lori’s neighbors moved and left this precious dog behind. he is super sweet and seems to be really good with children. he definitely has some chow in him and i’m thinking maybe some german shephard, but i’m not 100% on that. he also appears to know what ’sit’ and ’stay’ means. i think he’s a couple of months old. if you are interested or know someone who might be, let me know. seriously, is he not precious?
if i could have my dream job it would be to own my own childrens book store. i so bad want to own my childrens book store. i love childrens books. all kinds. picture books. story books. pop-up books, board books, oh the list could go on and on. i think my love for books started when i was little. my dad would go out of town for work and he would on occasion bring me back pop-up books. i can kick myself ten times for not keeping them. and they would always be educational books. i can remember two in particular. one was about the nina, pinta, and the santa maria. and then i vaguely can remember one about jungle animals. they were the kind that would pop-up or you would have to pull a tab and it would make an illustration move. anyways…..i think also having a background in education, i know the importance of reading, even at an early age. it’s sad b/c to love childrens books so much i have a poor collection. some of my favorites are the giving tree, knuffle bunny, caps for sale, amazing grace and anything by eric carle.
i would be a great childrens book store owner……what is your favorite childrens book? or even better, what is a dream of yours that you have yet to fulfill but still plan to?
i know after reading my “whats happenin’” blog, you all are wondering just how cute emma jo and eli are. so, i thought i would satisfy y’alls curiousity:
misty, let me know if you feel weird about having their picture on here. i guess i should have asked before posting. 
i am so bored with the wordpress themes. i want a cool looking blog. how do i get a cool looking blog? and not pay an arm and a leg for it. yawn.
it’s been a few days since i’ve posted anything. it’s definitely not for the lack of having stuff to write about. but trying to find the time. i have several things that have happened over the past few days or things that i’ve thought about that could potentially be different posts but i’m going to combine them all in one. which will probably give me nothing to write about for another week, but whatev.
bibb county: i went “home” to bibb county friday night. it was misty’s birthday and her son, eli, had a ballgame that night. misty is my best friend from way back in high school. gosh, it’s been 16 years since we graced the halls of bchs. can you believe it misty? it really does seem just like yesterday. i would have never made it through my last two years without you. i’m so very thankful for our friendship and the relationship i have with your family. love you du. ok, so anyway, like i was saying, i went to centreville friday night. i swung by and picked up dixie from daddy’s house and she went to the game with me. it’s so fun watching five and six year olds playing baseball. there was one little fella who was so short and stubby. i loved watching him book it around the bases. eli was so cute. everytime he did something he would look over to where we were all sitting to wave at us. making sure we saw him. and of course there is sweet little emma jo, eli’s sister. deep down i know she loves me. but the second i reach out my arms to pick her up she shys away. and thats ok. maybe if i came around more she would be use to me. eli was the same way. through out the game emma and i had a long distance thing going on. anytime she did something she would look at me and laugh or smile but no physical contact whatsoever. those two kids. i think there is a special place in my heart that beats just for them. i also saw a few people from high school while i was at the ball park. its just weird. and then there were people who are younger than me who had kids playing on eli’s team. again, weird. after the game we were all standing around about to go eat dinner for misty’s bday when emma decided to perform a balancing act on a beam and lost. she dove head first onto the concrete. the first sound i hear is here head hitting the concrete (i still can’t get it out of my mind) and then i hear the sound of misty’s video camera hitting the concrete as she dives for emma. emma ended up being ok. i wouldn’t be surprised if she has a scar but she needed no stitches. and bless little eli’s heart, he was so worried about her. eli rode with dixie and i to the restaurant where i had the best burger i’ve had in a really long time. after dinner, dixie and i went back to daddy’s. i ended up staying the night and then headed back to birmingham the next day.
dominoes: there is a new game i’m addicted to. and when i say new game, i mean new as in newly addicted to, not newly as in i’ve never played before. i was first introduced to this game i believe by karol hobbs. i think. but i was reintroduced to it at the beach a few weeks ago and it’s all i want to play. i got together with a few people saturday night to play. i never win at this game. and i’ve learned that only a few people, like 5 or 6, can play at a time. b/c if you play with too many people, there is too much talking going on and it takes FOREVER to get through one round. oh, the name of the game is mexican trash train. played with dominoes. i love it. wanna play?
mothers day: like i do every sunday, i went to tuscaloosa for church. i got there, set up the rooms, taught in the preschool room, packed everything back up and then headed back to birmingham. i can’t tell you the last time i was upset on mothers day. but for some reason, this was a hard one for me. i really struggled. most of you know that my stepmom died when i was in high school. so its been a long time since i’ve had a mother in my life. and it’s definitely something i don’t get upset about anymore. not usually. but sunday was a tough one. and i still am not sure why. but i’m good now i did get to attend the service sunday night and was very blessed by it. the video that they put together was precious. i think my favorite was when joseph said he loves to kiss his mom’s cheeks. love it.
