just another day weekend in paradise

We all know it's a total cliche to say, but WHERE ON EARTH is the time going??

I can't believe it's Monday morning again...and even more ridiculous than Monday?  IT'S AUGUST.

How is this possible?

The sad truth is WHO KNOWS? 

Speaking of...I don't have any proof, but I suspect there have been scientific studies conducted in secret offices somewhere that confirm that time is, indeed, moving faster than it used to.

But enough about that because really, who wants to slide into the depths of time-related despair so early on a Monday morning in August?  Not me, that's for sure.



About my weekend...It was full of the miscellany, which is to say THE USUAL.

(I can't stop with the CAPS LOCK today.  I blame August.)

(I'll try to do better & get to the point as best I can.)


Katie came over on Friday & visited for a while, and then Audrey spent the night with me because we had some BIG FUN (sorry) planned for Saturday morning.  This means that Friday was filled up with naughty shenanigans and a fair amount of hollering (mostly the infant) (some by the toddler), (a wee bit from the four-year-old angry at said toddler).

(It appears I've now moved on to parenthetical affection.)

(Let's just press on, shall we?)

(Thanks!)


Saturday morning Audrey & I were up bright & early for a birthday party(!) for her friend, Addison-who-is-really-Madison(!) and her lots of friends(!).  Also there was a wonderful present that was a Polly Pocket and did you know Audrey has always wanted a Polly Pocket?

We had a great time, and after getting back into the car Audrey proclaimed it awesome.  Truer words were never spoken.  Three hours at a pool with your friends and birthday cake is just about as good as it gets in the preschool world.  Or my world, for that matter.


After finishing up at the pool Kate & I visited some more and enjoyed some Norah snuggles with a fair amount of jiggling and bouncing and walking.  (And back-patting)  (Of course.)
She kinda only likes her mama right now.

Whatever.  She'll change her tune once I start sneaking her the so-da.

I don't really remember Sunday because see above regarding Friday and Saturday.  I think there might have been some church and a fountain Pepsi but even that's a blur & I might have made it up.

Oh!  And Kate surprised me with Krispy Kreme glazed at 10:00 last night because why not???


So how about you?  How was your weekend?

Did you hang out at the pool not in your swimsuit for three hours with a bunch of four and five-year-olds, secretly loving every minute?   Did ya maybe burp an infant or two in your spare time?  Maybe you filled the kitchen sink with water and let a two-year-old wreak soggy havoc all over tarnation?? 


I wanna hear all about it...especially if it involved a mess or three...or in any way warranted an ENTHUSIASTIC USE OF THE ALL CAPS.


Happy Monday :)

excuses, excuses

I know it's been a sweet forever but I have a good excuse.


Christmas was last week, and this week I have been at Kari's loving on Peyton while simultaneously eating m&ms & working for a living.  So there's that.


Yesterday Kate & Company drove up to visit and eat pizza and help restore my sanity :)
(Just kidding, Peanut, you know I love ya!)

She also brought this.  


Needless to say, it was a good day.


Sadly, I now have to go because see above, but I leave you with the following picture in an effort to make things right...

Happy Friday :)

I think i like living in a very small town right next to a pretty big town

So today I stumbled upon a lunch that made me six different ways of happy.  Maybe seven.  And by stumbled I mean Kari & Drew mentioned it yesterday and I didn't want to miss out on some kind of undiscovered terrific.


Enter The Dairi-O.


Y'all.  
Over & over, since moving two whole hours south I run across these scenarios that feel like my childhood.  Which is strange because my childhood was, well, not the Carolinas.  


Anyway, my lunch excursion was another one of those times when every part of it was familiar in spite of never having been there before.  The Dairi-O is a little burger place that I can only imagine was probably a small-town Dairy Queen knock-off a million years ago that refused to go away.  


I liked every single thing about it ;)  


I liked the professional types walking out to their cars and presumably back to their Very Important Jobs, passing right by the families in their swimsuits sitting outside with their littles all sweaty & giggly.  

I really liked the sweet little high-schooler and her ponytail with the ribbon who took my order & my money & chatted it up a little bit with her Carolina drawl. 

I liked the burger that inexplicably tasted not at all like anywhere else but exactly like small town in a way I can't quite describe...


...and I really, really, really liked the piping hot crinkle fries that - no kidding Mary - were even yummier than Frank's.


But perhaps the very best part of all?  The frigid fountain Pepsi they served up over a bajillion tiny little ice pellets.


(Let me just take a moment here)


Rumor has it they have hand-dipped ice cream they use to create ridiculous absurdities like banana splits & hot fudge sundaes & what-not, and of course I can't be sure but I'll be very surprised if I disapprove because, you know, the ice cream, it's hand-dipped.



Anyway, this whole burger & fries experience got me to wondering...
Do y'all have any particular tastes that remind you of a different time? 
I'd love to hear about them :)



Happy Middle-of-Summer!

don't say it if ya don't mean it

So this is pretty much what walking to our little playground looks like.

I say something like, "hey guys, wanna go to the - -"

And they're out the door!

Leaving me

in their

dust. 

