...and then i woke up

Last night I had the craziest dream. Its not the first of its kind and it most likely won't be the last. You see, it was a pregnancy dream. But not just any pregnancy dream because in this dream I had...

TWINS!!

I thought to myself, "That might be okay."

Then I remembered there'd be days like this...

and my dream turned into a nightmare! Not really, I just thought I'd add that part to be dramatic cause that's how I roll.

You have to understand, many people around me are either pregnant or have just given birth, so this dream didn't come out of nowhere. However, it did scare me enough for me to do this (please excuse the picture, the quality is awful)...

It was negative.

So it won't be twins this time, but a girl can dream can't she? (*wink*)

i heart your blog

I was awarded another little lovely...

by Tracy P. over at The Journey. She likes me, she really really likes me!

The rules of this award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated

And now the nominees in no particular order:

1. Heather at The Barbour Shop - Heather is an old college friend of mine who has 3 wonderful (and adorable) children. She is always coming up with creative and fun things for her "kiddos" to do. Plus, her blog design is beautiful AND she takes great pictures!

2. Courtney at Coffee Talk - Courtney and I go way back too, to Camp Willow Run in tiny Littleton, NC. Courtney is pastor's wife and mom to an adorable redhead. She always has something creative to post about, from funny things her redhead says, to almost vaulting out of a recliner in order to save her laptop. I always have to have a cup of coffee handy when I read her blog.

3. Octamom (I don't think I've ever seen her real name) - This is one cool lady. She is a wife and mother to 8 beautiful children. When she's not creating spreadsheets to keep her clan organized, she finds the time to leave the sweetest comments on the blogs of others. I also need to mention that she is a great writer.

4. Sarah @ The Wonderful Life That I Live is a dear friend of mine. She has an adorable little girl, Hannah, who is always getting into something. I love Sarah because she's real. If she's having a bad day, she'll tell you. If she's having a great day, she'll tell you. What you see is what you get with Sarah. She also loves to experiment with blog templates. I admire her for embracing change so readily.

5. The Queen in Residence @ Shiner's House of Fun - Oh my gosh, where do I begin? She's a wonderful mother, she's got the most beautiful eyes, and she's stinkin' hilarious (as evidenced by this post). She's finally home alone and both kids are in school. Who knows what she'll come up with next.

6. Angie @ John Deere Mom - Angie is a fun blogger and she's got plenty of blog fodder, what with her kids, Jackie the Cow and a recent illegal immigrant who showed up on her doorstep. She's funny, a great decorator, and makes great stuffed shrooms!

7. Lula @ Lulaville - I truly believe Lula and I share a brain (although I think she got the majority of it as her vocabulary is much greater than mine). Lula loves music, The Princess Bride, Jason Statham (that's right girls, she's got all dibs on him), and is Best Friends with Paula Deen. She leaves the most hilarious comments and was one of the first bloggers who evoked a belly laugh from me while reading her posts. Love you girl!

Now get on over to the gals and give 'em your love!

i

I AM ... really addicted to blogging. I check my blog at least 5 times each day searching for comments. I am a comment junkie - I even have the t-shirt to prove it (thanks to SITS). However, I don't think this is healthy.

I WANT... another choice for a presidential candidate. (I don't typically discuss political issues, and probably won't again on my blog. I guess I'll have to settle for the lesser of two evils.)

I HAVE ... a full bladder, but because I'm blogging, peeing is being put on the back burner.

I WISH ... that Curtis the Take Home Chef would cook dinner for me every night and Mike Rowe would read me stories until I fell asleep (I love him, um I mean... his voice).

I COULD ... go take a shower instead of sitting on my butt typing a post. But why would I want to do that?

I HATE ... when people litter - there's not a shortage of trash cans, you know.

I FEAR ... not being a good mom.

I HEAR ... that the human head weighs 8 lbs.

I SEARCH ... for my keys almost daily. Mr. Baseball says that if I put them in the same place every time like he does, then I wouldn't have to look all over the house for them when I need to go somewhere.

