It's March, Almost April!

It's been a long time since I've posted anything. I guess I've only posted twice this whole year. I've really enjoyed the break and haven't missed blogging at all. Between work, school, and the insanity of life lately, all I want to do is sleep in the evenings and so blogging and writing haven't been at the forefront of my brain. However, this week I was thinking that I probably should do some writing because I've got a lot going on and I'd hate to look back on 2016 and wonder what I did that year and then not have a record of any of it. So, I'll try to do better about posting because I've actually got some exciting things going on right now. 

I'll start with what I've been up to for the first few months of this year. I won't go into a play by play detail because we would be here all day, but I can probably sum it up so you'll get the gist of what's been going on around these parts. 

In February I celebrated my 39th birthday which I wrote a little about. In addition to the things I wrote about in my birthday post, I also went out to dinner with various groups of friends and family and to a local songwriter's showcase with another set of friends. It was a great month and the celebrations lasted about three weeks which is as it should be. At the end of February I went to the Alabama-Auburn basketball game with friends and we enjoyed a super fun day in Tuscaloosa. The month of February ended with a trip to the Donald Trump political rally with my cousins Lauren and Jon Mark. I went because I thought it would be an interesting day of people watching and you never know what is going to come out of Trump's mouth. We had a good time and left before it was over so we could beat the traffic and we got bored. 

The first day of March was voting day in Alabama and I fulfilled my duty as inspector of my precinct. It was a long, long day and I was exhausted after spending 14 hours at the polls and working my fingers to the bone (as they say). I had a whole new crew working with me that day but they all did great. I had to chase off one news reporter and one campaigner and dealt with so many different bizarre scenarios I couldn't even begin to tell you all about them. As always, it was a rewarding day and I look forward to doing it two more times this year when we have the municipal elections and the general election. 

The first weekend of March I chaperoned a high school spring retreat for church and it was just as I suspected with terrible food and think bunk bed mattresses; but, overall it was a good weekend. I developed a cough the Saturday I was on the retreat and by the time Monday rolled around I had a fever and felt like I had been hit by a freight train. I went to the doctor and had an ear infection and they sent me home with an antibiotic, but I felt like it was something more. On Wednesday when I was still running a fever and not feeling any better, I ventured back to the doctor and had a flu test which came back positive. It was too late for any medications so I had to ride it out. I spent the whole week in bed and missed work every day. It was miserable. That same week my mom was in the hospital with fluid on her lungs and two broken ankles from falling out of her wheelchair. Sometimes we just can't catch a break. 

The Saturday after I had the flu I moved out of my house which is probably news to some of you and not to the rest. After a whirlwind idea during Christmas break that I drew out on a piece of paper which turned into a set of blueprints, I am adding on to my little house and doing some renovations to the inside. I will be adding on about 600 square feet of living space and another 200 of a covered patio with an outdoor fireplace. The living space includes a dining room and an expansion of the back bedroom with built in bookcases and a walk-in closet which will also hold the washer and dryer. On the inside I am tearing down a wall between the kitchen and the room on the back of the house and making that one large kitchen complete with new cabinets and granite counter tops and a second oven which makes my heart so happy. The floor and sub floor in the back bedroom and the den will be torn out because the floors are rotting in both of those rooms. Every room will get a new coat of paint and the entire house will have new hardwood flooring. I'll also have some landscaping done which will include sod in the front yard and crepe myrtles along the back fence. The project is supposed to take three months (I'm counting on four because I know how these things go) and I'm very excited about the outcome. I think it is going to be gorgeous and I can't wait to see the end result of my Christmas break brainstorm. 

As a result of having all the work done, Pippa and I had to vacate the premises. Originally the builder said there would be no electricity for two months, but now that might not be the case. Still, it's probably better that we are not there. So, on Saturday, March 12, some friends and cousins and I moved everything out of the house and into a POD which is being stored in South Huntsville. I moved in with my cousins Benny and Jan which has been great. It is a little weird to come home to real people when you haven't lived with anyone for 10 years, but so far things are going great. Pippa was living with a friend of my brother's for a little while, but it wasn't working out. Thankfully, I found her a great place to stay over the weekend. I found a dog sitter who lives on the Flint River out in north east Huntsville and Pippa moved in there this week. The lady and her husband are so nice and worked with me on a price I could afford. They send pictures and updates in the mornings and are even letting The Pip sleep with them. I will probably pick her up on Saturdays and let her hang out with me while I go work at the house because I don't want her to forget who I am. I think she is going to do really well at this temporary home and I just feel so great about finding these wonderful people. 

So, that's what's been going on this year. It's been insanely busy and crazy, but, really, I wouldn't have it any other way. 

'Twas the 39th Anniversary of My Birth

It was my 39th anniversary this past Monday. I'm now walking in the 40th year of my life and I'm here to tell you, that seems a little weird. 

This year's birthday was much, much better than last year's disaster - thank goodness! I kicked off the birthday weekend by welcoming my new furniture into my home. Santa and Mrs. Claus put some money towards new furniture for me for Christmas and it finally came in the week before my birthday and was delivered on Saturday January 30. It looks so great. I just love it! I got a new couch and a chair and ottoman. The couch is grey and the chair and ottoman are off white with grey polka dots. I also bought some coverings to keep on them when it's just me and Pip at home. That way we can (hopefully) keep things clean. Pip has done really well with the furniture so far. The decorative pillows that came with the furniture are sitting in another chair and thankfully Pip hasn't eaten any of them. I did take the couch cushions away from her during the day because the way she lays on them to look out the window causes the shape to warp and it's hard to fluff them back into place. So, she is cushion-less during the day which is probably for the best. 

