OK, so here's the deal.
I've been doing a lot more funny posts recently. I have really been enjoying doing them. And I will continue to do quite a few funny posts. However, there are some days where you really have to stop and take a minute and be serious. I am sure that a bunch of my friends are laughing and waiting for the punchline. But I'm totally serious here.
A year ago today, my friends, Justin and Mackenzie, got some news that would rock their world. Their youngest son, their baby, Wyatt, was diagnosed with leukemia. I will never forget when I found out. I was totally shocked. Wyatt had just been to my house the Sunday before his diagnosis with his brother, Jackson, and his sister, Ava. The scary part? He was fine. Totally fine. He looked, acted, and seemed to feel perfectly normal.
Then just a few days later, his whole world became one big jerky disease called cancer.
I know. It's totally scary right? Particularly if you are a parent. I remember hugging Joshua quite hard in the days after Wyatt's diagnosis. And praying two prayers. One for Wyatt to get better, and fast. And one totally selfish prayer to please, please, please not let my little boy fall to the same fate. I felt/feel totally guilty praying that prayer. But I am sure if the situation were reversed, and Mackenzie found herself telling her children that Joshua had the big "C" word, she'd be saying that same little prayer for her babies too.
Wyatt has spent the past year being poked, prodded, filled with drugs that could probably melt metal if you left it on there long enough, and getting a portacath etc etc. And through it all, every time I have seen him, and every picture of him I see on Facebook, he's smiling through the whole thing. His little face has been swollen with all the steroids, and yet he's still smiling. He has gotten stuck with needle after needle after needle, and he's still smiling. I get a hangnail, and I'm complaining bitterly about how much it hurts and looking for sympathy for weeks because of it.
The kid is amazing.
So I am pleased to say that he's made it through the first year. God is definitely looking out for him. He's still got a ways to go. But I wanted to talk about him today because he deserves as much praise and applause and cheers as possible for getting through this first year. Let's Go Wyatt!
Happy day everyone!
PS - If you would like to make a donation to help make a dent in Wyatt's medical costs, please go here: Let's Go Wyatt! You can also "like" his Facebook page and keep up there as well. Prayers and good thoughts are also always accepted.
Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
I Can't Say What This Post Is About Because I'm Scared to Type the Word Again.
First of all, I hope everyone had a spectacular Christmas. I did. I really enjoyed watching Jman open all his presents. It was a very happy day in our house. I got so many good shots of him opening his gifts (if I may say so myself!) I had a little bit of a cold on Christmas, but I felt good overall. But yesterday and today, I have felt like poo. My originally planned post just wasn't funny. So I ditched it and decided to write something else instead because my brain is focused on it right now. And since I am on a pretty hefty dose of decongestants, I'm surprised my brain is functioning at all. . .
I am starting into BFF withdrawals. My BFF, Yvette, lives in Texas. And of course, I live in Virginia. We only get to see each other a couple of times a year. Yvette was here in October. I went to see her innnnnnnn July? I think it was July. It's early for withdrawals, but let's be clear here. Two times a year is not really enough for BFF's, especially for girl BFF's. And that means that in order to see each other, we have to. . .we have to. . .oh dear me. I can't even say it.
Fly.
Oh, it makes my stomach drop just looking at that word. Have I ever told you I have an intense fear of flying? Only made worse by what happened on 9/11? I have never really been thrilled with flying. I usually have a death grip on the handrests until the flight attendants come around with the drink cart. You know. Because it is my responsibility to hold the plane up by gripping the handrests. I used to grip Jamey's hand, but that stopped actually after the very first flight we ever took together because I hurt his hand. But at least I get both armrests now. And don't forget, I need them. To hold the plane up.
So then the flight attendants come around and I always order the same thing. If it's an early morning flight, I get tomato juice. If it's an afternoon or evening flight, I get ginger ale. Some of you are probably wondering why I don't order a mixed drink. Well, in the past, I have always maintained that, if something happened, I wanted to be in full control of my faculties. Sitting here though, why wouldn't I want to be passed out if something happened? I might have to ponder on that for a while.
I also have a flight "ritual" that I have to go through. I always pull out the little card and look at all the information on it. Over and over again. I count the number of rows to the nearest exits in front of and in back of me. Multiple times. Kind of in an OCD kind of way. Bordering on unhealthy. And of course, I totally listen to the flight attendants going over all the safety procedures. And I get irritated by those around me who don't listen. Don't they know they may impede my route to safety by not listening? I'll crush their ipod listening a*% to get to safety. Make no mistake about that one. I listened. I get to get out to safety.
Once I got on a flight and there were none of the little safety cards in either of the seats in my row. A flight attendant just happened to be passing by and I flagged her down. "Excuse me, I need a safety card." She smiled and went and got me one. Then she asked, "Are you going to the flight attendant school?" I know the look on my face was one of pure horror. Like I would want to do that every DAY? If I'd have been drinking a drink, I'd have spewed it everywhere. I looked back at her and said, "Are you crazy? No, I need to review all the safety procedures so I know what to do in an emergency!" She looked back at me and slowly nodded her head. Then she said in a voice that let me know she thought I was the crazy one, and said, "So sorry. My mistake. There is a group of people going to flight attendant school on this flight. Have a good flight." She kind of backed away slowly, like I might pounce on her and tear her eyes out if she moved any faster. But, she did leave me to look over all the safety procedures in peace.
Once I got on a flight and I remember being particularly nervous. So nervous that I felt the need to peek into the cockpit. And I've done that a lot, but this time, as I peeked in to check out the pilots to see if they looked competent (you know, cos I can tell at a glance, right?), I was shocked to see that they were just sitting there, and looking back at me and smiling. Jamey, who was standing with me made some quip about my nerves to the pilots. And the line wasn't moving and so I had to look at them and smile. And then one of them said, "There's nothing to be nervous about. Here, come closer and have a look." And so I thought to myself, I could maybe make sure they haven't been drinking if I go in closer. And I can see if there are any drugs or anything laying around. And I went in the cockpit. And they started explaining stuff, and Jamey then moved forward so I was by myself with these two when they thought they'd do something funny. They turned some switch on and the plane said, "Dive, Dive, Dive." And they knew they'd made a mistake, because I started grabbing hold of stuff while we were diving - even though we were sitting on the tarmac and the plane was still boarding. I must have looked terrified.
So they apologized and asked me my name, and I told them. One of them said, "Don't worry, we'll get you home safely." I thought to myself, you'd better. But I thanked them for showing me the plane and I made my way to my seat. I'm surprised they didn't give me a little set of wings. I sat down, and after a bit we started taxiing out towards the runway. Then the most embarrassing thing happened. The pilot came on just before the safety procedures started and said something about welcoming us aboard and blah blah blah and then said, "And we'd like to extend a special welcome to our friend, Carolyn. She's a little nervous and so we've promised her an extra smooth flight." I could have died. When we landed, the landing was bumpy. And they actually apologized to me when I got to the front. Again. Totally embarrassed.
I told you my responsibility is to grip the armrests to hold the plane up till the drink cart comes around. I figure if the drink cart is coming around, then everything must be OK. So I grip the armrests until they get to me. And I'm usually about mid-way back. So by the time the flight attendants get to me, I can no longer feel my hands. And I ask for my drink and let go of the armrests and then take the drink with both hands. They are shaking uncontrollably as I try to get my drink to my mouth. I end up sloshing half my drink out of the glass, and the flight attendants think I have some sort of muscle disease. I think next time I fly, I'm gonna take one of Josh's water bottles with the straw and ask them to put my drink in that. That way I won't have tomato juice or ginger ale all over my clothes.
I have been on a few flights that the drink cart didn't come around. Um. Those were not fun flights. The worst was on our way back from Chicago to Richmond. Jamey and I had been up for a conference for Jamey's work. O'Hare airport was closed after we landed in Chicago because of wind shear. Jamey, who has flown lots, said afterwards he was worried about our landing. You could feel the plane trying to stay straight. I was so glad to land. On the way back we had a pretty bumpy flight. So bumpy that the drink cart didn't make it out. And I was almost hysterical. The guys sitting next to us kept looking at me as tears were streaming down my face. They asked Jamey if I was gonna be ok. Jamey shrugged and said, "I'm really not sure." At least he was honest. By the time the flight attendants could get up and do anything, the flight was almost over. But the male flight attendant took one look at me with tears and snot all running down my face, and he went into the bathroom and pulled out all the tissues they had. He brought them to me in one big wad and all I could do was squeak out "thank you" and put the whole gigantic wad of tissues up to mop up my face.
I know. It's sad and pathetic. But I've recently discovered Xanax.
We called my doctor (who shall remain nameless) and he suggested first trying alcohol. So we filled up two big containers of mimosas for my next flight. However, by the time we took off, the alcohol buzz had worn off. So strike that as an option. We called back as I was due to go see Yvette in a few more weeks. He agreed it was time to try the Xanax. And it worked. I still felt in control of my faculties, and I was much more relaxed. Now I just freak out in the airport till it's time to take my pill. So I text my BFF and my sister back and forth and talk about all the suspicious looking people in the airport. And thank goodness that army guy is on my flight and I hope he is sitting next to me. Maybe he will let me hold his hand. But then again, I'd want him to have use of that hand if we had a terrorist on our flight. So I'll just hold the armrest. This goes on an on till I take my pill. Then about fifteen minutes after taking it, I feel myself relax. So much better!
In fact, this last flight, I took two. Maybe was a bit much. Because when I got back from the trip, I looked on my camera. I had taken about a million "cloud" pictures. I don't remember taking those pictures at all. But really, the more I think about it, that's not so bad, right? Here. Want to see a couple? Here you go:
I seriously should add every single picture I took. You just wouldn't believe it. But I won't bore you with them. Because it's like making people look at slide collections. On the projector and everything.
So I do like the Xanax option. Just sayin'. It makes my flight more tolerable. I have enough for both flights, and then another couple that I can take if we have a delay somewhere. I throw the remaining pills out when I get back. But I probably should keep them. I seriously might need to start taking one to make my plane reservations too. That's not good, is it?
I apologize that I couldn't produce my extra funny post. My brain is just not working right with all this cold stuffed up into it. Although, this decongestant I took a little while ago is a little bit like Xanax. Not bad. Good grief, I hope this post makes sense. :o) Someone please tell me to take this post down immediately if the drugs made it make no sense. . . Have a great day! Wheeeeeeeee!
I am starting into BFF withdrawals. My BFF, Yvette, lives in Texas. And of course, I live in Virginia. We only get to see each other a couple of times a year. Yvette was here in October. I went to see her innnnnnnn July? I think it was July. It's early for withdrawals, but let's be clear here. Two times a year is not really enough for BFF's, especially for girl BFF's. And that means that in order to see each other, we have to. . .we have to. . .oh dear me. I can't even say it.
Fly.
Oh, it makes my stomach drop just looking at that word. Have I ever told you I have an intense fear of flying? Only made worse by what happened on 9/11? I have never really been thrilled with flying. I usually have a death grip on the handrests until the flight attendants come around with the drink cart. You know. Because it is my responsibility to hold the plane up by gripping the handrests. I used to grip Jamey's hand, but that stopped actually after the very first flight we ever took together because I hurt his hand. But at least I get both armrests now. And don't forget, I need them. To hold the plane up.
So then the flight attendants come around and I always order the same thing. If it's an early morning flight, I get tomato juice. If it's an afternoon or evening flight, I get ginger ale. Some of you are probably wondering why I don't order a mixed drink. Well, in the past, I have always maintained that, if something happened, I wanted to be in full control of my faculties. Sitting here though, why wouldn't I want to be passed out if something happened? I might have to ponder on that for a while.
I also have a flight "ritual" that I have to go through. I always pull out the little card and look at all the information on it. Over and over again. I count the number of rows to the nearest exits in front of and in back of me. Multiple times. Kind of in an OCD kind of way. Bordering on unhealthy. And of course, I totally listen to the flight attendants going over all the safety procedures. And I get irritated by those around me who don't listen. Don't they know they may impede my route to safety by not listening? I'll crush their ipod listening a*% to get to safety. Make no mistake about that one. I listened. I get to get out to safety.
Once I got on a flight and there were none of the little safety cards in either of the seats in my row. A flight attendant just happened to be passing by and I flagged her down. "Excuse me, I need a safety card." She smiled and went and got me one. Then she asked, "Are you going to the flight attendant school?" I know the look on my face was one of pure horror. Like I would want to do that every DAY? If I'd have been drinking a drink, I'd have spewed it everywhere. I looked back at her and said, "Are you crazy? No, I need to review all the safety procedures so I know what to do in an emergency!" She looked back at me and slowly nodded her head. Then she said in a voice that let me know she thought I was the crazy one, and said, "So sorry. My mistake. There is a group of people going to flight attendant school on this flight. Have a good flight." She kind of backed away slowly, like I might pounce on her and tear her eyes out if she moved any faster. But, she did leave me to look over all the safety procedures in peace.
