Basketball, the Dr, and the Rose

OK, I know it's been a while but I am going to start back on the 14th and catch you up (believe me, my life isn't that exciting, there isn't a lot to talk about. If I posted as often as some of you, they would all be 2 or 3 line posts ;^).

So, on Valentine's Day (a.k.a. Singles Awareness Day) I got off work, ran around and did some errands and by the time I got back home Leigh had already left for work, I wouldn't see her again until Monday because she had to go out of town for work. Louise and Dirt had already left to go out of town so I came home and went straight to bed. I was planning on getting up and going out to supper with a friend of mine but didn't sleep well and felt even worse so I just stayed in bed until time to get up and go back to work. When I did get up and got in the car to go to work (this is a little after 10 that night) I sat down and realized that I had sat on something. It was a rose. Just a single, red rose, wrapped in cellophane. No note, no card, no nothing. It was kind of exciting, kind of weird, but kind of exciting so I waited for someone to call or come by and take the credit. This is being written almost two weeks later, still no word. Now there is no excitement, now I think it's just kind of stalkerish. Am I right?

Fast forward to the 22nd. I got off work that morning and came home and went to bed. I got up a litttle after noon and GinGin was already here. Her and Leigh came and picked me up and we were off to Tuscaloosa to watch our Lady Vols play Alabama. Alabama's girl's are pretty sorry but it's always fun to beat Alabama! It was so fun! The best part was that it was just like old times! For those of you who don't know, GinGin (who is my aunt) had a huge hand in raising us. She didn't get married or have Jessie until I was already in college and she was famous for taking us to fun stuff like this, that we didn't get to do with anyone else. I wouldn't trade Uncle Kenny and Jess for anything in the worls but I was grateful to get to do this with her, like old times! Tenn demolished Al by almost 30 points and GinGin actually got Pat Summit's autograph! I'll try to get some pictures up soon.

On Friday the 23rd, our little group from University CoC had our monthly Girl's Night and this month was at our house. A lot of people couldn't come, plus me and Leigh are not master cleaners or decoraters so I was kind of nervous. It was so fun! We had ten people and if they did notice how underdecorated and "not spotless" our house was, they were kind enough not to say anything to my face! Of course, I had to cut it off kind of early because I had to go to work! It was so fun and even though it becomes kind of a pain when trying to plan it, I always have so much fun and am glad that we do it!

Ok, I don't believe that there are many men that read "blogs" but if there is one reading this one now, this is your warning. You may want to be through with this post ;^) So, Moday I had a dr's appt with my OB/GYN. Not a big deal except my OB/GYN is still in Anniston, over 2 hours away. Everyone says I should change and, goodnes knows, that there are plenty of them in Montgomery but I feel like if you find one that you are really comfortable with and one that listens to you (and that goes for ANY kind of Dr), I feel like it's worth the drive. Now, my Dr is 40, the daughter of an OB/GYN, VERY successful, three beautiful daughters, and married to a surgeon. So, we start talking about me working 3rd shift and how bad it is and I tell her how it makes me feel so old. She actually tries to compete with me! She says, "I turned 40 this year..." What?!? "Dr. Lucy, you may be 40 and I am only 27 BUT, you are a DR! I have no more idea what I want to do than I did when I was a freshman in college! YOU are married to a DR and have three beautiful daughters, I haven't been on a date in over a year! YOU have are thinner than me AND have less wrinkles! Do you REALLY want to have this conversation?" She was laughing so hard she started crying, I was thinking, does anyone stop to think before they speak? Geez

Last night Tenn's mens lost (they were ranked number 1) and I was once again glad that there were no hidden cameras in my house so no one can see how ridiculous I act here. I am getting ready to go spend the night with my friends in Alex City and now ya'll are pretty much up to date on all the excitement! STOP with the ugly voice mails threatening me to update my blog! Hope ya'll all have a great weekend!

Adventures In Babysitting

Most of you know that Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my "off nights" from work. However, this week my Wednesday night was canceled so Tuesday, Feb 12th, was to be my only "off night". Monday night before I left from work I got a text message from Coach Nichols (who is the football coach at Faulkner but him, his wife, and their two children are members at University, where we are) asking if I could babysit on Tuesday, they were having kind of a babysitting emergency.

