The Steele's

Some favorite Disney pics....from several months ago

2011-06-09T14:24:00.003-05:00

Way back in Feb, my entire family spent a week at Disney! WE HAD A BALL. I was a little bit worried about how Synar would do. We originally were not going to take her but we were going skiing 9 days after we got back and I hated to leave her for two weeks that close together. SO, she went and she LOVED it! Was a tropper. We would head out about 9/10am everyday, she would fall asleep each day somewhere...on something....Its a Small World, in Beauty and the Beast....on the Safari Ride at Animal Kingdom...on the train around Magic Kingdom (which we proceeded to ride for 2 hours...around and around and around) then we were good til about 9pm! It was GREAT! We took full advantage of the rider swap, I think Smith rode Expedition Everest 4 times in a row thanks to our rider swap passes and the FastPAss! Here are some of my fave pics...

Smith- the pirate

Smith and Libby riding Dumbo

Smith and Libby watching one of the shows..

Nothing like a good ole nap

Gibson and Synar...complete with ears...

Attempt at a family photo...

we LOVED MICKEY...

and would not let go...

February....where did it go....oh wait, I wasn't ever here for it

2011-03-02T12:53:00.003-06:00

Toby Keith playing to a floor full of wounded war soldiers. I was good til he played American Soldier....then the tears started, for me and everyone else in that arena!
In case you don't recognize him....that's Gibson uner that hat....we were in Texas, what do you expect!!!
Mutton Bustin...(I think that's what its called) HILARIOUS!
The little boy that won!
Of course it snows for the first time since 85 while we were there. This is a pic of the snow out our window!

February just kinda few by....we were in San Antonio, then straight from there to Orlando, home for a week, which was of course JA Ball week, then last week were in Steamboat Springs. Vacation for Gibson and most of the rest of my family, work/vacation for me! We had a GREAT time in all 3 though, but glad to be home. Granted I am leaving again next weekend for a few days, but after that, I am home bound til May (at least I think I am!!!)

Anyway, San Antonio was great other than the fact it was only, oh 20 degrees. The weather said it would be 45 while we were there....not quite....We did NOT pack appropriately so we didn't do too much. That and the fact that our hotel was great, but 20 minutes from downtown. We stayed at the Hyatt Hill Country, great resort....for warm weather....not alot to do when its 20+! We did hit up the rodeo while we were there which was a lot of fun. Other than a spa visit, some shopping and a brief trip to the Riverwalk....that was about it! Gibson was in meetings most of the time so we didn't do too much!

New Years Resolution....ummm in Feb

2011-02-17T20:18:00.002-06:00

My New Year's resolution is to blog more....mainly so I can look back and remember things about Synar since her baby book is not the best (ummm, its TERRIBLE) SO, you see how I am doing. HOWEVER, I read something tonight on another friends blog that really motivated me to try. Doesn't have to be anything major but I AM going to really try to start blogging more often. Of course I picked THE busiest month of my year to start this, San Antonio, Disney, JA Ball, and STeamboat ALL in the month of Feb. OH JOY, but here goes....

SO, tonight Gibson is at Does with people from Scott Petroleum. Synar was playing in the tub (where she stays for an hour if we let her...just keep refilling with warm water) Anyway...I was on the phone with a friend about something semi-ball related. As I am hanging up Synar is saying mama, mama and holding out her hand to give me something, I stick my hand out as I am hanging up the phone (NOTE: not really paying attention) I hang up and look down....what has my sweet, PRECIOUS child put in my hand....a wad of poop. Yes, as in the kind that comes out of her booty. This makes about the 7th time she has pooped in the tub...first for handing it to me though! For real....why does she only do this while I am bathing her and NEVER while Gibson is bathing her? Anyway....after my mild freak out....AND to call Jane back and tell her about it (friend I was talking to) I drain the tub (slowest draining tub ever) clean the tub, re-rinse and put her back in it. I guess I could have taken her to ours, but ours takes forever to fill and is REALLY deep which makes it hard to bathe her unless you are in it too. Just sharing the joys of parenthood!!!!

Synar and a Bulldog....

2010-03-16T21:07:00.003-05:00

brief update...I know I keep saying it but I am a TERRIBLE blogger. Do have an excuse now. Something is wrong with my little digital camera so I am having to use my big ole Nikon. Which I love but isn't the best for traveling. SO, until I get it back and take more pics with my Nikon...here is a precious one from the SEC tournament. Yes, we had a blast. The Bulldogs played an AWESOME game and my heart hurt for them. They wanted it SO bad. STILL, cannot believe we lost and didn't get into the tournament...but I knew they just weren't going to let us in. ANYWAY, not the best pic since my aunt took it with her cell phone but adorable anyway. Synar was just staring up at Barry Stewart and he was looking down at her. It was SO cute.

The Children

2010-02-15T21:12:00.003-06:00

I think the photos explain it all....nothing else needed! Oh and I added a few more Christmas pictures, sorry!

Finally....

2010-02-15T20:32:00.005-06:00

When we FINALLY opened Christmas at our house....around the 2nd week in January!

Braden loving on Synar.....so sweet.
Notice the outfit.....I gave him a cowboy outfit for Christmas, he loved it...he wore it until I tried to take a picture of him...then he got teased.
Hard at work playing with their new toys.
Synar playing with Braden's new computer...take note of Smith's outfit in the background.
Synar opening presents at Memamma's and Big's.
Family photo at the Henry family Christmas

Smith, Evie, Synar, Mary Grace, and Katie....cousins
My big girl!
Getting ready for her Christmas party at daycare!

I know it has been a really long time since I posted. We have just had so much going on. First of all, I have ZIPPO good pictures of Christmas because Gibson and I both had the stomach flu on Christmas Day....NOT fun. Since then, we have become EXTREMELY mobile which means I am chasing Synar all day long. She is growing like a weed, pulling up on EVERYTHING on earth...somtimes says Da Da, loves to clap and laugh and wave bye bye. Oh and we still have ZERO teeth! I am hoping this means she has REALLY good teeth once they come in! Well, I have a ton of work to catch up on and the JA Ball is this week (my last year in charge thank goodness) so that's about it for now.

Pics from San Francsico and the wine country!

2009-11-25T22:29:00.010-06:00

Gibson and I in the limo on day 1!

Marney and I at dinner at Gary Danko's in San Francisco.
Someone had a little too much fun before the 49ers game...this was around halftime out in the parking lot.
Our boatride with captain Darrell in the window
Outside the Castle...can't remember the name of it, but it was gorgeous from the outside.
Ready to cruise on our bathroomless yacht!
At the piano bar after dinner...the guys wanted to go to bed...Marney and I have other plans...and I am not sure why there is a shadow on my mouth
We are now Segway masters! So much fun

Gibson with Alcatraz in the palm of his hands
Marney and I outside the 49ers stadium...note we are OUTSIDE it, not inside it while the game was going on....long story!

The first winery of the day!

Headed to the "bucket"
Gibson and I after dinner at Gary Dankos.
That is what I thought about the sealions!
The fireplace in our room where Gibson and I hung out every night!
Gibson and Marney headed to another winery
I really dont' think we were dancing....not really sure at this point
Gibson and I at Sterling winery....the views were gorgeous...just wish the sun had come out while we were there...it did RIGHT after we left
Paul and Marney in the limo
Gibson and Paul braving the rain
All of us at Ty Canton in Sonoma
Paul, Marney, Me and Gibson at our first winery! "Bob" was the photographer. He was our limo driver although we couldn't understand what his name was, so we just called him Bob, he was great!
We stayed at the Sonoma Mission Inn in Sonoma, loved it. ESPECIALLY loved the fireplace in our room...Gibson and I just sat on our couch in front of the fireplace, drank wine, and chilled. It was WONDERFUL. We ate at Maya (a Mexican restaurant) which was pretty good and Saddles (steakhouse) that was FANTASTIC! We liked both Napa and Sonoma both, but thought Sonoma was a little more low key than Napa! San Fran was great as well. We did a Segway tour...which was fun, but we didn't see to much, TRIED to go to a 49ers game (that's another story), took 2 boat rides, had dinner at Gary Dankos's (ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS) and hit up a piano bar. It was a GREAT trip and one that was very much needed. There are lots more stories that we will leave in California, but I do have to share one with you.
We were down at the waterfront and decided to take a boat ride. Marney and I are handling this while the guys are downing a few beers and wings at Hooters (lovely, I know) Anyway, we see this one fairly nice boat that you can go on for $15 per person, and hour and a half ride out to the Golden Gate bridge and back, a great bathroom, and you can bring your own food and drinks...PERFECT! So we go get the guys and head back. When we get back we notice another slightly smaller boat that is the same price but takes a max of 6 people. We ask if we can pay for the two extra people so he will just take us. He agrees and off we go. There were these two little seats on the front of the boat, perfect for two people to sit on, we had blankets, our AWESOME captain Darrell, and loaded down with 24oz Coors Lite (that's all we could find) So we head out of the harbor and I happen to turn around and ask...oh, you do have a bathroom right!!! To which Captain Darrell replies, oh yeah, I have a bucket.......ummm, not quite what I asked. Of course we were drinking beer, and we all know that does to the bladder...SO, you know the rest of the story. It was HILARIOUS! We wound up having so much fun that Darrell took us out for a 2nd cruise the next day. It was a blast, so if you are ever in San Fran, hit up Darrell for a ride...I can tell you how to find him if you are interested!

Lately...lots of pics!