I DON'T THINK ... he's right. "My way is sportsmanlike."

I REGRET ... not knowing my dad better. There is still time for this to change though.

I LOVE ... music and in my mind's eye, I have seen key moments in my life play out like music videos. (That sounds weird, I hope you get it.)

I ACHE FOR ... my husband to be doing what he's meant to do and to make a good living at it.

I ALWAYS CRY ... after seeing a Hallmark commercial. I care enough to send the very best. Hallmark was my favorite job as a teenager.

I AM NOT ... a fan of Marilyn Mansen. See, I don't even know how to spell his name.

I DANCE ... with the redhead. Often.

I SING ... a lot. The redhead loves it and will sign the word for "more" after I've finished a song. He's good for my self-esteem.

I NEVER ... say never, it always come back to bite me in the butt.

I RARELY ... refuse food.

I CRY WHEN... I get overwhelmed.

I WATCH ... too much Noggin. Its not good for me. I think my vocabulary might be suffering because of this.

I AM NOT ALWAYS ... funny.

I HATE THAT ... I am selfish and prideful and don't love others the way I know I should.

I'M CONFUSED ABOUT ... why men wear speedos.

I NEED ... more quality time with Mr. Baseball.

I SHOULD ... not worry about pleasing others so much.

a talent i do not possess, nor do i want to...

is foo-fooing (a.k.a. pooting, tooting, stepping on frogs, etc.) on command.



My redhead however, (who is not yet 2) DOES possess this talent.

Mr. Baseball asked him to "poot" tonight and out popped one. The question was asked again...out popped yet another. I walked into the living room and asked him to "poot" (partly because I didn't believe this nonsense), and out squeaked another air biscuit. My jaw hit the floor.

The redhead's father couldn't be more pleased.

hot bubbling lava, funnel of wind...they're almost the same

I have started keeping a little girl for an hour and a half in the afternoon. She's in kindergarten and is the cutest little blue-eyed blonde you ever did see. Her name is Caroline also, which is fun, and today she said the most hilarious thing. Evah.

We've been having a lot of rain over the last 48 hours. I'm not dissin' rain cause we needed it in a big way. Thank you Jeeeeessssusssss! Anyway, there was a tornado(ish) thingy in the northern part of our county today, so they put all the schools on lockdown. (I don't really believe the smack about the tornado because alls I saw was heavy rain...whatev.) Anyway, Caroline came over after school and told me they all had to get under their desks because there was a -

Volcano Drill.

Tornadoes, Volcanoes, its easy to get the two confused. Sweet little lamb. If she only knew that crouching under her desk covering her head would never work during a volcano drill.

Good thing she's got 12 more years of school left to learn important things like this.

a tribute to my childhood blanket

Mama Kat over at Mama's Losin' It came up with a brilliant idear. She is hosting Writer's Workshop Wednesday and suggesting a topic or two for people to blog about. In the wake of much blogger's block, this is a fabulous solution. Go on over and check this out if you need a little nudge.

One of this week's suggestions was to write about your favorite childhood blanket or toy.....

So, here it is: A tribute to my favorite and only childhood blanket


Dear Boobie,

I do not recall our first moments together. In my defense, let me just say I was a week old. You were a baby gift from dad and mom's neighbor who worked for Nationwide Insurance, hence the "N" in blue stitching and the white eagle on one of your corners.

Word has it that we were inseparable from the get-go. I'm not sure how mom and dad felt about this, seeing as how I always referred to you as a "boy" blanket. I mean, they let me sleep with you every night for goodness sake. Talk about permissive parenting. AND they let me name you Boobie too? Sheesh, how did I ever make it to adulthood? I digress....

I named you Boobie before I had any understanding of what boobies actually were. Even when I did understand, I still didn't change your name. It was cemented by then.

Every so often, Mom would try to pry you from my kung-fu grip to wash you. She said that you stunk. Like Rose and Jack of Titanic fame, I never wanted to let go. It was Mom, Boobie, who would steal you while I was sleeping to let the spin cycle have its way with you.