The day before my birthday, my dad and I headed up to Nashville. We left about 12:30 and made the journey north. We had bought tickets for the NHL All-Star game which was held at Bridgestone Arena. I grew up loving hockey and my dad is a fan as well, although he doesn't follow it as closely as I do. When I found out the All-Star game was going to be in Nashville the day before my birthday, I made it a point to start watching tickets like a hawk. It became sort of an obsession and I was checking prices about every 30 minutes; but, it paid off because I bought tickets in a pretty great location one week before the game and the next day the prices started rising again. So, I think it worked out perfectly. 

We had the best time at the game. We've had a lot of good times and seen a lot of amazing things, but this game might have been one of the funnest and most exciting things we have ever done for ourselves. We cheered and jeered and laughed and watched people and just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I am so glad we went! We ate at Outback in Nashville before heading home and arrived back in Huntsville around 11:00 p.m.

The actual day of my birthday was also a good day. I took the day off work which I have never done on my birthday. I went to Jones Valley Elementary to have a make-up day with my lunch buddy (our last day had been cancelled because of snow) and then I went and ate lunch with my parents, grandparents and sweet Ada. We went to Red Lobster which is my birthday spot. I have eaten their for years on my birthday and decided not to brake with tradition this year. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and then most everyone came back to my house to see the new furniture and give me a few gifts. Most of the gifts had to be returned because I had already bought them for myself and my mom and dad didn't communicate on the gift giving front, My dad had already ordered a pair of boots I wanted. Communication is key my friends! 

That evening I went to Ladies' Bible study and celebrated again with my friend Amberly who shares a birthday with me. Her mom hosted Bible study that night and we had a delicious meal. While at study, we received news that my dear friend Leah gave birth to her first child, a daughter, Juniper Willoughby. I think it goes without saying that the weekend of the 39th anniversary of my birth was indeed a great one. 

Leah's Dirty Thirty

OK, first, let me say that this whole "Dirty Thirty" thing must have come about in recent years because when I turned 30 all those years ago, "Dirty Thirty" wasn't a thing or else I would have had a big time with that phrase. Moving on... 

My friend Leah turned 30 earlier this month, September 5 to be exact. For her birthday bash, she decided to take a train excursion leaving from Nashville and the one she picked took place on September 26. So, this past Saturday was the big day. The train was scheduled to pull out from Nashville at 3:30 p.m. and you could start checking in at 3:00 p.m. I rode up with friends Christy and Amber. Our friend Holly was also supposed to ride with us, but she wasn't feeling well and had to back out at the last minute, So, our group of 11 became a group of 10. 

We found out seats on the train and soon were on our way. The train ride went from Nashville to Watertown, about a two hour trip one way. Christy and I were at a table with Jonathon and Caley and Caley looked like she was not feeling well at all. As it turns out, their daughter, Jonathon, and Jonathon's mother had all recently had the stomach virus and Caley felt like she was about to lose her lunch. She spent about half of the ride in the bathroom. When we got to Watertown, Jonathon and Caley stayed aboard the train while the rest of us disembarked. As it turns out, Caley felt so bad that they ended up calling a cab to drive them back to Nashville. One day, this will make for a funny story. So, our group was now eight. 

The eight of us walked down Main Street to Nona Lisa Pizzeria. Paul (Leah's husband) had the brilliant mindset to call ahead and order our pizza so by the time we got there, everything was ready. Also about the time we got there the bottom fell out of the sky and there was a steady rain for the next hour or so and we had two hours in the town. We managed to find outdoor seating under an awning and ate our delicious pizza and most of us managed not to get drenched. The pizza was seriously very good and Paul was super smart to call ahead because most everyone had to wait a while to get their food. 

There was a store across the street from the pizzeria that was open and I walked over there to see if there were any umbrellas. I was wearing a cream colored shirt and forgot to bring a rain jacket so I wanted to try and stay as dry as possible. They had one umbrella left and it was $4 and perhaps the cheapest umbrella of all time. I went ahead and bought it and of course it stopped raining soon after. Hey, if it took me spending $4 for the rain to stop, I'm okay with that. 

We spent the rest of the time in Watertown walking around the town. There was a candy shop, Walker Creek, that sold the most delicious caramels I have ever put into my mouth. You can order online in case you are into that sort of thing. Seriously, so good! There was also a "shootout" in the town for our entertainment but I missed all of that. The people who performed in the "shootout" were also the ones who "robbed" the train on the way to Watertown. I guess I forgot to mention that part. On the way up, we stopped about 30 minutes before arriving in Watertown to allow the robbers to come aboard and rob the train. They collected actual money which goes into a scholarship fund for the local high school. They've apparently provided over $10K in scholarships over the years, pretty impressive.  

After our time in Watertown, we boarded the train and headed back to Nashville. We arrived back around 9:30 p.m and were quickly in our cars and back on the interstate headed home. I think I got in bed about midnight Saturday and was thoroughly exhausted after a day full of activities. Happy 30th Leah! Glad I was able to celebrate with you and glad to have you as my friend!  

Last Weekend

I'm finally taking a little time to write about the adventures of last weekend. It was busy and entertaining and there's was also downtime, all of which are a thumbs up in my book. On Friday night, I went to the area wide singing that was held at Lincoln Church of Christ. There was a good crowd of people there, including  Mamma Kay, the mother of my friend Erika, and I sat with her. After the singing, snacks were served, all of which were yummy. 

On Saturday morning, I watched some of the Tour de France and then recorded the rest so I could head out to run some errands. I stopped by the UPS Store to send of a package and then to Target to buy some school supplies and then to the movies where I saw Ant-Man. I had not been to the movies in what seemed like forever and I was glad I took the time to go. The movie was good and hilarious. I laughed many times and really enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The showing was in one of the larger theaters which apparently has two air conditioning units and one of them had gone out so the one remaining was struggling to keep the place cool. I either got used to the temperature or it did eventually cool off because I was never really uncomfortably hot and I really had a nice time at the theater. 