Once I got on a flight and I remember being particularly nervous. So nervous that I felt the need to peek into the cockpit. And I've done that a lot, but this time, as I peeked in to check out the pilots to see if they looked competent (you know, cos I can tell at a glance, right?), I was shocked to see that they were just sitting there, and looking back at me and smiling. Jamey, who was standing with me made some quip about my nerves to the pilots. And the line wasn't moving and so I had to look at them and smile. And then one of them said, "There's nothing to be nervous about. Here, come closer and have a look." And so I thought to myself, I could maybe make sure they haven't been drinking if I go in closer. And I can see if there are any drugs or anything laying around. And I went in the cockpit. And they started explaining stuff, and Jamey then moved forward so I was by myself with these two when they thought they'd do something funny. They turned some switch on and the plane said, "Dive, Dive, Dive." And they knew they'd made a mistake, because I started grabbing hold of stuff while we were diving - even though we were sitting on the tarmac and the plane was still boarding. I must have looked terrified.
So they apologized and asked me my name, and I told them. One of them said, "Don't worry, we'll get you home safely." I thought to myself, you'd better. But I thanked them for showing me the plane and I made my way to my seat. I'm surprised they didn't give me a little set of wings. I sat down, and after a bit we started taxiing out towards the runway. Then the most embarrassing thing happened. The pilot came on just before the safety procedures started and said something about welcoming us aboard and blah blah blah and then said, "And we'd like to extend a special welcome to our friend, Carolyn. She's a little nervous and so we've promised her an extra smooth flight." I could have died. When we landed, the landing was bumpy. And they actually apologized to me when I got to the front. Again. Totally embarrassed.
I told you my responsibility is to grip the armrests to hold the plane up till the drink cart comes around. I figure if the drink cart is coming around, then everything must be OK. So I grip the armrests until they get to me. And I'm usually about mid-way back. So by the time the flight attendants get to me, I can no longer feel my hands. And I ask for my drink and let go of the armrests and then take the drink with both hands. They are shaking uncontrollably as I try to get my drink to my mouth. I end up sloshing half my drink out of the glass, and the flight attendants think I have some sort of muscle disease. I think next time I fly, I'm gonna take one of Josh's water bottles with the straw and ask them to put my drink in that. That way I won't have tomato juice or ginger ale all over my clothes.
I have been on a few flights that the drink cart didn't come around. Um. Those were not fun flights. The worst was on our way back from Chicago to Richmond. Jamey and I had been up for a conference for Jamey's work. O'Hare airport was closed after we landed in Chicago because of wind shear. Jamey, who has flown lots, said afterwards he was worried about our landing. You could feel the plane trying to stay straight. I was so glad to land. On the way back we had a pretty bumpy flight. So bumpy that the drink cart didn't make it out. And I was almost hysterical. The guys sitting next to us kept looking at me as tears were streaming down my face. They asked Jamey if I was gonna be ok. Jamey shrugged and said, "I'm really not sure." At least he was honest. By the time the flight attendants could get up and do anything, the flight was almost over. But the male flight attendant took one look at me with tears and snot all running down my face, and he went into the bathroom and pulled out all the tissues they had. He brought them to me in one big wad and all I could do was squeak out "thank you" and put the whole gigantic wad of tissues up to mop up my face.
I know. It's sad and pathetic. But I've recently discovered Xanax.
We called my doctor (who shall remain nameless) and he suggested first trying alcohol. So we filled up two big containers of mimosas for my next flight. However, by the time we took off, the alcohol buzz had worn off. So strike that as an option. We called back as I was due to go see Yvette in a few more weeks. He agreed it was time to try the Xanax. And it worked. I still felt in control of my faculties, and I was much more relaxed. Now I just freak out in the airport till it's time to take my pill. So I text my BFF and my sister back and forth and talk about all the suspicious looking people in the airport. And thank goodness that army guy is on my flight and I hope he is sitting next to me. Maybe he will let me hold his hand. But then again, I'd want him to have use of that hand if we had a terrorist on our flight. So I'll just hold the armrest. This goes on an on till I take my pill. Then about fifteen minutes after taking it, I feel myself relax. So much better!
In fact, this last flight, I took two. Maybe was a bit much. Because when I got back from the trip, I looked on my camera. I had taken about a million "cloud" pictures. I don't remember taking those pictures at all. But really, the more I think about it, that's not so bad, right? Here. Want to see a couple? Here you go:
So I do like the Xanax option. Just sayin'. It makes my flight more tolerable. I have enough for both flights, and then another couple that I can take if we have a delay somewhere. I throw the remaining pills out when I get back. But I probably should keep them. I seriously might need to start taking one to make my plane reservations too. That's not good, is it?
I apologize that I couldn't produce my extra funny post. My brain is just not working right with all this cold stuffed up into it. Although, this decongestant I took a little while ago is a little bit like Xanax. Not bad. Good grief, I hope this post makes sense. :o) Someone please tell me to take this post down immediately if the drugs made it make no sense. . . Have a great day! Wheeeeeeeee!
Friday, December 17, 2010
My Heart Is Breaking
I don't know what I am going to write about this morning. I am sad. My neighbor, Jill, came over yesterday to inform me that their dog, Willa, was really not well. Willa was the canine goodwill ambassador of our neighborhood. When we first moved here, the first person I met was Jill. The first dog I met was Willa. She was a black lab, and truly one of the nicest, most loveliest dogs I've ever known. I used to take care of Willa sometimes when the family was out of town. In fact, I'd fight to get to take care of her. I think lots of families did, because she was such a sweet easy dog to love.
Jill told me that I might want to go over there at some point yesterday to say goodbye. She preferred I not bring my son, and I could understand that. So last night, while Jamey was putting Joshua to bed, I went over and found Willa upstairs on her bed, and Jill was sitting with her. She looked pitiful. I loved on her and shed several tears. Then I hugged Jill and practically ran from the house. Jamey did the same as soon as he finished putting Joshua to bed. And now she's gone. . .
I think later on, I might make some cookies or something to take over to Jill and her family. I know it won't be all that helpful, or make things better. But I just want them to know how much I feel for them. How my heart aches for them. It aches for me too. I loved Willa like she was my own pup. When I used to take care of her, I would often invite her to my house for a little while. She would come over and I always kept a package of low fat pupperonis for her. She would get one. She'd walk around and sniff a little. Sometimes she would stay for a little while, but more often than not, she would go to the door and want to go back to her house. I'd walk her to the edge of our yard, check for traffic and then tell her to go ahead. And I'd watch her walk back to her house to wait for her people.
In case you are wondering, she had a wonderful set of people. No wonder she was so great. Willa, have a safe journey. Be a good girl, and play with our furry baby Harley till your people get there. You'll have a great time. I love you baby girl Willa, and I will miss you forever.
Jill told me that I might want to go over there at some point yesterday to say goodbye. She preferred I not bring my son, and I could understand that. So last night, while Jamey was putting Joshua to bed, I went over and found Willa upstairs on her bed, and Jill was sitting with her. She looked pitiful. I loved on her and shed several tears. Then I hugged Jill and practically ran from the house. Jamey did the same as soon as he finished putting Joshua to bed. And now she's gone. . .
I think later on, I might make some cookies or something to take over to Jill and her family. I know it won't be all that helpful, or make things better. But I just want them to know how much I feel for them. How my heart aches for them. It aches for me too. I loved Willa like she was my own pup. When I used to take care of her, I would often invite her to my house for a little while. She would come over and I always kept a package of low fat pupperonis for her. She would get one. She'd walk around and sniff a little. Sometimes she would stay for a little while, but more often than not, she would go to the door and want to go back to her house. I'd walk her to the edge of our yard, check for traffic and then tell her to go ahead. And I'd watch her walk back to her house to wait for her people.
In case you are wondering, she had a wonderful set of people. No wonder she was so great. Willa, have a safe journey. Be a good girl, and play with our furry baby Harley till your people get there. You'll have a great time. I love you baby girl Willa, and I will miss you forever.
Monday, December 13, 2010
I Should NOT Participate in Group Exercise Requiring Coordination. And an Update on My Dad.
First off - update on my dad. Good news!!!! He went for his follow-up appointment, and the doctor told him the cancer was in the very, very early stages. This means no other treatment other than getting a small procedure done every three months for a couple of years. So very good news. Thank you so much for all your prayers and positive thoughts. They meant a lot to me and my family!
OK. Now. The reason I am posting so late is simple. I haven't been able to walk or move most parts of my body since yesterday morning. Why you ask? Well it's simple. Two of my "friends" convinced me to do a class together at our gym. Notice I put "friends" in these lovely quotation marks. Because they surely cannot be my friends when they knew what I was about to endure. They both know I am old. I am forty-one years old. They both know that's practically ancient, particularly compared to their cute 34 and 35 year old selves.
Would you like to know what the name of the class is? I mean, the name itself should have clued me in to what was in store for me. Are you ready? OK. Here it is. Body Combat. Hello? What was I thinking?!?!? I should never take a class in it that has the word "combat" in it. That implies, like, major movement. Like kicking. And punching. And growling. OK, maybe most people weren't growling. And come to think of it, I wasn't either. It was more like a low moaning. As though I were in my final death throes. But I digress.
So I get there, and my first friend, Sherie arrives. She and I are similar in body shape. Now I personally think Sherie's got a cute figure, especially considering she works full-time and has two kids. But she looks at me and says that since we don't have supermodel bodies, we have to be in the back. She didn't exactly say it like that, but seriously, that's exactly what happened. Because then our second friend, Brenna, who is super thin and muscular and all, she comes in. And instead of getting in the back with us, she stands in front of us. And I look around and all the super thin cute girls are in front. Except for one grandma. I'll get to her in a minute.
And then the instructor, Nicole. She, of course, is super thin and cute and she's got her hands all wrapped up. Like she's gonna box. And she asks if anyone is new to the class. I have to raise my hand. And she looks at me, and all I can think is, "she's gonna kick my a&%". Why in the world did I think to raise my hand? Really? Did I just do that?
The class starts. It's like aerobics and boxing, no no. It's like kick-boxing. So you have to be coordinated. And follow a routine. And I don't get it. And all I can do is laugh. And when I laugh, I snort. Very loudly. It's quite embarrassing. Have I ever told you that? Oops. I digress again. So yes, I'm laughing and snorting, and Sherie looks over at me and she is laughing. At me. And then after a few minutes, Nicole says something about getting started. I look over at Sherie and I say, "I'm sorry. We're gonna get started? Was that just a warm-up?" This of course, sends Sherie into hysterics. I should have gotten sympathy. Nope. No sympathy from Sherie. And Brenna is up front being all into the workout, and doesn't even notice the snorting and hysterical laughing behind her. No wonder she is so thin.
So then we really get going in the workout. I'm trying to keep up, but honestly, just as I think I might get what Nicole is talking about, she says, "Now I'm gonna change it up." And she looks at me every time. And I smile. All like, "Oh, yep. OK, change it up, girlfriend." When inside I'm thinking, "I have no idea what she's talking about. Change it up? I didn't even get the first part!" But yep. She changes it up. I start to look at myself in the mirror hoping that I will "get it." Instead, all I see is an incredibly uncoordinated, soft in the middle, old lady with a really bad outfit on and a hairdo that could scare small children.
Then Nicole adds in some "duck and weave" move. And I watch myself as I do it, and I think, "Dear me. I'm going to give someone a black eye doing that." It's just sad. I look over at Grandma, and I realize that she might even have better form than me. Oh dear, how pathetic. Then I feel a bit redeemed when we go to do running man and some other exercise, and then she does look a bit more freakish than me.
Then we are still working out and I wonder what time it is. So at the very next "break" (lasting about 5 seconds), I glance at the clock. And we've still got almost 25 minutes of class left! My smile is still plastered on my face, and Brenna glances back occasionally now. I'm sure it's because she's seen my face in the mirror and is worried I might have a stroke. Or maybe she thought I already had a stroke after seeing some of my kick-boxing moves. But anyway, we finally take a "real break" while we go and get floor mats. I don't have any idea why we are getting floor mats, but I'm game to go and get one. Some lucky chick beat us there and she's handing them out. If I had known that was going to happen, I would have gotten there first. Even if I'd have had to push her out of the way. You know why? I could have hidden back there for the rest of the class.
But no, Sherie did not tell me there was a little hiding place back there. I bet she knew about it too. So I get my mat and we walk back over and Sherie keeps giving me looks like "I told you this would kick your behind." And I'm still smiling, because frankly, I think my face is paralyzed from my "duck and weave" move. Nicole tells us to get on the floor and I'm hoping it's cool down time. Wrong. It's. . .get ready. . .ABS AND ARMS TIME! WHAT?!?!?!?
