It's Friday. I made it through the week. Plus next week is a 3 day work week. I am so ready for some time off.

Nothing special going on this week. A little busy at work with the audit and a few conferences. Other than that I've been surfing the internet a lot. I hate when things are slow. Hopefully everything will pick up soon.

This is the first weekend in a long time that I have nothing planned. That sounds perfect to me. I so need to clean my house. I also need to find time to veg some and to do some sewing. I figure what I don't finish this weekend I can finish next weekend...or the weekend after that. One of the advantages of living alone is that you don't have to answer to anyone about the dog hair on the floor or the dishes in the sink.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Monday will be here before we know it.

I was listening to the radio on the way into work this morning. They were talking about the new American Girl movie that they are making. Apparently the movie is set in the 1930's and the actress was expected to type on a typwriter. Her first comment was how do you delete. I couldn't help but laugh. My, how times have changed.

When I started taking typing lessons we only had manual typewriters. By the time I was a senior and taking my second year of typing we actually had some electric typewriters. We had enough so that each student could type on them one week out of the semester. It was quite funny watching us try to adjust to the electric typewriters after being on a manual and then the readjustment at the end of the week.

I was not the fastest typist in the class but I do remember the thrill I had when I broke 100 words a minute without any mistakes. Back then you got 5 words taken off your score for every typo. That definitely made you watch out for mistakes.

Accurate typing was really stressed back then. A thesis and many reports were expected to be typed without any mistakes or corrections. That meant that you could not erase or use correction fluid on any typos. I have experienced that feeling of frustration after making a mistake towards the end of the page and having to take it out and start all over again. Or that feeling of satisfaction when you finsihed and knew that it was perfect.

Today my speed is gone. Thanks to delete, backspace and copy and paste I have no problem getting those reports out. Thanks to the computer my work is checked for misspelling and correct grammar. The thesaurus will even help me when I forget the word I'm looking for. Yes, times have definitely changed.

Since yesterday's blog was a bit of a downer, I thought I would cheer everyone up with the latest school picture. Can you believe how big that sweet granddaughter of mine has gotten? I know you can't tell that she's Grammy G's pride and joy can you? Let's just keep it our secret. Okay?

This was a very full and fun weekend. Lots of time spent with family and friends.

I have to tell you that I was so happy to see how well T is getting along after her surgery. I couldn't believe how great she is doing. Keep up the good work. We'll be back to bother you soon!

Saturday I got to go out to breakfast with a friend. I love going to out to breakfast. I don't know for sure why but it's always been one of my favorite things to do. Maybe it had to do with all those breakfasts I ate on the road growing up. Whatever the reason it was so much fun. Plus lots of good conversation. What a better way to start a weekend.

Then in the evening we meet up with Erin and saw C do her belly dancing thing. I don't want to have this sound bad because she's always been good but she has improved so much. It was awesome to watch her. Way to go C. Keep up the good work.

Unfortunately, Missy wasn't feeling well for Father's Day but we did manage to get together with the family and celebrate some. Poor baby is still feeling under the weather so I hope she feels better soon. I miss not having her to talk to all day long.

On a sad note, I got some bad news on one of the blogs I follow. Maya's Granny suffered a heart attack back around the middle of February. We have all been tracking her progress and sending our prayers to her kids and her wonderful granddaughter Maya. Unfortunately, early Sunday morning she passed away. Her wit and humor will be be missed.

This is what my sweet grandbaby looked like three years ago. She was so little. Saturday she turned a big 3 years old.

This was her birthday weekend. What a weekend it was. It all started on Friday when both the grandmothers got together to make sandwiches for the party. Kathy and I had such a good time. Okay so maybe we made too many sandwiches but we were on a roll.

I called Serif at 8:00 on Saturday morning so I could be the first to sing happy birthday to her. Sorry Terry.

The party was in the early evening. The park was shaded and a nice breeze made it very comfortable. That was a pleasant surprise since it's been so terribly hot this summer. There were lots of playground equipment to keep all the kids busy and happy. Everyone had such a wonderful time. Some of us were having such a good time that the party just moved over to Missy's. It was great. The party was so good that I didn't even get home until 1:00 in the morning. There were so many people to visit with and lots of gossip to share. Of course there was also the Wii to play. It's been a long time since I was up that late. I loved it.