I have to interject here and give you a little background. In high school, I baby sat all the time. I was an expert babysitter. The same goes for my first two years of college. That, however, is pretty much where it ends. In Lineville, Cole (a 3 year old son of the football coach and great friends of ours there) stayed with me a lot. But, it wasn't like babysistting. Sometimes, I would go and get him just because I loved having him. He was more like a nephew/little brother. Never was it a I watch your son and you give me money for it kind of exchange. There is another little boy, Devin, around the same age, here in Montgomery. Then there is Lily, the daughter of my friends Brint and Shanon and Tucker, son of Greg and Rayla, again, more like family. In all of these cases, it was a child that I had spent a lot of time with them before I watched them. So, what I am saying is that I haven't "babysat" a child since appx the year 2000. See where I am going with this?

However, the Nichols are wonderful people and their children are so cute and I thought, I can do this. Let me tell you, Tuesday, I was awesome. I even thought, I'm not too old to have kids, I still have plenty of energy! I went to their house when I got off work Tuesday and Peyton (the beautiful two year old that I was staying with) immediately took to me. There wasn't even any crying or fussing when his mom left! We watched kid shows, we played basketball and baseball outside (it was almost 80 degrees outside), we found a catapillar (sp?) and played with it, we went for a walk around the neighborhood, and we even jumped on the trampoline! Even nap time went great! We both slept for almost two hours! I even made a pizza for lunch! Oh yeah, I can totally handle this. At the end of the day I was exhausted but feeling great! I had a good night that night and went to bed about 7:00 (give me a break, I had been up for over 24 hours!)

Wednesday, Leigh came in and woke me up about 7:15 and said that Coach Nichols was on the phone and wanted to know if I could babysit again, that their babysitter had just called and told them that she couldn't watch Peyton. As easy as Tuesday had been and as frantic as they were, I didn't even have to think about it! I was there in less than an hour. Wednesday, Peyton wasn't quite as happy to see his mom go because they had thought that he might have to go to school with her for a little while. It wasn't bad though and before long we were watching tv again. Now, I knew that there would be no playing outside today because it was 36 degrees!!! So, we bundled up and went to Faulkner to visit Louise and Leigh. Then we went to Target to buy Valentine's presents for Louise, Dirt, and Leigh. Going to Target with a 2 year old....fun. We got there and immediately he started in with the "I wants". You have to know that this child is SO good but, come on, he is two years old in Target, he wants stufff. Then, when we get to the very far back end of the store, guess what? He has to go potty. Geez.... So we make a mad dash all the way back across the store to the bathroom. An important note here is that when Peyton does something that he perceives as wrong or bad, he says, "It's ok", "It's ok" =^) That's your clue. So, when we get in the bathroom, the only open stall is the handicap one, so I put him down in there and he looks at me like I'm crazy. "I need a little boy potty", touche', the toilit is almost as tall as he is. So, I put him down in a regular stall and turn around because I am talking to Leigh on the phone. That's when I hear it. "It's ok. It's ok." Oh no. I look in ther and he has peed EVERYWHERE! I mean, the walls, the floor, EVERYWHERE! I don't know what to do. I am laughing my butt off and I pull his pants up and wash his hands. When I turn around from getting paper towels he is bent down looking under the stalls!! Now I am about to fall over laughing and I just pick him up and run out of the bathroom! After we leave Target we go to Chappy's deli to meet up with Louise and Leigh for lunch. This goes pretty good but he is getting tired. SO, I still need to go by Best Buy on the way home so Louise goes with me to sit in thje car with him while I run in. Please note here that I am not leaving out where I took him to the bathroom at the deli. He didn't ask, so I didn't think about it. We leave Best Buy and are sitting over the interstate at a red light when he says, "I gotta go potty" Hmmmm. We are not going anywhere for the next 60 seconds and we're only about 2 miles from their house so I ask him (yes, now I know how silly this sounds...key word NOW) if he can hold it. He says yes. In about a minute (we're not even to the light yet) he says, "It's ok" "WHAT is ok, Peyton?" "It's ok, it's ok" Oh geez. We get home and of course, there is pee everywhere. I take TOTAL responsibility for this. I'm sorry Peyton. So I go in and change him and we lay down on the couch for a nap. About 45 minutes later (I haven't heard a peep from him in about 30 minutes), he says, "It's ok, it's ok". "WHAT is ok Peyton?" "I pee pee in my pants. It's ok". "When? Just now? Or earlier in the car?" He says, "Yes". Oh, in the car. "Yes, it's ok Peyton. Really not a big deal. You need to go to sleep though." "Ok." Fast forward an hour and a half of a very bad nap and he sits up and says, "New pants." WHAT? You guessed it. No wonder he didn't sleep good, I made him nap in wet underware! I know.

