2008 Recap

It has been quite a year ... and was the year this blog was created! Here are some of the highlights of my year:

1. After already selling my house in 2007, I was lucky to move into an apartment right upstairs from my daughter for the winter! It was a fun adventure, grazing through her cupboards and refridgerator(s) anytime I wanted! It was also fun having others to cook for and keep me busy. I enjoyed another tax season at my former job and will really miss my former co-workers and clients!
I also took a great leap of faith and got a roommate for the empty bedroom that was going to waste in my apartment. I couldn't have been luckier than finding Shelley to be that roommate and will never forget her!

2. I also got serious about taking the steps to move South and become the "snow-bird" that I always dreamed of being! After several attempts of purchasing my home in South Carolina, I was finally successful in closing the deal in May!

3. In light of moving South, Jacob and I decided he would move out of his group home and back in with me. I was so afraid he would miss the life and stucture he had there, but he has not had one regret since then, and neither have I!

4. It was a great year of not losing any loved ones and even gaining some friends and one family member (welcome to Ethan, son of Chad and Mandy)!

5. I enjoyed great moments of pride this year too. Michele struggled and fought to get the dream job that she loves and worked so hard for. Aaron finally found a job he loved and became independent with his car on the road with his own insurance and registration too! Jacob has matured to such a responsible and sensible man that I couldn't be prouder of!

6. All my fears and anxiety about driving and moving to South Carolina were, fortunately, unfounded and have turned into a safe and healthy decision. I do miss NY and am looking forward to the summer there.

I sure hope and pray that 2009 will be another year of positive experiences and will also not have any disappointments, regrets or losses. THAT would make for another, consecutive, wonderful year!

Christmas Party

The annual ARC of Horry County Christmas party was held at Studebaker's Bar today. There were about 200 people there for dancing, pizza, and even Santa! Jake and I enjoyed ourselves and he had a few prospective girlfriends too! We posed in the Studebaker that was on display. The first pic is Jake with Lisa, who really likes him... and then Jake and me and last is Jake with the girl he really likes!

Cabin Fever

Even though it is a balmy and breezy 74 degrees here in Myrtle Beach, I still have "sympathy cabin fever" for those back home in Buffalo! The more I hear and read about the severe winter weather that they are experiencing today, the more I go into survival mode. I have been cleaning and thinking about baking and making sure I have enough supplies to hold me over ....haha .... even though I am fortunate to not be affected by bad weather at all! I hope and pray that everyone will be cautious and safe up there ... and ....don't worry ... you can have sympathy for me when it is hurricane season down here!

Another Dose of Christmas Spirit!

Jacob and I took Chris and Kristy to the Alabama Theatre tonight for a Christmas show. We got complimentary tickets from the ARC that we recently joined. It was a musical program with lots of costume changes and sets. The lighting was fantastic, and the comedian who did his monologue during the set changes was hilarious! We could relate to a lot of his humor, since most of it was aimed at the New Yorkers who moved down here to avoid the taxes (which he said they probably also tax the NYers to move OUT of NY....haha). The show itself was too long ... three hours! We enjoyed the long (about 25 miles) ride to the show, since it was an area we had not yet explored! The ride back had 1/4 mile visibility due to heavy fog, but at least it wasn't snow and ice covered roads!!! I am certainly grateful for the safe drive home and for the enjoyable evening with family during this holiday season.

Christmas Spirit

Jacob and I had the pleasure of being invited to a group party for the Grand Strand Down Syndrome Society at Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede today! It was an enjoyable time with a live show of ice-skakers, equestrian talent, comedy, live nativity complete with camels, sheep, chickens, pigs, etc! All this while enjoying a four course meal and being able to network with a bunch of very nice people! Thanks to technology, we even experienced snow in the arena!

New Addition!

We have finally adopted a dog ....named "Darma" who is a Bearded Collie (mix) and two years old. She just came home today, but seems to fit right in our family. She won't let Jacob out of her sight and even barked at him when he shut her out of his room! She is a happy dog and listens to simple commands like "down", "sit", "no", and "come". She just got spayed, so we are looking forward to be able to give her a bath in another week. She LOVES being brushed though, so that is a plus!!!

Brazilian Dining!

