Life and Times of the Humps

We will miss you Steve.

2011-10-06T10:39:00.003-04:00

So long and thanks for all the fish!

Thanks, Ellis Humphres, for your drawing!

Happy 13th Month Birthday!

2011-01-21T11:25:00.007-05:00

Little Bit is turning 13 months old today! Woot! She woke up all smiles and giggles. It is Friday and she was surrounded by Mommy and Daddy, so what is not to smile about! It is Hattie-Daddy day! Who knows what goes on during Hattie-Daddy Day, but when I get home from work both Daddy and Hattie seem happy and content.

Hattie is still a-crawling and a-climbing. No walking yet. But the girl can MOVE on all fours when she wants to!

She is learning language (sign and spoken). To date these are the words she can sign:
More
Eat
Fish
Love
Doggie

She can shake her head "yes" and can say "no!"

Words that she is saying:
Momma
Dada
No
Again
Clock
Bite
Chewy
Mailman
Bubbles
Mimi
Bob Bob
Mammie
Outside
On
Off
And I know there are more.... I'll have to add to this list as I remember!

Her birthday party was a great success! The theme "Little Snowflake" was adorable! One of Ellis's co-workers made the most beautiful cake of all time. Peggy and I made pretzel sticks. We had red M&Ms, white wedding cookies, and candy canes! The dessert table was perfect!

The food included a veggie tray, cheese tray, veggie pizza, chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, and sausage balls. Yummo!

Hattie wore an embroidered long sleeved onesie that had her name on it and a big "1." She also wore adorable bloomers with her initial and name on them and a red and blue tutu! She was too too cute!

About 25 people attended the party including Mamaw, Aunt Fay, Mimi, GrandBob, and Mammie flew down from Michigan just for the event! Lots of Mommy & Daddy's friends came, along with other family members.

Hattie had a wonderful day! She was happy and in a grand mood! She opened her gifts with gusto! Although she wasn't very crazy about her cake. She received a slide, a stuffed doggie, a bear Bible, some DVDs, some clothes, some new toys, and the list goes on! The actual gift list will be in her baby book.

Happy Birthday, sweet baby!

Hattie's Birthday Party!

2010-12-02T10:11:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that my sweet little snowflake is turning 1 in three little weeks! Every one says that time flies and to enjoy them while they are little. They are right! This fall I keep on thinking about what I was doing last year and how I never knew how my life was going to change. And now, I feel like my baby is gone and there is a little person here instead! Hattie is crawling, babbling, climbing, and just a wonder ball of fun! I looked at her last night while she was playing the floor with her nativity set and I said to Ellis, "We have a baby living in our house!" The truth is, she is nearly a toddler! My, how time flies!

Please join us in our fun in celebrating Hattie's birthday! Please RSVP by December 15th if you will be able to attend!

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Hot Tubs and Yoga Mats

2010-11-08T11:46:00.001-05:00

Thanks, Lyons, for providing some fun yesterday! Here is a little something to commemorate the fun!

Don't Bite My Finger!

2010-11-04T09:25:00.006-04:00

Over the last few months, a lot has been happening in the Hump Household. Hattie is crawling like crazy! Nothing is safe! Our house is now outfitted with baby gates and plugs for the electrical outlets. I think we have, to some extent, baby-proofed the house. Of course, there are still some areas that need some help (pillows are in front of the hearth and there is that one lamp cord that could easily be grabbed).

Something else Hattie has started is "talking." She has been saying Mama and Dada for a while. But she is working on some other initial sounds. She loves the digital clock on our nightstand. And she knows that a microwave has a clock on it, too. While at the Lyon's house a few weeks ago, she saw their microwave and said, "CLOCK!" But, the rest of the time, it is just "CCCCL." And Chewy the Kitty Cat is "KKKKK." Just this week, she was playing with a balloon and I said, "Don't make it pop!" And she started whispering, "Pop. Pop. Pop." I wracked my brain for other "P" words and came up with "Puffs." Which she loves to eat and now loves to whisper.

About two months ago, GrandBob was feeding Hattie a puff and as he put his finger near her mouth, he yanked her arm back real fast and said, "Ow! Don't bite my finger! Don't bite my finger!" Hattie thought this was hilarious! As a result, GrandBob often plays this little game with her while he feeds her. And sometimes the rest of us do, too.

Two weeks ago, Ellis started asking Hattie to give him a bite of her puffs (we always use these as the last part of her meal so she can have some time of self feeding). She would reach her hand out to give him a bite. Sometimes he would come away with a mushy puff, sometimes it was just a sticky little finger, and sometimes he would just pretend that he was eating something.

Last night, I was feeding my sweet little 10 1/2 month old baby. We had sweet potatoes and oatmeal, followed by peach yogurt. Then, I gave Hattie her favorite puffs. Ellis thinks they are one step away from being cheese puffs, they are that consistency, but not bright orange. Often, I give her the puffs so she can self feed and then I clean the kitchen or work on dinner. But last night, I just sat there and talked to her.

At one point, I said, "Give Mommy a bite!" She reached her little hand out, sticky fingers and puff, reaching towards me. As I was going in for the bite, she yanked her arms back, fast! I laughed and said, "Ow!" Hattie just squealed with delight! We played this little game for at least 10 minutes. She ate all of her puffs and was a happy little girl!

Letter to Hattie, age 7 months

2010-08-02T15:23:00.010-04:00

Dear Hattie,

Wow! You have been a busy girl! So much has happened since you were born a mere 7 months ago. First, you like to eat. A lot. Around the clock, even. But that is ok, so do I! Second, you are a cuddle bug. You like to be held during naps. And you like to cuddle with Mom and Dad when you sleep at night. Last, you like to get moving! Anytime someone (Mom, Dad, Mimi, GrandBob, Mammie or Aunt Cassie) will hold you up, you want to be standing! And if you can't stand, you want to scoot across the floor on your belly! You get the cutest, most intense little look on your face when you are trying to accomplish this movement. And you say, "Whooo!" It is serious business for a little girl!

I just wanted to list all the things you've done in your seven months:

*Traveled to a lot of places! More than some people, even!
- Nashville
- Denver
- Salt Lake City & Park City
- Florida
- Atlanta
- Alabama
*You flew on an airplane at 3 months
*You have three teeth now

*You say "Mamamama," "Dadada," and "Bababababa"
*You recognize and watch Chewy the Cat

*You know how to rock a pair of leg warmers
*You like to play at GrandBob and Mimi's house

*You LOVE to be out side: in your stroller, in your swing, or in your little pool
*You laugh when we play pick-a-boo. I will put a little burp cloth over your head and say,"Where's Hattie?" When I pull it off, I say, "There she is!!!" And you LOVE it!

*You laugh when Daddy holds you up high in the sky

*You like sweet potatoes and squash. The jury is still out on yogurt and peas
*You sip water through a straw! Well, a little bit, most of it ends up on your clothes

*You scoot around the house and play with your letters on the fridge

So far, Hattie, you have been the most wonderful, marvelous little girl. Thank you! And please keep it up! I don't want to have to give you spankings.

Love, Cuddles, and Kisses,
Mom

SQUIRSH

2010-03-01T15:23:00.002-05:00

Today's post is from Ellis. Sit back and enjoy. :)

Although I've been a father for 10 weeks now, it wasn't until this past Friday that I became a Parent; one of THOSE people; the 'others' that I've distantly observed scrambling around looking harried and broken.

As I was taking my turn changing a diaper, I reset myself and followed my this-is-what-you-do-to-change-a-baby routine:

1. Lie baby down.
2. Ask baby "are you pee pee, or are you poo poo?"
3. Expect a cry, a laugh, or a confused look; depending on unknown factors.
4. Unsnap exactly 70% of the approximately 75 snaps.
5. Push onesie and footed thingy up to armpits to minimize chance of spontaneous efflux contamination (SEC).
6. Place clean diaper under dirty diaper, in case of SEC after offending diaper removal.
7. Remove diaper sticky/velcroey thingies.
8. Fold down front of diaper, observe.
8a. - #1. Consider myself a winner at the game of Life.
8b. - #2. Call wife, for only she has the finesse to complete this task.
9. Grab feet, lift, clean, apply new diaper, resnap, repeat.
10. Wash hands.

Somewhere in the vicinity of 8b, things went awry. After observing it was only a pee pee diaper, I did the fist pump of victory!

My celebrations were premature as she filled her diaper with sweet liquid brown; an evil Play-Doh fun factory where my child once was. I was prepared, I had the extra diaper underneath! Totally prepared! I'm DADDY! I can handle this. I very carefully got a wipe from the fancy wipe heater and took care of business. BAM! I'm so pro. SO PRO. I set the brown diaper aside when round two hit. Ha! Sneaky girl! I have predicted this would happen, for I have a backup diaper in place! Again, I cleaned and BAM! Pro. Oh, man, so pro. I was made for thi...

SQUIRSH! Another!
It's running down her back.
It's on her clothes.
Her legs are in the air.
No backup!
12 wipes.

MESS!

(Doorbell)

HONEY!

Tam, like a champ, took over, as I ran to open the door for my Mother in Law; she brought us lunch.

Whew. That was a sitch. A real sitch. If I had no Tamara to bail me out, I may not have made it out alive.

Tamara appears from the bedroom with a clean, smiling baby. What a woman. Let's have lunch while the baby is happy, yes?

It was great! A tomato artichoke sandwich from Panera... delicious! The tomato was juicy and the artichoke was perfect. In a few short moments I had devoured it and I was licking bits of tomato and spices from my fingers.

Then... THAT smell. On my hands.

Number 10. I forgot number 10. You never forget number 10.

I still feel kind of sick.

And harried. And broken.

Two months later...

2010-02-23T16:50:00.002-05:00

So, waiting two months to announce the arrival of Hattie gives me a chance to post a lot of great pictures of her! At some point, I will have time to tell stories and share some of our adventures. Right now, she is in her swing and cooing...it is so cute!

Hattie's birth day. With Mimi & Daddy

Hattie in her going home dress, the same dress Mommy wore home from the hospital.

Hattie 1 month old.

Hattie in the bath tub.

More to come!!!!

Little Stories

2009-11-10T11:29:00.003-05:00

A lot is going on at our house these days. We have been working diligently on Hattie's room. We have had a couple of showers so the living room is full of some wonderful things! We went to an all day child birthing class last weekend. And I have been gathering stories and advice from friends and family. Add some crazy dreams, and I think I have enough goodies for a new post!

Stories from my mom:

*Her water broke when she was pregnant with Rob. When they went to the hospital and he arrived about 6 hours later. This makes me feel good, genetically I hope I deliver quickly!

*Her water did not break with me, but when she went to the hospital, the doctor broke it for her and I arrived 15 minutes later. WOW!

*One of our births, she was awake through the night with contractions. She paced, laid down, walked, took a shower and shaved her legs, then called her doctor at 6 am because she didn't want to bother him during the night. He told her to get her booty to the hospital! (Does this sound like me? I think so!)

*The day of the other birth, my dad was doing some work under the house. When she went into active labor, she had to figure out how to signal him so he could crawl out and take her to the hospital.

Stories from Ellis's mom:

*She flew cross country from Michigan to LAX with a 6 month old and Ellis's dad was 4 hours late picking her up. How scary! To be without a cell phone (Hello! 1975!), in an airport with a little baby, and thinking your ride ditched you! YIKES!

Dreams I have had:

*There have been several dreams involving animals. Usually I am saving people or children from HUGE snakes (like 15 feet long and 6 inches wide), mountain lions, alligators. I am sure this means something.

*I had a NIGHTMARE! I dreamed that I was 32 and pregnant and back in middle school! Seriously, this was a nightmare for me! I couldn't make any friends, no one talked to me. It was so sad!

