I know...it's been a while once again...

Hello everyone! I just realized that I've not been very good about my promise to be better at keeping this updated since I've retired. I guess I never should have made that promise, so I guess at this point I'll just say that I'll do my best to be better! : -)

I've been doing some traveling and trying to get my business back up and running as you may know from Facebook or other postings or ways of following my comings and goings. I spent 5 days in NYC with lots of girlfriends enjoying one last, maybe, long weekend of One Life to Live events and spending time with the actors who have become "friends" over the past few years. It seems strange to think they will no longer be coming into my home via my TV after January. They've all become such a huge part of my life over the years that it's hard to imagine a day without the greatest couple in OLTL history...of course I mean Dorian and Vicki! lol :-) I can't dream of not seeing my Sean guarding the Manning clan or the Buchanans running around controlling everything! I guess I will finally have to get a life of my own - say it isn't so! Oh my ... : -)

What I will miss the most, however, are all of the wonderful women who have become friends, and more like family, over the past 15 years that I have been attending the different events. We decided this year that even if there are no longer going to be "Soap Events" there is no reason we can't continue to do our annual get-togethers, so I sure hope that really continues to happen. I can't imagine not seeing the actors who have become such a part of my life, but I can't stand the thought of not getting to see the ladies who have become some of the best friends in the world to me over the past 15 years! So, ladies - plan for it now - we MUST continue getting together, with or without the soaps!

I've also been really working to get my business going again now that I am retired and finally have time to dedicate to it. As some of you knew before (but now all of you know), I am an Independent Consultant for Close to my Heart, an AMAZING company that makes fabulous scrapbooking and stamping products. At convention this year they revealed our new mission statement:

"We show you how to celebrate relationships through discovering your creativity,

to preserve and share the moments that matter most."

It really made me think and I realized that there are so many things about that statement that I need to take to heart and really get back to myself. So, I'm going to do my best to do just that and hopefully it will help me to build my business, and myself, along the way. I'd love to have those of you who follow me here, also follow along on my business blog at http://www.abchearts.blogspot.com/ and see how it's going!

Have a blessed day,
Jenny-May

Day after surgery...

Howdy all! I just thought I'd post a quick note today. Surgery went well and I'm resting at my friend, Barb's house. She and her husband, Bill, have been so good to me and I could never thank them enough! I'm so blessed to have such wonderful and caring friends! Plus, now Mom doesn't have to worry because she knows Barb and what a great friend she is to me. 

I've been sleeping off and on since yesterday after surgery. I fell asleep on the way home from the clinic and missed lots of excitement, apparently. There were lots of traffic issues everywhere and the driver of an 18 wheeler was running from police. Thank God that we weren't on that part of the beltway! He ended up running his truck into a tree and they got him. There's always something crazy going on out here, that's for sure.

Once we got home, Barb got all of the stuff brought in and helped me in, too. Then we just relaxed downstairs for a while and had dinner. Shortly after dinner,  I decided to head to bed and get some sleep - the meds were starting to kick in and I was dozing in the recliner! ha

Today has been much of the same - dozing off every now and then. Hopefully in a little while I'll be awake enough to get out of bed and venture downstairs. Who knows? It depends on how my foot is feeling, I guess. I haven't experienced any pain yet, to speak of, but because of the angle that my ankle is at from all of the bandages, it's starting to ache a bit. So, I just keep repositioning my foot to alleviate the strain.

So, all is well for now! I hope you are all well, too, and have a great day!

Cheers,

Jenny-May

End of the day....somewhere...

Today I got to see a bunch of friends that I haven't seen since before I deployed. I headed to Lexington Park for a crop that my friend, Kristie, organizes. It's a crop that raises money for phone cards and care packages to send to deployed troops. It's a pretty awesome organization that Kristie and her friend, Julie, co-founded and it really makes a difference. Visit their website, www.scrappingforsoldiers.com and check it out. They have raised an amazing amount to support the troops! It always touches me to see all of the work that the ladies there making cards and bringing in donations for care packages. They truly care and it shows in their actions! They definitely put others before themselves. It truly means a lot to us when we're deployed and away from our family and home to get something from back here. It means more to us than many will ever know.

Serving with Pride & Honor,

Jenny-May

Busy day....

Well, today was a pretty packed day, so not much time to write. After work I met some of my "silver" friends for dinner then we went to a terrific seminar by Ilene Meckley who does motivational speaking. What an incredible story she has and speech she gives! It was a great night spent with friends! Thanks ladies!!

Sweet dreams all,

Jenny-May

Now what?

Well, I promise today won't go as long as yesterday did! I guess I just can't help it when I talk about my amazing family. So, today I just want to post a short and simple appreciation for another wonderful group of people in my life - My Friends!

After 17 years in the Army I have developed some terrific lifelong friendships. The environment we live in tends to make your friendships closer than most normal situations. I have been blessed with some very special people in my life, some that I have know since my first couple of years in the Army. Some of them are no longer in, as they have separated or retired and moved on with the next chapters of their lives, others are stationed throughout Europe and the US, while, unfortunately, others are currently in Iraq (be safe and take care of you) and Afghanistan. Regardless of where you are all located, you are always in my thoughts and prayers and I am so very thankful to have been able to share parts of my life with you.

The wonderful friendships that have developed through my travels are also very special to me. I have some wonderful friends throughout the States that have had a huge impact on my life, as well as the person I've become. I will soon (in the April timeframe) be heading back to the wonderful state of Texas, to San Antonio, for what will likely be the final chapter in my Army journey. I am thrilled to know that some of those awesome friends won't be very far away and I'll be able to see them again. I'm sure some road trips to San Angelo will be in order! I also always look forward to heading back to the wonderful state of Florida and seeing friends there. I'm sure one of those two states will be my home in retirement, and I will be looking forward to that chapter in a couple of years.

Of course, with each move there are more friends that must be left behind as I embark on the next phase. I will truly miss the wonderful friendships I have developed here in Maryland and will look forward to future visits! So, I just want to say to all of my amazing friends that you, too, have helped to mold and shape me into the person I have become and for that I am grateful! You all mean the world to me and will forever hold your own special places in my heart.

With love,

Jenny-May

aka Menny-Jay ;-)