You were the perfect compliment to the two fingers that I sucked on, only you didn't cause me to need braces like they did. Oh well, you live and learn.

I sacrificed a lot for you Boobie. Sarah teased me about having a blanket, and Daniel, well, I'm still bitter about the quarter-sized hold he cut in you (with a pair of kitchen shears) while we were watching cartoons one morning. I have to admit that I smiled quite smugly when he got spanked for that one. Serves him right for messin' with you. And when we would travel, they would always threaten to throw you out the window. The chiding was relentless. Where's the love?

When I went to college, I pondered whether or not to take you. The dorm was female only, but we got away with it for 4 whole years! You slept under my pillow most days, staying out of the public eye.

When I got married, you weren't really replaced, just no longer the first "man" in my life. Thank you for understanding and knowing that your place was between the mattress and the headboard. Several years ago, you did talk me into upgrading your housing to the lingerie drawer. No thanks are needed, it was the least I could do for all the years you'd been faithful to me.

We've had some wonderful times together, Boobie. And now the world knows I had a blanket named Boobie. See, I'm still sacrificing for you, and you're still folded up perfectly in the lingerie drawer.

Thirty one years have passed since I first laid eyes on you. Your edges are a bit more tattered, you've gone gray and your washings are less frequent as you can't handle the dreaded spin cycle anymore. You have earned your place with the bras and other unmentionables in the delicates bag. You will always hold a special place in my heart as being my first and only blanket. There was none other in this heart of mine (that is until Mr. Baseball showed up).

Boobie, thanks for the memories!

Love,

Your Dearest Caroline

my super talent

At long last, here it is - my sound effects video. I have videoed myself several times and was really critical about how I looked and sounded while on video. I'm over myself now, and I love this video because of the redhead. He makes everything cute, but this is especially cute because of the setting its in. And notice...I'm not wearing the green shirt. Hope you enjoy!

i'm goin' country ya'll and i'm gonna be big!

I like to sing and I consider myself a decent singer. I mean, I've sung five solos at church so far and no one has thrown tomatoes at me yet or anything, so I guess I'm at least okay at it.

My most favorite genre (other than everything 80's) is Contemporary Christian/Worship (Charlie Hall of Passion, Watermark, Shane and Shane, Selah, Nichole Nordeman, just to name a few). That's what I sing the best. I've been told I actually have an Irish-ish lilt to my voice. Its not your run of the mill pop radio voice and over time I've learned to accept this.

A genre that I haven't dabbled much with is country music. I do have to admit that it is good though. People like Emmylou Harris, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Rascall Flatts have drawn me in to actually listen to a whole country song.

Country music is big in the "city" where we live. Its pretty rural here. People have mullets. People like to go huntn'. Future Farmers of America clubs reign supreme in the local high schools. Yah, pretty rural.

For some reason, going to Wal-Mart makes me think of country music (or at least the trashy side of country).

And....since I like to sing and I go to Wal-Mart almost everyday occasionally , I figured I could put the two together and release my first country album....


Songs of Wal-Mart

1. One Stop Wonder

2. God Bless the Discount Rack
featuring Rascall Flatts

3. Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Go Barefoot at Wal-Mart
featuring Willie Nelson

4. Crickets Chirpin' in the Produce Bin

5. Brandon the Buggy Wrangler

6. Stockin' Shelves and Shinin' Floors (A 3rd Shift Tribute)

7. The Electric Scooter Shuffle

8. Portraits, Prescriptions, and Perms: An Added Bonus

9. Nasty, Nasty Restrooms

10. Welcome to Wal-Mart: Nelda's Greeting

11. Dang, I Forgot Somethin', Gotta Go Back

12. I Got the Buggy with the Wobbly Wheel


Is it a hit or what? The funny thing is that most of these things stem from real-life encounters. And I was totally laughing out loud while typing this post - I'm such a dork.