Sunday Kathy and I went over to help eat up some of the left over sandwiches and enjoy the last of the birthday weekend. It was after 9 when I got home on Sunday. It was definitely a weekend full of celebrations.

Look how big my girl is. She is so much fun now. She has such a wonderful personality. I love the person she is becoming. I love spending time with her. She reminds me of her mother in so many ways but she's also her own person. It's been a great three years. I'm sure the next thirty are going to be just as much fun.

When Patrick died our family became very small. Both of us were only children so there were not lots of aunts, uncles and cousins running around. It was just the three of us.

We have been through a lot in the time since Patrick died. As a family we've had our ups and downs. So far we have always been able to pull together when we needed to.

Right now there is a strain in my relationship with my son. He is going through some stuff right now. Though I can appreciate what he is going through, I can not accept or condone the way he is going about it.

As a mother you love your children unconditionally. It makes no difference if you give birth to them or not. You raise them. You instill in them the values and morals that you want to pass on. You comfort them when they are hurt and you encourage them when they strive for their dreams. That is part of being a mother.

I love my son with all my heart. Unfortunately, I do not like him very much right now. I especially dislike the way he has put people in very uncomfortable situations.

This weekend is Serif's 3rd birthday. This is a very special time for her. She is so excited about this birthday. This is going to be her day. I don't want anything to spoil it for her. She is totally innocent in all these adult goings on. All she knows is that she loves her family more than anything. She adores her uncle and I thought he adored her. I hope and pray that he makes the right decision. This is one decision he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

What a wonderful weekend. Hopefully I am finally over the bronchitis and the horrible stomach problems I was having last week. So not fun. When it rains...it poors.

It was such a busy weekend. On Saturday we all got to go to lunch with Missy's best friend and friends. It was so much fun to see R and her husband again. It has been ages. The main reason we all went was to meet Erin's new friend and his little girl. I have to admit that I enjoyed meeting both of them. He was just like I expected. That is always nice for a change. No big surprise. I didn't get to talk to him too much because I had a little girl climbing all over me. The little I talked to him showed me that he is a very sweet and considerate guy. His little girl is absolutely beautiful. They seem to have a great bond and that says a lot about him. I hope to get to know both of them more.

Also, this weekend was making the plans for Serif's 3rd birthday. This is a very special birthday because she knows what is going on and is so excited about it. It looks like it is going to be wonderful party. As usual Missy and Terry have everything under control and are doing a great job. I like helping out where I can but they really don't need any help. I get to make pimento cheese for the party. Kathy will make the egg salad and Missy will make the chicken salad. It's going to be at the park so the kids can play. It's going to be so much fun and I can hardly wait. Hopefully the presents I ordered for Serif will arrive today.

Sunday was a great day. Tammy and her family came to visit at the house. It was so wonderful to have that place full of people. The teenagers did a great job of entertaining themselves and being with us. I had worried about them. I'm more set up for 3 year olds than 13 and 16 but they fit right in and we all had a great time. It was so wonderful to visit with everyone. I got to know Tammy's husband better. I really do like him. Zach is my guy. I'd keep him if I could. He is so awesome. He got to play games on the computer. Kate is beautiful and talented. She's such a good kid. It's fun to sit and talk to her. Anyone who talks about worrying about our future and the kids that are growing up don't know what they are talking about. These kids show me that all is good.

Then there was Jacob and Serif. Those two are fantastic together. No tears. No fighting. Total sharing of all the toys. Just playing and laughing the whole time. It was wonderful to see. They went off and played and left the grownups to talking. I was so proud of both of them. They really have a special bond.

It was so wonderful sitting there and watching everyone having a good time. I could feel Patrick there with me. He was as happy as I was. Tammy is still having some problems adjusting to his being gone but hopefully this visit helped her some. I sincerely hope she and her family will come back lots.

I have to admit that when I collapsed into bed last night, I had a wonderful feeling of happiness and contentment. It was so wonderful to have everyone over to the house. Nothing is better than visiting with family and old friends. I am so blessed. I have so much to be thankful for.