Oh yes. Planks. Push ups. Side Planks. All of the things I detest. And Sherie and I watch Brenna and she's doing push ups. And she's on her tiptoes. And her planks are perfect. No wonder she's got a flat tummy and muscular arms. And the reason I could watch her do those push ups? It's because I've pretty much given up and am lying on my mat. Waiting for Nicole to come over and shoot me, because, it is Body Combat. And you should put the people who can't keep up out of their misery.
The class finally ends. I think I might die. And cute Nicole comes up to me and says, "So how did you like it?" My frozen smiley face says, "Oh, it was great. Definitely going to do it again." WHAT did I just say?
So now I have to do this class again. But my arms hurt. My back hurts. My feet hurt. My right hip hurts. My smile is still not off my face. Everything hurts. I am a good typist, but I started this post this morning, and my fingers were so sore that I had to peck it out, and take multiple breaks in order to finish it. I think I need to see a doctor about that. But I said I would do it again. So I will. Even though I should absolutely not participate in any group activity that requires any kind of coordination. Dear lord help everyone in that class.
OK. Now. The reason I am posting so late is simple. I haven't been able to walk or move most parts of my body since yesterday morning. Why you ask? Well it's simple. Two of my "friends" convinced me to do a class together at our gym. Notice I put "friends" in these lovely quotation marks. Because they surely cannot be my friends when they knew what I was about to endure. They both know I am old. I am forty-one years old. They both know that's practically ancient, particularly compared to their cute 34 and 35 year old selves.
Would you like to know what the name of the class is? I mean, the name itself should have clued me in to what was in store for me. Are you ready? OK. Here it is. Body Combat. Hello? What was I thinking?!?!? I should never take a class in it that has the word "combat" in it. That implies, like, major movement. Like kicking. And punching. And growling. OK, maybe most people weren't growling. And come to think of it, I wasn't either. It was more like a low moaning. As though I were in my final death throes. But I digress.
So I get there, and my first friend, Sherie arrives. She and I are similar in body shape. Now I personally think Sherie's got a cute figure, especially considering she works full-time and has two kids. But she looks at me and says that since we don't have supermodel bodies, we have to be in the back. She didn't exactly say it like that, but seriously, that's exactly what happened. Because then our second friend, Brenna, who is super thin and muscular and all, she comes in. And instead of getting in the back with us, she stands in front of us. And I look around and all the super thin cute girls are in front. Except for one grandma. I'll get to her in a minute.
And then the instructor, Nicole. She, of course, is super thin and cute and she's got her hands all wrapped up. Like she's gonna box. And she asks if anyone is new to the class. I have to raise my hand. And she looks at me, and all I can think is, "she's gonna kick my a&%". Why in the world did I think to raise my hand? Really? Did I just do that?
The class starts. It's like aerobics and boxing, no no. It's like kick-boxing. So you have to be coordinated. And follow a routine. And I don't get it. And all I can do is laugh. And when I laugh, I snort. Very loudly. It's quite embarrassing. Have I ever told you that? Oops. I digress again. So yes, I'm laughing and snorting, and Sherie looks over at me and she is laughing. At me. And then after a few minutes, Nicole says something about getting started. I look over at Sherie and I say, "I'm sorry. We're gonna get started? Was that just a warm-up?" This of course, sends Sherie into hysterics. I should have gotten sympathy. Nope. No sympathy from Sherie. And Brenna is up front being all into the workout, and doesn't even notice the snorting and hysterical laughing behind her. No wonder she is so thin.
So then we really get going in the workout. I'm trying to keep up, but honestly, just as I think I might get what Nicole is talking about, she says, "Now I'm gonna change it up." And she looks at me every time. And I smile. All like, "Oh, yep. OK, change it up, girlfriend." When inside I'm thinking, "I have no idea what she's talking about. Change it up? I didn't even get the first part!" But yep. She changes it up. I start to look at myself in the mirror hoping that I will "get it." Instead, all I see is an incredibly uncoordinated, soft in the middle, old lady with a really bad outfit on and a hairdo that could scare small children.
Then Nicole adds in some "duck and weave" move. And I watch myself as I do it, and I think, "Dear me. I'm going to give someone a black eye doing that." It's just sad. I look over at Grandma, and I realize that she might even have better form than me. Oh dear, how pathetic. Then I feel a bit redeemed when we go to do running man and some other exercise, and then she does look a bit more freakish than me.
Then we are still working out and I wonder what time it is. So at the very next "break" (lasting about 5 seconds), I glance at the clock. And we've still got almost 25 minutes of class left! My smile is still plastered on my face, and Brenna glances back occasionally now. I'm sure it's because she's seen my face in the mirror and is worried I might have a stroke. Or maybe she thought I already had a stroke after seeing some of my kick-boxing moves. But anyway, we finally take a "real break" while we go and get floor mats. I don't have any idea why we are getting floor mats, but I'm game to go and get one. Some lucky chick beat us there and she's handing them out. If I had known that was going to happen, I would have gotten there first. Even if I'd have had to push her out of the way. You know why? I could have hidden back there for the rest of the class.
But no, Sherie did not tell me there was a little hiding place back there. I bet she knew about it too. So I get my mat and we walk back over and Sherie keeps giving me looks like "I told you this would kick your behind." And I'm still smiling, because frankly, I think my face is paralyzed from my "duck and weave" move. Nicole tells us to get on the floor and I'm hoping it's cool down time. Wrong. It's. . .get ready. . .ABS AND ARMS TIME! WHAT?!?!?!?
Oh yes. Planks. Push ups. Side Planks. All of the things I detest. And Sherie and I watch Brenna and she's doing push ups. And she's on her tiptoes. And her planks are perfect. No wonder she's got a flat tummy and muscular arms. And the reason I could watch her do those push ups? It's because I've pretty much given up and am lying on my mat. Waiting for Nicole to come over and shoot me, because, it is Body Combat. And you should put the people who can't keep up out of their misery.
The class finally ends. I think I might die. And cute Nicole comes up to me and says, "So how did you like it?" My frozen smiley face says, "Oh, it was great. Definitely going to do it again." WHAT did I just say?
So now I have to do this class again. But my arms hurt. My back hurts. My feet hurt. My right hip hurts. My smile is still not off my face. Everything hurts. I am a good typist, but I started this post this morning, and my fingers were so sore that I had to peck it out, and take multiple breaks in order to finish it. I think I need to see a doctor about that. But I said I would do it again. So I will. Even though I should absolutely not participate in any group activity that requires any kind of coordination. Dear lord help everyone in that class.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Sometimes I Think I'm Still In College
Today for lunch, I had Ramen Noodles. You heard me. You know. The noodle soup that comes in plastic and you heat up water, throw the noodles in to cook, and while you wait you dump the flavor packet in the bottom of a bowl. When the noodles are done (in a mere three minutes), you pour them, along with the water they cooked in, into your bowl. Stir and voila! You have a completely unhealthy meal. For only eighteen cents.
I bet most of my friends who happen to be at least around my age are cringing and thinking, "Seriously, does she still eat that crap?" Well, yes. Yes I do. They are cheap. They are easy. And while I don't eat them all the time, I definitely go through phases where I have Ramen Noodles for lunch every single day. I will say that I had about my twentieth packet of them today. I am a little tired of them. But still. Overall? LIKE it.
And so, I started thinking about how I still act the same as I did when I was in school. I was a bit of a Rush groupie in high school and college. (Again, I bet some of my friends are like - you were a Rush groupie? Who knew?) And although the artist has changed to Andrew Peterson, I am still a groupie. But I hope a slightly more mature groupie. But based on my behavior when AP and crew came to town last week? Not really all that mature.
But in college, I was, in fact, a Rush groupie. Followed them as they hit tour dates as far north as Baltimore, and as far south as Greeneville, SC. I got to know their bus driver, had one of the roadies ask for my phone number and he called from time to time and we chatted about what the band was up to. It was fun. I met Alex and Geddy, but never Neil. He's such a hermit. Anyway. . . so that was something else that I never let go from college days. It's just the band that's changed.
Oh yes. And I still wear the same clothes I wore in college. The ones that still fit. I would say the ones that aren't worn out. But let's be honest. I graduated college almost fourteen years ago. That should tell you what my wardrobe looks like. In fact, it also tells me that I am so very overdue to go get some new clothes. And it also tells me that I am fashion challenged. Why don't you, my friends, tell me these things? I had no idea that Doc Martin's were out of style. Crap!
I am also still with the same guy that I met while I was in college. He's usually pretty cool. Except for the past two nights. He's been stressed. So I'll give him a pass on that. But really overall, he's really awesome and I'm a lucky gal. We are coming up on being married for FOURTEEN YEARS! I can't believe it. The only thing that has changed about him is he doesn't have a super curly mullet anymore. (Yep. But please believe me when I say that on him, it worked. Even in the early nineties.)
I still hang out with college friends now. This part is a wee little different, because where we hang out is different, and we have additions to our crowd. For instance, instead of hanging out at Piccola's downtown, we hang out at the Christmas parade downtown, where we watch Rudolph get stabbed in the head and deflate before children's eyes everywhere. And that includes our own children's eyes. Not pretty. But essentially, it's the same crowd.
The funniest part is, after the Christmas parade, we all went over to a McDonald's to each lunch together. (Bleh. But seriously, how can I like Ramen noodles and not like McDonald's? What's wrong with me?) We put the kids at one table, and the rest of us (except for our friend Tara who got stuck with all the kids, God Bless Her) sat at another table. And suddenly, and I don't remember who it was, said something about how we all still looked exactly the same. And I looked around at all those familiar faces and whoever said it was right! We all looked the same. So I was transported back in time to remember us all when we were young, unmarried, and having fun. Even through all the kids chattering at the next table over, I went back there. And it was fun to reminisce. And I realized that we are still doing the same thing that we did in college. Except now we are having fun hanging out with our husbands, wives, and kids. The party is still there, it's just bigger. And with a lot less alcohol. But it's still as much fun!
Have a great day!
I bet most of my friends who happen to be at least around my age are cringing and thinking, "Seriously, does she still eat that crap?" Well, yes. Yes I do. They are cheap. They are easy. And while I don't eat them all the time, I definitely go through phases where I have Ramen Noodles for lunch every single day. I will say that I had about my twentieth packet of them today. I am a little tired of them. But still. Overall? LIKE it.
And so, I started thinking about how I still act the same as I did when I was in school. I was a bit of a Rush groupie in high school and college. (Again, I bet some of my friends are like - you were a Rush groupie? Who knew?) And although the artist has changed to Andrew Peterson, I am still a groupie. But I hope a slightly more mature groupie. But based on my behavior when AP and crew came to town last week? Not really all that mature.
But in college, I was, in fact, a Rush groupie. Followed them as they hit tour dates as far north as Baltimore, and as far south as Greeneville, SC. I got to know their bus driver, had one of the roadies ask for my phone number and he called from time to time and we chatted about what the band was up to. It was fun. I met Alex and Geddy, but never Neil. He's such a hermit. Anyway. . . so that was something else that I never let go from college days. It's just the band that's changed.
Oh yes. And I still wear the same clothes I wore in college. The ones that still fit. I would say the ones that aren't worn out. But let's be honest. I graduated college almost fourteen years ago. That should tell you what my wardrobe looks like. In fact, it also tells me that I am so very overdue to go get some new clothes. And it also tells me that I am fashion challenged. Why don't you, my friends, tell me these things? I had no idea that Doc Martin's were out of style. Crap!
I am also still with the same guy that I met while I was in college. He's usually pretty cool. Except for the past two nights. He's been stressed. So I'll give him a pass on that. But really overall, he's really awesome and I'm a lucky gal. We are coming up on being married for FOURTEEN YEARS! I can't believe it. The only thing that has changed about him is he doesn't have a super curly mullet anymore. (Yep. But please believe me when I say that on him, it worked. Even in the early nineties.)
I still hang out with college friends now. This part is a wee little different, because where we hang out is different, and we have additions to our crowd. For instance, instead of hanging out at Piccola's downtown, we hang out at the Christmas parade downtown, where we watch Rudolph get stabbed in the head and deflate before children's eyes everywhere. And that includes our own children's eyes. Not pretty. But essentially, it's the same crowd.
The funniest part is, after the Christmas parade, we all went over to a McDonald's to each lunch together. (Bleh. But seriously, how can I like Ramen noodles and not like McDonald's? What's wrong with me?) We put the kids at one table, and the rest of us (except for our friend Tara who got stuck with all the kids, God Bless Her) sat at another table. And suddenly, and I don't remember who it was, said something about how we all still looked exactly the same. And I looked around at all those familiar faces and whoever said it was right! We all looked the same. So I was transported back in time to remember us all when we were young, unmarried, and having fun. Even through all the kids chattering at the next table over, I went back there. And it was fun to reminisce. And I realized that we are still doing the same thing that we did in college. Except now we are having fun hanging out with our husbands, wives, and kids. The party is still there, it's just bigger. And with a lot less alcohol. But it's still as much fun!