If any of you know any record producers I could talk to, let me know. I better go ahead and pick out my dress for the CMA's and write my acceptance speech. I am confident ya'll, this is gonna take me to new heights. Move over Taylor Swift, I'm comin' up, you'll be cryin' more teardrops on your guitar cause I took your place as best new artist...BOO YA!

spectacularly unspectacular

Melissa over at Another Day In Paradise tagged me to reveal six unspectacular quirks I possess. Thanks Melissa. I shall now reveal to you (in random order), those six quirks. But first, the rules...boo.

First you post the rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.

2. Mention the rules on your blog.

3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks you possess.

4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.

5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.


Here goes:

1. 85 words

Speed test

Go ahead, take the test...you know you want to.


2. I think "fart" noises are hilarious, but I don't really like the word "fart". I prefer "poot" or "toot" or "stepped on a frog" or "barking spider". Those are really much better than "fart". Its such a harsh word. When I was younger, my cousin Erin and I would plan what came to be known as "The Big Blowout". This would be where, after we had already been tucked in our beds, we would proceed to make all kinds of "barking spider" noises (with our mouths). The sounds emitting from Erin's room would reach such decibels that inevitably my Aunt Sandra would appear and the door, holding back her laughter, to tell us that it really was bedtime.

3. I can't stand to touch loose hair. When I was younger and I would have to clean the bathtub, part of the chore was opening the drain and pulling the hairball out. I can't even think about it without vomiting in my mouth...UGH..

4. I can do various sound effects (carousel, squeaky bike, trumpet, heartbeat, walkie talkie, the infamous sounds of flatulence, etc.). I have been meaning to post a video of my talents and I promise I will get to it. I promise. And I actually think these are pretty spectacular.

5. I bite the skin on the sides of my fingernails. Don't judge. It's no grosser than actually biting nails or nosepicking. I used to bite my fingernails, but now I take pride in my strong, white nails. Biting the skin is really a nervous habit. I need to quit, but then I might have to take up smoking and I don't want to do that.

6. I am a perfectionist about my handwriting. In school, if I was dissatisfied with my writing, I would toss the paper and start all over. I have also been known to do this with simple grocery lists. Its not so bad now, seeing as how I don't have the time to write things until they're perfect. I also ONLY write in print. My signature is the only thing I write in cursive. Why? Because my 6 year old niece could write better in cursive, that's why. These days, I prefer to type and really don't have to write all that much. So, being able to type 85 words per minute does come in handy.

Okay, so here's the point in the post where I'm supposed to tag 6 others. Um yeah, not so much. That's the only rule I don't like. If you want to do this on your blog, then tag, you're it. If you don't, then I just hope you enjoyed reading my six unspectacular quirks.

losing my head

I was so excited to show you my beautiful new "comment junkie" tee, I lost my head. I still haven't found it. Maybe I should look between the couch cushions. Its amazing what you can find down there.



Actually the first thing I thought of when I saw this picture was that I would be a perfect candidate for this...

I think we're long-lost sisters.

eatin' good in the neighborhood

We were on the edge of our seats. Michael Phelps was poised to win his 8th gold medal. It was the men's 4x100 relay and the final swimming event for America's Golden Boy. Aaron Piersol (backstroke), Brendan Hansen (breast stroke), Michael Phelps (butterfly), and Jason Lezak (freestyle) were America's best chances for the gold medal. The backstroke was first. The swimmers took their mark and then they were off. Piersol was neck and neck with the Australian swimmer. I didn't breathe. The USA was going strong and trying to hold off their biggest threat, the swimmers from down under. Hansen did his laps and then it was Phelp's turn. He did what he does best - swam his little speedo-ed heart out. All he could do was watch as Jason Lezak dove into the pool to complete his anchor leg of the relay. Lezak swam with lightning speed and barely edged out the Australian swimmer to take the gold medal for the US team. Phelps was beyond excited as I imagine I might be if I happened to win 8 medals in one Olympic games event.

Mr. Baseball and I were so proud of our boy. I cheered and we watched eagerly awaiting the dramatic gold medal crowning of the four best swimmers in the country.