*Last week (Week 33) I had my first dream that Hattie was actually here! In all of my previous dreams, I have still been pregnant. I dreamed that I was already home but had not met her yet. Finally I was able to hold her and it was wonderful!

*Last week I also had my first labor dream. I was in the hospital and pushing and working hard, trying to get Hattie here safe and sound!

(This is a "New born" onesie. The tag says for weights 5 - 8 lbs. Right now, according to BabyCenter.com, Hattie is 4.75 lbs. So technically, this might fit her!)

Letter to Hattie

2009-08-24T11:09:00.003-04:00

Dear Hattie,

This journey has been a lot of fun! I enjoy thinking about you growing inside my belly. It is the most amazing thing! I imagine you sleeping, kicking around, and listening to my voice and your daddy's voice. When you are kicking, I always say, "That is my little soccer player, just like her mommy!" Your daddy can't wait until he can feel your kicks and movements. He is so jealous that I am the only one who can feel you so far. But he talks to you every day! Sometimes he tells you secrets that I can't hear. When I ask him what he said, he replies, "It is just between us."

Every week I read about how you are growing. I get so excited over all the little milestones! This week, for instance, you are 11 inches long from head to rump. I always pull out my ruler to envision how big you are. And you are right at a pound! You are the size of a large mango this week! And 23 weeks along. Over half way!

I imagine many days ahead of us full of fun and activities. I want to go on walks and jogs with you, take you to the park. Your daddy is already talking about getting a trailer for his bike so you can go on bike rides with him! We will talk about letters and numbers together. And I can't wait to teach you about travel and maps and the world. There is so much out there for us to do together! And the beach! I can't wait to see your face the first time you feel sand between your toes! Will you like it? Or will it be too squishy for you?

My hopes and dreams for you are that you will have a happy childhood, full of love. But I want you to grow and be your own person, too. I want you to be confident and I want you to love yourself. I want you to love how you are not like other people. That being your own person is more important that being a cookie-cutter, stamp of someone else. I want you to find friends who love you for who you are. And I want you to be a good friend to others; compassionate, helpful, courteous, patient. Learning how to be a good friend is important, because sometimes it will be hard to talk to me and your dad. But having a good friend can make all the difference. I dream of you having goals and dreams of your own. I hope that you have the strength and perseverance to tackle your college major and do something that you are truly interested in, find a career path that fits you and you are passionate about.

I love you and I can't wait to meet you! I am looking forward to lots of laughs and happiness in our future!

Love,
Mom

Pology Cookies

2009-08-13T16:10:00.001-04:00

I am posting this little blog here and on our Book Club blog. The idea of Pology Cake or Cookies comes from the book that we read in July, Shelter Me. Check it out! It is a great read!

Last Friday, I had an ultrasound scheduled so we could find out the gender of our baby. Ellis and I were super excited. As a matter of fact, Ellis's sister planned her vacation around this ultrasound and Ellis's birthday rafting trip down the Hiwassee. She had been visiting from Northern Ohio for two weeks. It was getting a little long (and she was missing her hubby) so she had contemplated going home earlier in the week. But knowing that we had this ultrasound coming up, she decided to stay.

In addition, Ellis took the entire day off, as did I, for this special day. Since Ellis is working 5 10 hour days, he was losing 10 hours of over time to see our little one. When I made the appointment, I did not know that this day was a big in-service day for the school system, so it was a big deal that I was missing it, too.

We arrived at the doctor's office promptly at 9:20, our appt time. Cassie, Ellis's sister, had her car packed so she could leave after we found out about the baby. Since the flyer from the doctor's office said that we could only have 2 guests, I had a close friend meet us at the office to sit in the waiting room with our nephew, Matthew. So, I had a big entourage. Me, Ellis, Cassie, Mattie, and Andrea.

When I checked in, I was told that the ultrasound machine was down. The office decided on Thursday to not call me and tell me this because I had an appointment to see a doctor anyway.

Wow. I was pretty floored. If I had known on Thursday evening, I would have probably sent Ellis on to work, helped Cassie get an early start on the road to OH, and let Andrea sleep in. At that point, I became the "squeaky wheel." I talked to two of the ladies in the business office about any other possibilities for this ultrasound taking place today. At first, there seemed to be another option, but it quickly dissolved. Then, when we went to see the doctor, I explained that we had a lot of schedules that were changed and altered for these people to be there with me that day.

Ok, the truth is... I was pushy. But in a nice, Southern way.

Finally, another doctor's office gave our technician permission to use their machine. We quickly drove over to this other office and quietly snuck in to their ultrasound room. All of the drama was worth it when we found out that we were having a little girl!

I was so thankful that the doctor's office worked with us that I vowed to make them some cookies for my next visit.

We did get to see little Hattie Humphres on Friday, but the machine that we viewed her on was not as superior as the machine at my doctor's office. So, I was called on Monday morning to set up a follow-up ultrasound. The purpose of this big ultrasound was to measure the baby and determine how the baby was doing, growing, and to have an opportunity to video our remarkable little girl. So, my follow-up was scheduled for Wednesday.

On Tuesday, after work, I stopped at the grocery and picked up some fresh ingredients for cookies for the ultrasound technician and the ladies in the office. As I was baking, I thought, "Are these Pology Cookies?" I was thankful for all that the people in the office did for me. So I wanted to let them know that it was important to me. I don't think I was mean. I was just firm. But in some way, I think these were some Pology Cookies for rocking the boat (not my normal M.O.).

When I gave them to my ultrasound technician, she was very pleased. As a matter of fact, she said, "That just makes my day!"

And that was worth it. I like Pology Cookies. There is something special about baking them and thinking about who you are making them for. Sending positive thoughts through food. I like it!

How things change...

2009-08-06T09:21:00.007-04:00

Two weeks ago I wrote about my brown dress and how people were noticing that I was changing. I wore the same dress again yesterday and had a few more comments. One in particular was that I looked like I was carrying high, so it must be a boy.... We'll find that out tomorrow!

Here are the pics of me in that little brown dress:

Monday, July 27, 2009

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

I had Ellis take this picture in the living room to show off the entire baby bump. Look at that lil' fella! It is no wonder that none of my regular pants fit me! Thank goodness for forgiving cotton and stretchy waist bands! Before I know it, even the clothes that are comfortable now will be tight and bothering me. But, it is pretty fun along the way, too!

Who is this baby going to be?

2009-08-05T15:56:00.002-04:00

The last 5 months have been an adventure, for sure! Partially because I have never been pregnant before. Partially because being pregnant hasn't stopped Ellis and me from doing a lot of fun things. So far, the baby has...

Gone snow skiing..... and had some of the best powder of my life!

Run a half marathon.... ok, so it was a run/walk, but we still finished! Booya!

Cheered Daddy on for his first Muddy Buddy.... and loved every minute of it!

Visited Peggy and Bob in Gatlinburg .... and watched 4th of July fireworks!

Spent two weeks with Cousin Mattie... and had a blast!

Went rafting down the Hiwassee.... not recommended for the faint of heart!

Watched the Chattanooga Lookouts spank the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx.... and sat behind a guy who won a World Series for the Dodgers!

All in all, it has been a great 5 months. Who knows what these little adventures will lead our little baby to do when he or she is older!!

Baby Bump!

2009-07-23T09:26:00.002-04:00

Here I am, 19 weeks along! I am nearly half way! They say that most pregnancies are 40 weeks, but some people do deliver around 36 to 38. So, I am close to the halfway point! It is pretty wild! In some ways, the anticipation makes it go slow, but in other ways, I can't believe that I am considered to be 5 months pregnant (just barely). I don't totally understand the calculations. Some web sites say one thing while another site says something else.

But what I do know is....

When I was getting ready for work this morning, I decided to wear a pair of khaki capris that I haven't worn in two or three weeks. I do remember that the last time I wore them they were a little tight and uncomfortable. I have been wearing lots of cotton dresses and a couple of maternity pants and skirts. So this was the first time in a little while that I tried to put on some regular clothes. I couldn't even zip them up! WHA? I have only gained 2 pounds (according to my last weigh in on the Wii Fit). But my body must be moving those two pounds to one exact place! In all my years of Weight Watchers, I never gained two pounds and clothes didn't FIT. This is totally new to me. Well, all of it is pretty new to me.

On Tuesday, I was wearing a cute little brown dress with an empire waistline. I had more comments that single day about "showing" than I had received so far. At first I was convienced that it was the dress. Then Ellis reminded me.... "You are PREGNANT. You have a BABY inside you. It is not the dress. It is the BABY." Oh, yeah. I forgot!

So, what do you think? Am I showing?

15 1/2 Weeks!

2009-06-29T11:13:00.002-04:00

I had the best intentions to keep up with a weekly post, but I haven't been doing too well. I will try to do better! ;) Summer tends to be my busiest time of the year at work. I have done really well... not missed a day due to pregnancy symptoms. I have been late, staying home and trying to get over the nausea. My biggest troubles have been nausea in the morning, about 30 minutes after I eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then in the evenings, around dinner time. I also had a lot of fatigue in the first trimester. I would come home from work, lay on the couch, and not be able to move for hours. Poor Ellis! He would have to fend for himself for dinner because nothing sounded good to me and I didn't have the energy to cook anything for him.

Now that we are entering the second trimester, I am slowly noticing more energy. Still not enough to make myself go to the gym. But I cooked dinner three nights last week! Did laundry and put new sheets on the bed, too! I am still feeling the familiar upset stomach. And, sadly, I had my first throw-up episode on Saturday. It had been a while since I had eaten, nothing was cooking, so I have no idea what the trigger was. Just all of a sudden I started feeling it and had to run to the bathroom. Actually, at work last week I had a similar episode, but just ended up dry heaving over the toilet.

Now that I have shared some of the most LOVELY aspects of my pregnancy so far, here are a few better, lighter, nicer things:

*On June 12th, we had our first ultrasound. We saw our little one squirming and playing and having a good time. It was so sweet! We did get two pictures from the ultrasound that I have been carrying around in my purse. If you see me and I don't offer to show them to you, ask and I will gladly pull them out! I don't have the images on my computer, otherwise I would post them on the blog. We were also able to hear the heart beat. It was very strong and steady!

*On June 18th, I felt the smallest, tiniest flutter. I haven't felt it since, but I am convinced that it was our little one.

*On June 20th, I noticed the first change in my body that I knew for sure was due to the baby. My pants have been getting tighter, but I could not visually see a difference really. On the morning of the 20th, I was hopping in the shower and thought that I was looking a little "PG" when I glanced in the mirror. Then, I flexed my stomach muscles. Just to "hold it in," like I was taught to do as a little girl. Nothing happened. My belly stayed the same. THAT was big difference for me.

*Our next ultrasound appointment is scheduled for Friday, July 10th. Ellis's mom and step dad might be in town and able to go with us to the appointment. I will try to get pictures to post from that appointment!

9.5 Weeks Along!

2009-05-19T09:42:00.004-04:00

I am surprised that I am already 9 and a half weeks along! Well, actually, I am not EXACTLY sure how far along I am because I still haven't seen my doctor yet. This Thursday is the day! I have been checking out information on BabyCenter.com for pregnancy info and guidance. They have an on-line calculator that told us how far along I was. So we have been basing it on that.

The website has been really neat to follow. Every week it sends me an e-mail about how far along and what is going on with our baby. Here is what it says about week 9:

The embryo measures about 0.9 inches (2.3cm) to 1.2 inches (3cm) from crown to rump, or the size of a strawberry. The arms and legs are longer, and the fingers might be a little swollen where the touch pads are forming. The head is more erect and neck is more developed. Your baby now moves its body and limbs, and this movement can be visible during an ultrasound, but you won't be able to feel it yet.