2009-11-25T21:29:00.007-06:00

The flower sound asleep in Jay's lap while all the other kids trick or treated!
The infamous tongue! She sticks it out ALL the time.
Smith's Halloween costume!
He and I were headed to his dads and he fell asleep. He's a little big for the bib, but he was eating mac n' cheese in the back of my car.....figured it couldn't hurt!
Yes, we can stand up and hold onto the side of the crib...scary.
Playing at memamma's house. She LOVES her jumper.
Synar and Gibb at the Bama game!
This was my dress when I was a baby! Chocolate Soup...too bad they dont' have cute stuff like that anymore!
Sitting up like a big girl
Family pic at the Bama game....Gibson LOVES the Baby Bjorn...he uses it all the time, I never do.
Gibson, Synar, Lily, and Charles....Halloween.
Yes, we had a REAL firetruck! The kids LOVED it.
Baker on the post-Halloween train ride.
Synar wasn't quite big enough for the train, so we just rode in the Rhino.
At Hampton Inn in Starkville, hanging out before a football game!
My little flower!
Morgan and Madeline enjoying the train....post-Halloween!
Synar and Gibson

What have we been up to lately? What have we not been up to lately? Between harvest season, that NEVER seems to be ending, football season, Halloween, a VERY fun getaway, oh, and just keeping up with our rapidly growing little racal...blogging just hasn't happened. So we all know that many farmers had to leave a large portion of their crops in the field...Rotten of course, we were no exception. Becuase of that Gibson had PLENTY of time on his hands to build (or rather, have the men build) this awesome train that we used for Halloween. We had the train, a fire truck and a hayride and about 30 kids. They had a blast. Of course, Synar slept through most of it, but we still had a great time. In addition to Gibson having plenty of time on his hands, this also means they STILL are farming...uuuugh, is it EVER going to end. I want to go to the game this weekend since my mom offered to babysit.....Gibson has to work. WHAT...its the end of November....They are typically through at the end of October at the latest...the rain this year is driving ME nuts! Oh well, my dad I think is going to be my date!!!!
Right after Halloween, Gibson and I went to Napa, Sonoma, and San Francisco with our friends Marney and Paul. We had WAY too much fun. If you go I HIGHLY suggest getting a limo to drive you around...we did Sonoma one day and Napa the next...had a BLAST. We realized JUST how much fun we had when we went to ship all the wine home. You had to write down each bottle, the vintage, price, etc. Yeah, kinda forgot about all those bottles of wine until we started doing that.....whoops!
Synar is growing like a weed and learning more and more everyday. WE have so much fun just watching her. She is very much a daddy's girl. He puts reads to her, gives her a bottle and puts her to bed every night. I know....I am VERY fortunate. He adores her and I love to watch the two of them together! It is too too too precious! WE went for our 6 month check-up. 27 1/2 inches (off the charts...not sure where its coming from) 17lbs 15oz (60th percent...she has been in the 90th) No teeth yet, but rolling, sitting up, getting up on her knees and scooting, and can stand and hold onto something (with one of us RIGHT there in case she gets tired) She talks up a storm and LOVES to laugh and stick out her tongue...ALL the time!
That's about it for now...I will post more if I think of it!

Its been awhile...

2009-10-16T22:38:00.004-05:00

Blogging really hasn't been my thing lately. The past few months have literally flown by. Not too much to report except Synar is growing like a weed and it is NOT sitting well with her daddy. Synar went to her first MSU game and did great! She just sat and took it all in, she was perfect. Other than that, we have just been hanging out...she talks up a storm and thinks she is much bigger than she really is. She tries to sit up if she is laying down, its hilarious. Here are some recent pics... Notice the tongue above, the first picture we have of her that thing is sticking out and it still does...she LOVES to stick it out all the time, thinks its hilarious.

The Beach

2009-08-21T15:07:00.008-05:00

Benjamin playing with Synar
Ben, Chris and Ed
Synar in Benjamin's new hat!
My sweet girl!
Mary Grace and Katie
Synar and I on the balcony
Synar and her daddy
Worn out from all that swimming
At the Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan concert. Yeah, we snuck out early and headed to ride the ferris wheel, then finished it off with some cheese dip and margaritas!
Swimming
Smith and Caroline were worn out
Katie on the beach
Synar's first trip down to the beach with her daddy.

Smith and Benjamin in the ocean
Attitude!
Doing what she does best!

Benji, Mary Grace and Lauren

Benji and Lauren at the FloraBama
Chris and Laura at the Flora Bama
Gibson and I at the flora Bama. Didn't realized I looked naked until I posted this, but I promise I am not!
Group photo

12 bedrooms, 12 baths, 2 kitchens, 2 living rooms, 1 box of Rummi-cub, 1 pool, loads of sand, 1 large ocean, 27 people including 9 kids under the age of 10, 7 nights, 1 margarita machine, numerous bottle of wine, 1 night of moonwalking, plenty of TV's and surprisingly VERY few tears and tantrums = Henry family vacation

WE HAD A BLAST!!!

The girls came to town

2009-08-21T14:48:00.003-05:00

Rita and Synar
Rita, Julia, and Emily with Synar the morning they left!
EMily, Kelly, Pamela, Julia, me, Mary and Julia headed out!

Awhile back, all my best friends from college came to visit for the weekend and to meet Synar. It turned into a surprise birthday for Emily's 30th as well. Everyone got to town Friday and we went to eat. Saturday we just hung by the pool, or so Emily thought. We had QUITE a few suprises for her, Mary, Kelly, Pamela and Stephen came to town for the day/night and just walked in one by one. She had no idea and LOVED it. WE chilled in the pool pretty much all day. That night we decided we were going OUT. Since Greenville AIN'T exactly known to be such a big party town we were determined we could have fun anywhere. We got on the internet and found out that Harlow's (the new casino in town) was having a band. Great...we wanted to dance and that was perfect. SO we all load up and head to Harlows. We drop off the car with the valet (I was most impressed they have that HERE) and head inside. First off we ALL get carded, that's fine, we were feeling pretty pumped about that. Then, as we walk through the casino we notice EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE is staring at us. It was really obvious. I told the rest of the crew that it was probably becuase young, cute girls were pretty few and far between at Harlow's...much less 8 of them! We brushed it off and headed to find the band. There our everyone came to a schreeching pause. Band is on a break and there is ZERO dance floor. So much for that idea.
We head back out to the valet (they hadnt' even cut the car off yet) and decide to go downtown. We start off at Southern Nights, which had Karoke going on (girl was HORRID). So we have a drink or two, spot a Bump it, Emily makes friends with this old lady with a LOVELY butterfly shoulder tattoo-NICE, and decide to head over to Spectators. At Spectators, there was a fun band and we were the only ones on the dance floor. Perfect! WELL, a little while later the band is throwing t-shirts to a few of us since we had been dancing all night (yeah, I felt like I was back in college again racking up the drumsticks!) Anyway, a few minutes later I see the guitarist staring over my shoulder, so I turn the the right and am face to face with a big fat set of boobs. Yes, in the flesh, no top or bra. Apparently some really classy chicks got a little jealous of our t-shirts and decided to use their "assets" to get t-shirts too. WOW!
Sunday we went out on the boat and just chilled Sunday night, it was a GREAT weekend and I wish we could do it more often! I didn't take too many pictures of the weekend, but I did post one or two!

Yeah, been slacking a little...

2009-08-21T14:28:00.004-05:00

Getting kisses from memamma
Our new way to pose with our bottle
Synar thinks her daddy is hilarious
Gibson and Jason at the Fair
The only other picture photo I took at the fair.

In Dallas, we stayed with Dean and Betty Ann, Dean is my grandfather's brother. Here are Betty Ann and Synar at their house!
Gibson and the Baby Bjorn
Headed to the Delta Council cocktail party.
Napping
Laughing at her daddy. Her hair looks REALLY red in this picture but its not...at all!

Yeah, I have REALLY been slacking a little in the blog posting. Just been EXTREMELY busy. I think we have been home maybe 5 nights in the past month and a half. Started like this, oh about a month or so ago, Betty Jean Synar, the lady that Synar and I are named after, is in the hospital and not doing well at all. MAma and I had been planning on taking Synar to see her in August, so we figured we better go ahead (this was maybe a Sunday) so on WEdnesday, we hop on a plane over to Dallas, then come home on Thursday. On Friday, Gibson and I leave for the Neshoba County Fair (SO much fun) and Synar stays with Gibson's mom. On SUnday, Pam meets me in Canton to pick up Gibson and drop Synar off, Synar and I head to the beach with my family (more on that later). The next Tuesday, Gibson, Synar and I pull in our driveway at 7pm from our 10 day beach trip. At 6am Wednesday morning, I pull OUT of the driveway headed back to the airport for another trip to Dallas. Betty Jean Synar passed away while we were at the beach, so I headed back to her funeral. Got home from that on Friday, home til Tuesday then we headed out again to go to Chicago for a few nights. We finally made it home on Saturday morning and have been home ever since. Exhausted yet???

Granted we had a BALL on all our trips, but very very very happy to be home for a little while!

Here are a few pics of the trips! How the HECK do I post the photos underneath my writing, I cannot figure out how to do it. Suggestions???

6 weeks today

2009-06-29T22:40:00.002-05:00

Recent happenings....still loves to sleep with her daddy, enjoying baths, holding her head up really well, VERY alert and loves to sit and look around (provided she is not hungry), FINALLY got a picture of her smiling! I am sorry, but is that not the CUTEST thing you have ever seen?

One Month old

2009-06-14T17:30:00.003-05:00

Synar and her daddy sleeping...this is a pretty common thing around here.

Memma and Synar...she keeps coming up with excuses WHY she needs to come to Greenville!
Gran-gran and Synar.
Her favorite position to sleep in

Sorry I haven't been very good at blogging lately...my down time consists of cleaning up, washing clothes, and TRYING to get some work done....not the best at balancing all that quite yet! SO, blogging is at the end of the list. I wake up each day with this list of things to do...I have yet to even finish half of the things I intend to do, but oh well! Not too worried about it!

Anyway, Synar will be one month old tomorrow, I cannot believe it! This also means I can pick her up in her carrier now (although I kinda did Thursday--just don't tell my doctor) YaY! So here are some recent pics...

She is HERE!!!

