Title Goes Here

6 October 2009 by

So I know that maybe it seems like I’m not blogging as much lately. And I think that maybe the reason it seems that way is because, well, I’m not blogging as much lately. In fact, I have deliberately cut back on the amount of mediocrity that I crank out every week because 1) I am happily working more than I have in the last few years 2) those people sitting in the other room get annoyed when I’m on the computer too much and 3) I had an epiphany this past summer that I was living my life like I was chasing after something I couldn’t even identify.

And call me crazy (“CRAZY!”), but that seems like a pretty silly way to live.

I have long said that only about 10% of my life makes its way to the blog, but the irony is that 10% has gotten a whole lot of attention from me over the last few years. After all, I’ve devoted a big chunk of “writer”-ish energy to that 10%. There have been days when that 10% has flat-out dominated my time.

So I guess the bottom line is that I’m trying to be more mindful and protective of the 90% of my life that never shows up here. That’s why I took a bloggy break a month or so ago. It’s why I felt like it was time to let somebody else take over the tour-o-homes. It’s why there’s not always something new to read here every morning. It’s why my email is sort of embarrassingly neglected right now.

And it’s also why, for the first time in about three years, the blog feels like a real-live hobby again. And I LOVE that.

Anyway, I just felt like I needed to explain. And now that we’re all clear, here’s what I actually set out to tell you about when I started this post approximately sixteen days ago.

(Wordiness. It is my friend.)

(SO.)

Martha and I are taking a little road trip to Living Proof Live in Memphis this weekend. Honestly, I don’t know whether to keep a pen and notepad handy at all times or just hang a video camera from my rear view mirror and leave it running for four days straight.

Also: this is a completely unscientific guess, but I bet that I’m going to hear the words “jacket” and “Steinmart(s)” and “three-quarter sleeve” a combined total of 274 times between Thursday and Sunday.

I also bet I’m going to hear my name pronounced as “SO-phie!” about 372 times because that’s how Martha pronounces it when she gets really excited about something. And y’all know good and well that Martha will take one look at whatever cute jacket Beth Moore is wearing Friday night and say, “SO-phie! SO-phie! Do you see? Do you see? Isn’t that jacket perfectly darlin’? JUST DARLIN’! Do you think she got it at Steinmart(s)? Is that a three-quarter sleeve? SO-phie!”

It’s going to be fun! More fun! So much fun! Can you believe how much fun?!

!!!

MORE FUN!!!

Filed Under: Family Fun, Rambling

Christmas Tour of Homes 2009

5 October 2009 by

So for the last several years I’ve have had more fun! just more fun! so much fun! hosting a bloggy Christmas Tour of Homes. Honestly, the Tour feels like a holiday tradition to me; I love getting my house ready for Christmas, posting pictures on my blawg and then gathering ’round the warm glow of my computer monitor so that I can look at everybody else’s decorations. AND I DON’T EVEN HAVE TO DRIVE ANYWHERE.

Earlier this summer I started thinking about the whys and wherefores of this year’s tour, and the more I thought about it, the more I kept coming to the same conclusion: it’s time to pass ye olde bloggy torch. It’s not that I don’t love decorating my house, because I do. It’s not that I don’t love hosting the tour, because I do. I love the whole kit and kaboodle. But the problem is that I’m not very, um, creative. My house looks exactly the same every single year, and I just felt like the whole decorate-your-house-for-Christmas thing might be more fun if it was in the hands of a super-creative, gifted-at-decorating person.

Well.

Not too long after I’d decided that some torch passing was in order, I found myself sitting in a hotel room in Charlotte with bunch of bloggy friends. One of those friends was The Nester. And I love The Nester. She inspired me to paint my kitchen cabinets AND to make no-sew drapes for my kitchen windows. She is laid-back and approachable and real and wonderful. Anyway, while we were sitting in that hotel room, the subject of the Christmas Tour came up. I mentioned that I had been thinking about changing the format or handing it off to someone else. And then I looked over at Nester and thought Well clearly she should be the person hosting it, MY WORD.

Long story a little bit longer: Nester has oh-so-graciously agreed to take over the hosting duties. I AM THRILLED TO PIECES. Oh, I’ll still participate in the tour and then sit around the warm glow of my monitor and look at all of your houses, but Nester is going to run the show. And it’ll be fabulous.

I mean, even her blog button is a delight.

