Small Group.

Well yesterday we had our first official meeting with our new small group from church. We had been in a small group previously for a couple of years that was based out of Buckhead and Dunwoody, but our old group sort of parted ways after a couple of us became suburbanites, others started poppin' out babies, and really it was just "time." The church encourages us to break off into new groups after 18 months or so. Our first small group was such a blessing. Just being around other couples that share your faith and developing relationships with them has been a huge help in our own marriage. You get to really be real with these people and you realize there are other couples out there with the same daily struggles that you have in your own marriage. And on top of all that, I met two of my dearest girlfriends through our last group! Our church encourages small groups because we're just so large that we don't really have the ability to have "Sunday School." They have great programs for kids of course, but there's no real adult Sunday School-like classes actually at the church. So instead they host these events called "GroupLink" where you can meet up with other singles or couples in your area, age group, and stage of life to try and form a community group.

Well, we went to one of these grouplinks earlier this year... April maybe? They usually have them quarterly. We met some people and sort of got into a group, but after leaving I was telling the hub that it just didn't feel right. They try to get you into a group with other couples who are generally in your same stage of life. Well in the group we found, we were basically the youngest and the only ones without kids. So I had a mini-meltdown that week over being up in suburbia... remember that one, bestest?! I just knew that was the reason for our not fitting in with this group. Oh and I probably should explain that our church has three campuses in Atlanta... the main one is in Alpharetta, and there are two others in Buckhead and Cumming. We've always gone to the Buckhead one and still do even though we're up in the burbs now. OK so anyway... as with any big city I'm sure, the burbs are where you go when you "settle down" and start a family. So I guess we got out here before we're supposed to because we can't find anyone like us here! Sure, there's people our age, but they have kids. And though I, of course - as you know - am eagerly awaiting the day we have kids, we all know that the lives of couples with kids and those without are completely different. I mean we have tons of friends with kids that we hang out with, of course. But it's just a different lifestyle... we're into different things. They're giving "tubbies" at 7:30 on a Thursday night while I'm out eating fish tacos and margaritas with my girlfriends. You know what I'm sayin'. Yes, so I had a little breakdown that week regretting our move to the burbs. And of course I really don't regret it. We really love where we are. We wanted the space and the yard and we didn't happen to have a cool mil to get that same space in Dunwoody. So we basically ended up pulling out of that group before it ever even started. I just wasn't feeling it. As Cher Horowitz would say, we just didn't "mesh well."

OK so back to now... after getting back from our fabulous week in Maine, we attended the grouplink held that weekend and I was just so elated because we actually found several great couples there and formed a new group. These people really seemed to be where we are and they "looked" like us - if that makes any sense - and I just knew this was going to be good. I emailed my girlfriends from my old small group the next day to tell them how super excited I was to finally be back in a group. They had already formed their new group earlier this year (they haven't been sucked into suburbia just yet, so they're still carrying the Buckhead torch). So I was really pumped about our first meeting. Other than ages and their kids' ages, I really didn't know much about these new couples. There are five couples... three have no kids, one has a set of 5-year old twins, and the last one has 3 kids. There's actually a 6th couple joining us next week and they have a 5-month old. So yeah, some have kids, but we're all in the same age range.

Last night we met at the group leaders' home, munched on some snacks while exchanging small talk, and then we began by sharing our stories. First our group leader asked everyone what their expectations were for the group - what we thought we'd get out of it, etc. Most people said the same thing... relationships, community, etc, etc. I went last and mentioned the bit about being able to be "real" with people in the group. That's really what's cool to me about the whole thing. And then we went on with our "stories"... everyone just takes a turn telling the cliff's notes version of how they got to where they are today, etc. Some people grew up in the church but didn't really "get it" until later in life... others didn't grow up in Christian homes at all... it's just really cool to learn everyone's background. With our large group, only half of us were going to give our stories last night and the rest will go next week. So we're hearing amazing story after amazing story and then lastly, our group leader goes. She talked about how she grew up in a very devout Catholic home. On family vacations, instead of reserving hotels, they would drive around once they reached their destination to find the local Catholic church and then book a room at the hotel closest to the church. "But mom, we're on vacation!" her girls would say. "But God doesn't take a vacation from us!" she'd fire back. TOO funny.

She continued on and as she's wrapping up her story she said she thought she should share her current struggle. She said she really wasn't sure she was going to say anything tonight but when she heard me say the bit about being real with one another, she knew she needed to. So then she goes on to explain the struggle she and her husband are having with infertility. Turns out she has endometriosis (like me) and had laproscopic surgery a few months ago (like me!) and has uterine abnormalities (LIKE ME!) and is just having a hard time dealing with it all emotionally (LIKE ME!!). OMG... this was just one of those "Aha!" moments in life where God is like, "you see Buford Betty, I know what I'm doin'." WOW. It was all I could do last night to hold back the tears and omg I'm crying now as I type this (thank God I didn't do this at work). She kept going on about how it was just so hard and she's found comfort through reaching out to others in the same situation online - people who shared her same problems - and here I am going through the EXACT same thing, unknowingly, sitting only 5 feet from this girl. Just when I think I've got it all under control, I'm reminded I'm not the one in control at all. I had to bite my tongue from yelling out "ME TOO!!!" at her every word. But finally when she finished I shared a little about our struggle too, so she knew she wasn't alone. We haven't talked yet just the two of us, but I'm dying to get with her and hear more about her story. The way that God puts people in your life - in the most unexpected places - just humbles me. I feel like I'm at a really good place with this whole infertility struggle. I see a lot of women dealing with it that just seem so bitter and angry - which I totally get. I do. But somehow I was just able to let go of that months and months ago. And I think my new friend is really having a hard time with that. So it's obvious to me that God needed to put me in her life just as much, if not more, than I needed her in mine. All I can say is wow... and thanks.

