My 2 Cents

I believe there is a time and place for everything. I believe that there are times when certain actions and behaviors are just not appropriate. I grew up in a household here in the south that holds our very southern values close to our heart. I believe in saying yes ma'am and no sir, in respecting your elders and authority, and showing hospitality to everyone. Maybe saying "southern values" is not the most politically correct thing to say, but I don't care. Y'all know what I mean, and this post is about my 2 cents!

Now I must enter a disclaimer. The following post may not rub you the right way, but you have the choice not to read it. I try not to be so "political" or outspoken on my blog, because there are better things to write about, but today I've just about had enough. I hope someone agrees with me.

I am ashamed and embarrassed with part of the large community that I live in right now. As many people know who live near me, the President of the United States was in town yesterday to celebrate the graduation of a certain well acclaimed university in the area. He was invited here by the university and the governor of our state, to speak to the graduates. What an honor, right? Well, not exactly. Some of the professors at the university decided to protest against the president coming, and threatened to make protests that could potentially ruin the graduation. For the last 4 or 5 weeks, the media has swarmed over this story, because these professors were just causing such a ruckus over the President. So much so that the students began protesting against their professors in fear that the professors would selfishly ruin the graduation that these students have all worked so hard for.

It is usually required that the professors attend graduation but some of them were granted absences. 31 of the professors didn't show up. To them, I say thank you. Thank you for the respect that they showed the graduates and the President.

Now I am back to my "time and place for everything." Some of the protesting professors decided that they would not stay at home, that they would come and protest anyway. During the President's speech, some professors took off their robes and stood up wearing tee shirts that said (W)e Object. Now I understand that this was a silent protest and could have been a lot worse. I still think that it was far from appropriate and completely disrespectful to the graduates of this great university. Many of the professors that protested, did so on the grounds that their beliefs didn't align with those of the President's. They said that they didn't agree with his energy policy, with his war policy, or one of the many other issues. One lady even almost got herself arrested because of her behavior.

Is that really necessary at a time like this; at a college graduation honoring students who have worked so hard to get to this place? My opinion, absolutely not. I think it was an extremely selfish act on the part of the professors, and I am very ashamed and embarressed for those students who had to endure all of that in their last weeks in college. The President's speech was not one about policies, the war, or anything political. He challenged those young adults to be good stewards and to give back to the community. So why, then, protest? He was just another man standing up there giving a speech to those deserving young people.

No, we may not agree with everything that the President says or does, but it is still an honor to be in his presence. I think it would be such a great story to tell my children that the President of the U.S., whoever that might be, came and spoke at my college graduation. I think its a sad thing to overshadow such a great day, with your own personal agendas. That is why I am so embarrassed for this university and for those students.

With all that said, I do feel like the President was welcomed here with good ole southern hospitality, and for that I am so proud. There was a large crowd when Air Force One landed at the local airport. People lined the streets from the airport to the university with American Flags and banners saying "Welcome Bush!"

My parents and I went over to the airport to see AF1 and to watch him leave. I cannot tell you what a chilling experience it was. The roads around the airport were like parking lots, lined with people trying to get a glimpse of the President. We parked and watched for a while along with about 300 other people. As his motorcade came in and the plane took off, people were cheering and showing support for Pres. Bush. It was great.

I am saying all of this mainly to say that I absolutely do not agree with everything that President Bush has done in his eight years. But I still support him 100%. Thats just how I am, its just how I was raised. He is our President and I will support him until he is out of office. And guess what? I will support the next one just as fervently as I have supported Mr. Bush, because that is what I am supposed to do, no matter if I voted for them or not. I am AMERICAN by the grace of God. I will support my country, my President, and the troops until the day I die.

The right to free speech is something that I am thankful for, but I still think there is a time and place for everything. At the risk of sounding corny, God Bless America and the President.

I love 4 day weekends!!

I could really do the 4 day weekend thing more often. I love having that many days off in a row. Hal and I went to the beach for the weekend with his sisters and their families. We had a really great time, and of course, I didn't take near enough pictures. Here are a few that I took.

My cute hubby on the beach with the mohawk I styled.

We rode bikes a lot, so sweet Avah got to go on her first bike ride!

This pic doesn't do justice to the real beauty of Kiawah.