Another site says that the baby is the size of a grape. Regardless, it is small but certainly growing!

This week I noticed that some of my pants that are normally loose are getting tighter. Almost uncomfortable. It is hard to think about a little grape or strawberry being big enough to make my pants get tight! When I told this to Ellis he said, "But your uterus is the size of a grapefruit!" Oh! Well, in that case, I can handle my pants getting tighter!

Park City Trip - April 2009

2009-05-15T12:23:00.006-04:00

We headed to Park City on April 1st this year. We had a ton of fun and spent some great time with Rob, Andrea, and the Renners. We also had 11 inches of GREAT SNOW! Here are a few pics from that trip.

Ellis grew a big o' beard to keep his face warm!

Rob took us on some sweet jumps!

Check out the blue skies! Our days of skiing were gorgeous!

This was on our first day out. Joel, Ellis, and I were skiing in some SWEET powder!

We had a blast! I think that was some of the best snow I have ever skied in! It was a great trip!

Waiting....

2009-05-14T14:15:00.003-04:00

So, when we found out that we were having a baby, December seemed so far away! When I called my doctor's office to schedule my first appointment, I was disappointed that they did not want to see me for another 4 weeks! It might as well have been waiting for December!

When I called, I asked for a Friday appointment. Ellis is off on Fridays and I knew that he would want to go with me. So, on April 20th I scheduled my first appointment for Friday, May 15th. Since that time, Ellis's work schedule has changed a bit. There are some deadlines coming up so he is having to work 5 days for the next 6 weeks or so. So last week, in an effort to make it easier for Ellis to attend the appointment, I called to see if I could get a Friday afternoon appointment instead. But, they didn't have any because they are closed on Friday afternoons. (I am sure the doctors work plenty hard during weekend deliveries so that having a Friday afternoon is a nice treat!)

After all the finagling, imagine my surprise when I received a call on Wednesday confirming my appointment on THURSDAY. I was a little distraut at first, but then I decided that I would rather hear my baby's heart beat earlier rather than later. Ellis checked with his boss and made the necessary adjustment so that he could come in late on Thursday rather than Friday due to the appointment change.

THEN, (the scheduling drama continues) this morning Ellis enjoyed sleeping in. Getting up at 5:40 every morning can be tough. But sleeping in until 9:00 and looking forward to our first appointment wasn't exactly what happened. At 8:35 I received a call that my doctor had called in sick. And that they were having to move around all of her appointments. The next time she could see me will be NEXT Thursday at 2:30. I tried to get squeezed in with another doctor today, but the only time open was at 3....which would essentially mean that Ellis might as well take the whole day off. Since he is working over time hours, that just didn't make sense. At least with our new appointment time, he can go in to work and leave early and be done for the day.

So here we are.... waiting some more. One more week until our next appointment. At least we only have seven more months to wait!

Magnetic Prestidigitation - by Ellis

2009-04-21T10:18:00.003-04:00

Hola!

Those of you that ever made their way to our house on 8th street will probably remember the scores of magnetic poetry that covered our old refrigerator. When we moved out (over a year now), we took down the old magnets and they are somewhere, in some box, in the new house... I think. The last renters had their own fridge, so we moved the old gal to the new garage where she sat in the corner. The fridge has been a great backup; holding extra drinks, ketchup packets, nearly empty pickle jars and the like. We bought some shrimp at some point and the freezer really started to smell... Crap, could I digress ANY further from the actual story?

ANYWAYS.

Tamara and I were cleaning the beast last weekend (Easter weekend), and there was a lone word we missed. It had, for just over a year, clung unassuming to the bottom of the door to the freezer. Tamara found it, handed it to me, and continued cleaning. I almost just tossed it, but instead, hoping to reunite the lil guy with its family, I put it in my wallet and continued scraping dried egg from the underside of a tempered sea of hazy glass. Seriously, I think I found 3 tiny chunks of dried egg on every square inch of that thing. I swear an Egg McMuffin had pooped in there or something.

So here I am today, putting a post-it into my wallet, when my little lost friend is staring at me... clinging to the very spot I laid him, waiting for a morsel of life-changing news to be delivered.

God, I'm happy.

Imagonnabeapaw - A Message from Ellis

2009-04-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

Good GREAT Monday morning!

Some of you know, some of you don't... But now you all will!

This weekend afforded me a great surprise...

A wee baby infiltrates the Humphres house! Like a trojan horse!

If the online calculators are indeed correct (and who wouldn't trust the internet?), I shall be indoctrinated into fatherhood, kicking, screaming and all sorts of nasty things on or around December 19!

If calculations are correct, baby's first heartbeat will be Sunday(ish)!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

*Artists representation not to scale

How it came about....

2009-04-20T14:11:00.005-04:00

Back in January, I was talking to my good friends Melanie and Andrea about the Nashville Country Music Half Marathon. I haven't run in a few years but I really wanted to start running again. This is a big race and a big distance. But both Melanie and Andrea assured me that if I followed the running schedule that I could take on this race. I made the decision soon after reading the book The Alchemist and I felt like running such a big race was part of my "Personal Legend."

The process has been wonderful! Melanie and I meet up to run every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We have been following the Hal Higdon's Beginner Training Schedule. I have totally enjoyed it and I finish every run feeling very proud of myself! And it doesn't hurt that I have lost about 12 pounds in the process, too! Also, Melanie and I have run about 130 miles since the beginning of February. Wow! I can't believe it!

Our race is this coming Saturday, April 25th. We had our longest run, to date, last Saturday, April 18th. As you can imagine, running together affords us a chance to talk about a lot of stuff. Everything from in-laws (mine are AWESOME!) to bodily functions issues (please don't ask!) to kids. Melanie and her husband, Joel, have two wonderful children. And I have thoroughly enjoyed the stories of Daphne's princess obsession and Micah's experiences on the pee wee football team. Melanie and Joel are great parents and being friends with them has helped me realize that parenthood is full of rewards and fun, not just disciple and laundry.

On our Saturday run, Melanie and I were a little quiet. It was strange. I think we had acutally run out of things to talk about. A few miles in, we started talking about kids. Melanie always says, "I can't wait to meet your kids!" After running for a while, I admitted that I couldn't remember EXACTLY when my last period was. I vividly remember that in January, it started the day after my birthday. In February it started the day after Valentines. For some reason, I think I had a light period right around March 14th. Obviously, I wasn't super late or anything.

Melanie told me that she found out she was pregnant at Chick-Fil-A. She said that she and her mom were driving around and got a PG test and stopped there for lunch. She then told me that Joel was a waiter at O'Charley's and was working that night. She went there to have dinner in his section and took him a little rattle as a gift to signal to him that he was going to be a father. I thought that was such a cute idea! It got me to thinking that if and when I am PG, I will have to do something funny or cute so Ellis could tell everyone how he found out.

When I got home from our 10 mile run, I was hot and stinky and sweaty. Ellis was playing Call of Duty on his Xbox so I decided to just jump in the shower and get cleaned up while he was playing his game. Before I got in the shower, I decided to dig out the pregnancy test my mom gave to me about a year ago. She brought it to me from the lab, just a little something to have on hand as needed.

I really didn't expect anything. I really didn't. But something happened. Two stripes immediately appeared. Clearly. Quickly. I am pregnant.

I spent about 15 minutes in the shower quietly thinking and holding on to my little secret. No one else in the world knew at that moment but me.

At the end of my shower, Ellis came in and started shaving off his huge beard. It had gotten pretty wild. And I was happy to see it transform from a large, furry, red rug to a small little patch of bristle. I had left the PG test on the counter and he hadn't noticed yet.

I quickly snuck into his closet and found an old undershirt. Then I went to the kitchen with some markers and scribbled out a message. I couldn't stop smiling. I threw a little skirt on and headed to the bathroom.

Ellis looked up from his handy work (his beard was nearly gone) and I watched a variety of feeling fleet across his face. His first words were, "Is this a joke?" Followed quickly by, "Are you kidding me?!" The faster, "Are you joking?"

All I could do is laugh. And shake my head, and squeeze out a "It's true!"

In 15 days....

2009-03-11T14:41:00.014-04:00

In 15 days Ellis and I will have been married for 5 years! It surprises me every time I think about it. Partially because I feel like we have been together for a life time. I don't clearly remember life before Ellis. There are flashes of roommates, college, travel. But so much of my life now revolves around him. 5 years also surprises me because I think that kind of sounds like a long time. In some ways, I feel like we are living the same lives we had the first year of marriage. In other ways, I realize that a lot has changed. We have had a lot of great experiences in the last 5 years.

Here are a few of our adventures and experiences:

Travel
1. Honeymoon in Park City

2. Yellowstone National Park in August 2004
3. Yellowstone National Park in September 2005
4. Florida March 2005
5. Park City 2006 - 2007 - three visits by Tamara

6. Florida June 2008
7. Park City December 2008

8. We travel to Michigan every Christmas and try to visit one other time each year.

Life Changes
1. Married March 27, 2004

2. Tamara wrecked her car in July 2004
3. Chewy was adopted October 2004
4. Ellis left CPC in November 2006
5. Ellis worked at Trails End in Park City Nov 2006 - April 2007
6. Ellis has been working at Mohawk since May 2007
7. Tamara tragically lost her gallbladder in August 2007
8. February 2008, moved to Robinhood Drive and started renting the 8th Street house
9. Bought Robinhood in June 2008

Fun Memories
* Riverbends with Ellis
* Ellis taking pictures in downtown Chattanooga
* Camping trips and hikes
* Taking small airplane rides over the Tennessee Valley
* Pirates for Halloweens
* Dirty feet after cleaning off the fences at 8th Street
* Funyacking on the Ocoee
* Ellis talking in his sleep
* Ellis dream sequences
* Ellis driving heavy machinery
* "Rollin' Down the Highway" - Ellis
* Air Show in Chattanooga
* IKEA visits and Ellis begging to leave
* Junkman's Daughter
* Relaxing in our new house
* Flavor of Love, Rock of Love, and other TV shows we secretly love
* Ellis fixing a flat tire
* Ellis fixing my car

* Ellis and his tool belt (RAWR!)
* Scarlet O'Haras, Buttery Nipples, Gin and Ginger Ale, and 7 &7s
* Laughing

* Laughing a lot

* Laughing until I accidentally peed my pants.... oops.
* Excited Ellis running through the house.
* Spending time with the Harem
* Spending time with the 8th Street Family Band
* Spending time with AKB
* Meeting new friends and hanging w/ the Lyons
* Moving Mari, Mo, AKB, and ourselves
* Yard Sales

There is no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with. I never knew that being married would be this wonderful, because I am married to my best friend. He knows me better than I know myself. He is amazing!

More Carpet Pics

2009-03-02T11:24:00.008-05:00

Putting in new carpet is HARD WORK! Seriously! We had to move all of our furniture out of the rooms we were carpeted. In addition, that meant having to pack up all of our trinkets, knickknacks, TVs, cables and cords, movies, and stuff. It was tough! Ellis and I also decided that we would remove the old carpet our selves to save some money. So here are some more pictures of that process.

Just a reminder.... we started out with BLUE carpet. Isn't it lovely?!?

We moved all of the furniture out of our bedroom two nights before the new carpet came in. And I just couldn't miss two days of the Today Show, now could I? Ellis was so nice and put together this fancy set up for me! Big TV at the foot of the bed, nice! Chewy seemed interested in this new development.

My toes on the blue carpet in the living room. There was a little wear and tear over the course of 24 years!

Our blue carpet in the dining room. And no, that is not our permanent dining room table. It has been great for wrapping Christmas gifts and stuff. But if will NOT be there forever.... just until I find the perfect table! Do you like our new paint?

Our blue carpet in the living room! Check out my new living room lamp! Sweet! (Oh, and we were watching Showtime's Dexter. I love that show!)