Until, of course, we reach the street, at which time we wait patiently 
(and obediently, I might add) for Naynay to catch up... 

...and then it's back to business :)

let's just call it a recipe, shall we?

So here's what I did.


I mixed up some brownies the old-fashioned way, via Betty Crocker Pillsbury Duncan Hines (with a little help from the Peanut gallery) and proceeded to lick the spoon and desperately scrape what precious little Kari left in the bowl.


After baking them to just the right level of gooey goodness I put them aside to cool for a bit...but not for too long!  When we couldn't stand it any more we cut those suckers up and threw one or three on a plate, piled some fresh strawberries alongside, and gleefully plopped exactly two or three or six dollops of Cool Whip over the whole shebang.  


Best strawberry shortcake in the history of, well, strawberry shortcake.


I just thought you should know...



Happy Monday :)

field trip

Hey guys - let's try to get a fun picture while you eat your ice cream.  Ya wanna?

Not a bad first try, but I think we could do better.

Well.  

That wouldn't be it.  Try again?

Valiant effort, but really?  Maybe just one more...

Stunning!  Excellent!  Beautiful!  

I might not have mentioned it in a day or so but  we do heart our Chick-Fil-A.  

And their play land.  

And their ice cream ;)

Happy Thursday!

what goes around really does sometimes, you know, come back around

Kari has been a nanny for a while now and has been loving this cutie since she was a wee few weeks old.

...a few WEEKS old!

Kari doesn't have them every day any more since they're all up in the preschooling scene, but when she does they always want to see Naynay.

...which serves to make me feel several different kinds of warm and tingly and gooey inside.

Kids, children, small people, little tykes, ankle biters, whippersnappers...Whatever you wanna call 'em, go find yourself one or a couple to jump up and down and act like a fool for today.  

They'll love ya forever and very hopefully feel just a bit more wonderful from your lavish lack of decorum.

...and if you're really, really fortunate, they'll ask to see you and jump on your nerdy mini trampoline in the middle of a weekday afternoon just because.

Happy Thursday!

six on saturday: photo dump edition

I have about a zillion random photos languishing on my camera.

Here are six of 'em...

 

Happy Weekending!!

what? it could happen.

I still have no camera cord.

So I "borrowed" this shot from Kate.  

I think it's yummy.

Actually, I think he's yummy.

In other news, I woke up with a headache so we're moving in a slowish manner this morning, the painter will be here around noon to begin his own special contribution to the chaos, and the DVR doesn't work.

To be fair, I have no immediate DVR-ing plans, but still.  A girl likes to be prepared.

* * *

So is anyone else watching the Olympics?

(How'd ya like that utter lack of segue?  Did you see what I did with the little stars?)

I'm far from a fan of TV sports, but I so heart the Summer Olympics.  

Is it wrong that I just want to scoop up the Fab Five & bring 'em home with me and feed them soup?  In other words, I love 'em.

(Side note:  Earliest Olympic memories 2004?  2004??  I asked Shayne and he agreed that 2004 is about as far back as he goes.  Sigh)

Anyway, last night was fun!  and that Gabby is sheer delight!  She is a fascinating blend of fierce and sweetie-pie.  I wish I could do that.  I should practice getting my fierce-face on.

I'm enjoying it all, but those little gymnasts are my favorite.  They're so tiny.  And so strong.  And so shockingly talented.  When they're doing their thing I mostly sit at the edge of my seat with my mouth hanging open while making awkward motions with my hands.  I like to help where I can.

And they're so inspiring!  They allegedly make me want to get up off the couch and stretch, but I fight through and determine old episodes of Make it or Break it with a glass of iced tea is the more realistic option.  

Right now I've begun cultivating my secret dreams for this boy.

Maybe he'll swim like Mikey Phelps in a couple of years.   He could already place in running in cool swimmies :)

Happy Christmas!

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

As for me and mine, we plan to spend our "Christmas" weekend just like Pooh, except, you know with pool floats and umbrellas and assorted fruity miscellany, which is nearly mostly the same :)

suspiciously close to drivel

First things first.  Do y'all ever make fluffy scrambled eggs with just a splash of milk, salt, & pepper, sprinkle a bit of cheddar on top...and then dunk each and every bite in a nice serving of salsa?

You so should.

Anyhoo, where did we leave off?  I do believe I was sleepless in the wake of The Big Sale planned for our front yard.

Junk.  How embarrassing.

Here's a question for you.  Is it possible in any way to maintain your sense of dignity while sitting in a lawn chair surveying your worldly possessions scattered all over your front yard, baking in in the summer sun?  I don't think so, but maybe that's just me.

More Junk.  How embarrassing.

What might be even worse...watching strangers pull up to said lawn, meticulously inspecting said worldly possessions, and then leaving empty-handed, finding not a single item worth their pennies. 

Seriously Susie Stranger?  Not even a Mary Higgins Clark mystery for 50 cents?  Hardback?  It's nothing short of demoralizing to recognize that the things that you cared about a mere 12 hours earlier can't even net you a buck on the open market.

(You might have picked up on the fact that yard sales?  Not so much my thing.)

(I have my pride.)

(Misplaced as it might be.)

