Opinions Please.....

Gibson and I bought a house about a week ago. We are starting renovations around the beginning of Feb. I know, I have GREAT timing. The JA Ball AND this in the same month....WHAT THE HECK have I gotten myself into. Anyway....Since there is no stopping now...I am just going with it. Hope no one wants to plan a trip in the next couple of months....just teasing! Anyway, we are re-doing the master bath and I am thinking about putting stained concrete counter tops in there. I really like the way they look and from what i have read they are pretty durable, especially for a bath. The get kinda beat up in a kitchen I think but I won't really have food or knives on them in a bathroom...plus, I like it when they get worn. Anyway, just wondering if anyone had any experience with them and what they thought. OH yeah, and Gibson is dying to put in a steam shower....although everything he keeps finding are these pre-fab structures that you buy and put in...NOT HAPPENING....they looks so, well, pre-fabricated. Anyway, we are going to build one, so if anyone has any input on that, or anything else for that matter. I will take it too!!!

What the heck is up with this?

Ok, is this the new Jackson thing I don't know about. I did almost all of my Christmas shopping on Friday. Anyway, three different places that I got presents from...and got them wrapped...didnt' put card on them. What is up with that. REALLY....and I don't think it was just a fluke becuase I bought more than one gift from each one. Do I have cards at home...heck no...so now I have to go find/buy some tags to put on these darn gifts. Which totally defeats the purpose of getting them wrapped. Ok, NOT trying to be all bah humbug, but really......Turkoise...(or however you spell it), Everyday Gourmet, and Olde Tyme Commisssary....I got several things from each of them and not ONE card to write to and from on! Is this the new penny pinching method....I am NOT impressed! Granted I LOVE all three of these stores, and love shopping there.....they just need to put cards on their gifts! ok....gripe fest for the day is over!

A Baby Girl AND a house to bring her home to!

Not only did we find out Friday that we were having a girl (and her sonogram looks healthy), but we also bought a house too! Granted we havent' closed on it yet, won't do that until they find somewhere to live and move out, but we signed the papers at 10am Saturday morning. We are planning on this being it so it was a very big decision for us. We decided that we were going to buy instead of built back in June/July. It has taken us this long to find a house. Granted, the baby kinda sped things along, but it has not been a fun process. We have spent many many many nights stressing, worrying, going back and forth, etc. You would think now would be a perfect time to buy a house, and it is good, but there aren't exactly an abundance of houses in Greenville. We definitely wanted 4 bedrooms and that did not leave us too many options.

ALSO, I dont' know WHAT is up with some of these home owners but they must not be paying attention to the economy right now. WE put two offers on two separate houses that have been on the market for AWHILE. Granted, we didn't offer them what they were asking (who does that anyway) but we DID offer them more than the appraised value and they didn't budge....and both of these really want to sell. Ummm, who they think in Greenville is going to pay them what they are asking is beyond me, but oh well. Hope they like where they are becuase they will be staying awhile. Anyway, we are very excited. Hopefully we will be in around April, gotta take out a few walls, re-do a bathroom, paint, etc, but we are pumped. Dutch's favorite part would be the large fenced in yard! We had another house that we really liked and had tons of potential, but we were looking at at least a years worth of renovations (and probably 3 times the money we were planning on for renovations) and we just decided that was way more than we were willing to get in to. I think/hope we made the right decision because I actually slept Saturday night...and I mean, REALLY slept. Anyway, just wanted to share our additional news. I will post pictures once I get some!

Gibson got his wish!!!!

SO CUTE, she was hiding her face!
Mama calls her Skeletor in this picture.

ITS A GIRL. As many of you know Gibson was DYING for a little girl. Well, he got his wish! It was hilarious while we were getting the sonogram. At first she had her legs closed so we really couldn't tell for sure. The lady kept saying she THOUGHT it was a girl because she didnt' see any dangling parts, but wasn't going to be sure unless the baby spread her legs some. At first she wasn't moving AT ALL, but I guess my Diet Mountain Dew (I only drank half) got to her because she started moving like CRAZY. About that time she spread those little legs WIDE open and it confirmed that she was for sure a girl!!! Gibson was so so so excited. I am too, but he is REALLY excited. That baby girl is already wrapped around his little finger. I am attaching pictures but they may not work!

WHAT IS IT?

I have no CLUE what this baby is. I figured by this point I would have SOME sort of feeling as to what it is. I am clueless. ZERO feeling either way. I really don't have a preference....really, I don't. GIBSON, however is DYING for a girl....and I mean DYING for a girl. HE used to say (WAY before we started talking about having a baby) that he only wanted a boy. NOW, however, its another story. He LOVES little girls and really wants one of his own. Guess we will find out tomorrow!!! I cannot WAIT!

Celeb Sighting and ANOTHER 2am night!!!

