Pet Peeves

My top twenty pet peeves

I don't have pet peeves I have whole kennels of irritation. - Whoopi Goldberg

• Diesel trucks at a drive thru, if you have to turn off your truck to order. How do you think the person in front and behind you feels when they have to scream there order out.

• Commercials that are so much louder than the TV shows.
• People that wait until the last minute.
• Restaurants that give you rolls, but never enough butter to go with them.
• People who don't vote and then complain about the results.
• Drivers who don't use a turn signal.
• People who throw cigarette butts on the beach.

• Kids who tease dogs through a fence. 
• People who go the wrong way in a parking lot.
• Someone with a full cart of groceries gets into the 10 items or less line.
• You pull a string hanging from your shirt and it doesn't break, but only becomes longer.
• People that don't send thank you notes.
• Getting stuck at red lights, while nobody is going the other direction.
• People who ride their bikes in the road when a sidewalk is right there.
• No toilet paper or paper towels in public bathrooms.
• People who don't control their bratty children.
• When people don't RSVP to an event.
• Grocery clerks that want to bundle the receipt with my change. Hand me the money separately so I can put it in my pocket, and then hand me the receipt or place it in the bag.
• People sitting at a red light and continuing to sit there when the light turns green because they're on their cell phone.
• Driveways that make cars bottom out.

I hope you enjoyed this blog as much as I enjoyed gathering them...it took me about four weeks just so you know.

Just for Love

In observance for Valentine's Day...I wanted to share my top twenty love quotes from one of our local writers whom I love everything he writes....NICHOLAS SPARKS.

Found this online an loved it!

1. “I finally understood what true love meant...love meant that you care for another person's happiness more than your own, no matter how painful the choices you face might be.” Nicholas Sparks, Dear John
2. “That he would love her no matter what she told him, and that he was the kind of man who loved her already and would love her forever.” Nicholas Sparks, Safe Haven
3. “Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it” Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember
4. “True love is rare, and it's the only thing that gives life real meaning.” Nicholas Sparks, Message in a Bottle 
5. “While I sleep, I dream of you, and when I wake, I long to hold you in my arms. If anything, our time apart has only made me more certain that I want to spend my nights by your side, and my days with your heart.” Nicholas Sparks, Nights in Rodanthe
6. “So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... everyday.” Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook 
7. “He was the toast to her butter.” Nicholas Sparks, The Lucky One
8. “You can't live your life for other people. You've got to do what's right for you, even if it hurts some people you love.” Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
9. “I love you more than there are fishes in the sea and higher than the moon” Nicholas Sparks, At First Sight
10. “I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I've ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, everyday we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours. ” Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook  
11. “Sometimes you have to be apart from people you love, but that doesn't make you love them any less. Sometimes you love them more.”  Nicholas Sparks, The Last Song
12. “Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Loves is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It dose not take offense and is not resentful. Love take no pleasure in others people's sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.” Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember 
13. “I fell in love with her when we were together, then fell deeper in love with her in the years we were apart.” Nicholas Sparks, Dear John
14. “Spending time with you showed me what I’ve been missing in my life.” Nicholas Sparks, The Choice 
15. “I guess what I'm trying to say is that you are there, in everything I am, in everything I've ever done, and looking back, I know that I should have told you know much you've always meant to me.” Nicholas Sparks, The Wedding
16. “Loving someone and having them love you back is the most precious thing in the world.” Nicholas Sparks, The Rescue 
17. “I gave you the best of me, he'd told her once, and with every beat of her son's heart, she knew he'd exactly done that.” Nicholas Sparks, The Best of Me
18. “Being in love, I find myself smiling for no reason at all...” Nicholas Sparks, Dear John
19. “I had no choice. Love does funny things to people.”  Nicholas Sparks, True Believer
20. “In the instant their lips first met, there was a flicker of something almost electrical that made him believe the feeling would last forever.” Nicholas Sparks, The Guardian

My favorite all time movie

 Happy Valentine's Day!! I hope each of you have a lovely day!!!

Things that make you go hmmmm Part 1

Things that make you go hmmmm Part 1



• How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
• Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'... but it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'?  Where's that extra penny going to?
• Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?
• Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
• How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
• Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?
• Why is 'bra' singular and 'panties' plural?
• If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?
• If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?
• Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?

Stay tuned for part 2 of things that make you go hmmmmm. Hope you enjoyed!