Have a great day!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
A Good Thing. But Also A Bad Thing.
Soooooooo, after yesterdays blog post, I sat down and wrote a little more on my book. And I started to feel better. We had company last night for dinner - a friend of Jamey's (well and mine too!) - so once I got Joshua to bed, I had some more free time. And I decided to write again. I also received a lovely, encouraging comment from my buddy, Lisa, which cheered me immensely. (Thank you Lisa. And have I mentioned how much I love Peppermint Mocha creamer on here before?!?!?)
So I wrote some more. And guess what? I got some good momentum going! That was nice. It was so good that I didn't want to go to bed, but I made myself turn the computer off and go upstairs at 11pm. Then I lay in bed until sometime after 12am. Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide awake. Thinking about the book (and a few other things). And guess what else? I had to go downstairs at some point during that hour to get a pad of paper and a pen to write down an idea. So pad of paper and pen now once again reside on my bedside table. And that was good, right?
But then - oh yes - it was bad. Around 4am, I woke up and had to go to the bathroom. I came back in and got back in bed. And then I had a lovely bout with my Restless Leg Syndrome. If you don't know what that is, it is an odd condition that lots of people have. It sounds weird, and to some, unbelievable even. But it's true! Google it if you don't believe me! My mom has it too. You can't get your legs comfortable. They don't hurt. But they are positioned one way and then you start to feel like, "I am uncomfortable. If I just move my legs to this position, that feeling will go away." So you move them. And they are OK for a minute. And then the irresistible urge to change positions comes again. Over and over again. It's not fun. Sigh. So once I finally got through that, I started dozing off.
And then the storm came. The wind and rain blew so hard that it woke me out of my dozing state. And Jamey got up (this was around 5am), because he was going to the gym for a spin class (yes, he is crazy). And I lay in bed listening to the storm. I was sure it was going to wake Jman up. But he slept right through it.
I, of course, did not sleep right through it. Instead, I got scared and went downstairs and turned on the news to watch the storm move through. I thought for sure we were going to have a tornado.
Living in Texas, we had lots of scary storms. The silliest three stories I have about Texas and its weather are as follows:
When we first found out we were moving to Texas, I said something to Jamey about tornadoes. He assured me that Texas did not get that many. So after we moved there, Jamey and I went in to get our insurance stuff taken care of. And we are talking to the agent and I am super surprised that the cost is so much higher than in Richmond. I'm talking about four times as much! And I ask why. And the guy says, "Well we have a good amount of hail damage. But the real issue we have is tornadoes." And I can see Jamey out of the corner of my eye wildly making the "cut across the throat" gesture in an effort to get him to shut up. And I look at the guy and say, "I thought Texas didn't get many tornadoes?" And the guy says (I think I'm quoting verbatim here. . .) "Well little lady, actually, you are now living in the tornado capital of the world!" And he says it like he's all proud of himself and this fact! Needless to say, Jamey was busted, and I was not happy. Should have been our first clue that we would want to come back home to Richmond the first chance we got.
When we moved into our house in Fort Worth, we lived at the end of a cul-de-sac. And we had an entire wall of windows in our family room. You could see the storms approaching. It was like a wall of weather. Really cool and pretty informative if you are a storm chaser. Not really for a girl who is now not happy to know she is living in the tornado capital of the world. (The WORLD, people.) And we hadn't been in the house all that long. Jamey had gone out of town on business. He was a purchasing manager for Carmax at the time, and he went to the Denver Auto Auction every week. And so this one particular week, he was gone and it's starting to storm and I hear what sounds like a siren. And it's loud. So I go outside and I am standing in my driveway. And I'm looking around, but I don't see any rescue squads, police cars or fire trucks anywhere. And I am still looking around, and then my neighbor across the street, who happens to be a native Texan, opens his front door a little. And he's shouting at me like he's mad. Like he's mad at me. He says, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" And I say, quite innocently and politely, I might add, "What are all those sirens about?" And he looks at me like I am crazy, and then he says, no - he shouts again, "THOSE ARE THE TORNADO SIRENS! THAT MEANS THERE IS A TORNADO CLOSE BY! GO INSIDE NOW!!!!!"
You can imagine the look of surprise on my face. I am sure he will probably never forget it. I run inside and slam the door and the only thing I can remember about tornadoes is to be in an interior room. So I grab Harley, and I go into our guest bathroom. And lucky for me, about the time I get in there, the sirens stop. That was a fun day.
And so the last story kind of ties in with the previous story. Jamey went to that same auction every week. And for the next month, on the night he was gone, we would have the same type of storm go through. And funnily enough, there were three other ladies on our street who either had a husband who was out that night, or they didn't have a husband. And I would have the same conversation with all these ladies. It would go like this:
Them - "Where are you right now?"
Me - "I am in my bathtub, in the hall bathroom with Harley. Where are you?"
Them - "I am in my coat closet. The dog is in here with me. He's slobbering and it's hot. He's panting."
Me - "Come down here. My bathroom is big enough that I could fit a couple more people in here and it wouldn't be so hot."
Them - "No. I'm too scared. You come down here."
Me - "How are you going to fit another person and a dog into your coat closet? Besides, I'm scared too. By the way, this bathtub is really uncomfortable. I'm hungry. I think I have room to fit a little fridge in here for next week so I can have snacks."
And it would go around and around to each house till we'd all talked to each other and the storms were over.
I finally told Jamey that since he was the purchasing manager, he had to find someone else to go to that auction because I was tired of being home by myself in those storms. So he did that. And guess what? We never had another storm on that night of the week after that. Nice.
So there are my Texas tornado stories. Good times. Hope you enjoyed the humor in them. Me? Not so much. . .
Have a great, tornado free day. And in the spirit of Texas, y'all come back now, y'eah?
So I wrote some more. And guess what? I got some good momentum going! That was nice. It was so good that I didn't want to go to bed, but I made myself turn the computer off and go upstairs at 11pm. Then I lay in bed until sometime after 12am. Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide awake. Thinking about the book (and a few other things). And guess what else? I had to go downstairs at some point during that hour to get a pad of paper and a pen to write down an idea. So pad of paper and pen now once again reside on my bedside table. And that was good, right?
But then - oh yes - it was bad. Around 4am, I woke up and had to go to the bathroom. I came back in and got back in bed. And then I had a lovely bout with my Restless Leg Syndrome. If you don't know what that is, it is an odd condition that lots of people have. It sounds weird, and to some, unbelievable even. But it's true! Google it if you don't believe me! My mom has it too. You can't get your legs comfortable. They don't hurt. But they are positioned one way and then you start to feel like, "I am uncomfortable. If I just move my legs to this position, that feeling will go away." So you move them. And they are OK for a minute. And then the irresistible urge to change positions comes again. Over and over again. It's not fun. Sigh. So once I finally got through that, I started dozing off.
And then the storm came. The wind and rain blew so hard that it woke me out of my dozing state. And Jamey got up (this was around 5am), because he was going to the gym for a spin class (yes, he is crazy). And I lay in bed listening to the storm. I was sure it was going to wake Jman up. But he slept right through it.
I, of course, did not sleep right through it. Instead, I got scared and went downstairs and turned on the news to watch the storm move through. I thought for sure we were going to have a tornado.
Living in Texas, we had lots of scary storms. The silliest three stories I have about Texas and its weather are as follows:
When we first found out we were moving to Texas, I said something to Jamey about tornadoes. He assured me that Texas did not get that many. So after we moved there, Jamey and I went in to get our insurance stuff taken care of. And we are talking to the agent and I am super surprised that the cost is so much higher than in Richmond. I'm talking about four times as much! And I ask why. And the guy says, "Well we have a good amount of hail damage. But the real issue we have is tornadoes." And I can see Jamey out of the corner of my eye wildly making the "cut across the throat" gesture in an effort to get him to shut up. And I look at the guy and say, "I thought Texas didn't get many tornadoes?" And the guy says (I think I'm quoting verbatim here. . .) "Well little lady, actually, you are now living in the tornado capital of the world!" And he says it like he's all proud of himself and this fact! Needless to say, Jamey was busted, and I was not happy. Should have been our first clue that we would want to come back home to Richmond the first chance we got.
When we moved into our house in Fort Worth, we lived at the end of a cul-de-sac. And we had an entire wall of windows in our family room. You could see the storms approaching. It was like a wall of weather. Really cool and pretty informative if you are a storm chaser. Not really for a girl who is now not happy to know she is living in the tornado capital of the world. (The WORLD, people.) And we hadn't been in the house all that long. Jamey had gone out of town on business. He was a purchasing manager for Carmax at the time, and he went to the Denver Auto Auction every week. And so this one particular week, he was gone and it's starting to storm and I hear what sounds like a siren. And it's loud. So I go outside and I am standing in my driveway. And I'm looking around, but I don't see any rescue squads, police cars or fire trucks anywhere. And I am still looking around, and then my neighbor across the street, who happens to be a native Texan, opens his front door a little. And he's shouting at me like he's mad. Like he's mad at me. He says, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" And I say, quite innocently and politely, I might add, "What are all those sirens about?" And he looks at me like I am crazy, and then he says, no - he shouts again, "THOSE ARE THE TORNADO SIRENS! THAT MEANS THERE IS A TORNADO CLOSE BY! GO INSIDE NOW!!!!!"
You can imagine the look of surprise on my face. I am sure he will probably never forget it. I run inside and slam the door and the only thing I can remember about tornadoes is to be in an interior room. So I grab Harley, and I go into our guest bathroom. And lucky for me, about the time I get in there, the sirens stop. That was a fun day.
And so the last story kind of ties in with the previous story. Jamey went to that same auction every week. And for the next month, on the night he was gone, we would have the same type of storm go through. And funnily enough, there were three other ladies on our street who either had a husband who was out that night, or they didn't have a husband. And I would have the same conversation with all these ladies. It would go like this:
Them - "Where are you right now?"
Me - "I am in my bathtub, in the hall bathroom with Harley. Where are you?"
Them - "I am in my coat closet. The dog is in here with me. He's slobbering and it's hot. He's panting."
Me - "Come down here. My bathroom is big enough that I could fit a couple more people in here and it wouldn't be so hot."
Them - "No. I'm too scared. You come down here."
Me - "How are you going to fit another person and a dog into your coat closet? Besides, I'm scared too. By the way, this bathtub is really uncomfortable. I'm hungry. I think I have room to fit a little fridge in here for next week so I can have snacks."
And it would go around and around to each house till we'd all talked to each other and the storms were over.
I finally told Jamey that since he was the purchasing manager, he had to find someone else to go to that auction because I was tired of being home by myself in those storms. So he did that. And guess what? We never had another storm on that night of the week after that. Nice.
So there are my Texas tornado stories. Good times. Hope you enjoyed the humor in them. Me? Not so much. . .
Have a great, tornado free day. And in the spirit of Texas, y'all come back now, y'eah?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Things I Am Thankful For
OK, so in light of the fact that it is the day before Thanksgiving, and because I know myself well enough to know that I will probably not be coming on here tomorrow to post because, let's face it, it is going to be very busy, I thought I would write a post today. And also because it is Thanksgiving tomorrow, doesn't it just make sense to do a "Thankful for" list? Of course it does.
And so I am going to write one right now. Some of them may be a little silly. And some are not. I hope you enjoy my list. I also hope you have one of your own.
I am thankful for. . .
1. Evite. It makes invitation giving so easy.
2. Books. I love reading.
3. Curious George Movies. Well the one on PBS this morning. Cos I got to snuggle with Joshua while we watched it.
4. The beach.
5. Secret hiding spots for my stamps.
6. Online Bill Pay.
7. Thanksgiving meals. Specifically turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie.
8. Coffee.
9. Ranch Dressing.
10. Ice Cream.
11. Catalogs, newspapers, and real estate magazines and those who sneak them to me.
12. Bad Bean Taqueria.
13. Blogs.
14. Yummy smelling shampoos, conditioners and bath soaps.
15. Scrub free shower cleanser and toilet bowl cleanser.
16. Cameras and Video Recorders. They capture so many good memories.
17. My kitchen aid mixer.
18. Christmas decorations.
19. Christmas cookies.
20. Coloring books and crayons.
21. Facebook.
22. Lollipops and free cookies at the grocery store to keep a little boy entertained during big shopping days.
23. Target.
24. Goody bags at triathlons and races.
25. Ginger Peach tea.
26. Screened in Porches.
27. Really good coupons, or get something absolutely free/no purchase necessary offers.
28. Really great haircuts.
29. Landing safely after flying. (WHEW.)
30. Restaurant gift certificates.
And now that I've listed out some of my sillier things I'm thankful for, I'll tell you what I am really thankful for. I am thankful that I have an absolutely fabulous set of parents. They really are so fabulous that I could never express it well enough here, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
I am thankful for my sister, even if we don't get to get together that frequently, and I hope that changes.