Needless to say, I think we've found our place now in a new group. I can't wait to learn more. :-)

Is it hot in here?

Yes, it is. I think the air is broken at our office. Which is strange because I'm usually freezing in here even if it's 100 degrees outside. The hot flashes have definitely set in with my second dose of meds, so needless to say, I'm freaking burning up. I was only really noticing the hot flashes at night at first but now they seem to be coming on around the clock... which is loads of fun! Just thought I'd share.

The Weekend.

So the weekend with the bachelorette was a lot of fun. We hostesses were able to check in to the room early and get it set up for the lingerie shower. We strung thongs on a clothes line and got the rest of the room good and girly. Lunch at The Grape was fun. I think I had a little too much wine! I was feeling pretty good! A couple of girls didn't show up. One we knew about since she called the night before, but the other just didn't bother to call. Poor bride. She called this girl while we're gathered at lunch, thinking maybe she's lost... but no. She was like, "oh yeah, I got sick earlier this week and I'm in bed." Earlier this week... so it never occurred to you to pick up the phone and let us know you weren't going to show up?! Whatever.

There were nine of us total, and it was a great number actually - no one ended up on the floor in the room! We had one air matress, so everyone had a bed of sorts. Anyway, after lunch the bride and her entourage went shopping while we hostesses scooted back to the room for last minute preparations. We started the lingerie shower around 5:30, which was a lot of fun. We had more wine and margaritas, along with these fabulous cookies I got from a local bakery. They are beyond cute!! I so wish I could take credit for these - but hey, I did tell them the colors and what I wanted on them.... does that count? I can't wait to find an excuse to use them again - they were great. I'm thinking I need some monogrammed cookies for my 30th birthday in October, don't you think? Maybe as favors? OK so after the shower we had a yummy dinner delivered to the room. Then we all got dolled up to go out - an hour (and then some) long process with 9 girls and only two bathrooms. We started out here for some magaritas and sangria. Then we walked over here in search of dancing. We ran into several other brides-to-be. They didn't really have a dancefloor, but they had a good DJ and people were kind of dancing - sort of. And they did have a stripper pole, which we finally got the blushing bride on after a few drinks. We had a great time but I think the people-watching had to be the best part of the whole night. I swear... you can just sit me on a bench somewhere like this and I'm entertained for hours.

We were back in the room by 1:30 and stayed up gabbing for a while before crashing. I didn't get to bed till 3am - I can't tell you the last time I was up that late. I'm very much a person that operates by daylight, so I'm by no means a night owl. And you already know I don't go "out" much! I still managed to get a good 6 hours of sleep, though it took me a couple of days to fully recover. I was pretty worthless on Sunday! All-in-all, the weekend was a total success and I think our kuntry bride had a great time. I must give major kudos to the hotel - they were so accommodating, from helping us get an extra early check-in to calling me on my cell phone after they discovered someone left a dress in the room after our departure. Enjoy the pics. Seriously... aren't the cookies to die for?! They taste fabulous too - and I'm not even a huge cookie person. Check out the favors too... aren't they so fun?! We had a ball putting those together.

A weekend of good girly fun!

I'm a busy, busy bee right now... busy at work (OK aside from my little lunch break here to post this!), and busy getting ready for my kuntry bride's bachelorette weekend. The festivities begin tomorrow afternoon. We've got a room at Twelve reserved and there are about 11 of us staying the night. It's gonna be crazy! And I should say condo rather than room - because at Twelve you actually are staying in a furnished condo with a full kitchen and all. Ours is a 2 bedroom/2 bath - so it's not like 10 of us are crammed into a normal hotel room. Still, it'll be crowded and a total sleepover like atmosphere - but what fun!

I'm beyond excited, but I had a mere panic attack over the fact that I have nothing to wear "out" tomorrow night. I mean, I just don't go "out." Rarely anyway. My idea of going out is meeting friends at a fun new restaurant in town and getting gitty over a good bottle of wine. So my clubbing wardrobe is non-existant. Even in college I was not huge into going to bars and clubs. I mean I did my fair share, but just to give you an idea... instead of typical "keggers," my bestest and I threw themed dinner parties. Uh huh. Seemed totally normal to us, but looking back we just laugh at how funny that is. And we went to a big party school mind you - so, dinner parties = NOT normal. They were damn good dinner parties though. Anyway - back to my original point... I really have nothing in my closet to wear Saturday night. So of course... against my better judgment, I ran over to Off 5th at lunch just to see if they had anything fun that I could work with. As usual, they did not disappoint. One of my girlfriends (who is not as foreign to going out as I am) told me that a lot of girls are wearing simple dresses with funky shoes out. OK, I can do that. Well I totally found the cutest dress ever at Off 5th - just kind of stumbled upon it, so I think I'm set. I had a coupon, too, so that made me love it even more! And it's something I can wear to work also - it can totally go from day to night. Wish I had a pic to share... but anyway, that problem is solved.