2009-05-25T16:41:00.004-05:00

I LOVE her lips!
First bath---acutally did not scream until the end!
She likes to sleep with her heads up by her head.
First family photo...leaving the hospital!
Daddy and Synar---she was obviously hungry!
In her "going home outfit".....um, I changed her as soon as we got home!
The proudest Daddy in the world!

Synar Christine Steele was born Monday, May 18th at 8:57am! She weighed 7lbs 13ozs, 21 in long, has a head full of brown hair and is already tanner than her mom! Synar is doing great and I really feel good too. Had a scheduled C-section that was REALLY REALLY easy! I think I was just expecting the worst so it seemed to be really easy! We are home now and doing good. My mom has been here since Friday so she has been a huge help since I can't really do much. She is headed home tomorrow and I know we are going to miss her.

SHES ALMOST HERE

2009-05-17T08:42:00.001-05:00

I made it through the weekend (well, so far...its Sunday morning) with no action. I am about hit get in the shower and head to Wal-Mart for a few last minute things. I have been putting it off ALL weekend. Wal-Mart in Greenville anytime after the 15th of the month is just NOT pleasant, much less when the 15th hits on a Friday. I am hoping to slip in and out this morning without having to deal with the zoo that it normally is. OF COURSE, since I decided to wait..it is now raining, oh well.

Later this afternoon we are headed to Jackson to spend the night. Have to be at hospital at 6:30am....scheduled for section at 8am! Will keep you posted!

Flipped Again

2009-05-15T09:23:00.002-05:00

My child has now flipped for the 4th time (that I know of). I went for my last appt yesterday before I deliver on Monday. No action...at all. After the doctor checked me she made a comment about how glad she was we decided to do a section b/c the baby is really high up and I am not dialated or anything AT ALL...plus apparently my bones are narrow (ok..shocker to me) and not sure if I can get her HUMONGO head out anyway. So she asks me if I still think she is breeched. I tell her she has been moving A TON and sometimes it hurts, but everyone says it will knock me down when she flips...so NO, I don't think she has flipped. We decide to do sonogram just to check. BOY WAS I WRONG...little sucker has flipped AGAIN! Talked to dr about it and we still decided to go ahead with the section. We just think for me and the baby! SO...keep us in your prayers Monday morning!

Before...

2009-05-11T11:42:00.004-05:00

These are all pics from before we bought the house......Old shower and one sink...toilet is on left......my tub is now where the sink was
Where old tub was...Gibson's vanity is here now
This is where my vanity is...door on left is my closet...
Same sink to left as above...you see this bathroom was two rooms...we just gutted the entire thing.
Looking into bathroom from master bedroom
Living room....where bar is(counter behind couch) is gone and is now an opening.
Living room
Kitchen...we took out the wall on the right and the light.
Kitchen...you will see new below.
WE took out the top cabinets on the right and the wall behind them!

These are a FEW before and after's. I am NOWHERE near settled, but semi-semi-getting there so I figured I would post some pics.

Afters....

2009-05-11T11:31:00.004-05:00

Living room....NO, shelves are not arranged AT ALL, rugs are in just not put down yet...waiting on satellite guy to come re-run wire so we can get rid of wires running across the floor...small rug and coffee table going back to my moms.
We took out the cabinets above this counter AND took out part of the wall leading to living room. Excuse the junk on the counters/floor and stools with no cushions...just got fabric to re-cover them...we are getting there!
These cabinets were DARK.
Other side
Our sinks...my tub is to the right, excuse the non-plugged in TV...the electrician forgot to hook it up and he has YET to come back to do so.
Gibson's closets on left, mine on right
Part of shower
Rest of shower...yeah, it took me AWHILE to figure out how to use it! But those body sprays and a pregnant back are WONDERFUL!

We are In....

2009-05-11T11:08:00.003-05:00

My bed, please excuse the temporary bedding that was my mom's in say...1990! She came yesterday to measure for our bedskirt and the bedding should be in this week. Also coming will be the replacement for the antique sewing machine/bedside table and lamp with no shade. And now you see what you get to live like when your house burns!!!
Yeah, I know those pillows are so cute! Even the little details this man did were great!

So I started to title this blog..."And we are in" but thanks to whatever that is called on your computer where it remembers what you typed...I apparently start lots of blogs with "and"! So anyway....we finally got moved. Settled...that's another story. I was waiting to put pics once I got it "all fixed up" then realized that isn't happening ANY time soon, so I am including a FEW before and afters. Mainly because I wanted to put pics of my new bed. This guy in Macon made it and I LOVE it! Granted, I need a running start to get in it b/c our mattress is so thick BUT he is making me steps...for now my steps from Lowe's are working just fine! Dutch, however, is not a fan. It is quite a leap for him and he now prefers the floor most of the time. Guess now is the best time to get him out of our bed, huh! Since I cant' ever get photos where I want them on this thing, I am doing another post with the before and after pics...some of our furniture is in, some is not...so if it looks a little "odd" just ignore it....I have called the hodge podge of stuff we have been living with the past year after the fire "camping!" I am just now ready to have a decent looking house again!

So for a baby update....I am scheduled for a section one week from today at 8am, provided she doesn't come before then! She is breeched and QUITE large! At our 37 week appt, she weighed 7lbs 5oz and her head measured 40 weeks. WHAT THE HECK? I am VERY interested to see what she weighs now. I lost a pound when I went back last week, so not really sure what that is about..oh and she was still breeched. Anyway, my doctor said we could try to flip her manually but that worries her, she doesnt' want me in labor and pushing for some 10 hrs and not be able to get her out and still have a section NOR actually get her out and do some major damage to you know what...SO we decided a section was my best choice! So, around 8am on Monday the 18th she will be here! I am excited but nervous, I think really more anxious than nervous...I just dont' think it has really hit me yet (YEAH, I KNOW) So please keep us in your prayers!

Update

2009-04-18T16:17:00.002-05:00

Yeah, I haven't been very good at blogging lately and even worse at taking pictures! Just had WAY too much going on. First of all...an 8 month old preggo woman packing a house up is NOT fun! I finally figured out that I had to pack the box partially full....take it to the stack of all the packed boxes and finish packing it. I was filling the boxes up and they were too heavy for me to move! SO, it takes 10 times longer.

House Update: I BELIEVE we are going to move next week...so I have been saying this since last week. Plumbers are coming to put fixtures on in shower/faucets in sink/toilet in master bath on Monday. Got a few little things to finish (electrical plates back on, paining touch ups, etc) Guy is coming to clean on Monday...then we just need the carpet people to put the carpet back in our bedroom and stretch the carpet upstairs and we are set! Well, I probably should go ahead and get the wood floors re-sealed, waxed, whatever before we move in which I am sure will take a day or two! Other than that, we are set!!! Once they get it cleaned up I will post pictures. I was smart and did take before photos before they started tearing everything out!

Baby Update: Went to my 34 week appt, got checked..no action (thank goodness) Go back Thursday for 36 week, will do ultrasound at 37 weeks and probably set date to be enduced. Doctor did say at last appt point that she would probably take her a week or two early! SO, as long as we get moved in and REMOTELY settled....sounds good to me! Still no swelling, sleeping pretty good most of the time, pretty comfortable (again, most of the time) and still having to use the bathroom every 5 minutes!

That's about it!

House Update...

2009-03-23T12:47:00.002-05:00

Well, we MIGHT get in this house before this child's first birthday. The lady at the tile place won't call me back to let me know about the shipping.....Gibson has started planting so he doesn't have anyone to send down there to pick it up....its is supposed to rain the rest of the week.....the tile guy and the contractor are going on vacation next week (have they told me this....heck no....I heard it through the grapevine...NICE) I told the contractor not to lie to me when he told me I might be in by the end of the month (meaning March) we are NOWHERE close. WE MIGHT be in by June or July at this rate! LOVELY!

You wouldn't think finding a bed would be THAT hard....

2009-03-14T18:33:00.003-05:00

So, I have been on a mission the past couple of weeks to HOPEFULLY get this house furnished (well, somewhat) and move in before the baby gets here. Its coming along...somewhat...but I CANNOT find a bed for my room that I like. Well, I found one I really like, but it costs about as much as a small car, well maybe not that much,...but its still an obscene amount of money and me buying it...AINT HAPPENIN!!! Anyway, I don't know WHY they don't make plain ole, DECENT 4-poster beds anymore. I want either a rice bed, pencil post, reeded post, something along those lines...but I do NOT want those massive posts that are on all the beds now. I have looked everywhere, am even at market this weekend and still having no luck. I do have the name of a guy in Jackson that makes them...just wanted to know if anyone has seen any anywhere lately or knows anyone else that makes them....just exploring all my options, well, lack of options! I posted a pic of kinda what I am looking for (yeah...this is the insanely expensive one)

Oh yeah, I love how everyone keeps telling me...."Just use the furniture you have...you don't have to have all new furniture just b/c you have a new house" Um, yeah, I agree with you, but you obviously are forgetting I have zilch...it all burned! Trust me, starting from scratch seems like a lot of fun....it definitely has its perks, but I would take all my stuff back in a heartbeat! Anyway, I cannot believe it has already been a year since the fire, I was actually at March market last year when it burned (which is where I am at this moment to be exact..but anyway)....BOY have our lives changed in a year!!!!

http://www.henkelharris.com/productDetails.asp?productid=379&categoryID=13&roomID=2

Forgot to tell you I passed my glucose test...

2009-02-28T18:59:00.002-06:00

One thing I forgot. Because I have had a few fainting spells during this pregnancy (as I have always had from time to time) I just KNEW I was going to fail my glucose test. I normally have normal blood sugar, but it always on the high end of normal...SO, I just figured I would FAIL! WELL, I passed...134! I was WAY pumped. Of course, my appt was at 10:30am, by the time I got back there, took test, was waiting for a room, it was 11am. I had eaten supper early by I had something to do the night before and you know you can't eat after midnight. WELL, I was all excited about my glucose test, I was VERY pumped about my weight gain (I was scared I had gained a TON that month, but didn't), and practically skipping all aroudn the office BUT I hadn't eaten since about 7 the night before (I couldn't b/c of the test...before anyone gets mad at me for starving my child) and had to drink that LOVELY pure sugar drink that morning. I am sitting there waiting, all excited and BAM I was about to pass SMOOTH out. Thankfully, I noticed it coming on, told Connie, and she got me some peanuts! I completely pass out....just got a little woozy and hot! Anyway, once my appt was over I QUICKLY headed to WEndy's (it was the closest thing I saw) for some food! I was STARVING and VERY pumped I didnt' have to knock out sugar!!!