I am thankful that I have a great bunch of friends right here in my neighborhood. Y'all rock!
I am thankful for my BFF, Yvette. She is so awesome, and I pray every day that we won't always live so far away from each other. Love you big, girlfriend!
I am thankful to infinity and beyond that Jamey convinced me to have a baby. Because Joshua is such a joy to have in my life that I could cry with happiness every time I think of him.
I am thankful for Jamey. We have made it through some pretty tough times over the past almost 14 years of marriage. And I know we are in for more tough times. But the good times overshadow the tough times so much that it absolutely makes it all worth it. I am thankful that I choose to be married to a great man every day.
I am thankful that we have a warm house, food on the table every day and, although they might not be very stylish, clothes to put on our backs each day.
I am thankful that my little boy has a cozy bed with lots of babies in it to keep him company each night.
I am thankful that we were lucky enough to be born in a country that we don't have to be afraid to live in. We might get irritated with our leaders, but I don't think many of us realize how truly lucky we are to live here. I include myself in this.
I am thankful that we are healthy. Both physically, and somewhat emotionally.
I am thankful that I have found a love for writing this year. And I am thankful that some of you enjoy reading what I write.
I am thankful that I have a church where I don't have to hide how I feel and pretend that things are "fine" when they might not be. It is a community of real support. And I am most thankful that I have learned and continue to see that God loves me. Wherever I am in my journey.
Happy Thanksgiving.
And so I am going to write one right now. Some of them may be a little silly. And some are not. I hope you enjoy my list. I also hope you have one of your own.
I am thankful for. . .
1. Evite. It makes invitation giving so easy.
2. Books. I love reading.
3. Curious George Movies. Well the one on PBS this morning. Cos I got to snuggle with Joshua while we watched it.
4. The beach.
5. Secret hiding spots for my stamps.
6. Online Bill Pay.
7. Thanksgiving meals. Specifically turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie.
8. Coffee.
9. Ranch Dressing.
10. Ice Cream.
11. Catalogs, newspapers, and real estate magazines and those who sneak them to me.
12. Bad Bean Taqueria.
13. Blogs.
14. Yummy smelling shampoos, conditioners and bath soaps.
15. Scrub free shower cleanser and toilet bowl cleanser.
16. Cameras and Video Recorders. They capture so many good memories.
17. My kitchen aid mixer.
18. Christmas decorations.
19. Christmas cookies.
20. Coloring books and crayons.
21. Facebook.
22. Lollipops and free cookies at the grocery store to keep a little boy entertained during big shopping days.
23. Target.
24. Goody bags at triathlons and races.
25. Ginger Peach tea.
26. Screened in Porches.
27. Really good coupons, or get something absolutely free/no purchase necessary offers.
28. Really great haircuts.
29. Landing safely after flying. (WHEW.)
30. Restaurant gift certificates.
And now that I've listed out some of my sillier things I'm thankful for, I'll tell you what I am really thankful for. I am thankful that I have an absolutely fabulous set of parents. They really are so fabulous that I could never express it well enough here, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
I am thankful for my sister, even if we don't get to get together that frequently, and I hope that changes.
I am thankful that I have a great bunch of friends right here in my neighborhood. Y'all rock!
I am thankful for my BFF, Yvette. She is so awesome, and I pray every day that we won't always live so far away from each other. Love you big, girlfriend!
I am thankful to infinity and beyond that Jamey convinced me to have a baby. Because Joshua is such a joy to have in my life that I could cry with happiness every time I think of him.
I am thankful for Jamey. We have made it through some pretty tough times over the past almost 14 years of marriage. And I know we are in for more tough times. But the good times overshadow the tough times so much that it absolutely makes it all worth it. I am thankful that I choose to be married to a great man every day.
I am thankful that we have a warm house, food on the table every day and, although they might not be very stylish, clothes to put on our backs each day.
I am thankful that my little boy has a cozy bed with lots of babies in it to keep him company each night.
I am thankful that we were lucky enough to be born in a country that we don't have to be afraid to live in. We might get irritated with our leaders, but I don't think many of us realize how truly lucky we are to live here. I include myself in this.
I am thankful that we are healthy. Both physically, and somewhat emotionally.
I am thankful that I have found a love for writing this year. And I am thankful that some of you enjoy reading what I write.
I am thankful that I have a church where I don't have to hide how I feel and pretend that things are "fine" when they might not be. It is a community of real support. And I am most thankful that I have learned and continue to see that God loves me. Wherever I am in my journey.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
My English Friends - Long Live the TTC'ers!
There is a place on my blog in the statistics tab that I can go to and see all kinds of interesting information. It shows how many hits I've had that day, that week, that month, and for all time. It also shows which posts are being looked at the most, how the posts were gotten to (whether it's the direct blog address, Facebook links, or referring blogs that have links to my blog on them), and, most interesting to me, it also shows what countries are looking at my blog.
Not surprisingly, my largest amount of followers are from the United States. But I have had all kinds of countries hit my blog including Canada (Hi Canada follower! Thank you!), Denmark, Russia, Vietnam, China, Slovenia, etc. And you may find it interesting that I have somewhat of a regular following in England. But I know why! Want to know my secret?
It all began when Jamey and I decided to get pregnant. We had told everyone, for absolutely forever, that we were not going to have kids, but that we reserved the right to change our minds. And so one day, we did in fact change our minds. But we didn't want to tell anyone. We had seen too many couples who had gone before us make the mistake of telling people they were trying to have a baby. Talk about pressure! We'd hear it all the time for these poor souls - So any news yet? Do I need to start shopping for baby clothes yet? And all other kinds of questions, that frankly, we felt might be inappropriate. I mean, what if those people were having difficulties conceiving? So we decided right away that we would not tell anybody.
But that was hard. For me, anyway. I mean, I wanted to share with somebody about it. Particularly with someone who was also trying to have a baby. I don't know why, but I did. I wanted that connection. But for a while, I just bumbled along on my own. I'd be at work and on the sly, I would look at websites that talked about charting your fertility cycles and tips to maximize your chances. (Can you believe that?) And then one day, I don't even know how, I ended up on yet another website that was all about having babies. This one was in the United Kingdom. And I looked and they had - discussion boards. Hallelujah! My prayers had been answered! I could go on there and talk to people who had no idea who I was!
But I started to get nervous. You know, because I was sure that there would be someone on those boards who would recognize me. So I pretended I lived in England too. And I posted something on the board. And then someone answered me back. And then another. And pretty soon, every day (while I was supposed to be working of course), I was chatting away with a lovely group of ladies from "across the pond"!
We checked in with each other almost every day. People started getting pregnant. Then we had a few miscarriages, including my own. And these ladies were all a huge support to me during that time. I didn't have to suffer by myself. I will never forget them for that.
We decided at some point that we were going to move over to a private board on MSN. And around the same time I had cooked up a story about us "coming home" (from our fake home in England to our real house in the United States), and I made up a silly story about our dog having to be quarantined when he came back and all, because I was really tired of pretending to live in England (seriously, isn't that the silliest thing you've ever heard of?), and so almost as soon as our board went private, I told all of them. We had such a good laugh over it. (Do you remember that ladies?)
And then eventually, almost every single one of us got pregnant. One of the ladies had several more miscarriages, but she now has two lovely little boys. Only one of us didn't conceive. I don't know whatever happened to her, because the board got to be too much for her. I don't blame her. I am sure that would have been extremely difficult to read about all the pregnancies and babies day after day. But I hope she is well. That is the sad part about our board. Not all of us got that lucky. So Suede (her name on the board), I truly hope and pray your life is well.
We have finally moved off the board and are all Facebook friends. We still have our own page on Facebook, and we post updates from time to time. We are all so busy with our lives. But I will always consider this group of ladies my friends. And maybe one day, I'll get to go across the pond and meet them. I would love it. Love all you ladies! Long live the TTC'ers!!! ;o)
I hope you enjoyed this little story from my past. I enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Have a great afternoon everybody!
Not surprisingly, my largest amount of followers are from the United States. But I have had all kinds of countries hit my blog including Canada (Hi Canada follower! Thank you!), Denmark, Russia, Vietnam, China, Slovenia, etc. And you may find it interesting that I have somewhat of a regular following in England. But I know why! Want to know my secret?
It all began when Jamey and I decided to get pregnant. We had told everyone, for absolutely forever, that we were not going to have kids, but that we reserved the right to change our minds. And so one day, we did in fact change our minds. But we didn't want to tell anyone. We had seen too many couples who had gone before us make the mistake of telling people they were trying to have a baby. Talk about pressure! We'd hear it all the time for these poor souls - So any news yet? Do I need to start shopping for baby clothes yet? And all other kinds of questions, that frankly, we felt might be inappropriate. I mean, what if those people were having difficulties conceiving? So we decided right away that we would not tell anybody.
But that was hard. For me, anyway. I mean, I wanted to share with somebody about it. Particularly with someone who was also trying to have a baby. I don't know why, but I did. I wanted that connection. But for a while, I just bumbled along on my own. I'd be at work and on the sly, I would look at websites that talked about charting your fertility cycles and tips to maximize your chances. (Can you believe that?) And then one day, I don't even know how, I ended up on yet another website that was all about having babies. This one was in the United Kingdom. And I looked and they had - discussion boards. Hallelujah! My prayers had been answered! I could go on there and talk to people who had no idea who I was!
But I started to get nervous. You know, because I was sure that there would be someone on those boards who would recognize me. So I pretended I lived in England too. And I posted something on the board. And then someone answered me back. And then another. And pretty soon, every day (while I was supposed to be working of course), I was chatting away with a lovely group of ladies from "across the pond"!
We checked in with each other almost every day. People started getting pregnant. Then we had a few miscarriages, including my own. And these ladies were all a huge support to me during that time. I didn't have to suffer by myself. I will never forget them for that.
We decided at some point that we were going to move over to a private board on MSN. And around the same time I had cooked up a story about us "coming home" (from our fake home in England to our real house in the United States), and I made up a silly story about our dog having to be quarantined when he came back and all, because I was really tired of pretending to live in England (seriously, isn't that the silliest thing you've ever heard of?), and so almost as soon as our board went private, I told all of them. We had such a good laugh over it. (Do you remember that ladies?)
And then eventually, almost every single one of us got pregnant. One of the ladies had several more miscarriages, but she now has two lovely little boys. Only one of us didn't conceive. I don't know whatever happened to her, because the board got to be too much for her. I don't blame her. I am sure that would have been extremely difficult to read about all the pregnancies and babies day after day. But I hope she is well. That is the sad part about our board. Not all of us got that lucky. So Suede (her name on the board), I truly hope and pray your life is well.
We have finally moved off the board and are all Facebook friends. We still have our own page on Facebook, and we post updates from time to time. We are all so busy with our lives. But I will always consider this group of ladies my friends. And maybe one day, I'll get to go across the pond and meet them. I would love it. Love all you ladies! Long live the TTC'ers!!! ;o)
I hope you enjoyed this little story from my past. I enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Have a great afternoon everybody!
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Trick or Treat Report
Last night was a lot of fun. I think Joshua may have set a new land speed record. And he was pooooooped. Slept great.
Joshua's buddy, Alex, came over to trick or treat with us. Our neighborhood also has a hot dog roast every year. So we all headed over there first, and I was thrilled that Joshua ate some macaroni and cheese (under protest till he found out he wouldn't get a cupcake if he didn't). He also managed to down a whole hotdog before he dug into the cupcakes and other goodies. I, of course, had about fifteen glasses of the punch. I love punch. It was some kind of orange sherbety punch. Goooooood.
Then we went back to the house, and before the kids left with Jamey and Bart and Dawn and my dad (you can never have enough adult supervision), someone managed to get purple frosting on Quincy. Who now has a pinkish purple spot on his back. But I can't be bothered to give him a bath. I may invite his friend, Jackson, over to take care of it for me.
My mom and I handed out the candy last night. My favorite conversation was with Caleb, who is the son of my friend, Julie. Here's how it went:
Caleb - Trick or Treat!
Me - Wow great costume, Caleb! (Caleb is staring into the bowl of candy and is oblivious that I said that to him.)
Caleb - Whatcha got in there?
Me - Candy corns and smarties.
Caleb - I love those. (still staring into the bowl. I'm not sure he realized there was a real person talking to him at this point. I think he thought it was the candy bowl.)
Me - Oh good. Here have a bunch. (I whisper the have a bunch comment and put a huge handful in his bag or pumpkin or whatever it was.)
Caleb - Except I don't really like candy corns. But I like smarties. (Caleb starts whispering too. And he finally looks up and realizes here that the candy bowl is, in fact, attached to a person.)
Me - (whispering again) Oh well then here, have some more. (I put another handful of just smarties in his bag.)