Just before they were presented the gold medals, the "Official Olympic People" acknowledged Michael Phelps for winning his 8 great golds. They also handed him what looked like the case diplomas come in, but clearly this was no diploma. There was silence as Mr. Baseball and I waited to see what it was.

All of a sudden the silence was broken.

In his great, perfectly timed one-liner fashion, Mr. Baseball said (in a robotic voice)...

"Its a gift certificate to Applebee's!".

And there you have it folks. I'm sure that as soon as his little tuckuss lands in America, Phelps will take his gift certificate and head of over to Applebee's for some good eats.

Never mind those million dollar endorsement deals, its all about some grub - and all courtesy of those fine folks over at the IOC (International Olympic Committee).

vacation - sun and sand

On Tuesday morning, we ventured to the beach for some sun and sand. This was the redhead's first time at the ocean and no sooner had I put him down on the sand and placed our bag in the "perfect spot", and off he went (regular diaper still on).

The redhead sat himself down as the waves rolled in over him. He tried to lay on his tummy, but got pounded in the face several times by rogue waves moving toward shore.

C-man fared much better on his tummy however - he is 12 and a good swimmer. His mom said that he was probably scaring people floating on his stomach like that, but C-man was unphased. Say no to crack C-man.

Once the redhead acclimated himself to the water, he noticed the sand. The redhead was a smidge apprehensive about the whole sand thing. Um you're at the beach...its all sand.

Tinker Bell is a beach girl. She's all about some water. Here she is with the redhead and Mr. Baseball making sand piles castles.

The redhead noticed a kite or "tie" flying overhead and ran along the shore trying to catch it. He would sign please as if to ask us to get it down for him. Precious. We happened upon the woman actually flying the kite and she was kind enough to let the redhead "help" her fly it.

The redhead's first beach trip was successful, if we don't count the temper tantrum he threw for not being able to play with another little boy's truck, and the fact that he cried about it all the way home. I will give him the benefit of the doubt though, he was starving and extremely tired. We'll definitely have to go back - with food and drink.

vacation - bottles, "bows", boards, and bubbles

On Friday, August 8th, Mr. Baseball's vacation officially began. Instead of sitting on our butts at home, we made another road trip to the NC coast to visit Mr. Baseball's family. His mother, sister, and her family all live near the beach, and his dad and a friend were driving up from Florida to see the grandkids (the redhead, C-man (12), and Tinker Bell (6)). It was to be a fun-filled trip with lots to see, do and eat. I'm still full from all the food we ate. Ugh.

On Saturday, we took a trip to Airlie Gardens with "Mimi" (Mr. Baseball's mom), Princess Buttercup (Mr. Baseball's sister), C-man, and Tinker Bell. It was hot as MESS, so we didn't stay that long, but we did see some really cool bottle art and mosaics while we were there.

After sweating it out at the Garden, we dropped the redhead off at Mimi's for lunch and a nap and headed out to lunch with Mr. Baseball's dad and Princess Buttercup's family.

The afternoon brought with it some showers along with this beautiful sight...

I love rainbows. I've never seen more rainbows in succession than I did while I was in Ireland. This rainbow was really bright and we actually saw another faint rainbow above this one, but it didn't photograph at all.

On Sunday afternoon following the redhead's respite, we took him swimming in the pool at the hotel where Mr. Baseball's dad was staying. Let me just say, this kid has no fear, hence the flotation device attached to his body. He LOVED the pool. He went underwater, played with toys, and even rode on a boogie board.

He also liked to run around the pool, much to our chagrin and slipped in a puddle of water, falling on his elbows and bonking his head on the pool deck. He wasn't hurt thankfully, just had the wind knocked out of him. Maybe he'll listen next time when we say "Stop Running!".

Redhead also contracted a condition common to individuals spending excessive amounts of time in the water - its called "PRUNITIS".

On Monday morning we all went to Cracker Barrel to bid farewell to Mr. Baseball's dad and his friend Bebe. Breakfast at the CB is always yummy and enjoyable, that is, until a whiny toddler is thrown in the mix. However, said whiny toddler can and always will be soothed by toys with wheels. Thank you Cracker Barrel for having a store attached to your restaurant, and for having cars in that store attached to your restaurant. Amen.