Maybe I'm not the expert in child rearing that I thought I was. So what? I'm not giving up. At the end of the day he was still healthy and happy and he even loves me. Not a bad two days work :^)

I've been tagged by Meli (5 random things about me)

Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog or Share the 5 top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list or Share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when you were 25 years old. Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.



In random order:

1. I have a lisp. It's not usually noticable until I or someone else points it out but, it's there and I am VERY self conscience about it. (so, let's not talk about it ;^)

2. I hate clothes. You know how children about the age of two always seem to be taking their clothes off? That's me. If you ever come to my house unexpectedly, it will take me a few minutes to get to the door because I ALWAYS have to put clothes on!

3. I LOVE music! I very often FEEL music! I am singing all of the time and music can totally alter my mood!

4. It is very emotionally tramatic for me to get my hair cut. That's why I don't do it very often. I know, I KNOW, it's ONLY hair...it will grow back...yada, yada, yada. I just can't think that way. I have NEVER liked getting my hair cut, even as a kid. I dread it from the time I make the appointment and am usually physically ill on the day of.

5. I am ALWAYS the first one to cry at things like movies, tv shows, songs, books, the news.... But usually the last to cry when something bad happens to me or someone in my life. I'm sure there is a psychologist out there who would LOVE to get a hold of me!!!


I tag Louise, GinGin, Terri, Abby and Amy, and Leah!

Pictures from the Alabama/Tennessee game in Tuscaloosa on 01/29/08

Pictures from the trip home.....finally!

If I Could Write A Letter

Any of you who listen to country music at all know where I'm going with this. For those of you who don't, there is this song that Brad Paisley sings, "If I could Write A Letter to Me". The gist of the song is a guy who is well out of high school (I always imagined him in his 30's) who talks about writing a letter to himself at 17.

Anyways, I heard this song about 50 times on my way back from Valdosta a couple of weeks ago (on my way back from my high school reunion/homecoming) and it really got me thinking. What would I tell myself at 17? Geez that was ten years ago. I decided that that was what my next blog would be about. Well, of course life happened and I'm a known terrible blogger. However, I was on my way home from Tuscaloosa (for a Tennessee ballgame, goodness knows there is no other reason to go there!) last night and the song came on again. It was late, I was driving and it got me thinking again. Dirt was asleep in the front seat, Louise and Leigh were asleep in the back and we all had just had SO much fun!

What would I write to myself at 17? That's when it hit me. There is no way that I could have ever, ever guessed that I would be where I am ten years from then. What would I change? I mean I saw all of my friends in Dasher, they are all living TOTALLY different lives than me. I mean, not even close. They are ALL married with children, working doing what most people would call "careers". As we have covered in earlier posts, I am NONE of those things. Last night I went to a ballgame, got home close to 2am, woke up to a text from a friend at 6:30, talked on the phone and texted until 10:30, went back to sleep and didn't get up until 5! Now I am sitting here watching American Idol with Leigh. Nothing like any of the days my friends have.

I would tell myself some things to watch out for though. I would tell myself to study harder, slow down, stop putting so much effort into guys/dating and put more effort into friendships. However, the most important things I would tell myself are really the only things I would tell myself to do differently. I would tell myself to stop being a jerk to my mom. To respect her more and appreciate her more. I would tell myself to call my Grandaddy and Grandma so much more and to make a much better effort to spend time with them.

Last night when I was listening to that song, thinking back to the past ten years, what would I change and I looked back at my sisters sleeping and that's when I decided. All of the bad and good choices that I have made in the past ten years have brought me here. Why would I dare go back and change anything. You might say I could have changed some things and my life would have turned out better. But, if you said that, I'd know that you don't know very much about my life. My life is so good. The next song that came on the radio was by Tim McGraw. The name of that song was "In My Next 30 Years" Hmmm....that will probably be the name of my post on July 18, 2008. Thank you to all of my friends and family that have made the first 'almost thirty' years of my life so, so very good!