Caleb - Thank you. (so polite! And still whispering.)
Me - (whispering) You're welcome.
Caleb - (turns to walk away and then turns back a little. And whispering, says,) Um, why are we whispering?
Me - (still whispering) Cos it's fun.
I think Caleb thought I might have been a little bit crazy. That's OK, as long as I don't scare him. I don't know why I found that so amusing. I guess it was because really I was whispering it to him because I gave him more candy than a lot of the other kids who happened to come up at the same time. Because I gave the most candy to the kids of the friends I hang out with in the neighborhood. In fact, another friend's kid, Wil, somehow came by our house twice. And twice I happily gave him a large handful of candy. And Wil had a huge grin on his face, especially the second time. Loved. It.
After the boys got back we sorted through their candy. I didn't think to tell Joshua that Almond Joys are poison so that I could hold them all out for myself. I wonder if I could still get away with that today? In fact, I wonder if he would believe me if I told him that there was a recall on Kit Kats too, and that I'd have to take those away? I. . .oopsie. I digress. Plus you probably all think I'm a horrible parent. But trust me. He's got plenty of candy. Who do you think I gave all our leftover candy corn to?
And now we are looking at the beginning of November. I can't believe it is here already. I thought to myself last night as I was stringing up my one pathetic little string of ghost lights that pretty soon, we were going to be hauling out all the Christmas decorations. And then I thought, didn't I just put those away like a month ago?
But here it is, November one. Maybe I should add a counter downer on how many shopping days we have till Christmas. But seeing how long it took me to figure out how to put a "like" button on my blog, and seeing as I still don't think it's actually working right, I probably won't. Sorry folks, you're on your own on that one. Off to the gym today. I gotta do something to work off all this Halloween candy I know I'm going to be eating in the next week or two!
Joshua's buddy, Alex, came over to trick or treat with us. Our neighborhood also has a hot dog roast every year. So we all headed over there first, and I was thrilled that Joshua ate some macaroni and cheese (under protest till he found out he wouldn't get a cupcake if he didn't). He also managed to down a whole hotdog before he dug into the cupcakes and other goodies. I, of course, had about fifteen glasses of the punch. I love punch. It was some kind of orange sherbety punch. Goooooood.
Then we went back to the house, and before the kids left with Jamey and Bart and Dawn and my dad (you can never have enough adult supervision), someone managed to get purple frosting on Quincy. Who now has a pinkish purple spot on his back. But I can't be bothered to give him a bath. I may invite his friend, Jackson, over to take care of it for me.
My mom and I handed out the candy last night. My favorite conversation was with Caleb, who is the son of my friend, Julie. Here's how it went:
Caleb - Trick or Treat!
Me - Wow great costume, Caleb! (Caleb is staring into the bowl of candy and is oblivious that I said that to him.)
Caleb - Whatcha got in there?
Me - Candy corns and smarties.
Caleb - I love those. (still staring into the bowl. I'm not sure he realized there was a real person talking to him at this point. I think he thought it was the candy bowl.)
Me - Oh good. Here have a bunch. (I whisper the have a bunch comment and put a huge handful in his bag or pumpkin or whatever it was.)
Caleb - Except I don't really like candy corns. But I like smarties. (Caleb starts whispering too. And he finally looks up and realizes here that the candy bowl is, in fact, attached to a person.)
Me - (whispering again) Oh well then here, have some more. (I put another handful of just smarties in his bag.)
Caleb - Thank you. (so polite! And still whispering.)
Me - (whispering) You're welcome.
Caleb - (turns to walk away and then turns back a little. And whispering, says,) Um, why are we whispering?
Me - (still whispering) Cos it's fun.
I think Caleb thought I might have been a little bit crazy. That's OK, as long as I don't scare him. I don't know why I found that so amusing. I guess it was because really I was whispering it to him because I gave him more candy than a lot of the other kids who happened to come up at the same time. Because I gave the most candy to the kids of the friends I hang out with in the neighborhood. In fact, another friend's kid, Wil, somehow came by our house twice. And twice I happily gave him a large handful of candy. And Wil had a huge grin on his face, especially the second time. Loved. It.
After the boys got back we sorted through their candy. I didn't think to tell Joshua that Almond Joys are poison so that I could hold them all out for myself. I wonder if I could still get away with that today? In fact, I wonder if he would believe me if I told him that there was a recall on Kit Kats too, and that I'd have to take those away? I. . .oopsie. I digress. Plus you probably all think I'm a horrible parent. But trust me. He's got plenty of candy. Who do you think I gave all our leftover candy corn to?
And now we are looking at the beginning of November. I can't believe it is here already. I thought to myself last night as I was stringing up my one pathetic little string of ghost lights that pretty soon, we were going to be hauling out all the Christmas decorations. And then I thought, didn't I just put those away like a month ago?
But here it is, November one. Maybe I should add a counter downer on how many shopping days we have till Christmas. But seeing how long it took me to figure out how to put a "like" button on my blog, and seeing as I still don't think it's actually working right, I probably won't. Sorry folks, you're on your own on that one. Off to the gym today. I gotta do something to work off all this Halloween candy I know I'm going to be eating in the next week or two!
Monday, October 25, 2010
My Best Friend's Visit - Plus Our New Talk Show!!!!!
We had SO much fun this weekend! I just can't say enough about how nice it is to have several days of girlie time with your best friend. Ladies, if you haven't done a girlie weekend with your BFF in a while, schedule one!
We did a lot of the normal - we went to the gym, we drank a lot of coffee, we ate a lot of coconut cake (oh boy was it good if I do say so myself!), we shopped and shopped. Yvette was kind enough to spoil me with some new clothes and a cutie patootie pair of shoes, and hopefully I spoiled her with all the good food we ate. We ate at The Boathouse - we got the crab cakes - and drank wine. We also ate at Crab Louie's one night (I think we might both like seafood) and we drank wine there too. The only bummer of the weekend for me was I did in fact, come down with a cold that has now taken up residence in my chest. So I couldn't run with Yvette, who is training for a half marathon. But I did ride my bike beside her. Not my triathlon bike that wants to kill me. I also have a hybrid bike that is fine for pleasure. It is not trying to kill me. So I didn't exert myself too much and get a nasty chest infection. And I still got to spend time with her while she ran. But it would have been nice to run instead.
Then yesterday my mom came over and the three of us headed back out to Charlottesville, because Yvette loves the mountains. And we were going to go to Carter's Mountain to pick apples again, but then my mom had the brilliant idea to tour wineries instead. We had such a good time!!!! We got lots of pictures, including the three of us goofing it up and pretending to be tipsy (I swear we really weren't, but it was a hoot for others to watch us doing that I am sure) What a fun thing to do with your favorite women. Then we went in to downtown Charlottesville and walked around and found a delicious place to eat. Yvette and I got a chicken pot pie and mom got salmon wrapped in phyllo dough. The food was awesome. We split a dessert that was chocolate cake with chocolate mousse inside and had ice cream on top. I just can't say enough about how fun yesterday was.
So now, just before we have to leave and I must return my BFF to the airport (BOO! Come on. Can't the radio tower's power get knocked out for a day or two or something?!?!?), we thought it would be fun to do kind of a joint post. I'm going to interview her. We will call this portion of today's post Coffee Talk. Visualize, if you please, the two of us as though we are on a talk show. We have a totally cute set and we are chatting with each other. Kind of like Regis and Kelly. But instead it's Carolyn and Yvette. And we look totally cute and are completely famous and all of you tune in every day to watch, because, of course, we are very entertaining. OK, here we go:
C - So Yvette, how was your time here in Richmond?
Y - Awesome! It always goes too fast. And I get jealous because I love Richmond and then I have to go back to crummy old Texas. I love your little family. Even slobbery Quincy!
C- I hate Texas. (Oopsie. Probably shouldn't say that if I have any Texas readers.) OK, I'll amend. I love parts of Texas. Specifically, your house, and all the donut shops, bakeries, and Starbucks. And wineries too.
Y- That's right.
C- Any funny stories you would like to share specifically about our wine tours yesterday?
Y - Your mother is 73 going on 21. Weezie rocks the house down! Thank you for being DD yesterday. We needed one.
C - To clarify. I was the designated driver yesterday. Weezie and Yvette had the good time. . .ha ha ha! I liked the silly pictures we took but cannot share on the computer for fear it will damage your future career opportunities. I swear that they were staged, but people could talk. Booooo! Oh and they had the most delicious, and artery clearing Olive Oil ever at Barboursville Vineyards. I ate 27 of those crackers, and acted like I was just trying it the first time each time I went back for another. Oh and I like my Barry White voice. Totally hot.
Y - Yeah, you sounded pretty sexy this weekend. We got a lot of free stuff cos of your voice. Speaking of hot. How was that dude who was serving us at the vineyard?
C - (speaking in her Barry White voice) Ooooooh yeeeeahhhhh.
Y - I wonder if my spouse remembered that we have a dog? And that he needed to be let out and fed occasionally while I was gone? I hope that I don't come home and find a very skinny, dehydrated, or worse yet, a dead dog. No he's not that bad. He is an absent-minded professor, but really not that bad!!!
C - Ha ha! Mark, you know we are just kidding you (Keep in mind folks, you are looking at us on TV here. Isn't the set cool? Aren't we so stylish and cute? And our coffee is soooo good.) Here, have a piece of chocolate.
Y - OK, now down to business, enough talk about us. Let's talk entertainment news. . . How about David and Courtney separating?
C - I know. Totally sad. But seriously. She has one child. Did she really need her husband to be another one?
Y - Yeah. And her hit show Cougartown has enough hotties for her to pick from instead. She is bringing home the bacon after all.
C - Plus he cheated on her, right?
Y - Yeah, what's up with that? That Jasmine girl.
C - Is she young and super pretty? I don't know how you can get much better than Courtney?
Y - Oh yeah, she's a young and upcoming waitress. Who has slept with several celebrities - that's according to my number one source, In Touch magazine.
C - Oh. Yes, let's see. Courtney - super successful, hot, mother of his child. Jasmine - pretty, waitress, hobag. I don't see it.
Y - Exactly. Does it ever make sense?
C - Certainly not in this case.
Y - I'm personally in it for Ben Affleck and my girl, Jennifer Garner to make the long haul. She's a badass and gorgeous. She and I are totally tight. We hang out on the weekends.
C - Yes, but I'm still your BFF.
Y - Always, girlfriend.
C - Speaking of hanging out. Curtis Stone is coming to cook me and Jamey and Joshua dinner tomorrow.
Y - Can we crash?
C - Yes. I need someone to carry a napkin under my chin to catch the drool.
Y - Is that from the food or from Curtis? And I'll be there to support you, baby girl.
C - Oh me. She's channelling Ricky Bobby.
Y - Shake and Bake, baby. SHAKE. AND. BAKE.
C - OK, so we need to move on. The camera guy is now wildly gesturing it's time for commercial break. On today's show, we will have our cool-ass buddy, Joel Burns and his husband, JD.
Y - Also today, my totally favorite Hollywood hottie, George Clooney!!!!!
C - Pucker up, Georgie!!!
Y - Honey, I might be super late coming home today. . .
C - And although it's a little bit of a blast from a past movie. . .Ewan McGregor has agreed to come on and serenade me with "Your Song" from Moulin Rouge. Honey. I may never be home today. Just kidding. Sigh.
(Applause sign lights up. C & Y are laughing hysterically and applying lots of lipgloss.)
This was fun. I will totally miss my BFF. I look forward to more joint blogging and feeding into our fantasy of having our own talk show. If you all want, I'll start a petition that you all can sign and we'll send it to Hollywood to try and get our own show. I can't wait to see her again. Love you big, girl!!!!
Have a great day everybody!
We did a lot of the normal - we went to the gym, we drank a lot of coffee, we ate a lot of coconut cake (oh boy was it good if I do say so myself!), we shopped and shopped. Yvette was kind enough to spoil me with some new clothes and a cutie patootie pair of shoes, and hopefully I spoiled her with all the good food we ate. We ate at The Boathouse - we got the crab cakes - and drank wine. We also ate at Crab Louie's one night (I think we might both like seafood) and we drank wine there too. The only bummer of the weekend for me was I did in fact, come down with a cold that has now taken up residence in my chest. So I couldn't run with Yvette, who is training for a half marathon. But I did ride my bike beside her. Not my triathlon bike that wants to kill me. I also have a hybrid bike that is fine for pleasure. It is not trying to kill me. So I didn't exert myself too much and get a nasty chest infection. And I still got to spend time with her while she ran. But it would have been nice to run instead.
