Sunday Ramblings

(mixed in with some pictures of Charleston)


Grey's Anatomy was sad this week.  And, I was super shocked about Arizona.

There were a ton of tourists downtown today.  It was an overcast day, but that didn't stop anyone from taking in the sights.

This picture is for Kyle.  I saw this and thought of you.

 There were so many carriages out today.  It really seemed like  a summer day.  Man, that horse urine stinks.

I think this lady must have some stories to tell.

Forget regret or life is yours to miss.  (yes, I'm watching Rent.  AGAIN.)  No other road, no other way.  No day but today.

This shop smelled heavenly.  I wonder if they would have minded if I rolled around in the caramel and nuts and chocolate?

Tomorrow is October?  Really?

SSSSShocking

Sir Steven had a soccer game the other night.  He kissed me goodbye and went on his way.

For about a minute.

He then came back inside and informed me that we had a snake in our driveway, and did I want to see it?

REALLY?  Did I want to see a SNAKE?

But, being the good wife that I am, I ventured outside to see a SNAKE resting against the tire of my new car.  Um, I did not know that SNAKES were the new option of choice on 4Runners?

Sir poked it with his foot and it SLITHERED to the other side of the car.    As it SLITHERED, I swear, I felt it on my foot, even though I was far away from it.  It gave me the willies.

It then SLITHERED into the grass and went who knows where.  I'm sure it's under my bed as I type this.

Oh, and the little feller?  Our snake expert tells us it's a Copperhead.  Ya know, venomous.  VENOM.

 I'm going to have to teach Rockett to use the toilet, because she's never going outside again.

Mid Week Mute

Living in Fantasy Land

I'm still on my diet.  This is week number six and I'm feeling pretty good about things. I'm not weighing myself, but the Non Scale Events are starting to occur.  (jeans feel looser, pj's feel bigger and people are starting to notice...) But man oh man, I'm missing some BAD food. 

I'm now going to pretend I have 24 hours to eat anything I want with no consequence to my body or the diet.  I now commence all the things I would eat.  Not necessarily in this order.

Sonic Toaster Sandwich with cheese and bacon and tater tots
Tostitos and cream cheese
Tostitos and Frito Lay Jalapeno Cheddar Dip
Two eggs, over easy, with toast and bacon
A big greasy cheesy pizza with tons of pepperoni
An entire mud pie
A Bojangles Cajun Filet Biscuit
Cheese Dip and chips from La Hacienda
A big ol' chili dog covered with chili, cheese and onions
Cheeseburger on a big a** bun
A sandwich with salami, tons of cheese, MAYO, pickles and onion
bag of Fritos
Egg salad
Rock Shrimp Tempura from Zen Asian Fusion
a Ginormous helping of onion rings
Nachos with Tracy
about 14 of those Cheddar Bay Biscuits from Red Lobster
maybe a brownie or two?
NOTHING involving a salad
OMG, fried chicken
MASHED POTATOES with tons of butter
chicken and dumplings
and another Sonic Toaster Sandwich.

BURP

I love Fantasy Land.

Oh, and Robert Redford would serve all this food to me.

In my house on the mountains.

Weekend Happenings

It's been such a crazy busy week.  I pride myself on my laziness, but this week has kept me busy busy busy.

Before I go any further, may I present my new tattoo:

 Please ignore the screaming red around the tree.  That would be my skin being very angry with me.  There are three leaves that have significance.  I asked Taylor and Jake to pick out a color, so I could honor them in my tattoo.  Taylor picked teal, Jake picked red.  (Taylor's is a bit hard to see in this angle)  At the last minute, I decided to add Steven to the mix. Can you find his leaf?

This tattooing thing has become quite the family event -- both Steven and Taylor also went under the needle.  Under the needle?  I'm so hip.  Anyway, ouch, yes it hurt, but I'm so happy with it!

We also attended a surprise 40th birthday party for a good friend of ours.  I remember his 30th birthday.  I hope we'll be celebrating his 50th with the same flair as we have 30 and 40.  These English dudes take their country seriously:

 

Happy 40th Matt!