After the movie, I got my car washed and then headed home to finish watching the stage of the Tour. I tried to take a little nap, but Pippa was restless which meant I didn't get much sleep. Soon it was time to get ready for the evening adventures and I showered and got ready and soon left to pick up Erika. We were meeting up with our friends Candy and Kendra to celebrate Kendra's 32nd birthday. We had planned to go to a new spot, BJ's, and Erika and I got there about 30 minutes before the scheduled meeting time. The wait, however, was an hour and 20 minutes and so we ended up eating at Cantina Laredo instead. This worked out great for me because I love Mexican food and I had never eaten there before. The food was good, but the fellowship was better. It's always so much fun to catch up with my oldest and dearest friends. Erika and I made a stop by Ulta before hitting the road back home. It was such a fun evening and I look forward to doing it again next month for Candy's birthday. 

I promise Erika likes us. 

Three Times The Surprise

My cousin Anna, yes, the same on who moved in down the street, turned 30 over the weekend and her sweet husband planned not one, not two, but three surprise parties for her. So, my weekend was more or less consumed with surprising Anna, although I don't think I yelled "Surprise" one time. 

The festivities kicked off Saturday afternoon at Shakalaka. You may recall I spent some time there for my own recent birthday. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Shakalaka has added a new area to the fun in the form of an obstacle course with ropes and bars and rings and tight ropes and all other manner of obstacle course fun. Remembering the trouble I had getting out of the foam pit at my birthday soiree, I elected not to participate in any activity that might land me in a foam pit. In other words, I only jumped on the regular trampoline and played some dodgeball. There were tons of people there, mostly children and to be honest, I didn't want to slow up their fun; nor did I want to fight my way out of the foam pit. They seriously need a step to get out of that madness. We jumped from 3:00 - 4:00 and burned a lot of calories and had even more fun. Sadly, I also walked away a case of Athlete's Foot which really isn't all that unusual as I tend to get it from time to time. 

After the jump around, I ran an errand for Jan, Anna's mom, and then went home to shower and change and prepare for party number two which was a gathering of some of Anna's friends from school, most of whom were from out of town. Jan made chicken enchiladas, taco meat and had a plethora of toppings. I made a five-layer dip (as opposed to a seven-layer) and some tortillas rolled up with cream cheese and Mexican spices that were apparently a big hit because they were all gone. I'm not sure how many people ended up at this party, but I would venture to say it was close to 40. Everyone seemed to be having a really great time and most importantly Anna was having a good time. 

There was so much food left over from the party that we gathered back at Benny and Jan's for lunch on Sunday which was great. After lunch, I headed home to take a nap which was more like a resting of the eyes more than anything. I also managed to get a few chores done around the house before heading out for the third and final party of the weekend. 

The last party was a family only party at Baumhower's (formerly known as Wing's) and seriously, the food there is sub par compared to when I waited tables there 137 years ago. Anna and Randy were the last ones to arrive and I think she was surprised, but honestly don't know because she made such a quiet entrance. There were about 15 of us in all and I am pleased to say we were served in a rather timely manner. I was hoping to be home by 8:00 p.m. that evening and, in fact, achieved that goal which made me very happy. It's not that I wasn't thrilled to celebrate with the family, it's more like I enjoy being home by 8:00 p.m. on work nights because I am old and set in my ways. 

It was a fun and eventful weekend celebrating Anna's 30th. Hope you have many more, cousin! 

More Birthday Celebrating

The rest of my birthday weekend wasn't quite as exciting as the trip to Shakalaka; but, it was memorable nonetheless.

On Saturday morning I went to an ALANA meeting which is the ladies association for Agape. The meeting lasted about an hour and afterwards I picked up my produce basket which was full of lots of delicious items. That afternoon I met up with my friends Margaret Anne and Grayson and we went to see the last two episodes of Game of Thrones at the IMAX. Even though we had seen them before, we enjoyed seeing them on the big screen.

Sunday was my actual birthday and that morning I was showered with texts, Twitter messages and Instagram posts from all manner of cousin. After church I went to lunch with my parents, my two grandparents and my favorite Aunt Linda. The lunch didn't go quite as smoothly as I would have liked, but that's how it goes sometimes.

My Aunt Linda gave me a scarf which I love and am looking forward to wearing. It has some of my favorite colors and is super cute! My grandmother gave me the best gift of the day which was my grandfather's Bible. I had no words and still don't. I was overwhelmed and beyond emotional when she gave it to me. I am so thankful to have this gift and will always think of my grandfather and his love for the Lord when I use it.

After lunch, I went by my parents' house where I got a jar of my favorite vanilla from my mother's caretaker and our adopted family member Ada. My parents got me a pair of shoes (that Erika had actually suggested for me) and a monogrammed sweatshirt and my granddad gave me a pedicure.

When I left my parents' house, I picked up the cookie cake they had gotten for me and brought it home. That evening a couple of friends came over to watch Downton so I didn't have to eat cookie cake alone.

Monday at work, Meri brought me another cookie cake. The one she got was super cute. It had a dog on it that reminded us of Pip. My cubicle mate gave me a Starbucks gift card probably to keep me caffeinated and happy.

Overall, it was an eventful few days and really, it's not quite over because I'm still trying to use up all my free birthday food coupons. As I told my friends at church on Sunday, it's great to be 38!

Kicking Off The Birthday Weekend

This past Sunday was my 38th birthday and I kicked off the big weekend with a great group of friends at Shakalaka and we partied like a bunch of 12-year-olds. In case you are not familiar with it, Shakalaka is an indoor trampoline arena here in Huntsville. It opened up last year some time and I have wanted to go ever since but never have had an opportunity. So, I decided to gather up some of my favorite people and jump around to celebrate my birthday and I'm so glad I did.

