ve not managed to accomplish anything that was on my summer list of goals and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve had to adjust to the fact that family happenings will often rearrange my schedule. One of our granddaughters decided to stay with us this summer and it has totally rearranged our house and our lives and I’m happy to say that instead of getting to do the things on my list, I’ve done some other great things that were on her list. So here is how the summer is turning out.

This was the view from our hotel - unbelievable!!!

-   We went to Greece!  My husband’s brother got married in Mykonos so almost all of the family spent 5 days in heaven!  Sometime soon I want to share more photos.  It was far more beautiful than I'd ever imagined.

Playing dress up with Jojo

     Instead of reading this summer we’ve played Sorry, Yahtzee and other games not to mention spending time sewing, crafting and cooking all sorts of fun things. We’ve made bean art projects, bread dough roses and spent time sketching and painting. I haven’t done this in years. We've also watched Gidget, a lot, and I love it!

 -   The rain just won’t go away but we’ve used the indoor time to play more games and instead of working late every night the way I normally do, I’ve rushed home to be with my granddaughter.  It's been great to get out of the office earlier.  We did go on a canoeing excursion, fell in the lake and lost all of our electronic devices and my new camera...not a fun outing but it was an experience we will never forget. 

-   So the trip to Mexico is on hold for now but this week I received the most incredible invitation to attend an event in DC which I can’t talk about now but will after I attend the event.  I’m going to D.C. on Tuesday and believe me I will have more to share once the trip takes place.  My understanding is that there will be no pictures but my memory will capture the moments and I'm hoping to put into words the things that I see.  I’m still amazed (and somewhat nervous) about attending but I’m honored beyond words to have been invited to attend this incredible reception.  Believe me, I will be back to share more about this next week. (Think American hero).

     I’M GOING TO HAVEN!!!  Honestly, I signed up for it so long ago that I'd almost forgotten about it until the email reminders started coming in.  I can’t wait to attend, meet new bloggers, GET INSPIRED and get ready for a great online fall season!!  It’s just two weeks away!!!!!  

    P.S. I think the housework will have to wait for now.  Guess it's time to start my fall to-do list....

I

Downton Abbey Tablescaping Adventure

“I should hate to be predictable.”  Mary to Matthew at the alter.

The tablescaping teamwork adventure was such a fun experience!   We ended up in third place trailing the HGTV tables but you couldn't have asked for a more exciting and fun teamwork exercise.   Thank you to everyone who offered amazing advice, photos and blog links.  We incorporated so many of the details thanks to your suggestions.  Our team worked hard discreetly tying in many of our firm's values and culture and while I'm afraid those details were overlooked by the judges but we couldn't have asked for a better team assignment.  Everyone pitched in.

We personalized our chargers each of them reflected our work or a firm value.

Our shirts were amazing and each of us had a quote from our favorite character on our backs.

The centerpiece is one of my favorite things about the table.  I spent a week hunting down colored papers that would otherwise have been thrown away in an effort to recycle.   It took three of us 4 hours to hand make the paper flowers and arrangement.   Each of the candles, napkins and place cards were creatively written to combine our firm's core values and that of Downton Abbey.  No detail was overlooked.

Click on the photo to enlarge and view more details.

Though we didn't win, all of us enjoyed the process and the competition.  The weekend was full of lots of learning and training but it was nice at the end of the sessions to go out on the lake for a relaxing evening.  

I'm So Behind But I Need Help With a Tablescape!

It's been a crazy busy spring, or perhaps I should say winter.  With the heater still going it is hard to imagine that it's spring but the calendar says May and my seedlings are up.  Mother's Day is next weekend.  Yep, it must be spring!

So blog friends, you have been on my mind and I seriously need help.   The help I need has to do with tablescapes so Susan at Between Naps on the Porch and the Tablescaper are the perfect resources.  If only they would read my post! 

We tweeked adding our building and a more personal logo

We are having a tablescape competition with some colleagues at work.  A group of us are participating in an upcoming retreat and we had to pick some of our favorite topics (I picked Downton Abbey) and at one of the dinners, our team will have exactly 20 minutes to set a table using the theme and tying it back to our workplace.  We've come up with some great ideas but we want perfection and we want to win!!!  How would you tie the show to a law firm and more specifically, our law firm culture?

We are using black, silver and white (with a touch of red) for our theme.  We've gathered some lovely items and made a few things too but our team really wants to WIN!!! We are battling teams with themes like Exotic Travel, HGTV, Food & Wine, Sports, Toddlers & Tiaras....I mean some great themes and I've heard that one table is bringing in turf! Another is building a doll house....seriously?  We've got some serious competition!

If you are a tablescaper and if you have ideas, please send my way!

Waffle Palace

Have you ever been to the Waffle House?  They’re so common in the south and in my neighborhood that I can easily walk to four locations from my house. Waffle House is a place that began in the metro Atlanta area so most of us in the south have grown up going to WH as children, college kids, after parties and for breakfast “anytime”.  For my family WH is an important part of our Christmas Eve tradition. When my kids were small and I knew there was no way we could get them to bed we would pile in the car and head for Waffle House for a breakfast in the middle of the night.  To this day we always go to WH on Christmas Eve.  My son enjoys giving our server a huge tip each year as we leave and we enjoy sitting in the car and watching as the table gets bused to see the reaction of the recipient.

So, if you aren’t familiar with Waffle House, you probably can’t imagine why this topic is post-worthy. But let me tell you, interesting things can happen at Waffle House. Seriously! If you enjoy people watching, you will love the Waffle House experience and obviously Larry Larson felt the same way when he wrote the play, Waffle Palace.

A few weeks ago my son and I finally got to see Waffle Palace and I was so glad we did.   It’s a wonderful play that highlights a place where all kinds of people gather and a diner, along with its management is trying to keep up with the changes of development. The play itself is amazing because 7 performers play the parts of 21 characters and several characters are nothing short of hilarious. It runs through March 17^th so there’s still time to see it if you live in the Atlanta area.

 P.S. The waffle doughnuts on sale at intermission are worth a try!!!