But my favorite part of the weekend?  Seeing this:

 

Our neighbor's tree has the first fallen leaves.  That means autumn, cooler temperatures, pumpkin flavors, and open windows.  Before long, we'll smell some smoke in the air and start wearing boots.  Mornings and evenings will become just a bit nippy.

The best time of year.

Non Mid Week Mute

This whole week is wacky for me.

Normally, I work in Columbia on Wednesdays.  This week, it's Friday. 

I'm all messed up now.  So, since I'm messed up, I figured I'd use words on Mid Week Mute Day.  I'm so radical.

Thank you for the interest in my new car.  We leased another Toyota 4Runner. This is my THIRD BLACK 4Runner.  Yeah, I'm in a rut.  In between three and four, we had a red Venza, but I went back to the old faithful.  Look at Mama and Baby here:

I absolutely hate the car buying process.  It is the most painful thing!  As nice as everyone was, it just made me so tense and stressed.  Why does it have to be so difficult?  Why can't we just buy a car like we buy groceries?  How nice would it be to go through a check out process like that? 

Just dreaming.

So, now we're in the "figuring out all the buttons" and "find all the gadgets" mode.  This should keep us occupied for quite awhile!

And, oh, I'm getting a new tattoo on Friday!  Curious??

No, it's not a car.  Or a car salesman. 

TODAY

I did my two most hated things.

I went to the dentist and bought a new car. 

I hurt from head to toe now.

Good night.

Stone Crab Claws and the Weekend That Was

My weekend was  super nice.  Some of the highlights:

Dave Matthews wine.

Two sassy gals and me enjoying Stone Crab Claws.  Okay, have you ever SEEN how huge these things are?

Eating them on newspaper.

Eating anything.

Wearing a pair of pants I haven't worn in two years.

The birth of Oliver Thomas Reaves.  (congrats to Mary, Larry and Griffin!)

That turkey sub I ate yesterday afternoon.

Going to the beach for a little reading time.

"The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry."

Getting caught up on that sleep I missed on Wednesday night.

Using the lemon lavender sugar scrub that I ordered from Etsy.

Catching up on Project Runway and all the crime tv I miss during the week.

And since summer is waning, here's a few "Polaroids" for you.

 So many rules at the beach!

Insomnia Thoughts

Why can't I sleep?...Taylor at school in Columbia...this cat won't leave me alone...would I sleep better on the couch?...TV on or TV off?...Does my snoring annoy Steven as much as his snoring is annoying me right now?...Rockett, move your legs!...where should we go for vacation next year...am I really going to be 50 next year?...i wonder if David McGinnis is on Facebook....of course he's not on Facebook...is he really 63 now...going to mass on Sunday nights while living in Terre Haute...the burning bush...Pete Grimes in the communion line...Pete Grimes...giggle giggle...Rockett stop dreaming, you are so loud...what should we do this weekend....should i take off on Friday...if I do, what will we do....i hate to waste the day...how long has it been since I've blogged....do people notice if I don't blog...I need to head to the couch to see if that helps me sleep....it's so quiet out here...turn on Top Chef Masters and watch what I'm already taping....those guys are mean to Lorena....I miss Takashi...Takashi  Takashi  Takashi ...I love that name...my name is so boring JUDI JUDI JUDI....What was my mom thinking with that name...at least she didn't name me Suzanne, that was the other option.....mom.....you would have loved Steven if you had lived to meet him....I can just see the two of you drinking a bourbon together...Blech, bourbon....food...how long will I have to diet...am I losing any weight...if I lose any, will I be able to keep it off....can anyone tell I've lost weight?...I sure could go for some nachos and I don't even like nachos....Not yo mama....Mamma Mia...I can't wait to see Les Mis in February...Dad used to love Les Mis...Dad.....why can't I sleep???...does Steven know I'm not in the bed...work...work...work...I need to be a better supervisor....that office building needs so much work....does my boss resent me?...i always bring the bad news...does my car have too many miles on it?...is Taylor doing okay?...how can I help her be her happiest...when will I see Jake again....Jake...I wish we could all be together for Christmas....oh man....Christmas shopping....I dread it....can I just give cash to everyone...money money money...was that a light that just shone in the window?...scary....are they going to figure out that Walt is cooking meth?...I sure like Jesse...this pillow is hot...this couch isn't working....move cat!...how in the world will I make it at work tomorrow?...work...am I doing a good job?...my office is dirty...we need new carpet...why can't I sleep?.....I can't believe Angela is having a baby....Should we go to Kentucky and then to St. Louis or just come back between visits?...Kentucky...Kentucky Fried Chicken....Chicken Skin...my brothers used to give me their chicken skin...that's why I'm fat...I blame the chicken skin...I miss chicken skin...will I ever get to eat chicken skin again?...why am I thinking about chicken skin?...man oh man, it's 3:00 in the morning now.....why can't I sleep???

