Roll Tide - No Ducks!

ROLL TIDE ROLL: BAMA 41-Georgia 30

WOWSERS! This weekend was insanely wonderful. Though my body has decided to revolt - I had to spend Thursday afternoon at the DR. and half of Friday at home due to a bout with Bronchitis. Yeah - surgery definitely breaks down the immune system - I never get colds in the summer - January sure, September No.

Anyway, If you haven't heard Bama whooped Georgia Saturday night making a beautiful point in that we are not some fluke team but a force to be wary of. My house was fairly quiet even with the big win. Due to my unfortunate illness only Rob & Marcus were here to watch. Poor Marcus had to do all the cooking & preparing. He played hostess. I must say he did a great job - Rob & I both survived :)

Today we just chilled out & rested. My body, I think is getting better, though I did pull a muscle yesterday while coughing up a lung. No pain no gain, right? :)We caught up on some TiVo items & just enjoyed how pretty the weather was today. There are not enough lazy Sundays in a month are there?

Meet Me In St. Louis....

OME! This past weekend was wonderful. I flew up to St. Louis to visit one of my 'sisters', Tracy. Tracy has been through more than any person should ever have to experience yet when I saw her as I stepped out of the airport my breath left my chest and a huge smile spread over my face. She is as she always will be, an exuberant, shining star. I wanted to cry when I saw the crimson BAMA on her t-shirt and the smile on her face. I did not realize how much I had truly missed her. Before I knew it we were whisking to her new house - which is fabulous - eating a quick breakfast, see Izzy in a hilariously cute elephant Halloween costume, seeing her sister Leslie off to the airport, then getting ready to go Apple picking in Belleville, Illinois. Yeah in a span of approximately 3 hours I was on a plane leaving Birmingham, landing in St. Louis, then heading to Illinois. It was a whirlwind, but a fun one. Apple picking was fun, we wandered the orchards & visited the country store. It is a place called Eckert's, definitely appears to be something that is pretty popular in the area. Tracy & I gabbed the entire time (while also getting updates via my phone of the Bama/Arkansas game) and when Bama beat the mess out of Arkansas we proudly sang the fight song for anyone around us to hear!

Once we got home that evening we were tired but not ready for the day to end. I had promised Tracy that I would make my homemade fried chicken while I was visiting and it seemed we needed to head to the grocery store. Well, St. Charles (the area they live in) just happened to be having an Irish Festival & Arts Festival on Main Street.

Main Street St. Charles is adorable. It is a piece of Americana that is an architectural mixture that evokes New England streets while also paying homage to European roots. I was impressed. We of course shopped, but it was more than just hanging out & looking at items to purchase. Tracy was relaxed & able to just be. There was a moment in our discussions where I really believe she just let out a breath of air and sighed. It was a little bit of freedom & stress relief while not leaving reality behind. The best kind of relaxation. Escape can be wonderful, but sometimes staying in the moments and being able to appreciate where we are is a very special kind of escape. I so hope that I was able to help, to bring a little craziness with a spark of fun to a stressful month.

After the festival 'tour' we headed to the grocery store & back home. A wonderful boysenberry & blackberry pie was on the menu for Sunday dinner so we had to get it mixed together. Then there was the famous Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake, which we had no crust for so we had to eat it by the spoon out of the bowl. I know such torture, huh? :):):):)

Sunday was a full day as well with Church, the famous Courtney fried chicken extravaganza & an amazing 3 cheese mac&cheese by Tracy afternoon. Tracy shared a box of all of Brooklyn's belongings with me that evening. That little girl is so loved!! She is so beautiful - I cannot imagine the perfection that she is as the brightest of God's angels. Isabel of course made us laugh hysterically (see Tracy's blog for the story). Isabel is adorable. There is just nothing like hearing her repeat EVERYTHING you say. I don't think I kept the grins hidden enough when she was getting lightly scolded for a few things, but I mean - she is too darn cute.

