Month: February 2011

it's all about me, married life

5 minutes with myself 10 years ago

Shannon

The Daily Post offers up topics about which to write when you’re looking for inspiration for your daily blog posts.  One struck my fancy a few days ago.

If you could go back in time and have a 5 minute conversation with yourself ten years ago, what would you say?

I thought this was pretty interesting because we are coming up on our 10th wedding anniversary, so if I were to go back in time right now to 10 years ago I’d find myself in the final countdown to the wedding.  This is some of what I’d say to myself:
  • Hire a videographer for the wedding.  I know you think you can’t afford it but you’ll regret it years from now that you didn’t.
  • Push that piece of hair out of your face.  It’s caught on your eyebrow and drives you nuts every time you look at your wedding pictures.
  • Tuck some lip gloss in your bra.  You get a little stressed at the reception because you can’t find any.
  • Take that wedding gift money and buy stock in Apple. They are going to invent the iPod and it’s going to change the way the world listens to music.
  • In a few years you’re going to be tempted to build a house by CP Morgan. RUN from this company.  They are the devil and will cause you nothing but stress.
  • One day you’re going to meet a girl who you think will be a great friend.  She’s not.  Don’t waste your time investing in this friendship.
  • Take some more of that wedding money and buy into the Walt Disney Vacation Club.  You’re going to fall in love with their cruise ships and the club will save you money.
  • Spend a little extra time over the next year with Jade and Melissa.  They will both pass away at a young age.
  • Moisturize.  Moisturize even when you think you’ve moisturized plenty.
  • Wear SPF at all times.
  • When you’re selling the house in Fort Mill, don’t run through the kitchen.  There’s water on the floor and you slip causing you to tear your meniscus.  This results in surgery.  Might as well avoid it!
  • Don’t color your hair with box color at home.  You end up with hooker hair.
  • When you’re in Las Vegas next week on your honeymoon, get up a little earlier on your planned Grand Canyon day.  It’s a heck of a lot farther away than you thought!
  • Don’t spend even one second being nervous.  Soak in every second of this week’s wedding activities and next week’s honeymoon.  You’re marrying the best man you’ve ever known.  He’ll make you happy forever.  The best thing you’ve ever done was saying yes.
When I was thinking about this list I thought about maybe warning myself against getting into the China adoption or Guatemala adoption because neither of them worked out.  But so much good came out of all of them.  Friendships were made that would have never been made otherwise and they’ve lasted.  Plus, we are a sum of our experiences and even though it would save some pain and a lot of money and stress, I wouldn’t change anything in regard to the adoptions .  I’m exactly where and who I’m supposed to be now because of all I’ve been through.
What would you tell yourself 10 years ago?
birthday, friends

Space kidet Em

Shannon

Yesterday I went to Shannon’s daughter Emily’s 4th birthday.  Em is one of my favorite little people in the world.  I just adore her.  I can’t believe she’s 4 already!  Seems like just yesterday she came home from China.  Anyway, the kids bounced around at Space Kidets then we went back to Shan’s for pizza and presents. When it was time to open presents someone said “You can go ahead Emily and open a present.”  She responded “No, I have to wait for someone to get the camera”!  What a little ham!  Look at that sweet face!  Here’s Shannon trying out Em’s magic Tiana wand I got her (Shan’s cooking up a baby sister for Em that should arrive in the next couple months)!  

married life

Wearing a wee bit o’ Irish

Shannon

For Valentine’s Day CSP got me a Claddagh ring.  I’ve always wanted one and I love it so much!  The one he got me has an aquamarine instead of the solid silver heart.  The aquamarine is the birth stone for March which is our wedding month.   Ever since we got married I’ve been wanting some aquamarine jewelry to represent our wedding month.

I’m second generation Irish.  My paternal grandmother is Irish.  She immigrated here after she married my grandfather and just became a US citizen a few years ago.  I’m Irish on my maternal side too.  You could probably take one look at my fish belly white skin and tell I’m Irish!  I’ve always loved the story of the Claddagh rings and what they stand for.  The crown represents loyalty, the heart represents love, and the hands represent friendship- all qualities you need to make a marriage successful.  Custom states if you are married or taken you point the heart toward your heart.  If you’re on the market you point the heart away.  Like a secret code for your beloved somewhere out there in the world!

friends, fun, techno geek

Words With Friends

Shannon

Words With Friends is one of the apps on my home screen.  The home screen of your iPhone is prime real estate.  Only the best of the best apps end up there.  My home page has the clock, photos, text messages, iPod, and calendar apps plus ICS (In Case of Emergency), Facebook, Dragon Search, Awesome Note, GetGlue, MapQuest, EverNote, Kik, some social apps like Twitter, Duo for iPhone, Foodspotting, Instagram, Skype;  and the main bar at the bottom which includes Mail, Phone, and Camera.