Does everyone feel this way?

Does everyone feel the same way about their "home" as I do? I mean I feel like where I grew up is the best place on Earth. Not perfect, but pretty stinking close. And, definitely close when I was growing up there! I just need to know if everyone feels that way about their home or mine really is that much more superrior.

Ok, so this past week I was able to get a week off of work and go "home" to Dasher/Valdosta/Quitman, Ga for Christmas with the Walker side of the family, Homecoming, and my ten year high school reunion. Whew! I also got to a good deal of time with my family (NaNa and PaPa, GinGin and her family, KaKa and her family, plus all of the Walker/Jones were there Saturday and Sunday) and my oldest friends, including some I hadn't seen in almost a decade!

Mom and Dad came to Montgomery Friday night and while I was at work they all slept. They were up and ready when I got home and all 6 Walker/Jones caravaned in three cars from Montgomery to Dasher. We all met up with NaNa and PaPa and the Sloans (all five of them) at GinGin's house and had our family Christmas and ate lunch together. That night we all went to the GCS basketball game that night. Samantha was awesome and it was great to get to see everyone. Sunday we all went to church at Quitman and out to lunch together. Leigh and the Jones left Sunday and Walker and Kristen left Monday. Sunday after lunch we went back to GinGin's and had Jessica's 7th birthday party! I CAN'T believe she is seven years old!!! Monday night we went to another GCS ballgame and, again, Samantha was awesome. This time she fouled out. This is the only part of her game that she resembles her older cousin! She is really good!

On Tuesday Momma and Daddy left and, you guessed it, there was another GCS ballgame. This one I didn't make though because it was in Terrell. I have absolutely no idea how I kept up with that kind of schedule when I was in high school! Tuesday night I spent time with Meli, Kayden, and John at their house. Then I went over to Nicole's to spend the night with her, her 2 year old (and my kindred spirit) Ella, Rhett, who is 8 months, and her husband Tom. Quite an experience :) I spent the next three nights there and love them so much and had so much fun!

Wednesday I got to go visit with Bev and her grandkids, Abby, Amelia, and Anna (always a highlight of my trip!!!!) and then I went over to Quitman and had supper with what was left of the Sloan's and NaNa and PaPa before going to church. After that was just visiting with NaNa and PaPa and I got my new digital camera that night....yay! Thursday I got to go visit and eat with Audrey, Donald, and their daughter Amelia. Hopefully the next time I go down there will be another person to visit at their house!!! Please keep Audrey and their baby in your prayers until she is here and both are safe! Then I went over to Melissa's and played dress up with KK again. That little girl (and her Mom and Dad!) is truely one of the brightest spots of my life!

Friday morning me, Nicole, Ella (2), Rhett (8 mos), Melissa, Kayden (2), Patience, Reagan (2), and Rowan (8 mos) all went shopping. Nope, I am not kidding! It was amazingly calm, considering! Then I went with GinGin to Jessi's school where we had her school birthday party! She is such a blessing, how anybody could look at her perfect face and not believe in God is beyond me. I see Him shining in her EVERYtime I look. Then me, Nicole, and the kids did a little more shopping and I started dreading the next day (when I had to leave). That night I went back to Quitman and stayed with NaNa and PaPa.

Saturday morning I went to visit one last time with Nicole's family, GinGin and Jessi and then went to my 10 year reunion get together. I really can't get into all of how wonderful it was at this moment but it was SO good to get to spend a little time with everyone. We're having our big reunion thing in May and I am so excited about it! Then we went to Homecoming and the ballgame. They did a very nice memorial to Adam (my classmate and friend who was murdered by a coward terrorist in Iraq in April of last year) before the national anthem and, to no one's surprise, I'm sure, I cried like a baby. I had to leave at half time of the boys game so I could make it back for work that night in the gump (boo,hiss ;). I nkow this was long but I left SO much out! My next post will hopefully be more feelings and less itinterary but I wanted to remember what all I did so I had to get it down before I started forgetting!

I hope everyone does feel this way about their "home", I can't imagine feeling any other way.

Hopefully this post will include pictures so Melissa will get off my back about how boring my blog is! ;^) Now if only I can figure it out........