A little too exicted

To get these!

I love those Black Beauties. I won't be surprised if I wear them every single day! Nordstrom's took forever and a day to send them to me, but that might be why I was jumping up and down when they arrived. A friend just got done telling me she likes to know what her surprises are way ahead of time so that she can be excited about them for weeks. I understand completely.

Cosmetic Updates

Before

After

Hello, Beautiful. You were a special find at Le Marshalls.

I would probably never pick this decorating scheme/color palette if money wasn't an issue. But I am working with what we have for now. I'm thankful that Michael let's us do this much! It's also hard to really pull a room together when you're simply renting - you can't paint walls. What do you think of the rug and the panels?

Snif Snif Snif

Boo Poland! Boo this cold! Boo snot! Yay NyQuil!

Has anyone seen the stop sign on the Park Street ramp coming up from 250 West? It's a stop sign and underneath it someone spray painted in stencil letters, "Americanism." I am furious. All I have to say to you is get out of my country. But, if you repent and change your ways then I will be kind to you again. I love America!

#9

Coming from a 13 year olds perspective, this is pretty funny too...

The Ultimate Evening Dinner

For me, the ultimate evening dinner would have to be a very fancy one. We would go to an Italian restaurant where the meals are top quality. They would need to have low fat choices on the menu for me to choose from. There would be different courses of the dinner. For example, first they would bring the wine, then the salads, then the bread, and so on. The waiter or waitress would be dressed up very formally and he or she would be able to memorize our orders without writing them down. There would need to be music playing and a dance floor to slow dance on. The lights would be down low in order to make it more romantic. It would be a double date with another couple to make it more fun. Halfway through the meal, there would be a dinner show. The show would consist of something like a dramatic play or a short comedy act. Then before we leave, the ladies would receive beautiful flowers and the couples would ride home in a fancy limousine. That is my ultimate evening dinner!

Was I not special? :) Low fat menu choices, wine, dinner shows? I won't put anymore up. I know that they are from 10 years ago but I just wanted to share with you all how I thought as an eighth grader.

In ten years from now...

Well actually, this is a sample of my writing from ten years ago. My mom just gave me an old booklet I wrote titled,"My Philosophy of Life as an 8th grader." It's hilarious. I've never had a way with words or been very good writing and the 23 essays I wrote surely don't help that cause. I'm sharing this one with you because it has been exactly ten years since I wrote this:

In ten years from now...

In ten years from now I will be 23 years old. There are many things that I hope I will have accomplished by then. Some being: married, staying in touch with my good friends, having a good job, and being a mother.

I want to be married by the age of twenty-one to a good Christian man. I hope that I'll have at least two children. [bahaha! What was I thinking?!] I have always wanted to have kids when I get married and be the best mom I can be.

By the age of twenty-three I hope I will accomplished my dream of becoming a professional singer. All my life I have wanted to be famous. I expect that in ten years from now something will have become of my dream.

My friends mean a lot to me and I want to stay in touch with them for as long as I possibly can. I know that my true friends will try hard to stay in touch with me also. I hope to be living near my best friend in ten years from now.

I know that God has a good plan for my future. That is why I am secure and sure of myself. I know that in ten years from now I will be happy as I am now because I have given myself up to God's will for my life.

So do I smile or cry?! Some of my hopes I have accomplished, like being married by 21 to a good Christian man (my teacher must have thought I was a freak!) Famous singer? FAIL. Two children? FAIL. Living near my best friend? FAIL. The good news is that I really haven't changed all that much. Is that essay funny or what?

Does anybody want these?

I don't have a use for them anymore. We got them as a wedding gift, but I've changed my ways since then. They're free if you want 'em. Good as new, all parts included.

The title does not refer to these children. They are adorable and I want them. Good thing is we get to babysit them next weekend!

Riverrun Headlines

One thing my new job has enabled me to do is further my self-education in government and politics. WHAT in the world is our new administration doing to this country?!?!? Lord Almighty folks, it is ridiculous. I am too heated to write about it now, but I just wanted to let you know.

