What is that?

One night when I was younger (pre birds & bees discussion), I woke up to the sounds of a baby crying outside my window. Maybe it was 2 babies because that's what it sounded like. Who would drop off a baby outside? I wasn't sure but I listened a little more to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I was freaking out so I went out & told my parents. I was concerned as to how long it had been there. Was it hungry? Can we keep it? I always wanted a sister. My dad goes to the door and much to my dismay, he tells me that it wasn't a baby. It was 2 cats. What? What were they doing? Why did it sound like a baby crying?! He simply said they were playing & told me to go back to bed.

I was in bed & all I could think was "What game are they playing? Maybe they will be outside & I can play with them tomorrow because I love cats!!!" So young & so naive.

Favorite uncle? It's a debate

My favorite uncle, James (pictured above), is coming to town for Labor Day. Is it really my favorite uncle? Well, the debate is still out because I don't remember these alleged comments. You must know the story first.

When I was 8 or 9, we lived in Pittsburgh. My uncle Bob and his wife (at the time) came & stayed with us for a week. A few days after they left, the phone wrang & I answered. The caller said "It's your favorite uncle!!" and I allegedly said "Uncle Bob!!" and the caller said "No, your other favorite uncle".

Again, I don't remember saying these things so the jury is still out.

The lake

Our awesome friends, Carol & Andy, invited us up to their lake house for the weekend. It's on Smith lake near Addison Al. It was us & 3 other couples. They were SO nice and let us bring Bear & Happy who would be actual dogs this weekend. You know, explore around, get dirty, swim in the lake (or stand on a log & bark...i.e. Bear). All I know is that we were the epitome of the phrase "eat, drink & be merry" because that's EXACTLY what we did.

We left after work Friday night and it's in the middle of nowhere. It's about an hour & a half north of here and at one point, we're on this small country road where 2 Chihuahua's were running in front of the car like "Please follow us, we know the way". It was so funny & we thought that people would think we were drinking when told them about it. The house was nicer than any regular house I've ever lived in - even though I've lived in nice houses. I was thinking "Hey we're going to the lake & camping & roughing it" but the house seemed like a resort to me. You can't exactly rough it in a house where there is a flat screen on the screened in porch. We got there about 9:00 & sat outside, had some beers, kicked back and just talked until 12:30. For all of us, that made us feel old because it was only 12:30 but we didn't really care. I now know what it feels like to sleep on a cloud. The bed we slept on was so dang nice. I didn't know what to do.

We got up Saturday & Chris cooked the most awesome breakfast EVER! It was eggs Napoleon (but I liked calling it eggs Napoleon Dynamite), with beef, grits & tomato gravy..oh man pure heaven. We loaded up the coolers & headed down to the boats. At first, we left the dogs on the porch but when our other friends arrived with their dog, we made them come down to the lake.

We rode on the pontoon boat, sat around the pier on a big raft that was a size of our bedroom, swam around, ate lunch and then it was time for the Barf Ball (a.k.a. "Ball of Death" or a.k.a. "Ball of Paralysis"). That is it's legal & true name. I didn't make it up. It was just this big ball you get in and rolled around. Whenever people rode by you'd just see arms & legs going everywhere. All the guys went out & rode & I was just dying to & dying to and finally, I just went for it. It was so much fun. I flopped around & rolled around & laughed my head off!!!

The dogs were - I don't know - finally dogs!!! No couch or air conditioning all day long. Happy came down to the lake & just walked right in the water, swam around and was a dog at the lake. Bear? Well, he stood on the edge of the water & watched the other 3 dogs swim in the water. He ran along the shore line & eventually swam over to a log where he stood for probably an hour & barked. Even one of the other dogs there came over like "Buddy, this is how you do it" and nothing. Chris finally went over & pushed him in the water, he swam the wrong way, got hung on a rope & our friend Joey had to rescue him. What a crazy dog!! I mean seriously, I was so embarrassed.