Insomnia...NOT FUN

2009-02-28T16:14:00.002-06:00

I have had trouble sleeping for awhile now. My doctor gave me Ambien which works ok. I took it before the ball because I would wake up to go the bathroom around midnight, start thinking about the ball, our house, or one of the other 10 million things I have going on, and I cant' fall back asleep. I wouldn't be able to fall asleep again until around 6am, then I would wake up again around 7am and be up for the day. It was KILLING me. I thought after the ball I would be able to quit taking it an be able to sleep..NOT SO MUCH. It is driving me nuts. I know everyone says it is just my body getting ready for this baby...well....I DISAGREE. This is NOT normal...I don't care what anyone says..it is flat out absurd and driving me NUTS. I am getting approximately 3 hrs of sleep a night and I KNOW that is not good for me or this baby. It also does not help that I have a bladder the size of a PEA and wake up to go to the bathroom every hour and half. I still feel good, but this insomnia is driving me NUTS.

And I survived the ball...

2009-02-28T16:01:00.006-06:00

YAY---the JA Ball is OVER, for 09, that is!!! Overall I was very happy with the way it turned out! I was very worried about how everything would turn out, how long it would take us, and how exhausted I would be....but everything was great, AND we got everything done in a VERY timely manner! I wasn't as worn out as I though I would be, but I sure paid for it that weekend. I was fine Wednesday thru Friday, but once the ball was over Friday night, I was a lazy bum the rest of the weekend! Here are a few pics of the ball! Many many thanks to my mother who came and worked her tail off, I could NOT have done it without her!

King and Queens thrones on stage

King's dressing room

Food tables before the food got on there!

Arrangement for Queen's dressing room.

More Christmas pics

2009-02-09T17:04:00.005-06:00

Chef Katie and Christmas with my mom's side of the family!
Evie handing out chocolate covered pretzels.
Caroline and....well, I am not sure what is in her hands.
Hayes!
Mary Grace with her favorite...art stuff!
Chef Katie again!
Smith putting the final touches on Biscuit man!

Uncle Ed teaching Smith how to make Biscuit Man.
Where is SMith! You see EVERYONE had a ball with the jumping house!
Smith and Uncle Ed playing !
Smith and my child (Husband).
Its a wonder either of them don't ever get hurt!
Do you think they were worn out! This was taken AFTER we opened presents...

Christmas 08....VERY LATE

2009-02-09T16:52:00.007-06:00

Gibson and Smith getting ready to play basketball!

Here are some pics from Christmas. My mother just LOVED my gift for Smith. Its the HUGE blow up basketball, jumpin' thing that Smith LOVES! It only took oh, say 4 hours to blow up, so I think it is just going to sit in my mom's sunroom until it pops! At $59 it probably wont' last long! But he has definitely gotten his $59 bucks worth out of it. You will notice that Smith wasn't the only one that enjoyed it!

Gibson with Smith's pirate patch on!
My dad and I.
He was just a little excited when he saw it!
This was his face when he came around the corner and saw the jumping/basketball house!
Memamma and Braden!
Smith the pirate...cant' QUITE get the one eye thing down!
Big and Braden!
Braden trying to eat something.
Such a precious face!
Smith and his tools!
Me and Smith!
Braden just enjoying the festivities.
Gibson and Megan opening presents.
My dad, Bradley and Gibson trying to blow up my present for Smith...it took an air pump, a vacuum cleaner and a hair dryer!

Las Vegas...a little late

2009-02-09T16:43:00.003-06:00

I haven't really been very good at blogging lately, I just have had SO SO SO much going on. A big relief will be off my shoulders come next Friday though--YAY. Anyway, awhile back, Gibson and I went to Las Vegas with Julia and Andrew. We had a great time, although I really didnt' take any pictures. I got a GREAT pre-natal massage at the MGM Grand from some HUGE Swedish lady...I was a little concerned at first, when she started attacking my rear end (my sciatic nerve kills me) with her 250lb + self, but she was great. Afterwards I felt like a new person. Anyway, too bad it didn't last more than a week or so. Anyway, since then, we closed on our new house last Tuesday...we start renovating this coming week, and the ball is the 20th! I am almost 26 weeks and growing like a week. Baby Girl kicks up a storm all the time which is exciting. Hopefully after this ball is over and we get rolling on this house, she will get some attention like...maybe a name, nursery stuff picked out, etc. I just havent' had time lately...too busy painting for the ball, wrapping vases with ribbon, picking out tile/granite/faucets (boy that stuff is EXPENSIVE), etc. It amazes me how one little part can be so expensive! Anyway, hopefully I will finalize a bunch of stuff in JXN tomorrow so that will be done!

Guess what today is.....

2009-01-25T15:14:00.002-06:00

The last day of duck season!!!! If I have to hear that alarm at 5am again ANY time soon, I am going to scream. (and for all those of you that are just going to say..."just wait til the baby comes"....please don't!)

Progress....

2009-01-11T09:39:00.002-06:00

Finally, I feel like I have made some progress!!! If you have been around me lately, you know I have QUITE a bit going on right now. My poor husband (and friends, for that matter) have been putting up with what is probably not my usual self lately due to quite a bit of stress I have been under. ANYWAY, I feel like I have FINALLY made some progress. My sweet friend Jane Stock is much to thank for this progress I drug the poor girl all over Atlanta as I looked for stuff for the ball, stuff for my house, furniture, Christmas stuff, AND tried to keep my eyes open for stuff to tell Erin (the lady that own's Sulm's in Canton where I grew up working) about for the store. Poor Jane, I am sure I wore her OUT! If you are reading this Jane, MANY thanks for following me all over AND helping me get some stuff done!!!

ANYWAY, I am very proud to say that not only did I get quite a few tasks accomplished for the ball that have been nagging at me (still have a few more, but made MAJOR progress), but I also got some house stuff done too. As of now, I have a couch, recliner for Gibson, 2 club chairs, 2 ottomans, and a glider for Baby Girls room (No, I do not have a name yet...she will get focused on AFTER Feb 20th)! I also found a great bedding company where I am going to get her bedding from...OH YEAH, I just have to decide which one I want. AND she is going to have a closet full of clothes due to some MAJOR sample sales in ATL!!! I got a little eager in Jackson the other day and bought her 4 outfits. WELL, I bought 25 outfits in Atlanta for not much more than I spent in Jackson! I say my trip to ATL was well worth it!!!

Anyway, many of you may remember my last 3 trips to Atlanta this year were QUITE eventful....house fire, tornado, and ALMOST getting shot! WEll, I am proud to let you know that my luck in ATL has changed! Our trip was fairly (one little freak out moment due to some lost tickets for a client) uneventful! Maybe my luck is changing.

So, now I am in Las Vegas until Monday. This is our last trip before the baby gets here (well, maybe) so I am looking forward to staying home for a little while! Airports will wear you out!

Opinions Please.....

2008-12-27T10:15:00.002-06:00

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?

2008-12-22T11:39:00.002-06:00

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!

2008-12-21T17:13:00.002-06:00

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!!!!

2008-12-19T19:04:00.004-06:00

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?

2008-12-18T13:10:00.002-06:00

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!!!

2008-12-14T19:13:00.003-06:00

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

2008-12-07T14:28:00.003-06:00

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

2008-12-07T14:19:00.004-06:00

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

2008-12-07T13:48:00.006-06:00

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

2008-11-30T17:56:00.003-06:00

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

2008-11-25T17:04:00.007-06:00

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!

Charging for Beverages Now???

2008-11-21T09:28:00.002-06:00

I cant' believe I forgot about this. We used points and flew US Airways to Grand Cayman. I usually prefer NW or Delta, but this time we flew US since they had the best times and we got to use the least number of points. Anyway, on the way there, I just asked for 2 cups of ice since I had already bought a Caffeine Free Diet Coke at the airport. Well, on the way home, when the drink cart came by, I asked for water. The guy hands me a cup of ice and water, then continued to look at me. I was kinda like....Do you need something...and he said, yeah, $2. WHAT? I was shocked. You would think that on an almost 3 hour flight they would at least give you your drinks fee. Keep in mind we had already paid who knows what just because we had luggage. Still, had I not been so darn thirsty I would have handed it back to him. AND they had ZERO food. I pretty much expected to have to buy the food....you know know peanuts, crackers, something.... but they had NOTHING, NADA. Anyway, just wanted to forewarn you if you plan on flying US Airways anytime soon.

Back to Reality...and Tagged

2008-11-20T15:19:00.002-06:00

SO, we are finally home. Sad to leave the beach, but glad to be home, only to probably leave again tomorrow to go to Starkville, but that is fine! Anyway, we had a great trip and Grand Cayman was beautiful, EXPENSIVE AS HECK, but Beautiful. I liked that you could pretty much go anywhere, walk anywhere, etc and it was VERY VERY safe. Kinda like Florida, not your typical Caribbean island AT ALL! Anyway, I go tagged by Emily, so here are 6 interesting things about me. I have never been tagged before so here I go, lets see if I can come up with 6 things.

1- I put lemons on my fries...not matter WHERE they are from. I really dont' like them other wise, unless they are from Burger King or McDonald's. I like those without, AND I just have PLENTY of salt. Wendy's has the best salt...the powder kind....but I don't like their fries best. And it drives me NUTS when I ask for several lemons and the waiter comes and drops one lemon in my drink...umm, excuse me....NOT WHAT I ASKED FOR. I get this from my friend Tricia and I have done it forever.

