Mistah B?! That's a man's name!

Saturday Morning Scene

2011-09-03T03:54:00.003-11:00

We're attempting to link up with Katie and Emeline and an email post in one. So don't be surprised if you look out your window and see pigs flying. It's a banner day.

Daddy decided that this would be a great day to get involved in the community by volunteering SEVEN hours for a rich kids soccer tournament. I'm all for volunteering, but but all day long? We've got stuff to do and mama needs some me time! In an effort to make the time pass more quickly, we grabbed some Mickey D's and came out to watch. Monroe thinks it's not as much fun now that the pancakes are gone and they won't share their ball! Fortunately we just spotted a "dahawk" (dog). Game on!

Is this thing on?

2011-09-01T16:54:00.009-11:00

Once upon a time, I was a young newlywed and I actually posted on this blog. Then, I had a big secret to keep.

(if that picture confuses you, google photobombing squirrel. We thought is was cute, but nobody else really understood.)

So I waited to post until it wasn't a secret anymore. Except by the time it wasn't a secret anymore, I couldn't actually blog because my husband prefers that I don't use the computer in the bathroom and that's pretty much where I spent all of my time until April 2nd, 2010. Then I met this guy.

And that's pretty much all she wrote. (literally) [By the way, the picture in that blue nightgown is about the prettiest I've ever felt. In reality, not so much. But, you try pushing a 7 lb 13 oz baby with no drugs, and you'll see that you don't feel so beautiful afterward. So, the first shower after all of that was AMAZING. Also, right after childbirth, you feel like Kate Moss. I was bending over like a mad woman driving my husband crazy saying, "look how skinny I am!" Again, in reality? Not so much.

This is Fred Monroe L*max V. We call him Monroe, but on the streets they call him Money or Cinco. Since he was born, I've been debating starting a family blog because I really prefer to keep this little corner of the internet for myself, but the grannies are all over the little guy and any way shape and form they can feast their eyes on him, they'll take.

I haven't posted in forever, but thanks to my iPhone and lots of time with a baby attached to me trying to figure out the whole nursing gig, I've been keeping up with other blogs. Blogging is weird because you feel like you know someone, but forget that you really don't. I'm trying to be better about commenting, but it still makes me feel a bit like a stalker because if you click my link you find a blog that hasn't been updated in 2 years and you think, "wow, I hope this girl hasn't quit posting because she couldn't bring her laptop to jail."

So, here's an update. It's not a promise that I'll keep going. A certain someone likes to slam the computer shut while I'm typing. But, maybe I'll try. Or maybe I won't. But, I'll keep tweeting and if you want to check me out, you'll at least know that I'm not in jail. That counts for something, right?

Here's the part where I bombard you with photos to bring you up to speed. (The grannies are going to die if they ever find out I'm posting pictures somewhere and not telling them.)

A newborn family shot

We couldn't get our act together enough to get 3 month pictures done. I'm still kicking myself for that, but here's a few from 5-6 months.

Monroe normally doesn't dress so cool, but he got these cool threads on his first trip to NYC because we were afraid he'd get jumped if he showed up in a longall.

Brothers

Our happy family. That's right before Jack ran off and we had to chase him around the park for 15 minutes.

9 Months

Brothers

Hanging out in his room

Look at that cute little tush!

One Year (How is that possible?!)

Sorry to overwhelm you with cuteness. This post probably wouldn't be as overwhelming if I knew how to arrange these pictures in a cute little grid, but I'm pretty technologically inept. It took me an hour to change my template to a free premade one. I don't even love this, but I couldn't make the one I did love actually work...and so it goes.

Stall surprise

2009-08-01T15:42:00.003-11:00

I just had an unfortunate mishap in the ladies room. There were no reasonable stall choices so I had to go with the one where the door would shut but wouldn't latch. I assumed my standard hover position and went about my business. The next thing I knew, some girl
was busting in on me. As if that wasn't bad enough, because of my squat position, she smacked
me in the head with the door
and busted my eye with the lock. Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark.

Give and Get

2009-07-27T10:10:00.004-11:00

30% off at The Gap, Banana Replublic, Old Navy and any of the outlets. Plus, a portion of the profits go to charity...what's not to love about that?!

Wedding Belle

2009-07-24T11:52:00.005-11:00

I've been too lazy to clean and organize my house in time to participate in the "Show Us Where You Live" Kelly is hosting, but I already got all dolled up and have the pictures to prove it, so I'm joining in on Show Us Your Life. Today's Topic is My Wedding Dress.

I can't resist an opportunity to celebrate our special day all over again, so here we go.

I found my dress during a birthday trip to Atlanta for my 27th birthday. No, I didn't go to the famous Kleinfeld's so you won't find me on Say Yes To The Dress reruns. We found it at a store called Bridals by Lori. It was the first dress I tried on. The truth is, I only really got to try on a few dresses...okay, maybe 10 isn't a few, but since it was my first time, I wanted to try on a TON.

I really wanted something that wasn't strapless because that seemed to be what everyone else I knew was wearing. I was hoping for something cap sleeved, but couldn't quite find anything. My last requirement was that the style be pretty timeless. My aunt and step mother were both married in the year of the large, almost cowboy like, bridesmaid hats...and unfortunately that trend also extended to the veil. Oh my beloved 80's, how could you be so good and yet so bad?! I did not want my dress to scream 2007!

I liked my dress the best of the bunch and it was a sample, so it was a do or die kind of moment. I was really feeling a lot of pressure. The dress was a little more than we budgeted, but it was half the normal price (because it was a sample). It felt kind of meant to be because it almost fit me perfectly. So, I got wrapped up in the moment and bought it. I did kind of wish I'd been able to try on some other dresses at some other places, but I resisted because I was afraid I'd want another one.

In the end, I'm really happy with my choice. I felt like a princess, a little embarrassing fact about me is that I've always secretly hoped I would one day discover that I actually AM a princess-Thank you, Anne Hathaway for your captivating performance in The Princess Diaries.

These first few shots are courtesy of my photographer, Elissa Queen in Charlotte, NC. They're from my bridal portraits at my Alma Mater, Salem College in Winston-Salem. I'm house sitting, so I don't have many shots with me. I borrowed these from my facebook profile

The only shot that's actually from the wedding is this one with my mom half way through buttoning the many many many buttons. We even had to get a special tool to get them all done.

I wore a long veil and a blusher. I love the classic look of the blusher and my mom and I had a special moment at the end of the aisle when she flipped it for me. The headpiece came from a great store in Charlotte called Brideshead, they do custom veils and headpieces; they also made pins for my hair. At the reception, I removed the long veil and wore the blusher flipped back. One of the many bridal ladies I worked with convinced me that I should get the most out of it and that it would really make me feel like a bride and make it easier for folks to spot me in a crowd...just in case you missed that big white dress!

I'll leave you with a shot of my Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue. My mom, grandmother, and aunts presented them to me at my Bridesmaid Luncheon. The cameo belonged to my great great grandmother. My mom monogrammed the blue panties as a surprise (I'm sure Freddie appreciated that she chose such a modest pair!). The earrings were my new (don't tell her, but I actually wanted to wear another pair), and my borrowed was a handkerchief that belonged to my grandmother.

unbelievable

2009-07-20T11:43:00.002-11:00

Susan was frustrated about her customer service at the bank today and I'm irritated about Target. Yes, you read that correctly, Target.

I was trying to take advantage of the crazy deal on Starbucks coffee (7 dollar coffee and when you buy 3 you get a 5 dollar gift card). But, the cashier couldn't get the card to come up until I bought 4. Hubs probably would have left it alone, but I am ~~a miser~~ frugal. I bought the fourth bag, but went immediately to check out the flier. It said 3 bags, so I proceeded to customer service. The girl had a difficult time returning my 4th bag for the full price, so she called the manager. He worked it all out, but what I couldn't believe was that he was popping his gum the whole time. I stood not 2 feet from his face and he continued to blow bubble after bubble. Sometimes he even did that annoying thing where you fold your gum so that it does a thousand ear piercing pops in a row. I thought about complaining, but who would I complain to? HE WAS THE MANAGER.

For the record, I'm actually a pretty cowardly complainer. I usually call in my complaints and I keep them few and far between, but what you don't know about me is that I cannot stand gum! Seriously, people pop it, pull it, smack it, and stick it everywhere. It is my number one pet peeve and so I've eliminated it from my life. My aversion certainly didn't help the matter, but is it just me, or is that absolutely ridiculous?!

gone, gone, gone, really gone

2009-07-14T13:18:00.002-11:00

So, this is my return to blogging, for now. I just haven't been feeling it lately. So, like Kate says, You get what you get and you don't get upset! Apparently she's getting a fortune, a ton of publicity, an old body guard and he's getting two hot earrings, and a young girl who removed his wife's jowls of a dog, but couldn't do a thing about Winnie The Pooh. There you go.

I still haven't done the list of things I'm proud of doing before my thirtieth birthday. maybe I will maybe I won't, but I probably will. maybe.

What inspired me to write today. I just got the best message from my Grandma. My cousin and his wife found out they are expecting in January. They lost a baby back around Christmas. Then, they thought she might have actually had a molar pregnancy, which means it wasn't a baby she was carrying, but cancer. Then they found out that she did actually lose a baby, so it was just grief, panic, grief. They waited a while to try after having their first. They are very, how should I say it, particular. She really threw them for a loop. I actually think some competition might calm our little missy down. I guess we'll soon find out because it turns out that they're not having one, but TWO babies! So exciting!

This marks the 19th pregnancy. Two girls had babies last week, which brought my pregnancy total down, but new baby total for the last 30 days up to 7. That's a lot of booties.

Meanwhile, I'm still barren. But, I'm hopeful. Last night, mister OPK (ovulation prediction kit for those of you not in the know) gave me a smiley face on the first try. Here's hoping that's a good sign.

So, that's all I got. I had to get it out there. I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed by all of these things and I can't really wrap my brain around much of anything else. Maybe now that I've spilled the beans, I can move onto something else.

In the mean time, I leave you with sweet little Taylor.

i made it

2009-05-27T05:15:00.003-11:00

I've been counting down the days to my 30th birthday and it has finally arrived. It was touch and go there for a few weeks, what with the 5 days my husband's co-worker stayed with us for the furniture market followed up by 7 straight days with my aunt and grandma visiting and topped off with another two days of more family visits. Oh yeah, throw in a few visits from my mom and my in-laws and their dogs for good measure and that makes for a pretty stressful month. All in all, it was nice visiting with everyone though and I'm certainly stronger for it :)

The threat of turning thirty hit me pretty hard this month. I'm a little sad about ending my twenties. I feel like it's saying good-bye to a piece of life that I'll never get back. This anxiety has given way to some great conversations though. So, in an effort to put my best foot forward, I'm going to compile a list of 30 tidbits from my twenties for which I am grateful. But, first I must go get a massage. I've got to milk this birthday for all it's worth.

life of freddie

2009-05-04T03:51:00.002-11:00

I enjoy watching Life of Ryan and other MTV reality shows. (This is further proof that I am not yet ready to be 30.)

Yesterday, I was catching up on DVR and admiring the scenery.

I asked Freddie, "Do you think Ryan Sheckler works out too, or he's just so cut from skateboarding?"

Freddie said, "Doesn't he surf? That will make you ripped. But, he probably works out too. Plus, believe me, it's a lot easier to tone up like that when you're young."

I told him, "I feel kind of guilty when I think he's hot because he's so young. I think he's 18."

He assured me, "That's okay. There are plenty of 18 year old girls I think are hot."

