Please go vote for CARA right now! They can use all the help they can get. I know how these people care for animals and they have hearts of gold! Please vote!!
Vote... now!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
I love birthdays, especially mine. Hey - I'm just being honest. Today marked the first of many birthday lunches for me. Paula, Anniston and Ava took me to O'Charleys for lunch to celebrate. Even though my day is a few days away... I have so many people who want to take me out to celebrate, that we have to start early. The best part is - I don't celebrate just one day like your suppose to, I celebrate for at least a week!!! So if you see me out at lunch - you better not tell them it's my birthday... because I can't stand for someone to sing happy birthday to me.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Yesterday was a day full of family. Sometimes it can be too much but everything was fine, until the cousins were fed sugar! Then we couldn't stop the little boogers to stop talking!
Anyway, I'm very blessed to still have my grandfather around and doing well. So we went to his house to celebrate with him and my dad and the rest of my dad's family. It's always great to get together and eat and catch up. Another year with my grandfather and it was great! I look forward to many more with him.
Papaw, me and Terry on Father's Day 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
I'm not embarrassed... and yes, I will admit it - I redneck sunbath.
Don't know what it is? Definition: (from the Joyous Dictionary)
Redneck Sunbathing - laying out in the back yard with a fan pointed directly at you on high.
Last Sunday, Terry and I decided we would lay out in the backyard to get some color on our white selves. OK - I'm not that white but Terry admits that he is "pasty." So outside we go. He had no clue what he was in for until he walked outside. He said this is a nice little set up. Picture this... I had two chairs with two beach towels on each, the iPod player putting out some great tunes, two huge glasses of ice water, tanning oil for me, tanning oil with sunblock for him and of course, the fan! However, the fan didn't really do much for us on Sunday. It was so hot and humid outside that we were miserable after five minutes. We had just gotten lathered up and laid down for a few minutes and he says, I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE.
I told him to suck it up because I didn't just waste all that tanning oil on five minutes. Every two minutes he asked me how much longer until we turn over. So, after only twenty minutes on one side we flipped over to get only fifteen on the other. He was right, it was unbearable but it was really funny to see a grow man not be able to handle it.
Have you ever noticed that men can work outside for hours, in this heat I might add, and never ask how much longer. But you will NEVER see a woman doing this. What you will see a women doing is laying out in the hottest time of the day for hours, in this heat, and NEVER complain. As the book says... Women are from Mars and Men are from Venus. It has to be future! =)
Enjoy your AC... I expect the power company to send me a gift basket with lots of goodies after this month. I'm sure I'm hitting an all time high for my neighborhood!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Summer came early, or at least that is what it feels like outside. If this is any indication of what's to come, I'm thinking I'll be staying indoors most of the summer. And I'll be sure I sit down when opening my power bill in July!!
If you don't have a pool to cool off in during the day and are looking for something fun to do with your friends and family, I have a couple of things to suggest. One of these I have already experienced but the other is planned later in the summer. It's a short drive over to Jackson to enjoy these day events.
The first is the Viking Cooking School in Ridgeland, Miss. Terry and I had the pleasure to experience it first hand. We were given a gift certificate for Christmas and finally found time to research a class that we were interested in and drive over for the class. To say we had a great time would be an understatement. The three-hour class took us through the basics of preparing a steak for grilling to making Morton's of Chicago's World Famous Hot Chocolate Cake. And the best part, after you're finished preparing and cooking the meal, you get to sit down and eat everything you cooked. The classes they offer vary in prices and difficulty. They offer kid classes, girls night out classes and for those who are serious about learning one technique, you can join the Viking University. This summer, they are having a kids camp and a teens camp. For more information on how to enroll your little chef, visit their website: www.vikingrange.com and click on Ridgeland, Miss. We enjoyed our steakhouse class and are looking forward to taking another class soon.
Art, it's something we all love to look at, even if we don't understand it. And the prices for an original piece of art can be very pricey. How would you like to hang an original piece of art, by you, in your home for under $50? I'm raising my hand with you because this is something I plan to do later in the summer. I'm no Michael Angelo but, Easely Amused in Ridgeland and Flowood offer classes to help you make a masterpiece for your home. To see the different classes that are offered, visit www.easelyamused.com. I have my eye on one class and I think it will look great in my kitchen. They even offer kid classes and have some two-day camps available.
Take time to enjoy something fun this summer with your family. If money does not permit you to go on a beach, mountain or Six Flags vacation, check out our 393 Road Trip, Stay-cation, for suggestions on how to have fun close to home.
You can read the online issue of 393 Magazine, here.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Tonight I'm just gonna be honest and share what I'm feeling. Its not a good feeling but I think it's best I get it all out.
As I write, my childhood friend is in the hospital hundreds of miles away birthing her first child. While I'm extremely happy for her and her husband, I keep thinking that I'm behind in my life. All of my childhood friends are married and/or have one or more kids.