So the girly weekend starts with lunch at The Grape, followed by an afternoon of shopping. Then we'll have a lingerie shower in the room and dinner will be catered in. We originally wanted to do dinner out but everything we looked at was going to be too expensive. Places wanted contracts and minimum orders for our large party - no thanks! Then after dinner we'll head out for a night on the town. I'm also throwing together two yummy breakfast casseroles that we'll pop in the oven Sunday morning. Assuming we're not too hungover, hahaha! It should be a great weekend and a fun little get-away. I'm sure I'll have some fun stories to share!

Have a great weekend, y'all! :-)

Almost bake-ready.

Got my 2nd $600-menopause-sympton-inducing shot yesterday at the doctor's office. That sucker hurt, too... my left cheek was rather sore last night. Anyway, my second surgery is being scheduled right now and I'm awaiting a call back to hear when it is. It'll be one of two Tuesdays in September (why a Tuesday? - hell if I know) and I'm really praying it's the earlier of the two because I'll have to miss my godmother's wedding down in St. George if it's the later date. From my previous experience, I know there's no way I'd make a wedding three days after surgery - 6 hours away, no less.

I asked my doctor what the next steps were... assuming all goes according to plan with this second and final surgery. There is a bit of risk involved because my uterine tissue has a weak spot (which is why he couldn't get everything done on the first try back in June). So there is a chance of rupturing it and then shoot... who knows what... I don't know. We saw several little Chinese girls last week while on our trip that were obviously adopted. They're pretty damn cute. Maybe I'll just get me one of those. Pam - maybe you can pack me in your suitcase and I'll just get one too while we're there. Hehehehehe.. Anyway, if all goes well with surgery #2, my doctor said we can start trying immediately! I will have to have one more HSG to make sure everything looks good, but that should be the final "procedure." It's weird - I was telling my mom that going through all this mess with doctor visit after doctor visit, procedure after procedure, drug after drug, you soon forget what your end goal in all this is. It freaks me out a little bit to think we could be prego very soon! Super exciting yes, but omg... wow. I celebrated by ordering a new pair of Delman's (on sale of course, duh).

And yes I know my Maine pics aren't up yet... I'm about half way through with my Maine blog. Hold tight! What the heck is going on with the spacing on this thing... it's driving me nuts.

UPDATE: Just got the call about my surgery and I got the date I wanted... 9/18 - woo hoo!

My week in Maine

So wow... what an amazing trip. We all agreed that it was definitely one of the best trips we've ever taken. The bed-and-breakfast we stayed at was amazing. The innkeepers and everyone that worked there were wonderful and so helpful. They gave us great suggestions for dinner and we were not at all disappointed. Now with my family, our vacationing centers around eating and shopping. While we shop, we think about where we're going to eat and while we eat, we discuss where we're going to shop. I mean, is there anything better? That's just what we do. Now we did spend some time in Acadia National Park but left as soon as we found out there was an hour wait at the restaurant in the park. There are tons of things to do for you outdoorsy people... great hiking trails and whatnot. Our version of checking out the park though, was limited to hopping out of the car, saying "ooh ahh," snapping a pic, complaining about the cold, and then getting back in the car to move on to the next spot. It was beautiful though and we got some great pics. My dad especially got some good shots - he becomes Mr. photographer extraordinaire on these trips.

Look at these crazy people in the water at Sand Beach. Crazies! It's freaking freezing.

Another view at the park...

We did the whole park thing the 2nd day we were there. The first day we actually did a whale watching tour. Here's a pic of our boat...

So anyway we're heading out on the boat and I'm sitting next to my mom. The tour guide chick keeps referencing stuff we're passing... "lighthouse such-n-such at 3 o'clock... a school of dolphins at 8 o'clock..." At one point I leaned over to my mom and said, "bad case of camel toe at 9 o'clock." "Camel what?!" "Nevermind." The offending camel toe lady was taking pictures left and right and had this big ass camera lense, so I can only assume she knew what she was doing. At one point she even leaned on me to get a better angle. OK, lady. I'm sure her whale pics are way better than mine, but here's a decent shot...

It was very, very cool. The whales we saw were a pair of finback whales - the 2nd largest whale, and 2nd largest animal on Earth. It was pretty humbling to see these massive animals only yards away from us. So... on the way back, many of us huddled in the center of the boat to escape the brutal wind. My parents were seated inside and my mom motioned for me to come over and she asks me, "who's the Asian girl on the Today show?" "Ann Curry." "Doesn't that woman over there look like Ann Curry?" "Oh wow - yep that's Ann Curry." OMG - crazy camera CT lady is Ann Curry! She had on a cap and sunglasses outside, so she went totally unrecognized. My mom was just all flustered. "Do you think it's her?" "Yes, mom, it's her - no doubt." She was with her whole family. Her daughter - who looks about 14 - is the spitting image of her. Totally gorgeous. They were with another couple too and I recognized the wife but I cannot place her to save my life... some NBC correspondent or exec maybe? I know I know her and it's driving me mad. My mom, desperate to know if it's *really* Ann Curry, proceeds to ask the person in front of us, but she didn't speak English (there were a lot of foreign tourists on the trip). Omg mom, it's her - seriously - you DON'T need to ask around. I had just spit this information out, and I swear she said, "OK," but then she immediately leaned over to someone else and asked them. They agreed -so maybe now she's sold? My dad took some incognito pictures. These totally don't do her justice - she looks so amazing in real life.