Think I should be concerned? :)

old lady, old lady, old lady

2009-05-04T03:45:00.003-11:00

I'm getting old. On May 27th, I'll be turning thirty. 3. 0.

I can remember when my mom turned thirty. So weird.

I don't actually think thirty is old. I know thirty is the new twenty and all that. I have plenty of young friends who are thirty and considerably older. It's just that I don't want to be thirty.

You see, once your thirty, you can never be twenty again. Profound, huh?

If I must turn thirty though, I plan to do it in style. A big party will be organized and my birthday list includes a trip and other assorted cash and prizes. and maybe a baby. We'll see.

it works if you work it

2009-05-04T03:40:00.002-11:00

On Sunday, I was running late for church. My shirt color insisted on spreading wide across my chest, a la John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and it was driving me crazy. I could have ironed it, but that would require setting up the ironing board, and oh yeah, I melted our carpet with it, so I'd also run the risk of melting carpet goo all over my shirt-and like I said, as usual, I was running late.

Coincidentally, I was trying to mix it up by straightening my curly hair, so I improvised. You know what, the straightening iron works pretty well for clothes too!

miss usa

2009-04-22T16:06:00.008-11:00

In the midst of all of the Perez Hilton and Miss California USA controversy, many of you may not have heard that Miss North Carolina won the Miss USA pageant!

I actually heard about this amazing young lady last year at Freddie's family beach trip. The Dalton family regularly pops in on the Figure 8 trip to visit with his aunt and cousins (they all used to attend church together before the Daltons moved to Wilmington).

They popped by last year and I was initially impressed with the family's amazing looks. I mean these people are show stoppers, seriously. Mom and Dad are like Ken and Barbie and even the awkward little brother could have been a model. Only two of their knock out daughters could make it that weekend. Kristen was too busy being a star student at ECU and preparing for the Miss USA pageant.

Fortunately, we were able to meet the middle children. Their equally impressive daughter Julia is also a pageant girl. In fact, she was Miss Teen USA North Carolina-twice!. Unfortunately, she only made 3rd runner up in 2007 and then 2nd runner up in 2008.

You may be wondering about their other daughter, Kenzie. It must be hard growing up in that type of family. She seems to be holding her own though. She's kind of artsy and eclectic. Not too eclectic though, more like New York chic. Lest you feel sorry for her for missing out on all of the pageant fun, she was the Azalea queen at a local Wilmington Festival. Fortunately, for the misfit of this family, she did catch someone's eye. She's engaged...

To Chad Michael Murray

What a family.

sorry, mate

2009-04-21T12:55:00.002-11:00

I've been a little overwhelmed this week, so last night I declared that we were definitely going out to eat tonight.

However, it seems a maelstrom is brewing outside and I am pretty comfy in my jammie pants, so I reminded my husband that he'll be away from the house a lot next week for furniture market. I sweetly suggested we let Outback do the cooking.

We were excited to find that we didn't even have to actually talk to a person, we could just order online. So, click, click, click, and in twenty minutes we'll be eating steak!

Except, we just got the confirmation e-mail and realized we'd actually placed an order at the Outback in Blowing Rock, NC.

It's two hours away and while I'll be there this weekend, I'm too hungry to wait.

Oops.

gone fishin'

2009-04-17T08:09:00.003-11:00

Actually I'm planning on going bummin', but hubs will be doing some fishing.

We know this couple through our other friends and through some other random connections. We actually like them more than the couple we know better and had a blast with them at our other friends' wedding. We've hung out with them a time or two and on Wednesday, they called and asked if we were interested in last minute trip to the beach.

They even invited Jack!

I don't have a lot, read any, girlfriends in town. I went to college somewhere else and moved here when we got married. I have friends close by, but no one that I can just call to grab a drink or go to a movie. Most of my local friends are pretty well established.

So, while the boys are fishing, I will be busy making D my best friend. Wish me luck and while you're at it, say a prayer that Jack doesn't eat their pup, Otter.

dooce

2009-04-08T12:08:00.003-11:00

Yesterday, I taped Oprah because I wanted to see Dooce. Freddie was doing his online application in the same room and overheard her intro that said she makes $40,000 a MONTH in advertising. A. MONTH.

Freddie rewound the tape to be sure that was correct. It was.

He looked at me and said, "Holy Shit, Babe. You better get to typing."

calgon, take me away!

2009-04-08T11:46:00.002-11:00

Perhaps I should have titled this post, "the one where i share too much information"

I'm not supposed to get off work for another hour, but I had to bail early today. My snarky side was coming out with a vengeance. I was starting to take it out on my patients and that's not good for any of us, so I called in relief and hightailed it to my bathtub. I proceeded to marinate for an hour while I finished a book and was able to emerge a much better person. Until my husband came home and started talking.

Don't get me wrong. I actually enjoy talking to him, but I had just worked so hard to decompress and he was quickly putting me right back in the pressure cooker. Fortunately, I think he picked up my "shut up, shut up, shut up" vibes and high tailed it to Barnes and Noble-after he put away the laundry-thankyouverymuch.

I was exhausted this morning and barely made it out of bed. When I arrived at work I learned that I had a total care patient. This man could not do ANYTHING for himself. This would be fine if I were a n*rse tech, but I'm actually ment*l he*lth tech and cleaning up after a man who pees himself really just ain't my thang. After I smelled what I was in for and another woman came to me and started bitching away, I knew I was in for a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

I'm sure none of this was helped by the fact that I'm pretty afraid that on April 20th I'm going to lose my new perfect job where I have fun co-workers, learn a lot, see cool/crazy things every day, get great benefits, and have an AMAZING schedule (4 day weekends, anyone?). The downside of my job is that I took a HUGE pay cut to do it. It was totally worth it because of the other perks, but if I have to switch shifts and lose my other perks, it won't be and it's a bad time to switch it up.

It also probably wasn't helped by the fact that yesterday hubs' boss suggested that they might really want him to transfer to Baltimore in 12-18 months. Although I would enjoy singing, "Good Morning, Baltimore!" every day, I'm not so much excited about living on the set of Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire (although I did love He's Just Not That Into You). He got online and began job searching pronto, but that meant....

He was a little distracted when he oversalted the casserole I made and ruined it, then was too distracted to actually throw it away and left a huge mess for me this morning, and finally forgot that he'd offered to make me lunch and left me with nothing to eat.

To top it all off...and here is where I'm-disclosing too much information, maybe wishing I had more readers so this would actually be an opportunity to reach out and get some moral support, feeling kind of embarrassed for already feeling consumed by this, and admitting that we're trying to have a baby.

The great job search of 2008 resulted in a position that was great for that next step in our life, but also required us to wait a little longer than we thought to start trying. I thought we'd begin quite casually in the fall, but when we had to wait until February it was difficult to keep it casual. i couldn't help but look up my "fertile window" online and then bite the big one and pee on a few sticks to double check. We kicked it all off with a trip to the Magic Kingdom and then really focused our energy the next month. My husband's original certainty that he could just look at me right and get me pregnant turned out to be false, so this month we stepped up our game even more. And now, we wait. I can't help but think about it all of the time. How do you not? How do you sit and wait for your life to change completely? How do you not wish you'd tried when it wasn't quite time so that now you might see some results? How do you not misjudge every bit of post nasal drip nausea?

I feel guilty because I have several friends who've tried for so much longer, but I can't help fear that I'm going to be in their shoes.

So, today, when the man peed himself and then smiled at my while someone asked me to clean it up. I offered to cover another girl's responsibilities so that she could do it (she's trained for that stuff and I'm not) and ran to the phone to find someone else to work the last section of my shift. I truly believe that sometimes it really is more important to be in a hot bath with a book than it is to be at work helping other people.

you're not fooling me

2009-04-05T15:09:00.003-11:00

Have you seen the new Mott's applejuice commercial? Marcia Cross is in it along with two little kids with red hair. Maybe they chose red heads because of how nicely the hair compliments the other colors in the commercial (I was impressed with how they accentuated her hair), but I'm pretty sure they were trying to give the impression that they were her kids. Mott's, who do you think you're fooling? Do you think I've been living under a rock? Do you think I've never read People magazine? Do you think I didn't know that she has twin girls who are still little. Do you think I don't know their names? Because I do. (I may not know the names of the supreme court justices, but I do know about Eden and Savannah.)

Electrolux and Kelly Ripa are trying to pull the same tricks while selling vibrantly colored appliances.

Next thing you know Brad and Angelina will be trying to sell a mini van with just one little red headed kid.

What's that all about?

I guess they don't want to exploit their own kids, but hey, everyone else's are fair game.

kids a plenty

2009-04-05T15:07:00.001-11:00

Have you seen the new gigantic family show on TLC? It's called Table for 12. At first, I wasn't planning to watch it, since I watch 2,000 other shows, but I cleared a few things of the DVR and now we're all set.

The children are a little older so you don't have quite as much mini mischief, but the parents are so real and so nice that I really like it.

Check it out.

aww

2009-04-02T14:16:00.003-11:00

I'm watching the series finale of ER. It's been a while since I've visited the ED in Chicago as I've relocated to the OR in Seattle on Thursday nights. I used to be a pretty faithful viewer though, so I had to come back for the farewell to say good-bye to all of my friends.

I don't know many of the new staff members in Chicago. I've seen an episode or two with Uncle Jesse, but I was just surprised to see that one of my favorite teens has really grown up. I didn't know that little Rory Gilmore had given up journalism for medicine. Way to go Rory! I guess Yale served you well.

teeny bopper

2009-03-27T14:27:00.002-11:00

Is it weird that I'm pretty sure I'm going to see the Hannah Montana movie? In the theater?

pathetic

2009-03-27T14:15:00.002-11:00

A guy I work with is going through a tough break-up. He wants to stay together, but she doesn't. So, they're trying to be friends. Of course, this isn't working because he still wants to be more.

Yesterday, I was trying to convince him that he needed some time away from her to get over her. I told him about one of my old boyfriends and our lingering break-up/make-up relationship and how we couldn't be friends until we had A LOT of time apart and how even now, it's weird. He wanted to know if we were friends now. We talked about how it's difficult to be friends with someone who knows so much about you...more than most of your other friends. Suddenly, I thought of some good friends of mine who aren't together anymore, but are still really close. They can even talk about one another's dates, etc, but the truth is there's really still chemistry between them.

I was trying to remember which friends I was thinking of and then I realized it was Sam and Naomi.

From Private Practice.

Pathetic.

snotty

2009-03-18T14:53:00.002-11:00

I have many thoughts and happenings on my mind that I want to write about, but unfortunately they're all covered in snot. It's starting to warm back up around here, but not much is in bloom yet. I can feel the tide turning though because my head is swimming and I'm sneezing like crazy. I haven't slept in two nights because I've been so congested. I've temporarily become a mouth breather, which is oh so attractive.

I signed my name and gave my license so I could get the real sudafed and I'm about to head for my bed. I will post more when my brain dries out. In the mean time, has anyone tried a netti pot?

stranded

2009-03-16T03:07:00.002-11:00

My husband works 30 minutes from our house. We've been trading cars daily based on who has to drive farther. This has helped to save some miles on our leased car, but sometimes proves to be confusing. Today is one of those times.

Fred had the leased car on Friday when I drove to Charlotte and he has the other car today. He's only using one car, but unfortunately, has both sets of keys with him. So, I am stuck.

I'm not complaining too much. I was supposed to go to a seminar on retirement today, but it was hosted by AIG, so I'm not sure how helpful it would have been anyway. I have to drive to meet my students at 5, but he assures me that he'll get me the keys by then. It's rainy and gross outside and I'm still wearing my pajamas. I've also got a full DVR schedule and a new episode of Big Love to watch.