I decided on the 6-7 p.m. time frame on Friday and sent out an email to everyone letting them know the time and also that the web site suggested to buy your tickets in advance. All of us did except for one person, who waited until the night before to go online and purchase her ticket only to find out that our time frame was sold out. So, sadly, she didn't get to join us for trampoline time, but she met up with us for dinner. Another friend wasn't on the email, but I had mentioned it to her at church. Unfortunately, I didn't have her phone number or email and so had no way of getting in touch with her to let her know it was sold out so she came and then couldn't get in. So, she left and went to have dinner with her parents. We did exchange numbers though so as not to have any issue in the future.

The nine  of us who had tickets to jump had a big time. We jumped on the trampolines, we flew off the flying trapeze into a pit of foam, we jumped into a pit of foam, we jumped on trampolines to play basketball, we walked a tightrope above another foam pit, we jumped on more trampolines, and we played dodgeball against innocent children. In fact, we probably got a little too much satisfaction out of hitting children with balls. Our hour went by quickly but we were all beyond tired when it was over with. I got some of the best sleep I've had in a long while that night.

After our time at Shakalaka, we went to Steak 'N Shake for dinner which apparently is one of the most popular places in town because the joint was packed and we had to wait about 30 minutes for a table. Oddly enough, Macaroni Grill which is almost next door was more or less empty which is so bizarre because when I waited tables there 100 years ago the place was packed all the time.

We finally got seated but had to split up because there wasn't a spot big enough for all of us to sit together. We all had a good time and as far as I know everyone enjoyed their food. Some of the girls got milkshakes to take home to their husbands which was really nice of them.

It was such a fun evening and I'm so blessed and thankful to have these great women in my life as my dearest friends. I hope we get to celebrate a lot more birthdays together.

A Celebration at the Gym

It's been a long while since I've graced the doors of the gym considering the last time I worked out was before my knee surgery. I'd like to say I've missed it and really I guess I have, but I've also enjoyed sitting on my couch in the evenings and just generally being lazy. I'm enjoying it while I can because soon I'll be released from the doctor and won't have a good excuse to sit at home instead of breaking a sweat down at the YMCA. 

Tuesday night, I made a surprise appearance at the Women on Weights class. Monday was our trainer Josh's birthday and I thought it would be fun to surprise him with some goodies at the gym. I got in touch with two of the girls I work with who also take the class and asked if they wanted to pitch in. One made a cake, the other made some cookies and I made some Buffalo Chicken Dip and got a small tray of sandwiches from Jimmy John's. 

I gathered up the various goodies and arrived at the gym around 6:45 p.m. just as the girls were finishing up their last exercises. I do believe that Josh was super surprised. He had no idea I was coming, much less that I was coming with goodies in tow. After the girls finished up, Josh blew out a candle on his cake and we commenced to eating. Sadly, Josh had another client at 7:00 p.m. so he wasn't able to hang out with us for long.; but, we all had a good time stuffing our faces at the gym and celebrating Josh's birthday. 

Mowing and a Trip to the Movies and a Birthday

Other than our dreadful softball loss, the rest of the weekend went rather well I think. Friday afternoon after work I went home, changed clothes and immediately began the yard work. I knew if I sat down for even one minute I might not get up again; and so I just got after it so I wouldn't be tempted to lie on the couch all afternoon. 

The lawnmower was a wee bit finicky which was not surprising in the least. I have bad luck with lawnmowers it seems and so I just kind of expect to have problems each time I'm ready to mow. This time around, the problem was that after the lawnmower started it would shut off after running for all of five seconds. You may (or may not recall) that I had this same problem last year and my cousin Chris was able to get the mower working again. Then a month or so later I had the same problem and I had someone else look at it and that time it appeared to be bad gas (no pun intended) that was causing the mower not to run after more than five seconds. This time... I have no idea. 

I got busy picking up dog poo and other things while I left my mowing frustrations subside and then got the strange idea to run with the mower after it got started so I could get five seconds of mowing in instead of no seconds. After running with the mower three or four times (and still having it stop after about five seconds) it miraculously worked better on the fifth go and as long as I ran with the mower it would keep running. I'm sure it was an interesting sight. Finally, thank goodness, after it got warmed up, it worked without my having to run behind it and I was able to mow like a normal person. I was done with all the yard work by 7:00 and even finished my little project I mentioned last week. I need to take a photo of it so I can let you all see how it turned out. 

Saturday morning I got up early and did a little cleaning and laundry and then went to the 9:45 a.m. showing of Captain America. This movie has been out for weeks, but I haven't had an opportunity to go see it until last Saturday. For a while I thought I was going to be the only one in the theater, but then a pre-teen boy and his mom came in and sat a couple of rows behind me and then a pre-teen boy and his dad came in and sat a couple of rows behind me as well, and then a pre-teen boy and his grandma came in and literally sat right in front of me. I was just as thrilled as you can imagine. Apparently Captain America is the movie for pre-teen boys. Thankfully the grandma group didn't sit in the seat directly in front of me, but the two to the left of the one in front of me and so I was still able to prop my feet up from time to time. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was very, very good. However I got a little perturbed at grandma on more than one occasion because not only was she was a talker, but she was a LOUD talker. I shushed her on more than one occasion. 

After the movie, I went to Publix for my weekly shopping trip and then back home to watch some TV and do some more of those chores that don't ever seem to go away. Saturday evening, I went over to my parents' house to celebrate my brother's birthday. He turned 34 on Saturday. My dad cooked a dinner of Fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp and fish and also made some sweet potato pies which my brother wanted instead of cake. (I know, he's weird.) The Pip came to the party too and learned a new trick of how to lie down. I've been practicing with her ever since and she is doing pretty good. 

