Busy, Busy, Busy!

It's been a couple of weeks since I've written anything because I've been swamped! The first three months of the year are crazy in legislative affairs. On Monday, January 12th, the Georgia General Assembly convened to start another 40 days of fighting over the state budget, Sunday alcohol sales, and property taxes. The bickering sometimes is just too childish, but hey, we elected them right?

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours under the Gold Dome attending the 24th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Tribute. As a board member for the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism, I was invited by the Governor's Office along with the rest of the board. I always love to go to the Capitol during the legislative session. There is just something electric about the atmosphere; loaded with lobbyists from all sectors-all of them vying for a vote! This day was no different. Anyway, Martin Luther King's sister, Dr. Christine King Farris was there to accept a proclamation from the Governor. Personally I thought it was sad that none of his kids where actually there, but whatever. That's a whole different story if you've seen the news! The speakers included Rep. Melvin Everson, Sen. Emanuel Jones, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Governor Sonny Perdue and the former Lt. Governor of Maryland, Michael Steele. All very distinguised gentlemen and wonderful speakers as was Dr. Farris. Dr. Farris is 81 years old and MLK would have been 80 yesterday. It was interesting and I was glad to be there to hear them all talk about the legacy of service that Dr. King left behind. The picture above is with Michael Steele. (What a terrible picture of me!!)

• Another cool thing about being at the Capitol yesterday was all of the wild animals that were on display. They have certain "days" at the Capitol every year and I guess this was wild animal day or something. The most facinating thing for me was the bald eagle. He was live and sitting on a perch like any other bird and he was absolutely beautiful. I'm sure he could have torn all of us to shreds, but he was still beautiful! I wish I had gotten a picture.

• I'm so proud of my husband. He is co-chairing the Johns Creek Relay for Life for the first time ever. It's actually the first Relay for Life in Johns Creek. He was very apprehensive about taking the lead at first, but he's really been enjoying meeting new people and helping making this Relay a reality with his co-chair. Last night, we attended a reception for cancer survivors and the Johns Creek community to garner interest in creating teams and donating to help this very worthy cause. I have worked with the Relay for Life for about 6 or 7 years now with the Citizens of Georgia Power and the Gwinnett Relay. The Gwinnett Relay for Life is the largest event in the United States. If you have never been to a Relay for Life, I encourage you to get involved- trust me when I say, you will be glad that you did! Everyone is touched by cancer somehow. Whether it's a family member, a friend, co-worker or an acquaintance; we've all seen the devastation of cancer. Please get involved.

• It is so cold here right now! I know, I've been hearing from all my friends and family who live further north that this cold is nothing, but it really is for Georgia! It's snowing everywhere but here! It never got above 32 degrees today and the wind is blowing which makes it even colder. Nothing compared to the -13 temps in Illinois, but it's still cold to me!

• So, now I'm just sitting here checking some emails and my facebook page, enjoying a glass of wine and waiting for our pizza to be ready. Scott and I have a problem sometimes trying to decide what we want for dinner, so tonight we settled on a frozen pizza. Real Healthy! I offered up my two favorite foods-Mexican or Sushi and neither sounded good to him, so we're having pizza!

• Well, Scott just took it out of the oven, so I'm off to have some pizza and watch some tv in front of the fireplace with my honey!

Ta-Ta for now!