So we're all getting off the boat and I can tell my mom is just waiting around to say something to her... oh goodness. Mom please - she's on vaca... with her fam... But oh yes, as soon as Ann walks by my mom approaches her (gasp!) and says "Are you doing 'where in the world is Ann Curry?!' ahhahahaha!" Omg, mom - seriously? Seriously?! Ann just kind of fake laughed and said "no" and walked on (not in a rude way, but probably in a did-you-really-just-say-that way). But anyway, that was a super fun surprise to see Ann - especially since I'm a total Today Show nut. Two big whales with a side of Ann Curry - can't beat it.

So our first couple of days were really great. On Monday we ate dinner at Cafe This Way. I had some yummy crab cakes. The service was lacking, but the food was quite good. Tuesday (whale and Ann day) was my Dad's 60th birthday, so a fun dinner was in order. The innkeeper recommended Havana, so we ate there. Also very good. I had a hanger steak dish that was really tasty. Wednesday (Acadia day), we decided we needed to hit up a true lobster pound and do lobster the Maine way. So the innkeeper sent us to Thurston's. It freaked my mom and the hub out because they literally pick up a live lobster in front of you, so it's sitting there with its beady little eyes staring up at you. My mom cried, "omg, so we're personally responsible for their death?" The girl taking our order looked at my mom like she was from outer space. Doesn't get much fresher than that, I don't guess. I have to admit it was a little disturbing, but it sure didn't stop me. That was some damn good lobster! Quite a mess - but what fun!

Thursday was spent just enjoying the town of Bar Harbor and shopping, of course. One of the funniest things we noticed is that there are as many ice cream places as there are lobster pounds. These people sure do love their ice cream! And so do I... we had ice cream every day we were there. It was like the thing to do there at night. Now that's my kind of town. It's also a REALLY dog friendly town - which I just love. It made me miss my poochies so much. Being that Thursday was our last night, we wanted to do dinner right of course, so we hit up another restaurant recommended by the innkeeper... The Burning Tree. It was definitely our favorite of the week. I had a wonderful salmon dish. So it was a week of good eatin' - that's for sure! And by good, I mean bad... I was so bad. I just don't hold back on vaca - but who cares? Calories don't count on vaca, right?!

Well those are pretty much the highlights of our week. We had a lovely time and I can't wait to go back. I will post another blog with more pics but I've got to hang it up for now. I'm feeling kinda crappy and my pillow is calling my name.

Oh and by the way... my mom left a message on our machine Monday morning... "Hey it's just me. I was wondering if y'all were watching the Today Show cause Ann was just telling Matt how she was in Maine all last week on vacation. So it was really her! Isn't that so cool?!" I think she's finally convinced.

Typical Monday.

Spilled my coffee all over myself on the way to work. And the thing is - I rarely ever grab coffee on the go. I guess this is a reminder of why I should stick with the coffee pot at the office. And of course I wore a skirt today with a white background. So as soon as the clock hit 10, I ran over to the outlet mall across the street to grab a skirt. I skimmed the clearance Lilly stuff at Off 5th, but nothing really was going to work. (Too bad because they had some GREAT deals.) I'm wearing a yellow top w/ an off-white cardi and pink shoes... so I had to find something that would work with all that. I ran across the way to the Liz Claiborne outlet. I'm not a big Liz Claiborne fan, but one of my girlfriends turned me on to this store earlier this year. They actually sell a lot of Sigrid Olsen stuff for seriously stupid prices, among other brands. I get skirts in there all the time that average about $10-15 each and retail for $100+. But for some reason, this is the only Liz outlet I've found like this. Since discovering the hidden gems in our local one, I always drop in at the Liz Claiborne outlets at other outlet malls. But none of them are like this one... I guess ours is like an outlet of an outlet? Well anyway, it's great. Hit or miss, like any outlet, but I often walk out of there with 3 or 4 skirts for less than $40 total. And in the spring and summer, skirts are pretty much all I ever wear to work. It's really rather dangerous that this great outlet mall is right across the street from my office... I tend to wander over there at lunch a fair bit (hehehe). So I'm clear of coffee stains... for now. I think I will nix coffee for the rest of the day to avoid any more mishaps.

Obviously I didn't make it back on last night to get my Maine deets up, but I have big plans for a session with the 'puter tonight. Back soon...

I'm back!

Although one day later than expected, we're back from a wonderful week in Maine! We missed our connecting flight to Atlanta from Baltimore Friday afternoon, and naturally, that was the last one that evening via Airtran. It was rather annoying to not get back to our own bed Friday night, but I dare not complain after the awful airport experience my bestest had a few weeks ago. Anyway, the airline (thankfully) put us up for the night in Baltimore and then we hopped on an early morning flight back home. I had that damn Baltimore song from Hairspray stuck in my head for a good 24 hours. And I haven't even seen the new movie yet!