Then yesterday my mom came over and the three of us headed back out to Charlottesville, because Yvette loves the mountains. And we were going to go to Carter's Mountain to pick apples again, but then my mom had the brilliant idea to tour wineries instead. We had such a good time!!!! We got lots of pictures, including the three of us goofing it up and pretending to be tipsy (I swear we really weren't, but it was a hoot for others to watch us doing that I am sure) What a fun thing to do with your favorite women. Then we went in to downtown Charlottesville and walked around and found a delicious place to eat. Yvette and I got a chicken pot pie and mom got salmon wrapped in phyllo dough. The food was awesome. We split a dessert that was chocolate cake with chocolate mousse inside and had ice cream on top. I just can't say enough about how fun yesterday was.
So now, just before we have to leave and I must return my BFF to the airport (BOO! Come on. Can't the radio tower's power get knocked out for a day or two or something?!?!?), we thought it would be fun to do kind of a joint post. I'm going to interview her. We will call this portion of today's post Coffee Talk. Visualize, if you please, the two of us as though we are on a talk show. We have a totally cute set and we are chatting with each other. Kind of like Regis and Kelly. But instead it's Carolyn and Yvette. And we look totally cute and are completely famous and all of you tune in every day to watch, because, of course, we are very entertaining. OK, here we go:
C - So Yvette, how was your time here in Richmond?
Y - Awesome! It always goes too fast. And I get jealous because I love Richmond and then I have to go back to crummy old Texas. I love your little family. Even slobbery Quincy!
C- I hate Texas. (Oopsie. Probably shouldn't say that if I have any Texas readers.) OK, I'll amend. I love parts of Texas. Specifically, your house, and all the donut shops, bakeries, and Starbucks. And wineries too.
Y- That's right.
C- Any funny stories you would like to share specifically about our wine tours yesterday?
Y - Your mother is 73 going on 21. Weezie rocks the house down! Thank you for being DD yesterday. We needed one.
C - To clarify. I was the designated driver yesterday. Weezie and Yvette had the good time. . .ha ha ha! I liked the silly pictures we took but cannot share on the computer for fear it will damage your future career opportunities. I swear that they were staged, but people could talk. Booooo! Oh and they had the most delicious, and artery clearing Olive Oil ever at Barboursville Vineyards. I ate 27 of those crackers, and acted like I was just trying it the first time each time I went back for another. Oh and I like my Barry White voice. Totally hot.
Y - Yeah, you sounded pretty sexy this weekend. We got a lot of free stuff cos of your voice. Speaking of hot. How was that dude who was serving us at the vineyard?
C - (speaking in her Barry White voice) Ooooooh yeeeeahhhhh.
Y - I wonder if my spouse remembered that we have a dog? And that he needed to be let out and fed occasionally while I was gone? I hope that I don't come home and find a very skinny, dehydrated, or worse yet, a dead dog. No he's not that bad. He is an absent-minded professor, but really not that bad!!!
C - Ha ha! Mark, you know we are just kidding you (Keep in mind folks, you are looking at us on TV here. Isn't the set cool? Aren't we so stylish and cute? And our coffee is soooo good.) Here, have a piece of chocolate.
Y - OK, now down to business, enough talk about us. Let's talk entertainment news. . . How about David and Courtney separating?
C - I know. Totally sad. But seriously. She has one child. Did she really need her husband to be another one?
Y - Yeah. And her hit show Cougartown has enough hotties for her to pick from instead. She is bringing home the bacon after all.
C - Plus he cheated on her, right?
Y - Yeah, what's up with that? That Jasmine girl.
C - Is she young and super pretty? I don't know how you can get much better than Courtney?
Y - Oh yeah, she's a young and upcoming waitress. Who has slept with several celebrities - that's according to my number one source, In Touch magazine.
C - Oh. Yes, let's see. Courtney - super successful, hot, mother of his child. Jasmine - pretty, waitress, hobag. I don't see it.
Y - Exactly. Does it ever make sense?
C - Certainly not in this case.
Y - I'm personally in it for Ben Affleck and my girl, Jennifer Garner to make the long haul. She's a badass and gorgeous. She and I are totally tight. We hang out on the weekends.
C - Yes, but I'm still your BFF.
Y - Always, girlfriend.
C - Speaking of hanging out. Curtis Stone is coming to cook me and Jamey and Joshua dinner tomorrow.
Y - Can we crash?
C - Yes. I need someone to carry a napkin under my chin to catch the drool.
Y - Is that from the food or from Curtis? And I'll be there to support you, baby girl.
C - Oh me. She's channelling Ricky Bobby.
Y - Shake and Bake, baby. SHAKE. AND. BAKE.
C - OK, so we need to move on. The camera guy is now wildly gesturing it's time for commercial break. On today's show, we will have our cool-ass buddy, Joel Burns and his husband, JD.
Y - Also today, my totally favorite Hollywood hottie, George Clooney!!!!!
C - Pucker up, Georgie!!!
Y - Honey, I might be super late coming home today. . .
C - And although it's a little bit of a blast from a past movie. . .Ewan McGregor has agreed to come on and serenade me with "Your Song" from Moulin Rouge. Honey. I may never be home today. Just kidding. Sigh.
(Applause sign lights up. C & Y are laughing hysterically and applying lots of lipgloss.)
This was fun. I will totally miss my BFF. I look forward to more joint blogging and feeding into our fantasy of having our own talk show. If you all want, I'll start a petition that you all can sign and we'll send it to Hollywood to try and get our own show. I can't wait to see her again. Love you big, girl!!!!
Have a great day everybody!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Shortest Post Ever - BECAUSE IT'S BFF ARRIVAL DAY!!!!
I know I know I know!!!!! I should be finishing up getting ready for Yvette's visit! But I just wanted to pop on here real quick and say hi.
I have a cake in the oven. Hopefully it will be a lovely coconut cake. It won't be ready though, till at least tomorrow. Maybe Saturday. You have to let it chill in your fridge. The longer you chill it, the better it tastes. I know I have just disappointed a couple of people. Sorry girls, but you WILL have some. You must be patient. . .
The house is fairly clean. Well clean enough. My buddy's room is all bee-yoo-tee-mus. I still would like to get some flowers for her room.
I had a friend drop me by a couple of magazines and the Sunday paper because of one of my earlier posts. Thank you, Brenna! That made my morning. Now if only I can have you surreptitiously slip in a couple real estate books from time to time without Jamey finding out.
I don't know if I will post while my buddy is here. I am sure you all understand. But I promise to tell you all about our visit once she's gone. And you never know, I may be able to find a moment to write a quick post.
I hope everyone has wonderful weekends.
Sorry, but since you all know I totally procrastinated till about 10 minutes ago, I have to run. Lots to do!
I have a cake in the oven. Hopefully it will be a lovely coconut cake. It won't be ready though, till at least tomorrow. Maybe Saturday. You have to let it chill in your fridge. The longer you chill it, the better it tastes. I know I have just disappointed a couple of people. Sorry girls, but you WILL have some. You must be patient. . .
The house is fairly clean. Well clean enough. My buddy's room is all bee-yoo-tee-mus. I still would like to get some flowers for her room.
I had a friend drop me by a couple of magazines and the Sunday paper because of one of my earlier posts. Thank you, Brenna! That made my morning. Now if only I can have you surreptitiously slip in a couple real estate books from time to time without Jamey finding out.
I don't know if I will post while my buddy is here. I am sure you all understand. But I promise to tell you all about our visit once she's gone. And you never know, I may be able to find a moment to write a quick post.
I hope everyone has wonderful weekends.
Sorry, but since you all know I totally procrastinated till about 10 minutes ago, I have to run. Lots to do!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
I Need a Real Hostess Hat
Oh dear it is rainy again today. But you know what is making my morning better?
Coffeeeeeeeeeee. I love coffee. It almost always makes me feel better. And this coffee makes me feel even better because it's peppermint mocha coffee. The only coffee that makes me feel even better comes in a lovely little paper cup with a top on it. And even though it costs a million dollars a cup, I still like it and it is the best coffee because it is from Starbucks and it is all pretty and lovely and yummy.
Do you wonder if I have cleaned my house yet? Well - not really. I have cleaned parts of it. I think I am putting it off yet again. Why do I do this to myself? The good news is, since it's my BFF, she won't care whether the house is clean or not. Her room is clean though and also just got lovely fresh sheets put on the bed, because my mom stayed in there when we were at the Boar's Head Inn. I will hopefully gets some flowers and a little treat to put in there too for her.
Her bathroom has an assortment of new bath soaps, shampoo and conditioner, and some sort of little facial soap in a little basket. It's cute. And the bathroom is pretty well clean. But unfortunately, she has to share with my four year old. (Why couldn't we have a house that has bedrooms all with their own private bathrooms? Oh yes, we aren't rich. . .how silly of me to have forgotten that one slightly important point.)
By tomorrow, I will have a bottle of nice red wine that we can share. And I will have her favorite coffee in my house, plus all the little snacks and stuff I know she likes to have around. I think I might make either a coconut creme pie or a coconut cake too. She and I both like coconut, and Jamey and Joshua don't. Such a shame for them. (NOT)
Can you tell I like to pamper my BFF? After all, she is coming here to get away from it all. Well to get away from most everything. She still has to have a kid around, but I wouldn't make Jman go away. So yes, I do like to pamper her. But really, I like to pamper any house guest we have. I enjoy being hostess. I always have. I think I would make a great bed and breakfast owner. Unfortunately, you have to have a really big house in a quaint little town. We live in Richmond, which I wouldn't exactly call quaint, and our house, though I love it and think it is a great house, is not a great-big beautiful house. Plus there is the whole bedrooms with private bathrooms thing I mentioned earlier. . .
I even like playing hostess when it comes to dinner guests. I love cooking, so I guess that is part of it. I love serving my guests and chatting and making sure everyone has enough to eat and drink etc. Same for parties. I really should throw more parties. We had an anniversary party/Christmas party last year (we got married on December 14th), and it was so much fun. Yes. Definitely more parties.
So I am glad Yvette will be here tomorrow!!!!!!! I can put on my hostess hat (I really need to find one. Any ideas, anybody?) and have a great time with my BFF. I will try to write a post tomorrow if I am not too crazed with last minute preparations (i.e. - cleaning because I finally look around and see how much dust and Quincy hair there really is.) I think I'll go clean now since I know I will be panicked tomorrow.
Nah. I'm gonna go get another cup of coffee.
Coffeeeeeeeeeee. I love coffee. It almost always makes me feel better. And this coffee makes me feel even better because it's peppermint mocha coffee. The only coffee that makes me feel even better comes in a lovely little paper cup with a top on it. And even though it costs a million dollars a cup, I still like it and it is the best coffee because it is from Starbucks and it is all pretty and lovely and yummy.
Do you wonder if I have cleaned my house yet? Well - not really. I have cleaned parts of it. I think I am putting it off yet again. Why do I do this to myself? The good news is, since it's my BFF, she won't care whether the house is clean or not. Her room is clean though and also just got lovely fresh sheets put on the bed, because my mom stayed in there when we were at the Boar's Head Inn. I will hopefully gets some flowers and a little treat to put in there too for her.
Her bathroom has an assortment of new bath soaps, shampoo and conditioner, and some sort of little facial soap in a little basket. It's cute. And the bathroom is pretty well clean. But unfortunately, she has to share with my four year old. (Why couldn't we have a house that has bedrooms all with their own private bathrooms? Oh yes, we aren't rich. . .how silly of me to have forgotten that one slightly important point.)
By tomorrow, I will have a bottle of nice red wine that we can share. And I will have her favorite coffee in my house, plus all the little snacks and stuff I know she likes to have around. I think I might make either a coconut creme pie or a coconut cake too. She and I both like coconut, and Jamey and Joshua don't. Such a shame for them. (NOT)
Can you tell I like to pamper my BFF? After all, she is coming here to get away from it all. Well to get away from most everything. She still has to have a kid around, but I wouldn't make Jman go away. So yes, I do like to pamper her. But really, I like to pamper any house guest we have. I enjoy being hostess. I always have. I think I would make a great bed and breakfast owner. Unfortunately, you have to have a really big house in a quaint little town. We live in Richmond, which I wouldn't exactly call quaint, and our house, though I love it and think it is a great house, is not a great-big beautiful house. Plus there is the whole bedrooms with private bathrooms thing I mentioned earlier. . .
I even like playing hostess when it comes to dinner guests. I love cooking, so I guess that is part of it. I love serving my guests and chatting and making sure everyone has enough to eat and drink etc. Same for parties. I really should throw more parties. We had an anniversary party/Christmas party last year (we got married on December 14th), and it was so much fun. Yes. Definitely more parties.
So I am glad Yvette will be here tomorrow!!!!!!! I can put on my hostess hat (I really need to find one. Any ideas, anybody?) and have a great time with my BFF. I will try to write a post tomorrow if I am not too crazed with last minute preparations (i.e. - cleaning because I finally look around and see how much dust and Quincy hair there really is.) I think I'll go clean now since I know I will be panicked tomorrow.
Nah. I'm gonna go get another cup of coffee.
