Edited to add: the Miss Mississippi live feed didn’t work Saturday night, so we didn’t get to have a viewing party after all. We’ll try again in 2013!

Well, after three big days-o-fun in Texas, I’m home again. My flight left San Antonio early this morning, and you can imagine how upbeat and chipper I was at 5:45 in the AM, especially considering that the three-day total for sleep came in somewhere around the 12-hour mark. But oh, we had us some fun. And some laughs. And some REAL good food.

I didn’t get a picture of our Mexican food from Monday night, but Tuesday at lunch we took a little road trip and had some spectacular fried food. Exhibit A: Chicken fried chicken. With French fries and fried okra. And, you know, a salad. Just to keep it healthy and all.

There was also homemade chocolate pie with a wee bit of meringue.

Oh have mercy it was good.

And last night, much to my delight, I finally got to experience the wonder of a Chris Madrid’s tostada burger. Melanie has been telling me about them for years, and now I absolutely understand why. It was spectacular.

Please note the ring-o-cheese that surrounded the burger, and I don’t mind saying that in the days to come, when I think about that ring-o-cheese, I will sigh. And then I will hum old Air Supply songs.

(Yes, I realize that all my pictures are sideways.)

(I have no idea why.)

(So be careful not to sustain any sort of neck injury when you look at them.)

I slept all the way home this morning – didn’t even read the first magazine – and the sleep was an unexpected blessing considering that I was sitting next to someone who apparently dipped himself in a vat of Axe body spray before boarding the plane. He was young (bless his heart), and I get that it takes awhile to figure out the delicate balance between using enough cologne so that people notice that you smell nice and using so much cologne that people develop insta-migraines and grab several blankets from the overhead bin in an attempt to turn seat 26A into a scent-free cocoon.

Anyway, since we’ve been to the library and the grocery store this afternoon, it’s time for me to start cooking supper. But before I do that, I want to make sure that you know that this Saturday night, June 30th, is the Miss Mississippi pageant. Last year we had such a blast watching and commenting together, and I’d love to have a repeat of all the fun this year. So, I’ll embed the live pageant video here (8 pm central time), and we can all hang out here and watch and applaud and have us a big time.

Who’s in?

This afternoon I flew to the Texas, and right now I’m sitting on Melanie’s couch and watching The Bachelorette. We’re discussing how one trend this season is to assign Emily the role of tour guide in the various cities they visit, and while it’s a little awkward, it’s also pretty delightful to hear her explain various cultural landmarks before she and her date settle in to dine in some sort of local cave and then watch fireworks on a nearby barge. ALL IS WELL WITH THE WORLD.

Also, Mel just picked up on the fact that John told Emily that she and his mom would be “two peas in a pot,” and there’s a sense of completeness in my life that was missing before.

However comma I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Emily and Jef’s puppet show left a legacy of awkward that may be unprecedented in the Bachelor / Bachelorette franchise. I just…well…wow. That was something else.

We had some excellent Mexican food tonight and even better conversation, and we have high hopes for more of the same. I’m excited about all the relaxing that’s going to keep us very busy. And I will do everything in my power to meet my personal relaxation goals.

See y’all in a couple of days!

A friend of ours sent me a link to this video last night, and I clapped with delight when I watched it. Perfection.

It makes me want to buy lots and lots of flip flops.

While performing some kicky choreographed dance moves.

Well.

We are still working on the podcasting thing.

But yesterday you may have noticed that Melanie’s blog exploded.

Fortunately, it was only a temporary explosion, and it’s all fixed now. But because of the blog explosion as well as a few extended family sit’yations, we’re running behind on our podcasting schedule.

We are nothing if not predictable.

So, in the meantime, I thought I’d share a list of some products I’ve been enjoying this summer. Or I guess I should say this spring and summer. Seeing as how summer is only a couple of days old.

1. Neutrogena Sport Face SPF 70+

Melanie actually told me about this sunscreen last summer, and I love it so much. It doesn’t sting, doesn’t feel heavy, and it works great. Hands-down it’s the best sunblock for faces that I’ve used. Love, The Girl Who Doesn’t Tan

2. Post Great Grains – Crunchy Pecans

Almost every summer I get on a cereal kick. I picked up a box of Post Great Grains when it was on sale at Publix, and oh my goodness – it’s delicious. I picked Crunchy Pecans because it has the least amount of sugar, and I am a fan. If you like granola, you’ll like this cereal.

3. Big Buddha JCourtny Bag

I think this purse is so sassy, but do you know what’s even sassier? Finding said sassy purse in TJMaxx for $39.99. YES MA’AM. The TJMaxx version isn’t exactly like the one on the website, but that’s fine by me because THIRTY NINE NINETY NINE.

4. Free Kindle Reading Apps

Even though I don’t have a Kindle (or a Nook), I love that the Kindle app enables me to read books on my computer or phone – and check out books from the library, too. It’s a mighty fine work-around for someone who doesn’t have a dedicated e-reader.

5. Voluspa Goji Tarocco Orange Candle

I know that I’ve mentioned this particular candle before, and here I am mentioning it again. But that’s only because I feel so very strongly that it is fact the very essence of delightfulness. It will make your house smell great (unless you have a 15,000 square foot house, in which case you might want to buy 5 or 6 of them), and you’ll be totally addicted in no time at all.

Hope y’all have / are having / continue to have a great weekend!