Experiencing dinner at the Rioz Restaurant in Myrtle Beach this evening was a culinary delight and a cultural experience! They have a gourmet salad bar (my favorites were asparagus, thick slices of parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and huge mozzarella balls)! At the table, they serve you home-made, and lumpy, mashed potatoes, deep fried corn bread sticks, and fried bananas! When you are ready to gorge on meat, you turn over the coaster to green (red on other side for no meat) and the "Gouchos" swarm your table with a variety of sausage, ribs, steaks, chicken, lamb, and excellent roasted pineapple on huge skewers that have been roasted over wood. This is a picture of one of the Gouchos with Jacob holding a skewer of meat in one hand and a sharp knife, dangerously close to Jacob, in the other!
We were able to afford the $35 per person meal during their 2nd anniversary event tonight of 50% off! It was a very tasty and entertaining meal, for sure!

Chili Anyone?

Today was the neighborhood "Chili Cook-Off" party which had a good turnout. There were so many VERY good pots of chili, but only three ribbons to be won. My chili was #3 and different from the rest. I made "White Chili" with white navy beans, chicken, green chillies, and monterey jack cheese, along with some other spices.

And the results were : *drumroll please*

A little hard to see (cell phone pic) but you can see by the tally on the score sheet that #3 (which was my chili) came in second, for which I received a red ribbon!

ELECTION DAY!!!

It's time to vote today ...

and I am doing it the "Democratic" way ...

getting my example of that responsibility

from Senator Obama! I am choosing to vote .......... "PRESENT"!

Yep... he can do it, on a very frequent basis ...

which means I am paying attention, but choose to not make a decision at all! I suggest that all the Obama supporters take an example from him and simply

vote "PRESENT" also!!!

Neighborly Day !!!

Today was the annual Block Party for our little subdivision, "Persimmon Hill Plantation". I would estimate there are about 30-40 homes on our culdesac, which also has two smaller culdesacs branching off of it. The picnic was in the driveway of the home of our Homeowner Association President and his wife. We met plenty of neighbors, had grilled burgers and hot dogs and a variety of pot luck foods brought by each family (even yummy Buffalo Chicken Wings). Two of the neighbors invited me to a tour of their homes, which I gladly accepted. That will be two less windows I will have to try and peek in at night to compare layouts and furnishings with ...LOL... *teasing*!!! Even though it was a very hot day, with very little breeze, it was a very nice occasion and the neighbors (who were mostly also from the North) were very friendly and welcoming!

Miraculous Transformation!

I bought a pair of Golden Oak nightstands for cheap ... like $5 each only! They were at a second hand shop in outside storage and looked pretty rough! I decided to make my very first attempt at refinishing them in a Cherry finish to match my other bedroom furniture and the woodwork in the room! This is the "before" picture! The two nightstands match (except for the drawers) so this is the one that is not yet finished.

These are the products I used (found while researching on the internet) and bought at Lowe's. All you do is wipe down the wood with the "Deglosser" (smells very little and is like wiping with water). The wood gets very dried out and loses it's shine and color, like being out in the sun all summer! After drying for about half an hour, brush on the MinWax Polyshades, which has the stain and the varnish all in one! Use a very soft brush, made for staining, to not have brush marks. I did two coats.

Here is the "After" picture of my project (the first nightstand with different drawer, but exact same original finish was Oak). It was amazingly simple and turned out amazingly great! After I finish the other nightstand, I am going to transform my oak file cabinet and any other wood in the house that isn't already Cherry so it will all match!!!

LEAPIN' LIZARDS

I present to you... "Limey the Lizard" whom usually lives outside my door, in the yard, but he occasionally sneaks into the house, somehow! The Anole, as they are called, are very common here in South Carolina. Fortunately, they cause no harm or danger and even earn their keep by eating bugs. I found him loitering on my couch this morning and he was not very anxious to leave this time! We attempted to chase him out the front door, which has been successful in the past. This time, he ran in the opposite direction, into my bedroom, and DISAPPEARED!!! I suppose that means we adopted him as a pet ... or, perhaps, he has adopted us as his new family!!!

NUTS & BOLTS OF ICE CREAM!!!

In google searching for a health food store that might sell nuts and seeds (I keep a constant supply of homemade trail mix for myself and Jacob), I came across a new grocery store which is Lowe's Fresh Food! The name and logo IS the same as Lowe's Hardware Store ... and ... they have one here in Myrtle Beach!
I got the opportunity to shop there, last week, and they had a grand opening with triple coupons! I was thrilled to see they carried "Hola Fruta Sherbert" which I have been carrying a 55 cent coupon on for MONTHS! The quart size was $3.99, but with triple 55 cents off, it only came to $2.34! I chose the Margarita flavor (alcohol free) and it was amazingly good! It was sooooo good, I would pay full price for it!
I returned to that store yesterday and bought the Pomegranite Blueberry flavor and also the Pina Colada flavor (they also have Blueberry flavor and Strawberry flavor too) for the full $3.99 per quart. Both were not nearly as amazing though.
I would recommend you try the Margarita flavor, but if you try it first... no other flavor will ever live up to it! So, if you want to try them all, try the other ones first ...LOL!