Actually, I may have ended up with the better end of the deal.

off

2009-03-03T15:26:00.002-11:00

Today has just been an off day.

I woke up around 5:30 and just laid in bed until my alarm went off at 6:10. After a while, I wondered what was taking so long. It was 6:15. I had set my alarm for 7:10. I have to be at work at 7:00.

Then, I couldn't find either of our car keys and realized I'd forgotten to clean all of the snow off the car and it had frozen.

I went to grab a cup of coffee before I ran out the door, but discovered that Freddie had accidentally set the alarm for 6:30...pm

Freddie was kind enough to bring me some coffee and then we had a fiasco and had to switch cars.

At lunch, my Smart Meals leaked some kind of grease all over my uniform.

I brought a pop corn and a movie for the patients and the butter splashed all over the other side of my uniform.

I escaped to go to the bathroom and discovered my underwear were inside out.

But, that's okay. Because I won a little award at work today, so it's all good.

snow day!

2009-03-02T06:51:00.007-11:00

Today-6 inches of snow
Friday-70
North Carolina Weather-Crazy

When you work at a hospital there's no such thing as a snow day. For that matter, there's no such thing as Christmas either. However, Monday is one of my days off, so I was so excited about the snow last night. We've actually had a couple of good (for NC) snows this year, but I've had to be at work for all of them, and of course they had melted by the time I got home.

I begged Freddie to skip work today and stay home with us, but the best he could do was go in late. I am DYING to go sledding and praying the snow holds out until he gets back home. In the meantime, Jack and I played outside for a bit. I had to make a mad dash around the house trying to find some gloves to wear. I found 4 gloves, but they were all lefties. Little man loves socks and gloves and I expect he is to blame for the missing righties.

He was very interested in one blade of grass that poked through the snow and it was so cute to see him trying to figure it out.

I decided to borrow a little snow from our neighbor's house (no one lives there) to add to my snowman. Jack was not happy that I left him in the yard alone and cold. He cried and whined like crazy. He didn't love the snow. He was so cold and shiver (I suppose I would be too, if I'd gone out there NAKED!) He warmed up to it a bit and seemed to enjoy the cold snack. We gathered up a few pots and I'm going to try making some snow cream later.

If you look carefully, you can see he's actually trying to take my glove!
Little man finally convinced me to go inside. It looks like he's trying to get his tush warm.

funny times four

2009-03-01T12:10:00.001-11:00

You say we're in a recession? These guys don't care.

Thanks to Happy Hour Sue for sharing this!

it's tough being popular

2009-03-01T10:31:00.002-11:00

We actually had plans this weekend.

On Friday night our cute friends Tim and Danielle invited us over for dinner. We enjoyed playing with their silly dog, Otter, and enjoyed a little wine, too. Our visit to and tour of their house served as a little kick in the tail because I left feeling horrible about the state of our house, err I mean rat's nest.

Yesterday, Freddie's friends from Maryland stopped through on their way down to Florida. (Man, I wish I'd stowed away in their car because it's freezing here!) Freddie woke up early and cleaned our house. (Well, he mostly cleaned and the rest of the stuff he stowed away in our back bedroom).

Today, we felt inspired to get off our butts and do something. We were going to paint, but it's freezing and dark today, so we skipped it. We did do some virtual designing and found a bathroom we love on rate my space. We tried to go out in this freezing rain and look for supplies, but only made it as far as Panera for soup before we had to head back home and put on our jammies.

I suppose we'll continue to feel horrible about our house, but at least we'll be warm and cozy in our rat's nest.

an actual conversation

2009-02-24T15:37:00.004-11:00

Freddie visited his buddy up the street and told me that he was taking his friend's wife to a movie. I jokingly suggested that they were having an affair and after assuring me that they weren't, he told me that he joked that he had better watch him around me and then we had the following conversation.

Freddie-I knew you wouldn't have to worry about him because he's a smoker, but do you think if he weren't a smoker and he looked like Brad Pitt you would cheat on me with him?

Me-I'm not really that into Brad Pitt. I mean, I can appreciate him, but I don't think I'd date him.

F-....well, or some other actor you're really into.

M-Johnny Depp! Except, I don't think I'd be so into Johnny Depp if we hadn't had such a long history together.

F-What about Matthew Mcconaughey?

M-From what I understand, he's not really into personal hygeine. I think he's kind of stinky in person.

F-Well, what about somebody you really like.

M-Oh, John Krasinski!!

F-Wow, you were excited about that! okay, yeah him.

M-Yeah, you might really have to worry about that.

F-What if we really did live next to John Krasinski and we were friends with him and we hung out all of the time....And, I still got really tired and had to go to bed early and you guys hung out a lot after I went to bed.

M-I think if our marriage was on the line you should try to stay up later.

F-But I don't even know that our marriage is on the line. What can I do?

M-You know, I think we're just going to have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

goodnight sweetheart

2009-02-22T17:23:00.003-11:00

Freddie couldn't hang through the Oscars.

He just hugged me good night and said, "See you tomorrow?" With a question. a question.

"You said that like a question? Do we have plans i don't know about. I think I'll be here tomorrow. Unless I leave you. Or I die. If that's the case, get my casket at Costco."

"That's true. That's one thing you taught me while you were here."

I suppose my work here is done then.

and the oscar goes to

2009-02-22T16:45:00.003-11:00

a few funny oscar conversations...

#1
Announcer lady "coming up next on the Academy Awards.."

Freddie-"Wait! I thought this was the Oscars!"

#2
Freddie-"I don't understand why all of these movies are up for awards."

Me-"I think they're going for a hopeful theme this year. That's what I heard on NPR"

Freddie-"What kind of hope?"

Me-"You know hope that a kid from the slums can still win Who Wants To Be A Millionaire."

Freddie-"Yes, we do have that."

#3
Freddie after seeing He's Just Not That Into You, " I hope that one wins!"

sunday shopping

2009-02-22T10:25:00.004-11:00

I was hunting around online for a deal on a TV and found another great deal. The Costco website says that they have thousands more items than you'll find in your local store. Well, that's certainly true.

It turns out that you can actually buy a casket online. They have two categories...one for standard shipping and one for expedited shipping, just in case you didn't plan ahead.

This one is my personal favorite. It seems to be pretty classic, but if you want something a little more flashy, they also have them with messages embroidered inside the lid. One says, "Mother" and has a little flower another one says, "In God's Care." Another is called the Edward, but I can't see what it says inside. Surely it doesn't say Edward because I would think that would really reduce its marketability.

In all seriousness, maybe this isn't such a weird thing. I visited a funeral home with my "death and dying" class in seminary and that place was really scamming people out of some money. I went ahead and gave Freddie the thumb's up to get my casket at Costco, but he informed me that he'd prefer that he die first. He thinks I'm better at dealing with those kinds of things. Well, thanks, but no thanks.

meowza

2009-02-19T17:48:00.006-11:00

Apparently dogs had the animal clothing market cornered and cats decided not to take it anymore. It's a bold debut, but I think they could work it out. I just hope the rodents come up with something creative. It's going to be difficult to top this.

Kitty Wigs

I want to be a princess

2009-02-19T17:29:00.004-11:00

I've always loved Disney. I know the songs, the stories, the characters, etc. I spent many an elementary and middle school afternoon watching The NEW Mickey Mouse Club on the Disney Channel. Keri Russel, JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and assorted other random friends who now appear in Lifetime movie and McDonald's commercials were my afternoon companions. I love it!...all of it! I first visited Walt Disney World when I was 16. My mom waited to take me until I was old enough to appreciate it. Some parents may have thought I would be too old, but I am a kid at heart and I ate it up.

Last weekend, my husband and I went to Disney World for Valentine's Day. Magical things happen for us at Disney. We were engaged there in 2006. (yeah, it's cheesy, but I'm a cheesy girl) And, since we're thinking about expanding our family, we thought "why not corrupt the Magic Kingdom?" Okay, so that's not exactly how it went, but that's a story for a different day.

Anyway, while we were there, I was able to get right in front of the new show at Cinderella's Castle. I love the Castle. Love. It. Ever since I saw Princess Diaries, I've had a secret hope that one day I will become a princess and buy Cinderella's Castle. Hey, a girl can dream, right? Why not go big? At the show, i got completely caught up in the whole thing. I was thrilled to be able to see so may of the princesses, and their princes, up close.

At Epcot, I got my picture taken with Belle, Mulan, and Pocahontas, (yes, I still do that!) and I spotted Snow White and Jasmine and I started to think about how long it had been since we got a new princess. I'm not sure who Jiselle is affiliated with, because I do love her and regularly since the Happy Little Working Song in her honor, but I did not spot her at Disney.

Sure enough, today I heard some exciting news. A new princess is on her way and she's an African American. It's about time.

Here's a shot of our new princess in doll form with her human actress counterpart. Princess Tiana is going to be featured in the story of the frog prince and is also going to mark Disney's return to 2D animation. Now we just have to hope that we get some good folks lined up for the music.

eww

2009-02-18T14:17:00.002-11:00

Here's a post that will make you vomit.

Or, it's at least a story about how I almost did while I was at work today.

I had to help one of our patients wash her clothes. I let her in the laundry room only to find that someone's stuff was already in the washing machine. I was in a hurry, so I just reached in and pulled it out. About three scoops later, it was all in the dryer. But, as I grabbed the last bit of clothing, I heard a scraping noise like there was a piece of change in the machine.

I reached around and found the culprit.

When I pulled my hand out of the washing machine I discovered not a coin, but a tooth. A TOOTH! A HUMAN TOOTH! In. My. Bare. Hand.

sunday funday

2009-02-08T19:25:00.003-11:00

We completed movie number 2 out of our quest to see all five oscar best picture nominees. I should say my oscar film quest because Freddie really has no interest, but is being a very good sport. Tonight, we saw Milk. It was good, but my favorite part was when Freddie really got into it and said "that was good" out loud. He was responding to some quick comeback Harvey Milk had in response to an ignorant jerk, but he was so lost in the movie that he forgot we were not at home and used his outside voice. I got so tickled, I could not stop laughing.

Afterward, we tried to hit up Bill's PIzza Pub. It's supposed to be a local favorite that I just learned about at work on Thursday. No joke, 4 people raved about it and then 3 more said, you've never been?! I hyped it up all weekend, but when we got there, we learned they are closed on Sundays. bummer.
I've been trying to figure out how to juggle my day tomorrow. I have to get my oil changed and my car inspected (it was due in OCTOBER and we're driving to Florida on Thursday.) I also have to order baby shower invitations and make and drop off a meal to a girl from the league who just had a baby. As Freddie and I struggled to figure out how to balance all of these things, I also have to go to the next town over at noon and am just going to stick around since I have another meeting at 5, when he tried to offer me some assistance. I think you're just going to have to skip the meal. What?! I quickly informed him that this was not an option. I committed. It's what you do. They're expecting me!

We headed to the HT to pick up the groceries for the pot pie and I realized it's triple coupon day. Usually the triple coupons only go through Saturdays. I'm sure this is HT's way of only catering to religious coupon cutters. I grabbed two out of the machines and was so excited because I remembered that I still had my house sitting newspaper in the car. I rushed home and clipped away. It was amazing! I ran around that store like I was on a game show. My best deal? Skintimate shave gel. I had a coupon for 50 cents off, which, of course, tripled to $1.50. You know what? They had the stuff on sale for 1.49, so I got it for FREE and got a penny toward something else AND I got the last one...SCORE!

if i only had a brain

2009-02-08T05:30:00.003-11:00

My blog is ugly. Everyone else has very cute things on their blog and I have an ugly green blogger template. I don't know how to fix it though. Strike that, i don't know how to fix it without spending money because I'm not really willing to spend any, or rather I'm not willing to spend what it takes. If you want to snazz it up for 20 bucks, I'm your girl, though.