So mark your calendars, girls. December 14th. A new and improved Christmas Tour-o-Homes. I can’t wait.

And I hope I’ll see you there.

Filed Under: Bloggity Fun

Linky Interwebby Awesomeness 10.04.09

4 October 2009 by

– Tina at Antique Mommy has written the ten commandments of entertaining. She offers some mighty valuable advice. And I wish I’d read it about ten years ago when I was so exhausted by the time company came over that I didn’t have nearly as much fun as I should have.

– I’ve seen the commercials for Edible Arrangements for years, but I wasn’t really sure how the fruit would hold up during delivery, and I wondered how it would taste. WELL. Last week some sweet friends sent me an arrangement of fruit dipped in chocolate, and OH MY WORD AT THE TASTY. I can’t even tell you how much we’ve enjoyed it.

– Do you know what else is delicious? This cake. Just keep a phone nearby because you’re going to need to call an ambulance to help you after you go into your sugar coma. It’ll be totally worth it, though, and you’ll probably want to offer a piece of cake to your friendly paramedic.

– Okay. So I know this is totally bizarre, but a friend sent us this video Friday night, and we laughed until we cried.

I honestly have no idea why it’s so funny. But oh, it makes me laugh.

– Finally, for all you Office fans: yesterday my bloggy friend Rutheee emailed me a link to Jim and Pam’s wedding site. CAN’T WAIT!

Filed Under: Daily Awesome

What Does A Bean Mean?

1 October 2009 by

So about an hour ago I stretched out on the bed because the flu patient wanted to read me a book called “Moose Goes To School” or something like that, and Moose had barely gotten his hooves in the door of the schoolhouse before Mama here fell sound asleep.

And now I’m awake. So I think the odds are pretty good that there are some 2 AM infomercials in my immediate future. Or at the very least a Snugglie showcase on QVC. Who knows? Maybe around midnight I’ll decide to paint the vanity in my bathroom and then rearrange the furniture in the den. The insomnia-related possibilities are endless!

Anyway. The Office.

Last week we learned that Jim and Michael are now going to be co-managers at the Scranton branch, and Dwight’s reaction to the news was a surefire indication that we have great comic possibilities in store. So here’s to hoping that a few of those comic possibilities come to fruition tonight.

And also: here’s to hoping for a whole lot of Andy Bernard.

(By the way – have we ever seen the office where Jim is before? Or is it new? I am terribly confused.)

1. “I’m the big picture guy.”

“Well, I would like to file a huge, enormous complaint about the tallest guy in our office.”

2. “$18,000 and a chance at the title! HOO HA!”

3. “Yesterday we had a meeting about planets.”

4. “Well, to be fair, Jim…James…Jimothy…are you okay with being called Jim?”

5. “Why doesn’t Crate and Barrel let you register for a toaster full of cash?”

6. “My cousin makes the most amazing romantic birdhouse mailboxes – I probably shouldn’t tell you, but you’ll still be surprised when you see it.”

7. “I guess, if I really think about your question, I’d have to go with LC. Heidi is a bad friend, and her skin is terrible.”

8. “When I am irritated and look at you, I don’t see you anymore. All I can see is how big and gross the pores on your nose are.”

9. “You use your brain too much. Sometimes, as far as people, don’t think at all.”

10. “Do you take a check? In the memo line I’m going to write To Love’s Eternal Glory.”

11. “Why don’t you enliven me?”

12. “What we’re going to do is go into here, and we will not come out until we do.”

13. “If people here were our founding fathers, the Revolutionary War would have been delayed ten years. Because Stanley Washington was napping. And Phyllis Hancock was still signing the Declaration. And Kevin Jefferson was distracted by a butterfly.”

14. “The guy has an algorithm to determine the outcome of any college basketball game! Don’t tell Jim.”

I didn’t think this week’s episode was nearly as funny as last week’s, but the tension was probably necessary to establish the new balance of power in the office – and to set up Jim and Michael as allies while Dwight schemes behind the scenes.

So. What did y’all think? And did you see the previews for next week? DID YOU SEE? Raise your hand if you think you’ll cry.

To Love’s Eternal Glory,
Me

Filed Under: Rambling

Linky Interwebby Awesomeness 09.30.09

30 September 2009 by

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.

Filed Under: Daily Awesome

BooFlu

29 September 2009 by

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!

Filed Under: Oh Howard, Rambling
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