HI HO, HI HO, IT'S OFF TO WORK I GO!

I applied, online, to work the tax season at Jackson Hewitt and they called me very quickly! I have to go pick up the book for their online tax course (they require classes EVERY year). It will be good to "brush up" again ... and to go to work in January to meet new people and feel financially productive too!

Life Is A Beach!

OK... two weeks here now and things are looking better! Finally found the beach (about 10 miles away) and plenty of other places too! I have traveled over the Waccamaw River bridge many times and it seems to get smaller and less frightening each time!

Most of the petty, homeowner-type repairs are either done or not getting on my nerves anymore ....LOL!

Finally memorized most of the important TV channels ... like NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC!

Have furnished the house ... almost ... still need a computer desk and chair so I can get my a** off the bed once in a while!

The weather has been fantastic! It hovers in the mid-80's during the day and 70's or less in the evening! No rain for over a week and nice to keep the car's sunroof always cracked open to ventilate the car while parked!

Will be going to DMV soon to make it official with a SC driver's license! Then I get my property taxes a whole lot less than they are!

I have researched and applied for a few jobs in the tax field. I have made phone calls to set up services and work for Jacob too!

I can't believe it is October already ... hopefully things keep getting better as time goes by so that I won't be counting the days down to my return to NY in the spring!

One Week Later ...

Well... it has been one week since I left NY and ... I'm homesick already! There are several reasons for this, so far.

• When any stranger talks to me, I have to constantly remind myself that they are NOT doing their best Jeff Foxworthy impression!

• Everyone tells me "Don't drive on the 501 ... it is way too much traffic and takes forever to get anywhere"... Guess what? You can almost go NOWHERE without taking the darn 501!!! I have been two blocks over ... to the grocery store and Dollar General and the thrift store ... about 5 times already and am SICK of it!

• 3. I got cable TV and cannot possibly WATCH all those channels! Heck... I can't even FIND the channels I want! Who puts channel 2, 4, and 7 up around 10, 13, and 15 (I think)? Where did they put MSNBC and FOX news?

Hopefully I will get used to the local's accents (and maybe even understand them), and will get the nerve up to not listen to everyone and take the dreaded 501, and find some time to study the channel line-up (and someday memorize it) and things will be better :-(

I Have Arrived!

My longggggggggg road trip is over and I am now living just outside of Myrtle Beach ... in Conway, South Carolina. It took 13 hours from Hershey, PA to get to Conway ... but it was a smooth ride and there were no problems for any of us or our 3 vehicles! We got in at 9 pm last night and spent today shopping at Lowe's, Big Lots and a grocery store (who's name escapes me even though I now have their frequent shopper card)!
Thank you to an unknown neighbor who has an unsecured signal that I discovered this evening. Tomorrow, I get my own high-speed and cable TV. Also, our UPack boxes arrive in the afternoon and it will be a big job unpacking them!
Maybe we can actually have time to explore the area, and the beach, in a few days or so ... once the unpacking is close to done!

Promised Photos

Hershey Chocolate Factory

September 21, 2008

On The Road

We started our travel towards the South yesterday. Hit the road at 1 p.m. and made it to Hershey, PA at 7 p.m. We had our caravan of four vehicles ... like a flock of "snow-birds" ... with no mishaps or problems! With plenty of snacks and drinks, an audio c.d. set of Stephen King's "The Cell", an electric coffee cup AND a vibrating car seat cover, the trip (so far) was not bad at all!
Thanks to Chrissy for the already prepared fried chicken and homemade German potato salad dinner when we arrived and settled in at the LaQuinta Hotel! Kristy's daughter, Mya, got out her pent up energy by running between our three hotel rooms ... and Ruthie, the dog, followed suit!
Today is the search for "Willy Wonka" at the Hershey Chocolate Factory. It will be harder than finding "Waldo", but promises to be a fun tour with Trolley Ride and 3-D movie adventure, as well as FREE chocolate samples too! Hopefully, I will have pictures to share with all!
We will be hitting the road again in the early morning, with just 10 (or possibly more) hours left to flock to South Carolina!