Well, as many of you know, we are in New York for a couple of days. I have always wanted to go at Christmas, Gibson has never been, and our friends Julia and Andrew wanted to go too. SOOO, we came. We got here Friday at lunch and just a few hours later, I had my first celeb sighting! WEll, it wasn't exactly an A-lister, maybe more of a C- lister, but still. It was Ramona from The Real Housewives of New York! I first noticed her Christian Louboutin shoes and her thin as my wrist shoes. We had just come out of FAO Schwarz and were about to cross the street. I thought...my that woman has TINY legs and HAS to be freezing her butt off (it was oh, maybe say 27) ANYWAY, then I heard her talking and IMMEDIATELY recognized her voice. I knew EXACTLY who it was. Anyway, Gibson was kinda like...WHO? as most people probably are, but I still get pretty excited.
On another note....Rita and Rob and their friends Tina and Eric met us early Saturday morning to spend the day in the city. We had a blast, then headed to dinner that night. I will have you know, I have now stayed out until 2am the past two weekends. This preggo has been a trooper...well, kinda! I did head home WAY before the rest of the crowd. I paid for it too. RIGHT after I fell asleep I woke up to Gibson banging on the door, Julia and Andrew's banging followed at 4am, and that was followed by Gibson taking a shower at 5am! Needless to say, I got ZERO Sleep. After I finally got everyone out of bed to make it to the Jets game at 1, we ALL headed straight back to the hotel to crash about 5. The rest of the crew plans to head out to watch the Giants/Cowboys game at 8:30, but this preggo has had her PJs on since we got here and this is where I plan on staying! IN THE BED. I can't wait for them all to head out, I am ordering a movie off the TV, and watching it til I fall SMOOTH asleep. I will probably be OUT before the movie gets started! Lots of pics later

Supper Club Christmas Party

Friday night several of us wen to the annual Dinner Club Christmas Party. It was kinda small crowd since so many people felt the need to run in the St Jude 1/2 Marathon the next day...(good for them, but anything I will be doing anytime soon!) But we all still had a great time, some a little TOO much fun. I do have to say that I am QUITE proud of myself for staying up until well past 2am. YES, pregnant and 2am! We stayed at the Country Club until about 1, then the DD (that would be me) took us all over to Marney and Paul's for late night (yes, we still do that....they are few and far between, but still fun) Well, Carrie made me drop she and Jay off, much to Jay's disappointment...but I think he appreciated it Saturday!!! Anyway, after our 2am pizza delivery, we all decided to get the book out to do the test to see what my baby is! After about 15 or so tests, they ALL (well, all but about 2) said it was a boy. Gibson was so disappointed....he says he isn't, but I KNOW he wants a girl. Anyway, Johanna's said the Emelie was a boy and she obviously is not, so we shall see. I go back to the doctor the 19th to find out! Oh, and how did I feel the next morning. Well, I can guarantee that I felt MUCH better than several others at the party, but I still did NOT want to get up to go ring the bell at Kroger when my alarm went off at 10am. I did that, came home and got on the couch until 3. Went to Johanna's to watch the Bama/Florida game, then was back in the bed at 7. I was a trooper, but I sure felt it the next day. I don't see me making too many of those!
Gibson and his rapidly growing pregnant wife...ME...at the Christmas Party.

Jay and Carrie....semi late night!

Jay, Paul and Gibson! These three are trouble when they get together!

Marney and Paul.
Jane and Gene....second attempt! First one wasn't quite so good!
Nolan and April....again, their second shot as well!!!

More Grand Cayman Pics

Lovely attempt at taking a picture of ourselves.
The view from our patio...the is where we stayed the entire time we were at the Westin. Either there, or by the pool which was just to the left of our room. Loved it!
After eating at Cassanova by the Sea....GREAT!
Our room was the middle one...right on the beach!
Gibson standing on the patio of our room.
Neat purple coral or something on the beach close to Rum Point!
Rum Point is in the background beind Gibson....well, kinda. We didn't take the boat all the way over there, but pretty close.
Apparently someone's message written in the sand, minus the Y.
Gibson and I were trying to take a picture on the beach and Castlin ran up in front of us screaming NO....she wanted a picture taken of HER, not us! It was funny! So here she is, in her photo.
I am not very good at putting things in order on this thing!!!! Sorry!

Grand Cayman

Gibson about to get in the water with the Stingrays.
Why he needed his snorkel was beyond me...he put it on anyway.
All geared up!
Jennifer at Stingray City.
The Stingrays.
All the kids on the front of the boat.
Gibson and I at the Pirate's Parade!
Girl playing the drums on the one of the floats.
Float in Pirate's Parade!
Gibson practicing stroller duty!
View from our room at the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman.
At dinner at The Wharf.
Man feeding the tarpon at The Wharf. They get fed every night at 9pm.
Gibson at The Wharf before dinner.
Headed to dinner at Seven at the Ritz Carlton, remind me NEVER to wear this again.
Another view from our room at the Ritz.
Preggo and husband on the beach in Grand Cayman.
Gibson again gearing up for fatherhood, building sandcastles with Castlin.
Watching a sunset on our first day in Grand Cayman.