I'm starting to figure out a few bits and pieces of html, but not enough to make this thing attractive. Any hints?

update: Thanks to aquapoppy designs, I have a new blog background! Now, I just need a header.

your mission, should you choose to accept it

2009-02-07T15:51:00.004-11:00

Every year when Oscar time comes around, I stay up late. I endure the hours of speeches, dresses, awards for sound, and costumes, and production, and obscure foreign film to see the winners in the Best Actor, Actress, and Film category only to find that the two films I have actually seen will lose. This year, that's not happening.

I'm on a mission. I'm going to see every film on the Best Picture list and I'm working pretty hard to see the films that have a Best Actor or Actress nominee too. Tonight we saw Slum Dog Millionaire. We really enjoyed it. I'm not sure if our friends did, but oh well. I gave them the list of the 5 nominees and that's what they chose. Tomorrow, we're going to see Milk.

I was trying to see three movies this weekend, but Freddie, who isn't as committed to the cause as I am, was only up for 2. However, last night he was trying to convince his friends to come along, so he volunteered to see a movie with me on Sunday to make last night's selection more appealing to the masses. We saw He's Just Not That Into You and his friends didn't actually come. The movie was SO CUTE! I think it was Freddie's first time seeing a major chick flick on opening night. In one particular Judy Blume moment, ALL of the girls in the audience simultaneously said, Awwww, and he was blown away. It was great.

out of the loop

2009-02-07T15:45:00.003-11:00

I've been a bad blogger lately. Actually, I think except for the rare occasion, I am always a bad blogger. Oh well. I can't think of anything interesting to share. So, I decided to share something that isn't interesting.

We're housesitting this weekend. Hubby's aunt has a beautiful home and we're playing pretend. We're also keeping her golden doodle puppy, Lucy and fat cat, Simba. Lucy, the puppy, is giving Jack a run for his money. We thought no dog had as much energy as Jack, but we were wrong. Poor little Jack looks like he's had a bad visit to the salon, his ears are all glued up from Lucy chewing on them. Simba has helped me fulfill my dream of giving someone a shot (these little eccentricities remain from my pre-med days). He needs one twice a day for his diabetes and I am loving it.

Their neighborhood is a former farm or something. There is a huge pasture in the middle that is communal property. When we came home this evening, there were 7 deer in the yard. Some were just little folks. Too cute.

Tomorrow is our last day. I may have to take a few snapshots to share before we hit the road. Lord knows, we'll never live in a place this nice.

waiting

2009-02-01T15:41:00.001-11:00

is it wrong that I wish the super bowl would just end so i can watch the office?

sunday stress

2009-02-01T15:35:00.002-11:00

Are you watching the big game? We are. When I say that, I'm using the word watching in the loosest sense of the word since neither one of us knows anything about sports. We were excited about having some wings and nachos in honor of the big event, but then we were too busy and too lazy to go to the grocery store. Our situation wasn't helped by Freddie's sudden anxiety attack over bills, mess, groceries, filing, taxes, the dog, the vet, unpacking, money, you name it.

He does this occasionally and I do my best not to kill him. In these moments, he loses all ability to see his own role in all of it. He talks incessantly and needs me to drop whatever I'm doing and fix his problems. I finally snapped today and reminded him that I hadn't made the file he was obsessing over, or moved it. It wouldn't bother me if it wasn't so sudden, well it probably would, but I could maybe get in on the program. It might also help if he nicely asked for my assistance instead of suddenly spazzing out. Though I suppose if I looked at myself very carefully I might find one or two areas where I'm not perfect. Surprising, I know.

i stand corrected

2009-01-21T15:21:00.002-11:00

Lori Loughin, I thought you would forever be Aunt Becky, mom to two precocious toddlers. I never saw you with the chutzpah it takes to raise teenagers in Beverly Hills. But tonight, as I watched you impart sage wisdom to young Duncan, you also educated me. I didn't think you had it in you, but I raise my glass to you. You can school my kids any day.

hope

2009-01-19T05:46:00.002-11:00

It's a cold day here in Greensboro, but I'm filled with hope that comes with the promise of new beginnings. As we take the day to celebrate Martin Luther King it feels almost prophetic that tomorrow we inaugurate our first African American president. No doubt, he will disappoint us from time to time for some it will be more often than not. I think that's the nature of being the President. People will definitely hate you. It's also the mark of what is truly great about this nation, we have the privilege of hating our president and doing so with gusto.

I'm looking forward to watching the inaugural coverage. The day after the election, one of the nurses gathered our co-workers for a huddle. She wanted us all to share our thoughts, though I'm pretty sure just positive ones, about the election. I'm sure what she did would be frowned upon by hospital administration and although I was certainly celebrating, I was a little uncomfortable too. My anxiety diffused though when I heard some of my co-workers' thoughts. I heard stories of African American men and women waking their children up and calling them to the television..."yes, you can" they said. The magnitude of what it means to see someone who looks like you in such an important position really hit home for me in that moment. I think our days of racism and prejudice are far from over, but I am thankful that my own children will never know a world where black man cannot be president.

I'm looking forward to change.

lust

2009-01-15T17:17:00.006-11:00

Oh, Vera Bradley, you cunning temptress. Why must you seduce me with such cute patterns?

Purple Punch

Cupcake Pink

Cupcake Green

Hope Garden

(these are in order from the one I like the least to the one I like the best...just in case you're going shopping this weekend.)

Reading a magazine

2009-01-12T16:40:00.002-11:00

Did anyone see Speidi on How I Met Your Mother Tonight? Love. it.

are you there margaret? Peter needs some clarification.

2009-01-09T06:40:00.003-11:00

At work, we use these really strong cleansing wipes to help prevent the spread of infections. These wipes are seriously powerful, they'll kill MRSA, VRE, HIV, Hepatitis, etc.

Yesterday, one of our mental health patients was standing in the hallway asking my coworker for something. He was holding the container of wipes and looking really confused. I couldn't really hear all of their conversation, but I did pick up that she was asking him for a sanitary napkin. He stumbled over his words a bit and then handed her the package. At this point, I could only hear his part of the conversation. "You need them right now?" "Oh, you want them before you can go to the bathroom?" "Oh, okay....well, this is really the only thing that we have..." and then he handed her the wipes.

At that point she looked really confused, and I could barely contain myself. "Ma'am. I can help you. We have some right in here" and I headed for the supply closet. "Peter..." I called my colleage in. "She wanted a maxi pad."

"No. She said she wanted a sanitary napkin. I thought she meant an alcohol wipe."

I informed him, "She meant a maxi pad."

"Well why didn't she just say that?" he asked.

"She was probably kind of embarrassed. A sanitary napkin is a maxi pad."

Still confused and probably a bit embarrassed, he said, "Show me where it says that on the package! You don't put these things on your face, it's not a napkin!"

"That's what it says on the machines. It's kind an old fashioned word," I explained to him.

"Well, I'm was a history major and I've never heard that word."

snob

2009-01-05T15:15:00.003-11:00

There are some words my mom says that just drive me crazy! I've learned, over time, that it's best if I just leave it alone and don't say anything. Although my first instinct is to jump in and correct her. This requires tremendous restraint on my part. Instead, I hold the corrective dialogue in my own mind and pretend I didn't notice. Sometimes I do go a little further and intentionally introduce that word, pronounced correctly, of course, into my next sentence. I may even need to use that word in the next several sentences. Apparently, I'm doing a good job restraining my feelings of frustration because she continues to mispronounce these words, Mexico, Toille, Laguardia, etc. Now, don't think my mom is a complete idiot. In some situations, it's not quite a mispronunciation so much as a weird pronunciation. She insists on calling them Joe Jeans instead of Joe's and it drives me crazy!

To give her a little credit, my mom isn't the only one whose verbal flaws drive me crazy. Pretty much every day there are a few folks whose banter hits me like nails on a chalkboard. I'm continually biting my tongue to refrain from correcting or snapping at them. A girl I work with says, gifth. Not gift, but gifth. Seriously, I saw her tongue between her teeth when she said the word...twice. Other people enjoy slipping letters into words like pastorial instead of pastoral. what is with this? Do people just not hear the difference between these words? Are they not hooked on phonics? Are they trying to spice up life?

Or, am I just the only insane person who can't handle it?

not feelin' it

2009-01-05T10:15:00.002-11:00

I'm behind on the posts. I'm just not feeling it right now. I actually had a list of little silly things to post about, but alas, that list is in my stolen purse. I'm hoping inspiration will strike soon. Surely, a stranger will make me wear his jacket, I will insult a homeless man, or my husband and I will share some adorable banter soon. In the meantime, I'm watching tv.

I'm convinced

2008-12-18T17:48:00.002-11:00

that there is a bug living in my nose. I've had a tickle in it for a couple of days now. It only acts up sometimes, but it is seriously intense and there is no stopping it once it starts. I've tried blowing it...HARD. No luck. That sucker it deep. It's right between m nose and my brain. It really is. I haven't had an x-ray, but I can tell.

I'm not ashamed to say that I have tried shoving my finger up there as far as it will go (in private, of course). What?! What else am I going to do? It is driving me CRAZY! It is so intense, I almost can't stand it. The worst part is, every time it flares up, I keep thinking of all of those horrible stories about people who have some kind of bug crawl in their ears and then the bug gives birth. Any minute now, I'm certain a swarm of insects is going to come from my nose in a Green Mile kind of moment.

I wonder if this paranoia has to do with the disgusting pictures of moth larvae living corrugated boxes that we have had displayed all over work this week?

We have since stopped keeping all of our food and medical supplies in said corrugated boxes. However, my nightmare, and my tickle, continues.

mr mom

2008-12-06T15:03:00.005-11:00

I'm sure you heard about the pregnant man, Thomas Beatie. His story has been pretty controversial. I personally don't have a problem with it, although this picture is a little disgusting to me...mostly because it looks like a giant beer belly.

Freddie and I were watching a show about him on Discovery Health. He was talking about how upset people have been since his Oprah interview. Apparently they get hate calls all of the time. He was sort of surprised though because said that most men he knew stated that if they could have a baby in their wife's place, they would.

That inspired the following conversation.

me: "If I couldn't get pregnant and you could, would you do it in my place?"

fred: "No"

That's it. No. No explanations, no apologies, no pretending, just no. Seriously? It's not even possible. That guy was born a woman, he wasn't. It's not going to happen. I'm never going to recall this moment and tap you in. You can't even pretend that you'd do it for me? No.

In that case. I am NEVER mowing the lawn.

the right stuff

2008-12-06T15:01:00.003-11:00

(Oh Gosh! I never posted this!)
On Thursday night, I headed down to Charlotte to meet my oldest girlfriends for a hot date. We met up with 5 guys we have been in love with for about 20 years now and a good time was definitely had by all.

Here are a few shots of the evening.

We gathered with two other friends for dinner at Brixx before the performance and practiced our dance moves. Remember this one?

We were very excited to see our boys on the marquis.

Not at all impressed with the opening acts, a very white girl with a Jamaican accent whose back up dancers looked like crack whores and Lady Gaga, so we took the opportunity to take a few snapshots and tried our luck at winning front row seats by texting the big screen. We really had a good time thinking of what to write.

