Meet some of the fine folks with Covington Patrick  Hagins Stern and Lewis, PA on Pettigru in downtown Greenville….we visited today with Liquid Highway Coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts!!  Be sure and enter your office on the home page. We could be visiting you very soon!!

From left: Eugene Covington, Sandy Stern, Dan Herman and the beautiful Wilda Henson, Front Desk Diva!!!

Crazy crew at Network Health Care

Ginger “Granny” and Little Monnie

I spent my Halloween Eve morning with friends and listeners at Network Health Care, in the Merovan Center in Greenville.  Ginger, otherwise known as Granny this year :-) puts on one heck of a party!  She goes all out every Halloween…I was a little baby this year, complete with binky and baby doll. I hope you had a good Halloween despite the rain this year

I shared recently on the radio that I’ve lost 9 pounds, and over 10 inches since I started Curves on Augusta Road…here are the before and after pictures to prove it!

Before, February 2009 (see my belly and fuller face)

After Curves (wearing same sweater…I can see the difference)

Call 370-0300 to join Curves on Augusta Road… and be a LOSER like me!!!

Meet the folks with A Rose Emporium on N. Main Street in Mauldin. They won the Liquid Highway Pitstop this week! Need roses in a jiffy…this is the place. Beautiful roses at prices that can’t be beat!!! Pictured from left is Denise who works at the Mauldin shop, Phillip, owner of the Boiling Springs location, Teresa, owner of the Gaffney store and David, a happy customer. Sue Mason, owner of the Mauldin facility is not pictured. We had a blast!!! Thanks!

I took a little trip to Texas last weekend, mostly to reconnect with my Daddy’s people, and to reclaim some lost memories from my childhood. Sadly, Daddy’s beautiful family there couldn’t come to his funeral in July. Due to the economy, illness and a fire at cousin’s Beth’s house that destroyed everything… it just couldn’t happen, and I don’t hold that against any of them. So, I thought it would be nice for me to hop on a plane and visit them …and get the proper hugs and kisses from those who knew my Daddy before I came along. I wish I could have known him back them. According to cousin Beth, he was adored by all. The highlight of the trip was to see the face of my sweet Aunt Anita again, Daddy’s beloved sister.  Another highlight was Aunt Margaret’s recipe for the best fried taters ever made, Texas-style of course. See this priceless video of that on facebook.com

I arrived at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Friday afternoon, rented the Ford Edge (really fabulous) and took off across the wide, rough…but magnetic landscape of Texas, driving about 60 miles South.  Naturally I got there just in time for rush hour traffic, and it took about 2 1/2  hours to reach my destination of Cleburne. Daddy was actually born in Hillsboro, and when we were children, Mama and Daddy would drive more than 20 hours straight from SC to TX,  just so we could visit our Grandparents at their later home in Milford, about 10 miles from his birth place. Many childhood dreams were made there in Milford…walking through the old cemetery, swimming at the Pecan Bottom or rummaging through Grandad’s carport…what a magical time. We did this every summer. The pictures from all those years remain on my computer, Daddy’s old computer…and I go through them every now and then…laughing and crying.

But I digress, back to the recent trip. And by the way, thank God for the Garmin Nuvi GPS system I also rented from Enterprise.  I really don’t know how I would have gotten there with the written directions I had! Anyway, I cried for joy as I headed to Aunt Nita’s new residence, a home owned by her daughter Rachel and her lovely family…husband Shawn and their little devils Alec and Ayden Aunt Nita and Uncle Mickey live in the apartment over the garage and it’s too cute! 

As I sat with Aunt Nita reminiscing about Daddy and our summer visits to Texas for the past 40 years or so…it hit me…I was not there just for myself, I was there to give closure perhaps to those who didn’t get to see Daddy at the end of his life. And although Daddy left for the Air Force shortly after high school, and never, ever returned to live…his presence there was profound, for so many did love and adore him.  I understood in that moment that his absence in this life has left an unspeakable void in his family…more than I could have ever imagined.

One image I can never erase from this trip, is seeing my Aunt Margaret stroking the picture I brought of him, the one I had made into a memory portrait for his office in Greenville…as she touched the picture so lovingly…she just said over and over again sweetly, “God bless his heart, our little Tony. ”  It just broke my heart. But it was a wonderful testament. How they loved him so much…so, so much. I needed to experience that with the people who grew up with him….who raised him, and whom he raised as well. Turns out, he took care of Aunt Nita like his own child at times. I know she is grateful for his love and care back then, when all he wanted to do at the time, was probably hang out with his buddies. But both of their parents were working and Daddy held a kind of parental role in her life for years. He was a good man, even as a young man. What true character he displayed.