I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of anything so consistently and comically doomed as trying to podcast with Melanie. It really does beat anything I’ve ever seen. Over the last couple of years it’s been especially bad, and every single time we try to record one we run into software problems, WiFi issues, computer glitches, and some old-fashioned human error thrown in for good measure.

Keeping Mel’s computer connected during a Skype or iChat call has been the biggest challenge lately, and we assumed that had something to do with her router because we are very technical and moonlight at the Genius Bar during our spare time (side note: I do not know what a router does, and for all I know they’ve been obsolete since the Clinton administration). However, a few months ago Melanie realized that she could use her desktop computer and stay connected during a call JUST FINE, and we were as tickled as we could be to have discovered a work-around.

So we tried to record a podcast sometime back in March. But by that point I had a new computer, and I couldn’t get the recording software that we’ve always used to cooperate. It wouldn’t recognize my serial / voter identification / social security / frequent shopper number, so we were back to square one.

We’ve spent A LOT of time hanging out at square one over the last two and a half years. And I believe the term you’re looking for is TECHNICALLY CHALLENGED.

But yesterday Mel and I were feeling optimistic, so we decided to try again. I thought I could record straight into Garage Band because I *know* I’ve done that before, but after a few test runs, there was an ongoing issue of not being able to record a single word that Melanie uttered. Which is problematic when recording a podcast. So I went to the Google and downloaded some things and then changed some settings and then crossed my arms and blinked my eyes and screamed “SHAZAM!” while wearing a big, red cape, but I still couldn’t record Melanie’s voice.

And then I may have eaten about four Hershey’s Kisses.

Eventually Melanie and I gave up because that’s pretty much how both of us operate. Neither one of us is what I would call “persistent” in the presence of technical difficulties; we tend to land in the camp of “FINE. FORGET IT. NEVER MIND.” But for whatever reason, I decided yesterday that I was sick and tired of the podcast being such a source of frustration, so I googled some more and changed some settings and didn’t even scream “SHAZAM!” and I’ll be doggone if that old recording software didn’t decide to start working again. LIKE A CHARM.

So all that to say: Mel and I are going to try to podcast again tomorrow. All the recording stuff is working. Skype connections are stable. All systems point to “go.” Which means that there will probably be a freak electrical storm in either San Antonio or Birmingham and one of us will lose power.

(To be clear: I hope not.)

(But make no mistake: it is always a technological train wreck.)

Fingers crossed, though, that tomorrow afternoon finds us recording with ease as we discuss Very Important Matters like our favorite moisturizers, the best jeans, and our short- and long-term hair goals for Summer ’12.

WE’LL SEE.

I am cautiously optimistic.

So over a year ago, in April of 2011, I was folding clothes in the guest room (in case you didn’t know, I consider our guest room bed a gigantic drawer for clean clothes, and occasionally that drawer gets a little out of control), and out of nowhere, a book title popped in my head.

Well, it wasn’t an actual book title. It was an old Southern expression that I thought might be a possible book title. Granted, it seemed totally ridiculous that I was even contemplating book titles considering that I had no plans to write a book and had never even had an idea for a book. Plus, I’m not a dreamer, I’m not a goal-setter, and I’m terrified of rejection. So it didn’t require much of a mental leap to conclude that my self-doubt and I were not exactly on the fast track for publication.

But the title stuck with me as I finished folding clothes, and I texted it to myself so that I wouldn’t forget it. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there might be something I could do with it.

Well.

Last fall there were some very unexpected developments, and in February I signed a contract to write a book for Tyndale. I was thrilled to pieces for approximately twelve hours, at which point I realized that OH SWEET MERCY I HAVE TO WRITE ALL THE WORDS NOW.

And there may have been a little bit of panic at that juncture.

But this past Saturday night, around 9:20 in the PM, I finished the first draft of the book while I was sitting at my kitchen table. David and Alex were in the kitchen with me, and oh, it was a happy moment. They have been so supportive and encouraging throughout this whole process – y’all have no idea. I don’t know how I can ever repay them, but I’m going to start with lots of ice cream and also fried chicken.

The book is a collection of personal essays (that sounds fancy, but I think you know me well enough to know that the book is most definitely not fancy) about the joy of the day-to-day. It’s about the South and faith and family and food and how faithful God is to meet us in the middle of our seemingly ordinary circumstances. And while I never expected to say this, I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun I had writing it. It was one of the biggest blasts of my whole life. No kidding.

And by the way, the book really is called A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet. That makes me so happy. It wasn’t the title that we had on the proposal, but a few weeks after I signed my contract, I emailed my sweet editor and said, Okay. There’s this title that came to me last year when I was folding laundry. And I can’t let it go. She immediately wrote me back and said that she loved it. And then I put my head down on my desk, and I cried.

Actually, I sobbed. But we’ll pretend it was all very feminine and dainty and delicate.

ANYWAY, thanks so much for your patience with me over the last six months or so. It’s been a hectic time, but it’s been a wonderful time. I am unspeakably grateful.

And now? Oh, listen. I AM GOING TO WATCH SO MUCH TV.

I’m also going to sample new snack crackers, and I’m going to try to make Alex laugh at least once an hour because his laugh is pretty much my favorite sound in the world right now, and I’m going to paint my dining room, and I’m going to visit with my friends, and I’m going to go out to dinner with my husband and remind him at least every ten minutes to please notice how carefree and not stressed out I am.

And then, after I’ve frolicked in the land of no deadlines for awhile, I’ll tackle the first round of edits.

(HOLD ME.)

Love y’all!