OH MY GOSH...HERE THEY COME!

It was an amazing show. They sang a few of the new songs, which I didn't really know, and rocked out almost all of their most popular old songs. They danced, they thrusted and we swooned. We had awesome seats for most of the show and then they moved to a second stage that was right in front of us. I took a horrible shot so that you could see how close we were.

At the end the whole crowd had their hands swaying to Hangin' Tough. It was totally rad.

lawn mower

2008-12-06T14:26:00.004-11:00

Back when Freddie was recovering from his broken leg and we had just gotten our dog, we were taking a little stroll around our neighborhood. We observed several folks doing the last lawn mowing of the season and Freddie stated that our lawn probably needed to be cut one more time. He was still on a cane and not quite capable. His uncle had kindly sent over his yard man, but we were uncertain if he'd be coming back. I suggested that we call his 11 year old cousin who loves to mow the lawn and told us he'd do it for $3 because we were family and "needed the money more than he did." (What must he think of us?) Fred suggested that I just do it.

I have never mown a lawn in my life. When I was little, I wanted to, but we lived in an apartment and my grandpa wouldn't let me mow theirs. He said it was too dangerous and that a rock could pop up and hit me in the face. I'm a little older now and perhaps more careful, but then what would I use when I play the I've Never Game?

Fred maintains that this is silly reasoning and for some reason, insists that I really should mow the lawn from time to time. On that particular day, he was pretty put out by my suggestion of paying someone else to do it. (For the record, I did plan to give Alex more than his requested three dollars.)

him-"Why don't you just do it yourself?"

me-"You know. I don't mow the lawn."

him-"because it's not safe? because you need it for I've never? That's silly. Our grass needs to be cut and you can do it and you're not willing to?"

me-"No, but I'm willing to pay someone. It's not that much. It's probably the last time of the season. I don't see why it's a big deal."

him-"I just don't see why you won't do it. Why am I always going to have to be the one to mow it?"

me-"I'll have the babies."

him-"What?! I don't even have a choice about that! That doesn't count."

me-"If we have three children and I carry them each for at least nine months, then I think that will easily cover the number of hours you'll spend mowing our yard. And I'm willing to give you some outs. I don't care if you hire someone."

This argument went on and on and occasionally resurfaces. I don't understand why it's a big deal. I'm not going to do it. I'm just not. I'll do other things. In fact, I do most of the laundry and the dishes. Not because we're conventional like that, just because it bothers me before it occurs to him to address it. For some reason it still drives him crazy.

Are there things you just won't do? (PS-my other thing is digging soggy food out of the kitchen sink. The thought of touching that stuff makes me want to vomit. I will, however, remove hair from the shower drain.)

working men

2008-12-04T16:03:00.004-11:00

My husband is the operations manager for a Tibetan Wool Rug Importer. They make beautiful hand woven wool and silk rugs. Their main office is in Baltimore, but all of the beautiful rugs are in High Point, NC. Fred has two guys that work for him regularly, but recently my work new work schedule has thrown all of our schedules out of whack and he's had to call in some reinforcements.

The problem is, the new guy is a total goof off.

bah humbug

2008-11-28T06:04:00.002-11:00

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving. My father in law seems to be in a funk these days and can only see the world through his black colored glasses, but I was feeling merry and bright. I came home and began putting the Fall things away. I gathered a few Christmas items and started putting them out. I didn't want to make a mess, so I just gathered things that were easy to pull down from the attic and put on display. I put out a few rugs, a few nutcrackers, and lit our little Christmas trees on the front porch.

Last night, we welcomed the Christmas season by seeing Four Christmases. This morning we were up bright and early to hit the Black Friday sales. All was right in the world....for a while.

At 9:30, we stopped at Mickey D's for breakfast. I walked out of the restaurant and did some adjusting. We left the parking lot and went one store down when I realized I was missing my purse...my fairly new, first ever, Kate Spade purse. The one that was holding all of my personal information, two credit cards, three debit cards, multiple gift cards, one check book, and my driver's license.

I'm not sure if I walked out without it and someone came right in and snatched it up, or if they took it while I was sitting there. We were gone about 4 minutes and there was a family sitting right next to us that was still sitting there when we got back. They say they didn't see anything. I'm beyond pissed. I came very close to crying.

I looked in all of the trash cans and at the gas station across the street...no luck. I tried to file a police report, but apparently the police are only handling emergencies today. They said they'd call me back.

I was in the Christmas spirit, now I'm just mad.

vamped

2008-11-23T08:19:00.002-11:00

Last night was all about the vampires. We went to see Twilight. I was afraid hubs might be resistant since I used every ounce of my free time during our florida trip for HIS 30th birthday to read the book, but he obliged. I finished the final story in the series on Friday afternoon. I wanted to be sure to finish out the story before I allowed Hollywood to encroach on my own imagination, just in case they didn't do it justice. I thought they did a good job though. I have previously been on Team Jacob, but was willing to switch my allegiance during the film because Edward was pretty cute. Freddie even liked it. He enjoyed the fight scene and the running and jumping, typical boy. He even made me tell him the plots for the other three books because, let's be honest, he's not going to read them.

When we got home, we watched the first episode of True Blood OnDemand. I've caught bits and pieces on HBO, but thought I should see the first episode to understand what was going on. So far, I'm not impressed. I'll give it another shot, but it seemed a little hokey and some of the story line seemed to be ripped straight from the pages of Twilight.

27 times

2008-11-23T08:16:00.002-11:00

I've already watched 27 dresses 4 times (not always in its entirety) since it was first featured on HBO OnDemand and I'm certain to watch it many more. Quirky wedding themed romantic comedy and one of my favorite leading men, James Marsden, aka Cyclops, makes the perfect weekend time waster or laundry folding distracter.

nonsense

2008-11-21T07:10:00.002-11:00

Can anyone tell my why I'm still watching Kath and Kim? The show is absolutely ridiculous and not funny and yet I haven't missed an episode. For the record, I set it up on my dvr before I had even watched an episode, but I could cancel the recording or delete the programs instead of watching them. But, I don't. It's like a bad accident. I can't look away.

grey's

2008-11-21T07:04:00.002-11:00

I still enjoy this show. Freddie likes to go off about how unrealistic it is. Performing an illegal appendectomy on a friend...unrealistic? Yes. Enjoyable? Oh yeah. For the record, I was kind of hoping the new girl would die because she annoys the mess out of me.

year of a thousand dreams

2008-11-21T07:01:00.002-11:00

Did you hear that Ashlee Simpson had her baby? She named it Bronx Mowgli. The girl had an Alice and Wonderland themed wedding, a Pooh shower, and named her baby after a character in The Jungle Book. Do we see a theme here?

survey monkey

2008-11-17T09:43:00.002-11:00

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch (in no particular order):
1. How I Met Your Mother
2. The Office
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Gossip Girl
5. 17 Kids and Counting
6. The Hills
7. Brothers and Sisters
8. 90210

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. West End Cafe
2. Elizabeth's Pizza
3. Trolley Stop
4. Penguin
5. Old Town
6. Texas Roadhouse (classy, classy)
7. Filling Station
8. Village Tavern

8 Things that Happened Today:
1. Laundry
2. Facebook
3. Car Inspected
4. Oil Changed
5. e-mail
6. Target
7. phone call to client
8. sleeping in

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Mayberry Monday with the Harpers
2. Putting up our christmas tree
3. Getting the yard settled for fall
4. Getting the house organized
5. Christmas Shopping
6. Visiting my grandma in Indiana
7. Thanksgiving with the big fam
8. February plans

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. Massage
2. New cell phone
3. a clean house
4. a new raincoat
5. a good tax refund
6. a well stocked ipod
7. Dining room table
8. A flat screen tv

charge it

2008-11-17T06:03:00.001-11:00

I definitely racked up last weekend with the friends and family discount for the Gap stores. This week I'm sharing the love for Ann Taylor Loft. Enjoy!

counting the days

2008-11-17T05:08:00.001-11:00

Look what I won! This is my first time winning a blog give away. I'm so excited. I may be feeling some inspiration to host my own. I'll have to keep my eyes out for something good to share. Thanks, MMM!

blowing rock

2008-11-16T16:10:00.006-11:00

I just got home from an amazing girl's weekend in Blowing Rock. I went up on Friday and had a great time with one of my closest friends since middle school, Maggie. Maggie and I bummed around and caught up while we waited for the other ladies to arrive.

On Friday night, Mags treated us to homemade chili...yum and we gossiped and looked at magazines. We're all reconnecting with our inner teen and reading the Twilight books. Are you familiar with these? They're too fun, though I wouldn't actually let my own teen read them-the girl needs to learn to like herself before she gets all infatuated with a boy, let alone a vampire or a werewolf, however, since I'm grown up and able to recognize that, I'm eating it up!

On Saturday, we woke up and went to Stick Boys in Boone, NC for some amazing cinnamon rolls. Afterward we ventured into the village of Blowing Rock for a little shopping and some Kilwin's ice cream-while the snow sprinkled around us :).
, I'm pretty conservative about shopping, but this time I had a blast and really enjoyed using my debit card! Then, we headed to the outlets and I was so thankful to Chloe for sharing her friends and family link. I actually forgot mine at home, but stopped at Kinkos on the way up there to use the computer to print another. I did some serious damage at Gap and Banana Republic, but a couple of the things I bought weren't actually for me. That makes it all okay, right?!

Last night, we had big plans to try a new restaurant, but left the outlets to find cold cold rain falling. We quickly did a 180 and decided to order Outback to go (so we wouldn't even have to get out of the car!) We enjoyed some fruity drinks and the Sex and the City movie. It was perfect.

This morning we woke up to SNOW! I'm getting excited about the cooler weather and the holiday season. However, I'm still not ready for Christmas music. The Friday after Thanksgiving though? Game on!

On the way home, I found gas for $1.93...sweet!

game time

2008-11-14T04:42:00.005-11:00

I'm still working on my posts about two weekends ago. I want to do the kids justice and blogger was moving slowly so I couldn't get the pictures I wanted loaded up. In the mean time I'll share a little tid bit from last weekend. Here's a shot of me and hubs at the Wake Forest/UVA football game last weekend.

We had a good time. I'll admit that I'm not a huge sports fan. I'm more excited about the experience, but we had a great experience....hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, t-shirts, people watching. A good time was had by all. We ended up sitting in the student section. You know we realized? It's been a long time since college. Sure, just 7 years since we graduated, but that feels like a lifetime. I couldn't have felt more removed from that place in my life. I enjoyed watching, but was so thankful to be out of that world. The girls were dressed ridiculously for November and it was cold. Those Rainbows and strapless dresses (some of them from the Lilly summer collection-seriously?) did not cut it in that wind. Luckily those girls had pregamed with a little liquid courage, so they were able to brave the elements.

One funny incident. At one point, two very drunk frat boys were tossing a football across the crowd. The police came up to check things out and remove them from the crowd. I was just taking it all in when I heard the crowd booing. Not one to miss the fun of the "experience", I joined in the booing. Freddie gave me a very disapproving look and scolded me. I thought he was disappointed with my sportsmanship, until I realized that I was booing at the cops---who were about two feet from me. Sorry, Officer, my bad.

the best

2008-11-04T12:38:00.002-11:00

I had a great weekend. Now that I have 4 day weekends EVERY week, I'll pause to let you get over your jealousy, I have double the opportunity for fun.