I will do a fun blog later today with fun pics and tales of our adventures in Maine... what a fabulous trip! Definitely one of the best vacations we've ever taken. It was simply gorgeous. It was a great break from the deathly humid 100 degree heat we're having here... oh and we totally had a celebrity sighting too! I'll give ya the scoop soon...

I FINALLY finished (SPOILER ALERT!)

Just dropping in really quick to say I finally got through the end of Harry Potter last night. *Spoiler alert* here if you haven't read it yet... but I was TOTALLY right about Snape. The whole series was wrapped up beautifully and I am now in a bit of mourning over it all being at an end. I feel so emotionally attached to all these amazing characters, so it's hard to know there is no more. It was very cool though - at the very end, JK Rowling gave a glimpse into the future (a chapter called "19 years later"). It was in that final chapter that I totally lost it over one sweet little detail that had to do with Snape. I don't know why exactly, but he's been one of my favorite characters throughout the series, so I was just so happy with the way he was written in the final book. All I can say is - BEST....SERIES....EVER! (Right, Pam?!) When I dream about my someday kids, one of the things I look forward to is the day that I can share this series with them.

Alright... back to business! The dryer is buzzing...

Getting ready for vaca!

I actually feel kinda guilty about taking this trip since I've missed and will miss so much time from work due to my surgeries, but this was planned before we ever knew of the need for surgery (much less two of them)... so oh well! I have maxed out my PTO for the year and then some. But my firm is super flexible and understanding, so that is great. Anyway - we're off to Maine next week with my parents! I'm so super excited. None of us have ever been up there, so any fun tips or must-see places you want to share would be apprecitated! I've already been told that we must hit the LL Bean outlet, so I'm looking forward to that. My dad did not understand why we needed to go there. "We have outlets here," he says. "But, but..." BUT the other day I was telling one of my friends about our trip. She actually spent a summer up in Maine and the first thing she says is, "omg you MUST go to the LL Bean outlet!" Apparently her mother ventures up there every year for the sole purpose of visiting this outlet. Therefore, Dad gave in and we're totally going (not that he would've stopped us to begin with!).

We're staying in Bar Harbor as this cutie little Bed-and-Breakfast. My parents really planned the whole thing, so the hub and I are just along for the ride. I think we're planning to do a whale watching excursion and who knows what else. I'm mostly interested in eating lobster though. I'll be sure to get some good pics. I'm still trying to get my South Georgia pics from the bride, but she's dragging her feet (something about plannin' a weddin').

So this weekend we'll be busy busy busy getting ready to leave town early Monday. Tonight we have dinner with friends at our favorite local dirty mexican joint. I've been craving cheese dip and margaritas all week long! I have another shower tomorrow for the kuntry bride and then a cookout at another friend's house late tomorrow afternoon. I simply must squeeze in a pedi tomorrow morning... and we also have to get our guest room and bath ready - we have a friend crashing at our place Sat night (just found that out this morning - whatev). I also need to hit up Limetree in the a.m. - they're having a great storewide sale this weekend. Then on Sunday I have to juggle laundry, packing, dropping off the 3 dogs, and finishing up some birth announcements - all in time to get over to my parents' house around dinner time (we're spending the night with them). Mom is totally paranoid about our luggage situation and wants to carry on everything. Now that she's retired and not busy at work when I talk to her, she has no problem rambling on for 10 minutes about stupid shit like why the dog won't pee where he's supposed to. So I also hear about her latest worries in immense detail - and the luggage issue is her current one. That and making our connecting flight. So I'll be running around like a mad man this weekend.

Well, happy Friday and I hope y'all have a great weekend! Please share your inside scoop on Maine if you have any! :-)

Confession.

OK so I bought a maternity top today that was on clearance. There's no bun in this oven, y'all. (And don't tell, but this isn't the first time I've done it.) I fessed up to my bestest, claiming it was for research purposes. We're actually in the early stages of starting a maternity wear line, but that's a whole other blog-worthy topic I'm not going into now. Truthfully though, it's more like 5% research, 95% a cute-top-on-clearance-I-hope-to-wear-someday. Now I know some of you may be thinking I'm gonna jinx myself here by buying maternity clothes prematurely - and 6 months ago I probably would've agreed with you. But now I just don't care. I don't go looking for them necessarily, but if you know me, you know I've alway had this bizarro obsession with maternity clothing. So I'm often browsing around maternity sites (I know - it's totally weird). And so if I happen to see a $175 blouse on clearance for $39... that is super cute... and in my would-be size.. yeah, I might just buy it. It'll just go in my someday closet along with the numerous Lilly children's dresses (I couldn't help myself - Costco had them for $22!) and other random things I've accumulated for my imaginary daughter. I've got plenty of "neices" I can spoil if I never get to use them myself. And if for some reason we aren't ever able to get prego, hey... there's always my girlfriends or shoot - ebay! Call me crazy if you will, but I can't help myself!




