Someone Has a Sick Sense of Humor!!

We went to my brother's for Spring Break this year. He lives in Maryland. He's centered in a spot where there is quite a bit to do. About an hour from DC, Baltimore, Gettysburg, Harper's Ferry, etc. The kids were happy because for once they weren't the ONLY kids left in town. Or at least that's what they tell me every year! I have lots of photos to load. We kept busy the whole week. And I, of course, took lots of pics! Oh, plus Dawne, Bryson and I went to see the Hunger Games! Totally lived up to my expectations! After reading the book, I was prepared for it to be much more gory than it was. So, that was a plus too! Anyway, enough of my rambling. I will try to get my more pics put on here tomorrow. But, I wanted to share this guy first!

We were at a store called The Outhouse in Pennsylvania. I went to use the restroom. The sign on the door said "Ladies", but this is what I saw when I opened the door! Caught off guard, I quickly shut the door and checked the sign again. Sure enough, it was the ladies room! Just had this dude standing right inside the door in front of a urinal to freak people out! I bet they get people screaming everyday!

He startled me again when I came out of the stall! These people have a sick sense of humor!

Beauty & The Beast Videos

You may have to turn the volume up. I did the best I could with Dusty's little flip camera!

Beauty & The Beast

This past weekend was one of my favorite times of the year-the Spring musical! I love it! This year they did Beauty & the Beast. As usual, they put on a wonderful show! Bryson, being the peppy girl that she is, played the part of "Chip" the teacup. She was stuck inside a cart almost the whole play and had a smile on her face the entire time. Very sad to think that next year will be her last year! :( Thanks to my dear friend Lori for taking pics!!! Love you!

Bryson!

Belle and Gaston

Belle, Gaston & LeFou

Belle with her father, Maurice

Mrs. Potts & Chip

Gaston with the Silly Girls

Mrs. Potts, Belle and Wardrobe

Lumiere and Bryson singing "Be Our Guest"

The dancing teacups in "Be Our Guest"

More "Be Our Guest"

Cogsworth, the Beast & Chip

Cogsworth & Lumiere

Cogsworth & Lumiere

Human Again! Chip & Mrs. Potts

The Prince and Belle

Singing Beauty & the Beast

Take a bow!

After the show- my beautiful girl!

Yes I Cried-A Lot!

I will admit I am a little embarrassed by my reaction to the news that the Colts were releasing Peyton Manning. Deep down I knew it was coming, but as I watched the press conference with the official announcement, I cried. I cried a lot! Not just a little sniffle or a few tears. Like my dog had just been hit by a car. Like I did when I watched Marley & Me. Like I did (and still do) when I watched the last episode of Friends. My husband asked what was wrong ( I was watching in another room) and I had to compose myself to be able to tell him. Ridiculous! But I couldn't help it! I just always pictured Peyton retiring from the Colts. I never pictured and never wanted to see him in a different uniform. If you would have told me 8 years ago that I would give a crap about Peyton Manning leaving, I would have told you that you were crazy. But I started watching. I learned the game. I now LOVE the game. Peyton Manning is a big part of why I love the game of football so much. I remember how excited I was when I went to my first game. I got chills watching them all run out on the field. My guys that I watched every Sunday and I was there in person to watch them! And now I go to at least one game a year. I love it! The team, the atmosphere, the awesome stadium, all of it! And now he's leaving! Along with so many of the other players that I love so much. They say they want to rebuild. Peyton was released on Wednesday. Friday they released Dallas Clark (I love him!), Melvin Bullit, Gary Bracket, Joseph Addai and the only one I actually agree on-Curtis Painter. Now there is talk that we will most likely lose Dwight Freeney and Jeff Saturday... the list goes on. We will have no veteran players left. No foundation to build on. I am sad. Just sad......


Thank you #18! Thank you for the memories and for everything you did for the city of Indianapolis! You are so much more than just a football player to us!

Surprise!!!