In the afternoon, Mimi busted out the bubble blowing machine and entertained the redhead for a few minutes. Here she is in her gold-medal winning performance. Just look at that technique. Only a tenth of a point will be deducted for not pointing her toes. (I'm sorry, I'm sitting here listening to Olympic commentary and just had to throw that one in.)



Chateau Mimi - a quaint haven of respite for weary travelers




...coming tommorow - the sandy side of vacation...

noonzie madness

Many of you have probably seen comments from one "Mrs. Noonzie" on my blog. Many of you have probably clicked on her name thinking, "Gee, how creative and funny, I'd like to read her blog." Many of you have probably been disappointed to see that the author of such funny comments does indeed NOT have a blog. For shame. I am still working on this travesty.

I will however, pacify you with this picture, identifying that at least she does exist. There is, in fact, a whole Noonzie family. Here they are...

Ain't they cute?

Mrs. Noonzie is the friend I've known the longest. We go way back - well, at least to 1993 when we were sophomores in high school and part of the Eco-Family (only the funniest thing to ever hit Providence High School - that's another post though). My visit to Charlotte put me close enough to Noonzie to make a day trip of it. She had never met the redhead, and I had never met her wee-est one either.

We hung around her house for a bit, watched the kids play, ate a little grub, put the boys down for naps, went to Starbucks for frappucinos, and took the kids to Barnes and Noble to play with the train table and such while we talked. Our plan was foolproof, but it seemed the kids had other agendas.

As soon as we arrived at the train table and settled into our chairs, wee lil' Noonzie filled his diaper with the stinky to beat all stinkies. The redhead, who normally would have to be pried away from the train table, was more content to roam, train in hand, around the children's section. Lil' miss Noonzie was good though, she tried to pacify the boys with sweet little stuffed animals. It didn't work, but she gets an A for effort.

We stayed at B & N for a while, then headed home for Mrs. Noonzie to whip up some dinner and teach the redhead a new saying..."ta-da!" We got a good laugh listening to him yell "ta-da!" with much enthusiasm and a mouthful of yogurt.

After dinner, it was time to say goodbye, but not before pictures on her porch swing.

Mrs. Noonzie, thanks for the great visit!

tales from the queen city

On Monday, August 4th, the redhead and I ventured to Charlotte to visit with my parents for a few days. This trip had been in the works for while and Nan was going to be in Charlotte with her two boys while they attended music and arts camp for the week. We decided to take advantage of some free babysitting (courtesy of the grandparents) and do what we do best when there are no kids around.

Yes, we are at Starbucks, and yes, we stayed here as long as possible while savoring frappucinos. And while we were taking this picture, I realized that this is the same shirt that I am wearing in like all of the pictures of me on this blog. Yes, I do own other shirts people and no, I do not plan it this way, throw me a frickin' bone.


Here is one of the grandparents I was talking about. This is my dad, otherwise known as "Papa". The redhead ADORES his Papa and is still talking about Papa and his "bee tru" (big truck).

On Tuesday morning/afternoon (Aug. 5), Nan and I went to visit a friend from college who just had a baby boy in July. Susan really had to twist our arms to get us to come visit her and baby J. It was a stretch, but Nan and I sacrificed of ourselves and went to see her. (I'm totally being sarcastic in case you didn't catch on) Here's the little guy.


Beautiful, isn't he?


Here I am cuddling with the little burrito. He was such a good baby and slept much of the time we were there. Precious! And don't I look good holding a baby. Mr. Baseball, if you're reading this, can we have another one soon...please?

Here's the new mom with her precious son.
She looks great and she says that she's getting to sleep in about 4-5 hour stretches at night. I know, sickening isn't it?

Stay tuned for more installments of the most exotic vacation in the history of the world!

home again, home again, doodly squat

Oh the fun we had on our vacation! I'll have to regale you with stories and pictures tomorrow as I'm tired and I've got some suitcases to unpack. However, I will share these two pictures with you.

