Time for an update!

So, it's been a while since I've updated the blog, and I am getting tired of looking at the trees (which, in case you were wondering, don't look any better). I've noticed that blogging can be like talking on the phone when you haven't talked to somebody in a long time; you avoid it because you have so much to catch up on, and honestly it's a little overwhelming. Our lives have been great for the past few weeks, so here's the Cliff's notes version of a few things I can remember...

I swapped out my summer/spring and fall/winter clothes just in time for the cold front:) I organized my shoes, and when I pulled them all out of the closet, I had to take a picture. My feet haven't grown since middle school, so I have been collecting shoes for way too long. I threw away lots of these worn out shoes, and I'm working on replacing them:)

Don't worry, all the dog hair in the vacuum cleaner did not come out of my closet.

We spent last weekend at the lake, and it was awesome! The water is up, and Bailey swam for hours. We came home in time for church on Easter, and then Mike left to spend the week in Houston.

We spent this weekend in Highlands, NC for Heidi and Brad's wedding. It was the smallest wedding I've ever attended (about 35 guests), and it definitely sold me on small weddings. Ours was large, so obviously I can appreciate all sizes, but I'd never experienced small before... it was so intimate, and we had so much fun! Highlands is beautiful, and we enjoyed our first "Bed and Breakfast" experience! I also fell in love with the 3-year-old flower girl, and she must have liked me too, because she chose me to go to the bathroom with her two different times. We don't have children yet, so I was a little surprised when she asked me to "do the honors" when she was finished... twice. Here are some pictures from the weekend...

I'll finish with a question for those of you who have dogs: How much does your vet charge to bathe your dog? We boarded Bailey this weekend and were shocked to see that we paid $22 for an extra-large dog bath. Apparently the large bath cut-off was 81 pounds, and our B weighed in at a whopping 81.5 pounds! We'll make sure she loses 0.5 lbs before next time, so she can get a large bath.

Trim Trees

A week ago we were freezing, and now we are sweating... Welcome to Alabama! I love the warm weather and would much rather be hot than cold. This morning I went to run a few errands. When I returned home, I found Mike and Bailey in the front yard "trimming" the trees. Mike admitted that he got "a little carried away" with the trimming but reminded me that our trees in Birmingham bloomed beautifully after he did the same thing. Let's hope these trees do the same, because they look a little thin now:)




I think Bailey thought I was about to start throwing those sticks because she looks excited. Hopefully I will be posting some pictures of our blooming trees soon!

Am I the only one?

I have a confession to make that some of you are not going to understand, and I hope it doesn't change your opinion of me... I don't watch American Idol.

We Tivo it, and Mike usually watches parts of it. I will watch when he says, "Watch this; he's awesome!" Otherwise, I'm flipping right past American Idol to Big Brother.

I realized that I am in the vast minority yesterday during a lunch. Everyone was talking about their favorite "Idol" (I've noticed that true fans leave off the American). I didn't have much to contribute. I think the contestants are very talented, and I love the sweet, humble 17-year-old guy; I'm probably the only person who doesn't know his name. My mom loves the show and even votes sometimes. I remember calling my parents house one night and my mom saying, "I can't talk long; I'm voting." I had no idea what she was talking about, but she was voting for Carrie Underwood. I love Carrie and most of the other contestants who are now popular artists, so I guess I should give the show a chance.

Is there anyone else out there who is not a huge Idol fan?

Unlimited Minutes = Responsible April

Does anyone consistently exceed their monthly allowance of cell phone minutes? Please tell me that I am not alone! A few months ago, I had an outrageous cell phone bill. My company pays $85 a month for my cell phone, but it didn't put a dent in this bill. I only had 1350 minutes, and I used over 2000... not good! I increased my minutes to 2000, thinking the problem was solved. Mike didn't quite understand and thought it was "irresponsible" (his word) that I went over my minutes. I justified it by telling him I had increased my minutes, and I would never go over my minutes again... never say never. I must admit that I have free Verizon-Verizon minutes. Most people I work with also have Verizon, so I can't say I go over my minutes for work. MIKE, my mom and my sister are three big reasons I go over my minutes, and who can fault me for loving my family?