2- I love trashy reality TV.....Gibson laughs SO hard at me for this. But I could care less....The Real Housewives of Orange County, New York, Atlanta...Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team....The Girls Next Door...I love it all. I record it and watch it when I get in the bed.

3- And I hope no one takes offense to this....We have waited to have children for a reason. I understand that I do NOT know what it is like to have children, I understand that my life WILL change once I have this baby, I understand that I will NOT be able to do all the same things as before once I have this baby, I understand that live will NEVER be the same after this baby, I understand all of this....got it....that does not make me an idiot. It drives me NUTS when people act like I have no idea what life is like with children...true, I don't have them yet...but I am smart enough and have been around them enough to have a pretty darn good idea...also, I am FULLY aware that I probably wont' be going to Grand Cayman for 9 days leaving my children at home or something like that, NOR will my life be the same as before. Why the heck do you think we do all this....WE DON'T HAVE THEM YET...for a reason! It drives me BONKERS when someone says....in response to hearing that I am going out of town, have been out of town, etc...."Well, enjoy it now, becuase that sure is all going to change once you have kids. You wont' be able to do all that with kids. You know that right. All your running around will stop once you have kids." UMM, yeah, I know that so please keep the thoughts to yourself. Sorry for the venting session...it just drives me NUTS. Now you all are going to be scared to death to say anything to me about having kids...that's not what I mean....there are just some people who literally act like I am not a true female and don't know what life is because I haven't had kids yet. And its mainly people I really don't even know that well that act like that!

4- I LOVE LOVE LOVE to travel. Why do you think I am a travel agent, its certainly not for the money...its because I love it and I get great perks. Also, we WILL continue to travel once we have kids. Maybe not as often or be gone as long, but we will continue to travel. Heck, may even take the kids with us alot...maybe not...but we will still travel, quite a bit!

5- My house may be completely unorganized, but my closet is obnoxiously organized. Color coded, sleeveless to long sleeved, shorts to capris to pants, you name it. AND I can tell in an instant if someone has been in my closet (this mainly was at home when my sister was in my closet or in college) My shoes too. Although, right now it is extrememly unorganized (to me at least...it still probably very organized to anyone else) becuase it is so small...and its driving me nuts.

6- I love love love love love to decorate for Christmas....the more stuff I have...the better. The garlands and my tree are nowhere NEAR complete until they are literally puking ornaments. Anyone who has ever been to my house Christmas knows this. This year, however, I am going to have severe depression. I am not even putting a tree up b/c I know it will upset me, so I am just going to avoid it altogether.

7- (I kinda went over) BUT I get really anxious about being late to the airport. It drives Gibson ABSOLUTELY NUTS. I want to be there in plenty of time and I want to be sitting at the gate with PLENTY of time. I missed a flight one time and have been anal about it ever since.

I stink at Blogging

2008-11-16T17:19:00.002-06:00

So I kinda stink at blogging....I am fully aware of this. I just have had ALOT going on lately OR havent' much felt like it. We came home from t-dega and I wound up with strep throat. Then had some nasty congestion, and ended with this LOVELY cough where I would have attacks and I couldn't breathe. Finally, after a month, I felt better....just in time to head to Jackson for a week for Mistletoe Marketplace, my friend Davin's wedding, and then head to Grand Cayman for a MUCH needed break. We are are in Grand Cayman until the 20th. HOPEFULLY, we will make a decision about a house when we get home. I have been fine so far, but now am starting to get awfully ancy. Not having a house to decorate this Christmas is going to severely depress me....if anyone wants help decorating...I will be more than happy to come help!!! Anyway, I was 14 weeks yesterday and felt really good finally, aside from being really tired. OH, and my appetite has re-appeared, as well as my stomach. Not that it wasn't there before, but boy is it now! Anyway, I was HOPING I would get to find out what it is before we go to New York in December...doesn't look like that is going to happen...it will probably be after we get back. Oh well, Gibson AND my pocketbook will probably be grateful for that! Guess that's about it. Eventually I will post some pictures...just havent' gotten to it yet. OH YEAH, on our flight here on Tuesday, there was a VERY well known Mississippian (I wont' name names but he is in politics) sitting next to us on the plane.....I will spare you the nasty details but he needs to leave the interior of his nose and its contents ALONE!!! Nice, I know!

And baby make 3....

2008-10-15T11:53:00.002-05:00

In case you haven't heard....we are having a baby! Baby Steele is due May 22nd (ish) My doctor's anniversary is that day so I HIGHLY doubt I will be delivering that day, but sometime around then. We are SO excited. I think Gibson is even more excited than I am. I have felt fairly good so far, some mornings are pretty rough, but I havent' gotten sick yet. SO, if that's as bad as it gets, that is fine with me. Other than having strep throat too...I have been so far so good. Just wanted to share our news. And yes, fashion show pics from Talladega are coming although I don't have as many as I normally do. Pregnant at Talladega is not anything I will be doing EVER again.

What are Fashion Show pics you ask...

2008-10-02T10:48:00.003-05:00

So I have had someone inquire what the Talladega Fashion Show pics are, so I decided to fill you all in.... Fashion show pics are the pics of what NOT to wear to T-Dega....Examples would be the following....A 300lb man with overalls on an no undershirt.....a 200lb woman in cut-off denim shorts that are SCREAMINGLY too tight, with a confederate flag string bikini attempting to hold up the MASSIVE mounds of flesh that are her breasts, that hang halfway down her gut that hangs down so low it ALMOST covers up her way too tight shorts....a man with plumbers butt so bad it shows his butt hair....a girl that has attempted to make a bandeau top out of a bandanna, only she she is so drunk and her boobs are so big that it only covers up one side at a time, HOWEVER she doesn't notice hence the alcohol impairment SO she pulls up one side at a time, only for the other boob to pop out, pulls that side up and the original boob pops out, all the while she is riding in the back of a pickup truck in a lawnchair while making out with her boyfriend/baby daddy/pimp, whatever? and the cops are right behind them, when they pull the truck over she THEN proceeds to shake her half-way covered boobs in the cops face when he asks her to pull her top up...I only wonder where SHE spent the night that night. THAT my friends, is only a taste of the Fashion Show put on at Talladega!!! And you wonder why we LOVE going!

DEGA Bound...

2008-09-30T12:09:00.002-05:00

Guess where I leave for Thursday....Talladega!!! You all will be SO proud to know that this will be my 14th race at Talladega. I cant' believe I have been going so long! WOW. Anyway, you know what else that means....Mullet Hunt and Fashion Show Pics!!! Stay tuned. We leave on Thursday and come back on Monday. We aren't taking our camper this year (first time ever) Jason and Ashley are staying by themselves in theirs so we are staying with them. PLUS, Gibson has had to work so much that he has not had a chance to get the camper out and get it ready, NOR have I had the time or energy to deal with it either! I am excited about staying with Jason and Ashley, I spend most of my time down at their camper anyway!!! Stay tuned, Mullet pics when I get back!

House Hunting....

2008-09-17T10:24:00.002-05:00

For those of you that don't know....we are house hunting. When I married Gibson I never thought we would be house hunting, much less living IN Greenville. Granted, I am very excited about it, its just kinda stressful. You see, I thought we were going to be at 36 Riverside Road, forever. Granted, being a 200 year old house DEFINITELY had its quirks, but I LOVED my 13 ft ceilings, huge rooms, floor to ceiling windows, my 20 X 24 dining room, my 2nd floor porch that wrapped around the entire house, my bedroom with no windows, I even grew to love my awful pepto pink tiled bathroom (once I FINALLY found a good brown to paint it), I made it mine and I loved it. HOWEVER, on March 8th, the furnace decided differently and where my house once stood are 6 brand new grain bins! SO, that leads us to where we are now. Renting....granted renting has been fine, but I am starting to get really restless. We have narrowed our choices down to 3 houses, and we look at one more on Friday. It may or may not work. Some people think I am being picky, but considering we already had our house plans drawn up for Lake Washington(oh and that includes paying for them) then decided buying in town was a better fit for us, its hard NOT to be picky. I know the layout I want. WE plan to live in this house forever and what my be fine for Gibson and I now, may NOT be fine for teenagers! I am just trying to think for the future. SO, anyway, that is my frustration of the day. We shall see how it turn out, hopefully....NO, unless something pops up in the next weeks or so, we WILL own one of the 4 in the near future!!! Wish us luck!

And we made it home in one piece...

2008-09-09T16:58:00.003-05:00

Headed to the Notre Dame in Paris, excuse the way we look, we had been up for WAY too many hours at this point.
At the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Again, looking WAY too cute.
Jane and I on the beach in Nice. Notice there is no sand, only smooth flat (well, kinda flat) rocks. Not the most comfortable beach to lay on but at least you didnt' get sandy.
Jane and I on our way up to Cascade Donjon, it was over 500 steps tto a waterfall overlooking the coastline in Nice, it was Gorgeous!
At dinner at the L'Meridian rooftop restaurant in Nice. The hair dryers over there were utterly useless, hence the reason for the lovely 'dos we have going on with our hair!

Jane, Anna Rives and I had a GREAT time on our trip. It was WONDERFUL. AND, I managed to pack in only a carry on. Well, I had my carry-on size suitcase and a REALLY REALLY REALLY big "personal item/purse" It was basically another duffel bag, but I survived. I did NOT only carry-on luggage on the way home, however. I wound up checking two bags and carrying on one that I bought there. Anyway, we had SO much fun. We left Tuesday, Aug 26th and flew into Paris. The flight was 8 hours from Atlanta, but FLEW by because Delta now has Movies on Demand on the back of all their seats. You can choose what movie you want to watch, start and stop it, watch re-runs of several tv shows, play games, watch music videos, whatever. I planned on having a few glasses of red wine and passing out, but that did not happen. Coming home was another story. Delta has not updated the planes that fly into Itlay with Movies on Demand yet, so we didn't have it. That 11 1/2 hour flight did NOT fly by. They showed 3 movies that I have never heard of, but even after we watched all 3 of those, we had 6 hours left. YUCK. Delta DESPERATELY needs to update. Anyway, we flew into Paris, then went to Nice, Venice, Florence and Rome, where we flew home from. It was BEAUTIFUL and we had great weather the entire trip. I think Nice and Venice were definitely my favorites HOWEVER, I really want to go back to Florence and go to the countryside. We were just in the city the entire time. I posted a few pics, I have a few funny stories to tell so stay tuned!!!

