Book #3 has pretty much become an all-consuming mission at this point. That’s partly because it’s due in just a few months so TIME’S A WASTIN’, and it’s also because I really love what I’m writing about. So whenever I find a little window-o-time, I grab the laptop and try to crank out a few paragraphs. That’s not necessarily great for blogging, I know, but I’m enjoying working on this one so much – and I really, really hope y’all will like it.

I hope to have all sorts of fun details in the next couple of months. I just want to make sure that the title’s not going to change before I tell you what it is – and I want to be able to show you the cover, too.

So that’s the latest on that.

Also. A few minutes ago Melanie reminded me about Ryan Adams’ cover / reinterpretation of Taylor Swift’s 1989 album, so now I’m listening to his version of “Out of the Woods.”

I’ll be honest. It’s messing with me a little bit. Because I know all of the words, but I have no idea how (or when) to sing them.

Not that I can really sing while I write, you understand.

But I guess my head is trying to convince the melody that it needs to go in one direction, only Ryan Adams has already taken off towards the southern tip of Iceland.

Or something like that.

Anyway. The whole reason I started this post is because 1) Alex is at football practice and 2) there are several videos that I’ve been meaning to share because THEY MAKE ME HAPPY.

So, in no particular order, here they are.

1. It was a tough weekend to cheer for Alabama’s college football teams.

2. I laughed, I cried, and then I laughed some more.

3. Oh, 80’s. Sometimes I really miss you. And this video specifically makes me miss “Night Tracks” on WTBS, but that may be another memory for another time.

4. Last Thursday? I bet I watched this 14 times.

5. And finally, thanks to my friend Daphne for reminding me that tonight is a very special night indeed.

p.s. Those costumes are glorious.

p.p.s. Those trumpets are even better.

1. Hazel is out of dog food.

2. We are practically out of people food – except that we do have some pickle relish, some oatmeal, and half a bag of gluten-free crackers. So YUM, YUM supper.

3. I have been trying to go to the grocery store for two days.

4. Clearly I have failed in my grocery-related efforts.

5. Tonight I’m planning to drop off Alex at football practice, go to the pet store, go to the grocery store, then drive home and throw the groceries in the kitchen floor before I collapse onto the couch and wait for those groceries to whip up a meal.

6. I’ll let you know how that works out.

7. I still haven’t watched Miss America.

8. It’s like I don’t even know myself anymore.

**************

9. I went to the pet store and the grocery store, too.

10. I’m about to put a pork shoulder in the crock pot.

11. My people will be unfamiliar with how to respond to this thing called HOME-COOKED FOOD.

**************

12. I really like Justin Bieber’s new song.

13. I have no idea what he’s saying, really, but it’s catchy as can be.

14. Tonight on the way to football practice we heard this song, and we decided it’s perfect for football games. I mean, I’m not saying that “Sandstorm” has run its course or anything, but this might be fun….

15. And then there was this sunset at practice.

Can't think of much – or anything, really – that this big ole sky doesn't throw right into perspective. He's a good, good Father, isn't He?

A photo posted by Sophie Hudson (@boomama205) on Sep 15, 2015 at 5:09pm PDT

16. So that’ll pretty much make your day right there.

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17. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings to see a new TV show or seven.

18. And oh! Kansas! I so enjoyed my time in Kansas.

19. It was actually a little hillier that I expected and reminded me of the drive from Birmingham to Tupelo, for what it’s worth.

20. When I finally got there Thursday night, I was so elated to be off of that airplane that I basically talked non-stop from Manhattan to Salina (where the conference was).

21. We had flown through some storms, and at one point I felt like our plane was attached to a stick – like in old movies when they’d move a model airplane over a map to show where someone was traveling.

22. I like to think that I’m a fairly breezy traveler, but by the time we landed I was calculating how long it would take David to drive to Kansas and pick me up because NO MORE FLYING FOR ME.

23. Thankfully the flights home were far less eventful.

24. And now we’re living on the edge with a pantry full of groceries and a pork shoulder in the crockpot.

25. I may even make a fresh pitcher of Crystal Light lemonade.

26. Also: I BOUGHT PRINGLES.

Love,
Me

I’m sitting at a gate in the Dallas airport right now, and there’s a little boy who looks to be about four years old who’s making me downright wistful about when Alex was that age.

Here’s the memory that keeps popping in my head.

Fight Song from boomama on Vimeo.