Savannah Helms

Beaufort, NC - Coolest Town I say "Yes"

Beaufort, NC

Whether you are a first time visitor to Beaufort and its website, or a frequent user, it is my pleasure to welcome you. Founded in 1709 and North Carolina’s 3rd oldest town, there is much to see and appreciate. There are many beautiful restored homes that pre-date the Civil War, and the water vista and tree lined streets are most picturesque. We are home to the North Carolina Maritime Museum and its Queen Anne Revenge artifacts from Blackbeard’s ship which sunk off the Beaufort Inlet. In fact, Beaufort in its early history was captured by pirates. Beaufort is also home to the noted Nicholas School of the Environment of Duke University and one of the earliest NOAA labs is still alive and thriving in Beaufort.


Many yachts and sailboats moor in our Town public docks and you are welcome to walk the waterfront, enjoy the salt air and look across Taylors Creek for the wild ponies and horses that make their home on Carrot Island. You can take Cape Lookout and Shackleford Banks excursions from our waterfront, kayak down Taylors Creek, or take a water taxi across Taylors Creek to swim and picnic on Carrot Island. You can also shop in specialty shops or eat in our great restaurants. You will then see why Look Magazine has designated Beaufort as the top undiscovered beach resort community. Our culture and heritage are important assets to be cherished. Our citizens are friendly and Town staff and employees provide good, efficient services at reasonable costs. So it is with pride that we welcome you and invite you to visit for a while or make this your home. Sited: http://www.beaufortnc.org/experiencing-beaufort

So with that being said: Please vote for Beaufort, NC in America's contest for being one of the smallest coolest town. You can vote everyday up until the end of the month.VOTE HERE

Nifty Ideas Part 1

Nifty Ideas
Received this in an email and thought it was just too amazing not to pass along. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

For your July 4th recipes or just because hull strawberries with a straw.

Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes.

Remove crayon masterpieces from your TV or computer screen with WD40 (also works on walls).

Stop cut apples browning in your child’s lunch box by securing with a rubber band.

Overhaul your linen cupboard – store bedlinen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

I hope you enjoyed these ideas....I already am doing #5. Thinking about trying #1 because I just don't like the hull. Watch for part 2 for even more great ideas.

The Reason for the Season!

Merry Christmas from the Crystal Coast of North Carolina.

December 20, 2011 - 69 degrees

As most of us begin our travels during the upcoming holiday week, I hope you all have safe travels to your destinations. Gathering with friends and family...lets remember the reason for the season.

Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of the Christ child. God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to be born. His birth brought great joy to the world. Shepherds, wise men, and angels all shared in the excitement of knowing about this great event. They knew this was no ordinary baby. The prophets had told of His coming hundreds of years before. The star stopped over Bethlehem just to mark the way for those who were looking for this special child.

Luke 2: 4-19 says:

“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

Merry Christmas from my family to yours.

~Savannah Helms

Caring for Kids

I had the pleasure of taking a needy kid shopping this year through the Swansboro Rotary. I would have to say this was one of the highlights of my Christmas season. I went with another rotarian and in place of my bossman.


Once we got to the school and checked him out to go shopping, I noticed we had a shy child on our hands. But, by the end of the day we had him smiling and talking. He was 5 yrs old and had two older sisters and a brother. He also told us he had a cat & a dog. On the ride to The Jacksonville Mall we had asked him if he had eaten breakfast that morning, he said "no". So we began to name every place we knew we would pass on our way. Once we came to Bojangles his face lit up and he said "Yes I really like Bojangles." So that's where we stopped.


We then proceeded to The Jacksonville Mall to begin our shopping. Myself nor the person I went shopping with didn't know much about children much less about clothing for children...but I have to say we did an awesome job. We bought the majority of his clothing and a pair of shoes from JcPenny because they had teamed up with the Rotary and were offering a 40% discount. The shoes that he wore shopping were in rough shape so we went to Shoe Show and bought him another pair.


Throughout the day we noticed that he would stop at the Christmas trees and play with the ornaments. So we asked him if his parents had put up a tree yet, he said "no". So our next stop was Walmart and that is where we bought him a prelit Christmas tree and ornaments. And what Christmas wouldn't be complete without toys.


Then we ate lunch at Red Robin where he had to play with his new toys and tic tac toe (which I lost everytime) while we waited for our food. I know that we made this child's Christmas and I am so glad I was able to be apart of it. Thank you to the Swansboro Rotary and to JcPenny.

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that - as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.  ~Charles Dickens