Bonjour from Nice

2008-08-30T11:52:00.002-05:00

So...we loved Paris and made it to Nice. After relaxing on the stone beach yesterday, OUCH, today we climbed over 500 stiars to the Cascade DonJon, a waterfall and viewpoint overlooking the beach and city. ABSOLUTELY one of the most beautiful sights I have EVER seen. If I can ever get my computer to charge over 10 minutes, I will try to upload some pictures. I am definitely coming back to this area in the future, only I am staying a week this time and going to Cannes, St Tropez, Monte Carlo, Monaco, etc. I LOVE NICE. Many stories to tell, but short on battery power.

B-day pics

2008-08-23T13:32:00.003-05:00

Smith and his daddy playing air hockey
Sherrie and Caroline playing Smith and Bradley
Concentrating to block that shot!
The birthday boy, Hayes and his mama Brittney

More Bday pics

2008-08-23T13:26:00.003-05:00

Sherrie trying the "mountain"
It worked much better if we pushed the kids up there!!!
Caroline on the slide
Smith on the big slide.

Smith LOVED playing air hockey.

Pump..n.up (as Smith calls it)

2008-08-23T13:12:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago was my cousin Troys, son's bday party. Hayes turned 2. His party was at Pump It Up in Jackson. Smith calls it pump..n..up, and its hilarious to hear him say it. Since Gibson was scuba diving, spear-fishing off the coast of Louisiana that weekend, I decided to go home for it and spend the night with my parents. That place is AWESOME. I think I had as much fun as the kids did. I am SURE all of you know what it is, so I won't go into detail, but it was SO much fun. Well, until Smith went down the slide backwards and his shirt came up...so his belly got a "rubber burn" You would have thought we shot him the way he screamed. It was AWFUL, he wound up settling down a LITTLE, we finally had to leave early because he was screaming so bad. Despite the injury, we still had a blast!!!

Memamma and Smith climbing, but falling back down
Not really sure WHAT this face was for!
Rolling down the slide, he loved flipping over.
Me trying to see how hight I can get the flags!
Memamma didnt' make it too far!

This is NOT working...I need HELP

2008-08-23T13:09:00.003-05:00

SO, the girls I am going to Europe with decided it would be a REALLY good idea if we all packed in carry-ons ONLY. Someone told them we HAD to do this (I wont' say who that was, but whatever I wasn't really up for this, but decided I would be a trooper and try. So, I did a practice packing a few weeks ago and thought I might could pull it off. I was kinda proud of myself. I tried to pack again today...for real. IT AIN'T HAPPENIN. NO WAY, NO HOW, NADA. Who knows what I am going to do. Its not the clothes, its the quart sized ziploc. AINT HAPPENIN. Any suggestions....

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Its across the ocean I go...

2008-08-18T16:19:00.002-05:00

I can hardly wait. This time next week, I will be (hopefully) fitting all my clothes and toiletries into a carry-on bag to fly off to Europe. I am still having bets on whether I can get it all in a carry-on. Gibson says heck no---I think I can. Anyway, my friend Jane and I, and her sister are all going to France and Italy. I really have not idea how I talked Gibson into it, well, I didn't, Jane did. Anyway, I really wasn't going to ask him but Jane did and he said go on. I kinda was shocked but oh, well. No turning back now! I was really hoping he was going to go with me, but unless it has water and he can scuba dive, he's not too much up for it. Not that I am complaining by any means, because you will be AMAZED where you can scuba dive. AND if that is the case, I see MUCH more tropical locales in my future!!! Anyway, I do plan trips for a living BUT I am always open to tips, recommendations, etc. So if you have any scoop let me know. We are going to Paris, Nice, Venice, Florence, and Rome. Can't wait and I know I will have TONS of pictures to post when I get back!!!
I just home all those sleeping pills wear off before we land, or else we are going to have 3 sleepy girls when we land on the other side of the ocean!

Last mullett pics not good enough....how about these!!!

2008-08-08T11:56:00.004-05:00

So, my cousin Brett that lives in New York informed me that my recent "mullett" pics were not truly a mullett. I agree, it was not the BEST mullet sighting I have ever had NOR is it the best mullett photo I have ever taken.....BUT STILL, it classifies as a mullett. And yes, Yankee's do have mulletts (sorry Brett--its not just the Southerners) ANYWAY, since this was obviously not good enough, I decided to post a few pics of some of our past "Mullet Hunts" For those of you that know us well, Gibson and I have MASTERED the art of spotting a mullet, discreetly alerting the other half of the sighting AND location, pulling out the camera, and snapping a shot of Gibson with the mullett...ALL without the "Mullett Wearer" ever noticing. WELL, there was this one time when a rookie member of our party started yelling.."where is it, where is it, I dont' see the Mullett, where is it" THis lovely outbreak nearly got us beat up...BUT we survived thankfully. That person now knows to NEVER EVER EVER bring attention to a mullett hunt. With that being said, I present you with some of our trophy shots! And since I cannot for the life of me figure out how to post the pics like I want....oh well. They are on here.

Nice...not one of our best shots, it was better from the side.

I think this is my PERSONAL favorite...Gibson just blending in as one of the crowd!

This was sitting directly in front of me and was just BAD....poodle mullet!

AHHH, the silverback!

If you saw me dancing in stage at the fair.....I sware it wasn't me!!!!

2008-08-01T11:39:00.003-05:00

Headed to see Santa Fe!

Jason and Ashley

Jason, Ashley and Gibson...not sure WHY he looks so much bigger than them in this picture.

Gibson and Jason

My pilot, on the way to Little Rock...sorry...random pic

SO, our friends Jason and Ashley bought a new cabin at the fair this year---YAY, so exicted. We used to go with them, didn't for awhile, and now we are back...long story. Anyway, we headed over on Friday and had a blast. Saturday night, Santa Fe played. Nic, Meredith's (Jason's sister) fiancee is in the band so we got to go backstage/sidestage, whatever, with them. It was SO SO SO much fun. I was fairly calm at first but a few beverages later I didnt' care much, so if you saw a girl on the left side of the stage in a grey dress dancing, I sware, it wasn't me. PROMISE!!! Anyway, the weekend was WAY too short, but had a great time with everyone, especially Alli Grace...my FAVE 5 year old and very much looking forward to many more fairs!!! Oh yeah, provided they invite us back!!!

More wedding pics...

2008-08-01T11:31:00.003-05:00

Um, no explanation for this one!

Myles and Johnny obviously conversing about something....

make that a DEEP conversation!

Its never a trip without a mullet hunt!

Make that a double mullet sighting!!!

The Fair, a Wedding, and a few other randoms!!!

2008-08-01T11:01:00.004-05:00

Myles and Gina at the reception

Gibson and I at the reception
Myles and Gibson at the bar AFTER the reception.
Gina and I
Myles and Johnny, and I have NO CLUE what he was doing!

I haven't really been with it on posting, but I finally uploaded my camera, so I figured I would catch up on blogging. Not that our lives are that interesting, but still.... Summer has FLOWN by, literally. I cannot believe this is the first day of August. WOW. I am still trying to figure out where LAST January went. Anyway, besides my numerous beach trips this summer (hey..Gibson offered and I took FULL advantage) we went to Poland, Ohio in late June for Johnny Divine's wedding. Chris and Crystal were driving, but 15hours didn't sound too fun to me in a car, not to mention Gibson can't really take off that long in the summer, so we flew up there. We flew into Pittsburgh and drove over to Poland. WE had a ton of fun and the trip was fairly tame.....note I said FAIRLY. I did discover a new drink. A Watermelon Margarita...it is SO good. Not really too sweet like you would think. I got the recipe and planned on posting it below, but cant' find the napkin I wrote it on now (imagine that) so if I find it, I will post it later. The wedding was fun, although up there, they have the wedding in the afternoon (say 2pm) then the reception started at 6---weird, I know, but still fun. It was a fairly short trip, but we had a great time everyone we never get to see! After that, Gibson flew home and I few to Ft Walton, for yet ANOTHER beach trip!

I am CURSED when it comes to ATLANTA!!!

2008-07-17T10:21:00.002-05:00

SO, I am never ever ever ever ever going to Atlanta again (yeah, I know, I will, but at least not for a little while) Anyway, not sure if you know how my past two trips to Atlanta went, so I will quickly fill you in.
Trip 1- March 7th, 2008, I arrive in ATL on Friday, the 7th for the Spring Market with Erin (owns Sulm's) All is good until Saturday night when I find out in the middle of the night that my house was on fire. I get the first flight home on Sunday morning to the lovely pile of rubble that is left of my home!