A Few of My Favorite Things

There are so many things about my house that drive me crazy.  You know, dirt, dust, tumbleweeds, marks on the wall, cuts in the carpet, dirty windows, and on and on and on....

Luckily, there are enough of my favorites spread out through the house to keep my from committing Hara-Kiri!  (yes, I had to look up how to spell that)  Pretend I'm Julie Andrews and I'm singing a nice little ditty....

I love my mass candles.  I like to buy a new one when we go to the mountains over New Years.  I figure every little bit helps, so I light these suckers, um, religiously. 

The title of this picture is, "Portrait of a man slowly going insane."  I call it, "Self Portrait."  I look at this when I am, er, um, sitting on the toilet? 

My all time favorite birthday present from Sir.

The Kleenex Tower.

SS found the Sponge Bob box in Taylor's room.  It's probably close to ten years old.

 My $20 Bling Lamp from Target.  

 

I love how a cross looks on the wall.  I think we found this one at TJ Maxx.

The beads?  From our New Orleans trip a few years ago.

A friend painted this picture for us years ago.  

And even though it's messy as heck, I love my coat rack.  

No coats ever hang on this.

The crucifix we brought back from Portugal.

In one piece!

Rockett Dog.

Domino Fa-Lomino

 

And my newest fave, that just arrived in the mail today---

Hand knitted dish cloths from my blogging buddy, Kyle.  

Thanks Kyle!!

Is it JuJu Rivera or Geraldo McCabe?

Sir Steven brought a trunk down from the attic this week.

Upon closer inspection, I recognized certain scribblings, courtesy of Miss Taylor Tedford.

 

As I looked at the trunk, I honestly had no idea what was inside of it.  It could have been school papers, toys, clothes, junk, spiders, bugs or nothing.  I felt like Geraldo Rivera opening Al Capone's vault; except mine was the only camera.  Oh, and not quite as much build up.  

So, with great excitement, I opened the squeaky painted over hinges and this is what I see:

 

And, all of a sudden, it's 1992 again.  I see Taylor's first Christmas dress, clothes my grandmother made and of course, the outfit she wore when we brought her home from the hospital.

 

I didn't find out the sex of either of my kids.  (I don't think it was a possibility with Jake?)  So, I bought a very generic, soft, outfit in which to bring her home.  If you look closely near the top button, you can see where the formula stained it.  Classic.  

 

My grandmother made these smocks for Taylor.  How cute are they?  Well, let's just look at her modeling the little blue number:

 There was her first ever Missouri T-Shirt

Hand knitted items from friends and family, and Jake's adorable duck sweater

Mikki was a great help.  NOT.

 

And my favorite, the shoes.  Why is there only one of the stereotypical baby shoe?

And then at the bottom of the trunk, I unfolded this little gem---

 

My dad had a football camp somewhere around 1978.  It was held while he was the head football coach at Indiana State University.  So, this tshirt is about 34 year old.   I bet there aren't many of these in circulation these days.

Speaking of dated items, how about my dad's Bradley University sweater?

It was such a fun trip down memory lane.   And I'm really glad I didn't find any spiders.