Archives for September 2009

Linky Interwebby Awesomeness 09.30.09

So. How about some links? And some free musical goodness, perhaps?

OKAY!

– Amy at Bailey’s Leaf is hosting a crock pot recipe fest. You can add a link to your crockpot recipes and pick up some new recipes while you’re at it. Big crockpot fun in store.

– Today at AllAccess I shared some Martha-related news that might make you happy if you enjoy a Martha-related story.

– Here’s yet another reminder to be oh-so-careful about the information you share on the interweb.

– A couple of weeks ago I found out that Chynna Phillips (of Wilson Phillips fame) is part of a new Christian music duo called Chynna & Vaughan. Now I don’t know about y’all, but I LOOOOOOOOVED Wilson Phillips when I was younger, and I longed for hair as sassy and blonde as Chynna’s. In fact, the “Hold On” video was instrumental in helping me set some early-90s hair goals. And for that I’m forever grateful.

Anyway. Right now you can download Chynna & Vaughan’s new single, “One Reason,” for the low, low price of FREE. It says on the website that there are only 1,000 free downloads available, so strike while the bandwidth is hot, my friends.

Have a great Thursday, y’all!

p.s. Please know that I’m not telling you about the free song link because someone is going to drop off bags of shiny quarters at my house tomorrow morning as a thank you. Nobody is paying me to talk about this music. I just link because I love.

p.p.s. And I hope you enjoy it.

p.p.p.s. The end.

BooFlu

During Saturday’s big football extravaganza, Alex mentioned a couple of times that he wasn’t feeling very well. Given the traumatic nature of the Bulldogs’ loss, I completely understood where he was coming from because, well, I wasn’t feeling very well, either. Losing a game by two whole inches will do that to a person.

But by Sunday morning, it was official: All Was Not Well. The little man had a high fever and was lethargic. He stayed on the couch all day long and at one point in the afternoon he FELL ASLEEP FOR MANY CONSECUTIVE HOURS (if you have ever lived with a six year-old boy, you know that afternoon sleeping is completely unheard of and a sure sign that something is awry). When he finally woke up, I fixed him a Sprite, and after one sip he said he didn’t want any because “it tastes funny, Mama.”

So clearly our Monday was going to involve a trip to the doctor’s office. And when the little guy’s fever hit 104.4 Monday morning, I couldn’t punch the numbers on my phone fast enough.

As my mama always said to us when we were sick: bless his bones.

We got one of the first appointments with our pediatrician Monday morning (yay for an empty sick kid waiting room), and it took all of ten minutes for Dr. W to diagnose that the flu was the culprit. I’ve been a wee bit frightened of the flu ever since FLU! DANGER! started making headlines back in the spring, but to my credit I did not wash my hands in scalding water and then bathe them in Purell after Alex’s diagnosis. I just quietly put on my customized hazmat suit and face mask and gingerly made my way to the check-out desk where I handed the office manager my debit card in a protective plastic seal.

As it turns out, at least in our family’s experience, this strain of flu has been sort of a funny viral bird. The fever part of it has been stubborn as all get out, don’t get me wrong – but once the fever got down to around 101-ish (as opposed to 104-ish), the flu-y little man in this house has been LIVELY. We keep reminding him that he has to rest (doctor’s orders), but this morning I walked past the living room – where he has been stationed on the couch for the better part of the last three days – and caught him doing somersaults in the middle of the floor.

So the bottom line is that while yes, he is congested and coughing and still battling a low-grade fever, he is also BUCK WILD. At supper tonight he was VERY! EXCITED! about the red beans and rice because HE LOVES BEANS! And HE LOVES SPECIAL HOT DOGS! (that would be sausage) And HE LOVES BEANS ON TOP OF SPECIAL HOT DOGS!

Other Flu ’09 loves? FINDING NEMO! SCOOBY DOO! WATER! TEDDY GRAHAMS! BLANKETS! CINNAMON TOAST! GRAPE-FLAVORED MOTRIN! LIBRARY BOOKS!