Trip 2- March 13, 2008 Gibson and I drive to Birmingham (to do some shopping since we aren't exactly going to sit at home) on the way to ATL for the SEC Basketball tournament. Game is Friday night....SOMEWHERE along the way, Gibson develops a SEVERE sore throat and feels horrible, he spends the weekend in the bed. I go the MSU basketball game with my dad--well, we all know what happened next...TORNADO. I wasn't actually in the stadium for it though...the 70 year old lady sitting behind me NEVER shut up and had a horrible tone to her voice. I am usually pretty mellow when it comes to this, but I guess my nerves were a little on edge. MSU's GREAT game wasn't really helping this situation. SO , I finally snapped and knowing that knocking her head off was probably NOT my best option, I looked at my dad and told him that I had to get out of there. SO I walked out of the Dome, got in a cab, and drove the 2 minutes to my hotel (walking alone was not a good idea) ANyway, I am in the room MAYBE 2 minutes and Gibson jumps up and runs to the window. Wondering what the heck he is doing I jump up beside him....right about that instant we both look up and SEE the tornado coming toward us. By the time we both fly across the room to the shower, it is over---well, they kept coming over the intercom to tell us to come down to the basement all night b/c more weather was coming. Since we cant' go to the game anymore, we head back to Greenville. We are eating lunch in Tuscaloosa, when my dad calls and asks if we are still there. Apparently, the Bulldog Club's first top hundred members or so get tickets, but you had to be there to get them. WE didnt have time to get back for the game. Since we are homeless, we decide to spend the night in Starkville and watch the game---good thing we didnt' go back to ATL b/c we all know how Georgia won that one!

Trip 3- July 10, 2008---I am back at market with Erin. I fly in Thursday morning with an uneventful morning.....so much for that. I land and take a cab downtown to the gift mart. I should have NEVER gotten in that cab. Anyway, my cab driver speaks ZERO English, has ZERO air-conditioner, has some name I can't even begin to pronounce, and Arabic newspapers are all OVER the cab (not trying to be prejudice, but it was quite uncomfortable) Anyway, we are driving along and he is flying (at least I get out of this this sauna of a cab faster, I am thiking) Well, I look over and he has cut this red car off. The red car proceeds to swerve at us, my driver swerves back, red car swerves again at us, we swerve back.....I am getting quite nervous at this point but it is happening so fast I dont' have time to think. I look back at the car RIGHT BESIDE US and duds has a little black pistol pointing RIGHT at us. (since he is a little behind us at this point, guess who is going to be the target--ME) I flip out start screaming that he has a gun and hit the floor of the cab--(glad I didn't buckle up at this point) My cab driver NOW decides he can speak English and starts saying " What...he have gun...OH NO, OH NO" trying to catch back up with the guy. I start screaming at him not to..Lord only know what else I was saying at that point. If we had not been in the middle of the interstate I would have had him drop me off on the side of the road. Anyway, we arrive downtown without any gunshots and I am at the NEW building 2 west wing. I have been to market five million times and know all these buildings like the back of my hand. I have NO CLUE where I am and am so flustered, I cant' figure it out.
After calming down, I head to the REAL bulding 2 to drop off my luggage. I lean down to unzip my suitcase and put my shoulder bag in there (didnt 'want to have to pay the extra $4) My suitcase is locked, I am LIVID. Brand new suitcase (my others burned remember--red from Steinmart) and Security has gone through my suitcase, found my lock, and locked it. NOW, How I do it, I dont' know, but I fenangle the lock of, open it and guess what---ITS NOT MINE. WHAT, now I am really flipping out. Apparently Deborah Frazier and I BOTH got the exact same RED suitcase from Steinmart AND the same luggage tag. No, I didnt' even look at the name when I left the airport for two reasons. 1- didnt' really figure anyone else would have the exact same brand complete with exact same (did not come with it) luggage tag 2- I had flown first class over there and it had a big priority tag on it so it came out first. Who would have thought. AFter I go back to the airport and get MY luggage (in the middle of the MONSOON that hits ATL right then) I FINALLY got my luggage. THe rest of the trip was fairly uneventful--oh, except for when it dropped the flood gates on ATL in about 5 minutes and all the water went off in all three buildings---that was NICE.

I am NEVER going again!!!

Come on guys....you know better than that!

2008-06-27T08:24:00.002-05:00

SO.....I am in Destin for a girls trip (yes, my third beach trip...Gibson NEVER should have said he didn't care if I moved to the beach this summer) ANYWAY, we all go to eat at the Marlin Grill in Baytowne last night. Afterwards, the other girls went home, but Kelley and I decided that we wanted to stay out a little longer. So we headed to the Village Door. We are dancing, minding our own business, when this guy comes up and grabs her on the ass. No a subtle little pinch while he moves in dancing behind her...but a full, all out bend over and grab a hunk of her ass. To make matters worse, all his little "girl friends" were all standing in a circle laughing at him. So we give him a nasty look and don't worry about it. UNTIL, a few minutes later it happens again. What the hell...I mean really guys. You know WAY better than this. This time Kelley is livid. I jump in front of the guy....mainly because I am scared she is going to deck him. YEah, what is up with that. Guys, you know SO much better. So I think ask the bartender to watch him because if he does it again, she IS going to knock his head off. Anyway, it was a fun night other than the ass grabbing fool. And girls....what was up with all of you standing in a circle laughing. Quite annoying, but oh well!

Rita's Wedding

2008-06-12T11:17:00.007-05:00

Rob and his sister Kelli laughing before the wedding
Mother of the groom and Mother of the Bride
Wendy, Rita, Mrs. Shirley, Lindsey and Allison
My husband that finally made it!!!
Rita's family before the wedding
Julia, Emily, Rita and I before the bachelorette party
Wendy (Rita's sister) about to tell some guy that he can do "SO much better"
All of the bridesmaids at the bridesmaid's luncheon
Emily, Rita, Elisabeth and Tina (Rita's friend from Delaware that we LOVE)
Rita's dad...note she is looking out the window in the background looking, oh so calm..HA...she as noticing that a tablecloth wasn't correct and trying to decide who to send to fix it!
Rita dancing with her dad
Rob dancing with his mom
Gibson and I on the beach the day after the wedding
Rob taking the garter off with is teeth
Lindsey and Allison, Rita's neices

Rita dancing with her dad

Rita at the Village Door- Bachelorette Party

Leaving the Rehearsal Dinner at Bud n Alleys

My friend Rita was a GORGEOUS bride this weekend and she could not have picked a better location. It was PERFECT. If you have never been to Santa Rosa Beach I HIGHLY suggest it. Much less crowded, mainly homes and small condos....ZERO 20 story buildings. We had a great time. Rita, Rob, Julia, Andrew and I all arrived on Wednesday. Thursday Julia and I ran errands with "the bride to be." I knew Rita was quite stressed, but nearly taking out several people with her cart in Wal-Mart was HILARIOUS. Later that night we had the bachelorette party--ANOTHER POST ENTIRELY--then on Friday was the Bridesmaid luncheon and the Rehearsal Dinner at Bud and Alley's! Thankfully, my husband finally got to fly down on Saturday morning, after a very long week. Finally---I think I saw her Rita relax once the wedding was over. We had WAY too much fun. Luckily we did get to hang out a little on Sunday/Monday after the wedding.

Off to the Beach....AGAIN, this time with Wedding Bells on!

2008-06-03T10:38:00.004-05:00

SO, I am off to the beach for the second time this year (Gibson made the mistake of telling me he didn't care if I went all summer) BIG MISTAKE BUDDY! Anyway, this time, I am headed to Santa Rosa for my friend Rita's wedding. I cannot WAIT. I have not seen her since, hmmm, August of last year when we all went to Vegas. SO MUCH FUN. Anyway, Rita, Emily, Julia and I were all best friends from college and I cannot wait to see them again. We dont' get to see each other often but we sure manage to make some CRAZY stories when we do! Hopefully everything will be a little tamer than last time we were all together. (My husband was NOT amused when I called him at 10am front the pool of the largest suite in Vegas...NO, we had not been to bed yet) That's another story. Anyway, I cannot wait to see these girls, I know we are going to have a BLAST!!!

AAAH.....the BEACH!

2008-06-02T14:59:00.003-05:00

My family decided to take an "entire family" vacation to the beach in May. My mom, Megan, Smith and I drove down on Tuesday, Bradley came on Wednesday, and Gibson flew down on Friday. My dad was supposed to come but completely bailed on us...we were SO disappointed. Smith SO wanted to bury Big (my dad) in the sand. This personally was my first beach trip with a child, but we had a BALL. Smith LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED the beach. He threw a fit each day when my mom made him come in out of the sun to eat lunch and take a nap. He got in plenty of beach time though. The water was still a little too cold to get in but the weather was GREAT the entire trip. I think next year we may try and go a week later. It was great when we were there because NO ONE was there yet. Everyone was still in school.
Smith had a ball flying the kite and throwing the ball. I bought this game where it is a really furry tennis ball and two paddles with velcro on them. The ball sticks to the paddle. Smith and Gibson had a GREAT time playing with this, as well as the kite. Gibson decided that my kite was too wimpy (keep in mind we had NO problems flying it and it might have cost $3) so he bought one of those trick kites....they spent all day trying to get that thing to fly. Sometimes the cheap stuff is SO much better.

TALLADEGA PICS

2008-05-02T16:24:00.003-05:00

So we all know that Gibson and I are HUGE Nascar fans. This past weekend was the Spring race. We had a GREAT time, and the races didnt' even get rained out. It rained afterwards, but they weren't rained out! Anyway, we usually have HUGE mullet hunt after the race, but we didn't do it this year--guess we were worn out, or had a little too much to drink. Anyway, we still did get a few, thought I would share them. I have to say, they are pretty pale in comparison to our previous hunts. I am surprised we haven't gotten our butts beat yet by some Mullet sporting redneck BUT we have they system down to perfection. The people with us don't even realize we what we are doing until we all of a sudden take off in opposite directions. Anyway, enjoy!

You have to look closely, notice the man with the silver
"do" just to the right of Gibson's head.

This wasn't a great one, but it was ok!

I have NO idea what Regina is laughing at!
Gibson didn't get to get in the pic with this one b/c he was headed back
to find our tickets that he dropped on the way to the track---he found them
though! And yes, the front part is shaved (well, its pretty short)
This wasn't really a mullet, but I figured it
was good enought to put in!