This weekend I maxed it out. On Thursday, I went to the New Kids on the Block concert and it was AMAZING! On Friday, I cut a foot of my hair and and went to the doctor. We also celebrated Halloween and I dragged Fred out to a bar to celebrate a bit. On Saturday, we bummed around all day and enjoyed a trip to Costco where I purchased my first Christmas present. This one is for my mother in law and hopefully I won't lose it before Christmas like I did last year. (I still haven't found that gift, by the way.) On Sunday, I participated in a colleague's Ordination service, went to see one of my students perform in a collection of songs from popular musicals, and hubs and I went to see HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL-loved it!

So much fun and excitement was packed into one weekend, that I'm going to need multiple posts....

never knew

2008-11-03T16:36:00.003-11:00

Hubs and I are sitting here watching How I Met Your Mother. Robin is flashing back on her dad and I learned a little something new about my main squeeze.

Fred: "That's Victor"

Me: "HUH?!"

Fred: "From As The World Turns. That's Victor!"

Me: "okay...."

Fred: "My mom and sister used to watch that show every day. I know that's him. I'm positive."

Yeah, okay. Because the reason I seemed dumfounded was not because I doubted your authority. I was just a little shocked that you were the one to eagerly point out the soap star.

cujo

2008-10-23T16:55:00.002-11:00

Our wee pup has been rather annoyed with us lately. We've been a little too busy this week, Freddie has the market and I started my new job, and we haven't given him the exercise or attention he needs. He's been coping by throwing his hard rubber ball at my nose and making a lot of noise. Sometimes he just walks right up to us and barks incessantly for 5 minutes. I'm pretty sure he's using obscenities.

Tonight, Freddie tried to make amends by taking him on TWO bike rides. (I suppose I should clarify by saying that Jack runs beside the bike. He does not ride in a seat on the back or one of those yellow wagony things. I would ride in one of those though, so if you're trying to get rid of one, let m know.) The first one was successful. The second one not so much.

Freddie said he could see the the woman walking the two big dogs was clearly out of control. She could barely hold on to them and when they passed one of them broke free and chased them down. Jack got nervous and slowed down and the dog got him. Freddie stopped quickly so Jack wouldn't get caught in the bike tire. When they were stopped, the dog was able to calm down and sniff him, but I still found marks and a huge bruise on his shoulder.

People, listen to Cesar. Your dog will actually love you more if you give him a little discipline and exercise. Don't let him jerk you down the road. It sounds crazy, but that that tsk and shhing actually works.

We'll see if Jack has been too traumatized to go for another bike ride. He may just want to stick to the car. It's safer there and he can use his car seat.

miss manners

2008-10-22T16:49:00.002-11:00

We received a wedding invitation today. I think it'll be a pretty nice affair and we're excited to go, but I do have a beef. (Of course!)

The couple went all fancy schmancy on us and included a reception card with "The favor of a reply is requested" Oh please! I understand that this is correct. I also understand that it is actually surprisingly difficult for us to check a box and get that sucker into the mail, so who knows if we'll ever actually write a note and send it off. After my wedding, I swore I would be so diligent about sending those things in, but it really is challenging sometimes. I remember when I'm not near the card and when I'm near the card, my mind is somewhere else.

You know what really bugs me though? If you want to be like that with the reply card, then at least carry it through and get my name right on the invitation!!! I took my husband's last name, but I also kept my own. I know, I'm just a crazy feminist, but I've had it for 29 years, it's kind of grown on me. I also carry a professional title. I did my research before our wedding so, for the record:

When the woman carries a professional title or a different last name, her name is listed FIRST like so

Reverend Amanda Marie D.... L.....
Mr. Fred Monroe L......

Not, Mr and Mrs. Fred L........... and especially not Mr. and Rev. Fred L......

I'm just saying if you're gonna do it right, do it right.

Just to clarify, I'm not actually that uptight. If you put Fred and Amanda L....it doesn't really bother me. It's just the Mr and Mrs Fred that drives me crazy. Mrs. Fred could be whatever woman he walks into the room with. Slap a ring on her and call her Mrs. Fred. My mother in law has finally stopped, but she still puts his name first...I'm not sure that's entirely about etiquette though ;)

help me help you

2008-10-22T16:14:00.004-11:00

People post about give aways all of the time. It seems like somebody is always giving something away or winning something from somebody else. Well, not me. I actually am thinking about doing a contest, I'm feeling a little needy these days and that's one way to get a comment or two, but first I have to think of something yummy to share. A trip to Swoozies may be in order.

In the mean time, I am sharing this. Monogram Chick is giving away this awesome recipe box. and I would love to win it. You can win it to if you go to her blog and post a comment. If you mention me, we'll both get one. And, if I win, you won't even have to buy me a Christmas present. Don't say I never did anything for you.

www.monogramchick.blogspot.com

By the way, I can't remember the code to make her name turn into a link, so that will have to do. Why are you still reading? Go on! Win us a recipe box!

oh, crap!

2008-10-21T15:22:00.002-11:00

I'm stuck. Because I am the best wife in our whole house, I made Freddie some extra spaghetti to fill his belly when he gets home from the furniture market. I finished watching One Tree Hill just as the noodles were done (okay, so maybe they were done before I actually finished since all of the water had evaporated by the time I took it off of the burner) and I erased it and got up to turn the stove off. I also had to retrieve Jack from his post as watchdog in the front room because he was barking violently at something (a squirrel, our neighbor's campaign signs, my car, or possibly a bush).

When I returned, the remote was no where to be found! I've hunted EVERYWHERE (okay, obviously not EVERYWHERE or I would have actually found it, but cut me some slack, this is horrible situation. Yes, I did look in the fridge.

No, I'm not an idiot. I do know that you can actually change the channel on the tv set or the cable box, but it's stuck in DVR limbo land, so I can't simply change the channel.

When you get down on your knees tonight, please put in a good word for me. I still haven't watched How I Met Your Mother.

riddle me this

2008-10-19T07:53:00.002-11:00

I have a hypothetical question for you. Say someone who got married about 16 months ago and received several towels as wedding and shower gifts. This pretend person has never used said towels because she wants to monogram them and isn't sure if it's better to wash them beforehand or take them before being washed. She may have been overwhelmed by the events of her first year of marriage. What if her husband broke his femur a month after their honeymoon and her mother in law had breast cancer. Or, perhaps she had to find a new job and then really didn't like it that much so had to search for and find a different job. Or, she might just have adopted a crazy dog who always keeps her busy. Maybe she is trying to get fit and wanted to run her first 5K. Any number of these things could have occupied our hypothetical bride's time, but now she's ready to stop using the mismatched towels of her and her spouse's collective past and ready to pull a nice new monogrammed towel out when she needs to dry her fanny. What would you tell this pretend girl? Should she wash then monogram or vice versa?

what a mighty good man

2008-10-15T16:49:00.002-11:00

Can you hear Beyonce?

Here's a little meme about my hubs

1. He is sitting in front of the TV, what is he watching? Assuming I'm not controlling the remote, which is unusual, he's watching fishing.

2. You are out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch or some kind of vinaigrette

3. Whats one food he doesn't like? He doesn't really care for sour cream, not so much a food, but that's all I got

4. You go out to a bar, what does he order? Michelob light or a bourbon and coke

5. Where did he go to High School? Goldsboro High

6. What size shoe does he wear? 10, i think

7. If he were to collect anything, what would it be? Fishing lures

8. What is his favorite sandwich? Turkey? He also likes fancy sandwiches

9. What would he eat every day if he could? cereal

10. What is his favorite cereal? Crunchberries or Cinnamon Toast Crunch

11. What would he never wear? madras shorts...believe me, I've tried

12. What is his favorite sports team? Carolina Tarheels

13. Who will he vote for? Obama

14. Who is his best friend? Will, Willy D, Matt, David

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? guilt trip

16. How many states has he lived in? Just the one-NC

17. What is his heritage? Sadly, I don't know...I think the last name is British

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday, what kind of cake is it? funfetti or yellow with chocolate icing

19. Did he play sports in High School? He was on the tennis team

20. What could he spend hours doing? Fishing or working on the aquarium

old mcdonald

2008-10-15T15:11:00.003-11:00

One great thing about my new job is that I no longer have to drive down I-40 W to Kernersville. I'm really excited about using less gas and saving some miles on my car.

I'm also happy because at least once a week I pass a truck full of pigs on that drive. Sometimes they're little tiny piglets and other times they're grown up pigs. The truck they ride in has little slats to allow air flow and the piglets' ears and noses and curly tails are usually poking out. So cute. Some times the grown up pigs peek their noses out too. It's really cute, but it tears me up because I know those pigs are not in for good things. There's no spider on their sides.

Don't get me wrong. I like meat. I love bacon. I enjoy a good pork tenderloin, too. But lately, I've been thinking a lot about the animals I eat.

Last weekend, we went to the fair. We watched the cow judging. I thought they were so cute and wanted to snuggle everyone. Don't you think a 600 pound farm animal would enjoy a good snuggle?! I kept wondering what was going to happen to the winner. When I was little I met a distant cousin who was involved in 4H. His cow had just won a blue ribbon. When I asked him where his cow was, he suspected someone's belly. I couldn't do it.

In grad school I watched a video in Ethics called We Are All Noah. By animal rights standards, it's pretty tame, but upsetting none the less. The point of the discussion was to consider what the Bible has to say about animal rights. As I grow older and more financially secure, I'm feeling more compelled to be more responsible for the creatures I eat.

I read about the animal processing plants for turkeys. Did you know that they hang the turkeys by their feet and run them through water that has an electric current running through it to shock them, not kill them though-it zaps them so they don't move, but they're still alert, then they're heads are buzzed off and then they're placed in scalding water to remove their feathers. If they miss a step in the process and go to the next step (ie if they're not shocked before they get their heads chopped off, or if they get shocked but miss losing their heads before being dropped in the scalding water) they're pulled off and thrown in a heap with the other half dead turkeys who didn't look so hot when they arrived. It's horrible.

I also learned about the cages commercial farmers use that leave no room for an animal to even turn around. Dairy cows are often kept on their feet in cages too small until they collapse because their joints are weakened from supporting so much weight as they fill with milk. They could live for thirty years, but the average is four and half because of the stress. That entire time they're forced to have calves, so they'll continue to produce milk. Enormous sows are in cages they can't even turn around while they await labor. Newborns are removed from their mothers immediately. Baby cows are kept in the inside in the dark so they don't develop strong muscles. We test millions of animals to put another brand of shampoo on the market when we already have hundreds. Many people will give their dogs Christmas gifts, but wouldn't think twice about the life of the pig or turkey that makes up their Christmas dinner. Certainly all of these animals are intelligent and should be valued.

I don't think we should stop eating animals. That's how the food chain works. I do think we should consider the lives of the items in our grocery carts. It's more expensive, but I'm going to try to purchase more humanely raised animals. As we make more demand for these items, commercial farmers will be rewarded for humane practices.

orientation

2008-10-15T15:08:00.002-11:00

Yesterday I was allowed to wear "street clothes" to my second day of orientation. I wore green pants and a white cotton 3/4 length shirt. I was house sitting, so I wore the only bra with me-white lace. No big deal.

When I got to the hospital I realized you could see straight through my shirt-every lacy detail.

I suppose that's one way to make new friends.

how precious

2008-10-08T17:02:00.004-11:00

Did you know that you can pick out your own Bank of America check card design?!

This guy does.

Guess what, Mister? The cat's out of the bag and it looks like BOA just kicked you out of the closet. :)

famous

2008-10-08T13:54:00.001-11:00

So, for posterity, here are my interviews. Laugh all you want. I know I have an annoyingly expressive face and the second interview makes me look like humpty dumpty (is it just me or is my head way smaller than the rest of my body?), but at least I've got all of my teeth and a fairly decent mastery of the English language, which is more than some folks on TV these days, right?