On another, completely separate note... I finally uploaded pics of those cutie bachelorette invites I mentioned a while back. The pictures were hard to take - I couldn't get a very good angle on them, so they really just do not do the cards justice. But these are one of my very favorite designs to date. They'd make great wedding invitations, too. All the girls loved them! And I'm so glad I decided to do reply cards with these. For the bachelorette weekend, we're staying at Twelve Atlantic Station in a 2 bed / 2 bath condo - it's going to be SO much fun. We decided it would be easiest to collect money up front from everyone for the hotel, etc - hence the reply cards. The party happens in two weeks (and this is for my favorite kuntry bride, by the way). We've got the most fabulous goody bags to put together, among other things - I will take tons of fun pics when that all comes! I can't wait. This month is just packed with good girly fun, isn't it?

I've gotta get to bed, y'all. Between Harry Potter and JT this week, I've been staying up WAY too late. And I just don't function well without enough sleep. Nighty night!

I think I'm getting too old for these concerts.

So JT was totally great last night. I'm paying for it this morning though... really dragging. The arena is really close to where I live, but it might as well have been in South Carolina for how long it took me to get out of the freaking parking lot afterwards. I didn't get home till after midnight, so my eyes are a little red this morning. My back was killing me by the time we got home - I was completely exhausted.

Justin was amazing though - and I knew he would be. Damn, that boy can dance. The funny thing was that his backup dancers were not that great. The guys were really good, but a couple of the girls were mediocre at best. I mean they had all the moves down, but they had no style whatsoever. Hey JT, call me - I'll be on your tour bus in 10 seconds flat. And the best surprise? Timbaland was there! He did a great "halftime" show while JT took a breather.

Good Charlotte opened the show and they were pretty fun. Though, the whole time I couldn't stop thinking, you had sex with Nicole Richie... you had sex with Nicole Richie.

My camera phone pic is totally lacking, but you can at least see the stage setup. Justin was in the middle at this point and my camera didn't pick him up, sadly. He was on stage for a good 2.5 hours. My girlfriend actually dozed off at one point during a slower song (how sad are we?), but she was quickly revived when JT brought sexy back. If he stops in your town, don't miss it! It was a crazy good show! (Lots of good people watching too - it was like a Forever 21 fashion show.)

H&M is finally coming to Atlanta!

I can't believe I got this far into my day without shouting this from the rooftops! And too funny that I was just complaining about not having one... but it's been officially announced that H&M is coming to Atlanta (it's about freaking time) with plans to open its first store in Atlantic Station. Disposable fashion hits the South at last...

Me and JT.

I've got a date with JT tonight. I'm so super excited! We missed his show when he was here back in February so I was so glad to hear he was returning here. The hub opted out on this one, so one of my girlfriends is going with. I can't remember the last concert I went to... I go through phases. Some years I'll go to concert after concert, and others (like this year) I maybe make one. He does a center stage setup for this show, so it's going to be amazing. Prince did the same type setup last time he toured and it was incredible - I have to say that was one of the best shows I've ever seen. I have a feeling this one's gonna be up there as well - I hear it's incredible. Yay!! I'll fill y'all in tomorrow.

Hush up or get in the yard!

Well, we're back from our whirlwind weekend in South Georgia and we had a total blast! It was so fun to get away from the hustle and bustle for a bit and also to have some quality girl time with two of my best friends. I had absolutely no cell service while we were down there - none of us did. So I was truly out of touch with the world for 48 hours.

We were mainly down there for the bridal shower, of course, but that was over by 11am on Saturday. And the shower was exactly as I described it... it was in the fellowship hall of the Baptist church where the bride grew up. We stayed up late Friday evening assembling the hostess gifts for the 14 hostesses. (And, by the way, the bride went on to explain, as we're tying ribbon onto these 14 gifts, that probably half of the hostesses wouldn't even be at the shower. What? "Oh yeah, they'll just make a dish and drop it off with their gift." How does that qualify them as a host? OR bettter yet - worthy of a hostess gift?!)

As soon as we entered the hall, we saw that either side of the room was lined with banquet tables to display all the gifts. The bride was immediately swept away by a couple of old ladies before we even made it to the gift table. One of the hostesses introduced herself to us and eyed our gifts and said, "I'll take those!" We were a little overwhelmed, so we just let her take them. And then before we could so much as turn around, I saw tissue flying out of my larger-than-life gift bag. She was opening my gift!!! It just happened so fast - and it was too late! The bride must have caught my look of horror from across the room. We looked over at her and she mouthed "I'm so sorry!!!" to us as the ribbons and tissue were thrown in every direction. Oh well... she did at least see my wrapping since the package travelled down with us in the same car. The food was pretty much what I expected... fruit, cheese straws, brownies, etc. But the "punch" was a little lacking - it was literally Sprite in a punch bowl with a couple of lemon and lime slices thrown in for color. Sprite is fine or whatever... but why the need to put it in a crystal punch bowl and serve it in crystal cups? It's Sprite. A 2-liter and some solo's do the trick, y'all.

But all in all, the shower was real nice (picture me saying that in a nice drawn out Southern accent). The bride totally loaded up on gifts. I mean, how could you not with 160 people invited? But really, they were great gifts for the most part. There was one piece of yard art and one random antique plate that will have to battle it out for the most horrendous gift award, but other than those, she really made out well.

As for the rest of our weekend adventure, I feel it's best to present my experiences in bullet format. So the following is made up of things we saw, things we did, things I learned, and new items added to my vocabulary...

