Tuesday's 10

Phew. I am running late today.
Must be the cold that I feel creeping up on me.
Not "cold" like a Fall breeze.
"Cold" like the sore throat crud that Dan/Daddy has passed along to me.

So here's this week's Ten on Tuesday... (Go by and visit Mrs. Chelsea if you can. She's great with child and due at any time!)

1. Pretend it’s Monday morning–take us through a day in the life of you.
Hold on to your horses.
I get up, crawl out of bed, shower (maybe), wake the boy, slap a little makeup on my face so I don't scare the villagers, slap a ham sandwich together for the boy's lunch, muster up some breakfast, and drive the boy to school. All while sipping my coffee. In a non-car-coffee-mug. I like to live on the edge.
Since this is Monday we're talking about, I usually catch up on the mess that took over my house on the weekend.
There may be a PTO meeting, there may be something going on at school, there could be something Army-ish I am required to do.
Then it's time to pick up the boy, get homework done, run any errands that we need to, and figure out what to feed the hungry people who live at my house. Then there's showers, prayers, and bedtimes. And I watch a little Criminal Minds as I doze off.

2. What’s your favorite reality tv show?
I dedicate my answer to my friend Jill. I can always count on Jill to be watching some trash right along with me...
I don't have a favorite; I watch entirely too many. These are the 3 worst...
"Hoarders"
"Toddlers and Tiaras"
"Keeping Up With the Kardashians"
Now I am embarrassed. (A little.)

3. What motto do you live by?
"Watch as Much Bad TV as Possible." Kidding.
I don't think I have a motto.

4. If you knew could you try anything and not fail, what dream would you attempt?
Can I have more than one?
Writing a book.
Becoming a photographer.
Opening a coffee shop/gift shop kind of place.

5. What was your first job?
Unofficially... babysitting. Officially, working at a clothing store.

6. What is your current job?
Mommy and wife. (We all know that makes me a maid, a personal shopper, a laundry expert, a carpool driver, a financial executive, a tutor, a therapist, and about a zillion other things.)

7. What would you call yourself if you could choose your own name (and you cannot pick the one you already have)?
When I was little, I could have answered this in a heartbeat. I didn't like being an "Autumn" because it wasn't common. Now I kinda like being uncommon.
I like the names Lily, Claire, and Eden. But I don't see myself as any of those.

8. What musical instruments can you play?
Piano and flute. But I can't play either one well. Years of not practicing takes a toll.

9. Is it easier to forgive or forget?
Forgiving is WAY easier.

10. What is one food you’d never want to taste again?
Turnips. Oysters. Oops... that's two.

17 Years And Counting

17 years ago today, two people who looked and felt a lot younger than us got married.

This weekend, Dan/Daddy and I escaped to the beach to celebrate our anniversary.

This is what 17 years looks like, folks. Wrinkled and loony, but happy.




My husband has figured out - after all these years - that nothing makes me happier that this...



Except maybe this...



Aren't we romantic?

Want to know why all my pictures are itty bitty?
They were taken from my phone.
Because I forgot my camera.
Because people that are old enough to be married 17 years are O. L. D.
And forgetful.

Next year, I'll probably leave my teeth in a glass by the bathroom sink.
But I will still be able to eat ice cream.

Happy Anniversary Honey!

A Letter to My Favorite 5th Grader

Dear son,

Just because you roll your eyes and moan...
I am not putting away the camera.

Just because I try to act all cool and calm...
Does not mean I don't have first day butterflies as I drive away.

Just because I say I'll miss you...
Don't think I didn't do a happy dance in my empty quiet house.

Just because you are almost as tall as me...
Don't forget that you will always be my baby.

My food-inhaling, game-playing, milk-guzzling, freckled-faced, lanky baby giraffe.



Love,
Mommy

Snooping Blog Style

This week's Ten on Tuesday was an interesting one to me... more like an "assignment."
And I think the nosey old lady in me is excited to see the insides of somebody else's fridge. Don't worry... if you invite me to your house, I will not poke around in the medicine cabinet. I have standards.