When the party was drawing to an end, I took my grandmother home and then took myself home. I needed to put sheets on the bed and finish up some things around the house before calling it a night. It was another good weekend; but, as always, just not long enough. 

An Early Birthday Bash

This past Saturday, we threw an early birthday bash for my mom. Her actual birthday is March 26, but my dad, brother and I will all be in Hawaii. So, we decided to throw her a big party before we left. Mother will be 60 this year, but I have to say, she doesn't look that old. I guess she's had a good life.

My dad and I began the planning in January and tossed around various ideas about what we wanted to do and where we wanted to have the party. We finally decided on having the party at their house and Mother gave me a list of people to invite.

I finally got around to ordering and sending out invitations and I'm so thankful that some of Mother's favorite people were able to come to the party. I bought some decorations and on the day of picked up some fresh flowers. Jackie was a good friend and came over early to help me decorate. Since we had all been at Mrs. Irma's funeral earlier in the day, we were in a time crunch to get things done. The cake arrived around 2:00 p.m., we got the decorations up and I managed to change out of my funeral clothes and into something more comfortable before the guests arrived.

In addition to Jackie, some of Mother's closest high school friends came to the party as well as friends who we all used to go to church with and my grandparents. My favorite aunt, Linda, was there and brought her famous macaroni and cheese and my cousin Brittany and Syndey came as well. It was a really great group of people.

We had BBQ, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, the aforementioned mac and cheese and BBQ bread to eat. It was all very good! The cake was made by my co-worker Meri and was white chocolate raspberry and was absolutely delicious. It was also very pretty. The cake got a lot of compliments, as did the other food.

Mother got some very nice gifts, but mostly she was blessed to be around family and friends she loves and who love her. I'm thankful we were able to have this celebration in honor of my mother! Happy Birthday, Mamma! I hope you have many, many more!

The 37th Birthday

My 37th birthday was this past Saturday, February 1 and I'm happy to report that it was a really great day and, in fact, great weekend. Friday, Meri brought in a cake to work to celebrate. The cake was shaped like a giant cupcake and was strawberry with cream cheese icing. It was very good. Later in the day, my friend Alex brought me a box from Nothing Bundt Cakes which had 12 mini bundlettes in it. I then called my mom and told her to cancel the cookie cake because I had more cake than I knew what to do with and still had one more on the way. 

After work Friday I took myself to I Love Sushi. They open for dinner at 5:00 and I had a little time to kill beforehand so I went to Target and spent more money than I ever intended to; but, they had bath sheets on clearance and I could not pass that up. If you don't know, bath sheets are giant bath towels that will actually fit all the way around your body with ease. I had been looking at various white sales for bath sheets and even on sale, I wasn't willing to spend the money so when Target had some very plush ones for less than $9, I couldn't pass it up. 

After my trip through the Target clearance aisles, I headed to I Love Sushi and dined on a delicious dinner. I then stopped by Redbox to pick up the rentals I  had reserved. When I got home I did some laundry and watched Captain Phillips (very good) and to my surprise, the Pip was actually very well behaved that evening. She must have known it was my birthday and wanted to be nice to me. 

Saturday morning I did a wee bit of cleaning and some more laundry and watched my second rental, Rush, which was also very good. I took Pippa to be weighed (42.6 pounds now) and then picked up my brother (he lives close to the vet). After dropping Pippa back off at home, Justin and I met up with our parents and our granddad and grandmother at Red Lobster. Red Lobster has been my birthday dining choice for many, many years. We enjoyed a nice dinner and conversation. After we ate, everyone came back to my house for cake (the aforementioned mini bundlettes) and I opened gifts. My parents got me Downton Abbey Season 4, a new gym bag and a book of maps from Bible times. I got an Alabama shirt from my granddad and my brother got me a Michael Buble CD. My grandmother paid for my lunch at Red Lobster. 

Everyone left a few minutes before 4:00 p.m. and I laid down on the couch for about an hour before kicking off the evening festivities. Jackie was gracious enough to host a birthday party for me. The festivities kicked off at 6:00 p.m. and we had about 15 or so of our friends from church come. Jackie cooked Crock-Pot Chicken and Erika brought a salad and fruit tea and Candy provided rolls and Kendra brought sweet tea. Jackie also commissioned Meri to make a birthday cake which was probably the cutest cake I have ever seen. I absolutely loved it and it was also very yummy. 

We spent the evening talking and laughing and eating (of course). Some people left early, others came late, all had a good time. Jackie had told everyone not to bring gifts, but some people did anyway, which was very nice. By the end of the evening, there were about eight of us left and we ended up playing a game called Boxers or Briefs which was so much fun and provided some interesting insight into the people in the room. We wrapped things up around 11:00 p.m. and I headed home about 11:30.

It was a really great day and a very fun night! I'm thankful for all the wonderful people in my life and feel blessed to be surrounded by so much love. Big thanks to all my family and friends who made birthday #37 a blast!

The Heritage Ringers Holiday Concert 2013

It's been a busy week at work and socially as well and I am way behind on the blogging. Hopefully I can write up some posts over the weekend so I won't be so far behind. I started this post on Tuesday and am just now getting around to finishing and posting it. 

One of my favorite events of the holiday season is the Heritage Bell Ringers Christmas concert which takes place the first Monday of December at Trinity Methodist Church. I circled the date on my calendar this year because I missed it last year and as luck would have it, the day of the concert was also my co-worker and friend Meri's birthday. So, I treated her to a free concert - what can I say, my generosity knows no bounds. I also took her out to dinner though so I'm not a total cheapskate.