Well, let's just say that 2000 minutes was still not enough. When I realized I was already over my minutes last month, and I still had a week to go before they started over, Mike suggested I turn my cell phone off. I love my husband and his practicality (he never uses all of his 300 minutes), but that just isn't an option for me. I drive around all day, and my cell phone makes the driving easier. I made some sacrifices that week, and my cell phone bill was only $108.

Unfortunately, I would be facing the same situation this month. My minutes start over on the 14th, and I have already used 1900 minutes. Fortunately for me, Verizon is offering a special right now... UNLIMITED minutes for $99 a month! When I heard about the special today (my sweet husband sent me a text suggesting I look into it) I immediately changed my plan. I walked out of the Verizon store very happy! I then called my chatty friends to let them know about the special. Mike and I are both very excited that I will not be going over my minutes anymore. I think changing my plan was very "responsible."

Blog Design

Blog templates/designs are not easy... and I've noticed they usually are not free either! I decided to play with our blog tonight, and I still don't know how to do some things (like change the font in the title). I found a great site that offers cute, free backgrounds. It's easy to use too!
I love the new picture of Bailey on the title! I tried one of Mike and me, but we didn't look quite as good after I enlarged the picture. I will probably play with it more later, but I'm happy for now. I've also eaten almost a whole large box of Hot Tamales while I've "worked," so I better stop before I make myself sick:)

Random thoughts

I couldn't think of anything "big" to blog about, so this is probably going to be completely random and unstructured. Mike is in Houston this week. I miss him, but Bailey is loving it because she sleeps in the bed with me when he is gone. She is the best sleeper ever! She doesn't move around or get up until she sees that I am awake. I often wake up to her staring at me, and I wonder how long she has been awake. Who thinks that we can train our children this well one day? HA!

One hot topic at our house lately is where to go on vacation. I won a travel card for work, and it expires at the end of August. We've discussed everything from cruises and beaches to Las Vegas. Mike and I like to relax on vacations, so we're not looking for anything that requires energy or sight-seeing. I've heard great things about the Grove Park Inn, but we'd probably end up spending more than just the travel card, because I would want a daily spa treatment if we went there. We'd love any suggestions!

Has anyone tried Proactiv? It's the stuff Jessica Simpson always talks about on television. I don't think I have true acne, but I have some "problem areas," so I decided to try it. I got it for free, so I figured it couldn't hurt... but it did. My face has been super scary dry since last Wednesday, after I used it Tuesday night. I look like I've been snow skiing for a week, and no matter how much I try to "hydrate," my face remains pink and flaky. I don't believe Jessica had this problem, so maybe it's just me and my crazy skin.

I guess that's enough randomness for one day! I always like to include a picture, so here is Bailey doing what I assume she does all day (other than sleep)...

Get ready to laugh!

Mike and I were looking at pictures on the computer last night, wishing that digital cameras had been around longer. I've always been too lazy to scan pictures, but after digging around and finding some pretty funny ones, I managed to scan some old pictures.

We'll start with the younger days. I could only find these two pictures of Tracy (my sister) and I, because my mom has the rest labeled in albums. Check out my bangs on the second one; they only got bigger and bigger in the later years.

Next came middle and high school. Don't you love the outfits Sarah and I were wearing in the ice skating picture? I'm 99.9% sure those were Guess jeans!

College pictures were everywhere, but unfortunately, I gained some weight in college and didn't find many I wanted to scan. Here are a few that were taken after I dropped the freshmen 25 (yes, it was 25-30, not 15). The crazy pink dress makes me laugh! I still have it, but there is no reason to keep it, because I will not be wearing it again! The hugging picture makes me miss the good ole Alpha Chi house and our comfy gowns. We all went to Target and bought the biggest, most comfortable gowns we could find. (Tatum is wearing hers in the picture; I think Jess may be wearing hers too.) When Mike and I got married, he asked me not to wear the scary white gown anymore. The last picture of Mike was one I took our senior year. Doesn't he look cute?

ps- Spell check is not working today, so forgive me if there are spelling mistakes:)

Oops... I almost forgot the funniest one... 80's party!