I'm beating myself up right now because I somehow managed to tell myself I didn't need any of the The Fresh Market's Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle mix. How delicious does this sound on a cool, fall weekend morning? (Not that it's cool here....it's still in the 80's well into October!) I think I may have to swing back by there this weekend to pick up a package! It's on sale this week for $3.50.
I can't say much right now, because I'm speechless.
Chase's annual Gameday CD is complete. We're at the lake. The Tide kicks off at 7:00. It just doesn't get any better than this! I've got chills already....FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE!!!
I painted this picture of the legendary Bear Bryant as a "Football Season" present for Chase. Because as he says, "It's like Christmas and I'm too excited to sleep!" Merry Football Season Chase! Go Bama! Roll Tide!
I love reading the funnies in The Birmingham News during lunch. I still read them...yep, perpetual kid. Don't hate.
Anyway....this Dennis the Menace reminds me of my childhood, only it was both parents reserving the TV. This is all Chase can manage to talk about the past month!
Only 4 more days till the Crimson Tide kicks off!!! RTR!
As I sit with my feet propped up on the back of the couch, trying to make sense of the senseless parents on TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras, Chase is standing up on a ladder installing ceiling mounted speakers. My dear husband has a well rooted love for quality sound and high definition. After two days of asking me how I felt about him installing the speakers, I surrendered my reservations just as I did with our fifty something inch TV. He loves his toys. The only condition that I asked was that there would not be a gaping hole in our ceiling and that it look professional. Who was I kidding? Everything he does looks professional!!
I must brag for just a moment on Chase and give him credit where credit is due. Besides being a natural Mr. Fix It, he is quite domesticated. Last night I came home and he had picked up groceries for supper and made it all himself. It was such a special treat and very delicious. Taking a break from laundry, cooking and all my other tendencies at home was a nice vacation. He frequently helps me clean, repairs things I somehow "mess up", cooks....he's a catch! {Easy though, he's already been caught!}
Chase truly has a heart of gold and I feel truly blessed to have him as my husband. God sure had a pretty brilliant idea in pairing us together. {Thanks Big Guy!}
On a completely different note, I finally purchased and have completed all the embellishments on my market basket I bought with my birthday money! With the monogramming help of my colleague Ashley and a little sewing I did after I got my basket back from her, here is my finished product!!! I present my "Gameday" basket! I absolutely cannot wait to take this precious thing tailgating with me this year!!!
{Post Script : We have a wonderful finished sound system that got it's full scale approval by testing the waters on the 2008 Alabama vs. LSU game. It sounds GREAT!}
Meet me at the fair! Don't tell me the lights are shining any place but there!!
Ah, this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday Chase and I went for our much anticipated trip to St. Louis. This city is one of my favorite places on Earth! Why? I'm a HUGE Cardinals fan. Our family made a trek to this town on the mighty Mississippi every summer for a quick vacation, sight see and eat peanuts at Busch Stadium. It's also the town where my parents, as well as Chase and I got engaged! I guess you could say it holds great sentimental value.
We left Birmingham on Thursday morning and a short 59 minute flight later, we were there! Chase had a few work meetings on Thursday and Friday, but that keep me boarded up in our hotel. We stayed in St. Louis' Union Station Marriott. Union Station in it's heyday in the 40's was one of the busiest train stations in the United States. The architecture is unreal...very Romanesque. You know me... if it has flair, good bones and architecture, it's good enough for me.
Thursday night we met up with my sorority sister, Paige and her husband Christopher, who are city dwellers. We had an amazing dinner at this great neighborhood Irish pub called McGurk's. I would highly recommend if you are traveling to St. Louis soon. Very local....and we love local!
Friday, after a nice brunch with Paige and Chase's meetings, we ventured to the the St. Louis Zoo. A free zoo! How nice is that?! Because we have both been to STL several times, we ventured beyond past visited landmarks such as the Anheuser Busch Brewery, the Gateway Arch and Grants Farm. Friday evening, we met up with several of Chase's business contacts at Mike Shannon's for dinner and drinks and then on to a Cardinals game!! I must say that this trip was paramount because it was my first time to ever see the Cards win a home game....and that's about 16 years worth of ballgames!! The trip went by without any flaws...well except one true emergency. After Chase and I celebrated the Cards win over more drinks, we returned to our hotel about 1:00 AM to nestle into those comfy Marriott beds. Little did we know that at 5:00 that morning would the hotel fire alarm sound. I was slightly alarmed, so I made Chase get up and take the proper exit routes with several other sleepy eyed guest. He was reluctant to get up, but after convincing him that we might possibly get stuck in our hotel room if there was a fire, I pried him out of bed. How you might ask? Only after brewing a cup of coffee to take with him while we waited. If we could hook him up to a coffee drip, we would. Turns out someone who probably had too much fun at the ballgame the night before pulled the alarm as a prank.