For example we were at breakfast one morning and Isabel began saying "Mike, Mike, come here. Mike, Mike come here please!" Tracy tried not to laugh and told her to say Daddy come here, well that lasted a minute then she even switched to "Tracy, Tracy, come here." it was hilarious! She has really got such a personality, she talks and talks, and is super smart. Though she does think when she sees a koala bear she calls it Dad... yeah. :) Her little 'roar' for lion is just too much - though during church it is priceless :)

(Oh yeah - Aunt Leslie - ROLL TIDE - NO DUCKS!)

Monday, Tracy & I wandered around St. Charles again and really just relaxed, shopped, acted all girly, and just had a girl’s day. It was perfect. Saying goodbye was not easy. I really did not want to leave her, but I know that Jose & Juannanita will need a job so Mike, just make sure Jose trims the edges around the sidewalk & know that little Juannanita has small hands (use her only for tight spaces & small jobs :) Don't worry the pool boy will have his hands full....

Meet me in St. Louis pics

Breezing by with my speakers blasting...

So today was like any other Wednesday give or take the fact that I ran errands for some clients coming in from Atlanta from 2 p.m. until 4:15 p.m. I love it though it gets me out of the office for a few hours & lets me roll down the windows & turn up the music. Music is so much a part of my every day experience. If for some reason I don't hear a radio or see a video through out the day I feel like I missed something at the end of the day. I just have to have music around me. Granted my music may be me humming a tune I heard before I turned off the car, or one that is just stuck in my head - I used to hate that, but actually it can be fun to have a song play over & over all day. Especially if it fits the mood of the day. Mood is another thing music really determines for me. I am so susceptible to a sweet song, a loud song, a happy song, angry song, whichever comes on my mind & body flow to its tune. Today I have listened to Jack's Mannequin almost all day. The Resolution is an awesome song, but so is Bruised, Holiday for Real, Mixed Tape, well really the whole album rocks! My windows were down & my music was blaring when I drove home - the wind by the way gave me a new hair style. I normally part my hair to the left, but the wind nicely did it to the right... I might purposely switch it up tomorrow... hmmm. Sorry random thought. Anyway I am one of those creatures of noise, the person who loves the music as loud as it can go feeling it find rhythm with my heartbeats. It is understandable that the eardrums may take a beating later in my life, but thankfully I am the type who can feel music. Place my hand on a speaker & feel the vibrations course through from head to toe. The soundtrack to my life is such a mixture of beats. Loud vivacious tones curled into soft lullabies and ballads. I find it is peppered with happy beats that make you want to just dance until you fall down and then there are the slow, sexy, soothing melodies that seem to honestly caress your skin. Music is like a drug for me - I have to hear it, to feel something, to experience each song. I find myself with my eyes closed towards the sky on a sunny day with a song in my head and I am far away or right where I stand; either location is a good one. So now I head to the back to take a nice candlelit bubble bath while listening to the soothing sounds of .... Boys Like Girls, Green Day, Matt Nathanson, & Jack's Mannequin... tonight I am in the mood for alternative, next bath, maybe some classical, but tonight it will be hollering out the lyrics as the light flickers around me.

Quick Flying Times...

Whew! This weekend came roaring in and soared right out! Friday night was dreaded grocery store night, then Saturday poor Peanut had to have his shots & get his nails clipped. He is such a trooper. We have never had such a well behaved dog at a Vet. I mean he just sits there and lets them do whatever & looks at us to make sure we are still standing right there. So precious!

Alabama played Western Kentucky & thankfully returned to the team we saw beat Clemson 2 weeks ago. They won 41-7: Nice. Our house was definitely on the quiet side this week, we only had me, Marcus & Rob. Cooking was simple. I made some yummy Bacon Cheeseburgers, homemade onion rings, & cheesy fries. YUM!! Game day fare for sure. We had brownies & ice cream for dessert, it was delicioso!