For each of the following, take a picture. This is a chance for us to get a literal glimpse into each other’s lives. Feel free to skip a question if it doesn’t apply to you or it’s too personal. You can include explanations if necessary.


1. Your house.
I didn't take a closer picture because then you would see all the dead plants.




2. Your shower.
Not a very exciting pic, I know. I had to stand in the bedroom to even get close to getting a picture of the shower. And I am not about to open up that curtain. You might see what kind of shampoo I use.




3. The inside of your refrigerator.
Don't criticize the lack of nutrition, ok. There is some lettuce down there.




4. Your pet.
These two crack me up. It's like they're thinking, "What in the heck is our momma doing now? Get out the food, woman."





5. Your favorite pair of shoes.
This one changes from time to time, but flip flops in some form is a safe bet. And no. These are not the death flops.




6. The most comfortable seat in your house.




7. Your favorite cup or coffee mug.




8. Your laundry room.
I had to move a small mountain to take the picture. You couldn't even see the washer. And I think I need some more hangers.




9. The view from your office chair.
Again, I had to move a small mountain. Of papers and stuff. And I do not work in a cave... my desk is in a black armoire; it just looks cave-ish in the picture. And I didn't even realize it at the time, but there's fav coffee mug right there on the desk. I like to pour liquid into my keyboard on occasion.




10. Your spouse/significant other/roommate.
This is a fairly recent picture of Dan/Daddy. He wasn't here while I was running around taking pictures of my mug and the inside of the fridge. He was off doing Army stuff. Work.




We are ending about a week and a half of house guests, and school starts back for the boy tomorrow....
This girl is needing a nap and asking for your prayers for a good first day.

Happy Tuesday!

And The Countdown Begins

Summer is slipping away like it does every year.
Actually it's zooming away, and it can take the gosh darn 110 degree weather with it.

Heat makes me grouchy, and my grouchy self cannot take it anymore.

So as the sleeping in and days by the pool waste away, we made a quick trip to the beach to see Daniel, April, and Noah. (Bro, Sis-in-Law, and Most Adorable Nephew.)

They were spending a week relaxing at the ocean, and we came in for the weekend and crashed their party. Well... they DID invite us.

Prepare yourselves for maximum cuteness...





We had some serious "beach-work" going on...











Most adorable nephew has developed an obsession for the game of golf. I think my brother and sis-in-law spent half their vacation budget on mini-golf.









As kids, my little brother and I got along great. (Just don't ask him about the unfortunate bean-bag incident.) As grown-ups(?), we get along even better. I consider him one of my best friends, and I'm thankful he tolerates me.




I'm even more thankful that our boys are turning into best friends as well...

All Good Things Must Come To An End in My Laundry Room

All my fun times seem to end with me standing in front of my washer and dryer.
We have taken two quick trips in the last 2 weeks, and I have washed enough clothes to dress the East Coast.
We are a small family, and we aren't "clothes hogs" by any means. But we sure can dirty up what we do have.

Our first little trip was to the mountains with some of our oldest friends. Again, they are not old. We've known them for 16 years. Wowza.
We all used to go to church together, eat out, go to movies, and sip coffees at the bookstore.
Then we all had kids.
They felt the need to have 3.

They are like part of our family. The boy calls them Aunt Shan and Uncle Matt. And we are Aunt Autumn and Uncle Dan to their crew.
Since we live in different parts of the country now, we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. So when we do get together... it's a blast.

Here's the whole lot of us...


And just our kiddos...


We rented a cabin in the mountains so our boys could run around in the woods while us grown-ups visited. This was the view from our porch...


The boys (big and small)played...




And we had the typical mountain tradition of a HUGE breakfast...


There was swimming in ice-cold river water...




Even underwater swimming in the icey-cold...


Mostly we spent time catching up on our busy lives and reminiscing about the 16 years we've shared...




Good times.
And we came home with gobs of dirty clothes, more good memories, and a case of poison ivy. (I'll give you one guess who that was. He's starting 5th Grade soon.)
It's interesting to us how we all just pick up right where we left off. Really like family. Everyone should have friends like these.