• We stayed at Daddy's house for the weekend. Yes, Daddy - the bride refers to her dad not as "my dad" but as "daddy." And her mother is "mama." Apparently this is the norm down there. Mama and Daddy are divorced and Daddy got the house, so we stayed with Daddy. The house was itty bitty but sweet and homey. I've heard about Mama and Daddy and "home" for years, and it was really cool to see it all in person. The kitchen had no dishwasher or garbage disposal, but it did have some lovely wallpaper from the 70's. The den was maybe an 8x10 room with a large TV, a couple of chairs and a couch - all of which also looked like they were bought in the 70's. The carpet definitely was from the 70's. And on the wood-panel walls hung several deer heads. One of which was a fake one that you could make talk and sing. Uh huh. And how the bride, her sister, and her parents shared one tiny bathroom all those years, I don't know! But there was something really cool about the simpleness and smallness of it all. Things are just a lot more simple down there. Her daddy did, however, add on a master suite after Mama left, so the house nearly doubled in size. In the back yard was an above-the-ground swimming pool, a trampoline, a shed, a tire swing, a sandbox in a big tractor tire, and a huge dog pin.
  
  
• The bride's daddy deserves his own bullet point. We fell in love with him and totally wanted to bottle him up and take him home. He was just hilarious. I think he thought we city girls were crazy. Some of his random phrases just got us rolling (my blog title being one of them). He loves Nascar and Dale Jr. He loves to hunt and he drove us around to see a couple of his deer stands - on the back of his truck, mind you. Now THAT was an experience. And it was the first of two times on Saturday that I sweat completely through my pants and had to change. Yeah, he definitely thought we were crazy.
  


• We visited a vineyard that wasn't too far outside of town. They were having a grape-stomping festival, so we decided to go check it out. They had free wine tastings, but it's probably not the kind of wine tasting you're thinking of... it basically involved dixie cups and a couple of girls in tight shirts. To cleanse your palate, there were goldfish crackers. And every one of their varieties of wine is chilled. I tasted a few but they were all way too sweet for me - mostly flavored stuff. We then took a hayride (minus the hay) around the vineyard. I thought the driver was going to give a history lesson on the vineyard, but no such luck. Besides letting us out for a second to pick grapes, he didn't say a word. I should've known better... there was a sign posted on the back of the wagon that read, "Pulled my mules, driven by a jackass." This was perhaps the longest "tour" I have ever been on, seeing as the heat was blazing and the gnats were setting up camp all over my face. This would be the second time on Saturday that I sweat through my pants and had to change clothes.
  
  
• Daddy also took us out to some beautiful sunflower fields. I can't wait to show those pics to you... acres and acres of sunflowers. They weren't in full bloom yet, because they'll get about 5 feet tall or so. We had fun taking silly pics in the sunflowers. We also saw a huge field of burnt corn. Daddy jumped out and picked some off for us. We said we wanted a souvenir, so there you go. He also picked some peanuts out of the ground for us even though "they still got a coupler weeks on 'em." Peanuts grow in the ground just like taters... who knew?
  


• We city girls also had our first experience with fishin'. (That's another thing, by the way - you gotta drop the 'g' on everything. As soon as the bride got around her family, the "wedding" became the weddin'.) We got a bucket of crickets for bait. I was sure to remain at least 3 feet from the bucket at all times (not a fan of bugs). Daddy found this particularly funny. We went to this beautiful property to fish. But its beauty was soon defeated by the raging gnat-fest in my face. The combination of the surrounding water and the sweat dripping down my face was all too appetizing for the gnat population. And bug spray doesn't help. Nothing helps. We city gals had no luck, but the bride quickly caught a fish. We totally screamed and jumped with excitement (which Daddy also found particularly funny - or perhaps frightening). But that was the first and the last fish caught that afternoon. My girlfriend got attacked by ants while concentrating on her fishin'. So we didn't last too long between that and the gnats. I managed to keep my pants dry though, so that was an improvement.
  


• After taking my 3rd shower of the day, we cleaned up and went over to Miss Faith's and Mr. Jimmy's house for supper. I love how they call everyone by Miss or Mister and their first names. It doesn't matter if she's 25 or 95, married or single... if Faith is older than you, it's "Miss Faith." Miss Faith was one of the 14 shower hostesses (and she actually showed up). Now Miss Faith and Mr. Jimmy have a real nice house. They have a Christmas tree farm, two dogs running crazy (both of which they've trained to climb a tree), a huge shed with more deer antlers than I've ever seen in my life, at least 4 trucks parked in various locations, and a brand new house filled with some of the biggest deer heads I've ever seen (and they totally stare at you). Y'all may remember the tornados that swept through South Georgia a year or two ago that killed several people... well Miss Faith's and Mr. Jimmy's house was one of the ones completely destroyed, so they had to rebuild. For dinner we had fried catfish, fried alligator, and fried chicken. Also - homemade hushpuppies, slaw, and fried potatoes. The catfish was fried whole and my city girlfriend and I about fell out of our chairs when the bride's brother-in-law clamped down on the TAIL and started going to town. He ate the freaking tail! Ew!!! I did try the alligator meat and no, it does not taste like chicken. It's chewy. I asked the bride where one gets alligator meat... at the market? No, you kill it. Isn't that illegal? Yep. So apparently we were chowing down on some illegally obtained gator meat.
  