Also in the news, King Tut was spotted yesterday, still alive. Ya know come to think of it I haven't had Aussie Cheese Fries since that night. Any takers?

We were tested for our antioxidant levels yesterday and I scored horribly! Michael, on the other hand, scored well above average and in a fantastically healthy range. I am now trying to focus on getting more of those free-radical fighting foods in my body. (I thought I was pretty good already, apparently not!)

Have you seen this? It just happened yesterday. It's hilarious. But don't watch it if you don't like hearing expletives. I don't like hearing curse words, but the news anchor's reaction is just too funny.

And how about this one, it's not bad at all, just funny! Bek, it's the weather in Florida a few years ago so you should watch it. (If you ever just want a good laugh, search "news bloopers" on youtube.)

Lately I've been thinking about getting a face lift...for my living room. Any ideas on where to by an inexpensive area rug?

Made in Itlay

Featured below it the best bolognese sauce we've tasted in America. Thanks to the Dragos (rhymes with Prego) and their authentically italian ways we can now eat pasta in style!

I had a great time cooking but it took forever. No wonder big italian women don't have jobs outside the home!

Here's the colorful beginning:

One cup for the sauce, one cup for me!

This fabulous kitchen utensil was made for crumbling meat:

Antioxidant tower:

The final mixture that will simmer for 4 hours:

Four hours and one dance class later:

Reaping the Harvest

That's a huge overstatement. Tom and Tina gave us nothing to shout about. Our first experience gardening together has been traumatic and wasteful. Michael would probably beg to differ, but I'm just being a realist here okay? Here's ONE tomato that made it past the bugs, neighbors, deer, heat, raccoons and peacocks:

Michael took it in immediately and ate it. I didn't even get a bite. (Look at how happy he is.)

I'm so mad at the plants I could just kick them. Huckleberry and Finn stopped a long time ago. They are hardly even worth mentioning. Nasty tomato plants. Good thing I never planted basil. I wouldn't have had any tomatoes to make delicious treats.

First Day of School Fashionista

Beginning second grade in style Day 1:

Can you believe this? Day 2:

A couple more sweet moments

Mom and Sissy off to the bus stop:

The little bro is in 10th grade, I just love him:

I miss them so much but these pictures are just too adorable not to blog about.

Good times

As expected, the weekend was a blast. So emotional, so crazy, so fun. We would really benefit from living close to one another but that's not the way life has it right now. I missed Michael a ton but these times together with the girls are priceless.

Bathroom photo shoot of course:

Out at lunch, we know how to have fun sober:

Movie time normalness:

Ash eats cookie dough the whole movie.

Bek chases the puppy in and out of the room.

Amanda talks the whole time.

Megan sits silently.

Amanda, "May May? You Ok? You're not saying anything?"

Me: "Do you normally talk during movies?!"

Reading notes we wrote to each other back in 1999:

Getting ready to make dinner. Bek needs pasta salad to help her cook better:

Henry is perfect. I thought he looked like the Cottonelle dog:

Bounty paper towels almost have the same effect:

He likes it:

He's now in his new home in Pensacola:

See ya in a few

I'm off to Raleigh for the weekend with 3 of my bestest! We are also bringing down a brand new yellow lab puppy to his new owner, Rebekah. I will try my best to take pictures because I know we will be cute, I mean the dog will be cute. Happy Labor Day!

G-l-a-m-o-r-o-u-s

I had to sing that song just to spell that.

Anyhow in Body Jam this evening there was a jammer who I couldn't stop looking at. The spectacle wore ankle rolled pleated jeans, green shamrock socks, hot pink shoes, large clip on suspenders over a long sleeve gray shirt. This middle aged jammer had long (and I mean block my view of the instructor long) gray frizzy hair pulled in an on-top-of-the-head ponytail. Can you see it? For a moment I questioned whether my spandex capris, t-shirt and tennies were appropriate. But I remembered that I am pretty normal. I've dressed like that in public before but it was a joke for filming home videos. I think there should be a dress code for Body Jam. God Bless that jammer.