Sunday came & went quickly. We really were quite lazy, a quick nap here, movie watching there, I grilled fish for the first time ever. Note to self: olive oil on the grill bars BEFORE you lay the fish down. :) It was quite good. I found a recipe for a ginger glaze that is wonderful on chicken or fish.

So as for a weekend it flew by, but it was nice. I was a bit preoccupied about one of my best friends the whole weekend & the trying times she and her family are going through. There were moments where I would just tear up and wish I could share a hug or just sit with her or even call. But I held off on calling because I knew she had a house full & knowing her was putting up a strong front for anyone around. I did text a message and was ecstatic when I got a response. I cannot imagine how they are feeling right now. But I know her faith is one of the strongest that I have ever encountered and I know her heart is one of the most loving that ever walked the earth. Her & her family will make it through this that I know. I hope she remembers that tears are not a vice but so often more a virtue and that here in Bama there are people who will cry with her, laugh with her, dream with her, and remember with her whether we are 7 hours away or 30 minutes. We love you & consider you all an extension of our family. I cannot wait to see you! :)

Football, Football, everywhere!

We headed south this weekend to the big C! Coy & Colton were playing in the WILDCAT Bowl at W.A. For those of you unaware of this huge event :) it is an all day football extravaganza at my High School. Starting bright and early in the morning the Termites (little kids) & the Pee Wees (5th & 6th graders) play teams from around the area. The Jr. High normally plays a game as well. Anyway, it is a tournament & of course being the host school you hope to win. We did. The boys did so good. They are growing up so fast!! Since Pee Wee plays games on Tuesdays mostly we won't get to see them play during the season unless a game happens to occur near Tuscaloosa so this is the perfect opportunity to watch not only one but at least two games. Plus we really get to spend the day with the boys after the games. I never tire of visiting my nieces & nephews. They really are just awesome. After the WILDCAT Bowl we headed over to Eric's house to watch the BAMA game. Now look, we did win, but my goodness we looked awful! It was still fun though - Mindy, mom, Eric, & myself made all kinds of finger foods, the kids iced some yummy cupcakes & we enjoyed each other quite a bit. After the game it was on in the game room: PING PONG & POOL!!! Yep a rousing game of Ping Pong with each of the kids! Hannah was there & she did so well learning the game. As for Pool well, lets just say Coy is getting really good & he is teaching Colton everything he knows. Colton had just learned to hit the cue ball from behind his back and he did really well. The sad part ALL 3 kids beat me at Pool. Yep. I whooped them in Ping Pong but they got me back at Pool. Oh & the twins have their own versions of Ping Pong - I call it EXTREME DANGER PING PONG! don't ask :) It really was a great weekend. We also got to visit with Mary Ann & James. She made some amazing coconut cake that makes my mouth water just thinking about it.... hmmm wonder if we brought any home with us????

Time...

Okay so today is September 1st. SEPTEMBER. You just cannot imagine how bizarre that is for me right now. I still feel like it is July 12 and I am waiting for August 1st to arrive. It has been as though the last 5 weeks have passed in slow motion & too quickly all at the same time. Days have melded into weeks, pain has born itself in my movements then is slowly allowing me to feel semi-normal. My mind is still wrapping itself around things. I know that having lost only one ovary removed is the best of my terrible situation, but I do feel like something is missing. I definitely know that I have changed - mentally - and that change is still a bit overwhelming. I am sifting through these adjustments. Trust me I have had time to reflect on what I want to do for me & my family; it is now a matter of movement forward.
There are a million things out there for any one of us to try & fail or try & succeed. My list is one that is not all new to my own mind, but those around me might be surprised. So here I am welcoming TIME. I return to work tomorrow - feeling quite a bit like a teenager returning from summer vacation. Only rather than wondering who will be wearing what & who hooked up with who, I am pondering what will I do, where will this step in my life take me & what will it take for me to reach whatever goal/star/moment that I am looking forward to, because as we all know it is the journey not the destination. So what will TIME grant me? I can only hope that my eyes are open wide enough to recognize the ticking hands on the clock & that I will take advantage of every moment.....