Don't get me wrong - I love my life and those who are in it but I don't know what it's like to be a wife or a mother. And yes, I'm gonna sound selfish here but, when will it be my time? My day to be a bride, my day to become a mommy?
I love my love and can't imagine my life without him. We didn't meet until we were older but I wonder what our lives would be like if we had met five years ago. Would we already be married and have a family? It's all a what if game but I am truly happy for Lauren and Jeremy and their soon to be born baby boy. I can't wait to bring a baby into this world with Terry. I don't know when that day will come but I have faith it will happen soon.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
I want what I want and I want it NOW!
Some days I just want to be three again so I can scream and cry until I get my way. You know the way my niece does until we give in or just put her to bed. Well, I never seem to get my way anymore - guess that's all about being an adult - and most of the time I just go to bed.
The only difference in what I want and what a three year old wants is... what I want is not a cookie, a toy or my blankie. My wants are things that will complete my life, make me the person that I long to be and that I feel is right. I'm just awaiting others to figure out this want of mine is truly right.
Until then - in the privacy of my own home while no one is watching - I'm going to be a three year old.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
I cook because I can.
I cook because it's comforting.
I cook because I love to make others happy when eating.
I cook because the smells bring back childhood memories.
I cook because whatever mood I'm in instantly turns better.
I cook because I love to make a mess in the kitchen.
I cook because I have motherly instincts.
I cook because I'm good at it.
Some of my favorite things to cook:
fried chicken, baked chicken, BBQ chicken, loaded mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, cornbread, peas, green beans, pigs in a blanket, cheesy browns, pancakes, brownies, cookies, chicken spaghetti, homemade spaghetti, homemade french fries, etc.
Good grief - I could go on and on and on!!! Guess I better get busy cooking... wonder what will be on the menu now...
Friday, June 4, 2010
My dad can plant and grow a huge garden and my mom can plant a gorgeous flower bed but when it comes to me - I think I was born without that gene. After moving into my house here in Meridian, my mom helped me with my flower bed around my front porch. She transplanted some lilies and other plants I have no clue what their names are. This is the first year I have done it all on my own. Weeding out the weeds, making sure the plants are watered and all the dead cut back from the plant so it could grow. And I'm happy to report...
I have my first bloom from a lily this summer! Isn't it beautiful?!?!
And I have bought ferns every year and this past winter, I decided to try to keep my ferns from last summer to reuse again this summer. I put them in the garage and they did turn brown but I cut them all the way back and this is what I have now...
It's taking a little bit for this one to "fill in."
This one is looking better and better every day.
Maybe my thumb is turning greener every day!!!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Our first day in Huntsville, we went to the NASA Space Center. Terry's Uncle Ken is retired from there. So, Aunt Barbara and Uncle Ken took us on a tour. Amazing would be the only word I have to describe it. It's worth the trip over to see this place. A great place for families. Enjoy the pictures but they don't do this place justice!!
Saturn V - it was huge... and amazing!
Aunt Barbara and Uncle Ken
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
I asked on Facebook what I should blog about first and this subject won first place.
I guess I should give a little background information on how we ended up away from home. Terry's aunt and uncle live in Huntsville, Ala and asked us to come up for Memorial Day weekend. It was our first time to visit Huntsville and we enjoyed every minute of it. The second day we were there (I'll talk about the first day tomorrow) we decided to drive up to Lynchburg, Tenn to check out the Jack Daniel Distillery. (We also went because Terry wanted to visit their Harley Davidson store there.)
The drive up was great. Beautiful hills/mountains and it was only a short hour drive to our destination.
Jack Daniel Distillery Visitor Center
We arrived a little after noon and were fully expecting to pay a good bit to go on the tour... wrong! The guided hour and fifteen minute tour was FREE!!! It was a little under a half mile walk but we enjoyed every minute of it. We got to see everything - from the wood they burn to make the charcoal, the spring of water that is always 56 degrees (year round), the fermentation, barrel making, and one of the buildings that holds some of the whiskey. The tour was fun, informative and most important... we loved every minute of it. And for those of you who think we went and had a tasting afterwards... again you are wrong. Lynchburg is a dry county. =)
Enjoy the pictures from the tour!! Btw - we couldn't take pictures inside... flash and fumes don't mix. =)
Where they burn the wood to make the charcoal.
The fresh water spring cave that is 56 degrees year round.
Me and Terry with Jack
Jack's famous saying...
One of the barrels. The barrels are only used
once for the whiskey and then they are used
for other things like this and furniture.
The grounds were beautiful!
The yeast turns the bark black.
The mama duck and her babies.
The oldest barrel house of Jack Daniels.
The oldest barrel in this building was from 2005.
They stay in there anywhere from 4 to 7 years.