Bless Your Heart

Got home safe last night. Had a great time. Will post pictures soon. Just got out of doctors office where I got my first hep shots. Alfo got bloodwork back from physical. all good in tha hood.
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Oh man is this place amazing. I want to spend a week, a month here. We’ve already decided we’re booking this house for our next anniversary. You’ve got to check it out!
The pugs are having a blast. We’re about to go to lunch, then we’re taking them to the beach. They’ve loved checking out the gardens and we’ve spent a lot of time chilling on the veranda overlooking the koi pond. They have everything you could imagine here- high speed internet, computer, HUGE projection tv, full kitchen, the works. The sound of the waterfall comes right into the house. We couldn’t be more relaxed.
What a fabulous way to spend our 5th anniversary!

March 3rd is our 5th anniversary. Traditionally we would exchange gifts made out of wood this year. Ok…… Instead we will be celebrating by taking a relaxing mini holiday in Wilmington nc. We’re staying at the fabulios Bali house. http://www.balihousenc.com
Fabulous I mean. Typing with thumbs only is hard.
The pugs are with is and we can’t wait to take them to the beach for the first time!
I didn’t want to BLOG about coming here cause this is our 3rd try and I didn’t want to jinx it. We were supposed to be Greer this time last year but I got sick and had to have another d&c. Then we tried to come in October but tropical storm Tammy screwed that up for us. This time I am healthy, the weather forecast is perfect sunny and cool and we are determined to have a fabulous weekend!
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Or, let the good times roll! Man, what a day. First Jon and I had our physicals for the adoption. Yay! So glad that is out of the way. Jon was really sweating it. Literally sweating like a stuck pig while getting his blood drawn. The blood sucker lady thought he was gonna pass right out. She told me in her Trinidad-ian accent that his flow went slow at one point and she thought we were gonna lose ’em! But our doctor cleared us and we’re all set.
Then I ran home and had lunch and took care of a few things. Got a quick pedicure at the new nail place in my neighborhood (lady barely charged me- she was so nice), then headed over to Morgan’s school to pick her up. On the way some jackass pulled out in front of me and sent me into the ditch. I got out though thanks to my trusty Rav4 Jorge. I picked Morgan up and took her home and traded Jorge for Papa’s Jeep. I hate driving that thing. It’s the new Grand Cherokee but there’s barely a windsheild and not much room inside. Plus every time I’m in it I see a Cherokee wrecked somewhere. Today was no exception. Right on my way a big wreck where the Cherokee lost its front end.
Anyway, drove to the airport to meet the whole world. Well, not really, but close. Shannon was there and we planned to meet Susan, Will, and Olivia on their return from China. Karen was there with Gwen. Turns out Papa and Gigi’s flight was coming in at the same time as Susan’s so it worked out. Sara brought the boys up to meet everyone too. It was a little party in baggage claim- Papa and Gigi passing out beads and whatnot. Well , while we were there we found out Susan and Will got held up in immigration and missed their flight so they wouldn’t be in for another 2 hours. P & G were beat so I had to take them home and missed meeting Miss Olivia! Boo! I’ll have to plan a visit toute suite!
We got back to my mom’s and they passed out gifts- tons of beads and a Mardi Gras ladybug for LingLing. I even got a feather boa. We looked at their pictures (boob shots for the boys) and I finally was able to come home by 9:30.
Now I’m doing laundry and cleaning because of something that is happening tomorrow which I can’t talk about til we get there as to not jinx it.

The fabulous Jane is officially my first real customer on Etsy at my Bellatini shop! I feel like a grown up business woman! Jane bought Margarita and Lola earrings. Margarita is pictured here. I’ve been working on more jewelry to list (and knitting scarves too) but since Gigi is at Mardi Gras with my camera (and Harry Connick Jr!) I won’t be able to list any more until later. I’ll be sure to post when my shelves are stocked! Thanks again Jane!

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Friday night was my sister’s Women’s Circle of Giving party. There was a great turnout and we collected tons of teddy bears and books for the children’s hospital. I’m so proud of Sara and all the work she did to make this first party a success. All the women were just great and everyone really hit it off. I can’t wait for the next gathering!

Saturday 2/25/06
I dropped my Mom and Hale (henceforth to be referred to as Papa and Gigi in an attempt to get myself used to calling them this, as switching back and forth confuses the grandkids) off at the airport this morning. I lent them my camera to take to Mardi Gras. This will be the longest I’ve been without a camera in over 5 years. I take pictures every single day. My purse closes easily now. So sad. As I was hugging Gigi goodbye she was telling me what to do if she died on the trip and one of my first thoughts (because I knew she wouldn’t die on the trip) was “Can someone call me so I can go get another camera before next weekend?”.

Last night I went to a Party Lite party at Shannon’s. That was a lot of fun and they have a ton of cute stuff. I hadn’t been to one of those in years. Tonight I’m going to a different sort of party. My sister has put together a little charity group called Women’s Circle of Giving. Tonight is books and bears. We’re bringing books and bears to the party then next week Sara and I will take them to the children’s hospital. Tomorrow I’m taking my Mom and Hale to the airport. They are off to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. This hotel where Hale’s company will be having a big conference soon is sponsoring them. They are flying them down, touring them around, and putting them up in the hotel. Mom and Hale will be in the big parade on a float with its own bar on it (!) and they will be in full costume. So fun! Can’t wait to see the pictures from this trip!