Pretty sure that was yesterday.

HIIIII-YAH.

I’m flying into Manhattan, Kansas tonight, and I’m secretly hoping that I’ll be greeted by a very large K-State Wildcat in the Manhattan airport. I mean, I’m not hoping for a real-live mascot or anything like that because mascot costumes make me nervous (and obviously I would be terrified if there were any sort of actual wildcat), but I would at least like to see a mural of K-State traditions. Maybe walk through a tunnel that plays the fight song.

My wishes are very simple.

My flight from Birmingham was a rare treat because there were only about five of us on the last seven rows of the plane, and we were all so thrilled by the wide open spaces – a rare airline treat these days – that we were borderline giddy. The guy across from me said, “We could fit a whole band back here!” and then he sprawled out across both of the seats on his row and enjoyed a bag of Chex Mix. I was so enamored of the QUIET that I couldn’t even read; I just closed my eyes and soaked up the relative silence. We all had our electronics spread out on the neighboring seats and were making the most of our access to a second tray table and I am here to tell you that it was the adult equivalent of a free second scoop of ice cream. GLORIOUS, it was.

Here are some other exciting things that have happened so far:

– I ate in the airport Chili’s all by myself – even though eating in a restaurant by myself is one of my all-time least favorite things.
– I ordered a Sante Fe chicken salad. It was surprisingly tasty.
– There’s a beautiful sunset outside; I keep looking to my left so I can see its progress, and I think the girl next to me thinks I’m trying to read her computer screen.

As you can tell, my time in Dallas has been fraught with all manner of excitement and drama.

I’m sad to be missing high school football tomorrow night, but I can’t wait to see Kansas (will it be as flat as I expect? will there be wheat farms lining the roads?) and get to visit with the women at the conference where I’m speaking. Then, if all goes as planned, I’ll be home Saturday night in time to see the last little bit of the State / LSU game.

I think I speak for all Bulldogs when I say we would appreciate your prayers.

Hope y’all have a great weekend!

The plan was to have a super low-key Labor Day weekend. And we got off to a pretty good start. Friday night we went out to eat, Saturday morning I ran a few errands before the first game of the day, and then Saturday afternoon I actually tried to get some writing done because State wasn’t playing until 9 and writing time has been a precious commodity since school started. However comma I never could get any momentum going with the words and the sentences, so I parked myself in front of the TV and flipped between the A&M game and the Bama game.

Because the thing about football season is that it’s glorious.

I was the only member of our little family who managed to stay awake for all of State’s game Saturday night, but it was probably 12:30 when I went to bed, so I was dragging Sunday morning. Not even the church / Chuy’s combo could put any pep in my step. David and Alex were planning to work in the yard Sunday afternoon, so I tried to write again, but I finally gave up and took a nap because THIS, THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE A BOOK.

YOU GIVE UP, AND THEN YOU SLEEP.

Monday I made a quick trip to see some friends in Mississippi, and by the time I got back last night, I figured I’d catch up with my people and then go straight to sleep since I’d been on the road since early in the morning. But no – wouldn’t you know it – I suddenly had all manner of ideas for the chapter I was working on, so I ended up talking to my fellas and then writing for a couple of hours. I felt mighty relieved when I finally closed the laptop because FORWARD PROGRESS, YAY.

This week is actually when I start traveling again for speaking stuff (I haven’t done much traveling since spring), so I am headed to Kansas on Thursday and super excited about it because I’ve never been there before. I promise to steer clear of all Wizard of Oz / “Not in Kansas anymore” jokes, but I can’t promise that I won’t be tempted to pack either a gingham shirt or some sparkly shoes. Forgive me in advance, Kansas, for I can be very corny.

Anyway – I just wanted to check in and say hey. I haven’t really watched much TV, and I haven’t really tried any exciting new products, and I haven’t even listened to much music lately because I haven’t had a whole lot of extra time. But I have thought about y’all a bunch, and I hope your team won this past weekend because, well, winning is way more fun than losing.

Hope all of you are doing great!

Love,
Me

p.s. I promise I’ll get a newsletter together real soon. :-)

(Look. I even did a new masthead so people could see the difference between the newsletter and the blog.)

(But I just haven’t gotten around to putting the words on there.)

(This seems to be a recurring theme in my life right now.)

(Baby steps.)