(I can't figure out how to upload the 1st one, so here is the link) http://news14.com/Default.aspx?ArID=598571 Click play on watch the video...it won't work on a mac.

(okay, I can't figure the second one out either. I actually can figure it out, but blogger keeps telling me the code is wrong, so this will have to do until I can figure out how to do it right.) http://www.digtriad.com/video/default.aspx?maven_playerId=immersiveplayer&maven_referralPlaylistId=playlist&maven_referralObject=874108840

Side note-so my name is actually revealed in these clips, which I'm pretty much okay with, but I really don't want it on the blog, so it doesn't come up when you google me. Not that you would, but please don't put it in any comments. I don't know how that stuff works, but better safe than sorry...

women's only

2008-10-08T12:44:00.009-11:00

So, I did it. I ran my first 5K on saturday. Actually, to be totally honest, I had to walk a tiny bit. That course was serious. I didn't walk much though and definitely ran more than I have ever run, so I still feel pretty awesome. Plus, I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't want to boast, but I beat the pants off all the winners of the Female Age 70-98 category! Winners my ass! Ha!

It was a great day. My mom came up to cheer my on and Freddie even made a little sign. They were too cute. I almost threw up one time, but walked for a minute and got myself back together. I normally run with water, but traded it for an ipod for the race. Unfortunately, when everyone said there would be plenty of water on the course they meant there would be plenty of water all in one place-unless they were talking about the creek. Either way, it wasn't enough for this girl. Next time, I'm taking water and the ipod.

Bonus! Afterward I perused the booths and found a new gynecologist and a rad sports bra that holds up my big knockers and doesn't smoosh me down like a man. Rock on!

There were 2645 women walking and running that day and I ran into three people I knew. I got to see Julie, who told me about the running school and Leah, who interviewed me for News 2, and a friend who works with me at Salem.

I was so grateful to be a part of such an amazing event. I ran in memory of my friend Diane, who died at the age of forty from breast cancer, and in honor of my grandmother, mother in law, aunt in law, and several friends who are survivors.

Check out the Jane's cheering after the race.

what a quack

2008-10-08T12:35:00.002-11:00

I recently inquired about hospitalization insurance from Aflac. A friend of mine told me she used this to cover her hospital stay when she had a baby and was very pleased. I filled out a form online and this is the communication I have received since.

#1

thank you for your intrest in the aflac line of products

i am
xxxxxx xxxxxxx
123 4567
your local agent
please contact me to set an appointment

thanks in advance

#2

our products pay directly to you

they are considered suppliments to normal health insurance and can be valuable for income when needed

thanks agn

#3

please contact me asap
i'm sure we can provide the coverage you desire

After the first e-mail, I told her I wasn't interested. So, she sent the second, which I ignored. Today, I received the third, so I finally told her that I was still interested in the product, but would rather work with someone else. I told her I wasn't impressed with her professionalism because her e-mails were full of errors. Is that how you get someone to build confidence in you? I think not. I try not to be a snob, but that is just ridiculous. I didn't edit these messages (except the first with her name and number). I copied them directly. She probably sent them from a phone, but there was nothing to indicate that and if so, couldn't she save some professional messages to just send out later? These seem fairly canned.

pee pee in the potty

2008-10-05T17:10:00.002-11:00

I just accepted a new position. I'm probably half crazy, so it's a good thing I took a job in the psych unit. I'm taking a pay cut (and I already get paid less than I should for my education), but the new job is so much closer to my house-about half a mile verses 30-40 minutes. Our two year old car just hit 50 thousand miles! My new job also comes with lots more vacation and the best part is that I'll only have to work T-Th...I will work 36 hours in those days, but I'll have a three day weekend every week! I get to wear scrubs too, unfortunately they're teal. My position also pays some money towards continuing education, so it'll be a bit easier to get that counseling degree I'm hoping to pursue. Freddie and I crunched numbers like crazy to see if we can make it work. In order to see how much I needed to make, I added my quarter time position and his pay and deducted all of our expenses and it looks like we can do it with just those two, which means we've been throwing money away for the last year. So, I filled out my tax forms on Friday and told them to direct deposit my whole paycheck into savings. That was probably a little drastic, but it's worth a shot.

I also had to take a drug test. The lady locked up my purse handed me the cup and told me to go and bring the cup back, DON'T FLUSH THE TOILET. So, I went, then I flushed the toilet. Oops. I realized as soon as I did it. I screamed out. I'm not sure why, I guess I thought if she could run in and take a quick look inside it would be okay. It was not.

She filled a cup of water for me and made me sit in the lobby. I was not allowed to leave the department so I had to get the receptionist to fill it for me three times. I felt HORRIBLE. I drank three cups of water and kept checking to see if I had to go. I was convinced I could do it, probably because I felt so bad so I was pushing really hard and almost wet myself. I told the receptionist and she said "are you sure you have to go enough to give us a sample?" I knew she didn't believe me because she told the nurse, "She thinks she can do it."

I went back there and tried to fill up the cup and, of course, I couldn't. I barely got it to the temperature gauge and it was supposed to cover it. I couldn't go out there and claim failure again, so I just stayed for a long time squeezing it out drop by drop trying to get it to cover it. (Sorry to be so graphic) You know what was ridiculous? My previous sample was still sitting in there-the one that was obviously not my urine since I flushed the toilet to conceal my trickery.

When I took it out, and was reprimanded again for beginning to wash my hands. When the lady realized I had passed, she instructed me to go back in the bathroom and throw both samples away and then flush whatever was in the toilet. I couldn't believe that after all that, she didn't even look in the unflushed toilet.

On the way home I realized, oh my God, I took so long in there, I bet she thought I pooped!

sleep tight

2008-10-05T15:51:00.002-11:00

Am I the only woman who doesn't put on lotion before bed? I've noticed that whenever a couple on tv is getting ready for bed, you know what I'm talking about-the typical scene hustling about in the bedroom, the lady is calling out from the bathroom, the man is in the bedroom and she comes walking in after squirting a small dallop of lotion into her hands and rubbing them very gracefully and gently together.

I never do this. Do you?

parenthood

2008-10-05T13:15:00.003-11:00

Freddie and I are thinking 2009 will be the year of the baby in our little family. I'm about to start a new job with better insurance, lots more vacation, and I'll only have to work 3 days a week! We're hoping to get through the first couple of months and then start cooking it. As you all know the prospect of parenthood comes with many worries. Our biggest worry right now? What if our baby is ugly?

lazy sunday night

2008-10-05T13:03:00.002-11:00

Oh goodness, I'm pooped. I finished the 5K yesterday. More about that later.

We just got home from visiting the in-laws in Goldsboro for an Engagement party. We're catching up on old episodes of Rock the Reception. Have you seen this show? It's a trip. Couples get together with the hip hop choreographers from So You Think You Can Dance to choreograph a crazy reception dance.

At our wedding, we took the traditional route and danced the foxtrot to "I'll Be Loving You Always." It was my grandparents song. When my grandpa was in the war he proposed to my grandma in a letter and mentioned and said that their song was playing on the radio while he wrote it. It was nice and lovely.

Tonight we decided on our Rock the Reception song and dance team. I think we'd do Toxic because nothing says forever like Britney Spears.

catharsis

2008-10-01T15:42:00.002-11:00

when i was in seventh grade and a pretty recent transplant to a wealthier part of charlotte, I had a great friend named Melissa. Melissa and I were equal parts goofy, shy, and awkward and we got along like peas and carrots. We spent every weekend together spending the night at my house or hers, though usually mine because she shared a bedroom with her sister and had a baby brother. We roller bladed and fell in the street, worked as candy stripers, and made stupid commercials with a home video camera. We were inseparable.

In eighth grade a couple of new friends entered our mix and things went well, but suddenly our attentions were divided. At the end of the school year, we engaged in a social experiment and tried out for cheerleading. We practiced like crazy although I refused to do our cheers for our moms even though she wanted to. I made the squad and she made alternate. Over the summer, a girl quit, so she was bumped up, but I don't know if she ever got over it and I started to get a little big for my britches.

Although today I'm not totally sure, I think that's where things started to change. We tried for another year and then I don't know what happened. I honestly don't, but I remember that we hated each other in tenth grade. We swam together, I sat behind her in history, we walked by each other every day, she was one bus stop up from mine, and we never said a word. I had told her a silly secret that felt like the most embarrassing thing on earth-one of my boobs was smaller than the other-and she wrote it in our mutual friend's year book and said she wished I would just go to the other high school-where I'd been hanging out with other girls because I felt so out of place and uncomfortable in my own skin.

That went on for 3 years and i think about it all of the time. Yesterday, I found her on facebook. I took a chance and requested a friendship remembering a time in early college when we ran into each other and actually said a word or two. I got no response. Today I wrote an e-mail.

A couple of years ago I worked in the adolescent psych unit where I watched teen and tween girls with a million strikes against them tear each other down instead of building each other up and it broke my heart. As hurt as I was by Melissa's comments and treatment, I started to realize that some of it had to be my fault too. So today I apologized. I wasn't sure what I was apologizing for, but I said I was sorry for the things I said and did and the things I should have said and done. I was sorry for being a bad friend. I was sorry that my own insecurities and secrets kept me from being true to who I was. I was sorry that I was that kind of a person.

Melissa wrote me back and accepted my friendship. She acknowledged the ways she still hurt, the pain she'd experienced, and the growth she'd had since. She seems so healthy and happy and wise. We wrote back and forth and shared things we should have shared 13 years ago. We had been going through so many of the same things, but instead of sharing our deepest fears and secrets, we shared those of our friends.

As I think about the day, I'm overwhelmed with emotion. I'm happy to reconnect and happy to see her doing so well, but sad about what was, remembering the immense hurt I felt during those years, and sad about what we missed.

As I sit here looking at her wedding pictures wondering where the time has gone and looking at my own and suddenly feeling like something was missing, I'm sad. Maybe what they say is true though. Maybe you really can't get there from here...or rather there. Maybe that wasn't our time. So, today I feel really blessed that our time has come and hopeful for those little girls in the psych unit. Today, 13 years too late, I did the right thing and grew up a little bit.

First stop Greensboro-Next step Hollywood

2008-09-30T22:31:00.002-11:00

I've got to get my cell phone fixed because I'm sure Brad Pitt is going to be calling any minute.

I rarely see this hour of the day, but I'm up early because my public awaits. I got a call from the lady who heads up the running school asking me to do another interview. I'm going to be on the "Good Morning Show"-no, not Good Morning America. This is just our little local morning show so all of the early birds have something to watch before the good shows come on. This interview is going to be live, so I'm going to try to look a little less goofy than last time.

I go on at 6:30. Wish me luck.

Did I mention that the funniest thing about this whole situation is that I'm still a crappy runner? Seriously, I'm still going to have to walk a little bit on Saturday. I am getting better though and I can certainly run a lot more than I could before.

like spring break only old and lame

2008-09-30T14:40:00.002-11:00

We just had a wet t-shirt contest at our house!

I went to rinse off our dirty dinner dishes and discovered that the sprayer was stuck on squeeze. Fortunately for hubby, I was wearing a white t-shirt. It shocked me so I squealed and then let it spray all over the floor before I thought to turn it off.

Freddie was so nice to go and get me a new shirt and I quickly told him that I was not rinsing the rest of the dishes.

Unfortunately, I didn't actually get the nozzle fixed, so a minute later I heard another scream and Fred came in showing his nips.