Here are some of the pictures from Grand Cayman. I wish I had taken more, but it is kinda annoying to ask people to take your picture all the time. Anyway, we had a GREAT trip. Grand Cayman is beautiful, but EXPENSIVE...so just be prepared if you go! We started off at the Marriott... I do NOT recommend it. The rooms/resort were fine. Resort was kinda small itself, but physically it was fine. The SERVICE was another story. It was HORRIBLE, I mean AWFUL. We checked out early and moved to the Ritz Carlton which was WONDERFUL. Rooms were good, service was good, beach was good, everything was good. We stayed at the Westin after we left there and they had even called the Westin b/c Gibson left a pair of shorts in our room. Someone had to have been paying attention when I mentioned that we were staying at the Westin after we left there....who, I have no clue, but they did. Anyway, the Westin was great too. Our room was LITERALLY right on the beach, I loved it. The service was pretty good too. Granted its hard to top the service at the Ritz, but it comes with a price too...18% is added to EVERYTHING. The Westin never added a service fee, which was nice. Yes, I always tipped, but leaving $5 every time I got a drink was a little overrated. Anyway, we had a great trip. Ate at lots of great restaurants, went to the parade for Pirate's Week, went to Stingray City, went to Hell...yes, it is a place! And were just lazy. I read 5 books while we were there. Anyway, if anyone is going the Ritz or the Westin are both wonderful. The other thing I loved about he island was that it was VERY safe and clean. Lots of Americans and Canadians. Some friends of ours from Greenville are in Medical School there, so we had a GREAT tour guide. Jennifer and Castlin came and played alot with us, which was great. We GREATLY appreciated them showing us around. That's about it....

Random Photos

Just a few random pics. I will post Grand Cayman pics soon!


Dutch after I picked him up from the vet. He usually is not very happy with me, but this day he was fine. I guess I got bored at the red light and put my sunglasses on him. I was SHOCKED that he actually sat long enough for me to turn around, find my purse, DIG out my camera, cut it on and take a picture. Yeah, I was driving during all of this!
Gibson and I at Mistletoe Preview Party, I guess he had head me refer to it as "Mistletiddies" for so long, he wanted to come check it out. SO, while his wife slaved away at Sulm's booth, he had a GREAT time dancing and and checking out all the "attire".
Erin and I at Mistletoe Preview Party. She owns Sulm's and I have worked for her since I was 14. Yeah, a LONG time. It was pretty much written into my marriage vows that I had to come home and work! Mistletoe Preview Party is my favorite night personally because I LOVE to see what all those women show up in. I REALLY wonder if some of them even look in the mirror when they walk out the door. If you have had ANY work done the past year, Mistletoe seems to be the place to show it off, now matter WHAT your age. It cracks me up these women that are trying to look 25 when they CLEARLY are not. Note to the 40+ ladies.....I dont' care if can wear a size 0 or 2, when your dress is cut down to your navel your saggy skin STILL looks like it is your actual age. No matter how good your plastic surgeon is!!!

Talladega pictures....a LITTLE late

So I finally got around to uploading my camera....it has been awhile. I really didnt' think we got very many pictures from Talladega this time, but we had a few more than I thought. Granted, its not the best crop of photos we have ever had, but I was about 6 weeks pregnant at the time (I know not very far along at all.....but definitely long enough that I used all my extra energy just walking to and from the track) I really wasn't in the mood to chase mullets around all weekend. Anyway, here are the best ones. And stay tuned, I have lots more pictures to post of various different things!Wish I had a video of this, this guy was breaking it down outside his car after the race to Kid Rock!
Gibson headed to the track with his 16oz!
Nice ponytail mullet.
This was alot worse in person. Those jeans were extremely tight.
This one was ok. Not the best.
NICE....I just can't understand the attraction!
This was actually a couple....guy and girl...guess those that stay together, tattoo together!
The guy from the tattoo couple...again, SO much worse in person.
Can we say flashdance!
Gibson is SO good at his little poses!
Hello blondie!



There's Tony Stewart....granted not the best picture ever, he was working on his Arca car on Friday.
This guy had a whistle and you would have to drink everytime he blew his whistle. He was sitting in front of us. For some random reason Gibson had a whistle in his pocket and blew it too...the guy had no idea where it was coming from. Granted, you had to be there I guess, it was really funny at first, but got REALLY old after an hour or so of this....especially when you only got to drink water and O'Douls!
Ashley and I at the track on Friday.
Gibson and I at the race.

Jason and Ashley Perry.



Jason attempting Gibson's move....and a guy in pajama pants...nice!
This one wasn't great, but it qualifies.
Just BAD BAD BAD...do we think that's a beer gut?
My personal favorite of the weekend!

This was the same guy going in as above! SO, sorry the pictures are a little lame. I DEFINITELY won't be going in April since I will be about a month from my due date! We will be back in full force next Fall though. I will have to make up for it then! BUT, if anyone is going to Disney anytime soon.....Magic Kingdom is the MECCA of mullets!