THE FIRE

2008-05-01T18:52:00.003-05:00

So, I know I stink at this entire blogging thing. Thankfully I finally figured out how to add people. Anyway, I have just had a lot going on with trying to dig through the old house, work on house plans...oh and if anyone has any good suggestions for a "Residential Architect" let me know...trying to work and do all the other fifty million things I have to do...blogging just ain't happenin much. Anyway, I attateched pictures of the house. You can see interior shots from the previous posts and a friend of mine emailed me some of the outside. Have I found anything, well, not anything of monetary value, but you would be amazed what I have found. More later on what I found and how I plan to use it. About to head off to watch my husband play tennis oh and drink a beer or two. Kinda an emotional day, I drove up to the house today and the two crepe myrtles and all the pear trees that I was planning on digging up had been attatched by the backhoe---Gibson came walking up right after that and it was NOT a pretty moment. Needless to say, all the men from the farm helping me kinda flipped when I started crying. They have been really sweet but if one more asks me if they can I am planning on keeping so and so and if not can they have it...I am going to deck them!

Ball Pics...a LITTLE late

2008-04-16T14:24:00.004-05:00

SO, the ball went off without a hitch...well, there were a few glitches and we almost set the GGCC on fire--not so funny now-- but anyway. I was completely exhausted afterwards BUT I think it turned out great. Now, I just get to do it all again next year, but with even MORE responsiblity! Add building a house to that and I am sure I will just have PLENTY of free time on my hands. I have lots of pics, but only attatched a few.

ONE DOWN....ONE TO GO

2008-02-18T21:24:00.004-06:00

So, one major event down---one to go. As many of you know, I had an engagment party at my house this weekend. Much to Gibson's dismay, when I have ANYTHING at our house, that usually involves several stressed out moments, a couple of snapping episodes at him, and SEVERAL sleepless nights (although he did FORCE me into bed after I woke up at 6am one morning and did not go to bed until 4am 2 nights later) I think he was going to make me get some sleep or leave me! Anyway, between work and the ball, I really did not have time to go into my usual freak out mode. I think Gibson was REALLY worried on Friday when I had not even mentioned the party AND was in bed before midnight every night! I did have a SLIGHT moment Saturday as I started to do flowers...Gibson had already gotten the heck out of dodge by this point. However, 3 beers and a MSU win later. I was kinda proud of myself and thought I would share.

NOW, if the decorations for the JA ball only turn out HALF as good, I will be in a GREAT mood come this time next week. If not...well, at least I will be on an airplane headed to CANCUN, even if it IS for work!!!

Movie Etiquette PLEASE

2008-02-01T16:02:00.000-06:00

Last night...Gibson and I went to see 27 dresses at the Nelco here. It was great---very much a fun, feel good, funny movie---Dont' see it winning any major awards, but still it was good! Well, since the movie theater here is SO busy, when we walked in, there were only 2 other people in the theater. After us, only 6 other people came in....4 ladies and then 2 girls. The 2 original people were sitting on about the 2nd row from the bottom, having movie etiquette like I do...we went up about 7 rows from the, to the middle and sat. I have my feel all propped up..nice and comfy..so excited about getting to watch the movie with my feet on the back of the chair in front of me! WELL, here come these 4 women and where do they sit...but in the 4 seats RIGHT in front of us...so much for my feet....they have this ENTIRE movie theater to choose from and they take the seat that I have my feet on! SO RUDE--THEN to make matters worse....one of them kept texting all during the movie--no, its not the same as talking on the phone, but she had one of those really bright new "whatever they are called" phones and it was nearly blinding....Not only has she taken my foot prop but I am BLINDED by her continuous texting---what is a 50 year old woman doing texting during an entire movie anyway! Anyway, after I finally had enough, we moved....I was just appalled! SO, please practice good movie etiquette next time you are there---don't enter another person's comfort zone unless it is packed and DON'T text during the movie---PLEASE!

Dang it---its already almost February

2008-01-28T18:52:00.000-06:00

So, Who KNOWS where all of January has gone, but I cannot believe it is already almost February!!! I said last year in July...as people were wondering where the summer went...I still wanted to know where January went---I ALWAYS seem to miss it....and I really don't understand why. Anyway...this is an updated picture of Dutch, he really is getting big. Right now, he is sitting on my feet as I sit at my desk (my usual spot) just sleeping. I know he really wants to go out and play but it has just been so COLD!!! Hopefully it will warm up soon a little and he can go play--yeah right! By the way, I took this picture to send to Gibson while he was in Austin for a week. I don't know what he is going to do when we have kids b/c he misses this dog tremendously already when he is gone! Guess we will figure that one out when the time comes!!!

Exhausted...

2007-12-26T17:40:00.000-06:00

WEll, after 5 (yes, 5) Christmases......I am exhausted. We do my mom's side of the family on Christmas Eve Eve, then we do my immediate family Christmas Eve morning, Gibson's dad's family Chirstmas Eve night, us Christmas morning, Gibson's Mom's side of the family Christmas day and go to his parents Christmas night.....are you tired yet, b/c I sure am. I love Christmas and I love seeing everyone, don't get me wrong.....but after all that, we were worn out. We had a great time and Gibson dressed up as SAnta and it was so cute--I will post pictures once I upload them. It continues to baffle me as to why Thanksgiving and Christmas are so Close....WHY can't we have one say in JUNE maybe. Anyway, I really do love Christmas, I just feel like we are always so rushed with our families we never get to truly spend time with and it would be nice if we just weren't so rushed!!!

Gibson's deer

2007-12-22T11:21:00.000-06:00

Well, considering my sweet husband has pretty much lived in the woods for the past week, I made a date for Thursday night...we were going to spend quality time together and go out to eat. I guess living in the woods was his redemption for my "if I can just get through this week" last week, I promise I will be normal again. I had a party at my house last week and we ALL know how I get when I get really stressed---lets just say that it is NOT one of my becoming qualities. ANYWAY, I am sitting at my computer trying to finish up some work so I can go get in the shower and get dressed for my "date" when Gibson calls....I should have know. His first comment....Do you still want to go out to eat....I knew that meant that he REALLY didn't want to....I said we didn't have to, why! WELL, he shot a deer...a rather large one at that! Needless to say, I had to go take pictures and by the time it was all over, neither of us were really in the mood to go out to eat. So much for my date night, huh. Oh well, I know there will be plenty more in the future!!! So here are some pictures of that big ole deer.

more Christmas decor pictures

2007-12-21T18:27:00.000-06:00

And yes, I did the flowers myself with zero help from BJ!!!

Christmas...plus a pet peeve

2007-12-21T08:24:00.000-06:00

Ok- first off with something that annoys the heck out of me. I love my maid, she is great, and is fantastic at ironing. HOWEVER, she is also REALLY good at just stuffing things wherever. It never fails that when I am looking for something specific....right now my little blue card that I just stick my camera card into...and then into the computer...its gone. I have to resort to plugging up all the cords and all that mess. NOW, I am sure it is just stuck somewhere (probably in a zip-loc bag) with all sorts of other randomly missing items and stuck in a cabinet somewhere. I will find it one day...probably in about three months or so. It drives me NUTS. ANYWAY, enough complaining.

Anyone that knows me well knows that I LOVE LOVE LOVE to decorate for Christmas. I get quite carried away and if it does not like like it "puked" ornaments....its is nowhere near done. Much to Gibson's dismay (and pocketbook) there is no end to my madness. I will ALWAYS be adding to and updating. I am sure this will probably change with children, but we will see. I bet it doesn't!!! Anyway, I decided to add some pictures of this years decorating adventure. There are still quite a few areas that I am not satisfied with but have no fear....I can always add to next year!!!

2007-12-21T08:06:00.000-06:00

I Must be really Bored

2007-12-20T19:11:00.000-06:00

Hmmm, what to talk about? As I take a break from a stressful day of work....don't get me wrong, I love what I do...there are just days when I wonder about people...and that stresses me out. Why I let this get to me, I don't know...but it does. Anyway, I guess I should give a little update as to what has been going on our lives. For those of you that don't know....Gibson and I were married Feb 5, 2005. Our three year anniversary is coming up. Not really sure what we are going to do to celebrate that BUT I am sure we will figure something out. We live...well, it really depends on where you live to know where I am referring to. If you aren't familiar with the Mississippi Delta, we live in Greenville. For those fellow Delta residents, my address is Hollandale, but I actually live closer to Greenville than I do Hollandale. Really its called Longwood, right between Avon and Glen Allen. Since I am sure I have confused almost everyone, it is about 14 miles south of Greenville on Hwy 1, right off the Mississippi River. I live in the middle of nowhere, right in the middle of a bunch of rice/soybean fields (depending on the year) I love every minute of it.
After Katrina and I sat home for a month...and my husband saw how much I was actually spending on a month to do my job that I loved so much...I wont' say he made me quit, but I knew it was in my best interest. Since I am not the type to sit at home and eat bon bons watching Days...I needed something to keep me busy in the country....like keeping up with this house and yard is not enough...but I needed "my own money" Luckily the travel agent job fell into my lap pretty much and I have loved every minute of it. For those that know me, I am always the planner, instigator, get it together person...whatever...so this naturally was great fit for me. It has been lots of fun and an enormous learning experience, but I finally feel confident well, pretty confident in what I do. I spend hours researching if I don't know about somewhere already, but I promise you, I soon will if you are interested.
So, between that, trying to keep up with this house...and my extremely active dog Dutch that lives in it..trying to establish a green thumb, play tennis, do my part in all these clubs/committees I keep saying yes to....OH and be a wife...I stay pretty darn busy. So much for watching Days!!! SO I guess that it is for now.

2007-12-18T18:04:00.000-06:00

First One

2007-12-18T17:32:00.000-06:00

Well, Since I lead such an exciting and glamorous life, I decided to start a blog. I just know everyone is itching to know what goes on in my life.....only teasing. I just wanted a change of pace from the sometimes chaotic world of travel that I call a job. Don't get me wrong....I love what I do...I just sometimes need a change of scenery and a break to help me get back going full speed ahead again. Since we have not quite decided to join the ever growing club called "Parenthood" I have not children to brag about. I guess my dog and my nephew Smith will have to do.