When I was discussing the things I was looking forward to in 2012 in my last post, I left out one thing. Just in case my friend, Stacy decided to get a wild hair up her butt and look at my blog! So, about a month ago, my dear friend Stacy's husband contacted me on Facebook to see if I would like to fly to Georgia and surprise Stacy. Who, by the way, I had not seen in 12 years! That's right, 12 years! I was, of course, all about it! Stacy was my very best friend in South Carolina. She came around at a time in my life when I just really needed a good friend. Steve and I had been broken up for several months (we had a tough road in our younger years, before we got it all figured out). My step-sister Heather Marie had left Beaufort a few months before and she was the one that got me through the break up and I gotta tell ya, we had one hell of a summer! We were 21 and I will leave it at that! The one person I thought was a friend, had started dating Steve. Yep, you heard that right! My friend, started dated my ex-boyfriend that I had been with for 5 years and had a baby with! Total violation of friend code! I tried to still be friends with her, but I was just really crushed. Even after her and Steve broke up, I just couldn't get over that betrayal. I guess I just wasn't over him like I thought I was! And I guess that is why we found our way back to each other. Anyway, enough of that yucky stuff.... I actually met Stacy through my bad friend. I had babysat Stacy's son a few times and she called one night to see if I wanted to go out for a little while. So, I did. We went downtown to a bar called Ping's and danced the night away. After that, we became instant friends! She became an instant part of the family. She was Aunt Stacy to Bryson and another daughter to my parents. We went out almost every Saturday night. We just had so much fun! She was there when Steve and I got back together and was the first person to know when I got pregnant with Jordan. She was there when my grandpa died and was there for me when my little brother was killed. It was hard to leave her when we moved in 1998. The last time I actually saw her, I was pregnant with Dusty in 1999. She still only had 1 boy at that time. It wasn't long after that when she met her husband. I knew when she told me about him, this guy was the one. Any other guy that even looked at her with love in her eyes and she was gone! She was young and just wasn't ready for that yet. But, this one was different. They got married and went on to have 4 more boys! That's right, 5 boys all together! We have always kept in touch and modern technology has only made that easier. Facebook rocks!

This is us on New Year's Eve 1997

Anyway, this is how it all went down. I flew down on Friday and her husband picked me up from the airport. And I am glad it happened when it did, because Thursday night, her facebook status was about something suspicious was going on and she was going to find out what it was. Too many mysterious phone calls between her husband and oldest son! I don't think they could have fooled her much longer! I was sitting in her dining room when she walked in. There was a lot of hugging and screaming and a few tears. I just wish I would have given my phone to one of her boys so we could have gotten it on video. So fun! We went straight to dinner after that. And ended up eating out all weekend! Her husband was wonderful and stayed home with the little ones all weekend so we could catch up. It was great reminiscing and catching up! I don' think we shut up the entire time! Stacy is one of those friends that no matter how much time has passed, you jump right in and it's like no time ever passed. Our lives have both changed so much. Let's face it, last time I saw her, she only had 1 boy! Her boys are adorable and they are very good and respectful boys. She runs a tight ship. Her home is beautiful. She has a great guy. But, with all of the change, SHE hasn't changed. She is still the same fun-loving, heart of gold friend friend that I left in 1998. And I still know that no matter what she will be there for me. I love ya, Stacy! I just know that another 12 years can't pass without seeing each other again!

Us now! 2012

Hello 2012!!!

It's hard to believe it's already 2012! It seems like we just rang in 2011! 2011 was a pretty decent year for me. Well, on a personal level. On a work level, not so much. We found out in February that we were going to have to move due to the conditions of our building. We ended up moving in March. Very hard for me to leave the other 2 agencies in the building! I miss them like crazy! Not to mention the extra 20 minutes of driving time each way everyday that came along with the move. We have settled in pretty well and I carpool with a co-worker most days, so that helps with the driving. But... then in November, we found out that our supervisor was going to retire. BOO!!! We understand why she was retiring, but that doesn't change the fact that we were going to miss her. She's been very good to us and a very good person to work for. So, another big change at work. We are adjusting. I just hope 2012 will not have so many changes at the workplace. I am very thankful for my job, just not a fan of change!