The gator we found in the swamp. :)

We had a really great time. We relaxed the entire weekend. When we parked our car Thursday night, we didn't move it again until we left last night. We didn't go anywhere, we didn't do anything, and it was just wonderful.

When we got home I got a beautiful surprise:

These were FINALLY blooming in my yard. I had no idea what they were, but I was just letting them grow until I could find out. Aren't they beautiful? I wish they would last all summer!

I also got another surprise tonight. When I got home from having supper with my parents I got a message from my summer school professor telling me that my class started TODAY. The school schedule online says that it starts NEXT Monday, but it actually started today. I had NO IDEA!! I am so thankful that my professor was kind enough to call me. I haven't even paid my tuition! So, I have class tomorrow and every day the rest of this week and until July 1st. YUCK.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial Day!

Happy Summer!

So this weekend officially marks the beginning of summer and Hal and I are headed off to the beach!

I just wanted to wish everyone a fun and safe Memorial Day!

I am going to try to be better about blogging next week.

Ode to Sally

I traded in my car last week for something that suited my needs a little better. I have written something fun to remember my car by.

Ode to Sally

I was driving an old chevy

I needed something new

Something more reliable

More girly and cute.

With my birthday fast approaching

It seemed like the perfect time

To trade in that old chevy

And make a new car mine.

I saw her in the paper

I knew she was just right

I called up my dad

And we traded in that night.

She was just like I wanted

all black and shiny

I drove off the lot

In my new convertible pony

I called all my friends

and took them for a ride

they loved my new fun car

and the horses on the side

For six years I loved her

through good times and bad

but she only had two doors

and wasn't great on gas

It was time to let her go

For someone else to enjoy

She would be a good car

For any girl or boy

I drove away in my gas saver

and my fun car would remain

But I won't forget the good times had

In my pretty little Mustang

(I tried to separate the lines but blogger won't let me)

Summer Slump

Like many of you other bloggers, I am going through a summer slump right now. Not much of anything is going on with us right now, or at least nothing blogworthy.

The Celtics pulled out a win in game 7 of their series with Cleveland. I normally don't follow the NBA, but with 2 South Carolina boys on the Boston roster, I can't help but cheer for them.

Summer school starts 2 weeks from today. I get sick to my stomach just thinking about it.

I still don't have a cell phone. Now that I have been without one for a few weeks, I really don't miss it that much.

My sister-in-law, Anna, her husband, Todd, and their sweet baby girl, Avah, moved to Beaufort for good this past weekend. I was so sad when I saw that Avah's room was empty. I am going to miss them, a lot!

We are going to the beach this weekend, and I am pretty excited. I am ready for another vacation!

I am working on another post, until then, this will have to do.

Good Stuff

I haven't posted since Wednesday but a lot has happened that I wanted to blog about. I don't really have much time to go into a lot of detail, so here are some good things that have happened since Wednesday.

* I was able to get Hal a grill for his birthday. He was so excited! My parents got him a Carolina grill cover, so I'm really not sure which one he loved more.
* We went to dinner at Saskatoon for his birthday. It was so YUM! Hal had the Ostrich steak, and it was so tasty and flavorful.
* Tickets went on sale Friday for the Hootie and the Blowfish concert coming here in July. Because I am a fan club member I got to order them a day early. I got us floor seats on the 5th row. I am counting down the days; its gonna be a blast!
* Friday night and today we had RAIN!!
* Our grass is finally starting to come up after lots of hard work to sow it last weekend!
* I got to spend some quality time on Saturday with my BFF Stephanie, her hubby Jonathan, her mom Jackie, and her sweet little boy Perrin. I love them so much and I miss getting to see them often. I so enjoyed getting to spend time with them!
* Saturday night I went to a graduation/house warming gathering in my neighborhood. I got to see a lot of my old high school friends. It was great to see everyone and get to catch up.
* Today I took my parents to lunch for Mother's Day, then I got to take a 3 hour nap.

I hope everyone had a great weekend like me!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

I just wanted to shout out a birthday wish to my sweet husband. God blessed me so much when He brought him into my life.

I am so happy to be his wife and be able to celebrate all of these special days with him. Even though he has to work, I hope he has a wonderful day.

Happy 28th Birthday, Hal. I love you!