After we moved all of the furniture and started pulling up the carpet, we had to be a little silly. Ellis took some pictures of me on the floor.

(Notice the outlets that are in our floor. We'll talk more about those later!)

Chewy had to see what was going on. Very curious!

I even got a little kiss on the cheek from her!

I think I was getting ready to start a dance routine.... maybe a cartwheel.... I don't know. Once we moved all of the furniture, that area near the piano was FULL of couches and cushions! You couldn't even go through that area.

Before the carpet could be installed, Ellis needed to move the floor outlet. The current location did not work with how we had our furniture arranged. The outlet appeared to be in the middle of our floor. We wanted it to be under the couch so it had to be moved about 3 feet towards the front door.

To do this, Ellis donned his overalls, work boots, and head lamp then crawled under our house. He was a dirty mess when it was over!

He had to start by finding the new spot for the outlet. Chewy was acting as his supervisor.

She offers encouragement as needed during these big projects. She must have been whispering a little hint in his ear.

Once Ellis was under the house, we had to remove the old outlet.

I stayed in the house and helped Ellis from above. Sometimes passing his little drill through the hole. I must have trimmed Chewy's nails while I was helping Ellis. What can I say, I multi-task like a pro!

Chewy tried to help, too!

Ellis's new headlamp came in VERY handy during this project!

Isn't he cute!!!!???

It was so funny to see him working through a hole in the floor.

Chewy was really trying to figure out what was going on.

In the end, Ellis did a great job with the outlet. The new position is perfect and we haven't had a single problem with it. Go Ellis!!

First Tennessee

2009-03-02T11:10:00.001-05:00

Running Again

2009-02-26T09:10:00.005-05:00

Six years ago my good friends Marishell and Andrea inspired me to start running. I began a simple little program to train for a 5K. For those Americans reading this, that is a 3.1 mile race. My program was really easy. Basically I ran about 4 or 5 times a week for 20 minutes. The first week I ran 1 minute and then would walk 1 minute. The second week I ran 2 minutes and walked 1 minute. Eventually I was running 10 minutes with a 1 minute break, then I was running for 20 minutes nonstop!

In the summer of 2003 I lost about 30 pounds and ran in 4 or so races. My first race was a 1 mile fun run while Mari and Andrea ran a 10K. I came in 5th place and brought home a little mug saying "5th Place." I still use it! I ran a 2 mile bridge run and was the second place female but there were no awards for that one. Boo. I still have all of my race bibs. It was a great summer.

Then, as luck would have it, I got sick and had mono. Being under the weather, planning a wedding, and in the middle of winter, I stopped running. And I gained weight. I was a chubby bunny for sure!

Now, 6 years later, my workouts have consisted of lots of time on the elliptical machine in 2006 and 2007. In 2008 I participated in a 4 week Boot Camp three or four times. And I went to spin class like a fiend! Now, 2009 dawned with me ready to find a personal legend.

I decided that my personal legend was going to be running in the Country Music Half Marathon. I love remembering the excitement of race day. The challenges. The crowds of people. And the fun times with my gals after we finished running. I have been missing it for six years! My great friend Melanie and I have been following a simple 12 week program for beginners. I am amazed that in four weeks we have run 37.5 miles! We have a 3.5 mile run this afternoon and that will put us over 40 miles this month!

The Half Marathon is a big deal. 13.1 miles. Since I wasn't running before we started the training, the idea of running the whole thing is daunting. So my goal for this race is not a time issue. I am not telling myself that I want to run it in 3 and a half hours or anything like that. My goal is to simply finish. If I have to walk here and there, I am totally ok with that. I just want to do it!

Our run yesterday was a nice, easy run. We only had to run 2 miles. And we rocked it out! We ran 1.5 without stopping. We walked a short distance (it was hilly!) then finished strong! I am so proud of us!

Another motivation for me has been my Nike+ that Ellis bought me for my birthday in January. It is a little microchip that you attach to your running shoe. Then there is a little plug that I attach to my Nano. It sends data back and forth and tracks our distance, time, speed, and calories burned. Then, I load the info to the Nikeplus.com website. It has been great to see all of our runs and watch our progress. Check out my "Mini Me" at the bottom of this blog to see my progress!

Carpet Installation!

2009-02-13T09:26:00.008-05:00

We finally had the new carpet installed! YAY! It looks so different. I love it! It is all subdued, warm, and cozy! Here are some pics from the actual installation.

Here is the living room. Check out all the tools it takes to install carpet! Including this really hot iron thingy. It smelled just like a glue gun!

It was neat watching the sunlight come in on the carpet. The browns looks different at different times of the day, depending on the sun light.

I love how you can see the pattern in this shot. Ellis describes it as being like the weave in linen. I just think it is cool. I have never seen carpet like this before! And I love being unique!

This is the carpet in our bedroom. It is hard to see it in this pic. It is multicolored, light khaki mixed with browns. And it is a frieze. It is the new shag. I love it! Our room looks fantastic!

Carpet is COMING!

2009-02-03T10:23:00.008-05:00

First, I have to totally apologize for these pics. There are a few from Ellis's phone camera and a few from mine. And my phone camera is terrible! Stupid Nextel/Sprint phone!

This is what our living room looked like when we moved in. Actually, we had already replaced the dining room light fixture. It is pretty, isn't it! As soon as I took this picture, I started tearing the wallpaper off!

This is the same angle last night. Since it was night time and we had the light on, it is really bright! But you can tell that the wall paper is gone. And you can see that the blue carpet is gone!

And here is the other side of the room. This is the living room area. I was a little surprised by the dust beneath the carpet and pad. Ellis and I decided that the pad was disintegrating a little bit. I guess that is what happens after 24 years!

This morning, I took a couple more pictures. These are from my crappy phone. We moved the love seat to in front of the TV so we could watch some stuff that we DVR'ed before bed. Notice how we just cut around the TV and left a carpet rug! We aren't going to move it until we have to!

In the morning light, you can see the chandelier. Isn't it pretty? One day I will find a dining table to go under it. The wall with the four windows was painted "Macadamia." The wall with the one wall is just wall paper backing. The area above that is "Kaffe." I will have Ellis take some pictures with his camera soon so you can see the colors better.

Tonight we are going to work on removing the carpet in our bedroom. We moved several pieces of furniture last night. Tonight we will just have to move the night stands and take down our bed. It looks so funny being so empty!

As usual, Chewy has been actively involved with the renovation process. She instantly missed the carpet. She had nothing to dig her claws in as she raced across the huge, empty room. I think Chewy was actually abducted by her evil twin. She scratched me, meowed a lot, and climbed all over the furniture all night. I think I snapped a picture of her body snatcher. You can tell by the glowing, lifeless eyes. This is a picture of PURE EVIL! BEWARE!

More New House Ideas and Inspirations

2009-01-28T16:39:00.008-05:00

We bought my parents' house in June of 2008. It was the house that they built when I was in 2nd grade. Over the course of 23 years there were some updates done to the home, but nothing very major. Basically new wall paper here and there, and enclosing the laundry room.

So, when Ellis and I moved in, we were instantly overwhelmed with the many changes and updates that we wanted to do. So far we painted the master bedroom, closet, laundry room, and downstairs bathroom. We have replaced eight light fixtures. We have a new refrigerator and dryer. And our new carpet is ready for installation! Hopefully I will have pictures soon!

Once we have the new carpet, our bedroom will be totally finished! And the living room will almost be finished. I still have a little trim to paint. And the question of the one wall in the dining area that needs something done to it. Originally, I wanted to strip the wall paper and just paint that one wall an accent color. Now that I partially stripped it and found how hard it will be to complete, I got a quote from a local painter and it seemed a little high for the one wall. So Ellis suggested just wall papering. At first I was hesitant, but after browsing some on-line styles, I am convinced. And, my mom is a Wall Paper Expert, so the cost would really be a lot less than removing the wall paper and painting over it.

Here are a few of the designs that I liked. Currently, we have a deep brown paint on 2 walls and a neutral beige on the other two walls. This would be used on one accent wall. Also, our furniture is a rich brown with an aqua tapestry on the accent pillows.

I like the simple stripe.

I like the contemporary circles in this design.

The is one is strange and cool..... Might be a little too trendy.

I started to get really excited when I realized that once the carpet is installed and the wall paper situation is fixed, the living room will be finished (well, except for the fact that I haven't found a dining room table yet.....but that is ok.... the time will come for that purchase!).

My thoughts next turned to our kitchen. Similarly, there are a couple of bigger things that could be done in the kitchen to make it really ours. First would be deciding what to do with the walls. There is wallpaper all over the place now, but maybe I can come up with a creative remedy that will look good and be cost efficient, too. Second, the counter tops are country blue. Yes. COUNTRY. BLUE.

Since I am economically minded at all times, I have already picked out a Formica laminate at Lowes that I think will totally make the kitchen look updated quickly and easily. I will have to touch up the cabinets here and there.... but they are in good condition for the most part. Here is a SIMILAR counter top to what I have in mind:

While I was browsing different styles and ideas, I ran across this picture. And I am totally thinking about using this picture and the colors as the inspiration for our kitchen palette. I love the crisp, clean lines of the black, whites, and small red accents.

It is not much, but I do get excited! It has been fun to plan and dream about the things that I want to do around our house. I will try to take some "Before" pics soon. That way, once things are moving along, I will have some "After" pics to show, too!

Bruno goes on a Trip

2009-01-21T11:34:00.004-05:00

I heard a story about my nephew, Bruno. He is a brown Portuguese Water Dog. He is cute and sweet and active! He lives in Park City with his dad, Rob. Rob likes to take Bruno with him to work sometimes. And while at work, Bruno often roams down the hall to visit another dog who goes to work.

One day recently, Rob noticed that Bruno had been gone for a long time. When he walked down the hall to see if Bruno was playing with his friend, Rob found that Bruno was not there. The lady in that office said that she had not seen him. I can only imagine the panic that Rob must have felt!

He went out of his office, which is at the base of Park City Ski Resort, and started to whistle and call for Bruno. But there was no Bruno. Then Rob started talking to the people at Park City Ski Resort to see if anyone had seen cute, friendly Bruno running around or playing. Finally, he spoke to Ski Patrol and they had a number for two ladies who reported that they found a dog matching Bruno's description.

When Rob called the number, the ladies were skiing but immediately planned a meeting place with Rob. When Rob met up with the ladies, he found out the story of Bruno's adventure!

Apparently, Bruno somehow left the office building (which is also a hotel). Then he proceeded to get on a bus. Yes, a BUS! He road around town for a while. And ended up sitting beside these two ladies. When they got off the bus, the driver told them that dogs weren't allowed on the buses. At this point, they said, "He is not our dog!" But I guess somehow they decided to take responsibility for him and try to find the owner.

Bruno does have a tag with Rob's name and number on it, but it must have fallen off at some point. Thankfully the ladies tried to find Bruno's owner! And thankfully Bruno didn't ride the bus so far away that he would have been out of the scope of Rob's search!

***This story was relayed to me by my mom. When I get the actually details from Rob, I will make changes so the story is accurate.

Cambridge Memories, Food, and Thoughts

2009-01-16T10:42:00.008-05:00

Lots of memories have been flooding my mind lately. And they are memories that are 10 years old. It is kinda strange and crazy that I can have something significant and life changing that happened 10 years ago.... and I still think about it almost every day. And thankfully, I recorded many, many things in this little journal.

Isn't it cute!?!? I love the plane. And the little strap that keeps it closed and secure. I can't remember where I bought it. Maybe Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. I chose this journal because I was starting an adventure that was beyond my imagination.