 

The concert started at 7:00 p.m. and we met for dinner at Newk's at 5:45p.m. We were enjoying visiting with each other outside of work so much that we had each eaten about half of our salad before realizing we had the other person's. I had ordered Blue Cheese dressing and Meri had ordered Ranch and when we realized the mistake, we just switched salads and went on eating.

 

We had planned on arriving at the church at 6:30 p.m. so that we would be able to get a good seat. Our co-worker Maria was meeting us there as well. We all arrived at the same time and quickly found a seat towards the front. Meri and I were close to the youngest ones there, especially considering various assisted living facilities were bringing people in by the busloads.

The three of us talked amongst ourselves prior to the start of the concert and at one point I laughed so loudly that it echoed throughout the sanctuary. The concert began a couple of minutes after 7:00 p.m. and it was a really enjoyable show. Sadly, they did not play Sleigh Bells this year which is always my favorite at this show. They did, however, play a medley of songs from Charlie Brown Christmas and those were my favorite this time around.
 
The show lasted about and hour and 15 minutes and was very enjoyable. It was attended by a nice number of people as the sanctuary was quite full. Meri, Maria and I all enjoyed it. Next year, if you live in Huntsville,  mark your calendar for the first Monday in December and enjoy the wonders of the handbell concert. It will not disappoint!

Troy's Bowling Birthday Party

Saturday morning, after finally catching a few elusive hours of sleep, I got up, bathed and headed to the hair salon. I had some red highlights put in my hair and also had my hair trimmed up. A few people have noticed the red  this time as opposed to last time when no one did; so, that's been nice. The appointment at the salon lasted about two hours and I could have laid down on the floor and napped I was so tired thanks to Pippa staying up all night.

 

After my hair appointment, I went by Firehouse Subs and ate a sandwich before heading over to the bowling alley for Troy's birthday party. The party started at 2:00 and I arrived a little beforehand. There were 10 kids at the party and I think they all had a lot of fun! They each got to bowl at least two games and there was also bowling alley pizza and birthday cake to be eaten, what more could a kid want? The cake was chocolate and was so good! 

 

After the kids ate, Troy opened his birthday presents and was the recipient of a lot of gift cards and cash! He's a good saver so I'm sure he will add it to his stockpile and buy something he really wants later on. I got him a plaid shirt and some khaki pants which he wasn't too thrilled about, but the kid's gotta wear clothes.  Once the eating and present opening was complete, the kids went back to bowling and some of us adults were able to bowl as well. Allow me to say that bowling can really give your torso a good workout. 

 

The party wrapped up around 4:00 p.m. and I left a few minutes after. Pippa had been in the crate for about six hours and that is the longest amount of time I am willing to let her stay in there at this point, so I wanted to get home and let her out for the bathroom and some freedom. Jackie came by soon after so that we could watch the Alabama-Ole Miss game together and we feasted on a very adult dinner or Rotel cheese dip and chips. 

 

Jackie left after the game and I attempted to watch some of the television shows I had stored on the DVR. I think I managed to get through half of Revolution before realizing I desperately needed to go to bed and try to get a decent night's sleep. So, I did just that and watched the second half of the show before leaving for church on Sunday morning. 

 

So, the two birthday parties were a huge success and I think Troy may have inspired me to have a bowling birthday party of my own come February. Of course, I could change my mind, but that's the way I'm leaning right now...time will only tell. 

Pippa the Party Pup

Well, y'all, it was a fun and exhausting weekend and I'm still tired on this Monday and that's okay. I'll sleep again one day.

Friday night, after the Madison Academy football game, I picked up Pippa from the house and headed over to Jackie's house for Ashlyn's spend the night birthday party. She had three friends over for the party, and two of them were staying the night. She had asked me to come and stay the night as well and to bring Pippa too and so I obliged.

Pippa and I arrived about 10:15 p.m. and soon after a dance party ensued. We had glow sticks and necklaces and bracelets and even put a glow necklace around Pippa's neck so we could keep up with her in the dark. We danced for a while and then the girls wanted a snack and so we feasted on cheese dip, salsa, and chips. The girls laid out their sleeping bags around 11:15 and began the process of going to sleep and Jackie and I finally decided to call it a night around midnight.

Pippa, of course, could not get settled. It was a new environment and a new bed and everything was confusing. She jumped from me to Jackie and then crawled all over me and all over Jackie and was just generally speaking insane. Not to mention that I didn't bring any toys or rawhide for her to gnaw on. She finally settled down at some point and then when I had to get up for a natural break around 2:30 a.m. she got riled up again. I'm not sure how long it took her to settle down, but about 4:30 a.m. or so I was up again - this is what happens when you drink a bunch of water right before you go to bed - and once again Pippa got fired up.

I took her outside and tried to hold her down while sitting on the couch. I tried this and that and everything in between but she was having none of it. I had really wanted to stay the whole night since I had promised Ashlyn we would, but since Pippa was not settling down and I needed a wee bit of sleep to function on Saturday, I decided we would go home.

So, about 5:00 a.m., I loaded up all our things and Pippa and I headed back to town. I sent Jackie a text explaining why we had left and to please apologize to Ashlyn. I managed to get about four hours of sleep after getting home and Pippa slept too. I guess she was just overwhelmed with all the new things at Jackie's house that it was too much for her to even think about sleeping for a few hours.

So, needless to say, it was quite an adventure,  as there is never really a dull moment with The Pip. Maybe by the time Ashlyn's 11th birthday rolls around we will be able to stay a complete night, but with Pippa, you just never really can tell.

Side note: Sadly, I got no photos of Ashlyn for her birthday. Clearly, I'm on top of my game. 