Monday....Monday

It was a longggggggg, busy weekend... with NO packing! Now it is time to get back to work (not at a job.... haha...) with the moving stuff. I spent Saturday helping Michele settle in to her new home, which I think is perfect for her and the kids. Since my favorite thing to do is organizing, I really enjoyed helping her "nest".
Sunday was the birthday party ... Samantha turned 4 on Aug. 21st and Li'l Gee-Gee turned 9 on Sept. 3rd, so we celebrated both their birthdays in one day ... more wrapping paper than on Christmas!!! They got a lot of gifts that I wished existed when I was a little girl! Happy Birthday, again, to Sam-Sam and Gee-Gee!
I was able to bring home a lot of empty boxes to use for my packing. I better get busy with it, since it is only one week until my "UPackit" boxes come to be filled up and shipped to SC! Only 12 more days and I will be on my way to the "mortgage" ... LOL!

Moving to ....???

It is less than a month ... actually it is exactly 28 days from now .... when we finally move!!! The question is "where"? Apparently, my son, Jacob, spent a LOT of time hearing "Will we get the mortgage? ... How much is the mortgage?... We are waiting for the mortgage ... I hope I get the mortgage ... etc." LOL ... It is no wonder I did not understand what he meant each time I discussed packing his things and he kept asking "is it going to the mortgage"? HaHa ... I now GET IT ... he does not consider that we are moving to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. According to Jacob, we are moving to our own little "Town of The Mortgage"!

Summer Fun

Wow ... it is August already and summer will be over soon! Have been going to pool parties before the pools are closed and then it will be 8 months before being able to use them again! Thank God there will be the beach ... once my move is complete! I will be finally relocated to South Carolina in 6 weeks! I will miss my family and friends and all the familiar places and things while away, but I get to appreciate them again in May when I return to my Western NY home once again!

4 THE BIRDS!

I recently had a problem with my new neighbor. He parks very close to his propane tanks (in background of picture) and refuses to move them or add a baricade to protect them from being blown up in the event he or his wife (who is a terrible driver) pulls in. He had made the mistake of telling me that he HATES birds, since they, supposedly, bring rats... LOL (I don't know what terrible neighborhood he came from). Hence, my new bird feeder ... right on the property line ... their flying path being RIGHT OVER his car ...LOL!!! He hates it and I am rather liking it, since it is right outside my kitchen window as I sit here writing my blog!!!

High Tech Gadgets

I "Bit The Bullet" and ordered one of those Magic Jacks to turn my computer into a phone, even though I read lots of bad reviews on it! It was only $39.95 and included ONE year of service! You can see it at magicjack.com. It only costs $19.95 per year for service (no tax or surcharges) and you pick whatever area code you want your phone number to be. Now I already have my phone number for South Carolina ... and it is working too! I will have that number forever, without having to disconnect and reconnect phone service EVER again!!! Check it out, it has my complete recommendation!

2nd High Tech Gadget: Not very high tech ... just cheap solution to cable tv ... I bought FOUR of those DTV Converter Boxes! I got four $40 coupons from the dtv.gov website (by using two different addresses) and spent $60 each for the converters (I paid the $20 difference each at Circuit City). I researched them and found my brand, Zenith, is the number 2 rated box. It changes the analog signal on your TV to digital (must have it by February 2009) if you do not have cable service. Well ... it greatly improves the picture and also gives you extra channels too! I recommend this purchase to anyone who does not plan on having cable or replacing all their old TV's with digital ones once February come along!

Back to the Beach!

FINALLY! The beach re-opened today and this is the "After" picture of the first sunbathers to enjoy it again! It got much more crowded later, most likely by a lot of camera-shy bathers that I did not want to upset by photographing them. It was a hot (92 degrees) day, and was such a welcome change from the overcrowded pools.

Happy Birthday Michele

My daughter, Michele, became another year older ... and another year better ... today! After a FULL day of work, at a job she loves and has worked towards for years, we spent the evening having dinner and shopping and opening gifts afterwards. What more of a perfect day could there be? LOL ... I am glad she had a good birthday and I hope all of them to come are, at least ... if not more, happy!!!

Happy Birthday Jacob

Yesterday was my son, Jacob's, birthday. He turned 28 years old! He is Down Syndrome, but actually the smartest man I know! I have a fairly high IQ, but he comes up with simple ideas and solutions that I am amazed at! He also volunteers to help and is a step ahead, which I find it hard to meet another man who is like that!