About 5:00, we headed inside to shower & cook dinner. Well, I sat on the porch & had a few beers with the girls while the boys cooked. We did clean though. It was so good. We had chicken, ribs, corn, fried green tomatoes, mashed potatoes, cheddar biscuits and man we were all just spent after that. We went to bed about 10:30 & man I slept like a baby. We got up this morning & had eggs, bacon, biscuits & coffee & just talked & laughed and then headed home. Such a relaxing weekend that we'll probably all get together & do this winter. We had so much fun & can't wait to go back.

Double chin...I mean standards

Out of curiosity, what do you think of when you see this picture:

Aside from why that's pasta on his (or her - trying to be P.C. here) head, you probably kind of giggle and say "awwww" or something similar. Am I right or wrong? I think I'm right. Sure, he (or she) is a big boy (or girl) but ultimately, he (or she) looks kind of cute because babies are sweet, innocent and cute. Although I have seen some ugly babies in my lifetime. Most babies are precious so a big or small baby is cute. Right?

Now, what do you think of when you see this picture:

I bet it's something like "WOAH NELLY! Put the fork down" or "Good grief that's a big mama!" (or papa - even though certain pieces of this person's anatomy tell me it's a woman - P.C. here). It's not your fault that you think that way, it just is the way it is. We don't think overweight adults are sweet, innocent or cute. Some people would say that person is gross & we would shun away from them. It's not so simple as putting the fork down. Most people that are overweight are emotional eaters (currently raising hand). When times are tough, I run to the kitchen.

10 years ago, I was that person above. I weighed 236lbs, I was a size 24 pants & 2X shirt. Yeah I was a big-un. Sure, people told me "You crack me up" which made me think "Great, now I'm the funny fat girl". Sometimes I often would hear "Oh you have such a nice face" to which I thought "That's funny because you don't!" I know what it's like to be made fun of for your weight & trust me, it isn't a walk in the park. Nonetheless, time passed, I lost weight the healthy/normal way and it took time. I would even lose some & gain some back. I've learned healthy options for handling tough times. Through it all, I have always wondered this: why are fat babies cute but fat adults aren't?

Things that make you go hmmm....

Eye Can See

The older I get, yes I realize I'm only 33, the more things with my body start to go wrong for no reason. If I stand up too fast, I get dizzy. I have to stand up, get my balance which is the same thing I tell my 94 year old grandfather..."Be careful, get your balance first". Sitting in certain chairs make my back hurt. After I've been sitting at the movie theater or at my desk, my knees hurt and I limp for a little bit. When I walk up the stairs, my knees sound like a bag of Rice Krispies. You get the point.

Several, yes several, years ago, I started to notice that I'd go to certain restaurants (mostly where the menu is on the wall) and couldn't read the menu. I would say "Their print is too small" as I'd notice other people staring up at it. "It's too dark in here". Blah blah blah. You pick an excuse, I had it. We had eye insurance but I never got my eyes checked because I hate things near my eyes. I had to learn to put in eye drops when I was 25 because I had pink eye and nobody would help me. Gee, I wonder why. I'm like Rachel on Friends when Monica tried to put eye drops in her eyes. They just close no matter what I try.

I finally worked up the courage to go to the eye doctor, go through the exam to find out that I needed glasses. Sure, I had them before. It started in middle school, where I wore them in a picture because I thought they made me look smart. I had them after college but the prescription just wasn't right. It was time to grow up and admit that I can't see or read.

I love that I can see now. Recently, I have seriously said "Wait, let me get my glasses" or "Babe, will you bring me my glasses" as I lay in bed getting ready to read & don't feel like getting up. Chris calls them my "HD Glasses" because when I first started wearing them, it looked like watching tv in HD instead of watching as if the video camera is ever so slightly in focus.

Now that I can see, I'm going to get brochures for walkers (with tennis balls of course) and a local retirement home communities. Although the walker would've come in handy as I busted at work this past week. That's another story for another day.