Friday, October 15, 2010
My BFF. . .
Happy Friday everyone!
Just so you know, I have edited more on my book. And accidentally wrote a little more of my new book. I swear it's not more than a couple of pages. . .
My best friend, Yvette, is coming to visit me next week. On Thursday. I'm terribly excited. She lives in Texas. We used to only see each other once a year. But then we decided a couple of years ago that we should up that to twice a year. So that's what we are doing now. I mean, when you are best girlfriends, and you live very far away from each other, it's practically illegal. At least it should be.
When she comes up here, I get to do a bunch of my favorite things. Our typical day goes like this: we get up. We start the coffee. We deal with the kiddies if necessary. We drink our coffee. We take the kids to school. We go exercise. We drink more coffee. We eat snacks and chat in our stinky gym clothes forever. We deal with the kiddies again if necessary. We finally shower and either make a meal or go out to dinner. Of course, at dinner, wine is involved. And then we eat dessert. We come home and chat some more. Then we go to bed. Repeat the following day.
This time will be a little different when she comes to visit, because Jamey isn't going to take off work. Plus he is running the marathon. So it will be a little more time with Jman in the mix. But we will still have the evenings and all. I am just glad she is able to come and visit.
Jamey always says that we are two peas in a pod. I believe that is true. Best friends usually are two peas in a pod. She and I have just always "gotten" each other. We have similar likes and dislikes. We are extremely goofy together. She is one person that I always feel comfortable around. Like I can completely let my hair down all the time around her. It is a nice feeling. I hope everybody has at least one person like that in their lives.
I have a funny story on the way we ended up being best friends. We lived in the same apartment complex for a while. We were pretty good friends then. But then, Yvette and her husband, Mark, moved to Texas for her job. We helped them pack up their truck and they left town. Literally, the next day while they were on the road and we couldn't reach them, we found out we were getting transferred to the same part of Texas where they were headed! I called them when they finally got into town, and we told them. They helped us get an apartment down there. That's really when we became super best friends of all time. Then when they bought their house, we bought one just down the street from them. I still wonder if they think we were stalking them. . .
I think that story can just show you how God can look at people and say, "Now those two need to be friends. What? One's moving to Texas? Well, let me just fix that up for the other person. . .there we go. Now they'll be best friends forever." I am sure God put Yvette in my life. And I'm so glad!
Just so you know, I have edited more on my book. And accidentally wrote a little more of my new book. I swear it's not more than a couple of pages. . .
My best friend, Yvette, is coming to visit me next week. On Thursday. I'm terribly excited. She lives in Texas. We used to only see each other once a year. But then we decided a couple of years ago that we should up that to twice a year. So that's what we are doing now. I mean, when you are best girlfriends, and you live very far away from each other, it's practically illegal. At least it should be.
When she comes up here, I get to do a bunch of my favorite things. Our typical day goes like this: we get up. We start the coffee. We deal with the kiddies if necessary. We drink our coffee. We take the kids to school. We go exercise. We drink more coffee. We eat snacks and chat in our stinky gym clothes forever. We deal with the kiddies again if necessary. We finally shower and either make a meal or go out to dinner. Of course, at dinner, wine is involved. And then we eat dessert. We come home and chat some more. Then we go to bed. Repeat the following day.
This time will be a little different when she comes to visit, because Jamey isn't going to take off work. Plus he is running the marathon. So it will be a little more time with Jman in the mix. But we will still have the evenings and all. I am just glad she is able to come and visit.
Jamey always says that we are two peas in a pod. I believe that is true. Best friends usually are two peas in a pod. She and I have just always "gotten" each other. We have similar likes and dislikes. We are extremely goofy together. She is one person that I always feel comfortable around. Like I can completely let my hair down all the time around her. It is a nice feeling. I hope everybody has at least one person like that in their lives.
I have a funny story on the way we ended up being best friends. We lived in the same apartment complex for a while. We were pretty good friends then. But then, Yvette and her husband, Mark, moved to Texas for her job. We helped them pack up their truck and they left town. Literally, the next day while they were on the road and we couldn't reach them, we found out we were getting transferred to the same part of Texas where they were headed! I called them when they finally got into town, and we told them. They helped us get an apartment down there. That's really when we became super best friends of all time. Then when they bought their house, we bought one just down the street from them. I still wonder if they think we were stalking them. . .
I think that story can just show you how God can look at people and say, "Now those two need to be friends. What? One's moving to Texas? Well, let me just fix that up for the other person. . .there we go. Now they'll be best friends forever." I am sure God put Yvette in my life. And I'm so glad!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Take Care of Yourselves!
I thought today was going to be a crap day. The rain I woke to did not help matters. And it really didn't help when I let Quincy outside. He went around the side of the house and he was around there for a long time. I walked around to see what he was doing and sure enough, he had something. I finally got him to drop it near our front steps. It was a dead mouse or something. Totally disgusting. Sigh. Then Joshua and I were getting ready for him to go to school. He was being a bit of a challenge this morning. I had to go to the grocery store, which is already not one of my favorite things, but I also had to do that in the rain, which makes it even worse. Then I came home and had to deal with the dead thing in the yard so Quincy could go back outside. FOUL.
But then I came back inside. I brewed some coffee. I put my ipod on and I started rocking out to Evanescense yet again. And you know what? It got much better. I had anxiety all morning. I don't know why. Well maybe I do, but it's nothing I need to bore you all with.
I sat down at the computer with the intention of writing here, but then I checked my Facebook first to see what happened while I was either sleeping or busy. A friend had posted asking folks to give her 10 positive things in their lives. Could be stuff, things you are thankful for, etc. Here's my list:
1. God is with me.
2. My goofy little boy who is a joy to be around in the mornings.
3. But also, my now quiet house.
4. The coffee I am about to drink with peppermint mocha creamer.
5. My new book idea.
6. My wonderful husband who is a good man.
7. My ipod (I love music).
8. My friends (and that includes you).
9. The fact that it is only supposed to rain today (last I checked anyway).
10. The discovery over the past year that I am an OK person.
That's not a bad list, huh? I think my friend was having a down day, and so I hope my list, along with the others that are starting to pop up are starting to cheer her up. My own list cheered me up as well. That's good. This same friend really believes that you have to treat yourself well. You need to get enough sleep, you need to move/get exercise. You need to eat well. You have to do things that are just for yourself. You have to spend time with God. I totally agree with her. It seems so simple and at the same time kind of selfish. But if you can't love yourself well, then how can you love others well?
Things I like to do for myself are: writing, listening to music, drinking coffee, reading and chatting with my BFF, Yvette. I didn't do a lot of this for a very long time. It's nice to be doing this type of thing again. I know that I should be at the gym this morning. That is an important piece of loving yourself. But I think I will do some yoga from my on demand channel. That will have to suffice for today. I also am going to edit more of my book.
My anxiety is almost gone. I took a few minutes to take care of myself. I hope you all find something to do today that is strictly for you, even if it is for just a few minutes. Take care of yourselves folks. . .
But then I came back inside. I brewed some coffee. I put my ipod on and I started rocking out to Evanescense yet again. And you know what? It got much better. I had anxiety all morning. I don't know why. Well maybe I do, but it's nothing I need to bore you all with.
I sat down at the computer with the intention of writing here, but then I checked my Facebook first to see what happened while I was either sleeping or busy. A friend had posted asking folks to give her 10 positive things in their lives. Could be stuff, things you are thankful for, etc. Here's my list:
1. God is with me.
2. My goofy little boy who is a joy to be around in the mornings.
3. But also, my now quiet house.
4. The coffee I am about to drink with peppermint mocha creamer.
5. My new book idea.
6. My wonderful husband who is a good man.
7. My ipod (I love music).
8. My friends (and that includes you).
9. The fact that it is only supposed to rain today (last I checked anyway).
10. The discovery over the past year that I am an OK person.
That's not a bad list, huh? I think my friend was having a down day, and so I hope my list, along with the others that are starting to pop up are starting to cheer her up. My own list cheered me up as well. That's good. This same friend really believes that you have to treat yourself well. You need to get enough sleep, you need to move/get exercise. You need to eat well. You have to do things that are just for yourself. You have to spend time with God. I totally agree with her. It seems so simple and at the same time kind of selfish. But if you can't love yourself well, then how can you love others well?
Things I like to do for myself are: writing, listening to music, drinking coffee, reading and chatting with my BFF, Yvette. I didn't do a lot of this for a very long time. It's nice to be doing this type of thing again. I know that I should be at the gym this morning. That is an important piece of loving yourself. But I think I will do some yoga from my on demand channel. That will have to suffice for today. I also am going to edit more of my book.
My anxiety is almost gone. I took a few minutes to take care of myself. I hope you all find something to do today that is strictly for you, even if it is for just a few minutes. Take care of yourselves folks. . .
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Spreading a Message for My Friend Joel
I did my first day of substituting at Jman's preschool. May I just say it was really fun? I enjoyed it very much.
And oh nooooooo. I couldn't help myself. I swear it just kind of happened. . . I wrote a little bit on my next book this morning.
I know I know. I know what you are thinking. I just said I wasn't going to. I would like to be able to say that someone was holding a gun to my head and told me they would kill me if I didn't start on my next one. But that didn't happen. Ooooopsie. I also know what else you are thinking, and I promise, I still will continue to edit the first book. OK? I promise.
But can I also just say that I am super really really excited about the one I just started? I am itching to write more. Calm down, Carolyn. Breathe. Seriously.
OK. So now that I got that little admission out of the way, I am going to write about two really extraordinary things. They are very different from each other. One of them may offend you if you don't have the same views as I do, but I hope you read about it, look at the link, and maybe change your thinking just a little.
The first thing is this whole Chile miner rescue operation. Can I just say: wow! I stayed up and watched the first one being brought out last night. It was utterly amazing to watch. I bawled when they showed the capsule come out of the ground. Then they showed that first miner's little boy, and I really lost it. I am praying for all the remaining miners to get out safely. I also pray that the effects, both physically and mentally, are as short-lived as possible and that they lead healthy long lives. Thank you to alllllll the people responsible for bringing these guys to the surface.
Now on to what I really want to talk about today.
This is for my friend, Joel Burns. Joel and I met in Fort Worth, TX. I lived there with my husband for a couple of years. Joel and I worked together for a while. Now Joel is a City Councilman. He had to be elected and everything. I wish I could have been there when he was, because he really is just a superb human being. He also happens to be gay. He has a wonderful partner, JD. JD is as awesome as Joel is. They are a loving couple who are totally devoted to each other.
Joel recently spoke at a City Council meeting in regards to the bullying episodes that have resulted in the suicides of several young gay people in our country over the past few weeks and months. These have been because of people who were bullying these young people. I want to share Joel's message with everyone here. He says it so much better than I ever could. Joel, I am proud to know you and JD. I am proud to call you my friends. I love you both.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax96cghOnY4
I hope you all have a great day.
And oh nooooooo. I couldn't help myself. I swear it just kind of happened. . . I wrote a little bit on my next book this morning.
I know I know. I know what you are thinking. I just said I wasn't going to. I would like to be able to say that someone was holding a gun to my head and told me they would kill me if I didn't start on my next one. But that didn't happen. Ooooopsie. I also know what else you are thinking, and I promise, I still will continue to edit the first book. OK? I promise.
But can I also just say that I am super really really excited about the one I just started? I am itching to write more. Calm down, Carolyn. Breathe. Seriously.
OK. So now that I got that little admission out of the way, I am going to write about two really extraordinary things. They are very different from each other. One of them may offend you if you don't have the same views as I do, but I hope you read about it, look at the link, and maybe change your thinking just a little.
The first thing is this whole Chile miner rescue operation. Can I just say: wow! I stayed up and watched the first one being brought out last night. It was utterly amazing to watch. I bawled when they showed the capsule come out of the ground. Then they showed that first miner's little boy, and I really lost it. I am praying for all the remaining miners to get out safely. I also pray that the effects, both physically and mentally, are as short-lived as possible and that they lead healthy long lives. Thank you to alllllll the people responsible for bringing these guys to the surface.
Now on to what I really want to talk about today.
This is for my friend, Joel Burns. Joel and I met in Fort Worth, TX. I lived there with my husband for a couple of years. Joel and I worked together for a while. Now Joel is a City Councilman. He had to be elected and everything. I wish I could have been there when he was, because he really is just a superb human being. He also happens to be gay. He has a wonderful partner, JD. JD is as awesome as Joel is. They are a loving couple who are totally devoted to each other.
Joel recently spoke at a City Council meeting in regards to the bullying episodes that have resulted in the suicides of several young gay people in our country over the past few weeks and months. These have been because of people who were bullying these young people. I want to share Joel's message with everyone here. He says it so much better than I ever could. Joel, I am proud to know you and JD. I am proud to call you my friends. I love you both.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax96cghOnY4
I hope you all have a great day.
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