We celebrated with a home-made ice-cream birthday cake which is simple to make:

Line a 9x12 pan with ice-cream sandwiches, layer a half gallon of your favorite ice-cream, then layer with a container of Cool Whip ... freezing in between each addition. Then write your message on it and freeze until serving!

What is HEALTHY & FREE???

Yummy.... Yummy! Yesterday, we got a hot tip on a bountiful pair of Cherry trees in the park! We were shown the "secret location" and left there to pick. My sister and I were in our "Cherry Picking Glory"! Who appears??? The owners of the lot! "Mr. & Mrs. Asian' were not too happy with us helping ourselves, and we were very apologetic... but we left with PERMISSION to return in a few hours, once they had picked some to take back to their home in Rochester. I took my nephew, Bryan, back there today and picked a few quarts before the thunder and lightening chased us off. Between the cherries, free strawberries galore from my sister's garden, the abundant crop of raspberries soon to ripen in the open (free) area, and hundreds of apple trees to pick from towards Fall, the freezer will be full with healthy fruit to last a very long time! I am also dehydrating lots of my harvest to add to my trail mix that I always keep stocked up on.

Nostalgia

Last night, the recreational community I live in during the summer (Leisurewood) had a drive-in movie night. They use a projector on a huge screen, outside by the lake, and people come in their golf carts or lawn chairs and blankets to watch it. The movie was Alvin and the Chipmunks (to accomodate the families) and it was so great to see Moms, Dads, Grandparents and kids all enjoying an almost extinct family activity! I brought the usual pop. popcorn, and candy ... and the sooooo necessary window cleaner, paper towels (for the golf cart window) and bugspray! Kids were literally dancing to "Bing Bang Walla Walla Ting Tang...Ooh Ee...Ooh...Ahh...Ahh" all evening!

Speaking of Leisurewood (Leisurewoodrecreationalcommunity.com) I recently launched a "Restore the Beach" campaign and won! We HAD a beautiful beach ... but it has not been open in 3 years. The board said it would be too expensive and problemsome to re-open and operate, with very little interest by the residents, and kept tabling the subject when brought up at the meetings. I created a petition, circulated them for signatures (got 124) and got placed on the agenda to speak and present them at the board meeting. Here is my speech:


My name is Georgiann Jordan and I live at 159 Cherrywood. I have a petition to present to the Board, requesting the re-opening of our Beach. It states that, as a property association, we are exempt from the NY State law regarding bathing beaches being required to obtain a permit and follow the operation and supervision responsibilities, including water quality monitoring and aquatic supervisory staff. The petition states:
Whereas the beach area is exempt, pursuant to Section 6-2.3 paragraph (a),
line (2) of the New York State Sanitary Code, from application for permit
or regular testing of the water by Erie County

We, the undersigned, are leaseholders who urge our Board of Directors to act now
to reopen the beach area, using available volunteers to reposition the sand and
use resources necessary to replace sand and do private testing when deemed needed in the future.


There are over 100 signatures from the Leaseholders here at Leisurewood on these petitions. We want to let the board know that there is a need and an interest in restoring one of our Park’s greatest assets.
We would like immediate action to be taken on our request so that there will be as little delay as possible in being able to have use of the Beach this season.
We see no reason to drag out the process by thinking about having a committee formed …to call a meeting … and then to finally discuss the feasibility of carrying through with the steps necessary to open the Beach. We implore you to not prolong the re-opening of the beach anymore than necessary.
The signatures on this petition should be enough to show the board that the leaseholders, whom they were elected to serve, are more than interested in a positive response to their request, so they can begin to enjoy the beach as soon as possible.



We got permission to take action and clean up the beach and used our own resources to start cleaning up the area. My brother-in-law used a tractor and rake to bring up and smooth out the sand. Here is the "before" picture:


I will be posting the "after" picture, once we fill it with water and happy sunbathers (by the Fourth of July)! My being pro-active, along with some political background and experience really paid off for my "cause" the year!!!

Blogger Virgin

Thanks to Shelley ... I am creating a blog! I used to keep a daily journal, the "Old School" way ... hand-written! I stopped doing that when I started using the computer in 2000 and just saved my daily emails to my MOM as "diary". I would occasionally print them out and save them all. Mom died in 2003 and I stopped keeping any form of journal at all. Since I had strayed from writing in a journal, and there were no more daily emails to Mom, I didn't really think I had much more exciting stuff to record and didn't bother. I was wrong ... plenty has happened since then! Perhaps I will reveal it, gradually, in "flash-backs" in my future blogs!