All in all, though, I suppose it was worth the time & aggravation & heat, and giggling & people watching, and yes, the Christmas money!!

Teri kept reassuring us that we were having wonderful Fun and Fellowship!  

Hi Robin!  She's not junk.  She's my sister.

Two things about that:

1.  We Baptists can throw a "fellowship" spin on anything and call it SUCCESS.

2.  Poor, poor Teri.  She netted approximately twenty-five dollars for her day of fellowship.  

Hard to believe we're worth it.

Also not junk.

I was so past tired but forced myself to stay awake until 8:00 that night.  I desperately wanted to crawl in the bed at approximately 6:57 but held firm, and amazingly, (what insomnia?) I was sound asleep and also out like a light sometime before 8:30.  

And then!

And then I proceeded to sleep until 8:00 the next morning.  Without interruption.  I don't even know when that last happened but who cares because IT HAPPENED. 

At any rate, Sunday I woke up happy to face the sun at 8:00 and proceeded to have a good day.

....and then I did the unthinkable & after finishing work last night attempted to do it all over again.

And it nearly worked!  I proceeded to get in approximately 7 hours although I might have been, shall we say, a bit on the wakeful side.  But at least I woke up ready for the day 45 minutes before the alarm went off and have already chopped veggies and cleaned fruit and put on my swimsuit.

Because today we swim.  and sweat.  and eat melon.

...and, you know, try to locate my floor and hopefully new owners for the three(!) television sets sitting in the middle of my living room floor, none of which belong to me - not to mention the other assorted cluttery goodness.

Tomorrow I'll share the riveting tale of how I made my summer salad! and brushed my teeth! and loaded the dishwasher!  

Say what you will, but you can always count on me for riveting coverage of what matters none.

Happy Monday ;)

my brother is in town! and it's hot! and my brother's in town!

Hiya!  

So I'm not entirely sure at what point summer blogging became an indulgence instead of a routine, but if it isn't one thing it's been three others lately.  I should be in the shower right this minute because my sister-in-law and assorted relative-types and I are going to do a little shopping/scouting this afternoon at some of my favorite home shops.  

(She's shopping.  I'm scouting.)

(And also sniffing candles.)

...But I miss y'all and wanted to say hello.  and inquire as to your well-being.  and assure you that my veryspecial Andy Griffith bloggy tribute is in the works because I don't know if you heard...but yeah.

Speaking of...not this, I strongly dislike being a tired cliche but I am so over the heat.  Like literally.  OVER. THE. HEAT.  I have declared a ban on driving my car until further notice and am only riding in vehicles that are climate-controlled.  I like to pretend I'm tough...but have come to terms with the reality that I am most definitely not.

Anyhoo, I've been working and sweating and being all happy that the family is in town.  And then sweating some more.  The weekend is filled up with plans to do some more being all happy, and if the climate is correctly controlled there'll likely be some hugging thrown into the mix.

I suppose I might as well declare my recent sporadic bloggy production my official summer hours because I don't imagine things will slide into settled until after The Big Move at the end of the month, seeing as we have family shenanigans to be followed by the infernal yard sale, then Christmas in July, and then, yep, The Big Move.

(I'm so very sorry for the above spectacular run-on sentence.  Couldn't be helped.)

Take care of yourselves and stay hydrated!

Happy Friday :)

p.s.  I just set me up an Olivia-Newton-John station on the Pandora.  Early results indicate PURE SUMMER DELIGHT  ;)

zee dishwasher, she is empty

So I emptied the dishwasher.

I also chopped up some fruit (yaay!) and threw together my famous-in-my-own-mind corn/bean salad for my friends and some potato salad just because I could.

I'm worried about the corn/bean salad because my friends don't like beans (seriously, unnamed friends??) so I tried to maximize corn/minimize beans and still get the marinade right.

Just between you and me, I have concerns.

Anyway, that's mostly all I've gotten done, but since that is more (visible) progress than I've had in quite some time I am considering it a win and heading to the pool.

(p.s.  Oh how I dream of sleeping more than five hours at night.  Someone text me around midnight and remind me to partake of some melatonin with chamomile?  Mucho thanks.)

Anyhoo, time's a-wastin, but here are a few pix of what's been going on around here this week.

I got a smoothie and it was delightful.  

p.s.  this picture makes me feel all happy inside; I dunno why.

 

Remember when we went to Target and ate our Chicken Minis?  That was fun.

 

Even at 80% off...

 

...these two verge on priceless :)

Behold,

 

This was my breakfast yesterday (riveting!).  It was so fresh and beautiful I had to take a picture because I'm just that lame thankful.  

Summer fruit cut up by me in my very own cleaned-up kitchen.   

Swoony.  (Hi Shannan!)

(p.s. there's a lot of fiber going on in that bowl I can tell you right now...)

 

Hi Peyton!

True story:  This sweet baby rolled over twice in his crib on his five-monthday.  While not one anybody was watching.  

Little goober.

Okay!  That's it and also that's all.  For now.

I hope your summer is going swimmingly.

(HA!  Swimmingly!  Cause we're going to the pool, get it?)

(couldn't be helped...)

Happy Wed-nes-day!