Here is a little background on me.... I love to read. All sorts of stuff. It ends up that most of the stuff I like to read is historical fiction. I also LOVE historical romance. I love anything set in England or Scotland. When I was in middle school, I started a lot of my own short stories and they were all based around things like English orphans, a governess, or a British benefactor. Some of my favorite books were Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. And of course, there was some smut that had authors who were not notable, but the characters often traveled "The Continent."

In addition to my love of reading, my family loved to travel. As a result, by the time I was 22, I had been to 41 states, Mexico, Canada, The Bahamas, and Jamaica. (As a side note, the only states I still need to go to are Hawaii, Oregon, North Dakota, and Minnesota.)

With all of that said, the opportunity to spend a semester in Europe was really a dream come true for me. Thankfully, our professor required us to keep a journal. We all grumbled about it (and were super upset when he told us that we had to turn them in and he was going to read them *GASP*). But there are no words to describe how thankful I am that I can now go back and read my inner thoughts, stories about my friends, and facts and tidbits about where we went during those three months.

My first entry was on January 18, 1999. My goal this spring is to read every entry exactly 10 years later. I think it will be a great walk down memory lane. Here is an entry in February '99. I loved to pick flowers here and there and press them. I thought this looked really cute.

I loved all the food I ate in England. A lot of fish and chips, pasties, sandwiches, jacket potatoes. I loved "Toad in a Hole" and "Yorkshire Pudding" (which isn't pudding, it is a type of yeasty roll). And the fact that pretty much every meal ended in "pudding." Not Jello pudding, but dessert! Apple and Blackberry Crumble was my all time favorite! YUM! While in Cambridge, we stayed at The Hamilton Hotel. They served us breakfast every day and many evening meals were served there. I always had Raisin Bran and cheese toast. And I learned to drink cream in my hot tea while there. I started out drinking cream in my tea because it was so dang hot! But then, I decided that it was like liquid amber. And I loved it!

At some point, despite so much good food, (no, I never had haggis) I did start craving some of the great staples of a Southerner's diet. So at the back of my journal, I started a list. I would often take suggestions so these items are just MY ideas. For instance, I have NEVER craved KC Masterpiece chips or pretzels. I am not that kind of girl.

And, I never really ate at Outback and still don't eat there very often. So I don't think that was my suggestion. Hot Ham and Cream Cheese Bagel? Not me, either. Things that were most definitely my cravings? Mac N Cheese, Sweet Tea (which I gave up 5 years ago), Cracker Barrel, Gardner's Market, MAYFIELD MILK!, cookie dough, white shoepeg corn, Perkits. There is also a second page (which I didn't take a picture of). On that page is the item that I couldn't get enough of: BANANA POPSICLES! Oh man! Those were yummy!

At the back of my journal, I had this random statement written. I think I know who wrote it, but I am protecting the innocent here, people. But it is so funny that I just have to show you. I think that my *friend* wrote this when were were traveling in Scotland. Our home base was Cambridge but every week or two we would make a side trip. Once we went to Wells. And then Wales. York and Oxford were also side trips. We had about 5 days in The Lakes District. Then on up to Edinburgh. I am guessing that *someone* wrote this during that long trip.

I hear ya, girl! Traveling can be rough on your insides! And I love that it is written forever in my journal. And now, it will be documented forever on these World Wide Webs. Maybe one day, when I am old(er) and gray(er) I won't remember the friend who wrote this in my journal. But today I still remember. And I love that I was able to share this trip with you! I would love to tip my glass and say Cheers! to all the fun and all the memories.

As a matter of fact, to all 21 of you who traveled together. Thanks for all the fun/strange times. I learned a lot about friendships, life, and the world. So next time you are at a Firkin Brewery, raise a glass for me! I promise that the next time I drink a whole bottle of wine (maybe this weekend, in fact) I will think of you!

Pictures!!

2009-01-15T10:25:00.008-05:00

So, I am bad about pictures. Ellis bought me a camera 2 years ago for my birthday and I have never really been a fan of how the pictures turn out. The flash makes everyone look super white. If I don't use the flash, then they are blurry. So, I really don't take pictures. On the other hand, Ellis has this amazing camera with some great lenses. So any picture I take is pitiful compared to his. I ran across these pictures that Ellis took of our nephew when he came to visit for Thanksgiving. He turned 2 at the beginning of November, just a little fellow!

Bathtime baby!! (I love how the water looks in the picture)

Baby Matthew gives Uncle Buddy kisses!! He is so sweet!

We ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Baby Matthew loved playing with the little game at the table.

Such a smart little fella!

Then, he decided that he wanted to eat a lemon slice. We must have had a bowl of them on the table. Thank goodness Ellis was able to capture these expressions. They are just great!

That looks REALLY tart! He would take a bite, make the face, then laugh (probably because we were laughing). Then he would take another bite. He must have liked it!

We had a great visit. It was really good to see Ellis's Dad, Cassie, and Baby Matthew!

Deep Thoughts

2009-01-14T12:37:00.003-05:00

Our Book Club (check out the blog: http://bookclub37312.blogspot.com/) met last night to discuss The Alchemist. I was typing an e-mail to a couple friends about my thoughts on the book. As I was typing, I thought it would be a good post for my blog....so here you go!

I felt like I had to hurry through it, trying to finish before Book Club. Actually, I was only half way through the epilogue before we met. I feel like there was so much more to absorb, if I had given myself more time.

The search for the "Personal Legend" really hit home for me. We talked a lot about Andrea and how brave she was to go to PC for the winter. I have always said that my job is a means to and end. Money the means, life is the end. So I think that being unsatisfied for 40 hours a week but being mostly satisfied when I leave is usually ok....maybe worth it. One of the reasons I pushed AKB to go out west was because she could. Maybe I made her go out and try to find MY personal legend.

Regardless, this inspired a lot of personal dissatisfaction for me. Sometimes a "means to an end" really isn't worth it. Not that I am unhappy. Not that I really have a burning desire to do something else. I feel like the baker and the crystal shop owner. I had life, a dream, goals. But somewhere along the way they were crushed. Someone told me (or maybe I decided) that I couldn't do those things. So now I sit at a desk, unfulfilled, day in and day out. I think I make good money for Cleveland. I have lots of holidays off. But "working for the weekend?" Is that all there is?

I truly felt joy and happiness for Santiago when he made choice after choice to keep going after his Personal Legend. I was so proud. When we discussed this last night, I expressed how I feel like fate has brought me to where I am. Not choice. And maybe that is part of the resulting feelings. I was surprised to hear that 2 of the four of us felt like they were living their Personal Legends. It is kinda mind blowing to me. Maybe I have always thought my dreams are unattainable....maybe that is part of why I am where I am.

Those are just a few of my thoughts.... maybe I need to actively try to discover what my personal legend might be. Maybe we need to move. I don't think a baby is anywhere near the answer for me.....but maybe it is. I don't know.

Holidays!

2008-11-24T10:36:00.004-05:00

It has been a while since my last post! Sheesh! I guess I have been pretty busy lately.

In preparation for the holiday season, here are my responses to some Holiday Questions:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I think there is something magical about ripping that paper off your gift that gift bags just don't have.
2. Real tree or Artificial? When we used to celebrate this holiday, we would go cut down a real tree. Our new house did come with a tree so we will see how this goes.
3. When do you put up the tree? If we put one up, usually after Thanksgiving. I am actually hoping to get some decorations going this week, if I can.
4. When do you take the tree down? New Years Day is the tradition in my family.
5. Do you like eggnog? I love it! But since I have been dieting for 4 Christmases in a row, sneaking a sip is all I get to do. I did buy some soy egg nog this year. If you drink it at least 10 months after the real thing, it doesn't seem too bad.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Blue BMX bike that matched my brother's. We would do synchronized bike tricks in the yard and pretend that we were going to be in the circus or the Olympics.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Rob and my dad. My mom is always happy with gold earrings if I can't come up with any other ideas.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have a tiny little glass one that I put on an end table.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I almost always write out Christmas cards then I NEVER mail them. I have a stack for the last 3 years.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Fugly purple shirt from Wal-Mart that had a beaded necklace that was built in. Andrea and I tried to return it but they said that it was so old that they couldn't take it back. So, we went to the clothes section and threw it under a rack of clothes. I peed in my pants, then we left. Well, it wasn't that much pee. I was just laughing REALLY hard.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? This is a hard one for me. Since I haven't been in the Christmas spirit for a few years. They all seem really hokey. But I think that It's a Wonderful Life probably is the only one that I truely like.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I start thinking about it in October. First purchases are usually in November. There have been years where I will have 85% of my gifts purchased and wrapped by the first week of December.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Mint M & Ms.
16. Lights on the tree? White lights, even though Ellis thinks they are too boring.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Tony Bennet singing "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We have traveled for the last 5 Christmases. I think staying home might help me with my Christmas issues.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Most of them
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I usually can't reach it.... so I just toss a bow up there.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Whenever everyone can get together. Usually about 5 days early for my family and Christmas day with Ellis's family.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? All the parties and food. Can we just celebrate for once and not focus on the food???
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I have no response to this.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Homemade Pumpkin Pie (is this a Christmas food?)
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? The same thing Melanie Lyon wants: Eat everything I want and lose 15 lbs. And whirled peas.

Wakie Wakie!

2008-09-26T09:12:00.004-04:00

So, Ellis makes me laugh. A lot. All the time. But I still think that the funniest things he says are when he is still asleep. The problem is that if I laugh at the time, he wakes up a little bit and his feelings get hurt. So this morning, I worked really hard to keep it together. And as I am typing this, I am having my first chuckle over it. He is just so cute I can't stand it!

Since it is Friday, Ellis is off from work. So we both get to sleep in.... I get to sleep until about 6:45 and he gets to sleep until I turn on the Today show. Well, my alarm had gone off and I had pressed the snooze button. Ellis turned over and cuddled with me. Then he said, "It is like cartoons." Since I love talking to him when he is asleep just to see what he says back to me, I replied, "Huh?"

"Like cartoons. Bugs Bunny."

"Bugs Bunny?" I asked.

"With a cigar. Stripes like a cigar."

"Are you saying that I have marks from the sheets" (You know what I am talking about, right?)

"Guns."

"Guns?" Huh? What the?

"Guns, guns, guns."

In my mind I was imagining Looney Toons characters. The ones who shoot the guns and a little flag pops out.

Since I couldn't make any sense out of what he was saying, I didn't ask any more questions. Later today I will bring it up and see if he remembers anything about what he was dreaming.

Seriously, that man makes me laugh!!!

***UPDATE!***

I did tell Ellis about "Guns Guns Guns!" and he just laughed. He didn't remember dreaming anything and vaguely remembered saying something to me. He thought it was funny, too!

Wedding Fun!

2008-09-23T09:29:00.008-04:00

Ellis is on his way to becoming a professional photographer! He took pics for a wedding this weekend. These are straight out of the camera shots. Since he is already a professional graphic designer, he will end up touching these up a little to make them pop even more. Regardless, they look wonderful as is! Check them out!

Book Club!

2008-09-09T09:40:00.003-04:00

After talking about it for a year and a half, we are finally starting our book club! Scoot on over to our new Book Club blog! http://bookclub37312.blogspot.com/

We are having our first meeting on Oct 7. At that time, I hope that we come up with a name for our club and make some simple decisions for what we want to do with it. It is going to be fun, I know that for sure! We will probably not be too serious, maybe some serious books, but I hope we mostly have fun! We are encouraging our out-of-town friends to join in, too. So others can keep up with what we are reading, too.

Our first book is Cranberry Queen by Kathleen DeMarco. Feel free to join in!

And check out my new gadget...be a Follwer, too!

Nice!