Now, as I said on a personal level, 2011 was pretty good to me. I started the year off on January 2nd going to a Colts game with my mom. That was when the Colts were winning, so that was a pretty good way to start the year! In February, my dad won the citizen of year award in our town. So, all of my brothers were home for that. Since there aren't many opportunities to all of us kids together, I sure enjoyed that and was super proud of my pops! In May, my youngest brother Allen got married, so that in itself was wonderful. But it once again gave us a chance to all to be together again. Twice in one year! The first weekend in June, my mom and I went to the Wine Festival in Indianapolis. Another fun time! We took our South Carolina vacation in July. I will just say it was wonderful, because I could go on and on about that! In August, I attended the Jimmy Buffett concert with my peeps from my old office. We had a blast! These chics are crazy and so much fun to be with! Not to mention, that was the first concert I had been to since I went to a Richard Marx concert in 1989. Is Richard Marx even still around??? In November, my brothers, Travis and Allen were able to come home for my birthday weekend. And Mom, Travis and I went to Indianapolis to a Colts game on my birthday and stayed in Indy for the night. Another wonderful time! Although, the outcome of the game wasn't quite what I would have liked, but we had so much fun! Oh and the hubs even got me a new Dallas Clark jersey to wear to the game. Thanks hunny! We had a great Christmas this year. Actually got to get together with some of my mom's side of the family the week before Christmas. Which hasn't happened in years! Plus, I got to see my cousin Fantacy and her daughter, Chloe, who I hadn't seen in almost 3 years. We always have such a good time together! I love this time of year and the time I get to spend with my family. Life just gets so busy, but during the holidays, we all get to spend time together and I love it! And I just think that was a great way to end the year! I sure hope 2012 is just as good to me as 2011! I know I already have 2 vacations planned. 1 in March during Spring Break we are going to my brother's in Maryland. And in July, we are headed back to South Carolina. It's hard to believe that my kids will also be turning 12, 15 and 18 this year! Wow! And 2012 also marks 20 years since I graduated high school! oh my!!! I also hope 2012 will be a little nicer to a few of my friends. 2011 was pretty rough on them and it's never fun seeing someone you care about going through bad things. So 2012 be nice! Hope everyone has a blessed year! Oh and one more thing??? The Colts!!! PLEASE let the 2012 season be better for them too!!!

My 3 New Loves!

I have a few new loves or shall I say obsessions!

1. My smart phone. Until now, I only had a basic phone where I could call and text. I never wanted to pay the extra expense of a monthly data plan. I finally said "screw it"! I work hard and I want an Iphone! The Iphone was my original plan. I ordered it online, only to get a message from At&t saying we had exceeded amount of phones that you could order online. Huh? Never knew we had a maximum amount we could order. Anyway, that night Steve went down and got himself an android. My plan was to go to the At&t store and get my Iphone the next day. That was until Steve started messing with his phone and couldn't figure it out. He hated it! So, I started playing with it. I loved it! So, in the end, I ended up keeping his android and I went down the next day and got him a different phone that was a little more friendly to the technologically incompetent. I love, love, love this phone!

2. Pandora Radio. My kids have had this on their laptops for awhile. I downloaded it to my phone and I can listen to any kid of music I want while I am at work. Sometimes I am in the mood for country. Other times hip hop. Other times pop or rock. I have never found a radio station that can satisfy my diverse music tastes and I usually grow tired of listening to one certain genre of music all day. This is perfect! Most times, I just hit the "quick mix" on Pandora and it mixes all my stations together. So one minute I can be listening to a Jason Aldean song, then the next song is an 80's hair band song, then a 90's Cypress Hill song! It is freaking awesome! http://www.pandora.com/

3. Pinterest. A co-worker was asking about this about a month ago. She wasn't sure what it was, so we all started checking it out. This site has everything! And I mean everything! Recipes, crafts, fashion, home decorating, photography.... And you create your own pin boards to display the things you like or in my case, save the things I like. If you see something you like, click on the picture and it will give you the recipe or directions on how to make whatever it is. It took me awhile to get it figured out. But, I am hooked! And I must warn you, it is addictive! So, I have started setting time limits on myself, because it can waste hours of your life away! http://pinterest.com/

Now I just have to take time away from new obsessions to do yucky things, like clean house and cook dinner. Yes, I like recipes from Pinterest, but I would like them better if someone else was cooking them for me! This chic hates to cook!