Bless Your Heart

Lots to talk about that happened yesterday so I’ll have to break it down in to bits. First Lisa, Pete, and I went to Bojangles for breakfast since they don’t have one up north. Then we toured around my little town and my neighborhood (which is rapidly changing. If you want to see any remnants of the Jim and Tammy PTL empire you need to get on down here quick). Then we stopped by to see Karen & Gwen and Shannon who were having lunch. Gwen is the cutest wee girl ever and it was all I could do not to cause a distraction and run right out the door with her! Just kidding. I’ve never seen a happier mom than Karen that day and I’d never run off with her source of such pure joy. It was fun to have 4 bloggy girls all together for a little while. We hated to leave so soon but we had to get downtown to our 12:30 tattoo appointment. Stay tuned for details on that later!

Not much time to post as we’re on our way out the door. Another full day of entertaining in the South. But check out Lisa’s blog for a recap of today.

Lisa and Pete flew in last night AND I found a fabulous package on my doorstep from the fabulous Ani. These adorable Sonya Lee dolls for Ling Ling and Mei Mei! Thank you so much Ani! That was so thoughtful! I’d heard of Sonya Lee but we haven’t purchased any dolls or toys or yet for the girls. Thank you Ani & Niel from Jon and I, and one day Ling Ling and Mei Mei will be able to thank you themselves!

The truth is stranger than fiction y’all. Ok, remember when I made a jackass out of myself by calling the man at China East may I help you JIMSHUM all loud and proud for 2 years when his name was Jason? Well, Shannon shared that story with her co-workers. Then the other day I get this email from Shannon that tells about how her boss met via email some new business contact. His name? JIM SHUM. First name Jim last name Shum OMG. Who’s ever even heard of the Shums? I so want to meet this man.

I have big boobs. And if you have big boobs like me then you know that by the end of the day your husband can glance at your chest and know exactly where you were and what you had for lunch. They attract stains. So I got this Tide to go pen to keep in my purse. All large breasted women must go buy this because it has miracle powers. I have not dropped one bit of food or drink or copy toner or anything on the girls since I’ve been carrying the Tide pen in my purse. All hail the Tide pen! Tide, me and the girls are forever grateful.

My husband is a manager for a local grocery store. He gets lots of free stuff from vendors trying to woo prime store floor space. I never know what I’m coming home to. Lately he’s sported a Panthers jersey, put up a new patio umbrella (we have 3- Miller Lite, Ravenwood wines, and a plain one), and brought home a new turkey fryer. The latest prize was this cool fire pit. It’s from a beer company. I love all the goodies but it got me thinking the other day that our kids will think it’s weird when they go to people’s houses and they don’t see a brand name plastered on every lawn chair or drink cooler!

We picked up Jon’s parents from the airport this morning. They spent Thanksgiving in NYC since it was our turn to be with my side of the family. They had a big time and saw the parade and all the sights. We sent them to the big apple with our last digital camera. Still works great. So today when we drove them home I showed them how to upload their pictures and edit them on iPhoto. They came home with 241 pictures and were so psyched that they didn’t have to carry film around with them and could see if they got a good shot right away. Ah, it’s so satisfying to spread the love of digital cameras and the Mac around. Their little faces lit up when they successfully cropped photos and ran a slideshow. So cute.

I recently found out that I’m not the only one who routinely pokes earrings through my 2nd and 3rd ear holes on the off chance that 8th grade or 1985 comes back around and the need arises to hang multiple hoops or mismatched earring sets on my head.

The night before Thanksgiving we ate out Chinese. Jon got the strangest fortune cookie. Made no sense to me. But Jon used to be a produce manager, so at least he knew what a parsnip was.

Thanksgiving went well. It was bittersweet though. Grandmommy used to chef up some of the best holiday food you’ve ever had. This year we brought dinner to her. So the menu was limited, dinner was quick, and there was 3 hours of driving. But Gmommy looked good and was glad to see us and had fun with the babies. I noticed the effects of the Alzheimers on her memory this visit. But she still had fun and that was the point. It was so strange to sit at the dining room table, the same table they’ve had since my mom was 11, and think about the house. The house will be sold soon. Gmommy raised her family there, gave us a home when my parents divorced, hosted us on numerous overnight trips, and has since emptied out. Our growth chart is still on the door of the back bedroom. I check it every time I’m there. I now wonder if it will be measuring other children’s growth soon.

From me, Jon, and our little turkeys.