sunday night: we didn’t do our normal dollar movie on sunday night. well, i didn’t go. i’m not sure if everyone else did or not. i ended up staying at home and listening to a message online from bob johnson. his brother, bill, is the pastor of bethel church out in redding, california. if you ever have a chance to listen to any of bill’s messages, do so. they will change your life. bob’s message was titled “does god have a back up plan?” some people have the idea that if we screw up enough times that God will find someone else to do what He planned for us to do. i can’t tell you how many times i’ve heard that statement. and i believed it. i was a believer that if i “stray” from His path enough times that He will change the plan for my life. He’ll find someone else who is willing to do what He originally planned and then give me something else to do. i’m not so sure i believe that anymore. His Word says that He will complete the work in my that He started. i can’t explain it the way bob did, but i was so encouraged when he finished. i believe that Gods plan is always the same, it just might take me longer to get there b/c of me. but i don’t think God changed His plan.
so for a while now i have had becentsable’s site on my blogroll for blogs i frequently stalk. it’s a great site to go to for updates on what stores have great deals and other money saving tips. i have recently stumbled across another blog (thanks to becentsable) that i am addicted to. it is called Freebies 4 Mom. i love it. this site has info on free stuff, great sweepstakes, and amazing coupons. if you are a frugal shopper like me (or like i’m trying to become) then you will love this site. i have found some great stuff. for example, hanes is giving away free panties!! and what is even better they are “no ride-up” panties. wedgie free!! um, isn’t that we all are looking for? all you have to do is go to wedgie-free wednesday and register to win every wednesday until the end of the year. they will be mailing out 500 pairs to 500 women each week. thats over 20,000 winners so your chances of winning is huge. you pick the style and size but not the color. how fun, right?
and they are actually cute:
on aug. 23 i have the amazing honor of being in the wedding of these two people:
this will be the first time that i’ve been in a wedding of TWO of my bff’s at the same time. and the wedding party is packed full of close friends. i’m super excited. yesterday i had to call in my measurements for my bridesmaid dress. i had a co-worker take my measurements and then i placed the call. after giving the lady my numbers she pulled up the designers size chart. this is what followed:
store lady: “well according to your bust and hip size you will need a size 10. but according to your waist size you are a size 18.”
me: silence
store lady: “so which size do you want to get?”
me: “um well, i usually fluctuate between a size 8 and 10.”
store lady: “well according to this chart you might want to get a size 18.”
me: “well i know i’m not a size 18.” (said in a matter of fact tone, not in a snobbish i’m smaller than that tone)
store lady: “well once we order the dress, it’s yours.”
me: “yes i know. but let’s just go with the size 10″.
store lady: “ok if thats what you want.”
it was quite a funny conversation. i felt better when stacie called later and had a similar experience. after grilling the lady about what sizes everyone else ordered. can they tell her my sizes? maybe i should sue. maybe i can get my dress for free. just kidding. or am i?
and the stomach crunches begin…..
do y’all remember that song from when you were little? what about “going on a bear hunt”? “tony chestnut”? well, if you don’t then you were deprived. i’ll be happy to sing them to you the next time i see you. i actually had the honor of meeting don monopoli from the learning station a couple of weeks ago. they are the ones who wrote those songs along with many other preschool favorites. childcare resources hosted a free concert at the dowtown ywca for children and their families. we had a blast. none of us were too excited about working on a friday night but we all ended up having a great time. and boy did we get a workout. don had us moving constantly. i was sore the next day. the best part was that some of the children who attended the concert are homeless and this was the first time they have ever experienced something like this. its moments like these that remind me of why i love my job. the picture below is of a few of my coworkers posing with don. i also love the people i work with. aren’t we stylish in our HOTT red ccr shirts?
last wednesday i headed out with some friends to pcb. i had the best time. it was so nice to get away from bham and just chill. the weather was perfect. or at least it was the first two days. on saturday it wasn’t very breezy and so it was pretty toasty. but thursday and friday….i couldn’t have asked for better weather. i needed this trip tremendously. it was so good for me to be able to sleep until my body woke me up. no alarms clocks. ahh, heaven on earth. and i went with a great group of people who i don’t get to see enough of. i love my church. i guess a downfall is that it is so big that i don’t get to see people i use to see all the time. brian/andi, linda/adam, tyler, buxton, carla and christi. i’ve known these people for at least 6 years. i love these people. it was just a good group to be on vaca with. everyone was laid back and relaxed. our days consisted of sleeping in, eating breakfast, going to the beach, playing some volleyball or paddle ball, basking in the sun, eating lunch, taking a shower, cooking dinner or going out to eat, putt-putt, go carts, dominoes, phase 10, saying the word “what” or “huh” 50 billion times……and much to my dismay i don’t have one picture to share with you guys. my camera is on the fritz so there were no pics taken by me. linda took a few so i hope to see those soon. i was sad to come back home. well, not really, more just sad to come back to work.
who: daniel bashta & jason morant
when: may 19
where: workplay
i’m serious when i say that you will be sad if you miss this night of worship. you have been warned.