Since arriving home yesterday afternoon, we've literally been posted on the couch! It's a yucky Sunday afternoon, we've already been to early church, ate breakfast and now enjoying the paper while Dubya takes a nap between us. Could it have been a more perfect long weekend?
A good portion of my life, I have been told that I’m an “old soul born a few decades too late.” I enjoyed being a child of the 80’s and 90’s. I was a Cabbage Patch crazed kid, watched Full House and imitated Steve Urkel, but whenever we would visit my grandparents in North Alabama, I would become the little girl who longed to have grown up in my mom’s place…or even a couple of decades before then.
My grandparents lived in a historic district (and my grandfather still resides in that home) in a turn of the century home that they completely gutted and restored with their own two hands. To a child, an old home with 6 fireplaces, a secret passage to the basement and closets of treasures was pure enchantment. Both of my grandparents grew up poor, so most of their belongings were those in which they worked hard to buy…including their home. My cousins, sister and I would always be on the snoop in the closets to find fun things to entertain us. Though all those discoveries were amusing, one of the things that I always will remember about my grandparents is the everyday things in life they did.
I have recently discovered the influence these wonderful people in my life. They have crept into my home life slowly without realizing. It’s not the way I fold my laundry, or the meals I cook, (but I do those too) but rather the smaller things that sometimes are un-noticed. My grandmother ALWAYS had a bottle of Windex for cleaning and Ivory soap to wash her dishes with. Please, someone report me to her in Heaven if I they are ever absent in my home!
Possibly one the most notorious actions I take was kindly pointed out to me by Chase the other night. On recent trips to Athens, my grandfather has sent me home a dozen or so tomatoes from his garden....as he has done for 26 years. Rather than placing them in my vegetable basket when we get home, I line them up along my kitchen window sill. Chase asked me the other day why I always do that. My Poppy would tell you it’s to help ripen them for better eating, but I do it because that’s what Poppy does.
I’m sentimental and nostalgic, I know this all too well, but it truly does amaze me all the family traditions that are handed down through the years. Some more prevalent than others, but none the less, they are a part of your own special threadwork. Be proud of who you are and where you came from. It’s your richest possession.
Good things in my book come in a definition of many things such as fresh cut flowers, odds and ends found in nature, silver linings...my list could go on and on. Perhaps though one of the best "good things" in my list would be a good, hand-written thank you note! (I know, I'm an old soul!)
I recently got a simple, sweet thank you note from my friend Laura Beth and let me tell you, she can write one fantastic thank you note! Now any thank you note goes down with a gold star in my book, but the ones that I LOVE are the ones that thank you for the item/deed/whatever you did, how much you enjoyed/enjoy it, and then adding some personal line to it. She covered em' all!
It's not the glory of knowing you picked a wonderful present that I enjoy in a thank you note, it's excitement of receiving old fashioned [lost] art in your mailbox. Hand-written correspondence is slowly being lost due to instant messaging, phones and email.
Snail mail is the best! I enjoy heading to the Post Office anytime they release an new, interesting stamp and usually, I will head to Hallmark and find a card to send to someone for some reason or another.
So next time you receive a cool gift (or any gift for that matter), think of a friend you haven't talked to in awhile or need to send out birthday wishes to someone, make sure you send them a good hand-written note. You can still use any of the aforementioned technologies, but go that extra step and do something that will give them the excitement of "fun mail" to stand out among all those unpleasant bills!
Wow! Yesterday was a complete surprise! Yesterday after lunch, Chase called my office and asked me if I could be ready to go somewhere by 6:00. Well why not?! After prying him for hints on what to wear, I quickly narrowed it down to a Birmingham Barons game over at Regions Park....and then it hit me on the way home, WRONG! (Maybe) Just maybe he was surprising me with Kenny Chesney tickets since he was in town last night! Oh boy was I right! For those of you who haven't known me as long as a few others, I am a HUGE fan! In fact, last night was my FIFTH Kenny concert to attend. I can remember riding with my ohsohip neighbors Kelly and Joe were taking my best friend and next door neighbor, Beth and I to eat Mexican one night and I can remember hearing that beautiful country voice for the first time. (Kelly and Joe were in their early twenties, newlyweds and for some reason thought that the annoying 8th graders across the street would be fun to take to eat on Fridays, church gatherings and family picnics.) As he sang, "When I Close My Eyes" I instantly fell in love. Being that we were in 7th and 8th grade, we quickly had to hide our love for country music, so we disguised it with Ginuwine and Blackstreet.