2008-09-05T11:11:00.003-04:00

Our dear friend Jeremy recently came to town for a visit. He and his cousin stayed at our house for a few days. Jeremy lives in Park City, where Ellis spent the winter a year and a half ago. AKB helped to name our "Cleveland-Utah Family" who live in Park City. It was always such a special treat to spend time with Jeremy and his wife and kids.

On this trip, we met Jeremy's cousin, Stephen. He lives in ATL and is an entrepreneur. His wife runs a cupcake store in downtown Atlanta. It is called The Little Cake Bakery. He actually had some cupcakes with him so I was able to have a sample. The Red Velvet was to die for! Yum! I decided right then and there that my next trip to the ATL will HAVE to include a stop!

They have some staple flavors every day: Chocolate on Chocolate, Vanilla on Chocolate, and 14 other combinations of Chocolate and Vanilla. They have Red Velvet every day, too. But they also have some special flavors that rotate through every day: Strawberry, Pinapple Upside Down Cake, Hummingbird, Elvis, Peanut Butter, Lemon Lavendar. They all sound so good!

Check out their website and plan a trip!

http://littlecakebakery.com/index_new.html

Smooth Move!

2008-09-03T09:33:00.003-04:00

I am such a klutz. No really. It is amazing that I have never had a broken bone. I trip, stumble, and sometimes even fall. There was one time I was walking up the steps into my building at work and I stepped on the hem of my long skirt. Face planted right there in front of the double glass doors. That is me. Just call me Grace.

On Saturday Ellis and I were working on our new garage. The problem with buying your parents' old house is that when your husband tells your dad, "Don't worry about cleaning out the garage. There are a lot of treasures in there that I want to sort through." Your dad literally leaves everything for you to sort through. Well, not literally. But a lot of stuff. A lot of cool things like an air filter for your 1977 Jeep that you sold in 1994, your plaque from the time you served in the Post Office Union, the painters hat you got for free when you originally painted the house in 1984.

In addition to all that "cool" stuff, we have been storing about 5 pieces of furniture in the garage. A tall narrow shelf, a buffet, bar stools, a washer, and this other cabinet thing that we used as a book shelf but also doubles as a TV stand thing. So, Ellis and I were carrying it into the house. I was wearing flip flops and going backwards most of the time. It is pretty amazing that I didn't drop the thing on myself.

We brought the book shelf into the house, maneuvered through the kitchen, then decided to take a quick break at the bottom of the stairs. As Ellis was tipping his end up, I was bending over, lowering my end. Then my back cracked. Loud and painfully. Oops. Yes, my back went out! {Insert cheesy old people jokes here.}

I kept hoping that just resting would make a difference. So I spent Sunday on the couch watching stupid movies that were on TV. Too bad I can't have that day back. On Monday (Labor Day), I read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. On Tuesday, it was back to work. And the pain was still there. Definitely not better. Maybe worse. So I decided it was time to go see a doctor. The chiropractor worked on me for about 15 minutes. Then when she was finished, I couldn't get off the table. That is pretty bad. Who knew that those back muscles were the ones that helped you crawl or get up from a laying-on-your-stomach position?

Anyway, so that is my complaining blog. I am still in pain so it is almost all I can think about.

So, how are you? Did you have a good Labor Day weekend? I hope yours was fun and pain free!

Thoughts on Rejection

2008-09-02T11:20:00.002-04:00

I read a blog posted by a fellow DZT gal about Rejection. And it brought to mind one of my favorite stories. So, after I replied on Jenn's page, I thought I would post here, too.

Here are my thoughts about rejection:

I had a moment of inspiration from a teacher that I worked with about 8 years ago. We were PE teachers together and were planning Field Day. One of the classroom teachers approached her and said, "Can we just give out participation ribbons to everyone? It is just not fair that some kids can never get a first place ribbon."

After thinking about it for several days, our head PE teacher had a brilliant response. "Not every child makes a 100 on a spelling test. Would it be right to go ahead and give them all a perfect score when they can't actually spell? Some children can't excel in the classroom. But they can in the gym. Those children need that recognition, too."

Hopefully, we can all find a place in our life where we can be the bright shining star. Sometimes it takes trial and error. But I hope we can all find it.

Check out www.delightfullycliche.com to see what inspired me today.

Oops!

2008-08-28T09:14:00.008-04:00

Why do all of the fun things always happen on the same night?

A few months ago, my dear, dear friend Marishell told me that she was having a Purse Party. I was super excited! So right then and there I vowed that I would do whatever I could to be there for the party! When she set a date, I immediately cleared my calender to drive down, spend the evening in ATL, then Ellis and I would spend the following day at IKEA or some other grand Atlanta mecca.

THEN I found out that Here Come The Mummies (the greatest Funk music from beyond the grave) were going to be in Chatty the same night! We have seen them like 5 times....but this time they are supposed to have some new music and I am sure it would be awesome, as usual.

THEN I found out that there is a DZT alumni ceremony for the new tap tonight in Cleveland. I haven't been around much for DZT, but it still sounds like a good, nice thing. (Check out the Lovely Ladies in my sidebar. Ah, the fun and the memories.)

So, on behalf of the Purse Party, "Schmooney and Burke Abides!"

On behalf of Here Come The Mummies, "Tip Toe Down the the Basement and Funk Shui!"

On behalf of DZT, "Shun Blue!"

Shhhhhhhh!

Please don't tell the DZT girls that I am hanging with some old Sigma gals tonight. I don't think that would go over so well.

My Second Love

2008-08-22T08:59:00.002-04:00

Ellis will always be my first love. But I realized my second love this morning.

Imagine, two tall, shaggy guys who smell like cigarette smoke. They are wearing their work shirts, shorts, and those yellow-ish boots. They have tools and a ladder. And a van. And I think one of them has a mullet.

And they told Ellis that they don't have to cut down any trees to install our new Dish Network! This means that we will have our beloved Dish DVR again! No more annoying Charter that can't skip ahead in 30 second intervals. We will have 200 + hours of recording time IN TWO ROOMS!

We had Dish at our old house. And actually, in the spring we had them come out to the new house twice and both times they said there was no way they could put it in without interference because of the trees. And one of the problems was that one of the trees was on the edge of the side drive of the rental property next door. Since my parents moved to their new house and took Charter with them, we decided to give it one more try. My dad even took the day off so he could help cut down some trees if that was needed. But, when the two installers arrived, Ellis told them, "I will buy your dinner tonight if can install this without me having to cut down any trees." And TA-DA! I will have Dish at our house when I get home from work tonight!

I am ecstatic!

I told Ellis, "This is the best day of my life.... well, of the year... well, of the month? Oh, I had a lot of fun last Friday night.... This is the best moment of the morning!"

I love Dish! But not as much as I love Ellis!

First Day of School

2008-08-11T13:33:00.002-04:00

It is that time again. Wal-mart aisles are clogged with parents with school lists and screaming children. Morning traffic is about to pick back up again, mamas are driving their kiddies to school. And our parking lot is going to be packed. Our office is adjacent to two schools and we share the parking lot with one of the schools. So, the teachers' cars take up most of the space that was empty all summer long. And this morning, since it was registration day, was full of parents. Every spot was taken. The excitement was in the air. Moms rushing around, meeting teachers, putting their best foot forward. And looking forward to having someone else take care of the kids during the day.

I am sure that there is a lot of joy in motherhood. That is what everyone says, anyway. But, after sending them to school for an entire 10 months, then having them mope around the house for 9 weeks of summer....it has to be a relief to get them back into a routine. Especially a routine that someone else is responsible for.

Ellis and I talk about having kids. He is totally ready for them. I, on the other hand, am not. The change to our lifestyle, the extra laundry, the baby food, shopping for clothes for someone else besides me! I am selfish! I know it! It scares the hell out of me thinking about losing that.

I sometimes think that the best thing for me would be to accidentally get preggers. That way I have no choice. "Oops! Oh well, I guess we are going to have a baby." We are actually aligning our lives to be ready for a child. We just bought a bigger house in a good school district. We have a four door car in addition to our little 2 door Mercedes. The back yard is fenced in. My credit card is nearly paid off (well, "nearly" may not be the right word..."significant progress" or "JUST 9 more months!").

All that to say, one day, I, too, might be one of those moms. Crowding the aisles, buying supplies, new shoes, checking off the list, setting up the car pool. Every now and then I think, "Is this it? Is this all there is?" Then, I think that if I really needed a change, to mix my life up a little bit, all I need to do is not be careful. Oops.

This is not my story....

2008-07-28T08:55:00.004-04:00

But I am going to tell it anyway.

Last week, I was at home talking to Ellis and I said a word....with this fun little inflection. "Delicious!" I said. And it was so familiar. I knew that there was some story about that word but I couldn't remember what it was.

I thought about it a lot. Finally realizing that there was some story from the three months I spent in England. But I still couldn't remember.

Finally, in the shower a few days later (if it is important, I will always find the time to remember it while I am in the shower!), I remembered the story. And now, my dear friends, I am going to tell it to you.

There was a little girl named Lindy. She was cute with wavy hair. One day Lindy was helping her dad wash the car. (She was just a little girl, maybe 3 or so.) I am sure she was playing the suds and with the water hose and having a grand time. At some point, her dad was on the other side of the car, washing away. And then he heard this little raspy voice say, "Delicious!"

He ran around the car and found Lindy with a bottle of Armour All, squirting it into her mouth. Big eyes, big smile. He promptly grabbed her up and rinsed her mouth out with the water hose.

The entire winter/spring of 1999, we all said "Delicious!" in that funny little way that only Lindy could really do. After eating fish and chips, after eating Yorkshire pudding, after eating toad in a hole, after pretty much every meal. Except Haggis. Not that I ever tried haggis, but if I did, I would NOT be saying "delicious!"

Birthday Adventure

2008-07-24T10:23:00.004-04:00

I really wish I had charged my camera for our adventure yesterday. But then, how was I supposed to know it would turn in to an adventure?

Here is the background: It was Ellis's birthday. July 23. I have been thinking for MONTHS about this awesome gift for him. And recent events solidified the idea in my mind. Ellis is totally into electronics and technology. But what most people may not know is that he is also in to fixing things, tools, and making and designing things.

(Check out his cameo on the Make Magazine Website: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/05/hammock_made_with_sketchup.html)

So, when he realized that he would have his own garage and utility room in the new house, we was pretty excited. One day in early July I was unpacking some kitchen stuff and he was helping me. After a little while, he asked, "Can I go to my room?" He promptly went to the utility room and was in there for HOURS! Looking though the stuff my dad was leaving. I guess he was envisioning the wonder of his own space to fill with his tools and gadgets. Thinking of the things he would build. And wondering what the hell my dad was thinking by keeping 4 drills that didn't work, the box to a 1974 purchase of some obsolete part to his old jeep, and the Four Wheelin Magazines from 1982 - 1987.

Anyway, I decided that Ellis needed a tool box. Actually, a few years ago I bought him a Craftsman Rally Box. I don't exactly know what that is, but it was a four drawer, black tool box. And he has out grown it. He has LOTS of stuff! And it is all Craftsman. From drill bits to wrenches to tiny screw drivers to who knows what else. Then man loves Craftsman. So, I decided that he needed a tool CHEST. And I knew he would love it!

I found the chest I wanted. It was econmical but had 9 drawers! A great starter chest! But, they didn't have one in our town. As a matter of fact, the closest one was 30 miles away. I decided that since Ellis has about an hour commute home every day that if I left at 5, I could be back around the time he would get home from work. In my mind I envisioned him pulling into the driveway and opening the garage door. Then this wonderful red chest would be sitting in the garage with a huge bow on it! And there would be spotlights and music and dancers....well, maybe not dancers. It was going to be great!