Here we are in the car sitting in traffic on I-40. How long had we been on the road you ask? FIVE MINUTES!!!! Thankfully it only lasted 20 minutes. The cause of this slow-moving traffic? Onlooker delay. I'm not even going to get started on that right now.




Four hours (we had to stop to eat and stretch our legs) and three full bellies later, we arrived here...

There's no place like home.

my plea to you to help me come up with something else to post about

So, I mentioned that I was going to take a posting Pa-oo-say (pause - in "French") in the last post, but here I am again. I snagged a few minutes to relieve some of my anxiety about going home (on Wed.) and returning to the blogging world. I just have to tell you I'm a little stressed out about going home. Sure, I'll have some cute pictures and a couple of stories to share with you, but we haven't been anywhere exotic like Turks and Caicos or Fiji or anything like that. We've more or less just been visiting family, which is AWESOME, but not exotic.

As we've been away for a bit, I've been pondering over what to post next, and I've come up with....NOTHING. I am void of any useful material. Completely void. This is what has gotten me stressed out. I expected my vacation to produce some wonderful blog fodder, but instead, I feel more empty than ever. I realize that there is an ebb and flow to posting, but I'm really ebbing right now.

With that said, I would appreciate any ideas or suggestions that you all have about what I could maybe write about over the next few posts (after I tell you about the exotic vacation of course). Or perhaps you have more questions for me - I really enjoyed the last Q & A.

I appreciate you still wanting to read after my August posts have proved themselves completely LAME thus far. I'm hoping its only a phase and that "this too shall pass".

a bloggy pa-oo-say

Hello all! I just wanted to say (before you think I vanished off the face of the earth), that we are galavanting hither and yon this week, hence the blogging hiatus. However, I prefer to use the French word for "stop" - Pause (pronounced pa-oo-say) in reference to the break between posts. Do not fret my friends, I will return in the grandest of fashions with pictures of all the excitement we have encountered on our journeys.

Let me just add...thank God for vehicular toddler crack in the form of Baby Einstein DVD's on a portable DVD player. Thank you Jesus, Hallelujah!

happy birthday nan...a day late;'

Nan, I just want to say that I DID remember your birthday yesterday. And every time I remembered, did I pick up the phone to call you? No. No, I didn't. I am a tool.

My friends, yesterday was Nan's birthday. She was going to do something fun for herself, but I'll let her tell you about it. Anyway, I just want to tell you how awesome my friend Nan is.

Nan and I go way back, but not quite as far as my other friend Mrs. Noonzie, who you'll meet soon. Nan and I went to college together. Here's a few pics to prove it in case you don't believe me.

1995 - look how young we look!

1996

1997 - Nan restrings a guitar for the first time. Her Manly Man can play very well, but Nan doesn't play. This is false advertising.

August 5, 2008 (three days ago). Look where we are. Mmm Hmmm. I asked them if they sold frappucinos intraveinously, but unfortunately they don't. Darn. I had to get my fix before I left Charlotte.

Anyway, this post is about Nan, not me.

Now its time for a birthday acrostic: NAN IS MY FRIEND


N - Nan is nice.

A - always caring and concerned for others.

N - not afraid to be real and vulnerable


I - intelligent (she taught chemistry ya'll)

S - silly


M - marvelous mother to her two little guys

Y - youthful and beautiful


F - fun to be with and follower of Christ

R - radiant

I - interesting to talk to

E - exhuberant

N - nifty thrifty ideas for home decor or organization

D - dares to do what is best for her family no matter the cost


Nan has always been there when I needed her. I can count on her advice and the fact that she'll tell the truth even when I might not want to hear it. She loves her family fiercely and is such a wonderful mother to the boys. Where do you think I got a lot of reassurance and ideas on parenting from? Nan loves the Lord and allows Him to lead her life. She is a wonderful friend and someone that I treasure very much. Hope you had a happy birthday Nane! I love you girl!