Fast forward 3 years to when I had a license, a boyfriend that loved country music and Kenny's latest hit, "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." Honey, I came outta the country music closet screaming! No more hiding my love for country....it was here to stay. I stepped out and I haven't taken one look back!
(Side note to readers: The first time I heard that wonderful song, I was watching my cousin try to figure out how to get his drunk hiney down from the top of a ski boat tow bar while singing this song.)
Extra, extra! I am going to start a weekly series for my blog that will occur [almost] every Friday. Drum roll please......Flashback Friday! I have been told by Chase that I have an exceptional memory. (He can't even remember what he had for supper the night before!) I often get caught up a lot of times remembering something from years ago that can just come out of now where! With that being said, each Friday I will pick a memory of some sort and flashback to well....it won't go any further back than 1983! It could be anything I think of, whether it be a song, TV show/movie, family/friends memory....the possibilities are endless!
Without further adieu, here is the first FLASHBACK FRIDAY!!!
The Kentucky Derby
I was born and bred in South Central Kentucky. I have a deep sense of pride coming from the most beautiful commonwealth in the United States. Like every other Kentuckian, the first Saturday in May has to be one of the highlights of my year! The annual Run for the Roses, the Kentucky Derby! (I must culture you a bit and let you know that most Kentuckians don't call it the Kentucky Derby...it's just DERBY.)
We Kentuckians truly know how to throw a party and the weeks leading up to it. Derby Festival has a slew of events such as Thunder Over Louisville (Oh, the fireworks!), the Pegasus Parade, Steamboat Races on the Ohio River, and the Kentucky Oaks (filly races on Friday). That's just to name a few...
Though I have never been to Derby, (yes, you heard that correct, but have been to Churchill Downs several times) it always held fond memories for me as a child. I was just telling a co-worker this morning that the day of the Derby, the Louisville Courier Journal always publishes a Derby section. This section is filled with everything about the weekend you would want to know, including the contenders, their jockeys and their silk patterns. I always chose famed jockeys, Pat Day or Gary Stephen's horses. My parents used to throw Derby parties for our friends. We would have 4 or 5 families over the day for lots a food and horse racing. A few years I would recall a few bets being placed, but we were never in on any of that fun!
Please don't get me wrong, I love living here in Alabama, but I can't help but get a little teary-eyed when Derby comes around. Tradition has been for the past 2 years to go to the lake to celebrate. It makes me proud to watch it on TV. When they play "My Old Kentucky Home" and the entire Grand Stand and infield proudly stand and sing, I join along. When someone asks me what they're singing, I tell them the most beautiful song in the world. Every child in the commonwealth learns it in elementary school and never forgets the words. Can most people sing their state song, quite the way we can, or even at all?! The call to the post gives me chills and the Kentucky Derby truly is the "fastest two minutes in sports."
For those who don't know....when many children were singing nursery rhymes and Disney songs (which I listened to as well!) my mutha had me singing Jimmy Buffett. I think Changes in Latitudes was my favorite song in kindergarten followed by Cheeseburger in Paradise. I think that my best buddy, Laura Beth, will concur and find this childhood memory familiar as well.
So before I sidetrack and ramble about my wonderful childhood filled with a few lewd songs, I have to tell you that I was listening to Radio Margaritaville on Sirius this morning on the way to work. I stumbled across one of Buffett's new soon to be masterpieces that has become an instant favorite! As many of you also know, I hate discussing politics. I would rather talk about the weather, but it would be a crime not to share this song with you! Without further adieu, my look at politics and how I feel about today's crumbling economy. Hand me my bourbon and Coke....
*Hint: Que the timeline bar on the video up to about 1:12!
So in my attempts to share all things good to me. I must show you all this video on YouTube. YouTube is a favorite pastime of mine. You can find old TV shows, funny skits....or in my instance, my cousin's middle school talent show dancing extravaganza! Nonetheless, this is a MadTV skit that my cousin Aaron showed me during Christmas. It's instant laughter to me!