So, on Wednesday morning, I e-mailed AKB to see if she wanted to ride with me to pick it up. She is always up for a reason to leave work on time (bless her! She has been working late a lot this summer!). So she said yes! I filled up my gas tank and was in her work parking lot 10 minutes before 5. It was all going so smoothly! Then, our friend Mel met us, we loaded up in the Acura and hit the road! As we were pulling out, AKB said something like, "Did you want me to drive? I have more room in my Liberty?" And Mel said, "I can take my van, too. It has lots of room!" And I was so totally on my game, I said, "Nah! We can fit it in here! There is a lot of room!"

I had called Sears earlier in the day and they said that my order was ready. I actually paid for it on line, so all we had to do was pull up in front of the door, tell them we were there, get our stuff, and head back to town. Easy enough, right?

We arrive at Sears and these two young guys (high school, maybe freshmen in college) wheel out two large boxes. I am still optimistic. We put the smaller one in the trunk. AKB made fun of me since I didn't clean out my trunk before we started the trip. There was a box of painting supplies in there. And a stereo that Ellis acquired when he installed someone's new sound system....the stereo is circa 1981. Knobs and everything! But, we did manage to get the smaller box in!

Then, it was time for the larger box. I figured, from the looks of it, it would fit in the back seat beside Mel. I did not account for the small car doors that only opened a little bit. There was no way. We tried rolling down the window, but it still wouldn't fit. We tried the front seat. We scooted the seat back, laid it down, but it still wouldn't fit. After 15 minutes of this, Mel called her husband. But some stroke of fate, he was parked at a movie theater about 15 miles away....thinking it was the one we were supposed to meet at for Ellis's birthday movie. Joel and Mel were sure that it would fit in the trunk of their Jetta. The seats laid down and everything! There was room!

Just kidding.

No room.

Well, there WAS room, but the problem is that the opening to the trunk wasn't big enough. But, as luck would have it, his back doors opened a SMIDGGEN wider than mine did. So, thank the Craftsman Gods, it finally fit!

Due to traffic, stop in Ooltewah, and ordering the iPhone from AT&T, we had to push back the movie time to 8 instead of 7...but all in all, it did come together.

Well, not the music, spotlights, and dancers part.

After the movie, Ellis asked, "When do I get my gift?" And in an anticlimatic way, we walked over to Joel's car. He opened the back door and saw the lovely red of the base of the tool chest lodged into the vehicle. I had to explain that the rest of it was in his garage (I snuck it out of the trunk before the movie) and he would have to see it all together to get the full effect. He said that he liked it. I will find out how much he likes it by how many hours he spends in his utility room this weekend, filling it up, organizing it, and getting it the way he wants it. So, we'll see.

Wallpaper and Paint

2008-07-18T08:58:00.006-04:00

Remember that sweet photo of our blue carpet from the other day (just scroll down if you need a reminder)? See that lovely wall of paper and ladder? Well, this weekend I am going to tackle the wallpaper removal from that wall. Thankfully, there is just one wall that is papered and it doesn't go all the way to the top of the ceiling (removing wallpaper from 20 foot ceilings is NOT something I am looking forward to).

I tackled our bathroom in January and it took a total of 20 hours to take down the wallpaper in that tiny room. It was disastrous! After that, it took another 8 hours to texture the wall and patch all the lovely holes that I managed to create. By the time I painted, I was ready for it to be over with. I am hoping and praying that this wall won't be so bad. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the bathroom was that bad because of 24 years of steam and humidity from the shower. Anyway, the final product turned out pretty good. Still needs a little work, but I am fairly happy with it.

So, Ellis and I have been full of discussions about the colors we want to use in our living room. Every day it has been a different discussion: Portabello brown (the same color as our bedroom)! Then "That is too much brown!" How about GREEN! No, I don't like the green. How about red?! No, I am over red. How about beige? This house is going to be all brown and boring! Add some color to your life, girl!

I have been hesitant to bring the color blue into the conversation. Mostly because of the current blue carpet and blue countertops. It kinda seems counter productive to rip out all sorts of blue just to add it back again. But, after some discussion, we did settle on a lovely blue and brown idea. Now, we have a long way to go before painting. Mostly this weekend I am going to work on the wallpaper removal. If all goes well, in a week or so we can start the painting processes then get our new carpet installed! It is all so very exciting! What do you think about the blue and brown? I think it is going to rock!

Speaking of Carpet....

2008-07-16T10:35:00.006-04:00

There are some pretty great perks when your husband works as a sweet-ass designer for a huge carpet corporation. One is thatI get to take a day off from work and go have lunch with him at the Oakwood and have the best Mac N Cheese in the world (and I know, I am a conissour and try it everywhere)! Also, I get to look at the secret showroom that has the newest and coolest floor stuff to pick out for our new house.

Since our new house was originally built by my parents in the mid 80s, it shouldn't be a surprise that they were cutting edge and super hip with the style. So please enjoy the plush country blue carpet while we choose our new stuff! Actually, the carpet is still in good shape in some places. I mean, not neccessarily right in front of where the couch used to be. But, when you run across the room barefoot, the space UNDER where the couch used to be is super nice! And the area around where the formal dining room table was is pretty schweet. But, it is still blue. COUNTRY blue. But, fortunately for me, the kitchen countertops match perfectly! (We will get into that at a later date!)

So, my trip to the showroom yesterday helped solidify our choice for our new carpet. So, here is what we have in mind: Macabi in Bronze Door for the living room and in Khaki for the bedroom. And, by the way, it is no longer called SHAG, so get that out of your vocabulary! It is FRIEZE now, people! I think it will look good. And it will continue with my boring brown theme, at least according to Ellis. What do you think? Will shaggy brown work in our house? Do you think it is cool or crappy?

I also took a gander at some hardwood. And I fell in love with this floor! I think it is great! I think that the dark color will look great with our crown molding and windows. I think that changing the hardwood is pretty far down the list, but it is never to early to plan! Plus, I love to think about it, plan, and dream a little.

Our House.....

2008-07-09T11:35:00.003-04:00

Is a very very fine house. With two cats in the yard.

Well, one cat at least. Chewy has survived some tough times lately. Her new cousin, Bruno, came for a visit for 2 weeks in June. He is a 35 lb Portuguese Water Dog. He is really super sweet. And honestly, I don't think that he even saw Chewy very much. His hair was shaggy and in his face a lot. And Chewy hid out. A lot. Actually, Ellis and I were in Florida when Rob and Bruno arrived, so she was just terrified and hid in the spare room, living in the boxes we had packed. My mom was worried when they had not seen her for about 3 days. Then, one night, my dad felt her walking on his leg while he was asleep. He looked up at her, she stared him in the eye. Then she jumped and ran away. She did it again the next night, too. When we finally came back from our trip, Ellis found her hiding deep in the boxes in the storage room. She reluctantly came out. She lost several lbs during her time in exile.

Throughout the rest of Bruno's visit, Chewy hid in our bedroom. By the last day of Bruno's stay, she was bold enough to sneak out and watch him from afar. I personally think he was still clueless and did not even know she was around.

Yesterday, my mom and dad hired movers to finish up getting their stuff out of the house. My mom reported to me that the movers kept the front door open most of the day and she was worried that Chewy would run out of the house. Backing up a bit, my mom wants Chewy to be her best friend. She plays with her, follows her around a bit, and gets scratched and bit in return. For some strange reason, Chewy just does not like my mom. Well, with the movers in and out so much, my mom decided to get Chewy to our bedroom so she wouldn't be a runner. She was hesitant to just pick Chewy up because she has some killer claws. So, she opted to pick her up by her scruff. From there, Chewy let out the most blood curdling cat scream. My mom said that she had never heard anything like it. Somehow, she got Chewy to our bedroom and secured her there for the rest of the move. After the scream, one of the movers asked my mom, "Is that cat going to attack us?" You never know my friend, you never know.

Last night, it was just me and Ellis and Chewy in our big, new house. The furniture is mostly gone. We sold our living room furniture and are in the process of buying some new. So, we only have a recliner and an end table in the living room. So there is a LOT of carpet. And Chewy loved it. All night we kept throwing her mouse toys and she would just tear across that carpet like mad. Then turn on a dime. I have never seen her so wound up!

I think she is going to like it.

Less furniture.

More carpet.

Our OTHER Nephew

2008-06-26T08:55:00.005-04:00

Rob has a baby. He is 7 months old and is pretty hairy. And ADORABLE! Rob and Bruno came for a visit and we finally met our new nephew! (Our other nephew, Matthew, is coming for a visit in another 3 weeks or so.) Bruno is awesome! He is a Portuguese Water Dog, or PWD for short. They are a breed that traditionally do water work and they have a different type of hair so they don't shed like regular dogs. Rob has taken Bruno to the river on kayak and funyak trips and Bruno loves it!

Rob dropped Bruno off at the groomers yesterday and told us that she said he would be ready for pick up at 5. Ellis and I happened to be in the vicinity around 4:30 and decided to stop and see if he was ready. The groomer said that she would be finished by 5:30 or so, so we didn't get to take him home. But we did get to take a pic! He was so funny! His hair was brushed really straight around his face and then at that point, it was really short everywhere else! Our little mop dog was gone!

He is just an adorable and sweet pup!

The Box of Awesome!

2008-06-24T10:47:00.006-04:00

Awww! I love the beach!

We just spent the week with the Burns/Fox family at Ocean East in Ormond Beach, FL. Most of the week AKB and I could be found by the pool worshiping the sun. I finished a Sophie Kinsella book and started my book club book, Captains and Kings. It has been a slow start, I kinda wish I had picked up a lighter read instead.

Anyway, one day while at the beach, Ellis decided that he needed to define our little spot. So he drew a rectangle around our chairs and labeled it "The Box of AWESOME." Yes, that is us. Later on, Jordan, AKB's niece, decided that she needed to change the name. It ended up being "The Box of Dorks" when it was all over. Sometimes being this awesome means that there has to be a little dork in there some where.

Later, Ellis decided that he needed to see how far he could dig into the sand. Basically, he stood in one spot and let the sand erode beneath him. He also shifted back and forth with little steps to help bury himself a little deeper.

We had a great time! Lots of scrimps, sand, and sun! Ellis and I are now thinking of ideas so we can always live a life of vacation. Playing the lotto and writing books. Those are our ideas so far. Maybe we can make it work out!

Chocolate Always Loves You Back

2008-02-27T10:06:00.002-05:00

I am trying to be good. Really I am. AKB convinced me in January that I should go with her to Boot Camp on M/W/Fs. Then, Ellis convinced me to start back at Weight Watchers in February. And here we are, two weeks in to it and I have been rockin it out! I have been getting up at 4:27 five days a week for about six and a half weeks now. And it has been good! I am loving the early morning stuff. And WW has been good to me, too! I had my second weigh in yesterday and, in two weeks, I have lost 6.8 lbs. Not too shabby.

But, for some reason, today I just don't have it in me. I woke up slightly late this morning for Boot Camp. I was still on time, but I think that I must have been in the middle of some major REM sleep. Then, the workout was primarily arms and abs. No cardio. No running up stairs and doing the dreaded "bow ties." Maybe my body needed the cardio today or something. Maybe my sleep cycle was just off. I don't know.

Oh, and it was COLD today! Maybe it was just 27. But it was windy. And it just chilled me to the bone. I cuddled with Ellis for about 10 minutes before getting in the shower and I still couldn't get totally warm. Then, in the shower, I cranked up the hot water and stood in there for a while. And I was still chilly! I thought about maybe running all the way across town for a coffee at Starbucks, but I just wasn't up to driving all the way just for that delicious liquid amber.

Anyway, so sitting at my desk, I had this brilliant thought, "Hmmm, I need a piece of chocolate. Rich, dark, creamy chocolate will warm me up." I have about half a bag of Dove Dark Chocolates in my desk left over from Valentines Day. I passed them out to my co-workers along with a goofy little V-Day card. So, I pulled out one piece. Bit it in half and ate and enjoyed that morsel. Then I glanced down...somehow the other half had already disappeared. Did I eat it?