• Sunday morning we got up and drove over to the market to pick up some breakfast. This is one of two markets in town. It's really cute - just an itty bitty little grocery store and they also have hot food served in the back which is really good. It's pretty much your only option for eating out, if you can call that eating out. There are no fast food places or any restaurants in town really. Those grits were some of the best I've had in a long time. So good! As soon as we got back in the car though, the bride's car died. Poor thing... "not now, not now!" -she cried. After a few more tries... she had to call Daddy. Luckily we were still in the grocery parking lot since we had no cell coverage down there. She ran back in the store and called her Daddy - whose reaction was, "aw, shit." He got it back up and running in no time though - it was just something or other in the engine that needed cleaning out. How nice to have a daddy like that who can stick his head under the hood and fix things. Up here we'd have probably spent $400 at a mechanic just to learn that they don't know what's wrong with it.
  


• At one point during our stay, someone found a rattlesnake 4 houses down. They killed it, threw in the back of their truck, and drove around showing it to people. This was the talk of the town on Saturday. And not so comforting to those of us staying only "4 houses down."

Well that comprises most of the major highlights of our trip down South. We had a total blast, but they can keep those nasty gnats. The bride took some great pics, so as soon as get those, I'll post some good ones. I can see why she wanted to get the hell out of that town after high school, but I also see why she loves to go back. There's something very special about it all. It's definitely another world, but it's home to her. As I was driving home from work, at about 5 miles per hour, surrounded by more cars than that town probably sees in a month's time, I couldn't help but think that maybe that life wouldn't be so bad... But then I passed one of my favorite malls and said, oh nevermind.

It's about to get KUNTRY up in here!

Today's the day! The city girls are heading for the country. I'm so super excited to meet all of the bride's family. I've met her sister before, but her parents don't make it up here much at all. Her mom won't even drive up here because the interstate scares her. I've heard stories about the bride's family and her hometown for years and now we finally get to experience it. I'm sure I'll have some fun stories to share.

The shower we're going to on Saturday is one of these huge ass church showers where practically the whole town is invited. Over 160 people were invited - insane (and have fun with those TY's...geez)! I've never been to one of these, but I've heard about them... basically it works more like a sip-and-see. The hostesses (there are 14 of them - we're helping her wrap her hostess gifts tonight) take your gift as soon as you walk in the door and unwrap it and then display it. So there actually is no point during this "shower" where the bride is unwrapping gifts while guests observe with "ooohs" and "ahhhs." But I'm telling you, if one of those 14 hostesses tries to take my gift and unwrap it, there's going to be some heels flying. I put a lot of effort and creativity into my wrapping. I love to do it and I really think half the gift is the presentation. I already forewarned the bride of my concern and she told me not to worry. I guess if you regularly attend these type of showers, you just bring a gift unwrapped? That just seems so anticlimatic, but whatever. I just think, if that's the intention - to take gifts and unwrap them before the bride ever lays eyes on them - then you should tell people to bring unwrapped gifts. I mean giftwrap isn't cheap! A decent giftbag can run you $5 or $6. And just to be ripped off and cast aside by some random hostess? No thanks, missy! I'm sure the gifts are going to be really interesting too. The most memorable gifts usually come from church showers. Mine did. I got this set of Christmas candle holders that I have no doubt came out of a random box that had been buried in the gift giver's basement for 15 years.

At any rate... it should be quite entertaining! Remember this is a one-stoplight town. When the bride's sister got married there a few years ago, they didn't even print wedding invitations. She just put a blurb in the church bulletin and people just show up. My stress levels are elevating just thinking about that.

Everybody's doing it.

8 random/weird things/habits of mine...

1. I'm addicted to dippin' dots. I hope they never find a way to put them in grocery stores, because I'll be in big trouble if they do. (And if they are, don't tell me - I don't need to know that.)

2. I'm really really bad about procrastinating... with everything. Sometimes I literally tell myself outloud, "Be a freaking adult and just do it!"

3. I have an ipod but I don't know how to use it. I don't even know where it is. I just recently figured out text messaging, so I think it's going to be a while. My SIL gave me an itunes giftcard for Christmas. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with it.

4. I don't get grossed out easily. (i.e. poopy diapers don't really bother me)

5. I usually like planning an event more than the actual event itself.

6. My morning "routine" is terribly inconsistent. I always shower first, but the order in which I do everything else is pretty random. As well as how long it all takes... could be 45 minutes, could be 2 hours. And I have no idea why.

7. I rarely ever leave the house without makeup. Even if I'm totally dressed down, it's still a strategic ensemble. I can't help it... Growing up, my mom implanted the idea in my head that you should always look your best because you never know who you'll run into. So I blame her.

8. I am OCD about random things... like keeping the island in our kitchen clear. Yet my hub always manages to come home after work and dump crap all over it... keys, wallet, mail, and whatnot. It drives me insane. I'm constantly moving stuff off the stupid island.

I think pretty much everyone else has done this one... but if not, tag - you're it! :-)

Cuteness overload!

Too cute for words! I really think I only want a baby so I can buy cute maternity clothes and pop out a dress-up doll in a few months.