The past few weeks, I have been feeling the saddest feelings a girl who adored summer as much as I did, could feel. I am campsick. Yes, it is true.... I was the kid who grew up at camp, and considered it a vacation, a second home and a completely different set of friends who knew me so well. Camp Loucon in Leitchfield, Kentucky was my FAVORITE destination on Earth. Seven years have past since I made my last appearance at my beloved stomping grounds, but not a summer goes by that I long for an afternoon of archery, low elements, high ropes or a nice leisurely paddle on Nolin Lake. I started my career as a camper VERY young....seven years old to be exact. From 91'-01', I would spend my glorious summers returning to find my old "favorite" counselors and make friends with the new ones.
It's hard to pinpoint what made my love start in the first place. If you ask anyone who ever went to camp, they rarely can tell you. Camp is a magical place. In an attempt to "get out of Kentucky" and "live" one summer, I randomly took a job at the oldest girls camp in Minnesota. Camp Kamaji as a counselor, and it was amazing to see that those girls love that old camp the way I love mine. At that point, I had the best summer of my life. I stretched beyond my limits that summer and it helped mold me into the adult I am today. That camp will always be dear to me, though I spent only one summer there. Don't get me wrong when I say this....I had a blast and made yet again, more life long friends, but it never touched the way I felt about Loucon.
There were nights when I would be participating in Kamaji's evening program, that I was longing to be swaying to the Bossa Nova, jumping so hard during the Pata, Pata in Harbin Hall that the cd skipped, stepping on someone's toes to the Salty Dog Rag or settling a love triangle with Sally Down the Alley. Nothing beat the Sundrops and Sour Straws at Canteen or the "Warm Fuzzie/Cold Prickly Board". Exercise these days will never replace the hikes to Whispering Falls, a hard fought game of Roman Soldiers, capture the flag after breakfast or the long mid-night walks to Loucon Lake when everyone else was fast asleep. Time will never fade the memories of those heartfelt nights at Vesper Hill, Open Air Chapel or Green Cathedral.
Camp is a special place and I will always hold it dear to my heart. Every summer I will get camp sick and email my favorite dean, Darryl Glass and beg him to let me come back to help the next year. I've been held to my promise and am returning during the holidays to visit during Christmas Camp and returning as a counselor next summer to give back to the place that gave me so much.
Happy National Pancake Day! 
Ah, this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday Chase and I went for our much anticipated trip to St. Louis. This city is one of my favorite places on Earth! Why? I'm a HUGE Cardinals fan. Our family made a trek to this town on the mighty Mississippi every summer for a quick vacation, sight see and eat peanuts at Busch Stadium. It's also the town where my parents, as well as Chase and I got engaged! I guess you could say it holds great sentimental value. 
The trip went by without any flaws...well except one true emergency. After Chase and I celebrated the Cards win over more drinks, we returned to our hotel about 1:00 AM to nestle into those comfy Marriott beds. Little did we know that at 5:00 that morning would the hotel fire alarm sound. I was slightly alarmed, so I made Chase get up and take the proper exit routes with several other sleepy eyed guest. He was reluctant to get up, but after convincing him that we might possibly get stuck in our hotel room if there was a fire, I pried him out of bed. How you might ask? Only after brewing a cup of coffee to take with him while we waited. If we could hook him up to a coffee drip, we would. Turns out someone who probably had too much fun at the ballgame the night before pulled the alarm as a prank.
Possibly one the most notorious actions I take was kindly pointed out to me by Chase the other night. On recent trips to Athens, my grandfather has sent me home a dozen or so tomatoes from his garden....as he has done for 26 years. Rather than placing them in my vegetable basket when we get home, I line them up along my kitchen window sill. Chase asked me the other day why I always do that. My Poppy would tell you it’s to help ripen them for better eating, but I do it because that’s what Poppy does.
Wow! Yesterday was a complete surprise! Yesterday after lunch, Chase called my office and asked me if I could be ready to go somewhere by 6:00. Well why not?! After prying him for hints on what to wear, I quickly narrowed it down to a Birmingham Barons game over at Regions Park....and then it hit me on the way home, WRONG! (Maybe) Just maybe he was surprising me with Kenny Chesney tickets since he was in town last night! Oh boy was I right!
I was born and bred in South Central Kentucky. I have a deep sense of pride coming from the most beautiful commonwealth in the United States. Like every other Kentuckian, the first Saturday in May has to be one of the highlights of my year! The annual Run for the Roses, the Kentucky Derby! (I must culture you a bit and let you know that most Kentuckians don't call it the Kentucky Derby...it's just DERBY.) 