It's Hard to Think When It's Hot

It is hot in my house.

Last night around 10 pm, we noticed it was a bit warm in the den. The AC was set on 77, but the thermostat was reading 79. We turned it way down, and it climbed way up.
Quickly.

We put in an emergency call to the repair folks and sat up until the wee hour of midnight. The temp downstairs was 81, and the temp upstairs was 80.
After another call to the repair folks, we all passed out from the heat and went to sleep.

"Sleep" is a word I am using loosely.
Dan/Daddy slept on the couch to wait for the repair man who was a no-show.
I let the boy sleep in our bed because it tends to be hotter in his room anyway.

Have you ever tried to sleep in an 82 degree room with a baby giraffe in your bed?
That's how my night went.

My thoughts for Ten on Tuesday may be a bit scattered from lack of sleep and the greenhouse-like heat in my den.



1. Do you have an innie or an outie?
Hee hee. Cute question! It's an innie. And because you want to know, I will now give you TMI... I have a little brown birthmark right beside my belly button. It's the only brown skin on my whole body.

2. What kind of milkshake do you order?
Usually chocolate, but yesterday I was craving peach. Chick-Fil-A peach. And they were out. Boo. Hiss.

3. How often do you repeat outfits at work?
Back in the day, I tried not to repeat outfits at work. 4 year-olds and Kindergartners usually don't notice. Except for some of the girls... "Hey Teacher! You wore that skirt last week with a pink shirt and it makes your bottom poke out." Future fashionistas.

4. What are your feelings about thank you notes?
I feel like they are polite and not written often enough. My Mamaw will cut you out of her will if you forget a thank you note.

5. Do you like spicy food?
Yes. But not so spicy that the "heat" overpowers the taste.

6. How many toilet paper squares do you use?
Too many. Because I can't ever remember actually counting the number of squares. I pull the end of the roll and let it swirl off.

7. Were you in Girl Scouts?
Yep. Brownies to be exact. But not for long. I remember going with my friend, Sally. We would get all decked out in Brownie brown and walk to the meeting which was right by her house.

8. Notebooks/Journals: College ruled? Wide Ruled? No lines? Spiral Bound? Plain front? Decorative?
Oooo... I love journals and little notebook things. It is a weakness of mine. I prefer spiral, I think. And definitely decorated.

9. Do you snack throughout the day? What do you pack for snacks?
My life is one continuous snack. If I have to pack something, it's usually granola bars or almonds or crackers.

10. What is your favorite month? Why?
December. Christmas and my birthday... which is becoming a drag.

Happy Tuesday friends! Enjoy your AC and think of me.

You Can Call Me Grace

Remember the death flops?
I still have them, and I still wear them.
But they are apparently not my issue.

I am sitting sideways in my chair as I type this.
Not sideways as in "turned to the right or left."
Sideways as in "balancing on one booty cheek."

Last night, I fell down our steps. Good times.
I was walking downstairs to get a glass of ice water from the kitchen, because I don't like to drink water from the bathroom. The boy and Dan/Daddy swear bathroom water is God's finest form of hydration. They are weird.
I, however, prefer mine with ice and from the Britta. Call me high-maintenance.

About 5 steps from the landing, my feet slipped out from under me, and I landed hard on my hind end and bounced the rest of the way down. I somehow also managed to drag my right arm along on the carpet underneath myself.

The sound of me crashing was loud; the not-very-nice word I said was loud, too.
Dan/Daddy and the boy came running.
One of them hovered over me, waiting for my writhing and moaning to stop.
The other one laughed until I thought he'd pee his pants.
I'll let you guess which one was which.

I think the culprit was the socks I was wearing. I just slipped.
Dan/Daddy made a new household rule for me right then and there.

"You must go barefoot in this house. If you are going to wear socks in this house, you must have on shoes. Or else stay upstairs. And always hold the rail."
He really is trying.
But because I cannot live upstairs forever, I will run around in socks when he isn't here. Or when he isn't looking.