Displacement: According to Freudian psychoanalytic theory, displacement is when a person shifts his/her impulses from an unacceptable target to a more acceptable or less threatening target.

Yesterday my mom and I went to visit my Grandmommy. You may remember that she is dealing with Alheimers. She’s getting worse and worse. My mom called to remind her to shower and dress and we took her to lunch. We made sure she took her pills and I hooked up her dvd player so she can watch the Golden Girls. I wrote down directions so she can switch between the tv and dvd.

On the drive home my mom and I talked about how scary this disease is. How we are scared that we’ll get it as well since it is hereditary. How we never know how Gmommy will react to us. How worried and terrified we were to find out Gmommy has walked the 3 miles to her nearest grocery store- alone.

I didn’t cry all day. But I could hardly get to sleep last night even though I’d barely slept the night before. Both nights with Alzheimer thoughts running through my mind. I said my prayers as usual and as usual asked for special care for my Gmommy.

Then today instead of taking care of business, crossing things off my list, being productive, I sat and watched Elizabethtown and cried for almost the entire 2 hours of the movie, and even for part of the credits. Cause, you know, a Cameron Crowe movie is a much less threatening target.

How did 5 days go by and I forgot to blog? Busy busy.
Friday- Jon and I had dinner with my mom and Hale at this restaurant around the corner from our house that we’ve been meaning to try since we moved here. It was soooo good and had a fabulous atmosphere with excellent service. Problem? The cheapest entree was $18 and that was chicken! Yikes! So we’ll be sticking to the ramen noodles for a while! We had a great time talking with Mom and Hale as they are off soon to Naw’leans for Mardi Gras!

Saturday- Worked some in the morning then went over to my mom’s. Jake was spending the night with Papa and Gigi (Mom and Hale) and it was his first big sleepover there without his mom. I brought him some Spiderman stickers which he loved. Ooh- Spiderman stickers! Then I showed him his other sursie- his very own peppermint lip balm. He loves my mint lip balm that I got in my stocking this year. But at $8 a tube I can’t afford that habit. I found peppermint Chap Stick and figured he’d still get the taste without being able to eat it. As soon as the lip balm came out of my purse he threw those Spidey stickers to the ground and acted like I’d just given him the Holy Grail of the pre-school set. He clutched that chap stick and applied over and over. “My lip?” Yep, yours to keep. His eyes wide he stuffed it into his pocket then would pat his pocket and check for the beloved chap stick. Who knew all it took to make a kid’s day was $1.19 and a quick trip to Tar*get? Jake fell asleep on me as we watched a movie with his “Shanny lip” in his little fist.

Sunday- I went back over to my mom’s and we took Jake to Pets*mart to look at the puppies. A local shelter usually has a handful there for adoption on weekends. Jake had a big time and we saw the biggest pug I’d ever laid eyes on. Behold the 35 pound Bud: Bless his heart the poor thing could barely breathe! His mom acted like she couldn’t figure out why he was so fat at only 4 years old (!!!). I’m thinking he doesn’t drive himself to the buffets lady! After Petsmart we picked up my sister Morgan from work then took Jake home. We visited for an hour or so. Jake is so smart and loves my camera. He knows to look on the back to see the pictures. I showed him how to scroll through the pictures and press the capture button when he wanted to take a photo. Kid learned quick. He took 54 pictures in less than an hour! He didn’t quite get the whole look into the screen thing to line up his shots and took the first couple photos with the lcd screen pressed to his chin. But he caught on pretty quickly- minus the whole lens thing. Quite a few of his photos include his little fingers or have an orange tint due to his fingers over the flash. But still not bad for a 2.8 year old! Here’s one of my favorites:

Monday- I spent some time online looking for a kid’s digital camera to no avail. Most of the ones I found cost as much as a grown up’s and/or had terrible reviews. The LCD screen is a must because Jake likes to check his work. Any suggestions? As much as I love him he is still only 2.8 years old and a $99 digi cam is not in the budget for a toddler. Today I also spent some time having yet another discussion with my dear husband about the joys of Tupperware. I LOVE L.O.V.E. Tupperware with a passion and we have quite the collection. Yet when I open the fridge I still see things like this: My boy refuses to use it. “Why dirty up something else?” Ok, do you see the bowl inverted over the pot? That’s a large salad bowl from our wedding pattern. Precariously perched atop a saucepan with about 1/4 of the pot full of mac and cheese. So until he’s finished eating this mac and cheese both the pot and the bowl are out of commission and in constant danger of falling to the floor. Tupperware bounces and is dishwasher safe. All I’m saying people.

Tuesday- A week or so ago I got a call from a head hunter about a job for me. I hadn’t applied anywhere since last summer so I was surprised. While I’m totally digging the work from home gig this job I interviewed for today pays very well, has good benefits, and get this: provides adoption assistance! It may mean I’d have to re-enter cube land hell and possibly even wear pantyhose again, but it would so be worth it for adoption assistance! I have my final interview Friday so we’ll see how it goes. Fingers crossed!