We're Too Old For Ice Skating

I'm not really going to mention much about my Friday night because, well, it really isn't worth mentioning. I spent the majority of the evening reading and doing laundry and that's hardly worthy of a blog post on it's own. Saturday, however, was a rather eventful day.

Saturday morning I woke up around 6:15 or so and got started on some housework and finishing the laundry and washing the bed linens. At some point I sat down to read for a few minutes and also checked my phone for emails and tweets and photos on Instagram. A photo posted by my friend Jenna caught my eye. It was of a Saturday morning yard sale and as soon as I saw it I thought that it looked like a home that would be in my neighborhood and upon further evaluation thought, that looks like Amberly's house (she lives down the street) and lo, it was Amberly's house. 

I had a bag of "junk" at my house that I have been meaning to take to a thrift store for a sweet forever and so I text Amberly and said, "hey, I have a bag of junk I would like to get rid of, can I bring it down?" and her answer was, "yes, come on down." I quickly grabbed the bag of "junk" and took it down to Amberly's.

When I got there, I discovered that not only did Amberly and Jenna have a table set up but so did my friends Nick and Kristina and another girl, Marci. Since Nick had no "girl" items at his table, I put my things with his and told him to just keep the money from whatever he sold. My main purpose was to just be rid of the "junk". I ended up lingering around for a while and Nick sold three of my DVDs (two to Jenna) and gave me the $3. I think he made another $2 or $3 after I left - clearly what I had was junk. If they had told me in advance about the yard sale, I could have better planned and done some serious cleaning out; but, alas, they didn't. Maybe the next time they have a sale they will remember to tell me about it because I have no doubt I could get rid of a lot of stuff. 

After hanging at the yard sale for a while, I went back home and finished up some cleaning and then cleaned myself up and went to the Hampton Cove church of Christ to partake of a hamburger and hot dog. This is the church where my dad preaches and they were having a cookout and well, I do enjoy eating - especially when the eating is free. I was only able to stay for about 30 minutes though because I had to leave to go by and pick up my grandmother and take her with me to Sydney's birthday party. Sydney turned 5 on the 13th, but her party was on Saturday the 10th at the IcePlex. I have not been to the IcePlex in ages, but walking in the door took me back about 25 years or more to when my brother and I went ice skating as kids and were at hockey games every weekend. Those were good times, my friends, good times. 

Jackie and her kids were there as well. They were at the top of the invite list as Sydney is "in love" with Troy, "her boyfriend". Troy, bless him, is such a good sport about being the "boyfriend". When my grandmother and I arrived (a few minutes late), Troy, Ashlyn, and Sydney were all laced up and skating the afternoon away. It was a lot of fun to watch. My grandmother even stood at the glass and watched for a while. It wasn't long before Jackie and my aunt talked me into lacing up the skates as well. I had not brought any socks, but my aunt did and gave them to me. 

Jackie and I donned a pair of skates and hit the ice. It has been a long time since I have ice skated. Once upon a time I wasn't to bad at it, but that was when I was young and nimble and now I'm not so nimble. So, I skated close to the wall and on about our third lap around I lost my balance and busted my knee on the ice and it took a little bit of maneuvering to get up - I told Jackie that we were too old to be skating around an ice rink. I called it quits after another lap or two around the rink. Jackie, however, braved a few laps without be and not long after busted her booty on the ice. I believe she suffered a wee bit as a result as well. As of the writing of this post she was thankfully feeling better. 

We had chocolate cake and Sydney opened her presents about as quickly as you can imagine. She got some clothes from me and also from Jackie and the kids as well as some nail polish. Some of her friends gave her toys and a purse and a gift card and some Barbies. She had a big time. My grandmother and I left around 3:00 and I dropped her off at home and then went to my own home where a nap was in order. I spent the rest of the evening - you guessed it - reading. (Y'all seriously need to check out the Divergent series if you haven't already. 

Sunday at church, Jackie and I compared our injuries. I was actually not sore, but at the time she still was and I want y'all to know that she agreed with me that we are in fact too old to be skating around an ice rink. Sadly, it took her falling on her booty to realize it; but, we'll always be kids at heart! 

Sydney's Cake

 Troy with purple teeth - although they didn't show
up too purple-y here.

Troy, Sydney and Me

Dave Matthews Band at Oak Mountain - Part One

I did not originally intend for my recap of last Saturday's Dave Matthews Band show to be two posts; but, you know me - long winded - and the post was getting way too long. So, I've split it in to two posts and today bring you part one.

Saturday afternoon, Justin and I headed south to Birmingham for the Dave Matthews concert at Oak Mountain Amphitheater. I found out some time back in January that Dave (yes, we are on a first name basis) was coming to Birmingham, and immediately made a note for myself to buy tickets the day they went on sale. I asked Justin if he would like to go and if so, then I would buy his ticket for an early birthday present (his birthday is May 3). He said yes, that he would like to go and so the plan was set in motion. 

The tickets went on sale back in February and I logged on as soon as they went on sale and was able to purchase a couple - with the help of Jackie who I was on the phone with and was logging on as well. Whichever one of us got through first would do the actual purchasing. As it turns out I was able to get through and buy the tickets without any problem. 

Justin and I left my house around 2:00 Saturday afternoon and arrived in Birmingham about 3:45 or so. Our first stop was The Fish Market, my favorite place to eat in Birmingham. There was no wait and we were able to get in, get a table, order and eat in less than an hour. Needless to say we had a lot more time on our hands than I anticipate we would; but, I'm a sticker for having plenty of time and arriving early so it was no problem. 

I got my usual - the combo with fish and shrimp - and Justin wanted to order a plate with fish fillets but somehow ended up with a plate that had not only fish, but also shrimp and oysters. We both cleared out plates and left with full bellies. Justin pointed out that it had been exactly four months since we had last eaten there (December 6 when coming back from the State Championship football game), which I found to be quite interesting. After dinner, we went over to the Dunkin Doughnuts across the parking lot and got six doughnuts for the ride home. I figured we might be hungry by the time midnight rolled around. 