So today I have a bruise and a rug burn on my right arm.
I also have a bruise on my tailbone (I looked).
And, I have to sit sideways.

I'm walking like a 99 year-old woman. Or a 39 year-old woman who fell down her stairs.
Do you want to know why I had socks on in August? Why I am covering my feet when it's 100 degrees outside?
I have dry cracked heels. Gross. I am forever trying to soften them and make them more presentable. I had just coated them in lotion and Vaseline and put on socks to seal in the moisture.
And obviously create an health hazard in the process.

Hmmmm.... Soft heels or a broken tailbone?
So here I sit... sideways.

But I have really soft heels today.

Happy Shark Week

I was working away on this week's Ten on Tuesday, and I stopped dead in my tracks when I read the third question.
Was someone looking into our windows?
I don't think anyone else feels the same way we do about Shark Week. We're a family of Animal Planet nerds.

1. What is your current favorite television show?
I have my buddy, Jeanna, to thank for this. She got me hooked on "Criminal Minds."
I mostly watch the reruns. I love it, but it is TWISTED.
The whole psychological aspect... the "profiling" of the worst criminals... It's fascinating to me.
I even told my brother (who is a real mental health professional) that I wanted to join the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Team and be a Profiler. He told me I would have to become a cop first, and that there are actually very few REAL profilers. He's a wet blanket on my FBI dream.

2. Apple juice or orange juice?
OJ all the way.

3. It’s Shark Week on Discover Channel. Do you watch? Why or why not?
Woo Hoo!!
How much of a geek would I be if I told you I (we) live for Shark Week?!? I can't remember a year we haven't watched. I wonder if the boy had been a girl, would we still be watching? Or would we be watching something with princesses and fairies?
I think sharks are beautiful and amazing creatures, and I get freaked out every time I go into the ocean... thank you, Shark Week.

4. What are the non-blog websites that you visit regularly?
Facebook, Hotmail, CNN, The Weather Channel, and Fox News.

5. What is your favorite way to prepare green beans? Asparagus? Potatoes? Carrots?
Green Beans? Roasted.
Asparagus? Roasted.
Potatoes? Baked. Mmmmm... With butter and sour cream.
Carrots? Raw.

6. What is your favorite flower?
I think my favorite flower is a daisy.

7. How do you feel about handkerchiefs?
I feel like they remind me of my dad, because he always has one. He has the worst allergies of anyone I know (except maybe my own child).
I think a handkerchief is old-fashioned and kinda yucky, but a bit more practical for a man.
It looks normal for a woman to pull out a bunch of Kleenex from her purse. (I might even take one if she offered it to me.) It seems odd for a man to pull a bunch of wadded up Kleenex from his pocket. Kinda weird. (And I probably would not take one.) Handkerchief? Not so weird. (As long as it's clean!)

8. If you could only shop at 3 stores for the rest of your life, what would they be? (You probably should include a grocery store.)
A grocery store. One like Whole Foods. (Did we say money was no object?)
A craft store (like Hobby Lobby).
And probably Target. Target would have all the other stuff I'd need.

9. If you could only use wine for one purpose for the rest of your life, which would you choose? To cook with or to drink?
To drink. And I could get it at Target, too!

10. What’s your bedtime?
Whenever the last of the Criminal Minds reruns goes off.

It's Official

It hits me at different times every summer.
The "I am over hot weather" feeling.

It hit me yesterday.
We were driving home from our mini-vacation with our "old" friends. (Much more blogging about this later.)

We drove through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (hello Dramamine) instead of around.

At one of the highest elevations, the car temperature thingy dropped from about 94 degrees to a beautiful 76 degrees. And the sun was shining. Yes, there is a God.

On the way through Asheville, NC, it was foggy and rainy... and a blistering 67 degrees.

I put my window down and stuck my hand out into the glorious coolness and imagined long sleeves. And football games. And soup. And not 96 degrees.

And I was happy.
It's official. I'm done with the hot weather.