Destruction

We don't have kids, but we have 2 dogs & our cats. We call them "the babies". We do plan on having kids, but it will be a while, so please stop asking. We'll be those parents that everybody thinks is their grandparents but so be it. Anyway I wish people wouldn't ask that. Right now, we're those weird dog people & yes this post is about our animals. If you don't like it, there is an X button in the top right corner of your screen that you may click at any time. I won't stay awake at night thinking about it.

So we have Bibi, Bear & Happy (a.k.a. Hap). I've cleaned up enough poop, tinkle, vomit & mucus that I feel prepared for kids. Bear has chronic bronchitis. Every few months he hacks up mucus & we put him on the only medicine that will help him & it's a steroid so he is a little overweight. However, he is the best dog in the entire world. He was my buddy when Chris went to Iraq. When I'm sick, or Chris leaves for work at 4:45 a.m., he gets in the bed with me. He doesn't bark, but when he does it scares me. He will play and I wouldn't trade his sickness for the world.

Bibi had a tinkling issue that I thought was a bladder infection but it was just a cat that was spiteful. Bibi was/is the first cat I ever owned. He is a sweet cat. My dad does NOT like cats. (I think that's an understatement) He tolerates Bibi. He's a great cat too. He is healthy and will make you pet him and has never bitten me. He's popped me in the face before but that's a cat. I've always said I don't think I could ever et another cat. I'll probably end up with some mean hateful thing so I'd rather do it Seinfiled style - go out on top.

That brings us to Hap. Happy is a very cute dog. That is about all I'll give him. Chris had him as a puppy and I wish he had stayed with me cause I trained Bear just fine. See, Chris' other dog Prissy died when he was in Iraq. So he came home & ultimately got Happy. Prissy loved to play with socks!! Chris wanted Happy to play with socks & love them too. The only problem is that Happy loves to destroy them. A sock is a sock is a sock is a sock. Prissy knew which socks to play with. Happy doesn't. Happy likes to destroy things such as glasses (3 pairs), comforters, couch cushions, shoes and the most important thing - my memory card. Not just any memory card but the one that had pictures from all of my wedding showers INCLUDING a great picture of me & Poppa (my grandfather). The other items that he destroyed made me just fuss at the dog. But the memory card caused me to shed tears. Some of those pictures I'll never get back. He gets in the garbage & eats things like tin foil, raw chicken or pork juice, dirty sponges and anything else in there. He has yet to get sick. I typed ALL of that to say that his picture should be next to the word "destruction" in the dictionary. Don't fall for his cuteness as he will use it against you as you're picking up a thousand pieces of a sponge he dug out of the garbage!! (just like he did last night)

Weekend

This weekend was pretty fun. Mom & I ate breakfast at The Egg & I. It's a new place that opened and it was DELICIOUS. I think we're going to eat there once a month. I came home & took a nap. Then I helped my husband (a.k.a. Chef Chrissy as one of my friends nicknamed him) prepare hamburgers before we went to watch the Alabama game with some friends. They were the best hamburgers that I've ever had. My husband did this awesome Southwest hamburger that was so good. I'd buy that from a restaurant. I'm not giving away secrets but they were good. We had a great time watching the game with our friends. Alabama won - ROLL TIDE and he was nominated as "the burger chef for all social functions involving sporting events". That cracked me up.

Sunday, Chris worked so I went to a BBQ at a friends house. It was so much fun. I was there for about 4 1/2 hours. I ate too much and came home with a stomach ache. BUT, the good times & laughter was well worth it.

I got up this morning & started my home workout. We're not members of a gym anymore and I can do what I need to do without a gym. I thought Happy wasn't going to make it during the walk because he just stopped at one point & was panting. All I could do was say "Hap, if I can do it you can do it". Yes, while lame, I do talk to the dogs. Just an affirmation of things to come for myself.