We left downtown and made our way to Oak Mountain. I had bought an advance parking pass with the tickets and our spot was very close to the entrance which was nice. There were lots of people out tailgating and boozing it up. Justin and I just sat in the car and observed all the shenanigans going on around us. Then we started reminiscing about Dave concerts from years past and ended up calling our mother to ask her about one such show. It was (I think) my sophomore year of college and mother brought Justin to Oak Mountain to meet me and some friends. I don't even remotely remember the plan to get him back to Huntsville. Maybe he was going to stay the weekend in Tuscaloosa with me. At any rate, I remember there being beer in the trunk of the car and that it was confiscated by mother. I wasn't old enough to legally drink at the time. Justin didn't remember any beer; so, we called mother to see what she remembered. She also didn't remember beer being confiscated. She remembered leaving the beer with all of us. Obviously none of us can remember exactly what happened that night long ago. Suffice it to say Justin and I probably killed those particular brain cells and mother can blame her lack of memory on MS. 

We made the decision to go in to the venue around 6:30ish. We honestly were not sure if there was going to be an opening band or not because the ticket didn't indicate one way or the other. So, we made our way inside and found our seats which were in the middle section of what was once the lawn at Oak Mountain. I don't know when they put in seats there, but they did and they are actually quite nice and we had a great view. The seats are at a steep incline and we could see the stage very well. At this point of the evening we reminisced about all the shows we had seen there on the lawn when it was a lawn, including the Widespread Panic show in the summer of 1997 that we were both out but didn't know the other was there until this past weekend. Yeah, I know. 

There was a trio of women that came in and sat to the left of Justin (I was on his right) which included a mother and her two daughters (one pregnant). The concert was the mother's early birthday present as well and they were from Mobile. They were nice people and were calm and not rowdy which was a plus. As it turns out there was in fact an opening band called Vintage Trouble and they were not very good. There sound was nothing like I expected and neither Justin nor I enjoyed their performance. I left towards the end of their set to get a Diet Coke. I was thirsty and decided to go ahead ans shell out the ridiculous amount of $5.50 for a 20 ounce soda. I first made a pit stop and then went to the main concession stand where the people working there were not letting people have the caps to their sodas because supposedly people in the stand might throw them down towards the stage or at other people. Listen, I'm not about to pay $5.50 for a soda and 1) not get the three Coke points associated with it; 2) leave it open so someone could slip a roofie (I doubt that's how you spell it) in it; 3) leave it open so someone can kick it over and get the place where I'm standing sticky with Diet Coke or 4) not have a top so that I can safely transport said soda from Point A to Point B. So, I found a beer cart that was also selling soda and bought one from there - cap and all. My guess is that one of those Pelham football boosters is a collector of Coke Points and was hoarding all the caps for his or her self. 

Come back tomorrow for part two of this very enthralling story.

Birthday Celebrations

I briefly mentioned last week that my mom's birthday was on Tuesday (March 26) and we were unable to celebrate because I was struck down with some sort of stomach bug. So, on Friday, I met her and my dad at Olive Garden to celebrate her birthday. As luck would have it, I did not feel well on Friday. After feeling pretty darn good on Thursday, my stomach decided to get all queasy again on Friday; but, I met them for dinner anyway. I couldn't resist the Olive Garden salad and I ordered Fettuccine Alfredo hoping it wouldn't be too bad on my ailing belly. I spent the rest of the evening in regret and misery. Despite my feeling bad, we still had an enjoyable dinner together and hopefully mother enjoyed it since it was, after all, for her birthday. 


Saturday morning I went to the grocery store about 7:00 a.m. before all the big crowds hit to do the Easter shopping and got what I needed for my dad's birthday dinner that night and Easter lunch the next day. I was back home by 8:30 and not feeling well in the least. I managed to get some cleaning done and made some coleslaw to go with the evening's dinner as well as potatoes and deviled eggs for Sunday. Around mid-day I finally bathed and then just laid in my bed wishing for a stomach made of cast iron. My cousin sent a text and said Sydney wanted to stay home because she wasn't feeling well as she had a sinus infection and I was supremely grateful for her decision. I was on the verge of texting to say that she probably shouldn't come when I received Brittany's text so that worked out well. 

I soon after went over to my parents' house to get the burgers patted out for my dad's birthday dinner - his birthday was on Saturday. Mother had invited our friends Naaman and Cheryl over for dinner and told them to show up around 4:00 or 5:00. I got there about 4:00 to find my mother and dad both snoozing away the afternoon. I woke up my dad to start the grill since Justin was MIA and then started patting out the hamburgers. Naaman and Cheryl showed up about 10-15 minutes later. Justin arrived another 30 minutes or so after that and finished the grilling of the burgers. I don't know if my lack of food from the previous few days had anything to do with it or not, but those burgers were so delicious. I ate one and a half and then immediately had to run to the toilet. Just being honest here people. Clearly, the ole stomach was not ready for burgers.

We celebrated with some birthday cake after the burgers and then I cleaned up the kitchen in a round about sort of way before heading home due to not feeling well. I spent the rest of the evening snoozing on the couch, but did manage to make a couple of batches of dough for rolls before going to bed. Rolls were going to be quite an essential part of the Easter dinner the next day. 

So, it was a less than stellar celebration for my parents' birthdays thanks to me and my weak belly, but hopefully they both had an enjoyable day anyway. My dad got a new pair of jeans (which he picked out and told me how much I owed him) and my mom got a new red skirt which she has already worn and gotten compliments on. Hopefully next year's celebration will be a much more festive occasion.