I guess what I’m saying is that while we’re tickled to pieces that he’s feeling better (seriously: so grateful), if the fever doesn’t break and if Alex is housebound for a couple of more days, the walls in this house will never make it. Because he will singlehandedly kick them down with his mad kah-rah-tay skills that apparently escalate to a whole new level with the help of the back end of a virus. Go figure.

Has the flu hit your house yet? Any tips for helping your little one(s) deal with cabin fever?

Hope y’all are well!

We’re Totally Fine Except For The Fact That We’re Completely Shattered

From the time I was in seventh grade until I graduated from high school, my daddy and I went to all of the MIssissippi State home football games together. For those five years I believed with all my heart that there was no such thing as too much spirit wear, and it wasn’t uncommon for me to go to a game wearing a Mississippi State t-shirt topped with a Mississippi State sweater topped with a Mississippi State windbreaker. And naturally I would accessorize with my Mississippi State earrings and my Mississippi State necklace.

All the while holding a cowbell, of course.

When I was 14 Daddy and I went to the State/Ole Miss game in Jackson, and on our way into the stadium, I spotted a large MSU megaphone that was attached to a chain. Naturally I had to have it because, I mean, the shirt and the sweater and the earrings and the necklace and the cowbell and the pompom clearly weren’t enough to convey my love for my team. So Daddy bought the megaphone for me, and I used it to yell like crazy during a game that ended with a field goal that has come to be known as The Immaculate Deflection. We lost 24-23.

Oh, I was heartbroken. And to add insult to injury, my friend Jon – who was and still is a Rebel fan of the highest order – came over to our house later that night and put a huge sign that said “24-23” in our front yard. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Jon’s daddy was a preacher (in my teenage estimation, being a preacher meant you were closer to God and therefore could SMITE SOMEONE VERILY if they misbehaved), I would have retaliated. But instead I just held tight to my megaphone-on-the-chain while I cried over the field-goal-that-wasn’t.

It was terrible.

This past Saturday we spent the morning at a soccer game and got home just in time for Mississippi State/LSU game. For whatever reason I had a feeling that we were going to give the Tigers a run for their money, so I set up base camp in front of the TV in our bedroom and hunkered down for an afternoon of football.

This is what base camp looked like, by the way.

Computer. Comfy chair. Diet Coke. The only thing you can’t see is my phone, and that’s because I was using it to take the picture. Looking for the real camera would have required far too much effort in light of the suspense-filled football festivities.

For the next three hours we screamed and clapped and cheered and sighed. I can’t even begin to tell you how many texts I exchanged with Sister. The lead went back and forth, forth and back, and by the fourth quarter, when Dan Mullen led the team in the Dog Pound Rock on the sideline, I was convinced we were going to win. I just knew it. Especially when a certain six year-old ran out of the room saying, “I’LL BE RIGHT BACK” – and then ran back in the room a minute later looking like this.

Oh, bless him. And yes, that’s my old megaphone hanging around his neck. It’s his heritage, people.

We took turns cheering through the megaphone for the rest of the game, and we were crushed when the Bulldogs came up short (six inches short, to be exact). We were a smidge deflated when it was all said and done. Our boys played so hard, and it hurt my heart to watch them walk off that field without a win.

Despite the loss, it was such a fun afternoon – lots of screaming and jumping and laughing with my people. We’re so stinkin’ proud of our Bulldogs (WHO’D HAVE THOUGHT they’d give the #7 team in the country a run for their money?), and we know they’ll bounce back. Georgia Tech is up next. Watch out, Yellow Jackets.

Another positive? No gloating LSU fans put a sign in my yard that said “30-26.” Thank goodness I didn’t have to cry into my megaphone again.

So. How did your team do on Saturday?

Permission To Speak On The Record?

