Saturday, February 28, 2009

365 Almost

It's tougher than I thought to get a picture EVERY day, but I press on.


A self-portrait by S.


I spied my daughter's graffiti in her high school parking lot. Every year, the seniors paint the parking lot.


Hubby and I took a day and went for a drive through the Virginia countryside. I was waiting for him to get fuel.


A picture leaving a restaurant instead of IN the restaurant.


My hubby bought me a surprise for hanging stuff. For no reason. Unlike the GPS, this gift could come in handy. So I said "You can be my picture for today."


A Christmas present from my hubby, a GPS. It was one of those gifts somebody thinks you need, but you don't necessarily agree. It failed me this day as it kept telling me to "Make a U-turn" I guess because I kept missing the street.


A fun day with my galpal Leslie.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Our favorite breakfast spot

My husband showed me this today. It's from our local paper about our favorite breakfast spot. It's a real old fashioned, grungy, hometown place.

By KEITH WALKER
Published: February 23, 2009

Tom’s Diner is the kind of place you can go get meals like liver and onions or meatloaf for lunch, or breakfast any time if that’s what you want.

The daily specials come with vegetables, mashed potatoes and bread. Coffee refills are free. There’s a smoking section, and the wait staff will take time to chat.

Even with all of that going for it, the economy is hitting the place hard.

“We’re struggling,”said Bill Saleh, who has owned the diner at 9003 Centreville Road for the last eight years.

The slide has been coming on over the last seven to nine months, and it’s the worst Saleh has seen.

Everything is stacked against the father of four who came to the United States from Jerusalem in 1983.

Saleh said the downturn has hit him from all sides, with the double whammy of a drop in business coupled with an increase in the prices he has to pay for food and supplies.

“People come in, but the traffic is much less,” said the 47-year-old Saleh, who estimates that business is off by 25 percent from last year. “It’s a big difference in the prices of our products.”

Like other business owners, Saleh has had to eliminate spending wherever he could just to stay afloat.

“I cut hours for the dishwashers and the cook. I haven’t had to lay anybody off yet,” said Saleh, who owned an ice cream vending business in Pennsylvania before he came to Manassas.

Saleh said he just hopes he can hang on until things get better.

Regina Moore has worked at the diner that used to be called the Colonial Restaurant on and off for 15 years.

She looks at the bright side, even though she doesn’t make as much in tips these days.

“Weekends are still good,” said the 50-year-old Moore. “Everybody’s pretty nice. They all try to leave something.”

Food at the diner is reasonably priced with an anytime breakfast special of two eggs, two pieces of bacon, two pieces of sausage and two pancakes that goes for $4.99.

Moore said it’s not the kind of place where people come in and “spend a lot of money.”

“We survive day by day,” Moore said. “It’s got its good days and its bad days.”

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Winter or Spring

Yesterday morning it snowed and I got jazzed about some white stuff. Of course, the snow quickly turned to rain and drizzle and I spent the day nestled in my house feeling very wintry.
Today started off looking much the same and I was hoping it would do some real snowing. Enough to build a snowman or hit my kids with snowballs. But here it is only four hours from wake-up time and the cold grey morning and the sun is shining and the sky is blue. So I say the heck with snowmen and snowball fights! Bring on the spring flowers and birds chirping. Just make up your mind already.
Now I know why nature is referred to as "Mother"!

Monday, February 16, 2009

365 Feb 11-16


2/16 Our favorite breakfast spot, Tom's Diner. SK is going to spend her day off with a friend, but first eggs and cornbeef hash.


2/15 More bathroom stuff.


2/14 Me and my Valentine on Valentine's Day.


2/13 A crockpot kind of day. (This recipe actually was very good.)


2/12 L played hooky from school and the three of us; L,S, and me, went to the movies and did a little shopping.


2/11 L bought this shirt for her dad.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Facing fifty



This is me at 10. I was hoping to "blossom". You know how everyone says: "Don't worry, one day you'll blossom".

Hi ho. Hi ho. Off to the DMV I go. Or went. I had to renew the driver's license and, because it has been ten years since I've done so, I had to have a new picture taken. If you want to feel real old, have the DMV take your picture and laminate it to a card that you have to show everyone who asks for ID.
My mama says that I just have to adjust to what my older self looks like and stop looking in the mirror and thinking I'm going to see what I saw ten years ago. She says that, but I've seen her about to fight her reflection in a store mirror because she didn't realize 1)it was a reflection and 2) it was herself.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

365, kinda











S and his new hamster, Dixie. S found his childhood harmonica and stayed up all night playing it.

Pirates with a pirate.


ECU Grandpa


Making waffles in the hotel before The dance audition.


The never ending bathroom project.



My eye has started twitching; the glaucoma eye. I was trying to capture it on film. Haha. And then there is the stuff that is piling up in the kitchen corner that I don't know where to put so I took a picture of it to see how it looks where it is.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

I'm having a crummy day. I don't know why I even bother with this blog. I can't remember why I started it and I'm not funny or insightful or creative. I just whine a whole heck of a lot.

Monday, February 2, 2009