Then, another chocolate. Just a bite, half maybe....What? I ate the whole thing already? Well, one more.

I don't even know how long this went on. Finally, I read the message on the beautiful silver wrapper from my most recent Dove Dark Chocolate. This message kinda summed up the morning and made my stomach not so interested anymore. "Chocolate Always Loves You Back."

There is some sick, food-atic fattie working for Dove that has the same issues as me, apparently. I think I need to write a letter to them about how bad a quote that really is.

Anyway, things are looking up. I just had lunch with some Cleveland gals and my brother just gave me a new recipe. I will be sure to try it one day: One chocolate covered cherry and one huge dollop peanut butter. Voila.

All Crimes in Cleveland have been solved!

2008-01-31T11:39:00.000-05:00

I had two headline options and am not sure which one is better. After you read the story, let me know what you think!

Option 1:
Apparently the Cleveland Police have solved all crime in Cleveland now....

Option 2:
Spinning Class can save you $60!

Story:

So, this morning, AKB and I were planning on going to a spinning class at the Y. The class starts a 5:15 am. We are "used" to getting up for our Mon/Wed/Fri 5 am class. I actually got up about 5 minutes earlier than I have been getting up. As I was walking out the door, I saw TWO police cars in front of our house. Sailor Pop's car was parked near our mailbox and my car was parked in the driveway. One police car was stopped by the mailbox with his lights shining on Sailor Pop's car. The other police car was parked diagonally across the street with his lights on the Mercedes. (He was basically blocked both lanes of the street.)

I stood at the door for a second, a little confused. I started walking towards the police car near the mailbox. I waved my little gloved hand at the officer (I wanted to make sure he saw me and knew that I wasn't a threat - I didn't want to be tased!) He acknowledged me, so I walked over to his car. I asked something like, "Is there a problem?" I was totally thinking that there was a break-in or something like that.

Police Officer: "Is this your car?"

Me: "Well, it is my grandfather's car. I know the tags have expired, but he passed away and our car is in the shop. So we have been driving his."

PO: "You shouldn't be parked on the sidewalk. If you move it, I won't give you a ticket."

Me: "I thought that was our property."

PO: "There is a city ordinance that you can't park on the sidewalk."

Me: "Ok, I will move it..... for the purpose of full disclosure (yes, I did say this at 5 am....fast on my feet!) I have lived here for seven years and have never had a problem with parking on the sidewalk."

I really don't remember what his reply was.....maybe something about the ordinance again. So, I ran inside and searched for Ellis's keys, then went ahead and drove the wagon to the Y.

So, if I had slept in, I would have totally had a ticket this morning.

AND, if there had bit a little more crime in Cleveland, they officers would have had something else to do instead of giving out a ticket for something I have been doing for SEVEN YEARS!

Booya!

2008-01-28T18:00:00.000-05:00

Andrea and I went to a class at the YMCA in Cleveland this morning at 5 am. (Can you believe it? I did drag Ellis to a morning workout at 5 last week, too!) We finished this crazy class full of running and obstacle courses. As we were leaving the parking lot, there were like 5 or 6 cars pulling in - people there to start their workouts (by this time it was 6 and I was delirious from it being so early and from lack of oxygen to my brain.....or something). And I hollered out: "We're finished....We're leaving.... BOOYA!" The funny thing is that Andrea knew the "Booya" was coming, so she joined in, too. We had a big laugh! And, of course, kept repeating it. :)

How Ellis Made Me Laugh So Hard I Cried - #438

2007-08-11T12:05:00.000-04:00

As most of you know, Ellis will occasionally talk in his sleep. Whenever he does, I do my best to try to remember what he says so I can laugh about it all day. Last night's impartment of wisdom is no different. I hope you can enjoy the random-ness of this as much as I did:

In the middle of the night, Ellis said, "I'm Todd."

I rolled over and said, "You're Todd?"

He said, "I'm Todd."

I wanted to make sure I was hearing him right....because, he is obviously not Todd, so I said, "You're Todd?"

"I'm Todd............and I'm delicious."

A few seconds later, he was snoring again.

Then, as I am laying in bed laughing and repeating this over and over to myself, so I won't forget it, he rolls over towards me and says:

"You're Billy Jean. And you're delicious. Delicious BJ." Then he started snoring again.

How I Broke My Gallbladder

2007-08-07T18:00:00.000-04:00

Starting out, I did have my gallbladder taken out Sunday. Fortunately, I got sent home Monday morning. So I am recovering now. But the story of the last six days is pretty interesting.

It all started on Wed morning at 4:45 am. I woke up with this terrible pain in my upper abdomen. Pretty much right at my lower rib cage. It was a terrible pain. I actually had it once before about a year ago or so. Anyway, I couldn't lay down, stand up, it was terrible. I called my mom, who was working 3rd shift at the lab (already at the hospital) and she said if I felt that bad that I should come on down to the ER. I woke Ellis up and we loaded up into the car and headed to the hospital. I was poked and prodded, they did an ultra-sound, CT Scan, and all sorts of other stuff. The lady who did my ultra sound told me I had a "gold mine" in my gallbladder. But, my Dr said "Everyone has gall stones. We think this is a stomach ulcer." So, by noon or so, I was no longer in pain and I was sent home with a prescription for stomach acid medicine and hydrocodone.

I spent the rest of Wed resting, but spent the night throwing up the little food I had eaten. Apparently my body does NOT like hydrocodone. On Thursday, I was afraid to eat much of anything. I think I ended up having dry cereal, 1/2 of a chicken wrap, and more dry cereal. That was all I had all day. Oh, and I stayed home from work. I just did not feel right.

Finally, on Friday, I was a little stir crazy and knew I didn't feel 100%, but I wanted to go to work to get out of the house. Plus, I had a lot of work to do. School was starting soon and I have a lot of stuff to do to prepare for that. So I went in to work and felt light headed all morning. I was in an out of the copy room, working on time sheets, just getting a lot done. But, I was feeling worse and worse. I decided to call it a day around 11:45. When I went home, my mom called and asked how I was doing. She sent my dad over to drop off some soup for me. Since I had so little to eat, I ate a WHOLE CAN of chicken noodle for lunch. It was so good! Then, pretty much immediately after that, the pain I had from Wed morning came back. It lasted for about 5 hours. The best way to describe it is if someone had hit me but the pain of that punch lasted the entire time. And it was like a band all the way around me, even to my back. Near the end of this (we finally realized that I was passing a gall stone later) my mom came over and the first thing she noticed was that my eyes were yellow and I looked like a pumpkin. Apparently, somewhere along the way, I got jaundiced. She ended up taking my blood and a urine sample and we found that besides the pain, my bilirubin was about 300 times higher than it was when my blood had been taken on Wed.

We went to the emergency room again on Friday. We got there around 6:30 or so. When I saw the Dr, he couldn't believe I was sent home on Wed and immediately told me that he was keeping me for the night. My 5 hours of pain ended around the time I was checking in to the ER, but because my blood work was so out of whack, they really wanted to keep me to try to figure out what was going on. So, I was stuck in a hospital gown and room all day Sat and I felt pretty normal. Since they didn't know when they were going to take me to surgery, I had a lovely diet of jello, Popsicles, chicken broth, and water. Strangely, I have redeveloped a love for Popsicles after all of this.

My Dr set up my surgery for Sunday and it went smoothly. I am glad all of that is over. He removed my gall bladder laproscopically. So I just have four little scars on my stomach. I don't feel normal yet, still some pain from that. So, I am planning on staying home this week to try to feel better. I feel bad taking a week off, but my mother-in-law pointed out that used to, people would have to take 6 weeks off from work. So, putting it in that perspective, I shouldn't feel bad. Besides, I do need to time to heal.

Anyway, I think this is most of the story. In a few weeks, I should be as good as new!

2007-07-15T15:03:00.000-04:00

Cassie and Peggy came for a visit and we were able to spend the weekend with Matthew Gracen. He is just so cute and sweet and growing up! He is truly a Miracle Baby!

He is learning sign language and a few words. What a cutie! Watch out world!

How We Met

2007-06-23T18:00:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, there was girl. She was a hard worker, doing her little job, living in her little home, doing her little thing. She liked to have fun, but also had all sorts of rules and expectations to follow.

Once upon a time, there was a boy. He was fun loving, creative, and liked to make other people laugh. He worked with people, sharing his creativity. But, there was something missing.

One day, the girl went to the boy's job, with a simple job for him to work on. His eyes sparkled, his gait was happy, he was tall. And cute. She left thinking about him, glad that she wore her cute red and white skirt (maybe he had noticed).

A few days later, she had an e-mail from him. It was business related....but it was sent to her personal address. Soon, the boy was chatting and e-mailing with the girl. Lots of fun, lots of banter, a little flirting. The girl couldn't keep the smile off of her face. The boy was intrigued.

After talking for several weeks, the girl was bold and sassy and invited the boy to her house to share her favorite cocktail: Scarlett O'Hara. In an EXTRA bold move, the girl decided that having dinner ready for the boy would show off her womanly skills.

The boy was mesmerized by the girl. She had a lovely home, a strange little cat, and could make a mean drink! There was a little awkwarness, but talking and joking quickly made the evening more comfortable.

By the end of the evening, the girl was giggley and the boy's interest was piqued.

Our Nephew

2007-01-05T17:14:00.000-05:00

10/31/06

I just had word from Ellis that his sister, Cassie, is in the hospital in Toledo. She has been diagnosed with either Toximia or Pre-eclampsia. We don't know much about the situation, except that both she and the baby need prayers. The baby's original due date is at the end of January. There is a possibility that they might have to induse labor or have a c-section in order to keep Cassie safe. Again, we don't know much about what is going on. But please keep Cassie and her baby boy in your prayers.

10/31/06

Hello friends and family, I just got word that my sister, Cassie, is having problems with her pregnancy. She has developed a condition called Preeclampsia (link) that is particularly dangerous for her and the baby. She isn't due until late January, and the only cure is to deliver the baby who is just over a pound right now. I will know more soon and will update you all as soon as I know more, and we all appreciate your prayers and any good feeling mojo you can point her way.

Thanks all,
Ellis

11/01/06

I spoke with Cassie last night and she is in good spirits. She has been given several drugs to boost the health of the baby when they decide to deliver. She is now just sitting in the hospital, waiting for things to change.

I just had a case of beer and a carton of Marlboro lights sent to her room to help calm her nerves. Boy, does that girl love to drink and smoke.

She's normally a Camel smoker, but the baby prefers the Marlboro; he kicks whenever she tries to switch.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

ELL!S

01/05/07

Good news! Baby Matthew is out of the isolation crib! He is in a regular crib now! He is also weighing in at 3 lbs, 14 ozes! He is a growing boy! Ellis's dad sent some new pictures and he is so sweet, I almost cry!

Wakie Wakie Ellis!

2005-09-12T14:12:00.000-04:00

Ok, here is the newest story on the funny things Ellis says when I wake him up.

This morning, I was about half-way finished with my morning regime when I went in to the bedroom to wake Ellis. I laid down for a second and kissed his cheek. He stirred a little bit. I said "I love you." And usally, if he is really tired, he will just mouth the words. Well today he mumbled them and something else (his eyes were still closed), so I said, "What?"

"I love you, because that is what it says I am supposed to do."

So I replyed, "What says you are supped to?"

Then, he pulls his hand out from under the covers (his eyes still closed) and points up to the ceiling.

I don't know what he was dreaming about somthing, if there was a huge book in the sky, maybe God, I dunno. But I had to hold my laughter in! It was so funny!