If you don’t play Words With Friends you may be wondering what about it makes it worthy to be on my home screen.  Words With Friends is basically a free Scrabble knockoff. To buy Scrabble as an app on your phone you’d pay like $5 I think.  You can play Words With Friends for free on an iPhone or Android or buy it to get rid of the adds for like $3 (I think) or you could do like I did and wait for it to go on sale for 99 cents.  Every night before I go to sleep I play my Words With Friends turns. Everyone is addicted to it.  Even Jason Bateman talked about his Words With Friends addiction on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  Anyone know his screen name?  I’d love to play him!  I have about 15-17 games going at any given time.  I play with friends and their friends.  For instance I play with my Virtual Twin Deb and her sister in law.  Her SIL kicks my arse 9 out of 10 games.  Come to think of it, Deb kicks my arse 9 out of 10 times.  But playing them has made me a better player.  I get scores now I never used to achieve.  I love how Words With Friends has a chat feature too.  Helps me keep up with my peeps.

My screen name is iShanny if you wanna play!

decorating, fun

Mr. Feet for hands and Mrs. Claw with armless deer

Shannon

I know that art is subjective.  And I shouldn’t mock art, but I just had to show y’all this!  I saw this painting on a wall in a restaurant and had to take a picture of it.  Gigi and I were out to lunch and this was on the wall at our booth.  So odd!  Click to enlarge! Why does the man have a foot for a hand?  How does he shoot his bow & arrows with his foot hands?  How does he put in his giant earrings? Why doesn’t the baby deer have front legs?  Why is the baby deer smiling in his/her sleep in such a creepy manner? Why is the woman sleeping and have claw hands?   Did FootHands shoot her & the armless deer with his arrows?  Has the woman ever put out anyone’s eye with that sharp ass elbow? SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!

There was another painting on the other side of the restaurant that really perplexed us too but I’ll have to get a shot of that next time.  It was a lady kneeling on the ground but they painted her toes hanging from her lady bits!

food

Everything’s better with bacon

Shannon

Even chocolate.  CSP’s mom gave us a Mo’s Bacon Bar as a Valentine’s Day treat.  I’ve been wanting to try one forever.  CSP was skeered but I tried it and it was so yummy!  And I’m not a major chocolate person so that ought to tell you something.  It is a great combo of sweet and savory.  A very fun treat!

events, family, friends, fun

Day trippin’

Shannon

Today I drove down to Columbia with Papa & Gigi to see Momo.  We toured her apartment, went to lunch, then saw I am Number Four.  During the movie Papa complained to Gigi that “Shanny’s really beating me up over here.”  Gigi said “That’s why I didn’t want to sit next to her!”  There were some scary parts!  I get jumpy! It was a good movie in a beautiful new (to me) theatre.  After we had bubble tea.  Papa’s first time- that was fun to watch!  The Bubble Tea Cafe has popping pearls!  I’d never had those before.  They were so cool- they’d pop open in your mouth and would be full of flavored liquid.

Momo’s balcony overlooks the pool.  Her apartment is WAY too nice for college kids, but that’s all that lives there!  What happened to living in a dump during college?  Sitting on a sofa you bought at a yard sale with books under one leg to keep you from tipping over?  They have hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, beautiful cabinets, and just look at this pool!   It was a warm day today so all the kids were out at the pool.  There was volleyball, corn hole, football throwing, more beer cans overflowing trash cans and littering the ground than you’d see at an outdoor concert.  There had to be 150 kids out there.  It was like a scene from MTV Spring Break.  Amazing.  How do they study??  Anyway, we had a great day then hit the road for the ride home.

On the highway on the way home we spotted:

  • a brown duck walking along the shoulder, no water in sight.
  • A bunch of what looked like fog.  We got closer and it was smoke because the median was ON FIRE.  No one around.  So weird!
  • Gigi noticed a mini van with its interior light on.  We got closer and realized the driver was READING A BOOK.  Not a map, not a piece of paper with directions.  A book.  Like a big, hard cover novel.  INSANE.