As most of you know, my Poppy has been in the hospital for the past 2 weeks. For those of you who do not know, my Poppy was up at the Kershaw Baptist Association building working on some electric work. When he was coming down off one of the storage buildings onto the ladder, he must have missed a step and he fell 6-7 feet straight back onto concrete. Luckily, the Kershaw Baptist Association Director, Jimmy, was out there with Poppy. Poppy got up and said he was fine so Jimmy drove him home. When my mom got to my meme and poppy’s house she said that they were going to go to the emergency room. After waiting four and half hours in the emergency room and the pain getting worse, they finally took Poppy back. They quickly realize how severe the head injury was and took him by helicopter to Palmetto Richland Hospital. Poppy had internal bleeding and had more then 10 fractures on his skull. Poppy spent a week in ICU and now he’s currently at Health South getting therapy.

The day he fell, I stopped by his house before mom, meme and him left to go to the emergency room and when I was there he acted fine, like there was nothing wrong. I remember walking out of the house and walking to my car and I just looked back for a second and said love you Pops, see you later and he said love you too baby. That night while I was laying in bed waiting for updates, my sister called to tell me that they were flying him over to another hospital, and his skull was fractured and he was bleeding internally. All I could think about was how that might have been the last time I ever would hear my Poppy tell me he loved me. I did not get to go up to the hospital that night because I had Makaylee, my four year old niece, spending the night at my house, but I sat up all night and just thought about how blessed I was to have a grandfather like him. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful grandfather and such a great Christian role-model.

Since that day I have made many trips up to the hospital and now Health South. He is a fighter. He is doing so good. Now he is speaking in complete sentences, eating good and ready to go home. My meme has not left his side since the accident. She was up at the hospital at 9 in the morning and did not leave until 9 that night (those were ICU visiting hours). And now that she can stay with him Health South, she has been there 24/7, sleeping in the bed beside him.

I recently wrote my Poppy a letter to express to him how much I love him and how thankful I am to him for being such a wonderful grandfather. I decided I was not going to let another day go by without letting him know exactly how much he means to me. I challenge everyone to tell those people that are truly special to you, how much they mean to you, because in an instant they can be gone.

My Poppy & Meme

Frank’ Redhot Buffalo Chicken Dip
When I waitressed at Boykin Company Grille in high school, the only hot sauce we used was Frank’s Redhot and now I am hooked. You will never find another hot sauce in my refrigerator because nothing compares to Frank’s. When Maegen (one of my BFs) threw a wedding shower for me, she made the Buffalo dip. I got the recipe from her and now I make it at least twice a month, I crave it all the time. Usually I will make it on a Friday nights and eat it all weekend. Below is the recipe, y’all should try it. I have to say I have doctored the recipe a little. I usually put about half the chicken it calls for. And I always use ranch dressing and mozzarella cheese.

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
½ cup blue cheese or ranch salad dressing
½ cup any flavor Frank’s Redhot sauce
½ cup of crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cans (12.5 oz. each) Swanson White Premium Chuck Chicken Breast in Water, drained

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.
Mix in salad dressing, Frank’s Redhot sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken
Bake 20 minutes or until mixture is heated through; stir, Garnish as desired. Service with crackers or vegetables.

My Kindle
Dave bought me a kindle for Christmas. I really love it. I like to pull it out if I’m sitting and waiting on an appointment, at lunch or at night when I’m laying on the couch. The first book I bought was Lauren Conrad’s, Spicy and Sweet. I just bought Ashley Judd’s memoir, All that is Bitter and Sweet. I’m so excited to start it. I’m still waiting for, Kardashian Kofindental, to become a kindle book.

Etsy
If you haven’t ever checked out the website Etsy, YOU HAVE TOO. It is such a great website. It is a website where people can sell their crafts. You can find jewelry, pocketbooks, bird feeders, clothes, monogram ideas and lots more. I got a couple of things off it for Christmas presents. When I’m bored I just go on the website to just look at things. It is such a neat website, with great gift ideas.

Castle
Now that I’m an old married lady, I tend to go to sleep a lot earlier. But I have to stay up until 11 on Monday night’s because I have to watch Castle. It is such a great show. Even though half of the time I fall asleep at 10:50 and totally miss out on who was the murdered, but it is still a great show. If you haven’t ever watched it, it is a must.

Shea Cashmere hand cream
Alison, I used to work with, had a bottle of this hand cream and I absolutely feel in love. It is from Bath and Body Works and it is just so wonderful. I have some on my desk at work and some on my night stand. It makes your hands feel so soft and I love the smell. You should go buy a tube, it is wonderful.