Something's Fishy

Several months ago while my sister, Sal Gal, and I were hanging out watching CNN National Geographic Entertainment Tonight, I walked up and handed her this tackle box, without any explanation.

She looked at me confused, of course. And I could tell she was assuming that M to the Izz-A had bought me another one of his 'gifts', as he's been known to make a purchase 'for me' but it ends up being something I would never use and so then he claims it for himself. It's all very well thought out.

I told her to open it as I continued to stare at the T.V. and become educated in the ways of the entertainment industry.

Here's what she found:

My old buddy, Old Pal

"Go ahead, hook your toes up with some much needed color." I said.

She laughed and gave me the aren't-you-gonna-explain-this look.

I guess Matt got tired of seeing all of my nail polish (some so old that it's more the consistency of glue) laying in random spots all over the house. You know, like the kitchen counter, office desk, his sock drawer. What?! It was a day I had to do a really quick clean up and his sock drawer was the closest drawer to me.

So out of the blue he comes up to me one day with a huge grin, hands me this old tackle box and tells me to open it.

And inside I find all of my polish. Practicality and resourcefulness come easy to him. It's a gift...a curse....gift?

I've grown pretty fond of my Old Pal. It's like Caboodle's uber-tough cousin. (Do you remember Caboodles from your teenage years? Mine was a tie-dyed purple color and I felt so very cool with it at church camp, all filled up with some Wet n' Wild eyeshadow and clear mascara.)

I even carry it on trips sometime. It makes me feel all tough and outdoorsy.

What's next, organizing my 'underthings' in a toolbox?

Wordless Wednesday

Kate and Cousins - November 2008L to R: Kate, Chas and Lillie (Sal Gal's) , J.P. (Big Al's)

Take a peek

I got nothing. Nothing.

So here's a glimpse into my head...just some thoughts that have been churning around, but are in no way post worthy...

-It's entirely too cold outside for this warm-weathered girl. I do not have enough clothes for cold weather so I have been wearing the same things over and over, and over..........and over.

-M to the Izz-A told me two days ago that I was "too guarded" and that I don't let people "get too close to my heart". What?? No one has ever told me this and I have never thought of myself in this way. Either way, I can't get it out of my head and find myself wondering if he's right. I hope not.

- I can't even do a post about last night's Bachelor Finale because I didn't watch it. As a matter of fact, I didn't watch a single episode this season (or last season). Not that I don't enjoy it, because I really do (against Matt's wishes). But I just didn't watch it this go 'round and have no good reason why. Either way, I feel out of the loop as far as TV goes lately.

-Why is it that banana chips have the nutritional content of a bag of Doritos??! Does the banana not count for anything?

- Am I the only person who gets up early and has plenty of time to get ready but waits until the very last second so that I'm then running around and rushing like crazy, leaving just enough time to cut a wheel out of the driveway and speed my way to work only to arrive feeling frazzled? Why do I acknowledge that I do this to myself and continue to do it?!

So there you have it, the deep and the shallow of it.


My mind.....it's a jungle in there.

On the Go

Last night we went to Cracker Barrel to have breakfast for dinner. I planned this on Thursday night as I was lying in bed. That's what I do. Instead of reflecting on the day, I plan my next meal. I really think I have an abnormal love for food. So instead of making everything at home, we decided to go out, plus there's no clean-up that way.

We brought Matt's Granny and Paw along with us.

Kate thinks the best part about Cracker Barrel is that they have a little shop full of gifts and toys. I couldn't agree more. It's perfect. She plays and walks around until her meal comes, which really helps to make the night enjoyable, if you know what I mean.

She is still obsessed with bubbles and persuaded Daddy into buying her some.

Ya'll are not going to believe everything I had to eat. Actually, if you know me, you will have absolutely no problem believing it. I had four pieces of french toast, two eggs, three pieces of bacon, and a bowl of grits. And I ate every last bit of it. That's why I'm smiling so big in this picture. Happy tummy=Happy Mommy

I saw this pillow on the way out and loved it!

There's something so wrong, yet so right, about eating in an establishment that also sells bubbles and pillows.

This morning I got up and ran in a 5 mile race nearby. The weather was perfect and it felt great. (There's usually a photography company at the races taking pictures of all the runners. If I get a picture I'll try to post it.) I then hurried home to get ready to take Kate to her cousin Isaac's third birthday party. She fell asleep on the way there and managed to stay asleep for the first 45 minutes of the party.

Standing and holding a sleeping child does wonders for the ol' back.

She finally woke up and had so much fun! She loves parks and loves being around other kids, so it was the perfect day!

Here's a few more pics of the party:

Kate with her cousins, Anna and Lillie

The birthday boy

He had a blast! I could barely get him to stand still for this photo.

Sal Gal and me

And I have know idea what is up with that vein in my neck but apparently it wanted to be included in the picture.

Tonight I'm hoping to just take it easy, maybe with a pizza and movie.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

Poser

Remember when I realized that Kate loves the camera and that she cheeses it up every chance she gets? And in that same post we solved the mystery as to why she did this. Well, it seems as if we haven't seen the best of her yet. Judging from the following pictures, the best is yet to come...

Growing up I was a girl of many poses. My family still makes fun of me 'til this day for the fact that every time someone brought out a camera, I had a pose, some more famous than others. Many of my poses didn't make it through the test of time, but here are a few that seemed to have held their own.


"Hey Daddy, take a picture of me leaning on this balcony...kind of like you just walked up and I was already leaning like this."
But in my defense, I am rockin' some serious daisy dukes with absolutely no shame.

Ahh yes, the brown picture....brown wood paneling, brown sectional, brown cassette player. The whole picture just looks brown. At first I thought it was a black and white photo due to the lack of color, but then I realized it's actually just brown and white. If it weren't for that pose, this photo would be so boring. Yes, the pose definitely saved it.

And I saved the best for last....

This one, my dear friends, is my most famous pose as a child. One too many visits to Olan Mills wouldn't you say, Mom? Head tilted just so, resting gently on my clasped hands....what more could you ask for? Oh that's right, a gorgeous brown Town Car as a side prop.


So as you can see, the world was my portrait studio...only without the light blue carpeted box as an arm rest and the unfortunate back drop of a fake meadow.

The 'posing phase' lasted throughout most of my childhood, until I hit the teenage years, which is when I started the 'hiding from the camera phase'.

Was I ever just a normal kid that smiled a normal smile for a picture?

Absolutely not.

That would have been way too easy.

Party at her crib

This is what we did for at least a good hour tonight. And that ball in her mouth, well...she grabbed it out of the garage when we went out there to get some meat out of the freezer.

I'm trying hard to forget about the fact that I'm pretty sure I saw our dog Buck playing with it the other day....and now, well, it's in my daughter's mouth. Awesome.

Obviously I'm in the middle of cleaning out her drawers and making room for clothes that actually fit. It's a project I started, oh I don't know, a good six months ago??

While I'm at it, I promised some of you that I would post pictures of my love's room. And from looking at the photo above, you know I resorted to using the pictures that were taken before Kate was born, right after we finished it, before their were bins of old clothes, laundry baskets of clean clothes that instead of folding and putting away I just use right out of the basket, and an already-tired crib bumper thrown on the changing table that I just had to have but ended up using a total of two times.

We had a little nook in the corner of the room that I thought would be perfect for a window bench seat so M to the Izz-A built this and I painted it and made the cushion. And I haven't done anything crafty since this. It must have been the pregnancy hormones.




This wall looks a little different now because I've added more photos of our family and I hung my belly cast that I made when I was nine months pregnant (which took up a pretty big portion of the wall).

The initials above her crib are from Wise Decor.