Slowly but surely some of the back-to-school stun is wearing off, and I’m figuring out how to juggle the different parts of our day – with the exception of cooking supper. I have totally failed at supper-cooking the last week or so, but judging from the bounty I just hauled in from Publix a couple of hours ago, I am determined to change my ways.

College football season may have something to do with the change of heart, because DIPS.

I actually went to the store tonight while Alex was at football practice, and while I was pushing my grocery cart up and down the aisles, I decided that the big takeaway from my epic trip to Costco a couple of weeks ago is NO. At least for groceries. I feel like I need to be someone who freezes more food to make a big Costco run worth it, and for better or worse, freezing food just isn’t a go-to for me. So while I know we will continue to patronize Costco for household stuff (heaven forbid I should have to live without their paper towels), everything except for cheese, cashews, and chicken salad was sort of a bulk-item bust.

However, I now have enough butter to take me straight through Thanksgiving, so I guess that’s a silver lining.

And speaking of a silver lining (or gold, as it were).

Before I dropped Alex off at practice tonight, he asked me if I’d be on the lookout for the return of Blue Bell when I went to the store. I had a sneaking suspicion that I would find it since there’s a Blue Bell Creamery about 40 minutes outside of Birmingham, and sure enough, I saw the most glorious sight when I turned down the ice cream aisle.

Yes, I know $6.99 is a little pricey. But it’s been almost five months since it was on the shelves, so if you average out the price that’s only like $1.40 a month which means IT’S PRACTICALLY FREE.

There were only three flavors at Publix – vanilla, chocolate, and The Great Divide, which is half vanilla, half chocolate – but that did nothing to diminish my enthusiasm. I realize that there are lots of other ice cream brands, but the few we tried this summer reminded me of something Beth Moore once wrote about coffee from a certain fast food chain: it had a pretty good flavor if you closed your eyes and imagined real hard. Blue Bell’s flavor is something special, and we certainly felt its absence during its time away.

(However, I don’t know who would win if Blue Bell and Talenti gelato went head-to-head in some sort of frozen dairy product showdown.)

(I only know that I would like to be a judge.)

The irony of my excitement over that ½ gallon of Homemade Vanilla goodness is that I’m not even eating sweets right now. It’s a long, boring story that would put you straight to sleep, but the bottom line is that I’m going to have to enjoy Blue Bell vicariously – at least for the next few weeks.

I’m totally sniffing it, though. You’d better believe I am.

There is also some additional irony in that I have a raging case of PMS that has left me so hormonal that it’s almost embarrassing, so the fact that I’m not supposed to eat any of that beloved Blue Bell ice cream kind of makes me want to drive a car through a brick wall and naturally escape safely but then yank off all the tires with my bare hands and throw said tires into a fiery pit of sugar-free foods.

At which point I would enjoy some Blue Bell vanilla with Hershey’s chocolate syrup on top while fairies danced cheerfully around a maypole and blue birds braided my hair.

Clearly PMS in the 40s makes a girl feel SUPER rational.

Breezy, even.

I think it’s probably obvious that I’ve never been more cheerful.

Well, we hit the ground running in this podcast, and while you might initially think we’ve detoured into techy territory when we talk about our computers (FASCINATING, naturally), we find our way back to our normal podcast pastures: fashion (specifically, we talk A LOT about jeans and booties), make-up, college football, and tailgating foods that we’re planning to make at home for next week’s game day.

And if all that weren’t enough, Melanie’s iTunes goes rogue a couple of different times during the podcast and causes all sorts of tomfoolery and also shenanigans.

You can click here to listen. Or here. You can even listen right here on the blog.

Or, as always, you can subscribe on iTunes if you’re feeling particularly fancy.

Just FYI – here’s where you can get more info on the products / places we mention (these aren’t affiliate links – just regular ole links):

– Free People Denim Super Flares
– Citizens of Humanity Flip Flop Flares (not the same as what Mel got, but I can’t find the other flares online, and her bargain price is in stores only)
– KUT from the Kloth Katy boyfriend jeans – petite, regular, and plus (our store in B’ham had plenty in stock in all sizes – just FYI)
– TOMS Lace-Up Wedge Booties (not the same color as the ones at Nordstrom Rack, but still)
– Jalapeno Popper Dip
– Captain Rodney’s Dip
– Southwest Fiesta Salad
– Pioneer Woman’s Spicy Pulled Pork
– Casa Ole’ Queso

Enjoy, y’all!