It was a good night.

too weird

2008-09-29T16:44:00.003-11:00

Oh my gosh. My mom is on facebook!

Is it wrong that I thought about declining her friend request?

always a lady

2008-09-26T15:58:00.001-11:00

I rented a movie from the Redbox tonight. When it came out of the machine, I said "thanks." I didn't realize I was crazy until after it came out of my mouth.

off the florida keys...

2008-09-26T05:07:00.003-11:00

We just returned from a great trip to the Florida Keys. We enjoyed two great vacations there during our younger, and poorer, days and had been dying to return to a favorite little spot RIGHT on the water in Long Key, so that was Freddie's surprise for his 30th birthday. We had one evening elsewhere as we made our way down after a late arrival on Thursday. We decided to make our way south and stay in Key Largo. We found a great deal at a Hilton resort and really enjoyed that too. As expected, our standards have gone up a bit, though we still really enjoyed our little place in Long Key. However, I think we'll be looking for something different next time :) We really had a blast. We went to the dolphin research center, snorkeling, fishing, beaching, and enjoyed lots of great fish. Here are a few fun shots from our trip.

pickle

2008-09-23T15:51:00.002-11:00

I just returned from a great vacation and I have a little note in my calendar of all of the random things I've been meaning to blog about for the last couple of months, but that can wait. For now, I'm in a major pickle.

Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, and Gossip Girl are all on at the same time. My DVR will only record two shows at once! What to do?

grandma dot

2008-09-11T16:22:00.002-11:00

My father in law's mother, Grace, died when he was just a little boy. He had two younger brothers and the smallest was just a baby. She was in an automobile accident. As was customary in those days, the boys went to live at an orphanage rather than be raised by their working father. He would come and get them on the weekends, but for the most part, that was their home for several years until their father met Dot. A young woman in her mid twenties, she was actually friends with Grace's younger sister and remembers hearing the accident in downtown Greensboro when the girls were younger. Dot and Fred Jr. dated for a while and Dot began to be like a mother to the boys though she was just a young woman herself. When they finally did marry, when my father in law, the oldest-Fred III, was just seven, she raised them and loved them like her own. She later gave birth to three of her own children a girl and two more boys. When the younger children were still small, Dot lost her husband to heart problems at a young age. She loved, nurtured, and provided for 6 children on her own. She's an amazing woman.

Today those children, Fred, Charlie, Ray, Laura, John, and Richard, are instrumental figures in many people's lives. Two of them are local doctors, and one son, the one who was always a cut up and drove his mama crazy, is a local developer who runs one of the most successful small businesses, though not so small any more, in Greensboro. They are all amazing people in their own right. Every year, those six children, fifteen grandchildren, eight great grandchildren and many spouses, gather at Figure Eight Island for a week. Grandma Dot has spent countless hours rocking babies on the porch of that beach house. It's her sanctuary. This year we didn't know if Gran Dot would make it to the beach.

In February, she was diagnosed with a rare stomach tumor that was in pretty advanced stages. She's been through multiple surgeries and treatments, some successful, some not so much. She made it to the beach where she loved on our current littlest one, Mackenzie. Early in the trip, she started feeling pretty badly and ended up having to go home to be hospitalized. It was a tearful goodbye as we filed out of the house one by one giving her tearful smiles and waves farewell. Slowly, we have come to accept that we might lose our matriarch and we have taken our opportunities to hear her stories once again, trying desperately to commit them to memory for fear they might be gone forever. We've heeded her advice and held on to her wisdom. We've hugged a bit tighter and tried to breathe deeper. We've prayed for healing, for cure, for strength, for answers, for patience, and finally for comfort and peace.

Today, Grandma Dot found her peace.

Yesterday was her 83rd birthday.

And though I lament my own small ones' loss of that opportunity to watch the sunset over the North Carolina coast enveloped in the loving arms of the woman who brought our family back together so long ago, I am thankful because she taught us to carry on in her footsteps.

90210h, this is getting interesting

2008-09-10T15:02:00.002-11:00

So who do we think is Kelly's baby daddy? I'm guessing Steve.

so. painfully. awkward.

2008-09-09T04:41:00.002-11:00

I'm sitting in Panera wearing a jacket that does not belong to me.

Why? Because I am prone to uncomfortable situations with strangers.

The only place I could find a free plug is in the meeting room that has whacked out temperature control. It goes from freezing to incredibly humid in rapid cycling intervals.

There were a lot of annoying people in here meeting with me when a guy came in and sat in the closest seat possible that wasn't at my table. Now it's just the two of us and we're pretty much snuggling. I can hear every crunch of his chips.

A minute ago, he stepped out for a second and noticed that I was hunched over. "Are you cold?", he asked.

"Yeah" I answered

"I'll get you a jacket." He offered

"Oh! (shocked) That's okay. It'll get hot in a minute."

"It's okay. I work for Panera."

(Well I'm sure you do, but I don't, so I don't need to wear one of your jackets)

Apparently he can't take no for an answer, so he brought me a jacket. Apparently I can because I'm wearing it.

Why is my life so uncomfortable?

I felt bad because he said he got it from his car. So, I put it over my shoulders. I'm leaving in two minutes, so I can give it back.

So weird. But, what it's actually not that weird because this kind of stuff happens to me all of the time. Seriously.

90210h, I'm lovin' it already!

2008-09-03T13:45:00.004-11:00

I didn't watch it last night and I've been avoiding blogs just in case everyone else did. We got home late and I knew that Freddie couldn't hang for the 2 hour premier, so I put it off today. You like that don't you??? Isn't it great how I'm trying to get my husband hooked?

Anyway, we're premiering it tonight courtesy of DVR and it's FABULOUS (did you say that while squealing, cause I did?)

So I'm going to give a bit of running commentary as it comes to me. Or maybe not. I'll tell you what we've loved so far and if more comes to me after I hit publish I'll add it. If it bombs from this point on. Well, take what you can get.

First of all---(basically) THE SAME THEME SONG!! Do you love it, Melissa and Lindsay?

I've already paused several times to make connections for Freddie.

Do you think Erin "Silver" is David Silver's daughter? And...David was the DJ and she's into obscure music. Okay, wait. She's Kelly's sister. I forgot about that late series marriage. Well, maybe Uncle David will still show up late season.

How about TV news anchor Zuckerman-Vasquez who looks like she's 30?! Love it! I wonder if "Ah"ndrea will show up. By the way, I hate people who fancify their names. There's a news anchor in Charlotte named Suz"ah"nne, however, her name used to be Suzanne.

I'm noticing that Kelly seems a little more like Val from What I Like About You than Kelly from West Beverly.

okay, a little more: Just saw the first preview for Shopaholic. yay!

Oh, Kelly has a baby. Now that's a twist. Still no Brenda sighting.

Update: Freddie just pointed out that Ethan is didn't need to ride with his grandmother which means two things: 1. He likes Annie and wants to see her. 2. He's a nice guy who hangs out with his grandma. Freddie, it actually means one more thing. 3. You're getting hooked!

Happy 30th Birthday, Freddie!

2008-08-26T10:41:00.002-11:00

Freddie you've hunted and waited so patiently

For your birthday we are headed to the Florida Keys!

September 18th is when we'll leave.

You'll have the time off of work, I already asked Steve!

I'd like to thank the academy

2008-08-25T09:48:00.002-11:00

The lovelyMMM nominated little old me for an award. Check out this sparkler..

ain't she purty?

So, now I'll share the love. Here we go.
1. I am a Joy
2.Pop Culture Yay
3.Emily
4.OG Mommy Runs
5.Things I Bought That I Love
6.Green Magsterpie
7.All Things Kimba

So here are the rules.
1. Put the logo on your blog-done
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you-already there
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Add links to those blogs on yours-look to the right
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs-okey dokey.

So, girls, go on and share the love. Or, don't! You could also just enjoy :)

another 15 minutes of fame

2008-08-22T11:07:00.003-11:00

I was interviewed for the news last night. A reporter came up to me while I was at my running school. Actually she came up to my group and they nominated me (I think they think I'm the spunky youngster). I told the woman I would do it if she wasn't filming me while I was stretching (which she did anyway). Anyway, when we watched last night, I thought they just showed a coach, but today I got several e-mails on my phone from people saying my mom had forwarded "my video". It turns out, they aired more at 11 and then they posted an article and the video on the internet. I'm not going to post it here, but it's out there if you look hard enough. I'll give you a hint, it's on News 14 carolinas.

I'm not too worried about what I said. As my friends have pointed out, many individuals on the news are not very, shall we say, well spoken. I think I did alright. But, man, I didn't realize my accent and facial expressions were so over the top and I could have gone without that close up on the calves.

PS-Julie from OG Runs is on there too. You can just see her water bottles and shoes, but they're pretty cute!

Navy Gravy

2008-08-22T11:01:00.002-11:00

Old Navy has their adult sized jeans on sale for $12 tomorrow. I think kid's are $10. I went today to try on a few pairs and hide them. Yes! I was going to hide them because you know it's going to be a mad house. However, one of the nice clerks told me that I could just buy them (up to 3 pairs) and do a price adjustment tomorrow. Of course, while I was picking some out for the man, I accosted a young man who was choosing some to make sure he knew about the sale. He said, Oh I don't work here. I said, oh now I wasn't asking you if they were going to be $12 tomorrow. I was telling you. And then he was probably telling his friend that I'm crazy.

9/02

2008-08-20T11:27:00.001-11:00

one, OH my goodness! It starts on September 2! I cannot wait!

Lots of shows start back up the first week of August. DVR you better get ready!

M5/CC

2008-08-20T09:39:00.003-11:00

I hadn't been to a concert in forever until a couple of weeks ago. I joined some of my girlfriends for the Maroon 5/Counting Crows concert in Charlotte. It was so fun. Apparently CC decided that they wouldn't play the same song twice while on this tour, so I was really glad that we got to hear Accidentally In Love and Rain King and Maroon 5 played all their best songs. Poor old Adam Duritz had some kind of sprained ankle and had to use a cane, but he still put on a good show.

it's a family affair

2008-08-20T09:15:00.002-11:00

My grandmother and aunt came to visit for a week last month. We had a great time. We headed down to SC for a little time on the beach and enjoyed some fun around here too. (That's when I slashed my foot playing putt putt).
Can you see the double rainbow?

Figure 8 is great

2008-08-20T08:59:00.003-11:00

My husband's family goes to the beach together every year. Actually, last year we missed the trip because of our wedding and a cousin's high school graduation, so this year we were back with a vengeance. This year was especially important because my husband's grandmother was diagnosed with pretty serious cancer in February. We weren't sure if she'd make it to this trip and she is the matriarch of this amazing family. She's been rocking babies on the porch for 30 years.

We go to Figure 8 island. It's a private beach just north of Wilmington, NC. If you're not from NC you probably haven't heard of Wilmington, but it's actually making it to the big time...it was the filming location for Dawson's Creek and is now the filming location for One Tree Hill. Katie Holmes once described her home on Wrightsville Beach, just off of Wilmington, as a quaint little fishing village. Not so much, Katie, but thanks for trying. They originally started going when my husband's uncle owned a house there, but he lost it in a divorce, so now we rent. Good times, anyway. :)

We have quite a crowd. My husband's father is one of six children. Pretty amazing side story actually. My father in law is the oldest and had 2 little brothers when his mother died. Grandma Dot raised those three little boys and then had three more and then her husband died. She's amazing. Anyway, those 6 kids then had 15 children and those 15 have had 8 more and at some point all 29 of them are there, plus their spouses...and the pre-teen usually bring a friend. It's crazy but I love it.