I’d like to thank my sweet Texas family for their hospitality while I was there and for showering me with love and attention. I really needed it!!! I came back to Greenville richer than when I left…and I mean rich with a new understanding of Daddy’s great life with these irreplaceable souls. I also thank Aunt Nita especially for taking the time to bestow many priceless mementos upon me, one of which is Daddy’s baby book, complete with his footprints and notes his Mama wrote about her first-born…my Grandma Juanita was very special to me, and seeing the words she wrote about her little Tony is worth more to me than all the money in the world.

I hope to see them again soon, but in the meantime, my trip back to Texas, will forever be one of the greatest moments in my life.

I absolutely LOVE going to Curves…and meet 2 of the ladies who make my weight-loss goal so much fun, beautiful  Barb, the owner, and her lovely and talented assistant, Delores!  I’ve been going to the Augusta Road location now since February of this year, and so far I’ve lost 9 pounds, 10 inches!!!!!!  I’m so happy, and I’m taking control of my life and body again.  I look and feel better…and my mental state is very positive again. It’s a known fact, that working out will help with depression and anxiety. I have so much fun at Curves, most of the time I forget I’m actually working out :-)  I want you to start your new excercise program with me, at the new location opening Monday the 26th, on Augusta Road across from Foxfire. New members will receive their first month free, and save 2/3 off the initiation fee, just by being a Magic listener! Former members will receive a special discount as well..so what do you have to lose Call today and tell them I sent you…370-0300!!!

Check out some of the nice people in the service department at Bradshaw Automotives in Greer!  Charlie, the cute lady with the short hair in front, won the Liquid Highway Pitstop for her office this week!  Susan, behind the counter, offers up a continental breakfast to customers Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays…talk about service with a smile! Others pictured from left: Rick, Teri and Ken. Thanks for making our visit so enjoyable, xo!!!

I had to share something wonderful with you that will benefit breast cancer research. As you may know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month…and our friends at Ulta in The Shops at Greenridge, continue their promotion called Love Letters through the end of October, sharing the stories of women touched by breast cancer in personal letters posted in their windows. Go by and see it! It’s truly inspiring. Ot write a letter of your own!  The store is also accepting donations for breast cancer research. I actually purchased some items there recently and part of the proceeds went to research, and I received a beautiful pink scarf.  

Also, this Sunday the 25th, the store is hosting an event from 6-8pm where women with breast cancer can participate in a benefit makeup lesson to help them feel better during their treatment and recovery.  And, my neighbor Polly, Ulta’s resident eyebrow arch expert, will give a brow instruction on how to make brows thinned out because of chemotherapy, look fuller and more beautiful. How fabulous! The event is free, but please make a donation if you can. Call 288-7444 for details.

Another huge thank you for donating to the Children’s Hospital Radiothon last week…with your help, we raised $260,000 for the babies and kids! Every dime stays local…we appreciate your generosity and heart!

xoxo

And namely mine!!  We are so excited at Entercom Upstate (Magic 98.9, B 93.7, the Planet 93.3, Rock 101 and WORD 106.3) to be a part of Children’s Hospital Radiothon 2009!!!  We’ve been broadcasting live for 2 days now…1 day to go to raise funds for this amazing facility. It never fails, every year, I’m touched beyond words. This year, a little girl named Hazel just about tore my heart in pieces. She has cystic fibrosis, and is just the sweetest, smartest, most kind young lady I’ve met in a long time.  Look for her video on our website. Just click on the Children’s Radiothon Logo for all the videos and more information. You can also give right there sitting at your computer! Please give if you can!

I am also donating to the cause, in addition to working the event. I think it’s important that we not only talk about what we’re doing….we must walk the walk too. I told a story on the air about how when Daddy was alive last year during the Radiothon, our first year, he phoned me in tears…saying that he was ok having cancer, but that no child should die from it…and he became a miracle maker. He was struggling with stage 4 cancer, still grieving over the loss of his dear wife, and yet was not thinking about himself…he became a champion for the children even while he was dying from a terrible disease. How could I not give this year???

Search your heart, and please give what you can. We love you for helping our community of beautiful children, xoxo!