I’m a little late starting “The Office” tonight because I COULD NOT TURN AWAY from the Ole Miss/South Carolina football game. So here it is 10:20 in the PM, and I am just now starting to watch, but I don’t mind the late hour one bit because I AM COMMITTED TO THE WATCHING OF THE TELEVISION, PEOPLE. I may not be particularly rested tomorrow, but I will be fully caught up on the life and times of Michael Scott and his friends, and that, THAT IS WHAT MATTERS.

The highlights.

1) “We are the three amigos. And once in awhile, one of the amigos will go off to the bathroom while the other two have a secret meeting.”

2) “I’m sorry. I thought this was a free country. I didn’t know we lived in communist Sweden.”

3) Dwight’s reenactment of Darryl’s injury – pulling off his glasses was classic

4) “What can I do for ya, hoss?”

5) “I’m in this weird, flirty, nebulous thing with a cousin of mine.”

6) “I say go with the airtight plan. And that is why I’m having Andy wheel me into the conference room inside of a makeshift cheese cart. It is just…elegant.”

7) Dwight and Toby on stakeout

8) “I say my greatest talent is being the best man, woman or child to have ever run this branch ever.”

9) “Jim is like Big Bird…Big Bird doesn’t make the tough decisions…I would put Bert in charge, or one of the real grown-ups in charge, like Maria, or Gordon, maybe?”

10) “I’d have to talk to my mother and my guy at H&R Block.”

11) “I tried to keep Michael in the dark. I should have known that he can do just as much damage in the dark.”

12) “Toby Flenderson is doing drugs.”

13) “What about you, Michael?”
“I am also being promoted to co-manager. We will be co-managers together.”

14) “I’ll just have whatever’s fanciest, unless there’s ribs.”

15) “Pam. My purse was there.”

What did y’all think? Do you think Michael felt threatened by Jim? Or do you think he really just wanted to keep his D-M family together (“and the baby”), dysfunctional though it may be?

Linky Interwebby Awesomeness – Catch-Up Edition

Listen. I may be going through a phase where I don’t have “words” or “sentences” to tell “anecdotes” or “stories,” but do you know what I do have?

Links aplenty, my friends.

APLENTY.

1) Apple Pie Bars? Yes, please.

2) This post by Jon is about a week old, but I love his take on grace and forgiveness.

3) I have been disappointed by the new episodes of “Glee” (IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO GREAT AND LO, EVEN FAMILY FRIENDLY), but I have enjoyed the music from the show (on iTunes) like nobody’s business. My current favorite is the Glee cast singing “Somebody To Love” – oh my lands, it is a delight.

4) Several of my friends here in Alabammy have mentioned that they didn’t know about Living Proof Live in Memphis on October 9-10 (not a bad drive from here to there, you know). Anyway, I just checked, and tickets are still available if you’re interested.

5) We’re singing “Desert Song” in choir right now, and it’s a new favorite for me. There’s a story behind the recording of this song that is absolutely incredible – you can hear the story (and the song) right here. I would recommend taking some tissues with you.

6) I couldn’t quit smiling when I read Lora Lynn’s post about “enjoying the moment” with her kids.

7) Shaw-awn’s new blog design is THE AWESOME (I am not jealous I am not jealous I am not jealous).

8) And finally, I’m completely in love with this recipe and I’ve never even made it before. I can’t wait to try it (but no capers for me, thanks – and yes to adding some feta cheese).

As Long As Point A Is Delusion And Point B Is The Hospital

So here’s my favorite scene from last week’s Office. Hands down. And I should probably warn you that if you’re not an Office fan or even a casual watcher, you will think this is the oddest sitcom spectacle you have ever witnessed. And you will wonder why are these Dunder-Mifflin people so strange? And do they know that they’re acting ridiculous? And what’s up with the guy in the mustard colored shirt and is he aware that his hair has some issues?

But if you ARE an Office fan – well, you love this clip already.

Personally, I think we’d all do well to remember the wisdom of Michael Scott: we all go together or we go one at a time.

Words to live by, my friends.

Parkour!